"What?" Fisto blurted.
"How? How could he know?" Randor demanded, panic in his voice. Tears trickled down Marlena's cheeks.
He-Man shook his head, feeling sick to his stomach. "He could have been spying on us with his magic at any time," he murmured as he continued scanning the note.
"Wait a minute," Mekaneck said, holding up a hand. "You're Adam?"
He-Man's gaze shifted to Mekaneck and Fisto, who both wore similar expressions of disbelief. Skeletor knew the truth. There was no longer any reason to deny it. "Yes."
"How?" Fisto asked bluntly, his brow furrowed.
"We don't have time for explanations right now," Duncan interjected. Used to putting aside curiosity and personal emotions when there was danger, Fisto and Mekaneck nodded, though they exchanged glances, as if each wanted to confirm he wasn't the only one who had been in the dark.
"What does the rest of it say?" Randor asked, moving to peer at the note.
"He has Teela." Anger reddened He-Man's vision for a moment; he took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "He demands I surrender to him, unconditionally, or he'll harm her." He-Man crushed the note in one hand, Skeletor's exact wording already emblazoned in his memory. "…or I will ensure her face is as carefully marred as my own before I kill her."
"He's been watching," Marlena said faintly. He-Man looked at her worriedly, wishing Adora were here. Marlena looked so pale and weak as she lay on the couch. He cursed the fact that he couldn't heal her. His jaw tightened. But he could save Teela.
"What are you doing?" Randor asked frantically as He-Man turned and took a step towards the door.
"I'm going to surrender." At Randor's cry of protest, He-Man stopped and turned back. He looked at Duncan and cupped his hands around his mouth so that only the old warrior could see, in case Skeletor was in fact watching still. "Adora," he mouthed soundlessly to him. He assumed Skeletor knew her secret as well, but since the villain had made no mention of her in the note, they might be able to use her to their advantage.
Duncan gave a slight nod to show He-Man he understood.
"You can't, Adam. He'll kill you," Randor objected fearfully.
"He's right," Mekaneck agreed.
"We've rescued people from Snake Mountain before," Fisto added. "We'll just do it again."
"No," He-Man said with a shake of his head. He had a strong feeling Skeletor would follow through on his threat this time. "I have to go." Before anyone could say another word, he was gone.
His head spinning, Randor returned to Marlena, who was struggling to sit up. Her face was still pale, her hair in unfamiliar disarray. He eased an arm behind her shoulders and helped her up.
"We have to do something," Marlena said, her voice weak but determined.
"I agree," Duncan said grimly. "Where's Adora?"
"Orko and Stratos took her for a flight in the wind raider to show her the Mystic Mountains and give her a flight lesson," Randor answered tightly. "They're not due back until dinner time. My guess would be that even if we called her back immediately, it would take them at least an hour or two to get here."
"Teela and He-Man may not have an hour or two," Fisto pointed out, his huge fist tightening in frustration.
"I know that!" Randor snapped. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Feeling slightly more settled, he returned his gaze to Fisto, whose wide eyes indicated he was surprised by the king's outburst. "I'm sorry, Fisto. Obviously I'm worried."
"And with good reason," Mekaneck said. "Might I suggest Duncan, Fisto, and I go after them?"
"I agree," Duncan said immediately, crossing his arms and throwing Randor a look that dared him to argue.
"Very well," began Randor, "but I-"
He was interrupted by screeching alarms that reverberated throughout the palace. Duncan and Randor rushed to the window; looking out they saw hundreds of Skeletor's robots surrounding the palace, some of them using their jet propulsion to breach the outer walls. Randor cursed loudly.
"Skeletor has planned well," Duncan said harshly, a deep frown on his face.
"This changes nothing," Randor said in an iron tone. "Go and get my son, Duncan."
"I'm afraid that's more easily said than done, Your Majesty," Duncan replied, pointing to the sky. "Look."
