I'll go ahead and admit that I haven't updated this story since January because of some not so nice PMs and reviews, which have continued. It killed my motivation to continue this story (among writing the others, as well as other things going on), but I've decided now to stick it out and try to finish it up. With that being said, I hope some of you still enjoy this.

Noticing Adam: The Uprising Chapter 23

Adora stared at the tent as she dropped back onto the log next to Bow. She knew the whole time that Teela had planned on seducing her brother to convince him to stay in the Whispering Woods at least until their father had returned from his walk. So, she was surprised at the emotions that were overwhelming her now.

She hadn't been able to convince him to stay, but Teela had. Of course, she realized that it was to be expected. Adam and Teela had grown up together, so it was only natural that they would be close and Teela would know what buttons to push to get what she wanted out of him. And, of course, since they were now a couple, Teela had yet another advantage over her. Any man would comply with the wishes of the woman he loved over his family's. It was only natural.

She knew what her emotions boiled down to, though. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but she had to if she was ever going to get past it. She was jealous and still angry at Teela. She knew the emotions weren't helpful in the slightest and they might not even be warranted, but she felt that way nonetheless. She had just discovered not all that long ago that she had a family, a real family, one that she could be proud of and actually loved her in return. And, it seemed that Teela was already taking away the one person she felt the closest to.

She shook her head at herself and knew she was being unfair. Adam and Teela shouldn't put their love life on hold until she felt more secure with her spot in the Eternian Royal Family. That was surely asking too much, but when the emotion combined with her anger at the captain, she could barely remember common sense.

Regardless of her father's earlier words, she still blamed Teela for everything that was currently happening! Adam came to Etheria to help her because Hordak had captured her friends and it was questionable whether Skeletor would be working with the Horde. Now, her friends were safe; they had managed to free them, but Adam was now more determined than ever to stay on Etheria. That, in and of itself, would be okay. She loved the idea of having her brother with her, but the fact that he wanted to return to the Fright Zone and pretend to be Hordak's puppet nearly drove her insane. None of this would have happened if Teela hadn't been so stubborn and determined to infiltrate the Horde herself!

She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time and she felt Bow slip his arm across her shoulders. "He's back, Adora," he whispered soothingly. "Teela will keep him busy for a little while and we'll find a way to convince him to stay."

She smiled at her friend gratefully. She knew he was being very considerate of her feelings since she suspected that Bow actually wanted Adam to return to the Fright Zone. Adam's ruse, after all, was a good one. Hordak and Shadow Weaver had provided him with a surefire way to spy on the Horde. If it had been any other person in this situation…if she had been in this situation, she would have insisted on returning to the Horde herself. The spy being Adam, however, changed everything in so many ways.

To put it simply, Adam was not Hordesman material at all, and that wasn't an insult in the slightest. It was actually the greatest thing she admired about her brother as a hero. He was the complete opposite of Hordak. Her old mentor was capable of many things as was her brother, but the types of things they were capable of were where the similarities ended. Hordak was capable of terrorizing people, destroying whatever stood in his path, and even cheating to win. Whatever he had to do to succeed for Horde Prime was what Hordak was willing to do. Adam, on the other hand, helped people. He would give someone the shirt off of his back if he thought it was needed. He helped his father and Man-at-Arms on a regular basis to build things for the people of Eternia, not to destroy it. And, Adam never, ever cheated to get the upperhand…

She paused as her mind flashed back to the scene in Devlin. Their father had tried to wrestle a sword out of her brother's hand, and at that moment, she had seen that Hordak had already made his mark on Adam: Adam had snatch the sword back from Randor, swept their father's feet out from under him, and then placed the cold steel at the king's throat. She had never been so scared in her life and that was saying something considering everything that Adam had gone through on Eternia recently! Adam had nearly died not all that long ago, but to see her brother standing before their father, ready to slice into their patriarch's throat with Hordak cheering him on…she knew she had to get her brother away from that monster by any means necessary. She wanted her brother to remain the innocent jewel that he was. She didn't want Adam to become her.

She hadn't known before she had met Adam but she knew now that Hordak had stolen her innocence. He had hardened her into a warrior, a fierce fighter that was capable of just as many things as Hordak if she allowed herself to. Oh, she wouldn't do those things for evil. She would do it for the right side, but did that make it okay? When she looked at her brother and his innate goodness, she knew that it wouldn't, and she didn't want that to change for him.

That's the main reason she was so mad at Teela. She had exposed Adam to Hordak even if it wasn't intentional. But maybe the Captain of the Guard had learned her lesson. She truly hoped so.

=)=)=)

"Teela, that tickles!" Adam said with a chuckle as he threw his head back and broke their kiss.

While they continued to discover one another, Teela had run her long, slender fingers from his hip, up his side, and to his underarm. The result was amusing, because it had caused the prince to quake under her. At first, she had thought it was from pleasure, but his exclamation and laughter informed her differently. Regardless, she liked the reaction.

She lifted her head farther away from him and smiled devilishly. "So, Prince Adam is ticklish," she said playfully and ran her fingernails up his side again. Her smile widened into a grin when he wiggled and arched his body away from her. That's when she really went to work! She locked her knees around Adam's hips tightly, slipped both hands under his arms, and moved her fingers frantically.

It was almost like riding a winged horse again! Adam bucked and kicked out desperately as tears slipped down his cheeks. "TEELA," he exclaimed with laughter, "NO!"

"YES!" Teela replied back loudly. "YOU, MY DEAR PRINCE, ARE GOING TO PAY FOR WORRYING US SO MUCH RECENTLY!"

He flailed his arms about and laughed so hard that his skin was nearly as red as Orko's attire, but she knew he could get her off of him if he really wanted to. That's why she continued her attack for at least a minute until she tired and dropped her head suddenly onto his chest. She had found herself laughing along with Adam, so now she was truly exhausted.

She slipped her hands under his back while he wrapped an arm around her waist and a hand on top of her head as they breathed deeply, trying to catch their breath. Eventually, she turned her head so that her chin rested on the indentation between his pectoral muscles and she could peer into his eyes.

He looked down at her and asked softly, "Are you through punishing me yet?"

"No," she answered, "but that's enough for now." She turned her head and rested against him once more.

He gave her a tight squeeze and said, "I've missed this."

She sat upright then, but Adam was reluctant to let her go, but eventually he did with a disappointed sigh. She knew he had probably wanted to continue to hold her, but she wanted to study him as they talked. "What did you miss?" she questioned.

"Us," he admitted. "I know we're still getting used to courting, but you and I…thanks to He-Man, we haven't had fun like this in a really long time. I used to think we'd never get back to this point. I'm happy to be wrong."

She smiled brightly and nodded even though tears filled her eyes. Old feelings that she had ever since she had discovered his secret identity returned. "Oh, Adam, I'm so sorry," she mumbled as a few tears trailed down her cheeks.

Adam immediately sat up and cupped her jaw with both of his hands as his thumbs wiped away the wet emotion. "It's okay," he whispered as he leaned forward and kissed her so gently that his touch felt like a constant breeze against her.

She pulled away with a slight shake of her head and said, "No, it isn't." Then, it was like a dam that contained all her emotions over the last month had broken free. All the feelings she felt after Adam had been captured by the Horde came rushing back to her and she could no longer ignore them. It turned out she wasn't over what she had unknowingly done. She had almost lost him; she had almost taken Eternia's Champion away from their people and the Rebellion. She would have never forgiven herself. "Adam, I'm sorry that I ran off to the Fright Zone. I should have listened to you!"

She met his gaze hesitantly and was surprised to see his shocked expression. Then, she became even more astonished when he grinned and exclaimed, "Well, praise the Ancients! Finally!" He laughed and whispered, "Yes, you should listen to me more often. Maybe next time when one of those crazy and dangerous ideas enter your head, you'll remember this discussion, hmm?"

She couldn't be angry at him for teasing her. She knew that's what he was doing. In fact, she knew he was trying to get her to smile, and despite her feelings to the contrary, she knew she needed to. She still held the task of keeping Adam in the Whispering Woods and she was determined to make that happen one way or another, even if she had to tie him up to the tent post to do it. But for now, this conversation would do. "I will remember it," she replied seriously. "In fact, I'll remember everything that has happened since arriving on Etheria. If it hadn't been for me…" She shook her head.

Adam frowned and said, "Don't, Teela. I'm fine."

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then cried, "We're lucky that's true."

=)=)=)

Lucky.

That was a word Adam wasn't quite sure was true. He supposed in the greater scheme of things, they were. After all, they had managed to restore his memory after capturing him from the Horde. They had stopped another attempt by Skeletor to take over Eternia. They had even stopped Hordak and Skeletor from kidnapping the queen. All of these things could constitute as luck.

BUT, that was where it ended. He let out a shaky breath as he thought about Devin and his father. No matter what Adora, Teela, or anyone else said, he knew he was responsible for what had happened at the Fright Zone, or at least partially. He wanted…no, needed, to stop the Horde. He wanted to break their hold on the planet so nothing like this could ever happen again, and he knew the best way to do that was to return to Hordak's side and be the Rebellion's informant. How could they not see that?

In a matter of hours, though, his thoughts on the subject wouldn't matter if he stayed at the rebel camp. Hordak would wake and go to check on him, and when they discovered that Adam was gone, they would know that he had regained his memory once more. The opportunity would have passed and they might live to regret it.

He felt Teela's fingertips on his cheeks suddenly and he realized he was crying.

"What's wrong, Adam?" she whispered. "Why are you crying?"

He knew if he admitted the truth, they would never let him return to the Fright Zone, so he merely turned his gaze away from her.

Teela wrapped her arms around his waist and questioned softly, "You're thinking about what happened again, aren't you? You're thinking about that man's death." She pulled back, placed both of her hands on Adam's cheeks, and stared into his eyes intensely.

When he once again remained quiet, she insisted, "Adam, it wasn't your fault!"

He closed his eyes and finally spoke. "Regardless, Teela, I can't let his death be in vain. I must return to the Fright Zone. I think I've…shown you my feelings and how much I do want to be with you. Now, it's time for me to do my job."

"Your job isn't running off to the Fright Zone and watching that monster kill people!" Teela snapped, getting angry.

Adam moved Teela off of his lap carefully and stood. "You're right. It's not," he agreed, "and that's not what I intend to do." He smiled at her sadly and continued, "I'm going to stop him, Teela. Then, we'll go home to Eternia and bring Adora with us. Everything will be perfect then. We just have to stop the Horde."

"It's not going to be that easy, Adam!" Teela insisted. "In fact, your plan isn't going to make what you want easy at all!"

He didn't want to fight with her, so he merely groaned and turned around. He started to storm out of the tent as Teela called out his name. He knew he would feel her fingers slip around his wrist at any moment to stop him from leaving, so he wasn't prepared for what happened next. The flap of Teela's tent suddenly opened and Man-at-Arms, then his father, stepped inside.

He immediately gasped and then froze. "Father? Duncan?" He focused on Man-at-Arms and asked, "What in the world are you doing here?"

Duncan glanced briefly at Teela and then turned back to Adam with pursed lips. Then, he stated simply, "I'm here to help you stop the Horde once and for all."

=)=)=)

I know it's not long, but I figured it's a good start after the hiatus.