The Deathtrap Dungeon: Continued
Thaymor stared at He-man in amazement.
"I think we had better get going." said He-man as the sound of more Orcs were getting closer.
"You're right," said Thaymor. "But we need to slow them down."
"I'll take care of that," replied He-man. "You get in to that forest. I'll be along shortly."
As Thaymor headed towards the forest He-man held up the Sword of Power once again.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!!!!" called out He-man.
Once again the Sword of Power erupted with the magic of Grayskull. The magical energy washed over He-man and began to transform him turning him in to Thunder Punch He-man. Once the transformation was complete He-man walked over to the wall of the corridor. Allowing his incredible power to flow through his arms in to his fists He-man delivered a incredible punch in to the stone wall of the corridor. The wall began to crack and crumble. He-man delivered another thunderous punch to the wall. Large chunks of the wall began to fall and shattered on the ground. As the wall continued to fall apart He-man ran for the forest.
Orcs came charging around the corner and crashed in to the falling debris of the wall as it collapsed. The Orcs tried to get out of the way of the falling rocks but were crushed as they tried to escape.
As He-man quietly entered the underground forest and searched for Thaymor he held the Sword of Power across his chest and said
"Let the power return." The sword began to glow and the his Thunder Punch power flowed from his body and back in to the sword. He eventually found the warrior hidden among a large covering of leaves and branches.
"Have you seen anything yet?" whispered He-man knowing that this was the area where Thaymor was first captured by the Orcs and locked in the room which he had found him.
"Thankfully not yet," Thaymor replied. "But this forest contains other dangers besides Orcs." Thaymor then glanced at the Sword of Power, studying it as if it was one of those dangers. "I know that your sword is magical and gives you the power that only people can dream of. But why did it burn me when I tried to fight the Orcs?"
"The Sword of Power is protected by powerful magic," explained He-man. "Only I am allowed to wield it in combat. That way if it ever falls in to the clutches of evil it can not be used against anyone without that person being harmed."
Thaymor nodded his understanding and was about to say something when he was interrupted by something moving the leaves.
Both He-man and Thaymor carefully peered out from their hiding place. Standing nearby was a tall dinosaur-like creature. To He-man it looked like a Raptor that he had seen in history books about Preternia. The only difference was its head, two long sharp hog-like tusks extended from its mouth, on top of its head was an even deadlier horn that looked like it could easily run through a man. The Raptor-beast was sniffing the ground and He-man suspected that it was tracking something.
"We'll have to wait until it goes." whispered He-man.
"And how long will that be?" asked Thaymor.
"Unknown." He-man simply replied.
The trio of King Randor, Queen Marlena and Rachel had made it through the gate and down several corridors without any trouble from the creatures that dwelled in Count Marzo's maze. As they turned one corner the corridor opened up in to a wide area. To Randor it reminded him of the arenas that kings of Eternia's past used to train and show off their gladiators. The sight of it sent chills down his spine, he was glad that they were outlawed before he had become king. As the trio walked deeper in to the arena they could see rows up on rows of ancient seats reaching as far back as the eye could see.
"I wonder just who the king was that had this built." Randor said to himself.
"I pray we never find out." said Marlena as she found a place for Rachel to sit and rest.
Randor began to wander around the edge of the arena, apart from the way they had came in there was seven entrances. Randor decided to make sure that there wasn't any surprises waiting to rush out to attack them. Holding his makeshift battle staff ready to defend himself Randor made his way over to nearest entrance. The entrance way was decorated with carvings that had faded of the years. King Randor looked closer at the carvings to get a better look at them. Brushing some dust from one of the carvings Randor was startled by what he saw. Towering above the other carvings was the image of a figure whose body was made up of five deadly spitting snakes. Randor instantly recognized the figure as King Hiss the leader of the Snakemen and in the time of Preternia the ruler of the entire planet.
"It figures that someone like him would have something like this built." said Randor as he walked back to where Marlena and Rachel waited.
"Who built what?" asked Marlena as she was helping Rachel get some rest.
Randor explained his discovery and the connection between Count Marzo's maze and the ruler of the Snakemen.
"Do you think Marzo and Hiss are working together?" asked Marlena once Rachel was finally asleep.
"I doubt it," replied Randor shaking his head. "Marzo likes to use people he can control in his schemes. King Hiss isn't as easily controlled and no doubt wouldn't take orders from someone like Marzo." Randor then looked down at the sleeping Rachel. "I think the little one has the right idea. We've been walking this maze for what seems like hours its time we had a little rest."
"I agree," replied Marlena. "Though it feels more like we have been in this dreaded place for days rather than hours."
