Fallen Eternia

"Home sweet home," muttered Teela as she dropped her backpack.  She had just stepped off a small spacecraft that looked a bit banged up to say the least.  It's been five years since she left this planet she had considered her home.  Five years ago she gave it all up.  Home, friends, and rank in order to… to find her way.  Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.  Though now older and more jaded, she knew the truth.  She ran away to try to escape the shame.  The shame of failing in her duties to Prince Adam.  And now here she was returning to Eternia. 

"So can I be going now lady?" asked a blue alien creature that was sitting at the cockpit of the spaceship.  He looked like a hybrid of man and elephant with a trunk that held the pilot stick.

"Yeah, thanks for the lift Farcon," said Teela as she waved to the alien.  Farcon simply grunted as he began to press buttons and pulled on the pilot stick.  Soon his spacecraft was lifting up into the sky and blasted away.

"Well no going back now," whispered Teela.  Spaceships weren't a common thing in Eternia last time Teela checked.  The only reason she had been able to get off the planet was because she used the Queen's old spaceship that had been rebuilt.  She could still remember the Queen's words when she asked to use the ship to leave.

Teela you failed to be there to protect my son and today he was almost killed.  I.. don't want to hate you for that, but I find it difficult not to.  Take my spaceship if you wish and leave.  Make another life for yourself somewhere else.

"Some life," said Teela as she walked through the forest from where the ship landed.  Teela had done at least a dozen odd jobs from working on cargo ships to being part of a security force on a spacestation in the last five years.  She had various trinkets, some souvenirs, and a few coins in her backpack, which was about the equivalent of her possessions.  She had spent almost every penny she owned to get back here. 

"And why I decided to come back here I'll never know," said Teela as she tried to estimate how long it would take to get to the palace.

"Are you talking to yourself again babe?"

The gruff voice had come from her backpack.

"No I just felt like making conversation with the trees.  Now get out of my backpack.  Your beer belly must be adding twenty more pounds alone Obbo," said Teela as she shook her backpack.

"Hey its all muscle babe," said Obbo as he crawled out.  One look at him and you could tell he was part of Orko's race of small floating people hidden in clothing.  Only this guy was a bit fatter compared to Orko and he had the smell of alcohol.

"So where can I find a bar on this fucking planet?" asked Obbo as he unsteadily floated beside Teela.  He was probably the closest thing Teela had as a friend now.  An acoholic, dirty mouth, fatter Orko who most people couldn't stand.  Teela had first found him almost strangled by a bouncer because he couldn't pay for his beer tab.  When it was evident she wasn't going to kill him and would actually stop people from killing him, he stuck with her.  And she let him stay with her.  She wasn't sure whether it was because he reminded her of Orko or because she just didn't know how to get rid of the fat bastard.

"Hey you know your ass looks good from this angle."

Ok it was just because she didn't know how to get rid of him. 

"If I give you this canteen of ale will you shut up?" asked Teela as she drew out a canteen.  The little man's yellow eyes lit up and he eagerly grabbed it.

"Babe you're the best," said Obbo before taking a swing of the canteen.

"So they keep telling me," said Teela as she continued heading towards Eternia palace.  What she was going to do once she got there was another story.  Maybe she'd find a job in the city surrounding the palace.  Going to the palace itself was out of the question.  Everyone from Duncan to the King made it evident she wouldn't be welcomed there no matter how long she has been absent.  And that very fact once again brought up the question that was nagging at her.

"Why did I come back here?" asked Teela of herself once again.

"Closure," stated Obbo in a slurred voice.  As strange as it seemed considering he was getting incredibly drunk, he sounded wise when he said that single word.

"Don't go giving me advice that actually sounds good Obbo.  It would be too disturbing," said Teela and then wrinkled her nose.  The smell of ash was filling the air and as she continued to walk towards the Eternia palace she noticed the sky seemed darker.

"Something's wrong," muttered Teela as she drew closer to Eternia palace.  She had the ship land in the forest about an hour away from the palace.  But from the smell and stench it seemed like she was approaching a volcano.  Without another word she began jogging through the trees.  Obbo gave a feeble protest before flying after her.  With in a few minutes she noticed several trees cut down.  And soon she reached what seemed like the boundary of the forest.  Every tree before her had been cut down.  And the ground that was normally covered in grass was totally bare.

