He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)/BtVS crossover
"Counterparts and Causes" (tentative title, subject to change, suggestions welcome)
Takes place at the end of season 6 in BtVS after 'Hells Bells' and after the last aired episode of the 2002 He-Man cartoon
Two Miles North of Sunnydale, Mid-Morning
"So why are we going to the spooky skull-faced castle that the recent earthquake unearthed again?" Xander asked wanting to understand why they were doing something he considered very dangerous.
"Because Xander given its proximity to the Hellmouth and its less than benevolent design it is likely to contain certain talismans and magicks that may prove dangerous should they fall into the wrong hands." Giles replied as he led the group of Scoobies through the forest towards the location of the unearthed castle, "When that fact is added to the disturbing revelation that there is no record in any of my books of such a castle ever existing and I shudder to think what secrets it may hold."
"Again I ask why? If the place is so full of bad mojo let's just swing by my by construction company and grab a box or two of good old TNT and bury the place again." Xander said not wanting to go near a place that had G-Man 'shuddering' anytime soon, "Then maybe Willow can work a mind whammy on the right people to make 'em forget about this place."
"Setting aside the fact that magic capable of tampering with a person's memory is decidedly dark it is unlikely to keep the castle safe from demons or dark magic users." Giles said beginning to show signs of being weary of Xander's growing anxiety, "The strongest and most dangerous members of both groups would likely have formidable mental defences in place making any attempt to alter their memories useless. I am afraid we have no choice but to enter this skull castle before they get a chance to and remove all items of power while Buffy slays any creatures that might still be alive inside. As you would likely say 'live with it'."
Grumbling a bit Xander reluctantly decided to keep his mouth shut for the remainder of the trip. As much as he didn't like the idea of poking around in some castle unearthed so close to the Hellmouth he couldn't fault Giles' reasons for going. Spooky places like this castle, especially buried ones, tended to have all sorts of nasty little glow balls and super weapons that could make for one serious headache if left for the brain trust that was the demon population of Sunnyhell. When one considered all the baddies that had come to the Hellmouth looking to start trouble he actually thought that they had been pretty lucky so far. Oh sure there had been a few that had been powerful and some that even had something resembling a brain in their skulls but considering how many evil magic baubles and demon warriors there likely were in the world it could have been a lot worse. If Glory, Mayor 'I-wanna-be-a-giant-snake' Wilkens or even Angelus had taken a moment to think things through they would have figured out that if they gathered an army or collected a small horde of magical weapons before going on the offensive then there would've been no way Buffy and the gang could have stopped them. After all they were just a group of young people and one stuffy Brit when you got right down to it. Sure they each had something special to bring to the fight but in a fight between the Scoobies and an organized army of baddies and he'd bet on the bad guys. It wasn't that he thought Buffy and the others weren't good at what they did but rather it was a matter of numbers as well as overall power. No matter how good they were they'd be massacred if the demon they went up against tried to overwhelm them with numbers or overpower them with some magical do-dad. Fortunately demons and dark magic users were either too proud or too stupid to think of such obvious roads to victory.
May the forces of evil always be made up of morons, idiots and the intellectually challenged. He thought as he continued to follow the gang through the trees.
It took two hours but eventually they made it to their destination. Fortunately it looked like the museum people and the archaeology people from U.C Sunnydale weren't there. It is through his contacts at the museum that Giles had found out about the uncovered castle in the first place. The Watcher had been a little worried later in the discussion with the curator when it was revealed that the crew the man had dispatched had been working on the castle since the day after the quake. The only good news apparently was that no matter how hard the museum workers tried they couldn't get the drawbridge that was the skull's lower jaw down. Fortunately they weren't quite at the point where they were willing to use explosives to open up 'such a monumental archaeological find' yet but there was no telling how long that would last. Which was why he and the gang were going now, on a Saturday morning, to clear out all the dangerous stuff while those not in the know were home in bed. How did he know the museum and UC Sunnydale people were in bed right now? Because that's where he wanted to be right now!
"Wow! I wonder what the guy who built this was thinking when he drew up the blueprints for this place?" asked Willow as she looked up at the castle still half buried in solid rock.
"I'm thinking it was something along the lines of 'bow down before the scary and mighty Mr. Me'." Xander quipped even though he did think that the design of the castle was meant for intimidation purposes.
"More like 'I have a nasty overbite and a thick skull'. Some ancient vamp probably built it." Buffy said completely ignoring the spooky overtones and possible evil of the place.
