Sibling Union

[Canadian_He-Man]

The ground was harsh, being a mixture of barren wasteland and basalt. It featured both magnificently deep and wide crevices, and craggly cliffs with steep inclines and juts.

On a large, and relatively level, plateau, they found themselves back to back, and bracing for the attacks of a menacing array of Horde troopers and robot knights as the armies began to enclose around them.

"Ready?" asked the male of the two.

"Of course!" happily responded the female of the two.

Then, with clarion shouts and fierce battle cries, the two leap into action, as swords disected what appeared to be artificial lifeforms in half, while deflecting stun beams at their attacks.

The noble warrior who paradoxically loved peace took in a great amount of air, only to exhale it at a column of robot knights causing them to smash into one another with metal shrapnel and sparks flying everywhere.

The revolutionary heroine who was actually a member of the established rulers of her own world began to use high kicks, and swift slashes, to pulverize Horde troopers.

Alas, then came the deafening sound of a gigantic tank with the visage of Hordak's face upon it rolling towards her.

"I think it's time for some team work!" she cried to her ally in this mission.

"Agreed..." grunted the muscular man of many talents, as he lifted up a giant dislodged boulder, and threw it into the air, "This should help you!"

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, as she leapt in a wide arch, striking against the boulder with a sharp deflecting kick with both of her feet, causing the boulder to crash right into the gigantic tank, demolishing it on site.

"Ha ha!" she allowed herself to laugh at the sight of the smashed symbol of imperialistic desire, peering down at the flattened scrap metal, "That went perfectly. Now then..."

"Watch out!" cried the most powerful man she knew, as he flung his sword in front of her to deflect a blast... a blast eminating from a ramhead staff.

She turned herself sideways to face the fearsome figure of Skeletor, sneering down at her with fierce flames eminating forth from his otherwise empty eye sockets.

"Thanks for the help!" she admitted with a smile, before making a mischevious grin, "But I can handle ol' bonehead from here!"

She then tackled Skeletor just as he was preparing to shoot at her once more, causing him to fall with great impact upon his back. She then punched his skull with just enough concussive force to knock him unconscious, but not leave any lasting phsyical damage.

"Nice job, sis." stated He-Man, as he casually walked up to his twin sister, pleased over their effective dismantling of the forces of Skeletor, several robot knights, numerous Horde troopers, and an oversized Horde tank.

"You shouldn't be the only one to have fun taking care of Skeletor, my brother." replied She-Ra with a smile, slowly coming to her feet, and brushing herself off.

"You did pretty well against him the last..." began He-Man, before his words where cut short by She-Ra's cry for him to 'watch out!' followed by her pushing him out of the way.

Great spurting flames came terribly close to burning He-Man, and those flames had come forth from Hordak's arm cannon!

Hordak quickly moved his arm cannon at He-Man's new position, letting fly this time with a minaturized missile!

"Sword to shield!" exclaimed She-Ra, using her shield to absorb the blast, and also protect both herself and her brother.

As soon as the smoke began to shoot up into the air from the deafening impact of missile upon Grayskull-enhanced shield, a He-Man sprinting forward with the look of roaring righteous indignation landed a simply pulverizing punch, causing Hordak's head to fly right off his shoulders!

"He-Man!" cried She-Ra, her eyes made wide and her mouth agape and shocked at the sight.

"I wanted to get that out of my system." he explained to his sister with one fist still firmly clenched, "Duncan! You can end this training exercise now!"

Suddenly, all of the atmosphere and terrain around He-Man and She-Ra faded away, replaced by an electrical grid stretching across the entire interior surface of the square room that they were in. Two metal doors whoosed open, and Duncan, complete with highly advanced multifaceted goggles, and other mechanical aparatus' hanging off of him, walked into the room.

"Good job... both of you!" he cheerfully exclaimed, as he motioned towards He-Man and She-Ra, "This holo danger zone that I designed makes for the perfect place to train in order to maintain constant readiness against the enemies of Eternia!"

"... and Etheria." chimed in She-Ra.

"Of course, Princess." replied Man-At-Arm's with a smile towards She-Ra, before turning his face towards He-Man with a slightly worried look, "You did an exemplery job of working together, and defending one another from your respective enemies. That last punch, though, Adam..."

"Is not something I would administer against a real living creature... even Hordak." answered He-Man in interruption, knowing what Duncan was about to ask, "Still, that despot... that horrific fiend..."

"I know, He-Man." stated She-Ra with a deep, but fairly well veiled, sense of sadness, "I know how angry you are at Hordak for what he did..."

