Mekaneck rushed into the stable, trying to pinpoint where Kittrina’s yelp had come from. He listened for a second and heard a soft sound, something between a moan and a growl. Rushing into a nearby stall, he nearly tripped over a small, huddled form nestled in the hay, shrouded in a blanket; Kittrina was sprawled out on a nearby bale with a particularly sour look on her face, gently rubbing her left arm, but otherwise apparently unhurt.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“No,” she growled. “I leapt before I looked.” She pointed at the small quivering shape. “It’s a child. Didn’t realize until after I pounced, then threw out every muscle in my body avoiding her.”

“There’s a first aid kit in the ram; should be something for muscle aches,” he said, turning his attention to the child. He could see the face of a young girl peeking out from under the blanket, her eyes nearly bulging in terror. She inched away from him as he knelt down. “It’s okay, little one. We’re not going to hurt you.” He extended his hand slowly and smiled. She stopped backing up, but did not make any move toward him, either. Her eyes were popping back and forth between the two strange visitors, and she seemed unsure whom she was more frightened of.

“My name’s Mekaneck, and this is Kittrina,” he continued, his voice softening. “Do you know He-Man?”

She poked her head out of the comforting shelter of the blanket slightly. “I…I’ve seen him…”she whispered.

“We work with him,” Mekaneck explained. “Things have been scary around here lately, haven’t they?” She nodded. “That’s why we’re here. We know what’s making all of these storms and such. We’re helping He-Man to stop all that. We came here because someone sent a message asking for help. And that’s what we want to do, help you.” He held out his hand a little further.

“You’re… not one of the monsters?” she asked.

“No, we’re not. See?” Mekaneck removed his helmet, revealing the very human face underneath; a few small metallic strips and clamps that were visible where his bionic neck began and a scar over his right eye were the only unusual features.

The girl hesitated for a moment, but then slowly reached out to take his hand; he let her come to him. Her small hand was lost in his as he gently closed his fingers around it. She looked into his eyes, and then burst into tears, charging out from under the blanket into his arms. He held her for a moment, letting her cry onto his chest plate, his hand softly patting her shoulders reassuringly. She started speaking between sobs. “They came in and took everybody! My mom and dad, everybody! The monsters took them!”

“Have you ever seen those monsters before?” he asked quietly.

She pulled back a bit and nodded. “Skeletor’s…monsters,” she said.

He glanced over at Kittrina, a “just what we feared” look spread across his chiseled features. He turned back to the girl. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Reeni,” she replied, her sobs slowing. “Where are my mom and dad? Are you and He-Man gonna find them?”

Mekaneck hesitated. “Reeni, we’re not sure where they are, but we will find them. And the rest of your people. But we’re going to need you to help us. We need to know everything you can tell us about what happened, okay?”

She sniffled, and nodded. “They came right after lunch. A big furry thing, and a robot, and a guy all black They had a big tank, and they told everybody to get in. The robot shot some stuff outta his arm, and things blew up. Dad pulled up a piece of the floor Mom told him to fix, and put me down there, and told me not to make noise, and then the monsters came in, and…” The tears started rolling down her cheeks faster again.

Mekaneck squeezed her tiny shoulders. “It’s okay, Reeni, they won’t hurt you. We won’t let them.”

“But why’d they take my mom and dad? We didn’t do anything to them!” She closed her eyes. “I want them back…” she said so softly he almost didn’t hear her.

“I know, sweetheart. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love,” he said.

“Somebody took your mom and dad?” she asked, wiping her moist face.

“My son,” he answered. “A bad man named Marzo took my son from me, so I know what your feeling.”

“Were you scared?” she said.

“Very scared. I thought I’d never see him again, and that frightened me more than anything I’d ever faced. But in the end, I got him back, just like we’re going to get everyone back here. I promise you, we will.” He smiled again, this time a little forced as he remembered the days without his son. He would not let this young girl go through what he had; no matter what it took, she would get her family back.

Mekaneck and Kittrina walked back to the battle ram and met Stratos and Buzz off on the way. Reeni was perched atop Mekaneck’s shoulders, and stared in fright at the winged duo approaching. He felt her start to tremble, and assured her, “It’s okay, Reeni; they’re more friends.” She relaxed a bit, but was still wary of the two as they landed.

