A/N: I thank you for your continued support of my story and for your reviews. There's so many moving parts to this plot that my chapters right now are super short because 1) it's complex and I'm getting reeeaally tired (LOL) and 2) the chapters could ramble on for days and get even more confusing. Soooo, I'm sorry about that LOL. And yes, this plot is quite steep. Look out below! :P
Warning: You must be at least 16 yrs of age to read this update as it contains some strong language. Adam's got a mouth on him ;)
Chapter 35
-Security Council Chambers, Eternos Palace -
"Adam?"
Leaning back in his chair, an elbow on the armrest and his chin in his hand the Prince stared blankly into the distance.
"Adam? Where are you?" his father tried again.
Startled out of his thoughts he flinched and straightened, blinking wide-eyed at his father. "What?"
Randor gave a disapproving sigh. "I was asking you whether Commander Glimmer's troops would be ready in two days."
He opened his mouth to reply but closed it, all eyes quietly on him, his mother's brow knit.
Knowing why he was distracted, Adora eyed him, her gaze saddened.
"They're ready, Your Majesty," the Sorceress' disembodied voice filled the chambers, "However, Hordak's escaped custody."
The room exploded in incredulous chatter.
"How? Isn't Whispering Woods supposed to be escape proof?"
"Yes, Father," Adora replied, "Knowing those Woods well, the ease of his escape baffles me," she replied curtly.
"I know how, Your Majesty, but I need to discuss it with Adam first."
Everyone's gaze shot to the Prince who simply stared back silently. His mother focused on him.
"What is it, son?"
Glancing away, he shook his head. Randor furrowed his brow.
"Son?"
Shaking his head, he gave a dismissive wave. "Later, Dad," he replied, "Please. It's...it's not appropriate for this discussion."
His father's lips parting, he gave a nod. "I see." He turned to Duncan, Marcus, and Hall. "Send the signal and alert the Realms. We begin evacuations tonight."
"Yes, Your Majesty," they stood offering neck bows to the Royal Family before exiting, Orko tagging along with Farrell as they left. When the door closed, the King turned to his son.
"What's going on?"
Adam's flat blue gaze met concerned hazel. "Glimmer broke up with me an hour ago."
Randor's eyebrows flew up, Marlena clapping a hand over her mouth. She pulled it away. "Why? You two seemed to be hitting it off so well. Why on Earth would she end it so quickly?" she asked.
"For the same reason Teela and I broke up, Mom," he replied, his features unreadable. "As heir, she can't relocate to Eternia and abandon her people. And I can't move there so…," he trailed off with a shrug.
"I'm learning that being a royal has many drawbacks," his sister remarked somewhat glibly.
Her brother nodded and looked at his mother. "She has a responsibility to Bright Moon to carry on the ascendancy. She's making the right decision for her people," he tilted his head, "Actually, I'm impressed, really." He looked at his family. "But of course, that means I'm back at square one."
Randor winced. "Has anyone besides Princess Glimmer clicked with you?"
Adam shook his head. "Sooo…I guess that means after this is all over, you'll have to select a courtier for me on my twenty-fifth birthday. That is…if I survive what's coming in two days—"
"Don't say that, Brother."
Their eyes meeting, he gave a small shrug. "It's just…it's fine, I'm over it." He glanced at his father. "It's okay, don't worry. I'll do what's expected of me. I'll marry, sire an heir, and the Royal Line of Greyskull will continue," he waved a hand, stood, offered a neck bow and left leaving his family puzzled.
"I sense his heart has completely shut down."
Marlena furrowed her brow. "Do you, Daughter?" she asked more like a statement.
Adora nodded. "It reminds me a little of how I was as Force Captain. Duty was the only thing that mattered."
Randor and Marlena exchanged worried glances.
xx
Opening the door to his chambers, Cringer trotted toward him, tongue wagging.
With a small smile, Adam bent down and scratched behind his ears topping it off with a peck on his head. He walked past and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, peeling it off and dropping it on the floor, Cringer following.
As he stepped into his bathing chambers the cat pulled up and stopped, sitting on his haunches in the master suites as Adam removed his sweats and socks, the clothes flying into the room, Cringer's eyes following their trajectory as they landed nearby.
*bad day, huh?
"Shitty day, bro," came the reply from inside.
*anything i can do?
Adam peeked out from the side and gave a sad smile. "You here with me is everything. Thank you."
Cringer nodded and lay down, his head on his paws as the water turned on.
x
Running his hands over his face, Adam stepped into the steamy shower letting his mind go blank as he concentrated on the drone of the jets. Lowering his chin, he palmed the tile wall as the water ran over him soaking his blond locks golden.
Two days…
Swiping the excess water from his face, he blinked open.
God, grant us mercy. Please help us…
He stared at the shower gel, took it and lathered up.
