Hey all! Very sorry for the incredibly lengthy wait. I promise I never abandoned this story, or any of my current ones! I've been working on them in the background all along. It's just taken me a very long time to get through some chapters lately. I'll do my best to bring you the next update sooner!
As much as Adora loves Catra, she has to admit that sharing a bed with her – fully, and not just the foot of the bed, as they did when they were cadets in the Horde – takes some getting used to. The touch-starved young woman curls around her body and clings on for dear life like she's a branch over a chasm, which would be adorable if not for the fact that Catra suffers from nightmares regularly, which can cause Adora to end up like a bit of a scratching post. Her partner also just…runs really hot, to the point that some nights, she winds up a sweaty mess – and not exactly in the fun way.
Still, she wouldn't change it for the world. She doesn't sleep much these days, anyway, between the worries at the forefront of her mind and She-Ra refilling her batteries automatically, so to speak.
"…if you think any harder, smoke's gonna come out of your ears, Adora." –Catra drawls, sleepy.
The blonde chuckles. "Caught with my hand in the ration dispenser, huh?"
"Ugh. I can't believe you've been out of the Horde for so much longer than I have and you still go out of your way to use its dumb idioms over the regular Etherian ones." –Catra says, sarcastically.
"Yeah…not really a conscious thing, honestly. Some things are just very hard for me to shake."
Catra traces a finger over the soft glow of the Failsafe, the code's pattern burned into the skin of her chest like a high-tech, rainbow-colored tattoo. It makes her shiver, even as Catra's embrace makes her almost unpleasantly warm. "True enough. We all have our hang-ups." –she says. "What was it this time?"
"Having second thoughts." –Adora admits. "Worried I let my desire to find out more about myself and my people overshadow my need to protect Etheria."
"You did, kinda." –Catra points out. "Very uncharacteristic risk-taking on your part, honestly."
Adora takes her hands to her face and groans, but Catra chuckles. "Worth it, though." –she says. "At least, I think so. These off-worlders seem…decent enough, and this is the biggest lead you've had so far."
"I can't help but imagine them taking this flying fortress and their metal beasts and raining fire on Bright Moon." –she says, morose. "Etheria might not survive another invasion, even with She-Ra back at full power – not so soon after Horde Prime."
Catra yawns. "Hey, being the paranoid one is my job." –she says, sarcastically. "It's your job to be all hopeful and trusting."
Adora snorts, despite the gnawing worries. "You're slacking off like usual, then."
"Oh, Adora." –Catra sighs, dramatically. She flashes her fangs and unsheathes her claws to their full length. "Don't you know? We predators are best when you don't see us coming."
According to Allura, it will take a few short-range jumps to reach Etheria – she explains that they could get there pretty much instantly via some kind of portal that gets Entrapta bouncing like a child that got ahold of a candy stash, but they're trying to avoid using that method because it tends to draw the attention of any (relatively) nearby Galra. So, regular FTL it is.
That's fine by Adora. It should give her some more time to figure these people out.
Allura and Keith give them a tour of the Castle of Lions, which really gives credit to its name – despite the fact that it's a warship roughly on par with the Horde's most powerful capital ships (according to Entrapta, at least), the vessel is also a fully realized palace, complete with the typical trappings Adora has come to associate with wealthy royals in her time since defecting from the Etherian Horde. On top of the Lions' hangars, the ship's bridge, and the well-stocked armory, which obviously belong on a warship, there's also ballrooms, swimming pools and saunas, a whole dang library filled with books and art, and enough living spaces to comfortably house a sizable royal family, their courtesans, their retainers and servants, and of course, an actual standing army.
Truth be told, it's…strange. And sad, considering the Castle is almost completely empty, inhabited only by the Paladins and their Gem companions – less than a dozen people fighting against an enemy that allegedly spans nearly the entire universe. It makes Adora wonder if they haven't been able to recruit anyone else – or if they have, and they've simply lost their other allies to the war against the Galra.
At any rate, Adora and Catra are, predictably, most interested in the training arena.
"Kinda empty." –Catra notes. "Don't you have some obstacles? Or some training dummies, at least?"
