Chapter Six

Beast Man let out a savage roar and leaped towards Hordak with his claws and fangs bared, only to be met midway through his jump by Grizzlor. The two savage brutes began wrestling about in fury like a pair of wild animals, biting and clawing at each other with pure feral instinct.

Mantenna stepped forward to engage Trap Jaw. Skillfully ducking under a blast from his laser he delivered a powerful kick from two of his four legs driving the blow directly into Trap Jaw's chest. As the cybernetic warrior reared and tried to regain his breath, Mantenna quickly followed through with a blast of his eye beams that sent Trap Jaw flying. Just as the Horde insectoid was starting to feel good about himself though it was his turn to be blasted aside by a beam fired from Tri-Klops' visor.

"Two can play at that game," Tri-Klops gloated.

Hordak was not pleased and signaled Leech to move in. Lunging with speed that would seem to be beyond a creature of his bulk he closed the distance before Tri-Klops could get off a second shot and clamped his sucker-like hand onto the visor. Tri-Klops immediately fired what would have been a point blanc shot had it actually gotten off. Instead, Leech simply sucked the energy into himself with glee then proceeded to drain the stored energy out of the device all the while forcing Tri-Klops down before him with ever increasing strength.

Tri-Klops strained under Leech's force. Realizing he couldn't get a shot off with his current "eye" he attempted to rotate the visor to the next one but found the device strained as Leech was effectively holding it in place. Making matters worse Leech realized what he was attempting to do and latched his other hand onto the visor sucking in the opposite direction. Finally with a creaking of bent metal and the cracking of splitting wires the whole device ripped in two and fell away from the warrior's head.

As Leech sucked what energy was left out of the broken pieces Modulock laughed and moved in on Tri-Klops.

"Excellent," he beamed. "Without that visor the fool is blind and helpless." He emphasized this remark be raking a clawed hand across the back of Tri-Klops' exposed head. Tri-Klops staggered from the blow and turned around to face Modulock only to be greeted by an uppercut to the jaw.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Modulock cackled with delight as he charged forward and pulled back his arm to deliver another powerful blow. As he lunged forward however Tri-Klops made a sudden slash with his sword severing the limb from its owner. Modulock snarled and instinctively clutched the stump left behind. Although he could now easily loose and reattach his body parts with no problem it still hurt when one was forcibly removed.

"I'm not completely blind," Tri-Klops huffed. "And even if I were, I don't need my eyes to use this!" It was true. Tri-Klops had been a master swordsman long before his eyesight was damaged by a powerful magic spell. For years he learned to function without his eyes at all, relying on his other senses to guide him.

When Keldor encountered the swordsman he dispelled the curse blinding him, however his eyes had been badly damaged so that now his sight was poor. He could make out shapes and various degrees of light but he was still severely handicapped. Ironically it was Galen Nycroft himself who had helped modify the visor that allowed the swordsman to become Tri-Klops.

Modulock backed off as Tri-Klops swung his sword in furious swipes. Aside from wanting to avoid the pain of more lost limbs, even if he could replace them, he feared a lucky blow may pierce his heart or brain. He wasn't sure if his new body could recover from that and wasn't about to take the chance.

Leech was a bit more risk taking and lunged for the warrior, hoping to catch him and drain his life energy. However he too chose to back off after his arms suffered several collisions with Tri-Klops' sword. Leech's tough thick hide prevented him from being sliced open, however the sword's steel was strong and reinforced and thus did not give either. The result for Leech was effectively like being struck repeatedly with a blunt instrument.

It was clear the only way Tri-Klops was going to be brought down was if he was engaged in a duel of swordsmanship. Hordak's young protégé was happy to oblige in this regard and it soon became apparent that she was more than capable of holding her own. Despite Tri-Klops' immense skill, she successfully dodged or countered every move he made.

As Hordak watched his student his sinister grin grew wider and wider. She was excellent. He had successfully molded her into the perfect weapon. Seeing her in action against this skilled warrior, he could hardly wait to finally set in motion his long-laid plan and unleash her upon the house of Grayskull. It would be a glorious bloodbath.

And when they learn the truth about her, Hordak thought, then their pain will truly be complete!

Hordak only took his eyes off the sword fight when a loud roar of pain drew his attention over to Grizzlor and Beast Man. Their struggle had been essentially ignored since it started, the two appearing to be equally matched. But now an attempt by Beast Man to gain the upper hand had instead cost him the fight.

Beast Man had slashed at Grizzlor's throat, hoping to rip open his windpipe, but had met an unexpected obstacle. Grizzlor's fur was so think and mangy that it hid from view the fact that he was wearing a spike lined metal collar. Instead of Beast Man's claws digging into flesh and cutting it open, they broke against the unknown metal and it was Beast Man's hand that was now cut and bleeding having been skewered by one of the razor sharp spikes.

