Hello, dear readers, thank you for your patience. I do intend to finish writing this story at some point. I appreciate all of the encouragement and favorites that I've received. Quick recap:
This chapter (rated T for sorcery, excrement, and violence) picks up right where Chapter 5 left off. But there will be time and location jumps throughout the story. Since the story is about Adam and Teela's growing family and the growing power of Grayskull, I do have many original characters alongside canon characters.
Canon:
King Adam
General Teela (she prefers her military title, not her royal title)
Queen Marlena
Sorceress of Grayskull
Prince Dare/He-Ro
Evil-Lyn
Queen Janice (from a Filmation episode)
Random goblins, Snake-Men, Gar people
Original:
Prince Truth/Wun-Dar (Dare's twin) - yes, I know Wun-Dar is canon, but not Prince Truth
Princesses Janette and Janelle (daughters of Janice, brides of Truth and Dare)
Princesses Teela-Ra (nickname Trixie), Marlena-Ra (Moxie), Aurora (Rory), Pandora (Pan), Kira, Zara, Luna-Ra, all of these are daughters of Adam and Teela, apparently their mother insists on using their formal names, while Adam and Granny Marlena use their nicknames
Creatures of the Dark Hemisphere
I do not own MOTU characters or plot points, and I am not profiting in any way from this story. It's all in good fun.
Chapter 6
As the Wind Raider pulled into its hangar, Adam could already see his wife and younger daughters lined up to greet him and his three oldest children. They wanted to hear all about the boys' birthday trip to Castle Grayskull. Truth and Dare quickly jumped out, saying, "We met He-Man and his brothers! Yes, brothers! Two of them! We were sworn to secrecy about a bunch of other stuff! It was so cool! Yeah, it was the best day!"
Before saying a word, Adam first embraced his wife, kissing her cheek and burying his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. Teela understood instinctively that he needed comfort, he needed her to share his burden, that things did not go as he had hoped. He seemed to be seeking forgiveness from her. Forgiveness for what?
**Four years later**
King Adam woke up with a start when his left arm slipped off the edge of the bed. Then he realized there was something wet on his neck. Blinking his eyes, he tried to lift his head, but a weight was on his chest…his youngest daughter, three and a half year old Luna-Ra, was sound asleep there, and drooling on his neck. Crowded next to him on the bed was his elderly tiger, Cringer, with his front paws cradling Kira, now 8 years old, and Zara, five years old. It was a peaceful, blissful scene.
Far away on the opposite side of the bed was General Teela, propped up on her elbow, her eyes twinkling merrily. She had been watching them sleep for several minutes already, and her heart was full. Making eye contact with her husband in the half-light, she spoke in a barely audible whisper: "Time for us to add another little one."
Adam could only smile in response; anything else would have awakened the whole group.
Silently, Teela slipped out of bed and decided to start her day a bit early. She had a combat demonstration for the troops on her morning agenda, followed by a meeting with the royal advisory council. She wanted to do some stretches before the demo, and review her military budget for the meeting. She got dressed and headed down the hallway toward her office, daydreaming about maybe having another baby or two…or three. Tonight, her twenty-year-old twin sons would announce their engagements to Princesses Janelle and Janette, and they would be getting married sometime in the next year - wouldn't it be funny if she, the mother of the grooms, was visibly pregnant at the double royal wedding? Her sons would be absolutely mortified!
As she passed her daughters' bedroom, Teela heard soft singing - or maybe it was chanting? At this hour, that could only mean mischief. Without hesitating, she entered the room and shut the door behind her. All four of the older girls froze when they saw their mother.
Teela rapidly took in the situation: her four older daughters, the princesses Teela-Ra, Marlena-Ra, Aurora, and Pandora, were still wearing their pajamas, sitting on the floor in a perfect square, braiding each other's hair in the first rays of morning sunshine. Teela cocked her head as a query - the girls looked perfectly sweet and innocent, but her instincts told her that they were scheming.
The girls unfroze and started prattling, "Isn't it wonderful, Mama? Two new sisters as soon as Truth and Dare are betrothed! We want everything just right for Janette and Janelle! We couldn't wait to start the day!"
Well, maybe they really are all that sweet and innocent, thought Teela to herself. She smiled lovingly at her daughters. "All right, girls," she said. "Get dressed and meet me in my office. You can help me set up for the combat demonstration before we have breakfast with your Papa."
