Chapter Twenty: Dead Set

Skeletor drew from every last wellspring of power within him, darkening the very skies above the kingdom. Purple lightning stuck all around the heroes as more and more undead rose to face them. This time, however, they knew they could win.

The other princesses and Bismuth joined the rest of their friends to face down the approaching horde of zombies. Everyone readied their weapons and powers. "Let's get 'em!" exclaimed Frosta. As the undead armies charged, get them is exactly what they did. With everyone's renewed vigor, not a single zombie made it into the city. The charging corpses were smashed, sliced, or just outright blown up before they could reach the gates, which our heroes guarded with extreme prejudice.

A short distance away from this, Sugilite was still engaged in combat with the zombie dragon. With its master's newfound rage, the beast was fighting harder than ever. With the dragon whipped up into a frenzy like this, even someone like Sugilite was having trouble keeping up. The dragon sank its fangs into her forearm, clawing at her violently as she tried to hold it off. She could do little else, as it was too close for her to punch.

Just then, the monstrous fiend was dragged back by an unseen force. Sugilite used this moment to throw the dragon off of herself, throwing both left arms forward in a double punch to further throw it back. Around its tail, neck and wings were wrapped several vines, holding tightly to its rotting scales. Perfuma struggled to contain the beast, holding it back as best she could.

Sugilite took this moment to strike the finishing blow. She drew back both her right arms as far back as she could, spun them around faster and faster, and shot them forward like a bullet. So great was the impact upon colliding with the dragon that the top half of its skull became separated from the rest of its body. The fallen giant collapsed in a heap as its skull landed many, many feet away,

After making for absolute certain that the dragon was dead again, Sugilite flashed a smile towards Perfuma, giving a thumbs-up. "Nice hustle there, flower girl!"

"No problem!" Perfuma said cheerfully. She then went back to decapitating the undead with razor-sharp vines. Sugilite followed her example, summoning her flail, proceeding to use it to crush dozens of the shambling bodies at once.

Watching this scene play out from overhead, Skeletor snarled. There was no way he could win with all of them guarding the only entrance like this. If he wanted to get into Mizar, he had to change tactics. This shield needed to come down. He redirected his forces, making them spread out to attack the barrier itself. The zombies slammed and clawed against Netossa's net, literally clambering over themselves to take it down.

"What are they doing?" said Glimmer.

"They're trying to break through!" said Pearl. Indeed, portions of the citywide net were beginning to break, creating small openings for the zombies to climb through.

"We have to protect the civilians!" said Perfuma.

"Leave that to me," said Glimmer. "Everyone else, spread out. Stop these freaks from getting into the city!"

With Adora and Bismuth continuing to guard the already-open gate, the others fell back into the city to stop Skeletor's legions from advancing further. They positioned themselves around the broken segments, dispatching the zombies that entered. Even still, many of them still got in. Fortunately, the city already had some defenders in place.

In addition to the palace guards, the Horde soldiers also did their part to take down the encroaching undead. At the helm of this movement was Scorpia, smashing through the invaders with the might of a bulldozer. "Stay focused, everybody! We're almost in the clear, I can feel it!"

Nearby, Catra put a zombie's lights out with a stun baton. "How can you tell?" she said.

"It's a feeling in my gut!" replied Scorpia.

"Figures," said Catra. With one kick, she deprived a zombie of its head. "The only thing I feel in my gut is nausea. These things smell like-Woah!"

The cause of Catra's outburst was a jet of water streaking past her, slamming a trio of zombies into a wall. Lapis stood on the other end, having accessed the city's aqueduct. She turned to her green friend, not far behind her. "How's progress with that Lock?" she asked.

Peridot stuck close to Lapis as she fiddled with the cylinder in her hands. "I'm pretty sure I'm almost done," she said.

"Let me guess, a feeling in your gut?" said Catra.

"Save those jokes for when we win, we've got more headed this way!" said Scorpia. She bashed two of them aside with her claws, skewering a third with her tail before using it as a makeshift flail.

The rest of the zombies were blown asunder by a targeted gale, save one, which was impaled by a thrown spear. Spinnerella and Pearl made their way over, carving through the undead legions.

