Author Note: I'm sure fans of the 2002 He-Man series will recognize some of the scenes in this chapter.
Chapter 3
Prince Adam yawned as he got up early, yesterday was a very tiresome morning. Another day of fighting Skeletor, defending Grayskull. The usual stuff. So it was nice that he was able to sleep in for a day. His father had been a little bit more lenient on him these last few months. Guess finding out your son was some hero who saved the planet on more than one occasion had its perks. In reality, he and his dad's relationship for the first time in a long time seemed to be improving. They've been fighting a lot side by side. Of course that did cause some stressful times as well. Still, he liked being able to spend more time with his dad. It was pleasant company for a change.
Life on Eternia hadn't changed that much for him that much though, outside of people knowing he was He-Man now. Sure he felt like he had the respect of the Masters, sure his father was now putting him more into his confidence. Still though, part of him wondered if it was all because they knew he was He-Man or because he was him. Adora had told him to not think of the two as separate entities. The two of them were one and the same.
Adam and He-Man
He-Man and Adam
Randor his father must have thought that, for his responsibilities had been going up ever since the reveal. No more lazy prince excuses. On the one hand he was happy his father was proud of him. On the other hand he wondered if that pride would still be there if he wasn't He-Man. Still, he was gonna be king one day regardless.
It was still weird having a sister, knowing that they did things that were probably bigger and braver than he ever did. Not that he was making it a competition. Adam never took his war against Skeletor lightly, even though compared to the guy Horde Prime that his sis fought. However if there was one thing he was a tad jealous when it came to his sister, was that she had a romantic engagement and he didn't
Adam thought it would be nice to have someone to love, or at least go on a date with someone. None of the guards in the army were ever that cute and every now and then he'd find a nice muscular fellah in the bars.
Sometimes he thought about asking Teela but it would be too awkward, they were friends first and foremost and he wouldn't want to ruin that.
Maybe one day.
Looking at the clock he realized the time and decided to take out his communication pad. Pressing a few buttons he was able to get a hold of Teela who had that concentrated look on her face.
"Yo Teela, what's up?" He smirked, leaning back on his chair hoping to be cool.
Teela looked from whatever she was doing sighing, "Adam, i'm kinda busy, can we do this later"
Adam frowned, "Oh , I was wondering if you'd like to go hoverboarding, or maybe some patrols around Snake Mountain or..."
"Adam, are you bored?" Teela muttered.
"What, no" Adam was taken aback, sitting up straight with a bit of a blush "Why would I-"
"Look, Adam, if you're lonely, go out, find a date, make new friends ,do something, I've been busy for a while" Teela's voice was a bit harsh, harsher than Adam was used to and she could be a bit harsh.
"You've been busy for the past several weeks, it's like you're avoiding me or something" Adam groaned.
"I'm not avoiding you I have stuff to do too, can't be both He-Man and a Prince, I mean come on how you NOT busy, that's two jobs right there" Teela groaned.
Adam was a bit off put, she never mentions the He-Man thing like that, or the Prince thing for that matter.
"Look, sorry I'm busy okay, gotta go-" With that Teela disconnected.
With that Adam was back on his bed again, alone and tired. Despite being happy to be open, he could feel the weight of more responsibilities. The days when he could pretend to be a lazy prince. Instead when he was feeling lazy, it was because at that moment he wanted to be a lazy prince. Ergo, responsibility was a hard thing, and now he was starting to really regret taking more on.
Stretching he got up and got dressed, at least he still had Cringer by his side as he put on his torn red vest, his messy blonde hair still messy.
After he was dressed, a knock on the door as one of the guards came in.
"Excuse me Prince Adam, a call from Etheria for you"
"Oh mom"
"No, it's the Princess"
Adam seemed confused but nodded, "Well, it's been a while, lets see how new sis is doing aye Cringe"
The two of them rushed to the Man of Arms workshop where he had managed to build an interplanetary communication system. With the help of those two Hordak and Entrapta. Good considering his mother Queen Marlena was going on a interplanetary mission so they would need these kinds of communications just in case.
It was pretty cool that now Adam and Adora can communicate with one another even if they were on different planets entirely.
On screen Adam saw Adora, looking quite frazzled as he walked into the room.
"Woah what happened to you? Aren't I the one fighting bad guys sis" Adam smirked managing to get the jump on her.
"Adam! Hi!" Adora waved, she seemed nervous now, "H-how are you….bro?"
Adam shook his head smiling, "Adora, you can call me Adam if you feel more comfortable doing that"
"Oh thank goodness" Adora sighed in relief, "I've been having the same issue with your mom, I mean our mom, I can't, I can't feel it again"
"Feel what?"
"A connection, like back at the dance, when I finally for a moment considered them my parents" Adora groaned, she was reeling about this.
Adam shrugged, "And you're coming to me for advice. Look sis, I don't know what to tell yuh"
"You call me sis, like all the time" Adora shouted looking exasperated, "How can it be so easy for you"
"I don't know, I guess I've always been easy going like that, so it's taking you time, so what? Mom and dad will understand"
"But I feel so bad about it!"
"Don't, just take it with stride'
Adora rolled her eyes, "Easy for you to say, you seem to take everything with stride"
"Hey, that's all I'm saying" Adam said, his smile faltering a bit, "And to be honest, not everything been stressful"
"What's wrong?"
"I feel like Teela has been avoiding me more and more since I outed myself as He-Man, i mean sure me and dad have been getting along. Of course now I can't hide behind being a lazy prince to get out of doing hard work. Dad knows what I'm made of. I mean sure I'm happy about it, but now, it's…
"Hard and you don't like the attention" Adora finished.
Adam nodded, "Yeah, guess I realized now what you had wasn't that great"
"Well hey, I'm sure you're handling it better than I did, you have your family and people to easy into it, sure I had Glimmer and Bow, but they knew me as She-Ra from the get-go plus you know...".
"Fighting the love of your life," Adam smirked.
Adora blushed, "Yeah"
"How is my future sister in law anyway"
"Adam!" Adora cheeks turned reder, "She's...Not great either"
"Is everyone in Etheria always so on edge"
"Not always, this is actually the most calm we've been in years"
Adam shook his head and laughed, "Guess it's Eternia's time to suffer a bit of warfare then"
"Why what's wrong" Adora instantly looked concerned, "Has Skeletor been more a problem lately"
"No, no, he's as much of a problem as he's always been, although some days I wish we took Catra's advice and blew up Snake Mountain'' Adam took a deep sigh, "But we're the good guys, so we don't do things like that huh. Also since I've gotten more of the details, I don't think father's ready to give up on his brother just yet".
"I know that feeling a bit" Adora responded looking down, "I never gave up on Catra either, so much as I, kinda just all became numb, but the minute she saved Glimmer from Prime I knew, I knew that there was hope"
"Well, you have the added bonus of being all lovey dovey with her, not sure I can speak the same about siblings"
Adora smirked, "Catra and I grew up together, we are both siblings and lovers"
"That's kinda gross when you say it like that"
"My life is complicated okay" Adora huffed, although gently laughing a bit.
Adam was glad he could make his sister laugh, made him feel like he was making up for a lot of lost time. Taking a deep breath he took a nearby chair and rubbed his head.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, like I said, Teela may be avoiding me"
"Are you lonely?"
Adam looked embarrassed, "Well, i uh-"
"You're lonely aren't you" Adora smirked.
Adam sighed, "Yes, got any other cat people who are interested in a date or something"
"Adam" Adora chastised him.
"Hey, I was just asking"
"Well, I'll let you be for now, see yuh later Adam"
"Bye sis"
Adora gave a faint smile and disconnected the transmission.
Now Adam was alone once again and leaned back on his chair rubbing his face. He wished he had someone to date or something. Sure he had his friends, his family, but something else was missing. One tiny little connection. The thing Adora had. He remembered watching his sister dance at the ball before she left Eternia and feeling a tinge of jealousy he didn't have that. That spark, that connection with someone.
Taking a deep breath, Adam didn't want to think too hard about it, he was just glad he was able to have a relaxing day for once.
Still, it made him wonder what his Uncle Skeletor was up to.
-000-
"Activate the engine," Skeletor commanded, his voice booming throughout the caverns.
