Beastman stood at the arched opening as he concentrated, his clawed fingers at his temple. Soon the screeching roar of several griffons was heard in the distance. The beating of their wings was heard soon after, and the huge creatures landed on the ledge before them, their familiarity with Beastman and the terrain suggesting they lived in the dens behind Beastman and Kimie. Kimie held Suki and pressed herself to the wall.
Noticing his small charge's fear, Beastman quickly walked over to the brown, black and grey streaked griffons that chuffed and kicked in the sandy pit next to their dens.
"Good," crooned Beastman, though it sounded more like a low growl. "Now, my pets. Be ready for a fight. If they see us, my enemies will try to stop us."
The griffons turned their eyes on Beastman, and their shuffling calmed—almost as if they understood their charge.
Beastman walked over to the wall where Kimie still stood. He grabbed a large leather saddle and threw it over his shoulder. He could smell Kimie's fear as he turned to her. "Come on, Kimie. There's no reason to be afraid. They obey me."
"But what if they hurt Suki?" the girl asked, not making a move.
Beastman chuckled. "They won't hurt your pet, now come before—" Beastman was cut off as a red light began to flash from the panel on the wall. "Blast!" he cursed.
"What's wrong?" asked Kimie as she took the paw-like hand Beastman quickly held out to her.
"The bosses want a meeting. We gotta go now."
A motley assortment of nightmare warriors entered the throne room of Snake Mountain to see one of their own, Tri-Klops, bound in the red rings of Hutch's power. Hutch sat on Skeletor's former throne, his expression upbeat and relaxed. Marzo stood to the side of that throne looking bored, as he always did. The unusual thing was that the deceptively harmless-looking man, Damien, was there as well. A look of hatred twisted his otherwise bland features.
"Are we all assembled?" asked Hutch. The man rose to his feet and strolled easily down the steps where the rest of his henchmen were gathered in a loose semi-circle around the bound Tri-Klops.
"All but Furface," commented Trap Jaw as he looked around the room. "He's probably out collecting more vermin."
Hutch tucked the wiry red hair that had escaped its tie behind his ear. He was smiling cordially, but his eyes were hard and dark.
"I would hate for him to miss the party. But we'll just use one of the doomseekers to record this for the mangy flea-bag and share it with him later." Hutch looked to Damien, who gave him a swift nod.
"It seems," began Hutch, "that our good friend here has decided to leave us without saying goodbye." The former baron began to walk the length of the room in a leisurely stroll. "Such a lack of courtesy."
Some of those gathered began to chuckle while others shifted nervously. It was hard to know what to expect out of Hutch at any time, but when he became overly friendly, it was usually a sign of impending doom, much like Skeletor's eyes going red.
"Now we couldn't let you leave without a good-bye celebration," added Hutch, turning his darkened eyes to Tri-Klops. "And since you are the guest of honor, let's have a speech. You must share with us what calls you away from our little family."
Tri-Klops looked around at all of the others. He may be a goner, but perhaps if they knew what was really going on, if they understood what Damien really was, they would leave. Maybe in the distraction he could get away. "I know what that is," he said, looking at Damien. "And I want to have no part of what you are doing with it."
A low rumble of discussion went around the room as Hutch and Marzo began to laugh. Damien walked up to Tri-Klops with a twisted smirk on his face. "So," he hissed, "you know what I am. Don't tell me you are off to serve Good like your former master Skeletor and his witch woman?"
A flash of red scales rippled over Damien's face, causing Tri-Klops to shudder and forget his shock at the idea of Skeletor being good. "I don't know what I'm going to do, but I won't be a part of this any longer. I wanted power and wealth, but working with you now that I know you are a demon—no, I won't do it. Not now that I know that demons are real, that Blazes is real."
"A demon?" asked Trap Jaw, scratching at his chin with his laser arm.
"What do you mean?" asked Kobra Kahn, one brow ridge raised.
Damien turned to face the evil warriors. "Tri-Klops knows that I am a servant of my master." With these words, Damien transformed in a ripple of power and stood before all assembled as he truly was. His blood-red scales shone almost black in the eerie green light and his tail dragged the ground behind him.
