Thank you, readers, for your patience and generous reviews. This chapter picks up right where the previous one left off. Rated T. The children of Adam and Teela are my own invention, except for Dare. Dare, the adult characters and the setting for the story are not my property. I do not profit off this story, it's just for fun. Please leave a review if you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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"No! I don't wanna go home now! Granny wants me at Grayskull! I was invited!" whined 13 year old Trixie. She kept protesting loudly as her brother made a u-turn to fly back to the royal palace.
"No," answered Adam, calm yet firm.
"But Granny -" Trixie started again.
Full of disbelief, exasperation and annoyance, Dare interrupted his sister. "What do you mean, 'Granny wants you?' Granny is back at the palace lab waiting for you! You snuck away from her!"
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Not Granny the Queen, stupid. Our other Granny, the Sorceress of Grayskull. SHE invited me."
Dare stuttered, "Wh-what?" His father was silent and facing forward, refusing eye contact with the teens.
Meanwhile, Truth slowed down the Wind Raider and carefully brought it down in a clearing near a river. When he shut off the engine, he turned to King Adam and asked, "Papa, is there something you want to tell us?"
Adam took a deep breath. Out loud he said, "Sorceress, is this true? Did you invite my daughter today?"
An ethereal voice floated in the air around them, "Yes, Adam. I have important news to share with your sons AND your daughter, but I knew you would not allow her -"
"You have no right!" shouted Adam angrily. "She's a child! She's not ready to become the Castle's Guardian! She still needs her parents!" Beneath his anger, there was a deep-seated fear of losing his family to Grayskull's whims.
"I agree, Adam," responded the voice. "Becoming the Guardian is not her destiny. She belongs at home with you and Teela. But she needs guidance for her emerging powers, guidance that you cannot provide…"
The king made a sound that was between a grunt and a growl, which his children had never heard before. After several seconds passed, he spoke again. "So all three will return home with me today?" asked Adam, his breathing slowing down to normal.
"Yes, Adam. Please come to Grayskull. I have urgent matters to discuss with all of you."
After a few more deep breaths, Adam nodded at Truth. The Wind Raider lifted off and continued on its way to Grayskull. The group was silent for about ten minutes, with Trixie smiling and bouncing ecstatically in her seat, and the others looking grave and pensive.
Finally Dare couldn't hold it in any longer. "So…that's why you keep secrets from Mama…so she'll stay with us instead of becoming a Sorceress? And now…we have to keep the secrets, too?"
"Gosh, you're a total genius, Rancan," said Trixie sarcastically, using the one nickname for her brother that she knew would annoy him the most. "But you got one big part wrong: Mama is ALREADY a Sorceress. And so am I. And Moxie, Rory, Pan, Kira, Zara…and even Lulu who hasn't been born yet." She flashed a smug smile.
"Get real, Trixie," said Truth, "Mama has never had any magical powers." "Yeah," added Dare, "You've got an overactive imagination, that's all."
"Hmmph," said Trixie, "Well, why don't we just ask Papa? Papa, has Mama ever had a sixth sense? Or has she ever used anti-gravity in her battle moves? Or super-speed or super-strength or mind-reading?"
Adam turned his whole body to face his daughter in the back seat. Making direct, prolonged eye contact, he said, "Cut it out, Trixie. How long have you known? And who else knows?"
The boys were astonished by these bombshells about their family. The day was already even better than they'd hoped!
The 13-year-old girl proudly explained, "Ever since Granny started teaching me physics. I noticed that Mama doesn't follow any of Newton's Laws of Motion in her training exercises. So one time I gave Rancan and Dundor a little anti-gravity boost, and that was the only time they could keep up with Mama."
"Hey…I remember that time…" said Truth. Trixie giggled.
Suddenly they all jumped a bit as Teela's voice came through on the communicator (it was as if she knew they were speaking of her!). "Adam, it's me," she said, "We have a situation, and I think the Sorceress may be able to help."
"Yes, General, what is it?" replied Adam.
