Chapter Eighteen: Underground
"Could you all hurry it up?" Catra said impatiently. "We'll never be able to find this thing if you can't even make it twenty feet from where we started."
"Give us a break, will ya? It's dark down here?" said Adora. She and Flutterina stumbled around with their arms in front of them, trying not to bump into anything. Garnet seemed to have no such problem, though she still moved slowly.
"Hey, it's not my fault I have better eyesight than you all," Catra said.
The four of them were in the tunnels underneath Mizar. In addition to being near pitch-black down there, it was also fairly quiet. Despite the bustling streets above them, the sound came through muffled. Presumably, the tunnels were soundproofed to prevent talk of the latest criminal endeavors to filter through to the surface.
"Here. This will help," said Garnet. She held up an arm, her gemstone shining a beam of light to illuminate the darkness.
"Ah, that does help!" said Flutterina. She stepped forwards. "I know the way. Follow me!" The others did so.
"So, I thought you said you didn't know where the artifact was," said Catra. "What changed?"
"I don't know for certain, but I have a pretty good idea," said Flutterina. "See, the Surgeon likes to display his trophies for everyone to see. There's this big room filled with stuff he's collected over the years. If it's gonna be anywhere, it'll be in there."
"Right. Better be ready to fight off some goons, just in case," said Adora, sword in hand. "For the honor-actually, I think I'll save that for later. Don't wanna call unneeded attention to us…"
"Good call," said Garnet.
The three of them followed Flutterina down the tunnels. There was an entire network of them, twisting and turning all around beneath the earth. Luckily, the mothkin girl seemed to have the whole layout memorized. Despite the area seemingly being a criminal hiding spot, they didn't run into any ne'er-do-wells.
"I don't trust that brat," Catra said.
"Ah, you don't trust anyone but yourself," said Adora.
"And?" said Catra. "Do you really believe she's trying to help us? I'll be willing to bet she just wants that artifact for herself."
"If that was the case, why would she be leading us to it?" said Adora. "She clearly knows the way, she could just get it alone if she wanted it that bad."
"Unless she's leading us into a trap," Catra growled.
"If she is, I can't see it," said Garnet. "The only timelines where we're trapped are ones that are due to our own mistakes. I imagine Flutterina truly believes there to be an artifact."
The four of them continued on their way. They walked in relative silence, aside from the occasional cry of "Over here!" or "This way!" from Flutterina. Eventually, Adora spoke up.
"Hey...I'm glad you finally came around," she said to Catra.
"What, is this about the truce?" said Catra. "I'm just here to make sure you don't make off with this artifact for yourselves."
"Still, it's good to be working together again for a change. Maybe once this is all over we can...we can stay like this. The two of us, against the Horde."
"Not a chance," said Catra. "This is only temporary. Once Skeletor's out of the picture, everything goes back to how it was before."
Adora was quiet for a moment. "But Catra...don't you sometimes wish we could work together again? Not just for a common goal, I mean, but because we're friends?"
Catra looked directly into Adora's eyes. "No. I really don't."
Garnet had been listening to this conversation, but had remained silent. Just as she was about to speak up, Flutterina called from the distance. "We're here!"
The group entered a larger room. So large, in fact, that it was hard to believe that it had been hidden underground for so long. The room was indeed filled with trophies. Some of them were your standard fare: golden riches such as crowns, jewelry, and other stolen items. There were even a few skulls here and there. Most worrying, however, was the glass cylinders containing...things. What exactly they were was unclear, only that they were monsters that no natural order could have created. Mismatched, deformed hybrids of animals from all across the universe, horrid jumbles of body parts taken from who-knows-where, creatures that were more machine than beast.
"I...I think I know why they call this guy the Surgeon…" said Adora, clearly disturbed."
"Oh, don't worry about the monsters," said Flutterina. "That's just a weird hobby of his. They're gross, but they're harmless. What we should be worrying about is that!"
In the center of the room was a large mechanical tower of some sort. It seemed to have been haphazardly cobbled together from various machinery taken from various sources. At the very top was a blue ord, surrounded by metal rings that rotated around it.
"I take it that's the artifact?" said Catra.
"Sure looks like it," said Flutterina. "Should I fly up and grab it, or-"
Just then, the trap was sprung. Unseen projectiles collided with everyone, hitting each of them square in the back. From there, four cuffs extended, latching to their wrists and ankles. An energy spread through the devices that seemed to sap everyone's energy, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Heh! Too easy!" a voice said from behind them. Adora turned her head to see numerous figures walking out of the shadows. All of them were recognizable as Etherian races, though with noticeable differences. Too many arms, or mutations, or cybernetic implants. The one who had spoken in particular was an orange snakekin with a mechanical arm. "I thought you guys were supposed to be great warriors, or somethin'!"
"I take it you're the Surgeon?" said Adora, her voice muffled by the floor.
"Who, me? Naw, I just work for him!" said the snakekin.
"Jerrick. It's been a while," said Flutterina, who apparently recognized him."
"Flutterina. Likewise," said the snakekin, who was apparently named Jerrick. He walked in front of everyone, standing next to the First Ones artifact. "So, what brings all of you here to our humble abode?"
"That artifact," growled Catra. "Hand it over."
"What, this doohickey?" said Jerrick. "Aw, you don't want this old thing!" He slammed his robotic arm against the side of the tower; almost instantly, the orb at the top stopped glowing, and the rings stopped spinning. "It's not even really First Ones. We just built it to mimic First Ones tech!"
"You mean it's not even real?" said Flutterina. "You snake, you tricked us!"
