by Tracey West
Glimmer studied the mural on the wall, which showed pod-shaped vehicles attacking a kingdom at the bottom of the sea.
“Those are symbols of Bright Moon on those pods!” she cried. “But it can’t be!”
Adora studied the art. “You’re right. It can’t be,” she said. “My guess is that Hordak used the symbols to trick the defenders of Corala into thinking that princesses were approaching. Then when they got close …”
“… the Horde attacked!” Bow finished.
“And Queen Calypsa has blamed the princesses ever since,” Adora said.
“That is correct,” Sea Hawk told her. “The survivors of the attack sought refuge all over Etheria. Calypsa was just a young girl, and she ended up all alone, on an island. She was born with the ability to control magic, and she would have become a skilled sorceress had she been trained in Mystacor. But she was all alone, and she taught herself to manipulate magic without any teachers. For years, she planned her revenge on the princesses, and her powers got stronger and stronger. As soon as she came into her full powers, she began rebuilding Corala.”
“It’s a shame she didn’t end up in Mystacor,” Glimmer remarked. “She would have learned the truth there, and learned how to use her powers to do good.”
“It’s so sad,” Bow added. “Everything—her whole life—is based on a lie.”
“I understand what that’s like,” Adora said. “I thought all princesses were evil until I met you, remember?”
“Do not allow yourselves to feel sorry for her,” Sea Hawk said. “She is a powerful sorceress. When she joins forces with the Horde, they will use her to destroy all of Etheria.”
Adora frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that,” she said. “Maybe she’s smart after all.”
“Smart and dangerous,” Bow pointed out.
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Adora urged.
Sea Hawk led them out of the room and into a dead end with a ladder going up the wall and a clear bubble overhead.
“I guess that’s the way out,” Glimmer said.
One by one, they climbed up the ladder and into the bubble, which was surrounded by the water of the ocean.
“That’s right—Mermista said that this place was underwater,” Adora said. “I wonder how deep we are?”
“I guess we’ll find out soon,” Glimmer said.
“What happens now?” Bow wondered. He tapped on the side of the bubble.
The bottom of the bubble closed up, and the whole bubble began to float up toward the surface of the ocean.
“Adventure!” Sea Hawk cheered.
Bow tapped the wall of the bubble again. “This one isn’t magic. It’s made out of some kind of clear, strong material.”
“Where is this taking us, I wonder?” Adora asked.
“I have no idea,” Sea Hawk admitted.
The bubble surfaced, bobbing in the sunlight above the water. It floated on top of the ocean, holding its four passengers. In the distance rose the Sea Gate and behind it, Salineas.
Glimmer frowned. “Too far to teleport,” she said. “And we’re far from Bright Moon, so I need to reserve my powers.”
Bow gently pushed against the wall of the bubble, and it rolled forward. “If we all do it, we’ll get there fast,” he said.
They all pushed, and the ball zoomed toward the Sea Gate. Suddenly, the water began to churn all around them.
“Maybe we’re going too fast,” Glimmer said.
“We couldn’t be going that fast,” Adora said. “But it might be—”
Rooooowwwwrrrrr!
With a mighty cry, a huge sea monster emerged from the waves!
The monster had a snake-like body with sleek, black skin. Its head—if you could call it that—was a bulbous knob at the top of its body, with a circle of a mouth filled with snapping teeth. Wavy tentacles and blue and yellow gems surrounded its fierce jaws.
“Didn’t you take care of this guy the last time we came to Salineas, Adora?” Glimmer asked.
“I thought so,” Adora said. “But I guess it bounced back.”
“That’s right!” Sea Hawk said. “You stole my thunder by smiting this beast with your sword.”
Roooowwwwwrrr!
“A sword that I don’t have right now,” Adora admitted, mentally kicking herself.
“And I don’t have my arrows, either,” Bow added.
The sea monster smacked its head against their transport bubble. It didn’t break the bubble, but it sent them bouncing across the waves. The four friends lost their footing and bumped into one another as the bubble careened across the ocean. The sea monster dove into the water and swam after them.
