A chill ran through Randor as he yelled for his guard and sprinted to his son's bedchamber. Marlena had insisted that they give the swords back to Adam and Adora, and while he had been a little hesitant, even after agreeing that she was right about him forcing Adam onto a path of fighting without He-Man's powers, he now realized without a doubt that the decision to take the swords had been a bad one, especially if he found what he expected to find in Adam's bedchambers.

Randor ran into the room and cried out in alarm as he saw Hordak and Skeletor pointing their weapons at his children, or should he say Adam. Like the hero he now knew his son to be, Adam was attempting to shield Adora even though he could tell she was very angry at the fact. His son had her pressed against the bed tightly where she couldn't get out from behind him unless she sat down and crawled across it, and given the circumstances, that wasn't a smart thing to do.

Determined to get their attention off his children and onto him, he yelled, "Skeletor! Hordak!"

Instantly, Skeletor turned towards him while Hordak merely looked and kept his weapon aimed at the twins. "Ah, King Randor," said Skeletor in amusement. "Come to watch your son die again?"

Randor sucked in a breath sharply as Marlena gasped. "No," he responded determinedly, "I came to watch you lose as usual!" Then, he thought angrily, "Where is the damn guard?" He took a step forward—he was prepared to fight this battle alone if he had to. He would protect his children.

"Father, no!" he heard Adam yell frantically, and Randor couldn't help but think, "At least he now knows how it feels to watch a loved one put himself in harm's way. He doesn't seem to like it any more than I do."

Then, almost like a prayer had been answered, Man-at-Arms and Teela, along with several members of the guard, ran into the room. As expected in a moment like this, the king heard Teela cry out in alarm when she realized what was happening. She didn't like his son being in the line of fire either.

"Give it up, Skeletor!" Man-at-Arms shouted. "You're surrounded and we've already captured Evil-Lyn! There's no way you're getting out of here with Adam and Adora!"

Skeletor chuckled a little and said, "That's what you think!"

Hordak merely agreed by nodding his head and adding, "Did you really think we'd come alone?"

At that moment, Adam and Adora yelled, "Look out!"

Instantly, the room was filled with Horde Troopers and Shadow Weaver, as well several of Skeletor's minions: Beastman, Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw, Mer-Man, and Modulak.

Man-at-Arms merely shook his head and exclaimed, "And, do you really think you have enough men to surround us here?" He immediately brought his comlink to his mouth and yelled, "Now! Surround the room now!"

Adam and Adora could see that even more guard had gathered outside in the hall and some had worked their way into the room so that they could aim their weapons at the new intruders.

"There's no way out," continued Duncan. "Just leave."

Skeletor glanced briefly at Hordak and replied, "Not a chance. We have the advantage! We have the prince and princess!"

Hordak started making his way to the twins while Skeletor backed up to do the same.

"No!" yelled Randor as he tossed the Sword of Protection to Teela who caught it with ease and immediately began to run with the king toward the evil duo.

=)=)=)

Adam watched the room erupt into chaos as soon as Skeletor revealed that they planned on using him and his sister to get out unscathed. His father tossed the Sword of Protection to Teela and they both ran towards them, but what surprised Adam the most was what happened behind them. Almost immediately, the Horde Troopers started shooting members of the guard and vice versa while Shadow Weaver used a spell to secure the door, which stopped more guards from entering.

Quickly, the room became engulfed in freeze-ray blasts from one side to the other while Skeletor's men started fighting one-on-one with several guardsmen, including Man-at-Arms. Adam watched in horror as one of the ray blasts hit the queen.

"Mother!" cried Adam, which immediately caught the attention of Randor and Teela. They both glanced behind them to see Marlena on the ground with Beastman heading towards her. The king quickly motioned with his head for Teela to go to her. Before Randor could turn back, however, Adam had to yell out in warning that Skeletor was approaching. "Father, look out!"

Randor immediately dropped to the floor as Skeletor swung out his Havoc Staff to hit the king in the head.

Unable to simply watch anymore, Adam squeezed his sister's side comfortingly before he sprinted towards Skeletor. Adora took this opportunity to make her way towards Hordak. Neither one had any weapons, but they knew they couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Adam ran and flew into Skeletor from behind and knocked him to the ground as his father got to his feet quickly.

"Adam!" the king exclaimed and hurriedly went to help him. Father and son immediately hoisted Skeletor to his feet and Adam held the villain's hands behind his back so he wouldn't get away.

The prince was all smiles! He grinned at his father and said excitedly, "Wow! Who would have thought King Randor and Prince Adam would be the ones to catch Skeletor!"

Before the king could smile and respond, they were distracted by Hordak. "No one would have thought it and it still hasn't happened!"