"This forest should have gone on at least another mile.  The King had never allowed these many trees to be cut down before," said Teela as she walked across the desolate land.

"Maybe he got tired of them blocking his view," joked Obbo as he lazily floated after her.  Even with the trees gone, hills still blocked her view of the palace.  She had to walk across two hills before the palace came into view.  Or at least the place where the palace used to be in view…

"Whoah," said Obbo simply.  The sight before him didn't match the cheery, sunny description Teela had given him on the ship.

The palace was still there only now it was a palace totally different from the one Teela remembered.  Instead of beautiful ivory towers, there were ugly giant chimneys that bellowed coal black smoke.  A moat made of glowing hot lava surrounded the palace.  But what really made Teela ill was that giant stone statue of Skeletor that was standing over the palace.  The city that surrounded the palace had a dense cloud of smog covering it.  And tall walls of stone surrounded the city to give it the effect of being a prison.

"Yo babe, what's the matter?" asked Obbo as he slapped Teela on the back.  Even in his drunk haze he couldn't miss the expression of pure horror on Teela's face.

"You remember when I told you about that Skeletor who wanted to conquer Eternia…"

"Yeah?"

"I think he just conquered Eternia."
"Oh!  But this place will still have a bar right?"

Teela sighed and continued to gaze at the city.  There was a huge gate against the stonewall that surrounded the city.  It would certainly be guarded, but maybe she could figure out a way to get through.

And then what!?  Find Skeletor and slay him?  I need to find the others.  I need to make sure they're still alive.  Maybe Skeletor only took over the palace, but everyone escaped.

"Obbo I need you to cast an invisibility spell on us," said Teela.  Obbo took another swing of his canteen before responding.

"No prob!  Now you see us!  Now you don't!" sung Obbo as he raised his fingers and wiggled them.  As crazy as it sounded, Obbo was actually a very good wizard… when he was drunk.  When he was sober he couldn't even light a candle.  In fact the more alcohol he had, the stronger his spells seemed to get.  Teela didn't find the idea of someone being both drunk and powerful very comforting.

Zzzooommm!

True to his word though, they both became invisible.  Teela quickly grabbed onto Obbo's robe with some difficulty and then made a run for the gate.  There was no telling how long the spell would last.

"Wwwwwwhhhhheeeee!"

"Quite!" hissed Teela as she ran down the hill.  In five minutes she was at the iron gate.  Teela almost gasped with surprise.  She had expected it to be guarded by beasts controlled by Beastman or by some evil magical contraption.  But it was actually guarded by normal, human guards.  They wore heavy purple armor with a skull symbol on their chests and carried swords on their belts.  A voice could be heard bellowing from the other side.

"The Lady Evil-Lyn wishes to leave!  Open the gate!"

Admittedly it's been a while since Teela even heard the name Evil-Lyn, but she was pretty sure no one gave her the title 'Lady' back five years ago.  The guards before her grabbed the handles of the iron gate and pulled.  Teela swallowed as she backed up.  She gave a silent prayer hoping that Evil-Lyn wouldn't see through the invisibility spell.  A chariot came bursting forth, pulled by half a dozen jet-black horses.  Riding the chariot was Evil-Lyn, holding her magic staff.  She glanced towards Teela's way, but didn't stop as her chariot charged down the road. 

Teela didn't waste anytime as she dragged Obbo with her through the open gates.  The floating wizard burped once causing a few guards to look left and right.  They were able to get inside though and Teela found herself walking down the streets.  If seeing the city from afar made her ill, seeing it close up didn't help any.  There were beggars in rags at the corner of every street she came upon raising up tin cups and asking for coins.  The streets were filthy and a foul stench invaded Teela's scent of smell.  What depressed her most was the attitude she got from people walking the street.  They appeared depressed and slow as if the life had been drained from them.

When she spotted a dark alley she dashed inside.  It would be best if the invisibility spell didn't wear off in front of a lot of people.  After about five minutes Teela could once again see her own body.

"Look I'm sure you'll want to find some friends and chit chat about old times and such.  Why don't I go get wasted at a bar while you do that babe?" asked Obbo.  His voice didn't slur as much and it seemed the ale was losing its effect.  Teela found no reason to argue since the little drunk would probably only slow her down in her search for the Defenders and royal family.

"Fine, we're will you be?" asked Teela.  Admittedly this would be the perfect time to lose Obbo, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave the guy stranded in a city conquered by Skeletor.  Damn morals.

