Unexpected Encounters.
"Hey blonde, there's a thing ..." said strange person. She was dressed all over with a brown cloak, a mask over her face, and her eyes were shaved. Her right hand was made of metal, and more importantly, it was covered in symbols she knew all too well.
"But who are you?" she asked, trying to take stock of the situation.
"You grew up in a police state, that you ask everyone about the most personal and private matters?" said the other person, waving a metal hand in front of her nose.
"Actually, yes... Could you tell me who you are, because... it's starting to get weird." she said with a mix of confusion and amusement. She liked that person.
"I'm Eti, who else would I be?" Eti stated as if explaining something absolutely obvious Then two other figures came out of the building half hidden among the trees. One was a white-haired human girl with almond-shaped, blue eyes who smiled kindly at her. The second was a green-haired Saihe girl with a body covered in tattoos. To her surprise, Saihe summoned a spectral blue blade and glared at her menacingly. They were both the same age she was when she found the sword...
"Hi, I'm Rosie and this is Itel. Our friend Eti you have already… met." She began to speak, waving her hands, and the voice from the gloves explained what she was showing. Entrapta would like that. Device.
"Yes, since you already know our identity, and I must point out that we don't know anything about you, let's get down to business. You see, there's one blonde on our ship. Stupid, mean, and on top of that, it stinks horribly. We absolutely all have enough of her, but our captain insisted on dragging her along, though by the devils and demons, I don't know why, but you're blond too, so we'll just swap one blond for another, quietly, and no one will notice the difference. When the truth comes out, we will be far in space and our captain, Bina, when she meets you, she will understand that she made a great exchange and thank us for that" said the girl called Eti, gesticulating fiercely with her hand and tail, although her voice was surprisingly calm. The other girls looked at Eti in embarrassment. She smiled because the whole story was funny and cheered her up.
"Unfortunately, I can't go with you. My friends are waiting for me in a nearby town, and then I have to go back to my planet for my own and my friend's wedding … My name is Adora, by the way." she said friendly, carefully checking to see if they recognized her name. Saihe , however, only murmured "mommy's girl", Eti exclaimed, raising her finger in a gesture of triumph.
"And ours is called Stinka. You see? Even her name stinks. it's a sign from fate and all the cool gods that we need to make this swap!"
Rosie looked at her indignantly and said.
"Her name is not Stinka, but Lady Cala Grayskull of Carurystal."
"Grayskull?" she asked incredulously. After all, Mara and her squad had lived and died a thousand years ago, if not more. Could it be that someone has escaped the Superiors and Horde Prime's watchful eyes ?
"Yes, Grayskull She is an aristocrat from a very old and respected family." Rosie said.
"Could you tell me about her?" she asked, trying to hide her curiosity. The deaf girl beamed, but Eti snorted contemptuously and Saihe looked at her suspiciously.
"Lady Cala has blonde hair and blue eyes like you, but she's taller and slender than you, but incredibly strong. She is also very Intelligent, beautiful and fights great. And her hair is absolutely gorgeous."
"Hair you say?" She instinctively touched her own.
The white haired girl nodded.
"Yes, they look like ribbons of gold glistening in the sun." Rosie's eyes shone as she talked about that woman. She saw a similar glow when people talked about her, and she hated it. It reminded her too much of the look of the clones when Horde Prime was mentioned. ord
"You know what? I would love to meet Lady Cala . Will you take me to her?" she asked with undisguised enthusiasm. She really wanted to see this Lady Cala , and then there was this strange prosthetic of masked girl
"I don't know why you want to meet her, because you'll get terrible disease from her! But okay, she should be just like our captain in the nearest town. You can take us there if you know where it is. And so we had to go there."
"We had?" Rosie asked suspiciously.
"Of course!" exclaimed the other girls at the same time.
She smiled happily and said.
"My friends Scorpia and Perfume are there too, so you'll meet them too!
-"Let's go." Eti shouted and ran dodging through the trees.
She glanced behind her as she felt the shadow move behind her, but she didn't deviate, so she followed the other girls.
She moved away from the flat, circular obsidian tabletop she used to watch others through her shadows and tried to steady her breathing. She decided to stay on the ship because she wasn't feeling well, but then Eti and Rosie left the ship. After everything that had happened lately, she was afraid to let them go, so she decided to follow them with her shadows, as she often did in the Fright Zone… Itel seemed to suspect something, but said nothing to the others. And then they met Adora . She couldn't quite believe in such a twist of Fate. Of all the countless beings, they must have encountered her! Whether the hand of Creeping Chaos was involved, she didn't know. Lately she had begun to see their tentacles everywhere... Certainly their machinations ran much deeper than Calamity had told her , though she was beginning to suspect that her beautiful and evil ward's knowledge did not go as far as she liked to believe. What was certain was that Nyarlathotep themselves had concealed much from her. They couldn't help but know that there was a Starstone on Etheria.