“Found something I see,” Stratos said as he touched down. He strode over and smiled at the child. She shrank back at first, but then noticed the wings on his arms.

“Are those real?” she asked, so fascinated she forgot she was frightened.

“Sure are. Feel,” the winged warrior responded, holding an arm out to her. She reached over and riffled her hand through the coarse feathers. She smiled for the first time. “Neat!” she proclaimed softly.

“This is Reeni; her family was taken with the others here. She slipped through their fingers. It was Skeletor’s crew.” Mekaneck knelt and let the girl slip down. “She says they headed off that way,” he continued, pointing to the south-east. “She’s not sure why they were taken, but it had something to do with Torin.”

“They said somethin’ about singin’,” the little girl added.

“The singer!” Stratos blurted out.

“Celise,” Mekaneck agreed. “The Singer of Torin. But what does this have to do with Celise?”

“Celise?” Reeni asked. “She’s from here. I’ve heard of her.”

“She wasn’t born in Torin?” Mekaneck asked.

“Nope. Her dad still lives here,” she explained.

“So this is her village,” Kittrina said. “But why would Skeletor kidnap a whole town like this?”

“He must need Celise for some reason,” Stratos surmised. “And taking the whole village would give him a lot of leverage. Besides, he’s always looking for more slaves.” Mekaneck shot Stratos a hard look and shook his head, motioning toward Reeni. “Which he’s not going to get away with, of course,” the bird man added quickly. “We’ll get them all back before he has the chance to do anything.”

“Buzz Off, you and Stratos see if you can get Reeni to Torin; she said she has an aunt there who should be able to look after her,” Mekaneck said as he slipped behind the controls of the battle ram. “Reeni, Kittrina and I are going after your people; once they drop you off with your aunt, they’ll join us, and then those monsters will be the ones who are going to be afraid.”

“You’ll save my mom and dad?” she said, her eyes pleading. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he smiled, donning his helmet.

Mekaneck and Kittrina had followed the trail left by the transports, though the rain that had been falling had made the going slow. After about twenty minutes, they had spotted the vehicles a ways ahead of them, parked beside one of the small mountains that dotted the area. They had left the ram concealed in some thick brush, and had snuck the rest of the way on foot. They were less than twenty feet away from the transports when they saw Blade leaning against an outcropping by the mountains base, just to the side of a large cave, with Trap Jaw wandering around nearby. One of the large haulers had been backed up against the opening, leaving only a few tiny spaces on either side.

Kittrina shook herself in a vain attempt to shed the water soaking her fur; Mekaneck put up an arm in to block the deluge spraying his way. She grinned sheepishly and whispered, “Sorry, force of habit.”

“Hate getting wet, eh?” he responded in a like tone, a trace of a smile crossing his face. “See anything in that cave?”

“The villagers are in there,” she answered. Mekaneck found himself impressed again with her keen senses; he could see nothing through the narrow openings. “Looks like pretty tight quarters.”

“Skeletor’s not known for his fine accommodations,” Mekaneck observed.

“We have to move that thing out of there. You ever drive something like that?” she asked.

“First time for everything,” he said.

She arched her eyebrow. “Remind me to stand way back when you get in the driver’s seat.”

He smiled again, and motioned for her to follow him as they moved around the huge vehicle.

Blade grimaced as he shifted his weight, favoring his injured leg. “A warrior of my skill, babysitting,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, I know; it’s way beyond anything I thought you could do, but I got faith in ya,” Trap Jaw sneered.

“You have faith in me?” Blade arched an eyebrow.

“Complete faith you’ll bollix it up like usual,” the cyborg said, deadpan.

Blade glared at him, but said nothing; he didn’t feel like another in their endless sparing matches right now. His injured leg was throbbing, and that made this miserable job even worse. Adding Trap Jaw’s mouth to the mix was almost enough to convince him to reform and join the heroes.

Trap Jaw waited for a reply from his cohort for a while, then decided Blade didn’t want to trade barbs. Just as well, he thought. He wasn’t in much better shape than Blade, thanks to the breakdown. His systems were malfunctioning on a regular basis now, and he had to constantly re-calibrate just to keep his mechanical parts going. He was in no shape for a major battle, and Evil-Lynn had evidently realized it. She’d hinted that she was leaving them to guard the villagers because she didn’t think they were capable of doing much else right now. What galled him most was that she was probably right.

