CHAPTER 12: THAT WHICH IS DESTINED...
On top of Snake Mountain...
Stratos' eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up. He felt a cool breeze pass over him and he inhaled a deep breath of dank air.
The last thing he remembered was hiding in a dark corridor deep within the bowels of Snake Mountain with Teela and then a sharp slam to the back of his head. After that, everything was a blank. He put his hand on his throbbing head as he tried to get some sense of where he was now.
After seeing a motionless Trap Jaw at the bottom of an embankment, he concluded that he must be outside of Snake Mountain, but he was unsure where exactly.
Closing his eyes, he wondered how long he had been unconscious and what he had missed when he heard a voice calling to him.
"Stratos, please, I need your help.."
Stratos turned about to see who was calling him. For a second he could have sworn it was Prince Adam, but was surprised to see He-Man instead.
His surprise was fleeting however, as his eyes fell upon the limp body He- Man was carrying in his arms. He shook his head in an attempt to regain his visual focus as he tried to see who the poor soul was.
Part of him already knew, though, by the sadness in He-Man's voice.
Stratos stood to face his friend. He-Man looked totally withdrawn from the world as he cradled Erin's head in his chest.
"Is she..." Stratos started already knowing the answer. "How?"
He-Man seemed virtually unphased by Stratos' question, the gone-from-the- world look still in his eyes.
"She took on Skeletor," he mumbled. " She defeated him too, but it cost Erin her life."
He sounded like a zombie. There was no emotion in his voice or in his facial expression.
"We need to get her to Castle Grayskull immediately," he blurted out. "Maybe the Sorceress has found a way to help her."
Stratos couldn't bring himself to tell his friend that such a thing might not be possible, but he shook the notion away, quickly scolding himself for giving up.
"I'll fly her straight there post haste," he said strongly. "I'll do anything I can."
He-Man nodded and ever-so-gently placed Erin in Stratos' arms. He expected her to wake up and yell at him for not letting her get to the castle herself. As he began to pull his arms away, her head rolled lightly to the side. He whimpered softly and quickly placed his hand under her face and tilted it up.
"She's still warm," he mumbled, never once taking his eyes off his newfound love. "Please hurry Stratos, I'll be right behind you."
Stratos nodded and as soon as He-Man stepped back, he took off for Grayskull. As he left his friend standing on the mountain, he wondered just how attached had He-Man become Erin? Then another thought occurred to him.
"My gods, how are we going to tell Prince Adam?"
At the base of Snake Mountain..
The Defenders, Man-At-Arms and the Queen loaded onto sky sleds and into the Wind Raider after they saw the explosion of light come from the top of the mountain. Buzz-Off was ahead of them all and halfway to the top when they saw Stratos fly away carrying something in his arms.
Upon seeing this, Queen Marlena's stomach dropped. She already knew what, or rather who, Stratos had and she felt her heart break for the girl..and for her son. She knew how Adam felt for Erin, she saw it in his eyes on top of the mountain.
Stratos' flight did not go unnoticed to Man-At-Arms either. He didn't know what he was going to say to his pupil, and what was worse, he had no idea how the warrior would take this new, tragic turn in his life.
When they finally reached the top of the mountain, Teela set her sky sled down, dismounted and walked over to her friend, who's face was still emotionless.
"He-Man, I'm so sorry," she said as she reached up to put her hand on his shoulder, but he walked away from her toward the Wind Raider.
Sorry was the last thing He-Man wanted to hear. What he wanted to hear was Erin's voice, scolding him, laughing at Orko, talking to Jerry, saying "I love you, Adam" again.
The Queen reached out and grabbed her son's hand, in an effort to comfort him.
He-Man didn't react at all.
"Skeletor's been defeated," he said numbly. "He will burden us no longer."
He slowly looked up to Man-At-Arms who was staring at the pile of ashes on the middle of the cliff.
"Duncan," He-Man asked almost mutely. "Can you please take me to Grayskull."
Man-At-Arms nodded in agreement as He-Man stepped into the raider and sat down next to the Queen. Without wasting anytime, Man-At-Arms and the rest of the Defenders were in the air heading in the same direction as Stratos had been moments ago.
Marlena leaned over to the great warrior as she squeezed his hand. She knew the young lovers had only known each other for a few days, but time meant nothing in love and she knew from personal experience. Why, she had fallen in love with Adam's father, King Randor, the very day he helped her after her ship crashed on Eternia.
