The Tower of Terror
The Tower of Terror
© Aidan Cross, copyright August 23/98
The desolate landscape was rough and rocky, and no man had ever been known to walk across it with ease. Few of the people who had tried had ever actually made it across. Even the greatest vehicles of Eternia were unable to travel smoothly across the jagged terrain. And that’s what gave Skeletor the confidence that his Spydor was the greatest vehicle on Eternia. It had been travelling across the rocky plain of
Joritrea for several days now, and had not once had any trouble. Its
huge legs stalked over the roughest patches as if they were nothing.
And Skeletor was confident that he would find the ancient building that
he was looking for.
The evil warriors he had brought with him, however, were sceptical.
They followed behind him in Rotons- they had chosen flying vehicles
because they had not believed that even their most powerful land
vehicles, like the Landshark and Night Stalker, the robotic horse, would
be able to make it. They had been moaning about this journey because
they were completely convinced that their quest would come to nothing.
They believed that the tower of terror was nothing but a legend. But
Skeletor was convinced it was real- and that the long journey would be
worth it- to find the very thing they needed to destroy the heroic
warriors and conquer Eternia.
Tri-Clops was getting exhausted piloting the Roton over such a long
distance. It was even worse considering that he firmly believed there
was no such thing as the tower of terror. Why did Skeletor have to
follow all these ridiculous old wives tales? Tri-Clops had lost count
of the amount of times he’d tried to persuade Skeletor that this journey
was pointless, unsuccessfully, of course. He kept quiet now, knowing
that if he mentioned it again, Skeletor could be so angry that he might
kill him.
Webstor, in the other Roton, felt much the same way as Tri-Clops did.
Webstor didn’t really believe magic was so powerful anyway. He thought
Skeletor should turn to science, especially after the many times that
Man-At-Arms had beaten their army with his scientific thinking and
inventions.
But Webstor and Tri-Clops were eventually forced to change their
minds. In the horizon, they saw the silhouette of a large building.
"At last!" Skeletor cried out. "The tower of terror! Our key to
destruction! I knew it was real!" And he increased the speed of his
Spydor.
Webstor and Tri-Clops increased the speed of their Rotons, feeling
slightly embarrassed after their extreme scepticism. The tower of
terror loomed closer in the distance. When they reached it, Skeletor
halted the Spydor and climbed out. Webstor and Tri-Clops landed their
Rotons, and the three evil warriors gazed upwards at the decrepit,
ancient building that stood before them.
"This building will be the downfall of all Eternia!" laughed Skeletor,
diabolically.
"What’s so damn special about it?" asked Tri-Clops. "It just looks
like any old building to me!"
"You’ll find it is much more than any old building!" said Skeletor, his
eyes blazing. "The tower of terror was built thousands of years ago-
before Castle Grayskull- by some of the most evil and powerful sorcerers
on Eternia. They conducted practices here that changed people’s lives
drastically! Eventually, after Grayskull was built, the sorcerers were
defeated by the elders of Eternia, and the Elders cast a spell which
prevented anyone from entering. I heard about this tower from a book
about ancient Eternia- and it will be our greatest weapon against
He-man!"
"Hold on a minute-" said Webstor, "If the Elders cast a spell to
prevent people entering it, then how the hell are we gonna get in it?"
Skeletor laughed maniacally. "My magic is powerful enough to break the
spell!" he hissed, and fired a bolt from his havoc staff at the tower.
For several seconds, the tower was surrounded by a bright yellow blaze.
Then, the blaze died down, and the ancient door creaked open for the
first time in centuries.
"The gate is open!" shrieked Skeletor. "Now we may enter!"
Webstor and Tri-Clops climbed out of their Rotons and followed their
deranged master into the ancient building.
Inside, there were rooms containing long wooden sticks, drums and long,
sharp needles.
"How are these gonna help us?" Tri-Clops asked, still sceptical.
"You’re taking your scepticism too far, Tri-Clops!" replied Skeletor.
"You should never doubt me! I am the great Skeletor, Lord of
Destruction- not a feeble lunatic!"
Tri-Clops wanted to contradict Skeletor, but, aware of the possible
consequences, simply answered "Yes, master."
