Angella clapped her hands once. A shield appeared between the robot and herself, blocking its attack. She motioned her arms forward. The shield urged towards the bot, pushing it until it hit a tank.

Satisfied, the queen checked behind her shoulder. Her sister-in-law was still safe, focusing on her enchantment. Angella took advantage of the little time off she had during the battle to face her up close, her hands on her hips, a frown on her face.

"Although I'm very pleased to get some help from you, what on Etheria are you doing here? Since when does Mystacor get involved in wars?"

Castaspella ignored her, which only made her more irritated. Before she could speak again, the sorceress opened one eye and shook her head.

Not now.

Angella huffed. She looked around her and analyzed their situation. The rebellion was scattered on Brightmoon's domain, with several teams fighting to protect one sorceress each. The robots were at task to defeat them, while the Horde troopers were busy saving tanks and munitions from the destruction of Mystacor's lightning magic.

Hordak was battling once again with Adora, to Angella's great pleasure. She was glad to see Adora got back to her spirits. As for the Horde ruler, he looked extremely irritated by this new course of events. Like the rebellion, he must have been surprised to see Mystacor join the fight. Unpleasantly surprised, to say the least. Mystacor had a long history of neutrality regarding any war that wasn't involving them in the first place or threatening the planet in its globality.

One year ago, when the Horde froze the Whispering Woods over, messing with the runestones and the planet's balance, Angella thought Mystacor would finally end their passive policy. But it hadn't been enough. After months of negotiations, the High Council voted to remain neutral, under the pretext that Hordak failed to disrupt Etheria's inner balance, and mingling in all of a sudden after a thousand years of neutrality would only displease the First Ones' Spirits. Such ignorance and stubborness had annoyed the queen so much she stopped talking to her sister-in-law. The rebellion and Mystacor had remained on cold terms ever since.

Therefore, Angella could only be curious as to what had brought the entirety of the Council in the middle of Brightmoon's fight. It was obviously unplanned, Castaspella was still wearing her pajama robe.

"Don't think I'll forget about it. I'll be waiting for an explanation as soon as this is over," said Angella before raising her fists again.

As she panted during her fight, she pushed aside the thought that Mystacor's help still might not be enough to win. Their only chance was Adora defeating Hordak, or...who knows…another unexpected lucky push of fate.

As if the First Ones had heard her silent plea, the second shockwave of the day suddenly ran on Etheria's ground, followed by a terrible hurling sound coming from the Whispering Woods. A roar.

Rebels, sorceresses and Horde soldiers fell to their knees. Machines turned off for a few seconds. A deafening silence embraced the valley for a short moment. However it seemed like a hundred years had passed before Angella felt it.

She felt it run underneath her skin. She felt it strengthen her muscles. She felt it lift a weight off her chest.

"Castaspella, what-"

"Oh my First Ones, this. Is. Amazing!" her sister-in-law clapped her hands as she rushed towards her fellow sorceresses.

A general gasp erupted from the rebellion. The princesses rose on their feet one by one, breathing heavily, as if they had all recharged on their runestone for the first time in years. Glimmer teleported next to Adora, a smile on her lips. She touched her friend's arm, trying to get her attention.

She-Ra looked flabbergasted by this sudden flow of power running free in her veins. She raised her sword high in the air, exposing to everyone the jewel that was shinier than usual. Her body radiated even more, and with her, the moonstone did as well.

Angella felt it increase as She-Ra called the energy of the moonstone. It was intoxicating. Their power could raise mountains. Their power could defeat anything. Even the Horde.

The queen searched then for Hordak. The ruler had not wasted more than two seconds on his knees. He was ordering his people around in silence. Angella frowned as she saw him try to use Entrapta's device. It wasn't working anymore. Then, everything happened too fast.

"RETREAT!" yelled Hordak. The tanks were ready. They charged all at the same time towards the Whispering Woods' entrance, which was only protected by Angella now.

The queen flew a few feet above the ground. She called her reborn inner power and spread her fingers. She wouldn't let them flee.

Her powerful purple ray blasted the first rank of tanks.

Intoxicating power…

The next tanks and the troopers kept going. Angella prepared herself for a new strike.

"MOM WATCH OUT!"

She looked up fast, but not fast enough. Hordak caught her in his arms, blocking her own so that she wouldn't strike. He spun himself around, facing the rebellion. He smirked, held Angella by the collar, turned his arm into a blade, and pierced her stomach.

She heard Glimmer scream as she fell. She felt the power leave her. She felt explosions underneath her. She felt caught by something. Then the world went dark.


"Mom… Mom wake up!"

She groaned. A hundred signals coming from her body overwhelmed her brain. Pain, mostly. She could perceive agitation around her. Whispers tickled her ears, and smoke made her cough. Some noises seemed to echo far above her.

