Welcome back, everyone. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah/Happy whatever-else, and a Happy New Year.
I had a colonoscopy yesterday, so yeah, I'm having a FUN TIME. LOVELY capper to a truly FANTASTIC year. Only upside is that everything came back looking okay.
But, it's all over now. 2020 can go suck a cactus, 2021 is dawning, and the future is looking better already. At this point, anything would be.
Now, question of the hour:
Are we really doing this?
Gold Light, Green Light
Chapter 12
Sister Planet
Six months later…
Adora loved this.
She woke to warmth and fluff. Catra was nestled close to her, and their arms were around each other. Adora enjoyed these moments greatly. She loved looking at Catra's face, completely relaxed in warmth and safety. She would hear either a series of tiny snores or, if Catra was partially awake, soft purrs. She wasn't sure which she liked better.
Adora could have spent all day like this, she and her love ensconced in blankets and the feeling of each other. Warm and safe and loved.
They had things to do today, however, and they couldn't just spend all day in bed.
The outside world could wait a little longer, though. Yes, as Adora observed Catra's ear flicking, she decided that she could afford to lay there a little longer.
She knew Catra was waking up when she heard the snores transition to purrs. Catra's hand, laying against Adora's chest, flexed a bit, claws gently tickling the subtle scarring that the failsafe had left. She felt Catra's tail brush against her leg.
"Mmmmmorning," she heard Catra say.
Adora just chuckled and kissed Catra on the forehead.
Catra slowly opened her eyes, and Adora marveled at them. There were times they looked like iridescent gemstones. This was one of those times, as Catra looked at Adora with unguarded affection. Catra was a woman who took great care in how she interacted with people. Even with those close to her, she held back a touch. According to their doctor, this was a remnant of her rough childhood. But moments like this, when Catra was completely open, they were for Adora and Adora alone.
They lay like that for a little longer, snuggled up close. Eventually though, nature called, and they had to move.
The morning routine was one that had solidified quickly as time went on. Adora would shower first, as she took less time, then Catra would have her turn, as her fur required more care. Usually, Catra would use a minimal amount of water and take a sponge bath. Today, however, seemed to be a shower day. Before entering, Catra made sure the water was screaming hot, warmer than Adora liked it. This was a normal occurrence when she showered. Part of it was a general feline distaste of water, but the rest was her post-traumatic stress from Horde Prime's pool. When the water was super-hot, her mind didn't make the connection with the blistering cold of the pool.
She still refused to go swimming when they visited Salineas, and it took a lot to tempt her into Mystacor's hot springs.
Once she exited, Adora helped her comb out her fur. It wasn't just to help it dry out faster, it was also a soothing ritual. Catra was sometimes agitated in the mornings, but the feeling of the comb through her fur and Adora's soft touch helped ground her.
"Big day today," Adora said as she attacked the tail.
"Yeah, Sparkles is finally starting to plan off-world diplomacy," Catra replied, combing through her hair.
"I'm excited."
"I know, dummy. You've only been smiling about it for the past week."
"You can't tell me you're not curious."
"Well…maybe a little."
"And just think, once we've established a few lines, there will be a need for people to go out on diplomacy missions. Picture this, you and me, traversing the stars, alone together"
Catra didn't need to look back to know Adora was grinning in a certain way. She could feel it.
"That does sound nice," Catra replied, fighting down a blush.
The last bit of fur was near Catra's neck. Adora paused.
"How is it this morning?"
"Tingling a bit. Where's the cream?"
Adora opened the cabinet, retrieving the tin of special cream. Of all the multiple scars between them, the patch of furless skin on the back of Catra's neck was the one that acted up most often. That's not to say it itched most of the time, it didn't. But sometimes, it made itself known.
Perfuma thought it was psychosomatic, Hordak thought it was her body reacting to the small pieces still attached to her spine, buried deep under her skin, and Catra was convinced it was a little of both.
She still had nightmares surrounding the chip. She knew it was no threat now. Horde Prime was gone, the chips and hivemind with him, and what was left in Catra was empty metal and broken fibers. There was no threat. Still, Catra wouldn't be lying if she said that them being there still concerned her some days.
After dealing with the scar, they dealt with hair. Both of them had grown it out in recent months, part of their first steps toward healing. Catra tied her longer hair back into a now-customary bushy ponytail, then helped Adora with the neat braid the blond sported.
"You know, I sometimes wish I could do this," Catra said as she finished with the braid, "It seems so practical."
"We could try, one day."
"You know it's still too bushy. It took a lot of work to keep it straight for my Horde Commander look, and even the ponytail is tough to gather up some days."
"Shame, I think you'd look good."
