Noticing Adam: The Uprising Chapter 10

Adam sat on the edge of a railing high above the main floor of the Fright Zone. From that location, he could see Horde Troopers practicing tactical maneuvers in all sorts of scenarios. Some involved rescue operations and others were about neutralizing a hostile force. All of these situations were possible on Etheria and because of that, Hordak liked his men and robots well-trained and to be ready for anything.

Too bad Adam had no idea what to expect.

As much as he had enjoyed his lesson earlier and despite the fact that Hordak had stated that everything was coming together and that they would get Adora back soon, he felt as though something wasn't right, but he couldn't lay his finger on exactly what the problem was. At first, he thought it was Adora's absence and while he realized that was part of the awkwardness, there was something else eating away at him just beyond his conscious thoughts. He knew this. He wasn't sure how, but he did. He felt as though he were forgetting something important, something that was on the tip of his tongue. It was infinitely frustrating.

Looking down at the ground floor once more, he noticed that Catra was looking up at him. She seemed to be studying him and she looked suspicious. What did he do? Why would she look at him that way? He moved off of the railing and went back to the main walkway. He knew if he stayed in that location any longer, Catra's looks would get under his skin. He didn't like her. Again, he couldn't really give a reason as to why, but he didn't anyway.

In fact, he realized with a start, he didn't like many of Hordak's men! Scorpia seemed a little too full of herself, despite that fact that she wasn't a ranked official at all and merely complied with Catra's every whim. The latter could also be said about Leech, but he did have a slightly better attitude than Scorpia, at least to other people's faces. As for Mantenna…actually, he could almost like him. He supposed he felt sorry for the guy more than anything. He had watched everyone's interactions in the afternoon, and he was surprised that everything he witnessed felt almost new to him, like he was noticing all of it for the first time. When it came to Mantenna, the creature seemed to desperately want Hordak's approval and yet he kept messing up or saying the wrong thing. He was constantly the brunt of many of Hordak's jokes, and even though Adam was sure Mantenna hadn't wanted the position of jester, that's the position he filled most of the time anyway.

He paused at the thought. Jester… A thought niggled at the back of his mind, but as usual when he reached for it, he lost it. For a split second, he thought he remembered a glimpse of something red that floated. He tried to force the image back into his mind, but eventually his head began to hurt with the effort he was exerting.

Deciding he needed a break from his own thoughts, he headed to the west tower. He needed to talk.

Walking into Shadow Weaver's quarters, he ran his eyes over the area until he spotted her in the corner of the room at a table which held many brewing vials of some type of liquid. Beside her—he was surprised to see—was a man. He had blue skin and a skimpy purple and black ensemble. He stepped inside the room and questioned almost timidly, "Shadow Weaver?"

Instantly, she turned around. "Prin…Adam, what are you doing here?" she asked almost as if she were in shock.

He watched with interest as the man beside her turned around to look at him. He was shocked to see that the man had no face at all—it was a mere skeleton. He tried to hold back his reaction to the sight, but he wasn't sure how successful he was.

Regardless, they stared at each other for several long moments. The man seemed just as interested in Adam as Adam was in him. Once again, that strange sensation in the back of Adam's mind was back, more so than ever before. This man…he had seen him before; in fact, he had a feeling that he knew him well. But that didn't make sense at all, because he couldn't even remember his name! He stepped forward and opened his mouth to question exactly who he was when Shadow Weaver floated in front of him and asked, "Are you all right?"

He nodded almost dumbly as he moved to the left a little so he could still observe the man. "Yes," he answered distractedly. He then approached the man and asked, "Do I know you?"

Skullface—he didn't know what else to call him—didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Shadow Weaver and said, "I think I should leave the room for now." He then looked back at Adam and chuckled a little. "It's nice seeing you again, Adam." His laughter got louder as he strolled audaciously out of the room.

Adam turned back to Shadow Weaver and asked, "Who was that?"

She floated to his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "No one, child, just an old friend of mine and Hordak's from our youth. He knew you and Adora when you were infants. Can I help you with something?" she asked solicitously.

He shrugged and answered honestly, "I'm not sure. I came here because I thought you might be able to help or shed some light on something things." He stopped speaking as he tried to figure out how to word the chaos going on in his mind. "I feel…off," he said eventually. "I feel like I'm…I don't know!" He looked away briefly before leveling her with his stare once more. "Have you ever felt like you should know something, but no matter how much you try, you can't remember what it is?"

