Masters of the Outworld MASTERS OF THE OUTWORLD

PART 1: THE RETURN OF SHANG TSUNG


In the depths of the Outworld, in the dark, deserted regions where no-one dared venture alone, the emperor Shao Khan sat alone in the chamber of the Black tower. He was grieving with defeat. After so many years of being seen as a virtually invincible warrior, he had now undergone another defeat, and his reputation was suffering. He even risked losing his position as emperor of Outworld if he continued to lose. He may never be able to rule the Earth, and Outworld could even end up being ruled by good.
Another Mortal Kombat tournament had just ended with his defeat. And again, it was the warrior monk, Liu Kang, who had defeated him. This warrior may not look more powerful than Khan, but obviously he was. Khan had only just escaped death in his last battle with Kang. Before that, Khan had erased the world of all human life, making it a part of the Outworld itself, sparing only those who deserved to compete in Mortal Kombat- but after Liu Kang's victory, a former assassin, Sub-Zero, had reprogrammed two robots to destroy the Shao Khan tower. One of them, Sektor, had gone into self-destruct mode and blown the tower up just as Kang escaped. Princess Kitana had then closed the Outworld portal, sending Khan and his minions back into the Outworld and returning the Earth to normal.
Kitana had once been his favourite assassin, and adopted daughter. But he had always known she was good at heart, and even the magic of the great sorcerer Shang Tsung had failed to stop her from joining forces with the Earth warriors, two tournaments ago. Now she was permanently on their side. Khan had hired further assassins to bring her back- Mileena, Jade and Reptile- but Kitana had defeated all three of these with ease. Her power was greater than theirs all put together. Now it looked as though there may be no way of getting her back.
And it wasn't just Kitana that Khan had lost to the Earth warriors. In the last tournament, he had hired the Shokan warrior Sheeva as an assassin, but she was displeased with his choice of electing Motaro as champion. Motaro was a centaur- and the centaurs were the main enemies of the Shokan. Sheeva had defeated Motaro, then turned against Khan and helped Liu Kang to break into the tower and defeat him before returning to her home world.
And an even worse loss was his queen, Sindel. He had resurrected his long dead queen, wiping her memory of her good past and using her to try to recapture her daughter, Kitana. But the Earth warriors had foiled his plans, and restored Sindel's memory, and she had helped in driving Khan's assassins from the Outworld. Now she was permanently on the side of the Earth warriors.
There had been two further losses in the last tournament. The bumbling idiot Kano, who was finally defeated by his enemy Sonya Blade, was no great loss- but the sorcerer Shang Tsung, who had been granted more power than ever, perished at Liu Kang's hands in the tower. Could Khan ever hope to win a tournament again? But he had to remember- he was still a strong and powerful fighter, and there were still many great warriors in Outworld. He would have to train them further, and train himself further, so they may stand a chance of victory over Liu Kang and the Earth Warriors.
All of a sudden, the door of Khan's chamber burst open, and in ran Baraka, one of Khan's most trusted henchmen. Baraka was a strange creature with long, sharp nails which could shred an enemy to pieces. He spent most of his time feeding on the flesh of victims in Khan's dungeons, and rarely entered the chamber.
"What brings you into my chamber, Baraka?" said Khan, in his deep, booming voice. "I am deep in thought. You had better have a good reason for interrupting me."
"I have a good reason indeed, sire." hissed Baraka. "There is a visitor to see you, my Lord. And he's more than just any old visitor- he's the great sorcerer, Shang Tsung."
"You have mis-seen, you fool!" growled Khan. "Tsung was killed in the last tournament."
"Maybe so, sire." replied Baraka, "But I'm telling you- the man's here."
"Bring him in!" Khan shouted. But Baraka didn't need to bring him in- the sorcerer materialised out of thin air before Khan's throne.
"Greetings, Shao Khan." spoke the sorcerer.
"How did you get to be here? Liu Kang killed you, in the last tournament!"
"Maybe so, my Lord." replied Tsung. "But one of the many secrets of my magic powers is that I can never stay dead for long. I was impaled on a spike in your tower- but my powers had me resurrected, as powerful as before. And I am here at your services again, my Lord."
"Do you really think I would need your services again now?" growled Khan angrily. "It is thrice that you have failed me now, you fool. I think you would be better off staying dead!"
Khan's eyes blazed an angry red, and glared threateningly at Tsung. But the great sorcerer did not even flinch. He had absolutely no fear of Khan.
