91Chapter Twenty: Keldor the Undying
"Rrrraagh! That's it!" yelled Catra. The half-feline sprinted towards the heroes, catching Adora off-guard. The latter had shifted out of her She-Ra form, believing the battle to be over. The pair tumbled to the ground. "Give me that staff!"
Before Adora could even fight back, Catra was unceremoniously picked up by the scruff of her neck by Bismuth. "I don't think so, kitty!" she said. Catra futilly struggled against the large Gem's grip.
Adora picked herself off of the ground with a smug smile. "You know Catra, maybe this would have gone better for you if you brought more than one bot!" She held out her arms to emphasize the lack of Horde reinforcements. "I mean, really. It just seems like a rookie mistake."
"To be fair to Catra, that one's on me." Entrapta peeked up from behind a rock. "I wasn't counting on the princesses getting their powers back. But you have to admit, Multi-Bot put up a pretty good fight for a last-minute rush-job, right?"
"Not good enough!" said Frosta. "We showed that robot who's boss, right, guys?"
"Yeah we did!" said Amethyst. "So, Steven, how about you introduce us to your new friend?"
Frosta handed the staff to Steven, who took it in his hands. He looked at the powerful object: it seemed to hum with excitement now that its master's rebirth was near. The purple crystal at the tip pulsed with a dim light.
"Well? You gonna stare at it all day, or what?" asked Amethyst.
"Huh? Oh, right." Steven seemed to have been awoken from a trance. "Yeah, let's go meet Keldor. Hope he's pretty reasonable…"
"Oh, for the love of-Scorpia, get that staff, would you!?" said Catra.
The Force Captain blocked Steven's path. "Hey again!" she said cheerfully. "So, I don't suppose you'll just hand that over, huh?"
Steven held the staff behind his back. Connie stood in front of him, bearing her sword.
"Yeah, I didn't think so." Scorpia made to grab for the staff, only to have Pearl's spear ricochet off of her claw. "Yow! What gives, lady?"
"Hurry to the temple, Steven!" said Pearl. "We'll meet you there!"
Steven nodded, as he and Connie ran towards the temple. Scorpia was prevented from pursuing them further when Garnet blocked her way. The crimson behemoths engaged in fisticuffs once again.
Not one to sit on the sidelines while there was fighting to be done, Catra made her escape. She used her hind claws to scratch down Bismuth's face, causing the Gem to drop her.
"Ack! You little-get back here!" Bismuth gave chase, but Catra was far too agile to catch her. Unfortunately for the latter, Pearl was able to block her path.
"Oh, come on, you again!?" said Catra.
Adora lifted up her sword again. "Looks like it's time to even these odds. Or, well, make them less even for Catra. "For the honor of-urk!" Before she could invoke the name of Grayskull, Scorpia had stung the heroine. Adora collapsed.
"Whoops, didn't mean to do that!" Scorpia said, still fighting with Garnet. "That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell."
Steven and Connie ascended the steps towards the temple. As the pair approached the entrance, something snagged on Steven's leg, stopping him in his tracks: Entrapta had shown up to reclaim 'her' staff.
"Steven, hang on!" she said. "Don't just throw that staff away like this! Give it to me! Just think of all the potential!"
"I can't give it to you! You'll just use it to take over the world!" Steven tried to kick Entrapta's hair off him.
"Okay, yeah, but think of the possibilities!" said Entrapta. "This staff is one of the most powerful First Ones artifacts I've ever encountered! Imagine what could be done with it!"
Entrapta reached forward with her hair again, trying to snatchthe staff away. Just before she could reach it, Connie leapt in front of Steven, severing the tip of her follicles. "The only possibility I see is the one where you back off!" she yelled. Entrapta backed off. Steven entered the temple, and Connie followed, keeping her sword pointed towards Entrapta.
The interior of the temple was even darker than the dim light of the planet's surface. What little light there was seeped in from a large crack in the ceiling. The air was choked with dust particles, making it even harder to see. The only reason the two could see at all was the Staff of Keldor lighting up like a beacon.
Steven pointed the staff around, examining his surroundings. "So, uh...I won't lie, this is pretty eerie."
"Well, we made it this far," said Connie. "No sense in turning back now."
"Yeah, I guess," Steven said. The pair walked further into the decrepit temple. It was not very large, consisting only of one room, but it seemed to take far longer than it should have to reach the end. Oddly, Steven could no longer hear the battle going on outside, even though he could make it out quite clearly just a moment ago. He hadn't gone that far, had he? Finally, they reached the rear wall. Steven shone the staff's light-there, seated atop a throne, was Keldor.
