King Randor stood in front of the mirror as Marlena helped attach his blue cape to his battle armor. He wore a red-orange shirt as well as a red-orange chest armor with a golden breastplate that extended from his shoulders to a cross that stretched down his torso. In the center of that cross was a blue jewel that matched the color of his cape. Aside from that, he also wore a red fur-pant (which was slightly darker than his shirt), and yellow-orange tights, along with blue boots. He hadn't worn this in years—since the war with the Horde—but it still fit, and he knew it would serve its purpose now.

"You look like a force to be reckoned with, my love," stated Marlena as she stepped around his body to face him. She slipped his golden wrist guards on each arm carefully and then pulled on them to make sure they were secure.

He could tell she was nervous. "That's the idea, my queen," he whispered as he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips for a soft kiss. He wanted the action to comfort her, but he quickly noticed that the opposite had occurred.

Tears gathered in her eyes and she cried, "I hate this, but I know you have to go! You have to lead the troops. It's just..." She stretched herself upward and kissed Randor softly. When she pulled away, she continued, "Promise me you will bring Adam, Adora, and yourself home safely."

He wrapped his arms around his wife and whispered, "I promise. Nothing will stop me from doing so."

At that moment, Man-at-Arms walked into the room and cleared his throat. When the couple turned to look at him, he said, "Forgive me, Your Majesties, but everyone is ready."

"It's time," Randor whispered as he looked at the queen once more. He kissed her quickly and then went to the bed. He picked up a spear which he handed to Man-at-Arms, who had walked over to him. It was the king's usual weapon, but it wasn't what he would carry for right now. Instead, he picked up the Sword of Power in his hand. He had already decided that he would carry and fight with this weapon until he returned it safely to its rightful owner. He knew that it would be a symbolic moment between him and his son, and he looked forward to doing it.

And, he had no doubt that it would happen.

=)=)=)

Adam continued to run down the steps of Snake Mountain until he heard the alarm ring throughout the air. He knew if he stayed on the main staircase they would find him immediately now that they knew he was missing, so he quickly ran through the hall on one of the floors and hid behind one of the many pillars that held the mountain together.

In the distance he saw Skeletor's robots heading his way, so he hoped the machines hadn't caught sight of him. Fortunately, when they reached his location, they moved right past him without hesitation.

He sighed in relief, but despite escaping detection, he knew he couldn't stay there. He had to get out of Snake Mountain; otherwise, they would find him eventually.

Cautiously, he stuck his head out from behind the column and looked in both directions. When he saw the coast was clear, he ran to an obscure staircase that he knew about, thanks to his explorations of Snake Mountain as He-Man. He knew Skeletor wouldn't expect Prince Adam to know about it, so he wouldn't think to look there right away.

He could only hope that about the time Skeletor and his crew did think to look there, he would be long gone and well on his way back to Eternos.

=)=)=)

Randor stood beside his family and assured them, "We will be victorious, and we will get Adam back."

"I have no doubt about that," She-Ra said as she climbed onto Swiftwind. Earlier, she had asked the Sorceress to bring Spirit to her and she had obliged. Her father wanted her to lead the air attack and she would rather have Swiftwind than a Skysled or a Windraider when taking on such a big task.

Randor walked over to his brothers and sister and hugged each of them. "Thank you for helping me," he whispered as they all nodded and hugged him back.

"We wouldn't have it any other way," replied Stefen when his brother and he parted, but everyone suddenly got quiet as they saw a man approach them from behind Randor.

"Good," said a familiar voice, interrupting the moment, "I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time."

Immediately, Randor twirled around to see King Miro walking towards them. "Father!" he exclaimed as he ran towards him and hugged him fiercely. Soon, all of Randor's siblings joined them and they found themselves in a huge group hug.

When they parted, Miro smiled briefly at all of his children. He then turned to look at Marlena and all of the others present. "That would have been a perfect moment if Marlena had joined us and two weren't missing," he observed.

