She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is produced by Dreamworks Animation Television, and both She-Ra and He-Man are owned by Mattel. Enjoy.

Chapter 14: The Face of Evil

(Right where we left off)

To the collective surprise of everyone in the group, this time they were not thrown into another montage of stills, but into a battlefield. All around them swords were clashing, blasters were blasting, and guys were being thrown at other guys. It was pure pandemonium.

"Behold children, the Hall of Wisdom, roughly twenty-six years ago." The Sorceress began dramatically. She then went on to explain the events that had led up to this madcap melee, but Adam chose not to listen. He knew this story all too well. Everyone on Eternia did.

On this day, twenty-six years ago, an evil warrior known as Keldor the Treacherous tore down the Mystic Wall and unleashed thousands of banished warlords, barbarian raiders and dark sorcerers upon the Light Hemisphere; beginning the five year period of chaos known as the Great Unrest.

But also on this day, seven warriors from all across Eternia banded together to stem this tide of madness.

Seven warriors that would come to be known as the Masters of the Universe.

While the Sorceress continued to prattle on to his sister, Prince Adam decided to have a little fun. So he made a game of seeing how many OG Masters and Proto-Outcasts he could identify.

First there was his father, then known as Captain Randor, squaring off against Keldor, who from this day forward would be known as Skeletor, on some sort of marble staircase. While down below, Man-At-Arms, pre-cybernetic enhancements, and a large burly gentleman with a red beard were fighting younger versions of Beast Man and Mer-Man. The young Prince had never seen his future mentor's battle companion before, but surmised that it must be his older brother Malcom; who had unfortunately died three months before he was born.

Elsewhere, Mekaneck was facing off against a brutish, blue skinned warrior who upon further inspection appeared to be a younger, less grotesque version of Trap Jaw; clearly this was before he volunteered to be Tri-Klops' guinea pig.

Speaking of whom, he didn't see the Outcast's resident mad scientist amidst the chaos. Must not 've joined yet. Which made sense, both he and Evil-Lyn were a lot younger than most of the other members he knew.

Anyway, over to his left Adam saw Man-E-Faces going toe-to-toe with some shinobi warrior he'd never seen before. His face and body were almost completely covered in black ninja gear, but the little bit of light blue skin visible around his eyes suggested that he was from Anwat Gar; meaning that this guy was the real deal and not just some pretender in a costume.

Not too far away from them, Ram Man was up against two more unknown goons. One was a muscly guy in spikey armor. The other was a blueish grey reptilian with oversized fangs. Neither of them looked very smart. Skeletor probably ended up using them for cannon fodder.

Last but not least there was Stratos who was facing off against… wait… what the hell?

No, it couldn't be.

But it was.

He looked a lot younger, like maybe in his late teens, and he was wearing armor instead of a suit, but there was no mistaking it.

And yet somehow it was still too hard to believe.

Webstor.

Chula's smart mouthed secretary.

He used to be an Outcast?

He used to work for Skeletor?

"So… so that's really him?" Adora asked, shaking Adam out of his thoughts.

"Yes, child. That's him." The Sorceress answered. "A fair bit younger than he is now, but that's him. That's your Father."

Ah… now he understood. This was her first time seeing her Father; outside of that old painting. And it was during one of his greatest moments; the battle that led to his ascension to King of Eternia. Having grown up without a family, only to find out her dad is basically a superhero must've been pretty awesome. Which kinda made Adam feel bad for taking it for granted.

Oh, wait. The big climax was about to start.

Their dad had just knocked the blades out of Keldor's hands and currently had his own sword aimed for the villain's throat.

"It's over, Keldor." The future King said heroically. "You are beaten. Surrender now and I can promise you a lighter sentence."

"Oh, and who shall convict me, Randor?" the rogue replied. "The Elders are gone. The Mystic Wall is destroyed. Chaos reigns. And the only law is Survival of the Fittest. You may have won this battle, but you have lost everything else! Victory is mine! MWRUHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ugh… Even thirty years ago, he was such a ham.

"As long as I draw breath, I will continue to uphold the laws of the Elders."

"Then breathe no more!"

