****Disclaimer in Chapter 1.
CHAPTER 12: SHOWDOWN
The halls of the Universal Counsel:
The Sorceress exited the portal that led into the chamber where the Universal Counsel met. Before she left, she sent a message to Zodac asking him to meet with her.
She looked around the vast meeting place. Statues of the great warriors of the past towered down the golden hallways that seemed to go on forever. Many important decisions were made here. It was impossible for the inhabitants of the universe to know how many. Many didn't even know the counsel existed.
Within each of the counsel members lay a part of the knowledge of the universe. They were neither good nor evil.they remained neutral in everything except the concept of existence.
Because of that, they had each made a solemn vow never to get involved with the destinies of the universes' inhabitants. They merely watched and acted when absolutely necessary.
The Sorceress knew that, and she also knew that the solution she was looking for, how to save Erin's life, might not be available to her.
Zodac finally appeared through the mystical doors and approached the Sorceress. The titan looked upon the mystic woman and smiled. They were old friends, and he would help her in any situation if it were within his power. This time, however, he wasn't sure he would be able to do that.
"I know why you're here," he said. "I know what information you are seeking. But you know I cannot interfere with what is destined. Neither can the counsel."
She nodded but decided she was going to make her an effort with every fiber of her being.
"I know great Zodac," she began. "But please, hear my plea before you make your decision."
Although Zodac wasn't a warrior, he certainly had the intimidating presence of one. Being at least ten feet tall, he towered over the Sorceress while he was standing. Pulling back his long, red robe, he sat in a huge throne- like chair and folded his arms.
"Okay, Sorceress," he responded. "Tell me what you would like me to do. I shall not make any promises except that I will listen with my full attention."
The Sorceress took a deep breath. She knew this was the moment of truth. If this didn't work, nothing, short of a miracle would.
"I do not come here for myself, I come on behalf of Eternia's greatest defender.."
Later, back at Snake Mountain..
Man-At-Arms and He-Man had climbed halfway up the dark, jagged mountain. Along the way, Teela contacted Man-At-Arms to tell him she and Stratos could not locate the Queen in the prison cells and that they would wait further command.
This bothered Man-At-Arms because this meant the Queen could be anywhere in the mountain, if she was not already dead. He kept that thought to himself however and hoped he was wrong.
"Our spies have told us there should be some kind of elevation device that leads to the mouth," Man-At-Arms explained as he looked up. "We can take that, but it could be a trap, I'm sure Skeletor's expecting us. If we get caught, we endanger our friends and the Queen."
It had taken them a long time to get that far, too long, and the time bothered him. He hoped He-Man would be able to keep his focus on the task at hand, but he knew the man like he was his own son, and he knew exactly what he was thinking about.
"We can't waste anymore time," the warrior demanded. "We have to take that chance."
Man-At-Arms nodded and looked for the fulcrum device to open the hidden door. Using the scanner built into his wrist communicator, he scanned the side of the mountain, and found what he was looking for under a rock, a few feet away from them.
He pulled back on the rock and the door to an elevator opened. The two men entered.
"How do we make it go up?" He-Man asked his mentor.
Before Man-At-Arms could say anything, the doors shut and the box began to travel upward, fast. Before they realized it, the doors flew open and some kind of force pushed them out into Skeletor's chamber.
Anxiously, they looked around the seemingly empty room. Man-At-Arms stood up defensively, wide-eyed and reached for his stun laser.
"HHHEEEELLLPPP!"
The woman's scream made them both jump. They looked around to see where it came from. The silence was soon broken by Skeletor's maniacal cackle.
"Up here you fools!" he laughed. "And I have company with me!"
He-Man and Man-At-Arms turned and walked towards the open mouth of the snake's head. As they looked out onto the vast horizon a shoe dropped from above and fell, straight down hundreds of feet.
He-Man turned his head upward and saw his arch nemesis and his minion Trap- Jaw, holding his mother by the throat, over the edge of the mountain.
The Queen's eyes were filled with terror. She had been so close to getting out when Trap-jaw had caught her. She knew her son's secret and he had rescued her from capture before, but in her gut, she knew this time was going to be different.
