Champions Of Eternia
A Secret Revealed
It was a beautiful spring day at the Palace of Eternia. The warmth from the suns overhead combined with the gentle breeze rustling around the grounds made it a splendid day to spend time outside. Prince Adam and Teela were walking through the palace gardens, taking in all the new life the garden brings in the spring. Even though she was the Captain of the Guards, Teela still enjoyed the quiet times like these that allowed her to just be normal. Adam enjoyed these times too, mainly cause it meant time spent with Teela as himself and not He-Man, champion for good. As strange as it was, Adam sometimes couldn't help but be a little jealous of how much time He-Man and Teela spent together. He knew that Teela respected him but his constant disappearances at every sign of danger left her believing him to be a coward.
"Something on your mind?" asked Teela as they circled the west garden.
"Oh, I was just thinking about that move you showed me in training yesterday." replied Adam smiling at her.
"Don't worry, Adam," said Teela returning his smile "you'll get the hang of it soon enough."
"I'm not worried." said Adam "With you as my mentor I'm bound to get it."
They walked on a little further and Adam watched as her hand traced the vines on the outer wall.
"I was wondering if you might want to work a little this afternoon on sword fighting?" asked Adam. "I've been putting in some extra practice and would like to see how I'm fairing."
"Sure, Adam." replied Teela. "I'm glad to hear that –"
Teela's words were cut off by the thundering sounds coming from the outer wall. Adam grabbed Teela around the waist, pulling her out of the way of falling stones. As they hit the soft ground, Adam's sword slid out of its sheath.
"Sorry to interrupt," said the Gamemaster, gliding through the newly formed hole in the outer wall on his discus glider "but I have need of you, Teela."
"Adam, get help!" shouted Teela.
She picked up Adam's sword and ran forward to battle the intruders. A large bear-like humanoid leaped through the hole and grabbed Teela. Adam made to attack but was knocked back to the ground by a blast from the Gamemaster's trident. The creature then jumped onto the back of the discus glider with Teela and Adam's sword.
"Adam!" shouted Teela, as she struggled against the beast holding her.
Adam pushed himself up to one knee but was still too dizzy to stand.
"If you ever want to see Teela again, tell He-Man to come to the Gamemaster's Battle Arena and surrender." said the Gamemaster.
With that, they soared out the hole in the outer wall and away from the palace. Cringer came bounding into the west gardens followed by Orko. Adam was to his feet now and thoroughly mad. Not only had he allowed the Gamemaster to take Teela, but he had also allowed them to take his sword.
"Prince Adam, what happened?" asked Orko.
"The Gamemaster has taken Teela as bait for He-Man." replied Adam.
"Well then, I guess I know what's coming." said Cringer, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "Let's get it over with."
"Yeah Adam, what are you waiting for?" asked Orko. "It's time for He-Man!"
"I agree," said Adam "the only problem is that Teela had my sword."
"How did Teela get your sword?" exclaimed Orko.
"I dropped it during the fight and Teela picked it up." replied Adam.
"C-Call Man-At-Arms and t-tell him to bring the royal guard!" said Cringer.
"No good Cring," replied Adam "Duncan and the royal guard are on patrol in the Evergreen Forest. It's up to us to rescue Teela."
"But Adam, you're no warrior." said Orko.
"I'm no coward either and we've got to save Teela." said Adam hotly. "Are you coming with me or are you staying here?"
"I'm right behind you!" exclaimed Orko.
"And I'll be behind him." said Cringer shaking.
Adam, Cringer, and Orko jumped into Attack Traxx and headed off to the Gamemaster's deadly arena. They parked the Attack Traxx just out of sight of the Battle Arena spaceship. Adam ordered Attack Traxx to contact Man-At-Arms, then slowly crept closer to what looked like a large door. They ducked behind some trees as the large door slid open and a lizard man carrying some type of staff walked out to dispose of some trash before returning to the ship.
"We need to get into that ship." said Adam.
"How do you plan to do that?" asked Cringer. "Walk up and knock?"
"Yep." replied Adam.
"I wasn't being serious!" exclaimed Cringer.
Adam snuck down to the ship and pounded on the door, then stepped to the side. When the door opened the lizard man stepped outside and Adam sprayed some kind of gas into the lizard's face. Immediately, the lizard man collapsed to the ground.
'Have to tell Duncan when we get back that his stun gas works perfectly', thought Adam as he motioned for Cringer and Orko to follow him inside. They moved quietly through the corridors, looking for the Gamemaster and Teela. As they made their way closer to the center of the spaceship, they could hear noises that sounded like fighting.
