Chapter Four: "Struggle"

There was no surprise that darkness greeted upon his wakening. It has, of course, been what he woke to for the past two months. Also the same was the lack of power and the feeling sedation. But something was not quite right. He was laying down, on a bed. His arms and legs were shackled to the wall.

"Don't struggle, son."

Skeletor tried not to gasp. A form not far from him lit a candle and Skeletor saw just where he was.

"No . . ." he moaned.

"Yes."

Skeletor sat up as Miro lit numerous candles throughout the once-sealed bedroom. "Why did you bring me here? What do you want"

"I want to help you, son. I want to offer you a chance to absolve your mistakes."

Skeletor stared at the man who was once his father for a moment, then began to laugh. "Foolish old man! Hahahaha! You think you can get me to turn my back on everything that has come before! Hahahaha!"

"I think I can, Keldor. You're my son and I want you to."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT" roared Skeletor. "I gave up that name long ago! Keldor is dead"

Miro raised his hand to Skeletor. "I don't believe that."

"You should! And why are you trying to do this, anyway? Feeling guilty, are you? Feeling sad for your little boy, hmm? You're trying to save me is nothing more than you trying to rid yourself of your own damn GUILT!"

Miro was taken aback, but still stood against Skeletor. "Partially. But mostly, because of you . . ."

"HA! Oh, poor Father . . . feels so much pity for his long lost little boy . . ." Skeletor strained against the shackles. "Well, don't worry about me! I've chosen this life and I will see that I end yours!"

Skeletor began to cackle wildly. Miro stepped back, a little intimidated. "Look at yourself, Keldor. Look at what your choices have made you."

"They've made me strong! They've made me great! They made me vastly powerful!"

"They've made you a creature of darkness and deception, Keldor."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"I will not! It was the name your mother and I picked out for you! Skeletor is a lie!"

"YOU ARE LYING TO YOURSELF IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BRING HER INTO THIS!"

Miro stepped a little closer to Skeletor. With a clear voice, he spoke. "You still blame yourself for her death, don't you?"

"Shut up, old man! Where were you when she fell?"

"You think that you're the reason she died. You blame yourself. All these years, you've carried that weight" Miro returned, voice full of resonance and understanding. "Keldor, my son . . . it wasn't your fault. And even if it was, then you should know that I forgive you."

Skeletor's jaw hung slack. As he sat there for a silent moment, his blank eyes began to grow crimson like a burning hot coal plucked from a fresh inferno.

"You dare . . ." he muttered at last. "You FORGIVE me! You bastard! You old bastard! How dare you presume to even begin to know me! I WILL KILL YOU! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH! I AM DARKNESS AND CHAOS! I AM THE MASTER OF EVIL!"

Skeletor pushed against the shackles. Miro stepped back.

Right at that moment, the door to the Keldor's room came flying open. Man-At-Arms leapt in and fired a tranquilizer gun at Skeletor. Three darts caught the villain in the chest. Within seconds, he was passed out.

"Seems he was getting a little too excited," Man-At-Arms told Miro.

Miro sighed and frowned. "I'm a fool. He was right. Everything he said was right."

"No need to give up yet, sir."

The pair walked out of the room and into the corridor. "I don't know what to do, Man-At-Arms. I'm not sure I can get through to him. I want to . . . I need to. But I'm just not sure if I can . . ." Miro sighed once more. "After all these years, perhaps I have lost him for certain."

"I don't . . . I don't know about all this."

Edwina looked up for his small stack of bound papers covering all of the new Fall dresses. "What's that?"

Michael, just a year younger than Edwina, glanced out one of the windows of Central Tower. "I'm just not sure about all this. I mean, Skeletor is a horrible guy. He's tried to conquer the world more times that any of us can remember. He freed the Snake-Men, renewed Hordak's interest in Eternia, and helped the Spirit of Evil. Heck, he even kidnapped Adora when she was a baby! Why in the world are we making deals with this guy?"

"Information, of course. I'm sure when we're done with Skeletor, we'll send him off into some other dimension or some such."

Dell looked from the computer he was playing at. "Hey guys" he said between in-takes of chips"I just realized something."

"What's that, Dell?" asked Michael of his cousin.

"Did you know that if you put an 'S' in front of 'Keldor' you sorta get 'Skeletor?' Kinda funny, isn't it? I mean, seeing as how Skeletor had something to do with our long-lost Uncle Keldor's disappearance and all."

"Yeah" Michael returned. "That is awfully strange."

"Coincidence" wondered Edwina, now suddenly intrigued by this revelation.

"I really don't know" Michael noted. "But I would most certainly like to find out."

"What do you mean he escaped? Just how did he do that?"

Hordak snorted. Even projected into Snake Mountain as a hologram, he could sense Evil-Lynn's pure shock and surprise at the development.

"He had help."

She laughed a little. "From who? None of us have even left Snake Mountain."

"Randor" Hordak replied. "I think . . . I believe I know what his intentions are."

"Oh? And just what would that be? Executing him himself?"

The holographic Hordak shifted uncomfortably. "Not as such. As a former apprentice to the Elders, I am aware when certain objects are released from a specific vault. It's very rare that this happens and since the war with the Snake-Men last years, it's been stronger. The Staff of Truth has been brought out. Evil-Lynn . . . I believe that Randor plans on attempting to restore Skeletor to his previous form. They are going to try and revert him back to Keldor."

Evil-Lynn's mouth fell open. "Impossible . . ."

"Unfortunately, that is not so. If they also have the Water of Torask, then it may just be possible."