Not giving his opponent the opportunity to recover, Grizzlor seized Beast Man and, with pure brute strength, lifted him above his head then slammed him into the ground. As the savage henchman groaned in pain Grizzlor again lifted him up and this time hurled him across the room where he collided with Clawful who had just rushed in having been drawn by the sounds of the battle.

Hordak smirked and turned his gaze back to the battle between his pupil and Tri-Klops just in time to see the first blood drawn as the young warrior landed a slash across the swordsman's right leg. As he staggered from the blow, she thrust again this time stabbing her blade into his left leg. Tri-Klops fell to his knees unable to stand on his injured limbs but kept his sword raised to defend himself. This didn't last long though as the girl struck with a twirling parry that rested the sword from his grip then placed her blade to his throat, ready to finish him at a moment's notice.

Hordak laughed in delight and applauded his student's victory. "Well done my child. Very well done indeed."

"I am grateful you are pleased master," she said. "Shall I dispatch him?"

"Just make it fast," Tri-Klops said, resigning himself to his fate. "Grant me a warrior's death."

"No!" Modulock shouted firmly. "Don't kill him. Why give him what he wants? Besides, he'll be of more use to us as a prisoner. Or a slave."

"Very well," Hordak said. "We'll keep him alive for now. I can always have him killed later."

"What about the rest of... what is that smell?"

Indeed everyone, both Horde and Skeletor's warriors, were crimping and covering their noses at the foul stench as Stinkor wandered casually into the room. He glanced around at the scene and scratched his head in confusion.

"What's going on?" he asked finally.

"Take a wild guess you smelly idiot!" Trap Jaw shouted as he staggered to his feet, still woozy from Mantenna's attack.

Stinkor was not the brightest of Skeletor's warriors, but he was not the stupidest either. (that distinction still belonged to Clawful) It didn't take him long to realize that the Horde were attacking enemies and, more importantly, that they had the advantage in both numbers and power. Trap Jaw was dazed, Tri-Klops was injured, Beast Man was unconscious and Clawful was having to support him. As for himself, Stinkor really only could do one thing, but he did it well.

"Fall back I will cover us!" he said and let fly a noxious cloud of his horrific stench gas. It was the perfect cover as not only did the smell hold off the Hordesmen, but the clouds also acted as a smoke screen masking their movement.

The Horde coughed and gagged on the foul odor until finally Hordak held out his arm and whipped up a hurricane like wind that cleared the air of the gaseous clouds. Once they were able to see again the Horde found themselves virtually alone as the evil warriors had apparently retreated to safety. However, though Beast Man had apparently been carried away by his allies, Tri-Klops still remained on the ground having been left behind.

"Not much for loyalty are they?" Hordak's pupil muttered in disgust. "Grizzlor, can you track them?"

Grizzlor sniffed the air then gagged and covered his nose. "Forgive me but no. There's too much lingering stench from that odor spewing freak for me to pick up on where they went."

"Forget them then," Hordak snarled. "I shall deal with them later. For now let us return to the sanctuary, so that we may properly imprison the captive and take a short rest. I do not want anyone weary from battle when we attack the castle."

"Then we are finally ready to assault the true target master?" the young warrior asked, a hint of eager anticipation in her voice."

"Yes child," Hordak grinned. "I wanted to have you engage in some smaller battles first to warm up your skills. But now I believe the time is right. Before the sun sets this day the walls of Grayskull will come crashing down!"


Glimmer continually looked all around her as they progressed through the vast disturbing terrain. He-man couldn't blame her for her nervousness. Even though the sun was now up the extra light provided little comfort. In fact being able to see the foreboding surroundings better only helped make them all the more disturbing. But, he supposed, it wasn't called the Fright Zone for nothing.

Fortunately, most of the fearsome creatures that roamed the realm, such as the ones that had attacked him and Evil-Lyn, were staying hidden. No doubt avoiding the sunlight more then them. A few stray snakes or birds chose to make their presence known, but Glimmer quickly dissuaded them with a flash of her powers. As she had said, most things in the Fright Zone didn't like bright lights.

Nevertheless, the young princess was far from relaxed. She had been feeling for some time that their progress was going much to easily. She had been in the Fright Zone long enough to know that, even in the relative safety of daytime, there should be far more activity than there was. It was as if something was keeping them at bay. Something that frightened even these fearsome beasts, and Glimmer was sure it was not simply her light.

"So far I'm unimpressed," Evil-Lyn commented after a while. "I was truly expecting more from this place."

"If we had gone out while it was still dark you wouldn't be saying that," Glimmer snapped, having long since grown weary of Lyn's attitude.

