DISCLAIMER: I don't own any version of She-Ra and earn no profit. Don't bother suing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok. This has been percolating at the back of my brain for a while, so I decided to finally just write it to get it over with. Whenever an old program in rebooted, reimagined, or what-have-you, I always find myself wondering what the characters from the two shows would make of each other. I'm not sure, at the time I type this out, whether this will be pure crack or whether it will have enough serious elements to avoid that. Eh. You decide.

CROSSED PATHS AND CONFUSION

Adam, prince of Eternia, came out of the portal the sorceress had conjured for him with a light step and a happy grin at the prospect of seeing his sister again. It had been a busy couple of months and neither had found the time till now. The visit was going to be a bit of a surprise for Adora. Their last letters, exchanged via the sorceress of Grayskull, indicated that they had had an exhausting few weeks dealing with the Horde's latest offensive, but that it was, finally, over. At least for a bit.

Perfect time for a visit. With that thought, he started down the trail toward Whispering Woods and the rebel camp. It was unfortunate, he reflected, that the portal didn't actually open in the woods. He had had more than one close call with the Horde's troopers, but the sorceress had said the point was fixed and couldn't be altered. He took her word for it, knowing nothing of the magics involved.

Adam had only taken a few steps, however, when he heard an odd noise behind him. He turned, expecting to see Cringer or maybe Orko following him, even though both had decided to skip this visit. There was no one there, but what he did see, baffled him.

The portal had not closed. Instead, its normal golden hue had darkened and the color had changed to the point that it more resembled an ugly bruise. It also seemed to be shaking. As much as mystically created corridor connecting two fixed points on distant worlds could shake, at any rate. He was no expert, but that didn't look right. When the portal began to spark and crackle like one of Man-at-Arms' crankier creations, he decided that consulting an expert wouldn't be the worst idea he had ever had.

Reaching for his sword, so he could contact the sorceress, he took a couple of cautious steps backward. This proved a wise but insufficient precaution. A figure, shouting and flailing in panic, shot out of the portal and bowled him over before continuing their interrupted flight, and impacting the ground almost three yards farther on and rolling a short distance.

"Ow." For a moment, that was all Adam could think to say as he lay on the ground looking up at the sky. It really was a nice shade of blue, he reflected as he struggled to get his wind back. Almost the same shade as Eternia's sky. He wondered briefly what accounted for the difference, but then shook his head to clear it, something he instantly regretted doing, and clambered painfully to his feet. Cataloguing his own aches and pains could wait. He needed to check on the girl, first.

"Again. Ow," he muttered as he walked toward the stranger, who lay unmoving on the ground. "Hello?"

There was no response. He quickly examined the stranger, and found her to be a rather pretty young woman. He determined that she was breathing, but unconscious. Having no idea how badly she was hurt, aside from the scrapes and bruises he could see, he straightened up and drew his sword, knowing he'd need help to deal with this. Focusing on the jewel, he called out to the sorceress.

"Adam?" the woman's voice answered, sounding near frantic. "Thank the ancients. I feared the worst when I lost control of the portal. Where are you?"

Adam double-checked his surroundings to be certain, and sighed in relief upon realizing that he was, indeed, on Etheria, in the usual spot, and it was even the right time period. He spotted a tree that She-ra had knocked down with a thrown Horde tank a few months ago. One of his more eventful visits, he recalled.

"I'm on Etheria, and it looks to be the right place and time-frame. I didn't arrive alone, though."

"Not alone?" the sorceress sounded as puzzled as he was. "What do you mean?"

Adam described the way the portal had changed and the way the stranger had emerged from it.

"It looked like she'd been shot out of a cannon," Adam declared. "She's unconscious, and I don't know how badly she's hurt." He described her, but the sorceress could offer no clues to her identity. He thought for a moment. "Could you give my sister a call for me, and tell her we need She-ra and her healing touch?"

"Of course; a wise precaution. I will ask her to come as quickly as possible." The jewel dimmed and her image faded, leaving the stone it's normal, dull appearance. Adam knelt to examine the stranger, and see if there was anything he could do. She was definitely no one he'd seen before, which didn't rule out her arrival from somewhere on Eternia, but the sorceress definitely would have known if she'd been in Castle Grayskull.

Roughly his own age, she was dressed casually in tan pants and a blue blouse. The dark blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was, he noted, rather muscular. Probably used to doing hard work, he thought, though, he couldn't guess what that work might be. There was nothing distinctive about the girl's clothes or features that would indicate where she came from or what she might have been doing traveling by portal.

Of course, he realized, on reflection, the way she had arrived could indicate that the trip was unplanned. Whoever she is, Adam thought, after examining her as best he could without moving her, she's in trouble now, and needs help. She's also quite beautiful. It was a rough sort of beauty, and given the muscles and the calluses he could see on her hands, he suspected that the girl, whoever she was, had had a hard life, but the observation stood.

OOOOOOOOOO

Adora sat alone in her tent, working on a letter to send to the new king of Blue Mountain. It was a small kingdom; one with no strategic value to the rebellion or the Horde, but that only meant that it wasn't being watched very closely. The former king had maintained the safety of his people by being entirely neutral. He would not support either side. And since Blue Mountain had no resources the Horde wanted, they were left more or less in peace, as long as they didn't openly defy Hordak's will.

Her hope was that the new king, chosen by ministers after the previous king died without an heir, would be more willing to take sides. It was impossible to say, at the moment, though. She knew almost nothing about the man, not even his name, but she did know there were those who had been unhappy with the former king's neutral stance. At the very least, Adora hoped that Blue Mountain would become a good source of supplies and a place to relocate people displaced by Hordak's war machine.

"Adora." The voice caused her to jerk in surprise, and she looked around the tent, finding herself alone, as expected.

"What?" It took her a moment to place the voice. "Sorceress? Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Adam has come to Etheria to visit, but something unexpected happened when he entered the portal. I am still trying to determine what."

"Is he okay?" She rose to her feet, the letter, momentarily, forgotten.

"He is fine, but he did not arrive alone." The sorceress provided what details she could and conveyed Adam's request. Adora nodded.

"I'll head out immediately." She glanced down at the letter, and took a moment to sign the letter and seal it. Hopefully, it would find a receptive audience. She would go herself, but there was always something going on closer to home. She went to find a messenger, but spotted Madam Raz, first. The old witch smiled and set aside what she was doing to come over.

"Ah, Adora. Hello, dearie. Did you finish the letter?" Raz knew of her hopes and concerns regarding Blue Mountain, and she seemed optimistic about the country's new king.

"Yes. Now I need to get it delivered, but I have to head out for a bit. Adam showed up with a problem, it seems."

"No worries, dearie. I'll deliver it. Blue Mountain is lovely this time of year." She tucked the letter away and turned to call for Broom.

"We'll be needing you for the strategy meeting later today," Adora reminded her.

"Oh, that's right." She thought for a moment. "I know. I'll get Tig to carry it. He's from Blue Mountain, as I recall, and we do have a patrol leaving today that can escort him part of the way, I believe."

"That's right." Adora nodded, remembering the taciturn Blue Mountain native who had joined them a few weeks before. "Thank you." With the letter in capable hands, Adora went to the clearing the rebels used to pasture their horses to find Spirit. There was no telling how badly the girl was hurt, so the less time wasted, the better.

OOOOOOOOOO

He wasn't sure how long it took for Adora to arrive. The young woman had moaned occasionally, and shifted position once or twice, but she hadn't regained consciousness. He could tell she wasn't bleeding, at least, aside from a few minor scrapes picked up during her rough landing, but he had no idea what might be going on inside, although, based on the way she moved and occasionally winced in her sleep, she may have broken a bone or two.

He wished he'd had some training for situations like this, but as crown prince, training in first-aid was not part of his curriculum. Being unable to help her, or at least ease her pain, gnawed at him, and the protectiveness he felt startled him.

The sound of wings alerted him to his sister's arrival. He stood from where he had been sitting next to the young woman and waved.

"Hello, Adam." She-ra called as Swift Wind came in for a landing. The winged unicorn walked over to the prince and greeted him before examining the unconscious woman. She-ra slipped off his back and knelt beside her. Laying a hand on her forehead and the other on her shoulder, she concentrated.

"Glad you could come. I haven't heard back from the sorceress, so I guess she's still trying to figure out what happened."

"Probably," She-ra answered, a bit distracted with her task. "This will only take a moment. She's not badly hurt." She could tell that their surprise guest had a mild concussion and a couple of broken bones as well as various cuts and bruises. There were also traces of old injuries that concerned her slightly. "What happened, exactly. The sorceress told me some of it."

"I arrived just fine, like usual," Adam began. "Then the portal changed in a way I've never seen before, and this woman shot out of it like she was fired from a cannon. Never seen anything like it. The way she was yelling and flailing, though, I doubt it was something she planned to do today. She looked really scared."

"Well, I've healed her, but she's not waking up." She saw Adam's worried frown and shook her head. "She'll be fine. Head injuries, in my experience, need more than a little magic. I think she just needs to sleep off the concussion for UH!" She flinched back with a grunt of surprise at the foot that connected squarely with her chin. Her assailant's eyes were still closed, and she turned over in her sleep, throwing a punch at an unseen opponent.

'What the…" Adam looked at his sister. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just surprised."

"Did she just kick you in the face without waking up?"

"She did," his sister observed blandly. "This is going to make getting her back to camp interesting."

"I can't see you carrying her on Swift Wind while she's…" The subject of their discussion reached out with both hands as if trying to throttle someone. "…that."

"I'm open to suggestions." She-ra looked around. "We're fairly close to Whispering Woods. It would be easiest to make her comfortable here and let her sleep it off. Just be wary of Horde patrols." She thought for a moment. "They did change their patrol route recently. It's unlikely you'll see one for several hours."