She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to lose him so soon, or even now for that matter.
"Oh my son," she whispered into his ear. "Do not bear the weight of this tragedy by yourself. Please, let me help you. I know what she means to you."
Finally, He-Man gave in and showed the first sign of emotion since Erin destroyed Skeletor as a single, hot tear rolled down his dusty, scratched cheek.
"I love her mother," he whispered. "How am I supposed to let her go without some kind of fight? How is it possible that I am the strongest man in the universe but couldn't save her?"
Tears streamed down Marlena's face now. She wanted to believe that something could be done. She would trade places with the woman in a heartbeat if it brought the same spark of happiness back to Adam's eyes as were present that last night at dinner.
"I begged her," he continued. "But I couldn't stop her from taking on Skeletor. I couldn't stop her from dying."
The Queen nodded as He-Man's gaze looked out onto the horizon. She sniffled and thought about the tragedy of the whole thing. Skeletor was gone, and everyone was free from the evil he had brought to the lush and beautiful planet.
But it was all for naught, she thought, because the one person who should be rejoicing about this new freedom will always be haunted by what it had cost him.
Marlena looked out as the sun was beginning to set and hoped Stratos would reach Grayskull soon.
Inside Castle Grayskull..
The Sorceress had been pacing for almost an hour. She stopped cold when she felt the strong presence of evil slip away from the life of Eternia.
She smiled and thought to herself "Skeletor has been defeated..."
But the smile quickly turned into a frown as she realized what that very well meant.
In all of her wisdom and knowledge, she did not know how she was going to handle what was to come next. She looked out the eye shaped window of the castle and saw Stratos flying towards Grayskull, carrying a lifeless form.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on him. In her mind she saw Erin's limp body.
She lowered her head and slowly but sadly opened her eyes.
She remembered her conversation with Zodac in the halls of the Universal Counsel. She pleaded to him with her own life, but it was no use.
"This is her destiny," Zodac contended. "It's a vital part of the prophecy and the future of Eternia. Skeletor will be defeated and peace will reign on Eternia. The inhabitants will flourish and prosper into a better life with this woman's sacrifice. I cannot interfere with that. I'm sorry."
The Sorceress was out of options, as was Erin.
Elsewhere, in a dark place..
It was cold, but it didn't seem to bother her. The small glimmer of light was getting bigger and bigger and as it did it became warmer and warmer around her. There was something in the light that was very welcoming, almost beckoning her.
Considering what she had just been through, Erin felt pretty darn good and started walking towards the light. She was in a restful daze and the light seemed to comfort her.
"You can't go there yet," a strong, but beautiful voice seemed to sing to her.
She turned and saw nothing. She looked ahead of her and saw the light pulling back.
"It's not your time child," the voice called out again.
Erin was still calm but a little confused.
"Why?" was all she seemed to get out.
An image started to appear to her. At first, it was just a blur, but the form of a man in white soon became distinguishable, then physical features, until she saw him in his entirety.
"Erin, you have to go back.." He said again. "You are still needed there.."
Erin was so relaxed, she seemed almost apathetic about it.
She studied this man's features for what seemed likes several moments and the memory of a man's picture on her mother's dresser came back to her.
"Daddy?" she said calmly.
Outside Castle Grayskull...
Stratos landed at the very end of the great jawbridge and set Erin's body down. The Sorceress appeared in the doorway of the castle and looked at the winged warrior.
"The others are coming," he told her. "Should I bring Erin inside?"
The Sorceress looked sadly at him. She waved her hand and a small bed of dirt and flowers appeared on the bridge. She then used her magic to pick up Erin's broken body and placed it on the makeshift alter.
Stratos hung his head and stepped back as Teela's sky sled came closer in the distance, followed by the other Defenders and He-Man.
The Sorceress looked at her friends as they all started to land around the castle. She dreaded this moment with every fiber in her magical body.
Teela and Man-At-Arms approached Stratos, followed by the other Defenders. The group seemed to part as the Queen walked forward with her hand to her mouth. Without hesitation, she started to cry.
Man-At-Arms placed his arm around her and lent her his shoulder. He turned to see He-Man still sitting in the Wind Raider. The warrior didn't even look where Erin's body lay, he just stood and jumped out of the vessel.