"I know where the risen are trying to get to," said Spinnerella. "If they get to Netossa, if even one of them makes her lose focus for even a moment, the barrier protecting the city will fall. There will be nothing stopping Skeletor from storming it."

"He's kinda already doing that, but whatever you say," said Lapis, washing away more zombies.

"You go protect her, I'll stay here and protect Peridot," said Pearl. Spinnerella nodded, ascending the mountainside to reunite with her beloved.

"For the record," said Peridot, hiding behind Lapis. "I only need protection because my hands are full. If the Lock wasn't an issue, I'd be on the front lines with the rest of you!"

"Whatever you say, Peridot," said Pearl. She swung her spear, dispatching more incoming zombies. "About that Lock...are you sure you know how to work it when it's ready?"

"How hard can it be?" she replied. "It's not that unlike old Gem tech, I'm sure I'll manage."

"You'd better manage!" said Catra. "That First Ones trinket is the only thing we've got to beat Skeletor!"

"Stop worrying and keep killing!" said Pearl. She and Catra went back-to-back, blasting zombies with their spear and baton. "I'll bet neither of us thought we'd be fighting for the same side."

"Don't get used to it," said Catra.

Meanwhile, up in the Kinetic Crystal chamber, Netossa struggled to keep her net steady. She had never made a net this big, nor kept one active for this long. She was becoming fatigued from the effort. Making matters worse, she could sense that Skeletor was starting to punch holes in it. If anything broke her concentration, the entire barrier would come crashing down.

Noises began to get closer-stomping footsteps, grumbling vocalizations. His armies were getting closer. One of them appeared in the doorway, running towards the princess.

"You gotta be kidding me!" she shouted. Straining to keep the city protected, Netossa tried an unorthodox tactic to defend herself. She extended three lines towards the zombie, which sliced cleanly through it. The zombie was felled, but more of them approached. She steeled herself, preparing for the worst.

Before she could launch another attack, the undead in the doorway were blown away, literally. Spinnerella charged into the room to take down any stragglers. She slammed one against the wall, while slicing another clean in half with a razor-sharp gust. Spinnerella hurried over to Netossa once the area was clear, placing a hand on her cheek. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Netossa smiled. The barrier held. "I'm fine, thanks to you. Glad you showed up when you did!"

"Better late than never!" Spinnerella said. "Now, you focus on keeping your nets up, I'll keep the room dead-free!" She created a small vortex in her hands, prepared to hurl it at whatever rotting corpse walked in next.

Outside, the zombie horde was thinning. The holes they had made in the net were closing, cutting off their entrances, and their limbs as they climbed through. With the dream-team of Adora and Bismuth guarding the gate, no more zombies were getting through any time soon.

"And now comes the waiting game," said Pearl. "We stay here until the Lock is ready, which could take-"

"Hey, I think I got it working!" said Peridot. The inner mechanisms of the artifact had begun to move, and a steady, low hum and dim glow emanated from inside.

"Oh, well, that works too," Pearl said. "So, what now?"

"According to Demantoid, the Lock was used to contain powerful beings," said Peridot. "So we've just got to get Skeletor close enough, and seal him inside!"

"Easier said than done," said Lapis. "Come on, let's round everyone up."

"We'll stay here and protect the people," said Scorpia. "Good luck!"

The three Gems hurried down to the gate, bringing everyone else together with them. As if he was aware the Lock was ready, Skeletor sent all of his forces to intercept Peridot. "Steven! Catch!" she yelled, tossing the Lock to him.

"Oh, okay!" said Steven, surprised. He caught the artifact, continuing to run away from the legions of undead. Upon being cornered, he chucked it to Connie. "Here! Catch it!"

Connie did so, proceeding to duck and weave through the oncoming undead. She then threw it to Glimmer, who teleported it to Bow, who fired it skyward to Lapis, who flew above the zombies' reach.

However, Skeletor was airborne as well. He fired a beam at Lapis, who dropped the Lock in surprise, just narrowly dodging the beam. A group of Zombies clustered beneath it to catch it. All of them were bashed aside by Bismuth's hammer arm, who caught the Lock in her other hand. She tossed it back to Peridot...whose head it sailed clean over. Fortunately, Pearl caught it and handed it to Peridot while smirking at Bismuth, who grinned sheepishly.

