CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"Masters"
Adora made her way slowly into the Castle Grayskull gates, the Sword of Protection in her weak hands. She coughed and staggered into the foyer before collapsing into the shadows.
Not terribly far away, the Sorceress coughed loudly. "It's over . . ." she muttered. "It's over . . ."
"Stay with us, Sorceress," Man-At-Arms attempted.
"Oh, Duncan . . . oh Duncan . . . how I loved you . . ."
Teela's eyes grew wide. "What? Father, what is she talking about?"
The Sorceress ran a weak hand across Teela's face. "Oh Teela. My dear, sweet daughter. How I would have loved to see you . . . to see you . . . become the queen . . ."
"Daughter?!"
Sorceress looked to her, then to Man-At-Arms. He nodded. "She's your mother. Twenty-eight years ago, we came together during a time when the Sorceress was freed from her binds as keeper of Grayskull."
"I can't . . . I can't . . . I can't believe it . . ." Teela uttered.
"Duncan . . . DUNCAN!" shouted Sorceress. "I can feel it . . . I'm so weak . . . Skeletor has won this day . . ."
"Teelana, what do you feel? Please. What is Skeletor doing?"
"He has gained the Book of Living Spells . . ." she whispered. "He's drawing the power the Council of Elders put into Eternia to balance . . . good and evil . . . he's absorbing it. Making it his own."
"No," Duncan muttered. "What can we do about it?"
"The dimensional gateways are being . . . being drained . . ." Sorceress tried to explain. "Our hope lies there . . ."
"What do you mean?"
"Granamyr . . . he told me that he would help us . . . fulfill an ancient debt . . . but the gateway is fading . . . the power is being ripped from Grayskull . . . I can no longer open the gateway to his realm . . ."
She looked at Gwildor, then to his Cosmic Key.
"What is it . . . mother?" asked Teela, surprised by her own words.
"I can not open it . . . but he can . . ."
The Sorceress reached out and touched the Cosmic Key. It opened up and began to spiral. Golden energy began to flow around the dimensional transporter.
"Granamyr . . ." she whispered. "We need your help . . ."
***
As He-Man and Skeletor battled it out on the drawbridge, the Defenders of Eternia found themselves back-to-back against the Goblin army.
"We're being overwhelmed!" shouted Stratos, sending two of his last missiles into the crowd.
"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it!" replied Ram Man.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Part of the ground cracked open and out came Lizard Man and nearly fifty of his warriors. They charged on, against the ride of the Goblins.
"Thanks greenskins," said Man-E-Faces. "I think you bought us five more seconds."
"Ha ha!" laughed Lizard Man. "Never underestimate the power of a good lizard!"
"Indeed," Evil Lynn followed, stepping out of the tunnel they had bored. "Now where is that skull-faced, no-good bastard?"
"Up there, fighting with He-Man," Fisto pointed out.
"Predictable. Well, gentlemen, let's tarry forth, shall we?"
Evil Lynn launched a blast of energy that took down ten Goblins. The Defenders seemed to shrug, then pushed forward, stronger than ever before.
***
"Granamyr . . . please . . . need your help . . ."
"No! We're losing her!" Duncan shouted. "NO!"
Just then, a purple blur shot from the shadows and jumped right onto Teela. Panthor held the female warrior down with one paw and prepared to scratch her up with the other one. Just as this was to happen, though, there was loud growl and Battle Cat flew out.
The two large cats got into a great battle, allowing Teela to make it back to her parents and Gwildor.
"Teela, are you alright?"
"Fine. Just . . . fine. How's Sorcer - er, mother?"
"I don't know. She unconscious right now."
"Um, guys," Gwildor gulped, "something's up with the Cosmic Key."
***
Ram Man bashed his enemies back with one leap, then paused and readjusting him helmet. Two laser blasts smashed against his back.
"I'm getting REALLY SICK of that!" he yelled, punching the two trigger-happy Goblins.
"This is bad!" Stratos reported. "We haven't even gotten to Skeletor's warriors yet and we're still being - "
Out of nowhere, then, there was burst of noise from behind them. Both Goblin and Eternian soldier looked back at the origin of this phenomenon. There was gold-colored explosion of energy erupting behind the lines, just outside of the Evergreen Forest.