"We do." –Keith says. He brings up a holographic panel out of thin air and presses a few icons, and the ceiling opens up, a hatch dropping a humanoid figure that swiftly rises to its full height, maybe eight feet tall, all white, gold, and glowing cyan. A robot, Adora's pretty sure, but even from just a glance, she's pretty sure it's more advanced than any other they've seen – even the Horde's. "Feel like trying it out?"
Catra hums. "I have been feeling a little restless." –she admits. "But fighting machines isn't nearly as fun as the real thing. Adora can fight the robot, if she wants – I wanna spar with you."
Keith raises an eyebrow. "Keith's a master swordsman." –Allura says. "And you bear no weapons or armor. I don't think it's safe."
"Please. If I wasn't trained to fight people with pointy sticks and glorified knives, I'd have died a long time ago. Just ask Adora." –she says, amused at the surprised reactions that gets. Adora just shakes her head, mouthing something along the lines of 'incorrigible'. "Besides, any expert on the blade should have enough control to avoid injuring their opponent, right, human?"
"She's right." –Keith says, coolly. "I'll accept your challenge."
If Adora's preferred way of getting to know someone is observation and dialogue, then Catra's is decidedly fighting; as much as Adora's gleaned from this tour, Catra'll be able to figure out a lot more through this sparring session.
Still, Adora takes first turn. In the interest of fairness, she decides against summoning She-Ra, opting for her collapsible staff instead. The training drone scans her with its singular, glowing blue eye, then adopts a defensive pose, granting her the first move. The fight is brief; the drone has exceptional reflexes, but Adora can tell that it, too, is holding back its true strength, likely adjusting for what it perceives as her own. This proves to be its undoing, as a simple scan of her physical features is hardly enough to convey her years of training and the subsequent war she fought against the Horde, and the drone goes down in a shower of sparks and white smoke within the minute.
"Oh, um…sorry. I hope you have more of those."
Allura waves off her concerns. "Don't worry, Adora. We have many. But thanks to Pidge, we don't even need to summon another." –she explains, looking at the fallen robot.
As if on command, the machine's broken parts slowly start to put themselves back together, sewn with some kind of glowing, light blue liquid emitted from its insides. In a few moments, it stands back up, good as new. "Pidge integrated the Castle's self-repair protocols onto our training drones – they 'heal' via nanobots, tiny robots not unlike the cells that make up our bodies. It's much less wasteful, and in a pinch, they can serve as relentless defenders of the Castle."
"You've been invaded before?" –Adora wonders.
"We've had a few close calls." –Keith admits. "Try it again – it should use the information it gathered from your last fight and give you a better challenge now."
She does, and it delivers; the fight isn't a slog, or anything like that, but the barely minimal warm-up turns into a more than decent sparring session, the robot pressing her to whip out some of the more advanced techniques she's developed along the years, both in the Horde, and as a rebel. Still, just as she's considering tapping into She-Ra's power just a smidge, she finds an opening, and drives the staff through the machine's neck with a powerful thrust.
"Well done." –Allura praises, as the drone repairs itself and waits for further instruction. "Perhaps less elegant than the way our people were taught, but certainly no less effective."
It feels…weird, to hear Allura talk about the Alteans like that – like family – but it's a fairly nice kind of weird. "Were you taught to fight with a staff, too?" –Adora wonders, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow and enjoying the simmering burn in her muscles.
"Indeed." –the Princess says. "I'm rather adept at it, too." –she says. There's no boasting in her words – she talks like she's simply stating a fact, and Adora's inclined to believe her.
"Well…maybe you can teach me the fancy Altean moves later." –Adora suggests. "Y'know, assuming everything goes well on Etheria."
Allura smiles warmly. "I'd be happy to."
"Adorable." –Catra drawls, only a bit sarcastic. It's progress. "Our turn now, human."
Keith nods, summoning his Bayard, which glows and shape-shifts into a wickedly sharp blade, pristine white with crimson details. Adora raises an eyebrow, examining the weapon closely – unlike a more standard blade, Keith's sword has a perpendicular hilt, thrusting the blade forward like a punch, the cross-guard more of an arc around his whole hand. As a master swordswoman herself, Adora can't help but wonder at how such a blade would feel to fight with – many of the finer points in handling a sword are in the movement of the wrist, which would be much more limited by the awkward angle of this hilt. On the other hand, Keith's sword hand should be safer, and Adora gets the impression that this sword design is intended to be even more an extension of the wielder's arm than a regular sword already is.
