Chapter Five
The portal opened in the heart of Castle Grayskull and the two convulsing patients - Skeletor and He-Man - were both brought immediately to the Sorceress. Much to She-Ra's surprise, King Randor was there as well.
"What can you do?" asked She-Ra.
"Skeletor can not remain here. I can give him something for the time being, but it would most likely be best if he were taken back to Snake Mountain. The recovery will be slow, but that way he will not be able to gain an advantage here," Sorceress explained. "He-Man's cure is best given slowly and with great power."
She poured a strange, golden dust on Skeletor's convulsing body. It stopped immediately. "A short-lived remedy, but he will be weakened for a number of days. He-Man's healing needs more time and power."
"Right. Take Skeletor back to Snake Mountain," ordered She-Ra.
"No," Randor interrupted. "Take him to the Palace and shackle him."
The Sorceress stared in concern at the king.
"Sire?" asked She-Ra, taking note of the Sorceress' expression.
"There is a drastic need for him back at the Palace. She-Ra, I can assume Adora is still on Etheria? Safely, I hope?" Randor answered.
"Yes, sire," She-R returned.
"Good. Man-At-Arms said Adam is safely in hiding as well. Excellent. Yes, bring Skeletor back with us. She-Ra, if you'll remain here with He-Man until he recovers, then please return to the Palace with him? We need the two of you."
"Of course, sire."
Randor, Ram Man, Teela, Moss Man, Clamp Champ, and Sy-Klone shackled up the unconscious Skeletor, then left the enchanted fortress. She-Ra waited until the drawbridge came shut, then turned to the Sorceress. "What can I do to help?" she asked.
"Remain here as a beacon. He-Man's mind is lost in despair. The Jewel of Amara is very powerful, capable of doing great things . . ." she trailed off. "I will be entering his mind. This will be very difficult due to all the damage that the Jewel has inflicted. Please encourage him."
She-Ra took her brother's hand. "Come on, bro. We children of Randor have to stick together, remember?"
Deep within He-Man's mind, the hero saw Skeletor standing on a high and terrible peak. Lightning was gushing from his body, cracking against the very earth - creating canyons and deep gorges. Fire and lava spurned from the ground, blackening the sky.
Then Skeletor leapt up . . . and landed in front of Castle Grayskull. The Master of Destruction unleashed a beam that pulverized the entire fortress, leaving the dead, bloodied corpse of the Sorceress.
He then turned to Eternos and launched an army upon. Buildings were burned, people were executed slowly and painfully. He tried to block it all out, but it grew so hard . . . so hard . . .
"Adam!" came a female shout. He spun and found the Sorceress standing there, golden rays of light flowing from her. "It is difficult for me to contact you through this, so you must push through this madness and come back to reality!"
He-Man nodded slowly, then reached up for something that he couldn't see. He kept on reaching and felt layers of the illusion rip and peel off - becoming rotten and fading with time. His hand then grasped hold of something very familiar . . .
"She-Ra!" he yelled, coming awake in the shelter of Castle Grayskull.
"He-Man, thank the Ancients you're alive!" She-Ra gasped.
"I feel weak . . ." he moaned then, finding barely any energy to even stand up. "What did that thing do to me? I've never felt like this before."
The Sorceress took a deep breath and handed He-Man a glass of water. "The Jewel of Amara is a very dangerous weapon."
"What is it?" asked She-Ra. "Where did it come from?"
The Sorceress studied the pair, then slowly nodded. "When the Elders first came to power, they created a range of weapons for the royal family. Chief among these was the Jewel of Amara."
"What does it do?" asked He-Man. "I saw my worst fears come to life under its affects."
"Indeed. For any regular person to use it, it creates the personification of their worst fears and weaknesses. But if used by a member of the royal family, it can be a great and powerful weapon with nearly unlimited capabilities."
"Then that explains why Hordak captured and tried to brainwash me," She-Ra concluded. "He wanted me to use the Jewel of Amara."
"Yes," Sorceress answered. "You see, the Jewel of Amara was deemed to powerful and it was placed in safe-keeping beneath the Sands of Time. That is, until Skeletor discovered its location."
He-Man sat up, feeling stronger. "Why did Skeletor want it so badly? He's not part of the royal family. He can't use it the way that we can."
The Sorceress didn't answer for a long time, but then took a deep breath and shook her head. It was flatly obvious that she was holding something back from the pair, but she spoke before they could.
"There is no more time for questions. He-Man, you should be feeling stronger. You must both ride on to Eternos. I will teleport Swiftwind here for you, She-Ra. Good journey. And ride quickly."
Back at the Palace . . .
Skeletor's eyes opened slowly - and he was surprised at the people that stood before him. King Randor, Queen Johanna, and King Stephan.