The eons had not been kind. His form was slumped over to the side, barely recognizable as the same figure Steven had met in his vision. Much of his skin had long since shed away, leaving him as mostly a skeleton, and what little remained had a sickening pale color, the same as his bones. He was covered in thousands of years worth of dust and cobwebs, making his purple robe appear almost grey. But the worst part by far was his face: his nose and lips had completely rotted away, leaving him with what looked not unlike a sneering grin. His eye sockets were like two deep, dark caves that had no end.
"Yikes," Steven said. "Hopefully the staff can, y'know, undo all that."
Connie nodded in agreement. "Wait a minute, I just realized something," she said. "Do we even know how to use the staff? How are we supposed to bring him back?"
Snap!
The pair jumped as Keldor's corpse's arm stretched out quick as a bullet. With the body's hand outstretched, Steven felt an invisible force begin to tug on the staff. As it grew in intensity, Steven let go. The staff immediately flew into its master's waiting grasp.
"I, uh, guess that answers that…" Connie said softly.
What followed next was not a pleasant sight. Before their very eyes, Keldor's dead body began to move. Dust and cobwebs fell to the ground as he stood. The temple was filled with nauseating cracking noises as he broke free from the rigor mortis that had held him. Keldor opened his jaw as if to speak, but he instead doubled over in pain. He then retched and coughed up all of the dust that had settled inside of him over the years. Slowly but surely, the coughing turned to rasping laughter as Keldor's long-rotted vocal cords reanimated.
"I have...awoken," Keldor spoke slowly and methodically, in a deep and croaking voice the likes of which should never have come from any natural being's mouth. Keldor, however, was anything but natural. "You have...awoken me."
Steven and Connie looked at each other, both quite unnerved by this display. "Y-yeah, we did," said Steven. "Keldor? You remember me, right? It's Steven."
Keldor laughed quietly, sending a chill down both Steven and Connie's spines. "Yes, I remember you, boy." He stepped down the stairs leading from his throne towards the children. His hands, the pointed tips of bone making them appear as claws, tightly grasped into his staff. "Because of your actions, young one, I have managed to tear my way from the nothingness of death back into my flesh-vessel. I applaud your efforts...as well as your naivete."
Steven's heart sank. "Aw man, I was really you weren't a bad guy."
"How noble of you," the animate corpse continued. "I suppose you deserve a reward for your efforts." Keldor lifted his staff above his head. The crystal glowed a bright purple, illuminating the room. "Hold still, so I may cleanse you of your burdens."
"Catra, just stop fighting for once!" shouted Bow. "Look, we want to get home just as much as you do."
Catra caught one of Bow's arrows in midflight, throwing it aside before a net exploded from the tip. "Oh, that's a laugh! You practically have it made on Earth! Meanwhile, Hordak's kicking me out unless I bring back his ace in the hole!"
"Entrapta?" asked Bow.
"Are you seriously this thick?" said Catra in exasperation. "The staff! Hordak isn't letting me back into the Fright Zone unless I bring back the staff!"
"You know what? Forget this, I'm just going for it!" said Scorpia. She shoved Garnet aside, making a break for the temple entrance.
Just then, a voice none of the combatants expected to hear called out. "Wait! Guys, wait!"
"Did...did anyone else hear that?" asked Perfuma.
Amethyst looked around for the source of the noise. "It kind of sounded like…"
"Peridot!" said Pearl.
Indeed, Peridot descended from the skies, being carried by Lapis. As the pair of Gems approached the others, Peridot dropped the ground. "Where's Steven? Where's the Staff!?"
"Uh, what are you doing here, short stuff?" said Bismuth. "I thought the two of you were stayin' back home."
"We came to warn you!" said Peridot. The green Gem was clearly agitated about something. "Where'd Steven take that staff? Listen, we can't let him give it back to Keldor!"
"But that's like, the entire reason we came here in the first place," Mermista said. "Why did we even come here, then?"
"Peridot, why not?" said Garnet.
"I remembered where I heard his name from!" Peridot said. "I saw footage from when Homeworld tried to colonize this place! Keldor's not a heroic sorcerer, he's a necromancer!"
"What!?" said Glimmer. "What are you talking about?"
"What do you think I'm talking about, Pinky!?" Peridot practically screeched. "Quick, where's the staff!?"
Silently, everyone turned their heads towards the temple.
"Oh, come on!" yelled Peridot. "Quick! Stop Steven before he-"
The temple exploded. Cracks appeared in the walls, out of which shone bright purple light, before it was blown apart. The force sent a powerful gust towards friend and foe alike, pushing them back. Out of the explosion flew Steven and Connie, protected by a pink bubble. The pair landed amongst the group, where the bubble vanished.
