Orko eyed the cell door lock carefully as the others watched intently. Finally the Trollan wizard lowered his glowing finger to the keyhole and inserted it. Almost immediately Orko was thrown back by a strong force. Teela caught him before he hit the wall, the force of impact knocking her on her back.

"Sorry guys," Orko muttered, rubbing his head. "It's magically sealed."

"Did you really think your pathetic parlor tricks would save you, jester?" Skeletor cackled maniacally as he came into view alongside Hiss and Cobra Commander. "It is only through our will that you still live at all."

"We all want you to live to see our moment of triumph," Hiss snickered.

"Is that why you intentionally let us come?" Duke spat. "Just so you'd have an audience? Talk about over-inflated egos."

"That was my idea," said Cobra Commander. "We picked up on that transmission you sent, and were about to take your friends up on the roof, when you had the good grace to fall right into our laps, Duke. When I heard you say that you were coming out here personally, I convinced my comrades here that it was the perfect opportunity to deprive the Joes of their leader right when he's needed most."

Duke actually smiled and laughed. "The combined forces of the Joes and the Eternians are more than enough to handle your men without me there."

"Perhaps together on one front they might," said Skeletor. "But that's precisely why we've engaged in a diversionary ploy to divide your ranks."

"In a way you have brought about your own destruction," said Hiss with a sickening grin. "Right now your forces are scrambled and struggling to defend Eternos from the Battle Android Troopers, all the while leaving the real prize vulnerable. While you waste time defending the city our armies are marching on Grayskull. You may have defeated us before, but that was due to your manpower and the element of surprise. This time both those advantages are ours!"

All three villains launched into a chorus of laughter that was broken only by a loud rumble as the ground shook.

"The tremors are getting worse," Hiss observed.

Skeletor waved it off. "Bah, a few minor quakes aren't going to stop us now."

"You fools, look around you!" Duke shouted. "The universe is destroying itself. Only the Crest of Infinity can stop it, but not if we keep fighting over it."

"Are you actually proposing we share it?" Cobra Commander laughed.

"If we don't help each other, we're all going to die," Duke said.

Hiss snickered, "No, only you once the crest is ours."

Teela growled, "Despite your efforts to steal them, we have at least four of the six pieces secured already, whereas you have none."

"Don't bet on that." As if on cue Slice and Dice walked in behind the evil leaders and presented their ill-gotten prize.

"Excellent," Skeletor beamed. "At least someone around here is capable of handling a job on their own. I trust everything went well then?"

Slice shrugged. "Well, we lost more of our team than we would have liked ,but in the end we were successful."

"Shouldn't you tell him about the you know what?" Dice whispered.

Skeletor's happy nature vanished instantly and his eye sockets began to glow red. "What do you mean by 'you know what'?"

Slice gulped and hesitated slightly. "Well after we got back, I kind of found this on my sky sled." The ninja reached into his pocket and produced the small homing beacon that He-Man had managed to attach. "I think the big guy is following us."

"HE-MAN!" Skeletor bellowed with rage.

"And Storm Shadow will be with him," Cobra Commander added. He knew all to well how dangerous the ninja master was, having experienced combat with him both as an ally and an adversary.

"That certainly throws a kink into your plan doesn't it?" Duke laughed.

Skeletor answered this remark with a blast from his havoc staff. Duke cringed in pain but remained his composure. The overlord of evil turned his attention back to the two Cobra ninjas.

"You two take that crest piece to the throne room and guard it with your lives," he told them. "The rest of you come with me. We need to prepare for more guests."

"So what now?" Orko asked once they were gone.

"We just wait," said Man-E-Faces. "You heard him, He-Man's on his way. He'll help us out of here."

"I don't think we can afford to wait," said Teela. "You felt that tremor. Whether Skeletor wants to admit it or not, we're running out of time."

"She's right," Duke added. "We can't just sit around doing nothing."

"Where have I heard that before?"

The group suddenly looked up in shock to see Jinx and Dree Elle right outside the cell door.

"How did you two get here?" Teela asked.

"I'd really rather not talk about it," said Dree Elle.

"But I thought you two were headed for the Harmony Sea," said Orko. "What happened? Did they get the crest?"

