Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After Horde Prime destroyed the First One’s empire, everyone believed that they were completely eradicated from the universe; decimated, extinct, gone. However, the revelations of a young woman torn across space and dimensions revealed that, somewhere, they remained.

In fact, the First Ones survived on their home planet of Eternia, using the little magic they had left to cloak it from the grasps of the Horde. And there they remained, weak but alive, and slowly forgetting their history.

On Eternia, a royal house still rules, descended from the old king Grayskull who had observed the empire at its height. In the royal castle resided King Rancor, his wife Queen Marlena, and their son and heir, Prince Adam.

…

“Come on, Cringer. It’s just Duncan and Orko. You’ve known them for how long now?” Adam laughed as he tried to coax the green cat out from under the table where it hid. Cringer only hissed back, causing Adam to back off and stand back up. “Nope. Doesn’t look like he’s coming out any time soon.” He turned, facing his friends.

“If he doesn’t want to play, we really should just leave him alone,” Orko said, timidly. Orko was short, much shorter than either Duncan or Adam, and most of his body was obscured by the red robe and big hat he wore, leaving only his blue hands and ears poking out into the light. He was the king’s jester, and entertained the court with magic tricks and tomfoolery.

Duncan shrugged. “I guess.” Duncan was tall and muscular. He was only a bit older than the prince, and they’ve been friends for most of their lives. He was a guard, and was tasked with keeping prince Adam safe, which was a great excuse for the two to spend time together.

“Hey, do you guys want to see a trick I’ve been working on?” Orko began leading the other two away from the cat and towards another table.

“Last time you ‘showed us a trick’, I ended up with eggs in my hair,” Duncan muttered while he followed.

“Nononono, nothing like that this time. I promise!” Orko chuckled and gestured to the table, on top of which were a cloth and several dishes. “Look. I don’t even have to use real magic for this one. It’s just… a trick. Not a magic trick!”

Duncan tapped his foot, arms crossed.

“Ok, so, I just grab the edge of the cloth like this,” Orko began, blue hands gripping the corners. “And then I pull reeeaaally quickly, and everything is fine!”

“I don’t like where-”

Before Duncan could finish voicing his concerns, Orko pulled on the cloth and sent the dishes flying off the table and crashing onto the ground. Duncan just sighed, having already come to terms with the disaster he expected. 

It wasn’t long before some guards came in to see what the ruckus was about. “For Grayskull’s sake… Orko!”

Duncan stepped away from the jester. “Hey, I told him he shouldn’t-”

“You too, mister. Clearly he was doing something dumb, and you didn’t bother to stop him.”

“I-”

“I won’t hear it. You allow Orko to get away with too much- and around the prince, no less. You need to take more responsibility for…”

Prince Adam began to back away. He wouldn’t get in trouble for this- he was the crown prince, after all- but he didn’t want to see his friends get in trouble. So he decided he’d go somewhere else where he didn’t have to see it. Quickly, he passed through a hall, and his cat came out of hiding to follow shortly after.

“Of course I feel bad,” Adam said looking down at his cat as they walked through the empty halls. “But it isn’t like I could’ve helped them.” He felt like Cringer was looking at him judgingly. “Ugh. Fine. I’ll go back and-”

But before he could turn around to help Duncan and Orko, a booming sound thundered through the castle, as well as an echoing laugh. Curious, Adam slowly sneaked to its source, the front hall of the castle.

There an army of robots spilled in, rounding up the guards and quickly put an end to any resistance. Following them came the source of the laughter: a man clad in blue and the face of a skeleton.

Adam knew he couldn’t stay here. He backed away and turned around, looking for an exit, any exit he could find. His gaze found a window where a falcon was perched. He stared at it, eyes locked together. It felt like time froze, and Adam swore the bird’s eyes glowed. The falcon then blinked at him before raising its wings and flying away.

“Cringer, stay close.”

Adam ran to the window and looked down. There was a drop, but it wasn’t that bad… He looked up. He could still see the bird. He could follow it. Why did he want to follow it? The prince gathered the courage he could and pulled himself through the window, dropping onto the ground with a thud. Cringer followed, jumping to Adam’s arms.

Adam made his way out of the castle walls. There were no robots out here, thankfully. They all appeared to be inside, doing… something. He couldn’t bear to think of what may be happening to his friends and family right now. He wanted to stay, help, but… he wouldn’t be any help. Adam was never a fighter, never a leader. He was clumsy and spoiled. And even if he could help, he…

He had to follow the falcon. He turned away from his castle, thoughts focusing on the bird that had led him to this temporary safety. He breathed. And he ran, following the bird through fields and forests, however long it took to get wherever he needed to be, because he knew the bird was leading him to where he needed to be.

Finally, he slowed down to a walk. He could see where he was being led. A massive, old building. Was it a castle? A… temple of some kind? It appeared to be a mix of  dark stone and bright crystal. On the front there was a massive skull. Perched in an eye socket was the falcon, once again staring at the prince. As Adam approached, the mouth of the skull opened, jaw rotating until there was enough space to enter.

Inside, the place was lined with crystal-like material. The jaw closed behind Adam and Cringer. Flickering on, bright light filled the room and a figure was projected in front of the prince.

“A suitable host. Royal.” The projection stood as a tall woman, wings under her arms. “A descendant of Grayskull. Very good.” It stared at Adam, and he felt frozen in place.

“Host? Grayskull? What?” The floor beneath him began to lift up, and he was brought in front of the face of the woman.

“And a suitable companion. Hmm. He’s not perfect, but… he’ll have to do.”

Adam was lowered back down. “Ok, explain what’s going on right now,” he yelled angrily. He silently cursed the fact that he was now locked in here and couldn’t leave.

“Prince Adam, your planet holds more power than you know. And it needs you. It has chosen you. You are descended from a mighty people, and if you do not act, you will be the last of them.”

“What? What does that mean? What does any of this-”

“There is no time. In the future, answers will come. But for now, you know what to do.”

The figure disappeared, leaving the podium behind her visible. Adam walked closer, holding his breath in anticipation. A blade rested on the podium, and Adam grabbed it. The whole sword was a piece of technology, pulsating with magic and power. And just as the woman had told him, he knew what to do.

“By the power of Grayskull!-”

Chapter Text

“-I have the power!”

Suddenly, Adam was transformed. He was taller, more muscular. His princely clothes had been replaced with… barely anything. His usually gray eyes glowed blue. He could feel power flowing through him, through each vein and fiber of muscle. He looked over at Cringer, who was also transformed, into a large beast. His green fur was now accented with gold stripes, and armor adorned him, including what looked to be a saddle.

Riding back on ‘Battle Cat’, Adam focused his gaze on the castle. He didn’t understand… well, anything. But he felt the power. He knew he had to save his family, and if the woman was right… he had to protect everything. Whoever the man in the blue was, he was dangerous.

It didn’t take him long to return to his castle. Battle Cat was fast, and soon Adam and his mount crashed through the castle gates. The robots that had invaded earlier now lunged at Adam, trying to halt his progress, but his sword and Cringer made quick work of them- slashing, dicing, the sword cut through the metal of the robots like butter. Battle Cat’s claws sliced their wires, and his teeth crushed their memory banks. Together they destroyed the first wave, unscathed.

