King Randor blanched as Man-at-Arms' words registered. "Adam?" he questioned. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, the king flailed his arms out to reach something to support him, but when he found nothing, he backed up to wall and slowly slid to the floor.

"Your Majesty!" said Duncan alarmed, as he rushed to the king's side and knelt beside him.

Randor looked at his friend and whispered, "I just got him back."

Man-at-Arms looked questioningly at She-Ra who shrugged unsurely.

"We got along so well at dinner and actually talked. I can't…I can't lose him, Duncan. Please."

To hear the king's words and his final plea for help broke Man-at-Arm's heart. "We'll get him back, Your Majesty. I have no doubt."

The king nodded and breathed deeply. He then forced himself to rise and said, "Assemble my…" He quickly looked around. "Where's Adora?"

"She's safe," replied She-Ra, who knew this would pacify him. He-Man used it all the time.

King Randor shook his head. "No, where is she? I need to see her. I need to make sure she's here and Skeletor hasn't taken her, too. I need to see for myself."

He started to walk hurriedly down the hall, but She-Ra rushed in front of him and said, "I'll go get her. You stay with Man-at-Arms and try to figure out what we're going to do."

She-Ra ran down the hall quickly and went back inside her bedchambers to turn back into Adora.

=)=)=)

King Randor turned back to Man-at-Arms as She-Ra rushed to get his daughter. The look of worry faded from the monarch's face to be replaced by a look of anger. Beginning his earlier sentence again, he ordered, "Assemble my soldiers! We need to be at Snake Mountain by morning!"

Duncan frowned and replied, "Randor, you need to think clearly. Like always, you know a smaller group has a better chance of getting Adam out. Besides, if Skeletor fears for his home when he sees all your soldiers coming, we don't know what he would do, and he has Adam. Surely…"

"Adam is his bargaining chip," interrupted King Randor; "He wouldn't harm him in fear that we would kill him."

"Everyone knows you are a compassionate king and you always try to avoid casualties. I believe Skeletor won't see that threat. Do you really want a stand off with Adam in the middle? Do you want to take that chance?"

Randor paused. "No, I don't," he replied, but then suddenly yelled, "But by the Ancients, Duncan! Skeletor has attacked Castle Grayskull twice that I know of, the palace, and now kidnapped Adam within a very short period of time! His actions are becoming more frequent and worse in their severity! We cannot allow him to get away with this! I want Adam back, but I want more than that this time. I want to break Skeletor's resolve and send a message that if he ever messes with my family again…I swear if he harms a hair on my son's head, he will come to fear me more than he does He-Man. I promise you that."

"Father!" a voice interrupted.

Randor immediately turned around to see Adora running toward him. He quickly gathered his child in his arms and said, "Praise the Ancients, you're all right!"

"Yes," she cried, "but Adam!"

The king pulled back from the embrace and reassured her as he gazed into her eyes, "We're going to get your brother back. I will not rest until he is safe and home. I promise you, Adora, Skeletor will pay for his actions."

"I just want to get Adam back," she replied. "I don't care about punishing Skeletor right now."

Man-at-Arms walked beside them and said, "With your permission, I would like to assemble a small group for the rescue mission."

The king nodded. "Yes, you, Teela…"

Duncan sighed sadly. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Teela is unavailable. Kobra Khan was involved in this and he knocked her out with his sleeping gas. She'll be out for hours. Let me worry about who is going. You should see to the queen."

Randor immediately looked to Adora and said calmly, "Go to your mother. I want you two to stay together until I return. I'm going with Man-at-Arms to rescue Adam."

"But Father!"

"Your Majesty!"

He shook his head at both of them. "He is my son and I want him back. I cannot stay here and wait. I have to do something. I have to get him back."

"I understand how you feel, but you can't come," beseeched Duncan; "You are the king and Adam is your heir. We cannot lose you both if things don't turn out as we plan."

The king squeezed his eyes and hissed, "The kingdom has Marlena, Adora, and even my father, if something happens, but it won't come down to that! We are going to rescue Adam! If something happens to me, then Adam will take over!"

"Your Majesty, Adam is still a boy really, barely twenty. Do you really want him to go through what you did when King Miro disappeared? And, in this case, Adam won't get you back years later. He won't even have the hope that you somehow survived. You know that helped you cope during your transition to power."

"And, Adam will blame himself," added Adora in a near whisper.

Randor immediately turned his attention to his daughter.

"I know we weren't raised together, Father, but as I was growing up, I always felt like there was a piece of myself missing. Sometimes that…hole would ache and sometimes it would make me feel happy even though that missing feeling never went away." She paused to stare her father directly in the eyes. "But I finally understood it when I met Adam, when he took me away from the Horde. I knew he was the missing part of myself and I realized that those strange feelings were from him. We feel each other, Father. I cannot tell you how many times I have wished he was on Etheria to help me or talk to me, and it wasn't long before he'd show up to save the day like the prince that he is." She laughed a little at the irony. "I know that Adam would blame himself if something happened to you because of this. You don't want to make him live with that regret, do you, Father?"

