Day Seven
"Forces of Hope and Despair"
Day Six - Continued:
Twilight came across the lands of Eternia's former Light Hemisphere just as He-Man reached his destination. He was deep in the Mystic Mountains, and so far - wasn't happy with what he was hearing. He could see the pillars of smoke as he passed through the kingdom of his father. And he was just on the outskirts of the kingdom - nowhere near the Palace. But still . . . he could see evidence of the battle from his position.
Charging through the Evergreen Forest, he heard sounds of battle between different factions of the former Light Hemisphere. The Cave-People were once more struggled with the Tree-People. The Cats and Bears were at each others throats.
Finally passing from the Evergreen Forest and the Vine Jungle, he stopped off at a tavern for small meal. The tavern had no one but the bartender there, and he was looking abused. He spoke of the war in the eastern portions of the Mystic Mountains - where Avion and Insectia fought now.
He-Man didn't finish his meal.
Battle-Cat was going faster than He-Man had ever known his own friend to go. Perhaps it was the situation and its severity. But it didn't quite matter, though, because it was only a matter of time before they reached the City of the Ancients.
Upon reaching the long-abandoned City of the Ancients, he gasped at what he saw.
A Wind-Raider sat stationary next to one of the decaying statues of the City. He-Man and Battle-Cat stopped dead their tracks. He-Man didn't like the looks of this. He leapt off Battle-Cat's saddle and went over to the Wind-Raider.
Could someone be on to their plans? Could Eternos be on to them? Perhaps informed by the Spirit of Evil or -
"Hey! Funny meeting you here!"
He-Man spun on his heel and saw someone that lifted his spirits. Teela came out of the City, holding the Masks of Power.
"Teela!" shouted He-Man. She looked beautiful, her red coming across her shoulders in the late evening hours. She was wearing the same outfit she had when they battled the Great Rebellion. It was not the most modest thing, but in these early summer months, it kept her cool. And she was beautiful wearing it.
Teela jogged over now and threw her arms around He-Man's muscled body. "Good to see you again," she told him, the told embraced. She pulled back. "How's your quest going?"
He-Man couldn't believe how much he missed her in the past few days. "Good. I'm here to pick-up two more Ancients."
"Are you sure?" she questioned. "I was just in there and saw no one."
"Yeah, I'm sure," He-Man replied. He lifted the Sword of the Ancients and was about to speak . . . when everything changed.
Teela and He-Man were no longer in the Mystic Mountains. Instead, they sitting outside a cave in the Dessert, looking out upon the dunes underneath the stars. He-Man, confused, looked to Teela. Her eyes were wide with shock.
"What's going on?" she questioned immediately.
"I don't know!" he shouted in shock.
They were both dressed differently. While He-Man was still the same, he a golden helmet hanging from his belt. He looked back into the cave. A golden, technological-based armor rested against one of the walls. Voices could be heard - Clamp Champ, Mekaneck, and Stratos.
"What happened to us?" Teela asked, examining herself.
He-Man took a good look at her. "You're older. We both are. By about five to seven years, I'd say."
"How did this happen?"
"I don't know. I don't know."
And then everything changed again . . .
This time, this was a much more familiar place. They stood outside of Castle Grayskull, the sun dawning around. It was right after the defeat of the Dark Cloud nearly a year ago. This was the moment when Teela told He-Man her mistake with Adam and that she loved He-Man.
"What's happening here?" asked He-Man, knowing that the answer was probably staring him right in the face.
"I'm not sure, but I'm tired of it."
Teela turned around, and when she did, the world around them changed once more . . .
Teela fell into He-Man's arms, and Skeletor was shouting as he rode off on Panthor. "I'll get you someday, He-Man! This I vow!"
As the master of evil on Eternia, He-Man looked at Teela, whose eyes were wide. This was a very special moment because this was when Teela and He-Man realized their internal feelings for each other.
"This isn't making any sense," He-Man told her.
"None at all," Teela replied, noting that she was a bit younger now.
And then . . . the big change came . . .
They both stood in the courtyard - but it wasn't their courtyard. They both felt displaced, and changed. While the other places had a certain . . . familiarity (even the once with the cave), this one had none. Instead of the red walls of the courtyard, these were white with gold trim.
"Teela . . ." He-Man said, his voice a bit different.
"What in the hell?!" yelled Teela. Her voice was younger, but a little huskier. She looked at her hands, and they were thinner. A huge ponytail hung from the top of her head. She grabbed its end and stared. "Where did all this hair come from?"
