Chapter Twenty-Six: Everything Collapses, Part 1

Now that Emerald had turned tail and fled, Brightmoon was safe once again. But it would not stay that way for long, as, unbeknownst to everyone on the ground, the Moonstone's light had begun to dim. Before long, all color had drained from the Runestone entirely, leaving only an ominous black void in its place. Wisps of light began drifting up its tower, vanishing into its darkness.

With everything that had just happened, nobody's eyes were on the Moonstone. "Looks like we've stopped moving," Peridot said, gazing at the sky. Although it was still technically daytime, the sky above them was filled with stars. "I don't get it, what are they trying to do?"

"Maybe moving us out of harm's way was all they were trying to do," suggested Perfuma. "That could be why they stopped. Glimmer did say all she wanted the Heart for was to scare Emerald off, didn't she?"

Garnet wasn't so sure. "We can't be sure how the Heart of Etheria works yet. Even if it can move the entire planet, it might not be Steven and the others doing it…"

"What exactly are you saying?" asked Netossa, struggling to her feet. "Who else would be down there to work the thing?"

"I'm not sure," Garnet replied, "but something about this feels wrong." She didn't elaborate further, only gazing off in the general direction of the Citadel.

Before anyone could dwell on this further, Amethyst made an announcement. "Hey, guys? Lars is back." She had noticed the First Ones starship approaching in the distance, drawing everyone's attention to it. Everybody gathered around as it touched down, hoping it came bringing good news.

As soon as the ramp lowered, Lars came tearing out, clearly distressed. "Everyone, quick, we have to get to safety!" he cried.

"What? Safety? What's going on?" asked Frosta. "And where's Adora?"

"Citadel," Lars replied. "I'll explain later, but right now, we have to go! Someone else is taking control of the Heart of Etheria, and there's no telling what he could do with it!" He had meant to continue, but suddenly fell to his knees and let out a groan. Everyone rushed forward worriedly, only for whatever was happening to him to spread.

The miasma surrounding the Moonstone now extended far beyond its tower, draining the energy from everyone and everything in its wake. One by one, the princesses fell as well, their strength being sapped into the very thing that once gave one of them power rather than taking it. "W-what's going on?" asked Mermista, trying and failing to stand up. "Why do I feel so…weak?"

Strangely, though every one of the princesses were soon in the same position, the Gems fared slightly better. "Um, you guys?" said Rhodonite, looking down at her gemstones. "I-I think something's happening to me…"

"It's happening to all of us," said Pearl. She was trying to pull Perfuma to safety, which was next to impossible, as the Runestone's sphere of influence was spreading. Even if it wasn't, she was barely able to move her at all with her energy being drained. Ultimately, she was forced to set her down. "Garnet, what should we do?"

"Get everyone on the ship," she said, doing just that. Both Netossa and Spinnerella were under her arms, something that normally wouldn't be an issue for Garnet, but she was clearly struggling. "If we get them far enough away, they should be safe." But even she didn't know this for sure.

Fluorite was receiving all of the princesses from within the ship, but despite her size and strength, she could feel herself growing weaker as well. "Weee haaave tooo huuurry," she urged, pulling the weakened humans aboard. Mosquitor was still over in his corner, fighting back against the forces draining him dry.

As she was the smallest Gem present, Padparadscha probably the one most affected by the energy draining. However, she was able to catch a glimpse of the cause of their problems using her powers. "It's…up there," she said weakly, pointing up towards the Moonstone. She then collapsed, leaving only a few who had heard her call. Rutile picked her up, carrying her to the bridge.

"There has to be something we can do," said Peridot, growing similarly weak. She was making futile attempts to get Frosta onto the ship, the girl all but unconscious. "Some way to…to…" She fell to her knees as well, unable to keep going.

Amethyst leaned against the side of the ship, only just holding her form together. "Aw, man…I really didn't want it to end this way…" She began to slump to the ground, alongside her fellow Crystal Gems.

And just like that, it seemed all hope was lost. This is how the Crystal Gems and the Princess Alliance would end: not with a bang, but with a whimper, literally losing the will to fight. Their life essence was slowly drained from their very bodies, being used to fuel Modulok's insane machinations. The world, it would appear, was coming to an end.

