Author's Note:
Most 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 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 will fit around "A Winter's Heart" and "The Shroud of the Horde," though both may be edited to fit with slight changes in the continuity.
Previously:
Prince Adam/He-Man has returned home after five years on the distant world of Primus. However, what he found on Eternia was not what he expected. Eternia has been conquered by the Horde, Eternos is in shambles, and Etheria has been shrouded in a darkness of suspended animation. He-Man, rallying the forces of good, managed to free the Heroic Warriors and recovered She-Ra, Glimmer, Bow, and a few remaining members of the Great Rebellion. Together, they overthrew Hordak. However, during the battle with the Horde, the true identities of He-Man and She-Ra were revealed to the public.
With Queen Marlena and King Randor exiled on the planet Earth, Adam and Adora have vowed to restore the kingdom as King and Queen, while still protecting the planet as He-Man and She-Ra. Part of their new leadership was to rebuild Eternos and to make contact with the various remaining kingdoms of Eternia. With a long diplomatic mission complete and Eternos back to its former glory – and then some – He-Man and She-Ra set their sights on their enemies to determine what to do next.
At Snake Mountain, Adam learned that King Hiss and his Snake-Men journeyed into the depths of Eternia. Though warned by the Sorceress that he may find a terrible truth beneath the ground, Adam and a few Heroic Warriors went anyways. Once there, they confronted a giant, Mer-Man, and eventually, Adam met with a being called the Faceless One. The Faceless One showed Adam (and only Adam) the secret the Sorceress warned about. The Cosmic Enforcers have been manipulating Eternia into a prolonged with between the forces of good and evil. The reason for this manipulation? To, when the time comes, alter the entire universe to be whatever force is mightier. After this learning this truth, Adam was reunited with his companions and placed back on the search for King Hiss.
Chapter One: "My Second Home"
King Hiss was ready to make his move.
As soon as word reached him that Hordak was defeated and that He-Man and She-Ra were back and rebuilding the world in their own little image, Hiss kicked off his plan. His vengeance. Ever since the non-aggression pact was signed between the Horde and the forces of Snake Mountain, Hiss was busy doing research. He sought things that had been forgotten – ways to defeat the Horde, mainly. However, when he discovered the location of the last monster of the First Age – Pythor – it was only a few weeks before He-Man returned.
That's when King Hiss changed his plans.
All the better, really.
Despite the Second Age rivalry between King Hiss and Hordak, the thirst for revenge against those that destroyed his beloved Vipera was greater. Now all Pythor needed was to be awakened. At the bottom of massive pit was the seal behind which Pythos slumbered. Pythor, along with 500 of his warriors, stood ready.
In Hiss' hand was the madlion that would allow him to control Pythor. The seal of the Pythor was ready to be breached.
Halfway up the massive pit was an opening that led into a tunnel that branched off from the main one. Two guards stood there, watching as Hiss prepared his magics to open the seal. They should have been paying attention. With a quick bang of their heads, the two were unconscious.
"What do you see?" asked Ram-Man of Roboto. Snout Spout and He-Man stood just behind them.
"Hiss is preparing to open the seal. Within minutes, if my sensors are reading his energy output correctly."
Snout Spout looked over to He-Man. Ever since the portal opened and reunited him with them an hour ago, he had been brooding. Distracted. Angry.
"What should we do?"
"The seal is opening."
He-Man looked up from his far-off thoughts. "Wait until we can see what he's unleashing, then adjust accordingly."
"Really?" questioned Snout Spout.
"Those are my orders," He-Man grunted in a tone Snout Spout had never heard before.
At that moment, King Hiss decided to give his orders. He turned to Kobra Kahn, Rattlor, Snake Face, and Sssqueeze.
"Have our forces march to Grayskull. I will unleash Pythor."
He-Man's eyes widened. Clamp Champ looked to He-Man, his powerful senses hearing the sounds of 1,000 footsteps.
"Get to the surface," He-Man commanded. "Get in touch with Teela and Adora. Have them get the Heroic Warriors and the Royal Soldiers to Castle Grayskull."
"What about you?" asked Clamp Champ.
"I'm going to stop Hiss from releasing Pythor."
As the Heroic Warriors ran back to the end of the tunnel and Ram-Man prepared to launch himself up, He-Man stood at the edge of the pit. Far below, King Hiss stood just to the side of the massive seal, holding in his hands the golden medallion that would unleash Pythor and put it under Hiss' control.
He-Man hesitated. It didn't feel right anymore. Nothing felt right. He couldn't believe it. But as soon as he was reunited with the Heroic Warriors after the meeting with the Faceless One, he knew he had to believe it. It fit too well. When He-Man looked at King Hiss, he remembered all too well being back in time and hearing He-Ro talk about the Snake-Men's newest weaponry – lasers. There would be no way that such weaponry would be so easily constructed during that timeframe.
