Wind picked up as Belos came closer.

Adora's eyes glowed as she transformed but before he could charge him, a strange figure in white robes and an owl-like mask walked past her confidently.

"Huh?" her sword-fighting stance went slack and her sword arced down, uselessly cutting into dirt.

The figure hailed Belos with a raised hand. "My Lord"

Belos stopped short, at a loss. A moment of hesitation.

Adora could swear the figure was smirking in victory under that mask. They dissolved into black smoke and Double Trouble was in their place

"NOW, SWEETHEART" Double Trouble yelled behind them and ran for it.

Before Belos could recover, Eda and Luz threw glyph that exploded like bombs in his face.

He staggered back toward Darla and was blown over by the wind coming from the portal forming in her.

Entrapta poked her head out of Darla, pushing her welding mask off her face with her prehensile hair.

"We have to hurry! The portal is extremely unstable!" she screamed into the wind.

"Oh, big surprise!" Catra said waspishly, digging her claws into the ground to prevent herself from being blown away. She put an unnecessary supporting hand on Adora's back.

Adora looked behind her with a gleam in her eyes. Literally, they gleamed bright blue.

"Ready?"

Catra grinned. "Always"

Luz and Willow nodded to each other grimly. They held hands with Mermista and Perfuma and their eyes went bright.

Gus sent his illusion selves to pester Belos while Spinnerella tried to keep the wind under control.

"You can do it, Spinny!" Netossa called.

"Thank you, darling"

Belos was finally able to stagger to his feet, pushing himself up from taking a knee.

"This world's magic is mine" he growled.

Adora gave a mirthless laugh ending in a small snort. "Newsflash, pal, you aren't the first person to try. We'll wipe the floor with you the way we did Prime."

Belos roared and shot his hand out. Huge tendrils of vines, each the size of Bessie rushed toward them. Willow and Perfuma countered with a wall of poinsettas.

Belos scoffed and chopped his hand through the air as if he were cutting something. The water from Netossa and spinnerella's castle moat rose like a tidal wave. Luz and Mermista put there hands in front of them, making the wave freeze in place above them before it washed over them. With a shove, the water settled back into the moat.

"Surrender, fiend!" Sprig said, shooting a rock he found at Belos.

"Ow!" Belos clutched his head.

"'Fiend'? Have you been reading Hop Pop's lame plays?" Anne asked dryly.

"Now is not the time, Anne" Sprig said shortly, loading another rock.

"they are not lame, Anne!" Hop Pop protested.

"Not now, Hop Pop!" Polly said.

"Just give up because you can't beat all of us" Mermista drawled in satisfaction, her hands on her hips.

"Ha ha!" Seahawk pumped his fist.

"Be quiet because you have literally contributed nothing" Mermista shot at him.

Seahawk's fist fell.

The portal grew. Images flashed beyond it. Wartwood, where Ivy was knocking on the Plantar's door.

"Can Sprig play?"

The Boiling Isles, Lilith walking around the Owl House lawn, calling for Eda and Luz.

Gus cheered. "Home! We did it!"

Belos chuckled softly. "you think you've beaten me?" he asked in a dangerous voice. "I'm sorry to burst your illusions, but you have not"

He raised his arms like an actor in a play being showered in applause.

A wall of fire pillared in front of the group, moving slowly toward them. The flames whipped in the portal's whirling energy.

Gus's face fell. "Or maybe not"

"Um, guys?" Entrapta called again, hugging Darla's door frame. "Dunno how long this will last"

Amity stepped forward, cracking her knuckles "Leave this to me. Hey guess what, Belos? My default is fire!"

she drew a circle creating a makeshift flamethrower pushing against Belos's fire.

Embers and ash flurried, falling into the portal, showering the other worlds. Frogs, demons and witches looked up in confusion.

Amity strained to keep her spell up. "Everyone go!" she shouted "go through the portal! We may not get a second chance!"

"No way are we leaving you behind!" Anne snapped, using her tennis racket to counter rocks Belos was manipulating the ground to send to them like missiles.

"We're all going or not at all!" Luz cried into the chaos. She struggled to Amity's side and took her hands. Amity's breath caught and she blushed.

Luz lent her strength and a few fire glyphs to Amity's.

Willow and Perfuma were still fighting against the weaponized wildlife.

Adora and Anne were trying to get into sword distance to Belos but he was showing no openings.

Until there was a strangled yowl. Adora's heart nearly stopped thinking it was Catra wounded, but instead Belos was forced to the ground by…

"Melog!" Catra screamed "What are you doing, boy? I told you to stay home! Get away from him!"

Spinnerella and Netossa gave each other small determined nods.

They used the distraction to strike. Netossa encased the emperor in a magic net while spinnerella spun him around with an air current.

"You want to finish him, kiddo?" Spinnerlla looked down at Frosta who was jumping up and down.

"Oh yeah!"

Frosta froze the water Mermista was holding at bay.

"Hey!" Mermista protested.

Frosta made the water into hundreds of icicles sharp as daggers that honed in on Belos.

"It's gonna blow!" Entrapta ducked as Belos was knocked into the portal by the force of the ice slamming into his body.

"No" both Anne and Luz whispered as one. They made a mad dash to the portal muttering "No no no"

What they could have done even if they reached the portal nobody could say. By the time they reached Darla, the portal had closed to the size of a pea and dissipated with a pop.

Luz and Anne fell over each other.

They pulled themselves up in tears. "our only way home" Luz said in a hush.

Anne wiped tears and snot from her face. "at least we could see Wartwood.

Catra was checking Melog for wounds when he nudged her. "Mmr?" which Catra seemed to understand as "say something encouraging" because

Catra rolled her eyes and said "Dont worry, Entrapta is like a genius or something she'll figure this out"

"I cant figure this our" Entrapta declaimed bluntly. She took the palisman and waved it around. Emily came out from Darla's sleeping quarters, beeping cheerfully.

Entrapta held it out for her to inspect. Emily beeped sadly.

Catra glared at her.

Spinnerella hugged the girls who were both openly crying now.

Double Trouble came out of a nearby bush "...is it over?"

"And where where you?" Catra demanded.

"I'm an actor, not a fighter, kitten"

Netossa shook her head. "I'm sorry guys. I guess we'll have to think of something else. The castle's huge double doors had been demolished in the fight, and the destruction had turned the front hall into a disaster zone

"The only thing we can do now is turn in for the night." she sighed in annoyance. "and get this cleaned up.

They a trudged dejectedly into the castle for the night.

As night fell and they turned in, sounds of Wartwood and the Boiling Isles floated in the air.

The portal appeared again for a second only to blank out of existence

In its place was a door with an eye design staring into the darkness.