Jinx didn't feel like discussing their trip in the kraken either, but she realized she needed to quell any fears. "No. To make a long story short, Mer Man had us brought here thinking we had the crest, but really Wet Suit took it back to Grayskull. We took care of fish face and I've been following Dree Elle's lead to get out of here ever since. We weren't really expecting to run into you guys. Especially like this."

"Yeah, could you do something about that," Orko muttered.

Dree Elle, as it turned out, had been doing something all along. It took some searching but she finally found the hidden switch, which released the cell door. As soon as it opened she rushed over and embraced Orko tightly. "Thanks."

Orko was puzzled. "Isn't that my line? What did I do?"

"You guided me," Dree Elle said. "I felt a strong force pulling me here. That's how I knew where to go. It was the rapport we share that let me find you."

"No time for love you two," Duke said. "Let's get that final crest piece and get out of here while there's still a here to get out of."

"I'll handle Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dumber," Jinx said, tossing everyone their weapons, which had -conveniently- been stored nearby. "You guys make sure when our buddies get here they don't walk into a trap."

"Wait a minute," Man-E-Faces said. "Those guys managed to get past He-Man. Do you really think you can take them on alone?"

"She won't," said Dree Elle. "I'm going with her."

"Me too," said Orko.

Jinx didn't have time to argue. "Fine, the rest of you meet up with He-Man and Stormy and then find us some transportation back to Grayskull."

"Right," said Duke. "Let's move. We might just pull this off after all."


Roboto landed with a force that would have crippled any human. However, his tough metal body was unaffected. Standing up, he charged his lasers just in case his presumption proved wrong. As the B.A.T.s got near they drew to a stop and stared at him in silence. The moment seemed to drag on forever, but finally the androids turned away and continued their march to Eternos.

It would appear my analysis was correct. Roboto thought. (Actually, what he did was process data in his electronic neural net, but for ease -and lack of a better term- we shall simply say he thought it) Roboto walked calmly through the B.A.T. ranks, avoiding any conflict, but keeping his weapon ready should the androids become aware of his intentions. Fortunately, the B.A.T.s completely ignored him as he boarded The Collector and made his way to the cockpit controls.

"If my calculations are correct," Roboto said aloud, "then this device controls the nano-mites."

Roboto's hand had just touched the controls when he was struck in the back by a barrage of machine gun fire. Although it barely put a dent in his armor plating, the sudden impact was enough to halt his actions and grab his attention.

"I told Dr. Mindbender he needed to increase the B.A.T.s intelligence circuitry," Overkill ranted. "You should have never made it this far."

"I see you are possessed of a higher intellect then your subordinates," said Roboto. "It appears I shall have to engage in combat after all. Fortunately, I am more than adequately designed and programmed for such."

Overkill nodded. "You certainly appear greater than my soldiers. It is a pity we must be enemies. I believe we could accomplish much working together."

Overkill and Roboto opened fire on each other but with little effect. Roboto was not allowing the minor damage the bullets caused his body to affect his performance. Meanwhile Overkill was much leaner built and more agile. Therefore, he was successfully dodging Roboto's laser fire. Finally, he maneuvered close enough to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

This proved to be a mistake for the evil android however, as Roboto was the apparent stronger of the two. Though they struggled, seemingly equally matched, for several minutes, Roboto finally gripped Overkill tightly and flung him backwards over his head into the controls.

"Such power," Overkill muttered. "Why do you waste it in servitude of humans? If I had that power I would not be taking orders from anyone. Don't you realize you are acting as their slave when you should be their master?"

"Allow me to correct your misapprehension," Roboto answered. "I do not serve the humans out of programming or force. I do so because I chose too." He opened a panel in his chest revealing his inner gears. Positioned center was a large heart shaped object that beat and ticked as the gears moved around it.

"This is my heart," he said. "It gives me my emotions and personality. It also is my conscience. Because of it I know right from wrong, and I know that the cause I serve is just."

"I see," Overkill said quietly. "As a mater of fact, I too have something special in my chest." Overkill opened a hidden panel in his own chest cavity. At first all Roboto saw were two red cylinders but then they fell forward, revealing themselves to be gun barrels. Before Roboto could react, Overkill fired point blanc right into his heart.


He-Man slammed his fist into the wall of Snake Mountain once more and the stone collapsed under his mighty strength. The warrior drew his Power Sword and entered through the hole he had just created. Storm Shadow followed shaking his head at the destruction.