Randor had to smile a Marlena's comment. Without any view of the outside world there was no telling just how long they had been in Marzo's maze.
"I'll go and make sure that we won't be disturbed while we rest." said Randor as he turned and headed towards the entrances once more.
The Raptor-beast constantly searching for any scent of its prey. Thaymor was getting restless with the waiting and He-man couldn't blame him as he felt the same way as well.
"Do you have a way to get past that thing?" said Thaymor nodding his head towards the Raptor-beast.
"I think I do," replied He-man. "But it requires one of us to attract its attention."
"I think I know what your plan is," replied Thaymor. "My only question is who gets to be that things target for it to attack."
"I'll go out," said He-man without a movement's hesitation. "While I'm keeping it busy you find a way of trapping it without harming it."
Thaymor nodded his understanding and He-man quickly rose out of thier hiding place.
As soon as the Raptor-beast heard the sound of movement from the trees and leaves its head snapped up and its sharp eyes began scanning the area. As He-man burst from his hiding place the Raptor-beast was ready for the attack.
The instant He-man leaped from their hiding place Thaymor jumped to his feet and ran towards a tree covered in long thick vines that he could use to trap the Raptor-beast. As Thaymor neared the tree he heard a growling sound coming from the leaves. Thaymor span around just in time to see a second Raptor-beast leap from out of nowhere ready to attack.
The Raptor-beast let out a low rattling roar as it lowered its head. It then charged towards He-man its powerful legs propelling it along the ground ready to drive its deadly horns and tusks in to He-man's body. He-man barely had time to think as the Raptor-beast bared down on him. Using his powerful legs He-man leaped off the ground on over the Raptor-beast. The Raptor-beast missed He-man by inches. As it tried to turn to follow its prey it slipped on the loose ground and crashed on to the ground. He-man landed on his feet and span around just in time to see the Raptor-beast push itself off the ground ready for another attack.
Thaymor barely missed being impaled on the Raptor-beast's tusks. The Raptor-beast snarled as Thaymor quickly backed away. Thaymor was reaching for his sword when the Raptor-beast suddenly leaped towards him. The Raptor-beast landed on Thaymor pinning him to the ground. Thaymor struggled but the Raptor-beast was to heavy to throw off.
Unaware of the situation Thaymor was in He-man prepared for another attack from the Raptor-beast. Pressing a button on his left wrist guard a techno shield flashed in to existence. The shield wasn't as strong as his shield from Grayskull but being designed by Man-At-Arms it was strong enough to repel the attack of the Raptor-beast. The Raptor-beast let out another piercing cry before once again lowering its head and charging. He-man stood his ground as the Raptor-beast was rapidly getting closer. The Raptor-beast roared again and He-man swung up his shield. The Raptor-beast spotted the shield but it was moving too fast to stop. The Raptor-beast's clawed feet skidded and stumbled along the ground and it's head crashed in to He-man's shield. He-man braced himself against the impact of the Raptor-beast colliding with his shield. He-man heard the sound of something snapping and guessed that it must have been either it's horn or one of it's long tusks. Next came the thud of the Raptor-beast's body hitting the ground.
Thaymor continued to strain against the incredible weight of the Raptor-beast that had him pinned down all the time avoiding being impaled by either the Raptor-beast's tusks or it's deadly horn plus there was the rows of razor sharp teeth that were getting dangerously close. Out of the corner of his eye Thaymor caught a glimpse of his sword which he had dropped when the Raptor-beast attacked. Carefully Thaymor removed one of his hands from the neck of the Raptor-beast and reached out towards his sword. The Raptor-beast seemed to sense what Thaymor was attempting and dug it's razor sharp claws deeper in to Thaymor's shoulders. Thaymor ignored the shooting pain that raced through his shoulders and continued to edge closer to his sword. Thaymor's fingertips brushed against the hilt of the sword. The Raptor-beast saw that Thaymor had almost had the sword in his hand and leaped in to the air. As soon as the weight was off his chest Thaymor snatched the sword off the ground and swung it in to the air just as the Raptor-beast came down. The sword flashed through the air and sliced through the Raptor-beast's thick neck. Crimson coloured blood shot out from the wound and splashed down on Thaymor. The Raptor-beast spasmed as it fell and Thaymor saw that it's head had angled forward and the tusks were aimed directly for his head. Thaymor quickly scrambled out of the way and the body of the Raptor-beast crashed to the ground.
He-man looked up from the unconscious Raptor-beast when he heard the sound of a struggle near the hiding place he had left Thaymor in. Drawing the Sword of Power He-man prepared himself to face whatever was behind the thick leaves and vines. The foliage slowly parted and He-man saw a blood covered Thaymor step up to him.