Three of the girls nodded and answered, "Yes, Mama." Teela-Ra said, "We'll be right there in a few minutes, Mama." Teela-Ra was the eldest daughter, now seventeen years old. She was taking more of a leadership role, often accompanying her mother to administrative and advisory meetings, and also supervising her sisters as they, too, learned their royal roles. General Teela nodded, then closed the door and continued on her way.
The girls sat in silence for a full minute before Marlena-Ra whispered, "Start over, but much softer this time."
Aurora added even more quietly, "We have to say it at least three times, or it won't work."
Teela-Ra looked around at her sisters and communicated telepathically, "None of our enemies will disturb the betrothal today - the sleeping spell is already complete. Start the pestilence chant on three. One, two, three…"
Simultaneously, the girls took a deep breath, started braiding each other's hair again while repeating these words in a sing-song pattern:
Binding, binding, ever winding,
Binding, binding, ever winding,
Rodents, pests, and vermin we call
To grow in size, no longer small,
Into Snake Mountain this very hour,
There all to spoil and devour,
If the witch with magic makes war,
You will multiply ten times more,
And when the villains away do flee,
This spell is broken peacefully.
Binding, binding, ever winding…
Meanwhile, everyone inside Snake Mountain was in a deep sleep. Evil-Lyn, still queen of her castle, was thoroughly enjoying her satisfying, graphic dreams of revenge on all of her adversaries. All the people who had claimed allegiance to her, and then stolen or sabotaged Evil-Lyn's property, would suffer prolonged torture at her hands, and she would enjoy every minute, just like she enjoyed sucking the soul out of Skeletor and then destroying his soul permanently - was it only four years ago?
Her unconscious mind was filled with the joyful memories of the systematic slaughter of traitors that she had already executed: goblins and demons, the enchantress Celice and the sorcerer Landros, King Hiss, the chieftain of the Gar and all her daughters. She literally bathed in their blood, she drank their life force and their magical powers like a delicious potion: now no one on Eternia possessed more raw power than Evil-Lyn, not even the Sorceress of Grayskull. Soon she would use that power to overthrow the foolish usurper King Adam and all his spawn…but not until Evil-Lyn had rooted out those who sought to sabotage her home and her territory…only then would Eternia be hers for the taking…
While Evil-Lyn reveled in her intoxicating slumber, little visitors kept arriving at Snake Mountain, unnoticed by the witch and her comatose followers.
First, the rats in the dungeon grew and multiplied, and came up to the kitchens to eat their way through the provisions and pantries; they also chewed through cabinet doors and wires. When they finished with the food supplies, the rats moved into the living quarters, scratching and munching through doors, furniture, clothing, and textiles.
Then mosquitos, flies, and stinging insects began to fill the air, and giant slugs started sliding down all of the interior walls. Snakes, lizards, and poisonous frogs appeared and started eating the insects and slugs, becoming bigger and more aggressive on the hunt - growing and multiplying rapidly.
As the day progressed, crows pecked their way into Snake Mountain in pursuit of the feast, and the open holes allowed larger birds of prey and scavengers to join the party. Behind the scavengers came all types of predators, creating pandemonium inside the fortress.
Now, it just so happened that a handful of scouts and spies, representing the peoples of the Dark Hemisphere, kept watch on the comings and goings at Snake Mountain - from a safe distance, of course. Evil-Lyn's allies weren't stupid, and neither were her enemies. They all knew quite well the harm that the witch was capable of causing at a moment's notice, so it was in their best interest to keep tabs on her.
Out of the shadows, more than half a mile away from Snake Mountain, two goblins cautiously approached the breached walls, flitting from shadow to shadow to hide their movements.
Then, from another direction, a Snake-Man rose up from the ground and slithered toward his ancestral home. He went unnoticed by the goblin scouts, who were already entering the unprotected fortress. But there were other eyes watching, too, waiting for their turn.
After several minutes, the pair of goblins scurried out with heavy loads, stashed the loot in their original hiding place, then hiked the half-mile back inside. It was a free-for-all!
Now two more camouflaged figures crept out of their foxhole: a humanoid with horns on its head and a lycanthrope, both native to the Dark Hemisphere of Eternia. They drew crude weapons from the folds of their clothing before disappearing into the stronghold. These two had revenge on their agenda, unlike the goblins who only sought profit.
Another hour passed, and the goblins hauled out two more treasure troves, but they weren't finished yet, so they returned for even more.
