The Saga of Eternia

Volume One

"The Coming Of Evil"

Part One

By Casey Gilman

Preface

Before you begin the story, I want to explain a few things. First off, this isn't a typical fan-fic. It is the first in an on-going series I plan to write, which isn't based exactly on the He-man cartoon, comics, or movie, but is meant to be a re-telling of He-man's adventures based on all versions of He-man with some new added concepts and ideas. This is basically a new He-man continuity that I am creating, and I tried to write in such a way that newcomers to the He-man phenomenon could enjoy it, as well as people who are already fans.

The main reason I did this is because I realized that while He-man was cool, there was potential to bring it up a notch from the cartoons that appealed to kid's in the 1980's like myself. I'm trying to re-tell He-man's story in such a way as to make it a little more grown up. I'm trying to make Skeletor act a little more evil, the battles a little more violent, and the storylines a little bit deeper and more complex. Some He-man purists might scoff at my fan-fics due to changes I may have made (some due to gaps in my memory and others due to new "look" I want to give my stories), but I hope these stories will be enjoyed by most of the people who read them.

I also hope my writing ability does my ideas justice. I've always felt that I've been a decent writer, and I've been told so by some. If anyone reading this was a Final Fantasy Three (six in Japan) fan and on AOL five years ago, you might remember a group of series titled "The Figaro Brothers", "The Treasure Hunters", "Tales of the Thamasans", "The Lone Ninja", "The Adventures of Terra","Outcasts", and "Mechanical Magic" that many FF3 fans on AOL enjoyed greatly. Well, I'm back, only now I'm doing He-man.

And finally, realize that this is writing done by a fan, and is not endorsed by Mattel, or Filmation (they did the cartoon right?), or anybody that has any legal rights to He-man. I enjoy getting comments and feedback so please send them to KCWindham@aol.com. Enjoy!

Eternia. A far-off planet in a far-off galaxy, covered with fields, forests, oceans, swamps, deserts, and mountains, much like Earth. A planet where a strange mix of science and sorcery prevailed. The humans that live upon its soil have experienced a rarely-interrupted peace for centuries, with the only problems being occasional attacks on Eternia City by the monsters that share this planet with the humans. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

Miles away from civilization, on a forgotten plain, an evil presence was about to make itself known. The dry air crackled and sizzled as time and space began to rip apart, and make way for the coming of two travelers. A brilliant blue glow light up the plains and quickly faded. The two dark travelers had arrived.

The first was an evil wizard, with tainted blue skin clad in a deep purple cloak and hood. His face was like that of a human, only without skin or muscle; only a skull sat upon the wizards shoulders, bearing a twisted evil grin. This wizard was known as Skeletor, one of the most dangerous people ever to set foot upon Eternia.

The second traveler was his loyal henchman, the term "man" being used loosely. He was known as Beast Man, for his appearance was like that of a human, only savage, and he was covered in dark orange fur from the top of his head all the way down to his feet. Skins of less fortunate creatures made up his barbarian-like garb, many of the skins covered in dried crimson blood. Beast Man was a tamer of creatures and most of the creatures who's skins he bore had reached this fate but refusing to obey.

"We have arrived, my servant," Skeletor declared, as he triumphantly planted his magic Havoc Staff into the hard soil.

"I had every bit of faith in your spell-casting abilities, master," Beast Man complimented him.

"This place seemed unchanged," Skeletor decided, as he looked around the deserted land,"But I would wager that the rest of Eternia probably has. We'll need to explore this planet, and see what these changes are."

"Where would you have us go first?" asked Beast Man.

"One thing must be checked before any other," replied Skeletor, as he began casting a teleportation spell with his staff,"Brace yourself; we're going to teleport to Snake Mountain."

* * *

"The enemy approaches!" The armor-clad lookout shouted from his post atop the grassy hill. The small horde of armored men that stood upon the hill braced themselves for battle as the enemy army began to ascend.

A battle quickly ensued, as swords clanged, maces smashed into each other, and laser pistols fired. One of the soldiers quickly left the battle and raced back to the very top of the hill, where their leader resided.

"My Prince," the soldier said to their leader, Prince Adam of Eternia City,"The enemy is about to overtake us! You must help us win this fight!"

"No thanks," Prince Adam yawned, as he rested on his hammock,"By the way, have you seen that canteen full of lemonade I brought?"

