Entrapta sighed, flicking a switch with her hair.
"What's got you so sad, Princess?" Scorpia asked, leaning down to peer at the device Entrapta had in her hand.
"I'm afraid I've hit a roadblock with the Black Garnet. I've run out of ideas on how to make it more powerful. Something is blocking its access to a few runestones."
"It's probably Adora's fault," Catra said. She sat on the floor, arms crossed, sharpening her nails. "She did something with her sword and the princesses' powers."
"Hmmm," Entrapta said. A strand of lilac hair tapped her cheek while another held her recorder up and waiting. "If I stopped Adora from using her sword, do you think that will help?"
Catra pushed herself to her feet eagerly. "Can you do that?"
"I did it before. Accidently. I didn't realize the Frist One's code would corrupt her sword like that."
"Like what?" Catra's glee was mirthful.
"Ooo, do tell," Scorpia said.
Entrapta rewound her recorder. She had to go back months, but found the entry. "It seems to have infected the tall one. Making her... less tall."
"I had a disk that planted a virus in my robots, and when She-Re attacked one, the sword got infected too. It made her detransform and 'go weird', according to Glimmer. But I've not seen much of a 'normal' Adora. She was rather on edge at the social experiment,"
"I'll say," Catra interjected.
"And very focused when we came here," Entrapta finished.
"When you say weird," Scorpia asked, "What do you mean?"
"She couldn't stand upright. Her sense of thinking seemed to have disappeared. And this was only after touching the infected sword for thirty seconds!" Entrapta's eyes lit up. "Imagine what might have happened if she held on to it longer!"
"Give me your best guess," Catra purred.
"Maybe she would speak gibberish. Or not be able to walk. Or turn off."
"Turn off? Like die?" Scorpia asked.
On the other side of Entrapta, Catra went stiff.
"No, no," Entrapta said. "Just sleep. When she was first separated from the sword, Adora passed out. A longer contamination period could lead to a longer sleep period."
"Can you replicate what happened last time?" Catra's tail curled languidly behind her as she gave Entrapta a toothy grin.
"Of course!" Entrapta smiled back. "I'd need the original disk, of course. It's still at Dryl, locked in my lab."
"Oh, I think I can get that for you," Catra purred.
####
For having a missing princess, Dryl didn't seem to care too much. Then again, the population was small. The kingdom itself only contained a single mountain, citizen counts couldn't be more than a few hundred, and, judging by the picture of Entrapta Catra snuck by with flowers underneath it, the kingdom believed their Princess was dead.
Interesting, that.
Pity the kingdom was surrounded by those of the Alliance. It would be so easy for the Horde to capture it.
Easy to steal the supplies Entrapta needed too.
Catra found the data crystal right where Entrapta said it would be, held in place on a metal table. The princess really did have the mind of someone from the Horde–always planning and remembering.
She picked up the largest of three pieces, turning the crystal over and over in her hand. It was an innocent looking green, and not much bigger than Catra's hand. To think such a thing could stop Adora from turning into She-Ra... well. Catra was excited to use it.
She grabbed the other data Entrapta requested, files from her computer including video from the robot virus takeover. It should be fun to watch.
####
A week later, Catra stood against a wall in Entrapta's cell-lab. The lilac-haired princess was talking to her recorder, heat shield over her face while she attached metal bits to the data crystal.
"Hey."
Catra startled. For being almost twice her size, Scorpia could be stealthy.
"What?" Catra hissed.
"Ahh, don't be like that." Scorpia pulled Catra into a one-armed hug.
Catra tried to push herself free, but failed. Huffing, she let Scorpia's heavy arm lay over her shoulder. After a moment of both of them watching Entrapta work, Scorpia spoke.
"You sure about this?"
"About what?"
"Hurting Adora."
"Very sure."
"It's just," Scorpia shrugged, "Entrapta has a very large fondness for explosions and fire and things going out of control. Awesome when we want to destroy the Whispering Woods, not so much a person."
Catra gave her friend an are-you-kidding-me look. "You're a Force Captain. I've seen you throw people off boats. You can't tell me you think hurting others is wrong."
"Well, no. This is war and we're fighting to protect Etheria-" Catra scoffed and Scorpia ignored her, "And hurting someone, I don't mind either. That kidnapping missing was fun. But you've never seriously tried to hurt Adora before. And with Entrapta's record, this has a chance of killing her. What changed?"
Catra shoved Scorpia off her. "Adora did. She turned into a prissy, idealistic princess and it's about time she woke up to the realities of the world."
"Which is?"
"You can't rely on others. Only yourself. And if you're not strong enough to hold your own, you might as well shoot yourself with a blaster." Catra was heaving, her tail and ears straight up, claws extended.
