Happy Valentine's everyone!
Guest: Sorry, I do write a lot of cliffhangers but I try to resolve them quickly.
hooked: Glad you like the humor. Actually, I lost my sense of humor about 6 years ago. If anyone finds it, please return.
AdTeeFan: Patience, all will be answered in due time.
TeelanaFalcao: Obrigado por perceber sobre Fawna. Ela desempenha um papel importante na história. Espero que você continue a se divertir.
Timothyblack0412: Glad to see you back. I hope it continues to meet your expectations.
But most of all thank you all for reading this. I kinda posted this on a whim. Wasn't really expecting anyone to read it much less enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Does any one read this? What, oh, the lawyers? Okay, fine. I do not own any of the rights to He-Man or any related characters.
King Randor and Stratos watched Marlena test the wind raider from the edge of the field.
"Everything looks okay, so far." Stratos observed.
"Yes, well, I'm hoping it stays that way." Randor muttered.
"So how do you know something's going to go wrong?" Stratos inquired.
"I don't, not for sure but I'm counting on you to make sure she's safe in case something does go wrong." Randor replied his eyes on the wind raider.
Stratos glanced at him then back to the sky. "Well, it won't be because of operator error. She's quite a pilot. Impressive being able to fly something foreign so quickly and so well." He said off-handedly.
"Mmm-hmm," Randor grunted noncommittally.
"You like her don't you?" Stratos said unexpectedly.
"Excuse me?" Randor looked at Stratos in surprise.
"You heard me. You like the Earthling." Stratos repeated.
"Well, I…I…I'm just concerned for her safety." Randor stammered.
"No, you're more than just… concerned." Stratos smirked.
Randor turned his face to hide his blush. "What makes you say that?" He grumbled.
"The absolute panic on your face when you approached me perhaps gave you away." Stratos remarked.
"What does it matter if I do? She's going back to her planet so the point is moot." Randor sounded petulant.
"Well, tell her!" Stratos exclaimed.
"What?" Randor's head snapped to face Stratos.
"Yes, man! Tell her how you feel. See if she feels the same." Stratos said exasperated.
"And then what? Take her away from her life, her home?" Randor's face had a pained expression.
"That would be her choice, wouldn't it?" Stratos asked.
Before Randor could reply, he heard a gasp go through the crowd. His head snapped back to the sky. The wind raider was starting to fly erratically.
"Stratos…" Panic crept into Randor's voice.
"I'm on it." Stratos shot into the sky.
Randor shielded his eyes to try to see what was going on. He heard the nobles start to talk amongst themselves.
What is the alien doing? Did you see the bird man go after her? What's going on? Is she stealing the flying machine?
Randor gritted his teeth. The gossip mill was already starting. He quickly moved to where Duncan stood.
"Duncan, did you see…"
"Yes, I did your majesty. Something's not right."
"Is there any way we can follow them?"
"I put a transmitter on the wind raider so it would send me data during the test. I can use it as a homing beacon."
"Excellent. Stratos is following her to make sure she's safe."
"Stratos?"
"Yes, he's the only one who could fly." He said wryly.
"I see. Well, according to this they're heading for Mount Eternia."
"Quickly then. Let's get to the Attack Trak."
"What will we tell the people?"
Randor frowned for a second. Then he got on top of Man-at-Arms' transport. Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"My friends, thank you all for coming to see the first successful test run of the wind raider. I'm sure we are all impressed by its maneuverability. The public portion of the test is now concluded. Please continue to enjoy your outing while we finish the private portion of the test." Randor then jumped off the transport.
"Let's go." He grabbed his friend and tried to walk off regally. When they were out of sight from the people they ran to the tank.
0o0
The side of the mountain was fast approaching. Marlena debated jumping out of the ship. But she couldn't face another crash especially in an alien vehicle. So with all her might she yanked on the steering column. The wind raider lurched up. She flew parallel to the mountainside scraping the bottom of the wind raider. She winced every time she heard the crunching of the metal against the rocks.
