Chapter 43: The Whispering Woods

Lying on her stomach, hiding in the bushes at the edge of the Whispering Woods, Seacat studied the hills across the creek through her telescope. "I don't see any Horde lookouts," she said.

"Neither do I," Brain Boy, lying on the ground at her side, replied.

"Don't they have the entire Whispering Woods picketed?" Seacat asked. That was what they had been told, after all. And it made good sense - the Whispering Woods were the easiest route for Alliance forces to raid the Fright Zone. They allowed small groups to sneak up onto enemy territory undetected and offered a quick retreat.

"They usually have," Brain Boy confirmed. "But the Horde has been shifting troops around lately."

So she had heard as well. "But to abandon the entire frontline here…" That felt wrong.

"It's not exactly a frontline," Brain Boy said. "They only have a few bases covering this part."

"Which rely on scouts and lookouts to allow them to counter any intrusions." She scoffed. There should be a skiff or two patrolling the area. Or some hidden lookout. "Let's take a look at their closest base once night has fallen."

Brain Boy made an agreeing noise.

They crawled back deeper into the woods, until they were out of sight of any hidden watcher, then made their way back to their camp. It wasn't long - ten minutes later, they stepped into their camp, hidden beneath the hanging branches of a Willow.

Adora beamed at them as soon as she saw them, then coughed and schooled her features. "Report?"

Seacat shrugged. "We didn't spot the Horde lookouts."

"They might've been withdrawn," Brain Boy added. "I don't know where they could be hidden unless they dug into the hills. We wouldn't be able to spot them from here, not at that distance."

Or any distance, Seacat silently added.

"Our scouts didn't report any such activity," Glimmer said. "And you can't dig tunnels without having to dump all the excavated earth."

"We can't underestimate them," Seacat told them. "If they worked at night…"

"They couldn't have done this quickly enough to avoid being noticed - our scouts routinely cross the frontlines," Glimmer retorted.

"And we know the Horde is shifting troops around for an offensive up north - or against the crystal mines," Adora said.

"But this is their most vulnerable flank," Seacat insisted. "They can't afford to leave it open." It felt like a trap.

"And we can't afford to focus so many princesses for a decapitation raid," Adora shot back. "But we're taking the risk."

She was right, damn it. But assuming the enemy was making a mistake generally wasn't a good way to plan an attack. Wishful thinking didn't win battles, as the Captain had taught her.

"While we shouldn't underestimate the enemy, neither can we afford to waste time worrying about potential dangers," Sea Hawk spoke up as if prompted while Mermista scowled for some reason. "We have to find a suitable unit moving towards the Fright Zone heartlands to intercept and replace."

"Then we move into the Fright Zone at night, when the Horde guards won't see us from afar," Adora said. "We check out the closest base, then follow their supply lines southwards."

"You still planning to have us shuttle any prisoners back?" Lonnie asked from where she was sitting with Kyle and Rogelio. "We know the Fright Zone best of us all."

"Yes." Adora nodded.

"That's why you'll be seen by enemy spies," Seacat added. "The Horde won't expect us to infiltrate their heartlands without you along."

"Sounds a bit too complicated to me," Lonnie shot back with a frown.

Well, that was why Lonnie had never been considered as officer material. That and the fact that for all their guts, none of the three recent deserters was particularly powerful in battle. They weren't princesses, for one. Rogelio was strong - but his claws couldn't cut through armour, and he wasn't particularly quick, either. Lonnie was tough and skilled, but not exceptionally so, nor was she as smart as the Captain. And Kyle was… Kyle. Taking them into the heart of the Fright Zone was as good as sending them to their deaths. Of course, Lonnie knew that and still asked to come along, which said a lot about her.

"That's settled, then," Adora said.

Seacat snorted. It had been settled days ago when they had finished planning the mission on the way to Bright Moon.

Adora glanced at her with a slight frown, then went on: "So… while we wait, I'll go check if there's more information to be had from a local."