"He-Man, you are a proud warrior, and I respect you greatly. However, I must say you would never make a good ninja with tactics like that."

"We don't have time to be subtle," He-Man scoffed.

"So you choose to announce our presence to the whole fortress?" Storm Shadow asked.

Skeletor's voice came cackling from the shadows. "You needn't worry about that." The evil lord stepped out of the darkness followed by King Hiss, Cobra Commander and about fifty Cobra soldiers. "I've been expecting you, He-Man. I certainly hope you plan on paying for the damage you did to the wall. I do live here you know."

"Well, now you'll have better ventilation in the summer," He-Man said, mockingly.

"Actually," said Skeletor, "I'm expecting to relocate soon. To Castle Grayskull!"

"Not while I'm around," said He-Man, no longer joking.

Skeletor laughed. " A problem that will soon be rectified! Get them!" No one moved. Skeletor ground his teeth and glared at Cobra Commander.

Cobra Commander nodded to his troops. "Do it."

Now they attacked. Being vastly outnumbered, the heroes sought cover from which to launch a counterstrike. The Cobra troops quickly flanked them, cutting off any escape route, and keeping them pinned down with heavy fire.

"All of you listen to reason!" He-Man called out. "If we don't reassemble the Crest of Infinity soon we're all dead! Everything will be destroyed!"

"Oh the crest will be reassembled," Skeletor laughed, "but it will be by our hands and for our goals!"

Storm Shadow thought for a moment and then shouted, "Surely you realize you can't all get what you want. Your goals will conflict with each other's. So, who's going to get what?"

He-Man caught on and added, "Yes. Think about it Hiss. With the crest you could rip open the void and free your army, but do you really think Skeletor will let you? We both know he only agreed to help you release them so he'd have more troops to conquer Eternia with, but if he doesn't need them, why would he set free an army that might oppose his rule?"

"Don't listen to him," Skeletor said unconvincingly. "I always reward those loyal to me."

"Even if they plot against you?" He-Man said. "Think about it Skeletor. Hiss once ruled the whole planet. So you really think he's going to be so willing to share it now? Especially with a 'filthy mammal'?"

"They're trying to get us to turn on each other," Cobra Commander shouted.

"And you Cobra Commander," He-Man went on. "What have they promised you? Control of Earth? All the power of Eternia, and they don't cut you in on any of it? Even though they never would have gotten it if not for your troops?"

Cobra Commander was about to retort when suddenly he paused. "You know… he has a point there. Without Cobra, you two would be left in the dirt."

"Don't you even think about it human!" shouted King Hiss.

"Remember, only we can send you home," Skeletor added.

"Not if I hold the Crest of Infinity." The commander turned to his soldiers. "Cobra, hold your fire!" The troops stopped shooting but kept their guns trained on the heroes, and now on Hiss and Skeletor as well."

"You lousy traitor!" they both growled.

"It doesn't have to come to full betrayal gentlemen," Cobra Commander snickered. "I believe the time has come to renegotiate our arrangement."


Slice stretched out as he laid across Skeletor's throne, something he would never do if the lord of destruction had been present. Dice stood nearby, casually tossing the crest shard up and catching it. Their victory over He-Man and the two Arashikage ninjas had left them with a feeling of cockiness and overconfidence. A dire mistake that left them off guard to Jinx's approach. The young Joe was on top of them before they knew what had hit them. Orko and Dree Elle hung back, guarding Jinx against a rear attack, but at the same time letting her do the actual fighting.

Jinx did a handstand and spread her legs to the side, kicking both ninjas in the head. Then she quickly flipped back to her feet, caught the crest shard and tossed it to Dree Elle. Dree Elle turned to depart with the artifact ,when suddenly a shuriken flew past her face. Swiftly four Night Creepers jumped out of the shadows and attacked.

"How many of these guys are there?" Dree Elle whined.

"You didn't really think we wouldn't be ready for you," Dice chided.

Caught off guard, Orko and Dree Elle were quickly overwhelmed by the Night Creepers. The speed at which the evil ninjas attacked left them no time to defend themselves magically. Jinx could do nothing to aid them, as she found herself preoccupied with Slice and Dice.

