Adam crouched low to the ground and crawled towards the door. With all the chaos that was ensuing, no one even looked at him! Beastman and the others who had remained in the room tried desperately to avoid getting hit by the numerous stun rays that scattered almost everywhere—to do this, their attention could only be on Hordak and Skeletor.

"And, take that, Hordak!" he heard Skeletor yell just as he crossed the threshold into the hallway. Immediately, he turned the corner, and once he was out of sight, he stood and sprinted towards the stairs. He knew as soon as Skeletor or Hordak realized he was gone, they would start looking for him. Since he didn't have his sword to turn into He-Man, he knew at this time the best course of action was to run.

The minute Adam got to the stairs, he quickly jumped down the steps two at a time. While he didn't want to break his neck trying to escape, he knew he didn't have a moment to spare. When Beastman had joked earlier that he had been scared, that had actually been the truth. Of course, it was for totally different reasons than Beastman had believed: he wasn't afraid of dying. As a matter of fact, part of him always believed he would die young, thanks to his obligations as He-Man. He didn't want to die—he wanted to live, but he was prepared for the worst. It would be foolish not to be; he knew everyday could be his last. Death would not blindside him. What scared him was the possibility of his father dying if something happened to him. The Sorceress said it would happen, and he didn't doubt her.

So, Adam's main objective was to stay alive at this point. If he had the Sword of Power with him, he might have thought about giving Skeletor a little payback for all the hassles he had put his family and him through recently. How he wished he could do so at that moment, and the thought made him smile despite his current predicament. The irony was not lost on him. For a long time, he had the desire to "get away" from He-Man and just be Prince Adam for a while. He realized now that he had spent more extended time as Adam this week than he ever had since obtaining the Sword of Power…and he absolutely felt like a part of himself was in hibernation. It wasn't missing—he could still feel that part of himself, but just like a bear wouldn't rouse him or herself completely until the spring, he couldn't do so without his sword. And, it was driving him crazy!

He didn't know when he would get back to the palace, but he was already determined to have a long talk with his father. Prince Adam was He-Man and He-Man was Prince Adam. He realized he had never really understood that completely until now. He had tricked himself into believing that they were two separate people—he had conditioned himself to think that way, so he would never slip up and say "I" when referring to He-Man. But Prince Adam didn't cease to exist when he became He-Man, and his father needed to realize that being He-Man, taking that alter ego, was the most natural thing in the world to him and the king would be crippling him if he took that ability away. Would Prince Adam be able to survive? Yes. But instinctively, he would always want to turn to that part of himself that he wouldn't be able to access fully first, and in those crucial moments, that could prove hazardous.

But of course, those thoughts and that conversation had to wait. Right now, he had to get out of Snake Mountain and back to Eternos. And, at that moment, the necessity became a little harder to achieve.

=)=)=)

Skeletor paid no attention to the debris and dust flying across the room. All that mattered was defeating Hordak. His throne room chair had been destroyed, his council table had been split, his view screen had been busted, and the walls had massive chunks missing. The Lord of Snake Mountain was oblivious to it all.

At that moment, he was looking up at Hordak who currently had the bottom portion of his body in rocket form. The Horde leader swooped down hurriedly to catch his foe in a net, but Skeletor quickly disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room.

"You're getting slow, old friend," quipped Skeletor. "Maybe you should concede to the better villain." He laughed amusedly.

"When I see a better villain, I might, traitor!" Quickly, Hordak shot another stun beam at him, which Skeletor avoided by simply turning his body sideways.

Skeletor laughed again and bragged, "I have come closer to conquering Eternia and obtaining the secrets of Castle Grayskull than you ever have, Hordak, and I do it all without a pathetic army of tin cans and imbeciles with no brains! You may have been the teacher once, but maybe if you stick around and watch, you might learn something." He then shot a beam into the air and broke off a chunk of the ceiling which fell alarmingly close to Hordak before he shot out of the way.

"So you claim," the Hordesman scoffed, "but from what I see you live in a snake pit with a bunch of buffoons who couldn't capture a sea fish on their best day!" He shot again and looked around the room. He saw the destruction and everyone cowering in terror. He paused as he studied each person carefully. Suddenly, he yelled, "Idiot! Do you realize what you've done?"

