Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

----11 years before the events of the show----

Catra stumbled as she was shoved off the transport ship onto the wet sand. She wanted to scream and beg as she heard it take off behind her, but it wouldn’t be of any use, the horde wouldn’t take her back, not after Shadow Weaver herself had ordered she be dropped here. She kicked up a small rock caught in the sand, trying to hold back tears. It wasn’t fair. It had been Adora’s idea to sneak into the black garnet chamber, not hers, but Shadow Weaver would never punish Adora, not when Catra was right there to blame instead. 

Catra screamed and slashed at a nearby vine hanging from a tree, trying to vent her anger. It had been like this their entire childhood, Catra taking the fall, and Adora getting away scot free. 

Adora. 

Would Adora miss her? Probably not, she had new friends, new priorities, she probably wouldn’t even think twice about her, Shadow Weaver had said as much before she put Catra on the transport ship. 

She tried not to think about Adora comforting her when she lashed out after Adora made friends with Lonnie. 

“I’m always going to be your friend.”

  She had made a promise, but promises didn’t mean much in the face of their commanding officer, now did they? 

Thinking of Shadow Weaver was the last thing she needed right now, for her sanity and emotional wellbeing, but if she could recall one of her many horror stories about beast island… maybe it could help her survive?

“... and remember, only the lowliest of traitors and deserters get sent to beast island, so let this story serve as a warning to never step out of line.”

Nope not helping. She couldn’t focus, not now. Not when she had been so recently betrayed by the person supposed to raise her, not when the tears she had been so thoroughly holding back were finally spilling over, running down her cheeks and onto the sand.

As much as her instincts screamed at her to stay on the relatively sunny beach, Catra couldn’t stay still, she had to run. Away from the horde, away from Shadow Weaver, away from Adora. 

She ran until her lungs burned and her legs were trembling, she had always been the fastest in her squad back in the fright zone, but back there the ground was even, the hallways clear enough, here was different, and before Catra knew it, she was gasping for breath. As she looked at her surroundings she came to a sudden realization.

I’m lost. The thought hit her like a bag of stale ration bars.

I’m on BEAST ISLAND, and I don’t know where I am.

She couldn’t even see the beach she had been dropped off at, all she could see were trees that seemed to warp into terrifying monsters the more she looked at them. Catra tried to get her bearings, but the more she realized just how lost she was, the more she panicked, her thoughts quickly turning to the descriptions of the monsters that called the island home. 

Chibbits, razorfins, pookahs… I'm going to die here, aren't I?

She started to back up but quickly bumped into something, turning around with a squeak she saw it was… a tree. She  collapsed at its roots curling into a little ball trying to stop crying. Between her exhaustion and the day's stress, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, still sobbing.

When Catra awoke the first thing she noticed was the small fire a few feet away from her, the second was the stranger staring at her. Catra shrieked and jumped back, but the stranger didn’t move to attack, in fact he… smiled at her?

“Hey there kid, I'm glad to see you awake, when I found you I wasn’t sure if you had been poisoned or just exhausted.”

Ooo-kay this was odd, normally if you were caught slacking in the horde you were punished. Catra hadn’t really been old enough to help out around the fright zone, but she had watched Shadow Weaver punish anyone unlucky enough to be caught not pulling their weight around her. Catra narrowed her eyes at the stranger, he didn’t seem angry, he looked a little confused, and his eyes were almost… kind? No, that didn’t make sense, if he was on beast island he was a traitor, or worse, a rebel, and rebels couldn’t be kind.

“Look kid, my name’s Micah, what’s yours? And what are you doing on this island? It's not safe for kids.”

“I’m-” before Catra had a chance to respond fully, she took another glance at the fire, and noticed something. It wasn’t built with firewood and tinder. No, it was built with magic.

He’s a sorcerer. 

The realization made her blood run cold and she turned to run.

“Hey kid, wait, I'm not going to hurt you.” The stranger- Micah, was his name, called as she ran away.

“Get away from me, you’re a sorcerer, j-just like Shadow Weaver!” she cried, her voice squeaking with fear. He called out after her, but Catra didn’t bother to listen as she bolted. She had to get away from him, no matter how kind his eyes had looked. He was a sorcerer , just like Shadow Weaver, and he would hurt her, just like Shadow Weaver. She couldn’t trust him.

—------------------

Micah watched the young girl run off.

Dammit . He thought. I should have been more careful with her, she’s going to get herself killed running off like that. Why was she so scared of me anyways? She mentioned Shadow Weaver, and my magic was what scared her off, had that witch done something to her? 

His expression soured at the thought of his old mentor managing to hurt another child.

She was wearing horde clothing though, would Shadow Weaver really hurt one of her own? Would she really send a kid here? Probably. 

He sighed and grabbed the makeshift staff he had constructed during his time on the island and prepared to head after her. This island was no place for a kid. Horde or not, he was going to look out for her, and he was going to find out just what the hell his old mentor had done to her.

Chapter Text

—-–—11 years later—------

Adora clutched the documents she held close to her chest as she steered the skiff through the whispering woods. These papers were some of the most important things she had held in her life, at least to her. 

Adora had always thought Catra had been moved to another facility for special training, then killed by rebels when the facility had been attacked by princesses, that’s what Shadow Weaver had said. These documents had proven her a liar. 

Her whole life she had dreamed of finding the princess who attacked the facility, who had taken her best friend from her, and getting revenge, but Shadow Weaver discouraged it.

“Your anger towards our enemy is good, Adora.” she had always said. “But this single-minded obsession with vengeance will only distract you and bring you down.”

Adora’s eyes burned with tears and her breath came in gasps, she understood now, it was never about her need for vengeance, it was about hiding the truth from her. When Adora had been offered the promotion to force captain, she had jumped at the chance to enter the field, but that was only half the reason she accepted. The other half, was easier access to the horde’s files, she knew she could find out who attacked the facility, who killed Catra, she knew the horde kept records of the attacks, but she hadn’t expected what she found. It wasn’t a princess that had killed Catra, it had been Shadow Weaver.

“Beast island transfer records:

Latest transfer, catra- orphan, no last name given.”

Adora had almost dropped the papers when she first read them. Catra, sent to Beast island ?? It couldn’t be real. Now the name was repeating over and over in her head like an accusation.

Beast island.

Catra had been so young when she was sent there, she couldn’t have survived.

Beast island.

Shadow Weaver had lied to her, she had sent Catra to her death.

Beast island.

Adora wasn’t even sure where she was going, she just knew had to get away from the horde.

Beast island.

Adora’s vision blurred as her sobbing increased, picturing a scared Catra being eaten by monsters.

Beast island.

Catra. Adora had failed her, and now she was gone.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t see the tree in time. Adora tried to swerve out of the way but it was no use, her skiff collided with the tree and everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Adora came to, her hands were bound  with a rope, and staring at her was a girl with pink hair who almost seemed to sparkle, and a boy with a nice smile holding a bow.

“W-who are you?” she asked, still recovering from her probable concussion.

“Quiet horde spy , I ask the questions.” the girl with the pink hair snapped.

“I-i’m not with the horde, I swear.” Adora stammered.

“Really? Because you’re wearing a horde uniform, with a horde badge, and you got here on a horde skiff.”

“Okay, I know it looks bad, but I was trying to get away from the horde. I promise I'm telling the truth, just let me go and I'll leave the woods and go… somewhere, i'm- not really sure where yet” she muttered.

The pink haired girl eyed her skeptically. “Right, so I'm just supposed to take your word for it, and let you go with nothing to back your claim up? Besides, the horde doesn’t have deserters, aren’t you all too scared to leave or something?”

“That’s not-” Adora bit back the urge to defend what had once been her home, and considered everything she had learned in the past few hours. The horde, Shadow Weaver, had sent Catra, an innocent child, to beast island. What would they do to someone they found trying to desert? Adora hung her head.

“I-I don't know.” she muttered. “All I know is that I have to get away from the horde, no matter what.”

“Glimmer.” the boy with the bow said. “Look at her, she’s clearly scared and she looks like she’s been crying, I think we should trust her.”

“ Trust her?!” the sparkly girl- Glimmer, the boy had called her, snapped. “She’s a horde soldier, there is no way we could possibly trust her, or have you forgotten all the people the horde has killed… have you forgotten my dad?”

Huh, the girl had lost someone to the horde too, maybe she could use this to her advantage.

“The horde killed someone I cared about too.” Adora piped up, both people turned to her. “She was my-my friend in the horde, and they killed her, because they- because Shadow Weaver considered her a nuisance.”

The boy’s face turned sympathetic. “Glimmer…” he mumbled, nudging the girl in the shoulder.

“Ugh fine, get up, you’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, we’ll take you back to Brightmoon and figure out what to do with you there.”

Brightmoon? The rebellion’s capitol? A surge of panic flashed through Adora “hey, wait, I just want you to let me go!” Just because the horde wasn’t as good as she had thought, didn’t make the rebellion any better, she did not want to go directly into the center of rebel activity.

“Nope, you’re coming with us, I still don’t trust you to not run right back to Hordak and give him  information on the woods.” glimmer said, tugging on Adora’s arm to pull her up.

The boy with the bow moved to cut her bonds off despite a glare from Glimmer. 

“Sorry.” He whispered sheepishly. “But Glimmer’s a bit touchy when it comes to the horde, they’ve hurt her family… a lot.” 

As the last of the rope tying her hands together was cut off, the boy smiled at her. “My name's Bow by the way, what’s yours?”

“Adora and- wait, your name’s Bow , and you use a bow and arrow? Isn’t that a bit on the nose?” rebel names were so ridiculous sometimes. 

“Hordaks second-in-command is called Shadow Weaver, and she is literally a dark mage.” Glimmer scoffed.

“So? You’re named Glimmer, and you sparkle, you’re not much better.”

“All I'm saying is you’re being a hypocrite.” Glimmer snarked back. Adora rolled her eyes. 

“Hey everyone, calm down. Can we save the fighting until we’re back at Brightmoon?” Bow pleaded.

“ Fine. but tell Adora to keep her rude comments to herself next time.” 

She’s going to be a pain in the ass. Adora thought as the group started walking through the woods. The further they traveled, the more Glimmer proved herself to be more and more like how the horde described princesses. Snarky, rude, and constantly using her magic. But… she didn’t seem evil, she wasn’t needlessly destroying things, or hurting people, and Bow, whom she was actually starting to like (he was just too damn positive and happy) didn’t seem scared of her, he actually seemed to like her. 

Shadow Weaver had lied about Catra, could she have lied about the princesses too? Adora dismissed the thought. That would mean everything I've been working towards would be a lie, besides, even if they didn’t kill Catra, they still terrorize people… right? 

The group continued walking with Glimmer teleporting away every few minutes to keep them oriented. Adora considered making a run for it, but Bow was right beside her, and with Glimmer’s teleportation she would be caught quickly, and then they would actually think she was a spy, no, she couldn’t risk it. I just have to get to Brightmoon and convince them I’m telling the truth, if they believe me then maybe they’ll let me go and I can figure out what to do from there. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the others had stopped walking until she bumped right into Bow. She looked around and noticed they were in a ruined village, crumbled houses, and burnt structures all around them… and the horde’s insignia painted clearly on a broken wall.

No. no the horde couldn’t have done this, they-they wouldn’t! 

“ Oh really? Look around you, this place says otherwise. This is what the horde does, they burn and steal and kill ” Glimmer practically shouted at her, tears forming in her eyes.

Adora hadn’t realized she had spoken aloud until Glimmer responded. She dropped to her knees, staring at the destruction around her.

“They lied to me, they lied to me about Catra, and they lied to me about what they’re really doing to Etheria, why? Why would they do this?” Adora sobbed, she couldn’t believe it, her whole life had been turned upside-down within the past 24 hours, nothing felt real anymore.

“BECAUSE THEY’RE MONSTERS!” Glimmer shouted, now crying too, her hand gripping a doll she had found amidst the wreckage, coated in mud, and what Adora really didn’t want to think was blood. “THEY TORE MY FAMILY APART, AND THEY’VE DONE THE SAME TO HUNDREDS MORE!” The girl's breath now came in gasps, her chest heaving as tears streamed down her face. 

“Glimmer…” Bow took her hands gently, trying to ease her clearly growing distress. “Hey, look at me, it’s okay, we aren’t anywhere near the horde right now, I know what happened here is horrible, but we’re safe.”

Glimmer’s breathing slowly returned to normal, her sobbing quieted, and she hugged Bow tightly. “Thanks, Bow, for… calming me down before I completely freaked out.” She looked at Adora. “Come on, we should keep moving.”

“I-I’m sorry, for everything, I had no idea this is what the horde had been doing.” Adora tried to apologize, Glimmer pointedly ignored her.

“We lost some time here, but if we head to a nearby village we can get a ride back to Brightmoon, and make it back before it gets dark.” She announced, and started walking ahead of Adora and Bow. 

“So, does stuff like that happen often?” she asked Bow, who was still standing next to her.

“Not really, it’s just, everyone in the rebellion carries some kind of scar from the war, some are physical, and others aren’t, but they still pop up from time to time like any other injury.”

“Oh.”

“Glimmer lost her dad to the horde when she was pretty young, her mother’s never really been the same, plus the horde has been targeting her family for years, so she has to watch her back whenever she’s near horde territory, she acts brave, and still throws herself into every fight she can, but it wears on her.”

“Wait, I know she’s a princess and stuff, but why is the horde so interested in her?”

Bow gave her an incredulous look. “Really? You didn’t realize? Glimmer isn’t just any princess, she is the princess of Brightmoon , her mother’s the queen.”

Oh. adora felt stupid, it should have been obvious, how had she not realized?

She was dragged out of her embarrassment by the sounds of cheering and laughter ahead.

“We’re here.” Glimmer announced. “Alright, we just need to get in and out, and you need to change.” she said, pointing at Adora. 

“Uhhh what? Why?”

“Because, if the villagers see a horde soldier they’ll panic, now take your jacket off.”

Adora groaned but did as she was told.

“Ok, here, perfect.” Glimmer said as she took off her cape and set it on Adora’s shoulders.

“I don’t like it” Adora whined, trying to not want to peel her own skin off as she pictured how ridiculous she looked.

“That’s because you need something to pull it all together.” Bow said, smiling as he placed a flower in her hair. “Now come on! We have a village to get through!”

As they walked through the village, the air seemed light, and happy ?

“Must be a festival going on.” Bow remarked, as they passed by a stand selling some sort of flower-wreath-thing. Rebels are so weird. Adora thought to herself, but Bow’s comment confused her.

“What’s a festival?” she asked

“Well it’s like a big party, usually to celebrate some sort of event or holiday.” Bow answered.

“Party?” 

Bow gave her a horrified look. “They don’t have parties in the fright zone???” he gasped.

Glimmer groaned. “Bow, I know where you’re going with this, and no. We just need to get in and out.”

Bow started squealing.

“ In and out, Bow”

“But Glimmer! She’s never been to a party before, this is serious.”

“Ugh, fine, it’ll give me time to freshen up before we head home, but we’re staying here for an hour, max. ”

“Fine by me!” Bow said, grabbing Adora’s arm excitedly. “Wait where are we going?” Adora managed to get out before she was dragged away.

“You’re going to get to experience your first party!” Bow exclaimed.

What. 

The next hour was possibly the best of Adora’s life, she got one of those odd flower-wreaths (apparently they go on your head, weird.) There were people telling stories, and oh my gods the food was way better than anything she had ever eaten in the fright zone, and Bow was right beside her the entire time, even Glimmer seemed happier. Adora was shocked to find she felt happy about this, seeing the girl so distraught back at the ruined village had been… unnerving. Between the food, and the fun atmosphere, she had even managed to put everything that had happened behind her temporarily, actually managing to enjoy herself. She even got to pet something called a… harse? Horse? Whatever it was, it was the best being in all of existence. 

But the fun didn’t last forever, she had been standing with Bow, trying to eat as much of the pink sugary cloud-thing he had handed to her as she could, before Glimmer could start dragging them to Brightmoon, when she first heard the explosion. 

“That’s coming from the main gate!” Glimmer gasped. “It’s the horde! What else could it be?”

“But what are they doing here? The people of Thaymor aren’t a threat to them!” Bow exclaimed.

Thaymor??? No, no this couldn’t be thaymor, it just couldn’t. Adora’s stomach dropped

“ This is thaymor? That can’t be right.”

Glimmer whirled on her, eyes full of hate. “Did you know something about this?” she spat. 

“I-I thaymor was supposed to be a rebel fortress, not a civilian-” she stopped mid sentence, the realization hitting her. “They lied , they lied about this too, how could they do this?”

“Haven’t we already established this?” Glimmer growled. “They’re monsters.”

A surge of panic hit Adora. They can’t see me. “They-they can’t see me, if they do, they’ll realize I deserted, they’ll bring me back, punish me, I-I won’t be able to run away again!”

“Ok, ok, let’s help people get out then, and keep that cape on.” Bow said gently. 

They spent the next while helping people evacuate, but they were overwhelmed, there were just too many soldiers. Glimmer was clearly having a harder and harder time casting magic, and Bow was running out of arrows. 

Things were looking worse and worse for them… until an arrow, not one of Bow’s, struck a bot next to them, and a small group of soldiers wearing the Brightmoon insignia rushed onto the battlefield. Leading them was a tall woman with a scar running across the bridge of her nose, and a focused expression, wielding a sword and slashing at any horde soldiers she could see. 

“That’s general Juliette!” Glimmer gasped, looking hopeful. Brightmoon’s soldiers had arrived, luck was finally on their side.

Chapter Text

—-beast island- 11 years in the past—-

Catra marched uneasily through the woods, tripping occasionally over a rock or piece of weird tech, trying to find her way back to the beach she first landed on. It was hard to tell what time it was through the thick canopy of trees but she was pretty sure it was morning, meaning it had been almost a full day since she’d first watched the horde transport ship take off without her, and a few hours since her encounter with that sorcerer. 

As if the island hadn’t been dangerous enough with all the monsters, she now had to worry about a sorcerer, about magic. The longer she spent on the island the more paranoid she became, she hadn’t seen the sorcerer since their first interaction, or any monsters, but that didn’t mean they weren't out there somewhere. 

Catra was jumpy. The fact that she was completely lost didn’t exactly help either. Lost, and alone.

I wish Adora was here. Catra winced at the thought, she had been trying to avoid thinking of Adora, or anyone from the horde since she ran from the sorcerer, the thought of Adora living and training in the fright zone without her made her want to curl up into a ball and cry. 

She shoved the thought aside forcefully, she couldn’t dwell on it now.

The longer Catra walked, the more nightmarish the island looked, what started as small clumps of rusted, ancient tech, became piles as large as the trees themselves. Cables hung from branches like vines, still sparking faintly with electricity. She also could’ve sworn she saw a piece of vegetation move. 

I wonder if I could eat it. She realized with a start that she hadn’t eaten anything since before she was put on the transport ship, and the realization made her stomach growl. 

I don’t even know what I can eat here. The thought came with a pang of fear, how was she supposed to survive if she couldn’t even find food. If everything she had been told about beast island was to be believed, pretty much every plant was poisonous, and the selection of animals that wouldn’t slice you up and swallow you whole, was pretty slim.

  Maybe I can fish if I can find the beach again, or hunt one of the smaller critters. Hunting had been one of her specialties back in the fright zone, tracking a person down and scaring them when they’d made fun of her had been one of her favorite ways to spend her time, plus she had enjoyed hunting mice and other small critters (not that she ever ate them, despite Lonnie’s rumors, it was just training.) she felt a small grin creep on her face, if she could find food, she could survive. Then I could show Shadow Weaver I'm actually worth something, that she was wrong to put me here.

She had spent the next couple hours looking for anything vaguely edible, with no luck, before something finally crossed her path. Its head looked somewhat feline, with a singular large, pink, oval for an eye. The rest of its body looked completely unrecognizable, but it seemed small enough, with no obvious claws or poison spikes. It didn’t seem entirely phased by her, which was slightly worrying, and it did look familiar, but Catra was too hungry to care at this point.

Sorry little guy . She thought, as she unsheathed her claws… and the creature promptly ran away.

“Hey, wait!” she squeaked, giving chase through the underbrush. She chased the creature through the woods, managing not to lose it despite tripping over and snagging herself on multiple obstacles, lucky. Almost too lucky . She thought. Each time she thought the creature had managed to lose her, she would catch sight of it again, almost as if it wanted her to follow, almost as if it were leading her somewhere. She remembered too late, as dozens of glowing eyes appeared from the woods, hearing about the different monsters in beast island.

  Pookahs, vicious pack hunters that lure their prey into a false sense of security with their almost cute appearance, once their prey is surrounded, they strike. 

The words of the lesson came back to her as the beasts surrounded her. She tried to think of a way to get out of this, but couldn’t.

I'm going to die here. 

The pookah she first chased opened its mouth to reveal massive fangs.

I’m going to die here.

It stepped forward.

I’m going to die here.

It pounced.

Catra squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself, but the creature never reached her, instead she felt a rush of hot air and opened her eyes to see the pookah flung back, and on fire. She shrieked and a few more pookahs started to lunge at her, only to be pushed back by more fire, Catra looked to the side to see the stranger from earlier, the sorcerer , fighting the pookahs, stopping them from reaching her.

He saved my life. The thought hit her, and was quickly followed by a second one. Has he been following me?

She didn’t have time to ponder it before he grabbed her arm and started running. “Come on!” he shouted.

Catra didn’t really want to follow a sorcerer, but she also didn’t want to be a pookah’s lunch, and he did save her life. The pair ran until they had made sure they lost the creatures chasing them, and only then did they stop to catch their breath, and survey one another.

Catra studied the man in front of her, he was short, with long black hair… and he looked like a mess, his clothes were worn, his hair was tangled, and he carried a makeshift staff, and he was definitely a rebel, his shirt had a faded rebel insignia on it, some kind of moon, it looked like, besides, the horde only had one sorcerer anyways, and she was back in the fright zone.

“Honestly kid.” he gasped. “I knew you would get yourself in trouble on your own, but trying to hunt a pookah? You could probably give my glimmer a run for her money.”

Huh?

“Look kid, I know you ran off last time, but I promise I'm not going to hurt you, I even have some food back at my camp, you’re probably hungry, right?”

Catra glared at him, so what if he saved her, that didn’t mean she could trust him… but she was hungry.

“Fine, but I'm watching you." she growled.” 

The sorcerer held his hands up and smiled slightly. “Fine by me kid.” he said as he started walking.

Catra followed him. “How did you even know where I was, where you following me?”

He chuckled. “Well I had a feeling if you were anything like my daughter you were gonna find yourself in some trouble, and I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

He wanted… to make sure I was safe? Catra didn’t know what to make of that.

The two kept walking until they arrived at a makeshift camp. It had the basics of a tent, a fire pit, and a few roast fish skewered over some embers. The sorcerer- Micah took one of the fish and handed it to Catra, she sniffed it and cautiously took a bite.

“So kid, when we met earlier, I gave you my name, but I never got yours, what is it?”

“Catra, my name is Catra.”

He smiled at her. “Well Catra, it’s nice to meet you.”

Catra looked up at him, then back down to the food in her hands, then back up at him. Maybe he wasn’t like Shadow Weaver, maybe she could trust him. “Nice to meet you too, Micah.”

—-The Fright Zone- Present Day—-

Lonnie paced around the barracks room, ignoring the glares from the other cadets, getting more and more agitated every second that passed. When Adora had been promoted to force captain, it was supposed to be a good thing for their squad, they would finally be on the field, fighting side by side! Now Adora was missing, and Shadow Weaver was turning to the rest of the squad for answers

If I knew where she was, I would tell her. She thought. 

Thinking of the dark mage must have summoned her, as Shadow Weaver seemed to materialize out of thin air in the entrance to the barracks. She beckoned Lonnie closer with a finger. 

“Cadet Lonnie, I wish to speak with you.”

Lonnie gulped but followed Shadow Weaver out to the hall, doing her best to ignore the stares of her comrades. 

“What do you wish to speak about Shadow Weaver?”

“The return of the troops from the attack on Thaymor have brought us news, a soldier believes he has spotted our missing force captain.”

“Wait, she's been found? Is she back? What happened?!”

Shadow Weaver narrowed her eyes at her.

“One question at a time, cadet. ” she said, her tone reprimanding. “Adora has been found, but was unable to be brought back, we believe she is being held prisoner by rebels.”

Lonnie’s heart sank. Prisoner. 

“I have no intentions of leaving her a prisoner, however.” Lonnie perked up, it wasn’t a surprise, but it was nice to hear. 

“Cadet Lonnie.”

“Yes, Shadow Weaver?”

“Aside from Adora, you held the highest training scores in your squad, correct?”

“Yes, Shadow Weaver.” Where was she going with this?

Shadow Weaver held out a hand, and a small badge materialized out of shadow.

“We are still down a force captain, so until Adora is brought back, I will be promoting you, temporarily.”

What?

“This promotion comes with a task, however, you must make it your mission to find the rebels holding Adora, and bring her back, do you accept?”

It wasn’t so much a question, as a command, Lonnie didn’t care. “I do Shadow Weaver.”

“Good, starting tomorrow you will be stationed in Plumeria, a kingdom in the woods bordering Brightmoon, near Thaymor, I will expect you to start your search there.”

She paused, her eyes narrowing. “Oh, and force captain , I do expect you to put your best effort into finding Adora, if I find you have failed me, there will be consequences.” with that she disappeared into shadow, leaving Lonnie alone, clutching her new badge.

—-Brightmoon- present day—-

Adora paced the length room she was in, she wasn’t technically a prisoner, not after Glimmer and Bow had vouched for her to the general, but she might as well be. After the soldiers arrived at the battle, they took one look at her uniform and almost attacked her right there. If it hadn’t been for Glimmer and Bow, things probably would have ended a lot worse. She would probably actually be locked up, not just put in a room to wait for an audience with the queen.

The one downside of her situation however, was that it left her with nothing to do but think. Specifically, it left her to think of the people she left behind in the horde. When she first found the documents containing the records of Catra’s shipment to beast island, she had been so panicked she didn’t stop to think anything through before she was on a stolen skiff headed for the woods, and now she couldn’t go back. 

I left them . The rest of her squad, the people she had stood by her whole life, Kyle, Rogelio, Lonnie . The people she had grown up with. 

Adora groaned and stared out the window towards the woods… and the fright zone, she couldn’t risk going back to the horde, not now, if she did, Shadow Weaver might never let her leave. Now her squadmates were going to think she had abandoned them, or died!

A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts, as two guards entered the room. “Please follow us, ma’am.” one said. “It is time for your audience with the queen.”

Adora wasn’t sure what to expect when she entered the throne room, but it was surprisingly pleasant. The room was light and airy, sure there were soldiers lining the walls, but Glimmer and Bow were there too, smiling supportively. Glimmer had really seemed to warm up to her after the battle. The thing that surprised her the most, though, was the queen.

Sure the horde had posters of the queen of princesses, but she had always been presented as a cruel figure with large bat wings and a monstrous expression. Based on what Adora had learned, this didn’t seem like the most truthful image of the queen.

The queen didn’t have giant bat wings, or an evil smirk, she couldn’t have looked further from the posters Adora had seen growing up. She had large, feathered wings that seemed to shimmer, a calm, focused expression, and delicate jewelry. Adora wasn’t quite sure what to do in front of such a figure, so she did what she would normally do in front of Shadow Weaver or Hordak, and she knelt. 

Imagine if Catra could see me now, she would be laughing at me so hard for kneeling in front of a princess, I'd never live this down.

“According to Glimmer and Bow’s account, you are a former horde soldier, turned deserter, hoping to seek refuge with the rebellion.”

Well, close enough to my original intentions. Now that she was here though, Adora was starting to form a plan, one that could get her friends on her side.

“Several civilians from the battle of Thaymor also attest that you helped them evacuate, is this true?”

The queen’s voice betrayed no emotion.

“Yes ma’am.” If this worked, if the rebellion agreed, she might be able to make things right.

“And what reason would a horde soldier have to desert the army?”

Adora looked the queen straight in the eye. 

“They killed my best friend, sent her to beast island, to her death, I want revenge.”

The queen met her stare.

“What exactly are you getting at?”

Adora knew the horde, their training, their tactics, their weapons.

“I’m willing to become an informant for the rebellion, I have a lot of information on them, and their tactics, but I want a few things in return.”

“Go on.” The queen was curious now.

Adora smiled, good. “One, there are three horde cadets, if I'm able to talk to them I know they will listen to me if I'm able to talk to them, as soon as they’re on my side, I want the rebellion to offer them a place here, and…”

“And?”

I don’t care how hard it will be, I don’t care if she’s dead already, I need to go there, to see for  myself.

“ And, I want the rebellion’s help securing transport to beast island.”

There were stifled gasps around the room, but the queen remained unphased, a  small smile on her lips.

“Very well, I accept your terms. Rise, Adora, from now on you are a member of the rebellion!”

Chapter Text

—-Brightmoon- present day—-

Adora flopped down onto the oversized bed in the room the queen had given her. Her room.

I guess I'm a rebel now. The realization finally sunk in. I'm a rebel now. She had been dragged around by Glimmer and Bow for the better part of the day after she was officially accepted into the rebellion, showing her the castle. All the running around hadn’t left her with much time to truly think about her situation, and now that she did… she was scared. Scared she made the wrong decision, scared about what would happen if her friends didn’t believe her, scared about the rebellion going back on their word, and mainly, scared about what she would find if the rebellion really managed to get her transport to Beast island. 

What was I thinking? She thought to herself. She was already dead, so why am I so fixated on going there? 

Adora knew the answer to that, even if she didn’t want to admit it. She wouldn’t be able to truly believe she was really gone if she wasn’t able to see for herself. 

She stared at the waterfall (seriously, who has a waterfall in their room? Rebels apparently.) in the corner of her room and sighed. She was exhausted and hadn’t properly slept since she left the fright zone. She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

The longer she laid there, the more uncomfortable she became. Sure the bed was soft, but it was too soft, she was used to the thin, hard mattresses back in the fright zone, and the chatter and soft snoring of her squadmates, being in a room alone was… unnerving. 

Adora laid there with her eyes closed for a few minutes longer before sitting up, accepting defeat, sleep wasn’t just going to happen. She put her jacket on and headed out of the room, if she wasn’t going to sleep, might as well explore on her own. 

Walking through the halls Adora took the time to just breathe. She had appreciated having Bow and Glimmer walking beside her, talking to her, showing her where to go, and pointedly ignoring the suspicious stares from guards and palace staff, but now that she was on her own, she was finally able to take in the scenery and palace architecture. 

The horde had always valued functionality over looks, and that was reflected in the fright zone’s appearance. The unpainted walls, dim lights, and exposed wiring was a constant reminder that the fright zone was a training ground, a place to sleep, to work, but never a home . Brightmoon was the opposite. From what she had seen of the palace, it was grandiose, but warm. With large stained glass windows, hallways lined with banners and paintings, and sconces with some sort of light magic emitting a warm glow. The palace felt full of history, it had stood longer than anyone in it had been alive, and would continue to stand long after they all fell, countless generations of royalty had ruled here… it was daunting.

Adora almost hated it, she knew she couldn’t tell anyone this without losing what little bit of trust she had, but she wanted nothing more than to be back in the comforting familiarity of the fright zone. She knew why she left, and why she would never go back, but right now, she was sick of new experiences, new information that kept turning her world upside-down. Adora just wanted it all to stop.

But it wouldn’t, she had made this choice and there was no going back, not now.

She kept walking, taking a chance to look out the large windows at the smaller buildings below. It was late so the kingdom was quiet, but a few lights still shone in the darkness. Adora had noticed the palace never got truly dark, not like the fright zone could, it wasn’t always bright out, but the hallways were at least somewhat lit. Adora found herself grateful, she had always been a bit scared of the dark, pretty much everyone who grew up around Shadow Weaver held some sort of apprehension, even Catra had, as much as she seemed to thrive in it.

Adora walked through the halls aimlessly until she came across a large mural, and noticed too late, the winged figure standing in front of it.

Shit.

Adora hadn’t spoken with the queen since she had been officially accepted into the rebellion earlier that day, and had no intention of speaking to her again until she had to. She was about to turn around to head back to her room when she was noticed.

“Can’t sleep?” The words were soft, but carried an air of suspicion Adora couldn’t wholly blame her for. She winced thinking about how suspicious she likely looked. 

“Uh- n-no ma’am.” adora stammered, trying to figure out how to get out of the conversation.

“Hmm.” the queen opened her hand and a ball of light appeared in it, she lifted her hand to illuminate the mural, and the two figures in it

“Do you know who the man in the mural is?”

Adora looked at the mural, one of the figures was obviously the queen, but the other? She had no idea.

“No.”

“Hmm, disappointing, I had been hoping the horde- Shadow Weaver would at least have the decency to talk about the lives she’s taken, but I suppose that would disrupt the narrative the horde is trying to tell, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, I suppose it would.”

“ That man was my husband, King Micah of Brightmoon, and he was slain by horde soldiers, by the very people you grew up with, whom you served for the last eighteen years . ”

Adora couldn’t help feeling frustrated. “It’s not my fault the horde took me in, your majesty ” 

The queen looked at her. “When I became queen, I made a promise to protect my people, when I became a mother, I made a promise to protect my daughter. You are treading a very thin line here Adora, allow me to make myself crystal clear, if I find you one step out of line, if I have any reason to think you would hurt my people or my daughter, I will not hesitate to kill you myself, am I understood? ”

“Yes, your majesty.” 

“Good, now I suggest you head back to bed and get some rest, tomorrow you will start to hold up your end of the bargain, and I do not want you to disappoint me.”

With that Adora stiffly bowed, and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adora woke up from the few hours of sleep she had been able to get abruptly, as Bow and Glimmer burst into her room, flooding it with light.

“Goood morning!~” Glimmer sang as Adora groaned and sat up.

“It’s officially your first day in the rebellion!” Bow exclaimed, cheerfully.

Adora tried to share their excitement, but her encounter with the queen last night left her with a lingering anxiety about her new surroundings, and allies. 

“Hey what’s wrong? Why the sour expression?” Glimmer asked, noticing Adora’s bad mood.

“I… ran into your mom- the queen, last night, and she doesn’t like me, or trust me, and neither does anyone else. How am I supposed to work with the rebellion if everyone seems to think I'm just waiting for the chance to stab them in the back and run back to the horde?”

Glimmer and Bow exchanged glances. “Everyone here just needs time to warm up to you, like we did.” Bow explained gently. 

“And mom can be a lot sometimes, but she’s fair, and she’ll grow to trust you just like we do, trust me.” Glimmer added

Adora smiled at them, she was having a hard time believing them fully, but maybe there’s a chance they could be right.

“Now get up sleepyhead! We have a meeting soon, my mom wants to discuss everything regarding your deal with the rebellion, and we don’t want to be late!”

Glimmer practically pulled Adora out of the bed, but Adora did get up, and was ready to go quickly. Before long the trio headed down the hall to the meeting room.

The meeting room was smaller than she had expected, with a circular table and chairs in the center. Sitting at the head of the table was the queen, regal as always, her face displaying no emotions. To her right was the woman with the scar- the general, Adora remembered, and beside her was a young man with glasses she didn’t recognize.

“That’s Marcus, he’s the head of Brightmoon intelligence.” Bow whispered to her as they sat down. 

Glimmer took a seat to her mother’s left, and bow sat beside her, leaving Adora to sit right across from the queen, facing her head on. Adora took a deep breath and prepared for the questioning.

