Chapter Two

"Planetary Alerts"

Clamp Champ stood at the edge of the burnt circle of trees and could smell the burnt remains of each and every kind of tree and plant. His super-senses were at work immediately, taking in the amount of destruction before him, telling him where it started and what did it just by smell and sight. He turned to Moss Man, whose heart looked heavy and eyes seemed to convey a very tragic feel.

"It was a fire," Clamp Champ said.

Moss Man's brooding features changed almost immediately. A smart-ass smile crossed his face and his stance loosened. "Obviously. I thought they said you were the greatest detective in the kingdom."

"Possibly the continent," Clamp Champ replied, feeling a bit arrogant. "But when I say 'fire' I don't mean the traditional 'fire.' This was something else. This was magic."

"How can you tell?"

"The nose knows," he laughed. "In any case, if there was just a regular forest fire, I would just be smelling burnt plant and possible trees remains. And I do. Except, there's something else. Something else was burnt up - something unnatural."

"What?" asked Moss Man, his voice filled with curiosity.

"I'm not sure. If you could be silent for a moment, I need to see if I can locate it. It's quite strong."

Clamp Champ took a few steps closer to the burnt circle, his nose gathering scents from all over the area. He pinned down the one that didn't fit and followed it. His eyes took control now, carefully searching on the ground that wasn't supposed to be on the forest floor.

He found it. It was at the very edge of the circle, and it looked like sand. As Clamp Champ began to follow it, he soon realized it surrounded the entire circle.

"Got it," he said with satisfaction.

"What is it?" Moss Man questioned from behind.

"I don't know. Yet." Clamp Champ pulled his large clamp device from his back and pressed a few buttons on the top.

"Um, what are you doing?" asked Moss Man. "Are you going to clamp it?"

"No. I'm taking a sample, and then my clamp is going to analyze it for me."

A smaller clamp dropped from the device and took a sample, and pulled back in. A small screen poped up then and the analysis began.

"It'll take a few minutes for the sample to be processed," Clamp Champ stated. He then looked over at Moss Man, who was once more looking sadly at the dead circle. It was bothering him, deeply, and was obviously the cause of much grief. Clamp Champ had to admit some surprise at this.

It was a terrible loss to be sure, but to be this broken up about it - well, it was strange to see. Just what was Moss Man's ability other than control and communication with plants? What was there that he didn't know about?

"Moss Man?"

Moss Man looked over to the dark-skinned detective. "Yes?"

"How did you become the way you are?"

Moss Man nodded to himself, smiled, and chuckled. "The same way many of the Heroic Warriors became who they are. We were chosen by fate and by our own will to become who and what we are."

Clamp Champ sighed. "Sounds good enough to me."

Moss Man could tell the detective wanted more, but decided it was best not to say more on his origin. "I was chosen to guard plant life from those that were would wish it harm like Skeletor. Or those that would take control of it like Evilseed."

At this, Clamp Champ seemed a bit confused. "Take control? What do you mean? Don't you control the plants?"

"No," Moss Man laughed. "I merely request the plants to do as I ask. I force nothing and do not control them. They are . . . not unlike brothers and sisters to me."

Once more, he looked sadly out into the destruction and sighed with a heavy heart. Clamp Champ found himself respecting Moss Man a bit more. It then his clamp-computer began to beep. Clamp Champ looked at the display and his eyes grew wide.

"What is the answer? What is this material?"

"It's the dust of a shattered Singing Crystal from the Crystal Caves. Someone must have snuck in, stole one of the Singing Crystals, shattered it and used it here. But the only reason I can think of as to why someone would do that is to summon someone or something."

"But who? What?"

Clamp Champ looked around them at the trees and plants that stood outside the circle. "Could you ask the trees?"

Moss Man nodded and placed his hand on a nearby Oak. His yellow eyes brightened as his communicated through the branches and the roots and outwards to all of the trees and the plants around them. Clamp Champ watched as the plantlife seemed to sway, as if a wind were blowing through. But there was no wind, not even a slight breeze.

After a few long moments, the communication ended and Moss Man looked over at the detective. "I had to talk to a lot of them, but a young pine says that there was a man here, standing alongside the blaze. And that there seemed to be something within the blaze that moved like a man."

"No visuals?"

"None."

"Well, at least we're getting some where . . ."

***

Teela squared her shoulders and made sure to check the mirror as she left the confines of her bedroom. Her heart picked up its pace as she made her way down the stairs. King Randor had just called an emergency meeting, and that meant Prince Adam was well on his way. She still felt nervous seeing after what had happened last year.

The pair had barely seen each other outside of work reasons for the past three months. It was a bit disconcerting, to say the least, considering that the two had been inseparable for years. It was part of growing, she supposed, but she had hoped so much that despite the fact that she broke his heart, he would still be an active part of her life.

Yeah, right.

It wasn't long after Adam and Adora's birthday that Adam had leapt at the chance to move out of Eternos and into the Central Tower of the Great Towers. Teela couldn't help but feel like she was part of that decision. Part of her did care deeply for him, even if she didn't love him like she had confessed. Their bond was something . . . different that any other.

She had shelved her thoughts about He-Man at that moment. She had told him of her feelings not long before she had been truthful with Adam. He rejected her, telling her that she couldn't be safe in such a vulnerable position.

