“Battle for Grayskull”

Part Three

---

The Heroic Warriors stood assembled on a disc, each one staring out into the abyss behind it. The black air around them was filled with an ugly brown-green fog. Huge creatures that resembled octopuses swam and made moaning sounds from the fog.

“They’re going to eat us,” Man-E-Faces said in MONSTER mode. “I can tell.”

“Switch to ROBOT mode,” Stratos commanded. “We need your logic more than your instincts.”

“Nothing logical about this place,” Buzz-Off replied. “This is the Dimension of the Bleak. My people refer to it as ‘Alain Eternia Moy Hexani.’”

“Which means what?” Fisto asked.

“‘From which nothing on Eternia can take us from.’”

“You guys have some high spirits, don’t ya?” questioned Moss Man. “Stratos, you’re in command . . .”

Stratos nodded and looked around. The creatures were getting closer to their little disc. The Avion king rolled it over in his mind. He was, unfortunately, not exactly the expert on dimensional travel. Looking around the group, no one really was. Who here had been teleported across the dimensional planes? Surely not Moss Man or Sy-Klone or Orko . . .

Orko.

‘From which nothing on Eternia can take us from.’

Orko wasn’t from Eternia.

“Orko?”

“Yes?” asked the Trollan.

“You’re going to save us all.”

---

A cold blast of air awoke Man-At-Arms. Groggily, his eyes opened . . . and he came face-to-face with the Abyss. It sat below him, never ending, reaching into the darkness. Whispers had claimed it straight through the planet. The potential force of dropping into it would create such a slingshot effect that one could be thrown into space from the other side.

“Father?”

He looked over. Teela, King Randor, and Queen Marlena all hung separately, chains wrapped around their midsections, holding their arms against their bodies. All four of them were suspended by a pulley in front of Castle Grayskull.

“Fantastic,” Man-At-Arms grumbled.

“Are you all right, Duncan?”

“Fine. Yourself?”

“Never better. Kinda chilly today?”

“I know. Well, it is December.”

“Yeah, but I was hoping we would get a warmer winter. Like last year.”

“Last year was freezing. You mean the year before that.”

“Oh really? Oh yes, I remember now.”

“Silence please,” came the voice of Skeletor as he stepped forward. The rest of Evil Warriors standing nearby, all of them looking rather impatient. The false He-Man – Faker – was being worked on by Tri-Klops, Trap-Jaw, and Spikor. The others seemed more than ready for battle.

Skeletor and Evil-Lynn stood at the edge of the land-bridge. Staves raised, massive lightning bolts went sailing out and struck the jawbridge. It shuddered and shook as the lightning continued to blast it.

“The Sorceress is resisting us,” Evil-Lynn noted.

“Resistance is futile,” Skeletor returned and now pulled out of the Sword of Darkness. A beam of black energy slammed the jawbridge. There was a pulse of golden light. Then, a pair of clawed hands rose up from the Sword of Darkness and grasped the edges of the door. They pulled hard and fast.

The jawbridge flew open. The Sorceress stood within, stunned by the force of Skeletor’s magic.

“She’s all yours, my dear . . .” Skeletor said, allowing Evil-Lynn entrance into Castle Grayskull.

Teela watched as a vicious series of light and energy flashed from the door. She then looked to the south. To Eternos. To He-Man.

“We need a hero.”

---

The feet of Battle-Cat slammed across the ground, projecting the mighty tiger north. He-Man sat upon him, ready for battle. Snowflakes zoomed by as they charged officially into the Evergreen Forest. Bare trees greeted them, but He-Man paid them no mind. All his thought was on Skeletor and stopping him.

“You doing okay?” he asked Battle-Cat.

“I’m as a strong as you are, He-Man. No worries here.”

“Good. We’ve got a bad guy to stop.”

He-Man couldn’t help but think of everything that had been happening in the past year and how this very much felt like a build-up to this day. From the moment he first held the Sword of Power, then his and Teela’s capture, the magic stealer, Skeletor’s recruiting of the Evil Warriors and He-Man’s defeat. Then Skeletor’s manipulation of Fisto and North Eternos; the events at Point Dread; the presence of the Evil Warriors in the Plains of Perpetuna and the Lizard-People’s caves; the battle with the Nurrune and Two-Bad. It seemed as thought everything was coming together.

He-Man, you must hurry! The Sorceress shouted telepathically. Skeletor and Evil-Lynn have both entered the –

She was cut off suddenly.

