"What's going on, Duncan?" King Randor asked.

"What's going on?" Duncan repeated. "Are you seriously asking me that when my daughter has been repeatedly put in danger since her relationship with Adam began?"

Adam's eyes widened in surprise. "Duncan, you're not blaming me for what happened today, are you? I did everything I could to stop it. I even took the full force of Skeletor's energy blast to try to protect Teela."

"I know you did, but the fact is that this wouldn't have happened at all if not for having all these huge public displays surrounding your upcoming wedding. Ever since the engagement announcement was made, Skeletor has done everything he can to try to put a stop to it and Teela has paid the price for it."

"But you agreed with us getting married as soon as possible. I thought you were happy for us; that you supported our marriage. You even encouraged me to court her."

"I do support your marriage and I am happy for you, but what I'm not happy about is that it's made Teela a constant target of Skeletor's villainy."

"Nonsense!" Teela exclaimed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I have always been one of his targets simply by being Captain of the Royal Guard. Can you even count how many times he's tried to take me out, or you or the king and queen or Adam just to leave the palace unprotected?"

"She has a point," Queen Marlena interjected. "If you recall, he even kidnapped all of you in an attempt to seize the palace."

"And he severely underestimated you in the process, my dear," King Randor added proudly.

"I know you've been in danger before, Teela," Duncan acknowledged. "That just comes with the territory of being a soldier. But things are different now that you're pregnant. Have you not once considered the risk to your unborn children with you jumping into battle every other day? Or that channeling all this powerful magical through yourself might also harm them or yourself?"

"Of course I've thought about it. How can I not with Adam constantly reminding me that he's worried for my safety? But here's something you need to understand; just like I told you about flying the Wind Raider I haven't forgotten all my training or how to handle myself simply because I'm pregnant. Father, I know you only worry because you love me, but I'm not a child anymore and you no longer have to protect me."

"I'm your father. It's always going to be my job to protect you from harm. You'll understand when you have your own children. As a parent, you never stop worrying or stop trying to look after your child, no matter how old they are."

"It's true," Marlena agreed with a nod to her own children.

"I may be speaking out of turn here," Adora chimed in, "But I think Teela has a point too. I was there and you should have seen her. By the time I got to Snake Mountain, she'd already freed herself from Skeletor's dungeon, found herself a weapon and was ready for a fight. And then the way she took Skeletor down using a combination of her fighting skills and her magical abilities was incredible. You should be very proud of your daughter."

"Of course, I'm proud of her, that's never been in question, but I won't lie and say I'm not concerned, especially now that her magical abilities have manifested. If she keeps using those abilities on Skeletor, it won't be long before he puts two and two together and realizes she's the next Sorceress of Grayskull. Suppose he attacks her again to keep her from taking up the role when her mother can no longer do so? I already lost her mother and I don't want to lose our daughter as well."

"I'll never let that happen, I promise," Adam declared.

"I know you truly believe that, Adam, but you can't make that kind of promise when you can never know what Skeletor may have planned next, especially since you've been unable to transform into He-Man. What would have happened if She-Ra hadn't been here?"

"As Adora just told you, I had already escaped the dungeon on my own and was on my way out when she caught up with me," Teela reminded him.

"But what if Skeletor or one of his evil warriors had attacked you before you got out of Snake Mountain? And what happens the next time Skeletor tries to make you a target after Adora has returned to Etheria?"

"Then I'll be there to back her up," Adam stated firmly. "My strength is returning more and more each day. I should be good as new in another day or two."

"You don't know that for sure," Duncan argued.

"I feel it. I was almost able to transform again today. I think the only reason I couldn't was because of Skeletor's energy blast and I wasn't able to raise my sword fast enough to deflect it. But I'm really close to having all my old reflexes back where that shouldn't be an issue again as long I continue to get the proper rest."

"Besides that, he'll have the element of surprise on his hands because Skeletor believes he killed He-Man," Adora added hopefully. "And if you recall, the only reason he didn't kill my brother as he planned to is because of Teela doing all the things she's been doing; she was the one who was able to break the magic on the cage when no one else could do it. Even as strong as Adam and I are under Grayskull's power, we couldn't fight it. And the Sorceress couldn't because her powers are confined to the castle. It had to be Teela."

"But at what cost?" Duncan countered. "You all saw how weakened she was after the fact, just like her mother gets when she's away from Castle Grayskull for too long."

"No, not just like my mother," Teela explained. "Yes, I was weak, but I was able to regenerate my depleted energy much more quickly even without being near the castle while she always has to return to Grayskull to feel normal again. I don't. And Mother thinks that in time, I won't even need to be there to channel its magic at all once I learn more about how to control my own powers. I mean, I did it on Etheria just by linking to her mind, but she believes that eventually, I won't even have to do that because the Spirit of Grayskull knows me now and I should be able to call on him directly."

