Author's Note:
99 percent of the characters presented in this story are the property of Mattel and Filmation and do not belong to me in anyway. This is a Fanfiction, written solely for the entertainment of its readers and myself. I make zero cash off of this.
This is a continued re-write of the original "The Final Adventure." It is the beginning of much longer fanfic that will now be in tune with the fanfics written since then. It is therefore in the same continuity as "Preludes and Beginnings," "He-Man: Year One," "The Day That Nothing Happened," "The Elfsong of Eternia," "The Crossroads of Destiny," "Prophecy & Change," "Just Another Day," "Liberty and Valor," "Manifest Destiny," "Roots," "Deus Ex Machina," "My Blue Reflection," and "The Last Battle."
It continues the "Final Adventure" storyline that began in "Return to Eternia," and continued into "A Winter's Heart," and "The Shroud of the Horde." Both fics were edited slightly to reflect changes in the continuity. It is important to have read these three stories first. But if you didn't, here is what happened last time.
Previously . . .
Five years ago, He-Man/Adam left Eternia to fight in war in the far-off Tri-Solar System. After sending his enemy Skeletor into exile and helping to bring peace between Primus and Denebria, He-Man/Adam returned to Eternia. What he had found upon his return was a shock. Hordak had claimed a fourth sword of Grayskull, the Sword of Deception. Using the Sword of Deception, Hordak had been able to cast Etheria a tar-like darkness, putting the populace of the world into suspended animation until the day he would be able to absorb their life forces. In the meantime, Hordak launched a successful campaign against Eternia. Eternos, with many of its allies inexplicably missing, fell to the power of the Horde. Most of the Heroic Warriors were taken captive and Randor and Marlena themselves fled to the unreachable world of Earth for safety.
When He-Man/Adam returned to his homeworld, he met with the only Heroic Warriors not in captivity – the Sorceress, Gwildor, Clamp Champ, Stratos, Mekaneck, and Teela, whom had had a child with another man. In short order, they reached the Crystal Castle and with the help of Adora, Mermista, Glimmer, Bow, Castaspella, and Flutterina, freed the rest of the Heroic Warriors. With all of these allies, He-Man and She-Ra led the final battle against Hordak. Hordak was defeated, the Sword of Deception returned to Grayskull, and the Horde Troopers teleported off the planet. The only Hordesmen not accounted for was the de-powered Shadow Weaver. Victory came at a price, however, as the true identities of She-Ra and He-Man were revealed.
Over the course of rebuilding the kingdom of Eternos, Adam and Teela's feelings for each came out. They quickly decided it was time to have a relationship. Afterwards, they met with various allies and friendly kingdoms on a mission of peace. When they returned to Eternos, the kingdom was restored.
The time of joy and peace did not last long, unfortunately. In an effort to maintain peace, He-Man met with Evil-Lynn of Snake Mountain. She told him that King Hiss and his Snake-Men had ventured into tunnels deep beneath the surface shortly after Hordak's downfall. Despite being warned that a terrible secret lies under the ground by the Sorceress, He-Man and a small team went anyways.
It was beneath the surface that Adam was told the true nature of Eternia. Thousands of years ago, to appease the gods of ancient Eternia (Preternia) and in an effort to determine what course they would change the universe to follow, the Cosmic Enforcers brought Earthlings to Eternia. Over the following millennia, the Cosmic Enforcers manipulated the Eternians into prolonging a war between good and evil. Shaken by this truth, Adam began to question everything.
After besting King Hiss and his monster, Pythor, Adam argued harshly with the Sorceress over just how much he really trusted her. With their relationship splintered, Adam still decided to keep what he learned a secret from all others. Meanwhile, Skeletor appeared on Eternia and recruited Shadow Weaver for a mission.
