Chapter 7
"Two of them...There are now, TWO OF THEM!" With a kick at the door Skeletor and the other Evil Warriors returned from another failed attack on a town. Most of them looked beaten and warm down. "What should have been a simple attack on a village to inspire fear and terror on petty peasants was a complete failure thanks to you fools and now the presence of another muscle bound warrior!"
Waiting at his throne Skeletor saw his loyal pet Panthor waiting for him, letting out a loud roar before sitting down, happy to see his master return back even after a failure against He-Man and the forces of good.
Seemed like the years were slowly turning into centuries for him. The endless cycle on attack after attack on Grayskull only to be defeated again by He-Man and the Masters was becoming tiresome. Here he was stuck on the Dark Hemisphere with nothing more than the most useless rabble one could find in all of Eternia instead of the legions of followers he could have been commanding. He should have been coming. If only Randor had not completely destroyed him during his attack on the Hall of Wisdom all those years.
That attack killed not only his face, but any hope he had on rallying the forces of darkness to his side. While the veil of Skeletor was serving him well, it was not something that he could easily sway lesser Etherians who did not already have a heart of evil to them. The defeats were just reducing people's willingness to join him in an army that could easily help him conquer this planet.
If the attack by He-Man was bad enough but now apparently they had a She-Ra to deal with as well. It seemed that the forces of goods continued to grow in strength by the minute.
Thankfully they had Snake Mountain to return too.
Snake Mountain was the mighty Fortress of old, once a stronghold for the ancient King Hiss, whose Snake Men nearly ruled all of Eternia. Now it was the home of Skeletor and his evil warriors. A bastion of darkness, terror and general not niceness. Here he would plot his conquest of the land, and most importantly scheme to take the power of the elders that lied within Castle Grayskull. Nowadays though, it seemed more and more that the forces of darkness returned to this place in defeat then in victory of any kind. To lick their wounds as they prepare for another strike and then repeat.
The Evil Warriors all scattered in the main throne room to lick their wounds. Beast Man and Trawpjaw going to one corner to both having burn marks from the constant blasting. Cyclops made a few adjustments to his headpiece, self-tinkering with it. Evil-Lyn sulked in the shadows, observing everyone else. As for Skeletor himself, he climbed up the stairs to his throne to sit down, his mood very dour and grumpy.
"Two of them…" Skeletor hissed again as he began to scratch Panther's fur, although his fury remained, "Randor…" he sneered, "Randor gets a Kingdom, legions, a palace of grand splendure, and practically everything else in life handed to him on a silver platter while I…" he glared over to the other, "Get left with the scraps and the drags of Eternian society. Even among the forces of evil these days it seems, I must fight for what is rightfully mine".
"Ah thanks boss" Beastman beamed, before frowning "Hey...Wait?"
Skeletor screamed, "How did this past my evil gaze! How did I not know about this later opposition to my conquest!"
"Like you can see anything past your nose, oh wait you don't have one" Evil-Lyn muttered, thankfully Skeletor didn't here him
"This changes everything now" Skeletor continued to rant, "...The forces of good have now grown in power, while I...While evil...is dwindling".
"It's strange don't yuh think," Tri-Klops interjected, "I thought Randor only had one kid, where's this new one come from."
"From the stork duh" Beast Man said with pride, "That's where my mom said I came from...Because she tried to kill it when I arrived"
Evil-Lyn rolled her eyes, "Not surprised"
"Enough!" Skeletor blasted his havoc staff at them causing them to jump, "The point is, somehow Randor has a long lost daughter and they are able to wield the powers of the Castle Grayskull same as He-Man, there must be a reason for this. Such powers aren't so easily given, especially when it comes to the powers of the Elders".
"You know-"Evil Lyn pointed, "When you say it out loud, it seems very contrived, all of a sudden a long lost daughter just shows up out of the blue and winds up having a similar power set to that of He-Man. Yet we have never seen her nor did she show up around the same time as He-Man?"
"Well it's what is happening now!" Skeletor shouted, "Regardless on how contrived or non-contrived it is, this is the situation we find ourselves in and it is a threat to our wider conquest of Eternia. This is what we are working with like it or not and believe me Evil-Lyn...I do not".
Clawful raised a claw, "Der, she was all sparkly and rainbows...I thought it was pretty"
BANG
"There shall be no complementing rainbows in my presence Clawful!" Skeletor boasted about blowing the smoke from his havoc staff.
"Sorry boss" Clawful rubbed his forehead as he laid flat on the ground in a hole he created by impact.