"Well, your mother has believed a lot of things that I don't agree with over the years," he uttered bitterly.

Teela frowned and said to the others, "I think I need to speak to my father about all this in private if you don't mind." She grabbed Duncan's arm and dragged him toward his workshop.

Once they were alone, she let him have it. "Listen, I don't know what's happened between you and my mother in the past and I don't really care because it's none of my business. But whatever it is, you need to let go of it and stop projecting the failure of your marriage onto mine before it even becomes official."

"I'm not," he argued.

"Yes, you are," Teela countered. "Whether you realize it or not, you're taking all your frustrations about your separation from your wife out on Adam and me as if you're expecting us to follow the same path you did."

"Well, I can't deny that I worry you and he will fall into the same trap your mother and I did since you will have separate duties just as we do."

"But we don't have separate duties, not really," Teela argued. "Not like you and mother. Her duties are there while yours are here."

"And the same will happen to you once you take over for her."

"But it's different for Adam and me because he's also tied to Castle Grayskull where you're not. I will someday take on the role that my mother has now, which includes being a guardian of his powers and a magical guide, but I don't see it as much different than what I have already been doing for him for years as his trainer and his bodyguard. I'll just be doing it in a different way."

"And when he becomes king, then what?"

"Then I'll be by his side as his queen, helping our children prepare for their future roles as you did for me when I was growing up." A thought struck her as soon as she said it. "Is that what's really bothering you? Are you worried that now that my destiny is on the verge of being fulfilled, I won't need you anymore? Or that you have nothing left to teach me?"

"The thought has crossed my mind," he confessed. "And didn't you just say it yourself; that you don't need me to protect you anymore? But that's not all this is about. Do you remember the day you fell into the abyss?"

"Of course. How could I forget?"

"I was never so afraid of losing you as I was that day and I was so grateful we were able to save you, but what's happening now, I'm afraid there's no saving you from it and I have that same fear of losing you that I did that day."

"Are you afraid of losing me or just losing me to my mother?" she asked pointedly. "I have noticed you've been particularly agitated about me going there to train with her instead of being here with you in the workshop working on your inventions or fencing or practicing guard maneuvers. Is it because I'm starting to bond with her more?"

"Do you really think I'm that selfish that I would begrudge you a relationship with your mother out of jealousy or something?"

"Then what is it, Father? Help me understand, please. Is it Adam? Are you afraid of losing me to him?"

"I suppose a little, but I'm more worried about all the changes that are happening in your life so fast."

"The changes in my life or how it's changing yours?"

He hung his head and admitted, "A little of both, I suppose. I guess I'm afraid that now that you're getting married and having a family of your own, you won't want your old man around as much. We already don't talk like we used to and you're not even married yet."

"Come on, Father, don't be so dramatic. I've still been talking to you."

"No, you've been arguing with me and I know part of your anger is well-deserved because I kept secrets from you for years. But the way you screamed at me at Castle Grayskull the other day; you have never hurt me like you did then. I would have never thought it would ever be possible that my sweet little girl could wound me like that over a new man in her life."

"Don't you understand? Adam could've DIED!" she raged at her father. "I don't see how you can be so cavalier about that! Are you so selfish that you don't get that I would do anything to protect him?"

"Even sacrifice your own life?"

"If that's what it takes," she replied honestly. "That's the whole point of me being his bodyguard. I have always known that one day it might come down to a choice between his life and mine."

"But you weren't acting as his bodyguard; you were acting as his lover."

"It makes no difference."

"Yes, I'm afraid it does. You've become more reckless. Everything changes when two people become romantically involved."

"In some ways, yes, but in others, no," she responded in a calmer tone. "My dedication to Adam as his bodyguard has always been driven by the fact that I have loved him since we were young children. Have you never wondered why I fought so hard for that specific position? The only difference is I now know that he loves me too and he is equally willing to die to protect me and what he have together. That was the whole reason he went to Snake Mountain the day he got trapped in that cage. He was trying to prevent Skeletor from stopping our wedding and nearly died in the process."

"Adam has always been a good man," he nodded in acknowledgement. "I have never had any doubt about that. I just worry that now that you're together, that reckless streak if yours is going to get you killed trying to protect him."

"And if it does, then I'll have fulfilled my duty as his bodyguard."

"You would really die for him, wouldn't you?"