Skeletor proceeded to answer Tri-Clops’ question. "These items will
help us more than anything has before. The sorcerers who built this
temple practised an ancient, dark magic here. They would play rhythms
on the drums with their sticks, whilst chanting ancient, magic words.
At the same time, others would stab their prey on the arms ten times
with the needles."
"And what would happen?" asked Webstor.
"Their magic would suck the minds of their preys dry. It would
completely drain their preys’ memories and turn them into dangerous,
mindless creatures. They would never speak or think- they would simply
stalk around, killing any living creature who dared cross their path.
The only people they would not harm would be the sorcerers, who they saw
as their masters. These creatures are known in other parts of the
universe as Zombies."
"So what are you going to do?" asked Tri-Clops. "Capture people and
turn them into zombies to attack He-man?"
"Even better than that!" shrieked Skeletor. "I will capture He-man
himself. He shall be the first zombie on Eternia for all these
centuries! The last time I experimented with an evil He-man was when I
created Fakor, but he was defeated by the real He-man. This time round,
there will be no other He-man to stop this scheme! Just wait and see
He-man destroy all his loved ones!"
"Excellent scheme!" said Webstor. "I hope it works- but how are we
going to lure He-man here?"
"By using my magic," answered Skeletor. "I will create an illusion to
trick He-man. In his head, he will hear the voice of the Sorceress,
telling him to come here to rescue her. He will not expect what we have
in store for him! So let’s not waste time. Let us go ahead with my
plan!"
Many miles away, Prince Adam was lazing about in the royal gardens of
Eternos city, reading his favourite Eternian literature, listening to
the songs of the birds. He had overheard a conversation between Teela
and his father, King Randor, about how he never did anything
worthwhile. He had felt slightly angry at this- if only he could tell
them about how many times he’d saved Eternia from destruction as
He-man. And it wasn’t like reading a book wasn’t worthwhile either,
especially not books by skilled Eternian authors. People could often be
ignorant of great literature. But he would have to teach himself to
ignore Teela and Randor's constant rants about him- someday they’d know
the truth.
Suddenly in his head he heard the gentle, delicate voice of the
Sorceress. "He-man….." she was saying, "you must come to rescue me
immediately. I am in great danger….. the plain of Joritrea….. come
now."
The voice faded. He had heard of the plain of Joritrea….. a place
where few people ever ventured- its terrain was so rough that it was
thought to be impossible for a man to cross it. But what would the
Sorceress have been doing there? Why would she have business in a place
where there was basically nothing? But nevertheless, the Sorceress must
be in danger, and she needed his help.
Adam put down his book, got to his feet, and scouted around him for
other people. There was no-one else around, so he drew his sword, and
shouted:
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL…..
I HAVE THE POWER!"
There was a blinding flash of light, and he was transformed into He-man,
most powerful man in the universe.
He went to Man-At-Arms’ vehicle bay, to decide which vehicle to use. A
land vehicle would never make it across the plain of Joritrea…..
probably not even the Dragon Walker, so his best choice was the Wind
Raider. He boarded a Wind Raider, and blasted off for Joritrea.
The plain of Joritrea was so far away that He-man knew it would take a
few days before he got there. So when night fell, and He-man grew
tired, he contacted Man-At-Arms on the Wind Raider’s radio to inform him
of his mission, and to remind him to tell the King, Queen and other
warriors that Prince Adam had taken a short break. That was his usual
excuse to stop people becoming suspicious when his missions as He-man
covered a period of several days.
For the next few days, He-man travelled in the Wind Raider, at top
speed for the whole of the daylight hours, and would find a comfortable
place to sleep at nightfall. He hoped he would be in time to save the
Sorceress. Eventually, he reached the rocky plain of Joritrea. But
where exactly could she be? He called out her name several times,
lowering the Wind Raider, but heard no response. Eventually, he caught
sight of a tall, ancient tower built of stone. What could it be?
He suddenly remembered. The tower of terror! Not many people on
Eternia knew about this building, and most who did believed it was only
a legend. He had been told by the Sorceress of the black rituals
conducted there before Grayskull was built, and how the Elders had
sealed its entrance. But what would the Sorceress be doing there? Why
would she visit a building like that? She must have been captured. It
was the only solution. But how could anyone get inside? He-man feared
that Skeletor may have found a way inside, but he hoped he was wrong.