After that, they exited the bathroom and went to the dressers. They dressed in a slow dance of progress and lingering looks, but it got done. Adora let out a thin line of green from her ring, retrieving a pair of jackets from the hook near the door as well as a dark red scarf.
"You have to do that all the time?" Catra asked, shrugging her black jacket.
"Good practice," Adora replied, pulling her own jacket on and briefly fumbling. She'd taken out the shoulder pads a few weeks ago, no longer feeling a need to compensate for her slim frame like she used to, but it was still felt new not having them there.
"Like you don't get enough of that between bandits and the forge," Catra fired back, adjusting the scarf that she was rarely without.
"Just be happy that I figured out how to store the sword in the same pocket as the lantern, or I'd have another thing to keep track of."
"Certainly took you quicker to find an easy way to store it than the last one."
"True."
"Anything else we're forgetting today?" Catra asked, looking at a calendar on the wall.
"Only thing I can think of is Doctor Ransdottir, but that's next month, isn't it?"
Catra quickly checked.
"Yup, the twentieth. I'm surprised she's letting us go to a monthly visit, after everything. When we started, it was weekly."
"Well, we did have a lot to go through," Adora grimaced, "But we've come a long way and neither of us is backsliding, so I agree that we're okay with not seeing her as often."
Before leaving their rooms, they joined hands, touched foreheads, and took deep breaths in sync. With that last ritual out of the way, they left for breakfast.
In the hallway, Melog appeared out of thin air.
"You have a good night in the forest?" Catra asked, petting the big cat.
Melog gave a pleased purr. Sometimes, she'd spend the night in the Whispering Woods, running through the trees and sleeping under the stars. It reminded her of her wilder days, but it was always nice to be back home.
They ran into Bow and Glimmer just outside the dining room. Micah was already inside, sipping coffee and looking over a report.
"Morning, kids," he said absently.
Glimmer gave him a brief hug before settling in like the rest.
"So, big day today," Adora grinned, piling some strawberries on her plate.
"And here she goes again," Catra muttered, grabbing a few strips of bacon and sneaking one to Melog.
"Maybe dial it back, Adora?" Glimmer said while grabbing some pancakes, "It's not like we're going to another planet today. We're just headed to Dryl start gaming this out."
"Quit wasting your breath, Glim," Bow snorted around his cup of coffee, "That's too much enthusiasm to be squashed."
"Hear, hear," Catra nodded in agreement, "It took forever to get her to sleep last night."
"You sure excitement wasn't the only reason you two were up so late?" Glimmer asked with a particular grin.
Micah coughed a bit, and they suddenly remembered there was an adult in the room.
"So, how about that netball team from Salineas?" Bow asked awkwardly.
"They suck," Catra replied in perfect deadpan.
Bow gave her a scandalized look.
"She's not wrong," Micah muttered.
Breakfast continued in that vein. The four young adults chatted amicably, Micah interjecting at various points. Eventually, the conversation circled back to the inter-planetary diplomacy plans.
"I think we should start with other planets that were enslaved by Horde Prime," Glimmer said, "Countless people suffered because of him. Maybe we can find solidarity."
"And if nothing else, the fact that we defeated him will certainly win us brownie points," Bow added.
"So what was the first step, again?" Micah asked, "I've mostly been focusing on more down-to-earth matters. This project is Glimmer's baby."
"Our first stop is Dryl," Glimmer said, "Prime's ship crash-landed near there following the final battle, and the kingdom has been slowly stripping it for useable material ever since. One of the things they did with all that metal and tech was build an observatory."
"Right, I heard Hordak pretty much runs it," Adora nodded, "Which makes sense, really. He has the familiarity with the stars already, and it keeps him busy."
"More importantly, it keeps him out of sight of the general public," Catra grumbled, "Which keeps him away from anyone still bitter about the war."
Left unsaid was that is also kept him firmly under Dryl's protection, which guarded against assassination attempts. There had been a few, people who refused to heed the call for peace after the war. Dryl's security kept the assassins from getting too close. It helped that, whether as a means to keep them productive or out of respect for Entrapta, Hordak had ensured that the kingdom was treated with a light touch when under Horde control. This meant that the citizenry were less likely to hate Hordak and more inclined to treat him as a weird neighbor who retired from his previous job.
Catra had also experienced one attempt on her life. Emphasis on one. Catra's hearing meant the assassin's attempted ambush was foiled, and while she could have fought him off when he decided to be direct, Adora had gotten there first.
The wrath of She-Ra was legendary. No one tried for Catra again. Even to this day, Adora got twitchy whenever the subject of assassins was brought up.