"Skeletor would never allow it."

"Would he really? Think about for a while, Evil-Lynn. After everything he has been through?"

Evil-Lynn shook her head defiantly. "Hordak . . ."

Hordak stiffened. "It's time for you to come out on your own, Evil-Lynn. You've gained much in Skeletor's absence. I'm only to going to offer you this once. Come to Etheria. Join the Horde. Bring the Evil Warriors and work with me in conquering this world. Don't let Skeletor, Hiss or He-Man stand in your way. Join me and we will take over this world . . . and then return to Eternia to take it."

"You're offering me service in the Horde? Why"

"I am reluctant to admit this, but confrontations with the Horde grow more frequent. Just a week ago, they upset (of all things) Horde Prime's birthday offering! With you and your minions joined with mine, nothing will stop us."

Evil-Lynn couldn't believe what she hearing. "I'm . . . I'm not quite sure, Hordak."

"Understandable. Let me know what your intentions are in a few hours, will you?"

"Of - of course."

The hologram vanished. Evil-Lynn sat alone in the throne room of Snake Mountain for a number of long minutes, mind rolling over the possibility of joining the Horde. True, with Hordak, the resources were much larger and the stakes were higher - exactly what she had always wanted when working here.

But there was the certain issue of loyalty. She had served Skeletor ever since the tail-end of the Horde War. Times were, of course, different then. It was more out of attraction that brought her under his wing. In time, she discovered his power went far more beyond that of a lover.

He was mighty. Stronger than anyone else suspected and Evil-Lynn often times wondered why Skeletor had held back. Was there really some small part of Skeletor that did in fact remain Keldor? Was that why he was so hesitant to kill? Was that why he sought out the Jewel of Amara last year?

"I can't . . ." she whispered. She could in no way abandon Skeletor. Perhaps there was indeed far more Keldor in him that she realized. And if that was so, then she NEEDED to be by his side.

At that moment, Trap-Jaw walked into the throne room.

"Trap-Jaw, where is King Hiss?"

Trap-Jaw thought for a second. "Uh . . . in the lower caverns, I think. Looking for something."

"Assemble all of the Evil Warriors, Trap-Jaw. Quietly. Have all Centurions and Skull Warriors within these walls at full alert. We leave for Eternos in thirty minutes."

Once more, Skeletor awoke in bedroom that was his many years ago. Unlike the previous time, however, it was not King Miro that greeted him upon his awakening . . . but Randor, Stephan, and Johanna.

"He's really trotting you out, isn't he?" asked Skeletor.

"I think it would be best if you at least considered his offer, Keldor" Johanna told him.

"That is not my name anymore. I have given up on all of you. I spat upon this family years ago."

Stephan scoffed. "Is that why you went after the Jewel of Amara"

"I went after the Jewel of Amara because it would have given me the chance I needed to finally rid myself of the likes of all of you. And to finally conquer Eternia."

"It's funny" Randor said with a small scoff. "This arguing between you two sounds exactly as it did when we were all kids. You may have lost your face, Skeletor, but there's still a lot of Keldor left in you."

Skeletor snarled. "And just why are you in this, Randor? If there's one member of this family I've hurt the most, it's you. You know as much as I do that fath - that Miro's attempt at redeeming me is foolish."

Randor stepped towards him. "You're damn right about that, Keldor. In fact, I'm just letting him do this because I want you to see what you have done to him. And perhaps there was some hope that you could be restored. But I'll be the first one to admit that, yeah, we ignored you and patronized you as a child. But ultimately, it was YOU who made you who are. I came to that conclusion the moment YOU STOLE MY LITTLE GIRL FROM ME!"

Skeletor nodded. "Of course. You were always the smart, Randor. Always so bright and so incredible. So healthy. Me? I was the dead man walking."

"That's not true" Johanna chimed in. "We loved you. No one knew just how to talk to you. You kept to yourself and . . ."

"I kept to myself because I was shunned!"

"Nobody shunned you" Stephan quipped. "You hid yourself from us. Maybe if you let us into your life, it would have been better. Maybe we would have understood you."

"Understood? Did you fail to realize that my heart was weak? Did you fail to understand that it made strenuous physical activity nearly impossible" Skeletor cried out. His turned away then. "It doesn't matter anymore. That part of my life was burned away."

"So be it" Randor snapped. "I don't even care anymore."

The eldest son of Miro made for the door. "What are you going to do me now, Randor" asked Skeletor. "Execute me"

"I don't know yet."

Stephan began to follow his brother. As the pair exited the room, Johanna turned one last time to face her disfigured youngest brother.

"I still believe there's still hope for you, Keldor" she said quietly. "My brother is still in there."

"Keldor is dead" Skeletor returned harshly. "He started dying the moment he was born. He stopped being your brother the moment he leapt off that balcony. He died right after his first kill. And he was reborn when that acid melted away his face. Keldor is dead, Johanna. Skeletor is all that remains of the man that was once your brother."

Johanna turned and rushed out of the room. As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, she started crying. She had faced Skeletor many times since he fell into darkness . . . but never like this. She hated it. She hated him. How could he be like this? How could he have changed so much?

"Johanna"

She looked up and saw her father next to her.

"Father."

The two hugged long and hard.

"I know, sweetie, I know" he whispered as she wept.

After a moment, she pulled away. "There's no hope for him, is there"

"I . . . I would like to try a little longer. I still believe there's a chance. I do."

"Father . . . I'm not sure there is a chance anymore."

Miro said nothing.

And then . . . the alarms began to blare. Randor came running down the corridor.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"