Chapter Eight

"Forces in Movement"

The evening passed and darkness overcame the former Light Hemisphere with a strange tension in the air. The streets of Eternos were abandoned, while the Palace was a bustle with activity. Most of the Heroic Warriors were in the hospital wing, recovering from their injuries. Nearly all of the doctors and nurses had lost their bedside manner while tending to the Heroic Warriors.

But Teela didn't seem to care. They patched up her back and sent her on her way. She climbed the long stairs to her chambers. Her legs ached and her entire body felt tired and slow as she entered her chambers and fell onto the bed.

Thought flowed out to He-Man and anger rose within. She pushed it down, wanting to forget about He-Man - and Adam - just for one night and to get some rest. Teela fought herself into sleep, and she had no dreams when she reached it.

When she awoke next, it was barely morning. The sun had just begun to rise, appearing like a tiny little flame on the horizon. Her window was suddenly open. There was a noise - a ruffle - and something darted through the window.

A huge orange eagle flew in and landed at the foot of Teela's bed. The Captain of the Royal Guard reached for her laser, but it was gone. Teela went to stand, to brush this bird away, when something odd happened. She suddenly felt a bizarre connection to the eagle.

The eagle snapped it's jaw open and close, then leaned forward. A necklace fell from it's neck, with a small silver amulet on the necklace. It was of an orb, but it had two doors on it. Teela pulled the doors of the orb open with her fingernails - and a bright white light flowed from it.

Teela, a telepathic voice rang out. It was the Sorceress. This amulet can not undo what has been done, but it will reveal the truth of your actions to you. Your mind is being influenced by the Spirit of Evil. You must come to Castle Grayskull at once.

All of a sudden, it became perfectly clear to Teela. The reasoning behind her actions were revealed. In truth, it was Teela that saw what had happened. The Spirit of Evil was what was driving her and she know understood that.

The eagle, knowing what had happened, soared out of the window, heading north back to Castle Grayskull.

Teela stood up and quickly dressed, grabbed the Sword of the Ancients and her staff. And then she found herself a Sky Sled.

***

He-Man walked with the Sorceress right after she returned. The Sorceress was placing the amulet back on its pedestal in the Hall of Secrets, He-Man standing behind her. "I don't quite understand, Sorceress. If you were able to break the Sprit of Evil's hold on Teela, then why couldn't you have done it with any of the others."

The Sorceress paused for a few beats, then drew a deep breath. "There is a certain special destiny for Teela that allows her will for good to be stronger than most others. This amulet only revealed that the Spirit of Evil was influencing her actions and she broke off his influence on her own."

"So it won't work with Man-At-Arms or my father?"

"No," the Sorceress replied, turning to him completely. The two began to walk out of the Hall of Secrets. "Nor would it have worked with you."

He-Man nodded slowly and the two walked into the northeastern tower, where much of Great Rebellion was recovering.

"How are they?" asked He-Man as his sister walked over.

"Bow is still in critical condition, but doing much better. Queen Angella's wing will take a few more days to recover enough to use it again," She-Ra listed. "Castaspella and Madame Razz have been doing their best. As have I, but my powers are taxed."

"I will aide them, She-Ra," Sorceress assured and made for one of the rooms.

"We're about to have company," He-Man informed his twin.

"Teela?"

"Yeah. Should be here any minute."

"Keep her away from Bow."

"Counting on it."

"He-Man . . . how are you feeling?"

The warrior of Eternia leaned back against a nearby wall. "Tired. Upset. Distressed. Pick one."

She-Ra gave her brother a reassuring grin and put her hand on his shoulder. "You'll be okay. This will work. I promise you. Things will be back to normal once we get through this."

He-Man shook his head and looked away, eyes seeming to look into the future. "No. Nothing will ever be the same again."

"He-Man! She-Ra!" came a female cry.

The pair looked over to see Teela walking into the corridor. "I'm here. I can't believe what's happened. It's just so . . . Ancients, I don't even know how to describe it all."

He-Man smiled at her, and much to Teela's surprise, gave the young Captain hug. "I'm just glad you're free of the Spirit of Evil's control."

"Yeah . . ." Teela replied, surrendering into the embrace. The two pulled away and Teela turned to She-Ra. "Bow? Is he okay?"

"He's recovering, as are the others. I've explained what's going on," She-Ra answered. "They trust you now. They understand none of this was your fault."