"M-Maybe Teela's in there, Adam." whispered Cringer.
"Let's check it out." whispered Adam.
There was a long hallway that circled the main arena. Four corridors led from the hallway into the arena. Adam, Cringer, and Orko crept down one of the corridors towards the sound of fighting to get a glimpse of what was going on.
"ADAM LOOKOUT!" shouted Orko.
"Don't be so shy! HAVE A PROPER LOOK!" shouted a massive man with yellow skin and a scorpion-like tail.
He shoved Adam and Cringer roughly into the center, Adam falling into the dirt face first. Laughter filled the arena and Adam looked up to see the Gamemaster watching, an evil grin upon his face. Orko was nowhere to be seen.
"Prince Adam!" said the Gamemaster over a loud speaker. "What a pleasant surprise! I hope that you've brought He-Man with you!"
"OH NO! ADAM!" cried Teela in panic.
Adam looked up to see Teela dangling from a rope, suspended in the middle of the arena. Adam furrowed his brow and locked eyes with the Gamemaster as he rose to his feet, dusting his arms off.
"Hate to disappoint you, Gamemaster," shouted Adam angrily "but He-Man isn't coming."
"Too bad, Prince Adam." said the Gamemaster. "I guess I'll have to settle for watching Mandersen tare you limb from limb."
The massive half man half scorpion grinned as he eyed Adam and Cringer like fresh meat. Adam spotted his sword next to the Gamemaster's chair, but even if he was able to get to it there was no way to transform into He-Man without anyone seeing. Adam grabbed a mace hanging on the outer wall of the arena as he prepared to defend himself. Cringer stood behind Adam, trembling violently.
Mandersen lunged at Adam who rolled out of the way before taking a swipe at the large scorpion man with the mace. Mandersen blocked his swing with his tail then slammed Adam into the wall. Adam felt the back of his head connect with the wall, causing lights to pop in front of his eyes. He ducted just in time, as Mandersen buried his fist into the wall where Adam's head had been moments earlier.
"SWEEP ADAM! SWEEP!" shouted Teela.
Adam knew what Teela meant and attempted to sweep the legs of Mandersen with his own. It only partially worked, as Mandersen stumbled backwards though he did not fall. His scorpion tail aided him in staying on his feet. Adam lunged at the scorpion man again with his mace, connecting with his jaw, before Mandersen threw Adam across the arena with a massive back hand. Adam looked up to see the scorpion tail raised high in the air, ready to strike. He tried to move but could not, for all the wind had been knocked out of him by the fall. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact.
Suddenly, there was an explosion from above. Adam opened his eyes to see the scorpion man looking up as well. A sky chaser was hovering above them, Man-At-Arms at the controls. He pulled Teela into the chaser then placed a well aimed warning shot at the feet of Mandersen, who fled down a nearby corridor.
"Adam! Grab the rope!" cried Man-At-Arms, as he lowered a rope for Adam to grab hold of.
"W-Wait for me!" shouted Cringer, bounding towards Adam.
Adam placed an arm around Cringer as Man-At-Arms hoisted them up to the chaser.
"My sword." said Adam. "I've got to go get it!"
"It's just a sword, Adam!" shouted Teela. "Let's get out of here!"
"I've got it Adam!" shouted Orko, soaring towards the chaser; Adam's sword clutched in his hands.
"Excellent work, Orko!" said Man-At-Arms.
"Okay, can we go now?" asked Teela, flustered by the concern over a sword.
As the sky chaser lifted away from the spaceship, the Gamemaster's voice sounded again over a loud speaker.
"You're not going anywhere!" said the Gamemaster's magnified voice.
A large door opened in the top of the spaceship to reveal the barrel of a really large cannon.
"It's a proton cannon!" shouted Man-At-Arms. "We'll never outrun it's range in time!"
"FATHER! WHAT DO WE DO?" cried Teela.
"OPEN THE HATCH NOW!" shouted Adam.
"Adam! You can't! Teela!" shouted Man-At-Arms.
"I HAVE NO CHOICE, DUNCAN!" shouted Adam. "AND IT'S ABOUT TIME!"
Everyone in the sky chaser watched as Adam held aloft his sword and shouted, "BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!"
