CHAPTER ONE

"The Homecoming"

The stars and waves of energy faded away from the view before him and was replaced by the beautiful orb which he called his home – Eternia. He-Man breathed as he looked upon its glory. He was encased in a silver armor, the helmet fitting comfortably over his head.

"Home . . . at last . . ."

His small, one man transport ship called a Silverhawk began to descend towards the atmosphere. He pressed a few keys, hoping to contact his old friends and family on the planets surface of his arrival.

"Capital city Eternos – this is Prince Adam. I'm coming in for a landing. Please respond."

He paused a second, listening only to static fill the empty void of words. Something was wrong. Eternia had always kept an eye on the heavens above; this now should have been no different.

Suddenly, there was shot from behind. A laser blast had struck the engine core of the Silverhawk! He-Man grasped the controls and was able to even her off, but only after a second blast struck the ship, crippling the engines completely.

He-Man looked at his fizzling displays. The ship was small, but held two very large weapons on its sides. He had never seen anything like it before.

He knew he had to get to the surface, but he couldn't risk any more fire from his uninvited guest. He-Man armed his own weapons and fired at the ship behind him. The ship immediately took damage. The attacking ship began to sputter away. He-Man launched a few more energy blasts, causing the attacking ship to begin to flame up as it entered the atmosphere.

The hero of both Primus and Eternia looked forward as fire began to encase his own vessel. This was going to be a rough landing . . .

"Prince Adam and I are going to Primus to help against evil forces threatening to destroy it," He-Man told his friends on that dismal, rainy afternoon. The Great Hall of the Towers of Eternia was filled to the brim with old allies, new friends, and great warriors.

A wave on uneasiness came upon them all. Teela was the first to speak. "What about the forces of Skeletor?" she asked, hoping to find some way of making him stay.

"Skeletor has already left. He stole a shuttle and made it there. When he learned that the power of Grayskull were going to transferred to me, he stole one of the ships shuttles and headed through time/space," He-Man explained.

"Then, I suppose you have no choice," said Man-At-Arms. "You must defeat Skeletor. I only hope that your victory is swift and your return is soon."

"I hope so too, Duncan."

He-Man emerged from the wreckage and immediately felt the salt water crashing on his armored boots. He pushed what was left of his hatch open and made his way across the sand on this large, long beach.

He then pulled off his helmet. It was hotter than blazes here. He was back on Eternia, all right. From what he could tell from the landscape, he was on the Eastern Coast of the Harmony Sea. Most definitely on the Fertile Plains continent. That meant that home must not be too far away.

"Mmmmm," he hummed, soaking in the fresh air. "I've missed this place so much."

He couldn't help but notice the differences in the air between Eternia and Primus. On Primus, it seemed so artificial . . . so sterile for some reason. Here, it came very naturally and took to his nose very easy.

He-Man grinned and struck forth towards where he knew the Palace of Eternia and Eternos was. He knew of a town some four or five miles up the coast, but he decided against going there. He wanted to see his friends again. He wanted to see his home again.

The starship Eternia floated above Castle Grayskull. The rain from the previous day had moved on and the bright, sunny day was ending with a beautiful sunset.

Adam stood before his closets of friends. Man-At-Arms, Oroko, Teela, Cringer, and the Sorceress. As well as his parents King Randor and Queen Marlena. They each held a strong and very certain sadness for this day.

"I will miss you all," said Adam. He shook Man-At-Arms hand. "Take care of everyone, Duncan."

"I will, Adam. By my honor and my heart, I swear I will."

Oroko immediately flew over and grabbed hold of Adam's leg. "Don't go! I'll miss you too much!" shouted the Trollian.

Adam bent down and hugged his old mage friend. "It'll be alright. I'll be back in no time."

"You promise?"

"Of course I do!"

Oroko smiled. Adam was then confronted with his oldest and most trusted of dear friends - Cringer.

"I don't want you to go," said Cringer.

"I know, Cringer. I'll miss you."

Cringer bent his head close to Adam's ear. "I'll come with you. I'm afraid, but I'll come with you."

"No, my dearest friend. I'm sorry. But I'll see you soon. Watch over all of them. Be brave."

Teela walked over. "Adam, I . . ." she started, her words only seeming lost to her.

"Shhhh," he reassured. Adam wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be back. Me and He-Man."

"Right. Good journey, Adam," Teela replied, kissing him slightly on the cheek.

King Randor stepped next to Adam. "Son, be careful."

"I will father. I will."

"Represent us well, Adam," said Marlena. "I will miss you on your long journey. I am saddened to have both my children on entire different planets!"

"Not to worry, Mother. I will return as soon as He-Man and I are completed in our mission."

Marlena kissed her only son and stood back. As Adam walked back, the Soceress came over. She brought her mouth close to his ear.

"Remember what was told to you. The sheer power of Grayskull is now split across time and space. Abandon this world and you abandon Adam until your return."

"I have no choice," he whispered back to her.

"I know."

The Soceress bent over and kissed his forehead.

"Farewell," said Adam. "Until our next meeting!"

As the teleportation beam washing over Prince Adam, the young man knew that leaving Eternia meant leaving Adam behind. That is why he had no choice - and when he reached the ship, he became He-Man once more. Perhaps forever.

He-Man sat against a large tree as darkness began to creep up around him. He didn't feel much like sleeping and just desired to go home. But a little rest never hurt anyone, he figured.