"My Lord, do you not realise that we two are in the same position? Yes, I have failed you thrice, but you have failed twice in your attempts to defeat the Earth warriors. We should be working together. We are in the same boat, my Lord."
Khan pondered for a few seconds. Then he admitted: "Yes. You are right, Shang Tsung. Both of us have failed to defeat the Earth warriors, and we both are likely to fail again, even if I admit it myself. We must train our Outworld warriors at once. We must make ourselves as powerful as possible for the next tournament!"
"But that is just what we did last time!" replied Tsung. "Even with the powerful Queen Sindel, and the centaur Motaro on our side we failed. Now we have even lost more warriors to the humans of the Earth. We need to recruit new warriors. Warriors from.. elsewhere in the universe."
"Like where?" sneered Khan.
"My Lord, there are many battles between evil and good throughout the universe. There are many planets we do not know of, on which great warriors live with skills we could never dream of. We need to find some of these to help us."
"And how would we go about that?" Khan sneered sceptically.
"Easy, my Lord." replied Tsung. "We must speak to the Emperor of all evil."
"I am the Emperor of all evil!" growled Khan, and shot up from his throne, glaring angrily at Tsung.
"I am afraid you are not so, my Lord." said Tsung. "The Emperor of all evil in the entire universe is a being named Horde Prime. You may not know of him- but he will know of you, as he is aware of all evil forces in the entire universe. I must say that his power is probably greater than yours and mine put together. Rarely does he take part in battles himself, but he knows many evil warriors, throughout the universe. If we speak to him, he could easily find us the very fighters we need to win the next Mortal Kombat tournament."
Khan considered the idea. He did not like the thought of an evil being who considered himself to be superior to Khan- but then, this may be Khan's only chance at winning the next tournament. So he decided on going ahead.
"Yes." he replied. "I will speak to this Horde Prime."
"Then we visit him now." said Tsung, and raised his arms. "I shall take us to him."


PART 2: A VISIT TO HORDE PRIME


Shang Tsung's magic teleported him and Shao Khan into a large room, full of electronic equipment and computers. There were several robots working away on the computers, and large windows looking out into space. Several great planets and bright stars shone away in the distance.
"Where are we?" asked Khan.
"This is Horde Prime's ship." replied Tsung. "It is this ship in which he patrols the universe, watching over evil."
"Then where is this Horde Prime?"
"I AM HERE!" came a loud, booming voice from around a corner. The voice was so loud and terrifying that even Khan froze for a second. Khan and Tsung turned around the corner- and were greeted with what looked like a huge space, with black mist swirling around.
"I see nothing." said Khan. "Where did that voice come from?"
"FROM HERE!" came the spine-chilling voice again. "YOU FACE HORDE PRIME!"
So Horde Prime was meant to be amongst all that smoke! How could he be? Khan saw nothing. How could a living being be concealed in that huge, vast space amongst all that smoke?
"I am not fooled." laughed Khan. "Horde Prime? It looks to me as though this Horde Prime' is nothing but a trick! I can't even see anything! Lots of black mist and someone talking through a microphone. That's what Horde Prime is!"
Suddenly, an absolutely huge metal hand emerged from the smoke and seized Khan by the waist. It lifted him high above ground! The hand was so strong and large that it could easily crush the life out of Khan. The strong, fearless warlord was almost scared for the first time in his life. The hand was three times as big as his gigantic body!
"SO!" came the voice again. "YOU THINK ME A HOAX! THEN YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF HORDE PRIME! DO I LOOK LIKE A HOAX NOW?"
"No!" screamed Khan, only just managing to speak with the huge hand clamped so tightly around him. "I admit- I was wrong! Now please let me down!"
"AS YOU SAY!" said Horde Prime, and dropped Shao Khan to the ground. His super-strong body meant that the force of the fall barely even hurt him, but he was severely shaken by what had just happened. So how big, then, was Horde Prime? Khan had always thought he was of gigantic stature- but this being must be at least 30 feet tall! And how could he fit inside this ship? The ship must be massive!
Bolts of electric lightning crackled through the mist, and Khan saw a pair of blazing red eyes shining through. This being was amazing. He was surely what Khan needed to defeat the Earth warriors- but would he agree? Boldly, Khan stepped forward and looked up into the red eyes.
"We.. have come for your help." he said.
"AND WHAT HELP DO YOU NEED, MORTAL?"
