Hi! Thanks for clicking on my story.

These things should be clear in the storytelling, but just in case they're not, I thought it'd help to explain. It's not like there's an opening credits sequence to establish everyone. :)

About our cast: Adam and Teela are late teenagers/young adults, like the 2002 series. Mekaneck is also young; he grew up with them. Ram-Man is neither a dwarf nor perpetually suffering from post-concussion syndrome. Duncan should fit in with whatever concept of him you may have.


Mekaneck stood with his hands on his hips as he surveyed the landscape with his periscope neck extended. There was desolation as far as he could see. Aside from the occasional boulder or thermal vent, the view was nothing but hard-packed brown dirt and gray gravel. Even the dim sunrise looked depressing.

"Well, this place is pretty grim. No grass, no trees, no wildlife. Not even an alehouse in sight." He retracted his neck and shrugged. "Duncan, why don't you take me anyplace nice these days?" He took his helmet off briefly to rub his eyes and leaned against the front end of a wind raider.

The Royal Guard general was bent over the aircraft's cargo trunk, searching for something. He stood upright and smoothed out his mustache with his hand. His polished green and gold armor caught a glint of the dawning sun.

"Very funny, but I'm afraid it gets worse from here. Ah, there it is!" He spotted what he was looking for, a ball of twine, and stuffed it in his pack. "The Zonai Labyrinth is about three thousand paces south, down loose, rocky terrain." He put on his blue helmet and did some last-minute inspections on his armor.

Mekaneck situated his helmet. "And I forgot to pack my cushy insoles." He shifted in his red and blue Royal Scout uniform, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

Captain Teela rolled her eyes at the scout'ss complaining. "If cushy is what you wanted, you picked the wrong career path, my friend. This is going to be a tough expedition, and we are going to need to be alert at all times." Almost in habitual imitation of her father, she adjusted her matching green and gold armor, tightening her gauntlets and boots.

Hopping out of a second wind raider, Prince Adam walked up behind Mekaneck, stretching his arms and back. He clapped his hand to his friend's shoulder. "We're here to recover some kind of talisman, right? All dangerous and magical and spoo—" Adam couldn't even finish his sentence without a huge yawn escaping his lungs as he tossed on his sleeveless maroon bomber jacket.

"Real alert," glowered Teela, still focused on her gear. She picked up her staff and tested it, swinging the weapon through the air.

The ground rumbled under Ram Man's boots, speaking as he approached the group. "The Cinderhorn. A cursed musical instrument. According to the legendarium in the Royal Library, blowing the Cinderhorn will burn everything in front of it to a, well... cinder." He stood next to Duncan, who was not a small man by any means. Ram Man was at least a full head taller than the veteran soldier and twice as wide. His bulky iron armor and helmet were pockmarked and dinged, signs of countless battles over the years.

Ram Man's enormous shadow completely enveloped Teela, who nodded to her fellow soldier and looked up to meet his eyes. "If we know about it, you can bet Skeletor is already planning to use it to attack Grayskull. Or imagine Count Marzo amplifying its destructive power with his Amulet to assault the palace. Maybe even Evilseed—"

"Old artichoke head, risk a forest fire? No way!" Adam laughed at his own joke. Mekaneck shot him a thumbs up. He was close in age to Adam and Teela, and he encouraged the prince's mischievous side. The three younger members of the expedition were close friends, but Teela was often frustrated with the others. Sometimes it seemed as if they were in a competition to find who could take any given situation less seriously.

Teela thought to herself, At least Mekaneck knows how to get serious when it counts. Adam... he might just be a lost cause. The guard captain audibly signed. She often wondered what happened to her oldest friend. He used to be so responsible and focused. Something changed in him around the time of his sixteenth birthday and his presentation to the kingdom as the official heir to the throne.

She had no way of knowing that was also the same day he accepted the Sword of Power and the responsibility of being He-Man.

"Form up, Masters. We've got a hike ahead of us." Man-At-Arms gave the marching order.

The five began their trek to the Zonai Labyrinth with Man-at- Arms and Teela in the lead, discussing strategy and tactics. Mekaneck and Adam were in the middle, discussing anything but. Ram Man silently brought up the rear. Together they made slow but steady progress downhill through sharp rocks and loose gravel.


As the sun approached noon, the Masters reached their destination. A stone carving of a bird as tall as ten men stood upright with its wings spread wide looming over a broad plinth.