"Adam," softly squeaked as Trap-Jaw tightened his grip, almost causing her to lose consciousness. Fortunately, the blue, half man, half machine was too focused on his master's taunts and did not hear her.
"C'mon up He-Man," he cackled. "The view's great, but its one hell of a drop!"
Before the two men could catapult themselves up, a great flash of light came from below and landed at Skeletor's feet.
The light faded and revealed Erin standing face to face with the dark overlord. Skeletor's evil grin widened. He felt her power radiating off of her and started thinking of ways to use it. He was so consumed by his madness, that he didn't even notice that the light around her was getting softer and softer by the second.
"Aah, I was wondering when you were going to join us," he hissed as He-Man and Man-At-Arms landed behind her. "I was beginning to think you decided against accepting our little invitation."
Erin's eyes flashed with determination and anger. "As if I had a choice in the matter," she seethed back at him. "What do you want from me?"
Skeletor laughed ferociously. "Are you kidding? You have to ask?" he taunted her. "I want your power you stupid woman. I want you to give me all of that delicious power you possess."
Erin's mind raced. Behind her He-Man pulled his sword and Man-At-Arms aimed his laser.
"That's never going to happen," He-Man growled, again sounding a little like Jerry.
Skeletor smiled again. "I see, a one for one exchange doesn't suit you? How about one for three?" Just then, Tri-Clops appeared holding a limp Teela by the back of her collar along with Clawful, who dropped an unconscious Stratos on the ground like a pile of rocks. Tri-Clops carried Teela over to the other side of the cliff, parallel to Trap-Jaw, who was still holding the Queen over the deep drop.
"No!!!!" Erin, He-Man and Man-At-Arms yelled.
Skeletor's voice seeped with evil. "Do you think we can hear the sound their bodies will make when they hit the ground? It's pretty far down... Do we have a deal?"
Erin turned and looked at He-Man who was looking at his mother with fear and anger in his eyes. The same look Man-At-arms had as he watched his daughter's body dangle over certain death.
Knowing he had the upper hand anyway, Skeletor decided to have a little fun. Before Erin could answer his request, he cut her off.
"No deal then, okay...DROP THEM!" he yelled to his minions.
Erin tried to scream but nothing came out. Time seemed to slow as Tri-Clops released Teela and she started to fall. Erin could hear the Queen scream.
Man-At-Arms dove to the side of the cliff and caught his daughter's arm just in time. The limp weight of her body made it difficult and awkward for the aging soldier to pull her up quickly. He struggled with as Tri-Clops pointed his laser eye at him. With his free hand, Man-At-Arms grabbed the cyclopic mutant's foot and yanked it out from beneath him.
Skeletor heard his minion's scream as he lost his footing and went over the edge.
On the other side of him, He-Man was diving to save the Queen from the same fate but missed her hand by inches. The warrior pushed Trap-Jaw back so hard that he rolled down the spine of Snake Mountain before hit a rock, knocking him out.
He watched in shock as his mother fell, stuck out her arms, and caught herself on a stone tooth on the bottom jaw of Snake Mountain's mouth. She dangled in the air and looked up at her son with pleading eyes.
"Hold on!" he yelled. Below her, he saw a yellow flicker come closer and closer. Before he could blink, Buzz-Off grabbed the Queen and flew her away to safety.
While all this was going on, Erin was left to contend with Skeletor. She clutched her hands in fury and took deep breaths as she stared at the skull- faced demon.
"You evil, sadistic bastard.." She hissed. "I'll finish you if it's the last thing I do."
Skeletor raised his hands up in a surrendering gesture.
"Easy now," he cackled. "Why would you want to do that? Especially since I brought someone here to welcome you to my home.."
Erin opened her mouth to protest when she heard a familiar voice.
"Erin, Erin darling.."
Erin went blank. She knew the voice, but it couldn't be.
Behind Skeletor a woman appeared from the shadows. She had brown and gray hair and rosy cheeks with bright blue eyes and a warm smile. She held her arms open and walked slowly towards Erin whose eyes were filling with tears.
