The Quest for She-Ra :continued.
Part 3
"Get up you clumsy fool!" snarled one of the Troopers hauling the old man to his feet. "You have just cost the others their daily water rations."
"B-b-but it wasn't my fault sir." Said the old man as he pointed over to Adam. "I-i-if his pet hadn't been in the way I wouldn't have tripped!"
The second Trooper walked over to the table where Adam and Karlos sat.
"Is this true?" asked the Trooper. But before Adam could say anything Karlos spoke up.
"Yes sir." Said Karlos. "It won't happen again."
"It best not!" snarled the Trooper. "Because if it does I will have your animal sent to the zoos of the Fright Zone."
Adam was about to stand up and defend Cringer when Karlos put a hand on his shoulder and held him in his seat. The Trooper then turned around and pushed the old man outside the tavern.
"Why did you stop me?" asked Adam as they watched the doors swing closed. "We can't let them get away. They were treating that man disgustingly."
"I know." Replied Karlos. "But while we're in neutral territory we can't attack them."
"Why?" asked Adam confused. Karlos pointed to an object on one of the walls.
"That is the seal of Neutrality." Explained Karlos. "Where ever that is seen means that no violence can be committed willingly. Don't ask me why it works but even the Horde obeys the rules that come with the seal. Besides take a look outside."
Adam turned to one of the windows and was shocked by what he saw. There was a long line of people dressed even more shabbily than the old man. Each was tied to a large wooden cart. Beside each man stood a Horde Trooper hurrying along the people by cracking energy whips at them violently.
Adam was both distressed and angered by the dreadful sight. It seemed to Adam that this world was every thing that Skeletor wanted to make Eternia. It saddened Adam to see innocent people being treated like this.
'If I had any doubts about being in the wrong place before.'
Thought Adam. 'I defiantly don't now! This place needs someone like He-man.'"What cruelty." Said Adam. "How can this be allowed to happen."
"Then I say we teach them a lesson." Said Karlos getting up from his seat.
"But what about the seal of Neutrality?" asked Adam.
"It doesn't apply outside." Said Karlos with a smile. Adam smiled back and got up. He decided that even though he was nowhere as strong as He-man was he would not change in to him unless he really needed to.
"Let's go." Said Adam as he and Karlos raced outside to face the Horde Troopers as the others in the tavern watched in awe.
Approaching the line of slaves Adam snatched up a rock from the ground and struck a Trooper from behind. The Trooper turned around to face him, but before he could react, Adam grabbed hold of him by the neck and in one fast movement Adam had thrown the Trooper over his shoulder. A fizzing, whirring sound came from the Trooper as it crashed to the ground and fell apart.
"Seems these guys die easily!" said Karlos reaching in to a pouch on his belt and removing two brass rings, which he strapped to his hands. "Let's deal with the lot, Adam!"
"What are those?" asked Adam pointing to the brass rings on Karlos's hands.
"These are an invention I made." Said Karlos. "They amplify a persons natural strengths."
As to demonstrate his claims Karlos then dodged a blow from a Trooper and drove his fist in to the chest of the Trooper. The Trooper instantly exploded.
"I've got another pair." Said Karlos. "Do you want them?"
"No." replied Adam. Adam then reached to his back and pulled out the Sword of Power. "I've got this."
"I'm impressed." Called out Karlos. Instantly Adam and Karlos began to strike at the Troopers until every robot had crumbled to the ground.
"Flee to safety." Said Adam as he used his sword to free the slaves. "We will put an end to this evil!"
The slave began to flee from the fight, as Karlos and Adam smashed more Troopers in to scrap. Once every Trooper in the area had been destroyed Karlos turned to Adam.
"This was only a small victory Adam." Said Karlos. "If we're going to make an impact we'll have to destroy the slave plantation near by."
"If there's more innocent people who need help." Said Adam. "Then I say we should free them."
Soon Karlos and Adam reached the slave plantation hidden in a huge, decrepit valley, Troopers were cracking their whips at people, refusing to let them away from the tools they were forced to make. Their bodies filled with rage and fury, Adam and Karlos dived down in to the valley. They charged at the Troopers sending them scattering in all directions. Then they kicked aside all the products that the slaves were being forced to make. Adam and Karlos fought and fought until there was no further Troopers in sight.
Then only the slaves were left and they began to free them from their bonds. Once free the slaves ran towards their saviours and fell at their feet. There were loud cries of "You have saved us!!" and "How can we ever repay you!!"
"There is no need to repay us." Said Adam hoping to calm down the freed slaves. "You are no longer slaves. You must leave now, return to your homes. We will do our best to put an end to the Horde's rule!"