"I'll keep an eye out for them," Adam assured her. "I'm sure the last thing she wants is to wake up in a Horde cell in the Fright Zone." He eyed the sleeping woman. "Assuming she didn't beat them up without waking up."

She-ra stifled a laugh, as she walked back to Swift Wind and mounted with the ease of long practice. "See you soon, Adam. Be careful." Swift Wind took a running start and leaped into the sky, spreading his wings. As soon as they were out of earshot, Swift Wind laughed.

"I believe someone is smitten," the winged unicorn observed.

"I think you're right. Adam always was a sucker for the 'damsel in distress.'" She recalled the alien girl that Adam had doted on for a time. It hadn't worked out, but it established that her brother had a 'type.' They winged their way back toward camp, each wondering how the 'romance' would go. It was too soon to start actually teasing Adam, of course, especially since the lady in question was still asleep. It was entirely possible that the unconscious pugilist was more the type to cause distress. Time would tell.

Still, aren't siblings supposed to tease each other about such things?

It was rather amazing, actually, that they got along as well as they did, since they hadn't grown up together. Adora chose not to question it, though. She had the family she had always dreamed of when she was a scared and lonely little girl in the Fright Zone. That was more than enough for her, and she wasn't about to start analyzing it.

She landed well away from camp, and reverted to Adora before heading in. The strategy meeting was due to start soon, so there wasn't any time to waste. They had decided to take advantage of the lull to gather information for a new offensive, aimed at shutting down one of Hordak's mines and freeing his slaves. Such operations were not spur of the moment affairs. They took meticulous planning, and as much information as they could gather without tipping their hands. On more than one occasion, Hordak had discovered or intuited their intentions before a planned raid or ambush, and laid a trap for them. Those were never pleasant to deal with.

"Adora!" Bow waved her over from the main tent they used for meetings. "Glad you're back. We're ready to start."

"Coming."

OOOOOOOOOO

Adam watched the woman from a safe distance as she started to stir. It hadn't taken long, fortunately. She let out a discontented noise, most likely at the hard ground she was lying on, and then, her eyes shot open and she rolled to her feet, settling into a fighting stance as her eyes darting around the clearing.

"Good morning, sunshine." Adam offered cheerfully. He was sitting with his back against a tree in a deliberately relaxed manner, not wanting to make any sudden moves that might alarm her. Given that she had awakened in a strange place with a strange man nearby, it was best to try to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

"Who are you?" she demanded, taking her eyes off him long enough to scan her surroundings for any other potential enemies. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"My name is Adam," he said, not moving from his spot by the tree. "You're on Etheria, not far from the Whispering Woods, and… Well, I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but I'll tell you what I know."

She blinked at him in confusion, relaxing only slightly. "Whispering Woods? How did I get here? I was on Beast Island and... Wait, why did you say I'm on Etheria? Where else would I be?"

"The answer to that is part of the answer to 'what's going on.'" Adam rose carefully, not wanting to alarm her. "You see, I came by portal, to visit my sister. I had only just emerged when the portal got weird and spat you out, literally. You came flying out of the portal."

"Portal?" Her tone indicated the word made her wary for some reason. Perhaps, he thought, this wasn't her first bad experience with magic portals.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked, in lieu of speculating about her history with portals, magical or otherwise.

"Falling." She shuddered at the memory. "Falling for what seemed like ever and then… Wait. Where's Catra?" She looked around wildly.

"Catra?" Adam asked, confused and suddenly worried. "You arrived alone. Maybe she's still on Beast Island. Which is probably a good thing."

The woman stopped her frantic search and sighed. "I really hope so." She thought for a moment. "As to a portal…" She groaned. "Of course!" Shaking her head in irritation she looked at Adam. "Bit of advice."

"Yes?"

"Never turn your back on a piece of 1,000-year-old First Ones' tech that probably didn't work right when it was new."

"Um, probably good advice. Is that what happened?" First Ones' tech on Beast Island? Does Adora know about this? If the Horde gets ahold of it…

"Pretty much. I was there to help with translations. Our resident mad scientists were oohing and ahhing over some new discovery. They were certain they understood it, and had it working right, so they turned it on. That set off an entirely different machine!"

"That would be the one that messed with the portal I was using," Adam theorized, "and dumped you here. I don't know enough about that kind of magic to say for sure, but I can't think of a better explanation." He looked around. "Y'know, we should probably be moving on. This area isn't terribly safe."

She nodded and looked around. "Where to?"

"Whispering Woods is this way." He nodded toward the trail he always followed.

"Quickest way to Brightmoon, I suppose." She shrugged, not looking terribly enthusiastic, and they started walking. "Um, how long was I out?"

"Not long." He decided it might be best to leave out mention of She-ra for the moment.

"I didn't…"

"What?"

"Um… Never mind."

Adam shrugged, privately wondering if she had been going to ask if she had hurt anyone.

"Horde." She muttered, almost too low for him to hear.

Guess not all the scars war leaves are visible. Adam frowned over what that implied, but then decided to change the subject. It was clearly a sensitive topic for her. The most obvious one was the events that led to her arrival.

"What were you doing on Beast Island? I thought the Horde used that for a prison."

"More like a dumping ground," she corrected, "since the place is so dangerous. They could just drop off prisoners they had no further use for and let the island finish them off."

Adam blanched at the idea. "That's cold. Even for them." Something occurred to him, and he winced and glanced at the woman, before stopping. "Um, sorry," he offered awkwardly. "I actually forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"It's Adora. Don't worry. We didn't exactly meet in a normal way." She saw the way he was looking at her, and paused. "What?"

"Adora?"

"Yeah?" she answered, wondering what the problem was.

"That's my sister's name. I never met anyone that had the same name she does."

She frowned slightly, then shrugged. "Weird coincidence. She in Whispering Woods for some reason?"

"You'll meet her soon, and yes, she and her friends are in Whispering Woods." He saw Adora wince. "What's wrong?"

"I always found that place creepy, and some of the things that live there aren't all that pleasant to deal with."

"Like the white fangs?" Adam asked, remembering some of the stories Adora had told. "Yeah, but sis and her friends find it pleasant enough, and a lot safer than almost anywhere outside the woods."

"Why's that?" Adora asked, growing confused, though Adam couldn't guess why. She clearly knew how dangerous the Horde was and had likely had some nasty encounters with them. Asking why Etheria wasn't safe seemed rather odd to him. Before he could respond, however, to explain or ask some of the questions on his mind, they were interrupted.

"Stop where you are!" Three Horde troopers stepped out of a thicket of trees they'd been using for cover. "You are prisoners of the Horde!"

"Because of them," Adam said, belatedly. Three troopers wouldn't be a problem for He-man, but he couldn't change in front of his new friend, let alone the troopers. He was trying to decide how best to handle the situation as plain old Adam, when Adora distracted him.

"What are those supposed to be?" Adora asked, sounding incredulous as she stared at the oncoming robots.

"Horde troopers."

"Yeah, no. I've broken enough Horde bots to know them when I see them. These look more like someone's idea of a bad joke."

As they spoke, the three moved into position around them. The apparent leader of the patrol jabbed Adora with his weapon. "You won't be laughing when we get you into a cell in the Fr-." It never finished the sentence. Adam was never quite sure what happened next. He found himself shoved to the ground outside the incomplete circle they formed. He heard weapons' fire, cries of alarm from the troopers, and then silence. By the time he had rolled over and could see what was happening, one trooper was on the ground, smoking and sparking, and the other two were frozen in place, apparently struck by their own weapons.

Adora looked back and forth between the two in confusion for a moment, then shrugged, apparently confused, but more than willing to take advantage of the situation, walked a short distance off the trail. She came back with a sturdy looking tree branch. Adam watched incredulously as she began beating the two frozen troopers into scrap metal.

"How did you do that?" Adam asked as he watched her finish them off and pick up the last undamaged weapon.

"Training, and way too much practice. Compared to real Horde bots, these things really are a joke." She turned the weapon over in her hands. "Interesting toy." She shouldered the rifle and helped Adam to his feet. "Well, let's get moving before someone comes looking for their windup dolls. And you can tell me what exactly is going on here."

Adam considered the question as they double-timed it for Whispering Woods. If she didn't consider those to be 'real' Horde troopers, then what was she used to fighting? Where had she been fighting? There was definitely a mystery here, and he suspected he wouldn't get answers until he heard back from the sorceress. For now, all he could think to do was be straightforward with her. That was usually the best approach.

"Well, um, I'm actually not sure where to begin. Maybe I should start by telling you what I know about the Horde." He began with his own background and what his parents had told him about Hordak's attack on Eternia, and how it ended with him kidnapping Adora.

"You and your sister are from Eternia?" Her expression was hard to read, but he got the impression that the news didn't please her for some reason.

"Yes. Why so surprised?"

She thought for a moment, looking tense, then shook her head as if dismissing an ugly memory, and relaxed. "Horde Prime claimed that he destroyed it." She shrugged. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. As a former Horde soldier and friend of mine would likely say, Horde Prime's perfidy and treachery know no bounds. His lies are as numberless as the stars."

"Your friend sounds kind of dramatic," Adam observed with a chuckle.

"You have no idea." Adora snickered. "Anyway, please continue."

Adam spoke of the Sorceress of Grayskull and how she had given him a sword and a mission to find the sister that he had never known about. She frowned over that bit, looking worried, but held her peace.

He described his sister's break with the Horde and the way she'd taken up with the rebels. By this point, they had entered the woods and Adam had said they could slow down. Adora took the opportunity to look around. She seemed confused or conflicted over what she'd been told, and he could tell that she had wanted to object at points, but had held her peace.

"This doesn't look like any part of the Whispering Woods I know," Adora said, finally, looking around. "The trees are sort of similar, but not. Then, again, your story doesn't make much sense either, not based on what I know happened."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but let it pass, as there were already far too many questions. "There's not much about this situation that makes sense," Adam allowed. "We should be at the rebel camp soon."

