Chapter Ten
There was many a soldier who would say this was the worst part of war. The moments just before the battle begins. The calm before the storm. The time when you wait for the enemy to arrive and spend every nanosecond of it wondering if you will make it through the day alive.
Morale was anything but high among the troops. Aside from the knowledge that all attempts up to this point had failed, there was the knowledge that if Grayskull fell then all of Eternia was lost. It didn't help that about half the Masters were not present. Some had remained in Eternos in case of an attack there. Although Grayskull appeared to be their actual goal, with the Horde's ability to instantly transport anywhere they had to be prepared for a sudden change of targets. Fisto had not yet recovered from Leech's assault and Mekaneck too was on the injured roster having sustained three broken ribs from when Grizzlor threw him across the battlefield.
Man-At-Arms and Teela were supposed to be joining them but had not yet arrived. Word had not yet reached the troops of He-Man's return. If they had known he was on his way to help it might have alleviated some of their fears. Instead, the thought of his defeat and disappearance was preying on everyone's minds.
Soon enough the Horde army marched into view. They approached until they were within thirty feet of the defenders and came to a stop. For a few moments the two opposing forces stood in silence unmoving as if each was unsure what the other was waiting for. The silence was finally broken when a portal opened suddenly, courtesy of the Cosmic Key, and deposited Hordak and his top warriors before his troops.
"That device is proving most useful," Mantenna said to Modulock.
"Don't be too proud of it," Shadow Weaver scoffed. "My magic could have gotten us here just as easily."
"The six of us perhaps," Modulock sneered, "but my key could have moved the entire army here, had Hordak not wished to have them devastate the land on the way. Besides, the key is able to bypass any barrier be it structural, technological or mystical."
"Oh really?" Shadow Weaver mocked. "Then why are we out here instead of inside the castle?"
"It it wasn't for my technology you'd still be stuck in Despondos!"
"If it wasn't for magic you'd be a rotting corpse!"
"Both of you shut up!" Hordak's pupil shouted. "Save it for the enemy."
Hordak half smiled at his apprentice. He had been about to reprimand the two himself before she spoke up. Shadow Weaver was his best magic user but Modulock knew more about technology than the rest of the Horde combined, Hordak himself included. He did not want to admit that he wasn't sure who to side with in the argument.
The matter settled, or at least averted for the time being, he instead addressed the Eternian resistance. "People of Eternia, I offer you this one chance to lay down your arms and not die needlessly. This battle's outcome is already decided. Your world is now mine. Pledge yourselves to me and I will allow you to live. Resist and you will die horribly."
"We would sooner die fighting than live as slaves to a tyrant," RIO Blast growled.
"Very well then. You have sealed your fates." Hordak turned to his warriors. "Let the slaughter begin!"
"For Eternia!" the heroes shouted in unison and charged forward. Within moments the battle became a field of chaos. Swords clashed, guns blazed and even hand to hand combat took place. However the demonic puppet nature of the Horde Troopers twisted the tide of battle towards the Horde so quickly that Hordak's warriors could just as easily not have been there. The fact that they were made things all the worse.
Modulock was cautiously avoiding the Masters and the Royal Infinity men due to his lack of fighting experience. In his previous life as Galen Nycroft he had tended to avoid conflicts preferring to use his brain behind the battle lines. Now however he was using his newfound power to tear into the royal guardsmen and finding himself enjoying it immensely.
Suddenly he felt a tug at his waist. A stealthy guard had managed to sneak up on him and was attempting to make off with the Cosmic Key. Just as the soldier cut through the straps holding the key in place, Modulock shot out an extended arm and grabbed hold of the device itself. A brief struggle ensued as each held fast with a firm grip. Finally the guard swung down with his sword and sliced Modulock's arm off. Waisting no time he turned and began running off but noticed that Modulock's severed hand had not lost its grip and was holding fast.
Still running the guard pried the arm off and was about to toss it away when the limb sprung to life and latched its hand onto his throat in a stranglehold. He tried to pull it off but it held tight. Even when he dropped the key and pried with both hands Modulock's grip only tightened, his clawed fingers digging in and crushing the guard's windpipe. As the soldier finally collapsed, the life choked out of him, Modulock casually walked over, reattached his arm, then picked up his key and walked off laughing.
Elsewhere, Sweet Bee swooped down from the sky and plowed into a squadron of Horde Troopers. Flying close to the ground she swung her stinger pole arm weapon back and forth at their legs tripping them up. She knew it wouldn't keep them down for long but that wasn't her intention. She only needed to incapacitate them long enough to pull off the second part of her attack.
