Royalty

by Nasha Rei-Kun

Lineage was a big part of Etheria and Naruto Uzumaki was forced into making one of his own. To protect his comrades, his friends, his family, and even people like Shadow Weaver and Hordak. Adora and Catra had a big part in it, too, despite all the pain and trials they'd go through. They were a big part of his 'royalty', in the end.

7. Year Long V

Current Episode: S1 E13

~NRK~

The rest of the week following the talk had seemingly zoomed on by before the trio Force members of Team Seven were back to their studies and training.

Three weeks later, making it half a year since they learned the truth, things came with another shift in subject.

~NRK~

Naruto meditated as his shadow slowly began to expand beneath him, Shadow Weaver and he residing in a purple cube composed of magical arrays.

"Look into your shadow, it's a powerful substitute for one's soul and you should always remember that," she told him, hands folded behind her back as a scroll glowed in the air above them. "We've been forcing a 'Shadow' attribute onto you for about a week now, you should almost be done-"

And, as if to emphasize her words, Naruto sighed in relief as the magical cube glowed before compressing inward onto his chest.

It formed a tattoo-like magical array onto his torso before Naruto grinned with sweat running down his brow, Adora looking up from a box of her own.

"Y-You finished?" She asked, voice distorted by her own 'prison'. "Good work, Naruto," Adora praised even as she held her currently-burning-with-darkness sword in front of her.

"You got it, we've all been trying, ya know?" The boy told her and Catra.

Said feline teen was currently gasping against the ground with a groan, covered in sweat as a glowing red mark formed along her arm.

Catty flapped her wings above the sighing-in-relief Catra.

"I-I'm done," she moaned out in false victory. "G-God, why is it SO DAMN HOT?"

"Hmm," Shadow Weaver glided over before observing her arm. "Curious, I really was of the opinion you had no magical potential… But I suppose this could be useful," she rubbed her chin in thought as Catra grinned cheekily. "Save it, you've still no actual magical affinity, last I checked."

Catra grumbled. "Hey! You're the one that said this would be good for me!" She gestured to the mark on her arm.

"I did, that doesn't mean I can't scrutinize you. It's necessary, you're at the back of the learning curve and will need more to keep up. Just being capable of being a canvas for magic doesn't make you a magician."

Great, just what she wanted to hear… Still.

Catra groaned before sitting up. "Thanks, Catty," she said to the familiar who smiled. "Hmm," she looked at her bicep.

Glowing red magical scripture greeted her before she hummed.

As it turned out, one could have affinities for aspects of magic and yet not magic.

She was one of those types and this was the work-around. Use her physical affinity to gain magical stuff.

The issue was that now she had to focus more on her stamina because that was the power source.

"If dad was able to, could he make it easier?" Catty asked Shadow Weaver who cupped her chin.

"Possibly, his powers' abstract trait would make him a valuable asset… But forcing magical scripture onto someone isn't some intermediate skill," the woman explained as Adora finally absorbed her scripture, the item forming more enchantments along the edge of her blade. "Good work, Adora. Now, as I was saying."

Naruto chuckled as Adora wiped away some sweat, her jacket on a hanger by the door with his scarf and Catra's headdress & corset.

"The differences are like night and day between an unaltered object and a living being," the woman considered. "And, not just that, the magician performing the 'bodily incantation' needs to know how to use the magic being granted. Between Naruto, Adora, and Catra, I granted 'Shadow Affinity', 'Slip Through', and 'Chain Conjuration'. These are skills I've gained and are easier to grant due to their low levels but you'll notice the sheer amount of time it took for them to even gain those basic things."

Adora considered that, sitting down with another deep breath. "Mmmm… S-Still, you said that affinities played a role?" She asked.

"Catra has no elemental affinity, for example, not even energy manipulation as a concept, but she has natural affinities tied to aspects. For example, Catra can't drink from the stream but she'd have a decent idea on how to turn water into steam bodily. It's simply magic's finicky nature at times."

"So, I've got an affinity… For chains," Catra said slowly and flatly, face blank as Naruto coughed. "... In a weird way? It kinda makes sense."

Shadow Weaver blinked at her in confusion. "... What?"

~NRK~

And, merely a week later, all their soldiers had been gathered and internal development tripled.

Whether a soldier was useful in one aspect or another, they were put to work to enhance their defenses.

And their friends were also around, somewhere, now more 'at-base' than they could have planned for but even then, training ensued with them all apart.

But, of course, they met up once in a while and went on small excursions like now…

~NRK~

"Alright, just a shift," Kyle said with a grin as Adora chuckled and moved the Kyle-designed large skiff to the side past a tree.

"Kyle, this is amazing, they already let you design vehicles?" She asked in shock as he blushed but kept on grinning.

"Yeah," he said as they slunk into the Whispering Woods. "T-The thing is, it was more like a competition. The one with the most practical designs would win. I was the third place winner so I have to test out my own ideas on my own time. I did get help to make it, at least," Kyle said as he looked down at it.

The large skiff was maybe ten meters long and half that wide, the item's rudder in his and Adora's hands and shifting with their instruction on a large mast above most of the medium-sized ship.

Being a dark gray color and lacking, coincidentally, a certain emblem on the side, they could fly out with this in standard cloak-ware.

Down below, Lonnie and Rogelio sat by the edge of the uplifted edges of the Kyle Ship, seats built under the curves so people could look out at their surroundings with small computers popping up for them to work on.

"Kyle, this is sick," Lonnie grinned as she spoke into a virtual speaker.

-I know! I'm so glad this thing flies so well now. I've been testing it for the past two weeks- Their designated pilot said. -How are the computers? They're not as hi-tech as they could be, space and all that, but they should have our entire database on it along with our ship's diagram-

Rogelio nodded as he rolled his finger down the side of a hologram screen and zoomed in on said program before giving a thumbs-up.

"Seems good!" Lonnie smirked.

Lastly, Naruto, Catra, and Catty sat in the back of the large skiff, the three looking at a smaller skiff currently attached to the back.

"Kyle's doing great," Naruto chuckled as his familiar-daughter kicked her feet back and forth atop the normal-sized skiff's edge. "Easy, Toru."

"I know, dad!" The girl spirit grinned. "You're really happy the team's back together, though."

Naruto grinned with another chuckle, sat cross-legged on the edge of the back platform while Catra hummed next to him, scrunched-up with her arms folded on her knees and her chin on them.

"I am, despite all being on the base, we're still apart. It's good to meet up again."

"... So, question," Catra asked the blonde as he turned to her with a raised brow. "What is the plan for you and us and the Horde, huh?"

After the year was up, things would be getting more drastic in the Horde.

Shadow Weaver as their teacher wouldn't last.

They'd need to choose a side, soon.

"Hmm… Well, let me ask you this," Naruto smiled. "What do you wanna do?" He asked as she blinked. "I've never asked you guys this stuff before but, I'm curious, do you have a dream, Catra?"

'Do I have a dream?' Catra considered his words with closed eyes, tail curling around her side and crossing with his.

All her life, Catra had deemed that she'd live her life to the fullest with what she'd been dealt.

On the side of obvious evil? Well, things happened.

On a team led by a kind of abusive mentor? It was crappy but she was still alive, fed, and strong.

Catra hadn't thought things would change with that… Well, until she met Naruto and understood the kind of person he was.

All of a sudden, 'obvious evil' had a blip of 'good' in it.

All of a sudden, her team were her friends. They were her closest comrades.

Her… Catra's eyes cracked open and looked at the moons above.

Perhaps it was the crazy part of her Naruto brought out.

Maybe it was the fact that, with him around, her life had gotten BETTER.

Or, maybe, despite it all… She had wanted this for SO LONG.

"I don't know," she admitted to him.

Memories of Naruto's power, both in the Land of Snows and Plumeria, sprung to mind. The emotions at those times, the current feeling of her hammer on her back, and the sensation of just this small trip.

"But… I want to keep all of this," she admitted to the blonde who grinned. "In any way possible," Catra said upfront and personally.

She wanted all of this, all of it.

No one should-would be able to take this from her. Not now.

Her mind replayed the image of a bloody blonde and her eyes glinted in the moonlight.

Not again.

~NRK~

Bow blew on his food before taking a bite.

He swallowed and grinned as Glimmer chuckled.

"Guys, this is so good," he said to Kyle and Rogelio, the two nodding in thanks.

"This is kinda new for us, making stew, but we saw the lunch ladies do it so we tried to figure it out," Kyle smiled with a shrug. "So, I'm glad we got something right on the first go."

Lonnie nodded before taking a deep slurp of soup and beef. "Ooooohhh," she moaned softly in delight. "Yes. I've missed this, Lord, those other guys can't cook! We've been eating nothing but rations and being stuck in one department!" She whined.

"Mmm," Rogelio nodded before teetering his hand.

"You're the cook, dammit, it's not the same thing."

"She's got a point," Adora chuckled. "I mean, for us… H-Hehe," she grinned nervously as Naruto laughed while Catra snickered. "We don't exactly have cooking thumbs… We tried."

---

"W-Why's everything on FIRE?!"

"Put it out!"

"I CAN'T!"

---

"Let's not talk about that," Catra 'warned' with a smug grin.

