Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, Masters of the Universe, Justice League or Doctor Who. They all belong to their respective copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author's Note: This story doesn't draw on any single continuity of Masters of the Universe. I've mixed and matched bits from all over and then thrown in some other bits as well. However as a guide... the Ancients come from the 1983 cartoon, Council of Elders from the 2002 cartoon, Hall of Wisdom and the spell used to turn it into Castle Grayskull comes from Revelations. The forging of the Sword of Power is adapted from the Masters of the Universe Revelations prequel comic. Oh, and the Masters of the Universe are your regular little group as acknowledged by He-Man when they first meet him in the 2002 cartoon. The other Masters are not from Eternia but have a keen interest in the Power...
Castle Grayskull, Eternia
"Any sufficiently arcane magic is indistinguishable from technology" - Variation of Clarke's Third Law.
At the time of its creation, the planet of Eternia lay at the centre of the universe; over time the universe grew in ways that meant that Eternia became one of many worlds that at different points occupied the centre as part of a cycle. In the early days, shortly after Eternia had formed, a piece of crystal had been placed at the planet's core in a stone chamber that would one day be called the Heart of Eternia. The nature of the crystal and the energy in channelled meant that to those who would one day discover it, it appeared as a glowing orb of the extra-dimensional energy known as the Power. Through this object, Eternia would be blessed with life and magic.
As life evolved, the planet was filled with raw energy that would later be known as wild magic. The planet was home to a massive number of magical plants and creatures, and more than its share of magic users. The saturation of magical energy had caused the people of Eternia to evolve differently from some other worlds. It created a bond between the people and their world, leaving them more in touch with their environment and knowledgeable of the best way to use their resources. Still, evolution was a gradual thing and the early tribes of Eternia were still in their infancy at the time that visitors from a distant world visited them.
Depictions of the new arrivals would reveal that they referred to themselves as Masters of some kind. The exact title they used had been recorded, but time had seen that part of the planet destroyed and so their true identity was lost. They identified themselves as students of the Power, seeking to learn more about it and its secrets. They spoke of finding the origin of the Power and identifying its source. To that end, they discovered the caverns far below the surface of Eternia and the orb of energy that channelled the Power and allowed it to flow freely around the young world.
The Masters used the chamber to house their technology as they carried out their experiments. They even extended the stone rooms into the caverns as their needs required more space. Their studies show the energy within the orb was the same energy they had identified on other worlds. They taught the locals the nature of the Power and how to tame it so that it was less destructive to those who stumbled upon it. They built a container around the Orb of Power to regulate the flow of wild magic across Eternia and instructed the natives to build a mighty hall on the surface that would protect the entrance to the caverns. That building would become known as the Hall of Wisdom and the Eternians they educated would one day become known as The Ancients, leading their people when the Masters departed.
Surprisingly despite being a world where magic flowed freely, the intervention of the Masters caused the people of Eternia to follow a path of science and to favour technology. For a long time, magic was mostly overlooked and ignored. And when magic was used, it was often to enhance some scientific breakthrough. They even found a way to turn magic into electricity to power their homes and machines.
Eternia grew more advanced. They developed the means to travel amongst the stars. They set up colonies on the planet's moons and they left their star system behind and founded colonies on other worlds.
But just as advanced technology could lead to noble causes such as exploration, when combined with greed it could lead to war. Eternia's kingdoms started to squabble over petty issues, relying on their technology to provide weapons that would win a war should the other side refuse to back down. Eventually, that approach led to a fight from which neither side was willing to back away, both sides being convinced that they would triumph. Open conflict broke out on Eternia, plunging the planet into a weapons-fueled armageddon and leaving behind a war-torn wasteland.
Much of the planet was devastated by the fighting. The people of Eternia almost succeeded in destroying themselves and their planet. With much of their lands and cities wiped out, the remaining population were forced to seek shelter in the forests and mountains. Time passed and with the loss of their technology, humans reverted to a more primitive phase.
In the aftermath of the war, the Ancients worked to dismantle the weapons that had caused such a disaster. Those they could not safely destroy they sent away from Eternia, using the technology left behind by the Masters. Anything they considered too dangerous to dispose of by that method was hidden away deep inside the Hall of Wisdom. They then gathered the records of how such technology had been created and aside from keeping a single copy that was stored in the Hall of Wisdom in case such machinery was encountered in the future, erased it from existence.
The Ancients watched over the survivors of Eternia as the planet recovered. They had been unable to prevent the coming of the Great War. In the aftermath, they sought to help their world recover. It was a long process and it became clear that some parts of Eternia would never recover and had been permanently tainted by destruction.