Everyone except the crying queen looked down as He-Man approached the Sorceress. He still could not bring himself to look at her body.
The Sorceress reached up and touched He-Man arm. He looked at her with questioning and tear-filled eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But there is nothing that can be done."
He-Man nodded and finally turned to the flowered alter where Erin lay.
He walked to it and closed his eyes. The great warrior dropped to his knees as Jerry trotted up beside him. The sad rottweiler whimpered and pawed at his dead master's arm, as if that alone would cause her to wake up.
Rather than saying anything, the dog let out a loud howl in grievance.
Wherever she was, Erin could swear she heard Jerry howling. She looked around her, expecting to see her pet, but it was to no avail.
She looked at her father again.
"Daddy," she started. "Am I dead?"
Her father continued to walk closer to her. The gray hair seemed to shine brightly, and his blue eyes were lit up and a broad smile crossed his wise and handsome features.
"Nearly," he said. "As close as someone can be to death." He held out his hand to her and she took it without thinking.
"But, you can't give into it yet," he continued. "You are still needed out there. You still have much to do."
Erin's confusion didn't phase her relaxed state. She looked at her father as if she had never seen him before.
"I thought I was supposed to die," she started. "The Sorceress said all of the messengers died, like you did. I used my power that you gave me against Skeletor and beat him, and I was suppose to die."
Her father just beamed and hugged her.
"I know, and I am so proud of you," he pulled back and looked at her. "You did what you were supposed to do. To be quite honest, I thought you would take one look at the portal I opened for you and run the other way. But you didn't, you went and you fought and did everything right."
She smiled at him as he continued to gush.
"And I would like nothing more for you to be here with me and your mother, but it's not right yet. You have to go back, soon, if you wait to long, you will have to stay here."
Erin started to say something but her father covered her mouth with his hand.
"You have to," he said as he started to pull back into the light. He pointed to a long dark tunnel. "Someone is waiting for you..you still have much to do."
Erin raised her arm to stop him but he kept drifting away.
"I love you baby," his voice echoed. "I'll always be with you."
Erin put her arm down. "I love you too, Daddy," she whispered.
Outside Grayskull..
It was dark out. Everyone had gone back to the palace on He-Man's request. The Sorceress sat on her throne inside Grayskull, still numb from the events of the day.
Outside, the moonlight shined brightly on Eternia. He-Man had fallen asleep with his head in his arms next to Erin's body. Jerry lightly snored next to them.
He-Man's slumber was filled with dreams of him walking in the forest, hearing a loud crash and finding Erin laying at the base of a hill. Then his dream cut to the palace balcony where he watched a confused but beautiful woman sit with her head in her hands in the gardens. Then, at a dinner table where the same woman laughed and smiled as Orko accidentally dumped a goblet of wine on Ram-Man's head. Then, in her quarters as they were embraced in their first kiss..
He groaned a little but did not wake.
Not even when Erin's hand rose up and touched his hair.
Inside the Castle..
The Sorceress sat in her dingy throne in a trance like state. She was so out of it she didn't even blink when the portal opened at the bottom of the stairs.
She didn't even stand when Zodac emerged from it.
The great titan looked at her and shook his head.
"What, no 'hello?'" he asked her cheerfully.
The Sorceress knew he had to know what had just happened on Eternia and she wondered why he was so damn happy. Perhaps it was because Skeletor was gone. Perhaps it was because the great prophecy had finally been fulfilled.
For whatever reason it was, it wasn't enough to make her smile.
She put her hand on her head and slowly rubbed her forehead.
"Skeletor is gone, we are free of his evil tyranny forever," she mumbled. "I assume that's why you're paying me this visit, great Zodac."
Zodac chuckled. And took a seat on the stairs below her.
"Well, not really," he began slowly. "Skeletor hasn't been defeated. He's still out there, he's just been banished...temporarily."
The Sorceress looked up. Her cheeks became red with rage.
"What do you mean?" she retorted. "The prophecy has been fulfilled. That girl laying dead out there killed him and died because of it. A man's world just collapsed as a result of her death and now you're telling me it was in vain?!?"
She was out of her seat and in front of Zodac in an instant. The titan just smiled and tried to soothe her.
"Easy there my friend," he replied. "Let me explain something to you."
The Sorceress clutched her fists.
"Please do," she seethed through gritted teeth.
