Chapter Twenty-Two: The Aftermath Redux

The day had finally been saved, thanks to our heroes. It took hours of gruelling work, but it had all paid off. Skeletor was slain, his armies destroyed, and peace returned to Etheria. Even the Horde, normally dead set on conquering the planet, were gracious enough to withdraw from Mizar now that the battle was over. Though, admittedly, much of that was Scorpia's doing.

"Well, no sense hanging around here now that ol' Bonehead's dead," she had explained. "And since both First Ones artifacts are bust, I doubt Hordak would really care about this place. At least for now."

Netossa had thanked her, asking if she would consider joining the Princess Alliance. Scorpia had declined, saying that despite everything, the Horde was her family. After saying their goodbyes, she and Catra returned to the Fright Zone.

"I don't see the point in me going with you," said Catra. "I'm not welcome there anymore, remember?"

"Maybe not," Scorpia said. "But Hordak doesn't have to know. You can hide out in my room!"

Catra groaned. "Scorpia...thanks."

Scorpia smiled. "No problem, Wildcat!"

Not long after, the rest of the heroes had all met together at Brightmoon. Now that this Skeletor debacle had been dealt with, another problem presented itself: how to get the Crystal Gems back home. Lars' damaged ship was in Horde custody, and none of the Princess Alliance had access to portal technology.

However, another hot topic of conversation was the strange rift that had appeared in the sky following Skeletor's demise. Whatever it was, nobody could be sure. Bow stood on a balcony beside Steven, getting energy readings from the rift to try and understand it better.

"Well, whatever it is, it's in the planet's upper atmosphere," said Bow. "We won't be getting up there anytime soon."

"So, any idea where it leads?" said Steven.

"My guess would be back to the main universe, but there's no way to be certain," explained Bow. "However, it's giving off the same energy signature as Skeletor's staff. So wherever it leads to, it probably appeared when you and Adora broke it."

The door to the balcony opened, and the pair was joined by Pearl. "Hello? Any luck?"

"A little, but nothing much," said Bow. "No clue where it leads."

"Is...is Angella doing okay?" asked Steven. "I haven't seen her since her battle with Skeletor."

"Oh, she's doing just fine!" Pearl reported. "In fact, she's about to hold a meeting, and wants everyone to attend. And that includes the Crystal Gems!"

"Really?" said Steven. "She wants us? Does that mean we're part of the Princess Alliance now?"

"The way I see it, you've always been," said Bow. "Now come on, let's go see what the Horde's up to this time."

The three of them exited the balcony, heading towards the main hall. "Pearl?" asked Steven. "How long do you think we'll be trapped here?"

"It's hard to say, Steven," said Pearl. "Peridot's doing her best to make a teleporter, but it's quite hard to make a transporter to another dimension. Though she did say it would help her if she could work with Entrapta…"

"Even after all this time. I still can't believe Entrapta's working for the Horde," said Bow. "But we'll do our best with what we have."

"Yes, we'll be back on Earth before you know it, Steven!" said Pearl.

"I hope so," Steven said. "But while we're here, we'll help you all fight against the Horde in any way we can. It's the least we can do."

The Princess Alliance had not been the only ones fighting off Skeletor's forces. While the undead swarmed across the entire planet, who should they have come across but Shadow Weaver, now reduced to wandering the wilderness, searching for some way to restore her powers to their former glory. She had fought countless zombies on her path, but none of them had the power she sought.

Now, travelling through a forest in the dark of night, Shadow Weaver came across a figure hiding in the underbrush. "Who's there?" asked the sorceress. "Reveal yourself!"

"As you wish!" came a gravelly voice. As the leaves and branches were pushed aside, the terrible countenance of Skeletor himself emerged from the darkness. He held his staff in his wizened hand.

"You!" growled Shadow Weaver. Tendrils of darkness swirled around her, preparing to do battle with the necromancer. "How are you alive? I sensed your death!"

'Skeletor' laughed. "Why, Shadow Weaver, surely a dark wizard such as myself would have mastery over my own death! At least, that's what I would have thought…" Though the voice was Skeletor's, the tone was much different, more theatrical somehow. "And as for my being alive...I'm not!"

Skeletor's body began to change. The purple robes shrank into his body, becoming a skintight suit. A green-skinned lizard person stood in his place, still holding the staff.