"Personally I thought the powers were a lot more ...Odd" Trapjaw muttered, "Good feeling...It was honestly sickening if you ask me"
"How do you even know it's Grayskull's power" Evil-Lyn replied, "Like Trapjaw said, the power did not seem to mimic that of He-Mans, from what I sensed it had far more of the powers of a healer, now of raw strength, but a life giver almost"
"Did you not hear her yell for the Honor of Grayskull! She is wielding the powers of Grayskull, and unless there is another Grayskull out there, then do please tell me what you think she might be wielding!"
"She also said she was from a planet called Etheria" Evil-Lyn pointed out again, "I know little but I hear whispers of that world from time to time, a world that is said to be boomin with magic"
"Great! So my only lead is a planet from children's Fairy Tales!" Skeletor leaned back on his throne and huffed, "So many years, and yet I feel like the forces of good are just continuing to expand beyond my control. Now to the point where there is practically a female He-Man now running around Eternia! I must find a way to gain back control of the situation. I must find a way to make the Powers of Grayskull mine!".
"Well, we do have natural allies here" Evil-Lyn chirped in now, "If you set aside your ego for once and just…"
"Natural allies!" Skeletor scoffed, leaning deeper into his throne, eyes glowing red in anger "You mean someone you betrayed us for. No! the Snake Men will never be our allies. They are a nuisance against my evil conquest, like I would ever ally with them let alone want to share power with them".
"But an alliance with the Snake Men would mean an army to aid in the attack on Grayskull" Evil-Lyn suggested, "You were willing to make a truth with them".
"Getting King Hiss off my back so I can focus on Grayskull and allying completely with them is not the same thing" Skeletor argued.
Evil-Lyn scoffed, "Along with the other forces of darkness, we would overwhelm them with sheer force all you would have to do is share a bit-"
Skeletor stood forward, "I control all, or I control nothing!" he declared, ending the discussion then and there.
The Snake Men and King Hiss, and this point they were more of a nuisance than a real threat. Although they did turn Snake Mountain into some sort of Serpent God a few months ago. Still, that last great plan seemed to send them dwindling. They haven't made another play at Grayskull or the mountain for a while now. It allowed Skeletor and his Evil Warriors to use it as an opening to once again assert their power over the forces of darkness and evil.
"Man still wish He-Man sure did a number on us" Beast Man grunted, the big larb groaned rubbing his thickforhead, "Wish he wasn't so...Manly"
"He's not manly you dunderbrane" Tri-klops sneered, "Your just stupid"
"Hey!" Beast Man roared, "I'm not stupid I'm just...slow, dats all"
"Hey!" Clawful yelled, "That's the same thing my kindergarten teacher called me too"
"There's a surprise" Tri-Klops sneered.
Trap Jaw rubbed his jaw, "You know what defines manliness anyway, how are we measured by it, why do we define-
Skeletor rose from his throne and raised his havoc as he blasted Trap Jaw into a nearby wall, the other warriors became instantly silent, "I don't have time for random philosophizing today Trap Jaw! Suppose that's what I get for sending you to steal books...You take up reading of all things"
"Sorry boss" Trap Jaw rubbed his helmeted head as he got up.
"I thought it was an interesting question," Beast Man whispered.
Skeletor sat at the edge of his throne tapping on the arm rest. Despite his cool demeanor anger boiled up at him. He had lost once again to take the power of Castle Grayskull for himself. He had lost once again to take over Eternia and become it's undisputed overlord of evil, and once again he had lost to the heroic hero He-Man and heroic Defenders allies.
Every defeat that built up just added another sting of humiliation and envy. The more he thought about the more he wanted to burst into a magical rage rage.
"How did I get settled with a bunch of brainless bunglers!" He shouted, glowing red eyes glaring back at his warriors "I should be commanding legions! Armies that I could use to march across all of Eternia as village after village, realm after realm crumbles beneath my feet! I should be at the head of an army at the heart of a mighty Empire of Evil and Darkness the likes of which Eternia has ever seen!" Skeletor's voice was so loud that it echoed across the entire mountain. Soon though the adrenaline was gone, replaced instead with a look of disappointment and loathing, "Instead...I have nothing"
The other evil warriors begin to gather. All of them looked scared or nervous that they were about to invoke Skeletor's quite famous rant and tyraids. With the exception being Evil-Lyn. She was always the most unique of the bunch. The smartest, the most dastardly, it was why he liked her the best, despite having betrayed him on an occasion. However that only served to let him know that she was one worth having on one's side.
Triclops bit his lip as he approached Skeletor's throne, "Lord Skeletor, please, perhaps it would be good if we found out about this She-Ra, they must have a connection to Castle Grayksull. Perhaps they are more a key to unlocking its secrets than even He-Man himself".
"Yet we have no way to get them" Skeletor shouted back, eyes glowing red again as his fury increased "Just like He-Man, and every day Randor continues to expand his power base over Etheria, rallying the nations against me".