If they didn't already know this was the entrance to the Zonai Labyrinth, they could have mistaken it for a monument or totem created by a local tribe.

"Well, hello gorgeous!" Mekeneck greeted the stone bird.

Teela took in the details. "A chest, clay pots, dishes... I don't recognize whatever god or demon is being worshipped here, but it looks like someone has been leaving offerings. Not for some time, though."

Adam laughed. "Oh no, I forgot to bring a gift! Looks like it will have to be satisfied with just our handsome selves." The two young men bowed before the carving.

Duncan checked his bearings on his wrist-mounted computer, silently regretting bringing Mekaneck and Adam together on the same mission. Ram Man stood with his back to the group with his arms folded, keeping watch over the way they came.

Teela cut in front of Adam and Mekaneck, placing herself between them and the carving. "Sorry to interrupt, boys," She stressed that last word, "but we have an artifact to recover, remember?" She produced a small crystal from her pack. "If my research was correct, the key to the labyrinth is a piece of blue aeonicite."

"And if you're wrong?" Adam needled.

Ram Man cleared his throat, still with his back to the group.

"Oh."

Teela tapped the crystal to the monument. The bird's eyes and beak started to glow with a soft amber light.

"Wow." Mekaneck was taken by the magical glow. "I've never seen anything like this before." He extended his neck all the way up to get a closer look. Lost in the gaze of the luminous stone, the ground under his feet began to vibrate and shift.

"Um, Mek? You'd better come down from there!" Adam shouted to his friend with concern.

Before he could retract his neck, Mekaneck lost his balance. He started to topple over slowly like a felled tree. Adam tried to steady his body, but it was no use. His center of gravity was thrown off and he was coming down. Startled, Teela started sprinting to where she thought Mekaneck's head would land. She feared he could be severely injured if his head hit the ground from such a height.

Adam felt helpless. "Mek, no!" he yelled. Internally he challenged himself. What would He-Man even be able to do?

Man-At-Arms watched on. He called out to Teela. "Catch!" He flung a disc-shaped object to his daughter.

Teela caught the object in stride and activated it. An inflatable life raft filled itself with air in her hands. She threw herself into a head-first slide, body surfing the raft as her momentum carried it along the ground. The raft slowed and came to a stop in just the right place; Mekaneck's head and neck landed safely on the air-filled raft, face-to-face with Teela.

"Teela, I'm flattered, but not in front of your father," Mekaneck smirked.

"You!" Teela moved to slap him across the face, but he quickly retracted his neck.

Ram-Man looked over his shoulder. He snorted and shook his head, then resumed his watch. Mekaneck righted himself, as Adam helped him to his feet, worry crossing his face.

Duncan was growing impatient. "Ancients guide me," he muttered under his breath. He grumbled louder, "If the children are done playing, we can resume our expedition." Teela bristled at the implication that he was lumping her in with the other two.

The ground where Mekaneck had previously been standing had shifted, revealing a staircase. The general flipped a switch on his helmet to power on a light. "Let's go," he said as he peered down the passageway and started climbing down. Man-at-Arms tied off the twine at the entrance and unspooled it as they walked so they could use it to follow their way back out.


The expedition of Masters journeyed into the labyrinth in the same formation as the first leg of the trip. They silently marched, each member trying their hardest to concentrate on remembering which turns they made and which direction they went.

Some passages were smooth and looked to be artfully crafted. Others were rough-hewn and seemed unfinished. The differences helped them keep track of where they were. Regardless of the appearance of any given tunnel, the stone maze was dotted with luminous stones similar to the eyes of the bird monument. It felt eerie to be watched by so many eyes, but nobody complained about the light.

The party had only been exploring for about an hour, but they've already had to rely on Man-at-Arms' twine to double back several times. The twists and turns of the labyrinth led them into dead ends and old traps that had been triggered by previous explorers and would-be treasure hunters. Even with the setbacks, they were making progress and feeling confident when they heard what sounded like a rockslide. The echo through the tunnels seemed to go on for minutes.

"What was that?" Mekaneck asked no one in particular.

"Nothing good," replied Duncan. Adam nodded his agreement.

"Why don't you use your neck and scout ahead?" suggested Ram Man.

"Yeah, and get snipped by a megapede?" Mekaneck retorted incredulously.

"Why, exactly, did we bring you along?" Teela confronted the scout, going face-to-face with him.

Adam shuddered at the thought of megapedes. Encountering an insect as tall as a tiger and as long as five, with a set of pincers that could slice a person in half, was not his idea of a fun afternoon. At least not in his current state.

