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As they flipped through the pages of their notebook, Double Trouble became increasingly irritated. All they had wanted to do was research for their latest play—a harrowing tale of love between two First Ones—and word on the street was that Madame Razz was the only person left on Etheria who remembered what the long-gone civilization had actually been like.
But talking to her was absolutely incomprehensible. She spouted more nonsense than anyone Double Trouble had ever met, and they’d met Entrapta. How in the world were they supposed to properly act when they were incapable of understanding who their character was? They were a method actor, for fuck’s sake!
They sighed. At least the pie Razz had made had tasted good. They reclined back in their perch amongst the treetops, marking up their script with what little information they had. Worst come to worst, Double Trouble could always pay a visit to Brightmoon. Surely Adora knew something about the First Ones, being She-Ra and all that.
“I think we’re lost,” a little voice said from below them.
“We’re not lost, Luna!” a different voice declared. “I know where we’re going!”
“Suuuuuure,” said a third voice skeptically.
“We aren’t!” the second voice protested.
Double Trouble sat up and peered curiously down to the forest floor, searching for the source of this argument. To their surprise, they saw four little kids slowly making their way through the Whispering Woods.
“We’re going on an adventure ,” whined the owner of the second voice, who, they realized, was Catra and Adora’s little kitten, Finn. Double Trouble wondered if the play-sword Finn was holding was one of the ones from the toy weapons set they had given them as a gift when they were born. They were particularly proud of that set—they loved being the one to bring the biggest, most expensive present to a party, and here they had certainly succeeded.
Finn hopped over a tree root with ease. “An adventure means you have to be brave, guys . ”
“I’m brave!” said one of the other kids, who they were also able to recognize by the short, poofy purple hair that popped against her dark skin; this was one of the Princesses of Brightmoon. Archie crossed her arms, looking exactly like Glimmer. “I think you don’t know where the castle is.”
Finn huffed. “Finding it is part of the adventure!”
Archie’s twin, who was nearly identical save for her hair, which was just as poofy but bright pink and pulled into two pigtails, clutched her sister’s hand nervously. “The forest is kind of scary,” she whispered.
The fourth kid—Double Trouble didn’t recognize him, but judging by the pale blonde hair, the scorpion tail and claws, and the flower tucked behind his ear, he was clearly one of Scorpia and Perfuma’s brood—took her tiny hand in his. “The forest isn’t scary, Luna,” he said earnestly. “My moms said that things are only scary if you make them that way.”
Finn grinned, triumphant. “And Archie and Luna’s dad says that all you need is your friends! We have each other, so we can do this! Let’s go!”
Archie still looked unconvinced. “Our parents are really busy today. What if we miss something fun?” she asked.
Luna’s eyes widened. “Do you think so?”
Finn poked at the ground with their toy sword. “No! Today is when all the adults do all the boring stuff, and tomorrow is when everyone else gets here and we do the fun stuff. We can spend a whole day in the castle and they won’ even miss us.”
Luna’s lip had begun to tremble. “I wanna go home ,” she whimpered. She tugged at the scorpion boy’s hand. “Ol’ander, let’s go home.”
Oleander gave her a hug. “Don’t cry, Luna!” he said. “I’ll tell you a joke Uncle Sea Hawk told me! What does a seagull say to a—No, wait, I forgot it…”
Finn yanked their sword out of the ground and held it up, looking a little like a mini-Adora. “Come on ! We’re on an adventure to the magic castle! We’ll be super brave and do super fun things! Then we go home and have dinner! It’ll be fun. ”
The other kids exchanged looks. But then Finn tapped Archie on the nose. “Tag!” they shouted. “Race you to the castle!” They turned and ran through the bushes.
Instantly, the group dissolved into laughter. They squealed and shrieked as they chased after Finn, all worries vanishing immediately.
Double Trouble turned back to their script. A little unsupervised excursion was good for kids. Healthy, even. After all, they’d mostly been left to their own devices as a child, and they’d turned out wonderfully! These little children would be fine. And Double Trouble was not exactly tripping over themself to go spend time with a bunch of kiddies anyway.
