Chapter Seven: "One-Shot"
He-Man stepped out of the Palace and along the front wall, where he joined Teela. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "How's everyone doing?" he asked.
"Fine as far as I know. I've been getting up-dates every three minutes," she replied. "I'm glad you're . . . um . . . you."
He-Man smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks. At least it stopped snowing."
"Yeah." Teela then looked up into the twilight sky and watched as tiny flashes of light burst above. "Things look pretty bad from down here."
He-Man nodded. "We don't know that yet. We've been in constant contact with Hydron and Flipshot since the battle began. It's 3:2 fight. We'll win it."
Teela stifled a small laugh. "You sound so confident."
"I am. I believe in this, Teela," he said. He took her hand. "I believe in us."
"Let's hope it's justified."
Hydron gritted his teeth as the Starship Eternia barely missed scrapped the hull of an attacking Horde ship. He slammed the navigational controls upwards, the starship flying up. As it did, Flipshot used the lasers to open fire on their attacker.
Scraps of metal were blasted off their enemy as twin laser beams slammed into its hull. Flipshot smiled and began to open fire on the next target.
"Not bad," Hydron complimented.
"Thanks. I try," Flipshot replied.
Hydron glanced at the layout reads and opened a com-channel. "Mutant Wing - stay in formation, maintain present course," he said, then closing the channel once more.
"Bet that felt weird."
"Yeah it did. Ordering Mutants - it's strange, working with them."
"Something we just gotta get used to."
Flipshot blasted at another attacker, it's hull buckling and exploding - reaching into its engine core and blowing up. Flipshot let out a victory cry and the Starship Eternia soared towards the opposition once more.
And then, quite suddenly, the Horde flagship appeared right from of them. An energy beam struck the vessel. All of a sudden sparks began to fly out from overloading systems. Hydron tried at the navigational controls, but they had gone dead.
"We've lost weapons!" shouted Flipshot, minor explosions leaping from his panel.
"Navigation is dead! Whatever that was, it scrambled our computer systems," Hydron yelled out as smoke filled the bridge.
"We're not the only ones . . ." gasped Flipshot, gazing out the window. The Flagship was blasting the other Primus and Mutant ships, causing them to become dead in space.
"That's not the only problem we have," Hydron then said, watching as the Flagship took a lower orbit. "They're within teleportation range of Eternos."
The Sorceress sat upon her throne, her mind reaching out and probing the attackers. Only a small number of them were actually alive - over 90 were robots. But there was terrible danger to Eternia, for she sensed an all-too-familiar mind within the Horde Flagship. Morgoth, former leader of the first Horde incursion on Eternia.
How he escaped the Flaming Wheel was unknown, but Eternia was in grave danger if he was back. Horde Prime would use him to lead the Horde Troops while he sought out Hordak. He had to be stopped . . .
The Horde had to be stopped . . .
While she had confidence in He-Man and Eternia's ultimate victory, she felt as though she had to save as many lives as she possibly could. The Sorceress quickly went to work, gathering power and strength. It would take a few moments to do what she needed to, but the Sorceress was anything if not determined.
Man-At-Arms rushed out of the lab, as fast as he could with using his cane. "We've lost contact with the Starship Eternia. Sensors indicate that the Flagship is in position for teleportation."
He-Man readied himself. Right as Man-At-Arms finished, there were sudden bursts of light and energy. And then, right before them, gigantic portals opened.
Scores of Horde Troopers poured out, their metallic boots falling onto the frozen ground. Their weapons were shouldered as they began to march towards the incredible armies. He-Man felt a knot form in his gut as more and more walking out from those portals, heading right towards the forces of Eternia.
"Get ready," He-Man said to Teela. "They'll probably open fire any - "
It was just at the second that the laser cannons the Horde Troopers were carrying fell into their hands and they opened fire.
"FIRE!" yelled Teela then.
The Men that stood in position around Eternos opened fire with their open lasers, sending beams of energy into the robotic army. Horde Troopers fell, but they all continued to pour out and march forward. The fall of one of their robotic comrades was not even to sway them.