Seacat stiffened and pressed her lips together so she wouldn't curse. She knew what Adora meant. "I'll come with you."

Adora looked at her, then nodded after a moment's hesitation.

Seacat grinned. She wouldn't let her lover visit that damn broken bot by herself.

Then Entrapta piped up with a wide smile. "Oh! Can I come as well?"

"So… this is, like, a relic from the First Ones. A stationary bot with an interface that allows it to talk to you. Wow!" Entrapta shook her head. Which, since she was travelling by hair through the woods, made her body jerk around a little.

"Yes." Adora looked a little strained. That wasn't surprising since Entrapta had peppered her with questions for the whole trip - and this was about the third time Adora repeated herself.

"It's so exciting!" Entrapta squeed. "The First Ones were far more advanced than we are, technologically, at least! I don't know if they were as advanced where magic is concerned - the records I managed to examine were spotty - but their technology! They were supposed to have been able to fly! True flight, not hovering using the Earth magic effect, like skiffs do."

"Earth magic effect?" Adora asked. "Like… the soil? That's what Perfuma uses?"

"No, no, she uses a Runestone, the Heart-Blossom, which gives her powers over plant life. Earth Magic is magic related to the earth part of the planet, conceptually. It's like a big field, and sorcerers tap into it to work magic. And princesses without a runestone, which I think are actually only specialised sorcerers. That's my hypothesis, at least - I'm not a sorceress, you know. But I've read some books about it. I wanted to visit Mystacor, but, well, I never got around to it. Always something coming up - new find, new experiment, rebuilding the lab, and the war happened."

"And I tap into the Earth magic… field… as well?" Adora asked.

"I don't know." Entrapta shrugged. "You have a runestone fragment in your sword, right?"

"So Glimmer and Queen Angella told me," Adora said.

"Well, it's not big enough for a proper Runestone. Those are BIG." Entrapta spread her hands as far as her arms would reach.

"I've seen Bright Moon's Runestone, Plumeria's and Salineas's." Adora looked at her sword with a weird expression.

"So, there are two classes of princesses?" Seacat asked.

"Probably? I don't know." Entrapta shrugged. "Does their magic define them? I'm a princess, but I don't do magic."

"Except for your hair," Seacat reminded her.

"Right! That's true!" The princess smiled at her. "Though I don't think it's really important. She-Ra only has shards of a Runestone, and she's the most powerful princess in Etheria."

"So… how many Runestones exist?" Seacat asked.

"Five. The Moonstone, the Heart-Blossom, the Pearl, the Fractal Flake - and that's a really cool name! - and the Black Garnet." That's Bright Moon, Plumeria, Kingdom of Snows and the Fright Zone."

"The Horde has a Runestone?" Seacat asked.

"I guess so," Entrapta replied. "They also might have destroyed it when they conquered the Kingdom that was where the Fright Zone is now."

"It's not destroyed," Adora told them. "Shadow Weaver uses it."

"Oh." Entrapta perked up. "Did she bond to it?"

"I don't know."

"How does she use it?"

"I don't know." Adora was clenching her teeth.

"Have you ever tried to use it?"

"No."

"Do you know if anyone else tried to use it?"

"No." And now Adora's forehead showed a throbbing vein. She was getting annoyed.

"So, what about the First Ones? Didn't they make Adora's sword?" Seacat asked.

"Right! That's what we - well, Adora - was told, wasn't it? Although we don't know if that's true and whether or not they did more than just using the runestone parts as fuel or catalyst. Which wouldn't be magic, but technology. On the other hand, if you use it to transform, it would mean it's magic. Not just power." Entrapta rubbed her chin. "So I guess the First Ones used magic as well. Probably." She turned to Adora. "I could verify it if you let me run a few experiments with the sword!"

Adora all but cradled the sword in her arms and turned away. Seacat smirked at the sight. "No! I need it to battle the Horde and protect Etheria!"

"So, does that mean I can examine it once we have beaten the Horde?"

"N… maybe," Adora told her.

