Slave Pits of Targa, Part 7

This is the final part of the 7-part event on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2010's TV series).

Plot
He-Man leads Pythos and the Repton survivors back to the Slave Pits of Targa. He fights the Gargon sentries and tears the whips from the Kobolds’ hands. “Hear me, Slaves of Targa! We must stand together! We must force the Eternians to see the error of their ways! Come with me, and I promise you will never be slaves again! He-Man and Garn set about unlocking all the slave chains. “Very good,” Lodar says to He-Man telepathically. “You are doing well. The Circos Eternia has begun in the arena above. Take them!”

Meanwhile, King Randor and Queen Marlena meet in the royal box of the Arena, with the ailing King Torgul. He is barely able to stand, but he wears his ceremonial robes with distinction. Geldor sports a powerful axe, his weapon of choice as the Targan Champion in the games. He calls for the crowd to lower their voices. “People of Eternia, the Games will soon begin! Let our Master of Ceremonies announce the first Cycle of the Games!” Randor fears Torgul is too weak, and so stands up in his place. He begins to address the arena when the gates below burst open. The Repton slaves pour out onto the sand, stunned at first by the bright sun, but determined to leave their dark prison. At their point is He-Man, brandishing the weapons of his defeated Gargon foes. He yells a challenge to the head of the Arena. “Randor! Your tyranny of Eternia has come to an end. In the name of the Reptons you murdered, I demand your immediate abdication from the monarchy of Eternia!” Back on Point Dread, Sal is busy trying to use the Talon Fighter’s complex control board. “What about this?” Dakkon suggests and reaches for one of the control panels. His hand hardly touches the device when the ship comes to life. A voice speaks to them, and they realize it has to be the ship itself. “Greetings, brave travelers. I can take you to anywhere in the cosmos. State your destination.” “Targa,” they all shout at once. “Complying,” says the fighter, which sounds almost insulted by such a nearby destination.In the Slave Pits, Clamp Champ is trying to break free from his cell. The slaves have gone, and the Kobolds and Gargons have left him alone, but a stranger emerges from the shadows. Kobra Kahn approaches him, hissing with laughter. “I would rather have visited my wrath upon a more familiar Master than you! But soon my people will dominate Eternia once again, and I may never have this chance again.” He prepares to spew his venom on the Champ when a sound comes from the egg module behind them. Its shell cracks and breaks, and suddenly a shape leaps out to pin Kobra Kahn against the wall. Lizard Man has escaped Lodar’s prison! But the device has changed him, making his reflexes faster, his muscles stronger, and his agility is too much for Kobra Kahn, whose venom destroys much of the laboratory but never lands a drop on Lizard Man. Kahn curses the Masters and flees. “Lodar has He-Man’s Power Sword, and the rebellion must have started by now,” the Champ says as Lizard Man frees him. “But He-Man is totally under Lodar’s influence.” “He-Man’s sword is the key,” says Lizard Man with startling certainty. “While I was inside that device, I was one with the Liquid of Life…my mind reached all across Eternia, and I was visited by a beautiful angel. She told me how to help He-Man, but we have to hurry. Can you fight without your Clamp?” “I wield the Clamp, Lizard Man, it does not wield me. I have many such devices, and what they destroyed was the least of them. I’ll be ready for whatever you have planned.” In the arena, their adversary shocks Randor and the Masters. “He-Man, what has come over you,” says Randor, horrified. “I’ve killed no Reptons!” “Lies,” calls Lodar from the other side of the Arena. “He would say anything to keep the faith of the people. Show him justice, He-Man!” “He-Man, do not trust that creature,” yells Marlena. “He is not what he seems! We are your friends!” “Destroy them He-Man!” roars Lodar. He-Man hesitates, but he does not back down. “He’s not in his right mind,” yells Buzz Off. “We have to stop him before he hurts anyone!” He and Fisto leap down to the Arena and charge at the rebellion. He-Man jumps over Fisto and punches Buzz Off, sending him hurtling more than sixty feet across the arena floor. “Yes, He-Man,” cries Lodar, triumphantly. “Defeat the Defenders of the evil Randor!” “What is that fool doing,” Balina asks Geldor, angrily. “We weren’t ready to attack Eternos!” Geldor groans, “It doesn’t matter. The die is cast, and we’d better make sure we are on the winning side.” With the Masters engaging He-Man, Geldor is free to hold his axe to Randor, Marlena, and Torgul. “Majesties, this is a coup. Please surrender peacefully and no one else need be hurt.” A Targan soldier is hurtled past them from the battle below. “Not hurt much anyway,” Geldor amends. “But I must ask you to bow to your new overlord.” Suddenly the Clamp Champ leaps between Geldor and Randor, brandishing a new, more powerful Clamp than anyone has ever seen before. “The King of Eternos bows not to traitors.” Geldor is furious and swings his axe. The Champ seizes it with his Clamp and forces Geldor back. Geldor raises the power of his axe, which vibrates erratically and shakes the clamp loose. He swings again, almost hitting Randor, who is thrown down from the balcony. Stratos catches him just in time, but Lodar, seeing the struggle, throws an energy bolt that stuns Stratos in mid-flight. Randor tumbles to the Arena floor, but survives his fall without injury thanks to the Avionian’s attempted rescue.