He was pulled back from his thoughts by a rustling sound in the nearby bushes. He’d almost missed it, as his auditory systems were only at half power. He started toward the brush when Kittrina bounded out, pouncing on him. He was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered and grabbed the she-cat’s arm as she slashed at him with her claws. “Bad kitty,” he snorted, flipping her over his shoulder. She somersaulted in the air and came down on all fours, ready to spring again. Trap Jaw raised his right arm, and she saw the laser crossbow affixed to it. She leapt to the side as the first blast scorched the spot where she had crouched seconds before. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blade coming towards her from the right, limping noticeably, but still moving fast. He had both swords drawn.

“Hey Blade, wanna make some kitty kibble?” Trap Jaw shouted. Blade smiled as his answer. Kittrina was down on her haunches, carefully watching both villains as they closed in; her muscles tensed. Just as they reached her, she sprang forward, dodging Blade’s downward slash. She bounded across the ground, with Trap Jaw’s laser blasts dogging her.

“That the best you can shoot, or did I catch you on a bad day?” she purred. She didn’t stop moving, though; contrary to her taunts, Trap Jaw’s aim was rather impressive, despite his technical problems, and dodging the blasts was taking all her speed and agility. She couldn’t keep this pace up for long, but she needed to keep them busy and away form the caves.

Blade watched as she jumped and weaved out of the cyborg’s sites, and started wondering what she was up to. She wasn’t attacking, more like distracting them…

“The cave!” he blurted out.

“Huh?” Trap Jaw said, still blasting away at Kittrina.

“She’s getting us away from the cave, you metal meathead!”

Blade’s words were almost drowned out by the roar of a huge engine, as the hauler suddenly came to life. At the controls, Mekaneck smiled as the vehicle slowly pulled away from the mouth of the cave. The smile vanished almost immediately as a blast from Trap Jaw’s arm just missed the hero’s head. Mekaneck ducked, and then set the machine on a course straight at the villains as it continued to pick up speed.

The two blackguards stopped in their tracks as they saw the hauler turn slightly and then head in their direction. They scrambled to get out of the way, forgetting everything but their self-preservation instincts as the machine rumbled toward them. Mekaneck jumped from the controller’s seat, and hit the ground in a roll, quickly gaining his footing, and racing over to the cave. The villagers were already making a hasty exit.

“Everybody out! Head towards the bushes!” he yelled, motioning the frantic townspeople along.

Trap Jaw dove out of the way as the hauler thundered past, landing face down in the dirt. He sputtered, scrambled to his feet, and raised his crossbow in the direction of the fleeing hostages. Just as let off another blast of laser-fire, he was thrown off balance as he found Kittrina suddenly wrapped around him, her legs encircling his waist and her arm in a stranglehold around his thick neck. The augmented musculature that moved his metal jaw kept her from choking him, but she was shifting her weight back and forth, keeping him from steadying himself. He couldn’t maneuver the crossbow around to fire at her, and even when he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, he didn’t have the leverage to pull her off.

Blade had barely avoided the oncoming hauler, and was now setting his sights on Mekaneck. He raced after after the hero, gnashing his teeth and trying to ignore the pain stabbing through his leg. Mekaneck turned in time to see the approaching swordsman, and reached back to release his ornate battle club from its scabbard on his back. He whipped out the slender yellow-gold shaft and tapped the button on the handle. The top off the shaft unfurled and locked into place, forming a thick studded cone. Blade continued his charge, bringing both swords down on Mekaneck when they met; the hero blocked the blow with his club. Blade pulled back and slashed from the right, then the left, both blows parried by Mekaneck, who then dove to the side, kicking out his left leg. He caught Blade on the side of his injured knee, eliciting a howl of pain from the villain. Taking the opening, Mekaneck drove the wide end of the club into Blade’s midsection. Blade gasped as he lost what was left of his breath, then felt a sharp blow as Mekaneck brought the club up into his chin. The villain wavered slightly, and stumbled back. Mekaneck leaned over, and his head shot out as his neck rapidly extended, catching Blade full on the chin. Both swords went flying from his hands, and Blade slumped to the ground.

