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Though Heroes Fall - Part 15

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A visitor in the night. by omnivore7

A visitor in the night                                    (click on image to see at full size)                                    The work of : sazariel.deviantart.com



7.4

 

 

He-Man dreamed he awoke in near-darkness with his senses, even dulled as they were, telling him that he was not alone. A figure stood by the bed where he lay – a female figure – but he could not make out more. He began to lever himself upright, but a soft hand pushed gently against his breast and bore him back down to the palliasse.

“Who–?”

Ssshh. Lie still.

“Teela! Is – is it really you?”

Who else? She seemed to laugh softly in the absence of light.

“But – how?”

I was – sent.

“To – free me?”

No – not yet. But to comfort you.

He must be dreaming, a lucid part of him told himself; she could not really be here – Or could she? Her dark figure appeared outlined in a faint flickering light, as if she were somehow shining. He sensed the presence of a power.

“I – am – in great want of comfort,” he admitted.

And for that I was sent. And to console you in your loneliness and need. So be silent now – lie back and be still.

The darkness was warm about them – but her touch yet warmer and it eased and soothed – and drew a long sigh of lost content from deep within him. Gently she lifted his chained hands up behind his head and lowered herself to the pallet – and her hair fell freely all about his body in a smooth shower of silk. Fingers moved with subtle insistence and yearning flesh quivered quickly taut to the touch; lips came close, mouths moved together and were as one in breath. Her body covered him like a blanket of fine linen and he was drawn under by it, like one who ceases to fight against the waters which drown him. His mind wandered in far and unknown regions and he was lost – and found again. All else was set at naught, even his torment forgotten as flesh fused willingly with flesh. Nothing of it remained with him but the sense of her unseen presence and of her gentleness to him, and the sheer, sweet, spilling delight of it. Never had he felt such boundless bliss. And eventually, unhurriedly, there came release too – and freedom awhile from fear and from the long echo of pain.

Spent, he lay back and drew deep breath, far from himself and from all else besides. Unknowing of the rest, a sensuous slumber enfolded them, suspending time itself. Hands held; limbs twined together as sleeping bodies breathed as one. And, in time, she awoke and rearing above him came again and laid her lips to him and kissed him as he had never before been kissed so that he too rose renewed once more – and both were glad.

And when at length her warmth went from him and he opened his eyes, the faint shine of her was still there in the darkness, a glamour all about them both. A soft hand laid itself across his brow and then covered gently over his eyes – and a voice spoke wordlessly; it was well known to him – but it was not hers.

After this, a part of me will always be with you – always.

And he felt her go from him and blinked himself awake – and was alone again.

 

******



He-Man in extremis by omnivore7

In Extremis          
(click on image to see at full size)        The work of :  thepolishgirl.deviantart.com (with just a little anatomical aid from Omnivore7..)



7.5

 

 

The Machine, obedient to her will, whirred softly into motion and, as the cables were wound smoothly onto the drum, tightened its iron hold on its captive. Perforce obedient to the will of the Rack, He-Man was drawn steadily, inexorably apart – and at once the dormant hurts within him awakened and renewed; torn muscles and stressed joints voiced their outrage in the silent, deafening tongue of pain. His figure, splayed out and stretched, shone glistening beneath the lights like a newly gilded statue. Breathing with care he held himself steady, gauging the effect; it was just bearable – for the present.

She leaned to him and spoke, slowly shaking her lovely head.

“How much more pain will your stubbornness purchase? How much more of this punishment do you think even your unmatched frame can withstand? Less than you would hope – and certainly far less than the Machine can carry out. You know by now its sheer strength, its implacable capacity for inflicting suffering; what is frail flesh to set against that? Must all your joints be started, this smooth skin split, these lissome limbs torn from their sockets? Must I see this long and golden body of yours destroyed?”

He shut his eyes tight; but could not stop his ears from hearing her words.

“Your strength is waning; that of the Machine is not – and so this can end but one way. Why, then, continue with so pointless a struggle? What are you defending by your silence? Not the Sorceress who has betrayed you and left you to your fate? Not Grayskull, whose power has been but a burden to you and which now withdraws itself in the hour of your greatest need? Not your friends and allies who are altogether as deluded as you? So why do you resist me still? Why? Or is your word truly so significant that it cannot ever be broken – that you yourself must be broken in its stead? For that is what the Machine will do to you; break you past all hope of mending, leaving you utterly shent. Please do listen to me! There is a better way and I would have you take it – and save not only yourself but others! The offer which I made to you when we stood together high in wind and sun; that offer still stands. The beauty of the vision I set before you awaits us. For I would take your noble nature, your strength and skill and enhance them all with a power worthy of your station – and make a true king of you; one both revered and renowned!”

