Chapter Eleven
Panic spread across the battlefield instantly. Combatants on both sides abandoned their fights and concentrated solely on escaping the pull of the vortex. One unfortunate soldier managed to grab hold of a firm rock formation in order to save himself, only to be violently ripped off and tossed away by Grizzlor who took his place while the helpless soldier flew screaming into the void. Memories of being pulled into Despondos plagued the Horde members minds to the point that even Hordak himself was gripped by fear.
"Close that portal!" he shouted to his mages. "Close it!"
He-Man also knew he had to find a way to seal the portal before it claimed him and his allies, but then he was suddenly struck by an inspiration. Locking weapons with Hordak again he began pushing against him with all his strength, forcing the warlord back towards the vacuum pull. Skeletor, He-Man realized, had inadvertently provided him with a way to get rid of Hordak for good, without having to actually physically kill him. Granted He-Man had no way of knowing exactly what went on within such a vortex but, given all Hordak had managed to survive, he doubted it would be enough to kill him. However, it would get rid of him, quite probably forever.
It didn't take Hordak long to realize what He-Man was doing though and he was not about to let such a thing happen. Shifting his staff as best he could while maintaining his guard against He-Man's sword, Hordak suddenly fired a blast of energy out of the end. The energy went flying up into the air and at first He-Man wondered why Hordak had wasted a shot that obviously wouldn't connect. His answer came in the form of an explosion. Glancing up He-Man saw that he had not been Hordak's intended target. The shot had instead struck the Wind Raider carrying Duncan, Teela and Glimmer knocking it from the sky and sending it on a collision course with the ground.
He-Man's eyes darted back to Hordak who was grinning in sinister pleasure. Although He-Man knew this was exactly what Hordak wanted, he had no choice. Abandoning his fight with the warlord, he rushed towards the falling vehicle and, at the last second, managed to catch it with his immense strength.
"Everyone all right?" He-Man asked setting the Wind Raider down.
"For the moment," Teela said. "But if we don't figure out how to seal that vortex all of us, Eternian and Hordesman alike, are doomed."
The Horde had realized this as well but all their efforts had thus far been in vain.
"It's no use master," Shadow Weaver said in panic. "If this had been a normal gateway it would be sealed by now, but the vacuum is absorbing all the magic we throw at it before it can have any effect."
Suddenly it was Hordak's protégé who saw the solution. "You're aiming at the wrong target!" she shouted. Before anyone could stop her she rushed forward drawing her sword then leaped towards the vortex letting the vacuum take hold and pull her towards it as though she were flying.
"No!" Hordak shouted. "What are you doing?"
The young warrior answered not with words, but by her actions. At the last possible second she flung her sword down aiming not at the vortex, but at the Cosmic Key itself. Her weapon impaled the device shattering circuits, splitting wires and destroying its inner components. With the generator disabled the portal vanished just as the girl reached the event horizon so that, instead of being pulled into nothingness, she dropped safely to the ground.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Hordak laughed in triumph. "Well done young one! Well done!"
"Indeed," Shadow Weaver agreed. Turning towards Modulock she added, "Score another point against technology. Magic is not so easily destroyed."
"I don't know," Modulock sneered. "I'm pretty sure I could stop your magic if I threw a sword through you!"
Ignoring the two's bickering the young warrior slowly stood and retrieved her weapon just as Skeletor approached her.
"That was quite a noble and impressive act you just performed," he said. "Pity you didn't have the decency to perish in the process."
"You disgusting abomination," the girl spat. "Your actions nearly destroyed everything! I shall personally see to it that you don't get another chance to cause disaster."
"Oh, I think not," Skeletor cackled. The girl barely had time to react as a wave of fire erupted from Skeletor's staff shooting towards her. She managed to avoid a direct hit by flipping into the air over Skeletor's head but still the flames caught her cloak igniting the garment and forcing her to discard it before the fire touched her body.
There was collective surprise as the warrior landed decloaked and revealed. She was a beautiful human girl somewhere in her late teens. She had bright blue eyes and blonde hair that came down just below her shoulders. Despite the look of a serious warrior on her face, and the bat emblems on her red and back outfit, she looked completely out of place among the Horde's ranks.
"That's Hordak's apprentice?" Teela stuttered. "She could pass for Adam's sister."
"Yes," Man-At-Arms whispered, seemingly more surprised than anyone. "She could..."