Zooming back up in the air she charged up and fired an enormous energy charge from the stinger's end blasting the downed soldiers. It was an old Andrenid battle tactic for taking on ground based armies. To her dismay though while a large number of the troopers stayed down, a fair amount rose up again.
Seething, she started down for a second attack when suddenly she was struck in the back by an unseen force. Instantly her wings ceased to function and she crashed to the ground as her whole body went numb. Straining to move she suddenly saw Grizzlor approaching, a crossbow in one hand and a bone cleaving knife in the other. Quickly Sweet Bee realized that she had been hit with some kind of stun bolt and now the savage beast was moving in for the kill just as in the old legends.
"My, you're an interesting one my little honeybee," Grizzlor laughed dropping his crossbow and pulling her up. "I wager your blood will taste extra sweet."
It's no legend, Sweet Bee thought in horror, This thing really is the Grizzlor! Desperately she tried to move her body to fight back, but her muscles wouldn't respond. Just as Grizzlor raised his cleaver to strike however it was shot out of his hand by a laser blast. Grizzlor turned his head in the direction of the shot and was immediately met by the butt of a laser rifle to his jaw.
"Dinner's canceled freak!" RIO Speed shouted as he spun in a roundhouse kick that knocked Grizzlor off Sweet Bee and left him crumpled in a heap a few feet away.
"Th... thanks," Sweet Bee managed to say.
"Anytime," he nodded. "Besides I owed you one. Now let's get moving."
"Can't," she strained. "Stun bolt. Whole... body.. numb."
Once again living up to his nickname, RIO Speed didn't hesitate for a second but quickly scooped Sweet Bee up, flung her over his shoulder and carried her to safety.
Well, this is one way to pick up a date, he thought
One of the only Masters who seemed to be making any progress at all against the Horde forces was Roboto. Like RIO Blast he had activated multiple guns and was laying down an unending stream of fire into the Horde Troopers. An advantage the mechanical warrior had however was, though RIO Blast was the faster shot, Roboto's weapons were firing more powerful blasts and thus doing greater damage. On top of that his electronic brain and body was able to concentrate on multiple targets better and fire in several directions at once.
Hordak's protégé took note of this with displeasure and charged in for an attack. Though Roboto detected her approach and sent some fire her way, she skillfully dodged the shots with unbelievable agility. When she was close enough she flipped over his head swinging her sword as she went and cut off the gun mounted on his shoulder. Roboto turned to face her and leveled his blaster but with another furious swipe she sliced through the gun barrels before he could take proper aim.
Taking a step back Roboto converted his weapon hand into an axe and engaged her in a battle of blades. Roboto's larger size and strength proved to be of little to no advantage however. He was less accustomed to dueling and could do nothing to compete with the young fighter's superior agility.
The only thing he could do was to stall while he ran a scan of his enemy hoping to detect some information that would grant him an advantage. The scan did provide some information, but not of the nature he was expecting.
"Curious," Roboto said. "I am detecting a high degree of similarity between you and..."
Before he could complete his statement however the young girl landed a blow from her sword across his cranium leaving him momentarily staggered. She was quick to take advantage of this and delivered several more swipes to his body slicing through gears, severing wires, and sending sparks flying. Finally she plunged her sword straight through his chest. Having sustained too much damage Roboto's systems powered down and he collapsed.
The warrior stood over her fallen opponent taking a moment to catch her breath as it had taken a lot out of her to defeat him. Before she was fully recovered though she heard the sound of something coming towards her quickly. She looked up just in time to see Buzz-Off flying down at her in an attack, but not quickly enough to avoid the collision as his kick knocked her flat on her back.
Buzz-Off's momentum carried him past his foe landing behind her as she fell. Turning around quickly he raised his weapon to deliver a killing blow. Before he could strike however the mysterious youth flipped up into a handstand and wrapped her legs around his neck. Jerking down she pulled the Andrenid warrior off his feet and flung him face first into Roboto's hard metal body knocking him out cold.
Rising to her feet she raised her sword ready to finish him off but then paused. After a moment's hesitation she simply turned and headed away without killing him. Though she didn't understand why herself, she simply could not bring herself to slaughter someone who was completely defenseless.
Hordak had seen this but did not think twice about it. It was possible he was simply too far away to see Buzz-Off was still alive and thought she had killed him, or perhaps he simply didn't care one way or the other. He casually made his way across the plain of battle, effortlessly dispatching any solder who was foolish enough to actually try to take him on. Finally he stopped before the castle and waited silently until Leech and Shadow Weaver came up beside him.
