Sands of Time
A/N: It's been a long time since I really got back into FanFiction, so I'm a little rusty. Please read and review to let me know how I'm doing!
Disclaimer: She-Ra: Princess of Power is property of its respective owners. I own nothing!
"Blast her! Blast her! Blast her!" Hordak shouted, his voice echoing throughout his throne room. He was certainly angry – in fact, he was beyond furious. His right arm transformed into an overly large hammer and smashed into the floor, ultimately crumbling beneath him and sending him into the water pit below his chamber. "Blast these tunnels!" he shouted, spitting water out of his mouth. "Shadow Weaver, get me out of here!"
Shadow Weaver mumbled something in aggravation under her breath. With a wave of her hand, she said, "Yes, Mighty Hordak." He reappeared next to her beside the chasm he created.
"Blast that She-Ra! Every attempt to stop her and those wretched rebels ends up utterly foiled! It's impossible! Your plans fail every time, Weaver!"
"But, Great Hor—"
"But nothing! I don't want to hear it! Return to your chambers, Shadow Weaver, and leave me to think!" He stormed to his personal chamber, slamming the door behind him.
Shadow Weaver growled slightly under her breath. "Yes, Master." She promptly left the throne room in a puff of smoke, saying nothing, and leaving Catra, Grizzlor, Scorpia, and Mantenna to clean up the damage left behind by the Rebellion.
"Mrroow! We're always left with the cleaning work. The troopers can take care of this," Catra stated in frustration. "Troopers!" she shouted, "Clean up this mess!"
The troopers that were left standing after the most recent battle immediately saluted. "Yes, Force Captain!" and were off to work.
"I'm about as bruised as Hordak. She-Ra's getting on my last nerve," said Scorpia, crossing her clawed arms.
"As much as I don't wanna say it, Shadow Weaver's been taking a lot of the blame for Hordak's failures," responded Grizzlor.
"Of course she does! When his plans fall apart, he can't help but blame someone else." The Force Captain let out a puff in annoyance. "He's bored of dunking Mantenna into the water pit and has started doing it to me!"
"Cool it, Catra," said Scorpia. "As much as all of us hate Hordak, we all can agree that we hate She-Ra more."
"True, but we can't just get rid of her. We've tried a dozen times already," replied Mantenna.
Catra hesitated, then said, "With all the magic that Shadow Weaver has, we know that she can stop She-Ra."
"What are you implying, Catra?" said the brown-furred beast.
"Yeah, what's up?" Scorpia added.
"Perhaps maybe it's time to put differences aside with – Mrroow – Shadow Weaver."
"But she hates us!" replied the bug-eyed Mantenna.
"Cat's got a point," said Scorpia. "For once, just for once, I wanna get my hands on She-Ra and…" She pinched her claws with gritted teeth.
"Then forget Hordak for once. At least, for now. We all know how he is. He's going to sulk for a couple of days and then he'll be back to normal," said Catra.
"What do you have in mind, Catra?" questioned Grizzlor.
"I say we go talk to Shadow Weaver. Let's find out what she knows about She-Ra." She looked to Scorpia. "You might just get your wish after all, Scorpia."
"Huh?"
Catra said nothing more and left the throne room for Shadow Weaver's room. Mantenna, Scorpia, and Grizzlor exchanged glances, then ran after Catra to follow her.
"Daddy!" a little blonde girl cried out in joy. Several townsfolk surrounded her and cheered in joy as She-Ra landed with an older woodcutter on her beloved horse's back.
The older man hopped off of Swift Wind and hugged his daughter. "Oh, Amy, my darling…"
"Daddy! I thought you had gone forever!"
"No, no my darling. Daddy is here. Daddy is safe." She smiled and hugged her tightly. He kissed her gently on the forehead and picked her up onto his back. "She-Ra, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for my family."
She-Ra beamed slightly, seeing the happiness in the young girl on his shoulders. "No thanks are necessary. A father should never be separated from his daughter. Your family is together again, and hopefully the Horde will never cross paths with you all again."
"I hope so, for the sake of my family. The Rebellion has done us a great favor today by ridding all of us of the Horde."
"I wanna be part of the Rebellion with She-Ra!" said the small girl.
The father laughed. "Amy, you're too young to go with She-Ra."
"Aww…" the girl said in disappointment.
She-Ra smiled. She got off of Swift Wind and approached Amy. She took the small girl's hand. "You may be too young now, but you have a big heart, little Amy."
Amy smiled. "Thank you, She-Ra." She beamed with pride at She-Ra's words.
