This is my very first He-Man fic, though it's not my first fanfic. I am rating this a strong T rating, but I may change that if I get enough people telling me that they think it needs to be M. Feedback is always appreciated, but no flames, please!

He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Ram Man were traveling through the Mystic Mountains in search of a rare fire opal that was rumored to give great power to the one who wielded it. They wanted to get to it before Skeletor found out about it and tried to steal it for his own evil use.

As they flew in their Wind Raiders through the canyons and passes, He-Man kept his eyes open for signs of trouble as they traveled to their destination.

Man-At-Arms contacted Teela on the communicator and pointed to a ledge high up the face of the mountain. "Let's set down right there," he said. "If the Sorceress is correct, we should find the Opal of Mysteries in those caverns."

Teela waved to indicate she'd heard him and set the Wind Raider down beside the one her father had just shut down and climbed out of the vehicle.

"Teela, He-Man, there's another cave further along this ridge," Duncan told them. "We're going to go search over there and you can search this one. Make sure you take your packs in with you, in case you find the cavern is deeper than expected and you have to make camp for the night. We'll check in by communicator every hour."

"Yes Father," Teela said. She pulled her pack out of the back of the Wind Raider and slipped it on as He-Man did the same.

"Let's get started shall we," He-Man asked, heading towards the cave opening.

They entered the vast cavern cautiously, looking around for any sign of trouble. They lit the electro-torches Duncan had given them and began to explore the immense cave, looking for anything that might point to where the Opal of Mysteries might be hidden.

They had traveled for nearly three hours when they heard what sounded like soft otherworldly music. Looking at each other in surprise, they began to make their way towards the beautiful melody and soon they saw a faint glow coming from another, smaller, cavern several yards ahead.

"Careful," He-Man cautioned, as he stepped in front of Teela. "We don't know what kind of dangers there could be."

"Not to mention the possibility of Shadow Beasts," Teela murmured softly, nodding. She followed him as they slowly made their way towards the light ahead.

They cautiously entered the cavern and their eyes widened in amazement as they saw the walls, stalactites and stalagmites were all made of fire opal, which blazed in multi-colored beauty and created an iridescent light all around. In the center of the cavern stood a crystalline pillar with a large octagonal shaped fire opal sitting atop it. The beautiful music was louder in this room and seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Cautiously, He-Man looked all around and then carefully wrapped his hand around the Opal of Mysteries. With a quiet breath, he lifted it from the pillar and placed it into the secure, padded case and closed it, the magical lock clicking into place. The music stopped and a deafening silence filled the air.

"Come on, let's head back," Teela suggested softly. As they made their way back towards the cave entrance, He-Man kept glancing around them nervously. "What's wrong," Teela asked.

"That seemed… too easy," he replied. "You would think that something with this much power would have booby traps or some kind of dangerous creatures guarding it."
Teela smiled at him. "Are you complaining?"

He-Man chuckled and shook his head. "Not at all; it just makes me a little nervous."
Teela nodded and they continued their journey towards the front of the cave in silence, looking for dangers around them.

They were about half-way back to the cave entrance when a skittering noise and an inhuman shriek alerted them to the fact that they were not alone. Immediately assuming defensive positions, He-Man and Teela looked around for the source of the noise and were shocked to see more than half a dozen creatures with sharp claws, protruding fangs and long tails, covered in a shimmering iridescent opal-like fur coming towards them, shrieking in displeasure.

"Acknars!" Teela exclaimed in shock. "I thought they were only legends!"

"Apparently not," He-Man said. "Their claws are supposed to be poisonous; be careful not to let them scratch you."
Teela nodded as she fired a freeze ray at one of the beasts, causing it to freeze in place as she and He-Man quickened their pace towards the exit, still facing the advancing creatures.

He-Man dodged one of the beasts before grabbing it by the tail and tossing it into two of its companions. He glanced around and saw that one of the creatures had somehow gotten past him and was lunging for Teela. Moving quickly, he threw himself between the creature and her, feeling as if he'd been burned as the creature's sharp claw gouged him deeply in the back of the leg. Getting to his feet, he again grabbed the creature by its tail, swinging it around to crash into the others. Teela had managed to freeze three more of the creatures, but He-Man knew they needed to find a way to stop them or they'd never get out of there.

"Teela, run ahead," he told her. "I'm going to stop these creatures."

Teela hesitated, knowing he was injured, but then did as he told her to.

He-Man ran a little ahead of the creatures and then grabbed a huge boulder, throwing it at the stalactites just in front of the creatures. There was a loud rumbling and then the roof caved in between him and the Acknars, completely sealing off the rest of the cave and blocking the Acknars from pursuing them.

He-Man stumbled slightly, his vision blurring as he turned to catch up to Teela, falling to his knees when he did finally meet up with her.

"He-Man are you all right," Teela exclaimed, moving to help him stand. She frowned when she noticed his skin was hot to the touch.

"Teela," he rasped, his vision growing even more blurry.

A sudden loud rumbling could be heard and Teela looked up in panic. "Earthquake," she cried.

He-Man forced himself to stand and took a deep breath before picking up Teela and running towards the cave entrance. He slowed and dropped them both to the ground, covering her body with his own when the cave entrance~ which was less than a hundred yards away~ was covered by an enormous rock slide, effectively blocking them from the outside world.

As soon as the earthquake subsided, He-Man moved off of Teela and checked to be sure she was all right. He tried to stand so that he could go and clear the cave entrance, but he stumbled and murmured something incoherent before falling to the ground unconscious.

"He-Man," Teela cried out in dismay. She checked his pulse and found that it was steady, but he was running a high fever. Trying her communicator, she found that there was nothing but static coming across the lines; something in the cave must be interfering. Standing there for a moment in stunned silence, Teela finally pulled herself together and got to work.