Chapter Nineteen: Immovable Object
The citizens of Mizar were gripped by panic. Understandable, seeing the massive amount of zombies currently marching on their capital, a dragon among them. The heroes in particular stared up at this airborne threat, wondering just how they were going to survive this.
Skeletor spoke, magically projecting his voice across the entire city. "People of Mizar! Your reckoning has arrived!" The dragon overhead let loose a fearsome bellow, as if to add emphasis to this claim. "I have come to secure my domination of this planet. And you stand in my way! Make your peace, for soon, all will be silent!" The undead army resumed their march, bearing down on the city.
"What do we do now?" asked Glimmer. "There's no way we can take on all of those things!"
Steven stepped to the front, staring down at the approaching army. "We have to try," he said. "Unless we do something, this whole city's going to be destroyed."
"Steven, I appreciate your heroic optimism," said Bow. "But I'm starting to think it's a bit misplaced. They've got a freaking dragon! What are we supposed to do against a freaking dragon!?"
"Steven's right," said Connie. "We may be outmatched, but if we don't at least try, there's no hope for the people."
Netossa looked around. Here was her home, her subjects, being threatened by an invading force. She wouldn't stand for this. "I have an idea," she said. "A way to protect the city. But you'll need to hold them off."
"Look, guys," said Adora. "I know this looks bad, but we can handle it. We have to, otherwise everything is lost. We are the Princess Alliance! And the Crystal Gems! If we could take on the whole might of the Horde and stop them from taking Brightmoon, and fight the, um, Diamonds, then I'm sure we can handle some dead people! And the Horde's even on our side for this one!" She indicated Catra and Scorpia, the latter of which was hiding behind a wagon. "So, who's with me?"
Garnet looked to Amethyst, who nodded. "Let's do this," said the fusion.
"Uh, what about me?" said Peridot. "Should I keep working on this thing, or…?"
"Me and Peridot will stay here," said Lapis. "I'll guard her from them while she gets the Lock working. We'll need it if we want to take Skeletor down for good."
"So, this is our last stand," said Glimmer. "Might as well go all out, then!"
"Let's do it!" said Adora.
Netossa arrived in the Kinetic Crystal's chamber. The white orb slowly turned, suspended in the air as its light washed over the walls of the large room. She held up her hand to it, feeling the energy flowing through her.
She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this."
The heroes walked through the gates, past the city limits. The incoming zombies seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon as they marched ever closer. Undead of all different species, sentient or animal, even from beyond Etheria, were closing in on Mizar.
Though each and every one of them was nervous, all of the heroes stood steadfast, ready to do whatever it took to protect the kingdom. It was Steven who spoke up first. "Don't let any of them get into the city," he said, shield in hand.
With a resounding boom, the undead dragon landed in front of the approaching army. Skeletor descended to the ground, coming to rest next to it. "So, the heroes of Etheria and Earth are here, come to die."
"Maybe," whispered Adora, too quiet for anyone to hear. "Maybe!" she shouted to Skeletor. "But you'll have to defeat each and every one of us if you want to take this kingdom!"
"And defeat you I shall," he said. "Remember this day, heroes, for it shall be your last! Burn them to cinders, my pet!"
Skeletor directed the skeletal dragon forwards, as it let loose a jet of deep purple flame from its gullet. Everyone braced for the fire to consume them, except for Garnet and Amethyst, who ran in front of them all, into the inferno.
The heroes were not incinerated then. Everyone looked on in wonder as the fires were blocked by a towering new being. Purple as Amethyst with hair just as wild, and bearing four arms, and a visor not unlike Garnet's. Steven gasped. "Sugilite!"
The dragon ceased its flames. It roared a fearsome roar at this new challenger, who roared back herself. The dragon lunged, colliding with Sugilite. The two giants grappled, the fusion fighting tooth and nail to protect her allies.
