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CHAPTER 15: FACE OFF

Skeletor sneered as he towered over the advisor. He had dealt with them before, and won or so he had thought. This time, he was more powerful, a true force of evil not to be reckoned with. This time he would finish what he started and there would be no coming back for either of them. Then he would destroy everything they ever held dear.

The advisor looked up at Skeletor. Through her green and blue eyes, each part of her soul remembered the last time they came face to face with the creature in battle. Both halves of who she was, a mystic and a messenger, ached in apprehension about what she was about to do, but it was too late. She had already broken the rules. She was involved and if she was going to go out, she was going to go fighting.

*****

He-Man didn't know what to make of the situation and that made him very anxious. But in battle, anxiety can get one killed, as Duncan had taught him, so he fought the turning in his gut to stay focused on the events around them as they unfolded.

This latest event definitely threw him for a loop though. Whatever the advisor's intentions were, he knew she wasn't neutral, as Zodac was. He knew she was going to fight next to him. What he didn't know was that it was going to cost her.

Despite the volatile situation, He-Man kept his stance, sword raised and aimed at Skeletor. If bonehead was going to make the first move, he was going to be ready. No more tricks, this time Skeletor would be stopped.

Everyone's focus was so intent on the other that no one realized Evil-Lyn was awake, and preparing to mix the fight up a little herself.

The witch slowly sat up and locked eyes with her master. From behind, she saw He-Man and someone else with their backs to her. She assessed the situation in her devious mind. Whoever she was, the stranger was able to pack quite a punch against her so she alone would be a handful. Perhaps she would leave the stranger to her master.

On the other hand, He-Man was a force in and of himself, and she doubted she could take on the full brunt of his power. A smile crawled across her dirty face. "Unless, of course, I don't give him the chance to use his power," she thought to herself.

She raised her staff and aimed it at the warrior's back.

"So unsuspecting, so unguarded," she thought wickedly. "I do believe I am going to enjoy this."

Her grip tightened around the staff's handle. She felt the dark magic start to build up with in her soul and flow into her arm. Her eyes glowed bright purple her muscles tensed. This particular blast would leave a lasting impression on her victim, she pondered as she watched the bright flash of light leap forth from her staff towards He-Man.

*****

He-Man heard the crack from the blast as it fired behind him. But what he saw in the aftermath, boggled his mind.

He had been standing next to the advisor, staring down Skeletor. He was about to ask the cloaked stranger what her plan was and had glanced sideways over to look at her when he heard the noise from behind him. The advisor seemed to flinch, her face shifted but he didn't see why as a hand reached over and grabbed his sword from him.

He looked down, to see why the advisor had done so only to see her hands empty, save for the falcon staff. At that same moment, he could feel the heat from the blast behind him. He looked to the side to see the shadow of someone behind him. Someone who was holding his sword, blocking the shot.

He looked up again to the advisor who remained motionless. She had maintained her composure and still stood staring at her enemy. But now, she looked different. There was no shifting, her face was clearly defined, her eyes blazed, and her hair whipped around her face. He-Man took a step back as he tried to come to terms with what he was looking at.

******

Skeletor growled. The bone above his empty eye sockets narrowed.

"This time, you'll stay dead, Sorceress," he seethed.

The Sorceress held her head up and smiled curtly at the evil overlord. She knew what this was going to take, but she knew she could not do it alone. Using telepathy, she beckoned the other to her side.

"I believe this time, it will be you who stays dead, Skeletor," she said matter-of-factly. "This will be the last time you will hurt anyone on Eternia."

He-Man watched in awe at the exchange of words before the Sword of Power was thrust back into his empty hands.

"Take this," a familiar voice yelled. "Quickly, go help her!"

He looked around but only saw the person's back to him. Someone who was fighting off a very irked Evil-Lyn. Like the Sorceress, the woman wore a long white cloak, but unlike her, the hood was pulled up, so her couldn't see her face.

He wondered if he should help her or the Sorceress. Then he saw the cloaked woman grab a long branch from the ground and use it as a staff to counter the strikes dealt by Evil-Lyn with warrior-like battle maneuvers. He figured whoever she was, she seemed to be holding her own and he turned his attention back to Skeletor.

The monster stared intently on his enemies and decided to test the waters of the resurrected Sorceress' powers. He sneered as he raised his havoc staff toward the mystic and fired.

He-Man lunged forward to block to the blast but the Sorceress just smiled and waved her arm to cast a shield spell. She did the same for the next three shots. On the forth one, she decided to play the game a little differently, and teleported herself in front of the empty jawbridge door. The shot flew through mid-air and struck Evil-Lyn in the chest, sending her flying off the side of the abyss, screaming all the way down until she disappeared from sight.

Skeletor snarled and turned his attention to the Sorceress, the other cloaked stranger now stood at her side. They were standing in front of the prize and he meant to have it, one way or the other.

*****

Behind them, Teela and Man-At-Arms were under siege by a group of slimy ogre-like demons. They both kept their defensive stances but after fighting so many of the creatures, they both started to tire.

He-Man saw the look of desperation on his friends' faces and turned back to look at the Sorceress. As much as he needed to stop Skeletor, he wasn't about to let anything happen to his teacher...or to Teela.