But then they had an idea. They assumed that the “magic castle” the kids were referring to was the Crystal Castle—also known as a First Ones artifact. It could be the missing piece in the puzzle that was their script! Just one tour around the place and they could learn so much about their character. It was perfect!
Double Trouble transformed into a bird and flew towards the castle. It wasn’t hard to find, being a huge crystal structure in the middle of the wilderness. They landed in front of it and shifted back into their usual form.
The castle itself was shut tight against the outside world, with no obvious signs of entry. They could see a few tiny footprints in the grass near the front of the building, but it was unclear how—or if—the kids had gotten inside. Double Trouble sighed. The life of an actor was one of suffering.
They shifted back into a bird, flying themself to the top of the castle. Maybe they could find an entry point that way. It took some poking and prodding, but they finally managed to find a square of crystal that seemed loose enough to pry off—
The piece they were standing on shattered, sending them crashing through the roof.
Double Trouble stood up, trying to adjust to the dim light. The room was lit with tiny glowing panels along the walls; it was completely empty. They pulled out their notebook, reaching out carefully to touch the wall.
A scream split the air.
Double Trouble whirled around, searching for the source of distress. Then they remembered—the kids.
They quickly sprinted out of the room, not even bothering to transform. Double Trouble may have been a vicious mercenary, but they weren’t nearly heartless enough to let a bunch of five-year-olds die.
They turned a corner, following the sounds of shrieks. The hallways seemed to stretch on endlessly, a twisting, winding maze. After what seemed like an eternity, they came upon the source of the commotion:
A huge, angry spider was advancing on the kids, who were backed into a corner. Separating them and Double Trouble was a gaping, cavernous hole. The only way across was by a narrow, partially eroded pillar that had fallen and landed over the hole.
As the spider clicked it’s pincers, Archie shouted, “Use your magic!”
Luna, who was being clung to by Oleander and her sister, clapped her hands together frantically. “Can’t!” she wailed, tears gushing down her cheeks. “I don’t know how!”
Double Trouble began to make their way across the pillar, moving gingerly to avoid it breaking down even more. They clearly weren’t moving enough; the spider lunged at the kids, and they howled in fear, pressing closer together. All of them shrunk back, until their backs touched the wall.
All of them except Finn, who jumped forward, shielding the other children.
“ For the honor of Grayskull!” they screamed, holding out their toy sword with such confidence that for a second, Double Trouble actually expected them to transform into a glowing warrior.
The spider hesitated for the briefest second, and Finn used that opportunity to thrust their sword towards its face. The blade grazed the creature’s skin harmlessly. (Next time, Double Trouble decided, they would get the kid something actually sharp).
Undeterred, Finn hurled the sword at its face as hard as they could. It bounced off its nose, knocking the toy several feet away. The spider made a horrid, grating noise of anger. Fear crossed Finn’s face for the first time.
Luckily, Double Trouble had just reached the end of the plank. They leapt off of it, tackling the spider. It hissed and thrashed under their grip. They used all their might to hurl it against the wall, before jumping off quickly and landing in front of the kids.
“Hi, Mx. Double Trouble!” said Finn cheerfully. Meanwhile, the spider managed to free itself from the wall, shaking its head. It gargled in anger. It was clearly disoriented, but for how much longer?
“Hello, little darlings!” they chirped. “Time to go!” They threw their entire weight against a nearby pillar, causing it to tip and careen into the pillar next to it. The pillars crashed into each other slowly, falling like dominoes.
Double Trouble grabbed Finn and one of the twins by the backs of their shirts and hauled them out of the way. They swept the other two children along with their tail. As the pillars fell, building a wall of stone and rubble between them and the spider, Double Trouble herded the small children out of the room. “Which way to the exit, little explorers?” they asked.
Archie pointed down a hallway. “I think…”
They immediately sprinted in that direction, their little gaggle stumbling after them, all holding each other’s hands.
The group reached a room that looked identical to the others. But Finn said, “This is where the ramp is!” And sure enough, a ramp descended from the ceiling, letting a beam of sunlight from the outside.
