Just a warning, I've posted three chapters of this closely together, so you might want to make sure you haven't skipped any. And, don't worry to those of you who are asking via PM, yes, I plan on getting next chapter of "Teela's Visitor" out sometime this weekend. It might even be tonight! In any case, I hope you enjoy this!
Noticing Adam: The Uprising Chapter 11
King Randor sat on a log and watched Adora interact with her fellow Rebels. He was so proud of her—he had always been proud of her, from the moment she had stepped back into his life. Ironically, thanks to the Sorceress, he knew that she had done so at the behest of Adam. He remembered watching that particular moment at Castle Grayskull not all that long ago. Adora had been nervous to meet him and hadn't wanted to step into the throne room, especially after he had expressed his annoyance at Adam for having to close his eyes and wait so long. Adam practically had to drag her into the throne room.
He sighed as he thought about the moment and Adam. He had a feeling that he would be scrutinizing every moment he had ever had with his son for the rest of his life. He had been such a fool. He used to think Adora was the mature and responsible one. He had actually once pondered the idea that because Adam and Adora were twins, they were the complete opposite of one another instinctively: she was motivated and brave; he was lazy and a coward; Adora was interested in helping people; and Adam was interested in sleeping all the time. That couldn't have been further from the truth.
Adam and Adora, equally, were truly everything he could have ever wanted in a son and a daughter. They were wise beyond their years and they had so much responsibility that it hurt Randor profoundly to even think about it. The truth was they didn't have a normal life. Adam's had ceased when he had turned eighteen. Adora's had stopped…
He wanted to say it had stopped when she had been kidnapped, but he knew that wasn't true. Surprisingly, Hordak had been good to Adora. Despite her destiny and her genetics, she wouldn't have turned out this well if he had been anything but a kind and benevolent father figure. He grimaced at the thought, but at this moment it also brought him a little comfort.
Adam was with Hordak now with no memory of himself, his family, or even Eternia. Adam currently thought of Hordak as his father, or at least someone who had stepped into that role. Hordak would be good to him because of that. He wondered if the false memories that Shadow Weaver had planted into Adam's mind concerning his relationship with Hordak were better than the real ones he had shared with him.
Looking at Adora, it almost brought him to tears when he realized it could very well be possible. He took a deep breath and dismissed the thought. Adam and he hadn't always had a hard relationship. When he was a child, his son had been his shadow and emulated almost everything he had done. That's why things had gotten so rough between them when Adam had reached adulthood. He hadn't liked the changes in the boy. One day his son had been beside him as the ideal prince and the next he had been missing.
Now he knew the reasons for the big change in his conduct and absence, and as always, when he thought about this topic, it made him question how he could have been so blind. Why hadn't he done a more thorough investigation into Adam's sudden shift in attitude? Why hadn't he sought out the interaction he had suddenly found himself missing, especially when he realized that Adam's behavior wasn't a temporary rebellion?
He knew it didn't do any good to dwell on these things, but he couldn't help it. He hated the notion that Adam might be having a more pleasant time with Hordak as his father figure than him. It was excruciating!
Trying to get his mind off of these thoughts, he reached his hand down and scratched behind Cringer's ears. The tiger had settled there shortly after he had sat down. He knew the tiger was missing his master; they were always together, after all, so he knew this separation was also tough on him.
"How are you doing, Cringer?" he asked softly.
The tiger turned drooping, sorrowful, and pitiful looking eyes toward him. "Okay, I guess," he mumbled. "I'm just worried about Adam."
The king nodded. "I am, too, Cringer, but…"
A voice suddenly interrupted his words.
"Adora! Adora!"
Randor watched as a man he didn't know ran through the camp towards his daughter, who was standing with Teela, Bow, and Glimmer. He stood and made his way over to them. Cringer followed.
"I just heard some news that I thought you might want to know," the man said roughly. He was almost out of breath. "The Horde is attacking the village of Devlin again! They are enslaving the villagers because of rumors that they were aiding the Rebellion!"
Adora turned to look at her father as he reached the group. He looked right back at her and said, "It's a trap. They know we'll show up to stop them. They have something planned."
