Continuing Tales

Noticing Adam

A He-Man & She-Ra Story
by Foxy11814

Part 42 of 55

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Still

"Please, don't do this!" begged Adam as his father reached behind him to grab the Sword of Power. He struggled against the guards holding him, trying desperately to knock his father's arm away, but it was useless. Randor pulled the sword out with ease and did the same with the Sword of Protection. As people usually were, the guards were totally oblivious to the fact that swords had seemingly been pulled out of thin air. The soldiers didn't bat an eye and simply continued to restrain the twins.

Once the king possessed both swords, he stepped back and watched his children look at him with pleading eyes as they continued to try to free themselves. Ignoring their continuous protests, he spoke over them and said, "I know you're angry with me, but eventually you will come to realize I did this for your own good."

Then, he focused his attention on the guards and ordered, "Take them to the prince's bedchamber and make sure they stay there. Guard the door. I'll be back shortly after I've dealt with these swords."

=)=)=)

Skeletor mumbled to himself as he stared into the view screen in his throne room. He laughed to himself briefly as he spared a quick glance to Modulak. For the past few days, he had watched the happenings at the palace and he had been displeased to learn that Prince Adam was still alive. He had been so sure that he had killed him. No matter, though. The fact that the prince was alive resolved him to do his next task.

A small beep was heard from his view screen and a face appeared: the face of Hordak.

"Skeletor, you treacherous two-faced villain, you dare to contact me!" snapped the overlord of Etheria.

Skeletor remained unfazed and said, "Greetings to you, too, Hordak. It isn't a pleasure to see you again."

"Then, why are you bothering me?"

Skeletor laughed and replied nonchalantly, "I am merely passing along some information that might be of interest to you. Whether you do anything with it or not is for you to decide."

Hordak paused for a moment to contemplate his old pupil's words. "Why do you want to tell me anything regardless of whether I'd find it interesting or not? Better yet, why should I trust anything you tell me?"

"Very good questions, my old friend!" laughed Skeletor. "Just call this a friendly service from one villain to another." Before Hordak could question his integrity again, he continued, "It is something that you will want to know, and it is something that could potentially help me in my fight to take over Eternia."

"What makes you think I would want to help you with anything? You have betrayed me one too many times."

Skeletor exclaimed, "Ha! You have a short memory, Hordak! It was you who betrayed me! But let's set that aside for now—I have information about Princess Adora. Of course, if you're not interested, then I'll pass it along to someone else…"

"Wait, wait!" replied Hordak quickly before Skeletor broke the line of communication between them. "What information do you have?"

Skeletor chuckled in success and answered, "The princess is back on Eternia and she has been here for several days. I thought you might find this of interest since she does not have the protection of the Whispering Woods around her right now."

Hordak mumbled for a few seconds and then said, "You're right. That is valuable information, but tell me, what do you want? Obviously, if I wanted to do something about it, you would have to make a gate for me to come to Eternia. I know you, Skeletor; you won't do that for nothing. What's the catch?"

"No catch for my old teacher. I merely want the Princess of Eternia back on Etheria," he said hurriedly.

"And, why is that?" Hordak was suspicious.

"Let's just say I have a plan to take over the palace and the less members of the Royal Family present, the better. Besides, I got the impression that this particular member is of great importance to you, so I didn't think you'd like her to get hurt."

Cautiously, Hordak replied, "You're right—I wouldn't. Adora is a traitor to the Horde, and the Horde will take care of her punishment for defecting to the enemy. All right, Skeletor, send a gate within the hour."

"With pleasure, Hordak," Skeletor said humorously as he dropped the communication between the two of them. He then turned to Modulak and said, "And, this had better work or you'll be picking fleas off of Beastman for a month."

"Eww, that's disgusting," whispered Modulak as he turned to look at the subject being spoken of.

=)=)=)

Adam paced the room frantically as Adora sat on his bed, watching him. "My brother, please sit down!" she called out. "Walking a hole into the floor is hardly going to help our situation!"

"I know," he replied; "I just I can't believe Father took our swords!" He dropped beside Adora on the bed and covered his face with his hands for a moment before he complained, "I was so stupid, sis! How could I have made the comment that She-Ra loved me as a brother! If it wasn't for that, he never would have figured it out! I'm so stupid!"