Randor immediately hugged his daughter to him and held her tightly. When he finally pulled away he answered, "No, I don't want to do that to him." He looked to Man-at-Arms and said, "Assemble your group, but I want progress reports along the way. I want to know what is happening every chance you get."

"Yes, Your Majesty," appeased Man-at-Arms.

The king looked back to his daughter and stared at her intently. "And, what do you feel now, Adora? Is Adam okay?"

Adora bit her lip softly as she concentrated. A fearful look came across her features and said, "I don't know. He hasn't reached out to me. I think he's unconscious."

Man-at-Arms nodded as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "He is," he assured them. "Skeletor was carrying him as they got into the Collector. He must have knocked him out somehow as they were taking him."

=)=)=)

Adam groaned as he tried to open his eyes. He thought he felt Adora's presence, but now that he had opened his eyes, he could see he was on a hard stone floor with no one around. He tried to sit up to get a better look at his surroundings but immediately laid his head back down. He felt queasy and slightly off balance. What happened?...

Something slammed into him from behind while he was trying to get to the Power Sword, he remembered. The room lit up with a bright white light before he felt pain. It must have been Evil-Lyn or Skeletor with an energy bolt.

Taking a deep breath, Adam closed his eyes tightly to try to control his body's reaction to his actions as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He quickly braced his back on the wall behind him and opened his eyes. He felt sick and lightheaded, so he quickly closed them again.

Just as Adam thought he might fall asleep, he heard a voice say, "It looks like he's awake, Skeletor." He opened his eyes to see Tung Lashor's tongue waving in front of his face with its owner several feet away.

He groaned again as he tried to stop himself from throwing up. Despite the effort it took, he wanted to see what was happening now that he knew others were around.

A large door creaked open and Skeletor walked inside. "Very good, Tung Lashor," said Skeletor with an evil laugh. "Now, go and help Whiplash with the preparations while I ask our guest about his accommodations."

Tung Lashor left the room, and Skeletor stood before the prince laughing softly again. When the laughter finally quieted, Skeletor addressed him whimsically, "Prince Adam."

Adam didn't answer. He merely watched as Skeletor walked closer.

"I trust that you are finding your stay at Snake Mountain everything you thought it would be," joked Skeletor evilly.

The prince breathed in deeply and gasped out, "You're right about that."

Skeletor laughed again and the door suddenly widened. More people started flooding the room.

Adam widened his eyes in shock. The room was filling up with Skeletor's men! He had never seen so many at one time. They didn't all stay in Snake Mountain, so what was going on?

Skeletor watched the prince's eyes as they widened and looked around the room. He couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Skeletor looked around and saw the multitude. It was a bigger turnout than he had originally hoped : Trap Jaw, Evil-Lyn, Beastman, Tri-Klops, Whiplash, Clawful, Kobra Khan, Jitsu, Two-Bad, Spikor, Webstor, Stinkor, Ninjor, Tung Lashor, and Modulak—when did he get back? No matter.

Evil-Lyn stepped in front of the throng of evildoers and said, "We're all here, Skeletor."

Skeletor laughed again and replied, "Today we are going to defeat He-Man and She-Ra. Soon, they will be coming for my prisoner, Prince Adam." He stepped to the side to let everyone see the fallen prince. "The surprise of our numbers and our working together will surely defeat them. Then, there will be nothing to stop me from taking the Royal Palace and Castle Grayskull."

At Skeletor's final laugh after his words, Adam cringed. Skeletor had better odds than he realized. He-Man would not be showing up. His eyes suddenly widened. That meant it would be She-Ra alone with probably only Man-at-Arms and Teela! They would be defeated easily and there was no way to warn them!

Adam closed his eyes as he wracked his brain for any idea to get his sister and friends out of the impossible situation. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he had to do something and quickly: "Skeletor!" Prince Adam called out, trying to get his attention.

When Skeletor turned to the prince, Adam asked, "Why are you bothering with He-Man and She-Ra? You have someone much more valuable to get you everything you want. You do not need to meddle with them right now. You know as well as I do that they will defeat you and your men easily. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself."

Evil-Lyn rushed forward and said, "Why, the sniveling coward is trying to intimidate you, Skeletor. Why don't we show him what we can do?"

"Not now, Evil-Lyn," replied Skeletor. He walked to Prince Adam and kneeled beside him. "I'm listening, Prince Adam. You're offering something. What can you give me that I would want?"

Adam swallowed. He had no idea what to say, but he knew it had to be good. "Me," he answered finally after a long pause.

All the villains began laughing.

"Do not underestimate my offer," snapped Adam.

