He-Man had ridden on dragons before. To him, although not a common practice, it was not an unusual experience. For his two ninja companions though, this was an exhilarating rush, and a once in a lifetime experience. Nunchuck found himself holding back the desire to throw his hands up and cry out, as one would do on a roller coaster. If the situation hadn't been so serious he might have given in, for this was truly going to be a one-time thing.

That was due largely to Jadescale, the dragon guard carrying them. Although he had obeyed Granamyr's order loyally and without question, he was clearly not pleased at having been reduced to a human's mount. Fortunately, he was willing to swallow his pride for the greater good. Nevertheless, he did not say a word to the heroes until they landed next to the Wind Raider and dismounted him.

"Thank you for your help, Jadescale," He-Man said.

"I was only doing as Lord Granamyr requested of me," the dragon snarled. "Do not expect it again in the future. And speak of this to no one."

"As you wish," He-Man nodded. "My thanks again."

Jadescale turned and spread his wings to fly away, muttering something about indignity but then stopped and sniffed the air.

"Is something wrong?" Storm Shadow asked.

Jadescale opened his mouth but said nothing. A moment later a wall of fire spewed forth from his maw towards the cliff side. As the flames licked the stones, several human screams of pain rang out. Simultaneously a group of ninja warriors scattered to avoid joining their incinerated comrades.

"Night Creepers!" Nunchuck shouted reading himself for battle.

"Don't forget about us," a familiar voice said. Standing among the few remaining Night Creepers, two warriors stood out from the rest. One was dressed in red with a silver face guard and carried his sword underhanded. The other was dressed in dark purple and held a double bladed hook-sword. They were two of Cobra's toughest ninja warriors, known only by their code names, Slice and Dice.

"It's been a long time since we had the pleasure of taking you on," Slice said.

"Indeed," Nunchuck snarled. "I was beginning to think we had lucked out and you had died without us knowing."

"Bold words," Dice laughed. "I look forward to ramming them down your throat."

Storm Shadow glanced at the Cobra ninjas with a look that asked quite plainly, 'are you really that stupid?' Apparently this didn't register in their feeble minds so he finally said, "You have to be either the bravest men alive or complete fools."

"We have you outnumbered." Slice said, "The odds don't look so good for you."

He-Man and Nunchuck nodded and spoke in unison. "Fools."

"You are hopelessly out-powered, and that's not even counting the dragon." Storm Shadow said. Then he straightened, folded his arms in front of him and spoke matter-of-factual. "And for your information, you do not outnumber us."

"I thought you were the Young Master not the Blind Master," Dice chided. He turned to the Night Creepers behind him. "Finish them off." The Creepers however stood still, not moving nor making a sound.

"What's the matter with you?" Slice growled. His growl turned into a gasp of shock as all the Creepers toppled forward dead, each with a series of deadly shuriken embedded in their flesh.

Slice spun around to Storm Shadow in disbelief. "What? How? When did you do that?"

"Right before I did that," Storm Shadow said pointing to Slice's forehead. The evil ninja reached up to discover another shuriken embedded in his face guard. Had the mask not been made of metal, his life would have already been over.

He-Man blinked and did a double take. He knew for a fact that the shuriken had not been there a moment ago. Yet he had not seen Storm Shadow move, had not seen the weapon fly and had not seen or heard it hit. He knew that ninjas were swift and silent warriors, but this man was clearly the best.

"I'm glad you're one of the good guys," he whispered. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Yes," the Grandmaster muttered, "that would be most ill advised."

"Enough of this," Jadescale growled, apparently annoyed that everyone had seemingly forgotten about him. He leaned down and stared straight on at Slice and Dice with smoke bellowing from his nostrils. "You go on and leave. I can handle these two."

The three heroes made for the Wind Raider and took off. Slice made a move towards them but stopped short as Jadescale's eyes narrowed at him. Ninjas are not easily intimidated, but staring into the eyes of an angry dragon is enough to make anyone shake in their boots.

"If those two weren't so loathsome and detestable I'd almost feel sorry for them," Nunchuck laughed.

"This doesn't feel right," Storm Shadow said quietly. "We should not have turned our backs on them."

"Relax," He-Man assured him. "We're airborne and they're down there with Jadescale. What could happen now?"

Suddenly a loud roar pierced the sky. There was no mistaking it was a dragon's cry, but not of anger. It was a cry of pain. Looking down the three were shocked to see a third ninja standing on Jadescale's back with a massive sword plunged into the beast's neck. Slice and Dice meanwhile had begun to perform their namesakes to the dragon's chest.

"That's Ninjor!" He-Man shouted.

Nunchuck stood up in his seat. "Aw shit! What do we do now?"

"I will handle them. You take care of this," Storm Shadow said and tossed the crest shard to He-Man.