"Is that a real maybe, or just another word for no?" Entrapta asked. "People use it for both, you know, and it's kind of hard to tell. Which, I think, is the idea, but makes it hard to plan ahead."

"It's a maybe - we don't know how things will be once we've beaten the Horde," Adora told her with a smile.

"Ah, ok!" Entrapta beamed at her. "So, can I examine Light Hope?"

"Uh…"

"You said she was damaged - I could try to repair her! 'I've repaired bots before!"

"Err…"

"And if I find out how she was made, I could make bots that can talk! And I could upgrade Emily so she can talk! Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Ah…" Adora looked at Seacat with a helpless expression.

Seacat was torn about it herself. Repairing the broken bot? Who knew what it would do once it was repaired. On the other hand, if there was something wrong with it, and Entrapta found it… "I don't think taking a look will do us harm."

"Yay!"

Light Hope's place hadn't changed since her last visit. At least as far as Seacat could tell. Still some half-overgrown ruin with a tall door leading into a bunker. "I don't like this," she muttered.

"Fascinating!" Entrapta, of course, was gushing and looking every which way, her head turning back and forth so fast, Seacat almost feared it would break off.

"Light Hope? I'm bringing guests! Friends! Not intruders."

"Oh! Does she have anti-intruder protocols? How does she identify intruders? That was always a sticky point for me. It's easy to program the Horde uniforms as foes - or friends; that's what the Horde does and why they all wear the same uniforms - but that can be fooled easily by changing clothes. And it would be bad if you lose your clothes. Or have an idea that can't wait and rush to your workshop right from your shower!"

Seacat wondered if the princess was speaking from experience. But she wouldn't ask here. Not where the bot would overhear.

They entered the big chamber where they had met the bot before. The transparent image floated there. "Hello, She-Ra," it said in its weird, cold voice.

"Oh! You look great!" Entrapta squealed.

"Who are you?" the bot asked.

"Light Hope? Entrapta. Entrapta? Light Hope. You already know Seacat."

"Hi!" Entrapta waved.

Seacat nodded - and kept an eye on the room. She wouldn't be surprised by another attempt to kill her.

"What are they doing here?"

"They're my friends!" Adora told it.

"They're a distraction from your training. You need to balance Etheria, as is She-Ra's duty."

Seacat clenched her teeth. Stupid bot!

"Balance Etheria? What do you mean?" Entrapta asked, looking up from where she was examining the walls of the room and the weird devices there.

"The planet is out of balance. She-Ra needs to restore its balance to gain enough power to protect it."

"Oh? Power? Do you mean the planetary Runestone network?" Entrapta asked. "She-Ra's a part of it? Even though she only has that small Runestone in her sword? Oh… fascinating!"

"She-Ra's sword is the key to winning the war," Light Hope said. "Once the balance is restored, you can use the power of the whole planet through your sword."

Adora blinked, staring at her sword. "You mean… I could… end the war."

"Yes, She-Ra." The bot smiled, but it was cold and fake.

"And how can she do this?" Entrapta asked. "Because, you know, if it's just blasting stuff, we already could do it - in theory. We just need enough enhanced bombs and - boom!"

"She will have the power to end the war," the bot repeated itself.

"But what kind of power? Power is only useful if you can apply it. And control it. What kind of power will she have? Will her magic just be stronger?" The princess wasn't letting this go, Seacat noted. And the bot didn't seem to have an answer.

"Is your memory still damaged?" Adora asked.

"My data banks are in need of maintenance, but I am functional. No essential data is missing."

"But how could you tell that nothing essential is missing if you don't have access to your memory? You wouldn't know if you're missing something! Well, some missing memory you might be able to detect, but not everything." Entrapta shook her head. "This is not logical."

"Entrapta can repair you," Adora said. "She's good with bots and technology. Even First One technology."

"This is unlikely. My technology was secret. No one but my creators would've known about it." Did the bot look… off?