But one among their number refused to die in such a way. Slow, trudging footsteps rang out, pulling the single defiant Gem forward, despite the sheer effort it took just to walk. "Is this really how you all die?" Jasper hissed, contempt clear in her voice. "Just lying down and accepting defeat? Don't tell me you're that pathetic!"

Slowly but surely, she dragged herself over to the tower supporting the Runestone that was responsible for all of this. Reaching it, she threw her fists against the stone, each punch taking monumental effort. Even though she seemed to be growing more exhausted with each attack, each one grew in ferocity, with her letting out monstrous growls as she pounded the tower.

"I did not give everything I had to Homeworld…lead the charge against our fiercest enemies…overcome impossible odds time and time again…just to lose to the ruins of the fools who thought they could control Gemkind!" She shot a glare towards the others. "What are you doing!? The lot of you stood against the Diamonds themselves, yet this is enough to bring you to your knees!? Rose Quartz would be ashamed of you all…Steven would be ashamed of you all! Stand up and fight, or these pitiful remnants won't be the ones to shatter you!"

Bismuth's arms transformed into blades, digging into the ground as she pulled herself to her feet. "She's right, team," she said. "After everything we've been through, we can't let this be how it all ends! Stand up and fight!" The other Gems watched as she reached the tower, tearing into it alongside her former foe.

One by one, the others got to their feet. Water whips lashed against the tower as Lapis hovered above. Peridot hurled metal objects against it, using them to try and push it over. On the other side, Fluorite and Amethyst pulled to try and topple it. Garnet and Pearl fired their projectiles against it, and Topaz charged at the tower, slamming her shoulder into it.

It was gradual, barely noticeable at first. But more and more, chips and cracks began to appear at the tower's base.

The four of them were surprised that all that awaited them was an empty room. Moving slowly, Scorpia led the way out into the open, all of them anticipating a trap to be sprung at any moment. "So, uh…where's Modulok?" she asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Micah said, looking around warily. "A large sealed door: instinct tells me that should be the first place we look. Any chance you can get it open?"

Scorpia tried to pry the doors apart with her claws, but they were sealed shut with ancient technology. Residual shadow magic flowed through her arms, but it still wasn't enough to open the way. "No good," she said, wiping her brow. "We'd need someone as strong as She-Ra to get through here! …Uh, sorry," she added, remembering Adora's current predicament.

"Don't worry about it," Adora replied. "There has to be another way in. Let's split up: Micah, Scorpia, you two go left, Entrapta and I'll go right. If you find anything, don't wait up, we don't have time." Wasting none of that time, she immediately headed down the right passage, with Entrapta following behind.

"Looks like it's you and me again," said Scorpia, making her way down the left passage with Micah at her side. "So, what sort of monsters do you think Modulok has guarding this place? This feels like his last stand, so I'll bet he has all sorts of gigantic, scary, freaky ones with more teeth than you can imagine, with–"

Micah froze, holding out his arm. "Hold it," he said.

"Sorry, was I being too scary?" Scorpia asked.

"No…there's something up ahead." Holding still and listening, Scorpia could hear what Micah was describing: it sounded like a fight going on, with at least one of the combatants being on the larger side. "I think we found your monster."

The two of them headed in the direction of the commotion. The path was linear, so it wasn't long before they found the source: a giant monster was indeed present, throwing its arms wildly as it tried to smash a smaller combatant. "Yup: gigantic, scary, and freaky, this one checks all the boxes. Now let's see about those teeth!" She started to charge in, preparing to transform.

Once again, Micah held her back. "Wait…" Rather than the large monster, he was focused on the smaller one fighting it. Even after all these years, even with her newfound abilities, he still recognized her. "...Glimmer?"

"That is Glimmer," Scorpia noticed. "Well, don't just stand there, let's help her out!" She ran into the fray, with no resistance this time.

Glimmer teleported out of the way of her former friend's fists slamming into the ground. "Fight it, Bow! I know you can still hear me!" she shouted, trying desperately to reach him. If he could indeed still understand her, he didn't show it, continuing to go after her like any other of Modulok's creations. "Come on!" She fired the occasional energy blast, only using enough power to keep him at bay.

The battle was interrupted as Scorpia dashed down into the midst of it. "Glimmer! Don't worry, I'll help!" Before the princess could reach, she had transformed into a massive scorpion, tackling Megator to the ground.