"I don't know why you aren't." he responded in complete honesty to his twin, "You have every reason to be at least as wrathful against Hordak as I am, sis, yet..."

"Yet Hordak helped raise me." interjected She-Ra, "That... that has to count for something."

A slight tension remained in the air, as He-Man and She-Ra stared into one another's eyes, trying to find the answer for their different approach to Hordak in such exploration. Duncan quickly went about breaking up the tension.

"Well, in any event..." continued Duncan, after coughing, "You both did exceptionally well in your first training exercise with one another. You are a man with a great sense of responsibility, He-Man... so I'm sure you would never attack the true Hordak like that... merely a lifeless robotic version of him. And it is a pleasure to have you, She-Ra, with us on Eternia, even if but for a few days."

"It's great to be with my family." stated She-Ra with a slight smile, and hands on her hips, "I'm very glad over the recent successes of Rebellion operations carried out in my absence, allowing me to spend some time with you all!"

"That's good to hear, She-Ra." responded Duncan, "Now then, I'll need to do some cleaning up here of the contraptions you destroyed, and subdued, including 'Hordak' and 'Skeletor'. You, and He-Man, have the rest of the day to yourselves... I've even talked Teela into giving you a break, Adam!"

"That must have taken some convincing, Duncan!" shouted a bemused He-Man.

"Teela's a thorough trainer, Adam..." chimed in Duncan, as he began to use a blowtorch to mould the head of 'Hordak' back unto 'his' body, "But she understands the need for you, and Adora, to do some catching up! Now, let this old man work in peace..."

"Of course, Duncan..." replied She-Ra softly, and sweetly, before turning her attentions back to He-Man, "Now, brother... want to show me the sights and sounds of Eternia while we soar on the back of Swift Wind?"

"Sounds like fun to me, sis!" shouted He-Man in smiling reply, as him and She-Ra made their exit of the holo danger zone, enabling Man-At-Arm's to work in peace on this newly invented training facility of his.

With that, brother and sister were off to spend an anxiously awaited day of simply spending time with one another. It was something that Adora, in particular, had looked forward to. There would be much to talk about.

[Rhoman06]

This is good but i'm confused. Is this a new story or a continuation?

[Canadian_He-Man]

It was a very exciting, yet largely free from truly dangerous combat, day for He-Man and She-Ra. Flying together upon the sleek steed Swift Wind, they quickly moved about from one Eternian site to another, as He-Man talked about the Sands of Time, the lair of the Andreenids, the air kingdom of Avion, and the Temple of the Sun, as She-Ra steered Swift Wind to all of these places.

They made a point to stay as far away from Snake Mountain as possible, though She-Ra admitted curiousity about the dark side of Eternia, as that was the place at which Hordak had entered into Etheria from with her as a baby in his arms. More importantly, however, She-Ra expressed a desire to meet with a being that had fascinated her greatly in her discussions with He-Man.

"Granamyr..." she remarked, "Could we pay him a visit, He-Man? I was thinking that a strong dragon like Granamyr could offer some sage advice on how I could help Sorrowful back on Etheria become more courageous, and confidant."

"I'm... sorry, sis, but I'm afraid that can't be arranged." stated He-Man with some regret.

"Why's that?" she asked, slightly taken aback by He-Man's words.

"Granamyr mentioned to me that such a meeting could upset... the proper chronological balance of time... or something like that." answered He-Man, "He did say that he would gladly meet you at some future date, but just not yet."

"I see..." responded She-Ra in a slightly sad tone, "Very well. I guess that it's not my place to argue with an ancient dragon of untold wisdom! Now then... you wanted to show me one of your favourite places to relax here on Eternia?"

"Yes... and we're just about there!" exclaimed He-Man, "Here's the directions..."

She-Ra landed Swift Wind within a clearing in the Evergreen forest that loomed wide, and strong, just beyond the reaches of the Eternos palace. With a gentle pat of his neck, and a word of thanks, she instructed Swift Wind to wait for her, as she followed behind He-Man, as he led her to a clear, pristine body of sparkling water, reflecting the clear blue skies above.

He-Man took in a breath of crisp, clean air, and smiled widely.

"This is my favourite place to spend my free time as Prince Adam at." he stated to his sister, "Cringer and I often hang out here."

"It's a lovely setting with lush scenery, my brother..." replied She-Ra, "But what do you do here?"

"I'll show you." responded He-Man with a smile to She-Ra, before whispering something into her ear.