"You should put on that fancy armor of yours." –Catra says, unsheathing her claws. "I can tear through most metals with ease."
Keith politely refuses, and they both set about warming up a bit, but Allura frowns as she catches the metallic glint they give off. "What are her claws made off?"
Adora shrugs. "Some rare metal we don't know the name of – Entrapta thinks it came from space, either brought by Hordak or by some stray meteorite that landed on Etheria ages ago. They were…grafted onto her, by the Horde. Yanked out her natural keratin claws and put these ones in."
The Princess gasps. "That's…horrid. Was she punished for something?"
Adora crosses her arms. "All the time. But no, this was more of a…reward, I guess." –she says. Once upon a time, it really had felt like a reward – Catra had 'earned' the claws after killing a beast that had threatened their squad on a rare excursion beyond the Fright Zone, maybe a year before she defected. The process had been brutally painful, judging by her screams, but after recovering, Catra couldn't be more proud of her new, utterly deadly weapons. She'd realized, after spending some time with the Rebellion, just how cruel it had been, even as a reward – Adora knows that the Horde had anesthesia available, even if it had to be carefully rationed, like most of their resources. She doesn't know for sure – and now she never will – but she's fairly certain that the decision to do the procedure without it had been Shadow Weaver's; even if the upgrade was earned, she probably wanted to punish her for robbing Adora of her chance to defeat the beast herself, knowing their so-called mother.
Keith and Catra size each other up, and Catra – seeing no value in honor or nobility – makes the first move, lunging low with that unnatural speed and strength of hers and forcing Keith to parry and back off a bit. "This…Horde." –Allura muses. "I assume the 'Hordak' you mentioned is the leader?"
"Used to be." –Adora says, keeping a keen eye on the duel, the participants still probing each other's defenses. "It's…complicated, but Hordak was the leader of a, uh, relatively small Horde incursion on our planet. He crash landed there, and built up an army to try and take over Etheria, which Catra and I were raised in. He's…a very different person now. It's complicated."
"Soldiers raised from birth?" –Allura wonders, holding her breath as Catra manages to land a solid kick on Keith's chest, forcing him to roll back. "It certainly shows."
Adora hums. "It was all we knew…until I found the Sword of Protection." –she says. She summons it now – even wills it to look as it originally did – to show Allura.
Allura's cheek markings seem to glow significantly brighter, as if her magic resonates with She-Ra's. "Incredible…there's so very much power contained in that blade. In you." –she whispers.
"That's She-Ra." –Adora says, basking in her own inner light. "The guardian spirit of Etheria. It called to me through the sword, which prompted me to defect from the Horde, join the Rebellion, and eventually topple the Horde and its true leader – the interstellar warlord known as Horde Prime."
"You've mentioned him, yes." –Allura recalls. "I should like to learn more about him and his forces. I cannot help but feel…responsible, in a way – it appears that he was one more threat that Voltron could not respond to, thanks to the Galra – to our own inability to contend with them, ten-thousand years ago."
"Oh, it's not your fault. I don't know much about space, but…I know the universe is enormous. Entrapta really put Prime's boasting about being the 'Emperor of the Known Universe' in perspective for me." –she says, sardonic. "Prime was our enemy to face, and despite our hardships, we triumphed in the end."
Catra hisses after Keith turns a failed thrust into a smack with the flat of his blade against Catra's back, which makes her hiss. "She-Ra…" –Allura mutters. "I've never heard of that particular entity, but the concept itself is familiar."
"How so?"
"My father believed that sapient life would, almost inevitably, generate champions and guardians for themselves as their civilizations evolved and grew in complexity – and thus, beyond the capacity of regular, mortal beings to sustain order against the natural chaos of life. Sometimes, these champions would be flesh and blood; sometimes, they'd be as ethereal as the magic they were formed of. They would be shaped and forged by the faith and hope of their people – occasionally even worshipped as gods." –Allura says, her eyes lost in remembrance. "He hoped that the Lions and the Paladins of Voltron would eventually become just that – champions for the entire universe, stalwart defenders sustained by the hopes they would instill in the populace. And for a time…they were."
Adora purses her lips. "And you believe She-Ra is that for Etheria?"
Allura offers a shrug. "Perhaps. I was never quite as adept at the spiritual side of Altean alchemy as my father was." –she admits. "But the concept does sound familiar, does it not?"