Needless to say, Glimmer was confused. "Scorpia…!?" she said, frozen in place. Not only had one of her former enemies, who she hadn't seen in almost a month, come to her aid out of nowhere, but then, similarly out of nowhere, she transformed into a giant bug. She might have stayed frozen, watching the battle, if she hadn't seen something–someone–even more shocking. "...Dad!?"

She and Micah met eyes. Slowly, carefully, the two of them approached each other. "Glimmer," Micah said, his voice hoarse. "I've dreamed about this moment for so long, but I never thought I would get to see you again." He held out a hand, but she took a step back.

"No…this can't…this isn't…" she said. "How can you be real? You aren't… Are you real? Is this some sort of trick?" She stayed wary, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that she hoped against hope it wasn't.

"No tricks–it's me," Micah assured her, waiting with his arms outstretched. "I can't tell you how good it is to see your face again, Princess. Look how big you've gotten…" It sounded like he was ready to tear up.

Beside them, Scorpia and Megator continued to grapple. "Yup, it's really him!" Scorpia assured Glimmer, holding back her opponent's arms. "He's been on Beast Island this whole time!" Megator grabbed her tail, hurling her at the wall. She quickly recovered, sidestepping his next punch.

"Dad…" Glimmer stepped into her father's arms, everything else forgotten. Tears freely fell now that they were in each other's embrace, holding on tight to ensure the other wasn't some sort of illusion. In that moment, it became clear that each one was the real deal. "I thought you were gone."

"I was gone, in so many ways," Micah said, holding her close. "There were so many times I almost lost myself. The two of you were the only reason I was able to stay alive, stay sane for all this time. I promised myself that someday, somehow, I would find my way back to you–and now, thanks to Scorpia, I have."

Their reunion was interrupted by Scorpia being slammed into the ground beside them. "And speaking of Scorpia, do you think you could lend me a hand?" she said, before being dragged back by Megator.

"She's right: there'll be time to catch up later!" said Micah, preparing his spells. "First, let's take this beast down!"

He was about to fire a spell at Megator, only for Glimmer to stop him. "Wait! That 'beast' used to be my friend! Modulok used some sort of poison on him, and he turned into…that thing!" Megator was about to slam his fist down on both of them, but Glimmer teleported them out of the way. "Isn't there some way we can help him?"

Micah took a moment to recover from the teleportation, silently noting how adept she was at it before answering. "One of Modulok's mutants… How long ago did this happen?"

"Just a few minutes," Glimmer said. "Why?"

"We need to counteract the poison, and fast," he replied. "If he stays like this for too long…it will become permanent."

Glimmer gasped. "How long?"

"My best guess is we have an hour, at most, but we can't afford to waste any time." Micah once again prepared his spells. "There's no telling how much Modulok has fine-tuned his methods over all this time."

With no time to waste, Glimmer teleported over to Megator, landing on his shoulders. "Sorry Bow–this is for your own good!" She covered his eyes, causing him to stumble around as he reached up to remove her.

Scorpia took this opportunity to thrust her stinger into Megator's unprotected thigh. He roared in anger, momentarily ignoring Glimmer to go after her instead. Gradually, the venom began to take effect, and he grew sluggish.

Micah summoned a collection of magical chains from the floor, which lashed around Megator and pulled him down. He bellowed as he struggled against the bindings, but with Scorpia's venom sapping his strength, he couldn't put up much of a fight. "I should be able to hold him here for a while," Micah said. "But we really need to find an antidote, before it's too late."

"You have the most experience with this kinda thing," said Scorpia, turning back to normal. "Is there some sort of magic potion you can conjure up?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy," he said. "Normally, I could use some herbs that grow around Beast Island to dampen the effects, but I doubt we'd find any around here. Our only option now is to get to Modulok: if we get a sample of his mutative serum, I should be able to reverse its effects."

Glimmer slowly approached Megator, still only able to see her friend. "Don't worry, Bow. We're going to do everything we can to fix you. I promise, you'll be back to normal in no time." Despite his anger, he didn't move as she placed a hand on his cheek.

However, this seemed to only be because he was focusing his efforts on something else. Slowly but surely, a thunderous noise began to reverberate through the chamber. "Um, I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

The pounding was rhythmic, getting deeper with each one. "It's…his heartbeat," Glimmer realized.