"Watch it blow up," Evil-Lyn muttered.
Skeletor turned to glare at her, "No need to be a downer Evil-Lyn, positive energies is what we need now?"
"Positive energies?"
"Yes! I found an interesting book during our attack on Etheria about how the energy of the universe affects outcomes" Skeletor declared as if he had unlocked the secrets of the Universe, "Thus if we think positively then we will have the keys to total victory because we will forcing the universe to give it to us!"
Evil-Lyn just rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Of course we will"
The engine activated, gaining in power and speed. It had taken Tri-Klops several days to get this to work. Perhaps a lot longer than Skeletor had hoped, but his wait would not be in vain. Soon he would have his own spaceship and because of that he would be able to go into space and spread his evil throughout the universe. Perhaps even finding power that he could use to finally take Castle Grayskull for himself.
"Yes, yes!" Skeletor rubbed his hands together in excitement, "The final step towards freeing myself from the confines of Eternia, and expanding my conquest to NEW and BOLDER worlds"
Evil-Lyn groaned counting in her head, "Five, four, three, two…
KABOOM
Once again, another failure in Snake Mountain.
"NYAAAAAA CURSES!" Skeletor eyes glowed red, "Clearly no one was thinking positively enough"
"Because clearly that was the reason" Evil-Lyn muttered letting out a sigh.
This time it took another five seconds before once again Tri-Klops prototype engine exploded in his face. It would have been funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Though she supposed this was just another day at Snake Mountain, what with also the failed plans to attack Castle Grayskull, and whatever scheme Skeletor was cooking up in that bone head of his.
Now though, his latest mission in making her and the Evil Warriors life miserable was creating his very own spaceship. Ever since declaring war on his niece Adora, twin sister of Adam aka He-Man, he yearned to go back to the planet again and seek revenge. Since they lost the cosmic key their means of going to other worlds was now very limited, and by limited that was pretty non-existent.
"Sorry boss" Tri-Klops sighed kicking the engine with his foot, "Bust...again"
Skeletor eyes glowed red, "How am I going to go to Etheria if we can't even get the engine working. I bet Randor has a working engine on his spaceship".
"He doesn't have a spaceship" Evil-Lyn corrected.
"Well his daughter does!" Skeletor growled.
"It's not my fault boss, space travel is rare, besides we've never needed it until now" Tri-Klops snarled, "I mean come on, we barely have flight travel down"
"Doesn't help we have bad pilots" Evil-Lyn looked over to Beast Man and Trap Jaw.
"Hey, I was trained to be a pilot back in the Eternia army," Trap Jaw argued.
"Doesn't mean you were good at it" Evil-Lyn smirked.
"Silence" Skeletor declared, "This is still a failure"!
"Well sorry, but spacecraft is a bit above my paygrade" Tri-Klops argued back, "Do you know how hard it is building a tank let alone a space engine, your niece had a already pre-built spaceship that was dozens of years old, I only got certain schematics down, I barely have the parts for a hull"
"Well then will steal them, find scientists or something" Skeletor argued back pacing around the room, "How am I supposed to launch my campaign of evil into the stars without a spaceship? I made a declaration of war against Etheria and the universe and I intend to keep it".
"A declaration that technically no one heard" Evil-Lyn muttered.
Skeletor glared at her but continued, "I will not rest until I can unleash my evil upon my niece as part of Randors family, as long as the blood of my brother runs through her veins….
"And that matters because" Evil-Lyn interrupted.
"Because!" Skeletor seemed taken aback, "Because, because Randor!"
"Your dragging someone who doesn't need to be dragged into your petty conflict thus adding another enemy we have to deal with" Evil-Lyn argued.
"No, his children jumped into the war the moment it started" Skeletor declared with firmness in his voice, "Besides the best tactic to bring pain to my brother is to attack his legacy. For after all isn't that what we are in the end of the day...Legacy"
"Oh and how you are going to do that"
Skeletor paused for a moment before he growled and huffed off, pausing for a moment before exiting Tri-Klops workshop before turning to blast him with the havoc staff before working off.
"Find resources needed to make me a spaceship, we must build this engine to take our campaign to the stars!"
Evil-Lyn sighed and followed along, not like she had anythin better to do..
For the last few months Skeletor's mood had been more grouchy than normal. Knowing his niece and nephew were mythical warriors with magic and he wasn't. Just another bruise to his ever growing ego. This had been going on for years though. Especially the wasted decades when the mystic wall trapped them all in the dark hemisphere.
However, now that Skeletor knew that Randor had a daughter who was a magical warrior, and that his own nephew was He-Man, he had gone into overdrive trying to win this vendetta against his brother.
Granted Evil-Lyn knew Keldor was vindictive even when they were younger. Once she had heard him rant for a whole hour over some incident about the last cookie in the cookie jar. A cookie. However still she stood by his side regardless. The two of them were still very much alike.
Rebels.
Rebels without a cause, or at least for the cause of evil and power.
Evil-Lyn herself had elders who she was rebelling against on her quest for absolute freedom and power, and Keldor when he was younger had definitely seen like a natural spirit to be around. Sure he was a bit of a clutz then but his spirit was there. However over the years the spirit seemed to be replaced with tiredness and bitterness in many caes.
After all she was their when the great shift happened.
Sometimes she remembered the day that it happened.
The day the Keldor she knew died and the Skeletor had been born in his stead.
How she remembered that day quite clearly.
"This might be my last chance! Hurry!"
Evil-Lyn was holding onto Keldor as best she could. How did it all go so wrong so quickly. One minute they had infiltrated the palace of Eternia and one of Randor's brats was about to become another one of his mighty Evil Warriors. Now the mighty warlord of Eternia was in ruins. His face slowly coming off. The once charming face of the man she loved, melting before her eyes, the shade of skeleton beginning to show through.
Though there was as he said once last chance.
Deep in the Dark Hemisphere deep within the pits of pain, shadow and darkens, laid an old fortress. Belonging to an old and evil cult, worshiping four devil gods known as the Ancient Spirits of Evil. Keldor had come here once in his past, and apparently along with Evil-Lyn learned some of the old skills of magic. But he would not become their slave as others would have. The air tasted like ash and there was no star in the sky for the dark smog of fire and brimstone covered everything.
Keldor would not lose his free will, that Evil-Lyn knew for sure ,he was his own human benign, whose goal in life was to finally come out of the shadow of his brother and father and finally rule Eternia as it's rightful king. He had defied them once before. Serving the name of evil yes, but on his own terms and no one else's.
Now though, now that decision from long ago may come back to haunt him, as he laid in her arms, dying.
"Come on" Evil-Lyn huffed as they walked up a flight of stairs, "Almost there"
"I'm trying, I'm in a bit of pain at the moment" Keldor grunted, his legs were dragging making it hard for her to move him, but she tried anyway.
Evil-Lyn groaned, "Why did you use acid on Randor!"
"I wasn't expecting to get MYSELF" Keldor groaned in pain and agony, "Hurry, I can't bare it much long, I swear he did this just to get back to me for the pie incident when we were six"
"Yes, yes, fine" she tried keeping their witty banter going.
Evil-Lyn sighed, but kept going, she could have abandoned him right then and there. But she wouldn't, she could't. They had been allies against those who would look down upon them since they were young. Young and stupid. However they were making so much progress, and now, it all seemed to be coming apart.
Finally they reached the main temple, and more stairs.
"Great!" Keldor groaned, "Stairs, well Evil-Lyn, better get your AAAGH, upper body strength ready"
"Of course" Evil-Lyn groaned, what was it with temples and stairs, "Your lucky your in agony".
"I heard that!"
Around them though there were four statues, one of a bore, eagle, crocodile and pig, all looking down at them. It was as if the statues were alive, watching them, judging them. One wrong move and they would be vaporized on site.
They were the Ancient Spirits of Evil, basically gods of darkness.
Legend said that long ago these great titans roamed the universe, spreading chaos and evil throughout the world. It was even said that Serpos, that statue that made up Snake Mountain was once one of these ancients before it was banished. Though long gone their souls remained, aiding the forces of evil that wanted to spread darkness and terror throughout the world.