This mission would be delayed, though, by the arrival of Hydron and Flipshot from Primus. They revealed to Eternos that shortly after He-Man left the Tri-Solar System, Horde agents attempted to wage war against them. Luckily, the new peace allowed a swift victory. The combined forces of Primus and Denebria then learned that as the Horde Empire falls apart due to civil wars, Horde Prime was seeking the ultimate weapon: a spell that could destroy entire worlds. This spell was locked in the mind of Hordak, who himself was a prison of Eternos. With the help of a dozen worlds, Eternia fought off what was left of the Horde's vast armies. In midst of battle, Adam and Teela's love was endangered due to Adam's loss of faith in himself and the arrival of an old lover. But in the end, both were emboldened by each other and their relationship grew stronger.
With the Horde defeated completely, King Hiss and Hordak prisoner, a calm has come over Eternia. Despite the secrets he learned and his parents still missing, Adam looks to the future as best he can . . .
Prelude
Present Day.
The door opened slowly. She entered like a ghost, cold and quiet. She moved quickly, seeking out exactly what she had been asked – told – to retrieve. Her eyes scanned the lab. Her was mission half-complete by making it into Eternos without detection. It helped that besides Orko, the major mystic-sensitives (Glimmer, Castaspella, and even Mermista), there were no others present. No others to detect her arrival or departure.
Shadow Weaver, former agent of the Horde, slinked into Man-At-Arms' workshop. Her assignment was quite simple – to steal a specific piece of technology. It had been delayed by the ordeal with Horde Prime last month, but now that things had clamed down, she went on the mission.
As she moved across the workshop, her new robes silently flowed around her. Black and violet had replaced crimson. She was done with the Horde.
After only a few minutes of slinking, she found what she was looking for. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, simply a massive engine. It was one of about three dozen Man-At-Arms had, so it would be a bit of a surprise if he even notice it was missing for a while.
Her hands moved quickly, a spell being cast. The engine vanished in a burst of purple energy, teleported back to Viper Tower. Shadow Weaver, her job complete, slid away, moving ever-so-creepily back to the door.
Some time later, Shadow Weaver returned to Viper Tower. Skeletor stood before the engine, looking it over. "Well done, Weaver," Skeletor complimented her. "No trouble?"
"None at all," she replied. She was still fairly uncertain in terms of this alliance with Skeletor, but thus far, he had not turned on her yet. Considering the disaster that spawned from their previous cooperation, this one was going quite well.
"Will it work?" she then asked, looking between the engine and the ship that Skeletor had flown to Eternia. He had indeed been the one that attacked the Starship Eternia in orbit all those months ago.
Skeletor shrugged a little, then turned to an open doorway.
"I don't know," he replied. "Will it?"
From the doorway came Tri-Klops. His eye in use scanned the engine, getting a complete reading of its workings. After a few moments, he nodded. "It should."
"Excellent!" Skeletor exclaimed. "Get to work, Tri-Klops. I have plans to prepare for, especially if what I learned about Earth is correct . . ."
Tri-Klops said nothing in return and simply examined the machines before him. The doors shut, leaving Tri-Klops and Shadow Weaver very much alone.
"Does Evil-Lynn know he has returned?"
"No," he answered. "Nor does she know I'm here."
"Then why are you here?" asked Weaver.
"I was about to ask you the same question," he responded. "However, I do believe I know the answer already."
"Oh? What is that?"
Tri-Klops began to gather chains and hooked them to the engine. "Skeletor gives as much as he punishes. If you cross him, you will pay. But serve him, do his bidding, you will be rewarded. Trap-Jaw, Evil-Lynn, Beast-Man, Mer-Man, myself . . . we're all example of that. He gave me my amazing vision. He saved Trap-Jaw's life. He spared Beast-Man death at the hands of wild animals. For Mer-Man, it's sovereignty over the Mer-People."
"And what about Evil-Lynn?"
"Evil-Lynn?"
Tri-Klops paused. "He gave her power and passion. But she has
crossed him too many times. I'd be surprised if Skeletor lets her
live after he reveals his presence here on Eternia to her. That is
all besides the point, though. Power, is it, for you?"
"Yes,"
Shadow Weaver said quietly.
"Heed my warnings, then, Weaver. Betray Skeletor and he will punish you as much as he has rewarded you."
Shadow Weaver didn't answer, but simply took the words to her black heart.