"Yes. That's not exactly plan A, but if it came down to a choice between him or me, I would choose to save him a hundred times over myself. It's my job; you know this. I don't understand where this is coming from all of a sudden You love Adam, I know you do. If you're so worried, then why did you encourage him to court me?"

"Because you're right, I DO love Adam as if he were my own son and I knew even before you admitted it that you were in love with him and he with you. I have always wanted nothing more than for you to be happy."

"Well, I am happy with Adam, Father, very happy, but I'm not happy with the tension between you and me. You said as a father, it's always going to be your job to protect me and look after me. But now that I'm going to be married, I think we both know that's not true. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. I may not need you to protect me as much because that will be Adam's job just as it's mine to protect him, but that doesn't mean I won't need you at all. I'm going to be a mother and I'm going to need all the help I can get there. I'm a warrior and not growing up with a mother of my own, I'll need all the parenting advice I can get from you. And these babies are going to need their grandfather."

Duncan smiled and hugged his daughter. "I'm sorry, Teela, for being so cranky lately. I just feel like my little girl is slipping away from me."

She pulled back to look him in the eyes and replied, "Never. I promise, I will always make time for you."

"Just promise me one more thing, please try to be more careful."

"If being more careful involves giving up my job as Captain of the Royal Guard or as Adam's bodyguard, then I'm afraid I can't make that promise."

"I would never ask you to do that, not when I did everything I could to help you train for it. But maybe it's time to let Adam step up and take on the role you've been training him for all these years."

"No, Father, I have worked and trained my whole life to get where I am and I love it, just as you love being a soldier. I may be getting married and having a family, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be the type to sit at home knitting booties while my husband does all the work. If you honestly think I could do that while our kingdom is under attack, you don't know me very well at all."

"Then what are you training the prince for if not to oversee the troops?"

"To work beside me, not replace me," she answered. "We've already fought many battles side by side and will continue to do so. Besides, you said yourself that Skeletor is attacking more than ever now so doesn't that mean we need all the skilled soldiers we can get. Queen Marlena is even jumping into battle more often now using the skills she learned while part of Earth's military. On top of that, King Randor has already given me his blessing to continue doing just what I'm doing."

"And I don't want you to give up your job because quite frankly, you're very good at it. But will you at least take it a little easier? I have always said you work too hard even before you were pregnant and I don't want you suffering from burnout to the point that you get careless and risk hurting yourself. I know you don't need me to protect you anymore, but that doesn't mean I will ever stop loving you or worrying about you."

"I love you too, Father, but you have to let me live my own life. You may still think of me as your little girl and that it's your responsibility to look after me, but I'm a grown woman now with my own responsibilities."

"Some of which you've been lax on lately since you started spending more time with your mother, such as shirking your guard duty."

"I haven't been shirking anything. I'm still going out early every morning with the guard. The time I've been spending at the castle is time I would normally spend on Adam's training, but we both know that he doesn't really need it since he's He-Man," she argued. "Besides that, King Randor has had to make allowances for all this wedding nonsense, including the tour Adam and I went on and when I leave on my honeymoon in a few days, I'm leaving a very capable lieutenant in charge to manage things in my absence."

"That's fair enough on your duty to the guard, but you're wrong about Adam not needing your training. Without the Sword of Power, he's just a mortal man as we all saw when Skeletor drained his powers. I think you should resume your training sessions, not only because he still has things to learn if he's to step into his role supervising the guard beside you, but because it may set a bad example to the guards you lead if they think you let the prince slide in his duties simply because you're now in a relationship with him."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose you're right. There's just been so much to do that something had to give and I thought that with Adam also being Eternia's champion-"

"I understand why you'd think that, but even with the king and queen now knowing the truth, that information still must be kept hidden from everyone else. That's why keeping up your regular routine is so important."

"Now that Adam's feeling better, I'll work something out with him, but it's going to be a challenge because we still have to pack up our rooms to prepare for the big move, pack for our honeymoon, plus I've still got my final dress fitting, I have my own training with my mother and I have six new recruits being sent to me from their training in the City of Wisdom starting the day after tomorrow, and the wedding is just two days away."

"Perhaps hold off on your training with your mother until you return from your honeymoon," he suggested in a hopeful tone.

"You really don't like that I'm spending so much time with her, do you?"

He shook his head and explained, "It's not that, Teela, I'm glad everything is out in the open now and I'm happy that you and your mother are finally connecting as a mother and daughter should, but I stand by what I said before, I worry about how channeling all that power is affecting your health."

"I promise, I'm fine," she tried to reassure him. "If I weren't, I would stop, trust me."

"I would love to trust you on that, but aren't you also the same woman who once went on a suicide mission with a mesotronic bomb intending to blow yourself up to stop Skeletor?"