Nevertheless, he had to investigate. He landed the Wind Raider, and
noticed three other vehicles parked nearby- the Spydor, and two Rotons.
So Skeletor was behind this! Instantly, He-man went up to the ancient,
stone door, and gently pushed it. It swung open. So Skeletor had found
a way in. He-man knew he must put an end to the evil warlord’s
schemes. He stepped inside, and saw several wooden drums and sticks,
along with sharp needles, and there was a spell carved on the wall.
These were used by the wicked sorcerers in their spells.
He had to find where the Sorceress was imprisoned. "Sorceress?" he
called. "Are you here?"
There was no response. He-man was about to ascend the staircase, when
all of a sudden, Webstor dropped on He-man from the ceiling on his long
rope, and knocked him to the ground. He-man tried to fend off the
spider-like creature, but Webstor was too fast for him. He hurled his
rope at He-man, tying him up. Then he gripped He-man with his long,
bony arms, and called "I’ve got him, master!"
Then came Skeletor, rushing down the stairs, with Tri-Clops behind
him. Tri-Clops picked up two wooden sticks and began to beat a drum in
rhythm. Webstor grabbed a needle from the table, and Skeletor read out
the magic spell from the wall. Webstor stabbed He-man repeatedly with
the needle. Against He-man’s supreme might, the needle drew blood but
caused little pain. But it was not the pain that mattered- after ten
stabs, He-man’s mind was completely gone. He no longer knew who he was,
or anything of his past. And he had no sense of anything good. He was
a mindless zombie.
"Excellent!" said Skeletor, his eyes blazing with glee. "He-man is now
a zombie. And he shall do my bidding." He stared directly into
He-man’s face, into his now blank, staring eyes. "He-man," he began,
"You shall journey to Eternos city in your vehicle- and destroy the
city! Rip the place apart and kill all who oppose you!"
He-man said nothing- he was incapable of speech. He walked slowly back
to the Wind Raider, and blasted off.
"Now," said Skeletor to his servants, "We shall journey back to Snake
Mountain. And soon we shall hear tales of great destruction- all caused
by the former hero of Eternia!"
He laughed insanely, and the three evil warriors boarded their
vehicles, all convinced that victory was near.
For several days, the city of Eternos was quiet. There was absolutely
no sign of danger from Skeletor's evil forces, while Prince Adam had,
apparently, gone for a short break, though there was no news from him.
He-man was thought to be on the Plain of Joritrea, rescuing the
Sorceress from danger. Man-At-Arms looked worried.
"What’s troubling you?" asked Orko, floating into his laboratory.
"It’s this thing about He-man on the plain of Joritrea." replied
Man-At-Arms. "I know it would take a long time for He-man to get all
the way there and back again, but I’m just sure that he would have
contacted me to let me know the status of his mission. He’s always
contacted me when he’s been on long missions before."
"You don’t think he’s….."
"No, he isn’t." interrupted Man-At-Arms, "I’ve checked my machine which
senses life forms, and it senses that He-man and the Sorceress are still
alive. I just fear that He-man might have run into serious trouble
somehow. You never know what there might be on the Plain of Joritrea-
as everyone knows, no man has ever made across it because the terrain is
too rough. It would even be hard for He-man to make his way over it."
"But he went in a Wind Raider, didn’t he?"
"Yes, but still….. he’d have contacted me when he found the Sorceress,
or even if he didn’t. And worse still- I don’t understand why the
Sorceress would go somewhere where there is virtually nothing. And
worse than that, I’ve tried contacting the Wind Raider that He-man left
in, but there was no answer. He-man is obviously not in it….. so he
must still be out on the plain."
"Then….. why don’t we go to Grayskull? We might find something there
that could tell us why the Sorceress went there."
"I think we better had." said Man-At-Arms. "Let’s go now- the sooner
the better."
Man-At-Arms boarded the Attak Trak, and drove to Castle Grayskull. The
drawbridge opened to them, and they entered. They went first to the
throne room, and were shocked to see that the Sorceress was there!
"Sorceress….." said Man-At-Arms, "but you’re meant to be on the Plain
of Joritrea!"
"What has made you think that?" she asked. "I’ve never even been
there."
