* Disclaimer in 1 ***Thanks again to LadyNiko for the great input and to Mandolin for the honesty, I'm glad you like part two better! Anyway, I always appreciate and welcome any kind of feedback I get so feel free to let me know what you think. I swear, promise, promise, promise some fighting action is coming up soon, just not in this chapter. Please r&r. Enjoy!



CHAPTER 12: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The advisor stood in the middle of the throne room in Castle Grayskull. It was dark and silent in the great hall. Emotionless yet gracefully, she strolled up the stone stairs to the far right tower of the castle, her white cloak dragging on the ground, making a light shuffling sound.

Outside, the thunder and lightning became more fierce. She felt the open wound the planet had suffered at the hands of Skeletor and pain filled her chest. She ignored it however, as much as she could and continued upward. There were more pressing matters to deal with now.

Time was closing in, as was Skeletor. She could sense his demonic ambitions; all of Eternia seemed to shudder at his cold presence.

She walked out onto the roof of the tall tower and looked out onto the horizon. The sky was turning red, black clouds clashed angrily together, a mist of fear swept over the land.

He was close and this time, it was going to be bad. Perhaps final.

The advisor knew what Skeletor was capable of and was concerned about what would happen next. Teela was going in front of the Counsel to be tried for crimes against the very planet she had sworn to protect. And even though the advisor had powers of magic, the castle was pretty much unguarded.

The advisor didn't blink as she considered what had happened in the castle earlier and what could happen to the novice Sorceress. As an advisor, she could choose sides, but she was didn't know what to feel about the situation Teela was in.

She committed a crime, but it was a crime of love. The advisor could see into her heart and although Teela may be confused, she did love the warrior. Surely there were more heinous crimes for the Counsel to deal with than this.

But, the advisor mind switched sides, she was warned away from such actions and the Counsel is very firm when it comes to their rules. Especially when the rules are set in place in order to protect the greatest power in the universe; the power within the walls of Grayskull. Taking the responsibility of protecting that power so lightly should be considered a crime, the advisor thought.

The thought was fleeting though. The advisor blinked. It wasn't her place to judge, and now was not the time to dwell on menial events.

The advisor was now the only protection the castle now had. Well, she and the ones who carried the power swords.

She sighed. She knew they were mortal and could be killed like any other human. She knew that all TOO well. She also felt Skeletor's power was now very capable of such an act and feared for them. She prayed they would be strong enough for the battle that was about to ensue.

If they weren't Eternia, Grayskull, possibly all of the universe itself was doomed.

Lightning crashed on the grounds in front of the castle, leaving a hole and a scorch mark on the ground. The advisor narrowed her eyes. Strong winds blew over her making her hair fly wildly around her.

Skeletor was sending a message and had it delivered to the castle by means of fire. She got his message, loud and clear. Now the question was, how would she respond?

She knew this place well. She knew how to use its power. She knew how to protect it, well sort of. But it didn't matter because she was forbidden from doing so. Becoming physically involved was out of the question for her and the consequences were final. There would be no trial for her, no going in front of the Counsel, as poor Teela was no doubt doing at that moment. The results for such an action were set in stone, the advisor could do nothing but watch and wait.

Well, there was one other thing she could do and she knew it. She closed her eyes and pulled her hood up over her head and returned into the castle.

But first, she had to beckon He-Man and She-Ra there at once. She just hoped they would arrive before Skeletor did.

******

She-Ra had been flying for a couple of hours and there was no sign of Adacan. Her backside hurt as she and Swiftwind landed in the clearing below. She dismounted the winged horse and kicked the ground with worried frustration. Behind her Man-At-Arms appeared from the bushes with a flashlight.

"Couldn't find him either?" he inquired of the Princess of Power, who shook her blonde head in disgust. He took off his silver helmet and ran his hands through his red and gray hair. "Neither could I."

They looked around the clearing. They both knew where they were and neither of them wanted to be there. Man-At-Arms looked where the child's footprints stopped; outside the wall that he knew enclosed the late Princess Erin's gravesite.

He pondered a few questions as he ran his hands over the unending, circular wall. She-Ra looked around the clearing for anything they might have missed before. Man-At-Arms focused on the footprints on the base of the wall.

"Strange," he said, catching She-Ra's attention as she looked up. "The footprints stop here as if he went inside, but you didn't see him in there from the air. There are no footprints leading out of this...tomb."

She-Ra nodded, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "No, all I saw was the statue and the gravesite, the same as it always is, I think. I haven't been out here in years."

Man-At-Arms examined the wall closer.