The queen spoke first. “Adora, yesterday you pledged yourself to the rebellion, and offered information in exchange for the acceptance of three horde soldier, should they choose to join you in defecting, and safe passage to and from the location known as beast island, having had time to reflect on your choices, does your offer still stand?”

Adora clenched her fist. “Yes your majesty, it does.”

“Very well, I believe we should discuss more in depth, how you expect to aid the rebellion, and what our end of the bargain looks like.” she motioned to the head of security for him to continue from there.

The man stood, readjusting his glasses. “You say you have knowledge of horde tactics and training, I want you to be more specific as to what that entails.”

“I mean what I say, sir, I was trained as one of the horde, not only by soldiers, but by Shadow Weaver herself, I know how horde cadets are trained to fight, survive, and even think.” that got a reaction out of the queen, a slight flicker of surprise flashed across her face. 

“I know what ages kids begin training, I know the different departments, I know how squads are taught to work together, I know how management is handled, I know how the horde works.” Adora was feeling more confident now, she knew what she could offer the rebellion, and she knew they were interested… until it was the queen’s turn to ask a question

“You mentioned you had friends.” she stared Adora right in the eyes as she said the word. “Back in the horde, how can you be sure they will listen to you, and desert the horde if you are able to speak with them?”

That was a gut punch, but she couldn’t let her words shake her faith in her friends, they would listen to her if she was able to talk to them .Adora met the queen’s stare, she would not let this woman intimidate her, or suggest her friends disloyalty to her, even- especially if she didn’t know them. 

“With all due respect, your majesty, I grew up alongside the other members of my squad, I know them, and I trust them, they aren’t bad people, they’ll listen to me if I tell them the horde is evil.”

“And if they don’t?”

Adora wasn’t sure if she could actually fight her friends, but somehow she knew that wasn’t the best thing to admit.

“Then I will stand against them, I'm done being loyal to the horde.”

The queen smiled. “Very well, but I have one more question surrounding your end of the deal, when we first spoke, you mentioned the horde having sent one of your friends to her death, to beast island, i’m very curious as to what would cause the horde to discard one of their own.”

Adora didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to think about it, but she had to. “As I mentioned, I was raised by Shadow Weaver herself, so was C- my friend, but Shadow Weaver had never really liked her, and would punish her over the smallest things. It happened when we were kids, around six or seven, we… don't really have birthdays in the horde, we snuck into the black garnet chamber, and got caught. Shadow weaver, well, she was madder than I'd ever seen her and… well…” Adora trailed off

“She had been sent there years ago, yet you only deserted now?”

Adora bristled at that. “They lied to me!” she shouted, standing and slamming her hands on the table. “They’ve been lying to me my whole life, I don’t care what you think about me, or what you’re trying to imply, but I am nothing like them and I never will be! I cared about Catra, and I had no idea what happened to her!” she stalked out of the meeting room angrily, not caring that it was rude, she was so tired of people not trusting her, thinking she was no better than the horde. 

It wasn’t until she had made it to her room that she had started to regret her decision, she groaned and flopped on her (still too soft) bed. What was she thinking? There was no way the queen would trust her after her outburst, she might even be punished, or locked up! Anyone who spoke to Shadow Weaver like that certainly was. 

A quiet knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Adora?” Glimmer quietly asked as her and Bow entered the room. “You okay?”

“How can I be okay? Guards are probably on their way to lock me up for speaking like that to their queen, the rebellion is never going to trust me now, and I'm exhausted because trying to sleep in this stupid room alone is impossible, I don’t get how you princesses manage to sleep on your own!” 

“Woah Adora! Slow down, no one’s coming to lock you up, or blame you for what you said, my mom was being a little unreasonable anyways.”

Wait what?

“Wait… what?”

“Besides, even if she wasn’t, you never threatened or hurt anyone, why would you get locked up?”

Adora paused. “I-i was being disrespectful? If anyone spoke to Shadow Weaver like that, getting locked up would be the best thing to happen to them.”

“Well my mom isn’t Shadow Weaver, and this isn’t the horde, you aren’t in trouble, I promise.” Glimmer reassured her.

“And what do you mean you're having trouble sleeping?” Bow asked.

Adora looked away. “T-the bunks I grew up in were full of people, I'm not exactly used to sleeping on my own.”

Her new friends exchanged glances. “Well, we might be able to figure out a solution to your sleep issues.” Glimmer said. “So we’ll go talk about it, andmaybeyellatmymomifIcanfindher , and in the meantime, why don’t you try and relax, even if you can’t sleep.”

 With that the two teleported away and Adora was left on her own… for about five seconds before she heard another knock on the door. 

“Come in!” she called, still a bit nervous that it might be guards here to lock her up. 

To her surprise, no guards entered the room, instead she found herself face to face with the queen of brightmoon. 

Adora started to stand. “I-uh your majesty! I wanted to apologize for-”

The queen cut her off. “Please Adora, sit, you do not need to apologize for your words, I was the one out of line earlier, not you.”

Adora blinked, surprised.

The queen continued. “I am afraid my suspicions for those from the horde run deep, but you are not from the horde, and I have been unfair to you. You betrayed the horde and pledged your loyalty to the rebellion, and yet you have been treated like an outsider, and for that I apologize.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” 

The queen surveyed the room. “Ah, I was meaning to ask, how are you settling in, are you finding everything alright?”

Adora shifted in her seat on the bed, whenever Shadow Weaver had asked similar questions it was a trick, any cadet fit for the horde would quickly learn to answer with no complaints or suggestions, or face punishment, but this wasn’t the horde. The rebellion had quickly been proving it didn’t run by the same rules the horde did, and if it helped her sleep… maybe she wouldn’t get in trouble for bringing it up.

“The room is lovely, but there is one problem…”

“Oh?”

Adora shifted her gaze downwards, a little ashamed to be making such a big deal out of it. “The bed is way softer than what i’m used to, it makes it a little hard to sleep.”

“A firmer mattress then? I’ll see to it, and Adora?”

“Yeah?”

“If you need anything else, don’t be afraid to ask me or any of the staff, your needs are important.”

The queen turned to leave. “Oh, uh, your majesty?”

“Yes Adora?”

“I think I heard Glimmer mention she might yell at you for the meeting earlier, you might want to watch out for that.”

A soft chuckle was the only reply she got as the queen left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adora had found herself walking the palace halls again that afternoon like she had the night before, but she was so much happier this time around. Bow and Glimmer had essentially kicked her out of her room an hour ago to set up some sort of ‘surprise' which was, mildly foreboding, if she was being honest, but she enjoyed the chance to walk around. Now that she was exploring the castle during the daytime, she was noticing things she hadn’t before.

Adora could hear children playing somewhere, she could see the palace staff chatting and smiling as they worked, unafraid of punishment or reprimand. The air smelled of baked goods when she passed by the kitchen, and the cooks inside had offered her a small pastry, something called a ‘scone’. Whatever it was, it was delicious. 

As she finished the last of her pastry, she came across a familiar mural. Adora studied it, and thought back to her conversation with the queen, and on what she’d seen of Brightmoon thus far.

I want to protect this place. Adora realized. Up until now, she had been operating with the goals of getting her friends back and getting closure for Catra, helping the rebellion was just a bonus, even if she did like it here, but now? Adora wanted to protect this place, she wanted to protect the kids playing in the halls, the people living their lives in peace, her friends, even the queen. 

I suppose she’s my queen now. Adora thought, she smiled to herself, she hadn’t been thrilled with the idea at first, and even less so after the meeting. Now… she was warming up to the idea. Okay, she wasn’t Adora’s favorite person, but she was a step above Shadow Weaver when it came to leadership, and she was willing to admit when she was wrong, something none of the horde leadership had ever done. 

And her friends, Adora had actual friends in the rebellion, Glimmer and Bow where some of the nicest people she had met, they had helped her settle in, and treated her with a kindness her own squad back in the horde sometimes lacked. Speaking of which… Adora wondered if they were done setting up their surprise just yet. She started to walk back to her room, it couldn’t hurt to check.

Just as she reached her room the doors swung open. 

“Adora!” bow exclaimed “we were just about to come looking for you!”

“We finished setting up the surprise!” Glimmer added. “Come take a look!”

Adora peeked inside her room, inside there were sleeping bags set up, a pile of snacks on the dresser, and a few other items of clutter scattered around. 

“We figured, since you aren’t used to sleeping alone, we could have a slumber party!” Glimmer exclaimed. “We’ve got snacks, books, and sleeping bags all set up!”

“Oh, by the way, some of the staff came by earlier, and brought you a new mattress, so we helped them set it up, it’s why we took so long.” bow explained.

Adora glanced over to her bed, the overly soft, plush mattress was indeed gone, replaced by a simple one in Brightmoon’s signature pastels. 

Adora smiled. “Thank you guys! Thanks so much!” they cared. All of them cared . The only person in the fright zone who had gone out of their way to do something like this for her, had been Catra, and here were these people she had known for less than a week casually going out of their way to make her life easier and more comfortable. 

Bow grinned at her. “Hey, this is what friends are for!”

The trio settled into their beds, and to Adora’s relief, her new mattress was much firmer.

“You know, I think our group needs a name.” she said.

“Hmmmm, how about the Best Friend Squad?” 

“Absolutely not Bow” came Glimmer’s reply

“Come on! You know you like it!”

“...fine, but only until we come up with something better”

Adora found herself laughing. “I don’t know, it really fits, I think it’s staying” she chuckled.

After their conversation died down the other started to nod off, and Adora found herself slowly falling asleep too. She hadn’t felt this relaxed, this happy in years. Adora smiled to herself, finally starting to feel comfortable in her new home

Chapter Text

—--Beast Island- 10 years in the past—--

Catra climbed up one of the many trees on beast island, jumping from branch to branch to avoid having to walk on the ground. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been on the island, but she thought it had been roughly a year, and every day there was a new horror trying to kill her, she felt safer in the trees. Her companion, however, didn’t share her enthusiasm for climbing, and preferred to walk. 

Catra paused to look behind her. “Hey old man! Hurry up, we haven’t explored this part of the island and I want to get there before we both die of old age!” she called.

The man huffed and looked up at her, feigning annoyance at the nickname, but he was smiling. “Sorry kid, but some of us aren’t born climbers”

Catra rolled her eyes playfully, ever since the old man had saved her from the pookahs, the two had been working together, finding food, shelter, and looking for ways off the island. Neither had really spoken about what would happen when they got off the island, but Catra knew Micah had his family, the way he was constantly talking about them was sweet, but grating. It just wasn’t fair. They seemed so much nicer, and happier, and loving than Shadow Weaver had ever been, why did they get that, why did his kid get a loving mom and dad when she didn’t. A part of her hoped that maybe once they got off the island, he would take her to meet them, but she knew it would never happen, they were rebels, princesses, and she was just a reject even the horde didn’t want. 

“Hey kid, you okay? You kinda zoned out there a bit”

Catra blinked, pulling herself back to reality. “Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired.”

The trek had been wearing on them way more than it had any right to, and Catra felt a bit nervous, made even worse by the stupid ringing in her ears. They were heading closer to the center of the island this time, and something about it made her fur stand on end.

The pair were about to get moving again when Catra heard something, a scuffling in the underbrush. She flicked her ears, double checking to make sure she wasn’t hearing anything. 

Nope, I definitely heard something.

“Hey old man,” she whispered. “There’s something over there”

Micah nodded and motioned for her to stay in the tree, Catra mostly kept out of the way whenever something tried to attack them, which would normally annoy her, but she didn’t mind with him, she didn’t like being near Micah when he cast his spells, especially in combat, it brought up too many bad memories. 

Catra winced as Micah conjured a small ball of fire, one of his more common spells. He carefully moved towards the underbrush where Catra heard the noise, only for a small creature to burst out of it and run away. Catra and Micah let out matching sighs, recognizing the creature to be a speisquama , an adorable tiny lizard, and one of the few things on the island that wasn’t trying to kill them. 

Catra leapt down and scooped up the tiny creature before it could run away. 

“Catra…” Micah’s voice was exasperated, she had been trying to catch one of these things for weeks (totally because she wanted to study it, not because she wanted a pet)

Catra flashed a winning smile at him. “Come on old man, everything on this island is trying to kill us besides these guys, I wanna keep one! Besides, how could you say no to that little face!”

She held out the lizard to Micah, and it promptly licked its own eye. 

“Look kid, it’s a wild animal, you can’t just-”

“Nope! Too late, it’s mine now!” Catra exclaimed, the speisquama seemed to agree as it clambered over her face and settled down in her hair.

Micah looked on in disbelief. “Now come on old man! Let's keep moving!” Catra climbed up into the trees again and started off towards the center of the island. 

As the pair walked, they were both getting more and more tired, but Micah kept prattling on about his family to keep them distracted, this time it was birthday gifts.

“So I enchanted a spear for Angie when we were kids, it was the first gift I had gotten her, the next year it was a pair of books on old mythos and ancient history. She loved that kind of stuff, old legends, stories, especially when it came to the first ones.”

“First ones?”

“Yeah, they were this race of ancient people, said to have been allies of the old etherians, they disappeared a thousand years ago, no one knows why.”

“Huh, tell me more” Catra had to admit she was kinda interested.

“I can’t, I’m afraid Angella was the expert, not me.”

“Oh,” disappointing. “Well that’s too bad, it’s a lot more interesting than hearing about what birthday gifts you got your family each year.” Catra teased.

“Well if you want to take a turn telling me about your family, go ahead.” The words were playful, but they left a pit in Catra’s stomach. 

I wonder if Adora misses me . She tried to shake the thought away, the ringing in her ears growing louder. She had tried to avoid thinking about Adora the entire time she was here, it only led to self doubt and grief. She curled up on a tree branch.

  Even if she does, would she leave the horde for me, or would she stand by the people who cast me out? Would I even be worth it ? 

The worries she had tried to repress bubbled to the surface, seeming to engulf her, she could barely hear Micah calling her name, the ringing in her ears was starting to drown out everything else now.

What am I even going to do when I make it off the island, Micah’s gonna leave me for his own family, and I can’t go back to the horde, so why am I even trying to leave? 

Catra was vaguely aware of vines wrapping around her, but she didn’t care. She was ready to give up, when she felt an arm grab her and start ripping the vines off.

“Kid! Kid, you need to get up, we have to go!” 

“What’s the point, the horde abandoned me and so will you, once you get your family back.” Catra mumbled.

Micah looked at her in shock, then he took her hand. “Kid, I’m not going to abandon you, not now, not ever.” he smiled softly “you’re stuck with me”

Catra stared up at him. He… wasn’t going to leave her?

Micah held out a hand to her. “Now come on, we need to go.” 

Catra took his hand, helping him slice off the last of the vines.

The two ran until the vines were far behind them, and then continued back to the camp, the ringing in Catra’s ears growing fainter the further away they got. They finally reached their camp as it was getting dark, they both sat down to rest, and to talk.

“Kid…” Micah started. “Did you really think I was going to abandon you when we got off the island?”

Catra looked away. “Why not? Everyone else has, besides, you’re a rebel and I'm a horde reject”

“Kid, I promise I will never abandon you, and once we get off this island, I will make sure you have a place with me, okay?”

Catra nodded and turned to look back towards the center of the island. “Those vines… I've never seen anything like it, I-I don’t want to go back there! I… I had tried to ignore it earlier, but the closer we got, the more uneasy I became.”

Micah nodded in agreement. “The closer we got, the more my fears and doubts seemed to bubble up inside me.”

“Fears and doubts? Like what?”

Micah sighed and looked away. “Come on old man! We just talked about my emotional issues, now it’s your turn! I mean… you don’t have to but-”

“What if there’s nothing left for me back home?” Catra looked at Micah, surprised. “What if, by the time I finally get back, everyone has already moved on, forgotten about me, or worse, been killed by the horde?”  

Catra grinned at him. “Really old man? You’ve spent the last year on this island talking about how much you and your wife were in love, how perfect your life was, minus the whole horde thing, do you really think your family would just forget about you? I mean, you talk about your wife like she’s an angel made human-”

“She kinda is”

“Just goes to prove my point old man, she wouldn’t have forgotten about you. And besides, she’s the queen of princesses-”

“High queen, the queen of princesses is horde nonsense”

“Shut up, anyways, isn’t she supposed to be really powerful? She’ll be alive, and so will your daughter.”

Micah looked at her and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right kid, thanks.” he chuckled. “You know, I think you’d really like it back at Brightmoon, and I'm sure the rest of my family would love you.”

Catra nodded and turned away to scan for any possible monsters in the vicinity, ( not because she was about to start crying) when she heard a small chirp. She felt the top of her head and-

“Oh my gods! Tiny lizard you’re still here!” The speisquama was still tangled in her hair, and she quickly picked it up and grinned. 

She heard Micah groan from where he had started setting up a fire spell.

 “Come on little guy! You’re gonna need a name!” 

“How about little nuisance?” Micah called

Catra stuck her tongue out at him. “Why do you hate this guy so much anyways? He hasn’t done anything to you.”

Micah shuddered. “Let’s just say I've had bad experiences with lizards.” he said as he finished up the fire spell. 

Normally, Catra would shy away whenever he was casting, but this time, she felt safer. Instead of finding an excuse to run off, she sat down next to him, watching the flame ignite. It still sent a shiver down her spine, but she wasn’t as scared, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Micah sat down next to her, and she leaned against him, still holding the speisquama as she drifted off, trying to think about what to call it.

—-------------------------------------------------

Catra added the finishing touches to her patched-together bag, and the belt she had made to attach it to. She yawned, wishing she hadn’t gotten up so early to finish it, but she rarely had time to work on it with how much work survival required. She patted the speisquama and smiled. It had been a few weeks since she'd found the creature, and since she’d found the tiny, and it seemed content to stay with her.

“There we go little guy, your very own pouch!” She had been working on the pouch for the last several days, the little lizard had a habit of climbing on her head and getting caught in her hair, with the bag she could bring it with her and avoid any tangling. Micah had been reluctant to help her, but did in the end. Surprisingly, the old man could sew . The bag itself was pretty raggedy, made up of whatever cloth they could find, with a flat wooden bottom to give the lizard some room. As Catra attached the bag to her new belt she wondered if Micah would help her make a satchel of some sort, with everything they needed to survive on the island, food, firewood, kindling, Micah’s staff, it was getting hard to carry it all whenever they switched camp.

Speaking of which… Catra surveyed the camp she was in, they had been here a few days already and would probably have to leave today, the longer they stayed in place, the more likely predators or scavengers would find them, and they’d had enough close calls already. She scanned the camp for any signs that monsters had been there during the night, her eyes landing on the markings of Micah’s alarm spell, it hadn’t failed yet, but Catra was still a ways off from fully trusting magic.

When she saw no signs of any late-night intruders, she walked over to the sleeping figure a few feet away from her.

“Hey old man,” she said, shaking him awake. “Time to get up”

Micah got up, groaning, and went to grab their food from where they had stored it. As the two sat down for breakfast they started talking about their favorite topic, how to escape.

“Maybe a raft? There’s plenty of wood, and we could use vines.” 

“Not a chance kid, the water around the island would eat through anything we tried to sail on before we got five feet from shore.” Catra sighed, he was right, the hundreds of years of ancient tech slowly decomposing into the sea and soil had turned the ocean water acidic, there was a reason why the horde had to use special reinforced transport ships to dump prisoners here after all. 

“And you’re sure you can’t use magic?”

Now it was Micah’s turn to sigh. “Even if any of my spells had the kind of range we would need, messaging spells require components, none of which can be found on this island.”

Catra thought for a bit. “Well, we know that horde ships can make the journey, and that they drop prisoners off here, so why don’t we wait until they come to drop another prisoner off and BAM! We take the ship for ourselves!”

Micah chuckled. “Well, it might be a while before the horde comes back, no one has been dropped off since you, and no one else was here when I was dropped off.”

 he noticed Catra’s expression drooping. “ But , it’s a possibility, I bet you’d give the horde officers on that ship hell ”

Catra smiled, she had a feeling he’d said that mostly for her benefit rather than actual belief in an escape, but she didn’t mind. Ever since they’d traveled to the center of the island, Catra was aware of the mysterious ringing, nicknamed the signal. It seemed to constantly grate on both of them, wearing down their optimism, so keeping their spirits up was difficult, but also important.

“Yeah, I would.” she looked up at him. “You would probably help I guess.”

Micah scoffed, acting offended. Catra grinned at him. “Fine, I guess we would both be equally good at taking them down.”

When they both finished eating Micah stood up. “We should probably pack up and move camp, we’ve stayed in place for too long.”

Catra nodded as he stepped away to start packing up, she picked up her speisquama from where it had settled in her hair. “Come on little guy! Time to test out your pouch!” she slid the lizard into the bag, which it quickly settled into. 

—-------------------------------------------------

Micah watched the young girl pack up her makeshift bedroll and smiled, if- when they got out of this Angie was going to love her, he hoped Glimmer would too, really Catra reminded him so much of his daughter, just a bit older and sassier. One thing that concerned him though, was Catra’s reaction to magic, specifically sorcery. Up until a few weeks ago, she would run off whenever he cast spells, never far, usually just a few feet away or up into a tree, but she still seemed scared. Micah sighed and looked away, it had never felt like a good time to ask the girl about Shadow Weaver, but he was certain his old mentor had done something to her. 

He looked back at the girl, who was still packing up, she seemed so much lighter and happier than when she had first arrived. How that was possible on an island of death, doom, and despair, he wasn’t sure, but he was glad. He hoped his pessimism during breakfast earlier hadn’t affected her at all, but it was harder and harder to stay positive. He was constantly worried, worried that when he finally got home, he would be too late, his family would be gone , killed by the horde.

“Hey old man! You done packing up?” Catra called from across the camp, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, about done.”

“Where do you wanna head after this?”

Micah finished packing up and walked over to Catra. “There's a small clearing not far from the beach that should be safe, we can set up camp there for a few days.”

Catra grinned “then let’s get going!” she said as she raced off.

Micah followed her, trying to push away his thoughts from earlier. He couldn’t do anything to help his family, not right now, but he can help this girl get their gear to a new campsite.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Castle- present day—--

Adora woke up before either of her friends, having slept marginally better than her first night here. She tried to get ready for the day without waking them, but just as she was finishing up Bow sat up sleepily.

“Mromimg Adora.” he mumbled through a yawn.

“Morning Bow, did I wake you? I’m sorry.” Adora replied, keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t wake Glimmer.

“Doesn’t matter, we should all get up anyways, wanna have time to get ready for the meeting today.” 

Right, the meeting. Adora felt her stomach do a flip as she thought about the upcoming meeting, her last one had gone rather… poorly, and that was just with a few people, this one was with the entire princess alliance.

“Oh gliiiiimmerrrr~” Bow said in a sing-songy voice. “Time to get uuuuuuup~”

Glimmer groaned and threw her pillow at him, sitting up slowly. “Why do meetings have to start so early?” she complained.

Adora chuckled, her stomach settling a bit. 

“Y’know, back in the horde, training often started way before the sunrise”

Both her friends gaped at her. “Well we knew the horde was evil already, but that’s just plain cruel” Bow said, horrified

Once everyone was done getting ready they set off to the kitchens, hoping to have time to grab something quick for breakfast before the meeting.

Breakfast. Adora had been surprised when she first heard about it, she normally didn’t eat until lunch, and it was always ration bars, none of the fancy stuff Brightmoon had. Both facts had horrified her friends when she first told them, who had promptly taken her to the kitchen to try each and every thing on the palace menu. Adora’s favorite thing had been the cake Glimmer had shown her, and she hoped there was some in the kitchen, despite it not being a breakfast food. The idea of certain foods being eaten at certain times was odd to her considering she had only eaten the same food at every meal, but she supposed it made some sense, the horde had always been strict about proper nutrition, and getting enough calories at each meal even if the food tasted horrible.

The trio stopped by the kitchens (Adora was delighted to find the kitchens did in fact, have her favorite cake.) and ate breakfast before walking down to the meeting room. They arrived the others finding their seats, good, they weren't late. The table was similar to the one in the other meeting room, but curved like a crescent moon. The queen sat at the head of the table, the general to her right, and an empty chair on her left. Glimmer sat to her mother’s left like last time, but this time she sat one chair removed, leaving the other chair at the head of the table empty. Bow sat beside her and motioned for Adora to sit next to him, which she did. She could see a few other Brightmoon soldiers, probably commanders, she could also see two princesses sitting arm in arm, the other chairs were empty.

“Hey Bow” she whispered. “Why are all the other chairs empty?”

“They belong to the other princesses, back when the old princess alliance was in place.” he whispered back. “A lot of the old leaders left the alliance when it fell, that’s why their seats are empty” he winced looking at the chair between the queen and Glimmer. “Some died.”

Oh. Adora didn’t have a lot of time to process that before the queen called the meeting to begin. The queen stood and motioned to Adora. 

“To start this meeting, I would like to bring up the past couple day’s events, and our latest ally. For those of you who haven’t met her, this is Adora, a former horde cadet who has turned to our side, and will serve as an informant for the rebellion.”

With the attention turned on her, Adora felt nervous, but no one glared at her or looked suspicious, a few people even smiled at her, mainly the two princesses. 

“With that out of the way,” the queen continued. “There is a pressing matter surrounding the princess Perfuma, and the kingdom of Plumeria. Plumeria has long since been the major supplier of food and an important part of the Whispering Woods, as well as an old ally of Brightmoon, and we have received calls for aid.” the queen paused, bringing up a holographic map of the woods, and what Adora presumed was Plumeria.

“Within the past few months, the Horde has been slowly encroaching on Plumerian territory, as well as destroying the woods, but recently, there have been reports of a new Horde device that has been killing the plants and poisoning crops, we believe that the Horde is preparing for an attack on Plumeria.”

Adora stood, maybe she could help here. “Your majesty, I grew up around Horde tech, I believe if I could travel to Plumeria I might be able to figure out what the Horde is using to kill the plants, and destroy it.”

The queen smiled. “Very well Adora, if you believe you can aid Plumeria and stop the Horde. If you can secure Princess Perfuma’s support in this endeavor, her control over plants will prove useful.” She turned to look at Glimmer and Bow. “you two will accompany her, you leave tomorrow morning, and Adora.”

“Yes, your majesty?”

“Do your best to keep your identity a secret, I do not want the Horde knowing we have an informant.”

With that the discussion turned to other topics, trade, relations with other kingdoms, and of course, Horde movement. Adora had jumped in where she could to offer her knowledge of the Horde, but for the most part she just listened. The conversation was fascinating, and Adora found herself relaxing, the meeting was almost fun, compared to the one she had been in yesterday anyways. Once the meeting was finished Adora headed back to her room to pack for her trip. As she gathered her things she felt a creeping anxiety, it would be her first time truly facing the Horde after she left, what if they managed to capture her and bring her back? She shook her head, they wouldn’t, she wouldn’t let them. Adora took a deep breath, everything would be fine, her friends, and hopefully a new princess, would be by her side. 

—-------------------------------------------------

The day passed by rather quickly, both her friends were excited to be in the field, and Adora tried to share their optimism, this was her chance to help the rebellion, and to prove to everyone that she was on their side. Still, she felt a nagging anxiety that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she tried. The anxiety was still there when she was trying to sleep several hours later. After trying and failing to sleep for another hour, Adora admitted defeat and got up,hoping a walk might help clear her head. 

I hope this doesn’t become a habit. Adora thought as she walked through the halls. This time Adora had a destination in mind. She had heard about a library within the palace, and wanted to check it out. I wonder if there are any books on Beast Island? Adora realized she didn’t know much about the place aside from the horror stories the Horde would tell, and considering how much they lied, she wasn’t sure how reliable those stories were. The library itself was massive, with wall-to-wall bookshelves and several tables, couches and reading nooks, and like everything else in the castle, it was lit by some form of light magic. Adora wasn’t sure where to begin looking, so she picked a random shelf and started searching. Most records in the Fright Zone were online or kept in cabinets (that Adora was never allowed to look through) so libraries, and books in general were a rare sight, and she had no idea how they were supposed to be organized. She had been fruitlessly searching for a few minutes, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Can’t sleep?” The words carried no suspicion this time, but still sounded somewhat stilted, formal.

“No your majesty, I had been hoping to do some research, but I'm not really used to navigating a library.” Adora explained somewhat awkwardly. 

“I see, which books are you looking for?”

“Books in Beast Island, I figured since I would be going there eventually…” Adora trailed off.

“Ah, well books are sorted alphabetically by title or series name, so your best bet would be to look over in the ‘B’ section, it’s over here.” The queen led her over to a bookshelf where Adora scanned for the books she was looking for. She found two and turned to leave, satisfied, but something stopped her, and before she fully realized what she was doing, she spoke.

“It… it probably seems stupid, to put this much effort into going to Beast island, to go after someone who’s already dead, but I can’t just move on, not like this…” 

“Adora, I understand completely.” That surprised Adora, she was being completely irrational, how could someone understand?

“You do?”

“Losing someone like that, you need closure, otherwise a part of you will never be able to move on.” Something changed as the queen was talking, like a mask was slipping off, if only for a second before she straightened and turned to look as Adora.

“And I assure you, we will do everything we can to secure you safe transport to and from Beast Island.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” Adora walked back to her room, feeling lighter than she had before.

—-------------------------------------------------

As Angella watched the girl leave, she sighed internally. 

So much for the library being empty at this hour .

 The continual midnight run-ins had been tiring, but also insightful. She had been incredibly suspicious of Adora when she first arrived, but the girl had proven her suspicions to be misplaced. The more she learned about the girl, the worse she felt about her earlier hostility. The Horde was cruel, she had known that since she was a child, since she had lost her father at Hordak’s hands, since she had lost her husband . But to be so cruel to children? To send one to their death and leave the other alone to grieve? She clenched her hand into a fist, this was why she had kept the rebellion going, even after the others had left. So no one would be left to mourn their loved ones, to know they're gone, but forever be stuck with the tiniest hope they might come back, to never get closure, like the girl, like herself. Her mind flicked back to the awful first few years after Micah’s death, the constant waiting, hoping it was all a bad dream and that she would wake up, she never did.

She tried to clear her head as she walked over to grab her books, she had only come here for some peace, now she had anything but. 

—--The outskirts of Plumeria- Present day—--

Lonnie whirled around to block a strike from Rogelio, then used her staff to knock Kyle off his feet, pointing the end of her staff at his chest. 

“I win.” she said, grinning, before reaching down to help him up. 

Kyle smiled at her while Rogelio clapped, and she heard cheering coming from behind her. Lonnie turned to see the source of the cheering was one of the few tolerable force captains in the camp. 

“Hey Scorpia!” she waved the girl over, who quickly joined her and her squad.

They had met when Lonnie was first transferred over to the Horde encampment, and Scorpia had quickly given herself the role of Lonnie’s Force Captain mentor, something she was grateful for, even if she would never admit it. Honestly, she reminded Lonnie of Adora, with her goody-two-shoes attitude, and optimism, plus she could kick ass in a fight, even if she wasn’t nearly as tactful as Adora had been. It didn’t hurt that she kept Octavia, (who of course was also transferred here) off her squad’s backs. The Force Captain had held a grudge against her whole squad ever since Catra had clawed her eye out years ago. (Why they were all being punished for something Catra had done, she didn’t understand) She turned her attention towards Scorpia, who had started to spar with Rogelio, and cheered both of them on, taking a moment to relax. Even with the impending attack on Plumeria, the camp was so much more calm than the Fright Zone. 

Adora would like it here. She thought. Once I find her, we’ll all get to live like this. Her hand reached up to touch the Force Captain badge she had pinned to her uniform, she would find her, she had to. Hang on Adora, I’m coming for you. 

—--Whispering Woods- Present day—--

Adora followed her friends through the Whispering Woods, fidgeting with the quarterstaff the rebellion had given her. She had trained with several kinds of weapons in the horde, quarterstaffs included, but the weight on this one felt all wrong, she turned it around in her hands before realizing she had lagged behind her friends.

“Hey, earth to Adora!” Bow called. “We’re almost there!”

Adora rushed to catch up to them “so, you guys never told me, what were you doing out in the woods before you ran into me?” she asked.

“We were after a piece of first one’s tech, a really powerful one!” Bow exclaimed.

“First ones?” Adora couldn’t say she recognized the name

“You know, the ancient race of highly advanced people who came here when the kingdoms were still in their early stages, then disappeared about a thousand years ago?”

Adora gave him a blank look.

“Seriously?! You’ve never heard of them?”

“Nope”

“Ok as soon as we get back to Brightmoon, I'm telling you all about them.” Bow said. Adora had to admit they did sound interesting. 

“My mom actually has done a ton of research on them, it’s kinda a hobby of hers, she might be able to…”

Glimmer trailed off as the group reached the Plumerian border, the further they had walked, the more wilted everything became, but here? Here everything was just dead . Adora felt anger grow in her chest, she had really grown to love the constant greenery around Brightmoon, the view of the woods from her room, the flowers growing in baskets all around the palace, and now the Horde was taking it away, destroying it. She started to walk briskly, marching ahead of her friends, she was going to find what the Horde was using to do this, then she was going to break things . 

By the time they reached the Plumerian capitol, if it even could be called that, almost all of the greenery had disappeared, leaving only dead plants and the skeletal branches of trees behind. Adora struggled to push her anger down as her and her friends' arrival had caused a commotion, and people started to notice them. Adora could hear excited chatter coming from the crowd.

“ Brightmoon has sent aid!”

“Do you think they’re here to help with the evacuation?”

“Finally, we have help!”

A clear voice cut through the chatter, as the crowd parted to let a young woman step through.

“So, Brightmoon has sent us aid! Welcome to Plumeria, follow me and we can discuss evacuation plans!”

Glimmer stepped forward to walk beside the young woman. “Princess Perfuma! lovely to meet you, i’m princess Glimmer of Brightmoon, and, uh, what do you mean by evacuation, are you just going to leave?”

“Of course we are, we’re not fighters, and with the Horde spewing poison into the ground, my own magic isn’t enough to defend us.”

“But what if we could stop it?”

Perfuma turned to look at Adora. 

“The poison, what if we could stop it, would you be able to defend your home then?”

“How would you even do that?”

Adora looked around to make sure she wasn’t about to cause a panic. “I was raised by the horde.” she admitted.

“But-” she quickly stammered seeing the look on Perfuma’s face. “I’m not with the Horde! I deserted! Point is, if I'm able to get close enough, I know I can find what they're using to poison the land, and destroy it.”

Perfuma paused. “I-my people aren’t fighters, we wouldn’t be able to help you and-”

“So you’re just going to let them destroy your land! You have magic , every plant in this forest will listen to you if you use it, you don’t have to know how to fight to beat the Horde!” Glimmer exploded, Bow put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off. “Even if you manage to get everyone else out safely, the Horde will still come after you, and eventually you won’t have anywhere left to run to,b besides you’re supposed to be the protector of the heart blossom, are you just going to abandon your runestone too?”

The flower princess looked taken aback. “ Fine , if you manage to stop the Horde’s poison I will join the fight and drive them out.” she muttered before stalking away.

“ Glimmer… ” Bow started before trailing off.

“I know, I know , I shouldn’t have antagonized her, but how can she just abandon her home like this?”

“She was just trying to protect her people, retreating is her way, this is ours” Bow said quietly, motioning out to the Horde camp in the distance.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, come on, let’s just get a better look at the camp so we know what we’re dealing with.” with that Glimmer started walking off in the direction of the Horde camp, leaving her friends to catch up.

Adora felt her heart pound in her chest faster and faster the closer they got to the Horde camp, matching her rising anxiety. The trio stayed clear of any patrols, and far out of range of anyone on watch. If they lost the element of surprise, they might as well give up.