Zodac stood up and brushed himself off.
"You know you should sweep this place once in a while," he quipped but her expression did not change so he decided to quit playing games with her. "Everyone has a destiny, a course of events in their life that leads up to something. As much as we at the Counsel would like to say everything is concrete..we can't. Destiny, like everything else, can be subject to change, the only thing is we counsel members can't be the ones to change it. That's up to the Fates and damned those three women, we never really know what they are going to do."
The Sorceress became confused but relaxed her anger. "Okay," she said slowly. "What you are saying in the concept of destiny is fallible because of fate."
Zodac waived his arm nonchalantly.
"Exactly," he said. "And for two more points, what is the premise that most prophecies are based on?"
The Sorceress started to catch on to what he was saying.
"Destiny," she blurt out.
Zodac slapped his mightly hands together. "Right. Now if destinies can be fallible or changed, than so can.."
"Prophecies.." the Sorceress finished for him.
"Correct," he replied. "Now here's the thing. When Erin fought Skeletor at Snake Mountain, she had already used up too much power before that to kill him. That wasn't anticipated in her destiny. In their little tit-for-tat, she destroyed Skeletor's physical presence, not his spiritual one. That will eventually take physical form again and he will come back, and he will be very, very angry, count on that."
The Sorceress nodded, following Zodac's explanation closely.
"Now, peace will reign for many years on Eternia as prophesized," he said. "But not nearly as long as anticipated, in fact, he'll be back sooner than you think. Besides Evil-Lyn is still out there and you can be sure that she'll be around to stir up the muck every now and again."
Zodac snapped his fingers and made a goblet of wine appear, and took a drink.
"Would you like some," he offered the Sorceress who seemed to be getting frustrated with his stall tactics.
"No," he contended. "Okay, then. Anyway, the prophecy has been changed and a new one has been formed. It isn't in the books yet, but it will be. Would you like a sneak preview?"
The Sorceress nodded as Zodac waived his hand and the goblet of wine turned into a scroll wrapped in a gold ribbon. The scroll floated over to the Sorceress and she plucked it from the air.
"I think you might actually get a kick out of this new one," Zodac chuckled. "It certainly makes things interesting for your friends."
The Sorceress opened the scroll and started to read it. A smile started to spread across her face as her eyes followed the wording on the prophetic scroll.
"Oh my," she said grinning from ear to ear. "You're right Zodac, things just got very interesting."
Hours later, outside Grayskull...
He-Man awoke as the Eternian sun shone brightly. Without raising his head, he reached his arm up to put it on Erin's body, but a handful of dirt was all he got.
He peaked his eyes over his arm to see if he got turned around in his sleep. His head jerked up when he saw the bed of flowers and Erin's body gone. He sat up, Jerry was gone too.
"What's going on," he said angrily.
For a second, he thought someone might have stolen her body. If that was the case, that person better pray that He-Man never finds them. Then another thought entered his mind; perhaps Man-At-Arms had taken her body back to the palace for burial.
Maybe he accidentally pushed her body into the abyss while he was sleeping. Maybe the Sorceress took her inside Grayskull. Several different thoughts raced through his head as he looked around frantically.
He decided to ask the Sorceress for some answers. At that point, he needed some clarity and walked into Grayskull.
He found the Sorceress sitting happily on her throne flipping through a book. She raised her head and smiled broadly as she watched the dirty, exhausted warrior enter her chamber.
He-Man wondered what she was so damn happy about and it annoyed him that she could be so chipper at a time like this.
"Good morning He-Man," she practically sang it to him. "I trust you have some questions for me."
He-Man's mouth dropped into a frown. He couldn't understand how she could be so cheerful considering the woman he loved had just died and now her body was missing.
"Where's Erin's body?" he demanded. "Did you do something with it?"
The Sorceress stood up and walked down to him. She waved her hand nonchalantly as Zodac had done earlier and looked at her friend in total innocence.
"Well, I may have played a part in it," she said flippantly. "But it was not entirely my doing. It was kind of up to the fates."
He-Man had had enough. He was astounded that the Sorceress of all people would play such cruel games with him.
"Tell me where she is!!!!!" he roared. The walls of Grayskull shook at the extreme vibrations from his mighty voice.
The Sorceress kept up her game and stuck her pinky in her ear as if to clean it out.
"No need to yell, He-Man," she relented. "I will be happy to show you."