"That's as may be," He-Man said, "but still we're halfway to our goal already and haven't encountered any real trouble."

"Give it time," Glimmer said. "When it comes to the Fright Zone you never know what to expect. You can't let down your guard for even a moment. Don't trust anything. You never know what may strike, or when or whaaaaaaa!"

Glimmer's last word had turned into cry of surprise and alarm as suddenly her leg was pulled out from underneath her. He-Man instinctively began to draw his sword but Evil-Lyn put her hand on his arm and stopped him.

"Save your strength and concern," she laughed. "The little fool simply stepped in a hole." Indeed He-Man now saw that Glimmer's foot appeared to be caught between two rocks and that was all. Strangely though as she attempted to dislodge it her leg seemed to slip further down into the crack.

"Are you all right?" He-Man asked her.

"My leg," Glimmer said with shock. "Something's pulling on it!"

He-Man grabbed hold of Glimmer and attempted to pull her up but found that something was indeed drawing her downward. He tried hoisting her harder but stopped abruptly as she let out a yelp of pain. He-Man hesitated. Whatever was holding her had a firm grip and he feared if he tugged too hard he may wind up pulling Glimmer's leg out of its socket.

Changing tactics, He-Man reached down and began attempting to pry her foot out of the grip of whatever was holding it beneath the stone. Suddenly though, taking him totally by surprise, the rocks spread apart then quickly closed again around his hand and began sucking his arm down along with Glimmer's foot. He-Man quickly yanked his arm back, his super strength proving too much for whatever had grabbed him.

Looking down He-Man saw that the rocks had given a little while releasing him but now swiftly closed again around Glimmer's leg before she could completely extract it. Once more Glimmer found herself slipping down into the stones and suddenly both of them realized the truth. There was nothing beneath the rocks attacking. The stones themselves were alive, and they were trying to eat her!

Acting quickly He-Man stood, drew his sword and brought it crashing down on the stone. The rock cracked and crumbled enough for Glimmer to pry her foot loose and scramble away. He-Man followed after her moving away from the stones and into the shelter of the wooded area, hoping that the trees would provide some protection keeping them hidden from any further dangers.

"Thanks," Glimmer panted, catching her breath. "That was a close one... look out!"

Glimmer's warning came a fraction too late as He-Man's tactic backfired. The branches of the tree behind him suddenly swung around and ensnared the mighty warrior in a vice like grip. He-Man's arms were caught in such a way that he was unable to move his sword to cut into the tree and as he attempted to break loose with his sheer muscle, ivy vines shot out and wrapped around his throat choking the air out of him.

Glimmer attempted to rush to his aid only to be grabbed by another tree herself. She tried using her powers but the trees were completely unaffected by her bursts of light. The branches just continued to squeeze them tighter. The more they struggled, the more painful it became for themselves. Just when all seemed hopeless though the two trees suddenly released their grip as their upper limbs burst into flames. Turning as he broke free He-Man saw that it had been Evil-Lyn who had saved them by casting a fireball at each of the attacking plants.

"Hurry," she said to them both, "Don't waste time just move!"

She didn't need to tell them twice. All three ran as fast as they could past the deadly trees, which continued to flail their burning branches about as though writhing in agony. Part of He-Man felt a twinge of remorse and pity, but he forced himself to think of them as he would one of Evilseed's monstrosities or Skeletor's bone warriors instead of a sentient creature.

"I suppose I should be grateful for that," Glimmer said once they were a safe distance away. "But I can't help pointing out that you could have incinerated us with that move."

Evil-Lyn sneered, "I was actually more concerned with the chance they'd attack me than with either of your well beings. I seem to remember saying I wouldn't wait for you if you fell behind. I'd advise you to be more cautious because next time I may just leave you to your fate."

"I'll remember you said that the next time you need my help," Glimmer snapped.

"Your help?" Evil-Lyn scoffed. "Your job was to use your so called expertise of the area to help us avoid any trouble, and so far you've managed to get caught in one trap after another!. As I see it I'd be no worse off without you. In fact, I'd probably be making better time. Meanwhile, without my magic, you'll never stabilize the dimensional tear into a portal. It's you who need my help, not I yours. You would do well to remember that!"

With that Lyn turned and continued on her way. Glimmer glared at her in anger for a moment before following at a distance.

"Refresh my memory," she whispered to He-Man. "You two are normally enemies right?"

He-Man nodded. "But right now we need to work together."

"I know." Glimmer said. "But I was wondering, how would you feel about just leaving her here after she creates the escape portal?"

He-Man shook his head. "No. Detestable as she can be, no one deserves to left in this horrible place."

"Yeah, you're right," Glimmer sighed. "Awfully tempting though isn't it."

