A/N: Final Word Count: 9.6k Pre-A/N's. What's going on guys, Monokub here with another exciting chapter ^^! Believe it or not, i actually finished this around 10:40 last night, I kid you not. I could even prove it if I figured out how cameras worked with computers so i can show the date this was posted in my drafts XP Only reason i didn't post last night was because it was already late and chances are people would've missed it then, so hopefully an early posting will work just as well.

As many are aware, we are on our first chapter after reaching the 100th Chapter Milestone! Seriously, i think I should get some special banner or something for that on my fanfiction author page or something. Doesn't it seem like something that should give you a special reward like a stamp or something XP? Lol

However, what many may not be aware of is that to commemorate this wonderful event, petie doon posted a new surprise picture for me over on his instagram page. If you've seen his work before, you know who I'm mentioning, and you'll get a nice little cute kick out of the picture he made. And if you haven't seen his work, you are definitely missing out because the guy is a pro artist, and a dedicated fan to my series. I guarantee you'll love his work unless your colorblind (unless you don't mind seeing just black and white pictures in which case you'll enjoy the imagrey still XP Lol.

Well with that all said, on with the show!

...

...

...

"I don't believe it." Catra muttered as she continued to stare over the horizon. "It's really Mara's ship." Of the many places to find this thing, to think of all the ruins and plausible places she could expect any First Ones Tech to pop up, a giant-sized ship standing in the middle of the desert definitely wasn't one of them.

Then again, going to the Crimson Waste didn't seem as plausible, either.

To think that after all her adventures, all the things she had to do up to this point, that her adventures would lead her to the Crimson Waste of all places. The Valley of Death, the nightmare of Etheria, it was given many a horrifying name, and for good reason.

Out here, it was either kill or be killed, with everything trying to end the lives of the three heroes at every step. From giant three-headed snakes to dangerous fauna that could freeze a person instantly, there wasn't anything safe about this place. They needed to find a guide and fast if they were to ever have a chance to survive out here.

That's where Huntara came in.

The huntress was a strong and proud warrior who was more than eager to join the trio in their quest to find the message's origin, scouring the land while keeping the weary travelers safe. During the trip, Catra found herself becoming friendly with the strong warrior rather quickly, finding many similarities and walks of life with the woman who took strength and honor as seriously as breathing around here, and showed no signs of weakness whatsoever.

It remained that way until the very end of their journey when Huntara showed her true colors to the group. Having lead them into an ambush with the intention of robbing them, she offered Catra a place within the Crimson Waste's society, a place where the strong were respected, the very strength she saw within Catra herself. Naturally, the cat took this with some misgivings over what she did with her friends, and soon joined the duo as Huntara knocked her into the hole she threw the others in. She even went the extra mile by clipping away Catra's claws so she couldn't escape on her own.

If it wasn't for Glimmer's teleportation powers, there would be no telling what state they would've been in today. All that mattered was getting their equipment back, and getting back at Huntara for betraying them in the first place. Out of all the ways it could've been done, Catra knew that the best and most fitting method was playing Huntara's own game against her.

By challenging her to a one-on-one fight to prove to everyone who was the strongest of the Waste.

After a long and brutal fight, one where each of the girls relied upon their quick wits, fists, and underhanded tactics, the fight finally came to an end with the victory going to She-Ra. All it took was getting close enough to the girl to call upon She-Ra's powers, and Huntara went down without much of a struggle.

Actually, less than that even. She was willing to offer her life as she admitted defeat, claiming that Catra had every reason to since her friends wouldn't be let go and the fight never truly ended until one of them were six feet under. It was here that Catra learned of her origin, discovering throughout the intense brawl for herself that Huntara was a Horde defector, like her, who fled the Horde after witnessing the dire and terrible deeds the Horde was forced to commit on a daily basis. She truly lead Catra's walk of life with a guilt-ridden past and a history of suffering in her own way, and for the first time, Catra could relate.

It was thanks to that detail, the fact that they were so alike, that Catra managed to convince her to join her and the Rebellion, to make up for their past mistakes and to keep everyone else they care about safe. After a brief scuffle with her goons to release her friends, the huntress proudly announced her desire to join them, and together, took her to the real center of the Crimson Waste, and brought before them a sight that was just as marvelous as it was unsettling.

Out in the horizon, standing as tall as a mountain, stood a lone ship in the middle of the Crimson Waste. It blacked out the sun from the side, it was as tall as the spires around here. It had a presence about it that screamed First Ones to them, as well as being intimidating in its own right.

Here, Catra knew that all her questions would be answered, or at least most of them. They needed to discover more about Mara, about the portals, about She-Ra. And if she had anything to tell her, anything that could assist Catra in completing her bond with the sacred sword, allowing her to unlock the sword's true potential, then it would've been worth all this chaos.

"How do you know it's Mara's ship?" Glimmer asked as Catra continued to stare, the wind howling a little as it blew past everyone.

"Light Hope showed me an image of the ship crashing. Right before the stars disappeared." Catra replied before shrugging. "Besides, giant warship in the middle of nowhere, bigger than anything else than the Horde is capable of, who else could it belong to?"

"Well I don't know who this Mara is, but that's definitely the ship that says your name on it." Huntara stated as she walked to Catra's side, staring at the towering figure.

"Wait, my name's on that thing?" Catra nearly flinched at the detail. She wondered if she could actually keep the ship once this was all over?