On top of Snake Mountain...
Stratos' eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up. He felt a cool breeze pass over him and he inhaled a deep breath of dank air.
The last thing he remembered was hiding in a dark corridor deep within the bowels of Snake Mountain with Teela and then a sharp slam to the back of his head. After that, everything was a blank. He put his hand on his throbbing head as he tried to get some sense of where he was now.
After seeing a motionless Trap Jaw at the bottom of an embankment, he concluded that he must be outside of Snake Mountain, but he was unsure where exactly.
Closing his eyes, he wondered how long he had been unconscious and what he had missed when he heard a voice calling to him.
"Stratos, please, I need your help.."
Stratos turned about to see who was calling him. For a second he could have sworn it was Prince Adam, but was surprised to see He-Man instead.
His surprise was fleeting however, as his eyes fell upon the limp body He- Man was carrying in his arms. He shook his head in an attempt to regain his visual focus as he tried to see who the poor soul was.
Part of him already knew, though, by the sadness in He-Man's voice.
Stratos stood to face his friend. He-Man looked totally withdrawn from the world as he cradled Erin's head in his chest.
"Is she..." Stratos started already knowing the answer. "How?"
He-Man seemed virtually unphased by Stratos' question, the gone-from-the- world look still in his eyes.
"She took on Skeletor," he mumbled. " She defeated him too, but it cost Erin her life."
He sounded like a zombie. There was no emotion in his voice or in his facial expression.
"We need to get her to Castle Grayskull immediately," he blurted out. "Maybe the Sorceress has found a way to help her."
Stratos couldn't bring himself to tell his friend that such a thing might not be possible, but he shook the notion away, quickly scolding himself for giving up.
"I'll fly her straight there post haste," he said strongly. "I'll do anything I can."
He-Man nodded and ever-so-gently placed Erin in Stratos' arms. He expected her to wake up and yell at him for not letting her get to the castle herself. As he began to pull his arms away, her head rolled lightly to the side. He whimpered softly and quickly placed his hand under her face and tilted it up.
"She's still warm," he mumbled, never once taking his eyes off his newfound love. "Please hurry Stratos, I'll be right behind you."
Stratos nodded and as soon as He-Man stepped back, he took off for Grayskull. As he left his friend standing on the mountain, he wondered just how attached had He-Man become Erin? Then another thought occurred to him.
"My gods, how are we going to tell Prince Adam?"
At the base of Snake Mountain..
The Defenders, Man-At-Arms and the Queen loaded onto sky sleds and into the Wind Raider after they saw the explosion of light come from the top of the mountain. Buzz-Off was ahead of them all and halfway to the top when they saw Stratos fly away carrying something in his arms.
Upon seeing this, Queen Marlena's stomach dropped. She already knew what, or rather who, Stratos had and she felt her heart break for the girl..and for her son. She knew how Adam felt for Erin, she saw it in his eyes on top of the mountain.
Stratos' flight did not go unnoticed to Man-At-Arms either. He didn't know what he was going to say to his pupil, and what was worse, he had no idea how the warrior would take this new, tragic turn in his life.
When they finally reached the top of the mountain, Teela set her sky sled down, dismounted and walked over to her friend, who's face was still emotionless.
"He-Man, I'm so sorry," she said as she reached up to put her hand on his shoulder, but he walked away from her toward the Wind Raider.
Sorry was the last thing He-Man wanted to hear. What he wanted to hear was Erin's voice, scolding him, laughing at Orko, talking to Jerry, saying "I love you, Adam" again.
The Queen reached out and grabbed her son's hand, in an effort to comfort him.
He-Man didn't react at all.
"Skeletor's been defeated," he said numbly. "He will burden us no longer."
He slowly looked up to Man-At-Arms who was staring at the pile of ashes on the middle of the cliff.
"Duncan," He-Man asked almost mutely. "Can you please take me to Grayskull."
Man-At-Arms nodded in agreement as He-Man stepped into the raider and sat down next to the Queen. Without wasting anytime, Man-At-Arms and the rest of the Defenders were in the air heading in the same direction as Stratos had been moments ago.
Marlena leaned over to the great warrior as she squeezed his hand. She knew the young lovers had only known each other for a few days, but time meant nothing in love and she knew from personal experience. Why, she had fallen in love with Adam's father, King Randor, the very day he helped her after her ship crashed on Eternia.