“We can steal uniforms, I know they always keep spares, and sneak in during a shift change, then destroy the machine right from under their noses.” Adora whispered, her friends nodded in agreement. It was time to break things.

—-------------------------------------------------

Things were going well for Lonnie, better than they had in a long time, almost perfect, except for one missing piece. Of course, the one missing piece is always where it falls apart. The head scientist had gone on break, leaving Lonnie alone to sift through reports. She was pretty sure she shouldn’t be doing all of this, but being the newest force captain, and a temporary one at that, they didn’t seem to mind pushing her around, even with Scorpia’s help, and… friendship. She leaned against the large device in the center of the room, and smiled. One device, one , that’s all it took to weaken a princess. Plumeria wouldn’t stand a chance against them. 

That's when three soldiers entered the room. 

Lonnie narrowed her eyes at them. “Hey, what are you doing in here? Do you even have clearance?”

The first soldier took off her helmet, and Lonnie stumbled back in shock.

“Lonnie-”

“ Adora?” Lonnie couldn’t believe her eyes, what was she doing here? Did she manage to escape the rebels?

“Lonnie I- what are you doing here, where are Kyle and Rogelio?”

“What am I doing here? What about you? We thought you were captured!” None of this made sense, Lonnie was too confused to even feel happy about seeing her friend.

“I’m-I’m not a prisoner, I-” Adora sighed. “A lot has changed in the past few days.”

“Well sit down and tell me everything! Shadow weaver has been worried out of her mind, would have been hilarious if I wasn’t also worried sick”

“Lonnie… I’m not with the Horde anymore.”

What. 

“Wha-what are you saying? Of course you’re with the Horde, sure Shadow weaver might yell at you for getting captured, but she won’t kick you out.” 

Adora looked away. “No, I mean I deserted.”

No. Lonnie felt the stomach churn, this was a joke, some sort of sick joke.

Adora grabbed her hands. 

“I had a good reason! Please Lonnie! Listen to me!”

“What reason could you possibly have to desert ” Lonnie spat out the final word, this wasn’t real, her friend wasn’t betraying her.

“Catra, she… the Horde lied to us! The princesses didn’t kill her, the Horde did!”

Lonnie barked out a laugh, the magicat , of course it was about her. Lonnie was pissed now, her friend, the one person her squad had relied on, had betrayed them for a ghost. Maybe if she’d had a cool head she’d have been more tactful, maybe she would have done things differently, but she wasn’t calm, she was pissed.

“Really, Adora? You’re surprised? Shadow Weaver always had it out for her, honestly, you’re so naive sometimes.”

Adora looked like Lonnie had struck her. “You knew?”

Lonnie really didn’t, she wasn’t even sure if the Horde had killed Catra, but she knew how cruel the Horde could be. “Of course not, but look around , look at how they’ve treated us, how many cadets die from lack of care each year? Not much worse to do the deed yourself.”

Adora looked sick, it only made Lonnie angrier. “Shadow Weaver has treated us terribly our whole lives , and you never thought something was wrong? You saw it happen, and stayed with the Horde, but once you found out commander dearest betrayed Catra , and you ran for the hills, leaving us behind.” 

“I- I didn’t want to-”

“Well you did.”

“Please, Lonnie, I wanted to ask you to come with me.”

“And betray everyone? Not a chance.” Lonnie looked past Adora at her two companions. “You know, you never told me what you’re doing here.”

“I-” Adora stepped back, she looked scared. Then it clicked.

“Are you here to stop us?”

“I can’t let the Horde destroy the woods, please Lonnie, don’t stand in my way.” 

She didn’t get to look sad, not after she betrayed them. Lonnie unhooked her stun baton from her belt. “Why not? You’re standing in mine.”

She lunged for Adora, but was knocked aside by a blast of sparkles? Light magic, it had to be. She scoffed, of course Adora’s new teammates were princesses. 

“Tell me Adora, how easy was it for you to push us aside?” Adora had re-equipped her helmet and was rushing for the machine, Lonnie lunged at her again.

The third “soldier”, a boy with a bow and arrows, aimed at her.

“Would you just listen to her? She’s been trying to come back for you ever since she left!” he shouted, releasing an arrow.

Lonnie dodged. “She shouldn’t have left in the first place.”

 The sounds of fighting would alert the rest of the camp, she would have reinforcements soon. Even so, she was being overwhelmed, and she couldn’t stop Adora from reaching the machine.

Two strikes. Two strikes was all it took. Lonnie watched her advantage over the princesses, one of the Horde’s most powerful machines, spark and die. In two strikes from a quarterstaff, she watched her whole life go up in flames, along with her friendship.

Horde soldiers burst into the room, aggression turning to confusion, and Lonnie realized the rebels, Adora, were still wearing Horde uniforms. 

“It’s them!” she pointed at them. “They’re Rebel spies.” she didn’t have to see Adora’s face to know the girl felt betrayed.

Everything quickly turned to chaos, as soldiers rushed to corner her former friend. Lonnie smirked, they might have destroyed the machine, but none of them were getting away that easily. 

That's when the plants came alive. 

Vines wrapped around soldiers, bushes grew blocking entryways, even the grass frantically sprouted to try and root Horde soldiers in place. Lonnie ran outside, looking around wildly, trying to find the source of it all. Then she spotted her, one lone princess, one, that’s all it took to weaken the Horde, they wouldn’t stand a chance against her. 

There were people trying to fight back, but the princess and her plants were relentless. It was evident, they were going to lose. She heard a force captain call for a retreat, and quickly turned to run, before she felt a hand grab hers.

“Lonnie…”  of course it was fucking Adora. “Please, just don’t tell them I deserted, Shadow weaver will hunt me down and I can’t go back.”

How dare she. How dare she ask for something, after everything that happened. Lonnie was about to laugh in her face, but she paused and considered her options. If Lonnie told her commander that Adora deserted, she wouldn’t be believed, worse, she would be punished… but if Shadow Weaver thought she was still a prisoner? Well, maybe she could keep her promotion, and get time, time to sort things out. 

“Fine,” she muttered. “They already think you’re a prisoner anyways.” 

Underneath the helmet she could sense Adora smiling. “Thank you Lonnie, and, I’m sorry, for not realizing how cruel the Horde really was sooner.” with that she turned and ran, leaving Lonnie alone, again.

—-------------------------------------------------

After Perfuma managed to drive the rest of the Horde soldiers out, she regrouped with them at Plumeria. Adora felt sick to her stomach, but it was obvious the princess felt the opposite. 

“I can’t believe we did that! I honestly wasn’t sure you would be able to take out the horde’s machine!”

Adora looked around, their efforts were already making a difference. She supposed it was mostly due to Perfuma’s magic, but the plants were already looking healthier. She tried to share Perfuma’s joy but she couldn’t get Lonnie's words out of her head. Had she really betrayed her friends? Turned a blind eye to how they were treated her whole childhood? She was so caught up in her thoughts she hadn’t realized she had zoned out of the conversation happening right in front of her until Glimmer spoke

“You know, the rebellion could really use your help Perfuma.” Glimmer said, stepping forward. “I mean look what we were able to do here because of you.”

That got Adora’s attention, was Glimmer proposing an alliance? She supposed it made sense, Plumeria bordered the Horde, and the flower princess had proven herself to be more than capable of defending her own land when she was willing to fight.

Perfuma’s thoughts seemed to mirror her own. “An alliance? I’ll consider it, but I want to speak to your queen first, especially considering how the last one ended.”

An old alliance? Adora didn’t know such a thing had existed, she would have to ask her friends about it.

Perfuma smiled.  “But I can’t say the idea doesn’t appeal to me, especially if it means I get to hit more people with flowers.”

Glimmer smiled back. “If you decide to join, the rebellion will be lucky to have you!” 

Perfuma left shortly after, saying she needed to return to her people and think on her options, and Adora’s friends finally turned to her. 

“Adora…” Bow started. “About what happened back there, with your friend…” Adora's shoulders slumped as a pit formed in her stomach, Lonnie’s betrayal, Adora’s betrayal, rising to the forefront of her mind once again. 

“I-I thought she would understand! I thought she’d be happy to see me, to come with me, I thought they all would be!” Tears formed in her eyes as her friends hugged her. “She… betrayed me, she turned me in!” 

So did you. A voice inside her whispered. You betrayed her first. Adora wanted to scream. It wasn’t the same thing, she had to leave ! But she didn’t, instead she hugged her friends tight, crying.

“Hey guys, can we go back now?” Back to Brightmoon, back home .

“Of course we can.”

Her friends grabbed their packs and turned to leave, not looking back, only Adora stole one last glance at the battlefield, they might have won the battle, but Adora felt like she had lost so much more. 

—--The Black Garnet Chamber- Present day—--

She had received the reports long before the soldiers had returned from the front lines. The Horde had been defeated . Shadow Weaver felt her rage grow, reflected within the looming Shadows of her chambers. How could they have lost ? They had every advantage, a weakened, passive princess, overwhelming forces, even the earth couldn’t stand against them. She had seen what little footage had been recorded, foliage coming to life, smothering everything, a lone princess standing in the midst of it all, and three rebels, who had somehow managed to infiltrate the camp. That had to be the most curious part, both sides had tried to use spies, but they were so vastly different they couldn’t figure out how the other operated, so how had these three managed it? The door to her sanctum opened with a hiss as someone stepped in.

“Commander Shadow Weaver, you wanted to see me?” ah, Lonnie ,  the rest of Adora’s squad had always paled in comparison to her, but Lonnie still held some potential, if her loyalty to the rest of her squad didn’t hold her back. Hmm , she was likely Shadow Weaver’s best option for getting Adora back, considering Hordak had refused her request to divert more squads to finding their missing force captain, the fool.

“Force Captain Lonnie, have you acquired any news of Adora since I sent you out?”

Lonnie, to her credit, stood her ground despite Shadow Weaver’s cold tone, an unreadable look in her eyes. “I have reason to believe she is being held captive by the Queen of princesses herself.”

She supposed it wasn’t a total surprise, but the information was better than nothing, even if it would make Adora's retrieval harder “Then it is of the utmost importance to bring her back.” if that feathered princess thought she would take her strongest pupil from her, she was sorely mistaken.

“Yes, commander.” Anger flashed across Lonnie’s face. “I may have failed when you first put me in the field, but I won’t fail again.” she turned to leave.

“Force captain, wait.” She could be useful, she had potential. 

Shadow Weaver hesitated, it was risky, taking an apprentice, it could backfire. It had before. But she needed all the help she could get. She made a choice. “Out of everyone in your squad, you were always the most competent, aside from Adora that is. I would like to offer you a proposition.” 

Chapter Text

—--Beast Island- 9 years in the past—--

If there was one thing about Catra that Micah had learned, it was that she didn’t open up easily. He couldn’t really blame her given what little he knew about her life before the island, but it had taken a near death experience for her to open up even just the tiniest bit, so it came as a surprise when she opened up again during something casual as a conversation. They had been taking a rare moment to relax at their campsite, Catra playing with her pet lizard (that still stuck around. Why, Micah didn’t know) while Micah was busy sewing a bigger satchel to carry supplies. 

“I think I'm going to name you Snack!” Catra exclaimed while holding up the speisquama .

Snack? Really? Micah snorted. “Well that’s morbid.”

“I don’t see you giving me any name suggestions” she retorted, glancing over at him. “You finished with that bag yet?”

“So impatient, don’t worry kid, I'm almost finished.”

“Where did you learn to sew anyways? I thought you were a king or something, aren’t there other people who can do it for you?”

Micah smiled, her question bringing back fond memories. “Well it was for my daughter.” his daughter, his Glimmer, she hadn’t even been born yet and he had already loved her. “I had wanted to make her something, a gift, a small stuffed creature,” he chuckled. “Truthfully my first attempt was really terrible, it looked more like a squashed pumpkin than a stuffed animal.” He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Angella still has the thing somewhere, but I kept trying, and I finally managed to make something presentable, Glimmer loved it, took it with her everywhere.”

“You learned to sew, for your daughter?” Micah looked over, Catra was sitting up, curled in on herself, with her tail covering her feet. “All that work, just to make something for her?”

“Well yeah, that’s what you do for people you love, you put effort in for them.”

“Is that what it’s like in the rebellion?”

“That’s what it’s like in most places.”

“Not in the Fright Zone, not with Shadow Weaver.” Micah had a feeling that this conversation would happen, sooner or later. He knew how his old mentor treated the people she taught, those she found powerful, and those she found weak. He scooted over to Catra, and hesitated before slinging an arm around her, and she leaned into him. 

“I know.” was all he said. They stayed like that for a while, Catra curled up in his side, before she stood up, wiping her eyes. “She raised me,” she said, her eyes dropping to the floor, ears pinned back. “But she wasn’t like you, she wasn’t nice, not to me at least.”

Micah didn’t say anything, wanted to let her speak. “Adora was the only one who was really nice to me, we were friends .” she said the last word bitterly. “Shadow Weaver hated it, always said I was holding her back, it’s why she sent me here.” Micah thought he knew Shadow Weaver, knew what she was capable of, how she could hurt people, but hearing Catra speak, his blood started to boil. There was no possible explanation for sending a child to Beast Island, but somehow this was worse than any reason he could think of.

 “Sometimes… sometimes I wonder what happened to her, if she misses me. If, when we make it back, if she’d leave the Horde for me.” her last words were a whisper, Micah wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear them. “ If i’d be worth it” 

Micah felt his heart break for this girl, this child who was so young, already second-guessing her own worth. He wasn’t sure how to comfort her, how to prove she was enough, but he did the best he could. He stood up and hugged her, and to his surprise, she hugged him back. 

“You are worth it kid, no matter what Shadow Weaver said, I promise you are worth it.” He hugged her tighter. “And I promise that when we make it back, we will find your friend, and Shadow Weaver won’t be able to hurt either of you again.” 

Catra relaxed just a bit, but it was enough. “Thanks old man.” she said between sniffles. She pulled away from his hug and smiled at him. “Thank you, for everything.”

Micah wasn’t surprised when Catra ran off shortly after, nor did he try to stop her. He knew she would stay close, and that she probably needed some time to herself. Besides, he wanted some time on his own too, he had a new project in mind. Looking over the scraps of cloth still left, he smiled. Good, there was just enough left. He started planning out what it should look like, it would be difficult without a pattern to follow, but he should be able to manage it. It took him a while to make up a design, but when he finally did he picked up the cloth and started sewing, Catra was going to love this.

—-------------------------------------------------

The following weeks after their talk Catra noticed Micah acting more and more…well, Catra wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he would do things, like set up her bedroll when she was extra tired, or offer to comb the knots out of her hair, something she’d only let Adora do before him. Catra never brought it up, afraid that if she mentioned it, the spell would be broken and he’d stop, but she appreciated it. She’d also found herself being more affectionate to him, and she made an effort to talk about her life before the island, to share stories of her childhood, and what few positive memories she had growing up.

“-and then Adora slammed face first into the wall, man Shadow Weaver was pissed when she saw us, mostly at me, but it was worth it in the end.” Catra giggled as she finished telling the story, her tail flicking lazily as she jumped from branch to branch. 

“Remind me why you two decided to sneak into the contraband closet again?” Micah craned his neck to look up at her as he walked, still carrying the bulk of their supplies.

“Well Adora heard a rumor that there was some type of food called a “cake” in there, and she wanted to try it, the whole thing sounded completely made up, someone was probably just lying, I mean cake sounds totally fake, but Adora believed it.”

She heard Micah snort from below her. “What? Cake? No, kid, cake is real”

“No way, old man.”

“I’m being serious, when we get out of here I'll get you some.”

“Uh-huh.” Catra grinned, In her hand she held a large tooth she had been fiddling with. A prize from when an angry Chibbit had tried to eat them, she stuffed it in her own satchel, careful to keep it away from the bandages she was carrying so they wouldn’t get torn

Catra flicked her ears, even with all the walking, the day had been easy. The predators were apparently all sleeping somewhere, and some sunlight even managed to break through the tree canopy. Today was probably one of the nicest days they’d had in a long time, which is why. Of course, it all went to shit.

Catra had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts she hadn’t noticed them. By the time she finally saw the telltale glowing eyes, they were both surrounded. Shit , how had she not seen them? She was supposed to be the lookout, so how could she miss something so huge? She felt her claws grip onto the branch she was on as she tried to count how many there were. She gave up after six, there were too many to fight off. Micah saw them too, he slowly grabbed his staff as the pookahs stalked towards him. Catra’s heart pounded as the first one pounced, and the others quickly followed. Micah sent the first pookah flying, and on fire, before sending a pointed glare at Catra that meant stay in the trees. 

Yeah, not happening old man. Catra thought before dropping into the fray, she almost immediately regretted her decision when a pookah swiped at her, but she ducked and swiped back, sending it fleeing. 

“Goddamnit kid,” she heard Micah mutter under his breath before he shouted. “Run!”

The two bolted, Catra knew where they were headed, a small cave nearby, she just hoped they could make it. Catra ran faster than she ever had before, hearing the screeches of pookahs behind them, along with the woosh of a fireball. By the time they reached the cave, several pookahs had been either badly burned or clawed, but several were still chasing them, though they’d managed to put some distance between them. Micah slammed down a protection seal as they scrambled into the cave, followed by a concealment seal, pookahs weren't exactly smart, so hopefully it would deter them.

“Ok,” Micah said as Catra flopped down into a sitting position, trying to catch her breath. “Ok, let’s stay here for a while incase those creatures come back, and then we can-”

Catra didn’t hear the rest of what he said as she finally noticed Micah’s leg, namely the deep bite wound on it. Micah apparently also hadn’t noticed the giant-fucking-wound on his leg until now, because when he noticed Catra staring at his leg, and looked down, he looked like he wanted to faint. 

Crap. 

“Ok, uh, can you hand me the bandages and i’ll patch myself up and-”

“I’ll do it.” Catra grabbed the bandages (glorified rags they had cut into strips), and walked over to where Micah was sitting.

“Do you know how?”

Catra snorted, “yeah I know the basics, I was always patching Adora up, she got so many sprains, mostly from falling or running into things,” she looked at Micah mischievously. “Like the time she slammed into a wall after raiding the contraband stash.” That got a laugh from Micah, followed by a wince as she finished wrapping up the wound. Catra was glad to be the one doing something for him for a change, it felt like a way of saying thank you . Thank you for caring, thank you for being my- Catra cut her train of thought off before it could go any further, she did not have the energy to ruminate on that, not today.

“Hey kid? I’m gonna strengthen the protection and illusion seals so they last longer, why don’t you get some rest?” 

Catra watched him cast the spells from where he was sitting, he probably wouldn’t be in any state to walk for at least a couple days. She flicked her ear, she didn’t like the idea of being stuck in a cave for several days, but there was no way she was leaving him behind.

“Okay old man,” she said through a yawn as she set up her bedroll. “You get some sleep too, ok?”

“Don’t worry about me kid, I'll be fine.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Catra groaned as she looked up at the ceiling of this stupid cave . How had things gone this bad? Actually, Catra knew the answer to that one. She glanced over at the sleeping figure of Micah, he was looking a little better than when she’d woken up and found him feverish on the third day of hiding out in this cave. She probably should have seen this coming, considering neither of them were proper medics or knew much about wound care, but still . They had been stuck in this gods-damned cave for five days thanks to a stupid infection . Catra had freaked out when she had first woken up to find him sick, he hadn’t gotten any worse so she hoped he wasn’t in serious danger, but she still felt incredibly nervous, what if he never got better? Catra had more to think about than just Micah however, they had run out of food yesterday morning and Catra could feel her stomach rumble.

Catra looked at the entrance to the cave, the protection seal was still there, but it would let her through. Snack looked at her from where it was laying in the cave as if it knew her intentions. Catra groaned, she didn’t want to leave the cave alone, but she didn’t really have a choice, they needed food. She had gone on a few small forays to grab water and to make sure the pookahs weren't coming back, and each time she jumped at the smallest sound. She hadn’t realized just how much having someone to watch her back had set her at ease until she was alone. Catra grabbed their satchel, might as well bring it with her. She slung the satchel over her shoulder, stamping down unease, and walked out of the cave.

Catra stuck to jumping between trees rather than risking walking on the forest floor. She knew where she was going, a large river was nearby, but she felt safer off the ground. Her best bet for finding food was probably going to be fishing, she didn’t want to risk also getting injured going after one of the bigger critters on the island. Catra knew the ocean surrounding the island was acidic, but there were a couple freshwater rivers and lakes on the island where fish could thrive. Normally when it came to fishing it wasn’t all that elegant, Catra wondered if casting a small fireball into a group of fish could even be considered fishing, but it worked… for the most part. 

I wish I had magic . Catra thought as she made her way to the river. It hadn’t been an uncommon sentiment over the past few days, namely when she realized just how much they both relied on Micah being able to cast, but she was surprised when she realized just how much she wanted to learn magic outside of pure practicality. In the horde magic was something dark, evil, signifying Shadow Weaver and her cruelty, but during her time on the island it had come to mean something different. Magic was dark and cruel, but it was also light and warm and kind, and Catra wanted to wield it. 

The faint sound of water rushing up ahead meant she was close to the river. She grabbed a makeshift waterskin from the satchel and walked over to the river’s edge, might as well grab some water while she was here. She noticed the glimmer of fish scales below the water’s surface and grinned, before realizing one simple problem.

She didn’t know how to catch fish.

Shit. 

The next hour or so was, well… embarrassing to say the least. Possibly one of the few upsides to being on a deserted death trap of an island was that there was no one else around to see her almost fall in the river. Twice.

Clearly trying to catch fish with her bare hands wasn’t working, but there wasn’t much else she could use, not much else she could do , the only real weapon they had was Micah’s staff which one, wasn’t very good for fishing, and two, was back at the cave. She hissed angrily and swiped at the satchel, sending it flying, and spilling its contents out onto the forest floor. Everything had been going so well for once, why couldn’t it last? Why couldn’t she just be happy? And why were stupid fish so hard to catch? She stomped over to the satchel and started packing everything back up, they couldn’t afford to lose any more supplies, not now. 

She had almost finished angrily stuffing everything back into the bag when she picked something up she hadn’t noticed before. At first it looked like a bundle of cloth, but upon closer inspection she realized it was something different. Catra wasn’t quite sure what animal it was supposed to be, the horde had never been big on teaching her her animals and plants, but it was soft. Made from the same type of cloth they’d scavenged from crashed horde ships, and she recognized Micah’s stitching, had he made this for her? Her mind flicked back to their earlier conversation, the stuffed animal he’d made for his daughter, and tears filled her eyes. Catra looked back at the river, clutching the stuffed animal, she couldn’t give up, not yet. 

It took Catra another hour to come up with a plan, and even longer to put it into motion. Catra knew she wouldn’t be able to catch anything fishing by hand, she reached into her satchel and pulled out the chibit tooth, but maybe she wasn’t as weaponless as she first thought. There was hardly a shortage of trees on the island, and fallen branches littered the ground, it didn’t take long for Catra to find what she was looking for, a sturdy stick several inches long. Fixing the tooth at the end of the stick took much longer however. Finally after an hour of frustration she had a makeshift spear. 

She spent the rest of the day fishing, it took several hours to spear her first fish, a tiny flopping thing. She stuffed it in her satchel, wrinkling her nose as she realized it would take ages to wash out the fish smell. She spent the next several hours fishing, managing to spear three other fish, not much but it was enough, for now. She finally grabbed her gear when she noticed the sun start to set, she would have to hurry back, being out at night was dangerous, especially alone. The journey back took longer, Catra having to carry both her satchels and her new spear, and Catra grew increasingly nervous. Along with the sunset clouds had started to gather, and an acid ocean meant acid rain. Still, Catra made it back before sunset, and before the rain started. 

—-------------------------------------------------

“You’ve been gone all day kid, where have you been?” 

Catra was surprised to hear Micah’s voice when she entered the cave, he must have woken up while she was gone. Catra looked at him, he was looking much better, his fever must have broken while she was away. “I was getting us some food, we were out.”

“On your own?”

“I can handle myself old man, besides, you weren’t in any condition to do it.” Catra snapped, angry at the concern in his tone, he had been the one stuck in a cave sick for five days, and he was worried about Catra?  

He held his hands up, “I know kid, I was just worried.”

Catra immediately felt guilty. “Sorry” she grumbled.

Micah seemed to pick up on her change in mood. “Is everything okay kid?” 

In response Catra grabbed the stuffed animal from her bag. “I found this, did-did you make it for me?”

Micah blinked. “Yeah, it was kinda supposed to be a surprise, and also a bear, but I didn’t really have any patterns to follow so-”

“I was scared.”

Micah looked at her, surprised. “You were sick and I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t know how to help, It took me all day just to get us food!”

“I-” 

Catra sat down across from him, wincing slightly at the cold stone beneath her, her gaze focused on the rocky floor. “I was scared , and I hated it.” she took a deep breath before she continued, hugging the stuffed animal close to her chest. “I want to be able to help more, with fighting, with hunting, with surviving , that way if something like this ,” she points a claw at Micah. “Happens again, I'll be more prepared.” her ears flattened to her head, terrified of her next request. “Can you teach me magic?” 

She glanced at him. He looked back at her, smiling slightly. “Of course I will kid.”

Catra relaxed, and took another look at the stuffed creature she’d been strangling. “So this is what a bear looks like?”

Micah laughed. “Kind of? Stuffed animals rarely look exactly like their non-stuffed counterparts, you know, when we get back home there are whole encyclopedias about animals, I bet you’d like them.”

Home . Catra had never really thought of the Fright Zone as her home, sure she grew up there but it wasn’t home. Beast island certainly wasn’t her home, but maybe, maybe if they ever made it off this island, Brightmoon could be.

Chapter Text

-----Brightmoon palace- present day-----

Adora slammed her quarterstaff against her opponent’s sword, feeling her muscles start to tire and her chest burn. She had been out here fighting since sunup, but she didn’t want to stop. Any time she stopped moving, stopped doing something , she would see Lonnie’s face, the look in her eyes when she realized Adora had joined the rebellion, had betrayed them. Dodging a swipe from her attacker Adora poured her energy into the fight, she had promised to provide a demonstration of Horde combat tactics to the general, and she wasn’t going to let her down. Sidestepping another strike, Adora let her training take over. Dodge, attack, block, attack, dodge. 

Disarm your opponent as quickly as possible, the fewer weapons the enemy has, the easier they are to take down. She remembered the voices of all her trainers, the endless hours of combat simulations, her squad… Adora usually came in first in whatever they were doing, Rogelio and Lonnie were always physically stronger than her, but she had an eye for combat, at least that’s what everyone had always said. Adora felt a pit form in her stomach at the thought of her old squad, she ducked under a blow, returning with a jab from her quarterstaff.

Dodge.

She had betrayed them.

Strike.

They had betrayed her.

Duck.

Why couldn’t they understand why she left?

Strike.

Had she really been so blind as to how they were being treated?

Adora didn’t realize she had won the fight until she stood, panting over her opponent. She reached down and held out a hand to help them up, before turning to the general.

“Thank you Adora, your demonstration was very helpful.” she tossed her a bottle of water. “Why don’t you get some rest? You’ve been out here all day.”

Adora looked at the sky, the day moon was hanging in the very center of it, and nodded. She doubted she would be able to actually rest , but it would give her time to work on her other project. She nodded to her sparring partner as they gathered both of their weapons and set them down on a rack, and walked back towards her room

Adora got a few friendly smiles and nods as she walked out of the courtyard, after word of how she stopped the Horde at Plumeria reached Brightmoon, most of the castle opened up to her, she rarely was on the receiving end of glares or suspicious glances. The warmth that spread through her at the thought of being accepted hardly outweighed the events of Plumeria- and the Horde camp. Now without the distraction of sparring, Adora’s thoughts were left to wander as she moved, mostly on autopilot, back to her room. She kept replaying the conversation with Lonnie over and over in her head. She didn’t want to leave her squad behind, but after she found out what happened to Catra, she couldn’t stay, why couldn’t Lonnie understand that? Her anger with her friend warred with her own guilt. The more she looked back on her childhood, the more obvious the Horde’s cruelty became, why hadn’t she seen it? 

By the time she reached her room, Adora’s thoughts were a whirlpool of self-doubt and anger, silenced only as she grabbed a book and opened it, focusing her mind on the words in front of her. Over the past several days, ever since she had returned from Plumeria, she had either been training, or studying. The library had few books on Beast Island, but she had managed to find some, and had read them each a thousand times over, scouring each page. She had been so busy she had hardly even spoken to Bow or Glimmer. (that was a lie, she just didn’t want to face them) Adora wondered if they’d noticed her self-isolation. 

As if the universe itself wanted to prove her wrong, she heard a knock on her bedroom door, followed by two familiar voices. 

“Adora? Are you in there?”

“We’ve hardly seen you since Plumeria, and we wanted to talk.”

They both sounded concerned, and Adora wasn’t getting anything new out of this book, so she let them in. Both her friends sat down on her bed beside her, with worried expressions.

“What is it guys? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothings wrong, it’s just…” Glimmer started, trailing off before Bow picked up. “We’re worried about you, you’ve hardly talked about what happened at Plumeria, and-and we wanted to give you space! But it’s just,” he paused. “If you want to talk about what happened, we’re here, and we just wanted you to know that.”

Adora considered lying, saying she was fine despite the constant sting of betrayal that followed her everywhere, but she hardly thought they would believe her, she had been a terrible liar her whole life. She grabbed one of her pillows, hugging it close to her chest as she finally asked the question that had been plaguing her ever since her fight with Lonnie.

“I’m not a bad friend, am I?”

Both her friends looked shocked, clearly not expecting her to ask that. “What? Of course not!” Glimmer said quickly. “What would ever make you think that?”

Adora was practically strangling the pillow now as everything she had been ignoring for the past several days tumbled out. “Lonnie, she- she was right, for years, I couldn’t see how cruel the Horde was, how badly they treated the people I cared about, I should have known, I should have left sooner, and taken everyone with me.” Maybe if she had done things differently, her old friends would be here, by her side. Instead they were fighting for the horde. 

“ Adora ” Bow said firmly. “What happened was not your fault, the Horde was your home, they raised you, no one can blame you for trusting them, not when they were all you’d ever known.”

Adora smiled at her friends, some of the guilt weighing on her lifting, maybe they were right, maybe it wasn’t all her fault, but still…

“How am I supposed to face her, face any of them? How am I supposed to fight them?” her friends looked at each other, before wrapping her in a giant hug. “I’m not sure,” Bow said. “But we’ll figure it out, together. 

Adora laid down on her bed, surprised at how much better she felt, how much lighter simply being reminded she wasn’t alone made her. She smiled, and…

Oh gods she was tired , she had hardly slept since Plumeria, and of course it all hits her now. Her friends must have noticed because they both gave her suspicious stares.

“Hey Adora…” Glimmer started. “Have you relaxed at all in the past couple days?”

“...yes?”

Both her friends exchanged a concerning look.

“It’s- I’ve been busy with training and-”

“Adora! Resting is important!” Glimmer said, in a tone far too serious for someone covered head to toe in glitter. 

“You know what you need?” Bow’s cheerful voice cut in. “a vacation!”

“No, guys really I'm fine-”

“Come on Adora! A vacation will help you relax, and let’s be honest, you really need one” Adora had heard of vacations, and they seemed like a waste to her, why spend time doing nothing when she could be training, or doing research, or literally anything! Glimmer didn’t seem to notice Adora’s apprehension, and was prattling off vacation plans in the background. 

“We could take her to Mystacor! I haven’t visited Aunt Casta in a while, and I bet Adora’d like the hot springs and…” she trailed off as Bow dragged her out the door, telling Adora to get some rest while they planned things out. With the sound of her friend’s chatter fading as they walked down the hall, Adora closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.

—--The Fright Zone- Present Day—--

Lonnie walked back to her room, her mind flicking back to the conversation with Shadow Weaver. When she had been offered a proposition, Lonnie wasn’t sure what to expect, but it sure as hell wasn’t magic lessons . She snapped her fingers, feeling dark magic flicker to life as she created a small, black, orb in her palm. Shadow Weaver hadn’t taught her much, saving any powerful magic for future lessons, and she sure as hell didn’t let her anywhere near the black garnet, but even this tiny bit of power meant everything to Lonnie. It meant her standing in the horde was moving up, it meant safety, it meant control. Lonnie smiled to herself as she reached her new Force Captain quarters, and stepped inside.

Inside her room she was greeted by three faces, two somber ones, and a smiling one. Her squadmates had taken the news of Adora’s betrayal hard, and both were still processing it, but they had agreed to keep the news hidden from Shadow Weaver. Scorpia on the other hand, had become the fourth member of their squad, and she couldn’t be happier about it. She had practically tackled Lonnie to the ground when she’d heard the news, and she was honestly the only thing keeping the rest of the squad in any sort of good spirits. 

“So how’d it go?” Scorpia asked. “I mean it’s Shadow Weaver, so it can’t have gone that well, but-”

“She offered to teach me magic.” the rest of her friends gaped at her.

“ WHAT?” they all shouted collectively. 

“I mean, she didn’t teach me much today, but-” Rogelio roared something unintelligible, and Kyle started pacing anxiously.

“Ok, why does everyone look so worried?” Kyle stopped his pacing and turned to look at her. “Well for starters you’re going to be training with Shadow Weaver , that doesn’t scare you? I mean she’s kinda a nightmare.”

Lonnie felt a flash of indignation. “She wasn’t that bad, she just showed me some magic stuff, said some creepy shit about future plans or whatever, then ominously sent me away saying she had something to take care of.”

That, at least, got a laugh from her friends. Rogelio roared something that roughly translated to “as long as you know what you’re doing…”

“I do know what I'm doing! Besides, if I know magic I'll be way more useful on the field, I'll be able to keep us all safe , that’s why I'm doing this!” truthfully Lonnie had always been a bit nervous that something would happen to her squad, and that someone would get hurt. It was why she’d agreed to learn magic, but there was a darker undercurrent of anger. She wanted to get revenge on the rebellion, the princesses who’d stolen her best friend. She wanted to make them hurt. She turned her attention from her anger and back towards her friends, she could deal with her mess of feelings when she was alone.

“Besides,” she continued. “Once I know more magic no one will mess with us! And Octavia will finally get off our backs” she grumbled that last part and her friends laughed, Lonnie joined in, the idea of not being bothered by Octavia putting everyone in a good mood. 

Everyone else excused themselves pretty quickly after the conversation, both Kyle and Rogelio still had cadet training to attend to, and Scorpia still had to fill out some paperwork regarding her squad transfer, leaving Lonnie alone. Once she was sure everyone else had left, she took a deep breath, and focused. She felt magic crackling at her fingertips as shadow enveloped the room. She smiled to herself, she had magic, she had power , and she was going to make Adora regret betraying them.

—--Brightmoon Palace- Present day—--

Angella let her posture loosen as she entered her room, finally able to take off the mask of queen and be herself, even for a little while. She glanced at the stack of paperwork and unopened letters on her desk. The top letter had the flamboyant seal of Mystacor on it and Angella sighed. Her sister-in-law had never liked her, and her letters tended to be, well… passive aggressive. She sat down at her desk and concentrated, a delicately crafted knife with a long, thin blade appearing in her hand. She smiled, feeling the familiar weight in her hand, before turning her attention to the letters on her desk, and opening the top one. Might as well get this over with now, if she didn’t she would stay up half the night putting it off.

Not that I would get much sleep anyways . She thought, fifteen years and she still wasn’t used to laying in bed alone. She glanced at the photo on her bedside table and winced. The photo of her love holding their young daughter, both smiling, served as a cruel reminder of everything she once had, and everything she had failed to protect. A knock at the door stopped her from thinking about the photo any longer. 