"All right," commented Clawful in obvious delight. "Some real power fighting with us for a change."
Tri-Clops heart sank further as all of the warriors gathered there gazed at Damien, unperturbed by the fact that a servant of Evil was in their presence. Actually, they all looked as impressed as Clawful did.
Two-Bad was nearest the security panel when the proximity detector began flashing and beeping urgently. He rushed to check it. "Three large creatures are flying just north of the Snake Mountain's peak," his right head reported.
"Transfer the data to the view screen so we can greet our guests. They can join Tri-Klops in his party," commanded Hutch.
With the entry of a few commands, the view screen lowered. On it appeared the image of three griffons.
"Ah," said Trap Jaw, sounding almost disappointed, "looks like beastie boy is out flying his griffons again."
"I'm not so sure," hissed Kahn. "Something doesn't look right."
Hutch stroked his scraggly beard. "Two-Bad, enlarge and enhance the image of Beastman."
The two-headed warrior did as he was commanded, and soon Whiplash was pointing to the screen. "He's got the little girl with him."
"No!" shouted Hutch. "He knows too much. He cannot escape!" He teleported to the gaping jaw of Snake Mountain and began to throw fireball-like missiles at the retreating griffons.
Tri-Klops, still bound to Hutch by his magic, was left below and saw Marzo's face turn red with rage. "Start up the Collector," Marzo shouted. "We must recapture that traitor."
Damien hissed in anger and disappeared in a flash of fire to stand by Hutch's side.
Kimie screamed and tightened her grip around Beastman's chest as the griffon they were riding plummeted down to the ground. She saw fireballs race past them and she hid her face in his coat.
"Calm down," he ordered gruffly. Then he shouted to his two companion griffons, "Attack."
The fierce beasts broke off several thin, jagged rock spires from the rugged land surrounding the fortress of evil and threw the stone spears at the gaping jaw of Snake Mountain's serpent. One of the spires went wide and crashed into the side of the mountain with tremendous force.
The attack shook the mountain, and Tri-Klops had to duck a few falling stalactites. The second rocky javelin crashed inside the opening to the mountain, forcing Hutch to dive out of the way. Hutch tripped in his haste, falling headfirst into the wall. Damien cursed Hutch as the red-haired villain crumbled into a heap. The demon blasted the snake's mouth free of the rocks, and jerked a dazed Hutch back to his feet. "Wake up, fool," he snarled.
Tri-Klops was shocked when he suddenly found the red ropes of magic gone from around him. Not missing a second, however, he raced out of the now-empty throne room. If he could leave fast enough, there still might be a chance that he could get out of this mess. He ran all his choices for a quick get-away through his head.
'No sky sled, no speeders. Blast!' he cursed inwardly as he tried to think of any way out of this mess. 'What am I supposed to do? Hitch up a couple of Skeletor's robots to a wagon?" Tri-Klops skidded to a halt. The wagon idea was preposterous, but the robots' propulsion systems just might be the answer he was looking for.
He backtracked and raced down the hall to the cargo hold where the robots were kept.
One of the griffons was grounded now, thanks to a net fired from the Collector. Hutch and Damien flew behind Beastman and Kimie on winged horses. Beastman, still dodging laser fire and magical attacks, urged his mount toward the green of a forest in the distance. The night was falling quickly, and Beastman knew that the coming dark would not bother him, but it would slow down those tracking him. Even the sensors on the Collector would have a hard time picking out Kimie and him among all of the wildlife in the Southford Forest, soon to be below him. The remaining free griffon could attack the Collector and give him and Kimie the time they needed to safely hide in the midst of the forest.
"What?" shouted Beastman as an explosion cut off the laser cannons from the Collector and sent the huge transport hurtling to the ground. A strange object flew in their direction, catching them swiftly, and Beastman tensed for another attack.
Then suddenly Tri-Klops was flying beside them, earning threatening hisses from the two griffons. He had assembled a crude jetpack. It was sparking and smoking but kept flying level with Beastman.