Her voice rang out with the glory of the destiny she set held out before him; his tension-tautened body trembled with the words she spoke – but he made no answer, seeking only to endure. She leaned close and caressed his face with a strange tenderness which shook him through. Slowly his pain-glazed eyes opened again and met her look – but could not hold it.

“Is it not both stubborn and selfish on your part to value the mere keeping of your vow ahead of the good of all this world and the welfare of its peoples? Surely you must see that it is? And at what point does valor become vainglory? So why do you still elect to suffer? Shall we not end this torment? Say that we shall and gladden us both – yes – and all Eternia too!”

The lights on the overhead screen were flashing now; red was a color he had learned to hate. He could see himself in the image, lying there, stretched tight between the taut cables. And he could feel the Power withdrawing from his body, his own failing strength – and the steady onset of despair. Each refusal cost him more and more of the diminishing reserves of will he still possessed. But still he managed to make himself shake his head; it was safer not to speak – his voice would surely betray him. She studied him close, and then her eyes shut tight and she sighed deeply with a matching shake of her own head.

“Very well, then – very well –”

He was subjected to a further rotation of the drum; the tension tightened and held, and held him transfixed tight within it. Strung out, strained in every part, he closed his eyes and repeated the silent words; resist; endure; fight! repeated them over and over and over, to numb the unending throb of the anguish: Resist; endure; fight! But he knew that he was losing, was becoming no more than a red streak of puremost pain – and was almost pathetically glad when she at last released the stretch and granted him relief.

“You look – different – when you are suffering; even younger, somehow. Boyish, almost. In fact, you remind me of someone else entirely – though I cannot quite place the resemblance. I wonder, now –” She looked at him again, frowning with consideration, her voice of a sudden uncertain. “I seem to sense a spell of some kind – But yet – no. No –”

She turned away to the controls and He-Man felt sweat stand out on his brow, and it was more than just the renewed torment. Was it becoming so obvious, as the Power waned within him? Would he actually transform back into Adam – but slowly, by degrees? Or else even in an instant, under excessive stress? It had happened more than once before. And would it even matter now if it did? She would know his great secret – but since he would not survive this treatment anyway – Of course it will matter! You must fight on, He-Man – you must! Remember: resist; endure; fight. Adam, I’m failing – my strength gives out – without the Power I’m nothing! If you submit then Grayskull falls – and you let them all down – everyone who trusts you. You’re the Sorceress’ champion and – She’s forsaken me – no help comes – no word – nothing! I know – and it’s hard on you; but you swore an oath all the same. And do you truly think that Duncan would ever give up on us? Do you? Then why doesn’t someone come? I can’t hold out against this much longer! Even if I last out the day – and the one after – in the end either my will or my body will be broken! You must hold – choice doesn’t enter into it. It’s killing me – killing us both. Yes; it is – And dying like this is – terrifying. But Grayskull will still stand – unless you betray it. But with me – gone – then it may fall anyway! All the more reason for you to hold fast. But for how long? I don’t know; but you must try. And if the transformation happens anyway – what then? How long do you think you can resist the Machine? I – don’t know. I’m not the hero here – and I certainly haven’t your strength. But I shall try my best – just like you. It isn’t much of a plan, is it? Have you a better one? If so, then now’s the time for it. No – I only wish I had. Oh, I was a fool to fall for this; I should have listened to Duncan! We should have listened; but Teela’s safe – remember that. And if we die – well; at least we won’t have to live with the shame of betraying all Eternia. But dying – like this! Why doesn’t anyone come? I wouldn’t let any of them suffer in this way! I don’t know; but I haven’t given up hope – not yet. What if Lyn’s right? What if no-one’s coming to save us? What if we’re all alone? They will. We must trust them. Then they had best hurry – my powers are failing; I grow weaker every day – and this torment goes on and on! He-Man, they must be coming – they wouldn’t just abandon us to –

A jolt of sharp, smarting pain lanced through him bringing him back with a gasp and he bit his lip hard to stifle the urge to cry out aloud.

“No, please don’t drift off. We have much to do yet – if we absolutely must. You will not have forgotten this.” She held up the probe – and his features tightened in instant, instinctive reaction before he could school his expression to impassivity. “The lights shown screened above depict all the most tender, most sensitive spots for its effective application. You see, the Machine now knows your body and its weaknesses better than you do yourself – and it will exploit that knowledge to the full. So I fear that the pain will now be very bad – quite past all bearing.”

He-Man closed his eyes and strove hard to level his breathing, to shut out her insidious words which so sapped his courage. He did not want to look at the screen above; he knew only too well what it would show him. At least, he told himself, while she was making her threats she was not actually applying them – setting him to stretch so agonizingly – or jolting him with repeated electric shocks. Or both together – He drew deeper breaths, seeking to summon his depleted strength. She came yet closer and he felt her fingers stroke back the soaked hair from his brow; her tone sounded regretful as she went on.

