"Adora watches as Kyle begs Lonnie for forgiveness. The taller girl has been particularly cruel to him for the last week ever since he accidentally tripped her in the mess hall and made her look foolish. She felt bad for him. She's been on Lonnie's bad side once or twice and Lonnie has never been the most forgiving.
Adora glances over to Catra who is placing her weapon back in the rack. Supposedly Catra can hold a viscous grudge. yet despite their lifelong friendship Adora has only heard the stories of other people that have earned Catra's wrath. Not that it really matters the two of them almost never fight and when they do they resolve it quickly and violently.
Catra turns, noticing Adora looking at her and smiles. Why can't everyone else be more like them?"
As the prom is winding down, most of the guests begin to make their exits while the band plays out the last of their set for few the people still dancing. Adora and Glimmer follow princess Frosta's guards to through the castle hallway away from the dance hall into a small meeting room.
The room is barely more than ten feet wide with its main feature being the tall desk in the center A large desk chair sits behind it while two smaller chairs have been placed on the other side. Princess Frosta is already seated in the desk chair. Despite her age the princess steeps her hands together in front of her looking wise beyond her years. "So. Tell me what your plans are for the alliance?"
Adora answers, taking a seat and sitting up straight. "The Horde grows stronger every day and Hordak isn't going to stop until he wipes out all resistance. We are joining forces to stop him. The armies of each kingdom are weakened, and none can stand against the Horde for much longer. However if the princesses come together and combine their powers, we can form a team that even the Horde won't be able to combat."
There's a moment of silence while Frosta thinks. She meets Glimmer's eyes. "And Queen moon approves of this idea?"
Glimmer nods. "She didn't at first, but with She-Ra leading us she's open to the idea."
Frosta nods. "Recently we have had a few encounters with Horde soldiers around our borders. Frosta's expression slips into a frown. "From the reports they were… strange, and abnormally strong. We managed to drive them back but it appears that the Horde has found some new way of enhancing their troops. It's made them bold enough to encroach even upon our frozen territory."
Adora and Glimmer share a look. Adora grimaces thinking of Lonnie and Rogelio. "We've had run ins with similar troops. They're calling themselves the 'Shadow Corps'. From what we can tell they've been enhanced with magic from the Horde mage Shadoweaver." Adora looks up meeting Frosta's eyes. "I've been waiting to speak to you for this purpose. I'd like to plan an infiltration of the Fright Zone to target Shadoweaver."
Frosta nods. "You want to infiltrate it with the members of the princess alliance." Adora nods. "Do you truly believe that this will stop this Shadow Corps?"
Adora nods. No Shadoweaver, no shadow magic. "I do."
There's another moment of silence as Frosta searches Adora's face for any sign of deception before taking a breath. "I understand. This is a mission I approve of. I am willing to provisionally join your alliance, at least for the upcoming mission."
"Do you really think that would work?"
Entrapta shrugs. "Why not?"
Catra laughs leaning back on the bench. "Only because everything I know about science and basic physics tells me it won't."
"What are you two talking about?" Catra and Entrapta both turn to see Bow and Perfuma approaching them.
Perfuma claps her hands together. "I haven't seen you all night Catra! I love the outfit, it suits you perfectly." Perfuma looks around confused. "I thought you would be with Adora? She is here isn't she?"
Catra can't help but grimace. Entrapta was a welcome distraction, but that only made the memories of her last talk with Adora more painful.
Before she can even lie about it Bow places a hand on her shoulder. "Catra what's wrong?"
She shrugs the hand off. "It's nothing I jus-"
Perfuma is suddenly sitting next to Catra holding both of her hands. "Oh no! What happened you didn't have a fight did you?"
Catra tries to scoot away only to realize that she's trapped with Perfuma and Entrapta on either side and Bow in front of her. Crafty Etherians. "No we didn't." Perfuma raises a disbelieving eyebrow. "I mean it was just a little-" She sees Bow looking at her so earnestly. "...We might have had a fight."
"Oh no! Come here!" Perfuma's eyes go wide and she pulls Catra into a warm hug rubbing her back. Catra's normal response to anyone but Adora touching her is to pull out the claws. However Perfuma's embrace instead causes the edges of her eyes to tingle as she thinks about Adora. Of how frustrating the feelings she has for Adora and She-Ra are. Catra decides to indulge Perfuma and let herself be hugged. She feels Perfuma make some motions towards Bow.
"Hey Entrapta, do you have a minute? I wanted some advice on my trick arrows. We can talk over there."