She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to lose him so soon, or even now for that matter.
"Oh my son," she whispered into his ear. "Do not bear the weight of this tragedy by yourself. Please, let me help you. I know what she means to you."
Finally, He-Man gave in and showed the first sign of emotion since Erin destroyed Skeletor as a single, hot tear rolled down his dusty, scratched cheek.
"I love her mother," he whispered. "How am I supposed to let her go without some kind of fight? How is it possible that I am the strongest man in the universe but couldn't save her?"
Tears streamed down Marlena's face now. She wanted to believe that something could be done. She would trade places with the woman in a heartbeat if it brought the same spark of happiness back to Adam's eyes as were present that last night at dinner.
"I begged her," he continued. "But I couldn't stop her from taking on Skeletor. I couldn't stop her from dying."
The Queen nodded as He-Man's gaze looked out onto the horizon. She sniffled and thought about the tragedy of the whole thing. Skeletor was gone, and everyone was free from the evil he had brought to the lush and beautiful planet.
But it was all for naught, she thought, because the one person who should be rejoicing about this new freedom will always be haunted by what it had cost him.
Marlena looked out as the sun was beginning to set and hoped Stratos would reach Grayskull soon.
Inside Castle Grayskull..
The Sorceress had been pacing for almost an hour. She stopped cold when she felt the strong presence of evil slip away from the life of Eternia.
She smiled and thought to herself "Skeletor has been defeated..."
But the smile quickly turned into a frown as she realized what that very well meant.
In all of her wisdom and knowledge, she did not know how she was going to handle what was to come next. She looked out the eye shaped window of the castle and saw Stratos flying towards Grayskull, carrying a lifeless form.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on him. In her mind she saw Erin's limp body.
She lowered her head and slowly but sadly opened her eyes.
She remembered her conversation with Zodac in the halls of the Universal Counsel. She pleaded to him with her own life, but it was no use.
"This is her destiny," Zodac contended. "It's a vital part of the prophecy and the future of Eternia. Skeletor will be defeated and peace will reign on Eternia. The inhabitants will flourish and prosper into a better life with this woman's sacrifice. I cannot interfere with that. I'm sorry."
The Sorceress was out of options, as was Erin.
Elsewhere, in a dark place..
It was cold, but it didn't seem to bother her. The small glimmer of light was getting bigger and bigger and as it did it became warmer and warmer around her. There was something in the light that was very welcoming, almost beckoning her.
Considering what she had just been through, Erin felt pretty darn good and started walking towards the light. She was in a restful daze and the light seemed to comfort her.
"You can't go there yet," a strong, but beautiful voice seemed to sing to her.
She turned and saw nothing. She looked ahead of her and saw the light pulling back.
"It's not your time child," the voice called out again.
Erin was still calm but a little confused.
"Why?" was all she seemed to get out.
An image started to appear to her. At first, it was just a blur, but the form of a man in white soon became distinguishable, then physical features, until she saw him in his entirety.
"Erin, you have to go back.." He said again. "You are still needed there.."
Erin was so relaxed, she seemed almost apathetic about it.
She studied this man's features for what seemed likes several moments and the memory of a man's picture on her mother's dresser came back to her.
"Daddy?" she said calmly.
Outside Castle Grayskull...
Stratos landed at the very end of the great jawbridge and set Erin's body down. The Sorceress appeared in the doorway of the castle and looked at the winged warrior.
"The others are coming," he told her. "Should I bring Erin inside?"
The Sorceress looked sadly at him. She waved her hand and a small bed of dirt and flowers appeared on the bridge. She then used her magic to pick up Erin's broken body and placed it on the makeshift alter.
Stratos hung his head and stepped back as Teela's sky sled came closer in the distance, followed by the other Defenders and He-Man.
The Sorceress looked at her friends as they all started to land around the castle. She dreaded this moment with every fiber in her magical body.
Teela and Man-At-Arms approached Stratos, followed by the other Defenders. The group seemed to part as the Queen walked forward with her hand to her mouth. Without hesitation, she started to cry.
Man-At-Arms placed his arm around her and lent her his shoulder. He turned to see He-Man still sitting in the Wind Raider. The warrior didn't even look where Erin's body lay, he just stood and jumped out of the vessel.