"Someone had to step up to destroy that dimensional gate he'd built to the goblin dimension when you told us all that He-Man wasn't availab-" She thought back to that strategy session in the throne room when they were all trying to decide what to do. "But wait, I don't understand. Adam was right there and if Adam is He-Man, then why would you have said he wasn't available when you always knew his secret?"

"Well, you know about what happened when He-Man first went after Skeletor, the accident that caused the gate to collapse leading him to think he'd killed someone."

"Sure, but that turned out to be a dirty trick Skeletor and General Tataran played on him to mess with his head, just like he tried to mess with mine today."

"But Adam didn't know that yet," Duncan explained. "You weren't there to see the aftermath of that; I was. Adam was so distraught over believing he'd killed an innocent man, abusing the power he'd been gifted with, he was determined never to be He-man again. He even dropped the Sword of Power into the abyss to prevent himself from being tempted to use the power of Grayskull. I have known him his whole life just like you have and I have never seen him so broken."

"I had no idea." Teela frowned as she realized that she still hadn't fully processed all the ramifications of her future husband's dual identity.

"But it was partially you that brought He-Man back. When he thought you might die, he dove into the abyss on a Sky-Sled despite knowing how dangerous the winds are just so he could get his sword back to save you."

She smiled as she thought of that day and how he'd knocked her away from the bomb blast and used his own body as a shield to protect her and then, because she'd still sustained a head injury, had insisted on carrying her all the way home despite her protests that she could walk.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking about that day."

"Oh? Anything you care to share?"

She told him the rest of the events of that day. "He was just so sweet that day. I was so stupid not to see then who he really was behind the armor when He-Man had all the charm and wit I've always loved about Adam."

"Well, I'm sure it didn't help that Adam did a good job for years of pretending to be the opposite of He-Man to the point that even his own father didn't see it."

While Duncan and Teela were having their talk, so were another group of parents and their children. "I hope they're going to be okay," Adam commented after they'd left the room. "I feel like part of the tension between them is because of me."

"That could also apply to the tension between you and me, Son," King Randor replied pointedly.

"Oh, Randor, don't start yelling again," Queen Marlena said with an eye roll.

"No yelling," he promised. "But I do think it's past time Adam and I cleared the air once and for all."

Marlena nodded. "Adora, why don't we go check on how seamstress is coming along with your dress for the wedding?"

"Of course, Mother," Adora answered agreeably. She shot her brother a look that said 'I'm sorry' as she dutifully followed her mother.

"No yelling, huh?" Adam questioned skeptically. "Does that still apply now that they're gone?"

Randor sighed. "Are you going to give me a reason to yell?"

"You don't think lying to you for six years is enough of a reason?" Adam asked warily, sure that his father would explode any moment.

"I admit that I was angry enough at first," he admitted. "But now that I've had a few days to think, I realize just how much you've gone through in those six years. You've literally held the life of this planet in your hands and I was too blind to see it; to see what a brave man you are when I always treated you as if you were a coward."

"You mean, how brave He-Man is," Adam snorted bitterly.

"No, Adam, I mean you, my son." He laid a hand in the prince's shoulder. "Duncan told me that you could've turned down that responsibility and instead you chose to step up to protect your home. And at the age of only sixteen."

Adam shrugged indifferently. "It's no different than you taking on the responsibility of an entire kingdom at age sixteen."

"I suppose. I just feel terrible for the way I've treated you, but I never knew. These past two weeks when I've seen these changes in you, I thought it was due to you taking on the responsibility of a family, but it was you just trying to show me who you really are, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I have always wanted to tell you the truth, but more than anything, I just wanted you to be proud of me as I am."

"Just like you wanted Teela to love you as Adam, not as He-Man."

"Yeah, just like that. I almost told you the truth right after I got back from touring the kingdom, but I thought I shouldn't until I talked to Adora about it first because her secret is tied in with mine. I felt it wouldn't be fair to her to share something that affected both of us without her consent."

"I understand," the king nodded. "I just have so many questions, but I don't want to start a fight with you again by asking the wrong ones."

"Ask your questions. I will do my best to answer them."

"Well, I've guessed that all those times you disappeared when the evil warriors were attacking, it was so you could find a private place to make your transformation. Is that correct?"

"Yes, I can't exactly do that in front of Skeletor or his minions or it would never be safe for me to be Prince Adam again."

"Why even bother being Prince Adam when you're the most powerful man in the universe?"

"Because I love my life here at the palace. I have family, friends, a duty to the crown and the kingdom. It gives He-Man something worth fighting for. Alone, He-Man has no one and nothing in his life, no home, no family, no love in his life as I have with Teela. He's just an anonymous warrior."

