HE-MAN and THE CHAMPIONS OF THE ANIMATED 80’S

(Skeletor's Voice)

Last Time...!

Gemini of Earth 3094. Tormack of far-off Bandisar. Mumm-Ra of Third Earth. The evil Overlord of Sagar. All descended upon the wicked Snake Mountain as Skeletor’s anticipated guests. Unbeknownst to even Skeletor, Hordak and Shadow Weaver had journeyed from Etheria as well. The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull and Orko, Eternia’s magic court jester, could only watch as an evil force alien to Eternia, and, therefore, that they couldn’t be prepared for, landed.

“I know not what Skeletor schemes this day; but it could lead to a bleak hour for Eternia if He-Man doesn’t come to my call soon.” Sorceress mused.

“…or the good guys from these other worlds that Skeletor left open long enough for ME to go rifling through too!” Orko piped up. “Imagine the villains’ surprises when their heroic opposites are here too!”

“You did what, Orko?” Sorceress demanded.

Orko promptly adjusted himself upright and nervously toyed with his face scarf.

“Well,” Orko backtracked, “you needed your focus on your telepathy to send for He-Man, so I kinda-sort-of took the other part of this answer into my hands.”

“Oh, Orko.” Sorceress chided him. “You always do mean well; but an unknown evil on Eternia’s shores could be bad enough. If you deposit more strangers onto our land against their knowledge, it could lead to disastrous confusion…”

“Oh.” Orko answered. “I didn’t kn…”

“…you sent for me, Sorceress?” another voice asked as Prince Adam entered with Cringer, the cowardly cat, right behind him.

“Yes, Adam; and I thank you for your promptness.” Sorceress answered. “You are needed.”

“Oh, good; then here’s Adam right on time then!” Cringer piped up. “I think I’ll head back to the palace and catch some shut…”

Lightning exploded from the Eternian sky just in time.

“…AIYEE-YIPE!” Cringer cried, scrambling on air and promptly colliding with Orko who himself had tried to zip to safety.

“Pleasant dreams, Cringer; Orko.” Adam chuckled; then, back to the Sorceress: “I have never seen a storm such as this, Sorceress!”

“Nor has Eternia.” Sorceress insisted. “It is a cataclysm and an omen of evil, Prince Adam. Skeletor has reached to other worlds to drag their evilest tyrants here under his banner in probably his evilest scheme to conquer Eternia.”

“An unknown evil?” Adam asked, reaching for his Power Sword. “It’s nothing that we-know-who couldn’t handle…”

“...He-Man will already have aid in the form of other champions from these other times.” Sorceress declared. “Orko’s magic has seen to that. Though he was well meaning…”

“…He-Man might have to straighten out some understandable confusion.” Adam sighed. “I get it, Sorceress. BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL…”

Cringer finally began stirring once again from the noise and the crashing of magic around his master.

“Huh; wha-what’s going o…oh, no; not again!” Cringer mewled.

“…I HAVE THE POWER!” He-Man, Eternia’s mightiest champion, finished the incantation before aiming the sword at his cowardly companion to become the fierce Battle Cat.

“What’s that boney CREEP up to this time?” Battle Cat demanded in a savage roar.

“Behold the Window of Spirits, He-Man; Battle Cat.” Sorceress declared as the mystic window began to hum with awakening images…

***

Within Snake Mountain, four shades suddenly appeared around Skeletor’s Council Table. All of the while, Skeletor remained on his Bone Throne and waited. Evil Lyn sat quietly in her own place as well. Meanwhile, the four new shades all took shape and glanced about the alien place.

“What realm is this?” Tormack demanded. “This is not my Bandisar!”

“Something of this realm seems comforting to me; but it is no Sagar either!” Overlord added.

“The sorcery that brought me here is somewhat comforting to me; but it is not my Earth 3094 either.” Gemini declared in a sweet tone from his sweet face.

“Which Earth iteration do you speak of; and what place is this?” Mumm-Ra's ancient, mummified state demanded.

Skeletor promptly banged his Havoc Staff to bring attention back to him. As all attention shifted back to the Lord of Destruction, only Evil Lyn noticed two more shadows taking shape.

“Silence!” Skeletor bellowed. “This monument is Snake Mountain, the world is Eternia, and I, the great and mighty Skeletor, have brought you here!”

“For what purpose, Skeleton Man?” Overlord demanded.

“For my conquest!” Skeletor declared. “You are here under my banner!”

Evil-Lyn heard her own master’s offer toward the misplaced villains and chuckled into her hand. This was not going to end well for the Lord of Destruction.

There came the sound of revolving mechanics and Gemini’s face took on a far angrier visage.

“Here; in this new place; to serve someone else?” Gemini shouted, banging on the table in his rage.

“If you ever want to see your precious Earth ever again, where you get to be in control of anything!” Skeletor insisted. “The same goes for all of you.”

A low murmur rose up from around the table.

“Then, we are agreed.” Mumm-ra finally answered.

The others nodded in silence.

“Good!” Skeletor declared. “Tormack and Overlord, you are warlords in your times; your place is to march on Palace Eternia as though that is my prize. Mumm-Ra, Gemini, Evil-Lyn, combine your powers with my own in my strongest incantation to date to squelch Castle Grayskull’s mystic defenses.”

“Two of us in a military-style ambush on a strange palace?” Tormack demanded. “Send me my Gurza armies to…”

“…To risk an uprising?” Skeletor chided him. “You will lead my robot Hover Knights instead.”

“Robot knights!” Gemini declared. “Just like my own in my time!”