Trap Jaw was still trying to free himself from Kittrina’s grasp, but every time he got a hold of her, she shifted around and wriggled loose. He finally growled and jumped up into the air, arching so he’d land flat on his back and the cat-woman clinging there. Kittrina realized what he was doing, and launched herself off of him just before he hit the ground. The cyborg roared, “You rotten furball! Yer dog food!” He tried to get to his feet, but his right leg wouldn’t respond; the impact had jarred the circuits that were barely functioning as it was, and the mechanism gave out.

“Problems, robot boy?” she snarled.

“When I get up, I’m rippin’ yer fur out one hair at a time!” Trap Jaw howled just as a porta-prison close over him. He turned his head to see Mekaneck standing over him, smirking.

“Tin can in a cage,” Kittrina said, grinning. “Everyone alright over there?”

“Looks like their fine, just scared,” Mekaneck answered, glancing over at the villagers, who were milling around by the bushes. Seeing the two villains vanquished, a man and a woman approached their rescuers.

“Thank you, both of you,” the woman said in a shaky voice.

“Glad we could help,” Mekaneck replied, beaming. He really does like this hero stuff, Kittrina thought.

“Has anyone been to our village?” the man asked. “Our daughter, she’s still there..”

“You mean Reeni?” Mekaneck interrupted.

“You found her?” the man blurted. “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, sir. Buzz Off and Stratos took her to Torin; she said she had an aunt there.”

“My sister,” the woman said, obviously relieved. “We were so worried about her all alone there.”

“She did fine,” Kittrina assured them. “Even had me on the ropes for a minute.”

The couple smiled. “We are so grateful to you two. You have no idea how it feels not knowing what’s happening to your child.”

“I know, my friend,” Mekaneck said, a wistful look on his face. “There’s nothing more terrifying than that. But no need to worry any more; she’s in good hands with them.”

“Is there anything we can do to repay you?” the woman asked.

“You may be able to help us,” Mekaneck said. “Did you or anyone else overhear anything about why Skeletor took you or about the singer, Celise?”

“She was here with him,” the man answered. “We could see her through the spaces around the hauler.”

“I heard him talking to her,” the woman broke in. “He said he’d start up the hauler and cause a cave in if she didn’t help him find some sort of stone. If that makes any sense.”

“That definitely helps us, ma’am. Thank you.” He turned to face the others. “Now if everyone wants to gather together here, I’ll see if I can get the hauler going again, and start taking you back home.” He turned to Kattrina. “See if you can get through to Greystar on the radio, and let him know what’s going on here.”

“Are we sure we know what’s going on here?” she said, scratching her head.

He smiled. “We’ll let him figure it out.”

“Yer gonna be too late, long-neck,” Trap Jaw sneered. “Even if you can get through, Skeletor’s probably got the rock by now. Saving these bozos isn’t gonna mean a thing.”

“It means everything, metal mouth, regardless of what happens with the stone,” Mekaneck shot back. “But I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.”

“Oh, quit makin’ me sick,” the cyborg grumbled.

I only hope he’s wrong about Skeletor, Mekaneck thought, grimacing at the thought of the villain’s hands around Eternia’s one hope for survival…

Battle Cat and Malaktha, the royal archeologist, stood outside of Snake Mountain, the mighty feline growling to himself as he peered into the shadows. Greystar had asked him to fetch Malaktha and then search for anything Skeletor had pertaining to the Golden Disks of Knowledge; the disks themselves were in the hands of the Cosmic Enforcers, and contact with them now was impossible. The only information that might still exist on Eternia about the disks would be in the records of the one who held them for so long. Graystar wanted Malaktha to join in, as he feared Battle Cat would have a difficult time figuring out what might be relevant, and who better to sift through ancient knowledge than an archeologist? Much of what was on the disks was also contained within Grayskull, but there was a chance the artifacts contained secrets even the castle was not privy to. Or so Greystar had said; Battle Cat still wasn’t sure how much he trusted their mysterious new ally, despite the Sorceress’ assurances. Besides, if he couldn’t accompany He-Man and the others, he had hoped at least for a chance to fight alongside Kittrina, who had shown more than a casual interest in him on previous occasions. But, no, he had to skulk around Skeletor’s lair. The stench was already sickening him, as usual, as he made his way to an unguarded entrance Teela had discovered long ago. They had used it on more than one occasion, and Skeletor had evidently never quite figured out where their entry point was.