She-Ra was surprised by his words, but complied with his suggestion.

"Sword to... fishing rod?" she stated in a loud question of sorts, as she held aloft her Sword of Protection.

Her sword instantly transformed into a fishing rod, complete with a line and bait.

"Do you mind if I use that fishing rod of protection?" asked He-Man with a boyish grin.

"Be my guest." answered She-Ra with a smile, handing him the most powerful fishing rod in the universe.

He-Man then took up a lounging position of sorts next to the shores of the sparkling body of water before him, allowing his shoulders and head to be comforted by thick grass. She-Ra lowered herself beside him, also relaxing against the grass.

"Aahhhh..." stated He-Man, in a blissful state, "It's so good to be able to relax for a change. It's neat to do it as He-Man as well!"

"It is nice here..." admitted She-Ra in response, "Though I perfer the vibrant colors and hues of Whispering Woods."

"I see enough such colors in the outfits that mother raised me to wear." replied He-Man.

"Yes, but they are fitting royal colors..." chimed in She-Ra, "It is common for Eternian Princes to wear such clothes from what I've been told."

"True..." relented He-Man, "I guess it's my Earth half that sometimes dislikes such clothes."

"Earth half..." mused She-Ra, "Yes, you and I are not really full-blooded Eternians, are we? What can you tell me about Earth?"

"Mother hasn't shared much with me." answered He-Man indirectly, "But she did tell me about some of the forms of entertainment they had on Earth before she left. She told me about a comedy group called the Three Stooges, and how Skeletor, Beastman, and Trapjaw reminds her of them."

"They must be very dangerous comedians then, indeed!" exclaimed a bemused She-Ra, "I hope to see Earth one day... but for now, it's just a joy to take in Eternia."

"Hope you enjoy relaxing for a change yourself, sis." stated He-Man with a smile to She-Ra.

"Well... I haven't really had a chance to relax at all until recent days." replied She-Ra, "Speaking of relaxing, He-Man... is it really wise for us to be using the powers of Grayskull for, well, such simple pastimes?"

"Skeletor and his forces have been unusually active lately..." answered He-Man, "I've spent very little time as Prince Adam, sis. As a precautionary measure, I've remained He-Man a lot as of late... especially after Tri-Klops managed to steal my sword while I was Adam!"

"You lost your sword?!" exclaimed a questioning She-Ra, "Adam... why didn't you send for me?"

"Orko managed to get it back for me before it even occured to me to ask for your help, She-Ra." answered He-Man, "Still, it was enough to... shake up, I guess you could say... Duncan and myself a bit. We agreed that it would be best if I spent more time as He-Man... at least as long as almost all of Skeletor's minions are at large, as oppossed to locked away in the Eternian jails."

"Well..." stated She-Ra, "Maybe I'll make an extended stay on Eternia, then, to help you capture all of the criminal elements of this world!"

"Are you sure that would be Ok with the Rebellion back on Etheria?" asked He-Man, taking a somewhat cautionary tone over She-Ra's words here, though inwardly pleased by them.

"I don't know." she answered in honest reply, "Still, it's something that I'll consider. You are part of my family, after all."

An eerie tension seemed to be broken by those words. Though they were twins, they were also almost complete strangers to one another, having known one another only for a few months, and most of those spent apart from one another.

He-Man's moral code, and an inner desire for a real family that She-Ra had always innately had, was what fueled their initial closeness after the truth was revealed to both of them by the Sorceress. He-Man knew there's a way a person should treat a close family member, especially one who has gone through so much as his sister as. She-Ra, in turn, was welcoming of his brotherly gestures, as it gave her a family closeness that she always felt was somewhat lacking in the form of Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and various caretakers.

Still, in the back of their respective minds, they were just getting to know one another. Now, a slight nervousness was melting away as they became more used to one another's presence. The family bond was growing stronger. So, too, was the tug on He-Man's line.

"Ha ha!" he laughed, "I finally caught one!"

He-Man then slid into a sitting position, as he began to use the fishing rod of protection to reel in his catch of the day.

She-Ra was not into fishing, a pastime she never even knew of while Adora was a member of the Horde, but she tried to look encouraged over the catch for He-Man's sake.

"I'm glad that you caught what you were fishing for, brother." she stated with a smile, "I hope... Oh!"

"What's wrong?" asked He-Man, holding unto the the fish with one hand, while he turned to face his sister.

"That poor fish..." stated She-Ra, with a slightly pained expression, "That fish is in pain, He-Man!"

"Well, yes, I guess that the hook would cause it some pain." replied a startled He-Man.