"I don't understand any of this," Adora complained. "Whispering Woods was always just a natural barrier between the Horde and Brightmoon. The only time the rebels hid out there was when Horde Prime brought his fleet to Etheria and was trying to hunt us down with our mind-controlled friends."

Adam stopped and stared at her. His mouth opened and closed silently for a moment before shaking his head and continuing the trip. He had no idea what to say to that. As far as he knew, nothing like that had ever happened.

Adam thought quickly. He still didn't know what was going on, but this…other Adora didn't seem like an enemy. She was far too open. "As far as I know, that never happened," he finally said. "You're not lying, though, as far as I can tell. So, what's going on?"

Adora shrugged, helplessly. "It happened. I was there."

"This gets weirder and weirder. Maybe we ought to hold off on any other shocks till we get to camp?"

Adora gave him a sheepish grin and nodded. "Okay. No more shocks for a while, but I think that's gonna leave us with nothing to talk about."

Adam gave a short laugh and nodded. "I suspect you're right."

They walked for a time in silence, not knowing how to continue the conversation. Neither knowing what to believe about the other, but having, at least for the moment, concluded that they were not enemies.

Adam considered checking in with the sorceress, but decided it would be better to wait till they were at camp, and could include his sister in the conversation. It should only take another half-hour of walking, unless the camp had been moved. Adam knew that they did that periodically, for safety's sake.

"Halt!" A high-pitched voice called out from the underbrush to their left. "Friend of foe?"

"Oh, put that away," another voice, this one sounding female, spoke from the bushes to the right. "Don't you recognize Adam?"

"Oh! Hey Adam. Who's your friend?"

"Hey, Sprag, Spritina. This is… a really long story."

"Call me Dora," the stranger laughed. "It'll save confusion."

The two twiggets on guard duty stepped out of the bushes, lowering tiny bows. Adora stared, and if Adam had to guess, he would say she'd never seen one before. It was just one more thing that didn't make sense. The twiggets were part of Whispering Woods. How could she have ever spent time there and not seen one?

He watched her sigh and push down the questions she wanted to ask. "What now?" she asked, instead.

Adam shrugged. "On to camp. If we're running into guards, we're probably close."

"It's not far," the female twigget confirmed, gesturing form them to follow. "Stay on duty, Sprag. I'll take them in." She led them farther along the trail and then down a side-trail. The camp had been moved, it seemed. There were several false trails to ignore as well as traps and alarms to avoid, but they soon arrived. Adora looked like she approved of the precautions, but she said little during their journey.

They arrived at the rebel camp in time to see several people come out of a tent at the center of the camp. Adam glanced at 'Dora' and tried to read her reaction. She studied the group, looking confused and a bit disturbed.

"You okay?" Adam asked quietly.

"It's kind of like looking at one of those weird curved mirrors. Everything is just...off." She glanced at Adam. "I don't think this is some kind of trick, not on your part, anyway, but I honestly have no idea what's going on."

"Me either," Adam admitted. Her admission that she didn't suspect him of something was a relief. She had plenty of reasons to be on edge, he well knew, but at least he wasn't one of them. "As soon as we can talk to Adora and get some information from the sorceress, we can sort this out." He looked over the group. "Huh. Castaspella is here, too. I know she knows a thing or two about portals."

"Casta? Where?" She looked over the group, but apparently saw no familiar faces. Adam, who easily picked out the friendly redheaded queen, glanced at Dora and added another mystery to the growing pile. Before he could point the out, however, a call interrupted them.

"Adam!" A blond woman approached them, smiling.

"I'm guessing this is Adora?" his companion asked as the woman approached.

"That's right," Adora nodded in greeting. "Good to see you're up and around."

Dora looked confused, but Adam cleared his throat.

"I had the sorceress inform Adora about you."

"Oh. Okay. This'll probably confuse everyone, but my name's Adora. Adam asked me to hold off on asking or answering too many questions till we can get some answers from this sorceress friend of yours."

Adam shrugged when his sister gave him a curious look, and drew his sword. "There's a real mystery here, sis. I thought it would be best if we were all together when we heard what the sorceress had to say."

"That sounds reasonable," she allowed. She glanced at their unexpected guest. "This could get confusing, though."

"You have no idea," the other assured her. "Just call me Dora to avoid any name confusion."

"That works," Adora agreed. The others, who had been looking on, following the odd conversation as best they could, nodded.

"Sorceress." Adam addressed the jewel in his sword.

"I am here, Adam," the sorceress' normally serene voice answered, sounding rather tired. Adam suspected the mistress of Castle Grayskull had had a busy and frustrating few hours.

"There are some very confused people here, and I'm afraid I'm one of them. I hope you can tell us something about what happened to the portal and our guest here."

"I can. It is really quite remarkable," the sorceress answered. The group drew closer to listen in. "The corridor created between Eternia and Etheria crossed paths with one created by an alien machine. I do not know the intended destination, but I believe, that I have successfully located her starting point."

"That's good news," Dora brightened. "I, ah, didn't actually have a destination. The glitchy piece of garbage just tore a hole in the universe and kicked me through." She considered. "I'm probably actually really lucky I wound up here. By the way. Where is here?"

"You are on Etheria," the sorceress answered. "Just not your Etheria."

"There's more than one?" Adora asked, glancing around at her friends. Castaspella looked thoughtful for a moment.

"An alternate timeline?" The queen of Mystacor asked, stepping closer, and into the sorceress' line of sight. That put her quite close to Adam, which was not a bad thing, in her opinion. She felt him stiffen a bit, but he didn't pull away. "I have heard of such things, but they are only fancy, barely theory."

"Indeed. I thought so as well, but my line is old, and we have encountered and studied many strange things over the centuries. I found this difficult to believe, at first, but the facts fit with the records I found in my library." She began to speak of mystical signs and the confluence of events and magical energies thought incompatible that had Castaspella nodding and looking intrigued, even as everyone else traded baffled glances. Raz was looking thoughtful, but no one could tell how much of the conversation she understood. Dora rubbed her head as if she were developing a migraine.

"I'm sorry," Dora finally interrupted, "but what does this all mean in language we can all understand?"

"Oh. Sorry," the sorceress answered, realizing her lecture had been going over almost everyone's heads. "Alternate timelines are places where history unfolded quite differently. It is unclear how such things are possible, but they do exist. There are an endless number of such worlds. It is quite fortunate that I was able to find the origin point."

"So, you can get me home?"

"I can, but you will need to return to the place the portal opened. I would like to request that Castaspella lend her magical power to the endeavor, to ensure that we can successfully bridge the gap."

"It sounds completely fascinating," Mystacor's queen replied. "I'll gladly help."

"Contact me again, when you reach the point where the portal has been established." Her image faded from the jewel.

Dora sighed, partly in relief, partly in exasperation. "This is weird even by my standards." Several of the impromptu audience let out rueful chuckles.

"We've all had a taste of that," Adora assured her. "Can I take it from what the sorceress said that you are my, ah, counterpart on that other Etheria?"

"I think so. Adam told me a few things on the way here that, well, sort of sounded like things that happened to me, though, I have no idea if I have a brother or not. There are obvious differences, but we have some things in common."

"Oh?"

"You're still wearing the uniform, except for the badge. I did the same, to serve as a reminder, but I ditched it as soon as soon as it was all over."

Adora nodded. "Yes. I see what you mean."

Dora glanced around the group. "Let me see if I can guess who is who." Her eyes swept over the group. "Bow?" She pointed at him.

"Indeed, I am," the archer grinned. "Hard to mistake such a dashing figure, I suppose?"

"You look nothing like the Bow I know, but you do kind of look like his dad."

"His father?" Bow blinked, caught by surprise. "A great warrior, I'm sure."

Dora shook her head. "Scholar. He's a historian and a pacifist." Ignoring his shocked look, she moved on. "Um… Glimmer?"

"That's me."

"I based my guess on the color scheme. I guess you have similar tastes? Otherwise, you look nothing like the queen."

"Queen?" Glimmer squeaked. "What about mother?" She sounded as if she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Ah. Yeah." Dora rubbed the back of her head, and tried to look anywhere else.

"Oh." The princess of Brightmoon seemed to shrink in on herself. Hesitantly, she asked, "the Horde?"

"Long story short," Dora nodded looking sad, and clearly not wanting to go into details. "Maybe we shouldn't compare anymore. It's likely to get depressing."

"The war is going badly, then?" Adora sighed, sad for her counterpart.

"Huh?" Dora blinked, confused for a second. "No. The war is over. The Horde is done, not just of Etheria, but everywhere." This had everyone gaping at her. "So, those bots Adam and I saw on the way in are actually Horde troops? Weird."

Adora glanced at her brother. "You ran into troopers?"

"Three," Adam confirmed. "She," he nodded at Dora, "wasn't impressed. Smashed all three before they could get their first threat out."

"Who knew they'd be so slow and clunky?" Dora shrugged, showing off her captured weapon. "Those things seriously give you trouble?"

"Erm," Bow looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure I want to know what the troopers in your world are like."

"How did you beat them?" A man with red hair and a neatly trimmed beard asked eagerly. "The Horde, I mean."

"Sea Hawk?" Dora asked, having gotten sidetracked from her guessing game.

"That's me."

"It's complicated. It was a really close thing that I really wouldn't recommend trying to recreate." She held up her hands. "Let's just drop it. Based on what Adam told me, things are way too different here. I don't think anything I could tell you would help, though, I would help if I could, but I don't want to give you unworkable ideas."

"That's reasonable," Sea Hawk allowed. "I'd still like to hear the story." Several people echoed that sentiment. "Perhaps we can get some ideas to use against Hordak."

