Robo-Mania

Entrapa was hard at work within the confines of her lab with the information and the new experiments that had come to her mind. She usually spent this much time going over different experiments and theories that she had developed for new robots and the ruins of the First Ones. But she was currently going over the information that she had recently discovered during the attack on Brightmoon. She couldn't stop smiling from all she had learned. Izuku, her new friend and source of strange feelings that took her mind out of science, was a descendant of the First Ones and held the key to the secrets of their civilization. As much as Entrapta wanted to ask Izuku a mountain of questions about his ancestry, she knew that Izuku didn't have the knowledge about his ancestors to satiate her plethora of unanswered questions.

She had recovered some of the bots leftover from the battle between Izuku, Adora and the Horde forces. Under the orders of Queen Angella, Entrapta had put the bot back together to access its memory bank and see what transpired before and after.

"Alright, Lab Log number 405 or was it 406? Nope, it is 405." Entrapta tightened the last bolt on the reconstructed bot. "After two days of repairs, reconstructions, and transportation, I finally have a Horde bot ready to turn on. Is turn on the right term? Reactivate sounds better. Reactivation of the Horde bot, now!" Entrapta pulled a lever, sending electricity towards the bot.

There was a shock of electricity around the Horde-bot's body, causing its legs to twitch and for its eyes to light up with a purple light. The bot was all powered up and ready to move once more. It broke free from its hold on the lab as Entrapta observed. She was overwhelmed with glee at the sight of the experiment working as she had hoped. Clapping her hands like a child on a sugar rush, she let out the squeal of a lifetime.

"She's alive, alive!" Entrapta cried out only for the bot to turn around and look at her. "...and free. This is not good."

The Horde-bot towered over Entrapta as she lifted her recorder up to her face as she observed the bot in front of her. An uncomfortable smile spread on her face as she started her recording once more.

"Um, I'm now having some second thoughts about rebooting a piece of tech alone…" Entrapta continued smiling.


Back on Brightmoon, Izuku, Catra, and Glimmer were explaining the situation to Queen Angella, and she was not in the slightest bit pleased with the news. She sat down on her throne, wondering why the Horde could do something like collecting equipment and relics from First Ones ruins. She hated to admit it but she was both concerned and curious by the sudden decision of her long time enemies.

"We don't know why the Horde went to collect the tech but they stopped their operation shortly after getting it," Glimmer explained. "We believe that they plan to build a machine of some kind to use against our magic."

"Have they struck any other known First Ones ruins?" Queen Angella asked.

"Some of the scouts from our allies have spotted them sending teams to other ruins, but so far we've been able to repel them, according to Netossa and Spinnerella." Izuku scratched the back of his head. "But we're no closer to finding out why."

"Maybe they're planning some new strategy. Have they ever been interested in First Ones tech before?" Catra asked.

"Not that we've seen before. Mostly they just left the ruins alone," Queen Angella replied. "Until we can learn more about these ruins and what they could do if put together. I have sent word to Entrapta, she knows more about First Ones than anyone else in the Alliance. She has made some discoveries that she wishes to show us."

"As long as it doesn't turn me into a big cat, I'll take it," Catra said.

Just then a bot broke through the doors of the throne room, causing everyone to snap back.

"A Horde bot? How did it get past the defenses?!" Glimmer asked.

"Ask it after I turn it into scrap metal." Catra drew out her sword before her and Izuku jumped towards the bot.

"WAIT!" Entrapta jumped from behind the bot, getting between them and the bot. "Don't hurt Emily!"

"Entrapta?!" Izuku and Catra asked confused before crashing against the tech princess in a comedic way that lead to a slightly big dust cloud.

Queen Angella winced slightly at the crash that happened before her. She then sighed at the realization that the Horde bot was the latest piece of work from the Dryl princess and as such it didn't trigger the alarms. She rolled her eyes at the sight before her, she didn't know how it was possible that a situation could go from being incredibly dangerous to being a skit out of a comedy story or joke.

Back on the ground, Entrapta found herself on her back with Izuku on top of her overalls and Catra between her legs. She didn't know why but her body started to get warmer, as though she was using her invented blowtorch without her clothes. Her face and ears lit up with heat like that one time she had tested out her instant hot air drying cannon, the only difference was that she still had all her clothes on and her hair was not puffy like a cloud.