Scorpia gave her a hurt look and from the corner of her eye, Catra saw Entrapta's startled face. Catra spun towards the princess. "Get that thing working, fast."
"As fast I can. The sooner I finish, the soon I can begin my experiment-"
Catra didn't hear the rest as she stormed out of the room.
Stupid Scorpia.
Stupid Adora.
One day, Catra would leave Scorpia behind. She already started to as Hordack second in command. And when Entrapta's skills were no longer useful, Catra would dispose of her too. Adora would realize how awful it was to not be on top. To fail, when you expected so much of yourself. To feel helpless, when the shadows of a greater power encircled you. To feel lonely, when past supporters turned to a new ideal.
Soon, Adora, she snarled, You'll know what it used to be like for me.
#####
"Experiment 56, success!"
Entraptra's shout broke Catra and Scorpia out from a game of dice.
"It's working?" Scorpia said, eagerly walking over to see.
Catra slinked behind her.
"Look. This other First One's crystal has changed colors and stop operating within normal parameters. Entrapta peered at the devices before her. "The virus travels between First One's tech, but She-Ra's sword didn't get infected until it made direct contact with an infected crystal. Which this now is." Entrapta picked up the sliver of tech and stared at it.
Catra coughed when the silence went on for too long. "So, I'll I have to do it touch this to Adora's sword?"
"While she's She-Ra, yes. That's the only way it'll work." Entrapta grabbed Catra's hand with a piece of her hair, and a measuring tape in another. "I'll haven't made jewelry before, but that's the best option. You can wear a bracelet and then put it on Adora. Ooo, interactions between humans and First One's tech is so interesting. You will record what happens for me, won't you?"
"Oh yeah," Catra agreed. "Because I'm gonna want to watch that happen over and over again."
######
"Bright Moon is going to be more refugee camp than Rebellion headquarters at this rate." Adora pushed aside an overhanging branch as she walked through the Whispering Wood.
Bow, behind her, took over supporting the branch as they moved forward. Glimmer didn't even notice, staring at Adora's back.
"Is that a problem?" she asked Adora.
"It feels a little impractical to keep liabilities near military headquarters." Adora shrugged.
"This isn't the Horde," Bow said, "We're not technically a military group. Just, people."
"I know, it's just..."
"You've never seen them before."
Adora paused for half a second before continuing. "Yeah."
The Horde never talked about the consequences of war, just what the win would look like. She'd never heard of civilians being in the crossfire, or kicked out of homes, or needing supplies. Not until she saw the Horde smash through a small village she had been told was a rebel base. Now, since the Horde had practically destroyed the Whispering Wood, most of the small groups of people who lived there had flooded into neighboring kingdoms. That mean Bright Moon, Plumeria, and Salinas for those who were amphibious.
"Humanitarian aid" was a concept Adora was still trying to wrap her head around. She saw the purpose, and it felt right to her, but at the same time the foreignness of the idea bothered her. In the Horde, you didn't always help your teammates, you ignored strangers, and you sabotaged rivals.
She avoided the tents and half-sturdy shelters when she could. As Adora, she didn't know what to do to help and the sight of sad people made her imagine a life where she was the one who burnt down their homes. As She-Ra, she felt like she lied to them with promises and platitudes.
"They won't get in the way of fighting, if that's what you're worried about," Glimmer said. "Bright Moon has been taking refugees for years. This war has been going on for a long time. Eventually, they'll resettle someplace else. Rebuild."
"And if Bright Moon gets attacked again? We lost the protection of the woods."
"I thought you already had that covered," Bow said. "I saw you pass plans to Queen Angella."
Adora blushed. She'd given the leader of the Rebellion lots of plans, because the presence of so many refugees had disturbed her. How they could help, where they could hide, things they could do. Her mind itched to make the refugees useful, and if not that then out of the way. With people living outside the walls, right up to the edge of the dying woods, it was hard to protect them.
Not wanting to think about it, she harrumphed and speed up.
"Hey!"
In a purple flash, Glimmer teleported to three steps in front of Adora. Facing her, hands on her hips, the princess looked worried and a bit pitying.
Adora looked away. She knew there were parts of Horde life no one from Bright Moon could comprehend, but she didn't like being pitied for her childhood. She'd liked her childhood.
Mostly.
"How big of an issue is this?" Glimmer asked. "Because we are on our way to invite a village to move to Bright Moon."
"Not that big of an issue," Adora admitted. "I do understand. For many people, Bright Moon is the safest place to go. But the castle went from being well into our territory to being on the edge of a war zone, Glimmer. It might not be safe for much longer."
