Chapter 2
After returning to the palace, the Masters had placed Karla in bed. Man-At-Arms hovered a handheld device over her, running some kind of test. The device beeped rapidly as he moved it up and down over her body.
Prince Adam and Teela entered the room to see what was happening.
"How is she, Father?" Teela asked.
Man-At-Arms looked up from the device. "Fortunately, nothing's broken. Nothing too serious. She probably took a jolt to the head that knocked her unconscious. I just hope she hasn't developed amnesia."
"Who is this girl, anyway?" Adam asked.
"We really don't know, Adam," Man-At-Arms told him. "We found her like this on the battlefield. No doubt she was attacked by Skeletor's warriors. And judging by her clothing, I don't even think she's from around here."
He pulled the device away, switching it off. "All that's left is to let her rest. Hopefully she'll wake up soon. Orko..."
A hovering being with a red robe and a pointed hat moved closer. "Yes, Man-At-Arms?"
"I need you to stay here and watch over her," Man-At-Arms said. "Someone should be here when she wakes up."
"Okay!" Orko nodded.
"Let's go." Man-At-Arms guided Adam and Teela out of the room.
The Masters gathered in the courtyard to discuss the day's events.
"Well, the girl is resting," Man-At-Arms told the group. "Orko is watching over her now. In the meantime, we should try to deduce why Skeletor retreated so quickly."
"Man-At-Arms, the man that Skeletor retreated with looked a lot like that girl," Mekaneck pointed out.
"Did that guy have long hair?" Ram-Man asked.
"That's right," Mekaneck said.
"That's the guy that knocked me out in one strike. I didn't even see it comin'."
"If they look alike, then it's possible that they may be related," Man-At-Arms said. "Especially since they seem to have shown up at the same time. We'll see if the girl knows anything when she wakes up."
Karla's eyes fluttered open slowly. As her vision cleared, she found herself in a comfy bed in a well-lit room.
"Unnnh...where am I?" she groaned weakly.
"O-oh, you're awake!" Orko floated over to her side. "Hi! How're ya feelin'?"
Karla blinked, wondering if she was just imagining this little floating being with the red cloak and hat, with the pointed ears.
"What...are you...?" she asked. "And where am I?"
"Me? I'm from Trolla," Orko said cheerfully. "This is the great Palace of Eternia. My name's Orko. What's your name?"
"I'm...Karla. But...what happened?"
"The Masters rescued you after you were attacked by Skeletor's warriors."
"Skeletor? Who's Skeletor?"
"Skeletor is the, uh...evil overlord of, uh...evil," Orko explained. "He's been trying to take over Eternia ever since he broke through the Mystic Wall. Or well...even before then, too."
"I see..." Karla nodded, taking in the story.
"Skeletor's forces were too powerful, so we needed a hero," Orko continued. "So Prince Adam was given great powers from the Sorceress of Greyskull, and transformed into the mighty He-Man, and—" Orko stopped himself abruptly with a sharp gasp as he realized that he had just blurted out Prince Adam's secret. He quickly clamped both hands over his mouth. "D'oh! Uh-uh-oh..."
Karla gave him a confused look. "What is it?"
"I...well, uh..." Orko hovered even closer to her, whispering. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that last part. That was supposed to be a secret..."
Karla smiled slightly, suppressing a chuckle. "I see. Then I won't tell anyone."
Orko's eyes lit up. "Do you promise?"
Karla maintained her smile. "Yes, I promise."
"Whew..." Orko wiped the sweat from his forehead. Who knew what kind of trouble he'd be in if Man-At-Arms found out that he had spilled the beans? And who knew what trouble Adam would be in if everyone knew his secret, especially Skeletor's forces?
Karla sat up in her bed. "What of my brother? Is he safe?"
"Uh...y-your brother?" Orko stammered yet again as he was unable to give a straight answer.
"Yes...my brother," Karla repeated. "He was...drawn to this place with me. And then we got separated in that battle..."
"I, uh...I...didn't know you had a brother..." Orko said honestly.
"I have to find him..." Karla started to force herself out of the bed, enduring the aches in her back and shoulders. As she planted her feet on the floor, she could feel the sore in her ankle from when Clawful had snatched her. She looked down at herself, noticing that her sword was sheathed, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"W-W-Wait!" Orko panicked. "Are you sure you should get up? Y-Y-You're injured!"
"I'll be fine..." Karla assured him, holding in a groan. "I have to find my brother."
"But...wait! Wait!" Orko continued to plead, but it quickly became obvious that the girl would not be deterred. He had to think of something fast. "I know! I'll introduce you to the Masters! Maybe they know where your brother is!"