Adora put her arm around his shoulder and comforted him. "You are not stupid. You wanted him to know the truth."

Adam hunched over with his elbows on his knees, stared at the floor, and mumbled, "Clearly, I was completely idiotic for wanting that! Singlehandedly, I have put Eternia's and Etheria's futures in jeopardy. With no He-Man and She-Ra, Skeletor and Hordak have much better odds of conquering both planets entirely!"

"We'll find a way to prevent that from happening, brother," stated Adora confidently.

"How?" he asked.

"Do you really have such little faith in us as ourselves, Adam? Father shouldn't have taken away our swords. We might need them in those dire situations that pop up every so often, but we are not helpless and perhaps we rely on our powers too much. We can do this on our own! We're still Castle Grayskull's champions and they chose us for a reason. Father can't stop us from protecting others."

Adam grinned suddenly. "No, Father can't! And, even better, when he sees us doing it as Adam and Adora, he'll realize he'd rather us do it as He-Man and She-Ra!" He sprung to his feet and exclaimed, "If he's so concerned about our safety right now, he'll realize we're safer when we have our swords!" He paused for a moment and then softened his words and expression. "Of course, we are taking a risk if we do that. It's much easier to capture and hurt Adam and Adora than it is He-Man and She-Ra."

"We have to take that risk," replied Adora who stood and touched Adam's arm lightly. "Father has left us with no other choice."

The prince nodded in agreement and then stated frustratingly, "I just wonder if the Sorceress even knows about all of this, and if she does, what does she think about it? It can't be good!"

In the middle of his question, Adora froze as she caught a glimpse of something at the window. When he finished, she motioned with her head for him to look across the room and announced softly, "Well, we can just ask her."

Adam turned and saw Zoar standing on the windowsill. Immediately, the prince turned away and shook his head as he sat back down on the bed. "I'm so sorry, Sorceress," he said softly, knowing she could hear him; "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Zoar flew into the room and perched himself on the back of one of the nearby chairs. Adora sat next to her brother as the Sorceress spoke to them telepathically. "There is nothing for you to be sorry for, Prince Adam."

"How can you say that?" cried Adam silently. "We no longer carry the Swords of Power, because I made it possible for Father to figure out that we're He-Man and She-Ra. I was totally selfish and wrong. I should have let him figure it out on his own without any help."

"And, would that have made you happy: to go through more years of your father being oblivious to everything and of you hiding who you truly are from him?"

Adam sighed and answered honestly, "No, it wouldn't have made me happy. I do want Father to know our secrets but not at the cost of Eternia and Etheria."

"Just like King Randor had to figure out you're He-Man and She-Ra on his own, he has to figure out how important those identities truly are on his own."

Adam paused and then glanced at Adora briefly. "So that means our earlier idea was a good one. We'll have to force Father to realize that he'd rather have us with the Swords of Power."

"You must do what you think is right, Adam, but be careful. If you die at this time, King Randor will die shortly thereafter, and he is right about all the things he predicted if something should happen to the both of you: your kingdom will fall and the planet will be lost to Skeletor forever. Eternia will never find peace and neither will Etheria."

The twins gasped as they heard the Sorceress' words. Everything she said concerned them greatly, but there was one thing that drew Adam's attention more than anything else. "What do you mean Father will die shortly after I do? How?"

"I cannot answer that. I only know that it's true, but I can take a few guesses. Your father loves you very much and if you die, that love could drive him to do things that he normally wouldn't do. I think that's been pretty obvious recently."

Adam shivered as he nodded in agreement and covered his face with his hands again. He didn't want the Sorceress to clarify any further than that. He didn't want to think about the possibilities of how it all could happen. Despite his father's stubbornness and sudden desire to coddle him, he loved the king, and discussing his sire's future death was not something he wanted to do…ever. Tears started to gather in the prince's eyes, but he took a deep breath to steady himself and then dropped his hands from his face.

Adora hugged her brother, and knowing exactly how he was feeling and what he was thinking, she whispered, "It only happens if you die, Adam, and you're not going to die. We won't let that happen."

Adam nodded and glanced back at Zoar. "Thank you for coming to speak with us," he said aloud.

Zoar nodded his head and the Sorceress spoke again. "You're welcome. Just try not to be too hard on your father in the future. He has legitimate concerns and he loves you both. He's only doing what he thinks is right however misguided. Remember that."

