Adam crouched low and waited for the moment in which Beastman would decide to attack. As He-Man, he wouldn't have waited—he would have gone right by him by any means necessary without a second thought. But as Adam, he knew he had to be smarter than that. He didn't have superhuman strength or a higher tolerance for pain in this form.

As Beastman grinned sadistically and took a step forward while snarling menacing, a voice rang out from down the hall. "You furry, flea-bitten fool, I'll skin your hide if you thwart my plans!"

"Skeletor!" gasped Beastman as he took a weary step back. "I can explain everything. You see, Prince…"

"Silence!"

At Skeletor's voice, Adam immediately stepped to the side and backed up against the wall, so he could keep his eyes on both of them. Skeletor approached from behind with his Havoc Staff ready in hand.

The villain turned his attention to Adam and after a few moments, he stated, "So impolite, Prince Adam. After we have gone through all of this trouble to give you a little vacation from the palace, you try to leave without even a 'thank you.'"

"Thank you," stated Adam sarcastically as he glared at Skeletor, "but I believe I have overstayed my welcome, so I'll be going now."

Skeletor chuckled and asked coldly, "How are you going to accomplish that? Every exit is covered by one of my men. There is no escape, so it would be in your best interest to follow me to the dungeon where you can join Hordak."

Adam looked at Beastman who stood between him and the exit. He had no intention of willingly following Skeletor, but he suddenly paused. "Hordak! Of course!" he thought. He slouched his shoulders and gave the best defeated look that he could muster. He drew his face downward and kept his eyes to the ground to complete the effect. "I suppose I don't have a choice," he mumbled.

"Indeed you don't," Skeletor replied, merrily. He then turned to Beastman and said, "Stay here, fur-brain. We need to keep a lookout for the rescue party. I have no doubt that they'll be on their way soon."

Adam hoped he'd be out of Snake Mountain before they arrived so a fight wouldn't ensue. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last time: his father's life being in danger, as well as his own.

=)=)=)

King Randor used a pair of Man-at-Arms' binoculars to see the army close around Snake Mountain. There wasn't a gap by air or land where the villains could sneak by. It was completely surrounded. Even the Masters had shown up and spread themselves out amongst the troops. He grinned as he saw Stratos in the air on the other side of Snake Mountain acting as She-Ra's "unofficial lieutenant."

"How do you wish to go about this?" asked Man-at-Arms, interrupting his observations.

He handed Duncan back the binoculars and answered, "We will send a message to Skeletor through the airwaves that he will either release Prince Adam or face the wrath of the Eternian Army."

"I think a more personal note might be better, Your Majesty," replied Man-at-Arms. "Why not save the surprise that the army is here and simply say 'the wrath of King Randor'? I'm sure he will mock such a threat."

Randor immediately grinned and in mock outrage exclaimed, "What? Are you so eager for a fight, Man-at-Arms, that you suggest we withhold the very piece of information that would get him to back down?"

"This fight has been a long time coming, Your Highness. I no longer wish to see it postponed."

They looked at each other and Randor nodded once. "Nor do I," he agreed. "And while I might want to play the villains' game for once and be slightly underhanded, he still has my son. We cannot forget that—this army is here to ensure Adam's safe return, first and foremost. I'm afraid we have no choice but to lay all our cards on the table."

=)=)=)

He followed Skeletor into the dungeon and noticed that Hordak and Shadow Weaver were in two separate cells on opposites sides of the room. "These cages are impenetrable; nothing—no machine or magic—can break them," stated Skeletor with glee.

Adam wished wholeheartedly that he had the Sword of Power. He would have taken great pleasure in proving Skeletor wrong. Regardless, the cage didn't pose a problem if he could get Hordak to agree to work with him. That was the bigger issue…and of course, if Skeletor would even put him in the same cell as Hordak. How could he ensure it?

Adam immediately stopped as they walked by Hordak, who was still frozen from the earlier battle, and glared at him. He made sure that Skeletor noticed his actions. When he was sure he had Skeletor's complete attention, he then walked abruptly to an empty cell and seemingly waited for Skeletor to open it for him.

