She-Ra took careful stock of their position. She recalled enough of her previous visit to Snake Mountain to have a good idea of where they were; the antechamber was close enough to the throne room to hear a steady chanting. It was Skeletor’s voice, and she assumed he had started his incantations.

He-Man came up beside her. “That’s the spell,” he whispered. “I recognize it from the temple.”

“Then we have to make sure we don’t interrupt it,” she said softly. “Another game of ‘chase the stones’ is the last thing we need.”

Duncan turned from the window, and nearly collided with Orko, who was floating over for a look. “Orko, will you please be careful!” he said, careful to keep his voice down.

“Sorry,” the Trollan said sheepishly. “I just wanted to see what was going on outside.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” The weapons master crept over to the twins, a sour look on his face. “We’ve got problems.”

“Hiss?” He-Man asked.

“And about thirty reptons, and some of his snake men, from what I could see.”

“They were coming up in plain sight? That’s pretty bold,” She-Ra said, surprised.

“Some of his snake men?” He-Man noted. “Who’s missing?”

“I didn’t see Pythona, Kobra Khan, Squeeze, or Snake Face,” Duncan said.

“They might be headed for Grayskull,” He-Man surmised.

“Maybe,” She-Ra said, “or maybe one or more of them are trying to find a way in here. Maybe that’s why Hiss is being so brazen; the frontal attack may be a diversion.”

“The reptons keep Skeletor’s goons busy while Hiss’ flunkies sneak in,” Duncan agreed.

“Sounds like Hiss,” Greystar said, joining them. “But the snake men barging in brings up a big problem.”

“Skeletor’s started the spell,” Duncan said, realizing the direction Greystar’s reasoning was following.

“If they break in and disrupt it…” Greystar continued. “I don’t think that’s his plan, though. I’m pretty sure he knows he can’t finish the spell; it explains why we haven’t seen much of him since the temple, except for the encounter on Earth. He was probably counting on the Earth stone to get him close to whoever had the other stones; then he could turn the tables on them in time to cast the second phase himself. Now he’s got to force his way in here in time to cast the last part of the spell before Skeletor can. That could make him and his scaly dupes careless; an attack could distract Skeletor at the wrong moment,” Greystar explained.

“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” He-Man asked.

Greystar massaged his temples and closed his eyes. “If we want a chance at saving this world, we have to make sure Hiss and his men don’t reach the throne room before Skeletor’s done.”

“We’re…we’re going to help Skeletor???” Orko said, overhearing, his eyes wide.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, Orko, but those stones can’t be lost again, even if it means giving bone head a hand.” Greystar turned to Duncan. “And it may not take too much to stop the snakes marching up to the front door.” He looked over at Frosta, nestled in the far corner of the room. Duncan followed his gaze, and smiled.

Mekaneck charged down the corridor to the main chamber of Grayskull. He burst in, and delivered his findings before he could quite catch his breath. “Kobra Khan…Squeeeze… maybe fifteen reptons. All headed here. Saw them…from the upper windows.”

“You do have amazing ears, Montork,” Celise said.

“Actually, the hearing’s been going a little soft the last couple of years,” the elder mage admitted. “Should have heard ‘em a lot sooner.”

“You alerted us soon enough, Montork,” the Sorceress assured him. “With the castle’s magic weak, we will need to hold these invaders off. Grayskull must not fall; our friends are counting on its remaining power.”

Mekaneck stroked his chin. “Then you need to conserve what energy you have, Sorceress. We’ll hold them off.” He turned to Extendar. “You up for some snake hunting?”

The cyborg nodded. “Not at my peak, but I can still kick some scale.”

“Montork, any good tricks handy?” Mekaneck asked the Trollan.

“Well, I’ve got a few ideas they won’t like, I’d wager,” he answered. “Let’s go greet our guests, shall we?”

“Spikor is bored,” Skeletor’s spiny henchman complained.

“Spikor should be glad he’s bored,” Two Bad said from his right head. “Skeletor said Hiss and He-Man would probably be coming to get the stones. Me, I’ll be glad if they both get lost and we don’t’ have to deal with them.”

“That’s because you’re a lazy coward,” his second head said. “I agree with Spikor; a little action would be good about now.”

“That’s you, always getting us into trouble I have to get us out of!” the first head retorted.

“Be quiet, you two headed simpleton!” a harsh female voice snapped. Evil Lynn stepped into view, exiting from one of the many passages that honeycombed the base of Snake Mountain. “You’re supposed to be watching for our enemies, not arguing with yourself!”