Karla paused briefly, glancing back at him. "All right..."
Orko floated to her side, offering his hands. "May I take your hand?"
"Sure..."
Orko took Karla's arm gently, supporting her as she stepped awkwardly out of the room. "Let's see...they might be this way..."
Karla simply followed wherever Orko led her, feeling her aches slowly ebbing away as her muscles moved. She stared down at her feet most of the way, watching them take one step after another.
"Ooh, there they are!" Orko cried happily. "Let's go!"
He let go of Karla's arm, flying over towards Man-At-Arms and the other Masters. Karla jogged lightly after him.
Hearing Orko's cheerful calls, the Masters turned their attention to him.
"Man-At-Arms!" Orko called, waiting for Karla to catch up. "This is Karla." Orko then gestured to each of the Masters as he introduced them. "Karla, this is Man-At-Arms, Prince Adam, Teela, Ram-Man, Mekaneck, and Stratos."
"Interesting names..." Karla remarked lightly. "But it's...good to meet you all. Orko says it's you I should thank for rescuing me?"
"Yes," Man-At-Arms responded. "It's good to meet you as well, Karla. We're glad you're all right."
The other Masters nodded in agreement.
Man-At-Arms suddenly turned grim. "Karla...I hope you don't mind, but we'd...like to ask you about a few things, mainly about that battle."
Karla nodded. "Yes...Orko has told me about this...Skeletor."
"That's good. But Mekaneck claims that he saw a man retreating with Skeletor, who bore a strong resemblance to you."
"He had long, dark hair, and a strange, dark blue getup," Mekaneck added.
Karla perked up instantly. "That was my brother. It must have been."
"Your brother..." Man-At-Arms pondered.
"If he's your brother, why would he follow someone like Skeletor?" Adam asked. "Is he evil, too?"
"My brother is not evil," Karla said sternly. "He doesn't follow anyone, only his destiny with his sword. He gravitates towards strong warriors. Always seeking strong opponents. Good or evil...that doesn't matter to him.
"When we were drawn here, the battle was already ongoing. We really didn't know who was fighting whom."
"So you're sayin' that your brother just got caught up on the wrong side?" Ram-Man asked.
"Yes, exactly," Karla explained. "My brother has a strong...desire for battle. A hunger for it, even. Sometimes it can turn him in the wrong direction. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the same way. I dislike fighting...but there's just something in me that craves it."
"Well, if your brother has joined Skeletor willingly, he won't be in any immediate danger," Man-At-Arms said. "They will attack again. We can try to reason with your brother then. In the meantime, you can recover from your injuries and perhaps tell us more about him."
"Yes," Karla agreed. "His name is Karel. He's known as the Sword Demon back home."
"'Back home' where?" Teela asked.
"Elibe," Karla told her. "I can't say where that is in relation to this place. To be honest, I'm not even sure how we got here. We were involved in a great battle back home as well...and the next thing we knew, we were in the middle of your battle. An explosion separated us, and then I was attacked by some sort of...crab man."
"That was Clawful," Teela said. "Great physical strength. All of Skeletor's warriors are powerful. We cannot take them lightly."
"Really?" Karla tapped her chin. "How...intriguing."
It was always the stronger opponents that got the siblings' blood flowing. The stronger the opponents, the more thrilling the battle.
"When they attack again, I would join you," Karla concluded. "For the sake of reaching my brother."
Snake Mountain, as the name implied, was literally a mountain shaped like a snake, with lava pouring out of the mouth. Within the caves, Skeletor sat on his throne, pondering how to approach his mysterious new ally.
Karel simply stood in the shadow, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, waiting for the next opportunity to swing his blade. He could feel the blood churning in his veins. Closing his eyes in a sort of meditative state was all he could do to keep his battle lust in check.
"So...Karel..." Skeletor began, tapping his fingers together. "I could use a swordsman of your skill."
Karel merely batted an eye towards him. "Then use me. If you know of a worthy opponent to raise my sword against, speak now."
Skeletor wasn't too fond of Karel's dark, superior tone, but ignored it for now. "I do, actually," he said, grinning. "There is a certain...hero..." he spoke the word with disgust, "who has been a great barrier to me. He is all that stands between me and the conquest of Eternia. He is called He-Man."
"He-Man..." Karel pondered. It was an odd name, but names hardly mattered to him. All he cared about is how strong they were. "And he is strong?"
"Grr...yes. Very strong," Skeletor snarled, as loathed as he was to admit it. He had believed that He-Man had gained the power of the Elders, a power that Skeletor had desired, even when he was Keldor.
"I see..." Karel tapped his chin in thought, in anticipation. "I will remember him."