"I've heard you're a master swordsman," the girl said to Skeletor. "Why not face me on even terms?"
"I'm happy to oblige," Skeletor laughed changing from his staff to his sword. "But this is hardly even terms child!"
"That's an assumption Skeletor. You'll find I'm more than up to the challenge."
"If this is how you wish to die," Skeletor shrugged as he divided his weapon into twin blades.
"You're assuming again," she scoffed and launched into an attack. Skeletor was slightly surprised by her speed but managed to block the blow anyway. The girl then quickly backed off before he could counter with his other blade. From this point forward the girl fought on a more strategic level. Rather than rushing forward and being proactive, she bid her time, keeping her distance and forcing Skeletor to make the attack. Then, instead of parrying the blow, she shifted her body away from the strike. This threw Skeletor off balance, at which point she counter-attacked. Now it was Skeletor who was forced to parry the strike aimed at his back. Only the fact that he held twin blades saved him from taking the hit.
Now the two combatants stood at a distance, sizing each other up. Neither one made a move, each waiting to see what the other would do. Had Skeletor still possessed eyes however, he might have given away his true intentions. Only a slight inclination of his head hinted to the girl that he was in fact looking behind her. The realization came a moment too late though, as she was struck in the back by a blast of mystic energy from Evil-Lyn. Skeletor then attempted to skewer her while she was on the ground recovering, but she rolled out of the way at the last second, sneering at their underhanded tactic.
The Horde girl wasn't the only one disgusted by this. "I know they're all bad guys," Glimmer said, "but that was just dirty!"
"So, you're too afraid to face me on your own," the young warrior scoffed.
"A true warrior knows how to rely on allies," Skeletor laughed.
"How true," she nodded. "Weaver, make yourself useful and keep that witch off my back!"
"Mind your tone young one," Shadow Weaver growled. Nevertheless she shot out a stream of lightning but Lyn easily blocked it with a magic shield. Lyn then gestured to a large chunk of stone nearby and sent it hurtling in Shadow Weaver's direction. Weaver simply held out her hand and the rock exploded violently before reaching her.
"I see your time in the Fright Zone did nothing to change your attitude," Weaver snarled.
"No, it only made me hate you more," Lyn replied. "We have a score to settle."
"You may," the Horde witch scoffed," I consider the matter closed already. You are no match for me, as I've already proven. Your continued futile efforts are nothing but an annoyance."
Evil-Lyn answered with action instead of words, firing an intense burst of energy toward Shadow Weaver who answered with an equally powerful blast of her own. The two magic streams collided and began a power struggle, each trying to overcome the other.
With the two spell casters occupying each other, Skeletor resumed his assault on the young Horde girl. This time however he chose not to hold back or show any signs of caution. Skeletor attacked full on and wildly like a madman. He was concentrating fully on offense and made no attempt to protect his own body.
It was a bizarre turn of events that the young fighter did not fail to notice. Her mind told her it had to be a trick of some kind. Granted he had her on the defense for the moment, but it would take only one brief moment of opportunity to deliver a killing blow that he would not be able to stop. It was as though he was absolutely sure, without a single doubt, that there was no way she would be able to kill him. Overconfidence was one thing. Pure stupidity another. But this was something different.
As it was however, the fight between Evil-Lyn and Shadow Weaver came to an end first. Lyn was poring everything she had into her attack and concentrating fully upon her spell. Therefore she neither noticed, nor was able to do anything to stop when Weaver again manipulated the very shadows into reaching up and binding her opponent. Once ensnared Lyn could no longer focus her power on the beam of magic, which Weaver forced back at her, emphasized by her own magic blast. While it caused the shadows to disperse, the affect on Evil-Lyn was far worse and left her lying prone and unmoving on the ground.
"You witless miscreant," Shadow Weaver scoffed as she closed in. "When last we fought, I gave you an utter thrashing. That was mere hours ago. What could possibly make you think this time the result would be any different?"
"That would be me," Skeletor growled. Taking his attention off his fight for a moment, he threw down one of his blades and fired a pulsing beam of energy at her. Rather than slamming her with the impact however, the beam seemed to hold her in place, while at the same time clearly causing her considerable pain.