The slaves cheered and thanked Adam and Karlos, then with more cries of triumph ran from the scene until they were lost from sight. Karlos stepped forward to Adam and shook his hand.
"You know, I think Etheria has found a true hero in you." Said Karlos.
"I'm only doing what I see as right." Said Adam. "On my world we don't tolerate slavery of any kind. I'll do my best to help you dispose of the Horde."
"That is a dream that every child on Etheria has grown up hoping for." Said Karlos. "You truly deserve to join the Great Rebellion. Come we are based in Whispering Woods. We have an occupation to put to an end. You will no doubt prove to be a most valued member. Follow me."
Adam turned and followed his new friend.
'Now this is a good way to start here. I've helped destroy a slave plantation, plus it looks like I may become a hero here as well.'
Adam thought with a small smile. 'It's good to be credited as a hero instead of He-man.'Part 4
The news of the destruction of the slave plantation spread fast throughout Etheria. The citizens of Bright Moon were overjoyed that slavery had finally been abolished in their kingdom. However the identities of the two saviours were not known for sure, but every person greatly thanked these two men in their hearts.
A cybernetic spy named Senador picked up the news while on a spying mission in Bright Moon. The golden cyborg raced to his Batmex. Quickly getting inside Senador set the Batmex's controls to return to the Fright Zone at once. He had to let his master know at once.
Shortly afterwards, Senador's Batmex arrived in the landing bays of Doom Tower. Doom Tower was a large, complex building in the heart of the Fright Zone. Senador exited his Batmex and walked into Doom Tower and took an elevator down to Hordak's throne room.
In the main room of the deadly building, a large figure sat in complete darkness this was Hordak. As Senador approached all he could see was the Hordak's glowing red eyes. Slowly Senador made his way up to his master. A deep booming voice echoed through the room as Senador knelt before Hordak.
"What have you to report, spy?" said Hordak.
"Mighty Hordak." Responded Senador. "I am afraid that the Horde has been threatened by the forces of good."
"Of what do you speak?" replied Hordak.
"I speak of an incident that took place today on the edges of the kingdom of Bright Moon." Said Senador. "The slave plantation that operates by the kingdom was completely destroyed by two men."
Hordak's eyes began to glow brighter.
"And how could this happen?" asked Hordak. "Two men cannot make a stand against the the powers of the Horde!"
"I am afraid that these two men did just this." Said Senador. "These two men destroyed virtually all the Troopers that stood in their way, then they set the slaves free. The news is all around Bright Moon. I have been unable to discover the identities of these men but I am sure one of them is my creator Karlos. The other I have no idea about."
"THE BASTARDS!!!" shouted Hordak abruptly, shooting up in his seat. "I should have killed Karlos the first chance I got! How can two ordinary, weak-minded peasants think they can challenge the Horde like this!!" Hordak stepped down from his throne. "Do they really think they have any chance of freeing this planet from the Horde? They must be members of this so-called 'Great Rebellion'. It's time I dealt with those interfering weaklings once and for all!!"
Just then unafraid of her master's anger, a tall woman draped from head to toe in a black robe came gliding along the floor. Her glowing red eyes shone from under her black hood as she spoke.
"My magic detects another possible threat to the Horde." She told Hordak.
"And what is this!?" snarled Hordak turning to Shadow Weaver. "Speak!"
"I am picking up signals of an incredible power which has just arrived on this planet from another world." Explained Shadow Weaver. "The strange thing is that this power seems to be coming entirely from one person! This one individual possesses great power that is all on the side of good and could possibly destroy the Horde. I am unable to identify this person, but my magic has place them somewhere in the kingdom of Bright Moon."
Hordak was made even angrier by what Shadow Weaver had just informed him. He was getting tired of the threats to the Horde constantly coming up from nowhere. But he would never allow himself to believe that any thing good could ever possibly destroy the Horde and every thing they have done in the name of Horde Prime.
"This person you sense my hold the belief that he can destroy us." Said Hordak. "But now that I am aware of his existence I will be able to deal with him. You say that he is in the kingdom of Bright Moon? This is where the slave plantation was destroyed. Well I will make up for the destruction of this plantation…by making an even bigger one!! I will have the whole city of Bright Moon forced in to the mines, where they will all become slaves. Amongst them will surly be the men who destroyed the plantation, then they will pay dearly for what they did!"
"And the person whom my magic senses?" asked Shadow Weaver.
"There is one simple answer to that." Hordak then turned to Senador. "Contact Force Captain Adora. Tell her to assemble my thugs and keep a close watch on them. Make sure they keep a watch out for any strangers. They are to be killed before they can cause any more trouble."