"Not completely, anyways," He-Man returned.

"My father said you were dead," Teela told She-Ra. "He's . . . he's still being influenced by the Spirit of Evil."

"As well as the rest of Eternia," the Sorceress said, walking over to her daughter. "They will be freed, given time. But to do that, He-Man must be given the Sword of the Ancients."

Teela nodded and unsheathed the blade. "Why's that?"

"I need to summon the Ancient known as LifeDeath, the Ancient of the Phoenix," He-Man explained. "It's the only way to bring back Procrustus."

Teela nodded and gave the sword to He-Man. The Sorceress looked to the others. "While He-Man searches for LifeDeath, it would be best to send a scouting party to the Dark Hemisphere to check on the status of Skeletor's army."

"I'll do it," She-Ra volunteered.

"I'll go as well," Teela stepped in as well.

"Excellent. It may also be wise to take Kowl and Orko with you. Their flying skills may aid you," He-Man recommended.

She-Ra agreed. "I'll also talk Flutterina into attending as well."

"Then let it be done."

***

Hours passed by, and He-Man rode Battle-Cat south. They took secret roads and paths out of the Evergreen Forest and into the Fertile Plains. The Sorceress had informed of the best place to find LifeDeath. And that was at the Valley of Power.

The Valley of Power was a legend on Eternia, full of mythical beasts and beings such as the Rogues, Gryphons and many other things. Located far west of Eternos and south of the dark kingdom of Geldorm, the Valley of Power also contained something far more powerful than any mythic creature.

The Secret Liquid of Life.

It was known in tales and legends as the secret to immortality. It was being more and more clear to He-Man as he neared the Valley of Power that it was the Ancient of the Phoenix that powered the Secret Liquid of Life.

After hours and hours of travel on the super-fast Battle-Cat, He-Man and his trusty companion arrived at the Valley of Power. It spanned before them, shaped out of a small ridge of tall mountains in the middle of the Fertile Plains. They had talked all those hours, of forgiveness and apologies for their time under the influence of the Spirit of Evil.

"Here we are," He-Man announced, coming to slow halt. Above, a Rogue screeched and went its nest. He-Man and Battle-Cat trotted forward, along slightly beaten paths that led through the huge valley. There was a certain feeling that they were being watched as they continued on, and that feeling grew every moment.

"There are eyes on us, He-Man," Battle-Cat told his friend.

"I know, but let it not trouble you, Cat. We're coming up on our location."

The two soon arrived at a large cavern at the north end of the valley. At it's entrance, a huge, gray Ogre bounded out. "HALT!" it snarled, ghastly yellow teeth showing, drooling sputtering.

"I am He-Man, defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull! I come to seek the Secret Liquid of Life!"

The Ogre lumbered forward, his big, long arms swaying at his sides. "The ones of Grayskull are untrustworthy these days."

"I will see the Secret Liquid of Life - and this is what shall earn me passage!"

He-Man lifted up the Sword of the Ancients and it suddenly glowed blue brilliantly. The Ogre stepped back, in shock.

"You seek . . . her . . ."

"Yes. The LifeDeath. Is she the keeper of the Secret Liquid of Life?"

The Ogre nodded, eyes filled with both fear and amazement. "Yes. Through the tunnel, and then you will come upon a secret waterhole that is only reachable in this valley through this tunnel."

He-Man nodded and he and Battle-Cat stepped forward. The shadows overcame them, but luckily Battle-Cat's excellent senses lead them onwards through the tunnel. After a good fifteen minutes, the tunnel ended at a door.

The two entered the door and stood now before a secluded lake. Huge tablets and trees kept the lake hidden from outside eyes. He-Man leapt off Battle-Cat and walked forward.

"What now, He-Man?" asked Battle-Cat.

He-Man took the Sword of the Ancients and tipped it into the lake. The blue glow of the blade changed to white. The glow grew brighter and moved suddenly across the surface of the water until it reached the center.

"Ancient of the Phoenix!" cried out He-Man. "Come forth! You are needed!"

The Phoenix rune on the Sword of the Ancients glowed red all of a sudden and the sword shook in He-Man's hand. The waters began to churn and swirl, the light at the center of the lake growing brighter. The water began to boil.

All of a sudden, a column of flame blasted from the water. He-Man stepped back as the flames began to reshape into a huge bird that stared deeply at the champion.

