A shrill laugh could be heard through all the corridors of Snake Mountain. Skeletor sat on his throne and looked around the room at his minions. His plan was going perfectly; soon no one would be able to stand between him and Castle Grayskull, especially not He-Man.

Evil-Lyn eyed Skeletor with a look of suppressed hatred and asked, "And, why are you so happy today, Skeletor? He-Man has foiled our plans once again to take over Castle Grayskull."

Skeletor stood, chuckled evilly, and answered, "A stupid question, Evil-Lyn. You might have been trying to take over Castle Grayskull yesterday, but that was never my intention."

"What?" asked Evil-Lyn, suddenly appalled; "Then, what were we doing?"

"Exactly what we accomplished," said Skeletor, almost flippantly. "Collectively, we have kept Eternia's Champion on his toes for the better part of the season."

"Yes, and he's won every time!" she replied smugly.

"And, so he has," Skeletor said, unfazed. "But I doubt he'll defeat us for much longer. Soon, Castle Grayskull will be mine!" He started laughing while Evil-Lyn looked over at Tri-clops, who simply shrugged.

"And, just how do you think you're going to take over Grayskull? He-Man…"

"He-Man," Skeletor repeated angrily. He was quickly growing tired of having to explain everything to the fools. "He-Man will not be a problem for much longer. Along with the countless trials I have put He-Man through recently and the effort he must have used to stop the Magic Orb, there is no way He-Man walked away unharmed. I have weakened him! And, very soon, I will defeat him…but first, we need to test him. I need to know if I've done enough to prevent him from stopping our inevitable take-over."

Evil-Lyn finally laughed. Skeletor's plan was finally dawning on her. "So, all this time, we've been really tiring He-Man out. Eventually, he'll drop of overexertion."

"And, Eternia will be mine!" Skeletor cried and laughed, raising his hands as if he were already declaring victory.

=)=)=)

 

Adam stood next to the AttakTrak as Man-at-Arms made sure everything was in working order for their trip to Grayskull. "I don't like this," he said.

Man-at-Arms jumped out of the vehicle and regarded the young prince carefully. "What exactly?"

Adam sighed and leaned against a nearby pole. "Everything! I feel like I don't even know what's going on here half the time anymore. Father has always been…well, disappointed by the way I act sometimes, but I can't believe how he's been acting recently. I can't even fathom what's caused it. He's questioning my truthfulness all the time, almost like he knows something and that I'm lying to him. And, now this trip to Grayskull…"

Duncan watched Adam as he looked down and shook his head sadly. He reached out a steady hand and gripped the prince's shoulder firmly. "Your father is worried about you, lad. He has his reasons. You've been gone a lot recently, more than we're accustomed to, and last night, you scared everyone, including me. The king is a man who likes to be in charge of everything and know all the facts, and unfortunately, he feels as though he's not getting that from you. You are his son; it scares him that you're possibly hiding things from him. In fact, he's told me so."

Adam slumped as he stared at Man-at-Arms. "He told you that?" he questioned and watched as Duncan nodded.

Slowly, Adam walked a few feet away from Duncan and looked up at the baby blue sky above him. "Sometimes I think things would just be easier if there were no He-Man."

Just as Duncan was about to open his mouth, Adam turned around looked at him, and said, "But I know there has to be. I know Eternia would have a harder battle to fight if he wasn't around. It's just that it seems like He-Man is needed a little bit more each day. While He-Man saves Eternia and allows everyone else's life to go on, Prince Adam's seems to be standing still." He looked down and said, "Well, in light of recent events, it seems like my life is going backwards. My parents don't trust me anymore. I'm becoming more tired day in and day out because of He-Man's deeds and the worries that plague my everyday life. I-I just don't know what to do anymore, Duncan."

Duncan walked over and hugged him as best as he could since he was wearing his armor.

Adam was slightly surprised, but he hugged him back briefly before pulling away. "What was that for?"

Duncan looked him in the eye and said, "I want you to know I'm here for you. There is not a problem that I won't help you find a solution to. Things look dim now, Adam, but things will get better. You will find a way to make everything work again. You always do. I have faith in you."

Adam smiled slightly and nodded. He sighed deeply and said, "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."

Duncan patted him on the back and Adam quickly added softly, "But I also need to figure out what to do about my overzealous father."

Duncan looked in the direction of where Adam was staring and saw the king and Teela heading their way.

=)=)=)

They were all settled in the AttakTrak. Man-at-Arms was driving and the king sat beside him. Teela, Adam, and Cringer occupied the backseat. Everyone sat in silence. Every so often, Teela would look in Adam's direction but turn away just as Adam would turn his head to look at her. After this repeated for at least the eighth time, Adam leaned over and whispered, "What's wrong, Teela?"

