"The last time I had such a pleasant day, I defeated Hordak and She-Ra within minutes of each other!" exclaimed Skeletor as he stood outside the palace walls, laughing as he eyed Teela.

Evil-Lyn looked at Skeletor and said, "I don't see what's so good about it. That coward of a prince betrayed us and ruined our plans!"

Skeletor continued to chuckle and replied, "We're not through, yet. We have the Captain of the Guard. King Randor still has no choice but to hand over the throne to me."

"Do you really think he would do that over Teela?" she asked. "It was possible when we had Prince Adam, but she's not his daughter…"

"He wouldn't let anything happen to her. His sickening allegiance to doing what's right guarantees that, but even if Randor doesn't want to, I'm sure Prince Adam and Man-at-Arms will see things my way."

At that moment, Teela struggled against Two-Bad's hold and yelled, "You monster! King Randor will never hand over the kingdom to you! I'd rather remain a captive forever than allow that to happen."

"I'm afraid you don't have a say in the matter, my dear," said Skeletor, who nodded at Kobra Khan.

Two-Bad quickly tossed Teela to the ground and Kobra Khan stood over her, spraying her with his sleep gas.

"Good night, Teela, ha ha," joked Trap Jaw.

Once Teela was asleep, Skeletor looked around and asked, "Where is Beastman?"

"We haven't seen him since you sent him to Prince Adam's room," replied Spikor.

With a grumble about Beastman's incompetence, Skeletor held his Havoc Staff out and brought the sorry excuse for a villain to their location. Immediately, laughter erupted from the numerous spectators. Beastman was struggling to free himself from none other than Prince Adam's belt.

Not everyone saw the humor, however. "Oh, no!" whispered Trap Jaw to Evil-Lyn. "Skeletor isn't going to like this!"

Skeletor stood over Beastman and his eyes briefly flashed a bright white light. Instantly, the belt disappeared.

Beastman immediately stood and pleaded, "I can explain, Skeletor! It wasn't my fault! Prince Adam…"

"Prince Adam!" snapped Skeletor. "You allowed a sniveling coward like Prince Adam to immobilize you!"

Beastman didn't know what to say. "I…I…" he trailed off. No matter what he said, he knew the end result wouldn't change: Prince Adam did exactly what Skeletor was accusing him of. Instead of getting hit by an energy blast like Beastman expected, Skeletor turned away from him.

"Very interesting," observed Skeletor almost to himself. "It seems there is more to Prince Adam than we thought. Very interesting." He then turned to Beastman and said, "Tell me everything that happened."

=)=)=)

King Randor and Prince Adam continued to hold one another as the courtiers and friends gathered around them. After several long moments, the king loosened his hold, pulled back, and held his son out at arm's length. He took note of his son's exhausted expression and his dirty and unkempt clothes. That was enough to tell him that Adam had been through quite an ordeal.

"Are you all right?" he asked, worriedly.

Adam nodded. "Yes, Father. What about you?"

Randor shook his head and eyed his son, almost as if the actions were a chastisement. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who was held prisoner for hours! I think you should get yourself cleaned up and rest. Did you even sleep last night?"

"Did you?"

The king's lips pressed together in a firm line. "No, I was too busy worrying about you, but I don't want you to be concerned about that. I'm okay, especially now that you're back and safe."

Before Adam could reply, the king pulled Adam back into his embrace and whispered as Adam rested his head against his, "I'm sorry, son."

"What are you sorry for?" asked Adam as he pulled back from the embrace again.

"For everything. For the way I've been acting. For the way I've treated you. For allowing Skeletor to kidnap you," replied the king.

Adam shook his head in denial. "It's not your fault."

Before the king could respond, the throne room was filled with several screams and courtiers rushing into the room. Father and son turned to look at the door way and saw Skeletor and most of his men also entering the room with none other than Teela sleeping in Beastman's arms.

=)=)=)

"TEELA!" yelled Man-at-Arms and Adam simultaneously as they ran before Skeletor and his men.

Skeletor eyed the prince, happy to have the opportunity to speak with him, and laughed. "Very well played, Prince Adam. You are a good actor," he said. "Too bad you didn't play the part a little longer so you could have attempted to save your Captain of the Guard."

"I haven't lost that opportunity, yet," spat the prince.

"ADAM!" yelled Randor as he ran in front of his son to block him from Skeletor's reach if the villain suddenly decided to attack.

