CHAPTER SEVEN
AUTHOR'S NOTE : - WARNING Character Death in this Chapter! Please rest assured no major cannon character is going to be hurt. If you don't want to know, please quit reading this chapter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2 : - Also please note in terms of the death scene that I might borrow a line or two (or maybe three or four!) from another cartoon from the 80's. I will wonder if anyone will be able to guess it. (Although it will be obvious, here is a hint – it has been made into two movies recently (2007 onwards) so far with a third on the way!)
Previously in He-Man and the Summoning Jewels….
Time seemed to stand still during the battle between the forces of good and evil as Man-At-Arms prepared himself as he rushed to He-Man's aid. Even as he ran as quickly as he could towards He-Man, he realized he would be too late even as he shouted his warning towards the champion and heir to the Eternian Throne.
"He-Man, look out! Skeletor has the crystal laser aimed at you!" But even as Man-At-Arms looked on in despair, he realized that his warning had come all too late as Skeletor had gotten a good look at the hero through the targeting lens and fired off the laser without the least bit of pity or remorse.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Time to die, He-Man!" Skeletor cackled evilly as he fired the powerful weapon.
And now the next exciting chapter….
Skeletor's evil laugh echoed throughout the chamber as he fired the crystal laser at his most hated arch nemesis.
Die He-Man die. I hope that this crystal laser, invented by my trusted Engineer and henchman Try-Clops will spell your doom! This will be a fitting end for all your interferences in my most devilish schemes! Skeletor thought, even as he watched the laser head towards He-Man and he cruelly hoped the laser would cause agonizing pain to the hero before he finally succumbed to the weapon.
The power of the laser echoed as a loud boom through the area, which startled the combatants involved in the conflict.
Man-At-Arms already knew what was going to happen and could only look on in despair as he tried in vain to get to He-Man's side in time to assist the Hero of Eternia.
Beast-Man looked up from where he was on the cavern floor. Battle-Cat had knocked him over again in battle, and try as he might Beast-Man was now too weak too control both Battle-Cat and the Minotaur. So instead of trying to control both, he realized his best chance NOT to anger Skeletor was to maintain control of the Minotaur, while hoping he could physically hold out against the mighty Battle-Cat. Even as he tried in vain to accomplish even this goal, he realized his control of the Minotaur was slipping. Beast-Man had grown weak through his efforts and his fight against the band of heroes, and even now could feel the Minotaur fighting back against his control with a vengeance.
"ROARRRRR! You're not going anywhere Beast-Man!" Roared Battle-Cat, as he managed to pin the Beast-Man to the cavern floor. Battle-Cat was trying to claw at the Beast-Man, hoping to incapacitate the villain while it was all that the Beast-Man could do to keep his opponent at bay. Whilst this was happening, the Battle-Cat was focused solely on his personal fight and was remaining oblivious to the danger that his master He-Man was in.
"Grrrrr….damn you! You mangy cat! I'll find a way to beat you yet!" Beast-Man responded as he too was focused on his individual battle and was unaware of Skeletor's attempt to end the life of Eternia's greatest Champion. The Beast-Man was able to shrug Battle-Cat off him again with a last surge of strength and quickly got back to his feet. He grabbed his whip and lashed out at Battle-Cat who had quickly charged back in towards his opponent. Though while Beast-Man was able to get the mighty cat to hesitate slightly with the whip, he could not get any hits in as Battle-Cat was able to nimbly dodge them.
"Never! ROARRRRRR! You and your Master Skeletor will be beaten this day you miserable villain!" roared Battle-Cat as the mighty cat charged towards the Beast-Man.
"Grrrrr…Let's see what you have left, you mangy cat! I will defeat you and then you will serve me and Master Skeletor!" Beast-Man growled in challenge towards He-Man's companion. Battle-Cat's only response was to give a mighty roar before charging into battle once more. The fight was on.
Meanwhile the magical duel between Orko and Skeletor's tame witch Evil Lyn had reached a stalemate, with neither combatant getting the upper hand over the other. Like the battle between Beast-Man and Battle-Cat, neither Orko nor Evil Lyn had realized what Skeletor intended nor the peril that He-Man was in. The pair of them continued to duel with their magic's determined to defeat their adversary.
"By all that is dark, evil and unholy! What does it take to defeat this pitiful fool!" Evil Lyn growled in frustration even as she realized she had underestimated the small Trollen.
"Give it up Evil Lyn! The forces of good will always win!" Orko shouted back at the dark sorceress in defiance, even as he unleashed another bolt of magic at her. Evil Lyn quickly raised her scepter and erected a magical shield that adsorbed the magical bolt just in time.
"Is that the best you can do, you fool?" Evil Lyn taunted Orko, even as she counter attacked with another bolt of dark shadow magic. Orko managed to dodge this counter attack, although just barely.