Skeletor watched the prince's actions with interest. He smiled a little and observed, "Eager to give up your freedom?"

Adam glared at him. "No, I'm just tired of seeing him already, so if you don't mind, let's get this over with."

Skeletor lifted his brow and asked amusedly, "What? Don't you like Hordak?"

"What do you think? He stole my sister and a life we should have had together. I can't stand the sight of him."

Skeletor laughed and replied, "Well, I suppose I should do you a favor, then." When Adam nodded, Skeletor opened Hordak's cell and continued, "I'll give you the opportunity to work through your differences. Isn't that what you do-gooders like to do when you're angry with someone?"

"What?" exclaimed Adam, feigning outrage. "No, you can't!"

"Watch me! Now, get in!" He pointed his Havoc Staff at the prince.

Sighing, Adam walked into the cell and turned to face Skeletor after the cell door closed. "You'll pay for this!" he spat as angrily as he could.

Skeletor merely chuckled more and as he walked off he countered, "I highly doubt that, Prince Adam."

=)=)=)

Adam stared at Hordak and sat down on the floor facing him. He had to admit a lot of what he told Skeletor was true. He did hold a lot of contempt for Hordak. The villain kidnapped Adora and stole a childhood he believed he very much would have enjoyed with his sister. They were so much alike and so close that he felt like their bond would have been even stronger than it was now, as hard as that was to imagine. He knew they would have been inseparable, but he also knew what that would have meant for Etheria's people. They wouldn't have had She-Ra's help in their continuous fight to regain their planet. The good people of Etheria didn't know it, but they owed Hordak a lot of thanks: he had given them their champion. He was sure Hordak would go ballistic if he ever found that out. If Adam knew it wouldn't have such dire consequences, he would have loved to rub it in his face that his cruelty ended up biting him in the butt.

But for now, he had to put all of that aside. He knew without a doubt that when Hordak was able to move again, he would want to seek revenge against Skeletor. His old pupil had betrayed him again, after all, and threw him into the dungeon. He could use that to persuade Hordak to help him.

He shook his head in disbelief. Who would have ever thought he would contemplate working with Hordak? Not him, never in a million years…but here he was, doing exactly that.

After a few more minutes of waiting, finally Hordak started groaning and moving his neck slowly. Adam stood and watched as the Horde leader started to move his body slowly, trying to get the stiffness out. He was aware of Adam's presence and never took his eyes off of him. Once he was able to move freely, Hordak immediately morphed arm into its freeze cannon and pointed it at him. "Well, well, if it isn't Adora's brother!"

Adam immediately held his hands up in gesture to show that he meant Hordak no harm. "Wait! Before you shoot, perhaps you'd like to listen!" he exclaimed, getting down to business. He didn't want to give Hordak the opportunity to freeze him. He'd never get the chance to put his plan into motion, so he didn't have time to approach the subject with any finesse. "I'm sure you'd like to get out of here and make Skeletor pay for imprisoning you."

Hordak paused curiously and replied, "I'm listening."

"I want the same thing. We could work together. Skeletor would never see it coming since he knows the animosity among you and my family members. I know of a way to get out of here, but I need you to help me do it."

Hordak lifted a brow but kept his cannon aimed at him. "Why should I trust you? Besides, why do I even need you to get out of here? You are just a foolish Eternian, after all."

Adam bit back a scathing reply about Eternians being smart enough to have defeated him. He swallowed it and replied, "As much as I dislike you, Skeletor is our common enemy and right now, we both have the same needs. If we want to get out, we have to work together. I know how to do it, and you have the ability." He motioned his head to the bars of the cell. "Skeletor said no spell or machine can free us."

Hordak glanced at the bars and recognized that it was made from the same bones that Skeletor had imprisoned him with once before. The only reason they had gotten out then was because Shadow Weaver had been there and the combination of machinery and magic had cut through the bars. He noted quickly that Shadow Weaver was not with him now. "The only way we can get out of here is if you have magic," he stated, looking at Adam inquisitively. "Your sister never showed any signs of that, so I highly doubt you do."

