Chapter 9: Secrecy's End

"I'm sorry," Brian said, "What"?

"Glimmer", came the voice of Light Hope, "is a member of the ruling family of Brightmoon. They have had a power with light that dates back centuries."

"And Castaspella," said She-Ra, "is a master enchantress."

"Together, along with Rainbow Brite, and the Color Belt, I believe that the enchantment Shadow Weaver has placed on the land with her nexus crystals can be reversed," Light hope said, as if he (it?) had never been interrupted.

"All right," said Rainbow, nodding. "Where do we find these people?"

"Finding Casty shouldn't be too hard," She-Ra said. "She's the queen of Mysticor. Though we do not know yet what effect Shadow Weaver's crystals had on Mysticor, we'll have to find out. But if there's anyone who can counter Shadow Weaver's magic directly, it is Castaspella."

"All right," said Brian, exchanging a glance with Rainbow, "and Glimmer?"

"We know right where Glimmer is," She-Ra replied, and her voice turned grim. "She's in Castle Brightmoon, under siege by Hordak's troops."

The glance Brian and Rainbow exchanged this time was much longer. "All right. How do we get through it?"

"Horde's troops are spread out, trying to maintain order and control on the rest of Etheria. If the Rebellion was at full strength, we could try to break it directly."

"It's not, though," Rainbow said, slowly.

"We've lost too many people to the darkness, through hopelessness and despair. They've just left," was the sad reply.

Brian punched his fist into his other hand, like it was a glove, "Then it's time to bring them back, and show them hope has not abandoned them." Ranbow nodded.

She-Ra smiled, "I'm glad you think that way. There is a town near the Whispering Wood, Theymore, that would provide an excellent example that the Rebellion isn't finished yet."

"I remember Theymore," Rainbow said, "That's where we arrived in Etheria, more or less."

She-Ra turned to her. "Light Hope has told me that your job is to bring light and color to your world of Earth." Rainbow nodded, as did Brian slowly. "Then we're going to do the same in Theymore. There's a certain amount of historical significance, I suppose. This is where the Rebellion truly began, and where I took the first step to my own destiny."

"I have only two questions," Starlite said, speaking up.

"Oh?" She-Ra responded.

"When do we start?"

She chuckled. "And the other?"

"When were you going to tell us your dual identity? There's no real point in hiding, especially from the most magnificent horse in the Universe."

There was silence for a full measure. Brian rolled his eyes.

It was Light Hope that broke it, "The worlds of Eternia and Etheria are connected, She-Ra. The Sorceress of Greyskull long ago placed magic that kept people from noticing little things that would reveal the dual identities of you and your brother. It cannot cover everything, so we advise caution. But that magic did not cover outsiders. Hordak was all ready here, and thus effected"

"I would appreciate it, if you didn't let that secret spread beyond this room," She-Ra said, wryly looking at Starlite. The horse inclined his head.

"Back to the subject at hand," said Rainbow. "Do you know what we'll face when we liberate Theramore?"

"A Nexus Crystal will be in the vicinity," Light Hope said. "I can sense its presence there."

"If the Horde is following standard protocol, since it's considered a border, it'll have a detachment of troopers, and most likely one of their force captains."

"Then we'll need a plan," said Brian.

The village of Theymore was much the way the heroes left it, neither any darker, nor purified at all. What it defintively looked was more occupied. Troopers walked stood guard over both the inn and blacksmith, as well as an unknown building near the river. The entire Rebellion was present, the point of the exercise was both a show of strength and unity as much as it was proof that the world wasn't beyond saving.

Rainbow looked at them. She'd grown to know these people over the last few days. Bow, the archer, was examining his weapon for a third time. Finally satisfied, he nodded to Rainbow. She glanced the other direction, where Brian stood, looking uncomfortable. She flashed a smile at him, and he gave a weak grin.

"I'm still not used to having a, well, a firearm," he admitted quietly. "I always wanted to help make the world friendly and colorful, but not like this."

"We're being tested, Brian," she said, with a calmness that would never fail to amaze him. "We must face that test with all our strength. Or the darkness will win." She made it sound so simple. She took his hand, forcing him to look in her eyes. "Together, after all, we can overcome all the odds. It's never as hard as it seems."

Brian met her gaze. "As long as we all do our parts, right?" he asked. She smiled, and they turned back to Theymore. "I remember," he said softly, "the darkness here. I'll do what I can, to bring it back to the light."

Rainbow clapped her hands, running back towards Starlite as he approached. "You ready to give them a show, Starlite?"

"The most magnificent horse in the universe, ready to give a show?" He snorted, "I was born ready!" Rainbow laughed at that, and she pulled herself onto her steed's back. Kowl flew over the far side of the village, towards the river. That was the que.

"Be careful Rainbow, be careful Starlite!" Brian shouted, as the Rainbow path led upwards and towards Theymore. Brian ran over to join Bow. He had only just arrived when he heard lasers being fired. The ploy had been designed to get attention, and boy, did they get attention.

"She's back," said the trooper, in his flat mechanical voice.

"Orders are orders," said the other. "We'll need to call this in. Catra, confirm shoot to kill orders."

Catra purred. She'd been the one that caught Rainbow Brite in the first place, and it had rankled her that the idiot Grizzlor had let her escape so easily. Oh no. That wasn't going to happen, not This time.