I can’t let my friends down again! Adora thought.
“We’ve got to find a way to defend ourselves,” she said out loud.
“We seem to be safe inside the bubble,” Glimmer said. “If we can get close to shore, I might be able to teleport us all out of here.”
Bam! The sea monster head-butted them again.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Everyone screamed as the bubble flew up, up, up into the air.
Then it plummeted down, down, down to the waves.
Wham! It hit the water with strong force, and then bounced again.
“We’re moving away from the shore,” Adora pointed out.
“We can’t stop the monster without weapons,” Bow said.
Suddenly, Sea Hawk began to sing.
“Come to me, my friend of the sea,
Wicked and awesome and wild and free.
Come to me, my ocean friend,
Before I reach a tragic end!”
“Sea Hawk, this is no time for singing!” Glimmer scolded him.
The sea monster was gaining on them again. The water around their bubble began to whirl and churn. Before the sea monster could reach them, another creature arose from the depths, this one twice as big as the monster chasing them. It looked like a giant, purple octopus, with eight wiggling tentacles and large, yellow eyes in its enormous head.
Bow’s eyes got wide. “Two monsters?”
Sea Hawk grinned. “Nellie, my old girl!” he called out. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Can you take care of this fiend for us?”
Nellie gently placed a tentacle on top of the bubble. Then she faced the snakelike sea monster. A shrill, shrieking noise came from her beak-like mouth, and she wrapped the creature in her tentacles. It thrashed and roared, but she held on. Then the two of them disappeared beneath the waves.
“Thank you, fair Nellie!” Sea Hawk called out. “I shall not forget you!”
“Awesome!” Bow cheered.
“Is she a friend of yours?” Glimmer asked.
“I have met many friends in the sea on my travels,” Sea Hawk answered. “Nellie and I go way back. She happens to like my singing.”
“Let’s get to shore before we meet any more monsters,” Adora suggested, and they pushed the bubble across the waves once more.
Soon they reached the rocky coastline.
“There doesn’t seem to be a door in this bubble,” Bow said. “How are we supposed to get out?”
“Let me see if I have enough juice to get us to land,” Glimmer said. She put her arms around all of them. “Group hug!”
They teleported onto the shore in a shower of sparkles. Glimmer took a deep breath. “Four! That might be a personal record.”
Adora scanned the surroundings. “There’s no sign of the Horde,” she said. “If we can talk to Queen Calypsa and explain what really happened to her kingdom, she’ll close the gate and we can save Salineas.”
“And get her to release Mermista,” Bow added.
“I fear that your plan is destined to fail,” Sea Hawk said. “You will not be able to talk, because Calypsa will sing her dangerous song as soon as she sees you.”
“We have to try,” Adora said. “First, we’ll get our weapons back. Then Glimmer can teleport and catch the queen by surprise.”
“I think I have at least one more
teleport in me,” Glimmer said with a grin.
“Great!” Adora said. “And when you teleport to the queen, you can put a hand over her mouth right away, so she can’t sing.”
Sea Hawk shook his head. “It is too dangerous,” he said. “She will use her magic against Glimmer. There is no way to stop her song.”
Glimmer turned to Sea Hawk and grinned. “Maybe we can’t stop it,” she said. “But I have another idea …”
“The weapons hold is behind the throne room,” Sea Hawk whispered as he crept around the back of the palace with Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. “We should be able to enter through the window.”
He stopped and pointed upward. Adora jumped and grabbed on to the edge of the open window, then pulled herself up so that she could peer inside. Two Salinean guards flanked the door on the opposite wall, their backs to the window. She spotted her sword hanging on the wall behind them, as well as Bow’s bow and quiver full of arrows.
Adora dropped back down. “This looks pretty easy,” she said. “Glimmer, I know that last teleport took a lot out of you. Can you pop in there, get our weapons, and get back out?”
Glimmer grinned. “Should be a snap,” she answered. “I’ll be in and out in a flash!” She disappeared in a cloud of purple glitter.
Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! An alarm sounded.
Glimmer appeared back in front of them, her arms filled with the sword, bow, and quiver. “Well, that didn’t go as smoothly as I thought.”
“We need to get out of here!” Sea Hawk warned.
Adora and Bow took their weapons. Before they could run, the two guards jumped out of the window.
“I’ve got this!” Bow said. He quickly notched one of his trick arrows and let it fly. A net attached to the arrow opened up and trapped the two guards.
“Hurry!” Glimmer yelled.
They raced to the castle entrance. The two guards there crossed their long tridents, blocking the way.
“We demand to see Queen Calypsa!” Adora said.
“We have orders to let no one in except for the Horde,” one of the guards replied.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just step aside?” Adora asked. “That would be the easy way.”
“We cannot let you pass!” said the other.
“Fine,” Adora said. “I guess we’ll do this the hard way, then.”
She grinned and looked at her sword. Then she raised it above her head. “For the honor of Grayskull!”
The sword grew brighter and brighter. Adora floated up into the air, bathed in light. Her body spun, and her hair fell loose from its ponytail.
When the light faded, She-Ra stood there, a vision in white and gold with a red cape that flowed behind her. The two guards stared at her, open-mouthed.
“I don’t think Mermista would want me to hurt you,” she said. “But right now, I need to get you out of the way.”
She picked up one guard in each hand. Then she tossed one to the left and one to the right. Both guards went flying.
She-Ra nodded to her friends. “Ready?”
“Ready!” they replied.
They marched into the throne room.
“What took you so long?” Mermista asked. Adora had been friends with Mermista long enough to know that she used her sarcasm to protect her true feelings. Mermista was happy to see them.
Queen Calypsa stood up.
“You’ve escaped!” she cried. “But how foolish you are. Your weapons are no match for my song.”
She opened her mouth, but before any sound came out, Sea Hawk took a big conch shell from his belt, raised it to his lips, and began to sing through it.
“My name is Sea Hawk—yes, that’s me!
I’m the finest captain you’ll ever see!
I ride on the waves through the deepest blue,
With the excellent help of my expert crew.
And if you’re in trouble,
You can call on me.
I’ll come to your rescue,
And set you free!”
Sea Hawk’s loud, boisterous singing, amplified by the shell, completely drowned out Calypsa’s song. She glared at him.
“What is that horrible music?” she asked. “Stop that immediately!”
“They call me Sea Hawk—yes, they do!
I sing when I sail the ocean blue.
I sing the songs of the mighty sea.
I’ll sing and I’ll sing and you can’t stop me …”
Queen Calypsa grimaced and put her hands over her ears. Adora and her team sprang into action.
Zing! Bow trapped Queen Calypsa in one of his net arrows.
Poof! Glimmer teleported to Mermista and pulled the amulet off her neck.
“Finally!” Mermista cried, and she lunged at Queen Calypsa, tackling her and pinning her to the floor. She pulled the green ring off the queen’s finger and slipped it onto her own.
“Glimmer, put that necklace on Calypsa, now!” Mermista cried.
Glimmer did as Mermista asked, and Mermista released her grip on the queen.
“Foolish girl,” Calypsa said. “Your pirate can’t sing forever. I will sing again, and when I do—”
“Silence!” Mermista yelled, pointing the finger wearing the ring at the queen.
The queen’s hand flew to her mouth. Her green eyes glared at Mermista, who controlled the amulet now.
She grinned. “How does this ring work again?” she asked. “I can turn you into a puddle of water, right?”
A look of horror dawned on Calypsa’s face as she realized how helpless she was. Her fate was now in the hands of the princess she had held captive.
“Yeah, that sounds like it might be fun,” Mermista said, and she pointed the ring at the queen.
“Mermista, no!” She-Ra yelled.
Mermista dropped her finger and turned to her friend. “You are no fun,” she said.
“I know Calypsa has done some pretty bad things,” She-Ra said. “But she was tricked by the Horde. She saw her whole kingdom destroyed when she was just a kid.”