A pained yelp and a hiss draw their attention from such lofty topics – both of the duelists have simultaneously wounded each other, an ugly gash along Catra's ribcage, and a bloody triple slash, raked across Keith's chest. They're not exactly mortal wounds, but Adora wastes no time summoning She-Ra and laying her hands on both the combatants. Her form glows golden, and the light washes over them, healing their injuries in an instant.
"Ah, damn it. That was my favorite top, too." –Catra laments.
She-Ra smirks, turning back to Allura, who looks suitably awed – if she could feel She-Ra's power before, then her transformed state must be something else. With a flash of light, She-Ra fades away, leaving a fairly awkward Adora in her place. "I, uh…I guess the concept does sound a little familiar."
When Etheria came back to its home dimension, it attempted to come back in the exact same spot it left.
It only partially succeeded, which is actually a good thing – if it had actually spawned in the same place it occupied a thousand years back, it would've appeared in the void between galaxies, left behind by the Milky Way's eternal voyage away from the site of universe's explosive birth. As it stands, Etheria still appeared in the Milky Way, but whatever solar system it once belonged to was nowhere to be found, perhaps destroyed in centuries prior, or simply located elsewhere. Entrapta's personal theory is that the sudden disappearance of the planet and its moons caused a gravitational chain reaction, which destabilized the orbits of its home system and caused them to fling out into space as rogue celestial bodies – which, as it happens, is exactly what Etheria is now, going along with the rotation of the galaxy and hoping against hope that some other object hurtling through space doesn't randomly crash into them.
What this means – and all Adora really cares about – is that their home planet continues to have no star or neighboring planets, so besides the previously empty sky now being absolutely filled with distant stars, life on Etheria hasn't really changed much due to the planet's translocation.
Obviously, this doesn't mean it hasn't changed at all. They're staring at some of the changes right now, as they approach the planet.
"I am detecting multiple warships, up to and including battlecruiser classification." –Coran notes, bringing them up on the viewscreen for everyone to see.
"Raise particle shields, just to be safe." –Allura orders, then turns to Adora. "These are the Horde warships you spoke of?"
"The ones that stayed, yeah." –the blonde confirms. "A lot of them fled after the war ended, but most stuck around. And that's the Velvet Glove, Prime's former headquarters."
Allura blinks. "…I'm assuming it wasn't originally a gigantic tree in space."
Lance snorts. "Yeah, that's wild, even for us."
"That's amazing. The tree is alive, too, somehow protected from the vacuum." –Hunk notes. "It must be the biggest tree in the universe!"
Moonstone snorts. "Don't let an Asgardian hear you say that." –she mutters.
"I can see the shape of the space station's layout and superstructure inside the trunk." –Pidge says, analyzing a hologram render of the scanned structure. "Like it was transmuted from metal to wood and foliage – not too different from what Green can do with its Vine Cannon, actually."
"Must be weird to look up and see that every night." –Keith muses.
"Does this planet even have a day/night cycle without a star?" –Hunk wonders. "I guess it does look illuminated on the side facing us…"
"Day or night, it doesn't really matter. It maintains geosynchronous orbit with the largest landmass, so it's always right there, hanging in the sky." –Pidge adds.
"That's She-Ra for you." –Catra drawls. "Blame her for the eyesore."
Adora chuckles, a bit embarrassed. "Don't ask me how I did it, though, I have no idea. I just wanted it gone, and my power somehow translated that to 'make a giant space tree'."
They're still a bit too far from Etheria for sensors to have picked them up, so Adora and Allura take the time to go over the plan they've come up with. "We'll be taking Mara's ship to avoid getting blasted out of the sky and/or spooking the people of Etheria." –Adora says.
"For that reason, and to ensure the Castle remains well-defended and ready to launch the Lions, I will ask that only one of the Paladins and one of our Gem allies accompany me on this delegation." –Allura adds. "At least, until we know for certain that our visit won't cause a panic."
The Paladins all look at themselves, a bit apprehensive. "I'll go." –Keith says. "I was with you when we met the Etherians, and Red's the fastest Lion, in case we need a hasty evac."