"The years have not been kind to this once mighty keep," he said.
"Do not be fooled by its decrepit appearance," Shadow Weaver cautioned. "Not only does King Grayskull's power lie stored within, but the castle itself has mighty powers of its own." As if to demonstrate she fired a mystic bolt at the fortress only to have it blocked by Grayskull's magical barrier.
"A force field?" Hordak scoffed. "This is the best defense they can muster? Leech do the honors if you will."
"My pleasure master," Leech slobbered and leapt across the great abyss launching himself at the castle. Again the force field flashed but rather than being deflected by it, Leech attached himself to the barrier with his suckers and began feeding off the energy with delight.
Finally when the force field began to flicker Shadow Weaver called out, "That's enough Leech. Jump back now lest you fall in the abyss when the shield collapses!" Leech grumbled, obviously wanting to drain all the energy for himself, but reluctantly obeyed knowing she was right.
"I can handle it now," Shadow Weaver snickered. Raising her hands she chanted, "Fortress of Grayskull, by the power granted to me I command the jaw-bridge open!"
With a mighty creak the castle's entrance obeyed and fell open. However just as suddenly Sorceress appeared in the archway blocking their path.
"It seems you still hold some power here Shadow Weaver," she said. "I will have to take steps to eliminate that."
Shadow Weaver's eyes grew wide in shock for a moment but then she laughed sinisterly. "So, we meet again my old teacher. I'm surprised to see you still holding your mantle. Did your would be successor not work out as you planned? Or did Randor have her executed for treason after what she did?"
"The only traitor is you Shadow Weaver," Sorceress snarled with an anger usually not seen in her. "Your actions have caused great suffering in Eternia. You shall pay for your crimes accordingly."
"You only have yourself to blame," Weaver rasped. "All this would have been avoided if you had not denied me my due. I was meant to be the most powerful sorceress in the universe. It is my right, my destiny!"
"Those who seek power always look back on the mistakes of their lives, pile it all together and call it destiny," Sorceress said firmly. "It is for the very reason that you crave power that it was denied to you. The more one craves power, the more they are unsuited to wield it."
"Enough chatter," Shadow Weaver roared. "You have long since lost the right to lecture me!" She fired a blast of dark energy at Sorceress that sent the heroic guardian skidding backwards, but she quickly recovered.
"You have grown strong," Sorceress admitted reading her staff into battle position, "but you are mistaken if you think you can defeat me. The last time we fought I held back, still believing you were not beyond redemption. I will not make that mistake again. This time I shall do what must be done."
"You will try," Shadow Weaver sneered and launched herself forward in attack.
Sorceress quickly waved her staff producing a miniature whirlwind that caught Shadow Weaver before she could close the distance between them. Weaver was swung around distorted for a moment then spread her arms out and dispersed the winds. Instantly she counterattacked with a stream of lightning from her fingers. Sorceress blocked the energy with her staff but still winced in pain as the power ran through the weapon like a conductor and seared into her arms. Fighting past the pain she drove her staff into the ground driving the electricity away from her.
Shadow Weaver snickered lightly at seeing she had managed to harm Sorceress. Despite her apparent confidence she knew this would not be an easily won fight. Her pleasure only increased Sorceress' anger though. Glaring with hatred she held out her arm as her eyes began to glow. Shadow Weaver braced herself for the head on blast she was anticipating, and therefore was caught completely unprepared when the energy fired down from above instead.
There was a brief silence as the echo from the blast died and the dust and smoke cleared revealing a impact crater. But then slowly, groaning in discomfort, Shadow Weaver pulled herself out of the hole and rose up to face her opponent again. Now brimming with fury she flung a series of fireballs towards Sorceress who quickly grabbed her staff and twirled it before her, deflecting the magic projectiles as fast as they came in. Finally, when Shadow Weaver ceased in her assault, Sorceress too paused placing a hand to her chest as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Winded already?" Shadow Weaver mocked. "That always was your weakness. Despite possessing power beyond comparison, your endurance level is pathetically low. You never could keep up a defense for very long. I don't need to be more powerful to defeat you. It's simply a matter of wearing you down!"
"Not if I end this quickly!" Sorceress shouted. As if gaining an instant second wind she flew at the Horde witch raising her staff, which glowed with raw power, to deliver a devastating blow. Shadow Weaver had no time to launch an attack of her own and could only raise a magical shield to block it. The resulting collision of mystical forces pushed both combatants to their limits finally resulting in an explosion that sent them both flying onto their backs. Sorceress was the first to fully rise and approached Shadow Weaver who had risen only to a crouching position.
