A/N: Dual update so please read Chapter 8 before this one. Thanks and again, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 9

"Send me back!" Teela shouted as they stood in the council room of the ancient castle. "The Queen's hit and it's all my fault!"

"No, child. You must remain within these walls."

"But we can't just leave them there!" she protested, her cheeks flushed with adrenalin.

The Sorceress approached and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Peace, Teela."

Teela blew out a frustrated puff of air. "Peace? How? With those Minions attacking the Palace?"

Her mother nodded slowly. "This, Daughter, is lesson number one. Learning how, from your perch within Greyskull, to calmly discern in which battles to engage, and which to withdraw," she explained. "To have faith in the Omniscient One's judgment as well as faith in others and their ability to defend themselves."

BattleCat sat on his haunches quietly observing the exchange, his ears flicking about in constant alert for any approach of the enemy.

"But I'm a soldier, Mother. I must defend—"

"You are a Princess," the Sorceress stated gently cutting her off, "And you are wedded to the Crown Prince of Eternia who happens to be the Warrior of this Castle; a dual role he carries as you now must learn." Her mother's reassuring emerald eyes bore into hers. "Teela, you will always be a fighter but you must learn subtlety."

With that, Teela'Na waved a hand as the walls of Greyskull shuddered briefly in response. Teela's head jerked upward.

"What was that?"

The Sorceress suddenly stepped back, her breathing now labored.

"Mother?" Teela asked in concern as she stepped forward and took her arm, BattleCat rising to his feet and trotting over to help.

"I am alright," Teela'Na reassured as they found a chair. She took a seat and with a deep breath, her breathing pattern slowly returned to normal. She turned emerald eyes to her younger daughter's distraught ones.

"I have interrupted the Minions' attack by destroying several of their fighter jets," she explained, her palms resting on her knees. "This will turn the tide and aid in their defeat today."

Teela's eyes widened. "The Power…"

"Is strong," her mother finished for her. "Yet this mortal vessel through which it flows is weak in comparison. The Power occasionally, depending on the level of release, taxes my mind," she met her daughter's gaze. "Your husband however possesses the strength to sustain a much greater flow of Greyskull's power hence his ability to alone rid Eternia of all Minions upon their initial arrival."

Teela's eyes jumped as she recalled the sad day Rowan was killed. "Yes, He-Man raised his sword and they vanished." She turned questioning eyes to her mother as she took a seat beside her. "But a few weeks ago, He-Man and I combined our energy to defeat them when they attacked Greyskull."

Teela'Na nodded. "Prince Adam has many talents. Among his strong points; he practices wisdom yet operates as a tactician," she extended a graceful arm and poured two steaming cups of hot tea. Placing one in front of her daughter, she continued.

"He quickly assesses a situation and deduces when assistance is needed: wisdom. He also understands the adversary and how to draw enemy fire toward or away from a target: strategy." She leaned forward and placed a hand on Teela's arm. "The King and Queen; tell me what they did today."

Confused at the abrupt change in subject, her daughter knit her brow. "I don't understand."

The Sorceress held her gaze. "When the Minions attacked, what did King Randor do?"

"His first action was to protect the Queen and myself."

The older woman added honey and stirred. "And your response?"

Teela blushed. "I didn't go with them. I tried to fight the Minions off."

"Yes. And then what happened?" With a spoon, she carefully tapped the edge of the teacup and placed it on the saucer.

Her gaze dropped shamefully to the floor. "They didn't leave. Instead of running to the bunker, they stood by me…to protect me…," she trailed off, her voice tremulous.

"Good," her mother encouraged. "And what happened next?"

"Marlena was…wounded."

The Sorceress took a dainty sip and, returning the teacup to the saucer, she replied, "Prior to the revelation of Prince Adam's secret, he was surrounded by bodyguards. Knowing that his protectors would follow his every move, even unto death, he walked the precarious line of knowing when to go along with their plan of protection and when—"

"To run!" Teela interjected wide-eyed in comprehension, "…and transform."

Another nod. "As you are aware, he suffered greatly during his initial transformations," the Sorceress' expression turned distant and sad before refocusing on her apprentice. "Burdened by the potent alien forces of Greyskull, the Earthen part of his physiology shut down, his Eternian half compensating accordingly. Over time, he eventually trained his body to work in tandem making him the strongest of all of the men who carried the Power Sword before him."

The Princess' jaw dropped. "There were other He-Men?"

"Yes."

Teela's eyes narrowed. "He's got some explaining to do when he returns," she threatened.