"The Whiplash Bar!  We passed by it," said Obbo.  Then he left the alley to get a giant pint of ale, which he considered his life source.

"Evil-Lyn in now Lady Evil-Lyn, Whiplash now had a bar named after him, and Skeletor has a giant statue over the palace.  This day just keeps getting better and better," muttered Teela as she headed out of the alleyway.  She was totally clueless as to how to go about her search.  All she knew was that she had to find out if the royal family and any of the Defenders, especially Duncan, were alive.  It was then that she noticed a huge crowd down the street.  Just for curiosity's sake she went over to the people.  They all had slips of paper and it appeared that they were part of one giant line.

"Excuse me, but what's with the crowd?" asked Teela as she tapped an old woman on the shoulder.  The old woman gave her a suspicious look obviously noticing Teela's strange clothes.  Evidently jacket, T-shirt, and pants weren't the norm here.

"It's the line for getting a seat at the gladiator pit.  To watch Many-faces fight," said the old woman and turned her attention back to the line.  Teela could only stare at the old woman in surprise.  Many-faces was alive and now a gladiator?  She had to get inside this gladiator pit.  She quickly stepped up behind the old woman.

"Hey no cutting," barked a huge man behind her who grabbed her roughly by the arm.  Quicker then the eye could see, Teela grabbed the man's write and twisted.  He gave a whimper as he found himself bending down towards her.  His whole arm probably felt like it was on fire now.  They both knew that if she just added a little bit more force, she could probably break that arm.

"Oh you're so right.  I should have asked your permission first.  Could I please cut in front of you?" asked Teela sweetly as she continued to hold his arm hostage.

"S..sure," stuttered the large man obviously taken by surprise.  Teela then spotted the slip of paper in his other hand.

"Oh mind if I take this too.  I forgot my ticket," said Teela as she continued using her 'caring' voice.  Without waiting for a response she grabbed the ticket with her other hand.  Hearing the man actually whimper again made Teela feel a stab of guilt.  She let go of the man who backed a step away from her.  He obviously never had to go up against someone with years of combat training.

"Here this should cover your troubles," said Teela with a sigh as she pulled out ten gold coins.  The man's eyes lit up as he was handed the coins.  That was the last of her money.  She was now officially broke.  Teela had to wait in the line for an hour before she was finally able to see the gladiator pit.  It was basically one giant hole in the ground with barred doors against its interior wall.  Seats were posted above the hole to give people a downward view.  Soon she handed her ticket to another one of those guards dressed in purple armor and took a seat.

One of the doors opened and a monster covered in blood red fur stepped out.  It was Beastman with a grin on his face as he walked to the center of the pit while carrying his whip.  Teela placed a hand over her backpack where she kept her plasma pistol.  She had given up using the sword and staff a long time ago in favor of a gun.  Swords and staves weren't realistic weapons to use when fighting in long metal corridors of a spaceship or spacestation.  She could probably blast Beastman's head off from this very seat, but of course she'd probably be killed before she even tried to escape.  Guards were at every exit, watching the crowd carefully.

"Now people, it is time for the show!  I present to you the gladiator who so far lived though every challenge I've given him!  I give you Many-faces!" roared Beastman as he cracked his whip.  Another door opened to show Many-faces who stepped outside.  At the moment he was wearing his green monster face.  When Beastman cracked the whip again, Many-faces raised his arms and roared.  The crowd erupted in cheering and clapping.  Teela felt nauseated as she watched these people cheer.  Had things gone so bad that they now cheer at seeing a Defender enslaved by Beastman?  It seemed that Skeletor had not only conquered Eternia, but also turned its people against the Defenders.

"Now watch as he fights his newest adversary!  The dreaded sea serpent!" roared Beastman as he gestured towards another door.  Once it opened, a giant snake-like creature slithered outside.  It opened its huge snout to reveal incredibly sharp fangs.  Many-faces bared his fangs and gave another roar before charging.  The serpent encircled Many-faces and the two were soon wrestling on the ground.

"MANY!  MANY!  MANY!"

Teela didn't join in the chant which got her a few odd looks, but she didn't care.  There was no way she was going to cheer for this.  Many-faces always enjoyed performing for people, but that didn't mean he'd want to be wrestling giant monsters for people's amusements.  It was obvious that Beastman was using his beast controlling powers to control Many-faces while he was in his monster form.  He did it before years ago when Teela was still a Defender.  But that time Many-faces was able to fight off Beastman's power.  Teela knew that if she could only talk to him she could break Beastman's dominance over him.   