"Just over a week ago, Adam heard you contact him saying you were in
danger on the Plain of Joritrea, and that he had to come and rescue
you! He set off as He-man in a Wind Raider, and we haven’t heard from
him since!"
"I never was on the Plain….. It looks as though He-man has been
tricked."
Man-At-Arms felt his heart pounding. Now there was really something to
worry about, if the message He-man had received was all a trick!
"I must contact He-man at once." said the Sorceress, "he could be in
great danger." She closed her eyes and concentrated, to make mind
contact with He-man. She concentrated for several minutes, but she just
could not make contact with He-man’s mind.
"I cannot get through," she said, opening her eyes. "I can sense
He-man, but I just can’t get into his mind."
"Have you ever had that problem before?" asked Man-At-Arms.
"Never," said the Sorceress, "I have always been able to make mind
contact with any living creature. He-man is still alive, but something
is stopping me getting through to him!"
"But what could have happened to him on the plain of Joritrea?" asked
Orko.
"I do not know," replied the Sorceress, "but we must investigate at
once. You two go to Joritrea- you must search for He-man."
"We’ll go straight away." said Man-At-Arms, "There are some vehicles in
the repair room here, so we’ll take a Wind Raider from there."
They went to the repair room, and Man-At-Arms boarded a Wind Raider.
"Good luck, Man-At-Arms." said the Sorceress, and Man-At-Arms flew the
Wind Raider through the back door and blasted off for Joritrea, with
Orko floating alongside the Wind Raider.
In Snake Mountain, the stronghold of evil, Skeletor had just returned
with Webstor and Tri-Clops. Tri-Clops instantly set off to find news on
He-man, and the spy returned later to tell Skeletor that He-man had not
yet arrived at Eternos, but Man-At-Arms and Orko were flying to Joritrea
from Grayskull, probably to find He-man.
Skeletor laughed with triumph at the news. "That means those idiots
will be out of the way when He-man attacks! They will be stranded on
the plain, believing He-man is there somewhere, while their beloved city
is destroyed by the very man they are looking for!"
Several hours later, Mekaneck called at the palace to speak to the King
and Queen. He ran into the King’s chamber, gasping and panting for
breath, and fell to his knees in front of the King.
"By Eternia, Mekaneck," said King Randor, "what has happened?"
"Your majesty," Mekaneck panted, "You would not believe what I have
just seen. I was on patrol in the city, when I saw He-man approaching
in a Wind Raider. He crash-landed the Wind Raider- intentionally-
destroying several buildings, then he stamped through the streets,
flinging people out of his way. I approached him….. asked him what was
up, and he smashed me with his fist, then flung me across the street!
And his eyes were all cold and staring….. all their colour was gone!
Currently Fisto is keeping him at bay, but He-man will beat him before
long. I had to come here to warn you of this threat!"
"Why is He-man doing this?" asked Queen Marlena. "Why has he turned
against us?"
"I don’t know- but this wasn’t the He-man I know. He seemed to be in
some kind of trance- just smashing everything in his way. He wasn’t
speaking- and those eyes….."
"Could Fakor be back?" asked Teela, entering the room. "You remember
him, the evil version of He-man created by Skeletor?"
"Fakor is dead, Teela- there’s no way he could have come back. It
looks as though He-man has been possessed- and he could destroy us all!"
"Then we have no choice-" said Randor, "We must assemble my soldiers,
and all the heroic warriors. We must do our best to keep this evil
He-man at bay!"
From his lair in Snake Mountain, Skeletor watched He-man on a
viewscreen, smashing helpless citizens and buildings. Several heroic
warriors came forward, to attack He-man, but as they fought, it quickly
became obvious that He-man was much stronger than them, and could defeat
them all.
"He-man will soon smash through all those interfering warriors." said
Skeletor. "And when he has finished the King and Queen, I will be able
to take the crown of Eternos! All Eternia shall tremble at my word!"
"Just one thing, Skeletor," said Webstor, "He-man might be able to beat
those warriors, but chances are that the whole army of heroic warriors,
along with the King’s soldiers, might be able to overpower him."
"Then He-man can have some backup," replied Skeletor. "Webstor-
Tri-Clops- tell my other warriors to prepare for battle. We shall all
sneak around Eternos, and strike when He-man needs us! This time, we
really will win!"