"I will," he agreed as the falcon flew out the window. "But I'm willing to bet it won't be easy."

Adora dropped her head to his shoulder and said, "I have a feeling you're right."

=)=)=)

Queen Marlena followed King Randor angrily into their bedchambers. She couldn't believe it! Randor had actually taken Adam's and Adora's swords! "Randor!" she exclaimed heatedly; "What do you think you're doing?"

The king didn't answer his wife right away. He only slouched and continued to walk to the bed. When he turned towards her and sat down slowly, he laid both swords in his lap and simply stared at them in silence.

"Randor?" she questioned again—she refused to be ignored.

Finally, he looked up briefly and the queen gasped at the tears that were slipping down his cheeks. Gone was the stern man who had taken control in the hall. Gone was the man who was so sure that his decision to take the swords was right. "I don't know what I'm doing, Marlena," he admitted before dropping his eyes back to the swords.

The queen quickly made her way to her husband and sat beside him. She could tell by the persistent upheaval of his chest that he was really upset. It didn't matter that he had turned his face away so she wouldn't see the pain that was so clearly there. Slowly, she slipped an arm around his back and pulled him towards her. Almost instantly, he twisted to her, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in her neck. The swords, forgotten in his lap, fell to the floor and she moved her feet back hurriedly to make sure the blades didn't cut her. She then removed Randor's crown so he could burrow in more easily, ran one hand through his hair, and brought the other hand to his shoulder to hold him tightly as he cried quietly for a few moments.

Eventually, though, she sighed and asked softly, "What's wrong, my love? I know finding out their secrets is shocking, but I have a feeling there's more to these tears and your actions than that and wanting to protect the kingdom."

The king sniffled as he pulled away and mumbled, "Perceptive, as ever, my dear." For several long moments, he stared at the floor where the swords lay and thought about his son and daughter. So many emotions overwhelmed him; so many responsibilities pulled him in opposite directions. He felt torn, broken, and defeated.

Finally, he found the courage to look at his wife despite the trail of tears that he knew was still visible on his face. "I want to protect them—I want to be able to control this." He paused as he closed his eyes and realized a hard truth. "But I know I can't. I realize, Marlena, how important He-Man is to Eternia. I know the same can be said about She-Ra and Etheria. After all, I'm one of the people who always called on He-Man when things got tough. I always expected him to be there…I never once thought about how young he was or what his family went through as he risked his life day after day for us. I took He-Man for granted…and now, I've learned that I have taken Adam for granted far worse than I could have ever imagined. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch He-Man risk his life for Eternia. I don't want to watch him die."

Marlena squeezed the king's hand and whispered, "Randor, Adam has been doing this for over two years without our help and your knowing. He's proven that he can handle being He-Man."

Randor immediately closed his eyes and squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm not so sure that's true. Marlena, I made everyone swear not to tell you something that happened at Snake Mountain. I thought that it was over so there was no point in upsetting you, but now I see that I have to make you understand why I'm so confused."

Almost instantly, Marlena pulled her hand away. "Randor!" she exclaimed. "This family has kept enough secrets from each other to last a lifetime!"

"I know!" cried Randor firmly. "It's just…I didn't want you to go through the torment that I've been going through. It's horrible and I wouldn't wish these feelings on anyone."

"Keeping me in the dark isn't going to protect me, Randor. It'll only make things worse at this point. So, just tell me what you have been hiding and we'll work through it together. Clearly, keeping it bottled up hasn't helped you and it's affecting your decision-making. Let me help."

Randor nodded several times and avoided her eyes. He looked back down at the swords and whispered, "Adam died. When Skeletor hit Adam with that bolt from his staff, it killed him. I told you it took a lot of power and magic to heal him, but it took so much because they had to bring him back to life." Finally, he looked up and let out a shaky breath. He glanced at his wife and saw tears slipping down her cheeks. "He died right in front of me, Marlena—he died saving my life. The fatal blow should have been mine, but he put himself in the line of fire and there wasn't anything I could do to stop it or help him after the fact. I just…watched him die and it felt like a part of me died with him. I don't ever want to feel that way again."