"ATTAAAAAAACK!" bellowed Skeletor. The zombies charged, as did the heroes. Swords, claws, and fists flew as the masses of undead were carved through, dropping like flies. Though mighty as one, each individual zombie was fragile, so the heroes took great care not to get surrounded. Though while they fought valiantly, it was not them the zombies were targeting.
"They're going towards the city!" said Connie. As hard as they fought, there was only so much the heroes could do to keep them from storming Mizar. However, they would soon find that they were not the city's only defenders.
It began in the air at the very top of Mizar, above the palace; a sudden surge of energy, enough to gain everyone's attention. It soon became clear just that this was: one of Netossa's nets. Though this was no ordinary net. Starting above the kingdom, it soon extended around the entire mountainside. Soon enough, the net covered all of Mizar, the city gates now the only entryway into the city.
"So that's Netossa's plan!" said Adora. "All right!"
"Everyone, keep the, away from that gate!" said Glimmer. "We've got a place to defend now, so let's defend it!"
The heroes grouped up in front of the gate, forming a bottleneck. Zombies ran directly towards them, only to fall before their ironclad defense. Try as they might, however, some of them got through.
"We've got some runaways!" said Scorpia. You stay here, I'm going after 'em!" She ran off after the zombies.
"Scorpia, wait!" said Catra, running after her.
"Guys, where are you going?" said Glimmer.
"Don't worry, we can handle this," said Bow. "Just keep fighting!"
And so they did, fighting to the best of their ability. Adora and Connie cut through the undead en masse with their blades, like wheat in a field. Pearl and Glimmer both took on the individuals separated from the rest, the former with her spear and lasers, the latter by teleporting in and out before they knew what hit them. Bow and Steven played defense, by shooting the zombies from afar, and blocking them from reaching his friends, respectively.
The dragon tried to lunge at the heroes, but Sugilite pulled it back by its tail. She lifted it up into the air, slamming it back into the ground behind her. "Oh, what, you think you're hot stuff? You ain't nothin'! You hear me!?" The beast's fangs and fire were no match for the giant woman's might. Even as it tried to take to the air, Sugilite was one step ahead of it, summoning her flail to drag it back down to her level.
Inside the city proper, the few zombies that had made it in were making a beeline towards the Lock, Skeletor knowing full well how much of a threat it posed to him. Scorpia knew this as well, as she ran after them. However, though she could be quite fast, her stamina left much to be desired. Fortunately, as the zombies outpaced her, they were quickly dispatched by a troop of Horde soldiers.
"Awaiting orders, Force Captain!" said one of them after the zombies had been dealt with.
"Take...take care of all the...dead guys," Scorpia panted. "Don't let them...get by you."
"Roger that," he said. "Hey! You heard the Force Captain! Protect the city at all costs!"
"That goes for all of you," Scorpia continued. "Spread the word: Horde forces across the city, destroy all zombies!"
"Uh...what's a zombie?" asked another trooper.
"The dead guys! Just kill the dead guys!" Scorpia said. "Or, re-kill them, or whatever!"
Just then, more zombies made their way into the city. Scorpia braced herself, prepared to fight them off. But each of them fell before they could even reach her. Catra had arrived, quickly taking each of them out with a swift slash of her claws. She landed in front of Scorpia. "So, we gonna stand here, or are we gonna show these bug-riddled freaks what happens when you mess with the Horde?"
Scorpia nodded. "Let's do this thing, Wildcat!" Both of them ran off, prepared to do battle with the undead.
"FOR THE HORDE!"
To say Skeletor was frustrated would be an understatement. Even to say he was furious would be one. The very air around him crackled with magic borne of his rage. To see his armies so effortlessly slaughtered by these pitiful excuses for heroes, his carefully-laid plans turning to dust before his very eyes. "Enough of this! Forget about Mizar, focus your efforts on them! Kill them! Destroy them! Make them suffer!"