"Not Catra." She clarified. "It says She-Ra." Without wasting anymore of their precious time, the hunter lead the way, a somewhat concerned Catra following behind her followed by Glimmer.

"This is incredible." Bow's mind was still reeling from all they were seeing, rubbing the side of his head as he paced a little back and forth. "A First Ones ship? This thing used to travel through space!" The archer felt overwhelmed with excitement as he squeed.

Imagine it, just for a moment! A ship. A real live spaceship. A ship designed to travel through space! They were looking at one of the greatest technological marvels that the history of Etheria has ever revealed to them! There was no telling what sort of wondrous things this vehicle could house! It could have artifacts from other planets, other civilizations, or have a history of the very origins of Etheria itself.

He almost gasped at the thought as he continued thinking of the possibilities. What if, with whatever miracle was required from them, some stroke of luck hit them, and it was still functional?! They could travel through the galaxy, see different worlds, maybe multiple universes! The possibilities were endless! And it was sitting right in front of them for all to bare witness!

Eyes widening with suspense, the archer let out another gasp as he stared at the machine. "Think of all the wonderful things it contains!"

...

"... Or maybe it could be empty." He solemnly said. "That works too."

For such a technological marvel, it didn't leave much imagination upon first glance. All around them there was nothing but rust, dirty metal, wires sticking out of the walls and ground. It looked so bad that he had to question how it was even functional to begin with. Actually, he wondered if this thing ever left the planet, it looked so bad.

Catra approached the rusted metal as she felt along the walls and the plates of the great ship's exterior. "This... this can't be the right place." She tried listening closely, picking up some sort of scent that wasn't the dead and decaying desert around her, and she found nothing. "Where's Mara's message? How is the signal coming from here?"

"Has this ship always been here?" Glimmer asked Huntara as Catra continued to explore.

"The Crimson Waste got hit with the mother of all dust storms." Huntara replied. "And when it cleared, this was unearthed." The two watched the archer as he examined one of the many blank walls of the ship.

"And then people stole everything they could pry up and take." He added, realizing the nature of the ship's current state.

"Look, if they didn't want things stolen, they should've bolted everything down." Huntara shrugged back a little defensively. "Besides, no one comes here anymore."

"Eh heh. Because there's nothing left to steal?" Glimmer chuckled nervously.

"Well, that. And it's haunted.

"She-Raaaa... Etheriaaaa... Goooone..." Everyone jumped at the sound of the hollowed wails and the ghostly cries emanating from the ship. The presence of the ghostly voice was enough to send shivers down several of their spines, Bow going as far as to hide behind Huntara, as Catra remained at the head of the group.

"Where's it coming from?" She asked looking in all directions. The voice had a low echo to it, sounding as if it came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It could've been from any part of the ship. For all she knew, it might've even come from outside somewhere. That's when she noticed something else was missing. "Where's the door?" She asked looking back to the huntress. "You can't expect me to believe a ship this huge doesn't have a single entrance for such a small room."

The magicat felt her hands around the walls a bit more, drawing in closer to the group as she stared at the ceiling. "Is the ship upside down or something? Pinky, any chance you could teleport us inside?"

"Inside where?" She questioned. "Catra, without knowing what's inside, I could teleport us into the middle of a wall or through a bunch of wires. It'd be too dangerous."

"Well that's gotta be some way to get in-" Catra slowly came to a pause as she examined the floor. Backing away from the group who turned their attention at this, the magicat thought of something that might've been the key to their entrance. "Hang on." She instructed as she pulled out her sword, transforming it into a shield.

With a bit of concentration, closing her eyes, she began to gather a small pool of illuminescent magic that began to radiate from the shield's runestone, lighting the area a little. At the ground in front of her, the friends and allies watched as the outlined image below them slowly came to life, brightening with a grand white light until every crevice along the circular pattern was illuminated.

They watched with shock as the magic began to hum at the floor beneath their feet, watching in wonder as Catra continued to channel the magic as best she could. All around them the image within the large display grew with a light violet light, magic pouring in and out of the ship as their surroundings started to burst with the same type of life-giving magic that was activating the floor.

All around them, there was nothing but life. The walls became enchanted with a violet glow of energy running through their veins. Symbols, runes, even basic cracks in the walls began to glow with the endless and beautiful light. It was beautiful and mystifying to witness, and they were the lucky few proud enough to see it within their lifetime.

At long last, the final wall behind them came to life as the image of She-Ra herself, the outline at least, started to shimmer with life. With the energies spiraling and coming to life, the mechanism holding the door, the technology that combined magic and science, finally activated, and opened before the travelers on their great journey, opening before them into a hallway of darkness.

And into a swarm of ferocious bats with glowing red eyes.

"Skreeeek! Skreeek!"

"Ahhh!" The three behind the current She-Ra covered their heads in fear as they protected themselves, Catra doing nothing more than keeping her stern gaze on the approaching animals who were smart enough to fear and avoid her. To her, they were nothing more than pests that were getting in her way, and they were right to fear her if they didn't want to tangle with a She-Ra.

With the last of the bats disappearing behind them, the group turned their attention to the pitch-black hallways, being greeted by a familiar ghostly wail that greeted them the first time.

"She-Raaaa... Etheriaaaa... Goooone..." It repeated, louder and more clear with the doorway open. Whatever loomed inside, Catra was ready for. She came so close to discovering the secrets of this strange portal Bow's message displayed, the mysteries behind Adora and her origin as a First One, and, if she was lucky, discover the final piece she was missing that would finish her bond with the sword.