"Neither has Adacan," he said in that "something's afoot" tone of his. "In fact, Adam once told me the boy hadn't been out here since her burial, and that was long before the statue was placed in there and Adam had the wall built around it. Besides, Adacan shouldn't have remembered this place anyway."

She-Ra folded her arms.

"Why wouldn't he remember?" she asked questioningly. "He was five when she died, I would think he would have some recollection of it. I held him while during the burial ceremony myself. He was awake through the whole thing. Very quiet, but awake."

Man-At-Arms sighed and shook his head again. This was a long story that he felt there wasn't enough time to tell. He decided to give her the condensed version.

"Adacan didn't see what happened to his mother when she died at Grayskull," he recounted. "Stratos thankfully had him well on his way back to the palace when that happened. However, what he did see was difficult for him to understand. Skeletor was playing games with his mind, games the child couldn't possibly rationalize at the time. To try to explain all of what happened could have caused severe emotional damage to him at that age. The effects on his life could have been devastating."

She-Ra looked at him suspiciously. This was going somewhere and she wanted to know where exactly.

"So, what happened next?" she asked.

Man-At-Arms looked up at the sky and shrugged.

"The Sorceress was gone, dead, she couldn't help him. Teela was too inexperienced with her abilities to do anything and Adam was a wreck," he explained. " Your father was worried that if Adacan lived with the knowledge of such a horrific event in his mind at such a young age, that he would never have a normal childhood."

Man-At-Arms grunted quietly and thought "Normal. As if that child was meant for anything normal." He looked at She-Ra who seemed eager for him to finish.

"The king asked me for a consultation on the situation," he tried to wrap it up, noticing time was ticking away. "He was adamant Adacan not remember anything with the hope that it could be explained to him later, when he was old enough to comprehend what happened. We asked Adam if we could...erase part of the boy's memory...and after some heavy thinking, he concurred that it would be the best thing to do. That's why, he shouldn't have known how to get here. He knew Erin was dead but he shouldn't have remembered that his mother was buried in this place. We conducted the 'operation' a few days after the burial."

She-Ra took a deep breath. She didn't know whether to get very angry or understand why Man-At-Arms had did what he had done. She herself had been deprived of vital information concerning her family and her past for most of her life and she was a firm believer in not tampering with the memories of others.

But given the circumstances, the situation at the time was not a call for her to make. If it was, she wasn't sure then how she would have handled it.

"I see," she said softly and looked at Swiftwind as he grazed on some nearby bushes. She didn't want to dwell on the past any longer. "Well, it seems he remembers something now, doesn't it? Now the question is, where did Adacan go? There are no footprints leaving this clearing and he's not inside the burial site." She motioned to the wall and then put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently.

"How does a 10-year-old boy just disappear without a trace?"

Man-At-Arms opened his mouth to respond when his eyes met the wide, gray eyes of the warrior standing behind his twin. She-Ra spun around to see the color drain from He-Man's face.

"What do you mean, 'Disappear?'" he stammered.

*******

Teela waited in the meeting room of the Universal Counsel.

She was exhausted. Her mind flooded with possible scenarios for her punishment. She wondered what the Counsel would say to her. Would they call her a traitor? Would they give her a chance to defend herself? Would they find her guilty? Would they sentence her to death or worse yet, a lifetime in cell away from those she loved?

She was also worried about Grayskull and Eternia. She knew the advisor was capable of doing magic, especially this particular advisor. But she also knew that it was forbidden for the advisor to physically interfere. She wondered if Skeletor would take the castle and Eternia. If such a thing happened, she thought solemnly, it would be her fault because she wasn't there to fulfill her responsibilities. She was racked with guilt and fear.

The room was dark and the golden floor was icy. She shivered a little as she waited for her trial to start and wondered if they planned to torture her by making her wait forever.

But before long, a light appeared over her, although the rest of the room stayed dark. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. In the room, she heard whispers but saw no faces. Finally, a loud, clear voice boomed above the others.

"Teela, Sorceress of Grayskull. You are charged with serious crimes against the planet Eternia. You have been told of such crimes and have been brought before the great Counsel for trial. Do you admit your guilt?"

She lowered her head. She couldn't lie and the truth was, she had broken the rules. She knew she had to fess up.

"Yes, I allowed myself to become 'involved' with the hero of Eternia, the one who carries the power sword. I crossed a line I took an oath to never do and disobeyed the rules set by you, the Universal Counsel."

She wanted to cry but felt she had to be strong in front of the counsel, even if she couldn't see them. There was more whispering and then another voice, this time the voice of a female, gentle and kind, spoke above the others.