The Sorceress chuckled. "I am sure he did not want to worry you. I made mention of his predecessors only once and with the constant threats of the Minions, the Dark Hemisphere, your rocky courtship and subsequent marriage, he may have forgotten."

Teela turned a sheepish eye to her. "Thanks for taking his side, Mother," she stated sarcastically.

Smiling, she replied, "Is that not what mother-in-laws are for, Daughter?" she quipped as she stood with her tea, Teela following with hers.

"Do not worry. Your mother-in-law will recover," Teela'Na added. "She is currently undergoing treatment in the Palace infirmary and will make a full recovery in several weeks."

Teela released a sigh of relief.

Her mother smiled and patted her shoulder. "I am glad you have come, Daughter. You are an impressive warrior, highly skilled in full frontal assault. Your time with me will refine your magical abilities and teach you the more subtle art of engagement." Her arm went wide in invitation. "Now come, Teela, we must have lunch. The baby in your womb is famished," she smiled as she turned to He-Man's partner. "You too, BattleCat."

"But I just ate two hours ago," Teela absently replied as her mother left the room with Cat.

Teela dropped her gaze and placed a hand over her lower abdomen. "If you're already starving, then you're definitely Adam's baby," she snorted as she patted her stomach and shook her head. "Your father is always hungry," she teased before joining her mother.

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Hulking shipping vessels stood docked in the black, silent waterways, their shadows ominous as the quiet sound of flickering water lapped against them. The shipyards bustled in the morning hours and were patrolled by guards overnight yet this particular night, they were completely deserted; the guards electing to stay within the guardhouses in an attempt to extend the holiday weekend.

Adam crouched beyond the light of the lampposts behind several cargo containers, his blue gaze surveying the area with laser focus.

After several minutes a shadowy figure, tall and muscular finally made its way to the end of the dock and stood arms crossed facing the bay. Adam took a breath and slowly walked towards him, his eyes never leaving the figure's back. Hearing the footfalls, the figure snorted and lowered his gaze to the ground, his head shaking in disdain.

"What do you want now?" he barked as he turned to face the owner of the footsteps. "Haven't you taken her p—" he stopped abruptly as his eyes went wide, his jaw dropping open. "You!"

"You were expecting someone else?" Adam replied, his brow quirked contemptuously as he came to a stop in front of him.

Momentarily robbed of speech, Keldor Miro blinked in disbelief. "But…you're DEAD!" he finally insisted, his expression mixed with disbelief and horror.

"Perhaps you're seeing a ghost," his nephew cracked.

Keldor's coal black gaze narrowed angrily.

"Speaking of appearances," Adam added, "Yours really improved, Uncle. You're trying to impress…?" he tauntingly drew out, his hand cajolingly making air circles.

"It's none of your concern, Maggot," he spat. "Like your father, you are simply a worm to be crushed underneath my boot."

Adam shook his head and waved a finger at him. "Tsk tsk, Uncle. That was uncalled for. We wouldn't want any of your budding fans to discover your true nature now, would we?" he warned as his amused expression leveled off. "I assume Amanda is now well acquainted with the real Keldor…unfortunately. Or should I say, Skeletor?"

Keldor's coal black eyes blazed furious red. "Who are you to threaten me, boy?" he exploded. "You're nothing but a weakling! A cowardly, sniveling, so-called prince whose illegitimate claim to my throne blocked me from my rightful rule of Eternia!"

Adam balled his fists at his side, his jaw clenched. "Illegitimate? You renounced your ascendancy when you refused to heed Grandfather's admonitions and conduct yourself accordingly," he ground out. "Oh, and that small matter of murdering a reigning king didn't help either," he added flippantly.

Keldor glowered at him, his body trembling with barely contained anger. "You were unwise to face me unarmed, boy!" he shrieked as his palms quickly shot out before him sending two angry energy volts toward the young Prince.

Anticipating the attack, Adam reached behind his back and, unsheathing his sword, he grabbed the hilt with both hands and swung his sword like a bat, expertly blocking the oncoming rays sending them shrieking back at the wizard.

Keldor's eyes widened as his own magic careened towards him. He dove out of the way as the volts exploded into the cargo ship behind him leaving an enormous burned out hole in the hull. Jumping to his feet, he angrily sent three more shots toward the young man, each deadly fireball spiraling wildly toward Adam.

His movements almost lightning fast, Adam spun out of the way of the first shot, back flipped evading the second, and moved the blade over his heart at the third sending it sailing over a startled Keldor and into the water.

