Chapter Twenty-Five: The Heart of Etheria

Gingerly holding Entrapta's device, Modulok approached the raised platform in the room's center. "After so many millennia of planning, my vision will finally come to pass. If only dear Entrapta could know what part she played…but no matter. I will show my gratitude by seeing this through."

After pressing a series of buttons on the disk, he placed it on the platform where it whirred to life. With a click, the top half raised up from the bottom, which then opened up into seven slices. Out of each new hole poured a series of tendrils that seemed to be formed out of black sand. These tendrils each connected to one of the gemstones lining the platform, before solidifying into a stony substance.

"Master switch is in place," Modulok said. "Now, Double Trouble, it is time."

His creation's eyes flashed with excitement. "Showtime." Their body was enveloped by blackness, morphing until Glimmer's likeness stood in their place. They held out a hand above one of the gems, which had the same texture and color as the Moonstone. The gem soon started to glow, with this light traveling up the black stone.

With that, Double Trouble transformed back. The two watched for a few tense moments as the glow slowly made its way towards the machine's center. The stony tendril then flashed the same color, before itself turning from black to a pearlescent white. At this, Modulok couldn't help letting out a triumphant snarl. "Triumph! The princess' DNA has been locked in! Now, my greatest creation, complete the procedure!"

Double Trouble cracked their knuckles and transformed again, repeating the process. With a sample of every princess' blood, as well as their likeness, each of the stones were activated one by one. Perfuma, Mermista, Frosta. Spinnerella, Netossa, Scorpia. This also included several princesses of kingdoms that had long since vanished. One was a woman with fiery red hair; one was a hulking figure made entirely of stone; one had skin that resembled metal. After the process had been done thirteen times, they last assumed Castaspella's form, and all of the gemstones had been activated.

With all of the gems' energy locked in place, Entrapta's machine opened further, revealing the fifteenth gem in the center. "Activation sequence verified," reported Light Hope. "Overseer input required."

Stepping up onto the platform, Double Trouble changed form one last time: now, they resembled Queen Angella. "Eternia," she said, spreading her wings as she held out a hand. Just as with the others, the jewel in the center glowed, like a prism containing the colors of all the other ones.

"Input received," said Light Hope. "Heart of Etheria charging process commencing." Modulok watched, with a look of absolute triumph, as the rings circling the Heart began to rotate faster and faster as energy slowly began descending from the roots above. "Input target."

"So, what you said earlier about the Gems being fractured," said Double Trouble, sitting on the platform in their base appearance. "How can you be sure they'll start fighting with each other instead of coming after us?"

Modulok smiled as he locked in the coordinates for Homeworld. "Because, my dear Double Trouble, I understand how people of all sorts think. At the end of the day, all decisions ever made by thinking beings boil down to stimulus and response. For Gems, being machines made for one specific purpose–expansion–this goes doubly. What remains of their race will descend into infighting, mark my words. And even if some are able to pull together a movement to avenge their masters, they will have no reason to believe anything remains of their killers."

"Target locked: Homeworld," said Light Hope. "Warning: insufficient power to fire. Engaging safety protocols–" Modulok responded to this by smashing his fist into the console, crushing it with surprising strength. "Safety protocols disengaged. Beginning backup power collection."

"Wait, what exactly did it mean by that?" asked Double Trouble. "What did you mean by that? What exactly aren't you telling me–"

They were interrupted as the whole facility shook. An earthquake; one that reached the very core of the planet, at that. Unlike his creation, Modulok seemed to have expected the tremor, slowly strolling over to the window. "What that means is, I have successfully managed to bypass every possible setback this machine and its inhabitants could have posed. I built this device–I knew everything that could have gone wrong beforehand, and turned it into an advantage. The princesses are unwilling to go along with their purposes? I copied their likenesses to use as I see fit. Forces counter to my goals fighting over this planet? I pointed them at each other. The most powerful forces in this universe, from She-Ra to He-Man, Skeletor to the Horde, to the Diamonds themselves, were nothing more than hindrances in my plan to resurrect our empire. Hindrances that I overcame." He watched the Heart continue to gather power with a look of manic reverence. "Do you want to know what that truly means? It is time to…what was it that King Grayskull liked to say? Ah, yes: cast out the shadows!"