News of He-man’s rampage through Eternos soon reached Grayskull, on the
Sorceress’ news screen. This was a most disturbing situation for the
Sorceress. So He-man had been summoned to the plain of Joritrea by a
fake message from her, had failed to contact Man-At-Arms, and was now in
Eternos- destroying everything? Also, she had gone and sent Man-At-Arms
all the way to Joritrea to look for He-man. She would have to contact
him with the news- and tell him to look out for whatever may have caused
this change in He-man. But what exactly could there be on the plain of
Joritrea? The place had been deserted for centuries, and anyone who had
attempted to cross it had barely managed to travel three miles over it.
Suddenly, she remembered an old legend about the plain of Joritrea- the
legend of the tower of terror. Most people who had heard of it believed
it to be nothing more than a legend. But she knew differently- in the
Grayskull library there was an ancient book, written by a member of the
elders, which stated how the elders had triumphed over a group of evil
sorcerers, who had used their magic to teleport themselves to the middle
of the plain, where they built a tall tower. In this tower, they would
practise black magic, which had turned ordinary people into mindless
killers. That’s it!, thought the Sorceress. He-man has become a subject
of these ancient practices! But then, she remembered that after the
sorcerers were defeated, the elders had cast a spell which prevented
anyone from entering the building at all. Surely no-one could have
found a way in….. but the similarity between the current case of He-man,
and the ancient magic was too large to be coincidental, especially since
He-man had actually been to the plain of Joritrea. Someone had
obviously found a way of breaking the Elders’ spell, and had lured
He-man to the building. And the Sorceress was sure that that someone
must be Skeletor! She must find a way of stopping this scheme. Her
power was equal to the elders’- so surely she could put an end to this
evil. But then, she remembered that after the Elders defeated the
sorcerers, they could not change the victims back to normal, even with
their combined magic, and so they cast them into a far-off dimension.
But there must be some way, she thought. She decided to warn
Man-At-Arms of the danger- perhaps in the tower he could find a way to
change He-man back.
Many miles away, Man-At-Arms was piloting the Wind Raider to Joritrea.
Orko was now sitting on the Raider’s back seat, exhausted. Their
journey was going well, but they would have to travel several more days
to make it to Joritrea. Suddenly, Man-At-Arms felt the presence of the
Sorceress. In his head, he heard her voice say:
"He-man has become the subject of ancient black magic on the plain of
Joritrea! This has turned him into a mindless killer known as a
zombie. He has already caused great destruction to Eternos city- the
heroic warriors are doing their best to keep him at bay. But he could
still destroy them with his strength- you must find the ancient tower of
terror on the plain, and look for a way of breaking the spell!"
"The tower of terror….." replied Man-At-Arms, "Of course! Why didn’t I
think of that? But it will take me several more days to reach Joritrea-
perhaps I would be better to return to Eternos and help with the
defence?"
"We need someone to go to the tower!" replied the Sorceress. "It’s our
only hope. I will use my magic to get you there faster- so hold on
tight!"
Quickly, Man-at-Arms told Orko what the Sorceress had just told him,
and the two of them held on tight to the Wind Raider. A white glow
surrounded it, and suddenly the surroundings were all a blur as the Wind
Raider went faster than any other vehicle had gone before. Then, the
Wind Raider seemed to grind to a halt- it was actually moving at normal
speed, but it felt like nothing after the speed they had just been going
at. Man-At-Arms scanned the surroundings- they were hovering above a
rough, rocky plain. The plain of Joritrea. The Sorceress’ magic had
got them there faster than they could have hoped.
"We’re above the plain of Joritrea now, Orko!" Man-At-Arms told Orko.
"Now to find the tower of terror, and see if we can break the spell!"
Back in Eternos city, He-man caused further destruction, and the whole
of the Heroic army was trying its best to stop him. But the fact that
He-man was their friend was dissuading them slightly from fighting him.
They had to do their best not to inflict too much harm on him- however
dangerous he may be to them, there might be a way to change him back.
But the main question on their minds was: how has He-man become like
this? He seemed to have no memory either- he had been reduced to a mere
killing machine. Most of them were more than willing to bet that
Skeletor had something to do with it.
No-one noticed the evil warriors who were hiding around the city.
There were pairs of eyes peering out from the rubble of buildings
smashed by He-man, and figures hiding round corners. Skeletor and his
band of henchmen were waiting for the moment to strike.
