Notes:

My partner hates the very idea of this story because it involves the Horde being very guilty of having a work camp full of prisoners, Shadow Weaver being awful, and young children implied to be living in perilous conditions. If any of these are likely to cause issue for you, you have been warned. Also Content Warning for a panic attack in chapter 2 and death mentions.

All that said - I hope you'll still find plenty of fluff. Scorpia and Perfuma are especially cute, and Finn is a darling.

Additionally you'll find an illustrated version of this fic over on Archive of our Own.

Shared Blood.

Part One "Beneath the Earth"

The Fright Zone has been called that for a long time. It earned its name long before Hordak ever crash landed in its western reaches. Hordak's Horde was initially a ragtag group of mercenaries and thugs. He strong-armed them into a semblance of organisation. As their numbers grew, they installed miles of pipes and valves deep into the ground, obscuring what has always been a geothermically active and austere terrain. Its deep ravines, unpredictable geysers, and bubbling mud pits, combined with the local eco-system's proclivity for sudden thunderstorms, meant it was never a terrain for the faint of heart. Scorpia was always aware that the name was old, but she learns the truth of how the Horde changed the land from her time chipped under Prime. The back of her neck itches at the memory. The experience of Horde Prime's neural network is hard to describe to those who were never chipped. Scorpia finds that trying to explain how she learnt the truth of Hordak's conquest of the Scorpion kingdom is like trying to explain how to cast a net to someone who has never heard of fish... Now that was an overwhelming conversation.

Still, knowing why the Fright Zone is called that does nothing to explain the fear gripping at her throat as she paces atop its Northern Tower. She forces herself to take deep breaths, to cast her eyes around at the scenery below, she voices reassurance upon reassurance to herself as she wrings her pincers around one another repeatedly. The Fright Zone looks very different from how it used to be. What was once dry and barren sands now has grasses, ferns, and giant phosphorescent mushrooms. Colourful shrubs grow out of every crevice and wall. New Geysers have appeared, creating colourful pools and mists in the middle of what were once main thoroughfares. Even the tower she is standing on has vines and roses snaking along its walls. She can hear the happy chirp of insects and other critters bringing a life to the Fright Zone that wouldn't have been there without She-Ra.

Oh gods, Scorpia really prays that She-Ra won't be making an appearance today.

"Oof!" Feeling a sudden pain in her abdomen, Scorpia presses her left pedipalp gingerly against her tummy. She feels the push against her arm and smiles. Right. Her fretting must have woken them. "Hey little one, it'll be alright. Don't worry."

Scorpia forces herself to sit on the nearby bench, installed at Perfuma's insistence, and sings until she feels the presence in her tummy settle at the sound of her voice. It's soothing, and by the time Scorpia finally spots the colourful wings coming in from the east, she's smiling in earnest.

She's not long had a visit from Entrapta, but it has been too long since Scorpia last saw the third member of the first edition Super Pal Trio. Peace has done wonders for the young commander Scorpia once strived so hard to impress. Tales of Catra's deeds in space, alongside Adora, Glimmer and Bow, are already the stuff of plays and songs across all Etheria. Scorpia has no doubts that more ballads are being spun about the Best Friend Squad's latest outing. They only returned a few days ago. If the matter hadn't been so important, Scorpia would have gladly let them rest up longer before summoning Catra and Adora to her home.

The Pegasus glides elegantly across the brass-coloured sky. She thinks she hears laughter.

Scorpia stands once she starts to make out the shape of Swiftwind's horn, the wave of Adora's hair, the notes of red that are still Catra's go-to colour. She waves and greets them as they make their descent, her fretting forgotten at the sight of her friends and their warm smiles.

Swiftwind, as always, has that gleam in his eye as Scorpia hugs his neck in greeting. Scorpia and Adora share a nod as the latter helps her girlfriend leap off her mount's back.
"How was your journey?" Scorpia grins at the girls while offering a delighted Swiftwind an apple from her pack.