Keldor had onc called upon these spirits long ago, now he would call upon them again,
Evil-Lyn groaned as they kept on climbing, it was long, hard, and carrying Keldor who was slowly becoming more and more dead waiting".
"You could move a little you know" Evil-Lyn groaned.
Keldor grunted, "I'm in pain Evil-Lyn"
"Doesn't stop your legs from moving""Yes it does!"
Finally they made it to the center where a cauldron was waiting for them.
"Quickly, with your magic" Keldor took out a vial and handed it to Evil-Lyn.
Evil-Lyn held it unsure what it would do but put it in. Suddenly the cauldron began to bubble and grow until it burst into a bright flame throwing her back a few feet, although she remained cautious. Keldor though remained by the cauldron. He was on his knees, his pain only growing as a flame rose up, and four pairs of eyes glared down at him.
"WHO DARES TO SUMMONS THE ANCIENT SPIRITS OF EVIL"
"I, Keldor, ugh, M-Miro's son, the rightful King of Eternia, am dying, save me, ancient spirits of evil, so that I may continue my conquest, against me-my brother Randor!"
"There will be a price"
"No price is too great," Keldor pleaded.
Evil-Lyn watched the entire sight, these were forces beyond even her, however these demons, these Ancient Spirits of Evil, looked down upon Keldor, and laughed.
"Very well, let it be done"
Then suddenly the four statues' eyes began to glow a dark red, beams fitting right at Keldor engulfing him. Dark magical essence engulfed him. His screams echoing across the entire chamber as he begins to swirl in the air. He's changing, Evil-Lyn can tell but she can't see how. The screaming rising, the power grows, until at last it explodes covering the whole room in dust.
Evil-Lyn wipes it away as the room begansbegins to clear, "Keldor?"
A evil laugh echoes around the room, "
Keldor, is no more, now there is only...Skeltor"
At first Evil-Lyn did not understand until finally the dust settled from Keldor, revealing what had been done. The wound had been healed, as the skin was no more. Once where the lovely face of Keldor had been now stood a floating skeleton skull, the body remaining the same. It marched down to look into Evil-Lyn's scepter.
A moment of silence passed, until he slowly burst into a fit of maniacal laughter, pulling his hood up walking out of the room, the mad laughter increasing ever more and more.
Keldor was dead.
Long Live Skeletor.
"Evil-Lyn"
How things have changed.
"Evil-Lyn!"
Evil-Lyn blinked to see Skeletor standing in front of her seeming confused.
"Are you listening to my ranting Evil-Lyn?" Skeletor demanded.
"W-What, oh yes of course, Randor and what not"
"Exactly!" Skeletor boomed as he sat down on his throne and rubbed his forehead, "Just once I would love to get the one up on my brother, just once. Even for like five minutes, would that be so bad, would that be so wrong?"
"The universe can be so cruel sometimes" Evil-Lyn replied, although she didn't mean any of it.
"Tell me about it" Skeletor leaned down on his throne and sighed tapping his fingers, "No go, I must contemplate my next move"
Evil-Lyn nodded and left.
Taking a deep breath, she often asked herself why she was here, what did she see in him. Sure they met each other when they were children, sure he had been her first true friend. Sure the two had fought side by side for years. Sure they have been together for so long they knew nothing else, and even along with the other evil warriors they had made themselves their own little family stuck on Snake Mountain and are really the only thing they have against Randor.
Still, she wondered, could there be more.
Maybe one day there could be, maybe one day, when opportunity presents itself.
-000-
Skeletor groaned on his throne as he leaned down.
It was getting tiring the years of years of not getting anywhere with his conquest of the universe. Made worse by the very notion that there were once evil in this world more powerful than him.
First he remembered the Horde on Etheria, an organized, mechanized army that nearly conquered the whole planet. It vexed him. Why did he not command minions and legions like that. Then the idea of a whole intergalactic Empire that spread fear and terror throughout the universe.
Where did he fit in?
Plus even on Etheria there were the snakes, and even if they remained underground they were an army.
Made him feel like a third wheel at this point.
How could he possibly defeat Randor like this. All these years and he hasn't made a single inch of progress. Decades upon decades of his never ending war against his brother still at a stalemate. Going back all the way to the cookie incident when he was five. That last cookie should havae been his, but his brother got it first because he was taller and could reach the cookie jar first before he could.
Never forget that last cookie.
Never forget.
Though what still felt like a stab to the heart was that after all these years, no one, not his brother Randor, his father Miro, or even his own Evil Warriors sometimes saw the greatness of his person. Why was he the way he was? Why he was Skeletor, Overlord of Evil, rightful King of Eternia, and blessed for glorious conquest. Sometimes the only person he thought understood was his long gone mother.
Sometimes he would miss her on his off days.
Still pressing matters were more on his mind then the past. Tri-Klops couldn't figure out how to make an engine in order to get him to get a spaceship so he could open a campaign against the people of Etheria. Not just Etheria, but the whole universe as well. Planets among planets, filled with magic the likes of which Randor and He-Man had never seen before. But yet he was stuck on Eternia.
Same, old, boring, Eternia.
Home of so many humiliations.
Home to a lot of bad memories.
Home to no one who respected him, seriously, he was the Overlord of Evil and yet none of his Evil Warriors really showed him any fear anymore. He should be commanding lesions they obeyed him without question instead of getting the usual snarky remarks from Tri-Klops or Evil-Lyn.
A true lord.
That is why he looked to the stars, for maybe, just maybe up there he could find something different, maybe he could be victorious.
If only, if only.
"SKELETOR!"
Skeletor jumped into the air and looked around, "Who's there, show yourself! I'm armed!" held the Havoc Staff close to show off his weapon of choice.
"DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE US SKELETOR! The voices said echoing across the throne room.
"Um, no, voices aren't really my forte"
"WE ARE THE ANCIENT SPIRITS OF EVIL! THE ONES WHO SAVED YOUR LIFE! OR DID YOU FORGET THAT IMPORTANT DETAIL"
Skeletor rose to his feet looking hoffied, "A-Ancient Spirits of Evil, h-how are you doing? It's been, decades really"
It had been such a long time since he last contacted the Ancient Spirits of Evil. They had been the ones who gave him his life after his brother Randor, once again, curtailed his plans and put acid in his face. Sure technically he, Keldor, had thrown the acid first but that wasn't the point. That didn't give his brother the right to shield himself in a way that caused him to lose his looks and become a skeleton.
"YES! WE ARE...DISAPPOINTED IN THE SECOND CHANCE WE'VE GIVEN YOU KELDOR! WE HOPED FOR BETTER"
"It's not my fault" Skeletor declared with anger, "It's He-Man, Randor, the stupidity of my-"
"QUIT GROVELING AND LISTEN! WE ARE DISAPPOINTED! BUT WE ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO REDEEM YOURSELF IN OUR EYES, AND EVEN GRAND YOU, YOUR LATEST DESIRE!"
Skeletor became confused, what did the ancients know that he didn't, "What are you saying?"
"FATE IS ALIGNING! YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF OUR ENEMIES ARE CLASHING! WE WILL NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE COMING DAYS! WAIT FOR THE SIGN!"
"Sight?"
"YOU WILL KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT!"
Skeletor was very confused, what sign, what were the Ancient Spirits of Evil doing after all these years.
"And, should I refuse?"
A bold statement, but if there was one thing that was a constant in his life even when he was Keldor, was that he suffered no rivals. At his heart, Keldor and Skeletor were rebels, and they would bow to no one. The epitome of free will. It was why he had built his fortress on Snake Mountain and made the Evil Warriors. To make a world of complete and utter freedom for himself.
"THEN WE TAKE BACK THE LIFE WE HAVE GIVEN YOU!"
Skeletor felt pain, pain beyond pain. He grasped his head as he slowly fell down on his throne and hit the ground. Life was draining from him. The Ancients' power was too great, he knew what he had to do.
"Y-Yes" he pleaded, "I will do as you wish"
What that wish was Skeletor did not know, he was scared, but as the Ancient Spirits of Evil said, he would look towards a sign. Wait for the moment. Hopefully, just hopefully the Lord of Snake Mountain will get something out of this. However he needed to make ready, for he would not be anyone's slave.
Not even the Ancient Spirits of Evil.