"Destroy He-Man, and you will be amply rewarded," Skeletor continued. "Fail, and the consequences will be...unpleasant."
"Keep your 'reward'," Karel told him. "The duel itself will be reward enough."
And that would hold true, regardless of his success or failure.
"Good." Skeletor sounded pleased for a brief second, before his tone suddenly turned impatient. "Now go. Now!"
He promptly aimed the head of his Havoc Staff at Karel and fired a powerful energy blast. Karel sidestepped it effortlessly. His battle lust sparked by the attack, he quickly drew his sword and rushed at Skeletor with a blinding speed. The evil warriors watched with their jaws hanging open. Not only had the Swordmaster dodged the attack, but he even had the nerve to retaliate.
Skeletor hadn't expected it, but he reacted quickly, blocking Karel's sword stroke with his Havoc Staff. He flipped backwards out of his throne, buying himself a brief second to draw his sword. Karel was immediately upon him again with a swift diagonal stroke. Skeletor blocked again with his own blade, keeping both blades locked. As Karel continued to apply the pressure on his sword, Skeletor's eyes flashed red as he studied Karel's eyes. There was no emotion apparent in the Swordmaster's eyes, just a cold glare, and an insatiable hunger. Satisfied with what he saw, Skeletor shoved Karel back, aiming his Havoc Staff at him, the head once again gathering energy. Karel planted his feet, ready and waiting to dodge the coming energy attack...except the blast never came. Skeletor held the staff, knowing exactly what Karel was planning. And so the glow faded from his staff as Skeletor straightened himself with a dark chuckle.
"On second thought, Karel..." he said. "Why don't you stay for a while longer?"
Karel held his stance, raising an eyebrow, but saying nothing.
"Evil-Lyn." Skeletor called the sorceress's name, leading her deeper into the caves.
The other evil warriors kept their eyes on Karel, expecting him to attack Skeletor again while his back was turned. Instead, Karel let out a disappointed sigh, turning around and carefully sheathing his sword. Perhaps the most puzzling thing was that Skeletor wasn't punishing Karel for his attack. They didn't know Karel, but they knew Skeletor very well. He would zap his followers for the slightest insult or mistake. But then again, it was Skeletor's zap that had prompted Karel to attack in the first place. What was the Overlord of Evil planning?
"You aren't going to punish him for his insolence?" Evil-Lyn asked.
"Of course not," Skeletor told her. "You see, all he wants is to fight. He craves battle like a hungry beast craves meat. I have only to turn that battle lust to my advantage. He already desires to fight He-Man. He'll either destroy He-Man or die trying. And I don't really care which."
If Karel succeeded, then Skeletor would finally be rid of that nuisance. If Karel failed, then he'd be useless anyway, just like his other moronic warriors.
With the explanation over with, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn returned to the throne room. Tri-klops was replaying the footage of the Masters captured by his Doomseeker. The floating machine projected the playback onto a circular frame, with no need of a wall.
"Bad news, Skeletor," Tri-klops said. "It seems that the Masters have made a new friend as well."
Everyone gathered around the projection, noticing the girl with the long dark hair, talking with the Masters.
"Karla..." Karel muttered softly, surprised. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was relieved to see her safe.
"Karel..." Skeletor mused, hearing his muttering. "Do you know this girl?"
"She is my sister," Karel said flatly.
"Your sister, hmm?" Skeletor grinned at the new knowledge. It could be useful to keep Karel in line.
The Doomseeker playback switched views, now focusing in front of Karla, allowing the Evil Warriors to get a closer look at her face.
"Yes...the resemblance is clear," Skeletor remarked.
Karel gave him an emotionless glance now. "But enough about us. When will I get to duel with He-Man?"
Skeletor's eyes flashed red once again. "Does 'right now' sound like a satisfactory answer?"
"More than satisfactory..." Karel's voice was deep and dark. Without another word, he began to step out of the caves of Snake Mountain.
Meanwhile, in the palace training grounds, Karla watched as Adam and Teela were in the middle of a sparring match, each wielding a wooden sword. After a long back and forth struggle, Teela swept out with her legs, tripping Adam on his foot. Adam hit the grass on his back, while Teela pointed her sword towards his chest.
"You still have a lot to learn," she scolded.
"Hey, that wasn't fair!" Adam whined.
Karla shook her head from the sidelines. "Since when is battle fair?"
"Exactly!" Teela agreed.
Adam sat up, swatting away Teela's wooden blade. "You know what? I think I'll just try sparring with Karla instead."
Karla looked mildly startled. "With me?"
Teela folded her arms with a smirk. "You just think she'll be easier to beat, right?"
