King Randor stood in horror as he looked into his son's eyes. Adam had been hit—he knew he had been, and yet Adam was just standing there, looking back at him almost as if in a daze. He was on the verge of asking Adam if he were okay when the boy suddenly coughed violently. Now, the king was on the verge of panic.

Blood had sprayed from Adam's mouth all over him, and blood was still dripping out of it. He knew his son was hurt badly. Even though he couldn't see his back since Adam was still facing him, he knew something was at least wrong internally. "Adam!" he yelled, but the boy still didn't respond. The prince got a glossy look in his eyes, and Randor suddenly had a flash in his mind's eye of attending his son's funeral, telling the masses that his son had been brave and protected the king at the cost of his own life.

"NO!" yelled Randor. He didn't want it to be true—it couldn't be true. Adam wasn't supposed to die like this. He was supposed to go first…Randor had always been ready to go first. It had been unfathomable to imagine it any other way, and now, it was happening. "Adam!" he yelled again. "Please, son, talk to me!"

Time seemed to slow significantly as he continued to watch his son. It seemed like minutes had past, but in reality it had only been several seconds. He watched as Adam lifted his arms to the edge of his robe—he could tell Adam couldn't get them any farther—and tried to hold onto him. Adam was still trying to protect him, and Randor could see past his son's shoulder that Skeletor, having knocked Teela away—who was now busy with Beastman—had lifted the Havoc Staff in the air: he was going to hit Adam again.

"No!" he yelled again. He then looked frantically around the field before him and called for everyone…anyone to help them. "Man-at-Arms! Teela! Someone help us!"

Then, Adam was falling. His son couldn't hold onto him, and the king didn't know whether to be relieved or not. With Adam on the ground, Skeletor probably wouldn't hit him again—he'd go for the king this time. Randor hoped fiercely that would happen. He wanted to join his son—he didn't want to live if Adam died. Adam was the heart of him, even if he had never expressed that adequately…Adam and Adora were his reasons for living, and he knew he wouldn't be able to go on if Adam was untimely ripped from his life. He couldn't and wouldn't go through the pain of losing another child again, especially at the hands of an enemy…never again.

Randor struggled against his chains. Despite hoping that Skeletor chose to hit him with the next bolt, he still wanted to gather Adam into his arms and hold him for whatever brief moments that he could. He prayed that somehow, someway, someone would help him before it was too late…

But his prayers didn't seem to be having any effect whatsoever. Instead, he saw something that shook him to the very core of his being. Skeletor lowered his staff. Presumably it was charged with whatever dark magic he was using and he started walking towards Adam. Randor's heartrate sped up as he realized with horrible certainty that Skeletor had no intention of attacking him at this moment. He was going to Adam; he was going to…to… He couldn't bear the thought.

He watched in terror as Skeletor stood before his son and pointed his Havoc Staff directly at the prince's head. There was no way he could survive such a close hit. "Skeletor!" bellowed Randor. "Leave him alone! He's out of this! Kill me!"

Skeletor turned around and looked at the king. He laughed sadistically and said, "Oh, I will…after you watch your son die! In your last breath, you will know that there will be no one else to take up the kingdom. You will know that I have won."

Tears poured down Randor's face as he cried hysterically, "PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ETERNIA, SOMEONE HELP HIM!"

=)=)=)

She-Ra dropped to her knees as she felt excruciating pain pierce her chest. She felt like she was dying because a piece of herself was missing. "Adam!" she screamed again.

She-Ra watched as Skeletor's henchmen surrounded her—they were determined to capture her now that she was down, but she wouldn't allow that to happen. With a look of sudden hatred, She-Ra stood abruptly and whipped her sword out as she spun quickly. Every person in Skeletor's group—besides Beastman who was still fighting with Teela—was cut along their stomachs but unfortunately not too deeply. They hadn't gotten close enough.

