Chapter Nine: "Sneak Attack"

There was no doubt that this had been one of the longest, hardest winters in Eternian history. The autumn crop, while plentiful, seemed to be diminishing in the food stores. With the loss of South Eternos, the trade routes from the southern Fertile Plains were cut off. With the war on, it made many travelers and traders feel unsafe to make the long trip to any of the other southland towns and villages.

Despite the victory at Kreyf two weeks ago, the battle in the Desert and the Sands of Time was growing stronger and far more vicious. Unlike the events that had taken place in the Mystic Mountains, where the battles were large and took entire armies to win - the attacks among the sand dune and hardpan expanse were small and violent, sometimes involving no more than a few people. Though small, these attacks were very numerous and very deadly.

These were far from the thoughts of Duncan, son of Stephan, as he rode northward out from Eternos. His thoughts were not of the future of the war . . . but the future of his own life and that of his unborn son. Though he told no one, Duncan had doubts about his ability to be a good father.

His own childhood had been less than extraordinary. His father was not much of a role model. Stephan was a less-than-savory person, a man who loved the drink probably more than his own family. Duncan was Stephan's only child and he and his mother Tara were often the targets of Stephan's drunken stupidity. He drank himself into an early grave and his mother was gone not long after that.

Duncan feared becoming that man and in that fear, he found himself comforted. He would never become that man and as much as he pushed himself to believe that, he pushed even harder to depend on being a good single father.

He arrived at the Hall of Wisdom and was surprised to find Teelana sitting in the grass next to massive structure. She wore a green dress that was tight on her stomach and chest. All around her, little butterflies lazily drifted on their beautiful wings, occasionally touching down upon her.

Springtime, Duncan realized. It had finally come. This long hard winter was behind him.

This was not the first time Duncan had seen her. They had spent the better part of the past two weeks together and Duncan had only returned to Eternos for a briefing regarding the Desert front and the coast of the Mystic Mountains.

"Duncan," she said with a smile.

Duncan walked over and put his hands out to help her up. Instead, though, she pulled him down to her. A few of the butterflies leapt at his sudden arrival, but it was no big deal. Duncan kissed Teelana on the cheek and rubbed her tummy.

"My love," he replied. "Oh, my dear sweet love. Did you miss me?"

She ran her fingers across his face. "I have." Her hand joined his on her stomach. "We both have."

They kissed, deep and powerful. Their arms wrapped around the others body, embracing in the kiss. Spring's early birds sang and cheeped. The butterflies floated around them silently.

Spring was here.

After the kiss ended, Duncan moved behind her and let Teelana lay between his legs, the back of her head on his chest. They sat like this for long moments, basking in the warmth of the sun, listening the birds. A slightly chilled wind passed over them, but they did nothing against it.

They sat like this in silence, neither one speak, neither one moved much. So much in love, so much in hope. Duncan found himself fantasizing about Teelana remaining with him and hoped against all hope that the Spirit of Grayskull would find itself with another guardian. These were a fool's thoughts, but they were his own anyways. So was he lost in these thoughts that he hardly noticed Teelana as she tensed before him.

"Duncan," she said, light concern in her voice and gripping his hand.

"Yes?"

"My water just broke."

In a place devoid of love and hope . . . stood Snake Mountain. Outside it's stone walls, thunder rolled and rumbled. In the distance, yet another volcano exploded, throwing magma into the air. Lightning craned in arcs across the dark sky.

Hordak paid all of this no attention as he addressed the elite of his Horde on Eternia - Keldor, Calyx, Prahvus, Batros, and the Three.

"What is the condition of our forces in the Mystic Mountains?"

"We continue to hold the southeastern coast," Prahvus reported. "Mass contingents of Bats, Ilkorts, and Horde Troopers maintain a firm defense."

"And in the Sands of Time?" Hordak pointed this question at Calyx.

"Pockets of fighting in the borderlands with no true victor," Calyx responded.

Keldor sneered. "This is no way to win a war, Lord Hordak."

"I am liken to agree with you, Keldor," Hordak replied, nodding. "That is why we are preparing a to strike at Eternos kingdom - and hard."

"How? The Palace is one of the most fortified places on all Eternia!" cried Batros.

"I am well aware of that. However, we are not going to attack the Palace. There is more than one target in the kingdom than that of the Palace. And . . . I have a bit of a surprise for our sneak attack." Hordak pressed a key on the table and a hologram appeared.

