On the planet of Etheria, at the edge of a Horde Slave plantation in the center of a dismal, barren landscape, Adora, Princess of Eternia, and her comrade, Glimmer, knelt and watched, their eyes fixed sharply on the Horde minions and Troopers as they watched cruelly over the worn-out slaves in the mines. Adora and Glimmer knew their task would not be hard- it was just a question of when to strike. Adora had been determined to rid Etheria of the rule of the Horde ever since she had been released from Horde Prime’s brainwashing spell, several years ago. She was tall, and attractive, rough-looking but both tough and gentle in nature, with straggly, blonde hair, heavy crimson lipstick and tight, black leather clothing covering her slick body. For the first twenty years of her life, she had been aggressive, psychotic and dangerous- but this had all been under Horde Prime’s brainwashing technique. When He-Man, her twin brother who was also Adam of Eternia, had entered her life and presented her with the Sword of Protection, she had come to her senses- and used the sword to become She-Ra, princess of power. Many times did she save Etheria in this form- but in the form of Adora she was also seen as very powerful and now struck fear into the hearts of the Hordesmen just in the way she had once done so with the ordinary Etherians. Glimmer was her closest ally, the leader of the Great Rebellion, and one of the few people who knew that Adora and She-Ra were the same person. Glimmer had an intensely rebellious image, her wild hair dyed bright pink and her clothing deep purple and blue. She was a strong leader and had aided Adora many times in the battles against the Horde. After several years of battle, the Horde’s rule of Etheria was finally beginning to weaken. The rebels were getting closer and closer to destroying the Horde, and Adora had more time to visit her brother on Eternia. Hordak, the leader of the Horde, had also made several attempts on Eternia himself, as he had a small second Fright Zone on Eternia, which he sometimes transported his army to- but his attempts to take over Eternia had been as unsuccessful as those of his ex-sidekick, Skeletor. Adora and Glimmer watched the Horde members sharply as they forced the slaves to work. The slaves were all worn out, broken and battered from their cruel treatment- but Adora and Glimmer had destroyed many Horde slave plantations with great ease; and this would be no exception. "You ready, Adora?" asked Glimmer. "You bet I am." said Adora, gripping her pistol tightly. "Just give these guys a few more moments, and we’ll jump on ‘em." They watched patiently as the Troopers began to line the slaves up in a straight, long line for slave inspection. "They wanna make sure that the slaves don’t have anything on them that could help them." said Glimmer. "Well they may have nothing on them-" said Adora, "but they sure have help nearby. Come on, Glimmer, this is the point when it’s easiest to attack- let’s get in there!" The two warrior women made their way slowly and stealthily towards the mine. They quickly froze as they saw the doors of an underground tunnel slide open with a crash, revealing the tall and sinister figure of Hordak, his red bat symbol gleaming on his chest as the eyes of his white metal face shone brightly. "Any slaves possessing any suspicious objects," he said, in his deep and booming voice, "must be killed at once. And with me I have my most trusted assassin, who shall make short work of them- Mosquitor!" A second figure emerged from the underground tunnel, a figure even larger than Hordak, a type of android with a huge, black metal body, his chest emblazoned with the Horde bat symbol. But the most obscure thing about this being was his head- it was large, red and incredibly long horizontally- the end being a type of thin nozzle through which he sucked up his victim’s blood. "GIVE….. ME….. BLOOD." Mosquitor said, in a deep, striking and metallic voice. "You shall have the blood of any slaves with any possessions upon them." said Hordak. "And even if there are none….. I will let you have one or two anyway!" Hordak laughed, a savage, evil laugh which echoed throughout the wasteland. The slaves froze in terror, each fearing that it could be them who would be given to Mosquitor. "Now, Troopers-" said Hordak, "inspect these fools one by one- and throw a few random ones to Mosquitor!" "Mosquitor’s having no-one!" shouted Adora, "Not while we’re around, anyway!" And before Hordak could react, she leaped into the mines, coming down on two of the troopers with a heavy cross-up kick, causing the robots to crackle and crumble to the ground at once. "Adora!" exclaimed Hordak. "So you dare to trespass on the slave mines? Well, you have made a mistake….. for you will only end up becoming my servant once again!" "You’re mistaken, metal face." Adora said. "Come on, Glimmer, let’s get him!" Adora blasted Hordak with her pistol, and he stumbled back. He turned his arm to cannon mode- but before he could fire, Glimmer shot two bolts of energy from the palms of her hands, and the warlord fell back. "Mosquitor- get them!" he shouted as he fell. The android made his way towards Glimmer, seized hold of her shoulders, and injected the nozzle of his head into her neck. Adora heard the sound of the gushing of Glimmer’s blood as it was drained by Mosquitor- and slowly, the android’s chest began to fill with blood….. "Help!" called Glimmer. "I can’t break free!" Adora was just about to leap towards Mosquitor and high-kick him- but just then, the ground began to shake violently, as if there was a planetquake. Adora stepped back as the ground rumbled beneath her feet. Nearby her, Hordak stopped in amazement, and even Mosquitor paused from sucking Glimmer’s blood for a second. What could the rumbling be? It was no planetquake- it was just extra help! Adora saw this as the Rock Breaker burst through the ground, the strange-looking machine propelled by Carlos, Adora’s close friend and Etheria’s top scientist. "I had the feeling you could do with help!" Carlos said. "And as for Mosquitor… he’s no problem for me!" he took out a device from his jacket, and fired it at Mosquitor, who was instantly frozen by a thick veil of ice spreading over his body. "What do you think of my new invention?" Carlos asked. "The Icer. Named it after that guy who tried to overtake the ice kingdom. I made it for when Frosta isn’t available!" "It’s pretty wei….. oops, it’s pretty smart." said Adora. "Now let’s break up these mines!" "That device cannot stop me!" said Hordak angrily, converting to rocket mode and zooming away from them, to the other side of the mines. The Troopers turned and charged at the heroes. "Slaves- you can go free!" called Glimmer. "Take your chances and leave while the Troopers are concentrating on us!" "Thanks for your help, heroes!" called one of the slaves, as the whole lot of them fled from the mine and across the barren landscape. "Troopers have to be the easiest opponents to defeat." said Carlos. "They fall apart after just one blow." "Then let’s see how you fare against the Batmex!" shouted Hordak from the other side of the mine, as a huge portal opened in the sky, out of which flew a group of pilotless Batmex machines. "They should be no problem." said Adora. "Especially not with a dose of She-Ra!" She leaped quickly into the underground tunnel, took out the Sword of Protection, held it aloft and shouted:
"FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL…..
I AM SHE-RA!"
A huge burst of light erupted from the jewel in her sword, and showered down over Adora. Then a coil of bright energy emerged, and spun around Adora’s body, turning her into the beautiful She-Ra, with flame red hair and a golden tiara, dressed in a bodysuit covered in gleaming jewellery. She-Ra smashed open the doors of the tunnel, and shot beams from her sword all around the mine, crushing more and more troopers to mere scrap metal. At the same time, Glimmer fired her beams at the Batmex crafts, as Carlos struck them with his spinning device, causing them to spin off into the distance until they were gone from sight. "Now to put an end to this mine!" said She-Ra. "Sword to Bazooka!" She-Ra’s sword turned into a Bazooka, and she ran wildly through the mine, firing the weapon repeatedly and instantly blowing all the Troopers and slaughter devices to pieces. Then she reached the end of the mine, where Hordak stood. "Now, it’s against my code to kill anyone intentionally- even tyrants like you." she said. "So I’ll spare you- but if you put up any more plantations like this- you’re sure gonna feel tremendous pain in that metal head of yours." "Don’t be so sure, She-Ra." growled Hordak. "You may seem close to winning- but I still have the power to defeat you- just wait until you next hear of me!" and with that, he converted to rocket mode, and took off into the air, and was soon gone from sight. "Well, as usual, that wasn’t too hard." said She-Ra, as her sword reverted to normal. "We’ll leave Mosquitor here." said Carlos, tapping the frozen body of Mosquitor on the shoulder. "The freeze ray will wear off, eventually, but at least he’s out of the way for now." "Let’s get going back to Bright Moon." said Glimmer. "I’ve gotta rehearse my singing for that talent show tonight- even though I’m gonna win anyway, since I’m up against Bow." Carlos jumped into the control seat of the Rock Breaker, and She-Ra leaped in beside him as Glimmer sat in the back. "I’ll look forward to the show tonight." said Carlos, "Though I’ve gotta be off tomorrow to this planet called Ilashia, to show the scientists there one of my latest inventions. But, She-Ra, I’m afraid I have something to tell you that’s….. a little discomforting. That’s one of the reasons why I followed you here." "What’s that?" asked She-Ra. "Well….. it’s gonna sound a little strange." said Carlos. "It’s quite widely known, although you’ve been too busy to have heard it….. it’s to do with He-Man. He’s been in a spot of trouble….. I heard it over the information system." "What’s wrong?" asked She-Ra. "He’s….. well, I know it sounds weird, but….. he’s been arrested for murder. He was actually on trial yesterday." She-Ra’s eyes opened wide in shock. "He-Man? A murderer?!!!" "He can’t be!" said Glimmer, "Together with She-Ra, he’s the least likely person I know to kill someone!" "Well, I know he’s not guilty." said Carlos. "So you don’t need to worry about that, but unfortunately I’m not close enough to Eternia to know for sure who the real killer is. All I can tell you is that he’s been framed. I just thought you might want to go over to Eternia and give him some help." "You bet I will." said She-Ra. "How could anyone think He-Man’s a murderer? Carlos, get me off to the Crystal Castle now….. wait, hold on, my sword….." She took out her sword, which was glowing, and she saw the face of the Sorceress in the jewel. "She-Ra….." the Sorceress said, softly, "you must come to Eternia at once, to help your brother, who is in grave danger!" "Sure thing, Sorceress- I was just about to set off, Carlos just told me what happened. See you there." "We await your arrival." said the Sorceress, and her face faded from the jewel. "I’ll get you to the Crystal Castle at once!" said Carlos.