"If that is indeed the case then matters may be worse than I thought." Giles said as he walked up to the drawbridge to examine it more closely, "Any vampire that ancient would be quite powerful, perhaps more so than the Turokhan of legend, and could very well still be inside. I pray that is not the case though."
"So how are we going to get in?" Tara asked while readjusting the position of the right strap of the backpack carrying a few magical ingredients and items, "I mean if the people from the museum and the university couldn't figure out how to lower the drawbridge what can we do?"
"While there are a few hidden mechanisms invented by demon kind for opening drawbridges I suspect that a specific spell or aura is required for the drawbridge to open." Giles replied as he continued to look at every crack and niche in as well as around the thick wooden barrier in front of him, "While I attempt to locate a mechanical way to gain entry to the castle I suggest the rest of you help Willow and Tara unpack their supplies in case we end up requiring a magical method instead."
With that said the Scoobies left the Watcher to his squinting while they laid out the contents of the two wiccan's backpacks according to their instructions. It was an odd arrangement and he couldn't understand why they couldn't just put the bottles, boxes and baubles all in one group rather than put them in specific spots like books in a library. However Willow was very strict about what went where and after one stern warning about not placing the entrails of something-or-other next to the powdered-thing-a-ma-bob he decided to just do as he was told.
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Five Hours Later
"Bloody hell!" Giles growled in frustration as yet another mystic attempt to lower the drawbridge of the skull castle failed.
"Look on the bright side G-Man! If we can't get in then what are the chances that someone else will?" Xander asked in an optimistic manner hoping to dispel the Watcher's increasingly foul mood.
"Perhaps you are right." Giles conceded as the frustration began to lift from his countenance, "Still I would prefer it if we tried a little longer to gain entry. Perhaps your suggestion of employing dynamite might yield better results."
"Never fear the Xan-man is here!" he said jokingly as he opened up his backpack to reveal two crates: one marked 'TNT' while the other had markings that had the rest of the gang staring at it in shock.
"Xander! What're you doing with C4!" Buffy exclaimed as she had seen enough action films to know how powerful the substance was and that it wasn't exactly widely available to the public.
"Well… when Glory was causing all that trouble and you had a hard time fighting her I thought it might be time for something a little unexpected." Xander replied as he brought out the fuses and timers for the explosives, "So I paid a visit to the military base again and 'borrowed' some of their C4 but I never got the chance to use it. So I decided to stash it away for an impending apocalypse and thought I'd bring it here in case we couldn't get in any other way."
"Don't you think it's a little odd that you managed to get away with 'borrowing' something like that?" Willow asked a little concerned that her best guy friend might've stepped into a bit of trouble without knowing it, "Okay you managed to get a rocket launcher from them to stop The Judge but they can't be stupid enough not to tighten security after that. Right?"
"Actually the stupid thing for them to do would be to admit that a pair of civilians, high school students at the time, managed to get onto the base and steal a rocket launcher right out from under their noses." Xander replied as he began to carve up the C4 into smaller pieces for his plan, "After all it wouldn't do any of their careers any good if word of that got around."
Much as the gang didn't like the idea of their friend ripping off the U.S military they had to admit that the base personnel wouldn't want a black mark on their records if they could avoid it.
"While I must insist we have a chat later about robbing the American military your proposal would seem to be our only hope now." Giles stated while polishing his glasses, "The rest of us will get to a safe distance while you place the charges."
"You mean I have to set this up by myself?" Xander asked with some surprise as he watched the gang put some distance between themselves and the castle.
"Well you are the only one among us with the requisite knowledge of explosives." Giles replied as he followed the girls, "Best of luck Xander."
Shaking his head in disbelief at his friends he sighed and decided that he might as well get to work right away. Gathering up the first package of TNT and C4 he moved to the lower right side of the drawbridge as it was point number one of his strategic plan to place the explosives at key structural points. Kneeling down he did his best to wedge the package right in between the stone of the castle and the wood of the drawbridge but then something happened that he could not have foreseen. In a moment of chance his hand came into direct contact with the wood of the drawbridge and instead of feeling the roughness of aged wood a crackle of energy leapt from that spot at him. It coursed up his arm like high voltage electricity but before he could discern more he was flung away from the drawbridge crashing back to the ground twenty yards away.
"XANDER!" Willow exclaimed in shock although to him her voice was somewhat muted due to the unique brand of shock he himself was feeling.
