She-Ra and the Princess of Power, created by Noelle Stevenson, is the property of Dreamworks and Mattel. Please don't sue me.

The Valley of the Lost

Two moons sailed through the evening sky, a deep purple against the burnt red of the Crimson Waste. Once, the Valley would be alive with clashing noise and blazing light even at this late hour, its lawless populous cheerfully swilling and swindling well into the morning moonrise. But that was before the new order, before the Horde.

Now the twisting alleys and byways carved into the Valley's rocky walls lay empty and silent, save for the occasional echo of an armored boot. Though if the Horde Troopers patrolling the deserted streets had taken a moment to stop and strain their ears, they might have made out the soft patter of furitive feet somewhere above... but probably not.

Huntara leaped from one rooftop to another with pantherish stealth that belied her muscular bulk. The former bandit turned rebel fighter paused to allow a patrol to pass beneath.

A squad of snakefolk, like all Horde Troopers remaining in the Waste seemed to be these days, marched past in curiously modified uniforms. In addition to the usual Horde insignia, they each wore an armband depicting a serpent biting its own tail. Neither symbol had much positive connotation for Huntara.

She eventually found herself overlooking the makeshift vehicle yard where a small convoy of Horde craft was penned. She smiled grimly, eyes alighting on a hover-skiff at the far side of the yard.

Huntara leaped over the fence with catlike grace, feeling pretty confident in herself. She had barely taken two steps before several searchlights blazed to life, all centered on her.

The silhouettes of five snake troopers circled Huntara, stun batons raised. "Halt, softskin!" their leader rasped.

"Well gosh darn it," a chagrined Huntara swore, raising her hands. "I guess you folks are just too dang slick for an ol' wasteland bumpkin like me?"

One of the troopers gingerly reached for Huntara's wrists, only for her to twist his arm with a single lightning motion, jabbing the trooper's own stun baton into his side.

The four remaining troopers snarled as they rushed Huntara, only to be dropped one by one. She dangled a still conscious snake man by his collar.

"'Kay, buddy, I'm gonna need to you to unlock that ski-" Huntara spun on her heels, using the trooper as a living shield. A throwing-star sprouted from his shoulder, freezing flailing limbs rock solid.

"Good to see you've still got the edge, Hun."

Two snake women perched atop a Horde tank, glaring down at Huntara disdainfully.

Huntara's eyes narrowed coldly. "Snake Face and Sssqueeze. Why am I not surprised you two sold out to the Horde?"

"We prefer to think of it as 'buying in'," Snake Face answered, drawing a twin unfolding swords. She was lithe with scales the color of turquoise, features hidden beneath a black hood and leering mask of white porcelain.

"We don't have to justify ourselves to this softskin, Snake Face," snarled Sssqueeze, a jade-scaled giantess with heavily tattoed arms like pythons. "Let's just crush her!"

"Yes, sweetie," Snake Face hissed softly. "Lets."

Huntara barely had time to dodge before the snake women struck, Sssqueeze leaving a fist-sized indentation where Huntara had been standing only a moment ago while Snake Face slashed with whirling blades.

Huntara leaped backward, narrowly parrying Snake Face's attack with her retractable spear.

"Adapt or die, Hun. That's the Law of the Waste," Snake Face sneered over crossed weapons. "Once the Force Captain's done, Etheria will belong to our kind. Give up now and maybe he'll let us keep you as a pet?"

"Hard pass!" Huntara fell flat on her back and rolled under a tank, jamming a live grenade up its manifold. She leaped back on her feet and sprinted before the war machine erupted in a blazing ball.

Huntara hopped aboard the skiff, popping the control panel as she began rapidly splicing wires. Without the key, she'd have to get this right on the first try. After a few tense seconds, the skiff's engines roared to life.

"Yes!" she crowed, steering for the yard's gate, hitting the accelerator.

"HUNTARAAA!"

A singed and irate Sssqueeze leaped over the burning slag, barrelling down the runway like an ophidian juggernaut while Snake Face leaped nimbly from one parked vehicle to the next. Each in rapid pursuit of the rogue skiff.

"Must go faster," Huntara muttered to herself, flooring it. There wasn't enough time to stop and unlock the gate. She'd have to ram her way through.

Snake Face hurled another star dipped in freeze-venom, almost grazing Huntara's cheek before embedding itself in the deck. A moment later, the skiff crashed through the gates and soared out over the Crimson Wastes.

[-]

Snake Face and Sssqueeze skulked into the Horde command center, a makeshift office strewn with ancient artifacts scavenged from beneath the crimson sands. Before a map of the Waste with back turned, stood a broad-shouldered snake man with scales like burnished copper and a tail tipped by a hissing rattle.