"I don't know," He-Man replied. The straps of his harness had changed color. They weren't silver anymore - they were brown. "Look at you, though. You can't be any older than sixteen!"
"And look at you, He-Man! You're huge! And your hair . . . it looks so messy!"
He-Man held out his Sword of Power. It was huge compared to his back home. Back home . . .
"Teela, I know what this!" he shouted in that slightly unfamiliar voice.
"What?!" yelped Teela, her hand at her throat in shock at her voice.
"Time and Space! They're testing us!"
"The Ancients!? Why?"
Things changed once more, this time . . . back to normal.
He-Man and Teela stood right where they in that exact moment before things started to change. They immediately began to check themselves, making sure things were REALLY back to normal.
"What's wrong?" questioned Battle-Cat, quite confused.
"It's . . . did we go anywhere?" asked He-Man.
"Nope. Just started to pat yourselves down."
Teela looked at He-Man with a 'I-can't-believe-this-is-happening' look.
"Bravo, bravo!" yelled out a man from above. He was a short, stocky man wearing a strange-looking brown business suit. He was looking at a pocket-watch in his left hand. "And not a single time-displace change! They won't know a thing when they passed the moment or when they get there."
Another man, this one dressed in a long, black cloth walked to his compatriot. "I moved them to the next reality over. Don't tell me you didn't notice that?"
"Yes, yes. I tell you, Space, the lifelines of these two are just incredible. I don't know if they even realize it!"
"Quiet Time, you'll spoil everything!"
Time shrugged and tottered towards He-Man, Teela, and Battle-Cat. "Good show, my little avatars! We'll be joining your little crusade."
"Good to have you, then, I guess," He-Man returned with a shrug, and seriously didn't know quite what to say to them.
The Sword of the Ancients began to glow white, and their runes turned blue.
"The next Ancients you'll find are at the Temple of the Wolf," Space told He-Man. "You've been there, haven't you?"
"Of course he has!" Time laughed. "Lovely to see you."
Time became a beam of light and struck his rune. Space began what looked a dozen stars and stuck his rune.
Teela stood, impressed. "Nice. Does that always happen?"
"No. They all get their own versions leaping into their rune," He-Man replied. He sheathed the Sword of the Ancients. "I'm heading to the Temple of the Wolf. What about you?"
She looked up and smiled. "Me too. The last item on the list. The Book of Spells."
He-Man smiled back at her. Then, his heart felt light, and he leaned forward and kissed on her the forehead. She laughed a bit.
"Looks like we're stuck with each other."
"Yeah . . ."
"Ahem!" Battle-Cat coughed. They both laugh a little. "If we could get going. There's a war to be fought."
"Cat's right, Teela. Come on. Battle-Cat, let's go! You could probably use a good rest yourself."
Battle-Cat smiled and hopped into the Wind-Raider. He-Man chuckled.
"Wait a minute," he realized.
"What?"
"Teela, where's the Zactons?"
"Oh! Those! Here, check this out!" She walked over to the Wind Raider and pulled out a large, mechanical sphere.
"That's them?"
"Yeah. They all, like, transformed into compact forms and attached themselves together like this. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah, but with the Ancients, nothing is really normal."
Day Seven:
Shortly after midnight, the battering ram used by the Torks and the Ilkorts did its duty at last. The First shattered - wood and stone and metal scattered across the bridge. They lumbered through, then off the road, through the door, and across the bridge.
Laser beams and arrows rained upon the huge forces, but were to no avail. Some died, others were pushed off the side of the bridge. But still - many more continued ever onwards towards the Second Gate.
Behind which, King Miro shouted orders. "Ram-Man! Man-E-Faces! Continue to brace the wall! Get everything you can against it!" he commanded.
Many seemed to linger, as if they lost hope already, but everyone couldn't help but find a strength in King Miro's voice that made him quite pure. Some weren't shocked (though they would be under usual circumstances) to find that they HATED that purity.
But no one acted on it. Many of the troopers seemed without any luster or gusto. They checked their weapons and chatted with each other, but there was no source or sense of aggression within them. Yet, meanwhile, on the wall, the troops there were filled with such hate-filled violence, they couldn't stop firing or screaming as they opened fire against the enemies below and on the bridge.
King Miro, though he acknowledged it, tried not to dwell on it. He knew its origins and hoped that it would be stopped soon.
"Yes! Yes! That's it! You're doing a good job! That'll work perfectly!" he stoked, hoping that a positive attitude would help against the oppressive will of the Spirit of Will at least somewhat.
