Hey! Back at long last! Short chapter? I don't know. Can't tell. Should only be one or two chapters left. We're drawing to a close. One chapter and the epilogue, I think. Anyway, let me know.

-Burp.

CHAPTER 14 – The Plan

"Silence!" the king roared over the hubbub in the great hall. The murmured, and in some cases rather loudly exclaimed gossip suddenly ceased.

"We've all, I'm sure, heard some disturbing rumors going around the palace lately," he acceded, looking slightly uncomfortable. He held a regal hand out for silence as the murmurings began to resume. "We've called this meeting because there seems to be a grain of truth to all this commotion. Adam?" Here Randor held a hand out to his son, standing in the wings. Adam moved to stand before the assemblage of Eternia's masters and the king stepped back to allow Adam their undivided attention.

"We have received a definite threat," Adam began, "and we have reason to believe that the palace may be in danger of attack by a sizable force, fleshed out with Skeletor's henchmen, and headed by none other than Hordak." Exclamations of alarm and dismay erupted in the hall. Adam silenced them with a confident arm raised in an imperial gesture. He resumed.

"Hordak has arrived here on Eternia . . . from twenty years in the future. We don't know how he's managed this time travel, or exactly what his motivation is. We do know that we need to take defensive measures, and we need to take them now."

"Why isn't He-Man here?" Mekanek asked above the whisperings of the other masters. Murmurs of approval echoed his question.

"He-Man was unable to attend our meeting," Adam stated, "but he will be attending the battle, and he's already been informed of all the particulars." Adam smiled a little, mischievously. "He even thinks he might be able to persuade She-Ra to come help us out." The whisperings ceased, the masters apparently appeased.

"What I'd like to know is, where's Skeletor?" Man-E-Faces stated.

"I'm sure we'd all like to know that, Manny", Adam answered him. "We do know that he doesn't get on well with Hordak, so we can only hope that he's made himself scarce for now, and do our best to prepare. Now," Adam held up a hand for silence again, "Teela, we need you and your men to hold your perimeter." Teela nodded emphatically. "Masters, I need you all to be prepared to defend our home at any time. I need you all to be on your guard, and if you hear any suspicious rumors going around, please report them. Information is a valuable weapon. Please realize that this is a very serious threat, and we need to take it seriously. Am I clear, friends?"

A few in the front nodded seriously, while some in the back responded with vigorous 'Aye's. Adam nodded himself, satisfied. Randor stepped up beside his son and clapped a hearty hand onto his shoulder.

"Now then," he addressed the assembly, "the lot of you get to it!"

"Adam really seems to have stepped up", commented Stratos to Mekanek. Mekanek shrugged.

"He's never been down, as far as I'm concerned", he said, "Adam's a good kid. There's a reason behind his actions, I think. Always has been." Stratos raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?" Mekanek grinned.

"Beats me!"

Meanwhile, Adam was meeting with his sister, future son, and future wife about battle tactics.

"Listen", he said, "I don't know if Greyskull can sustain three of us at once. I think that only two of us should fight, and I think it should be me and Adora. We've got more experience, and I think we could do the most damage. Not to mention Adora knows Hordak better than anyone." Randolph looked as though he would burst from frustration. Teela cut him off before he could speak up about the unfairness of the whole situation.

"Adam's right", she said firmly, with a look in Randolph's direction. Randolph huffed.

"Well", he said smugly, "what if we can't get a hold of this He-Ro fellow? He might just show up, and then what?" He was operating on the assumption that Adam and Adora were the only ones that knew his secret identity. Unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken. Teela rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. We have no idea who this He-Ro could possibly be." Randolph looked confused. Teela continued. "We only know that he appeared out of the blue, hm, about the same time as you, has red hair, green eyes . . . You're right Randolph. He could be anyone." Adam chuckled.

"Teela, you don't have to terrorize him. Poor kid never saw it coming." He shook his head in mock sorrow. Randolph scowled at them and sat in the corner, sulking. Adora laughed, being highly amused at the situation. She was unsurprised at the revelation, considering Randolph had told her all about it earlier. She wondered what she'd done to the poor boy in the future, to have that kind of an effect on him.

"I'm sorry, Randolph", Adora said, "but I have to agree with Adam and Teela. You should stay out of the fight."

"Then why am I here at all?" Randolph demanded. "The sorceress sent me here to protect Da-" Randolph stopped short, suddenly recalling who was in the room. He surveyed the faces turned toward him. Adam and Adora's faces were filled with mild panic, and Teela looked confused. He cleared his throat.

"I have a mission, and I don't know how I'm supposed to complete it if I'm not even allowed to fight!!" Adora laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe just letting us know about the attack is protection enough, Randolph. Maybe that's what she meant, not fighting." Randolph was confused, his frustration seeping away.

"Hold on a minute", Teela said quietly, "The sorceress, a mission, a warning? Where are you from, Randolph?" Her eyes pierced his matching ones with quiet suspicion. Randolph amazingly kept his head and answered her calmly.

"It doesn't matter. The sorceress knew about the attack, so she sent me to help out. Maybe I misunderstood how I was supposed to help out. I'm gonna go take a walk, okay?" He stepped out into the hallway, sighing in relief when the eyes watching him passed out of view. Then he huffed.

"It's not fair" he sulked, realizing as he did so that he was indulging in childish behavior. He pouted.

"You're being stupid" he told himself, forcing his lower lip back into its appropriate position. He sighed as he paced through the courtyard. He kicked a rock a good twenty feet across the paving stones. He looked up in response to nothing at all.

"Hey Mark", he greeted in a lackluster manner, spying his father's would-be assassin, now pampered semi-captive-for-his-own-good. Randolph plopped down next to the thin boy on the fountain's edge. It seemed like he was always in the same place. Mark gazed at him disinterestedly and looked away again, also disinterestedly, so far maintaining his silence.

"I suppose they're letting you fight", Randolph provoked sullenly. Mark continued to gaze at a seemingly unremarkable carapace.

"I have no intentions of fighting, Sir." Randolph's eyes contracted, miffed.

"Why not? And why do you always address everyone so formally? Do you think that everyone is better than you?"

"Yes", Mark said without emotion. Randolph was upset. He opened his mouth to give the boy a lecture about self-worth . . . and was distracted by footsteps and familiar voices. He jumped off of the fountain and quickly turned to Mark, who looked up at him mildly.

"You're a worthwhile person, Mark. We'll talk about this later." The look in his eye implied that there would be no negotiation in the matter, and he was running off into the forest, leaving Mark to turn his incalculable face toward the approaching noise.

A troupe of foot soldiers jogged past. They were vanguarded by Teela, who was speaking with Seahawk, jogging apace to their speed in order to communicate some vital information. The attack had begun. Mark gleaned that much before they had left his visual and auditory cognitive area. Mark gazed again at the carapace. "Yes, Master", he said.

So we're at a point when Teela is being more sensitive to suspicious activity. To be clear, she knows that Randolph is He-Ro. She does not know that Randolph is her son (or Adam's for that matter, regardless of the fact that he nearly gives it away every two seconds). She may know that Adora is She-Ra. I can't remember if I've addresses that issue or not, but I'm not going to worry about it for now. Next chapter is the finale, so pay attention! C'est finis pour maintenant.

-Burp.