Chapter Two – "The Slime Pit"

Randor had always wondered just why both Eternia and Etheria had a moon named 'Brightmoon.' There were a few cultural theories, but he never really paid much attention to them. Whatever the case may have been, he decided that for the most part, the similar name seemed to bond both worlds.

His eyes gazed along the long rows of tents that quivered slightly in the wind. The army had stopped to camp for the night. They had encountered little resistance, which meant that the worst was yet to come. The road they traveled would take them right through the main entrance of the Fright Zone. Their first obstacle would be the Slime Pit, an ancient city that was partially submerged in a lake of slime. Not an easy task. After that, it was a matter of braving the forces of the Fright Zone and storming Doom Tower.

"Nervous, Randor?" asked a kind voice.

Randor turned and found King Micah standing behind him, leaning against a tree. "A bit," he replied.

"We're more a like than you probably realize, Randor," Micah told him. "Veterans of a Horde War. I hear you were captured for a time?"

"Briefly."

"Yes . . . well, at least they didn't ship you off world." Micah paused. "This is just the same war, Randor. Look at us. We're old men, aren't we? Fighting the same enemy we did when we were younger."

"The Horde is a great evil, that is true, and Hordak . . . seems eternal," Randor commented. "There have been three Horde invasion on Eternia and that's not counting the war he had with the Snake-Men that spanned both our planets." He looked then, straight into Micah's eyes. "And he hurt me greater than any other enemy."

"Adora . . ."

"Yes." He turned away and looked back out at the army. "He took her away from us before she could even know that we were her parents. Raised her as his own. I wasn't even there, you know? When he took her. I was celebrating the end of the war. And then . . . he left the world with her and I wasn't there either."

"And he brought her here," Micah continued. "The Horde, we saw as an interesting gaggle of creatures. They seemed to pose little threat to us. Even asked to take part in a non-aggression pact. Heh. Like we needed it. The Horde merely set up camp in the Darklands and that was that. It wasn't until two years later they started to push outward, expanding their powerbase. I argued against them, but was taken prisoner. I'm proud to say, though, that Brightmoon Kingdom was the last of the kingdoms to fall. I wasn't there either, not when it fell and not when my beloved wife and child needed me the most."

"The Great Rebellion has done a fine job in your absence. You should especially be proud of Glimmer."

"Oh yes, I am. But that doesn't change anything. I should have been more careful," Micah sighed.

"Well, so should I."

Micah smiled. "This is the battle to make-up for all our mistakes then?"

Randor shook his head. "No, not all of them." His mind rolled over Keldor, who was there helping Hordak kidnap Adora. "Not all of them . . ."

"But the big ones, huh?"

Randor nodded then. "Oh yes. The big ones."

Not far away, Moss Man was admiring a delicate flower. He was aware of all forms of plantlife on Eternia and had – on all trips here – found Etheria's particularly fascinating. Things seemed to work so differently here, too. The plants didn't listen to him. They didn't talk to him. He didn't dare try and control them, though he was sure he could.

A hand touched his shoulder and Moss Man turned back to see Perfuma standing in the moonlight. Perhaps it was the light, but she seemed quite beautiful tonight. Her smile was captivating, and her eyes were bright. He stood up.

"Beautiful," he told her.

"Oh thanks!" she giggled. "I love those flowers. They're called Manlians."

Her hand suddenly waved around them and large patch of Manlians appeared. Moss Man was astounded. If he had been on Eternia and had had done that, he would have heard complaints and shock. But on Etheria, he heard joy and relieve.

A thought then crossed his mind. What if it wasn't a difference in worlds? What if it was a difference in people? Skytree had addressed Moss Man as a guardian and Perfuma as a Beautician. He had never really put a whole lot of thought into it, but what did that mean?

"You look so stressed," she said to him, hands on his shoulders. "Something on your mind?"

"Just the differences between our peoples, is all."

"Oh yeah! Total difference, right? And just look at you and me, you know? I think our jobs are even different."

"Exactly," Moss Man said in reply. "What do you think about that?"