There was a sudden thudding against the door that shook the plies of heavy items that were pressed against it. Ram-Man looked helplessly at King Miro.
"Keep it up, man! You can do it!" Miro encouraged, and Ram-Man braced himself against the doors as the second pounding came upon it.
***
Skeletor stood at the bottom of the road, and glared at the doors as they took another beating from the battering ram.
"Your magic could destroy those walls, Skeletor," Hiss told him.
"Yes, but they are expecting that. I will let them try, Hiss, and then I will crush them. It shall be the explain for the other kingdoms of Eternia."
Hiss nodded and walked off. As he did, he nodded quickly at Rattlor. Rattlor nodded back and walked off, taking a comm-unit with him.
***
The pounding of the battering ram continued on and on for hours. It moved passed the dawning hours and into the next morning. The trouble that Torgs and the Ilkorts were having was that the solders on the wall kept killing them as they shoved the ram against the doors. That - and the doors were pure iron.
But after nearly ten hours of pounding, the doors began to give. Huge dents and cracks appeared in the casing.
"Stop them! Kill them!" commanded Miro. He then turned around and pointed towards the next level of the road to the city. The city was more of less divided into circles that went one level higher than the previous until reached the Palace. There were walls between each level, but they weren't that tall. "To the next level! HURRY!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" shouted Extendar, pointing at the sky. "What are those?"
Two streaks shot down from the sky. King Miro smiled wide, remembering what to tell them. "It's Rokkon and Stonedar! They've returned!"
"Huh," laughed Clamp Champ. "Must've realized just who it was they were really loyal to."
Rokkon and Stonedar crashed right at the back of the army of darkness. As soon as they did, though, they bounced right up and landed near the center. They rolled forward, then, smashing Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres before they realized what had even happened.
And then they were in the air again. Lasers were shot, but just reflect off their rocky hull bodies. They landed right on the bridge and smashed against the up-coming supply of Torks. It was they unfolded and started firing.
"Give them room to work!" yelled Miro, now at the wall.
"But, sire, they betrayed us - !"
"Does it look like they're betraying us now?! Give them room, fool!"
The laser cannon fire, allowing Stone and Rokkon to smash their way through the battering ram. The huge, metal shaft was thrown off the bridge, along with the Ilkorts and the Torgs. With the bridge clear, Rokkon and Stonedar began to pull out a few strange looking devices. In the shadow of the door, and beneath the walls, this device was assembled quickly.
In under thirty seconds, just as a wave of enemies were coming through the shattered First Gate, the device was done. Rokkon turned it on. A brillant flash blared from it.
A wave of light and energy was thrown out, pushing the army below off their legs. That wave then reformed, turned blue and became a force field, surrounding all of Eternos.
The doors opened, allowing Rokkon and Stonedar entrance into Eternos.
"What is that?" questioned Roboto.
"It's a force field generator. Very powerful, but it'll once last until tonight," Rokkon explain.
"A gift from Zodak," added Stonedar.
"Good to see you remembered where your loyalties are!" laughed Miro, stepping forward. He gave them both a wink, and they understood immediately.
***
With Battle-Cat outside, guarding the Wind-Raider and all within it, Teela and He-Man braved the Cave of the Winds. The terrible wind tore against them, trying them either knock flat on the floor or just blow them into a cave wall. But He-Man was strong. He led Teela, hand-in-hand, forward through the correct tunnels and caves. They had been here before, about two years ago, and little had changed about it since.
And then . . . all of a sudden, they were there.
The Temple of Wolf. It's entrance stood before them, two large stones marking the sides and a huge Wolf head above the door.
Teela and He-Man walked forward, together, and entered into the chamber. Still holding hands.
Once within the chamber, the book was there - on a pedestal in the center of the main chamber. Teela lifted it up and held it in her arms.
"Stop right there, Rising Son!" a shout came.
He-Man and Teela looked to each other, and then back at the chamber entrance. A wizard, complete with staff, big white beard, and pointy hand came bounding in.
"My name is Sorcery!" he declared. "And I demand an explanation! My siblings are going missing all over! And it's your fault!"
"Indeed," a woman's voice came. A female entered, but this woman was strange. Her lower half, from the legs down, was robotic. Her arms also showed signs of her being a cyborg. But there was an erie beauty about her. A mysterious beauty, with her alluring, dark eyes.
"Science, I presume," Teela said.
"Yes, and you are?"