“Spikor think this is a waste of time. Spikor thinks Hiss and He-Man are not coming.”

“Spikor has never had a thought in his life,” she snarled. “Now pay attention and watch for anything unusual!”

“Um, like Hiss and a bunch of reptons?” Two Bad’s right head said, looking over her shoulder, his eyes wide with shock.

“What?!!” she blurted, turning and seeing the snake king leading a band of his followers straight at them. “Fools! Sound the alert!”

“Well, you wanted some action!” the right head sneered.

“Oh, shut up!” the left head mumbled.

“Alright, She-Ra, are you , Frosta, and Spinerella set?” Duncan asked.

“We’ve got the idea,” she said, as Frosta and Spinerella joined her on Swift Wind. “It’ll take a few minutes to get to the top of the mountain, though. Swifty, can you handle all three of us?”

“Just as long as none of you have been overeating lately, I should be fine,” the unicorn replied.

She-Ra gave him a playful kick with her heel. “Wish us luck!” she said softly as Swift Wind started toward a corridor on their left; it sloped upward noticeably. . The passageway they entered was too narrow to fly through safely, so a slow trot was the best he could do and still tread lightly.

“Good journey,” Duncan whispered, not sure if they heard. “Guess we should decide our next move here,” he said to Greystar. “How long do we have before Skeletor is done with the spell?”

“About fifteen minutes, from what I’m hearing,” came Greystar’s hushed response.

Duncan frowned. “Not much time. And it’ll be another 15-20 minutes before he can start the second part, right?”

“Right.” Greystar nodded.

“Then we have to get ready,” He-Man said, motioning with his arm for everyone to join them. “Alright, we’ve got some things to take care of. Duncan, Greystar, Weldon, Gwildor and I will keep an eye on Skeletor. Orko and Dree-Elle, you two will stay with us. Kittrina, you and Ror make a sweep around this level; make sure no one with scales is sneaking up on us. Teela, you take Ram Man, Man-E, and Andrea, to the mountain’s base, and make sure no one enters from there.”

“All right, but you two be careful,” Teela said, looking at He-Man and her father, then settling her gaze on Greystar.

“Everyone be careful,” Greystar said, ignoring Teela’s stare. “This is it, people. The fate of three worlds rests on what we do here.”

“Gee, thanks for not putting a lot of pressure on us,” Ror quipped.

“I just want everyone to remember what’s at stake. The people out there are counting on us.” The stranger paused for a few seconds, letting his words sink in. “Okay, let’s get to it. We’ve got three planets to save.”

“Mossst of the heroes should be at Sssnake Mountain by now,” Kobra Khan hissed. “Our lord Hissss said there should only be a token force at Grayssskull.”

“Then we should have no trouble taking it,” Squeeeze said, flexing his snake-like arms. “But the Sorceress may still be there.”

“Weakened,” Khan assured him. “Her powersss should be no match for usss now.” He turned to the reptons behind him. “It is time to rid thisss world of the plague of mammals! Today we bring down Grayssskull!”

Khan marched forward, followed by Squeeeze and the reptons.

“And here I thought snakes always slithered along,” a voice taunted from above. Khan looked up and saw Montork hovering overhead.

“Sssilly little creature,” the snake man laughed. “You challenge usss by yourself?”

“He’s got friends, scale puss,” Mekaneck said as he and Extendar floated across the abyss courtesy of the Trollan mage. Above, the Sorceress and Celise peered out the tower window, ready to defend the castle if the invaders got past the first line of defense.

“Foolisssh friends,” Khan replied, spreading his fleshy hood from his neck. His sleep venom shot out, the thick mist spreading quickly.

Montork raised his hands and chanted, “Zackity zip, zippity zack. Magic blow this foul stuff back!” A large fan appeared in his hands, and he started vigorously waving it up and down.

Khan was ready to laugh at the outrageous sight until he felt the intensity of the breeze the wizened wizard was creating. His mist blew back, catching both he and the reptons unprepared. Khan was unaffected, but his troops began hacking and coughing.

“Nice one, but the reptons aren’t passing out,” Extendar noted.

“They’re descendants of the snake men; they must have some kind of immunity,” Mekaneck said.

“They might not be nodding off, but they don’t seem to like it much,” Montork offered. “Might be good time to press the attack?”

“Let’s press away,” Mekaneck agreed, charging forward, his battle baton in hand.

“Take care of thessse heroes, fools. I have an appointment with the SSSorceress,” Khan said, heading for the abyss. “SSSqueeeze, a hand here. Or rather, an arm.”