Izuku and Catra got up from where they had crashed, getting blushes.

"Um, hey guys." Entrapta waved.

Izuku and Catra jumped back.

"Entrapta, we're so sorry!" Izuku bowed, apologizing.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to crash into you," Catra added, not bowing like Izuku. "What the heck is that?"

Entrapta shook her head, pushing back the hot feeling she had felt course through her body. She made a mental note to study these strange hot flashes in the future but now she had something to do.

"Oh, right, this is Emily," Entrapta introduced the reprogrammed bot. "Under the orders of Queen Angella, I have reprogrammed one of the recovered bots from the Horde in search of a way to learn what they're planning. I have been able to put Emily back together, but there are still some glitches that need to be fixed, mostly her ability to open doors, and knock."

"Yes, that's something that needs to be worked out." Glimmer teleported next to Izuku and Catra.

"Did you find anything, Princess Entrapta?" Queen Angella asked.

"Not much apart from what we already know, the battle was swift and brutal. But I did learn that Emily got a good reading from the frequency that came from the Beacon and the Horde homebase, the Frisghtzone." Entrapta walked around Emily using her hair as a pair of very large legs. "Of we can get a whole reading from the Beacon, we could get our hands on what the other ruins could hold hidden from us."

"No. I don't want anyone going into that place if we can avoid it." Queen Angella stepped down from her throne. "We don't know if Light Hope is still in there, waiting for her chance to strike. I will not have anyone venture into a possible trap without a way around it."

Izuku, Catra and Glimmer looked at the queen with intrigue. They understood why she was being cautious about the Beacon and Light Hope. But the way that she was talking sounded more like the words of a mother trying to be more protective of the young children under her charge than that of soldiers. Clearly she didn't want to put anyone at risk or a repeat of the Battle of Brightmoon, either way, Queen Angella was taking things with caution.

"But then all we have are scraps of a frequency. Not the whole idea of what these ruins could be for," Entrapta pleaded. "If we could learn about the First Ones we could learn what the Horde are planning."

Queen Angella didn't budge by Entrapta's reasoning.

"Mom, we're currently blind and unsure of what might be happening in the Horde," Glimmer offered. "We would only need to get a clear understanding of the pieces and the ruins, a map of some kind."

"Or a First Ones Ruins Guide For Dummies," Catra added. "Look, I'll be the first one to say that I'm not the biggest Light Hope fan. But the Horde seems to know more about them than we do, which means that while we're going in blind, they will know what to look for and get it before we do."

"Are you saying that you'd want to go into the Beacon and risk Light Hope getting you two once more?" Queen Angella challenged.

"She won't get us this time. We're up to her tricks and we'll be able to fight her." Izuku stood up. "I know how messed up she can be, but we need to find out more of these ruins and what the Horde wants with them. We could try getting a tab on their radios but that will only get us so far."

"I'll send the Red Riots to do that and gather more information. But you will not set foot in that house of horrors." Queen Angella stretched her wings as a show of authority. "That's an order."

Izuku and Catra were about to argue, but Glimmer pulled them back from their possible mishap, telling them that there was another way to learn what to do next. They understood what she meant. And it wasn't like either of them were all too eager to go back to that dark place filled with killer spiders.

"Entrapta, see what you can learn from… Emily but you are not to go near the Beacon," Queen Angella said, getting a defeated head drop from Entrapta.

"Yes, Queen Angella." Entrapta walked out of the throne room, followed by Izuku, Catra and Glimmer.


Entrapta had gone to one of the empty rooms to run diagnostics on Emily while looking for any possible ideas of what the ruins were meant to do. She muttered stuff under her breath, almost as if she was going over the previous conversation only to go back to what she was planning on doing later on with her experiments. In many ways, her mind was constantly moving from one point to the next before backtracking and then doing a half turn to the idea that she was after in the first place.

"Maybe if offered a clear understanding of the mysteries of the First Ones, no that might not work. Maybe I could've used some of the spare cables from my lab to bring a holographic projector. That works, right, Emily?" Entrapta asked only for Emily to glitch and fall. "Yeah, you're right. We're gonna have to look at those legs of yours that third one keeps glitching. It could be because one of the parts isn't sticking or maybe it has something to do with the programming. Izuku did mention that the First Ones had spider-like creatures under their control, I should check up on that."