"I wouldn't go searching too far, because you might get hurt by one of the s-s-s-soldiers!" Adam's green-furred pet jungle cat, Cringer, warned as he lay on the ground beside Adam.

"The battle's over," declared a female soldier who led the enemy forces, as she aimed her laser pistol at Adam's relaxed head,"Bang, bang. You're dead."

"Of course I am,"Adam rolled his eyes at the woman,"Can I go back to the palace now, Teela?"

"That's Captain Teela when I'm in uniform," Teela referred to her gray outfit,"And you've got to start taking these training exercises more seriously. You may have to lead your people into a battle someday. You're twenty-two revolutions old for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, right," remarked the prince,"Wars are a scarce thing in this day in age, if you hadn't noticed."

"But that can change in a heartbeat, Adam," Teela informed.

"That's Prince Adam," Adam corrected her with a grin,"And as Prince I am making it official that this training session is over. Besides, there is something more important that I must turn my royal attention to."

"And what is that?" Teela was losing her patience.

"A play date with Orko," Adam got up off his hammock and started to walk down the hill towards the palace,"C'mon, Cringer!"

"Fine!" Teela fumed,"When an army of monsters attacks Eternia City, you and Orko can just go out and PLAY them into defeat!"

* * *

With a loud bang and an explosion of white-gray smoke, Skeletor and Beast Man arrived outside the hideous structure known as Snake Mountain. Tainted by evil, the stone mountain had been turned into sickening shades of purple, brown, and gray. The rocks embedded in the mountain had been twisted by dark forces so that they appeared as monstrous faces that glared back at all whose eyes focused on them. And as a finishing touch to the horrific image, a gigantic stone snake was wrapped around the entire mountain, with its head glaring open-mouthed at the peak.

Skeletor turned his Havoc Staff so that the sculpted ram's head that rested at the top faced him. Two green light beams shot forth from its eyes and into Skeletor's empty sockets. After a few seconds the beams stopped and Skeletor's eye sockets appeared to glow green. He glared at the mountain, scrutinizing it from its base to its peak, until finally, the green light flickered and died.

"There's no one inside," Skeletor seemed surprised and slightly excited at the same time,"Not a soul."

"Are you certain?" asked Beast Man,"Not a single one of them is living inside?"

"Of course, I'm certain!" Skeletor barked at his henchman,"Time seems to have worn down their empire, as I hoped it would. Snake Mountain will be MY base of operations from now on. Come!" Skeletor began walking towards the mountain.

* * *

Awhile later, after exploring some of the many caverns within Snake Mountain, Skeletor and his follower made it up to the snake's head. Inside, the pair found a throne made out of old bones, which appeared to be strangely preserved for all time, as well as a stone cauldron, which was actually built into the stone floor, filled with a foul green liquid.

"Incredible!" even the great wizard Skeletor was in awe,"There is so much power and magic within this stone structure! And we've barely begun exploring!"

"My feet are tired from all of that walking," the far less-impressed Beast Man whined as he sat down on the bone throne.

"Lazy oaf!" Skeletor aimed his staff at Beast Man and fired a small lighting bolt from it, causing the savage to leap off the throne in pain,"Only I may sit there! Rest on the ground if you must!"

"Sorry, master," Beast Man whimpered as he sat on the stone floor.

"If I am correct, this cauldron can show me everything that transpired in our absence," Skeletor theorized as he peered down at the green liquid. He held his Havoc staff over the cauldron and began to moving it in a circular motion, which somehow caused the green liquid to swirl and bubble.

"It's working.....excellent."

* * *

Perhaps ones of the most curious creatures on all of Eternia was the one named Orko. Not more than three feet tall from top to bottom, the small magician appeared to be not much more than a light-red cloak, a purple scarf, and a brown, crooked, pointed hat. His feet never stuck out (if he even had feet; he's never walked, but always floated above the ground), but he did have funny blue ears that stuck out from holes cut out in the top of his hat, as well as blue hands. While the hat and scarf covered what was probably his head, bright yellow eyes could be seen from the shadows that covered his face. Some might think of such an appearance as frightening, but in actuality, his small frame and funny garb made him look both cute and silly.

On this particular afternoon, Orko was practicing his magic. Apparently, his kind have inborn magical powers, and are good at casting simple, harmless magic spells (however, he's the only one of his kind known to Eternia). The small magician hovered above his bed in the Palace of Eternia City with a black top hat outstretched in one hand, upside down.