He-Man was about to answer when he noticed that Evil-Lyn had come to a stop up ahead and was staring intently at something on the ground. As he approached he gasped in shock at the horrific sight. It was one of the creatures that had attacked them when they had first arrived. Or rather what was left of it.

The creature was clearly dead, lying in a pool of blood. A flock of vulture like birds were pecking away at, ripping away bits of flesh to satisfy their hunger. But most disturbing of all was the fact that it was only half a body. The entire back end, both flesh and bone was missing without a trace.

"These things appear to be more dangerous than they look," He-Man said, indicating the birds which momentarily glanced at them but simply continued to dine on the carcass.

"They didn't kill it," Glimmer said. "These are just scavengers. Besides, look at the wound. Whatever split this thing in half did it in one move. And it appears it was done with teeth."

"These beasts are no pushovers," He-Man said. "What could do such a thing?"

"Only one creature in the Fright Zone is capable of something like this," Glimmer gulped.

Evil-Lyn turned to face her, a rare look of concern on her face. "The Beast Monster?" she asked simply. Glimmer nodded.

"And what's more," she added. "This was done recently. The blood hasn't dried any and the corpse isn't rotting yet. Which means the Beast Monster may still be nearby!"

No sooner had she said this than a familiar roar pierced the sky followed by thunderous footsteps. The trio exchanged a glance and began running as quickly as they could. But this time there was no safe haven. No cave to hide in. And no darkness to mask their presence. Try as they might to flee the footsteps continued to draw ever closer. Finally when the unmistakable sound of trees crashing apart came from directly behind them did they finally glance back and got their first real look at the Beast Monster.

The creature was a least as big as a full grown dragon if not larger. Similarly, it had a reptilian appearance with a long serpentine neck. Its head seemed almost disproportionately large for its body. It glared down at them with huge slit pupil eyes, then opened its enormous mouth, showing off dozens of long sharp teeth, and let out a massive roar.

That did it for Evil-Lyn. She wasn't about to wait for the monster to strike and instead sent a wave of energy flying at its head. The beast flinched slightly at the impact but neither succumbed to the blow, nor backed off. Lyn fired a few more waves but it shook these off as well then snarled loudly.

"You're just making it mad," Glimmer shouted.

"As if you could do any better!" Lyn shot back.

"Shield your eyes!" Glimmer said, more to He-Man than Evil-Lyn. She placed her hands on both sides of her tiara and the gems embedded in it and her gauntlets began to glow brightly. Just as the Beast Monster prepared to strike at them, her powers flashed in an enormous burst of light. The monstrous creature reared back screeching in pain and shook it's head, momentarily blinded.

"Move," Glimmer shouted. "I don't know how long that will hold him off!"

Again they took off as fast as they could run. He-Man brought up the rear, continually glancing over his shoulder to see if the Beast Monster was pursuing them. As a result he wound up running into the other two who had come to a sudden unexpected stop as they had run out of ground to flee on and were now standing at the edge of a tall cliff. He-Man nearly knocked both of them over the edge as he ran into them, but managed to catch their shoulders and pull them back.

"I think we took a wrong turn," he muttered.

"Now what genius," Evil-Lyn growled at Glimmer.

"Working on it."

"Could you do it a little faster?" He-Man said as the Beast Monster came into view. It could see that its prey was cornered and slowly moved in, fury burning in its reptilian eyes.

"What was that about making it mad?" Lyn sneered.

He-Man drew his sword but backed away from the approaching animal until he could go no further. It appeared he was going to have to fight but he wasn't sure even he was a match for such a beast.

"If anyone has any last minute heroics, now is the time," he said.

Glimmer suddenly boned up her courage, moved so she was between He-Man and Lyn and placed a hand on each of their arms. "I've got one trick left that might save us. Brace yourselves though, I've never done this with anyone else before!"

Before He-Man could say anything he felt a strange sensation flowing over his body. It was almost like the feeling he got when he was teleported but it was combined with the pins and needles prickling that comes when your foot falls asleep. Only this was over his whole body. As the sensation intensified with it came an ever brightening glow that surrounded all three of them.

The Beast Monster stopped in its tracks, momentarily confused by the light surrounding its victims, but then bellowed and charged with fangs bared. He-Man was about to break away from Glimmer to defend them against the attack when he suddenly found he could not move. Just as the monster reached their position the trio vanished in a flash and its jaws snapped around pure emptiness where they had been.

Confused the creature turned and craned its neck while sniffing the air. But there was not a trace of its would be meal anywhere. Filled with rage the monster threw its head back and let out a roar to shake the heavens. It didn't know what had happened. It didn't know where its prey had gone to or how. But it did know they were around somewhere. And now it was more determined then ever to find them.