"Entrapta, we need to do something to actually get ahead of the Horde. Please, focus," Glimmer said, turning to Izuku and Catra. "We've got to find a way to learn more about the ruins, without actually going into the Beacon. Could we go to somewhere else and have the bot-,"

"Emily." Entrapta corrected.

"Emily, sorry, scan the ruins and learn what they are meant to do?" Glimmer asked.

"That could work, if the ruins have some residual energy or command then they could tell us more about what they were meant to do," Izuku agreed.

"Just one tiny problem, Sparkles, the only place that has some semi-working ruins of the First Ones is currently the home of a psychopathic hologram AI that tried to kill us last time. And your mom wants us as much near that place as she wants to know that you, Izuku and I did the horizontal-." Catra was shushed by Glimmer and Izuku, covering her mouth before anyone could hear her.

Izuku and Glimmer blushed like a pair of tomatoes in a blazing summer heat. Their faces covered with sweat said everything. They feared what might happen if the queen of Brightmoon ever found out that they slept together in a threesome. The fear of being blasted or sentenced to a painful execution was enough to keep their mouths shut until they could find a good way of never mentioning it to her.

"Why would you use that as an example? What if Entrapta hears you?" Izuku asked.

"Do you want my mom to kill us?" Glimmer added.

"Relax, I doubt that Entrapta or anyone overheard us." Catra took off their hands. "Back to the problem at hand, we don't need to get into the Beacon. We need some other ruins that work as an antenna so we can get the information about them."

Izuku and Glimmer looked at each other, raising an eyebrow. Catra's plan was not bad, but it did mean that they would have to find other ruins that were working. Which narrowed down the search substantially and that could be on the other side of the planet if they were lucky.

"It's not a bad idea," Izuku said. "Except there's a small problem."

"How would we even look for one of those?" Glimmer asked. "The ruins are scattered all over Etheria. We've got to find a way to find one that works."

"Maybe we can find something about the ruins from wherever you're picking up that signal from, Emily," Entrapta said, looking at the readings from her pad.

Izuku, Glimmer and Catra slowly turned at the words of the tech princess. They slowly walked up to Entrapta, poking over her shoulder to see what she was talking about.

"Um, Entrapta, where does this signal supposedly come from?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, according to this, there is a signal coming from the South West about a few miles from here. Like 20 miles, 21 miles from where Emily is rolling." Entrapta pointed. "I put some First Ones tech in her and was able to make her twice more effective, but she keeps getting all these radio frequencies. She has picked up some of our calls, some from the Horde, some from Adora, and some from a couple of places here and there. By the way, what did you three do that was horizontal?"

"...um, forget about that," Catra coughed. "Mind coming with us to the origin of that signal you've been picking?"

"We could pick up Bow, and you two talk about that tech and stuff like that while getting information about the ruins." Glimmer raised her eyebrow, hoping to entice the tech princess.

Entrapta sat in silence, tapping her chin while her hair balanced the possibility of looking at the ruins of the First Ones and what they were hiding from her. She narrowed her eyes at the readings and then up to Emily as she looked at her like a puppy. She moved her head to look up as she started imagining the possibilities of the other experiments she could further explore with the new knowledge. A smile perked up on her face as she turned to Izuku with a smile on her face.

"Oh yeah, that sounds like a great idea! It'll be so much fun!" Entrapta jumped back to her feet with the aid of her hair. "What do you say, Emily? Wanna go out? You want to go out for a trip?!" Entrapta encouraged Emily as the bot jumped up and down like a puppy.

"How can this be so adorable and so messed up at the same time?" Glimmer asked.

"Let's get Bow before they destroy the castle." Izuku picked up Entrapta, stopping her from bouncing.

"Hey, Izuku, what were you three doing that was horizontal?" Entrapta asked, causing Izuku to blush.

"Let's just go get Bow." Catra placed her hand on Entrapta as they went after Bow. "At least this way no one could hear us blushing or stuffing her face with her own hair."