His daughter agreed. "I know, Father, but we can't not show up. Besides, Adam might be there."
Both looked determined as they nodded at one another and then at Teela who nodded at them. It was time to get Adam back.
=)=)=)
Queen Marlena sat on the throne of Eternia alone, lost in thought, even though the room was filled with courtiers and guards. Her mind couldn't have been farther away from the activities going on around her. Her son, her daughter, and her husband were on Etheria. Anything could happen. She had put on a brave front while Randor was here. She knew she needed to be strong for him and she still needed to be strong for the kingdom, but it was harder without Randor's presence.
She worried greatly for her children, especially Adam. To lose another child to Hordak…she couldn't bear it. Losing Adora had been the greatest pain she had ever known in her entire life. That had hurt more than the first time she had realized she would never see Earth or her family ever again…but to lose Adam, the mere notion was enough to cripple her. She didn't know what she would have done if Hordak had managed to capture both of her children this time. It might have killed her.
But Randor was going to get Adam back. He had done it once and he would do it again. She didn't have any doubts.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she scanned the throne room and met eyes with Duncan. He mouthed, "Are you okay?" She nodded at him once. Yes, she was okay. She had to keep the kingdom and planet running until everyone returned. She didn't have a choice. She had to be okay for Eternia, for Randor…and for Adam.
=)=)=)
Skeletor stood before a cave in the Dark Hemisphere of Eternia. Despite the fact that he had been on Etheria, he had been keeping tabs on his followers. They had set up camp there, and he knew the fools didn't have a clue as to what to do next. He was more than happy to give them a nudge in the right direction.
He stepped into the cavern and went so far down into the darkness that he had to use the head of his Havoc Staff as a torch. After turning down a few more tunnels, he saw light in the distance and the distinct smell of fire. He chuckled as he headed in that direction. He stopped the light from his staff once he neared the fire. He crept by the wall and peered into the little nook where his entourage had hidden.
Beastman, Clawful, and Trap Jaw were asleep. Mer-Man, Tri-Clops, and Evil-Lyn were awake and speaking softly to one another around the fire, even though Mer-Man had kept a further distance away than the others, so he wouldn't dry himself out too much.
"Eternia is vulnerable now," he heard Evil-Lyn whisper.
Skeletor rubbed his chin thoughtfully and mumbled, "Interesting." Deciding not to hide anymore, he stepped around and stated loudly, "It's about time you escaped."
Everyone jumped to their feet, including those who had been sleeping. "Skeletor!" they exclaimed simultaneously.
"What?" he questioned with a chuckle. "Not happy to see me?"
Evil-Lyn looked around at her companions and saw that the others weren't going to speak, so she did. "We thought you being held prisoner by Hordak."
He chuckled again and snapped, "I bet you're disappointed to see that you were wrong. You should have known that Hordak cannot hold the Mighty Skeletor for long."
"So I see," she mumbled, and she did, in fact, look a little disappointed.
"So, tell me," Skeletor said, immediately changing the subject, "I heard you say that Eternia is vulnerable now. How so, Evil-Lyn?"
She narrowed her eyes, and he got the distinct impression that she didn't want to share whatever knowledge she had. He stepped towards her with the beginnings of a scowl on his face. He heard her growl in frustration before she began to speak.
"Most of the Royal Family are on Etheria. The only ones left on this planet are Queen Marlena and King Miro. From my understanding, there were plans for even He-Man and She-Ra to go to Etheria."
Skeletor laughed a little at the news as he stepped further into the room and joined them at the fire. He sat on a log they had pulled inside and sat his staff in front of him. "So, what was your plan?" he asked.
"We…we don't have one, yet," she answered.
"Good thing I showed up, huh, Evil-Lyn?" He laughed in amusement when she furrowed her brow at him.
Dismissing her obvious display of dislike as insignificant, he turned his thoughts to Hordak and Etheria: he was supposed to bring his men to Etheria to help Hordak defeat the Rebellion. They were supposed to show up in Devlin and make a surprise attack on the Rebellion towards the end of the battle. In return, the Horde would help him conquer Eternia, but he knew his old teacher had other plans. He had heard him say so after all. So, why should he hold up his side of the bargain? Evil-Lyn was right. Eternia was more vulnerable now than it had been in years, and he wouldn't let the opportunity slip through his fingers. Let Hordak deal with King Randor and He-Man for a while! They all deserved one another!
He laughed sadistically, loving that he could take over Eternia and betray Hordak again at the same time. It was turning into an even better day than he had originally thought.
=)=)=)
King Randor, She-Ra, Teela, Glimmer, and most of the other Rebels from camp stared at Devlin from a distance away. They could see Hordak's Command Crawler, which meant the overlord, himself, was there. They could also see the Horde Slave Transport, which meant the Horde was quickly emptying the town of all of its people.
All of this felt eerily familiar to She-Ra since this was similar to the first time she had met her brother, but of course, this time the roles were reversed. He was the one who was being brainwashed by the Horde and she was the magic sword wielding stranger coming to rescue him. Unfortunately, she didn't see him anywhere.
She turned to the others and whispered, "We have to do something. As soon as the transporter is full, they will leave and we will have lost the townspeople forever."
She began to stand, but King Randor grabbed her shoulder. "They're not going to go anywhere. They'll slow down their efforts if they think they'll run out of people to load. Remember, they're really here for us, not them."
She opened her mouth to ask what difference that made. Regardless of how slow they went, they would run out of prisoners eventually. He seemed to be able to read her mind, because he answered her question before she even began to ask it.
"Adam is here, I know it, and if we attack now, Hordak might not let him come out into the open."
She-Ra nodded in agreement and she was glad for her father's presence. She hadn't thought about things in that way, but now that he had stated it, she knew he was right. She ran her eyes back across Devlin and mumbled, "Adam is probably in the Command Crawler with Hordak. Maybe if we wait long enough, he will send Adam out as bait for us OR Adam will be tired of waiting, so he'll come out himself."
Within a matter of moments, though, they all realized that there had been a third option. They watched in trepidation as Hordak, Shadow Weaver, Adam, and several Horde Troopers exited the vehicle in question. With Hordak and Shadow Weaver present, it would be hard to grab Adam, but they knew they would do it. They had to!
Before She-Ra could give any order as to when to charge, Randor laid a hand on her shoulder again and whispered, "Wait for the moment. Let them step away from the Crawler. We want to force them to stand their ground instead of flee for safety when we attack. It's the only way we'll have a chance of getting Adam back."
She-Ra nodded. Once again, she realized the King of Eternia was right and she smiled in amusement. She had thought earlier before they had arrived in Devlin that she would be the one to come up with all the short term, as-they-go, plans, as usual. But now, she realized she had always been concerned with saving prisoners and getting Hordak to retreat. That wasn't the objective now. They wanted the Horde to attack them now, so Adam would come to do the same. That did make a huge difference in what they needed to do.
Thankfully, it didn't take too long for Adam and the others to move away from the Crawler. Almost a minute after Randor had given her his advice, Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and Adam made their way to Catra to undoubtedly get a status report or to give orders. When they were a good thirty feet away from the vehicle and it seemed as though they wouldn't be going any further, she stood and yelled at the others, "NOW!"
Quickly, the Rebels grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the village!
=)=)=)
Adam walked beside Hordak as they approached Catra. He knew everyone was getting tired of waiting for the Rebellion to attack, but he wouldn't let them give up. He knew if they held out long enough the Rebels would show up eventually. He actually hoped his sudden appearance would bring them out. After all, Hordak had stated that they probably wanted him, too, just like they had wanted Adora.
As soon as the wish had been thought, he heard a cry and turned to see a multitude of people running towards them. He glanced at Hordak and exclaimed, "They're here!"
Immediately, Hordak morphed his arm into his freeze cannon while Adam lifted a sword he had been carrying. As he stepped forward beside Hordak, prepared to do battle, Shadow Weaver grabbed his arm from behind and said, "No, child, it's better for you to join me in the Command Crawler. We do not want to risk you getting hurt or captured."
He pulled away from Shadow Weaver and cried, "No, I'm going to help Hordak and I'm going to get my sister back!" He turned back to the crowd and saw that the Rebels were just getting into town. Already the Horde Troopers, as well as Hordak, were stunning many of them. The Rebellion was quickly losing its girth and he hurriedly ran his eyes across the scene, hoping desperately to spot his sister. When he saw that she wasn't there, he growled in frustration. If she wasn't present, they would have to move on to Plan B, which was to seize the leader. He simply had to determine who that was. Not seeing anyone right away, Adam ran into the crowd to help. He immediately swung his sword at a man with a spear who had approached him. The sword split the weapon in two and the man who had carried it immediately dropped to his knees.
"Puh-Please don't hurt me, sir!"
He hesitated for a moment and stared at the man sadly. Despite knowing the man was one of those dreadful Rebels, Adam actually felt sorry for him. His clothes were dingy and dirty, and he looked awfully tired and hungry. Why did he want to live this way? All he had to do was follow the law and he would lead a very comfortable life! Why was he fighting against the Horde and making his life harder than it needed to be? It didn't make any sense. He shook his head at the man, deciding to let him be, and ran to the next combatant.
Much like before, a man approached him with his weapon but instead of the Rebel swinging it at him, the man stopped and exclaimed, "Prince Adam! Is that you?"
This startled Adam tremendously. "P-Prince?" he questioned, feeling completely confused.
At that moment, he heard a high-pitched squeal and saw Catra looking at them. She immediately brought her headpiece over her eyes to transform herself into her cat form. Immediately afterward, she jumped at the man and knocked him to the ground. Adam gaped at her actions and grabbed onto her tail. "What are you doing?" he yelled as he witnessed Catra's claws slice through the man's shirt. He knew this man was the enemy, but he felt as though he needed to protect him for some strange reason! He quickly supplied himself with an excuse: he decided that no one deserved to be mauled to death.
As Catra turned towards him and growled menacingly, the Rebel got away and Adam let her go. He snapped at her, "You could have killed him, and he was no threat to you or me!" Before Adam or Catra could do or say anything else, they heard Hordak's voice clearly over the chaos that surrounded them. "Ah, She-Ra!"
Adam turned towards Hordak and saw his mentor face-to-face with a golden-haired woman that looked vaguely familiar to him. He gasped as she brought her sword up as Hordak fired at her. The beam bounced off of her sword and struck Mantenna, who stood five feet away, stunning several Rebels with his eyes.
When She-Ra exclaimed, "You have to do better than that, Hordak! Now, where's Adam?" he took off running towards them.
Before the female warrior could get within five feet of Hordak, he heard someone yell his name. "ADAM!"
He looked over and saw a redheaded woman in the distance staring at him. "Adam!" she shouted again. She started making her way towards him, but he didn't have time to wonder who this was, even though a part of him did feel as if he knew her. He ran towards Hordak and just as the Horde leader had shot another freeze ray at the blonde woman and it had bounced off her sword again, Adam ran in front of the man who had raised him.
"Here I am," he said hostilely. He raised his sword, prepared to do battle with her.
Almost immediately, the woman took a step back and gasped, "Adam!" He took a step forward and stated coldly, "You're not going to hurt him! We just want my sister back! If you give Adora to us, we will leave peacefully. I give you my word!"
She-Ra shook her head frantically and replied, "Adam, you have to listen to me! You don't know what's happening! The Horde is lying to you!"
"Don't listen to her, Adam!" Hordak exclaimed in his ear. "She is lying! She is the leader of the Rebellion, son! Let's get her!"
Adam narrowed his eyes at the woman and spat, "Give me my sister back and we won't have to do this!"
She-Ra frowned as tears gathered around her eyes. "Adam," she whispered beseechingly.
He didn't understand why, but Adam felt as though this moment was all wrong. He felt the distinct desire not to fight this woman, but he had to. He had to capture her to get his sister back since the Rebel hadn't brought Adora with her. "I'm sorry it's come down to this," he mumbled. He didn't know why he needed to say those words to a Rebel, but he did.
He took a step forward with his sword raised, but suddenly stopped when a man rushed between them with his hands held up, motioning for him to stop. "ADAM!" the man yelled. "SON!"
Adam's eyes met the stranger's and they stared at each other for several intense seconds.