The pain and the disorientation quickly passed but that wasn't something he wanted to go through again if he could do anything about it. However, as he pushed himself into a sitting position, he was quickly given incentive to haul ass because coming down at a barely controlled rate was the drawbridge of the castle. Scrambling to his feet at though his life depended on in, which it did, he ran as fast as he could to the right as it would allow him to clear the width of the drawbridge since the length would squash him if he tried to go that way. As it was he just barely managed to get clear before what could easily have been a foot thick drawbridge crashed down behind him. So violent was the crash that he nearly lost his footing but thankfully six years of fighting demons and vampires had helped improve his agility as well as his balance. Turning around he found the Scoobies in an odd assortment of moods: Giles was surprised, Willow was shocked and the two blondes were shaking their heads in amusement at what he had unintentionally done.
"Well… it's open… just like I promised! See! Nothing to it." He said trying to make it sound like it had all been a part of his plan.
They didn't believe it for even one second.
"Yes, well, let's get inside and begin our survey of the castle's contents." Giles said as he recovered from the fact that all it took to open a seemingly impenetrable castle was Xander's knack for getting into trouble.
Looking at the ink-like darkness revealed by the lowering of the drawbridge Xander couldn't help but curse the Harris luck for once again messing things up for him. Hopefully though this was the big piece of bad luck and all that was left for him to deal with was the smaller silver dollar sized bits of Harris luck.
OH SHIT! I can't believe I just thought that! Xander thought as he trotted along behind his friends into the castle, I AM SO SCREWED!
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Next Dimension Over, The Planet Eternia, Castle Grayskull
It was a dark day on Eternia and for the first time since He-Man appeared to do battle with Skeletor none were sure if the light would ever shine again.
It had started a little over a week ago after the defeat of the god of the Snake Men, Serpos, had been placed back in its petrified state of Snake Mountain. King Hiss was believed to be dead or at the very least wounded seriously enough that he would not be troubling anyone for many weeks. All in all it was believed that there would be a sizeable period of peace on Eternia even if it wouldn't last as long as many would like. Perhaps that was why the palace guard was caught unawares and the Masters were a bit slower to respond than usual. In any case when the remnants of King Hiss' forces, led by Rattlor, attacked the palace of the royal family they moved with a speed unseen in other encounters. It didn't take long for their target to become known since the moment they laid eyes on Prince Adam, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, they pursued him with almost fanatic determination. This was terrible news because with the exception of Man-at-Arms, Orko and The Sorceress no one else knew that the young golden haired man was in fact the alter-ego of He-Man. In most encounters previously the young man would have managed to find an empty room or a deserted hallway to transform into the muscled defender of Eternia but the Snake Men were not giving him that opportunity.
It took some time, Adam knew the palace better than the Snake Men, but eventually they managed to corner him in the throne room and they outnumbered him five to one. He put up a brave fight, a fight that would be retold to all in the days after the attack by an injured soldier who had seen every moment of it, but in the end they knocked his sword from his hand and threw him to the ground. It was thought by the damaged guard that this was the moment in which he would see his prince and future king slain before his very eyes and it angered him to no end that he was unable to intervene. However this soldier of Eternia would remark in the days that followed that perhaps death would have been a far kinder fate than the Snake Men's true intentions. Not more than a few seconds after the Prince hit the ground Rattlor removed an emerald sphere, perfectly round and smooth, from a pouch at his side and began to chant in a language the guard didn't recognise. The end result though was all too understandable for in a flash of light that blinded the guard everything changed and when his eyes adjusted he was shocked at what he saw. There green sphere was gone from Rattlor's hand and where Prince Adam had laid on the ground there was now a boulder sized emerald sphere with the prince trapped inside. The young man did not move, did not speak, didn't appear to be alive but frozen like a statue within the confines of his shiny prison. With their objective apparently accomplished Rattlor and his Snake Men army quickly retreated and scattered in all directions once outside the palace walls.
Tremors of shock and dismay echoed throughout the kingdom in the days that followed as news of the Prince's imprisonment reached the ears of all. All manner of scientist and magic user loyal to King Randor came to the palace to offer their aide in freeing the young prince. Some did so out of the kindness of their own hearts while others no doubt expected a hefty reward considering it was the son of the king they'd be saving. Alas all their efforts would be in vain as nothing they did even put a scratch into the emerald sphere. Even the intelligent Man-at-Arms and the mysterious Sorceress made attempts to break the prison apart but they faired little better only managing to create a crack. That crack sealed itself up quickly preventing the prince's rescuers from taking advantage of the momentary weakness in the prison's structural integrity. While this was enough to discourage those 'helpers' interested in profit enough to leave those of a more benevolent nature continued to work towards freeing Adam. However as the Masters came to realise in the past two days their situation was worsening though only Man-at-Arms knew the truth.