He shook his head. "No, I don't have magic, but I do have knowledge. Skeletor is unaware that I have it, and it can lead us to freedom…if we agree to work together."

"What is stopping you from betraying me?"

"What's stopping you? You know who I am—you know I am a man of my word. I'm sure you've heard that much about me. I promise I will not attack you." Adam knew it wasn't enough to get Hordak to agree to work with him, so he searched his brain frantically and quickly added, "As a matter of fact, I'll go so far as to say that I will owe you one."

That immediately got Hordak's attention. He grinned and stated disbelievingly, "So, you're offering to do something for me in exchange for us working together now."

Adam nodded in agreement. "Yes, but there are a few exceptions: whatever you want cannot relate to Adora. I will not hand her over to you; I will not trick her or her friends to be captured; and I will not work with you against her. Oh, and I won't hand Eternia over to you in any way, shape, or form either… and I won't hurt its people."

"Then, what good are you?"

"I'm sure you will be able to come up with something. Deal or no deal? If you disagree, we can stay here and wait it out. The probability of my father, He-Man, or She-Ra coming for me is high. Then you and Skeletor will be our prisoners. I just don't want to wait for Skeletor to decide it's time to kill me before reinforcements arrive."

Hordak stared at Adam for a few moments longer.

Adam gritted his teeth as he watched the man contemplate his request. He suddenly snapped, "You owe me after taking my twin from me! I'm only asking you to help get us out of here!"

"Okay," he mumbled. "We'll work together, but only until we're free. Just remember, you owe me a favor." When Adam nodded in acquiesce, he then stated, "By the way, and I'm sure you already know this, it was never my intention to take Adora from you—I wanted you both." Adam felt a chill run down his spine at Hordak's words and the sinister look he gave him, but the prince quickly shrugged it off as the villain said, "Tell me what you know."

=)=)=)

Skeletor walked back into his throne room in time to hear a recognizable voice coming from a speaker in his council table. "King Randor to Skeletor, King Randor to Skeletor…"

He quickly rushed over to the controls and exclaimed, "King Randor! What a pleasant surprise!"

"I'm sure it's not—I believe you have something that belongs to me."

Skeletor chuckled amusedly and replied, "I don't have something, but I have someone. The question is how badly you want him back."

"Very," the king answered. "Almost to the point of desperation."

"Good, good! Then, perhaps we should get down to business. I want you to hand over the Royal Palace and the Guard to me! If you agree, I will let Prince Adam go. There is a catch, though; you will have to remain my prisoner." He was prepared for the silence that he knew would develop at his proposition.

Surprisingly, there wasn't even a hesitation in the reply. "No deal, Skeletor."

He was shocked. "What? The King of Eternia is unwilling to trade his freedom for his son's?"

Randor chuckled and answered, "No, I have a counteroffer, one you very much want to hear."

"I'm waiting."

With a voice that held no fear or uncertainty, Randor replied, "As we speak, the Eternian Army surrounds Snake Mountain. If you let Adam go and promise to never go after him again, we will leave peacefully. If I do not see him being released within ten minutes, you will be the one responsible for the actions we will have to undertake today. I promise it won't turn out so well for you."

"What?" cried Skeletor. He flipped on his viewscreen in the center of his council table and scanned around Snake Mountain. Sure enough, the army was there in greater numbers than he would have thought. Feeling completely flabbergasted by Randor's unexpected actions, he asked, "Isn't this a little drastic for you, Randor?"

The king spoke firmly. "You have been more drastic in your efforts, so I must respond in kind. I will take no chances on Adam's safe return, as you can see. If you do not release him or if you hurt him in any way, you will force me to destroy Snake Mountain…and everything that stands in our way."