At that statement, a few townsmen approached She-Ra. "She-Ra, many men of this town would like to join you in the Great Rebellion. We've watched our own people be separated from their families, and we want to put a stop to this."
"You can join us, but you're better here for now in case the Horde returns. If they do, you know where to find us in the Whispering Woods."
The leader of the group nodded. "Be safe on your travels, She-Ra."
"I will, I promise." She climbed back onto Swift Wind. "Let's go, Swifty!"
The townsmen waved as She-Ra left into the skies. The father called out, "Farewell, She-Ra! And thank you!"
She-Ra landed just nearby the camp and climbed off of her winged friend. She drew her sword, grasping the hilt and flat of the blade. She was restored to her form as Adora and entered the camp with Spirit, then overheard a conversation with members of the Rebellion.
"She-Ra was fantastic! She surely taught the Horde a lesson today!" exclaimed Bow.
"That she did, Bow." Kowl smiled.
Adora approached the group and said, "What's everyone cheering about?"
"Oh, Adora, She-Ra rescued a woodcutter from the Fright Zone! We just left her some time ago so she could take him back home to his daughter." Glimmer was certainly joyous. "We had to help distract the Horde long enough for her to find him."
"She decimated his throne room. Ha! Serves him right," said Bow.
"Sounds like she did a great job then," replied Adora.
"Adora, I wish you could've been there. You really should come with us more," Bow responded.
"Well, you know how I am. Always running around and staying busy." Adora laughed as Spirit nudged her gently.
Shadow Weaver stood in front of her crystal ball, angrily cursing under her breath at the display of Hordak's defeat within the glass. "Curse you, She-Ra!" She growled at the wretched sight of their loss as She-Ra blasted the throne room to bits and fled with the prisoner. Instantly, she sensed someone approaching and turned sharply towards the open cavern entrance. "Who goes there?!" she shouted in a raspy voice.
"Mroow. It's us, Shadow Weaver. Don't get your cape in a twist."
Shadow Weaver growled. "What are you all doing here? I told you all to stay away from my chamber."
"Well fine then!" Scorpia went to walk away, then stopped when Grizzlor put a paw on her shoulder.
"We're not here to have Mantenna and Grizzlor fight over a potion, Shadow Weaver," said Catra. Mantenna and Grizzlor exchanged glares to Catra but said nothing.
"Then what are you here for? Unless it is a good reason, I would suggest you leave immediately."
Mantenna spoke nervously, "We want to talk about She-Ra."
"She-Ra? Why would I want to talk about her?"
It was obvious to them all that Shadow Weaver was furious, sending a chill through their spines. There would be little reasoning with her at this stage, but Catra was simply going on a gut feeling. "It's about time we rid Etheria of her."
"I have told Hordak that a hundred times, but he never listens! I have been carefully studying her powers and being since we first crossed paths with her."
Scorpia's ears perked at this. "You've been studying her?"
"Yes, you fool. So I can be finally rid of that pest. Once she is out of Hordak's way, I can…" She then stopped in hesitation, causing the group to look at her oddly. She shook her head. "Never mind that. The point is, I have carefully attempted to study her… powers."
"What did you find?" said Mantenna.
Shadow Weaver walked over to her crystal ball and pulled a book from her shelf. She opened it, although it was filled with a foreign writing unknown to the group of four. The crystal ball was re-focused to Hordak's attack on She-Ra with the doom balloon. "We have attempted to drain He-Man's power once before. Although it was partially successful, he was rescued by She-Ra… Later, Hordak attempted to attack her with an equal strength of force to her own and was unsuccessful because she was able to redirect the power with that… that cursed sword of hers."
"Yeah? What's the point, Weaver?" said Scorpia, growing slightly impatient.
"The point is, Scorpia," she said with irritation, "Perhaps we should take away her sword."
"And how do you plan to do that?" said Grizzlor.
"Leave me to the details. For once… I will show Hordak the true means of my power. Then he will look like an insignificant toy, just like he looks at me…" Shadow Weaver let out an evil-ish chuckle, rubbing her hands together as if to show she had some plot already in the works.
"You can't expect to do this all alone," said Catra. "Mrroow. Hordak will step in."
"I did not expect to do it alone. You all are going to help me."
Mantenna gulped. "But… I have to clean the throne room for Hordak and—"
"Silence!" said Shadow Weaver, sending Mantenna cowering in fear from her raspy voice. "You all are going to help me rid this world of She-Ra and seal the rule of Etheria for the Horde." She looked towards her crystal ball, watching the Rebels relish in the joy of She-Ra's success. "The hourglass has turned and the sands of time are slowly, but surely, running out for those Rebels." She let out an evil laugh that echoed throughout all of her chamber.