I ask you to please protect my family, the Sorceress, Duncan, Cringe, Orko, Lucius, Diddimus, Gada, Mrs. Stoley…
More lathering…
…my people, The Masters, and the people of Etheria. Please Guard the members of the Rebellion and my father's troops as we deal with this final confrontation…
He rinsed off and poured shampoo into his palm.
…and please protect my idiot Uncle and his crazy ass.
Rinsing the suds from his locks, he shut the water off and stepped out, grabbing a thick white fluffy towel. Drying off he wrapped it around his waist and padded to the sink. He stopped at the mirror and squinted at the stubble.
Geez I look like shit.
Pulling out the shaving cream and razor he went to work, his thoughts drifting.
I can manage a life without love. The question is, will I be able to raise competent children confident in the knowledge that they're loved and valued even if I'm unable to share those feelings for a spouse?
He stopped.
Kids observe. They're going to sense I'm disingenuous.
"That'll be confusing," he said aloud. He resumed.
I guess whomever Dad selects I'm going to have to suck it up and learn to love her. The same can be said for her; she'll be marrying a total stranger and will have to learn to love me too…
Rinsing off he patted his face dry. He stared at the mirror once again.
And God – given my background, You know I'm not easy to love.
He tossed the hand towel in the hamper and stepped into his chambers, Cringer's head popping up as he bent over gathering the clothes strewn across the floor. He stepped into his second closet and placed the sweats into the chute.
All this speculation is moot if I don't make it off the battlefield alive…
He put his hands on his hips.
"God…if anything, please let my parents and Adora live…," he murmured.
-MACS0647-JD -
Escorted by guards, Hordak approached the Steel Throne with sincere genuflection.
"Your Excellency, my dearest brother! I humbly entreat you to forgive my failings and ask you to accept my deepest apologies for disappointing you! It will not happen again. You can count on me in the Final Victory! I cannot tell you how relieved I was to receive your digital summons at the Rebellion Encampment—"
"Silence!" Prime roared from his seat, eyes blazing red hot as Catra, Weaver, and Malek arrogantly looked on.
Trembling, the former commander fell once again to his knees, head bowed.
"You have failed me many times, Hordak," his brother boomed, "There is no need to remind me of such. Commander Catra informs me you planned to betray me and steal Triangulum and Andromeda as I moved my troops from Meridien. She told me of how you and your former apprentice planned to divide the two galaxies amongst yourselves."
Hordak went paler…if that was even possible.
"The Enchantress tells me of your plan to exploit her powers to manipulate the minds of the Eternian King's troops through telekinesis…to subdue their freedom of thought forcing them to rebel and fight for you. Is this information true?"
He swallowed hard. "Yes, My Lord but—"
The chambers began to rumble, Prime's rage ramping up shaking the walls of the Throne Room. Hordak lie nearly prostrate before his estranged brother.
"Please! Please, Your Excellency! Allow me to explain—"
"I will allow you to explain yourself. If your explanation is comprehensible, I will consider a stay of execution. If it is not, I will dismantle your body and sell it for scrap!"
Shuddering, Hordak nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Of course, Most Excellent One."
"Begin," he waved a hand. "You have three minutes."
He swallowed again before scrambling to his feet. "My Lord, it is true I planned for Weaver to cast a spell over the Eternian troops. However, it was only for your glory…"
"Continue."
"I made a temporary deal with Skeletor in order to use his powers to get me He-Man, a Master of the Universe. I wanted to turn him over for your use but of course, Catra beat me to it. She then bungled the entire capture and he got away."
Standing on the periphery, the feline humanoid promptly went white.
"Shadow Weaver then failed as well, but I don't fault her for that; she is no match for Greyskull."
Weaver harrumphed and folded her arms.
"As for this fellow," he gestured at Malek, "I had very few dealings with him and to be honest, I've no idea who he is. He seems to be a mercenary, someone we exploited to get us to Eternia and Greyskull. He's a means to an end. I would caution you to watch your back around him. I sense he has no true loyalties and is only in it for himself."
The wizard's eyes went round before breaking out into a cold sweat.
"With that, I offer to you that everything I have done, I've done for you! Never self-serving! I planned on double-crossing Skeletor to secure Eternia and Etheria for you! I fed Catra false information to check her loyalties. As you see, she did not have the discernment to catch my vision and instead, acted as a double agent and came running to you distorting my intentions before I had the chance to prove to you my plans! Who knows? She could be a triple-agent and involved only to double-cross you and take over the galaxies on behalf of the people of Purrsia! She is not a true Horde member, Your Excellency!"
Commander Catra gasped, Weaver and Malek inching away from her as Prime's head slowly turned to her, his eyes glowing.
"Is this true, Commander?"
"I—I…NO!" she stuttered, fear seizing her. "I knew Hordak planned to betray you, Your Excellency! I merely posed as a traitor to gather information and bring it to you! I eavesdropped on him and Shadow Weaver as he laid out his plans to rend the galaxies from you! He…he is a liar, My Lord!" she pointed at him, her features suddenly contorting in rage. "Everything he said to you is a lie! He—"
"Everything?" he lifted a brow. "Is it not fact that you lost the Prince of Eternia on my barge and allow him and his sister to destroy the largest Destroyer in my fleet?"
