R I S E

However there was nothing that softened her like thinking of her child. It was hard to be angry when the topic is a sweet, innocent baby. Though she couldn't lie to herself that she didnt have... concerns. Would Erika be in danger? Would Skeletor knowing of her bring trouble back to their door? Or worse, would he try to take her?

"She's eight weeks old. I'm not sure how good her vision even is right now. I think you'll be fine."

As she turned to guide him toward that column of smoke, Elsa wrung her hands nervously. Wondering if this was truly a good idea. Worrying slightly over the 'what if's that might go wrong. Her mind wad made though. She wouldn't keep her child's history and family a mystery to her like Elsa's own had been. Not when Elsa was finally living as her truest self.

She signaled for Skeletor to wait at the edge of the village when they arrived. Neither of them would benefit from spooked locals. Elsa went in alone and entered the hut where a friend had been watching Erika while she was gone. It was several long minutes before she could be seen walking back toward him with a bundle held to her chest wrapped in a lilac blanket with pale yellow stitching. Her eyes stayed glued to it, speaking softly and smiling fondly.

"There, there, little one. Its alright. We'll go home soon," she whispered, running her fingers over the soft head of black hair poking out of the blankie. "There is someone you need to meet first."

A long overdue meeting, truly. Elsa stopped in front of the self proclaimed overlord of evil, clutching an infant to her chest. A sign of confidence or foolishness depending how one looked at it. The pulled back the soft blanket to reveal the tiny, sleepy, creature within. Round little cheeks and a button nose. Stark black hair and the subtle beginnings of pointed ears. Thr starkest trait was her skin. Not quite the same color as Skeletor but undoubtedly blue. More lively.

"Her royal highness, Princess Erika," Elsa proudly introduced, turning the grumpy baby to face outward so she can be seen in all her glory. "Imagine all of our surprise when she came out looking just like her father..."

Yes, wonderful. Vanish again like good King Miro. Like father like son, eh?

Elsa's return ended his internal struggle, and he paused as she neared him, gaze locking on the tiny bundle in her arms.

Princess Erika. When Elsa had called her 'perfect,' he had imagined his Gar genetics had not made their mark on his daughter... Those traits which, in Eternos, had been looked upon as something so other, so shameful. And yet, how utterly stupid had he been to think that would have changed anything? Erika was perfect.

Looking down into that tiny face, he almost laughed. No, she didn't just look like her father. He could see much of Elsa in her, too. The eyes, those brows furrowing together as if she were outraged to be taken from her nice, warm bed, they reminded Skeletor of every time her mother had looked annoyed with him.

Though the subject of Demanitus' inventions could be a little touchy, Adam seemed trustworthy. Of course, she'd thought that before and been proven wrong, but she refused to believe that the vast majority of people were trying to trick her. There was a kindness to Adam that she could relate to.

And so, despite any misgivings niggling in the back of her head, she lead him to the Royal Vault.

It, of course, held the usual sorts of treasures -- precious metals and gems, any of the crown jewels that weren't presently in use, as well as ceremonial robes and scepters -- but it also contained more precious treasures, like magical objects that she'd collected on her adventures. In the center of the room was a glass tear-shaped planter, and in it, a layer of soil and nothing else. Rapunzel looked at it a moment with a hesitant frown, remembering what used to be in there.

But she shook it off and led Adam to a ladder that dropped to the level below. This area was much more gloomy, and held a recently-constructed vault door.

"We had to expand recently when I realized that the tunnels under the kingdom could lead someone right to the vault. Pretty easy for robbers, if they know where to start."

No time to ask now, he decided. Especially not once he caught the odd look Rapunzel had given it. Instead, he followed quietly down to the lower level.

The portal, what remained of it, was as foreign to Adam as anything else in this world. So much for the theory this Demanitus had been Eternian... Still, magic was magic. Right?

Speaking of hands, Aya's gaze dropped to the one extended out toward her. Ah! A common Earth greeting. Thanks to her former teammate she understood this one. Her own hand extended and her metal palm pressed to his for a careful but polite handshake.

"Greetings. I am called Aya. If it would ease your mind this crash was no fault of your driving ability but a mechanical failure," she released his hand to direct her own to the vehicle. A green light emerged from the circle on her palm and scanned over the... Road Ripper. "I detect a series of minor errors that resulted in catastrophic failure. This suggests proper maintenance could prevent this outcome in the future."

The AI returns her gaze to him, now offering her own, opposite hand. A Green Lantern helps those in need. That was what she was taught.