"The moment it looks like He-man could lose, we strike!" Skeletor kept
telling his warriors. The heroic warriors were definitely a match for
He-man, but he was doing alright at the moment.
The only person who did notice the evil warriors in the city was the
Sorceress, who had travelled to Eternos from Grayskull. She had gone
there to see if she could find who was behind He-man’s sudden
transformation. When she caught sight of Skeletor, she saw that her
suspicion had been correct.
She approached the villain, and said "I knew you’d be behind this,
Skeletor! You’re the only one evil enough to unleash the magic of the
ancients upon us!"
Skeletor laughed, in mockery. "How observant of you to notice me,
Sorceress. Not that it’ll do you much help- you’re still going to
perish along with these pathetic warriors!"
"I don’t think so, skull face. Don’t ever think you’ll be able to
defeat the power of good, even by turning He-man into a marauding
zombie!"
"It’ll be a different story this time, I’m afraid. What can you do
anyway? You’re not even a warrior!"
"Oh yes? Then think again!" and she threw a high kick at him, smashing
him in the face.
Skeletor fell to the ground, astonished at the Sorceress’ strength.
Then she dived at him, punching him in the face with her fist.
"Look! Skeletor is behind this!" cried Fisto, noticing the fallen
Skeletor. Alerted by Fisto, the other warriors charged forward to
attack Skeletor and his evil band. But in the midst of this, they
forgot about He-man, and left the path open for him to enter the royal
palace!
Skeletor got to his feet, laughed insanely, and said "Look how your
puny minds have helped you now, so-called ‘heroes’! He-man has entered
your beloved palace, and will dispose of your pathetic monarchs, so that
I can replace them on the throne of Eternia! You might as well bow now
to your new ruler!"
"I’d never bow to you- even if you did become our ruler!" said
Sy-Klone, angrily charging at Skeletor, flinging his fists at him.
Skeletor was slightly stunned by Sy-Klone’s powerful fists, but Webstor
fired a blow at Sy-Klone with his gun from high atop a tall tower,
knocking the cyborg unconscious at once.
The other heroic warriors looked at each other in dismay. This time it
really did look as though Skeletor might win, especially with a powerful
warrior like Sy-Klone knocked down. But like true heroes, they must
fight on- they could not give in. Fisto ordered instructions.
"Teela- take Sy-Klone into the palace to recover. Roboto- Moss Man-
Stratos- go into the palace to try to stop He-man. The rest of us will
deal with Skeletor’s army!"
The warriors did as Fisto instructed, and then Fisto and the remaining
warriors battled against Skeletor’s evil band.
Perhaps we stand less chance against these warriors without He-man to
help us, thought Skeletor, but He-man will easily be able to defeat the
King and Queen- even with those three warriors after him!
On the plain of Joritrea, Man-At-Arms and Orko had found the tower of
terror, and were navigating around it to find any possible way of
reversing the spell.
"They sure did some strange things in those days!" Orko said as he
observed the wooden sticks and drums, and the strange spell on the wall.
"And those strange things were also illegal," replied Man-At-Arms, "and
the return of this magic is a possible threat to the safety of Eternia.
We must put an end to it."
Orko floated up the stone spiral staircase to the next floor. He saw
several more sets of drums and sticks….. and in the corner was an
ancient bookcase.
He floated over to the bookcase, and looked at the books. They were
very dusty with age, and the text on the spines was hand-written-
printing had not been invented in their day. The text was fading, but
Orko could just make out that the books all related to this strange
magic that had been practised in the tower. He picked one book up, and
a huge cloud of dust formed as he did so. The book had not been lifted
from the shelf for centuries. Opening it, Orko saw that the pages were
brown and decrepit. But he could still just about read the hand-written
text. He made out the words:
He who plays the drums while chanting the magic words will unleash the
powers of darkness. He who stabs the victim ten times will inflict the
powers on the prey. The longest needles shall be used, and the victim’s
mind and memory shall drain, with an instinct to kill taking their
place. The victim shall become a mindless killer, destroying all who
stand in his way. Only those who inflicted the spell on him shall be
unharmed. Should the need arise for the spell to be reversed, dust must
be sprinkled on the subject’s face, while the spell is read in reverse.