Finally, she reached the top. She relaxed her grip. The wind raider flew across a flat part of the mountain. She checked to see if it was a large enough area to land. She fought the controls to try to land on the craggy surface. She pushed the steering column so that it made a U-turn. She tried to descend slowly but the ship had other ideas. While equally pushing and pulling to compensate for the ship's erratic flying , she skipped to a landing barely stopping in time before she reached the edge.
She leaned back in relief, "Whew, that was close." She wiped her forehead with her sleeve.
"Are you all right?"
Marlena nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around to see who had spoken.
"Oh Stratos, you scared me. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to help you, but it looks like you've taken care of that yourself." Stratos smiled.
"Thank you. I still need help getting back to the field seeing as I have no idea where i am." Marlena said dryly.
"I think I can do that." He said amicably. Then he added in a more serious tone. "What happened?" He pointed at the wind raider.
Marlena shrugged then started to get out of the ship. "I honestly don't know. One minute it was flying well, and then it just started driving like it was possessed."
"Did it now?" Stratos pulled something from a pouch on his belt. It was a small pinkish crystal. He waved it over the wind raider.
Marlena looked at him curiously. "What is that?" Then she jumped back when the crystal started to glow eerily.
"Hmm, I suspected as much. " Stratos said grimly. "Your wind raider has been tampered with."
"But Man-at-Arms said…" Marlena began.
"Not physical tampering, magical tampering. Someone has hexed your flying machine."
Marlena took a step back away from the wind raider. "But why would anyone do such a thing?"
Stratos shrugged. "Who knows? But I find non-bird people tend to do pretty petty things."
"Let's get back. I want to find some answers." Marlena said determinedly.
"As you wish." Stratos bent over and lifted her under her knees and back.
"Hey!" Marlena protested.
"Sorry, this is the fastest way I can get you back unless you want to walk." Stratos said.
"Well, okay." Marlena looked away to hide her blush. Then Stratos leapt off the ledge of the mountain. Marlena gasped and grabbed him tight.
"Relax," he said calmly. "I won't let you fall."
"Sorry, just a visceral reaction." Marlena tried to keep her voice even keeled. Inside her heart was hammering at suddenly feeling the sensation of falling through the air. As she tried to distract herself from the dizzying heights, her eyes caught movement on the mountain side. "Stratos, what's that?" She pointed at the mountain.
"Rocks," he answered cheekily.
"Yes, I know that but I thought I saw something move over there." She refrained from slapping him.
Whether to humor her or if he was genuinely curious he flew to where she was pointing. They landed on a ledge. There were a series of caves along the wide ledge.
"I don't see anything." Stratos looked around.
Marlena's instincts took over. She grabbed Stratos and pulled him behind some rocks. Stratos was about to object when they heard rustling come from one of the caves.
Marlena's head started to spin again because what emerged looked like something from her nightmares. They had the bodies of men and heads of snakes.
0o0
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Randor asked Duncan impatiently.
"Sire, we are going at maximum speed." Then Duncan added, "Maybe we should have had some of the guards accompany us."
"No, I don't want too many people to know about this." Randor said abruptly.
"I'm sure the royal guards can be trusted not to speak." Duncan glanced at Randor. His friend looked haggard.
"I don't know." Randor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Duncan. I don't know if I'm thinking straight anymore." He rubbed his eyes. "I know some of the people in the court can be… malicious, but I would never have thought that anyone would ever resort to actually hurting someone."
"We can't jump to conclusions." Duncan cautioned him.
"I suppose you're right. I can't make any judgment calls until I have all the evidence. But by the Ancients, if Marlena is hurt…" His threat trailed off into silence. He wasn't sure what he would do. He closed his eyes. Right now he only cared that she was all right. He was so concerned he was even willing to send Stratos to her aid. Then thinking back to their conversation, he was puzzled as to why the bird man would insist that he tell Marlena his feelings. Does that mean he Stratos wasn't interested in her? Or did he want a rival for her affections? He nearly groaned. All this and he still had the snakemen to contend with.