She nodded. "Yes, I have, Adam…and do you know what I discovered about those times?"

He lifted his brow to show his interest.

"I discovered that I had forgotten about it because I really didn't want to remember it in the first place. When I pursued those forgotten memories, more times than not, it led to a lot of trouble and pain."

Adam looked down for a moment and asked unsurely, "Do you mean repressed memories? What could have happened to me that I'd have repressed memories?"

Shadow Weaver gestured to a nearby chair. When he sat down, she answered, "Your sister's kidnapping, perhaps. Maybe your father abandoning you when you were a small child. You do not remember any of these things, do you not?"

"No," he whispered softly. Once again he felt that niggling feeling and he closed his eyes. Maybe she was right. "So, what do I do? I hate feeling this uncertainty."

"It's simple, child. Simply force yourself to forget about it. Dwelling on the past will not help your sister or yourself. Yes, focus on your future with the Horde."

Surprisingly, her words made a shiver run down his spine. Why would a future with the Horde cause such a reaction, such angst? He had lived with them his entire life, after all. It was in that moment when he opened his eyes again that he knew. These feelings had to be coming from Adora. Since they were twins, they were very in tune to one another and he could almost bet that those rebels were brainwashing her at that very moment and by extension, they were trying to do it to him, as well.

It had to stop, and it had to stop now!

=)=)=)

King Randor walked over to Teela and clasped her shoulder firmly. "We're going to get Adam back," he said confidently. "I have no doubt of that, Teela."

With tears glistening in her eyes, she nodded, but she couldn't hold in her true feelings, not anymore, not now with Adam's father in front of her. "Will you ever forgive me?" she asked, abruptly. "Will you, Adora? And, do you think Adam will? I'm so, so sorry!"

Randor looked back at his daughter with a confused expression before looking back at Teela. "What are you talking about? Why are you asking for forgiveness?" he questioned.

Refusing to let her tears fall, she stared at the king straight on and admitted, "Adam is with the Horde because of me, Your Majesty! I…I thought I had everything figured out! I thought that if I could just get Adora's friends out of the Fright Zone, we'd be able to return to Eternia and everything would be better! I thought you and Adam could continue to heal your relationship, and he and I could continue ours. I wanted it so badly that I…made a stupid decision. Adam got caught trying to rescue me, and it's all my fault."

Randor let out a shaky breath at hearing her confession. He wouldn't lie to himself. Granted, he still didn't know the entire situation, but part of him was angry. Teela had always been a headstrong individual—she had often let her impetuosity get her into trouble in the past, but those moments hadn't directly hurt anyone else before…until now. And with his son, no less. He knew he had every right to chastise her at this moment; he even had the right to demote her on the spot…but he couldn't do it. He couldn't blame her for wanting Adam back on Eternia. And, the Ancients knew he had made plenty of mistakes recently that had affected Adam greatly. Teela had good company in that misery…and in that was where he found some hope. He had learned from his mistakes and looking at Teela now, he realized she had learned from hers, too.

He brought his other hand up to her shoulder and held her in front of him tightly. "Now, listen here, Teela," he said firmly, "I know you're expecting an awful outburst right about now, confirming your ideas about how you're to blame." He paused to give his words emphasis, which he had learned as a king. "Well…it's not going to happen. Regardless of why Adam is with the Horde, the truth of the matter is that I need my Captain of the Guard to help me get my son back, and she can't do that unless she has her head on straight."

Teela breathed deeply to calm herself and he nodded at her comfortingly. "Adam needs you and he loves you. I know that, and blaming yourself won't get us anywhere. We're at war, Teela, and in those situations, you know better than anyone that mistakes are easily made, especially when loved ones are involved. Maybe you shouldn't have done whatever you had done, but maybe Adam did something foolish that got himself caught, too. Maybe he had been thinking about something I had done to him recently and it distracted him in that final moment. We don't know for sure, but we can't dwell on it. It'll drive us crazy. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with right now is getting him back and reminding him that he belongs with us and that he is loved. Nothing else matters."

He dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned to look at Adora before looking back at her. "I have faith in what that being from Castle Grayskull told me. He said Adam would bring peace to both Eternia and Etheria. He's going to do it, Teela, and what we're going through now is just a temporary bump in the road. We have to believe that; we must."