As he drank from his canteen, he couldn't help but feel as if something was slightly out of place. As if something was . . . wrong. Something was reaching out. Something in the air . . . it was . . . it was . . .

He-Man leapt to his feet and put away his canteen. Immediately, he ran through the forest, down the old road that led to the Palace.

For some reason, he felt compelled to leave the road and travel now beside it, in the shadow and protection of the trees. So, as he ran, he made his way under the trees and continued his rush to the Palace of Eternia.

He-Man watched the stars flow by as he stood next to Flipshot on board the starship Eternia. "We have a theory," said Flipshot.

"A theory?"

"Yes. The starship is using the power of Grayskull to travel through time/space. But it's also what's keeping you here. If we can transfer that power into your sword, you will be able to return to Eternia."

"What?!" shouted He-Man.

"That's right. We're not sure if it'll work, but if all goes well . . ."

"We need to do it, Flipshot. I need to get back home."

"But He-Man, we're not even sure if it'll work. We need to run some tests first and then we - "

"Flipshot," said He-Man, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "I've fought this war for you. Skeletor is in exile. My journey has come to an end. Whatever the cost, I must return home."

Flipshot grinned. "Alright, my friend. I will help you."

He-Man's feet pounded across the forest floor as he hurried to the Palace of Eternia. Thoughts soared through his head - wondering what was going on. He pushed past the brush and the foliage, as he grew ever closer to the place he called home.

Five years was a long time.

He wondered what had changed. What everyone looked like. And perhaps most of all - why he felt a foreboding sense of dread before him.

All of these thoughts ceased when he came to a clearing a top a peak looking down upon Palace and the city of Eternos. His heart seemed to skip a beat and he gasped loudly.

In his view was the once beautiful city of Eternos - the Palace of Eternia. But now . . . now . . . it was demolished and looked . . . war-torn.

"What . . . what could have done this . . ." he wondered aloud.

All thoughts and all words fell silent as he charged down the mountain and straight towards the remains of his home.

It was usually a two-hour long trek between the two, but for He-Man, it only took twenty minutes. As soon as he entered the outer wall, his jaw dropped. Not only was the city a mess, but it was being overgrown with plants and being worn by weather.

As he surveyed the area, his eyes hoping to detect a sign of life or hope. He found none. All he did find was evidence of war. A war that happened at least three years ago, from his estimations.

He-Man walked through the crushed halls and rooms, finding nothing but animals, plants and debris. The throne room was a mess, the chairs that held his mother and father - the queen and the king - empty and barren.

The royal quarters were ravaged and most of their great treasures looked raided and stolen. He-Man made his way towards the armory and found nothing. Every weapon had been taken up. Some were on the ground, crushed.

"This isn't right," he said to himself.

The hero of Eternia and Primus walked out of the Armory and into Man-At-Arm's lab. It was smashed. Completely demolished. Computers were broken apart, experiments crushed, and devices of nearly every sort stolen.

But He-Man noticed something quite out of place. Man-At-Arms secret vault still existed. Only a small number of people had access to that. He-Man was one of them.

He-Man stepped over to the large, metal box and pressed his thumb on its keypad. The door responded to his touch and opened up. Inside was strange assortment of Man-At-Arms most secret devices. But on top - and fairly oddly placed - was a small computer pad.

He-Man reached into the vault and pulled it out. As soon as he did, he slammed shut the vault and walked over to the center of the lab and sat on a piece of debris. He starred at the pad for a moment, then pressed a large key on it.

A hologram of Man-At-Arms appeared before him.

"He-Man! If you are receiving this message, then you have returned to Eternia from Primus. If you do not know already, the Palace has been attacked. It's something we were never ready for. Hordak came from Etheria a year after you left. His troops have already taken most of our Defenders. There is no one left to protect the Palace. Teela is going off to ask the Soceress for help. The Soceress has not been seen since you left eighteen months ago.

"We're . . . we're not quite sure on the details, but I'll you what we know," the holographic Man-At-Arms said. "I don't have a lot of time, so I'll have to make this quick. Not long after you left, we detected a strange, dark phenomena occurring on Etheria. We did not what it was. After it seemed to encompass the entire planet, Hordak arrived on Eternia with millions of troops. Our Defenders stood against him, but nearly all fell in battle. The Great Towers is nearly his. And so is the Palace. We don't know what has happened to your sister, but it is obvious that she has fallen in battle as well.

"We . . . we need your help, He-Man. Please. Hurry. Only you can save Eternia . . ." Man-At-Arms pleaded. "They are coming. They are here!"

The hologram disappeared. He-Man was about to stand up, when he suddenly felt a lazer pistol pushed against the back of his head.

"We thought we heard someone," a monotone voice said. He-Man looked up to see three (including the one with pistol) Horde troopers.

"You were right."

He-Man ducked. The trooper fired, but totally missed. In no time flat, He-Man had his sword unsheathed and sliced off the robotic arm of the trooper. As the other two started firing, he grabbed the trooper without the limb and used him as shield until he was a bit closer.

Then, He-Man jumped out from behind the trooper and slashed straight the second one. As soon as he had, He-Man sword spun through the air and chopped off the head of the third and final trooper.

He-Man paused and stepped on the Horde bat symbol on the robots chest. He would have his revenge.

Placing his sword back in its holster, He-Man then made for North. To Castle Grayskull.