Emerald Forest
The .500 bullet punched clean through the Grimm like an armored fist, damaging or throwing off-balance five of the bastards before stopping into a tree. Meanwhile, Catra's 5,7 SMGs chattered and claws cut armor and black skin. Adora laughed as she aimed the handgun again, before squeezing the trigger and watching a Creep evaporate under the weight of the high-caliber pistol round. She spun it around, grabbing it by the barrel and slamming the hardened butt of the now-engraved pistol into the jaw of a Beowolf, staggering it.
"Catra!" The girl called, dodging a blind claw strike and allowing her girl to step forth, bringing forth both gauntlets and opening up with the lower-caliber guns. The rounds staggered the monster further, before the Catgirl swept under its legs, sending it to the floor and clawing its throat out for the finale. She giggled ecstatically as she then spun through the air, landing behind Adora and emptying what was left of her mags into the Lesser brother of that Beowolf.
Adora leaned her hand on Catra's shoulder for stability, aiming and firing in a milisecond. Catra winced due to the loud bang but laughed as she saw the third of the Beowolf pack having its arm torn out of its pseudo-socket by the high-caliber bullet. The two nodded to one another, switching over to melee for the upcoming bit. Catra dug her claws into the lower jaws of two creeps, lifting and throwing them, back-spikes first, into a Beowolf pair.
Adora rammed the reinforced grips of her pistol into the face of a Beowolf, before pirouetting to dodge an attack and shoving the barrel of the gun into its chin. She pulled the trigger, splattering whatever stood for a brain, along with shards of bone armor, into the sky. She aimed and fired twice, blasting two more Creeps apart before quickly opening up and reloading the pistol.
Catra rammed her right gauntlet and fist between the jaws of a Beowolf and opened up with the SMG, forcing the bastard to 'swallow' the rounds before she lifted it off its feet and slammed it into the floor. She dodged agilely under another's claws, rolled back and opened fire after loading fresh mags in. She watched the creature stagger as she fired into its spindly legs, before she delivered a spin-kick, rolled over to the side and dug her claws into its back.
Adora then trained her pistol on the Alpha that lead the pack of Grimm charging them. She smirked, puffed a bit of hair out of her eye(she needed to tie her hair better, it seemed) and fired. The Beowolf's chest armor chunked, taking the brunt of the shot and revealing the black, pulsating skin underneath. Adora gave a nod to Catra, who joined her and pinned the wolf down with AP Ice Dust bullets that froze the creature's legs in place.
Adora lined up another shot and squeezed. Black ichor shot out of the back of the monster, scattering bone shrapnel with it as the force of the shot gutted the monster. The blonde smiled, looking to her kitten She flashed a grin and nodded approvingly. A week or so of training actually paid off for both the girls in operating their weapons and mixing in the skills.
Adora looked at the pistol, to see the First Ones engravings as per her request. Each chamber in the cylinder had the name of one of their friends written over it, for a total of six. The barrel itself had, written in basic in the center, the word Eternia, surrounded by other First Ones symbols. Ruby was right with how much cooler it made it look. Catra chuckled, then said "Engravings still don't offer any tactical advantage whatsoever."
"Oh, hush, you." Adora shot back, getting a chuckle out of her girl.
"Right..." Catra noted, pulling her scroll out and typing out a message to the Bullhead pilot, "It's nice to know you're actually getting used to using a gun."
"You ain't doing so bad with the Exo suit either... Find a name for it yet? It's been one week since we got them and I already named Eternia." The blonde raised a brow as the aircraft swung in for landing. The two boarded it and Catra hummed, nodding.
She looked over the claws, then hummed and said "Was thinking Silver Razor..."
"A bit cheesy." Chuckled Adora, crossing her arms and leaning back into her seat.
"You got a better idea, miss 'Imma name my pistol after the First Ones'?" The kitty snapped back, crossing her arms. Adora chuckled as the two strapped in for the flight, watching as the Emerald Forest vanished below them. The craft turned toward Beacon, flying in and providing yet another curiously cool view of the place. Adora heard a ping and, upon pulling her scroll out from her pocket, she turned it on.
"Miss Adora, if you would please come see me as soon as you return from your training course, I would appreciate it. There is a fairly important discussion that I feel you should attend. You can, of course, bring miss Catra along if she wishes.-Ozpin."
Huh. Alright, old man. She slid the phone in her pocket, then said "Headmaster wants to see me. Says it's some big thing..."
"Melog's been keeping an eye on the old man for us... He's been reading through a series of books, though our favorite space kitten never got close enough to make it out." Catra hummed, then said, "Think it has to do with the discoveries we made way back?"