“There is ever a price to pay for power – always. Did you, my young innocent, imagine that you were exempt? Or did the Sorceress never see fit to warn you? Ah – I see that she did not. And that, perhaps, is no great wonder. But now you pay the forfeit for a power which withdraws its strength from you just as you feel its want the most.” He opened his eyes and looked up at her; the appeal in his face was unintentional, perhaps, but yet it was there – and she gave him a sad little smile of understanding. “And I pity you – truly I do. To find out that all you have fought for, that all your suffering is in vain, that you have been deserted by those in whom you placed your trust – must be – hard.”

He swallowed the lump which had formed tight in his throat; her words touched him – and he struggled to stay silent in the face of her sympathy – the only kindness he had been shown since first this ordeal began. He suppressed a treacherous longing to tell her how aggrieved he felt – how betrayed by those he had so faithfully served. Again she shook her fine head, her lovely eyes filled with a sorrow which he knew to be for him. “No; not even you in all your unimpeachable nobility, your touching fortitude and hardiness of heart, are exempt. And nor am I – for it grieves me sore to hurt you, for all that I must.”

“Must?” He gave a short, dismissive pant and raised his head to look at her.

“Lyn – why do you do this? Why do you carry out such cruelty?”

“Is that not obvious – even to one so charmingly naïve as you?”

“But – all this – for power? Is that all you wish for? What good will it do you?”

“You still don’t understand, do you?”

“No – I don’t. But I’m trying to.”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes; I think it does. I asked you once before – and when I told you that that I believed you had good in you – you turned away. Why, Lyn?”

“I – I was – surprised –” she said, suddenly defensive; he could detect her discomfort – and pressed her further.

“Or was it because I was right? That there is good inside you – and that you know full well that what you do here is wrong?”

She frowned down at him as he lay there, his head lifted to look at her and his eyes very blue and intent.

“You speak boldly – for one in so vulnerable a position.”

“Perhaps; but that does not make me wrong – or you right.”

“This is no simple matter of right and wrong.”

“No; it is: all things come down to that simple choice in the end. And we must all of us make that choice.”

“Then I have made mine: and you are paying for yours.”

“One day – and maybe sooner than you think – you will also pay for yours, Lyn.”

“I told you; I do what must be done.”

 “In denial of your nature?”

“Sometimes we must overcome our natures and do what is needful.”

“So you don’t deny that you know this is wrong?”

“Let me remind you that if you had not reacted so predictably in your clumsy haste to save the girl, then you would not be lying here now.”

“I did – what I had to do.”

“Yes. And so do I.”

“But – how can this be right, Lyn? How can such evil ever be necessary?”

 “Perhaps to avoid a worse – and for a greater good.”

“And so in pursuit of power you overcome your true nature?”

“Maybe; or maybe this is my true nature – have you considered that?”

“Yes; but I don’t believe it.”

She paused, meeting his steady gaze – then looked quickly away.

“Perhaps you should,” she said.

“Then what terrible thing befell you – what darkness lay in your past to bring you to this?”

“My – past?”

“Yes; did someone mistreat you? Was there cruelty shown towards you?”

“Would there need to be some such, then?”

“No one would turn to evil without cause – no one.”

“That is only what you wish to believe.”

“It is what I do believe – and I believe it about you, too. So tell me.”

She hesitated, biting at her lip – and then she frowned.

“It is not your place to question me.”

“Why not? Are you afraid of the answers?”

“You – you are only trying to buy time – to distract me from what must be done. But you will not succeed.”

“I’m trying to understand why you do this – what drives you to such unnatural acts.”

“And if I told you, if you arrived at the understanding you seek, would you then open Grayskull to me?”

He looked up at her – and frowned with the realization.

“No,” he answered slowly. “I would not.”

“Then it would be without purpose – even if you believed me. Which leaves us only – this.”

She held up the electro-probe before his eyes – and watched him wince in resigned reaction.

“Yes; your interrogation must continue; since you will not tell me, then you must be made to tell me. Your silence must be punished with pain: pain for both of us, since you clearly have no idea what it does to me to do this to you.”

And she bent forward and touched at him again with the electro-probe; sweat sizzled on his skin with the atrocious intensity of it – and he bit down hard on his lip – but could not hold back a gasping sob – nor yet hide the tell-tale way in which his body continued to convulse, jerking on and on puppet-like within its restraints.