Glimmer crossed her arms. "We'll just have to make sure we take the fight to the Horde."
Coming up next to Adora, Bow placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm with Adora on that one. The Whispering Woods don't offer much protection anymore. That is why we're inviting this village to come. The Horde might be licking their losses, but they came really close to destroying the moonstone. They'll try again. And soon. And if not us, another stone. They went after the Heart Blossom a few months ago, remember?"
"That doesn't mean we should move the refugees-"
"It might," Bow said, "if it was for their safety."
Glimmer nodded. "Yeah, that's true."
"What Bow said," Adora added. Because what he said was true, even if that's not what weirded Adora out about the entire thing.
They continued walking, no longer talking as the oppressive sense of the forest surrounded them. The Whispering Woods used to whisper, but since the Horde has sapped the energy from the planet, the only sounds they heard were the snapping of dry wood and the occasional drip of melting ice. Adora had always found the Woods slightly creepy, not a place to walk through without paying attention, but she'd gladly take that over the current sense of walking through a graveyard.
At least, it was quiet enough they heard someone approaching.
Bow heard it first, snagging Glimmer and Adora's shirts to stop them before lifting a finger to his lips. Adora strained her ears and heard it: the shuffle of dead leaves, a branch snapping, and from another direction the low, growing louder sound of Horde tanks.
Adora pulled out her sword, whispering "For the honor of Grayskull" to trigger her transformation. "It's probably a Horde scout. Bow, take them out. Glimmer and I can teleport to the village to start-"
There was an extra large crack, as if it was a full branch and not a stick that broken under the weight of someone. And then out of the woods, leaping from mid-level branches, came Catra.
"Adora!" Glimmer shouted, lobbing a ball of glitter at Catra's face even as Adora knocked her old friend aside with her sword. In the slight pause Catra's blinded eyes gave them, Adora shifted to stand between the Horde commander and her friends.
"Glimmer, Bow, get the villages to safety."
"But Adora, last time - "
"Adora's right, Glimmer," Bow said. "She-Ra's got the best chance of taking out Catra. We don't have to fight the Horde, just get the villagers a safe distance away. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can come back and help."
"Better go fast," Catra taunted as she got to her feet. "Scorpia loves running things over with a tank."
"Glimmer, Bow, go!" Adora yelled, launching herself at Catra. She got a vague sense of Glimmer teleporting the two of them away, too distracted to check by the way Catra attempted to get under Adora's sword.
Fighting as She-Ra was still a learning period, but after a few months she was thought she was halfway up it. Fighting Catra as She-Ra was a learning curve Adora still felt on the bottom of. As Adora, with similar weapons, the two teens had been fairly matched. But now, with Catra's advantage of being used to her body, with her nimble nature compared to She-Ra's bulk, and claws as a close quarters weapon, Catra usually had the advantage. The best way to one-up Catra was surprise, and Adora didn't have it this fight.
Catra went low, aiming to tangle She-Ra's feet. She-Ra crouched and kicked out, catching Catra's shoulder. The Horde solider rolled away, and She-Ra, unbalanced by the weight of her sword, toppled as well.
In an instant, Catra was sitting on her chest, one knee pressing into the elbow of Adora's sword arm.
"Do you know what this is?" she sing-songed, waving her right hand to show off a bracelet. The red stone pulsed, Adora though it looked vaguely familiar, and then Catra brought her wrist down so the gem made contact with the runestone in the Sword of Power.
A bolt of lightning went through Adora's body, and then she knew no more.
####
Catra watched as the runestone in Adora's sword flashed red. Quickly, she removed her bracelet cuff and transferred it to Adora's wrist. The stone mutated, growing crystals vines that spread –
She was jerked off her feet by a hand grabbing her by the back of her neck and tossing her feet away. Shaking the dizziness from her head, Catra had just a moment to see a charging Adora before a sword tried to take her head off. With a yelp, Catra dodged and leaped up to land in a tree.
It was obvious what Entrapta had meant by "weird" now. She-Ra often gave off a glow and seemed once in a while to overpower Adora. The woman standing below her now certainly held now trace of Adora. Her body gave off a copper glow, her eyes were the startling red of a warning light, and her face was twisted into an expression of malice.
Catra flicked the end of her tail. "Don't like to lose, Adora?"
Wordlessly, She-Ra pointed her sword at Catra. From it burst a beam of red light. Yowling, Catra jumped to a higher tree branch and She-Ra shot at her again. As she watched, Catra noticed the runestone mutation grow. It had completely covered the hilt, inching over Adora's hands, and red veins had appeared on Adora's forearms.
As she watched the First One's virus sprint an inch, Scorpria's words came back to her. You've never seriously tried to harm Adora, and with Entrapta's track record this has a chance of killing her.