"Surprise!" they said. "Got you, didn't I? The name's Double Trouble. I'd love to stay and chat, but I've kinda got a deadline. Anyway, my boss wanted me to give this to you." Double Trouble revealed that the staff they were holding was cut in two pieces, and the crystal atop it was balanced on. They tossed this crystal to Shadow Weaver, who caught it. "Consider it a gift. It's no Black Garnet, but it should be sufficient."

Shadow Weaver examined the crystal. She could sense the power that lay within. Could this be what she sought for for so long? "And your master instructed you to give me such power, for free? Surely there must be a catch!"

"You don't miss a beat, do you?" said D.T. "See, I work for this cat calling himself the Surgeon. You've heard of him, no?"

"The name sounds familiar," Shadow Weaver said. "As I recall, he's nothing more than a Mizaran gangster. How did he come to possess such power as this?"

D.T. chuckled. "Oh, lady, he's so much more than that! Bossman has big things planned for Etheria. Maybe even beyond it. Thing is, he needs your help to achieve them. Maybe you'll consider?"

Shadow Weaver gripped the crystal tighter, feeling its power thrumming within. "Perhaps," she said. "I will consider it."

"Good, good!" said Double Trouble. "I'd better get going now. You take your time. If you decide to take us up on it, you know where to find us."

"Actually," said Shadow Weaver, "I don't."

"Oh, yes, that's true," Double Trouble said. "But don't worry-we know how to find you." With that, they disappeared into the darkness out of sight.

Shadow Weaver glanced down at the crystal in her hand. The Surgeon...what could he possibly seek to accomplish?

Some time after Skeletor had been defeated, Netossa had sent her guards down into the underground tunnels to capture the Surgeon and his goons. However, when they stormed the tunnels, they found nothing. His entire operation seemed to have disappeared.

And indeed, it had. All of the Surgeon's henchmen had evacuated the moment Skeletor had begun to attack the kingdom. Currently, they had set up a temporary camp not far from Mizar, but under the princesses' notice. Having delivered their gift to Shadow Weaver, Double Trouble returned to camp to meet up with the Surgeon.

"Honey, I'm home!" they announced. The Surgeon sat at a workbench, his features obscured by shadow. The only light that came was from a light, as he worked on some sort of device.

"Excellent work, Double Trouble," he said. His metallic voice seemed to come not from his own throat, but from the device he was tinkering with. "That power will be put to much better use in Shadow Weaver's hands than those of that old fool Keldor."

"Hmm, you're chipper," said Double Trouble. "At least, by your standards. Considering you lost the sword, I figured you'd be grumpier."

"I did not lose the Sword," he said. "You, and your incompetent ilk, are to blame for that. But...I suppose that is my fault as well, considering. But no matter. We will have that sword before long. For now, however, I suggest we call keep a low profile."

"And why is that, sir?" asked Double Trouble.

"Keldor may be dead, but there are still factors standing in our way," said the Surgeon. "Thanks to those Gems' 'heroics,' Etheria is in danger once more. The She-Ra has one final test ahead of her…"

This was not the end. There was still much more ahead for our heroes. You see, the Lock that Peridot found was indeed intended to contain beings of great power. The only reason it did not work on Skeletor was because it was already full. And by destroying it, Skeletor had set this being free once again.

The ruined planet of Denebria was no longer silent. Gradually at first, something broke through the planet's surface from below. Machines. Long before the planet had been a Homeworld colony, before it was even where Skeletor had made his base, it had been the location of another entity.

A voice sounded out, cold and deep. "Initiate startup sequence." Long dead robotics factories returned to life, their lights illuminating the dark planet, and the assembly lines whirring to life. "Startup sequence complete. Beginning reactivation of subsystems...cybertrooper factories active. Locating template…"

Small airborne drones were dispatched from the various factories, searching for something they could use to model their machinery after. Soon enough, they found just the thing: the husk of Entrapta's Multi-Bot, long since defeated by the heroes. Dust fell from its frame as the drones attached cables to it, and hoisted it back towards the factories.

"Template found. Resuming production of Horde cybertroopers," said the voice. Once more, the factories began to work. The numerous assembly lines began producing countless white, humanoid robots, each one prepared to destroy anything in its path. Several automated spaceships broke through from underground as well, ready to spread across the galaxy at the command of this mechanical being.

"Production resumed. Occurring at maximum efficiency." In the largest factory, a holographic image appeared at the center. Bright red, it was modeled after a pair of bat wings-the emblem of the Horde. "All subsystems running at 100%. Horde Prime online."