You'll be fine, Angella. Don't worry, baby.

She finally opened her eyes. The light above her was blinding.

"Mom!"

Purple hair muffled her whimper as she got crushed in her daughter's embrace. She returned the hug and received help to sit up properly. She was lying underneath the moonstone, surrounded by a few princesses and Castaspella. She touched her belly. Her wound hurt underneath the bandages, but she could feel it was healing. Magic had been used there, probably She-Ra's and the moonstone's.

She looked up again. The runestone had never shined so brightly in decades. It was extraordinary.

"Now Angella," Castaspella started. "You must be wondering what this was all about."

"Auntie, let her emerge first, look, she's all confused!"

"I'm fine, Glimmer, don't worry."

Angella squeezed her daughter's shoulder in reassurance, then took a glance at Brightmoon's domain. Dozens of soldiers from both sides were lying in the valley and the lake, dead. The injured were being taken care of, even the Horde ones. The entrance of the Whispering Woods was now adorned by a serie of holes, as if it was wearing a pearl necklace.

"What happened down there?" she asked.

"The bots self-destructed to prevent us from running after the Horde," Bow answered. "He planned everything."

Hordak… He once again managed to run away.

"Didn't he look too prepared for this to you…?"

"Duh." Mermista snorted. "It took him a second to understand we could wipe his ass off the planet."

"Yeah, that is weird," Glimmer rubbed her chin. "Adora was going to bring out the rainbow wave, but he was already gone, and then he stabbed you and-"

"Where is Adora?" Angella searched around. She couldn't spot her in the valley or the castle's ruins.

"She left to find Hordak's Second-in-Command, at my request," Castaspella answered as she put both hands on her shoulders. "We need to talk, Angella."

The queen looked wary. She didn't like the little spark in her sister-in-law's eyes.

"Something incredible happened, that is why we came."


"So let me get this straight."

Adora sighed. She crushed a frozen root under her foot as she listened to Swift Wind rewind her revelations for the third time since they entered the Whispering Woods.

"Glimmer's aunt is the queen of Mystacor."

"Wow, you're really starting from the beginning."

"Let me focus here, or you can come back home on your own. So, Mystacor finally decided today that it would be a great idea to take sides in the war, whereas up until now they preferred to pray to the First Ones and go to the beach."

"That's a nice summary, I'm sure Castaspella would love to hear that," Adora chuckled.

"And their main reason was because of a...disturbance?"

"Yes. Castaspella said they felt the first shockwave like us, when Hordak...turned Catra." Adora's face furrowed as she remembered the transformation. She couldn't forget that desperate, insane blue eye. The pain it contained.

"But that shockwave somehow...moved magic?"

"Not really, I guess you could say it disrupted the usual flow of magic. Mystacor's sorceresses are experts at sensing and analyzing the planet's flows of energy."

"That is the weirdest thing I've ever heard, and yet I'm a talking horse with wings and a horn on the forehead."

"It's true though!" Adora laughed. She was glad she wasn't alone in her search for Catra. Swift Wind had a way to approach problems that always lifted her spirits.

"Okay, let's admit it. Then what are we doing here exactly? Because I get why you want to fetch Catra…"

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Nothing. But why would Castaspella want her as well? Oh and Angella too, she asked me to get her during the battle. Damn, this girl is really popular, isn't she?"

"Don't forget Hordak… Castaspella thinks he's going to look for her as well."

"But he's the one who made her go wild!"

"He didn't expect he would lose. Now he probably wants her and her mask back..."

The mask.

Adora knew it was the key. When she described to Castaspella the events that led to the first shockwave, she saw the sorceress jump from one foot to the other in excitement.

Hordak had inserted a golden rock on the mask. It had changed Catra and created the disturbance in the flow of Etheria's energy. Then a new shockwave appeared from the Whispering Woods where Catra had disappeared.

"Adora, go find her, the owner of the mask. It's very important. Very, very important, oh my First Ones, this is huge! You think you can do it?"

"...yeah, yes of course, but why? What is so important about Catra?"

"I'll explain later dear, you need to find her first and quickly. Hordak knows as well how crucial this is. He must be looking for her now as we speak. So go get her, and most importantly, get the mask!"

Was this why he ran off so abruptly? To find Catra in the Woods?

Something had happened to her in there. Adora felt it inside. Something deep had changed on Etheria.

This rush of energy they've all been feeling since that shockwave… It wasn't something Adora had ever felt before. The princesses were all like…reborn. She-Ra was already incredibly powerful, however now it was going way beyond anything she knew. She was feeling like the She-Ra of the legends now. She wouldn't even know how to explain what it was.