“Battle-Cat . . .”

“I heard it too, He-Man.”

Much to He-Man’s amazement, Battle-Cat’s legs started to move even faster. The speed picked up. Trees sped fast by and He-Man was stunned at just how fast Battle-Cat was able to react to everything and anything that got in their way.

At last, they arrived at the edge of the plains of Grayskull.

Battle-Cat came to a complete stop.

“SKELETOR!” roared He-Man, louder than anything he had yelled.

---

Skeletor entered Castle Grayskull, Evil-Lynn by his side. The Sorceress stood before them, hands raised, energy formed around them. She fired, but both Skeletor and Evil-Lynn were able to deflect the blast. Most of her power had been used in holding the jawbridge up, but that had failed completely.

Skeletor could tell immediately that her mind was reaching out to He-Man. Faker had failed in defeating him, but it was no matter. Better that he was here to witness Skeletor’s ascension to power.

Evil-Lynn struck, a lightning bolt slamming into the Sorceress’ abdomen. This was followed up by one from Skeletor.

“Castle Grayskull . . .” Skeletor mused as he and Evil-Lynn entered into the throne room. Had he told her all about it? The Hall of Secrets? The Great Eye of the Universe? The Pool of Power? And the very mysterious power of Grayskull that was said to tap into the very heart of Eternia’s magic?

“Mine at last.”

Skeletor was just about to sit upon the throne when their came a shout from far off. Despite the distance, it could be heard even in here.

“SKELETOR!”

“He-Man,” Evil-Lynn remarked.

Skeletor produced the Unity Stone. “I need the Sword of Power. Kill him and bring it to me.”

Evil-Lynn nodded and walked out into the snowy hair. Beast-Man stood nearby, ready for her orders from Skeletor.

She cast small spell and her voice projected to He-Man.

“HE-MAN!” she shouted. “SURRENDER THE SWORD OF POWER OR YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE!”

He-Man looked to Man-At-Arms, Queen Marlena, King Randor, and Teela as they hung suspended above the Abyss. He leapt off Battle-Cat. He didn’t have a choice, did he?

He unsheathed the Sword of Power and tossed it. It landed right in front of the Evil Warriors. As soon as it did, the group of them rushed forward. Battle-Cat crouched and hissed. He-Man thought to tell him to take it easy, but suddenly recalled that Battle-Cat needed to be like this. To be feral and to be riled up.

“Here they come,” He-Man said, his battle armor appearing over his chest, Battle-Axe at the ready, shield out.

“You can’t defeat us, He-Man!” Tri-Klops shouted, firing a laser blast at the champion of Grayskull.

“Maybe, maybe not,” He-Man replied, blocking the beam with his shield. Trap-Jaw joined in and the others soon followed.

Panthor bounded for Battle-Cat. Battle-Cat leapt up, slammed his two front paws onto Panthor’s head and jumped right over the vicious cat. Battle-Cat instead jumped right onto Beast-Man, claws digging into him, mouth wide open.

Beast-Man roared and tossed the tiger off of him, but Battle-Cat was resilient. He rushed at Beast-Man again, snarling, teeth barred. His two front paws wrapped around Beast-Man’s head and slammed him to the ground. Beast-Man jumped right back up and started to snarl himself, sharp teeth revealing themselves into the wintery sunlight.

He tossed Battle-Cat back, then pounded on the armor. Battle-Cat with into a crouch, then slammed both front paws into Beast-Man’s abdomen. Beast-Man staggered back, allowing Battle-Cat to grab hold of him and flip him right over. Beast-Man slammed right into the ground.

---

Evil-Lynn carried the Sword of Power into Castle Grayskull, flat on her palms. Skeletor stood up as she brought it to him. His fingers wrapped around the hilt of the blade and he held it once more. A flash of memory from when he was in the Hall of Secrets the first time came to him. This sword was almost the one he had chosen.

“With the power of both swords combined, I will be able to use them to alter the very power of Grayskull. The doors to the Hall of Secrets will come unlocked. The Great Eye will open. After that, all of Grayskull shall be mine and the rest of its power will be mine to lay claim to.”

“So it shall be,” Evil-Lynn remarked, watched as he laid both swords next to each other.

“NO!” yelled out the Sorceress, standing up. An energy beam came flying from her hands and struck Skeletor.