"The First Ones, right! I studied their technology!" Entrapta beamed at the bot. "I don't know everything, but I can repair some of the First One's technology! Can I take a look at your core?"

"Only She-Ra can access my core, and only if it's necessary."

"But you're damaged! It's necessary!" Adora protested.

"I am functional. As long as you can balance Etheria, I will be able to support you adequately."

"Only adequately? We can do better than that!" Entrapta nodded eagerly.

"What exactly do you want Adora to do? How does she restore balance or whatever?" Seacat asked.

"The Horde has disconnected a Runestone from the others. It isn't attuned to its wielder," the bot explained after a moment. "Once this has been fixed, the balance will be restored, and you will have the power to end the war."

Seacat felt her fur bristle. She didn't know what the bot was hiding, but she was certain that they couldn't trust it.

"We need to attune to the Runestone? The missing Runestone? The Black Garnet? Wait. No, they're keyed to their princesses. We need to find the princess and have her attune to the Runestone?" Entrapta asked.

"We know the princess. It's Scorpia," Adora said.

Seacat hissed. That was the Force Captain who almost killed her in the Fright Zone! "We can't let her attune to the Runestone!" she snapped. "She'll use it against us!"

"Etheria must be balanced," the stupid bot retorted, like a broken… well, bot. If bots could talk.

"That isn't an answer to our question," Entrapta said. "Do we need to let Scorpia attune to the Runestone?"

"That will be a little difficult," Adora added. "She's the enemy, after all."

"She's a Force Captain. If she gains magic powers from the Runestone, that would only help the Horde against us," Seacat pointed out. Then she frowned. "And why hasn't she attuned to the Runestone already?"

"Hordak mustn't trust her," Adora said. "He let Shadow Weaver have the Runestone, after all."

"Or Shadow Weaver doesn't want to share or lose the Runestone," Seacat poined out.

"That's selfish!" Entrapta chimed in. "Imagine all the data you could get from observing how a princess attunes to a Runestone!"

"That's not exactly the point," Seacat told her.

"It is the point! We need data to make informed decisions!" Entrapta retorted.

"But letting the Horde Princess attune to the Runestone to decide whether or not we should let her attune to it is kind of pointless." Seacat cocked her head.

Entrapta blinked. "Oh…. right. That would defeat the purpose of gathering that data. Hm." She looked at the flickering image of the bot again. "We need access to your data banks."

"My data banks cannot be shared with outsiders. Only She-Ra has access to them."

"I'm She-Ra, and I need access to them." Adora nodded firmly.

"They're currently inaccessible due to lack of maintenance."

"I can repair that! Them!" Entrapta blurted out.

"You aren't permitted access to my data storage."

"I'll grant her access!" Adora said. "I'll, uh… formally allow her to repair you."

"Negative. You do not have the clearance to do so."

"But I'm She-Ra!"

The damn bot was more broken than Seacat had suspected. But she wasn't sure any more if having Entrapta repair it would be a good idea. The thing had tried to kill her, after all. And this sounded… well, if the bot were a sailor, Seacat wouldn't let it on her ship. On the other hand… "Perhaps just let Entrapta take a look at the data banks without doing anything?"

"Oh! I can do that!" The princess beamed at Seacat before looking at Adora. "Can I?"

"Uh…"

"You aren't permitted access to my memories. That would be a breach of security and secrecy and endanger my mission."

"What is your mission?" Entrapta asked.

"To support She-Ra in balancing Etheria and gaining the power to end the war."

"Wait…" Adora raised a hand. Seacat looked at her and noticed that her lover was pensive. Thinking something through. "Who gave you that mission?"

"The First Ones - my creators."

"But that was long before the war against the Horde. Which war should I end?"

That was a very good question, Seacat thought.

"There is only one war."

Entrapta frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

"Well," Seacat said. "I think it's clear that we can't just follow those orders without more, ah, data." She looked at Adora.

Her friend hesitated a moment, then nodded. "We have a plan to end the war. If it works, we won't need to have Scorpia attune to the Runestone."