A robot appeared, huge, bulky, and green, with weapons mounted on the shoulders and the back, as well as right above the hips. Its face was red and extended just a little.

"May I present to you - EVIL ROBOT!"

Batros looked up from the creation. "Not very creative."

"Best I could work with. Make yourselves familiar with it, gentlemen, because it will be the key to our next victory."

"Okay, Teelana, one more big push! You can do it! You can do it!"

Teelana, sweating, crying, straining took a deep breath and pushed hard. She could feel something leave her . . . and she stopped pushing. Duncan held her hand as the doctor brought forth a screaming, yelling child.

"It's . . . it's girl!"

Duncan fell into a stunned silence. Not just because he had been preparing for what they had been saying would be a boy - but because he was suddenly thrust into fatherhood. His daughter, a screaming messy little thing that squirmed wildly, was quickly cleaned and placed into his arms.

"A girl . . ." he let out and soon, tears began to emerge.

He brought the little bundle of joy over to Teelana, who was sobbing out of pain and happiness, and together, they held their baby girl.

"She's so beautiful . . ." Teelana breathed. "She's so beautiful."

"Yeah. Yeah," Duncan replied. "Just like her mother."

Teelana looked up and smiled at him. They kissed briefly before returning their attention to the newborn baby.

After a few minutes, as the doctors took the little one, checked her, then returned her, Duncan and Teelana had a little time alone with the baby.

"I can't believe she's actually here. I can't believe she's a she!"

Teelana smiled and squeezed his hand. "Duncan . . . there is something we need to talk about."

"I know, dear. I know. But let's not talk about that now. Let's just sit here and soak in the moment."

She nodded and smiled. But the smile was only on the surface. The fact of that matter was that their love affair had become something far more complicated. Not only would Duncan be raising the baby by himself, but this also meant the faking of Teelana's death and what would be many years away from her own daughter and her lover. And then there was another problem. Since Teelana had a daughter, then that meant the she would one day have to bare the same burden that Teelana had.

But Teelana said nothing and would not for a long while.

"What would like to name her?" asked Teelana then.

"I'm . . . well, I had a lot of boys names, but I suppose those don't really apply anymore, do they?"

"No, not at all, in fact. Do you have any more ideas?"

Duncan smiled. "I do have one."

"What is it?

"Teela, daughter of Duncan."

Marlena's eyes grew wide as she took in the sight of the little baby girl in Duncan's strong arms.

"Oh my God! She's beautiful!" Marlena suddenly exclaimed. "Can I hold her?"

Duncan's smile grew wide and handed her right to Marlena. Marlena took Teela into her arms, careful to support the head. Teela's green eyes roamed over Marlena's face, resulting in a bit of a confused look.

"Teela, huh?" asked Randor, grinning.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when your baby suddenly decides to surprise everyone."

"It's a good name. A strong name," Randor replied and let little Teela hold his finger as Marlena cradled her.

"She's a strong kid," Duncan followed. "She already kicked in the chin and it's quite wallop!"

Marlena giggled. "Awww . . . did you beat up Daddy? Did you?"

Randor sighed and shook his head. "You know what you've done, right? You've brought a baby to my wife and now that's all she's going to be on about."

"Is it possible for you two to even have children?" asked Duncan, not even noticing the slight blush on Marlena's face.

"Yep. We checked with Eldor and a number of the doctors. Although, we've discussed it and I don't think we're quite ready yet . . ."

Marlena's face blushed a little more, but neither one noticed. Luckily, though, Teela spit up at just right moment to end the conversation.

"Oh, Ancients, Marlena . . . I'm sorry."

Marlena grinned. "It's just fine. Babies do this all the time. Do you have rag?"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah."

Duncan produced a spit rag for Marlena and the queen went to cleaning up the mess that little Teela had made.

"There we go, there we go. Yeah. It's just fine now, sweetie. Oh Duncan, she is so precious!"

"Yes, she is, isn't she?"

"Excuse me, your majesty," came the soft voice of Man-At-Arms from the doorway.

"Rohad! Come on in and see Duncan's new little invention!" Randor encouraged, motioning him into the room.

"It's a baby!" Duncan threw in.

Rohad stepped over, glanced at the baby, and then looked straight at King Randor. "I'm afraid we have a situation."

All three of them turned their attention from Teela to Rohad.