"Perhaps we need more people to our cause as Evil-Lyn suggested" Triclops continued though he sounded hesitant, "Not the snake men obviously, but others loyal to evil. A real army truly worthy of you or great and mighty Skeletor"
"In years prior I would have agreed with you" Skeletor sighed, "But now I feel that any who would follow us on Eternia would not out of fear of reprisal from He-Man and Randor. Sadly it seems the forces of Evil are dwindling by the day"
Skeletor slumped back in his throne, a look of defeat on his face. The great and mighty Overlord of Evil had definitely taken a few losses over the years. Though his defiance against Randor and He-Man remained as strong as ever, the means to get to his ultimate victory seemed to be slowly slipping away from him. He was running out of options.
"Look boss we get it, we lost, but we'll get them next time" Trap Jaw said trying to sound optimistic,
Triclops nodded "In fact I have an idea how about we build a device, no, we build TWO devices yes, that can...Magically drain the powers of He-Man and She-Ra!"
"And how do we do that without knowing the magic they get their power from" Evil-Lyn countered.
"Oh," Cyclops bit his list before saying, "Oh, I know how about mind control! I can build a mind control helmet and put it on He-Man or this She-Ra's head, yes, that always works!"
"If we can get it on in the first place" Evil-Lyn again added, sounding more cynical
Cyclops frowned, "Hey, at least I'm trying to come up with ideas here"
"Oh I got one," Whiplash interjected now, "Let's poison King Randor...With a pie"
Everyone then turned to Whiplash as if he had said the stupidest thing in the entire universe, which he did.
"A poison pie?"
Tri-Klops just sighed, "No, Whiplash, just-just no"
"I got a idea" Beast Man smashed his fists together, "How about I collaber them for yuh Skeletor, I mean your my best pal and-"
"I know!" Clawful raised his hand excitedly, "We can take the Eternia Castle...a PUSH IT somewhere else"
Everyone just looked at him in silence astonished by what he said.
"I liked it!" Beast Man argued.
"Silence you furry fool!" Skeletor stood up now, raising his havoc staff into the air, anger rising,
With that he aimed his magical energies at them and began to blast them. One after the other after the other. They all ran, trying to escape their tyrant's wrath. His Evil Warriors ran for their lives to avoid the blasts, Beast Man and Merman running into the caverns while Trapjaw jumped and covered. It already proved that Skeletor warriors were nothing more than cowards. Useless, a bain in his greater plans of conquest and mastery. His magic was unfounded and yet he still felt weak by comparison. Something was amiss if only he knew what. Some key to increase his magic and his power, to tilt the balance in the favor of evil and darkness.
"Dolts! Halfwits, bunglers!" Skeletor yelled as the evil warriors ran off leaving him alone in his throne room in utter silence " Why do I surround myself with fools! "
"It does seem that you tend to blow your fuse more nowadays' ' Evil-Lyn's seductive voice called from the shadows.
Skeletor glared at her eyes growing red before eventually walking right past her and sneering, "Walk with me"
She agreed.
The two of them walked in silence for several minutes, Skeletor not even bothering to say a word. He tapped the end of his havoc staff loudly against the base of the rock as he continued to stride through his mighty fortress until they reached the mouth of Snake Mountain. Two sharp fangs on the corners of the opening as the lava pit flowed down into the ground the ever expanding river of magma spreading across as far as the eye could see. From the viewpoint he could see the rest of the Dark Hemisphere in all of its glory and evil. The very sight soothed him, made him feel better about himself. That was until he remembered that he did not rule all of this land.
"We started off with such promise Evil-Lyn," Skeletor said, a almost, euphoria in his voice, "I remember when I first met you, we were so young, more warriors growing as I began my conquest of these lands"
Evil-Lyn smirked, "Indeed...You were quite a charmer back then"
"Indeed I was" Skeletor laughed, "Until Randor took it all away from me" he scowled, "Everything came to a screeching halt, and now I feel that time left me at a disadvantage. Even after breaking free of the Mystic Wall, I fear...I may have lost something that I could have had during my rise to power"
Another moment of silence now as he continued to look out across the dark hemisphere, Skeletor began to think back, think about it all.
"My magic is the strongest in the universe" Skeletor hissed to himself, eyes glowing again from his hollow blackness, "Yet I continue to lose to a mere brute, how….Why! And Randor! Oh how I wished to have advantage over him, him...and his entire accursed family!"
"I'm sure you'll get there one day," Evil-Lyn said tauntingly, "You are after all Skeletor Overlord of Evil"
Skeletor's eyes glowed red as he glared at her but she didn't budge. If there was one thing he admired about Evil-Lyn it was her fearlessness towards him. It was perhaps the one reason why he always brought her into his confidence. Despite the high risk of betrayal. But after all, treachery and deceit are the cornerstone of powers. A lesson he wished his other Evil Warriors would learn, maybe then they wouldn't be such useless dunerbrains".