As the Rock Breaker made its way to the Crystal Castle, She-Ra and Glimmer were in shock about the news they had just heard. "He’s no killer." Glimmer said. "Carlos, could you call off that thing on Illashia? She-Ra could do with your knowledge, or your lie-detector!" "I’m afraid there’s no way I can call it off." said Carlos. "It’s pretty important. But don’t worry, if I sense I‘m desperately needed, and I can get those other scientists to give me a break, I’ll come to Eternia and help you, She-Ra." Carlos stopped the Rock Breaker as he saw the image of the beautiful, gleaming Crystal Castle in the distance. She-Ra got out, and made her way towards the magical fortress. "Good luck on Illashia, Carlos." she said. "And good luck, Glimmer, in the talent contest. Now I must go to Eternia to help my brother." "Good luck, She-Ra!" said Glimmer. "Call me if you need help!" She-Ra waved goodbye to her friends, and entered the gleaming doors of the Crystal Castle. Light Hope emerged from the ground. "She-Ra." he said solemnly. "I know why you have come. I wish you the best of luck on Eternia." "I will fight to clear my brother’s name." said She-Ra, approaching the glowing portal to Eternia. "I’ll call you if I need your help." "Good journey, She-Ra!" said Light Hope. "I pray that He-Man will be found innocent." She-Ra moved closer to the portal to Eternia, and slowly, she entered the bright light connecting the two worlds. She was still taken aback at what had happened to He-Man….. but she was needed on Eternia, and whenever anyone needed her help-especially her brother- she would give it without second thoughts.
PART 12
In the Interdimensional Portal Chamber, in the depths of Castle Grayskull, a red glow could be seen to shimmer from behind the doors to planet Etheria. The doors sprung open, and out from the portal stepped the beautiful form of She-Ra. "Welcome back to Eternia, She-Ra." said the Sorceress, walking over to the princess of power with Man-At-Arms and Extendar at her side. She-Ra stepped towards the Sorceress, and hugged her like a long lost friend. Although they saw each other more regularly than they used to, the Sorceress was always the perfect welcoming for She-Ra, when she visited Eternia. Her soothing presence would ease all of She-Ra’s stress. "You don’t know how glad I am to see you again." said She-Ra. She turned to Man-At-Arms. "And you too, Duncan. And you, Extendar." she hugged both of them in turn. "It’s always a pleasure to have you here on Eternia, She-Ra." said Man-At-Arms. "It’s just a shame that it’s under sad circumstances, this time." "I sure am….. pretty much taken aback by what I’ve heard. So what exactly happened? How did He-Man, of all people, come to be arrested for murder?" "Well, it’s a long story." said Extendar. "He’s been framed, we think- we don’t know who framed him yet, but I’ll explain everything that we’ve seen. It started with-" "Wait," said Man-At-Arms, "She-Ra’s only just arrived, we mustn’t keep her standing around here. Let’s go to a more comfortable room where she can relax." "Sure thing." said Extendar. "Come on." Extendar, Man-At-Arms and the Sorceress led She-Ra down the corridors to one of the sitting rooms, filled with comfortable furniture, neon lighting and several bookcases. She sat down comfortably, the other three joined her, and Extendar related to her the whole story, right from the murder of Lord Marlach to the present moment. "The trial is continuing tomorrow." he said. "It’s great to have you with us, we need all the defence that’s possible to prove He-Man’s innocence." "I will do my best to defend my brother." She-Ra said, brushing her flowing, red hair aside. "Damn, I’d never have expected anything like this to happen. I’ll clear his name- and I’ll get hold of whichever villain was sick enough to frame him this way, and make them pay." "It’s refreshing to have someone so strong-willed as you on our side, She-Ra." said Man-At-Arms. "No problem, Duncan." said She-Ra. "I’m always here to help my brother- especially now that the Rebellion is finally coming close to defeating the Horde. Can we go to Eternos now? I have to visit my brother, in Law HQ. And I must see my parents again, too. I never see enough of them." "Of course we can go to Eternos." said Man-At-Arms. "We’ll leave now." "I will continue to try my best to get through to the killer with my magic." said the Sorceress. "And once again, She-Ra, I am thoroughly grateful that you have come. Good luck defending He-Man in the trial tomorrow!" The warriors bade farewell to the Sorceress, then they left Grayskull, stepped into the Attak Trak, and set off for Eternos.
As Man-At-Arms drove the Attak Trak through the busy streets of Eternos City, She-Ra observed the sights around her. She could instantly see that the trial of her brother was the talk of the place. As they passed Eternos City Square, where the beautiful Arcology now shimmered above the city, she saw the many banners, with things such as ‘HE-MAN IS A KILLER’ and ‘JAIL HE-MAN’ written on them. She shook her head in sorrow. How could people be so convinced that He-Man, the most noble and trustworthy of all men, could be a ruthless killer? In a moment of guilt, she remembered that even though people would no sooner expect her to kill someone than they would He-Man, in her days as Force Captain with the Horde she had slaughtered many people to death, sadistically and without remorse. She shuddered at the thought of how people would only become even more convinced of He-Man’s guilt if they knew what his sister had done. It was refreshing for her to see several banners on one of the gleaming streets with ‘HE-MAN IS INNOCENT’ written on them. At least not everyone had turned against He-Man. And it was even more refreshing as the Attak Trak pulled up besides Law HQ, and she saw her brother’s close ally, Teela, standing near the doors with two cowboy warriors. She leaped out of the Attak Trak and shouted "Teela!" Teela looked around, and her stern expression loosened into a smile as she saw She-Ra. "She-Ra!" she cried out, and the two warrior women rushed towards one another, and hugged in friendship. "Wow, it’s great to have you here!" said Teela. "You’re gonna be brilliant in helping us to set He-Man free!" "It’s my pleasure!" replied She-Ra. "It’s great to see you again!" "But when are you gonna stop stealing my hairdye?" joked Teela. She-Ra laughed and said "Hey, my hair’s darker than yours!". Teela and her had had that joke since they met, because of the similarity between their hair colours. "Hey, aren’t you gonna introduce us to this heroine?" said Rio Blast, stepping forward to Teela as he eyed up She-Ra. "Oh, sure thing Rio!" said Teela. "You’ll know a fair amount about her- this is She-Ra, princess of power and He-Man’s sister! She-Ra- this is Rio Blast, formerly of the Starband Marshals. He’s a heroic warrior and Lawman. And this is his friend, Blastar, who’s come over from his homeworld to help us!" "Pleased to meet you guys." said She-Ra, shaking their hands. "Great to meet you, She-Ra." said Blastar. "I’ve always wanted to meet you, being He-Man’s twin sister. It’ll be great to have your help!" Man-At-Arms and Extendar stepped forth. "We’ll just have to do our best to speak out for He-Man on the second day of the trial, tomorrow." said Man-At-Arms. "She-Ra should be a great help!" Then She-Ra looked towards the Law HQ building, as bright and shimmering as the rest of the buildings of Eternos, but more executive in appearance. "So my brother is held in there." she said. "I only learned of it today, and I cannot understand how anyone can believe He-Man to be a murderer. Even if there is a video disk that shows it- it’s obvious that something evil is behind it all. I must go in to see He-Man, and let him know I am here for him." "I’ll come with you." said Teela. "I’d give anything to see him….. at any time." "We might as well all go in." said Man-At-Arms. "To show him that we’re ALL here for him." The group of warriors walked towards the automatic door, which slid open as they approached it. A Law guard stepped in front of them as they entered the building. "May we see He-Man, please?" Teela asked firmly. "Providing that you only see him two minutes." the guard said. "And that only two of you go in. We don’t want killers getting the idea that they’re popular guys." Teela lurched towards the guard. "How can you say that? He-Man is no killer!" "Stop giving me crap and just pick two of you to get in the cell!" "This is ludicrous!" shouted Man-At-Arms. "We are all his friends, and we are naturally here for him, so we are all entitled to see him!" "Well, he’s also a killer, so you never know what….." "Whoa, stop!" called Rio Blast, holding out his hand to silence the guard. "There’s no proof that He-Man murdered the guy- despite whatever was said in court before, and it’s very likely that He-Man was framed. So that gives us all the right to see him. And so says a fellow member of the law, so you’d best go along with me." The guard hesitated. Rio Blast was, indeed, a fellow lawman, and a respected one, so he might as well respect his wishes. "Alright, then." he said. "All of you can go in, but don’t be long." "Whew, nice work Rio!" said Teela, patting Rio Blast on the back. "No probs." Rio replied. Then he turned to the guard. "Take us to He-Man!" The guard led them towards He-Man’s cell, and pulled the door aside.
