Chapter Eight

"Poor Tidings"

"TEELA!"

Man-At-Arms shot up from his chair - it flew back, crashing onto the floor - and shot over like a bat outta hell. "TEELA!" he yelled again. Throwing his arms around her, he pulled her tightly against him. "My daughter . . . my sweet little girl . . ."

She closed her eyes. "Dad . . . oh father . . ."

He pulled back. "Look at you! You're all healed!"

"Yeah . . . yeah I am. I guess."

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know. I just woke up and King Hiss was standing there, going on about something and treating my like I was wife or something. I don't know. I think he was trying to cast some sort of spell on me or something."

He-Man walked over, and hugged her. Teela embraced him and - much to He-Man's surprise - gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank the Ancient's you're alive," He-Man said.

Teela stepped back. "Well, listen, I'm glad everyone is so happy I'm alive, but we still have a lot of work today. King Hiss has taken the Palace and Eternos, as I'm sure you're aware. I got some pictures saved on the Laser Bolt. I did an quick fly-by when I escaped."

Man-At-Arms nodded. "Roboto, go download those pictures. We'll take an hour break."

The others quickly exited the room, allowing Man-At-Arms to smother his daughter in hugs. "I was so worried about you," he yearned, tearing beginning to bud in his eyes. "I was so, so worried about you."

"We both were," He-Man followed-up. "You don't know how it good it feels to know you're safe, alive and perfectly healthy!"

She smiled. "Thank you. But . . . where's Adam?"

He-Man looked to Man-At-Arms. "He's at a secure location . . ."

Teela nodded. "Oh. That's too bad. I wanted to talk to him."

He-Man perked an eyebrow. "What about?"

"Well, I'm sure he's happy to see me too, guys. And I've got something personal I want him to know. Don't worry about it."

Man-At-Arms looked at He-Man for a second, then went back to snuggling his little girl.

***

Queen Johanna, daughter of Miro and younger sister of Randor, watched in horror at the sight below. As the ruler of North Eternos, she was given the kingdom by her father and has safeguarded since she was made its queen. Up until last night, things were going fine.

Up until last night.

The entire kingdom of Eternos - including Eternos itself, North Eternos, West Eternos, and South Eternos - had been warned about the impending war between the Horde and the newly-released Snake Men. It wasn't until Eternos itself fell that Johanna began to fear for her people.

But it was not the Snake Men that attacked her kingdom. No. It was the Horde. Hordak's robotic army struck fast and hard. And now, chained on the balcony of her palace, she was forced to watch her people marched through the rainy streets of North Eternos into the center, where they would kept during the war.

"I can't believe this," she muttered.

"It's only temporary," Hordak said from behind. "If King Hiss wants to attack my targets, then I'll attack his."

"Curse you, Hordak. Curse you for this . . . and for what you did to my brother."

To that, Hordak grinned. "Funny. It was his advice that led to this attack. Keldor . . . Skeletor. It's all relative."

Just then, Hordak's communicator began to beep. He answered it. "Hordak, this is Mantenna. Scouts have reported Snake Men on the northern roads. King Hiss has sent them this way."

"Then the time has come," Hordak replied. "Prepare our troops for battle on the farmlands at the outskirts of North Eternos."

***

Kowl soared through the high branches of the Whispering Woods, careful not to attract any attention from the Snake Men below. He then pressed a button his little communicator. It sent a pulse all the way to Eternia, where the Sorceress of Grayskull received it.

A small portal opened and Kowl flew in . . .

. . . And reappeared in the throne room of Grayskull. The Sorceress smiled, as did She-Ra. "Good to see you again, Kowl."

"Woo woo. Good to see you too, She-Ra! But I'm afraid I have news."

"What kind of news, Kowl?"

"King Hiss is going to attack the Fright Zone and Doom Tower tomorrow. 6,000 Snake Men are marching out of Brightmoon tomorrow morning and making for the Fright Zone. The other 4,000 will be waiting at Brightmoon for back-up."

She-Ra placed a hand on Kowl's shoulder. "Tell Angella to have patience. We are working as fast as we can to save them."

Kowl nodded, then reentered the portal. She-Ra sighed and shook her head. "If King Hiss wasn't at Brightmoon . . ."

"Evil can not conquer evil," Sorceress said then. "Evil will only devour itself. That is why we must fight this war."

***

As the evening hours began to pass, exactly 1,000 Horde Troopers stood on the once fruitful farming plains on the outskirts of North Eternos. Blocking the road, these robotic warriors hoped to fight off the incoming waves of Snake Men. A little under 1,000 Snake Men warriors had been spotted marching up the north-faring roads towards the kingdom. A slight advantage.

It wasn't long until the Snake Men were in sight. Their armor glinting in the twilight hours, weapons raised. They hissed and cackled and snarled.

The Horde Troopers prepared themselves for battle. Their metallic coverings shined as well in the late hours, weapons aimed. They whirred and clicked and beeped.

"Not yet," said General Sunder advised, standing in the back on a small hill. He could see his counterpart on the other side, whipping at the Snake Men. According to the Horde files, the one in charge of this operation was Sssqueeze.

Sssqueeze let out a horn blow, causing the large army to come to a complete stop. Sunder nodded, realizing the move. Quite a good one. They were positioned nearly a mile away from the Horde Trooper lines, and they snarled.

"One minute count-down until attack. No movement. Complete silence," Sunder said. He decided to build-up the tension. Horde Troopers had no emotions, they were nothing more than machines. Strong, sturdy, and never stopping until destruction. While the Snake Men probably knew this, it would be best to remind them - and psyche them out.

Hisses and whispers filled the plains, as the Snake Men grew antsy. Sunder counted down from sixty. At thirty, he could tell a few waves of uneasiness were filling the cold hearts of the Snake Men. Part of him actually felt guilty and he hoped that Sssqueeze would surrender.

Sunder sighed. "One . . . zero."

Laser fire filled the air immediately. The Horde Troopers unleashed a barrage of energy beams unlike any other upon the forces of the Snake Men. An entire line fell to the ground, dead. Sunder was shocked to find that he was having trouble forgiving himself for such a terrible act.

"I hate death," he whispered.

At that moment, the Snake Men exploded and rushed towards the Horde Troopers. The battle erupted. It was time. Sunder ordered arms of the Troopers around, breaking through a charge line of the Snake Men. In short time, the once beautiful fertile farm field had become a mixture of bloody Snake corpses and shattered Horde Troopers.

The battle lasted a few more hours, but it was obviously within the first one who would be the victor. General Sunder smiled, realizing just how great of a general he was. And how much it pained him to be that way.

***

Night was over. The morning sun came and shined upon Eternia. Teela awoke early from her bed in the Central Tower and found herself making immediately for the top of the Tower. She found He-Man standing there as well, watching the sunrise.

"He-Man?" she asked.

He turned towards her, happy. "Good morning, Teela."

"Good morning. I was hoping to see the sunrise. I never had a good chance to see it from here."

"It's quite a view, as you can tell."

She nodded and looked out as the sun rose brightly from above a rim of mountains south of their position. The bright light shone through the breaking clouds, illuminating them beautifully. Orange, yellow . . . red.

"We're in for quite a day," He-Man stated.

"Indeed. What's that old adage?"

"'Red at night, sailor's delight. Red in the morning, sailor's take warning,'" He-Man quoted. "Teela, I feel so much stronger with you alive and well. With you here, I feel like I can actually make a difference."

"I'm sure you can," Teela answered, placing her hand on his. "I'm sure you can. Now come on, let's go save the world."