"What about Horde Prime?" Dora asked. The rebels seemed surprised by the question, and Adora frowned. That did concern her, but she had been more focused on local problems.

"You don't have any plans for Horde Prime?" There was a round of headshakes. "That's a problem," Dora said with certainty. "If the Horde Prime here is anything like the one at home, he won't react well to Hordak's defeat. He'd probably come here in force, personally, to blast Etheria to rubble that he could either sweep under the rug, y'know, so he could pretend it never happened or he might, come to think of it, show off to everyone as proof that no one can defy him." She winced. "Hordak and his troops would be lucky if they were allowed to stay on the planet while that was happening."

There was no immediate response to this news. Dora looked around and saw pale faces and jaws hanging open.

"Um, maybe your Horde Prime is more reasonable? I mean, you've been at this for years, right?"

Adora nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Well, then, he'd have probably done it by now if he was gonna." She considered for a moment, wanting to offer some hope after dropping a bomb like that. "Maybe the one here isn't as flat-out crazy as the one I met. I mean, even his own troops turned on him at the end. Maybe there's something in my experience that can help? I suppose I can tell the story while we walk, but I'm kind of anxious to get home, I've got a spouse that's probably climbing the walls with worry."

"Of course," Adora agreed. "I think we'll all go with you, if you don't mind. I think everyone wants to hear this."

Dora nodded, feeling guilty over having upset them like that. They started walking, Adora leading the way.

"So, you're married?" Adam asked, falling in just behind them, and eager to change the subject. A quick glance showed that Bow, Glimmer, Sea Hawk, Raz, and Castaspella were tagging along, listening in.

Dora nodded with a smile. "Almost two years. It took a while for things to settle down after the war ended, but when they did, well, it just seemed the right time."

Glimmer, who seemed to have rebounded from her earlier depression, glanced mischievously from Adora to Sea Hawk as they set out. "Wouldn't happen to be to a handsome pirate, would it?" The rebel leader blushed and Sea Hawk sputtered, looking uncomfortable with the idea, much to Glimmer's amusement.

"Huh? Sea Hawk?" She laughed, but stopped abruptly with a look at Sea Hawk. "Um, sorry. It's not you. The Sea Hawk back home is a great guy, but he's not my type. Besides, he's so goofy over Mermista, I doubt he'd look my way if I was interested in him."

"Mermista?" Now Sea Hawk just sounded confused. "I don't think I've ever met her."

"The one here is probably really different from the one I know," Dora shrugged. "Not that I know you, come to think of it," she added, looking thoughtful.

"True." He allowed, deciding no offense had been meant by the laughter. "Many differences, as you said."

"Sea Hawk is kind of clumsy when it comes to romantic gestures, tends to go overboard, get melodramatic, and Mermista has a really dry sense of humor, perfect deadpan, y'know? I've seen her take the wind out of his sails with just a few words." There was some chuckling over this.

"She does sound like a challenge," Sea Hawk admitted. "If my counterpart is anything like me, he loves a challenge."

"You mentioned mind-controlled friends and Horde Prime, at one point on our walk here?" Adam asked, diverting everyone's attention from Dora's romantic life, or anyone else's. He had a suspicion that that might get awkward.

"Maybe, I should just start at the beginning," Dora suggested, "instead of jumping around from one topic to another."

Her audience quickly agreed.

"I guess, I should start at the beginning. I was raised by the Horde since I was a baby, growing up in barracks with the other cadets; training, eating, and sleeping made up our entire existence as far back as I can remember. We were taught that Hordak had come from a far-off place and stumbled on Etheria. He looked on the world and he saw chaos. In his, ahem, benevolence, he took it upon himself to bring order to that chaos."

"That's much the same line I was fed," Adora nodded, wincing at the memory of ever having blindly accepted the tyrant's word for anything, Shadow Weaver's compulsion spells notwithstanding. "Except, the Horde arrived in force. Hordak is just their military governor."

Dora considered this. "On my Etheria, he arrived by accident, alone in a single, damaged ship. He built the Horde there himself, starting with a group of mercenaries and his own techno know-how."

"It would almost be an admirable feat, if he weren't such a horrible person," Glimmer shuddered.

"There was a whole lot that no one understood about Hordak, back then," Dora said. "It doesn't excuse anything, but…" She shrugged, looking conflicted. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Did Shadow Weaver handle your education?"

"She did."

"Reading, writing, and warfare?"

Adora sighed, looking pained, but said nothing.

Realizing it was likely a sensitive topic for her, as well, Dora let it go, and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I had no reason to disbelieve them, till the day I was promoted to force captain. Catra and I decided to celebrate by 'borrowing' a skiff and going for a little joyride."

The story she told, of finding the sword in the Whispering Woods, meeting Bow and Glimmer for the first time, and then running from a monster together, had her audience riveted. When she reached the part about being She-ra, however, Adora wasn't sure how to react. Dora was so casual about it that it caught the rebel leader completely flatfooted. Oblivious, Dora plowed on, as the others stared at her.

"The rebellion, what there was of it, anyway, was centered on Brightmoon. When I first came there." She paused. "I should explain that, I suppose. The alliance had collapsed years ago after one disastrous battle. The various kingdoms had been doing their best on their own, usually, just barely hanging on, but there was no real coordination. All that changed when Glimmer and Bow brought me home with them. Well, it was a bit rough going at first, of course. Queen Angela was happy enough to have She-ra on her side. A Horde deserter; not so much."

"Wait," Adora interrupted. "You're She-ra, and you're just coming out and saying it, so casually?"

"Huh?" Dora stopped and turned to her audience. "Yeah. Is that supposed to be a secret or something?"

The others traded baffled glances. Adora thought fast. "Um, well, we don't really know if she has another name, or identity. I guess she keeps it secret for a reason if she does, but you don't?"

"Can't see why I would. It wouldn't be to protect friends and family. Everyone I knew and cared about was already the target of an evil intergalactic empire. Why add the stress of trying to keep it a secret?"

"That's a fair point," Adora allowed, looking speculative for a moment.

"Besides," Dora continued. "Bow and Glimmer were there the first time I changed, and Angela would never have let me stay in Brightmoon without a good reason."

"I suppose that would have taken a fair bit of convincing," Bow allowed.

Dora glanced at Glimmer. "How would your mom have reacted? 'Hey, mom. I found a Horde deserter. Can I keep her?'"

"I don't think I'd have phrased it like that," Glimmer replied with a laugh.

"There was never any real question of hiding it." Dora shrugged and moved on. "So, I was the latest She-ra, first there had been in 1,000 years."

"There've been other She-ra's?" Castaspella asked.

"She-ra, at least back home, is Etheria's chosen champion, chosen by the planet itself, and please don't ask how that works. Even Raz doesn't know, or maybe she knew once, and she's since forgotten." She smiled and shook her head over some fond memory. "Raz is eccentric, and kinda flighty, but she's always come through for us."

She pressed on with her story, parts of which she summarized with phrases such as "we met Entrapta and weird things happened." They let that one go, after Dora admitted that she didn't remember all that much thanks to a computer virus the first one's left behind had somehow infected her through the sword. She'd spent most of the trip acting as if she were drunk. No one really knew what to make of that claim, and it raised too many confusing questions, so they tended to let her summarize her adventures as she saw fit. A few things were brought up, that each, for one reason or another, didn't want details about.

They still found most of it confusing, but no one blamed her for that. Her one reference to Light Hope had been cut off with a sad and conflicted look that Adora was hesitant to press her about. After a moment's hesitation, though, she decided to ask.

"Light Hope has been a tremendous help to us. Is the one in your world so different?"

"If all she's done is help, then she isn't like the one back home." A slightly guilty look crossed her face. "That isn't fair. She was a big help in training me for battles against the Horde, but her motives…" Dora broke off, uncomfortable. "It wasn't her fault, not really. The first ones, or some faction, I guess, reprogrammed her, and after 1,000 years, things had changed so much, but she was still trying to follow orders that had been meaningless for who-knows-how-long." She broke off and shrugged, looking very depressed. "From the message she left, and what few records left behind, Mara, the last She-ra, was really fond of Light Hope. It must have been awful for her when she had to-." She broke off again.

"Very different, then." Adora concluded, almost certain she didn't want to hear more, and did her best to steer the conversation away from what was clearly a troubling topic.

Dora had just finished telling them about her first meeting with Huntara and the troubles they'd had in the crimson waste, when they reached the edge of Whispering Woods. As they left the woods, Dora stopped telling stories and focused on their surroundings. If the patrol had been missed, a search party might come looking for them. "Eyes open, everyone. No idea if they'll be more bots looking for the scrap metal I left behind."

"There probably will be," Adora agreed. She glanced around and issued orders that had the group spreading out and watching their surroundings carefully. "We should hurry."

They moved quickly through the thinning woods and into the hills beyond. There was no sign of Horde troopers on the ground or bat-mechs in the air. Dora hesitantly looked to Castaspella.

"Your, ah, counterpart, had a spell to block scrying, to keep Shadow Weaver or others from peeking in. Can you do that?"

"Hm? Interesting." Mystacor's queen looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's not something I use often, as its part of Mystacor's normal defenses, and the natural magic of the Whispering Woods resists scrying, but, yes. I can." She raised her hands and chanted a spell that had Dora staring at her.

"Ah… That was a spell?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" The redheaded queen wasn't offended by the question or the tone, but they did make her wonder.

"Casta rarely chants, and when she feels the need, it's always in some old language I don't understand."

"Curious." Castaspella offered no more comment.

Dora shrugged and went back to focusing on their surroundings. It took almost an hour, moving at a careful pace that allowed them to keep a proper eye on their surroundings, to reach the spot where she had destroyed the patrol. The wreckage was still there and the rebels found themselves impressed by level of damage she had done to them.

