Chapter 5
Adora and Catra entered their dorm to see Lonnie,Kyle and Rogelio sitting on their bunks. They rose their heads up and,upon seeing them,sat up in their bunks.
"Adora,Catra where were you guys?"Lonnie asked them as they entered the dorms. "Well long story short,Catra nearly crashed us into a tree inside the Whispering Woods and we met this other cat person there."Adora said. Catra turned around and smacked her on the arm. "You forgot to add the part where you stole the battleship and where you started going crazy."she said sharply. "Yeah,for you which,I repeat,you nearly drove us into a tree with."Adora retorted. "And for the record,I did see a sword!"
"I wouldn't have nearly drove us into a tree if you didn't keep trying to take back the stupid handle! And how could you see a sword but I didn't?"Catra retorted. "Hold on...did you say that you meet another cat person?"Kyle said. "Yeah so?"Catra snapped turning on him. "So?! We need details!"Lonnie said excitedly. Catra rolled her eyes and walked off to her bunk.
"Well he was tall,skinny,had black fur,golden eyes and red stripes. He looked basically like Catra,in a way."Adora described. "Oh so it was a guy huh."Lonnie said raising a brow. "Yeah."Adora replied. Lonnie turned her head to Catra. "So Catra do you have some feelings for this guy?"she asked mischievously as Rogelio laughed.
Catra narrowed her eyes at Lonnie then looked away.
"Did this guy give a name?"Kyle asked Adora. "Yes. He said his name was Storm."Adora answered. "Catra and Storm sitting in a tree,K-I-S-S-I-N-G."Lonnie teased as Rogelio and Kyle laughed and even Adora couldn't help but chuckle though her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. Catra turned her head back to them. "Yeah,his name is Storm and guess what else? He's also the "prince and future king of the Pantheras."she said,making air quotations with her fingers.
At that,everyone went into a tense silence.
"Wait...does that mean he's with the Rebellion?"Kyle asked finally breaking the silence. "We don't know that yet. Shadow Weaver took him to Hordak for questioning."Adora replied. Almost simultaneously,everyone shivered. Depending on who Storm was with then he would be in for an unpleasant surprise. "Well if he does work with the Rebellion then his and Catra's love will the "forbidden" type of love,"Lonnie said. "If he doesn't work for the Rebellion then Catra and him can be together,have little kit-"
"Ok Lonnie that's enough."Catra growled. Lonnie chuckled. "You still didn't answer if you like him or not."she pointed out. "I. Don't. Like. Him."Catra said slowly. "Sure."Lonnie drawled unconvinced. "Besides,"she added. "If this poor excuse of a place taught us anything it's that love is a weakness and a weapon that can be used against you." No one said anything and Adora knew she was right.
Shadow Weaver had told them repeatedly that falling in love was a weapon that could be used against you and a weakness. And if there was one thing the Horde hated it,was their soldiers showing weakness. Adora,personally,thought that falling in love actually made you stronger since your love for the person made you want to protect them with your very life.
A knock sounded on their dorm room door followed by the undoubtable voice of Shadow Weaver. "Cadets,get to sleep. You have training early tomorrow." "Yes Shadow Weaver."they all answered in unison.
They all went over to their assigned bunks.
"You know,you could've helped me from being attacked by them."Catra said as Adora climbed into the bed. "Oh dramatic much. They were only asking questions and teasing you. Besides,it was funny."Adora said with a smile. Catra huffed and turned away from her.
"Alright fine. If they bother you about Storm again I'll protect you."Adora chuckled as she reached over her legs and scratched Catra behind her ear. Catra purred,leaning into her touch. After a minute she pulled away and rested her head on her pillow. "Goodnight Catra."she said. "Goodnight Adora."Catra replied. Not too long after,Adora heard the soft,rhythmic purrs of the now asleep Catra and soon fell asleep to them.
Smoke filled the air as fire burned everything in its wake. People screamed and cried out prayers or for someone to save them.
Adora didn't know where she was or how she got here.
All she knew was that she needed to protect these people from harm.
"Mama,help!"the shrill cry of a scared boy sounded. She turned to the left to see a young child trapped underneath a big rock. Without hesitation,she ran over to the child,coughing and hacking as she breath in the smoke. Once she got to the boy,she knelt down in front of him. "Please help me."the boy whimpered while coughing.