Izuku, Catra, Glimmer, and Entrapta picked up Bow and Meelog before heading out of the castle. Izuku, Catra, and Glimmer were riding on top of Meelog while Entrapta and Bow were on top of Emily while using their pads to track the signals. They were following Emily like a bloodhound in the search of delicious prey. Traveling deep into the forest with a Horde bot as a guide was not what most people would say was a smart idea, but they wanted to get answers and this was the best shot they had. But each step they took, the forest seemed darker and full of strange noises that didn't help the situation.

"I gotta say, the forest is a lot scarier than I thought," Glimmer said, hiding behind Izuku.

The forest was darker with the many clouds in the night sky. The wind whispered through the night as the group walked on, feeling like there was something about to jump out from behind.

"Are you sure, we're going the right way?" Catra asked, grabbing the handle of her sword. "Cause this has horrible slashers written all over it."

"It's alright, Catra, as far as we know we are the only things here that could hurt anyone," Izuku said as they both rode Meelog as she growled.

"Easy girl, easy." Catra scratched.

"This is not helping, at all," Glimmer whimpered, only for Izuku to try to comfort her. "Why am I so glad to be scared right now?"

"It's okay, Glimmer, we'll be there shortly." Izuku comforted her. "Entrapta, are we on the right track?"

"According to Emily's readings, the origin of the frequency is coming on up ahead in three… two… one…" Entrapta pointed forward to the ruined remains coming out from the other side of the forest. "Here we are! The ruins of Alwyn, a rumored First Ones settlement, based on the several buildings in a circular radius with First Ones marking on each of the buildings and on the ground. These buildings, unlike the other ruins, are all similar in height and the distribution of different objects found inside. Izuku, I hope that you could tell me what they all say and what the functions of certain objects are, please!"

Izuku couldn't help but sweat drop at the sight of Entrapta giving him puppy dog eyes. As much as he wanted to help Entrapta, he was a little flustered with how the princess could easily make everything with tech into a walking disaster but also be adorable despite them being the same age.

"Wow, these readings are really all over the place," Bow gushed over his datapad. "They appear to be coming from the obelisk in the center of the town." Bow got off of Emily, followed by Entrapta, Izuku, Glimmer and Catra.

The group made their way to the obelisk in the middle of the ruined town, walking over large overgrown roots and vegetation that covered some of the buildings and some trees even came out of the buildings. They stood before the obelisk with some awe at how the ancient object looked like it was now part of the local flora. The once center of the town now resembled a topless tree with no branches and no fruit coming out of it. Underneath the moss and roots, the obelisk was covered with First Ones writing and marks just like the walls of the other ruins.

"Well, it does say First Ones." Catra pulled some of the moss off. "What do you need us to do, Pigtails?"

Entrapta looked around, not paying attention to Catra or anyone else.

"Um, Entrapta, what do we do?" Izuku asked.

"Huh? Oh, you meant me! Why am I called Pigtails?" Entrapta asked.

"She gives nicknames to all of us. But if you don't like it, we can just call you by your name," Izuku said, hoping to not start an argument.

"Oh no, I like it. It kinda makes sense. Oh, right, why we're here!" Entrapta looked at the obelisk and then at her datapad. "Okay, so, the obelisk is sending out a signal that connects with the greater signals of the other ruins. Thanks to Emily I can capture them, but the problem is that we need to clean up the signal before we can properly read them. Which is why we need to fix this thing and that's where you come in, Izuku."

"Okay, what do I need to do?" Izuku asked.

"Well, we need to learn what is written on this thing and then based on that we will start working on it with my gear." Entrapta pulled out an antenna from inside her overalls and a series of cables.

"Where did you pick up that stuff?" Glimmer asked.

"Oh from Bow's makeshift lab. I sent him some of my stuff." Entrapta started sticking her cables on the obelisk while Glimmer and Catra checked out Entrapta's body. Not so much on checking her out but just wondering where she was keeping all the other pieces of delicate equipment. "I managed to get some of them before leaving, but I think I can make it work. Izuku, let's do it! Let's make a baby!"

"What?!" Izuku, Catra and Glimmer snapped in shock.

"Um, Entrapta, I don't think you want to use that." Bow sweated.

Entrapta raised an eyebrow, unsure of what Bow meant before repeating the sentence in search of what she said wrong. Snapping her fingers as she realized what she said wrong.