"I will master." Replied Senador. He saluted Hordak and left the room. Then Hordak turned to Shadow Weaver, his red eyes staring directly in to hers.
"So they think they can threaten us!" he said mockingly. "We will teach these strangers and the rebellion that anyone who causes trouble for the Horde only makes worse trouble for them selves!"
Part 5
Adam was walking down a long winding path through Whispering Woods, with Karlos and Cringer at his side. The woods reminded Adam about the Evergreen Forest, which covered most of Eternia except this place was a lot quieter and more mysterious. Adam caught the occasional sight of some very strange animals scurrying through the undergrowth. It seemed to Adam that he was in a very magical place. And even though Eternia was the centre of all magic in the universe Adam had never felt the kind of magic he was feeling now.
"So tell me a little more about yourself." Said Karlos. "Out of mere curiosity of cause. Why were you chosen to come to Etheria?"
"Well, this is going sound pretty strange, but I am actually the Prince of Eternia." Adam told him. "The Sorceress of Grayskull wanted an important person to carry out this task, and since I'm a prince, she chose me."
Adam knew that this wasn't completely true, but he knew he couldn't mention anything about He-man. Anyway now that he was seen as the hero for once, he wanted to forget about He-man for the time being.
"This is sounding stranger by the minute." Answered Karlos. "You're a prince then! It's been a long time since the monarchy was abolished on Etheria. There is only a handful of royal families that are still in power and then they only rule small sectors and cities, like Queen Angella. Anyway, you said you weren't sure who you were sent here to find, why is this?"
"All I know for sure is that when the Sorceress called me to Castle Grayskull she had this sword waiting for me." Explained Adam as he pulled out the sword with the jewel set in the middle of it and showed it to Karlos. "The Sorceress then told me that this sword would lead me to someone here on Etheria. But she couldn't tell me who it would be, only that it would glow when I found the right person."
"Sounds strange indeed." Said Karlos. "I'll help you in your quest no matter how difficult it may be. We're nearing the rebel camp now, just wait until they hear of our victory."
Adam, Cringer and Karlos moved onwards through the woods. Eventually, the extreme silence of the woods came to an end when the heard the sound of voices, just around the corner. Finally they saw the rebel camp in the distance, just a few, wooden buildings and tents with people traing with weapons around them.
Adam, Cringer and Karlos approached one of the small huts and stepped inside. They saw a tall, middle-aged woman dressed in a pink and blue uniform, with long blond hair and a large pair of elegant white wings coming from her back. By her side stood was a younger woman, with long pink hair and dressed entirely in purple and blue.
Karlos approached the older woman and bowed his head and took her hand in his.
"Afternoon, Angella. I have returned." Said Karlos, he then leaned forward and kissed Angella's hand.
"Oh please!!" sighed the other woman staring at Karlos in mock disgust. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Calm down Glimmer, I've been doing good deeds. All with the help of my new friends here." Karlos said then gestured towards Adam and Cringer.
Glimmer span around and saw that they had guests, her face blushing a bright red as she saw Adam and Cringer standing there.
"Oh, er…I'm sorry." She said embarrassingly. "I didn't see you come in. Who are you….I mean pleased to meet you."
"My name's Adam." Adam said politely, shaking her hand then he turned to Cringer. "And this is Cringer."
"Greetings, my friends." Said Angella. "Welcome to the Great Rebellion, extra members are just what we need at the moment. I am Queen Angella, the ruler of Bright Moon. This is my daughter, Glimmer, the leader of the rebels. As you may know, it is one of the only kingdoms on Etheria that is still free from Horde rule."
"And a fewer slave plantations as well." Added Karlos with a sly smile on his face. "And thanks to Adam and myself, there IS one less plantation to worry about."
"You mean you've destroyed one?!" asked Glimmer.
"Smashed it to pieces!" answered Karlos miming a punch with his fist. "And set all the slaves free"
"But, you're no warrior." Said Glimmer.
"Oh your words hurt me." Mocked Karlos holding his hands over his heart. "I may be a 'mere scientist' but I have enough strength to reduce a Horde Trooper to scrap metal. But most of the credit has to go to Adam. I met him in the tavern, he's a brave guy, you know. We have to let him join the rebellion."
"WOW.. You must be a true hero." Said Glimmer eyeing up Adam in admiration. Adam pretended not to notice, but secretly he was glad that he was getting a woman's affections and not He-man.
"You're most welcome to join the rebellion." Said Angella. "You have done us a great deed by destroying a whole slave plantation. Now let us introduce you to some of the other rebles."