"Delightful," Catra replies, before giving the Pegasus some side-eye. "Unless you mean the trip from Brightmoon to here rather than our latest jaunt into space. I swear if I hear the words loop-de-loop one more time..."

"You dunno wha'tya mishing!" Swiftwind tries to reply with his mouth full.

Adora laughs and shoves his muzzle aside.
"We can do some loop-de-loops later, Swifty, just you and I." The blonde grins ruefully as she reaches up to scratch behind his ears. "I missed you too."

Scorpia takes a moment to take the two in as Catra makes some pointed comment. Melog, sat upon Catra's shoulder as they eye Swiftwind's wings, leaps down to the ground before regaining their more usual size. Catra's mismatched eyes twinkle as she strokes the feline's cooling mane. The circlet on her brow looks right, and her hair has grown out down to her shoulder-blades now. There's an openness to her smile that was never there before, matched by a confidence in both her posture and the twinkle in her eye that speaks now of a woman free from her past. It suits her well, Scorpia thinks, and wishes her younger self could have imagined it.

As for Adora, there's a looseness to her that was never there during the war. Her gaze is bright and her smile easy, her back still straight as a soldier's when she stands but gains an easy swagger when she leans one way or the other. It's emphasized by the looseness of her blouse as she wraps an arm around Catra's shoulders and looks Scorpia up and down.

"Micah did mention you were expecting," Adora says with a twinkle in her eye. It pulls Scorpia out of her contemplation. The two women have their overnight satchels off Swiftwind's flanks and are now at her side. There's no mistaking the happiness in the couple's knowing smiles. "Congratulations."

"Yeah," Catra chimes in, arching a brow and crossing her arms with a smirk. "Still can't believe you're beating Sparkles and Bow to having a kid first. Even Netossa was betting on them, since they got married before you and all."

"Ah, gee, guys..." Scorpia rubs her head as Melog leaps up at her to lick her face. Their mane flickers purple for a moment, and if Scorpia hadn't known, she wouldn't have thought anything of it. She looks up at Catra a moment longer before looking down at her toes. "You know how it can be sometimes, these things just happen."

Adora has the good grace to try and hide her snicker. Catra however...
"Hey, what's up with you? It's not like you to be this nervous Scorp'... Is this about whatever you asked us over about?" Catra's touch on Scorpia's arm is gentle. Scorpia sighs. She should've known she couldn't hide her trepidation from her.

"Hey, Swifty, buddy!" Scorpia calls to Adora's mount. "How about you go down to help Grizzlor with the new pastures we're setting up? It's down by the larger lake."

With Swiftwind happily away, Scorpia waves for Adora, Catra and Melog to follow her into the building.

"You are nervous about what you're wanting to tell us!" Adora exclaims, startled. She frowns as she makes her way down the steps. "This is the old prison block, isn't it? Why did you ask us to meet you here?"

"I'm half surprised this building is still standing to be honest. I thought you would have had it torn down once you emptied it of its prisoners." Catra's steps are quiet, despite the boots she now wears. Melog mews at her side.

"Yeah, about that... Turns out the basement of this place goes deep, real deep." Scorpia replies. She pulls out a tablet from her satchel, double checks a reading before replacing it as they near the lift. "Shortly after you guys left on your last voyage, Perfuma and I found out that there were still people living there, crazy right?" She chuckles awkwardly, nudging the lever on the lift's command box once everyone is aboard.

The lift starts moving with a sudden lurch, and gets about a floor down before it creaks to a stop. With a quick zap of lightning, Scorpia gets it moving again. They've not really had the manpower to maintain the electricity grid in this part of the Fright Zone much.

"Do you remember the foundry?" Scorpia says, turning to Catra. She has her arms held out and her tail swaying. The lift mustn't be doing her enduring vertigo many favours. At Catra's confused glance, Scorpia elaborates. "The one for that armoury request we couldn't figure out where to get the materials from? You ended up asking Shadow Weaver."

"Oh, that place." Catra's recognition is short lived. "Wait, isn't the foundry in the next building over?"

"Well, it turns out that the mine they were getting their ore from is under this old prison block."