He tapped at his wrist-mounted communicator and made a buzzing sound with his mouth. "Bzz-bzz. Bzz-bzz." Adam brought his wrist to his ear. "Oh, He-Man!" He feigned surprise. Teela, still facing off with Mekaneck, rolled her eyes.

"You're almost here, you say? Great, I'll meet you at the entrance!" He made a show of the pantomimed conversation. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Ram-Man's here. No, Fisto couldn't make it. I know he owes you 20 Crowns. Duncan said he'd cover it." Adam winked at his mentor.

Man-At-Arms gritted his teeth. "Laying it on a little thick, lad," he muttered almost inaudibly, leaning close to Adam.

Adam resumed his fake call. "Oh, he's just being a grouch as usual. Okay, meet you out there." He turned to the rest of the group, as they didn't hear the whole thing. "I'm going to run back to the entrance and meet He-Man there." He gestured with both thumbs over his shoulder. "You guys go on ahead, we'll follow the twine and catch up."

"I'm sure you will," Teela replied, dripping with sarcasm. "Sleep lightly, I hear this is harpysaur country after dark."

The prince looked at Teela with determination in his eyes. "I'll be back. WITH He-Man." He immediately wished he wouldn't have said that. How would he pull that trick off?

As he headed back, he shook his head, annoyed with having to make yet another cowardly exit. Teela's parting jab hurt. She always seemed to be on the mission with him when he had to make an excuse to hide and use the Sword of Power. And she always had something snide to say about it. He tried to ignore the shame of disappointing her time after time.

At least my communicator conversation with "He-Man" got everyone's minds off of megapedes, he hoped silently.

Adam emerged from the mouth of the labyrinth and took a look around. He seriously doubted anyone was around, but he always made sure. Satisfied there were no onlookers, he reached up over his right shoulder and gripped the handle of his sword. Swiftly snapping his arm outward to his side, blue electricity coursed from his wrist to the tip of the blade. He extended the tip of the sword to the sky and shouted the magic words.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

Several bolts of lightning struck the tip of the sword at once. Adam's frame grew from that of an athletic teenager to a tall, broad, mountain of bronzed muscle. In a flash of light the mischievous, often lazy, and occasionally cowardly prince was transformed into He-Man. Even the sword itself, a narrow, elegant fencing sword became a wide, fearsome, savage-looking weapon.

He-Man paused to look to the sky for a moment before heading into the labyrinth.


The remaining four members of the expedition party continued onward, their path illuminated by Duncan's helmet lamp and the luminous stones set in the walls.

"I'm just saying, father." Teela ranted as she walked, not really watching where she was going. "He's going to be king sooner than he realizes. He needs to start taking these things more seriou—"

Teela walked face-first into something metallic. She scrunched her eyes closed and rubbed her nose. As the water cleared from her eyes, her vision focused on what she walked into. She recognized the red cross symbol and stepped back.

"He-Man!" she yelped, deeply embarrassed and avoiding eye contact. The hero stood in front of her with his hands on his hips, a smile on his face. She started to stammer, "I, um, didn't see, well, that is—"

Mekaneck, standing several paces behind Teela, extended his neck forward to whisper hoarsely into her ear. "Very smooth, Captain."

She tried to hit him in the nose with her elbow, but his head snapped back and she missed.

He-Man, and everyone else for that matter, could tell that Teela had a bit of a crush on him. Part of him — the Adam part — got a kick out of it when it caused the normally stern and professional soldier a bit of embarrassment.

"Hello everyone." his voice boomed. Ram Man and Duncan warmly greeted their comrade. "Adam met me out at the entrance. We split up about a hundred paces back, he said he had a feeling about one of the side passages. I couldn't talk him out of it. He's quite the courageous young man."

Teela coughed.

"Hm, I don't know if that was wise," Ram-Man doubted.

"Adam's got a knack for figuring these things out. I wouldn't be too worried about him," Duncan covered for the prince as he poked at his wrist computer. "He-Man, I trust Adam debriefed you on the situation?"

Before He-Man could speak, the group heard the rockslide sound again. This time it sounded very close, and started getting louder. The group threw nervous glances at each other.

In a burst of stone shards and dust, the tunnel wall exploded open directly beside Teela. Her reflexes sharp, she ducked whatever came out of the hole before it hit her. The dust hadn't quite settled yet when the group realized what had happened.

