Chapter 3
As the battle raged behind him Brakk quickly made his way through the sewers. Clutched tightly in his hands was the Jewel of Amara. Brakk looked down at the jewel and smiled to himself.
'First I shall use these tunnels to get me in to the council chambers,' thought Brakk as his mind came up with vile ways for the use of the Jewel of Amara. 'Then once Primus is mine all shall bow to me!!'
Brakk raced around corner after corner. Soon he came to the place he was searching for. Above his head was the council chambers, the point of all power of all Primus. Brakk quickly found a access tunnel that led to the chambers. Using his blaster Brakk shot the lock off the gate that covered the entrance to the tunnel.
As the battle continued between the Galactic Guardians and the Mutants, He-man moved closer to Hydron as the captain of the Priman sea forces fought off an attack by Hoove.
"Have you seen Brakk anywhere?" asked He-man as he brought his sword up to block a strike from Butthead.
"I haven't," said Hydron as he avoided a blow from one of Hoove's powerful legs. "It wouldn't surprise me if that worm hasn't run off deeper in to the sewers," Hydron swung his Trident-Blaster up and struck Hoove in the chest. "I'm a fool," said Hydron as a thought suddenly came to him. "These sewers run under the entire city. Even the council chambers."
He-man leaped out of the way as Butthead charged towards him. The mighty mutant crashed in to Hoove sending him flying through the air. Before Butthead could recover He-man grabbed him from behind and lifted him in to the air. He-man then slammed Butthead to the ground. Butthead let out a stunned groan as the wind was driven from his lungs.
"Where are the council chambers?" asked He-man. Hydron pulled out a data-padd from his belt and handed it to He-man. On the padd was a map of the sewers the way to the council chambers were marked in red.
"Can you handle the mutants?" asked He-man. Hydron nodded as he deflected a blow from another mutant.
Without another word He-man turned and pushed his way through the battle to follow Brakk's path.
Brakk stepped from the access tunnel and in to the council chambers. All was quiet as the mutant slowly crept his way through the great halls of the chambers until he found the main council hall. Looking down at the small sensor screen built in to his wrist guard Brakk saw that the Council of Primus were in the hall. Smiling to himself Brakk held up the Jewel of Amara then with one kick Brakk smashed open the doors.
Each member of the council turned to the doors and were stunned to see Brakk standing before them.
"Just the people I wanted to see," hissed Brakk in a menacing voice. "Give the power of Primus over to me! Or you shall suffer terror beyond all imagination!"
Thakall the council's head of security and defense stood up and glared at Brakk.
"How dare you threaten us!" snapped Thakall. His hand quickly reached for a button on the control panel in front of him.
Brakk raised the Jewel of Amara. The jewel began to glow, suddenly a ray of blinding light shot out and engulfed Thakall. The rest of the council could only sit frozen with fear as Thakall screamed with terror as his greatest fears were forced to the surface.
As He-man raced towards the council hall he heard the terrible cries of agony and pain.
'What is Brakk doing to them,' thought He-man as he raced faster. 'I have to get to them!'
The destroyed doors of the great hall were just ahead. From inside the hall He-man could see Brakk standing in front of the doors, a bright light was radiating from him. In the background He-man could also see the council members.
"BRAKK!!!" cried He-man as he readied his sword for battle.
Brakk turned and let out a curse as he saw He-man coming towards him.
"Why won't you leave me alone!" snapped Brakk as he lowered the Jewel of Amara and grabbed his laser whip.
Brakk cracked his laser whip at He-man. He-man leaped out of the way as a bolt of stun energy flew towards him. He-man landed and quickly rolled to his feet.
"I can truly understand why Skeletor hates you so much!" hissed Brakk as he cracked his whip again.
He-man swung his shield up just in time to deflect the blow.
"Brakk," said He-man as he avoided another attack. "I'm truly hurt."