"You wanted some of this?" asked Thaymor as he held up a handful of strong looking vines.
"What happened to you?" asked He-man figuring that the blood that covered Thaymor couldn't belong to the warrior.
"Our friend here had a surprise waiting for us," said Thaymor hanging the vines to He-man. "There was a second beast waiting in the coverage. It looks like they were setting up an ambush."
"They must be smarter than they look," said He-man as he bound the Raptor-beast in the thick vines that Thaymor had passed to him. "Let's hope their isn't to many more hanging around."
"I agree." said Thaymor.
Suddenly the air was filled with the angry sounds of a mob heading towards them.
"Orc's." said Thaymor guessing just what was making the noise.
"I knew my barricade wouldn't last too long. But I thought it would have slowed anybody following us long enough for us to get father away." said He-man looking in the direction of the on coming mob. "Let's get going before they catch up."
"Good idea." replied Thaymor and turned and saw that another mob of Orc's had used the distraction to sneak up on He-man and himself.
He-man saw that several of the Orcs had Raptor-beasts with them. The beasts were straining against their leashes.
"What do we do now?" asked Thaymor.
"That I do not know." replied He-man as the Orcs began to advance on them.
Randor couldn't rest. Even though he had made sure that there was no way that someone could sneak up on them he still kept himself alert and wide awake. Randor glanced over to the sleeping Marlena and Rachel. Randor wondered is the little girl had any family waiting outside Marzo's maze and if she was now alone weather he shoulder look in to possibly fostering her until a family could be found to adopt her. Randor sighed to himself Marlena would probably say he would be trying to make up the time he had missed with his own daughter Adora when she was kidnapped by Hordak. Randor got up and decided that he should check the entrances once more. As he walked across the arena floor there was a sudden sound high in the shadows. Randor instantly span around to where the sound had come from and scanned the shadows with his eyes. Suddenly another sound echoed across the arena. Randor span to face the other side of the arena. Again he couldn't see anything in the darkness. Three more sounds sounded each one in a different direction from the others. Randor scooped up a stone from the ground and as soon as he heard another sound he launched the stone in to the darkness. Randor heard a small cry in the dark and a small rodent leaped from the darkness and down the step like seats of the arena. Randor's heart was pounding as the rodent scuttled past and in to another patch of darkness. Smiling at his jumpiness Randor turned around and ran straight in to a huge humanoid creature. As Randor backed away he saw that the creature he had bumped in to was a giant rat-like creature with razor sharp teeth. The Rat-man hissed at Randor as he held up his fighting staff to defend himself from attack. The Rat-man backed away its tiny eyes stared at Randor and then suddenly darted to the sleeping Marlena and Rachel.
"You stay away from them!!" snarled Randor. He then swung his staff as hard as he could.
The staff cracked the Rat-man across the head and it crashed to the ground. The Rat-man looked up and hissed at Randor. Randor readied to strike the Rat-man again when he heard the sound of thousand of tiny feet scuttling along the ground. Randor turned his head and saw thousand upon thousand of rats scurring from the shadows towards him.
Marlena slowly opened her eyes, for some reason her dreams were filled with the sounds of squeaks. Then she saw them and realizes that the squeaking sounds she had been dreaming of were really thousands of rats surrounding her husband King Randor. Keeping as quiet as she could Marlena turned her head towards Rachel. Thankfully the little girl was still fast asleep. Marlena turned her head back towards Randor, the rats were inching ever closer. Just behind the swarm of rats Marlena spotted a tall rat-like creature its tiny eyes darted from Randor to the rats and back again. Marlena could see the long thin whiskers that came out of its long rat-like nose twitch as if they were somehow alive. 'Could that thing be controlling the rats?' thought Marlena as she silently watched the rats getting closer to Randor, she had to come up with something that would distract the Rat-man and hopefully break its control over the rats. Randor swung his staff as hard as he could however for every rat he swatted away several more took its place. On the other side of the swarm of rats was the Rat-man. Its tiny eyes stared straight at Randor giving him a creeping feeling that ran down his spine. Randor ignored the Rat-man and turned his attention back towards the rats constantly swarming at him. As the Rat-man concentrated on Randor, Marlena slowly and quietly crept up behind the creature. Marlena raised her hands above her head and readied to strike the Rat-man as hard as she could. Suddenly the Rat-man's tiny tail twitched as if sensing that Marlena was there and what she was about to do. The Rat-man's head snapped around and hissed at her showing its razor sharp teeth.
Both He-man and Thaymor were chained up by the Orcs. The leader of the Orcs stepped forward. He-man looked up to see that the Orc was carrying a short axe in one hand and the Sword of Power in the other. It black eyes stared down at He-man through its stringy black hair.