"I never said that! I've never seen her fight! But if she's going to fight with us, we should see what she's capable of."
"An interesting point coming from you. But who exactly is 'us'? I still haven't seen you actually fighting Skeletor's forces."
"Uh...well, I..." Adam stuttered, trying to think of an excuse to cover his sneaking off to become He-Man.
Meanwhile, Karla watched the banter, and she immediately understood Adam's predicament. And so she decided to change the subject.
"Ah...can we just get a move on?" she asked. "You did want to spar with me, right, Prince Adam? Then I accept your challenge."
"Oh, great!" Adam hid a sigh of relief. "The sparring weapons are over there."
He pointed over to the rack where various wooden weapons were stored. Karla walked over and plucked a sword that looked most similar to her own blade. She waved it around for a moment to get a feel for its weight, and then took a few practice strokes in the air.
"I think this will do," she remarked, returning to garden to face Adam. "Shall we begin?"
"You bet."
Adam held his sword, ready to fight. Karla put her right foot forward, holding the wooden blade at her side, her stance completely relaxed.
Suddenly, Adam charged forward with a yell, swinging his sword as soon as he was within range. Karla moved backward, deftly dodging his attack. Adam pressed forward, throwing a series of various sword strokes towards her. Karla dodged each attack swiftly as if it were a dance. After sidestepping yet another attack, she moved behind Adam to gain more distance between them. Adam turned to face her, pausing to catch his breath.
"Are you tired already?" Karla asked in a lightly teasing tone.
"Hah!" Adam scoffed with a confident smirk. "Not even close!"
He charged at Karla once again, this time going for an overhead attack. This time, she bothered to retaliate. She lashed out with her blade, not only blocking Adam's attack, but parrying him with such a powerful force that sent the prince flying a good twenty feet backwards, hitting the grass on his rear.
Teela watched Adam's failure, folding her arms and smirking. "Impressive," she said to him sarcastically.
"Oh yeah?" Adam retorted. "I'd like to see you do better, Teela!"
"With pleasure." Teela stepped out to face Karla.
"Well, this should be interesting," Karla remarked, taking her relaxed stance again. "It's not every day that I get to spar with another woman."
"Same here. Well, come at me when you're ready."
"If you insist." Karla shrugged slightly before dashing at her opponent, still holding her wooden blade at her side. As Karla came within range, she raised her wooden blade across her chest, throwing a quick stroke towards the other woman. Teela saw the blade coming across the chest, and raised her own blade to block the attack. Instantly, she could feel the sheer force of the attack tingling in her arms. Karla pulled back briefly, throwing another swing towards Teela's head. Teela ducked this attack. Anticipating that, Karla performed a jump-spin, trying the horizontal swing again. Caught off guard by the spin, Teela was hit in the head with the wooden blade, driven right into the ground. Karla paused and looked down, concerned that she might have caused some serious damage.
Adam was ready to tease Teela about falling for Karla's trick, but he noticed that Teela wasn't moving. Worried for his childhood friend's well-being, he rushed over to check on her, with Karla doing the same. Karla pressed her fingers against Teela's neck, checking for a pulse.
"She'll be all right," she assured Adam. "I...didn't expect her to take that hit."
She had expected more from Teela because she was a woman, and thus expected her to fight with speed rather than strength. Most of the men she had fought had been too cumbersome, allowing her an easy victory. But Karla's attacks were as powerful as they were fast.
"Teela!" Ram-Man called, rushing over. "What happened?"
Karla stood up. "I'm sorry. I accidentally knocked her out in our sparring match."
"Can you take Teela to her room?" Adam asked.
"Sure..." Ram-Man picked up Teela and carried her inside.
"Well, I guess we're done training for now," Adam said to Karla. "I'll catch up with you later, Karla."
Karla smiled. "All right..."
Adam left the garden, leaving Karla alone with her thoughts. As he walked, he saw Orko hovering towards him. The little magician had been plagued with guilt since blurting out his secret to Karla. But still, Adam had a right to know.
"Um...Prince Adam...I, uh...have to talk to you..." Orko said, his voice quivering.
"What is it, Orko?" Adam asked.
"I, uh...I sort of...accidentally spilled the beans to Karla...about you...and He-Man..."
Adam frowned. "You mean...Karla knows that I'm actually He-Man?"
"Um...yes. But she promised not to tell anyone!" Orko quickly added.
Adam paused, his mind flashing back to the training, when Teela was calling him out for fleeing all the time. Karla had interrupted then. It must have been to stop Teela from pressing on Adam's secret.
"She really does know..." Adam realized. "At least she's kept her promise so far..."