"What is this?! What am I doing here?"
"You were attacked, Skeletor. The Jewel of Amara was used against you," Randor explained. "You broke the vow our father made us swear when he first told us of the Jewel."
"OUR father?!" yelled Skeletor. "I have no father, Randor! Not anymore! I'm not part of a silly little pact. Release me and maybe I'll let you live!" The villain struggled against the chains that bound him, but found that his strength was low and his body weak.
"This was a mistake," said Stephan, hand on his sword.
"No," Johanna replied. "No, this is right. Keldor, listen to me - "
Skeletor snarled. "That name means nothing to me, Johanna! Not anymore! I am not longer Keldor, I am Skeletor!"
She stepped closer to him, a compassionate look in her deep brown eyes. "I can't believe that there's not at least one shred of Keldor left in you."
"There isn't!"
"Then why did you try and find the Jewel of Amara?" demanded Stephan. "You knew that whatever royal blood still remained in your sick veins would allow you the full scope of the Jewel's power!"
"A weapon to be used, that is all it is to me!"
Randor snorted. "Weapon or not, it's now in the hands of Hordak. We can't let that happen. We must destroy the Jewel of Amara."
"That's impossible, Randor!" roared Skeletor, still straining against the chains. "It can not be destroyed!"
Stephan nodded his head. "According to the Sorceress, it can. But there is only one person that knows how exactly it can be done . . ."
"And just how on Eternia is that?" spat Skeletor.
"Skytree. We're heading out tonight to see him," returned Johanna.
Randor turned to Skeletor. "And you're coming with us, Skeletor."
***
He-man felt renewed and refreshed as he stepped from the magical energy that the Sorceress had bathed him in. Looking across the room He-man could see that Flipshot felt the same way.
"Wow!" said Flipshot. "I never thought I would feel this good ever again."
"The magic of Grayskull is a wonderful thing," said He-man. "But in the end if we don't get the Jewel of Amara away from Skeletor then I fear not even the power of Grayskull will keep Primus from falling."
"Then what do you propose we do?" asked Flipshot ready for action.
"We're going to Denebria." said He-man.
The mutant scout ship, that the Galactic Warriors had captured shot from the surface of Primus and headed towards the dreaded home world of the mutants.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have brought some of the others with us?" said Flipshot from his position at the flight controls.
"We can't risk it," said He-man. "Us two have already felt the efforts of the Jewel of Amara, its effects will then take a lesser toll on us than it would the others who have so far been fortunate enough to avoid that unpleasant experience. Plus if we go in with a smaller force, there's less chance of being spotted until we get to Skeletor's hiding place."
Flipshot nodded silently understanding He-man's explanation, though deep down in his heart he wished that at least a couple others had come along with them as he feared this mission wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.
Skeletor stared at the Jewel of Amara, silently developing a suitable surprise for Brakk when he came back from his raid on Primus.
'Soon Brakk,' thought Skeletor with evil glee. 'Soon I will truly show you the true power of this jewel!'
With a sigh Skeletor got up from his seat and left his quarters. As Skeletor stalked the dark corridors of Brakk's underground base on Denebria he glanced over at the mutants that were under Brakk's command.
'Sometimes I wish I was back on Eternia,' thought Skeletor as he entered Brakk's main control room. 'My warriors may have been bumbling foolish oafs. But at least they were mine to command.'
Within in the control room Skeletor saw, Quakke, Kalamarr, Staghorn and Sedusnor. "So Brakk left you behind as well?" grunted Staghorn as Skeletor sat in Brakk's command chair.
"I chose not to go." said Skeletor.
"More likely Brakk didn't want you to go along." laughed Quakke.
Skeletor glared at the mutant and smiled, he had taken a pledge to Brakk, that meant he had to follow him, at least until Skeletor decided it was time to snatch control from him, but that pledge didn't extend to the other mutants, slowly Skeletor reached in to a pocket on his belt and grabbed hold of the Jewel of Amara. Just as Skeletor was about to remove the jewel he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"Why does it matter weather Skeletor goes with Brakk," purred the seductive voice of Sedusnor. "Or stays with us."
Skeletor turned to face the angelic but evil face of Sedusnor. Sedusnor's incredible powers to control the emotions of men were lost on Skeletor. Skeletor smiled and Sedusnor returned the smile. Suddenly Sedusnor was thrown through the air by a blast of magical energy shot out of his eyes. Sedusnor landed hard halfway across the room.
"Never lay your hand on me again." hissed Skeletor.
Sedusnor let out a small wicked smile as Staghorn and Quakke helped her to her feet. Skeletor stood and glared at the mutants in the room.
"Brakk may rule over you," said Skeletor. "But I do not have to do anything Brakk commands me to do."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Staghorn realizing that Skeletor was planning something.