"Teela, daughter of Duncan. Captain of the Royal Guard at Eternos."
Sorcery muttered something into Science's ear. Science nodded slowly. "Yes," she replied to Teela. "We've heard of you."
"We will not follow you on your quest!" Sorcery demanded.
Science clinked forward. "It is foolhardy. Leave Eternia. There is nothing left here to cling for. And release our siblings. They deserve better than to be called upon whenever you wish."
Sorcery lifted his staff towards He-Man. "Give us the Sword of the Ancients, Rising Son."
Teela looked at He-Man, wondering if he would do it and what exactly 'Rising Son' meant.
"No," He-Man told them straightly. "And you WILL join your siblings. You WILL fight the Spirit of Evil. You WILL help us."
"You captured our siblings!" yelled out Sorcery, his staff lighting up.
Huge laser cannons appeared from Science's back. "We will not stand for this any longer!"
He-Man lifted the Sword of the Ancients. Teela's heart pounded, and she clung to the Book of Spells harder.
"You don't believe me?" questioned He-Man.
"No. We don't."
"Fine." He-Man held the sword up high and shouted. "I SUMMON THE ANCIENTS OF ETERNIA! GROUND! WIND! WATER! FIRE! STRENGTH! THOUGHT! HEART! POPULATION! ANIMALS! PEOPLES! ANCIENTS! BEFORE! PHOENIX! TIME! SPACE!"
All of the runes lit up, and all of those Ancients appeared behind He-Man.
LifeDeath shook her head at Science and Sorcery. "You two are morons."
Science scoffed. "We had reason to believe that - "
"That what?" Ground rumbled. "They captured us?! HA! They passed our tests!"
"All of them," groaned Time.
"We find them worthy for this quest," Peoples told them.
He-Man stepped forward. "I don't know how to prove this to you," he told Science and Sorcery honestly. "I don't. Expect for maybe . . . this."
He-Man took the Sword of the Ancients and pushed it into the ground. Next to it, he put the Sword of Power. He then walked forward. "I come to you powerless. If you don't believe me, fine. If you don't believe them, fine. But know the facts. Your brother and theirs was murdered, but is currently being reborn. He was only this chance to right this wrong. But he needs our help. I get nothing out of this. My friends and my family are under siege from a vast army. But I'm not there. I'm not there to help them. I'm here, instead, asking you - begging you - pleading you to help not me, not your siblings, but for all of Eternia. We need you."
Science and Sorcery both looked at each other, and then back at He-Man. Much to his own surprise, two small tears had crept into his blue eyes.
"You have passed our test, He-Man," said Science.
Sorcery smiled wider. "We will join you in defeating the Spirit of Evil, restoring Eternia, and safeguarding our brothers homecoming."
***
Rokkon and Stonedar stood with the king in the empty office, and were immediately briefed on the situation so far. "I have placed myself in temporary command," Miro concluded. "Now, I've been told about Zodak . . . what's the situation there?"
"He'll be here. But it will be a while."
Miro stood up and looked out the nearby window. The force field crackled with energy in the early afternoon sun. It was up and running still, but no one was quite sure how much longer that would be.
"We may not have 'a while.' Skeletor's forces are mighty. I fear that when that force field falls, if we are without any more help, we will fall as well."
***
In the center of the lines, a tent was erected. Skeletor sat down and met with the leaders of the different factions present: Baron Grod, Subternias, King Von, Batros, Lodar, Haramesh, Braeber, Rolo, General Tartaran, Mer-Man, Evil Lynn, Negator, King Hiss, and King Pythos.
"The force field is the strongest one I've ever seen," Negator informed them. "I doubt if anything could breach it."
"I am inclined to agree," King Hiss said. He glanced at Pythos, who understood what was happening.
"Then what should we do about it?" questioned Skeletor.
King Hiss stood up from his chair and glared at Skeletor accusingly. "If you had struck Eternos harder, we would be in the city by now."
There was a murmur throughout the tent from the leaders. Skeletor snarled, but King Hiss continued, walking around the tables as he spoke. "Forgive me, my fellow warriors and leaders. I do not blame you. I really don't. I have all of the utmost faith in you fine people. No, no. It's him I blame!"
Hiss pointed directly at Skeletor.
Skeletor's eyes grew red with anger. "Sit down, Hiss! And stop this madness and maybe I'll let you live!"
The leaders tensed as King Hiss walked right over Skeletor. "Your leadership of this council has ended, Skeletor."
