***Disclaimer in One: don't sue.
This is a bit shorter but hopefully I have my writer's block kicked now and can keep this going more frequently. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 10
By the time Teela caught up to her father and her friend they were standing in the doorway to the stranger's infirmary room. Teela bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a big gulp of air. She was surprised at how winded she was from the run but she dismissed it. After all, it had been a long, strange day.
She looked at the two in wonderment.
"Well, is someone finally going to explain to me what is going on?" she breathed.
Man-At-Arms didn't move, his eyes stared straight ahead. A shadow had befallen Adora's face.
"She's worried about something," Teela thought. "But what she's worried about remains to be seen."
Sickened by the silence and now more irritated than before, Teela stood up straight and pushed her way into the room between the two.
"I told you he's out of commission, been sleeping like a....what the.."
Teela's eyes widened in surprise. The infirmary room had been completely destroyed. The sheets the stranger had lay entangled in not long before were ripped and lay in shreds about the room along with broken glass and mattress stuffing.
It looked like a war-zone. Worse yet, it felt like a war-zone.
Teela swallowed hard. "Where IS he?" she thought frantically as she picked up some of the shredded debris. Her heart lurched as she searched the room, as if a man of the stranger's size could have hidden in there. Fortunately, Teela was relieved to find no traces of blood in the room.
"He could still be alive," she muttered. "We can still find him."
Man-At-Arms grunted as he approached his daughter and took the shreds from her trembling hands.
"It might have been better for us if he were dead," he said solemnly.
Teela looked at her father with an angered curiosity. Ever since she was young, she was always taught to respect life, ANY life and that it was not hers to take. And here was her father, her idol, role-model and teacher making a hypocrite of himself.
She glared at him. "Please...please tell me what you mean by that?" she said slowly and sternly.
Man-At-Arms looked at Adora for a moment and a silent communication passed between them. She nodded and left the infirmary. She would return later with the Captain of the Guard and some men to document the room and look for clues to the perpetrator of the mess.
But right now, Duncan, the great teacher of each of the guardsmen needed to explain to his daughter that the harsh reality of her actions, albeit well- meaning, could be disastrous if they didn't find the stranger soon.
*******
"Explain to me how you...YOU OF ALL BLASTED CREATURES...lost track of him!!??!"
Hordak furiously stormed about his chambers, ranting and raving as an indignant witch hung back in the dark.
Shadow Weaver's work had not been as easy as she or Hordak for that matter, had predicted. Ever since she set foot in that world, her magic had been countered by a mystical presence. At first she thought it was merely the dimensional travel working against her so she set out early that morning before Damas had awoken to, in essence, exercise some of her power.
Surprisingly, her magic was still quite strong; the little village had no idea what had hit them.
However, she found she could no longer track Damas the way she could on Etheria. This was a problem and Hordak, more than anyone, knew that. But for the moment, Shadow Weaver chose to keep quiet.
"Blast this!" Hordak continued to bellow. "I can't afford for this to go wrong. There is entirely too much at stake. Get him back here now! I shall lead the assault myself."
Leading the assault was right up Shadow Weaver's alley, actually. In truth, she had been behind every one of Damas' victories including the last great assault on the Whispering Woods. She had discovered early on that Damas' had a weak side: he could not kill. He would fight with the grace and skill of the greatest warrior, but when the time came to finish the battle, he couldn't kill his opponent.
Weaver remembered every time the look of despair would come over him as his opponent's life hang in the balance. She found in those events that she would help her adopted son to spare him from the wrath of Hordak. So, to keep Damas' reputation in the good graces of her master, she would assume the Damas' form and finish the job. Then she would alter his memory so that he believed he had committed the task. Hordak was never the wiser to it either, which made it convenient for her. He got his trophy, which is all he ever saw the boy as, and she got to raise the son that she could never conceive.
She considered the day they stole him from the Eternian Royals her greatest victory ever. It was almost botched after they discovered that foolish solider had followed them. She remembered making herself invisible as Hordak, who was carrying the young prince, faced off with the Royal Man-At- Arms. As they fought, she cast a spell over the soldier that caused him to slip, allowing Hordak the upper hand and the win. As the soldier lay unconscious before them, she opened the portal and the three escaped into the vast universe.
A thought nagged her mind: Hordak was right about getting Damas out of there.
"If I can't track him, perhaps I can't control him either," she thought to herself. "If I can't control him, he could be suggestible to the power of Grayskull. I could lose him forever."
As Hordak continued his tirade, Shadow Weaver bowed, opened the portal to Eternia, and left to find her prize.