Extendar turned to Mekaneck. “The jawbridge is closed tight, but we came out the window in the tower. Could Khan get in that way?”

“Normally, no, the castle’s magic would keep him out. But now, I’m not sure, even with Celise and the Sorceress up there.”

“Then I’d better not give him the chance to try,” Extendar said, starting after the snake men.

As he approached Snake Mountain, King Hiss fumed. He rode atop the Tyrantisaurus he had constructed shortly after his escape from his long imprisonment in limbo. Unlike the fearsome creature of the Pre-Eternian era, this beast was completely mechanical, and thus, at this point in the breakdown, completely non-functional. Mounted on a rolling platform and pulled by several of the reptons, it was little more than a parade float at present, but it’s still fearsome visage would serve to properly intimidate Skeletor’s lackeys. And he was in the mood to intimidate. His carefully laid plan had gone astray, thanks to the heroic warriors and the stranger helping them. Staying out of the chase for the stones, allowing the other sides to battle it out had been a masterstroke, he had thought. His position had been secure as long as he had possession of the Earth stone; whoever won the others would have had no choice but to deal with him. And having avoided the exhausting quest for the other two orbs, he and his followers were in far better shape than his enemies, who had squandered much of their power battling for the ancient artifacts. But now months of careful planning had been foiled by an actor and an earth mammal. To lose to He-Man or Skeletor would be bad enough, but to have the tide turned against him by those two was unthinkable. He took some solace in his revenge on the traitorous female; he doubted any magical remedy would be strong enough now to staunch his poison’s effects. Still, revenge was a poor substitute for power, and he sensed that the spell Fisto had interrupted was underway again inside Snake Mountain. He could still score a victory, though, if he moved quickly.

The impossibility of communication now was infuriating; he had had to gamble on his magical instincts, normally infallible, but now little better than an educated guess, to tell him who had finally wound up with the stones. Positioning his forces midway between Grayskull and Skeletor’s abode, he had felt a stronger pull from Snake Mountain recently, and led his forces here for a full-scale assault. As he neared the mountain, he had a peripheral sense of the preparations for the spell being started, so he assumed Skeletor had captured the complete set. It was now a race against time and his foes. Fortunately, Hiss was seldom at loss for a new plan.

Hiss had sent Pythona and Snake Face ahead to slip into the structure unseen, waiting for him to charge the stronghold and divert attention to hide their infiltration. Skeletor had built his version of Snake Mountain on the remains of the original, destroyed centuries before in a battle between Hiss and that infernal wizard, He-Ro. Though the upper levels were new and re-designed, the bowels of the fortress had survived and were still much as he had built them so long ago; many secret entrances still existed, pathways he knew well. His short affiliation with Skeletor had allowed him to familiarize himself with the layout of the newer levels, making it simple to map out a quick, clandestine route to the throne room, where his two minions could wait for the right moment to strike. Skeletor was sure to be there, as the chamber was the magical center of the structure, and, with the breakdown, even that skull-faced cretin would realize he needed every mystical advantage to pull the spell off properly. And he had every expectation of seeing the heroes again, as well; they however, would have to get past both his minions and Skeletor’s pathetic flunkies to reach the stones. He allowed himself a small version of his wicked smile at the thought, then looked up at the mountain, specifically the huge carved snake head that topped the stronghold, its mouth agape as though ready to devour anything that dared pass too closely. It was based on his design, though not crafted as meticulously as the original he had overseen. Still, it had the desired effect, and would give even the staunchest champion pause as he approached. When Skeletor lay defeated, Snake Mountain would be his once again, a fitting tribute to Eternia’s new ruler. He allowed himself to savor the thought, until he noticed something flying out from the snake’s huge maw. It was a winged horse, with what looked like three slender riders, most likely female. His jaw dropped as he realized who and what he was seeing. It was She-Ra and Swift Wind, along with two others he vaguely recognized. The heroes had apparently rounded up help from Etheria, which was bad enough, but the fact she had just flown out from the head of the snake meant one other thing:

The blasted heroes were already inside Snake Mountain!

Evil Lynn brought Skeletor’s forces together to face Hiss. They had to prevent the snake men from interrupting Skeletor’s spell at all costs, or everything would be lost. “Stand ready, you fools! Any one who lets so much as one snake slip by will spend the rest of his life as a sand slug! Now, fight to the last man!”

Beast-Man muttered to himself. “Good thing I’m not a man, isn’t it?” he joked, though the quavering in his voice betrayed his fear. They were outnumbered, but mostly by normal reptons, none of who seemed to possess any special abilities in their earlier battle in the temple. But Hiss was another matter, as his power rivaled Skeletor. Even with magic faltering, he would not be an easy foe to bring down.