"Ok!" Catra feels the bench shift as Entrapta stands up. "Bye Catra!"
When Perfuma releases her Catra and Perfuma are the only two seared on the bench. Perfuma is still holding Catra's hand in her own. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
While there are several reasons why not to tell Perfuma Catra decides that this weird emotional mess might be better handled by an irrational Etherian princess. "Well the short story is. I don't like She-Ra. When Adora is She-Ra she isn't herself, she's impatient, reckless, and overconfident. I told her that I think She-Ra is going to get her killed." Catra looks down. Trying to will the tears from her eyes. "I told her that I hate She-Ra, because I think She-Ra is going to get Adora killed. B-But, Adora, she says that there's no difference between her and She-Ra." Catra moves to take her hands back from Perfuma but the princess holds tight. "Adora must think that I hate her."
"She doesn't!" Perfuma grabs Catra by the shoulders and looks into her eyes with determination. "What you and Adora have, it's special. You don't hate Adora, you couldn't ever hate Adora. I know that, so Adora has to know it too."
Perfuma's words are so enticing, Catra wants to believe her, but the look on Adora's face when she left haunts her thoughts. "But what if she doesn't. I basically told her that I hated her."
"Then all you have to do is tell her that you don't." Perfuma smiles at Catra with complete sincerity. Something behind Catra catches Perfuma's eye and Catra turns around to see Adora and Glimmer exiting a hallway into the main dance floor.
The two of them start to head over to them when Adora makes eye contact with Catra before saying a few words to Glimmer and walking in a separate direction and Catra feels her heart sink.
When Glimmer reaches them she bursts into a bright grin. "We did it! Princess Frosta is going to help us infiltrate the Fright Zone. We're all gonna meet up in Brightmoon next week. Perfuma you'll be there right?"
"Oh course." Perfuma glances towards Catra for a second. "Say Glimmer, where did Adora wander off to?"
"Hm? Oh she went to tell Bow and to find Mermista and Entrapta if they're still here." Glimmer holds a hand out to Catra. "Hey are you ok?"
Thankfully the few tears that Catra cried have already made their dried. "I'm just tired. Let's go back to Brightmoon."
The ride back to Brightmoon was silent. Exhausted from the dance when the four friends finally make it back to Brightmoon Glimmer and Bow both quickly said their goodnights and retired to their own chambers.
Now changed and alone, Catra looks hesitantly at Adora who is standing next to their bed. Adora places a hand on the comforter before looking up at Catra with conflicted blue eyes. "Do...you… you really feel that way about me, about She-Ra don't you?"
It wasn't a question, not really. Catra is exhausted and wants nothing more than to delay this until the morning but with Adora that isn't really an option. "I meant what I said. She-Ra is reckless, she fights like she's invincible." Catra's multicolored eyes narrow. "No one is invincible."
Adora nods solemnly. "I understand. I've been thinking about everything that you said and I understand your point. When I get the sword back I'm going to work on fighting better as She-Ra." Adora turns to fully face Catra. "But I need you to understand. She-Ra is me. I may look different but it's still me, no one else. If I fight worse it's because I'm overconfident, nothing else. I need you to acknowledge that."
Near the end Adora's voice is almost pleading. So much so that Catra wants to believe her if it wasn't for her every sense that tells her otherwise. If she didn't know Adora so well. Adora is a lot of things but a she has never been a sloppy fighter. Watching She-Ra fight it seems impossible that that's Adora. Catra would never claim to understand the magic of the sword or any magic at all but the differences in She-Ra and Adora are too much to be written off. Adora doesn't know anything about magic either, she probably wouldn't even notice if it changed her thinking while she was transformed.
Adora sighs. Catra's silence is answer enough. "There's no way for me to prove it to you. At least not without the sword. But.." Adora moves away from the bed towards the door. "But until then..I think I'm going to sleep somewhere else. I just, I just can't sleep here knowing that you hate some part of me."
Catra stands frozen until she hears Adora turn the door knob. "You don't have to. You can still sleep here-" She trails off hopefully.
Smiling wistfully Adora turns the knob and opens the door. "No. I don't think I can."
Perfuma is the last princess to arrive. She sees Glimmer and Bow seated next to each other on the bed, Mermista is lying on the floor with a hand supporting her chin. Entrapta is seated in the corner using her hair to fiddle with some small device while princess Frosta is waiting patiently seated on Glimmer's desk chair. Adora is standing up leaning against the bed frame while Catra sits near Entrapta. Noticeably on opposite sides of the room from each other.