She-Ra was shocked when she saw her brother as he raised his head, noticing their entry into the room. She had not seen him in a worse state since the time that….. that time she would rather forget, when in her last few moments of evil, she had tried to kill him. He was leaning over the wooden table in the cell. He looked badly worn out, tired, stressed and exhausted. His facial expression was strained and melancholy, his blond hair hung loosely over his shoulders, dirty and badly greased. "She-Ra!" he said, weakly. "Thank the Elders you’ve come!" She sat down on the small chair on the opposite side of the table. "I will do my best to help you, He-Man. What has happened is seriously wrong- and I shall put a stop to it." "You’ve no idea how bad it is for me….. stuck here in this cell, with no company. I can only eat one meal a day, and I’m not allowed to wash often. If this is just a Law HQ cell….. I dread to think of what a prison cell would be like." She-Ra glanced around the cell. It was as unpleasant as a Horde dungeon. It was dirty and shabby, with shoddy white brickwork for the walls, and besides the table, the only thing in the room was a dilapidated bed. It was no place for a man like He-Man. "Don’t give up hope, He-Man." She-Ra said, laying her hand gently over his. "We will fight to clear your name in court, and stop you from going to prison. Whoever has framed you for this crime- we will expose them." "I’m so glad I can count on you, She-Ra!" he said. "I feel as if….. the whole of Eternia thinks I’ve turned evil!" "Not everyone is fooled by this trick." said Teela. "I’ve been all through the city today, and I met some people who hope you’ll be found innocent. Just wait until the trial continues- and we will prove your innocence. We’re gonna do everything we can!" "Thank you!" he said. "I pray you succeed!" "We will, He-Man." said Blastar. "I haven’t come all the way to Eternia for nothing- and neither has She-Ra." "Your time’s up, I’m afraid….." came the voice of the guard. "We have to go….." said She-Ra, getting to her feet, "but good luck. Just you look out for me tomorrow!" "And me too." said Teela. "Your hope shouldn’t run out yet!" "Thank you….. my friends." said He-Man. The warriors left the cell. "I’ve rarely seen him in such a bad state before." said She-Ra. "I hope the courtroom officials see the light." "Well, from what we saw yesterday they seem to want him to be guilty." said Extendar. "We must keep our fingers crossed until the trial continues." The automatic doors of Law HQ opened, letting them back out onto the streets of Eternos. "You know, I really love this city." said She-Ra, glancing around at its illustrious towers. Then she saw a poster saying ‘HE-MAN IS GUILTY’ above a tower door. "Let’s hope it can be cleared of these sight spoilers." "We’ll see, She-Ra." said Man-At-Arms. "Just wait until tomorrow." Then Teela said "I’ve gotta help Rio and Blastar out in the city a little more. There’s an area on the West Side where the citizens fear riot over the murder. We’d better be going. Anyway, great to have you here, She-Ra. I’ll see you again soon." "Nice meetin’ you." said Rio. "Let’s be goin’!" She-Ra shook hands in turn with Rio and Blastar, then the two cowboy warriors left, with Teela. She was left with Man-At-Arms and Extendar. "What do you wanna do now, then?" said Extendar. "I must see my parents." said She-Ra. "Let’s go to the palace!" Man-At-Arms and Extendar entered the Attak Trak, and She-Ra stepped in behind them as the Trak set off for the Royal Palace. Before long, the Trak was cruising into the vehicle bay at the palace. Man-At-Arms and Extendar got out, and She-Ra followed. "It’s always strange to see the building which should have been my home." said She-Ra. "I hope I can defeat the Horde soon, so I can come and live here permanently. But I can’t see my parents in this form. I must become Adora." She took out the Sword of Protection, held it aloft, and the sword emitted a brief flash of light, changing her back to Adora.
King Randor and Queen Marlena were watching the skies of Eternos from one of the balconies. They were feeling grim with all the business about the killing of Lord Marlach going on. "I don’t believe the courtroom is almost entirely convinced He-Man did it." said King Randor. "It seems there is little chance of him not being jailed at this rate….. but what will Eternia do without its champion?" "Well, Teela and Duncan are doing all they can to help He-Man….. but I’m not sure if they’re doing that well. I just wish someone would reveal the truth." "Mother! Father!" came a voice behind them. The King and Queen turned round, and were astonished to see their daughter, Princess Adora, running towards them. "Adora!" cried Marlena, throwing her arms round the girl she just never saw enough. "We never expected you to come here just now!" said Randor. "She-Ra has come to Eternia to help He-Man in court." Adora said. "I took the chance to come with her, to see you!" "It‘s a pleasure to have you here, Adora!" said Marlena. "We miss you so much when you‘re away!" Duncan and Extendar walked into the room. "She was pretty anxious to see you!" Duncan said. "Will you be helping He-Man in court?" asked Randor. Adora struggled to think of an answer- she knew she could not appear as Adora, as she had to attend the trial as She-Ra. "Well….. maybe." she said. "I might go and see more of Eternia, but whether or not I’m at the trial- He-Man will have my support." "How are things going on Etheria?" "Fine." she said. "We’re getting closer to beating the Horde. I can’t wait until we do, so I can come and live with you permanently!" "Adora, you’ve lightened our hearts." said Randor. "With this murder business, your mother and I have felt so distraught that even Orko’s magic shows could not relieve us. But your presence has- and we’re very pleased to have you here. Please come down and eat with us- the Royal Chef should be finishing our meal any moment now!" "I sure will!" said Adora, and went with her parents down to the dining hall. "Well, at least that’s eased the King and Queen’s moods." said Extendar. "It’s just….. will anyone be so at ease tomorrow." "Like I said before, we’ll just wait and see." said Man-At-Arms. "Let’s just remind ourselves that we now have She-Ra to help us, while the Sorceress will continue to use her magic, and even if He-Man does go to jail- we can still fight to get him out."
And at that moment, in the depths of Snake Mountain, Faker shook his sword impatiently as he observed the details for the second day of the trial, revealed on Comtech’s giant computer screen. "He’s about to be found guilty!" he shouted. "At last, I shall have the revenge I have waited six years for!!! The wait has been worthwhile!!!"
PART 13
The following day, He-Man was once again led into the box of the accused, in the wall of Eternos City Courtroom, by two Lawmen. As had happened the day before, the red beam formed between the doors behind him as they slid shut and locked, and He-Man sat down and looked out over the courtroom. Judge Stardak was seated at the large desk in the big box on the wall to He-Man’s right. The man with the computer was seated in the small room in the corner, and Jarik was seated amongst the officials. The officials- those bastards. They were clearly trying to make He-Man sound guilty, for reasons unknown. He-Man felt badly worn out, dirty, and weak- all from the stress of the case so far, which was no good for him after all the strain he had been under before that. He felt like a shambling wreck. But all hope was not lost- as the visitors poured in, He-Man observed Man-At-Arms, Teela and Extendar amongst them- with He-Man’s faithful sister, She-Ra, at their side, the glittering jewels on her bodysuit almost illuminating the courtroom area around her. Then in came the same warriors who had attended the trial the day before. They sat on the visitors’ seats. More and more people entered the courtroom- seemingly more than the day before. He-Man felt tense, knowing that many of them probably believed he was guilty- but he tried his best to keep himself calm. There was no use losing sweat over this case- especially when he knew he was innocent. Once the courtroom was completely full, Judge Stardak hit the switch on his desk, and the same beeping sound emitted, filling the courtroom and silencing the people. "Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen." said Judge Stardak. "Here we begin day 2 of the trial of He-Man. And I am glad to let you know that we hope to reach a verdict today. May I please request of you all not to speak out without permission. If any of you wish to speak during the trial, please raise your hand and wait until you are permitted to speak. I shall now hand things over, once again, to Lord Jarik, who shall do the questioning and conducting of the case. Lord Jarik- over to you." Jarik arose from his seat, and lifted the microphone from its stand. Then he began to speak. "Thank you, Judge Stardak." he said. "First of all, I shall summarise the events of the trial yesterday. The defendant, He-Man, pleads innocent to the murder of Lord Marlach of Eternos. Evidence tells us that he was feeling stressed in the weeks preceding the murder, which could possibly have led him to go over the top. The witnesses’ views agree with one another, and it has also been said that He-Man’s eyes appeared to look different at the time of the murder. The video disk appears to directly show He-Man killing Lord Marlach. Yet He-Man still denies the murder, and it has been suggested he may have been under an evil spell when committing it, or possibly, the killer could have been an impostor or a magical illusion. Yet the observations of one of the heroic warriors tell us that Skeletor and his forces have nothing to do with the killing." He-Man saw Teela glare at Sy-Klone, who just sat there, seeming not to notice. Jarik continued. "The computer yesterday gave its most likely verdict as guilty. Today we hope to reach a final conclusion, and now we shall persist with the case." he turned and looked up at He-Man. "He-Man- do you still plead innocent to the murder of Lord Marlach?" "Yes." He-Man replied firmly. "And may you tell the court, once again, your version of what happened?" He-Man knew that Jarik was asking this to see if He-Man’s version of events differed from what he had said the day before. If it did, it would suggest he was guilty. So he repeated what he had said the day before. "I was on patrol around Eternia, doing my usual good deeds, until all of a sudden those men by that small village caught me and reported me to the law. It came as a surprise, as I knew nothing about the murder." "Thank you, He-Man." said Jarik. Then he turned to address the court in general. "When He-Man was caught by the law, he was on the edge of the village of Tarin. There are no reported sightings of him between then and the murder, two days previously. Neither do we have any reported sightings of him elsewhere at the time of the murder- which could suggest that he did, indeed, stab Lord Marlach to death. But it has been suggested that since the village of Tarin is so far from Eternos City, could he have gotten there within the space of two days?" One of the officials raised his hand. "Speak, sir." said Jarik. "Of course he could have got there." said the man. "I commute over Eternia regularly, as I do business all over the place- and I usually use the monorail system. I’ve travelled to the other side of the planet, well within two days, using the monorail. It’s pretty fast transport. And being automatically driven, there’s no driver to notice when criminals get on- and since many of them have cabins, He-Man could easily have hidden in one of them. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to get to Tarin unseen in two days- and it’s logical to think he’d have chosen to flee somewhere so far away. Having just committed murder, he’d have fled to a place really far from Eternos- so he wouldn’t get caught." "I have an explanation for why he tried to save that drowning man-" said another official, "if he was trying to save him and not kill him. He’d have done it so people would think he wasn’t to blame for the murder. It’s obvious." "Thank you very much." said Jarik. "Does anyone here have any contradictions to the information provided here?" She-Ra raised her hand. He-Man was filled with relief, knowing that his sister was about to speak out against these bastard officials who were doing all they could to make him seem guilty. "Yes, I do-" she said, "Maybe it is possible to get all that way in two days unseen- but why would He-Man-" "If you would be quiet for a second." interrupted Jarik, pointing towards her. "I know who you are, She-Ra, and I was just about to call you up to speak. You may voice all your opinions in a few moments." He stepped closer to She-Ra’s bench. "You are She-Ra, He-Man’s sister and defender of the planet Etheria." "I am indeed." She-Ra replied. "And you have defended Etheria from evil forces in much the way He-Man has defended Eternia, for the past few years?" "That’s right." she said. "Well, I’ve tried to free Etheria- it’s ruled by an evil force, you see. But I’m weakening their rule." "Then being in much the same position as He-Man, and being his sister, you must know him very well, even though you spend most of your time on another world?" "Yes." she said. "Although I live on Etheria, I see He-Man from time to time and we sometimes share adventures together. I probably know him better than most people….. well, maybe anyone in this room." "And being his sister, I assume that you grew up with He-Man." The moment Jarik asked this question, He-Man felt panic- and he was pretty sure She-Ra must be panicking inside too. Because of course, she had not grown up with him, as she had been serving the Horde all her youth- but she could not tell the court that, as it would give away her double identity. As far as most Eternians knew, she had been from the same ‘mountain tribe’ as He-Man and had indeed grown up with him. She was going to have to lie- but could she lie convincingly? "Well, er-" She-Ra seemed to struggle slightly for an answer, "yes, I grew up with He-Man. In his mountain tribe." "And did you ever notice any signs of murderous instincts?" "Never. He-Man was noble right from the start. He was….. brought up to believe murder was totally immoral. Nothing he’s done would ever suggest he might kill anyone." "So do you think he has changed, or do you think he‘s been framed?" "I think he’s been framed, of course!" She-Ra said. "Like others have said, He-Man would never commit murder, even if he was under stress. I have fought alongside my brother many times. And many times have I seen him save lives. Occasionally he has killed an enemy- but on these occasions, he has had no choice to, it has been a case of kill or be killed. And he has said to me many times that he does not like killing living beings, even if he has no choice but to do so. So it doesn’t make sense to assume he would commit murder. Even if he had flipped his lid and killed Lord Marlach, he would not be denying it now. He would be deeply regretting it, and pleading that you jail him! And he would definitely never have gone on the run! I know He-Man much better than you, and I know that there is no chance that he could be guilty!" "Thank you, She-Ra." said Jarik. He turned back to face He-Man’s box. "Do you confirm what your sister has just told us, He-Man?" "Every word she said was right." "So you have killed enemies on several occasions?" "I have, but like she said, I have had no choice to. I have killed on occasions like when evil beings have me trapped and are about to kill me- and my only way out is to kill them. And never have I enjoyed killing these beings- even though they are evil. Everyone has a right to live, no matter how much evil they have wrought. On some occasions when I have killed evil demons, I have had to ask the Sorceress for assurance that what I did was not against the power of Grayskull. So since I feel bad about wasting lives- even when I have no choice- there is no way I would kill someone with absolutely no motive." "Look at him, trying to cover up for himself." He-Man saw one of the officials whispering to another. He had finally had enough of these officials doing all they could to make him look guilty. Before he could think, he lost his temper and shouted out. "Well I’m only telling you the truth!!! Did I not swear to the court, upon the honour of Grayskull, to tell the whole truth? Yet whatever I say, you will always twist it round to make it sound like a lie! If that’s your attitude, there‘s no point in continuing this case!" Judge Stardak shouted in reply "He-Man, verbally attacking the courtroom officials does you no good! And if you continue to act this way, you will be in serious trouble, even if by some slim chance you are found innocent."
"Then I apologise." said He-Man, sweating. "But you gotta understand how I feel. I get arrested out of the blue and charged with murder, and when I just try and explain what’s happened you all accuse me of lying! Why should I bother? If all you’re going to do is make every word I say sound guilty, then you might as well just shut me in that jail with no trial!" A small round of applause followed from He-Man’s supporters. "Please calm yourself, He-Man." said Jarik. "We are just trying to consider all the possibilities. Many of the murderers we have tried here in the past have told us nothing but lies." "But like all my friends are saying- I have always believed that killing someone intentionally and without cause is totally immoral. It is against the power of Grayskull! If I was evil, like Skeletor, I would crave power- so therefore, I would not kill someone if it meant having the power of Grayskull taken from me! And I must also let you know that if I had committed the murder, the Sorceress would have come to me herself and wiped away my power!" "How does the Sorceress know whether you’re guilty or not?" called one official. "She would know, because she can tell with her magic." "Exactly." called out Extendar. "And she has tried to use her magic to get a vision of the real killer, but can only get a blurred shape. If you want proof, go to Grayskull and ask her in person." "Well this doesn’t sound like proof to me." said the official. "This ‘blurred shape’ will obviously be He-Man, but she refuses to accept it, because she doesn’t want to admit he’s guilty! This ‘Sorceress’ doesn’t sound a very trustworthy person at all!" "You BASTARD!" shouted Extendar, jumping to his feet and shooting out his neck and torso. The other people in the courtroom looked up in amazement as he grew before their eyes. "The Sorceress is probably the finest person I know! All you’re doing is trying to make He-Man sound guilty! Courtroom officials and important businessmen you may be, but as people you’re no different from Skeletor and the evil warriors!" "Cyborg, sit down and stop insulting the courtroom officials!" shouted Judge Stardak, angrily. "One more move and I will put you in contempt of the court!" Reluctantly, Extendar sat down, staring daggers at the officials. "I must say, Extendar," said Jarik, "that what you say about The Sorceress gives us no evidence in favor of He-Man, and I find your outburst most unacceptable for the court. Please refrain from making further outbursts of the kind. Now if we may continue with the case quietly, I think our next step should be to interview some other people who have worked alongside He-Man in the past. Stratos of Avion- please arise." The blue-winged birdman rose to his feet. "Stratos, Lord of Avion, I believe you have worked with He-Man for six years." "That’s right." Stratos said. "I allied with him only a short while after Skeletor first attacked. He made an attack on Avion, stealing the Totem of the Sky, and when my people realised the extent of this threat to Eternia, we pledged our alliance to He-Man. He-Man and I have shared many adventures together since." "So you are one of his closest comrades. And you were also present at the time of the murder?" "Yes, I was- and like I said yesterday, I wanted to stop the killing, but I was rigid with shock and couldn’t believe what I was seeing." "And do you believe He-Man to be guilty?" "Not at all. I’m not sure if he was under a spell or if it’s some trick by the evil warriors, but I’m totally sure he’s innocent. I can tell you just what his other comrades have said- he’d never kill anyone. Several times he actually saved his opponent from doom when he got the chance. He’d just never kill anyone intentionally." "Thank you, Stratos. May the warrior known as Ram Man please arise?" Stratos sat down, and Ram Man stood up. He was not wearing his springy-legged costume, he was just dressed in a vest and leather trousers. "I believe," said Jarik, "that you have been allied with He-Man for as long as Stratos?" "Well, yeah, just before Stratos actually, but only a few days longer. Yeah, I’ve worked with He-Man nearly right from the start. Take the number of battles I’ve had aside He-Man, multiply it by a few thousand, and you’ll get the number of times I’ve hurt my head since!" Many people in the courtroom