Chapter Seven: "At the Steps of the Council Chamber"

"Approaching Primus space," Flipshot reported, new long blonde hair back in a bun.

"Understood," He-Man replied, watching as Primus very slowly became more than just a dot.

"He-Man, I'm detecting the Mothership," said Vizar then. "It's just now leaving Nordor. Estimated seventeen hours until it reaches Primus."

He-Man nodded. "Reinforcements. Spinwit, anything from the comm?"

Spinwit readjusted some of the communications controls in front of him. "Overlapping signals. From what I can tell, Onnar is in lock-down. The Mutant Enforcers and the Patheon are claiming to have the Inner Council hostage."

"Have they breached the Inner Council doors?"

The scientists – who had been working on massively improving the sensor array – looked across various monitors, attempting to get a read on the situation.

"Nope."

"How many down there?"

Alcon pressed a number of buttons. "Looks like every Primian is in their home or shelter. I'm reading the Mutants and the Patheon outside of the Inner Council center, but that's all."

"They don't have Mutant Troopers," Master Sebrian deduced. "One of the reasons they're calling for the Mothership."

"Exactly. How many on the Carrier?"

"Just one," Meloc answered. "And then the still developing Patheon members."

He-Man nodded a little. Just one. Flogg or Skeletor, he wasn't sure which. Whoever it was, He-Man could handle them alone. The others were needed on the surface.

"As soon as we pass the Carrier, teleport me aboard. The rest of you, head down to the surface and try and take out the Mutants and the Patheon. Stick to the plan."

"Are you sure you can handle it alone?" asked Hydron.

"Absolutely."

Less than an hour later, the Starship Eternia – still cloaked – arrived above the Oasis Hole. The Carrier hung suspended above it, massive and smooth. He-Man nodded to the others as he stepped onto the teleporter.

"Be careful," Mara said to him with deep care.

"You too."

She kissed him on the lips and struggled to break it. "I . . ." she started, the stopped mid-sentence. "I'll see you when you get back."

He-Man grinned a little. "Definitely."

With that, He-Man's body vanished in an array of light and energy.

He-Man arrived on the bridge of the Carrier and was greeted exactly how he expected. Shield up, he deflected Flogg's attack. The energy harpoon fired from Flogg's weapon slammed onto He-Man's shield and broke apart in shards of lights.

"I should have known you were behind this," He-Man said to him.

"Yes. You should have," Flogg responded. "I suppose I am just unpredictable that way, though. You are not so much. I planned for your arrival, He-Man. I whipped up a batch of Patheon members just for you."

He-Man could hear moaning and groaning from behind him. He looked back, though still prepared for an attack by Flogg, and saw what it was that Flogg prepared for He-Man.

Half-developed Patheon Mutant Troopers came stumbling forward, their muscles and circuits exposed, faces freakish, limbs long and heavy. But did they move fast!

And as one of a dozen half-alive Patriots fired heat beams at He-Man, he realized that they did indeed have powers. Flogg seemed to vanish, leaving He-Man to contend with sixty of these monsters.

Skeletor stood beside Critta on the steps to the Council Chamber, looking out upon Onnar. The city was still in lock-down, the gates closed and the people being forced into the homes. Behind Skeletor, the Mutant Enforcers kept a close eye on the city, making sure there was no trouble. The Patheon, on the other hand, were all making efforts to enter the Chamber.

Skeletor didn't care for the situation at all. Mutant Troopers were still hours away, the second batch of Patheon Troopers weren't going to be ready for another three days, and . . . he hated Onnar.

"This place reminds of Eternos."

Critta looked over at him and perked an eyebrow. "Eternos?"

"Where my . . . enemies lived. It was a lot like this. Bright, shiny. Full of people. Active. The sense of authority in the air. I hated it with a passion."

Critta smiled. She loved it when Skeletor talked like this.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion nearby. Skeletor and the Mutant Enforcers looked towards, seeing a plume of smoke going up in the middle of an empty square. The explosion looked small – more style than substance, and rather self-contained.

"Trouble."

On cue, there was a second explosion right at the foot of the Council Chamber stairs. As smoke billowed up, the Galactic Guardians appeared, ready for battle.

"Mutant Enforcers!" snarled Skeletor, raising Havoc Staff. "Prepare for battle! Patheon, continue your work!"

Critta pulled out her whip as the other Enforcers joined the pair.

The battle became joined as both forces collided right in front of the Council Chamber.

Hydron came right towards Skeletor. Skeletor unleashed a blast from his Havoc Staff, but Hydron dodged it. Hydron leapt towards Skeletor, weapon out. However, Kritta's whip went spiraling out, wrapping out his waist, and pulling him to the ground.

Skeletor turned away from the battle and made for the Council Chamber, where the Patheon worked on getting the doors unsealed.

"I've had enough of this," Skeletor snarled. Lifting his Havoc Staff and unleashed a few pulses of magic against the doors. He could feel the will of the Inner Council within resisting his advances, but he pressed on with his magic.

Meanwhile, Critta got a nice kick in the back from Mara, freeing Hydron. Hydron fired a stun beam at Critta, sending her to the ground in a heap.

"Thanks," Hydron responded as Mara helped him up. "Help the others. I'm going to stop Skeletor."

As the battle raged on, Flipshot went after Genetix. Her wings out, Flipshot zipped through the air at full speed. Upon seeing Flipshot, Genetix prepared herself for battle, but Flipshot was too fast. She quickly overcame Genetix, then slammed right into her. The pair rolled across the pavement and came to a stop with Flipshot on top of Genetix.

Were the circumstances any different, Flipshot would have found it to be very hot.

"Turn me back," Flipshot grunted in that feminine voice of his.

"Don't you like it better?" asked Genetix.

"You've already caused enough trouble, little missy. Do you really want this added to it?"

Genetix was about to speak, but her expression turned to complete confusion. Flipshot then watched as Genetix's body was overcome with an intense blue glow. Flipshot was then thrown off of Genetix and landed about three feet away. She watched as Genetix vanished in the blue light.

"DAMN IT!" roared Flipshot, realizing that whether she was dead or teleported away, Genetix was gone. And she was stuck like this.

"Flipshot!" shouted Master Sebrian just then. "Enough of your shouts! You are needed! Come with me!"

"But the others . . ." Flipshot began.

"Can handle the Mutants. I need your help with Skeletor and the Patheon."

Patriot, Mystic, H2O, Emissary, Net, Polar, Assassin, Scale, Swarm, Surge, Locksmith, Healer, Windrider, and Reflect all flanked Skeletor as the doors to the Inner Council finally gave out. The screeched open, allowing Skeletor entrance.

"Good afternoon, Inner Council!" Skeletor greeted as he strode towards the array of mystics, telepaths, and telekenetics that stood in their crystals – plus the shield amplifier in the middle of the huge room.

"Leave now or face certain defeat, Skeletor," the Inner Council spoke as one.

"Oh, I intend on doing neither," Skeletor responded, Havoc Staff raised. He turned away from the Inner Council just then, hearing a commotion at the door. It seemed Flipshot and Hydron were engaged in battle with the Patheon. They were holding their own . . . for now.

Skeletor turned back to the Inner Council, then, just as Master Sebrian materialized in front of the amplifier.

"Your day is done, Skeletor," Sebrian told him.

"Foolish old man," Skeletor snapped back. Energy launched from his hand. Master Sebrian closed his eyes and concentrated hard. A force field shimmered to life just fast enough to deal with the energy attack.

"So, you know some parlor tricks. That is nothing to me," Skeletor said.

Master Sebrian turned to the Inner Council. Use me, he said to them telepathically. Physical force can not win this attack. This battle must be fought in the recesses of the mind.

Agreed, the Inner Council replied. Open your mind, Sebrian. Let us use you as a channel.

"No witty retorts, Sebrian? Why, I'm disappointed."

"Final warning," Master Sebrian offered, feeling the power of the Inner Council joining with his own.

"There is nothing you can do to me."

Master Sebrian responded with a massive telepathic bolt. Skeletor's body actually reverberated with the force of the telepathic blast. The Havoc Staff dropped to the ground. As his own mind was struck with a powerful hammer stroke, he drew his energies inward. He focused what he could – and struck back.

Sebrian struggled, but with the power of the Inner Council, his mental defenses held out. He pushed back, pushing back a mental wall of white light. Skeletor pushed his mind outward, but the Inner Council was snaking through every single one of his counter-attacks.

Pulses of telepathic assault came against Skeletor's own mind. His thoughts spun in chaos as he tried everything he could to stop them from entering his mindscape and either killing him or forcing him into unconsciousness.

The attack was unlike anything Skeletor had ever faced off against. His strength was waning . . . and then it gave out.

The telepathic power of the Inner Council felt like someone had slammed a hundred knives into his mind.

As Master Sebrian led the Inner Council into the recesses of Skeletor's mind, he saw things that shocked him. In between heat hotter than any known inferno and a bitter, dead cold, Sebrian saw flashes of terrible memories. Skeletor being a captive by his greatest enemy after being betrayed, then forced to confront his past . . .

His past . . .

His name was Keldor, Sebrian discovered, seeing images of Skeletor's past as they flickered ever so briefly before him. He saw Keldor leaping from a balcony. He saw Keldor killing someone, then dying, then receiving a new heart. He saw Keldor being taken under the wing by the man that he would later be captured by – the Horde warlord Hordak. He saw Keldor helping to steal a child – Prince Adam's sister! He saw Keldor betray Hordak. He saw Keldor become Skeletor.

As these images continue to zoom past, Sebrian felt himself becoming lost in Skeletor's darkness. He soon began to realize that Skeletor had locked these memories down so much that Sebrian could be lost in them forever.

Sebrian unleashed one final blast of telepathy, then drew his mind out.

He watched as Skeletor collapsed onto the ground. Sebrian, still backed with the power of the Inner Council, reached out to simple, cybernetic minds of the Patheon. With a slight flick of telepathic power, the Patheon all crumbled to the ground in lumps.

The Inner Council then drew back from the Inner Council.

Before Flipshot or Hydron could recover enough for them to stop her, Critta ran into the Inner Council Chamber. She grabbed hold of Skeletor and hoisted him, and grabbed hold of his Havoc Staff.

"Stop right there," Sebrian attempted, but felt almost too weak to walk.

Critta dashed over the fallen bodies of the Patheon and joined the Mutant Enforcers outside. They were retreating towards a ship parked next to the Council Chamber.

"It appears to be over," Sebrian stated as he joined Flipshot and Hydron next to the Patheon's bodies.

"And it appears I'm stuck like this," Flipshot groaned.

"It's not over yet, Master Sebrian," Hydron pointed out. "We haven't heard from He-Man yet."

Flogg came to a halt at the escape pod. He began to press the entrance code when he heard the door behind him wrench open. He turned around and watched with mild surprise as He-Man came walking in, covering in green goo.

"Thought they could stop me?" asked He-Man. "You thought wrong."

"I suppose so."

"So no duel? No battle?" He-Man questioned. "Just going off and running away."

The escape pod door slid open. "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."

"Not the first time I've heard such a phrase. Quite cowardly, though. What about all your work? Your invading Patheon army?"

Flogg pulled out a small keypad. "Oh please, He-Man," he scoffed, pressing a few keys, "you think I don't have back-ups on Denebria?"

He-Man's eyes widened. Flogg hit the final key. Explosions rocked the Carrier and Flogg leapt into the escape. He-Man rushed over to the hatch as slammed shut and sealed. He watched the escape fired off into space.

"Damn," He-Man cursed, looking around for more escape pods. There were none. He was about to make for the door in the hopes of searching for a teleporter, but before he could, the fall exploded and a massive fireball spat out from the cracks.

"He-Man."

The hero of Eternia spun around at the sound of his name. A man in a blue cloak stood at the other end of the room.

"Who . . .?"

"You will not meet your end here," the man said.

"How? Who are you?"

"I will teleport you off this vessel."

"Me? What about you? Who are you?"

The man in the cloak reached his hand out. Flames were now filling the chamber. He could hear the sound of glass breaking. The chambers containing the Patheon troopers were shattering.

He-Man turned back to the man in the blue cloak, but he was gone. He was about to yell for him, but he felt a strange distortion all around him. Blue, warm light filled his vision. The heat of the chamber was gone.

The blue light then faded . . . and He-Man found himself standing in front of the Council Chamber in Onnar.

"He-Man!" shouted Mara.

He-Man turned to her, confused as ever. She threw her arms around him in a great big hug.

"We had just heard the Carrier exploded."

He-Man nodded. "It did. There was someone there, though. Someone who teleported away, then teleported me away. I . . . who was he? Did anyone teleport here before I did?"

She shook her head. "No."

The others then began to gather around He-Man. "This is very odd," He-Man stated. "I . . . I wish I had an explanation." He-Man looked to the Council Chamber. "How are things here?"

"All wrapped up, He-Man," Master Sebrian answered. "The Patheon has been destroyed and the Mutants are in retreat. Everything is as it should be."

"Except for me," Flipshot protested.

He-Man shrugged. "This isn't over, then," he said. He-Man, holding Mara, looked up to the sky. "Not by a longshot."

The man in the blue cloak appeared in the darkness. Genetix stood before him, her eyes fixed on the monitor displaying the exploding Carrier.

"You saved He-Man," she said. "Why?"

"Because he was not to die on that ship."

Genetix nodded and turned to the man. "And why did you save me from the Galactic Guardians?"

The man in the blue cloak stepped forward. "Because I need your services. Will you help me?"

"A large portion of my services just exploded above Primus, so I might as well start a new project. Besides, I probably don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"No. You do not."

Genetix sighed. "Will you at least tell me your name?"

The man in the blue cloak pulled down his hood, revealing his face. His skin was blue, eyes yellow, and red-orange hair. Besides the color scheme, he looked exactly like He-Man.

"My name is Faker."

TO BE CONTINUED TO IN "MY BLUE REFLECTION!" COMING SOON!