Disclaimer: I do not own Masters of the Universe, or any of its associated characters and lore, whether He-Man-aligned or She-Ra-aligned. That right belongs to Mattel, and those they trust to adapt it for animated series and comics alike.
[SBE]
The Swap Between Eternity and Ether
[SBE]
The Princess of Eternia
[SBE]
Training Grounds of the Royal Palace of Eternos, The Light Hemisphere of Eternia
Located in the exact center of the universe, the planet Eternia was often noted by both natives and non-natives as an awe-inspiring, diverse world of multiple species operating under the laws of science and sorcery alike. It was not always a peaceful, or fair, existence for the Eternians and how they approached the universe itself, but the presently Royal House of Randor did what they could for their people from the capital city of Eternos.
It was in the outside training grounds of the royal family's grand home that the young daughter of King Randor and Queen Marlena, Princess Adora herself, was undergoing combat with Captain Teela of the Royal Guard with only the overall head of Eternia's armed forces titled Man-At-Arms as their witness. As a fair spar between the two, there was nothing life threatening about the occasion, just Man-At-Arms making sure that both of the young women would be prepared whenever real battle came to them.
Adora, who was approaching the age of sixteen the following day, was a Human being with fair skin and flowing blonde hair, who wore a red vest over her white shirt and a pair of long black pants. Noted by many Eternians to have had sharp, yet lovely, physical features, Adora was praised by many citizens as the kind of royal who was focused on her duties, but no less compassionate to those less fortunate than herself.
Teela, a fellow Human only slightly older than Adora with browner skin and red hair, wore a white uniform and gold hair piece suited to female members of the Royal Guard. Described by Queen Marlena as a "by the book kind of tomboy," Teela was adopted, as far as Adora understood, by Man-At-Arms when still a baby, and had been brought up into a strong, athletic, and loyal soldier by her adopted father, who indeed earned her command over the Guard. Although Teela had her rigid moments, Adora nonetheless saw her as her closest friend since their childhood.
While the two displayed their fighting skills, Man-At-Arms, real name Duncan, was standing to the treeline observing. A tall, muscular, brown-bearded Human wearing the blue helmet, orange armor, and green uniform worn by his fellow soldiers, Duncan was looked up to by Adora and Teela as one of Eternia's finest warriors, a distinguished inventor, and the most trusted advisor to King Randor dating back to when he was still a prince.
Clinging her metallic, knobbed staff against Teela's, Adora showed a small smirk as she asked, "Do you yield, my captain?"
Returning the expression at the sound of Adora's banter, Teela replied, "Apologies, my Princess, but I haven't even begun to fight."
Sliding back to deliver a side kick that Adora was barely able to dodge, Teela then took out a round metal disk that expanded to form a larger, hovering disk that she jumped on, while exclaiming, "Catch me if you can, Adora!"
Seeing Teela dare her in such a manner, Adora followed suit with her own Disk Rider and allowed herself to enjoy the brush of air in her hair as she quickly caught up to Teela. The two friends traded grins as they continued their flying race and held their staffs up to continue their training when the Guard Captain saw something that brought alarm to her face.
"Watch out," she cried out before stopping her Rider in midair with Adora doing the same soon after.
Taking a glance at what alarmed her childhood friend, Adora saw that if she and Teela were not careful, they would have slammed into the stature of the late King Miro, and would have been bodily harmed as well as punished. Wincing at the thought altogether, Adora bowed her head in sincere apology as she said, "Sorry, Grandfather. From both of us."
A whistle from the training grounds captured the attention of both girls, and they both hovered down to the grassy surface where Man-At-Arms was expecting them. "I think that's enough training for today, young ladies," he said with a serious tone of voice before betraying a small smile of his own. "Still, Teela, Princess Adora, I'm most pleased that the both of you have been progressing further in hand to hand and with your weapons."
"Thank you, Man-At-Arms," Adora replied with a grateful expression and nod of her head. She then showed a small frown as she commented, "Still, while I enjoy a good fight, I think I would prefer encouraging peace and cooperation better."
Nodding in understanding, Man-At-Arms said, "And it's a noble ideal, Princess, but sadly we must be ready for whatever grave threat comes our way. As your mother once said, if we seek peace, we must prepare for war."
Feeling a playful jab at her right arm, Adora turned to Teela, who remarked, "What you need is something sweet and something refreshing after that workout. Nothing too big, though, or your appetite will be ruined at the big party tomorrow."