"I dunno. It's strange. Eternia is a very different place than Etheria. Things seem so backwards when I'm there."

"Same here. I can't come to Etheria and make things work like I do on Eternia."

"Wonder why that is," mused Perfuma.

"Don't know, but I think when all this is over, I'd like to find out."

Perfuma squeezed his hand quickly. "Together."

Further along in the camp, Teela wandered away from He-Man. They had attempted to clear the air a few weeks ago during the previous mission with the Great Rebellion, but things were still tense between the two of them. She settled near a small stream that crossed the large field they were staying that. Teela sat down next to it and listened to the babbling of the water as it made its course.

"Hey."

Teela looked up and saw She-Ra standing above her.

"Oh hey."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not. Have a seat."

She-Ra sat next to Teela and stared into the stream with her. "So what's going on?" asked Teela.

"Oh well, leading this whole big revolutionary army thing, which may or may not meet with certain doom. You know. Same old, same old."

Teela laughed a little and patted She-Ra on the shoulder. "Somebody's gotta do it, huh?"

"Oh yes."

"How have you been? We haven't had a whole lot time to talk since the whole Spirit of Evil incident. I know you were having some post-partum issues . . ."

She-Ra nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't easy, but I got through it. Life goes on, you know? What about you? I heard He-Man pretty much put the kibosh on any chances of the two of you getting together."

Teela sighed and nodded a little. "Oh yes. But it's all right. Like you said. Life goes on."

"Yeah." She-Ra paused. "You know, we picked a good time to do this."

"Why's that?"

"It's a very special week for me. It tends to put me in the fighting mood."

Teela laughed. "Oh, yeah, that ol' bat pig is in for it, isn't he?"

At that moment, a shadow fell on them. He-Man stood there, an uneasy expression on his face. "We have a situation. She-Ra?"

"Coming."

"Do you need my help too?" asked Teela.

"No, we've got it covered," shot He-Man.

She-Ra and He-Man entered the command tent, where the other leaders were gathered. There seemed to be a lot of grim talk as the pair neared the central table.

"The Horde has transferred all Horde Troopers that were on riot duty to the Slime Pit," stated Micah angrily. "As of this moment, there are some 100,000 Horde Troopers waiting for us."

He-Man started. "You're joking, right?"

"Not a bit," grunted King Ahgo.

"All right. Show me a map of the Slime Pit, please," She-Ra stated.

A holographic projection appeared above the table. The Slime Pit was an ancient city, its ruins dripping with slime. Huge vats, pipes, and drains ran all throughout the ruins. They all linked to a huge rectangular tower, the top of which had a huge skull on top. The tower itself sat at the very edge of a ten-mile lake, which was completely filled with slime.

A huge bridge ran across the lake and eventually went to the other side. It would take them right into Fright Zone's wasteland and then . . . to the Fright Zone and Doom Tower itself.

"What do we know about the Slime Pit?"

"The ruins are very old," Fritz, Madame Razz's ex-husband, answered. "Nearly 3,000 years old, according to my sources."

"The lake has been like that for nearly a decade. There is a river that runs into it that is untouched by the slime. For some reason, something in the lake changes it into slime," Sunder continued. "The slime generates the power there."

She-Ra tapped her chin for a long second, then smiled. "I have an idea."

Early the next morning, the army rode out. By mid-morning, the vegetation had grown stale and brown. They were approaching Darklands, the home of the Fright Zone. When noon came about, the Slime Pit was in sight.

"Take battle positions!" She-Ra commanded and they drew closer and closer to the Slime Pit. Horns blew, drums picked up in pace, banners were waved. She-Ra and the Great Rebellion took their place in the center of the lines.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, a few shots were fired out from the Slime Pit. They fell short, but were still quite destructive. She-Ra ordered a return fire. Laser cannons fired out, striking before the entrance to the Slime Pit.