"Bunny be far, then bunny be near," he chanted as he wiggled his fingers on his other hand over the hat,"Magical bunny now appear!"

Orko reached into the hat hoping to pull out a fluffy white bunny, but instead pulled out empty air.

"C'mon!" Orko stuck his face into the hat,"There HAS to be a bunny in there!"

Then Orko heard a deep rumbling growl from within the hat, which was followed by the appearance of two deep purple glowing eyes, also from within the hat.

"Who now summons Bunnor of the Krakor Dimension, bastion of terror and pillager of carrots?!" the voice boomed.

"YIKES!!!" Orko quickly took his face out of the hat and hurled it out his open bedroom window. The hat poofed away in a puff of white smoke.

"Phew," Orko breathed a sigh of relief,"Guess I need more practice."

Then he heard a knocking at his door. Orko yanked up his bed covers and pulled them over his face.

"B-b-b-bunnor? Is t-t-t-that you?" Orko quivered.

"It's Adam," came a familiar voice from the other side,"We were supposed to have a game of orbs, right?"

"Come on in, Adam," the small wizard was once again relieved.

"Who's Bunnor?" Adam asked as he opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Uh, nobody," replied Orko, as he retrieved a small leather bag of glass orbs,"Check out what I found!" Orko pulled out a small, glass, marble-like object, which had a golden glow in its center.

"Wow!" Adam was in awe,"A Golden Klunker! Where did you get it?!"

"I found it in the fields outside of the city yesterday. I can't wait to use it!"

"Well, let's start!" the prince climbed down to the floor, as Orko floated down with him. The two of them began flicking their orbs at each other, causing them to roll around and smack into each other, which was the norm in this child's game. After a few minutes of glass ball chaos, the game was suddenly interrupted when one of Adam's orbs collided head on with the Golden Klunker, sending the beautiful orb back into a grate in the floor used for the palace's heating and cooling system.

"Oh no!" Orko gasped, as he watched his treasured toy roll helplessly out of his reach. A few seconds later they both heard a thud, signifying that the orb had stopped its descent into the heating duct. The two of them yanked at the grate, but it was bolted down tight.

"How are we going to get it?" Orko wondered.

"Maybe Duncan has something in his workshop that can help us," Adam pondered.

"Well let's get going!" Orko hurriedly floated out of the room, followed by Adam.

* * *

After what seemed to Beast Man like an eternity, Skeletor finally moved his gaze away from the cauldron.

"It's almost perfect!" cackled Skeletor,"Both of my enemies have been utterly vanquished! Even better, an era of peace has reigned for years, which means the citizens of Eternia are, for the most part, inexperienced combatants! If I can utilize the element of surprise, Eternia will be mine before the next sunrise!"

" The Sorceress of Castle Greyskull still lives, however," continued Skeletor,"She'll remain a threat to me as long as she has the Power Sword of Castle Greyskull! We'll have to do something about her. Greyskull is where we need to gain access to anyway, if I am to gain the infinite power I seek!"

"Castle Greyskull? I don't understand," Beast Man was puzzled,"And what about the-"

"I don't have time to explain it all now!" Skeletor barked,"She will no doubt have a magical barrier cast around the walls of the castle. We'll need a source of immense magical power in order to break it!"

The evil wizard cast another spell, causing the cauldron to swirl and bubble once more.

"The powers of Snake Mountain have detected a source of incredible magical power, emanating from a very rare and valuable object," Skeletor announced as he looked into the cauldron,"It is at the Palace of Eternia City. We'll have to expose ourselves to the citizens a little prematurely, but I doubt any of them has the ability to stop me, anyway!"

"Summon a small army of creatures, Beast Man," Skeletor commanded,"In one hour, we leave for the Palace!"

* * *

Gizmos, gadgets, strange and unusual weapons, high-tech vehicles, and electronic equipment filled the large workshop of Duncan, the head technician, mechanic, and scientist of the palace. He was also a close friend of King Randor, who ruled Eternia City, and Duncan had called the palace home since his 23-year-old daughter Teela was an infant. But besides have an incredible mind, Duncan was also a skilled combatant, and was known by some as Eternia City's "Man-At-Arms".

Soon after Prince Adam and Orko entered the large workshop/garage, they realized that Duncan was not there.

"Where's Duncan?" Orko wondered,"He practically lives in this place!"