"It looks like the scene hasn't been disturbed, which may mean they haven't been missed yet," Dora said speculatively, looking over the scene, and noting the lack of footprints or other signs of an enemy presence.

"This is likely part of a long-range patrol," Adora offered. "They've likely missed their two-hour check in, by now, but that won't raise any alarms just yet. We should hurry, though."

"No search party till they've missed two check-ins?" Dora guessed.

"Horde regulations," her counterpart agreed.

"It's almost been five hours," Dora noted. "Best hurry." They picked up the pace, and soon reached the spot where the portal had opened.

"Here we are, and still no sign of Horde troopers," Bow noted. "Best not to linger, though."

"Right." Adora drew her sword, the sight of which made Dora frown in worry. "Sorceress? We're here."

"Very good, Adora. I am ready. Castaspella?"

"I am ready," the queen assured them. They spent a few moments trading incomprehensible technical details concerning what needed to be done. The rest of the group waited patiently until they were done and announced they were ready to begin.

They concentrated together, synchronizing their power, and establishing the gate before, as best Dora understood it, reaching toward her home in a direction that didn't have a name in any language save that of the spell casters. She knew she didn't understand what they were doing.

The portal opened; the familiar gleaming gold disk hung in the air. "Stable portal established," Castaspella announced. "Beginning modulation."

After a moment, it began to change, just as it had when Adam had come through. He murmured to the others that they might want to stand off to one side of it, just in case. They took his advice and stood clear.

The golden hue faded and changed until there was a dark swirling vortex.

"That's new," Adam noted.

"We are stabilizing it," Castaspella offered. "Before, when you came through, no one was controlling it. It simply ran wild. We will not let that happen this time."

With the portal stabilized, the two mages began a different spell. None were quite sure what they were doing, but soon voices, vague and indistinct at first, could be heard. Dora approached carefully. She didn't like the looks of it, but it was, hopefully, her way home.

The voices grew louder, not as if nearer, but as if raised in consternation. Suddenly, a head popped through the portal. "-this is how we test it!" The unicorn looked around. "Adora! Found you!"

"Swifty!" She took two quick steps forward and embraced the unicorn. "It is so good to see you!" She pulled back. "Is everyone ok? Is Catra with you?"

"Catra? She went through the portal with you. You mean she's not here?"

Dora's eyes widened. "No. I was hoping-" she broke off, shaking her head. "We have to find her."

"Hang on a sec." Swift Wind drew his head back through the portal, and called to someone unseen. "Guys, we got a problem." There was a hasty and barely heard conference on the other side of the gate

"I'll go!" a nasally female voice declared. "To find the data, I mean Catra."

Dora rolled her eyes as a quieter voice responded in a placating tone. After a moment, a figure emerged from the portal. The chalk-white skin, red eyes, and blue hair, were a hint, but the fond smile playing about the mouth made the rebels uncertain. In their experience, the only person who vaguely fit that description only smiled when something horrible was about to happen.

"Hordak. Glad you're here."

"Hordak!" Several voices cried in alarm. They paused, though, when the stranger just gave the group a bland look, and completely failed to attack them.

Dora paused, at the reaction of the rebels around her. "Relax. Its fine." She paused. "Huh. Yeah, y'know, that's a phrase that…"

"Yes," Hordak offered drily. "I believe that was 'weird' for everyone." He wore loose fitting work clothes rather than the armor they were used to seeing and he was somewhat thinner and a bit taller than the one they knew, but the resemblance was there.

He glanced around the group with open interest, and Dora quickly introduced everyone. "So, our surmise was correct. An alternate timeline. Fascinating." He set down the pack he was carrying and removed a device that the rebels eyed warily.

"Don't worry," Dora told them. "That's a scanner. He and Entrapta never go anywhere without at least a dozen gadgets for collecting data of some sort."

"That is an exaggeration," Hordak said. "Normally. This is a unique opportunity, though." He pointed the device at the portal and took a reading before making adjustments. "How long can the magic users maintain the connection? It shouldn't be necessary to keep the portal open, but we must maintain the link to our own reality if we are to return." He pulled another device from his pack and set it on the ground at the base of the portal before turning it on and adjusting the controls until he was satisfied and stepped back, returning to the device he had been working with before.

"I can maintain the link," the sorceress' serene voice spoke from the portal. "Whatever technology they are using is surprisingly compatible with my magics and makes the task easier than I expected."

"Interesting," Hordak mused. "I've wondered at the link between the first ones and Eternia for some time. Depending on how closely the timelines match and when they diverged, that may prove indicative of a link between Eternian magic and first ones' tech."

"Well, yeah. Mara's message pretty much confirmed that, I'd think," Dora offered. "She said her people were the first ones to settle Etheria and study the planet's magic, and Eternia was the password to get into the crystal castle."

"That leaves many unanswered questions," Hordak replied primly as he drew out a different scanner and began taking readings. "Questions we will not find reliable answers to here, but we may find indications of viable avenues of research for when we return home."

"So," Adam offered hesitantly, glancing at Dora, looking as confused as the rest by the exchange. "The, ah, 'mad scientists' you referred to are Hordak and Entrapta?"

"Mad scientists?" Hordak asked, as Dora blushed.

"It was said with affection," she assured him. "Which probably sounds really strange for all of you." She looked at the rebels. "The war is still going on here," she said, turning back to Hordak. "Your counterpart is some sort of military governor, overseeing the planet for the Horde Empire."

"Interesting, but hopefully irrelevant to our task." Hordak set aside his speculations, and made a few more adjustments to the device he was holding. "Signal lock achieved and link established." He looked to Dora again. "Do you know if Catra still has your 'box of memories?'"

"I think so," Dora nodded. "She did just before I got sent here."

"She went through the portal with you. You must have separated at some point. Hopefully, she is on this version of Etheria." He lifted the scanner. "This device will allow me to track any first ones' tech within its range, and Entrapta has recently boosted its range considerably."

"Excuse me," Adora asked, "but if you are your world's Hordak, and the war is over…"

"Why was I not imprisoned or executed?" Hordak offered, not seeming bothered by the question, at all.

"In a word?" Castaspella offered. "Yes."

"That is complicated," he replied, "and I have mixed feelings about the outcome of my trial. However, I did not go unpunished. Adora and a few others successfully argued that I had something to contribute to Etheria."

"What would that be?" Bow asked, his tone suspicious.

"Cleaning up Beast Island. I do not know what your version is like, but the first ones in our timeline used it as a dumping ground for their broken machines and failed experiments. Believe me, wild animals would be far simpler and safer to deal with."

"He and Entrapta have already reverse engineered some amazing things that are really helping with the rebuilding efforts," Dora said. "Mostly, Hordak is 'out of sight out of mind,' and that seems to suit people fine, even if he isn't actually a prisoner on Beast Island." She considered for a moment. "If we get the box of memories back, I can show you what turned things around at his trial."

"Must you?" Hordak asked, looking slightly exasperated.

"I don't know why you'd react that way to it. That was awesome, and it was broadcast all over Etheria, thanks to Prime's ego."

"I know," Hordak repressed a sigh.

"What exactly is this box of memories?" Adora asked.

"It is a first ones' data storage device," Hordak supplied. "Entrapta studied it, and found a way to store and play new recordings. It has a, seemingly, infinite capacity. Adora uses it to store recordings of significant events."

"Horde Prime wanted to broadcast Entrapta's execution to Etheria, since our plans for stopping him kind of depended on her, but instead, Etheria got to watch one of Prime's, supposedly, completely brainwashed followers turn on him."

At their confused looks, Hordak explained. "Horde Prime's armies were made up of robotic foot soldiers and an officer corps comprised of clones of himself that had been," he winced, "educated to the point that they had no higher purpose, no other thought, than to serve him faithfully. If ever a clone, such as myself, proved defective by deviating from this ideal, the clone was cleansed, meaning his memory was wiped, and was then reeducated."

The rebels looked sick with horror at the idea, even as they struggled to wrap their minds around what they were being told.

"Fortunately for all of us," Dora supplied, glancing at Hordak, "Prime's cleansing couldn't get the tough stains out."

"I do believe that is the strangest compliment anyone has ever been given," Hordak said as he made a few more delicate adjustments to his machine. "I have a reading."

"Where is she?" Dora asked eagerly.

Hordak pointed to the south-east and gave his best estimate of the distance.

"I was afraid of that," Adora sighed. "That's the Fright Zone."

"It is in the same place on our Etheria. This will complicate matters, especially if they are able to access the box of memories."

"Not sure I see how," Dora admitted. "Things are so different here that looking through the recordings is just likely to confuse them."

"Things are definitely different," Bow allowed. "Are we sure there's nothing in there that could be used against us?"

"Impossible to say," Hordak shrugged, "without knowing more details. Regardless, we need to get moving."

Dora nodded eagerly. "We need to save Catra."

"How different is she from our version, I wonder," Bow asked. "She might fit right in."

"I sincerely doubt that," Hordak said. "Can transport be arranged to get us close? I suspect we'll need to sneak in."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Adora assured him. "Give us a few minutes to try to arrange something." She went aside with Castaspella and Glimmer. Raz left them to it, and she and Bow turned to their guests.

"There's still a lot I'm curious about," Bow said.

"Me, too," Raz agreed. "How exactly did this recording turn things around? If he was as bad as the one we have here-"

OOOOOOOOOO

"-not hear me, little brother? I said- aargh!"

"I am not your brother," the image in the hologram snarled walking toward the other figure, the one he had just shot. "I may have been made in your image, but I am more! I gave myself a name. I made a life for myself. I made… a friend." The image seemed set to track automatically and it followed as the angry being picked up the one calling himself Prime by the neck, and dangled him off the platform. "I am Hordak, and I defy your will!"

Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and Catra watched in shocked confusion as the 'Hordak' in the image dropped 'Prime' off the platform. The image abruptly cut off.