Everyone except the crying queen looked down as He-Man approached the Sorceress. He still could not bring himself to look at her body.
The Sorceress reached up and touched He-Man arm. He looked at her with questioning and tear-filled eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But there is nothing that can be done."
He-Man nodded and finally turned to the flowered alter where Erin lay.
He walked to it and closed his eyes. The great warrior dropped to his knees as Jerry trotted up beside him. The sad rottweiler whimpered and pawed at his dead master's arm, as if that alone would cause her to wake up.
Rather than saying anything, the dog let out a loud howl in grievance.
Wherever she was, Erin could swear she heard Jerry howling. She looked around her, expecting to see her pet, but it was to no avail.
She looked at her father again.
"Daddy," she started. "Am I dead?"
Her father continued to walk closer to her. The gray hair seemed to shine brightly, and his blue eyes were lit up and a broad smile crossed his wise and handsome features.
"Nearly," he said. "As close as someone can be to death." He held out his hand to her and she took it without thinking.
"But, you can't give into it yet," he continued. "You are still needed out there. You still have much to do."
Erin's confusion didn't phase her relaxed state. She looked at her father as if she had never seen him before.
"I thought I was supposed to die," she started. "The Sorceress said all of the messengers died, like you did. I used my power that you gave me against Skeletor and beat him, and I was suppose to die."
Her father just beamed and hugged her.
"I know, and I am so proud of you," he pulled back and looked at her. "You did what you were supposed to do. To be quite honest, I thought you would take one look at the portal I opened for you and run the other way. But you didn't, you went and you fought and did everything right."
She smiled at him as he continued to gush.
"And I would like nothing more for you to be here with me and your mother, but it's not right yet. You have to go back, soon, if you wait to long, you will have to stay here."
Erin started to say something but her father covered her mouth with his hand.
"You have to," he said as he started to pull back into the light. He pointed to a long dark tunnel. "Someone is waiting for you..you still have much to do."
Erin raised her arm to stop him but he kept drifting away.
"I love you baby," his voice echoed. "I'll always be with you."
Erin put her arm down. "I love you too, Daddy," she whispered.
Outside Grayskull..
It was dark out. Everyone had gone back to the palace on He-Man's request. The Sorceress sat on her throne inside Grayskull, still numb from the events of the day.
Outside, the moonlight shined brightly on Eternia. He-Man had fallen asleep with his head in his arms next to Erin's body. Jerry lightly snored next to them.
He-Man's slumber was filled with dreams of him walking in the forest, hearing a loud crash and finding Erin laying at the base of a hill. Then his dream cut to the palace balcony where he watched a confused but beautiful woman sit with her head in her hands in the gardens. Then, at a dinner table where the same woman laughed and smiled as Orko accidentally dumped a goblet of wine on Ram-Man's head. Then, in her quarters as they were embraced in their first kiss..
He groaned a little but did not wake.
Not even when Erin's hand rose up and touched his hair.
Inside the Castle..
The Sorceress sat in her dingy throne in a trance like state. She was so out of it she didn't even blink when the portal opened at the bottom of the stairs.
She didn't even stand when Zodac emerged from it.
The great titan looked at her and shook his head.
"What, no 'hello?'" he asked her cheerfully.
The Sorceress knew he had to know what had just happened on Eternia and she wondered why he was so damn happy. Perhaps it was because Skeletor was gone. Perhaps it was because the great prophecy had finally been fulfilled.
For whatever reason it was, it wasn't enough to make her smile.
She put her hand on her head and slowly rubbed her forehead.
"Skeletor is gone, we are free of his evil tyranny forever," she mumbled. "I assume that's why you're paying me this visit, great Zodac."
Zodac chuckled. And took a seat on the stairs below her.
"Well, not really," he began slowly. "Skeletor hasn't been defeated. He's still out there, he's just been banished...temporarily."
The Sorceress looked up. Her cheeks became red with rage.
"What do you mean?" she retorted. "The prophecy has been fulfilled. That girl laying dead out there killed him and died because of it. A man's world just collapsed as a result of her death and now you're telling me it was in vain?!?"
She was out of her seat and in front of Zodac in an instant. The titan just smiled and tried to soothe her.
"Easy there my friend," he replied. "Let me explain something to you."
The Sorceress clutched her fists.
"Please do," she seethed through gritted teeth.
Zodac stood up and brushed himself off.