Now they would be a real match against the Horde, and Hordak had sensed it right away. Or maybe… Maybe he had known all along it could happen? But that wouldn't make any sense…

"Etheria to Adora, hello!"

Adora snapped out of her daze. She was about to talk when she saw what Swift Wind was staring at wide-eyed. Green trees. Grass and moss. Young roots popping off the ground. Little dandelions timidly exposing their bud.

"The Woods…" Adora hiccuped.

"It's healing!" Swift Wind neighed. The woman and the horse stepped on the fresh piece of nature that had started to extend in the dead area. A breath of life swayed Adora's ponytail as a welcome back.

Adora wanted to turn into She-Ra, and see if she could help the Woods heal faster. But Swift Wind nudged her shoulder as a warning.

"Adora, the Horde," he whispered.

Adora pricked up her ear as she slowed her pace. As a matter of fact, she could hear in the distance some metal clanking and shouts. The troops mustn't be too far.

"We're close to Light Hope's temple," Adora rubbed her chin. "I'd like to go in there."

"Really?" Swift Wind looked at her in surprise.

The temple had been taken over by the Horde soon after the Woods' death a year ago. Hordak had made them dismantle every rock of the castle, kill every giant protective spider, and severe She-Ra's connection to Light Hope. Adora knew it was probably a leap of faith and Light Hope was still out of reach, but given every incredible thing that happened today, she wondered… Why not?

And maybe she could find her ex-best friend's lead.

"If the Horde found Catra, they must be keeping her there, inside their camp, before sending her to the Fright Zone."

"Alright, but how do you intend to sneak in? Or...you want to wipe them off?"

"Well…" Adora grinned. "I've never felt stronger, this could be the perfect occasion to test my new powers."

"Although I'm fond of the idea of the supreme She-Ra kicking the Horde's ass, aren't you scared Hordak might be there?"

"I don't know… We'll snoop and see."

She breathed out. Easier said than done, especially with a big shiny white winged horse by her sides.

They stopped talking when the machine rattle became louder. They were now so close to the camp they were scared of the possibility of seeing Hordak jump out of a bush unexpected.

Adora considered them insanely lucky that the Woods had decided to grow back on that very day, on the very spot they were reaching. More trees, more places to hide.

"Swifty, you can't come any closer. It's too risky."

"But-"

"No buts. I'll go observe the camp, and I'll be back before I do anything, don't worry."

The horse huffed in protest, but folded his wings and stayed put. Adora smiled at him, then crouched her way to the camp. Barbed wires blocked her entering. She decided to go around anyway, to take a good look at the entirety of the place. She might find an opening somewhere.

There was no sign of Hordak anywhere the place, to her relief. She was still on her guards until she spotted Force Captain Grizzlor bossing around a few troopers. If he was here, there was a good chance that Hordak was back at the Fright Zone.

"Force Captain, red team has just made contact, they didn't find the former Second-in-Command. They ask for permission to come back."

"Negative. They were ordered to search the west side till twilight. I don't want them back to the base earlier, unless they find her."

Adora silently rejoiced. Catra was still safe unfound, and as a bonus the camp was less guarded.

"Any news from blue team?"

"None, Force Captain Grizzlor."

"Alright. Stay alert. The rebels might attack any minute. Keep on burning that damn forest. We can't let ourselves get surrounded by magic trees."

Adora frowned. As she moved away from Grizzlor, getting closer to the temple, she realized with horror that the Horde was using flame-launchers on the reborn Whispering Woods nearby. Angry blood boiled in her veins. She had to stop them now. She had to kick them out of the Woods.

However as she looked at the destroyed entrance of the temple, open and unprotected, she hesitated. She shook her head. She would have the time to explore after chasing the Horde away.

"REBELS!"

Just as she was about to call for She-Ra, the soldiers stopped their destructive duty and all ran to the opposite direction. Adora startled, then huffed when she saw Swift Wind flying above the other side of the camp. What on Etheria was he doing?

"For the honor of Grayskull!"

Grizzlor snapped around at the sound. He yelled a few orders at his troops. However Adora knew it wouldn't change anything. She smirked.

She swayed her sword slowly, firing in a rifling manner. Her shots were stronger than before. With that one movement, she blew up the entire base. Grizzlor's jaws dropped. Soldiers were screaming and running around, trying to save their weapons and the troopers stuck under the cabins on fire.

Adora felt awesome. If she wasn't busy destroying the flame-launchers and the guards handling them, she would be exhilarated, like Entrapta marvelling at one of her robot thing.

"You…" Grizzlor pointed at her, his hand shaking. "You're a monster."

She raised her brows, outraged. "Excuse me?! Who's been attacking us for years? Who's destroying the Whispering Woods? Huh?"