Man-at-Arms and King Randor glanced toward the backseat, aware that Adam had said something to Teela even though they couldn't hear exactly what.

Teela met Adam's eyes and opened her mouth to respond when she suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She looked towards her father, and Adam followed her eyes. Both their fathers had their ears turned toward them, obviously listening for whatever they could hear. Adam shook his head and mouthed, "Later." She nodded.

The rest of the ride was once again traveled in silence. The only change was that now Adam found himself staring at Teela every so often, wondering what was plaguing her. However, once Castle Grayskull came into view his thoughts immediately went to what was about to happen. What would happen when his father asked the Sorceress what had happened yesterday? Did she even know they were coming and for what reasons?

It didn't take long for at least part of Adam's questions to be answered. As soon as they stepped out of the AttakTrak, the drawbridge of the castle immediately dropped. It was an obvious invitation by the Sorceress. Adam glanced over at Man-at-Arms who was already looking at him. They were hopeful. If the Sorceress expected them, then she must be aware of Randor's upcoming questions, right?

Adam took a step forward when he noticed Teela was right at his side, looking around with wide-eyes. He stopped walking and said softly, "Uh, Teela, are you okay?"

She nodded without looking at him and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

He glanced at his father and Man-at-Arms who were farther ahead of them walking towards the drawbridge. "Well, first you were staring at me on the way here, and now you're looking everywhere but at me. Come on, what's going on?"

She finally looked at him and said, "I was just looking at our surroundings, Adam. I'm the Captain of the Guard and your bodyguard, so it is my job to make sure you and the king are safe."

He nodded slowly, accepting her explanation as to why she was looking around, but that didn't explain her staring at him in the AttakTrak; however, he decided to let that slide for now. His father was almost inside Grayskull and he was not about to let the Sorceress face his father's questions alone without his help, interference, or whatever else she needed.

He and Cringer started running towards Grayskull, and Teela quickly yelled after them, "Adam! Wait for me!"

=)=)=)

As they walked inside Grayskull, Duncan couldn't help but shudder. The last time he had walked within those walls, he had been certain Adam had been hurt. His mind flashed to the image of a sleeping He-Man on the Sorceress' bed. He had never been as scared as he had been that night. He shook his head and followed his king. He didn't want to think about it, not now. He needed to focus on what was about to happen.

As a group, they moved towards the Sorceress' throne. She was sitting in her chair, looking down at them. Once they stopped moving, the Sorceress stood and said, "King Randor, your visit is an honor."

Randor nodded and said, "It's good to see you again, Sorceress. I just wish it wasn't always under hard circumstances."

The Sorceress raised an eyebrow as if she were unaware of what the "hard circumstances" were this time. Adam gulped nervously and reached down to scratch Cringer who was standing beside him.

"Sorceress," Randor began, not giving her the opportunity to say anything, "I've been made aware of the fact that you probably rescued my son yesterday. You contacted Man-at-Arms to come and get him from Grayskull. Adam--I am sad to say--is unaware of the events that occurred, and I was hoping you could shed some light on this matter. You see, the prince is dreadfully sore and has slept for the better part of the day. I would really like to know what happened yesterday and especially to him."

The Sorceress opened her mouth to answer Randor when suddenly a loud boom resounded throughout Castle Grayskull.

"What was that?" yelled Adam.

The Sorceress closed her eyes and concentrated. Her eyes snapped open suddenly and she said quickly, "It's Skeletor! He's outside. I didn't see them coming because I was more concerned…" she trailed off as she stared down at Adam.

Another loud boom echoed throughout the castle and Cringer said, "That's it! I'm outta here." He took off running towards the back of the castle.

"CRINGER," Adam yelled and immediately took off after him.

"Adam!" screamed Randor and Teela as they witnessed the prince run after the scared tiger.

Teela immediately turned to run after Adam, but Duncan quickly grabbed her arm and asked hurriedly, "Where are you going?"

"After Adam," she answered and tried to pull her arm out of his grip. After a second of pointless squirming, she yelled, "Father, let me go! I have to go after him. There is no telling what is about to happen."

He shook his head and yelled, "There is no time, Teela! We need you to help fend off Skeletor! Adam will be fine if we prevent Skeletor from entering Grayskull. Now, come on."

Duncan ran towards the drawbridge. Teela looked in the direction Adam went hesitantly and then ran to her father deciding he was right.

=)=)=)

Skeletor watched as his loyal men pulled the rope they attached to the drawbridge with all their might. He knew it would work. It had before. Skeletor raised his Havoc Staff and also joined in on the effort. It only took less than a minute for the drawbridge to begin lowering.