"That is the only way to gain the power to end the war," the bot protested.

But Adora shook her head. "You're damaged. We'll have to repair you."

"Yes!" Entrapta cheered.

Adora frowned at her. "After we've ended the war."

"Oh."

Seacat nodded. But she couldn't help feeling that it would be best to destroy the bot instead.

"I don't trust the bot," Seacat said as soon as they had left the bunker. "It's hiding something."

"Yes, her data," Entrapta agreed. "She told us that."

Well, that was correct. But not what Seacat wanted to say. "I mean, it's hiding something important. It wants Adora to 'balance Etheria', but it's really vague about the goal of that."

"She wants me to gain more power," Adora said. "Light Hope was clear about that."

"But it didn't want to explain anything," Seacat retorted. "That's suspicious."

"Her data banks are damaged," Entrapta said. "She might not know anything more than that."

"I think it knows more than it is willing to tell us. Come on - those were cheap excuses. First, the data banks are damaged, and once Entrapta offers to repair them, the data banks are restricted? Yeah, right!" Seacat shook her head. "That's not how honest people talk."

"If she can lie, then that would mean she's even more advanced than I thought!" Entrapta beamed. "Her architecture must be so advanced!"

"I don't think Light Hope is lying," Adora said. Seacat scowled at her, and she shrugged. "She might be under orders not to reveal anything to anyone except She-Ra."

"Or not even to She-Ra," Seacat said.

"Well…"

"Mara dearie!"

Seacat whirled and gasped. How had the old woman managed to sneak up on them? Seacat hadn't heard even a footstep!

"Who's Mara?" Entrapta asked.

"That was my predecessor as She-Ra," Adora replied. "Madame Razz is…"

"What are you doing here?" the old woman asked.

"Looking for mushrooms," Seacat told the obviously senile old woman - before Adora could reveal secret information that couldn't be blapped to anyone. She glared at her lover behind the old woman's back and made shushing gestures until Adora nodded.

"Oh! Making mushroom pies? I love mushroom pies! Although I love berry pies more. My Mara loves them as well, she does!"

"Well, we haven't found any mushrooms, so we probably should…"

"Oh, I know all about the best mushroom spots! Come with me!" The old woman grabbed Adora's hand and started pulling.

Seacat saw her lover grimace at her before she was pulled away - hah! As if Adora couldn't easily resist anyone, least of all an old senile woman - around the next bush. Seacat sighed, shook her head and followed the two. "Can't leave her alone for a moment…" she muttered.

"Well, you didn't so far, did you?" Entrapta asked as she fell into step next to Seacat.

"And I'm not planning to, either," Seacat told her.

"How will you do that when you're going back to sea after the war?"

Seacat clenched her teeth, then ford herself to smile. "We're working on that."

"Ah!" Entrapta nodded several times, but Seacat didn't ask what the princess had thought of.

"So, where are you planning to bake the pie?" the old woman asked when Seacat and Entrapta caught up with her and Adora.

"Uh… at the camp?" Adora said.

"You have an oven there? That's a great camp!"

"Ah… no?" Adora shook her head, her smile now looking frozen.

"No? Then you need to use my oven! Come, come!"

And they changed direction.

"Where are we going? I thought we were gathering mushrooms!" Entrapta asked.

"To my house. The oven's there."

And a few steps later, they were in front of a house. Or, rather, a hut. Seacat looked around, wondering how they had missed the clearing on the way to Light Hope.

"Here's the oven!"

And it was a big oven - much bigger than Seacat would have expected.

"I'm making pie for you, Mara. You need it, I think."

"Ah…" Adora trailed off - apparently at a loss for words.

"Have you been visiting the ghost?" the old woman asked as she puttered with a plate of what looked like cookies.

"'The ghost'?" Seacat asked.

Adora frowned at her, then smiled at the woman. "Light Hope isn't a ghost."

"She looks like a ghost, and she's mean. She hurt you so much, Mara dearie!"