Elders! How much longer will she do this to me? I don’t know. Maybe not too much more, now. And if not? Hush! Concentrate – close your mind to the fear. Don’t let it in! Do you think I’m not trying to? Try harder. But I’m scared that I’m going to scream – and begin to babble. Creator’s teeth, He-Man! Be still, will you? You really aren’t helping yourself!  Neither is anyone else – or they’d be here by now – Stop it! You can’t afford to think that way. But I can’t fight on indefinitely! Look, with any luck you can pass out again soon. And be revived – and go through the whole cycle again? If needs be. You’re a real comfort, I must say. I’m recalling your high duty to your mind – lest you forget it. You swore an oath. You swore an oath, Adam – not me! That’s a false distinction – and you know it! Look: like it or not, we – both of us – are bound by it. And I’m bound to the Machine – and it’s destroying me – and it may all be for nothing! For Grayskull is not for nothing; how can it be? But what if Lyn’s right? What if the Sorceress has no more use for us? And what if Lyn is sincere about helping me, giving me the power to defeat Skeletor, remake Eternia as it should be? Do you trust her? It would be more like her to seek to deceive you. But it makes sense – rings true. The Sorceress denied me the full extent of the Power – and without it I can never defeat him! She must have had her reasons. And for leaving me here to my fate? Did she have her reasons for that, too? He-Man, it’s a question of whom to trust – and why would you trust Lyn before the Sorceress of Grayskull? Because she tells me the truth! You don’t know that! How can you? But Lyn’s right in one thing; there is a price to power. With payment in pain? Yes – But the Power is leaving me! I’ve honored my pledge to the Sorceress time after time – you know it’s true! And now she won’t lift a finger to help me! There’s still the matter of a binding vow. But if the oath itself was false then this is all for nothing! Worse, it’s actually helping Skeletor, since I’m the only one able to cast him down! So Lyn says. Who else can, then? If I die here we die here – then he wins all! Another champion will arise. Who? Some other deluded youth who thinks he’s a hero? Ancients! If you put half the effort into fighting Lyn that you do into arguing with me, then you really would be a hero! Look, Adam; I’m all-but spent – and my spirit is riven with doubt. Lyn seems to know so much already – and I really do think that she has some good left in her. If I could but – The risk’s too great – you can’t afford to trust her! Deep down she really wants to help me. So that’s why she’s tearing you in two, is it? It’s complicated – Complicated? Sometimes she’s so very kind to me. Kind! What’s this? Are you becoming complicit in your own torture? No! But – I – Admit it – you’re attracted to her, aren’t you? She’s using that weakness to lead you astray! But you just said yourself that she tortures me! And in the night? Was that torture too? That was a dream! It was Teela who came! Was it? Are you so sure? I – thought – Well – are you? No. No; I can’t be, can I?  And, anyway, what would Teela say right now? Well? I – I – Oh, Adam! I’m so confused and frightened! What shall I do? Stand by your oath. Resist her until help arrives, what else? I don’t know if I can – You can. You must. I’m trapped aren’t I? And there’s no way out of it. Why me? Everyone asks that in time of trouble. But you already know the answer, don’t you? Yes – I suppose I do – Doesn’t stop it hurting, though, does it? No! That it doesn’t. But you’ll hold on, won’t you? I’ll try. I know you will – you’re a hero – remember? I don’t feel like one. Does anyone – ever? All you have to do is –

Lyn brought him back from his tranced abstraction more kindly this time, by stroking his face until his eyes opened and met her own.

“Where is it that you go to, He-Man, when the pain is beyond bearing? And with whom do you speak in that far place?” Her voice was soft, curious. “I should like to know.”

He made the effort to raise some kind of smile. “Yes, I’m sure that you would. But you could not find your way there, Lyn. And you never shall.”

She did not smile in return but clicked her tongue. “Why will you insist on treating me as an enemy?”

“Because you insist on acting like one – and because duty and conscience together tell me to act as a true hero should.”

“And suffer accordingly?” She raised the probe; its smooth metallic length gleamed bright menace under the lights.

He nodded, poised mid way between defiance and resignation – and quite without hope.

Again current ripped into him, causing him to thrash against the restraints and groan high-pitched through tight-clenched teeth. When it ended and his body had ceased to quiver he lay panting and spent, gulping for air – and the look he darted at her was far from friendly. But Lyn only shook her head with that same rueful air.

“Why must you be so stubborn? Why won’t you see sense?”

“I – I have no choice.”

“And since you insist on believing that error, then you leave me with none either.” She sighed and turned away a long moment. When she returned she hung over him – and her voice had a more urgent tone. “If you would but let me, then I could end all this. My art would take away the pain even to the last lingering memory of it and make you whole and well again; instead of hurting you I could heal you. Would you not like that? Surely you would? And I would so very, very gladly do that for you give you the loving care your courage deserves. Will you not let me show you kindness? It would bless us both!” Her voice had almost a desperate edge to it as she pleaded with him.

He looked up at her, temptation and suspicion at war in his face – and finally shook his head.

And Lyn clicked her tongue in irritation.

So do you think my words but some idle boast? Then watch – and learn!”