Tears gathered in Randor's eyes, but he blinked them away quickly.

Miro clutched Randor's bicep and stated, "I have heard Skeletor has my grandson—I came to offer my assistance—but where is my granddaughter? I've heard she's home."

The King of Eternia looked to She-Ra absentmindedly and then caught himself. He knew when people spoke of Adora that he really shouldn't immediately turn to glance at She-Ra. That would seem more than a little odd to those who were not aware of whom She-Ra really was.

He quickly realized he had to stop himself from having reactions like that. His instincts to such occasions might have been a reason why the Sorceress felt the need for his children to keep their secrets from him in the first place. He sighed, knowing that he couldn't tell his father his children's secrets, and answered, "She's distraught that Skeletor has her brother—she wanted to be alone, but she's safe." It was the best excuse he could think of at the spur of the moment.

King Miro believed it. He nodded and looked around at everyone present. "What do you want me to do, son?"

Randor bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment, knowing Miro might not like his answer. "Truthfully, there is something I would like for you to do. I was nervous about leaving Marlena here alone and there being…no one to help her in the future if something should happen."

His wife gasped.

"Nothing's going to happen," he reassured her, glancing at her briefly before turning back to his father, "but I'd feel much better if you were here with her...just in case."

King Miro grimaced at the request but stepped back and studied his son in his battle armor. "I'll admit I want to go to this battle with you," he replied, "but I've heard many stories of you and our troops defeating the Horde. I have no doubt that you'll be able to overcome this threat, too…so yes, I'll stay with Marlena. If it will give you peace of mind while fighting, I'll do it."

Randor nodded and immediately hugged his father, realizing that this was something he would also have to do constantly with Adam in the near future, but the roles would be reversed. He would have to look into Adam's eyes—or He-Man's—and agree to stay behind while his son defended Eternia from whatever problems arose to threaten them. It ashamed him that he hadn't handled it with as much class as his father had just done when the notion of Adam fighting first arose.

Rightly, his father hadn't fought him—he had merely accepted it, knowing his son had to fight to get Adam back and to keep Eternia safe.

Turning away from Miro in his shame, he found Marlena right behind him. She cupped his face tenderly and whispered, "I know what you're thinking. They're two separate situations entirely. You have an army with you and your father knows you won't be doing this almost every single day of your life. Please don't torture yourself. Adam and Adora understand why you reacted as you did, and you're correcting it. You have no reason to feel guilty for being a father and wanting to protect your children. No one faults you."

The king smiled lightly and hugged his wife tightly. "I love you, Marlena," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

He pulled away and grinned. "And, I can't wait to get back so you can continue to keep me straight!"

She laughed and boasted, "You and Adam!"

He nodded and whispered, "Well, this is it, my queen. Wish us luck."

"You don't need it, Randor, but I'll do it anyway."

=)=)=)

Adam ran down the steps until he could barely move anymore. He wanted desperately to get out of Skeletor's lair. He wasn't sure why, but he had an unshakable feeling that if he just got outside, he would be safe at that very instant. He knew that belief was illogical, but he could hardly argue with the desire. He wanted nothing more than to leave Snake Mountain whether his feeling was true or not.

So, he ignored the pain in his legs and kept moving.

After several more minutes of running and sometimes stumbling slightly down the steps, the prince found himself on the ground floor. "Thank the Ancients," he mumbled to himself.

Leaving the stairwell, he peered into the corridor that would lead to the waterfall exit of the mountain. He looked in every direction, and when he reassured himself that no one else was present, he took off running.

He couldn't believe he was getting out of Snake Mountain so easily! "I'll have to remember to thank Hordak the next time I see him!" he thought with a smirk. He knew if it hadn't been for the Horde dictator, he might not have ever gotten the opportunity to escape. It was another ironic moment that joined so many others recently. This was one he was grateful for, though.