Teela could have argued with him, but knew her heart it was useless. There was no point in arguing that sort of thing with He-Man.

And even He-Man seemed to be around less and less than before.

Teela, though, pushed all of these thoughts away as she neared the city gates. Adam and Cringer had just walked and she felt a smile cross her face as she walked up to him.

"Adam!"

Adam looked over and returned her smile. "Hey, Teela," he greeted and the two walked side-by-side.

"How have you been?"

"Um, okay, okay. I'm really liking the whole leadership stuff."

"Well, it's good to know that all of my lessons didn't go unheard."

Adam nodded. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Uh," Teela started, not quite sure how to word what she was about to say, "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for some dinner later."

"Um, yeah, sure thing."

"Dinner!" shouted Cringer. "Great! I'm starving!"

***

"So, what'd you say?"

Mekaneck smiled and lifted his head up from the rock formation to get a good look at what was in the distance. He said nothing, much to Sy-Klone's chagrin. "That's for me to know and you to whine about not knowing."

"What did you say to her?" asked Sy-Klone again, his voice echoing from below on a small gust of upward-moving wind.

"Hmmmm, is that whining I hear? Yeah, I think it is," Mekaneck replied, lowering his head back down to his shoulders. "Seriously, though, it wasn't much. Just dinner and a nightcap."

"And you didn't show up until breakfast, I might add! What kind of nightcap was that?"

Mekaneck leaned against the rocks. "The kind that tells you why Phillip spent the weekend with his aunt."

Sy-Klone smirked. "That serious, huh? Wow. Never figured you to . . ." He trailed off as sounds began to carry on the wind.

"What? What is it?"

"Take another look. Do it!"

Mekaneck shot his head up and looked across the horizon towards Snake Mountain - and saw objects well on their way. "Looks like a full force."

The pair leapt off the rocks and jumped into the Talon Fighter. Sy-Klone activated the controls and they shot into the sky, well ahead of the opposition.

"Where are they heading?" asked Mekaneck.

"Accounting for current wind conditions, it's obvious they're not going to Grayskull," Sy-Klone replied. "It looks more like they're heading for . . . Eternos."

"I'll contact Man-At-Arms, then."

***

"There are a number of strange occurrences - all of which have me ill at ease," Randor told the group before him. "Besides the current tension between many of the kingdoms, there have been reports of odd happenings throughout Eternia."

Adam nodded. He knew about the tension - many of the kingdoms involved in the Dark Cloud defensive armies were angered by the kingdoms that weren't. Despite the fact that location and time were a key, twelve known kingdoms had been unable to join in against the Dark Cloud. While Eternos, Avion and Insectia had no problem with that, many others did. It made for a tense situation - one that made no promise for swift resolve.

But the strange happenings were different. This was something he wasn't aware of. "What kind of strange events?" he asked.

Randor waved to Man-At-Arms. Man-At-Arms nodded. "Yesterday, Moss Man discovered a five-mile radius of burnt and incinerated trees and plant-life in the Evergreen Forest. He and Clamp Champ are still investigating, but it looks like it was part of some sort of spell. But that's just the beginning . . ."

"What else is there?" asked Teela, who was as well unaware of this apparently.

"Rio Blast?" asked Man-At-Arms.

The cowboy nodded and stood. "I've been noticing over the past few days that there's been somethin' botherin' the animals."

"How's that?" wondered Adam. "Bothered how?"

"I've been talking to some of the other ranchers and we've all noticed a certain aggressiveness with the animals. And I'm not talking about just plain ol' meanness. They're scared of something. Something is spookin' them."

Adam grew a bit restless. Randor spoke again. "There are two more things."

Man-At-Arms elaborated. "We've been picking up energy spikes all across the globe. They seem to be at random, but have been occuring for the past three days and intensifying in both strength and number. These energy spikes are unlike any we've seen before. They seem to be causing some sort of atmospheric shift."

"Atmospheric shift?"

"A storm," answered Randor. "One that has been brewing over the Ocean of Gnarl for days and, if our reports from the weather stations and meteorologists are correct, it could very easily cover this entire planet in a matter of days."

"For how long?"

"A few days. There are storms like these on record," Marlena interjected. "World-wide, entire planet storms. It's not very uncommon, but only seems to happen once or twice a century."

"It could just be that we're jumping at shadows, but I have a feeling there's more to it than just that," Man-At-Arms admitted.

Just then, there was a knock at the doors, followed by the entrance of a Royal Soldier. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, sirs, sires, but we have just received word for Mekaneck and Sy-Klone while they were on scouting patrol. Skeletor, King Hiss and their minions are one their way here to Eternos."

Everyone rose for the table. "Sound the alarms," Randor ordered.

"Have all civilians take shelter," Marlena added.

"Order all soldiers to their places," Teela yelled.

"Assemble the Heroic Warriors and send for possible reinforcements from the Central Tower," Man-At-Arms barked.

"I'll go find He-Man!" Adam said.

"Good idea, son," Randor told him. "Then get yourself to the Towers. I need you to maintain command of them throughout this battle."

As the group exited the great meeting hall, Adam laughed to himself. And then, making sure that both he and Cringer were in a secure location, lifted up his Power Sword.