The army of Etheria picked up their pace, hearts thundering, weapons armed. Explosions began to rumble around them as they came ever closer to the Slime Pit. The first casualties crumbled to the ground. Horde Troopers began to fill the view, lasers firing hard and heating the afternoon air. The occasional burst of flame and smoke noted the pace of battle.

But as explosions blasted across the front of the Slime Pit, no one noticed as someone sneaked by.

A small transport carrying Castaspella, Madame Razz, Fritz, King Mercia, Mermista, Glimmer, Catillus, Ariel, and a number of Salinius mages and powerful Magicats made for the lake. Along with them were various soldiers from a number of kingdoms. The Magicats did their best to protect it from sight, to make it camouflage with the background.

"Everyone ready?" asked Glimmer as she put the transport down.

"As we'll ever be."

They landed right where the river met the lake. As soon as the transport sat down and they started to exit, they were suddenly visible.

Beams were fired out from Horde Troopers nearby. The transport exploded. The soldiers sheltered the sorcerers and sorceresses, firing right back at the Horde Troopers.

"Keep your head down!" shouted the commander of the soldiers as fire began to rain in from above. A missile fired from his rocket launcher and collided violently with a lookout post eighty feet away.

"Stay below cover," commanded another soldier. "We've got in-coming!"

Three Horde Tanks were rolling forward, blasting at what remained of the transport.

"They really think we're incapable of doing anything, don't they?" asked Castaspella to Madame Razz.

"Let's show them what we can do, my dear," Razz exclaimed.

Razz and Castaspella linked hands and began to mutter a powerful spell. Instantly, a blue light covered them all, and the other magic makers joined. A trio of blue beams went firing out, striking the Horde Tanks. They exploded instantly.

"We're clear," the commander told them. "Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"Let's get to work," King Mercia said to them all.

Stepping over to the river, about five feet from the lake, all of them put the hands in the water and began to unravel a terrible curse . . .

Horde Tanks, one-by-one, issued out thunderous blasts of energy. Huge explosions roared around Angella's ears as she led her own forces closer to the entrance of the Slime Pit. She put her hand to her earpiece, issuing orders. Suddenly, the two war machines from the Ice-Lands and Salinius fired heavy volleys. The Horde Tanks were rendered into useless, burning scrap upon the deadpan.

"We have them on the run! The forward position is collapsing!" She-Ra shouted, smiling.

"It's not over yet!" yelled He-Man.

She-Ra watched as through the smoke of the destroyed Horde Tanks, a flood of Horde Troopers came rushing out. Bow pulled out a series of arrows, sending them splitting right into the Horde Troopers. By his side, Frosta froze some of them. Sy-Klone, Rotar, and Spinnerella used their wind powers to tear as many as possible apart. Stratos, Pelicor, Buzz-Off, Flutterina, and Sweet-Bee zoomed with the Harpies for an aerial assault, dropping bombs on the Horde Troopers.

Sorrowful unleashed flames while Twiggets and Bibbets tripped up Horde Troopers, often times inflicting a lot of damage. Trolls, Selkies, Snow-People, and Jungle-Men sliced and diced as best they could against the robotic warriors.

But they just kept pouring out . . .

Moss Man and Perfuma used what plants they could to do some serious damage. Man-At-Arms, Loni, Teela, Sunder, and Romeo did their best to blast them out of the existence. Kings and Princes led their forces against the Horde, trying to re-group and hold it all together.

Explosions continued to thunder endlessly around them, some fired from the army, some from the Horde. It all went on without ceasing for even a moment's rest.

"Don't stop now!" shouted Castaspella.

The river was growing blue as they continued to untangle the terrible curse within the lake. The slime within was churning wildly. Every time they believed that they were close to ridding the lake of the slime, the slime would find a way to push back and return to its previous state.

"This is insane," grumbled Mercia.

"It's the only way, father," replied Mermista.

"One more try, all of you," Razz stated. "One great push and we do this together."

And together they went. Magic and power spilled into the river and went right into the lake. It seemed to work then. A bright silver light flowed up the river where they were. The light formed into an orb. As the water pulsed blue, the orb grew stronger. And then . . . the orb exploded.