Emboldened by their successful imprisonment of Prince Adam the Snake Men began their efforts to conquer Eternia anew. So far the Masters had managed to push them back each time but only by the slimmest of margins and the reason for that was clear. While each member of the group possessed skills and abilities that made them formidable warriors none of them possessed sufficient power to make up for the absence of He-Man. Like it or not they had become used to the most powerful man in the universe fighting by their side and lending his considerable strength to the fight. With him absent there was a considerable difference in how the battles went with victory being theirs mostly because of the arrogance of their enemies. All of the Masters were wondering where He-Man was and why he had not been present to fight by their side but none had any answers save Duncan and he wisely chose to keep silent. For if the others knew the truth, that Prince Adam was He-Man, it would be a terrible blow to their morale and would weaken their fighting spirits even more than not knowing where their comrade was.
However what worried Duncan though was how long it would be before Skeletor decided to make a move. Thus far there had been precious few sightings of the skull-faced lord of evil and in most cases the villain was gone long before any of the Masters could arrive at the scene to fight him. Aside from the sightings there had been no attacks on either Castle Grayskull or the palace by forces connected to Skeletor. It wouldn't last though. As soon as the ruler of Snake Mountain was sure enough that He-Man wouldn't come out to face him he would begin his campaign of conquest with a vengeance. Facing the Snake Men on one front and Skeletor's warriors on the other was a serious problem and one the Masters had to solve as soon as possible.
While Man-at-Arms and the benevolent scientists of Eternia continued to try and free Prince Adam the guardian of Castle Grayskull was taking a different approach. While the Sorceress was confident that she could eventually find a way to pierce the emerald prison containing Eternia's champion she didn't believe it could be done in time to keep ultimate victory from either the Snake Men or Skeletor. That left only one option: she had to find a champion as powerful and as skilled as Prince Adam was as He-Man. One might think it was a simple job of finding a warrior with a mind and personality similar to Prince Adam then give that person the Sword of Power. However it was not nearly that simple. From the moment that Adam took hold of the Sword of Power he became its bearer and it would not accept a new wielder until the previous one was dead. That left her with but one option and she prayed that it would succeed for if it did not then darkness would envelope Eternia forever.
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One Dimension Backwards, Inside the Castle, Two Miles North of Sunnydale
Three Hours After Entering the Castle
"Anybody have any ideas 'cause we could use a couple right now!" Xander exclaimed with more than a little bit of fear.
Surrounded on all sides by a horde of demons that Giles couldn't identify the Xan-Man had to wonder how they'd all gotten into this mess.
Oh I know! Buffy saw an 'oohhh pretty' and set off a booby-trap! He thought a little snarkily as he swung the rusted sword in his hand to drive off one of the demons.
Things had started off easy enough and he had to admit that the inside of the castle, while most certainly spooky, had a certain 'Lord of the Rings' appeal to him. Giles of course was 'fascinating' about everything and Willow wasn't far behind except she was more interested with the vibes she was getting off of the place. They were good vibes to everyone's surprise and after taking a moment to utilize his not-often-used arcane senses G-Man confirmed that the residual magic in the castle was not demonic in nature. Buffy of course complained that this contradicted what he said earlier and supported her own opinion of the place by pointing out the creepy décor. Of course then the elder Watcher pointed out that looks can be deceiving and made some Brit comment about the stereotype about blondes. This earned him a glare from the Slayer but it did have the side effect of keeping her quiet for a time.
The exploring and the surveying went on for the next two hours or so until they had come to some kind of throne room. Of course what captured everyone's attention right off the bat was the big honkin' golden pyramid sitting on the other side of the room with a throne that had wings poking out of the sides at the top. This completely dumbfounded the group since it was odd that an apparently gothic style castle had an Egyptian style throne room. Giles had looked like someone, a blonde short someone, had told him that it was God that ruled Hell and the Devil that ruled Heaven. In short he was both shocked and experiencing major difficulty in accepting what his eyes were transmitting to his brain. Eventually though he told them to begin looking over the place since it made sense that items of some importance would be located in the throne room.
In retrospect though he should have taken the time to tell Buffy not to touch anything suspicious looking until he had a chance himself to look it over.