"My dear, that indeed is a very serious crime. But was the act in vain? Do you care for this hero? Or was this merely a moment of weakness?"

Teela was confused, she hadn't had time to give what happened with Adam much thought since she seemed to be in desperate trouble. She thought about the events that put her in this position for a few minutes before answering. She concluded as strange as it had been to "be" with him, there was no one she cared for more.

"Both," she replied. "But it was not in vain, I do love him but now I realize I should never have acted upon it."

The chains around her wrists were rubbing into her skin and were becoming very uncomfortable. The voices began whispering again. Next, a squeaky, high-pitched voice rang out.

"If you were given a choice now, between your duties and your warrior, which would you select? Be honest, we can see into your soul and read your heart."

Teela didn't understand where these questions were going. She thought about the last one though. She loved Adam, but the people of Eternia needed her, depended on her. Whether or not they even knew she existed, she wanted to protect them as if they were all her children.

She raised her head and stuck her chin out.

"I made my choice years ago," she said confidently. "The people of Eternia and the secrets of Grayskull have always been my first priority and always will be. I want nothing more than to help ensure their happiness and safety."

She wondered if her words meant anything to them as the voices started their blasted whispering again. Finally a fourth, low bass voice spoke.

"Someone has come forward to speak on your behalf. We will hear what he has to say and then make our decision."

Teela's eyebrows raised as she wondered who was coming to her defense. "Maybe they brought father or Adam here to defend me," she thought.

It sure wasn't who she expected it to be.

To her surprise, Zodac stepped into the spotlight. He looked at her with a smile, a look she had never seen from him before in all the time she knew him.

All the voices spoke at once.

"SPEAK, GREAT ZODAC!"

The titan stiffened his back and pulled his red robe around the front as he bowed in the presence of the Counsel. Teela sat in awe of him, and wondered if he was really there to help her or seal her fate.

As angry as he had been at her earlier, she figured it would be the latter.

"Counsel members," he boomed seriously. "I come before you with a request to spare this woman!"

Teela looked at him in shock as he continued his speech. The titan was stone-faced, his black eyes set before him, as if he could see each of the faces he was talking to.

"I am your servant, and I always speak the truth to you. I would never lead you astray. The Sorceress Teela is not without guilt in this situation, but the fault is not entirely hers! I bear some of the weight of these crimes."

Teela looked at him in confusion.

"You see, years ago, you appointed me to train her for her duties, after her mother, the former Sorceress of Grayskull....could no longer fulfill her responsibilities."

Teela's eyebrows furrowed. Her mother died doing her duty. She thought he at least could show a little respect for that.

"And during those duties, I instructed her in what the rules of her position were," he continued strongly. "But I also instructed her to follow her heart and go with her instincts. I told her that was the very essence of her powers."

Teela looked at him and wondered what he was getting at.

"I believe in this case, she merely became swept up in her heart and forgot about her instincts, a grave mistake." He paused. "However, I feel it is a forgivable one, and as we known of history, especially when applied to past Sorcresses, a common one."

He stood still as the first voice loudly spoke up again.

"Why should this be forgivable?"

Zodac cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. Teela had never seen him so serious without yelling at her.

"Because she has the potential of being the greatest Sorceress ever to walk the halls of Grayskull." He looked down on her and smiled. "She may require a bit more training and supervision, but I would be more than happy to provide that. I believe she is the best and can reach her full potential if allowed to. Grayskull is also in dire danger at this very moment, and her powers, such as they are, are desperately needed there."

Teela couldn't believe what she was hearing. Zodac was not only defending her, but he was praising her also. Her mouth was agape as he stared straight ahead in the darkness. She heard whispers in the background and then the female voice came back.

"We need time to make our decision. You shall wait here for the time being."

With that, the room went black and silent again.

******

Skeletor surveyed his army. No robot troopers this time. No bumbling oaf minions, most of whom were dead anyway, killed by the hands of their own master. No ridiculous tanks and shark shaped machines.

Only an army of pure, unrequited, unabashed evil. Thousands of the most evil monsters the mind could imagine and some that weren't possible to fathom.

Skeletor laughed under his heavy breath as he studied the demons he had beckoned from the fiery infernos of Eternia's hells. All of them were carnal, primitive, and lethal. But better yet, easily controlled by him.

This would be Armageddon, Hells on Eternia, and he was going to have the best seat for the show. The scales of his skin seem to ripple in anticipation. He could taste the blood of the innocent already.