"You see now the folly of your beliefs," she said solemnly. "Darkness will never be stronger than the light. If only you had learned sooner there might have been hope for you. I should not, but I feel sorry for you. I can offer you only a choice between destruction now at my hands, or suffering, humiliation and eventual inevitable death as you face justice in the courts."
Shadow Weaver said nothing but slowly reached towards Sorceress as though she were begging for mercy. However her hand fell not on her would be captor, but her shadow upon the ground. Instantly the very shadow sprang seemingly to life as tendrils of pure darkness shot up and wrapped around Sorceress ensnaring her in an inescapable bind.
Rising to her full height Shadow Weaver laughed out loud. "Pathetic fool! Had you not wasted time on remorse and acted fully, as you claimed you were going to, I might have fallen there! Now you see the darkness is stronger! For I do not allow myself to be weakened by such meaningless emotions!"
"And yet you are still making the same mistake in not acting immediately," Hordak snorted coming up behind her. "Kill her Weaver. Kill her now."
"With immense pleasure," Shadow Weaver said raising her hands. Whatever fatal magic she was preparing to do however would never be known as before she could act a blast of mystical light flashed in front of her. Shadow Weaver was forced to shield her eyes, hissing as though the light caused her harm.
Bathed in the flare, the shadows binding Sorceress vanished and she fell back, putting some distance between herself and the Horde. Shadow Weaver had been right about the fight pushing the limits of her endurance. Glancing up quickly she discovered the source of the light as a Wind Raider swooped down towards the battlefield.
"Good shot Glimmer!" He-Man said as he stood up in his seat.
"Looks like I was right to come along after all," she nodded. "My powers are more recharged than I thought. Not sure how many more of those I can pull off though."
"Don't worry," He-Man said. "I'll take it from here." So saying he flung himself out of the vehicle towards the ground and landed with a loud bang. Rising up he shouted at the top of his voice, "HORDAK!" drawing all attention to him. Everyone stopped fighting for a moment and stared in disbelief at his sudden presence.
"Your reign of terror is at an end!" He-Man continued to the ruthless warlord. "Today the blood of many an Eternian, as well as every other world you've ravaged, will be avenged!"
Hordak said nothing. It was not easy to strike him silent with shock, but this had done it. His pride was momentarily spared however when Leech, not waiting or caring for an explanation, charged towards He-Man ready to take him on with the immense strength he now possessed due to all the energy he had absorbed that day. He-Man did not falter however but stood his ground until the evil abomination was close enough at which point he drew back and delivered a mighty punch straight to his gut.
Leech staggered back in shock and pain but quickly regained himself. "I've been wanting to do this for some time," he slobbered holding up his suction cup like hands. Now it was He-Man's turn to be shocked as the center of each palm spread apart forming a mouth like opening emphasized all the more when long tongue like appendages emerged and flailed at him with clear intent.
Again Leech lunged with speed unexpected of him. He-Man barely managed to catch the giant parasite's wrists before he clamped his hands onto his head. As it was he was now struggling to hold them back as the tongues lapped at his face with sandpaper like roughness. He-Man could tell if he didn't hold them back they would quickly burrow into his flesh allowing Leech to suck him dry.
Just when it seemed Leech was about to win out He-Man suddenly ducked down and, instead of pushing the arms away, he pulled them together slamming the mouths into each other above his head. Leech cried out in pain as his hands, seemingly having minds of their own, attacked and tried to drain each other. With the vicious cycle leaving him helpless he could do nothing to defend himself as He-Man went on the attack delivering one punch after another. Had it been anyone else the blows would have been nothing but an annoyance to Leech, but He-Man's strength was more than he could take.
Even after Leech managed to pry his hands apart he still was unable to counter He-Man's attacks. Finally He-man pulled back and threw his entire strength behind one final uppercut that sent Leech flying back through the air until he crashed to the ground, skidded several more feet, and slumped into unconsciousness.
Hordak's eyes grew wide with shock then, just as quickly, narrowed with fury. "It appears I owe you an apology Shadow Weaver," he snarled. "Here I was berating you for not finishing your enemy when you had the chance, but it seems I have made the same mistake myself. However," he added making a mystic staff adorned with the Horde emblem appear in his hands, "that is a mistake I do not intend to make again."
"Nor do I," He-Man said drawing his sword. Hordak fired a blast at him but He-Man dodged it by leaping into the air then coming down, sword swinging. Hordak managed to intercept the blow and the two quickly engaged in a duel each one determined to stop the other once and for all.