Lyn got up, retrieved her weapon, and slammed Weaver to the ground. Standing with one foot on the Horde witch's back, she pressed the orb of her staff into Weaver's head driving her face into the ground. A radiant glow from the staff prevented her from manipulating shadows and with the orb pushed firmly against her head it would be impossible to shield herself from any magic blast.
Lyn lifted her eyes to smile at Skeletor, but then her expression changed to one of surprise. Skeletor turned back just in time to see the girl fighter thrusting at him, but not fast enough to counter the attack. The teen's sword found it's mark and plunged straight into his chest, stabbing right into his heart.
For a moment everything went silent. Everyone stopped and stared in shock, unable to believe this strange young warrior had just slain the overlord of evil. However this shock was nothing compared to what happened next. Skeletor simply looked down at the sword stuck in his chest... then laughed.
Before the girl could react Skeletor struck her with a backhanded blow that knocked her over and caused her to loose her grip on her sword. Still laughing he pulled the weapon from his body and tossed it down.
"Impressive skills young one," he snickered. "But you cannot still a heart that no longer beats."
Equally shocked Man-At-Arms turned to Glimmer and Teela. "Quickly, what was that spell Lyn used on him?"
"I don't know," Teela shrugged. "She wouldn't tell us and I've never heard those words before."
"What words?" Sorceress asked joining them.
"I'm not sure. Something like, 'Fa Lack Tor Ree...'"
"You mean phylactery?!" Sorceress' face turned white as a sheet as she looked back towards Skeletor. "By the Elders," she gasped. "He's become a lich!"
He-Man was going to ask exactly what a lich was, but found his attention totally focused on Skeletor. The evil overlord was closing in on the young fighter, chuckling with sinister intent. Shocked and confused the girl nevertheless made a dive for her sword. She wasn't sure exactly what to do now. If impaling Skeletor's heart didn't stop him she had no idea what would. What she did know was she was going to need a weapon to defend herself from a similar fate.
In the end however she never made it. Skeletor lashed forward just as quickly and thrust into her chest not with his sword, but with his empty hand, invoking his paralyzing touch on her. The girl froze instantly, locked in an awkward position. Skeletor then held out his hand and magically called his dropped sword into his grip. Crossing the blades he placed them on her shoulders, ready to scissor her head clean off.
"Young fool," Skeletor laughed, "I told you this was no even match. Now you pay for your arrogance with your life."
"Shall we do it together?" Evil-Lyn asked, charging her staff to delver a blast that would burst Shadow Weaver's skull.
"A double beheading then," Skeletor nodded. As he prepared to decapitate the young fighter however he paused and looked deep into her eyes. "It's strange," he said. "I don't believe I've ever seen your face before, and yet there's something oddly familiar about you." He sent a shock of magic down the sword into her body. Instantly the paralyzing touch was removed, however it did the girl little good as she was still unable to move without loosing her head.
"Might I have the pleasure of your name before you die?" Skeletor grinned.
The girl sneered at the lich but answered. "I'll grant you that pleasure for it will be your last. Know that I am Adora. Force Captain of the Horde army, personal heir and apprentice to Hordak himself. And my master will avenge me, assuming I do not escape this and kill you myself."
Skeletor threw his head back and cackled maniacally. He-Man used this moment to draw his sword and began rushing forward to stop him. Even though the girl was Hordak's own disciple, He-Man couldn't let Skeletor kill her. It wasn't just his desire to preserve all life. He knew there was no way he would be able to save both Adora and Shadow Weaver- he'd be lucky if he had time to save one of them- and he had chosen the young girl without hesitation. He couldn't explain it, in fact he didn't even take the time to think about it, but something deep in his heart told him he absolutely had to save that girl.
In the end however it was Hordak who resolved the situation by simultaneously firing blasts of dark energy at Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and, apparently for good measure, He-Man as well. Lyn came off the worst for it as she flew several feet, landed battered and bruised, and writhed in agony as the energy flowed over her body. He-Man was also sent flying back, but his armor took most of the blow protecting him from serious harm. Nevertheless he winced slightly as he tried to get back up.
It had been a harming spell, the exact opposite of healing magic. An evil mysticism that existed for the sole purpose of inflicting harm. Strangely though Skeletor was only pushed back a small bit by the impact, enough that Adora was clear from him and able to scramble away, but otherwise he seemed unaffected by the blast. It actually seemed as though his body absorbed the energy.
"Enough of this!" Hordak bellowed. "It is high time this was finished once and for all!"