Within the span of several seconds, Keldor pulled a small glass vial from off his belt and threw it at Randor, who then blocked it with his retractable wrist mounted shield, causing it to break and release its contents. Then, acting purely on reflex, the future King tossed said shield aside, causing some of the mysterious green liquid to splash off and hit Keldor right in the face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the villain screamed as the acid burned his skin.

"As I was saying," said Randor, clearly undeterred by the rogue's self-inflicted injury. "I hereby arrest you in the name of…"

"MY FACE!" Keldor howled in agony as he stumbled around blindly; hot steam rising from his melting flesh.

Unable to see where he was going, the dark lord walked right off the edge of the staircase and fell about twenty feet before being caught by Webstor.

"Keldor's down!" the young Arachna shouted as he cradled his master in his arms like a bride. "Retreat!"

Not needing to be told twice, the other Outcasts immediately dropped whatever they were doing and started running for the nearest exist. Naturally, the Proto-Masters gave chase, all except for Randor, who hung back with a sad, almost regretful expression.

"But Keldor had been mistaken." The Sorceress spoke up. "The Elders were not gone. They merely ascended to a higher plane of existence. In Randor, they had found a worthy successor and sire for the next He-Man. So they allowed Eternia to think they had died and left it in your Father's capable hands."

"But while Good was trying to restore order, Evil was making preparations of its' own." Shadow Weaver added; triggering yet another scene transition.

XXX

(0.5 seconds later)

Having already been through this at least a dozen times, Adora wasn't too surprised to suddenly find herself in some kind of ancient ruin.

What surprised her was the fact that, amidst the crumbling statues and ruined cisterns, there was a little girl playing in the sand. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old, and admittedly she was pretty cute with her little lavender pigtails and raggy purple dress. But she just seemed so out of place here.

"Daddy!" she called out in a high squeaky voice. Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Yes, Precious?" a mysterious voice answered.

Suddenly, a tall ghoulish figure emerged from the shadows. His body was almost completely concealed by his dark purple robes, save for his hands, which were long, boney and pale, and his face, which was… not there.

No, I'm not kidding. This man, whoever or whatever he was, had no face. No eyes, no nose, not even a mouth. Just a blank wall of flesh sitting atop his shoulders.

Was this thing even alive?

"Look, Daddy! I made a snake!" the little girl said cheerily as she pointed to the crude sculpture she'd just made in the sand.

"Oh, that's just lovely, Evelyn." The faceless creature said approvingly as he proceeded to affectionately tussle the child's hair. "Such a talented little artist you are, my pretty, pretty princess."

Under normal circumstances, such a scene might have been heartwarming, but to Adora it was just bizarre. Seeing this adorable little girl interacting with a faceless monster like it was normal; even calling it 'Daddy'. And then there was the monster itself. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something strangely familiar about its voice.

Just then, the air was shattered by some sort of loud boom. At the far end of the room, a large stone door had opened and through it came too familiar figures. One was the man her father had been fighting in the last scene. Keldor, or something like that. Only now he appeared to be on death's doorstep. He was so weak he had to have one of his minions prop him up like a scarecrow. His face was obscured by his hood, but she could see steam rising from beneath it. Clearly this had happened immediately after his attack on the Hall of Wisdom.

The other, the aforementioned minion, was a young spider man who looked suspiciously like the secretary they'd met in Chulatown. But then a lot of those Spiders had looked alike, at least from her perspective.

Anyway, once the two newcomers were standing before the faceless man and his… 'daughter', the Spider released his master, allowing him to fall on his hands and knees.

"So… how did it go?" the ghoulish figure asked sarcastically.

"I… I'm dying…" Keldor replied with labored breath.

"I can see that. I warned you about using Dullahound Venom. But no, you just had to be Mr. Dramatic."

"Please… Please help me."

"Ewww~" exclaimed the little girl, having just snuck a peek under Keldor's hood. "Your face is all melty! Daddy, can I have an ice cream?"

"Later, Darling." 'Daddy' replied dismissively, before shifting his focus back on the dying man. "Anyway, I don't know what you expect me to do about it? I told you, Dullahound Venom is extremely dangerous. Not only does it dissolve living tissue, it infects its victims with a necromantic virus. In another few hours you'll be nothing but a mindless, shambling Undead."

