Coming Home
  by Alexandra Spears

At last, after having lived almost all her life on Etheria, Princess Adora of Eternia was coming home. Etheria had finally been freed from the Horde's tyranny. And Adora felt redeemed.

Once Adora had been a Horde force captain. But thanks to her twin brother Prince Adam and the Sorceress, she'd found out that she'd been kidnapped by Hordak as a baby and brought to Etheria, where Shadow Weaver, a witch who was associated with Hordak, kept her under a spell.

Adora had revealed to her Etherian friends her secret identity as She-Ra, stating that her parents and Eternian friends could not know this, as Skeletor was still threatening Eternia. She would help her brother, who had powers as He-Man, fight Skeletor.

Adora stood in the door, looking at her bedroom. It had been reserved for her long ago, and now she would have a chance to really do something about the decor.

She went in and looked in the mirror that was on her dresser. Staring back was a beautiful young woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She looked like a feminine version of her brother, it seemed.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called, sitting down on her four-poster bed.

Orko, the Trollan who was the resident magician, drifted in. Orko looked like not much more than a flying robe with an O on the front. His eyes glowed under a pointed hat, through whose brim blue ears protruded. "Hi, Adora!" he said, opening the top part of his hat and pulling out a wrapped box.

"Orko! This is for me? Thank you," said Adora, as she accepted the gift.

She opened the box--it was a Trollan-in-the-box. Adora laughed. She really loved the present. "That's sweet, Orko."

"It's a welcome-home present," Orko added.

Adora hugged the Trollan as she set the present down on her nightstand. "I'm glad to be here with my family and the rest of my friends," she said.

Another knock came. "Come in," Adora called again.

Adora's twin, Adam, stepped into the room. He was a rather handsome fellow, with blond hair and blue eyes like his sister. But where Adora, being a girl, had an hourglass figure, Adam was muscular. It was whispered that Teela, the red-haired Captain of the Royal Guard, was attracted to him despite his "awkwardness."

"Mother and Father are planning a celebration for tomorrow," said Adam. "We can invite everyone from Etheria, if you'd like."

"Of course I will," Adora smiled.

"And remember--I'm supposed to be irresponsible," Adam reminded her.

"Just don't be late to the celebration," Adora smirked.

"A party in honor of my sister? Somehow I think I'd manage to be right on time," Adam replied, copying his twin's teasing tone.

"I'm sure our friends on Etheria won't mind more celebrating," Adora said. "It's been a week and I think they're still partying."

Meanwhile, in Snake Mountain, Skeletor and his minions were coming up with a plan to crash the party. "So...a celebration for Princess Adora, eh?" Skeletor mumbled at his crystal ball, which was imbedded in the table before him.

Beast Man, who with his orange fur was dumber than he looked, snarled. "She tricked me once," he said, referring to the time when she'd pulled a fainting act and wound up locking him in the cell that she was supposed to occupy.

The blue-skinned Skeletor stood up, his skull peering out from a purple hood. "I'm sure you'll get your chance for revenge. I want to carry out those plans I had for the princess."

"Maybe I can put her under a spell and make her one of us," suggested Evil-Lyn, a witch who was one of Skeletor's lackeys. Like any good villainess, she wore dark colors: blue, purple, and black. Her hair was well-hidden under a headdress.

"Hordak tried that already, that no-good, sorry excuse for a villain! Adora would only break the spell," Skeletor griped. "But I have an idea."

The next morning, Adora put on a beautiful blue dress that matched her eyes. It resembled her mother's usual green dress quite a bit--it had a v-neck and the skirt reached down to her ankles. She also put on a diamond tiara.

Adora looked in her full length mirror and smiled. She looked more like a princess now. She was still getting used to the fact that she was a princess.

Adora went out of her room, into the corridor, where she encountered her mother, Queen Marlena. The red-haired queen hugged her daughter. Adora resembled her mother quite a bit with the exception of her long blonde hair.

"Pretty as a princess," Marlena quipped. "It's an Earth phrase." Marlena was from Earth.

Not far behind her were Adora's father King Randor and brother Adam. "You look lovely, Adora," Randor told his daughter as he hugged her.

"Thank you, Father."

