We Have the Power!
Copyright© 2026 by Carlos Santiago
Chapter 9: What Happened Before
“Then let it be done.”
— King Grayskull (voiced by Cam Clarke), in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Season 2, Episode 9, “The Power of Grayskull.” Originally aired on Cartoon Network on December 13, 2003. Written by Dean Stefan. Directed by Gary Hartle. Developed for television by Michael Halperin. Produced by Mike Young Productions for Mattel. Copyright © 2003 Mattel, Inc. All rights reserved.
Castle Grayskull appeared faster than they both thought. Adam was nervous, and he knew that Lyn could not feel comfortable with this.
Still, when Battle Cat slowed to a stop before the great drawbridge, He-Man dismounted before offering a hand to Lyn. She hesitated only briefly before accepting it.
She looked about, and her eyes tried darting around the castle. In the end though, she could not help but look upon the fortress.
“So this is Grayskull.”
“Yeah. This is the place,” He-Man replied.
Despite his more immense form, Adam knew that she heard his more mundane form when he spoke
Before either could take another step, golden light blossomed around the entrance.
The Sorceress appeared upon the raised bridge. Her white falcon headdress caught in the morning breeze.
Her expression remained calm until her eyes settled upon Lyn.
“I do not know what you are doing, He-Man, but the gates of Grayskull shall not open to Evil-Lyn.”
For all of the admonition of Sorceress, Lyn did not look away.
“I expected as much. I told you this was a mistake, Adam.”
He-Man stepped forward.
“Sorceress, Lyn is not here as Skeletor’s lieutenant. She is my ally and friend.”
“She is still Evil-Lyn,” Sorceress replied evenly. “That you were so foolish as to tell her your secret makes no matter, Adam. Castle Grayskull does not welcome those who serve darkness.”
He looked back toward Lyn before returning his attention to the Sorceress.
“She doesn’t serve Skeletor anymore,” Adam said quickly. “She has helped me capture Skeletor’s Evil Warriors, so that I can return her to be of service to you.”
That was not the response that Sorceress had expected. She seemed stunned, but Adam could not be sure.
“Be that as it may,” Sorceress said when she regained her composure. “Darkness still lingers within her heart.”
“It lingers within mine too,” He-Man answered. “Nobody is perfect, Sorceress. I’ve lied to my family based on the orders you gave me. It might have been for good reasons, but I practiced deceit. If Grayskull only welcomed those without darkness or people that never made mistakes, I wouldn’t belong here either.”
For that answer, Adam was met with silence. The Sorceress studied him for several long moments before she relented with a sigh and lowering of her head.
“Very well, Adam. I will trust your judgment in this matter as the Champion,” she said. “Like all things in life, there must be a balance, so you should feel safe enough to challenge me.”
Adam did not like the sentiment she spoke, so he was quick to counter her.
“I am not challenging you, Sorceress” He-Man said gently. “I’m only asking you to trust me.”
“You have chosen a difficult road, Adam,” Sorceress said before turning to Lyn. “The both of you.”
“I know,” Lyn admitted. “You should know that I cannot promise I will become the embodiment of virtue, but I will not betray Adam’s trust.”
“I would not ask for such a promise,” Sorceress said before inclining her staff toward Lyn. “But only time will tell when it comes to your loyalty to Adam. You will have to make a choice about who you will be in the future, Evil–Lyn. Are you the subordinate to the Overlord of Evil or are you the daughter of the Faceless One?”
Lyn did not answer, but Adam looked between the two mages.
“Very well,” Sorceress said. “There are matters of greater importance than this debacle.”
The Sorceress lifted one hand.
The air swirled until it became a window for Lyn and Adam to see through.
A mage, which Sorceress noted as Count Marzo, was battling the Council of Elders many decades ago. He was repelled, blown back. However, when he landed, there was not one Marzo, but two.
Lyn frowned.
“That should not be possible.”
“You’re correct,” the Sorceress replied. “This meeting should not be possible, but in a vision of the past, I see that Count Marzo met himself.”
“Then Marzo traveled to the past to meet himself, much like how Skeletor traveled in the past to bring me here?” Lyn asked.
Sorceress nodded.
“Close,” she said. “However, when Skeletor traveled into the past to save Evelyn, history remained intact. The passage was destined to happen. It would seem Marzo received a power outside of the norm to tear a path into the past, so that he might meet with himself.”
