She-Ra and the Crystal Gems: Twin Destinies

Chapter One: Here We Are in the Future

"Steven…"

It was the same voice. The same one he had heard every night for the past three days. The first time seemed like just a fluke. The second time could have been a coincidence, but Steven had been doing this for too long to believe in coincidences anymore. By the third time, he knew something was wrong, which tonight only confirmed.

"Steven...you must…"

The same collection of images that had flashed before him appeared again. An enormous castle in the distance, a grassy field between himself and the structure. A circular room, looking like it was inside the same castle, being enveloped in a blinding white light. A strange figure standing silhouetted against the setting sun, standing next to the ruins of said castle; only this time, the figure was not standing as he had been on the previous three days. This time, he was on his knees, his head bowed.

"You must find…"

This had been where the visions had ended before. But this time, more images flashed before him. First, he seemed to be walking through a corridor of some sort. It looked like something out of the middle ages, or it would have been were it not for what looked like Homeworld robonoids gathering dust next to the assorted swords and shields. Not to mention, the hallway was lit with glowing spheres attached to the wall rather than torches. Just where was this place?

"The sword…"

He then found himself inside an underground cavern, travelling deeper and deeper into the earth. The scene flashed and shifted numerous times, as though he was watching it in fast-motion.

"Steven, you must find the sword."

Now, finally, he was in a gigantic chamber, which he assumed to be at the end of the caverns. Waterfalls of lava (would that make them lavafalls?) oozed down from the ceiling, pooling into a molten lake that surrounded a raised platform in the room's center, to which a bridge connected the entrance. And on that platform, embedded into the stone, was a sword. Both the handle and blade seemed to be the same silvery-grey in color, and between the two was a cage-like formation of six strips of metal. Inside this 'cage' was a red jewel, hovering in the air.

"Steven...You must…"

"Steven…"

"..."

"Steven!"

Startled awake by the sudden shout of his name, Steven sat up with a gasp. He tried to slow his breathing. He looked around: his room was exactly how he had left it the night before, and the sunbeams of early morning had already begun to leak in through the windows.

"Well. The dream was definitely different that time!" Steven said aloud, pulling himself up out of bed. He started to ponder what it could mean...until he glanced at the clock. "Oh man, is it that late already!? I've gotta get going!" He hurried through the door and down the stairs.

Two years. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. It seemed like only yesterday when White Diamond had torn out his gem in order to get his mother back, and now she was excited for his arrival. Not to mention, Little Homeworld was coming along quite nicely. So many of his former enemies were now learning to live under Era 3. He made a mental note to go and visit the town later.

Upon reaching the lower floor, he was surprised to see that he had a guest. "Connie! What are you doing here so early?"

The young woman in question was sitting on the couch in the living room, Lion resting beside her. "I wanted to see you off!" said Connie, looking up at Steven as she stroked the pink feline. "I figured you could use some encouragement before your coronation."

Steven laughed nervously. "Connie, you remember what I told everyone, right? I'm not going to stay on Homeworld. I can't, especially not after everything that happened between me and the Diamonds."

"I know, but I wanted to wish you luck anyway," Connie said, getting to her feet. "White and the others might not take the news so well. After all, they've probably been missing Pink for the past few thousand years. I know if my parents didn't see me for a long time, they'd never leave me alone again after that, especially if they thought I was dead!"

"I guess," Steven agreed, tugging on his pink jacket. "But at least your parents aren't giant evil space alien empresses. Formerly evil, I should say. They're trying to change that."

"And who better to help them with that than you!" said Connie. "Now come on, you don't want to be late!"

"Right, right, of course!" said Steven, hurrying into the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast. "Sorry, I've been kind of...off lately."

"Is this about that dream?" asked Connie. "The one where you can see that medieval castle?"

"Yeah," Steven answered. "I had it again last night. Only this time, it was different. I was going through this underground cave, and I ended up in this room filled with lava. And the same guy kept asking me about a sword or something. It's weird."

"Yeah, it sounds weird," Connie replied. "Do you think...maybe it has something to do with Etheria? And She-Ra?"