Frowning Perfuma moves and takes the open space on the bed near Bow. With everyone present Adora clears her throat. "Thank you all for coming. We're here today to plan our first mission as the princess alliance. We are going to infiltrate the Fright Zone with two goals. The retrieval of the sword of protection and the elimination of Shadoweaver."
Mermista sighs as she pushes herself to a sitting position. "Like, just to be clear, when you say eliminate do you mean in a stabby kind of way?"
Adora nods. "Shadoweaver has targeted Catra and I on multiple occasions and as far as we can guess she's the source of a new type of Horde soldier that use her shadow magic to enhance their abilities. It is also very likely that she will have the sword close to her."
"But wait!" Everyone turns to Glimmer who looks concerned. "Didn't you say that Shadoweaver is like your mom? Is it really ok for us to…ya know?"
Frosta's eyes narrow at the statement looking at Adora suspiciously but chooses to remain silent. At the mention of 'mom' Catra's nose wrinkles in disgust. "Yeah our definition of mom seems a little different than yours. I've got no problem putting the old hag down. Although it would be even better to drag her back here to show how wrong she was." Catra shrugs. "But beggars can't be choosers."
For her part Adora does hesitate before speaking, despite how terrible she is Adora would be lying if she claimed not to have any fond memories with the woman. "Not only that, but the truth is that Shadoweaver is too dangerous to be left alive. Even removed from the Black Garnet we can't be sure of her abilities."
The room falls into a serious silence.
Adora moves from her spot and pulls a folded up piece of paper from her pocket. Unfurling it Catra immediately recognizes it as a rather detailed map of the Fright Zone. Once the paper is spread out Adora grabs some random pieces from Glimmer's nearby shelves. "So here's the plan-"
The acrid air of the Fright Zone is almost suffocating in the long absence without it. Catra looks down from her lookout over the city.
Catra's ear twitches at the sound of Princess Frosta coughing behind her. "Is it always like this?"
Catra smirks backflipping off her perch to stand beside the princess. "More or less."
The two stand in silence waiting for the signal to begin from down below. Frosta regards Catra coldly, "From what I'd heard you and Adora are supposedly inseparable. I'm surprised that she out the two of you on separate teams."
The remark is said calmly but Catra's tail stiffens for a moment in response. "It was the smart move. Adora and I are the only two people who have been here before. It doesn't make any sense for us to be in the same team."
Somehow the twelve year old's gaze seems to see right through her. "Oh really? But our team can do our job without needing to navigate much. I would have put you on the same team as Adora considering that you also have experience with this Shadoweaver."
Blue and yellow eyes narrow to glare at the tiny girl. Fortunately out of the corner of her eye Catra notices two small flashes near the main base gates. "Too late to change it now. C'mon we're up."
Frost nods and braces herself before leaping off of the building. With only a brief moment of concentration the water and steam pipes burst and freeze creating a slide of ice leading away from the main gate which she begins sliding down. Despite their high altitude a few soldiers immediately notice the gigantic ice structure.
"What the-"
"It's a princess!"
"Here? Quickly sound the alarm."
"-lets get out of here before those shadow freaks show up-"
Catra rides on the ice slide behind Frosta, her ears picking up on the conversations of the different soldiers. She can see the tower where Bow, Entrapta, and Perfuma should be ready and waiting. "It sounds like we've got their attention."
Frosta nods without looking back. "We'll distract then the best we can. Now let's hope She-Ra's group does its job."
Glimmer closes her eyes and draws upon her magic teleporting Adora, Mermista, and herself through another set of closed doors. As soon as they appear Adora tenses shock baton ready with Mermista wielding her trident beside her.
The room is deserted, no sword in sight either. Mermista throws her hands up in exasperation. "Ugh! Another empty room. Where the heck is your sword?"
Adora shakes her head. "I'm not sure. We checked the weapons locker, the war chest, and the training armory. There's almost nowhere else it could be."
Glimmer pants leaning against the wall. "Well we better find it soon, because teleporting you guys everywhere, is not as easy as it seems. Can we take a break?"
"You've got a minute." Adora grabs an abandoned canteen from one of the training benches and tosses it to Glimmer. "Drink some water. Remember, the longer that we take the harder things get for the other team."
Glimmer accepts the canteen and begins to greedily drink from it. Meanwhile Mermista takes a seat on a bench placing her trident on a convenient weapon rack. "Like it matters if we don't know where to look. This place is huuuge this could take hoooooouuuurs."