Mortal! That was the first time anyone had dared call Shao Khan anything like that! If any normal being had said that, Khan would have slaughtered them- but Horde Prime was way to powerful for Khan to even dare oppose.
"We.. would like you to help us to find warriors." he said. "We need more powerful warriors to help us in our struggle against the fighters of planet Earth- in the tournament called Mortal Kombat."
"THE MORTAL KOMBAT TOURNAMENT! YOU NEED TELL ME NO MORE. I KNOW THAT YOU ARE SHAO KHAN- AND YOU FAILED IN YOUR LAST TWO TOURNAMENTS! NO WONDER YOU NEED NEW WARRIORS AFTER FOOLISHLY LOSING ALL THOSE FIGHTERS TO THE CRETINS OF EARTH!"
"Yes.. can you help us?" Khan felt like a feeble idiot asking Horde Prime this.
"I CAN INDEED PROVIDE YOU WITH HELP, WARRIOR." said Horde Prime, his eyes blazing brighter as the electric energy crackled. "ON PLANET ETERNIA THERE IS A VICIOUS STRUGGLE GOING ON BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. THE SORCERER SKELETOR HAS TRIED IN VAIN TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET BUT HAS ALWAYS BEEN STOPPED BY THE PLANET'S GUARDIANS. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO USE MEMBERS OF HIS ARMY! PERHAPS SKELETOR HIMSELF WOULD BE READY TO HELP YOU!"
"Of course," said Shang Tsung, seemingly unshaken by the sight of the tremendous being. "I know of Skeletor. The Universal council of magic have mentioned him in the past."
"THEN LEAVE AND RETURN TO OUTWORLD!" boomed Horde Prime.
"Wha.. aren't you doing anything?" stammered Khan.
"JUST DO AS I SAY AND RETURN TO OUTWORLD! I WILL CONTACT SKELETOR AND HE SHALL JOIN YOU WITH HIS SELECTED WARRIORS! NOW LEAVE!"
"Okay.." Khan stammered.
"Thank you for your help, Horde Prime." said Tsung, and he raised his arms, and the two warriors vanished in a puff of smoke.
Horde Prime sent a mind signal to one of his robots. The robot went over to the computer radio and switched on.
"Skeletor.." it said in its mechanical voice, "We have orders for you to join the dark regions of Outworld.."


PART 3: SKELETOR GETS THE MESSAGE


Blade was enjoying himself. There was nothing he loved more than slaughtering innocent people. He laughed to himself as the man he had found trembled at his feet.
"Please.. don't do anything! I beg you!"
"You beg me? Well, beggars can't be choosers, I'm afraid. I'm the chooser round here. And I choose that you give me all your money! Skeletor just hasn't been paying me enough lately."
"Then I'll give you all my money! If you promise not to hurt me!"
"Yeah, I promise alright. Hand it over!"
Terrified, the man fumbled through his pockets and took out his wallet, handing it to Blade. "There!" he said, "That's all the money I've got. Now please leave me alone!"
"Thanks very much." said Blade, taking the wallet and shoving it into his belt. "You don't know how grateful I am for that. In fact, you deserve a good.. slashing!"
Blade took out his swords and slit the man's chest open with them both, drawing gallons of blood. The man screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his chest.
"You.. you promised not to hurt me!" screamed the man.
"I never speak the truth to weaklings like you!" hissed Blade. "From people like you- I can claim your money- and your life!" with that he slashed one sword right through the man's neck. The man's head flew off and hit the ground, a pool of blood spilling from the gash where the head had been severed.
Blade admired the short work he'd made of the man, and then raised the sword to his mouth and licked off the blood. Then he examined the money in the wallet.
"I'm stinkin' rich." he said to himself. "Even with Skeletor's low rates of pay!"
He made his way back to the Fright Fighter, so he could fly back to Snake Mountain. He entered the cockpit, and started up the engine, rising the vehicle up into the sky.
Just then, the radio began to crackle, and a voice could be heard through the crackles. Blade slowed down the Fright Fighter and listened to the voice. It was a striking, metallic voice, like a robot's.
"Skeletor.." it was saying, "We have orders for you to join the dark regions of Outworld.. orders from Horde Prime.. to join the emperor Shao Khan in the tournament called Mortal Kombat.. defeat warriors from Earth.. select warriors to compete.. to the Outworld Skeletor.. by command of Horde Prime."
Now this sounded interesting. Blade had never heard of Outworld, or this Mortal Kombat tournament, but it really did look as though Skeletor was being asked to compete in this tournament himself with several selected warriors. With the order coming from the super-powerful Horde Prime, there was no way Skeletor could refuse. If Blade were to enter this tournament, it could mean extra slashing, extra killing! He would have to persuade Skeletor to let him take part. Messages that came through to the Fright Fighter were usually automatically recorded, so Blade made sure of this by pressing the replay button under the radio, and playing the message again.
Then he switched the Fright Fighter into its fastest mode, and zoomed back to Snake Mountain.
Once Blade had landed the Fright Fighter in the landing bay of Snake Mountain, he played the message one last time to make sure he had heard it correctly, then he made his way into the ancient base of evil to speak with his maniacal master.
He always hated approaching Skeletor. What he didn't like was the way that Skeletor was always so sceptical with his warriors, as if they couldn't be trusted to get anything right. Blade was at least glad that he wasn't Beast Man, as Skeletor's tortured wild henchman got a beating almost every time he dared approach his master. Blade was one of Skeletor's most trusted warriors, so he didn't have to suffer as much as half the rest of the army. And then, if Skeletor ever really annoyed him, he could always use his swords on his master..
Blade approached Skeletor's chamber, where Skeletor was constantly sitting alone thinking of ways to defeat the heroic warriors. He hated people interrupting him- but Blade was sure that this time Skeletor would be glad in the long term. In a tournament, he could quite easily prove his skills.
Blade tapped on the door of Skeletor's chamber.
"Who dares interrupt Skeletor?" came the skull-faced warlord's voice.
"Blade does," he replied, "with something very important to tell you."
"Then enter!"
Blade entered the chamber. Skeletor was seated on his bone throne, with his havoc staff at his side. His trusted sorceress and second-in-command, Evil-Lyn, sat in the corner, practising her magic.
"What do you have to tell me?" asked Skeletor, in his deep, gruff voice.
"Horde Prime has ordered you to enter a tournament in some region called Outworld- to help some evil emperor defeat warriors from Earth. He has asked for you and some selected warriors to go to Outworld at once." he did not mention anything about how eager he was to enter this tournament, but he knew that he had offered great services to Skeletor with his sword skill and agility, and was more than likely to be entered.
"Where did you hear of this?" Skeletor demanded.
"Some robot sent a message through and the Fright Fighter picked it up. I have it recorded on the Fright Fighter radio."
"Then show me!" ordered Skeletor, his eyes lighting up bright red. "Lead me to the Fright Fighter!" He rose to his feet, and Blade turned to lead him to the landing bay. Skeletor followed behind, his long cape gliding over the ground as he banged his havoc staff heavily with each stride he took.
In the landing bay, Blade entered the cockpit of the Fright Fighter and pressed the replay button. The message played again, and Skeletor listened with great insight.
"Now this does sound interesting." he said lowly, in his rarely heard calmer tones. "Yes, I shall obey this command. I shall leave Eternia with several of my warriors- and enter this Mortal Kombat tournament."
"Leave Eternia for good?" asked Blade.
"No, Blade- not for good- but I have a plan. Come, Blade- we shall return to my chamber and call a meeting of my warriors."
Skeletor and Blade journeyed back to Skeletor's chamber. Skeletor approached Evil-Lyn, and said "Quit that magic practice and call a meeting of my warriors. We two- and Blade- are leaving Eternia to take part in a tournament."
So Skeletor was entering Blade! That was one huge relief for the swordsman. He didn't even need to ask! Skeletor was obviously already impressed by Blade's skills.
"We're leaving?" asked Evil-Lyn. "For good?"
"Not for good," hissed Skeletor, "but I shall explain my plans once you call a meeting. So do it now!"
Evil-Lyn lifted her voice beam projector and held it to her mouth.
"All warriors present to Skeletor's chamber" she called, "there is important news. I repeat- all warriors present to Skeletor's chamber, there is important news."
Within the next few moments, warrior after warrior began appearing in the large, dark chamber. More and more of Skeletor's dastardly henchmen made their way into the chamber, eager to hear their master's announcement. The warriors muttered amongst themselves as they gathered, presumably wondering about what such an important announcement could be.
Once Skeletor was satisfied that enough of his warriors were present, he banged his havoc staff loudly and heavily on the ground. The muttering stopped as each warrior fell silent, turning to face their master.
"I have received an important message." began Skeletor. "I shall be leaving Eternia temporarily with a select few warriors- to travel to a place called Outworld. There we shall take part in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. Our aim there is to defeat warriors from the planet Earth. You are to keep He-Man busy back on Eternia while I am away- and destroy him if you can." he spoke the last part with a touch of sarcasm. "I shall be fighting alongside an emperor called Shao Khan. Earth is not a planet known for its warriors- the Earth warriors will pose no threat to Skeletor. But once we are through with them- I turn on Shao Khan, and rule Outworld myself. No doubt that Horde Prime will grant me more power after I conquer Outworld- then I will return to Eternia- and He-Man will be shocked to the death as he perishes at my hands." Skeletor raised his right hand, as if to show it as the hand that will crush He-Man.
More mutters ran through the crowd of evil warriors, excited at the thought, and no doubt all hoping that they would be entered for the tournament.
"Silence!" shouted Skeletor, and banged his staff. "I am not finished. Evil-Lyn shall accompany me- I may have use for her magic. Blade is also coming- his swords will shred the Earth warriors to pieces." Blade bristled with pride at the mention of his skill. How the other warriors must be envying him now!
Skeletor scanned the sea of warriors faces, to make the choice of who else to enter in the tournament.
"Saurod.. Ninjor.. you come too. You have shown me powerful skills since you joined this army. You are most suited to this tournament."
The two warriors stepped forward at the mention of their names- the masked reptile in his gleaming black armour, hissing with evil pleasure, followed by the black-hooded shadow ninja with his sharp sword.
Skeletor then called out Karg. The hook-handed henchman stepped forth.
"Karg- you are to take charge of the army while I am away. I do not expect you to beat He-Man but at least keep him occupied. If you manage to destroy him I will promote you."
"Yes, Skeletor." hissed Karg, "I will destroy He-Man for you."
"And I do not want a word of this tournament breathed to anyone else in Eternia!" Skeletor shouted, his voice becoming louder as he gave these strict commands. "If He-Man finds out, he may follow us. Understand?"
"Yes, master." said the warriors, all together.
"Then we leave!" boomed Skeletor. He called to his scientist, Comtech- "Set the portal to take us to Outworld. Our destination- Mortal Kombat!"


PART 4: EVIL WARRIORS UNITE


Over the desolate landscape of Outworld, inches away from the Black tower, a huge, white portal began to open. A strong wind blew from the portal. Ermac, one of Shao Khan's ninjas, caught sight of the portal through one of the windows of the Black tower. A hooded figure stepped out from the portal, with a large staff, and a ghastly, fleshless face. He was followed by an attractive, but evil-looking woman, dressed in elegant clothes with a spiked helmet. Behind them came a shaven-headed swordsman, with a patch covering his left eye, a ninja warrior dressed all in black, looking not too dissimilar from Ermac himself, and a strange, reptile like creature wearing a metal mask and armour.
These must be the warriors from Eternia, whom Shao Khan had said earlier would be joining him for the next Mortal Kombat tournament. And Ermac had to admit, they sure looked powerful. Ermac made his way to the chamber, and bowed before his master.
"The warriors from Eternia have arrived, my Lord." he said. "They look.. very powerful."
"All the better!" laughed Khan, and shot to his feet. "I will give them a warm welcome.. if they prove themselves worthy!"
Khan made his way outside, accompanied by Ermac, Baraka and Shang Tsung. The warriors of Eternia stood before Khan, as the portal closed behind them.

Skeletor stepped forward. "Shao Khan?" he said, approaching Khan.
"I am Shao Khan." replied the giant armoured warrior. "And judging by your appearance I would imagine you are Skeletor."
"Yes, I am Skeletor- Lord of destruction. These are my warriors- Evil-Lyn, Blade, Ninjor and Saurod. The new entrants in your tournament."
"Excellent." replied Khan. "Enter the Black tower and prove your skill."
Khan led the warriors into the Black tower, and quickly explained the history of the Mortal Kombat tournament, and their current state.
"We think you could be the warriors we need to defeat the interfering Earthlings." he told Skeletor. "But first- you must prove yourselves. You may fight my warriors- but no fatalities allowed, as every warrior is valuable on our side. Save your killing power for the Earth warriors."
Shang Tsung gave orders: "Skeletor- fight me. Blade- fight Ermac. Saurod- fight Chameleon. Ninjor- you fight Scorpion, and Evil-Lyn fight Reptile."
The three ninjas entered- the transparent Chameleon- the resurrected and deadly Scorpion, and Reptile, who was eager to prove himself after failing to recapture Princess Kitana in the last tournament. Each warrior stood opposite their opponents, and Shang Tsung ordered "Fight!"
The warriors sprung into battle. Skeletor and Tsung proved to be of almost equal skill as they fought one another with their great powers of evil magic. Blade's superb sword skill caused several deep wounds to Ermac, and Saurod amazed Shao Khan as he almost set Chameleon on fire with the sparks from his mouth. Ninjor and Scorpion proved worthy opponents of one another with their splendid high-kicks and karate chops, while Evil-Lyn's magic bewildered the powerful Reptile as she called upon the powers of the ancient demons to fire super energy blasts from her fingertips.
"STOP!" called Khan. "I have seen enough. Warriors of Eternia, you impress me with your skills. You are all entered for the tournament. Skeletor, you are my chosen champion for the tournament. Once we have won, I will give you the earth to rule!"
"Once we win," hissed Skeletor under his breath, "I kill you and rule not just the Earth but the Outworld."

Baraka approached Blade from the shadows, and slashed him across the chest with his long nails. For a second Blade drew back in pain, but then he licked blood from the gash in his chest, and said "Thank you very much. I haven't had a decent cut in ages."
"I've never seen such skill with swords!" hissed Baraka. "We two should fight alongside one another. We can slash those Earth fighters to pieces."
"And slashing humans to pieces is my main reason for existence." laughed Blade, and he and Baraka licked the blood that dripped to the ground.
"Now we can let Mortal Kombat begin!" said Khan. "The next step is to deliver news to the Earth warriors of the tournament!"
Unknown to the evil warriors, their every move was being watched through a viewscreen by Zodac, the cosmic enforcer of the universe, and Rayden, the thunder God. Zodac's computer had detected that the Evil forces of Eternia had travelled to Outworld, and Zodac had called his close friend Rayden to his space station to watch them. Zodac and Rayden knew each other through their patrol of many realms, and had shared several adventures together.
"You have told me much about the evil warriors of Eternia, Zodac," said Rayden grimly, "and now it appears as though I will actually be meeting them. And even if I say it myself- they look powerful. They are a possible threat to the safety of the Earth. Thank you for calling me here, Zodac, or they would have sprung a surprise on us."
"I had to warn you of this danger." said the masked cosmic enforcer, in his low, monotone voice. "I am not permitted to act in the battle between good and evil unless the cosmic balance is severely threatened, so I will not enter the tournament- but I knew you had to know about this."
"And I will take immediate action." said Rayden. "These evildoers do not know that we know their plan- so that means that I can spring a surprise on them."
"Will you warn the Earth warriors?" asked Zodac.
"I will warn the Earth warriors," replied Rayden, "and I will try to do so before they receive news of the tournament- but first, I must recruit new warriors. One question, Zodac- is Skeletor close to conquering Eternia? Does he ever win battles?"
"Skeletor has tried hard, but is still not even on the verge of conquering Eternia. The Guardians of Grayskull prove too powerful for him."
"Then the Guardians of Grayskull are the very people I need. I will call for the help of He-Man, and his trusted warriors. We'll soon show Khan and Skeletor that they've no chance."
"Then you must act quickly, Rayden. Take action before you are too late."
"I shall act right away! I will teleport myself to Eternia. Goodbye for now, Zodac- and thank you for the warning."
The thunder God spread out his arms, and was surrounded by bolts of electrical energy, which concealed his entire body, which then vanished as the great Rayden teleported to Eternia.


PART 5: HE-MAN MEETS RAYDEN


Prince Adam sat on the balcony of the Royal Palace of Eternia, looking over the busy city of Eternos below. The tall, elegant towers of Eternos gleamed in the bright sunlight. As Adam watched and admired the great city, he recited his favourite Eternian poems in his head. He'd heard them so often that he did not have to sit and read them. He knew the words off by heart. And he loved to spend time alone on the balcony, his own place of peace and luxury, and a break from the many times he had to save Eternia from danger as He-Man.
Suddenly Adam's peace was interrupted by a noise from behind. Adam spun round on his heel. Was this an attack? There came a sudden burst of crackling electricity from out of nowhere. Crackling bolts circled through the air, before joining together and forming a human shape. Then the bolts died down, and the human shape formed colour and features, taking on the form of a man with long, flowing hair, wearing a strange pointed straw hat.