"You are a great warrior," growled the Orc holding up the Sword of Power to examine it. "This is a fine weapon. How does it feel in battle?"
"You should try it?" said Thaymor trying to trick the Orc in to using the sword.
The Orc turned to Thaymor and stared down at him disgust.
"You are the one we captured before," snarled the Orc. "What would you know of a weapon of this kind?"
Before Thaymor could reply the Orc turned back to He-man.
"How does this weapon feel in combat?" the Orc asked again.
He-man refused to give the Orc an answer. The Orc stared at He-man for a few seconds before letting out a growling sound that barely resembled a sigh.
"We shall find out soon enough," said the Orc. "We will take the both you to the arena where you'll both fight to the death."
The Orc then turned and He-man and Thaymor were pulled to their feet and dragged from the forest.
Marlena leaped out of the way as the Rat-man slashed at her with its claws. Marlena began to think back to the combat training she had received on Earth before she began the mission that led to her arrival on Eternia. The Rat-man hissed and leaped towards Marlena, Marlena span around on her left leg and struck the Rat-man across the jaw with a powerful kick from her right foot. The Rat-man staggered backwards from the blow. As the Rat-man fell Marlena noticed that some of the rats that were attacking Randor had begun to break away from the swarm and ran back in to the shadows. The Rat-man quickly jumped to its and leaped at Marlena. Marlena jumped in to the air and kicked out with her feet and struck the Rat-man once more in the face, however this time it lashed out with its claws and grabbed her legs. Unable to control her landing Marlena crashed to the ground. Randor saw Marlena hit the ground and the Rat-man pin her to the ground. Randor continued to swipe at the rats with his staff as he tried to make his way over to help his wife. Marlena struggled under the weight of the Rat-man, its snarling mouth with its sharp teeth getting dangerously close to her face. Marlena managed to free one of her arms from under the Rat-man and swung her fist as hard as she could. The blow connected with the Rat-man's jaw. The Rat-man was stunned by the punch but refused to move instead it raised on of its clawed hands and readied to drive it in to Marlena's face. Suddenly the Rat-man let out a horrible scream. Marlena looked up to see that Randor had driven his staff in to the back of the Rat-man. The Rat-man's body jerked and fell off Marlena. Randor then helped Marlena up and the pair looked down on the Rat-man. With the Rat-man dead the rats ran back in to the darkness.
"How did that thing get in here?" asked Marlena.
"I'm not sure," replied Randor. "It must have been hiding in the shadows all this time."
Rachel slowly opened her eyes after her sleep. At first she had forgotten where she was, then it all came flooding back. Rachel quickly searched her surroundings for the two people who had rescued her from her prison. She was about to panic when she spotted both Randor and Marlena in an embrace in the middle of the arena. Then she spotted some movement in the darkness behind the couple. As she concentrated on the movement she saw that it was a group of Orcs that were making their way towards them. At the head of the group Rachel bound in chains being pushed in to the arena were two men, one of those men was her brother.
"THAYMOR!!!" Rachel called out uncontrollably and leaped to her feet.
Randor and Marlena turned startled by Rachel's cry and saw that with the Orcs was He-man along with another man that must have been the one Rachel had called Thaymor.
Quickly Randor readied his staff for battle and Marlena grabbed hold of Rachel as the little girl started running towards her brother. The lead Orc pushed past He-man and Thaymor and walked in to the arena.
"Well well what a pleasant surprise," said the Orc. "It seems that we have more fighters for us to fight."
The other Orcs laughed at their leaders comment. The lead Orc then looked down at the dead Rat-man.
"I'm impressed," said the Orc nudging the dead body. "You've managed to kill a Verman. Those things are a pest around here, the less the better."
Again the other Orcs laughed.
"Anyway we are not here to talk about Vermen dead or alive," said the Orc bringing the subjet back to why they were there. "We're here to see how well these warriors fare against us."
The Orc then held up both the Sword of Power and the sword that was taken from Thaymor. The other Orcs unchained He-man and Thaymor and pushed them towards Randor, Marlena and Rachel. The Orc was about to hand He-man and Thaymor their swords when the air above the arena rippled and began to heat up. Suddenly the darkness burst in to flames and a fireball flew from the flames and landed between He-man and the Orc. The fireball then transformed in to the figure of Count Marzo.
"Well done," said Marzo as he turned to He-man and the royal couple and began a slow mocking clap. "I must honestly say I didn't think that either of you would have made it this far," Marzo then turned to Thaymor and Rachel. "And you have even managed to find two lost souls as well."
