Chapter 8

The Wake

"Uh oh." Beastman looked on helplessly as long, putrid plumes of white mist stretched toward them from the tunnel entrance and swirled around their legs

"Gas!" Tri-Klops exclaimed unnecessarily before falling on top of the already unconscious Beastman. Skeletor's eyes burned red. His limbs had turned to rubber yet he struggled to keep standing.

"Blast it!" He did just that and used his hazard staff to blow a hole through the cave entrance, widening it to reveal the Masters awaiting his surrender. He finally collapsed face first, a curse dying on his lips.

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"Well that was easy," RamMan pouted, obviously disappointed at not getting the opportunity to kick some butt.

"Yes it was." Duncan replied. They were on their way to the throne room to update Randor on the results of their mission. They had already placed the still unconscious prisoners into the dungeon and Duncan had given strict orders for them to guarded at all times. He boosted the guard roster by placing at least one Master on evach shift, in addition to the usual palace guards. He expected the effects of the gas to last for another hour, if he was to trust Evilyn's assurances. He sighed heavily when he realized that he did.

He did trust her, at least where avenging Carr's death was concerned. Setting up the trap in the cave had been inspired by her insight into Skeletor's frame of mind. That he would be too focused—too obsessed— with finishing her off to pay attention to disturbing details; like the fact that she would never seek shelter in a place bearing astrikinfg resemblance to a rabbit hole. When she finally accepted the fact that they were not going to kill him she did volunteer the recipe for a potent sleeping gas. He had not bothered to test it first—there was no time, since he'd already had the false information about her whereabouts leaked; and on some level, deep within the darkest recesses of his mind, he hoped that the gas would turn out to be lethal.

When he finished speaking to the King, Duncan excused himself politely, leaving Randor and the Masters to discuss what was to happen next. He did not want to hear anymore, or strategize or fight or even think about Skeletor. He was exhausted, the last time he remembered sleeping was the night before the day he had found Carr. He had not even had the time to grieve properly. Now, all he could think about was going to his room and getting himself to bed.

 He went to see Evilyn instead.

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He entered her room after announcing himself.

"So you caught him." Evilyn was sitting by the window in the dark—it made it easier to see the stars through the glass. She moved to turn the lamp on for his benefit.

"Don't bother." He stopped her and stepped further into the room, crossing his arms as he leaned on the wall adjacent to the window. She obliged him and they both stared out at the sky for several moments.

"It'll just be a matter of time before we capture Trap-Jaw and the others now that we have Skeletor."

"Good for you."

"Aren't you worried that they'll think you a traitor?"

"They would have had to have my loyalty first."

"We found your staff—Skeletor had it with him when he was captured. I know you won't mind if we hold on to it for you." The dark masked the pained look on her face.

"I don't mind at all." Her voice wavered a little.

"What? No objections!" He baited her though genuinely curious.

"It's no use to me anyway," she said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

They lapsed into silence again.

"Tell me what Carr was like…with you I mean."

"Why? Still trying to ascertain his frame of mind? He had to be crazy to be with me right."

"No…that's not it at all." He replied, irritated.

Evilyn shut her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She was tired too. After a while she said," He was strong." She raised her head and looked out the window again. "He never let me get away with anything …he challenged me… to see the world differently."

"And do you?"

"Some."

"I always thought he was very wise."

"He was in his way." She tilted her head to one side and thought for a moment. "But he could be a real prick sometimes." Duncan laughed. "He was always saying that I just needed to be tamed, as if I was his pet."

"When we were younger he knew all the buttons to push to get a rise out of me. My father had to breakup a lot of fights back then."

"He told me he used to whip you silly."

"Ha! He wished."

"Hmm," she replied suddenly serious.

"The stars seem closer tonight," Duncan observed softly.

 "They remind me of a story my father told once when I was a child. He used to tell me stories….myths, about our people; he thought they were very important for me to know."

"So…?" he prompted when she did not continue.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to tell me the story?"

She looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Fine—

'There once was a rich and powerful king, as all kings are in stories I suppose. His success as a ruler was directly tied to his possession of a sacred staff topped with a silver stone of immense mystical power. Needless to say, this staff was guarded day and night in the temple by a group of the kingdom's most powerful sorcerers—even the king had to make an appointment to see the thing.

Eventually the king became frustrated with his wealth, his power, even his twelve wives—he didn't feel as if he earned any of it. So he went to the temple, demanded the staff be brought to him, since it was his birthright, and set off alone into the wilderness to see where the staff would lead him. He fought the usual monsters and cheated death many times, as all heroes do.