"Maybe he took a lunch break," Adam supposed,"Let's try to find something to rescue your Golden Klunker."

The two of them searched over all the strange and wondrous devices, but neither of them had a clue what any of them did.

"This is hopeless," Adam decided,"Let's just wait for Duncan."

"Alright,"Orko sighed and rested his shadowed head in his hands.

"Prince Adam..." a strange and haunting voice suddenly entered Adam's mind.

"What was that?" Adam looked around for the source of the voice.

"What was what?" wondered Orko, who hadn't heard the voice.

"Prince Adam...come to castle Greyskull..." Adam heard the voice again.

"That," replied Adam,"That woman's voice."

"I didn't hear anybody," Orko looked at him oddly.

"Prince Adam...please...you must come to Castle Greyskull at once..." the voice was insistent.

"It won't leave me alone!" Adam was starting to get annoyed,"She keeps saying to come to Castle Greyskull!"

"Castle Greyskull??" Orko jumped,"Isn't that place haunted??"

"It must be, but I feel like I have to go there in order to get this voice out of my head!" Adam had his hands on his head, and his eyes clenched, as the voice kept repeating its message over and over. He walked over to Duncan's new Wind Raider, which was a green flying vehicle similar to a car, only with no roof, wings, and rocket thrusters.

"Wait!" Orko warned,"Duncan said we weren't allowed to play with that!" The two of them had already asked Duncan more than once.

"I know, but I have to do this or I'm afraid I'll lose my sanity!" Adam insisted, as he found the switch that started up the engine.

"Well, I'm coming along, too!" Orko hopped into the passenger seat of the cockpit, both concerned for his friend and lured by the possibility that this could turn into a fun adventure.

A large hangar door slid open automatically, as the Wind Raider blasted out of the workshop and took off into the air. The engines were so loud that the two of them didn't even notice the recently-returned Duncan running outside after them.

"Wait! That hasn't been fully tested yet!" he hollered futilely at the sky as the Wind Raider disappeared from view.

"When will they ever learn!" Duncan grumbled as he hopped into the driver's seat of the Attack Trak, an all-terrain ground vehicle, and sped off after them.

* * *

Due to the fact that the Wind Raider was built for very high speeds, it didn't take the prince and the magician very long to cover the full day's journey to Castle Greyskull.

"Wow, it sure is eerie looking," Orko gazed down at the ancient green-gray stones and the giant stone skull built into the front wall.

"Alright, now all I have to do is land," said Adam.

Unfortunately, as soon as he hit the button to start initiating the landing sequence, the small video console on the dashboard greeted him with a "LANDING PROGRAM FAILURE" message.

"Um, that's not supposed to happen, is it?" said Orko, who knew a lot less about operating vehicles than Adam did. The answer was even more obvious, as the nose of the Wind Raider pointed at the ground below.

"The controls won't respond!" Adam became terrified,"Do you know any magic that can save us?!"

"Um," Orko quickly scanned his memory,"I think I know something! The fall to the ground is very long, so give us something soft to land on!" Orko chanted as the wiggled his fingers and sparking dust sprinkled out.

The two of them leaped out of the falling Wind Raider, as they saw something large begin to appear on the ground below by magic. They hit with a thud, but due to Orko's spell it was not a lethal impact. In fact, they both soon realized that they had nothing more than a few bumps and bruises.

"You did it Orko!" Adam cheered, and then he realized the pile of softness they both landed on was made up of rotten fruit. They both gagged a little as they wiped the brown mush from their clothes and hair (well, Adam's hair).

"Oops, I was hoping for pillows," said Orko.

"It's okay, at least we're safe," Adam reassured him.

"You two aren't going to be safe when I'm through with you!" Duncan had caught up, and was getting off the parked Attack Trak,"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times; don't play with my inventions!"

"Sorry, Duncan," Adam apologized,"But we weren't playing! There's this female voice that keeps telling me to come to Castle Greyskull! She won't get out of my head!"

"What?" Duncan's jaw dropped in awe.

Suddenly, an image of a woman dressed in white, blue, and orange feathers, bearing a falcon's head on top of her own was projected in front of the trio.

"It was I who summoned you telepathically, Prince Adam," explained the woman,"I am the Sorceress of Castle Greyskull. I have served as its guardian for eons."

"Why did you summon me?" asked the prince.