With a downward flick of her wrist she brought the probe into contact with the taut muscle of his upper chest and held it there. The current tore through him with its burning surge, setting fire in his flesh and agony in his bones, screaming its way shrilly through his nervous system and leaving no single part of him free of pain; he clenched his jaw and shut tight his eyes as he fought it, his entire body tense and vibrating in anguished effort, tugging at the cables which held him with a desperate, futile force.

And at last it ended and he lay shuddering and gasping, with heaving torso and streaming sweat and it was some time before his eyes opened and blinked up at her.

And Lyn nodded, a little color up in her pale cheeks, and leaned close.

Now watch again,” she said. “Watch, as I make manifest my power.”

She reached her right hand to the glistening mound of his chest and laid it over the blistered, blackened flesh of the burn she had just caused and He-Man stifled a cry at the raw pain of her touch. Though misted eyes he watched, quite unable to look away as her hand began to glow with a pale violet light that grew steadily stronger and stronger until it seared him and he averted his gaze. But the agony was abating the heat was gone, replaced by a delicious cool, as if a healing balm had been applied; and yet he knew that this power had a strength which went well beyond any balm. And he felt her hand lift from him and raised his head to see and at once his eyes widened: where the burn had been was only smooth, brown, flawless skin; it was as if the hurt, the pain, had never even existed.

He stared at her in wonder and saw her smile a little and softly shake her head.

But how ?” he mouthed, his voice unsteady.

I too am possessed of a power,” she replied. “And it can perform much. This is mere childs play compared with its true might. I could so easily heal all of your hurts, even those most serious, given but a little time.”

You you have the healing power. Truly you do. B-but you use it to to torture, to harm and to hurt. Why, Lyn why?”

Because I seek to heal not only you, but all Eternia! And I cannot do so while you persist in your stubborn, futile defense of your mistaken beliefs. Yield to me, He-Man yield! You have fought with great courage, done all that honor demands and more. But let this be the end of it. Let me use my power to heal for your good I would do it, so, so gladly!” She leaned close to him, her eyes imploring, filled with both urgency and sorrow and he was deeply moved. And tempted.

But he could not yield – and again he told her so. And she, thwarted, told him in return that he was ungrateful as well as mistaken – and that what she must now do to him was by his choice, not hers. And so she operated the Rack and set him to stretching once more – and when he was held tightly at the terrible tension of three turns, plied him with the probe again and again until his breath failed and he all-but blacked out. With the revolutions reversed, the pull at last slackened off, he lay sweat-glazed on the slab and drew in painful lungfuls of air – and his eyes accused her in bitterly reproachful silence.

“I know, I know; I understand – believe me,” she said quietly. “And I really wish that I could let you rest: the Machine’s sensors tell me that you are in sore need of it. All the same, this must go on until you permit me to help you. If you continue with this pointless obstructiveness then – for your own good – I shall be forced to be even harder on you. I would greatly regret having to use the needles again; but I shall if I must. You won’t have forgotten them, I’m sure. And when they are combined with the Rack and the probe – and the pain enhancer – then even your much-vaunted valor will shrivel. And then, of course, there are the lasers –”

He fixed her with a fierce blue glare.

“Well, I won’t beg!”

“Beg? You? So true a hero, so firm in your resolve, ever willing to suffer in defense of those who have deserted you? The very thought of it! Why, you won’t even allow yourself to scream, will you?” The edge of mockery – if such it were – went from her voice and she spoke soberly, intent upon his expressive face, both angry and apprehensive. “And I would think less of you if you did. Don’t you know that?”

He stared up at her, as ever uncertain as to the truth of what she told him. Her pity, the strange admiration she expressed for his defiance always unsettled him; it undermined his willpower even more than when she hurt him. And she sounded so sincere, too –

“You – don’t have to do this –” he managed.

“I wish that were true. I long for it to be over.”

“I wish that were true as well.”

“It is true. But I can only make you believe it when I succeed – when you come to understand at last that I do this only for the good of Eternia; to bring down our dark adversary – and to make of you a king.”

“Against my will?”

“If I must; though I hope still that you will come to understand – and allow me to give you what you need in order to throw down Skeletor and bring light – lasting light – to this, our dark and war-weary world.”

“By betraying my oath?”

“An oath falsely extracted by a ruthless sorceress who has long exploited your innocent goodwill – and who has now deserted you. I will grant you what she will not; the power to recreate Eternia. But first I need you to grant me the boon of making of you what you were born to be. I can do it – and will; if you will but do this one small thing for me.”

He fought over again the bitter battle within himself. What if she were right and he strove for nothing – suffered only in a cause which had abandoned him? What if by undergoing this torment he simply strengthened Skeletor’s grip on Eternia, since no other could bring him down? And he too wanted this to be over –

Lyn sighed. “I really must have your help, He-Man. Eternia’s need is great – and I have staked my all – and the fate of many – on securing your aid to make my vision a reality. But you are bound by the Sorceress’ cunning deceits, your mind trammeled so that you employ your pride and courage for her – and not for me: and not for Eternia either. And I cannot persuade you otherwise – and so must employ force.” With a shake of her head she took up the control unit of the Rack and looked at him. “Why must it be this way?” she asked – and depressed the button.