“Yes? Come in” she called, as a guard entered the room.

“Your majesty, something has come up.” Angella groaned internally, she would be up half the night again it seemed, but she was careful to not let her emotions show.

“What is it?”

“We have received a meeting request from commander Shadow Weaver.”

Well it was certainly not what she was expecting to hear. Communication from the horde was rare, rarer still to be between the queen and a high-ranking horde official like Shadow Weaver. Angella followed the guard to the communications room, and accepted the incoming transmission.

Shadow Weaver’s hologram flickered into place, she was standing tall with her arms crossed, it was hard to make out her expression behind her mask, but she was radiating anger

“Shadow Weaver, to what do I owe the pleasure?’ Angella asked dryly, not bothering with a false display of friendliness or even tolerance, she didn’t deserve it.

“ Your Majesty .” Shadow Weaver replied, her voice dripping with venom. “I wish to discuss a matter of importance, you have a prisoner from the horde, and I want her back.”

“And who would that be?” Angella had a feeling she knew where this was going.

“Force Captain Adora.” Well then, this should prove to be interesting. 

She smirked slightly, she had no intention of turning her newest ally over to the dark mage’s mercy, but she might as well try to get some information out of this conversation.

“And why, pray tell, should I give her back?”

The dark mage glared at her, her form flickering as if she was being encased in shadow.

“Because if you don’t, I will burn your kingdom to the ground.”

Chapter Text

—--The entrance to Mystacor- Present day—--

“We’re here!” Glimmer and Bow exclaimed proudly.

Adora loved her friends, but sometimes… “I thought you said we were going to Mystacor? This is a cliff, overlooking a thousand-foot drop.”

“Well… yes, but not for long!” Glimmer said, as she jumped off the cliff . Adora shrieked and jumped back, briefly wondering if her friend had just died , before a small floating island appeared, with a smug face on it. Adora glared at her friend as she beckoned her and Bow onto the island. 

“Could you maybe have warned me you were going to do that?” she grumbled. “I thought you were insane!”

Glimmer was doubled over laughing. “Sorry Adora!” she said between giggles, “but it’s just too funny, and it’s rare I get to bring a newcomer here!”

“She pulled the same trick on me when she first brought me here, freaked me out too.” Bow said, “I thought I had just watched her fall to her death.” he glared playfully at Glimmer. “She found it a lot more funny than I did.” 

Adora looked down at the clouds below them as the platform moved, she wasn’t sure she’d ever been up this high before. She’d gotten pretty good at climbing when she was a kid, Catra had a habit of climbing up everything and Adora had always wanted to follow her. Later she honed the skill with a passion, like she was trying to keep a small piece of her friend alive. Still, being on a floating, moving island a thousand feet in the air was enough to make Adora’s stomach churn. 

“Hey you okay?” Glimmer nudged her shoulder. “You’re not terrified of heights or anything right?”

“You probably should have asked me that before bringing me here, and yeah I'm fine.”  Adora turned her gaze from the clouds to the ground they were standing on. “So how does this thing work?” she asked, motioning to the ground.

“Well Mystacor is the home of most of the sorcerers on Etheria, so pretty much everything is powered by spells, including the platform, including…” Glimmer pointed to a large floating island peeking through the clouds. “Mystacor itself!” 

As the floating island came into view Adora’s jaw dropped, it was massive, with a large castle-like structure in the center of it. The entire thing shimmered with magical energy, and was covered in a glow similar to Brightmoon’s.

As the trio stepped onto Mystacor, Glimmer pulled Adora aside. “Just letting you know, my aunt Casta can be a lot , but I can handle her! Just stick close to me-”

“Is that my Glimmer?” A tall woman with dark hair and a long purple dress came running towards them, her arms outstretched. She enveloped Glimmer in a hug before turning her attention to Adora. “And who’s this? A new friend? About time, oh I thought Glimmer would never make new friends! It had been just her and Bow for years, nothing against you Bow, you’re lovely.”

Adora felt overwhelmed to say the least, she had no idea how to respond to this woman’s enthusiasm or energy, thankfully Glimmer stepped in to save her. “This is Adora, and yes she’s my friend, nothing wrong with only having one friend though.” she grumbled. Castaspella didn’t seem to catch her grumble, instead motioning them to follow her towards a large building. “Since your friend is new here, we should give her a tour! What do you say Adora?”

Behind her, Glimmer was making a very clear “say no” gesture. Adora didn’t want to upset her friend, but a tour would be nice, and it couldn’t be that bad , right? 

“A tour sounds great.” Glimmer deflated, but was quick to pick herself back up again when her aunt turned to her. “Alright everyone, follow me!” Adora and Bow walked together behind the sorceress, while Glimmer walked side by side with her aunt, who seemed to be in the middle of a lighthearted scolding. “-I mean you rarely visit me, no one in your family does, not since your father…” she trailed off eyeing Glimmer up and down. “Did you get in another fight with your mother?” 

a

Glimmer stepped back, clearly annoyed. “What? No! That’s not even… ugh can we just focus on the tour please?”

“Alright, alright,  forgive me for just trying to connect with my niece.” As the group stepped into the halls of Mystacor Adora figured it was best to stay out of that conversation and instead turned to Bow. 

“So Glimmer’s aunt seems… nice”  Adora wasn’t entirely sure what she thought of her, especially considering she wasn’t quite sure what an aunt was , but she seemed… alright. 

“She is, but she can be a lot like Glimmer said, and she doesn’t really get along with Glimmer’s mom, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with what happened to her dad.”

“Oh.” 

Adora looked around as the group walked through Mystacor’s halls, the architecture was impressive, the building was massive, with high ceilings and large rooms that were mostly left open, Adora could see sorcerer's practicing spells ranging from basic illusions to fireballs and telekinesis. She had seen magic before, Glimmer’s teleportation and light manipulation, Perfuma’s plant magic, she’d even seen the queen use photokinesis to create a light shield once, but the only sorcery she’d seen was Shadow Weaver’s, and this was nothing like that. It was different from the elemental control she’d come to expect from the princesses, and frankly, it was impressive. Her attention was pulled away from the sorcerers when they came across a hall lined with towering statues. 

“These are the great ones,” Castaspella said, motioning to the statues. “Sorcerers of incredible talent, who have helped guide Mystacor through the ages.” She walked over to a statue, a statue that looked incredibly similar to a specific mural. “This was Micah, my brother, he was never a teacher at Mystacor but he left a mark here no one will forget.” Her somber expression gave way to a small smile. “Glimmer looks just like him, you know.”

“Auntie! He had a beard .”  

“Wait, Glimmer’s dad was your brother?”

Bow gave her an incredulous look. “Adora, do you not know what aunt means?”

Adora sighed. “No, I was just hoping someone would eventually explain.” she explained sheepishly.

Castaspella continued pointing out statues as they walked. Teachers, leaders, prodigies, anyone who left a mark on Mystacor. “And this was the former head sorcerer of Mystacor, Norwyn, he was a true master of magic and led Mystacor for over a decade…”

Adora stopped listening, her gaze landing on a unique statue. Unlike the others this one was shrouded in shadow, and Adora could have sworn it looked familiar, but she wasn’t sure why. 

“Ah,” Castaspella stepped in front of the statue. “This was Light Spinner, a scar on Mystacor’s past, she sought power to the point of destruction, and was cast out.” The head sorceress was vague in her wording, her face twisting into anger for the briefest of seconds, and Adora was sure she knew more than she was letting on.

Castaspella clapped her hands before Adora could ask any further questions, her expression turning cheery. “Well, I think we’ve shown you around enough for now, why don’t Bow and Glimmer take you to the beach, there’s a ceremony happening later and I must prepare!” she hurried away before turning back. “I will be seeing you three at the ceremony, right?”

Glimmer groaned. “Auntie, we’re all really tired, and besides, Bow and I have seen the ceremony dozens of times, maybe we can skip it just this once?”

“Oh nonsense, your friend Adora hasn’t seen it, so why don’t we let her decide.”

Even with Glimmer’s sour expression, Adora wanted to see the ceremony, this magic was so different from Shadow Weaver’s. “I’d love to see it!”

The head sorceress beamed as she rushed away while Glimmer groaned.  “Well I guess that settles it then! Come on, we still have a few hours till the ceremony so let’s head to the beach!” Bow said, dragging along an excited Adora and disappointed Glimmer.

Adora wasn’t sure what to expect considering one: she’d never been to a beach before, and two: this beach was on a floating island several thousand feet in the air, but she found herself pleasantly surprised. The ground was a bit rocky but overall smooth, and fluffy clouds replaced water. Glimmer and Bow excitedly rolled out towels on the ground, before laying on them. “So, uh, what exactly do we do here?” Adora asked, motioning to the towels and the beach.

Glimmer laughed. “Simple, we relax.” she said, motioning to Bow who had already managed to fall asleep, snoring softly.

Adora tried to relax, she really did, but she couldn’t. Every second she was still her was like torture, she should be out moving , not just lying there. Plus, without movement to keep her distracted she started thinking about her friends, Lonnie, Catra… everything. Glimmer seemed to pick up on this. “Not really used to staying still huh?” she said sympathetically. 

Adora sighed, “no, not really.” 

Glimmer smiled. “Well maybe talking will help.”

“What exactly do you want to talk about?” Adora was nervous, she didn’t really want to talk about Plumeria, or her old friends, not yet. 

“Well you seem to like it here, in Mystacor.” 

Adora relaxed. “Yeah, it’s nice here, and the magic is nothing like i’ve ever seen-”

She cut herself off noticing the slightly hurt look on Glimmer’s face. “I mean Brightmoon’s magic is amazing! It’s just…” she sighed. “The only sorcerer I knew before this was Shadow Weaver and her magic wasn’t exactly… pleasant.”

“Oh, I… didn’t think about it like that.”  Glimmer suddenly shot upright, looking a little guilty. “ That’s why you were so excited to see the ceremony, and get the tour… I didn’t even consider that.”

“Yeah, I've never seen spells like this before.”

“Well if that’s the case then why don’t we go watch some of the sorcerers practice? They all know me and won’t mind, and I bet it would help you relax, more than the beach has anyways.” Glimmer shook a disappointed Bow awake and the trio set off to the training grounds. 

The main training grounds were really just open fields with short green grass, several sorcerers, apprentices and mentors alike were practicing their spells. Adora watched the closest sorcerer to her, a young girl, as she drew a spell seal in midair, her arm moved to close it and-

—--Beast Island- 9 years in the past—--

Catra’s arm moved to finish off her spell seal, a simple illusion spell, but it meant the world to her. She smiled as the spell went off and a small cat appeared before her, it was single-color, without much detail, but it was hers . Her spell , she’d made it all on her own. Micah clapped from where he was standing behind her. “Nice job kid! You’ve picked this up fast!”

Catra smiled back at him. “I did it! I actually did it!” she exclaimed. Her excitement was short-lived however, as the spell quickly fizzled out and her illusion disappeared. 

“No!” she exclaimed. “I had it!” 

“Easy there kid, you did good today, keeping up a spell for any amount of time takes practice.” he walked towards her, limping slightly. He was still injured, but marginally better, and they had enough food to last them, so today was the day he’d decided to teach her magic. Catra took a deep breath and raised her hands again, feeling the magic spark at her fingertips as she tried to cast the spell again.

“See kid, you’re doing great, all you have to do is-”

—--The Black Garnet Chamber- Present day—--

“-focus, Lonnie, let the power flow through you, then, take control of it .” Shadow Weaver had been training Lonnie for the better part of the day, and the girl showed a surprising aptitude for magic. Nowhere near her, Adora or even Micah’s potential, but enough, she would do for now. Lonnie’s eyes were closed, her brow furrowed as she concentrated, shadows spilling from her hand. They quickly formed the vague shape of a creature, a  raven it looked like, before losing shape and scattering. Lonnie huffed in annoyance, but Shadow Weaver remained calm. 

“You have done well for today Lonnie, go to your barracks and practice for the rest of the day.”

“Yes commander, but…”

“What, Force Captain?”

“I was supposed to meet up with my squad, to discuss plans and such” she blurted out.

Shadow Weaver sighed internally, the girl’s loyalty to her squad would be a problem, but it was one she could sort out, with time. “Force Captain, your magical training is far more important than planning, Force Captain Scorpia can handle things.”

“Yes… Commander.” Lonnie said before she saluted and walked away, Shadow Weaver could detect a hint of disappointment in her voice.

After the girl left, Shadow Weaver turned her attention to the black garnet. Her meeting with the Queen had been… unproductive, both threats and bargains hadn’t swayed her to turn over Adora. This was unusual, the girl was important to Shadow Weaver, but not to the rebellion, why were they so intent on keeping her? Unless… had they noticed the same thing Shadow Weaver had? Her magical potential? Shadow Weaver slammed her fist against the runestone, her anger rising. The rebellion, and their moon witch leader, would not steal Adora, or her power, not from Shadow Weaver. She took a deep breath and re-adjusted her mask which had slipped slightly in her anger. She looked at the runestone again, Hordak would never agree to a rescue mission, he didn’t see what Shadow Weaver saw, he didn’t understand . But maybe… Shadow Weaver had only ever managed to tap into the black garnet’s power, her own magic powers stunted after the ill-fated attempt to cast the spell of obtainment, but perhaps with another set of hands, she could meddle in the affairs of other runestones? Lonnie would have to be properly trained, of course, and completely loyal, she had learned her lesson after Mystacor, and Micah . And using the black garnet to tamper with the other runestones would be tricky, it would take time, but it could be done, Shadow Weaver was sure of it. Shadow Weaver smiled under her mask, she had promised the Queen her kingdom would burn after all, it was time to start building the fire.

Chapter Text

-----The Whispering Woods- Present day-----

Adora was in the woods. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten here, only that she’d woken up in the middle of the whispering woods. She stood up, dusting herself off, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her bed the night before after getting back from Mystacor. Adora looked around, it was still dark out. Good , Adora wanted to get back before anyone realized she was missing, even if people had started to trust her, if she was found in the woods in the middle of the night, it would look suspicious. 

Adora heard a creaking noise behind her and jumped, reaching for her quarterstaff… that was back in her room. Goddamnit. Apparently it wasn’t normal to sleep with weapons in Brightmoon, Glimmer had freaked out when she found out about the knife Adora kept under her pillow, and Bow had shrieked something about knife safety. Adora shook her head, trying to focus, getting caught up in memories wouldn’t do her any good, not right now, what she needed to do was find out where she was. Adora looked around trying to find any defining landmarks, or see if she could catch a glimpse of the castle through the trees, but had no such luck. Adora groaned, she was completely lost. Her Horde survival training had always said to stay in one spot and wait for rescue, but she had no idea if people knew where she was, or if anyone even knew she was missing. With no better option, Adora picked a random direction and started walking, making sure to break a branch or leave some other indicator every few feet to make sure she wasn’t walking in circles. 

Adora had come to appreciate almost everything about the small bits of magic in her new life, the light in Brightmoon Palace, Glimmer’s teleportation, Mystacor’s floating platforms, but the ever-shifting magic woods were something she did not appreciate. After somehow managing to pass the same rock five times (despite making sure she was walking away from it.) Adora groaned and slumped to the ground, wondering if she’d really be able to make it back before sunrise, or even if she could make it back at all.

Adora took a deep breath, she had to keep a cool head, she had to stay focused if she wanted to get out of here. She picked a direction, angrily snapped a small branch from a tree to mark her spot, and started walking… only to end up at the same rock. 

“Ugh! What do you want from me?!” Adora growled.

“Oh, Mara! There you are dearie!” Adora whirled around to see a short old woman with a wrinkled face standing behind her.

“Ah! Who are you?!” Adora exclaimed.

“Oh stop being silly dearie, you know Madam Razz, you visit all the time! Now come! It’s time to pick berries!” The old woman grabbed Adora’s hand and started dragging her away.

“Woah woah woah! First of all, I do not know you , second, it’s the middle of the night , why would we be picking berries?”

The woman stopped walking and turned to her “Because you promised we would make pie Mara!”

“Okay, I'm not- look, I think you have me mixed up with someone else, I'm not Mara.”

The old woman regarded her sadly. “No you’re not are you? You don’t even have the sword.” she then slapped her forehead. “Oh! I’m so silly you must be Adora! Well no matter, there are still berries to be picked!” 

“Wait, how do you know my- woah!” Adora exclaimed as the old woman continued to drag her along. For someone so small she had a strong grip

Okay, following a weird old lady who somehow knows my name through a bunch of creepy woods, this is fine. She thought as they both traveled deeper into the woods. Adora briefly considered the fact that this seemingly sweet old lady might be taking her somewhere to murder her, like in the old horde horror stories.  

The old lady continued her chatter as they walked, and Adora tried not to think about the old weeping princess story the Horde would tell. As they walked the scenery around them changed, from lush dense forest to something more… technological, words in a language that felt alien yet familiar were scattered across the ground, and a large building became visible through the trees. It looked like a castle of some sort, but it was nothing like Brightmoon. It was made out of some iridescent material with sharp almost geometrical edges. Adora could have sworn she’d seen the architecture somewhere before, but where? 

“Ah the Crystal Castle,” the old woman said, seemingly haven forgotten about berry picking. “You used to come here all the time Mara dearie, always working on some project or another.” she chuckled lightly, back to thinking she was Mara apparently. “You never could stay still.”

“Mara would… come here?” These ruins had to be hundreds of years old, just who was Mara?

“Yes yes, always bringing that sword with her too.”

That was the second time the old woman  had mentioned a sword as well, Adora’s confusion deepened. “What sword?”

The old woman promptly whacked her on the forehead with her walking stick. “The sword you haven’t found yet!” she turned towards the castle, an almost somber look on her face. “But you must find it Adora, something is coming, I can feel it , the planet is waking up.” She whirled back around again, her expression cheery. “But not now! It’s the middle of the night, you should get home.”

“ What sword? And what are you talking abou-” The woman had already started walking away, leaving Adora behind. 

“Hey, wait!” She called as the old woman vanished into the underbrush. Adora groaned in frustration, she had finally managed to find someone in these stupid woods… and she had lost her already. Seemingly crazy or no, it had been better than being alone. Adora took one last glance at the odd palace behind her, it looked so… familiar. She sighed, maybe Brightmoon’s library had some books about it, but she’d have to actually make her way back to Brightmoon to find out. She started walking in the direction the old woman had headed, hoping to maybe find her again, she did seem to know the woods well enough.

An hour of walking later, she didn’t find the old woman… but she did find Brightmoon. 

“Oh thank the gods, finally” Adora muttered as she made her way out of the woods, her measly three hours of sleep, and night spent wandering finally catching up to her. It was mid-morning and the sun had already risen. She stumbled towards the entrance to the palace sleepily, and noticed her friends, the queen, and a small group of guards standing outside.

Shit.

Adora panicked, what if they thought she had deserted? Or– her friends barreled into her, hugging her tightly. 

“Adora!” Bow exclaimed. “Where were you? We thought you had been kidnapped or something!”

“Seriously! You disappeared in the middle of the night, what happened?” Glimmer added. 

Her friends pulled away from her, and the queen stepped forward, her expression a mix of wariness, interest, and even slight concern. “Indeed, your room was empty this morning, and,” her gaze lingered on Adora’s clothes, slightly torn and covered in dirt and leaves. “You look like you’ve had a busy night.” 

“I- okay this is going to sound crazy, but I woke up in the woods, i’m- not sure how I got there, but then I met someone.” she paused, her friends looked concerned, but the queen looked curious. “She was an old woman, and I think she’s been living out there on her own for years, but she knew the woods, she helped me find my way out… I think-” she interrupted herself with a yawn and blinked. Her friends must have noticed how rough she looked because Glimmer took her hand. “If you’ve been out in the woods all night you must be exhausted, come on, you should head to bed and we’ll talk about what happened later.” She said, leading Adora into the palace. 

The queen nodded. “Yes, my apologies Adora, get some rest, but I would like to speak with you when you wake up.” She dismissed the guards and Adora turned to walk to her room.

“Crap,” she muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. “She’s suspicious of me again.” 

Both her friends exchanged looks. “Okay, don’t tell her I told you,” Glimmer started, “but she was a little worried about you this morning” Bow cut in. “I mean we all were obviously, but she was preparing a search party before you showed up, so I highly doubt she thought you ran back to the Horde or anything like that and-” He stopped when they stood in front of Adora’s bedroom, and opened the door. Adora flopped onto her bed, and her friends shut the door. Adora barely had time to pull a blanket over herself before she fell asleep.

Waking up a few hours later she felt immensely better, she took the time to change out of her clothes, and brush the leaves out of her hair, before stepping out into the hall. She realized the queen had forgotten to  specify where to meet, so she resigned herself to asking the guards around the palace where she could find the queen, until she found herself standing in front of an ornate door somewhere in the east wing of the palace. She knocked, hoping she had gotten the right room. 

“Come in.” Called a voice from inside. 

Adora opened the door, the room itself was covered in pastel pinks and purples with hints of blue, a large circular window was left open, its curtains pulled back, allowing breeze and sunlight to filter through. A large bed was in one corner of the room, next to it was an ornate desk, and a couple bookshelves tall enough to reach the ceiling. On the other side of the room was a large table, with several books, papers, and scrolls strewn across it. Sitting at the table was Queen Angella. She smiled when she saw Adora enter the room. 

“Ah! Adora, you’re up, please take a seat!” She said.

Adora sat, eyeing the stacks of papers. “You wanted to talk with me?”

“Yes, when you were in the woods last night, you spoke of an old woman who helped you find your way out, do you remember anything about her?”

“Uh, she was short, had… pink… hair I think? She walked with a broom, and she seemed to think I was someone called Mara.”

“I see, did she have a name?”

“I think she said her name was Madame Razz or something like that.”

The queen hummed curiously before speaking. “Adora, the whispering woods are ancient, thousands of years old, and as long as they have been around, there have been whispers of guardians, both creatures and people, who protect the woods, keeping out evil and guiding lost souls. I believe you met one of these guardians, and she guided you out.”

Adora thought back to the woman, she didn’t exactly seem the guardian type, but she knew how to navigate the woods so seamlessly… Maybe the queen’s theory had some merit.

“But I'm afraid that isn’t the main reason I wanted to speak with you today, though it is one of them.” She paused, looking Adora right in the eyes. “The night before you left for Mystacor, Shadow Weaver requested a meeting.”

Adora tensed up, had Lonnie told Shadow Weaver about her betrayal? She didn’t want to think her old friend would rat her out like that, but she could believe it.

“She doesn’t know you deserted, or that you are supplying the rebellion with information, she called to demand your return.”

Adora let out a relieved sigh. “I have no intention of turning you over, but I have to ask, why exactly did she take you in?”

“I’m not entirely sure, all she ever told me was that she found me as an orphan and saw potential in me, that we were ‘going to do great things together.’”

“I see, I believe it is no coincidence that Shadow Weaver just so happened to take you in, or that the guardian, Madame Razz you said, guided you out of the woods. Adora, I think that there is more to you than either of us realize.”

Chapter Text

—--Beast island- 9 years in the past—--

Catra’s tail flicked behind her lazily as she walked across the forest floor, normally she enjoyed leaping from tree to tree as opposed to walking, but today she had a good reason for walking, she had a spell to focus on. A small sigil floated above her palm. It had taken her weeks of constant practice to be able to keep the spell active reliably, but she had finally mastered it yesterday. It was a simple spell according to Micah, one designed to alert the caster to any creatures - human or otherwise-  within a small radius that wished to cause harm to the caster. Ever since the encounter with the pookahs both Catra and Micah had been jumpy whenever venturing out of the cave, with this spell they could both breathe a little easier. 

Today they were venturing a little closer towards the center of the island. They had both avoided it as long as they could, but they had explored every other nook and cranny on the outer edges of the island, they had to move further in. So far the trip had gone without incident, but they were still on edge. Catra could still remember the awful ringing in her ears, the way the vines slowly covered her, how hopeless she felt…

“Omelets,” Catra spoke before her thoughts continued any further. “Brightmoon’s omelets, you make them sound so good, I wanna try them.” it was something of a game the two of them had devised, if either person was feeling sad or scared or stressed, if the effects of the signal had started to take hold, all they had to do was talk about something happy, a food or activity they wanted to try or missed, a fond memory, a place, just something to break the signal’s hold, the other person then had to respond with something of their own. Catra’s where usually food related, she had grown up on frankly horrid rations bars so the idea of food that tasted good, and she didn’t have to catch herself was heavenly. She did occasionally talk about a sweet or funny memory she had growing up in the Frightzone, almost always about Adora. Micah often talked about his family, how excited he was for Catra to meet them, how much they’d like her, he did have his fair share of wistfulness over Brightmoon’s breakfast menu though. 

“Well the cooks at Brightmoon do make good omelets, we’ll have to get some when we get home.” always when, never if. “For me it’s cake, there’s this special kind of plum that only grew in the orchard’s of Alwyn, it makes a delicious plum cake.”

“Try again old man, cake isn’t real.” Catra’s insistence that cake wasn’t real was more so a running joke than an actual belief at this point, though Catra still wasn’t fully convinced, it sounded a little ridiculous. 

“Okay fine, Mystacor’s hot springs, they’re the perfect spot to relax and prepare for spellcasting.” 

Catra shuddered. “Giant pools of water, that you get in voluntarily? No thank you.” 

Micah laughed, Catra’s aversion to water contrasting his love for it. “Seriously I don’t get how anyone could love water so much, it’s weird.”

Micah just shrugged and the two walked in comfortable silence, Catra focusing on her spell and Micah keeping an eye out for anything that looked interesting. Some old first one’s tech whirred to life as they walked by, causing Catra to jump, the entire island was full of it, but the closer you got to the center the more active it seemed to get. Honestly it creeped Catra out, you never knew if a piece was truly dead or if it could come to life at any moment. Thankfully none of the old machines were functional enough to cause any damage, aside from the signal, which Catra could hear faintly ringing. They must have gotten closer to the center of the island without realizing it.

Micah must have heard the ringing too because a few seconds later he spoke up. “There was one afternoon before Glimmer was born, Angie had been in meetings all day and finally had a break, so we decided to go for a walk. It was mid-autumn and all the trees in the whispering woods had changed color, it was like the entire forest was dipped in gold.” 

He smiled slightly, and Catra tried to picture the scene, there were no trees in the Frightzone, hardly vegetation of any kind, and the trees on the island never changed color, still Catra thought she could picture it, and wondered if she’d get a chance to make any memories like that with Adora. Nothing major like crushing the Horde or running from a giant beast or pack of pookahs, or hiding from Shadow Weaver, just a quiet walk through the woods.

“Whenever we had free time, Adora and I would run down to the foundry to pick out pretty stones or melted ore from where they dumped the defective stuff. One time Adora found a blue piece of metal, it was probably just some piece of defective ore, it was shiny. When I said I liked it she said I could keep it, just like that. She was always doing things like that, giving her rations to the other kids, asking Shadow Weaver for things I wanted that she didn’t, because she knew Shadow Weaver would never get them if I was the one who asked. She was selfless, almost to a fault.”

Catra wondered what happened to that piece of blue metal, was it still tucked under her mattress where Shadow Weaver couldn’t find it? Or had someone moved it, tossed it out like trash. Maybe Adora kept it, Catra hoped she did.

Catra looked around, her spell hadn’t alerted her to any creatures, they had chosen this route because of the significant lack of pookah sightings. Based on the tracks they had found Catra guessed that this area was home to a much larger beast which must have driven all other creatures away, they hadn’t seen anything like a nest or den so Catra hoped they had managed to steer clear of it.

They came across another set of large tracks, and Catra knelt down to look at them. “I wonder what the beast that made these looks like.” She said.

Micah shuddered. “Hopefully we don’t have to find out, come on, let’s keep moving.”

Catra nodded in agreement, they’d had a couple run-ins with some of the larger beasts over the years and each time it had been terrifying. One had been a giant worm-like creature that had looked cute enough- until its face peeled back to reveal another , much more toothy face underneath, that had promptly tried to eat her. Catra still had nightmares sometimes. 

Catra heard a small chirp and felt something wriggle inside one of her pouches, she grinned. “Well look who’s finally decided to wake up!” she said as a small lizard poked its head out of the pouch on her belt. It chirped indignantly as if it could understand her, Catra held out her hand letting the small creature clamber up her arm and settle on her shoulder where it surveyed the area. Catra reached into her secondary pouch and pulled out a small cricket, feeding it to the lizard, much to Micah’s disgust. 

She grinned at him cheekily before turning her attention to their surroundings, the small clumps of tech had grown larger, the forest canopy had grown thicker as well, blocking out most of the sunlight, Catra could see perfectly fine thanks to her cat-like vision, but Micah had to cast a light spell to be able to see. They continued walking, now in silence, the atmosphere casting a thick blanket of unease over the both of them. Catra could hear the signal clearer now, but she did her best to push it away. 

Catra tried to count the things they’d managed to scavenge thus far, some cloth, a few non-deadly plants, some old wire and vines that could be twisted into rope, they’d even managed to find a possible campsite a few miles back, it had been a successful trip, they could turn back now, right? 

Catra was about to propose the idea to Micah when they approached a clearing, in the center was a mound of rotted wood, rusted metal, and old tech. It almost looked like a building. Micah motioned to her and the pair headed inside, Catra slipping Snack back into his pouch. The building was falling apart, and Catra had to jump to the side to avoid being hit by a piece of falling metal. It was bigger inside than it looked, with several rooms filled with heaps of scrap and foliage, what they were initially intended to house Catra couldn’t tell.

“What was this place?” Catra breathed as they slowly moved from room to room. They didn’t find anything of note until they entered the last room, it was a large wide open room, and though most of the detailing had rusted or rotted away, Catra could make out a large mural carved into the walls. It depicted a tall woman holding a longsword raised to the sky, surrounding her where several oval-shaped stones, each a different color.

“Woah.” Catra breathed as she stared at the mural.

Micah stepped closer to inspect the wall. “These stones… they almost look like-”

Catra didn’t hear the rest of what he said as a loud roar cut him off, she turned to the entrance of the building to see a large bug-like creature blocking it. The creature roared again and charged at them, Catra just barely managing to duck to the side as it crashed into the wall, cracking the mural, chunks of wood falling from the ceiling due to the impact. Catra yelped and bolted for the exit, dodging the now falling apart building and the very angry giant bug. Micah shot a spell at a large chunk of falling rubble, shattering it into pieces. The bug charged again as the pair scrambled towards the exit, barely making it out as the building collapsed, crushing the bug. 

Catra stood, panting. “I think… I need to practice… that warning spell more…” She said between gasps.

She tried to regain her breath as Micah inspected the half-crushed bug. It had a thick blue carapace, but the rubble had enough force to shatter it completely. Catra shuddered as she realized how close they’d been to being trapped in the rubble. It was a shame really, the building had been too unstable to be truly safe, but it was a building , maybe they could’ve fixed it up. And that mural , it was odd, but it almost felt familiar. 

She turned her attention to Micah, who was poking the bug with his makeshift staff. She laughed internally and rolled her eyes at the sight, until she heard him mutter. “I wonder if we can eat this?”

Chapter Text

—--The Whispering Woods- present day—--

Adora stretched as she walked through the woods, early morning light filtering through the leaves. She took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders, it was her first mission after the trip to Mystacor, and it felt good to have a task again. Beside her Bow fiddled with his trackerpad, Glimmer had teleported ahead to check for any dangers. 

“So Bow, what’s going on with this village again?” Adora asked.

Bow didn’t look up from his trackerpad as he responded. “Alwyn is basically a huge orchard built on some old first ones ruins, and one of the main suppliers for Brightmoon, we lost contact just a few days ago, it’s like everyone just vanished.”

“You don’t think it could be the Horde do you?”

“I doubt it, the Horde hasn’t been spotted anywhere near here, they’ve almost pulled back since the battle at Plumeria.”

Adora was relieved, interacting with the Horde meant possibly interacting with Lonnie, or worse, Shadow Weaver, but they’d been surprisingly quiet the past couple weeks, and with Adora’s intel the rebellion had reportedly been able to drive the Horde out of more than a couple locations. 

She’d been on edge ever since her meeting with the queen, knowing that Shadow Weaver was trying to get her back- even if she thought Adora a prisoner, made her jumpy. But that wasn’t the only reason, it was no coincidence that she had been sent on this mission. The queen thought there was something more to her, and the woods might hold the answer. After that night in the woods she’d been having dreams. She’d always be wandering through the woods, looking for something, but would never be able to find it. Whenever it seemed like she was getting close she’d hear a voice call her name before waking up. Adora rarely dreamed, or she didn’t remember if she did, and never the same dream twice, so this was unusual. She was sure it had to be related to whatever was going on with her.

She hadn’t told Glimmer and Bow anything yet, and she felt a little guilty about it. She hadn’t been ordered to keep it a secret or anything, but she didn’t want to tell them considering, well, she didn’t really know much yet. Only a couple hunches with little to back them up, it was likely something magical, something both Shadow Weaver and the woods had been able to pick up on. Razz, the weird old lady/ magical woods guardian, had mentioned a sword. Adora was convinced it was connected somehow. 

“Watch’a thinking about?” Adora yelped as Glimmer teleported right beside her in a flash of sparkles. 

“Nothing! Just, it’s nice to be back out in the field!” Adora stammered, trying to recover from her near heart-attack.

“Right? I’m so happy my mom gave us this mission, she never used to let me do anything before you joined us!”

“Really?” 

“Yep! The one time she put me in the field she stationed me at Elberon, it was way too remote to ever get attacked, and when it did, she got mad at me for defending it!”

“Glimmer’s forgetting to mention that she ignored a retreat order, rushed in by herself, and barely made it out.” Bow interjecting from where he was still messing with his trackerpad. 

“What’s the point of even having an army if we retreat all the time!” 

“I’m just saying your mom has a point, you can be really reckless.”

The two continued the- mostly lighthearted, bickering as they walked. Adora was torn, being raised as a soldier following orders had been ingrained in her since early childhood, but she did agree with Glimmer somewhat. The rebellion had been rather passive for years, only defending and only recently going on the offensive side. 

By the time they reached Alwyn it was late-morning, the village consisted of several large orchards with fruits ranging from plums to apples and oranges, and a smattering of houses surrounding one communal building and an outdoor kitchen. She picked up a few of the fallen apples and shoved them in her pocket, she’d started visiting the stables recently at Glimmer and Bow’s suggestion, and she’d immediately fallen in love with the horses there. There was one horse in particular she was fond of, the same one she’d run into all the way back in Thaymor. She’d nicknamed him Horsie, much to the stable hand's amusement.  

“According to our communications officer, we lost contact with Alwyn about three days ago, we’d been in regular contact for a while so it’s unusual, keep an eye out everyone.” Bow said, finally putting his trackerpad down. “I’ve been getting some weird signals, and something keeps messing with my trackerpad, so that might explain the loss of contact.”

“Whatever is happening, it caused the villagers to leave, this place is completely abandoned.” Glimmer reported. “Are you sure the Horde isn’t involved?”

“The place doesn’t look ransacked or destroyed, just… empty.” Adora felt uneasy, her mind flitting back to the old horror stories the Horde would tell. Even in the daylight the abandoned town felt like just the place a ghostly princess or axe murderer might be hiding. She moved towards one of the houses, trying to not let her nerves get the better of her, when a ghostly figure just- appeared- right in front of her. She yelped and jumped back, reaching for her quarterstaff before the figure disappeared just as suddenly. 