“How is that possible?” Lynn asked in surprise.
“I do not know,” Sorceress said. “However, I surmise that this is the disruption to the flow of time that I told Adam about.”
He-Man folded his arms.
“Then what can we do, Sorceress?”
“You must journey into the swamps of the Dark Hemisphere and locate Marzo.”
“And do what?” Lyn asked. “If he meddled with time, I very much doubt he will want to be disturbed.”
The Sorceress nodded in agreement.
“That might be true,” Sorceress said. “Nevertheless, you will need either Count Marzo ... or the talisman he used to alter time if we are to have any hope of fixing what he broke.”
He-Man looked to Lyn.
“This is already more than I could expect you to do, Lyn, but will you come with me?” Adam asked.
Lyn nodded.
“I followed you this far. I might as well see what this time travel nonsense is about.”
The shifting scarlet dunes were proof that the Sands of Fire were as alive as a restless sea.
Skeletor walked through it all without hesitation. He knew what he needed and why. A man can do much if he knows why he needs to do what he does.
The Ram Stone rested at his belt while the Havoc Staff was in his hand. Skeletor was many things in life, but a fool he was not. He knew there were threats in this world, and he would not be caught off guard.
The desert was proof enough of the dangers.
A whirlpool of crimson sand erupted beneath his feet.
He did not even glance downward.
The ram-headed staff flared with violet light, and a translucent sphere blossomed around him to protect him from that which might have killed a mere human. The hungry sands slammed against the barrier both relentlessly and yet impotently.
The spell held effortlessly.
“You know?” Skeletor muttered to himself. “I expected worse.”
The land grew angrier for the temerity that the Overlord of Evil had to not surrendering to its might.
Jagged pillars of molten stone burst from below, attempting to impale the intruder as he walked through ruins and rubble. They shattered harmlessly against the magical shield.
From beneath the dunes emerged serpents fashioned from burning glass and living flame. Their jaws opened impossibly wide before crashing into the barrier one after another.
The shield never wavered.
Skeletor continued walking as though nothing around him deserved acknowledgment because, quite frankly, it didn’t. Each step brought him closer to his prize, and the environment was designed to keep de-powered mages out, not the likes of Skeletor.
Half buried beneath centuries of drifting sand rested a weathered golden amulet with a red jewled center.
“Marzo, you absolute failure,” Skeletor said with quiet amusement. “Well, at least your toys will be useful to someone who can still wield them properly.”
He lowered the Havoc Staff.
The desert itself lunged.
An immense wave of sand rose behind him like the crest of an ocean determined to bury everything in its path. Without turning, Skeletor thrust one hand backward to blast dark magic from his palm. The grains dispelled finally, and silence reclaimed this hellish wasteland.
With the amulet in hand, he could see it resonating with the Ram Stone. If he was correct, and Skeletor felt that he was, then he could generate a battering ram that would destroy the entrance to the castle.
After which, he would have to adapt, but when the power of the universe was that close to his grasp, he would succeed.
Marzo sat on a weathered rock inside a shallow cave overlooking the edge of the swamp.
He was a short, small old man because of what occurred with the Sorceress. Or was it the Council of Elders in this timeline? He could not recall, but magic had been used to reduce him to that of a wrinkly old man that could barely get around in a tiny body,
The cave itself was little more than a crack in the mountainside, but it allowed him to be alone and on sturdy earth when he did not want to be on his raft. Sometimes, the rocking of the raft made him sick.
He drummed his fingers against his knee as he thought of the hero coming.
“ ... About time.”
The old wizard glanced toward the cave entrance without rising.
His senses had warned him hours ago that powerful magic was approaching. The Sword of Power was impossible to mistake once one had felt its unique signature before, and Marzo had a the singular experience of knowing almost every iteration of the artifact.
He smirked to himself.
“Honestly, it took ‘em long enough.”
Leaning back, he started to rock until he found the leverage to kick himself up. He stood up and stretched in annoyance.
He would need to be presentable to them. After all, he would likely blow that young man’s mind.
“It’ll be He-Man...” he muttered. “ ... and the redhead, no doubt.”
Teela was stubborn enough to insist on helping even if she lacked the magical aptitude (at the moment) to understand what they were about to face. Heroes of Eternia had that foolhardy believe that courage could close the gap that experience or wisdom was meant to fill.
Nevertheless, he found himself frowning. There was something different about this interaction. He could not quite place it.
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