The other simply moved to the side so he could still see Adam's face in its entirety. He wanted to read his expressions and body movements unimpeded. "Oh, really," he said. "How do you propose to do that?"

The prince stepped out from behind his father.

In response, King Randor immediately grabbed his arm. "Adam!" he said again sharply. The boy was now scaring him and he didn't know what in the world his son was thinking! Usually, he ran when things like this happened. Granted there was nowhere to run now—Skeletor's men had the only exit blocked, but he could have blended himself in with the other courtiers. "He definitely shouldn't be confronting Skeletor," he thought apprehensively.

Adam stood determined and eyed Skeletor with the most malicious look he could manage. He couldn't believe it! Everything was going wrong recently. He-Man had been needed constantly, almost to the point where it was ruining his life and making him want to resent the Elders and the powers they bestowed upon him. Oh, the irony that the one time he actually wanted and desperately needed to turn into He-Man, he couldn't!

As for Skeletor, he chuckled at the prince's expression, especially when Adora came to stand beside her brother with a matching look adorning her face. He had come to realize that very morning that Randor's children would be far more of a problem in the future than he had originally thought. He had a feeling if given the chance, these two would give him more of a fight than King Randor ever had. Perhaps he had been focusing on the wrong member of the Royal Family, he realized. Prince Adam was the future of Eternia, after all. Instead of asking every morning what he could do today to make life miserable for King Randor, he should have been asking, "What I can do today to make life miserable for Prince Adam?"

He looked over at Teela and laughed. He walked over to Beastman and said aloud, "I wonder how much she means to the prince."

"Skeletor," warned Adam. He tried to step forward, but Randor still had a firm grasp on his arm.

Skeletor turned back to the prince and said, "I have a deal for you, Prince Adam."

"I'm listening" was the reply.

"ADAM, NO!" yelled Randor as he pulled Adam behind him and stood in front of him sideways to keep a hand on his son and his eyesight on Skeletor. The king then spoke to his adversary, "Make your deal with me."

Skeletor laughed again and replied, "But I don't want to make the deal with you, King Randor. This is for Prince Adam only."

"What is it?" hissed Adam.

"It's quite simple. I want you to fight for Teela. You already defeated Beastman once, so it shouldn't be too hard to do so again. Of course, now, he'll be paying attention when you attack, but I'm sure that doesn't bother you," he replied smugly.

King Randor shook his head adamantly and said, "The answer is 'no!'"

Man-at-Arms even shook his head and added, "She is my daughter. Let me fight for her instead."

Skeletor ignored them and continued to stare at the prince. Adam knew this was the only deal Skeletor was going to make, and truth be told, it made things easier for him. Instead of having to fight all of Skeletor's minions as Prince Adam, he would only have to fight one.

"Let me get this straight," he said. "I will fight Beastman for Teela's freedom. If I win, you will release her and leave without causing any more problems."

"Yes," answered Skeletor firmly.

"And, if I lose?"

Skeletor laughed. "Then, you will come with me to Snake Mountain. Afterward, I will do with you as I wish."

"NO!" shouted Randor. "NO DEAL! We will simply take Teela back! Call for the guards, Man-at-Arms!"

As Man-at-Arms raised the comlink to his mouth, Skeletor said, "If you do, the deal is over and I will do with Teela as I please."

"Man-at-Arms," said Adam, "don't. I can win."

Duncan shook his head. "No, it's too risky and you are far too important to risk yourself like this."

"Teela is important, too," he answered.

Skeletor laughed again and said, "So, we have a deal?"

Adam nodded. "Yes, you have a deal."

"NO, YOU DON'T!" shouted Randor. "Adam, what are you thinking?"

Adam grabbed his father's shoulders and turned him to face him. "I can win, Father. I know you don't have much faith in my ability to fight, but I do. I can win."

Randor squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head again. "Adam, don't do this! There must be another way!"

"Like what?" he snapped. "Tell me another way that will also allow no one else to get harmed or killed."

When Randor remained silent, Adam nodded. "You see, it has to be this way. You have always believed that a prince should face danger to protect his people. You said you wanted me to live up to my obligations. This is my chance to do exactly that, Father."

"Not this way," whispered Randor, but Adam closed his eyes briefly before gesturing to his mother and sister. "Try to stop him if he tries to interfere."