Evil-Lynn went to work and unleashed a dozen small lightning bolts from her staff. The Sorceress was struck hard and slammed against the wall.

“Annoying,” Skeletor remarked and pulled out the Unity Stone.

Little did they know that it was the Sorceress’ brief attack that saved the day . . .

---

Avoiding the tail of Whiplash was easy enough, but doing so and blocking a blast from Tri-Klops was almost impossible. He-Man rolled back and slashed at Trap-Jaw’s robotic arm with his battle-axe. His missed and Trap-Jaw was able to get a cord around He-Man’s arm. He-Man pulled his arm forward, trying to knock Trap-Jaw off his feet, but it was to no avail.

His face was slammed by Whiplash’s tail. Webs snagged his other arm and the shield was pulled away. Clawful’s pincer came around He-Man’s neck. Stinkor blasted a terrible smell at his face, causing He-Man to loose focus.

Mer-Man pulled out his trident.

“He’s a dead man, now . . .” gloated Two-Bad.

There was a sudden burst of light and a loud sizzle of fireworks. Everyone looked over and watched as figures appeared in a pulsing golden glow.

“Put him down. Now.”

The Heroic Warriors had arrived in full furious form. Winds howled, vines leapt from the ground and from the forest, and both Buzz-Off and Stratos were in the air. As the Heroic Warriors collided once more with the Evil Warriors, He-Man pulled himself free.

“Orko! Battle-Cat!” shouted He-Man. “You’re with me! Stratos and Buzz-Off! Come!”

Battle-Cat leapt from his current stand-off with Beast-Man and rushed to his masters side. The trio ran down the path to Castle Grayskull, snowflakes flowing all around them as they did. Webstor tried to snag Buzz-Off, but was knocked down by Ram-Man, allowing the Insectoid lord to follow Stratos.

They were about to reach the land-bridge . . . when Faker stepped in their way.

“Get them down,” commanded He-Man. “Leave Faker to me.”

Faker ran forward and grabbed He-Man’s shoulders. He-Man was thrusted across the land bridge. He-Man rolled onto his feet, grabbed a rock and tossed it at Faker.

“I have all your power, He-Man,” Faker told him.

“Let’s see how well you can use that power,” He-Man snarked, the rock sailing at Faker.

Faker punched it and shattered it completely.

“How was that?”

“I didn’t like it,” He-Man replied, running towards Faker. “And I like you even less!”

Faker grabbed He-Man and tossed him again – this time at the Abyss. He-Man grabbed the edge of the land bridge, but was suddenly aware that was now dangling over the Abyss. His feet swung helplessly, his fingers holding on for dear life. Faker wasn’t just a He-Man copy . . . he was everything that He-Man wasn’t. Ruthless, merciless, evil.

Faker stepped forward to finish He-Man off, but He-Man pulled himself up just a bit a yanked on Faker’s ankle. Faker collided with the ground. He-Man heaved himself off the edge and stood upon the land bridge once more. Faker charged at him.

“Faker! Wait!” He-Man yelled out. He was moving too fast. He-Man merely side-stepped and Faker went flying off the side of the land bridge.

He-Man watched as Faker’s body went spinning into the Abyss and vanished into the darkness.

Sighing heavily, He-Man turned to the others. Stratos and Buzz-Off carried Randor, Marlena, Man-At-Arms and Teela over to the land-bridge.

“The rest of you, get back to the battle.”

Stratos and Buzz-Off did so without a second thought. They took to the air and curved right over the battle royale.

“That goes for all of you.”

“I don’t think so,” Randor said.

He-Man could sense an intense surge of power from within Castle Grayskull. No use and no time arguing. “Fine. I could use the help. But Queen Marlena . . .”

“I’m not useless, He-Man.”

He-Man turned around and smiled. He then led them across the jawbridge and into Castle Grayskull. As soon as he walked in, he was struck with a terrible weakness. His legs gave out. Likewise, Battle-Cat suddenly collapsed. He knew it right away. Something had happened to the Sword of Power.

“He-Man? Are you all right?” asked Randor.

“Oh, he’s just feeling a little weak in the knees, Randor!” Skeletor cried out from the throne room.

Skeletor stood in the center of the throne room. Behind him, in mid-air, was the Sword of Power and the Sword of Darkness. Their tips were now merged. Sitting at the hilt of the Sword of Darkness was the Unity Stone, its abilities now part of the Sword of Darkness. Which meant even if they were able to separate the swords, Skeletor would be able to do this again.

