Author's note: Hey guys, I know it's been a long time but I've encountered a huge writer's block. I ask you to be patient with me because I'm a little rusty and it's been over a year since I've written anything it will take some time to get in shape. As always not making any money out of this because I don't own anything.

Caleb told Sharif to go to his apartment as fast as they could, but by the time they made it there the police was already in the location and two cadavers were being carried into an ambulance. As soon as he arrived the teenager came close to the bodies' side and recognized the remains of Malik and althea, several gunshot wounds sprouting from their torsos. It was too late for them, he had failed to protect his family.

Two police officers approached him but before they could ask any questions he turned away and left.

Caleb knew they were not to be trusted, only the police knew he and Malik were double crossing Ronnie therefore they were the ones that snitched on them. So he just got back into the cab holding back his tears.

-"Get me out of here"- He commanded Sharif with a broken voice.

-"Adam I'm so sorry"- Teela sympathized with the now broken boy.

-"My name is Caleb not Adam, I'm a mechanic not a prince so stop that fantastical nonsense because I can't handle it right now"- He couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

-"Your mother is waiting for you, you will come back home and all this awfulness will be behind you I'm sure"- She said while gently stroking his back.

-"For what I know my mother is dead right now and she got killed because of my stupid plan, Althea is the one that took care of me. Where the hell was my biological mother when I was beaten on a daily basis? Or left out in the cold to starve?"- He looked at her with a mixture of such rage and hurt that made Teela wallow with guilt. She should had prevented all this, had she stayed by Adam's side he wouldn't had disappeared and none of this would have happened. Teela couldn't help but wonder how many hardships her best friend might have endured in this violent world.

At least she was the one that heard his rant instead of Marlena, because if the queen heard Adam's words her heart would had torn in pieces. The girl assumed all she could do right now was call her father and tell him what to expect, because Adam wasn't in the mood for a happy reunion, she hoped Duncan's tact would salvage the situation.

When they arrived at the abandoned loft Caleb walked out of the car feeling numb and empty inside. In the back of his mind he knew he was next, Ronnie would kill him soon but at this point he no longer cared about what could happen to him. Sadly he didn't feel like that mattered.

Once inside he lifted his head at the sound of a familiar voice, a beautiful older woman was calling him and before he knew it she was gripping him in a crushing hug. As strange as it may seem the feel of her skin and smell of her hair seemed to trigger a cascade of blurry memories he had trouble deciphering but somehow, they told him that he was sure she was his mother. It was an instinctive reaction to hug her back. Even when he couldn't remember anything about his previous family he had managed to recognize her, because deep down a child will never forget his mother, at least not entirely.

A few minutes later he broke off the hug and tried to regain some composure

-"I need you to get away from me as soon as possible."- He said miserably, to which Marlena could only gasp in shock.

-"What are you talking about?! We have literally traveled across the universe to find you! I am not leaving you out of my sight young man"- Duncan said exasperated as he too grabbed him in an enthusiastic hug.

-"Are you my dad?"- He said puzzled.

-"No Adam, your father is still on Eternia fighting our enemies. But you have no idea how much he misses you"- Marlena said cupping his face.

-"Ugh again with that nonsense! Look guys that whole dungeons and dragons crap is not gonna help you when Ronnie or Esteban come barging at your door with a shitload of weapons. If you wanna live I suggest you get the hell out of here ASAP"-

-"We are here to protect you, idiot. We are not going to let anyone hurt you."- Teela said pointing at her brand new rifle.

-"You're gonna need a lot more than that if you wanna beat them"- Caleb said frustrated.

Out of the shadows came Warren holding not one but two guns and pointing at the large stash of weapons in the corner. –"Waddaya think kid? Is this more to your liking?"- He said proudly.

-"And if that's not enough…"- Duncan added as his hand morphed into a cannon.

-"That's the weirdest shit I've ever seen"- Caleb said stunned.

-"We must do something about your language Adam, it's not appropriate for a prince."- The queen scolded him.

-"Riiight…. Prince."- He scoffed –"Just call me Caleb will you? That name fits better with me, I don't feel like an Adam and certainly not like a prince"-

-"Not a chance! Your name is Adam. Me and your father didn't spend nine months wrecking our brains to find a suitable name for you just so you can change it at your whim"-

Petite as she might seem, his mother seemed quite imposing when she wanted to, so he muttered –"Fine, call me Adam then"-

…..

Two hours later Adam had bathed and his mother managed to coerce him to eat something, but the stress of his ordeal was crashing down and he was now falling asleep. Marlena was content to stay by his side, no amount of tragedy could change the fact that her baby was with them and safe.

Duncan and Teela were watching a mixed martial arts match on TV, they were intrigued by the fighting techniques, when Marlena came up behind them and said –"Haven't you had enough violence for a day?"-

-"How's Adam?"- Duncan asked concerned

She dropped her head –"He doesn't remember anything, I can tell from experience that he won't believe us until he sees Eternia for himself. He thinks we abandoned him and that we are either lying or insane."-

-"That is very strange we did keep our memories when we landed"- Teela mused

-"It might have been some sort of defense mechanism, if Adam had remembered his life on Eternia he would have told the terran authorities and would've ended on a psychiatric hospital"- Marlena said dryly.