Quite a crowd was gathered in the ballroom. Adam and Adora's cousins as well as other relatives were there. Orko's Uncle Montaurk drifted over and kissed Adora's hand. "Welcome back to Eternia," said the old Trollan.

Adora smiled at the bearded Trollan. "Thank you," she said.

Some people were already dancing in the center of the floor. Adora felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. There stood Sea Hawk, her boyfriend, and he was smiling at her. "Would you care to dance?" asked the red-haired, bearded ship captain.

"Of course," she said.

In another corner of the ballroom, King Randor and Queen Marlena watched their daughter. "I like that Sea Hawk fellow. She seems to be happy with him, Marlena," Randor said to his wife.

"I have a good feeling about him, Randor. I can tell that they care for each other," Marlena observed.

No one noticed as a few more guests came in. No one noticed a couple of guards falling asleep just outside the door.

The trio moved to the center of the room. Their disguises disappeared, and they were Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Beast Man!

There was a collective gasp from the crowd. Sea Hawk held on to Adora.

"I've come to collect your princess, citizens of Eternia!" Skeletor declared.

Sea Hawk unsheathed his photon cutlass. "Stand back, Adora," he said. He still seemed to think that she couldn't defend herself well enough, even though he knew that she was She-Ra. Or maybe he was keeping up the charade, since few Eternians knew her secret.

Adam made a discreet exit and went to change to He-Man. His sister could be in danger.

Evil-Lyn cast a sleep spell. Sea Hawk, who had been running towards the villains in an effort to protect the girl he loved, fell to the floor.

Skeletor picked up the sleeping princess. Using his havoc staff, he blasted a hole in the ceiling. The Collector hovered above the roof, and it beamed up Adora and the villains just as He-Man entered.

"Too late," He-Man said.

When Adora came to, she was in a dungeon, chained to the wall by a manacle on her left ankle. The last thing she remembered was seeing Adam sneaking out of the room. She knew that he'd probably slipped away to become He-Man.

Adora sat up. The floor was hard beneath her head. Her tiara had fallen off, probably back at the Palace, but that was not important right now. What was important was finding a way out. And she didn't have her sword with her, either.

Just then, Skeletor walked up to the cell. "Comfortable, Adora?" he asked.

"You'd better let me out of here," she shot back.

"Or what?" Skeletor challenged.

"My br--He-Man will get me out. Or She-Ra."

"I don't think so, Princess. Not with all my men guarding every entrance!" Skeletor tilted his skull back and laughed evilly. "Your father will give me rule of Eternia--or he'll never see his precious daughter again!"

"I don't care what happens to me. You won't ever rule Eternia!" Adora said. She stood up and faced him through the small barred window.

"Your father has two hours," Skeletor said. He left. Adora seemed to be a lot more strong-willed than her brother, he was thinking. Stubborn woman.

The sleep spell didn't last very long, just long enough for Skeletor to make his escape with Adora. He-Man and several of his friends, including Man-at-Arms, were thinking of a way to free Adora.

"Where is that son of mine," Randor said as he came into the communications room.

He-Man turned and looked at his father. "He's also thinking of a way to free his sister," He-Man said. It was the truth.

"He-Man, Teela, and I will take the Attak Trak to Snake Mountain," said Man- at-Arms.

"I want to come too," said Orko.

"As do I," Sea Hawk put in.

"Very well," said He-Man. "Let's go!"

He-Man, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Sea Hawk ran out to the area where the various vehicles were parked. Orko flew behind them.

Adora tried to reach through the bars of the cell door. To her right, on the wall, was a skull that locked and unlocked the door, and she was trying to hit it. It was frustrating.

Suddenly, she felt something scratching her left hand, and at the same time she heard a familiar snarl. Adora withdrew her hand and saw four long cuts, and they were bleeding.

"You'll never get out of there alive," Beast Man growled.

"We'll see about that," Adora said, holding her hand. A couple of the cuts were rather deep. She tore a piece out of the bottom of her dress and began wrapping it around her injured hand.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Beast Man said in his deliberate way. "Well, now you're the one behind bars. Skeletor will fix you good." With that, he ambled away.