Starstone. The most powerful artifact in the galaxy. The heart of Absalom Station. An item that allows you to use the Drift Drive. Relic of the Lost Golarion that had the power to turn mortals into gods. "A Is that what you are She-Ra? A goddess clothed in mortal flesh? What have you done to Adora…and Catra! Do you know, Adora, what path you have entered. Do you, Catra, know what fate may await your beloved?" she thought many times in the last hours. The existence of a second Starstone on Etheria, her planet, explained a lot, including why the First Ones decided to build a Heart in this place. But it wasn't the presence of the ancient artifact that terrified her so much, but who it might attract.
In her life, she met many monsters, even served a few. She couldn't hide the fact that she herself was one of them. But Lord Admiral Antares was a monstrosity of a different kind. When she saw him, all she saw was a tough military man, someone like the hapless Sir Rakima , and at worst like her sister Storm Heart. And he was a son of a bitch capable of bombing his own planet with nuclear warheads. He was as evil as Horde Prime, but was devoid of his madness and megalomaniac. He was ruthless and calculating, but he was able to hide his meanness behind a mask of nobility . He was a wolf in sheep's clothing, although perhaps a better description would be a wolf in dog's clothing, given the image he was trying to create. Even Calamity , in all her perverse sadism, deigned to regard Lord Antares as a threat. Of course, it also resulted from pragmatism, after all, this ruthless and cruel man could stand in the way of the Creeping Chaos' plans. She was grateful for that, though she would have gladly let Eti throw her out the airlock if she could.
She sipped from a glass of the vile moonshine Ireanis made. She's been drinking a lot lately. More than Carurystal. She told herself it was because she thought better then, that she had the best ideas when she was drunk. She knew she was just a mean drunk, not much less pathetic than Ireanis. She looked at the silver-haired elf, who was sitting on a stool, snoring. Even she hid something more, which she discovered during the fight in the monastery. He just has to find a way to get it out of her. She's always been good at it. But now she was back at the table to go back to following Adora, one of the daughters she had lost.
He laughed, stroking Toshi's head, who began to squeal happily. It was supposed to be safe on this planet, so Mr. Ilemshaw decided it was okay to let the pet off the ship. The electric fox began to romp happily around the area. Emily followed him in fascination, and he entertained by throwing nuts to Toshi , which he caught in the air. It was pleasant to him, and for this reason he agreed that they should go away from the ship. Only, they must have gone further than he expected, because judging by the signs on the asphalt road they were walking on, they were quite close to the town where Bina and Lady Cala had gone. All the time Lilka tried to hitchhike, although her methods were probably not the best.
" In the name of the Horde halt!" The red-haired girl screamed, brandishing a flaming axe. The half-rusted car accelerated rapidly.
"I'm not sure it's a good idea to mention the Horde on this planet." he said carefully and seeing the girl's eyes he added. "Even the good orcish one."
Alatar sighed and said.
"Seeing a screaming person brandishing an ax makes them not listen anyway."
He nodded his head and added.
"I won't catch him either. The people of Icarus have lost a great deal because of my brethren, and they may be reluctant to take people like me into a vehicle… And you, Alatar…"
The technomancer sighed.
"Even on the Pact Worlds, my species is quite rare. Probably no one here has heard of us, or worse, they will take me for a real dragon."
He had heard of dragons on Etheria . The previous She-Ra was said to have ridden a real dragon, but generally they were mistaken for creatures from fairy tales and myths. Then it turned out that they are really alive, they even run their own corporations. He would love to meet one to tell Adora about it, though Swiftwind would probably be sad.
"Maybe Emily and Toshi will catch a hitch!" Lila exclaimed loudly. Bot and Lis looked at her in surprise.
"No... We won't fit in most vehicles anyway." Dragonkin said, looking meaningfully at himself.
"Don't worry, Emily is not ashamed of her size." he tried to console Alatar. Emily nodded.
They walked among green meadows and groves full of young trees. It was so green here. It was good to be among the living vegetation after being on a spaceship for so long. He did not count the monastery, because it was a depressing place.
"Shouldn't everything here be burned to the ground?" Alatar asked in surprise.
"You must have looked wrong. On map" said Lilka, equally delighted with the view that spread around them. They came to a small town, or maybe a village, he didn't know. It looked half abandoned, built around the intersection. In the distance he could see faint mountains with flattened peaks. There was a gathering place in the center of the settlement.