Excited, Orko floated down the staircase clutching the book. He told
Man-At-Arms what he had found, and read aloud the passage from the book.
"Brilliant, Orko!" said Man-At-Arms. "Now we must contact the
Sorceress, and tell her what we have found!"
The two of them returned to the Wind Raider, and contacted Grayskull.
They got through, and Man-At-Arms called "Sorceress….. come in,
Sorceress." But there was no response.
"The Sorceress must have gone to the palace to help defence!" he told
Orko. "We’ll contact the palace instead!"
So he called up the palace, and when he got through, he called "Come
in, anyone…..". Eventually, he was answered by Teela.
"Father- this is Teela here. He-man has just got inside the palace and
is looking for the King and Queen! We’re not sure if we can overpower
him! The others are fighting Skeletor’s forces outside- they are the
cause of this. Can you help us?!"
"I most definitely can!" he replied, "I’m with Orko on the plain of
Joritrea, and we’ve found the tower of terror, where He-man was
possessed. Orko’s found this book that tells us how to reverse the
spell!" Orko handed him the book, and he read out the passage they had
found, then he read out the spell on the wall, which he had memorised.
"Tell the Sorceress-" Man-At-Arms instructed Teela, "but make sure
Skeletor doesn’t know, or he might be able to stop you!"
"That’s great, Father!" Teela replied. "I’ll tell the Sorceress at
once. Over and out."
Back at the Royal Palace, The Sorceress was aiding the warriors in
their battle against Skeletor’s evil forces. Skeletor had had the nerve
to say that she couldn’t do anything to stop him! He’d never say that
again after those kicks and punches she delivered. Now she was proving
her great power by firing energy bolts at distant warriors from her
wings, and disarming close enemies with her powerful high kicks! Just
then, she heard her daughter, Teela, calling to her. She quickly
smashed Clawful, who was advancing on her, with an agile kick, and
abandoned the battle to speak to Teela.
"My father just called the palace!" said Teela. "He said that we can
reverse the spell on He-man by sprinkling dust on his face and reading
the spell backwards! He told me the spell!" She repeated the spell to
the Sorceress.
"Then we must go ahead with this at once!" the Sorceress said. "We can
find plenty of dust in the remains of the buildings that He-man smashed-
I’ll get some now!"
She spread her wings, and transformed into the falcon of force, Zoar.
She flew over the warriors fighting, then quickly dived towards the
remains of a ruined building, and collected the particles of dust in her
talons. Then, she flew as fast as she could through the palace gates,
and through the palace corridors. There was not a moment to waste!
In the King and Queen’s chamber, He-man was engaged in a vicious
struggle with his comrades, Roboto, Moss Man and Stratos. The King and
Queen watched in terror as He-man smashed each of them with great ease.
He seemed unhurt by Roboto’s super-hard body, and the robot crashed to
the ground. He flung Moss Man across the room by the neck. Stratos
attempted to use his flying power to distract He-man by swooping on him
from above, but He-man took both of Stratos’ arms and hurled him over
his head. The three warriors lay on the ground, dazed and unable to
move. He-man advanced towards the King and Queen, his blank, colourless
eyes staring coldly at them. This must really be the end, they were
thinking. Destroyed by the hero who had saved Eternia so many times…..
Suddenly, Zoar crashed into the room, faster than the speed of light.
He-man was distracted by the sound of her rapidly flapping wings, and
spun round and looked up at her. Zoar sprinkled dust on his face from
her talons, then she transformed into the Sorceress, and spoke some
strange, ancient Eternian words backwards. He-man was still for a few
seconds, then his head jerked back, and his arms spread out. His eyes
wrenched wide open, and colour began to fill the blank irises. Then his
still expression vanished. He was back to normal.
"Wh….. what happened?" he stammered. "The last thing I remember is
being trapped by Skeletor on the plain of Joritrea….."
"I’ll explain later!" the Sorceress said. Now you must end Skeletor’s
scheme! He is outside, with his band of evil warriors!"
"Well let’s see how he fares against He-man!" He-man said, and drawing
his sword, charged out to face his enemies.
"Well done, Sorceress." King Randor said, patting her on the back.
"You’ve saved Eternia from the ultimate doom."