Then, in an awe-inspiring moment, an entire army charged out of the eruption. Granamyr led the races of Cats, Bears, Elves, Dragons, Treeprecauns, Trolls, and the Widgets against the Goblin army.
"For Eternia!" shouted the King of the Dragons.
"YES!" exclaimed at least two dozen heroic warriors as the Goblins lines were suddenly smashed.
"FORWARD! UNTO VICTORY!" Randor cried out.
Finally, at long last, the Defenders reached the footsteps of Grayskull and Skeletor's warriors.
Tri-Klops fired energy beams from his eyes. He shot them into the air, trying as hard as he could to hit Stratos. It was all the Avion could do to avoid them. Stratos was out of missiles and his body was already tired and weary from the battle. And then, Tri-Klop's Gamma Beam clipped the bird-man's wing and Stratos fell towards the ground.
Though right as the rocks grew closer, a healing beam from Glimmer healed his wing and Stratos was able to recover. As Tri-Klops tried to make sense of this, Glimmer was able to teleport Tri-Klops into mid-air, where he fell to the ground. Stratos grinned at the irony.
Man-E-Faces, on the other hand, dodged a punch from Two-Bad. Then, the triple-faced hero switched to 'monster' and was able to punch out one of Two-Bad's heads. And then, turning to 'robot' he was able to deliver a blow to the other head. Finally, at 'Eternian,' Man-E-Faces bonked the heads together.
Webstor went to punch Mekaneck in the face, but missed when the long-necked man shot his head up. Webstor threw a lasso around Mekaneck's forehead and forced him to pull down.
"OW! Hey!" shouted Mekaneck.
"Gotcha now," Webstor smiled.
"Yeah. You got me."
Mekaneck took him out in one punch to the face.
Meanwhile, Beast-Man roared and leapt at Ram Man. Ram Man ducked and Beast-Man just landed behind the armored warrior. But Ram Man didn't turn around fast enough and ended up with a kick in the gut. Ram Man staggered back and Beast-Man grabbed him by the helmet, drool landing on his face. Disgusted by this, Ram Man pushed his legs against Beast-Man and sent the villain flying.
Mer-Man made a stab at Buzz-Off, but the large Insectiod warrior dodged it and went to punch Mer-Man. The aquatic warlord ducked and pounced onto Buzz-Off. He pulled out his dagger.
"I don't want to kill you!" he mumbled. "But I have to for my people!"
"What?"
"For their safety!"
"How's about we talk about that later? Like when you're conscious!" Buzz-Off shouted, punching Mer-Man right in the head and sending him to the ground.
Fisto launched at Jitsu, his power fist smashing against his opponent's ribs. "I'm getting tired of the same-old, same-old, Jitsu."
"The same here," Jitsu replied, smacking his chopping hand against Fisto's back.
"Then let's change it."
Fisto shifted behind Jitsu. Right as Jitsu was turning around, Fisto punched him across the jaw, shifting his body weight. Fisto then moved forward and pile-drove Jitsu's face into the ground.
Ninjor dodged every arrow Bow fired at him. The ninja then fired three shirukens at the Etherian archer. One hit his thigh.
"Ah!"
Ninjor leapt up into the air and pulled out his sword. Bow quickly pulled out one more arrow and fired it. It hit Ninjor in the arm and sent him frailing backwards. Ninjor regained himself, but then found that he was standing right in front of Oroko.
The Trollian sage fired a beam of magic at the arrow. The arrow suddenly grew into a long, living chain that covered Ninjor's entire body.
With Ninjor down, Oroko healed Bow's injury and gave him a high-five.
Trap-Jaw fired yet another beam of energy at Castaspella, who was running out of ways to dodge them. "Stand still!" Trap-Jaw ordered.
"How about you follow the same advice?" Moss Man asked from behind.
Suddenly, large plants began to wrap around Trap-Jaw's ankles. He turned to fire on them, but Castaspella used her magic to make his robotic limp fall off. The plants began to overtake his body and soon, Trap-Jaw was rooted in place.