"I honestly don't know," Steven answered, sealing a PB and J in a plastic baggie. "Maybe if I could ask Adora about it. Of course, it has been two years..." Neither Steven or Connie wanted to admit it, but the both of them figured that there was little chance of seeing their friends from Etheria again.

"You know, maybe it's a subconscious thing. I could look into it a little if you want me to," Connie offered. "I'm sure there are some books at the library about this sort of thing, or I could look it up online."

"Thanks, but you don't have to go to all that trouble just because of me," Steven said. "We'll talk about this later, but now I have to go!"

The two shared a quick hug before Steven hurried off to the warp pad. "Bye!" said Connie, waving to him as he hurried upstairs. "Good luck with your aunts! ...Or would they be his sisters?"

Adora stared out the window at the setting sun, letting out a heavy sigh. Even though she, as She-Ra, strived to bring peace to Etheria, something didn't quite feel right now that she had accomplished just that. Of course, this was probably because it wasn't true peace.

Two years. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. It seemed like only yesterday when Horde Prime had been laying waste to the planet, and now the Horde itself was hardly even present. And when there was no Horde…

"Adora?" A light knock on the door accompanied this voice. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm up," Adora called over her shoulder. "What's up?"

The door to Adora's room opened, and Glimmer walked in. "Some of our scouts just got back with a report on Horde activity," she said.

"Let me guess: Horde soldiers are bringing Horde Prime's tech back to the Fright Zone, and not engaging with civilians or soldiers. And nobody's seen Catra, either." It was clear from Adora's tone of voice that she was growing tired of every day bringing the exact same thing.

"Uh...yup, exactly that," Glimmer responded. "So, we are a bit of a rut here. But at least they aren't still attacking us, right?"

"That's what I'm worried about," said Adora. "I'm sure Hordak still wants to control Etheria, and with all these ships and bots lying around, he has more of an opportunity than ever. He's just been biding his time these past two years."

Glimmer could tell her friend was upset, and her instincts lead her to believe it wasn't about Hordak. "Hey, don't worry, I'm sure she'll turn up eventually," she said, trying to comfort her friend.

"But will she?" Adora asked. "Nobody's seen any sign of her for two years. And given how intent Catra was at winning this war, I can't imagine she'd be willingly staying behind. What if...what if Hordak did something? What if he punished her for her failure, or something like that?"

"Then we'll make him pay," said Glimmer, with such determination that Adora had no choice but to believe her. And while the sentiment was the same, Glimmer cared less about Catra herself, and more for the face that Adora cared about her. In truth, the princess was neutral in regards to the cat girl. They had teamed up against Skeletor, but at the end of the day, she was still with the Horde.

"Right," said Adora. Renewed by some of that determination from Glimmer. "Hordak's bound to make a move before too long. And when he does, we'll be ready for him." She strolled over to the foot of her bed, picking up the Sword of Protection. She gazed into her reflection in the blade for a few moments before slinging the sword over her shoulder. "So, what's our next move?"

"Uh…" Glimmer didn't really have an answer. "I don't know, to be honest. I just figured you, me, and Bow could head out to investigate the area where our scouts saw the Horde troops."

"Works for me," Adora said. Once more, she strolled over to the window, gazing out into the night. "The Horde is out there, scheming. We have to beat them to the punch if we want to have any-wait...what's that?"

"Huh? What's what?" Glimmer asked, looking out the window as well. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. At least, not on the ground.

"That," Adora said, pointing out something hovering in the night sky. A tiny light shined over the treetops; it was dim, but unmistakable. "Is that…"

"A star," Glimmer finished. "But...that's impossible."

Adora's eyes narrowed. "I don't like this," she said, shaking her head. "Do you think the Horde has something to do with this?"

"I don't know, but I think we'd better go find out," responded Glimmer. The two of them hurried towards the meeting hall to tell everyone else about the star; chances are, most of them already knew. The only way a star could be seen on Etheria was if the planet was being transported back into the main universe.

Or if something else had been transported into Despondos with them.