"So the six of us will make up a list of planets and their coordinates, pick a close one, and then we'll see about forming a diplomatic envoy," Glimmer said, "Shouldn't be too hard to start."
"Right, it's when you actually land on another planet that things will start to get tricky," Micah hummed.
oOo
"Have I mentioned how much I love having our own spaceship?" Bow said, "Used to be this trip took most of the day, now it's minutes."
"We know," Catra groaned good-naturedly.
"Say hi to Entrapta for me!" they heard Mara call out before the gangplank retracted back up.
They made their way to the castle and knocked on the door. A familiar face answered, but not a familiar voice.
"May I help you, brothers?" the clone said in a bright cadence so unlike Hordak.
"We were looking for Entrapta?" Adora said hesitantly.
"Princess Entrapta is at the observatory with Lord Hordak. Shall I escort you?"
"No, that's okay," Glimmer replied, "We can make our own way."
The clone cheerily bid them farewell, then left them to their confusion as they walked away from the castle.
"That was trippy, right?" Catra said, "Seeing Hordak's face, but it was smiling?"
"Must be something they got used to," Bow said, jerking a thumb at the milling people in the square.
Several Horde clones walked among them, their gaits still robotic. The few snatches of conversation they heard was stilted and dull, and they only spoke when spoken to. The Dryl citizens seemed more than willing to help them navigate their various errands, treating them fairly and explaining things every step of the way.
One clone they literally bumped into apologized dully before continuing on his way.
"Definitely something they got used to," Catra nodded.
Melog nuzzled Catra's hand, reminding her of their appointment.
They traversed a path carved out of the mountainside, soon reaching the top. Perched on the highest peak around Dryl was a circular building with a large telescope poking out of the rounded roof.
"Think we're in the right place?" Catra snarked.
Adora knocked on the door, and after a few minutes, Entrapta answered. She stared at them blankly for a moment before gasping and pulling out a pocket watch.
"Was that today? Shoot!"
"No worries, Entrapta," Bow said, "We would have probably ended up here anyway."
Entrapta invited them in and brought them to the main area. In one corner, Hordak was hunched over some star charts, muttering to himself as he made notes.
"Hordak, we've got company!" Entrapta said cheerily.
"You forgot that today was the day you met with the other princesses, didn't you?" he replied dryly.
Entrapta gave an embarrassed chuckle. Hordak briefly looked up from his work.
"Greetings. I'll be with you all in a minute, I just need to finish these last few annotations. And I apologize for her."
"No worries," Adora said, "We're used to her flightiness. One of the clones gave us directions. Cheerful guy, was playing doorman at the castle?"
"Oh yeah!" Entrapta grinned with a snap of her fingers, "Most of the clones still haven't progressed beyond simple words and functions, but that one's a lot more advanced. Isn't he just the goodest boy!"
"He's certainly more vocal than the other clones we saw in town," Glimmer said.
"Yeah, he's definitely been the most outgoing of all the clones. Like I said, more advanced than the others. He's also the only one comfortable with a real name as opposed to a number. I wanted to call him Wrong Hordak—"
"But I convinced her to let him have a book of names and let him pick one himself," Hordak interjected, not even looking up from his own project, "He seems to have settled on Horace, for some reason."
"Someone's mellowed out considerably," Catra muttered to Adora, pointing at Hordak.
"I think Entrapta's been good for him," Adora whispered back.
Hordak finished his work, tapping his pencil on the table with finality before rising.
"Wearing that old armor, I see," Catra hummed.
Hordak shot her a dark look, but composed himself.
"I suffer from a muscular and skeletal degradation. Prime's treatments halted it, but the disorder has started to make itself known again. Entrapta and I have been working on a way to keep it at bay. Regardless of the success or failure of it, this armor aids me in day-to-day activities. Without it, many of my endeavors would be…problematic."
"So long as you don't go crazy on anyone, I don't see how that's any of our business," Adora shrugged, "If that armor helps keep you together, then go ahead."
Hordak studied Adora carefully, then nodded.
Sometimes, neither was sure where they stood with each other. Other times, Adora took a more sedate approach to their interactions, and Hordak responded in kind.
He asked her about it once, and she replied that she was in no mood to restart the war. Hordak could agree with that, at least.
"So, Entrapta and I found something interesting the other week. Given the subject matter, we decided to bring it up for our scheduled meeting," he said, rummaging through a filing cabinet.
"What discovery?" Glimmer asked.
"Etheria isn't the only planet in our solar system. Another planet orbits the same sun."
While the others stood stunned, Entrapta dashed over to a console and up a picture on the display.
"This is a mock-up I made," she chattered, "The green ball is Etheria, and the blue one is our new neighbor."