"WHY DO YOU SUMMON ME?!" it screeched.

He-Man gulped, but stood his ground. With his other hand, he pulled out the Sword of Power. "I am He-Man, champion of Eternia, defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull! I am the wielder of the Sword of the Power! I am the descendant of He-Ro! Eternia needs you!"

The bird - the Phoenix - lurched backwards, and screeched. Then, in a burst of light, the Phoenix and the flames vanished. Ash dropped to the shore of the lake, floated on the water.

He-Man sheathed the Sword of Power and stared as the ashes floated before him.

"What is this?" asked Battle-Cat.

The ashes began to spark on the water, and the a glow appeared on the surface around them. The ashes moved together, combining and formed. The churned and the ashes grew until - in a flash of light - a new person appeared.

A girl, about seventeen years old, with long silver braided hair that tumble past her knees now stood before He-Man. She was quite thin and lanky; her eyes were a deep violet; and a red scar ran across the center of her face - from right below right eye, across her nose, and into her left cheek. She wore all black, and had a lop-sided smile on her face.

"Who are you?" questioned He-Man.

"I am LifeDeath. The Ancient of the Phoenix. Pleased to meet you," the Ancient told him. She extended her hand. He-Man took it and shook her hand. It was ice cold.

"What . . . what was all that?"

"The Phoenix. I rose from the ashes. Oh! Look at your cat!"

LifeDeath stepped away from He-Man and walked over to Battle-Cat. She immediately began to pet his exposed neck. Battle-Cat embarrassingly started to purr.

He-Man, a little dumbfounded, walked over. He sheathed the Sword of the Ancients and hoped that this could actually go somewhere.

"Eternia needs your help, LifeDeath."

She looked up at He-Man, the smile smoothing off. "Is this about my brother?"

"Procrustus? He's your brother?"

LifeDeath nodded. "Yes. All of the Ancients are related. Didn't you know that?"

"No . . . I guess I didn't."

"Well, now you do!" LifeDeath stood to full height and walked over to He-Man. "So, what is it you want me to do? Kill someone? Give you eternal life?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"I need you to bring back Procrustus."

"That's gonna take some work. Why?"

"Don't you care? He's your brother!"

LifeDeath shrugged. "Yeah. But there's no point. It would take a lot more than just Procrustus and I to take down the Spirit of Evil."

"I'm supposed to assemble all of the Ancients," He-Man replied, patients running thin.

"Hmmm," LifeDeath returned. "Good luck with that."

"What?"

"I said 'Good luck with that.' The Ancients . . . we all don't get along so well anymore."

"You're not going to help me?"

"Nope."

"But the Spirit of Evil killed your brother!"

LifeDeath's gaze turned serious. "If you and your companions hadn't gone done there with the Sword of the Ancients, it would never have happened. Now, the Spirit of Evil is more powerful that ever. His power is affecting everyone on both sides of Eternia."

"I know that!"

"I know you know that," LifeDeath replied coolly, and suddenly He-Man was hoping for the loopy LifeDeath once more. "Look, the Ancients split up along time ago. Together, yes, we can defeat the Spirit of Evil. But that's not going to happen."

He-Man shook his head and looked away. LifeDeath bit her bottom lip, obviously sensing He-Man's dismay. She walked over to him.

"Listen," she began, "the Spirit of Evil will lose his strength eventually. You won't need us for that."

"And when will this happen?"

"About 5 million years from now. Give or take."

He-Man threw his foot done, cracking the ground a bit. "DAMN IT! I WON'T LIVE THAT LONG!"

LifeDeath shrugged. "You could have some of the Secret Liquid of Life. That way, you would."

"No. No. Listen, you said that you could bring Procrustus back, didn't you?"

"Yes. With some difficulty."

"How so?"

LifeDeath sighed. "It's hard to explain, but let's just say it takes more than the destruction of our physical bodies to kill us. There's a part of us that exists on a different plane than you mortals. That part of Procrustus is still alive. If I could arrange for a surrogate mother, strip away the DNA of the material needed, I could allow for Procrustus to be reborn."

"Then do that. Do that or more people - "

"Die?" With that, she perked an eyebrow. "I know, He-Man. I'm supposed to know."

"Then help us! Help me! Help Eternia!" He-Man pleaded. "At least bring back Procrustus! And then help me in finding the other Ancients so I can at least TRY and talk them into helping us!" He-Man paused and shrugged his shoulders, exhaling greatly. "I have the Sword of the Ancients. It can help, can't it?"