Once the drawbridge came down completely with a large thud, Skeletor stared at the opening waiting to face whoever was there to confront him. Who he saw surprised him. "Man-at-Arms, Teela, King Randor?" he questioned, laughingly. He looked around and thought, "He-Man isn't in sight. Where is he? And, why is Randor here? Is it true? Is He-Man unable to fight? Is that why they are here? Did I already defeat Grayskull's Champion?"

Skeletor laughed and looked over at Tri-clops and Beastman. "Get them, you two!"

Just as Tri-clops and Beastman took a step forward, a familiar voice was heard from within Grayskull. "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you."

Suddenly, He-Man and Battlecat stepped out of the darkness. Teela looked beside her and back behind her, "He-Man, where did you come from? Did you see Adam?"

He ignored her questions and looked at the king to say, "Stay back, your majesty." He then turned his attention to his real concern and yelled, "Give it up, Skeletor!" He rode Battlecat a little farther out as he pulled his sword out of its sheath.

"Never!" yelled Skeletor as he aimed his Havoc Staff squarely at the hero's chest and shot an energy beam at him.

He-Man quickly blocked the hit and jumped off of Battlecat, prepared for Skeletor's next move.

Skeletor glanced at Evil-Lyn and whispered, "I can't tell. He looks fine, but it could be a façade. What do you think?"

"I say it's a bluff," Evil-Lyn whispered confidently. "Notice the darkness under his eyes and his reluctance to do anything right now. He's waiting for us to make our move instead of forcing us to leave like he usually does."

"I need to be sure," replied Skeletor. He turned to his other side and whispered, "Beastman, attack him."

"Huh?" gasped Beastman.

"You heard me, you flea-infested rug! Now, get over there and fight him…or else."

Beastman swallowed nervously and said, "As you wish, Skeletor."

Beastman quickly ran across the bridge towards He-Man.

He-Man quickly picked Beastman up with a loud grunt and threw him into nearby mud. "Anyone else?" asked He-Man as Man-at-Arms and Teela came to stand beside him.

Skeletor nodded at the rest of his companions and ordered, "Get them you, fools!"

Evil-Lyn, Trap-Jaw, and Tri-clops ran at them. Evil-Lyn raised her wand at Teela who quickly kicked it away. Tri-clops ran at Man-at-Arms, while Trap-Jaw went right to He-Man with his gun blasting. He-Man avoided his shots and blocked what came near him with his sword. He started making his way to the villain and said, "You're going to have to do better than that."

"I intend to," said Trap-Jaw, who suddenly jumped at He-Man and flung himself into him.

"Oomph!" He-Man let out as Trap-Jaw's shoulder rammed into his gut and they crashed to the ground.

Trap-Jaw quickly got up and He-Man took this opportunity to grab onto his leg and trip him. He-Man got to his feet shaking slightly while Skeletor watched. Quickly, Trap-Jaw was back on his feet and shot another ray at He-Man.

This enraged Skeletor, realizing physicality might do better considering He-Man's condition. "No, you, fool! Must I do everything myself!" Skeletor made his Havoc Staff disappear and ran at He-Man from behind. "I've got you now, He-Man," cried Skeletor as he stepped behind He-Man and drove his fist into his adversary’s side.

He-Man immediately yelled in pain, turned around, grabbed Skeletor, picked him up, and threw him at Trap-Jaw who did his best to catch his master with one arm.

After shaking the cobwebs off for several seconds, Skeletor stood and made his staff reappear. "I'm not done with you yet, He-Man!" he cried.

He pointed his staff at a nearby hawk and made it at least a hundred times larger than it was. "Beastman!" Skeletor yelled at the figure crawling up the embankment.

Beastman gave the creature his command and instantly the bird was flying at He-Man.

"Watch out!" yelled Duncan, who finally gained the upper hand with Tri-clops and had put him and Evil-Lyn in a port-a-prison.

He-Man jumped out of the way of the flying creature and rolled on the ground. Almost immediately, the bird was on him again and this time caught him with his massive claws. He started struggling against the animal but to no avail.

"He-Man!" Duncan, Teela, and the Sorceress yelled simultaneously.

Skeletor raised his hands in victory and laughed devilishly. "I told you I have you now, He-Man! But incase you didn't believe me before, I think you'll believe it now!" He raised his staff at the bird and almost instantly, the hawk became its normal size and He-Man fell to the ground at a high-rate of speed.

"I must break his fall!" said the Sorceress.

"Oh, no, you don't!" yelled Skeletor and shot a beam at her. The Sorceress dodged Skeletor's efforts and held He-Man as best as she could with her powers until he landed with a small thud onto the drawbridge.

He-Man laid there for a second, breathing deeply, before forcing himself to get up.

