Chapter Two – "Meet and Greet"

"I've never seen anything like it," Kayo uttered. "An entire army . . . wiped out by one man."

He-Man grinned a little. It felt good; to vent and release his frustrations like that – and to know that they weren't alive as he took them down. It felt good, yes, but also a little frightening. He had never fought in such a violent manner before.

"It was pretty wicked!" shouted Caz.

"Caz! Get back here!" scolded Drissi. "We've got to go. There's no need to bother these fine people."

He-Man and Kayo were standing at the edge of the field of broken soldiers. Flailing wires, puddles of goo, and shattered armor were all that was left of what was designed to be the first wave of Mutants soldiers. Caz was standing right with them, gushing over the first – and most amazing – battle he had witnessed.

"I'm sorry," Drissi attempted. "My brother gets . . . a little excited . . ."

"WHOA!" yelled out Caz then, looking up.

The Starship Eternia and two Astrosubs dropped out of the sky. They soared over the battlefield and landed not far away.

"This is amazing!" Caz yelled out.

"All right, Caz! That's enough. Let's go."

He-Man smiled at Caz. "You should listen to your sister, Caz. I think it may be a good time to head back home."

"Awww."

He-Man felt a pang of guilt. A kid his age should not envy war and battle like that. "I . . . I hated every minute of it," he said and meant it – to an extent.

"Huh?" questioned Caz, dumbfounded.

Kayo perked an eyebrow. Even Drissi was stunned.

"That's right. War and violence . . . I . . ." He then remembered something he had said years ago. "I hate fighting. And every time I fight, I hope it is the last time."

"Then why do you fight?"

"Because sometimes war is the only way to find peace. Because good and evil can't help but come into conflict. Hopefully, sometime, your world can find peace."

"Oh . . ." Caz replied, a little confused.

"Wow," Drissi remarked. "Pretty deep."

"I'll say," Kayo added. "Well, I'm just glad that you're fighting on our side."

At that moment, Flipshot and Hydron arrived with two new companions for He-Man to meet.

Drissi shook Caz's shoulder. "All right, Caz. Time to go. And I mean it."

"I'll see you again, I'm sure of it," He-Man said to the two of them.

"I hope so," Drissi answered.

"Me too!"

The two of them walked away from the battle and He-Man seemed to notice that she scolding him a bit. He sighed and turned to the four Primians now joining Kayo and himself.

"I can't believe this," Flipshot observed, eyes surveying the massive area of Mutant destruction.

"It's . . . looks like we picked the right guy to lead us," Hydron added.

"Thank you," He-Man replied, unsure of what else to say.

"This is Nocturna and Vizar," introduced He-Man to the pair that stood with them.

"Pleasure to meet you," greeted Nocturna, a man with long black hair, wearing blue and purple camouflage-like jumpsuit. He-Man could tell by both his demeanor and his handshake that he meant business.

"Same here," Vizar added. He was wearing a golden armor and helmet with, of course, a visor. This one was harder to judge than Nocturna.

"Well, now what?" asked He-Man.

"The Mutant fleet is headed back to Denebria. I think it's time you were introduced to - "

"Me."

He-Man looked over at the sound of the voice. It came from a lean, tall man in blue and white robes. While the top of his head was bald, along the sides were long, wispy gray-white hairs. He wore on his wrinkled, old face a friendly smile. Immediately, He-Man could feel a sense of security and comfort coming from this man.

"You must be Master Sebrian."

"That I am. He-Man, I presume."

They shook hands. "That's right."

"Welcome to Primus then," Sebrian stated. "I just wish it had not come to this."

"The same."

"Walk with me, He-Man. You'll need to meet with the Inner Council and I'm certain that the others have post-battle reports to file."

He-Man and Sebrian walked away from the other five warriors, leaving them to their work. He-Man watched as a few more Primians – all of whom looked like major officials that worked for the government, judging by their uniforms – joined Hydron, Flipshot, Kayo, Nocturna, and Vizar.

"I heard what you said to Caz. About fighting. It reinforced why we asked you to come here."

"I meant it. Every word."

"Our people are not violent. We always wished to outgrow that. But it seems that fighting will always be a part of Primus."

"You serve the way of the just. I came here because I hoped to end the fighting."

Sebrian smiled. "Good! You're probably tired."

"A little, yes."

"It's been a jarring trip, I'm sure."

"To . . ." He paused, unsure if to continue. "To be completely honest, Master Sebrian, the past week or two has been pretty jarring."

They were walking down a large hill towards a dirt road. When they reached the road, they followed it. The three suns of the Tri-Solar System hung in what He-Man could figure out was the afternoon sky. The air smelled different now that he had actually had time to notice. It felt less natural than that on Eternia.

It's the small, subtle things, He-Man thought to himself.

"Your reputation proceeds you, you know? The rumors about the Horde's collapse . . ."

"It's collapsed now?"

"From what we hear, yes. The Horde Empire is vast, the news regarding it reaching all the way out here. According to what I've heard, it was Eternia and Etheria that helped form the great schisms that are now shattering that once vile empire."

He-Man shrugged. "The Horde has haunted both Eternia and Etheria for too long. I suspect that it will only be a matter of time before the core regime is replaced by the revolutionary forces of Prince Zed."

Sebrian nodded. "Interesting."

"Tell me about your war, Master Sebrian. I was just kinda dropped into the middle of a battle."

"Of course, of course. Unfortunately, this will not be the final battle. They will strike again and soon, I'm sure."

"What about a counter attack? Going on the offensive?"

"I would rather not. By remaining on the defensive, we are showing the Mutants that they are the aggressors and unless attacked, we are quite peaceful."

"An excellent strategy. I just hope it works."

"With you here, He-Man, I can already tell that our defenses will hold out."

"I'll do what I can while I can. This is a . . . beautiful world." And indeed it was. The flowers and trees were very different than any other worlds He-Man had traveled to, though they were just as beautiful as those he had seen before.

The pair arrived at a sort of curved elevator in the middle of the ground. "This leads underground, into the vast subterranean city and the home of the Inner Council. They are very interested in meeting you."

"And I am them."

"After that, you'll be introduced to Galactic Guardians."

"The who?"

"Your team."

"He calls himself He-Man, and for the past five and a half Eternian years, he's been the one thing standing in my way."

Skeletor allowed himself to be captured. He wanted to sit down in the brig on the Mothership. Despite his superiority over Flogg, he knew that to get on his good side meant to present himself both weaker to Flogg, but stronger than Flogg's mercenaries. If it meant gaining Flogg's trust so that he could someday (soon, hopefully) steal the Mothership and the armada with little to no resistance (or maybe even some assistance), Skeletor would do whatever it took.

"His strength and fighting skills are virtually unmatchable. What his origins are, I still don't know. But we are equals. He with his strength, and I with my magic."

"And yet here you sit, in my brig," Flogg grunted, separated from Skeletor an invisible force field. "What does that say of me?"

"Perhaps you are superior to He-Man. Perhaps not. Either way, the only way you will find out is to confront him."

"You two are enemies?'

"Oh yes."

"And he chased you here?"

"The people of Primus asked him for help. My leaving helped him make his decision."

"And why did you leave, Skeletor? Why come here?"

Skeletor paced a bit. "I knew He-Man would follow me. I knew that if I took him out of his environment, he would be off-balance. I hoped, also, that I could aid anyone that would be a potential enemy of He-Man. Hence, here I am, at your mercy."

"You want an alliance, then?"

"Yes."

"I help you eliminate He-Man, you help me conquer Primus."

"Yes."

Flogg looked hard at Skeletor, considering it all in his Mutant mind. Finally, after a long minute, he nodded and then lowered the force field.

"We have an alliance."

Below the surface of Primus, He-Man and Master Sebrian walked along busy corridors, on their way to see the Inner Council. The underground tunnels had been established when the atmosphere was first decimated and the entire complex was the seat of government on Primus ever since then.

As the pair approached the doors to the Inner Council's chamber, a woman came running over. She was wearing a blue dress that swirled around her as she walked. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Master Sebrian," she addressed. The woman turned to He-Man then. "And you must be He-Man."

"I am," He-Man replied, shaking her hand. She smiled.

"My name is Mara."

"Mara is my liaison with the Inner Council, as well as my apprentice of sorts," Sebrian explained to He-Man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. We heard you destroyed that entire invading army. Quite astonishing, I have to say," she said. "The scientists who constructed the starship that brought you here wanted to meet you."

At that moment, four men came walking over, all of varying shapes and sizes. He-Man could see the looks of excitement on their faces.

"Such an honor, sir, to be have been the one to bring you here! My name is Alcon!" yelped the tallest one, wearing red and pink clothes.

"Ah, don't listen to him. It was a group effort. Mostly me, but these guys helped bring me my tools. I'm Gepple," followed up the shortest, this one with blonde hair and glasses.

"I was the one that developed the theories," said the larger, bald man. "I'm Meloc. It was all my idea."

"N-no, sir, don't l-l-listen to them," stated the last, this one with a big nose, glasses and a small ponytail. "M-My na-name is Krex."

"It's an honor to meet you all. I'm sure you each contributed to my arrival here," He-Man responded. "Hopefully, I can be of some help and - "

"None of these bozos contributed anything, trust me," Gepple answered. "And I mean that."

"Oh, take that back!" Alcon shot.

"He's r-r-right! I did it!" Krex totted.

"Gentlemen, please," Sebrian interrupted. "We'll settle this matter later. Right now, He-Man must see the Inner Council."

The doors before them opened. He-Man took in a deep breath, feeling quite nervous all of a sudden. He stepped forward.

"Good luck," Mara wished him.

"Thanks," He-Man replied, unsure just what that meant.

As soon as He-Man entered, the doors behind him shut. He walked forward, stepping completely into the huge, round chamber. In the center of the room was a massive crystal, pointing upwards towards the surface. All around, suspended from the high ceiling, were large crystals, each one holding a man or a woman. About thirty of these circled the chamber and He-Man was immediately reminded of his father's descriptions of the Council of Elders back on Eternia.

"Greetings, He-Man of Eternia," came a voice in unison. As the words were said, multiple crystals were glow.

He-Man bowed down, onto one knee. "I come in peace," he said, unsure of what else to say to these people.

"We accept your peace offering," the voice of the Inner Council said to him in the same manner as before. "Rise, now, He-Man of Eternia."

He-Man stood back up and was stunned to see who was standing before the large crystal in the middle of the room.

"Zodak . . ." he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Zodak stepped forward. "I came as the request of the Galactic Council, who were petitioned by this Inner Council to look into this war. It was I that suggested you come to Primus."

"Why?" He-Man asked, almost accusingly.

"You are a peacekeeper, a champion for good. Primus may have had that spirit, but they lacked the champion. With things settling down on Eternia and Etheria, I assumed you may have been of some good here on Primus."

"We were in dire need of your help, He-Man," the Inner Council stated. "The war was growing more and more costly."

"I can understand that," He-Man replied. He knew already the cost of war.

"We understand that you feel out of sorts coming here and that cutting your ties with Eternia felt wrong, but this war must stop and only you can help us," the Inner Council told him.

"People are dying, He-Man. You have the power and the responsibility to save them," Zodak said. "Never question that."

He-Man looked to his Sword of Power. "Trust me, Zodak, if there was one I've never questioned, it's that."

"Good, then," Zodak said. "I must be off now. Farewell, He-Man, and good luck."

With a flash of brilliant blue light, Zodak was gone.

"You have made the right decision, He-Man of Eternia," the Inner Council assured him.

"I . . ." He paused. Had he? It was the question he was struggling with since he left. Had he really made the right call? If he hadn't, that army surely would not have been stopped. And he had indeed left Eternia in the right hands, with She-Ra there. And then there was Skeletor. There was always Skeletor.

I have to stop him, He-Man thought to himself. I have to stop him before he makes this war any worse than it is.

"I did," He-Man said at last. He then went down on one knee and held the Sword of Power out flat on his palms. "By my honor, I pledge myself to finding peace for the Tri-Solar System. I hope only that it comes swiftly."