"What the Blazes are you doing here?" asked Beastman, his large eyes growing even rounder.
"I'm trying to get away from Snake Mountain, just like you," he yelled back. "Why else would I attack the Collector?" A second later, Hutch and Marzo sent two more blasts from the backs of their winged horses. The first barely missed Beastman, but Marzo's blast hit Tri-Klops' jetpack, causing it to spark and short out.
Tri-Klops screamed as he hurtled toward the hard-packed earth beneath. Abruptly, a scaly claw gripped his arm.
"Thanks," he shouted up as Beastman's griffon continued to soar away, leaving Hutch and Marzo in the distance.
"Thank the girl," Beastman snarled. "I'm still not sure I trust you."
Tri-Klops gulped and held on to the griffon's claw with all of his might just in case Beastman changed his mind.
The attak trak rumbled up the hill toward the main entrance to the royal hanger bay. "Trak," called Mira as she dabbed a cool cloth on her husband's brow. "Please, call my brother and let him know that Jeremy, Pierce, and his sister, Mira, are arriving."
"Dear, you really don't have to fuss over me like this," Pierce said as he captured his wife's hand and brought it and the cloth down in a firm grasp. "I promise, I'll be fine with some rest. She-Ra healed me. I'm just tired."
"I'm sure she did everything she could," Mira said, taking the cloth with her free hand and continuing her attention to her husband. "But I intend to make sure I've done everything I can do for you as well. And I'll have no argument from you about seeing the healers after we arrive."
"That would be now," announced Jeremy as they passed into the shadow of the huge shelter filled with machinery.
Randor raced into the hanger just as the trak rumbled to a stop, Man-at-Arms and Marlena right behind him. The door of the trak slid up. Mira rushed down the few metal steps and into her brother's arms.
"Thank the Ancients you're safe. We were so worried about you," Randor said, his voice full of heartfelt emotion.
"Thank Keldor, Randor," Mira said, pulling away slightly as Pierce and Jeremy exited the track. "He was the one who helped save us."
"Keldor?" asked Randor, a shocked half-smile lighting his face. "He's been found?"
"Yes, Uncle," Jeremy said, his eyes wide with excitement. "You should have seen him. He raced in just as one of the elves was about to kill Mother and me and saved us -- him and his wife Lyn, and Adora and She-Ra and Grandpa."
"His wife Lyn?" asked Randor, his smile fading and his face suddenly growing pale.
Duncan's face became a mask as he asked his question. "You say he was with Adora and King Miro?"
"Why yes," explained Pierce. "I was wrong to protest the search for him, Randor. He saved my life, and he's promised that he will not rest till he saves my kingdom. He was a true hero."
"A true hero," Randor spat back out. Pierce and Mira exchanged surprised glances at his suddenly sour temper. "That's not Keldor. It's a set-up."
Duncan's face cleared as he understood Randor's line of thought. 'Of course! What better way for Skeletor to get the throne than to pose as the rightful heir?'
"What do you mean?" Pierce asked, his voice weakening. He looked back and forth between the two men with worried eyes.
Marlena blanched."But Randor, how could Skeletor have known who Keldor really was?"
"Skeletor is a magician," Randor said slowly, his brow creased with worry. "We already suspected he had put Adam under some kind of spell. What if he got the information out of Adam?"
"What ARE you talking about?" Pierce demanded heavily, his heart sinking lower and lower.
"Yes, Randor, stop speaking in riddles. Adam was nowhere near us, so what are you saying?" Mira demanded.
"That man Keldor is not who you think," Randor said again, trying to break the news gently. "If we're right about who he is, then he is simply posing as Keldor."
"I don't understand," Mira interrupted, crossing her arms in her aggravation. "Father said it was he who Adam had called back. He was quite certain it was Keldor."
Randor rubbed the back of his neck. 'Great. Now they'll know what Adam's done.' The king hesitated slightly, part of him wanting to protect his son, but his sense of duty quickly won out. "Then that just proves that magic is involved. It wasn't Keldor that Adam called back to help fight against the Alma'Odela," he explained, the words feeling like cotton in his mouth. "It was Skeletor."