"Oh, I meant to make this baby purr! Totally my fault!" Entrapta shrugged it off.

Izuku, Catra and Glimmer sighed.

"She can be such a tease when she wants to," Catra muttered.

Izuku moved up to the obelisk and started to read the markings on the obelisk. It turned out that it held an instruction of what to do to use it. He was able to understand how to use the obelisk and how to send messages.

"Okay, so according to the markings, these knobs are used to send out messages that were meant to reach the other posts of the First Ones." Izuku took off the roots from the knobs.

"That sounds oddly easy," Glimmer commented.

"Can't wait to see how it blows up on our faces," Catra said.

"Alright, Izuku, do your thing." Bow gave him a nod as he and Entrapta finished setting up.

Izuku looked at the obelisk before him with a new great amount of determination in his body. His hands stretched out and touched the rough stone the obelisk was made out of. As soon as his fingers touched it, the First Ones' piece lit up with a white light akin to that of a computer turning on. Izuku's eyes followed the light as it spread through the rest of the circuitry of the ruined town.

"Alright, we've got a signal! Time to give it some more energy." Entrapta observed the readings.

Izuku looked at the knobs on the obelisk, wondering what he should do, given his lack of how to work the ancient piece of equipment. He turned the right knob to the right, causing the obelisk to let out a piercing cat-gutting screech.

Everyone covered their ears as the noise continued spreading through the town and the nearby area. All the nearby animals held their ears in pain as they felt like a nail was being jabbed into their skulls with the aid of a tiny hammer.

"Izuku, turn it off!" Catra snapped as Meelog and her covered their ears in pain.

Izuku turned the knob back to how it was, stopping the horrible backfeed they were hearing.

"Okay, not that way." Entrapta winced. "Try the other way."

Izuku twisted and turned the knobs in different directions, getting different noises from the obelisk. Some of the noises were pleasing while others were much less so, he continued changing the knobs, getting different results each time. With each different sound, the heir of One For All could feel like he was listening in on the recordings of past lives and of those that came before him. To him it was like a lullaby that took him back to the time where the currently ruined town was full of life and people. He found it odd but a part of him felt like this was the place he would've liked to have been raised if he had lived amongst them. But before his heart could be swayed any further, Izuku shook his head as he continued his task.

"I think we're getting something," Bow said.

"Just a little more," Entrapta said eagerly.

Just then, the obelisk started blinking. The energy was fading.

"No, no, no, no! We're losing power!" Entrapta pressed buttons on her pad and equipment, hoping to get the obelisk back online. "There must be a way to reroute power back to it! We're so close I can almost feel it!"

Entrapta continued clacking away at her instruments, rewiring energy sources from around the town and other ruins to keep the obelisk running. She knew that the First Ones used the magic around them to power their homes and ruins to a similar degree that the princesses use their Runestones, so all she had to do was make the energy go to the obelisk for a little longer. However, as she meddled in things that she didn't fully understand, the light of the obelisk turned a sickly ghostly green.

"Now, just a little more!" Entrapta called out, pressing a final button.

However, the second she pressed the final button, an electric pulse sent everyone back, knocking them on their backs.

The group groaned as they slowly picked themselves up.

"Everyone okay?" Izuku asked.

"My ears are still ringing, but yeah." Catra picked her ear as Meelog shook her head.

"What was that?" Glimmer asked.

"That was me rerouting some of the energy surrounding the town to power up the obelisk and keep the signal going." Entrapta was pulled up by Emily. "Now it has all the energy it needs to boost its signal and let us work in peace."

The rest of the group looked at the obelisk as it glowed with its haunting green light.

"Are you sure, Entrapta?" Bow asked. "It looks kinda spooky."

Entrapta looked at the obelisk, making sure that she didn't miss any detail. Raising an eyebrow in interest, the tech princess did notice that the obelisk was giving off what Bow had described as 'spooky'.

"It looks fine to me." Entrapta shrugged off before pulling up her datapad. "Besides, it's green. Green is a good color."

"Right, because this and a tree are both soothing because they're green," Catra commented.

"I mean, isn't Izuku green? You two are always good when you're with him," Entrapta replied.

"Hey, he's not the same as that thing!" Glimmer snapped.

"Guys, I'm right here," Izuku chuckled. "But, I agree with them. We should leave, something doesn't feel right around here."