When they reached the throne room, the duo burst through the door, the slamming of it against the walls echoing through the hall. On the throne sat the man in blue, who quickly stood up, eye sockets wide in disbelief.

“He-Man? It can’t be… Robots! Destroy!”

Before Adam and Cringer could charge forward, a swarm of mechanized warriors filled the room and attacked them. They held spears and thrust at them, but the points bent against Battle Cat’s armor and shattered when Adam parried them. It was like the magic flowing through him made them invincible. The prince slashed, cutting the heads off the spears and allowing Cringer to tear the robots to shreds with his claws and teeth. Adam dismounted and gave chase to the now fleeing skeleton, letting his cat deal with the mechanical foot soldiers.

“Turn around and face me!” He-Man was faster than the skeleton, his legs sent him flying down the hall in a sprint. He caught up to the fleeing man and pushed him into a wall.

“I know not why you’ve returned, He-Man,” The skeleton squirmed under Adam’s grasp. “But it will be futile. I am so close already. Eternia will fall!” He burst into laughter. 

Adam considered killing him right now. But no, he needed answers. He could let the king imprison him. He grabbed the skeleton by the wrists and pulled him away from the wall. “Where is the king?”

“Yes, you’ve won the battle today, but that doesn’t mean I have to make this easy for you.” Suddenly, the body fell limp, as the bones that made up his body fell to the ground and out of the robe, leaving it empty. His skull hit the ground with a particularly loud thud, cracking up the length of the forehead.

But it wasn’t over. He still had to find the king- and destroy any more robots that may be left in the castle.

Adam’s first instinct was to check the dungeon. Indeed, he saw the same mechanized robots guarding a cell that was packed with everyone that was in the castle when it was invaded. Quickly, He-Man destroyed the robots and slashed open the cell door, freeing everyone. They looked at him in awe.

“You are saved,” He-Man began. “The skeleton is… no longer animate. The robots are defeated.”

It was silent for a moment as they stared at him- how could they not be shocked? A half-naked man of pure muscle had just saved them. But then, someone began to clap. And someone else. And cheering began. The crowd flooded out of the cell and picked up He-Man, carrying him back to the throne room in praise and cheer.

“Savior, what is your name?” The king asked. “We cannot thank you enough for saving our kingdom, and all of us.”

Adam thought for a second. What was he? He wasn’t ‘Prince Adam’. The skeleton had called him something… ‘He-Man.’ That name felt familiar to him, like something he’d heard in a bedtime story growing up.

“I am He-Man.”

As the words left him, he remembered. The mythical warrior who protected Eternia. From a time of the barely-remembered Empire, when the Eternians extended beyond the stars.

“And I have returned in your time of need.”

He knew he couldn’t stay much longer. He had to be back as ‘Prince Adam’ before anyone realized he was missing.

“And I will return again when I am needed. For now, I must leave and rest.” He whistled and Battle Cat came into the room, dropping a robot onto the floor from his mouth. He-Man mounted him and they rode out the door.

Back as Prince Adam, Adam snuck his way into the back of the crowd, staring out at the door along with everyone else. Everyone was filled with disbelief at what had happened, and it felt like they were frozen for several minutes before the crowd slowly started to disperse.

“Father, what was… that?”

Once the throne room was mostly clear, Adam posed this question to his father.

“Son, I am not entirely sure. But…” he shook his head. “The world is changing. We’ve crossed a threshold. He-Man is back. Skeletor is-”

“-Skeletor?” Adam interjected.

“Yes, Skeletor. He never was a real threat. Until today, apparently. We’ve known about him, but it’s been decades since he’s tried anything like this.”

“Why did he decide today, then?”

“I don’t know.”

“And why did He-Man show up just when-”

“Son, I am just as lost as you are. Please… let me have some space.”

Adam looked down at the floor. He wasn’t going to get the answers he needed from his father, it seemed. “Yes, father.” He took a deep breath and made his way to his room, Cringer following shortly behind.

Chapter Text

“Guys, you have to promise that you won’t tell anyone this.”

Prince Adam had brought his friends, Duncan and Orko, into his room and sat them down so he could tell him his secret. “Because it’s really important that you don’t tell anyone.”

The pair looked at him expectantly, giving a soft nod.

“No, I need to hear you say you’ll keep it a secret.”

“I promise to keep it a secret.”

“I won’t tell anybody.”

The two spoke at the same time, but it was good enough for Adam. He took a deep breath and pulled out the sword, popping into view from seemingly nowhere.

“I’m He-Man. I think. At least this sword turned me into him.”

Duncan and Orko stared at Adam in disbelief. The sword looked like the Power Sword that He-Man wielded, but it couldn’t be.

“Are you being serious?” Asked Duncan, crossing his arms and looking sternly at his friend. Even if it seemed unlikely, this wasn’t something Adam would joke about.

“Yes, Duncan. I am being one hundred percent serious. I can’t do it here, but… Here, I can show you. And tell you everything on the way.” He returned the sword to his back, hidden once more.

“Wait. How did it do that?” Orko seemed incredibly confused.

“Do what?”

“That. It… disappeared.”

Adam pulled it back out, spun it in his hand, and placed it on his back once more. “I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it. I guess it just… can do that.”

Orko shook off the confusion. “Ok, fine. You’re He-Man?”

“Yes, I just said that.”

“...I don’t get it.”

Adam sighed. He stood up. “I need to show you guys something. Well, somewhere. I’ll explain how I got the sword on the way.”

…

Creaking to life, a skeleton gasped for a breath of stale cave air, only to find that it didn’t have lungs. The memories began to return to it. It pulled itself together and sat up from a pile of bones, a light field of magic surrounding it. A low growl escaped the skull. Skeletor still had plenty of corpses to possess, but it still made him unhappy each time he had to waste one.

He stood up and looked around. He walked to a wall where he kept a table lined with small, expensive pottery he had gathered over the centuries of his undeath and picked one up.

“Hmph.”

With all his might, he tossed it into a wall, smashing it to dust. At the sound, a zombie minion of his entered the room and looked around.

“Get a broom and clean this mess up! And bring me a robe!” Skeletor yelled at the zombie, which quickly left the room to avoid his immediate wrath, leaving the skeleton by his lonesome once more.

“He-Man… why did he show up now of all the times he could’ve?” He slammed his bony hand into the wall. “That damned Sorceress couldn’t stay dormant for another month? The crown was basically laid at my feet.”

He sighed and slumped down the wall until he was kneeling and crouched over. 

“No matter. I know better than these idiots who walk the surface. He-Man is not an invincible god. All I need is some more… firepower.”

…

After having explained everything to Duncan and Orko on their way to the place the falcon had brought him, they eventually arrived. The trio stood in front of the structure, watching the massive skull, waiting for it to open. After a while of it not doing anything, Adam stepped closer to examine it.

“Hold on, it says something here.” The writing was obscured, and old, but after Adam brushed off the dust, he could read it. “Eternia.”

The skull began to creak and slide open, causing Adam to jump back in surprise. Well, at least that worked. He looked back to his friends and lead them inside towards where he was given the sword.

The hologram flickered to life. Blinking, she looked down at the trio. “Ah, the prince has returned. I assume you have questions.”