Crack!

The sound of bone breaking could be heard.  Many-faces had gotten his hands right below the serpent's head and twisted it until he broke bone.  The serpent was now lying limply in his hands and with a snarl Many-faces threw it to the ground.

"As you can see Many-faces is a mighty warrior!  Does anyone here think they can defeat him?  One hundred gold coins to anyone willing to come down here and fight him!" shouted Beastman.  The whole audience was silent.  Evidently no one was crazy enough to take up the challenge even for such a large sum of gold.  Though it was possible that sometime before some poor guy was desperate enough for gold that they would take up the challenge and fight Many-faces.  It sent a chill down Teela's spine to think that maybe Many-faces might have actually killed a man over that challenge.  Trying not to think about that, she concentrated on the problem at hand.  She had to get in contact with Many-faces.  And right then and there she knew how.  She stood up from her chair and cleared her throat.

"I'll take a go at him!" shouted Teela.  She became very aware that every eye in the crowd now settled onto her.  Including Beastman whose jaw dropped from his mouth.  Teela found his expression so funny she almost laughed out loud right then.  Instead she walked down the row of seats and then down the stairs towards the pit.  Once she reached the pit she made a leap and did an impressive somersault as she landed before Beastman and Many-faces.  Some of the people whistled and clapped.  Beastman's expression of shock turned sinister as he gave Teela a glare.

"Well it looks like you finally came back.  Welcome back home Teela.  Like the changes Skeletor made here?" asked Beastman snidely as he raised his arms.

"I didn't come here to talk to you furry jack ass.  Many-faces do you recognize me?  Its me Teela," said Teela as she gazed into Many-faces crimson eyes.  The eyes look glazed over, but his lips parted as he tried to speak.

"T..teela?" whispered Many-faces hoarsely.  It seemed like it took an extreme amount of will just for him to say that one word.

"Enough of this!  Lets have some fun!  Kill him Many-faces," growled Beastman as he snapped his whip.  Teela had hoped that Many-faces wouldn't follow the command or at the very least pause before attacking, but instead he instantly charged.  Teela did another leap over Many-faces and back-flipped away from him.  She was definitely more agile and quicker, but if Many-faces ever got his hands on her she'd never break free of his grasp considering his incredible strength.

"Many-faces fight it!  You've done it before," said Teela.  She knew she sounded desperate as she said the words.

"I can't.. there's no point.. everyone's gone!" grunted Many-faces before charging again.  Teela once again leaped and this time Many-faces came within an inch of grabbing her leg.  He was predicting her evasion tactics.  She did two back-flips this time before speaking.

"I'm not gone Many-faces.  I'm here," said Teela as she tried to prepare herself for his next charge.  There was a good chance that he'd catch her with his next attack.

"You'll leave me like the rest of them!" roared Many-faces.  His green face held pain and lost that caused Teela to do something she hadn't planned on doing.  Instead of leaping away, she leaped towards him.  Many-faces was so surprised by the move that he stumbled and stopped.  Before he could do anything Teela had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I won't leave you Many-faces, not this time.  I promise I'll never leave you again," whispered Teela as she hugged him tightly.  She could feel her eyes begin to water as the large body she held onto shuddered.  Many-faces placed his hands over her back.  Those hands could tear her apart as if she was made of paper.

"Teela…," growled Many-faces.  It had been five years since Teela cried and this was the first time she ever had that urge to do so again.  She shouldn't have to come back to Eternia to see this.  To see Many-faces turned into this killing machine.

"You're not a gladiator Many-faces, you're an actor.  Remember when we both we're in that play To Fight Another Day?" asked Teela as she finally lifted her head and gazed into his eyes again.  Even though he had the face of a monster, he appeared incredibly vulnerable as he stared at her with grief stricken eyes.

"Enough of this!  Finish her!" roared Beastman as he cracked his whip.

"I'm sorry," whispered Many-faces as he grabbed her neck.

Crack!

With a simple twist of her neck, everyone could hear the sound of bone breaking.  A broken neck was considered one of the more merciful ways to kill someone.  Many-faces clutched the body tightly as he stared down at the woman in his arms with sorrow.

The…end?  Not quite!  Love cliffhangers don't ya.