"We just need to get the readings and the frequency to get a good lock on the information of the ruins," Entrapta commented before pulling Bow to help her. "Come on Bow and Emily, we've got science to do."

Izuku, Catra, Glimmer and Meelog stayed back, letting the tech princess do her thing with the help of her two assistants. They looked around as the obelisk illuminated the ruins, giving back some semblance of life to them and an eerie feel that they weren't alone. They couldn't help but feel like something in the shadows was looking at them.

Time passed as Entrapta and Bow started piling the information that they had been looking for. The clock would soon strike midnight and the rest of the group were just waiting to go back to the castle and sleep.

"Come on, guys. It's almost midnight," Catra yawned. "Mind picking up the speed."

"No can do, Catra. Everything according to the scientific method must be taken with extreme caution and care." Entrapta recorded the latest batch of numbers on her pad before moving on to the next one. "If we don't do this carefully, then we won't be able to figure out what the ruins are for and how we can track them."

"You know, we could just wing it from time to time," Catra countered. "It kinda feels a lot more fun than this."

"I do not like mindless violence, Catra." Entrapta continued analyzing the numbers. "The whole reason for becoming better is that we rise from our baser instincts that desire violence and become the best enlightened beings that we can be."

"But-" Izuku began only to feel like something was watching them.

Just then the group heard a branch snapping.

Izuku, Catra, Glimmer and Meelog turned toward the source of the noise. Narrowing their eyes at the slightly illuminated darkness, they searched for anything that could've made the noise. But the shadows created by the light of the obelisk were much darker and eclipsed all that they could see. The shadows had become longer and darker and almost impossible for them to see what laid before them. At first, they thought their minds were being played by the shadows of the ruined town. As they turned around, they heard something move in the bushes, rustling the bushes.

Catra drew her sword as Meelog growled, baring her fangs.

Izuku tightened his fists as his body adopted a fighting stance.

Glimmer narrowed her eyes as her fists lit up with her staff.

"We've got movement!" Entrapta called out, causing Izuku, Catra, Glimmer and Meelog to jump up in stunting fear.

"Entrapta, what gives?!" Glimmer snapped as Izuku held her, Catra and Netlog in a protective hug. "You almost gave us a heart attack!"

"Sorry, but we've got something!" Bow lifted his pad. "It seems the signals are reaching something."

"They aren't going nowhere! We've got information!" Entrapta cheered as Izuku and the rest walked up to them. "Even after all these centuries and with no one manning them, the ruins are still working! I've just gotta record this!"

"Great, let's get it and go then!" Catra sheathed her sword. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"Almost there, almost there… Got it!" Entrapta said just as an alarm went off on her screen.

"What is that?!" Izuku asked.

"It's a proximity alert. Something's coming towards us." Bow said, turning around to the sound of loud clanky feet coming towards them.

The group turned to see lots of Horde bots coming out from the shadows like an army of the night.

"What the heck?! How did these things get here!" Catra snarled.

"They must've been lurking in the shadows before getting the drop on us," Glimmer said.

"But why are they here without any Horde support?" Izuku asked, noting the lack of Horde foot soldiers.

"Maybe they are just sending these here to attack us," Catra commented as the bots continued on their path towards them like mindless creatures. "Let's send them back to the scrapyard. For the Honor of Grayskull!" Catra transformed into her She-Ra form as Meelog roared at the bots.

Izuku, Catra and Meelog charged at the incoming bots while Glimmer and Bow helped cover their attack.

Izuku slammed his foot into one of the bots, tearing it apart with his mighty strength. He turned to deliver a roundhouse kick, knocking another bot away.

Catra and Meelog tore through the bots with their combined sword and claws. As Catra sliced a bot with the Sword of Protection, Meelog bit down on another bot, ripping its legs.

"Atta girl!" Catra stabbed another bot in the face.

Glimmer teleported on top of one of the bots, plunging her staff into it before teleporting away. She appeared before another bot, blasting it with a glittering blast, leaving behind a hole on it.

Bow fired different tricked arrows at the bots, shooting them down with nets, sticky goo, and some with electric shocks. He shot three arrows at three bots, hitting them in their faces, but they still kept on walking.