Roboto was punched against the stone wall again by Clawful. He could feel his gears and circuits bump around as the large lobster-like enemy based him against the rocks. Roboto was then thrown to the ground and punched in the chest twice.
Before going at it a third time, Clawful stopped and had to ask: "Why aren't you fighting back?"
"I'm analyzing your body to find its weakness."
"Huh? Uh . . .?"
"It's right here."
Roboto reached up and pinched very hard at Clawful's inverted ear. Clawful was on the ground in less than three seconds.
Whiplash swung his tail at Fluterina, but seemed to miss the flying female each time. "Where are ya? I'm gonna get ya soon . . ."
"Right here, big boy."
The large lizard swung around, but for some strange reason, kept spinning around. In fact, he was spinning faster and faster. So faster that Whiplash was flying off the ground. The, the spinning stopped and Whiplash fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Nice job, Fluterina," Sy-Klone complimented.
"You too."
"So, what do you have planned after we face down certain destruction?"
"I'll buy you a drink."
Blade deflected each and every one of Rio Blast laser beams with his swinging swords. Blade seemed to almost dance as Rio Blast's ankle lasers aimed for the ground and his hand lasers aimed for the body.
Blade was growing tired of this and fired two daggers at his ankle lasers. They shattered and Blade jumped right in front of Rio Blast, slicing off his hand lasers.
"Any last words before I slice your head off?"
"Yeah. I've taken down bigger guys than you with a bowl full of chili."
Rio Blast's chest flew opened and twin lasers cannons shot out. They opened fired and a barrage of energy sent Blade to the dirt floor.
"Yes!" shouted Stinkor as Snout Sprout began to pass out to his toxic smell. "You shall fall to power of Stinkor!"
"You know . . . your power is affecting the guy with the biggest nose on Eternia . . . of course I'm going to fall!"
"You're good for nothing, you know that."
"I've had a cold lately . . ."
"What?"
" . . . and it's about time I blow my nose!"
"WHAT?! NO!!! NO!!!!"
A thick, yellow goo shot from Snout Sprout's nose and plastered Stinkor to the ground. "Maybe I should I change my name to Snot Sprout."
Saurod fired beams of energy Extendar, who deflected each one with his armor. But Saurod kept coming and coming. Extendar, then, took advantage and decided to grow forward, snatching the bounty hunter from the ground lifting him high into the air. Extendar then promptly dropped him onto the ground.
Spikor, Skeletor's loyal master of arms, ran towards Clamp Champ. Clamp Champ ducked down and delivered a swift kick to Spikor's face. Spikor staggered backwards, but stood then, his trident ready to murder Clamp Champ.
"You will fall to my weapon!"
Clamp Champ smiled and unleashed his large, robotic claw. "Mine's bigger."
The claw grabbed hold of Spikor and tossed him into the air, then flew out and punched him in mid-air.
Two small twisters spun around each other, both trying to gain dominance over the other. Finally, the crimson one ran over top of the purple one and spun counter what the purple one was spinning. The purple twister - Twistiod - was defeated and Rotar had won.
"Pull yourselves together!" Karg commanded to his Goblin army. "Do you want to end up like that stupid general of yours!"
"Shut up," Lubic told Karg from behind.
Karg was about to speak again, but felt a dagger go through his back. The human exile removed the dagger and watched as the now-dead leader fell to the ground.
"All of you! Gather forth!" shouted Randor, who pointed towards the mouth of Castle Grayskull. "Forward!"
He-Man's heart pounded loudly and he panted while he and Skeletor circled each other. He was bloody and hot, but was nowhere near ready to give up.
"We're coming, son!" Randor gave way, leading the Defenders to the drawbridge.
"No! I've had enough of you!" Skeletor exclaimed. He fired a beam of power unexpectedly at He-Man, sending the great warrior into the mouth of Grayskull. Skeletor closed the drawbridge. Just as it was about to shut for good, Evil Lynn leapt into the air and into the ever-closing opening.
As Skeletor marched into the Throne Room, he looked immediately at those who opposed him. He-Man stood up, but Skeletor fired a beam of energy at the hero of Primus and Eternia.
Teela ran towards Skeletor, but received a smack in the head by the end of Skeletor's staff.
