Chapter Four

"March To Eternos"

Adam stood outside Teela's room, and looked at her from the doorway. Her still form looked somewhat peaceful, wrapped up in the blankets. The burns were healing well, but she was still close to death. The damage to the brain was awful.

He didn't even what to think about that. All he wanted to think about was Teela getting better. About Teela coming out of the coma alive and well, without a single problem beyond a few little scars. He punched the wall in frustration, and immediately regretted it. The skin broke, causing a little blood to run down from his fingers. He wasn't He-Man . . . he couldn't get away with things like that as Adam.

"But at the end of the day, we're both too weak to do the one thing that matters most . . ." he whispered.

"Prince Adam," came a sudden voice. Adam turned around and spotted Rio Blast. He was surprised, Rio Blast was last seen heading south. "I've got to talk to He-Man."

"He-Man's not here right now," Adam replied. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah. I just caught wind. Something big is going down at Snake Mountain. Something with that King Hiss guy."

"Come on, then, let's go talk to my father."

As the pair walked off, Adam gave one last, parting glance towards Teela's still form.

***

King Hiss stood tall and proud above his troops. They were feisty and full of life - ready to kill and destroy once more. Covered in their armor, their weapons preped for battle, their bodies stern and ready. The Snake Men army was all set.

Sounding the great horns, Snake-Face and Sssqueeze led the 8,000 warriors forward. Great feet pounded on the dark soil as they began their long march to Eternos. The capital of Eternia was keystroke in conquering the two worlds - and gaining the upper hand against Hordak.

But King Hiss stayed behind, knowing full well that this battle would not require his attention. He must remain at Snake Mountain to prepare for the major assault - Doom Tower of the Fright Zone. That would be a difficult battle and would require his strength.

And so, as King Hiss looked on, the Snake Men army marched away from Snake Mountain - and towards battle.

***

"We have confirmation," Man-At-Arms said, a few hours later. "The Snake Men army is currently leaving the Dark Hemisphere, entering into the Desert before reaching the Sands of Time in seven hours."

"How many?" questioned Randor.

"8,000 Snake Men," Man-At-Arms replied grimly.

"How!?" yelped Adam.

"Of that, I am not sure. Some how, he must have liberated his lost warriors," Man-At-Arms answered.

Randor sat for a moment and looked towards Marlena. Her face was a mixture of emotions - all negative ones. "We can't dwell too much on how," Marlena said. "But I confess some confusion. Why are his forces coming against us when he's at war with the Horde?"

"By taking the capital of Eternia, King Hiss will already master a large quantity of land," Adora returned. "It wouldn't be hard to gain a foothold on Eternia if he took Eternos. The other kingdoms would be cut off from trade routes, the other races would be threatened by such an opposition. Take Eternos and Eternia won't be far behind. And then, Etheria."

Randor pressed his fingers together. "We need a plan."

"The only way we can defeat King Hiss is by standing up against him," Man-At-Arms deduced. "And to do that - we need time. Our best option is to gather as many soldiers as possible. I also recommend that Adam and Adora take refuge at the Great Towers, controlling the forces there."

Marlena nodded. "Good idea. We'll need He-Man and She-Ra for this."

"It would be best if He-Man and She-Ra lead a contingent of Heroic Warriors against the Snake Men army. That should buy Eternos some time to prepare for the up-coming onslaught."

Randor nodded. "Agreed. With Teela injured, I'll take immediate command of the Royal Soldiers. Marlena, I want you to help get all civilians to safety. Adam, Adora, prep yourselves for travel to the Central Tower. If Eternos falls, you're going to be only hope for Eternia."

"Right," Adora replied.

"You can count on us, father."

"I better," Randor countered. "I'll need to contact my siblings and inform them of the situation. Man-At-Arms, gather all Heroic Warriors and prepare for departure."

Man-At-Arms nodded. "I will."

Two hours later, Man-At-Arms walked into Teela's room and sat down next to her. He touched her hand and frowned. "Teela . . . I hope you can hear me . . ."

There was no answer, of course, but that didn't stop Man-At-Arms from going on. "I'm going into battle, sweetie. I know that's nothing new, but this is a big deal. King Hiss plans on conquering all of Eternia, and then Etheria. His army is huge, Teela. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but we're going out there to face them down.

"I just wanted to let you know, Teela, that I love you. I don't want anything to happen to you. That I'm going to protect you. I swear it. I swear it."

He put his face into his hands and started to cry. After a couple of minutes, a voice from the door caught his attention.

"Duncan," said He-Man, "Duncan, it's time."

Standing up straight, Duncan walked out of the room, not even looking back. His promised had been made. In silence, he walked with He-Man until they reached the hanger. It was there that the Heroic Warriors of Eternia stood, ready for battle.

He stood there and studied them, taking stock of their abilities and names. Stratos, Man-E-Faces, Mekaneck, Ram Man, Buzz-Off, Fisto, Oroko, Moss Man, Roboto, Sy-Klone, Rio-Blast, Snout Sprout, Extendar, Clamp Champ, Rokkon, Stonedar, Battle-Cat, Swift-Wind, He-Man, and She-Ra.

"Alright," he said forwardly, "let's get a move on. We've got a kingdom to save."

***

Hordak stood at the edge of the beach, the water barely touching his black boots. His red eyes gazed out across the water, well aware of the developments back on the mainland. King Hiss was still at Snake Mountain, with 12,000 Snake Men awaiting his command.