“Uh, yeah. I do. What are you? Why am I He-Man? What is He-Man? What am I supposed to do?”

The projection flickered. “I am The Sorceress, protector of Castle Grayskull and the Power Sword. You are He-Man because you are a descendant of King Grayskull, are native Eternian, and have good in your heart. He-Man is a being created to protect our homeworld of Eternia. You are supposed to protect Eternia.”

Those were the questions he asked, but they weren’t satisfactory to Adam. “I’m still missing something. Wh-”

“Would you like me to start from the beginning?”

“YES! That’s a great idea. Thank you.”

The Sorceress’s projection turned smaller to make room for a hologram, which displayed an ancient Eternia.

“Long ago, Eternia was a bastion of magic in the universe. He-Man was a manifestation of this magic- the guardian spirit of Eternia, who would show up in our planet’s time of need.”

Time sped up on the hologram, showing centuries of technological advancement.

“As our technological prowess grew, we managed to combine magic into technology. This allowed us to travel to and colonize other planets. Soon, the Eternians had an empire spanning across the universe. Magic was common, but we realized it was finite. We searched for a planet with excess, and eventually we discovered it. Etheria. A planet filled with magic, magnitudes more than anything we’d ever seen before.”

The hologram changed and displayed a tall woman with long hair and a sword resembling the Power Sword.

“The Etherians had a guardian spirit of their own- She-Ra. Just as strong as our He-Man, if even stronger. The colonization of Etheria was peaceful, but we were worried that if it were to stop being peaceful, we would be forever forced away from the magic we needed.”

Then the hologram turned into an old man sitting on a throne.

“King Grayskull started a research program, one which would allow us to channel these guardian spirits into our own people. It started with He-Man, one of our own, and after several years we created the Power Sword. This allowed He-Man to be channeled by any Eternian designated to be worthy by me, the Sorceress.”

The hologram flickered and shifted to a sword.

“After that, creating the Sword of Protection was easy, and She-Ra was firmly on the side of the Eternians. Our colonization remained peaceful, however, and was only stopped when one of our own went against our plans and, tragically, destroyed any trace of the planet and the magic it contained.”

The sorceress displayed a large ship floating through space.

“Shortly after, we were attacked by the Horde, and without the magic of Etheria, our empire was unceremoniously destroyed, and the universe fell under the shadow of Horde Prime. The last He-Man had sacrificed his power to hide Eternia from his clutches, letting his people survive.”

Adam took a moment to take that all in. It was certainly a lot. Almost too much for him to handle in such a short time frame.

“Then why was I given the Power Sword? If He-Man’s magic was being used to hide Eternia, isn’t me using it taking away from that?”

“Yes,” the Sorceress began. “You are only being given access to the Power Sword because a force on this planet seeks to reveal Eternia to the Horde, and he was dangerously close to doing so. It is risky and dangerous, but necessary.”

“So, giving the sword to Adam is gnawing off your own leg to get out of a trap?” Duncan spoke up, deciding he didn’t want to silently listen anymore.

“Precisely. Once this threat is dealt with, the sword should be returned to its post in Castle Grayskull.”

“And then I assume this ‘threat’ is Skeletor. Who even is he? What’s his goal?”

“Skeletor is, or rather was, a traitor. He worked against us even when the Horde was one man taking over a single planet. He practiced dark magic, which allowed him to extend his life by separating his soul from his body and inhabiting corpses. He was trapped on Eternia when the planet was hidden, and seeks to destroy its protection and reveal it to the Horde in hope for favor and riches.”

“And how was he ‘dangerously close’ to doing that?”

The Sorceress sighed. “He has a legitimate claim to the royal throne of Eternia, and if he were to seize it, I would be unable to oppose him, as I am programmed to serve the King. That is why you being an heir of King Grayskull was important- in order for him to get the throne, he would have to kill you so that you couldn’t counter his claim.”

“Oh.” Silence filled the room after that. Adam rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of a way to continue this. He didn’t have any more questions to ask- frankly, it was a lot, and he’d need some time to process it all. “Ok. Thank you. I’ll be back when I have more questions.”

“And I will be here when you need me.” The Sorceress blinked. “My falcon will continue to watch over you. If I need to talk to you, you will know.” The hologram flickered off, leaving the trio of friends in the dark of the castle.

Chapter Text

As long as Adam had known her, Teela was a strong and assertive woman, and one of the few people who seemed to not care that he was royalty. Perhaps her early life as an impoverished orphan had made her more cynical, even after the castle’s head guard adopted her. Her initial hatred of the royal family did soften a bit as she grew into an adult, and now she seemed to tolerate them. There was no way to know what exactly was going on in her head, Adam thought. Her face revealed nothing of her thoughts.

“What, do I have something in my teeth?”

Adam blinked and shook his head. “Uh, no. I was just spaced out for a moment.” He chuckled, trying to laugh it off. He didn’t realize he’d been staring.

“Don’t space off in my direction next time.” She sighed and looked away from the prince, shaking her head.

“Yeah. Got it. I’ll try not to…” Before Adam could finish, Teela had gotten up and walked away. He sighed in defeat and stood up himself, watching the door she left the sitting room through for a moment before finding a different exit.

Just because Adam was He-Man, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a somewhat normal life. Even if the ball tonight would make the castle an easy target. But that was even more reason for him to be there- and, of course, he shouldn’t let himself draw suspicion by refusing to go to such an event. Returning to his room, Adam double-checked his prepared outfit, making sure there weren’t any creases in the midnight blue tailcoat, nor any unexpected cat claw marks in his black trousers like there were last year.

But, thankfully, everything seemed to be in order. Adam knew that this night could go really well. Or it could go really badly.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Adam adjusted the suit. It seemed to be fine. He pulled out the power sword to check that he had it before putting it back… wherever it went when he wasn’t using it.

At his feet, Cringer paced around in a circle. The cat was smart enough to know that Adam was going to go somewhere, and of course he wanted to come too.

“Are you ready, buddy?” He crouched down and smiled at him.

“Yes,” the cat replied, to Adam’s great surprise, sending the prince falling backward onto the floor.

“What?! You can talk?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when?”

“Since you got the sword and turned me into the big cat.”

“Why are you just talking now!?”

“...I’m shy.”

Adam sighed and pulled himself back upright. “Fair enough. Just… please don’t give it away. That you can talk.”

“Mhm.”

Standing back up, Adam brushed any dust that had gotten on his clothes when he fell. “Stay by the ballroom. I, uh, have a feeling Skeletor might make a move tonight and it’d be nice to have you close by when he shows up.”

With Cringer walking by his side, Adam made his way to the ballroom. The actual party wouldn’t start until later, but he wanted to be there early to investigate the area.

The large room was nearly empty, with the only people in it being some servants who were laying out tables where food and drink would go. Adam gave them time to finish setting up and then made them all take a break.

He proceeded to check every corner of the room, under each table, through each exit and entrance, and even scaled a wall to check the high windows for anything suspicious.

But no, everything seemed to be in place. There was no sign of meddling. That was good- he’d just stay here and continue keeping watch until something happened. And he was sure something would.

Eventually, people began to enter the room. Adam made a mental note of each person. The servants bringing in food, the nobility who came from far away to attend, and his parents. 

“Hey, are you ok?”