"I have been doing this for years and yet I have gotten nowhere" Skeletor said his voice gentler yet sad, "Years...Years and years….most of them waisted trapped behind the mystic wall, most of them after that fighting He-Man, and thank to you we have the Snake Men and King Hiss to deal with"
"Again Skeletor, go beyond the mere truce and…"
"I am not allying myself with Hiss!" Skeletor barked at her again before looking out over the horizon, "I would not let him back into Snake Mountain let alone share power with him"
Skeletor tightened the grip of his havoc staff, for he knew she was right, it would be a bonus to have a ally to defeat the masters and better still He-Man, "As interesting as that sounds, I have enough on my plate with King Hiss and his snake men roaming around, the last thing I need is competition from a even greater force"
"Are you not the mightiest of all of them," Evil-Lyn snickered.
"Are you doubting me, my dear Evil-Lyn"
Evil-Lyn chuckled and bowed, "Of course not oh mighty Skeletor"
The Sighing Skeletor continued to look up at the sky, when he spoke, it now had an air of reflection in his voice, "Though, it does make me wonder what my place in all of this is?"
"Your...Place?" Evil-Lyn asked, her expression intrigued.
Skeletor nodded, "Yes, who am I if not the Overlord of Evil, what am I if I'm not meant to the bulwark for all things dark. ...Still...It is something to think about, rumor has it that a great army of evil. One that dominates the entire universe, once came to Eternia but was deflected for some reason. Most likely the Elders no doubt. But it's ruler...He was considered to be a being of great power".
"Fascinating" Evil-Lyn smirked.
"Don't get any ideas" Skeletor looked at her before returning to face the sky, "For all we know it is nothing more than a legend, something from the past, this Empire could have died years ago"
"But wouldn't you want allies to crush Randor and the rest of the Masters"
"Knowing that out there is a vast and terrible force of darkness that has already succeeded in conquering the cosmo's. They could come here in any moment and finish the job"
"Then summon them, form an alliance, take Grayskull's power and defeat He-Man," Evil-Lyn suggested, this time with firm confidence.
"How could I even want to, it's not like we know how to contact them and even if we did, we would need to make sure we had the advantage, no! I will not risk it, especially now with so many other traitors and parasites I have to deal with"!
"You'll have me, and the others?" Evil-Lyn suggested.
"Oh yes, how reassuring" Skeletor sarcastically snarled, "The greatest bumbling brainless boob in all Etheria against a intergalactic Empire of evil, yes, how frightening"
Skeletor looked up at the stars. The idea of an empire that ruled in Evil and terror was fascinating to him. Perhaps it was true, or perhaps the legends got it wrong. Made him wonder if he wasn't alone out there in the grand scheme of things. That perhaps there were others like, other great evils truly worthy of him. However he would never want them to come here, Eternia was his and his alone to rule in evil.
Either way, it still haunted him that his world was a speck of good, and that he had failed to spread evil's glory to this planet.
"Etheria…" Skeletor muttered to himself, "Is it really a place of myth, or perhaps it is real, and the legends may hold great secrets...Secrets that if they exist, should be mine for the taking"
Evil-Lyn raised a eyebrow, "Your thinking of doing some research I take it"
"Indeed" Skeletor turned to walk back to his throne room and paused, "In the meantime though I want you to set up a trap for this new She-Ra, get a good idea of what she's capable of?"
"Me?" Evil-Lyn asked.
Skeletor sneered, "Yes, you...Continue to prove your loyalty, and perhaps over time my memory of your last betrayal will begin to wane"
For a moment Evil-Lyn looked like she was about to argue but sighed in defeat, "What sort of trap?"
We know King Hiss's lair, all you need to do is set up an ambush between the Snake Men, and the Masters, ensuring that the She-Ra is involved" Skeletor chuckled darkly.
"Really? What about the truce's"
"We aren't breaking the truce's now are we" Skeletor snickered, "If it's not us doing the attacking, besides consider it two birds with one stone, now in the meantime I have work to...Meet me in the Valley of the Lost I shall be catching up on my reading"
"Of course my lord" Evil-Lyn dramatically bowed but the venom in her words was still there, "Once again you prove just how truly you are the smartest among anyone of Snake Mountain".
With those final words Skeletor walked off, he would have She-Ra deal with his distractions.
As he entered the halls of the mountain he found Triclops and one of his reconnaissance drones. He seemed to be working on it while walking to his laboratory himself. "Triclops!" Skeletor boasted.