"What, like you didn't know?" said Catra.
"I didn't!" said Flutterina. "They told me it was real!"
"Wait...they told you!?" said Adora.
Flutterina was silent for a moment, before sighing. "Okay, I guess there's no hiding it anymore. Remember when I said I didn't work for the Surgeon anymore? That was only partially true." Jerrick walked over to her, removing the cuffs. Flutterina stood up. "I've worked for him since I was little, and I wanted out. He said I could leave, but only if I did one last thing for him." She pointed at the Sword of Protection. "He wants your sword."
"Well, tell him where he can stick my sword!" Adora said.
"Heh, I like this one!" said another minion. Clearly a human woman, but with four arms. She walked over to Adora, removing the sword from her grasp.
"I was right! You did trick us!" said Catra.
"I know. I'm sorry," said Flutterina, looking off to the side in guilt. "I really did think that was a real First Ones artifact. I...I thought I would help. I'm really sorry about all this."
"Hey, think of it this way: at least you can be free now," said Jerrick, placing a hand over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go see the boss now." The two of them walked out, uncaring of the glares they were receiving.
Upon getting far enough away from the others, Flutterina dropped the sorrowful act. Not only did her expression turn to one of malice, but her entire body transformed as well. She shifted her appearance, becoming a reptilian being with green skin and pointed ears. Their red eyes shone through the darkness. "Ha! What a bunch of Chumps!"
"D.T., that was some of your finest work yet!" said Jerrick. "You had them eating out of the palm of your hand!"
"I sure did!" said Double Trouble. "Though a lot of that was because of the method acting. Why didn't you tell me that artifact was a fake…" They turned around. "...Boss?"
Another figure was present, obscured by the darkness. Only his eyes, just as red as Double Trouble's, shone through the darkness. "Welcome back, Double Trouble," he said. His voice was staticky and metallic, like he was communicating through a speaker. "I see your assignment was successful?"
"Indeed it was," they said. "They bought it hook, line, and sinker. No thanks to you."
The figure laughed. "The reason I deceived you was to make your lies more believable. I couldn't risk that fusion uncovering the deception with her third eye."
"You sneaky dog, you never told me you knew about Gems!" said Double Trouble.
"I know about far more than you will ever be aware of," said the figure. A low growl emanated from the shadows, it's source unknown. "Now, about the sword…"
"You know, with all the stories about you guys, I expected this would have been harder," said the four-armed woman.
"Yeah? Just let me out of here, and I'll show you how hard I'll make this for you!" said Catra.
"Yeah, nice try," said the woman, examining Adora's sword. "These shackles ain't coming off anytime soon. Trust me, I've been on the receiving end of those things as well, and let me tell you, they are solid. You'd have to melt or something to get out!"
That was all Garnet needed to hear. "Adora, get ready," she said.
"Ready for what?" asked Adora. Her question was answered when Garnet glowed, separating into two shapes.
"What the!?" said the woman. Where Garnet had lay were now two smaller Gems. The red one immediately rushed her, while the blue one hurried over to Adora.
"Take this!" yelled Ruby, throwing her fist against her shin. The impact knocked the woman over, causing her to drop the sword. Ruby picked it up, throwing it to her. "Adora, catch!"
Adora's shackles had just been undone by Sapphire. She reached up to catch the sword. "For the honor of Grayskull!" Instantly, she was transformed into She-Ra.
While this had been going on, Catra had used her tail, unbound by the shackles, to undo her own restraints. She shot up to her feet, catching the nearby thugs by surprise as she lunged.
In her new form, Adora made quick work of the henchmen who tried to restrain her. A single swing of her sword was enough to launch each of them across the room. Ruby and Sapphire, despite their small size, were competent fighters as well, utilizing fire and ice to their advantage.
"Alright, that's it!" The four-armed woman charged at Adora, who prepared to do battle. However, Garnet suddenly materialized, knocking the woman across the room with a single punch.
"Oh, that works," said Adora. "Now, what do you say we get out of here?"
"Way ahead of you!" said Catra, who was already running down the tunnels. Adora and Garnet followed.
"This doesn't make sense!" said Garnet. "I should have been able to see this!"
"Don't beat yourself up about it," said Adora. "There's lots of possible futures, you can't be expected to keep track of all of them."
"I'm more concerned about the artifact being a fake!" said Catra. "Now how do we defeat Skeletor?"
"The Lock!" said Garnet. "Peridot brought a First Ones artifact of her own. If only she could get it working…"
Before long, the three of them broke through to the surface. However, it was quite hectic up here as well. Citizens ran around in a panic from some unseen threat.
"What's going on up here?" said Adora.
"I don't know, but I have a pretty good idea," said Garnet. "Come on."
They returned to the palace, where everyone else was waiting for them. "Guys, you're back!" said Steven. "And just in time, too!"
"No good," said Adora with a sigh. "The artifact was a fake. Flutterina was in league with the Surgeon. She led us into a trap."
"What!? Flutters was a mole!?" said Netossa.
"I thought something was up," said Bow. "The First Ones signal disappeared from my tracker pad a few minutes ago. This isn't good."
"Why? What's going on?" asked Catra.
"That is," said Glimmer. Off in the distance, just beyond kingdom, a massive army of the dead, larger than any seen thus far, marched closer. Skeletor himself was visible, leading the charge.
"You're right," said Garnet. "This isn't good." However, it was about to get worse. Something else was present, casting a shadow over the city.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" said Adora upon seeing it.
Flying above Skeletor's army was an enormous, undead dragon.
"Welp, we're boned," said Amethyst.