Adam jumped at the unexpected sound of Duncan’s voice. “Oh, uh, yeah. I didn’t see you come in.” He quickly regained his composure and gave him a smile.

“I came in through the kitchen, I was-” he shook his head and made himself stay on topic. “No, you don’t look too good right now. You shouldn’t worry so much-“

“I’m not worried, Duncan. I’m vigilant.” He turned away from his friend and sighed. “It’s the perfect night for an attack. I have to be ready for when Skeletor shows up.”

“You’re fine. There’s guards watching every crevice in this castle. Go enjoy yourself.” He lightly pushed Adam out towards the dance floor. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay here and keep watch. Fair?”

Adam sighed. “Yeah, fair.” He wasn’t going to talk Duncan out of this. He could at least pretend to have fun until he was satisfied enough to let him get back to it.

Music filled the room as people danced across the floor in regular patterns. From above it would’ve looked mesmerizing, but even from the floor the movements were beautiful. Adam let himself into the crowd, joining the pattern of up and down, in and out, and rotating partners. He tried to not get distracted by it, and his eyes flickered between the entrances.

“Why, hello.”

Adam looked down to the woman across from him who he was dancing with now. He hadn’t seen her before. “Oh, hi. You are..?”

“Evelyn.” She smiled. “Marchioness of Morainia. And I already know who you are, Prince Adam.”

“You came a long way for a ball,” Adam said. Before he could ask her why she came, the dance moved on, partners swapped, and she drifted far away into the sea of people.

“Who even was that?”

Adam looked back towards his new dance partner- Teela.

“Marchioness of Morainia,” Adam replied.

“That’s so far. Must’ve taken her days to get here.” She squeezed Adam’s hand lightly as the music began to slow.

Adam diverted his gaze from Teela and towards the window where he saw something in the corner of his eye; the falcon from earlier.

“Damnit,” he muttered, quickly excusing himself from the dance floor and away from Teela, leaving her alone until partners rotated once again.

The falcon flew off, leaving Adam to chase it until it had brought him to just outside the armory.

“There’s something in here?”

The falcon gave him a slow nod before flying away.

Adam pulled the power sword out and prepared himself. He could hear something going on in there.

“By the power of Grayskull!”

Kicking down the door, He-Man quickly saw that there indeed was an intruder; a man with blue skin and a mechanical arm, which he had just fit a halberd into.

He-Man jumped forward, slashing at the cyborg, though his attack was parried.

“I was told to expect you, He-Man.” He knocked a weapon rack onto him. “But I, Trap Jaw, am prepared to destroy you.” He lifted his arm, ready to strike down at Adam, but He-Man lifted himself from under the rack and sent him flying into and through the wall with a well-placed punch.

Crossing through the villain-shaped hole, He-Man stood above Trap Jaw in the kitchen. “Everyone, get out. Clear the ball room. I’ll handle this.”

As people began clearing out, He-Man and Trap Jaw continued their fight, clashing sword against halberd as they danced their way into the ballroom. They seemed evenly matched, with the cyborg’s mechanical arm matching He-Man’s magical strength, and no blow seemed to keep the other down for long.

As the fight raged on, Adam felt himself begin to tire, while Trap Jaw seemed to be going just as fast and as powerful as when the fight began. Eventually, his fingers slipped, and he was met with a particularly powerful blow that sent the power sword flying across the room, clanging against the floor like a ringing sound of death.

He could feel the magic draining from him. Without the sword, he wouldn’t be able to keep up this form.

“Ha! Let’s see how powerful you are without your weapon, He-Man.” Trap Jaw dropped the halberd from his mechanical arm, leaving himself with just blunt metal to slam the prince with. Adam felt his ribs crack. 

“Skeletor won’t have to worry about you anymore.” Trap Jaw hit him in the chin with his organic hand. “And then I can go home. No longer will I be stuck on this shithole!”

“He-Man!”

Orko and Duncan ran into the room. Duncan was armed to the teeth, and Orko quickly shot a ball of fire at the cyborg that was threatening his friend.

Adam took the opportunity to stand up and retrieve his sword as Trap Jaw was distracted by the newcomers.

“It seems that you’re outnumbered. Surrender yourself!”

Trap Jaw quickly looked around, his face a combination of pain and anger. “You’ve won once today. But you won’t take me easily!” His mechanical arm split off from his body and jumped onto Orko and Duncan while he turned and ran away.

Adam quickly helped them disable the arm, leaving it as just a pile of metal. He sighed and put the sword away, letting himself shift back out of He-Man.

“I knew it would happen. But he still was…”

“Don’t blame yourself. You shouldn’t have to worry so much.” Orko looked up at the prince. “And it’s over now. We won. Even if he got away.”

Adam crossed his arms and turned around. 

“Wait. Where was Cringer? He was supposed to be here.”

He looked around the room before hearing a soft purr coming from one of the tables. He rushed over and sitting on a platter was Cringer, full and napping.

“Hey, where were you?” He poked the cat to wake him up.

“Mmrp? Oh…” Cringer sat up and yawned. “The food was yummy.”

“He can talk?” Duncan asked.

“Yes. It’s the sword,” Adam replied before picking up his cat. “For Grayskull’s sake I could’ve used your help. That guy nearly beat me!”

“Exactly. He was so scary.”

Adam groaned and set him down onto the floor. “I just- I can’t. I can’t. I don’t even know why we even had this ball in the first place. It’s just a dumb thing that got us attacked. What?”

He looked over at Duncan and Orko, who seemed surprised at what he had said. They were silent for a few moments before Duncan spoke up.

“Adam, it’s… it’s your birthday.”

“…Oh.”

Eventually, the room was filled again with guests and food.The guard was doubled, ready to respond to another attack if it happened. Adam sat by a wall and stared down at the floor. How did he forget his own birthday? How did that slip from him?

“Is this seat taken?”

Adam looked up at Evelyn. “No, it’s not.”

She sat down beside him and watched him carefully. “I know it’s not my business, but how are you doing? It’s your day. All these people came out for you. You shouldn’t be so… sad.”

Adam looked away, silent.

“Come on.” She stood up and reached out a hand to Adam. “Let’s go dance. You’ll feel better.”

Reluctantly, Adam took her hand and followed her to the floor. The music was slow. He placed a hand on her waist, and she placed one on his shoulder. This dance was much more calm than the one they did earlier. There wasn’t as much movement, and it lacked any exchange of partners.

“Better?” Evelyn smiled up at Adam.

“Yeah. I guess.” Adam looked down at her. Her silver eyes matched her hair, and her black dress complimented them both. His expression softened as they danced, moving with the pace of the song.

By the time the music stopped, Adam didn’t know how late it was. He and Evelyn were the only people left on the floor.

“It was nice to meet you, Prince Adam,” she said, giving a soft bow and letting go of his shoulder but not his hand.

“You too, Marchioness Evelyn.”

The two looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

“I have a long journey back. I should go.”

“Okay.”

She began walking away, only letting go of Adam’s hand once they were too far apart to remain held. “Goodbye. I hope I can see you again.”

“Me too. I hope your journey is safe.”

And once again, the prince was alone.