"Report," he rasped.

"Huntara escaped, Force Captain," Snake Face replied. "Her skiff's last known course should take her directly to Bright Moon."

The Force Captain's reptilian lips curled upward in a fanged grin.

[-]

Castle Bright Moon

The War Room's holo-table flickered to life, projecting the glowing three-dimensional image of an evershifting fortress set in the side of a looming purple-gray mountain.

"Ever since occupying Dryl, the Horde have heavily fortified the Crypto Castle and surrounding area," Bow began, circling the holo-map. "But if we can lure out the bulk of the garrison, a few small strike teams should be able to slip behind their lines and hack their defenses... In theory anyway. So... thoughts?"

Around the table, sat Queen Glimmer, Flutterina, and Adora, who was the first to raise her hand.

"Yes, Adora?" Bow said.

"By 'lure', I'm guessing you mean 'use me as bait again'?" she asked, casting a side-eye at Glimmer.

"Well, if the Horde has found a way to track She-Ra..." Bow answered awkwardly.

"Oh, here we go again," Glimmer muttered.

"No, no, it's fine," Adora said icily. "At least I'm being told beforehand this time."

"Adora," Bow interjected. "I'm sure Glimmer didn't mean-"

"Glimmer can speak for herself," the young queen snipped.

Flutterina said nothing, eyes darting back and forth with every traded barb.

Before the argument could escalate, the War Room's doors abruptly burst open as Huntara dragged herself in, along with three struggling Bright Moon guards.

"Your Majesty!?" the lead guard blurted, her arms locked around Huntara's bullish neck to little effect.

"It's alright, let her go," Glimmer sighed. "What are you doing here, Huntara?"

The ex-bandit dusted herself off as the guards stood down. "Saving Etheria, hopefully."

[-]

"So you hijacked a skiff and headed here?" Adora asked.

"Mhmmph," Huntara grunted, before shoving another fistful of hors d'oeuvres into her mouth. "The Force Captain the Horde left in charge is working on something big, hiring mercenaries, conscripting civvies into workgangs, digging up half the Waste looking for... who knows what?"

Bow stroked his chin. "They must be looking for more First One tech, maybe even..."

"Mara's weapon," Adora gasped. "We need to stop them before-"

"No."

Adora rounded on Glimmer. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Don't you see? This is the Northern Perimeter all over again! We waste time chasing shadows around the middle of nowhere while the Horde regroups for their real plan!"

"Hey! That 'nowhere' happens to be my home!" Huntara protested.

"We can't risk the Horde getting their hands on Mara's weapon!" Adora snapped.

"Assuming it even exists!" Glimmer shot back. "Have you forgotten about the attack on Dryl?"

"At least let me, Bow and Flutterina go with Huntara to check it out."

"You have three days. Then we move on Dryl..." Glimmer turned to leave. "With or without She-Ra."

The young queen strode past the still silent Flutterina, whose only response to the entire tableau was the faintest shade of a smile.

[-]

Flutterina slipped quietly into 'her' private tent, careful to secure the entrance behind. "Time to 'break character'".

The young scout's form was quickly enveloped in glittering shifting shadow. A moment later, the quasi-reptilian form of Double Trouble stood in Flutterina's place. The shapeshifting mercenary took a moment to admire their slender limbs before languidly draping themself over a couch, retrieving their Horde comm-pad from a hidden compartment.

Catra's image flickered across the pad's screen, deep dark circles hanging heavily under the feline Force Captain's heterochromatic eyes.

"Still up, Kitten?" Double Trouble asked.

"Yeah well, conquering the planet is kinda a fulltime job," Catra groaned. "What's up?"

"The rebels plan to move on Dryl in three days. Also, they just got wind of your big project in the Crimson Waste."

Catra's eyes narrowed blearily. "What Crimson Waste project?"

"You don't know? Apparently, the Force Captain you left in charge there has been working up a storm."

"Rattlor? I only assigned that fanged creep to the Waste to keep him as far away as possible."

"Rrraow," Double Trouble purred. "I love it when you let the claws out."

Catra blushed slightly. "Yes... well..."

"Huntara is taking Adora, Bow and 'Flutterina' back to the Waste to snoop around."

"Good, find out what Rattlor's up to and shut it down. I'm too close to let everything be ruined by some scaly sleaze making a powerplay."

"Will do." Double Trouble winked. "Sweet dreams, Kitten."

Catra smiled sheepishly as the pad's screen went black.

Double Trouble chuckled softly to themself. "She's just too easy sometimes."