"Steven!" Garnet and the other Gems rushed to his and Connie's side. "What happened?" Wordlessly, Steven pointed to the sky above where the temple had been.
Keldor levitated above the wreckage, staring down at all present. As though grabbed by an invisible hand, every single person, Gem, human, and other organic, felt consumed by a crippling, choking fear. Most of the Gems and princesses bore their weapons. Both Perfuma and Scorpia gasped and covered their mouths. Frosta clung to Glimmer. Peridot hid behind Lapis.
"Like a funeral procession, all the princesses' men have arrived to see me off," said Keldor. "But today shall not be the day of my death, oh, no. Today shall be the day of my ascension!"
Nobody could muster up the will to speak. Something about Keldor inspired such a feeling of dread, it felt as though the only way to survive his presence was to draw as little attention to yourself as possible. Adora, however, had other plans.
"Oh yeah, you undead freak?" Adora said weakly. She trudged forward, still sluggish from Scorpia's venom. "Why don't you crawl back into your tomb before I make you double-dead!"
Keldor slowly turned his head towards her, sapping all of her bluster in an instant. In the very center of his eye sockets were a pair of miniscule purple lights, very hard to see. The closer she looked at them, the more weightless she felt. They seemed to be drawing her in.
"She-Ra, Princess of Power," said Keldor. "What an underwhelming surprise. This is the child chosen to wield such a great weapon?"
Adora was able to shake off Keldor's influence. She charged him, holding her sword above her head. "This great weapon's going straight through your-"
Keldor slammed his staff onto the ground. A tremendous shockwave emanated from the point of impact, sending Adora, as well as everyone else, flying backwards.
"Simply pitiful," he remarked. "Is this truly what passes for Eternian resistance these days? Or have you perhaps sworn your allegiance to White Diamond instead?"
"Neither!" Keldor's attention was drawn to Steven. "We are the Crystal Gems! And we'll always-"
Keldor took off into the air once more, unleashing an enormous beam of energy from his staff directly at Steven. The half-Gem summoned his shield just in time, but was pushed back by the sheer force of Keldor's attack. So strong was the beam that when it dissipated, Steven collapsed from exertion.
"Curious," Keldor mused. "You have not simply returned me to life. You have given me far greater gifts than I could have ever hoped to possess!" Keldor began drawing energy from the surrounding area into his staff. "I am no longer a mere disciple of Skeletor...I am Skeletor!" The energy above him reached its peak. "And I shall eclipse all."
The beam tore through all in its path. Hero and villain alike were forced to dive for cover as it ripped the very earth asunder. Steven, too drained from the first attack, could not move, let alone summon his shield.
Someone, Steven was not immediately sure who, picked him up from behind. As he was thrown out from the laser's path, he saw that it was Lapis. Moments later, her form was consumed by the beam.
"LAPIS!" Steven heard Peridot shout. He was so weakened that he could barely remain conscious.
The beam continued down the landscape towards the repaired handship. When the two met, the ship erupted in a pillar of flames, sending shrapnel across the landscape.
In the back of his mind, Steven could see the Crystal Gems running over to him, while Peridot ran over to Lapis. He soon fell into unconsciousness.
Adora tried to stand, but Scorpia's venom combined with the recent blow left her too weak to stand. "Adora, are you alright?" said Bow.
"I-I'll be fine," she said. She looked into the sky, seeing nothing.
Meanwhile, the Horde trio had run for the warp pad, knowing it to be the only way off of the planet. "Come on, let's go, let's go!" yelled Catra to her underlings, who were lagging behind. "We have to get out of here before Keldor-"
She stopped herself, both in body and in tongue. The dark sorcerer stood ahead of them atop the warp pad.
"My name...is...Skeletor," he said, raising his staff into the air. "You would do well to remember it."
Skeletor brought the staff down. Catra shielded her face as splintered pieces of warp pad were thrown asunder. Catra herself was thrown backwards from the impact as well.
Keldor examined his surroundings. Those who had not already been broken were tending to their fallen allies. Those who were not doing that were too afraid to approach. "Pitiful," he said. "Utterly pitiful. I would have hoped my first opponents upon my return to the physical world would have posed more of a challenge." He turned around and began to walk away. "No matter. I will simply have to find a more worthy foe to commemorate the cleansing of the universe."
With a wave of his staff, a portal opened before him. He gave the group one final look. "The era of Skeletor is nigh. Make peace with yourselves, for until all is silent, there will be peace no longer." He vanished into the portal, which closed behind him, leaving only silence behind him.
The ship was destroyed, as was the warp pad. All involved were now stranded on a lifeless planet, light years away from anyone who could possibly help. And Skeletor had been unleashed upon the universe. Connie stared out into the stars.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" she asked.