Furious, the dark prince bolted toward his nephew as Adam sheathed his sword, both sword and scabbard dematerializing as he stood stock still, awaiting the onslaught.

Keldor viciously tackled him sending both of them hard to the ground. They rolled about, trading blows until they wrestled apart, both jumping to their feet, their breathing labored. Keldor pounced swinging a lethal punch to which Adam stepped to the side sending Keldor staggering forward from the miss and momentum. Quickly recovering, he threw his right forearm back in a sweeping motion with Adam ducking and delivering a kidney punch. Keldor grunted in pain and executed a reverse-crescent kick connecting with Adam's jaw sending him onto his back.

Balancing on his shoulders, Adam made a forward snap flip onto his feet ending with a flying round house kick to Keldor's temple causing him to fall sideways and crash heavily to his knees. Staggering to his feet, he shot multiple energy volts at the younger man to which Adam leapt forward, somersaulting over Keldor's head while simultaneously unsheathing his sword. Unable to keep up with his nephew's impressive evasive maneuvers, Keldor's volts missed wildly hitting the sides of the cargo containers and shattering the rooftop of a nearby warehouse.

Landing on his feet behind him, Adam deflected the last few volts aiming them at the bay in an attempt to avoid more structural damage to the city's property.

Furious, Keldor whirled around and with a growl, advanced making Adam once again quickly sheath his sword and block several powerful succession punches. The dark lord aimed at Adam's heart and throat to which he executed forearm blocks. He quickly targeted Adam's ribcage and groin, the young Prince blocking and answering with a double fisted punch to his uncle's sternum knocking the wind out of him sending him to the ground.

Again jumping to his feet, his uncle quickly dematerialized with Adam taking a two-fisted kokutsu-dachi stance and sweeping his gaze about in anticipation of his adversary's next strike.

The back of his neck suddenly tingled a split-second before his back exploded in pain causing him to spit blood knocking him to his knees, palming the ground.

The deep gravelly sound of ghostly laughter echoing around him, Adam coughed and quickly got his feet under him, wiping the blood away, his breathing hitched from the blow. Adopting a fighter's stance once again, Adam stood still, his eyes closing in meditation.

His neck once again tingling, Adam spun round, dropped to one knee simultaneously unsheathing his sword, and deflected an energy volt sending it shooting back to the source. It hit a surprised Keldor square in the chest causing him to spontaneously flicker emergent and drop to his knees, gasping for breath.

Adam slowly stood, sheathed his sword and cautiously approached.

"Where's Amanda?" he rasped, panting slightly.

Keldor, his eyes defiant coughed violently. "Soon dead!" he shrieked. "I'll repay her for lying about killing you," he spat before conjuring a sword in his grip and slashing violently at Adam who jumped back just in time, his shirt not as fortunate absorbing the attack and slicing open.

The shirt now sporting a gaping hole, the young Prince quickly pulled it off and tossed it to the side as Keldor, sword in hand, flung himself at Adam. Reaching behind his back, Adam pulled his sword and parried against the evil lord's fleche attack as they continued to mightily cross swords, lunging, dodging, and parrying aggressively.

Adam finally deflected Keldor's sword knocking it noisily to the ground. Keldor lunged at him as the two traded vicious punches, heel strikes, and forearm blocks. Adam then swoop-kicked Keldor sweeping his feet out from under him. Anticipating another attack, Adam stood over him, his breathing labored as he took a double-fisted boxer's stance, his eyes pinned to his adversary.

Weary, bloodied, and breathing heavily, Keldor slowly stood to his feet.

A few wordless seconds passed when he suddenly lifted his arms and levitated from the ground as Adam's eyes widened. The sound of a powerful energy force charging, the wizard began to spin above him, increasing in speed as Adam bolted for cover toward a nearby pile of heavy sandbags.

Adam barely diving out of the way, Keldor released a force-field bomb blowing Adam head over heel over the sandbags and crashing him into the adjacent wall. Equipment and debris blew away from the center sending pipes, tools, and rigging in all directions and penetrating the outer walls of the two warehouses, shattering windows and twisting metal.

His sorcery intensifying to a deafening level, he suddenly dematerialized returning the dock to its aforementioned quiet. The resulting devastation of the fight however left the dock in shambles, the sound of the young Prince's labored and raspy breathing the only sound piercing the dark stillness.

Adam palmed the ground and slowly crawled to his knees, his head throbbing, every muscle screaming in agony. Managing to stand to his feet, his exhausted gaze drifted to the closed-circuit security camera perched high above the warehouse aimed squarely at the dock.

He grinned victoriously.