Chapter Text

“How useless can you be? Clearly I overestimated your abilities.” Skeletor shook his head as he fit together the scraps of metal he had into a new arm for Trap Jaw. “You’re lucky you did as well as you did. Otherwise I’d put you down and let you decay in case I ever needed a one-armed body.” He picked up the arm and brought it to the cyborg, shoving it into his shoulder.

“There. It’s a good thing for you that I won’t let you mess up on your own.”

Trap Jaw rubbed his shoulder, wincing as he stood up and rotated his new arm. “No. I nearly had him. His stupid friends- the trollan and the guard- they caught me off guard.”

“Nearly having him isn’t good enough. Now you better listen to me or else Eternia will remain hidden from the universe and you could die before you get a chance to reach your homeworld. And I won’t bring you back again.”

A nod from Trap Jaw was all the confirmation that Skeletor needed to continue.

“I’ll get more people to help you. I already know where to look, they just might need some convincing.”

Adam looked down from a ledge into a valley. His eyes glowed blue as they followed the incoming robot. He jumped down, landing on top of it and crushing it without even needing to use the sword.

“That’s the first, where are the-”

He was knocked into a rocky wall by some kind of explosion. Quickly the prince righted himself and readied his blade to the oncoming onslaught of several dozen robots.

“Battle Cat!”

As soon as he called the name, the massive cat jumped down as well, landing behind the crowd of robots. Even if they were outnumbered, He-Man and Battle Cat had them surrounded, and had plenty of firepower to take them all down, which they quickly did, tearing through the mechanical warriors like tin foil.

As the last robot fell, the world around Adam and Cringer blinked, and they were back in the Castle Grayskull.

“Good job,” said the Sorceress to the two as they changed back to their regular forms. “Your abilities are improving.”

“Great!” Adam called out, placing the sword on his back. “Next time Skeletor sends a minion, he won’t know what’s hit him. What’s next? A simulation against Trap Jaw? Skeletor himself? I’m sure I could take him on. I feel unstoppable!”

“Actually, I was hoping we could take a look at your emotions and-”

“-Nope!” Adam chuckled anxiously. “That doesn’t matter. I’m fine. The faster I can kill Skeletor, the better. That’s all I need to focus on right now.”

The Sorceress sighed. “You’re conflicted. Torn between He-Man and Prince Adam. You are not focused, and that is your problem.”

Adam picked up Cringer. “No. I know what I’m doing. I can be- no, I am He-Man. And that’s what I’m focused on.”

“You’re too focused on keeping He-Man and Adam separate.” The Sorceress seemed to be getting agitated with him. “He-Man distracts from Adam, and you lose focus as He-Man from worrying about Adam.”

“What am I supposed to do? Let Skeletor know who I am? Let him use whatever dark magic he has to kill me before I can even transform? No, I’m going.” He turned away and walked towards the exit.

“Adam, come back. We are not done!”

But Adam didn’t even register her words. He continued walking out and left her alone. “So immature.”

Residing in the darklands of Eternia, past the Morainian march, there were many people and beings that could be useful to Skeletor. He already knew where he would start looking.

“Tri-Klops, I’m calling in my favor.”

Skeletor stood across from the bulky man, who was wearing a white lab coat and hunched over a project.

“I’m busy,” he replied. “And I never asked for this.” The triangle on his head rotated, letting him switch to another eye while he returned to his work.

“Neh, you owe me. I saved your life and your sight. And do you not wish for revenge against the people that-”

“I do not blame the royals for the accident, Skeletor. It was merely my own incompetence.”

Skeletor picked Tri-Klops up and out of his chair, pulling the much larger man to his feet. “Think of the knowledge you can achieve when we’re opened to the universe. The knowledge that the Galactic Horde can give you. Is it not tempting?”

“I have no interest in working with you, whatever scheme you have.” Tri-Klops pushed Skeletor away. “Now leave before I have to make you.”

Skeletor shook his head. “I hoped it wouldn’t have to come to this. But I do require your services.” He pulled out his staff out from under his robe and pointed it at the scientist.

“No you don’t!” Before Skeletor could do anything, Tri-Klops pressed a button on a wall that started an alarm. The lights in the building flashed red, and robots came into the room, and began shooting bolts of electricity at the skeleton. Tri-Klops ran from the room, locking the door behind him and sighing.

“That won’t hold him for long. I’ve got to get out of here.” He ran down the hall, making his way to the nearest exit. He had a vehicle out there and could put a lot of distance between himself and Skeletor-

As soon as he made his way to the outside, Tri-Klops was met with a large metal fist in his face, knocking him clean out.

“For a guy with three eyes, he really didn’t see me coming,” Trap Jaw commented as Skeletor made his way out as well, his cloak charred a bit from the robots.

“Take him back to Snake Mountain, throw him in the dungeon. I’ll figure out a working space for him when I’m back.”

“Back?” Trap Jaw asked as he pulled Tri-Klops’s limp body onto the floating vehicle.

“Yes. I won’t risk undershooting with my next attack. Hopefully those who I have in mind won’t need as much convincing as Trydor here.”

As Trap Jaw flew off with Tri-Klops, Skeletor teleported deeper into the darklands with his staff, landing in the middle of a dark forest. He began slowly walking forward, carefully listening. He turned as he heard a rustling in the branches and jumped out of the way of a lunging attack by an apelike beast.

“Just the animal I was looking for!” Skeletor chuckled. “But there’s no need to fight, I’ve come with an offer for y-”

Apparently, the ape didn’t want to hear Skeletor’s offer, and with a swipe of his hand sent the skeleton flying into a tree.

“We’re doing this the hard way, I suppose.” Skeletor teleported himself onto a branch and began launching shots of energy down at the feral monster. “Mindless creature! You know not what I am prepared to offer.”

As the ape reached to grab Skeletor off of the branch, Skeletor hopped away to keep distance between them. The two repeated this- Skeletor attacking from afar, and the ape coming closer only for the skeleton to move just out of reach. This ended when Skeletor hit the ape with a blast that sent him into a rapidly flowing river. The water quickly dragged the ape away and towards a waterfall.

“Damnit.” Skeletor jumped down and followed the water, grabbing a vine from a tree and tossing it to the beast, who grabbed on. Skeletor was barely strong enough to pull him close enough to shore that he could pull himself out of the water.

“See? I don’t want to hurt you.”

The ape looked down at himself, then up at Skeletor. “Okay,” he said. His voice was deep and nasal. “You saved me. I’ll hear you out.”

“I need your help to defeat He-Man. In exchange, you and your people will receive protection, and no longer will you be forced to hide in the darklands.”

The ape didn’t need to think long before he answered. “Okay. I’ll help you.”

Skeletor wasn’t surprised that the creature, dumb as it was, didn’t try to haggle a better deal, but he was surprised he took the offer immediately. “And do you have a name, beast?”

“Raqquill Rqazz.”

“...I’m just going to call you Beast-Man.”

“Okay.”

Skeletor then teleported Beast-Man to Snake Mountain, while he went to recruit his final ally before his next move against the royals and He-Man.

Finding himself on a beach, Skeletor walked close to the water, eventually to the point where water washed over his boots when the waves came in. He planted his staff into the sand and waited.

“I thought I felt a dead man in my water.” Coming up from the waves was a tall, blue, scaly humanoid in golden armor. “Skeletor, old friend. What do you require?”