Man-At-Arms pulled out a gun, but a flare of energy sent him falling to the ground - his cybernetic suit dead.
Battle Cat leapt into action, but Skeletor hit the great cat with a powerful jolt of energy.
Gwildor (who kept the Cosmic Key hiding behind his back) pulled out his laser staff, but it was shot away and the small inventor was blasted across the floor.
"Anyone else?"
"Me."
Skeletor turned around - only to receive a full force blow to the chest. Evil Lynn stood before him, in all her might, power smoldering from her hands.
"Evil Lynn, I'm surprised to see you here."
"Save it."
She fired another bolt at him, but Skeletor blocked it with his staff. Skeletor shot forward and kicked her square in the face. Evil Lynn swaggered backwards, then was outright punched in the face.
"Haven't you heard, Skeletor?" asked He-Man. "It's rude to punch a lady!"
He-Man tackled Skeletor to the floor.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Skeletor exclaimed.
Somehow, a ripple of energy flew from Skeletor's body and sent He-Man flying across the room. He fell to the ground and found himself stuck there. Skeletor stepped over and yanked He-Man's sword from him and threw it to the ground.
Skeletor then pressed the Sword of Deception against He-Man's face and in a dark flash, He-Man was transformed back into Adam.
"The time has come," Skeletor said. "Wake up, Sorceress. I want you to see this."
The Soceress was lifted up from the ground and forced awake. "No . . . Skeletor . . . no . . ."
"Yes . . . YES!" he shouted, opening up the Book of Living Spells. "The time has come. I will become the most powerful being in all the universe!"
"Skeletor . . . SKELETOR!" shouted Adam. "It's all a lie! We've been used, Skeletor! Pawns! You . . . me! We've been nothing but toys and entertainment to the Zodac!"
Skeletor paused for a moment, then looked back at Adam. A moment silence filled the air. Then, Skeletor began to cackle . . . then laugh outright!
"Don't you think I know that, silly little prince? Huh?" Skeletor shouted. "You see, when I'm done absorbing the power that the Elders placed on Eternia to rectify the balance of good and evil - I'll be absorbing their power as well!"
"Oh no . . . no . . ."
Skeletor held up his staff and began the incantation. As he spoke, energy began to wrap around him. Adam was freed suddenly. But instead of reaching his sword, he went straight to Teela. Skeletor ignored him.
"Are you okay?" asked Adam.
"I'm fine! Do what you have to do!"
"Right."
Adam ran towards the Sword of Power, but the entire Castle began to shake crumble as power gathered ever more around Skeletor. Bricks fell between him and his sword. Adam made a sudden decision and ran to Teela.
"HA HA HA HA!" laughed Skeletor, power bending and forming around him. "I have the power . . . I have the POWER . . . I HAVE THE POWER!"
As Skeletor spoke these words, all Castle Grayskull exploded violently around them. Entire walls collapsed and fell upon other walls. Doors and gateways fell and in the thundering sound of power vacating the most powerful structure in the entire planet - Castle Grayskull became nothing more than a pile of rocks and debris surrounded by a great chasm.
"By the Sorceress . . ." swore Randor as he marveled at what happened. The Goblin Army had been defeated, but even the new captors were entranced by this sight.
Then, somehow, large chunks of debris began to lift up and swirl in mid-air. It was a strange phenomenon that grew larger as more pieces of the shattered structure began to lift up. Then, in a burst of power, Skeletor stood.
"I win . . . I WIN!" he shouted. "You hear me, Zodac! I win!"
Skeletor looked directly up at the energy cloud that now sat overhead. He pulled out the Book of Living Spells and opened it up. Just as he was about read from it, a foot kicked the book out of Skeletor's powerful hands and it tumbled down into the chasm.
Skeletor looked straight forward and saw Adam, Cringer, Evil Lynn, Man-At-Arms, Adora, Teela, Gwildor, and the Sorceress.
"You haven't won yet," Adam said valiantly.
"You're right! This is far from over!"
Skeletor unleashed a blast like no other from his Chaos Staff. The Sorceress stood forward and blocked it with a force field - just barely. The force of the blast had left the entire area barren.