"So, yeah, we've lived with the hand we're dealt so, translated, I mean thank God that Catty seems to know how to cook," Naruto chuckled. "How have things been on you guys' end?" He asked Bow and Glimmer.

The two looked to one another before looking back at him with a nod, swallowing their spoons of broth before speaking.

"Yeah, actually, we've been double-checking on all the settlements," the archer said with a roll of his shoulders. "It's why we haven't met over the past month. Since everyone's noticed the Horde retreating, for some reason, they've gotten curious."

"Right now, with mom knowing what's up but not telling anyone," Glimmer winked. "We've been reinforcing the defenses of small but decent-sized colonies and we even called on my aunt…" She grinned nervously. "Oh, that's gonna be awkward."

"Oh yeah? You guys ain't on good terms?" Catra asked. "... What's an 'aunt' again?"

"Heh, Ms. Castaspella isn't so bad… She just cares too much," Bow said after some thought. "Oh, well, an aunt is typically the sister to your mom or dad. Sometimes, people just choose close friends as aunts, unwritten-wise, and sometimes there are even people called godparents and stuff."

"?" Kyle blinked in complete and utter confusion. "What?"

As Bow explained the titles of relationships, the time went on.

They chatted, joked, laughed, and ate friendly and even happily.

This wasn't wrong.

And, as Naruto chuckled at Glimmer's impression of her mother, he blinked at something odd.

"Hmm?" He blinked, confused, as he looked around the area with a raised brow and tilt of the head.

"You heard something?" Adora smiled happily as he chuckled a bit.

"Just a bit, thought I'd-"

"Boyos!" Came a voice from the forest, confusing the group, before a small pink lady hurried out. "Bad news!" She squealed as she hurried over with a large walking stick.

She had pink skin, long wild lavender hair, and black eyes on pale yellow sclera behind some big round glasses. Bearing several wrinkles, pink-purple robes, a lime green furred scarf, and white wrist bangles, she hurried over to Naruto with a worried look.

"Old Lady Razz?" Naruto and Bow said in confusion, the two standing up as the old woman hurried to them. "What's wrong?"

"Bad! Bad things! Something big, mean, and GREEN is coming!" The odd woman said as she looked around at the group- "Mara?" Razz blinked.

Adora blinked at her in confusion, staring at her even as a feeling itched at the back of her mind. 'Mara?' She wondered in confusion as the old woman's eyes watered.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "Wait, hold it, Razz, you told me that 'Mara' was some old friend of yours," he said as Catty flew to his shoulders and landed on them.

"Yes! She's right there! Can't you see her?" The old woman asked brightly as Adora raised a confused brow.

"Um, you sure she's 'all there'?" Catra whispered to Naruto who frowned.

"No, Razz, hold on," he frowned. "What did you mean about something Big, Mean, and Green coming our way?"

"Ah!?" The woman shivered and snapped to him before hurrying over and grabbing his arm with urgency. "Big and bad! The corruption of the world is centering on it and heading this way!"

The group flinched at that as the area seemingly 'buzzed' with… Something bad.

"H-Hey," Glimmer shivered as she looked around at the dark forest. "What's she talking about?"

The others got up in worry, grouping around the worried old woman.

"Mara! You need to transform!" Razz said to Adora who's eyes widened as she stared at her, mind 'buzzing' like white noise. "We'll need both you and Planet boy!" She told her as she wrangled Naruto's arm a bit.

'What?' Transform? What did this 'Razz' lady mean? "W-Wait, wait, what are you talking about?" Adora asked nervously as Razz's eyes blinked and flickered before she flinched.

"Not good!" She squealed as Naruto's fox ears shot up.

Something was off-

He'd felt it before any of them did, the feeling of something's wicked aura behind them brimming with malice.

So, the blonde did the first thing that came to mind.

Bow's eyes widened as Naruto's magic arm expanded before scooping the group up and throwing them.

Quickly followed by an explosion that rocked the ground moments before they landed, the group gasping in horror as Naruto grunted against the floor, head held down in a crater by a man.

A sickeningly thin man who leaned his head down to the blonde's own.

"Ah, so you're the one I felt, huh?" He whispered, breath releasing steam and hisses as his white pupils with green irises dilated. "Come on, kid, make me WORK for it-"

The blonde's head turned to the man and he saw his dilating pupil.

The area exploded in a burst of golden energy, tossing back the treetops and the group's hair.

"NARUTO?!" Adora shouted as Catra's pupils dilated, Catty landing on the human Captain's shoulders. "What the hell is going on?!"

Razz hid by her side, looking beyond worried.

"DAD?!" Catty shouted as an expanding barrier formed around the group.

The smoke and debris cleared, allowing the group to see Naruto's burning golden form facing the landing intruder.

"Hmm," the man's square jaw settled happily as he grinned, vicious-looking teeth on display as a long reptilian tail slapped against the ground behind him and crushed a tree. "I can see why you're such a pain," he uttered as a cut on his cheek spilled some blood.

"What the hell?!" Glimmer grimaced as the group gathered by Naruto's side, what weapons they did have drawn in an instant. "Who the heck is this?!"

A growl emanated from deep within Catra's throat as a feeling boiled in her spine before she stamped it down.

'No, I said it, didn't I?!' She growled as her hammer was removed off her back and a glowing chain sprouted from her magical scripture before latching onto the pommel. "This guy isn't normal. He's not a beastkin."

"Or a lizardman," Naruto declared with a scuffed-up face. "... Not good," he hissed as Bow grimaced. "He's Chimera," he told the group.

All eyes widened save for the man, Chimera, who attacked them.

He was a ridiculously tall being, having to be at least nine feet tall with a body that enticed a fear reaction out of them even now.

He was thin, almost skeletal in mass, with a body that didn't bear… Anything.

Fat, muscle, hair, none of it. A tan-skinned emaciated form that somehow moved, his long lion-clawed fingers twitching with a rising green glow.

Bearing the 'green' legs of a leopard, he had on black pants with an odd-looking capsule on his lower back, a pair of bangles on his wrists and ankles, a hood over his head that allowed a pair of bull's horns to poke through, and a pendant, the man grinned again as his eyes peeked through the shadow of his headwear.

It was a disgusting image.

Razz shivered. "H-He's corrupting the ground where he stands!" She cried as Naruto's eyes went to the man's feet.

And watched the dying grass begin to fester and bubble, the space below his paws beginning to turn to goop.

"Can't control your body, huh?" The fox boy said as he removed his ax off his back. "I know old guys like you ain't all 'there' yet, ya know?" Naruto taunted as his body thrummed. "... Don't get into too much contact with him," he told the others.

And lunged at the chimera man with a swing of his ax.

The man caught the blow with his hand on the head before stumbling as Naruto followed through with its full weight.

The man was thrown off his feet before he dug his feet into the ground and stopped his flight in time to swat away Catra's hammer.

The chain glowed before the man shielded his head from an explosion of flames on contact. "Mmm, interesting," he said before tilting his head out of the way of a pair of arrows and the smoke, eyes going flat as he looked at Bow with an uninjured face.

The archer's eyes narrowed as he notched another arrow, Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio rushing to the skiff with Razz thrown over the pilot's shoulder and a familiar pendant around Rogelio's neck. "You've been a big-time bad guy for too long, buddy," he said as he pulled back.

"Ms. Razz, we need to go!" Kyle grimaced with a whisper as he put the woman on the ship. "It's not safe here," he told her as he jumped on along with the others, quickly scaling to the top of the altered skiff. 'Will they be able to handle this guy?' From everything they'd learned about this Chimera mage, the answer filled him with nothing but dread.

"They've got it," Lonnie said as she and Rogelio manned the computers. "Kyle, I'm opening up a direct line to HQ," she told him as he nodded.

"Do it. Rogelio, look at our miscellaneous parts," Kyle's eyes narrowed as the lizardman found what he meant and grinned. "We're not just letting this happen when we can do something."

Razz looked on with concern as trees erupted into towers of explosive clouds. 'Naruto… Mara,' she held onto her stick with a worried embrace. 'You can't die here.'

---

They'd traveled further from their ride as much as they could.

Adora slunk around in the shadows, eyes narrowed as she vanished into the shadow of a tree, Chimera's arm swinging through the series of trees.

They broke like toothpicks but all he found was nothing but destroyed ground. 'Where did she go-?' He began to think before kicking out at Catra's hammer.

The blow exploded into another explosion of flame, the feline Captain's eyes glinting as she circled the mage with her hammer flying back to her hand with ease.

'Thank Hordak for these chains,' they followed her thoughts and transmitted magic flames. 'It's a good thing I upped my training,' this was the first time she'd be using these things in battle. "HAA!"

She slunk in before hopping onto another kicking leg and swinging up at the man's chin.

The blow threw his head back and allowed Chimera's eyes to meet Catty's.

And an explosive beam of fiery destruction, the man's form thrown into the forest before Catra's body slid in front of Catty's.

Their eyes glowed.

---

"Resonance," Shadow Weaver explained as Catra's magical markings and Catty glowed in unison. "It's not something that just happens between two individuals but you both share a deep connection. Especially with Catty's own magic helping to mold the Body Incantation I gifted you. That can open you all up to powerful skills if you plan properly."

