Not much to say for this one; Adam pretty much gets himself into trouble...again.

-Gammazero

Chapter 3: Next time, Double Check!

Adam's POV:

"SHIT!" That must've been the third time I've said that in the last half hour. As I try again to properly align the quantum-mechanical processes involved in laying out my cirmagic tattoos while in my study, I realize after initial testing that I was a slight bit off in intention alignment. Intention is very important when using magic, and becomes even more so with cirmagic. Again, I erase the segment that was applied and aligned incorrectly and try again. Cringer, for his part, gnaws on a bone from last night's soup broth, content with his actions.

"Rwor…rur" An obvious growl of worry from my faithful friend leaves his throat, with said worry etched on his face.

"Don't worry, buddy. I've made sure to check my calculations with this; so long as I can get the intention imprinted correctly, this will definitely work! Not to mention, instant teleportation will make all of our missions going forward a cinch!"

"Grr….rowr?"

"Of course I finished class with Duncan! Man-at-Arms wouldn't let me finish this without more stamina and lightweight-sword training. That's especially so considering he knows about you-kow-who!"

Although Man-at-Arms, or Duncan as his real name is, knows about the secret I hold of being He-Man, the same cannot be said of the others. Father thinks He-Man is a sort of mentor-figure for me, and Teela cannot see me as anything other than the little-brother figure who had fought over the same girl as her (though it's best not to bring up THAT crush again, lest she be reminded of the fruit punch incident and chase after me in embarrassment and anger. I don't see why, though. Having melon slices shoved up your nose isn't that embarra….oh, yeah, that girl did see everything…nevermind.)

In truth, their reactions were not the only reason for keeping the secret. If my uncle Keldor, now Skeletor, ever found out the truth, he would waste no time in attacking the weak and "feeble" Adam, given that I'm an easier target when not "powered up". Although I do have confidence in my cirmagic and normal magics, I would likely fair better against him as the strong and capable He-Man. For now, I should worry about messing up the imprinting and tattooing again.

"Besides Cringer, this is perhaps my greatest creation yet; I can't just let myself forget about this! Now, come here. I'd rather be safe and have you with me wherever we go, and if He-Man is needed, so will Battle Cat!"

I walk over to the open space where I practice, with Cringer reluctantly leaving his well-worn bone to join me.

"Growr?" Cringer asks, not seeming to like the direction this is all going.

"Relax; I made sure to check all the calculations. If everything goes according to plan, we should reach the front of Castle Grayskull in record time! Now, quiet while I recite the needed incantation!"

So, perhaps I should explain this. Cirmagic usually works pretty well without circuit tattoos. However, for more powerful spells, you need to have some form of tattoo to channel mana or magic more efficiently. Since this was a new spell and likely would need more power until it's perfected, these tattoos were custom-made to circulate not only my own magic, but ambient magical energy (one of my other great inventions). I focused my mind on Cringer and myself, I saw Castle Grayskull in my mind, and I then recited what I needed to say:

42 6f 6e 64 73 20 6f 66 20 74 69 6d 65 20 61 6e 64 20 73 70 61 63 65 2c 20 73 77 69 66 74 20 61 73 20 74 68 65 20 77 69 6e 64 2c 20 63 61 72 72 79 20 6d 65 20 74 6f 20 6d 79 20 64 65 73 74 69 6e 61 74 69 6f 6e

Of course, to anyone normal, it would just sound like very fast nonsense coming from my mouth in a VERY short amount of time. Cirmagic requires a little of the magic focused to translate to proper instructions readable by a computer. However, an actual computer isn't needed. It taps into the logical nature of machines to refine the process of casting magic. In a way, I guess you can say that it uses the brain as a computer. Being that it's a composite art, it's both logical and precise like tech, but arcane and unknowable like the greater forces of magic. That being said, there is a little mysticism and mystery involved, much like normal magic. It's imperative that you not screw anything up; the slightest mistake can mess everything up to hell…that being said:

"Growr?"

"Yes, yes, I did check EVERYTHING! Stop worrying! Now, the location: Castle Grayskull!"

As the space distorted around us, Cringer seemed to ask through his usual growling whether or not I removed a part of the old and non-functioning tattoo that was sticking out from the rest. Seeing as I could almost always somehow tell what he was growling about, I realized what he said, and could only answer with:

"…oops."

I felt the room greatly heat up, and a large BOOM resounded in my ears. My next destination was the black oblivion of unconsciousness. A few moments later….

"ugh… nnn…mmm… anyone get the ID on that dragon that hit me?"

"Growr…rr….rrrr….grawr."

"Don't you I told you so me, mister! I made a teensy-weensy mistake! So sue me!"

As I took a minute to get my bearings, I came to realize something was profoundly wrong. Not only were we not at Castle Grayskull or my study, this place seemed oddly colorful and…alien, in a way. There were plants and animals unlike anything I've seen on Eternia; and I've seen a lot. Almost instantly my instincts as a researcher and scientist, as well as my awakened curiosity, drove me to pursue study of all this newness around me.

"Well, we should probably figure out where we are…but only AFTER a little research detour."

"Grooowrrr!" Cringer did NOT seem to like that idea.

"Oh, come on you 'fraidy-cat! I kept the sword with me, so it's not like we're defenseless! Besides, paying close attention to our surroundings is the best way to figure out where we are; so let's get going!"

All of this excitement had my blood pumping in my veins; new plants, new animals, new discoveries! Maybe even new adventures! However, if I had been more observant of the sky I always took for granted, I would have realized I was anywhere but home. Above head, it was not entirely uncommon for the moon to sometimes (although rarely) be visible while it's daylight. However, the detail I would have liked to notice then was that there were twelve of them instead of just one.