For once, Skeletor knew Randor meant his threat—he didn't doubt it for a second. It was always a risky business messing with someone's children, because the opponent became unpredictable, just as the King of Eternia had just proven. Randor had never willingly sought out a fight before, but when it came to Adam, Skeletor now knew he would. He knew he had to rethink his plan. He couldn't do it if he no longer had Snake Mountain and his men. "I will release him," he spat, knowing he had no other choice.

"You have ten minutes."

Skeletor ran from the room to go to the dungeon. As he went, he mourned the loss of his plan—he found the anticlimactic resolution to everything depressing, so he knew he had to think of another one. After all, he didn't agree to Randor's terms. He only agreed that he would let Adam go. Everything else was still on the table—he just had to get the army to back down and go away before he could strike again.

=)=)=)

Adam pointed to the floor beneath them and said, "Years ago, after you left for Etheria, Skeletor enlisted the help of one of our allies Zanthor to help him steal items called the Golden Disks of Knowledge. With the information learned from those disks, he turned your Horde base into Snake Mountain, among many other things. In any case, Skeletor wanted to stop us from getting those disks back, so he hid them far below Snake Mountain." He looked to where he was pointing. "He-Man and Zanthor got the disks back eventually, but the story does help us anyway."

Hordak furrowed his brow. "How?"

"We can't get through the bars, but we know there isn't only dirt beneath us. There is a cavern that stretches beneath Snake Mountain. You have the ability to dig quickly when you turn your legs into a drill—I know you have that capability. We can get out of here."

"So, there is another room underneath us. How does that help us escape? We don't know where to go after we get there."

"I know the way out," replied the prince.

When Hordak raised one eyebrow in question, he explained, "Skeletor doesn't know it, but I've been down there…with He-Man. We'll have a problem getting back to the surface, but I can lead us away from Snake Mountain. I'm sure you can take it from there with your capabilities."

Hordak stared at Adam smugly and asked, "Why do I need you? I can search the cavern and find my way out alone."

Adam smiled; he wasn't worried in the slightest. "Skeletor has a large pet down there. Let's just say there is a reason why this place is called Snake Mountain. I know where the snake is and how to avoid its location, but if you want to roam about under there without my knowledge, then freeze me and go. Take your chances…Besides, you still want that favor from me, right?"

Hordak grumbled and said, "Fine. Let's go." He quickly turned his lower body into the drill and plowed through the surface. Eventually, he dropped from the ceiling and turned into his rocket form to catch himself.

Adam looked down the hole and worried for a second that Hordak would leave him, but his temporary ally immediately made his way back to him and said gruffly, "Get on."

Surprised at the offer, because he hadexpected Hordak to make him find his own way down, he climbed on. Quickly, they descended to the lower level. Hordak turned back into his normal form and immediately followed Adam after the prince said, "This way."

=)=)=)

Skeletor ran to the elevator and quickly made his way to the dungeon. He didn't have a lot of time since Randor had only given him ten minutes to release Adam. He still hadn't come up with a plan, but he had all the time in the world for that if he stopped the Eternian Army now. The only problem he had now was getting Adam out without releasing Hordak.

When the elevator door opened, he quickly ran to the cell. "Well, it looks like you'll be leaving after all, Prince…" His words stopped dead when he saw no one was in the cage. "What?" he gasped. He looked down at the floor and saw the large hole. "No!" he yelled. He started to use his Havoc Staff to lower himself to the next level of his home but stopped himself. He had around five minutes left to give Adam to Randor. He wouldn't have enough time. He quickly looked into his Havoc Staff which started to glow. "King Randor," he said hurriedly.

"Skeletor?" questioned the king.

"It seems we have a slight problem. Hordak has escaped with Adam, so you see, I cannot give him to you as we have planned. Maybe…"

King Randor's voice boomed throughout the room even though he wasn't in there. "YOU HAVE FOUR MINUTES TO BRING HIM TO ME! HORDAK COULD NOT GET PAST US, SO YOU FIND HIM AND BRING ME MY SON OR ELSE!"