Already King Randor tried to pull from his wife and daughter's hold when they slipped their arms around his waist. "No!" he cried.

Man-at-Arms also came over, stood in front of Randor, and placed a firm hand on the king's chest to keep him in place. "Are you sure, Adam? You don't have to do this for my daughter. We can find another way."

Adam nodded at Man-at-Arms. He would say no more on the matter. He then looked at his sister and mother.

Adora had tears in her eyes and said, "Good luck, my brother, but I know you won't need it." Adam smiled in response.

When he met his mother's gaze, she simply said, "Be careful, Adam. I couldn't bear it if I lost you."

"There's little chance of that," replied the prince.

Adam then took a deep breath and faced Skeletor and Beastman who were watching the events unfold patiently. As he stepped forward, he heard his father cry out again.

"Man-at-Arms, I order you to let me go and stop this!" yelled Randor. "I am your king and you will do as I say!"

Prince Adam turned back to Man-at-Arms and said, "And, now you have a conflicting order: I am your prince and the future king of Eternia, and I order you to not stop me or let my father go, Duncan. With that, now, you decide on your own what's best."

Man-at-Arms nodded and continued to hold Randor. He looked at him and said, "I'm sorry, sire, but it's Prince Adam's wishes and he can win. I know he can."

"Nooo!"

=)=)=)

Adam watched as Teela was set down in the corner of the room. Whiplash and Tri-Klops stood over her to make sure no one from court rushed to get her while the fight was underway. He took another deep breath and went to stand before Beastman.

"So, it's between you and me," he said as he came to a stop a few feet away from Beastman.

"Arrgh, so it is. This time you won't defeat me so easily," replied Beastman. At that moment, he rushed at Adam.

The prince had already been anticipating this, so he quickly stepped aside, grabbed Beastman by his shoulder and belt, and threw him as far as he could across the room. The villain landed on the floor with a sickening thud, but after a groan, he got right back up. "Let's see you do that again!" yelled Beastman as he rushed at Adam again.

This time Beastman was prepared for Adam's attempt to grab and throw him. He slowed at the last possible second and simply grabbed Adam's arms forcibly.

"ADAM!" shouted Randor as Beastman started overpowering the prince and pushing him back towards the wall. The king couldn't stand watching this any longer. He had to get involved. He started pushing and pulling away from his wife, daughter, and best friend. His son needed him!

Adam knew he had to do something. If Beastman got him into a corner, it would be over. The question was "What?" As he continued to back up, Adam decided to hold his ground as best as he could, even if he ended up falling, and push back against the beast.

Beastman was temporarily surprised at the sudden pressure he felt from the prince. Adam was a lot stronger than he realized and had actually made him take a step back!

The prince took advantage of Beastman's shock and loss of ground. He brought his leg up and kicked the brute's knee as hard as he could. Almost immediately, Beastman released the prince, cried out in pain, and fell down on his good knee. Prince Adam stood before Beastman and quickly wondered how to end this fight. He didn't want to kill him, so he wouldn't bring his sword out. Besides, he learned his lesson. He didn't want them to know he had it incase he lost. He could easily turn into He-Man and break out of Snake Mountain as long as his sword stayed safely hidden on his back.

He stepped forward again to make sure Beastman didn't gain any equilibrium and shoved him back onto the floor as he tried to get up. At this moment, Prince Adam turned to Skeletor slightly and said, "He's down. I win."

"He's down but he's not out," countered the Lord of Destruction.

"I'm not going to kill him! I've won the fight!" snapped Adam.

"Don't be too sure of that," replied Skeletor, pointing to Beastman, who was getting up again.

In response, Adam ran back towards him to shove and keep him on the floor.

Beastman allowed Adam's advances and when he got close enough this time, he quickly grabbed the prince by both knees, lifted him into the air as far as he could, and slammed him onto his back. Adam's head snapped back and banged the floor hard as he came down. Beastman took this opportunity to crawl on top of the prince to try to subdue him.

Adam's head started spinning as he continued to fight off Beastman. The villain was now on top of him so all Adam could do at the moment was hold his arms off of him and hope he could somehow throw Beastman off soon. As the room continued to spin, Adam closed his eyes and used all his strength to roll onto his side quickly. This unexpected action caused Beastman to fall on his side, which allowed Prince Adam enough time to scramble away.

The prince slowly got to his feet, but it was obvious he was dazed. He couldn't stand still and kept stumbling.