[-]

The Crimson Waste

The stolen skiff sailed over the blood-red sands as the morning moons crept over a jagged horizon. Adora manned the craft's tiller as Flutterina eagerly scanned the horizon from the prow. Meanwhile, Bow sat crosslegged on the small deck, trying to lose himself in tinkering with an arrow.

"Hey, kid." Huntara leaned against the mast. "Watcha working on?"

"Ooh, check this out!" Bow hit a small notch on the arrow's shaft, causing its head to instantly inflate into a rubbery red fist. "Ta-da! Boxing Glove Arrow!"

"Wow... that's really... something." Huntara bent low, dropping into a whisper. "Look, none of my business but last night, Blondie and Glitter seemed a bit... tense. Is everything okay between you folks?"

"What? No, no, it's fine! Glimmer's just a little stressed from all the queen stuff and Adora's kinda overprotective of her, and you know how much Glimmer hates being smothered. And as usual, I'm stuck playing peacemaker."

"Hey, chin up, little man." Huntara gave Bow an affectionate punch on the shoulder. "These kinda things always blow over."

Bow smiled hopefully. "You really think so?"

"Sure! Heck, my ol' buddies and me used to fight all the time! I mean, you know, before they sold me out to Catra and joined the Horde."

Bow's smile collapsed on itself.

"We're here!" Flutterina cried excitedly, wings aflitter.

Adora brought the skiff to a halt near the Valley's edge. Dozens of billowing banners depicting a golden serpent biting its own tail hung eerily over the winding streets.

Adora cocked an eyebrow. "Huh, those aren't standard Horde issue?"

"Yeah well, the local Force Captain's a tad... eccentric." Huntara hopped out of the skiff. "We better stow this thing before someone spots us."

[-]

The Valley of the Lost

The four rebels made their way through the twisting alleys, faces hidden beneath hooded cloaks. The handful of loiterers they passed quickly scampered out of sight at the slightest sound.

"It's practically deserted," Flutterina whispered. "I mean, compared to the way you guys described it."

"The old place has seen better days, alright," Huntara muttered bitterly before pausing to cock her ear. "Take cover, fast!"

The four dashed into a shady alley, ducking behind a pile of refuse as a column of snake troopers marched past. At its head was a copper-scaled snake man bearing the rank insignia of a Force Captain.

"Rattlor," Huntara snarled low. "Treats the entire Waste like his own private empire."

By the Force Captain's side strode the single non-ophidian, a dark-skinned bespectacled human clad in a dusty long coat. He chatted animately with the snake man, carrying a dozen different tattered charts under his arms.

Bow's eyes widened in quiet shock. "Mace?"

"You know that guy?" Huntara asked.

"He's... my brother."

[-]

"Your brother?" Adora echoed incredulously as the four rebels sheltered in a boarded-up hovel. "You mean the older one with the pottery shards?"

"Mace is oldest of us, then Ax, Saber..." Bow trailed off listlessly, sitting in a darkened corner.

"Wow, your family's really committed to their theme, huh?" Flutterina observed, perched atop a stack of crates.

Hutara peered out through a chink in the boards. "Big bro seemed awful chummy with the Force Captain if you ask me."

"NO!" Bow leaped to his feet angrily. "It isn't like that! Mace isn't like that! They must be forcing him to help somehow."

"Bow, we all want to believe that." Adora placed a hand on his shoulder. "But after Entrapta..."

"Adora, you don't know Mace like I do," Bow protested. "He hates the war almost as much as our dads. He'd never willingly help the Horde."

"Okay, then I guess we got a rescue to plan?" Adora gave Bow's shoulder a warm squeeze. "Any suggestions?"

"Rattlor's converted an old tavern into his command center," Huntara said. "That's probably where they're keeping him, but it's pretty heavily garrisoned."

Bow stroked his chin thoughtfully. "If we thin out the guards a little, I could probably sneak in, grab Mace and sneak out before anyone even notices."

"You'd need something the lure them away first," Flutterina mused. "Like a... distraction?"

Every head in the room simultaneously turned to Adora.

"Alright, fine," she sighed dejectedly.

[-]

Darkness fell upon the Valley, bringing silence with it. At least until...

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"

A rainbow explosion of kaleidoscopic light filled the market square, nearly blinding a passing snake trooper patrol. It dimmed to reveal the shining form of She-Ra, Princess of Power, a battle-ready Huntara at her side.

She-Ra leveled her Sword of Protection directly at the stunned troopers, a cocky smirk playing across her face. "Who wants some?"

[-]

Bow and Flutterina lay flat on their bellies. They watched from a rooftop opposite the Horde command center as dozens of snake troopers poured out, racing in the direction of the distant fracas until only two were left guarding the entrance.

