Disclaimer: I do not own He-man, Masters of the Universe, or even She-ra, Princess of Power for that matter (or any of the related characters). I believe if you want that person, you should contact Mattel.
The Harder They Fall
"Father! We can't hold them back much longer!"
Teela swung her staff and shot another beam of energy at Evil Lynn. Skeletor's second in command smirked. "Is that the best you can do?" she asked, returning the beam with one of her own.
The battle was raging all around them and, although Teela hardly had time to glance at it, she could tell that Skeletor's troops were certainly dishing out a stronger attack than the Masters were returning. Grayskull loomed nearby, where her father and some of Eternia's other warriors fought their own part in the battle.
"Shit," Teela swore, barely avoiding another of Evil Lynn's attacks. Teela shot out a round of energy beams, and while Evil lynn dodged them, she took advantage of the moment and dove for cover. "Father!" she called into her comm link. "How is it at Grayskull?"
Her father's voice came through as the comm link crackled to life. "We're holding them off… Barely. This won't last much longer, though. Skeletor's putting all of his energy into this attack on the castle. It's almost as though he's trying to destroy it this time."
Teela's lips tightened into a thin line. "We need He-Man. Where is he? He's never been this late before."
Her father, Man-at-Arms, sighed. "He'll be here soon… I hope."
"Can I go yet?" Prince Adam said impatiently for the hundredth time.
His father, King Randor sent his son a stern look. "Adam, you've been slacking in your training. You don't honestly expect me to send you to Grayskull to help the Masters fight when Skeletor's there, do you?"
Adam scowled. "Father, I'm 18 years old. I think I'm old enough to defend myself."
Randor glared at him. "Yes, Adam. You're 18 years old. And from what I've seen, you don't act a day over twelve. The only time I've ever seen you show an interest in fighting is when you're trying to show off. And then you disappear when the fighting gets rough. This is an important mission that the Masters can't afford to lose. With rumors going around that Skeletor's mentor may be returning to Eternia, they can't afford to have anyone with them who won't stick around long enough to do his part. The answer is no. They'll be fine with He-Man's help. You, on the other hand, will continue training. Orko!"
Out of nowhere, appeared the trolla, so quickly he almost knocked Adam over. "Yes, sire?"
Randor sighed. "Orko, I need you to keep an eye on Adam. I have important matters to attend to today, and Adam needs to continue his training. If he sets a toe out of the courtyard, I want you to alert me. Do you understand?" He was speaking to Orko, but his eyes never left Adam's face.
"Yes sir!" Orko said cheerfully. "Your majesty, would you like to see a card trick? I just learned a new—"
"No, Orko. Not now. Later, maybe. Just watch Adam." Randor shifted his attention to Adam again. "I mean it," he said. "Not one step off of this courtyard until I return." Before Adam could reply, King Randor strode off.
Adam didn't move until his father was well out of sight. "Well, that was pleasant," he muttered under his breath. When he was finally sure that it was safe, Adam motioned to his huge green tiger. "Come on, Cringer. We have work to do!" he said as he unsheathed his sword.
The tiger had been trying to slip away unnoticed, but at the mention of his name, and the sight of the sword, he took off running. He wasn't quick enough.
After one last cursory look around to be sure no one could see him, Adam raised his sword. "By the power of Grayskull! I have the power!"
A bolt of lightening shot down from the sky and entered the sword, causing it to elongate and subtly change into He-Man's power sword. The electricity coursed through the sword into Adam's body. Not a pleasant experience, but after two years of this, he was getting used to it. He felt his body change, growing larger and stronger as it gained the power of the elders, and at the same time, he aged to his mid-twenties… He-Man's age. As the power coursed through, he pointed his sword at Cringer, who was almost out of the courtyard. The power shot across the sword and hit the frightened cat. Moments later, Battle Cat stood fearlessly in Cringer's place. Then it was over. The sky closed up and the courtyard was back to normal.
"Let's go, Battle Cat!" He-Man shouted. "Our friends need us, and the Sorceress is calling. There's trouble at Grayskull."
Battle Cat growled in response, ready for a fight, and He-Man quickly mounted.
"Wait!" Orko cried. "I'm not allowed to let you out of the courtyard, remember?"
He-Man grinned. "No, you weren't allowed to let Prince Adam out of the courtyard. Come on, Battle Cat."
They bounded off before Orko could figure that one out.
"Perfect," Skeletor cackled. This was going exactly as planned. Better than planned, actually. Those meddlesome Masters were falling like flies. Soon Grayskull would be his. And if his calculations were correct, the corridor would be his as well. And best of all, He-Man was nowhere in sight. Nothing could stop him. The havoc staff sent out magic in the form of purple lightning, raining down on Grayskull. Throughout all of the fighting, he and the Sorceress had been engaged in their own private battle of wills. And Skeletor was winning. Her force field had shrunk and flickered under his attack. Soon it would be over.
Almost. Almost…
Then, without warning came the roar of a huge cat, and the familiar sound of the tide turning. Skeletor tried to ignore the sounds as he swore at the Sorceress. He only needed a few more moments.
But he wouldn't have them.
"It's over, Skeletor."
Skeletor didn't even grace He-Man with a glance, instead sending another surge of lighting toward the force field. "You've said that a hundred times, He-Man. I would think you'd have come up with something better than that by now."