laughed aloud at Ram Man’s comment. Even He-Man, distraught as he was, managed a hollow laugh. Ram Man had been working with him for six years, and had never lost that sense of humor! "Well, thanks very much Ram Man," said Jarik with amusement as the laughter died down, "but aside from hurting your head have you ever noticed anything strange about He-Man?" "He-Man strange? No way! I’m siding with Stratos and She-Ra and everyone here! He-Man’s innocent alright." "Are you sure you‘ve never noticed any suggestion of murderous instincts?" "Of course not! I’d say if I had. He’s always been a great guy, pretty easy going most of the time. Yeah, he got stressed alright before the killing, but you could hardly blame him, having to fight all the time. And I saw him plenty of times when he was under stress, and he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to save Eternia no more- so why would he go and kill someone? And I was at Snake Mountain when Evil-Lyn showed us that image, and I don’t reckon it was real." He raised one of his muscular arms and shouted "He-Man is innocent!" "Thank you, Ram Man." said Jarik, and Ram Man sat down. "Now may the warrior named Dash-Shel, better known as Sy-Klone, please arise." The blue and yellow skinned cyborg rose to his feet, the radar screen on his chest flickering. He-Man noticed an expression of annoyance on Teela’s face, and she whispered something to Man-At-Arms. He could not quite make out what it was, but no doubt she’d be hoping that Sy-Klone didn’t blow He-Man’s chances again. Although Sy-Klone had always been a good friend of his, He-Man felt pretty annoyed at him at the present moment. Even though he probably hadn’t meant to, Sy-Klone had yesterday got the court even more convinced that He-Man was guilty by falling for what was probably an obvious trick by the evil warriors. Being of a high-spirited, quick and sometimes rash nature, Sy-Klone could fairly often reach conclusions without giving them much thought. Unfortunately, this time it seemed to have landed He-Man in trouble. "Yesterday, Sy-Klone," said Jarik, "you told the court that you and a group of other heroic warriors went over to Snake Mountain, where an evil sorceress who worked for Skeletor showed you an image in her crystal ball of Skeletor hearing the news about the murder, having known nothing of it. So you think this, therefore, proves that the evil warriors did not frame He-Man?" "I think it’s sufficient enough evidence to say they didn’t." said Sy-Klone. "So you believe that He-Man is guilty?" "Well, no, actually- I’m totally convinced he isn’t, but I just don’t reckon Skeletor had anything to do with it. I’ve never seen He-Man do anything that would suggest he might kill someone. So I reckon some other evil being has probably framed him- but it’s not Skeletor." One official raised his hand at that moment. "I think that since a heroic warrior believes Skeletor was not to blame, then we have right to believe him." "What a load of nonsense!" shouted Teela. "And don’t bother shouting at me for speaking out without permission- Sy-Klone could easily be mistaken, it is probably a trick by the evil warriors, and there are many others of us who saw this image who don’t think it was real at all!" "Like me!" called Ram Man. "And me- and Blastar too!" shouted Rio Blast. "Evil-Lyn could hoax anything with that crystal ball of hers, I betcha!" "Well let us discuss it tactfully!" said Jarik. "Please refrain from arguing in the courtroom. There seems to be dispute between the heroic warriors themselves over whether the image was faked or not. Thank you for your information, Sy-Klone. Now if any heroic warrior feels that He-Man was guilty, could they please speak out." No heroic warriors raised their hands. "Then does any heroic warrior feel they have ever noticed murderous instincts in He-Man?" Still no hands went up. "Then what is the explanation that you offer for the case?" Snout Spout raised his hand. "Speak, please." said Jarik, seeming to gaze with curiosity at Snout Spout’s metal elephant head. "Basically," said Snout Spout, "most of us are totally unsure. He could possibly have flipped his lid- but none of us have ever seen him do anything suspicious, and we find it hard to imagine him committing murder." "So it is the general belief that while the evidence may suggest He-Man is guilty, none of you could ever imagine him committing murder." "Exactly." said Snout Spout. One official raised his hand. "Lord Jarik, I think that is the way that everyone in this court felt. I believe one hundred per cent that He-Man is guilty- yet I would never have imagined that he would commit murder. I was as shocked by the news of the murder as anyone here is- but while I could never imagine him killing anyone, it seems to me that there is not the merest doubt that he killed Lord Marlach. I think his friends and comrades are only sticking up for him because of their friendship, which prevents them from accepting that He-Man has become a killer." "You could be right, sir." said Jarik. He-Man was about to speak out himself- he was tired of these people acting as though he was guilty beyond doubt- but Teela spoke out first. "You officials are totally incapable of thought!" she said angrily. "Of course we’re not sticking up for He-Man just because we like him! It’s because framing him for murder is just the kind of trick that the evil warriors might use, and we can see just by talking to him that he’s totally innocent!" "Captain Teela- murderers CAN put on an act, you know." said the official. "That would explain the apparent ‘change in his eyes’ after all. And anyway, we’ve had proof that the evil warriors didn’t do it, from the blue man’s account." "That isn’t proof!" shouted Man-At-Arms. "Accept it! Does he seem guilty to you?" said Extendar. "You should look into what the evil warriors have to do with it!" cried She-Ra. "Will you please be quiet!" shouted Jarik. "I do not want to have to tell anyone in this courtroom to keep quiet again. It is time you accepted the rules of the court, and abided by them." "How do you expect us to," shouted Teela, "when you-" Judge Stardak interrupted her. "You say another word, Teela, and you’re in contempt of the court!" "Yes, Teela, if you wish to speak at any point, abide by the courtroom’s rules and raise your hand." said Jarik. "Anyway, I think as my colleague said, about all of us FEEL that He-Man would never kill anyone- but we must not let our liking of the man deceive us." Blastar raised his hand. "Speak." Jarik said, pointing to him. "Your honour," said Blastar, "I have come to visit Eternia from my homeworld. I’m a lawman there, and I used to be in the Starband Marshals with Rio Blast. I just came here to help defend He-Man- because I can tell you, I’ve been on Eternia before, when I fell under a spell by Skeletor. He possessed me with a magic spell, and sent me to kill He-Man. And I just could not resist the spell- I almost DID kill He-Man. Luckily he managed to break the spell before I could do any real damage- but what if Skeletor had put He-Man under the same kind of spell that he put me under? It could easily be possible. I know I could remember what I did under the spell when my senses returned- but what if Skeletor strengthened it so it would wipe He-Man’s memory? You really do need to look into what’s going on at Snake Mountain- I know the warriors and myself failed to when we investigated- but if we get the whole of the Law force, the whole army, and all of the King’s guards there- maybe we’d have a chance." "I feel there is no need for that when we have proof that Skeletor had nothing to do with it." said one official. "Damn! Are you agents of Skeletor in disguise or something?" shouted Extendar. "When are you going to accept that that isn’t proof!" "But it is proof!" replied the official. "Silence!" called Jarik. "I hate to disagree with a fellow courtroom official, but it is NOT proof. All we have is Sy-Klone’s account. None of us have actually seen this image that Skeletor’s sorceress presented in her crystal ball. I think that maybe Judge Stardak should call the case off for today, and we should arrest Skeletor or this sorceress of his in connection with the murder." "Now you’re talking!" said Teela. All of a sudden, the people in the courtroom were distracted by a sudden burst of light amongst the visitors’ benches. The light circulated round a hooded and robed figure on the back bench. The figure’s robe dropped to the ground, revealing none other than Evil-Lyn herself, beautiful yet sinister, with her evil green eyes and her sparkling exotic jewellery. The people gasped in amazement, and as the light died down, Jarik asked "Who on Eternia are you?" "I am Evil-Lyn." she replied. "I am Skeletor’s sorceress, and second-in-command. I just came here to make sure that our army is not being accused of having any part in the murder." He-Man shook his head in anxiety, thinking What in the name of the Elders is she going to do….. "You could be just the person we need." said Jarik. "What do you have for us, Evil-Lyn?" "I have this." she said, and approached Jarik, then brought out her crystal ball. In it, the image of Skeletor appeared, sitting in his throne in Snake Mountain. Tri-Clops approached him, with a mini information system, saying "Listen to this!" Then an announcement came over the information system about the murder, and Skeletor said "He-Man? A murderer? This is too good to be true!"
The image faded from the crystal ball. "Thank you, Evil-Lyn." said Jarik. "You have helped us greatly. And thank you to Sy-Klone for notifying us of that in the first place." "It’s a dirty hoax!" shouted Teela. "She’s created it with her magic!" "Teela, you have been warned….." said Judge Stardak, "unless you want to be in contempt?" "I think it is time to accept," said Jarik, "that the evil warriors have nothing to do with it. He-Man’s close acquaintances are merely blinded by friendship." "Nonsense!" shouted Man-At-Arms. "I am glad to have been of help." said Evil-Lyn. "Just to clear my army’s name, of course. I swear that we knew nothing of the murder until the moment I have just shown you, and we are as confused by it as many are." "Thank you for helping us, Evil-Lyn." said Jarik. "You may resume your seat." As she walked back to her seat, she was jeered at by several heroic warriors. "You evil bitch!" they shouted. "You hoaxed that image!" But she just ignored them, and went back to her seat. "Well there’s no doubt that He-Man’s guilty now." said one official. "I think it may be time to make judgements." said Jarik. "I see no need for further investigation."