She just hoped it wasn't too late.

...

...

"Hahahaha! You really had them going!" Scorpia continued to laugh as the four continued to walk throughout the wasteland. The satyr and lizard were doing their best to ignore the two friends behind them as they were forced to lead the way. Surprisingly, it wasn't by the big tough and buffed up scorpion girl that forced the two to lead them through the wasteland. Instead, it was the the younger girl by the name of Adora, who continued to give a small smile to Scorpia's rattling.

To be fair, if anyone from the Horde saw the way Adora stood up for herself for the first time to a completely new crowd of people, they would've had the same reaction.

Normally, Adora would've tried to talk things out peacefully, to prefer using violence and mayhem as a last resort, and wouldn't have resorted to using her fists, or her magic for that matter, unless it was absolutely necessary. And considering they still had who knew how far to go within the Crimson Waste, seeing how she only had three or so hours worth of magic before she made herself sick, she was very reluctant to use it in front of a crowd like that.

So why did she do it? To intimidate them, of course.

Within the Crimson Waste where might actually equaled right, and the strong were the ones who called the shots, she couldn't afford to be the soft girl she was anymore here, much less anywhere else if she wanted to gain something close to decency and respect from the Horde. All this time she tried using peaceful methods to sort out her problems, and what did that give her?

Nothing but disgust by Lord Hordak, the very leader who sent her out on this mission to find First Ones Tech in this deadly wasteland, people betraying her wherever she went, and a whole lot of trouble that wouldn't have picked up if she just pushed back a little harder against those who pushed first.

For a change of pace, she did just that. She did push back. She pushed back against the thugs and the outlaws who threatened her and Scorpia when she was trying to discover Catra's location, knowing it would lead them to the tech they were looking for. She pushed back against the people who thought of them lightly, as outsiders that had no place within their Waste. And she pushed back when a third of the tavern tried to attack her in retaliation. And what happened then?

Nothing. And everything. All at once. Everyone left her alone, whether they were intimidated, injured, or in some cases, both. She gained some of their respect as well as their fear of her as they decided to let her come and go as she so pleased. She even got a free refreshing drink of water with Scorpia after being out in the blazing sun for the last five hours.

The only casualty this did result in was the loss of her beloved red jacket, one that was too torn up, beyond repair, beyond salvaging, and was discarded and left behind. There was no way to fix the damages done to it, and in her current predicament, there wasn't enough time. All she could do was accept the loss of her coat, and be on her way.

At least someone was kind enough to lend her their black jacket before running away in fear. It was a cosy black leather jacket that was simple in design and just perfect for her size. On top of that, it had a unique image of a snake eating its own tail on the back. For some reason, it just felt right to her, like it was a part of her now.

She hated to admit it, but Aroda was starting to prove herself right throughout all of this. Her peaceful and sincere methods were getting her nowhere when speaking her mind didn't just work, it relaxed her. It felt decent to get all her harbored troubles out of her mind, it felt nice to be able to tell everyone how she felt for a change. Without holding anything in, she felt a bit more freer this way. While she wasn't used to this whole aggressive side of things, she did have to admit.

She felt a little more relaxed than she had in months.

"I mean it, I've never seen a room full of murderous toughs look so freaked out before." Scorpia continued. The best friend didn't have any complaints to make about the scene Adora gave her and the rest of the cantina, jotting it all down to her putting on a display like she said she was going to. It was definitely a change of pace for the old Adora, and it was nice to see a smile on her face after all these troubles she's been going through. "It was truly an honor to witness."

"I'm just glad I got my point across to the rest of them." Adora replied, briefly looking to her friend before staring back at the two leading figures. "Don't give me any problems, and I won't give any trouble in return."

"Well they won't be bothering us anymore, that's for sure! Hahaha!" The large friend laughed, taking in the memories of these events with a hearty chuckle. All throughout this the satyr and the lizardman leading the two were forced to suffer as they had to listen to this banter back and forth. It was so boring, so pointless. They wanted nothing more than to be put out of their misery between these two morons.

Then again, if they did that, Adora would be the ones who make their wish come true.

*Whack!*

"Agghhhh!" The lizardman squealed as Scorpia accidentally struck him across the back, laughing too much with her eyes closed to be aware of her surroundings.

The three watched as the large lizard man was thrown through the air into a bundle of the strange cacti-like fauna around the desert, ones with thorns and vines as far as the eye could see. Seeing where he was for himself, the lizardman panicked, flailing and twisting as he pulled himself out of the plants and trying to undo the painful snares of the vines wrapped around his limbs.

All he could do was scream and panic as an entire coating of clear ice encased his entire body from head to toe, the lizardman completely immobilized within seconds of being smacked in. The only indication they had to prove that he was still alive was the way his eyes continued to dart back and forth as his jaw stood open, gurgling to the rest of them as a desperate plea for help to get out of this mess.

"Oh, oops, sorry." Scorpia apologized. "Can you carry her again?"

"Ugh..." The pink satyr groaned, rolling her eyes as she stood there.

"Hang on, Scorpia. Let me try." Adora said calmly to her friend. All that calmness and decency quickly vanished from her expression as she shot a tendril from her left hand, growing a small amount of shadowy spikes around her left arm as a sign of intimidation. "Either do as my friend says, or you're going in there next! BEAT IT!" With a panicked cry, the satyr hastily ran over to her blue friend, trying to untangle and pry her blue friend before she angered the terrifying shadow girl more.