Adora tightened the makeshift bandage around her hand in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Her wounds really stung. Already blood was soaking through the cloth.

She knew that her brother was on the way. But could he defeat the guards that were posted?

The Attak Trak stopped some distance from Snake Mountain. The vehicle, which could be related to the mini-van, would be noticed if it went any closer.

"We'll split up into two groups," said Teela. "Father, you and Orko come with me," she suggested to Man-at-Arms. "He-Man and Sea Hawk can go together."

"Good idea, Teela," said He-Man. He could sense that his twin was in trouble and he was anxious to rescue her.

He-Man and Sea Hawk crept to the main entrance. Sea Hawk had his photon cutlass ready, and He-Man held his Power Sword in his hand. Dozens of Skeletor's robots, which resembled flying R2-D2s (if He-Man had seen Star Wars), were pacing around. Suddenly, they headed in He-Man and Sea Hawk's direction.

"We've been spotted. Well, thanks to my father for giving me this cutlass," said Sea Hawk. The blade glowed red, which meant that now it could cut through anything.

He-Man merely used his sword to cut through the robots while Sea Hawk used his impact ring, which increased the force of his blows greatly, and his photon cutlass.

After the last of the robots was dispatched, the two men ran into Trap-Jaw and Mer-Man.

Trap Jaw was more or less a walking scrap heap, with a sharp metallic lower jaw. In place of a normal right arm was a metal extension to which various weapons could be attached. And right now he had his harpoon attachment on.

Mer-Man was a green creature somewhat resembling a fish. "Get them!" shouted this creature in his watery voice.

The blade on Sea Hawk's cutlass turned blue, and Mer-Man was stunned with one swipe of the weapon.

He-Man had just caught Trap-Jaw's harpoon and was at super-speed tying up the villain with the rope attached to the harpoon. He-Man took the harpoon and threw it at a wall, lodging it in there and effectively trapping Trap-Jaw. "Let's find your sis--Adora," said Sea Hawk.

The villains were much too busy to have heard that slip.

Meanwhile, in another part of the mountain, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Orko found a hidden entrance. They also found it guarded by Tri-Klops and lots of robots.

"Dappity dap, dappity duss, get these guys away from us," Orko chanted as he cast a spell.

Suddenly the trio found themselves teleported well within Skeletor's lair! "At least they're away from us," said Teela. "Now to find Adora."

Adora sat on the wooden bench in her cell. She knew that Skeletor had gone to contact her father and let him know that time was up. She knew what would happen if her father refused--she would die. But she felt that her life was not worth being under Skeletor's rule. He'd probably kill them all anyway, so it was a no-win situation.

Suddenly, the door was ripped off. Standing there were He-Man and Sea Hawk! "I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed as her brother freed her from the chain that held her by the ankle.

"What happened to your hand?" asked Sea Hawk.

"Beast Man," Adora replied. "I think it'll be all right."

"Hawk, go find the others. I'll get Adora back to the Attak Trak," said He-Man.

Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Orko came upon Skeletor's communications room. They peered cautiously inside and saw that Skeletor was busily contacting the King, demanding rule of Eternia in exchange for Adora's life.

"I don't think so, Skeletor," said Man-at-Arms. The mustached man, wearing his usual silver helmet, green leggings, and orange armor, stood face-to-face with the villain.

Webstor was one of the cronies in the room. "Get him!" ordered Skeletor.

"Why don't you join in, rather than just sitting on the sidelines?" Teela said.

Skeletor aimed his havoc staff at Teela and fired--right at the time Orko was sneaking up behind him and pulling his hood down over his eyeless face. As a result, the shot ricocheted back to Skeletor, stunning him.

Webstor headed out the door, figuring that without his master, he was no match for those do-gooders. At the same time, he was stunned by Sea Hawk, who was coming in. "He-Man has Adora," he said. "She's been hurt, but she should be all right."

Together they left Snake Mountain.

Back at the Palace, Adora's hand was cleaned and bandaged. Deciding not to let Skeletor think he'd ruined the party, she merely changed into a different dress, and the party pretty much picked up where it left off.

"She doesn't let anything get her down," Teela remarked to her father.

"And I'm going to work on a force field for the Palace," Man-at-Arms added.

the end.