He-Man looked down in despair. His chances looked blown now. How were the court ever going to be convinced that he was innocent? He looked up once more over the courtroom, over the sea of faces of people who thought he was a bloodthirsty killer. Then he raised his hand. "Yes, defendant, you wish to speak?" said Jarik. "Your honour," spoke He-Man, "I know the evidence may all seem to suggest that I’m guilty. But I can tell you in all honesty- I had nothing to do with the murder. I had been under stress, but I never even dreamed of killing anyone. I was in danger of a breakdown- not being driven to madness. I could not have been more shocked when I was arrested, out of the blue, and charged with murder. And I swear that however much the killer on the video looks like me- it is not. I can only beg that you accept my words, and look elsewhere for the true killer. As it is not me." Man-At-Arms raised his hand. "You should listen to him, you know. Does he sound like a murderer? He is as noble as ever, and there is no way that man could be a killer. I urge you to continue this case for several more days, rather than going for a verdict now." "Well, sad as it may seem, Duncan-" said Jarik, "many murderers tend to be good actors." "He is not acting!" said She-Ra. "Even if Skeletor didn’t have anything to do with it, there are still other evil forces on Eternia that could have framed He-Man!" "Let that be the opinion of some, then." said Jarik. "Now let us screen the video evidence one last time. Those who may be disturbed- please look away." The video screens flickered on, and He-Man once again saw the film of him approaching Lord Marlach outside the Arcology, reaching the sword towards him, stabbing him to death, then leaving the scene. Then he hung his head again. Surely it was all over now. "Now we shall go for the verdict." said Jarik. "This will take several minutes of private discussion between myself and the officials as the final information is entered into the computer. May everyone please be patient as we leave to reach our verdict." All the officials got up, and followed Jarik out of the courtroom, through a small door in the wall. And there followed the seven most tense and frustrating moments of He-Man’s life. The entire courtroom sat in silence as they awaited the verdict. All He-Man could hear was the whirring of the fan in the ceiling, all he could feel was the faint breeze of cool air. But inside, he felt his heart pounding, his blood pumping intensely through his mighty body. Sweat oozed rapidly from his pores, his forehead felt cold and damp. What would happen if he was sentenced to prison? How long would he be held for? Would his innocence ever be proved? Would the true killer ever be found? Who was the true killer? And if he was jailed, how would Eternia cope without him?!! After what seemed like an age, the door in the wall opened. Out stepped Jarik and the officials. "The computer will bring out a verdict in several seconds." said Jarik, and sat down amongst the officials. Then the man in the computer room walked out. "What then," said Judge Stardak, "is the verdict for the case?" The man turned to face the whole court. "Guilty." He-Man covered his face in horror, as murmurs instantly spread throughout the whole courtroom. "NO!!!!!" screamed Teela. "It’s all a mistake!!!" cried Man-At-Arms. "My brother’s innocent!" said She-Ra. But the officials all looked pleased. "Thank goodness another killer is being brought to justice." one said. "Our view on the case," began Jarik, "is that He-Man had been under great stress from his heroic duties towards Eternia, which led him to lose control and murder Lord Marlach. It is also quite likely that having been taught strictly since his childhood that all forms of killing were immoral, He-Man’s dark side struggled to be free from these rules, and caused him to stab Lord Marlach to death. We see no doubt that He-Man is guilty of murder." The court was in an uproar, and He-Man heard a strange mixture of satisfied voices mixed with the cries of angry people. "If you would all be quiet, I shall bring out the sentencing." said Judge Stardak. "He-Man- whether you regret it now or not, and regardless of your heroic past, you have stabbed an innocent man to death intentionally, and have abused both the power of Grayskull and the morality of mankind. Therefore, I have no choice but to sentence you to life in jail." "NO!" cried Extendar, shooting his whole body to full size, reaching right up to the Judge’s box, gripping him by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "He-Man’s my best friend! He would never murder anyone! It’s all an evil trick!" "Get down this instant, or you are in contempt!" screamed Judge Stardak, thrusting Extendar away from him. But Extendar stood tall, above the rest of the court, who stared up at the gigantic being in amazement. He shouted "This murder is all the work of evil! We must free He-Man! He is no killer!" "You may all leave now." said Judge Stardak, ignoring Extendar. "He-Man is to be taken to Eternos jail this very moment." He-Man heard the doors slide open behind him, then felt two grotesquely tight grips on his arms. He was being dragged away by two Lawmen. "Fight for me!" he shouted to Teela as they dragged him away. "Help to get me out! The evil forces cannot get away with this!" Teela watched him being pulled away, and shed a tear. "I will, He-Man. In the name of Grayskull, I will."
As Teela, Man-At-Arms, Extendar and She-Ra left the courtroom, they passed Evil-Lyn, looking smug and scheming. Teela turned and spat at her. "You won’t get away with this! We’ll expose you! Your scheme won’t succeed in the long term!" Evil-Lyn just laughed. "What scheme? Like Jarik said, ‘don’t be blinded by friendship’." Then she vanished into thin air, teleported back to Snake Mountain. As they emerged from the building, Teela could barely conceal her anger. "We must fight to free him, Father. We’ve got to. We must start right away!" "Don’t worry, Teela." said She-Ra, drawing her sword, and raising it high. "We shall fight to free him- FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL!"
PART 14
In the chamber of Snake Mountain, a huge band of Evil warriors waited silently and anxiously. Then, in the center of the dark chamber, a mystical, bright light began to form. "She’s arriving!" growled Beast Man. The light formed into a human shape, shimmered, and died down, revealing the form of Evil-Lyn. She approached Skeletor in his throne. "What is the verdict, Evil-Lyn?" he hissed. "Guilty." she replied, with a sinister smile. "Sentenced to life in jail." At that moment, the entire room erupted into a cheer. The crowd of evil warriors all raised their hands in extreme triumph. But none of them were more content than Faker. His red eyes blazed with evil delight. "At last!" he cried. "I have had my revenge on He-Man! After six years, I have finally succeeded!" "And at last we have He-Man out of our way." said Skeletor. "Now it will be easy for me to take over Eternia." "When shall we attack, Skeletor?" asked King Hiss. "Let us bide our time a little further." replied Skeletor. "Do we have to?" said Faker. "I’m getting sick of just lurking around this mountain with no real enemies to fight." "Never forget, Faker, you must remain hidden." said Skeletor. "If anyone sees you, it could mean that He-Man is instantly let out of jail. So as we attack the city, you must remain at Snake Mountain. Maybe tomorrow the rest of us will strike….. and make our first steps towards crushing the city!" "And no-one will call He-Man to help," said Evil-Lyn, "because as far as they are concerned, he is no better than us. It will be easy!" "Then I will take the throne….. then Grayskull….. then with my supreme power, I will take over the universe. And you, Faker, may destroy He-Man in person….. once Grayskull has become a fortress of evil, He-Man’s power shall be wiped away- you will be able to kill him easily." "And then….." Faker hissed quietly, "It is between you and I….."
The streets of Eternos were in an uproar over the court verdict, the news of which travelled quickly throughout the city. The denizens looked to the skies as a Law plane zoomed overhead, towards Eternos Jail. It was this plane which was carrying He-Man to jail. Several angry members of the crowd tried throwing rotten food at the plane, but Extendar grew to full size and threw it back at them. "He’s not guilty!" shouted Teela as she pushed her way through the crowds. "We must let him free!" "Right on Teela!" came a voice from within the crowd. Teela and the heroic warriors looked round to see a group of protesters waving a banner with the words ‘HE-MAN IS INNOCENT’. "Excellent!" Teela called. "At least some people are on our side!" Teela, Extendar, Man-At-Arms and She-Ra pushed their way through the manic crowds, through several streets until they reached Eternos Jail. It was not far from the Square, where the Arcology towered above the chaos. The Jail was less elegant than most buildings in Eternos, it was just a simple, metal edifice. Each window was blocked with pulsating electro-bars, preventing anyone from escaping. They approached the door, where a prison guard stood, a burly and rough figure. "May we see He-Man?" asked Teela. "No way." replied the guard. "It’s not visiting time yet. And I’m not sure He-Man will be allowed visitors for at least today, being our newest convict. He’s gonna have a happy time in jail, I’m telling you."
And in his dank, uncomfortable, dirty prison cell, He-Man sank to the ground in distress. This prison cell was a million times worse than the Law HQ cell. The walls were made from shoddy, dirty, rough brickwork, and the only thing in the entire room was a wooden bench with a pillow on it- not even any sheets. It was like being imprisoned in Snake Mountain. Except at least there he’d be able to escape- the glowing red electro-bars over the door and window would electrocute anyone who dared to shake them too hard, preventing any possible escape. The life of a hero had taken its toll on He-Man, and just as he had thought things were getting better, some evil being had gone and framed him for a crime, getting him locked in this foul jail, possibly for life, as the whole of the planet believed he was a bloodthirsty psychopath. Was there any hope? Would even She-Ra and Duncan be unable to get him out? He-Man sank into a corner, his sweat-covered hands clutching his head in agony. In his heart, He-Man cursed the true killer. He prayed to the Elders that they would be found. Otherwise, this could truly mean the end for Eternia.