"Sensei, what are you…" but before anyone knew what happened Storm Shadow had flung himself out of the Wind Raider into mid air and was free falling towards the struggle below.

"Turn back!" Nunchuck shouted. "We can't leave him alone!"

He-Man complied without argument. "What's he thinking? Ninjor's one of the deadliest men on Eternia. He has no idea what he's getting into."

Damn it! Nunchuck thought. Jinx is going to kill me.

Storm Shadow's touchdown wasn't exactly the softest of landings but he got up without hesitation. Drawing his swords he flung himself at Ninjor. The dark warrior saw him coming in time to duck under the blades but not quite low enough to avoid collision. Storm Shadow's wrists caught his head knocking him off balance and sending him plummeting off Jadescale's neck.

"You should not have come back," Jadescale whispered.

"Be still," Storm Shadow said without turning around. "Let me do what I must. That goes for you two as well," he added to He-Man and Nunchuck who had just landed close by.

"Foolish man," Ninjor said, his voice a soft whisper of evil. "I am the greatest warrior in the universe. You dare to think yourself a match for me?"

"You have obviously never faced an Arashikage," Storm Shadow scoffed. At this point a lesser man would have attacked his opponent, attempting to prove himself the more powerful warrior. Not Storm Shadow. He would not give his enemy the satisfaction of luring him in. Instead he lowered his stance and beckoned Ninjor forward. Ninjor, being the dark-hearted warrior fell for his lure. Within seconds they were clashing swords, trading blow for blow at speeds to boggle the mind. Each was better than the other had anticipated, and for the longest time neither managed to land a blow on flesh. Finally Storm Shadow feinted slightly and then swung slitting Ninjor's arm.

"First blood to you," Ninjor smiled, actually amused. "It would appear that I have finally met a worthy adversary."

"I must confess you are truly skilled yourself," Storm Shadow saluted. "So why don't we keep this between ourselves?" As he said this, the master swung one sword behind him, without looking, and effectively blocked Slice's blow towards his back.

"So it shall be," Ninjor nodded and gestured for Slice to back off.

"Are you sure?" Slice asked. "He's pretty damn tough."

"All the better for me," Ninjor laughed. "You two secure the crest while I enjoy myself."


"We have a problem here," said Teela.

"What could possibly be worse than a pair of indestructible B.A.T.s on our tail?" Cover Girl gasped, short on breath.

"The fact that we just ran out of running space," Teela said mater-of-factual.

And so they had. The chase had led them up to the very top of Snake Mountain and the heroes now found themselves staring out into space from the mouth of the giant stone serpent that coiled its way around the fortress.

"Can't go forward," Fisto muttered, kicking a stone off the edge.

"Can't go back," Mekaneck said, glancing back toward the sound of the approaching androids.

"It's along way down," Cover Girl whispered with a hint of acrophobia in her voice.

"Looks like we go up," Teela said and began carefully scaling around and up the stone structure until she was standing on the snake's head. Fisto followed her using his enormous fist to firmly grip the rock and thus leaving finger grooves, which in turn made it simpler for Mekaneck to get a grip.

Cover Girl hesitated slightly, then slowly began to inch her way out and up. Apparently the height was affecting her more than she cared to let on. Mekaneck reached out to help her up. Their fingers were inches apart when a laser blast erupted between them, announcing the arrival of the B.A.T.s with their guns blazing.

Cover Girl flattened herself against the stone. The laser fire had her pinned down. At the same time she was blocking the path therefore preventing any of the others from coming down to help her. Reaching down she pulled out her sidearm and fired a few shots into the nearest B.A.T.'s head. Normally this would be the best strategy to use on one of the android troopers, but it made no affect against the nano-mite laced circuitry.

Cover Girl closed her eyes and was just contemplating how this was not how she had pictured dying when the steady laser fire suddenly became sporadic. Deciding it was safe to look, she saw that Snake Eyes had caught up with them and had begun drawing fire. The ninja master was too swift for the robots to lock onto.

Snake Eyes flipped over one B.A.T. and landed between the two. Grabbing the one in front of him, he flung the robot over his back into its companion. The sheer force knocked both back and over the edge. Proving how brainless the B.A.T.s were however, they continued firing the whole time as they plummeted down. One last stray blast hit the mountain face beneath Cover Girl's feet.

Cover Girl screamed in terror as the stone gave way sending her plummeting off the fortress. Fortunately, Mekaneck managed to catch her. Although she was out of reach of his arms, he was still able to stretch out his neck and grabbed her securely by clamping his teeth firmly on the top of her shirt. Normally this would have been a very embarrassing position for both of them but, given their current situation, such formalities were not of top priority.