"You may have managed to escape the Fright Zone," Hordak sneered, "but do not think mere bravery and luck will be sufficient to defeat me!" At this he landed a blow upon He-Man's armor, the razor sharp wings of the Horde symbol slicing into the metal. His jaw dropped in a mixture of shock and fury as he beheld the damage repair itself however.
"The power of Grayskull could not be defeated by you before," He-Man grinned. "So too shall it be your undoing this day."
"Overconfident dolt!" Hordak bellowed. "You may resemble King Grayskull in appearance. You may wield his sword. His blood may flow through your veins, but it is insufficient. All of Grayskull's power could not completely destroy me and I know for a fact that you do not possess all of it."
He-man had little time to ponder the meaning of this when a loud explosion rocked the battlefield. Hordak too was caught off guard by this and both turned to see the source. The explosion was followed by a series of clattering as bits and pieces of Horde Trooper armor fell to the ground, the demon puppets utterly destroyed. As the smoke cleared an unexpected sight emerged from the carnage.
"Skeletor?" Hordak gasped.
"Yes," the overlord of evil laughed, "that was the name you gave me, and so I shall still respond to. However, though it is Skeletor you see before you, it is Keldor's mind that is in complete control." He emphasized this by lowering his hood momentarily, showing how his head was once again attached to his body by flesh.
"I don't know how you can still be alive, let alone able to stand and fight," Hordak growled, "but I have no time to deal with you right now so I shall leave you to others you have displeased."
As before Hordak's words were followed by a sneak attack from Modulock. This time however Skeletor was prepared for it and quickly intercepted the incoming assailant jabbing two glowing fingers into his chest. Instantly Modulock stopped exactly where he was. He did not collapse, he did not move at all but in fact froze in the exact place and exact position he was in when Skeletor touched him and remained motionless as a statue.
"Wh..aa. ca...ov..," Modulock garbled finding that he could not move his mouth to speak either.
Skeletor laughed, "I believe the words you are looking for would be 'I can't move'. No, indeed you cannot. That's why it's called a paralyzing touch. I'll deal with you more thoroughly later, but for right now I believe I shall reclaim my property. You did give this to me as a gift after all," he sneered taking the Cosmic Key.
Like Hordak, He-Man was surprised to see Skeletor at all, let alone in such powerful condition, yet he was quick to take advantage of it. Locking weapons with Hordak again, and thus keeping him occupied, he called out. "Skeletor, I suggest you destroy that thing quickly then help me here! We need to stop Hordak once and for all!"
"Destroy it?" Skeletor scoffed. "I think not. I'll admit I dismissed this device before, but now that I know what it can do I think it would be better put to use by ridding me of the both of you! I'll let you two battle it out in some other dimension while I take Eternia for myself!"
He-Man snarled in anger both at Skeletor's treachery and at himself for thinking he could actually trust him to help. He wondered briefly if it was because he now knew of their relation that he felt Skeletor had some good in him. Maybe he was better off not knowing. At any rate he could do nothing about it at the moment as he was tied up with Hordak.
Hordak had the same problem, unable to stop Skeletor as he was engaged with He-Man. Shadow Weaver moved to interfere but was quickly blasted back by a beam of energy. Looking around she saw Evil-Lyn come up beside Skeletor grinning maliciously.
"Now let's see," Skeletor said, seemingly ignoring everything around him, "where shall I send them? Why not let fate decide?" he cackled and began hitting buttons and switches on the key completely at random.
Ignoring the increased panicking noises coming from the still petrified Modulock, Skeletor activated the device but almost immediately realized something was wrong. The key shook and trembled finally leaping from his grasp and flipping over and over before coming to a stop and forming a small portal above it. As the portal grew larger a strong wind picked up pulling at everything around it.
Dust and rocks flew up and soon the remaining Horde Troopers too were pulled off their feet and sucked towards the vortex, unable to fight against the drawing power. The living solders and combatants who were able to resist moved away but found the struggle growing more and more difficult.
Skeletor reached out and grabbed Modulock by the throat. Instantly the paralyzing touch wore off but he now found himself in a fierce choke hold.
"What is happening?" Skeletor roared. "What did you do to that thing?"
"I did nothing!" Modulock screamed. "You caused this! It's a vacuum portal! I warned you this could happen if you didn't know how to handle the key! Unless the device is shut down the vortex will continue to grow and pull in everything around it!"
"And we can't get close to the key without being pulled into the vortex," Evil-Lyn gasped.
"You arrogant fool!" Modulock snarled. "You've killed us all!"