The Eternians grew and evolved once more, but this time following a different path where magic was more important than science. The Power meant that Eternia was a world where the laws that governed physics could be skewed to allow normally impossible things to happen. A planet where gods walked alongside mortals in harmony; a world where some of the natives were born with physical mutations that granted them special abilities. Some humans could fly with the birds and some could withstand huge amounts of pain. Some were magically more durable, faster and stronger than others. And while science did start to play a part once more, Eternia never reached its previous level of development. The natives rediscovered lost knowledge, but without the influence of the Masters, their society never embraced technology to the same degree. An obvious example was the clothes they wore and the homes they built. it was not a primitive world, it was no longer what an outsider would consider technologically advanced. There was no doubt that it was a world of wonders.
Centuries passed and new threats arose. The Ancients had learnt the secrets to prolonging their lives from the Masters, but there were limits. As they reached an age where they would die out, they recruited people from around Eternia and taught them all that they could. Those selected would become the Council of Elders and continue to guide the rulers of the planet as mighty nations emerged once more.
They advised the rulers of the planets on how to deal with the problems they faced, consulting the knowledge within the Hall of Wisdom to find their answers. It was as their instruction that King Grayskull journeyed across dimensions, braving heaven and hell to gather the mystic metals needed to forge a mighty sword capable of defeating an other-worldly threat.
King Grayskull with his Sword of Power became the High King of Eternia, a line that would continue far into the future and the first in a long line of Eternian champions to protect the planet from invasion while guarding the secrets of the Hall of Wisdom from those that would seek to misuse them. It was to those champions that the Council of Elders would trust the protection of Grayskull when their time came to an end. After appointing a guardian to the Hall of Wisdom, now hidden beneath an illusion of Castle Grayskull, to keep the secrets and guide the Champion, the Council of Elders departed.
Time passed. New threats emerged, and new enemies arose. The people of Eternia united to see off their enemies, led by the armies of Eternia and the Champion of Grayskull. The Snake Men, the Horde Empire, and countless demons from the other realms. There had even been invasion attempts by one of the planet's former colonies. Eternia experienced many wars followed by long periods of peace. And each time a new threat arose, so new heroes stepped forth to face the challenge.
According to Skeletor, he was a demonic sorcerer from another dimension who had appeared one day to conquer Eternia. Of course to believe that you had to disbelieve the other stories of his origin, at least three of which had been given by the skull-faced villain himself. In the end what mattered was that after returning from his imprisonment behind the Mystic Wall and facing years of resistance, Skeletor had finally triumphed.
Victory was not a quick thing as far as Skeletor was concerned. It was something to be savoured and the opportunity to belittle his fallen enemies was not to be missed. And there was no doubt that the so-called Masters of the Universe - a name given to them by Grayskull's latest champion- had been defeated.
Once the castle had been breached, Skeletor's victory had been almost certain. His armies had swept across Eternia and overwhelmed those who opposed him with greater numbers. He had rounded up the leaders, He-Man's trusted friends and dragged them back to Castle Grayskull so they could witness his final triumph. And that moment of glory arrived when He-Man was dragged before him in chains. Then, as the weakened He-Man had been forced to watch, his friends had been pushed through a vortex.
"Running out of friends?" Evil-Lyn mocked.
The Vortex led to Despondos, a dark dimension where the defeated heroes would be destroyed. And as they inevitably succumbed to the monsters within that dimension, their lives would shift the balance between good and evil in the Lord of Destruction's favour. And when the balance had shifted far enough, Skeletor planned to use the death of Grayskull's champion to complete the ritual to transfer the Power to its new and rightful owner.
"Oh how the mighty He-Man has fallen," Skeletor gloated as he stood over his greatest enemy. The chains on He-Man's wrists tethered him to the ground in a kneeling position. "Look at you, running on fumes. You've been fighting non-stop without your precious sword to renew your power and now... you have nothing left, you muscle-bound oaf. Admit it, I have defeated you."
And for once it seemed that Skeletor was correct. Eternia's greatest hero could only look up as the villain towered over him, the chains preventing him from standing. The sword that granted him access to the Power dangled from a chain at Skeletor's side. When separated from it, He-Man's powers grew weaker the longer and harder he fought. And in the last few days, he had battled constantly.
"Castle Grayskull has a new master, the Sorceress is dead..."
Not quite so true. The castle was in Skeletor's possession, but its secrets were still beyond his reach. And the Sorceress while close to death still held a small amount of life energy. Just enough to keep her alive until the wicked sorcerer extracted the information he needed to unlock the castle's power.
"Your companions are gone, Eternia and its people are mine, and soon... when I become a god... this world will be destroyed."