"Y-Yes, Lord Skeletor!" Triclops jumped to attention.
"A few weeks ago you prattled on about the idea of creating portal technology, correct?" Skeletor barked at him.
Triclops nodded, body stiffening.
"Good, I want your full attention now to that type of technology, oh, and bring Trawpjaw, Beastman and Merman to me immediately, we are going to the ancient libraries. Also I want you to revive our old work "
"O-Of course, sir" Triclops bowed, "But uh...But why exactly"
"Because…" Skeletor's eyes glowed red, "It is time I find out more of this...Etheria".
-000-
"He-Man! My brother is He-Man," Adora kept saying over and over again, "Wow...This is...This is so amazing!"
Catra rolled her eyes as she held onto Adora tightly around her waist, "Adora, you only knew who He-Man was like a day ago! It's not a big deal!"
"Catra it is a big deal! My brother is a hulking magic warrior like me! We are magic people! Oh my gosh, just think of the stories we could exchange. Maybe we could have talks about the crippling pressure of being magic heroes...Even exchange battle strategies...huh...huh"
"Can we stop talking? I'm scared of heights right now!" Glimmer yelled as she looked down, they were several above the ground as they all took a large hover carrier.
After Adam's reveal and the secondary reveal of Catra and Glimmer apparently spying on them, Adora was in shock. Her own newly discovered brother was also a warrior like her, although apparently his heroic identity changed his personality completely. This was still a game changer though, that means they had more in common than they realized, perhaps someone she could relate too directly. All the burden and responsibility of the world, he had that too. The stories they could exchange, the trauma they shared. It would be great.
It felt like Adora might have found someone else other than Catra who she could share the same experience with. Both having these magical powers. It was odd that it was a family thing. Was it a family thing? She had so many questions running through her head right now that it was hard to know just where to begin.
Now though Adam needed to take her somewhere, of course Catra's and Glimmer being well, them, of course insisted on going.
"I still don't like this" Catra muttered looking down on the ground beneath them, "This is all happening way too fast, and you are accepting it way too quickly!"
Adora sighed, "Why? Isn't it interesting, my brother also is able to turn into a big lumbering warrior person. I mean that's gotta mean something right? Like? There is a reason? Right?"
"Not everything has a reason Adora" Catra argued, "It's just pure coincidence that you and your brother have weird muscle making powers"
"It's more than just muscle making" Adam yelled from in front of them, "Becoming He-Man doesn't give me muscles or powers, it makes me a completely different person, I can be someone else, that's why I keep my identity a secret, so I don't hurt the people around me"
Adora gave a slight squee, "Oh really? See Catra, Adam does have a good heart, I knew it, I knew it"
"Yeah, well if you're so powerful why not just take out Skeletor and call it a day" Catra sneered back at him, "I did my reading on him, he just has a bunch of gones that's not a threat that's a weekend pest at best. At least me and the Horde were actual threats to the planets...Not to mention Prime but that's a whole other story"
"Do you have to gloat about your past?" Glimmer scoffed.
"I'm not gloating!" Catra barked back at her, "I'm merely stating the obvious, this Skeletor guy seems like total weak sauce"
"Hey, he's been a threat for years" Adam argued, "Believe me, if there were a way to finish him for good I would"
"Then why haven't you!" Catra asked.
Now silence came over them now, everything felt awkward. Adora could just feel the tension.
"So where are we going" Catra asked breaking the silence, holding onto Adora tight while Glimmer held onto Adam closing her eyes, "If this is a trap I swear-"
"It's not a trap" Adam grunted, "It's just best if I show you okay, you three and Man at Arms are the only who know my secret"
"Yeah then tell us" Catra sneered
"Don't have too" Adam retorted, "We're here"
Looking before them now, Adora saw them a massive castle made of gray looking stone, a large skull at the center of it, the mouth used as a drawbridge. It was one of the castles she saw in her visions. The reasons they came here in the first place. She could sense something about it, something magical that lurked deep down within the very pits of it's walls.
It called to her, drawing her closer as she yearned to go inside.
"Adora...Adora…" Catra waved a hand in front of her face, "A-Are you okay?"
Adora shook her head to regain her composure, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine"
Adam landed them all down near the gates and got off the vehicle, "Well here we are, Castle Grayksull inside, all will be revealed, although I was just supposed to bring Adora and well not...You two"
"Yeah well," Catra growled, "Your stuck with us now so get used to it"
Adam rolled his eyes, "Fine…Sorceresses won't like it but eh, what do I care?" He walked up the gates, "Okay, we're here!" he shouts, "Brought some extra guests...Sorry".
"Who are you talking to?" Adora asked.
Her question was soon answered as she, Catra, Glimmer and Adam were all soon consumed by magic as they were all teleported inside the castle.