Catra's eyes narrowed in interest as she found Catty on her shoulders. "Oh yeah?"

---

She held her weapon in front of her and it began to rise in heat that caused it to glow a bright white.

She reared back as Catty's wings glowed.

Catra threw the chained hammer with all her might, the chain extending beyond its usual extensive length to reach their target.

The two felines chanted.

"ERUPTION!"

Naruto ran towards the rising tower of flame magic with narrowed eyes, reaching towards his back with his human arm.

---

"That's so much easier!" The boy said in relief as he removed both his axes from his shadow. "Thanks, master," Naruto grinned.

Shadow Weaver nodded. "Now, since I've recently spoken with Catra on it, let's speak in depth on RESONANCE SKILLS."

---

He felt 'her' as he reached the hissing, crackling, parts of the Whispering Woods and jumped high into the sky with flapping wings.

Naruto saw Chimera laying in a crater of destruction, the man grimacing at his hissing body and the slowly growing pool of corruption below him.

The blondes descended on him, Adora slipping out of Naruto's shadow above him with her weapon and bangle glowing as the blonde's axes did, his Body Incantation burning powerfully as they swung out.

"EQUINOX!"

The golden and black energies spun together like a descending comet that ruptured the forest floor and carved into the ground and trees like an bomb.

Catra waited with Catty in the spirit's barrier as they rode out the attack.

As they did, both Naruto & Adora along with Bow & Glimmer appeared within from a shadow and twinkle, respectively.

"Whoa?!" Glimmer said in awe as Bow nodded with a grin. "There's no way that didn't leave that guy gasping in defeat!" She grinned.

Naruto and Adora didn't look so chipper, something Catra noticed.

"How bad is it really?" She asked, tempering Glimmer's enthusiasm as Bow blinked in confusion.

"They… I'm sure those attacks did something," Adora said as she rubbed the side of her head, eyes closed as a familiar tiara of black formed. "But he's not weaker in the least… I-In fact," her voice distorted as she grew more nervous.

"He's still got a ton of magic to use," Naruto finished for her even as Glimmer and Bow shot Adora worried looks. "Right now, Adora, how much of a charge do you have left?"

"Eighty percent," his fellow team leader said. "... Naruto, did he even feel any of that?"

"What?" Bow asked worriedly as Naruto frowned.

"For now, I'll only say this, leave me as the only one for CQC," Naruto declared as he turned to Bow and Glimmer. "Glimmer, Bow, I need you guys to play support and range, specifically. Don't let this guy touch anyone if you can, Glimmer, I don't want to think about him getting any kind of contact."

Their barrier slowly fell as the wind pressure finally died down, allowing the group to see the large smoking crater beyond what trees were still there ahead of them.

"This guy's no joke," Catra frowned. "... Catty," she spoke to the familiar who perked up.

"Yeah, mom?" Catty asked.

"Lock in with me," the feline Captain said as Naruto shot her a look before nodding. "We'll need as much mobility as possible," Catra added. "Besides, better that you're always on me than being apart."

"A-Alright!"

The familiar's form blinked before turning into her orb form and attaching to Catra's back, the feline grinning as her Body Incantation glowed and spread out in flaming marks.

"Good," Catra hissed out.

And, just then, a series of laser beams shot overhead and slammed into the Chimera's crater, lighting up the treeline for a moment before dying down.

"Kyle?" Naruto asked as the other members of their group floated above on the pilot's ship.

-We didn't want to just leave you without doing something!- Kyle said through a loudspeaker. -You guys need to watch your backs. We'll be back with Shadow Weaver as soon as possible after dropping off Ms. Razz-

-Naruto, Mara- The old woman in question spoke. -Please… Don't die-

"... We won't," Naruto smiled as Adora rubbed the back of her head.

"Why do you keep calling me 'Mara'?" She asked.

-It's… W-Well, you're her, aren't you? I know that same power rests within you- Adora blinked at Razz's words. -Y-You're so strong already like I said about you having magic and the sword just being a control! When you become She-Ra again, you'll be able to handle anything!-

'Become who?' Adora wondered. "... I'll speak with you again, one day, Old Lady Razz. For now, you guys need to get out of here!" She shouted back as she held her weapon aloft.

-Kick his ass!- Lonnie cheered.

-Hmph!- Rogelio grunted.

And then the skiff turned in the air before shooting off.

"Wait… She-Ra?" Glimmer whispered in surprise before she and Bow locked eyes.

'There's no way,' the archer thought, eyes snapping to Adora's focused form. 'Is Old Lady Razz saying she's She-Ra?' But that didn't make sense… Right?

Razz had clearly called Adora 'Mara' and yet Adora had no idea what she meant.

What?

"The heck's that?" Catra asked, confused. "She-Ra?"

"I don't know…" Adora said but, inside, she felt different. 'That name… A transformation?' Something about those names.

Mara? She-Ra? Why did she feel like they were familiar?

She'd never heard them before, she's sure, and yet the thought of the two names cast an image into her mind.

Of a lone figure's cape fluttering in the wind, her back to her and powerfully long blonde hair shifting in an unseen wind.

'It's almost like…' Like when she touched Naruto every now and then.

It'd become something she didn't exactly tell the others because it had been weird, at first, especially because it didn't happen every time.

… Yet, when Naruto was channeling his magic or using his skills, she saw 'things'.

Flickers of mental images, odd scenes, faces, or even gemstones.

'... I need to talk to that old woman again,' something told her that doing so would make a lot of these odd occasions more understandable. 'But, also,' her eyes went to Naruto.

Why did she get these odd visions when Naruto was channeling power? When she touched him?

Why Naruto?

"I'm sure we'll get decent answers from Razz when this fight's over," Naruto said with narrowed eyes, axes at the ready. "He's coming-" He began to say.

And kicked back behind them at a pair of crossed arms, sending Chimera's grinning form flying back.

"ATTACK!"

The blonde shot towards the man, form low to the ground as his wings flexed.

Mid-flight, the man swung out at the blonde who swerved around it and swung at his enemy's face.

They halted mid-clash, Chimera's feet crunching into the ground as his tilted horns slammed into the ax.

There was a deep cut from Naruto's lodged weapon before the man threw his head around with the boy by proxy.

"Tsk!" The blonde's eyes narrowed before he let go and flew back into the air.

"Don't leave me hanging, boy!" The man grinned as he held up his hands.

A series of glowing green astral animals shot out into the air at the blonde.

Then, they were shot down or cleaved through by Bow and Adora, respectively, Glimmer pressing a hand on the archer's back.

Chimera swerved out the way of Catra's flying hammer before stumbling as the weapon circled back around and slammed into his back with an explosion of flame.

"Tsk!" The man kissed his teeth before being enveloped by an explosion of red flame.

From high above, Catra's Catty-assisted form swooped down as her hammer shot back into her hand.

Adora leveled her weapon at the smoke and hissing flames.

A burst of black magic slammed into the figure in it, causing Chimera to skid out of the smoke, his form covered in soot marks.

She kissed her teeth before rushing him, Naruto doing the same with an aerial strafe to bring him to the man's back.

Bow released another arrow at the man's thigh before gawking as it bounced off.

"What?!" He yelped.

"His skin is tough! Aim for his horns!" Glimmer told him before they twinkled away and to Chimera's back.

The man scoffed before swinging out and deflecting Naruto's ax swing before jumping up to dodge Catra and Adora's pincer attack.

He came down like a dive-bomber as the flying feline just pulled Adora back in time to dodge it, an explosive splatter of corruption spreading out and killing the woods.

"Shit!" Not good.

"Not so fast!" Naruto's form glowed before spinning his ax behind him.

A circle of golden light formed beneath his feet before spreading out like a high-speed virus, the energy covering the ground below the group's feet before breaking apart into motes of light.

The lively forest floor got a sigh of relief out of Bow while Glimmer grinned.

"See that, you bum!?" She taunted as Chimera's eyes landed on the ground, his glowing feet resisted, much to his disbelief. "Your powers are denied!"

The man's eyes narrowed in interest. "I see… You were as we thought," Chimera spoke. "Yes, your 'purification' will be troublesome," he dislodged the blonde's ax from his horn before throwing the weapon away. "So, removing you from the equation was the answer as I told that idiot woman."

There was a shift in the air that stunned Glimmer, the Princess shivering as the man's form glowed sickly green.

His limbs were soon enveloped in glowing green magic that released hisses like lava, the smell downright abhorrent and offensive to Catra's nose.

"Hordak-dammit, man, SHOWER!" She growled before throwing her hammer again. "FULL STRENGTH!"

The blunt weapon glowed bright white once more, shooting through the air with a trail of flames behind it.

And Chimera caught it, the man's claw gripping it tightly as the group jumped back.

Another tower of white flames shot up into the sky, the heat warming the air around them and brightening the forest for the second time.

"Hehe, eat shit!" Catra grinned wickedly as Naruto held Adora, Glimmer, and Bow in the air with three magic arms. "Hah!"

Adora looked confused and horrified. "Catra, it didn't-?"

The flames and smoke began to bend and split before an orb of green expanded around Chimera.

The man was untouched, grinning as the flames died down with his arms crossed and Catra's hammer on the ground.

"What?!"