Thaymor snarled and leaped at Marzo. He-man quickly grabbed hold of Thaymor. The Orc turned to Marzo.
"And who are you?" snapped the Orc as it grabbed the front of Marzo's shirt. "And why are you here? Or do you want to test your battle skills against my men?"
Marzo stared calmly at the Orc.
"I suggest that you get your filthy hands off me." said Marzo.
The Orc laughed in Marzo's face.
"And just what are you going to do little man?" said the Orc.
Suddenly the Orc's eyes grew wide in terror as a sudden heat began moving up from its feet to the top of its head. The Orc barely had time to let out a scream as flames engulfed its body. Then just for a fraction of a second where the Orc once stood was a perfect statue of the Orc made out of ash. The ash statue then began to crumble and fall apart until it was nothing mo than a pile of ash dust on the ground. Seeing that their leader had been killed by Count Marzo the other Orcs lifted their weapons and charged at Marzo. Marzo calmly stood his ground and waved a hand in the air. The air around the Orcs began to grow solid until it formed an unbreakable bubble around the Orcs. The bubble then began to move dragging the Orcs back in to the entrance they came flooding out of. Once the Orcs had been pulled through the entrance Count Marzo waved his hand again and the entrance began to seal up with debris.
He-man noticed that all but two of the other entrances had been sealed as well. He-man then turned back to Marzo who had knelt down to pick up the two swords.
"Its not like you to get your hands dirty," said He-man pointing to the ashes that were once the Orc. "You usually have your bodyguard do this kind of thing. Where is Chimera by the way?"
Marzo smiled at He-man and handed him the Sword of Power.
"You are right," said Marzo. "As a nobleman I wouldn't normally stoop low enough to do this kind of thing. However if I had not fried our friend here," Marzo kicked the ash with the toe of his boot. "Then the games I have in store for you would be useless. As for Chimera. He is overseeing the preparations for my taking the throne of Eternos from that cowardly Prince Adam. If he ever comes out of hiding."
"There are plenty of warriors to stand in your way," said Randor. "So you'll be no closer to the throne than you were before you brought us down in to this hell hole."
"That is something that we will see," replied Marzo. "But you should really be concerned about what waits for you."
"And just what is that?" asked He-man.
"As you can see. I have closed off all but two entrances to this arena," explained Marzo. "As usual one leads to danger and the other safely leads you closer to the exit of my maze. However I shall not spoil your fun by telling you which one is which."
Marzo then waved his hands and vanished in a ball of flames. As He-man turned to the others Marzo's voice echoed from the darkness.
"I suggest that you make your minds up quickly." said Marzo's voice. "Because I have freed a particularly nasty creature and its heading your way."
The five people looked at each over wondering what Marzo's threat had meant when they felt the ground begin to tremble and one of the entrances that Marzo had blocked began to shake and fall apart. Suddenly a huge purple head smashed its way through the entrance. The head was then followed by a long thick neck covered in long spines, then its huge winged body smashed the rest of the way through the entrance and in to the arena.
"That's a dragon." said Randor.
"That's no ordinary dragon," said He-man as the beast's head began to shake, suddenly the head and neck of the beast pulled apart and separated in to two identical and deadly looking heads. "It's a Hydra-Dragon."
The Hydra-Dragon's heads turned to face its prey. The first head opened its huge mouth and a ball of fire shot out. He-man, Thaymor, Randor, Marlena and Rachel leaped out of the way as the fireball struck the ground where they were standing. The second head turned and readied itself to launch an attack of its own.
"Get out of here!!" called out He-man as the second head of the Hydra-Beast shot out a stream of fire. He-man leaped through the air and drew his Sword of Power and used it to deflect the flames.
Randor scooped up Rachel and carried her to the nearest entrance, Marlena quickly followed but Thaymor turned and drew his sword.
"You go to!" said He-man as Thaymor dodged a fireball from the Hydra-Dragon's first head.
"I'll stay here to help you." said Thaymor.
He-man blocked another stream of fire with his sword.
"No," said He-man. "I need you to go with the others. I need you to protect them and get them out of this maze."
"You are truly a brave warrior," said Thaymor. He then turned and headed after the others. As he reached the entrance he turned. "I will see you on the outside."