Fresh tears slipped down his cheeks as he pulled his wife to him. After a few moments of holding one another, he whispered in her ear, "So, do you see why I took their swords? Do you understand? Adam died—we almost lost him. I can't go through that again; I just can't."

Marlena squeezed him tightly for a moment before she pulled away. With tears still falling, she replied, "Oh, Randor, I already knew what happened at Snake Mountain. While you were fighting with Adam in his room, you yelled out that he had died."

"What?" Randor exclaimed, shocked to know that Marlena had already known. "Then, how can you be so calm? How can you not want to protect them?"

Marlena wiped at her tears and replied, "I do want to protect them! Don't you see? If you keep the swords from them, we're going to lose Adam again anyway. I do understand your actions, Randor. I didn't know the details and now that you've shared them, I understand that it was horrifying. I know I wouldn't have been able to handle it if I had been there. And, part of me wants to agree with your decision for that very reason, but our son is not going to let this stop him. If you won't let him fight as He-Man, he will find another way. He has this incredible sense of duty and responsibility, just like you. When you're determined to do something, there is no stopping you; Adam's the same way. He's going to put himself in harm's way again and we're not going to be able to stop him. We don't want to make him resent us and die trying to save the kingdom alone without the help of Castle Grayskull. That's the path you're putting him on, dear! Can you see that?"

The king thought about it silently and eventually nodded. "Yes, I can see that. You are right."

The queen nodded and then bent over to pick up the swords at their feet. She handed them to Randor and whispered, "Then, let's give them their swords back. Afterward, you can finally reacquaint yourself with your son and who he truly is. I think it will help you find peace with everything."

=)=)=)

Skeletor and Hordak stood in a corridor within the palace as Evil-Lyn walked up to them disguised as a member of the guard. "According to everyone I've spoken to, Adora and Adam are in the prince's bedchamber. King Randor has confined them there for the time being."

"Good, good," Hordak replied. "How fitting that we have the opportunity to correct the mistake we made over twenty years ago. We can take both now."

Skeletor merely laughed in reply and turned back to Evil-Lyn. "You know what to do. We need a distraction. Go."

Instantly, Evil-Lyn transformed back into her true self and simply walked through the corridors to Adam's bedchamber. Within ten feet of the guards stationed at Adam's door, she laughed evilly and questioned loudly, "Now, which room is King Randor's?"

The guards quickly snapped their attention to the woman who was walking in the opposite direction, heading towards the Royal Couple's room. "Halt! Stop right there!" they both yelled simultaneously.

Evil-Lyn turned around and laughed piercingly. "I think not! Who's going to make me?" She then sprinted towards the king and queen's door, and as expected, the foolish guard followed her, leaving their charges unprotected.

Skeletor and Hordak watched from around the corner at the other end of the hall. "It's time," Skeletor said softly and moved quickly to the prince's door with Hordak close behind. Not stopping in the slightest, Skeletor opened the door with his Havoc Staff pointing into the bedchambers. "My, my, my," he said excitedly as he stepped into the room. "What do we have here?"

Instantly, Adora and Adam jumped off the bed. "Skeletor!" exclaimed Adam, which was quickly followed by a "Hordak!" from Adora after the second villain had shown himself to the room's occupants.

When Hordak lifted his arm, which was currently in its stun-ray form, and Skeletor pointed his Havoc Staff toward the twins, Adam immediately stepped in front of Adora. She tried to push him out of the way, but he quickly swung his right arm behind himself to grab and pull Adora against his back to keep her in place.

"What do you want?" he yelled.

Both villains laughed sadistically and Hordak replied, "Why, the both of you!"

=)=)=)

King Randor and Queen Marlena opened their bedchamber door and gasped at the sight before them. Evil-Lyn was within five feet of them with members of his guard crashing into her and shoving her onto the ground. When the soldiers saw the king and queen before them, one questioned, "Are you all right, Your Majesties?"

As Marlena answered affirmatively, Randor looked down at Evil-Lyn's expression and saw the cruel grin that adorned her face. He knew at that moment with horrible certainty that she had achieved whatever she wanted. "Oh, no!" he suddenly exclaimed as he turned towards Adam's bedchambers to see that it was unguarded. Hurriedly, with both Swords of Power, he ran, determined to reach his children, and yelled for the guard.

Noticing Adam

A He-Man & She-Ra Story
by Foxy11814

Part 42 of 55

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