Infuriated by He-man's comments Brakk roared with anger. Again Brakk cracked his whip sending bolts of energy screaming towards He-man and again He-man used his shield to deflect the attacks, however while He-man was distracted Brakk made a grab for his blaster. With one quick movement Brakk snatched his blaster from his belt and aimed it at He-man. Brakk pressed the trigger of his blaster as He-man span around, the blaster energy struck He-man on the arm forcing him to drop his sword. Smiling to himself Brakk fired again but He-man leaped out of the way. Seeing He-man heading towards his fallen sword. Letting out a low hiss Brakk cracked his whip once more. The laser whip flew through the air and wrapped itself around He-man's arm just as He-man reached out for his sword. As the laser whip began burning in to He-man's skin Brakk pulled on the whip yanking He-man away from the sword.
Brakk then pressed a button on his whip and a jolt of energy raced down the whip and in to He-man's body. Gritting his teeth against the pain racing through his body He-man began to pull on the whip. Brakk began to increase the power flowing through the whip. He-man let out a cry of pain and then dropped his shield. With his free hand He-man grabbed the whip and with all the power that Grayskull gave him, He-man tore the whip from Brakk's grasp. The base of Brakk's whip swung through the air and around and struck the surprised Brakk across the jaw. As Brakk flew through the air the whips energy vanished and the device hit the wall shattering in to a thousand pieces. As Brakk hit the wall himself he almost dropped the Jewel of Amara. Catching the jewel just before it hit the ground Brakk then held it up towards He-man. With no sword or shield to protect him He-man was struck by the jewels magic. Instantly He-man felt like his entire body was on fire. As his mind began to form image after image of Primus burning and the Mutant forces destroying everything in their path, He-man began to use all of his incredible willpower to combat the magic of the Jewel of Amara. Sweat began pouring from He-man's body as he fell to his hands and knees, He-man could no longer see the council chambers or Brakk, only the destruction his mind was creating. Suddenly the images started to change and reform in to images of Eternia. As He-man finally collapsed his mind turned away from the fear the Jewel of Amara was generating but instead began focusing on a time on Eternia where the Jewel of Amara had first been found......
***
With a ferocity unlike any other creature on Eternia, Battle Cat surged towards the Sands of Time. In a matter of hours, both Battle Cat and He-Man had arrived at the destination. As anticipated, Man-At-Arms was in trouble. The masters of weapons was using a laser beam to blast away Webstor, while Tri-Klops was trying to avoid getting clobbered over the head with his club.
He-Man and Battle Cat dove in. Battle Cat landed on Webstor while He-Man smashed Tri-Klops onto a nearby sand dune. Man-At-Arms spun around to thank the hero, but his eyes quickly spotted Two-Bad and Kobra Khan charging forth.
Just as the pair were about to come upon them, a sand dune rippled and came crashing down. He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Battle Cat leapt out of the way. As the sand washed over Tri-Klops and Webstor as well, the trio looked to the North and saw Teela, Stratos and Mekaneck. Ram Man was just joining them, making it very apparent that he was behind the attack.
"I called for back-up," Man-At-Arms told He-Man.
"Good idea," He-Man replied with a grin as they made their way over.
"That won't hold them for long," Ram Man said, as the villains already began to pop out of the sand. He-Man nodded and turned to Man-At-Arms once more.
"There's a temple over that dune. Looks like it's just been unearthed."
Teela smiled at the group around her. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Together, they trotted towards the temple. It was quite tall, with all sorts of markings on it. He-Man felt a strange feeling inside of him as he stared at the newly recovered structure. It was a sort of . . . yearning . . .
He shook it off quickly and looked at its base. The doors were wide open and guarded by Trap-Jaw, Kobra Khan, Clawful and Whiplash. He-Man turned to the others.
"Skeletor must be inside. Can you guys hold off these buffoons until I get in there?"
As soon as He-Man said that, though, laser fire began to shot towards their direction. "Looks like we won't have a choice!" yelped Stratos.
"Let's charge then!" shouted Ram Man, jumping into action. He came down the dune and bashed right into Whiplash.