"After Brakk's first attack on Primus," said Skeletor. "The Galactic Guardians will have no doubt sent a small team here to Denebria."
"Why would they do that?" asked Sedusnor. "Surely they will remain on Primus to defend the planet from Brakk's latest attack."
"Because I have this," said Skeletor as he held up the Jewel of Amara for the mutant's to see. "I offered this source of ultimate power to Brakk. But like always Brakk fouled it up. So I'm offering you the chance to follow me to power and glory."
As Skeletor looked around the room, he could tell by the smiles on the mutant's faces that his words had appealed to their lust for wealth and power, just as he intended it to.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Kalamarr.
"No doubt He-man will have come to Denebria to try and gain possession of this jewel," said Skeletor. "So I need you to go out capture or destroy, I don't care which, He-man and any Galactic Guardian that has been foolish enough to step a foot on Denebria."
"At last!" cried out Staghorn. "We'll show Brakk that he should never have left us behind. We'll prove to all the mutants that we are the best."
The other mutants joined Staghorn in a celebrating cheer before leaving Skeletor alone in the control room. Once the mutants had gone out on their mission Skeletor sat at Brakk's main control station. Then Skeletor let out a evil, menacing laugh.
The first thing both He-man and Flipshot noticed as they stepped from their scout ship, was how decayed and rotten every surface of Denebria looked. The sight weighed heavily on He-man's heart as he thought about Eternia and how that what he saw everywhere was what would have happen to Eternia if Skeletor and his evil forces had gotten their way.
"Its a crime what has happened to this planet," said Flipshot as he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. "It's hard to believe that Denebria used to be as pleasant as Primus."
"Hopefully once the Mutants have been driven from here," said He-man as he to covered his head with his cloaks hood. "We can look in to rebuilding Denebria. I'm sure with the incredible technology of Primus it could be done in no time."
"But first we have to rid ourselves of the Mutants. But I think that may be harder than we think," said Flipshot as they stepped out on to a huge street. The street was lined with buildings that looked half ruined; meanwhile the citizens of Denebria walked the street as if in a depressed state. "Do you even know where we start looking?"
The Mutant's battle tank roared throughout the streets of Denebria's main city Aros. Quakke laughed as the people of Aros dived out of the way to avoid being crushed under the merciless wheels of the tank.
"Are you sure that we are heading the right way?" purred Sedusnor.
"Of cause I'm sure," Kalamarr snapped back. "My information came from my spies in the swamps that surround this city."
"Well I hope we find them soon," said Staghorn rubbing his hands as if he was preparing for a fight. "Because I can't wait for another crack at He-man."
"Get in line," said Quakke from his position in the driving seat of the tank. "He-man is mine to crush with my might."
"I don't think so," hissed Kalamarr. "I'm going to drown him in the muck of the swamps."
"He-man belongs to me!" snapped Staghorn.
"I will crush He-man!" replied Quakke quickly.
"You'll have to wait behind me!" said Kalamarr.
Meanwhile Sedusnor sat watching the three mutants arguing over who would end up destroying He-man, and smiled, for she had her own plans for He-man.
'I will do more than destroy He-man,' thought Sedusnor. 'With my powers I will take away the one thing that is most important to him. His freedom. Once that is gone I shall make He-man my slave for eternity.'
Back in Brakk's command base Skeletor silently watched the Mutants argue over who would end up destroying He-man, through one of the many spy cameras he had placed throughout many of Brakk's hide outs and vehicles. It was something that he had relied on his former master spy, Tri-Klops, many times on Eternia. As the Mutants continued about their mission, Skeletor turned back to what he was working on.
Sat on the table in the middle of the room was Skeletor's swing-blade, a deadly weapon he used with his Disks of Doom battle armour. Next to the swing-blade was the Jewel of Amara. Skeletor walked over to the table and picked up the jewel. The jewel instantly began to glow with light. Skeletor's eyes began to glow to match the pulsing glow of the jewel. Then once the glow from both the jewel and Skeletor's eyes seemed to fill every part of the room, Skeletor reached down and picked up the swing-blade. Skeletor then placed the Jewel of Amara on to the razor sharp blade of his weapon. The swing-blade started to glow and absorbing the energy of the jewel.
Once the swing-blade was full of the evil energy of the jewel, the glow in the room died down and the room returned to normal. Skeletor held up his new super powered weapon and smiled. Looking over his shoulder Skeletor saw that the Mutants were still arguing.
"No my foolish friends," hissed Skeletor. "It is I who shall destroy He-man. And once he is gone, I shall rid myself of Brakk and take both Denebria and Primus for myself. And then I shall return to Eternia and claim what is rightfully mine!"
Skeletor then let out a evil laugh that echoed throughout the entire base.