"What kind of situation?" asked Randor.

"There's been a massive attack on West Eternos. We've got a few visual images and we're a little more than worried as to what the Horde has unleashed."

"Stephan? Is he alright?"

"Yes. But we need to get there as fast as we can."

Randor sighed in thought. "Where's Dekker?"

"The Captain is prepping a squad for immediate departure . . . however . . ."

"What is it?"

"Sire, most of our troops are spread throughout the Evergreen Forest and the Desert. We can't spare the manpower right now."

Randor nodded a little. "I'll go then," he said and glanced at Marlena. Her expression was that of reserved surprise and worry, but she knew he had no choice.

"I'll join you," Duncan threw in.

"Duncan, no. You've got Teela and - " Randor began.

"Sire, you need me. I'll make the arrangements to have Teela taken back to her mother at the Hall of Wisdom."

"I will take her there myself, Duncan," Marlena volunteered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very much so," Marlena replied.

"Thank you."

Nearly an hour later, Duncan, Randor, and Rohad were walking into the hanger bay, where Dekker was giving numerous orders. After he finished and the royal soldiers began to fulfill said orders, Captain Dekker turned to the trio.

"I'll have ten Battle-Hawks taking to the skies in ten minutes. They'll lay down some fire from the air, allowing our ground forces to move," Dekker reported.

"Good, good," Randor returned. "How do we know that they don't have any body in the air as well?"

"Our sensor array would have detected it. Also, the reports we've received from West Eternos indicate it," Rohad answered.

"All right, then. I guess we'll see you there," Randor told them.

"Indeed."

"King Randor!" came a shout from the door. Stratos came rushing in.

"Stratos! What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you could use my help. I had just arrived and heard about the attack. Figured you could use a hand."

Randor smiled and nodded. "Of course."

As Randor and his band made their way across the plains towards West Eternos, Marlena arrived at the Hall of Wisdom. The Gunslinger-Rangers approached her and her royal guards.

"Queen Marlena," addressed Willym. "The hour is late and I'm afraid to say that the Council of Elders is in session."

"I am here to return Teelana's child, Teela."

"Of course." Willym turned to another one of the Gunslinger-Rangers. "Heath!"

The other Gunslinger-Ranger, Heath, came down the stairs, and escorted Marlena and baby Teela into the Hall of Wisdom. They journeyed up a long staircase that took them up into the residential tower.

"Lady Teelana," asked Heath, knocking at the door. "Queen Marlena has arrived with your daughter."

There was a pause. Unknown to Marlena and Heath, Teelana was altering her appearance to that of which Marlena had seen. If Heath noticed, he was bound not to say anything.

"Marlena! Hi!" Teelana answered.

"Hi yourself, Teelana. I've got a little someone for you!"

"Oh, thank you," Teelana said cheerily, taking little Teela into her arms. "When did they leave?"

"About two hours ago."

"You worried?"

"I always am whenever Randor enters battle."

Teelana nodded in agreement. "So am I. But they're fighting for something much greater than just you and I." After a pause, she then added: "Thank you bringing her up here."

"You're welcome. She's very pretty."

"Thanks."

Marlena took a deep breath and looked towards the window for a moment.

"Is there something on your mind, Marlena?" asked Teelana as she prepared to feed Teela.

"Yeah . . . yeah, there is."

"What is it?"

Marlena said it.

Randor, Dekker, Duncan, Stratos, and Rohad stopped on a hill that gave them the first clear look at West Eternos and the land around it. It wasn't quite what they were expecting. The southeastern wall had been shattered and there were huge billows of smoke rising from within the city.

However, there was little evidence of anything but Horde Troopers present. And Horde Troopers could in no way take down an entire section of wall without the troop movement being noticed first.

And then . . . it was revealed to them.

Hordak's Evil Robot came into view, a massive creature nearly one hundred feet tall. And it just locked onto Randor and his soldiers.

"Scatter! SCATTER!" roared Dekker.

Laser beams and missiles came sailing at them and explosions roared across the hill. The soldiers dropped to the ground and the vehicles pulled back, scattering away from the impact zone.

"Have you ever seen anything like that!" asked Randor to Man-At-Arms as another explosion blasted up clouds of dirt.

"Never!"

"Any suggestions!"

"Not yet!"

"King Randor! I have an idea!" shouted Duncan.

Another explosion thundered around them.