"Lodar!" shouted He-Man. "NOW!"
Lodar resisted a sharp reply and instead pointed forward, his Kobloids surging forth into battle against the onslaught of Horde Troopers. The pale-violet creatures roared forward, their thick hides holding off the brunt of the laser fire. They smashed their fists into the Horde Troopers, splitting them open and causing them to crash to the ground.
And then, there was a terrible blast of energy. He-Man spun around and saw that someone was using sorcery against Lodar and the Kobloids.
"Morgoth . . ." he muttered as the freed Horde leader stepped onto Eternia soil. His armor was thick, but he wore no helmet, allowing his face and dark flowing hair to be seen. He wanted Eternia to know that the scourge of seventy-five years ago had returned in full force.
"Teela," He-Man ordered, "I want the Kex, the Tychons, and the Royal Soldier 7th and 8th divisions to give back-up to the Kobloids. Order all other soldiers forward. I'm going to go after Morgoth."
A shiver went up Teela's spine. "That's Morgoth?!"
"Yes."
Teela looked at him weakly, very unsure. "Are you certain you can take him?"
He-Man nodded. "As Adam? No. As He-Man? I certainly hope so."
Just as He-Man leapt onto Battle-Cat and the pair went into battle, three more portals opened - this time all in the sky.
Bat-Mechs soared out now, and headed right towards the mountain prison. As they did, a large contingent of Avions, Bees, and Bats swept in. The Bat-Mechs, being the large air force of the Horde Imperial army, prepared to open fire.
But the Bees were too fast, the Bats too aware with their ultrasonics, and the Avions were a lot tougher than the Horde gave them credit for. They intercepted the Bat-Mechs, easily avoiding their missiles and lasers. The Bees swept in quickly, ripping the great flying machines apart with their large-hooked weapons. Missiles shot from the Avions, blasting the Bat-Mechs into flaming metallic chunks. The Bats unleashed waves of sonic noise at the flying attackers, causing them to crash into one another.
Meanwhile, on the ground, a large force of Horde Troopers marched towards the mountain where the aliens stood ready to fight. As soon as they neared the roots of the mountain, the Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion leapt into battle.
Castaspella used an amazing spell that swept a bunch of the Troopers off their feet and they all went crashing into each other. Bow sent enchanted arrows to his enemies, causing them to explode upon contact. Glimmer teleported them right into each other. Mermista rusted them out with blasts of water. Flutterina flew between some of the Troopers, confusing them and causing them to fire at each other.
Clamp Champ, Fisto, and Ram-Man bashed a bunch with his head, while Snout Spout washed them to the ground. Mekaneck and Extendar used their extendable parts to knock them apart. Roboto, Rio-Blast, and Man-E-Faces blasted the robotic warriors into debris. Wind from Spinwit, Sy-Klone and Rotar caused many of the Horde Troopers to go flying into the air. Plants snared many of the Horde Troopers and crushed them with incredible strength thanks to Moss Man and the Woodsman.
Sagitar slammed them into the ground. Nocturna and Kayo used their fists and fighting skills to tear them into shreds. Artilla's lasers proved the Horde Troopers that they were no match for him. Tuskador smashed into them with his mighty tusks.
Then came a sudden burst of power and both the Great Rebellion and the Heroic Warriors were thrown backwards. Morgoth strode forward, energy flowing from his hands and against the great defenders of Eternia and Etheria.
"The way is clear, my liege," he spoke into a wrist communicator.
A new portal opened then. Two figures emerged, set upon two large ugly and dark steeds with huge bat wings. These figures were carrying a pair of gigantic axes and appeared to be skeletons with thick and ancient armor. The Great Rebellion recognized them immediately. They were the Dark Riders of the Horde.
And then someone else emerged. He was huge, nearly fifteen feet tall. His hands were long and clawed. His entire body was covered in thick armor and two large, red rings emerged from his back. Tubes flowed from his back to his chest and two others from his forehead to his upper back. His face was old and yellow, but looked very much like Hordaks. It was quite obvious who this was - Horde Prime.