"And I'd have thought you'd learn your lesson by now." He-Man approached, sword drawn, ready for the attack.
It didn't come. Skeletor kept his energy focused on the castle. His havoc staff, half raised, amplifying his power.
Then, without warning, Skeletor spun on He-Man, aiming the staff at his head. The magic instantly struck its new target. Stunned by the suddenness of the attack, and the force of the magic, He-Man dropped to the ground.
Even Skeletor was surprised. In his frustration at losing once again, it had never occurred to him that his attack would actually stun his nemesis. Skeletor laughed. "So, that's all it takes? The great He-Man can't handle a surprise attack?"
"Obviously, neither can you, Skeletor," came a voice from behind. He turned just in time to see Stratos dive at him from the air, the winged fighter shooting from his wrist cannon. Havoc staff raised, Skeletor prepared for the counterattack, only to be stopped by another voice.
"Give it up, Skeletor. You won't win." It was Teela, looking bruised and battered, but also very dangerous. She held her snake staff in front of her, its eyes glowing with barely restrained magic. The rest of the Masters stood behind her. Evil Lynn and the rest of his minions were tangled up in some mess a few yards away. By the looks of it, They'd all attacked some Master at once, and wound up catching each other.
"Fools," Skeletor growled.
He-Man was standing as well now, looking a bit stunned, but otherwise ready for a fight.
"Mark my words, I will get Grayskull, and when I do, you'll all be my slaves!" Before any of the masters could attack, a flash of purple light blinded them. When they recovered, Skeletor was gone, along with the rest of his minions.
Teela was furious. "One more minute and we'd have had him. Blast it!"
He-Man rubbed his head, where he could feel a huge bruise forming from Skeletor's blast. "Relax, Teela. We'll get him. Don't worry. For now let's just be grateful he didn't get Grayskull."
Man-at-arms sent He-Man a concerned look. "How are you? I've never seen him hit you with a blast that hard. And I know that's the first time he's ever left a mark on you."
All eyes suddenly turned to He-Man, who shrugged. "I'm fine. It's just a bruise, no different than any of yours. It'll be gone in a few days."
The older man didn't look convinced. "You're not invincible. He could have killed you. You have to be more careful."
He-Man smiled faintly. "I'll be fine, Duncan. I'm just sorry I took so long. I'd have been here much sooner, but I had some unavoidable business to take care of. Which, by the way, I have to get back to." He sent a meaningful look at Duncan, and mounted Battle Cat.
Duncan nodded, understanding. He'd heard King Randor talking last night about forcing Adam to do some training. "Go, then. Good journey, He-Man."
He-Man simply nodded and took off, leaving the Masters battered, but much lighter hearted than they'd been before he'd arrived. As long as there was He-Man, they would be safe.
Back at Snake Mountain, things were much different. "Blast that He-Man!" Skeletor shrieked, raising his havoc staff and blowing a hole in the wall. Trap Jaw grumbled under his breath, knowing it would be his job to fix it. "And blast all of his little friends and their disgusting undying faith in him! I could take him, but not all of them at once. Especially not with you idiots who were supposed to be dealing with the rest of them!" He shifted his malevolent gaze over his cowering minions. "You're worthless, all of you! If you had managed to keep the other Masters busy while I dealt with He-Man alone, I'd have taken the castle! But you couldn't even do that right."
"As if nearly taking He-Man out wasn't a fluke," Evil Lynn murmered.
"What was that?"
"I said," she purred, "that you'd take him out if they didn't have such faith in him. Just like you said. That's where your problem lies. His little friends always get in the way to help him. If they thought he was spying for us, they'd lose faith in him. You'd have him alone."
"Yeah, right," Beast man growled. "Like he'd side with us."
Trap Jaw laughed in agreement. "If he did, then we wouldn't have this problem."
Evil Lynn narrowed her eyes dangerously, and the two fell silent.
"If we could have He-Man spying for us… Of course… It's so simple… Triclops!" Skeletor snapped.
The mechanic stepped forward. "Yes, my lord."
"This may be a strain on all of your little minds, but try to think hard." Skeletor ignored Beast man's worried look at the word think. "Do you remember when we caught Prince Adam and demanded that He-Man come to free him?"
Triclops nodded, along with Evil Lynn. However, this sort of mental work seemed to be paining the others.
"Do you remember the decoy they sent?"
Again triclops nodded. "Yes, my lord. The training robot."
Evil Lynn's eyes lit up. "You aren't implying what I think you mean…"
Skeletor began to cackle. He stood from his throne. "I may be giving you too much credit, but think I do. Triclops, would you be able to make a training robot that looks like He-Man?"
"Of course, my lord. That would be easy."
"But what good would that do?" Clawful asked.
"Idiot," Skeletor snapped walking toward them. "Figure it out yourself! Follow me, Triclops. I need this trainer to be exactly to my specifications. If it's going to work, it needs to be done right… for a change."
Author's Note: My first He-man fic. I started this awhile ago, and never posted it because I didn't think I'd have time to update it regularly. I still don't know if I will. I'm working on a lot of fics simultaneously. This story could very well go on hiatus while I finish others. But I wanted to post at least one chapter, because I wasn't really sure if it was worth working on this. I figured maybe reviewer feedback would let me know if this was a fiction worth working on or if it should remain on the back burner. So, please... read and review... and understand if it isn't updated well... Thank you so much! (I can't believe I'm finally posting this!)