"If I try zip-lining over, they'll definitely see me," Bow whispered.

Flutterina smirked. "Leave that to me."

[-]

One of the snake troopers guarding the command center's entrance yawned raspily, before a piece of rotten fruit collided with his face.

"PRINCESSES RULE! HORDIES DROOL!" Flutterina roared, hurling another produce projectile at the second trooper before taking flight.

"Why, you little..." the first trooper hissed as he and his comrade gave chase.

[-]

Bow watched the snake troopers turn down a side alley after their quarry. He hoped Flutterina would be okay without him, but the young scout's instincts had already proven cannier than the fangirlish mannerism let on.

He drew back his bow, sending a zipline arrow whizzing across the street. It embedded itself in the stone just above a darkened second-story window. He tested the line and, once satisfied it would hold, used his bow to zip across.

Bow landed silently in a darkened corridor. The only light was a faint yellow glow flickering from beyond a slightly ajar wooden door. He crept cautiously, peering through the door crack.

The room beyond was strewn with ophidian artifacts; a three-headed serpent idol, a red crown in the shape of a coiled cobra, a copper ring cast in the image of a snake biting its own tail, among a dozen others.

At the center of the study lay a long table where a single dark-skinned and bespectacled human sat examining a wickedly curved sickle-like sword.

"Mace," Bow whispered as he slipped into the study, shutting the door behind him.

The elder brother looked up, eyes agape. "Bow!? What on Etheria are you doing here?"

"Getting you out. My friends are buying us time but we have to hurry!"

"Bow, you don't understand." Mace placed a hand on his brother's arm. "You can't be he-"

Heavy knocking came from the other side of the door.

Before Bow could react, Mace grabbed him by the wrist, twisting Bow's arm behind his back and slamming him against the wall. "HELP! I CAUGHT A REBEL!"

The door swung open, allowing entrance to the imposing form of Force Captain Rattlor, flanked by two snake troopers. His reptilian lips peeled back in wry amusement. "Well I'll be a skinned sandcrawler. What have we here?"

"I caught this rebel spy snooping around, Force Captain," Mace growled, giving Bow's arm an extra twist.

"Much obliged, Mace, ol' boy," Rattlor drawled, turning to his guards. "Take him to the Bride of Serpos."

Bow could only stare at his older brother in mute horror as the troopers dragged him away.

"Oh, don't look so glum, son." Rattlor flashed Bow a fanged grin. "You're gonna have plenty o' company real soon."

[-]

Huntara bashed two snake troopers' helmets together before letting them slump to the ground. "How ya doin', Blondie?"

"Doing good!" She-Ra lassoed another trooper, sending him flying into a squad of his comrades. "I can practically do this in my sleep by now."

"That's great, kid, but don't get DOWN!" Huntara tackled She-Ra to the ground, blocking a throwing-star with her spear.

"Really, Hun?" Snake Face leaped from a nearby rooftop with swords drawn. "You have any idea how long it takes to milk the venom for those things?"

"Not as long as it's gonna take you to regrow your teeth!" Huntara lunged, spear drawn.

Snake Face leaped over Huntara as she pounced, softly grazing the ex-bandit's shoulder with a gloved hand.

Huntara tried to turn for another pass only to find her limbs locking in place, eyes darting side to side.

"Saved one just for you, Hun," Snake Face cooed, flipping a throwing-star between gloved fingers.

A golden lasso wrapped around Snake Face's wrist, yanking the poisoned star from her grip before a kick from She-Ra's boot sent her flying across the square.

Before She-Ra could press her advantage, Sssqueeze leaped into the fray, throwig a punch with a muscular tattooed arm.

She-Ra managed to roll with the attack, flipping Sssqueeze flat on her back. Her golden lasso morphed back into a sword before a whip wrapped about the blade, yanking it from her grip.

"Thanks for the idea, kid," Snake Face jeered, grabbing She-Ra's sword.

She-Ra lunged at Snake Face only to be body-checked by Sssqueeze. She'd barely managed to shake the ophidian brawler off before Snake Face struck again with flashing blades.

Each time She-Ra countered one attacker, the second struck before she could even catch her breath. Again and again, until the Princess of Power's golden aura began to flicker. "No, no... not now!"

She-Ra's form suddenly dissipated like a dying candle, leaving only a battered and weary Adora in her place.

Before Adora could act, Sssqueeze wrapped her python-like limbs about the exhausted young rebel.

"Now I'm gonna show you why they call me Sssqueeze!" she hissed, crushing her prey between coiled muscles.

Adora gasped as she felt the air being forced from her lungs. She held out as long as she could before darkness eventually claimed her.