At the Royal Palace, the mood was a mixture of anger and sorrow, as the heroic warriors returned. "You don’t need to tell me." said King Randor as the warriors entered the main hall. "I have heard the verdict. I do not believe that a hero like He-Man should be jailed for this crime. It is beyond my wildest dreams." "I’m beginning to wonder if maybe he is guilty, since the court are so convinced." said Buzz-Off. "There’s no chance." said Marlena. "The court just loves convicting people. They always twist everything they say to make them sound guilty. But even I never thought they could do that with He-Man….." "Surely you can order them to release him, your highness?" said Extendar to King Randor. "After all, you are the ruler of the whole planet!" "That may be so," said Randor, "but unfortunately I have no power over the running of the law, or the courtroom services. I am just meant to assume that they are always right. It would be incredibly hard for me to persuade them to free He-Man, since they are so convinced he is guilty." "Well Rio and I will see what we can do to change the law’s mind." said Blastar. "Yeah, sure thing partner-" said Rio, "though I know my bosses, and they’re pretty tough guys. But we sure will do our best." "And I guess it’s up to us to find the real killer." said Teela. "I will go to Grayskull again and work with the Sorceress to find the murderer!" said Man-At-Arms. "We’ve also gotta help change public opinion!" said Extendar. "Let’s just see how public opinion is at the moment." said King Randor. He led Marlena, Teela, Duncan, Extendar and She-Ra up to a balcony, and they looked out over the streets of Eternos. There was a huge commotion outside, figures running all over the place, people erupting into mad hysterics in the middle of the street. And there was also a group of young boys, aged twelve at the oldest, waving signs in the air and shouting "He-Man is still our hero! He is innocent! Get him out of jail!" There was also a man running through the street carrying a microphone, saying "If you believe He-Man is innocent, join me! We must convince the Law, and get him free! And we must find who the real killer is!" A group of people instantly rushed up to him and joined him as he ran through the street. "You see." said King Randor. "There is still hope. It’s not just us who think he’s innocent. And if we can unite everyone….." "We could get the whole planet together and maybe convince the law!" said Adora, coming onto the balcony, having slipped away and resumed her Adora form. "Exactly, Adora." said Randor. "Duncan- if you would get me your microphone-" "I will, your highness." replied Duncan, and instantly left the balcony, to return moments later with a portable electronic microphone. He handed it to the King, and the King spoke. "People of Eternia!" he said, and each figure in the street turned and looked up at their King, addressing them from the tower. "You are all affected by what has become of our hero, He-Man, having been sentenced to life in jail. And if you believe it is a fair decision, and that he did indeed kill Lord Marlach, then I shall not force you to change your views. But I do, however, urge you to think of the times you have seen He-Man. Throughout the past six years, you have seen him save lives. You have seen him defend our world from all forms of evil. You have seen him commit many noble acts- helping with the slightest problem, and speaking out his firm belief in justice. You have all been in awe of his humanity, and eternally grateful for how he has saved this planet which would be possessed by the rule of evil if he were not around. Never have you seen a more noble champion. Does it make sense, therefore, that this firm believer in justice and righteousness would simply commit murder? And then deny it, in front of a whole courtroom? That would not be the same person who has saved this planet from near destruction. Make your conclusions for yourselves- but I have reached mine firmly. This is all the work of some evil force, somewhere on Eternia. Be it Skeletor or not- some evil is at work. He-Man has been framed for this crime. He does not deserve to be seen as a murderer. And it is our duty to find the true killer, and bring him towards the court, so true justice can be done! If you agree with what I say, raise your arms!" A huge cheer ran through the crowd, and they raised their arms wildly. "Then let justice prevail!" "Excellent, Randor!" said Teela, as the King turned away from the crowd, who began once again to run wildly through the streets- except more exuberantly than before. "We may have a fair amount of people who think he’s guilty- but we’ve also got a great share of people who still believe in him!" "I just dread to think of how he must feel in that jail." said Marlena, brushing away a tear as she thought of her son being subjected to the torture of living in a prison cell. For of course, she had always secretly known that He-Man was none other than Adam, her son. She just hadn’t admitted it. "I also dread to think of what it must be like for him." said Randor. "The jails of this city are almost as unpleasant as Snake Mountain. I have always felt that their conditions are too vile, even for criminals, and I must do something to change them." "But if we work together, with all the help we can get from the citizens," said Teela, "he won’t have to be in jail for much longer. We need to fight to find the real killer- so let’s get to work right away! It is all up to us- to FREE HE-MAN!!!!!"
PART 15
Teela stood alone on one of the balconies of Eternos Arcology. Because of the disastrous outcome of the opening ceremony, very few people had moved into the building, despite how exquisitely beautiful and technologically advanced it was. As Teela had looked around the building, and had a full insight into its wondrous inner world, felt its cooling breeze and experienced many of its special features, including the electro and sea worlds, she felt saddened that such a stimulating, luxury building, into which a great deal of work had been done, should go to waste like this. But hopefully it was only to last in the midst of the killing. Once she had proven He-Man’s innocence, the murder would be forgotten and the building would be used as the paradise it should be. She stood at the edge of the balcony, before the unbearable heat of Eternos City, which did little to make her job less strenuous. But then she looked down at the massive crowd below, tearing down the ‘JAIL HE-MAN’ banners and ripping them to shreds, waving signs in the air depicting the words ‘FREE HE-MAN!’. The campaign she had just started looked like it was working pretty well. And down by the entrance to the Arcology, Ram Man stood holding thousands of sheets of paper, on which the people who wanted He-Man freed signed their names. "We’ve got over five hundred, Teela!" Ram Man shouted. "Great work!" said Teela. "Don’t give up- it may be hard work, but we need it to rescue He-Man!" Then she looked over the square, and spoke at a loud volume to address the whole crowd. "Hear me, people!" she said. "At twenty-five o’clock tonight, we are marching towards Eternos City Court, to show the court the strength of our campaign! We will MAKE them rethink their verdict! So wherever you go, shout out for He-Man’s freedom and distribute your banners….. your leaflets….. everything to spread the campaign! And if you know anyone who might want to join us- don’t just ask them to, TELL them! For the sake of Eternia’s safety- we must get He-Man out of that jail!" The crowd cheered wildly, thrusting their signs up high. And the campaign was not just confined to Eternos City Square- all through the nearby streets, there were protesters running around with their signs, fixing up banners, distributing leaflets. The streets of Eternos had never been so crowded before. And outside the jail, a group of protesters hung up a huge banner saying ‘HE-MAN DOES NOT BELONG HERE’, but were forced to take it down by Lawmen. A riot almost started, but the protesters were cleared away by a squad of gun-armed jail guards. Outside the Court, there were already several protesters- they were actually camping outside, with their sleeping bags and signs. Although several Court guards attempted to force them to leave, they simply would not move, and said there was no chance of them leaving until the court changed its verdict about He-Man. Protesters could be seen all over the city.