“I- I saw something!” She exclaimed when her friends rushed to her side. “It was only there for a second and it was gone, it almost looked… human.”

“Human? What do you mean it looked human?”

“I don’t know, it was almost like a ghost or something.”

“A ghost? Really?” Glimmer said skeptically.

“Okay I know it sounds stupid but I definitely saw something ”

“Well maybe all the villagers saw the ghost too, and it spooked them off.” Glimmer said, snickering slightly.

“Can you at least try to-” Adora screamed and Glimmer practically jumped into her arms as another ghostly figure apparated in front of them. Bow shot an arrow at the creature, only for it to phase through it and hit a tree with a thunk . Adora braced herself for whatever wrath they might have incurred shooting at a paranormal creature, but it didn’t move. It didn’t screech or attack them, the only noise was a quiet “please don’t kill me” coming from Glimmer. It just stood there, waving, almost as if it was on loop. Adora slowly approached it, but it didn’t react. 

“It’s almost like it’s a-” 

“Hologram.” Adora said, realization dawning on her. “Hey Bow, you said this place was built on some old first ones ruins, right?”

Adora stuck her hand out, going right through the hologram’s head, and laughed. “These aren’t ghosts, these are old holograms!” 

Another figure appeared, a small child dancing on a loop, Adora studied it. “The Horde had similar holograms, mainly for training, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before!”

Adora walked through the village, her friends behind her, marveling at the holograms. “Some old tech must have gotten activated somehow, that means these are all…” She stopped in front of three holograms, two adults and a child, all waving, as if saying goodbye. “Messages, to their families, friends, people they loved.”

“Well it looks like they were never received.” Bow said. “I wonder what happened.” 

They stopped in front of a small ruin, its lights still flickering slightly. “This must be what’s sending the message, I might be able to shut it down but…” he trailed off as Adora approached the ruin, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing but she pressed her hand against the rusted metal. More lights sparked to life, two words, ‘ end transmission’ . Below them there was what looked like a button. Adora pressed it, and slowly, the holograms faded away. 

“Woah! how did you do that?” Glimmer asked.

“Well when I touched the ruin I saw an option to end the transmission, so I did.”

“Wait, wait can you read that?!” 

“Yeah… can’t you?”

“No! The only people who can are scholars and historians, and even then the translations aren’t always accurate.”

“The First One’s language died out when they disappeared, I don’t think there’s been a native speaker since.” Bow added. “I don’t think you’re lying, but I’ve never heard of someone just being able to read it like that.”

Adora looked at her friends before sighing. “Something’s been going on with me, it all started the night I went missing in the woods, I found a First One’s ruin, much larger than this one, and it felt… almost familiar. After that I've been having strange dreams, and I think they're connected to this -” she gestured to the now deactivated ruin behind her. “And I just don’t know what's going on!” she paused. “I didn’t mean to keep this from you but I just wasn’t sure what to say.”

She surveyed her friends' expressions, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Her old squadmates, Lonnie, would be mad she kept this from them, but Bow and Glimmer looked concerned, sympathetic. “We’re not mad you kept this from us, you’ve been going through a lot even without whatever this is” Bow said, gesturing vaguely towards Adora. “But you do know you can count on us to have your back right? No matter what?”

Adora breathed a sigh of relief, she hadn’t realized how tense she’d been keeping everything to herself. “Yeah, thanks guys.”

Bow smiled and Glimmer put her arm around Adora’s shoulder. “We’ll figure this out, together.”

—--Brightmoon Palace- Present Day—--

The Queen sat down at her desk, the results from the expedition to Alwyn troubled her. Not because of the state of the outpost itself- everything was in working order and the villagers could move back in within the week- but the news from Adora. She was almost certain now whatever was happening with the girl was related to the First One’s, and she’d studied enough history to know, despite the myths, that wasn’t always a good thing.

—--The Black Garnet Chamber- Present Day—--

The Sorceress glanced across the room at her apprentice. She’d come a long way in only a short amount of time, really Shadow Weaver should have recognized her potential sooner. Her aptitude for lightning magic was somewhat disappointing, but she made up for it with a proficiency in shadow magic and illusions. The girl was becoming stronger by the day, Shadow Weaver smiled behind her mask. Good , the girl would need to be strong for Shadow Weaver’s plans. The girl huffed in frustration as she lost focus and her spell flickered out. 

“Patience, Lonnie, your spell has lasted much longer today, you are improving.”

Chapter Text

—--Dryl Palace- Present Day—--

An inventor’s job is a fascinating one, creating new weapons and tools! Bringing your ideas to life! Or in Entrapta’s case, walking in circles talking to yourself. Well technically she wasn’t talking to herself , not her present one anyways, she was talking to the future! (and herself) the recent excavation projects had proved a massive success, her latest find, a small disk, sat on the center table of her room, she approached it excitedly and turned her recorder on.

“Now then, let’s see what’s inside you!”

—-------------------------------------------------

It hadn’t taken long after their return from Alwyn for Adora and her friends to be sent out on their next mission. Following the events of Alwyn a few more ruins had shown signs of activity, nothing dangerous but enough to put the villages situated in the Whispering Woods on edge. Bow had been the one to suggest recruiting a new princess to the alliance, princess Entrapta. The Queen had agreed, stating her expertise in both technology and the First One’s would likely help figure out what was going on with the woods, and even though she didn’t say anything, Adora knew they were both hoping Entrapta had some answers for her. 

Which was why the trio was headed towards one of the most ominous castles Adora had ever seen. Situated on a large cliffside, Dryl was almost as large as Brightmoon, and much taller. Its highest spire reaching into the clouds. Beside her Bow was chattering excitedly about the local princess to a tired, but interested Glimmer.

“Princess Entrapta is a genius inventor, I've been a huge fan of her work for years! She actually inspired my latest batch of arrows!” he grabbed his quiver and held it in front of him, pulling some of the arrows out. “This one’s a net arrow, this one explodes, and this one’s… well this one’s just pointy.” He reached into his quiver again, pulling out a singular arrow. “And this one is my sonic arrow! ” he held the arrow above his head proudly while Glimmer burst into laughter.  

“Sonic arrow? Is it in case we have to get up really early?” she said between giggles.

“Or if we like, get separated in a crowd?” Adora added on.

“ Separated in a crowd .” Bow grumbled from behind them. “I bet Entrapta would like my arrows.” 

They continued towards the looming castle ahead of them when Adora noticed something was wrong. The castle’s highest spire was lit up, almost like some kind of- 

“The castle distress beacon! Something must be wrong!” Bow exclaimed.

Adora felt herself tense up. “Could it be the Horde?” she asked.

“Doubtful, they’ve never been interested in Dryl before, and I don’t see why they would now, maybe it’s related to what’s happening in the woods?” Glimmer asked.

Adora relaxed, she knew she couldn’t avoid facing the Horde forever, not if she wanted to help the rebellion, but she didn’t have to face them today.

“Princess Entrapta does a lot of work with First One’s tech, so I wouldn’t be surprised, let’s be cautious going into this.” Bow replied.

 The trio moved forward as clouds gathered overhead, setting the mood. Adora felt the first few raindrops, signifying a potential downpour, hit her skin as lightning struck the castle. The main courtyard was completely empty, which immediately made Adora uneasy, but she couldn’t see any obvious problems. 

“This is weird,” Bow said. “I’ve heard Entrapta was a bit of a loner, but surely she must have some staff around, right?”

Just then a screech reverberated around the courtyard, it sounded like metal scraping against stone. The noise was awful and Adora covered her hands with her ears until it was gone. When it finally subsided the group looked around, trying to find the source of it, Bow had an arrow notched and Glimmer had her fists raised, glowing with magic. A few seconds passed and nothing appeared, Adora was about to let out a relieved sigh when a small creature popped up from under a tunnel cover, and Adora almost hit it with her quarterstaff.

“They're coming! Get out of the square!” It hissed before popping back below ground.

“Wait! Who's coming?” Adora called, but she was too late, the creature was gone. 

“Uh, guys?” Glimmer called, pointing to an entrance to the palace. “I think there’s something over there.”

A lone figure shuffled its way out of the shadows towards the group, Adora felt relieved that they weren't alone, until she saw the creature. It was a tall, lanky robot, it looked like it might have been in good shape at one point, but now its limbs were held together by loose wires, one of its legs was almost completely gone, causing it to limp. Glimmer leaped forward with a cry, but her magic bounced harmlessly off the metal, the robot slowly turned to her, but before it could move again, Bow shot it and it collapsed to the ground, dead. He cautiously approached it, and knelt down to inspect it.

“This looks like Entrapta’s work… but why would it attack us?” he said curiously.

Another loud screech echoed through the palace and Adora winced.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it was alone, come on!” She called, grabbing her friend’s hands and setting off through the palace. They raced through the halls with the robots not far behind, each screech sending a chill down Adora’s spine, like something was deathly wrong. She’d managed to catch a glimpse of a few of the robots chasing them and they all looked damaged, once pristine metal dented and scratched like someone had tried to fight them off, it didn’t bode well for the princess and other inhabitants of the castle. They eventually lost their pursuers, and everyone took a second to catch their breath. The castle was a maze-like structure consisting of near-identical hallways, and it didn’t take the group wrong to realize they were lost.

“Uh, does anyone know where we are?” Adora asked after she regained her breath.

“No,” Glimmer said between gasps. “Because everything in this castle looks the same!”

“Glimmer, do you think you could teleport us out?” Bow asked.

“I would, if I knew where out is” 

“Okay, let’s stay calm and try to figure out where we are. Bow you know the most about Princess Entrapta, can you tell us anything about the Castle?”

“Well the castle was supposedly designed to be a maze,” he gestured to the hall they were in. “but we already knew that, and I miiiight have heard something about her castle being filled with traps to stop intruders.”

“Bow!” 

“ Sorry , I meant to tell you guys earlier but I got sidetracked by the murderous robots chasing us!”

“Can we please just focus on finding a way out of here?” Adora let out a sigh and chose a hallway at random, pointing at it. “We can’t go back the way we came, so let’s just keep going this direction, and hope we find someone, or an exit.”

They continued walking, the plain magenta-and-purple walls becoming almost maddening. The only person who seemed to be in good spirits was Bow, who was excitedly pointing out things about the castle Adora hadn’t even noticed, like the multitude of traps she’d nearly walked into. Shaking off her latest near-death experience she felt a flash of frustration at herself. She was supposed to be better at this than that, more observant, more capable . She’d been off her game ever since Alwyn, and she couldn’t keep letting it affect her. Even with her friend’s support she’d been snappy and just tired , all she wanted was answers. 

“Hey, you okay Adora?” Bow asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine .” She snapped. “I just want to find the princess and get out of here.” 

Seeing the look on Bow’s face she immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry, it’s just… this mission was supposed to be simple, talk to the princess and get answers, about the woods, and about me. But instead we have to deal with killer robots and,” she gestured to the now disarmed spike trap. “ This .”

“Oh please, when has a mission ever been simple for us?” 

Adora looked over to see Glimmer standing next to Bow, hands on her hips. “And when have we ever let something as silly as killer robots get in our way?”

Adora laugh-snorted despite herself.. 

“We’re gonna find Princess Entrapta, no matter what.” Glimmer declared, and Adora gave her a weak smile. “Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it, now come on! Let’s get moving.” She grabbed Adora’s hand, pulling her forward– and then the ground fell out from underneath them. Adora shrieked as they plummeted downwards, they were in what looked like some kind of tube, and Adora definitely got some bruises from hitting the metal walls before they both landed in some sort of cage.

“ Seriously??? There was another trap?” Adora shouted in frustration, banging her fist against the cage.

“Hang on, I'll see if I can teleport us out.” Glimmer said. She grabbed Adora’s hand and the two disappeared in a cloud of sparkles. They reappeared in a cramped hall barely large enough to house the both of them, even hunched over.

“Uh, is this out?”

Glimmer groaned in frustration, and the pair disappeared again. Adora barely had time to blink before she found herself balancing on a ledge outside the castle, wind hitting her face. She let out a shriek only to realize she was back inside, in time in a blessedly normal-sized hallway.

“Hey Glimmer…”

“Yeah?”

“How about no more teleporting for now…”

“Good idea.”

Adora stood up, trying to calm her pounding heart, and looked around. The hall looked almost identical to the one she’d been standing in earlier, with the exception of a large ceiling vent. Actually when she looked closer at the vent she could almost see movement, like someone, or some thing was behind it. She grabbed her quarterstaff, pointing it at the vent, Glimer backed her up, fists already glowing with magic.

“Who’s there? Come out!” She demanded.

The vent unscrewed slowly and a short girl stepped out. She had long purple hair that acted like artificial limbs, oil-splattered clothing, and a face mask composed entirely of grey metal except for two bright magenta eye-holes.

“Princesses! I’m saved!”

—-------------------------------------------------

Bow shrieked as he watched his friends get quite literally swallowed by the ground . He lunged forward, trying to grab Glimmer’s arm but couldn’t reach her before she fell. The second they were out of sight the ground closed up behind them, like they’d never been there in the first place. A screech echoed through the halls, signaling the approach of more robots. Bow hesitated, glancing one last time at the ground his friends had been standing on before another metallic screech forced him to run.

—-------------------------------------------------

“Princess Entrapta?” Glimmer’s voice cut through the tension as Adora stood in front of the princess, Glimmer rushed forward. “I’m Princess Glimmer of Brightmoon, are you-”

“Oh my gosh I thought no one was ever going to come for me, I thought I was going to be stuck in the vents forever!”

“Uh, well, about that-”

“What’s up with the killer robots?” Adora interjected, lowering her quarterstaff.

“Well they didn’t start out that way, they were actually normal service bots, but I was experimenting with a First One’s disc found in a mine near here and it must have reacted with the First One’s tech I use to power my bots and turned everything alllll murder-y.” Her voice never seemed to lose its cheerful, energetic tone even as she was talking about the death robots she accidentally created. “Anyways you said you were from Brightmoon, right? What are you doing here, I haven’t heard from you guys in ages! Not since I accidentally blew up the gardens.”

“We came here to invite you to join the- wait you what? Actually nevermind it doesn’t matter, we’re here to invite you to the princess alliance.”

“Didn’t that… fail? Years ago?”

“Yes but we’re rebuil-” 

“Anyways I can’t agree to anything yet, I have an experiment to finish!”

“Expirme- wait the robots?”  

“Yep!”

“The ones trying to kill us?”

“Yes! Aside from the whole murder thing, they’re some of my best work! I mean they do almost everything for me, cleaning, filing, basic hygiene… oh! And they’re sound activated, here I'll show you!” 

She started clapping her hands, and Adore lunged forward to grab them. “Could you maybe not?”

She was too late as a loud rumble came from a nearby hall, metal scraped against the walls, leaving deep gouges as a large robot shambled towards them. 

“Run!” Adora shouted, grabbing Entrapta and bolting, Glimmer right beside her. 

The creature towered over them, it looked like it had once been a cleaning bot before the disc infected it, large brushes on its front and side. Its metal “head” moved up and down, almost like it was trying to talk, emitting a loud scraping sound.

Entrapta let out a high pitched cackle, and switched on a recorder. “Incredible! Bot four-one-six is attempting to communicate!”

Glimmer snatched the recorder, turning it off. “Right now, I think that’s a bad thing.”

She turned her head back to see that Adora had fallen a few paces behind, clutching her head. “Adora? Are you okay?”

Adora could barely hear her friend over the robot’s screeching, the noise causing enough pain to blur her vision. “Make it stop!” she groaned.

The robot had caught itself on a support beam, giving them a few seconds to pause, but its metal screeching continued, only growing louder.

“Make what stop? Adora, what's going on?!”

“The noise! Make it stop!”

Entrapta stepped forward, inspecting Adora. “Fasciiinating! You seem to be reacting to the disk just like my bots!”

Glimmer shot a glare at Entrapta, reaching out to grab Adora’s hand. “That thing’s only going to call more bots! We have to get out of here!” She dragged Adora forward, and thankfully as they got further away from the robot, the screeching got quieter, before fading altogether. When the group finally stopped to rest, Adora slumped to the ground, heart still pounding. 

“What… the hell… was that.” She gasped.

Entrapta, seemingly having endless energy, immediately jumped up and started pacing, and rambling at a breakneck pace, using her hair almost as an extension of her legs.

“Wow! I’ve never seen someone react like that to First One’s tech before! It’salmostasifyourbodyhadaphysicalreactiontothesoundthe…” Adora tuned out her rambling, trying to calm herself down, the shrieking of the robot still ringing faintly in her ears. Until Entrapta stood over her eagerly, recorder in hand, her face inches from Adora’s. “So what did it feel like?”

“Woah woah woah! Give her some space!” Glimmer interjected, pushing Entrapta away and sitting down next to Adora. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine, just another thing that’s weird about me.” She stood up, dusting herself off. “I just want to get done with this and go home already.” she turned to entrapta, still talking into her recorder. “How do we shut the robots down?”

“Shut them down? But the experiment isn’t complete yet!”

“These robots have been chasing us around trying to kill us for the better part of a day, I think it's safe to say this experiment is a failure! ”

Entrapta sighed heavily. “The disc is in my lab, if we destroy it then hopefully the robots will go back to normal.”

Adora looked to Glimmer, who shot her a sympathetic glance. “Well at least we know where to go now, let’s just hope Bow’s having a better time than us, wherever he is.”

Chapter Text

—--Dryl- Present Day—--

Bow stopped, leaning against the wall to catch his breath for just a second before taking off running again. The bots were proving harder to lose than last time, and he was getting tired. He turned to look behind him, the bot were still out of view, but he could hear them. Ducking into a small hallway that veered off from the main hall, he breathed a sigh of relief hearing the robots run past him. He continued down the hall before coming to a metal door…that he could hear rustling behind.

“Uh, hello?” he called quietly. No sound followed his reply, but the door slowly creaked open, and a pair of hands grabbed him, pulling him inside. The room was a well-lit kitchen, stocked with baking supplies, and three frightened looking chefs, an elven man and two humans. They all peered at him as he looked around.

“You’re not a robot.” The elven man said wondrously. 

“Uh, no, my name’s Bow, what’s going on here?”

“We don’t know.” The shorter human replied. “We’re just the kitchen staff.”

“Well, do you guys have names?”

“I’m Barley.” The elven man replied. “And this is Agate,” the taller girl waved, grinning broadly. “And Brenda.” The shorter girl gave Bow a timid smile before ducking behind Agate.

“Everything went crazy just a couple days ago, the bots were acting normal, then all of a sudden they started rampaging through the castle, attacking anyone they saw.” Barley continued. “We’ve been stuck in here since it all started, but what about you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before, and there aren’t many people at Dryl.”

“I’m actually from Brightmoon, I came here with my friends to speak with Princess Entrapta.” Bow sighed, “But I got separated from them a while back.” He looked at Barley with sudden eagerness. “But you guys know the castle right? You could help me find them!”

The bakers all hesitated. “You mean go out there? With the bots?! ” Barley exclaimed, before quickly quieting himself. “We’re not fighters, not like you.” Brenda said, gesturing towards Bow’s gear. 

“You guys don’t have to be, if we get into trouble I'll handle the fighting, besides, this might be your chance to get out of here!”

The bakers exchanged glances. “Okay,” Agate said. “As long as we’re careful.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Adora’s legs were growing more tired every step she took. Dragging her feet across the floor as they followed Entrapta through a series of tunnels and hallways that seemed to stretch on forever. She glanced at Glimmer who’s sagged posture implied that she was feeling the same as Adora. She took another step and nearly bumped into Entrapta who had stopped, standing proudly in front of a large door.

“We’re here!” she declared. “I mean- of course we’re here, we were never lost!”

She hummed as she entered a code onto a keypad next to the door, before receiving a strong electric shock. “Wowwww! The door is infected too, it won’t let us in! That is so smart! …and awful, we’re all gonna die.”

Adora let out a frustrated groan. “So we came all this was for nothing?!”

“Let’s not give up just yet, I'll just teleport into the lab, and see if I can open it from the inside.” Glimmer disappeared in a shower of sparkles, which Entrapta eagerly began to study. A concerning shout and thumping could be heard from behind the door, before Glimmer reappeared. “That was not a good idea,” she said, sitting down and hugging her knees close to her chest. “The lab is very full of robots, I couldn’t get anywhere near the disc.”

“Well,”  came a familiar voice from the end of the hallway. “Maybe we can help?”

—-------------------------------------------------

“... so your friends are the princess of Brightmoon, and a soldier ?” Barley asked, incredulously. “Remind me why we’re the ones trying to save them , again?”

“Because they’re not invincible, and I'm worried about them.” Bow replied, not looking up from his trackerpad. He’d managed to catch a signal from Glimmer teleporting earlier, but he hadn’t seen anything since and he was getting nervous. 

“ Hey ” Came a quiet whisper from Brenda. “There’s a robot over there.” she motioned to the end of the hall, where a partially destroyed bot was shambling aimlessly.

“Okay, everyone back away slowly and it won’t…see us…” Bow whispered as the robot turned its head to look at him, two more bots joining it from the shadows. Bow was quick to draw an arrow and shoot it at the first bot, pinning it to the wall and destroying it, he took down the second one too before the third managed to get close enough to grab him, shoving him against the wall. Its metallic finger dug into his skin as he tried to break free. Barley and Agate squeaked in terror, but Brenda surprised him, she rushed the bot, shoulder checking it and knocking it to the ground. Bow stood there for a second, stunned, before pulling everyone into a side hall.

“I can’t believe I just did that!” Brenda squealed before being shushed. “I’ve never done anything like that before!”

“I can’t believe we’re actually out here!” Barley whispered. “We were almost caught , and that was just three bots!”

“But we weren’t caught!” Bow argued. “And my friends are still out there!”

“This is crazy! We should turn back, now!”

“I agree with Bow.” Brenda cut in. 

“Why, Brenda? We’re not fighters.”

“But I still helped, and you could too. Besides, we can’t just sit in the kitchens until someone comes for us.”

“Oh yes we can!”

“ You can, I can’t.” Brenda huffed, nearly forgetting to whisper. “I’m going with Bow, you guys can turn back if you want.”

“You guys might not be fighters, but I need your help to find my friends.” Bow cut in, putting a hand on Brenda’s shoulder.

“But you’re a master archer, and one of your friends is a princess, we’re just the kitchen staff, how could we possibly help?”

“You think I started out a master archer?” Bow’s voice turned determined. “I was just an ordinary civilian just like you, but I worked hard to become an archer, because I wanted to help people, and you can too!”

Agate smiled at him, a spark in her eyes. “I’m in.”

Bow turned to Barley. “Fine, I'm in too.”

Bow smiled at him. “Then let’s go find my friends.”

—-------------------------------------------------

“Bow!” Glimmer leapt forward to hug him, and Adora grinned at him. “You’re okay!” She exclaimed.

“And who are your friends?” Adora added, noticing the three people with him.

Bow hugged Glimmer back, before stepping towards Adora. “This is Barley, Agate and Brenda, they’re here to help.”

“Oh hey! It’s you three!” Entrapta said, waving at the group. The baker bowed. “Glad to see you’re all right princess.” Brenda said.

Bow turned to Entrapta, she held out a strand of hair as if to replace her hand, and he kissed it. “Pleasure to meet you Princess Entrapta, I’m a big fan of your work– well maybe not this work exactly.” he said, gesturing to the infected door they were standing in front of. “But your other work.

“H-hi” She replied, clearly flustered.

“So what’s the plan?” Barley asked, stepping forward.

“Well, to stop the robots we need to destroy a disk, but it’s stuck in my lab, which is guarded by robots.” 

“ So many robots .” Glimmer groaned, and Adora shot her a pitying glance. “We need to get in there first, but the door is stuck, and the only other options are teleportation or the vents, and I don’t have enough magic left to teleport us all, not unless someone wants to leave their legs behind.”

“So vents it is.” Bow said, shooting a worried glance at Entrapta, who already had a scalpel ready.

“Well If I remember correctly- and I do, I designed the vent system myself after all, there should be an opening that will drop us right next to the disc.” Entrapta explained, readying a screwdriver. 

“Wait, can we even fit in those things?” Adora glanced up at the vent opening worriedly, even if they could it didn’t look very stable.

“Oh don’t worry! The vents were designed to fully support humans!”

“Why?....”

“For travel of course!” Entrapta’s voice came from above Adora as she’d positioned her hair to act like a rope, suspending her from the ceiling while she worked on opening the vent. “I used these babies to hide from the robots! Only reason I was able to stay hidden for as long as I was!”

The vent cover dropped to the floor with a loud clatter. Adora winced, looking around for robots, but thankfully none appeared. Entrapta clambered into the vent, motioning everyone to follow her. Bow climbed up, offering his hand out to one of the chefs. Adora moved to follow him but Glimmer put her hand on Adora’s shoulder. 

“Hey, you had such a bad reaction to the bot earlier…and it’s only going to be worse with the disk right there … why don’t you sit this one out?”

Adora brushed Glimmer’s hand off. “ Sit it out? I can’t just leave you guys to deal with this all on your own!”

“We’ll be fine! I've got my powers, Bow has his…bow, and Entrapta has…hair?” 

“That’s not the point! I came here looking for answers and all I have is more questions, and now thanks to whatever is going on with me, I can’t help with the bots!” she slumped to the ground. “I just want to know what’s going on with me.” she said quietly. Bringing her knees up to her chin and hugging them.

“We’ll get-”

“ Don’t , just don’t.”

Glimmer looked at her sadly, before climbing into the vent and disappearing. Adora sighed, she’d have to apologize later, but she was just tired . Tired of not getting answers, tired of not knowing what was going on with her, and now she was tired of being useless. If the disc affected her this badly, what else could happen? And if it kept her out of the fight, what good was she? She groaned, listening to the sounds of fighting in the other room, she could still hear the godawful screeching, but it was fainter now, muffled by the metal walls of the lab. She could hear shouts, metal scraping against metal… and was that an explosion?! Adora jumped to her feet as the doors to the lab opened. Entrapta was standing in the doorway with Bow and Glimmer, who both looked mildly singed and exhausted.

“Did it work?” she asked anxiously.

“Yep! The disc is gone!” Glimmer shouted victoriously, kicking a downed robot. “We mayyyy have… completely destroyed the lab by accident though…”

“Was that the explosion I heard?”

“...maybe. But it’s fine! I’m sure my mom will be willing to let Entrapta stay in Brightmoon until it’s fixed, especially since she’s willing to join the princess alliance!”

“Really?”

Entrapta smiled at them from where she was inspecting a charred robot corpse. “Well you three did save my life, and I managed to collect a whole lot of data from the disc, even after it was destroyed, so I’d be honored to join your princess alliance” She said shyly, her hand fiddling with her hair.

Adora heaved a sigh of relief, smiling at her friends. “Let’s go home.”

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Adora flopped onto her bed and sighed, the pastel walls of her room in Brightmoon were comforting after the previous day’s chaos. True to their word, Glimmer Adora and Bow had helped Entrapta get a temporary lab set up in the castle, much to the guards, and the Queen’s annoyance. Adora was pretty sure she saw the gardeners eyeing Entrapta warily, so that boded well. It hadn’t taken long for the tech princess to start investigating both Adora and the woods, Adora had also pulled her aside and asked for her to look into transport to Beast Island, Entrapta said she would try. That had been almost a day ago. Adora heard a knock on the door, and Entrapta poked her head inside excitedly.

“What is it?”

“Well, I've been looking into the strange occurrences in the woods, combined with your strange reaction to disc and…” she trailed off, practically jumping up and down with excitement. “Due to the evidence I've gathered, I have a hypothesis.”

Adora couldn’t help but feel nervous, but she motioned for Entrapta to continue anyways.

“I believe that your reaction to the disc and the woods might be related to your origins… more specifically, I believe that there is a chance that you’re not Etherian at all, but rather, a First One.”

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Entrapta was the type of person to drop an earth-shattering revelation on you, then immediately walk away muttering about some technological jargon, which was why Adora was standing in her bedroom alone, trying to grapple with everything Entrapta had just said. Her mind reeled as she staggered over to a mirror hung on the wall, her face looked the same, the exact same, but everything felt different. Her hands, worn and calloused from years of training, felt alien, like they’d been chopped off and replaced with someone else’s. She tried to calm herself down, breathe deeply like Perfuma had once taught her, but each breath felt strange, inhaled by unfamiliar lungs. She collapsed onto her bed, replaying Entrapta’s words over and over. A First One. that couldn’t be right, they’d disappeared over a thousand years ago, so how could she possibly be one? Entrapta hadn’t offered any explanation, and Adora didn’t have any time to ask. She glanced out her window at the rising moon, she thought back to when this all started, that night in the woods. That palace. The guardian of the woods, Razz, had taken her there, maybe it was for a reason. Maybe she could find answers. She glanced through her window one last time, before grabbing her jacket and preparing to leave.

—--The Fright Zone- present day—--

Lonnie sat up in her bed, careful not to disturb her sleeping squadmates. Curled up on the other half of the bed where Kyle and Rogelio, and sprawled over the couch was Scorpia, snoring softly. Compared to her old bunk the room was massive, and far too lonely. It hadn’t taken long for Kyle and Rogelio to move in, Scorpia joined shortly after. Despite having her own room she didn’t mind sleeping on the couch, and Lonnie was grateful for her company. Lonnie smiled at the side of her squadmates, but her smile was quickly overpowered by a lingering sense of unease. Shadow Weaver had increased the intensity of their training, she’d also been extra paranoid, and muttering constantly. She was planning something, Lonnie was sure of it. Her paranoia translated to more stress for Lonnie, and some nights, she just needed to get away from it all. She tiptoed her way out of the room, closing the door behind her softly. No one in the halls gave her a second glance, she was a force captain, she went where she wanted to. It didn’t take her long to reach a vehicle bay, it took her even less time to “borrow” a skiff and sail off towards the edge of Horde territory. 

—-------------------------------------------------

The woods grew ever closer, and Lonnie slowed her skiff to a stop, pulling over right as she reached the roots of the old gnarled trees of the Whispering Woods. Hopping off the skiff Lonnie carefully made her way through the woods, doing her best to avoid snagging her uniform on stray branches, or tripping over rocks. Quiet chatter caught her attention and Lonnie peeked out from behind a tree, two people- rebel soldiers probably, were walking by. Both deer-people, one carried a bow, the other a spear, likely on patrol. Lonnie grinned, time to put her training to use. She closed her eyes, breathing deep as she spread her arms, gathering the dark shadows of the woods to her body, blanketing her. Swirls of shadows gathered at her fingertips, ready to obey her command. Shadow Weaver had noticed early on her aptitude for lightning magic was poor, but shadows? Lonnie thrived in the darkness. Her training with Shadow Weaver had unlocked a part of her she didn’t know existed, and was itching to be set free. She carefully followed the rebels, making sure to stay quiet. As long as she kept to the shadows, she was invisible. She listened to the idle chatter as the rebels walked through the woods, listening for any information the Horde could use– or at least that’s what she told herself to justify the outing. As she walked, Lonnie tested the limits of her powers, getting ever closer to the patrol. At one point when they stopped, she held her breath and walked right up behind one of them. Neither noticed. Before long the idle chatter died down, and the pair walked in comfortable silence with their unknown follower. The pair were far more adept at traversing the woods than Lonnie, and she nearly tripped several times, barely catching herself before she hit the ground. 

After about an hour of following them, Lonnie could see gentle light peeking through the trees, Brightmoon. She hadn’t realized they’d walked so close to the palace already. Lonnie let the patrol pull ahead of her, she trusted her magic to cloak her in the woods, but Brightmoon was too dangerous. As the patrol faded from view, swallowed by trees and bushes and vines, Lonnie prepared to turn back, with any luck she’d come across some other hapless fools to follow back out, either way, there was nothing here for her. That was, until she noticed another figure making her way through the underbrush, a very familiar one. Lonnie smiled, maybe there was something here for her after all.

—-------------------------------------------------

“Adora?”

Adora whirled around upon hearing her former friend’s voice, her eyes scanning the trees but finding nothing.

“Lonnie?” she called, hostility lacing her voice. “What are you doing here?”

“Calm down Adora, I'm not here to fight, I just want to talk.” It was almost as if the shadows themselves parted to reveal Lonnie, standing just a few feet from her. She took a couple steps forward, and Adora backed up, Lonnie flinched. “Kinda late to be out in the woods, huh?”

“I could say the same for you.”

Lonnie shrugged. “The Frightzone gets stifling sometimes.”

“ That's why you’re here?” Adora scoffed. “I kinda figured you were here to spy on the rebellion.”

“I considered it, but then I ran into you, I wanted to talk about Plumeria… about what you did.”

“What I did? You attacked me!”

“And you betrayed us!”

Adora was taken aback, Lonnie’s calm demeanor changed, anger radiated from her. “I… I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stay with the Horde.”

“Yeah, because you’re such a noble hero .”

“You can still come with me, bring Kyle and Rogelio too, I can convince the rebellion to take you in, I know I can.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? You know how bad it is there.”

“I can make it better, I'm a Force Captain now, I can change things.”

“Or you could help dismantle it entirely.”

“I’m not going back, Adora.”

“ Why? Why can’t you just leave, come with me, be my friend again?” Adora reached out to put a hand on Lonnie’s shoulder, but Lonnie backed away.

“I’m not throwing away all the progress I’ve made, everything I’ve done, not like you did.”

Adora looked down, hugging her arms awkwardly and Lonnie’s expression softened. “I do miss you though.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Lonnie leaned her back against a tree, looking at the forest canopy wistfully. “So how’s life in the great rebellion? Is it as awful as the Horde’s been teaching us?”

“Everyone there is… it’s nothing like the Horde taught, it’s amazing.”

“Hah, figured.”

“Lonnie?”

“Yeah?”

“If everything was so awful, why didn’t you leave earlier? Smack some sense into me and the others, get us all to run away?”

“Same reason no one else did, it was the only thing i’d ever known. Sure it sucked, but it was familiar.” 

Adora was silent for a second, ruminating on what Lonnie had just said, before speaking again. “Is it? Still awful, now that you’re a Force Captain?”

“Not really, at least not for me. I can protect my squad, and people listen to me now, so it could be worse.”

“I’m happy for you.” Adora was unable to stop a hint of bitterness slipping into her tone.

“It feels weird though, without you, I mean we were always together, the four of us.”

“Yeah, I feel that too, everything’s just been a bit wrong lately.”

They stood in silence for a few moments longer before Adora broke it again.

“Hey Lonnie?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever felt wrong before?”

“Hmm?”

“Like you woke up in someone else’s body, except nothing’s changed? You know nothing’s changed, but…” she trailed off, unsure how to explain her situation, especially without giving information away, information that could potentially hurt the rebellion, or her. “Something’s going on with me, and every time I try to get answers, all I get left with are more questions.”

“Sounds tough.”

Adora scoffed. “You could at least try to sound sympathetic.”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to believe honestly, you’ve always been so… confident, like you always knew what you were doing.”

“Well surprise surprise, I didn’t.”

“But you did .”

Adora looked at Lonnie in surprise, and she continued talking. “You kept our squad together, and alive, through training, you did know what you were doing, and you were confident .” Lonnie barked out a laugh. “After you started training you weren’t scared to face down the biggest kids in the barracks. Point is, the Adora I knew wouldn't keep looking for answers, she would demand them.” 

“When did you get so good at motivational speeches?”

“Since you left, I had to step up to lead the team.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it won’t change anything.” Lonnie looked at the woods, noticing the faint glow of a lantern in the distance. “I should go, I need to tail another patrol to get out of here.” 

