Prelude

Four Years Ago . . .

The cold winds of the Mystic Mountains swirled around Teela's form, causing her to tighten her thick coat. With one hand on her back and the other on her staff, she pulled herself up the top of the mountain and sighed. She wasn't one for scouting missions - at least not now, in this condition - but this one was important. The evil robotic soldiers known as Horde Troopers had been spotted in this area and it could spell trouble for the Avions and the Insectoids.

"Teela," came a soft, yet stern voice. She turned around and saw Stratos landing behind her. "I am glad I found you."

She smiled. "Oh? Why's that?"

"I just completed an ariel search and have found nothing. It seems that those rumors were only just."

Teela sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. "Thank the Ancients," she replied. "My feet are killing me."

"I should get you back to the cavern. It is the best place for you, I think."

"My best place right now," she grunted as she stood up, "is to be fighting the enemy."

"Teela, you must rest and prepare yourself. It is almost time and - "

The young woman shook her head with resignation. "I know, I know. Everyone's been telling me that. It's just . . . I guess I'm not looking forward to the next step in this process."

Stratos walked over to the former Captain of the Royal Guard and placed a gentle hand on the protrusion at Teela's midsection. "If motherhood will be your greatest challenge, Teela, then you must think of it as you would an up-coming battle. You must be prepared."

Teela nodded. "I suppose you're right. Come on, Stratos, like you said - we better get back to the cavern. Clamp Champ is supposed to be meet us at the prearranged coordinates." She smirked. "Care to give a pregnant girl a lift?"

Stratos smiled. "Of course."

He lifted her up, then, and took to the skies.

Two days later, Teela and Stratos arrived at the cavern with Clamp Champ and Mekaneck. For the three of them, it would only be a quick stop before some scouting missions on the Golden Isles. Hordak's forces were meeting with some resistance there and it would be a perfect chance to turn that into another rebellion - one to add to the one they already had going here.

Teela threw off her coat, her belly visible through a break in the fabric of her uniform. She had long given up trying to hide it and quickly decided it was a symbol. For the seventy people that have taken shelter here, it was a symbol of strength and empowerment. That Teela was out there, fighting for her unborn child, and she should be blessed for it.

But Teela saw it differently. To her it was less empowering as it was shameful. Not because she was unwed. No, it was because the father had been a man she did not love. The father of this child was someone that Teela worked with, then slept with on the rebound. She didn't love him, the father, but it didn't seem to matter - he was dead anyways.

Thoughts of doubt and realization flowed through Teela's mind. He died for her, never knowing that that one drunken night resulted in her pregnancy with his child. It stung at her, harshly. She didn't love that soldier . . .

She loved He-Man. She loved Adam. Both of them shared her heart, her love.

But Teela pulled away from that. Adam and He-Man were gone, off on Primus fighting Skeletor and Mutants. She was here, knocked up, and fighting a losing war against Hordak and his minions. The men she loved were gone. She had to carry on.

So far, though, the only carrying on she had done was the current condition she was in. But despite the lack of genuine feelings for the father, Teela loved his child. It was a part of her, physically, emotionally and spiritually. While Teela didn't love the father, she admired, respected and really liked him. He was a good soldier, a nice guy, and good looking.

"Adam could have been your father," Teela said suddenly, rubbing her womb as the baby kicked. A funny thought struck her then. Adam really could have been the baby's father. She always saw things with she and Adam like that. Her little teenage crush never did leave her, always settling in the back of her mind and heart.

But the He-Man feelings were different. With He-Man, it was more romantic. Hopping onto Battle-Cat with him, pressing against him, and riding into the sunset together.

Teela loved and missed them both, though. Oddly enough, it seemed it wasn't just as missing two people. It was like she was missing both at the same time. All the time. She never seemed to miss Adam more than He-Man and never missed He-Man more than she did Adam.

Teela smirked to herself, then blew off a stray strand of hair from her face. Placing her hands on her back, Teela waddled towards a chair and sat down. Her feet were still aching from the scouting mission. Being eight and a half months pregnant and being a warrior at the same time was hard to do.

She worried about motherhood, feeling doubts creep up all around her. War was harsh, and raising a child during such was going to be near-impossible.

Especially since -

"OH!" Teela gasped, throwing her hand to her belly.

His super-senses alerting him to Teela's gasp, Clamp Champ rushed in. He placed a dark hand on her back and helped her stand up. "Teela! Are you alright?!"

Teela attempted to push herself out of the chair. "My . . . my water just broke . . ."

After fourteen hours of terrible and excruciating labor - Addison, son of Teela was born.

The baby slept softly next to her, and Teela felt like crying in joy and happiness every time she saw the baby's peaceful face. As Teela stroked the cheek of her newborn, she felt compelled to do something. Wrapping the baby up in a few blankets, the new mother went outside.

Under the bright moons and never-ending seas of stars, Teela sat there and held her child in her arms. Her eyes gazed out upon the millions upon millions of stars, and wondered which was one held her two loves.

Someone - her father? - had told Teela that Primus couldn't be seen from Eternia or Etheria. But whatever the case, Teela still found herself looking for both He-Man and Adam. She longed for them, to tell them the new joy in her life.

"I'd like you to meet my son," she whispered, wishing they could hear her from across the many light-years. "I would like you to meet him. I would like to see you again. I have so much to tell you . . . both of you . . . like that I love you."