"I am honoured to join you." Replied Adam. "But I am afraid I must tell you that I'm no ordanary Etherian."
"Why's that?" asked Glimmer.
"He's from another world." Explained Karlos. "The planet Eternia in fact."
"A-another planet?" asked Glimmer with a look of total surprise on her face. "But you look just like us."
"I asked that myself." Replied Adam. "But the more I look around I see that both our world have much in common. Only with the exception that my world is free from the rule of evil forces."
This surprised Glimmer even more.
"I was born under Horde rule. I've always wondered what it would be like to be free." Said Glimmer as tears began to fill her eyes. "You are very lucky indeed."
"We'll be free." Said Karlos placing a supportive hand around Glimmer's shoulder. "Adam is here to find someone of great importance."
Both Glimmer and Angella looked over to Adam with hope in their eyes.
"Is this true?" asked Angella. "Are you here to find someone who can help us rid Etheria of the Horde?"
"It's true that I have been sent here to find someone." Said Adam. "However I haven't been told just who that person is."
"But you are staying to help us until you find the one you're looking for?" asked Glimmer.
"I have no intention to leave here until I find who I'm looking for." Promised Adam. "No matter how long it takes."
Adam was surprised at how relieved he felt when he saw the look of hope renter Glimmer's beautiful face. Glimmer smiled at Adam and secretly vowed that she would do everything in her power to keep Adam on Etheria as long as she could.
"It's an honour to welcome someone from another world that is not out to conquer and destroy everything we have worked for." Said Angella. "We are glad to make your acquaintance while we can. Please make yourself at home, Karlos will show you around the camp. Can we get your pet anything?"
Cringer looked up at Angella. Both Glimmer and Angella looked on in total surprise as Cringer spoke.
"How about a nice plate of fish?" asked Cringer. "And something to drink."
"G-Glimmer will see to it." Said Angella as Karlos led Adam out of the hut.
"Strange people these Eternians." Said Angella after every one had left her hut.
Karlos took Adam around the rebel camp, introducing him to several of the more important rebel warriors. Adam could see that they were all very determined to eliminate the threat of the Horde. Adam knew he was more than capable of helping them, even if it meant he had to change in to He-man eventually.
"Don't take any notice of anything that Glimmer says." Said Karlos. "Most of the time she doesn't even think. She always forgets just how important I am to Queen Angella. My scientific discoveries have often helped her."
"It's okay." Said Adam. "I get the same thing back home. I don't see any trouble with her. I'm just…."
All of a sudden a large flying vehicle burst through the trees and in to the rebel camp. The vehicle's engines died down and a hatch on top sprang open. Out of the hatch Adam could see a large golden cyborg raise up on a platform.
"Greetings rebels." Said the cyborg its mechanical voice echoing all over the camp. "I am Senador, member of Hordak's army. I have been sent here by Hordak himself to inform the two rebels that destroyed the slave plantation near Bright Moon. Hordak wishes to congratulate you for helping him in his decision on building a new and improved slave plant. Now that you have freed up the resources Hordak will be able to build the biggest plantation that Etheria has ever seen right here in the kingdom of Bright Moon."
Senador then sat down and the platform lowered down back in to the vehicle. Instantly the engines ignited and the vehicle blasted off the ground and headed back in to the woods.
Queen Angella and Glimmer came rushing out towards Adam and Karlos.
"Did you see that?" asked Glimmer. "Sarcastic metal faced bastard. I say we smash any Troopers that we find to pieces then go the Fright Zone and show Hordak just what it means to threaten the rebellion!"
"Hold on a second Glimmer." Said Karlos. "We mustn't act too quickly. If we just rush out and attack the Troopers we will lose the battle before we begin. We are just not prepared enough. We must carefully plan how we are going to handle this. Then we'll have a better chance of victory."
"You're right." Said Angella. "Glimmer go and help the rebels prepare for battle. We'll show the Horde just how much they underestimate us."
No sooner as she had spoken the air suddenly filled with the deafening sound of Horde sirens. Battle was about to begin. Within seconds the sky was filled with deadly Horde Batmex as they swarmed over the treetops and down towards the rebel camp. The Batmex began raining down red-hot beams of blaster energy on the startled rebels. Suddenly each Batmex opened a hatch on its underside. The rebels stood in terror as one after another Horde Troopers descended on antgrav packs and raced in to battle blasting anyone that was unfortunate to be in their path.
"For the honour of Bright Moon…. ATTACK!!!" commanded Glimmer, and the whole of the rebel was engulfed in battle.
To be continued….