"Mrow. Yes. Call Shadow Weaver," Catra purred. She paused for a moment. "Shoot to kill if escaping, providing active opposition, or we are in retreat, meow. Capture is still preferable."

"Acknowledged." The troopers trundled off to join the several outdoors, trying to bring down Starlite.

Starlite, however, was having the time of his life. His agility on the rainbow's surface was masterful, and Rainbow had worked with him long enough to know which way he was going to jump almost before he did.

And even better, he had an audience. The villagers of Theymore had come out to gawk at this spectacle. "That's right," Starlite shouted above the noise. "There's no way they are going to bring me down." He lowered his voice, "All the same, Rainbow, I hope Brian and Bow start moving soon, all it would take is one really lucky shot..." Rainbow nodded, but wasn't really worried.

Brian and Bow gave it two minutes, long enough for the villagers to have figured out what was going on. The Horde had moved to shooting locations throughout the village commons, as to take advantage of cross fire. Kowl perched on the top of the inn, keeping his head low as he surveyed the scene, looking for the force captain.

The archer pulled an arrow from his quiver, fitting it to his bow. "Ready, Brian?" Brian nodded, unholstering his gun, aiming for a horde near the smith, away from any non-horde targets. "Now!" Bow exclaimed, and they both fired.

Brian's shot missed, scattering off the smith's anvil, electrifying it briefly, but pointlessly. Bow's didn't, catching a trooper between helmet and neck piece, deactivating instantly.

"What?" said the trooper, turning to track Brian. He squeezed off another couple shots, just barely adjusting his aim, and dove out of the way of the incoming laser beam. One of the shots met its target, shorting it out in a burst of yellow sparks.

Now that they were exposed, Brian and Bow had expected to be under fire, but the Horde troops continued to fire on Rainbow. "I thought survival was their highest priority!" Brian shouted, changing his target.

"Normally it is," Bow said. "Maybe they know LOOK OUT!" he shouted. Brian turned, just in time to hit the deck again as the panther form of Catra leaped at him, claws out stretched. The light gun went spinning away, and when Bow tried to level an arrow to threaten her, Catra clawed the weapon's string in half.

"Not good," muttered Brian. He picked himself up, and backed up, though towards his dropped weapon. Catra, having disarmed Bow, turned not to threaten Brian, but return to her human form. Brian stared at the transformation.

"Rowr. Entertaining, perhaps Rebels, but foolish, mrow?" She was joined by two troopers, one had a laser pointed directly at Brian, the other poked Bow in the head. Bow knelt, putting his hands behind his head. "Tell the Rainbow runner to surrender, and we will yet spare your lives."

"We've got to help them!" shouted Starlite.

"Help's closer then us, Starlite," Rainbow said, though her voice was tense. The shooting stopped, ostensibly to give them room to land. To surrender.

A sword spun through the air, crossing in front of Catra's amazed face, cutting the two troopers threatening Bow & Brian cleanly in half.

"No," Catra whispered. "No, she vanished."

"And now I'm back, Catra," She-Ra said, threateningly. While Brian and Bow rushed to repair and retrieve their weapons, Catra pulled down her visor, and the panther charged Etheria's Guardian. She-Ra calmly grabbed the cat's forelegs, absorbing the charge in a controlled fall backward. She then kicked up, sending the cat flying into nearby vegetation.

The villagers heard the crash, and turned, and together they cheered. She-Ra had been a heroine for a long time, and when she vanished, it had crushed their hopes. She-Ra nodded, moving to eliminate the remaining troopers firing on Rainbow and Starlite. Brian, with his adreneline flowing (and less time to think, perhaps), had a head start.

With the force captain no longer there to override their programming, the troopers ran. Survival, indeed, had a higher priority.

Rainbow joined the cheering, as Starlite jumped back to the Earth. She-Ra and Rainbow, together with Brian and Bow, made their way to the center of the cheering crowd. She-Ra motioned with her hands, and the crowd quieted.

"I know I have been gone a long time, but I have returned. Hordak's follower, Shadow Weaver, has started a campaign to drive light from our world."

"And we're here to stop it," Rainbow shouted. Pulling a handful of star sprinkles from her pack, she activated her belt. A rainbow exploded against the dark background of the inn. There were collective gasps, and Brian recognized Tikal, the musician from their first visit, in the crowd.

The rainbow brightened all it touched, from the faded grass of the commons and outside the village proper, to the river that flowed nearby. The sun beat down with a warmth that had been missing from the early spring afternoon, and in the distance, birds broke into conversation. Something that had been heard in the Whispering Wood, but precious little elsewhere.

As Brian and Rainbow exchanged a high five, She-Ra began to speak of the need of resistance. That they couldn't surrender everything back to the Horde, not after fighting so hard to earn it.

Catra watched the whole thing, in human form, hiding in the nearby trees. For a moment, the Rainbow had touched her, and she felt a hope tug at her heart. She removed her mask, staring at it, torn for a second. Then gave a cat like snarl in anger. She liked the power the Horde gave her. She wasn't giving that up.

For that brief moment, she hated herself for needing it.

She returned the mask to her forehead. If, however, the Rebels were planning to break the siege of Brightmoon, however. Hordak must be warned. She toyed with the idea of protecting the Nexus Crystal in the area, but gave that up as a lost cause. The rebels would soon find it, and destroy it. No, best give warning, as soon as possible. She lowered her mask, and broke into an easy cat run toward the Fright Zone.