"What in the name of Hordeworld was that?" Hordak demanded, turning to their prisoner. He knew very little of the magicats, but he did know of their talent for illusion. That, however, had not been an illusion.

"That was one of my favorite recordings," the magicat calling herself Catra answered, thoroughly enjoying their reaction. It distracted her from her accommodations. Shadow Weaver had conjured an energy bubble for her after she had picked the locks on her chains twice and tricked the robot troopers into opening her cell door three times, costing the Horde a total of seven robot troopers along the way.

They had found the box of memories, and after a little trial and error, had managed to play random recordings. They had watched recordings from a couple of public events that had them puzzled, but not alarmed. Then they'd found the recording of Hordak's attack on Prime. Now they were glaring at her and demanding answers. Well, Hordak was demanding answers. Shadow Weaver suddenly seemed more thoughtful than angry or confused.

"I believe, great Hordak, that this Catra comes from an alternate timeline. An Etheria, nay, a universe, where history unfolded differently."

"Absurd," Hordak scoffed. "Horde scientists thoroughly investigated such 'theories' and found them to be nonsense. This is a trick of some sort."

"To what end, great one?" Shadow Weaver asked. "This technology is unknown to us, and all she is doing is causing us a minor distraction, insignificant in that the Fright Zone's defenses are not compromised in any way and she had not disrupted any ongoing operations. It seems much effort for little gain."

"Hmm. You have a point, but an alternate timeline?"

"Ancient texts I have studied suggest that it is possible."

"If that is the case," Hordak allowed, "it would seem her Etheria is far too different. There's little to nothing to be gained through interrogation."

"What if others come through?" the sorceress asked.

"We both saw her arrive," Hordak shook his head. "Did that look planned to you?"

"Admittedly, no." The magicat had appeared out of an unstable portal, yowling and flailing in panic, as if trying to catch onto something, anything, that would stop her fall. Had she not landed in the river while the two senior Horde leaders were reviewing a training exercise, she might have been killed.

They had fished the very unhappy visitor out of the drink and chained her up until they could determine what had led to that and if she was in any way useful. The following few hours had been a lesson in humility for Hordak's troopers. Shadow Weaver had finally resorted to a spell to keep her contained while they questioned her.

"She clearly isn't me," Catra mewed while examining the prisoner, who returned the scrutiny with open curiosity. "I know of the magicats, but they are a reclusive people."

"Why do you talk like that?" the prisoner asked. "Everyone can tell it's a put-on and badly faked attempt at an accent. Magicats don't talk like that."

"No one asked you," Catra hissed, causing the prisoner to roll her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"Enough," Shadow Weaver silenced the irritated force captain and addressed their prisoner. "Are these accurate depictions of events?"

"Yep, and for what its worth, I think you're right. Alternate timeline is the only thing that makes sense. Gotta say, I'm disappointed, though. Who knew the alternates of the people I know would be so lame?" Shadow Weaver ignored the insult.

"Is that how the Horde in your timeline was defeated?"

The prisoner shrugged. "More or less? I guess the Prime here is really different. Has he not developed mind control tech and cloned himself a bazillion times so he can have a completely loyal army?"

They were back to staring at her with poleaxed expressions.

"No," Hordak eventually answered, "and I'd appreciate you not suggesting it to him."

"He's not exactly on my social calendar," the prisoner snorted, enjoying their reaction despite her predicament. "When Hordak first came to Etheria, it was by accident. Prime had declared him a failed clone and had him slated for recycling, or whatever he called it. Hordak decided to prove he was worthy by conquering Etheria by himself, and he came close."

"I'm not surprised, if he's anything like me," the delusional tyrant said.

"He's not," the prisoner scoffed. "He's a competent leader and a brilliant scientist." Ignoring Hordak's sputtering, she went on. "When Horde Prime finally found Etheria and his 'little brother,' he was furious. Not because Hordak hadn't succeeded in the years he had been stuck there, but because he hadn't tried conquering the planet for the greater glory of Prime. He'd done it for his own reasons. Worse, he'd taken a name, not something any other clone had ever dared to do."

"To prevent the development of individuality?" Shadow Weaver guessed.

"Yep," the prisoner confirmed. "The clones were supposed to be extensions of Prime's will. Nothing else." She shrugged. "So, Hordak got his brain scrubbed down and he was 'reeducated.'" The look on Hordak's face as she said that made her wish she could use the box of memories. "Back home, we're all really happy that our Hordak is such a stubborn bastard. Seems he shook it off without too much effort. Without Prime, his armies just kind of fell apart. Seems he liked to retain as much direct control as he could. Unbelievable level of micromanagement."

"And my counterpart?" Shadow Weaver asked curiously.

"Dead. She sacrificed herself to save Adora and me from a trap the first ones, real bastards, left behind and Prime activated."

"I find that difficult to believe," the sorceress replied.

The prisoner gave a casual shrug, not really caring what the sorceress believed. "If she hadn't, the planet would have blown up and killed her anyway. Guess she wanted to spit in Horde Prime's eye since she was already screwed."

"That," Catra offered, sounding thoughtful, "I could almost believe."

"Perhaps," Weaver allowed. She turned back to Hordak. "You are correct, my lord. Our respective histories are far too different. We can learn nothing useful from her."

"We've had little enough chance to study magicats," Hordak mused. "I suggest you take the opportunity to learn what you can. I have more important things to do." He turned and headed off, still shaken by what he'd seen, but unwilling to show it. It might be best, he reasoned, if Horde Prime never learned of this.

OOOOOOOOOO

"That's quite a story," Adora admitted, as they waited for the transportation they had arranged to arrive.

"Yes, pity it wasn't the end of it." Hordak grimaced.

"What do you mean?" Bow asked, "getting tossed off a cliff seems pretty final."

"Horde Prime was more parasite than person," Hordak explained, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. "He had lived for thousands of years by transferring his conscious mind from one clone to another. At least part of the reason he did not want his clones developing any independence was that it was easier to take over a body that lacked its own personality and had no will to resist him."

The rebels were back to feeling horrified, he could tell, but they had asked.

"He 'visited' clones across his empire routinely in order to have direct control over certain aspects of how battles, negotiations, etc, were handled. When I threw him from the platform, he moved himself to the nearest clone. Me."

"But you resisted him?" Raz offered.

"As best I was able, but he did terrible damage with my hands." The rebels could see that that admission troubled him, and weren't sure what to make of it. "It is fortunate for all of us that She-ra returned from her mission when she did. Her healing magics treated Prime as a parasitic infection, and 'cured' me. He did not have a chance to flee to another clone. That was the end of him."

"Without Horde Prime, his empire basically collapsed," Dora picked up the story. "There are a lot of clones all over the place that are having to find their own identity and a new purpose. Some of them cause trouble, yeah, but a lot of them turned out to be decent people with a little guidance."

"Well, you were right when you said it wasn't something we could do here," Bow allowed. "What a story!"

"And just in time," Adora pointed. "Our ride is here."

Hordak and Dora stared at the odd contrivance coming in for a landing near them. It was basically a floating platform that looked like it was meant for moving heavy loads. "What is that?" Dora asked.

"These platforms are used in Mystacor for moving large loads quickly. It stands out as it is, but that is easily fixed with a simple illusion." Castaspella gestured and chanted briefly, and the platform changed. The outline of a rather ugly, boxy vehicle faded into view.

"A Horde transport," Adora nodded approvingly. "Good work."

"Hmm." Hordak raised one of his scanners, took readings and examined them. "The illusion will fool most scanners as well. The mass reading reveals irregularities, but it should pass visual inspection easily."

"It's the ugliest thing I've seen in a while," Dora chimed in. "This is what Horde transports look like, here?"

"Yeah, they're ugly," Bow agreed. "Horde tends to value function over form, but they do like big powerful looking machines that intimidate." Hordak nodded absently, seeing the sense in it. "This'll get us there and through the defenses without an issue."

"Don't worry," Adora assured their visitors, "we've snuck into the Fright Zone a time or two."

"I will need to stay here to monitor the gate," Castaspella explained, "but the illusion will hold long enough. I could use Raz's help, as well."

"Of course, dearie," the old witch quickly agreed. "Sneaking into the Fright Zone is never my idea of a good time."

"It might be useful to have a distraction, away from the Fright Zone," Sea Hawk offered. "I think my crew and I can arrange that. The outpost at the mouth of the singing river should be getting its shipment of supplies later today. The rebellion could sure use them."

"Timing will be critical," Adora pointed out. She glanced at Castaspella. "Can you get him back to his ship?"

The queen nodded, and a quick spell later, the former pirate was back on his ship and headed toward a Horde outpost for a bit of noisy larceny. At Hordak's suggestion, she also conjured several suits of trooper armor that would allow the wearer to pass a cursory inspection.

The rest boarded the transport and set out for the Fright Zone. The illusion looked solid enough from the outside, but they could easily see through it from the inside. The pilot, a volunteer from Mystacor who had worked with them before, kept them on course while they made plans.

Although Dora had her doubts, she kept her peace, remembering all too well how most of the plans she and her friends had made during the war had worked out. She would just have to hope that this group had all their plans better thought out than she'd ever managed.

"How long till we get there?" That seemed a safe question.

"About an hour," Adora replied. "We'll be arriving 10 minutes ahead of schedule for the transport we're impersonating. It won't raise any alarms, especially since the transport won't be coming at all."

"A friend of ours saw to that," Bow confirmed. "The transport was bringing slaves from a village the Horde raided a day or two ago. We had plans for it, but this is more important."

"Thank you," Dora said sincerely.

"Might I suggest a two-pronged approach?" Hordak offered. "We need to increase our odds of getting in, fulfilling the objective, and getting out."