She-Ra gave up trying to blast a jumping Catra and turned her attention to the tree. The truck exploded. Catra found herself thrown to the ground and pain exploded in her left leg. She-Ra had anticipated how she'd fall and struck while Catra was in the air.
She didn't stop either. Catra found herself so occupied with dodging swords, magic blasts, and roots her thoughts turned from I'm going to beat Adora to she might actually kill me. And looking at the now red-eyed princess, Catra wasn't sure Adora would recognize the killing. She-Ra swung one brutal, efficient sword swipe after another. She didn't look tired. The red veins inched up Adora's arm. And the entire time She-Ra silently snarled.
That might have been what freaked Catra out the most – her friend's frozen, possessed face. She didn't realize who she was fighting and let loose all of her talent.
A cut to the side. A punch to both sides of her face. A kick to the ribs. A slash the cut halfway through her tail. Catra felt her energy fading fast, the cut on her body stinging with sweat and blood. She'd managed two hits on She-Ra, but both wounds had no effect on the princess. The red claws lines down She-Ra's thigh produced no limp, no slowing down, and no stopping in the relentless assault.
Pain exploded in Catra's head as She-Ra smashed a fist into Catra's temple. At the third such blow, Catra dropped. Her vision was fuzzy, her body ached to the point where the silhouette of She-Ra above her prompted no mental command to move. Through a swollen eye, Catra watched an unflinching She-Ra lift up her sword to drive it into Catra's belly.
Her eyes look like Hordack's, Catra absently thought.
"ADORA!"
A burst of glitter announced the Bright Moon princess materializing behind She-Ra. She went straight for the blonde princess's sword arm, trying to pry the sword free. Obviously, she guessed what had happened.
She-Ra's blade missed Catra's gut by an inch. With the blade stuck in the ground, She-Ra turned her shoulders and punched the other princess in her face. Glimmer went down. She came back quick, brushing the blood away from a split lip and again appeared at She-Ra's arm.
"Let go of the sword, Adora!"
She-Ra gave no indication she heard, pulling the blade from the earth and turning to now attack Glimmer.
Catra used the distraction to pull herself up. First into a sitting position, then up into the tree. Fleeing felt too much of an effort, but sitting and watching She-Ra hurt Adora's friends? Catra was a million times up for that.
Glimmer held up better against She-Ra than Catra expected. She teleported away from each blow, tossed light in her friend's face. But getting She-Ra to drop the sword got harder and harder. The Frist One's virus had created a crystal gauntlet seamlessly fusing Adora's hand with the sword, and it kept growing. The mutation had almost reached Adora's elbow now; the red veins crept up Adora's neck and to her face.
Absently, Catra wondered what would happen if they reached her forehead. Would the virus have direct access to Adora's brain?
"Bow, help me out!"
Catra turned her head to see the last member of the trio. He held an arrow cocked, aimed at She-Ra.
"I'm trying. She won't stand still. But have you noticed? There's two red crystals. The sword and something else."
"Yes," Glimmer shot back, teleporting out of the way of a sword strike only to appear above She-Ra and deliver a kick down on the crystal casing. She got a punch in the shoulder for her effort.
"Duck!" Bow shouted and Glimmer dropped to the earth.
An arrow burst on She-Ra's hip, sticky goo attaching her left arm to her side and her foot to the ground. Catra leaned forward, curious to see how this would play out. With She-Re immobilized, they had a chance.
"I gotta. Get. This. Off." Glimmer beat at the First One's crystal, while a second arrow of goop prevented She-Ra from moving her other foot.
"How'd you get it off before?" Bow asked as he ran over to hold She-Ra's sword arm still.
"The sword wasn't this affected!" Glimmer picked up a nearby rock and smashed it repeatedly against the gem in the bracelet, not that Catra could see the bracelet anymore. Though she thought she heard a crack.
She-Ra snarled, struggling to wrench her arms free.
"Hold tight, Bow, I'm going to try something."
"Make it quick, because she's almost got her other arm free."
Glimmer took a deep breath, then poured power into the Frist One's crystal at the center of the mutation. She glowed purple, She-Ra went still, then a bright light filled Catra's vision and the sound of shattering glass echoed in her ears.
When she opened her eyes, Adora lay on the grass, red crystal scattered around her. The sword lay two feet away, forgotten as Bow and Glimmer repeatedly shook Adora and called her name.
Catra watched for five minutes. Adora never responded.
She slunk away into the trees.
#####
Catra healed. She went back to the front lines. One battle. Two battle. Three. Four.
She-Ra never appeared.
The Horde gained ground.