He-Man groaned at the remnants of pain still tingling through his body. His arms were spread-eagle, and felt as if they were supporting his weight. He opened his eyes and realized it was true. He was suspended in mid-air by chains attached to his wrists. Below him was nothing but a pool of burning hot lava.
"You really shouldn't get so emotionally vested in a fight," Hutch commented from below, twirling He-Man's sword in his hand. He-Man turned his head slightly to see his former friend relaxing against a wall. "It causes mistakes."
He-Man said nothing in reply, his ice-blue eyes speaking for him. To his relief, Battle Cat was chained below him, near Hutch. At least the tiger was still alive, and even seemed to be okay, if his angry growl was any indication.
Hutch grinned up at He-Man. "I won't waste time beating around the bush, He-Man. Swear your allegiance to us for one day, and your son lives. Otherwise, he'll be dead within three days."
"You said you couldn't remove the spell," He-Man said in a flat voice.
Hutch shrugged. "I lied." He grinned again. "By the way, if you're thinking your friends will rescue you, forget it. They're spread out all over Eternia battling various natural disasters the Ancients have caused because they don't want Adam ruling."
"Disasters you caused, you mean," He-Man spat at him.
Hutch put on a wounded look. "Would I do such a thing?" He sighed dramatically. "I suppose I would." He began laughing maniacally. He put the Power Sword in a case opposite Battle Cat, and touched it lightly. "All sealed up. I'll be back later to see what your decision is, Adam."
He-Man looked up at the chains holding him, smirking. They'd been overconfident. He could break these easily. All he had left to do was figure out how to get to the ledge instead of plunging into the lava below. And that, he realized, could be difficult. It was actually one long chain he was attached to, threaded through two hoops in the ceiling. Breaking off one wristband would give the other all the slack, sending him for a hot bath in molten rock.
"Psst." He-Man looked back down and spotted Duncan standing at the ledge. Hawk was already working on Battle Cat's chains.
"Duncan!" He-Man called in a loud whisper. "Thank the Ancients!"
Duncan glared at his son-in-law, clearly unhappy with him. But as always, he took care of business first. "What can I do?" he asked.
"Can you fire a grappling line next to me?" He-Man asked.
Duncan nodded and took careful aim with his grappling gun. The sharp spear flew by He-Man's side, so close the hero could feel the breeze, and buried itself in the rock behind him.
"Thanks, Duncan. I've got it from here," He-Man said confidently. He yanked both arms together, snapping the chain at both wrists. With a smooth half-turn, he grabbed the line and slowly lowered himself down until he was standing with his comrades.
"This ranks up there with some of your lesser ideas," Duncan said shortly as He-Man broke through the case holding his sword. He-Man frowned; the spell Hutch had put on it must have been a magical alarm, rather than a force field. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking of Josiah," He-Man said simply, sheathing his sword. "He's dying, Duncan, and if Hutch placed the spell on him, he must know how to remove it."
"And I'm sure he was oh-so-willing to share that information with you," Hawk said dryly.
"I had to try," said He-Man, his eyes silently asking his friends to understand.
Duncan sighed and placed a hand on the young father's shoulder. "I know you did. But you didn't have to do it alone."
He-Man tilted his head to the side at the curious lift to the right side of Duncan's mouth. "What's that look for?"
Duncan shrugged. "I guess I've finally come to the realization that you're human," he said in a half-joking manner.
"So…you're not going to take my sword away because I went off half-cocked?" He-Man asked in tone that couldn't quite pull off the light-heartedness he had tried for. Hawk stood by silently, watching the exchange.
Duncan shook his head, knowing He-Man was asking more than his words implied. "No, lad. I reserve the right to straighten you out when you stray, but I won't beat you down for making mistakes." He grinned. "You've learned your lessons well. I think you're ready to spread your own wings, so to speak, without me hovering over you."
"I had a good teacher," He-Man answered, his own face solemn.
Hawk cracked his knuckles. "So, shall we try again to get Hutch to talk?" he asked eagerly.
He-Man hesitated, not knowing how they could convince Hutch to part with the information. But the decision was taken out of his hands as Hutch himself appeared in the doorway.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," He-Man muttered.
