Chapter Seven - "No Answers"

Adam felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. His eyes slowly opened and found that the hands belonged to Kathryn. "Wha . . .?" he croaked and then coughed. His mouth felt dry. Prince Adam sat up.

"Take it easy."

"Wha - what happened?" It was easier to talk now. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. These bird-people gassed us, I guess, and we've been sitting in this prison cell every since."

Adam blinked, his eyes feeling puffy. The pair was sitting in a stone cell with a cast iron criss-cross door. Beyond it were a number of other cells, containing Roboto and the rest of the crew, including Captain Staad.

"Who was it that attacked us? I've never seen them before," Kathryn questioned.

"I'm not sure. I - "

There was suddenly a loud clank and a door opened. The leader of the assault came walking down the corridor and came to the iron bar that held Prince Adam and Kathryn in their cell. By the leader's side were two other of his kind, though far more bulky.

"Prince Adam, I am Warrior-Command Pelicor. You will come with us. We have questions."

Adam stepped forward. "I demand that you - "

"You're in no position to demand anything, stripling. Bring him."

The bars opened up and the bulky bird-men entered. Their hands came onto Adam's arms and he was yanked out.

"Okay, we'll talk," Adam agreed, finding that he had no choice. "Kathryn, stay put."

As he was walked down the corridor, he took into account all of the other prisoners. Aside from the crew, there were what looked to Adam like dozens of people that looked a lot like Clawful of the Evil Warriors. Adam bit his tongue when he saw that Pelicor was eyeing him carefully.

"Take him to the interrogation chamber," Pelicor ordered.

Adam was taken through a nearby door and down a damp, cold corridor. At the end of the corridor was another door. Beyond it was a dark room with a pair of chairs. Adam was pushed down into one and locked onto it.

The door shut then, leaving only Pelicor and Adam alone in the interrogation chamber.

"Prince Adam of Eternos, eh?" asked Pelicor, then clicked his beak. "Eternos has been a source of trouble for us, lately."

"What are you talking about? Who are you people?"

Pelicor regarded Adam with a careful, questioning look. "We are the Pelicons. We have existed in peaceful isolation for ages. That is, until, Eternos somehow caused the Ancients to bring war upon Eternia."

"What? Are you talking about the Spirit of Evil?"

"Yes, the monster which you released."

"We released no monster. He-Man and some of the Heroic Warriors tried to stop him from changing Eternia, but they failed."

"Changing Eternia?" laughed Pelicor. "I do not even know what you are talking about. All I know is that you released the Spirit of Evil and when you did, it ignited a war between we Pelicons and the Lobsterites. And then, when the Ancients appeared - the heathen gods of Eternos - you began to supply the Lobsterites."

"We did no such thing!"

That was met with a swift crack across the face. Adam gasped. "DO NOT LIE TO ME, STRIPLING!"

"I'm not lying! Why would I lie, Pelicor? I've never even heard of the Pelicons or the Lobsterites!"

Pelicor gazed at Adam for a long, tense moment and found himself surprised that there was no lie in Adam's eyes. Pelicor's belief that the ship was bringing weapons for the Lobsterites was suddenly waning, but he would not allow this child to sway his judgement. He would present his doubts to the High Command.

The Pelicon Warrior-Commander threw open the door and ordered Adam taken back to his cell. Pelicor, however, journeyed out of the prison tower. He reached an open balcony and soared over the crashing water below.

The Great Nest, the Pelicon capital, sat partially in the water and partially on land. It was etched into huge rock walls, and was protected by towering cliffs that separated it from the ocean. The Great Nest was a huge cape, consisting of high, stone towers that held huge balconies and massive bridges and catwalks. The largest of the towers was the Great Hall.

Pelicor landed on the balcony and waited to be permitted entry into the Great Hall. When he was allowed in, he immediately addressed the leader of the High Command, Lord Tanis.

"What is it you report, Warrior-Commander?" asked Tanis.

"Only that Prince Adam of Eternos denies any connection between Eternos and the Lobsterites."

"And do you believe him?"

Pelicor grunted and snapped his beak. "I . . . I have my doubts."

The elder Pelicon nodded. "Understandable. However, why else would they be here? So close to the Great Nest? No, I have no doubt in my mind. Eternos seeks to destroy us and thereby continue their conquest of Eternia. They released the Spirit of Evil, they brought forth their heathen gods . . . and now they supply the Lobsterites. They shall pay for this."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"Contact Eternos and tell them that either they break off their alliance with the Lobsterites or the prisoners are executed."

"My Lord Tanis, there is no clear evidence that they - "

"Silence, Pelicor. Let us address these matters."

"Yes sir."

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As soon as Man-At-Arms rushed into the Throne Room, King Randor and Queen Marlena could tell there was something the matter. Stratos and Buzz-Off, who were also in the room, shot up from their seats.

"What is it, Duncan?"

"Adam? Is it Adam?"

Duncan nodded gravely. "We've just received a communication from a race called the Pelicons," he explained. "They claim that we've been supplying a warring race named the Lobsterites with weapons."

"I've never heard of this people!" bellowed Randor. "Who are they?"

"I don't know, sire, this is the first I've heard of them myself. Both of them. All I know is that they have Adam and the others prisoner."

Randor grinded his teeth together. Marlena began to breathe heavily. "Where's He-Man?" asked Randor.

"We can't reach him," Duncan replied, shooting a quick glance at the queen.