"You know you should sweep this place once in a while," he quipped but her expression did not change so he decided to quit playing games with her. "Everyone has a destiny, a course of events in their life that leads up to something. As much as we at the Counsel would like to say everything is concrete..we can't. Destiny, like everything else, can be subject to change, the only thing is we counsel members can't be the ones to change it. That's up to the Fates and damned those three women, we never really know what they are going to do."
The Sorceress became confused but relaxed her anger. "Okay," she said slowly. "What you are saying in the concept of destiny is fallible because of fate."
Zodac waived his arm nonchalantly.
"Exactly," he said. "And for two more points, what is the premise that most prophecies are based on?"
The Sorceress started to catch on to what he was saying.
"Destiny," she blurt out.
Zodac slapped his mightly hands together. "Right. Now if destinies can be fallible or changed, than so can.."
"Prophecies.." the Sorceress finished for him.
"Correct," he replied. "Now here's the thing. When Erin fought Skeletor at Snake Mountain, she had already used up too much power before that to kill him. That wasn't anticipated in her destiny. In their little tit-for-tat, she destroyed Skeletor's physical presence, not his spiritual one. That will eventually take physical form again and he will come back, and he will be very, very angry, count on that."
The Sorceress nodded, following Zodac's explanation closely.
"Now, peace will reign for many years on Eternia as prophesized," he said. "But not nearly as long as anticipated, in fact, he'll be back sooner than you think. Besides Evil-Lyn is still out there and you can be sure that she'll be around to stir up the muck every now and again."
Zodac snapped his fingers and made a goblet of wine appear, and took a drink.
"Would you like some," he offered the Sorceress who seemed to be getting frustrated with his stall tactics.
"No," he contended. "Okay, then. Anyway, the prophecy has been changed and a new one has been formed. It isn't in the books yet, but it will be. Would you like a sneak preview?"
The Sorceress nodded as Zodac waived his hand and the goblet of wine turned into a scroll wrapped in a gold ribbon. The scroll floated over to the Sorceress and she plucked it from the air.
"I think you might actually get a kick out of this new one," Zodac chuckled. "It certainly makes things interesting for your friends."
The Sorceress opened the scroll and started to read it. A smile started to spread across her face as her eyes followed the wording on the prophetic scroll.
"Oh my," she said grinning from ear to ear. "You're right Zodac, things just got very interesting."
Hours later, outside Grayskull...
He-Man awoke as the Eternian sun shone brightly. Without raising his head, he reached his arm up to put it on Erin's body, but a handful of dirt was all he got.
He peaked his eyes over his arm to see if he got turned around in his sleep. His head jerked up when he saw the bed of flowers and Erin's body gone. He sat up, Jerry was gone too.
"What's going on," he said angrily.
For a second, he thought someone might have stolen her body. If that was the case, that person better pray that He-Man never finds them. Then another thought entered his mind; perhaps Man-At-Arms had taken her body back to the palace for burial.
Maybe he accidentally pushed her body into the abyss while he was sleeping. Maybe the Sorceress took her inside Grayskull. Several different thoughts raced through his head as he looked around frantically.
He decided to ask the Sorceress for some answers. At that point, he needed some clarity and walked into Grayskull.
He found the Sorceress sitting happily on her throne flipping through a book. She raised her head and smiled broadly as she watched the dirty, exhausted warrior enter her chamber.
He-Man wondered what she was so damn happy about and it annoyed him that she could be so chipper at a time like this.
"Good morning He-Man," she practically sang it to him. "I trust you have some questions for me."
He-Man's mouth dropped into a frown. He couldn't understand how she could be so cheerful considering the woman he loved had just died and now her body was missing.
"Where's Erin's body?" he demanded. "Did you do something with it?"
The Sorceress stood up and walked down to him. She waved her hand nonchalantly as Zodac had done earlier and looked at her friend in total innocence.
"Well, I may have played a part in it," she said flippantly. "But it was not entirely my doing. It was kind of up to the fates."
He-Man had had enough. He was astounded that the Sorceress of all people would play such cruel games with him.
"Tell me where she is!!!!!" he roared. The walls of Grayskull shook at the extreme vibrations from his mighty voice.
The Sorceress kept up her game and stuck her pinky in her ear as if to clean it out.
"No need to yell, He-Man," she relented. "I will be happy to show you."