"ADAM!" Randor and Adora cried this time.

Just as Adora was about to release their father and go to Adam to help him herself, Adam pointed towards them and yelled, "Stop! Stay out of this!" Immediately, Adora ceased her movements and continued to prevent the king from interfering.

Beastman watched the prince point to the side of where his father and sister were located when he spoke to them and knew Adam's vision was impaired. With a grin, he ran back to the prince, but fortunately, Adam knew Beastman would try to take advantage of his malady, so he was prepared and had a plan. He now knew with his injury and what was at stake, he could no longer be nice and try to get out of this without seriously hurting anyone. He had to fight hard and brutally to win. There was no other way.

As Beastman ran toward him, Adam swung his arm out wide and brought it back across the space in front of him quickly, because he knew he'd eventually grab his opponent no matter how far his eyesight was off. When Adam's hand connected with the side of Beastman's face lightly, he latched onto the back of his neck, held the beast's head in place while he brought his other fist up, and punched him hard right in the nose where he had hit him earlier with the anthology.

Beastman had been pushing the prince back while Adam was doing this, so both fell straight away. Beastman landed right on top of Adam which knocked the wind out of both of them.

As Beastman and Adam wheezed, King Randor had nearly managed to break free of his captors' grasp. "LET ME GO!" he yelled again as he glared at his family and then looked towards Adam. It seemed like Beastman was getting up first. He turned back to Duncan and said, "Don't you see, we have to help him!"

Even though Beastman was the first to get up, Adam wasn't worried. He laid back and spread his legs apart. When his opponent brushed against them lightly, the prince immediately twisted his lower body around and did a flat horizontal roundhouse kick onto Beastman's right calf.

Again, Beastman was caught off guard by the prince's actions and he fell forward right onto his face. This time it seemed like he was having trouble lifting his head much less getting up entirely.

Adam breathed roughly as he watched Beastman struggle. He then turned in the direction of Skeletor to order that he release Teela, but the startled screams of his sister and mother grabbed his attention.

"SIRE!" he heard Man-at-Arms yell.

Adam turned around and saw his father sagging in everyone's arms as they caught him. He quickly tried to make his way to his father, but Skeletor—angry at Beastman for losing—ran behind the prince and threw him to the floor unexpectedly. The prince bumped his head on the floor again, and Skeletor cried, "So, you won this time but something tells me it won't be such a joyous celebration!" He watched as Man-at-Arms now spoke on his comlink to call all of the Royal Guard available to the throne room. Even though Skeletor had a great number of men with him, he knew he didn't have enough to take on the entire Royal Guard, so he quickly laughed and disappeared, taking his minions with him.

Once the evildoers were gone, no one knew who to go to first. Both the king and prince were unconscious. As Randor lay on the floor with his head propped on Marlena's lap, Adora and Man-at-Arms rushed to Adam.

"Adam! Oh, my brother!" exclaimed Adora as she mimicked her mother's actions.

With Adam's head propped on Adora's legs, Man-at-Arms lifted each of Adam's eyelids to look at his eyes. "He definitely has a concussion," he whispered.

At that moment, a groan was heard and Duncan turned to see Randor waking up. He immediately rushed back to his king.

"What happened?" asked Randor.

"I don't know, Your Majesty," replied Duncan, "but I think you had a spike in blood pressure and passed out! I think it's safe to say that all this recent stress and yelling is to blame."

Queen Marlena took off Randor's crown and brushed his hair out of his eyes with her fingers. "You have to stop this, Randor," she whispered.

The king nodded softly and closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted to go to sleep. The peace the king had seemingly found quickly ended, however, when he remembered what was happening prior to his collapse. He snapped his eyes open and said loudly, "Adam! Where is he? Did he lose?"

Marlena pulled Randor back down as he tried to sit up and said, "Shhh! Calm down. He didn't lose. He won, and Skeletor left and took his allies with him."

"Teela?" the king then asked.

"Safe," replied Man-at-Arms.

King Randor smiled and looked around him. "Where are Adam and Adora? I want to see them."

Marlena looked at Duncan warily.

This look did not go unnoticed by the king. He immediately sat up and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" When his eyes scanned the room, he immediately found his answer.

He let out a startled gasp, struggled to his feet, and rushed to Adam despite feeling weak. He dropped beside his children and laid his hand across Adam's cheek. "Adam?" he called.

The prince never stirred.