Megator's heartbeat filled the room, accompanied by his body beginning to glow, starting with his chest. Not green, but red, pulsing with every beat of his heart. The farther the light spread, the stronger he became, fighting through the venom to break the chains. "Modulok must've stepped up his game–I can't hold him much longer!" Micah stumbled back as Megator finally broke free, roaring in anger at the trio.

"Want some more, huh?" said Scorpia, preparing to transform again. "Lucky for you, I could do this all day! Get ready to–oof!" Megator simply battered her aside, focusing his attention on the father-daughter duo. His giant fist was blocked by a spell from Micah, with Glimmer blinding him with a flash of light. He didn't need to see to smash everything in his immediate vicinity, though, proceeding to do just that.

Thanks to Glimmer, she and Micah warped out of harm's way. "Okay, it looks like we'll have to try a different strategy," he said.

"Like finding a path to Modulok directly," said Glimmer. She warped away again as Megator stomped in their direction, thrashing like mad. "Something about these walls blocks my teleports, though. Any ideas?"

Scorpia pulled herself up, remembering the sealed door they ran into when they came here as she looked at Megator. "What if…we used one of Modulok's mutants against him?"

Thanks to experience, Steven knew to never underestimate the little guy. But even with how dangerous Mantenna had proven itself to be, he couldn't help growing more and more frustrated as the smaller mutant darted through the darkness, leaping out unexpectedly to sink its teeth into him before retreating. Every second it held him here was another second Modulok could use to fire the Heart and annihilate Homeworld. He just needed to be patient–something easier said than done.

He heard the scrabbling of claws just too late to react, feeling them slashing against his shins. Angrily, he swung his sword at the source, only for Mantenna to vanish once again. "Come out here and fight fair!" he roared, to no response. Great, now he was starting to sound like Jasper.

"Steven!" He heard the last voice he had expected to hear, and turned to see Adora and, stranger still, Entrapta up near the pathway to the elevator. "Hang on, we're coming to you!" They hurried down the stairway to the lower levels, only for him to see Mantenna peering out at them from the shadows.

"Wait!" he yelled. "Look out!" But he couldn't warn them in time, with Mantenna darting out with fangs bared. It landed on Adora, pinning her to the ground. Entrapta was knocked aside by this, tumbling off the stairs, only preventing herself from falling into the abyss by hanging on with her hair.

Adora held Mantenna's maw back with the hilt of her sword: for now, she was safe. Steven instead focused on Entrapta, hurling his sword her way. The blade embedded in the wall beside her, to which she responded by grabbing hold of it tightly. Steven then held out a hand, pulling the sword back to him, and bringing Entrapta along with it.

He ended up with the Sword of power in his hand, and Entrapta in his other arm. "That was some quick thinking!" she said. "How did you know your sword's auto-return feature would be strong enough to support my weight?"

"Uh, lucky guess," he replied.

Meanwhile, Adora was able to throw Mantenna over her head, sending it very nearly tumbling over the edge. Its sharp claws saved it, as it crawled back up and returned to its hiding place in the dark. The other two had hurried over, glad to see her still in one piece. "It got away," she stated.

Steven grunted. "It's good at that. So listen, Modulok's trying to use the Heart of Etheria to destroy Homeworld, and that weird thing's trying to stop me from stopping him. To do that, we need to get up there." He pointed at the Heart's command center, located about a story above them.

The pair took this information in stride. "Hopefully those windows are more easily-broken than the doors," said Adora.

"Better make sure," Entrapta said. "Steven, now would be a perfect time to apply your returning sword."

He nodded, hurling his blade once again, this time at the upper window. Although the blade didn't break through on the first impact, it did carry enough force to crack it significantly. "One more should do it," he said, returning the sword to his hand as he prepared to throw it again.

Before he could, Mantenna came out of hiding, latching on to Steven's arm. The sudden attack caused him to nearly drop his sword, but he was just able to hold onto it. He reached up to grab his assailant, but Mantenna leapt off before he could.

"I got him, I got him!" Entrapta shouted, having managed to grab hold of the mutant with her hair. Unfortunately, this only resulted in her being dragged away by it. "He's got me!" Mantenna scrambled up the wall, taking its prisoner to the upper levels. Steven and Adora hurried after.

The runaway mutant came to a stop on a walkway high above the 'ground' floor. As her pigtails were no longer wrapped around it, Entrapta considered making her escape while it was turned away. Before she could, though, Mantenna turned around, creeping closer.