He-Man eyes went wide as he saw energy flash around King Hiss' frame and the medallion. He hesitated too long.
He-Man leapt off the ledge, Sword of Power drawn, Shield of the Galactic Guardians at the ready.
"Hiss!" he roared, landing just to the right of the Snake-Man.
King Hiss turned and smiled. "You're too late, He-Man."
"You don't seem surprised to see me, Hiss," He-Man retorted, ready for battle.
"I knew you'd be along."
There was a low, deep moaning from below them. Hiss' smile widened.
"I've had a pretty bad day, Hiss. Hand over the medallion and walk away."
"I've already given the beast my instructions. It wouldn't do any good to take it away."
There was another noise from below, this one more like the groan of an ancient machine put into operation for the first time hundreds of years.
"Why didn't you unleash this against Hordak?"
"Why are you asking questions, He-Man?" replied King Hiss. "Really, this isn't really like you. Usually, you would have started punching and kicking."
"What do you know of the Cosmic Enforcers?"
Hiss' smile was gone. "Only that they gave me the means to fight your ancestor. Then they gave He-Ro the means to fight back."
"Interesting," He-Man replied
He-Man was in motion. Sword of Power raised, he made for the medallion. But Hiss was no one's fool. A staff appeared in hand and he blocked He-Man's in-coming thrust. A loud clang filled the pit. Hiss jumped back, placing the medallion on his belt, and staff at the ready.
He-Man slid forward, sword once more hitting the staff. Hiss swung the staff, striking only He-Man's shield. He-Man shoved up against the staff and kicked Hiss in the stomach. Hiss tumbled back just a bit, but He-Man moved in, taking advantage of the situation.
His fist collided with Hiss' jaw, sending the Snake-Man reeling. He-Man then slammed his shield against Hiss' face. Hiss swung his staff around, preparing to strike at He-Man. He-Man sent the Sword of Power slicing through the air and cut the staff right in two.
He-Man then kicked Hiss right square in the chest. Hiss went tumbling back, arms spiraling in an attempt to maintain his balance. He recovered and leapt up, landing a few feet beyond He-Man. It was there King Hiss moved into his ultimate form. His skin was shredded in seconds, revealing the snakes underneath, writing and hissing.
"I wondered when I was going to see you like that," He-Man said aloud.
From his two arm snakes came a pair of energy beams. He-Man's shield shrugged them off. Hiss snarled and rushed forward, mouths open, dripping with poison. He-Man slammed himself into Hiss, the fangs unable to pierce He-Man thick armor.
Fists then slammed the Hiss' head and he then He-Man jumped back. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but he hoped that maybe destroying the medallion would do it.
The pit then shook. There was now a very loud, very loud clanging sound from under their feet.
Hiss' snakes laughed and he ran towards He-Man again. He-Man's shield took the blow and he flipped away from King Hiss, trying to even out of his footing the rocking floor.
"Pythor risssess . . ." King Hiss announced.
"Not yet."
He-Man slid across the ground, shield colliding with King Hiss' mid-section snakes. Quickly, he plucked the medallion away. He-Man then rolled away. The ground continued to shake as vast chains beneath them were in motion.
Holding the medallion, He-Man pushed on both sides. It began to crack and crumble and within seconds, it was rubble. He dropped it on the ground and looked to King Hiss to see what his reaction would be. He-Man was quite discouraged when he saw the look of amusement on all of King Hiss' snake faces.
"I told you already, He-Man! That medallion doesn't even affect Pythor anymore!"
The shook violently now. The sounds of chains were gone. Starting from all around the seal, there was huge concussive bursts, kicking up dirt and dust from edges. A massive snake symbol in the center of the huge seal began to glow red. The seal turned, then flipped open.
A massive snake – nearly seven hundred feet in length – was coiled up beneath. A thin web-like membrane was torn asunder as Pythor awoke and began to crane its head out from the warmth of its body. Pythor sniffed at the air; it's massive forked tongue flicking out just a bit.
As it continued to pull out from the coil, He-Man began to notice a deformity to the monster. Below its head, there was a massive bulge all the way around its neck, subsiding just a little under 1/3 of the way down its body.
"Pythor . . ." Hiss hissed.
Pythor reared, snarling and growling at King Hiss. Then, finally, it turned its attention to the top of the pit, where the sunlight rain down upon it. Pythor squatted down, then launched up, firing up the pit to the top, where it seemingly vanished.
"He's gone to Castle Grayskull, He-Man. What are you going to do about it?"
He-Man rushed at King Hiss, Sword of Power poised.
"Sssso be it," Hiss retorted and prepared to meet He-Man head on.