Soon Adora finds herself in the middle of a large stone throne room, an extremely high throne standing at the very end of the room made of gold, the staircase going as high as one could. Sitting upon it, a beautiful woman with wings, green and yellow armor and the headdress of a bird stood before them now wielding a staff. She was quite beautiful, like nothing she had ever seen before, although, there was no real memory of her. Nothing, not even a flashback, she didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing to be honest.
"Careful Adora" Catra took her hand and held it tight, "Im' getting Light Hope vibes from her big time"
Adora grimace holding Catra's hand tighter, "I have you this time, you'll protect me"
"Always" Catra smiled.
"Yeesh, what did you two go through?" Adam muttered.
"A war, trama, mind control…" Catra grunted, "The list is pretty long on my end"
"Right…" Adam coughed before continuing, "Anyway, this is the Sorcerers, Sorceress...Adora...My uh...Sister, you know, the one you know about ...Before me apparently...Used to not being told thing"
Adora flinched, she had that exact feeling.
The Sorceresses then spread her wings and flew down right in front of Adora examining her for a moment before nodding, "I see you got my message Adora"
"Message?" Adora blinked, "Oh yeah, you were the one who spoke in my head, alright...Please don't do that again, I have enough people talking in my head, and it never ends up being a good thing"
The Sorceress looks at Catra for a moment but says nothing.
"Yeah, stay quiet," Catra muttered trying to sound tough.
Glimmer stepped in now gently holding Catra's shoulder, "Sorry for our friend, hi, I'm Glimmer, Queen of Brightmoon...I'm all a sorceresses, or kinda, I can do magic is what I'm saying...Point is I sparkle"
"Smooth Sparkles" Catra muttered.
"My point is" Glimmer growled before calming again, "We are just not sure why you summoned our friend Adora through her mind and we are nervous for her. We've had a lot going on in our lives, our planet just ended a massive war, forgive us if we are a tad suspicious of your intent".
The Sorceress nodded, "Ah, I see...Yes, my methods were perhaps a bit unorthodox, and I am sorry for any discomfort but much has happened on Eternia , and now knowing the mighty She-Ra is free again, you might be able to help"
"Ha! I knew it...You want the magic" Catra said accusingly.
"Yes, or at least, the magic restored"
Catra looked taken aback, "Say what"
"Come with me"
Raising her staff she teleported all of them to another room. This time they found themselves standing in the middle of a room filled with crystals. Dozens of them. Adora could feel the magical energies around them. It was definitely a place of power. Much like the Heart of Etheria almost, but it didn't look like there was any tech around.
Adora looked around and was at awe by all the glittering crystals in front of them now. It was all so remarkable. She could feel a power emanating from this place. Again reminding her much of the heart of Etheria, but unlike the heart the magic here felt much more real, much more part of the planet.
"Do you know why Castle Grayskull is important to Adora?" The sorceresses said.
Adora shrugged, "Nope, only heard of it a while ago"
"Yeah, and by the looks of it, this place needs a tune up" Catra snickered.
The Sorceresses remained stoic, "Once this was the capital of all of Eternia, where the great King Grayksull ruled in peace and harmony. Until his ...passing. However in his stead, the Elders, his closest friends and allies ruled instead, and wielded great wisdom and power through the centuries''
"Yeesh, how long do people live here" Catra muttered.
Glimmer shushed her.
"But eventually the Elders time was done, but not there power, thus here in this orb, they have rested, only appearing to give their power to your brother Adam and turn him into He-Man, or defender and champion"
Adam looked embarrassed, "Well you know...Just doing my job" he chuckled trying to inject some humor, only to fail.
"But now...That power fades" The Sorceress looks sad. "Attack after attack by the forces of evil have drained much of the power, that it could turn to dust ,including He-Man
"Woah, woah, woah…" Adam interjected, "You didn't say anything about He-Man going away"
"I didn't want to worry you" The Sorcceress responded "...But now, now we have a chance"
"Me?" Adora looked at herself, "Yeah, She-Ra can restore magic to places, or I think it can"
"Exactly" The Sorceress responded, "I only knew of you briefly Adora from visions when seeing Adam, but now that I know you can return...I ask that you restore the magic of Grayskull and not just the elders but also He-Man"
"Well of course" Adora said, of course she wasn't going to let that happen, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"
She raised her hand...But nothing happened.
"Um...Hold on…." Adora took a deep breath, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"
Again...Nothing.
Glimmer sighed, "Oh boy...She-Ra issues...I hate She-Ra issues"
"Normally lots of flashing and a transformation occurs" Adam interjected, "At least for me, I'm not sure how yours work"
"Perhaps I can be of assistance" The Sorceress replies.