"Indeed. The rest of you, remain vigilant." –Allura orders. "We know there's a small Galra presence in this galaxy, and the last thing we want to do is draw their attention to a world so recently ravaged by war. Should any Galra approach this sector, divert them away to the nearest uninhabited system and neutralize them as quickly as possible."
"Any Galra? Even if they're Lotor's people?" –Lance wonders, uncertain.
"We do have a sort of truce with them right now…" –Pidge points out.
"I doubt any of Lotor's loyalists would wander this far out of Galra territory." –Allura surmises. "But should that happen…I suppose you can merely encourage them away from this galaxy."
Adora's pretty sure she's not the only one present who heard 'threaten' when Allura said 'encourage', judging by the Paladins' expressions. With the orders given, everyone gets to their assigned tasks; the Castle of Lions follows after the tiny planetary system, just out of the planet and Horde fleet's sensor range, while Adora, Catra, Entrapta, Melog, Allura, Keith, and Moonstone board Mara's ship and traverse the (relatively) short distance to Etheria in a matter of minutes.
"Okay, quick primer on Etheria, before we start our descent." –Adora says, bringing up a hologram of the planet as they pass Horde warships placidly floating in orbit. "Etherian civilization is concentrated on a single landmass – the continent of Light Fall, where the First Ones originally landed and colonized the planet. The continent is divided into several kingdoms, most of which are ruled by a Princess, though they all ultimately serve Bright Moon, ruled by Queen Glimmer."
"'Serve' is a strong word for it." –Catra drawls. "Bright Moon led the Rebellion, and its runestone directly receives power from the twelve moons, supercharging its ruler and making them more powerful than the other Princesses by default. Queen Angella leveraged that power to lead the other kingdoms, and winning the war against the Horde made sure the status quo stuck with her daughter as the new queen. It isn't really a formal sort of thing."
"It really isn't!" –Entrapta adds cheerfully.
"Right." –Adora says. "Regardless, Glimmer speaks for pretty much all of Etheria – any kind of deal you might wanna make with us, you'll have to talk it out with her."
"I want to study the First Ones' ruins." –Allura says, mincing no words. "I cannot stay long, even if I'm allowed to, but I must try and find any clue as to the whereabouts of your people, Adora. Our people."
The blonde crosses her arms. "I…guess that's fair. And those are technically under my jurisdiction, so I guess I'm actually the one who would be giving you permission." –Adora says, pursing her lips. "But I should warn you, the systems controlling the leftover ruins are kinda…fried. From age, from purging Light Hope when she tried to kill us all, from Horde Prime taking over the entire planet's data network for a few minutes, from destroying the Heart of Etheria…I honestly don't know how much data you'll be able to get from them."
Allura hums. "Altean technology is incredibly robust. Even if it's all in pieces, I'm confident we'll find something."
"If you say so." –Adora says, clearly unconvinced.
The ancient ship rattles, as the uppermost layers of the planet's atmosphere make contact and begin to slow them down. Tongues of flame wash harmlessly against the crystalline hull of the vessel, but Adora's too busy feeling Etheria's nearly overwhelming magic flow through her to really notice – she may be a living runestone, and a conduit for the planet's magical energy no matter how far into space she might travel, but there's nothing quite like being planetside.
"Oh, wow." –Moonstone says. "There's some serious power in this planet, I can feel it – and I'm not even a particularly magically-inclined Gem."
"Yeah…it's like there's some kind of curious presence poking and prodding at my connection to the Red Lion and the other Paladins." –Keith agrees.
Catra raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that, like…concerning? Probably dangerous to have anything mess with the so-called most powerful weapon in the universe, no?"
Keith shrugs. "Not really. It's not like…a person, or even a mind. I don't think it could be malicious if it tried."
"It's the magic of Etheria." –Adora says. "It doesn't really have a consciousness; it's simply resonating with your own magic. Just look at Allura."
Indeed, the Altean princess' cheek markings are glowing fiercely, now, and her whole body appears to have a very faint pink aura around it, like a film clinging to her skin. "Fascinating." –she says. "Distracting, but…fascinating."
"I'm sure it'll fade soon, don't worry." –Adora reassures her.
"Besides, most things in this damn planet glow, anyway." –Catra grumbles. "You're not exactly gonna stand out much."
Mara's ship shudders a bit, hitting a patch of turbulence before settling on the final approach to the make-shift landing pad on the outskirts of Bright Moon. A few (awkward, silent) minutes later, the ship touches down – surprisingly smooth, considering Entrapta didn't bother with the autopilot this time.