"Skeletor, this is between you and me. Let them go," Adam ordered.
"My dear nephew, you are right again. THIS IS JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"
"Evil Lynn . . ." Adam ordered.
"Right." Evil Lynn weaved her fingers together and immediately, everyone but Adam and Skeletor, was on the other of the chasm.
Adam held the Sword of Power in his hands, but could feel nothing coming from it. Only a fraction of its power was left inside it.
Skeletor held aloft the Sword of Darkness and the Sword of Deception. He then crossed them and in flash of energy, both black swords had been replaced by one. This sword was of pure evil, the focus of all the power that Skeletor had absorbed. It was double bladed with two snakes coming up from the hilt.
"How did . . . how did you . . ." Adam stuttered as Skeletor walked forward.
Adam! The Sorceress said telepathically. If you can combine the Sword of Power with the Sword of Protection, you can use the light energy within it to become He-Man once again.
Adora picked up the Sword of Protection and threw it across the chasm. Adam ran and jumped, grabbing it mid-air. As soon as he touched down to the ground again, he held both the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection and said the words that he has said so many times:
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" he commanded. The Sorceress opened her arms, Zoar becoming apparent within her. Zoar then became pure light and energy and shot into the twin swords as Adam transformed into He-Man. "I HAVE THE POWER!"
He-Man stood where Adam once was. In his hands was the two swords combined. The blade was broader; large blades and a bigger crest came up form the hilt.
"This is the end, Skeletor. Once and for all, this is the end."
Skeletor said nothing and ran forward, swinging his sword. It struck He-Man's, resonating a loud 'clang' into the air. The swords struck again and the swordplay began officially. Never before had they battled so strongly and found each other so evenly matched. Where one was, the other would be there.
Every offensive had a defensive.
Every move had a counter-move.
Every parry had a thrust.
Every attack had a deflection.
Like good and evil. Light and dark. Sun and cloud. They were there - always against each other.
For what seemed like hours, this battle went on. Until, the way that Skeletor was, the old villain pushed his blade off He-Man. Skeletor made a move to blast He-Man's face off.
The rhythm was broken and shattered.
Skeletor missed and He-Man used his momentum to smash his sword against Skeletors. The Sword of Evil flew into the air and clanged to the ground. Skeletor was about to rush over and grab it, when He-Man grabbed him by his hood and held the enemy in place.
"Let's see who you really are."
The Sword of Good lit up with energy, which dispelled itself onto Skeletor's body. Skeletor screamed in pain and agony as waves of forced transformations came across him. Then, in a burst of white light, a new man replaced Skeletor.
He was no longer blue. Flesh had replaced his skull and the man had long, black hair and a mustache.
"Keldor . . ." muttered Randor.
"What . . . I . . . I'm back to normal . . ."
He-Man moved his sword back and then holstered it. "Keldor, son of Miro," he stated. "I have released you from the form of Skeletor and offer you the chance for redemption."
"I . . . you do?"
"I'm not going to kill you, Keldor. I'm allowing the chance to redeem yourself. To undo the evils that you have done."
Keldor looked up at He-Man. "I . . . I . . . after all these years . . . you'll forgive me . . .?"
"Yes, Keldor," Randor shouted from the other side of the chasm. "I'll forgive you. My brother."
"Brother . . . brother . . ." Keldor wondered. "I want . . . I . . . I think I . . ."
"What? What is it?"
"I THINK I HAVE A BETTER IDEA!"
Keldor punched He-Man in the gut and ran to the Sword of Evil. "NO!" shouted Randor.
He lifted it up and pointed the long double blades at his heart. "I SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THIS BODY! THE POWER OF THE ELDERS SHALL SUSTAIN ME!"
Keldor drove the sword straight through his heart. He didn't scream as he ended his old life . . . and began his new one. From Keldor's dying body came a skeleton-like entity of pure power and light. It reached around and pulled forth the Sword of Evil.
"NO LONGER AM I KELDOR!" the entity shouted. "SKELETOR LIVES NOW AS PURE POWER AND ENERGY! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!"
Darkness filled the skies. Thunder crashed. Lightning struck the ground. The wind howled. Skeletor grew huge and began to fill the whole sky.