“I wish we had a few more people on our side,” Two Bad’s right head said.

“Me, too,” the left agreed.

“Oh, now you start getting cold feet, huh?” the right observed. The left head just swallowed hard in response.

“Maybe we do have some re-enforcements,” Webstor said, hovering above the others on his tether. He pointed up at the flying unicorn swooping toward the oncoming snake men.

“She-Ra?” Evil Lynn said, puzzled. “Where did she come from?”

“Etheria, Spikor thinks.”

Evil Lynn glared at the spiny lackey. “Will you be quiet?!! Let someone think who’s used to the procedure, you simpleton!” She watched as Swift Wind dipped down slightly, and one of the riders jumped off.

Spinerella twirled like a top on her way down, cushioning her decent with a column of air. She landed softly, and looked up, as if waiting for something.

Swift wind arced back up into the dark sky, and then slowed as he straightened his flight path. Frosta raised her hands, and snow and ice began showering down. The makeshift flurry started out slowly, but built in intensity as the ice queen increased her frozen output. Spinerella started to whirl again, her winds creating a near blizzard aimed directly at the snake men. The reptons shielded there eyes against the onslaught, and began to slow their approach. Their steps became more uncertain as the snow piled up and the surrounding temperature plummeted. One by one, they began to collapse, shivering, and finally drifted into unconsciousness. An enraged Hiss roared as his troops fell in their tracks, leaving only himself and the few true snake men with him to face Skeletor’s henchmen.

“Looks like Man-at-Arms was right,” Frosta said, continuing her icy assault. “The reptons can’t stand the cold.”

“Their cold blooded reptiles. When the temperature drops too much, they go into hibernation. Can you keep that up for a little longer?” She-Ra asked.

Frosta grimaced. “A minute or so, maybe. I’m running out of power pretty fast.”

“I don’t think we can take Hiss out like this anyway. From what He-Man’s told me, he and the snake men are too tough to be taken down by a quick freeze,” She-Ra concluded. “But we cut his forces down quite a bit.”

“And he doesn’t look too happy about it,” Swift Wind noted.

“All the better,” Frosta said as the storm emanating from her hands started to abate. “Looks like I’m almost spent, She-Ra.”

“You did the job. Let’s pick up Spinerella and get back inside. Skeletor must be nearly done with the first spell by now.” She-Ra snapped the reigns and the flying unicorn dove for the spinning rebel below. He landed long enough for her to hop on, and then took off once more, heading back towards the gaping mouth of Snake Mountain.

Extendar charged at Kobra Khan, ignoring the growing ache in his cybernetic legs. Squeeze was already stretching his arms toward one of Grayskull’s tower windows in an attempt to create a scaly bridge over the mystical abyss. Another time, the cyborg could have matched Squeeze’s maneuver with some stretching of his own, but it was all he could do to keep his systems running at that moment. Extending a limb was out of the question. He realized, though, his mechanically augmented body had one advantage the breakdown hadn’t affected: Horde technology was big, and it was heavy. He plowed into Khan just as the snake man reached his serpentine partner; the villain hadn’t expected the force Extendar’s momentum and mass lent to the collision, and was knocked into the air, arms and legs flailing. He hit one of the stone outcroppings that stood before the abyss opposite the castle entrance, bouncing off and landing face down on the hard, rocky landscape.

“Khan!” Squeeze screeched, turning toward Extendar. “Not a good move, hero,” he snarled, his long arms waving in the air. “Let’s see how much it takes to crush that metal chest of your’s.” He took a step forward, and them lurched back, his feet leaving the ground. Extendar looked up to see Stratos grasping one elongated arm, with Buzz-Off holding the other. The two swooped around, carrying the snake man toward a roughly arch shaped outcropping. They stopped short and Squeeeze passed under the arch, his arms catching against it; he swung up and over twice, his arms wrapping themselves around the top of the stone frame. The flying warriors quickly wound his arms around each other, effectively pinioning them in a large knot. Still dizzy and disoriented, he could manage only a few grunts before his arms stretched further and he joined Khan on the ground.

“Welcome back,” Extendar said to the airborne duo. “Do you always make an entrance like that?”

“Whenever we can,” Stratos said with a grin. “Keeps the bad guys on their toes.”

“Glad to see you both,” Mekaneck said, coming up along side Extendar. “We’ve still got a few hacking reptons to take care of.” He gestured to the contingent of snake men descendants who were still recovering from the effects of Khan’s sleep venom. “They aren’t in very good shape, so it shouldn’t take much.”