He-man didn't reply or turn as Thaymor dashed through the entrance. He-man turned and narrowly avoided being struck by one of the Hydra-Dragon's heads. The second head opened its mouth and a fireball shot out towards He-man. He-man quickly swung his sword up and deflected the fireball off the sword's blade. The fireball arched through the air and struck the first head of the Hydra-Dragon. The Hydra-Dragon let out a terrifying scream as the fireball scorched its face. The second head swung around and glared at He-man with pure fury in its eyes. As He-man readied for the strike from the first head he sensed the second head coming around for an attack. As both heads of the Hydra-Dragon attacked He-man dropped to his knees and the two heads narrowly missed each other. He-man then leaped up and with one blinding movement he swung the Sword of Power and it cut through the thick neck of the Hydra-Dragon's second head. The Hydra-Dragon's screamed as its head fell to the ground in a fountain of crimson colored blood. As He-man landed he readied to attack again but the Hydra-Dragon backed away. The severed stump of the Hydra-Dragon's neck began to quiver and shake, suddenly the neck split in to two halves, the tops of the necks then began to bulge outwards. Suddenly a head burst from the tops of the necks. He-man turned to see that the first head had also began to shake and split in half, now the Hydra-Dragon had four snarling and snapping heads ready to attack He-man.
Thaymor ran as fast as he could to catch up with King Randor, Queen Marlena and his sister Rachel. So far there hadn't been any sign of traps that could have somehow captured or injured the trio. As Thaymor reached a junction in the corridor he began to wonder which direction where they had gone. The corridor split in two directions, on to the east and the other to the west. As Thaymor began to decide which corridor the trio had gone down he spotted and arrow pointing west scratched in to the wall. Quickly Thaymor raced down the west corridor.
The corridor that Randor, Marlena and Rachel were slowly making their way through began to grow lighter.
"Do you smell that?" asked Randor.
Both Marlena and Rachel sniffed the air.
"The air smells fresher here," replied Marlena. "That must mean that there's a way out somewhere around here."
Their hearts racing with hope surged onwards. However as they raced for the exit a shadowy figure began to move behind them.
As Thaymor ran through the west corridor it began to widen in to a large cavern. Thaymor stopped as quickly as he could as he saw that one of the cavern's walls was made of a clear crystal. On the other side of the crystal wall Thaymor saw King Randor, Queen Marlena and his sister Rachel. Thaymor quickly raced over to the wall. Thaymor pounded on the wall with his fist trying to get the attention of the trio, however the wall was too thick for the sound to get through and the trio continued walking down the corridor. As Thaymor was just about to turn and search for a way to catch up with his sister and the king and queen when he caught sight of something moving in the shadows behind them. Spurred on by fear Thaymor turned and ran as fast as he could.
The arena was engulfed in flames as He-man dodged the streams of fire and fireballs slung at him from each of the Hydra-Dragon's four heads. The attack was relentless and He-man was growing tired. He-man leaped in to the air as a fireball flew towards him. As soon as he landed He-man had to leap out of the way once more as one of the Hydra-Dragon's heads shot a stream of flames in his direction. When He-man landed again he ran as hard as he could until he was behind the Hydra-Dragon. The Hydra-Dragon whipped its tail at He-man. He-man ducked the tail and leaped on to the Hydra-Dragon's back. Each of the heads let out a snarl of fury and tried to whip around to attack He-man. However He-man was hidden behind the small wings of the Hydra-Dragon so the beast wouldn't dare attack without injuring itself. As the Hydra-Dragon tried to throw He-man off its back He-man carefully crawled up its back. Once He-man was in between the Hydra-Dragon's shoulder blades he grabbed a handful of the scales that ran down the back of one of the Hydra-Dragon's necks. When he felt he had a firm enough grip He-man drew the Sword of Power and prepared to drive it in to the thick hide of the Hydra-Dragon. As if sensing He-man's intentions the Hydra-Dragon bucked wildly. He-man lost his grip on the Hydra-Dragon and was thrown off its back. He-man landed on the ground in front of the Hydra-Dragon with a heavy thud. He-man barely had time to move as the Hydra-Dragon drove one of its front claws down at him. As the claws smashed in to the ground He-man managed to roll under the Hydra-Dragon's massive belly. Quickly rolling to his knees and raised his sword once more. As the Hydra-Dragon tried to snap at He-man with each of its four heads He-man drove the Sword of Power in to the scaled belly of the Hydra-Dragon. The Hydra-Dragon let out a cry of pain from each of its four heads and crimson colored blood began to flow from the wound down the sword's blade and splashed on the ground. He-man tore the sword from the Hydra-Dragon's belly and leaped from under the beast as its legs gave way and it crashed to the ground.
He-man stood and watched as the Hydra-Dragon's heads twitched a couple of times before they remained still. He-man was about to turned to follow the others when the body of the Hydra-Dragon's body suddenly jerked. He-man span around to see the body of the Hydra-Dragon burst open ia shower of fireballs and flames. The tower of flames chased the darkness in the arena away and He-man could see writing carved in to the roof of the arena. He-man couldn't read the writing but recognized it as belonging to the Snakemen. Suddenly the tower of flames hit the roof and exploded. As the flames spread across the roof the writing began to glow a bright crimson. Then as if the stone of the roof was melting the entire roof split apart spilling out a river of lava. As the lava crashed to the ground there was a rumble and the arena began to fall apart.
