Pure Intentions? Chapter 27
A/N: Please note I'm making a reference to Filmation's Episodes 'Keeper of the Ancient Ruins', "Quest for the Sword', and 'Into the Abyss" in this chapter.
Kakerot Bardockson: Thanks again for the song suggestion. It is fittingly awesome for this chapter.
Once again, Eternia's Champion found himself astride his trusty companion riding towards the castle he was sworn to protect, fear for the well-being of the fiery red haired often times reckless love of his life overshadowing all other thoughts and desires. His crimson-robed Trollan friend floated beside him keeping up with the great tiger's speed.
He also feared that his father would be greatly disappointed in him for canceling the rest of his Royal Tour; but then remembered that the great benevolent King now knew of his dual identity and he started to relax just a little bit. He was glad that he was finally able to be himself, no longer necessary for him to act the lackadaisical son.
His thoughts then centered on the winged guardian who with her explanation of his destiny changed his life forever. How would he explain to her that he let her daughter slip right between his fingers? Guilt plagued him. If anything happened to Teela it would be his fault. It was his foolish notion to insist on having her accompany him on this tour that led to her abduction. He-Man knew that in his heart. He was sure that if they had remained at the Palace going through their daily routine, her life would not now be in danger.
Then he laughed. Out loud at the absurdness of it all. Who was he kidding? Their lives were always in danger, ever since the day Skeletor broke down the Mystic Wall and decided that he should rule Eternia; however, He-Man felt that this time it was different. Never before was Teela's life the one actually on the line and it was all due because of him.
When his father was captured, Prince Adam made the choice to claim his destiny and become the legendary hero He-Man. Now that he embraced that part of him, the bulging bronze warrior wondered what if any additional gifts the Sorceress possessed to give him in aiding to retrieve his childhood friend. He remembered that once, the Sorceress had sent a great colorfully plumed bird carrying magic from Grayskull to heal Teela after the two of them had crashed on the way to deal with a distress signal from her father. As Adam, he was too injured to pry her out of the demolished Wind Raider. Risking his secret, he transformed right next to her before lifting the warped metal bar crushing both of their legs. Lifting her out of the wreckage, he gently placed her on the ground before calling on assistance from the Sorceress. He was truly grateful for her intervention. Off course at that time, he wasn't aware that the Sorceress was Teela's mother. Now knowing that, he wondered what more she would do to assist her daughter.
He knew Battle Cat carried him as quickly as he could; however, it was not fast enough. Urging him forward, He-Man yelled "Faster Cat", as he saw the outline of Grayskull on the horizon. As more of the gruesome castle came into view, He-Man's heart beast faster. When Battle Cat skid to a halt in front of the jaw bridge, He-Man jumped off as he bellowed for the Sorceress to allow him entrance. Yup, he actually bellowed up to the Sorceress, his tone urgent and demanding.
The mystic guardian wasted no time in allowing them entrance. Already communicating with her champion telepathically, she directed him to meet her in one of the private rooms on the third floor of the castle. Surprised at this directive, because He-Man never entered the Sorceress's private living chambers before, he ran up the stairs three at a time with his sword drawn, until he came to the door she had shown him in her mental communication.
Tentatively opening the door, He-Man walked in the room finding the Sorceress sitting on the floor clutching a small pink blanket tightly to her bosom. Raising her head upon his entrance, she held out the coverlet to him whispering "Use this to find my daughter." He-Man could hear the angst in her voice. Taking a deep breath , she continued "Speak her name and it will guide you to her location." "But be warned, only a true friend of my daughter's will be able to use its magic for guidance."
Bending low, he retrieved the baby blanket. Looking at her questioningly, the Sorceress continued "It was Teela's when she still lived with me", as she raised herself from the floor. As soon as she handed him the blanket, the Sorceress's demeanor changed. Confident in his abilities, she dried her tears and put all her faith in him.
As understanding dawned, He-Man turned to leave. However, his mentor's next words stopped him "Remember He-Man, the magic in the blanket will only work when a 'true' friend asks for assistance."
Facing her, he spoke from the heart "I am her friend."
"Then speak her name", she commanded.
Holding the baby blanket out in front of him, the blonde warrior called "Teela."
Nothing.
Confused, he looked at the winged-woman who stood there with a sly smile on her face.
"I don't understand", he questioned. "Am I not meant to find her?"
The Sorceress opened her mouth to speak, but didn't as she realized there were others standing outside of Grayskull. "Come with me to the Throne Room", she directed. Spreading her hands to the side she began to glow iridescently as she transformed herself into her falcon form. With wings spread, she flew down the staircases. Needing to keep up with her, He-Man jumped astride Battle Cat who galloped after Zoar.
Reaching the Throne Room at the same time as the Sorceress re-materialized into her human form, He-Man waited until she lowered the jaw bridge and her 'guests' arrived. Man-At-Arms immediately ran up to the disguised Prince to ask him what happened. He-Man greeted Teela's father as well as Ram Man and Mekanek who had also traveled with him from the Palace.
Relaying the events of Teela's abduction, He-Man then showed Man-At-Arms the pink blanket given to him by Teela's mother. For the Master's benefit the Sorceress clarified that she was able to procure the blanket from visiting the orphanage that Duncan had adopted Teela from, thus hiding the fact that she is Teela's mother.
"How does it work?", asked Duncan.
"A true friend must speak her name", He-Man explained. "It will then guide them to Teela's location."
"Did you try it?", asked Mekaneck extending his long mechanical neck over He-Man's shoulder to view the blanket.
"Yes", the bronze warrior answered.
"Wwhy are we still here?", asked Ram Man bouncing on his toes with anticipation.
Turning to look his friends in the eyes, He-Man answered "I called her name; but it didn't work."
Floating at face level Orko volunteered "Give it to me, let me try."
Handing the floating magician the blanket, He-Man waited until Orko called out Teela's name. With hope he waited to see if the blanket would do the magician's bidding. Orko called out Teela's name several times, but nothing happened.
Descending the stairs, the Sorceress came to stand in front of the men in the Throne Room. Reaching for the blanket, she called her daughter's name once Orko handed it to her. Again there was no response.
"Should I try?", asked Duncan.
"Off course", the Sorceress answered smiling secretly at her daughter's father. Handing him the blanket she stood shoulder to shoulder with him, her hand resting familiarly on his shoulder as she waited for him to speak their daughter's name.
"Teela", he yelled to no avail.
Emitting a loud roar, Battle Cat called everyone's attention to himself. "Pperhaps Prince Adam is meant to use the blanket."
Everyone looked at him with surprise.
'Off course', He-Man thought to himself. In his transformed state he wasn't 'truly' Teela's friend, but rather a comrade in arms. Sending a telepathic message to the Sorceress he let her know that he would exit the Throne Room to change back into Adam. Leaving Battle Cat with those present, he silently walked out of the conference room finding shelter to hide in for the transformation to take place.
Returning to his natural form, Adam made his way back into the Throne Room. Playing it as if he hadn't just left the room, he queried "Has anyone found Teela?"
Turning to look at their Prince, everyone bowed in deference. "Your Highness, we didn't know you were here", Mekaneck exclaimed.
"I just opened a portal for him from Arcadia", the Sorceress intervened explaining the Prince's sudden appearance. "Prince Adam, this is a magic blanket from Teela's childhood." "Perhaps, it will guide us to her if you were to call her name."
"I hope to be able to help", he stated as he reached for the memento. Holding it near his heart, he called out his love's name. As soon as the last syllable of her name left his lips, the blanket became taut in his arms as it glimmered to life.
"A 'true' friend", the Sorceress cried with ecstasy. "Find the Captain my Prince and bring her back to us."
Thus Prince Adam found himself astride Battle Cat who offered to carry him to Teela's location. Accompanied by the Palace Magician, the King's Man-At-Arms, and two of their closest allies, Prince Adam of Eternia led the way to Teela's location. It became apparent to him that he would need to save Teela in his natural form, not embodied with his great-ancestor's magical awesome powers. It was time to show her and those around him what he could do in his natural form. After Teela was saved, he would have to come up with an excuse to explain his new abilities. But for now, he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he concentrated in pointing the baby blanket in the direction it was pulling him.