"I'm going to help you. I'm going to push this rock up. While I push it up I want you to push your way out."she told him. He nodded. She placed her hands underneath the rock,counted to three silently in her head then heaved the rock up. It lifted easily off the boy as if she was lifting up a piece of paper. She looked at the rock,stunned,as the boy moved from underneath the rock. She then dropped the rock,panting slightly,as she looked at the boy. "Thank you,great protector."he said gratefully. "Great protector?"she asked puzzled. "My mom told me our great protector is tall and always glows."he told her.
She looked down at her and gasped.
She was taller,more muscular and glowing! before she question any of the things happening she heard a voice whisper,"Adora." She looked up to see a young woman looking directly at her. "Adora,your time has come."the woman said. Before her was the glowing sword that Adora had seen earlier in the Whispering Woods. "You must protect these people now."
Adora sat up with a start.
Breathing heavily and rapidly,she looked around the room frantically. When she saw nothing from her dream she relaxed her breathing to a normal tempo. I need to find that sword otherwise I'm going to go insane Adora thought firmly.
She looked at Catra who was sleeping peacefully at her feet. Making sure she didn't wake Catra,she carefully maneuvered out of the bed,grabbed her jacket and silently walked the dorm. She looked to both sides,making sure no one was around,before taking a step into the hallway.
"Hey!"a voice whispered and Adora immediately froze.
Turning around,she saw Catra leaning against the dorm doors,glancing at the hallways while looking at her. "Where are you going?" "Back to the woods. There's something I need to figure out."Adora whispered back as Catra walked up to her. "Adora,for the last time there was no sword in the woods!"Catra said exasperated. "Catra,I know what I saw and I'm telling you I saw a sword!"Adora said,slightly frustrated that Catra didn't believe her.
"Are you sure you're not brain damaged?"Catra asked her,holding her face in her hands and examining her. "Look Catra,"Adora said as she removed Catra's hands from her face. "I need to find that sword otherwise I'm going to go insane." "You mean more insane than usual?"Catra asked with a small grin. Adora rolled her eyes but couldn't help but chuckle. She noticed Catra watching with slightly narrowed eyes for a moment then sighed.
"Well if you're going then I'm coming with you."she said. "Absolutely not."Adora said sternly then blinked,startled by the sternness in her voice.
Catra seemed surprised as well but quickly regained her neutral expression. "Sorry to disappoint you but you don't have a say in the matter."Catra replied. "Catra,you can't come with me."Adora said trying desperately to make Catra see reason. "You know Shadow Weaver will blame you for making me do this and will punish you."
"Adora,I know you're trying to protect me and I appreciate it. But you seemed to have forgotten that the Whispering Woods is princess territory. If you encounter them while trying to find this sword you'll need backup."Catra replied. Adora opened her mouth to say something to make her change her mind but ended up sighing. Catra was nothing if not stubborn and arguing with her never got anywhere.
"Fine. You can come. Just try to be quiet."Adora said as they quietly walked down the halls. "I think I should be the one telling you that."Catra retorted with a quiet laugh that made Adora smile every time.
"You know,I'm beginning to worry about how well you're stealing these battleships."Catra commented snidely.
"Borrowed!"Adora protested. "Whatever you say Adora."Catra replied rolling her eyes with a smile. Once they had stolen a battleship from the Horde once more,they drove out the Fright Zone back to the Whispering Woods. "If you keep bringing up the fact that I borrowed a battleship I'm going to bring up your horrible driving skills."Adora told her.
That wiped the smile off Catra's face as she slumped in her seat of the battleship. "That wasn't my fault."Catra mumbled annoyed. As they neared the Whispering Woods Adora maneuvered the battleship closer to the ground until she pushed her foot on the brake and it landed at the treeline. "Alright,do you remember the plan?"Adora asked Catra as they climbed out the battleship.
"Go into the woods,quickly find the sword then get out."Catra repeated annoyedly. "Yes. And no hunting."Adora told her. "To that,I make no promises."Catra said. Adora sighed,shaking her head,as she walked into the woods with Catra in tow. They had both agreed that Catra would take the rear since she was able to see in the dark,encase someone was following them,and had better hearing.
They slowly proceeded through the forest,making sure to look and listen for any unwanted visitors. "Adora,remind me again what we're looking for?"Catra asked her after about thirty minutes. "You know exactly what we're looking for Catra."Adora replied while pushing a bundle of vines out of her face. "Adora,you need to face it. We've been here for hours and we haven't found a single trace of a sword! There is no sword and you're going crazy!"Catra exclaimed angrily.