"But you're He-Man! Everything you have is his as well."

"No, Father. You've got that backwards. Everything he has is mine. He-Man and She-Ra are the living embodiment of the power of Grayskull, but they would both be nothing without Adora and me. Think of it like this, He-Man is the brawn, but I'm the brain, the heart, the bravery, all the things that makes him a hero. If I were to stay in that form permanently, I fear I would lose that human side of myself that gives him all those things. Besides, that would be an abuse of the power. It's meant to be used only when needed, so I only transform when it's absolutely necessary."

"Does it hurt you to transform? When I saw you change in that cage, you seemed to be in severe pain."

"I was," Adam answered honestly. "But no, under normal circumstances, the transformation isn't painful. It's hard to explain, but it's an energy surge, kinda like when you get a huge adrenaline rush and you feel like you can do anything. It still terrifies Cringer though, even after six years."

King Randor laughed. "Just simple shadows terrify Cringer."

"I resent that," Cringer grumbled beside Adam.

Adam knelt beside his feline friend and patted his head. "Hey, you were incredibly brave tonight, trying to help me unsheathe my sword even though you knew it meant turning into Battle Cat again."

"Well, Teela was in danger," Cringer shrugged and let out a yawn. "But after all that, I'm ready for another nap." He padded off toward Adam's room.

"Well, there's a side effect," Adam told his father with a nod toward the retreating tiger. "It's not painful to transform, but with He-man's energy, he never needs to sleep. He can go for days and days without it."

"H-how many days?" Randor asked with a worried look.

"I don't know for sure. I've never put it to the test as I've always changed back when He-Man was no longer needed. That's what actually happened with the farm girl. I thought the danger was over once I'd stopped the flooding, but I made a mistake because I didn't realize she'd been carried down the river so I just dove in to save her as myself because there wasn't time to transform again without risking her life. I was telling the truth though when I told you she kissed me out of gratitude. To be honest, she wanted more than that, but I turned her down and walked away. Then I spent the rest of the night at Grayskull with the Sorceress while we tried to figure out what Skeletor might plot next."

"What about the first time that week that you were out all night? Now that I know who you really are, can you tell me that?"

"Let's get one thing straight, Adam IS who I really am. He-Man isn't even a real person with his own identity. He wouldn't exist as he is at all without me. He may have the power, but every decision he makes is mine. Every time he has a difficult choice to make, it's me behind it using the battle strategies I've learned from you and Teela and Duncan."

"Why do you keep taking about He-Man as if you're not the same person then? Adora does it too when she is talking about She-Ra."

"Because the two have to be kept separate. I have to think of He-Man as a different person to keep it straight in my own mind. There are so many times I've nearly let my emotions get the best of me as He-Man; for instance, when I realized it was Mom who'd taken down Skeletor's ship and had led the troops into battle. I nearly called her 'mother' just out of surprise before I caught myself and corrected my mistake. Adora has the same struggle in her world because only a handful of her friends know the truth. Even her boyfriend doesn't know."

"Wait, Adora has a boyfriend?"

Oops, Adam thought. "I thought you knew that. He was here for our birthday party last year."

"But she had so many of her Etherian friends here then and she certainly didn't introduce any of them as her boyfriend. Which one is he?"

"Ummm…I think that's a question you should ask her. If she didn't introduce him to you, maybe she has a reason for it."

"So many secrets in this family," the king grumbled.

"Look who's talking," Adam fired back. "How many years did it take for me to learn I had a sister and when I did, that information didn't even come from you, but from the Sorceress."

"Touché. I suppose I have no right to judge either of you for keeping secrets. But while we're on the subject, you never did answer my question about being out all night."

"Oh, right! It's like I told you, it was nothing you'd disapprove of. I was on Etheria with Adora, Skeletor had taken his own trip there and they were plotting to somehow steal the power of Grayskull to destroy the Whispering Woods, which is a magically protected safe haven for the Great Rebellion. Of course, I didn't know it then, but between the two of them, they somehow figured out how to get into the abyss, but Skeletor kept the power for himself to build that cage. Anyway, Adora and I kicked Skeletor's ass back to Eternia, but still ended up battling Horde troopers until dawn. Looking back on it, I now think Skeletor started that flooding to keep me - or He-Man - distracted, but he underestimated how quickly I would fix the disaster."

"He's not the only one who's underestimated you and for that, I'm sorry, Son."

"It's my own fault for hiding the man I really am. No apology is necessary. I'm just glad you know now."

"I am too and I'm proud to call you my son." King Randor hugged his son tightly while Adam beamed at hearing those words.