She froze, her eyes going wide.
"Hordak was my Second In Command. You double-crossed him to get into my good graces, did you not?"
She swallowed hard. "All for you, My Lord—"
"You cannot be trusted!" he thundered, raising a palm as his arm transformed in the blink of an eye into a massive Master Blaster firing a shot, the entire place quaking from the powerful kickback as the interferometric photon rings shot forth engulfing the hapless Purrsian and obliterating her into tiny bits, her scream of pain echoing in the Throne Room as her displaced atoms scrambled then imploded into a Black Hole, Malek falling to the floor hands over his ears as Weaver levitated backward out of range.
Leaning back in his chair, his arm reverted back, he placing it on the armrest. His gaze turned back to his brother.
"I will give you one last chance to prove your loyalty to me, Brother," he warned. "The next time you fail…is the last time."
His face to the floor, Hordak groveled before him. "Thank you most gracious and merciful Master, thank you."
-Two Hours Later, Crown Prince's Chambers, Eternos Palace, Eternia -
"Adam…"
Reading a book with Cringer's head in his lap, he went alert. "Yes, Sorceress?"
"We need to talk about Hordak's disappearance…and another anomaly at Prime's safehouse…," she stated.
He frowned. "Another?"
"Yes. Come to me…"
A portal ripped open in his salon, Cringer yelping as Adam gingerly rose from his sofa, kissed his cat on the top of his head, and hopped through, it slamming shut.
xx
-Greyskull -
The portal opened, the Prince bounding through as it closed behind him.
"What is it?"
"Follow me," the Redhead stated as she quickly levitated to King D'Vann's War Chambers, Adam's eyebrows flying up.
"That's new…," he mumbled as he followed.
Pulling out a chair for her, she thanked him and took it, he following across from her.
"It was your Uncle, Adam."
He gave her the side eye. "What did he now?"
"He used his sorcery to place a location beacon on Hordak in Whispering Woods," she explained, her features troubled. "That's how he was able to escape and how he was found by Catra."
Adam's mouth fell open. "Well, so much for trusting him—"
"But there's something else."
His gaze narrowed.
"Greyskull is the one who awakened him last night to do it. The Spirit then coordinated with Light Hope and they worked in concert to get Hordak free from Glimmer's men. Of course, they didn't sanction Sephus' slaying—"
"The FUCK—?"
"I know!" she replied, breathless. "The…," she trailed off, her eyes slipping into a trance. Adam studied her when the Power Sword on his back began to throb, he glancing over his shoulder—
Teela suddenly stood, raised a palm and opened a portal, Adora trotting through, out of breath.
"Why did Uncle Keldor do that? What's going on?" his sister asked, the Protection Sword pulsing with energy in kind matching her brother's twin sword.
"No clue," Adam replied. "It just seems to get worse."
Snapping out of it, the Sorceress blinked. "Please have a seat, Adora," she gestured as the Princess sat beside her brother, her arm slipping around his for support.
"I'm instructed to tell you both that appearances can be deceiving."
Silence.
"Okay," Adam drew out. "Is there more?"
The Sorceress shook her head. "No. That's it."
"Okay," Adora drew out this time.
"You said there was another anomaly at MACS0647-JD?"
She looked at Adam. "Yes, like the sorcerous signature we picked up weeks ago. There was another atmospheric disruption surrounding the site, like…like a spontaneous Black Hole opened up then promptly disappeared."
The twins exchanged glances.
"And where I was initially picking up four signatures, for a brief moment a fifth signature appeared before reverting back to four."
"According to Little Orko, he eavesdropped on Prime, Weaver, Catra, and Malek at the safehouse...," Adora began.
The other two nodded.
"And, after Hordak's escape from the Woods, the fifth signature appeared on MACS0647-JD, correct?"
"Yes," Teela replied.
"So, we're suggesting Hordak was sprung from jail, brought to Prime, then executed?" Adam speculated.
"Correct," Greyskull's Guardian replied. "We're searching for confirmation, but someone's definitely died. We're just not sure who."
"I wouldn't be disappointed if it were Malek," Adam remarked.
Adora and Teela whipped their heads to him. He met their surprised gazes.
"What? I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt my feelings if the motherfucker stopped breathing, that's all."
His twin smirked.
"There's one more thing."
Adam gave an apprehensive sigh.
"Greyskull says we're going to need extra help against The Horde and its mass of robots."
Adam and Adora stared at her.
"The King has to retrieve someone from Scinteria, and I must do the same from the 4th dimension."
Seriously annoyed, Adam ran a hand through his hair. "No. Not that bastard."
Teela nodded.
"Which one?" Adora asked, "Aren't there five bastards at Rocky Point?" she asked sarcastically.