It was not ten minutes after they had gone to search different areas of the throne room that the first sign of badness, the proverbial lights suddenly coming on, showed itself. Looking about the room to both find the source of the light as well as determine what or rather who might have caused it they found their blonde Slayer friend next to the throne holding a golden staff with a falcon at its top in her hands. Both he and Giles only had time to curse Buffy for not being more cautious with unknown and potentially magical artefacts before the second sign of badness showed up. This came in the form of a horde of demons that looked like a cross between serpents and lizards given that they walked on four legs but had very long necks. Fortunately they weren't much bigger than a dog and about as smart as a mutt as well but that was where the good news ended. Their strength and speed were easily equal to newly risen vampire and when added to the sheer number of them it was clear the Scooby gang had their work cut out for them. Grabbing the nearest available object that could be used for a weapon each member of the gang had been ready to kick ass and take names.
Forty minutes later though none of them were quite as confident of their eventual victory as they had been when the fighting had begun, hence him asking for some ideas on how to get out of the mess they were in. They had managed to kill quite a few of the demons attacking them but there were always more creeping out of the shadows. Eventually the entire gang was forced into a tight circle around the pyramid with each looking like they had maybe one more smackdown in them before they feel down with fatigue.
"Aside from keep fighting until these beasts lose interest? I am afraid not." Giles replied before decapitating one of the demons with a large axe.
"Given how they've probably been locked up in this place since it was buries I think it's pretty safe to say their stomachs are in the driver's seat right now." He said before use a spike mace to bash his own demonic sparring partner across the face.
That turned out to be the wrong thing to do since not more than three seconds later the demon he had hit retaliated by hitting him across the chest with its tail. So powerful was the hit that it sent him up into the air to the top of the pyramid where the throne was positioned. Needless to say when he touched down he had pain both across his chest and his back not to mention he'd dropped his mace. Pushing himself to his feet with a moan he looked down at the bottom of the golden pyramid to see if anyone else had been knocked around like he had. From what he could tell they were still managing to hold their own for the moment but with his bird's eye view of the room he doubt it'd be for much longer. From atop the pyramid he could see the demons coming in from every available doorway, window, crack and crevice in the room. If this kept up they'd be dead long before they made so much as a dent in the numbers of this horde of demons.
Our only chance is to fight our way out BIG TIME while we still have the strength to do it! Xander thought as he frantically looked around for a weapon.
It took a few moments but he soon spotted a broadsword lying on the ground just behind the throne. Buffy had likely missed it because the room was so dark and the steel grey of weapon made it hard to see in the shadows. It was kind of odd looking to him. It started off normal enough with a round pommel and smooth handle but then it expanded outward to for the handle guard and then drooped inward just a little for about three quarters of a foot before finally returning to the width the handle was ending with a sharp tip at the pointy end. (For those of you who are having trouble visualizing the sword just picture the He-Man's sword of power from the 1983 series). Picking it up he almost immediately dropped it as a crackle of energy very similar to the one that had leapt from the drawbridge flowed up his arm from the sword. The funny thing was that there was no pain, no repelling field sending him flying, just some weird tingly sensation like when circulation begins to return to an arm that had fallen asleep. In any case this went on for ten seconds before the energy dispersed and he was left wondering what had just happened. Actually his precise words were a tad more colourfully vulgar but it was pretty easy to understand what he was trying to say. Shaking off the weirdness of the moment he charged down the steps to where the gang was intending to tell them his "let's get out of here" plan when again it seemed as though his unique brand of luck had come to their aide.
The moment he came within ten feet of the demons they immediately began to back away from him. It was almost the same sort of reaction he got from vampires when he shoved a cross in their demonic faces but twice as potent. His mind quickly came up with a theory as to what was going on but just to confirm it he charged a group of the demons head on. Like parting the proverbial red sea the demons scattered in his wake and given that the only thing that had changed from a couple of minutes ago was his new sword it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why they were retreating.
"Xander? Where'd you get the sword?" Buffy asked as she and the others got in close around him so as to be within the demon free zone the sword was somehow creating.
"Up behind the throne. Don't have a clue as to why these snake-dogs are afraid of it but I say we use this opportunity to get the HELL out of here!" he said as he began moving towards the entrance/exit to the throne.
"No! Not until we find some way of resealing the drawbridge!" Giles yelled as he pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the form of a spread of mini-fireballs from his right hand, "We cannot let these demons escape the castle. We are responsible for lowering the drawbridge in the first place so we must be the ones to remedy the situation."
"No offence Giles BUT ARE YOU NUTS?" Xander exclaimed as the demons stayed with them trotting along just outside the protective range of the sword, "We have no idea how I managed to lower the drawbridge in the first place much less how to raise it again. Besides which there's no way we could keep the demons inside long enough to shut them in anyway so let's just go."
"There are a few spells of sealing that can be performed without preparation." Giles said as they continued down the hallway to the main entrance and the drawbridge, "If I combined my magic with Willow and Tara's it should be enough to trap them inside the castle until a more permanent solution can be devised. However there is a risk."
"What kind of risk?" Willow asked as she fired off another bolt from a crossbow she had found in the castle that still worked.
"By casting the spell we will quite literally be putting our own souls at risk. Should these demons somehow manage to shatter our spell of sealing the resulting backlash of energy would at the very least render us weak for days." Giles replied as they picked up the pace to the main entrance.
"And in the worst case scenario?" Tara asked remarkably managing to keep her fear from triggering a stuttering spell like she used to have when under stress.
"We will likely die." Giles replied honestly before putting on one of his best reassuring smiles, "However I am sure that with our combined magic we will easily be able to keep them contained until Xander can figure out how he opened the drawbridge before and close it. After all these demons have shown no signs of intelligence or magical abilities of their own so the most they can do after the spell is claw at the barrier."
Xander DID NOT like that plan one little bit since it put not only the man he saw as a surrogate father at risk but also the one person who knew him as well as he knew himself. It was times like these that he almost wished that he acted wiser or at least more insightful around the gang so they'd take his suggestions seriously. If they had then maybe they would have listened to him when he said they should re-bury the place and flashy-thing the necessary people to eliminate knowledge of the castle's existence. He understood what Giles had said before about it being dangerous dark mojo messing with people's head's but given their current situation it was definitely the safer option.
There is another way to seal the demons back inside the castle, perhaps even rid yourself of them altogether.
"What the--?" Xander asked in shock as a voice spoke in his head causing him to stop forty yards short of the main entrance and the drawbridge.
However there will be a price. You will have to go on a journey and I know not when you may be able to see your friends again.
Looking to his friends and then back at the horde of demons that still remained as close as they could to their prey without entering the ten feet mark he realised that there was no real choice in the end. His friends were his world, they were his family, and if taking a little trip someplace was the price for making sure Giles, Willow and Tara lived then so be it.
"Fine! Just tell me what I have to do." He said not knowing whether the one who had spoken to him required a vocal reply or a mental one.
Raise the sword you carry over your head and yell 'By the Power of Grayskull'. Do it quickly before your friends notice your absence and attempt to intervene!
While not entirely liking how the voice was against his friends interfering he could understand that if they did come back in his direction they would be inside the castle again and likely be sealed in with him when he did as the voice commanded. Therefore, despite she Saturday morning sound of it, he did as the voice bid and raised the sword he had found high above his head.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" he yelled and with those words power personified was released within the castle for the first time in many millennia.
Like water exploding out of a collapsing dam a light of ultimate white surged forth from deep within the castle rushing through every corridor, crack and window. It swept over the demon hordes around him in seconds wiping them from existence as though they had been made from smoke. The energy continued along its path without slowing until it passed over the Xan-Man and encountered the main entrance to the castle. There the leading edge of the energy slowed to a crawl before enveloping both the frame of the entrance and the drawbridge itself in its harsh white light. Then with the clanking of heavy chains and the grinding of gears rusted almost still by the passage of time the drawbridge rose to seal the entrance to the castle shut. Xander however could see none of this for the light was too bright for him to open his eyes to look in any direction at all. All he was able to perceive was the sounds of the drawbridge closing and his friends yelling at him to run for the entrance as fast as he could. Sadly without his sight being able to tell which direction the entrance was in and getting there was not likely going to happen even if he had decided to renege on his deal with the voice.
There, the deed is done and your friend's are safe, prepare yourself for your journey is about to begin.
What exactly do—AAAAARRRRGGGHH! Xander thought before the very energy that had only minutes ago dispatched the demons converged on him with all the subtlety of an avalanche.
Where before the energy had either repelled him or introduced a tingly sensation in a limb it now felt as though he was being burned alive from the inside out. The funny thing was that on some peripheral level he knew that his actual body temperature hadn't changed so much as a single degree but that didn't make the pain any easier to take. For a moment though he felt as though the energy was beginning to disappear but in truth it was just gathering its strength for the final push. With the power of a rage filled grizzly bear it slammed into him sending him off into the quiet painless state of unconsciousness where thoughts give way to dreams.