With the two currently preoccupied in their standings, Adora returned the shadows as she and Scorpia shared a questionable look.

"... Pffft ahahaahaha!" One that was followed up by a burst of laughter between the two of them. For Adora, it was the priceless looks on their face as she threatened them and how quickly they responded. For Scorpia, it was knowing she didn't mean a word of it, and it was still hilarious to think that the other two were intimidated by her.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Adora chuckled, holding her right arm over her side as she bellowed.

"She was all like "Eeeek!" or something. Hahaha!" The scorpion girl wiped a tear from her eye as the two traveled on ahead.

"You know, all things considered, this place isn't really all that bad." Adora commented, finding it humorous how one of the most dangerous places she's been to so far was actually becoming enjoyable.

"Oh, I'm with you." Scorpia nodded as she followed behind her. The two were completely ignoring the satyr who struggled to save her frozen friend.

"Er, a little help?" The satyr called out. As Scorpia returned her look with something resembling curiosity, Adora's expression was more towards spiteful as she looked at the pink woman. The satyr gulped nervously as the terrifying blond approached her, keeping her eyes on her the entire time. "P-Please?" She meeped as Adora crossed her arms.

She had no idea what this girl was like, and what she did come to know about the girl was terrifying! She had magic over shadows that could materialize into whatever convenience she needed. She could take down an entire gang of Huntara's allies within the Crimson Wast without breaking a sweat. She actually made Huntara seem approachable by comparison! What was she going to do to her for asking a simple request for help?!

Adora was going to show her.

What at first became instant panic and fear as she saw the soldier forming shadows along her arm ended up being relief at what she did next. Keeping it long and firm to avoid the direct touch of the thorny plants, the soldier swiftly sliced at the vines of the mysterious freezing plants, cutting the friend free and the satyr to fall back from the swiftness of it. She looked over her friend to make sure she didn't end up slicing her by mistake, or intentionally, before sighing.

"T-Thanks..." She mumbled, seeing the blond already leaving her again before she got a chance.

"Anyway, where were we?" Adora asked as she returned to the conversation moving along.

"Talking about how nice the place is?" Scorpia quickly reminded with claws at her hip. "It's nice and toasty. If you look for the ground ripples you can avoid the quicksand. And my exoskeleton is loving this dry climate." She gave a curious smile as she tapped her chin to Adora. "Are you sure you're not hot right now? Especially with that jacket?"

"Honestly?" Adora smiled looking down at her new black jacket. It clashed beautifully with its black coloring and her white long-sleeved undershirt. "It feels refreshing. I think I feel something close to a breeze with this thing on." She had to admit it was a little strange to her.

With all that she was wearing, with an undershirt and a jacket on top of it, not to mention her long pants, she would've thought it'd be a lot hotter around here, at least to the point where she was sweating constantly. But as it was, the only times she began to sweat a little around here was when she was walking for a long period of time. While it was a refreshing detail to keep her cool, it was also a little strange.

"You sure that guy you took it from won't need it?"

"Eh, I'm sure he'll be doing a lot less mugging around here without it for awhile. Which reminds me." Growing another small glare, seeing the satyr staring at the ground carrying her friend while she walked behind them, Adora gave her a small growl as she stopped her in her tracks. "You. Dart gun. Hand it over." She ordered.

"Oh, uh, r-right." The satyr instantly answered her request, handing over the dart gun without further question.

"Thanks." Adora grinned back, tossing the dart gun in her hand a bit to get a feel for it. "You got a name?"

"Huh? W-What?" The satyr stuttered to ask, wondering if it was a trick question or something.

"Your name." She groaned a little. "Do you have one or not?"

"O-Oh!" She really didn't expect such a general question from a figure like her. "M-My name is Tarruk, the merciless! I'm one of Huntara's personal allies, er, well was is more like it right now, but..." She glanced over to the Horde soldier who was looking at her with casual disbelief, like she knew that the girl was ying to her.

"Huh, funny. Now how about your real name, now?" Adora suggested, crossing her arms a little with a raised brow. As she tapped against her own arm impatiently, the satyr became a little anxious as she saw a small shadow rising at the tip of Adora's finger, as if hinting about the limits of her patience.

With a nervous gulp, and a small blush making her pink skin pinker around her cheeks, the satyr finally replied. "D... Daisy..." She revealed. Knowing her friend was still conscious despite her frozen state, she could already tell the lizard was going to give her such a tease after this. Even Scorpia was giving her a small chuckle at the mention, seeing Adora grow a smirk over her face at the reveal.

"Daisy, huh? Somehow it doesn't have as good a ring when you add "the merciless" to it, does it?" She commented.

"N... No..." She muttered, wondering if the question was actually rhetorical or not. She wasn't brave enough to ask. "Huntara gave the name to me after I helped her fend off a bandit raid on the tavern with her."

"Who's this Huntara person you guys keep mentioning? For someone who sounds important, I haven't really seen much of them."

"She's pretty much the one who leads us, alright? She makes the rules, we follow them. That's just how it works out here. The strongest makes the rules, no questions asked." The satyr frowned a little as she turned her head away. "Things were going fine, honestly, until that cat girl showed up." Adora scoffed a little at the mention of it, knowing exactly who she was referring to. Anyone who had a run-in with Catra like that had her sympathies when it left them in a state of despair.

"Trust me, Catra has that effect on people." Adora commented, giving her a small pat on the shoulder. "She shows up, she ruins things, then acts like they never happened."

"Tell me about it." Daisy mumbled, rolling her eyes a little. "Huntara been completely different since she showed up."