Thaymor's heart was thumping in his chest as he raced around the corner and caught a glimpse of King Randor, Queen Marlena and his sister Rachel. Increasing the speed of his run Thaymor was about to call out to the others when he was suddenly struck from the side and thrown to the ground.
Thaymor looked up to see what had hit him but could only see the rocky wall of the corridor. Thaymor attempted to get to his feet when the wall suddenly seemed to come to life and a fist knocked him down again. It was then that Thaymor realized that it wasn't the wall that had hit but something camouflaged in front of it. The creature quickly appeared and disappeared as it moved, Thaymor kept track of it as best as he could but the creature was moving to fast. Just then it leaped at him and Thaymor barely had enough time to avoid the blow.
'At least,' thought Thaymor carefully keeping an eye out for another attack. 'With this creature fighting me it's not going to attack the king and queen and most importantly my sister.'
Thaymor was hit in the shoulder as the creature leaped at him. It was the first time that Thaymor could get a clear look at the creature. It stood slightly over two meters, its skin was a slick shining black that made it hard to see even when it wasn't hiding in the background, its head was almost featureless with the exception of two tiny red eyes and a large circular mouth filled with row upon row of razor sharp teeth.
Thaymor leaped at the creature as it prepared to strike again. Both Thaymor and the creature crashed in to the wall. As they struggled to their feet a sudden tremor rocked the corridor. The creature's eyes grew wide with at first fear and when it turned to Thaymor the fear turned to fury as if it blamed Thaymor for the tremor. Thaymor scrambled to his feet just as the creature leaped. The creature's clawed hands grabbed hold of Thaymor by the legs and sent Thaymor crashing to the ground.
As Thaymor hit the ground his head struck a rock. Dazed and bleeding from the wound on his head rolled out of the way as the creature tried to jump on him. Getting to his unsteady feet Thaymor raised his sword and tried to defend himself. The creature glared at the sword in Thaymor's shaking hand. The creature gave a snarl and swiped the sword out of Thaymor's hand. Distracted by the sword clattering to the ground Thaymor was left open to attack from the creature.
He-man ran as fast as he could, the lava and falling debris was inches behind him and rapidly getting closer. He-man raised the Sword of Power and with one quick swing sent a bolt of magical energy flying along the blade and towards the nearest wall. As soon as the bolt of energy struck the wall it exploded and fell in to the path of the lava. He-man knew that the blockade wouldn't hold back the lava for long so he ran even faster; soon he came to a bend in the corridor. As he raced around the corner He-man saw Thaymor being attacked by a tall black creature.
The creature leaped at Thaymor and sank its teeth in to Thaymor's shoulder. Thaymor let out a scream of pain as the creature's teeth tore at his flesh. Weakened by the blood loss from the wound on his head and now the blood pouring from his shoulder, Thaymor was growing too weak to fend off the attack from the creature. Pulling its head away from Thaymor's shoulder the creature bared its teeth once more and Thaymor could see his blood dripping off its teeth. The creature raised one of its large clawed hands and drove it towards Thaymor's face. Thaymor refused to take his eyes off the on coming fist, suddenly the fist stopped inches from Thaymor's face. Blinking in surprise Thaymor watched as the creature was then pulled away and thrown through the air. Looking up Thaymor saw that it was He-man who had rescued him.
The creature let out a snarl of anger and pain as it struck a nearby wall and crashed to the ground.
He-man ignored the creature as it disappeared and turned to help Thaymor back to his feet. The walls began to crumble as the lava forced its way through the barricade that held it back. Making sure Thaymor was secured on his back He-man began running down the corridor.
The corridor around King Randor, Queen Marlena and Rachel began to shake and the trio heard the sound of rumbling slowly growing louder.
"I think we should go faster." said Randor as he scooped up Rachel.
"I think you are right." replied Marlena as small cracks began to form in the walls of the corridor.
Without waiting any longer they ran down the corridor as fast as their legs could carry them. As they rounded a corner they came face to face with the exit from Marzo's maze. Spurred on by the hope of freedom they ran faster, suddenly the walls began to shake violently and broke apart. Randor and Marlena narrowly stopped in time to avoid being crushed by the falling debris. As the dust cleared they saw that their way out was blocked by a wall of rocks.
"What are we to do now?" asked Marlena coughing through the dust.