During the distraction, Geldor retreats with his loyal guards, swearing his vengeance and leaving Balina and Drakka to fend for themselves. “It was all Lodar and Geldor’s plot,” Balina cries. “I swear, he placed me under a curse. I am innocent, Torgul! You must forgive me!” Marlena rolls her eyes and punches Balina right in the face, knocking her out cold. “Admirable actions, Marlena,” says Lodar, who hovers above them. “But Balina was not a complete liar. She and Geldor are no longer a threat. But your husband will soon discover that no one on Eternia can save him from the most Powerful Man in the Universe!” The Champ aims his clamp at Lodar and launches its arms at him. Lodar is captured, but he only laughs. “You think this toy can hold me? My power is stronger than ever, Eternian!” His magic crackles around him, forcing the clamp slowly open. In the commotion, Marlena runs down to the Arena. Amidst the chaos around them, He-Man throws off the last of the Masters and approaches the dazed Randor. “The children of the Reptons died in Cold Stone Mountain today, Randor. They died at the hands of your soldiers.” Randor is confused and barely conscious now. He tries to object, but Lodar commands He-Man forward, their telepathic bond growing stronger and He-Man’s own will diminishing. He raises his weapon for the deathblow, when Marlena rushes into the arena. The rest of the arena is a mass of fighting, but she reaches Randor just in time to run between He-Man and her husband. For a moment his sword is ready to kill them both, and Randor is too weakened to stay awake. “Stop He-Man,” Marlena pleads, “you don’t know what you’re doing!” He-Man does not listen. She begs him even as he pushes her aside to finish Randor off. She cries, “Adam, NO!” He-Man stops. The name is familiar to him instantly. The voice jogs his memory just enough to push away Lodar’s influence and allow the Sorceress to reach him. Clamp Champ has not heard what has transpired below, but he sees that He-Man has stopped. “Now is the time!” he shouts, as Lodar breaks free of the clamp. Suddenly Lizard Man is there, having approached stealthily under camouflage, and leaps onto Lodar. He pulls the Power sword from Lodar’s back and hurtles it down to the Arena. “Use the Sword, He-Man,” he shouts. The Sword lands at He-Man’s feet. He lifts the sword, feeling its power already starting to clear his mind. He raises the sword and cries “By the Power of Grayskull!!” A bolt of energy engulfs him, blinding everyone in the arena, and stopping the Reptons and Targans from fighting. When the energy blast dissipates, He-Man stands in his orginal attire, his mind cleared of Lodar’s confusing influence.

Meanwhile Lodar throws Lizard Man aside. “Meddling fools! I should have killed you when—“ “Your reign here is over Lodar,” shouts He-Man, his voice full of Grayskull power and wisdom. Instantly Lodar realizes his plot has been revealed, and He-Man is lost to his control. “Over? OVER?! Miserable cur! The Targans had already enslaved the Reptons when they found me! I used Geldor and Balina, but they were only too willing to harm your precious Reptons! None of these people are worthy of your protection! You think you have locked evil away in the Dark Hemisphere? HA! It is everywhere on Eternia, and I will sniff it out and to use for my own ends!” “That may be, Lodar,” says He-Man, confidently, “but there is also good in these people. And misguided or not, they deserve my help—just as they helped me when I too was led astray by evil’s lies.” Lodar growls with rage. “Then die, champion. DIE!” He flies at He-Man, his fists striking at his chest and head. He-Man blocks the attacks, and swings Lodar into the wall of the arena. Energy radiates from Lodar, as he grows angrier. He unleashes his power at He-Man, but the magic is no match for the might of the Power Sword. Lodar’s power is changed and directed back at him. He screams in pain and falls to the ground, his armor burned away and his body broken. “Fool,” he coughs. “I am more than this vessel. It was but a host, and I have others.” He crumbles to dust, and suddenly the entire arena quakes. A massive ship rises from under the city, and hovers over them. Lodar’s voice comes from it, as if the very ship carries his sentience. “Behold my power, He-Man, and farewell on your way to oblivion!” Giant canons swivel in the ship’s underbelly and target all of Targa when suddenly something fast streaks through the sky. A falcon shaped vessel cuts along the surface of Lodar’s ship, lacing it with fire. The ship lurches to one side, flames spewing from it like a bleeding wound. “I shall return, He-Man,” Lodar’s voice echoes. “Make no mistake. I shall return.” The air around the ship shimmers as it warps into another dimension. A final explosion rocks the arena and Lodar is gone.