"Then help me find out where Catra is, and I promise I'll put a stop to her." Adora assured. Daisy had no idea on what to say about this girl.

She was intimidating, but had a gentle side to her. Rough, yet kind. She didn't just stand around and make others do the work for themselves, she actually gave out a helping hand on the occasion, even offering to give help to people when it was none of their business. She couldn't tell if she should still be just as terrified by this girl or a little more at ease.

All she knew was that she was willing to help, and if she had some way of getting Huntara back to normal to her old self, then she would be a fool not to take it. Actually, she'd be even more foolish if she turned down the person that could possibly break her in half with her magic.

"I... I'll do what I can to help you find her." Daisy replied, still unsure of how to feel about all of this. Adora gave her a simple smile as she nodded, walking back to Scorpia who was waiting patiently with an eager smile as the trip continued.

"Aww, look at you still helping people." Scorpia awed, proud that her friend hadn't changed entirely.

"Scorpia, I'm not changing that much." Adora replied, lowering her gaze a little ahead. "I'm still gonna lend a hand to people who need it, I'm just not going to let people push me around like they used to." Scorpia watched as something grew over Adora's face, something she hadn't seen with genuity in a long time. "And to be honest, it... It feels good, to be out in the field again, where I belong. You know what I mean, Scorpia?" Adora waited for any form of response before looking back, being startled and slightly disturbed by a wide-eyed Scorpia staring at her. "Scorpia?"

"Mmmhhhmm!" The red friend couldn't resist herself as she stared at her yellow-headed friend, holding in the biggest squeal of her life. "Oooooh, Adoraaaaaa~"

"Are... you okay?" Adora asked, wondering if she got bit or stung by something she wasn't aware of. As if to answer her question, the scorpion girl pulled her friend in roughly as she gave her the biggest squeeze of her life, blowing the air out of her friend in the process.

*crunch*

"Agh-!" Adora yelped, losing the precious air in her lungs for the second day in a row. "S-Scorpia, do I need to start limiting the number of h-hugs you're allowed to give me again? Because you're breaking my back..."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Her friend continued to swoon a little, shaking back and forth as she rubbed her own cheek, and inadvertently dropping Adora in the process. "It's just that, heh... You're smiling!"

Adora blinked to the huggable friend in a bit of confusion at this. "Um, Scorpia? I've been smiling in case you haven't noticed?"

"Yeah, but I mean like a real smile!" She emphasized, helping Adora up again. "Whenever we've been on missions lately, you always have this glum look in your eye like you're not really enjoying yourself or anything, you're just putting on an act."

"I have?"

"Yes. And this is the first true smile I've seen in over a month!" She continued. Adora looked down to her gloved hand for a bit as she flexed her fingertips.

Have I forgotten how to smile? She asked herself.

She didn't even realize that she wasn't smiling without a purpose around here lately, nor could she recall the last time she had a legitimate smile on her face for herself. All throughout the last several months, most of her smiles and grins were in part of the mission, through her diplomacies with neighboring villages of outposts or whenever she was talking to someone. Sometimes she thought she was smiling to herself, and maybe she was.

But what did she mean by really smiling? Was she actually unaware of herself when she was actually smiling or not? Did she forget how to be happy for a change when she was on a mission? That couldn't be the case, right. After all, she could recall the time when she... she... Um... Okay, but she remembered how happy she was when... when the... her...

Hmm. Looking back on it now, she wonders when the last time she truly smiled was? When was the last time she actually felt as happy as she did now? It wasn't a happiness from a spur of the moment for once, and that's what made all the difference to her. Back then, within the last few weeks to months, her happiness came from a simple moment in her daily job, when she was informed about good tidings and news from the frontlines.

But she couldn't recall much outside of that. When was the lat time she just smiled for herself for a change? When was the last time she just felt generally happy instead of happy for the moment?

Whenever it was, Adora shook her head at. She was just glad for the time being that things appeared to be going as well as they did. She was even more glad at the fact this was all thanks to the Crimson Waste of all places, a place where a mission that should've been at her worse was turning into one of her best times yet.

"Are you sure you aren't seeing things?" Adora smirked, raising a playful brow to her best friend.

"Of course not. I mean, there was that one time I thought I saw a ghost and after I tackled it it turned out to be Kyle, but other than that I'm sure of what I'm seeing." She gave a sweet smile as she poked Adora on the chest. "You're happy for once, and I'm happy for you."

"Heh heh, thanks." Adora really didn't know what to say, feeling a bit of embarrassment and surprise at the statement as she continued on ahead, keeping her gaze lowered again as she continued to give a small smile. "I guess I've just been stuck thinking about work all the time, you know? With all that's happened between the Horde, Frosta, the princesses, and... Catra... I haven't really been-"

*thump*

Adora was cut off and pulled aside as Scorpia stopped her in her tracks, the taller friend keeping a strict gaze over the path ahead of her. Looking back at it herself, she became a little suspicious of the strange mound of sand that stretched before her, wondering the same thing that Scorpia might've guessed for herself already.

Taking a nearby rock at her foot, the soldier casually tossed it a good twenty feet away, watching as the rock sunk into the sand like water, practically splashing as a result. Scorpia had just saved her from taking a dip into a sandy pool, and in general again.

She gave a cheerful smile at her saving ability as Adora looked off to the side, blushing a little at the timing of he event. "... paying attention to what's going on around me."