"Megapede!" The color drained from Mekaneck's face at the sight of the monster. The huge insect pulled its entire length out of the hole in the wall. Mekaneck locked up and couldn't react. "I told you I told you I told you." It was even bigger than he feared. It looked like it would take two men with their hands joined to wrap their arms around it.

The creature circled back toward Teela, bringing itself face to face with her. She threw a kick that landed squarely on its head, but it was unfazed. It lunged at her a with its pincers, which she jammed open with her staff.

He-Man grabbed the monster in a bear hug, causing it to focus on him and forget about Teela. It flexed its pincers, snapping the staff. Improbably quick for its size, it broke his grip and shot forward at him. He-Man stood his ground, his arms straining to stop the creature's pincers from crushing his chest.

Teela began to rush toward the megapede, but Duncan held out an arm to hold her back. He leveled his other arm toward the giant insect as a cannon unfolded from his gauntlet. He struggled to aim for a clear shot as the megapede coiled around He-Man.

"Duncan, no! If you miss, you'll cause the tunnel to collapse! I've got this!" He-Man tried to sound confident through his groans as he struggled to contain the monster. "Continue on without me, I'll keep our new friend occupied!"

The megapede coiled tighter around He-Man's legs, and soon he was on his back, still forcing its pincers apart. Ram Man could no longer stand by and watch. He charged his armored shoulder into the megapede's head. The force of the impact sent the coiled-up insect - and He-Man - rolling down the dark labyrinth passage.

"Come on everyone, let's go after it!" Teela tried to rally the troops to follow He-Man and the creature.

"I think he's got it under control. That strike knocked the megapede out cold. He-Man should be able to free himself and catch up." Duncan sounded almost non-chalant as Teela silently fumed. He turned to the hole in the side of the passage. "This tunnel the megapede dug might be a good shortcut to the central chamber. Mekaneck, you're up. Check it out."

Mekaneck's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding. After what just came out of there?"

Ram Man's booming laugh caused Mek to jump. "Megapedes are territorial creatures. That's the only one we're going to see here."

Mekaneck pressed a button on his wrist cuff, illuminating his goggles. "Unless that was a brood mother..." Trepidatiously he approached the hole and sent his periscope head down. "Thing probably ate Adam already," he muttered under his breath as he searched, but his words echoed in the tunnel and made it back to the rest of the group.

"Good. Hopefully, it's full and it won't eat He-Man," said Teela sardonically.

Even Man-at-Arms laughed at that. "What are you seeing through there, Mekaneck?"

"The tunnel opens into a large room, but I can't see very much else. There's no light in here, but it looks safe enough."

The group made their way through the tunnel. Ram Man was surprised he could fit through. They made their way to the room Mekaneck had discovered. Man-at-Arms fired up a flare and tossed it onto the floor to light the room up.

"Keep close, everyone," the general ordered.

As their eyes adjusted to the flare's light, everyone turned their attention to an altar in the center of the room. Resting on the altar was the object of their expedition. They found the Cinderhorn. From a distance, it looked like a common bugle but made out of volcanic rock.

Mekaneck began to strut toward the altar. "You're welcome, everybody. Hold your applause, I don't do it for the glory."

Teela heard a click. "Mekaneck, wait—!"

He activated a trap. The floor dropped out from all four of them, sending them down a slide of smooth stone. They slid for what felt like several minutes. Long enough for each person to imagine their own horror they'd meet at the end of the ride.

Spikes — A bottomless pit — Lava fissures — A nest of megapede larvae. The possibilities crossed everyone's minds.

To their collective relief, they spilled out into another large room. A stone slab slammed down, cutting off the way they came. The relief was short-lived.

As the group collected themselves, rubbing the parts sore from the landing and dusting off, Teela got in Mekaneck's face, squinting and pointing her finger. "Again I ask: Why, exactly, did we bring you along?"

He wanted to fight back and point out that he did technically find the Cinderhorn, but thought better of angering Teela further. "I'll start looking for a way back up." He shot his neck up toward the room's high ceiling, which annoyed her even more anyway.

Ram Man bellowed, "Get out of the way!" He was in a dead sprint toward the stone that sealed off the slide, the ground shaking with each stride. Launching himself at the wall like a human battering ram, he hit the stone and collapsed to the ground. The stone did not budge or crack.

Duncan frowned. "If that didn't break it, it's not going to break. We'd better look around."