"I was doing my duty, Randor." she smiled. "Now I must go to aid
He-man!"
She spread her wings, became Zoar, and flew out, to follow He-man.
When He-man came out of the palace, Skeletor failed to notice he was
back to normal.
"Ah, you’ve returned, He-man!" he said. "So you must have destroyed
the King and Queen. Now you can destroy your former friends, while I
claim the crown of Eternos!"
"I don’t think so, Skeletor." he said. "I don’t even know what you’re
talking about."
"What?! He-man….. you’ve returned to normal! But how? HOW?!!!!!"
"Never mind that, Skeletor." He-man replied, "How about facing me?"
Skeletor knew secretly that he would have no chance against He-man now,
but of course, he wouldn’t admit it.
"It would be wrong to beat you now, when you have only just failed my
scheme- I need the ultimate victory! You win this time, He-man, but
I’ll be back!"
And with that, he and his evil army retreated.
"A typical move for the biggest idiots in the universe!" said Fisto,
walking up to He-man and patting him on the back. "You’ve saved us
again. But what spell were you under….. and how did you get back to
normal?"
"I must say, I don’t know myself….. can someone else explain?"
Just then, Zoar flew out of the entrance to the palace, transformed
back into the Sorceress, and said "I can explain. I’ll explain
everything to everyone." So she explained about the ancient magic
practised in the tower of terror, and how Skeletor had unleashed the
Elders’ spell on the tower, lured He-man to it, and turned him into a
zombie. Then she explained how Man-At-Arms and Orko had travelled to
the tower and found how to reverse the spell, and how she had carried
out their instructions and reversed the spell at the last minute.
"So it’s unfortunate for Skeletor that he didn’t read the books in the
tower- then he would have known how we could reverse the spell, and may
have found even more inspirations for his evil schemes. And it’s
unfortunate for us that the Elders didn’t read the books all those
centuries ago- then they would have been able to change the original
victims back. But we have triumphed. Even with He-man on Skeletor’s
side, it was possible for us to foil Skeletor’s scheme."
"Then….. you mean that I’ve caused all this destruction?" said He-man.
"I destroyed all those buildings! How can you forgive me for causing
such damage?"
"Easily, He-man." said the Sorceress. "Your mind was completely
drained- you were like a different creature altogether when you were
under Skeletor’s spell. It was Skeletor who was responsible- not you.
We shall rebuild the buildings. Luckily, it appears there are no
fatalities. We are safe now."
"But the Tower of terror is still open." said Fisto. "Skeletor might
try again."
"We can prevent that from ever happening." said the Sorceress. "I will
contact Man-At-Arms."
On the plain of Joritrea, Man-At-Arms and Orko were sitting in the Wind
Raider, hoping that the warriors were winning back at Eternos. And
soon, Man-At-Arms felt the Sorceress making mind contact with him. She
told him that the heroic warriors had triumphed, and returned He-man to
normal. She also told him to destroy the tower of terror, so that no
evil force may resurrect the ancient, evil magic again.
So Man-At-Arms did as she asked, and piloted the Wind Raider high above
the tower, and used its powerful lasers to fire at the ancient, evil
building. He fired at it again and again, until the tower was consumed
by a great explosion, and reduced to a mere mess of stone and rubble on
the ground. The ancient magic was no more.
"We have put an end to this evil," he said to Orko, "now let’s go
home!"
Man-At-Arms piloted the Wind Raider at its fastest speed in the
direction of Eternos, overjoyed at another victory for the Masters of
the Universe.
At the palace of Eternos, the heroic warriors lay back and relaxed, to
recover from one of their toughest ordeals yet. Fisto celebrated with
champagne.
"It’s good to know that we can beat Skeletor even when he’s transferred
He-man to his side!" he said. "We really are the greatest!"
"The Sorceress is the real heroine here," said He-man, "her great speed
as Zoar did wonders today!"
"And I think she showed the evil warriors some spectacular punches and
high kicks too!" added Mekaneck.
The Sorceress smiled. "We must congratulate Man-At-Arms and Orko, too,
when they return- they found the way to reverse the spell- they’ve been
real heroes today too! And while we all remain together- and brave and
strong- whatever his scheme, Skeletor can never even hope to defeat the
Masters of the Universe!"Back to Mosquitor’s Fan Fiction
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