Noticing Adam: The Uprising Chapter 3
Adam rode on the back of Swiftwind with She-Ra and fought the urge to tell them to hurry up. He knew Swiftwind was flying as fast as he could, and complaining wouldn't really accomplish anything so he decided to keep quiet.
Unlike Adora, he hadn't used his sword to turn into his alter ego. They both had decided that Prince Adam might be needed more than He-Man in this circumstance if they had to alter whatever orders they had received from Teela. After all, while some soldiers might follow He-Man's orders over their captain's just because he was the Champion of Castle Grayskull, others wouldn't because they were sticklers for the rules. Technically, they could be court-martialed for insubordination if they followed orders from a "civilian" rather than their officer.
Besides, She-Ra probably wouldn't even be needed if they got to Teela in time. They would simply stop her from going to the Fright Zone. If they were too late, well, they couldn't simply barge into the Fright Zone and take her, because she'd probably be thrown in the dungeon with the other prisoners. And, of course, that brought them back to their original problem of getting everyone out safely at one time.
He shook his head as he thought about Teela's actions. She had always been stubborn, and even though he was too much of a gentleman to say it to her face, sometimes that stubbornness pushed her to make idiotic decisions. It was just like the time Teela had decided to exile herself for accidently making her father disappear with one of his new inventions. His parents and he begged her not to go, but she did so anyway. And, what had almost happened? She had almost gotten herself killed! He-Man had to grab a giant snake off of her. If he hadn't been there… He shuddered to think about a future without Teela. And now, she had done something else that threatened her life. He dreaded the day that he wouldn't get to her in time to stop the end result of her actions. He hoped that day wasn't today.
Looking into the distance, he saw the Fright Zone and the intense smoke rising off of the machines that littered the place. He sighed and hoped desperately that she wasn't inside yet and that all of this worrying would be for nothing. He had a feeling, though, that he wouldn't get his wish.
Swiftwind started descending to the ground where they could see the location where members of the Royal Guard had stationed themselves so they could observe the comings and goings from the Fright Zone. They had been there long before Teela, Adora, and he had arrived on the planet and they looked pretty settled in. Because no one was frantically running around or gathered in a group listening to anyone, he knew Teela wasn't there. She either hadn't arrived yet or she had already left to set their plan into motion and they were waiting. He had a horrible feeling that it was the latter.
=)=)=)
Skeletor's sadistic laughter rang throughout Hordak's throne room and Teela held her breath as she waited for the inevitable. She knew Skeletor recognized her: his laughter was proof of that. Now it was just a matter of time before his amusement wore off and he'd tell Hordak who she really was.
Hordak merely eyed Skeletor as his old pupil laughed and he groaned as he turned to face his visitor. "I was told you have news of the Rebellion and that I would find it very interesting. This better be good since I had already called it a night."
Teela stared at Skeletor for a moment and pondered what she should say. Was he really a prisoner and Hordak was making him stand at his side? Maybe he wanted to see his old mentor embarrassed, so he was choosing to stay quiet about her identity? Or maybe he was playing with her? Either way she had to say something, so she decided to stick to the plan for now.
"I think you'll find it worth your time," she replied as imperiously as she could. "I know you have recently caught some Rebels while they were getting supplies outside the Whispering Woods. Well, I know they are about to get another shipment and perhaps you might be able to capture a few more."
Hordak raised an eyebrow and turned to Skeletor. He began to mumble to him and Skeletor merely stared at her as he listened. She held her breath again as she watched Skeletor turn to him slightly and nod. The Horde leader then stood and replied hostilely, "Under normal circumstances, I would be very interested in learning more…but it looks like I've found another Etherian traitor to the Horde!" He looked beyond her and shouted, "Guards! Seize her!"
Instantly, she was surrounded by Horde Troopers with their freeze rays pointed right at her, but before she could do or say anything, Hordak interrupted her by saying loudly, "I think it's amusing how dumb these Rebels think we are. Do they honestly believe we do not know about Randor's Eternian Do-Boys outside?" He looked at her smugly as he raised his brow. "If you were really loyal to the Horde, you would have told me about that instead of that supposed shipment. You had to walk right past them to get here." He started laughing sadistically.
After his amusement ceased, he turned back to Skeletor and said, "I wonder who she means more to: Randor or the Rebels? I wonder what she's worth to any of them."
Skeletor began to chuckle again and exclaimed, "She's worth far more than you know, Hordak!"
She squeezed her eyes shut. Now, she knew it was coming and she wasn't proven wrong:
"This is not your average Rebel: this is Teela, Captain of the Royal Guard," he revealed.
She opened her eyes and cringed when she heard them laugh sadistically together. She knew at that moment that she had made a horrible mistake and she hoped Adam would forgive her…
=)=)=)
King Randor and Queen Marlena sprung from their bedroom and followed several guards into the main corridor. There, they saw Man-at-Arms giving orders to the Guard as they passed by, and the king and queen made their way over to him hurriedly.
"Duncan!" exclaimed King Randor; "What on Eternia is going on?"
"Beastman, Evil-Lyn, and the others have escaped! Despite placing them in the dungeon underground, Beastman managed to call a holepher to break them free. We're trying to get them back as quickly as we can, Your Highness! I must get out there!"
He nodded, not really knowing how else to respond. Duncan immediately bowed at the king and ran down the corridor away from them. Randor glanced over at Marlena to gauge her reaction to the news. She seemed to be contemplating everything and eventually she spoke.
"At least Skeletor isn't here to organize them right now if we do not recapture them," she mumbled. "Something tells me they're going to fight over who should lead them if they escape, which will buy us a little time to prepare for their inevitable attack on the palace or Castle Grayskull."
He nodded. He knew his wife was right and that they had to make several plans to protect the castle and the palace, regardless of who the attackers were, Skeletor's men or not. After all, they could no longer depend on He-Man to show up out of the blue to help them whenever trouble arose. It was up to them to stop it, and he didn't want Adam to return home to discover that they had let him down.
=)=)=)
They were too late. Teela was already inside the Fright Zone and there was nothing anyone could do to get her out of there at that moment.
Adam looked at the main entrance with a pair of binoculars that one of the guardsmen gave him. "Her plan is a good one, Your Highness," the cadet assured him softly. "We all agreed that her plan will encourage Hordak to send his best men to intercept the Rebels' shipment. He might even go himself. If this occurs, we will have a much better chance getting inside and setting the prisoners free! And, with She-Ra here now, our chances are even better!"
He wished he could share the man's enthusiasm and confidence in Teela's plan, but he just couldn't. Oh, he'd liked to think that the soldier was right: he longed for it actually, but there were just too many unknowns and too many probable bad outcomes to her plan that he knew the odds were not in their favor. He handed the cadet back his binoculars without comment and turned to look for She-Ra. She was talking to Kowl who had flown over from somewhere nearby and perched himself on Swiftwind's saddle.
He started to make his way over to them when he heard screams and yells to his right. He immediately turned in that direction to see numerous guards running and yelling repeatedly, "It's an attack!"
Soldiers grabbed their weapons as quickly as they could and prepared to fight. He could now see Horde Troopers making their way through the makeshift post, and beyond them, he could just make out Hordak, Shadow Weaver…and Skeletor! He gasped. If they were here, where was Teela? Then, he saw her. Several feet away, Mantanna was holding her arms behind her back—her hands appeared to be tied, and she couldn't escape because they also had several Troopers pointing their freeze-rays at her.
"Teela," he whispered to himself softly. He turned his attention back to Hordak and Skeletor for a moment to see where they were and saw that they were now only several yards away and staring directly at him! Then, Hordak started looking around him hurriedly, almost as if he were searching for someone or something else, before he turned to Shadow Weaver to say something.
Adam didn't wait around to find out what Hordak was telling her to do. He took off running in the opposite direction. He saw a large boulder about two yards away and he knew if he could just get to it without anyone following him, he could turn into He-Man and help his sister, who was now fighting alongside the Guard in the distance.
As he ran towards the rock, he pulled the Sword of Power from his back because he saw several of Hordak's men surround the post completely and a few were heading towards him. (Obviously, the Horde had left the Fright Zone from a back or side entrance and surrounded them unknowingly.) He lifted the sword in a protective stance and turned his body to the side to prepare to swing if he needed to, when he heard a buzz and a poof of air behind him. Suddenly, his sword was flying from his hands and landed several feet away from him. He scurried in that direction to get it back but had to stop abruptly when Shadow Weaver appeared before him unexpectedly. Not knowing what to expect or why she was even bothering him, he raised his brow at her questioningly.
"Well," she said with a hoarse voice, "if it isn't Adora's brother, Prince Adam."
He stared at her for a moment and then glanced behind him to see Hordak and Skeletor heading in their direction. He turned back to face her and took a step forward. He knew Shadow Weaver would be easier to get by than Skeletor and Hordak. But before he could make his move, her next words stopped him cold.
"You know, Adam, I helped raise your sister. I would have helped raise you, too, if Hordak had taken you as planned."
He gritted his teeth at her, not really understanding why she felt the need to tell him that. Angrily, he spat, "And, I'm glad he didn't! Because of that, Adora was able to break the spell you put on her and one day in the near future, the Rebellion will force you to leave this planet…"
Shadow Weaver laughed amusedly and replied, "I doubt that very much. Perhaps, if you allow me to, I could help you see things a little more clearly." She floated forward a little and he took a step back, suddenly wary of her words. But before he could do or say anything else, she disappeared and reappeared before him. Her eyes went black and she moved her hands in a circular rotation as a smoky substance appeared from them. Then, she whispered as the smoke surrounded him, "You will feel better after you sleep."
Immediately, Adam fell to the ground and was dead to the world.
=)=)=)
Hordak approached and looked down at the sleeping prince. "I don't see Adora," he remarked. "He will have to do for now. We'll get her back soon enough and he'll be just the right enticement to make her come to us."
He turned his attention to Shadow Weaver and said, "Is this spell stronger than the one you gave Adora?"
"Yes, Hordak," she replied confidently. "I've been working on it since she joined the Rebels. Prince Adam will be under my spell when he awakes and I assure you he won't be able to break it."
He started to laugh but stopped when she added, "But…"
"But?" he questioned almost angrily.
"We must shield him from things that will remind him of the life he had on Eternia and his friends here on Etheria for a little while. That could potentially weaken the spell here in the beginning."
Skeletor stood beside Hordak and listened but smirked as he heard her words. "Which means we can't have Teela around."
Weaver and Hordak looked at him as he explained, "He cares about her and they grew up together. He fought for her recently. If anyone could break your spell, she would be the one to do it."
"Then, we must leave her," Hordak spat. "I've gotten the one I want for now. Let's go." He turned to a nearby Horde Trooper and said, "Sound the retreat and leave the prisoner." He then bent down and picked up Adam with a grunt.
Without hesitation or even comment, Shadow Weaver and Skeletor joined hands for a moment and made Hordak, Adam, and themselves disappear back to the Fright Zone.
=)=)=)
Yes, I know, another short one. BUT I think it was a good one nonetheless, especially considering I had a long day at work and had to bring a lot of it home with me! I hope you enjoyed it!