Blinding light filled the sky chaser as He-Man appeared where Adam had stood only a second ago. He-Man held the sword with both hands in front of him and shouted, "I HAVE THE POWER!" He then pointed his sword at Cringer and in another blinding light Cringer transformed into Battle Cat, roaring his battle cry.
Teela watched mesmerized, as He-Man mounted Battle Cat and cried, "COME ON CAT! WE HAVE WORK TO DO!"
Teela continued to watch speechless as Battle Cat raced towards the hatch and leaped from the sky chaser, landing on the roof of the spaceship. He-Man unmounted Battle Cat, who kept the lizard men at bay, while He-Man ripped the proton cannon from it's turret. He then threw it down towards the ground, creating a massive explosion. He-Man signaled for Man-At-Arms to lower the chaser as the Gamemaster fled in a smaller ship.
"Teela? Are you okay?" asked Orko, floating next to her.
"A-Adam i-i-is H-He-Man?" stuttered Teela.
"I know it's a lot to take in, Teela, but please don't be mad at Adam." said Man-At-Arms softly. "It's a heavy enough burden for him already."
"Why hasn't anyone told me?" asked Teela, looking at her father in disbelief. "How come you and Orko knew, but not me? Does the King and Queen know too?"
"No, they don't." said He-Man, as he and Battle Cat re-entered the chaser. "I'm sure you have many questions, but I think there is one place we need to go first. Castle Greyskull."
He-Man held aloft his sword once more and cried, "I RELEASE THE POWER!"
In another blinding light, Adam and Cringer reappeared once again. Adam looked at Teela, who was looking faint.
"Setting coarse for Castle Greyskull." said Man-At-Arms.
As the sky chaser made its way to Castle Greyskull, Teela sat in a chair across from Adam, staring at him as though she'd never seen him before. Orko tried to talk to her, but she merely gestured her responses. When the castle finally came into view, Teela found her voice.
"Why Greyskull?" asked Teela.
"It's where I draw my power." replied Adam. "The Sorceress will be able to help answer your questions. I'm sure she already knows what happened."
"All this time, I thought you to be a coward." said Teela. "You can't change without your sword, can you?"
"No, I can't." replied Adam.
"You were willing to face the Gamemaster without it as Adam," said Teela "to save me?"
"You're my best friend, Teela." said Adam. "What was I suppose to do?"
The sky chaser landed outside the castle and they departed into Greyskull, after He-Man lowered the draw bridge. They found the Sorceress sitting in the thrown room of the castle.
"So now she knows." said the Sorceress.
"Yes." said Teela.
"Do you so swear to keep the secrets of Prince Adam, of He-Man, and of this castle?" asked the Sorceress.
Adam glanced at Man-At-Arms, who smiled slightly.
"I will keep the secrets of Adam, He-Man, and this castle." replied Teela.
"Teela, you have taken the next step in fulfilling your future." said the Sorceress.
"What is my future?" asked Teela.
"No one can know their own future, Teela." said the Sorceress. "Not even me. Our future is what we make it."
"Then how do you know –" began Teela.
"As an Oracle," interrupted the Sorceress "I can see how your future may turn out if you continue down the same path. I can also see what will happen if you do not. The choices are yours, but all choices have consequences."
"Why was this kept from me for so long?" asked Teela, looking at Adam.
"I'm sorry, Tee." said Adam. "I really wanted to tell you but I was told that I couldn't until the time was right."
"How did you know the time was right?" asked Teela.
"I had no choice." replied Adam.
"How have you done it for so long?" asked Teela. "How have you been Eternia's champion and their prince at the same time?"
"It hasn't been easy for me." replied Adam.
"It hasn't been a b-bed of flowers for me either." said Cringer. "A-Always turning into that awful B-Battle Cat and f-fighting big creatures. N-Not to mention o-old bone head."
"Take it easy, Cring, old friend." said Adam.
"So you two have known for how long?" asked Teela, looking at her father and Orko.
"Since the beginning." replied Man-At-Arms.
"They were asked to keep Adam's secret by me, Teela." said the Sorceress.
"At least now I can help cover for you." said Teela, looking at Adam. "It's just so frustrating to find out this way."
"Not the way I wanted you to," said Adam "but I'm glad you now know."
"Me too." said Teela, smiling broadly.
A/N: This is my first short story in a collection of short stories I call, "Champions Of Eternia". The idea and initial plot to work from was handed to me by an anonymous donor. He has asked to remain so, therefore all I can say is thanks. He has many stories to work on and thought that I could give this one a try. Please review and let me know if I should continue.