Randor followed Duncan's finger. His hand clenched into a fist and he slammed it onto the window sill. Several of Skeletor's air vehicles floated there, along with a few dozen sky sleds. They could get through, but it was going to cost them time. Time Adam and Teela might not have.
Fly a sky sled directly into Snake Mountain's hangar. Skeletor's instructions had been explicit this time. In fact, his careful planning worried Adam. The creep clearly had something specific in mind. He landed inside the hangar without incident and dismounted, his entire body tense as he glanced around. There was no one in the hangar.
"All right Skeletor," He-Man called out. "I'm here. Quit playing games."
"Oh, but I've only begun to play games," Skeletor's voice echoed throughout the cavern-like hangar. Adam looked up, but there was nothing. Suddenly Skeletor appeared before him, laughing maniacally. He-Man's jaw clenched, though he forced himself to remain still otherwise. "After all, you've been playing games with me for years, Prince Adam." Skeletor's voice hardened with anger.
"I've come to surrender as you demanded," He-Man said, keeping his voice level. "Release Teela and I'll do so quietly."
"Oh by all means, my dear prince," Skeletor agreed, suddenly sounding delighted. The monster was definitely unbalanced, He-Man decided for the hundredth time. "But first-"
Shackles hit He-Man from behind, clasping around his wrists and waist with a loud clang. It disturbed He-Man's balance for a few seconds, but otherwise did him no harm. Chains appeared, linking his wrists to his waist, and then tightened, drawing his hands together in front of him. He knew he could break them easily; Skeletor had yet to create a chain that could hold him. He raised an eyebrow in contempt and waited for whatever else Skeletor had in store.
"Eternia's pathetic prince, actually the planet's hero all this time," Skeletor said, his ire rising with each word. "I have to hand it to you, Prince Adam, that must have been a difficult secret to keep for the last six years."
"Do you have a point, Bonehead?" He-Man asked in a bored tone.
"I'm curious, you floundering fool. You lost the respect of your family and friends, your people. Was it really worth it?" Skeletor waited for his answer with no expression on his bony face whatsoever, but his tone gave him away. He was mocking Adam for his choices.
He-Man raised his chin and stared into the black holes where eyes should have been. "Absolutely."
"Really," the evil villain asked sounding as if he were pretending surprise. He pressed his hands together in anticipation, and He-Man's stomach clenched. "Perhaps you'll change your mind. Change back into your true self."
"I can't," He-Man spat at him. "I lost that ability a month ago. You might have noticed Adam's been missing."
"So I did," Skeletor said in satisfaction. "In fact, that is when I noticed you were not disappearing as you always had been. From there, I simply watched you constantly."
"That must have been rather boring when I left Eternia," He-Man taunted him. He knew She-Ra and the others would be along as soon as they could. He just had to buy enough time…
"That was rather…annoying," Skeletor agreed. "But it mattered not. Eventually your own foolish conversations gave away the truth." His black eye holes narrowed. "Actually, it was your imprudent love, Teela, who gave you away. I'll have to remember to thank her."
He-Man made no reply, and he kept his eyes fixed on Skeletor. But he could hear other footsteps as Skeletor's cronies gathered around. His skin crawled with the knowledge that they were there, surrounding him. He shifted his weight slightly, expecting an attack from behind.
"I thought you were going to demand both him and that woman," Evil-Lyn's harsh tones interjected from behind him.
"I assume she is that annoying princess; she will be easy enough to eliminate. I couldn't be sure she would 'cooperate' by surrendering," Skeletor snapped, seeming irritated that she was questioning him, "since you failed to capture the queen." He crossed his arms and looked back at He-Man. "But I knew you would come for Teela."
Skeletor paused as if waiting for a response, but He-Man chose to remain silent again.
"Well, I have to admit that defeating you as He-Man will be more satisfying than doing so as that annoying wimp Adam anyway," Skeletor continued. "You might remember my friend Monteeg. He taught me a spell that I believe you found quite fascinating."