"Don't keep it to yourself, Duncan!" roared Randor as the sound of the explosion echoed outward.

"Where are those Battle-Hawks!" Duncan cried out.

Dekker tossed him a communicator and began to search from the proper frequency. "We keep this robot distracted. We need the Battle-Hawks to engage it. In the meantime, we send in those Bashin' Beetles and then start to work on the legs. We take down the legs and this thing is gone. We have to move fast, though!"

Randor looked to Man-At-Arms, who nodded in compliance.

"Do it, Duncan."

"Battle-Hawks battalion, come in!" yelled Duncan over the comm-line.

"We're reading you. This is Commander Stark."

"Stark, this is Commander Duncan."

"Duncan, I am reading you. Leave cancelled too, then?"

"No time for chit-chat, Stark. I need you and the Battle-Hawks to engage the robot. Keep its general attention on you. Maintain fire."

"Understood Commander."

Duncan turned the communicator back to Dekker. As soon as he did, it went off.

"It's Stephen," Dekker said.

Randor grabbed the communicator. "Stephan! Is that you!"

"Yeah! Where the hell are our reinforcements?"

Another explosion ripped across the ground as Evil Robot continued its pre-planned assault. "We're working on it! What's your situation in there!"

"We've got 400 Horde Troopers in here! We're doing our best to keep them contained to the southeastern quarter, but it's tough!"

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

Randor turned to the others. "We need to get these soldiers in there immediately."

Sounds of the Battle-Hawks filled their ears then as eight of the golden flyers came screeching overhead.

"I will help the Battle-Hawks," Stratos volunteered.

"Duncan, Dekker - you two are in charge of the Bashin' Beetles. Man-At-Arms and I will take the soldiers into the city," Randor commanded.

"Understood!" they all answered in unison.

At that exact moment, Stratos fired into the sky and let loose twin rockets that swirled forth and struck Evil Robot. He joined in on the fight with the Battle-Hawks, engaging and keeping the Evil Robot busy.

Laser beams and missiles launched and exploded around him, but Stratos kept pressing on, using maneuvers placed in his mind for years as to just who responded. His rocket pack boosted up or powered down at his mental command. His wings went wide as he soared near the head and then moved close to the body and slammed a small explosive on the shoulder.

The explosion was one of several, but it was nothing compared to what was about to happen. A pair of Bashin' Beetles came to a halt right in front of Evil Robot's leg. Their huge battering rams swung up and immediately crashed against the legs. Metal dented, valves popped, sparks blew.

The left leg came sheering off with the third crack. Evil Robot turned drastically and began to collapse. As it did, the other leg snapped in two. It went careening towards the already battered ground. It crashed, shaking all those around it.

Battle-Hawks dove in, then, one at a time and unleashed barrages of their own. In one spectacular explosion . . . Evil Robot was destroyed.

The weather outside of Snake Mountain mimicked Hordak's mood. As a stormed raged without, so did Hordak's fury within.

"The Horde Troopers are being finished off in West Eternos," Keldor reported.

"Why did none of you attend them?" asked Hordak, anger straining beneath his cool exterior.

"We were not ordered to, Lord Hordak," Calyx answered.

"Then why did you not volunteer?" questioned Hordak. No one answered. Hordak took a deep breath, snarled, then turned around. "West Eternos is vulnerable now, but it should not be our concentration point. Prahvus - order our Horde Troopers along the coast to move into the northern regions of the Evergreen Forest."

Keldor perked an eyebrow. The Evergreen Forest was the home of Castle Grayskull. He found himself surprised that he still longed for it despite what had happened years before.

"Keldor, you and Calyx will be in command of the Evergreen Forest operations."

"Of course, Great Hordak."

Nearly twenty-four hours after leaving for combat, King Randor and his companions returned to Eternos and the royal Palace. Duncan, once more on leave, left immediately for the Hall of Wisdom to see his lover and daughter. Dekker and Rohad had gone off to their own business.

King Randor, he went to his wife.

"How was the battle?" she asked after the initial hugging and kissing was over.

"Excellent. A quick battle and a swift victory. Only two casualties, thank the Ancients."

"Yes."

As Randor took off his heavy battle armor, he caught a glimpse at his wife. She looked . . . distracted.

"Dear, what's wrong?"

"It's . . . well . . ."

"Just tell me."

She stepped over to Randor and placed her hands on his chest, and smiled brightly at him. "I'm pregnant."