Skeletor quickly made his Havoc Staff appear and exclaimed, "YES! DEFEATED YOU!" Another attempt to hit Hordak was made and this time, he found his target. Hordak fell to the ground and landed with a sickening thud. Instantly, Skeletor laughed successfully and pumped his fists in victory. "I've done it! I have defeated Hordak! What a wonderful day! First, I get Prince Adam and now…"

Skeletor paused once he looked around the room and noticed that the prince was no longer in sight.

"FOOLS!" yelled Skeletor as he turned to Beastman and the others. "Where is Prince Adam?"

The villains looked around as Skeletor shot his Havoc Staff out to the right and caught Shadow Weaver, who had taken cover behind several large boulders which had fallen from the ceiling, in a force field. While he moved the conjurer to Hordak, he snapped, "Sound the alarms and release the robots! Prince Adam cannot escape!"

Beastman did as asked. Thankfully, the control panel for the alarms still worked. Afterward, Skeletor's men ran from the room to recapture the prince as Skeletor looked at his prisoners and thought about what he should do with them.

Despite Adam's escape, he laughed in amusement.

=)=)=)

It was so surreal to him. King Randor stared at She-Ra as she sat beside him and talked to Man-at-Arms about the plans he had just shared with them. They were figuring out who would do what, and it was shocking to see how confident and how Adora-like the woman truly was.

It didn't change anything. His worries from before were still there—he was still afraid for his children. He still didn't like that they faced evil day after day. The fact that She-Ra was more like Adora than Adora was like She-Ra (if that made any sense) was a little unsettling. Adora was able to make mistakes and get hurt whereas She-Ra had always seemed omnipotent and godlike, just like He-Man. With that perception lost, it changed everything, and he knew he had to work through that. Marlena had been right earlier. He would have pushed Adam and Adora into fighting on their own and they might have gotten hurt. He had already proven that to himself with Adam's second abduction. Because of his decision to take Adam's sword, it was very possible his son might get hurt again. It was the same result no matter what he did for his children, but at least they had a better chance with Castle Grayskull's powers helping them.

Of course, that didn't mean he liked it. Not by a long shot. And, he did have plans to go back to Castle Grayskull to talk with the Sorceress about it. He understood that she gave up much herself to protect this planet…but she had to understand his side of things, too. They needed to come up with a better plan than simply presuming that He-Man and She-Ra could handle everything. After all, the more he thought about it, the more he realized the Sorceress had given Teela to Man-at-Arms, not to protect Grayskull but to protect her child. It was clear to him that just like Adam had to take his spot one day, it was likely Teela had to take hers. He couldn't help but ask himself if that was the case, why had the Sorceress allowed Teela to be raised elsewhere? Didn't it make more sense for Teela to learn her responsibilities and observe her mother as she grew up? It would have made the transition easier. She would have had an idea of what to do when her time came. The only answer that made sense is that she wanted to protect her daughter. She wanted her in a safe environment with a loving parent who could devote a hundred percent of his time to her. She had done something for Teela and herself instead of Castle Grayskull when she gave her child to Man-at-Arms, and he wanted to do the same. He knew now that he couldn't stop Adam and Adora from protecting people or becoming He-Man or She-Ra, but he knew there had to be a way to make their lives easier and he would find it, just like the Sorceress had for Teela.

The thought made him feel a little better, but first, he had to get Adam back, which brought him out of his reverie and back to the present.

King Randor stood and asked, "Has everyone arrived?"

Man-at-Arms nodded and answered, "Yes, sire."

"Then, let's do this."

King Randor, Queen Marlena, She-Ra, Teela, and Man-at-Arms rose from the table and made their way to the lower balcony of the palace where the king addressed the masses when he had to. Once they arrived, the king immediately went to the group of people present. "It's good to see all of you—I only hate that it's under such unfortunate and dire circumstances," Randor stated.

King Stefen, Randor's brother, stepped forward and replied, "I hate it, too, but at least everyone realizes we can come together when needed." The Dyperian monarch then gestured towards his other siblings, friends, and over the balcony and continued, "There's quite a turnout."