"What?" roared Pierce. That show of emotion took what energy he had. Feeling faint, he began to sink to the floor. Randor and Duncan rushed to help him stand.
"I trusted him. I gave them everything," Pierce said, his voice now a rasping whisper. "The security codes and all of the weak points for all of the government buildings for my entire kingdom. To Miro. And Skeletor." Duncan and Randor stared at him, then at each other.
"By the Ancients," Duncan muttered.
"But he saved us," Mira protested, her own voice lacking conviction. "And he had a face. He looked just like you, Randor, except for blue skin and hair and blue eyes. And he had white markings all over him. It couldn't have been Skeletor. It just couldn't." She looked imploringly at Marlena.
"I think we had better get Pierce to the healers," Marlena said gently. "We'll have to deal with the rest of this later."
"I'll go deal with it now," Duncan muttered. Marlena and Randor cast questioning glances his way. "I'm going to Grayskull."
Tri-Klops rotated his shoulders again. He was thoroughly grateful that the griffon hadn't pulled his arms out of the sockets. His trip dangling over the surface of Eternia in a griffon's claws made him appreciate having the firm, solid earth beneath him, so he did not mind the three-hour hike he'd endured so far. He didn't even mind the little girl's prattle. After all, if Kimie hadn't shouted for Beastman to save him after a bolt of magic shorted out his scrounged-together jetpack, he would be dead.
"How much farther do you think?" asked Kimie.
"The grazzler bear told me there was a new village made of tents, not far from your old village, and that there were royal building crews at the site of your old village. We'll try the tent village first. It should be close now."
"Oh, I can't wait," said Kimie, bouncing with each step. "I can't wait to see Mother and Father."
The sun was settling below the tree line as Beastman carried Kimie to the edge of the clearing where the village of yellow tents lay. He dropped her down to her feet and asked, "Do you see anyone you know?"
A wide smile lit Kimie's face. "There's the foreman of my father's production line."
"Go ask him where your parents are. If he knows, go to them," instructed Beastman.
Kimie looked up at Beastman. "Will I ever see you again?"
Beastman knelt in front of Kimie. "I don't know," he said, shifting uncomfortably, "but it's way past time for you to be with your parents."
Kimie threw her arms around Beastman and hugged him. "Remember," prompted Beastman as he turned her to face the small crowd working around an outdoor community kitchen, "I need to ask someone about those people who defended your village."
Kimie nodded and gathered Suki up in her arms. She raced into the clearing. Gasps of shock and cries of delight could be easily heard as villager after villager wrapped the small girl in hugs. Kimie finally reached her father's foreman as Beastman and Tri-Klops looked on from the shadows.
"Are you sure we should take this chance?" huffed Beastman.
"I don't know," shrugged Tri-Klops, "but where else can we go? We are wanted by every authority here on Eternia, and if Skeletor really is back, maybe we can follow him back to the world he snuck off to." 'And maybe,' thought Tri-Klops despondently, 'if he really has turned to Good, he can help me figure out what to do next.'
Tri-Klops' musings were interrupted as a tall, burly man approached their hiding place within the shadows.
"Come no closer, stranger," warned Tri-Klops, carefully tempering his voice. "We mean no harm. We just want a little information. We heard that Skeletor and Evil-Lyn defended your village."
The man scrunched his sun-browned brow. "You are mistaken, stranger. Count Marzo and his crew called the one who protected us that, but it was Keldor, lost prince of Eternos, and his wife named Lyn who saved us all, with help from King Miro and Princess Adora."
"Huh?" asked Beastman. The beast master yelped as Tri-Klops stepped on his toe.
"Can you tell us where this Keldor went?" asked Tri-Klops.
"Sure," said the foreman warily as he took a deeper look into the shadows but saw only huge hulking figures. 'Surely if these two helped Kimie escape, they must not be evil,' he thought. "There are rumors flying that he went to Illgar to fight the Alma'Odela."