Castle Brightmoon was on its last legs; everyone could feel it. Emerald's forces had run Netossa ragged trying to keep the barrier up, and it was moments away from falling. "Citrine?" she said casually, the slightest spark of preemptive triumph in her eyes. "Begin charging the nova cannon. It is finally time to take what is ours!"

"Understood, My Emerald!" said the Quartz. "Ready to fire in t-minus sixty seconds!"

The underside of the Supermassive opened up, revealing an enormous weapon pointing straight down. Dark red light began to coalesce within the cannon, preparing to obliterate anything that was in range. No barrier could keep something that powerful back forever, and everyone knew it.

"Just about everyone's been evacuated by now," said Peridot. "If we want to go too, now would be the time. Unless you're all planning on being vaporized, which I imagine none of you are! …Right? Please tell me I'm right."

Hordak stared up at the ship. His reinforcements were keeping Emerald's legions at bay, but there was nothing they could do against something of that size. "If the Fright Zone were to come under attack, I would fight to the last breath to defend it," he said. "If I wish to atone for my crimes as leader of the Horde, I can do no less here. Leave if you wish…but if Emerald wants to take Brightmoon, she'll have to pry it from my cold, dead claws."

"If you're still here when that weapon fires, you'll be dead, but what's left of you won't be cold," Peridot remarked. She climbed up onto the railing of the balcony. "Hey, everyone! It's now or never if you want to get outta here alive! That ship's gonna open fire in any second, and we shouldn't be here when it does!"

In the courtyard, Netossa was barely conscious. "You go," she said weakly to Spinnerella. "I'll cover your escape."

"I think you know me better than that," Spinnerella said, taking her hand. "If you're staying, I'm staying. We're doing this together."

Time was up. "Nova cannon charging complete!" said the Citrine. "Your orders, My Emerald?"

She grinned. "Fire one!"

The sky for miles around lit up as the nova cannon fired. An enormous stream of crimson energy surged down upon Brightmoon, washing over the shield. Everything within its range that wasn't covered by the barrier was destroyed: rivers boiled, stone crumbled, trees were reduced to dust as a deafening roar split the air. Netossa held on with everything she had, until finally, the beam dissipated. She fell, spent, caught by Spinnerella. The shield crumbled, leaving only a dome of ice in its place.

Everyone slowly opened their eyes now that the attack had ended. "Is…is it over?" Topaz asked nervously.

"No. Not by a long shot," Peridot said gravely. "Come on, we have to get out of here before–"

"Fire two!"

Just as before, the nova cannon ignited, bathing the landscape in searing heat. The ice shield bubbled and steamed as it rapidly melted. "Mermista, Frosta, on me!" shouted Lapis, flying into action. She pulled up as much water as she could, aided by Mermista, as Frosta froze it as quickly as she could. They held the beam at bay, but the ice was melting faster than they could replace it.

Spinnerella carried Netossa over to Bismuth. "Get her to safety. Perfuma, come with me!" She and the other princess launched into action, the former using her wind powers in conjunction with Frosta to freeze the air around the dome, while the latter held the crumbling ice in place with pillars of giant vines.

After what seemed like an eternity, the beam was quiet once more. Everyone involved was ready to collapse, but knew there was no time. "Quick, we need more water!" cried Frosta.

"We don't have any more water!" Mermista shouted back. "Everything around here's already been evaporated!"

Perfuma sent some of her vines into the soil. "I'll try and find some underground reservoirs! Just hang on, we can get through this!"

"Fire three!" One last beam raced from above like the fury of the sun itself, burning through their last line of defense. Perfuma dug up as much water as she could, but there was only so much. Giant cracks appeared in the dome; Lapis and Mermista tried to fill them in, but they were appearing too fast. And even with Frosta's and Spinnerella's efforts combined, they could only lower the temperature so much in the face of the overwhelming heat.