Cover Girl quickly wrapped her arms around Mekaneck and held on tightly to him even after he had pulled her up and her feet were once again on solid ground. She was by no means weak, but she had never come so close to death before and was understandably shaken.

"Well what now?" Teela asked after they had all regained their senses and Snake Eyes had climbed up to join them.

"We should be safe up here for the time being," Mekaneck said, still holding Cover Girl tightly. "However we are kind of stuck without a means of escape."

"And we still haven't warned the others about the B.A.T.s," Cover Girl added. The others nodded in agreement. The course of action was clear.

"Break radio silence," Teela ordered. "Open a channel to both Eternos and Grayskull. Call for help."

It took less than a minute to set up the three way call. One advantage to their position was they were at a perfect vantage point for transmission. Soon they were staring at two holograms. One of Duke and The Sorceress, the other of Flint and Queen Marlena.

"Okay stay put," Flint said after they had related the whole tale. "I'll send a squad there to pull you out."

"Negative Flint!" Duke shouted. "I'll personally pull them out. And I'm also sending some reinforcements for you. You stay were you are and keep the city secure."

"How do we know they're headed for Eternos?" Marlena asked.

"We don't," Duke said. "But if they are, then you'll need all the help you can get."

"The robots will never be able to breach Grayskull's defenses, no matter how indestructible they are," Sorceress added.

"That's fine for you," Flint grunted, "but we're not so fortunate. If those androids show up here, I doubt any reinforcements will help."

"Concentrate on the Collector," Cover Girl said. "The nano-mite controller's on board. Take that out and they'll cease to be indestructible super powered killing machines."

Lady Jaye leaned into the hologram next to Flint and laughed sarcastically. "Instead they'll just be regular super powered killing machines."

"Our situation is not pleasant," Fisto muttered. "No matter what we do we're at a disadvantage here."

"It's worse than that my friends," Sorceress said cryptically. "If my observations are correct we have only a matter of hours before the damage to the universe becomes irreversible!"

Flint sighed and buried his face in his hand. "How could things possibly get any worse?"

Suddenly the two holograms were joined by a third one of Man-At-Arms. The image was garbled and scrambled and only half of his words were getting though. What they heard though was unmistakably spoken in panic.

"Under… Mer Man… engines… need…" The message cut off in mid sentence.

Teela frantically shook the projector trying to reestablish contact. "Father! What happened? Father!"

The holographic Lady Jaye glared at Flint and scowled. "How many times have I told you never to say that?"


Sick twisted pleasure filled Ninjor as his blades clashed with Storm Shadow's, performing a waltz of flashing steel. The dark warrior fought for the thrill it brought him and that was his greatest strength, as well as his greatest weakness. Storm Shadow, in contrast, fought not out of pleasure nor emotion. His mind was a void, and that nothingness was the controlling element of his swordsmanship. Before battle he would clear his mind and soul leaving no distractions to hinder himself.

Thus it was that he now countered every swipe, every slash, every possible move made towards him. This in turn, of course, only infuriated Ninjor causing him to become irrational and sloppy- exactly as Storm Shadow had intended. Locking both of his blades with Ninjor's, the Arashikage master then brought his leg up kicking him square in the chin sending his neck snapping back. Then, just as quickly, catching it on the return for a double hit that left the evil warrior momentarily stunned. For Storm Shadow a moment made all the difference. Though he could easily have decapitated Ninjor right there, he chose instead to drive the hilts of his swords into Ninjor's temples. The black-garbed fighter collapsed in a heap at his feet.

"Until next time, novice," Storm Shadow said sheathing his blades.

He-Man and Nunchuck meanwhile were not faring as well. Nunchuck was managing to hold his own against Dice fairly well, however he was hindered by the fact that he had only his short-range nunchaku weapons to defend himself with. Dice's sword on the other hand had quite a range, not to mention wicked twin hooked ends.

He-Man was struggling to hold his own against Slice. Though he was stronger, his sword was not designed for the close quarter fencing style that Slice was applying. Aggravating him even further was the fact that Slice spent most of the fight with his back to him. Preferring instead to use backhanded slashes that were the trademark of his fighting technique.

He-Man cried out in pain suddenly as Slice slipped under his blow and, with yet another backhand slash, thrust his sword into He-Man's leg. Slice withdrew the blade and spun around to finally face his enemy as He-Man placed a hand over the wound to stop the rush of blood.

"It would seem you are not as invulnerable as you would like us to believe," the evil ninja laughed.

He-Man said nothing but glared at the ninja with a look of absolute hatred. Slice tilted his head slightly. It took He-Man a moment to realize what he was doing. Had Slice not been wearing his face guard He-Man would have seen that his eyes had drifted to the ground between them.

By the time He-Man saw the truth it was too late. He moved fast but Slice moved faster. The Crest of Infinity piece was in Slice's hand before He-Man realized that he had dropped it.