"Thank you," Tri-Klops said.
"And thank you, strangers," said the black-haired peasant, "for bringing our Kimie back to us."
Beastman and Tri-Klops spotted Kimie being spun around in the arms of her father. Her mother was crying and laughing at the same time.
"It was nothing," answered Beastman, his voice even more gruff than usual, and then the two took off in the jungle, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
After a few minutes of walking, Beastman asked, "Why are we still headed to Illgar?"
"Skeletor could have been wearing a disguise, furface," Tri-Klops explained impatiently. "Marzo and the others know how those two fight. Besides, even if it's not them, can you think of anywhere better to go?"
Beastman scratched his head at that. "I guess not," he admitted with a grumble as he followed Tri-Klops deeper into the forest trail to the conquered capital city of Illgar.
He-Man walked softly as he patrolled the campsite, his senses alert for anything amiss, even though his mind was tumbling with thoughts. Suddenly, that strange tingling Keldor had promised crept up his spine again. Mentally sighing, he gave a low whistle. Callie trotted over soundlessly, purring loudly. He-Man knelt down and stroked her head lovingly.
"You've got to stop going outside the boundaries," he chided her in a whisper. "You're going to wake everyone up." Callie lowered her head and gave a low growl of understanding, then disappeared into the fading darkness.
A different chill crawled across his skin. He-Man leapt to his feet, drew his sword and whirled around in one smooth motion. Keldor held up his hands defensively and took a step back. "It's only me, muscle head," he hissed.
"Keldor," He-Man said as he lowered his sword and glanced around. "What are you doing up this early? I thought you'd sleep until breakfast."
Keldor resisted the urge to smirk. Adora constantly called him "Uncle Keldor," even as She-Ra, but not Adam. Keldor supposed there was just too much history between the two of them for that. Before his thoughts could stray much further, the Truth reminded him of the reason he had woken early.
"I woke with an annoying compulsion to apologize to you," Keldor confessed. Keldor was annoyed by the compulsion, but only because it meant once again allowing his regrets to come out from the locked part of himself where he kept them. And this or any other act of contrition was like a rich soil for the weed that was his remorse. A weed that threatened to crush his heart and soul.
"Apologize?" He-Man asked in surprise, the tip of his sword going to the ground.
"Yes," Keldor ground out. 'Why can't he just let this be easy? Oh yeah, bonehead, because you were such an unrepentant jerk that any apology from you would cause its hearer to ask for a repeat. It's more than fair for him to ask whatever he will. But what I did…' Keldor focused on his discomfort and his irritation to fight back the misery that always consumed him when he thought on his past, both powerful emotions helping him to set his jaw in rigid determination. It was bad enough breaking in front of Adora. He would not break in front of He-Man. Not as long as he had any strength at all. "It was…unfair of me to ask you to do something dishonest and keep my secret from your family."
He-Man shrugged as he put away his sword. "As you said, turnabout's fair play. You kept mine."
"No," Keldor said, shaking his head. "I should not have asked it. I know it has caused problems for you, and I'm sorry for that." Keldor midnight blue eyes met He-Man's clear. 'I wish I could do more than apologize. But this is all I can do.'
Feeling confused once again by this man who had once been his enemy, He-Man turned away. "My problems with my family have little to do with that, and everything to do with the fact that I never told them I could call you back in the first place."
"Why didn't you?" Keldor asked, curious. He-Man turned back around, eyebrow raised.
Keldor continued, "Frankly, I never understood why I trusted that you wouldn't when it was your right to do so, but I felt so beholden to you I couldn't stand it. I started to leave, and had this irrational feeling that helping you defend Grayskull wasn't enough, that I had to do more. But I didn't want to stay here just to go to prison or live on the run. So I compromised and left that note, thinking I was being an idiot, that you would call me back within a month. But you didn't." He stared at Adam, confusion clear on his face. "Why didn't you call me back right away to face justice?"