As Man-At-Arms unleashed beams of energy at Trap-Jaw, Teela slid down to Clawful and delivered a quick kick to his face. Stratos shot forward, getting the attention of Kobra Khan long enough for Battle Cat to pounce on him.
He-Man made right for the door. Inside was a long and dark tunnel. He unsheathed his Sword of Power and took off running. As he made his way down the darkened corridor, his eyes came upon a bright square before him. It was the entrance to another room, he found. His eyes could make out a figure - Skeletor, of course.
Just as he was about to enter, a large figure smashed right into him. He-Man went spiraling around as the figure - Beast Man - smashed his fists against He-Man's body. The Sword of Power went flying. Caught completely off-guard, Beast Man slashed across He-Man back.
But He-Man was able to recover and was about to deliver a punch to Beast-Man's gut when a surge of power ripped through him. He-Man, his body smoldering, fell to the ground in a heap. Magical bounds, then, formed around his arms and legs.
Evil Lynn stepped out of the darkness and nodded at Beast-Man. The animal man lifted the binded hero up and pulled him into the room Skeletor was in.
"Ah, He-Man," Skeletor greeted, his eyes on a huge wall. "How good to see you again."
"You'll never have the Jewel of Amara, Skeletor!" He-Man swore.
"We'll see about that, little hero," Skeletor snickered in return. "We'll see about that . . ."
Meanwhile, outside, the battle continued to rage as Tri-Klops, Webstor, Kobra Khan and Two-Bad joined in. Man-At-Arms, Teela, Stratos, Ram Man and Battle Cat all stood side-by-side, facing down the legion of evil warriors.
"Reinforcements will be here soon," Man-At-Arms said as the evil warriors began to come closer in.
"Looks like we'll have to fend for ourselves until then," Stratos replied, preparing for battle.
Just as the warriors of good and evil were about to smash into each other, a thunderous noise caught their attention. The two groups stopped in their tracks as a portal opened . . . and an army marched out.
Skeletor, in the meantime, stood between He-Man and the wall. He threw his staff into the air and a beam of energy struck out from it. It struck the wall, which then began to shake and rumble. The wall then lifted up, disappearing from sight.
A new chamber was revealed. In it was a set of circular stairs leading up to stand. And on that stand was a red-glowing gem. Skeletor took a deep breathe and started forward. But before Skeletor could even touch it, the sound of metal boots filled the room.
Horde Troopers flowed in then, unleashing their weapons on Skeletor, Evil Lynn, and Beast-Man. He-Man felt the magical bounds disappear and stood up to face off with the Troopers. He had already smashed up two when the Horde Elite entered.
As Modulock and Mantenna kept the hero of Eternia busy, Leech snuck around him. Then, pressing his webbed hands against He-Man - he drained off some of his energy. He-Man slumped onto the ground, his vision going in and out as Hordak himself entered into the chamber.
"This will do perfectly. . .," Hordak said with a sneer.
Then, He-Man was out.
A few hours later, he awoke to splash of water. His eyes began to focus on Man-At-Arms and Teela. They were outside the temple once more, and the sun was quickly sinking. Then, the memory flashed back! Hordak had the Jewel of Amara!
"Are you okay?" asked Man-At-Arms.
"Yeah . . ." He-Man began. "But Hordak . . ."
"I know. He's gone. Back to Etheria."
"Where's Skeletor?" He-Man asked, sitting up.
"Left for Snake Mountain."
He-Man seemed a bit confused. "Why didn't he take me captive, then?"
"His men were just about incapacitated. Probably weren't up for a fight from us."
"I see."
"He-Man, we have another problem," Ram Man confessed.
"What's that?"
"Well, that stun beam didn't hit me as hard as the rest of you and I overheard Hordak talkin'. He said that the leader of the Great Rebellion? Adam's sister? Adora? She's been kidnapped."
He-Man suddenly felt the bottom fall out . . .