"Hold it!" Catra interjected now, "Time out...woah, woah...First off….How do we know we can trust you, for all we know you can be evil and we just don't know"
"She's not! Adam interrupted, "Trust me, she's stoic but the Sorceress is as good as they come"
"Well I don't trust you either" Catra pointed to her, "And second, you can't just go into peoples heads and tell them to come on by...Send a card, come to us, don't have us drop everything so we can go in, and restore some magic, because what…
"Because the forces of Evil like Skeletor seek the power of Grayskull to their own ends "The Sorcereres argued.
Catra rolled her eyes, "Well considering He-Guy been around, it seems he's doing a good enough job...Though how I don't know, given what I've seen" she glared at Adam for a moment before turning to Adora, gently taking her shoulders "You don't have to do anything you don't want too, we can leave and go home right now"
"I do not think you understand the gravity of…
"Don't talk about Gravity of the situation with me!" Catra yelled at the Sorceresses, "Okay, I, we...We saved the universe okay...You're lucky someone like Horde Prime didn't come to Eternia otherwise you'd all be dead, or worse…
"Actually-"
Catra didn't give the Sorceress time to speak, "So don't talk about gravity with me! Adora! Like I said, you choose…."
"I...I um…." Adora started hypernetvaliting everything was spinning until finally...she was out like a light.
-000-
Adora awoke to find herself sleeping on a couch. She quickly got up to find herself back in Brightmoon again. Although she was wearing her red jacket, instead she was in some sort of white dress, her hair was longer too, and she may have been a bit taller.
Wondering where she was, the doors burst open as two familiar kittens began running in, Catra not far behind them. Then as if a lightbulb clicked in her brain she knew exactly where she was and what waas going on.
"Hope! Calico" Adora stood up now talking to them both gently by the arm, "Come on, it's bath time, we need to get you clean for the visitor".
"Nooooo I don't wanna a bath!" Hope cried out.
Calico nodded saying, "No bath! No bath!"
"But Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Adam are coming over!" Adora beamed.
Both kids stopped and smiled, "Uncle Adam yay!"
Catra rolled her eyes, "Great, dummer blondie and the parents".
"Go get cleaned up, and the cleaner you are the more presents you'll get" Adora winked.
The kids beamed and ran off shouting, "Presents, presents, presents" all the way down the door. Adora couldn't help but laugh, how she loved them, though not as much as she loved the big kitten standin before her white sash and all. Carefully she put her arms around Catra and gave her a big wet kiss.
"Hey Adora" She smirked, kissing her back.
"Hey yourself" Adora kissed again, "So ready for a big family gathering"
"Not really" Catra muttered, moving herself back to look out the window.
Adora frowned, "What's wrong?"
"It's your family Adora, I can tell...They don't like me" Catra said folding her arms, "I don't think they understand what I am"
"What are you"
"Just a Horde Commander who corrupted there daughter"
Adora blinked, "What...No...Catra that's not true…"
Suddenly everything went dark, Catra disappeared, various images appeared, one of Castle Grayskull, then Skeletor, a massive battle, a snake looking man, followed by She-Ra and a blight light.
Adora jolted up as a pair of yellow and blue eyes looked right at her.
"Adora!" Catra held her tight now, "Your awake! Finally!"
"D-Did I faint again?" She asked.
"Adora…" Catra held her up holding her tight, "Your okay"
Adora took a look at her surroundings to find herself back in her room at the Eternian Castle, Catra was sitting on the bed, Melog by her side. She had only remembered fainting again in the middle of Castle
Grayskull. A wave of embarrassment came over her. To do that in the middle of a powerful magic wielder, how could she do such a thing? She wanted to faint again if her mind wasn't going in a hundred different directions per minute.
It was so strange when she was around the magic, her mind started feeling
"W-what about Grayskull" Adora sounded nervous,
"Glimmer teleported us back here when you fainted, Adam stayed behind to talk to the Sorceresses a bit" Catra explained.
Adora frowned, pulling away, "Oh, I see…Ack! This is so embarrassing...But everyone was talking and arguing and ...I don't know, I felt weird like I needed to shut down or something. It was all overwhelming. Guess I had a panic attack or something".
"Yeah…Sorry about that" Catra rubbed the back of her neck, "Hey Adora...Can we talk"
"About?"
"About...About all this Adora, your weird magic brother, this magic lady wanting you to be She-Ra and do something...all of it...I...I hate it, I don't like it...It's giving me a bad feeling about all of it. Kinda like when you found the sword the first time"
Adora frowned as she saw Catra's ear flick down a bit, "Oh Catra..." she cupped her cheek gently, "It's not gonna be like that, first off I have you, and we have our friends this time, I'm not gonna go it alone okay"
"But that's my point you shouldn't have to go at all, this isn't your problem, these people can handle things themselves"
Adora sighed "But these are my people, and Adam may need He-Man if the magic goes away and..."