"It's not working!" Bow called out. "They just keep coming!"

Izuku noticed this, but he also saw that the Horde bots were not just recently damaged. Several of the bots looked like they had already been thrashed and defeated in combat. He saw how some of the bots were missing bits and pieces of their armors, legs, weapons and even their heads. But still he saw them crawling and dragging themselves onwards like broken puppets with strings pulling them ever forward.

Entrapta didn't understand what was going on. The Horde bots were coming towards them without shooting or allowing their Force Captain to make their demands. She looked down at her pad as she noticed a blinking light coming from her pad. The light was the same color as the one that came from the obelisk, and it blinked a First Ones' symbol. Entrapta looked at the zombie bots and then to the obelisk. Her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no, they're following a programming that was let loose from the obelisk! The bots are meant to converge on the obelisk and proceed with the next phase of the signal's instructions!" Entrapta screamed.

"And what's that?!" Bow asked, slightly freaking out at the sight of zombie bots.

The broken bots started to pull themselves together, gathering their broken parts, loose wires and shattered armor into a single entity. The robotic remains grew in size as they fully assembled into a large monster made out of broken robot parts. Its face had razor sharp teeth made up of broken armored pieces and legs, while the eyes were lit up by the eyes of the bots. The beast roared loudly, getting the attention of the group while the remaining bots circled the large behemoth.

"To turn into a guardian against all who would steal their secrets…" Entrapta muttered. "Isn't this so amazing?! I can't believe I'm watching this with my own eyes! This is beyond anything I could've thought for a defensive failsafe!"

"This must be a form of a failsafe?" Bow aimed another arrow at the monster.

The smaller bots fired upon the group, forcing them to jump back, while the large robot brought down his large fist upon Entrapta.

Entrapta screamed in fear, only for Emily to pull her away from the large fist.

"We need to stop that thing before it turns us all into pancakes!" Catra transformed her sword into a shield, blocking the laser blasts from the bots. "Man, these guys didn't want any of their secrets out in the world."

"The obelisk is sending the signal, we have to turn it off!" Glimmer struck one of the bots, splitting it in half.

"Entrapta, see if you can deactivate the signal!" Izuku punched one of the bots away from his friends.

"I'm trying! But it keeps blocking me every time I try to log into it!" Entrapta ducked under a blast.

"Then we'll have to shut it down the old fashioned way!" Catra smacked another bot with her shield as Meelog let out a roar.

"Maybe we don't have to destroy the obelisk or the giant robot," Entrapta argued, only to be pulled out of the way of another shot.

"Entrapta we can't get anything from the obelisk if we're dead! We need to fight!" Izuku charged along with Catra and Glimmer towards the large robot zombie. "We'll get its attention while you get to the obelisk and turn off the signal."

"Let me see if I can do something!" Bow fired an electric arrow at one of the bots, knocking it out.

Bow opened the remaining brain of the Horde bot and connected his pad. He hacked into the bot's brain, getting a strange message from the bot before attempting to purge the effects of the signal.

Izuku, Catra, Glimmer and Meelog were facing the giant Frankenstein robot.

Izuku clashed punches with the large bot, sending a rippling cracking sound as his fist struck the giant robot's. He was pushed back by size alone, landing on the ground with his feet leaving skid marks. Gritting his teeth and using his power, he jumped back into the fight, landing a kick strong enough to break two of the bot's fingers.

Catra swung her sword at the wires that connected the pieces of the metallic beast together, slicing them with ease. However, the cables came to life before her eyes, forcing her to cut them down over and over again. She heard the bot's second hand coming down on her, before she sliced off its hand with a magical slice.

Glimmer jumped on top of Meelog as they both ran around the robot's body, distracting it. The princess held onto the magical cat's magical fur as they teleported around the bot's face, giving it a run for its money.

"Entrapta, we'll keep the big one busy, get to the obelisk and shut it down!" Glimmer instructed, smacking one of the creature's eyes.

Entrapta didn't know what to do. She had to get close to the obelisk but didn't see any clear path to the obelisk. Her mind was buzzing with what ifs and possible strategies that were half-baked at best. Her breathing became fast and shallow, unable to properly think of a way out.

As Entrapta was having a panic attackJust then another bot fired a bolt at Entrapta.

"Entrapta!" Izuku called out.