Oh no. He-Man's entire body went taut, though he tried to keep his face impassive.
Skeletor raised his havoc staff threateningly. "Kneel to me, Prince of Eternia," he ordered mockingly.
"Never," He-Man denied. He raised his chin defiantly. "I may be your prisoner, but I will never bow to your evil reign."
"Then I will make you," Skeletor growled.
An electrical bolt emerged from the havoc staff and reached out for the shackles on He-Man. His muscles contorted of their own volition as the electricity surged through him. He dropped to the ground, his jaw clenched against the pain. It went on for several minutes, with Skeletor and his minions laughing the entire time. Even after Skeletor had stopped sending the magical electricity through He-Man, the hero's muscles continued to cramp and spasm. His own harsh breathing mingled in the cavern with their laughter. That attack had lasted longer than Monteeg's.
"Get up," Skeletor commanded.
Adam debated staying down just out of defiance, but he hated to let Skeletor think he'd already been broken. He rolled to his knees and climbed to his feet, his body aching but steady.
"Do you know what your weakness is, Prince Adam?" Skeletor asked. It was obvious from his tone that he was completely enjoying the fact that he now knew He-Man's secret.
"I have a bad habit of sparing your life?" He-Man deadpanned. Someone snickered behind him.
"That too," Skeletor agreed instantly, barely sparing a glance for whoever had dared to laugh. "But your real weakness is that you let yourself care for others. Look at you, imprisoned in the vain hope that your surrender will win Teela's freedom. It's pitiful."
Though the betrayal was not entirely unexpected, He-Man felt fury rage through him. He broke the chains that bound him easily as he took a step towards Skeletor. "You will release her, or you will be sorry," he threatened.
"Oh really?" Skeletor queried.
A blast hit He-Man from behind; as his muscles convulsed and he fell to the ground once more he belatedly realized Evil-Lyn had learned the same spell. No wonder Skeletor had been willing to goad him on and risk him breaking free. A raw yell emerged involuntarily from his throat. Laughing, Skeletor added his own power to the spell.
The pain screeched along every nerve. Time ceased as his entire world became a blur of torture. Slowly, his body began to shut down out of self-defense. His vision began to darken just as they stopped their attack. Skeletor said something, but He-Man didn't know what it was; he was too lost in the haze of pain. He fought to stay awake, but it was a battle he lost in less than a minute.
Randor let out a string of curses as Man-at-Arms reported in. Skeletor's minions had managed to collapse the main hangar entrance. Every exit they could have used by foot or ground vehicle was being guarded as well. The Collector was disbursing some sort of disruption ray that was preventing either Duncan from contacting the Sorceress. After what seemed to be an inordinately long time, the guardsmen had finally managed to launch their first air assault. Duncan and the others had hoped to use the attack as a diversion so they could escape. Unfortunately, Skeletor had managed to modify his robots to fly sky sleds. So in addition to Tri-Klops, Whiplash, and Kobra Khan, there were several dozen robots flying around. And that didn't factor in whoever was flying the Collector and the Doom Basher. Duncan and his troops were winning, but not fast enough.
"Have you called Adora?" Marlena asked softly as she came up alongside him to look out the window.
"Yes," Randor assured her, turning to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "What are you doing up? You should be resting."
"How far away is Adora?" the queen asked, ignoring his admonition.
"She should be here soon. They were already on their way back."
"Really? Why?" Marlena asked.
Randor shrugged, his eyes on the battle outside. "She said something about knowing Adam was in trouble."
"Wouldn't it be better for her, Stratos, and Orko to go straight to Snake Mountain?" Marlena asked fretfully. She twisted her hands together.
Randor sighed. "I tried to suggest that, but our frequencies were jammed just as I started the transmission."
"So Adora will be worried about us as well," Marlena concluded. "She'll come here first, not knowing Adam and Teela are in more danger than we are."