“I’ve heard about your recent difficulties, Mer-Man. The Aquatican head guard found you too ruthless for the job, didn’t he? Well worry not. Step out of the water, and into your new life.” The skeleton backed up, giving room for Mer-Man to come out of the water as well. “You are to be my personal guard, and may employ whatever tactics you deem necessary. It’ll be dangerous, but glorious. And I know that we can win.”

Mer-Man smirked. “Exactly the career I’d been dreaming of.”

Back at the castle, Prince Adam looked out the window where he first saw the falcon, thinking about what the Sorceress had told him. Maybe he was trying too hard to be both He-Man and Adam. He should be He-Man first, focused on protecting Eternia. On protecting his family. If he couldn’t be He-Man, then he couldn’t be Adam, either.

Chapter Text

On top of a tower overlooking the fields around the castle, Adam stood next to Teela, eyes caught out in the grass. He wanted to be able to respond to an attack from Skeletor. It’s been too long since he’s made a move. It was suspicious.

“It’s nice weather out, isn’t it?” Adam posed the question to Teela without looking at her, but he could see her annoyed look out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you even doing up here? I’m supposed to be on watch. Don’t you have royal shit to do?”

“Can I not also be concerned about the safety of my kingdom?” Adam leaned against the battlement.

“What’re you even gonna do? I got it handled. Go play with your cat or get Orko to show you a crappy magic trick.” 

She seemed irritated, but Adam stayed on the tower. Teela was the only guard that wouldn’t immediately make him leave. Or so Adam thought.

“Ok ‘my prince’, I’m bringing you down.” She grabbed him by the wrist and was met with a defiant “Hey!”, but held onto Adam nonetheless and began dragging him down the stairs. “It’s for your own safety, dumbass. Can’t risk letting some idiot take a lucky shot and nail you between the eyes.”

Adam pulled his hand from Tesla’s grasp once they were back on the ground floor. “I can handle myself,” he began, ready to come up with any number of reasons why she shouldn’t have dragged him down.

“I doubt that. I’ve seen you lose a fight with a bedsheet.”

A slight pink covered the prince’s cheeks in embarrassment. “I was a child, it’s not like I’m still that clumsy.” Determined, he made his way to the stairway again. “I’m going back up.”

“No you are not, Adam. You know it’s-”

Before she could even finish, Adam had slipped on a step and fallen on his back. Teela just sighed in defeat. “Hey, are you alive?” She poked him with a foot and was met with a groan. “Yep. Sadly. For Grayskull’s sake, I know I’m gonna get in trouble for this somehow.”

Not knowing how long it’d been, Adam blinked his eyes open. “Ugh.” He must’ve been in the castle’s infirmary. Sitting up, he looked around, recalling what had happened. His vision cleared. Oh.

Oh.

He wasn’t in the infirmary.

He was in a cell.

Quickly he shot up and ran to the bars and looked to each side. Everyone was here. “Skeletor. Damnit.”

Looking up from the cell across from him, Teela scowled. “Yeah. Glad you’re caught up.”

“When did- How- Where is- What’s he doing?”

Teela raised an eyebrow. Only one of those was a full question, but she answered each one regardless. “As I was taking you to the infirmary. Because the area I was supposed to be watching was unguarded. He’s in the throne room. He said something about waiting for He-Man.”

Skeletor’s desire to kill He-Man first was the only thing keeping everyone down here alive. But if he didn’t show up, the skeleton might start the show without him, and begin executing whoever he could.

But He-Man wouldn’t show up. Because unknown to Skeletor, He-Man was trapped down with everyone else.

Adam looked down the hall through the bars. There, guarding the dungeon, was Trap Jaw. He’d nearly defeated He-Man on his own last time… even with the element of surprise, which he likely wouldn’t even get given him needing to yell to transform, Adam would have difficulty fighting the cyborg. But what other choice did he have?

Adam looked around to try and find Orko and Duncan. Duncan was in a nearby cell, but Orko was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Orko?” He asked, quietly whispering to his friend between the bars.

“Hiding,” Duncan whispered back.

“Nearby?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to-”

“I think I have to, Duncan. I’ll distract him and you get everyone you can out. And armed, if they’ve not already stripped the armory.”

Duncan was silent for a moment. He didn’t like this plan, but knew he couldn’t talk Adam out of it. He nodded. “Do you have the-”

“Of course I have it. It’s magically bounded to me, or something. It’s-”

He quickly stopped talking as Trap Jaw began walking down the hallway towards the prisoners. This would be his chance. Adam took a deep breath and waited for Trap Jaw to once again have his back to him.

Drawing his sword out, Adam held it as high as he could. “By the power of Grayskull!”

Easily busting through the bars that were holding him back, Adam pounced onto Trap Jaw and sent him flying into the wall.

“Everyone, go!” He quickly cut through the locks to let people out. “I promise I’ll explain later, but just listen to Duncan, and find Or-”

Before he could finish, Trap Jaw had bashed a warhammer into the side of Adam’s head, forcing the hero to turn around and continue his fight.

“He-Man! You sneaky- Where did you come from!?” He tried to land another hit with the hammer that was connected to his arm, but the blow was parried.

“I came from destiny, to protect Eternia!” Adam tried to land his own strike but was similarly unsuccessful.

“Oh, destiny is turned against you. Skeletor has dealt himself a strong hand.” He hit the sword with his hammer and then landed a punch against Adam’s gut. “He’s taking no chances, holding no blows. And now that you’ve shown up, he can carry out his plan.”

Adam righted himself and slashed at his enemy, cutting him across the chest.

“Damnit!” Trap Jaw yelled and backed up. “No matter.” He quickly looked behind him, checking the stairs up and out of the dungeon before pointing his mechanical arm forward and shooting the hammer out at Adam, giving him enough time to retreat upstairs and begin yelling “He-Man is here! He’s in the dungeon!”

Adam ran out after him, following Trap Jaw into the throne room. He hoped everyone else was able to get away, so they wouldn’t be in any danger.

“Ah! He finally reveals himself,” Skeletor cackled as he turned to face Adam. “You will find yourself thoroughly outmatched, He-Man.” On queue, Out Beast-Man and Mer-Man stepped into view.

“Now! Kill him.”

Trap Jaw, Beast-Man, and Mer-Man jumped at Adam, attacking him and forcing him backwards. He couldn’t parry all of their strikes, and didn’t have any opportunities to launch an attack of his own. Skeletor seemed so confident in his minions that he stood back and watched, laughing as He-Man was beaten back.

“I am curious, He-Man. Which poor Eternian soul was given the impossible task of trying to stop me. A guard? A peasant?”

“Adam!” Teela ran into the throne room, spear in hand, and tried to stab Beast-Man. The ape turned and grabbed the spear and snapped it in half.

“Ah, the prince. Why ever did the Sorceress choose the bumbling idiot of the family?” Skeletor laughed. “The mystery is solved. Ah, that was plaguing me.”

Adam felt hopeless. He was no match for the three that Skeletor brought. Even Teela wasn’t any help. She only managed to distract Beast-Man for a moment and get herself hurt.

Before the situation could get any worse, Duncan rode in on Battle-Cat. Following him was Orko, the guards, and even King Randor, who was armed with the same weaponry as the guards. They charged onto the warriors attacking He-Man, allowing Adam to regain his balance and help Teela back up.