A silver wave of light spread out from their location, drifting quickly across the slime-filled lake. The slime spun and churned suddenly, struck with such a powerful blow. The silver light faded as it reached the edges of the lake. But then, the edge of the lake began to glow blue and the slime started to recede. Left in its wake was very pure water.

"We did it! We did it!" shouted Fritz.

Razz smiled at him. "Oh, why did I ever divorce you?"

And then . . . something happened. The slime gathered up in the center of the lake and began to change and shift. The group watched in horror as it secret was revealed to them. The slime grew huge, towering and moving into a terrible shape.

It was alive. The slime had become what looked like wide, bony creature that stood out of the water.

"Fools . . ." it gurgled.

The Slime Creature turned towards to the fighting outside of the Slime Pit's walls. It made a lot burping sound.

"Oh no," gasped Castaspella.

"It's going to unleash itself on the army!" Glimmer yelled. "If it does, the entire army will be under its control! We have to do something!"

"What exactly?" questioned Mermista.

"Fight it," Mercia replied and he dove right into the lake.

"FATHER!"

As the Slime Creature prepared itself for the attack on the army, a huge column of water rose out from the lake. It then took the shape of a man. King Mercia stood in the center, in control of it.

"BEST TO SURRENDER NOW!" the voice of Mercia yelled.

The Slime Creature turned around and faced Mercia in his massive water armor. The Slime Creatures plunged his bony slime hands into the water and immediately began to spread the slime into the water. It spread out in green tendrils, infecting the water. Mercia's water arms already began to lose their shape.

"NO! FATHER! NO!" screamed Mermista, eyes filling with tears. She made to dive in, but Glimmer and Castaspella grabbed her and held her back.

Seeing this, her father was filled with great strength. With terrible strain, the water became blue and he reshaped the arms. He then plunged the great arms into the Slime Creature's chest. The water began to boil at the point of impact, but the Slime Creature's chest began to smoke at the same location. The slime started to lose its consistency and huge drops came flowing off of the Slime Creature, turning into water by the time they met the lake.

"Incredible . . ." muttered one of the Salinius mages.

The Slime Creature, though, still tried kept his basic shape and pushed on of its hands into the head of water figure. Mercia had the expression of intense pain, but he continued to plunge himself deeper into the Slime Creature. It helped, but the Creature was able to adapt, it seemed. The drops were no longer coming off.

And so . . . King Mercia plunged the entire water figure into the Slime Creature. Himself included. Water and slime swirled as the two of them melded. Mermista dropped to her knees, sobbing.

"No . . ."

Silver light began to slip through the strange creature. Then, in a brilliant explosion of blue light, the slime was transformed into water. The two figures were gone, replaced by a dazzling, swirling column of glowing water. Mercia was in the middle, looking haggard and weak, but not willing to give in.

The column of water lifted out from the lake and poured itself into the Slime Pit itself. Water filled the vats and pipes, and flooded most of the Slime Pit. And then, much to the shock of everyone, it left the Slime Pit and curved back right where the army of Etheria was. Horde Troopers were brought right into the huge blob of water.

The water then receded, a very ill looking King Mercia still in its center. The glowing blue water then lifted itself out of the Slime Pit and hovered above it for a moment. With great effort, then, King Mercia pushed the water out of the atmosphere.

He dropped from it as the glob of water left the atmosphere at astounding speed, all of the Horde Troopers within. It entered space and froze instantly.

King Mercia, meanwhile, fell out of it and landed into the lake. As soon as he made contact, Mermista jumped right in. She-Ra and Angella were on the scene immediately.

"What's going on?" asked She-Ra. "What was all that?"

"We fulfilled the plan and undid the Slime Pit's power . . . but it turned out to be alive. Mercia, he . . . he formed this water armor and attacked it," Castaspella explained.

At that moment, Mermista arrived with the body of her father in tow. She was sobbing heavily, stroking Mercia's face.

"He's dead!" she screamed in terrible sadness. "King Mercia is dead! My father died to save us all!"