LifeDeath sighed again. "He-Man, that message from us that you and Teela heard in the Ice Mountains when you received the Sword of the Ancients. What did it tell you?"

"The Ancients would not be returning to Eternia."

"That's right."

"But you must! It's your responsibility, damn it!" He-Man yelled, no longer concerned with whom it was he was talking to. "YOU'RE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!"

"BUT NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WAR!" she cried back, but she knew her words were lost on him. He-Man stood there, angry and frustrated. LifeDeath shook her head, knowing what he had been through these past few years. He was right. The Ancients were the ones responsible for the creation of the Light and Dark Hemispheres.

"Fine," He-Man snapped. "Zodac's supposed to come here anyways. Maybe he can help us fix your mistakes."

LifeDeath stopped. "Zodac?"

"Yeah."

"He-Man . . . I . . ."

"What?"

LifeDeath paused a moment, then resigned herself to him. "You're right, He-Man. The separation was the responsibility of the Ancients. Maintaining and restoring it should be ours as well. I will come with you."

He-Man smiled. "Thank you!"

"No problem. Now, this is how it's going to work. Give me Teela's Sword of the Ancients."

He-Man handed it over. She held in her thin hands, and studied it. "Yes. Of course," she said, almost to the blade itself. "Okay. Here's the deal, He-Man. The Phoenix rune. See it here?"

"Yes," He-Man replied, LifeDeath pointing to it. "What about it?"

"It's what you'll use to summon me. Just say 'I summon the Phoenix' and I'll appear. But do me a favor and mean it when you say it, okay? Don't be talking about me. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Well, you better get moving. I'm assuming you'll be summoning me at Castle Grayskull?" she asked, handing the Sword of the Ancients back to He-Man.

"Yes."

"Good. See you then."

LifeDeath exploded in a brillant flame. The flame left ashes that floated in the wind. The winds suddenly caught the ashes and send them against the Sword of the Ancients. The Phoenix rune lit up, and the ashes vanished.

"Okay," He-Man said, exhaling. "Come on, Cat, let's get back to Grayskull."

***

"It's getting worse," Teela reported to the Sorceress, Angella, Glimmer, and Marlena. She-Ra nodded at her left.

She-Ra continued. "The army is bigger than any we've seen. They'll be ready to leave for Eternos in five days."

"And they'll be there in three," Marlena concluded. "That gives us only eight days. And unless Randor starts forming alliances, the city and palace will be crushed."

"He won't, milady," Teela told her. "Your husband is intent on sticking this out on his own."

Just then, the doors creaked open and He-Man and Battle-Cat came into the throne room. "I've done it!" he exclaimed. "LifeDeath has joined with us."

"Will she help us assemble the rest of the Ancients?" questioned Sorceress.

"She says it'll be close, but is willing to help."

The Sorceress nodded. "Excellent. Summon her, He-Man."

He-Man lifted the Sword of the Ancients. "I summon the Phoenix!" The Phoenix rune suddenly lit up blue. The ashes floated out, sparked to life, caught flame and formed into the LifeDeath.

"Greetings," said the silver-haired Ancient. "I am LifeDeath, Ancient of the Phoenix."

She-Ra, Marlena, Angella, and Teela all glanced at each other, a little surprised by her appearance. The Sorceress, however, grinned in quiet contentment.

"Good of you to join us, lady," the Sorceress said to the Ancient.

LifeDeath smiled and bowed. "Lady Sorceress, guardian of Castle Grayskull. It has been a long time."

"Rise, LifeDeath, and let us begin what must be done."

LifeDeath stood up and nodded. "Right." She looked around the room, scanning each of the women. When her eyes finally settled on She-Ra, she smiled and stepped over to the blond champion. "We need to have bit of a quick chat, She-Ra."

She-Ra and LifeDeath stepped to the other side of the Throne Room, and spoke in hushed whispers. At one point, She-Ra blushed hard. LifeDeath seemed to reassure her, and after another moment of talking, the pair walked back over.

"She-Ra has agreed to become the surrogate mother for Procrustus. She's the only capable of doing so right now."

"What do you mean 'surrogate mother?'" questioned Marlena.

"Nothing terrible, your majesty," He-Man stepped in.