"Adam is someone you just met less than a few days ago, come on Adora, you jump from one group of people to the next just like that! You think I was mad when you straight left the Horde what about Bow and Glimmer!"
"Oh come on that was different"
"Yeah because this is worse!" Carta argued. at least with the Horde it was just a messed up place anyway" Catra reminded her, "So messed up that in the grand scheme of things even Hordak was a victim of it, but now your gonna jump ship with good people and friends for a family you hardly know"
"I'm not jumping ship, Adam is my brother"
"Well you always sound like your ready too, and he's a brother you hardly know"
"I'm not" Adora was getting annoyed, "I just want to help these people, I mean come on Catra, we were planning on restoring magic to the universe anyway, there was gonna be some danger and risk involved"
"Yeah, some danger" Catra emphasised, "Some risk...But we weren't gonna get involved in a whole other war against another group of psychos who want to take over the planet and again Adora, they have the capabilities to defend themselves okay, I saw there tech, Eternia is loaded and ready. Far more than even the Rebellion even was against us".
"Well then She-Ra can turn the tide" Adora replied, "If I can get her to work that is"
"Yeah…" Catra gets up, "And then when does it stop" with that she gets up, she seemed upset as she walked off.
Bow and Glimmer entered the room as Catra pushed by them without a moment's hesitation.
Adora sighed, "Catra wait"
"Nah, let her be" Glimmer responded going to Adora's side, "I think she needs a moment
"Oh…" Adora sighed.
"Oh by the way, hope you don't mind but I told Bow about your brother, I was sorta the only person I was gonna tell"
Adora frowned, "Well I don't think Adam will be happy about that"
"Hey, don't worry, I'm super good at keeping secrets," Bow declared.
"Alright, alright" Adora chuckled, "So um..H-How much did you hear"
"All of it" Glimmer responded, "And I think Catra's right"
"What!" Adora looked shocked.
"I know shocker" Glimmer snickered, "But she's right Adora, none of us really want to get dragged into another war again and you've only met this family for less than a day, I know you knew us for less than that too but...War ...speeds up the process I guess"
Adora sighed leaning back on the bed, "I...Maybe ...I don't know...Did I ...Did I defect so soon?"
"From the Horde?" Glimmer frowned, "Adora you know the Horde was terrible"
"I know, I know but thinking about it now...Now after all this time" Adora took a deep breath, "That was my family and I just up and left, Catra did have a right to be mad at me...I did break the Promise after all"
"Well you aren't breaking any promises now" Bow assured her, "Catra's here, your here, we're here...Heck, Scorpia, Hordak, and Perfuma are here, not like your leaving us...Right?"
"O-Of course not" Adora shook her head smiling, "It's just you know...They are my blood family...I know that shouldn't mean anything but...I always wanted to know where I came from, and sure I found out the First One's were...kinda bad...But this is where I am from personally...This is where I was teleported away from, I can't help but have...Feelings for it".
"Those feelings are valid" Glimmer patted Adora's leg, "Just, just be delicate with that's all. We don't want to see you get hurt and neither does Catra"
"I know she doesn't" Adora sighed, "I know she cares most of all"
"Well whatever you decide will support it" Bow smiled.
Adora smiled back at them, "Thanks guys, for now...I think will stay a bit longer, though I do wonder...Why I couldn't really transform back at Grayskull"
"Maybe it was the magic" Glimmer shrugged, "That's another I'm not sure about, we don't anything about this magic, for all know it could be dark"
"Adam seems to trust the Sorceress"
"Do you trust her?"
"Well...No" Adora sighed, "But I trust Adam"
"You hardly know Adam" Glimmer sounded frustrated, "Maybe Catra was right" she muttered.
"Yeah well...I don't know….Sibling bond I guess, we are twins...Twin powers?"
Glimmer sighed, "Now I see why Catra gets frustrated"
"Look, like I said, let's stay here a bit longer okay, really see if we can trust them. Maybe go on some missions together...yeah...Next mission will all go together, Eternian and Etherian, hand in hand...Oh it will be great! If we trust them, then I'll restore this elderly magic whatever to full power" Adora said taking a deep breath, "If not...Will go home" outside the door she could see Catra peeping at them and smiled "...I promise"
"Good" Glimmer nodded.
"Hold on!" Adora got up, " i need to check something...For the Honor of Grayskull!"
A flash of light and She-Ra appeared.
"Hey...She-Ra worked!" Glimmer beamed.
Adora seemed confused, "Yeah...But….why didn't it work in Castle Grayskull?"
Author Note: Chapter update will be slower since I have to write them now