After a few minutes of surveying the room, the group started to feel like there was no way out. No doorways, ventilation shafts, windows, or gaps of any kind. What they did find, however, was some wooden furniture.

Ram Man picked up a couple of wooden chairs off the ground and sat them upright. "Looks like this was once a dining hall of some kind. Doesn't seem like the kind of place people would live, though."

Mekaneck sighed, feeling guilty about their current predicament. "It may not have all the comforts of home, but we've been at it for a while. Maybe we should just wait for He-Man to find us."

Man-at-Arms activated a homing beacon on his wrist computer. "Teela, Mekaneck, break up one of these chairs and start a fire. We're setting up camp."


The megapede, with He-Man still wrapped up in its coils, rolled like a cannonball down the passageway until it hit a wall. Hoping that Ram Man's attack and the impact against the wall knocked the insect out, He-Man tried to gingerly lift himself out of its coiled-up body.

The monster was still alert, and instead of letting him out, it tightened its grip, pinning He-Man's arms to his sides. A groan of pain escaped the Champion of Grayskull as the insect squeezed like a great snake. The megapede reared back its head, flared its pincers, and struck. Just in time, He-Man pulled his body downward, escaping the coils and slipping out from underneath.

"I'm all for giving a friend a nice big hug, but we've only just met." The danger of the situation might have been overwhelming if he didn't try to find the humor in it.

He squared his shoulders and drew his sword. The monster drew back and seemed to regain its composure. Man and beast faced each other as if it were a duel. Again the megapede flared its pincers and lunged at He-Man.

He-Man sidestepped and brought his sword down hard on one of the pincers, shearing it off. The creature seemed to shriek as it flung itself backward, away from He-Man. In a fury, it lashed its head wildly at the warrior, who knocked the megapede back with a perfectly timed punch.

It thrashed back and forth down the hallway as He-Man watched, feeling a little sorry for the creature. He wanted to avoid doing any more damage to it if possible. It was a living being after all, and it did not deserve to be killed simply for acting on its instincts to protect its territory.

He heard a grinding sound behind him. Slowly He-Man turned to see the source of the noise. It was very dark in the labyrinth, but he was able to make out a boulder, large enough to fill the entire hallway, rolling right at him.

"The megapede must have triggered a trap as it backed away!" He had no choice but to run in the direction of the monster and pray it was not poised to attack.

Ahead and to the side, he spotted a small alcove, where there was placed a sconce holding one of the luminous stones. He ducked in and pressed himself as flat against the wall as he could, turning his head to the side and squeezing his eyes shut. As he felt the breeze of the boulder rolling past him, he poked his head out to watch it go by. He heard the megapede shriek again, and a moment later, the crash of the boulder reaching the end of the hall.

He-Man felt relieved. Then he felt guilty about feeling relieved. He hoped that the megapede survived. Perhaps there was a hole or side-tunnel it was able to crawl into. Regardless, he determined his friends were more important than the monster and ran back to where the scuffle began to find them.


The four Masters, Man-at-Arms, Ram-Man, Mekaneck, and Teela silently sat around the campfire, staring into its light. A low rumble caught everyone's attention. A stone panel at the opposite end of the room from where they entered slid open. Out tumbled He-Man, who landed roughly on the floor of the chamber.

Ram Man saw it before anyone else. He sprinted toward the opening He-Man came through. He did not make it in time; just like the previous opening sealed itself shut, so did this one. Ram Man did not stop his sprint, however, and hurled himself at the stone panel. It was no use.

"What is this stuff, anyway? There's no rock I know of that I can't break," Ram Man complained.

Everyone else's faces lit up at the sight of their comrade, but a realization also dawned on them. Now they're all trapped down here. Man-at-Arms deactivated his homing beacon.

He-Man collected himself and looked back at where he came from, then glanced at Ram Man. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked downward, frustration with himself evident.

Teela and Duncan spoke simultaneously, "What happened?" They used the same words, but the tones of their voices meant the question differently.

He-Man grabbed a chair and sat down by the fire and told the story of his battle with the megapede. As he explained the boulder crashing into the end of the passageway, he just said that he wasn't sure what happened to the creature. He kept his guilty feeling to himself.

"Delightful!" Mekaneck snapped. "So that thing is probably still loose, and now it's angry!" He gestured wildly and walked away from the fire.

Duncan shook his head.

He-Man continued. "After all that, I tried to backtrack to where I split up with Adam but must have taken a wrong turn and ended up sliding down into this room. And you know the rest." He shrugged.