"Wait... Those people you said were still living here..." Adora's catching on quick. Horror is coating her features as Scorpia nods. "There were prisoners of the Horde working in the mines under this very building for more than a year after the Horde was defeated?!"

Melog's growl echoes Catra's gasp of dismay. Scorpia gives them a moment to let that information sink in. The lift reaches the ground floor of the cell blocks.

"It turns out, a lot of them were subjects of the Scorpion Kingdom taken prisoner when Hordak took the Black Garnet," Scorpia explains. She smiles as she leads them through a small door into a service corridor. "It's been nice reconnecting with my people. A lot of them were easy enough to relocate to Horror Hall or Scorpion Hill while we continue repurposing the Fright Zone's architecture to more suitable accommodations."

They reach a door with a secure keyboard input lock. Scorpia's pincers turn the deadbolt with ease. The electronic password takes a bit more work. Scorpia pulls out her tablet.
"Here let me get that for you," Catra says as Scorpia smiles and shows her the text to input.

"Thanks," Scorpia says. The door is slow to pull open, its hinges rusty as it opens to reveal a stone-carved corridor. It's a stark contrast to the metal corridor they're leaving behind. To light the way, Scorpia charges a small bolt of lightning in one claw. "Anyway, it took a little while to convince the guards down here that Hordak had retired and the war was over. Some of them were very nasty. Perfuma may have had some very stern words with a few."

"Stern words, meaning...?" Catra's puzzled expression is a stark contrast to the terrified grimace Adora is pulling. Of course, Adora knows what stern words from Perfuma means. She gestures for Catra in a way that succinctly explains. "Oh."

"Yeah... Plumeria's got strict laws on child slavery."

Seeing both Catra and Adora blanch makes Scorpia cringe, but there was no way to sugar coat it. The two exchange quiet words with each other as they continue following Scorpia. The low rumble of a growl comes from Melog as he prowls alongside. The colour of his mane is distinctly red now. They walk in silence for a while, the only words uttered an occasional warning from Scorpia when a trip hazard appears or they're about to take a turn. The place is a maze and Scorpia is constantly checking the schematics on her tablet.

"How..." A gulp. Catra starts again. "How did you figure out there were people still living here? There aren't even any lamps!"

"The Forge..." Scorpia replied. "What got mined down here – sorry, mind the steps down – got sent there by automated cart. They were still getting shipments, even with no one there to collect them."

"I hate this..." Adora mutters as she steps past Scorpia. Her fists are taught and Scorpia once again wonders if she should have let Perfuma handle this instead. Scorpia shakes her head. No. She promised herself. Her claw rests a moment on her bump, and she feels a renewed determination.

The approach a large vault door.
"Help me with this, Adora, will you?" Scorpia says. The door isn't locked, thankfully, but it's still heavy to open. The two women grunt at their joint effort, watched warily by the glow of their feline companions' eyes. The door leads out from the claustrophobic corridors into a large cavern, illuminated with various veins of blue, red, and gold. Phosphorescent moss grows on large boulders among rubble and debris. Tools lie scattered, abandoned on the floor. Wheelbarrows are turned over; pickaxes and shovels lie in piles. The smell of sulphur attacks their senses and Scorpia hears Catra gag.

"Oops, I meant to warn you about the smell." Scorpia gives the vault door a sharp tug to close it – to keep rats out from the rest of the complex she explains, before pointing to a small structure barely visible in the distance. "We're headed to the tower over there."

It doesn't take long for the sound of scuttering rats to justify Scorpia's caution. Melog starts to chase after them before Catra calls them back. Adora and Catra are both noticeably quiet, inspecting the debris with understandable consternation.

The larger space does nothing to make the air feel lighter, quite the opposite. Their steps thud heavily, echoing faintly, as they slowly make their way across loose scree and avoid tripping over jutting stone. It's quiet. It's daunting. Scorpia wishes she were in a mood to whistle. She is not.