"Showtime…" –Keith mutters, under his breath. He's wearing the full Paladin armor and Allura's wearing a very fancy blue and white dress – for the sake of making a good first impression, she's pretty sure – while Moonstone didn't bother changing, still donning her well-worn poncho over a skin-tight uniform that matches her light blue, gray, and white color palette.
The bay doors open, revealing the welcoming committee; a dozen royal guards flank Glimmer and Bow, who look equal parts excited and apprehensive about their visitors. A crowd of Etherians of all shapes and sizes surrounds the landing pad, too curious to stay away, but also understandably cautious enough to keep their distance, not that the soldiers standing in front of them would let them get close. It's a pretty warm welcome at first glance, but Adora's well-trained eye doesn't miss the archers and soldiers with blasters strategically set up on vantage points and sniper nests around the site, their gazes trained on the newcomers, arrows nocked and weapons primed in case things go south.
Adora asked Entrapta to send a message ahead – she considered keeping this a fun surprise for her best friends, but considering the potential fallout from everyone else who might not be quite as enthused about meeting a bunch of new aliens, she figured she'd play it safe.
"Welcome to Etheria!" –Glimmer says, doing a good job of keeping her usual cheery tone. "Bright Moon is happy to host our first, er...friendly visitors from the stars! I'm Queen Glimmer."
"Hey, I'm Bow." –he adds, waving as casually as he can manage.
The Altean princess bows her head in deference. "Your hospitality is much appreciated, Queen Glimmer, Master Bow. I am Princess Allura, Commander of the Castle of Lions and leader of the Voltron Alliance. My companions are Keith, the Red Paladin of Voltron, and Moonstone, our Gem ally."
"A Princess, huh? You'll fit right in." –Glimmer jokes. "Adora mentioned that you were hoping to study the ruins of the First Ones, right?"
"As much as you'll allow, yes." –she says. "I understand the technology found within is dangerous to friend and foe alike, and, of course, that your previous contact with alien life sought to use it for ill, but rest assured, my interest is purely historical."
"Allura, um…she thinks she might be able to help me piece together the data in the Crystal Castle's systems – maybe even help me find a lead on where I came from." –Adora explains.
Glimmer and Bow already know this, of course – it was part of the message she had Entrapta send – and they also know that maybe, just maybe, Allura is a First One herself.
Y'know, sort of. An ancestor to them, at least.
Still, it isn't the wisest thing to talk about something this sensitive in the open. Bright Moon is as safe a place to have that discussion as you could probably ask for, but you never know when some Double Trouble wannabe is listening. No shortage of unsavory elements in the lands between the kingdoms, after all, even after the whole damn world united to take down the Horde.
"Of course! I'm sure you'll be safe under Adora's watchful guidance." –Glimmer says, diplomatically. Despite the friendly tone, the message is clear: you can check out the ruins, but only if Adora's with you, which are terms that she's sure Allura is more than happy to accept. "But first, I'm sure you're tired from the long trip through the stars; we've made a few guest rooms available in the palace, and we've planned a small feast afterwards to celebrate your arrival!"
"Thank you, your majesty." –Allura says. "We humbly accept your invitation."
As the group makes its way to the castle, Keith pulls Catra aside. "We have a problem." –he says.
"Of course we do. This was going way too smoothly." –Catra says, rueful. "What is it?"
"Galra." –Keith says. "Not here, don't worry." –he promises, seeing her panicked expression. "A few dozen light years away. Coran just let me know that the Castle's deep space sensors detected the remains of the scout fleet we've been tracking, attacking a small, inhabited world. Must be a last-ditch effort – they're probably trying to establish a beachhead in this galaxy, have something to show for all their defeats."
Catra hums. "Makes sense, I guess. Can the Paladins take them?"
Keith purses his lips. "Yeah, but…I should join them, just to be safe."
"Right. Unleash the most powerful weapon in the universe or whatever."
Keith actually looks somewhat uncomfortable at that. He seems to debate something internally for a few moments, then sighs deeply. "We…can't actually form Voltron at the moment. The Black Paladin's been missing in action for a while, so every Lion counts. It should only take a few hours, regardless, if we're lucky."