"H-He doesn't even look bothered!" Bow shivered as Naruto frowned before lowering to the floor with Catra.

Releasing the others, the blonde shot Catra a look as she regained her weapon. "Toru, keep the others safe," he said as he began to walk forward, form erupting into a gold blaze. "I'm gonna take this up a notch."

Naruto's transformed state revealed itself as the golden blaze fell away, leaving the young man to glare at his surprised opponent.

"What-HRGK?!" Chimera began to say, eyes wide.

And then an arm slammed into his throat, his breath taken from him and pain blossoming in his throat and chest.

"LARIAT!"

The arm swung and soon the chimera magician was sent flying.

He'd gone through the trees, the ground of hills, and even several large rocks before coming to an end in a rock face of a cliff.

Chimera's eyes widened before he choked on some blood. 'H-He can become so powerful?!' His eyes trembled as he wheezed and croaked, the man's head lifting so he could see- "My word."

The sheer distance from here to his previous spot was beyond his sight on the horizon.

I-Impossible!

~NRK~

Naruto nodded as he turned back to the others, preparing to go.

"Go back to your homes," he said. "I don't think this guy being here is some coincidence, they might be attacking as we speak. It's not safe out here alone."

"Naruto?" Adora frowned as Naruto shook his head.

"This guy's already broken past my Purification Field," the glowing blonde said with a frown as they all looked down at the ground.

And stepped back from glowing green pits of corruption that hissed in the open air.

"Dude, what the hell is this guy?!" Catra asked, worried. "You can't fight that guy alone, who knows what else he'll pull out?"

"That's why you'll be going back and grabbing Shadow Weaver."

The group balked while Bow and Glimmer frowned in confusion. "Your teacher?" The Princess asked. "N-Naruto, is he that much of a threat?"

The glowing blonde's eyes went to the currently out-of-sight Chimera. "... He's not at full power, not yet," the fox boy said as Bow's mouth dropped. "And up till now, he's been doing nothing but playing with us. He brushed off our Resonance Skills and could transform after that. Right now, I need to focus and try to end this before he becomes more powerful than I am now," Naruto told them as Bow and Glimmer flinched.

Catra's eyes narrowed as Adora looked down in thought before looking at her bangle.

"... Naruto, can't we try another way?" She asked him, getting a raised brow from the blonde before his eyes widened as she gestured to her bangle. "You do remember that Resonance Skills can be used for more than attacking, right? He's clearly channeling the corruptive power of those pools," Adora grinned viciously as Catra sighed in relief. "If we take that from him, he's not going to be that dangerous."

"Adora, he's so fast."

"I know and that's why," Adora turned to Catra who jumped a bit before realizing what her fellow Captain meant.

The small spike of jealousy was ignored as she urged Catty off her back. "You know what to do, kid," Catra said as she ruffled the spirit's head of hair.

"Alright, mom!" The child familiar declared with a salute as she floated over to Adora. "Let's do this, aunty!"

Adora blinked before tilting her head. "... I guess that makes sense," she smiled as Catty nodded before slipping onto her back and becoming that energy source-flight ability once more.

The feeling of magic rushing through her veins alarmed Adora, the feeling of it pressuring some… 'Point' inside of her that she had no idea how to use but it seemed to have 'poked a hole' into it.

Her shadowy powers rotated around her, the Force Captain looking down at her hands as her former uniform was replaced.

Thigh-high black boots, similar black spats, black cloak, and a skin-tight black bodysuit beneath all of it formed over her, the mantle brimming with shining golden arcs along the edge, front of the boots, and her chest.

When it ended, Adora blinked in shock. "W-Whoa," she was a bit startled at her own voice. "Wait, it's back to normal!?"

"Wait, um, what's going on?!" Bow asked in shock as Catra blinked thrice.

'She's just like…' Catty's power hadn't done this to her yet Adora? 'That old hag,' she knew Adora could transform?

Why? What the hell was going on with her first best friend? Why the hell did the world seem to thrust more and more into her hands-?

Catra closed her eyes and took a deep breath before focusing on the important matter at hand.

"Just… Just don't die, either of you," she said from the bottom of her heart with her hands running through her hair. "God, I'm so fucking useless on my own?"

"Catra, no you're not," Adora smiled as her feline friend slumped.

"Not to imply anything," Naruto chuckled embarrassedly. "But it's only because you were here that Catty existed," she scratched the side of his nose sheepishly as Catra blushed before clearing her throat.

"E-Easy there, buddy, life's already confusing enough with you around, don't make it weirder."

Glimmer blushed before grinning slyly and sidling up to Catra with a pleased look.

"You gotta trust in the father of your child-" She tried.

"Glimmer, I WILL spit in your ear."

The Princess yelped before twinkling behind Bow with a pout, the archer chuckling a bit.

"Probably not the best time," he smiled as she shot him a pout. "Oh, come on, I'll make you your favorite food when this is all over," Bow bribed as she froze.

"... Mmm," she muttered something.

"I'm glad," Adora smiled. "We'll handle this, go," she told them before turning to Naruto. "Ready?"

"Yeah," her fellow blonde grinned as she did.

They took off high into the sky, speed unmatched save for when Catra was being empowered by the Familiar.

They zeroed in on the glowing green figure against a large cliff face.

"You ready for this?" Naruto asked Adora as they flew closer together.

Magic spun around the two of them as they sped up more and more.

"Yeah," Adora told him with a smile as he grinned, getting some red on her cheeks. "... A-And there's something I'd like to try… A-After this!" She said quickly as he blinked, his squinty-eyed face on display.

'... Why do I feel some deja vu?'

They sped up again.

Down below, their target, Chimera, emanated a tower of corruption energy.

'There weren't supposed to be that many threats, weren't there?' He wondered with a hissing grimace, a crack forming in the man's cheek. 'I can't keep playing with these children,' Chimera had a job to do.

A message to send!

"..."

The chimera's body glowed brightly as all the corruption, the energy, and the hissing heat coiled in on him.

The two blondes' forms finally reached.

~NRK~

Black and gold shot into the sky in a true tower of destruction of purity.

So, why did it seem like there was a green energy sphere that combated it?

Running around the fight location, Catra grimaced as she leaped up onto a large rock and scaled a large tree that led up a large plateau opposite the 'occupied' one.

"What the hell is going on?" Having left Bow and Glimmer already, Catra was left feeling all of this… Sickening energy on her own, the feeling sending a quake through her body that she had to ignore as best she could.

Then, the lights flashed and 'beamed' across the forest below.

Destruction, acid-like melting, and roars rang out.

And, yet, the more she traveled and listened, the more her hair stuck up on end, body coming to a halt as she watched the gold and black lights begin to lessen in number. Small glowing dots shooting about, slamming into one another again and again, before being followed by powerful blasts of magic one after the other.

The lights flickered.

She then watched a large red orb, a barrier, sprout over the trees of the forest before being pushed back far by a green beam that tore across the forest.

"No?!" She shouted over the expanse before grimacing and steadying herself as what had to be Catty's barrier slammed into the cliff face below her. "You guys?!" Her footing shook but Catra didn't focus on it.

The barrier went down and the hissing of dead nature caused her tail to go limp.

Catra hopped down from odd rocks to smooth declines, eyes snapping around the steam and haze to look for her comrades.

She landed on a thick outcropping and quickly moved to the edge to look down at the results.

And found an unconscious Naruto on his side currently being jostled by a horrified 'de-transformed' Adora, the Captain holding an unconscious Catty in her arms.

"N-Naruto?!" The blonde Captain cried out in horror and concern, Catra's heart beating rapidly in her chest as she threw caution to the wind and jumped down, chain incantation sprouting out and looping around the rock above.

She stopped after ten meters, a mere meter from Adora before she dropped behind her.

"What happened?" Catra asked, kneeling by her disciples' sides before turning her gaze from the horrified Adora and unconscious Catty to Naruto- "No… No?!"

The large glowing green wound currently 'splotched' around the boy's abdomen, the wound black at the edges in darkened tissue. With the numerous number of bruises and cuts, he did not provide a wanted image.

No, she couldn't lose him again!

"S-Shit!" Catra hissed out in horror as she turned her head to Adora. "Adora. Adora, we've gotta go!"

The blonde young woman barely looked like she heard her, swallowing as Catra unfurled her magical chain.

Gently wrapping it around Naruto's unconscious form, the boy's almost impossible-to-hear groans sent a quake throughout her body as her chains floated in the air and allowed her to carry him to… Fuck wherever the hell could help him.

"Where do we go?" Adora swallowed as Catra looked around with her, the blonde Captain grimacing as she closed her eyes. "Hordak-damm… Huh?" She blinked in surprise, eyes wide as Catra shot her a look. "H-He's leaving?" She whispered in shock as her comrade blinked in surprise.

"... Let's go," Catra said quickly as she slowly undid Naruto's half-destroyed apprentice scarf to look at the gem. "If we're lucky, Shadow-"

The area around the blonde glowed before the four of them vanished-

~NRK~

And reappeared in a familiar training room, their feet barely catching them-

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Kyle, Lonnie, Scorpia, and Shadow Weaver shouted in horror at the sight of the unconscious blonde.

~NRK~

An hour later, they found themselves staring through a medical room window, watching as Naruto's body was put under scrutiny by their medics and machinery.