"Maybe a diversion, a little sabotage, could draw people's attention away from Catra," Dora suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Adam agreed. They set about planning the specifics of the rescue. By the time they arrived, they had a solid plan. Dora could only hope.

"I doubt… Dora and I can trust our memories of the Fright Zone. The one here will likely be quite different. We should split up and each accompany one group."

"That works," Dora agreed. "We'll head for the dungeons. I'm sure you can manage some creative sabotage."

"It shouldn't be difficult," Hordak agreed. They began to plan the specifics, and the distraction soon evolved into something quite different than Hordak had envisioned, but he had to admit that it would be diverting.

When the fright Zone came into view, Hordak and Dora stared. "This is the Fright Zone?" Dora asked, not sure if she believed her eyes.

"It is," Adora confirmed, confused by her reaction.

"Was the architect drunk when he designed it?" Hordak asked. "That can't be structurally sound." The rebels shrugged, looking at each other in confusion. Hordak shook his head, dismissing the matter. "It seems we're bound for the landing pad toward the upper rear of the structure. Now might be a good time for those of us creating the distraction to go."

"Sounds good," Bow nodded. "Glimmer, me, and you will handle that. There's a weapons' battery there. Should make a nice distraction."

'Agreed." They left the flying platform as discretely as they could, slipping through the illusion as they passed a convenient jumping off point. The jumping off was quite literal, bit fortunately, it was a short drop to one of the structural oddities of the Fright Zone. From there, it was a short climb to a walkway that the Horde had not thought to guard, as it was so far inside their defensive perimeter.

Reaching the battery wasn't difficult, nor was disabling the trooper manning it. Convincing the rebels to do it quietly, took a bit of convincing, but it proved worth it. Hordak took a moment to examine the weapon and its capabilities before examining the mountings.

"You've broken in here before, I see," the former Horde leader commented. "Probably more than once."

"We have. How can you tell?" Bow asked quietly.

"The mounting allows the weapon to be aimed at targets inside the perimeter. It can even be aimed at some of the other batteries. The only reason to do that is to suppress enemy elements that have already breached the defenses." He examined the weapon itself and made a few modifications to ensure that the next trooper to use it would get an unpleasant surprise. "Perfect. The transport has landed?"

"Not yet," Glimmer confirmed, shifting about uncomfortably in her armor. She hated wearing the stuff. "They're holding off while reinforcements are sent to deal with Sea Hawk and his distraction."

"Good, let's move on." They were able to modify two more batteries before the fake transport was able to come in for a landing.

They moved to their next intended target as quickly as they could, without making the real troopers suspicious. When they reached a maintenance bay that serviced the Horde's flyers, batmechs, and similar flying devices, they discovered that it was conveniently close to the armory. The Horde robots actually stationed in the maintenance bay and armory found themselves suddenly having a very bad day. Hordak scowled in disapproval on discovering how easy they were to overcome.

They were careful to go about their business as if they belonged there, in case others should happen by on routine business. Fire suppression systems were taken offline under the guise of a safety check. Fire doors were propped open and various flammable chemicals were spilled and used as fuses leading to stockpiles of things that went boom. The explosive arrowheads Bow carried made excellent detonators. Rigging them to be set off remotely was not difficult with the spare parts in the maintenance area. They did not want to set it off immediately, but couldn't be certain their handiwork would be discovered once they left, so tripwires were set to kick things off if someone came in.

Once the sabotage was arranged and the remote detonator was tucked safely out of sight in Hordak's armor, they made their way toward the dungeons to rendezvous with the others. Hopefully, there would be no complications in the rescue and the escape.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"You sure the distraction they planned won't be too much?" Dora asked as they made their way through bowels of the Fright Zone.

"Have a little faith," Adora advised. "Something big and flashy usually works best with the Horde's troopers, but we do need to hurry."

Adora knew the Fright Zone inside and out, having grown up there, which was fortunate, as none of it looked familiar to Dora. The architecture was not merely unfamiliar, it was alien, and in some cases, completely nonsensical. Adora had led them down a hidden staircase near the landing pad and through a series of store rooms that looked as if they hadn't been used in a long time. From there, it was through a secret passage that got them close to the dungeon where Catra was likely being kept.

"This place is nuts," Dora opined, not able to refrain from commenting on their route, or the lack of security. "It seems designed to be broken into. There are so many ways for intruders to get in and sneak around…" She shook her head. "I don't get it."

"There's good reason for each of them," Adora said, "but some of the reasons conflict with each other. Intended escape routes can be used as entrances with a little tinkering from the inside, and hidden routes intended to allow the troopers to ambush invaders are quite useful for sneaking around, once the sensors have been tampered with." She shrugged. "Frankly, I don't get it either, sometimes, but I'm not about to complain at things that make our work easier."

Dora allowed that that made sense, and she followed the twins into an air shaft they could nearly walk upright in. She bit her tongue to keep herself from asking.

Soon enough, they arrived at a particular spot on the wall, and Adora indicated they were right next to the dungeon. The passage to that point had been mostly walled off, and there were actually sensors and an alarm to bypass, something Adora did with the ease of long practice. As they drew closer to the dungeon wall, which had been strategically compromised at key points to allow for spying, they could hear voices. Adora assured her that, while they had to be quiet, the peepholes weren't readily visible from the other side.

"No, Weaver. Let Catra and the troopers deal with it, that is their purpose. This attack on an outpost so close to us is clearly a distraction. I have no doubt the rebels are behind this. They are after our prisoner, and I want to see who comes for her. If she has value to the rebels, she has value to us."

"As you say, great Hordak," the sorceress simpered. The two were alone, standing near a large wooden table set against the wall opposite their hiding place. Dora's Catra could just barely be seen off to one side, contained in some sort of magical bubble.

"Have you learned anything useful about this one?"

"She is much like other magicats I have studied, possessed of modest magic potential, but she is completely untrained."

"Can she be made useful, then?" Hordak asked, cutting to the heart of the matter. He cared nothing for a history lesson or a lecture on magical theory and education.

"Too little potential to make her worth the effort, and her will is quite strong," Shadow Weaver reported regretfully. "However, I do have two pieces of good news."

"Oh?' Hordak showed interest.

"Just before you arrived, I located the oldest recording on the device." She turned to a worktable holding various arcane devices and two different potions simmering over magical fires that lacked fuel and didn't seem to harm the table. She picked up the box of memories. "It is over 1,000 years old, but the girl in the message addresses Adora personally. The question remains of how far the timelines have diverged, but if they are at all similar, it may provide useful information." At Hordak's curt order, she activated the storage device, and as the three intruders watched from their hiding place, a recording began to play.

An unfamiliar young woman stood in front of an odd looing chair that called to mind a throne, but Hordak realized must be the commander's station on the bridge of a spaceship. The way she held herself indicated that she was injured. She certainly looked battered, and was clearly exhausted.

"Adora? I know you're there. Raz said you would be."

"Mara," Dora whispered, a quaver in her voice. They watched as the translucent figure collapsed backward into the chair.

"I don't have much time. I barely made it out. If you are seeing this," she said, tears running down her face, "it means you are the new She-ra. It means I failed."

Hordak drew a hissing breath, but the recording continued before he could react to the revelation. Somewhat alarmed, Adora reached for her sword, glancing at her counterpart. She stopped when she saw the tears in the other woman's eyes.

"-it wasn't all bad, at first. We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to really study this planet's magic." Her head drooped, grief and fatigue plain on her expressive face. "How could it go so wrong?"

After a few seconds, the woman in the image forced herself to continue. "You can't trust Light Hope. She's been reprogrammed to set off the weapon at any cost. The weapon." Hordak leaned forward eagerly. He liked weapons, and if there was one created by the first ones on his Etheria, he'd find it. He and Shadow Weaver listened intently to what few details there were.

"It was supposed to be an energy source, capable of so much good. That's not what they made. My people turned our planet, all of Etheria into a weapon, and She-ra is the key."

Adora stared at the image in stark disbelief, unable to tear her eyes away as Mara described what she had done to keep Etheria and the rest of the universe safe.

"I couldn't stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option." She paused, collecting herself before delivering her final warning. "-it's unstable. It'll tear Etheria apart if it goes off again."

She hunched over, her wounds paining her. "So, its up to you now. I couldn't stop it, in the end, I wasn't strong enough, but you, Adora, you will be more powerful than they ever planned." Her eyes widened in fear as the image shook and she gazed at something they couldn't see. "Adora, I believe in you. You can save the world we love." The image jerked wildly and cut off.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Hordak glanced at Weaver, but the sorceress shook her head. "No, master Hordak. There can be nothing like that on Etheria. Now or ever. The very concept of using the natural magic of a living world to power a weapon to destroy other worlds? It is madness. It could never work. Magic itself would rebel! That seems to be what the first ones of that Etheria did not understand; why it could never be stabilized."

"That's what we concluded too," the prisoner said solemnly, she glanced down, for a moment, seemingly caught up in unpleasant memories. "Its why Adora destroyed the sword, for all the good it did."

"Meaning?" Shadow Weaver asked.

"Horde science," the prisoner grimaced. "The only one crazy enough to try using the weapon was Horde Prime, and he deliberately sent it off the rails. Wouldn't have just destroyed Etheria, either. At the end, when the battle was going against him? He started raving about burning everything down and starting over to build his perfect order."

Shadow Weaver actually recoiled at the notion, looking as frightened as any of the watchers had ever seen her.

"Unfortunate," was Hordak's only comment. "No point building a weapon that would just blow up in your face." Shadow Weaver was visibly relieved at his words. "As to Adora being the 'new' She-ra? Preposterous." He dismissed the notion out of hand, which might have made Dora curious, or even suspicious, had she been in a fit state to pay attention.

"Agreed," Weaver nodded, happy to move on to a new topic.

Hordak perked up. "You said that there were two pieces of good news?"