"My, my," said Skeletor laughingly, "we wouldn't dream of doing so, but why would I want you aside from my current reasons?"

Adam swallowed roughly. He now had an idea, but he had to make it believable. "Because no one would ever see it coming," he said calmly. He forced himself to smile. "No one would suspect or have a clue."

Trap Jaw stepped forward and asked, "Hey, what's he talking about?"

Adam drew in a deep breath and laughed. "Have you really not heard?" he asked, grabbing the wall and using it to stand up.

When he saw Skeletor look back at his minions questioningly, he continued, "King Randor and I are, let's just say, not fond of one another right now."

Skeletor stood as Adam did; he saw where this was going. "Do you expect me to believe that you would betray your father and let me take control of the Royal Palace and then Castle Grayskull?"

"No," answered Adam, "I want you to believe that I would betray my father and take control of the Royal Palace for myself. The people of Eternia are more likely to follow me than you. I will tell the people that my family fell victim to one of your attacks but that I had escaped. I will ascend to the throne. No one would ever know you were the one pulling the strings. I would owe you, so I would be at your disposal always."

Skeletor walked away and said, "Very interesting."

Evil-Lyn screamed, "You don't actually believe him, do you, Skeletor?"

Skeletor looked back at the prince and said, "No, I don't…but it doesn't hurt to check his story, either. Evil-Lyn, I want you to go to the palace in disguise and ask people about their recent interactions."

"And, what about He-Man and She-Ra?" she snapped. "They are surely on their way now."

Adam breathed deeply to try to steady himself, stepped forward, and replied, "We won't be here. We will move to another location until my words are confirmed. This is a much better plan than taking on He-Man and She-Ra, is it not? This way you will have the Royal Guard at your disposal to help defeat them. Not to mention, my betrayal might drive the…do-gooders…away or shock them enough that we can actually capture them. The possibilities are endless. Agreed?"

Skeletor stepped in front of Prince Adam, nodded at Beastman quickly, and said, "Agreed." As he walked out the door, Beastman stepped forward to grab Adam. "Right this way, Your Majesty," he said laughingly, but Adam shrugged his hands off of him forcefully and followed Skeletor boastfully even though he was surrounded by Skeletor's allies.

=)=)=)

Teela opened her eyes and smiled. Orko was floating above her and as soon as their eyes met, he yelled, "TEELA!" They immediately hugged and afterward, Teela raised a hand to her head at the spot where it hit the floor as she fell asleep.

"Are you okay?" asked Orko fretfully.

"Of course," she replied. "So, did Father manage to stop Kobra Khan and figure out what he wanted?"

At that moment, her bedroom door opened and Man-at-Arms walked in. The little Trollan floated to him quickly and exclaimed, "She just woke up! I was going to come to get you, honest I was!"

"It's okay, Orko, I know," he said as he sat down on the side of his daughter's bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

Teela scooted up to rest against the pillows and the headboard of her bed. "I'm fine aside from a headache. So, maybe you can answer what I just asked Orko."

"What's that?"

"Did you figure out what Kobra Khan wanted? Why did he break into the palace?"

Man-at-Arms nodded. "Yes, we know what he wanted: he wanted Prince Adam."

Teela gasped. "What?"

She quickly looked around the room. There was no sign of him. Usually when she got hurt during battles in the past, he wasn't very far away while she was recovering.

"Where is he, Father?"

"Teela…" he said to try to calm her down.

"WHERE IS HE?"

Man-at-Arms stood up and turned away from her before replying, "We don't know."

"You don't know?" she shrieked.

"It's not his fault, Teela," assured Orko. "We went to Snake Mountain to get Prince Adam back, but no one was there. Snake Mountain was abandoned with no trace as to where they might be."

"And, what's even stranger," added Duncan, "is that Skeletor hasn't contacted King Randor like he said he would as he was leaving the palace."

Teela frowned as her father's words ceased. There had to be more news than that. "What do you think that means, Father?"

Man-at-Arms shook his head. "I have no idea, Teela. We know Adam is still alive; he has to be, but this waiting around…"

Teela immediately sprung out of bed and said, "Well, we shouldn't be waiting around! We need to be out there looking for Adam!"

"Where would we possibly look? Teela, I have no idea where to start! We've looked everywhere imaginable. No matter how much we hate it, the best course of action is to wait until we hear from Skeletor."

Teela refused to hear that. She shook her head and stormed out of the room. She would find Adam all by herself if she had to.

=)=)=)

Queen Marlena buried her face into King Randor's chest as sobs shook her body. "Is our family destined to never be together?" she cried.

Randor hugged her tighter and looked over at Adora who was petting Cringer. She also had tears in her eyes. "No, I refuse to believe that. We'll get him back, Marlena." He pulled back and bent so he could catch her eyes. "We'll get him back," he repeated.