"Tri-Klops has apparently surrendered himself at one of the border stations," said Teela, "He's in pretty bad shape, and he's making some wild claims. For his own safety, and to ensure he's telling the truth, I'd like to have him transferred to a secure area inside Grayskull, if that's possible. We can de-brief him there, and maybe the Sorceress can heal some of his wounds. What do you think?"
"I don't know, Teela," began Adam, "But I can ask…" His mind raced back to the previous night, when He-Man had rescued Teela from Snake Mountain. He remembered rendering Tri-Klops and Trap-Jaw unconscious with a large rock torn from the fortress wall; and Teela had injured Beast-Man with Skeletor's broken ram scepter. But otherwise all the villains were in fighting form. Something must have happened at Snake Mountain after the rescue.
"Yes, Adam," came the otherworldly voice of the Sorceress, "I am ready to receive Tri-Klops now. This is one of the urgent matters that we must discuss today. Tell Teela that I am teleporting him to a secure cell at this very moment."
"Teela, the Sorceress has him," said Adam into the communicator, "And we have a long day ahead of us at Grayskull. But I'll make sure we're home for supper with you and the girls… Teela - I - I - you don't -." What could he possibly say at that moment to express himself clearly? I'm sorry I have to keep lying to you. You don't deserve to be deceived. Please forgive me. I need you now more than ever. Please be there when I come home.
"Still my oldest and dearest friend." With that, Teela switched off her communicator. She understood what he was trying to say. Adam blinked to hold back tears.
"You are *such* a dork, Papa," said Dare, bringing the king back to reality. "Soooooo embarrassing," added Trixie, rolling her eyes.
Almost an hour later, a falcon appeared, guiding them toward the castle's main entrance. Truth steered the Wind Raider into the open gate of Castle Grayskull, and parked just inside. The falcon circled overhead a few times, then metamorphosed into the human form of the Sorceress - which took the twin boys by surprise. But Trixie was not surprised at all - she leaped out of the Wind Raider and threw herself into the waiting arms of the castle's Guardian.
"Granny!" exclaimed Trixie. "Finally! I've been waiting so long to meet you!" Adam and the two princes cautiously approached, as the Sorceress kissed the top of Trixie's head and looked up at them, smiling.
"Welcome to Castle Grayskull," she said, still holding Trixie in an embrace. "I am Teela-Na, Guardian of Grayskull and mother of General Teela. But you may call me Nana. The name 'Granny' should be reserved for Marlena."
This familiarity with his children made Adam uncomfortable; he wanted to re-gain some sense of control. "Let's get to the business at hand," he said. "What is first on our agenda today?"
The Sorceress arched an eyebrow, sensing the king's discomfort. "First is to greet my grandchildren, who have never seen me before," she answered.
"Except in my dreams," said Trixie.
"You've been visiting my daughter's dreams? How long has this been going on?" asked Adam.
"No, *I* visited *her,*" corrected Trixie. "I searched and searched…but she kept herself hidden…until…"
"Gran - um, yeah, Nana," interrupted Truth. "I never thought we'd get to meet our other grandmother, I mean, not 'other," but you know what I mean…" He stepped forward to touch her arm that was wrapped around his sister, as if to verify that the Guardian was real. His eyes traveled up her arm to her eyes, where he studied every feature - recognizing his mother and his sisters in her face.
Not to be outdone by his twin, Dare knelt down in front of the Sorceress and held her other hand. Kissing her fingertips, he bowed his head and said, "My lady Teela-Na, I offer my life in service for the honor of Grayskull."
"Your offer is accepted, Prince Randor," said the Sorceress, "But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Arise, my prince, and let us all go listen to the news that Tri-Klops brings. But first - " She waved a hand, and tiny sparkles sprang from her fingertips. The sparkles landed on the three teens, who became invisible, surrounded by a veil of silence. "Tri-Klops must neither see nor hear you, lest he begin to guess the castle's secrets. He must only see myself and the king, whom he expects." She led the group down a shadowy hallway, then down some stairs that were even more dim and creepy. Finally they stopped before a blank section of wall, to which the Sorceress spoke: "Open."
The stones moved aside to allow the group to enter, then the wall closed behind them. Inside was a spacious, cheerful room with colorful tapestries and large canvases that had moving pictures all around the walls. Truth noticed that the moving images were actually real-time livestreams of scenes around Eternia: farmers working in a field under a clear sky, wild horses running along a beach with waves crashing nearby, a busy outdoor marketplace in a faraway town, a thunderstorm rolling in above mountains.
But Trixie's eyes went straight to the broken and bandaged man lying on a bed that was decorated in the coats of arms of Eternia's oldest families. He was so weak, he struggled unsuccessfully to raise his head to see the Sorceress. She couldn't believe this was one of Skeletor's henchmen! Here in Grayskull of all places!
The king went straight to the man's bedside. He stood looking down on this person who had caused so much pain across the realm over the past twenty years - and he felt pity. The man's cybernetic eyes and arm had been violently ripped out, and he had been badly beaten, leaving behind one bloodshot human eye and a stump of an arm. His other arm was broken. Apparently, Tri-Klops had put all of his faith in a master who had turned on him.
Adam spoke: "Tri-Klops, it is I, King Adam of Eternia. What message do you bring?"
The ex-villain took several raspy breaths before he could explain himself. The first thing he said was, "Skeletor is dead. Your uncle Keldor is dead."
Adam was skeptical of this claim, but before he could respond, the voice of the Sorceress spoke inside his mind, "He does not lie. I sense that Skeletor's body and soul have been destroyed. Dark magic has been at work."
The king considered his words carefully before speaking. It seemed unlikely that the injured man would live a long life after this; why not make his remaining time as peaceful as possible? That much was well within Adam's power. Finally he said, "Tell me what you know, Tri-Klops, and I will grant clemency. I will transfer you to a safe house as soon as you are well enough."
Tri-Klops consented to the deal, and slowly, with painful effort, he managed to explain how he had ended up in this position: After He-Man's daring escape with the king's wife on the previous evening, Tri-Klops woke up on the floor with a bad headache, too dizzy to move. While he was unconscious, Beast-Man had been wounded, and Skeletor's magic staff had been broken, which meant Skeletor's magical abilities were quickly draining. Both Beast-Man and Skeletor were demanding help from Evil-Lyn. However, the witch was deeply focused on an incantation in an ancient tongue. When she eventually emerged from her trance, her eyes were glowing purple, and both Skeletor and Beast-Man were frantic. She aimed her staff at Beast-Man who fell into seizures, as a ghostly image of him was pulled out of his mouth. The image and his physical body went up in flames. Laughing, Evil-Lyn then turned to Skeletor and said, "Oh, I am going to enjoy this." Skeletor tried to put up a fight, but he met the same fate as Beast-Man. It was all over within a few minutes. Still laughing, Evil-Lyn summoned all of Skeletor's allies from all over Eternia to the throne room of Snake Mountain during that same night. Anyone who hesitated to swear loyalty to her was either killed or tortured; most of them immediately pledged allegiance to the witch. Tri-Klops, thinking that Evil-Lyn would need his technical expertise, decided to try to negotiate. It didn't work: she made an example of him in front of everyone, and sent him to the dungeon to die. But at some point during the long night, his comrades Webstor and Trap-Jaw helped him escape before they all went their separate ways in the Dark Hemisphere…
Telepathically, the Sorceress told Adam, "Trap-Jaw and Webstor are already dead; Evil-Lyn hunted them down and assumed that Tri-Klops was a lost cause. But what about…?"
"...your inventions?" asked Adam. "The weapons you developed for Skeletor. Are they secure, or does Evil-Lyn have them now?"
"She has everything," sighed Tri-Klops. "That's why I asked to see you. You must destroy my lab, the garage, the prototypes…before she destroys us all." He went on to describe the exact location of his lab inside Snake Mountain, the access code and which items inside were the most dangerous.
Adam nodded. "I will give the orders, and I thank you for the intelligence." He paused to consider the next steps for Tri-Klops. For twenty years he had battled this man, but he did not actually know him. "Is there anyone else we should rescue from Snake Mountain? Family? Close friends?"
Suddenly Tri-Klops was seething with rage - he could barely lift his head, he was breathing heavily, but the gravelly words came spilling out. "Family? The only family I had was murdered by YOUR FATHER and his guards - my whole village was wiped out - I watched them die - I was a child, maimed and left bleeding out - it was Keldor who gave me life, it was Keldor who became my family after YOUR FATHER got through with the others…or do you really think old Randy was the pacifist he pretended to be? Are you such a fool as that?" Tri-Klops gulped air like he was going to pass out. He collapsed back on his bed, and fell quiet.
Remaining outwardly calm, Adam noted to himself that the Sorceress wasn't contradicting anything that Tri-Klops said. Focusing on his own breathing, he waited until he was ready with an answer. Without betraying his emotions, he said, "I am not my father, and I am no fool." Tri-Klops seemed to accept this, so Adam continued, "I came here today to protect the future of Eternia for everyone, not just my children. The only demand I make of you is that you speak the truth, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you and all of Eternia. Do you accept this alliance?"
The broken man nodded.
Adam concluded, "Then you are no longer Tri-Klops of Snake Mountain. What is the name your parents gave you?"
His voice breaking, he said, "Ty-Kor…of Samara."
"Does anyone else know your name?"
"No," said Ty-Kor, "only Keldor knew."
"Then that is what we shall call you," said the king. "Farewell, Ty-Kor of Samara." Adam stepped back toward the wall where they'd entered, while the Sorceress explained to Ty-Kor that the castle's spirits would tend to his every need and heal his wounds. She promised to check on him every few hours, to allow him time to recuperate.
Back in the castle's throne room, the Sorceress removed the invisibility and silence spells from the three teens, with the sparkles of magic returning to her fingertips. Immediately, all three of them started chatting excitedly with each other about what they'd seen and heard - everything today seemed to be a revelation to them.
Quietly, Adam questioned Teela-Na. "Why was it necessary for my children to be present for that interview?" he asked.
The wise woman responded, "Adam, you know as well as I do that Evil-Lyn is less stable and more treacherous than Skeletor ever was…"
"Yes…and ten times more intelligent, too," added the king. "Your point?"
"The point is that this will be the defining conflict of your children's lives," explained the Sorceress. "They must be prepared to protect Eternia from what is to come."
Adam's heart sank. "But they're children…" he began.
"As were you when Skeletor rose to power. Your eldest daughter in particular must be taught to protect her sisters and her mother…urgently…today. At a minimum, she must learn to create a portal to evacuate the girls to safety…"
Adam glanced at his children, who were now listening intently to every word spoken by their grandmother.
"Portals?! Cool!" exclaimed Trixie.
"What about us, Nana?" asked Truth. Dare continued, "Yeah, don't we get part of Grayskull's power, too?"
"Yes and no," teased the Sorceress with a knowing smile. She removed her falcon headdress to reveal short, wavy, flaming red hair. This woman was identical to her daughter and granddaughters. "There is no 'part' of Grayskull's power. The great mystery of Grayskull is this: the power of Grayskull can never be divided or transferred. But, under special circumstances, the power can be multiplied." The Sorceress scrutinized her grandsons' faces, waiting for them to comprehend.
Of course, Trixie was already beaming, triumphant. The identical boys looked at each other, then at their father, and finally at their sister, when the realization hit them. The power of Grayskull, the ability to protect Eternia, had always been theirs.
"More sisters," said Trixie, grinning and nodding with her eyes lit up. "That's what we need."
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Note: Thank you for reading. I tried to capture to wonder and fun of a visit to Grayskull. My original idea for this fanfic was built around Teela-Na's statement about the great mystery of Grayskull. It's the heart of the story.