"Hehe!" Scorpia gave her a small chuckle, one that was joined in on a little by Adora at the irony.

"You sure they came through here?" Adora asked, looking at the quicksand and wondering if the land took care of her troubles for her.

"Positive. We followed them ourselves last night." Daisy replied, gesturing her head up the cliffside's path. "It's over along this way."

"Then let's hurry. I wanna catch up to them before they can get the First Ones Tech before we do." Nodding to the informative blond, she and Scorpia hustled a little up the pathway, leaving behind a sighing Daisy who lowered her friend from her shoulders.

In the long run, she should've asked Adora to help her now instead of earlier, because now she was going to be the one stuck dragging her friend up this long cliffside.

For the next hour...

...

The four continued on their way as they came to a small clearing within the gorge. Much like everywhere else, there was nothing except for the sight of death everywhere, and in this case, it was directly above them.

Surrounding them at the top were the largest bones of any animal any of them had seen, with rips large enough to practically scale the entire gorge itself from each side, and one of the largest animal heads, skeleton-wise at least, they had ever seen. Within the corner of this mighty clearing, they saw another large skull, one that took the shape of a large lizard's head that still had its mouth open, as if ready to devour the next living thing to enter its massive jaws.

And Daisy was STILL dragging around her friend without any sense of help.

"This is just crazy." Scorpia chuckled as she stared at the bones. "Are there really any animals this big? Come on."

"If there were, I'd doubt they're still around." Adora commented, knowing whatever was strong enough to take this large skeleton down definitely did the same to the rest.

*clak*

"Huh?" Adora flinched as a small rock dropped right in front of her, a small bit of rubble from the air. Taking a quick look above her, she saw the silhouette of a shadow standing above her on the large rib above them, one that quickly hid behind it again as soon as it was spotted.

"What was-"

"Ghhhhhhh!" Adora's grumble was enough to silence Scorpia's sudden question as the girl glared back to the satyr. Without giving her a chance to vouch for herself, she grabbed the girl by the throat with a tendril, dragging her over to her as she glared angrily into her eyes. "What are you planning around here? Answer me before I get mad!" Adora yelled angrily, tightening her grip a little with the tendril.

"N-Nothing." She shrieked, terrified at the prospect of seeing this girl's angry side if this was her good side. "What are you talking about?"

"Adora?" Scorpia spoke up, approaching the girl. "What's going on?"

"What do you think, Scorpia?" Her shadowy friend asked, tightening the grip further as the satyr tried to pry the suffocating limb from her throat. "Little miss Daisy over here lead us straight into an ambush! She betrayed us! She planned to betray us from the very beginning, didn't you!?" Of the many things Adora had little tolerance for, Catra and betrayal were the two things she had ZERO tolerance for around here.

She wasn't buying into it. She wasn't buying the innocent act the satyr was giving her as she pleaded for her to let go. Adora knew it, she just knew it. The minute she let her go, she was going to run to her buddies who were lying in wait behind cover, shouting at them to take whatever shot they had at the two Horde soldiers.

And why wouldn't she? After all, it wasn't like Adora actually knew this person, this frightened goat, this traitor. She was just some person she happened to meet a short while ago, like most of the people she let get close to her in some way. And how did it always go in the end? With them betraying her, leaving Adora to clean up the mess and suffer the consequences, an with them going about the rest of their lives with stupid smiles over their faces! There wasn't any alternatives! It was always like this!

And Adora was getting sick and tired of it. She was getting so annoyed with all the work she's done getting flushed down the drain every time because someone felt like they needed to stab her in the back at the last minute!

All this time, she was unaware of the satyr's state as she continued to grovel and plead for the ex-Force Captain to let her go, pleading for her very life. Looking between the two herself, a twinge of worry overcame Scorpia's look as she approached her angered friend.

"Adora, I don't think she's behind this." She told her, growing a little concerned over the scene.

"Of course it's her! Who else could it be? Her stupid lizard friend?" Adora yelled, not paying any attention as the frozen lizard shifted her eyes to her. "They're here to betray, I just know it!"

"But, Adora, just look at her!" Scorpia pleaded, trying to get her friend to really look at her. Her worry continued to rise as Adora continued to suffocate the girl, intentionally or otherwise. "Adora!" Scorpia repeated, raising her voice. Giving her a small look, Adora looked deeply into Daisy's eyes to see it for herself.

And, as she feared a little, to see herself in the reflection of her pupils. She didn't see anyone like a traitor in Daisy's eyes, she didn't even see an enemy. She saw someone who reminded her of how she was a few days ago, when she was the one suffocating and pleading at Hordak's feet, wishing for another chance. The only difference here was which end she was on this time.

With a growing concern in her own expression, gritting her teeth, the girl eventually released her grip on Daisy's throat, the satyr coughing and wheezing for dear life as the air returned to her.

Once again, the pink girl knew it was wiser to fear this girl than not.

"Whooohoohooo!" Adora shot her glare to the sky above her as everyone turned their attention to the people looking down upon them.

Everywhere she looked, along every ribcage, there were lizardmen, reptilian people of all shapes colors and sizes, cheering down at them as the action already appeared to be starting by the small show Adora just gave them. They sounded like heckling hyenas to the girl as their laughter and cheer filled the small opening of the gorge, all praising for the fun they were witnessing and the fun they had yet to have.

They didn't have to wait long to see what sort of fun they were waiting for either.

All of them were drawn to the large opened head again within the corner of this place as a large figure made its presence known. There, Adora saw what she could only assume to be the leader of these outlaws, standing with a presence that demanded to be known as superior upon first glance.