The two crept in through the narrow passageway into the mountain, and emerged almost on top of Spikor, Skeletor’s spiny henchman. Looks like old bonehead finally found it, the cat thought as Spikor turned, raising his huge mace.

“You think you can sneak past Spikor? Spikor smash you two!”

Malaktha rolled his eyes. “Spikor needs to learn to refer to himself in the first person,” he said as Battle Cat pounced. Spikor swung his mace, missing the huge tiger completely, then stumbled back as the cat’s helmeted head plowed into his chest. He slammed into the wall, and crumpled to the ground.

“Hope that’s the last lackey we have to deal with,” the great cat said.

“Are they all of this high quality?” Malaktha asked, shaking his head.

“Nah, some of them are really thick,” Battle Cat replied.

Malaktha smiled, and the two continued on. They encountered no resistance as they made their way to Skeletor’s throne room, which Malaktha thought to be the most likely location of any pertinent information. If Skeletor had uncovered some secrets about the stones, he would doubtless have hauled out whatever he had available to review before going after them. Malaktha hoped the villain had left them where he could get at them again easily if need be.

The throne room appeared empty as they entered, but Battle Cat suddenly stopped short, nearly tripping Malaktha in the process. “I smell something.”

Malaktha wrinkled his nose. “I’ve been smelling things since we entered this fetid place.”

“No, something familiar.” The cat’s body tensed as his eyes darted around the dank chamber. His head shot up as he cried, “Webstor!”

Battle Cat nudged Malaktha aside with his huge green body as the blue skinned villain dropped from the ceiling. He landed silently, and crouched down, a particularly nasty smile on his face. He recognized Malaktha from a previous encounter. “Eternos is so low on warriors they send a bookworm to Snake Mountain?” he sneered. His smile widened, and he pounced forward, firing the grappling line in his backpack to ensnare his prey.

Battle Cat was just about to pounce himself when he saw Malaktha race forward, slipping under the line, and catching the monster’s right wrist. He shifted on the balls of his feet, turned, bent down, and swung Webstor over his shoulder, using the creature’s own momentum against him. A quick chop to each side of the neck rendered the villain unconscious.

Battle Cat stood and stared, his mouth agape. He finally found his voice and asked, “Where did you learn that?”

“Halothek,” Malaktha answered, obviously quite pleased with himself.

“Never heard of the place,” the cat said, still shocked.

“A man, not a place. Halothek was a powerful warlord 1500 years ago. He developed several new martial art techniques, and recorded them all in his diaries. I translated them about ten years ago. Haven’t gotten the chance to use those moves in quite a while.”

Battle Cat shook his head in disbelief. “I must have been reading the wrong history books,” he muttered.

Malaktha allowed himself a wide smile, then wrapped Webstor up tightly in his own line. He lightly slapped the villain’s face to rouse him. Webstor groaned as he came to, and grunted as he realized he was bound. He looked up at the archeologist in disbelief. “Bookworm, eh?” Malaktha gloated, then walked back a few steps and looked around the room. “I wonder where Skeletor keeps the documents on the stones?” he said, stroking his beard. He immediately shifted his gaze to Webstor, and caught a quick sideways glance toward Skeletor’s throne. “Thank you,” he said to the spidery henchman. Webstor glowered at him.

The archeologist searched carefully around the throne and spotted a small seam at its base. He took a thin metal file from the pouch hanging from his belt, and inserted it carefully into the crack. He gently wiggled it side to side, and in moments had removed a portion of the stone, revealing a compartment filled with papers and drawings. He sat back on the floor as Battle Cat walked over. “Anything useful, or did we have all this fun for nothing?”

Malaktha’s brow creased, and his smile vanished. “If this is right, we may have a serious problem.”

The great cat sighed. “So please tell me why I’m not surprised.”

“We have to get to Grayskull with these papers. Quickly!” Malaktha popped up and headed for the corridor.

“Hop on,” Battle Cat said coming up along side of the fast-moving archeologist. Malaktha jumped up onto the saddle, and held on tightly as the cat raced down the winding path out of Snake Mountain.