"Adam will find us," Teela said hopefully. "If he didn't find a fishing hole somewhere in this dungeon."

He-Man threw his head back in a laugh. "No, I doubt that very much," he said, aware that he could be taken two ways. He looked to the fire. "It was a good idea to set up camp for the night. Why don't we relax for a bit and come at this with clear heads after a rest."


Everyone rummaged in their packs for some provisions and their canteens. Nobody was happy about a dinner of ration bars and water, but they had to make the best of the situation. Duncan had the foresight to pack extras. He tossed a share to He-Man.

Resigned to the reality of their situation, Teela sat down next to the fire and sighed. "Well, since we're going to be stuck here a little while, let's lighten the mood a bit. Anyone pack a deck of cards?"

Man-at-Arms removed his helmet and rubbed his forehead. "No, but this reminds me of survival training back at the academy. When I was a cadet, we would play a game at camp. Each cadet would answer a question about themselves, something they've never volunteered before. It was a great way to get to know each other better and share a few laughs."

Teela clapped her hands together in enthusiasm. "That sounds like a great idea, father! I think I'll ask..." She scanned the group, deciding who to pick. She wanted to ask He-Man, but she ignored the pull to do so, instead choosing the most reserved member of their group. "Ram-Man!"

The hulking soldier ran his hand down his face and looked up to the ceiling. Why me? he thought to himself. "Hey now, I didn't agree to any interrogations."

"You don't have to play along if you don't want to," She looked off into space to think of a question that would get Ram Man to open up. "If you could trade talents with any of the other Masters, who would you choose?" came the question.

Ram-Man was taken aback. He was expecting something like, "How did you get so big?" or "Don't you ever get headaches?" or "How do you fit through doorways?" Conversations with people usually turned into unintentional insults, which caused him to withdraw from social situations like this. This was a pleasant surprise.

He nodded. "Moss Man." Duncan looked at him with an arched eyebrow. Teela balled up her hands under her chin and looked at Ram-Man, genuinely interested in his answer.

"I've had a dream of retiring to a cabin in the most isolated part of the Evergreen Forest. I would grow a garden of beautiful, fragrant blossoms and delicious vegetables." A broad smile broke out over his face as he wistfully, and somewhat sadly, imagined out loud. "I'd have fruit trees and berry bushes; enough for all the deer and squirrels to come and enjoy. Even bears could visit and share. They would probably think I'm one of them. No armor, no fighting, just quietly enjoying the peace of nature." He suddenly grew self-conscious and pulled his helmet down low as if to hide behind it.

Teela looked at him with wide eyes. "That's beautiful, Rammy. I had no idea."

He-Man's eyes lingered on Teela. It felt good see her unwind a bit.

"How cliche can you get! The big brute is a sweet softie on the inside." Mekaneck laughed as he patted Ram-Man on his armored shoulder.

"Yeah. Well." Ram Man seemed to shrink, regretting sharing something so private. "Same question to you, stretch. But with one of Skeletor's Scourge instead of us Masters. Who would you trade powers with?"

Mekaneck, intent on making a joke out of this whole experience, answered immediately. "Come on, double-wide. Isn't it obvious? Two-Bad, of course!"

Duncan couldn't stifle his laugh. "Why, so you can trade barbs with yourself all day?"

Mek took off his helmet and looked the general in the eyes. "What's the only thing better than a mechanical telescoping neck? Two mechanical telescoping necks!"

Laughter erupted around the campfire. Mekaneck sometimes went too far when teasing his friends, but he knew exactly when to make fun of himself to keep everyone in good humor.

"I don't think anyone can find a hole in that logic, friend." He-Man smiled at Mekaneck. He was enjoying bonding with his comrades like this. "So that leaves me with Teela or Duncan." Adam's mischievous smirk appears on He-Man's face. "I think I will ask Man-At-Arms... In your service to the crown, what is the most difficult secret you've had to keep?"

The question was intended as an inside joke, more from Prince Adam than from He-Man, to his friend and mentor. Duncan didn't take it that way at all and became visibly flustered. Does he expect me to blurt out the secret of his identity to everyone? he said in his head.

Duncan swallowed his frustration and stiffened his posture, sticking his chin out. "You know I am not at liberty to divulge such privileged knowledge, not even among my most trusted comrades-in-arms," he said, sounding very official.

"Lighten up a bit!" Teela swatted at Duncan's arm. "This game was your idea in the first place!"