Despite his power, though, He-Man could see the Sword of Evil within the heart of Skeletor. It was the only thing sustaining him. He-Man suddenly felt his own heart beat faster. There was only one way to defeat Skeletor now.
He-Man must now separate from Adam. But there were other ways of doing this, He-Man realized. Skeletor chose the path of death . . . the path of the snake . . . the path of evil. He-Man could chose the path of life . . . the path of the eagle . . . the path of good.
He-Man swung his sword as Skeletor was about to bare down on him with one final assault.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" shouted He-Man, throwing every bit of himself into the Sword of Good. "I HAVE THE POWER! LET THE POWER RETURN!"
The Sword of Good left He-Man's hands. As it did, the sword became like a comet of light and power. He-Man was suddenly Adam.
And Adam could see an image of He-Man on the Sword of Good as it traveled through the air towards Skeletor. It breached Skeletor's non-corporeal body and struck the Sword of Evil.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" came the death cry of Skeletor.
The two swords erupted in a burst of power and light and energy and darkness that was visible across all of Eternia and Etheria. Skeletor's form was lost in the fuming mass of power that erupted from within. All good and evil, time and space, science and magic that had been placed into the four swords began to spill outwards, ripping apart Skeletor.
Adam looked up and saw the flashing burst of energy as it imploded upon itself. He could see He-Ro and King Hiss. Eldor and the Council of Elders. Hordak. She-Ra. Skeletor. And He-Man.
It would be last that any would see of them ever again.
It was over.
The four swords clattered to the ground, smoldering.
"It's over . . . it's finally over . . ." Adam breathed, sitting himself down onto the ground.
"Yes, Prince Adam. It is."
Adam looked up and saw Zodak standing above him.
"You!"
"Very interesting. It seems good has triumphed over evil."
Adam stood up and walked over to the four swords. He picked them up and brought them over to Zodak.
"Zodak, can you do anything telepathic?"
"Of course, Adam."
"I want you to mind-scan these four swords. Learn from them. Use them. See what's inside. Tell me then, if you've chosen a side."
"Mind-scan?"
"Yes. These four swords were designed to balance good and evil. Each one unlocks the potential for such."
"Very well, but I . . ." Zodak stopped dead in his words as his mind and spirit caressed the blades of the four swords. For what was only mere seconds, Zodak learned four lifetimes worth.
Keldor, the fallen prince, who was seduced by darkness to become Skeletor.
Hordak, the dark student, who gained power through murder and destruction.
She-Ra, the one rising from darkness to bring the light of good to those around her,
He-Man, the timid prince who learned to become a man and bring the forces of good to this world and others.
Zodak looked up from the swords. "I . . . I never knew . . ." he muttered. "It seems we've made a few mistakes." He bowed down onto one knee. "Prince Adam, son of Randor, I apologize to the peoples of Eternia and Etheria over the disruption of life itself. We have erred in our experiments. It seems these swords have been possessed by the masters of the universe themselves. The masters of good and evil. There is no side to which to be on. There is only one and the same. We have learned much from them. I apologize once more. Our advances on other worlds will now be halted."
"Yes, well, it's all over now."
"Yes, Prince Adam, it is. Thank you. Thank you for teaching us."
Zodak lifted up into the sky and disappeared forever from Eternia and Etheria. Adam sighed and walked to the chasm and dropped the four swords into it. Never to be seen again.
Celebrations begin. The people of Eternia celebrate not only the passing of Skeletor from the planet, but also the news that Light-Hope has freed Etheria from Hordak's darkness. Life and hope fill the cities and towns of Eternia and Etheria.
Most of the enemies of Eternos are placed in a great prison on Etheria, where the Fright Zone was built. It is much less a prison than a place to learn of life and liberty. A few, though, were spared from this.
Evil Lynn was allowed to be free. With the destruction of Snake Mountain, she no longer had a place to go. But her curiosity had grown since that day that He-Man and Skeletor faced off one last time. She began to study Good and Light Arts as well as Dark. She no longer calls herself 'Evil Lynn.' Just Lynn.
Mer-Man signed a peace treaty with the people of Eternia. His kingdom now lives in peace with the rest of the planet.
But of course, those are not the only lives on Eternia and Etheria that have been radically changed. Randor has been reunited with his father, Miro, who had been on Etheria when it was struck with the oil. Miro, Randor and Marlena have all agreed to journey to the other realm with Granamyr, King Paw, and the others elders and leaders of Bears, the Elves, Dragons, Treeprecauns, Trolls, and the Widgets.
Of course, they all still had events to attend to on Eternia and Etheria.
On Etheria, a world that finally knows peace, Adora has been made the ruler and Queen. She commands with a gentle voice from the Crystal Castle, where she lives with her husband Sea Hawk. The two were married the same day she was made Queen of Etheria.
Eternia has been blessed most of all, perhaps. Teelana, now free forever of her responsibilities as Sorceress, has been able to begin new responsibilities as wife, mother, and grandmother. Duncan as well has given up his position as Man-At-Arms, passing it on to Ram Man. He will lead the great Defenders and Heroic Warriors of Eternia. Though they haven't been very busy that past coupe of years.
Most of all, though, life seems to have changed to most for the newly appointed King, Adam and his wife Teela.
The love that the two have shared has brought Eternia is greatest years in all of history. The legacy they leave - not only with Addison, but also with their three subsequent children - is one that proves to flourish on Eternia.
***
Some ten years after the final battle, Adam and Teela sat out in the royal courtyard and prepared to meet with Queen Adora and King Sea Hawk. Teela was sporting a seven-month pregnant belly. She and Adam were expecting their third child.
When Adora and Sea Hawk arrived via the Cosmic Key, it was obvious they were going to expecting the same thing.
"Look at you, Adora!" shouted Teela, waddling over to give her sister-in-law a hug and belly rub.
"And look at you!" Adora returned, giving Teela and belly rub.
"Sea Hawk."
"Adam, good to see you again."
The four walked through the courtyard and eventually into the palace, where they ate a great meal. Sea Hawk was curious about a new weapon member to the Heroic Warriors. Teela volunteered to introduce him, leaving Adam and Adora some time to catch up.
"So, boy or girl?" asked Adam as he walked with his sister through the courtyard.
"A boy. We haven't decided on a name."
"We've got a girl. The same here."
The two laughed.
"I've missed you, little sister."
"I've missed you too, little brother," Adora laughed.
"I heard from Primus," Adam told her.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Apparently, Zodak stopped by. He told them he was there to share our little adventure with the planet."
"Wow. We're super-stars."
"No kidding."
Adora put her hand on Adam's shoulder. "Adam, have you ever stopped to think of the impact we've had. In history, for one, but just on life in general."
"All the time, Adora. But I look at what has been done to us and how we've changed things. Zodak wanted us to be the fulfillment of a thousand-year-long experiment. Instead, we've turned around and shown him how things should have been done."
The pair looked over and watched as their husband and wife walked over and joined them. The four looked up at the stars.
"What were you talking about?" asked Sea Hawk.
"Life, fate and destiny, probably," Teela joked, taking ahold of Adam's hand.
"Of sorts, Teela," Adora laughed, hand on her bulging tummy.
Adam smiled. "I guess you could say that throughout this whole thing, we were supposed to be made masters of the universe. Instead, we became masters of our destiny. And we should be ever thankful for that."
***
Deep beneath the Sands of Time . . .
In a hidden chamber . . .
Sits a lone table, with four objects chained to the top. Four swords. The Sword of Deception. The Sword of Protection. The Sword of Darkness. The Sword of Power.
A figure known only as Eldor stood above that table and looked down at the swords. It took him years to heal, but he has returned.
"The balance has been restored. My task is complete. Long live Hordak. Long live Skeletor. Long live She-Ra. Long live He-Man. As long as we keep them in our hearts and minds, they shall live forever. The balance shall always been in check. Thank you. Thank you for saving the day."
With that, Eldor stepped out of the chamber, forever locking the door and sealing the swords away.
But, within the darkness in the heart of Eternia, there still remains a light in that chamber.
A torch.
A fire.
A fire than can never be put out as long as it is always thought of and remembered upon.