Skeletor cut off the communication and stared at his Havoc Staff in amazement. "Boy, he can get unreasonable," he mumbled. He quickly lowered himself down to the next level and started running away from Snake Mountain. He knew in order for one of them to have known about this level, they had to know how to get out from under the mountain, as well.

=)=)=)

King Randor shook his head as he and Duncan got back out of the AttakTrak. Skeletor's news didn't bring him any comfort. "What if Hordak decides to leave with Adam?" he questioned. "I can't lose another child like that."

Duncan replied comfortingly, "Randor, Adora knows the way to the Fright Zone. We would get Adam back even if that did happen."

He looked around at the army and countered, "But what if he goes elsewhere? He left with Adora to a place where we couldn't find him. What if he does the same with Adam?"

"Why would he?" reasoned Duncan. "Adora was a baby and he had plans to raise her so he could control her. Adam is a young man who is not so easily influenced."

"There is always magic," he whispered fretfully.

"Magic Adora broke, and she broke it after years of it having a hold on her," he whispered back. "Don't forget your son is He-Man. He's stronger than you think even as Adam. He-Man is a part of him, not the other way around."

Randor stared him dead in the eye and said, "That is comforting, Duncan, but I believe Adam is the strongest when he has his sword." He pulled it from the scabbard at his waist and continued, "And, I have it."

Duncan rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, even though the king couldn't feel it through his armor. "We'll get Adam back. They could not have found a way around us. They didn't even know to avoid us! They're in Snake Mountain somewhere. We should continue with our plan. Skeletor will find them and return Adam to us safely if he wants to save himself, so we should stay the course."

Randor nodded and agreed, "I had every intention of doing that. It's just that I can't help but worry. It seems like every time things seem to go our way, something comes up that throws us for a loop."

Duncan had made the same observation a long time ago.

Suddenly, the AttakTrak spoke, shocking everyone nearby. "Your Majesty, ten minutes is up."

King Randor took a deep breath and stared at Snake Mountain. His heart pounded heavily as he recognized that he had to follow through with his threat—there was no way to avoid it. He had to keep his promise or Skeletor would think that he would always back down in the future. Even though he understood that Skeletor would have given Adam to him if he had him, he remembered that the villain had brought all of this on himself, so he would give him no sympathy.

He lifted his wrist to his mouth and spoke into the communicator. "Front lines, approach Snake Mountain with caution. Take every enemy you find prisoner if you can, but do what you must. Prince Adam has not been released, so we must take him back."

He closed his eyes briefly as he brought his arm down. He then glanced over at Duncan and said, "Let's lead our troops." They got into the AttakTrak and got ahead of the entire fleet of the Royal Guard. The battle had begun.

=)=)=)

Adam and Hordak walked speedily for several minutes and finally stopped when they saw a wall in the distance. The prince grinned at his companion, ran to it quickly, and sighed in relief as he looked at the ceiling above him. He exclaimed, "We're no longer under Snake Mountain! If we can find a way to the surface, we're free!"

Hordak nodded and immediately turned his entire body into a drill that had rocket boosters at his feet. He flew to the ceiling and made a hole big enough for them to escape through. Just as he descended to retrieve Adam, a voice rang out, "Not so fast, old friend! I must say I'm shocked to see you working with our enemies!"

"What?" yelled Hordak, turning into his regular form. "You treacherous, turncoat, two-faced villain! You dare to talk about my working with our enemies when you threw me into the dungeon with one!" He immediately morphed his arm into his stun cannon and shot at him.

Adam sighed and shook his head. "Here we go again," he muttered, knowing he had to do something to get out of here. If what he saw at Snake Mountain had any indication on what was about to transpire, this cavern was about to collapse on top of them once the fireworks started. Adam looked at the ceiling and saw that the hole Hordak had made was close to two of the walls of the cavern. The wall to his right was rocky enough that he could possibly climb it. He knew he had to be careful since beams from Skeletor and Hordak would undoubtedly go his way unintentionally, but he had no other choice.

He set about climbing, and sure enough, the cavern was illuminated by shots of stun beams and freeze rays. The sounds bounced off the walls with booming force and Adam found himself cringing every time a blast came close to him, which occurred several times.

