Adora kneels in front of the black garnet, the room around it battered and burned as if a terrible battle had taken place within, and she presses her hands against it, the garnet glowing as red tendrils running along her arms up to the runestone embedded within her chest. In the She Hears a rustle from the bed pushed up against the wall as blue creeps into the garnet and red into the stone in her chest. She pulls her hands away and stands, making her way from the room towards the showers, the first one awake as usual finding the shower empty. She turns on the water stepping under when her vision suddenly going fuzzy as she stumbles forward the metal of the wall caving under her fingers
"SHE-RA '' a distorted voice yells and she punches the wall her fist going through.
"ENOUGH!" she screams red energy blasting from her body knocking the intrusive presence away, her vision clearing.
"What's happening to me?" she asks running a hand through her hair
Adora dresses in a black sleeveless bodysuit with a grey chest plate and black armor hanging at her hips before sitting on a bench to pull on her boots when she hears the vent above her creak Entrapta dropping down in front of her.
"Were you watching me shower?" Adora asks her, finishing with her boots and standing to tower over the small princess.
"Not on purpose." entrapta admits. "I just wanted to find a way out when I spotted your runestone, I couldn't resist." She laughs and adora hits her over the head entrapta collapsing and Adora catching her and easily throwing her over her shoulder walking out of the showers and heading towards hordaks lab pressing in the door code, the door opening to see hordak working on his portal.
"My lord." she says bowing entrapta still on her shoulder
"And pray tell, what gave you the idea to interrupt me unannounced Adora?"
"We captured the first one's tech expert, princess entrapta of dryl."
"And why does that require you to interrupt me."
"She's an expert on firstone's tech, if you can't…" Hordaks eyes narrow and suddenly Adora feels a slight hum of electricity from within herself, a warning.
"Can't? Are you implying that my abilities are lacking She-ra?" he asks using her title
"Never lord hordak." she says bowing her head
"Leave her and get out of my sight" he commands and adora stands laying Entrapta on an empty table before leaving the room and storming back towards the black garnet chamber. The door sliding shut behind her as she punches at the wall, the metal caving as she throws her next punch creating another crater in the metal.
"Wow adora, what pissed you off?" Catra asks, sitting up in bed and stretching.
"Everything!." adora yells.
"Lord hordak again?" Catra asks
"I'm going to meet up with force captain Grizzlor. I need to do something."
"Cool grizzlor's fun, I'll come with you."
"No, I'm going to oversee the poisoning of plumeria, you're not assigned their.i need you here to watch princess entrapta."
"Ok, but first." she grabs adoras shoulders pulling her down into a kiss before turning and walking out of the room.
Adora stands on a skiff piloting it towards plumeria, high in the air watching the forest pass by underneath her when her vision goes blurry again adora shifting the skiff to autopilot sitting down and closing her eyes and bringing her hands up to the side of her head as she tries to focus on the invading presence tired of the constant invasion and how much it reminded her of shadeweaver's games.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT." she demands of it and it shows her an image of a spire.
"Ok i've seen it, NOW LEAVE!"she focuses her magics on it in a violent onslaught and somewhere in the forest light hope shuts down. Adora straightens up running a hand through her hair before taking control of the skiff once more bringing it down and landing it next to the other ships at the horde base heading towards the captain's chambers knocking on the door.
"Enter." A familiar voice calls and she walks in seeing force captain grizzlor looking over a map of the portion of the whispering woods they were able to scan.
"Ah, general adora." Grizzlor greets.
"How far along are we with the poisoning." she asks, coming over to look at the map.
"32% The citizens refuse to fight back, but the magics in the forest slow our progress.
"Would a map of the city help." she asks.
"It would, but the bots never make it so far."
"I will go, The forest will let me pass." she tells him and he grins toothily at her.
"What supplies will you need."
"None, I will leave at daybreak. I've recently met princess Perfuma and i'm sure she will let me right into her kingdom."
"Perfect."
Adora sets out as the sun rises, walking into the whispering woods. Feeling the magic flow through the trees. She walks through the trees not moving to stop her coming upon a clearing full of tents and small huts surrounding a giant tree with a gemstone embedded inside of it the tree people gathered around the roots meditating.
"This is are enemy." she says to herself wondering how the horde had not crushed them yet. She hears a gasp to her side looking over to see a child staring up at her, the meditating crowd finally noticing her presence and jumping to their feet.
"Everybody calm down." perfuma calls out trying to calm her people.
"But it's a horde solder." one of the citizens gestures.
"Yes, While she is a horde solder, this is also She-ra Princess of power"
"The shera?"
"Is she here to save us?"
"Why is she in horde armor?"
"Princess Perfuma, is there a place we can speak." adora asks ignoring the barrage of questions.
"Oh, of course please follow me." she says leading adora through the crowd towards a large pink tent held up by what appears to be roots grown up through the ground. They walk through the tent's flaps into a room with a small bed and a table.
"Are you here to help us?" perfuma asks hopefully.
"The horde will only stop if you surrender and join us." Adora tells her and she sits in the chair, shoulders slumping asThe hero of legend tells her that she wouldn't help her.
"Our legend speaks of the last she-ra's great deeds, I had hoped that you would save us."
"My great deed will be bringing order to etheria."
"You really believe that dont you?" perfuma says to herself standing again.
"Can i show you something?" she asks and adora nods allowing herself to be led out and to the tree itself, feeling the magics radiate from the tree. Perfuma waves her hand and moss separates revealing a carving of the last shera.
"I grew up on stories of shera taming the beasts of beast island with a single word."
"Thats not me." adora tells her walking up to the tree running her hand along the carving of the sword.
"I don't know who the last she-ra was, or what happened to her but i am Adora, and i belong to the horde." she says and Perfuma gasps.
"The heart blossoms dying." she rushes over to her runestone black and green vines growing up the side of it.
"So a runestone can die." Adora mutters, pressing her hand out to it, the energy of the runestone flowing into her and she feels its pain pulling away and turning away throwing up the ration bars she had eaten for breakfast her mind fuzzy.
'You can save them.' a voice at the back of her head whispers as she feels a hand on her back.
"Are you ok?" She hears Perfuma ask and she's so surprised by the moment of human decency. The princess of a kingdom worried about the health of her enemy, the woman who had told her she was about to destroy her kingdom. Adora stands again, walking over to the heart tree.
"This is wrong, If i save it can you get rid of the invaders." she asks looking at perfuma who looks surprised for a moment before nodding at Adora who presses her hands against the stone once more, her body glowing golden and her blue eyes lighting up as she pushes back the infection feeling the runestone return to its original power. She pulls away.
"This never happened." she tells perfuma before rushing past her and into the whispering woods as the first seeds of doubt take root in her head.
(Authors note. Have you ever reread an old story and realize you were on the edge of greatness?)