"Leaving so soon?" Hutch inquired in a friendly voice. "But you haven't had lunch yet."
He-Man pursed his lips. "I'm not that into poison, Hutch. Maybe another time."
"Well, you at least have to allow for some autographs," Hutch protested with an evil smile. "Some former friends of yours have missed you." He stepped to the side, and Trap Jaw, Kobra Khan, and Two Bad entered.
He-Man actually grinned for real. It was almost nice to see the old crew—the ones he knew he could defeat fairly easily. "Long time no see, guys."
Without responding, Kobra Khan popped open his hood and blew sleep gas at them, which He-Man quickly blew away. Battle Cat tackled Two Bad and drooled in both faces in turn. Trap Jaw tried to freeze Hawk, but was frozen by Man-at-Arms instead.
"You bumblers," Hutch groaned, slapping a hand to his face as He-Man grabbed Kobra Khan and hurled the reptilian onto the grappling hook on the opposite side of the lava.
He-Man turned to his former friend, his sword held at the ready. "Want to try again, Hutch?"
The orange-haired villain smiled brightly. "Josiah's weakening, He-Man. You'd better get home if you want to see him one last time." He transported away before He-Man could do anything to stop him.
"Argh!" He-Man yelled, turning and slamming his fist into the wall. A large section of the roof fell in, splashing lava up and almost onto the heroes. He-Man glanced up quickly; Kobra Khan was slowly getting hold of the line. He would be down in a moment.
"Let's go," he said shortly. He had failed, and he didn't know what to do about it, but it was time to return home.
Lyn sighed in contentment as Keldor placed his dampened fingers across her lips in the last step of their cleansing ritual. Three times in the last 24 hours, she and Keldor had had to pull that poisonous power into themselves to keep the spell from killing Josiah.
Keldor lowered his hand from Lyn's face to wave it over the basin that held their rapidly dwindling supply of the Waters of Truth. He was suddenly struck by the fact that they would need to renew their supply if they stayed too much longer, but he pushed that concern to the back of his mind. For now only one thing mattered to either of them, and that was keeping this child alive.
Teela had been by the bedside every moment since they first discovered the spell. When she finally fell asleep by Josiah's cradle, Orko levitated her over to a nearby bed. Lyn only hoped the capt...er, princess would allow herself some rest.
Orko was pacing mid-air as he continued to discuss this spell with his very pregnant wife.
"You're right, Dree Elle, something about this spell reminds me of Trollan magic." The tiny magician tapped his finger against his scarf. "I'm sure there's something simple we're not seeing."
"If you figure it out, by all means," groaned Keldor as he leaned back in his chair, "enlighten us. Seeing as neither Lyn nor I can understand why this spell cannot simply be drained away. It should be possible, but no matter how much we weaken it, it comes back."
"It's building up again quicker each time, isn't it?" asked Dree Elle in her whispery voice.
Lyn looked at Keldor with a raised eyebrow, then turned to face Orko's wife. "Yes, it was tiny at first, but the rate of advance is growing exponentially each time we pull power away. It's almost as if whatever is holding this spell to this child is growing stronger each time we interfere with it."
"It's like a binding spell," Dree Elle said excitedly.
"What do you mean?" Keldor asked irritably.
"Yes!" Orko agreed, doing a back flip in mid-air. "Binding spells are part of the person. Trying to remove them only strengthens them in the end." He tapped his forehead. "There are ways to remove them, but I'm not sure what they are. I've never tried. I have to go talk with Uncle Montork." He started to fly out of the room, then paused. "Will you two be all right? I have to go to Grayskull to contact him."
Lyn waved a weary hand. "We'll manage. Go look into this lead. It may be the break we need."
Orko flew toward the door so quickly that he did not notice his scarf had caught on a hook near the door.
"Whaaaaa? " he yelped as his scarf jerked him back and sent him flying in a strange arc right into an antiseptic cream that glowed dark orange until it took full effect. The metal bowl of the cream flew across the room to crash with a splat onto the rigid form of Man-at-Arms.
"What the Blazes?"
"Oops," moaned Orko as he hid his face from Duncan's orange-coated face and armor.