Entrapta crawled back as the creature approached. "Um, h-hey there!" she said nervously. "You remember me, right?" Mantenna continued to passively observe her, as though deciding whether or not she was a threat. "You…you do?"

"Entrapta!" Steven arrived at the catwalk, ready to charge in to rescue her. Before he could, however, Mantenna pounced on her, pinning her head to the floor. The threat was clear: stay back, or she was done for. "Just hang on, we'll get you out of here," he assured her.

With both Steven and Mantenna caught in this stalemate, Entrapta noticed something the mutant didn't: Steven's eyes kept flicking to something behind them, as though silently directing someone's approach. Sure enough, a moment later, Adora appeared beside Mantenna, knocking him down and off of his captive. "Run, go!" she shouted, pulling Entrapta up and hurrying down the walkway with her in tow.

Steven raised his sword, its power coursing through him, and brought it down against the catwalk. Mantenna had been considering going after Entrapta, but decided that Steven was the bigger threat, charging his way. But the walkway had begun to crumble, metal creaking and groaning as it fell apart. Before it could reach him, the bridge collapsed, its pieces falling into the darkness, taking the mutant with them.

Adora and Entrapta had managed to make it to the other side before the collapse. "That's, uh, one way to do it," said the latter, looking down into the pit. "Not that I'm not glad you rescued me, but what exactly was your plan to get up to the control center?"

Without the catwalk, getting up to that room would be a bit harder. "Hmm, I dunno. We didn't discuss that far ahead," said Adora. "Hey, Steven! What's the plan?"

"I think I can make it from here!" Steven shouted back. "Sit tight, I have an idea!" The broken window was only a short distance away. Taking a few steps back, he took a running start, leaping off of the railing towards the point of entry. He crashed through the glass, scattering the shards along the floor as he skidded to a halt.

Sword at the ready, Steven looked around for any of Modulok's other tricks. But aside from a broken control panel and Double Trouble kneeling on a table, the room was empty. He approached the shapeshifter, but they seemed to be in some sort of a trance, half-lidded eyes looking at nothing. Assured that the coast was clear (for now), Steven returned to the window to retrieve the other two.

Just as before, Steven threw his sword, which embedded into the wall beside Entrapta. Familiar with this tactic, she grabbed hold. The Sword of Power was then pulled back up to Steven's waiting hand, carrying her with it. "When this is all over, we should let everyone give this a try!" she said, smiling. Her joy was short-lived once she saw Double Trouble, letting out a shocked gasp. "Oh no!" She hurried over to their side, examining the results of her creation.

"What's wrong with them?" Steven asked, throwing the sword again.

"The Heart–it's draining their life to fuel itself!" Entrapta said, horrified. "And it's using these mini-Runestones as nodes to do it! If only a few imitation stones are capable of doing this… Steven, it's not just Homeworld that's in danger! Every Runestone on the planet is going to be acting like this! Everybody who's near one will have their life force sucked out!"

This information shocked Steven so much, he almost didn't catch his sword. "But that means…Brightmoon…" he said. "You built that thing, can you turn it off?"

Entrapta looked it over while Adora examined the damaged control panel. "I didn't give it a killswitch! I had no idea it would be used for something like this!" She frantically rounded the pedestal as she tried to think of something.

Meanwhile, as Adora tried to find a solution as well, a familiar voice rang out through the chamber. "Energy collection process at fifty percent. Ten minutes until firing." There was no doubt about it: that was Light Hope's voice.

"Light Hope…?" said Adora, unsure if she could really trust her ears. This wouldn't be the first time she had encountered Light Hope after her apparent death, and the possibility remained that this could be another imposter.

"Greetings, She-Ra," Light Hope replied, her voice much more impersonal than she was used to. "It has been some time since I have seen you. How may I be of assistance?"

She clearly remembered who she was, so why did she sound so casual? And why did she still think she was She-Ra? "Shut down the Heart!" shouted Adora. "Turn it off! Emergency shutdown–anything!"

"Apologies, She-Ra, but safety protocols have been disabled," she reported. "The Heart of Etheria cannot be deactivated at this time."