In truth, Skeletor had no intention of destroying Eternia. He had spent too long conquering the planet to give up his prize so soon. Now, Eternia would become his throne world and he would rule his empire from Castle Grayskull.
"I have taken everything from you, there is nothing that can save you now... so tell me He-Man, why do you still defy me?"
Despite knowing on some level that Skeletor was lying and that the Sorceress and his friends were alive, loss and anger fuelled his tired muscles, pushing him to lash out one more time, only to stop when a whip of raw energy tethered itself around his neck, dragging him backwards.
"So, the spirit is not as broken as the body," Evil-Lyn commented as she wove a new spell to take control of his mind. Normally such spells would likely fail, but normally he was not emotionally broken. "We will soon change that. Kneel before your master."
With his body broken and his mind driven to despair, the powerful spell found easy purchase. There was no way that he could fight it off, but He-Man was more than just strong, he had within him the mind and the spirit to back up that strength. It was just a matter of biding his time and relying on his enemies to be their usual evil selves.
He knew Skeletor. He knew that simply killing his greatest enemy would never be enough. Skeletor wanted He-Man broken and had gone out of his way to bring the powerful warrior to his knees. He had tortured his friends in front of him and displayed his weapons as trophies just beyond his reach.
And Evil-Lyn? Well, she was every bit as evil as her master and thrived on the control she felt at that moment. She had He-Man bound to her control and relished to opportunity to control his words and actions. But never his thoughts. Whether she realised it or not, her spell had only affected his motor control and not the thoughts of the man behind the vacant eyes.
"Join us," Evil-Lyn commanded. "Proclaim yourself a servant of Skeletor. Swear your loyalty to us!"
"To us?" Skeletor asked; a dangerous undertone in his voice. Skeletor did not share power with anyone.
"To Skeletor," she corrected. "I meant to Skeletor, of course. Swear upon your power that you will serve Skeletor as his loyal slave and we shall spare your miserable life."
And for the first time since he had fallen, He-Man sensed that the tide of battle had turned in his favour. Instead of fighting the spell, he embraced it, using its power to push himself to obey... and the same time defy. They wanted him to swear an oath. He would. And he knew exactly how it should be done.
"Yes, my mistress," he answered. He crawled to where Skeletor stood watching him. "I swear by my power that I will serve..."
"Stop! You will not deceive me, He-Man. There is no way that you would ever serve me. Besides, what power can you swear by? You worthless brute, you have no power. Well, tell me?"
And that was all he needed. One command, one simple instruction to say that which the spell had previously prevented. Before anyone could stop him, his hand reached out, grasping the blade of the sword Skeletor had taunted him with earlier. His sword - the legendary Sword of Power, the mighty Power Sword of Grayskull-, was forged within the heavenly flames of the Tower of Zoar using materials containing the essence of good and evil. It had been his companion since the day he had arisen as champion and the conduit for the massive energies of the universe.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"
And with that, the spell was broken. Shattered was a better word as the sword drew the magical energies into his broken body, restoring him to full strength, and repairing the damage Skeletor had inflicted. In the back of his mind, he could feel his connection to the Power return. He ripped the sword free from the chain that held it to Skeletor's side and in the process knocked the villain from his feet.
"I HAVE THE POWER!"
"No!" Skeletor protested as he regained his footing. "This cannot be! I had you at my mercy. I had you beaten, broken. I took everything from you and still, you defy me. How?"
Three times he unleashed a blast of dark energy from his staff. The first two were deflected harmlessly from the blade while the third knocked it from He-Man's grasp. Not that it mattered not that his strength was restored, fuelled by the righteous anger that cried out for justice.
"This is the end of the line, Skeletor!" He-Man warned as he dodged a shot from Evil-Lyn, which connected with the vortex, disrupting the spells around it.
"Look out, you fool! You'll free the other Masters!" Skeletor warned before returning fire. He had not gotten to his current position by allowing his minions to attack him.
Skeletor's grim prediction became reality as the vortex turned from glowing purple to sickly green, and the Masters of the Universe that Skeletor had sacrificed to its power were released.
In the meantime, He-Man had closed the gap between himself and the villain, grabbing hold of the Lord of Destruction's Havoc Staff, and preventing Skeletor from unleashing its energy. He drew back his fist and slammed it into the villain, not holding back for the first time in such an encounter; usually, he subconsciously pulled his punches. As Skeletor struggled, He-Man lifted him over his head and threw him into the broken portal. As Skeletor passed through, the vortex closed, leaving the assembled Masters of the Universe facing the rest of Skeletor's army.
The confrontation did not last long.
"Retreat!" Evil-Lyn bellowed before turning to run. Her companions did likewise.