The barrier was already beginning to fail. It was getting hotter and hotter within, and all it would take was the smallest breach for the beam to slip through and devastate anything it touched. But just when it seemed like Brightmoon would be reduced to ash…a miracle happened. The beam appeared to move, both it and the ship it came from moving out to sea.

Lapis and the princesses collapsed. Everyone else ran over to assist them, with the remaining Crystal Gems diverting any falling blocks of ice as the barrier crumbled. "What happened?" asked Amethyst, carrying her allies to safety. "Did we scare her off or something?"

Garnet could feel something was wrong. "No…" She looked out to where the ship was going as the beam faded, before turning the other way. The sun had begun to set, stars rising in its place, each moving far too fast to be natural. "She isn't the one who's moving.

Aboard the Supermassive, Emerald was just as confused as they were. "What is going on!?" she hollered, pounding on her chair. "How are they evading us!?"

Her subordinates worked tirelessly to answer her question. "I-I don't think it's them, My Emerald!" said a Nephrite. "It's as if the entire planet is somehow moving!"

"Moving!? Impossible! How could–" A look of horror crossed her face. "No…the Heart of Etheria. They must have somehow accessed the Heart! Get us out of range, now!"

Everyone watched from the ground as the Supermassive turned tail and ran, speeding up into the atmosphere and beyond. However, though Emerald may have left, the planet continued to realign. "Is Glimmer trying to aim the whole place at Emerald's ship?" asked Bismuth. "Because she's that way."

Pearl looked off into the direction of the Citadel. "Whatever's happening…please, Steven, be careful."

"Entrapta, Mosquitor, you two worked with Modulok," said Adora, stopping her pacing. "What do you know about what he's planning on Etheria? What should we do to stop him?"

Mosquitor, sitting huddled in the corner, angrily turned away. "We may be traveling together, but I am not your ally," he hissed. "Master Modulok's grand plan will come to fruition, and there is nothing you can do to stop him!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Entrapta said. She had placed herself up front near the control console, having taken special interest in the ship's computer. "That thing he had me make, it's clearly pivotal to whatever he has planned. I imagine breaking it would go a long way to disrupting that!"

"So, uh, what exactly is this thing you built?" asked Scorpia. "If we knew what he's using it for, couldn't we figure out where he is?"

Entrapta looked away guiltily. "That…might be a bit harder. He was really vague about what he needed it for; all I know for certain is that it's supposed to act as a master switch for some sort of First Ones tech. I know, I know, I should've asked more questions…"

"We don't need to know more to know where he is," said Lars. "Remember what Hessonite found out? There's a tunnel beneath the Citadel leading directly to the center of the planet! If he's after the Heart of Etheria, that's where he'll be going."

"The Citadel… We had always suspected there was something off about that place," said Micah. "But we never imagined that it was connected to Etheria's very heart. If Modulok gains control of it…"

"...He'll be able to wipe out any planet in the universe whenever he wants," finished Entrapta, once more shrinking inward in shame. "I tried to keep the Heart away from anyone who'd try to use it for evil, but I ended up giving him exactly what he wanted."

Seeing how upset she was, Scorpia moved over, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, there's no need to be so hard on yourself. Modulok's a tricky guy–I'm getting the impression that it's like his entire thing."

"It really is," added Micah. "Even all the way back when he was a Force Captain, he practically had the entire Horde eating out of the palm of his hand. I'd wager he planned all of this out from the beginning. If anyone's at fault for this, it's him. So instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we should focus all our efforts on stopping him!"

Adora's fingers tightened around the handle of the Sword of Protection. Even though it was useless in its current form, she couldn't bear to leave it behind–it was like a part of her. "And that's exactly what we're going to do." She stood up, walking to the center of the room where she had everyone's attention. "Modulok's not the only threat there, so we'll need to divide and conquer. Bow and Glimmer told me that Emerald's attacking Brightmoon, so we'll need to deal with her, too. Entrapta, Micah, Scorpia, you're with me–Lars, drop the four of us off at the Citadel, then head to Brightmoon to help out there."