“Ooooh . . .” the Sorceress moaned.

Man-At-Arms ran to her. As soon as he did, both Skeletor and Evil-Lynn unleashed lightning bolts across the chamber. They cascading and arched their way around the group.

Randor grabbed a few weapons from the wall. All four now had a sword and shield.

“We need a distraction,” Man-At-Arms told the Sorceress, lifting her up. “A light.”

The Sorceress nodded and raised her hands. A flash of pure white light filled the throne room, but it seemed to not affect Marlena, Randor, Teela, Orko, the Sorceress, and Man-At-Arms.

“Teela, Marlena! Protect the Sorceress!” Randor shouted. “Duncan, you and I will handle Skeletor. Orko, help He-Man and Battle-Cat!”

The light was gone in a flash. Evil-Lynn went charging towards Teela and Marlena as they sat the Sorceress down behind them. A beam of blue energy lanced out from his hand and struck Teela’s shield. The shield immediately dissolved.

Marlena charged up and slammed her sword against Evil-Lynn’s staff. Evil-Lynn laughed and telekinetically slammed Marlena against the wall. Magic bindings held Marlena fast.

Teela ran to Evil-Lynn, but Evil-Lynn kicked her in the abdomen. “I grow rather tired of you, child.”

“I’m not a child!” Teela shouted, punching Evil-Lynn right in the face.

“BITCH!” cursed Evil-Lynn.

Before Teela could utter a witty retort, magic seized her. The sword was ripped out of her hand. Teela was lifted mid-air, airs and legs spread out. The sword moved up and hung suspended above Teela’s heart.

“Any last words?” asked Evil-Lynn.

“Release my daughter . . .” whispered the Sorceress as she started full awaken.

“Did you say something, Sorceress?” wondered Evil-Lynn.

“RELEASE HER!” the Sorceress shouted, standing up. Power unknown fired from her hands. Evil-Lynn didn’t even have a chance to issue a counter-spell as silver light slammed into her. The staff fell to the ground. Lightning from the Sorceress lanced through Evil-Lynn’s chest and the witch collapsed unconscious.

The Sorceress then turned to Teela and with a wave of her hand, the sword vanished and Teela was set down on her own two feet again.

“Thank you,” Teela said to the Sorceress as she rushed to help Marlena up.

“It was . . . my pleasure.”

Meanwhile, Orko wandered over to He-Man and Battle-Cat. “He-Man?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“I need . . . my Power Sword . . .” He-Man muttered, barely even able to move.

Orko tapped his scarf, then looked to Randor and Man-At-Arms as they barely held their own against Skeletor. He then rushed over, a blur of red and purple.

“Orko?” questioned Teela as the Trollan made for the combined swords.

Skeletor didn’t even notice him as Orko approached the partially merged swords. They were half-way melded together; they were combined half-way up the blade, becoming like one sword from there. Orko looked up and down and did his best to understand the magic at work here. At first, he thought it was too far above his understanding for him to be of much use. But the more he studied it, the more simple it seemed.

Waving his little blue hands, he chanted his spell.

“What was once two is now one! Go back and let this spell be undone!”

There was a burst of light and pulse of green energy as the swords quickly came unmerged. Skeletor spun around, sockets filled with crimson hate.

“YOU!” he roared.

“Ummm . . . no it’s not.”

Skeletor was about to reach for the Sword of Darkness and restart the spell – when He-Man and Battle-Cat both collided with him! Skeletor went rolling across the stone floor, but stood up quickly. Havoc Staff in hand, he unleashed a blast at He-Man. He-Man dodged it and leapt forward.

Before Skeletor could fire again, He-Man kicked Skeletor’s wrist. The Havoc Staff went flying and clattered to the ground a few feet away. He-Man then punched Skeletor in the abdomen, then shouldered him in the ‘face.’ Skeletor stumbled back.

Skeletor punched He-Man just he moved. The fist landed ineffectively against his shoulder and He-Man struck back with another punch to the skull. Skeletor swung his fist, but He-Man blocked it. He-Man then grabbed Skeletor by the harness and tossed him across the throne room.

He-Man chased after him.

“It’s over, Skeletor! Give it up!”

“Never.”

Skeletor lifted up his hand and the Sword of Darkness went right to it. He pulled of the Unity Stone and used the blade to fire a lightning bolt at He-Man. He-Man jumped out of the way, but just barely.