He-Man and his friends did not pursue them. In the days to come the remnants of Skeletor's forces would be rounded up and dealt with, but for now, the battle was over. Hopefully, the evil of Skeletor was gone for good.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Clarke's Third Law
Earth was not considered a magical world. It was certainly not considered advanced by its galactic neighbours. The abundance of Iron that made up the planet's core prevented the Power from flowing freely. An accident during the planet's infancy meant that its connection to the source of that power, the Morphin Grid, was fundamentally different. As a result, the humans of Earth had to get by without the use of spells and enchantments. They had learnt to apply the principles of the world around them to fashion machinery to make up for their shortfall. For the most part, they were not even aware of what was missing from their lives.
And there was no question that Earth lacked the number and variety of magical creatures that Eternia boasted. Earth's animals had to adapt to their environment without magic just like the humans.
But while magical energy did not flow freely on Earth as it did on some worlds, there was still magic for those who could find a way to use it. The magical essence of the planet was what allowed life to flourish after all. Throughout history, some discovered how to draw upon the planet's magic. And on Earth - unlike some other worlds - there was more than one method of doing so; there was more than one source from which to draw. No, Earth was not completely without magic users, but it was widely accepted that they were in the minority.
Earth certainly didn't lack for heroes. There had always been those who would rise and face evil or risk their lives to save those in need of help. The Justice League and many other groups protected the planet from the threat posed by super-powered villains. And just like the Masters on Eternia, many of its members were ambassadors for their people. In recent times they had been joined by the Power Rangers, a team formed to protect the world from invasion by evil space aliens.
Like Eternia and many other worlds, the Earth had once contained a fragment of crystal at its core. However, when the Earth had formed it had been struck by a large asteroid. The planet had survived, but the crystal fragment had been shattered and spread through the planet's structure, creating lines of natural magic that seeped out wherever it could, often where multiple lines of magical energy crossed. The asteroid had been made of Iron and upon impact melted into the core of the planet. At the same time, an equal mass of Earth's molten centre had been ejected into space. It created an imbalance that disrupted the flow of magic and slowed the planet's development.
In its broken form, the Earth's fragment had different properties to the one found on Eternia. The latent magic surrounding the Earth purified the souls of those within its reach. It wasn't strong enough to turn an evil person into a good person, but on some level, it eroded the evil around their hearts. Often the effect was most obvious when considering how competent a villain had been before exposure to the planet. Rita Repulsa for example had at one time been a fear villainess known for her cruel methods and her ruthlessly efficient methods of conquest. Just a year on Earth following her release had transformed her into a mockery of her former self. Lord Zedd had likewise been influenced by the Earth's power- for there was no way that any sort of love potion would have worked on him before he first attempted to conquer the planet, even if it was a very twisted form of love. It was such magic that had allowed the heroes of Earth to fight off multiple threats.
When Evil-Lyn had damaged the portal to Despondos, she had not only made it possible for those trapped there to return to Eternia, but had also altered the destination of the portal on Grayskull's side. So when Skeletor had been thrown through, he had not bee transported to the demon-filled dimension. Instead the portal had transported him to a random location, which just happened to be high above the planet Earth. The Lord of Destruction was still travelling at the same speed that he had been propelled into the portal when he emerged; while his speed did not change, gravity exerted its influence and forced a change in his direction as he started to plummet helplessly toward the surface.
As he fell, the villain laughed triumphantly as he tasted the planet's relatively untapped potential and realised that he had arrived in a place that would allow him to exact revenge upon He-Man. For it seemed that regardless of whether the natives of Earth could use its magic, Skeletor had no problems. It was a shame that while he was concentrating on the newly discovered power at his disposal and plotting how to use it, he forgot all about the more immediate problem of the rapidly approaching ground.
Eternia
In the aftermath of battle, while exhausted and relived to be alive, something had been overlooked.
The portal Skeletor had created was not a simple doorway between two rooms. It was more like a corridor with a door at each end. On one side the door was open so long as the spell was in effect, allowing travel from Grayskull to Despodos. At the other end the door only opened outward with no means to open it from the other side. Indeed the portal into Despondos only opened long enough to deposit those thrown through before vanishing. Evil-Lyn's spell had changed that. Her blast had broken the portal, allowing those trapped on the other side to return to Grayskull. At the same time the destination of the portal from Grayskull's side had shifted to a new random location. In the relief of winning, the heroes had missed the fact that there were now two portals and not one. The portal had vanished when Skeletor had been thrown into it, but at that time the portal had been damaged and was no longer connected to Despondos. And while the doorway leading from Grayskull to Earth had closed after ejecting Skeletor, the door that allowed exit from Despondos remained open.
End of part.