"I-I don't understand," Kyle shivered as Lonnie grimaced, fists clenched. "Why is it always him? Every other fucking second it's like Naruto's the punching bag of the fucking world."

Rogelio stared at the glass, his reflection returning his glaring gaze on nothing particular.

Meanwhile, Adora mindlessly combed her fingers through Catty's hair, eyes darker than usual as she looked down at the ground.

The five were left in silence before there was a small commotion from one of the doors in the hall.

Catra walked in with narrowed eyes, Shadow Weaver, Scorpia, and Hordak behind her with Imp on his shoulders as they entered from the nearest door.

The small flying creature took one look at the medical window before his tail went limp at the sight.

"What in the world did this?" Hordak grimaced as he looked on along with the others at the blonde's grievous wounds.

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed at the sight of her newest student's condition. 'WHY?' It dug in deep and made her head hurt.

This? Had this been punishment?

Just seeing the sporadically breathing blonde made her realize that, yes, this had to be some form of karma, no? At one, nearly imperceptible, point this boy had become precious to her.

And now here he lay, half-dead in a medical room.

"What's… What's happening to him?" Lonnie asked Catra who looked at Naruto's form with a hard-to-read expression.

"... He was hit by a heavily-compressed bunch of the corruption Chimera was wielding," Catra sighed as she looked at Adora's fallen head. "Apparently, Chimera's power was as Naruto said. He had another stage that we didn't know about."

"He became a dragon," Adora whispered as Hordak's eyes narrowed. "B-But his body wasn't like the other dragon. He… H-He didn't look like anything on Etheria."

His eyebrows rose at that before his eyes closed in thought.

"But he ran," Catra said with a frown. "Apparently, he came by here," she told the worried quartet who balked. "He wasn't here to fight us, he was supposed to attack the Empire."

"Naruto Uzumaki did us a service," Hordak said as Shadow Weaver's hands folded behind her back, their knuckles white as they gripped one another. "That thing that became of Chimera, it likely wore off after your fight," he turned to the downtrodden ones. "Your efforts won't be ignored, you've all done your jobs to their utmost maximums. Team Seven will be off-duty for the coming month," he told Shadow Weaver who gave a small nod. "..."

The woman's seemingly unbreaking gaze spoke a million words as he left.

"... W-What's going to happen now?" Kyle asked the woman as Scorpia wore a sad look.

"Naruto's body is pretty strong, ya know? His body supposedly fended off that corruption stuff on principle," the scorpion said. "Right now, that's keeping him out of the dangerous zone but it's… It's gonna be some time until he's up and at 'em," she said but her expression read 'guilty'.

Rogelio's eyes narrowed before he looked down and noted his belt-

His eyes widened. "Hmph!" The young man declared, gaining their attention before the group saw his numerous vials. "..." Rogelio looked at them all, four of the ten items bearing that corruption goop in it before he nodded.

"Lio?" Scorpia blinked before Lonnie perked up.

"Right, Lio was supposed to be looking into that stuff," she remembered as Kyle's head snapped to the lizard man to see his nod.

Pulling out a large, reinforced glass, square beaker that he placed every vial in. It was then quickly followed by his medical book, the young man turning to a page to show words, formulas, and ingredients.

Team Seven gathered around quickly. "D-Did you have something?" Adora asked hopefully.

Rogelio's eyes narrowed as he nodded slowly. "Mmm," he pointed to her bangle before holding up a large bunch of pages to write on a fresh one.

We need external purification powers and herbs. Rogelio wrote. There's a high chance the wound isn't that bad because Naruto's powers rely on purification and I've tested it with the Corruption Vials.

"Really?!" Scorpia asked with a hopeful grin.

The lizardman nodded before hesitating… He wrote some more.

But the issue is that we need special materials. Naruto's powers are nature-based and, from some personal conversations, we found out he can passively enhance herbs, plants, and other medicinal items.

"I see," Shadow Weaver said from her spot, a small familiar reading Rogelio's written words. "... Then you'll need something beyond scope, most definitely," she added as the group blinked at her.

"Master?" Adora asked and Shadow Weaver's arms crossed below her chest.

"... There are a series of magical materials in the world," the woman continued. "Many would call them valuable… If they weren't situational antiques," Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed. "But you might be in luck, the time is quickly approaching for the Moons of Enchantment to align and it might be the last chance you'll get."

"What? Wait, why?!" The blonde Captain asked worriedly. "W-Why would you say that?"

"Because Chimera didn't come here to just boast. No, he relayed a message."

The team's eyes widened as the sorceress looked off to the side.

"In a month's time, he will return with Chackles and their team to attack."

"A-A month?!" Lonnie's jaw dropped as Rogelio grimaced with a growl.

"..." Kyle's head fell for a moment before he turned his gaze to her. "When?" He asked. "When for both? The Moons of Enchantment and when Chackles's group are attacking?"

"I'm surprised, Kyle, you seem more capable of holding a level head," Shadow Weaver said, observing the frowning boy's expression. "... The Moons of Enchantment will align in ten days' time. The moment of their alignment is specific," the woman explained as shadowy energy formed three moon-like objects ahead of them before coming into a line.

Points between each one sparked and spread around the other.

"For one hour, they will be aligned. Any time before or after is insignificant and will mean nothing. If you can't make it to Mystacor at midnight, that's it."

"Mystacor…" Catra frowned. "Was this why you kept telling Naruto to find it?"

"Partially. They do have healing waters, you all, and those waters will reach their greatest effectiveness during the alignment. Beforehand, it might have taken him some time, you understand, but now…" the woman floated down and landed by the group, confusing them. "..."

"What?" Adora asked. "W-What do you mean 'but now'? Didn't Scorpia just say…" She looked at the looking-away scorpion woman. "Scorpia?"

"... Naruto Uzumaki's magical affinities truly DID save him, make no mistake… But it's not enough. Even now, I can bet that you'll sense his powers are waning."

Adora and Lonnie's heads snapped to the unconscious blonde with face-paling horror. "... NO?!"

"Exactly. Right now, Naruto won't have much more time," Shadow Weaver explained as she glided over to the medical window. "He has a projected one month until his magic all but disappears and that corruption will be fended off no longer. That's why you all will be given a mission by me," she continued with clenching hands. "From now till even the moment of the attack, you all will be focusing your resources on bringing the boy's health up. If Medical Expert Rogelio is capable of making a cure, I'll do my best to acquire materials with Pilot Kyle, Captain Scropia, and Tech Expert Lonnie."

The three chosen former cadets felt their eyes widened as the sorceress released three badges towards them, the trio accepting them with shock that quickly melted away into determination as Scorpia nodded.

"Alright! I'm up for some heavy work!" The scorpion woman declared.

"Haste is all we can do right now. And, that's why," the sorceress turned to Adora and Catra. "You will take Rutadora to your 'allies' outside."

All eyes save for Scorpia's widened in utter disbelief, the tallest Captain looking confused.

"Hm, hm, hm, the boy's way with words could use some tightening but our relationship started with such brazen and blunt natures involved," the sorceress said before gliding away, a single shadowy spirit left behind to float by the examination glass. "Come."

The group stumbled before Kyle, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Scorpia nodded.

"We'll make sure that lughead does get up," Lonnie said with a soft gaze thrown Naruto's way. "... I won't take failure as an option."

"Hmm," Rogelio nodded with determined eyes as Kyle looked at Naruto before closing his eyes.

"Naruto's given us too much," he said. "Too much care, friendship, leadership, and his help, I want to pay it back even the slightest bit," Kyle declared with narrowed eyes. "We'll do our part. You guys contact 'the others' and hopefully one of us will finish early. If we can, let's meet up one day before the moons align and take him to Mystacor."

"... Yeah," Catra's eyes locked with Kyle's as she nodded. "Go. We'll do our part, right?" She bumped Adora's shoulder.

The blonde Captain's eyes looked at all of her team, her friends, her family. "Yeah," Adora whispered. "We'll all do our part and make this right while protecting Naruto this time around," she declared.

A feeling rose in her chest.

"Team Seven, our mission starts here and now."

~NRK~

They showered and packed before Adora and Catra left with Catty in tow in a small basket on the latter's back.

A skiff had been procured with Kyle's new permissions and they were soon off HQ in just over an hour.

"I can't believe all of this is happening," Adora told Catra as they rode down long inclines before slipping into a familiar valley. "All of it, Chimera," she hissed out a venomous breath as Catra glared ahead of them. "Chackles, Shadow Weaver knowing…"

"That one surprised me as well," her friend said. "But, on that same thing… Why?" Catra wondered with a frown. "If Shadow Weaver knows that much, why is she so easy-going about it? I… I hope Naruto told her on his own power but, if he did, she has to know he's not exactly Horde-material. And yet…"

Adora understood completely.

To reveal to the group that she knew they had Princess friends and allies meant that the woman knew they weren't all 'on board' with the Horde as much as they 'should' be.

And yet she was clearly very willing to let them go to those same allies, even if she was just using them for her own goals, to help Naruto.

'She really cares for him,' it'd been something Adora realized over the past four months of their half-a-year training sessions.