In the short distance, he saw the exit and the ruby red waterfall. His body filled with immense relief and he found himself running even faster. Just as he was within ten feet of the exit, a being stepped from behind a pillar in front of him.

It was Beastman.

Adam immediately gasped and stopped abruptly as the villain snarled at him.

"There's no escape for you, Prince Adam!" he snapped. "Skeletor had plans to kill you, but I think I'm going to do it myself. The payback for humiliating me will be worth Skeletor's anger. Besides, I'll tell him I didn't have any other choice."

The villain took a step forward and Adam immediately crouched down in a defensive position. It seemed that he had to fight Beastman again. This time it was for his freedom instead of Teela's, but just like last time, he was determined to win…and this time, he wasn't going to start off by holding himself back like had before.

=)=)=)

Man-at-Arms, Teela, and King Randor rode in the AttakTrak and kept glancing at one of Man-at-Arms' new inventions. It showed them where heated bodies were for whatever distance it was set for. They were currently using it to keep track of where the Eternian Army was.

They were all surrounding Snake Mountain slowly. No one wanted to rush and get there early. Undoubtedly, a group doing so might tip Skeletor off that something was occurring and he might run before they could block all exits. Of course, the villain might already know of their plans since he had always managed to keep up with the happenings on Eternia, but hopefully, this had escaped his attention since he did have Adam to deal with right now.

Man-at-Arms looked at the king as he heard him sigh for what seemed like the millionth time. "Are you all right, Sire?"

He nodded. "Yes, Duncan, I'm just a little anxious to get this over with. I want Adam back, and I want Skeletor to pay for his actions. The possibility of not succeeding is driving me crazy, but I know we'll try our best."

"We will succeed, Your Majesty," replied Duncan firmly. "Your plan is a good one. With the Sorceress of Grayskull helping us, blocking anyone's attempts to teleport from the area once the battle begins, assures that we will win."

"If she can do it," countered Randor. He remembered the Sorceress interrupting him while he explained to Man-at-Arms, Teela, and She-Ra what they would be doing during the battle. At first, he had thought she was in the conference room with them, but after looking around, he quickly realized she wasn't. He could admit it: he had been shocked and a little terrified at the Sorceress' actions because no one had ever spoken to him telepathically before, but he quickly got used to it. She made the offer to block any deporting spells in the area, but she did warn that she could only do it for so long, if at all. It was a difficult spell, especially from the distance of Castle Grayskull, but she stated she couldn't do it from anywhere else. The castle was where she was most powerful.

"She'll do it," Man-at-Arms stated confidently; "She has never let Adam or me down in the past, and I don't think she ever will."

Duncan's words did bring him a little comfort. He knew to predict the future one had to look to the past, and if she never failed them with her magical abilities, it was likely she wouldn't this time, as well. And, truthfully, that was the main thing that had bothered him about his plan. He remembered how easily Skeletor and then Hordak and Shadow Weaver had escaped them that very day, and he didn't want that to happen again. To lose them so easily was frustrating and could easily dismay everyone. He suddenly realized how frustrated Adam had to be over the years to run across this scenario again and again. He had heard many tales about Skeletor escaping just in the knick of time. He had even witnessed some occasions.

Sighing again, Randor focused his attention to the screen again. Everyone was in position. He immediately flipped on the AttakTrak's mass communicator and stated, "Everyone is in position. Halt and wait for the final order."

In the distance, he could see Snake Mountain. The Palace Guard had taken the front quadrant and the neighboring kingdoms had taken the side and back ones. Randor had purposely taken the front because he wanted Skeletor to see who had come for him at last. He wanted him to know that when he messed with the Royal Family of Eternos, he messed with the entire planet because he did have what Skeletor so desperately wanted: the ability and power to rule the planet…but he never would. That duty was his and Adam's. Skeletor would never reign over Eternia. Not while he was alive. Not while Adam was alive. They would make sure of it. "With the help of Castle Grayskull," he thought and then grinned smugly, "and with its most powerful secrets."