Watching Hordak and Skeletor every so often as he climbed, he made his way to the opening. Once he was at the ceiling, he stared at the hole wondering how in the world he was going to get through it. He held onto the wall with one hand, used his legs to push himself outward and reached toward the hole with the other. He felt around until he found something he could grip thoroughly. He then released his hold on the wall and his body swung directly underneath the hole.

Holding himself up with only one hand was difficult, especially with the violent jerks of propelling his body underneath the hole. Regardless, he held on and quickly brought his other hand up to assist the other. Soon, Adam found himself climbing up the hole. He could see light in the distance and once again he was overwhelmed with the feeling that if he could just get outside, he would be okay.

In less than a minute, Adam popped his head out and used his arms to pull his torso from the ground. Just when he thought he had leverage to pull himself completely out, he heard a loud noise approaching. He looked up and saw an AttakTrak heading right towards him. "TRAK!" he yelled, "STOP!" With his frantic instinctive movements to get out of the way of the vehicle, Adam slipped back into the hole.

Suddenly, a cry was heard that was not his own as his fingers slipped and he dropped back down the hole even more. He tried to catch himself but found the task difficult. Just as he thought he might fall back to the ground completely and probably die as a result, two arms grabbed onto one of his.

"Adam!"

He looked up into his eyes of King Randor and felt immense and intense relief. "Father!" he exclaimed with a brief smile. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

Randor spared him a grin of his own briefly and replied, "And, I'm glad to see you. Now, we just have to get you out of here." He turned his head so his mouth could somewhat face behind him. "Duncan, get a rope and people together so we can pull Adam up! He's down here! Hurry!"

He then turned back to his son and tears immediately gathered in his eyes. "I've got you, son," he assured him. "I'm not going to let you go…ever!"

Adam smiled again, knowing that the king was talking about more than just not letting go at that particular moment. "I know," he replied.

The king started pulling on Adam, trying to raise him back to the surface, and just when they started to make some leeway and Adam got to a place where he could use his arms to climb again, the prince suddenly dropped back down and a strangled yell escaped his lips.

Randor immediately latched onto his son's arm again and exclaimed, "Adam, what's wrong?"

He looked worried and answered, "Someone's pulling on me!" He looked down and saw Hordak, with his lower body in rocket form.

"You're free, so our truce has come to an end! You're coming with me!" Hordak started pulling on Adam again and Randor pulled on him in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the king wasn't as strong as Hordak in his rocket form, so they both started to slip down the hole.

Regardless, Randor refused to let his son go. "Man-at-Arms!" he yelled. "Help us!"

=)=)=)

When Skeletor and Hordak had been fighting down below, they realized a lot sooner than last time that Adam was missing. When Hordak had briefly looked around and questioned where the prince was, they stopped, looked up, and saw rocks falling from the hole above them.

"Urgh!" Skeletor hollered in frustration. "The Prince of Eternia is mine! I need him!"

Hordak looked at his old pupil with interest and replied, "Oh, really? Then, I suppose there's a good reason as to why! That's why you'll never get him!" Turning into body into rocket form, he shot into the hole to seemingly go after the prince.

"Argh! Oh, yes, I will!" cried Skeletor. He quickly used his Havoc Staff to go to the surface and get Adam from the other side.

When Skeletor arrived, he saw a sight too wonderful to ignore. The Eternian Army was nearby and Man-at-Arms was running towards them and that infuriating She-Ra who was above them on that horse of hers. That wasn't the good sight, but the next thing he noticed was: Randor currently had most of his body in a hole and was going downward. The king was undoubtedly trying to get his son. With his eyes only on the scene before him, he contemplated on what he could do to take advantage of the situation. After all, if he had King Randor, the army would have to stop their march on Snake Mountain, and if he was lucky, he would end up with both the prince and the king. Oh, what could he do if he could make that happen!

With a laugh of glee, Skeletor started making his way to the unknowing Randor.