"Who are you?" Adam asked.
The strange man stepped forward, and shook Adam's hand. "Greetings, Eternian." he said, "I am Rayden, God of thunder. I have come to you seeking help."
"Erm.. how can I help you?" Adam asked, confused.
"I spend my time patrolling realms- and one such realm has led me to become involved in a tournament called Mortal Kombat. Most of the warriors in the tournament come from the evil realm of Outworld- or from planet Earth."
"Earth!" exclaimed Adam. "The planet my mother comes from!"
"Indeed. In charge of the tournament is the evil emperor Shao Khan- but in recent years Khan has undergone defeat by the Earth warriors, and his rule of Outworld seems threatened. But, to help him win the next tournament, he has recruited some new fighters. And these new fighters, I believe, are familiar to you."
"Familiar?" said Adam. "Who are they?"
"Their names are Evil-Lyn, Ninjor, Saurod, Blade and.. Skeletor."
"Skeletor! So he's been entered for the tournament!"
"Indeed so. The extra power added by the Eternian warriors is a possible threat to the Earth warriors' safety. Not that I don't think we could defeat them- they're all very powerful- but we could do with some extra help. And I feel that you are just the person to provide that help!"
This is strange, thought Adam- why was Rayden talking to him as though he was He-Man? He must be mistaken, Adam thought. But he knew he could still provide help- he could change to He-Man after Rayden had gone.
"I'm sorry, my friend, but I think you're mistaken. Much as I wish I could help, I'm no warrior. There are many good warriors on Eternia, but I am not one of them. I'm afraid I cannot help you."
"Ah, but if you change into He-Man you can!"
"But.. how do you know? Who told you I was He-Man?"
"When you patrol the universe, and watch so many people, you pick things up!" replied Rayden. "And I, together with my close friend Zodac, often watch the universe together. We both know your great secret- as do several other watchers of the universe- as we basically know everything. But don't worry- we won't reveal it to anyone. Now you must change- as we must get to the tournament before it's too late!"
"Then I'm most glad to help." Adam said, and raised his sword of power.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL..
I HAVE THE POWER!"
A flash of light emerged from the sword, surrounding the prince completely. Once the light and energy died down, he was transformed into He-Man, mightiest man in the universe.
"Just one thing before we leave, Rayden." He-Man said. "I must make sure you're telling me the truth."
"You're not saying you suspect me of trying to trick you?" asked Rayden.
"No," replied He-Man, "but I must make sure. The evil warriors on this planet can play many cunning tricks- so for all I know, you could be an evil warrior trying to trick me into leaving this planet. I will use my sword to ensure you speak the truth."
He-Man held his sword in front of Rayden, and the sword glowed bright white.
"If the glow turns red, it means you are trying to trick me." said He-Man, "so just repeat what you told me."
Rayden repeated what he had said about the tournament. The sword did not flash once.
"The sword tells me you are not evil. I will accompany you at once! But first we must go to Grayskull, to let the Sorceress know we're leaving!"
He-Man quickly sought out Man-At-Arms, and informed him that he was leaving. Man-At-Arms said he would tell the other warriors. He-Man then called Extendar to his side, and then Rayden teleported himself and the two warriors to Grayskull, leaving Man-At-Arms in charge of the city's defence.
They materialised inside Grayskull, where they were quickly greeted by the Sorceress.
"Greetings, my friends." she said. Then she turned to Rayden, and said "Please introduce yourself, stranger."
Stunned by her beauty, Rayden explained that he was the thunder God and had sought out He-Man to help him in Mortal Kombat, and that Shao Khan was using Skeletor as his champion.
"Then I wish you luck in the tournament." said the Sorceress. "And remember, if you need any extra help, I will be here."
"We'll remember, Sorceress." said He-Man. "Now let's make our way to Outworld. We have no time to waste."
"Not yet, my friend." replied Rayden. "I think it would be better if we went first to Earth. There you can meet the Earth warriors, whom you will be battling alongside. It will also give you time to prepare for battle."
"Then you may use the dimensional portal to reach Earth." said the Sorceress.
"We don't need to-" said Rayden, "I can teleport us!" He spread his arms and the three of them were engulfed by electrical energy.
"Once more, I wish you luck!" said the Sorceress, and the two warriors and the thunder God were gone in a flash.