Showing a small smile at her friend's recommendation, Adora ultimately showed a downed look at the reminder of her upcoming birthday that neither Teela nor Man-At-Arms failed to notice.
"Adora," Man-At-Arms asked in concern before the aforementioned princess cleared her thoughts and turned to him.
"Lord Duncan, can we talk in private?"
Letting out a chuckle, the technologically-talented soldier answered, "You don't need to address me like I'm a stuffy and boring aristocrat, my Lady, but yes."
Showing a smile of appreciation, Adora half-joked, "I could call you my uncle, but that might be a bit unprofessional."
"But not at all unwelcome."
The three shared a good laugh until Teela excused herself with a wave and humorously telling Adora, "See you later, cuz," leaving Adora alone with Duncan.
Taking a seat at a nearby stone bench, Adora let loose a sigh and began to say, "Duncan, I'm not really feeling excited for my birthday this year."
Uncertain and surprised to a degree, Duncan asked, "Do I dare ask why not? It may seem childish, but this is a time when those who are most dear to you show their care for you, most of all your parents."
"That's the thing, Duncan. My parents." Exhaling again at the sight of Duncan's perplexed facial expression, Adora explained, "I didn't really notice it as a little kid, but during my last couple of birthdays, I could tell from Mom and Dad's voices and looks that something was bothering them on my birthday. As if they weren't really happy for me."
"They weren't happy for you," Duncan repeated in disbelief. The man then forced a laugh as he added, "Adora, with respect, that's preposterous. Your mother and father love you with all their hearts. How could they not be happy having you for a daughter?"
"Then what did I do wrong," Adora let out with a yell, frustration and desperation evident in her tone.
Taken aback by Adora's question and how she said it, Duncan thought to himself quietly, and the princess saw the look of realization in his eyes before he sighed and turned back to her. "Adora, perhaps it's best you talk with His and Her Majesty about this," he finally advised.
Adora felt like she had been slapped in the face and immediately responded with, "No! There's no good outcome to that! Either they tell me what's wrong and I get upset, or far more likely, they dodge the question and we argue into some kind of hot mess! Regardless, we don't need that family drama."
Duncan adopted a firmer expression and tone as he reminded her, "Adora, you won't feel at ease until you hear the truth."
"So, why don't you tell me now then, Man-At-Arms," she ordered in a challenging way.
"It's more complicated than that, and it can't be just me who tells you," Duncan snapped back. The two held their heated stares at each other until Duncan gave in to his regrets first, saying, "Adora, you are like family to me and my daughter both, but I cannot simply go behind my King's back in this manner," he then placed a comforting hand on Adora's left shoulder as he added, "But please don't take this the wrong way. You are, have always been, and always will be loved."
Adora felt tears of both sadness and guilt develop in her eyes before she quickly said, "I gotta go now," and then ran fast to her quarters in the palace before Duncan could reply or stop her. It was a dumb thing to do, and Adora knew that, but she was only Human and she felt too upset for further conversation.
[SBE]
Snake Mountain, The Dark Hemisphere of Eternia
To say that Eternia had both a Light and a Dark Hemisphere meant only that one half of the planet was bathed in good magic and the other in dark magic. Said to be the result of an ancient spell that split the prevailing supercontinent into its separate parts, each Hemisphere was historically counted to attract the typical Eternians that would prefer whichever half appropriate to their needs and wants.
The Light Hemisphere, which included Eternos, had the most life on Eternia. Perfect for farmland, the careful balance of nature, and other attributes that served the growth of empires and the wellbeing of millions of people.
The Dark Hemisphere, however, was best described as an expansive wasteland that made a good industrial playground for some and a criminal refuge for others. And the fittingly named Snake Mountain was a signature landmark to that part of the planet.
Made of stalagmite-like peaks with an enormous stone snake wrapped around them, Snake Mountain was historically said to have been the creation and headquarters of the Eternian Snake-Men before their defeat at the might of Eternia's greatest warrior king, King Grayskull himself. In the present day, though, a different form of evil had taken root within Snake Mountain's fortress, incorporated many mystical and technological innovations into it, and was, at last, ready to strike at the heart of Eternia itself.