Skeletor produced his chaos staff all of a sudden. He pointed it at King Hiss and let lose an energy blast. It struck King Hiss flying out of the tent.
"Anyone else want to question my orders?" Skeletor roared.
"I wasn't finished!" King Hiss declared. The master of the Snake Men was back in a flash - this time in his snake form. He rushed a Skeletor so quickly, the overlord of evil didn't even get the chance to fire.
It was in the span of a minute that King Hiss' fangs dug deep into Skeletor's blue flesh. Each one of King Hiss' snakes took a bite into Skeletor, delivering their poison into body. Skeletor gasped, the Chaos Staff dropping to the ground.
And then . . . a portal opened.
"Stay calm, everyone. Just an agreement I made here."
From that portal, Hordak emerged. "Where is he?"
Many of the leaders stood up. "It's Hordak!" shouted Batros.
"Has he returned to make war?" questioned King Von
Hordak snorted. "No, you twits. I'm here for Skeletor!" Hordak bent down and lifted the fallen Eternian warlord into his arms.
"This makes no sense!" declared Evil Lynn. "You and Hordak hate each other!"
King Hiss smiled at her. "My dear Evil Lynn, there is only one man Hordak hates more than me and that's Skeletor."
Hordak cackled. King Hiss nodded solemnly.
"We've scanned the force field, Hiss," Hordak said then. "There is a equipment being teleported to the fields which should help in destroying."
"Exxxccccellent."
Hordak tossed the poisoned and limp body Skeletor through the portal. Evil Lynn's heart jumped, but she made no move. She looked back at Hordak and King Hiss.
"Then our transaction is complete," snorted Hordak. "I hope you die in this battle."
"If I do," King Hiss replied, "then I'll see you in Hell."
Hordak laughed and walked through the portal, and it closed behind him. King Hiss turned his full attention to the leaders of this great army of darkness.
"I know you are troubled by this turn of events, but it was necessary. Skeletor was leading us to ruin and destruction. We must stand united and fight a now form of war against our enemies. One that will surely destroy them. Who is with me?"
Silence, but it wasn't unexpected. King Pythos stood, then and took his part in this agenda. "We must follow King Hiss. His skills are older than any of us and he has lead numerous successful campaigns in the past. You all have read the songs and stories of the Snake Men! He is the one behind them! I stand with him this day because there will be victory for us! I stand with him!"
"As do I," said Braeber of the Rock People.
"As do I," said Lodar of the Kobloids.
This continued on and on with all them, much King Hiss' delight. However, little did King Hiss know how much his betrayal of Skeletor and his involvement with Hordak would affect any sort of fellowship that had been born from this evil alliance. And just how much that would affect the true outcome of this conflict.
***
After facing the terrible winds again, He-Man and Teela at last emerged from the Cave of Winds, one carrying the Sword of the Ancients and the other carrying the Book of Spells. Battle-Cat stood at the Wind-Raider and looked up at them as they came out.
They were still holding hands, despite the fact that the winds were gone. It was as if they didn't even realize it. Battle-Cat bounded over.
"You get it?" he asked them.
"Yep," He-Man replied.
The trio sat down in the Wind-Raider. As soon as they did, the comm-link came on. Teela pressed and She-Ra's face appeared.
"Hey guys," she said. "We're still on?"
"Yes," He-Man answered.
She nodded. "How have your quests gone?"
"Good. You?"
"Eh, nothing really to complain about," She-Ra said with a mischievous smile and a wink. Teela squinted her eyes at She-Ra with a smoldering, small anger.
He-Man chuckled a little. "We'll meet you soon. Take care."
The Wind Raider picked up from the ground. In the bench seat behind them, Battle-Cat fell asleep. After a few minutes, Teela spoke. "We're getting down to it," Teela said as she guided it over the Mystic Mountains.
"I know," He-Man replied, a certain grimness filling his tone. He then gazed out upon the horizon as the sun set, sparkling the mountains with a beautiful, but hazy orange and red light. "But . . . I have something now that I didn't have before."
Teela glanced over at him. "What's that?"
He-Man reached out and squeezed her hand. "I have hope."
TO BE CONCLUDED IN "PROPHECY & CHANGE - BOOK FOUR: UNITY" - COMING SOON!
Author's Note: Just so you know, the time/space displacements for He-Man and Teela were from the following: (1) "The Final Adventure," (2) the up-coming "He-Man: Year One," and (3) the MVC/MYP season one of "MOTU" 2002 remake. ~W~