Beastman walked up to Skeletor, still wiping the mud off of him and asked, "Why did you let He-Man go? We could have won."

"Patience," replied Skeletor, holding his hand up to silence him. "I have seen enough for tonight." He disappeared without a word and took all his minions with him.

"He-Man, are you all right?" questioned Duncan as Teela and King Randor ran to them.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm fine. I'm still a little sore from yesterday, but nothing time won't cure."

He-Man breathed in sharply and Randor looked at him in surprise, "What? You, too? You got hurt yesterday?"

He-Man looked up and realized he said too much, "Uh, yes, your majesty."

"What happened?" asked Randor; "And, did it involve my son?"

"Your son?" repeated He-Man, desperately wanting to get away from Randor, not only because of his questions, but he was tired of hiding the pain he was currently in.

"Yes, Prince Adam."

"No, he wasn't involved yesterday. Why do you ask?" he said hastily as he headed back towards Grayskull.

Randor started following him. "He's been sore since yesterday, too, and he says he doesn't remember what happened. I'm starting to wonder if whatever happened to you is related to whatever happened to him."

He-Man turned to him wide-eyed and said, "I don't see how."

"I do," came a voice from inside Grayskull.

Everyone jumped at the sudden interruption and walked towards the Sorceress.

"It is related?" asked Randor, walking to her with much hope in his eyes. He needed to know what happened to his son.

"Yes," she answered. "He-Man stopped a magic orb yesterday from destroying Grayskull. It exploded and Adam was in the range of that explosion, I'm afraid. That's why he's so sore and not able to remember anything."

He-Man sighed in relief that the Sorceress came up with a believable explanation and one that was somewhat true. "And, with that," he said slowly, "I need to be going."

Randor watched as He-Man left and walked by the AttakTrak. He then turned around and said, "Now, I need to go find that son of mine."

"Yes, we do," said Teela eagerly.

The Sorceress immediately responded by saying, "Adam's already outside. He ran out during the battle after Cringer. I believe they got inside the AttakTrak."

Teela's jaw dropped. "Adam ran out while the battle was taking place? I didn't even see him! What has gotten into him?" She immediately ran for the vehicle, while Man-at-Arms looked at the Sorceress and mouthed, "Thank you."

She nodded.

=)=)=)

Teela glared inside the AttakTrak at the figure who was sitting in the backseat with his face pointed towards the ceiling of the vehicle, one arm around his midsection, and his other hand absentmindedly scratching the tiger beside him. "There you are!" she said, angrily as she opened the vehicle.

"Hi, Teela," replied Adam tiredly.

"Oh, don't you 'Hi, Teela' me!" she snapped. "Do you have any idea how foolish you've been today?"

He brought his head down, looked at the captain, and asked, "What did I do, now?"

"What did you do?" she shrieked. "You should know! You ran out here during the battle to chase Cringer. You could have been killed! I don't even know how I missed seeing you, much less Skeletor. What if he came after you? You really need to start thinking about your actions, Adam. You're already hurt because you don't think before you act."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked slightly offended at her words.

Teela got in the back and sat beside him as Cringer got into the floorboard. "Oh, I don't know," she admitted. "I'm just…this is the second time you've scared me in less than a twenty-four hour period. I don't like it, Adam. I don't like you getting hurt and I don't like you endangering yourself, at least not when I'm unable to protect you. I was so preoccupied with Evil-Lyn that I didn't even notice you. What if…"

"I'm fine, Teela. Nothing happened," he assured her.

"That's not the point, Adam! Do you realize how many people would be devastated if something happened to you? I wouldn't be able to live with myself…"

He interrupted her. "No one would blame you, Teela. You're the best bodyguard in all of Eternia."

She widened her eyes and stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

He fidgeted under her scrutiny and questioned, "Uh, Teela?"

"Do you think that's the only reason why we're having this conversation?" she spat; "Because I'm afraid of what people will think about me if something happens to you?"

He opened his mouth, but Teela shook her head vigorously and said, "Well, let me tell you something, Prince Adam, that is NOT that case."

He was about to question what the case was when King Randor and Man-at-Arms climbed inside the AttakTrak.

"Well," Randor said, "I'm glad to see that everyone is no worse for wear after the encounter with Skeletor. How are you feeling, Adam?"

Adam turned away from Teela and answered, "Fine, Father. I'm still a little sore, especially after running after Cringer so much but I'm okay."

Randor turned around, eyed Cringer, and said to Adam, "Maybe the both of you need to take it easy for a while. No excitement. No worries. Just rest and relaxation."

"S-sounds good to me," said Cringer enthusiastically.

Adam looked towards Grayskull and thought to himself, "Sounds good, not possible."