"She hurt Mara?" Adora looked surprised, so this was news to her.

Seacat leaned forward, ears twitching, and even Entrapta had stopped examining the oven. "How did she hurt Mara?" If the bot tried doing the same to Adora…

"She had a plan for her… a plan my dear Mara didn't know. Couldn't know. Until she did. Oh - hand me the berries, will you?"

A plan? Seacat glanced at the others. Adora had the expression she always had when she didn't want to accept something. And Entrapta… was frowning.

"What kind of plan?" Seacat asked.

"What plan? You don't need a plan to bake; you need a recipe, my dear."

"No, I mean: what plan does the ghost have?" Seacat pressed her lips together. Patience - as much as she wanted to shake the truth out of the woman, that wouldn't be a good idea. Probably.

"The ghost?"

"Mara's ghost," Seacat replied.

"Oh. She was mean. Mara didn't know."

"How was she mean?" Adora blurted out.

"You didn't know, Mara dearie. It wasn't your fault. And you saved everyone. Oh, flour! We need flour!"

"This doesn't sound good," Seacat muttered.

"Her data is very confusing and unorganised. I'm not sure if it can be trusted," Entrapta added.

"But…" Adora trailed off, then took a deep breath. "Can Light Hope be trusted?"

The old woman stopped pouring flour into a bowl and turned to look at Adora. "Can you trust her again, Mara dearie?" She walked to Adora and reached up to caress her cheek, leaving a smear of flour on Adora's skin. "You were so brave, saving everyone even after you found out."

"Found out what?" Adora all but spat as she brushed flour from her cheek, missing a trace next to her ear.

"The plan."

"What plan?"

Seacat blinked - she had asked at the same time as everyone else.

"It's a recipe, Mara dearie!"

"But…"

They didn't get anything else out of the confused old woman. The pie was delicious, at least.

"So… the old woman thinks you're your predecessor," Seacat said a little later, glancing over her shoulder to check that the hut they had left wasn't visible any more - she didn't trust the woods here. Or the woman.

"Yes." Adora sounded rather curt.

"She's nice," Entrapta said. "Much nicer than the bot."

"But as confused," Seacat said, stretching her arms over her head. "Although she seems honest in her confusion." Unlike the bot. Seacat was sure that the bot was lying.

"And she thinks Light Hope is planning to hurt you," Entrapta added.

"Yes." Adora apparently wasn't feeling very chatty right now.

Well, Seacat wouldn't shut up. This was important. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"I'm planning to kill Hordak. And take out Shadow Weaver," Adora replied.

"And what about the Runestone?" Entrapta asked. The princess was walking backwards with her hair in front of Adora, peering at her. "Light Hope is very insistent that this will end the war, and Madame Razz seems sure that this will hurt you."

Oh, for Ocean's sake! "You're not going to sacrifice yourself for this, you hear me?" Seacat told her. She caught Adora twitching - her lover was planning to do exactly that! "No, you aren't!" she hissed.

"I said I'm going to kill Hordak and end the war," Adora raised her chin.

"And what if ending the war takes some time? The Horde will splinter, and mopping up all of them won't be quick or easy." At least some soldiers would turn to banditry or piracy.

Adora hesitated a moment.

Seacat didn't. "It won't be a war, though. More like hunting down bandits," she told her. "That's not worth hurting yourself over."

"I'm not planning to hurt myself!" Adora insisted.

"That doesn't mean you won't do it if you think you have to," Seacat replied. "You don't plan everything." And some of Adora's bad ideas weren't planned at all - just spur of the moment decisions.

Adora frowned at her. "I'm not going to sacrifice others."

"Well, it would be fascinating to see the Runestone network restored," Entrapta said. "Though I would prefer to calculate the effects beforehand. It doesn't always avoid explosions, but it helps."

Adora blinked, as did Seacat. "Explosions?" they asked at the same time.