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Unknown Location, Unknown Amount of Time Later
"Oooohhh! Next time I go on a journey I'm putting someone else besides a weird voice in charge of the travel arrangements." Xander groaned as consciousness returned and a slight headache told him he was still alive.
Taking a moment to clear his head he then opened his eyes to look around since finding out what his current predicament was took top priority considering what it had been the last time he'd been conscious. What he saw with his eyes was the cold grey stonework of a castle that meant either his travelling papers hadn't been in order and he was still in the ancient castle or he had just exchanged one castle for another. On the plus side though he was on something comfy and that was a definite improvement over the hard cold stone floor of a castle hallway. Sitting up he found that someone had placed him in a room decorated like a medieval castle and judging from the way it conformed to his body the mattress he was on definitely didn't contain springs but rather feathers. That still left him wondering where exactly he was and since there wasn't a note lying around telling him to stay put he felt a little reconnaissance was in order.
That plan came to a halt the moment he got out of bed to find that someone had changed his clothes without his knowledge or permission. That led to a whole assortment of imaginings ranging from a beautiful maid servant doing it, which he had to admit wouldn't have been too bad, to some wrinkly manservant and that made him shudder like only seeing Snyder in a thong could do. As for the clothes themselves they weren't all bad. Grey pants, white shirt, brown vest with shoulder pads, elbow length gloves and unless his eyes deceived him a pair of black boots were on the floor next to the bed. Deciding that walking around a castle barefoot wasn't a good idea he slipped them on and after a few adjustments to make them fit better turned to leave the room. Naturally that was the time that someone decided to check on him because the moment he finished taking his second step to the door it opened to reveal a vision of beauty.
A winged woman stood before him and it made him think that if he wasn't she wasn't an angel than she was pretty damn close. Knee high Xena-like boots, an Egyptian style skirt than showed a nice amount of leg, gold and blue body armour as well as a headdress with a falcon theme to it. All in all she looked like she'd be right at home walking down a fashion runway modelling some designers Egypt themed clothes because she definitely had the figure for it.
"Why thank you Alexander. A woman always appreciates being complimented on her appearance." The winged woman said with a smile.
"Wha… how… huh?" he asked as he tried to figure out how she had known what he'd been thinking.
"giggle I am sorry Alexander. When I entered the room I briefly touched your mind telepathically in order to ascertain if you had recovered from your trip here." Ms. Wings stated as her smile shrank to a grin.
"No problem. Just no more peeking inside my head without asking first okay?" he asked as he tried in vain to control his thoughts to keep from embarrassing himself any further.
"Agreed. Now, you must be wondering where you are, correct?" Ms. Angel-woman asked stepping away from the door in a silent invitation to precede her out of the room.
Just nodding he decided to let her call the shots for the time being and left the room he'd woken up in with Ms. Heavenly Body taking up the rear. As they walked down the hallway the woman introduced herself as 'The Sorceress' and that they were inside Castle Grayskull on the planet of Eternia. He tried to ask what exactly was 'the journey' he'd have to go on but she said she would explain when they reached the throne room. She went onto give a broad description of Eternia from the various regions that made up the planet to the various races that inhabited those regions. He did his best to take it all in, treating it like just another research session at the Magic Box, but it was slightly harder since he was literally there rather than reading about it in a book. Eventually they entered what could only be the throne room and what the Xan-man saw stopped him in his tracks. There laid out before him was the very throne room that he and his friends had fought their way out of except that room had been falling apart and deserted while this one was lived in and maintained.
"This is the other dimensional counterpart to the castle you were in when I contacted you. While I know not what fate befell that Castle Grayskull beyond a vague impression of great evil it was because you entered it that I was able to find you amidst the great sea of realities." The Sorceress explained as she turned to face him, "And to answer the question that you are no doubt about to ask 'no I did not read your mind again'. I merely read your expression and deduced what most likely had caused it."
"Okay then how about you get to explaining about this journey I need to take 'cause the sooner I get it done the sooner I you can send me home." He said as he decided he could trust the Sorceress at least where the topic of unethical mind reading was concerned.
Nodding she brought her right hand out in front of her and in a flash of light a staff appeared in her hand that was almost identical to the one Buffy had found which had triggered the demon attack. It lent a little credit to her counterpart story and as she waved it through the air to her left a magical screen much like a holographic display appeared. Once it finished forming images appeared and the winged woman began to explain the current crisis and her reasons for bringing him to Eternia. He had to admit that her reasons were good with two baddie forces threatening to trounce the good guys being a definite problem. How he was supposed to help out he didn't know. He might have been good fighting demons and other Hellmouthy stuff but if the big bads out there were as deadly as they appeared to be on the magic screen he was a scooch out of his league.