They all ran up the ramp and out of the castle. Once they reached the surface, the ramp closed behind them, sealing up the castle once more. The kids all collapsed onto the grass, obviously exhausted and shaking.
Oleander pulled a flower out of the ground and tucked it behind his ear, to replace the one that had fallen out during their mad dash. “We did go on an adventure,” he said, with the optimism that his family was apparently incapable of losing.
Archie poked Finn in the stomach. “How come you didn’ turn into She-Ra like your mommy does?”
Finn frowned, looking annoyed. “I dunno!”
Double Trouble laughed. They patted the kid on the head. “A bunch of scared little children are no match for one of those spiders, even if you’d had She-Ra’s sword. You’re lucky I found you in time, little one.”
Finn’s pout grew bigger. “I wasn’t scared!”
“Sure you weren’t.” They got to their feet, dusting off the grass sticking to their clothes. “Come along, children. Back to Brightmoon we go.”
“This’s one of Mommy and Daddy’s friends,” Luna explained to Oleander in a whisper as they walked. “They visit sometimes and tell Mommy things.”
“What sort of things?” asked Oleander.
“Secrets,” said Double Trouble, and winked. Being the queen’s spy was not their full time job—that would always be the theater, of course—but it was a good way to keep themself entertained in between shows. And they loved sharing the gossip around Etheria, so it worked out very well.
Finn bounced over to Double Trouble’s side. “I wasn’t scared!” they announced. “I was just pretending.”
They snorted. “Well then you’re quite the actor.”
The kid stomped their foot. “I can act! I’m the best at the pretend games we play.”
Double Trouble shook their head sagely. “True acting isn’t just pretending …” they said. They tipped their head back as they transformed, shrinking down and sprouting fur and blond hair that was thicker and lighter than their own. Finn gasped as they came face-to-face with their mirror image.
“…You gotta become your character,” Double Trouble told them, delighting in the look of awe that spread across their face, and the shock that permeated the air around the rest of the group. They lingered in that form for a minute before shifting back.
“That’s not fair,” Finn protested as they continued walking. “Not everyone can do that. You’re cheating.”
“Not cheating, darling—simply utilizing my full potential.” They winked, enjoying the way the kid got increasingly irritated with every word. Meanwhile, the other children chattered on behind them, engaged in their own conversation. Double Trouble made sure to glance back every few seconds, to make sure no other creatures had attempted to sweep them away.
Finn crossed their arms determinedly. “I can’t do that , but I can act!”
“Oh? Prove it then, why don’t you?”
Finn cocked their head, standing up straighter. Their eyes widened just slightly, their tail curling in a motion that was decidedly uncat-like. They put their right hand on their hip, which jutted out slightly, and they used their left hand to examine their nails, an air of aloofness eminenting from the young child. “Hello, little darling ,” they hissed at Double Trouble.
Double Trouble gasped. That was an almost perfect imitation of their voice and mannerisms! The kid was a natural. “Well played, little one. I’m sure your mothers will love to see you reenact this dramatic tale—”
The kids all gasped in unison. “Don’t tell our parents!” Archie begged.
Double Trouble raised an eyebrow. “Are we, perhaps, going to be yelled at when we return, children?”
“Not yelled at,” said Finn. “My moms don’t yell! They say we have to use our nice words when we’re upset.”
“But…” Luna trailed off, biting her lip.
“But?” Double Trouble prompted.
“But…our parents don’t know we’re not at Brightmoon,” Oleander confessed, looking down at the ground.
“We snuck out,” Archie chimed in. “It was Finn’s idea!”
“Was not!” Finn snapped, scuffing the dirt with their feet. “You all wanted to go on an adventure! Besides, everyone’s super busy with that whole ann-verse-ree thing tomorrow.”
Ah, the yearly anniversary of the defeat of Horde Prime. It was quite a big celebration that was hosted at Brightmoon, and Double Trouble could easily see how the kids could feel ignored during the hustle and bustle of the preparations. They knew how it felt to not be the center of attention, after all.