Keldor and Lyn couldn't contain their laughter as Duncan stoically wiped the orange glop from his now-matching face.
"Orko," he growled.
"Heh heh," laughed Orko nervously. "Sorry Man-at-Arms. Well I've gotta go to Grayskull so I guess I'd better just disappear." With those words the court magician flashed with a brilliant magenta light and vanished.
"What's so funny," yawned Teela as she stumbled back to Josiah's bedside. She looked up at her father's face and joined in the laughter in spite of her worry. "Orko strikes again, eh Father?" she asked.
"Yes," he groused. He came over to Josiah's bedside and peeked over at his grandson. He was stirring and cooing.
"He's getting stronger, Father. It's slow, but he's definitely getting stronger." The relief in Teela's voice was almost palpable.
Duncan swallowed a lump of emotion as he gazed down at his grandson. "He does look stronger."
Lyn and Keldor exchanged looks of dismay. Neither wanted to contradict Teela and remove her hope, but they knew already that this reprieve would not last long.
"Teela," Man-at-Arms asked, tearing his eyes away from Josiah, "have you seen Adam?"
"Not since early this morning," Teela said slowly, sensing a hidden meaning behind the question. "Why?"
"I thought he was coming directly here," Duncan muttered. He leveled his gaze at her. "He-Man went to Snake Mountain to try to get Hutch to tell him how to break the spell. Long story short, it didn't work." He glanced at Keldor and Lyn, hating to say this in front of them. "You know how hard he takes it when he can't save someone, much less someone he loves. He needs you, Teela."
"He'll have to come to me," she said firmly, looking at her son. "I'm not leaving Josiah."
"Excuse me," Keldor said, standing abruptly. 'I think it's time my nephew and I had a little chat.'
"Where are you going?" asked Teela in a panic.
"I have something to discuss with Adam," Keldor said grimly.
Duncan frowned darkly at that remark, but held his tongue. Adam was a grown man. He could handle Keldor.
"But what about Josiah?" Teela demanded, straightening up.
"Don't worry," Lyn assured her. "We just drained the spell ten minutes ago while you were sleeping. We should be fine without Keldor for a short time."
"Besides," offered Dree, "I will help if you need me to until Keldor can get back."
Keldor was fuming.
"How could he do something this stupid? He should know better than to take on everyone in Snake Mountain all by himself. He's not thinking clearly, and he's going to get himself or someone else killed if he doesn't stop letting his emotions rule his actions." Keldor shook his hand in the air and chanted. "Prince in danger now profound, be unmoving and with this found."
A small golden ball of light led the way and Keldor jogged behind it until he found himself standing on a secluded balcony. Adam was sitting on a bench in the shadows of a large frond plant.
Adam glared at Keldor as the mage approached and his muscles released from the spell Keldor had cast. "Don't ever do that to me again," he snapped.
"I make no such promises," Keldor retorted, "if you continue to do stupid things like go off to Snake Mountain by yourself. What were you thinking? That he wouldn't be ready to deal with you? I captured you more times than you may care to remember and I didn't have the kind of power that foul fiend is pouring into them. You're lucky you weren't captured. Or killed."
Adam stood angrily, knowing on some level that every word Keldor spoke was true. "That is my son in there, dying by the minute! Do you have any idea what that's like? They know how to break this spell! I had to try to get them to tell me!"
"And did they?" asked Keldor angrily, already knowing the answer.
"Of course not!" Adam yelled, standing nose-to-nose with Keldor. His shoulders slumped and he turned away. "But I had to try," he said in a near-whisper, fighting the tears that threatened. "What else could I do?"
Seeing Adam's despair, Keldor released his anger. "You could have sought help." Keldor placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I do understand what it's like. I almost lost Neara as we were traveling to find the Truth Sworn. If I had been alone, if I had not had Lyn with me, I would have expended so much magical energy that I would have ended up unconscious and unprotected in a jungle where such mistakes end only in death. I do understand Adam. But you are in so much pain now you cannot think clearly. Please depend on those you trust to help you. Like Lyn helped me."