She snorts, disguising her utter shock at how easily he gave up such a major weakness – then mentally chiding herself at thinking in those terms, even now, like she's still a Force Captain trying to please the worst people in the planet. "'If we're lucky', he says. You just assured you won't be." –she says. "I'm coming with you."
The Paladin raises an eyebrow. "What? Why?"
"Because I can handle myself in a fight. Because I need to know what these Galra you're fighting are like. Because as much as I love Adora, I can't stand First Ones tech and their stupid, mind-breaking machines." –she lists off. "…and because I don't trust you – any of you – just yet. I'd be an idiot if I just believed your claims on your word alone. If you have anything nefarious planned, I will find out – and so will She-Ra."
"Geez, lady, anyone ever tell you you have trust issues?" –Keith grumbles, crossing his arms. "What about your girlfriend? Don't you wanna stick around in case Allura betrays her or something?" –he asks, sarcastically.
"Adora can handle herself just fine. And by that, I mean She-Ra would wipe the floor with your prim little princess." –she says. "Let's go and get this done as quickly as possible, so they can play around with First Ones tech without worrying about us."
Keith scowls. "Fine, whatever. Just don't get in our way and we'll be fine."
"I'm sure we will, human." –Catra drawls. "I'm sure we will…"
This should give our plot a kick in the rear! Expect some action next chapter, as well as more of a deep dive into the connection between the First Ones and the Alteans. Some trivia for y'all:
• Adora has something of an involuntary tattoo – the Failsafe imprinted itself on the skin of her chest. It glows when she uses any of She-Ra's powers without transforming, but it no longer has any function, having fulfilled its purpose at the Heart of Etheria.
• As the Alteans and First Ones are connected, so are teludav-generated wormholes and Etheria's portal engine. We might talk about it a bit more later!
• My friend ZR pointed out to me – which I wholeheartedly agree with – that it's a huge missed opportunity that Voltron never filled out the Castle as it went; such a huge, mobile base and there's never more than a dozen people in there at a time. I'd like to change that – to showcase that as the Voltron Alliance grows and more people join up, the Castle becomes a true hub for their operations.
• Regardless of whether or not a master swordsman should be able to spar with a bladeless person without hurting them, it really is kinda foolhardy. Which, y'know, Catra is that, and Keith (despite the aloof exterior) can't resist that kind of a challenge.
• I thought about leaving it vague, but I think it's cooler to confirm it: Catra's claws (on both hands and feet) are made of a vibranium alloy (not adamantium tho). Hordak found a small sample of it in space before crashing on Etheria and experimented on it, but found its properties impossible to replicate, and in such small quantities, it served him no use, so he discarded it. It lacks the mystical properties that Wakandan vibranium has, but retains its ability to slice through most metals, most of its immense durability, and keeps itself sharp.
• Adora can still shape-shift the Sword of Protection into tons of different shapes: shield, spear, lasso – even its prior First Ones form! She does much prefer the new one, though.
• There's no one-size-fits-all reason for why a bunch of Horde warships and their crews stuck around – many of the clones just don't know what to do without Prime, while some others have come to realize the error of their ways, and others still might be hoping to stake a claim on Etherian soil.
• I purposefully went with a very obvious name for the continent that houses most of Etherian civilization, in keeping with She-Ra's naming convention - Light Fall, so named by the native Etherians that witnessed the earliest First One ships landing on the planet. The headcanon is that there was once more of a nascent civilization elsewhere in the planet, but the First Ones eradicated them. It wasn't even purposeful – their terraforming efforts simply had consequences that wiped out those people, and their control of Etheria's magic ensured that life anchored itself to the main continent, failing to sprout elsewhere. Now that the magic is free, I imagine in a thousand years we'll see the entire planet full of life!
• I like to think that, despite the horrible experiences with the Horde, Etherians are just so friendly that they're willing to give these new visitors a shot (though of course, not without precautions). Obviously though, it helps a ton that She-Ra's vouching for them!
• It didn't fit naturally, so I didn't include it in her little rant, but Catra's dragging Bow along on the mission, too. Mostly to vary who I'm writing a little bit, but also because I think Catra's making an effort no to go lone wolf now that she has real friends she can count on.
That's it from me! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below, or shoot me an ask over on tumblr (darthkvznblogs), my ask box is open to all! Until next time!