The zombies now only cared about eliminating the heroes; the Lock be damned, Skeletor would deal with that later. Though their strategy was nearly unchanged, the group now had to worry about being attacked by those that got through their defenses. However, matters became even worse when Skeletor himself entered the fray.
"For too long, I have toyed with you," she snarled as he grew closer. "I had not considered you a threat worthy of my time. But as you have proven time and time again, you are annoyingly difficult to vanquish. But this time, I will not offer you such courtesies. This is where I show you the full extent of my power. You will die here, alone and screaming! I will salt the earth with the dust from your corpses! None shall ever remember you, except as the fools who dared to cross the almighty Skeletor!"
As soon as the warlock made his presence known, an all-consuming fear gripped the heroes. Though they were nervous fighting his legions, Skeletor himself commanded a terror unlike anything even his undead dragon brought on. As much as even the bravest among them wanted to simply curl up and hide, they all knew they had to keep fighting if they were to have any chance to survive.
Skeletor urged his forces forward. "Keep fighting if you wish, but it will accomplish nothing. You will fade, as all things must. Just as everything dies over time, so must I ensure that it happens, for I am an agent of destruction. I am a force of nature. I. Am. The. End."
"Just keep holding on!" said Steven, holding back the swarm as best he could. "We'll get through this!"
"I-I can't keep fighting!" said Glimmer. "I'm not strong enough! None of us are!"
"Yes you are!" Steven exclaimed. As he said this, his strength seemed to increase, pushing the undead back further. "All of you are! We'll get through this, together! Because we have each other!" For a moment, however brief, the choking sense of dread seemed to lessen. But only for a moment. The fear soon returned, and along with it, the last lights of hope faded. All went dark…
…
...No. No, Steven wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't let this be the end. He wouldn't let his friends die.
From Steven came a surge of pink energy. A massive bubble extended around him, pushing all of the zombies back. His friends were all safe inside, and the bubble blocked the way through Netossa's shield.
Connie looked up. "Steven…"
"We have to stay strong," he said. "Even if this is the end, we have to keep fighting. If we give up...they Skeletor wins. He may defeat us, but if we fight him, really fight him, it'll show people he can be beaten. We know he's not invincible. So let's show him that!"
The heroes steeled themselves, preparing for one last battle. "Everyone...I'm glad I got to know you. All of you," said Adora.
The zombies were breaking through the bubble. "I can't hold it much longer," said Steven. "I'm going to have to let go. Everyone ready?"
Weapons in hand, the heroes prepared for battle. "Born ready!" said Connie.
"Then let's do this!" said Steven. "Three...two…"
But then, something unexpected happened. Just as Steven was prepared to drop his barrier, all the zombies surrounding them were suddenly swept away. An enormous wave of water washed all of them away from the heroes. "Lapis?" said Steven.
It wasn't Lapis, but Mermista. And not just her, either. Enormous bramble-laden vines swept through the undead, and ice forms the size of glaciers crushed Skeletor's armies, as Perfuma and Frosta joined the fray as well.
"Everyone's here!" cried Glimmer. "We might have a chance after all!"
The three new arrivals carved through the armies with newfound zeal. "No...NO!" yelled Skeletor. "This is not how this was supposed to go!" He rose high up into the air. "I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!"
A fourth princess entered the fray: Spinnerella whipped up mighty tornadoes and cutting gales as she made her way to the heroes. And she wasn't alone. Carving through the undead, her arms shifted into axes, was Bismuth. "Hey-O!" exclaimed the latter. "Somebody order some backup?"
"You all sure showed up at a good time!" said Bow.
"We came as quickly as we could," said Spinnerella. "Is everyone okay? Nobody's hurt?"
"No one yet, thanks to you," said Pearl.
"Well, whaddya say we put the hurt on that ol' bag of bones?" said Bismuth.
"Let's do it!" said Adora. "Come on, it's time to take Skeletor down for good!"