Adam jerked away. Keldor saying he was in too much pain to think clearly brought back the memory of Randor saying something similar just after Skeletor had learned his secret. He didn't want to hear such a statement from his former enemy. There was a long silence as Keldor allowed Adam to think over his words.
"Do you know what it's like to have everyone in your life hurt because of who you are?" Adam finally asked lowly. "Josiah is dying because I'm He-Man, because Evil wants to see my downfall so badly." His pain-ridden expression pierced Keldor's heart. "Death would be easy compared to this."
"I do know. I cannot tell you how many times I have wished I'd died cleansed in the Waters on Carnia rather than see what pain I've caused your family. Living itself, going on when those you care about suffer because of you and your choices--it hurts Adam. But what would happen if you chose Evil? How many other mothers would lose their sons or daughters? And Adam, we haven't lost Josiah yet. And your family, though hurt, can be proud of your choices."
"I have no intention of serving Evil," Adam said, his resolve on that strong again. "But I can't stand by and do nothing while my son wastes away." 'If only I could figure out a way to make Hutch tell me how to break the spell...'
"You may not have to," began Keldor. "The little Trollan thinks he knows what's holding the spell to your son. He's on his way to Castle Grayskull now to contact someone named Montork to find out how to remove this thing he calls a binding spell."
Adam's head jerked up. "A binding spell?" he repeated, an odd mixture of horror and hope on his face.
"Are you familiar with them?" asked Keldor, a bit surprised. He shouldn't have been; Adam had been around Orko for more than half his life and was bound to have picked up some knowledge of Trollan magic. "It's not a type of magic I'm familiar with."
Adam almost smiled as he shook his head. "The Trollans don't get married, they bind to each other with magic. We attended Orko and Dree Elle's binding. The magical power they use is intense; even my sword reacted to it." He frowned. "But that's done with hundreds of Trollans joining together. How could Hutch have cast that spell himself?"
"He's being powered by Evil itself, Adam. There are very few limits to their supply of dark power."
Adam nodded absently, turning as a voice called to him from the doorway. "There you are," Marlena complained. "What's this I hear about you going to Snake Mountain on your own and getting captured? Are you trying to get yourself killed before your next birthday?"
"No," Adam protested, but Keldor, not having heard the full story, interrupted, his frustration with his nephew rising up again.
"You were captured?" accused Keldor, glowering.
"Yes," Adam admitted reluctantly. "But Hawk and Duncan showed up in time to help me escape. I'm fine. I'm not going back there...at least not alone. I promise. Now will you two lay off?"
Keldor shook his head. "Only because I know you are telling the Truth. And speaking of Truth, Teela wants you by her side."
Adam let out a sigh. "I was hoping I could return with good news," he said lowly. "I hope Orko has more luck than I did." He turned and walked off the balcony.
Marlena watched him go with worried eyes. "What a birthday this'll be for him, and Adora," she said almost to herself.
"Indeed," Keldor commented. "Queen Marlena, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course," she said quickly, surprise lighting her features.
"I have been thinking of that story you shared with Adam after Damien's visit. And I was wondering..." Keldor shifted uncomfortably for a moment.
"Go on," Marlena urged him.
"This sacrifice of the one you called Jesus. You said it forgave the evil of your people. How much evil was forgiven for each person? What was the limit?"
Marlena smiled gently in understanding. "There was no limit, Keldor," she said. "None at all."
For several minutes, Keldor fought the tears that were gathering in his eyes unsuccessfully. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. "You speak the truth. I can feel it." He swallowed hard, fighting for control. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am for what I've done to you, Queen Marlena."
"I know you are," she said softly.
Uncomfortable with the power of his own emotions, Keldor turned to look out into the gardens below.
"Keldor..." Marlena said, waiting for him to turn back around. When he had done so, she reached out and took his hand. "I know you have changed. I can see how hard you are trying to help my family--perhaps even harder than you tried to hurt us. I want you to know that I forgive you too."
Keldor nodded, fighting back tears. "I cannot tell you how much that means to me, Your Majesty. I promise you that I will do everything I can for your family. I would lay down my life for them now."
Marlena's warm blue eyes searched Keldor's face. After a long moment, she nodded. "Yes, I believe you would," she said quietly.