"So it was." He started to regret it a bit. The old soldier narrowed his gaze at He-Man, who was behaving a little too much like Prince Adam for his comfort. He turned to his daughter and directed his question to her. "Captain Teela of the Royal Guard, why did you decide to enlist in service to the Crown?" He nodded to himself after asking the question, thinking he had her on the ropes.

"Um... My father made me!" Teela belly-laughed deeply as she answered. Everyone else soon joined in.

If it weren't for the dim campfire, it would be obvious how red Man-at-Arms face had become. He was expecting a very staid and professional answer, something about fealty to crown and country, protecting the realms, maintaining the security of the Royal Family. But before too long, he succumbed to the infectious laughter. Even if he became the butt of the joke, he achieved his goal of keeping the topic away from secrets.

It took a few minutes for the laughter to die down. As it did, Mekaneck took his turn.

"Okay He-Man, it's down to you and me," he said sounding as if he was challenging He-Man to a duel. He-Man smiled as he took a big bite of his ration bar. Mekaneck's facial expression became serious. "There's something I've always wanted to ask you."

Duncan thought that he might have to worry about what was coming next if it was anyone but Mekaneck asking the question.

"Mmph!" He-Man interjected as he was chewing, holding a finger up until he could swallow. "Let me interrupt you. I want to try and guess the question." He narrowed his gaze and turned to no one in particular. "I hear a lot of rumors and chatter in my travels," he said in a mock whisper.

Mekaneck grinned and held up his hand in friendly acquiescence. "By all means, have at it."

Duncan raised his canteen to drink as he cautioned his protege silently in his mind, Be careful, lad. Don't get too casual. In a way, this was important training for He-Man.

"No, I am not married to the Sorceress of Grayskull."

Man-At-Arms' eyebrows flew up as he choked on his drink. Coughing and sputtering, Mekaneck clapped him on the back while howling in laughter and shaking his head. Teela didn't seem to notice. She just looked at He-Man and smiled.

Mekaneck continued, "Well He-Man, we've finally found something you cannot do, and that is read my mind." He sported a huge grin while He-Man nodded along with his ribbing. "No, sir, my question to you is: is He-Man really your name?"

He-Man shook his head and chuckled. "No, it's not my name."

"So what is it then, a title?" Teela interjected, suddenly interested in the topic.

"No, it is deliberately meant to not be a name or title. It's more of a..." He-Man trailed off, finding the correct word. "Description."

Ram-Man broke in with a revelation. "Like how one might refer to a ferocious mother bear as a she-beast."

Duncan was impressed. "How astute of you, Rammy."

He continued. "I spend a lot of my off-time in the Royal Library. I've read brief passing mentions of mysterious warriors appearing in wars, but no other biographical information." He nodded as he worked it out in his head.

He-Man's eyes smiled. "Exactly! There have been many anonymous warriors over the generations sent by Grayskull when Eternia needed help. It isn't a person named He-Man, it is a 'he-man' who mysteriously appears to defend the people. When the warrior's job is done, he disappears."

Teela couldn't help but look disappointed after hearing that last bit. He-Man made eye contact with her. "Not literally. At least I don't think so." That would certainly complicate things when Prince Adam becomes king, he thought to himself.

Mekaneck interrupted, pointing at Ram Man, "A green thumb and a bookworm. We are learning an awful lot about our hard-headed friend here! What else, do you do embroidery as well?"

Ram Man silently wished for the megapede to return.

Man-at-Arms steered the conversation back on topic. "I think we have Skeletor to thank for this particular He-Man's extended stay with us," said Duncan. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea for He-Man to divulge all this information, but he was pleased to see He-Man interacting with his comrades like this. It was something he so rarely got to do. Besides, Duncan justified to himself, he needs to be able think on his feet and interact with people as He-Man.

He-Man turned to Ram Man. "Now that I know you're such an avid reader of the histories, maybe I should pull a few strings and see if I can get you into Castle Grayskull's library." Ram Man's eyes grew wide and shined under his helmet.

Mekaneck had been pondering over the explanation and spoke up, "I do suppose continually repeating 'the unknown hero' at storytime became tiring, so the description of 'the he-man' turned into a proper name over the generations and stuck." Satisfied, he stretched out on the ground and rested his head on his pack. "Scintillating conversation as always, gentlemen, but I shall retire to my chambers at this late hour."