As Dree Elle blocked a kick the Creeper's foot caused the crest shard to go flying out of her hand into the shadows. Before she could react she was struck from behind and knocked to the ground. As one Night Creeper kept her pinned, another raised his sword to impale her. Both Orko and Jinx saw it, but neither could reach her in time.

But just then a black-garbed figure leaped out of nowhere and slashed open the Creeper's chest. Before the one pinning Dree Elle could react to defend himself, the figure spun around and decapitated him. Only now did the others see the face of the attacker. It was hard to say which side was the more surprised.

"Vypra?"

Vypra said nothing but threw her sword into the third Night Creeper, impaling him. Simultaneously, she pulled a miniature crossbow out of a holster on her leg and fired, killing the fourth. Slice and Dice forgot all about Jinx and ran towards Vypra, their swords raised in fury.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dice shouted.

Vypra didn't answer but instead back-flipped over them. As she came down, she grabbed their heads and slammed their skulls into each other. Slice and Dice collapsed at her feet. They were still alive, but they were going to have massive headaches when they awoke.

Vypra turned to the Jinx and the Trollans, who were all too confused to react, and said in a simple tone, "Come with me if you want to live."

Jinx finally snapped back to reality. "What's the matter Vypra? Couldn't stand someone besides you making the kill?"

Vypra smirked, which looked a little awkward due to her recently stitched up lip, and said. "Actually yes, but that's not why I saved you." She held up the crest shard and grinned. "I could have killed you all at any moment. I could have taken this and left you to your fate, but I need you alive."

"What are you up to?" Orko snarled.

"It's simple really," Vypra sighed. "I hate it here. I want to go home to Earth where I belong, but very soon there may not be an Earth, or anything else."

"I thought you liked the thought of massive deaths," Jinx seethed.

"Only when I cause them and you know it," Vypra scoffed. "Besides, I'll be among the dead unless we stop this madness."

"We?" Jinx shouted. "You expect us to work with you?"

Vypra gestured to the dead and unconscious forms around them. "If these nothings were too much for you to handle, do you really think you're going to get out of here in one piece? Oh, you might eventually fight your way out, but in case you haven't noticed, there isn't any time left."

As if to drive her point home, the mountain was shook by another tremor and part of the ceiling came crashing down, narrowly missing Orko's head.

Vypra continued, "I've got a transport ready and waiting. No one will try to stop me. I'll get the four of us out of here without incident. Then you'll have to get us into Grayskull where we can assemble the crest and end this."

Jinx scoffed. "You expect us to abandon our friends, trust you, put our lives in your murderous hands, and lead you into Grayskull and to the Crest of Infinity? What the fucking hell makes you think we're going to do any of that?"

"The last time we trusted your word you killed my brother!" Dree Elle added.

Vypra smiled and Dree Elle gritted her teeth at the sight. "I said that I'd kill him if you didn't let me go. I never actually said I wouldn't if you did. But this time I have nothing to gain by betrayal. And you really don't have much of a choice either."

"I'd rather take my chances alone than team up with you," Jinx said.

"Are you willing to risk the lives of everyone in the universe just because you hold a personal grudge?" Vypra said.

"Stuff it!" Jinx shouted. "That's not going to work!"

Vypra shrugged. "I'm only proposing a temporary truce until this threat is behind us. After it's done you and I will have our final battle. No outside interference, no underhanded tactics. Just you and me to the death."

"Why wait? Let's do it now!" Jinx threw herself towards Vypra when suddenly Dree Elle came between them.

"Jinx no. She's right."

Jinx gasped, "You can't be serious Dree Elle!"

The young Trollan sighed, "Believe me I don't like this one bit. I want to kill her myself. I've never wished anyone dead before, not even Skeletor, but there's too much at stake. The whole universe is riding on what we do. We have to trust her. Besides, she may be insane, but she's not stupid. Like she said, she has nothing to gain by betraying us."

"Dree Elle…"

"Please Jinx. For me, let it go."

Jinx stared into Dree Elle's bright viridian eyes, sighed, and lowered her weapon. "Lead the way Vypra."

"But if you try anything…" Orko snarled.

"You don't need to tell me," Vypra said. "If I try anything funny, I'm dead. If not from one of you then from the end of the world."

"Understand one thing, Vypra," said Jinx. "This changes nothing between us. I'm still going to kill you."

Vypra laughed, "We'll see Jinx. We'll see."