"Well… the Runestone network has been 'out of balance' for at least twenty years; since the Horde took over the Runestone, actually, I'd say - I lack exact data," Entrapta, still walking backwards on her hair, explained. "But the magic didn't simply vanish - energy doesn't do that. And you can't shut down Runestones like machines. So… that energy is either being siphoned off or accumulating. And if it's the latter, then reconnecting it to the network could overload the network."

"And that would mean…" Adora trailed off.

Entrapta nodded. "Boom!" she said, spreading her hands.

"But what if Shadow Weaver is using that power?" Adora said.

"Well… even so… suddenly connecting another power source to a network can have disastrous consequences. Overloading capacitors, melting powerlines, starting fires…" Entrapta shrugged. "It could blow up as well. I'm not a sorceress, and magic might not act like power, but… you can use magic in place of power pretty well, so I think there are some parallels."

"Light Hope mentioned that Adora would have the power of Etheria. The planet," Seacat pointed out.

"Yes. If that's meant literally - or if she meant the power of all five Runestones - then that would be a big explosion." The princess nodded with a smile. Then she blinked. "And that would kinda be bad, I guess. For the planet."

"A big underwater explosion could cause a huge wave," Seacat said.

"And underground, it could cause earthquakes," Entrapta added. "Although I can't calculate how bad those would be without more data."

Adora looked stricken. "But… You said you don't know. It could just work out, couldn't it?"

"And hurt you anyway?" Seacat glared at her.

"Well, there's always the chance that the First Ones implemented ways to compensate for that," Entrapta said.

"Light Hope is damaged. I don't think we can trust in the First One's craftsmanship," Seacat commented. "I'd rather not risk such wide-spread destruction just for a chance to stop the war a little sooner."

"That's a good thought," Entrapta agreed. "Even though the data would be fascinating!"

Adora gritted her teeth. "Alright. We're not going to let Scorpia attune to the Runestone unless we're sure it won't cause a catastrophe."

"Or hurt you," Seacat added with a glare.

Adora sighed. "Or hurt me badly - if we still need it."

They glared at each other. Seacat huffed. "But we all decide whether or not it's needed. Not you alone."

Adora opened her mouth, but Seacat leaned in. "Or I'll follow you and hurt myself as well."

Adora closed her mouth. Then she sighed again. "Fine."

Seacat hugged her. No need to rub her victory in - she would smile widely at Adora's back.

"We should've had Swiftwind drop us down behind the enemy lines one by one," Mermista complained when they were approaching the small river separating the Whispering Woods from the Horde-controlled - loosely, but still - plains bordering it to the south.

"Swiftwind isn't just a convenient transport," Adora objected.

"And he's vital as a courier," Glimmer added. "He's been keeping the Alliance leadership connected all over the continent." At Adora's frown, she pouted. "He volunteered. And we haven't been sending him over the sea or Horde territory."

"The Horde's been expecting such airdrops," Lonnie cut in. "We've been ordered to keep a lookout for the horse - and for suspicious lights at night."

Lights which would be needed to let the horse know where the rest of the group to be transported was. And where they would be dropped off. Seacat nodded.

"He's not a transport device," Adora said with a scowl. "And horses are far too fragile to be used in war! Did you know that they die if they break a leg? Or when they drink too much cold water?"

This probably wasn't a good time to remind Adora that she could heal such wounds - and worse wounds, actually. Besides, the real challenge wasn't getting through the Horde lines but to ambush a troop going to the Fright Zone's heartlands and replace them. And the horse wouldn't be able to help them with that. Although… "He could drop bombs on the enemy."

"He can't carry much," Adora replied, turning her frown on Seacat. "And if he carries one rider, he can't carry much of a bomb."

"I could rig a harness he could operate with his mouth, carrying two bombs… we could get some decent blasts out of, say… two half-human-sized bombs?" Entrapta suggested.

"His value is greater as a courier - and a diversion. With a blonde soldier from Mom's guard, we can have the Horde chase 'She-Ra on her flying horse' wherever we want," Glimmer pointed out.