"Can't we go any faster?" He repeated.
Duncan thought that perhaps it would not be wise to smack his king over the head. So with great self-control he merely answered, "We're almost there, your majesty." He only hoped it was true.
0o0
Marlena's heart skipped a beat. She was staring at honest to goodness snakemen. Stratos pulled her back behind the rocks before they could spot her.
"We need to get out of here." He whispered. He started to walk along the ledge away from the caves
Marlena was about to follow when she heard one of them say, "We have the Serpent Ring. Now it's just a matter of time before we can rid ourselves of these accursed Eternians."
Marlena froze. She stayed stock still.
"Yes, soon we snakemen will once again rule this planet and the people will be our slaves." Another one hissed.
Marlena shuddered and quickly moved to follow Stratos. Unfortunately in her haste she did not notice the outcropping of rock on the ground. She tripped and fell. As she pushed herself up, a shadow loomed over her. When she flipped onto her back, two snakemen were glaring at her.
"A spy! We will show you what we do to spies." Hissed the one that looked a little like a rattlesnake.
"I don't suppose it's to let her go peacefully?" Marlena asked facetiously.
The orange one lunged for her, fangs baring. Marlena quickly stuck out her legs and catapulted him over her. His body hit the ground with a thud. Then quickly scooping up loose dirt on the floor she threw it in the other snakeman's face blinding him. She scrambled up and ran leaping over the prone figure of the first snakeman. As she was jumping something shiny on the ground next to the fallen snakeman caught her eye. In one smooth movement she swept it into her hand and continued running.
"Get up, get her, you fool! She has the ring!" Marlena could hear the snakeman hiss.
Running as fast as her legs can go she plunged head long on the ledge hoping to find Stratos. She stuck the ring in her pocket.
When she rounded the corner she skidded to a stop. Stratos was on the floor. Standing above him was a cobra-like man with his hood splayed. She could see some sort of gas dissipating into the air. The cobra spotted her and approached her menacingly.
0o0
"We're here, sire." Man-at-Arms said with some relief. "This is as far as the Attack Trak can go." His companion did not answer but wordlessly jumped out of the tank. He looked up the rest of Mount Eternia. They had made it half way up the mountain before the road grew too narrow for the tank to pass. Randor started following the path up.
"Wait, your majesty. Let me try to get a better reading so we don't aimlessly wander." Duncan called out.
"Fine," Randor crossed his arms and impatiently tapped his foot as he waited for Man-at-Arms to calibrate his instruments.
"It seems that the wind raider is directly above us." Duncan said still looking at his handheld computer.
"Then let's go." Randor started walking again.
Duncan shook his head and wordlessly followed. He walked next to Randor.
"I'm sure she's well." Duncan tried to reassure him.
Randor kept walking without answering. The traveled several feet in silence broken only by the sound of gravel crunching underneath their feet and their ragged breaths as the air grew thinner.
"Duncan," Randor broke the silence. "Duncan, what do you think of Marlena?"
Surprised and at a lost as to how to answer, Duncan scratched his head. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, sire."
"You know? Do you think she can handle being… royalty?" Randor paused not knowing how to phrase it.
"I think she would make a wonderful queen." Duncan said sincerely. "I think she posses a keen mind, a humble spirit, and a good disposition."
"Do you think she'd be willing to stay here?" He asked.
"I think that's up to her. But unless she knows…" A scream stopped them in their tracks. The king and Man-at-Arms looked at each other dumbfounded. Another scream broke through their trance.
"Marlena!" Randor yelled before barreling up the road at speeds that Duncan didn't know he was capable of.
0o0
Marlena was not a screamer. She generally was more reserved even in her fright. But when the cobra man charged her with venom dripping from its fangs, hood opened, and eyes ablaze, she heard an unfamiliar high pitch noise emitting from her mouth not once but twice. Although even in her fear she did not lose her head. As the snakeman reached her, she sidestepped him and held out her leg. The snakeman tripped and fell face first into some rocks. His fangs fastened onto said rocks and he was stuck momentarily. It gave Marlena an opportunity to check Stratos.