“Adam! We thought you’d need some help!” Duncan waved a sword in the air and hopped off of Cringer. “We can take these guys on. Go get Skeletor!”

Adam nodded. Skeletor had already run off. He hopped on Cringer, yelled “Go boy!” and started chasing after the skeleton.

Skeletor was traveling fast, as he was able to get onto a flying skiff, but Cringer was able to keep up. Skeletor would occasionally turn and send blasts of energy at Adam and his mount, but was unsuccessful in causing them to slow down.

A tall, dark mountain soon came into view. It looked like a massive stone snake was sticking out of the top of it, stuck mid-pounce at some unseen prey.

Skeletor hopped off his skiff at the base of the mountain, turning to face Adam and Cringer. “He-Man! This day will be your last!” He shot a blast of energy at the warrior, but Adam was able to deflect it with his sword.

“You’re mistaken, Skeletor.” Adam hopped off of Cringer and approached, slowly and cautiously. “It is my destiny to stop you and save Eternia. And you don’t have any of your friends to save you.”

“So you think. En guarde!” Skeletor’s staff turned into a sword of his own, and quickly he lunged forward to match blades with the prince. “Destiny, neh. Is that what the Sorceress told you? Hah! She’s a liar.”

Adam slowly pushed Skeletor further and further up the mountain. Sparks flew when their blades clashed. Skeletor was strong, especially for a man made of just bone. “A liar? Like you’re any better, villain.”

“Perhaps not. But do you really think she’s told you everything? Do you even know who I am? What the Horde is?” SKeletor laughed, even as he seemed to be the one losing ground in the fight. “I have lived for hundreds of years. Horde Prime is capable of living for thousands. And you think that you can stop us? Pitiful.” He teleported away, reappearing in front of a cave.

“We won’t let you-”

“-Let me?!” Skeletor laughed. “Oh, you’re funny, He-man. You can’t stop us. I am more powerful than you can even comprehend. And Horde Prime is far above even I.” He beckoned Adam to follow him before running deep into the darkness and out of sight.

Adam whistled, calling Cringer over to him. He hopped onto his cat and slowly they trotted up to the cave entrance and inside. Adam could hear Skeletor’s steps echoing against the stone walls. Adam discovered that his sword was able to produce light, so they were not stuck in pitch black as they traveled deeper.

As they went deeper, technology began to line the walls. Computers, wires, vats, and even various doors leading to other unseen rooms. Eventually, they entered a large room with bright lights and a giant arena in the middle. In the center stood Skeletor.

“Ah, Prince Adam.” The skeleton let the name ring through the cave before continuing. “You’ve pursued-”

Adam didn’t think before he told Cringer to run towards him, and the two quickly made their way into the Arena and pounced on top of Skeletor.

The villain managed to teleport out from under the cat and shot Adam in the back with a blast of energy, knocking him to the ground. “You ruined my monologue.” With another blast, Cringer was turned back into his normal form, which was much less threatening to Skeletor. “A house cat? The Sorceress really chose her champion poorly.”

Adam groaned on the ground and tried to pull himself back up, but was just met with another blast of energy directed right at him.

“So pitiful. I don’t even have to do this. But it’ll be more satisfying. Trydor! Open it up!”

The roof above them creaked. It split in two, and slowly the two halves separated, revealing the sky above them, and the stone snake that was pointed right at the arena below. The mouth began to glow a bright white, intensifying with every passing second.

“Honestly, He-Man, I don’t know if you’ll survive this. I hope you do, just so you can see Horde Prime destroy everything you worked so hard to protect. Tsk.” He teleported away.

Adam crawled over to Cringer. “I think I fucked up, buddy.” The cat crawled onto his lap, and the prince put his arms around it. Cringer didn’t say anything. Maybe he couldn’t anymore.

The white light shot down at Adam, burning against his skin. It felt like it was stripping the magic from every fiber of his being.

By the time it was over, his skin was red and steaming. He felt weak, and tired. And he hurt everywhere. He was no longer He-Man, but he was still wearing the clothing that he had in that form, and not what he’d been wearing when he transformed. His painful exhale was a sign that he had, in fact, survived the blast. He looked in his arms, worried what he might find, but was relieved to see Cringer, who appeared to be unharmed.

Where was the sword? He didn’t see it anywhere. He reached for his back. No. Not there. He tried to stand up but fell back onto the arena floor.

With a flash, Skeletor teleported back next to Adam. “The prince lives. Good.” He prodded his back with his boot. “I’ve destroyed the sword, He-Man. Though no longer can you be called that. Trydor, start the beacon. Let Horde Prime know we’re here.”

It did not take long for Skeletor to begin laughing with excitement. “He’s here!” He crouched down and grabbed Adam’s head by the hair and forced him to look up at the sky, to see a slowly descending ship. “He’s here.”

Chapter Text

“It is over, Adam. The final remnant of Eternia will soon fall. You…”

As the ship descended, Skeletor’s gloating turned quiet. He let go of Adam and backed away.

“That isn’t a Horde ship. That’s…” Skeletor shook his head. “This isn’t over.” He grabbed his staff and teleported away with a flash of light.

Groaning, Adam sat upright, staring at the ship. If it wasn’t the horde, then what was it? Whatever it was, it scared Skeletor. The ship landed, touching down in the arena. Adam stood up, shaking. His whole body still ached from the laser Skeletor had shot him with. “C-Cringer, get behind me.”

He watched as the bay of the ship opened up, and out stepped 5 beings. The first was a short woman with purple hair. Following her was a tall man with a heart on his shirt and an uncovered stomach. Behind them were two women and a large animal of some kind. One of the women was tall, with blonde hair and blue-gray eyes. The other had pointed ears and two differently colored eyes. The animal was unlike anything Adam had ever seen, but looked like a large cat with a blue, ethereal mane.

“S-Stand back,” Adam said. “Wh-Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“We are just as confused as you are. What happened to you?” The blonde woman stepped forward. “Did you send the signal?”

Adam didn’t answer the question. “Are you with the Horde?!”

“No! The Horde doesn’t even exist anymore. We defeated them.”

Adam sighed in relief. He didn’t know if he could trust these people, but he didn’t really have a choice. “No, I didn’t send the signal. That was Skeletor. He destroyed the sword that was hiding the planet and wanted the Horde to come and… destroy everything.”

“That explains why that black hole just disappeared,” the man said, arms crossed. He turned to the blonde woman. “It seems Eternia still lives after all, Adora.”

Adam realized this would be a good time for names. “I-I’m Adam Grayskull. Prince of Eternia. And I was He-Man. Was.”

The blonde woman, Adora apparently, replied. “I’m Adora. This is Catra, Bow, Queen Glimmer, and Melog. Your last name is Grayskull? And what’s He-Man?”

“Yeah,” Adam replied. He felt like that was a weird question. “He-Man is like… a magical being that I could turn into with a sword and shouting ‘by the power of Grayskull!’ and… it’s weird and hard to explain. I’ve only been He-Man for a little bit.”

“Oh, that sounds like She-ra.”

Adam perked up at that. “Oh, yeah. The Sorceress told me about her. It’s the same type of thing. How do you know about She-ra?”