King Randor and Queen Marlena took the center spot between all the members of Royalty present, stepped up to the balcony's railing, and looked out onto the crowd. The city square wasn't filled with commoners or street merchants now. As far as the eye could see in every direction, soldiers of Eternos, Dyperia, Morainia, and many other kingdoms on the planet stood at attention waiting to be addressed by Eternia's High King.

Excitement buzzed in the air because they knew a war was approaching—the last time King Randor had called upon all the armies within the allied kingdoms, they had been fighting the Horde. That meant this moment was monumental.

"Are you sure this is the right course of action?" asked Marlena. "What if Skeletor hurts Adam when he sees us coming?"

"He wouldn't dare when he sees the size of this accompaniment—surely, he wouldn't be that stupid."

The king stood before the microphone then raised his arms in a gesture to tell the gathering that he was about to speak. Despite the multitude of people present, not a sound was heard as they waited for King Randor to speak:

"Citizens of Eternia, brothers and sisters-in-arms, today…today is a day that no one had anticipated on in the foreseeable future, and yet, it has arrived. The last time Eternia had such a day, a hostile force called the Horde had invaded our planet. Most of you were babes in your mothers' arms or not even born, and I was a young man around your age. Much has changed since that time. Over the years, I have ruled along with the other kings, queens, and prime ministers you see before you in peace. Together, we showed the world, and perhaps the universe, that there are better ways to rule and better ways to settle disagreements. Every one of you knows that I strive to always find a peaceful solution to every problem. I do not take lightly the consequences of calling our kingdoms' soldiers to arms. I know what I am asking of you, and given that, you have a right to know why I have called upon you.

"Skeletor has always been a thorn in our sides, a menace that tries periodically to shake our unity and our very way of life. I am proud to say that we have always succeeded in keeping that threat at bay. But today, friends, we have a new chapter to write. We did not ask for this change, but it must be done in light of what Skeletor has done.

"For those of you unaware, our mutual enemy has taken extraordinary measures recently to take over our planet. He devised several plans to invade Castle Grayskull which thankfully, He-Man thwarted…but our champion did not walk away unscathed. I do not need to explain to you the seriousness of this news—you know. Also, Skeletor has kidnapped members of the Royal Family several times this week alone including myself. Right now, Skeletor has your future High King , Prince Adam, at Snake Mountain. He has threatened his life recently and even almost succeeded in that threat a few mere days ago.

"I call upon you because I would like your help in getting my son—your future king—back, but I do not wish to force you if you think the risk is too great. If this is how you feel, you may leave now. There will be no reprimand or loss of honor—you may go about your life in peace as you always have."

King Randor paused and looked around. No one moved. Every soldier stayed alert and at attention. After several moments he continued:

"I will not lie to you. I do not know what will happen today. I do not know if all of you will come back alive, but I will promise that everyone will be brought back. Just like you are unwilling to leave my son in the clutches of a madman, I will not leave you.

"Skeletor has changed the status quo. He uses deadly force to get his way now. I am a man of peace, but there is a time when every man and woman has to fight for what is right and what they believe in. Sometimes a fight is unavoidable. We must send Skeletor a message today—united, we will show him that we will NOT tolerate his villainy or his threats. Right now he targets the Royal Family of Eternos, but how long will it take before he turns to one of you? I do not want to see that day—you do not want to see that day.

"Today, we stand unified in our desire to keep Eternia free…free from tyranny, constant war, and hate! Today, citizens, we march on Snake Mountain!"

Immediately, the soldiers raised their arms and yelled in cries of support.

King Randor felt tears gather in his eyes and he nodded at the crowd. He turned slightly to Man-at-Arms who was behind him and said, "Brief our leaders on which side of Snake Mountain they will be stationed and at what time. We must prevent Skeletor's escape, so we must be there together and covering both land and air."

Duncan bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

As the soldier began to walk away, Randor called out, "Duncan!"

When the man turned around, he said simply, "Thank you."

Duncan merely nodded and smiled encouragingly.