“He-Man!” shouted Teela. The Sword of Power flew from her hands and landed in his.

“YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN IN MY WAY, HE-MAN!” Skeletor yelled out.

Another lightning bolt – this one far stronger – was unleashed. He-Man brought the Sword of Power up in just the nick of time. The lightning struck it hard – both swords were now connected by the bolt as Skeletor continued to let it out of his blade.

“This must end,” He-Man muttered, the Sword of Power vibrating and threatening to give up on him. It was burning hot in this hand.

“THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL SHALL BE MINE! IT IS MY DESTINY!”

“Your destiny . . .” He-Man began, struggling with the Sword of Power as it continued to channel the flow from the Sword of Darkness. “. . . is to meet defeat!”

Only one way, He-Man thought to himself. It worked before.

He-Man lifted the Sword of Power as high as he could, the lightning bolt still connecting both blades. With a loud, booming voice, he shouted to the rooftops.

“BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!” The Sword of Power was suddenly brimming with crisp, silver energy. It bubbled and fumed around He-Man.

Everything suddenly changed. He-Man felt the Sword of Power resisting in full force against the Sword of Darkness. He moved it and pointed it directly at the Sword of Darkness, the lightning bolt continuing to arch between them. But now something changed with the lightning bolt. He-Man unleashed his power into it, seeking to shut down the Sword of Darkness.

The lightning suddenly popped. Small sparks ran across it. Skeletor’s jaw dropped as the Sword of Darkness lost control of the bolt. His sword shook and vibrated heavily. It began to glow an erie silver. Gold ripples of energy pulsed from it.

“No . . . no!”

“I HAVE THE POWER!”

The lightning bolt intensified. The power of good – the power of Grayskull – channeled into the Sword of Power and through the lightning bolt. It slammed into the Sword of Darkness and resonated with a frightening burst of blue energy. Skeletor roared as pain ripped through his arm.

And then . . . the Sword of Darkness seemed to explode with magic and energy and light. Everyone watched as the lightning left the Sword of Power and curved up. It struck the hilt of the Sword of Darkness and the lightning loop tightened. There was a tremendous final burst of energy.

The Sword of Darkness then clattered out of Skeletor’s hand, the blade smoldering.

Skeletor fell to his knees.

“No . . .” he said, grabbed the handle of the Sword of Darkness. He felt nothing. Barely a connection. “YOU! HOW DARE YOU?!”

He-Man looked down upon Skeletor like a swift and terrible judge. “I am the champion of Grayskull, Skeletor. It is my destiny.”

Skeletor stood up immediately. The Havoc Staff flew into his hand.

“This is far from over, He-Man. This battle – this year – was only the beginning.”

A thick black cloud overcame Skeletor. It dissipated quickly and when it was gone, he was nowhere to be found.

“Where did he go?” asked Marlena.

“And Evil-Lynn’s gone too!”

He-Man ran to the entrance, where they saw the Evil Warriors departing the plains. Their cover fire was thick, creating some chaos for the Heroic Warriors.

Randor, Marlena, Teela, Orko, and Man-At-Arms all went out to meet with them. He-Man and Battle-Cat remained with the Sorceress.

“Did he mean that?” He-Man asked. “I pretty much ‘turned off’ the Sword of Darkness. I thought that may stop him . . .”

The Sorceress looked at the sinking sun as it drifted behind light snow clouds. “The Sword of Darkness was but one weapon in Skeletor’s disposal. I fear that as long as he lives, he will seek the power and secrets of Castle Grayskull.”

He-Man sighed heavily and looked to her. “Then I must do what I must stop him.”

The Sorceress grinned at him. “It seems we’ve chosen wisely, then.” She put her hand on his shoulder and looked affectionately at the warrior. “Despite his escape, Skeletor was dealt a hefty blow thanks to you. You’ve done very well, He-Man. You should very proud of yourself.”

He-Man smiled a little. “I . . . I am.” He was a little surprised to find that that was true. Just after his first battle with Skeletor, He-Man saw pride in his father’s eyes. Now, after a year of conflict, He-Man felt that same pride in himself. It was unknown to all, but He-Man – Adam – very much grew up in that moment.

“There’s still many more battles to be fought,” He-Man reminded both her and himself.

The Sorceress nodded and her grin widened. “And I have faith that you will always be here to save us. To be the light in the dark.”