She swayed her sword again, without firing this time. The wind wave it created was so violent it sent Grizzlor and his men crushing against the barbed wires on the other side. A scorching scream left their throat.

She walked towards them, impassive to their shrieks, tears and terrified gaze. She was so done with the Horde. She wanted to lash out, she wanted to let her anger overcome her. She wanted to kill them all. She would kill them. It would be easy, they were vulnerable, stuck in the wires, already wounded...

"Adora…" Swift Wind landed in front of her. She blinked several times. "I think that's enough."

She stared into the horse's eyes. He held her gaze, then gently nudged her shoulder with his snout. She lowered her sword.

"That was weird…" Adora whispered.

"It's okay. It's been a weird day."

She let herself fall on her ass as she looked around her. Fire was consuming the rest of the Horde camp. It had taken her two minutes to wipe it out. Two very short minutes. A dozen soldiers were dead. The rest had ran away, including Grizzlor who must have been detached from the wires by his troops at some point when Swift Wind was bringing Adora back to reason.

She wasn't sure back to reason was the perfect expression though. Her mind had never been clearer. And that was very frightening.

"Okay, now…let's go inside," she said in a daze as she stood up.

"No, I'll wait for you here. Just in case they decide to come back."

She nodded. As she headed towards the temple, she clutched her chest. She was breathless. She could feel her pulse on the sides of her head. Calm down Adora… She urged herself.

The shock she felt inside the ancient building didn't help her state. There was...nothing left. All the First Ones tech was gone. The ancient writings were scribbled, or destroyed. Spider machines lied on the sides, dismantled.

"Light Hope?" Adora called. Her words echoed on the broken walls in vain.

"Eternia! She-Ra!" she screamed frantically. Tears rolled on her cheeks. It was pointless. Even if she knew what Hordak had done, it was way worse to actually witness it. Her only connection to She-Ra's past and knowledge was severed for good.

Adora threw her sword on the ground, changing back to her human form. She sat down and hugged her knees.

"What am I going to do now…?" she hiccuped as it dwelled on her that her short term mission was not going so well. She had no idea where Catra was after a day of searching, she had no idea how to find her, and the hope that somehow Light Hope was still there and would help her was now gone.

"How am I supposed to lead the war if you're not here to guide me Light Hope?" she sobbed. In spite of everything she learned today, she still wished she could see the odd woman. At least to get some explanations.

You can't win a war if you don't know your opponents Adora. And if you don't even know yourself… You'd better stay home.

Hordak's words rang in her mind like an unpleasant anxiety bell. He couldn't have lied about everything. She knew it deep down…

"Why didn't you tell me, Light Hope?!" she yelled. "Why didn't you tell me I came from Eternia?!"

She buried her face in her hands. This day had really been too much. Too many contradictory emotions surged in her body and mind. She was lost. She was exhausted.

She let herself cry for a while, her body shaking from the excess of energy in her. When she felt a bit better, she wiped her eyes, and rose on her feet. The night was starting to fall, she had to move. She proceeded to take the exit, when she spotted something in the dim light.

A shiny purple ball floated in the air towards her. She gasped, but smashed her hand on her mouth. She didn't want to scare it away. The glitter circled around Adora, then quickly disappeared in one of the destructed hallways.

Rocks were blocking the way. Adora raised her sword and widened the passage. She ran behind the ball for a while. It was so fast! Finally it brought her to a door, adorned by the typical First Ones writings. Intact. The Horde mustn't have explored that part of the temple.

"Eternia."

A small room lit by a ceiling hole welcomed her. On the ground in the center of the room lied Catra, unconscious.

"Catra!" she kneeled beside her, and gently shook her shoulders. She rejoiced when she saw her mouth open to breathe. She was alive.

Her body was back to her original form, all bruised everywhere. Her face was furrowed in pain. And on her forehead, the mask Adora saw Catra wear for years had now two rocks filling the eye-holes.

One golden, and one blue.

"Where did you get that?" Adora whispered as she reached a finger to the blue one. When she touched it, Catra snapped her eyes open.

"You…"

Adora didn't even have the time to gulp. Catra threw herself on her with an incredible strength, reversing their position.

"How DARE you?!"

She punched Adora's chest with both fists, but to the blonde's surprise it didn't hurt. Adora looked up at her face. Catra's yellow and blue eyes were as mesmerizing as the rocks on her mask. Adora only wished they weren't filled with so much pain.

Catra stopped the punching. She sat up, straddling Adora. She panted as she held her head like it would explode. Adora raised on her elbows, and timidly reached out to wipe a tear from Catra's cheek.

"Don't you dare ever die on me again."


Merry Christmas! Here was a little chapter as a gift, if you feel like reading instead of socializing haha

Thanks for the support! Reviews, follows and faves are always welcome!