“What happened? Did they get a whiff of their bosses over there?” Buzz Off joked.

“In a way. Montork gave Khan a taste of his own misty medicine,” Mekaneck said, pointing to the wizened Trollan still holding the fan he had conjured up.

Buzz off laughed, realizing what must have happened. “Montork was his biggest fan, eh?”

Stratos winced. “Ouch! Does the breakdown affect your sense of humor, too?”

The insect man shrugged. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Enough clowning, guys. Let’s clean up around here a bit.” Mekaneck bounded forward toward the reptons.

“Just have Buzz deliver a few more jokes like the last one, and they’ll run for cover,” Stratos said, trying to keep a straight face.

Buzz Off gave him a look, but let a small grin slip through.

King Hiss glanced around at his fallen reptons soldiers, all peacefully hibernating thanks to Frosta’s make-shift blizzard. He fixed his burning gaze on She-Ra and her cronies as Swift Wind carried them back inside Snake Mountain. Yet again, his plan was falling apart, thanks to those meddlesome heroes. He had only a handful of his faithful snake men left, and he was facing both the minions of Skeletor and the heroes he assumed were already inside the bone faced fool’s citadel. But Evil Lynn was standing before him with a good portion of Skeletor’s forces, leaving only a few unaccounted for. If the skeletal simpleton were aware of the heroes’ infiltration of his stronghold, why were more forces not stationed inside?

Hiss smiled his wicked smile; Skeletor didn’t know he already had guests. Hiss did. And that could be very useful…

He stood tall atop the disabled Tyrantisaurus. “Snake Men!” he bellowed. “Our reptons brothers have fallen, but the battle is not over.” He leaped into the air then landed in the middle of his remaining henchmen. He lowered his voice. “The heroic warriors are inside Snake Mountain. I believe Skeletor’s lackeys are unaware of this. Do not let on until I give you the word. I have a plan, as always.” He started walking toward Skeletor’s warriors, and bade his minions to follow him.

Evil Lynn stood, wand in hand, keeping a careful eye on Hiss as he approached. She was so intent on the snake king that she jumped when a voice behind her said, “Looks like you have company.”

She whirled about, and found herself face to face with Teela. “You? How did you get here?”

“We snuck around from the other side,” Teela said. She wasn’t lying, she thought; they had come from around from a side entrance to the fortress. She just didn’t mention they had come from within the mountain.

Evil Lynn glanced around, and noted three others with Teela, including a woman in odd garb she couldn’t place, but who was vaguely familiar. “It would seem you’re a little outnumbered here, my dear.”

“Not if you count us and Hiss’ little group of snakes, too,” Teela pointed out.

“A point, perhaps. But nothing we can’t handle.” Evil Lynn raised her wand.

Teela pulled out her sword. “Evil Lynn, listen to me. You don’t want Hiss entering Snake Mountain, and neither do we. We think he’s been conserving his powers through all this, saving up for a final assault, so he’s probably a lot stronger than we are. If he or his men get in before Skeletor completes the spell, we’re all finished.”

The witch looked at her suspiciously. “Are you proposing we join forces against Hiss?”

“You and I worked together once before when we had no other choice, remember?” Teela said.

Evil Lynn did remember. The wizard, Kothos, had come close to destroying both of them years before; the two women had put aside their differences long enough to defeat him. Evil Lynn herself had even commented that they made a good team in a rather odd way. And Teela had a point; Skeletor had expressed concerns about Hiss’ apparent absence from the conflict recently, and had come to much the same conclusion as to why. “A truce, then? To fend off Hiss.”

“A truce,” Teela agreed.

“And where is He-Man? And all the others? Why aren’t they here to help?” the witch asked.

“We had to leave some forces at Grayskull; the rest should along,” Teela replied, still skirting the truth without actually lying.

“I hope they don’t decide to take their time,” Evil Lynn said. She then looked at Beast-Man, falling in next to her. “You check around the perimeter of the mountain, furbag. Make sure none of Hiss’ blackguards are trying to sneak in past us.” She strained, and sent a short telepathic message that barely got through. “Make sure the heroes aren’t, either.”

Beast-Man nodded and scurried off, grabbing Spikor for back-up.

“So we’re working with Skeletor’s people,” Andrea mused.

Man-E-Faces shook his head. “Stranger things have happened. Trouble is, I can’t name one right off hand.”

“I can think of a couple,” Ram Man said, looking at his hands. “Uh, which hand am I supposed to be namin’ ‘em off of?”

Man-E just stared at him.