The tower is right in front of them before either of them speaks. Its metal construction is distinctively Horde-like, and the large emblem on the side confirms it. The glow of electricity shows that its door still has a functioning lock interface to be reached via a metal staircase. A turret sits menacingly above its domed roof.

"Why are we here Scorpia?" Adora asks. There's steel in her voice. If Scorpia didn't know better, she would have thought She-Ra was speaking.

She turns to face them both, running her claws through her hair. She sighs.

"You've clearly got everyone out. This place is deserted." Catra says. She steps up to Scorpia, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What needed us, specifically, to come here? What do you want us to see?"

"So, um..." Scorpia falters, just a moment, before putting her claw back against her stomach, feeling the unborn life there stir. She rallies. She practiced this. "Among the miners we got out of this place, were a number of orphans... Kids deemed too weak to make good soldiers, children born to some of the miners who since passed away, basically kids with no one to look after them once removed from this place."

"Figures..." Adora's voice is sad as she grabs Catra's other hand, but her gaze doesn't waver from Scorpia's face.

"Perfuma and I managed to find relatives to take a lot of them in, thankfully. Of those that didn't have families outside the mine, quite a few were adopted by older miners anyway. But... Well there's this one kid... Hang on, let me show you." Scorpia pulls out her tablet again, opening the relevant file. There's no image, because of course the Horde mine's records didn't bother with photographic images of its prisoners in the mines, but the text should make Scorpia's thinking clear. Catra takes the tablet and scans through the short profile, Adora reads over her shoulder.

"Finn, born nearly six years ago... Magicat?" Catra's eyes widen. "There was another magicat in the Horde and they were down here?!"

"That's... Oh, wow." Adora's eyes have skimmed down to the kid's rep sheet. Adora's irises flash. If Perfuma hadn't already punished the foremen, She-Ra would certainly have given them a lesson of her own. "They had five-year olds doing what?!"

Scorpia nods solemnly, waiting for them to process the information further. Adora and Catra exchange worried looks.

"There aren't that many Magicats on Etheria," Adora mutters, her brow creased in thought.

"But that doesn't mean all Magicats know each other, Adora." Catra returns the tablet to Scorpia. "Is that why you asked for us? You want me and Adora to find this kid's family or something?"

"Eh... Something like that." Scorpia's pincers tap together once she returns the tablet to her satchel. "I... I think you are their family." She says quietly.

The effect of her words is instantaneous. Catra leaps back in horror as Adora lets out a bewildered laugh. Melog's mane sparks in angry spikes as their hackles raise.

"What like a hidden sibling or something?" Adora sounds incredulous. "I mean that would be fantastic and all, but what would even make you think that? Do they even look alike?"

Oh more than you know, Scorpia thinks but keeps quiet. Her eyes are pinned on Catra.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me. There is no way." Catra hisses. There's that tell-tale twitch in her eye that Scorpia recognises easily. It's the one Catra always had when she was trying to hide something that she felt bad about. Scorpia's heart clenches at seeing her friend so distraught. "The kid is seventeen years younger than me, Scorp'. There's no way!"

Scorpia returns her tablet to her satchel with a sigh. She takes a step on the staircase, waving for the three to follow her up.
"That's why I brought you all the way down here." She explains. "There's footage here I can't seem to get transferred to the other systems. You'll understand then."

Adora, wide-eyed and bewildered, looks between Scorpia and Catra before giving a dramatic shrug and eyeroll. She takes confident strides towards the steps and is joined by Melog as they climb past Scorpia.

Catra is still. Her eyes are searching Scorpia's face. What for, Scorpia is unsure until she tilts her head. Catra's hand flies to the back of her neck. Scorpia nods, fighting to keep a grimace from her face. The chip, of course... Horde Prime had spent considerable time reviewing Catra's memories for information he could use against She-Ra. The information he shared through his network didn't disappear once Catra's chip was removed.

"Ugh... Let's get this over with." Catra stomps forwards, taking the steps two at a time to reach Adora's side. The blonde gives the Magicat's shoulders a protective squeeze as Scorpia joins them to open the door.

"Right," she says, before taking a deep breath. "Here goes."

.