"NO!" Keldor wailed, quite pathetically. "It can't end this way! I can't be denied my revenge! There must be something you can do! Anything! Please, Master Nikolas!"

Realization struck Adora like a falling tree trunk.

Nikolas?

As in King Nikolas?

As in the man who drove Mara to madness by murdering her lover and framing her cousin?

He was still alive?

Or at least he had been almost thirty years ago.

But how?

How could he still be alive after a thousand years?

That's when she remembered her brother's words. The Negative Energy had mutated him into some sort of faceless, undead ghoul. But if that was the case, then how could he have a daughter that looked so normal?

On second thought, she probably didn't want to know.

"Don't beg, Keldor. It makes me not like you." Nikolas said derisively. "But… there may be something I can do. Evelyn, go fetch Daddy's special balm."

"Okay!" the little girl replied happily before scurrying off.

"So… I don't believe we've been properly introduced." The faceless man said to the Spider. "I'm Nikolas."

"I am aware of who you are, Your Immanence." Said Spider replied bluntly. "I am Webstor. Lord Keldor's Second-in-command."

"Oh my~ That's quite a tittle for someone so young. Keldor must be very fond of you."

"Lord Keldor recognizes my skills. When it comes to espionage, sabotage or larceny, I simply cannot be matched."

"Is that right?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Keldor screamed in agony as he writhed in the sand like a wounded adder; apparently his condition was getting worse.

"Oh my~" Nikolas said jokingly before turning back to Webstor. "If my daughter doesn't show up soon, you might be getting a promotion."

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Evelyn cried out excitedly as she skipped back onto the scene; a flask full of purple liquid in hand. "I got the balm~ I got the balm~ I got the balm~ WHEEEEEEEE~"

"Very good, Precious." Nikolas said approvingly as he took the flask from his daughter. "You're Daddy's little Sunshine. Yes you are~ Yes you are~"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Alright, alight, I'm coming." He said as he uncorked the flask and poured a little of the balm into his other hand. "Now, as I said before, you've been infected with a necromantic virus. I can't stop the transformation, but I can manipulate it. Alter it in such a way that you'll be able to keep your mind intact. Of course, there may be other side effects."

"I don't care!" Keldor shouted, pausing briefly to howl in pain. "No price is too great… AAGH! I must… I must have my revenge!"

"As you wish."

And with that said, Nikolas handed the bottle back to his daughter and proceeded to rub the magic balm into his palms. Within minutes, both hands were engulfed in a mystic purple flame; which somehow didn't seem to burn his skin.

"You may feel a slight pain."

Suddenly, the flames shot from the faceless man's hands and enveloped Keldor's entire body. For several minutes he screamed and flailed about in agony as his flesh was incinerated, then regrown, and then incinerated all over again. This cycle continued for what felt like hours until at last the fire abated; revealing the villain's body completely unchanged.

No, that wasn't quite true. His skin had grown slightly paler, and his fingers looked more like claws. His hood was still up, so she couldn't see his face, but somehow Adora knew that it had been altered the most.

"Feeling better now?" Nikolas asked jokingly.

Keldor breathed heavily for several moments before replying.

"Mirror…"

"Beg pardon?"

"Mirror! Get me a mirror!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to shout."

And with that said, the faceless man materialized a small hand mirror out of thin air and handed it to the ailing rogue.

For what felt like an eternity, Keldor just stared at his reflection.

Unmoving.

Unblinking.

Or at least Adora assumed so, since she still couldn't see his face.

Suddenly, he began to laugh. Softly at first, like a light chuckle. Then, as time passed, his laughter grew louder and, for lack of a better word, crazier. Before long, the walls echoed with the sound of the villain's demented cackling.

Clearly, whatever he had seen had driven him completely mad.

Then, as if to illustrate this, Keldor violently smashed the mirror against the ground.

And all the while, sweet little Evelyn smiled from ear to ear.

End Notes:

I think I can reach a good stopping place with just two more chapters.

Fingers crossed.

Until then, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.