She started walking, but turned back to look at Adora one last time. “Hey Adora? I won’t tell Shadow Weaver that you betrayed us, she still thinks you’re a prisoner anyways, but from now on we’re enemies, okay? You’re a rebel and I'm a Force Captain, we’re not friends.”

“Bye, Lonnie.” Lonnie turned and left, swallowed whole by the shadows, and Adora watched her go.

She stood, leaning against the tree for a while longer, before deciding to move on. She’d been out here who knows how long already, and she hadn’t even started her search for answers. Her talk with Lonnie had been oddly comforting, it had been nice to see her… Lonnie again, and to talk one last time. Still, learning she was learning magic from Shadow Weaver of all people was disconcerting. Adora shook herself, she could think about it later, now all she could do was search the woods. She had been hoping to find the strange, familiar castle she’d come across with Razz, or perhaps the odd old woman herself, but the woods had other plans. She’d just started walking, when a soft, blue glow in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to look at where it was coming from and started to move in that direction. Pushing her way past branches and bushes she eventually came to a clearing, and in the center of that clearing, as if waiting for her, was a large sword, blue blade, golden hilt, and a perfectly round, delicate gem in its center.

—--The Black Garnet Chamber- present day—--

“Where were you?”

Lonnie was standing as casually as she could in the Black Garnet Chamber, Shadow Weaver towering over her. 

“I know you snuck out, where were you?”

Lonnie looked Shadow Weaver in the eyes and sighed. “I was in the woods.” she said carefully. “I followed a patrol in, I was cloaked the whole time, they didn’t see me.”

Shadow Weaver eyed her. “I- I wanted to infiltrate Brightmoon, look for Adora, but I wasn’t able to get close enough.” well, it was close to the truth… kind of. Lonnie held her breath, waiting for Shadow Weaver to somehow figure out she was lying. 

“You managed to keep yourself cloaked all the way to Brightmoon, and back?” Lonnie let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Yes, Shadow Weaver.”

“You’ve been getting stronger much quicker than I anticipated… Perhaps you are almost ready.”

“Ready for what?” Lonnie’s nervousness was replaced with anticipation, her eyes shining.

“Queen Angella has refused to bargain for her prisoner, and Hordak refuses to send a rescue team. If you really want to save Adora, the only way is to make Brightmoon fall . And I know how.”

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Adora glared at the sword lying motionless on her desk. She had brought it back several days ago, and still knew nothing about it. She remembered touching it, images flashing through her head, someone calling her name… and then nothing. For an item with such a mysterious introduction, it really wasn’t giving her much. 

“Come on!” she grumbled at it. “Bow thinks you’re some sort of First One’s tech, so why can’t I interact with you like the beacon?” 

The sword did not reply.

Huffing in frustration Adora sat down, hearing a knock at her door. “Come in! She called.”

Bow entered gingerly, carrying his trackerpad. “Still no luck with the sword huh?”

“I just don’t get it! I got all these weird visions when I first touched it and…” she buried her face in her hands. “...now I just feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Well a lot of the tech is old , over a thousand years, maybe it’s just not working properly?” He put his trackerpad away and put an arm on Adora’s shoulder. “Anyways, that’s not what I came here about, Entrapta wanted to talk to the three of us, said she had something big.”

Adora looked over at him in surprise. “Really? Any idea what it is?”

Bow smiled. “Nope, but knowing Entrapta, explosions might be involved.

They joined Glimmer in Entrapta’s temporary lab, even though she’d only been there a minute, the sparkly princess was covered head to toe in soot. Entrapta dropped in- quite literally- from the ceiling vent.

“You made it!” she cackled, somehow even more soot-covered than Glimmer. 

“What did you want to talk to us about?”

“Weeeeell, remember when you asked me to help you make a transport ship to Beast Island? It’s finished!”

Adora nearly choked. “Wait what? Already?”

“Well, it was quite simple really, considering the Horde already had some built and…”

Glimmer sidled up next to Adora. “I may have been involved in stealing some Horde schematics.”

“Wait what. ” 

“Don’t tell my mom.”

Adora barely had time to process that before Entrapta stood in her face. “Well, the ship’s parked in Brightmoon’s… well you guys don’t really have a vehicle bay so I put it in the stables.”

The ship was, in fact, in the stables, next to some very confused horses. Some poor stable hand had even put a pile of hay next to it, unsure what to do. It was decently sized, probably big enough to carry the group, and a couple extra passengers, plus some supplies. It was made up of a patchwork of different metals, and someone (Adora wasn’t quite sure who) had even painted the Brightmoon insignia on its side. Adora ran her hand across the cold metal, and smiled. She might not know much about the sword, or her origins, but at least she was making some progress here.

Time to demand some answers.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Adora paced around the small room she was in, glancing out through the windows down at the stables every few seconds.

“Adora, relax.” Glimmer said, grabbing a nasty looking spear off the wall. “No one’s going to steal the ship while we’re getting ready.”

They were all standing in Brightmoon’s “armory”, AKA “where Glimmer stole and stashed weapons.” Bow was packing snacks and food for the trip, and Glimmer was shoving anything remotely sharp into her back. Adora stuck with her quarterstaff, it was the weapon she’d trained with growing up. Well, she had her quarterstaff and the giant blue sword strapped to her back. She wasn’t sure why but it felt right to bring it, and who knows, maybe it would help her find answers, somehow.  

Adora sighed. “Glimmer, you told your mom about this right? And she’s fine with us leaving?”

Silence.

“ Glimmer…” 

“What? It’s not like we'll be staying there, we’ll be there and back before she notices.”

“And where are you planning on going?”

Three heads whirled to the now open door, and a displeased looking queen.

“Hi mom…” Glimmer chuckled nervously.

“Entrapta told me she finished the ship, so I decided to check on you three, why exactly were you planning on leaving without telling me?”

“Glimmer said she told you!” Adora protested. Angella turned her gaze to Glimmer.

“You would have tried to stop me! And I'm not staying behind while my friend goes off to some sort of death island and-”

“I wouldn’t have tried to stop you.”

“What?”

“Glimmer, as much as your recent actions contradict what I'm about to say, you have grown. Your recent missions have shown that you’re able to handle difficult situations, and- listen to others if need be.” The queen sighed and Glimmer stared at her in shock. Angella held out her hand, and slowly a staff appeared. She held it out to Glimmer who was fighting back tears. “This was your father’s staff, I think it’s time you had it.” Glimmer accepted the staff with a sniffle, and the queen’s gentle smile faded. “Don’t think you’re off the hook for attempting to run off, we will talk about this when you get back- and Glimmer, next time you have something like this planned, talk to me , don’t try to leave me in the dark.”

“Thank you mom! I love you!” Glimmer said excitedly, hugging her mother tightly. She let go quickly and grabbed her friend’s hands, preparing to teleport.

“Glimmer-” Angella said as her daughter disappeared in a poof of sparkles. “ ...be careful. ” she whispered.

—--The Black Garnet Chamber- present day—--

“I’m not staying behind.” Lonnie hissed, glaring at Shadow Weaver. This argument had been going on for the better part of a day, and neither apprentice nor sorcerer intended to give in any time soon. 

“As I said Lonnie, I need someone here to keep the spell going, you are the only one I can trust to do this, unless you’d rather wait for me to train another apprentice, and I doubt whoever I'd pick would learn as quickly as you did.”

“But this is a rescue mission for Adora , my friend , I have to go!”

“Lonnie, dear, as much as I appreciate your loyalty to you friend, you cannot let it blind you.” Shadow Weaver sighed, and placed her hand on Lonnie’s cheek. “You and I are going to do great things together, one day, but for today I need you to keep the spell maintained in the Fright Zone while I lead the attack on Brightmoon.”

“But-”

“ Lonnie.” lightning crackled around Shadow Weaver, her tone dark, and Lonnie felt a shiver of fear run through her. 

“Yes ma'am.”

Lonnie flicked her gaze to the Black Garnet, looking much spookier than usual. It sparked with magical energy, and Lonnie was afraid to touch it. “What’s this spell supposed to do anyways?”

“I have found a way to disrupt the other princess’s runestones using the Black Garnet, including, the Moonstone.” 

“Leaving Brightmoon wide open.” Lonnie finished with a smile.

“Precisely, Hordak has agreed to send nearly our full army after the kingdom, and once we take it, we’ll be able to find Adora.”

Lonnie felt a shiver of guilt run through her. Adora wouldn’t surrender, or go back to the Horde, she was too stubborn, she’d fight back. She tried to push it aside. She chose her side, whatever happens to her is her own fault .

Lonnie looked back at Shadow Weaver. “Okay, how do we start the spell?”

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Angella watched the ship leave, apprehension eating away at her. She wondered if she made the right call, letting Glimmer leave like that? She is so smart, and headstrong, and stubborn , but so, so brave. Just like Micah, and Angella feared that if she let her leave, she’d disappear, just like him, another ghost haunting her. She forced herself to smile, Glimmer would be fine , she had to be, otherwise Angella would have nothing left.

Her fingers traced one of her earrings, a gift from Micah, for their wedding, staring out at the horizon long after the ship had disappeared from view. 

Come back safe Glimmer . She silently prayed, before leaving the balcony, stepping back into the castle. Surprisingly General Julliette was waiting for her.

“Your Majesty, we have a problem.”

“What is it general?”

“We’ve been receiving reports from across all fronts, the Horde army is gathering.” The General took a deep breath before continuing. “They’re planning on marching on the woods.”

—--Somewhere in the Ocean- present day—--

For their first time piloting a ship, Adora and her friends were doing great. Well minus nearly crashing within the first five minutes of takeoff, but overall they could have done worse. The ship was somewhat crude compared to the sleek designs of the Horde skiffs, but the controls were surprisingly similar. They’d been flying for hours, and every second made Adora’s heart pound harder. They were getting close. Close to the island of every Horde child’s nightmares, close to the island so dangerous no one had ever come back alive. Close to where Catra had-

“Hey Adora? You doing okay?” Glimmer walked up next to Adora, putting her hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, just trying to figure out what to do once we get there.”

“Speaking of which… you know the place better than either of us, what should we look out for? In terms of man-eating monsters I mean.”

Adora shuddered. “Well, there’s the chibbits with razor-sharp teeth, the Pookahs with razor-sharp claws, and the razorfins with-”

“Let me guess, razor sharp fins?”

“Razor sharp teeth actually, I don’t know why they’re named that. Point is, pretty much everything there is designed to kill us.”  It’s dangerous, Catra couldn’t have survived, so why do I keep hoping?

“Awesome, remind me why we’re going there again?” Glimmer called from the other end of the ship.

“I thought you wanted to come?”

“I do ! It’s just-”

“Hey guys?” Adora interrupted her friend’s bickering, looking out towards the no longer endless ocean. 

“I think we’re here.”

—--Beast Island- present day—--

By the time Catra woke up, the sun had already risen. She slowly clambered out of her makeshift bed before making her way to the center of their camp.

“Morning old man.” She yawned, grabbing a couple of fish from where they were roasting by the fire. A sudden rustle from the leaves above caught her attention, and she barely had a second to react before something smacked her in the face.

“Ah! Snack get off me!” she shrieked, while the lizard crawled onto her head with a happy chirp. “Micah help me! I’m being attacked!”

Micah smiled, but didn’t move from where he was sitting by the fire. Catra eventually managed to grapple Snack off her head.

“You’re getting way too big for this buddy.” She said, sticking her tongue out at him. He had almost doubled in size since she’d first kidnapped adopted him. She dug around in one of her pouches before producing some sort of hopefully-not-poisonous bug to Snack, which he accepted happily.

“So I'll patrol the coastline, you try to grab us some food?”

Micah nodded, saying nothing about the fact that she’d been patrolling the coastline every day she could for years. It was a simple hope, one he let her keep alive. The hope that maybe, just maybe, if she kept looking, someone would come.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay on your own kid?”

“Firstly, not a kid anymore, im- okay I don’t actually know how old I am, but I'm not a kid.”

“Sure.”

“Secondly, yes, I'll be fine ! It’s not like we haven't split up before, I can handle myself!” Catra tossed him his staff from where it was leaning on a tree, before grabbing her own weapon. A spear, she could use it to aid her spellcasting, and unlike Micah’s staff, could also be used to skewer any Pookahs looking to turn her into a late-morning snack. She gently shoved Snack into his pouch, one she’d unfortunately had to remake to accommodate his new size, and headed off, leaping up one of the many trees of the island.

She fell into a comforting routine after a few minutes, walk, pause, listen for anything that wanted to kill you, walk. Sure she had her magic, but even after all this time she still trusted her ears best. It was a nice day, or as nice as any day could get on the island, sunny (ish), warm, no sign of rain. Even the beasts had decided to take the day off apparently. The path to the coastline was one of the less populated areas, Catra had driven out most creatures years ago, but she still ran into the odd Pookah or Chibbit on occasion, not that she couldn’t handle them. Catra paused when she came across a familiar tree, looking up. It was one of the taller trees on the island, its branches poking up above the canopy. As if on autopilot, Catra started climbing, only stopping when the branches thinned enough to bend worryingly below her. This was one of Catra’s favourite places. She liked being up high, back in the Frightzone if she was ever scared or stressed she’d climb up to the top of the tallest structure she could find and just… stare, the smoggy horizon the the Frightzone being the prettiest view she’d ever had. As deadly as the island was, its horizon was much prettier, Catra had to give it that at least. The ocean sparkled in the sun, so beautiful you’d almost forget that it’s deadly. Although… Catra squinted her eyes, sure she was just seeing things…but. No, the more she looked, the more sure she became, something was out there. Judging by its shape, it was a ship, Horde no doubt, nothing else would ever come here, and approaching quickly. 

Catra half fell, half scrambled down the tree in her haste to rush to the shoreline. She considered signaling Micah, but doing so risked whoever was on that boat seeing too. If she could catch them by surprise… she could take them, she knew it. Her and Micah (and whatever hapless prisoners the boat had too she guessed.) could commandeer it, maybe this was finally their way out! Catra’s heart pounded with excitement, she’d been hoping for years that someone would come, she’d almost given up.

Her race to the shoreline was cut short when she nearly tripped over herself skidding to a halt. She’d heard voices. Still hidden in the trees, Catra couldn’t see them, but-

“Sooo, this place is totally not spooky at all.” Catra listened intently, sounded like a boy, a bit nervous. There was a pause and Catra was worried they’d wandered too far away, then. 

“Ouch! Glimmer what was that for?” Glimmer, okay, definitely not a Horde name. But… they didn’t sound like prisoners. Another pause, either they were communicating telepathically, or… Catra crept closer, making sure to stay hidden, if they were soldiers, she didn’t want to reveal herself. Then, another voice cut through the quiet.

“We need to stay focused, you two, this place is dangerous.”

Catra slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from gasping, she knew that voice. But… it couldn’t be her could it? She crept closer, and caught a flash of blond hair through the trees. Her heart stopped, and she allowed herself to hope.

Adora?

Chapter Text

—--Beast Island- present day—--

Catra wanted so badly to jump out of her hiding spot, and tackle-hug Adora, and never let her go. Only years of experience surviving on the island kept her from moving, even though it twisted her heart painfully to do so. If Adora was here, then the group had to be Horde soldiers, weird names aside, and she didn’t trust them to not attack- well, maybe she trusted Adora, but not the others. But… What was Adora even doing here? She figured with the way Shadow Weaver always favored her, she’d get a better job than prisoner transport. Besides, she’d always seemed a bit too soft for that, too kind. Catra climbed up a tree to try to get a better vantage point on her old friend and co.. She'd tried to catch a glimpse of the boy and his silent companion, but so far hadn’t had any luck. Neither of them had said anything either, the entire party was uneasily quiet. Actually… she hadn’t seen any prisoners either, so unless they were the prisoners, which seemed unlikely, maybe they weren’t here to transport any. 

She prepared to continue trailing them, when she heard something. A branch snapped, if she hadn’t spent almost her entire life dodging beasts daily to survive, she’d thought it was nothing, but she knew better. Clearly, Adora’s party had heard something too, or maybe the sudden lack of footsteps meant nothing. Catra tensed herself, flexing her claws in preparation for whatever came next. Whatever was out there was likely there for Adora’s group, the noisy newcomers, and if something attacked them, she wasn’t just going to leave her friend to fend for herself, consequences be damned. The entire forest had gone dead quiet, like it was holding its breath.

Then a large bug-like creature barreled through the underbrush. Catra heard several shouts below her, and she cursed under her breath. Grabbing the spear strapped to her back, Catra braced herself and leapt down. Landing square on the creature’s back, she stabbed her spear straight through its carapace as it attempted to shake her off. She jumped off its back, and landed between Adora’s group and the bug, launching a spell at it. The bug finally took the hint that she wasn’t to be messed with, and ran off. Catra grinned, breathing hard, but happy with her victory.

“ Catra?”

Catra spun around, Adora was staring at her, tears in her eyes.

“Hey Adora.” Catra said with a weak smile

“Y-you’re alive?” she barely had a second to react, before Adora leapt forward, strangling with a hug.  Catra was stunned, barely able to believe Adora was here , let alone hugging her.

“I thought you were dead , I thought…” Adora trailed off, sobbing. Her face buried in Catra’s hair. She held on for a good minute, gripping Catra so tight she thought she might suffocate, before letting go.

“How- how did you even survive? Beast Island, it’s…”

“Well, I’m not exactly… alone out here, there’s another prisoner, we work together.” Catra peered over Adora’s shoulder, finally able to get a look at her companions. Well… they certainly weren’t Horde soldiers. One was dressed in a crop top covered in golden armor that was way too flashy for a Horde soldier. And the other…. Well she looked like someone had dropped her into a vat of sparkles. Wait… hadn’t the other guy called her…

“So, who are your friends?” Catra pointed a finger at the two people standing awkwardly behind Adora.

There’s no way, it can’t be her.

“This is Bow, and Glimmer.”

No way. Catra grinned, Micah was going to freak. Out.  

“I honestly thought no one was ever going to come for us… I have to tell the old man! He’s gonna be so excited!” Catra flicked her tail excitedly, before turning and running towards their camp.

“Wait, who?” Adora called after her.

“I told you! I’m not alone, follow me!” Catra shouted.

Sprinting towards the camp, with Adora and her friends following clumsily behind her, Catra couldn’t help but beam. Adora was here , and with the rebellion apparently??? On top of that, she was pretty sure that sparkles was Micah’s daughter . She burst into camp, startling Micah to his feet.

“There you are kid, I was getting wor-”

“There’s people here! A rescue party, from Brightmoon !” Catra exclaimed, panting.

“ What? ”

“And you’re never going to guess who’s-”

She heard a gasp from behind her, and turned to see Glimmer, holding a hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes.

“...dad?”

—-------------------------------------------------

If you’d told Glimmer this morning that her whole world would be turned upside-down before sunset, she would have laughed at you. She wasn’t laughing now. Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the person in front of her.

A person she knew .

A person who’d read her bedtime stories, told her jokes to make her laugh, tucked her into bed at night and told her he'd always love her, a person who’s mural she’d stare at when no one else was around. Trying to remember his laugh, his smile, his love. Staring into dead eyes made from paint, trying to remember what he was like. 

His eyes were no longer made from paint, no longer dead. They were real . They held shock, curiosity, love . She couldn’t stop herself from crying as their eyes met.

“...dad, is that really you?” 

“Glimmer?” he choked out, he looked close to crying. She leapt forward, hugging him tightly.

“You’re alive…” Glimmer couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. “You’re alive!”

She felt him hugging her back, crying quietly, for the first time in fourteen years.

—-------------------------------------------------

Adora stood off to the side, her hand grasping Catra’s. The girl leaned into her, and Adora was pretty sure she heard her purring, just slightly.

“Soooo, not only are you alive, but you’ve made friends with the long-lost king of Brightmoon, huh?” Adora said, grinning. 

“ You made friends with a princess .” Catra snarked back, but she was grinning too. “Wanna tell me how that happened?”

Adora shrugged. “Ran off after I realized the Horde sent my best friend to Beast Island, crashed the skiff, and woke up tied up and being interrogated by a rebel soldier and princess.”

“The walking glitter bomb? She can’t be very good at interrogations.”

“She will punch you if she hears you calling her that.” Adora paused, before adding “but no, she really wasn’t.”

Catra laughed, before leaning into Adora, resting her head on her shoulder. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

There was a slight pause, before Catra muttered quietly. “You really left because of me?”

“ Of course I did, I- I couldn’t just stay , not after what they did to you.” she let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Catra, for not realizing how bad the Horde was earlier, for letting them send you here.”

“It’s not your fault, besides… if I never got sent to Beast Island, how would I learn to do this?”

Catra snapped her fingers, igniting a fireball floating just above her hand. Adora’s eyes widened with shock.

“Wait- what! How are you doing that???” she hissed.

Catra laughed. “Turns out, I'm pretty good at sorcery, who knew?”

She snapped again and the fireball disappeared. “The old man’s been teaching me, it’s- being able to do magic… it’s amazing.”

“Catra…”

“Yes?”

“You can do magic!” 

“Yep”

“ You can do magic!”

“We’ve established that.”

Adora pulled Catra into a hug, ignoring her squeak of surprise. “That’s incredible, you’re … incredible.” she whispered.

“Thanks” came the soft reply.

They stood like that for several moments, arms locked around each other. Catra purring softly, and Adora closing her eyes in relaxation. Adora could have stayed like that forever, but they eventually pulled apart, and she took a second to look around the camp. Her gaze eventually fell on a small stuffed bear sitting on a log.

“Oh my gosh that's so cute!” she rushed over to it, and Catra followed, an amused smile on her face. 

“I love it so much! Does it have a name?”

“His name is cuddles.”

Really Adora should have been given an acting award for not bursting out laughing right then and there. It’s not that the name was bad, but considering her friend, who had inch-long claws sharp enough to cut through metal, multiple scars from fights with wild beasts, and fangs , had just told her the stuffed bear’s name was cuddles (with a completely straight face) it was a miracle Adora managed to keep a straight face.

“Shut up”

Or maybe not

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Your face is doing that stupid thing it does when you’re trying not to laugh!”

“No it’s no-”

A crash interrupted Adora, and she turned to see a very large, very pissed off bug-like creature barreling through the camp, Catra’s spear still embedded in its carapace. And behind it, were three other bugs. It lunged forward and Adora barely managed to roll out of the way.

“ Shit this guy’s back.” she heard Catra hiss, before launching a spell at the creature. It roared angrily and attempted to snap at her, but she dodged. The other bugs joined the fray, one attempting to attack Micah and Glimmer, another barely being warded off by Bow, and one rushing straight at her. She scrambled to the side, unhooking her quarterstaff from her belt. Lunging forward, she swung her weapon, hitting the bug on its leg. It shrieked, swiping at Adora. She braced her quarterstaff to block the blow, but it grabbed it, using the force to swing her into a nearby tree, before snapping the staff in half. She fell to the ground with a groan, barely hearing Catra shout her name over the fighting. Dazedly, she picked herself up and looked around. The bug that had been attacking her joined its friend in attacking Catra. She was fending them off, but losing ground quickly. Micah tried to help her, but he couldn’t, still facing off with a bug of his own. 

Fear gripped Adora, she had just gotten her friend back, she couldn’t lose her again. Catra gave a shout when one of the bugs pierced through her protection spell, grabbing her by the leg and lifting her into the air. Adora felt frozen, she couldn’t let this happen. Her quarterstaff might be broken, but… Adora felt the weight of the sword on her back, she carefully grabbed it. She had never trained with a sword in the Frightzone, but somehow she knew exactly how to wield it. Lunging at the creature with the weapon raised high, she knew the words even though she’d never heard them before.

“For the honor of Grayskull!”  

With an emphatic shout she hit the creature with unnatural strength, sending it scrambling away. Another creature attempted to swipe at her, but she blocked it effortlessly. A blinding light erupted from the sword in an arc at her unfortunate attacker, and it too fled. It didn’t take much more effort  to convince the other bugs to flee, and soon the clearing was creature-free. Adora stood, panting, before noticing everyone else was staring at her. Actually, everyone else looked a lot shorter too… looking down Adora realized that she had grown about three feet.

Cool.

She shrieked, her panic unbalancing her and sending her tumbling towards the ground with a flash of light. It took her several seconds of panic to realize she had shrunk back to her normal height.

“W-what was that!” she stammered, pointing at the sword.

Glimmer and Bow were staring at her, mouths open, while Catra approached her cautiously, helping her to her feet.

“Hey Bow… didn’t that look like-”

“Shera” Bow finished off Glimmer’s sentence, his voice filled with awe.

“I’m sorry, what’s a shera , and why did it make my friend gain like, three feet?” Catra hissed.

“Uh, rightright well shera is this really old First Ones legend, some sort of warrior, you can find a bunch of carvings of her in old ruins, and Adora looked… exactly like her.”

“Great.” Adora said, dusting herself off. “One more mystery.”

“Hey, at least this one’s helpful! Besides! I bet my mom would know a bunch about shera, we can ask her once we get back to Brightmoon!” Glimmer cut in.

Adora looked around at the campsite, and her battered friends, before shakily picking up the sword, breathing a sigh of relief when she retained her normal height.

“Right, let’s get back to the ship.”

“Hang on, that’s it , you just turned into a like, eight foot tall warrior lady, shouldn’t you be freaking out right now?” Catra’s eyes were wide, she gripped Adora’s arm fearfully.

Adora looked away, that night in the woods had been scary, Dryl, annoying, and learning she wasn’t even Etherian had been earth-shattering, now? Now she was just tired. Catra saw the look on her face, and despite her confusion, she fell silent. Instead, she just quietly grabbed her things.

“Okay, let’s go to the ship.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Catra eyed the patchwork ship warily. 

“ This is how you got to Beast Island? Is it even safe?” she kicked the side of the ship, wincing when she remembered it was made out of pure metal. “It looks like it’s going to fall apart at any second.”

“Do you want to get off this island or not?” Glimmer called from the other end of the vessel.

“Not if it means capsizing at sea, sparkles.” she’d initially been willing to put aside her hatred for water if it meant getting off the island, but now…

“My name is Glimmer!” 

Catra smirked, then tensed up when she felt a hand on her shoulder, only relaxing when she realized who it was

“Hey, Adora.” 

“Hey.” she looked around awkwardly for a second. “The ship isn’t going to sink, you know.”

“I know that… I'm just…this doesn’t feel real, this morning I was just trying to eat breakfast, and think about surviving the week, and now…” she trailed off, looking Adora in the eyes.

“This is real, right? We’re really going home?”

Adora took Catra’s hand, guiding her on to the ship. “Yeah, it’s real.”

The ship rocked unpleasantly beneath Catra’s feet, and she knew she was in for a rough couple of hours. According to Bow, the trip should take around three to four hours, depending on the weather, and she was already feeling seasick.

Trying to avoid retching, Catra scanned the ship, her eyes landing on Micah, leaning against the railing gazing out on the horizon. She let go of Adora’s hand, giving her a small nod, before walking over to him. She leaned against the railing, sighing.

“Ready to go home old man?”

“Ready is an understatement.”

Catra gave a laugh, her tail swishing happily as the ship’s engine sputtered to life. Her laugh turned to a shriek as it accelerated suddenly, and she had to grip the railing to avoid going overboard. Micah chuckled heartily at her, and Catra couldn’t help but smile.

They were finally going home.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Angella’s footsteps echoed through the quiet halls of Brightmoon palace, the only other sounds being the relentless pitter-patter of pouring rain, and the frightened whispers of the palace staff. It had started with a simple report, Horde soldiers gathering at the edge of the Whispering Woods. Angella hadn’t worried, the Horde had never breached the woods, no army had in centuries. But now the woods had frozen over, the Horde’s army less than an hour away. 

She exited the castle, leaving the fearful chatter behind as lightning struck outside, and rain poured, threatening to soak anyone not standing under shelter. She caught the eye of the general, who was gathering Brightmoon’s forces in preparation of the coming onslaught. She gave her a small nod, and walked over to where she was standing.

“Your Majesty.” Juliette said, giving her a small salute. “My forces are prepared to defend the castle, but…” She trailed off with a sigh, her composure dropping just slightly and her shoulders slumping. “We’re outnumbered, we weren't prepared for an attack like this.”

“No, we weren’t.” Angella agreed. “But Brightmoon can’t fall, not without a fight.” 

She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking, she couldn’t afford to show fear, even if the thought of facing the entirety of the Horde’s army chilled her far more than the pouring rain ever could. 

“Tell your forces to hold out as long as they can, I'll–” She glanced at the moonstone, glowing dimly through the storm. “I’ll do what I can to help.”

The General nodded again, and stiffly saluted her before walking away. She didn’t say anything more, but it was clear that she knew, that Angella knew.

Brightmoon would fall.

Their main forces had long since been dispersed to aid towns on the outer fringes of Brightmoon territory, the places more at risk . And aid from their allies could not be counted on. Dryl was still in shambles after the robot incident, their own princess, Entrapta was sheltering in Brightmoon right now, and Plumeria was facing problems of its own with the woods frozen over. Netossa and Spinerella would arrive soon, but even with their powers, they were just two people. Angella supposed the only stroke of luck she’d had, was that Glimmer was still off on her expedition with her friends. They, at least, would be spared.

She spread her wings and took off into the sky, the brief feeling of freedom that came from flight quickly faded as she landed on the moonstone platform. The moonstone’s glow had almost faded, a side effect of whatever the Horde had done to the world, but it brightened faintly as she grew closer. She relaxed ever-so-slightly in its presence, feeling her connection with the gem strengthen, just a little. Whatever the Horde had done, it hadn’t just affected the runestones themselves, but her own magic too. She could feel the strain it had put on her connection even now, and it was taking its toll on her. She only hoped Glimmer wasn’t experiencing the same thing she was.

Glancing downwards she could see the first Horde tanks break through the icy treeline, firing upon Brightmoon’s army, and the castle. She shook herself, wings fluttering nervously, she could worry about Glimmer later, right now, she had a job to do. Lifting her arm upwards, she summoned a spear in a shower of pink sparkles. It was comforting to hold, as her fingers ran over familiar wood inlaid with silver and painted with crescent moon patterns. She lifted the weapon over her head, concentrating her magic, and slashed downwards. Pure light magic erupted from the spearhead, arcing downwards and hitting one of the tanks head-on, destroying it. She didn’t have time to celebrate, however, as the battle raged on. She continued raining magical fire onto the Horde’s army, destroying as much of it as she could. Her heart was pounding in her chest, as the screams and shouts of the soldiers below drifted up to where she was standing, but she couldn’t afford to back down now.

She paused her onslaught to observe the battle below, Brightmoon’s soldiers were being pushed back, but… she had done her own damage as well. Smoking, broken tanks and skiffs littered the battlefield alongside bodies from both sides. What had once been a cheerful place, was now a wasteland of twisted metal and corpses, a graveyard. The ground beneath her feet shook, the Horde having taken notice of her attack, began firing upon her as well. Several strikes missed, hitting the castle or the cliff face behind it, but one managed to find its mark, hitting the moonstone. 

Pain ripped through Angella and she grabbed her chest as she felt her connection with the runestone flicker out. It took several agonizing seconds for it to come back. She gasped for breath as her magic slowly came back to her, wondering what had just happened. She barely snapped her attention to block two more blows aiming for the moonstone. As she focused her attention on the battle once again, Angella noticed something out of the corner of her eye, Shadows pulling from their original position, slowly pooling into the shape of a woman. She didn’t bother to turn around as Shadow Weaver stepped onto the platform.

“Shadow Weaver, I can’t say I'm surprised that you’re behind this.” 

“I did tell you that your kingdom would burn, Your Majesty , I figured it was time to make good on that promise.”

She paused, as if glancing down at the fighting below. “But there is a way to stop this, all you have to do is give me Adora, and I'll tell my forces to back down.”

This time Angella did turn to face the sorceress, who looked even more sinister than usual, her body shrouded in darkness and the gem on her mask gleaming brightly. Angella took a deep breath, tightening her grip on her weapon so much her knuckles turned white. 

“No.” Even if Shadow Weaver kept her word (something highly unlikely) the thought of giving the poor girl back to the Horde, made her stomach churn. Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed, and lightning sparked from her hands.

“Then your kingdom will fall, and I will drag Adora out of the ashes.” She howled, hurling a bolt of lightning at Angella. Magic crackled in the air around them as she ducked out of the way, bringing her spear up in response and slashing downwards, hitting Shadow Weaver on her arm. She hissed in pain as blood dribbled down her arm. But Angella didn’t give the sorceress time to recover, darting to the side and slashing at Shadow Weaver’s face, at her mask. The way the gem sparked whenever Shadow Weaver used her magic, it wasn’t natural, and Angella knew, if she could just destroy it, she could beat the sorceress. Shadow Weaver was too quick, however, disappearing in a flash of lightning before she could land her blow. Shadows covered the moonstone’s platform, shrouding it in darkness.

“You can stop this, all you have to do is give me back my ward!” Shadow Weaver’s voice seemed to come from all directions, and Angella whipped her head around, trying to figure out where the sorceress was. “But you won’t , why?!” 

With a shout, Shadow Weaver emerged from the shadows, hurling magic at her. Angella brought a shield up to block it, but as she did another tank fired at the moonstone, her magic flickered out, and lightning sliced across her chest and shoulder, leaving a deep gash. She gasped in pain as blood stained her clothing and Shadow Weaver disappeared into the darkness once more.

“She should mean nothing to you, so why do you insist on keeping her from me!”

This time Angella was ready, when Shadow Weaver attacked, she darted to the side, before retaliating, sending her tumbling off the side of the platform. Angella didn’t have time to celebrate, however, as multiple shadowy hands reached out to grab the sorceress before she hit the ground, setting her down gently. Angella hesitated, not wanting to leave the moonstone’s feeble protection, before leaping off the platform, spear raised above her head. She concentrated, focusing her magic through the weapon, before thrusting it downwards with all her might. It hit the ground, Shadow Weaver barely dodging out of the way, as light magic exploded from where the spear embedded itself in the earth. Angella tucked her wings behind her and dove after it, grabbing it and launching another light attack at Shadow Weaver. 

Her arms shook and Angella knew she had to end this soon, her strained connection with the moonstone taking its toll on her body, and her several wounds aching. Both fighters were covered in blood and scratches, breathing heavily as they faced each other. Angella readied another attack, but the moonstone was hit again, and she winced in pain as her magic waned even more.

“Angella, you must stop this,” Shadow Weaver tutted, her voice sickeningly sympathetic. “Do you really think this will end well for you? You’ll only end up dead… just like Micah.”

“Don’t you dare say his name!” Angella shouted, putting on a burst of speed as she rushed towards Shadow Weaver. They locked eyes, fury met surprise as Angella drove her spear deep into Shadow Weaver's shoulder. Blood dripped from the wound, coating the spear, and Angella’s hands as Shadow Weaver howled in pain, and lightning crackled from her body, sending Angella sprawling across the battlefield, landing in the shallow water with a splash . She struggled to her feet as Shadow Weaver slowly, painfully, ripped the spear from her shoulder, throwing it off to the side.

“He’s dead , because of you!” Angella shouted, limping forward as she re-summoned her spear. Blood ran down her face, and she had to raise her arm to stop it from getting in her eyes, from blinding her. “You killed him, and you dare use his name!” 

She continued walking forward, each step was a struggle, she had probably hurt her ankle at some point, but she didn’t care. Her rational side, her scared side, was shouting at her to back down, to fall back to the moonstone, but she was so far beyond listening. All the grief and rage she’d pent up over the years was pouring out of her like the blood bubbling out of her injuries, staining everything red. Everything she’d suffered at the hands of the Horde rising back to the surface to tell her to keep fighting . She was done being afraid. She took a step forward, and Shadow Weaver backed away, scared . 