"A great evil has recently reappeared on Eternia's soil; a dark wizard known as Skeletor. I foresee that he will do great harm to Eternia if not stopped, as he seeks to conquer it and all its people. He wishes to enter Castle Greyskull and gain access to great power, and I alone may not be enough to stop him. I sense a certain light within you, Prince Adam. I wish to bestow the power of Eternia's greatest warrior, the He-man, upon you."

"What?" responded Adam in disbelief,"You want to turn me into some great mythical warrior so I can fight one lone wizard? Eternia City has an entire army of trained warriors. Let them handle him. I'm meant to rule, not fight."

"I cannot force you," replied the Sorceress,"But you must realize that this one wizard can pose a threat greater than an entire army!"

"I doubt that," Adam was skeptical,"And even if what you say is true, why not just find someone else to turn into the He-man, or whatever. Sorry, but I just don't need something like becoming Eternia's mightiest warrior in my life right now. And please, stop talking in my head."

"You have made your decision," the Sorceress realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere with him,"But I fear that your laziness and skepticism may be your downfall, perhaps Eternia's downfall."

The image faded away as quickly as it had appeared.

"I hope you made the right decision," said Duncan, who thought Adam has been a bit selfish, but at the same time could understand his response since the lad never had seemed fit for the life of a warrior and it did sound like a huge undertaking.

The three of them got into the Attack Trak and headed back for the palace so that Duncan could get a larger vehicle to tow the remains of the still smoking Wind Raider.

* * *

"Are your new minions ready?" Skeletor gazed upon the short, forest savages that Beast Man had found in the dark forests near Snake Mountain. They all looked about the same; humanoid with dark purple-gray fur, and faces similar to wolves. They were nearly mindless savages, which made it easy for Beast Man to control them with the strange hypnotic power he had over lesser beasts.

"They will obey my every command, Lord Skeletor," Beast Man assured him.

"Then let us begone!" Skeletor aimed his staff and shot a bolt of blue magic from it, creating a small portal to the palace. He marched out of the throne chamber of Snake Mountain and into the portal, followed by Beast Man and about fifty blood-thirsty forest savages.

* * *

The royal guards of the Palace of Eternia City had a particularly boring job. The city had been at peace for so long that no one ever tried to attack the palace. So when the magical blue portal appeared and Skeletor, Beast Man, and a whole army of forest savages poured out, the guards were definitely caught off guard.

The savages carried no weapons; their strength, teeth, and sharp claws were all they needed. Beast Man carried a whip, and was very good at disarming the armed guards with it, and was also inhumanly strong himself. Skeletor was very good at fighting hand-to-hand with his Havoc Staff, and didn't hesitate to fire magic force bolts from it.

As the mass of evil beings made their way through the entrance and the halls of the great palace, taking out the castle guards they found throughout the building with ease. They reached a grand dining hall, and that was when Teela and a small battalion of human soldiers appeared and began to give the army of evil a real fight.

"Do not let them get past this dining hall!" Teela commanded her warriors. The battle was going decently, but she wondered exactly who or what they were fighting, and how long they could keep up their current pace.

"Keep them busy," Skeletor commanded Beast Man,"We must be near the throne room. I'll go on ahead and get to the king."

Skeletor vanished in a puff of smoke which teleported him outside the dining hall. He hurried through the halls, quickly searching for the throne room. The magic object was probably a well guarded treasure, and was probably well hidden. The king would be able to tell him where to find it.

Finally, he found a great wooden double door, with a golden trim around it, and golden handles.

"This must be it!" Skeletor decided as he blasted open the doors with his staff.

The evil wizard was correct. Inside were two thrones, one for King Randor and the other for Queen Marlena. Both were occupied by the respective rulers, who were shocked at Skeletor's sudden entry and terrified by his undead appearance.

"What do you want?" the King asked as he trembled.

"You are in possession of an object with immense magical properties," Skeletor replied,"I demand that you hand it over now!"

"You must mean the Ruby of Randor," the King deduced,"But it's been in my family for centuries! We need it to perform the Kinghood ceremony!"

"Maybe you'll answer differently if you see your wife incinerated before your eyes!" Skeletor aimed his staff at the Queen.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Randor begged," I'll give the ruby to you."

The King got off his throne and pushed it to the left, revealing a hidden safe. He punched the keys on the keypad lock and the safe popped open. Randor handed over the small shiny ruby to Skeletor. The wizard looked down at the ruby, as it glowed with a seemingly magic shine.

