Adam was tense. That was the only way to describe it. As soon as the Sorceress walked away to allow his parents inside, he subconsciously clinched his teeth together, tightened his jaw, balled his fists, and closed his eyes. It was almost as if he were fighting to hold himself still, fighting to stop himself from running through the dimensional gate that led to his sister and temporary freedom from the everyday hassles on Eternia.

Of course, the physical restraint Adam was subjecting himself to wasn't helping matters whatsoever. He was becoming more and more anxious as the steps he heard in the distance came closer and closer.

Finally, he took a deep breath, forced open his eyes, and tried to relax his hands. It wouldn't do any good to openly show his uneasiness to his parents, he reasoned. They would turn it into a reason for him not to visit his sister.

"Who am I fooling?" he asked himself. "They don't want me to go, anyway."

He looked at the gate that would reunite him with his sister and thought back to the image the Sorceress had shown him of his parents. They seemed desperate to stop him from going to Etheria…but why? He had told his mother why he wanted to go. He had to get away for a while and talk to someone who understood his situation. He said he would come back. Why was everyone, the Sorceress included, acting like it was the worst decision he could possibly make? It didn't make any sense, unless…

Adam's eyes became enlarged as he thought about a possible reason. "Father doesn't want her to know," he stated aloud. "He doesn't want his precious daughter to know how…cruel and unfair he can be to his own offspring."

He once again clenched his teeth and went straight to the gate, but before he could reach it, he heard a soft voice say, "Surely, you don't believe that, son."

Adam whirled around to see his father standing in the room, already half way to him. How long had he been standing there? He looked behind the king and saw his mother, Duncan, Teela, and Cringer standing in the doorway. He swallowed roughly and replied, "I don't know what I believe anymore."

Randor had never before seen such hurt and confusion on his son's face. He closed the distance left between them and placed his right hand firmly on his shoulder. "Believe that I love you and I never wanted to hurt you, make you feel unimportant, or drive you away from Eternos."

Adam sighed and looked away from his father. "You're not driving me away from Eternos," he answered. "I'm just going to visit my sister." He finally met Randor's eyes and asked, "Is that so wrong?"

"You're running from me," answered his father in reply. He then frowned, closed his eyes, and took a deep calming breath so he wouldn't break down in front of so many people. He looked back at Adam and admitted, "I know I've made some mistakes, probably more than I'll ever be able to make up to you, but I want you to know that I'm sorry and I don't want you to go."

Adam pulled out of his father's reach and turned his back toward him. He flung his hands in the air, expressing his uneasiness. He then turned back to his father and said softly, "I need this, Father. I need to go."

Randor straightened his posture in response to the look Adam gave him as he said this. It was a look of desperation. "Son," he started, but Adam held up his hand and continued speaking.

"I've heard you say you're sorry, and there isn't really anything else left to discuss. I need to see Adora. I need to talk to her. She's the only one who can understand…"

"Help me understand!" blurted Randor, cutting his son off. He walked up to the prince and said, "You're wrong, Adam. There are so many things left to discuss. I realize now that I've been a horrible father…"

Adam's expression became one of horror. He had wanted to contradict the king when he uttered those words, but it quickly left his mind with the words that followed:

"…But I want to make it up to you. I don't want you leaving this planet, feeling like I don't love or care for you, because I do, son. I know I've been hard on you over the years, but it's only because I don't want you to go through what I did when my father was missing. I want you to be prepared to take over if anything happens to me."

"So, it's my fault!" Adam snapped and started pacing around the room.

Randor immediately became silent as Adam's face turned unbelievably red. He watched and listened to his son talk, but he wasn't really sure who he was talking to.

"No matter what happens, it's always my fault! It's my fault my father acts this way, because I'm not responsible enough to be a prince or the future king of Eternia! It's my fault he treats me as though I were not his son, because I'm an embarrassment and a disgrace to the royal family! Do you think I want things to be like this? You must think I enjoy being mocked and laughed at! I want nothing more than for my family and friends to know the real me and respect me, but that's not possible at this point in time! But, I don't want them to change their tune if they knew I'm…"

"ADAM!" Randor yelled to hush his son's outburst. He ran to him and tried to hug him, but Adam sidestepped him.

Adam focused his stare on his father and said, "I don't know why the Sorceress wanted me to hear what you had to say. It's still the same mess I've been hearing since I turned eighteen."

"Adam," Randor said again and took a step towards him.

Adam shook his head and spoke sharply, "I don't want to hear what you have to say, anymore. I know you're trying to smooth things over so we can go back to showing the people that we're the perfect and happy Royal Family, but I cannot act that part right now, Father. I know you love me because I'm your son, but I can't pretend that you give a damn about me in any other regards right now, so I need to go."

He took a step towards the portal, and Randor said, "I do care about you, Adam. Don't run. What can I do to make you believe me?"

"I don't know. Just give me some time," he answered, and without giving his father a chance to respond, he finished the last couple of steps into the dimensional gate and disappeared. The gate’s door closed as Randor dropped to his knees in tears.

Marlena rushed to her husband, fell to her knees in front of him, and hugged him as tightly as she could.

=)=)=)

The Sorceress sat in the throne room and opened her eyes as she watched Adam step through the dimensional gate. She left King Randor and Queen Marlena unwatched and called out to Adam's sister.

"Adora, Adora."

On Etheria, Adora was standing beside Spirit as he reached down to the river for some water. She stoked the horse's mane and froze as she heard the Sorceress' call. She immediately pulled the sword from her back and it floated into the air.

"Sorceress," exclaimed Adora, "is something wrong?"

Even though the sword only gave Adora a small glimpse of the Sorceress' face, she could see the worry written all over it. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she suddenly felt as though she knew part of the story. She closed her eyes to concentrate on that feeling and then opened her eyes as she asked, "It's Adam, isn't it?"

The Sorceress merely replied, "Take care of him, Adora. He's coming."

The sword dropped and its blade slid into the ground. Adora grabbed it by the handle and lifted it up as she did the night when she found out He-Man was her brother. The thought of something being wrong with Adam tore her up inside. She suddenly couldn't wait to get to their meeting place outside of the Whispering Woods. She climbed onto Spirit, and before they took off, she whispered, "Don't worry, Adam. I'm coming."