"Assemble the Heroic Warriors, then. And find out whatever you can about these Pelicons. There has to be some sort of mention of them in the historical documents somewhere!"

"No, sire, there is none," said Stratos then, stepping up. His face was one of guilt and concern.

"You know who these people are?"

"Yes, King Randor. Though my people are restrained by a scared vow not to speak of them, it seems I have no choice for they have broken theirs." Stratos paused and took a deep breath. "The Pelicons are a tall, down-feathered people with large wings on their backs. They are an honor-based society, and very isolationist. Our species met about . . . fifty years ago. There was a vow made to keep their species a secret. However, some contact between our kinds have been made since then."

"Anything concerning these events?" asked Randor quite harshly.

Stratos put his hand to his chin, rubbing it in thought. "Last I heard, they were at war with a species called the Lobsterites. There was some speculation that there was outside involvement . . . but the Pelicons are never ones to divulge much information. Not even to those that they would consider allies - in a sense."

"How did this war start, Stratos? Do you know?"

"It began about the time the Spirit of Evil transformed the Dark Hemisphere. It is most likely continuing only because of the Pelicon's sense of honor."

"What about the Lobsterites?" Queen Marlena wondered. "Who are they?"

"A race of sea creatures, very powerful and very strong," Stratos explained. "Among their race is Clawful. They are also isolationists."

King Randor nodded, and then stepped towards the balcony. Outside, the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon. It would be night soon.

"Stratos," Randor said after a pause, "I need you to get as much information about who else might be supplying the Lobsterites. We need to clear our name. Man-At-Arms, assemble a strike force and prepare to move out when we here from Stratos."

"I will provide you the coordinates of their capital, the Great Nest," Stratos said to Man-At-Arms.

Randor faced them all. "Good. Be aware, my friends, these next few hours are the most vital. What we do now must be done very, very carefully."

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After he arrived in Avion, Stratos met immediately with his sister, Hawk. The second-in-command of Avion had received a transmission from Stratos on his way, informing her of the situation. As he traveled through the dusk sky, the Avions went to work - assembling information, confirming reports, intercepting communications, combing through intelligence records. When Stratos arrived a few hours later, there were a working number of candidates for the Lobsterites' mysterious ally.

"Who?" asked Stratos to Hawk.

"We can rule out the Aquaticans and the Golden Isles," Hawk replied. "The best guess we can make is that it is the Mer-Men."

"Have you been able to intercept communications between the Mer-Men and the Lobsterites?"

"No, my brother."

Stratos grunted and hung his head in thought. When he lifted it again, his mind reached an answer. "What about communications between the Mer-Men and Snake Mountain?"

"Sir?"

"What about communications between the Mer-Men and Snake Mountain? Can we confirm it?"

Hawk turned to a nearby computer and began punching in commands and read-outs. "Yes. Quite a few. From what our records indicate, there has been an increasing number of transmissions since the Spirit of Evil was defeated, pausing only during the Count Marzo event. But . . . I don't understand. Of course there would be increased communication. Mer-Man is the high warrior of the Mer-Men."

"And Clawful is a Lobsterite, living at Snake Mountain. Any and all arrangements for an alliance were made between these two. Check for transmissions between Snake Mountain and the Lobsterites."

"Scanning . . . yes. And they correspond with the communications with the Mer-Men."

Stratos smiled. "Got 'em!"

"Excuse me, Lord Stratos," interrupted a young lieutenant. "Our Sky Spies have just picked up a vessel heading to Lobsterite territory."

Stratos nodded briskly. "Mer-Man and Clawful, no doubt. Hawk, assemble a contingent of warriors. We're going to intercept them on their way."

--------------

The Pelicons departed the DiTillo not long after the capture of its crew, letting the ship sit there in the bay. The plan was to get to in the morning and tow it back to the Great Nest. Except, of course, there are always counter-plans. Very little ever goes as planned.

Cringer waited until he was sure the beach was clear, then plodded out into the sand, heading towards the crashing surf. He was afraid of virtually everything, the poor tiger, but Cringer had begun to realize that it was time to stop being so afraid. Time to grow up and face those fears.

And so, Adam's faithful companion dove right into the water and made for the DiTillo.

--------------

The Fright Fighter rocketed across the starlit sky, blasting across the Desert on its course southwest. As Clawful worked the helm, Mer-Man reviewed the plans for the Lobsterites attack on the Great Nest. It would be commencing as soon as the pair arrived to see the success of the alliance.

"Uh, Mer-Man?" asked Clawful.

"What?"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Mer-Man looked up. His jaw dropped. Twin rockets came barreling towards them, leaving a stream of flame and smoke as they did. The rockets smashed into the Fright Fighter, unleashing a pair of devastating explosions to the air ship.

Avions appeared at the cockpit and immediately began to bash at it. Glass shattered and a pair of Avions grabbed hold of the Evil Warriors and yanked them out. The Fright Fighter gave out then and went crashing to the ground.

Mer-Man was tossed from the Avion holding him and was caught in mid-air by Stratos. He held the squiring creature as they hovered high the sky, far above the desert below.

"TALK," demanded Stratos. "NOW."

"Or what?"

Stratos let go. Mer-Man went flying to the ground. Stratos shot down and grabbed him again.

"TALK!"

Mer-Man suddenly began babbling . . . and revealed all the things Stratos wanted to hear.