"You're right Hordak," He-Man said. "I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, but you've left me with no other alternative." With that he raised his sword and prepared to move in to finish the warlord.
"You're really planning on killing him aren't you He-Man?" Skeletor laughed. "I'd be tempted to let you go through with this if I thought you had a chance of succeeding. But, like both of you, I feel this pointless charade has gone on long enough."
"Since we're in agreement," Hordak sneered, "then DIE!" Again he sent out the dark energy but, this time bracing himself for the impact, Skeletor simply let the spell hit him. Not only did the spell not harm him, but as He-Man and Hordak watched in shock several of the cuts and scratches on his chest actually healed themselves!
"Haven't you the slightest idea what it is you now face?" Skeletor cackled. "You're dark energy cannot harm me. I find it's evil aura as refreshing as warm bath!" As if to drive his point home, Skeletor pointed his hand towards Evil-Lyn and drew the energy off of her and into him. Free from the torment Lyn went limp, her only movement being the rapid rising and falling of her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
Hordak was noticeably confused, for indeed he did not understand what Skeletor had become. Seething through his teeth he growled, "Very well then. If evilly enhanced magic will not suffice, then take it raw!"
Raising his arms up Hordak created a dome of magical energy around him, which then rapidly increased in size spreading his power out with increasing force. The speed and strength involved was too great and both Skeletor and He-Man were thrown back yet again by the blow. Struggling to his feet He-Man noticed several of his allies moving in to help him.
"Stay back everyone," He-Man said. "He's too much for you."
"You'll find I am too much for you as well," Hordak grinned and fired focused beams of energy down upon the mighty warrior. He-Man was in incredible pain, he was tired and nearly out of breath but he forced himself to push it all aside. Gathering all his strength and willpower he raised the Power Sword above his head and focused solely on the task of defeating Hordak. Then suddenly, as it had during the battle with Serpos, the blade of the sword split down the middle and opened, revealing a core of raw glowing energy.
"What's this?!?" Hordak gasped in surprise and alarm.
He-Man's eyes narrowed and shouted slowly and fiercely, "I. Have. The. POWER!!!" Bringing his sword crashing down He-Man sent a wave of power flowing out of the blade's core. The power combined with the energy Hordak was firing out and all of it rushed back towards his body at once. Hordak tried to push it away but the more power he put into his force the more there was coming back at him. Finally Hordak gave up trying to force away the power and rose into the air attempting to avoid being struck by the massive flow, but to no avail.
Hordak roared with pain as the raw power ravaged his body, tearing into his very being and ripping him apart. It was a horrific scene but no one was able to look away until the light of the power burst in a massive energy explosion. Then they were forced to look away in order to shield their eyes. The light soon dissipated leaving a cloud of smoke and dust.
He-Man collapsed to his knees exhausted in both body and mind. His strength was spent and emotionally he was torn, feeling both remorse and sorrow for what he had been forced to do, and relief that it was over and all were finally safe. However, this lasted only until he heard Teela shout out, "No!" Looking up his jaw dropped as the smoke and dust cleared revealing an unbelievable sight.
There Hordak remained, or what was left of him at any rate. Both his arms, half his torso and everything from the waist down was gone but his head and upper chest still floated in the air like a levitating statue bust. The warlord let out a grunt and groan letting everyone know he was in pain, but very much alive!
"Don't villains ever die around here?!" Glimmer shouted.
He-Man was aghast and didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Hordak did not press his attack but instead floated back away from the heroes and towards the gathered group of his top warriors. As he moved a ghostly image of his missing body parts flowed out and took shape so that he now appeared to be half living, half specter. Adora slowly started to reach towards him but then stopped as though unsure if she should touch him or not.
"Master... are you...?"
"It would seem I was mistaken, Adora," Hordak said slowly, struggling to find his voice. "Grayskull will not fall to us this day."
Without hesitation Adora turned and called out to all the Hordesmen, "Evac now!" Instantly the Horde mages flew out each finding a group of the remaining Horde troopers and with a flash of light both magician and soldiers vanished. Each mage took only what soldiers they could and only those that were gathered together. Any trooper standing on its own was left behind and collapsed in a heap.
Finally Shadow Weaver raised her arms and all the Horde warriors disappeared as well. Right before she vanished however Adora turned to He-Man and snarled firmly, "This is not over!"