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She rushed into Randor's arms and hugged him. She hadn't done so since she was a kid, but her father wasn't around and King Randor had always been a second father to her, so she hoped he didn't mind. When she finally pulled away and looked up at him tentatively, he smiled at her gently. "Better?" he questioned.

She nodded with a soft smile.

"Good," he replied. He then turned his attention to his other troops, who were still kneeling and bowing. "Oh for the love of the Ancients! At ease, men!" Immediately, the soldiers stood and started rotating their joints and moving their bodies. Shaking his head at them, he walked over and asked abruptly, getting down to business, "Does anyone have a map of Etheria and the Fright Zone? I'd like to have a look."

=)=)=)

Adam paced back and forth in front of Hordak. They were on the roof of one of the towers of the Fright Zone. Hordak was standing at a machine that seemed to be dismantled beyond prepare, but putting it back together was exactly what he was trying to do. "What is it, Adam?" Hordak finally asked when he finished with the item in his hands and set it down.

Adam turned to him and said frankly, "We need to get Adora back, and we need to get her back now!"

Hordak raised his brow. "What has brought about this urgency?" he asked curiously.

"I've always been rather urgent about this matter, haven't I? It's just that…I know that I need to get her back now. The Rebels, they're brainwashing her like you said and I think that it's somehow affecting me. I don't know, but what I do know is that I can't stand another minute of the thought of her being in the hands of our enemy. Please, Hordak, we've got to do something!"

He leaned against the machine and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

He sighed and suggested, "Maybe I should just go to the Whispering Woods and get her! I'm sure I could be in and out so fast that they'd never notice me."

"No," he replied tersely.

"Why?"

"Because I can't follow you in there and if something goes wrong, I've lost you both."

Adam paused. Of course, he had forgotten. The Whispering Woods was protected by magic. No one from the Horde can penetrate it, and the outside trees moved around to confuse them…but Hordak didn't seem to think that would be a problem for Adam. He wondered why. "So, you think it's possible that I can actually get into the Whispering Woods? Why do you think I can but that you can't?"

Hordak grumbled for a second and then supplied an answer. "I'm sure they want you just as they wanted Adora. She is the bait, so of course, they would let you through."

"You really think so?"

Hordak lowered his eyes and stated confidently, "It's what I would do."

Adam turned around and started pacing again. "Well, there has to be something we can do. I am tired of waiting for a moment that might never arrive! They might never let her leave the forest and then we'll never see her again. And, who knows, maybe the longer she's under their spells, the harder it will be to break!" He looked at Hordak pleadingly. "We have to do something."

Hordak stood in front of him and replied softly, "I know of a village that helps the Rebellion get supplies. They are traitors, but I have ignored it until now. Perhaps we can set a trap."

Adam stood still and continued to listen. His heart seemed to freeze at Hordak's words.

"We can spread the word that we're arresting the entire town and sending them to Horde World. Because they are allies to the Rebellion, they will come to stop us. If they bring Adora, we will capture her and make her see the truth once more. If they do not, then we will catch their leader that day and use him or her to bargain for Adora."

Adam wetted his lips nervously and asked, "Will any of the villagers be in danger? Will they get hurt?"

"No."

He thought about it for a second more. He didn't want to do this—it made him feel uncomfortable, but he knew there was no other way. "Okay, let's do it."

Hordak grinned and said, "Go to Catra and tell her to get her squad together. I will see them shortly."

Adam nodded and left hurriedly.

As soon as Adam disappeared, Skeletor walked around the corner of the large machine Hordak had been working on. "Interesting plan, my old teacher, but what about She-Ra? She might be the one leading the Rebellion and He-Man might be with her."

Hordak rubbed his chin and asked, "Any ideas?"

Skeletor laughed sadistically and said, "Perhaps. My men escaped the Royal Palace on Eternia recently. Maybe if we brought them to Etheria for this battle, maybe it will be just enough for us to win. It will surely surprise them."

Hordak nodded and said, "Do it."

As Hordak walked away to follow after Adam, Skeletor chuckled in amusement and muttered to himself, "Fool."

=)=)=)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Obviously I'm setting things up for the next couple of chapters. I think things are going to get rather interesting, LOL. And, I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who continue support me and this story via comments and PM. It means a lot.