They turned to face him and were shocked to see that he had Adora in much the same manner as Adam had Skeletor. "I suggest you let him go, or you'll never see Adora again!"

Adam looked to his father and Randor shook his head negatively. "No," he answered, "if we let him go, you'll just leave with Adora. No deal."

Skeletor laughed amusedly and said, "I think you're finally wising up, Randor. Unfortunately for you, you haven't smartened up enough." Without warning, Skeletor reached his hands up to grab Prince Adam, who was still holding him at his wrists, and disappeared, taking Adam and his minions with him and leaving Hordak and his men behind!

"Adam!" Adora and Randor yelled as Hordak yelled, "Skeletor! You traitor!" He was completely distracted by Skeletor's departure.

=)=)=)

King Randor was outraged! More than that, he was incensed! He looked around and saw with the leaving of Skeletor's men that everything had just about settled down except for a few Hordesmen and Shadow Weaver, who were quickly subdued by the now unoccupied guards.

His eyes fell to his wife, who was still on the ground being attended to by Teela and Man-at-Arms. Then, with a look of hatred settling upon him, he turned to Hordak, who was still raving irately about Skeletor's betrayal. He walked over to him determinedly, held the Sword of Power over Adora's shoulder to the villain's neck, and hissed, "Let my daughter go now, or so help me I will kill you! Don't even think about trying to do otherwise!"

Immediately, Hordak jumped a little in surprise, but then he laughed. "If you think I believe—" He was quickly cut off by a sudden onslaught of pain.

The king pressed the blade slightly into his neck and a trickle of blood oozed from the wound. "Don't push me or think for one second that I won't kill you right now, Hordak! Your men just hurt my wife, you kidnapped Adora and stole twenty years of her life from me, and you just helped Skeletor—a man who almost killed my son a few days ago—capture him. I am NOT in such a forgiving and compassionate mood right now, and if you don't believe me, I guarantee it will be the last mistake you make." Randor pressed the blade even more into his neck, and Hordak quickly dropped his arms and let Adora go.

"Father!" exclaimed Adora as she wrapped her arms around the king and pushed him away from Hordak. "Don't kill him—he's not worth the pain and torment that it would bring you if you did!"

As he allowed Adora to push him away, he continued to hold the sword out until the guards brought Shadow Weaver, the only other living opponent in the room, over to stand with Hordak.

"What do you wish to do with them, sire?" one of the guards asked, but before Randor could answer Shadow Weaver laughed sinisterly.

"I thank you for your help. I was wondering how I would get to Hordak." She quickly grabbed him by the hand and they disappeared before the guardsmen could grab them.

For a moment, everyone stood there silently, looking at the spot where they had disappeared feeling completely dumbfounded. Suddenly, Randor pulled away from Adora and exploded, "For all that is sacred on Eternia, how in the WORLD can we defeat people who disappear every BLASTED time you capture them? How can anyone beat that?" He then turned furiously to a nearby low table and drove the Power Sword through it. He turned to Man-at-Arms and spat, "They have my son again, Duncan! It's time for the guard to do their job! We have to get him back and this must stop! I don't care what we have to do—I want Skeletor to regret the day he ever saw me or my son!"

The king then marched over to his wife and kneeled down beside her. Marlena was just getting over the effects of the freeze-ray, so she was able to grab his hand and comfort him. "I'm okay, Randor," she whispered. "I'm just a little stiff at the moment, but it's going away."

He nodded and looked over at Teela who was kneeling on the other side of the queen. He reached his hand out and took back the Sword of Protection from her. He smiled comfortingly at his wife and then stood. Without preamble, the king ordered, "I want everyone except Man-at-Arms, Teela, Adora, and my wife to leave the room…now. Tell all supervisors to go to the conference room and wait for me."

Immediately, the soldiers followed their orders and shut the door behind them. When Randor was sure they were away from the door, he turned to Adora and held her sword out to her. "I know it seems like all I do is make mistakes when it comes to you and Adam recently, but I want you to know that I'm very proud of you both and I'm going to try very hard to get used to the idea of Adam being He-Man and you being She-Ra…"

Cries of surprise immediately interrupted the king, and he turned to see Teela and Duncan gaping at him. He smirked at them and said, "Yes, I know now, and we will discuss your part in all of this in the near future, but for right now…" He turned back to Adora. "…I think we need to call on She-Ra to help us get her brother back. Do you think that can be arranged?"

Adora smiled, took her sword back from her father, and hugged him fiercely. "I'm sure it can be," she cried as they squeezed each other heartily. When they pulled back, Adora quickly walked away from everyone to the center of the room and held her sword up. "For the honor of Grayskull," she cried, "I am She-Ra!"