Marlena let out another strangled sob she had been trying to hold in, and he hugged her to him again. Randor looked to Adora and held his hand out. The princess immediately stood and walked over to them. He pulled her to his side so he could hold her, as well. He knew they all needed this right now. Adora instantly buried her face in his neck and cried softly. He wouldn't have even known she was crying if he hadn't felt her tears on his skin.

=)=)=)

Skeletor showed Adam his family and their pathetic cries at his loss with the monitor in his throne room. They were back at Snake Mountain after a quick trip to the Swamps of Enchantment to hideout while Man-at-Arms' rescue party had searched for the prince.

Adam stared at the glowing orb in the center of the table and felt a little overwhelmed himself, especially when his father pulled Adora to him. He was glad they were there for each other.

"It doesn't look like King Randor holds any animosity towards you," said Skeletor.

"Appearances are deceiving," replied Adam. "He has to act this way for my mother's benefit. Wait for Evil-Lyn's report. That will reveal the truth." Adam could only hope Evil-Lyn didn't ask any of the kitchen staff who might have overheard their attempts at getting along at dinner. The probability was in his favor…he hoped.

At that moment, Evil-Lyn walked in. She rushed to Skeletor exclaiming, "He's telling the truth, Skeletor! I questioned maids and guards. Everyone agrees they have been fighting and many have been wondering if they will be able to patch things up! Some think even this kidnapping won't be the catalyst to make them! And, a few even think the king will blame the prince since he wasn't able to prevent his own capture."

Skeletor looked at Adam and started laughing, "Won't they be surprised!"

Adam blinked tears from his eyes and then stared up at Skeletor. "Exactly," he added and forced himself to laugh, as well. "Like I said, they'll never suspect a thing."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Evil-Lyn.

Adam paused to think for several seconds, finally snapped his fingers, and said, "It's easy. Skeletor, you haven't contacted my father, yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't," he confirmed.

"I think it's time you put in a personal appearance to the throne room. Make your demands. I won't be there, of course, because the king will immediately attack you otherwise to free me. This way they will question you about my whereabouts and then we will make our attack."

"Where will you be?" asked Evil-Lyn.

Prince Adam smiled and said, "My bedchambers. It's not far from the throne room as you know and no one would go in there since they know I'm missing. I will stay there until you send for me.

"And, what is to stop you from running or warning everyone?" questioned Skeletor suspiciously.

"You still don't trust me?" inquired Adam.

"I trust no one completely," stated Skeletor firmly.

With a sigh, Adam said, "Beastman can be with me. That way, you know I won't run away or warn anyone. Then, when you send for me, he can bring me into the throne room. He can make it look like I'm being restrained. When you release me for whatever agreement you and my father have, I will rush up to the throne to seemingly greet him and then I'll…take over."

"I like it," exclaimed Skeletor. "What an evil plan I've managed to come up with, aye, Evil-Lyn?"

Evil-Lyn merely laughed.

=)=)=)

Adam stood outside the palace, hiding with Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Beastman. The rest of Skeletor's minions were outside Eternos waiting for Skeletor's signal to come inside the city walls. Skeletor hadn't wanted to waste his energy transporting everyone.

"This is it," said Adam to get things started.

"Yes, it is," agreed Skeletor with a laugh. He turned to Beastman and said, "Don't let him out of your sight."

"Yes, Skeletor," replied Beastman.

Skeletor immediately lifted his Havoc Staff and sent Adam and Beastman into the prince's bedchambers.

As soon as they appeared in the room, Adam looked at the bookcase. Everything seemed to be in its proper place which meant the Power Sword was still there. He glanced at Beastman and said, "This might take a little while. Do you mind if I grab a book to pass the time?"

"Argh, go ahead," Beastman said, looking around the room inquisitively.

Adam smiled in response. He chose Beastman to be with him because he thought he would be the easiest to subdue—he wasn't always the brightest adversary, after all. Adam walked to the bookcase and picked up a huge anthology of laws passed by his family. His father had given it to him when he had turned thirteen and started taking an interest in legislation. His father had stated that the book might come in handy. Adam smirked. He was sure his father didn't think it would come in handy quite like this.

Adam turned around with the book and immediately looked at Beastman. He was looking outside his window. The time was now or never. "Hey, Beastman," he called.

As soon as the villain turned to face him, Adam flung the book as hard as he could. It caught Beastman right in the face.

The King of the Beast fell down and smacked his head against the wall, dazing him. Quickly, Adam unbuckled his belt and used it to tie Beastman's hands and legs together. He didn't have the time to look for anything else to restrain him. He grabbed Beastman's legs and dragged him into the lavatory. Once he was in there, Adam closed the door and pulled a table in front of it to make it harder for Beastman when and if he tried to escape.

Adam quickly ran to the bookcase and retrieved his Power Sword.

"By the Power of Grayskull!"