As the friends traversed through the Evergreen Forest and beyond, Orko floated just above Prince Adam's right shoulder. Excited to be involved with Teela's rescue mission, he continuously hummed loudly. As the blanket shimmered brighter to indicate that they were zeroing in on Teela's location, Orko's humming grew louder and louder to the point of annoying his traveling companions. Prince Adam recognized the song. His little buddy was humming, Wilhelm Richard Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries", an Earth masterpiece his mother had brought along with her on the Rainbow Explorer. Orko had hummed the entire score at least five times to this point. Adam knew that if Orko could, he would have magically pulled out a trumpet, trombone, etc. out of his bottomless hat in order to play the song. Actually, Adam thought Orko would have magically produced an entire orchestra if his magic worked properly. Had Orko actually produced an orchestra he would have given away their arrival/location thus taking the element of surprise out of the equation. Thanking the Ancients that the Trollan didn't do that, he looked down at the blanket which had just collapsed.
"Halt", he commanded bringing his entourage to a stop. "I think we found her", he stated as he pointed up ahead, to a sealed cave at the foot of a massive volcano.
Joining him, Duncan looked in the location Prince Adam was gesturing at. Dread filled him to the core when he realized where Teela may be. That cave only lead deep under an active volcano then further into the center of Eternia. This was the same cave that He-Man had once lost his sword in, after the entrance collapsed when the volcano erupted. Why would Teela's abductor have brought her here. Placing a sturdy hand upon Adam's shoulder, he dropped his voice level so that only the Prince could hear him when he stated "Adam this is where you lost your sword and you fought Togar and Rabar."
Preoccupied with thoughts of his failure, Adam had failed to take in his surroundings. Man-At-Arms was right. Could the Rock People be responsible for Teela's abduction? Adam didn't think it was likely. Dismounting from Battle-Cat he handed the baby blanket to Teela's father.
"I think I should change", he informed him before turning to walk away from his father's commander. Adam realized He-Man's unprecedented speed and strength may be needed in order to clear the cave's entrance.
"No Adam, wait", Duncan called out. "The Sorceress said that only a 'true' friend could find Teela." "What if this is the wrong place?"
"Do you think the blanket brought us to the wrong location?", the Prince asked.
"I'm not sure." "Perhaps, we need to wait until we see Teela, assess the situation, and then decide if your change is needed", he stated not wanting to name aloud the specific change they were alluding too.
"I guess you're right", Adam conceded. "We'll have to check if she is truly here, before more help arrives."
Contemplating their next step, Adam and Duncan waited until Mekaneck and Ram-Man joined them.
"So how do we break through the barrier?" "At the request of the Rock People, He-Man sealed the cave never to allow another person entrance!", Ram Man exclaimed. He had been present the first time He-Man descended into the Rock People's lair to retrieve his sword.
"We have to ensure this is where Teela really is before we break through", Man-At-Arms answered.
"How'd we do that?", Mekaneck asked. He had already used his periscope to scope out a possible entrance and found none.
After a while of pondering, Orko snapped his fingers as he explained "I'll transport myself inside the lair, then let you all know if Teela is there!"
"Alone?", Adam asked as finally a spark of hope ignited within him at the possibility.
"Yeah, there's nothing to it." "I did it before, when I returned He-Man's sword to him", he reminded the desolate prince.
"Alright", he answered giving his permission.
With a snap of his fingers, Orko disappeared. One could only hope that his magic worked correctly and he appeared at his desired location. Many times, Orko would disappear only to materialize during inopportune times or in the wrong location. Like when he appeared in the middle of Adam's transformation into He-Man, prompting Adam to explain that he was the legendary hero and extracting a life oath from the magician that he would take that secret to his grave.
The cave was dark and musty. Teela strained against her restraints with all her might. Her beautiful red hair had come undone from her French twist, hanging in a disarray around her heart-shaped face. Smudges of eyeliner, eye shadow, and mascara painted dark runny circles around her aqua eyes giving her a racoonish face. The make-up didn't smudge from her tears, rather from the constant slow drip of a source of water cascading over Teela's head. Teela was a fighter not a crier. Even in the most dissolute of situations, brought onto her knees in front of Skeletor and his minions, the brave Captain of the Royal Guard never shed a tear. It was unnecessary for her to cry or worry over her predicament, having confidence in her abilities to free herself or at least get rescued by her friends. It never occurred to Teela that said friends had no idea where she was.
With her hands tied securely over her head, she opened her eyes to peruse her surroundings. She could tell she was strung up like a piñata, suspended mid-air over a bottomless pit. A purplish cocoon like structure constricted her torso kept her immobile. Trussed up in her finery, she truly did resemble a piñata waiting around for someone to knock her silly, to see if she would let loose secret goodies. When she got her hands on the person who abducted her, Teela would make sure she unleashed all sort of good wallops on their ass.
'I guess I have a knack for being stranded over abysses', she thought ironically recalling when she had tripped and fell into the abyss surrounding Castle Grayskull. Unlike that time, Teela didn't feel the presence of her mother. Rather, she felt a cool draft creeping up her legs which were currently pressed closed together thanks to the tight confines of her mermaid-style gown. Stupidly, she had not altered this gown, wanting to preserve its natural exquisite shape.
'Why did I wear this stupid dress?' she chastised herself. She then answered herself with a smirk. 'To please Adam.' 'When did I start caring what he thinks?', she questioned herself further.
The truth was self-evident. The answer to her question was… Always. Since she first met him. She sought his undivided attention throughout her life. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't running after him.
Thinking of her royal charge, brought worry to the forefront of her thoughts. She wondered if her abductor's had also captured him. She wouldn't be able to live this down, if they had. Rather than protecting him as was her job, she let her attraction to him dictate her actions having been mesmerized by the scene of him playing the piano. Watching his elegant fingers skim over the piano keys had her thinking of how wonderful they would feel caressing her body. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID", she yelled inwardly.
How she hated the constricted feeling of not being able to swing her legs about freely. If she had that freedom, she would have swung her legs up and over her arms, contorting her body in a way to bring her arms closer to her mouth. Then she would chew threw the ropes binding her arms together. That's when she became aware that something was stuffed into her mouth. Lowering her gaze toward her chin, she noticed that her abductor had stuffed a red ball gag into her mouth. Protruding from her mouth, the plastic piece kept her jaws apart. Plastic connectors extended from the mouthpiece to wrap around her neck like a noose. Teela recognized the item as a BDSM sex toy.
Her abductor was a dominatrix! She wondered if it was a male or female. Looking around the cave, Teela didn't see anyone.
She had to free herself. Taking a deep breath she decided a little commotion will help her situation. Perhaps the noise would make her abductor show their face.
Unable to form words, as the mouth restraint prevented her from doing so, Teela let out a guttural throaty moan. To her ears, she sounded like a wounded animal. It didn't matter.
Teela yelled for a good thirty minutes by her account. Her throat now raw, her sounds were reduced to mere whimpers. No one had come. The red-haired captive began feeling despair as the pain in her shoulders became unbearable from bearing the weight of her body, even to her trained limbs. Trembling from the exertion of keeping herself supported by her arms, Teela tried to take deep calming breaths to bring much needed oxygen to her aching muscles.
How could she be alone in the cave? Hanging her head low, she beseeched the Ancients for some intervention. Closing her eyes against the pain and despair, she brought forth happy images from her childhood.
Her father had taught her that thinking good thoughts in time of stress always alleviated the situations. So that's what she did.
As she relived those happy moments, she didn't notice when she received a visitor. In fact, it wasn't until she felt a warm comforting hand upon her cheek that Teela noticed she was no longer alone.
Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Orko. He was floating in front of her, a look of utter concern in his eyes.
"Are you okay?", he signed using symbols he was taught by Queen Marlena. The Queen had taught her, Adam, the King, Duncan and Orko how to communicate using specific symbols she called American Sign Language. Marlena thought it necessary that the family have a means of communicating with each other, that no one else on the planet understood. This knowledge served them well throughout several occasions of strife and battle. It was also a means of Teela and Adam to coordinate jokes on Palace Staff and tutors when they were younger. Teela was very grateful that Orko still remembered this coded language.
Completing the only movement she could, she nodded slightly.
"Adam, your father, Mekaneck, Ram Man, and Battle Cat are right outside", he continued to sign to her letting her know that her rescue had arrived.
Relief flooded through her system. Then she realized what Orko said.
Adam was outside. It became apparent to Teela that he was safe, giving her more relief instantly. Then she quirked her eyebrows.