That evening, as the skies darkened and the twin moons of Eternia came into view in the sky, an extra presence joined the city. A terrifying siren sound in the air was followed by the appearance of several evil Rotons and Fright Fighters, darting through the sky and firing energy beams down on the city. Denizens hurried away in panic. And if the threat of the flying machines wasn’t bad enough- marching towards the city could be seen a whole host of evil warriors, weapons at the ready, led by the Lord of Destruction himself, Skeletor. "Alert the heroic warriors!" a man called out. Within seconds, the sky machines were met in mid-air by cruising Wind Raiders, Jet Sleds and Battle Rams, as a whole group of heroic warriors marched towards the rest of the evil army. "ATTACK!" shouted Skeletor, as his minions stampeded through the streets. The streets of Eternos quickly became the least safest place on Eternia, filled with the beat of war as the citizens locked themselves in their homes. But several unfortunates were quick to regret locking themselves in their homes. For a group of evil warriors- Strongarm, Whiplash, Rattlor, Saurod and Blast-Attak, advanced like zombies towards a row of houses. Strongarm pulled back his mighty metal arm, then he brought it crashing down to the ground. The buildings shook violently, and several walls began to collapse. A man came rushing out of one of the houses. "Leave my home alone!" he shouted. "What is the point of this?" "The point is to enable Skeletor to rule Eternia!" hissed Saurod, and shot a burst of sparks from his mouth, sending the man fleeing back into the building. "That fool will regret staying in his home." laughed Whiplash. "He does not know exactly what we have planned for him!" and the reptile man spun around, then thrust his tail into a wall, which instantly cracked and crumbled to the ground. The band of warriors marched inside the house, and noticing a young woman running for cover, Rattlor leapt towards her, seized her, extended his neck to full length, and took a bite out of her neck. She fell to the ground, blood dripping from her neck, and the man they had seen before ran through the door, shouting "How dare you hurt her! You evil demons- how dare you do this to my house!" "I think it’s your turn, Blast-Attak!" said Whiplash, and the android moved slowly towards the terrified people, and stood still before them. Quickly, the other evil warriors ran from the scene, and then Blast-Attak ignited auto-destruct mode, blowing the entire building apart, along with the people in it! The android reformed, in the centre of the ruins, and the evil warriors, around the pile of rubble that had been the house, erupted into a cheer. "One more step towards utter destruction!" said Whiplash. Across the street, the evil warriors had the upper hand in the battle by far, with Skeletor blasting Rio Blast and Fisto off their feet with his havoc staff, as Blade cut through Snout Spout’s chest with his swords, and Snake Face turned Mekaneck and Stratos to stone. "Keep fighting, warriors!" shouted Skeletor, "Without He-Man, Eternos will fall to us in no time!" "I think you might have spoken too soon, Skull face!" came a strong, female voice, and Skeletor looked up to see She-Ra running towards the battle, zapping the stone bodies of Mekaneck and Stratos with her sword, returning them to normal. Behind her were Man-At-Arms, Extendar, and the Sorceress herself. "Give up, Skeletor!" said the Sorceress. "We know your scheme!" "What scheme, Sorceress?" laughed Skeletor, firing at her with his staff. She leaped out of the way, as Extendar grew to full height, reaching his arms to the skies and knocking several Rotons and Fright Fighters out of the air, crashing to the ground. She-Ra then rushed towards Skeletor, and said "I have power equal to He-Man’s you know. With me around, it will be as hard for you to conquer Eternia as ever!" With that, she fired a blow from the Sword of Protection at Skeletor, knocking him back. The Sorceress then glided towards him, and fired a bolt of magic at him before he could react. The Lord of Destruction fell to one side, stunned. "You have to deal with me too….." said a hissing voice, and the Sorceress and She-Ra spun round to see King Hiss, ripping off his fake human skin and revealing his hideous green snake heads beneath. Two of his snake heads spat a deadly poison from their mouths, and hit the Sorceress in the face. "I’m weakening!" she cried, losing her balance and falling to her knees. "She-Ra- quickly, stop him before he can do anything more!" She-Ra leaped between the Sorceress and King Hiss. "No-one can harm the Sorceress without dealing with She-Ra first!" she said, holding the Sword of Protection at the ready. King Hiss spat his poison at She-Ra, but she blocked it with the sword and the jewel backfired it on him. He ducked and pulled his false skin back over his head- but it did him no good, as when he was not looking, Rio Blast aimed his lasers at him, delivering five shots in the space of three seconds and knocking King Hiss off the ground and hurling across the street. Just then, the Sorceress got to her feet, her strength flooding back. "Thanks, She-Ra." she said. But Skeletor was also recovering, and came charging maniacally towards the Sorceress, his red eyes blazing at her- but then he was sent flying back by several bolts of light from the Sorceress’ fingertips, combined with a blow from the Sword of Protection. "Quickly, Extendar!" the Sorceress shouted, looking up at the gigantic cyborg warrior as he thrust his arms rapidly through the air, sending the evil flying machines retreating in terror. "Help us clear these warriors away!" "Anything for you, Sorceress!" he replied, and stamped his left foot on the ground, which shook as if there was a planetquake, sending evil warriors darting in all directions. As they ran, She-Ra fired bolt after bolt at Skeletor- he countered her bolts with the havoc staff, but he was obviously no match for the Princess of Power. "Our warriors are retreating!" called Evil-Lyn, caught in the grip of Clamp Champ’s capture weapon. She kicked the guardsman in the thigh, and just managed to break free. Rushing towards Skeletor, the evil warrior goddess said "We have no chance at this moment! We must wait for another chance to strike, and launch a surprise attack!" Skeletor looked around him. His evil warriors were retreating like mad, and only himself, King Hiss, and Evil-Lyn remained. "You are right, Evil-Lyn." he said. "Heroic warriors, I shall leave this place now. But you haven’t heard the last from me!" Just then, Teela and a group of campaigners arrived on the scene, having heard the chaos of the battle. "Skeletor!" she cried. "What are you doing here?" "It is obvious, you fool. I am merely making the first steps towards conquering this city. Soon I will rule all Eternia!" "You villain!" called a man in the crowd. "You can never rule!" "Why not?" mocked Skeletor. "I couldn’t be any worse than He-Man, could I?" A silence fell over the army of heroic warriors. Many of them were still unsure of whether or not the murder really had been a trick. "So just feel glad that He-Man has been jailed….." said Skeletor, "as maybe my doings will be milder than his….. but that is unlikely!" laughing like a maniac, he teleported himself, Hiss and Evil-Lyn back to Snake Mountain. "We know he must be behind the murder!" said Teela. "If only he could see just how strong my campaign’s going!" "And he can never rule when we have She-Ra and the Sorceress with us." said Rio Blast." "Not forgetting Extendar." added Man-At-Arms, as the cyborg shrank to normal size. "No, Duncan, not forgetting Extendar. Boy, I wish I could grow to that size! Skeletor has no chance!" "He has still caused a fair amount of damage to the city." said She-Ra. "Just look what happened to that house." she pointed to the rubble of the home which Blast-Attak had blown apart. Buzz-Off then appeared in the sky overhead. "And a group of his minions also wreaked havoc a few streets away." he said. "They reduced a tower to a mere wreck." "We must be careful in case Skeletor makes further assaults!" said the Sorceress. "We’ll be able to do it." said She-Ra. "It’s just that I’m not used to defending Eternia….. I don’t know Skeletor’s warriors as well as I know the Horde. Most of their powers I’ve no idea about. So you never know….. they may just break past me. We’ve gotta get He-Man out of jail, or Eternia could fall to the rule of evil." "Well, like I said," said Teela, "our campaign’s going pretty well. Hey, it’s almost the twenty-fifth hour. Come on, protesters. Let’s get to the city Court- and any heroic warriors who want to join us, just come along!"
Within the next three quarters of an hour, there was a massive band of protesters outside the city Court. They waved their signs and banners intensely, repeatedly chanting "Let He-Man Out!" Teela looked across the huge crowd of protesters. She was impressed at how many people she had gathered in such a short space of time. She was convinced the Court would free He-Man now! There were quite a few heroic warriors amongst the crowd too. Rio and Blastar were there, along with Fisto, Ram Man, Stratos….. even Rotar and the energy zoids were there! She was even more surprised to see the mindless Man-E-Faces amongst the crowd, and even Lizard Man, who was rarely seen in the streets of Eternos - this was going unbelievably well! And as the doors to the Court slid open, Teela ascended the steps, and presented the long sheets of paper, filled with thousands of names, to Lord Jarik, who emerged from the building. "What is this?" he asked. "This is a list of all the people who want He-Man freed from jail. And in case you’re blind, this huge crowd consists of all the people on this list. We all believe He-Man is innocent, and we demand that you release him from jail!" Jarik skimmed through the list of names. Teela watched, proudly as his eyes opened wide when he saw just how many names were on the list. Then he handed the list back to Teela. "Well, what do you think?" she said. Jarik just laughed. "We have already taken campaigns into consideration!" he said, in patronising tones. "Your campaign is useless. Riot as much as you like, but it’s not going to change our decision. As far as we can see, we have the murder filmed, which is downright proof that He-Man is guilty. Now Bye Bye." and with that, he simply shut the door in Teela’s face. "You bastard!" said Teela, angrily. She turned round, and saw that the angry faces and shouts of the crowd indicated that they much shared her fury. "Don’t give in!" she called out. "We will find a way to break past these pompous court officials! Just keep fighting- and we’ll have He-Man out of that jail!" Just then, her wrist-radio began to beep. "Come in." she said. "Teela, it’s Duncan here." came her father’s voice. "I’m afraid I just saw what happened- the Sorceress and I were watching it on the viewscreen of Castle Grayskull." "So you’re in Grayskull!" said Teela. "I wondered why I couldn’t see you around here!" "Yes, I went with the Sorceress, She-Ra and Extendar. We are going to discuss all possibilities for revealing the true identity of the murderer. You keep going with your campaign, Teela. And we will ransack our brains looking for ideas to find the murderer!" "Great stuff, father!" she said. "I’ll press on! Hope you come up with something." "And I hope your campaign succeeds in the end! Keep it up! Over and out."
And in Castle Grayskull, Man-At-Arms and the Sorceress returned to the library, where Extendar and She-Ra were discussing what actions to take. "We shall remain here for as long as it takes to find the true killer!" said the Sorceress. "We shall work day and night! We must rest at times, of course, but we must never give up our search for the killer. We will work to get He-Man out of jail- and expose the true killer to Eternia!"
Adora and Glimmer knew their task would not be hard- it was just a question of when to strike. Adora had been determined to rid Etheria of the rule of the Horde ever since she had been released from Horde Prime’s brainwashing spell, several years ago. She was tall, and attractive, rough-looking but both tough and gentle in nature, with straggly, blonde hair, heavy crimson lipstick and tight, black leather clothing covering her slick body. For the first twenty years of her life, she had been aggressive, psychotic and dangerous- but this had all been under Horde Prime’s brainwashing technique. When He-Man, her twin brother who was also Adam of Eternia, had entered her life and presented her with the Sword of Protection, she had come to her senses- and used the sword to become She-Ra, princess of power. Many times did she save Etheria in this form- but in the form of Adora she was also seen as very powerful and now struck fear into the hearts of the Hordesmen just in the way she had once done so with the ordinary Etherians.