"Nice try Evil Lyn but you should always take better care to aim!" Orko taunted as he realized all of a sudden where that stray dark magical bolt of magic had gone. Even as Evil Lyn began to form a retort to the Trollen magician she too had realized where it had gone. All of a sudden, she got a sinking feeling within the deepest parts of her stomach.
By all that is unholy! This cannot be! My magic was intended to defeat this fool and now it looks like I will be helping their foolish and heroic cause! Evil Lyn you are a fool! Skeletor will never forgive me for this, even if it was just an accident! But at least that foolish Beast-Man will get what is coming to him!
Evil Lyn could only watch as her blast of dark magic was dodged by Orko, only for to sail onwards and straight at the Beast-Man's unsuspecting and unguarded back.
While Evil Lyn and Orko continued their duel, with the dark sorceress starting to get more desperate as she realized her mistake, the fight between He-Man and the Minotaur was evenly matched. Neither of the opponents had managed to shift the other in their wrestling contest and both realized they were in for a old fashioned slug feast.
"Please Minotaur! I am not your enemy! We should not be fighting here! Please give me a chance to explain!" He-Man pleaded even as he fought the Minotaur in a wrestling contest of strength.
"Nay, He-Man. I've been ordered to fight and that is what I must do!" Minotaur replied even as he fought against the telepathic control of the Beast-Man. Even now, he could feel the control slipping and could feel himself getting closer to getting his freedom back. But still was compelled to fight He-Man.
"But who has ordered you to fight?" He-Man asked as he dodged another powerful right from the Minotaur.
"You have already asked that, and again I answer that is none of your concern!" roared the Minotaur as he continued to fight the hero.
"I don't want to hurt you Minotaur, but if Skeletor gets all the summoning jewels then all of Eternia is at stake. Please surrender or I have to take the necessary actions." He-Man tried again, to appeal to the Minotaur. Eternia's champion truly did not want to hurt him, but with all of the life on Eternia at stake, he realized he may not have a choice.
"Don't worry, you won't!" Said the Minotaur even as he managed to punch He-Man in the guts and cause the Champion to reel back a few steps. It was at this stage in the fight between the jewel guardian and the guardian of Castle Gray-Skull that gave Skeletor the opportunity to target the hero.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Time to die, He-Man!" Skeletor cackled evilly as he fired the powerful weapon as he targeted the hero through the targeting lens of the Crystal Laser.
It was at this stage where all had seemed lost. Man-At-Arms, even as he pushed himself to get to He-Man's side knew he would arrive too late. Evil Lyn had just cast that 'fatal' bolt of dark magic at Orko, whom the Trollen had just managed to dodge quite swiftly. And it was that same bolt of magic that was headed towards the unguarded and unprotected back of the Beast-Man.
"ARGGGGGGGGGGG!" Screamed the Beast-Man, even as he was hit by the dark magic. It was an intensive and agonizing pain that he went through after being hit by the magic. Had it been a normal man, that magic would have spelt their certain doom. But the Beast-Man wasn't built like normal men. He was half beast and half man, with greater strength and stamina then most men can possess, and with more intelligence than most beasts can possess. It normally was a remarkable combination that made the Beast-Man such a formidable foe.
But in this case, thanks to his previous efforts in controlling the formidable Minotaur and the fight against first Man-At-Arms and then Battle-Cat, Beast-Man was physically drained and could no longer offer any resistance against the dark magic. As soon as Beast-Man hit the floor after being hit, he fell unconscious and thus his hold over the Minotaur was released.
"ROARRRRR! That was a bit anti-climatic!" roared the Battle-Cat even as he sniffed and smelled around the still body of the Beast-Man ever suspecting of yet another foul trick.
As the luck of the Elders would have it, a moment before Skeletor got his shot off at He-Man, was the moment that Beast-Man got knocked out due to an errant bolt of magic from Evil Lyn. With Beast-Man neutralized, the Minotaur was freed from his control even as he was continuing to fight He-Man. The Minotaur decided to punch He-Man in the gut and forced the hero away so he could buy himself some time. Then he had heard Man-At-Arm's warning and realized what the fiend Skeletor was up to, especially since he had that awful Crystal Laser with him.
"Minotaur, I really don't want to hurt you, but you're leaving me no other choice!" He-Man remarked as he recovered from the Minotaur's powerful blow. It was at this time that the Minotaur had fully recovered his facilities, but had noticed Skeletor's evil intentions with the Crystal Laser.
I cannot let such an evil being as Skeletor hurt such a good soul as He-Man! I have wronged this soul and he even now tries to talk me out of a fight despite what I have done, and he still only defends himself! Such a soul should not fall to such evil! Not if I can help it anyway!
It was with these finals thoughts, that the Minotaur decided to act and save a hero, someone who would do more good that he himself could ever hope to achieve.
"Get out of the way!" The Minotaur roared.
"What? Huh?" He-Man asked in confusion even as the Minotaur bowled He-Man over.
He-Man was knocked to the floor of the cavern even as a powerful laser went over his head, incidentally where his body would have been had the Minotaur not knocked him over. He then heard a yelp and a large groan of pain coming nearby and He-Man had that sinking feeling that someone just had been seriously hurt.
"Oh Elders, nooooo!" He-Man groaned even as he struggled to his feet.
While Eternia's Champion struggled to his feet, the battle between Evil Lyn and Orko finally came to a conclusion, with Orko the surprising victor. Most people in Eternia, both on the side of the heroes and the forces of Skeletor would have put good gold on Evil Lyn being more powerful in a fight than Orko. But on this occasion, may it be the Elders watching upon them, Orko's natural talent, or really through just plain dumb luck, the small Trollen triumphed over the dark witch.
The said dark witch was knocked out cold by a fluky spell cast by Orko, whom both Orko and Evil Lyn had never expected such a spell to succeed let alone be cast without dire consequences. Well that was the way with Orko and his magic after all. Come, a life and death situation his magic could compete with the best of them. If he had to think about it, it was always sure to backfire in some spectacular way, and normally at Man-At-Arms' expense!
"Well golly gosh that was certainly harder than cleaning my room!" remarked an exhausted Orko as he mobbed his brow.
Skeletor had noticed both Evil Lyn and Beast-Man had now been defeated, and without the Minotaur under control he was by himself. So while the heroes were distracted, he quietly made a magic portal gateway that headed towards the Sands of Time and the location of the last summoning jewel.
.
So while Skeletor made his quiet escape via a magical portal, Man-At-Arms finally reached the side of Eternia's greatest Champion.
"Are you alright He-Man?" Duncan asked with great concern.
"Yes, thank you old friend. I'm all right thanks to the heroic efforts of the Minotaur. But…" He-Man replied even as he trailed off.
"But what, He-Man?"
"I'm afraid that the Minotaur wasn't as lucky." He-Man replied sadly as both he and Man-At-Arms turned their attention towards the prone body of the Minotaur, even now lying and bleeding and still upon the cavern floor.
Both Battle-Cat and Orko now approached He-Man and Man-At-Arms, both weary from their respective battles. They made sure that He-Man was okay before they noticed that the Minotaur had suffered a serious, mortal wound.
"Oh my goodness He-Man! The Minotaur is badly hurt! We have to get him help!" exclaimed Orko as he worried about the large amount of blood on the cavern floor.
"Yes He-Man! ROARRRRR! He may have been fighting us, but he doesn't deserve to die!" Battle-Cat roared in agreement even as Man-At-Arms got out his sensor device which not only could detect magical readings but life and health readings as well.
"I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Man-At-Arms announced grimly.
"Please don't tell me what you're about to tell me." He-Man said grimly and very sadly.
"I fear that the Minotaur's wounds are fatal." Replied Man-At-Arms very sadly.
"Noooooooooo! The Minotaur can't die! There must be some way we can save him!" yelled a distraught Orko.
The Minotaur then coughed and moaned as he heard the heroes talk. He was dying, he knew that the damage that he took from the Cystal Laser was too great but he strained to talk to these heroes. He wanted, no he needed to say some last words and get some things off his chest.
"Do not grieve small one, for soon I shall be one with the Elders…" The Minotaur started to explain, even as he coughed and spluttered.
"Minotaur…." He-Man began but was quickly interrupted.
"He-Man you truly tried to help me even as I was under Beast-Man's control. For this I thank you…." Minotaur continued even as he continued to cough up blood.
"He-Man I shall pass this medallion of leadership to you…..as it was passed to me…" Minotaur struggled to say as he took a medallion off from around his neck.
"Minotaur….I'm just a solider, a warrior…..I'm not worthy." Replied He-Man, who was feeling great dismay.
"Nor was I, He-Man. But one day a hero will rise from the ranks and use the power of this medallion to save us in Eternia's darkest hour….."
"Until that day, till all is one….." Minotaur struggled to get out as he passed the medallion out to He-Man. He tried to pass the medallion to He-Man, but his strength failed him and the medallion dropped. He-Man tried to get the medallion before it fell, but Orko was quick off the mark and managed to catch it in time.
"Here you go He-Man! What a nifty Medallion!" Orko said as he passed the Medallion to He-Man as he put the Medallion around his own neck.
While He-Man put on the Medallion, the heroes turned back to the Minotaur and paid their final respects. They noticed the Minotaur had stopped talking and lay silent. Man-At-Arms looked at his sensor and what the life sensor readings was telling him. The life signs grew weaker and weaker until the signals flat-lined. He-Man looked at Man-At-Arms questioningly but Man-At-Arms shook his head sadly and in the negative. The brave Minotaur, who had risked his life at the end to protect He-Man, was no more.
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN
