Chapter Five
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update (R/L has intruded on my writing time.)
Night had fallen on The Evergreen Forest. Amadeus sat before a blazing campfire. No longer a strapping youth, he was a balding, wiry man in his early forties. This night, he wore a skin-tight black bodysuit, black sweat pants, fingerless black leather gloves, a holstered laser pistol on his leg, and black combat boots.
"Amadeus?" barked a stern feminine voice - Teela's - to Amadeus's right. She stood at Amadeus's right, wearing a heavy black cloak.
"There's no one by that name here," said Amadeus.
"I have a DNA sequence from Hazar the Shipbuilder that says otherwise."
Amadeus leaped up suddenly and turned to face Teela. "Who are you?" he growled. "What do you want?"
Teela pulled back her cloak, revealing her uniform. "Teela, Royal Guard," she said. This, in turn, caused Amadeus to instinctively vanish into thin air.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Teela commanded. "I'm not going to arrest you!" She then added, "…At least, not YET."
Amadeus re-materialized in front of Teela, leveling a laser pistol at her. "What do you want?" he barked.
"You're in enough trouble for burglary," said Teela, crossing her arms. "You want ANOTHER five years for threatening an officer of The Crown?"
Amadeus grumbled and sheepishly holstered his pistol. "I'll say again…" he said. "What do you want?"
"How 'bout some answers?" said Teela.
Amadeus sat back down before the campfire. "Such as…?"
"How does a war hero come to be robbing houses?"
"Would YOU hire ME … a FREAK?" Amadeus shot back. "You know what it's like to be hungry … to be desperate?"
Spare me the sob story, Teela thought.
"I lost everything to The Horde … my wife, my farm, my village," Amadeus continued. "…EVERYTHING!"
"It's no excuse for irresponsible behavior…"
Amadeus turned back towards the campfire. "You wouldn't understand…"
"Try me," said Teela.
Amadeus glanced at Teela. "You REALLY wanna know?"
"Yes."
Amadeus sighed. "I was a soldier…" he said as he began to tell his story
"I served in the provincial militia, Noella Regiment," said Amadeus. "I tried enlisting in the Royal Army … but I was rejected for being underweight."
"Tell me more," said Teela.
"My unit was sent to Culfannon. Apparently, the Horde was dug inside the city. My platoon was holed up inside a bombed-out apartment building, pinned down by Horde troopers across the street.
"Me and my buddy were firing out a window on a nest of Horde troopers. I looked away … just for a moment … "
"And…?" Teela interjected.
"When I looked back, my buddy was on the ground … Dead. Half his face blown off."
"What did you do then?" Teela inquired.
"The only thing I could think of TO do … I ran," said Amadeus. "I ran out of the room … out of the apartment building. Ran for dear life. I ran and ran and ran. I finally took cover inside a fountain several blocks away. It was then that … IT … happened."
"What?" Teela interjected. "WHAT happened?"
"The Metreon Cascade," Amadeus replied. "I was a few blocks from Ground Zero." Amadeus paused. "First, there was this blinding white light … so bright, I couldn't hardly see. A broiling, fiery, white light. I shielded my eyes by staring at the inside of the fountain."
"Then what happened?"
"After the light, there was the wind … a great, roaring wind. A cyclone … powerful enough to blow me against the side of the fountain." Amadeus paused. "After that, it was over."
"Wow…"
"I went back to the apartment building … went back to my unit. There was nothing left of em. Nothing … except ashes."
"Ashes?"
"You ever see someone cremated?" Amadeus asked. "That's all there was of my unit … piles of ashes." Amadeus paused. "Sure, there were SOME remains … a foot here, an arm there. The rest was just … ashes."
"What'd you do after that?" Teela inquired.
"It was then that I left for good," said Amadeus. "I took off my ID tags, left them in the ashes, and ran out of the apartment building … Forever."
"I went back to Eternos," said Amadeus. "Next thing I knew, me and my unit were being hailed as 'fallen war heroes'." Amadeus paused. "It was then that I went underground..."
"You were thrown into circumstances beyond your control…"
Amadeus nodded. "THAT'S how I survived the war," he said angrily. "I survived … because I was a craven little coward who didn't want to die." Amadeus paused. "I hid … because I wanted to spare my wife the embarrassment of being married to a coward … a deserter."
"What happened after that?"
"Roamed around … doing this and that. I was a merc for a lot of years … "
Teela knitted her eyebrows in puzzlement. " 'Merc?' "
" 'Merc' … mercenary," said Amadeus. "Good, evil … didn't matter. I worked for whomever would pay me." Amadeus paused. "Anyway, I did THAT for a few years … under an assumed name, of course. It was by that time that I discovered my … powers."
"What made you quit?"
"After a while, I figured there had to be an easier way to make a living than to spend my career being shot at," said Amadeus. "It was then I became … a thief." Amadeus paused. "I never counted on anyone going through the death records."
"You don't like what you're doing, do you?" Teela asked.
"I told you," said Amadeus. "I do what I do … for the money." He then added bitterly, "Who would hire ME … a FREAK?"
"I would…"
Amadeus glared at Teela. "You're kidding, right?"
Teela shook her head … No. I REALLY don't want to be in the position of having to arrest my own father, she thought.
Amadeus held out his wrists before Teela, as if waiting to be cuffed. "It's all right," he said softly. "You have a job to do … I understand."
"I'm not going to arrest you," said Teela.
Amadeus raised his eyebrows at Teela, surprised. "Why?"
"If you REALLY want to go straight, I want to help you."
"How?"
"I was serious about hiring you," said Teela. "I could always use a paid informant…"
"And what am I supposed to do in between visits from YOU?" Amadeus snapped. "I KNOW you don't want me pullin' jobs…"
"You're right … I don't," said Teela. She then thought for a moment and said, "Ever think of being a bounty hunter?"
Amadeus raised an eyebrow. "ME? Bustin' bad guys?" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why not?" said Teela. "You know the underworld, you know the players…"
Amadeus looked back towards the campfire. "Bounty hunter…" he mused.
"You could work for yourself," said Teela. "You wouldn't have to worry about anyone labeling you a ... 'freak'." Teela paused. "Who's better qualified to catch crooks … than someone who used to BE one?"
"Bounty hunter," said Amadeus to himself. "I like the sound of that."
"I'm letting you go … under ONE condition," said Teela.
"I know," said Amadeus. "No more pullin' jobs."
Teela nodded. "Exactly," she said with a smile. She then warned, "If I find out you're back to your old tricks…"
"I understand…" said Amadeus softly.
"You know, you look nothing at all like your picture…" Teela said off-handedly.
"That was over twenty years ago … I was a kid back then," said Amadeus. He then asked, "What was your name again…?"
"Teela," Teela replied.
" 'Teela'," said Amadeus. "My wife's name was Teela. At least, it was before we got married."
That would explain the "Na" at the end of her name, Teela thought. Among her people, it may well be an appellation bestowed upon a maiden when she marries.
"You two wouldn't happen to be related now, would you?" Amadeus said jokingly.
"She's your daughter, Amadeus," said a soft feminine voice - The Sorceress of Grayskull's - to Amadeus's left.
Amadeus turned towards the voice. Standing to his left was Teela-Na, a.k.a. The Sorceress of Grayskull. Gone was her usual feathered uniform; in its place she wore a simple peasant dress, soft leather slippers, and a brown leather cloak. Her falcon-shaped headdress was also gone, revealing a head of shoulder-length red hair.
Amadeus rose to greet his wife. "Teela-Na," he said, stunned.
"Hello, Amadeus," said Teela-Na quietly.
Amadeus gently held Teela-Na's hands in his own. "Forgive me, my love," he said softly, looking downcast at the ground. "I've done some terrible things. Things … I'm ashamed of."
"I'd be lying if I said I was pleased," said Teela-Na. "At the same time … after twenty years … it's water under the bridge now."
"I … don't know what to say," Amadeus stammered.
"How about you'll go straight?" Teela-Na said softly.
"I will," said Amadeus. "For you…" He then leaned in close, gently held Teela-Na's face in his hands, and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
"For Teela…" Amadeus added softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "…For our daughter."
"I'll … leave you two alone," said Teela. As she turned to leave, Amadeus and Teela-Na - husband and wife once more ... at least, for the moment - tenderly held and kissed one another, utterly oblivious to Teela's presence.