"He helps us out of his free will, and we shouldn't abuse that," Adora protested. "He's my friend, not some… bot!"

"My bots are my friends as well!" Entrapta told her, pouting as well.

It was Seacat's turn to frown at her friend, and Adora grimaced. "That's not what I meant - I meant the Horde's bot; those which they use without care."

"But all bots have the potential to be like Emily - if you use sufficiently sophisticated technology!"

"Which they don't have right now," Glimmer cut in. "For which we are all very grateful."

"Yes, yes - can we hug and then get on with this?" Mermista said, rolling her eyes. "The night won't last forever."

"Unless the Horde wins this war. Then, the night will truly last forever - or until the flame of freedom and heroism once more extinguishes the darkness!" the Captain declared.

Seacat snorted, then noticed that Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle looked almost shocked. Grinning, she wandered over to them and whispered: "Yes, that's normal for the Alliance."

"How the hell did you manage to beat the Horde?" Kyle asked, but it was clear the others were thinking it as well.

"We're just that good," Seacat told them before snorting. "No. Talking like that lets us find flaws in plans before we're committed. Sometimes, at least."

"We're pretty committed right now - we're very close to the border," Lonnie pointed out.

Seacat shrugged. "If we find a flaw so late, we can always improvise." She flashed her fangs at the trio. "Another thing the Horde isn't really good at."

"Hey! We've been trying to, ah, improvise," Kyle said. "We don't have to react according to standard procedure if another procedure would be better."

So the Horde was adapting. It wasn't true freedom, but being able to pick a tactic from a selection of approved ones was quite important. And if soldiers were drilled in all of them, sometimes more effective in the heat of combat than an original plan. Especially with the average Horde soldiers having to carry out the plan.

Well, they were on this risky mission because it was their best shot, so the long-term consequences of this change shouldn't be too bad. Or so Seacat hoped.

"Quiet now," Brain Boy spoke up. "We're too close."

And that shut up the discussion.

They approached the edge of the forest very carefully - the Horde didn't like entering the Whispering Woods, but any commander worth their salt would want to have scouts in it anyway. But Seacat couldn't spot any scout around them - and her eyes were good in the dark. And Brain Boy didn't find any trace of Horde scouts either. Which, of course, didn't mean there wasn't anyone watching, but they couldn't exactly search the entire front.

"Alright," Brain Boy whispered. "Over the stream, through the ravine, and then all ahead until the ravine ends. We gather there to pick the next leg of our trip."

"Just follow us," Seacat added with a grin.

"You can't ever expect not to lose a soldier on a night march," Adora said.

Seacat snorted. Not even Kyle could get lost following a ravine. She blinked. "Lonnie, put Kyle in the middle!"

"Of course," the woman replied, and Seacat could hear the annoyance in her voice. Well, better safe than sorry - after all, the trio had been Horde soldiers until a short time ago, so you couldn't always trust them to do the right thing without orders.

Adora sighed, then shook her head. "Let's go."

Seacat nodded, then dropped on her stomach and started crawling towards the shallow stream ahead of them. It didn't take her very long - though Brain Boy managed to beat her there somehow. Damn landlubber was in his element!

She glanced over her shoulder and saw that the others were close. Good. She slid into the water and quickly crossed it, then slipped into the ravine. This time, she beat Brain Boy but had to wait for the others. Well, not for Memista, who slid through the water like a fish. And arrived perfectly dry.

Seacat acted as if she didn't see the smug smirk on her friend's face. They would be mainly working on land, so Mermista's magic would be hampered. Though she would be quite useful once they were in the Fright Zone's centre, where the plants needed a very robust sewer system for their cooling water - or so Entrapta claimed.

Kyle arrived, shivering already - and covered in mud somehow. Adora arrived last. She was wet but otherwise fine. "Alright," she whispered. "Get a move on. We need to find cover before day breaks."

And then they had to find a suitable force to ambush and replace.

And all that was the easy part of their mission.