"Well? What's the hold-up?" asked Mermista.

Peridot held the Lock up towards Skeletor, but nothing happened, no matter how many buttons she pushed. "It's not working! Maybe he has to be closer," she said.

"Then let's get him down here!" said Glimmer. "Mermista? Lapis? You're up!"

The two hydromancers nodded. Both of them sent a stream of water up at Skeletor, who easily dodged. However, they sent the streams back around, the water wrapping around him like chains. They pulled with all their might, slowly but surely dragging him down to the ground. "What? No, impossible!"

"Hey, Big Blue! Throw me!" said Frosta, running towards Bismuth.

"You got it, Ice Queen!" said Bismuth. She gave Frosta a boost, hurling her upwards at Skeletor.

"This is for earlier, bonehead!" she shouted, forming a massive ice hammer around her hands. She swung it with all her might, slamming it into the sorcerer. Skeletor lost his composure upon the hit, allowing Lapis and Mermista to drag him down quicker. Frosta created an ice slide on her way down, sliding harmlessly to a stop.

Snarling with rage like a trapped animal, Skeletor fired another beam at Peridot. Steven leapt in front of it, blocking it with his shield. He was pushed back by the impact, but Connie ran to his side, helping him hold off the attack. As more zombies ran towards them, Adora made her move. She swung the Sword of Protection, creating a wave of energy that blasted all of them back.

Now on the ground, Perfuma aided in restraining Skeletor by wrapping numerous vines around him. Bow helped as well, entrapping him in a net arrow. Sugilite ran forward, slamming her fist down onto him. He blocked her punch with his free hand, but he was still being pushed downward. However, the furious necromancer was not prepared to give up just yet. He raised his staff once more preparing to fire another blast.

"This is for my mother!" yelled Glimmer. She teleported in front of Skeletor, smacking him with her own staff. The impact caused him to drop his, weakening him significantly. "Now! Do it now!"

Peridot ran forward, holding the Lock out in front of her. "Eat this!" she shouted.

Despite her efforts, however, nothing happened.

"What's going on with that thing?" asked Lapis. "I thought you said you knew how to use it!"

"It's not my fault!" said Peridot. "For all intents and purposes, it should be working! He should have been trapped in this thing already! Unless…"

With everybody occupied by the Lock's failure to seal Skeletor away, nobody was paying any attention to the undead warlock. If they had been, they would have seen him reaching for his dropped staff. Then, they would have been able to prevent him from breaking free from his shackles. But as they were not, this is exactly what he did.

A powerful blast of energy radiated from Skeletor, knocking everyone back. He rose into the air once more. "How unfortunate!" he said. "And here I thought you truly had what it takes to defeat me! But I was mistaken." He held out his hand. The Lock was wrenched out of Peridot's hands and into his. "Such pitiful trinkets cannot hold me. You cannot contain death itself." His hand crackled with energy as he crushed the Lock to pieces.

"No!" yelled Peridot.

"Yes!" said Skeletor. "Now you will witness my true purpose! My true intentions!" Sugilite ran towards him, only for Skeletor to fire a beam from his staff. Sugilite was split back into Garnet and Amethyst, who fell to the ground. Skeletor raised his staff up once more, bringing it down to the earth with a massive shockwave.

The sorcerer looked around at his handiwork. All of his adversaries lie broken and defeated. He couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction at this. But he couldn't celebrate just yet-there was work to be done. He entered Mizar. "Rise, my warriors!"

Beneath the city, just outside of Skeletor's previous reach, were the catacombs. Now inside the city limits, Skeletor was able to replenish his armies, which swarmed all across the kingdom and beyond.

Try as she might, Spinnerella was overwhelmed. She couldn't hold back the assault. She and Netossa were overrun. The barrier around Mizar disappeared into nothing.

Skeletor levitated to the very top of the palace. From out of his staff came several necro-spheres, which spread out over the horizon, all across Etheria. Skeletor stood, triumphant, in his victory. "The extinction of all life...begins now."