"I am not crazy Catra I know what I s-"Adora began to protest but caught the light blue glow of something in the corner of her eye.
Of something very familiar.
Please tell me this is the sword Adora pleaded silently as she jogged towards the light. "Woah! Adora wait up!"Catra called out,following her. Seconds later the vines,bushes and branches cleared out to reveal the sword. "What in Etheria…"Catra whispered in awe as she beheld the sight of the brightly glowing sword. "See! I told you I saw a sword!"Adora said with a smug smile. "Yeah,yeah whatever,"Catra said dismissively. "I can see why you wanted to find this sword."
Suddenly,her ears twitched.
She turned her head and looked around,tilting her head sideways and listening closely.
She heard the rustling of bushes and footsteps coming their direction!
"Adora,someone's coming!"Catra whispered urgently. "Get the sword and let's go!" Adora took a step towards the sword but it was too late and the sounds of the approaching people were on them. "Yes you say the light it's this way." "My tracker says otherwise." "It's this way!" Finally two people appeared from the bushes.
They looked at Catra and Adora and gasped.
Both Horde soldiers froze,keeping their eyes on the two people.
One of them was small and stocky,tanned with short pink hair that curled to the side and purple eyes. She was wearing some type of glittery cape with armored shoulder pads,light purple boots,blue fingerless gloves and light purple tunic. Adora could tell just by one glance that she was a princess. The other person was an average sized boy with dark skin broad and muscular,a hightop brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing one armored pad on his left shoulder with some shirt that was clearly too short for him,exposing his stomach,with a type of breastplate,long blue pants,golden forearm guard and was equipped with a bow and arrow.
It was without a doubt that the two were apart of the Rebellion.
No one on either side uttered a word as they stared the other down. "Horde soldiers!"the pink haired cried so abruptly that Adora nearly jumped out of her skin. "I see them"replied the boy loudly. "Ahh!"the pink haired girl yelled as the boy yelled,"Ah!" Adora and Catra glanced at each other,shrugged then ran towards the sword. They were a centimeter away from it when suddenly the pink haired girl appeared right in front of it,holding the hilt tightly. Adora went for the sword but she disappeared into thin air.
"Of course we have to fight a teleporting princess."Adora said in annoyance. "Tell me about it."Catra murmured. "Alright Catra you get the boy and I'll get the girl."Adora said. Catra nodded and they charged the two Rebels. The boy slung his bow from his back along with an arrow,placed it on his now and aimed it at Catra.
He released the string and the arrow zoomed towards her but Catra easily dodged it.
Once she was in striking distance,she leaped and kicked him. Her foot connected right with his chest and he doubled over. She brandished her claws and went to slash his face but he moved to the side,nocked another arrow in his bow and fire it at her. This time,the arrow caught the edge of her leg and she hissed. She forced herself to ignore the pain as she continued to kick,punch and slash at the boy.
She managed to scratch his arm and kicked him in his stomach hard enough that he fell to his knees. Sparing a moment,she looked from the boy to Adora and the pink haired girl. Despite fighting a princess who could teleport,Adora seemed to be holding it together though,unfortunately,the girl still had the sword in her possession. She turned and ran to assist Adora when she felt something wrap around her legs.
Unstable,she fell towards the ground heavily. She looked at her legs to see some rope wrapped around them and the boy standing up with his bow in his hand. Without a second glance at her,the boy ran over to Adora and the pink haired girl.
Oh no you don't.
She roughly pulled her legs out of the rope,got up,took her aim then threw it at the boy's legs. The rope soared through the air and entwined itself around the boy's leg causing him to fall heavily on his stomach. She looked up to see Adora full on body the pink haired girl to the ground,making her dropped the sword. She turned to retrieve the sword but the boy got out of his ropes and jumped on top of her. Catra got up and ran towards them then grabbed the boy by the shoulders and tried to pull him off Adora but he held on.
All four of them pushed and pulled one another for a few seconds until,finally,Adora's fingers brushed the hilt of the sword. A bright glow enveloped and blinded them all.
Adora was sitting down in a bright and colorful place. She looked around noticing little glowing orbs floating around with crystals with some sort of design on them. "Catra? Catra,can you hear me?"he called out but no one answered.