He floated through the portal on a hover board, and quite quickly, Inspector Darkney was by his side.
"Dark Riders, Morgoth - attend to this rabble! I must find my brother!"
Fires exploded on the hull of the Starship Eternia, and quickly went out in the freezing temperatures of space. Flipshot braced himself against the wall as the rest of the power drained. Hydron slammed his fists against the controls as he watched ships exploded outside - all adrift without power.
And then, strangely, something happened. The Starship Eternia began to open up, moving oddly and powerlessly into station-mode. "How is this possible?" asked Hydron, the ship moving effortlessly without power.
A sudden telepathic voice entered their minds. It was the Sorceress. Once, she began, you helped save Castle Grayskull by taking Skeletor out of a vital battle. It is time that favor is repaid!
A shaft of energy fired up from Castle Grayskull and struck the Starship Eternia. It flared, all systems coming on-line and restoring. The energy that flowed off of the Starship Eternia then energized the ships around it and powered them back up.
They, in turn, released power onto the ships surrounding them. In under a minute, the entire fleet was at full power once more.
Hydron took the controls of the Starship Eternia along with Flipshot.
"This is Hydron to the rest of the fleet," he commanded. "Set course for the flagship and lock your weapons!"
The power of Horde Prime was far more than Mara had expected.
As he floated up the mountain, every laser beam, energy blast, missile, and any other attack was shrugged off. He returned it in kind, blasting away each of the alien forces that opposed him. He was reaching the summit, where the prison of Hordak and King Hiss was located. Mara lifted a large energy cannon and hoped that it would have some sort of effect on him.
A ball of energy flew from the cannon - and dissolved against a force field that surrounded Horde Prime. Horde Prime turned to her, his yellow eyes locking onto her brown ones. They seemed to glow for a moment, and she knew it. She was targeted for death.
As a beam of power flew through the air, another body collided with hers and Mara went tumbling down onto the mountain's dirt floor. She-Ra stood above her, having just saved her life.
"Rally the troops," She-Ra ordered. "Now."
She-Ra then ran and leapt onto the back of Swift-Wind and went straight for Horde Prime. Horde Prime said nothing as she neared. He lifted his hands and they glowed with intense power.
"Sword to shield!" She-Ra yelled, his sword transforming into a wide shield. A full thrust of power struck against it, causing both She-Ra and Swift-Wind to falter in mid-air.
Inspector Darkney then pointed to Swift-Wind. Horde Prime smiled and nodded. Before She-Ra could move, a second energy blast struck both she and her pegacorn. Both tumbled to the ground . . .
Meanwhile, between the Dark Riders and Morgoth, both the Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion were faltering. Just as Morgoth was preparing himself for one final assault, there came a sudden shout.
"MORGOTH!"
Morgoth turned and found He-Man leaping off of Battle Cat and slamming right into him. Morgoth staggered back as He-Man stood against him, taking all the attention away from his allies. Without Morgoth, the others would have a better chance at besting the Dark Riders. He hoped, at least.
He-Man swung his Sword of Power towards Morgoth, and was able to deflect an energy blast. He then leapt up and punched Morgoth right in the face. Morgoth snarled and smacked He-Man away. Morgoth stood up to full-size and pulled out his Staff and Emerald Jewel.
He-Man surged forward, but Morgoth crossed both objects and burst of power came from them. He-Man was suddenly overcome by the attack, his body under heavy assault. He fell to ground, defeated. Morgoth grew closer, a smile crossing his lips beneath his thick black beard as he was about to step on He-Man's unconscious body.
Just then, two large boulders slammed right into Morgoth. He faltered a bit and then was struck again. The boulders swirled around him, and smashed against him with incredible impact. Morgoth felt himself stumble a bit as Rokkon and Stonedar poured on the pure physical force.
Then, a series of egg-shaped rocks came smashing into him. The Meteorbs, lead by Rokkon and Stonedar, rammed right into the ancient Horde sorcerer and warlord. He started to hold up his staff and jewel to attack them - but a loud screech halted that. An orange falcon swooped down from the sky and snatched them from his hands.