"I'm not sure," replied Randor. "We can't go back," Randor looked back at the wall and saw a single beam of sunlight streaming through a gap in the top of the wall. "And we can't dig ourselves out, but maybe we could get Rachel through that gap."
"No I don't want to go," cried Rachel. "I want to stay with you."
"But you must," said Marlena as she knelt in front of Rachel. "You can get help." Marlena then reached up and wiped away the tears that were streaming down Rachel's cheeks.
As Rachel turned and was about to climb up the rock wall towards the gap He-man carrying Thaymor on his back came running around the corner.
"Thank the Elders," said Marlena as she saw He-man. "Can you help us dig through this wall?"
"Digging may take too long," said He-man as the rumbling in the corridor grew more violent He then turned to Queen Marlena and answered her unasked question. "Either Count Marzo of the builders of this place booby-trapped it so that once the Hydra-Dragon was defeated, its death would bring this place crashing down."
"If it'll take too long to dig our way out what do you suggest?" asked Thaymor weakly as he pushed himself to his unsteady feet.
He-man didn't reply and drew his sword. Holding it high above his head He-man turned to the others.
"I suggest you all should find some cover." said He-man.
As the others quickly did as He-man had suggested he turned his attention back to the Sword of Power.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!!!!" cried He-man. The Sword of Power began to glow with the magical energy of Castle Grayskull. He-man then drove the Sword of Power in to the wall of rock until it was buried up to its hilt. "I HAVE THE POWER!!!!"
Streams of light burst from the cracks in the wall. He-man drove the sword in deeper and the rocks around the sword began to dissolve until there was a circle of energy in the middle of the wall and freedom on the other side, He-man turned to the others.
"You had best hurry," said He-man as sweat began pouring down his face. "This won't stay open for long."
"You take Rachel," Randor said to Marlena. "I'll help Thaymor out."
As Marlena took Rachel by the hand and led her towards the way out Randor raced over to Thaymor. Throwing Thaymor's arm over his shoulder Randor carried Thaymor through the opening. Once he had saw that the others were safely outside Marzo's maze He-man started to pass through the shimmering magical energy that held the wall of rocks from crashing down. As soon as he stepped in to the opening he suddenly felt something grab him and yank him back. He-man span around to see that it was the creature that had attacked Thaymor. The creature bared its teeth reading itself to attack. He-man began to defend himself from the creature when the rocky roof of the corridor suddenly crumbled and came crashing down on their heads.
Once King Randor, Queen Marlena along with Thaymor and Rachel had gotten far enough away fron the collapsing maze they turned expecting to see He-man to be closely following them. But he was nowhere to be seen. Instead all they saw was the energy barrier that had been created by He-man's sword begin to flicker and then vanish. The instant the barrier was gone the rest of the rocks that once bared the way collapsed in to a cloud of dust. As the dust cloud was swept away by the gentle wind that was in the air they could see the surface above the maze had also fallen in on itself.
A sudden wave of dread washed over Queen Marlena, she didn't understand it but she felt like she had just seen her son perish. Shaking the foolish thought to one side she turned teary eyed towards King Randor. Randor still had hold of the injured Thaymor but his eyes were locked intently on the debris.
'I wonder if he has the same feeling I've just had?' thought Marlena as she tried to study Randor's expressionless features.
After a few seconds Randor turned.
"I shall personally make sure Marzo is brought to justice for this." vowed Randor as all hope of He-man surfacing from the ruins of Marzo's maze began to fade.
"You shall have my sword to aid you in your quest." said Thaymor.
"Thank you......" Randor began to say when he heard the sound of a rock falling and hitting the ground.
Slowly turning back to the debris Randor saw another rock fall followed by another, soon gaps began to appear between the rocks and a bright light shone through.
".............POWER OF GRAYSKULL!!!!!!" He-man's voice rang out from under the rocks.
The light then exploded in a wave of energy so bright that Randor, Marlena, Thaymor and Rachel had to cover their eyes. Once the light had faded enough for the others to look again they saw He-man standing where the rocks had bared the way from the maze.
"How did you survive?" asked Thaymor. "What happened?"
"As I was about to follow you out I was attacked by the creature that attacked you before," said He-man. "I was able to move the energy barrier from the entrance and over myself to protect me from the collapsing maze."
"We feared that you may have perished," said Marlena. "Without you Count Marzo may have succeeded in capturing the throne of Eternia."
"I've almost forgot about Marzo," said He-man. "We'll have to get in contact with Man-At-Arms and warn him about Marzo."
He-man then pressed a button on his wrist-guard and opened a communications link to Man-At-Arms to warn him about Count Marzo.