"Um…I can do that, but…" said Lars. "Are we forgetting that Emerald's new ship is the size of, what, a small country? What exactly can we do against that?"

Entrapta seemed to find this amusing. "You're not underestimating Darla, are you? She tells me this ship can do things you've never seen before! The magic of First Ones tech, baby!"

There was a momentary pause. "And, who's Darla?" asked Rhodonite.

"Oh! Darla's what I named the ship's computer," Entrapta explained. "'Cause she looks like a Darla. She'll get you through it, no worries!"

Despite her reassurance, the crew nevertheless had some worries. But there was no time to dwell on them, as they had arrived. "Destination reached: Etheria," Darla informed them. "Alert: spatial anomaly detected. Rapid shift in planetary alignment. Recommend turning back."

"'Turning back?' What exactly is going on?" wondered Lars. He would get his answer when the ship decelerated out of warp. It was still Etheria, that much was clear…but something was unmistakably off about it.

"Um, Darla?" asked Adora. "When you said that the planet was out of alignment, what exactly did you mean?"

"Etheria has shifted along its axis," explained the computer. "Further abnormal rotation is in process. Please be aware of lunar abnormalities."

"Now the moons are messed up, too?" Scorpia said. "What else could go…oh. Hey, guys? I think I know what she means." She pointed out the window.

It had become apparent what was off about Etheria: they were staring at a completely different section of it. It had indeed tilted, turning in a decidedly unnatural manner, and still going. As if that wasn't enough, the moons were moving as well. "Impossible," Micah said, his voice hushed in disbelief.

Each one of Etheria's moons had deviated from its standard orbit, seeming to congregate around a spot on its southern hemisphere. They formed into a ring, large enough to encircle the planet, but hanging slightly behind it. Then, the three largest moons, spaced equally far apart, began to glow. They shone brighter and brighter, before their light spread to the smaller moons near them, connecting the ring.

"W-what's happening?" Adora asked. "This is Modulok, it has to be, but what exactly is he doing?"

"It's some sort of…gravity brace," Entrapta said, just as horrified as the others. "The Heart of Etheria must be so powerful, the First Ones had to install a dampener to prevent the recoil from hurling the planet off-course. But to need one of this size…how powerful will the blast be?"

The 'gravity brace' was not finished yet. From each of the three largest moons, a beam of energy shot down towards the planet below. Everyone on board braced for an explosion, but none came.

It was then that Entrapta recognized the spots. "Each of those beams, they're going to a First Ones ruin. But if those ruins are there, then at the other end is…"

"...The Citadel," said Scorpia, realizing what this all meant.

Etheria, the planet itself, was an enormous gun. And if the Heart was the payload, then the Citadel was the barrel.

"There's no telling when this thing'll fire," said Adora. "We may not know where Modulok's targeting, but knowing him, it can't be anywhere good. Uh, bad. Whatever. We need to get down there, now."

Lars took a deep breath, banishing his fear. "You heard the lady, Off-Colors! Full speed ahead towards the Citadel!"

"Aye-aye, Captain Lars!" said Padparadscha. Darla rocketed forward, entering the planet's atmosphere. Adora and Micah scanned the surface below: nothing seemed amiss so far, but with everything already going wrong, they had to be ready for anything.

After the ship had sped through the skies for a time, they soon found themselves in familiar territory. The Citadel came into sight, looking the same, but somehow seeming far more towering and ominous than it ever had. "Alright, this is your stop," said Lars, as the vessel hovered near the ground, bay doors opening. "Are you sure you can handle this on your own?"

Scorpia helped Micah to the ground. "'On our own?' With the four of us together, Modulok doesn't stand a chance!"

"Uh, yeah," Adora said, not quite as confident in their chances. "We still don't know what the situation with Emerald is like. Be careful over there."