Shadow Weaver had become kinder, not just to Naruto but Catra as well. The woman became more tolerant, more comfortable, with the three of them. Hell, Adora was sure the sorceress had even taken more to Rutadora than any of them could have imagined.

'All because of him,' which was more reason to bring Naruto back to the waking world.

He really was a golden light in the Horde's darkness.

~NRK~

Bow and Glimmer frowned, still not asleep two hours later after parting with the others.

"I'm worried," Bow said as he slept on the floor. "T-The lights stopped but that green one seemed like it was winning," he told Glimmer, gripping his blanket tightly.

"I know, Bow," the Princess groaned in her high-perch bed. "It's so stressful."

"Yeah… Did you enjoy your cake?"

"I loved it."

"Hey, guyssss~," came a whispering call that had both teens shooting up. "Guys!"

They twinkled/ran to the window, Bow and Glimmer's eyes widening at the sight of Adora and Catra.

A couple twinkles later, the two sat in the Princess's room, Catty placed on a large pillow.

"W-What happened?" Bow asked, worried, as Adora looked away while Catra frowned. "... Where's Naruto?"

The two Captains sighed before explaining the situation in full.

Everything.

By the end of it, Bow covered his mouth in pale-faced horror while Glimmer's fists clenched and her head fell.

Catty, during that time, moaned in her sleep before her eyes cracked open, Catra picking up the childish spirit before nodding.

"That's why we need to help him," she told the two as she turned to them. "We need your help."

"... Anything," Glimmer said. "Naruto… No, none of you guys are horrible people, you don't deserve to suffer like this, no one does."

"Thanks," Adora said softly. "And that's why we need your help to find a place."

"A… Place?" Bow asked as he frowned before taking a deep breath. "What place? We'll travel to the ends of Etheria to help Naruto-!"

"Mystacor, apparently it's some place full of mages," Catra said as she looked down at Catty, never seeing Bow and Glimmer's dropped jaws while Adora nodded, eyes closed with her chin in hand.

"We've been studying how to find and get in so we could get Naruto healed for a while," she added as she paced. "Originally, Naruto had the magic to do it but… The point is, we need any information we can."

"D-Dad?!" Catty asked as her wings glowed before they died down. "W-Where's dad, I can't… I-I can't connect to him," she pleaded with Catra who grimaced before holding her close.

"Naruto's fine… No, that's complete and utter bullshit, he's NOT fine, Catty," she told the familiar who paled. "But that's why we're here. We need to get help to heal Naruto on the day of the Moons of Enchantment's alignment."

Glimmer gawked as Bow held the sides of his head.

"We need you guys to look into anything-" Adora and Catra had begun to say before being interrupted.

"WE KNOW WHERE THAT IS!" The other two shouted as the Captains and Catty gawked at them.

"YOU DO?!" The three 'Horde members' said in shock.

"M-My aunt is… Oh my God, why didn't you guys bring this up before?!" Glimmer asked in shock as the three kept on staring at her in hope and disbelief. "Come on! Let's go and find my aunt, she's the headmistress of Mystacor," she said with determination.

"H-How the hell are you so connected?!" Catra asked in shock as Glimmer pouted. "That's way too convenient!"

"It happens, alright? I mean, Frosta's connected with a ton of other Princesses, ya know? It's just royalty matters. Let's go-!"

"Glimmer!" There was a rapid set of knocks on the Princess's room door, confusing the quintet. "I-I felt some magic in here! Did you start trying it out?! You should have told me!" The door opened. "You're likely as good as Mi-Who are you all?"

The woman who entered blinked at the group as Angella peeked in from out of the door frame.

She was tall, maybe a bit shorter than Angella's six-foot frame, with fair skin like Glimmer but long black hair set into a small bun and two long chest-length bangs.

Bearing black eyes and lipstick, she had on a shin-length dark blue robe and slippers.

"Um, Angella, I thought you said that Glimmer didn't have friends over besides Bow? Wait, does she have friends besides Bow?"

"Yes, Casta, she does," Angella said with a worried look as Glimmer and co. hurried up to them. "What's wrong? You all look rather concerned and… Isn't Naruto usually the one who visits?"

"There's been a horrible event," Bow said as Catra and Adora nodded.

The two explained the situation once more to the Queen and Glimmer's aunt, the two's eyes widening before Glimmer and Bow chimed in with their help.

"If they're trying to reach Mystacor by the time of the moon's alignment, would that be fine?" Glimmer asked Castaspella. "Please? N-Naruto's life is on the line again! And if this Chimera guy is as tough as they say, he could end up coming here!"

With the door closed and all of them sitting in Glimmer's room, Angella frowned deeply. "This will end badly, Casta," she told the headmistress who closed her eyes with a frown.

"... I understand your worries but is trusting the Horde so simple?" Castaspella asked as Adora and Catra flinched and looked away from her softening gaze. "This isn't an offense to you but there are so many things I can't just take for granted."

"We know," Adora said. "But can you just take Naruto, at least? He's not… He's in a coma and we can't take chances," she pleaded, her and Catra getting on their knees.

Castaspella's eyes softened further, the woman sighing at Angella's own look of interest. "You trusting them is so odd," she told her.

"I know… I can't say I've never had my suspicions before but that boy, Naruto, has really changed my way of thinking," the Queen smiled sadly. "I've learned a lot about Horde children since we met them half a year's time ago. It was sadly eye-opening," Castaspella looked confused. "I'll explain it in time. For now, is there any help you can give?"

"... Fine, perhaps you do understand the situation better than I. Still, corruption?" The woman turned to the relieved Horde trio before her eyes snapped to Catty. "... OH MY GOODNESS! Young lady, you didn't!"

"Huh?" Catra's eyebrow rose as Adora blinked before putting the pieces together and coughing off to the side.

"Kaughkaughsingleparentkaugh," she nudged Catra whose jaw dropped in horror.

"W-What the hell?! No! That's not-Her dad's obviously around!"

"O-Oh, really?" Castaspella sighed in relief as Glimmer and Bow snickered off to the side. "I didn't think… Well, I suppose the Horde might have you all marry young-"

"WHOA NOW!" The feline burned up as Adora blushed. "T-That's a big leap in logic!"

"Wait, so, she's not your-"

"TECHNICALLY, yes!"

Castaspella looked so confused while Angella smiled. "Well… If she says so," she said to the amused Queen. "Well, in this regard, I suppose we can go to Mystacor eight days from now," she smiled. "You can't just leave him unsoaked in the healing waters until a mere hour of one day. He'll need multiple 'baths'."

"Yuck," Catty pouted as Catra wore a similar look of disgust. "B-Baths suck!" The spirit said.

"Here here," the 'mother' said. "How do you people enjoy baths?" Catra asked with a sickened look.

Adora cupped her chin. "I mean, is washing in your own filth really so attractive to the outside world?" She wondered. "Wait, or is it like Frosta's communal baths?" The blonde considered below her breath.

"What?! No, you guys! You clean up before the bath!" Glimmer said before Bow chimed in.

"In most cases, not everyone does it," he admitted before looking relieved. "But, onto those kinds of topics, is there anything else you guys are doing in the meantime to help? You said that Rogelio was getting herbs?"

"Yeah," Adora smiled. "We're all doing our part to help Naruto get back up and running. Um, well, we didn't think getting to Mystacor would be so… Simple," she admitted with a sheepish grin as Castaspella faux-huffed. "Thank you, again, ma'am!"

"We're looking for purifying and healing items," Catra told the group, lifting up a grinning Catty as if to make an example. "This gal here is just like her pops and shares all his powers and then some. Catty can help with purification but that's sadly not enough. We need other magic items."

"Well…" Castaspella tapped her chin in thought. "We… Might have some ideas," she muttered as Angella looked surprised.

"You mean the Lunar Lenses?" The Queen asked as the Horde trio blinked. "Ah, let us explain."

"The Lunar Lenses are important magical stones used in Mystacor to perform a powerful ritu-Huh, ya know? That sounds perfect," Glimmer began to explain before stopping mid-sentence with a look of surprise. "Um, aunty, you don't happen to need all of those stones, do ya?" She batted her eyelashes.

Angella hummed. "Sadly, those Lunar Lenses can't be moved, Glimmer, they've 'settled' in Mystacor," she said kindly as her daughter whined. "But," she smiled as Bow perked up.

"Wait, where did you get them, ma'am?" He asked Castaspella.

"Well, it was before my time," the sorceress said. "But we do have emergency protocols for when they might, impossibly, break. They're powerful magic artifacts that land in a single place closest to the moon besides Mystacor. They're found at the very top of the frost volcano near the old Fire Kingdom."

"That place again?" Catra asked in disbelief as Castaspella looked intrigued.

"You know of it?"

Explaining that Naruto had received a book on magical healing, Scorpia's own testimony, and Shadow Weaver's words, Castaspella looked alarmed.

"Shadow Weaver?" The woman asked, completely confused. "I… She knew all this information and had this specific book?"

"Yeah?" Catra asked.

"I just… That seems like such interesting information," the woman considered it. "For now, just know, that's where powerful stones can be."

"But can we even get to that in time?" Adora asked. "This former kingdom seems like it's got so many useful things in it but we only know it's supposed to be to the west, right? Can we even get there?"