But she wasn't done impressing Adam with her tech just yet. In an instant, Aya had seen through his vehicle and found where everything had gone wrong. "Ah... Guess I should have had Duncan take a look at it before now," Adam said with a sheepish grin.

As Aya offered to help him return home, Adam considered politely declining. He could have easily called someone to come out and help, but that would have taken time. And, as she pointed out, it wasn't wise to stay stranded this far out from Eternos by yourself. Unless you were He-Man, of course... But she didn't know that's who she had rescued.

Unfortunately... I am still considering a new muse...

She wouldn't give the world the satisfaction of seeing her grovel.

"I suppose not. Though I'm surprised none of your lackeys mentioned it. They love good gossip, as I recall."

Funny how quips and banter came so naturally even now. Some things never changed. Maybe that was just how well they knew each other... Maybe it was a poor coping strategy.

What Elsa didn't expect was for Skeletor to ask what he just had. About Erika. Especially so quickly upon meeting. Especially when he had been silent in the days leading up to and following her birth. It didn't build confidence that he was at all interested in her well being so him asking now was.... Interesting.

"She's... Perfect."

Even as cross with him as Elsa was, talking of her daughter- their daughter- filled her with a warmth and love that always brought a smile to her face. The path to meeting her had been long and fraught but now that she was here, she was everything Elsa never knew she wanted.

"She's growing well. She has a big appetite and an even bigger cry. I blame you... Oh, but she's wonderful and so beautiful."

Perhaps it was a bad idea to suggest it. He would likely say no given how he ran from them, but Elsa's own history of feeling abandoned by her parents wouldn't let her not at least try. After all, he'd asked!

Funny how, after having so fiercely and carefully avoiding any of this for so long... Now here he was, asking her outright. And unlike the revelation of Elsa's stepping down, hearing about Erika now--she had kept the name!--had filled Skeletor with some strange, powerful emotion.

Perfect, she said... Skeletor hadn't fully believed their child could be perfect. He was so far from perfect... He was more demon than man, after all. But no, somehow, his daughter had come out alright.

And now Elsa was offering to let him see her... And Skeletor knew he shouldn't. As much for the child's sake as his. He was no father, he was a villain. His black heart should have no room in it for some innocent young life. And he'd gone away in the first place because she would be better off without him.

But all his better judgement was going out the window now... Was this just the effect Elsa had on him? He had made such foolish mistakes ever since meeting her, and now here she was again. He wanted to hate her for it. Instead he just hated himself for not hating her.

She had to stare at him a moment as his question turned over in her mind once or twice. Far from... home? Oh, he truly hadn't thought about her at all when coming out here. Anyone who needed to knew where to find Elsa these days.

"Wow. Well, I'll give you credit when you leave you really don't look back even to see what's changed."

Her arms folded across her chest as she looked away, glancing toward a pillar of grey smoke rising from above the trees. The Northuldra village where Erika waited for her. She was safe there.

"I made a deal with Anna. To... fix things," She explained with a sigh, rubbing at the velvety material of her sleeve anxiously, "In the fallout caused by your sudden departure, it was best for everyone if I stepped down. Anna took over and I no longer live full time in the castle. I had my own conditions for that transition to happen but... I had other things to worry about than governance at the time."

But of course she couldn't keep it, not after everything that had happened. Not without paying some kind of price. Could she have found a way, he wondered? Perhaps if she had turned on him, put the blame squarely on his shoulders and claimed to be more his victim than she had been... Not that she hadn't been plenty victimized by all this...

Regardless, here she was. Out in the woods, without a throne or a crown. She had given that up because of him.

"...Well. You know me! Busy, busy, so much to do, so many schemes... Not a lot of time to catch up on gossip, you know."

What else was he supposed to say? 'I knew this wasn't going to be easy, so I hid from it all like a coward?' Gods, no! Still... Now that he was faced with the truth--faced with her--it was hard to keep hiding. And he'd been lying for months, telling himself he didn't think about her. Her or their... Oh, if he had eyeballs, she would have seen his gaze drift to her midsection, recalling how her belly had swelled last time they spoke.

Adam smiled, holding out his hand to the stranger. "I'm Adam, by the way. And thanks for the help there... Guess I'm not as good a driver as I thought, huh?"

It was strange, how she'd actually met and talked to Demanitus, and how his spirit was now lost, leaving the monkey body behind. She often wondered if Vigor was immortal, and if Demanitus had found a way to achieve eternal youth without the Sundrop flower.