“ And ,” Oleander added, a pout on his face, “my sisters won’t let us play iceball with them.”
“They said we’re too young!” Archie said indignantly. “Melody and Hope are only three years older than us!”
“Please don’t tell our parents!” Finn pleaded, putting on their sweetest face. “My moms will be so worried . They don’t let me do anything fun already. Uncle Sea Hawk was gonna show us how’t ride a flaming boat and my moms said no!”
“Gee, little one, I wonder why.”
Archie stared at them, a surprisingly calculated look on her baby face. “Aren’t you going to get in trouble, too?” she asked.
Double Trouble blinked. “Pardon?”
“No one’s s’posed to go in the castle,” Archie said, slowly. “Adora says it’s dangerous and no one’s allowed in it. Doesn’t that mean you too?”
Finn picked up on where she was going with this. “If you don’t tell on us, we won’t tell on you!” they said. “Then Glimmer won’t be mad at you.”
Double Trouble stared at the two of them incredulously. “Are you… manipulating me into deceiving your parents for your own gain ?”
“I don’t know what that means,” said Finn, “but yes!”
They gave a dramatic sigh. “Alright, children, you win.”
——
Glimmer crossed her arms, glaring down at them. “Where in the world have you four been all afternoon?”
Archie blinked up at her innocently. “Playing hide ‘n’ seek right here in the gardens.”
“I won!” chirped Luna.
“I almost won,” added Oleander.
“And why didn’t you come out when we were calling for you?” Bow asked.
“Uh, ‘cause we were hiding ?” Finn pointed out, with a lot of cockiness for a five-year-old.
“Riiiiiight,” said Catra, staring down at her child with a hefty amount of skepticism. “And none of Oleander’s sisters saw you guys playing, despite them also being in the gardens? What’s the reason for that, kiddo?”
Finn blanched. Perfuma knelt down in front of the kids. “You can tell us where you’ve really been, sweet ones,” she promised. “We just want your honesty.”
“We were !” insisted Finn. “We have proof! Swift Wind!”
That was their cue. Double Trouble huffed, feeling utterly humiliated at having to play the talking horse. But it wasn’t the worse role they’d had to play—being a Horde clone had been completely abhorrent.
“Did someone say… Swift Wind !” they shouted as they trotted out of the bush. At least the horse shared their passion for theatrics.
Adora perked up. “Hey, Swiftie,” she said. “Have you been playing hide-and-seek with the kids this afternoon?” It was obvious that she was not the disciplinarian.
“Indeed I have,” Double Trouble proclaimed, lifting one hoof for emphasis. “And they’re quite the good hiders, too! Isn’t that right!” They nudged Finn lightly. The kid nudged them back.
“I had the best hiding spot, Mommy!” they told Adora.
Scorpia relaxed. “Alright, we believe you!” If anyone was less thrilled than Adora about having to be the bad guy, it was her. She scooped the children up in her arms, squeezing them tightly as they giggled, squirming around in her hug. “Next time, add a rule that makes it okay to come out of your hiding spots when we call you for ice cream.”
They all perked up. “Is there still ice cream left?” Luna asked.
“You betcha!”
Adora smiled. “Come on, let’s go inside and get some,” she said. The group turned and started heading towards the castle door. The events of the day clearly hadn’t left any lasting trauma on the children—they were as bouncy and bubbly as ever, asking the adults a million questions about the anniversary celebration and the desserts they’d be serving. It was kind of cute, Double Trouble admitted. They watched Catra fondly adjust the red scarf tied around Finn’s neck, as they babbled on without taking a breath.
Adora was the last to leave. She paused, looked over her shoulder. “And for future reference, Double Trouble,” she said, a gleam in her eye, “next time, choose someone to impersonate that I don’t have a sacred magical connection with.” Then she followed after the rest of her family, leaving them gaping.
But Double Trouble wasn’t even miffed at being found out. Because they’d discovered something extraordinary—an actor with talent that could one day rival theirs. They had finally found a protégé!