She looked ahead and saw a holographic person standing,watching her. In fact,it was the same holographic woman she saw the first time she touched the sword. "Adora."she called. Startled,Adora quickly got to her feet. "Who are you? What's going on?"she asked panicked. "My name is Light Hope,"the holographic woman greeted.
"I have been waiting a long time for you. I could not reach you until you had forged your connection with the sword." "You sent the sword?"Adora asked. "The sword is meant for you."the woman said while she showed it before her. Adora slowly went to grab it but her hand went through it and she realised it was just a hologram. "Etheria has need of you Adora. Will you answer the sword's call? Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull."the woman asked as she watched Adora.
Adora looked up from the sword to Light Hope in confusion. "What are you talking about? What is a Grayskull? You-you're not making any sense! I don't understand!"Adora protested. Maybe Catra was right she thought. Maybe I am brain damaged. Light Hope looked at her for a moment in silence then simply said,"You will." Her body began to fade away.
"Wait!"Adora called but Light Hope disappeared leaving her alone in utter darkness.
"Let go of me!"Catra hissed. After the light had blinded her,one of the Rebellion soldiers had pinned her to the ground and managed to tie her hands. She pulled against her restraints but they were too tight. "Silence prisoner!"the pink haired girl ordered,trying to sound intimidating. Catra rolled her eyes at the display.
Honestly,she could see Kyle being more intimidating than this girl and that was saying something.
"Hey Glimmer,"the boy called. "I think this one is out cold." Catra turned her head to see Adora unconscious in the boy's arms. Her worry immediately turned to anger. "What did you do to her?"she growled. The girl,Glimmer,ignored her as she walked over to Adora and looked at her. "She's just unconscious."Glimmer said. Catra opened her mouth to say something when she noticed Adora move slightly in the boy's arms. "Catra?"she whispered groggily.
Catra let out a breath of relief. "Silence prisoner!"Glimmer ordered. She picked up the sword from the ground and examined it for a moment. "Come on Bow. Let's get these spies back to Bright Moon where they can be interrogated properly." "Actually Glimmer,I need to speak with you for a moment in private."the boy,Bow,said to Glimmer. "For what?"Glimmer said irritated. Bow simply waved her over.
She sighed but walked over to Bow. Once they went off,Catra went to Adora. "Hey are you ok?"she asked her. "Yeah,i'm fine."Adora said. She looked over at Glimmer and frowned. "I'll be better though once we get that sword." "As much as I hate to say this Adora,Sparkles over there can teleport. We need to outsmart her if we're going to get that sword."Catra said.
She then rolled her eyes. "Even though I still don't know why you want that sword so badly." Neither do I Adora thought but she didn't need Catra to know that. "Come on. We need to think of a plan to get the sword."she told Catra.
Unfortunately,they never got to think of one as Glimmer and Bow came back.
"On your feet!"she ordered. Adora rolled her eyes but complied as she struggled to her feet while Catra didn't move a single muscle. "I said on your feet Horde soldier!"Glimmer repeated. Catra looked at Glimmer for a moment with a bored expression then turned away. Adora shook her head but smiled in amusement as she saw Catra getting the princess angrier by the second.
"Are you deaf or something? I said on your feet!"Glimmer practically yelled. Adora bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She looked at Bow and saw that he was on the brink of laughing as well despite trying to keep a straight face. Catra looked back up at Glimmer. "Aren't you going to say please?"she asked in a purr. "Wh-what?"Glimmer stammered,face contorting into confusion.
"Aren't you going to say please. Considering you're a princess you should have a bit of manners."Catra said innocently as she smiled. Glimmer balled her hands into fists and,for a split second,Adora thought that Glimmer was going to punch her. After a moment,Glimmer sighed heavily. "Can you please get on your feet."Glimmer nearly growled out. "That's better,"Catra said. "And yes,i'll get on my feet...but you'll have to help me up."
Adora couldn't do it anymore and burst out laughing. Glimmer threw her hands up in the air then marched over to Catra,grabbed her arm and yanked her up. "Hey! Easy on the arms Sparkles!"Catra exclaimed annoyedly. Glimmer mumbled something under her breath then pushed Catra over to Bow. "Come on. We're already late. Bow keep an eye on them."Glimmer told him. Bow nodded then they began walking towards Bright Moon.