“Uuugggh,” Mermista groaned. “I know all about that. I guess you have a point. But can’t I … I don’t know, make her quack like a duck? Or dance? Or clean the bathrooms or something?”
“Just make sure she doesn’t sing,” She-Ra said. She turned to Sea Hawk. “I think you can stop now.”
“I am, I am!” Sea Hawk finished. He took a deep breath. “Are you sure? I’ve got twelve more verses.”
“No, we’re good,” She-Ra said. She glanced down at the queen, still tangled in Bow’s net and unable to speak. “We just need to figure out what to do with Calypsa.”
“I could order her to take a swim with some jellyfish,” Mermista offered.
“I think we should bring her to Mystacor,” Glimmer said. “Aunt Castaspella will know what to do with her.”
“Just as long as you get her far away from here,” Mermista said. “I can’t believe I let her put that amulet on me. I feel like a total failure. I don’t deserve to be in the Rebellion.”
“Of course you do!” She-Ra said. “We’re a team, and you’re a part of it! We all have bad days, Mermista. You’re being too hard on yourself.”
Glimmer smirked. “You’re right,” she said. “Just like you were being too hard on yourself earlier.”
“That was different,” She-Ra said.
“Is it?” Glimmer asked. “Not everybody can succeed every time. Not even She-Ra. And that’s okay.”
“Um, aren’t we all forgetting something?” Bow asked.
Glimmer frowned. “Like what?”
Bow shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’ve got this nagging feeling—”
Boom! A loud explosion rocked the palace. Pieces of coral crumbled and showered down.
She-Ra spun around. “The Horde!”
“Mermista, keep the queen quiet,” She-Ra ordered. She raced out of the throne room. Bow, Sea Hawk, and Glimmer followed closely behind.
A line of Horde soldiers marched to the palace behi
nd a Horde robot. The globe-shaped machine crawled up the steps on its metal, spiderlike legs. Its lone crystal eye glowed, gearing up for another blast.
“Not today!” She-Ra yelled, and she jumped onto the robot in one leap, thrusting her sword into the top of the globe. The bot sparked, sizzled, and stopped.
Meanwhile, the Horde soldiers charged forward, blasters ready.
Ziiiiiip! Bow fired a stun arrow at one of the soldiers, freezing him in his tracks.
Glimmer pointed at one of the soldiers’ blasters, but only a few weak sparks shot from her fingertips.
“Uh-oh,” Glimmer said. “I’m out of power.”
“Never fear, Shimmer!” Sea Hawk jumped in front of her and tackled the soldier to the ground, wrestling the blaster from the soldier’s hands.
She-Ra leapt off the fried robot to help her friends. Three more robots appeared behind the line of soldiers. She jumped on one of them just as it erupted in a blast aimed at Sea Hawk. He somersaulted out of the way just in time.
“Adventure!” he yelled.
“Hiiiyaaaah!” She-Ra thrust her sword into the robot, and a shower of sparks shot up. She jumped to the next one and dispatched it with another blow from her sword. Just one more to go …
“Adora, look out!” Glimmer called.
She-Ra whipped her head around to see Catra and Scorpia advancing on the palace, riding in a robot three times as big as any regular Horde bot. It was walking on two metal legs as tall as trees. On the face of the bot was a huge wheel that spun around, shooting red laser blasts in all directions. One of the blasts zoomed toward She-Ra.
She jumped off the robot and out of the way just in time, ducking behind a wall of purple coral. BOOM! The laser blast hit the robot, exploding it into a pile of flaming wreckage.
“Hey, Adora!” Catra called. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
“Shouldn’t you call her She-Ra when she’s in her princess form?” Scorpia asked. “I mean, it’s kind of confusing, right?”
“She’ll always be Adora to me,” Catra replied.
She-Ra’s mind raced. If she stayed where she was, Catra would blast the coral. If she ran, Catra would blast her. She could charge the robot and try to take it down from the legs, but it was a risk … a risk she had to try.