He-Man awoke and saw Zoar soaring above Morgoth as the Meteorbs, Stonedar and Rokkon attack him. The eagle form of the Sorceress was holding Morgoth's staff and jewel. He-Man knew what he had to do. He lifted his Power Sword and called out to the Spirit of Grayskull.
The Sword of Power lit up with energy and it struck at the sky. Zoar screeched and held out the staff and the emerald jewel. Fire appeared in the sky and it circled, forming into the Wheel of Fire, the eternal prison of Morgoth.
"NO! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T!" shouted Morgoth as the flames reached down like two hands and grabbed hold of him. He struggled against them, as the Meteorbs, Rokkon, and Stonedar moved away.
"Don't worry!" yelled Rokkon as he flew towards the Dark Riders with Stonedar.
"You won't be alone!" continued Stonedar.
The pair smashed right into the Dark Riders and sent them flying towards the Wheel of Fire. They entered and the Wheel of Fire spun faster, and held Morgoth harder. But still - Morgoth struggled to be free. He-Man ran forward and slammed his fists right into Morgoth's stomach. Morgoth faltered and was then pulled into the Wheel of Fire.
It then shrank and dimmed, then vanished completely.
He-Man heaved a sigh of relieve and turned to Eternos to see how things were going. It looked to be going fairly well, with the united front standing against the Horde Troopers.
A sudden rumble shook the ground then and He-Man looked up to see Horde Prime had reached the top of the mountain - and the prison.
Horde Prime opened his arms and sent an energy blast sailing into the prison structure. The doors were blasted open and the soldiers inside were down already. As he entered, he turned to Inspector Darkney, who was pressing keys on a small computer pad.
"They are located beneath the mountain, master."
Horde Prime opened his hands and sent a thunderous blast into the floor. The whole mountain quaked as the blast journeyed to the bottom.
Below, in the prison cell, the ceiling exploded, sending King Hiss and Hordak across the room. Horde Prime and Inspector Darkney floated down.
"Dear brother . . ." rumbled Horde Prime. "Good to see you again."
Hordak attempted to struggle as Horde Prime neared, but it was worthless. King Hiss, on the other hand, shed his human form and leapt towards Horde Prime.
"I will not see this world destroyed!" shouted Hiss.
Darkney intercepted Hiss and stabbed him with an energy prod. Hiss fell immediately. "Eternia was always ours to conquer, you buffoon. Your time is over."
Horde Prime placed his hands on Hordak's forehead. "Let me know your secret, little brother."
The flagship of the Horde fleet was awash in small explosions as the Starship Eternia lead the attack against it. Hydron shook his head in frustration.
"We're barely even scratching it," he grumped. "They picked too many of us off while we were powerless."
A sudden alarm caught Flipshot's attention. He turned to a nearby sensor read-out. "We've got a problem."
"What is it?"
"That anomaly that Man-At-Arms was reading? It's moving this way."
A monitor clicked on, displaying the anomaly. It appeared like a bright star, moving closer and closer, shining brilliantly. And then, oddly, the star began to break up and formed into smaller star-like objects. But the star-like light on those objects soon began to dim and formed into ships.
Horde ships.
Over 800 Horde ships, heading straight for the fleet.
"Horde Prime had reinforcements the whole time!" shouted Flipshot.
Hydron looked over read-out. "They're arming weapons!"
Just then, much to everyone's shock, the Horde ships didn't turn on the Primus and alien vessels. No. They opened fire on the Horde flagship, the small explosion suddenly growing larger, busting the hull all over.
"We're getting a transmission from the OTHER Horde flagship," Flipshot announced.
"Let's see it."
A monitor displayed the interior of the newly arrived Horde flagship. On it was none other than Prince Zed, son of Horde Prime. He was wearing a golden Horde armor, his dark hair now long and running over his pointed ears.
"Forces of Primus and those opposed to the old Horde Empire," Zed began with a smirk. "The NEW Horde is here to help. The old ways have ended. We are the next order. Now . . . where is my father?"
Smiling, Hydron fed Zed the coordinates as the former Horde flagship shuddered and exploded.
Teela watched in shock as the teleportals dissolved. Horde Troopers then began to shut down completely and fell to the ground. The remaining Bat-Mechs died out and crashed to the ground. Teela turned to her father and smiled.
"It's over!" she shouted.
He shook his head and looked the mountain, where an eerie green light was glowing. "Not yet."
Hordak felt his entire life slipping away as his brother boared through his mind. Images swirled together and it was if Hordak was drowning in a sea of sensations and memories. King Hiss . . . the Sword of Deception . . . Etheria . . . Adora . . . Eternia . . . the seventy other worlds he had conquered . . . the Council of Elders . . . his father, Master Nova, the founder of the Horde . . .
"Stop thinking of our father!" screeched Horde Prime. "Think of the spell!"
Blood dripped Hordak's nose, eyes and ears. Horde Prime continued his mental probe. He gargled something, but it was inaudible.
"Sire, the stress you're putting on his brain. You're killing him."
"Then he'll die! It doesn't matter any more!" shouted Horde Prime.
Hordak gasped at what he saw and heard then. She-Ra leapt down and kicked Horde Prime in the face. Horde Prime stumbled backwards, his hands coming off of Hordak's head, his mind being pulled out. She-Ra slammed her fist in Horde Prime's gut.
"No one else dies tonight!" she shouted. She-Ra spun around and kicked Horde Prime in the face, causing the former conqueror to fall.
Darkney pulled out a weapon aimed it right at She-Ra. A tan hand suddenly came upon it and crushed it. He-Man smiled and punched the inspector out.
"This is not over!" yelled Horde Prime.
He blasted both He-Man and She-Ra, sending them against the wall. Horde Prime then unfolded his wings, snatched up Hordak and flew up the tunnel and onto the surface. He-Man and She-Ra ran to the elevator, which was still running amazingly well, and set it go up on maximum speed.
Horde Prime grabbed Hordak by the neck and began to squeeze. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Horde Prime shouted. "ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T LET ETHERIA SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS, THE HORDE WOULD STILL BE WHOLE AND MIGHTY! IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Hordak rasped for air. When She-Ra saw him, a strange sensation flowed through her. This man had raised her, no matter what the circumstances. She-Ra leapt forward and slid her sword through Horde Prime's arm. Hordak fell and Horde Prime screeched as blood poured from his open wound.
"It has ended, Horde Prime," He-Man stated. "Your Troopers are down, the Dark Riders and Morgoth have been banished. It's over."
"Indeed," said Zed, who approached now. "Father, I have destroyed your precious ship. I'm taking you back to the Horde World, where you will stand trail for the crimes you committed against countless worlds."
"You can not do this, Zed! I am your father! I am your blood!"
"Blood means nothing, dear brother . . ." Hordak said, standing up and turning fast towards Horde Prime.
She-Ra stood locked in place as Hordak's good arm transformed into a gun. Explosions from the gun cracked through the air. Small explosions struck Horde Prime's chest and stomach, spilling even more blood from his body.
Horde Prime then fell to the ground, blood flowing freely from his dead body.
He-Man rammed into Hordak and held him as he was dragged back towards the prison and hopefully into his cell. Hordak called back though, to She-Ra.
"I did that for you, Adora! I DID THAT FOR YOU! HE WAS EVIL! HE NEEDED TO BE STOPPED! I DID THAT FOR YOU!" he screamed as He-Man and a number of others pulled him to the prison. "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE HAD A BROTHER LIKE YOURS!? WHY COULDN'T I HAVE A FAMILY LIKE YOURS?!"
She-Ra slammed her eyes close, Hordak's words stinging like a whip. Tears threatened to come out, but she prevented them from doing so. Instead, she returned to business.
"Zed," she began. "I'm sorry."
He breathed deeply. "Oh, it's alright, I suppose. He would have been executed anyways. Still though . . . he was my father . . ."
"A good Horde Empire, huh?" asked She-Ra, continuing to block out her tears.
Zed attempted a smile. "Worth a shot, huh?"