Behind her He-Man was helping Man-At-Arms hand Teela to Buzz-Off. He looked at Erin just as the woman embraced her. He watched Erin's lips tremble as she said...
"Mom? Mom.how..dead.you died..what?" Erin couldn't see past her tears.
He-Man knew it was a trick.
"Erin, that's not your mother," he desperately yelled. "It's a trick, move back!!!"
The woman looked at Erin, wiped away her tears and smiled.
"Don't listen to him, I'm here, I've always been here..."
The woman placed both hands on the sides of Erin's head.
"Erin get out of there!!!" He-Man yelled again as he ran towards her.
Erin looked into the woman's eyes as she smiled slyly.
"I've been here with Skeletor..always here.."
He-Man was almost to her and reached out to grab her away.
Erin was transfixed in her spot and didn't realize the woman's voice had changed.
"Just as you'll never leave!!!"
With that Evil-Lyn transformed back into herself and sent a horrible shock wave spell through Erin's mind. A flash of bright light escaped her blinding He-Man and Evil-Lyn as Erin screamed in pain.
Evil-Lyn spun around to her master.
"Now, Skeletor!!!!!!" she yelled.
The evil one put his hand on Erin's head and spun her body around. "Destroy them!" he commanded her.
Erin was still screaming, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she put her arms up and beams of light shot out from her hands. She narrowly missed He- Man but sent Man-At-Arms flying off of the edge. Luckily, Buzz-Off was on the way back up and caught his friend from the fall.
Erin's arms dropped and her body relaxed. Her power was almost gone, along with her life force. He-Man ran to help her but was attacked from the side by Clawful. The mutant tried to push the warrior back to the edge and was succeeding until He-man grabbed him by the waist and flipped him over his head.
Without realizing what he had done, He-Man turned to see Clawful fall to his death.
He turned again and saw Erin drop to her knees. Once again he moved towards her, but this time Evil-Lyn caught him in a spell and the most powerful man in the universe could not move.
"Gotcha," Evil-Lyn laughed.
Skeletor smiled in delight. "I control her mind now muscle head! And when she destroys you, nothing will prevent me from walking into Grayskull!!!!!"
With that, he looked down at the woman kneeling at his feet.
"Destroy He-Man!" he commanded.
Erin looked at him with lifeless eyes and nodded. She stood, turned and raised her hands toward He-Man. Then she felt something shift inside her.
He-Man looked at her with great concern. He saw the light around her flicker, it was almost gone now.
"Please," he begged her. "Erin, fight...you have to."
Erin dropped to her knees, her arms faltered but she raised them again. Her mind was everywhere. She felt faint, and things were getting blurry.
"I SAID DESTROY HIM!!!!!!" Skeletor commanded again.
Memories flashed in Erin's mind, her mother, the Black Hills, Jerry, Eternia, Marlena, Adam..."
"Adam," she whispered. She regained some control of her thoughts.
She looked sadly at He-Man, still in Evil-Lyn's clutches.
"I SAID NOW YOU STUPID WOMAN!!!!!!" Skeletor demanded once again.
Erin was out of time. She knew what she had to do.
"I love you, Adam.." She whispered as she looked at the man who had made her feel whole again.
Even a few feet away He-Man heard her and felt something inside him tear apart. He watched helplessly as Erin gathered up all of her remaining power..
"No, she can't..." he thought out loud.
Erin mustered up all that she could. She raised her arms and just as Skeletor was about to yell again, she clamped her hands on his legs and unleashed all of what she had into him.
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Skeletor screamed as he and Erin were consumed in glaring light. His havoc staff dropped from his hand and turned to ashes on the ground.
Evil-Lyn fell back onto the ground, setting He-Man free from her spell. The warrior ran towards the light as Evil-Lyn cast another spell and disappeared.
Skeletor's voice was slowly fading away as was the light. He-Man was blinded but kept moving forward.
Finally, Skeletor could no longer be heard and the light faded. He-Man rubbed his eyes and when he could see again, he saw a pile of ashes where Skeletor once stood...