She slashed at the sorceress, blood burst out of a cut on her leg. Micah was dead because of her, him and so many others.

She attacked again, but Shadow Weaver dodged, darting behind her. Angella turned to face her, but Shadow Weaver was quicker, landing a blow of her own, opening a cut above Angella’s eyebrow. She staggered backwards but stayed standing, she couldn’t give up now. She’d lived her whole life in fear of the Horde, but now? Angella had nothing left to lose, Brightmoon would fall, Micah was dead, Hordak would never let her live, not after he spent decades trying to kill her, and Glimmer…Glimmer was far away from here, she was safe. Really the only thing Angella could do was take down the woman standing in front of her, for Micah, for Adora, for everyone she’d ever hurt, and everyone she’d go on to hurt if she lived.

She attacked again, slicing the side of Shadow Weaver’s head, and one of the bands securing Shadow Weaver’s mask to her face. The mask began to slip free, but Shadow Weaver grabbed it, slamming it back onto her face before it could fall off, with her free hand she conjured a bolt of lightning, one last, desperate attack against the angelic queen. She threw the bolt with all her strength, and Angella raised up a shield to block it.

One final attack hit the moonstone.

Her magic flickered out, her shield shattering like glass.

Oh.

It didn’t hurt, not like you’d expect. Not at first anyways. Not until Angella glanced down, saw the bolt of magic piercing her abdomen. Then it hurt. She staggered backwards, mouth open as she tried to scream from the pain, but the only noise that came out was a choked gasp. The magic dissipated, leaving nothing but a bloody, gaping wound in her stomach. She clutched a hand to her stomach as her legs shook, struggling to keep her upright. Then… she saw him, staring at her from across the battlefield, haunting her like a ghost, his eyes wide with horror. He opened his mouth, as if to shout something, possibly her name. But of course, ghosts can’t talk, and no sound comes out. Or maybe… maybe Angella just couldn’t hear him. The noise around her faded, and his horrified expression was the last thing she saw as her legs finally gave out. She crumpled to the ground as the chaotic battlefield gave way to black nothingness, leaving time for one last thought. 

I’m so sorry Micah, I failed.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Adora weaved through the battlefield, dragging Catra behind her, her sword in her free hand. She jumped back when a Horde soldier collapsed onto the ground in front of her, bleeding out into the dirt, helmet still on. Adora wondered if she’d known them. She looked back at Catra, even more terrified than she was, eyes wide, chest heaving, she looked like she wanted to throw up. Adora opened her mouth to say something, to reassure her in some way, but Catra’s eyes flicked to something behind her, and Adora turned to see a Brightmoon soldier approaching them cautiously. He relaxed when he recognized Adora, and nodded at her. 

“We saw what happened to the woods, what…”

She trailed off as the soldier's shoulders slumped, his head hung low in defeat.  “The Horde, they attacked, it’s- their entire army is here.” He said, waving a hand at the invading forces. “We’ve been trying to fight them off but… we’re outnumbered.”

He rushed back towards the battlefield, sword held high, and Adora felt Catra’s hand grip her shoulder.

“We have to find Micah and Glimmer.” She muttered, her tail flicking anxiously. The two had rushed into the chaos the second the ship had landed, Bow rushing after them just a second later, and Adora had quickly lost sight of them. Adora didn’t respond. She only gripped the sword in her hand. She'd been nervous to use it at first, even if she didn’t transform, but now it’s weight felt right . When she’s first transformed, Bow had called her Shera, a hero . She looked down at the sword in her hands, then at the fighting all around her, and she knew what she had to do.

“You go find them, I have to help the soldiers.”

Catra looked at the sword in Adora’s hands, her eyes widening and fur standing on end when she realized what Adora meant.

“You what?!” she shrieked. “No you do not! The last time you used that thing it turned you from my friend to an eight-foot tall warrior lady! It’s dangerous”

“The last time I used it, I was able to defeat those bug things with just a couple blows! If I turn into Shera, it might be enough… to beat the Horde, I have to help.”

Catra looked shocked, scared and… a little hurt, but she nodded anyway.  “Just… be careful, okay?” 

Then, she was gone, disappearing into the chaos, the sound of her footsteps drowned out by the screams and shouts of the warriors around her. 

Adora was alone.

She raised the sword above her head, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. She knew the words, she wasn’t sure how, but she knew. 

“For the honor of Grayskull!”

A blinding light erupted from the sword as Adora transformed, catching the attention of Horde and rebel soldiers alike. Several soldiers wearing Horde uniforms swarmed her, each attempting to take her down. Dodging between blows she sent each of them sprawling, one after the other. Destroying skiffs and taking out soldiers with ease, Adora felt different. She hadn’t felt like this when she’d transformed on the island, back there she’d been desperate, scared, but here? Here Adora felt strong . Like this was who she was meant to be, a warrior, a protector, a hero . Brightmoon soldiers began to take notice of her success, hope lighting in eyes which previously only held defeat. They rallied behind her, and the tide of the battle began to turn, Horde soldiers turning and fleeing at the sight of the arcane warrior.

A blast hit the ground near her and Adora looked up to see a tank firing at her.  She rushed at it at full speed as it attempted to hit her again. She raised her sword to block the blow, its force pushing her backwards, but dealing no damage. Adora smiled, and drove her sword straight through the front of the tank, decimating it. As the machine died a scrawny figure scrambled out of it, frantically removing his helmet and coughing. Their eyes met and Adora’s heart skipped a beat.

Kyle.

He scrambled to unclip the stun baton from his belt, pointing it at her shakily. “Ge-get back!”

“Wait i’m-” Adora tried to speak, but the fear in his eyes cut her off. Of course . 

He didn’t recognize her. 

Adora stepped forward, he stepped back, trembling. Adora raised her hands, trying to look non-threatening.

“Kyle! Kyle wait-”

An angry roar interrupted her, and Rogelio came rushing at her, sharp claws cutting through her skin as he swiped at her arm. Adora staggered backwards, the blow barely hurt, but seeing Rogelio’s face, the anger it held, directed towards her , certainly did. He roared again, stepping protectively in front of Kyle.

“Both of you, wait! It's me! It’s Adora.” Hearing her name stopped both of them in their tracks, they stared at her, shock and anger on their faces.

“N-no! You’re lying! This is some sort of princess trick!” Kyle stammered, Rogelio’s eyes narrowed, and he growled threateningly.

“I’m not! I-” There was a flash of light, and Adora found herself standing several feet shorter, gripping her sword tightly, her eyes focused on the ground. 

“ Adora?” Kyle whispered, disbelief seeping into his voice. “I- you- what happened to you? You’re a princess!” He paused, the blood draining from his face. “This is why you deserted, isn’t it.”

“No! It's complicated, but it wasn’t because of this! This is kind of a new development actually” Adora mumbled, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. “Look, you both need to go. I need to defend Brightmoon, but I don’t want to hurt you, so please just leave . ”

Rogelio shook his head, growling something incomprehensible. Kyle was trembling, but he stood his ground. Adora gazed at them sadly. “ Please , go.”

Kyle’s head turned to the direction of the woods, as if seriously considering running, but put his hand on Rogelio’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Adora, but the Horde took us in when no one else would, we can’t just abandon them, or Lonnie.”

Adora sighed. “I’m sorry too, but I can’t let you destroy my home.”

As Rogelio roared and charged her, Adora raised her sword, and was Shera once more.

—-------------------------------------------------

Catra ducked behind a ruined tank, her breath coming in quick gasps, as she wondered how it had all gone wrong. Only a couple hours ago she’s been cheerfully showing off Snack to Glimmer Adora and Bow, laughing at the disgusted look on the sparkly princesses face. She’d looked ready to punch Catra when she suggested she hold the lizard, but her expression quickly morphed into a giddy laugh, she couldn’t stay mad for long, no one could, not when they were finally coming home. Micah had looked more alive then she’d ever seen him pacing across the deck of the ship nervously, and she really couldn’t blame him, not when every glance Adora sent her heart racing. She’d pinched herself several times already, but still could hardly believe she wasn’t dreaming.

Then Glimmer collapsed.

Gasping in pain the princess had clutched at her chest as Bow and Micah rushed to her side. It took several painfully long seconds before the princess relaxed, her previously joyful face morphing into fear.

“The moonstone! It’s- something’s wrong!” She gasped. 

Bow kicked the ship into overdrive, going much faster than what was safe, but no one cared. Too anxious to worry about safety. Catra tried to reassure herself that it would be fine, that no matter what, they’d figure it out. Then she saw the woods. Micah had told her stories of the woods, a dangerous, magical place. It’s towering trees protecting Brightmoon from harm for a millenia. But that wasn’t what she saw. The entire forest was covered in a thick layer of ice, vegetation lay dead underfoot, and trees collapsed over dirt roads. Large gouges had been carved into the earth, and Catra didn’t want to think about what had made them, but she knew. She’d recognize the Horde’s machines anywhere. She felt Micah grip her hand, and looked up to see her own fear reflected in his eyes. Fear that was realized when they finally reached Brightmoon.

The outer grounds were covered in wreckage, bodies littered the ground as the shallow lake surrounding the palace had nearly turned red from blood. Catra’s heart pounded in her chest as the screams and cries of soldiers drifted over from the battlefield to where the skiff was slowly coming to a stop…

A blast hit the ground beside her, jolting Catra back to the present. She squinted, scanning the battlefield for something to orient herself, having easily lost her way in the chaos. For a brief second, a bright flash of pink light contrasted the stormy sky, and Catra smiled to herself. Knowing Micah (and Glimmer she supposed) they’d have gone to help the queen. She prepared to run towards the light, but another flash stopped her in her tracks. Red electrical energy crackled through the air, and Catra’s blood ran cold, her mind only able to fixate on one thought.

No.

Catra nearly laughed right then and there, the battle raging around her. Of course Shadow Weaver was here, ruining everything, she always did. Catra clenched her hands into fists, not caring that her unsheathed claws were drawing blood from her palms. She felt her magic course through her as she steeled herself and started walking towards the red lightning. Despite the chill running down her spine, Catra knew she could face her. She wasn’t a scared child anymore, she was strong, she had magic of her own now, and family, one she couldn’t let Shadow Weaver hurt.

—-------------------------------------------------

Adora dodged a blow from Rogelio, shoving him backwards and blocking a shot from Kyle’s stun baton with her sword. Rogelio lunged again, and three thin lines appeared on her arm, small droplets of blood already seeping from the wound. Adora had already given up on trying to talk them down. If it had just been Kyle she might have managed, but Rogelio wasn’t backing down, and Kyle wouldn’t leave him. Adora knew the cause of their fight ran deeper than the two opposing sides, her former friends were angry at her, for leaving, for helping the rebellion, and worst of all, Adora couldn’t blame them. Not fully anyways. She dodged another blow, wincing as she noticed the force behind it. 

Then she saw the sky. More accurately the red lightning streaking across it. Adora’s breath hitched in her throat as she realized what it meant. Rogelio took advantage of her momentary distraction, and charged her. Adora barely snapped back to attention in time, swinging at him before he could hit her. He was thrown backwards by the force of the blow, landing in the water with a sickening thud . Adora barely spared a glance as Kyle rushed over to him before she took off running, her mind focused on one single thought.

I have to find Catra.

—-------------------------------------------------

Catra ran, breathless across the battlefield as lightning flashed across the sky. She scanned the area, trying to catch a glimpse of Micah and Glimmer, hoping to find them before Shadow Weaver did. It took several minutes, but she eventually found them. Micah had his back turned to her, kneeling over something, or someone, Catra couldn’t see. Glimmer sat beside him, eerily still, as if there wasn’t a battle being fought all around her. She breathed a sigh of relief, before noticing a third figure, slowly approaching them.

“Get away from them!”

Catra barely had time to realize she was even speaking before she launched herself between Shadow Weaver and Micah and Glimmer, a fireball already burning in her palm.

“You.” Shadow Weaver spat as she stumbled back, her eyes widening with surprise. Catra realized just how ragged the sorceress looked, blood pouring out of a deep wound on her shoulder, her mask barely secured to her face. She was a far cry from the powerful sorceress who had tormented her for most of her childhood, but the air of danger hadn’t left, and Catra forced herself to smirk, hoping it would mask her fear.

“Didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?”

“No, I suppose I've never been that lucky.” Catra flinched as Shadow Weaver shakily raised her arms, lightning gathering at her fingertips. “But it doesn’t matter, I’ll just take you out myself, like I should have done all those years ago!”

She hurled a lightning bolt at Catra, who deflected it quickly with her own spell. She smiled at the shocked look on the sorceresses’ face.

“You can try, but I'm not the same scared kid you sent to die on Beast Island”

Shadow Weaver struck, again. Catra deflected, again.

“You thought Beast Island would kill me, but all it ever did was make me stronger.”

Catra threw a fireball at Shadow Weaver, leaving a blistering burn across her arm.

“I’ve grown, trained, survived.”

The battle raged around them, but Catra kept her eyes locked on Shadow Weaver, the fear that had previously coursed through her giving way to a quiet confidence. She wasn’t a scared child, not anymore, she had power.

“I’ve become so much more than you ever thought I could be.”

Shadow Weaver stumbled, trying to back away from Catra, her injuries slowing her down as the magicat slowly advanced. Catra’s face showed no emotions, only a grim determination.

“I met someone who actually cares about me, in a way you never could. I have a family now, and I won’t let you ruin it.”

“Catra!”

Catra’s head whipped around to see Adora, in her shera form, standing behind her, her face filled with worry.

“Adora?” Catra called, her posture relaxing at the sight of her friend.

“Adora? Is that you?” 

Catra had been so relieved to see Adora that she’d briefly forgotten the living nightmare laying on the ground just a few feet away from her. Shadow Weaver gazed at Adora, her eyes narrowing in thoughtfulness.

“I always knew you were powerful, but this… you are so much stronger than I ever could have imagined.”

“No.” Adora moved the stand next to Catra, glaring at Shadow Weaver. “You don’t get to talk to me like you care about me, about any of us, not after what you’ve done.”

Shadow Weaver flicked her eyes between Catra and Adora, scrambling backwards slowly as she realized what Adora knew.

“You sent Catra to Beast Island, you lied to me, you’ve manipulated me my whole life .”

Adora walked over to Shadow Weaver, and Catra hesitated as she raised her sword.

“I’m done listening to you.”

In one swift motion Adora clubbed Shadow Weaver over the head with the hilt of her sword, knocking the woman unconscious, and she collapsed to the ground with a splash . Adora turned back to Catra, a relieved smile on her face. One which quickly morphed to horror as her gaze landed on something behind Catra. She dropped her sword, running past Catra.

“No, nonononono…” She muttered as Catra turned to see what she was looking at. 

Catra’s gaze landed on a still figure. Large shimmering wings framed her body as blood pooled from a gaping wound in her stomach, as her chest rose and fell raggedly, her breaths growing shallower with each gasp. Micah knelt next to her, his face stained with tears as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Glimmer was beside him, her expression painfully hollow. Adora sat opposite to them, gripping Angella’s hand tightly. Catra slowly walked over to Micah, her feet dragging through the shallow water. When she finally reached him, she put her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t react to the touch, his eyes still fixed on the person in front of him, his wife , bleeding out into the cold ground.

“Come on Angie, please , don’t go, not now.” He begged as Catra could only look on helplessly. 

“Old man, I don’t think…” She trailed off, scared to finish the sentence.

“No.” he didn’t look at her when he spoke. “She’ll make it, maybe no one else could but…she’ll be fine, she has to be.” His voice broke on the last words.

Catra opened her mouth to speak again, but trailed off when she saw what he was talking about. The smaller wounds on Angella’s arms and legs had already closed, leaving nothing but faint scars. The ragged wound in her abdomen was desperately trying to knit itself closed. 

“Angelic blood.” Micah chuckled wetly. “It has a few perks.”

Catra felt a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly snuffed out. Angella was healing, but not quick enough. Catra could only watch as her breathing grew shallower, her chest rising and falling, before eventually falling still, only for a second.

Then it was two.

Then three.

Micah cupped Angella’s face, pleading desperately for her to come back as Glimmer let out a keening wail. Catra’s breath caught in her throat, unsure of what to do, of what she could do.

It had been four seconds. Four seconds of stillness before she began to breathe again, her body continuing to knit itself back together agonizingly slowly. Micah let out a gasp, his face breaking into a watery smile and Catra and Glimmer stared on, disbelieving. Adora let out a small cry of joy.  No one had bothered to notice the faint glow of Adora’s hand as it gripped the queen’s, not even the arcane warrior herself. Micah finally turned to look at Catra, his eyes shining with hope, and Catra couldn’t help but smile back. The queen hadn’t moved, hadn't woken up, at least not yet. But it didn’t matter, she would live.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Castle- present day—--

Catra flicked her tail as she sat in the rafters above the kitchen, her new Brightmoon uniform tugging uncomfortably at her fur, but still she waited. She had been sitting there for a good half-hour, waiting for the chefs to finish their latest project. She’d become well-accustomed to Brightmoon’s first come, first served policy when it came to food, and she had every intention of being first. There was never a lack of prepared food at the Castle, something Catra had quickly come to appreciate after the food scarcity on the Island, but this specific meal was special. Catra watched as a chef finished piping a purple design onto a frankly, obscenely shimmery cake, and continued to slice it into pieces, placing them delicately on plates. She leapt down from her vantage point, ignoring the shocked gasps of several palace staff, and snatched the first two plates of cake she could. She didn’t bother looking at anyone as she exited the kitchens, but she felt several pairs of eyes on her anyways. The staring had unnerved her at first, it still did honestly. After so many years with just Micah for company, being around other people made her fur stand on end, being the center of attention wherever she went only made things worse. Adora had assured her that everyone would calm down eventually, get used to her, but they hadn't yet.

Catra rounded a corner, most of the castle was still unfamiliar, but she knew this route at least somewhat well. As she walked Catra idly scooped some of the frosting off one of the cakes, popping it in her mouth and smiling, it tasted just as good as Micah said it would. She stopped in front of two large doors and braced herself as she stepped inside.

The infirmary was full to the brim of injured soldiers, the Battle of Brightmoon had left its mark on all of them. And they were the lucky ones. Catra didn’t make eye contact, keeping her gaze locked onto the floor as she walked into a separate room. The room was pretty, Catra supposed, she didn’t really have much to judge it against, but it was nice enough. Gentle breeze flowed through an open window, causing pale pink curtains to move slightly. Medical equipment was moved to the side to make space for a bed sitting in the center of the room. A small bedside table was next to it, holding a vase with some delicate flowers. Lying on the bed, unmoving, was Queen Angella. Catra had only seen the queen once, and considering she was dying, it probably wasn’t at her best, but somehow, she almost managed to look worse. Her skin was a sickly gray, faint scars tracing over her arms, legs and wings, shimmering slightly with a dark reddish-purple Catra knew all too well, dark magic. Her chest rose and fell faintly, but steadily, which Catra supposed was the only good sign. Catra forced herself to wrench her gaze from the comatose queen, she wasn’t the person she’d come here for. Micah sat in one of the chairs beside the bed, gripping Angella’s hand tightly. He turned to look at Catra as she entered, and she realized just how tired he looked. He was dressed in new sorcerer robes, his hair done up in a half-bun, but his outfit did nothing to hide the red puffiness of his eyes, or the bags under them that made Catra wonder when the last time he’d slept was.

“Hey kiddo.” 

“Hey old man.” Catra held out one of the plates to him. “I brought cake. It’s plum, your favorite.” She chuckled. “Turns out it does exist, who knew?”

Micah smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

He sat down again, accepting the plate and a fork, and Catra pulled up a chair to sit next to him, eating her own slice of cake. They were both silent for a while, falling back into old patterns of just sitting. Enjoying whatever downtime they’d managed to achieve without something trying to kill them, before Catra spoke.

“How has she been doing, any better?” Micah shook his head sadly and Catra’s ears flicked back, trying to think of something comforting to say

“It’s been two weeks.” Micah’s voice was tired, defeated. “It’s been two weeks and she hasn’t woken up and they don’t know why.”  His voice broke on the last word and he let out a heavy sigh. “All the best doctors, sorcerers, hells even my sister stopped by, and no one can figure out what’s wrong.”

Catra wasn’t sure what to say, so she stayed quiet, finishing her cake. Once she was done, she stood up to leave, turning to Micah one last time.

“You should… get some rest, okay old man?”

Catra walked out of the infirmary almost on autopilot. Still avoiding looking at the injured soldiers her feet moved with a mind of their own, taking her through the castle. She ignored the whispers as she passed by staff and soldiers, her ears flattening with discomfort. She stepped outside, relishing the feeling of the sun hitting her skin as she made her way to the training grounds through the gardens. She made it there in surprisingly little time, only getting lost twice. Which Catra considered impressive because the palace grounds were practically maze-like. She eventually found her way to the training courtyard. Several soldiers were sparring, and the sound of metal clanging rang out through the courtyard. Catra walked past them, to a more secluded area. She smiled when she saw Adora sitting on a bench, inspecting her sword frustratedly.

“Figured I’d find you here.”

Adora looked up and smiled, pushing her sword to the side.

“Catra! Hey!” 

“Figured you’d still be out here, the world isn’t going to end if you take a break you know?” Catra poked Adora in the shoulder teasingly, her tail flicking playfully. “Come on, let’s go for a walk, I need to get out of the palace.”

She grabbed Adora’s hands, pulling her up from the bench. She frowned when she noticed Adora grabbing the sword, who in turn shrugged as the two headed for the woods. Catra found the woods both comforting and unfamiliar. She’d spent a good chunk of her life surrounded by greenery and wild animals, but not this greenery and these wild animals, and she had to stop herself from constantly keeping an eye out for any potential predators. But on the other hand, getting away from all the people and the staring was incredibly refreshing. Catra took a deep breath as she enjoyed the scenery. The trees had started to change color, from green to a dazzling mural of red and orange.

I guess you were right, old man, the trees really do look like they're bathed in gold.

She smiled at the thought, but frowned when she saw Adora, walking stiffly, her face furrowed in concentration.

“You do know this is supposed to be a relaxing walk right?” Catra bumped her with her shoulder playfully. “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing.” Adora sighed.

Catra rolled her eyes. “You do know you’re a terrible liar right? Come on, tell me the truth.”

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just…I feel like I should be doing more.”

“Uh, what are you talking about? We literally won the battle of Brightmoon because of you! You’ve been doing plenty!”

“But I should be doing more , I’m supposedly this great big hero with all these magical powers, but I barely even know what they are! Let alone how to use them.”

“Powers you got less than three weeks ago, no one’s going to blame you for still learning how to use them.”

“That’s not the point! The point is that the only two people who might know anything about this are either missing, or in a coma, and maybe if I knew anything about this I could heal her, but I don’t!” Adora sat down with a huff, dropping her sword beside her. “I just feel useless.”

“The point is to do what you can, and let everyone else do the rest. No one expects you to do everything by yourself, because you can’t . Let the doctors worry about the queen, and just focus on what you can do.”

Adora smiled, as if contemplating her words. “When did you get so wise?”

Catra nudged her affectionately, sitting down beside her. “I’ve always been this wise, dummy, you just never listened to me.”

Adora snorted. “I seem to remember you getting us into a lot of trouble as kids.”

Catra shoved her lightly. “Only as much as you did!”

They sat there laughing, Catra staring at the brilliant gold forest canopy, blissfully devoid of murderous monsters. There were a few moments of silence, only broken by the chatter of wild animals, before Catra spoke.

“You said someone was missing?”

“A princess, Entrapta. No one’s heard from her since the battle, she’d been staying at Brightmoon, but now she’s gone. The best case scenario she just left back to Dryl but that… doesn’t seem like her.”

“You think the Horde has her?”

Adora nodded. “No one’s been able to confirm but…” She sighed again. “The rebellion’s still recovering from the attack on Brightmoon, if the Horde has her…”

Catra grimaced in understanding, wrapping her arm around Adora’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”

Adora nodded again, before getting to her feet. “It’s getting late, we should head back.”

Catra hadn’t noticed the sun beginning to dip below the horizon, and stood up, stretching as she did. “Yeah, we should hurry, I don’t want to miss dinner.”

—-------------------------------------------------

The sun had set, leaving the sky an inky black by the time the two had finished dinner. Adora left to go back to “her” room. (although Catra had by now claimed half of it, neither of them fully used to sleeping on their own) The castle had fallen mostly silent and Catra found herself in the infirmary once more, sitting in front of Angella. The room was empty except for the two of them, silent to, only the distant chitter of nighttime critters and the hooting of a faraway owl could be heard.

“You’re making everyone sad, you know.”

No response. Catra sighed, she really didn’t know what she was doing here, both Micah and Glimmer were gone but something felt like it had been tugging her to the room.

“Come on! Everyone’s waiting for you to wake up, Glimmer spends all her free time here, Adora’s been beating herself up over not being able to heal you, and I didn’t think it was possible for Micah to look sadder here than on Island, but here we are , so wake up already!”

Still nothing and Catra flicked her tail impatiently. “Are all princesses this stubborn or is it just you?”

The queen’s face was as still as ever and Catra scowled, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. What did she expect? That the queen would magically wake up? She stalked out of the room, not bothering to pay attention to the person standing just outside the door.

—-------------------------------------------------

Glimmer had not been eavesdropping. She’d just been standing, quietly, in earshot, trying to not be noticed. She was pretty sure if Catra had caught her, she’d have yelled at her loud enough to wake the whole castle, or at least serve her an icy glare. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t. Glimmer had struggled to get a read on the girl, she seemed almost unpredictable. Glimmer supposed it was a side effect of growing up in the Frightzone, and later, Beast Island, or maybe it was just her personality. Either way Glimmer had not been noticed as Catra stalked out of the infirmary, and she breathed a sigh of relief, before taking a deep breath and bracing herself, walking into the room. 

A small part of Glimmer had always viewed her mother as almost… ethereal, otherworldly. Pristine, a perfect example of a perfect ruler, person . So when she’d finally gotten a glimpse of her mother after medics had pulled her off the battlefield once the Horde had been driven off, she’d been terrified. Sure she knew her mother had been hurt, bad . She’d watched her nearly die after all. But she would bounce back, heal, Glimmer knew she would. It had been two weeks, and Glimmer was still waiting. She sat down in one of the chairs, and grabbed her mother’s hand.

“Hi… mom, it’s me. I know you aren’t listening but… things with dad are going pretty well actually! He still isn’t quite used to the fact that I'm not a kid anymore, but we’re adjusting. There’s Catra too, she can be a bit tricky to talk to but I like her, and I think you would too.” Glimmer smiled as she imagined the two meeting.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to visit earlier today, It’s been really busy here. And people are looking to me for answers. Me! I honestly don’t know what I’m doing, but dad and General Juliette have been helping where they can, and I don’t think I could be doing this without Bow.” Glimmer paused, her smile faltering.

“I miss you, and… I'm scared. No one knows why you won’t wake up but-” she glanced at the scars on her mother’s arms, watching as they shimmered a faint purple, only for a second. “-I think I know who might.”

She turned to leave, but before she let go of her mother’s hand she uttered one final vow. “I’ll fix this, I promise.”

Breaking into Shadow Weaver’s “holding cell” was surprisingly easy. Guards stood at attention on the outside of the room, ready to stop anyone from entering, or breaking out, but they didn’t take a teleporting princess into account. Glimmer steeled herself and poofed into the room, gripping her father’s staff tight. The Shadow Weaver was sat in the center of the room, surrounded by layers of containment spells keeping her trapped. She had her nose buried in a book, but when Glimmer entered she looked up lazily.

“Took you long enough.”

Glimmer held her staff defensively, pointing it at Shadow weaver. “You knew I was coming?”

“I figured with your mother in her… condition , it wouldn't be long before someone visited me, demanding answers. I was actually expecting Micah to be the first to be honest, but I suppose you must care more.”

Glimmer gritted her teeth. She knew this woman was a master manipulator, and she knew she had to keep a cool head, but simply listening to her talk was aggravating.

“I thought I was the first person to talk to you, how do you know what condition my mother is in?”

Shadow Weaver chuckled, a small slimy laugh that made Glimmer’s skin crawl. “I know what my magic is capable of, what it can do to people.” she sighed, and if Glimmer thought she was capable of it, she would have assumed Shadow Weaver sounded remorseful. “Those fools at Mystacor never studied dark magic properly, too caught up in their own narrow minded ideals and ethics, but I did.”

“What. did. You. do. To. my. Mother?” Glimmer growled. “Why hasn’t she woken up?” desperation began to seep into her voice as Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s simple really, enough dark magic concentrated in one person– and trust me I attacked your mother with more than enough– will kill them, slowly.” She locked her gaze with Glimmer’s, her earlier carelessness replaced with a burning intensity. “Your mother will die, unless of course I tell you how to save her, but I’m afraid I have no reason to do so.”

“Make your point.”

“I want to escape, and what I need for that, is a sorcerer’s badge. I don’t particularly care who’s but I imagine Micah’s would be the easiest to obtain, he is the only sorcerer to live in Brightmoon after all.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“How am I supposed to trust that you won’t… I don’t know, use this badge to go on a rampage and attack Brightmoon?”

Shadow Weaver regarded her, irritated. “I barely have enough energy to cast a teleportation spell, I’m in no shape to go on a rampage . ”

Glimmer had to concede on that point, the sorcerer was in rough shape. Her shoulder was hastily patched up with a blood-soaked bandage, her hair hung limply on her shoulders, her mask sporting a massive crack down the middle. Glimmer breathed a heavy sigh before nodding.

“I’ll do it.”

The door to her mother’s room creaked open as Glimmer carefully made her way inside. The room was empty, and just like she’d remembered, almost. Her dad had grabbed some of his old things, and adjusted the bed, but mostly left the room untouched. Glimmer held her breath as she quietly made her way to a shelf on the other end of the room. She knew exactly where her mother had kept her dad’s old badge, and with any luck, he hadn’t moved it. She rifled through the shelf and eventually came across an old box, humming with happiness as she opened it to find what she was looking for. Guilt settled heavily in her stomach but she pushed it aside, if her dad knew what she was doing, and why, he’d forgive her. She grabbed the box and teleported out of the room.

Appearing back in Shadow Weaver's “cell” she set the box down gently, just inside Shadow Weaver’s circle of containment spells, so they both could reach it. Glimmer didn’t want to take any chances of Shadow Weaver bolting.

“I got it, now tell me how to save my mother.”

“It’s rather simple, all you have to do is reach out to the magic poisoning your mother, and command it to leave.”

“And how do I do that?”

Shadow Weaver sighed and Glimmer suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “You princesses siphon magic from your runestone, right? Well sorcery is much the same, only we take magic from the very world instead, dark magic is no different. Just focus on the magic around you, and wield it, like you do with the moonstone.”

Glimmer nodded. “And you really think I’m capable of this?”

“Oh princess, you are capable of so much more than you realize.”

Glimmer teleported out of the room, as Shadow Weaver knelt down to open the box, her eyes crinkling up in a sickening smile of triumph.

—-------------------------------------------------

Glimmer stood over her mother, her stomach churning with nerves as she held out her hands, trying to focus on Shadow Weaver’s words. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she concentrated, trying to feel the magic around her. Excitement bubbled up inside her as she realized she actually could , fragments of light magic drifted through the air, playful flickers of earth and water magic hummed from the nearby vase of flowers, and something sinister emanated from her mother’s still body. She focused harder, feeling the dark magic writhe under her mother’s skin, until eventually… she could almost shape it. Determination spurred her onwards as she felt light flicker at her fingertips, the beginning of a spell starting to form. She forced the magic to seep out of her mother’s skin, flittering away to some dark shadow Glimmer hoped to never see again. She sunk down into a chair, exhausted. She’d been up all night, the day moons starting to bleed an orange light onto the horizon, signaling dawn. She yawned, but snapped back to attention when she saw her mother shift only slightly. She held her breath as she waited, her body stone still with anticipation. Each second seemed to drag on for an eternity until slowly, very slowly, her mother’s eyes fluttered open.

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Angella was drowning. Or at least, that’s what it felt like. She was in a black void, contrasted only by a bright light she could feel herself sinking further and further away from. She tried to move towards it, but the harder she tried the more resistance she felt. It was like moving through honey, each movement slow and sluggish, and she eventually gave up, sinking further into darkness. Time passed in a blur, Angella wasn’t sure how long she’d been like this, or even what was truly happening. One moment she’d feel something, just for a second, or hear a voice, and the next would be blank. Over time the darkness began to feel more and more suffocating, like shadows wrapping themselves around her, squeezing tightly. She gasped for breath, or maybe she didn’t, Angella wasn’t sure what she was doing anymore. All she knew was that something was wrong. As she felt herself slip further and further away Angella tried to scream, to call for someone, anyone to help. Then, all of a sudden, the shadows were gone. Angella could move, she could breathe . 

Then, she woke up.

Angella opened her eyes slowly, blinking as they adjusted to the light in the room. She was lying in a bed, somewhere in Brightmoon she assumed. As she tried to orient herself she heard a familiar, worried voice.

“...mom?”

“Glimmer?” Angella tried to sit up frantically as she heard her daughter’s voice, memories of the Battle rushing through her mind. She fell back with a groan of pain as her body protested the movement.

“Woah, mom! Be careful, you’re still pretty hurt.”

 “The Horde! They-“

“It’s okay mom, we drove them off, everyone’s fine, Brightmoon’s fine, we’re fine.”

Angella nodded mutely as her heart rate slowed and she tried to wrap her head around what Glimmer had just said. She maneuvered herself into a sitting position, much more slowly this time, and sighed. Brightmoon was okay , her family was okay, she couldn’t understand how, but it was enough for now.

“How long have I been… out?”

Glimmer looked away, almost guiltily. “Two weeks.” She muttered.

“What?!” Angella was panicking again. “I can’t have been out for two weeks! What about the kingdom and-”

“It’s okay! Everything is fine, I've been handling it.”

“On your own?”

“I’ve had help! The General, and-” Glimmer gave an odd little cough, something unreadable flickering across her face. “Bow’s been helping too, plus the Horde has been quiet ever since we drove them off.”

“Glimmer, about that…” Angella remembered the feeling of hopelessness, the knowledge that all that awaited her and her kingdom was death or imprisonment, and most of all, an overwhelming feeling of failure. She opened her mouth to speak but another stab of pain rushed through her, she flinched and grabbed at her side. Glimmer looked at her, concern visible on her face. 

“Are you okay? I’m going to go grab a doctor.”

“Glimmer I’m fine, I-” Glimmer didn’t wait for her mother to respond, poofing away in a cloud of sparkles before Angella could even finish speaking, leaving her in silence. Angella sighed, glancing out the window, her hand moving down to her stomach. She winced as she remembered the agony of being stabbed. She could almost still feel the blood running down her bandaged torso. She shook her head, her wings fluttering slightly as she tried to shake the memories from her mind. Glimmer appeared a few seconds later, and it turns out she meant “grab a doctor” very literally. Her shoulder was on a very disoriented young woman with spectacles and medical gear, holding a cup of coffee. She took several deep breaths until she no longer looked green from teleportation, readjusted her glasses, and got to work, with one last longing look at her coffee. 

Aside from a fractured ankle and the stab wound on her stomach, her other injuries had healed fully, leaving small scars Angella had to stop herself from covering with her hands as the doctor went to inspect them. She hated looking at them, at everything they reminded her of. She supposed ordering longer gloves might be a good idea. 