Hordak had anticipated such an attack, and allowed things to develop as they did. This would be the key to Hiss's downfall. The walls of Eternos were impregnable. Even in the days of the Horde War, they had been. And improvements have been made since then, too.

And once King Hiss had committed his soldiers, would Hordak make his move towards domination.

***

With the Heroic Warriors positioned on the top of a tall cliff, He-Man prepared himself for battle. Five miles east, the army marched towards their destination. He turned to Mekaneck and Roboto, who had just finished their calculations of distance and timing.

"We are ready," Roboto concluded.

He-Man nodded and grabbed his communicator. "Everything's in place," he reported to the second group.

"We're in position," She-Ra chirped back.

"Man-At-Arms here. We're ready as well. Go ahead and fire at will."

He-Man pointed to Roboto. Roboto pressed a few on the computer pad before him. Suddenly, ten missile launchers shifted upwards. Mekaneck, his neck extended, gave the thumbs up. The missiles launched into the blue sky, shooting and arcing towards the Snake Men.

Explosions ripped through the Snake Men lines as the missile struck the front and middle sections of the vast force. The wave of missiles shot off a second time, erupting the Snake Men with bursts of fire and smoke. Snarls and hisses could be heard from their location.

With a thunderous noise, the Snake Men surged forth. Blades fashioned and lasers primed, the Snake Men ignored their fallen and fell into a berserk rage.

Just as they approached the cliff, though, two whirlwinds swirled outwards. Air and sand blasted towards the Snake Men, throwing the front lines into absolute chaos. But still . . . this was only a small fraction of the army of the Snake Men.

He-Man, Roboto and Mekaneck all jumped off the cliff, and joined the others on the bottom as the Snake Men quickly recovered from the attacks by Rotar and Sy-Klone.

"Ram Man! Stratos! She-Ra! He-Man! Man-E-Faces! Extendar! Fisto! The cliff!" Man-At-Arms, opening fire with his laser cannon.

Ram Man, She-Ra, He-Man, Man-E-Faces (as the monster), Extendar and Fisto all slammed against the cliff wall. It cracked and crumbled against their mighty blows.

"Come on! Hurry!" Man-At-Arms cried as the rocks began to tumble down. The Snake Men were coming closer and closer, moving swiftly towards the Heroic Warriors.

They all struck one area at once, causing a thunderous rumble. Moving with incredible speed, the entire cliff quaked and then fell, depositing great rocks and boulders in front of the gigantic Snake Men army.

"Pull back," Man-At-Arms said at once. The Snake Men were quickly overcoming this obstacle. "Form tightly, and draw your weapons. Fight them!"

Snake Men rose above the crumbled cliff - and came against the Heroic Warriors with ferocity. But the great warriors were more than prepared. The first ones were cast aside, taken down easily. As were the second ones.

"Something's not right," Stratos said then.

"I concur," followed-up Roboto.

"What do you mean?" asked He-Man as he threw a Snake Man into a companion.

"I have been scanning the Snake Men since our assault began," Roboto reported, blasting away one of the Snake Men. "I am not reading 8,000 life-forms."

"How many are you reading, then?"

"Only 6,000," Roboto said then.

"What?!" He-Man yelled.

Suddenly, a beam of energy came crashing down upon rock barrier, blowing it to bits of smoke and small rock. The Snake Men leered there, menacing. Man-At-Arms spun around - and saw the other 2,000 Snake Men rushing down from a nearby dune.

"RETREAT!" yelled Man-At-Arms. "PULL BACK TO THE - "

A laser beam struck Man-At-Arms, sending him out of consciousness. She-Ra grabbed him just in time. The Snake Men were closing in on the Heroic Warriors now, well within striking distance.

"COVER FIRE!" He-Man ordered.

The Heroic Warriors unleashed themselves as they moved west, running from the gigantic forces of the Snake Men.

"We're not going to make it!" yelled She-Ra.

"Give me a minute and I can get us out of here!" yelled Moss Man, stepped up. He knew what he had to do. Eternos needed time. The Heroic Warriors were outnumbered and outgunned. It would be tricky, but only he could do it.

Moss Man's feet settled into the sand and suddenly sprawled out into roots, reaching deep down into the ground. These roots pressed through the sand and the dirt and then began to grow.

The Heroic Warriors stared in fascination and awe as Moss Man grunted and groaned. The ground began to shake and rumble. Seedling began to appear in front of Moss Man. Hundreds - no - thousands of them!

They spread between the Snake Men, all mere inches from each other. And then, in a torrent, these seedlings began to grow exponentially. They exploded, thrusting upwards. Within seconds, these seedlings became trees that grew thicker and thicker - taller and taller. All within mere inches of each other.

A barrier that covered two square miles rose up in the form of monster-sized trees. Higher and higher - wider and wider. The Snake Men were trapped on the other side.

When the wall of trees was completed, Moss Man crumbled to the ground. His body was brown, drained and dried out.

"Snout Spout! Get some water on him! Let's keep moving!"

"He-Man, they're busting through the barrier," She-Ra said as trees began to crumble. "If we can make it Castle Grayskull, we'll be safe. There's no way we can get to Eternos in time."

"Good idea. We'll recuperate at Grayskull, then move south. Let's move! Come on!"

***

The hours ticked by.

Randor stood at the Palace balcony, staring off into the distance. The thunderous march of the Snake Men echoed throughout the air. He had received a full report from He-Man as they regathered their strength at Castle Grayskull.

"Sire, they are coming," reported a soldier at his side.

"I know. Fetch my armor, soldier. Today is the day that Eternos fights for it's very survival. If we fall, Eternia will fall."