Stretched helplessly, every part of him suffering the appalling strain, sweat salt-stinging his eyes, he held on – and on – hoping against hope that she would not subject him to any more rotations of the drum. The tension held once more at three turns – and bending forward she sought yet again to persuade him to yield.

“Show sense, I beg of you! The Machine is tearing you apart!”

He opened his eyes and peered blearily up at her.

“You – you do it to me.”

“No! He-Man, it is the Sorceress, her spellhold on your mind. Let me release you from it – please! Help me to help you! It is not submission – it is not! It is but sense! Let me spare you, heal you – bring you to the destiny long foretold for you!”

“My vow –”

“History will absolve you of it – once you are in a position to re-write the chronicles of our time – once the Dark One has been overthrown.”

“It would be – betrayal – I –” His breath gave out, his words failed and the pincers of the pain closed tight so that his senses swam. Seeing, she released the tension and revived him with water – and with the mephitic substance in a phial which she held before his nose.

“The only betrayal here is the one that has been done to you,” she told him when he was again in a postion to hear her.

He coughed, half-choking over his words.

“I – I am Grayskull’s champion! I can’t go against that –”

“You would be saving Grayskull – from its worst foe.”

“I – would be – b-betraying every free b-being on Eternia!”

NO! Not at all! Did you understand nothing of what I told you, showed you, up there on that high place? But surely you did – your eyes told it plain; so now you choose to be obtuse with me! If you will but trust me – as implicitly as I trust you – then I shall empower you to save Eternia; yes – every last free being in all this turning world!” She paced, gesturing wide with the force of her emotion. His eyes followed her – and registered both doubt and temptation. To be free of the pain – and of Skeletor – could it be true? Could  it? She was so very vehement in her desire – and he recalled with a pang the loveliness of the image of Eternia she had set before him; a world rendered free of the shadow of fear. “But, instead, you fight me, force me to do you harm! Cannot you see what this is doing – to us both? Please listen to me – for the sake of those beings – for my sake if not for your own, since you seem to care nothing for yourself!”

“Lyn, I – I – don’t know how to answer you. L-let me think – give me s-some time – please.”

She shook her head. “I should dearly like to; but I fear that you will only grow yet more stubborn – and all this will be to do over again. And I would fain spare you that – for all that you do not help me.”

He gave a kind of sob – and turned his face away.

“I – I don’t know – what to do!”

“Then do what you do best – fight! Fight at my side! Bring your sword, your strong right arm, your powerful presence to the battle; the battle which we must win if this wounded world is to be healed! Together we shall rid Eternia of a great and enduring evil – and you will at last fulfill your destiny and prove yourself a true hero.” Her voice fell, softened – and she drew close again; her hand stroked his hair, his face. “And then, He-Man – and then I promise you that I shall be yours.” A kiss full on his lips pledged her promise – and the promise of much more besides. “I have seen how your eyes follow me – how you stare when you think yourself unnoticed; I know your desire – and I will fulfill it – in fullest measure. For what other woman is my match in looks or words – or deeds? Who could ever pleasure you as I can – and will? Who else has my knowledge, my art? And all these things I will gladly place at your service: yours – and yours alone.”

Above him the lights on the panel turned all to amber yellow – but he was too engrossed to notice – or to care. Her hands caressed him with loving-kindness – yet there was a fierce, devouring hunger in their touch too; her fingers were soft, supremely skilled in their sensuality – and, helpless and open, he could not help but rise to it, resist as he might. And, seeing, she smiled on his very obvious response. “I need not ask if you find me desirable, for the answer stands out –” Smiling still she spoke again, her touch still upon him. “Why do you deny your true nature, the sensual stirrings of your body? Why do you fight on when there is no need? The tension it creates within you puts the Rack to shame –” He suppressed the moan which rose rapidly to his throat and tilted back his head as her intimate caresses routed his remaining resolve. “Come; you are far too handsome, too love-worthy to perish. These lordly limbs, this silk-smooth skin, this superlative body of yours – all are far too fine to be torn apart in some futile gesture of defiance. They were not made to be used so – nor need they be. No; I have a far more fitting use in mind for you – one that I see you share. For am I not fair? Am I not a prize worth the winning – a mate fit even for the mighty He-Man?”

He drew a breath that caught tight in his throat, that was suddenly hard to swallow. He blinked rapidly; his ears were humming, his heart racing – all his senses at feverish pitch as desire mounted yet more urgently. It was a surging tide – and he was carried away in its swelling. His answer was in itself an admission – and a relief to him as he spoke at last the words of feeling – the words of truth.

