I Have the Power!

Part Seven

"My name is Tila," Tila said, once they had all settled down. "I was sent to yewr world by the Sorceress. She told me that Keldor was on yewr world, and that it was my job to hunt him down."

"Who's Keldor?" Lonnie asked.

"A traitor," Tila said.

"More specific?" Lonnie said, rolling her eyes.

"He's an evil sorcerer from her world—" Kyle said, gesturing at Tila "—and he traveled to our world—" he pointed at the floor "—to find a way to take over her world." He gestured at Tila again.

"Oooooh, right," Lonnie said. She rolled her eyes again. "Well that clears that up." Kyle frowned at her.

"He wants to take the throne from his brother, the king," Tila said. "And he'll do anything to get it."

"Sounds like Shadow-Weaver," Lonnie mumbled. They were all silent.

"Who's Shadow-Weaver?" Tila asked.

"Dead," Kyle said, a hint of bitterness escaping him.

"Oh," Tila said, nodding. "Well, anyway, Kyle knows already, but his plan is to use prince Peekablue's power of foresight to help him seize power."

Lonnie frowned. "Didn't we hear that prince Peekablue went missing?" Kyle nodded. "So Keldor's the reason for his disappearance then?"

"Yes, he is," Tila said, "though I hear he's been going by Skeletor as of late. Based on what information I was able to gather, both Skeletor and Peekablue are on Eternia now."

"Which is you're home planet, right?" Lonnie asked, pointing a questioning finger at Tila, who nodded.

Rogelio growled softly. He folded his arms and stared at the far wall. Kyle knew Rogelio must be thinking hard. He completely understood that. Though they'd all seen their fair share of oddities, the concepts Tila presented were a lot to take in. There were other dimensions out there—not just other worlds, but other realities! Eternia was like an alternate version of Etheria. They had their own First-One's, and their own magic. Maybe... maybe they had their own princesses, or even their own She-Ra?

Imp screeched shrilly, interrupting everyone's thoughts. Kyle covered his ears, as Lonnie exclaimed loudly "Does that little pest have no concept of the word 'quiet,' or is it just trying to give me a headache?!"

Tila frowned. "Do you guys see that?" She said, pointing out the window. Kyle looked to where she was pointing and saw a peculiar form in the streets beneath them. He was big, taking up nearly half the street with his pure girth. He was hooded, and Kyle couldn't see his face, but he guessed that he wasn't good news, whoever he was. The giant man was flanked by two large cats, both the color of jade with long, protruding fangs. Imp had evidently been the first to spot them, and he was shrieking and hissing madly at the sight.

"Who's that?" Lonnie asked, gazing cautiously out the window.

"No idea," Tila said, "but I'll hazard a guess that he's not from around here." She gazed out the window a few moments longer. "And it looks like he's headed this way." She turned to face the room. "He's probably another one of Skeletor's men. I could be wrong, but  just in case, Kyle and I should avoid contact with him. In all likelihood, he's probably looking for us."

"Well we can't go out the front," Lonnie said, gesturing again at the stranger who had made it to the door. Rogelio roared in concern. "So what do we do?" Lonnie asked.

"Yew and the Lizard should try and head him off. Skeletor's troops won't know anything about either of yew two yet, and yew might get some information out of him." Tila glanced at Kyle. "Yew and I should try to get out of here unnoticed."

The other two nodded and left the room. Kyle remained. He glanced again at the window, trying to judge weather he or Tila would be able to fit through it. Maybe, if they really pushed it they might fit, but his hopes weren't high. He felt Tila's hand on his shoulder and turned to look at her.

"Kyle," she said softly, "I didn't want the others to know, but there's actually a second reason I came to Etheria."

Kyle stared at her blankly, trying and failing to guess what that might be. Then he glanced down at her hand, (the one not holding his shoulder,) and spotted the sword she had fought with before clutched in it.

"This sword," Tila said, holding it so Kyle could better see, "holds immense power, capable of rivaling even the worst kinds of evil." She gazed sadly down at the blade. "I can't make it work for me, no matter what I tried to do. The sources told me I wouldn't be able to, but.... anyway." She returned her gaze to Kyle, and it was more focused now. "The Sorceress told me I would meet someone here, someone who would be able to wield it's full power."

Kyle nodded at her, feeling like this sword business sounded awfully familiar to him.

"Kyle," Tila said, "I want yew to help me find him."

"Find who?" Kyle asked.

"I want yew to help me find the one who's capable of wielding this blade's full power," Tila said. "He's somewhere here. In Etheria. I can feel it."

Kyle nodded. "So... shouldn't we try to find a back door, or something?" He scratched his head. "I mean, you said it yourself, right? If that guy finds us, we're toast."

"Actually," Tila said, sounding somewhat sheepish, "I just said that to get yewr friends out of the room. If that man really is one of Skeletor's, than we're going to have to fight him."

"What?" Kyle said, feeling all the panic from earlier that day welling up inside him again. "Can't we just run?"

"No, if Skeletor sent someone to come look for us, then he'll have sent someone who's expert at tracking. That man seemed to already know we were here, so our only chance at getting away is to fight him." Tila held out the sword to Kyle. "Take this."

"What?" Kyle said, fumbling the sword as he took it.

"It's the only spare weapon I have." She let go of the blade, and its weight immediately forced Kyle to grip it with both hands. "Sorry," Tila said. "It's a bit heavy."

Shouts sounded from the lower floor, and Imp began to screech again. "Sounds like they're calling me," Tila said. "Hopefully I can take them myself, but if not," she tapped the sword, "at least yew have that if they come for yew." And with that, Tila left the room.