The villains fell away from She-Ra and instantly grabbed their wounds. She-Ra wanted to continue the attack…to make them pay for hurting Adam, but Man-at-Arms and Orko stopped her. "Don't forget yourself, She-Ra!" yelled Duncan over the chaos and the sounds of the wind picking up again.

Instead of replying, She-Ra pushed Man-at-Arms aside so she could see what was happening behind him. What she saw was a scene out of her nightmares! Her father was still chained and he was begging for someone to help them! Adam was on the ground, unmoving, with Skeletor standing over him, prepared to kill him execution style.

She started to run towards Skeletor, determined to stop him even though she knew intellectually that she was already too late. She would never reach him in time. Tears sprung to She-Ra's eyes as she imagined life without her brother. She had lived that life once and didn't want to live it again: she didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to feel this emptiness in her heart for the rest of her life. It would be unbearable.

"Ad-," she tried to yell but was cut short by a sight she thought she would never see:

Cringer ran from behind a large rock where he had been hiding nearby and raced as quickly as she ever saw towards Skeletor. He let out a fierce growl that was as threatening as anything Battlecat had ever produced and prepared to leap towards Skeletor with his claws extended.

Skeletor, having heard and seen the tiger, brought the Havoc Staff up from Adam's head and pointed it towards the great cat, but Cringer didn't care. He was determined to reach and protect his master. Also at that moment, the cries of a falcon were heard above the chaos and soon an orange and white falcon dove at Skeletor and snatched the Havoc Staff from his grasp.

Skeletor yelled in frustration and shot beams from his fingers trying to hit the bird, but Zoar out maneuvered him. The bird flew to Snake Mountain, with Skeletor following close behind him yelling in frustration, and dropped the staff into the waterfall.

Because Skeletor's allies had seen him fleeing from their location, they decided it was time for them to make a retreat, as well, so they ran as quickly as they could. When Skeletor realized he would be outnumbered, he set about finding a way to retrieve his Havoc Staff. He had gotten the most important part of his plan executed anyway.

=)=)=)

Teela didn't waste her time watching Beastman and his associates run from the battle. He was the farthest thing from her mind as she turned to see Adam's motionless body on the ground. "Oh, please, Ancients, no!" she whispered hurriedly and sprinted towards him.

Cringer was standing over him with his hair spiked in all directions. As soon as the tiger caught sight of someone approaching, he hissed and growled menacingly. Teela immediately stopped. "Cringer!" she cried. "It's Teela! Let me get to him! You know I wouldn't hurt him! I'm going to help him!"

Cringer blinked several times, and Teela noticed that his eyes were no longer wild. She rushed forward and pleaded again, "Let me help him, Cringer!" The tiger immediately backed away so she could reach him.

"Please help him, Teela. Is he…is he…" Cringer couldn't finish his question.

Teela ignored him; her only concern at that moment was Adam. In a matter of seconds, she lifted his torso into her arms and propped him against her chest. His back felt odd. It was almost as though things were out of place. Not to mention, the back of his shirt was completely disintegrated. "Adam! Adam!" she cried, trying desperately to get him to wake up. She grabbed his wrist and checked for a pulse. "Oh, please, be there!" she whispered. She couldn't find one.

"FATHER!" she cried with tears streaming down her face. Man-at-Arms was there in an instant but so was She-Ra.

As Man-at-Arms checked for a pulse, She-Ra pushed on Teela and said, "Let me have him and stand back!"

Teela frowned and was about to object when she saw the stern look that settled on She-Ra's face. Remembering that this was Adora, as well as a woman with great power, she decided to follow her commands. She backed away and She-Ra immediately took her place. She-Ra placed both of her hands firmly on her brother's chest and when Man-at-Arms, with eyes full of tears, stepped away shaking his head negatively, she cried, "For the honor of Grayskull, let your wounds be healed!"

She-Ra's hands glowed and soon Adam's whole body did as well, but other than that, nothing happened. "It's not working!" she wailed.