“Yes, Lyn – you are – beautiful – As lovely as a mountain under morning snows – Moreso than moonlight on the spreading ocean –”

She smiled at his words, perhaps touched. “Why, I took you for a warrior, not for a bard – but I see there is yet much about you for me to discover.” Still her hands roamed freely, gliding over his sweat-slick skin in a way which inflamed his senses to madness. “And so, soon – very soon now – I shall.” Fingertips traced teasingly the muscled outlines of his core; a firm forefinger delved his navel and circled softly in slow rhythm – and the savage surge of appetence filled his entire being, choked him, charged him full so that he emitted a low moan as her breath fanned his cheek. “Imagine how it would be for us – together,” she whispered. “For who would be like unto us? What pair among all the planets could equal our conjoint splendor – and our strength? And in our coming together there would be joy enough to gush forth in molten streams – and melt away all other care –”

“Your – your touch is like summertide in midwinter, fire and ice alike – It – both burns and renews; it overwhelms me.”

“And what truly lovely depths of feeling you possess – and all held concealed within this wondrous exterior, this hero’s frame so fair and strong –” Her skilled, appreciative caresses were rousing him to unknown heights of ecstasy; he felt fit to burst with the bliss of her handling, as if his skin were splitting with the sheer swollen compulsion of need. All other will was vanquished as instinct won its way; there was only the now. “It seems that your soul is quite as beautiful as your body,” she breathed. “I would scarce have deemed it possible –”

“I yearn for you – soul and body alike – I –” His words failed as he gasped with the iron intensity of his desire.

“And such deep wellsprings of feeling, too – so apt and eager a response; such clear capacity for pleasure in one who has sternly denied his needs so very long –”

“Lyn – please –”

“Yes; the touch of spring in winter is a phrase fitting enough, since it brings about the melting of the ice – and causes chill solidity –” the placing of her soft, sensuous fingers underlined her meaning “– to gush forth warm and free –”

Please – !”

She bent to kiss his lips again; her tongue caressed the hollow at the base of his throat, traced a cool track down his burning chest – and he groaned aloud at the awful thrill of it and tugged desperately at the restraints, the cables which held him down.

“Free – free my hands – I –” he could barely breathe for urgency – “I want you – I must have you – Free me!”

She smiled, and slid herself smoothly up onto the surface where he lay and straddled him, her thighs pressing his flanks. “What need?” she whispered, supremely arch in her triumph. “We shall do very well as we are, you and I. Very well indeed. But, first – allow me.” Her hands, set smooth upon his breast, flowed over his ribs; her dexterous fingers followed the grooves of his segmented stomach and so down – and down. His eyes widened in momentary surprise at what she next did – and then he closed them with a grateful sigh – and surrendered himself to long-denied pleasure and the ready release of hard-pent desire.

But it did not last.

What are you doing, He-Man? This is wrong! Stop her! I – I can’t – You must! Can’t you tell what she’s up to? Resist her! How can I? I’m completely helpless – That’s no excuse at all – But I’m – Ohhh –! Control yourself! Listen to me – concentrate! I can’t – she’s – I know what she’s doing to you. But you mustn’t let it happen or you’re lost! But it feels – wonderful. No! Don’t think about it – don’t! Focus hard on my voice – listen! I – I can’t, I’m – You can! You must! Don’t let her do this to you, you fool! But No! Think with what’s between your ears, not between your legs – She’s so – Listen to me! Afterwards – I’ll listen to you afterwards – If you let her do this to you then there won’t be an afterwards! She will have won! Resist – fight her! But I’ve no power left. You won’t have if you don’t, you idiot! You don’t understand, Adam. You’re right enough there! But I know just how wrong this is; you’re letting her seduce you – and you can’t pass this off as a dream, can you? It – feels like a dream – She’s corrupting youshe’s after the Power, and you’re handing it to her on a platter! The Power – it’s leaving me – that’s why you’re here. And it’s as well that I am, too! No – you don’t understand: Lyn will grant me the Power in full – give me back my Sword! You aren’t meant to have the full Power – it’s too much for you – for us. You know that! I can’t win without it. Win? If you take the Power without license then even if you win, you lose – all Eternia loses! The Power – It’s not for you – not all of it; its way too dangerous. Lyn will guide me how to. Guide? But at what cost? She means me no harm. No harm? Then why is she torturing you? To save me. Save you? Don’t be so gullible, He-Man! You’ll fall – give in, tell her – and then she’ll have no more use for you! She’ll make me a king – What, King He-Man? What an absurdity! If this weren’t so serious I’d laugh! I’m the one destined to be king, remember – if there’s still anything left to inherit once you’re done betraying us all to Evil-Lyn! Adam, I – Fight back, He-Man – before it’s too late! But she’ll torture me again – and I’m so very tired and weak – Fight her – or I will! But – you can’t – you haven’t the strength – Nor, it seems, have you. Some manner of hero you turned out to be! What would Father say? Or Duncan? And what about Teela?  Teela – Yes – Teela! She deserves better of you than this, He-Man – much, much better! That girl loves you – and you know it. I – can’t love her back – it isn’t allowed. So what of that? Does that make your submitting to Lyn right? I – I – No; no it doesn’t. Then get the blood back into your head where it should be – and resist her. You can still find the strength; it’s there, inside of you. Use it! I may fail – And I’m – afraid. Of course; we both are – but if you won’t fight her, then I shall have to – and we both know what that will mean. Yes – You are Champion of Eternia, Guardian of Grayskull, He-Man – strong, resilient; admired by all. So act like it! Adam – I – I – think you’re stronger than I am – Only in some ways; or if not stronger then at least not as – tempted. So – you stop her right now – or it will be too late!