“I’m She-ra.”

“What?” Adam tilted his head. “That can’t be right. Etheria was destroyed.”

Adora shook her head. “Not destroyed. Just… put into another dimension.”

“So you guys are Etherians?”

“Well…” Adora rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m a First One. And Melog is from Krytis.”

“What's a ‘First One’?”

“Oh, right. You probably…” Adora sighed. “Eternian. I was pulled through a portal as an infant, but the same species you are.”

Adam and the newcomers from Etheria continued talking and explaining what they knew about what happened. Adora explained what happened on Etheria and how they defeated Horde Prime, and Adam explained how he became He-Man, and what Skeletor had done. He questioned how Adora was able to turn into She-ra without the sword of protection, and hopefully commented that he wished that he’d be able to do the same. They brought him onto the ship to fly to the castle so they could deliver the good news that Skeletor had in fact not doomed them all to die at the hands of Horde Prime.

“Hey, everyone,” Adam began as he entered the throne room. He was given one of Bow’s shirts since his He-Man outfit didn’t cover most of his chest and they were similar sizes. He wasn’t a fan of the revealed stomach, though.

Adam was immediately assaulted with questions: “What happened?” “Who are those people?” “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine. I’m fine. What Skeletor was trying to do… well it worked, but also it didn’t. He destroyed the power sword and revealed Eternia, but…” He looked back at the Etherians. “We’re fine. The universe is no longer a threat. The people behind me are from Etheria. Adora, the blonde one, is actually an Eternian, like us.” He smiled and looked back at the crowd to see his parents staring at her. “Father, Mother, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Randor said, squeezing Marlena’s hand. “Go on.”

Adam was still worried, but he’d ask them about it later. He continued to introduce the rest of the Etherians, and explained that everyone was safe, but Skeletor was still out there and could cause trouble. Since he was now unable to turn into He-Man, he wouldn’t be able to track the skeleton down and capture him, but a group of guards including Teela and Duncan, along with Orko to keep Skeletor from magically escaping, was assembled. Skeletor’s lackeys of Beast-Man, Mer-Man, and Trap Jaw were already imprisoned and being interrogated.

After the crowd had dispersed, Randor and Marlena approached the group. 

“We need to go to Castle Grayskull,” Randor said.

“What? Why?” Adam was confused.

“It’s… just a hunch. But good news. If it’s right. And the Sorceress will be able to confirm it.”

Adam trusted his father and looked over at the Etherians. Catra seemed a little annoyed by this distraction, but Adora was enthusiastic about seeing more of her people’s home planet.

“Who’s the Sorceress?” She asked, leaning in.

“She’s an old hologram lady who gave me the power sword,” Adam explained.

“That sounds like Light Hope,” Adora commented. None of the Etherians seemed enthusiastic about that.

“She’s good, I promise. She wants to protect us.”

Adora grumbled a little, but was silently reassured by Catra grabbing her hand. “Fine. But if the place starts flashing red, we are getting out of there immediately.”

Adam wondered what Adora must’ve gone through with Light Hope. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound fun.

After they arrived at Castle Grayskull, Adam opened the skull door and led everyone inside and to the Sorceress. The hologram flickered to life.

“Prince Adam. I’ve noticed that Eternia is no longer hidden. And that the Power Sword seems to have been destroyed.”

“Yes, but it’s fine. The Horde has been destroyed. The universe is safe. This is-” Adam gestured to the Etherians. “They’re from Etheria. Which surprisingly wasn’t destroyed. Just in a dimension called- what was it? Despondos?” He noticed his mom tense up from the corner of his eye.

“Etheria?” The Sorceress questioned. She turned to look at Adora. “Yes. You are She-ra. You used the Heart to destroy the Horde, right?”

Adora looked uncomfortable. “No. It was… too unstable. We deactivated the Heart, since they were almost able to use it, but beat them without it.”

The Sorceress seemed disappointed, but continued. “That is great news, even if the power sword has been destroyed. Why are you here?”

Marlena stepped forward. “Can you- Can you check Adora’s genetics? She’s Eternian and-”

“Ah. Yes, my Queen. I see.” The Sorceress bowed and looked at Adora. “May I please have a piece of your hair?”

“What do you need her hair for?” Catra asked, stepping in front of her girlfriend.

“The queen believes that Adora may be her daughter and Prince Adam’s twin sister, who was sent to Despondos by Skeletor 21 years ago.”

Adam looked at Adora, then to his mom. “What? I had a sister?”

Adora sighed and looked at the ground. “It’s okay, Catra.” She plucked a hair from her head and handed it to the hologram, who was somehow able to pick it up and absorb it.

The Sorceress took only a few seconds to analyze the DNA before coming to a conclusion.

“Adora is most likely your daughter, Queen Marlena. Her DNA is approximately 50% similar to Prince Adam.”

Faster than even Adora could react, Marlena hugged her daughter, tears flowing from her eyes. Randor seemed less emotional, and Adam was just as surprised as the Etherians at this. Adora was frozen in place, not knowing what to do with herself. She’d wanted to find her family, but it didn’t feel quite as great as she’d dreamed. After a few moments, she hugged Marlena back.

Catra let them have a few moments of hugging before she snorted. “I mean, Prince He-Man does look exactly like a guy version of Adora.” She was quickly met with an elbow from Glimmer in the stomach.

After Marlena had decided she’d had enough time hugging her daughter (for now), she let go and returned to Randor’s side.

“Why would Skeletor send me to Despondos?” Adora asked the Sorceress. She still didn’t trust the hologram. Especially with how it reacted to the news of the Heart. But it was the best chance she had at getting an answer.

“He kidnapped both you and Adam, and was going to send both of you through but was foiled before he could send Adam. Probably he was trying to kill off the Grayskull line, so he could claim the throne himself and force me to stop hiding the planet.”

“Light Hope told me that she pulled me to Etheria,” Adora challenged, trying to find a hole in what the First One hologram said.

“It is possible that by that she meant she pulled you from where you initially landed in Despondos, having sensed your presence in the dimension. Given the emptiness of that dimension, it probably saved your life.”

It still felt off to Adora. Still, the holograms couldn’t do much on their own, and without access to the Heart, the Sorceress would not be as dangerous as Light Hope was.

The group left back towards the castle, wanting to get somewhere more comfortable so they could continue to talk and have Adora get to know her family. Adam seemed upset with his parents never telling him that he had a twin sister, but still participated in the conversation.

The Best Friend Squad stayed for a few weeks as Adora got to know her home planet and family. Adam quickly became friends with his sister, but couldn’t shake the feeling that Catra didn’t like him. As they were getting ready to leave and continue their journey, Adora had an offer for her brother.

“I can teach you to turn into He-Man again, without the sword. And we can fight against what remains of the Horde, and spread the magic, and make the universe a better place.”

Adam accepted, and had his parents’ blessing. They would be safe without him. Just a few months ago, Adam might’ve been the type to want to stay safe and happy in his little royal life, but his time fighting Skeletor has changed him. He’s seen how cruel the universe can be, and wanted to do everything he could to help people.

As the Best Friend Squad boarded Darla, the two new members of Prince Adam and Cringer (who Adam insisted was important) awaited what was next on their journey.