There was a pile of boulders about a hundred yards from the fortress. From here, a spy obscured by magic stepped out and removed his cloak of invisibility, revealing dark hair and blue skin. He carefully folded the cloak and tucked it between the rocks; overcome by curiosity, he mentally braced himself for what he would find and took a deep breath in anticipation of Snake Mountain's notoriously foul air.
But nothing could prepare this spy for the stench within. Tripping over an eviscerated rat just inside, he immediately gagged and retched. His first instinct was to get out of there; however, he also had a duty to report back to his people. There were rodents and pests on the floors and walls, while bats and birds fluttered around, often brushing his head - total chaos.
Checking each room for survivors before going up to the next floor of the fortress, the spy saw many things that he wished he had not seen: a guard wearing the insignia of Evil-Lyn with his throat mauled, a bloated panther sleeping off its full belly after a feast, cockroaches swarming in libraries and in closets, small scavenging mammals fighting each other in the kitchen cupboards, animal feces everywhere.
Finally, he reached the living quarters, and each bedroom he checked seemed to have another of Evil-Lyn's deceased accomplices with the throat ripped out. He turned and saw the lycanthrope with a bloodied face and the horned humanoid breaking apart the doorframe to another room. This doorway was different - the door was much larger, with ornate patterns carved into the oak frame and snake designs intertwined across the door itself. This was the door that the spy had been seeking, so he followed the two other scouts through the destroyed door, and the goblins and Snake-Man quickly brought up the rear.
Inside the room, Evil-Lyn lay upon her silken bed, blissfully unaware of the mayhem all around her. Rats crawled across her sheets, and even chewed at her platinum hair. A small wildcat had wiggled in earlier and was chasing rats around, knocking talismans off the desk. Bats squeaked as they flew by, filling themselves with mosquitos and other insects. The walls oozed with slugs, and the ancient spellbooks on the witch's shelves were covered in roaches and other creatures, nibbling at the pages.
Immediately, the lycanthrope screeched, "She's mine!" and jumped on the bed, intending to violate and murder the witch. But as soon as he scratched her body, electric bolts shot forth, electrocuting the attacker until he was smoking. The wolf-man fell dead upon the witch. All of the onlookers jumped back, unsure at first if Evil-Lyn was awakening - but no, the electric shocks were only a protective spell!
One of the goblins noticed Evil-Lyn's magic staff standing by the bed - and she started to reach for it. The spy placed his hand upon her shoulder and spoke in fluent Goblinese, "If you touch it, you will meet the same fate as the wolf here."
The goblin shook off the spy's hand in disgust, answering, "You Gar folk always act like you know it all." She stomped off across the room toward the bookcase, looking for other treasure.
The others standing around the bed were trying to figure out what kind of mark they could leave to let Evil-Lyn know that her inner sanctum had been invaded - sure, they could loot the place and let the cockroaches and rats do the rest, but what if they could also give her a message that she was unwelcome in the Dark Hemisphere?
While they were deliberating, the male goblin hopped up on the bed and proceeded to urinate on the witch's pillow, laughing wickedly. The Gar spy stepped back toward the female goblin at the bookcase, while the others gleefully took turns relieving themselves on the bed.
"Here, this one is Gar script - useless to us goblin folk," said the female goblin, brushing off some roaches and handing over an ancient tome of Gar magic. This was a shelf of Evil-Lyn's most prized spellbooks, kept safe in her private chamber - now theirs for the taking.
The Gar spy knew instantly that this book would be priceless to his people. "Thank you, milady," he said politely, hiding the ecstasy of possessing such a prize. Casually, he brushed off more roaches from the shelf to see if there was anything else he would want to take. He found two more books in the Gar script while the female goblin wandered over to the desk to rifle through the talismans there and fill her pockets.
The female goblin caught his attention again, saying, "This one is Gar magic, bad luck to anyone but Gar folk." She held out a small figurine, which the spy gratefully accepted.
He decided to speak candidly to her in exchange for her kindness. "Milady, when the witch awakens, you must know that there will be retribution. She will set our peoples against each other, and attempt to annihilate us all."
"Yes, yes," the goblin answered, brushing aside his comments, "Civil war. Long time coming. Real question is: who put her to sleep? Not goblin folk. Not Gar magic. Someone stronger. Someone smarter." Then she noticed that the other scouts were all urinating on the witch's bed, and she laughed, running to join the fun. "I take treasure, so I give treasure - like this!" She squatted on the bed and took a massive dump on Evil-Lyn's feet.