..next to Erin's lifeless body.
CHAPTER 12: SHOWDOWN
The halls of the Universal Counsel:
The Sorceress exited the portal that led into the chamber where the Universal Counsel met. Before she left, she sent a message to Zodac asking him to meet with her.
She looked around the vast meeting place. Statues of the great warriors of the past towered down the golden hallways that seemed to go on forever. Many important decisions were made here. It was impossible for the inhabitants of the universe to know how many. Many didn't even know the counsel existed.
Within each of the counsel members lay a part of the knowledge of the universe. They were neither good nor evil.they remained neutral in everything except the concept of existence.
Because of that, they had each made a solemn vow never to get involved with the destinies of the universes' inhabitants. They merely watched and acted when absolutely necessary.
The Sorceress knew that, and she also knew that the solution she was looking for, how to save Erin's life, might not be available to her.
Zodac finally appeared through the mystical doors and approached the Sorceress. The titan looked upon the mystic woman and smiled. They were old friends, and he would help her in any situation if it were within his power. This time, however, he wasn't sure he would be able to do that.
"I know why you're here," he said. "I know what information you are seeking. But you know I cannot interfere with what is destined. Neither can the counsel."
She nodded but decided she was going to make her an effort with every fiber of her being.
"I know great Zodac," she began. "But please, hear my plea before you make your decision."
Although Zodac wasn't a warrior, he certainly had the intimidating presence of one. Being at least ten feet tall, he towered over the Sorceress while he was standing. Pulling back his long, red robe, he sat in a huge throne- like chair and folded his arms.
"Okay, Sorceress," he responded. "Tell me what you would like me to do. I shall not make any promises except that I will listen with my full attention."
The Sorceress took a deep breath. She knew this was the moment of truth. If this didn't work, nothing, short of a miracle would.
"I do not come here for myself, I come on behalf of Eternia's greatest defender.."
Later, back at Snake Mountain..
Man-At-Arms and He-Man had climbed halfway up the dark, jagged mountain. Along the way, Teela contacted Man-At-Arms to tell him she and Stratos could not locate the Queen in the prison cells and that they would wait further command.
This bothered Man-At-Arms because this meant the Queen could be anywhere in the mountain, if she was not already dead. He kept that thought to himself however and hoped he was wrong.
"Our spies have told us there should be some kind of elevation device that leads to the mouth," Man-At-Arms explained as he looked up. "We can take that, but it could be a trap, I'm sure Skeletor's expecting us. If we get caught, we endanger our friends and the Queen."
It had taken them a long time to get that far, too long, and the time bothered him. He hoped He-Man would be able to keep his focus on the task at hand, but he knew the man like he was his own son, and he knew exactly what he was thinking about.
"We can't waste anymore time," the warrior demanded. "We have to take that chance."
Man-At-Arms nodded and looked for the fulcrum device to open the hidden door. Using the scanner built into his wrist communicator, he scanned the side of the mountain, and found what he was looking for under a rock, a few feet away from them.
He pulled back on the rock and the door to an elevator opened. The two men entered.
"How do we make it go up?" He-Man asked his mentor.
Before Man-At-Arms could say anything, the doors shut and the box began to travel upward, fast. Before they realized it, the doors flew open and some kind of force pushed them out into Skeletor's chamber.
Anxiously, they looked around the seemingly empty room. Man-At-Arms stood up defensively, wide-eyed and reached for his stun laser.
"HHHEEEELLLPPP!"
The woman's scream made them both jump. They looked around to see where it came from. The silence was soon broken by Skeletor's maniacal cackle.
"Up here you fools!" he laughed. "And I have company with me!"
He-Man and Man-At-Arms turned and walked towards the open mouth of the snake's head. As they looked out onto the vast horizon a shoe dropped from above and fell, straight down hundreds of feet.
He-Man turned his head upward and saw his arch nemesis and his minion Trap- Jaw, holding his mother by the throat, over the edge of the mountain.
The Queen's eyes were filled with terror. She had been so close to getting out when Trap-jaw had caught her. She knew her son's secret and he had rescued her from capture before, but in her gut, she knew this time was going to be different.