"Please take the fish off of the hook, and place it in my hands." stated She-Ra to He-Man, as she held out her hands in a cupped position towards him.

"Er... if you say so." stated a perplexed He-Man, granting She-Ra her request.

She-Ra than used her healing powers to heal the puncture made in the fish's gills by the hook of He-Man's line, and then smiled widely once her work was complete.

"You're welcome, my water-breathing friend." stated She-Ra to the fish's telepathic thanks to her, before gently placing the fish back in water.

"Eerr..." said He-Man, "That's not a good way to catch fish, you know."

"Why would you want to hurt an innocent animal, He-Man?" asked She-Ra, making a slightly stern look towards her brother.

"Well... that's how you fish, She-Ra." he answered unsteadily.

"I... I'm sorry." she replied, "I'm being silly. Almost everybody eats meat, and you can't eat meat with out... with out killing an animal."

These words escaped from She-Ra's mouth with a considerable lack of ease, which He-Man immediately picked up on. He gently placed one hand on his sister's shoulder.

"I do value the sanctity of all life, She-Ra." he stated, "I guess that I just never took the life of a fish as seriously as I should. You're not being silly."

"Force Captian Adora would think that I am..." she replied, "Hordak gave me plenty of meat to eat, from a wide variety of animals. Since I've been able to communicate with animals, though..."

"It's harder to eat animals, isn't it?" asked He-Man, making a very understanding glance towards his sister.

"Yes... it is..." she admitted in answer, "Whenever I think of where the meat put in front of me by my Rebellion allies comes from... it makes me want to be a vegetarian."

"Well, if that's what you want to be, I'm fine with it." stated He-Man with a smile, "In fact, it would be very admirable to take your principles to such an extent, sis."

"I'm glad that you think so." she replied to He-Man with a smile, "Well then, I think it's time to go back to the palace. How about you?"

"Yeah, I've wasted your time enough today..." answered He-Man, as both him and She-Ra began to stand up.

"It wasn't a waste at all, Adam..." she stated, wrapping one arm around his shoulders, "It's been a wonderful afternoon. I'm finally getting to know my twin brother a bit better, and that's great!"

"The feeling's mutual." replied He-Man with a smile, as him and She-Ra slowly walked to Swift Wind, preparing to return to the Eternos Palace.

The sibling bond between brother and sister was strengthened this day, and Adora had never been more thankful for her family than she was right now.

The End.

---------------------

I wanted to show He-Man/She-Ra doing some conventional brother-sister things - sort of to explore that in a way to make the sibling relationship seem more solid, and sure.

Please tell me what you think.

[Canadian_He-Man]

This is good but i'm confused. Is this a new story or a continuation?

A short two-parter. It could go within most of my stories though (i.e. be part of my Catalyst of War/Secrets No More continuity, or my Sibling Rivalry/Desperate Measures conintuity).

[thor]

"Mother hasn't shared much with me." answered He-Man indirectly, "But she did tell me about some of the forms of entertainment they had on Earth before she left. She told me about a comedy group called the Three Stooges, and how Skeletor, Beastman, and Trapjaw reminds her of them."

Haha

Referring to Skeletor, Beatsman and TrapJaw as the The Three Stooges. Thats a good comparison.

[JagwarKnight]

A short two-parter. It could go within most of my stories though (i.e. be part of my Catalyst of War/Secrets No More continuity, or my Sibling Rivalry/Desperate Measures conintuity).

Reguardless, it's a sweet story. You really nailed the twins of power down there dude.

[Rhoman06]

I really liked the part with the fish. You took what seemed like a very simple circumstance and built a whole little scene around it. I thought that was great. It really showed the depth of the characters.

[Canadian_He-Man]

I really liked the part with the fish. You took what seemed like a very simple circumstance and built a whole little scene around it. I thought that was great. It really showed the depth of the characters.

Thanks, Rhoman06!

Yes, that, and the Three Stooges reference, was probably the most inspired parts of the story. I always got the impression that fishing is one of of Prince Adam's favourite past-times... but I can't imagine Hordak letting Adora take part in such a time-consuming past-time.

Then I thought of She-Ra's powers, and I just had that 'light bulb over the head' moment.

Glad you, JagwarKnight, and thor all liked the story. Thanks for the comments, and support!

[foxy11814]

Great fic! I really enjoyed it. You know me, I love stories featuring the "Power Twins!" I look forward to reading more of your short fics, as well as updating a certain other fic dealing with the twins and Skeletor's sister.