At that moment, Zoar flew beside them and transformed into the Sorceress, not caring who saw the transformation. "It must work!" she said. "He cannot die! This is not his time!" She knelt down beside She-Ra and held out her hand. "Try again."

This time, She-Ra and the Sorceress said the words together and all three of them glowed. Still nothing happened. Both She-Ra and the Sorceress looked around in dismay, clearly not knowing what to do, but after a moment, the Sorceress glanced up at Teela and Orko, held her hand out, and demanded, "Join us, both of you! Say the words with us!"

They did as they were told and still nothing happened.

Immediately, She-Ra fell back with tears streaming down her face. "He can't be dead! He can't be! Please, Sorceress, do something!" She covered her eyes with her hands and cried out mournfully.

Teela looked at the Sorceress and begged, "We just found each other, Sorceress. I love him and I can't lose him! There has to be something you can do!"

As she stared at the Sorceress, a discernible figure appeared behind the woman's shoulder. Teela watched as a maroon head slowly formed—she knew who it was. It was the Spirit of Grayskull. She hadn't seen him since the time she had taken the Sorceress' place when she had disappeared from Castle Grayskull. "Please, help him!" Teela cried.

The Sorceress looked at the figure that moved beside her as he said, "You have the means. She-Ra, call on his power and your honor."

She-Ra stared at the being for a moment before understanding suddenly shone in her bright, teary eyes. She reached underneath his head, pulled out the Power Sword, and placed it in Adam's hand. She then placed the Sword of Protection's blade against his, grabbed the Sorceress' hand, who in turn grabbed Teela's as she grabbed Orko's, and shouted mightily, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

=)=)=)

Randor was still chained to the wall as he watched the scene unfold. He hadn't dared to grab anyone's attention. He wanted their focus on Adam. They had to save him—they just had to.

He watched as She-Ra cradled his son in her arms, and he could see the deep and profound love she had for Adam. He didn't know what to make of it, but at that moment he didn't care. He just wanted Adam to be saved! Nothing else mattered!

He watched in amazement as She-Ra reached behind the prince and pulled out a sword. Randor blinked several times, not believing what he saw. Adam wasn't wearing a scabbard. Where had the sword come from, and how had She-Ra known it was there? He watched as she placed it in his hand and they called on Castle Grayskull's powers once more.

It worked. After She-Ra's words were shouted, a loud pop occurred, Adam's back visibly straightened, and the prince took a deep breath. Tears of joy and relief poured from the king's eyes as he continued to watch Adam take breath after breath. He was alive…and now he couldn't wait to be freed.

"Man-at-Arms," he called, "can you get me loose?"

Duncan, who had been wiping tears from his eyes, jumped when he heard the king's voice and turned to look at him. "Your Majesty!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I forgot all about you still being chained up!"

Randor shook his head. "No, don't worry about it. I know Adam was your first concern. He was mine, as well, but I have to go to him now. I can't wait any longer."

It took several moments for Man-at-Arms to free the king, but when he did, Randor immediately squatted beside Adam. He glanced at She-Ra, who was still holding him, momentarily before reaching out and pulling Adam into a hug even though the boy still wasn't awake.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, staring at She-Ra and the Sorceress. He glanced around and said, "To all of you. I know Adam would not be alive it if it weren't for you." He glanced down at the head below his chin and gave Adam's forehead a kiss. He looked to the Sorceress and asked, "He's going to be okay, right?"

"I hope so, Randor," she said honestly. Suddenly, she changed back into Zoar and began to make her way back to the castle. She didn't like leaving it unattended for so long.

The Spirit of Grayskull stayed for a moment longer and stated with confidence, "It was not his time to die. Adam is meant to lead and bring peace to both Eternia and Etheria with his family and friends by his side. If we had lost him, future battles would have been lost and evil would have reigned over these planets forever." With a final look at Adam's father the spirit said before he disappeared, "Get him to safety, King Randor."