"Look I'm flattered that you think I'm such a hero and everything but I don't think I could do much more than bleed on these guys for you." He said once the Sorceress dispelled the screen into the nothingness from which it came, "I mean give me a vampire or a Polgara demon and I can probably take them down but Snake Men and freaky skull-faced warlocks are way out of my league."
"That is where the sword you found in your Castle Grayskull will be of help." The Sorceress said before using a magical form of telekinesis to summon the item in question to where they were standing, "It is the counterpart to the one wielded by Prince Adam that allows him to transform into He-Man. With it you should be able to channel the power of the Elders and become just as powerful as Prince Adam does when he calls upon the power."
"Should is not exactly 'will' Sorceress and—" Xander said trying to talk the woman out of making a mistake when her head snapped to her right and a look of concern crossed her features, "What's wrong?"
Not paying him any heed she took to the air and flew to the throne that sat atop the pyramid but instead of sitting down she thrust the head of her staff at the space between the two golden wings that extended out and up from the sides of the pyramid. With a blast of golden energy a large circular mirror appeared and after a wave of light passed across its surface a scene appeared that answered his question. The image was of a forest that was laid out in front of Castle Grayskull and flying towards it were four large gryphons. Another wave of light swept across the mirror's surface and a closer look at the gryphons was provided allowing a perfect look at who was riding them. He recognised them instantly from the Reader's Digest version of current events the Sorceress had shown him minutes earlier. Skeletor and his minions were on their way and he doubted it was to give notice of their full and unconditional surrender.
"Skeletor has chosen the worst possible time to abandon his former position of observing his enemies." The Sorceress said grimly since the current circumstances were not in the favour of the side of good.
"What about these Masters of the Universe you told me about?" he asked as he could predict what course of action she would ask of him if she had to, "Can't you summon them to protect Grayskull?"
"Even if I were to summon them right now it would still take them time to get here. By then it could be too late." The Sorceress replied as she turned away from the scene of the approaching evil and looked down upon him from the top of the pyramid, "I am afraid I must ask you to go into battle much sooner than I had intended. Will you help me defend Castle Grayskull?"
"Just tell me what you need me to do." Xander said with resolve woven into his very stance and in the fire within his eyes.
"Merely repeat the action that banished the demons from the Grayskull of your world and you will be endowed with the power you need to do battle with Skeletor." The Sorceress replied with a smile of gratitude.
Here's hoping we get more than a fancy lightshow! Xander thought before raising the sword over his head and yelling, "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"
With those words events transpired much as they had in his native dimension but with one monumental difference. This time a cloud of energy formed on the ceiling of the throne room, growing in intensity, and once it reached critical a bolt of energy dropped from it enveloping both him and the sword completely. Once completely enveloped a change came over him as he grew a full seven inches in a matter of moments and put on more muscle than most elite male bodybuilders just as quickly. At this point most people might begin to worry about his clothes being shredded as he was quickly exceeding them in size but fortunately the magic responsible for his transformation took care of that as well. The moment it looked as though his clothes would begin to rip they vanished to be replaced with a new outfit though considering how much cloth was actually involved he looked like an extra for the next Conan the Barbarian movie. His boots once solid black were now brown and instead of pants all he had was what could easily be called 'furry underwear/briefs'. An orange belt appeared around his waist, presumably to keep the underwear up or something, and then a steel grey harness appeared with a red cross adorning a plate atop his chest. His black hair then lengthened until it reached his shoulders completing the Conan look nicely. Orange forearm braces then appeared to top the whole get up off.
With that final accessory the energy that had transformed the average construction worker named Xander into the mountain of muscle he now was dispersed leaving nothing but him as evidence that it had been there. It took a moment for him to fully adjust to the changes but once he did he looked himself over to personally inspect the changes that had been made to his body. For the most part he was very pleased since he now had a body that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger jealous and now was as tall as Michael Jordan. However there was one thing he just had to ask The Sorceress before he went to fight Skeletor and he knew he'd be unable to concentrate on kicking baddie ass until he had an answer to his question.
"Hey Sorceress? What the HELL is up with the furry underwear?"
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Note: So if this drabble/short gets enough votes who do you think I should pair Xander with? Teela or Evil-lyn?