After the doctor was done inspecting her, making sure she was healing properly, and giving her a stern warning to stay in bed and rest, she slipped out of the room. Presumably leaving to tell the castle Angella had woken up. Glimmer stayed by her side, recounting the trip to Beast Island, the miraculous recovery of Adora’s friend, Catra, and of course Shera. Angella had been startled to hear of Adora’s true identity, but it made sense. As much sense as an ancient hero returning could, anyways. She had played a major role in fending off the Horde, and saving Brightmoon. But even as Glimmer talked, Angella had a feeling she was leaving something out. She looked like she was almost about to let something slip, but would stop herself several times. Angella was about to press her about it, ask her daughter what she was keeping from her, when the doctor from earlier poked her head into the room, nodding slightly. Glimmer got a strange expression on her face, a mix of pure nervousness, and excitement. 

“There’s someone who’s here to see you.” She said, bouncing on her feet like a little kid.

“Who?” Angella regarded Glimmer only slightly suspiciously, she could think of several people who might want to see her, but none would garner that kind of reaction from her daughter.

“It’s a surprise!” Glimmer rushed out, before teleporting out of the room. Leaving Angella in both silence, and utter confusion.

That was, until the door creaked open.

Angella had had dreams like this before. Some were almost pleasant, he would be standing there, smiling and laughing like nothing had gone wrong. She would leap forward to embrace him, but would always wake up before they touched, her love slipping through her fingertips like smoke. The other dreams were far more cruel, Micah would tower over her, fury plain on his face as he blamed her for his death. Blame Angella knew she deserved as her mind ran through all the ways he could have died. Until she woke with a start, her breath coming in gasps and her heart pounding. Angella wasn’t sure which ones she hated most, at least the nightmares didn’t give her hope just to take it away. At least the nightmares were honest.

But this was nothing like those dreams. The man standing before her was smiling, his eyes crinkled up in a familiar, comforting way, but he also looked nervous. His arms bore the scars of survival. His face, one Angella thought would stay young forever, lost to some forgotten battlefield, was aged, his hair greyed. The two stared at each other for several seconds as Angella felt tears rush to her eyes.

“...Micah?”

Her voice, barely a whisper, broke the spell and she rushed out of the bed to him, stumbling slightly on her injured ankle. She didn’t care though, her arms wrapped around him as he returned the gesture, hugging her tightly. 

“Angella.” He whispered, crying softly.

“You’re alive.” she sobbed, tears flowing freely down her face. She could feel his arms around her, hear his quiet sobs, feel his heartbeat. Some part of Angella thought she was still dreaming, that she would wake up any second, alone. But she didn’t, she stayed here, awake , this was real. She could have stayed like that forever, not wanting to let go, but eventually she was forced to, the pain in her ankle going from a dull throbbing to an intense stabbing. She let go of the embrace as they both sat on the bed, but she kept a tight grip on his hand. Afraid that if she let go fully, he would slip through her fingers once more. Micah cupped his hand to her face, wiping away her tears, and Angella leaned into the touch.

“How are you here?” she choked out. “I thought… I thought you were dead.”  

“Well dying would mean leaving you behind, so I couldn’t exactly do that.”

Angella chuckled softly, but her smile dropped as something clicked in her brain.

“The Horde sent you to Beast Island, didn’t they?” Guilt welled up inside Angella as Micah looked away, his gaze cast downwards, the scars on his arms gaining a sickening new context.

“Micah…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I should have realized you survived! I-I should have-”

“Angie.” Micah’s voice was firm but comforting. “None of this was your fault.”

Angella blinked at him, speechless. He… didn’t blame her? How could he not? If she had never sent him out on the field, he wouldn’t have been captured in the first place. She hadn’t even realized she’d started crying again until she felt the tears roll down her cheeks as Micah stared at her, concern evident in his face.

“Have you really been blaming yourself this whole time?”

Angella almost couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes. Eyes filled with worry, with love. Love she knew she didn’t deserve, yet would do anything to keep. She pulled Micah into a hug once more, feeling him lean his head against her shoulder as she wrapped her wings around the both of them.

“If I hadn’t ordered that battle, you never would have been captured, none of this would have happened.” She whispered, her voice shaking slightly.

“No.” Micah shook his head. “That wasn’t your fault, you didn’t take me prisoner, or send me to Beast Island, the horde did. You didn’t cause any of this.”

At his words Angella sighed, letting herself relax just slightly. She smiled, Micah had always had a way with words, with getting people to believe him.

“I missed you so much . I spent years praying that somehow, someway, you would come back to me ” She breathed deep, smiling through her tears. The past fourteen years felt hollow and empty compared to this moment.

“I know, and I'm so sorry, I wish I could have come back sooner. But I'm here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“ I love you , Micah.” She said, the guilt inside her fading just a little. 

“I love you too Angie.”

There in the infirmary Angella let herself truly relax for the first time since she’d lost her husband. And she allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, it hadn’t been her fault. And maybe, just maybe , everything would be okay.

-----The Frightzone- present day-----

Lonnie sat stone-still above Hordak’s throne, wrapped in shadows as she watched the conversation below her unfold. She felt a cramp in her leg but didn’t dare move, the risk of being caught keeping her in place. Lonnie wasn’t sure what the punishment for spying on such an important meeting was, and she didn’t want to find out. The meeting had been going on for hours, but Lonnie still hadn’t gotten the information she had come for. 

“…And what of Shadow Weaver? Do you intend to leave her in the Rebellion’s clutches?”

Lonnie perked up as Vultak’s gravelly voice drifted up from below. 

“Shadow Weaver has squandered the power I gave her, and even with the princesses weakened she could not secure a single victory, she is no longer one of us, and I see no point in wasting soldiers on a rescue mission.”

Lonnie gritted her teeth, wanting to scream. She clenched her hands into fists to keep herself from leaping out of her hiding spot. Hordak was just going to leave Shadow Weaver in the rebel’s hands? How could he?! Hordak had never cared about his underlings, that much was obvious to anyone who grew up in the Horde, but Lonnie expected him to at the very least not abandon his own second-in-command. 

“And what of her position? Who do you intend to fill it?”

Lonnie turned her attention from Hordak to his generals, all leaning forward, their eyes gleaming with anticipation like a flock of vultures circling some poor animal’s carcass. Lonnie shuddered as she watched Grizzlorlick his lips hungrily.

“I will pick a suitable candidate soon, that is all any of you need to know.”

“And the Black Garnet? It was under her care, who will get it now.”

Hordak leaned closely, his face inches from Vultak’s, his mouth twisted into a menacing snarl. 

“The Black Garnet is mine to give or take as I see fit, it is not your concern. Am I understood?”

Vultak gulped nervously, his vulture-like wings fluttering fearfully. “Yes My Lord.”

“Good, you are dismissed. All of you.”

Each of his general’s nodded, leaving swiftly. Hordak let out an annoyed sigh as Imp crawled onto his shoulder, nudging him affectionately.

“Vultak is a fine candidate for second-in-command, but setting his sights on the Black Garnet is greedy, after all, it already has an owner… Isn’t that right, Lonnie?”

Lonnie’s heart stopped in her chest, and she started to panic. She froze completely, praying that if she didn’t move, he wouldn’t acknowledge her again. She wasn’t sure what the punishment for eavesdropping on the leader of the Horde was, but she was sure it wasn’t pretty.

“I know you’re here, come out.”

“...you aren’t in trouble, I would like to speak with you.”

Hesitantly, Lonnie dropped down from her hiding place, the shadows surrounding her whisking away to reveal herself. She knelt down on one knee, avoiding meeting Hordak’s gaze.

“Yes, My Lord?”

“You managed to cloak yourself through the entire meeting without any of my generals noticing you? Impressive.”

“...thank you My Lord.”

“Much more impressive than anything Shadow Weaver was ever able to achieve.”

Lonnie bristled at the casual dismissal of her former mentor, but kept her face even.

“She taught me everything I know, My Lord.”

“And it appears you’ve surpassed her.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Hordak laughed, a grating, unpleasant sound. “I suppose we disagree on that point then, but that is not why I wanted to talk to you.” He paused, a small smirk on his face. “Ever since Shadow Weaver’s capture, the Black Garnet has sat unused, without a true sorcerer to harness its power. I would like to offer you that position. What do you say?”

Lonnie looked up, shock on her face. 

“...I accept.”

“Excellent, oh, and one last thing.”

“Yes My Lord?”

“Do not ever attempt to spy on me again. You are dismissed.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Lonnie’s footsteps echoed through the Frightzone’s halls as she stiffly walked away from Hordak’s sanctum. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she tried to process what had just happened. Had Hordak really just given her a promotion? And had he really just agreed to leave Shadow Weaver like that? Lonnie gritted her teeth, this promotion was supposed to be a good thing, so why did she feel so uneasy? Maybe she was nervous, after seeing how easily Hordak threw his underlings away, or maybe she was just worried about filling Shadow Weaver’s shoes, or maybe she just didn’t like Hordak. 

She paused as she passed the doors to her room, considering going inside. Rogelio was likely resting there, he’d broken his arm during the Battle of Brightmoon. No, he hadn’t, Adora had. Adora had attacked her friends, had hurt them. Lonnie realized her hands were clenched so tight her fingernails pressed into her palms, drawing blood. She forced herself to relax, and walked past the door.

She didn’t want to look at Rogelio’s injuries, or Kyle and Scorpia fussing over him, not right now. And she most certainly didn’t want to have to explain her promotion to them. They’d all freak out , and while Lonnie appreciated the sentiment, she was too overwhelmed to deal with that. She continued on to the Black Garnet chamber, its doors opening automatically as she stepped inside. The runestone was gleaming brightly, it had been ever since her and Shadow Weaver had cast the spell. She sighed and placed a hand on its jagged, cold, surface, feeling energy run through her. She winced, but quickly grinned, it hurt at first, but she could feel the magic start to flow her, buzzing in her veins. It felt like pure energy, it felt like power.

A loud noise from behind her caught her attention and Lonnie whirled around to see a figure collapsing to the ground, shadows all around her. Lonnie approached her nervously, but dropped any attempt at caution when she saw the figure’s face… or more accurately, her mask.

“...Shadow Weaver?”

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Glimmer raised her arms, feeling magic swirl through the air, forming a small circle in front of her, just a few inches from her outstretched fingertips. The magic seemed to almost come to life as she commanded it, forming sigils of ice, fire, water, earth and light. It was not unlike summoning her connection to the moonstone, but it felt more wild, harder to control, and ultimately weaker than her runestone magic. But what it lacked in power, it made up for in variety. Instead of just light magic at her disposal, she could command any element she wished… once she had a bit more training anyways. But as she continued the spell, unease grew inside her as a sense of familiarity washed over her. She remembered the feeling of dark magic writhing around her, her mother’s still face, and Shadow Weaver’s sneer of victory as Glimmer gave her the key to her escape. She drew back her hand suddenly, shuddering as she reminded herself that her mother was fine, and Shadow Weaver was gone. She had escaped to the Horde, Glimmer wouldn’t have to see her again, not soon anyways.

“You okay ki-, Glimmer?” Hearing her father’s voice jolted Glimmer back to reality, and she nodded slowly.

“I’m fine, this just… takes some getting used to.” Glimmer took a deep breath, reorienting herself. It had barely been three weeks since the Battle of Brightmoon but the palace was slowly rebuilding. Her mother was still recovering, but had taken over most of the royal duties. The Horde had been silent ever since the battle, nursing their wounds Glimmer assumed. As for the Horde, aside from Shadow Weaver’s “mysterious escape,” they’d been quiet. And with the emergence of Shera, the rebellion felt stronger than ever, but Adora’s new form wasn’t the only change in Brightmoon. Glimmer glanced back at her father, he was starting at her, his face a mix of pride and concern. 

“You’ll get the hang of it eventually, soon enough you’ll be casting spells like a master!”

Glimmer nodded, when Micah had first offered to teach her sorcery, she’d leapt at the opportunity, but it proved to be far more difficult than she'd anticipated. It wasn’t unlike using her runestone magic, but it was far more difficult to control. Glimmer couldn’t complain, not when it meant getting to spend time with her dad. They’d spent plenty of time together over the past several weeks. But it had always felt like a dark cloud was hanging over them, threatening to choke out any joy they found in each other's company. Glimmer knew her father’s fear for her mother’s life matched her own, and had strangled most of their conversations into solemn silence. Even after Angella had woken up, something else had driven a wedge between them. Micah was convinced his containment spell had failed, and that it had allowed Shadow Weaver to escape. Every time Glimmer overheard him talking about it, shame bubbled up inside her, and every time she tried to tell herself he would understand if he knew why she’d done it, the bitter taste of guilt burned in her mouth. She knew she was lying to herself, and it kept her mouth shut.

“You ready to try again?” Glimmer nodded, raising her arm trying to concentrate. She kept her breathing steady as she felt magic gather around her hands. Yet as she felt the spell begin to weave together, glowing sigils forming in the air, she couldn’t shake the sickening memories that began to creep into her head, breaking her concentration, shattering the spell. Glimmer huffed in frustration as the sigil disintegrated into dust, small glittering shards of magic drifting downwards around her. She kicked a rock sullenly, she had already used magic before, why was it so hard to do so again?

Glimmer felt Micah put a comforting hand on her shoulder, a small smile on his face. “Hey, don’t get discouraged. Learning sorcery takes time, and you’ve been doing great. Do you want to try again?”

“Thanks, but I think I need a break, see you at dinner?”

“...yeah, take care kiddo.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Angella closed the book she had been reading as the door to her room creaked open. She looked up and smiled as Micah stepped into the room. He sat down next to her, kissing her cheek softly and leaning his head on her shoulder. 

“Hello love, how was training with Glimmer?”

Micah sighed heavily, his face tinged with sadness. “It’s been going well, but I can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something, or avoiding being near me for too long, I just feel like I’ve done something wrong.”

Angella grabbed his hand, nudging him affectionately. “You haven’t done anything wrong, she just needs…time to adjust, I think we all do.”

“I know… I just miss my daughter.”

“I know my love.”

The conversation lapsed into quiet contemplation as the two simply relaxed in each other’s presence, a familiarity Angella had thought she’d lost forever. 

“How are you healing?”

Angella’s hand instinctively reached for her abdomen, feeling the large scar through her shirt. “I’m… fine, pretty much fully healed anyways.”

“I- when I first saw you during the battle, I thought… I thought I lost you.”

Angella looked over, her heart dropping as she saw tears forming in Micah’s eyes. “I’m here, I’m right here love. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Micah sighed again, this time out of relief more than anything. He hugged his arm around her shoulders, leaning in closer to her. Angella responded by lifting her wing, wrapping it around the both of them. She understood the need for closeness, and mirrored it. She had trouble believing he was really here, too.

“Sometimes, when I was on the island, the only thing keeping me going was getting back to Glimmer, and to you.” 

“I’m sorry, for everything you went through, I wish I had just known-”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Angella smiled weakly, she was the one fighting back tears now. “You’ve told me that already.”

“I know, and I’m going to keep telling you until you believe it.” He paused again, “And it wasn’t all bad, at least I got to meet Catra.”

“She’s a good kid, she just seems so skittish, like she’s just waiting for something bad to happen”

Micah nodded. “Well she’s not used to being around so many people, it was just us on the Island. And even before that… the Frightzone isn’t the best place to grow up.”

Angella shuddered, the Frightzone looked desolate enough from the outside… “I can’t imagine growing up there.” 

Micah’s expression darkened, his eyes narrowing with anger. “Sometimes with the way she talked, it was almost like she thought the Island was an improvement. I wish I could say it was hard to believe.” 

“At least she’s out of there, the Horde can’t hurt her.”

“Not anymore than they already have.”

Angella stayed silent, not sure what to say. She didn’t want to imagine a child growing up in such a cruel and hostile place as the Frightzone, but she couldn’t stop herself, her mind flicking through everything that girl must have gone through. She hoped she would have a chance to get to know Catra, and prove she was safe here.

—-------------------------------------------------

That chance would come much sooner than Angella expected, barely a day later. She landed softly on the Moonstone’s platform, staring mournfully at the runestone. Its light had dimmed greatly ever since the battle of Brightmoon, so had the Heart Tree in Plumeria. As far as Angella was aware, every runestone had been affected, she only wished there was a way to help them. As she surveyed the platform she caught sight of Catra sitting on the edge of the platform, a small lizard curled on her shoulder. She didn’t seem to notice Angella, not until she walked over next to the girl.

“Good morning Catra.”

Catra spooked, jumping up and scrambling into an awkward salute. “Fea- Uh, I mean Your Majesty! Good morning!”

Angella chuckled lightly. “It’s okay Catra, you can call me Angella.”

“Oh uh, good morning, Angella, what are you doing up here?”

“I simply wanted to check on the moonstone.”

“Oh, I guess I'll just… go then.”

“You can stay.”

Catra glanced at her nervously, like she was waiting for Angella to lash out or attack her, but she sat back down, keeping one eye on the queen.

“I see you have a pet lizard, what’s his name?” It was a bit of a pathetic attempt to strike up a conversation on Angella’s part, but it seemed to work. Catra relaxed, just slightly.

“I call him Snack.”

Angella couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Well that’s quite morbid.”

“Everyone always says that, but I think it fits.”

“I must admit I was quite surprised to find you had a pet lizard… consider Micah is deathly afraid of them.”

“Wait really? I don’t think he ever told me that.”

“Mhm, if there’s a story there he hasn’t told it, but he’s been scared of them as long as i’ve known him.” A small grin spread across Catra’s face, and she no longer looked terrified. Angella took the opportunity to sit next to her.

“How are you settling in? I know Brightmoon is pretty different from anywhere you’ve been before.”

“I’m…fine, it’s weird being around so many people.” She shifted slightly, her tail flicking behind her and the lizard… Snack, chirping happily as she scratched at his chin. “It’s nice not having to constantly dodge predators or hunt for each meal, and the people here are nicer than expected.”

“I’m glad to hear that, and if you need anything you can talk to me. I want Brightmoon to be a home for you.”

Catra smiled almost ruefully as Snack clambered into her lap. “Micah always said you’d be nice.”

“You didn’t believe him?”

“Before I came here, I didn’t know many nice people.”

Angella felt her heart shatter at Catra’s words, she wanted nothing more than to grab the girl and pull her into a tight hug, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it. Instead she reached a hand out, hesitating before placing it on Catra’s shoulder. The girl looked up at her, surprised.

“Brightmoon is nothing like where you grew up, I promise. There are plenty of nice people here, and I hope you can count me as one of them.”

Catra nodded, something akin to hope flickering in her eyes. They sat in silence for a while, interrupted only by the chattering of birds and the happy chirps of Snack.

“I do have one question…”

“What is it?”

“...Why does Adora’s room have a waterfall in it?”

Angella found herself laughing too hard to respond. Catra stared at her nervously as her laughter died down. “I’m…sorry! I’m sorry, It’s just that no one knows. Not even me. It’s been there as long as anyone can remember.”

“...what do you mean?”

“No one knows why it’s there, none of the other rooms have one.”

“But what’s the point? What purpose does it serve?”

They were both laughing now. “I wish I knew!”

As the laughter subsided Catra smiled at Angella. “I’m… glad I met you, and for the record, you do seem nice.”

“I’m glad to hear that Catra, I really am.”

Chapter Text

—--Brightmoon Palace- present day—--

Catra sat down in the chair next to Adora, surveying the room. She was sat at a round table, surrounded by the members of the princess alliance, or the other members she should say. Today was her first day as an official alliance member, and coincidentally, the first meeting of the alliance after the battle of Brightmoon. Micah and Angella sat at the head of the table, Glimmer and a woman with long black hair who Catra recognized as Micah’s sister sat beside them. The other members of the alliance sat by them, a girl with long blonde hair and a blinding smile, Bow of course, fiddling with one of his arrows, and two other older women. They nodded at Micah as they sat down, and Catra squinted at them, trying to get a read on the pair. One woman was dressed in a  blue-and-silver net-like getup, with a pink choker, the other was dressed in pink and purple, with flowy accessories and a silver choker that looked like it had been stolen right from her partner’s outfit. Huh . Catra wasn’t sure of the connection between the matching accessories, but she guessed it had something to do with the way they linked their arms, the way they looked at each other… she wondered if Adora would ever look at her like that. Wait, why was she thinking like that? Adora was just her friend, nothing more.

“Attention council members, I hereby call this meeting of the princess alliance to order.”

All heads turned to look at Angella as she stood from her seat, she carried an air of authority that automatically made you want to listen to her. But she kept a degree of warmth about her, reminding Catra of the kind woman who’d sat on the Moonstone’s platform with her. “As I’m sure you have all heard, today we welcome back an old member of the alliance, my husband, Micah!” She paused as several people applauded, Micah’s sister put her hand on his shoulder. Angella waited before the noise died down before continuing.

“We also have a new member joining us, Catra.” The attention was on her now, and Catra hated it. Several pairs of eyes turned to peer at her, and Catra squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. She was considering the merits of running straight out of the meeting room when she felt Adora grab her hand. Suddenly, she wanted to stay. Adora smiled at her reassuringly as the conversation thankfully moved on to another topic. 

“...After the appearance of She-ra during the battle of Brightmoon, Princess Mermista of Salineas has agreed to consider joining the princess alliance, if She-ra agrees to meet with her. Adora, I believe you agreed to these terms?”

Angella motioned to Adora, who nodded. Catra looked at her surprised, she hadn’t mentioned this, in fact, no one had. “Glimmer, Bow and I will go to Salineas, and with any luck, convince Princess Mermista to join the alliance.”

“Your Majesty, I would like to go with them.” Catra stood up from her seat, not caring that she was interrupting. She was a part of the alliance now, she wanted to help. Besides, she didn’t want Adora to go off on a potentially dangerous mission without her, how much did they even know about Salineas anyways?

“I see no reason why not, Adora, what do you say? It’s your mission.” 

“I… guess that’s fine.” Catra grinned at Adora, who glanced back at her, shocked. 

As the meeting wrapped up, Adora slipped out of the room followed by Catra. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning to go to Salineas?”

“I’m sorry, I just figured you wouldn’t be interested in the mission.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to be taking a boat there.”

“... oh.”

—-------------------------------------------------

Lonnie’s footsteps echoed through the halls as she approached the Frightzone’s prison, food tray in hand. She scanned the cell numbers, taking a deep breath as the number sixty-six came into view. Shadow Weaver looked up at her as she approached, pressing her hand on the scanner, disabling the force field. Lonnie entered the cell, placing the tray gently on the ground as she did.

“I figured you would show up eventually, Hordak gave you the Black Garnet didn’t he? Come to gloat?” Shadow Weaver drawled, lifting her head lazily as har chains clanked from the movement.

“No!” Lonnie felt her face flush with indignation, how could Shadow Weaver assume that from her? “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

Behind her mask, Shadow Weaver’s eyes widened with surprise, a sly smile on her face. “I suppose I’ve judged you too harshly my dear, I’m afraid I’m just too used to betrayal.” 

She sighed dramatically, slumping against the prison cell wall. “I’ve been betrayed by everyone I trusted. Norwyn, Micah, those fools at Mystacor, even Hordak branded me a failure and dumped me in here.” She turned to head to inspect Lonnie closer, her eyes gleaming hungrily.

“You are the only person I can trust.”

“I…”

 A part of Lonnie glowed at the praise, but another part was screaming at her. This didn’t seem right.

“Hordak will betray you as well, he will discard you the second he deems you useless , just like he did to me.” She lunged forward, grasping Lonnie’s hands. Lonnie wanted to back away, but didn’t, something kept her rooted in place. “Hordak throws out every person who gets close to him, if he keeps this up there will be no one left to lead.”

“...what are you saying?”

“If Hordak is left in charge, the Horde will crumble under his incompetence. You’re a smart girl Lonnie, I know you can see that.” Shadow Weaver let go of Lonnie’s hands, leaning against the wall once more. “And I know you will make the right choice here.”

—-------------------------------------------------

“...what is this place again?” Catra looked warily around the enormous tavern they’d found themselves in. Cheers echoed through the building as people chatted, bought drinks, and played games. A band was playing a lively tune nearly drowned out by the noise.

“Seaworthy!” Bow exclaimed, walking around cheerfully. “The biggest port town on the Salinean border! Home to all sorts of sailors…and Pirates!” He practically squealed as he guided the group through the chaos. “I’ve always wanted to come here!”

“I can tell.”

“This is probably the best place to find a captain, considering none of us know how to sail a ship… unless you have some hidden talents?” Adora walked beside her, poking Catra playfully as she talked.

“Sorry to disappoint, but there weren’t exactly any sailing classes on the Island.” Catra shot back. “Besides, I hate water.” She muttered.

“Riiight, which is why you’re coming with us on a boat, to reach the water kingdom, which by the way, is full of water.” Glimmer teased.

“She’s right, you didn’t have to come with us.” Adora murmured, grabbing Catra’s hand.

“Pfft, yeah right. Like I’m going to let you go off on a potentially dangerous mission without me? Not a chance dummy.”

“Wow, it’s almost like you like me or something.”

Catra opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Glimmer clearing her throat, nodding at the pair impatiently. “If you two are done flirting, can we please get on with trying to find a sea captain?”

“ Flirting? I’m sorry sparkles, what?”

“I said what I said.”

Catra was about ready to lunge at Glimmer, but Adora put her hand on Catra’s shoulder. “Glimmer’s right.” She said apologetically. “We should be looking for a captain.”

Adora walked over to the bar counter, nodding at the woman behind it. “We’re looking for a sea captain, any recommendations?”

The bartender slowly pointed towards a man sitting at a corner table. He appeared to be in the middle of a very serious arm-wrestling match with a surprisingly buff fish-folk. Even more surprising, the man seemed to be winning . He slammed the fish-folk’s hand into the table with a shout of triumph as onlookers cheered.

“More drinks all around! Put it on my friend here’s tab.” He crowed, much to the delight of the entire table. Catra disliked him already. He took notice of the group as they walked over to the table, leaning backwards and putting his feet on the table. “And what can Seahawk do for you my friends?”

Catra grimaced as Bow squealed excitedly and Glimmer stepped forward. “We’re looking for a captain to take us to Salineas, would you like to apply for the position?”

“App- apply for the position?” Seahawk let out an annoying laugh. “I am the one and only Seahawk. I’m offer only.”

“Okay.” Adora scoffed. “Just because ‘sea’ is in your name, it doesn’t tell us anything about your actual qualifications.” 

“Qualifications? I once ran the fifty-click Galebreath gauntlet in under twenty clicks, I mauvered the Straits of Serpentine with nary a chip in the paint of my bow. My shanties are considered so desirable, sirens fling themselves into the ocean at the sound of them. And because I can tell you’re wondering, my mustache is naturally shiny.”

“It is!” Bow gasped, leaning forward. “You’re hired! Ow!” he exclaimed as Glimmer elbowed him in the side.

“Woah there kids, what makes you think you can afford me?”

“I assure you Seahawk, money is no object.”

“Behold my fee.” Seahawk reached into his shirt to pull out a small slip of paper. Catra chuckled as Glimmer accepted it with a disgusted look on her face. She stopped laughing when Glimmer gasped, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

“Money… might be an object.” She said nervously.

“Uhhh sparkles? Aren’t you a princess? And… rich?”

“Well yeah, but if I spent this much money on… this guy, my mom would kill me.”

“Fair enough.”

“Look, Seahawk, we’re sorry for wasting your time, but we’ll just find another sea captain.” 

“Good luck with that, you won’t find another soul who knows the treacherous route to Salineas as well as I do. I brave it often to visit my close personal friend, Princess Mermista.”

“You know her?”

“Do i!”

Adora walked up to the table, slamming her hand against it, laughing in a way that almost certainly meant she had some stupid plan brewing. “Okay, here's the deal, we go one round, winner takes all. You win? We leave you alone, but if I win, you take us to Salineas, at no cost.”

“That’s a terrible deal, but I am undefeated in arm wrestling. Let me show you how it’s done, lassie!”

Glimmer groaned as the two began to arm wrestle. “This is so dumb.” 

Catra was inclined to agree with her, but on the other hand, she couldn’t wait for this guy to get his ass handed to him.

“Woo! Let’s go! Go Adora! Put him in the dirt!” Bow cheered as Adora slammed his hand down on the table, cheering.

“Well, truth be told I… let you win so as to, um, boost your confidence!” Catra couldn’t believe this guy. “I’ve been meaning to go to Salineas anyways. Come on kids! Forwards, to adventure!”

Why did Catra agree to come on this mission again?

—-------------------------------------------------

Lonnie stepped inside Hordak’s sanctum, carefully avoiding the mess of cables, parts and tools strewn about this place. Breathing deep as she tried to calm her beating heart. This was her first meeting after he caught her spying on him, and she had no idea what it was for.

“You wanted to see me My Lord?” She stammered, bending a knee as Hordak towered over her.

“Yes, Force Captain. Ever since the miserable failure of an attack on Brightmoon, the Horde has lost considerable ground. We need to remind the people of Etheria that we are not to be taken lightly, we need to send a message .” Hordak had a terrifying gleam in his eyes as he grinned cruelly. “Those who control Salineas, control the seas, and those who control the seas control Etheria.”

“What do you need me to do, My Lord?”

“Before we can attack Salineas, we need to take out the Sea Gate protecting it. I want you to take your team, and tear. It. Down.”

“That… sounds like a good plan.”

“Go tell your teammates, you leave tomorrow.”

—-------------------------------------------------

“Welcome aboard the Dragon’s Daughter, three!”

Catra leaned against the ship’s railing, trying desperately to not throw up as the ship rocked unpleasantly beneath her as Seahawk excitedly introduced his ship.

“Pfft, what happened to the Dragon’s Daughter one and two?” Adora, leaning against the ship’s mast amusedly.

“They went down in flames.”

“Well this guy doesn’t seem to have a very good track record.” Catra muttered to Glimmer as the sparkly girl sat on the ship’s railing. She snickered in reply.

“How did that happen?” Bow was staring at Seahawk with intense awe.

“I… set them on fire, adventure!”

Catra snorted, given her own magic she could appreciate some light arson, but that just sounded unnecessary. Setting things on fire was only fun if it wasn’t your stuff. The ship rocked beneath her and she let out another groan, barely able to stop herself from losing her overly-fanciful Brightmoon breakfast on the deck.

“Here.” Glimmer nudged her shoulder and handed her a waterskin. “Seasickness is always worse when you’re dehydrated.”

“Thanks sparkles.”

“My name is Glimmer.” Glimmer’s tone was sharp, but she was smiling. She leaned against the railing staring out at the horizon. “One time when I was little, my mom took me on a trip to Salineas. I got so seasick on the boat ride there that I threw up over the deck.” Glimmer let out a small chuckle. “My mom was so embarrassed she apologized the entire way there.”

Catra laughed despite herself. “You don’t seem seasick now, sparkle.”

“Nah, I grew out of it, much to my mom’s relief.”

Catra smiled and turned to look back out at the ocean, but something on the horizon caught her eye. “Hey sparkles do you see that?”

Glimmer nodded, squinting before she grabbed a map and teleported away to the crow’s nest to get a better look. A few seconds later she teleported back down with the telltale shower of sparkles and glitter, map in hand. “Guys something’s wrong, according to the map we’re way off course. There’s a ship graveyard ahead and we’re heading right towards it!!”

Adora and Bow stood up as something rammed the side of their boat causing it to lurch to the side. Catra’s stomach dropped. That didn’t feel like a wave. As the boat rocked again a large creature poked its head out from the water, shrieking at them. 

“Aha! We’re here!” Seahawk put one foot on the railing, puffing his chest out proudly and pointing one finger at the monster. “The Serpent of the Sea! I knew he’d be lurking in these waters.”

“Wait, you brought us here on purpose?!” Catra and Glimmer exclaimed in unison. The boat lurched again and Catra let out a shriek, clinging to the railing to avoid being thrown overboard.

“Well you see, I don’t just provide sea transport, I give you a tale to tell your friends. Come on crew, we’re in for a harrowing adventure!” He put his arms around Bow and Catra, who quickly wriggled out of his grip, baring her teeth at him. 

“Seriously?! We’re on an important mission here, why can you see that you-“

A yell from behind cut her off, and Catra turned to see Adora leaping off the deck, her sword raised high as she transformed in midair. 

“Watch this!” She shouted as she landed between the creature’s teeth, cracking one of them with the force of her landing. It shrieked, diving below the water… and pulling Adora down with it. Catra stared in abject horror, only calming down when Adora reappeared moments later.

“Okay, I think I got it- wait no!” She ducked below the waves once more as the serpent thrashed, splashing water onto the boat before the ocean finally calmed. Adora resurfaced with a splash.

“Okay, now I’ve got it.”

“Adora, get on the boat!” Catra had never noticed just how shrill Glimmer’s voice got when she screamed.

As Adora climbed on board Catra hugged her. “Don’t go rushing off like that dummy, I was worried.”

“I’m fine! I’m finally getting the handle of this Shera stuff, I can handle anything!”

“Hey guys!” Glimmer was waving her arms as everyone turned their heads. “Look.”

As the shore came into view on the horizon Catra smiled. Fucking finally. Salineas, they where almost there.

Chapter Text

——-Salineas- present day——-

Catra collapsed onto the dock with a sigh of relief at the solid ground beneath her feet. “Oh sweet solid land, how I’ve missed you.”

“…You okay Catra?” Glimmer walked onto the dock carefully stepping over Catra’s collapsed figure.

“Only if I never have to step foot on a boat again.”

“Well unfortunately we’re sailing back-“

“Buuut that’s not for another several hours, we need to meet Princess Mermista first, so let’s get going!”  Adora helped Catra to her feet as the group stared at the entrance to Salineas.

“I didn’t expect it to be so… empty.” Bow said. Catra had to agree, she couldn’t see a single person, even the critters were silent. It made her skin crawl, the only time the island was quiet was when something dangerous was out and all the other animals knew to make themselves scarce. 

“This is strange indeed, if I know the princess- and I do! Then something is amiss.”

“Halt! Halt I say!” Catra looked up, the voice came from a guard standing atop a spiraling watchtower colored a shimmering blue. The entire group stood stone-still as they waited for the man to run all the way down. Is he really the only one here? Catra wondered. No wonder the rebellion hasn’t beaten the Horde yet.

“Halt!” The guard gasped as he finally stopped in front of Catra. “State your business in Salineas.” 

“I’m Princess Glimmer of Brightmoon, we’re here to see Princess Mermista.” 

“Tell her Seahawk is here too!”

The guard nodded impassively, turning towards the castle and beckoning everyone to follow. Catra shivered as she passed by the sea gate towards the palace. According to Glimmer it was the kingdom’s only defense against the Horde, having existed since the time of the First One’s. It was an impressive structure, a force field dotted with swirling lights reminiscent of waves and ships, but something was wrong. There were weak patches where small streams of water broke through. Catra flicked her tail nervously, if something as powerful as the sea gate was failing, what did that mean for the kingdom?

—-------------------------------------------------

“Ew, why did you bring him in here?” The Princess of Salineas was a bored-looking girl with ocean-blue hair twisted into a short braid. She was wearing blue-and-cyan leggings with a matching shirt accented by gold accessories. She was also glaring daggers at Seahawk. Catra liked her already.

“Princess! It’s been too long! I have dreamed of you night and day since we parted!”

“Uh huh, and you must the people from Brightmoon?”

“That’s right, I’m Princess Glimmer of Brightmoon.”

“Cool, where’s Shera?”

“Right here!” Adora waved, grinning sheepishly. “Uh, we’ll not right now, but I can become her!”

Mermista looked Adora up and down, her eyes landing on the giant sword strapped to her back. She nodded slowly. “Mhm.”