"Adam," softly squeaked as Trap-Jaw tightened his grip, almost causing her to lose consciousness. Fortunately, the blue, half man, half machine was too focused on his master's taunts and did not hear her.
"C'mon up He-Man," he cackled. "The view's great, but its one hell of a drop!"
Before the two men could catapult themselves up, a great flash of light came from below and landed at Skeletor's feet.
The light faded and revealed Erin standing face to face with the dark overlord. Skeletor's evil grin widened. He felt her power radiating off of her and started thinking of ways to use it. He was so consumed by his madness, that he didn't even notice that the light around her was getting softer and softer by the second.
"Aah, I was wondering when you were going to join us," he hissed as He-Man and Man-At-Arms landed behind her. "I was beginning to think you decided against accepting our little invitation."
Erin's eyes flashed with determination and anger. "As if I had a choice in the matter," she seethed back at him. "What do you want from me?"
Skeletor laughed ferociously. "Are you kidding? You have to ask?" he taunted her. "I want your power you stupid woman. I want you to give me all of that delicious power you possess."
Erin's mind raced. Behind her He-Man pulled his sword and Man-At-Arms aimed his laser.
"That's never going to happen," He-Man growled, again sounding a little like Jerry.
Skeletor smiled again. "I see, a one for one exchange doesn't suit you? How about one for three?" Just then, Tri-Clops appeared holding a limp Teela by the back of her collar along with Clawful, who dropped an unconscious Stratos on the ground like a pile of rocks. Tri-Clops carried Teela over to the other side of the cliff, parallel to Trap-Jaw, who was still holding the Queen over the deep drop.
"No!!!!" Erin, He-Man and Man-At-Arms yelled.
Skeletor's voice seeped with evil. "Do you think we can hear the sound their bodies will make when they hit the ground? It's pretty far down... Do we have a deal?"
Erin turned and looked at He-Man who was looking at his mother with fear and anger in his eyes. The same look Man-At-arms had as he watched his daughter's body dangle over certain death.
Knowing he had the upper hand anyway, Skeletor decided to have a little fun. Before Erin could answer his request, he cut her off.
"No deal then, okay...DROP THEM!" he yelled to his minions.
Erin tried to scream but nothing came out. Time seemed to slow as Tri-Clops released Teela and she started to fall. Erin could hear the Queen scream.
Man-At-Arms dove to the side of the cliff and caught his daughter's arm just in time. The limp weight of her body made it difficult and awkward for the aging soldier to pull her up quickly. He struggled with as Tri-Clops pointed his laser eye at him. With his free hand, Man-At-Arms grabbed the cyclopic mutant's foot and yanked it out from beneath him.
Skeletor heard his minion's scream as he lost his footing and went over the edge.
On the other side of him, He-Man was diving to save the Queen from the same fate but missed her hand by inches. The warrior pushed Trap-Jaw back so hard that he rolled down the spine of Snake Mountain before hit a rock, knocking him out.
He watched in shock as his mother fell, stuck out her arms, and caught herself on a stone tooth on the bottom jaw of Snake Mountain's mouth. She dangled in the air and looked up at her son with pleading eyes.
"Hold on!" he yelled. Below her, he saw a yellow flicker come closer and closer. Before he could blink, Buzz-Off grabbed the Queen and flew her away to safety.
While all this was going on, Erin was left to contend with Skeletor. She clutched her hands in fury and took deep breaths as she stared at the skull- faced demon.
"You evil, sadistic bastard.." She hissed. "I'll finish you if it's the last thing I do."
Skeletor raised his hands up in a surrendering gesture.
"Easy now," he cackled. "Why would you want to do that? Especially since I brought someone here to welcome you to my home.."
Erin opened her mouth to protest when she heard a familiar voice.
"Erin, Erin darling.."
Erin went blank. She knew the voice, but it couldn't be.
Behind Skeletor a woman appeared from the shadows. She had brown and gray hair and rosy cheeks with bright blue eyes and a warm smile. She held her arms open and walked slowly towards Erin whose eyes were filling with tears.