"It shouldn't be impossible but you'd have to leave, at the least, tomorrow to return in seven days," Castaspella said.

Catra's eyes narrowed as Adora closed her own.

"We'll do it then," they said in unison, Bow and Glimmer blinking in surprise. "We have to do something."

"..." Angella's expression fell.

Truly, she understood this more than most in the room would grasp.

'Micah…'

"W-Well… Um, mom?" Glimmer asked with a shaky grin as her mother's expression tightened.

"No, Glimmer, I won't allow you to galavant off. This is no offense to Naruto or his friends, not one bit, but you can't just leave Bright Moon like that."

"B-But, mom!"

"No buts."

Castaspella hummed. "It's for the best, Glimmer. Besides, you can help me get up to speed on everything while supporting a ritual," she smiled as the short Princess blinked.

"Wait, what?" Glimmer asked.

"Haa," Angella sighed. "Fine, as long as it's safe," she muttered as Bow smiled.

"Let me help, please?" He asked them all. "I won't just stand by and not help my male best friend."

"Then come with us, Bow," Castaspella smiled.

~NRK~

The following morning, the Horde trio took off towards the west of Bright Moon, minding the waters below and the nearby cliffs.

'We will help him,' Adora thought with narrowed eyes.

Wearing a pair of dark brown boots, wide white pants that tied at mid-shin, a similar white tunic with red Bright Moon emblems on the back, and a red shawl with white accents, she adjusted her new magic goggles.

Catra did the same. 'Finding Lunar Lenses,' it'd take time but these would hopefully help. 'Mountain closest to the moon…'

Wearing a new pair of dark red toeless stocking, dark red reinforced short shorts, a sleeveless tight black top bearing Bright Moon emblems on the front, and an open dark red, naval-length, coat that held a single thick latch to hold it together at the chest, Catty sat on her back in a new white Bright Moon cloak.

"Will… W-We'll help dad, right?" The familiar asked the two, floating down to stand impossibly easily on the front of the skiff, her feet glowing.

"We will," Adora declared.

"Ain't nothing gonna change about that," Catra supported as their weapons bounced on their backs. "Naruto's getting back up even if we've gotta go into the volcano itself. You'll be a big part in helping him, Catty."

"Y-Yeah!" The spirit said as her wings flexed. "And… A-And maybe I can help you guys get better at magic, too!"

"Huh?" They asked in unison, confused.

"Dad wanted to try and teach you all how to use magic, kind of," the familiar said, confusing the two. "He wanted to give you all headbands to give you the power to control energy b-but we never got around it," the girl looked down before growing determined. "But I can!"

"Will we have the time?" Catra asked softly as they finally beat the water's edge and circled a small beach. "And what about you recharging?"

"If we go into places with 'hot' magic, I should be better than fine!"

Adora considered that, touching her sword. 'Right, magical environments can enhance certain attributes,' no wonder.

If Mystacor's element was 'Water', they'd have the most powerful healing streams, wouldn't they?

"... I might have some ideas to make Naruto's healing go faster," she told Catra and Catty. "But we can't do it," Adora said as she pulled out a small round device.

It was an inch and a half thick and covered by round ridges that she pressed one of.

The side of it 'blinked' to life before she found Kyle's sweating form on the screen.

-A-Adora?- He asked before grunting at something. -What's wrong? Did you guys find something?-

"Better, we know where Mystacor is! Glimmer and Bow can take us!"

The boy looked excited by the prospect. -REALLY?!-

"Yes!" Adora grinned before nodding. "The thing is, at present, we're heading to a special mountain that will probably hold onto a series of magical stones. They're supposedly able to enhance magic and that gave me an idea."

-Shoot away- Lonnie said as she and Rogelio peeked into view. -We're just here putting together a giant pod to put magic, science, and herbs into-

"Really?" Catra asked as they broke into the Whispering Woods. "That's actually not a bad idea. Where's Shadow Weaver?"

-Currently sitting between, like, ten floating books and scrolls?- Kyle looked off to the side before counting. -... 11 floating books, scrolls, and magic arrays-

Not surprising, actually, Catra was sure that the woman was seemingly more about this than any of them could have imagined.

-Yeah, we're really all in on this. Scorpia's currently looking up the healing sands of the far-off canyon in the Fright Zone- Lonnie said as Rogelio leaned back out of view and they heard clanking. -Now, what's this I hear about ideas?-

~NRK~

He floated in an ocean of green pain.

"A-Arggghhhhh," Naruto let out a small whispering moan, his body throbbing.

This was so much worse than the poison from before. It felt like every part of his body, his magic, his soul was being infested and gnawed at by heat, sickening energy, and just a seemingly never-ending series of 'voices'.

People, plants, animals, all of them.

What the hell had Chimera done to everything?

"..." The blonde's eyes remained closed as he floated there, all around him green energy burned before flashing, buzzing, and sizzling against his golden aura.

In the far off distance, just outside of the sphere of influence that this corruption had made around him, the blonde had pushed his connections to those with Runestones.

They couldn't be touched by all of this. He'd never forgive himself for hurting them… But there'd been one last thing he could have done before the corruption took hold.

~NRK~

In the Lands of Snow, Frosta grimaced as she looked down at a magic tome. 'Naruto…' She'd received the blonde's message from the night before.

---

"I can't speak, not now, and likely not for a while, Frosta," he said. "But I'm gonna need your and Perfuma's help when this corruption stuff takes hold of my body."

"Please, I need your help."

---

Find magic that could fend off the corruption's influence in one's body. Magic that she could use.

'But I don't know of anything like that,' she felt her heart growing a bit cold as she closed another furred tome and placed it in a pile to move onto the next. "Frosty, I don't know if there's anything I can do…" Frosta whispered as her familiar floated to her eye-level.

"I understand your pain, seeing you like this isn't pleasant, Frosta," the posh spirit said. "He needs help but can ice magic do so?"

She didn't know. Could it?

"It can," a voice from behind the two said, the duo turning to the door to find Blue coming in with a rolled-up map. "Ma'am, please, look at this," he said as he walked to a table and rolled out the parchment.

Frosta had hurried over before slamming her hands down onto the map, eyes looking around it.

"W-What am I looking for?" The Ice Princess asked as Frosty floated around.

"... It seems like there's something here we can't see," he said as Blue nodded before gesturing to a wide area between a pair of villages.

"There are many myths in these lands," the hidden king said as Frosta looked to him for answers. "Some people say that magic was learned in nature, others from the stars, and even some from the waters themselves… But, one thing always noted as a weird myth was a power gained only by learning from animals."

"Animals?" Frosta blinked. "Wait… What animal is in this area? It's so close to the Northern Reach."

Blue nodded with a soft frown. "The Territory of the Icsies. They're terrible birds that have gained magic that can petrify even illnesses," Frosta froze, no pun intended, as he smiled. "Their blood has been said to be capable of treating impossibly fast-moving infections that need medicine that takes too long to make. If we can find them, it might be enough, news say that they've recently taken up place in a deep snow pit."

"Then we're going."

~NRK~

Perfuma considered Naruto's Runestone. 'What can we do?' She looked down in thought.

Getting his message had been worrisome but now she was obligated to help if only because the blonde had never hesitated to do so for them.

'To stave off corruption,' she'd been gifted a lot of knowledge, too.

Naruto must have been pretty good at the energy of the mental realm because she had been given ideas, info, and the methods of the corruption from his own experience.

"Think, think," she tapped her noggin as she paced in front of her Runestone. "There has to be something…" Perfuma looked at the two gemstones. "I don't know if you both can offer me some ideas?" The Plant Princess asked hopefully.

She waited for an answer she knew wouldn't, couldn't, come-

The two stones pulsed softly, spreading out a field of yellow flowers and glistening grass.

"... Wait," she kneeled down and caressed one of those odd flowers.

A flower composed of three layers of petals, each one a different shade of golden with a pistil of green that released… Light?

A small shower of golden light motes spilled out towards each other, flower after flower seemed to keep passing the light around before it shined in the center by a single growing one.

An odd sunflower? It seemed like one with orange petals, a yellow center, and a stem that released odd scents.

"O-Oh, that's pleasant but I've never seen such flowers befor-THAT'S IT!" The Princess grinned with her arms out to the Runestones. "THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!"

~NRK~

A day's worth of travel, aided by Catty's magic, took Adora, Catra, and Catty to the beginning of a hot wasteland that immediately had its temperature mitigated by Catty's magic.

Adora looked down at her glowing gold body with a smile. "Thanks, Catty. Now, we're here, at Mount Candila," she said gratefully before looking around at the large odd canyon ahead of them.

Immediately ahead, a long stone bridge sat, old and broken, that led towards a wide plateau that had similar bridges far around it if they squinted into the distance.

With their goggles over their eyes, they walked ahead, reaching the edge of a broken part of the bridge.

"Kid," Catty said simply with crossed arms and a tapping foot.

The familiar smiled before latching onto Catra's back and flying her across. Reaching the other broken part of the bridge closer to their target.

With the familiar going back for Adora, Catra walked forward a bit and observed the impossibly large plateau composed of layer-upon-layer of stone that held half-destroyed entrances, caves, molten stone, and large piles of rocks.