She shook him." Stratos? Stratos! Are you okay? Please get up." She tried to keep the panic from her voice but she could tell it was creeping in. Then she heard rocks crunching. She whirled around and saw the snakeman was free. He did not look happy. Marlena got up and backed away from the murderous creature. As he advanced she continued to back away. Then stopped when she realized she had run out of ledge. She glanced over the edge as a pebble dislodged by her shoe fell down the cliff. She gulped nervously and looked back at the snakeman who now had an evil grin in addition to its menacing fangs. His scaly hands reached for her.
"Don't touch her!" A hand grabbed the snakeman's shoulder and spun him around. Next thing Marlena knew the snakeman was on the ground and Randor was rubbing his fist.
"Randor!" Marlena hugged him. She was so glad to see him. Randor was glad she couldn't see his face which had turned all shades of red. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her but before he could hold her tight she pulled away. "Oh, Stratos!" She ran to the fallen bird man, who was now rubbing his head. "Stratos are you okay?" She asked as she helped him sit up.
"I've been better." He groaned.
"I was so worried." Marlena said with relief. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Apparently, we have different definitions of okay." The bird man joked.
Marlena laughed. Randor scowled at this scene. As the snakeman came to Randor kicked him in the head as he walked pass and knocked him out again.
"Well, I'm glad to see you both alive." Randor said breaking up their conversation. Marlena smiled at him. His chest tightened and he had a little trouble breathing. Speaking of breathing, Duncan's labored breath could be heard as he finally made it to the top. He bent over and tried to regain his breathe.
"Oh, Duncan, are you all right?" Marlena walked over to him.
Duncan held up and hand. "Just…give…me…a…second." He panted.
"What happened?" Randor touched Marlena on the shoulder. Marlena's eyes went wide. She had forgotten in her excitement.
"Randor, what's the Serpent's Ring?" She asked.
Randor frowned. "I can't say I've heard of it. Perhaps we need to visit the council of elders and The Sorceress."
"I've heard it's a talisman of the snakemen." Stratos said getting up slowly. "But I've heard that it was lost in the last war."
"Well, I have it here." Marlena pulled it out of her pocket. Then men stared at it wide-eyed.
"How?" Duncan looked at her.
"It fell off one of them when I knocked him down." Marlena explained.
"You knocked down a snakeman?" Stratos jaw had hit the floor.
"Well, he was coming after me so..." Marlena began.
"He came after you?" Randor's face flushed with anger.
"Yes, him and his friend." Marlena tried again.
"There were two of them?"Duncan interrupted her.
"Yes, please try to follow. I heard them say they were going to use this to take over the planet." Marlena continued.
"Well, it's a good thing you have it then." Stratos grinned.
"But it means they will be coming after it. We need to get back to the castle and have the soldiers comb this area." Randor said grimly.
"They can also get the wind raider while they're here." Marlena added.
"Oh yes, what happened to it?" Duncan asked.
"I landed it on top of the mountain." Marlena replied.
"You landed it?" Randor asked incredulously. "But it was flying wildly."
"I didn't land it very well." Marlena admitted.
"I think you did a great job considering that the wind raider was hexed." Stratos interjected.
"Is that what happened?" Duncan asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, I tested it with my crystal." Stratos confirmed.
"I see. That's another issue that we need to deal with. Stratos, I think you see why we need your people's allegiance. I hope I have it." Randor turned to the bird man.
Stratos nodded. "You have my people's support. The snakemen are every free creature's enemy and I am very much concerned for my friend."
"Agreed. Now let's get out of here before more arrive." Randor said grimly. He firmly put a protective arm around Marlena's waist and led her down the mountain. Stratos and Man-at-Arms exchanged glances before following the pair down.