He knew his nemesis the Sorceress was killed in their last battle. He could still feel her power running through his veins. The stupid witch left him with a taste of her magic. He quickly learned how to use it to his advantage and now he would use her magic against the very place she protected for so long.

He reveled in the sadistic irony, his red eyes glowing brightly as he laughed harder.

Yet, he could still sense her coming from Grayskull. At least he thought he could, but it seemed to be different, as if she were still there but wasn't. The thought offered him some confusion, but he pushed past it in his thirst for war.

He raised his huge arms high into the air, his havoc staff glowing brightly against the red sky.

"Tonight my friends, we take this planet for ourselves! Make anyone who stands in our way beg for death!" he shouted insanely.

Murmurs and other haunted sounds came from his horrific army. Lightning crashed around him, adding to the aura of his madness.

"First we take Grayskull, then the Royal Palace. Then all of Eternia will fall. LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!!!!!!!!"

With that, Panthor started walking towards Grayskull, carrying the closest thing to the devil himself on his back. The ground shook as thousands of demons followed him in unison.

******

Adacan tried to be brave as he stared at the giant skull faced castle in front of him. The harsh winds nearly knocked him over but he leaned against a nearby rock for support. His blonde and gray hair blew wildly around his face and he kept pushing it out of his eyes.

Lightning crashed, thunder rolled, the winds howled.

Despite his fear, he stood his ground and looked up to his mother, who wore the same haunted expression on her face as she did when they left her gravesite. She didn't move, expect for bobbing up and down a little as she hovered above the ground.

Adacan was still shocked that she came back, but he wondered why it was so important for them to come here. The place where his father said she had died. A place where Adacan knew he was forbidden to go.

"Mom, why are we here?" he asked the ghost slowly, trying not to upset her and cause her to go away again. "Who are we supposed to warn? What's going on?"

The ghost didn't look at him, and just focused straight ahead. She raised her finger to her pale lips.

"Sssshhhhh," she quieted him. "They will be.... here soon.... we must.... be ready."

Adacan looked around. He didn't see anybody. He walked forward towards the castle. The ghost of his mother floated behind him, slowly. The closer he got to it, the more he felt like this was a very bad idea.

They neared the edge of the cliff. Adacan looked up at the castle questioningly.

"Now what?" he asked expecting his mother to answer. He turned to find her gone. His eyes widened as he looked frantically around for her. "Mom? Where did you go? Mom, come back!"

The child became very nervous and started to get scared. His fears were rested though, when he heard her voice call to him.

"I'm here.." She echoed in his head. "Need to.....get into.... the castle."

Adacan looked at the monstrous door. "How?" he asked thin air.

The voice came back, louder and more aggressively.

"You..must call... the jawbridge down...it will..open for you.."

Adacan was confused. Call the jawbridge down. How was he supposed to do that? That door was huge and he was only 10-years-old. There was no way he could open it.

"How do I call it down," he asked, looking around. In the eye of the stone skull, he thought he caught a glimpse of something white flash through it but it was gone. This puzzled him more.

"What do I say, 'Jawbridge open!?!"

With that, the ground shook as the door to the castle started lowering itself. Adacan jumped back before the edge of the door could crashed down upon him. It hit the ground with a heavy "thud" that knocked the child to the ground. When the dust cleared, he saw a hooded figure in white standing in the doorway.

He crawled backwards on his hands as it approached him.

"Mom, help!" he yelled out, but got no response. He looked around every which way, to find himself alone with this stranger.

The advisor pulled her hood back and looked down on the boy with compassion. His eyes were wide with fear, but softened as she smiled at him.

"Child, you should not have come here.." She warned.

Adacan looked at her strangely. When she spoke, he heard two voices, both female. One very soft, the other a little harder, and somewhat recognizable.

He studied her to make sure he wasn't in any danger. She looked odd. Her face seemed familiar but didn't. When she turned her head, her face seemed to change. She also had one green eye and one blue eye. Her long hair that whipped wildly around her face was three different colors: bright red, brown and white.

Safe or not, he thought she was weird.

The advisor knew time was of the essence. She closed her eyes and focused on...

******

He-Man, She-Ra and Man-At-Arms stood arguing about Adacan's whereabouts for several minutes in the glen. Man-At-Arms knew they were losing time but the twins were bickering like twelve-years-olds. He puts his hands in the air and yelled "ENOUGH!!!!!" But that didn't seem to stop the mighty twosome.

Suddenly, thunder boomed loudly. That shut them all up.

They all looked up at the red sky with blank expressions on their faces as if they were in traces. Then they looked at each other, perplexedly.

"Grayskull!" they all yelled in unison and took off for the castle.