"Ah, yes. The second bit of news. While our prisoner has little in the way of magic potential, her child is another matter." The words grabbed everyone's attention.

"Child?" Hordak asked, confused. "She is pregnant?"

Dora's head came up, a happy smile spreading across her face. That smile froze as she suddenly recalled their circumstances.

"Yes, and my arts have shown me the child will have great magical potential. A long-term investment to be sure, but properly raised as a weapon of the Horde, very much worth the effort."

"No!" The magicat was glaring at them, ears laid back, teeth bared.

"Oh, don't fret, child," Shadow Weaver offered in a soothing voice. "You won't even remember that you were pregnant." Claws stuck sparks from the inside of the force bubble, but Weaver only laughed.

Adora reached for her sword, knowing she had to act, hoping Dora would be willing to keep her secret. She stopped at the sight of the furious look on her counterpart's face and the glowing energy blade that had appeared in her hand.

"For the honor of Grayskull," Dora gritted out.

OOOOOOOOOO

A sound from behind them caused Hordak to turn. "Ah. There you are." He turned to the door. "Troopers!"

Three of his robot troopers marched in, weapons at the ready. They saluted smartly.

"Where are the others?" Hordak demanded, knowing he had arranged for more than three troopers for his trap. Before any of them could answer, the wall was shattered and Shadow Weaver was forced to use a spell to shield them from flying debris.

Stepping out of the passage Hordak had actually been aware of for some time, came Adora, her brother, and another figure, one the first two were openly gawking at. She was dressed much as the She-ra he knew, but she towered over everyone in the room, and boasted muscles a troll would envy.

Transforming his arm to a blaster, he raised it, ready to fire at the oncoming giant. There was no chance, however, as the strange She-ra didn't even slow down at the sight. With an almost negligent backhand blow, she swatted him aside. He grayed out briefly as he struck, and partially passed through, the wall of the dungeon, but he held onto consciousness with an effort.

Shadow Weaver began a spell, but was cut off when a glowing sword pinned her cowl to the wall, the magically sharp blade less than an inch from her face.

"Release my wife," the strange She-ra gritted out, looking positively murderous. The sorceress stared at her, eyes wide, and carefully raised one hand and caused the bubble to burst, releasing the prisoner.

"Thanks, love," Catra said. "I was getting bored."

She-ra took her eyes off Weaver for a second, just to assure herself that the magicat was unharmed. In that second, the trapped sorceress made another gesture. She-ra quickly turned back and made a quick cut with her sword, but it was too late. The red cloak and cowl dropped to the ground, empty.

"Wait!" Adora cried, belatedly. "You didn't!?"

"No." She-ra shook her head. "She teleported. Wherever she is, she's not dead," she picked up the cloak on the end of her blade, "just naked."

"Ew," Catra commented.

"Troopers!" Hordak shouted, as he tried to free himself. "Don't just stand there! Join the fight."

"On which side?" a familiar voice asked, before one of the troopers removed its head, revealing a grinning Bow. The other two followed suit and one, the one Hordak had only seen in a projected image, approached, eyeing him curiously.

"Greetings, my counterpart," the strange creature before him said. "I can sympathize, somewhat, with your frustration, but unfortunately, your day is only going to get worse." He drew a remote control out of a compartment in the armor and pressed a button. There was a distant explosion. "You might want to see to your armory."

"Time to go," She-ra said to the others. They hastily retreated after Catra grabbed the box of memories. They quickly retraced their steps, coming out near the landing pad where their transportation was waiting. There had been little interest in the transport since the supposed crew had disembarked, but their departure attracted notice.

"Head west," Hordak told the pilot. "Over the river and the swamp beyond it."

"They'll still be able to shoot at us," the pilot said. "Hang on."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Bow smirked. The pilot spared him a quizzical glance, but then went back to focusing on getting them away safely, knowing it would take all his skill.

The transport rose from the pad at its best speed and shot off toward the west. Three batteries in that section of the perimeter locked onto them, just as the pilot knew they would. The platform wasn't meant for combat, let alone high-speed evasive maneuvers, but he did his best. He was nearly as surprised as the Horde gunners when the batteries exploded as they attempted to open fire. Pieces of burning debris, the remains of the weapons and their crews, rained down on the Fright Zone, adding to the chaos.

"Satisfactory," Hordak nodded, watching the results. It was clear that no one would be pursuing them anytime soon. It was unlikely anyone would even shoot at them. Unless they are completely brainless, they'll check the remaining batteries for sabotage.

"You don't think you might have overdone it?" Glimmer asked, eyeing the damage the explosions had done.

"Concern for your enemies wellbeing is foolishness," Hordak said dismissively. "Perhaps, it is why your rebellion hasn't succeeded, yet."

"Hordak," Dora began, her tone reproving. She and Catra had been inseparable since the rescue, and she stood with one arm around her partner's waist. He raised his hand to forestall her.

"It is not our world or our fight. There are, no doubt, many things about the conflict here we do not understand. I apologize if I spoke out of turn." The rebels were taken by surprise, never having expected to hear those words from any version of Hordak.

"Winning the hearts and minds of the people can be more important than any single battle," Adora said. "That's something your counterpart does not understand, and never will. Its why we'll win eventually."

"I still have trouble accepting that," he allowed, "even after seeing evidence of it." He thought a moment. "I sought to bring order to Etheria, seeing only a world in chaos when I first arrived. I didn't understand how… sterile Horde Prime's order really was. In the end, the peace he sought to impose was the peace of the grave. I've since come to understand how remarkable, how wondrous, the chaos I disparaged can be."

"Happily," Dora offered, still showing no interest in stepping away from the magicat, "the Horde Prime here is different. The Horde is a bunch of vicious bullies and not much more, from what I've been told. The only way they seem to know how to do things is 'rule by fear,' and they don't seem to realize how that limits them. The rebels are fighting a war of attrition, mostly, and I think it's the right approach."

"Forcing the Horde to pour time, wealth, and materiel into the subjugation in hopes that Prime will deem Etheria to be 'too much trouble.'" Hordak nodded, looking thoughtful. "It would never have worked in our timeline, but here, it has potential."

"Ah," Glimmer spoke hesitantly, as she watched the interaction between Dora and Catra. "Speaking of things working…" She trailed off, clearly not sure how to ask any of the questions on her mind. Bow didn't comment, probably curious himself, but unwilling to ask. Adora looked slightly disapproving, and opened her mouth to speak to Glimmer, but didn't get the chance.

"Are you asking about the marriage or the baby?" Dora asked, before her counterpart could speak.

"Sorry, Sparkles, but I don't think we're the ones you should have THAT conversation with," Catra smirked.

Glimmer blushed furiously.

"I do not know your thoughts or customs on such matters," Hordak intervened, "but they are quite happy together, and I've been told that that is what matters."

"He's also seen first-hand proof of it," Dora said. "Though a lot of people question Entrapta's tastes." She realized what she had just said and gave Hordak a sheepish look. "Not that we're really in a position to cast stones."

Hordak looked somewhat sour at the comment, but chose to ignore the interjection. "As to the baby, I suspect Entrapta has been getting creative with Horde cloning technology." He paused to consider. "Or, there was magic involved."

"Oh," Catra purred, leaning into Dora's casual embrace, and nuzzling her neck, "there was definitely magic involved."

A dopey grin started to spread across Dora's face, then she turned nearly as red as Glimmer. "Catra!" she glared at her smirking partner, which only made the magicat laugh.

"We should be back to the portal, soon," Adora said, eager to change the subject.

"Good," Dora nodded. "Don't want to leave them holding the door for too long."

Adora looked from one member of the group to another, still feeling she should say something, but not sure what it should be. Giving it up as a bad idea, she focused on their destination and pointed.

"There it is." The pilot quickly brought the platform in for a landing, and the group hopped off.

"We got in and out with no problems," Adora said to the waiting magic users. She nodded to Catra. "I think some introductions are in order."

Catra was introduced to Raz and Castaspella. Raz greeted her warmly, and gave the group an update on the stability of the portal.

Catra stared at Raz, as the twigget spell caster finished her explanation. "Wait. This is madam Raz?"

"Sure am, dearie," Raz assured her. Looking curious, she asked, "Is the other me that different?"

"Not much different in appearance," Hordak offered when the magicat seemed at a loss for words. "However, you seem considerably more focused than she is." He waved a scanner in her direction, and then, glanced curiously at Dora. "I am also not seeing any of the telltale signs of temporal manipulation when I scan her."

"Temporal what!?" Raz stared, looking a bit alarmed.

"It's not really relevant, to you, so don't worry about it. Our Raz, well… I think she did something that cost her a lot, but it was what she had to do, to save Etheria, and that's what matters." Dora cut off the topic. "They've been a big help, you two," she said, addressing Hordak and Catra, "so maybe stop shocking them for fun?"

"Ok," Catra agreed easily. "I want to get home, anyway. No offense, but this place weirds me out." She thought a moment. "It was kind of fun, though. I think I scared the crap out of the local Horde bigwigs at least three times."

"I think I can sympathize at this point," Adora sighed.

"The portal is ready when you are," Castaspella hinted, seeing that her friends looked somewhat frazzled despite the mission having gone without a hitch.

"Thank you, all" Dora said as Hordak scanned the portal and examined his instruments, assuring himself of its stability. "I don't know what I'd have done without your help."

"Turned into a giant and knocked over the Fright Zone?" Bow offered, earning confused looks from Raz and Castaspella.

"Let's go, already," Catra said, rolling her eyes. The three visitors walked through the portal, which shut behind them, much to their relief.

"Well," Bow offered, when the portal was safely shut. "That was… something?"

"Yeah," Glimmer agreed. "It was. So, um, did we learn anything from this?"

"That we should all hope it never happens again?" Raz offered.

That was likely, Adora suspected, one of the few things that the rebels and the Horde could agree on.