"Perhaps it's just as well," Randor murmured. "She's not used to Skeletor and his cronies. I'd feel better if she had Duncan with her, and some others as well."
"Perhaps we should send the entire army to Snake Mountain and level it," Marlena said darkly.
Randor said nothing in reply, knowing she was speaking out of fear and desperation rather than wisdom at the moment. He simply tightened his arm around her. Secretly, though, he wondered if they weren't about to be forced down that path.
Teela paced in the cell, angry with herself. "Blast it all, I shouldn't have let them beat me," she grumbled to herself. She turned quickly and had to raise a hand to the wall to steady herself. Perhaps that blow to the head had done more harm than she had realized. She eased herself down onto the stone outcropping that served as both bed and bench and lowered her head into her hands, willing the room to stop spinning.
Footsteps sounded in the hall, along with the sound of something being dragged. Her heart in her throat, Teela went to the front of the cell and saw Trap Jaw and Beastman toss He-Man's limp form into a cell across from her. Evil-Lyn was behind them; once He-Man was inside and the door was closed, she murmured a spell; judging from the faint glow that appeared, she had activated a force field.
They came to her cell door next, the three of them staring at her like a piece of disgusting filth. Teela lifted her chin, meeting their gazes in turn. "Skeletor says to let you go," Beastman finally snarled, opening the door.
Stunned, Teela simply stood there a moment.
"Would you rather stay here?" Evil-Lyn asked dryly.
"Well I was beginning to get used to the décor around here," Teela tossed back. Her mind raced. She wasn't strong enough to take all three of them on right now. She had to leave and get help. But three steps into the hallway, she made the mistake of looking over at He-Man. Dark circles hung under his closed eyes; angry red singe marks ran all along his body. "What did you do to him?" she asked, horrified, stepping closer in spite of the possible danger.
"We taught him a lesson," Evil-Lyn said with a cruel laugh. She raised a glowing hand. "One I'll teach to you if you don't get moving."
"I'm sorry, Adam," Teela whispered under her breath. She felt so guilty leaving him, but she had to get help. She whirled to her right and raced down the hall.
Adora's heart went into her throat when she saw the smoke rising from the palace. "Please let everyone be all right," she whispered. She pushed the controls forward, urging the wind raider to its top speed. "How do I shoot again, Orko?" She could see the aircraft now.
"This button," he said, pointing to it with one hand while he held onto his hat with the other hand.
Adora soared into the battle, Stratos just above her, both of them firing as fast as they could. The Royal Guard and the few Masters who had been around had been doing well, and with this added support, Skeletor's forces were coerced into a hasty retreat within fifteen minutes. A few of the robots continued to fight, but there were no longer enough of them to make a difference.
Feeling panicked over Adam and Teela, Adora landed the wind raider with a thud. She jumped out before the engines even stopped running and found Duncan waiting for her.
"We've got to go," he said flatly. "Change into She-Ra."
Her jaw dropped and she looked at Fisto, who had come up beside Duncan. "D-Duncan!"
"Skeletor knows that He-Man is Adam. There's no point in keeping it a secret any longer," the older man said shortly. "We don't have time for arguments, Adora. The Sorceress just sent me a message. She said you and I need to head towards Snake Mountain as fast as we can."
"What about me? I want to help," Fisto protested.
"I'm not sure anyone but She-Ra can do what will need to be done," Duncan said somberly.
"You mean they're hurt?" Adora demanded.
"Or they will be by the time we get there," he affirmed. "Besides, the wind raider can fly faster with only two. The others can gather additional support and follow. Now come on, let's go!"
"Wake up, fool."
He-Man raised his throbbing head from the rough stone floor. He looked in the direction of the voice, blinking hard to clear his eyes. Slowly things came into focus. Skeletor. So old Bonehead hadn't killed him yet. That was probably a bad sign for someone else. Perhaps he intended to try to trade He-Man for the throne.
"Oh, I do love seeing you like this, He-Man," Skeletor chortled as Adam pushed himself up slowly. "However, as entertaining as this is, I have another plan to put into place." He raised his staff and chains re-appeared around He-Man's wrists and waist. Adam felt a tingling sensation, and slowly the cell around him faded, to be replaced by Skeletor's throne room. Another shackle appeared around He-Man's neck, chaining him to Skeletor's magical globe at such a short length that he was forced to kneel.
"I'm warning you, Skeletor, you'd better let Teela go or all the Masters will be here within the hour," He-Man threatened. His voice, to his satisfaction, did not belie how weak he felt at the moment. He could feel his strength returning, but it couldn't happen fast enough when he was a prisoner in Snake Mountain.
"Shut up, fool," Skeletor ordered, with another electrical blast. Though this one was not as strong as the others, a grunt escaped He-Man's lips as he fell sideways, the neck shackle nearly cutting into his skin. "Now get up here and pay attention," Skeletor demanded, using his magic to set He-Man back on his knees where he could see the globe again. "I already know your friends will attempt to rescue you, so I have decided to let you go. Just as I did Teela."
Teela appeared in the crystal. She was free, running from Snake Mountain. A wave of relief washed over He-Man. Skeletor had actually kept his end of the bargain. Marlena had been right. Wonders really never did cease.
"As I said, she has been released," Skeletor said in a pleased voice. He-Man's eyes flew to his face. He knew that tone. Skeletor wasn't done with her yet. "Don't look at me, you muscle-bound moron. Watch my crystal globe."
He-Man turned his eyes back to the magical talisman, not because he wanted to obey, but because he had to know what was going to happen to Teela. Snake Mountain appeared from afar. Then, the view narrowing in, a rocket showed itself, its blasters already going. "This is the same kind of missile I used to blow up Prince Adam's room—or rather, your room." Skeletor snickered as he sat on his throne, his minions copying the sound. "Now it's set to go after Teela."
"No," He-Man whispered, horrified. He surged upwards, breaking the chain connected to his neck easily.
Skeletor raised his havoc staff, but instead of blasting He-Man, the chains around him disappeared. He-Man looked down, then back up at Skeletor, confused.
"Oh, by all means, attempt to save her, He-Man. For you see, you will fail, but in the process of attempting to save her life, you will die as well."
Skeletor's cackling laughter followed He-Man as he ran out the snake's mouth and dove headfirst into the night air.
He somersaulted and landed nearly sideways on the mountain across from Snake Mountain. He used his momentum to push off and flip through the air once more. The missile had already launched, but it had left a trail of smoke behind. He-Man followed it, pushing his muscles as much as he possibly could.
He-Man's fists clenched tightly. The electrical attacks had not been random. Skeletor had known exactly what he was doing. At his peak, He-Man could have easily caught the rocket. But now his muscles protested as he ran. A sudden cramp in his stomach brought him tumbling to the ground; gritting his teeth, he rolled and regained his footing as quickly as he could. His feet pounded the rhythm of his urgency. Tee-la Tee-la Tee-la. What if he didn't reach her in time?
It seemed to be forever until he saw the back of the missile high up in the sky, its red glow showing easily through the plume of smoke. He-Man surged ever faster, but to his dismay, Teela soon came into view as well. The missile was barely a half-mile behind her and gaining quickly. The saving grace might be its height; it still had to come down to get Teela.
He gasped for air. He pulled on resources he hadn't known were there, somehow managing to outrun the missile. He came almost alongside Teela. Without hesitating, he shoved her ahead of him and towards the ground, unsheathed his sword, whirled around and threw it at the missile.
The wind raider's engines couldn't go fast enough for She-Ra. "Do you think we'll make it in time?" she asked Duncan worriedly.
"I-" Duncan's response was cut off as a huge explosion lit the sky to the southwest. "Hang on!" he exclaimed. The shockwaves from the explosion hit them only a few seconds later, tossing the wind raider up and down effortlessly. Duncan struggled to regain control as She-Ra clung to the side of the raider, her eyes fixed on the spot from where the explosion had come.
"Are you all right?" Duncan yelled.
"No," She-Ra responded automatically. Her connection to He-Man was stronger when she was She-Ra, and she found herself gasping for breath. "He-Man. Something's happened to him." She raised a shaky arm towards the decimated ground. "Hurry, Duncan!"
They arrived in less than two minutes, but it seemed like forever to them both. It was easy to find the center of the explosion; less than fifty yards away from it, He-Man lay face-down, his body half-covering Teela's.
She-Ra leapt out of the wind raider before Duncan even had it on the ground. As much as she wanted to help her brother, she knew she had to get to Teela first. The Sorceress had told her she had the power to heal them both. She had also said that Grayskull's power would sustain Adam for a bit. Teela was more at risk…if she wasn't already dead.
Carefully, Duncan rolled Adam off of Teela onto his back, so She-Ra could get to Teela more easily. Filled with trepidation, She-Ra placed her hands on Teela's head. Immediately she could sense her pain. She-Ra closed her eyes and choked out the words she needed to say. "For the honor of Grayskull, let your wounds be healed."
A warmth spread throughout Teela's body, soothing the pain and clearing the fog in which she had found herself. Slowly she became aware of the uncomfortable ground under her, the hands on either side of her head, her own breathing. She opened her eyes as the hands let go of her, and found her father's worried face less than a foot from her own. "Father?" she asked weakly.
"Teela," he answered in clear relief. "Thank the Ancients." He gently pulled her to a sitting position and held her firmly. "I thought we had lost you."
"I'm fine, I think," she said, vaguely confused. She remembered running, a sharp shove, then nothing. "What happened?"
"There was an explosion," Duncan answered. "Other than that, I'm not sure. The Sorceress sent us out here as fast as she could, no explanations."
Teela turned her head and saw She-Ra with her hands on He-Man's head. "Adam? Adam!" she cried. She scrambled out of her father's arms and knelt next to He-Man. "Is he alright? Is he-" She couldn't finish the thought.
Duncan put a reassuring hand on Teela's shoulder, though his own gaze was troubled. "Let's see what She-Ra can do to help him."
She-Ra's eyes were closed, but she murmured aloud as she attempted to heal him. "He took the brunt of the blast…I-I'm not sure…"
Teela's stomach turn over. "Adam, don't you dare die on me," she said in a low, ferocious voice. "Don't you dare. Do you hear me, Addie? Don't you dare die." Her voice broke. She put a fist to her mouth.
She-Ra stopped speaking, her brow furrowed in concentration. "For the honor of Grayskull, let your wounds be healed," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "Please." The whispered plea came out desperate, and Teela could no longer hold back her own tears.
It seemed like an eternity, but finally He-Man opened his eyes as She-Ra removed her hands from his head. He took a few deep breaths, then pushed himself to a sitting position amid sighs and sobs of relieve. He looked around at them, his face lighting up as his eyes came to rest on Teela.
"Teela!" he cried out, reaching for her.
"Adam," she choked out as she fell into his arms.
"I thought you were dead," he said, burying his face in her hair.
Teela clung to him for all she was worth. His skin was warm, his muscles solid under her touch. "I thought the same of you for a minute," she said with a strangled laugh. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat reassuring her.
They held each other for a long moment. Duncan and She-Ra waited patiently for them to recover from the trauma enough to return to reality. Finally Duncan cleared his throat. "We should get back to the palace," he suggested.
"Good idea." He-Man stood and held a hand out to Teela, looking none the worse for wear. Teela, on the other hand, felt as shaky as could be as she stood up. She wasn't sure if it was because she had almost died or because she had been so terrified that Adam almost had.