What was Adam doing here? Where was He-Man?
She tried asking Orko those questions, using the limited mobility of her fingers; however, he wasn't able to understand her signs.
"I'm going to go back out there and let them know I found you", he informed her.
She tried calling him back; however, he had disappeared before she could make a sound.
Closing her eyes again, she let her head drop forward. She was thankful that a rescue team had arrived.
But how in the world did her father and the Masters get involved? Arcadia was quite a distance from Eternos. She hadn't expected their involvement.
Then it hit her, she must have been captured a long time ago and she hadn't realize it. No wonder her limbs began to feel like lead. Simultaneously, her stomach let loose a loud rumble informing her that it was hours if not days since her last meal. The noise from her abdomen disturbed resting bats up above, making them spread their wings forming a dark descending circle over her head.
'Great', she thought. Her yelling did nothing to alert her captor, but the rumble in her belly awoke bats. If this situation wasn't serious, Teela would have laughed at the absurdity of it.
To avoid getting hit by the swarming bats that flew dangerously close to her head, she began to ferociously swing from side to side. Her actions kept the bats at bay, the winged mammals afraid of her movements.
That's when Teela began to notice long shadows moving on the ground below her. Shadows that weren't there moments ago. As the shadows came closer, growing in shape, the bats dispersed themselves throughout the cave leaving Teela alone.
Stilling her movements, Teela tried to ascertain what formed these shadows. To her surprise they took on anthropomorphic forms. She could discern limbs like arms and legs, shoulders, necks, and heads. As the beings drew closer, Teela noticed that they were unbelievable tall. She recognized them as the almost extinct Rock People.
Teela now knew where she was. She had seen the Rock People before, when she and He-Man had saved some children from a neighboring village when the volcano above ground exploded. Afterwards, the leader had taken He-Man's sword, quickly disappearing into the cave as the opening was covered by falling debris. Having no choice, they had all returned to the Palace so that He-Man could pick up a BattleRam. She couldn't return with them, as she had to run drills with the guards. Her father insisted that she remain at the Palace and not return with He-Man. Therefore, only He-Man, Battle Cat, her father, Orko and Ram Man had gone to retrieve the hero's sword.
Teela had never found out how He-Man had retrieved his sword. She thought it was ironic that she was now trapped inside the lair that he had lost his sword in. Now that she thought of that day, she realized how persistent her father had been that she not return with them.
As her body continued to slow its back and forth movements, she contemplated the reasons why. Off course, that event was many years ago thus making it difficult for her to remember all the specifics from that day. However, she remembered her father's face when he insisted for her to stay behind. He was almost scared.
She wondered about that. Then the answer dawned on her. Her father knew the truth about whether or not Adam and He-Man were one!
That was why he always supported him, telling her that things weren't always what they seemed, and that she shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Her father knew…HER FATHER KNEW!, she yelled inwardly. Without realizing, she started buckling at the waist, her movements causing her to swing wildly back and worth. Within moments the rope attached to her hands began to shake violently as it began breaking apart. Looking up, Teela saw the breaking point. It became obvious to the captain that her captors must have used material with poor tensile strength. Increasing the vigor of her movements, she grabbed the rope with both hands as she started rotating her hips allowing her to make circles in the air. Abruptly stopping, she then reversed her spins. Again looking above her, she smiled when she noticed the threads coming apart even more.
All the time she perused her environment, to keep an eye on the Rock People. She didn't know what their role in her abduction was; however, Teela didn't think they were going to harm her. She knew them to be avoidant of humans and that typically they were not aggressive. She hoped for her sake, that they wouldn't be a problem. Wearing her evening gown, Teela didn't have her typical arsenal at her disposal. Having been captured, she was sure that her captors released her of her weapons. If she was going to escape, she would have to do so using only her wits and man-to-man combat skills.
Back and forth, to and fro, and round and round she swung her body, all the time aiming for the edge of the pit. If she timed her movements correctly, she would be able to propel herself over the edge to somersault safely on the ground. Suddenly, with a loud snap the rope tore. However, she was nowhere near the periphery of the pit thus she fell into it, a loud yell of despair gushing out of her lips.
Airborne, she plummeted into the bottomless void.