"It won't." Adora grimaces. "It can't. Catra and the other group are strong but they can only hold out so long before they'll have to retreat. Especially if those other shadow troops are even half as strong as Rogelio and Lonnie were."
Finishing off the canteen Glimmer wipes her mouth and stand to her feet. "Ok, I'm ready to go again. Do we have a destination?"
Adora sighs, resigned to the only option left. "We're going to the Black Garnet chamber."
Mermista picks her trident back up. "So we're going to fight the scare shadow lady without She-Ra? Yeah, that sounds really dumb."
"We don't have a choice. If I know Shadoweaver as well as I think I do, then that's where she'll be keeping the sword." Adora turns and points towards the south-west wall. "Glimmer, aim that way fifty meters. We're going to try and surprise her. Be ready to fight as soon as we land. Mermista and I will cover you while you catch your breath."
Catra dodges a shock baton and disarms a soldier throwing him over her shoulder. "Explain to me again how you 'lost' Entrapta?"
Before the next soldier can take aim at Catra vines sprout form Perfuma's hand binding him. "I don't know, she just kind of disappeared!"
Catra grits her teeth in frustration. "Bow was on lookout. How did she just vanish? She's not exactly what I would call sneaky."
An arrow shoots from the tower their defending and strikes at the soldier engaged with Frosta. "I was looking out for the enemy! If I had known Entrapta would disappear on us I would have tried a bell to her."
Three more soldiers jump out from cover only to be flash frozen as Frosta walks up. "We'll have to hope she comes back. We're not in a position to go looking for her."
"Uh guys." Given the brief pause in combat the girls all turn to look up at Bow. "It looks like most of the soldiers are falling back and maintaining a perimeter. I can see a few groups of soldiers charging our way though. They look… shadowy?"
Frosta's eyes narrow as they all turn to face the direction Bow is pointing. The archer unleashes an arrow in that direction as the rest of them wait for the enemy to come closer. They're all surprised when Bow lands in between them hastily. Catra is about to ask why he abandoned the high ground when the top of the tower explodes in a burst of black flames.
Bow looks at them wide eyed. "Did we know that they shoot fireballs?"
Catra rolls her shoulders, stretching as the group of black armored Horde soldiers runs into view. The shadows around them seem thicker and each has a small glowing red jewel on their chest similar in fashion to Shadoweaver's mask. "Nope. That doesn't change what we have to do though."
Adora dives to the side to avoid the black shadow reaching for her ankle. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Glimmer teleport away from Rogelio's claw while Mermista uses her trident to deflect the sword of protection wielded by Lonnie.
Her lapse in attention earns her a cut across the face as a blade like tendril of shadow slashes at her. "My, my, Adora, I never thought I would catch you in such an obvious trap. You really have grown dull."
"Shut up!" Adora swings at Shadoweaver with a borrowed shock baton only for the sorceress to disappear into the shadows at the last second. Reappearing mere feet away.
"And to think that you actually thought your little distraction would fool me? I taught you so much better."
Adora knows that Shadoweaver is needling her, trying to get her to mess up. That doesn't make it less infuriating though. Adora has to resist the urge to look behind her when she hears Glimmer gasp in pain.
"Is that why Catra left you?" Adora's eyes widen and she freezes for just a second looking into Shadoweaver's glowing white eyes. "I knew it. After all, I think we both know that Catra would be better for this mission, the obvious choice. But you didn't want to work with her did you?"
Adora steps back. "-That isn't true, Catra didn't leave me. This was the better plan." Adora takes a swipe at Shadoweaver but this time the woman only needs to sidestep to avoid it.
Shadoweaver's voice is a whisper in Adora's ear. "I think we both know that if she still wanted to fight by your side then she would be here. Nothing you or I has ever said could control her."
With a gasp Adora realizes that she's right. A week ago Catra would have at least argued against this plan, like she had in Salineas, instead she listened without comment. She didn't leave Adora. Adora pushed her away, why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? Without the sword did it even matter what Catra thought of She-Ra? No it didn't this is all-
"Got you."
Finally got another chapter out sorry it took so long.
If I'm being entirely honest, the only reason that this chapter has a cliff hanger is because I felt like if I didn't put this out tonight I wouldn't do it for another week or two. For some reason starting a chapter is really easy for me, finishing one is another story though. Still I'm not unhappy with the way it turned out.
I'm alot more interested in seeing what you thought about it though, so please let me know.
This story isn't even close to dead, I promise that we will at least get through all the canon events in one way or another. So please forgive me if it takes a few weeks in between chapters.