They'd been parsing through the writing from the outpost in the Forest. It was mostly legends, stories told from the perspectives of different She-Ras that had landed on Remnant as time went. Recollections, more than scientific data, to be honest, so it wasn't exactly useful. Well, all of the other She-Ras. Mara's records were less than one would expect, but they told interesting tales.
"Probably..." Adora presumed, "Wanna come along?"
"Not this time, babe..." Sighed Catra, "Got to check out a history book that may provide some form of lead to my people."
Adora nodded, "Right." and she smiled.
Catra smiled back, "You take care of yourself up there. Oz tries anything, you got the big iron on your hip."
"He hasn't tried anything as of yet." The girl shrugged as the Aircraft landed. The two disembarked and bid a quick 'see ya' to one another, before each went their own path. Winter break was approaching Beacon rapidly and that meant many students were already preparing to head home and visit their folk. The weather itself was getting chillier as the days passed.
Entering the tower and taking the elevator up, the young woman was greeted by the sight of the Headmaster, miss Goodwitch, miss Peach and Prof Oobleck. Well, this certainly didn't look like an intervention? She approached reluctantly, taking her hat off and noticing a book on the desk. The headmaster smiled warmly at Adora, then said, "Ah, Miss Spinner. Good of you to join us."
"Happy to be here...?" She said almost uncertainly, "Something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, miss Spinner." Ozpin reassured her, "I and the staff were having a talk..."
"I see... Aaaand?" She raised a brow, "Did I or Catra do something wrong?"
"No." Glynda shook her head, "This is about the ruins you explored, Adora."
"Oh?"
Oh.
Oh. She was right.
"Indeed, miss Goodwitch." Oobleck offered a quick, warm smile to Adora himself, "We hadn't expected you to go visit them so soon after your arrival, but it's very clear you know them and the symbols within well enough..." and he motioned to her hand-cannon. Adora nodded, approaching the desk at Ozpin's behest. The man slid the book toward Adora and she gasped upon seeing the cover.
Ozpin's smile grew, "Your reaction alone tells me my hunch was right, Adora."
"... You know She-Ra..." The girl mused, picking the book up.
Ozpin nodded.
"Know She-Ra?" Oobleck chuckled, "Dear miss Adora, I studied those ruins for my thesis. I'm not exactly a linguist, but I could make out the name and cross-reference it."
"She-Ra's been part of the mythos of Vale since before the Great War." Peach added, "Stories told, mouth to mouth and rarely through writing, of a tall amazon of a woman intervening to save those in danger in their time of greatest need. Descriptions from across the centuries also vary, with the latest being of a dark-skinned woman with golden hair..."
"... Mara..." Adora mused.
Violet smiled "So you do know her too..."
"I spoke to Mara back home, but... What was she doing here?" She asked, looking between all of them.
"She fought by the king of Vale, as far as legends go. Many put the thought of her existing up to the PTSD suffered by each Kingdom's forces during the war and have since replaced the tales of her defeating the Armies of Mantle and Mistral with one sword swipe with the king himself using the Sword." Ozpin explained, looking at the blonde as she read through the book, "Though some still bring her up, many say she was myth... Legend. And nothing more. She-Ra faded into obscurity for much of Remnant. Much of Vale."
"Not for those close to the Headmaster, though." Peach noted, adding that 'close' with a hint of reluctance, however. She continued calmly, "Now... The question is, Adora... Are you She-Ra? Or has Oz been speculating so far?"
"I..." She looked at the book. Sighing, she looked up, her voice calm as she said "Yes... Though I can't access my powers."
"Ah." Ozpin sighed, "Yes, that is a predicament I supposed would come up..."
"Wait... The Great War happened a hundred years ago..." Adora seemed confused as she remembered that intrinsic detail about it.
"Yes?" Ozpin nodded, "What of it?"
Adora spoke, slowly trying to piece together the anomaly ahead, "Mara lived a thousand years before I became She-Ra... And since her, there were no other She-Ras..."
The group looked to one-another as Oobleck and Peach exchanged looks. Ozpin scratched his chin, then said "That is... Slightly concerning."
Adora hummed, confused. The Headmaster looked to her, then responded, "I'm certain you'll figure out how to re-activate them, miss Spinner. We just needed confirmation from you, that my beliefs aren't misplaced. You may leave, if you want... We'll call you up if we have any more questions, just know that you have us to assist you in your quest, not just miss Catra..."
"And if my quest is to go home and reunite with my friends?" She raised a brow.
