Big thanks goes to those of you who have expressed interest in seeing this story continue. Thank you! I hope it proves to be interesting!

Just a warning, there's a flashback in here and I'm not italicizing it, because it's a lengthy section of the story. (Besides, novels don't do that anyway, haha.) I just wanted you to be aware, so you wouldn't be confused when Adam is suddenly "out of his predicament."

The Sacrifice Chapter 2

Prince Adam struggled against the guards. He knew there were too many Troopers to have a real chance of breaking free, but he continued to try nonetheless. To do nothing in this situation seemed foolish. A little hope lay in the fact that the Horde was always prone to mistakes. Even if that wasn't true, he would have continued to try anyway. When he had heard Hordak's order, a chill had run down his body and for once, real fear crept into his mind.

The Plunder Room.

That room and he had history and it wasn't a good one. On his first trip to Etheria when he was still trying to find the person who would carry the Sword of Protection, He-Man had been stunned by Adora, and Hordak had taken him to the Plunder Room. There he had been used as a mere battery for one of the Horde's weapons against the Rebellion: the Magnabeam Transporter.

He wondered if Hordak had repaired it. It was a scary thought as he remembered how the machine had affected He-Man. It had felt like the machine had been draining away his very life-force, but supposedly it only took a person's willpower. Regardless, it had left He-Man very weak. He had barely been able to move, but luckily, he had just enough energy left to lift his hand when She-Ra had tossed him his sword.

To go into that machine as Adam…he would admit it: he was scared. It wouldn't kill him—he knew that, but the prospect of being drained of the ability to fight back was overwhelming. He would be nothing but a mere slave to the Horde if that happened. He knew his sister would come for him, but there were problems with that, as well. He wouldn't be able to call upon the powers of Castle Grayskull right away.

He didn't have the Sword of Power with him.

That was just his luck. His whole day had been one unfortunate circumstance after another…

=)=)=)

Prince Adam stood in court and rolled his eyes as Lady Edwina had walked away. This was the first time she had been allowed back in Eternos after her actions almost two years ago. She had acted in a shameful manner when Skeletor had attacked the Royal Palace. She had only cared about herself and begged Orko to abandon his friends and use magic to get only him and her to safety. During that entire trip, she had acted pompous and treated Orko with disdain. His father had seen this and banned her from the kingdom until she mended her ways.

Today before court, Lady Edwina had shown up and begged an audience with the king. She had apologized for her actions, so his father had granted her a pardon. She was allowed to stay.

If you asked Adam, she hadn't changed a bit. Before she had walked away from him, she had been making comments about all the clothes people were wearing in court today, and her words weren't too flattering. She had even made fun of poor Orko. When Adam had explained that Orko's garbs were customary for his entire race and there were reasons behind it, she had made fun of that, as well.

He was relieved when she had finally walked away.

"What did Lady Edwina say?" he heard whispered in his ear suddenly.

Adam smiled as he looked slightly behind him at Teela. She walked beside him and shot his cousin a nasty glare. He tried to hold in his reaction to Teela's actions, so he merely snickered for a moment as he raised a hand to cover his mouth. When he knew he wouldn't burst out laughing in the middle of the court proceedings, he replied, "Oh, you know my cousin. She was pretending to be the face of civility, but belittling everyone behind their backs."

Teela did what he had done earlier—she rolled her eyes. "I knew that snake hadn't changed her ways! You should tell King Randor!" she exclaimed angrily.

He shrugged and asked, "What's the point? She leaves this afternoon and she won't be back for probably another year or more. We are family, and I know it bothered Father to be at odds with her."

Teela softened her expression and whispered, "Your father is a good man, Adam. A little too good at times."

"You're telling me," he mumbled.

Teela stared at him for a second and then pushed on his shoulder playfully. "You're a fine one to talk! You're worse than he is!"

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow at her as she nodded at him.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "You, Prince Adam, are a softy! You let everyone walk all over you!"

He straightened his shoulders and frowned at her. "I do not," he grumbled.

She laughed. "You do when it's people you care about! Just…watch this!"

She immediately grabbed the back of his belt and started jerking him back and forth. Adam didn't knock her away. He just folded his arms as she made him wiggle his body a little. He merely glared at her.

"See!"

He shook his head and countered softly, "Well, what do you want me to do in the middle of court? Cause a scene by chasing you? Besides, you are a lady, you know. It's not like I can smack you."

She widened her eyes for a moment. Then, she scowled at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He turned to look at her a little startled. "Nothing!"

"You and I used to roughhouse with each other all the time! It's not like I can't take it just because I'm a woman!"

He waved his hands in front of him beseechingly. "That's not what I meant, Teela! I just meant we're grown now and as such, we can't roughhouse like we used to!"

She glared at him and said, "Oh, yes, we can! This afternoon, you and me. Courtyard."

He gaped at her and exclaimed loudly, "What? Teela?"

Everyone in court stopped to turn to look at them. Even his father, who had been speaking at the time, glared at him.

Adam blushed profusely and called out, "Uh, sorry about that."

=)=)=)

That's what got him in this predicament. Well, it was one thing of a few…

He wondered if Teela knew he was actually missing, or did she think he had run away somewhere to avoid sparring with her? He knew the ladder was very possible. After all, he had made quite a reputation for himself: he was a runner, someone who wouldn't stick around during fights. Why would he show up to let the Captain of the Royal Guard kick him around?

He sighed as he thought about what he would have to go through when he showed back up. Teela would be ruthless, and his father…well, he would consider it another piece of evidence that his son needed to change. At times like this, he wished he was someone, anyone else.

His thoughts were interrupted by the guards dragging him into the Plunder Room. He recognized it instantly and he tried to stiffen his legs to stop the Troopers from taking him any farther.

It didn't work. There were so many guards surrounding him that they merely pushed on him and he slid across the floor. When he finally got to the corner where the room turned, he looked to his left and saw what he had feared. The glass booth was repaired from the time that She-Ra had ripped it from its foundation and smashed it on the floor. He could only assume that meant the Magnabeam was fully operational, as well.

"No," he whispered to himself. He started struggling again, and the Troopers must have sensed his desperation, because they started laughing as they whipped him around and then use the momentum to throw him inside the glass booth. They shut the door on him and locked it just as a guard turned the machine on.

Not wanting to experience this again, Adam pounded furiously on the glass. He was hoping he could break it. Unlike last time, he wasn't weakened by a stun ray, so he hoped he could use that to his advantage. Unfortunately, he wasn't He-Man this time and the glass was very thick.

Just when he realized he was truly stuck again, he began to feel the effects of the machine. His head felt like it was spinning, so he placed a hand against the glass to keep himself upright and standing. He could tell that this machine was draining him at a slower rate than it had been last time. The Horde was going to make this torturous. Of course, he knew they were really giving Adora time to show up. The torment it would cause him was probably a delightful bonus for them.

=)=)=)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though most of the chapter was a flashback on Eternia! It's important, I assure you!