"This is a magical ruby, but it has no wear near the power of the object I seek!" Skeletor angrily scaled the beautiful ruby to the floor as if it were only a stone,"You can't fool me! There is something else here and if you don't give it to me, you will both die!"

Skeletor aimed his staff at the two monarchs, as they trembled in fright.

"Drop the staff, you walking corpse!" Teela had her laser pistol aimed at Skeletor's back.

"Or you'll do what?" Skeletor turned his head around and gave her an evil grin.

Teela fired at Skeletor and the blast caused him to stumble a little. His back stung a little bit, but the blast didn't affect him anywhere near as much as it would a human.

"I don't know what kind of magic that was, but it is far less powerful than what I'm capable of," Skeletor informed her, as he aimed his staff at her head,"Let me show you!"

He fired a heat blast, but the nimble Captain dropped to the floor and ducked out of the way. Skeletor kept firing, but Teela managed to dodge every blast.

"Hold still!" Skeletor was losing his patience.

"Ha! I thought you were supposed to be powerful!" Teela mocked him.

Suddenly Teela tripped and fell to the floor. Skeletor was about to capitalize on her mistake, when three new comers entered the room.

"Stay away from my daughter, monster!" Duncan slammed into Skeletor, knocking him to the ground.

"Um, I think I'll just stay back here," said Orko, who kept back by the doorway. Adam, though worried about his parents and friends, stayed back as well.

"Enough!" A magic blast exploded from Skeletor's body, knocking back Teela and her father.

"I've grown tired of this game!" Skeletor shouted as he got to his feet.

"Then you shouldn't dish it out, if you can't take it!" Teela tried to leap to her feet, but realized she couldn't move anything but her mouth. In fact, the others couldn't either.

"I want the object of magic that you have here in this palace, and I want it now!" Skeletor demanded.

"But I don't know what it is that you seek!" the King told him,"The ruby is the only magic object we keep here!"

"Very well, then," replied Skeletor,"My minions and I will just have to search the palace for it ourselves. After I've obliterated all of you, of course."

Skeletor raised his staff, and was about a half a second from annihilating the king when Duncan suddenly interrupted.

"Wait! I know what you are after!" Duncan's mind quickly raced to form a plan. Skeletor turned to face him.

"I am giving you one chance," Skeletor glared at him with his hollow eyes,"Where is the object?"

"It's locked away," answered Duncan,"It has a magic lock guarding it that can only be opened by royalty at sunrise."

Skeletor continued his glare, and Duncan realized he wasn't buying it.

"Please you must believe me!" Duncan pleaded,"It sounds far-fetched, but do you dare take the chance of killing us and not being able to acquire it?"

"Very well!" Skeletor barked after a long pause,"Meet me outside Castle Greyskull a half hour after sunrise."

"It will be done," Duncan agreed.

"And just to make sure you don't double-cross me," Skeletor added,"I'm taking the king, the queen, and this arrogant warrior wench as hostages!"

"But we need royalty to open up the lock," Duncan restated.

"I happen to know that this palace also houses a prince," Skeletor recalled information given to him by the cauldron at Snake Mountain,"He will do it. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Skeletor, Randor, Marlena, and Teela all vanished in a puff of smoke, and Orko, Duncan, and Adam were free to move again.

"I didn't realize we had magic items here in the palace," said Orko.

"We don't, other than that ruby," explained Duncan,"It was a bluff to buy us some time. Now we have until a half hour after sunrise to come up with a plan to save the king, the queen, and my daughter."

"That must have been the evil wizard," the reality of what the Sorceress had said was sinking into Adam's mind,"And our army couldn't stop him, just like the Sorceress told us. Not even skilled warriors like you and Teela could stop him."

"Duncan will think of a way to beat him," Orko tried to reassure his friend.

"But if I had become that warrior that the Sorceress wanted to transform me into, I might have been able to beat the wizard and not put my parent's or my friend's lives at stake," tears began to form in Adam's eyes.

"You may be right, Adam," Duncan agreed,"But you didn't know this would happen, and the role sounded like it would be overwhelming. Besides, there's no time for regret now. We have to come up with a plan to save our friends and beat this Skeletor!"

Duncan glanced out the window at the setting sun and realized that they had merely hours to seemingly do the impossible.

To Be Continued!