Ozpin nodded, "We shall help to the best of our abilities, provided you work with us as you have so far." and Adora approved by nodding back. He smiled again, then said "Good. Let us know when and if you manage to activate your powers, miss Spinner... I'd like to see She-Ra in person before jumping to conclusions, though, this has been a fairly informative meeting."
"Alright..." Adora nodded. She handed the book back, then turned to leave.
"Oh, Adora! One more thing!" Peach called out. As the blonde looked back, the woman smirked, offered jovially "Don't worry. You can trust your fellow staff... Really, if ya need anything, you just come to us." and winked at Adora. Adora smiled back, nodded in thanks and stepped back into the elevator. As the door shut behind the girl, Peach's smile faded. She turned to face Ozpin and asked, more serious, "She ain't serious, is she?"
The man, his mouth covered by his hands, looked at the Elevator. He shrugged, then said "Perhaps time passes differently on their world than it does on ours... Anyways, this is no time to concern ourselves with details like this... Bartholomew, have you compiled a list of other sites like the one in the Emerald Forest?" and he looked to his History-teaching comrade.
"Yes." the man arranged his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, "I will let the ladies know about them tomorrow and ask them when they wish to visit the locations, though I suggest we should wait until the second semester to visit." and he set the list down before Ozpin. The headmaster nodded, skimming over it for a moment. Peach and Goodwitch looked to one-another, both concerned for the girls.
... Meanwhile, Adora walked toward the amphitheater again. She needed some time to meditate on this new development. It'd been a week of searching through the pictures of the place for any information they could use. The only thing... The only thing they didn't really manage to photograph was that damn platform they'd arrived on. Should've checked it out.
Then again, they were surrounded by a horde of bugs. Maybe she could get information from prof Oobleck about the place if she wanted to. Sitting herself down in the middle of the amphitheater, the girl focused her mind on reaching out for her power yet again. It'd been a week since she'd visited this place, too, mostly having avoided it due to the little 'ghost'.
She felt tingles on her skin, so she focused farther, feeling, reaching out, 'looking'. Even though, at first, she saw nothing, a faint flicker soon reappeared in the corner of her eye. She felt a strange sense of warmth emanated by that flicker, that tiny, candle-sized flame. She chose to focus on it via meditation, shutting her eyes tighter and trailing only that piece of light, until it grew into a small, but more visible flame that danced in the darkness.
Her eyes opened as she felt its heat grow in the back of her head. Those same two eyes, that same person, now stared at her. She stood up, turning to face the figure sat above as the moon rose. She'd been there for a few hours, yet again, it seemed. She approached the stairs, walking back to the top and to the figure itself, which tried to flee. Adora called out "Wait!" and the figure stopped in her tracks.
Once again, the girl turned to face Adora and said "You return..."
"... Been a while..." Adora winced, "Yeah, I'm back."
"Why?" The woman asked.
"Beeecause I have a few questions?" Adora raised a brow, "And... Because I wanted to see if you'd show up again, I guess."
"... Hmm..."
"Hey, don't give me that." Adora shot back, "I was just coming to check in on you. You seemed pretty spooked the first time I met you. Oh, right, probably shouldn't be rude... I'm Adora. What's your name?"
"I..." The woman seemed unsure how to respond. "You... Don't care for what I am? What I can do?"
"I'm more interested in a name, right now." The blondie noted, crossing her arms. "Sooo...?"
"I... I am Amber."
... In the Beacon Courtyard, meanwhile...
"Adora! Adoooraaaaa!" Catra called out. She'd gone to Oz's office and found only him there. He'd told her that he knew Adora was She-Ra, so that was a moment of 'okay, cat's outta the bag' for both the girls. But, according to Oz, Adora had left calmly from the premises. Now, if she knew the girl, Adora would probably have been either back at the dorm(she wasn't, Catra checked), somewhere to get food(Nope, not without letting her know) or at the Amphitheater...
She stopped midway there, though, as she saw a figure running across the courtyard. She recognized her immediately and, as the girl stopped in front of the statue and removed her bow, Catra could feel immediately that something had gone awry. She approached Blake slowly, Adora still on her mind and wanted to ask what had happened. And when the catgirl Faunus turned, with tears in her eyes, toward Catra, she knew something had definitely gone to shit.
AN:Hey, folks! Sorry I'm so bloody late! I know, I should've updated earlier, but aside from fucking up with its uploading and chapter indexes for the past week, I've also been slightly more busy with uni and updating some other stories. I can't promise we'll be back to our regular schedule at least until some sort of vacation(maybe not even then?) but I'll keep uploading as best as I can.
See y'all in the next one, though. Fingers crossed I'll upload it at the right time...