When Adam entered the palace, his parents both rushed forward and hugged him lovingly.
Although he hadn't really been gone that long, it felt like he had been gone for years.
"Well done, Adam." said King Randor.
"Obviously you have succeeded in your quest- but what exactly was it?"
"Well, it's been very difficult," said
Adam, "but I've made my way through it. I was sent to the planet Etheria to find
someone. And now I have found her- and here she is."
Adora stepped into the room nervously. It seemed
very strange to think she was meeting her parents for the first time, even though she was
twenty years old!
"Er..... hello." she said, slightly
embarrassed.
"Welcome to Eternia," said King Randor,
"but who are you?"
"She's a lot closer to you than you think,
father." said Adam. "Believe it or not..... she is none other than Adora... your
long lost daughter."
The King and Queen gasped in amazement, and
stared at the beautiful girl before them. This girl was their daughter! Their daughter
whom they had thought was lost for good for twenty years! Now she was actually back! This
was a day they had waited for for twenty years..... the heartache and pain that the theft
of their daughter had caused them was now over, at long last! Adora wept tears of joy as
she gazed upon her dignified parents..... then they wept too, and threw their arms around
their beloved daughter.
"Adora!....." wept Marlena, "we've
waited so long..... for this day..... oh where have you been all this time!"
"Mother..... father..... it's so good to
know you..... at long last....."
Randor slung a proud arm around Adam. "My
son, you have made me today the happiest man in all Eternia. And you have proved to me
that you can be a true hero, by journeying to another world and bringing back my long lost
daughter. All those times I called you incapable..... I take them back! I am so proud to
have you as a son!"
Adam smiled to himself. At last his father was
seeing him for who he was! He had never said anything like that to him before!
Then Man-At-Arms and Teela burst into the room.
"Hey, what's going on here..... Adam! You've returned! But who....."
"Duncan-" said Marlena, "Meet
Adora. The girl we lost twenty years ago."
Man-At-Arms' eyes opened wide in amazement.
"By the Elders! Can it be?!"
"I recognise you-" said Adora,
"You're Man-At-Arms, aren't you? I saw you in the vision the Sorceress showed me.....
trying to rescue me as a baby....."
"My goodness- I never believed we'd find
you!" said Man-At-Arms. "Welcome back!"
"There's one thing....." said Adora,
"when you hear about the way I've been living all this time..... I'm just..... not
sure....."
"Nothing you confess will stop us from
loving you." said Marlena.
Teela looked confused. "Erm..... sorry to be
butting in..... but who exactly is Adora? I don't mean to sound rude, but can someone tell
me what this is all about?"
"I'm sure we can." said Randor.
"Let's call a special meal to celebrate Adora's return- and we'll explain it
all!"
PART 20: PARTNERS IN EVIL
Skeletor sat on his bone throne in the chamber of Snake Mountain. He was planning for
better methods of attack on the heroic warriors. The ranks of the heroic warriors had been
swelling lately, and they had gained some very powerful new recruits. Skeletor had also
gained some new recruits recently, but being basically thuggish and slow thinkers, they
were all brawn and did not increase the evil army's power very strongly.
In a small laboratory a few rooms
away, one of Skeletor's more recent recruits was working on his experiments. The
red-skinned, multi-bodied scientist Modulok was potentially one of Skeletor's most
powerful warriors- but he just wasn't loyal enough. Modulok's real aim was to
lead an army on his own, but Skeletor was so autocratic and power-mad that Modulok was
barely allowed any say in the running of the army. Modulok had a brilliant mind and was a
highly skilled inventor, but Skeletor just didn't realise it and treated him as a
mere fool. This was probably because Skeletor, being a powerful sorcerer, did not think
highly of anyone who concentrated solely on scientific methods- and Modulok did not
approve of magic at all. Skeletor failed to realise just how powerful Modulok's
scientific skills could be for him, and Modulok was desperate to get away from this army
and start one of his own.
Modulok formed his body parts
together into a single body, and picked up his diagrams for a mechanical device he was
planning to make. Carrying them through to Skeletor, he said "Master! I have drawn
out these plans for a mechanical robotic arm, which can fire various beams as well as
being able to extend over long distances.."
"Silence, fool!" bellowed
the skull-faced warlord. "I have no time for your ridiculous toys at the moment. I
must think up better methods of attack.."
"But master, these inventions of
mine could be just what you need! If you use them.."
"I said SILENCE!" Skeletor
roared, jerking forward in his throne. "Get out of my chamber. Inventions like this
are of no use to me! Why should a great sorcerer such as myself waste time on such useless
inventions!"
Modulok turned and left the room.
That was it, he thought. He wasn't going to spend one more day working for this
tyrant, so sadly ignorant of the wonders of science. He would jack in his job as
Skeletor's scientist very soon, and go to start an army of his own. He would make a
more powerful leader than Skeletor any day.
A few minutes after Modulok had
departed, Tri-Clops burst into Skeletor's chamber. "There is a stranger
approaching Snake Mountain!" the spy told him. "I do not recognise him, but he
looks pretty powerful."
"If he means us any harm, Trap
Jaw will deal with him at the main entrance! Any enemy who tries to enter Snake Mountain
through the main gates has made the greatest mistake of their lives!"
Down below, at the main gates of
Snake Mountain, Trap Jaw stood at the ready as the stranger approached. As the figure drew
nearer, Trap Jaw could see it appeared to be half man, half machine. It was a figure of
large stature, with a metal face and red, glowing eyes. It was covered in black armour,
with a huge red bat symbol across its chest, and a long, red cape gliding down its back to
the ground. Its grey arms were covered in electrical wires and metal bands.
"State your business!"
shouted Trap Jaw, in his strong, metallic voice as the figure drew closer.
The figure did not respond. It did
not even look round at Trap Jaw- it simply went marching ahead, as if oblivious to Trap
Jaw's presence.
"I said state your
business'!" Trap Jaw shouted again, aiming his arm gun at the figure. But the
strange creature still did not respond- it just went right up to the main gates, and its
arm began to whirr, and transformed into a cannon! It aimed the cannon directly at the
stone door, to blast through..
"Hey! That stuff isn't on,
you hear? Entrance to Snake Mountain is only permitted once you've stated
your.."
Before Trap Jaw could finish, the
creature spun round and fired a bolt from its cannon directly into Trap Jaw's face.
Shocked, the cyborg fell to the ground. Before the stranger could blast through the door,
Trap Jaw pulled himself to his feet, only minorly hurt by the blast, and shouted
"Okay, if it's a fight you're looking for, you got it!" He raised his
arm gun at the stranger.
Then, the stranger spoke for the
first time. "It will be no trouble for the mighty Hordak to defeat one of such weak
insignificance as yourself!" and he aimed his cannon at Trap Jaw again.
"Hordak?! I've never even
heard of you, man!" he fired a bolt from his gun at Hordak, but it simply collided
with Hordak's metal body without even denting it. "Damn you, what you doing at
Snake Mountain? I'll bite your throat out if you don't tell me!" He lurched
forward at Hordak, and opened his metal mouth wide, ready to bite.
"Alright.." hissed
Hordak angrily, "although I could easily defeat you, I shall not waste my energy. I
may need it all for someone else! Just tell me, is this the base of Skeletor?"
"It sure is, but why d'you
wanna see him?"
"I have something to ask of
him.." growled Hordak, "once I have paid him back for what he did
all those years ago.."
"You saying you know my boss
already? He's never mentioned you!"
"There are many things that
Skeletor will not have mentioned to a weak servant like you.. now just let me
in!"
"Sure thing, man, but don't
you go picking fights with Trap Jaw again, or you'll be sorry." He yanked at the
lever on the wall, and the great stone door slid open. "Just go up the spiral steps
and you're through to the master's chamber."
Without a word, Hordak made his way
through the door, and began to ascend the spiral staircase of the building that had once
been his base.
A few moments later, the door of
Skeletor's chamber was flung open. Skeletor was faced with the sight of the demonic
cyborg with its red, shining eyes.
"Who are you and what do you
come for?" Skeletor demanded.
"I come.. to wreak my
revenge on you!" the red eyes glared at Skeletor menacingly.
"But I have never met you
before! Are you mad?!"
"You once knew me.. very
well indeed.. I am the great Hordak.."
"Hordak?! I have never known
that name before! You are confusing me with someone else.."
"No, Skeletor, I know you
perfectly.. we met many years ago.. and you let me down.. badly!"
Skeletor leapt to his feet. "I
am telling you- I have no memory of seeing you before!"
Hordak's red eyes glowed
directly into Skeletor's. "I must have my revenge!" he fired a blast from
his cannon arm at Skeletor, who fell back, into the throne. But Skeletor was not badly
hurt, and he swung his havoc staff at Hordak, hitting his metal torso with a loud clang.
Then he raised the staff above his head, and fired a bolt from the hollow eyes of its ram
head! Hordak fell back, not seriously hurt- but before he could pull himself up, Skeletor
leapt on top of him, holding him to the ground.
"You are a trespasser on my
base.. now tell me, why do you come here?"
"This is not your base,
Skeletor.. it shall always truly be mine.."
"WHY?!! You are mad, whoever you
are! I have not seen you before in my entire lifetime! I might as well just kill you, you
have no real reason for coming here.." Then all of a sudden he stopped. The
voice of this being did indeed sound familiar, as did his harsh tones. He loosened his
grip on Hordak. He had heard this voice before, felt this presence before.. but
where?
"Do you recognise me now?"
asked Hordak.
"I.. can't be sure.
You.. seem familiar, but.. remove your mask! I must see who you are!"
Hordak shook his metal head.
"This is no mask." he said. "This metal face is permanently fixed to my
body.. my original face is long gone."
"I can reveal who he is." a
striking female voice interrupted. Skeletor and Hordak looked up to see Evil-Lyn, her long
black cape drifting to the ground, holding her crystal ball. "Look into the crystal
ball." the evil sorceress said.
Skeletor released Hordak from his
grip, and the two warlords peered into the large, transparent ball in Evil-Lyn's
hand.
Inside the ball appeared the face of
a man.. but it was hideously disfigured, a shrivelled, discoloured mess. Skeletor
recognised it at once. "No it can't be"
Hordak looked into his eyes. "It
can."
Skeletor looked back at the face in
the crystal ball, then back at the face of Hordak. It really was. Skeletor now remembered
where he had heard that voice, all those years ago.. he had never thought this would
happen. Xazrog had returned!
"Xazrog?" he said.
"Yes.. but I am Hordak
now.. I will no longer answer to that name."
"But.. what happened to
you?"
"Horde Prime did this to me
after I escaped from Eternia.. he increased my power, and then I set up the Evil
Horde on the planet Etheria.. and for twenty years, I have ruled this planet! The
Horde Empire is in full control!"
"So.. you rule a
planet?"
"That is what I said! I am the
ruler of Etheria!"
Skeletor was struck dumb with awe. So
after his escape all those years ago, his old mentor had managed to conquer a whole
planet, and ruled it for twenty years, while Skeletor had been left on Eternia with a
useless army, never even coming close to capturing Grayskull and the throne of Eternos!
Skeletor felt an unpleasant sense of
inferiority in the presence of his former master. Hordak would no doubt view him as being
incredibly weak when he learned of the many times Skeletor had failed against He-Man.
Skeletor would have to do his best to show Hordak the power he possessed..
"Why have you returned to
Eternia?!" he asked him.
"I must pay you for letting me
down so badly in that war all that time ago.."
"Letting you down?! I did
nothing of the sort. I made no mistakes in that war- admit it, at the time the power of
Grayskull was just too strong for us! Now I have become stronger, and am only steps away
from claiming Grayskull as my own.." this was a lie, but he knew he had to lie
so Hordak would not see him as so much of a weak inferior, "but back then, we were
not powerful enough to capture Grayskull! I do not see why you blame me for the loss of
the war!"
"Still, I must pay you
back for if you had been just a little wiser, maybe we would have won!"
"Then we shall fight!"
declared Skeletor, raising his havoc staff.
"Wait!" shouted Hordak.
"We need not fight just yet. There is another, more important reason why I have come
to this planet. Do you remember Princess Adora?"
"Yes, the girl whom you escaped
with."
"She has served me for the past
twenty years, brainwashed by Horde Prime- but your cursed enemy He-Man has invaded my
world and helped to bring her to her senses! Now she has returned to this world to reunite
with her family! And I am here to recapture her!"
"Hmmm so you also have a
bone to pick with my hated foe He-Man? Then I will gladly help you recapture Adora. Who
knows, maybe when we work together, our evil combined could be just enough to destroy
He-Man once and for all. Let's begin our plan!"
PART 21: THE RECAPTURE OF ADORA
The Royal Family sat around the table eating their celebration feast, to celebrate the
return of the long-lost princess of Eternia. Man-At-Arms and Teela dined with them. Adora
told her parents the shocking story of her years with the Horde, and they told her about
all that had happened back on Eternia.
"So the Sorceress erased me from
everyone's memory, didn't she?" said Adora.
"Yes," said King Randor,
"but now that you are back, it will be safe for her to restore their memories.
Eternia will be a planet in celebration!"
"But.. don't you
dislike me, after all that I did with the Horde? After all my crimes.."
"Don't worry Adora, we love
you nonetheless!" said Marlena. "You were a different person all that time- but
even if we'd known while you were serving the Horde, it would still have been a
relief, just to know where you were."
"What I find fascinating is the
thought that Xazrog is still wreaking havoc elsewhere. I thought we would never hear of
him again. And he calls himself Hordak now, you say?"
"Yes, and he rules Etheria, but
now that the rebellion has become stronger, I am sure we will rid the planet of him
eventually."
"And I'm sure the warriors
of Eternia will always be available for assistance!" said Man-At-Arms. "Anyway,
haven't we told you about how your mother came to this planet yet?"
"Are you saying she's from
another world?"
"She is indeed- planet Earth.
You see.."
As the Royal Family talked away
over their meal, Skeletor, Hordak, Evil-Lyn, Tri-Clops and Modulok were spying on them
from a distance. Modulok had spent some time beforehand talking with Hordak about his
inventions and how Skeletor was so ignorant of them. The more he had talked about them,
the more interested Hordak became- it seemed like he could develop something really
powerful if he combined his inventions with Modulok's.
Tri-Clops had his x-ray eye fixed
firmly on the Royal Palace. Scanning the walls, he eventually made out the Royal Family,
eating dinner.
"I can see them." he said.
"They are all dining together.. Man-At-Arms and Teela are with them..
there is also a blonde girl."
"That must be Adora!" said
Hordak.
"Then how do we reach her?"
said Skeletor.
"I have an idea." Hordak
said. "Modulok, if you could detach one of your arms from your body.. then we
could sneak it inside the palace somehow, and you could edge your arm closer to
Adora.."
"Brilliant idea." said
Modulok. "But how shall we sneak my arm inside?"
"If I use one of my
disguises.." Evil-Lyn said, and she spun herself round, and turned herself into
an innocent-looking girl, dressed in a maid's outfit. "If I pose as one of the
palace maids," she said, her voice changed to a soft, light voice, "I could
sneak Modulok's arm inside, then Hordak could wait outside!"
"We shall do that!" Modulok
said, and detached his right arm from his body. Evil-Lyn took hold of it, and tucked it
into her apron.
"Now," she said, "I
shall sneak inside.. the rest of you must find some way of waiting outside without
being seen. I know.. I shall use a spell to make you invisible.. it will wear
off eventually, but we shouldn't need it for that long.. just think yourself
visible if you want to become visible again." she waved her arms through the air and
cast a spell. Slowly, Hordak, Skeletor, Modulok and Tri-Clops began to fade from view.
"Now.." Evil-Lyn
laughed wickedly, "we can put our plan into action!"
"and after Marlena got
to know Eternia, and fell in love with Randor, she decided to stay here rather than return
to Earth, so she married Randor and became Queen of Eternia." Man-At-Arms concluded
the story.
"This is amazing." said
Adora. "There's just.. so much that I haven't known."
As she spoke, there was a knock on
the door. "Come in." Randor said.
The royal chef entered, holding a jug
of gravy, with a maidservant at his side, holding a large pot of curry. "Here's
your third courses, your highness!" said the chef. "This pot's a little
heavy now- so this girl here said she'd give me a hand!" he eyed up the
maidservant in admiration.
This was strange, Marlena thought-
she didn't think she recognised this maidservant. But still, they had so many that
she was liable to forget a few faces from time to time. "Thank you very much,
chef." she said. He put the jug of gravy on the table, then the maid laid down the
huge, sizzling pot and removed the lid. "Hope you enjoy it, your majesty!" she
said. Then she turned to Adora. "How much would you like?" she asked her.
"Only a small amount thank you,
I'm almost full."
"Okay.. well how about my
friend serves you?"
"Your friend? Who do you
mean?" Just then, a blot of curry flew from the pot. Adora jerked back, startled.
"What happened?"
"A blot of curry seemed
to.. throw itself out of the pot!" said Adam. Then he gazed curiously at the
maidservant.. she seemed to be smirking sinisterly at the pot.. Adam
wasn't sure what was going on, but he sure didn't like it. And he liked it even
less when a skinny, red arm edged itself over the sides of the pot!
Each person in the room jerked back
in terror at the gruesome sight. The arm leapt out of the pot, and landed with a splat on
the table. Then it began to edge its way closer to Adora, pulling its way over the
tablecloth.. then it leapt from the table, and grabbed hold of Adora's arm, and
began to drag her roughly from the room!
The maidservant laughed
evilly.. and the royal family could see she was not what she appeared to be as she
slowly began to transform into a familiar, dark figure.. Evil-Lyn.
"Don't you think you can
escape, my girl.." she hissed, lashing her arm out at Adora, paralysing the
princess in her force field. Just then, Hordak, Skeletor, Tri-Clops and Modulok
materialised from out of the blue, breaking off the invisibility spell. Modulok was
missing an arm.
"Modulok!" exclaimed Adam.
"So that explains who that arm belongs to!" he threw a glance at the red arm,
still gripping tightly onto Adora.
Hordak's eyes lit up with anger
when he recognised Adam. "So, you are Prince Adam, then! Well, your attempt to rescue
your sister was in vain, for now we have her again!" then he looked up at the King
and Queen. "King Randor? How nice it is to see you again! And you too, Man-At-Arms,
and by Horde Prime, you haven't changed a bit! You're still as much of a fool as
you were all that time ago!"
"Are you Xazrog, the fiend who
stole my daughter?" demanded Randor, angrily.
"I am.. or I was. Now you
must call me Hordak! You driving me from this planet did no good in the long term..
for you drove me to Etheria, which I easily conquered, and now my army is powerful enough
to destroy you!" he pointed his black-gloved finger at the King. "But for now, I
will leave you in peace.. as your daughter is mine once more!" He seized Adora,
still held within Evil-Lyn's paralysis field, and then Skeletor cast a spell to
teleport the villains all to Snake Mountain. They vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Dammit.. if I'd
known it was Evil-Lyn I'd never have let that maid help me!" said the royal
chef.
"You weren't to know."
said Randor. "But they've taken Adora from us again! I will not let that evil
tyrant escape with her another time! Duncan, assemble my soldiers and set them on Snake
Mountain!"
"That would be a bad idea,
sire," said Man-At-Arms, "as Hordak may do something even worse to Adora if he
saw your whole army approaching! The villains sneaked inside the palace rather than make a
straight attack.. we should do the same to them to rescue Adora!" He nudged
Teela. "Come on, Teela, we must find a way to get inside Snake Mountain!"
"I'm with you,
father!" Teela replied. "Good luck!" said King Randor. The brave
Man-at-Arms and his daughter quickly ran from the room, but as he left, Man-At-Arms took a
quick glance back and winked at Adam. Adam knew what to do. "I'd better be
going-" he told his parents, "I might be able to find some way of helping
them!"
"Good work, my son." said
Randor. "For now I know that you, too, can be a hero!"
Adam smiled to himself. It was good
to actually feel his father respected him for a change- but he must be careful not to give
away the fact that he was He-Man. He ran to his room, drew his sword and shouted:
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL.. I HAVE THE POWER!"
The familiar flash of light exploded over him, and he was transformed instantly to
He-Man. Then he quickly went to find Man-At-Arms and Teela. He must rescue his sister, no
matter what the cost may be!