Lars offered a confident salute. "Will do!" The ship took to the skies once again, speeding off in the direction of Brightmoon.

The four were now left before the Citadel, with no obvious way inside. "You're certain this is the way to the Heart?" asked Micah. "To my knowledge, nobody has ever managed to find an entrance."

Adora scanned the massive structure, hoping that Modulok had been the first in that regard. "Glimmer and Bow did say that Hessonite was around here somewhere. Maybe she found the door?" She began sliding her hand along the wall, trying to find some sort of secret switch or button to open the way. To her surprise, the symbols carved into the wall began to light up at her touch.

"Administrator detected. Opening access shaft." With the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, part of the glowing wall slid away, revealing an opening to a circular room.

Entrapta led the way, peering into the room to make sure it was safe. "Coast is clear!" she announced. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!" She and the others made their way into the elevator, but something else was on Adora's mind. She stepped forward as though in a trance, those seemingly innocuous words still ringing in her head.

This did not go unnoticed by Scorpia. "Something wrong?" she asked, as the elevator began to descend. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"More like I heard a ghost," Adora replied. "That…that sounded like Light Hope. But she was destroyed by Horde Prime. She can't have survived…could she?"

Suddenly, Entrapta gasped. "She did survive! Modulok wanted the runestone from your sword, right? That must be why he wanted it–Light Hope survived by downloading herself into the Sword of Protection! And he must have needed her to access the Heart."

The good news was Light Hope was still alive. The bad news was that a madman was using her to access the most powerful weapon in the universe. As would be expected, Adora was conflicted. The group sat in silence for the rest of the ride down to the planet's center.

"So…here we are," said Scorpia. The Heart of Etheria. Somehow, I don't think Modulok's just gonna let us waltz on in."

"There's no telling what sort of traps he could have for us," Micah said. "Be ready for anything."

He gripped his staff tightly. Adora did the same with her sword's hilt. Scorpia held up her claws. Entrapta held up her fists, and her pigtails. And slowly, the door opened.

For their entire existence, Double Trouble had been unbothered by Modulok's enigmatic ways. He had a tendency to withhold information, twist the truth, keep things purposefully vague. They were never bothered, as he was rarely like that with them. But now that he was on the cusp of accomplishing his goals, they couldn't help but be a bit unnerved. "Okay, so let's assume you succeed. Homeworld becomes a new asteroid belt. The Gems that remain fight with each other. What's to stop the Princess Alliance or the Old Horde to come after you? I can't imagine they'll be too pleased by you using their planet as a weapon."

Considering his mutated teeth, a sadistic sneer was essentially Modulok's default expression. But as he turned around to face them, his sneer seemed much more sadistic than usual. "You know, I was hoping you would ask about that. In fact, you should have your answer just…about…now."

Double Trouble was suddenly seized by a pain shooting across their entire body. Sparks of crimson energy had suddenly shot out from the runestone in the table's center, forcing them to their knees. "What..argh…is this?" they asked through gritted teeth. "What did you do!?"

Modulok offered a condescending laugh. "I would have thought you would understand how your power works by now! You see, Entrapta's device allows us to activate the Heart even without all fifteen princesses here, but in their absence, the Heart has nothing to draw power from. That is why I disabled the safety protocols: the planet's Runestones will not draw upon every power source they can find nearby…namely, the life energy of everyone and everything nearby."

Horrified, Double Trouble tried to shapeshift, but found they had no energy to do so. "And what about me!? Has my loyalty all these years meant nothing!?"

"No, no, of course not," said Modulok. "Your loyalty has been greatly appreciated…but, unfortunately, it meant nothing. This was always your purpose, Double Trouble. To act as the trigger for the Heart of Etheria, giving your life to aid in its restoration. I do hope you won't resent me for this."

Double Trouble was unable to respond, drained of every ounce of their strength. They could only just make out the voice of Light Hope as they struggled to remain conscious. "Energy collection process has begun. Twenty minutes until firing."