"Procrustus isn't completely dead. To bring him back, he needs a new body. She-Ra here was kind enough to loan us hers," LifeDeath explained.

"I don't understand," Marlena confessed.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay."

LifeDeath lifted her left hand, and a scythe appeared in her thin fingers. She waved the scythe into the air, and closed her eyes. The scythe moved around, leaving cold smoke as it moved. Suddenly, it stopped and LifeDeath pulled down hard on the scythe. A form seemed to appear in the smoke, as if LifeDeath had just hooked a fish.

With that, LifeDeath opened her right hand a beautiful bright sphere appeared. It was beautiful and wonderful looking, completely unlike the smoking scythe. LifeDeath swung her scythe towards the sphere and the smoke form shot into the sphere.

The sphere caught flame and the form moved with the flame. LifeDeath then sent the flaming form through the air, and it struck She-Ra in the abdomen and vanished. She-Ra's hands went to her stomach and she closed her eyes as something inside seemed to form.

LifeDeath smiled with satisfaction. "Alright. Job well done," she remarked, the scythe and the sphere disappearing.

"Do you mean to tell me that Procrustus is growing within her?" asked Marlena, in shock about all this.

"Yeah," LifeDeath answered.

"It's okay," She-Ra told Marlena.

LifeDeath laughed a bit. "You say that now, sweetie, but that pregnancy is going to be accelerated. In nine days, you'll be wishing you hadn't done it."

The Sorceress stepped over. "This may pose a problem, LifeDeath. She-Ra can not stay here. Skeletor's army will be within striking distance in eight days and there will be no way that the Great Rebellion can defend She-Ra then."

"There's danger all over Eternia from the enemies on the land," LifeDeath said. "But what about the ocean? She could hide out there until we need her. There's no enemies for miles out on the big blue sea."

"But we have no ships and no one we can trust to captain it," Teela brought up.

She-Ra smiled. "Not quite," she said, thinking of just the right person. She turned to Queen Angella. "Your highness, can you contact Peek-A-Blue? I need her to find us an old friend . . ."

***

Some forty-five minutes later and on the waves of the Growling Sea, on the planet Etheria . . . Captain SeaHawk was taking some much needed time to do some fishing. It was a pleasant afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky, a gentle breeze from the west, and no trace of the Horde.

"How they be catchin', cap?" asked First Mate Swen.

"Not very good, Mr. Swen. Not very good at all."

"Aye, I can see that sir. I - "

Swen stopped in mid-sentence as a sudden flare of light exploded above the Solar Sailor, and formed into a gateway.

"Uh-oh," muttered SeaHawk.

Just then, two huge, ghost-like hands flew out of the portal, snatched up SeaHawk and dragged inside. A few seconds later, a scroll came flying out and landed at Swen's feet.

"What be this?" asked Swen, opening the scroll. After reading it, he groaned. "Oh, blast ye, women . . ."

"What is it?" asked one of the shipmates, the portal closing above the Solar Sailor.

"It seems the good Captain is taking an unexpected shore leave."

***

"Okay . . ." sighed SeaHawk. "Let me just get this straight. Someone named the Spirit of Evil has killed someone named Procrustus. Procrustus, who apparently lived in the center of Eternia and held the Light and Dark Hemispheres together, has now been replaced by the Spirit of Evil. Now everyone on the Light Hemisphere - which has become a second Dark Hemisphere - is evil thanks to this radical change. Except for the aliens, some of whom aren't even on Eternia anymore.

"In the meantime, the formerly now-not-so-Heroic Warriors battled it out with the Great Rebellion, and were able to free He-Man from being evil. Your plan is now to assemble Procrustus' family, powerful beings called the Ancients, to battle and defeat the Spirit of Evil and restore Eternia to its rightful rightness. Procrustus, who is a four-armed titan, has a body that is in the womb of She-Ra.

"She-Ra, who has to endure nine months of pregnancy in the accelerated form of nine days, is going out on a boat with me onto an ocean that I have no idea how to navigate. While the former Captain of the Royal Guard goes off and looks for weapons belonging to the Ancients, He-Man has to go out and find the Ancients themselves. And on top of all this - Skeletor is due to arrive at Eternos to demolish the place with his huge-ass army in the next eight days. The day after he is due to arrive, I might add, is the day before She-Ra's 'due date.' Oh, and the Great Rebellion needs to fortify Castle Grayskull the whole time this is happening. Am I right on all this?"