And, strengthened, he spoke out at last, his voice hoarse.

“Lyn – don’t. I – I – don’t want you to.”

Distracted from ardent amorousness her lithe body ceased its rhythmic motion; her head lifted – and her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I said stop this; it – it isn’t right. Get off me.”

“You were eager enough until now –”

“We mustn’t do it. It’s – wrong.”

“Wrong? But –”

“You can’t win me over this way, Lyn – so don’t try.”

Her lips pursed tight – and a different light shone in her eyes. Slowly she rose from him and lowered herself to the floor, her gaze not leaving his face – once more defiant.

“You scorn me –?” she said in a tone of quiet disbelief. “You actually dare?”

“Not scorn, no – And not from choice; but because I must.”

“After all I have done for you – offered you? And now you set me at naught?”

“No – Lyn; not at all. Far from it. But I still can’t yield to you – though a part of me wishes that I could.”

“And you will do so with all your being before long – that I promise!” Her hand snatched vengefully out – and took up the control unit for the Machine.

“Lyn – listen to me –!”

“Oh, but I shall; I shall listen to your screams with the profoundest of pleasure. It is high time you learned not to trifle with me!”

“But, Lyn – Lyn – NO!

With a vehement gesture she stabbed the control – and the Rack wound on – and on – and on – stretching and stretching him until his chest  swelled huge and hollow with the urge to cry out – and his overborne senses fled down the deep red tunnel of pain into uttermost darkness.

 

******

 

7.6

 

The Sorceress sat in stillness, her mind elevated to the highmost planes of power, moving slowly among them scrying, ever seeking, hoping still to reach He-Man in her mind; to re-establish a connection between them – and to reassure him that he was not alone. But, once more, she found herself baulked by the sheer strength of the shielding spell, denying her thought entry to the place it wished to be. A dark mass of intermeshing strands, an impenetrable web of sorcerous power trapped all which sought admission – and, probe as she might, she could not pass through. It was more than mere malice: it was might made into obdurate denial – and its woven threads were as adamantine as the darkness of despair. Again she strove, driving the force of her will up against the clinging, strangling web; a cold, clear light like a single star moving defiant amid enshrouding shadows.

But she was again rebuffed, falling back, returning to her body shaken and trembling with the harsh futility of all her exertions. Slowly she calmed, recovered her composure – and set her mind to ponder ways and means for the finding of that which was lost. Long she sat in thought, unmoving as a carven image upon a timeless throne; and all about her silence reigned.

At length she stirred, because it seemed to her that the answer did not lie in thought but in a deeper place: heads had failed them in this matter; Adam’s error had been that of a hasty and loving heart – and so it must be that the answer lay where love alone could find a way. And that a love which brooked no barriers but demanded by right that nothing be held back.    

Silently she called upon the Power and, opening wide her heart for once, for good or ill, she summoned to her aid all that Grayskull’s ancient might could grant in defense of its champion whose need was great.

In the name of love.

And light burned, blinding bright, scattering the shadows, searing the eyes of her inner sight – and she saw – she saw.

Images, sensations flitted across her mind, visions from afar, fleeting impressions of uncertainty, turmoil, fierce bodily desire – of loneliness and fear; of betrayal, resentment – and, above all, of pain.

Tight-lipped she endured, a film of perspiration forming on her brow, hands clenched white-knuckled on the arms of her throne. And she groaned aloud with the vicarious anguish of it.

He-Man – hear me! Be brave; please be strong – and hold! Remember your most solemn oath and turn not against us, I implore you!

Her head jerked back and she went rigid, quivering along all her length and all color left her face.

Help comes – it draws near even now! Hold but a little longer –!

But she knew that he could not hear her, that his dulled and blinded senses told him only that he was alone – abandoned – and in agony.

And her sudden cry echoed all through those shadow-haunted halls of silent stone.


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domfemdom's avatar
Great writing as always and very good art too!