The group roared in laughter, and someone accidentally pushed the Snake-Man into Evil-Lyn's magic staff, which erupted in firebolts, and caused the Snake-Man to experience the final shock of his life in a flash of light.
With that, the spy slipped out of the fortress with his loot, retrieved his cloak of invisibility outdoors, and began running the ten miles to the next intelligence checkpoint with urgent news about the fall of Snake Mountain.
**In the royal palace of Eternos the next morning**
The double betrothal ceremony and engagement ball had been a political and social success. The intended brides of Prince Truth and Prince Dare (who had formally adopted their nicknames as their royal titles now that they were adults, much to their mother's chagrin) were sharing a room with the seven daughters of King Adam and General Teela. All of the young ladies were close friends who enjoyed spending time together: the double marriage would merely make their sisterhood official.
As morning light peeked through the cracks in their bedroom curtains, the princesses began to stir. Trixie sat up and touched her hair - it was still tightly plaited from the previous day, which meant that the pestilence spell on Snake Mountain was still active.
"Psst, Moxie," whispered Trixie, "We need to comb out our hair." Moxie sat up, and they got to work undoing their braids, then waking up Aurora and Pandora to do the same for them.
Their future sisters-in-law, Princesses Janelle and Janette, blinked their eyes open. The urgency with which the other girls were working was obvious, and sparked their curiosity.
The elder sister, Janette, spoke very softly, "You're unbinding a spell, aren't you? What was it?"
Trixie and Moxie paused and just stared blankly at her. Their powers were part of the big Grayskull family secret.
Janelle smiled sweetly, "Don't play dumb, Trixie. We can put two and two together."
Moxie rolled her eyes. "Our brothers must have spilled the beans."
"No," Janette assured them, "They would never betray Grayskull like that - and neither would we. But we can see plainly what's in front of us."
"And what exactly do you think you've seen?" asked Trixie.
Janelle chuckled. "That He-Man, Wun-Dar, and He-Ro are never seen with your father and brothers. That He-Man always pays special attention to your mother, Wun-Dar to me, and He-Ro to my sister. That you and your sisters are clones of your mother, and you all seem to have unusual…abilities. Shall I go on?"
"All right," said Trixie. "I get it. Are you upset with us?"
"Of course not," answered Janette. "Your family's sense of honor is what we love about you. It's why I fell in love with Dare. I just want to know what spell you're breaking right now, and if we'll be included in your magic someday."
"Sisters are forever," said Moxie, and clasped Janette's hand. Trixie nodded and added, "We'll make it official after the wedding for sure. Just don't tell Mama."
"Yeah," said Moxie, "Mama can't know until a certain time. For now, we just have to protect our family and disrupt planned attacks."
Janelle raised her eyebrows. She asked in a concerned voice, "Is an attack on us being planned?"
Trixie stifled a giggle. Moxie said, "Oh, yeah, Evil-Lyn was totally going to interrupt the party last night. But we put everyone in Snake Mountain to sleep, and then," Moxie was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks, "We sent in giant rats, slugs, and snakes to ruin their supplies. They'll have a messy surprise now that they're awake!"
Janelle and Janette were both wide-eyed and agape at this astonishing revelation. "Anyway," said Trixie, "We can show you how our circle works - we can give you both a blessing." Janette and Janelle nodded enthusiastically. She got up and helped her younger sisters out of bed, while Moxie arranged them in a circle on the floor, with Janelle and Janette as part of the circle.
"So," said Trixie, "We just start braiding the hair of the sister in front of us. I'll say a line, and everyone repeats it, and we go through the same chant three times. Easy peasy. Here we go."
The circle of princesses, now nine instead of only seven, repeated this spell for their new family members, and the magic of Grayskull was stronger than ever before:
Binding, binding, ever winding,
Binding, binding, ever winding,
May your loving bond never fail,
May peace, justice, beauty prevail,
From the sweet embrace of your groom,
In you royal dynasties bloom,
Trustworthy heirs of a noble line,
Past and future intertwine,
Abundant blessings overflow,
Wisdom and gentle mercy grow,
Binding, binding, ever winding…
**Author's note**
R.I.P to Landros, Celice, and other Filmation characters that I've killed off already. Til next time, readers.