Around an image of the sun, two balls spun around. Their orbits brought them close occasionally, but they danced away from each other more often than not.
"Here's the really crazy part," Entrapta said.
"The planets might as well be twins," Hordak picked up, showing them the data they'd collected, "Same size, similar topography, similar weather patterns. As far as we can tell, it even possesses a similar magnetic field, gravitational field, and atmosphere."
"Obviously, we can't confirm everything without sending a probe or going there ourselves, but think of the possibilities!" Entrapta exclaimed.
The group poured over the sheets of paper Hordak gave them. A lot of it was technical, but enough was legible to give them the gist of it.
"I think I need to sit down," Bow said woozily.
"Well, I wanted something close by to start with," Glimmer muttered.
"I just thought of something," Adora said, "I know Mara's databanks are out of date, but maybe there's something there we can use?"
"A planet this close to Etheria? More than likely," Catra said, Melog humming in agreement as Catra idly scratched her companion's head.
Entrapta began pouting.
"Well sure, take all the fun out of discovery why don't you?"
Hordak lightly touched her shoulder.
"Forewarned is forearmed, Entrapta."
Entrapta gave her groaning assent, and they gathered the notes and trooped back to the ship.
Mara took one look at all the data and blinked in shock.
"It's still there? I would have thought it had been ravaged or something."
"Why would you think that?" Glimmer asked.
"The planet is called Eternia," Mara explained, "It was Etheria's sister planet, and just as settled by the First Ones. Maybe a little more heavily, if I'm being honest. It was the seat of my people in this sector of space, and with the civil war going on when I went under, I thought that it would have been ground zero for a lot of bad stuff. And even if it had hung on, there is Horde Prime to consider."
"I do not think my mad brother had much of a presence around here before Etheria slipped out of Despondos," Hordak replied.
"And if he discovered it at the same time as Etheria?" Bow asked.
"Then he likely wouldn't have made much of a move on it, at least not until he finished with Etheria and harnessed the Heart's power. Any conquering that was already being done was allowed to continue, but anything new, he wanted to wait until he had his new toy."
"Friggin' drama queen," Catra growled.
"You'll get no argument from me on that subject," Hordak smirked.
"Eternia," Adora muttered, thoughtful.
"Adora?" Glimmer asked.
"That name popped up a lot when I was working with old First Ones stuff. And there's something else."
"What else?"
"Just…I feel like I have to go there."
Adora cast a look at Catra. Her girlfriend's eyes widened, suddenly getting the same feeling as Adora. A flash of memory, gone as quickly as it came, flickered between them.
look for Eternia
oOo
Over the next two days, supplies were gathered and a solid plan was made. When the time came, the Starshine launched out of Etheria's atmosphere. Arrayed around the cockpit were the chosen delegation. Adora sat in the captain's chair out of instinct, with Catra leaning against it and Melog leaning against her. Bow and Entrapta worked the main console. And Glimmer and Scorpia ran over a few talking points.
"So I'll probably end up doing most of the talking, but you should know some of this stuff too," Glimmer was saying.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, great," Scorpia nodded, "But, quick question, why me? I'm not good with delicate stuff. In multiple regards."
Scorpia clacked one pincer as evidence.
"Mermista and Perfuma are busy, and I don't want Frosta to be on a first contact mission. This requires tact, and she's not always best at that," Glimmer said.
"And if all else fails, you look intimidating," Catra threw in.
"Okay, fair. What about Entrapta? I love her to bits, but I wouldn't pick her for something this delicate."
"If we tried to leave her behind, she'd just sneak aboard. And Mara would let her."
"I actually like her," Mara piped up, "Since coming to live inside a computer, my mental processes have gotten a lot stronger, more rapid. She can talk at my level."
"See?"
The trip took a few hours. As they got close, Mara let out a few sensor sweeps.
"I think we can confirm a lot of Hordak's theories," she said, "Atmosphere has the same composition as Etheria—"
"Good, I was worried about that," Adora said.
"Gravity looks the same…hello!"
"I'll say!" Entrapta squealed, "I'm picking up a First Ones energy signature. There's practically a mountain of tech down there, more powerful than Beast Island and the Crystal Castle combined! Eeeee, I'm so excited!"
A beeping noise interrupted Entrapta's squeals.
"Huh, we're receiving a transmission," Bow said.
Mara's holographic form went very still.
"Oh my," she said, her eyes wide.
"What, what's it say?" Adora asked.
"I'll let down the drawbridge. Welcome to Castle Grayskull."
Heck yeah, we're doing this! Welcome to the second of the three story arcs for Gold Light, Green Light. We've dealt with Horde Prime, now let's see what the Eternia Arc brings us!