"Go," the Sorceress' voice rang out in his head. "Help her, we can hold Skeletor back. Remember, the protection of Grayskull depends on Teela's life."

The words echoed in his head as he watched his best friend fight with everything she had. More than Grayskull depended on Teela. Whatever apprehension he had before about their relationship was gone and his heart jumped into his throat. He loved her and damned to anyone or anything that would ever try to hurt her.

At that moment, a demon soldier knocked Man-At-Arms to the ground. He-Man watched as Teela knelt down to help her father, completely forgetting about the bulky, spiked demon coming at her with a spear.

His eyes narrowed and he charged into the battle to help his friend. Teela looked up just as He-Man cut the spear in half and punched the demon square in the jaw, sending the monster flying into the abyss.

After fighting off five more demons, he helped Man-At-Arms up and hugged Teela tightly.

"Are you okay," he whispered.

Teela seemed to stiffen up and pulled away. The vow she had made to the Counsel was still fresh in her mind. No matter how she felt, she had to behave accordingly.

"I'm fine," she replied casually, trying not to look He-Man in the eye. She looked around and frowned when she saw the two parts of her advisor had divided. She saw her mother and the other, who remained cloaked. She wondered if He-Man knew who the mystic person was, but decided if he didn't, now would not be the right time to fill him in. Distraction, at this point, could be very costly.

To her side, the other Defenders were fighting with everything they had but we also close to being overcome by Skeletor's army.

"We need to help the others," Teela said to He-Man firmly. "You flank from the left, father and I will go in through the hole there. Ready?"

He-Man nodded and the trio raced in to help their friends.

*****

Adacan was confused and a little miffed.

She-Ra finally put him down in the throne room of the castle and went back to the hallway to make sure they hadn't been followed.

The boy sat on the steps to the throne and folded his arms. Outside he could hear the fighting and he worried greatly about his father.

What bothered him though was that his father was different. He knew it was his father, but he looked a little different. He was well aware of his father's determination and will power, but he had never seen him as a warrior. It was confusing, but it made the boy admire his father more.

Not to mention that, but his aunt was acting strangely too. She also looked different, a lot different, but he had never known her to leave a battle. Not after all her stories about the Rebellion and the Horde. He wondered why she was still there.

"Ads," he yelled over the sounds of the fighting. "What's going on out there?"

She-Ra turned around and raised her eyebrows. She walked over to the boy and sat down next to him. She was antsy, fidgety, itching to get back into action. But she figured something's warranted an explanation.

"First of all," she inquisitively asked her nephew. "How did you know it was me?"

Adacan shook his head. "I dunno," he replied slowly. "The same way I knew dad, I just..knew."

She-Ra nodded, still confused but pressed for time. They would have to figure that one out later.

"Okay, secondly," she asked slowly. "How did you end up here?"

Adacan took a deep breath.

"That woman," he grimaced as he remembered the events that occurred on the jawbridge. "The one who pretended to be my mother, she made me come here. Why would she do that? Why did she almost kill my dad?"

She-Ra took a deep breath, she wasn't sure how to explain this. She rubbed her nephew's head and looked at him compassionately.

"There are a lot of good people out there, kid," she started. "But there are some bad people too. That's woman's name is Evil-Lyn. She's one of the bad people that wants to hurt others. She works for Skeletor, the big monster out there that your father is fighting. He wants to destroy Eternia, starting with this castle. They wanted to hurt your father, so Evil-Lyn used you by pretending to be Erin...I mean your mother."

Adacan nodded his head slowly and rested his head on his aunt's shoulder.

"Ads?" he asked quietly.

"Uh-huh." She-Ra responded as she thought about the fight going on outside.

"Did...Skeletor..kill my mother?" he asked flatly. "Is that why no one would tell me how she died?"

******

The battle raged around them but Skeletor, the Sorceress and the other remained motionless in their spots. The Sorceress had deflected a few blasts from Skeletor and had also managed to get a few shots in herself.

Although her strength was undiminished, the Sorceress knew time was of the essence. It wouldn't be long before the Counsel will have discovered what she had done and her punishment would be imposed. She knew she had to act quickly.

"We're running out of time," she said the other using telepathy. "There is only one thing that can stop him for good. I must go retrieve it."

The other nodded and the Sorceress disappeared in a flash of light.

*******

From his battle, He-Man could see that the Sorceress was no longer guarding the jawbridge and that the other stranger was alone. He looked around to make sure the Defenders had control of the battle. Man-At-Arms seemed to read his mind.

"Go!" he growled. "You can't let Skeletor into Grayskull!"

He-Man nodded and pushed through the demon barrier in front of him.

Nearby, Zodac stood near a tree, watching the battle with amusement.

"This, is not going to go over well," he thought to himself as he watched the warrior race forward to Grayskull.

********

"Left you all alone did she," Skeletor hissed as he fired a series of blasts at the other advisor. "Pity, I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone!"

He threw what appeared to be a great fireball at cloaked figure, who jumped high in the air and flipped backwards to avoid it.

The other landed on the ground and pulled her hood back. She shook brown and white hair out of her face and stared at the monster with flashing blue eyes. Fortunately, the attention of everyone who once knew her was directed towards other things, so her "entrance" had gone unnoticed. Well, to everyone but Skeletor.

"This ends now," Erin hissed at her nemesis.