Chapter One: "Coming Home"

Adam awoke as he had for the past seven weeks and three days. The alarm beeped, the lights faded on, and after a pleasant sleep, his senses came alive. The Prince of Eternos sat up in his bed. He scratched the back of his head, cracked his back, stretched his arms, and yawned. And then he smiled.

Today was the day. Today, after five years, three months, two weeks, and five days, Adam was coming home. Excitement filled him as he lifted himself out of bed. His cabin on Starship Eternia had been decorated in various momentos from both Eternia and Primus. He had made it quite comfortable and homey following his leaving from Primus and his subsequent seven weeks plus travel back to Eternia.

He walked outside of his cabin and entered the bridge. Gleep, one of the two robots that had accompanied him on his journey home, sat at the controls. He had had night watch.

"Gleep, activate day mode."

Gleep complied. The dimmed lights went to full. The front windows were filled with stars, but there was one brighter than all others. As they approached this star in Trans-Hyperspace, Adam's smile grew even larger.

"How long?"

"Four point five hours."

"Go ahead and have U-R relieve you, but I want you both on-line when we make the landing."

"Affirmative."

Adam went back to the cabin and into the small restroom. There was shower within it and Adam used it. Afterwards, he immersed himself in busy-work. But his thoughts continue to roam to those friends and family on Eternia. Randor, Marlena, Adora, Duncan, Cringer, Orko . . . Teela.

It was Teela that he thought of the most. Back on Primus, she had held most of his thoughts whenever he would talk or think back to Eternia. Despite his seeing of Mara, she believed he was still in love with Teela, and was hiding behind excuses.

Perhaps that was true.

The last hour or so, Adam took to the bridge. U-R, the other robot sent along with He-Man/Adam, was far better behaved and mostly communicated in beeps. U-R piloted the ship easily into the Eternian star system.

"Computer," addressed Adam, "estimate time to arrival?"

"One hour."

Adam smiled. Soon, Gleep joined both Adam and U-R on the bridge and assumed a secondary navigational station. After a few achingly long minutes, Adam pressed a few keys, hoping to contact his old friends and family on the planet surface about his arrival.

"Capital city Eternos – this is Prince Adam. I'm coming in for a landing. I'll be there in one hour. Please respond."

He paused a second, listening only to static fill the empty void of words. Something was wrong. Eternia had always kept an eye on the heavens above; this now should have been no different. They were well within range of the communications array that Man-At-Arms had set up. He was broadcasting right to it.

"Computer: display solar system," Adam ordered.

A hologram of the Eternian star system fizzled to life before Adam. However, despite displaying all the planets, both Eternia and Etheria seemed to be struggling to register. They were fading in and out. In fact, Etheria looked as though it was completely black.

"What's wrong with the sensor array?"

Gleep looked to a control panel and his fingers whizzed across it. A few read-outs appeared on a nearby monitor.

"The sensor array is on-line and working, Adam."

"Then why are we having trouble detecting Eternia and Etheria?"

Gleep paused, once more working at hard at his station. "It appears to be heavy levels of mystical energy. It is confusing our sensors."

"Oh," Adam replied. Both Eternia and Etheria were very mystical worlds, so that could have been the reason why the Starship Eternia would have trouble piercing their magical fields with its sensors. "Prepare to take us in for a landing, U-R. Bring us down at Eternos, at the coordinates I specified."

"Shifting for landing," U-R responded.

"Vessel approaching," Gleep suddenly announced.

"What?!"

"Bearing towards us at high speeds. No match in database."

"Show me."

On a nearby monitor watched as the newcomer appeared. The ship was small and spherical, but held two very large weapons on its sides. He had never seen anything like it before.

Adam took command of the situation. "Prepare to open a comm-line to the vessel."

The words had not escaped his lips when the weapons of the vessel fired. Adam automatically raised the shields and the weapons fire slammed against them. Normally, this would have been enough to deflect energy weapons. But there was something different about the weapons from this ship.

"The shields are destabilizing!" yelped Gleep.

"What in the world is going on here?"

The Starship Eternia shook and shuddered as the vessel fired again, this time hitting the hull. U-R started beeping wildly.

"That was the main engines! Some sort of electro-magnetic fusion weapon has damaged and shut them down!" Gleep yelled out now.

"Return fire!"

Gleep went to work at the weapons controls, lasers firing rapidly at the attacker. The small engines that sat behind the spherical vessels blew out immediately, followed by one of the guns. Adam sighed and turned to U-R.

"How bad is the damage?"

"Engines are out."

"And the attacking ship?"

"Looks like a total burn-out. They're drifting out of orbit."

"What about us?"

Gleep pressed a number of keys. "We can not maintain our orbit. Without the engines, we are going to have to land. We can use the thrusters to land us on safe ground, but not at Eternos as you wished."

Adam sighed. "Okay. Do your best."

The hero of both Primus and Eternia looked forward as fire began to encase his own vessel. This was going to be a rough landing . . .


Then:

"Prince Adam and I are going to Primus to help against evil forces threatening to destroy it," He-Man told his friends on that dismal, rainy afternoon. The Great Hall of the Towers of Eternia was filled to the brim with old allies, new friends, and great warriors.

A wave on uneasiness came upon them all. Teela was the first to speak. "What about the forces of Skeletor?" she asked, hoping to find some way of making him stay.

"Skeletor has already left. He stole a shuttle and made it there. When he learned that the power of Grayskull were going to transferred to me, he stole one of the ships shuttles and headed through time/space," He-Man explained.

"Then, I suppose you have no choice," said Man-At-Arms. "You must defeat Skeletor. I only hope that your victory is swift and your return is soon."

"I hope so too, Duncan."


The Starship Eternia landed roughly on a beach. Fifty feet away, the surf crashed against the sand. An afternoon sun hung above the water. It was the Sea of Rahkash and as Adam emerged from the Starship Eternia, he knew just where he was. The Fertile Plains and due east of Eternos. As Adam walked out the gangway, his red-feathered cybernetic bird by the name of Clobber came soaring out as well.

He was back on Eternia, all right.

"Mmmmm," he hummed, soaking in the fresh air. "I've missed this place so much."

He couldn't help but notice the differences in the air between Eternia and Primus. On Primus, it seemed so artificial . . . so sterile for some reason. Here, it came very naturally and took to his nose very easy. It was the little things.

He wanted to make for Eternos immediately. As He-Man, he could be there by dawn. But he had priorities. Adam's first concern was the safety of the ship. Gleep and U-R had told him that they needed to do a complete shut down to make the necessary repairs. That worked out, he supposed. But he was still worried about that other ship.

"I want the cloaking device on at all times," Adam ordered them. "Clobber here will be your look-out. If something goes wrong, contact me immediately and do what you can to keep you and the ship safe."

"Understood," Gleep replied.

"Compliance!" U-R stated.

"Okay. I'll be back as soon as get to Eternos and get a hold of a Sky-Sled or Wind-Raider." Adam smiled. The thought of returning to Eternos was now more than just a fantasy on lonely nights back on Primus.

"BY THE POWER OF ETERNA!" Adam then shouted, raising the Sword of Power above his head. As energy warped and power exploded, Adam went through a dazzling transformation. In his place was now He-Man. "I HAVE THE POWER!"

As he started on his way, He-Man decided that as soon as he had gone to Eternos and seen everyone, he would make for Castle Grayskull and make right his calling of its power. The days of 'By the power of Eternia' were soon going to be behind him.

He-Man grinned and struck forth towards where he knew the Palace of Eternia and Eternos was. He knew of a town some four or five miles up the coast, but he decided against going there. He wanted to see his friends again. He wanted to see his home again.


Then:

The Starship Eternia floated above Castle Grayskull. The rain from the previous day had moved on and the bright, sunny day was ending with a beautiful sunset.

Adam stood before his closets of friends - Adora, Man-At-Arms, Orko, Teela, and Cringe; as well as his parents King Randor and Queen Marlena. They each held a strong and very certain sadness for this day.

"I will miss you all," said Adam. He shook Man-At-Arms hand. "Take care of everyone, Duncan."

"I will, Adam. By my honor and my heart, I swear I will."

Orko immediately flew over and grabbed hold of Adam's leg. "Don't go! I'll miss you too much!" shouted the Trollian.

Adam bent down and hugged his old mage friend. "It'll be alright. I'll be back in no time."

"You promise?"

"Of course I do!"

Orko smiled. Adam was then confronted with his oldest and most trusted of dear friends - Cringer.

"I don't want you to go," said Cringer.

"I know, Cringer. I'll miss you."

Cringer bent his head close to Adam's ear. "I'll come with you. I'm afraid, but I'll come with you."

"No, my dearest friend. I'm sorry. But I'll see you soon. Watch over all of them. Be brave."

Teela walked over. "Adam, I . . ." she started, her words only seeming lost to her.

"Shhhh," he reassured. Adam wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be back. Me and He-Man."

"Right. Good journey, Adam," Teela replied, kissing him slightly on the cheek.

King Randor stepped next to Adam. "Son, be careful."

"I will father. I will."

"Represent us well, Adam," said Marlena. "I will miss you on your long journey. I am saddened to have both my children on entire different planets!"

"Not to worry, Mother. I will return as soon as He-Man and I are completed in our mission."

Marlena kissed her only son and stood back.

Adam looked into his twins eyes, a tear running down his cheek. "I don't want to go sis, but I have too. I have no other choice."

Adora smiled as a tear ran down her own.

"I know. I wish there was a way I could go with you, but Hordak's not likely to follow. I'm going to miss you very much. It's bad enough that I don't see you as often as I'd like."

Adam took his sister in a tight hug. It was time.

"Farewell," said Adam then, heading into Castle Grayskull, where he would be teleported up. "Until our next meeting!"


He-Man sat against a large tree as darkness began to creep up around him. He didn't feel much like sleeping and just desired to go home. But a little rest never hurt anyone, he figured.

As he drank from his canteen, he couldn't help but feel as if something was slightly out of place. As if something was . . . wrong. Something was reaching out. Something in the air . . . it was . . . it was . . .

He-Man leapt to his feet and put away his canteen. Immediately, he ran through the forest, down the old road that led to the Palace.

For some reason, he felt compelled to leave the road and travel now beside it, in the shadow and protection of the trees. So, as he ran, he made his way under the trees and continued his rush to the Palace of Eternos.


Then:

"He-Man, we've got a bit of a problem," Flipshot said to He-Man the next day as He-Man met with him and Hydron at Galactic Guardians headquarters.

"What is it?"

"Well, we assumed your return trip would be the same as what we took to get you here, but there's been . . . an ugly development," Hydron explained.

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Flipshot added.

"We contacted the Galactic Council to verify your trip back. It turns out that a major chunk of space you were to be traveling in is sealed off."

"Why? How?"

"The collapse of the Horde Empire has led to a massive number of Horde generals striking out on their own and eventually creating a huge civil war that stretches far beyond the Horde's initial reach. As a result, a large expanse of space has been sealed off by a combination of the Cosmic Enforcers, the Galactic Council, and the Intergalactic Police," Hydron reported. "Now, it's possible to go around it, but we're talking about weeks and weeks of travel. We estimate up to seven weeks of travel time."


He-Man's feet pounded across the forest floor as he hurried to the Palace of Eternia. Thoughts soared through his head - wondering what was going on. He pushed past the brush and the foliage, as he grew ever closer to the place he called home.

Five years was a long time.

He wondered what had changed. What everyone looked like. And perhaps most of all - why he felt a foreboding sense of dread before him.

All of these thoughts ceased when he came to a clearing a top a peak looking down upon Palace and the city of Eternos. His heart seemed to skip a beat and he gasped loudly.

In the dawning light, He-Man looked down upon the once great city of Eternos and felt a terrible sadness overcome his heart and mind. The Palace itself looked as though it had been cleaved in two, as massive gapping hole sitting at its center, where the entrance should have been.

The very walls that served as the defenses of Eternos since day unknown were missing, exposing the city nakedly to the world. Buildings, towers, homes, and bridges were in shambles.

"What . . . what could have done this . . .?" he wondered aloud.

All thoughts and all words fell silent as he charged down the mountain and straight towards the remains of his home.

It was usually a two-hour long trek between the two locations, but for He-Man, it only took twenty minutes. As soon as he entered the outer wall, his jaw dropped. Not only was the city a mess, but it was being overgrown with plants and being worn by weather.

The doors to the Eternos were gone, though the bridge was intact. He walked into the city, blue eyes scanning for any sign of life or hope. He found none. All he did find was evidence of war. A war that happened at least three years ago, from his estimations. Perhaps longer.

Regret filled him. Could he have prevented this? If he had remained on Eternia, could this have been stopped? Who did it? The Snake-Men? Evil-Lynn and the Evil Warriors? Count Marzo, returned from his exile on Earth? Faker, before he chased He-Man to Primus?

Rats and other such animals scurried away from his footsteps as He-Man came to the entrance of the Palace. A huge section of the wall was gone, leaving a huge section of the Palace exposed. His home had been decimated.

He walked the long hallways, seeing evidence of nothing but violence. The armory had been emptied and He-Man continually passed broken weapons on the ground. He-Man entered the library out of despair and was a bit more than surprised to find that all of the shelves were empty and bare, as if someone had wanted to save the books during whatever battle had smashed Eternos.

He-Man wandered into his old room and a hole in the wall. Dry leaves had apparently drifted and covered both the floor and his bed. Both were quite dirty. He could hear an animal scurry about and saw a Rat rush from the bed to the closet. He-Man didn't even want to look at the closet. But he did. His clothes still hung, neat and orderly, if not layered in dust.

All things of value, he soon discovered as he wandered from room to room, were gone, long since stolen. The Palace was empty and quiet, though a breeze blew in.

He-Man walked along the overgrown garden that stood now next to a stagnate and algae-filled pond. The courtyard was worn with weather. He-Man's path eventually took him to Man-At-Arms' old lab.

He was not surprised to find it in shambles. The shelves that held his various devices and parts were smashed on top of each other. The computers and larger equipment were either destroyed or removed completely. The pit where he worked on some of larger inventions was now open to the rest of the world, though it looked as though it had been blasted from the inside out.

He-Man looked into the massive garage where once sat Attack Tracks, Battle Rams, Dragon Walkers, and Road Rippers was empty, though there was no evidence of destruction.

He-Man's final visit was to the throne room. As the first rays of sunlight began to shine through, the throne room was perhaps the hardest hit for He-Man. Holes in the wall brought forth a sad beauty as the light of the rising sun gleaned off the thrones. Leaves as well drifted here and dirt and dust was spread out across what was once a perfectly clean room.

"What happened here?" he asked, speaking for the first time since arrival.

He-Man walked through the rest of the Palace, finding hallways raided of all things of value or worth. He looked into Teela's room, which was almost completely empty – including her closet, which was a bit odd considering his was untouched. Of course, he thought with bitter humor, mine was filled with pink vests and purple pants.

He-Man eventually found himself coming back to Man-At-Arms' laboratory. He picked along the equipment until he finally found himself back in the pit. It was there he found something.

Underneath the remains of a workbench was Man-At-Arms secret, impenetrable vault. He-Man smiled and walked over to it. He placed his thumb on a small metal circle on the top.

After a brief moment, the vault unlocked and the door opened. Within was a number of Man-At-Arms key inventions, but there was also something else. A holographic projector.

He-Man pulled out the projector and saw two words on top: 'Play Me.' He-Man did so.

A hologram of Man-At-Arms was projected before him.

"He-Man!" shouted the hologram of Man-At-Arms. "If you are seeing this message, then it means you've returned to Eternia. As you have probably already guessed, Eternos has been attacked. I'm not sure if you know by who yet, but it was the Horde. The details are sketchy, but we know that at some point about three months after you left for Primus, Etheria went dark. We have since been unable to reach them. After that, Hordak came to Eternia and built up an army of Horde Troopers. The Great Towers have fallen and so has Eternos.

"Your parents have been transported to Earth by the Cosmic Key. Eternos itself has been invaded by the Horde. The Heroic Warriors have all but fallen. I can only assume that if you're seeing this message, then nothing has changed. Know that you are the only capable of saving Eternia. We need you now more than ever." Man-At-Arms then paused and looked back. He then turned back to the projector. "They are here!"

The hologram faded away.

He-Man sat in silence for a moment.

Then he heard movement. His eyes perked up and he saw a Horde Trooper standing at the breached wall, laser pistol pointing straight at the champion of Grayskull.

"I processed I heard someone."

The Horde Trooper fired. He-Man easily deflected the beam with his newly christened Shield of the Galactic Guardians. Lightning fast, then, He-Man sliced the robots laser-holding arm off, then smashed his entire head in. This was followed up by punched the Horde Trooper into the remains of the wall.

"Hey!" shouted another Horde Trooper, one of three.

He-Man concentrated. The last thing he wanted was Hordak to know he was on Eternia. His Primian battle armor appeared over his chest and abdomen, a thing of golden metal infused with some technology. Along with this came a helmet that he quickly put on.

He-Man then went to work and quickly destroyed all three of the Horde Troopers.

The hero of Primus and Eternia then turned to the nearest exit and started towards it. He-Man made for north. To Castle Grayskull.