Entrapta looked up as the blast came for her.

But it never struck her.

Emily jumped between her creator and the blast, taking the blast square on the chest. The reprogrammed robot fell down to the ground with a shocking wound in her chest.

"Emily!" Entrapta clung to the bot with her arms and hair. "Please don't go!"

Emily let out a low beep before its eye turned off.

Entrapta's eyes watered as they became full of tears. But that was not the only thing rising from within herself. Her hair started to shake and grow spiky, standing on end like a cat's. Her body started to tremble as some bots approached her with ill intent. Then, it happened, something no one could've foreseen.

"RRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Entrapta let out a devastating cry of righteous anger, punching one of the bots into the air with her hair.

"What in the world?" Izuku muttered, unsure of what he had just seen.

"Outrageous! Evil-doers, beware my wrath!" Entrapta punched bot after bot with a pair of massive hair fists like a professional boxer.

The rest of the group had to pause to watch as their nerdy friend that was more fond of tinkering with technology was now knocking back bots left and right.

Entrapta smashed one of the bots before wrapping another one with her left pigtail. With a swift spin, she slammed the bot into another one. She grabbed another bot, pulling off all its legs like one would a spider. She was enraged and was not stopping at any of the bots that came at her. Her hair moved swiftly like snakes pouncing on their prey before crushing it, punching it or tearing it apart.

"Who's next?! I'll crush you all!" Entrapta screamed laughing like a maniac.

"Um, Entrapta, what about the plan?" Bow asked, slightly scared of what he saw.

"Bla bla bla! Let's just punch them!" Entrapta punched another bot, crushing its face.

"Now she's speaking MY language!" Catra pulled down the giant robot's arm, pinning it down.

Izuku jumped up, meeting with Glimmer half way before they were teleported in front of the large robot's face. With the aid of his friend, the heir of One For All landed a powerful stomping kick to the robot's face, breaking the steel and the cables that connected it. He jumped back, observing the remains of the head, hanging by a thread.

Down on the ground, Catra released the robot's arm before rushing up to the bot's exposed torso. Gripping her sword with both hands, charging it with magical energy, she jumped. Roaring like a lioness, Catra sliced cleanly through the Frankenstein bot's torso.

"Almost, almost, got it!" Bow pressed a button on his datapad. "Signal blocked!"

The obelisk's glow started to dim down, leaving the ruins with only a slight glow. The remaining bots stopped moving and turned off like how they'd been before. The sounds of the night took back its rightful place as the ruins became silent once more.

"We did it!" Glimmer cheered, jumping off of Meelog's back.

"Good going team!" Catra hugged Izuku as she de transformed.

"Entrapta, you were amazing," Izuku said, as Entrapta panted.

"I-I don't know what came over me! Emily saved me and then I went nuts and then, and then, and then-" Entrapta felt Izuku and Catra's hands on her shoulders.

"Easy there, pigtails, you're about to blow a fuse," Catra said. "Take a deep breath."

"Yeah, we'll fix Emily and we'll help you however you need," Izuku added, smiling a warm smile.

"Really?" Entrapta asked, her face growing warmer.

"Of course, you're one of us, Entrapta." Catra scratched Meelog as she rubbed her head on her side.

Entrapta blushed as her hair pulled Izuku and Catra into a tight bear hug. She didn't know why but this meant the world to her.

"Hey, guys, we've got something!" Bow called.

The group gathered around his pad, after they had pulled Emily with them.

"I managed to get information and a message from the signals, think we can make something out of it, Izuku?" Bow asked.

"I can read a couple, but there are some that I don't get," Izuku replied. "'The magical energy has been unleashed from the Runestones. The Heart of Etheria is out of control and it is overriding all protocoles. Assigned She-Ra agent Mara was last seen heading towards the Serenia sector. She is considered armed, unstable and dangerous. Prepare for further instructions.' And the rest I can't read."

"What does that mean? I thought the First Ones protected magic, not contained it," Glimmer said. "And what was that 'Heart of Etheria' thing they were talking about?"

"No idea, but I think this must have something to do with the last She-Ra, this Mara." Catra looked at her sword.

"Whatever it is, the Horde are after it." Bow said.

"Then we've got to stop them." Izuku clenched his fist.