'So, this is where a 'Fire Princess' lived?' When she thought about it, no one did tell them what had happened here. 'And if there's a Princess, there's a Runestone,' her mind ran rampant with interest.

Could she… Find a Runestone here? One without a master-

"Catra, slow down," Adora said as she caught up to the humming young woman. "We don't know if there aren't powerful monsters out here. Remember? They'd have adapted and if they did…"

"They'll be like the ones in the Land of Snows," Catra nodded with a shrug. "Not like we got to see 'em."

"I don't think I'm jealous of that."

They walked off in a direction, Catty landing between them and walking with her wings spread out.

Timed pulses of her sensory skill spread out around them over 100 meters.

"You're getting better," Adora praised the familiar who smiled rapidly.

"Dad always said I needed to improve my own sensory power!" The girl said.

"Right, yours is different," Catra remembered. "And you can make it specific. Anything?"

"Mmm… There are a lot of strong fire rocks around," the spirit said, getting small nods from the Captains.

'If we can filter her nature senses in the stones, we can search for odd ones,' from Castaspella's own words, Lunar Lenses held the power of the moon in them.

They came from the Moons of Enchantment and were odd 'debris' that fell to Etheria.

'It only makes sense,' if the stones enhanced all forms of magic, it'd have to come from such a powerful source, no? 'But we can't spend too much time here,' ignoring that they had, what, two days of food at best if they pushed it?

They didn't want to take any chances. Catty had made their travel time so much faster but there was no telling what could happen in that time.

"I can tell what you're thinking," Catra said as they walked up to half-broken structures in the side of a large formerly-smooth stone structure. "I hope I'm not the only one who finds it hard to believe in these random people. Especially when they attacked out of no-fucking-where just to make a point."

Adora's eyes narrowed. "You're not wrong."

What were the chances that they had a month? What was stopping them from attacking during the…

She gripped Catra and Catty's shoulders in horror. "Oh no."

"For fuck's sake, WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?!" Catra screamed to the sky.

"Catra, what's stopping them from attacking on the same night of the moons' alignment?"

The air grew silent as Catra's eyes widened and she cursed up a storm.

"You gotta be kidding me," she kissed her teeth before pulling out her communicator. "Just fucking gr…" Catra pressed a button on it.

And received static.

"... Hello?" She asked as she pressed the button again, resetting the channel before inputting it manually. "... Yo?"

More static.

"So, the area's disrupting our communicators?" Adora wondered as she took out her own before checking it. "... Well, it's that or this is too far."

"Oh, right," not everything would be some madness-inducing event.

Sometimes, they were just annoying.

"Okay, so, let's say that they will… What do we do?" Catra asked.

"We can't stay here for longer than two days," Adora said. "Which is fine, we only had that much food if we pushed it. And our skiff-"

There was a rumble from below their feet, causing the Captains' eyebrows to twitch.

"No… Please," Adora begged the universe as she, Catra, and Toru slowly turned around to look at their skiff's previous location.

The ship had been far-off but not impossible to see.

Now, that wasn't the case.

"You ever wonder if Perfuma had a point?" Catra asked flatly.

"... Yeah."

~NRK~

Well, that should certainly set the tone.

Who in the world would honestly trust the words of the most obvious double-crossers known to man? That's like trusting a cat to not eat the fish in the fish bowl. That's stupid.

Oh, make no mistake, Adora and Catra having common sense isn't a 'them-only' thing. That'd be ridiculous… But stress makes a person sporadic. We'll have to see what happens.

Now, onto the first of the fic's Omakes

~NRK~

~Non-Canon 'But Canon Implicating' Omake: Checks and Balances~

Kyle sweatdropped as he, Lonnie, Rogelio, Scorpia, Frosta, Perfuma, Bow, and Glimmer watched from behind a pillar of one of Bright Moon's wondrous streets.

Why? Well, because they were watching Naruto, Catra, and Adora enact what Kyle had always called 'Checks and Balances'.

With the blonde's newest cloning ability, the boy could now do twice as much shenanigans and it led to fun outcomes.

Like now, where, on the left near a pond, Naruto was currently running around it as Catra gave chase.

"You son of a bitch! REALLY?!" She growled at him as they rounded the pond's edge, her body hissing with steam. "Naruto, YOU'RE GETTING THE FEATHER FOR THIS!"

"Wait, please, we can talk-Ack?!" The boy tried to weasel his way out of this but ended up on the receiving end of a tackle from a literally flaming Catra, the cat woman's eyebrows twitching as she straddled his waist and pulled something out of her hair.

"Every fucking time, you think you can pull some shit and get away with it," she threatened before considering the paltry punishment tool. "... No… No, you deserve worse than this," Catra hissed with a ticking brow.

Her Chain Incantation sprouted from her bicep before, in seconds, Naruto paled as he was latched to the ground.

"C-Cat! Wait, please!"

"HUUUUUH? I'm sorry, you say some shit, prisoner?"

The cat woman threw her 'weapon' before her tail grew red and extended with a trail of molded flames.

"You bastard," he squeaked as she slid her tail around his and made sure to slide it down. "You never learn," Naruto burned up as she gripped his abdomen with her thighs and cracked her knuckles with a look of smug vengeance. "But, I can change that."

Despite being red across the nose, Catra seemed to revel in it and Naruto realized he had no way out of this-

His eyes shrunk as she slathered one of her fingers with saliva and raised it to him. The very WAY that Catra had done so sent two forms of 'horror' down his spine.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT-AHHHHHHHHH!"

Bow's eyes shined in wonder while Glimmer blushed something fierce at the two's… Positioning.

'I don't think I should tell them,' that it looked like some kind of obscene porno. "Maybe mom will do it."

"Yeah!" Frosta cheered with a grin as Perfuma blushed something fierce while looking intrigued. "Come on, reverse it on her!" She cheered quietly even if she was enjoying Naruto's suffering.

"I-I see," the Plant Princess messed with her hair as she kept her thoughts simple and not lewd. 'Oh, universe, please, give me strength,' she'd likely be… Tending to the 'flowers' tonight b-but that didn't mean she should be a pervert right now!

Lonnie was laughing while Rogelio raised his brow at Catra's antics before shaking his head.

"Hmm…"

"Yeah, as usual, she's… Not afraid to show how she feels," Kyle said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"So, wait, is that Adora's 'check' on Naruto then?" Scorpia asked in a whisper with a look of fascination.

Lonnie's snickers renewed them as she took one look to the right and folded in disbelief and hilarity.

For over there, standing in a large sumo circle, Naruto stood nervously across from a fully transformed 'She-Ra'.

"So, um," he ran his hand through his hair, half-naked form on display and allowing his large claw-shaped scar to shift with his bit of a stretch. "Me being half-naked is… Necessary?"

"... Yes," Adora, now She-Ra, smiled without a hint of perversion even if her face reddened at a million miles a second. "It's very necessary," she smiled some more as the blonde blushed before clearing his throat.

"B-But what about you being all… four feet taller than me and stronger?"

"Oh, that's important, too."

The way she'd said it, the look in her eyes as she observed him, and just the general 'energy' currently pulsing between them made the blonde feel more embarrassed than he wanted to be.

"There are things we can only do like… This," She-Ra continued, stalk-walking over to him before she was in front of him, wearing her magically transformed into a tank top and yoga pants clothes. "With you like this and me like… This."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and it grasped well.

Naruto was all of a sudden not in his most comfortable of places and yet was.

"R-Right, um, grapples… While you have every advantage on me," he said with a shaky grin as his words seemed to send a jolt through She-Ra's mind. 'Oh no,' Naruto realized he'd done something he shouldn't have but didn't know what it was.

Her long curtain of glowing hair fell over him and trapped the currently shorter blonde's gaze so he could see her glowing face.

"That's right… For the first time in a long time," she held both his shoulders and Naruto's tail wagged involuntarily. "I have some THINGS over YOU," She-Ra grinned as Naruto realized he was barely chest high.

His mouth puckered inward at the look on her face, the implication of what she was saying not lost on him.

God, for once, he wished this flew over his head!

"Y-Yeah, um, ya sure do have… Advantages."

"And assets."

He wheezed into a stuttering red mess as Adora smiled brightly before picking him up and walking off to a farther-off circle.

"W-We'll need to focus intensely, you and me, j-just over there. Right out of sight," she muttered quickly.

"What?" Naruto asked in horror.

"Nothing!"

Back with Kyle and the others, half of them had started laughing, Lonnie leading the charge on that one, before they found a familiar floating figure coming down to them with a winged one.

Angella and Shadow Weaver took one look at the state the group was in and turned their heads-

"What are they doing to that boy?" They asked in sort of mortified motherly unison.

"T-They're certainly keeping him in check, ma'ams," Lonnie grinned. "Checks and Balances one might say."

Shadow Weaver held the side of her face in utter disbelief at Catra and Adora's positioning over their fellow male disciple. "I leave him alone for two hours and, every time, I come back to SOMETHING GOING ON and no one can say anything!?" The sorceress exclaimed.

Angella's head tilted before she cleared her throat. "Y-Yeah, well, some women have to show what they want to get it," she offered with a composed expression.

The shadow-user shot her the flattest look on Etheria.

"Queen? NO."

~NRK Out~