Once the transformation was complete, Randor stood before his daughter in awe. "That was…that was…something." He suddenly smiled and said, "I can't wait to see Adam turn into He-Man. I imagine it's just as spectacular." The king bent down and helped his wife get to her feet as he saw her rising.

Once standing, Queen Marlena glanced over to She-Ra and replied, "I wouldn't know. I've only seen Adora change, myself, but she claims it's even better than hers!"

She-Ra smiled and said, "Let's just say it's more electrifying."

Randor jumped at the She-Ra's voice and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I never saw the similarities before. It's like I'm looking at Adora with longer hair and a voice change."

Teela stepped forward and stated, "I haven't seen Adam turn into He-Man, yet, either, but just remembering what he looks like, I can't help but think our entire planet is filled with morons!"

Everyone, except Randor, laughed. She-Ra reached out to Teela and said, "It's part of the swords' power. You're not supposed to see how similar we are unless you already know the secret."

The king cleared his throat and said, "As much as I do want to discuss you and Adam, your alter egos, and how blind we were, I'd much rather do it after we get Adam back! The longer he's at Snake Mountain, the antsier I become. Now that She-Ra's present, let's go to the conference room and figure out what we're going to do."

=)=)=)

Prince Adam stood shocked momentarily as the environment suddenly changed into that of the throne room at Snake Mountain. When his brain finally caught up with his eyes, he pulled away from Skeletor and turned to run. Unfortunately, the only exit was blocked by a multitude of Skeletor's men.

"Sorry, Prince," exclaimed Beastman. "There's nowhere to run or hide this time…and no books to throw either."

Adam turned to him, wrinkled his brow, and snapped, "I've already proven I don't need a book or anything else to defeat you!"

Immediately, Beastman snarled and started to make his way to Adam, but Trap Jaw and Mer-Man grabbed him, shaking their heads.

Skeletor stepped around the prince and chuckled. "Pipe down, you miserable fleabag! I'm thinking," he snapped to Beastman. After a few moments of contemplation, he stated, "We may not have gotten who we went for, but I think our trip was worth it to get the opportunity to finish what I started a few days ago. Wouldn't you agree, Prince Adam?" He laughed evilly.

Adam knew the monster was referring to his death, so he swallowed roughly. He wanted to spit a scathing reply, but he became nearly paralyzed as he remembered the Sorceress' words before Skeletor had shown up: "If you die at this time, King Randor will die shortly thereafter." He didn't know what to do or say to defuse the situation or change Skeletor's plans, so he simply stood there.

Beastman stepped forward and studied him. "Oh, the prince is scared!" he exclaimed happily and laughed. Before he could produce another zinger to rouse Adam's ire, an angry voice rang throughout Snake Mountain.

"Not as scared as you and Skeletor are going to be very soon!"

Everyone in the throne room swirled around to see Hordak and Shadow Weaver barge inside, pushing Two-Bad and Tung-Lasher out of the way. "Skeletor!" yelled Hordak. "You have betrayed me one too many times, and now, you're going to answer to the Horde for your insolence!"

Skeletor turned his full attention to Hordak and stated heatedly, "Don't be a fool, Hordak! Do you really think you'll be able to catch me in my own domain? Besides, I merely made the best out of a bad situation. I knew we wouldn't be able to leave with the Princess of Eternia because your pathetic robots couldn't hold off the Royal Guard! So, I took the next best thing that I had access to." He nodded his head towards Adam. "I knew my old teacher would be able to escape, so I took those that I knew couldn't."

"Is that so, Skeletor?"

"Yes," he replied. "And, now that you're here, we can devise another plan to get the princess…"

Hordak looked at Adam and said, "I already have one. Give Prince Adam to me. Adora will follow her brother back to Etheria and we will get the added bonus of riling King Randor even more than he already is."

Skeletor immediately lifted his Havoc Staff and said, "I have more use for the Prince of Eternia than you! He and I have unfinished business. You can settle for the princess or leave Snake Mountain!"

Hordak grumbled angrily for a moment before stating, "I want Prince Adam! You owe me, Skeletor, for taking these imbeciles with you instead of me and Adora!"

"Ha! I owe you nothing, Hordak!" snapped Skeletor. "I've already told you I help no one but myself and I didn't see any gain by helping you."

"Oh, you didn't, did you? Well, how about this?" Instantly, Hordak morphed his arm into his stun gun and fired at Skeletor.

Skeletor held up a hand and absorbed the shot without a flinch or any other indication of pain. He then aimed his Havoc Staff and returned fire.

Soon, everyone else was running from the room or taking cover, because the men ceased to care about anything: people or surroundings. They only cared about defeating each other.

Adam knelt to the floor and stared at the now open entrance. "If I can just make it out there, I can escape!" he thought. Carefully and slowly so he wouldn't draw attention to himself, Adam crawled towards the door.