During the night, far away from the noise that always accompanies life; he would lie next to his fire and look up at the sky and think. On one of these nights he realized that what he was doing was meaningless. Eventually, despite all his power and wealth he would die and leave it all behind. His fate was the same as the poor workers who slaved in the fields of the kingdom he had left behind'."

Duncan blinked, "Well that's pretty depressing."

"I'm not done," she retorted before continuing.

"This naturally upset the king and after fretting about it for a while he realized that it was not fair. A great man should be able to live forever. So, with the power that the magic staff gave him, he weaved a spell that granted him and all men after him, who lived life to its fullest, the power to live forever. When he died finally of old age, after returning triumphantly to his kingdom, his spirit entered into the silver stone of the staff. The stone then shot up into the sky to form the first star."

"Nice story," Duncan looked her, the quarter moon caste enough light for him to just make out her profile. "So you think Carr's spirit may be up there."

She laughed dryly, "You think me capable of such sentiment? It's just a story Man-At-Arms." She looked down at her hands folded on her lap and Duncan almost missed her next words.

"I hope it's true too Evilyn." She sighed and turned to look at him closely for the first time.

"You look terrible Man-At-Arms," her keen eyes picked up on the dark circles under his eyes.

"Thanks."

They drifted into silence again.

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"Where is my father?" Teela demanded. Mekanek had no idea, but he did know something was wrong from the look on her face.

"What happened?"

"Skeletor. Beastman. They escaped."

"What! How? Only Skeletor and Beastman, not Tri-Klops?"

"No, he's still passed out in his cell. I don't know how they got out but I already have every available guard searching the palace and grounds."

Just then a guard ran up to them to give Teela a report on the search's progress. Neither prisoner had been sighted. When she dismissed him Mekanek resumed his enquiries.

"How could this have happened? Who was on duty? "

"In addition to three palace guards, Man E had the first shift. They were all found unconscious when Buzzoff went to relieve them five minutes ago."

"The King—"

"Is fine. He and Queen Marina are well guarded in their quarters."

"And Prince Adam?"

At the sound of Adam's name Teela's knuckles whitened around her staff. "I've no idea where he is," she said through clenched teeth, "Besides; I think we should probably be concerned with protecting Evilyn. She's number one on Skeletor's hit list today."

"Do you think he knows she's here?"

"By now, he sure as hell must have figured it out."

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"Evilyn!" HeMan knocked once before rushing in with Zodac and Ram Man at his heels.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Man-At-Arms! Good you're here. Somehow Skeletor escaped—"

"Shit! Can't you all do anything right?" Evilyn exclaimed and clicked on the lamp.

HeMan calmly ignored her rudeness, knowing that this should have never happened. "We think he's going to be trying to find a way out of the castle but we aren't ruling out the possibility that he might try to get to you first."

"Of course he is going to try. Damn it. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you to protect me."

"Take it easy Lyn. They're here to protect you now." She glared up at Duncan but said nothing.

"Teela has a very extensive search going on and the King and Queen are safe for now."

"Good. First we need to remove all those guards from in front the door. Skeletor may know you're in the castle but he doesn't know where. There's no need to make it easier for him to find you." He glanced at Evilyn but she only glared back; he did not blame her for being angry—they really botched this one up.

"HeMan come with me. Zodac, you and Ram Man stay here." He hesitated for a moment before adding, "Evilyn, if you want your staff for extra protection I can have it brought to you." She considered for a split second before surprising him by declining. "Okay, let's go."

Outside, Duncan directed the guards to patrol the area without making it obvious that they were protecting anyone in particular.

"Why didn't she want her staff?" HeMan asked as they jogged through the halls in search of Teela.

"I don't know for sure but I don't think she can use it. Think about what Orad said about her fight with Skeletor—she hardly fought back, and not once did she use her magic."

"Maybe you're right." HeMan said as they rounded the corner.

"Father!" Teela skidded to a halt in front of them. "More bad news. Look." They turned their eyes to where she was pointing. Duncan found his binoculars and lifted them to his eyes.

"Basilisks*!"

"Hundreds of them." Teela said in awe. Duncan looked about him and noticed that all the palace guards just stood there, similarly astounded by the sight of hundreds of reptilian beasts.

"Men," he proclaimed loudly, "Protect the Castle!"

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A/N     Thanks to Classic Cowboy, Eva and Gojita The Saiyan Princess for your great reviews, they're very encouraging.

Gojita The Saiyan Princess, I feel very honored that you have chosen my story as one of your favorites, I sincerely hope it will continue to entertain.

*I found these bad boys on this site: , while looking for an exotic beast for these guys to fight. I know absolutely nada about them except what I read on the website, so I'll be making it up as I go along: that's why they call it fiction right. I really, really want to finish this fic (for the sake of my own sanity) so I'll work extra hard this wk to post the finally chapters.