Behind her He-Man was helping Man-At-Arms hand Teela to Buzz-Off. He looked at Erin just as the woman embraced her. He watched Erin's lips tremble as she said...
"Mom? Mom.how..dead.you died..what?" Erin couldn't see past her tears.
He-Man knew it was a trick.
"Erin, that's not your mother," he desperately yelled. "It's a trick, move back!!!"
The woman looked at Erin, wiped away her tears and smiled.
"Don't listen to him, I'm here, I've always been here..."
The woman placed both hands on the sides of Erin's head.
"Erin get out of there!!!" He-Man yelled again as he ran towards her.
Erin looked into the woman's eyes as she smiled slyly.
"I've been here with Skeletor..always here.."
He-Man was almost to her and reached out to grab her away.
Erin was transfixed in her spot and didn't realize the woman's voice had changed.
"Just as you'll never leave!!!"
With that Evil-Lyn transformed back into herself and sent a horrible shock wave spell through Erin's mind. A flash of bright light escaped her blinding He-Man and Evil-Lyn as Erin screamed in pain.
Evil-Lyn spun around to her master.
"Now, Skeletor!!!!!!" she yelled.
The evil one put his hand on Erin's head and spun her body around. "Destroy them!" he commanded her.
Erin was still screaming, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she put her arms up and beams of light shot out from her hands. She narrowly missed He- Man but sent Man-At-Arms flying off of the edge. Luckily, Buzz-Off was on the way back up and caught his friend from the fall.
Erin's arms dropped and her body relaxed. Her power was almost gone, along with her life force. He-Man ran to help her but was attacked from the side by Clawful. The mutant tried to push the warrior back to the edge and was succeeding until He-man grabbed him by the waist and flipped him over his head.
Without realizing what he had done, He-Man turned to see Clawful fall to his death.
He turned again and saw Erin drop to her knees. Once again he moved towards her, but this time Evil-Lyn caught him in a spell and the most powerful man in the universe could not move.
"Gotcha," Evil-Lyn laughed.
Skeletor smiled in delight. "I control her mind now muscle head! And when she destroys you, nothing will prevent me from walking into Grayskull!!!!!"
With that, he looked down at the woman kneeling at his feet.
"Destroy He-Man!" he commanded.
Erin looked at him with lifeless eyes and nodded. She stood, turned and raised her hands toward He-Man. Then she felt something shift inside her.
He-Man looked at her with great concern. He saw the light around her flicker, it was almost gone now.
"Please," he begged her. "Erin, fight...you have to."
Erin dropped to her knees, her arms faltered but she raised them again. Her mind was everywhere. She felt faint, and things were getting blurry.
"I SAID DESTROY HIM!!!!!!" Skeletor commanded again.
Memories flashed in Erin's mind, her mother, the Black Hills, Jerry, Eternia, Marlena, Adam..."
"Adam," she whispered. She regained some control of her thoughts.
She looked sadly at He-Man, still in Evil-Lyn's clutches.
"I SAID NOW YOU STUPID WOMAN!!!!!!" Skeletor demanded once again.
Erin was out of time. She knew what she had to do.
"I love you, Adam.." She whispered as she looked at the man who had made her feel whole again.
Even a few feet away He-Man heard her and felt something inside him tear apart. He watched helplessly as Erin gathered up all of her remaining power..
"No, she can't..." he thought out loud.
Erin mustered up all that she could. She raised her arms and just as Skeletor was about to yell again, she clamped her hands on his legs and unleashed all of what she had into him.
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Skeletor screamed as he and Erin were consumed in glaring light. His havoc staff dropped from his hand and turned to ashes on the ground.
Evil-Lyn fell back onto the ground, setting He-Man free from her spell. The warrior ran towards the light as Evil-Lyn cast another spell and disappeared.
Skeletor's voice was slowly fading away as was the light. He-Man was blinded but kept moving forward.
Finally, Skeletor could no longer be heard and the light faded. He-Man rubbed his eyes and when he could see again, he saw a pile of ashes where Skeletor once stood...
..next to Erin's lifeless body.