This is a bit shorter but hopefully I have my writer's block kicked now and can keep this going more frequently. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 10
By the time Teela caught up to her father and her friend they were standing in the doorway to the stranger's infirmary room. Teela bent over, put her hands on her knees and took a big gulp of air. She was surprised at how winded she was from the run but she dismissed it. After all, it had been a long, strange day.
She looked at the two in wonderment.
"Well, is someone finally going to explain to me what is going on?" she breathed.
Man-At-Arms didn't move, his eyes stared straight ahead. A shadow had befallen Adora's face.
"She's worried about something," Teela thought. "But what she's worried about remains to be seen."
Sickened by the silence and now more irritated than before, Teela stood up straight and pushed her way into the room between the two.
"I told you he's out of commission, been sleeping like a....what the.."
Teela's eyes widened in surprise. The infirmary room had been completely destroyed. The sheets the stranger had lay entangled in not long before were ripped and lay in shreds about the room along with broken glass and mattress stuffing.
It looked like a war-zone. Worse yet, it felt like a war-zone.
Teela swallowed hard. "Where IS he?" she thought frantically as she picked up some of the shredded debris. Her heart lurched as she searched the room, as if a man of the stranger's size could have hidden in there. Fortunately, Teela was relieved to find no traces of blood in the room.
"He could still be alive," she muttered. "We can still find him."
Man-At-Arms grunted as he approached his daughter and took the shreds from her trembling hands.
"It might have been better for us if he were dead," he said solemnly.
Teela looked at her father with an angered curiosity. Ever since she was young, she was always taught to respect life, ANY life and that it was not hers to take. And here was her father, her idol, role-model and teacher making a hypocrite of himself.
She glared at him. "Please...please tell me what you mean by that?" she said slowly and sternly.
Man-At-Arms looked at Adora for a moment and a silent communication passed between them. She nodded and left the infirmary. She would return later with the Captain of the Guard and some men to document the room and look for clues to the perpetrator of the mess.
But right now, Duncan, the great teacher of each of the guardsmen needed to explain to his daughter that the harsh reality of her actions, albeit well- meaning, could be disastrous if they didn't find the stranger soon.
*******
"Explain to me how you...YOU OF ALL BLASTED CREATURES...lost track of him!!??!"
Hordak furiously stormed about his chambers, ranting and raving as an indignant witch hung back in the dark.
Shadow Weaver's work had not been as easy as she or Hordak for that matter, had predicted. Ever since she set foot in that world, her magic had been countered by a mystical presence. At first she thought it was merely the dimensional travel working against her so she set out early that morning before Damas had awoken to, in essence, exercise some of her power.
Surprisingly, her magic was still quite strong; the little village had no idea what had hit them.
However, she found she could no longer track Damas the way she could on Etheria. This was a problem and Hordak, more than anyone, knew that. But for the moment, Shadow Weaver chose to keep quiet.
"Blast this!" Hordak continued to bellow. "I can't afford for this to go wrong. There is entirely too much at stake. Get him back here now! I shall lead the assault myself."
Leading the assault was right up Shadow Weaver's alley, actually. In truth, she had been behind every one of Damas' victories including the last great assault on the Whispering Woods. She had discovered early on that Damas' had a weak side: he could not kill. He would fight with the grace and skill of the greatest warrior, but when the time came to finish the battle, he couldn't kill his opponent.
Weaver remembered every time the look of despair would come over him as his opponent's life hang in the balance. She found in those events that she would help her adopted son to spare him from the wrath of Hordak. So, to keep Damas' reputation in the good graces of her master, she would assume the Damas' form and finish the job. Then she would alter his memory so that he believed he had committed the task. Hordak was never the wiser to it either, which made it convenient for her. He got his trophy, which is all he ever saw the boy as, and she got to raise the son that she could never conceive.
She considered the day they stole him from the Eternian Royals her greatest victory ever. It was almost botched after they discovered that foolish solider had followed them. She remembered making herself invisible as Hordak, who was carrying the young prince, faced off with the Royal Man-At- Arms. As they fought, she cast a spell over the soldier that caused him to slip, allowing Hordak the upper hand and the win. As the soldier lay unconscious before them, she opened the portal and the three escaped into the vast universe.
A thought nagged her mind: Hordak was right about getting Damas out of there.
"If I can't track him, perhaps I can't control him either," she thought to herself. "If I can't control him, he could be suggestible to the power of Grayskull. I could lose him forever."
As Hordak continued his tirade, Shadow Weaver bowed, opened the portal to Eternia, and left to find her prize.