"Well, there has to be something we can do!" shouted Adora, slamming her fist against the broken panel. "My friends are all about to die, how can you just write them off like that!? You're the one who told me that being She-Ra means doing whatever I can to protect the people I care about! I don't know what Modulok did to you, but I know you're still the same Light Hope who taught me what I know. Please…there has to be something you can–"

Adora's speech was cut short as she felt a sharp pain on her neck. She reached up to the spot, removing a small dart. A chill began to spread from the point of injection, even though she could feel herself growing hotter. Steven and Entrapta both looked up, the former going still as he recognized the projectile.

"And here I thought losing your sword would be the end of you." Modulok descended from above, clinging to the wall. He still held his bowgun at the ready in case any of them tried anything. "Yet here you are, still alive. I'd be disappointed, if that tenacity wouldn't make you a useful servant."

Steven snarled, ready to cut him in half. "You slimy little–!" He was about to charge, but Adora held up a hand, keeping him in place.

"Don't…come closer…" she said, falling to the floor. Whatever poison Modulok had injected her with, she could feel it spreading throughout her body. In time, she wouldn't be able to hold it back. "Stop…the Heart!"

Entrapta was still for a moment, staring at Adora in horror, before she took a risk. Her pigtails wrapped around Double Trouble's arm, with the intent on pulling them free from her machine. This only spread the energy-draining effect to her as well, causing her to cry out in pain.

With both of his friends in peril, Steven was frozen in place, unable to decide on who to help. Following Adora's wishes, he ran to Entrapta's side, trying to pull both her and Double Trouble out of the disk's influence.

Modulok loomed over the helpless form of Adora, who tried to crawl away. "Yes, yes, I've been told it's painful," he said in response to her struggling. "Not nearly painful enough, if you ask me. If anything, you should be grateful. Now that She-Ra is gone, this will give you back some of that power you lost."

"Incorrect." Both of them were caught off-guard by that unexpected remark from an unexpected source. "She-Ra still remains within subject Adora," said Light Hope.

"What? How is that possible?" hissed Modulok. "I destroyed the Sword of Protection! No sword, no She-Ra!"

Upon receiving this information, Adora gripped tightly to the sword's hilt. Her friends had been right: she was She-Ra, not the sword. "The conduits may be broken, but the connection will remain," Light Hope said. "As long as the universe needs a She-Ra…there shall be a She-Ra."

It was now or never. With the last bit of willpower she had left with her consciousness fading, Adora spoke the words. "For the Honor…of Grayskull." Silence. Nothing. At first.

Adora's eyes shot open, glowing golden. She could feel the touch of the poison dissipating. With newfound vigor, she swung her sword, its blade growing back in an instant. Before Modulok knew what was happening, his arm was severed, his gun falling to the ground with it. That golden glow covered her entire form, becoming a layer of armor, and a length of hair. She-Ra had returned once more.

Steven had managed to free Entrapta in time to witness this. Both of them were amazed by what they saw: She-Ra still resembled her old self, but with an almost ethereal beauty about her. Modulok, meanwhile, was more concerned with his arm, and the fact that it was growing back much slower than usual.

"You're done, Modulok," Adora said, pointing her sword to his chest. "Turn off the Heart now, and maybe you'll get the chance to answer for everything you've done."

He only smirked in response. "Did you not hear the computer? I couldn't shut the Heart of Etheria off if I wanted to. I know the concept of losing doesn't mean much to you, but now would be a good time to make peace with the fact that there is nothing you can do."

Adora grabbed him, angrily lifting him into the air. "I said turn it off! You're the mastermind here, aren't you? Surely you have some sort of plan B in case things go wrong! So where is it?"

"Plan B, plan B…ah, yes, I remember now." Modulok reached into his armor, producing a large syringe. Adora tossed him away, assuming he was about to inject her, only for him to stick it into his own neck. Every bit of the orange liquid was drained, the trio only able to watch. "You are correct about one thing, child: I am always prepared for every outcome!"

Modulok's body began to twitch and writhe, his armor breaking apart as he grew. Multiple extra arms sprouted from his back, each one tipped with giant claws. His jaw extended into a massive maw lined with fangs. His orange skin had been dyed a deep red as his eyes, the only part of him that had remained the same, glared at the heroes in a similar color.

"An uncouth solution, to be sure, but one more than effective!" Although his voice box had fallen to the floor, his distorted voice still carried through. "Champions of Etheria and Earth, this day marks the end of your story!"

He-Man and She-Ra, side by side, raised their swords.