It was a large reddish lizardman, one that stood tall and proud with the slowly setting sun appearing behind him in the evening sky. He had bandages wrapped around his wrists, a clear indication of how often he used his fists, sporting his own black leather jacket with the sleeves torn off. His muscles were just as imposing as his figure as he stood there, wearing a tight leather belt with a gold plating in the section, along with a golden color stretched along the left side of his blue jeans.

Whoever the figure was, it was clear what his purpose was as he gnarled his teeth to the group, almost as if he was grinning to them with excitement. He wasn't going to let any of them leave without a little fun first. He wasn't going to let any of them leave without handing over any and all possible valuables they had on hand. And he wasn't going to let them leave, period. They entered histerritory, after all.

And they weren't going to leave it anytime soon.

...

...

"We do this on three. All right?" Glimmer said from behind the door. "One... two..."

"Wait!" Bow shouted, wishing to know a vital piece of information! "...On three or after three?" Catra and Huntara groaned at this in unison.

"On three!" Glimmer stated. "Now. One... two... three!" With the command, the door opened before the four heroes as Catra approached the door, shield still in hand as Glimmer and Bow walked carefully behind her.

There was no way to tell what could be popping out at them behind every metallic door, one that couldn't open unless Catra approached them with her shield. The fact that Catra was the only one who could open the doors alone already left them terrified, worried if they ever got separated or disappeared suddenly throughout the haunted ship.

What's worse was the unsettling voice that continued to repeat itself all throughout the ship as they explored it.

With every room they came upon, they were greeted with walls that lit up, sparkling textures and colors to the designs, patterns that mimicked entire solar systems in nature, and technology that was centuries ahead of its time. Every room they came upon refused to light up until Catra entered them herself, and every room she left closed behind her immediately. They couldn't explore anything without the magicat, and Catra refused to let any stone unturned in this place until she was ready to move on.

That's when the group came upon what might have been the final room of their journey, if not the most important one.

"Whoa..." Catra mumbled as she lowered her shield.

The room was simple in nature yet grand in design. Within the very center of the room they explored stood what appeared to be a grand throne, a single chair that stood in front of magnificent consoles along the edges of the room. Huntara inspected the floor next to it as she examined one of the damaged cables, all while the rest of the friends examined the room in every detail.

The longer the day had progressed, the closer Catra felt that they were coming to the very end. She knew somehow that the answers were within arms reach, getting closer and closer with every room they passed. Her heart raced faster and faster as she felt herself getting close to the truth behind everything, the truth about Adora, Mara, and She-Ra.

A truth that could finally complete her bond.

Examining the strange throne for himself, Bow felt along the chair's arms as he noticed a strange control-like device attached to it. Brushing his fingers over it, the archer jumped a little as a holographic screen flashed in front of the chair, falling back into the throne as a projection appeared before him. It took the bowman a few seconds of staring before he understood it.

"This is it." He announced, smiling as he leaned closer to hovering screen. Everyone approached him one by one as Glimmer directed Catra to the screen. "This is the same message from my tracker pad." Just as quickly as it appeared did the hologram disappear, the lights of the room turning on around them as a new mysterious thing appear over near the console of the machine. "Eghhh!" Bow yelped a bit, backing up further into his throne a little frightened.

Seeing the mysterious thing ascending through the air ahead of her, Catra drew in a little closer. It looked familiar in substance as it slowly materialized, like the holographic projections that they had seen before. Slowly, surely, her eyes widened a bit in shock as the projection began to take shape, forming into an appearance known to her yet alien in nature, all at the same time.

In a purple color, the form became whole as the figure known as She-Ra.

"I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone." The hologram stated as it turned to face them.

"Mara, finally!" Catra exclaimed, approaching the figure with excitement. "I've been looking all over for you. I need your help, we all do-!"

*BZZZZZZZZZZT*

Catra stopped as she stared at the hologram glitching out on her, turning back into the small wave it appeared to be in before materializing anew.

"I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone." It said, repeating the exact same movements and words as it did five seconds ago.

"Umm... hello? I'm Catra, the current She-Ra?" Catra tried to greet, wondering if there was a response system to it or something.

Approaching her from behind, Huntara waved the tip of her spear a little bit through the holographic projection, watching as it distorted at the slightest touch. "Well that's a little unsettling." She commented.

"This... This can't be happening." Catra couldn't believe it, she refused to. Waving a hand in front of the hologram and through it, she began to tremble a little as emotions began to swarm her mind. "You can't be serious, this can't be real!" She growled, taking several more swipes at the image hoping for some miracle to fix all this.

"Catra?" Glimmer spoke up as her friends approached her from behind.

"This isn't right. T-Th-There's usually a password or something, or maybe there's a switch." Her friends looked boldly into her eyes, seeing a sense of fear overshadowing the anger in her eyes. She turned around again nervously as she tried everything. "Eternia! She-Ra! I have the sword, look! Look at it!" Catra ordered it, holding the sword in front of the hologram. "Honor of Grayskull! Light Hope! Give me something!" She waited for an answer, a response, something different than what it was giving her.

It gave her nothing. Nothing new, nothing informative, nothing.

Against her will, Catra came to understand the reality of the situation, backing away from the hologram in a fear-filled anger. "It's... it's on a loop." She revealed. "Of course the stupid thing is on a loop!" She growled, swiping at the hologram again. When nothing new came about it, looking at her sword in dismay, the three watched as Catra approached the door again.