One by one the party went to sleep until it was just He-Man who was left awake. As he reflected on a fun evening with his friends, he realized that nobody was really all that concerned that Adam was still lost. He chuckled to himself. Everyone was pleasantly distracted, after all.

He paced around the room while the others slept. We do need to find a way out of this room sooner than later, he thought. He unsheathed his sword and held it upright in front of his face and whispered, "By the power of Grayskull."

The sword started to glow blue. He carefully extended it away from his body and moved it in a slow arc in front of him, noticing the glow became more intense in one particular direction. He walked forward, the sword's glow acting as his compass. The tip of the sword clinked against the wall.

"Thanks for trying," he hissed under his breath. He leaned forward, pressing the sword forward where it first touched the wall. The stone panel moved. He-Man quirked an eyebrow. He put his hand on the wall and pushed, swinging a panel open. "A hidden door!" he quietly marveled. He ducked through to find where it led.


A loud crash shook the room and woke the Masters. They all bolted upright and looked amongst themselves, their brains foggy from sleep. Their gazes all settled on the door He-Man had found while they all slept.

"Thank you again for finding that hidden passage, Adam, and say so long to the others for me!" He-Man's voice echoed from a distance.

Teela focused on the door. She slowly stepped toward it, the rest of the Masters quietly and cautiously doing the same behind her.

Adam slid into view in the doorway, his head turned to the side. "Any time He-Man, don't mention it! Nothing to be embarrassed about, anyone can fall into a trap in one of these old dusty dungeons. I'll see the rest of the team out!"

Duncan's furrowed his brow, but as Adam walked toward him with a big smile on his face, he noticed he was carrying the Cinderhorn. While the four of them slept, he found a way out of the chamber, recovered the artifact, and evidently discovered a path to the surface.

Ram Man silently nodded his approval, as he packed up his gear and smothered the campfire.

"Well, I don't know how you did it lad, but I think I speak for all of us when I congratulate you on a job well done." Duncan patted Adam hard on the back. Adam beamed up at his mentor.

Teela was suspicious. "Did you really find the Cinderhorn and find a way out of here? Yourself?

Adam nodded. "With my own two hands." He was behaving a little too graciously for Teela's comfort. The Adam she knew would take every opportunity to gloat.

"And He-Man?"

"Called back to Grayskull." He didn't lie. "You heard him leave, didn't you?"

Teela squinted. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

"See that you do, Captain." He lowered his voice in a mock-serious tone and saluted. Adam turned to Mekaneck, gesturing to him with the Cinderhorn.

Mekaneck congratulated his friend. "Well, I've got to hand it to you, old man. It's not every day someone can say they saved He-Man."

Duncan locked eyes with the prince. "You'll have to tell me the story. Yes, we'll have a long talk all about it."

Adam knew exactly what his mentor was getting at, and was not looking forward to it. He realized that using He-Man to bring attention and glory to himself was an irresponsible use of Grayskull's power, but he was not overly concerned about that right now. He was just happy he was able to complete the mission and find a safe way out of the labyrinth.

The Cinderhorn was placed in a satchel and given to Ram Man to carry back out. The group still had a long walk back to the wind raiders ahead of them, uphill this time, but the talk around the campfire had everyone's spirits bright. Before long, everyone settled back into their normal habits. Teela and Duncan discussing military formation, Adam and Mekaneck cracking wise over anything and everything, and Ram Man daydreaming about the garden he hoped he would one day build.


Updated May 24, 2021: Fixed some redundant lines which snuck in during the editing process. Re-added breaks which disappeared when I uploaded the file. I know there's a verb tense error in here somewhere, but I didn't spot it again skimming back through.

Thanks for reading!

I'm kind of easily embarrassed and prone to over-explaining things to anticipate criticism. This was my first fanfic. I've written MOTU character bios for fun and professionally, but I've never written a story. I hope it wasn't too bad.

This story came from an idea I had of some of the heroic warriors sitting around a campfire and getting to know each other a little bit better, with someone irreverently asking He- Man what was up with his weird name. I went backward from there, trying to find a way to get everyone to camp together. So I came up with a situation that seemed like it would work as an episode of the show (80s or 00s). To that end, I tried to make this feel brisk like a TV show. I don't know if I was successful there. :)

Writing stories is something that looks easy when you read a few, but ends up being pretty tough once you actually do it. Let me know if it's boring and if stuff should have been edited out. Hopefully, He-Man and Teela mooning at each other wasn't too ham-handed. Let me know how it turned out.