He-Man looked back at the others, who all nodded in unison. "Yep. Looks like."

"Except we were able to secure you and She-Ra a good boat," Teela added.

"Okay," SeaHawk said, nodding along. "Just as long as we're clear. When do we head out?"

"As soon as possible," the Sorceress said.

"Within the hour," She-Ra followed-up, fingers pressing against the very small bump in her stomach.

"Then let's prepare," Marlena said.

The Throne Room emptied. Marlena was off to have some private words with her daughter (advice, really), and then She-Ra was going to have parting words with Swift-Wind. Teela was taking SeaHawk to the Armory. Angella was going to rest her wings for a bit. Glimmer went to check with Peek-A-Blue to see how things were on Etheria.

He-Man was about to check in with the injured when he spotted something in the Throne Room that he had not seen before.

"Sorceress?" he asked. "What's this?"

The Sorceress walked over to see what He-Man was looking at and frowned a bit. It was the prophecy. The tablet that had appeared in Castle Grayskull a few days ago. He-Man hadn't noticed it before simply because he was too busy with other matters. But, now, he had a chance to read it.

'First will come battle.

'Second will come darkness.

'Third will come unity.

'Fourth will come the fall.

'Fifth and final shall be the ending of all.'

"What is this?" he questioned again.

"It is a prophecy. Delivered to me right as this crisis was beginning. It . . . it foretells the end of all Eternia."

He-Man looked up and saw deep concern in her eyes. "No. It doesn't," He-Man said to her. He made a fist - and slammed it into the tablet. The tablet - and the prophecy - shattered. Dust and rock fragments scattered across the floor of the Throne Room.

"We're going to win this," He-Man told her. "That's my prophecy."

The Sorceress smiled and wrapped her arms around He-Man, hugging him.

***

As twilight grew closer, and the sky was filled with orange, yellows and reds, He-Man, Teela, SeaHawk, and She-Ra arrived a small dock where the Evergreen Forest met with the Harmony Sea. The ship that SeaHawk and She-Ra would be sailing on would be fairly small, but easily maneuverable and well-armed if confrontations were to arise.

As SeaHawk preped the ship for sail, She-Ra gave her brother a big hug. "You take care, sis," He-Man told her. "You better be as a big as a Dragon Walker next time I see!"

She-Ra smiled and smacked her twin on the arm. "Just make sure you guys are ready for me."

"Be careful."

"I will. Good journey, dear brother."

"Good journey."

The two separated, She-Ra heading for the ship at the end of the boat. A small bump was evident through her shirt.

As they started to sail away, He-Man turned to Teela. She stared at He-Man with a judging eye and a serious look.

"You really like each other, don't you?" asked Teela, referring to She-Ra.

He-Man shrugged. "It's a different kind of thing, Teela. She-Ra and I . . . we're bound by a number of things. Loyalty, duty, honor, power . . . it's what makes us good champions of Grayskull."

Teela nodded. "So you don't have those sort of feelings towards?"

He-Man put on a disgusted look. "Heck no, Teela. She's like a sister to me."

Teela laughed a bit. "That's what Adam said."

He-Man shook his head and walked off the dock and into the grass. Battle-Cat was resting next to the Sky-Sled.

"I'm worried about Adam," Teela confessed.

"I wouldn't be. Like I told you earlier, he's safe and sound back on Etheria with Adora."

Teela shook her head. "No. No, it's that, He-Man. It's just that . . . well, ever since I told him about my feelings for you, our friendship has seriously suffered. I know it's silly to be worried about such a thing right now, but . . . the last time I went on a quest like this, he was with me. I miss him."

He-Man looked honestly into Teela's eyes. "He misses you too, Teela."

Teela nodded and stepped closer to He-Man, put her hands onto his bare arms while he put his on her back. "I still love you," Teela whispered.

"I know, Teela, but . . ."

"Shhhh," she hushed and leaned forward. "For good luck." Their lips met, pressed, and moved against each other. After a long kiss, they separated.

"Good journey, He-Man of Grayskull."

"Good journey, Teela, daughter of Duncan."

Teela stepped over to her Sky Sled and took off. He-Man hopped onto Battle-Cat and left. Both moving in opposite and separate directions . . .

To Be Continued . . .

COMING SOON: "PROPHECY & CHANGE - BOOK THREE: DESTRUCTION"