"Catra? Where are you going?" Glimmer asked, concerned.

"W-We have to go back!" Catra told them, never losing that sense of panic in her eyes. "We have to check the other rooms!"

"There aren't any other rooms," Bow replied, "we've checked them all."

"T-Then there's got to be something we missed. Something we overlooked." Getting down to the point, the magicat was already feeling along the walls of the current room, knowing it was all they had left. "This... T-This seriously can't be happening!" Biting down on her own teeth as she stopped, the catgirl slammed her fist into the wall of metal in front of her, looking down at the floor. "I did everything they asked..."

In a rage, the current She-Ra stomped over to the hologram as she shouted. "We came so close. I've done all the training I can afford to, I've changed so much about myself since I found the stupid sword. Why can't they just help me out this one time?" She glared angrily into the hologram's face, a small pocket of tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Haven't I done enough for you!?"

"Catra- Hngh!" Whatever Glimmer had to say was instantly shot down at the raging glare Catra shot at her, one that almost terrified her before she looked back.

"I'm trying to become She-Ra here, I'm trying to make up for my mistakes, I'm trying to become better, but I can't go any farther with myself!" The cat yelled on as a single tear rolled down her left cheek. It was happening, no matter how much of it she wanted otherwise.

It didn't provide her with anything. No new information, no useful tips or idea on how to become a better She-Ra. There wasn't any guideline or rule she needed to follow, no experience that she could learn for herself, there wasn't anything. There was nothing but a useless hologram repeating the exact same words to her, as if taunting her, at her very problem.

With another growl, Catra walked straight through the hologram, planting her fingertips and hands firmly in the console ahead of her as her ears lowered.

"If I can't figure out how to become She-Ra soon, I'll lose it forever. I just know it." She was scared, terrified.

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day, it was going to happen. Some day, she was going to lose control of herself, lose control of her powers, and break the connection with the sword, if not the sword itself. Once that happened, she was useless, weak, in capable of stopping the full might of the Horde.

She wouldn't be able to keep her friends safe from the friends of old, she wouldn't be able to protect anyone with her average strength, average intelligence, average skill in combat. They were going to need her to save them some day, need her to save them the most when it truly mattered.

And she wouldn't have the power left to keep them alive.

All she wanted was a clue, a sign, something. Something that could help her continue on her path of becoming She-Ra, a true She-Ra, that could save them all.

*bzzzt*

As if answering her prayers, Catra stared at the console. In front of her she saw it, a glowing pinkish hologram of her sword materializing, fitting into a slot perfectly like a keyhole.

A key that came in the form of her sword.

"Catra, I'm sorry." Glimmer apologized to her friend, knowing the state she must be in. "Maybe we could find-" Catra cut her off as she held up a hand. silencing the girl as she pulled out her sword. She didn't know what it meant, she didn't know what it could do, and she didn't care. She would become She-Ra at any cost.

Nothing would stand in her way.

With a deep breath, knowing the last of her hope rode on it, the magicat gently shoved the blade into the console's open port, watching it sink in until it matched the exact position as the hologram. And with this, a miracle came to life.

The very rune stone encrusted in the middle of the gem flashed with a brilliant white light as the room came to life, just like the entrance upon discovering this place. All around them, the white light spread like veins as the machines and the room came to life one by one. It hummed as if it was a living breathing machine, one that just needed the right flow of oxygen to get this place up and running again.

Or in this case, Catra's sword.

FIlling with light around them, Catra looked back to the shimmering hologram as it became more distorted than ever before, and that's when it finally happened. Within the center of the room, on the metallic throne that housed and organized the message that lead them here to start with, she appeared.

Mara. Accurately, another projection of Mara. One made in whole as the round floor surrounding the throne burst with a powerful light. There, Catra could see it, the previous She-Ra, the person who went crazy and nearly destroyed Etheria over a thousand years ago. The one who lost control of her emotions that put Catra into the state of fear she was currently in. She was everybody Catra wanted to be as a true and profesional She-Ra.

And nobody she wanted to be as a She-Ra that lost control of herself.

The projection of her could be seen leaning in pain over the throne, with a weak arm over the left arm of the chair and another one holding her stomach in pain. She was working, she was busy typing away something within the panel on her throne. Most of all, she was crying. Crying in a spot of pain over her injuries, or something far greater.

That's when she lifted her head, her eyes gazing across the room as if she could see the individuals in front of her. It didn't matter to Catra if she could or not. All that mattered to her was what Mara had to say.

"I don't have much time left. I barely made it out." She informed, leaning back into her throne.

Made it out? Catra wondered to herself, drawing closer to the figure she knew could provide the answers at long last. There was a small glitch at the mention that almost made her worry, hoping to herself that the message recorded everything she needed to say before it would expire.

"If you are seeing this, it means you wield the Sword. You are the new She-Ra... And it means I failed." The hologram of Mara winced to herself as she stared ahead, practically meeting Catra's gaze with regret. "I was supposed to be the last. And I am so, so, sorry..."

...

...

...

A/N: I swear, Idk who i have more fun with these days- Catra in her work to finalize her bond with the sword, or Adora's dark descent into villany. Idk anymore, what do you guys think? Adora? Catra? Both? Hard for me to say XP

Once again, huge shout out to petie and his wonderful artwork, definitely worth taking a look imo X) You won't be disappointed with his contributions to the series.

And with that said, and probably half of what i was going to say forgotten since it's late, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon!