Chapter Nine: "Rohanna'Rota – Two: The Fall of Castle Grayskull"

He-Man entered the moment that Randor, Teela, and She-Ra were tossed back from Skeletor by a pulse of energy. Stephan, Marlena, and Johanna were all looking like they were ready to take their place, weapons at the ready. The Sorceress looked weak, but still standing. Evil-Lynn was by her side, hands ready to do some magic. He-Man looked and saw a form laying on the ground, covered by a cape. Addison was sitting between Edwina and Jeremy behind a statue of Eldor. Dell was looking restless, as though wanted to join in on the battle. He-Man's eyes finally settled on a form beneath a cape. He feared the worst.

Battle-Cat left He-Man's side, vanishing into one of the staircases. He-Man stepped forward and Skeletor turned to him.

"Keldor," He-Man greeted.

"Adam," Skeletor returned.

He-Man continued towards Skeletor. "Everyone out. Now."

"Not so fast . . ." Skeletor said. The foyer doors slammed shut. "Can't lose my guests yet."

"Not your castle, Skeletor," He-Man said and swept through with the Sword of Power. It struck the Sword of Darkness with a colossal burst of light. "Not now and not ever."

"Indeed?" asked Skeletor and swung through with the Sword of Deception.

It was intercepted by the Sword of Protection.

"It's a fact, Skeletor," She-Ra said. "Accept it."

Skeletor laughed with his three voices. Above, there was thunder and the battle between the three began.


Screech was dead. His body was laid upon the rooftop of Castle Grayskull, shattered and broken. Not far from it was Swift-Wind, one wing broke, one leg bleeding. Panthor sat nearby, eyeing his prey, and a little beaten. Not that Panthor minded. He was the hunter and now that he prey was injured, he was ready to play with it . . .

Panthor leapt.

There was a roar.

Battle-Cat smashed into Panthor, his claws digging deep.

Panthor rolled away, stood up and hiss loudly.

"Battle-Cat . . ." Swift-Wind stated.

Battle-Cat let lose at mighty roar and jumped at Panthor. Panthor leapt up, Panthor coming in short. Panthor's claws hooked into Battle-Cats helmet, his back paws sliding beneath and clawing. Panthor ripped off Battle-Cat's helmet. Battle-Cat swiped Panthor off, but was bleeding already.

Both cats stood still for a moment, staring each other down. Then, in a flash, Battle-Cat was back in action, front paws sweeping around Panthor's neck tightly. He held on as Panthor grabbed Battle-Cats middle. The two of them rolled around and on top of each other, each one looking for a way to get on top, seeking a way to get at the neck of the other.

Panthor pulled away and hissed.

Battle-Cat roared.

Panthor swept his claws before Battle-Cat had the chance to do anything more. Blood flew through the air quickly. Battle-Cat didn't cry out. Instead, he jumped full at Panthor, claws digging into him.

Panthor struck back fast and without mercy. He bit at the nape of Battle-Cat's neck. Then he took another bite, his mouth overcome most of Battle-Cat's neck.

Darkness began to spread across Battle-Cat's vision. He was feeling weaker, his fur getting wet with his own blood . . .

There came another roar. Familiar, but not heard for a long time. There was a burst of green. Panthor's bite went completely slack and the terrible animal was pulled away from Battle-Cat. Swift-Wind gave a gasp. Battle-Cat opened his eyes and saw Clobber circling over them.

Then . . . he saw Battle-Bones standing before him.

"Such loyalty," Battle-Bones breathed. "I have not much power left as Grayskull's own power from which I draw is fading, but I will do what I can."

There was another flash of green. Battle-Cat felt his wounds grow warm, then heal. Slowly he stood up and looked to Swift-Wind. Battle-Bones was by his side. There was a green glow and then Swift-Wind was healed.

Battle-Cat's gaze fell upon Panthor, who was lying dead next to Screech. He fought the urge to play with it and instead found his way back into his helmet.

"We do not have much time left, my fellow companions," Battle-Bones said as Clobber joined them. "We must save who we can."


Skeletor was locked in battle with She-Ra and He-Man, his two swords continuously smashing against their pair of blades, small sparks of power appearing every time the metal hit. The throne was vibrating with a sound like thunder as the trio engaged in this deep battle. Neither She-Ra nor He-Man could believe just how strong and how fast Skeletor had become.

All of a sudden, Skeletor flew back a few feet. His cast the Sword of Darkness at He-Man, releasing a golden energy beam at him. He-Man was thrown across the throne room and collided with a statue of Farnsworth, the Elder.

Skeletor moved back again as She-Ra ran towards him. The Sword of Darkness took its place on his back and Skeletor switched the Sword of Deception to his right hand.

He pulled out the black blade and swung it. She-Ra deflected it and charged forth with the Sword of Protection. Skeletor moved away just in time and swung at She-Ra's neck. She-Ra spun herself away from him and then leapt forward, kicking the despot in the chest. Skeletor staggered backwards, but he regained himself just in time to deflect a death shot from She-Ra.

Skeletor slashed at She-Ra as he moved and caught her arm. Blood trickled from her cut. "First blood goes to you, Skeletor. But by the First Ones, you will be stopped."

"One of us will."

Skeletor lifted the Sword of Deception and a black beam of power surged from its end. She-Ra raised her blade just in time to stop it from crushing her. He fired again. This time, the blast hit the crystal in her sword. She could feel herself weaken at this and a moment of panic overcame her.

She-Ra moved closer to Skeletor, their swords hit the other with increased speed and strength. However, despite the momentary weakness, She-Ra was gaining the upper hand.

That was, until, Skeletor fired a shot of energy at She-Ra's arm from his left hand. The female warrior gritted her teeth and struck against Skeletor hard. Skeletor easily held it off with the Sword of Deception and then fired again at her abdomen.

Marlena screamed something as midsection of She-Ra's outfit seared away. She-Ra was forced to back off.

Once again, Skeletor lifted up the Sword of Deception and fired a black beam of energy at She-Ra. Again, She-Ra lifted the Sword of Protection.

"NO!" roared the Sorceress.

The beam hit the crystal squarely. It locked in, gripping it hard, and boring into the Sword of Protection like a tick into flesh. She-Ra tried to pull away, but it was too late.

She was suddenly overcome by a terrible cold that stretched out from the Sword of Protection and brought agony throughout her body. Then, there was a burst of light and energy and She-Ra suddenly found herself transforming back into Adora.

The Sword of Protection dropped uselessly to the ground, along with the Shield of the Great Rebellion . . . and Queen Adora herself.

Skeletor lifted up the Sword of Deception, which had rainbow and gold sparkles swirling around its blade.

"So ends She-Ra," Skeletor declared. "For her power is mine now!"

He-Man was in motion already. He pushed himself into Skeletor, fists moving fast, punching and hitting as much as possible. Skeletor merely waved his hand and He-Man went flying back.

Randor and Teela grabbed Adora and the Shield, but the Sword of Protection had seemingly vanished. But it was the least of their concerns.

He-Man regained himself, teeth gritted out of pure anger, eyes squinted, face stern.

"This is the end, Skeletor. Once and for all, this is the end."

Skeletor said nothing and ran forward, swinging the Sword of Darkness. It struck He-Man's, resonating with a loud 'clang' into the air. The swords struck again and the swordplay began officially. Never before had they battled so strongly and found each other so evenly matched. Where one was, the other would be there.

Every offensive had a defensive.

Every move had a counter-move.

Every parry had a thrust.

Every attack had a deflection.

Like good and evil. Light and dark. Sun and cloud. They were there - always against each other.

For what seemed like hours, this battle went on, swords moving like blurs of metal. Sparks still flew every time they would collide hard. Still, the throne room did thunder like a storm was going on within it. Perhaps there was . . .

Skeletor managed to unleash a blast to He-Man's face.

The rhythm was broken and shattered.

He-Man staggered back. Skeletor swept up fast and placed the Sword of Darkness onto the Sword of Power. He then began to laugh maddeningly. He-Man tried to pull the Sword of Power away, but recognized this scene. Skeletor had done this before . . . back on Primus when he tried to merge the swords.

"Oh, but I don't need to do that this time," Skeletor said, reading He-Man's mind. "This is good enough for me!"

Skeletor gripped the handle of the Sword of Power harder. There was a crash of energy. Lighting exploded from He-Man's body. He yelled out as the same cold and agony that had overcome his sister drew itself upon him. He-Man's body began to transform back into Adam.

Adam lost his grip on the Sword of Power and fell to the floor, feeling weak and dizzy.

Teela, Randor, and Marlena ran to him, but Skeletor pushed them all back.

"I do not think so!" Skeletor shouted, a force field appearing between them and Skeletor and Adam.

Adam was lifted into the air telekinetically – and then slammed into the ceiling. He was then dropped back down in front of Skeletor, though still suspended in the air.

"For all your torments . . ." Skeletor said, throwing Adam to the ground violently. "For all your victories over me . . ." Adam was thrown in a statute of Ali, the Elder. "For all your insults and jeers . . ." Adam rolled up and down the stairs of the throne. "I will make your family watch as I torture you."

Adam's body jerked and he screamed in pure pain and torment as all the pain of his broken bones was increased by one hundred.

"STOP IT!" screamed Marlena. "STOP IT!" She pounded her fists against the force field.

"SKELETOR! TAKE ME! TAKE ME, FOR ANCIENTS SAKE!" Randor cried out.

Teela rammed the Sword of the Ancients against the force field, but it did no good.

Adam was slammed into the back wall, then into the front wall . . . then placed upon the throne of Grayskull. Skeletor walked up to him, then.

"Feels good to sit there, boy, doesn't it? Yes. It does."

Skeletor placed his finger upon Adam's forehead. Adam couldn't even scream as his entire body felt like it was one fire. Skeletor removed his finger.

"And now . . . I believe it is only right that you die here. That Castle Grayskull crashes upon you."

Chains wrapped around Adam, holding him to the throne tightly. He couldn't breathe . . . his entire body was broken and bleeding . . .

Skeletor reached out with an angry hand. All of the statues snapped from their moorings . . . and collided with Adam.

A massive burst of dust fell across the room. Screams and shouts came from the family.

The back wall – holding the Great Eye – came tumbling down upon Adam next, though all of the debris blocked everyone's view of him. Huge cracks in the ceiling indicated that the entire castle was about to come down.

There was a roar. Skeletor turned and watched as Battle-Bones, Cringer, Spirit, and Clobber arrived on the scene.

Battle-Bones let out of a burst of green flame at the force field, dissolving it.

"EVERYONE OUT!" Battle-Bones cried.

"ADAM!" screamed Teela. "ADAM!"

The Sorceress gripped her daughter's arms. "He's . . . gone, Teela," she said with tears streaming down her face.

Castle Grayskull was shaking harshly down, huge chunks of debris falling all around them. Whatever magic was left there was being pulled right into Skeletor. Most of the debris was being directed at the remains of the throne where Adam was sitting. Stephan lifted up the body of his fallen father.

The whole group was ushered out as Battle-Bones strode towards Skeletor, bellowing out one last burst of green flame to give them cover. It was ineffective and the power that kept Battle-Bones alive was pulled right into Skeletor. He fell apart into a heap of dead bones.

Adora, Randor, Marlena, Stephan, Dell, Johanna, Edwina, Jeremy, Cringer, Spirit, Clobber, Man-At-Arms, Sorceress, Teela, Addison and Evil-Lynn all made it out alive. They joined with the Heroic Warriors, Great Rebellion, Galactic Guardians, and Meteorbs.

Castle Grayskull itself seemed to groan as it continued its rapid crash. Lightning bolts from deep below in the Abyss fired up, striking into the front door and into the windows. Skeletor was claiming that power as well.

The center of Grayskull collapsed upon itself then, with a great cloud bursting from the top. The front towers slid off in the Abyss. The sides exploded outwards, with most of the debris crashing into the Abyss. The front – the massive skull – fell backwards and apart, the jawbridge flipping into the battlefield.

There was a tremendous explosion within the remainder of Castle Grayskull. It didn't blast anything out, but there was a burst of light and a sound like a blast.

Then . . . with final groan, the last of the debris shifted. Dust filled the air. Castle Grayskull was gone.