-"We have to take him to Eternia right now father; many dangerous people are after him"-

-"Swanson being the worst, he is rich and powerful and knows Adam is half alien. I don't want to imagine what he would do if he lays his claws over him."- The queen said worried

-"Right now our best option is to stay hidden until the portal opens, you should all go to sleep I'll stand guard for the night on the inside while Warren guards on the outside. Sharif went to his Family but he says he will drop by tomorrow morning"- Duncan said determined.

-"I am not tired at all so I'll stay with you"- Teela told him.

Flipping channels the TV showed and image of a bleach blonde semi nude woman riding a wrecking ball and suggestively licking a hammer while singing: "All you ever did was wrecking me"

-"What is that?!"- Teela said appalled

-"It seems like some sort of terran mating ritual"- Duncan said puzzled

-"With construction tools?! Marlena is that how terrans?..."-

The queen removed the TV remote and changed the channel right away -"I don't know what the hell that is! It seems like pseudo artistic nonsense. Be careful with what you see on TV, it might be difficult to understand what the media portrays, especially with that spell making you absorb everything you see like a sponge"- Marlena chuckled while flipping channels until she saw a colorful cartoon that judging from the design must have been made for toddlers. In that cartoon school children sang:

"I'm goin' down to South Park

Gonna have myself a time.

Friendly faces everywhere

humble folks without temptation…."

"That seems safe enough" The queen thought, leaving the Eternians alone to watch cartoons.

With her baby now in her arms the adrenaline that had fueled her was also crashing down and she felt exhausted, so she cuddled next to Adam, distraught at how much her boy had changed. He had grown big and strong as anyone would expect considering how big his father was, but the hard coldness in his eyes had shown how much he must have suffered here.

She guessed there might have been several scars tainting his soul just like his fair skin had been tainted with black ink and other colorful designs. Those tattoos disgusted her not only for the way they made him look like a miscreant, but also because they were a clear reminder of all the things her sheltered son had been exposed to in this last year.

Marlena wondered how many scars could be healed once they got back home, and how many stains could be removed from his skin. With the certainty that things would get better soon she sighed and fell fast asleep.

…

The next morning Adam woke up feeling quite well in spite of the crazy awful night he had before, his mother urged him to join the others for breakfast at the improvised living room they made in the middle of the loft.

The pretty red haired girl smiled him softly and he couldn't help smiling back, as for the other large man he somehow knew he could trust him. It was strange but he did feel safer since they found him.

-"How do you feel, Adam?"- The large man asked him with kindness.

-"I feel pretty rested, I hope you don't mind but I called Ramiro, a friend of mine and asked him to come over. He's good with guns and could be useful if we plan to stand up to Ronnie."-

-"Of course not , the more the merrier"- Duncan said smiling.

-"Tell us more about you friend, how did you meet? What does he do?"- Marlena was curious.

-"He's a tattoo artist I met in jail, they locked me up because I beat the shit out of my foster parent. He was an abusive prick and punched me every single day, until one night I saw him strangling my foster mother and decided to take action."-

-"And they sent you to jail? How could they find you guilty after all that asshole did?"- Teela said enraged.

-"It's a faulty legal system; it is simpler and cheaper to declare yourself guilty of a misdemeanor than make your lawyer fight for you in court. If I hadn't confessed I'd still be in jail waiting for trial."-

To Adam's embarrassment, his mother begun to cry while holding him, muttering how sorry she was for all the awful things that happened.

The boy merely lowered his head and everyone sensed after a while that he wasn't in the mood to speak so Marlena wiped away her tears and changed the subject.

-"So how did you guys sleep?"- He asked Teela and Duncan who shrugged and responded they were watching TV until well past midnight and then traded places with Warren guarding outside so the elderly man could catch some sleep.

-"We are not tired at all, in fact I feel like we stayed too much time locked up in one place, we really want to go outside and stretch our legs."- Duncan said.

-"Guys I don't think that's natural you have been awake for over thirty six hours now. Are you sure that spell the Sorceress gave you is safe?"- Marlena was worried for the eternians, they looked anxious and fidgety, Teela's legs were shaking.

-"Don't worry we're fine, dad made the arrangements with Sharif and Warren to watch over both of you. Right now we really need some fresh air!"- She said while dragging Duncan outside.

Father and daughter had a hidden agenda on their hands, they were planning to avenge Adam by looking after the abusive monster responsible for their prince's suffering. They guessed it shouldn't be too hard to find him and once they did… well let's just say they were glad to see those cartoons and their imaginative ways they portrayed to cause harm.

They could only make a few steps outside of the building when a large luxurious car parked at the entrance. A tall man with black hair came down from the car followed by four men who were carrying large guns. Duncan and Teela were far enough not to be noticed by the group and could only watch in horror as that man barged inside the loft.