The Targans gasp in awe of the infamous Talon Fighter, the ship of their legends, as it swoops down for a landing in the arena. Teela and the others climb out, and Maran runs to her father. When it is obvious that He-Man no longer needs his memory restored, they begin administering it to the freed Reptons and gladiators, as well as the captured Gargon and Kobolds, who revert to their human and Repton forms. Rana is reunited finally with her husband Garn, and the last of the liquid is given to Torgul to reverse Geldor and Balina’s poisons.

When King Pythos and the other survivors of the Cold Stone massacre are treated for their wounds, Torgul, refreshed and strengthened by his small dosage so that he seems like a much younger man, offers Targa’s profound apologies. “From this day forward, the Reptons are welcome in our city. We will help you rebuild your kingdom. We were fools to let Lodar manipulate us, and we are forever obligated to the wellbeing of your people.” Pythos looks to the humans freed from Lodar’s influence, to Rana and Garn, and he sighs. “Perhaps Reptons were not the only victims of this treachery. Let the grudges of the past be at an end, if we can have peace finally.”

Lizard Man is celebrated for his aide to the Masters, and Randor offers him a place as one of Eternia’s defenders. Lizard Man accepts the offer, for although his memory is restored, he has no family left among the Reptons, and he has come to value the friends he has gained among the Defenders of Eternia, especially Ranawho wants to join the Masters as their tracker. He-Man apologizes to Randor, but the King will not have it. “You have saved us more than once, He-Man. I am only pleased that for once, we were able to help you in a moment of great need.” When he has gone, He-Man speaks to Marlena. “Your Majesty, during the battle you said something to me that. . . I can’t explain. It stirred something inside of me, but now that I can remember so much, I don’t remember your words. What did you say?” Marlena smiles. “I reminded you who you are, He-Man. Even with Lodar’s influence, you were still a champion for justice. He tried to use that for evil, but Lodar underestimated the goodness of your heart. Some evil you could not do, even when you thought it was for a greater good. And for that, I thank you.” She kisses him on the forehead. Man-At-Arms approaches her later and asks, “Does he remember?” “No, fortunately,” says Marlena. “My oath to the Council has been kept.” “I had no idea he would face such a trial, my queen. I failed to protect him as I promised I would.” “We both knew the risks, Duncan. My husband and son are alive and safe, and He-Man has passed this test. I am thankful for that if nothing else.” Later, Teela finds He-Man reunited with Battle Cat outside Targa. “He missed you,” she says, and Battle Cat roars. “I haven’t found Adam yet. You don’t think…” “He is safe,” He-Man assures her. “And so is the rest of Eternia, thanks to you,” she says quickly, sensing he might need reassurance. “I have a great responsibility, Teela. The greatest Power in the Universe is in my hands, and I nearly let it be used for evil. I never imagined evil could be accomplished through good intentions.” Teela shrugs. “Perhaps that is how all evil starts. But at least now you know what it will do to turn you against us.” He-Man smiles. “You are very wise, today, Teela. I am grateful to have you for a friend.” She returns the smile. “Well you should be. And can I get that in writing? I’d like to show it to Adam.”

Far away, Kobra Kahn climbs to a peak where the masked one watches Targa. “Lodar is gone! I knew his promises would not be kept! What else can we do, General?” “Lodar matters not,” says General Rattlor, throwing off his disguise finally. “The Legendary Liquid of Life is ours! And with it, King Hsss shall live again!” as they both laugh evily.