Adam hesitated, knowing that if he chose to answer Keldor, he had to be completely honest. The mage would know if he was only telling him a half-truth. He didn't owe this man anything. The silence grew as He-Man studied Keldor's face. The blue mage might or might not realize it, but he was asking for a small piece of trust.
"Well," He-Man said slowly, "the part you might find amusing is that since I had offered my life for yours, I didn't really want to see you waste that second chance rotting in a prison when I saw you really were trying to change. The rest of it…" He-Man grimaced. "You were gone. My family and my people were safe. It was over. I didn't want to fight you anymore, even in the courts."
Keldor's brow furrowed. 'I suppose I would be able to accept that answer from anyone else. It is a normal reaction, but He-Man…Adam…' Keldor gave voice to his confusion, hoping to convey his curiosity without condemnation. "Forgive me, Adam, but that doesn't sound like you."
Again He-Man hesitated. Telling Keldor how exhausted he had been would be the equivalent of putting ammunition in his hands. It would be almost a roadmap of how to defeat Grayskull's champions. "I was…badly injured in the final fight against the Horde," He-Man explained quietly.
Keldor's stomach twisted slightly. 'There has to be more to it than that. She-Ra could have healed him easily.' Feeling as off-center as He-Man seemed to be, Keldor pushed on. "You're not being completely honest with me." 'Not that he has any reason to be,' Keldor thought sourly.
'Trust is a two-way street,' He-Man reflected. 'If we're to be allies, perhaps he should know more of the truth.' "You missed all the fun," he said aloud, forcing his tone to be light. "I was having nightmares, flashbacks…they even took my sword away for a while." He averted his eyes from Keldor's face, shrugging. "It was like missing a part of myself, not being able to become He-Man."
Guilt flashed across Keldor's eyes; he knew that Hordak was not the only one responsible for Adam's nightmares and flashbacks. 'I can never do enough to repay this man. I've hurt him too much. Ancients—Truth—I wish I could make it up to him somehow,' Keldor thought, trying to contain his misery. Uncharacteristically, He-Man didn't seem to notice. Keldor winced as He-Man continued, almost to himself.
"And now my reluctance to deal with you and your crimes has caused a rift between me and my family I'm not sure I can fix," the hero finished, his whisper hoarsening as his emotions broiled to the surface again.
"They love you," added Keldor with a small smile, remembering his adopted son's words to him so long ago. "You know as well as I that sometimes people get mad and hurt with one another. That doesn't mean they can never care about each other again. I'm sure they will forgive you," Keldor said with certainty. "Especially when they hear I held keeping your secret from Hordak against you."
He-Man shook his head, his eyes haunted. "You didn't see them. Duncan went blank. My father…I think he was about ready to disown me. And Teela…" He shook his head again, this time as if to clear it. His war-torn eyes met Keldor's. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this," he said roughly, his fist clenching at his side.
Keldor offered a crooked grin. "Because, Prince He-Man, I'm the one person on Eternia who never held a high opinion of you, and you still don't give a sand slug's spit about my opinion of you."
He-Man chuckled dryly at that, some of his tension dissipating. "Maybe you've got something there, bone brain." He glanced upwards at the gray patches of sky visible among the leaves of the thick canopy. "I think I'd better start getting our breakfast together and wake everyone up. We should move out."
"He-Man," Keldor said, laying a hand on his nephew's arm. "I don't expect you to trust me yet. I wouldn't blame you if you never did, but I want you to know that you can. And I will do whatever I can to make up for all the pain I've caused you and the rest of our family."
He-Man's clear blue eyes locked on Keldor's face, as if to search out his intentions. "You don't need to make up for it," he finally said. "Just be as good of a person as you claim to be now."
Keldor nodded, letting go of He-Man's arm, and followed the champion to begin the day's preparations—the weed of remorse twisting so tightly within him now that he could barely breathe. He had hurt Adam so deeply, even more than he had ever realized.
Keldor fingered the truth stone about his neck. 'Please, Truth' he begged, 'somehow help those I once hurt. Help me help Adam. If I am granted life, please let that life cause no one else pain.'