"That's the thing about pain," Slice laughed. "When it enters your mind you forget about everything else. No matter how important it may be."

He-Man lunged towards Slice but stumbled owing to his wounded leg. Slice signaled to Dice who shook off Nunchuck and ran after him. The two ninjas jumped onto their waiting jet sleds and were airborne before either could stop them.

"You will not get away so easily," Storm Shadow shouted to their fleeing forms, but just then a loud thud behind him drew his attention. Spinning around he nearly ran right into Jadescale's outstretched claw.

It took a split second for Storm Shadow to realize that the claw was the only thing separating him the fully conscious Ninjor.

"You don't go down easily do you?"

Storm Shadow had been speaking to Ninjor but it was Jadescale who answered.

"I had to help. You came back and fought to help me. Granamyr was right about you."

Ninjor turned on the dragon furiously. "Miserable beast. You should never interfere with a ninja's battle!"

The only consolation about what happened next was that Jadescale did not suffer. It was over quickly and with relatively no pain. Ninjor thrust forward shoving his sword straight up through the dragon's jaw and into his brain. Death came almost instantly.

It was as though a bomb went off in Storm Shadow's mind. All the self-control he struggled to keep in check snapped like a thin twig. The void that had been his mind was now filled with only one thing: Pure uninhibited rage.

Storm Shadow flew at Ninjor with blinding speed. The evil warrior was caught unprepared for such an assault. Storm Shadow's lack of self control and concentration allowed Ninjor to withstand the attack, but he was nevertheless finding himself being forced back towards the cliff side and the empty space beyond.

He-Man meanwhile had managed to pull out a small tracking device and hurled it skyward. For anyone else it would have been a futile effort, but He-Man's superhuman strength was more than sufficient. The tracker covered the distance and attached itself to Slice's jet sled perfectly.

"Let's go," he said. "We can track them from the air."

Nunchuck turned to Storm Shadow and only now noticed his former teacher. He tried calling out, but the ninja master either did not hear, or paid him no heed.

"We've got to get Storm Shadow first," Nunchuck said to He-Man. "We cannot leave him in this state."

"He can take care of himself," He-Man protested. "They're getting away with the crest!"

"Don't you see?" Nunchuck pleaded. "This is just what both he and Jinx were afraid of! He's lost control again. If he kills Ninjor while his dark side has taken over, we may loose him forever!"

He-Man didn't argue anymore but limped towards the battle as fast as his injured leg would allow him. Nunchuck moved swifter but even so, by the time he caught up to them, Storm Shadow had disarmed Ninjor and was pounding into him with a flurry of punches that were unbefitting a noble warrior like himself.

"Storm Shadow please stop!" Nunchuck shouted. "This isn't you!"

Storm Shadow seemed to regard his companion for a moment, but then grabbed Ninjor by the throat and held him suspended over the edge. For the first time a look of terror entered Ninjor's eyes as he glanced down seeing nothing but air for hundreds of feet below him.

Storm Shadow paused but kept his grip tight. It seemed he was debating whether to let Ninjor fall to his death, or to strangle him first. Nunchuck stepped in, taking advantage of this momentary lapse. This was his one window of opportunity to snatch his friend back from the abyss of darkness.

"I know you're angry, but he's not worth it." Nunchuck was speaking slowly and calmly. He could see his words were getting through and he had to make them count.

"Look at what you're doing," he said softly. "This isn't you. You're not the cold-hearted assassin Cobra Commander tried to make you into. You've come so far. You've made such progress. Don't throw it all away on his account."

Storm Shadow's grip began to loosen. His body was relaxing, his anger subsiding. Nunchuck played his trump card.

"Please, think of your friends. All of us are here for you. We'll get through this, just let us help you. Think of Jinx. You told her to kill you if you succumbed to the darkness. Do you really want to do that to her? Do you have any idea how much that will destroy her?"

That did it. Storm Shadow trembled, then threw Ninjor back onto the ground and fell to his knees. Nunchuck rushed over and knelt beside him.

"What am I turning into?" Storm Shadow wept. "How long can I keep fighting it?"

"As long as it takes Sensei," Nunchuck whispered. "As long as it takes."

Ninjor struggled to his feet and turned to face them. "I have no idea what just happened, but you should have killed me when you had the chance. Now I'm going to..."

"Do nothing!" He-Man shouted and punched the evil ninja in the gut with such force that he flew about thirty feet before landing in an unconscious heap. Sighing, He-Man put his hand back over his still bleeding leg wound and cast his eyes skyward, contemplating the next move.

Storm Shadow had been saved from a fate worse then death, but they still had a much larger problem on their hands. They had failed to secure their piece of the crest. And, judging by the ominous purple storm clouds filling the atmosphere, time was quickly running out.