Within the fortress, a mass gathering of blue-skinned, winged demons in purple clothes with horned light-blue skulls and beak-like mouths, all wielding bone-themed swords and daggers, stood in attention as their terrible ruler looked over them as if he were a deity. While there were several other warriors of diverse species in attendance as well, including a scantily-clad Human witch, all of them, begrudgingly or dutifully, obeyed their master and stood apart from him.
Seated upon his throne, the blue-skinned Master of Snake Mountain with demonic bare feet, who wore a purple cloak and hood over his body, held a long staff with the purple skull of a ram on it, and was attended only by his large, green-eyed, purple-furred savage cat of a familiar, surveyed his audience with the glowing red eyes in his otherwise obscured cloak. At that moment, no one dared to utter a sound until their lord and master was ready.
Finally, he exclaimed, "My Skelcons," the demons all cried out in recognition, prompting their overlord to add, "My Evil Warriors," his more diverse followers then joined in the cheering. "After so many years of careful planning, secret preparation, trials, and errors, our time has come at last!"
Everyone praised the news as their master finally stood from his throne, staff in hand, and conjured a magic burst of purple light for effect. "Here, from the ruins of this fallen kingdom," the overlord continued his speech, emphatically saying, "where the Snake-Men tried and ultimately failed to bring Ancient Eternia to its knees, we crafted ourselves into a mighty army with which to strike that fool of a king, Randor, from his underserved throne!"
Allowing a moment of good cheer to pass, he then added, "And take everything that rightfully belongs to us! You shall all be rich beyond your wildest dreams and among the most powerful in this universe, while everyone who ever did us wrong shall be exterminated!"
His forces of evil all exclaimed their excitement of the carnage and promised rewards that awaited them, which was when their master remarked, "All ages yet to come will remember tomorrow as the day when the purity of evil eternally blessed Eternia and the Havoc of Destruction echoed on all worlds across the universe!" Showing the palm of his free left hand, the dark lord of Snake Mountain added, "Randor's reign will end as a new Master of the Universe arises to his proper destiny!"
Prepared to make his finishing sentence, the fiend revealed his green-skulled head as he concluded, "All living beings on all worlds in all galaxies within this universe shall hail Skeletor!"
"All Hail Skeletor," the Evil Warriors applauded first.
Following, soon after, the Skelcons shouted in unity, "All Hail Skeletor!"
"All Hail Skeletor," all who served the Lord of Destruction proclaimed as their ruler looked over them with arrogance and, most of all, greedy expectation. The sixteen birthday of Princess Adora would be an event no one would ever forget.
[SBE]
After Masters of the Universe: Revolution was shown on Netflix, I found myself inspired to make one-shots at least and/or full stories at most about the franchise as a whole. I actually would like Archive of Our Own to feature an All Media Types tag that would have all He-Man and She-Ra depictions listed under it. I mean, Sonic the Hedgehog, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and many other fandoms have their own, so it is only fair in my book.
Anyway, if the title and first chapter were not enough clarification, this story plays with the idea of Adam/He-Man and Adora/She-Ra having switched upbringings, and how it leads from there. Now, before it gets confusing to a degree, I would like to firmly point out that this does not mean that Adora is required to wear a loincloth anymore than Adam is going to wear a skirt.
I will explain things as we move along, but I would also like to say that while I am up for Catra, to name one example of a character to appear in this story, having her appearance from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, her personality will be slightly different from the aforementioned animated show in a fusion kind of way. I mean, how Scorpia was portrayed might remain mostly intact, but that is mostly because her traditional character model yells "Kycilia Zabi with scorpion features" to me, if you catch my drift.
Still, as a first for me, I think I will post this story on SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity to get some further attention, especially since I have some more chapters to write in and eventually post, anyway. While I do have my own ideas on how to make it all work, I will welcome apocrypha, and even fan art, on those forum websites to help keep it going. If nothing else, it could make for a good experiment.
As for Adora's part of this chapter, the idea came to me not too long ago that if Adam celebrated his birthday with their parents, the latter two would feel uneasy overtime which Adam may notice eventually. Not because they do not love their son, but because he shares his birthday with their only daughter who was taken from them, which makes it all bittersweet for them. The same works if Adam was taken away instead in my book.
Of course, Randor and Marlena do not mean to look like bad parents, it is just the lack of communication between them and their remaining child. Think Disney's Frozen, but in a mix between fantasy and science fiction among other differences.
All the same, be ready for the next chapter, where we go into the "ether" side of this swap.