Gwildor was a very friendly little man -if one could use the term "man" to describe the strange troll like creature. When they had arrived at his home he immediately welcomed them inside with enthusiasm, though it took about five minutes for him to undo the multiple locks and actually open the door. Between his two jobs as a locksmith and an inventor, he took his home security very seriously. In his old house he had installed a single master lock that could only be opened with a special computerized key. However, Skeletor's forces had simply blown the door off of its hinges. So now, in his new house, he had made sure to secure it more tightly.
Gwildor had been preparing lunch when they arrived so as he listened to their story he scurried about offering them tea, homemade pastries, and a bizarre vegetable stew that looked horrible but actually tasted quite good. When they reached the part about Yuckers' death, Gwildor stopped everything, went over to Dree Elle who was sitting silently with Orko, and gave her a gentle hug with condolences. Jinx watched them wishing she could say or do something to ease Dree Elle's sorrow, but she couldn't think of anything. She wondered silently if Dree Elle was blaming herself for her brother's death. Jinx certainly felt responsible.
It had actually been Dree Elle who insisted that they continue on with their mission. If they gave up or failed, Yuckers would have died for nothing. After that however, she hadn't said another word. Jinx's eyes drifted for a moment to where Yuckers' body lay covered in a shroud. Dree Elle would take him back to Trolla later for the funeral services. Jinx hated funerals. She had been to far too many and they never got any easier. So many times she had gone to see the family of Vypra's latest victim, promising to catch her. So many promises unfulfilled. Finally she just stopped going.
She turned back to the group as Orko was finishing his explanation to Gwildor. "Our only hope of defeating Cobra is to ally ourselves with G.I. Joe, but they're back on Earth and completely unaware of what's happening here. That's why we've come to you, Gwildor. We need the Cosmic Key."
Gwildor nodded. "Of course. Follow me."
Opening a secret door in the rear stone wall, Gwildor led them down a long corridor. Like the one Jinx had used to escape Viper Tower, this passageway was obviously not put to use often. Jinx sighed as she brushed away another cobweb; she was going to need a long serious shower after this. Finally Gwildor stopped before a large metal door in the wall. Jinx noticed however that the corridor went far past it.
"What's down there?" she asked, pointing into the darkness.
"This passage continues on to the caverns underneath Grayskull," Gwildor explained pulling a bizarre looking key out from one of his many pockets. "It's a real labyrinth though. If you don't know the correct path you could get stuck down there forever." He inserted the key into the lock and gave it the simplest of twists. Instantly the sound of enormous tumblers unlocking echoed through the dark passage.
"Welcome to the vault," Gwildor said pulling on the heavy door with some difficulty.
"Maybe it's just me," Jinx said, "but this vault doesn't seem very secure. Aren't you worried about being robbed?"
"Not at all," Gwildor grunted as he struggled with the door. "You see, there's a magic seal on this door. These special warp keys open a pocket dimension on the other side. Only The Sorceress and myself possess them so no one else, not even He-Man, can enter. In fact, you could say that without the warp key the contents of this vault don't even exist."
Rockon finally decided to lend Gwildor a hand and the door swung open revealing a small chamber filled with many wondrous artifacts, and there in the center of the room sat the Cosmic Key. It was a strange device that looked like some kind of musical synthesizer rather than a key. Actually, in a way, it was a musical instrument. The key generated tones and melodies that unlocked inter-dimensional doorways. With the right tones you could travel to any place on any planet in any galaxy. You could even travel backwards or forwards through time if you so desired. Small wonder that Gwildor chose to keep it locked away from everyone.
He had invented the key intending it to be used for simplifying travel. Only after it was stolen by, and barely recovered from, Skeletor did Gwildor realize the dangers it presented. Unable to bring himself to destroy it however, Gwildor had chosen instead to shut it away. Only in an absolute emergency would he ever allow it to be used again.
"Grab those charts will you?" Gwildor said to Jinx as he picked up the key. "I'll need them to calculate the coordinates."
"Where did you get these?" Jinx asked, noticing that the charts he had indicated were detailed maps of Earth.
"Queen Marlena gave them to me," he said. "They were stored on her spacecraft."
Jinx lifted up the charts and was shocked to discover a second Cosmic Key underneath them.
"You've got two!" she shouted.
"Yes, but that one doesn't work," Gwildor sighed. "The tones stored in its memory were completely erased. I never got around to reprogramming it. Never really had a need of course. Come along now. We've got a lot to do and no time to waste."
Teela slowly approached the King and Queen who were standing on the balcony overlooking the kingdom. Everything seemed so quiet now, but they knew it was merely the calm before the storm. When they failed to notice her Teela hesitated then politely cleared her throat.
Teela was one of the youngest warriors in the Eternian army but she already held the position of captain of the guard. Her reputation as a soldier had quickly spread not only among the guard, but all across Eternia. Although she didn't know it, Teela was also the daughter of Teela'na The Sorceress and was destined to one day succeed her. She had always been a strong warrior, nevertheless she wasn't afraid to admit when she was nervous.
"Your Majesties, all my guards are in position. Ready and waiting. I'm getting a little worried about the others though."
"Please be patient Teela," Marlena said. "It'll take some time, but the Joes will come. I'm sure of it."
"I wasn't doubting that," Teela quickly stated. "I was concerned that our expedition may have run into trouble. Perhaps I should send a squad out to check on them."
"No," Randor sighed softly. "I understand and share your concern Teela, but if Skeletor and Cobra should attack before the Joes arrive, we'll need every last man available to protect the palace."
"Well then, mind if we lend a hand?"
All three turned in surprise to see He-Man and She-Ra entering the hall behind them.
"He-Man! Thank the Ancients you've come," Randor exclaimed. "And She-Ra, it is good to see you again too. It's been quite some time. I only wish we could be meeting under better circumstances."
"I'm always glad to be of help Your Highness," She-Ra smiled. "The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms have already filled us in on our situation."
"Then you know we can expect an all out attack any time now," Randor said his voice turning serious now.
"We'll be waiting for them," She-Ra declared. "As long as we stand united, I'm sure we will prevail."
"Thank you She-Ra," Marlena said. "I'm glad you're here." Marlena hesitated a minute then asked, "I realize this may not be the most appropriate time to ask but, could you tell me, how is my daughter Adora? I haven't heard from her in so long."
"I can assure you, Your Highness, Adora is quite well," She-Ra grinned. "She asked me to tell you she sends her love and hopes to be able to come visit again soon."
"You should be very proud of Adora," He-Man added. "She's become quite a solider and an admirable leader."
Marlena laughed, "I'm not surprised."
"Maybe Adam can pick something up from her," Randor chuckled.
He-Man was trying to think of a defense for his alter ego, but to his surprise it was Teela who provided it.
"Don't be too hard on Adam Your Highness. He can be quite the warrior at times. You'd be surprised."
He-Man stared at Teela. She was always criticizing him as Adam about being lazy and a slacker. It was an image he purposely created for himself to help keep his duel identity a secret. Now he was shocked speechless to hear her come to his defense.
Could it be she knew?
He-Man didn't have much time to think about this however as a royal guard suddenly came running into the room.
"Sire, we've spotted the enemy armies just outside the city! They're ready to attack."
"Any sign of the Joes?" Randor asked.
"I'm afraid not Sire," the guard said. "What should we do?"
Randor glanced around the room and sighed, "What choice do we have? Prepare to repel invaders. Hold your positions. And pray help arrives."
Out in the fields surrounding Eternos, Skeletor turned to his evil cohorts and nodded. He and King Hiss silently pointed their soldiers forward. Cobra Commander followed their actions speaking that single word battle cry that said everything to his men.
"COBRA!"
Thomas Arashikage was many things. Better known by his code name Storm Shadow, which was in fact a rough English translation of his last name's meaning, he was a former member of US Army Long Range Recon Patrol, last Grand Master of the Arashikage Clan, and leader of the G.I. Joe Ninja Force. All of these things had led him to be a patient man as well.
Until now that is.
It had been nearly twenty-four hours since Jinx's disappearance, and they were still no closer to finding her. Though he trusted his instincts that his young cousin was still alive, the fact that he could do nothing for her weighed heavily on his mind. Mainly because he didn't have the slightest idea where she was, and therefore couldn't even begin to contemplate what he could do for her. The overwhelming feeling of helplessness was not something the ninja master was used to, and he hated it.
Glancing across the compound, he saw Scarlett and ran over to her. Before he even voiced his question though her eyes had given him his answer.
"You found something?"
Scarlett shook her head and sighed. "I'm afraid not. I spent hours pouring over everything I could find, but came up with nothing."
"That's not what I wanted to hear," Storm Shadow snapped, perhaps more violently than he'd intended.
Scarlett was a little surprised by his tone but let it go, realizing that he was upset. "I know, and I'm sorry, but..."
"Being sorry doesn't change anything!" Storm Shadow shouted, grabbing her arm tightly. Scarlett cringed in pain as she felt one of her stitches open. At this rate her shoulder was never going to heal.
"Storm Shadow please! I am trying."
"Obviously you're not trying hard enough!" he shouted. "I would have thought you knew better than to cross me!" With that he tightened his already firm grip. Blood began trickling down Scarlett's arm from her reopened wound. She tried to pull free but the ninja master was too strong and the pain too great.
"Storm Shadow please! My arm! Stop it! THOMAS!"
Storm Shadow blinked twice then suddenly released her and stepped back as if coming out of a trance. Even among those who were close friends, it was common practice for G.I. Joes to call each other only by their code names. Therefore the shock of hearing his real name was enough to bring Thomas Arashikage back to his senses.
"My God! Scarlett... Shana... I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me! Are you all right?"
"You had another attack didn't you?" Scarlett said nursing her arm.
Storm Shadow quickly shook his head in denial. "No, I... I just lost my temper. I'm sorry. I'm worried about Jinx, that's all."
But that wasn't all and they both knew it. Storm Shadow's "attacks", as Scarlett put it, were becoming more and more frequent. Their origin was a direct result of Storm Shadow's involvement with Cobra.
Years ago when his uncle, the Hard Master, had been murdered Thomas had set out to discover the killer and avenge his uncle's death. Tracing the killer back to Cobra, Thomas infiltrated the organization. Adopting the name Storm Shadow he quickly rose through their ranks, even becoming a personal bodyguard to Cobra Commander himself. His intention had been to learn the identity of his uncle's killer and take his revenge. This ongoing thirst for vengeance, combined with the foul deeds he was forced to do in order to prove his "loyalty" to Cobra began to darken his soul. Realizing what he had become, Storm Shadow left Cobra and went into recluse in order to calm his mind.
During this time his sword brother, the G.I. Joe known as Snake Eyes, discovered the Hard Master's murderer to be Zartan; a master of disguise mercenary hired by Cobra Commander. Together, the two made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Zartan on Cobra Island. Snake Eyes managed to escape but Storm Shadow was all but fatally wounded. As punishment for his "treason" Storm Shadow's body was ruthlessly experimented on by Cobra scientists until he finally managed to escape and again went into recluse to regain control of his mind. Later he would join the Joe team having never gotten his revenge.
Eventually, after several humiliating defeats, Cobra Commander decided to rebuild his former "command circle" of Cobra. He had Storm Shadow, along with several other former high-ranking Cobra agents, captured and subjected to electronic brain washing. Storm Shadow was once again overtaken by the darker side of himself that he had fought so hard to suppress. Cobra Commander believed he had his loyal ninja bodyguard back, and for a while he did, but the terrorist leader had forgotten to take into account the ninja master's strength of mind. Storm Shadow was able to overturn his brain washing and returned to the Joe team. However all of these abuses of his head had left their mark.
Storm Shadow now found himself in an ongoing struggle to hold on to his sense of mind. His darker side kept creeping up inside him like Mr. Hyde overtaking Dr. Jekyll. Particularly when he lost his temper, Storm Shadow would revert to his more evil persona. Though he would admit it to no one, he occasionally began to question his own sanity and where his true loyalties laid.
Scarlett patted Storm Shadow sympathetically on the back with her good arm. "I understand. It's always hardest on the family, but I promise you we will find Jinx no mater how long it takes. Don't loose hope. Something's bound to turn up."
Storm Shadow laughed sarcastically. "Right. Any minute now Jinx is going to appear out of thin air."
It has often been said that whatever higher power there may be, it definitely has a sense of humor. This apparently was so, because no sooner had Storm Shadow said this than, with a fury of wind and sound, the Cosmic Key ripped open a warp in space depositing Jinx and her ragtag group of alien colleagues in the center of the Joe compound.
"Whoa!" Rockon exclaimed. "And I thought comet riding was a rush!"
The two Joes couldn't see Jinx for she was standing in the center of the group, flanked by an alien on all sides. That, combined with the fact that they had just popped out of an inter-dimensional doorway, was enough to make Storm Shadow draw his sword and approach them quickly but cautiously. Scarlett, being injured, stayed back but drew her sidearm, ready to cover his back.
Seeing a blade wielding ninja before them Orko turned to the Thenurian inventor. "Gwildor, are you sure you got those calculations correct?"
Storm Shadow's eyes grew narrow and his voiced seethed, "Who are you? State your intentions!"
"Stand down cousin," Jinx said pushing her way forward to be seen. "It's okay. We're among friends here."
Storm Shadow stared at Jinx, unable to believe what he was seeing. His eyes began to fill with tears of joy. Jinx smiled. She couldn't remember the last time Storm Shadow had cried for any reason.
"It's okay," she said again. "I'm back now and I'm fine."
Storm Shadow dropped his sword and embraced his little cousin in relief. A moment later Scarlett rushed over and joined in the hug. Neither one could say anything but they didn't have to.
Jinx smiled to herself as she hugged them back. She knew there was still much to do and very shortly she would be returning to Eternia, but for right now she was home.