Suddenly, the room filled with hovering, cheaply made androids. Skeletor folded his hands in satisfaction.

“These wrecked relics,” Gemini snorted, “THESE are your Mechanical Knights?”

“Hm;” Overlord declared, scratching his chin, “even with enough of these cheap machines, a pretended ambush and insurrection could appear plausible enough to distract. This plan holds merit.”

“Why, thank you!” Skeletor answered, “Now…”

“…and where do I fit in?” demanded a raspy voice.

Skeletor bolted upright in his seat and faced the red robed, shadowy form of Shadow Weaver, the wicked witch of Etheria’s Evil Horde.

“Shadow Weaver!” Skeletor shouted, collecting his Havoc Staff. “How dare you and that miserable Hordak…?”

“No, no; I come alone.” Shadow Weaver insisted. “Your spell requires strong magic, does it not?”

Then, with a sweep of her hand, Shadow Weaver paralyzed the other visitors in their seats. She then folded her arms in satisfaction. Skeletor, in turn, scratched his chin.

“Shadow Weaver’s powerful magic; and none of Hordak’s treachery?” Skeletor reflected. “Very good, Shadow Weaver; I know not what brought you here but I welcome your aid. Revive our new allies.”

Shadow Weaver cast a glance at Evil Lyn’s chair, then glanced back at Skeletor.

“Oh; at once, mighty Skeletor!” she replied, snapping her fingers to break her original spell.

“Good.” Skeletor declared. “Now, wizards, take your places around me; warlords, you have your marching orders and…”

“…Wait!” Tormack bellowed. “What is this in your Cauldron of Visions now?”

“What?” Skeletor demanded in exasperation.

“You brought me here as a trump card in your little plan and I have asked of you to let me regard your Vison Pool!” Tormack insisted.

Skeletor glared at the evil warlord. He had a point and Skeletor gestured to his pool in annoyance. The image showed a young swordsman wielding two blades in a sword fight with a vastly-muscled swordsman with a glowing sword.

“Hated Galtar; what of your treacheries has brought him here today?” Tormack demanded of Skeletor.

“What; a swordsman?” Skeletor demanded. “Why, I can sense that fool whelp’s sense of justice from here; I didn’t send for him!”

“But observe that he battles the barbarian from my place!” Gemini insisted from his more pleasant face.

“Is this barbarian a thorn or an ally to you?” Tormack demanded.

“Very much a nuisance!” thundered the visceral reaction.

“Good work, Lord Skeletor; you sent for allies, and brought their adversaries with them!” Evil Lyn gloated.

“But the so-called heroes are in a strange place and cast at odds with one another; a welcome distraction!” Skeletor declared. “Tormack, Overlord, you have heard my instructions; now MARCH!”

“Yes.” Tormack answered. “I have functioning ears to have heard your demands. Come, Overlord; and perchance these floating heaps of scrap can keep up with us and keep up the appearances of an assault…”

Overlord nodded and the pair of warlords departed Snake Mountain as the sorcerers and wizards stayed behind…

***

Every image from Snake Mountain, including the images in Skeletor’s cauldron, met He-Man’s waiting eyes.

“…We’ve got to stop this!” he declared. “First, we’ll have to talk some sense into these displaced heroes. They would know their subsequent enemies well and could be helpful to us!”

“Indeed, He-Man.” Sorceress answered. “Once you can unite the heroes to you, their respective adversaries have the best chance at being beaten back.”

“I’ll help to, He-Man!” Orko added, waking up and floating up to the powerful champion’s side. “I mean, this mess was kind of my fault.”

“That’s alright, Orko; you meant well in what you did.” He-Man reassured him.

“You always do.” Battle Cat chimed in.

“…and we could sure use the help.” He-Man concluded, patting Battle Cat on the helmet as a gentle reminder that they were all on the same side.

“…How about me, brother?” came another sudden voice.

He-Man glanced up just as She-Ra, Etheria’s Princess of Power, and Swift Wind, her powerful steed, entered Castle Grayskull.

“Sis!” He-Man declared. “I was hoping you’d make it here!”

“A portal spanning the Fright Zone and Whispering Woods managed to bring Adora and Spirit here.” She-Ra explained. “We suspected danger; and thought that Swifty and I could be of better service.”

“You can!” He-Man answered, mounting Battle Cat. “We need to get to the Sands of Time; a clash of steel is brewing! I’ll explain on the way. Orko…!”

Orko clasped He-Man by a shoulder and Battle Cat trotted out of Castle Grayskull while Swift Wind flew, carrying She-Ra.

“Good luck, champions!” Sorceress dismissed them as they went to meet Eternia’s newest evil…

***

ORKO:

“Hi there. In today’s story, you saw what happened because I messed things up with my magic. Of course, I meant no real harm; I simply made a mistake. No one’s perfect and when you make a mistake, ADMIT IT! Face up to it and try either correct the error or at least do better next time. Bye now…!”

Thanks for reading Part 2 of this Fan-Fiction project. Obviously, if this epic were real, it would have involved no fewer than FOUR animation studios, and their respective voice actors and writers, to work TOGETHER under one umbrella ("Filmation" for He-Man, She-Ra, and Blackstar [Overlord; Blackstar], "Hanna-Barbera's" Galtar and the Golden Lance [Tormack; Galtar], "Ruby-Spears's" Thundarr [Gemini; Thundarr], and Lorimar's "Thundercats" [Mumm-ra; Lion-O]).

Alas, such a project could have only come from a fan's fevered imagination...