"Festival! There will be cotton candy. We orcs love cotton candy!" Lila exclaimed happily. They quickened their pace and reached the center of the settlement. He could see several guards around him discreetly watching them solemnly. A crowd of Icarus residents, mostly children, gathered around a large fountain located at the intersection . He also saw two women who made his heart skip a beat.
"Scorpia! Perfuma! It's me, Wrong Hordak." he exclaimed happily and looked at Alatar to explain to him who his friends were, but Dragonkin folded his wings in fear.
"Hold Lika!" he called…. The red-haired girl gripped the ax tightly and roared.
"In the name of the Horde, I command you to leave these children and this pretty lady alone the spawn of the Swarm!"
"And up to the sky." she called to the children hanging on her pincers, lifting them high in the air. The children laughed loudly, and their joy rang in her ears. She liked children, perhaps because she didn't have a childhood herself, though she'd thought otherwise for most of her life. She hardly remembered her mothers, they died when she was very small, and even then they didn't have much time for her because they were fighting her grandfather's war. Then ... it's hard to say who took care of her. At first it was Shadow Weaver, until she found out she couldn't bond with black garnet, then she lost all interest in her. She didn't understand then how lucky she was, she just cried all day. After that, Cobalt, Grizol , and others like Doctor Moors , or even Hordak looked after her, but until Catra and Entrapta met, she had no one close to her. And now she was married. She was starting to think about the children. She just needed to talk to Perfume about it , but when she looked at her wife, who was looking at her with a tired but also dreamy smile, she knew what the answer would be.
Suddenly she heard a call and, having first placed the children carefully on the ground, she turned around smiling.
"Wrong Hordak!" She exclaimed happily seeing a friend she hadn't seen in years. He was dressed differently now, very… colorful… beautiful! And there was Emily, just as colorful. He also found new friends. A large, silver-scaled lizard with wings, completely unlike Rogelio and the other lizards of Etheria, and a short but beefy girl with red hair braided in pigtails and a body covered in strange tattoos. She was clutching a really huge axe. She looked like she was angry or scared, it was hard to tell.
"In the name of the Horde, I command you to leave these children and this pretty lady alone the spawn of the Swarm!" The girl screamed and started running with a roar towards them. Lizard called to hold Lilka. He grabbed her right arm, tried to stop her, but she only slowed down. Wrongdak jumped to her legs after a while and tried to stop her, but the girl continued to walk relentlessly, dragging both of them with her. She was really strong. Perfume got up and stood beside her.
"Girl, Lllko, the Horde no longer exists." said Princess of Plumeria and covered the children and other civilians with a wall of plants. Wrong Hordak began to shake his head hearing her words, and the girl screamed again.
"It' not true! We orcs fight for honor and good while at least one of us lives! – and she sped up. She had no idea if there were werks , but she probably had to stop the girl from hurting herself and others. She wanted to use thunderbolts, but she guess that would be a bit too brutal. She could also sting her, but she'd save that for last if she had no other choice. So she just grabbed the handle of the axe. She immobilized the weapon, and the redhead made a surprised face, but pursed her lips and, not letting go of the weapon, tried to kick it heavy with her boots.
"Hey girl! We won't do anything to you." She hit her ankle hard and then let go. The strange lizard released her too and pulled out some device and did what appeared to be casting a spell and then the shaft of the weapon was coated with a slippery substance and the ax slipped from the redhead's hand. The other one just growled and wanted to jump on her with her fists, but then Perfuma summoned plants that entangled Lilka. The girl tried to break free from the green bonds, and when she failed, she screamed.
"If you try to lay eggs in me, I will bite."
They both blinked and looked at each other in amazement.
"But why would we lay eggs in you?" Perfume asked in surprise .
"You vile minions of the Swarm always do that." Lilka screamed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her wife flinch at the word Hive. Wrong Hordak stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"These are my friends, Princess Scorpia and Princess Perfume." he explained to the girl, and the strange lizard added.
"But Lady...Princess Scorpia only has a few insect things. Remeber Shirens or Troxes , and you're not afraid of Shirens, are you?" He spoke to her in a soft and calm voice.
The girl pulled and said
"Shiren are stupid. Eti says so." Lilka said in a sad voice. By now she had calmed down and the Perfuma had untangled from the plants. Then the guards began to come down, looking threateningly at the newcomers, especially at the Wrong Hordak .
"Nothing happened, it was just a small quarrel, a simple misunderstanding..." She tried to reassure the soldiers, because in fact nothing had happened. The soldiers hesitantly put down their weapons, but continued to eye the three newcomers suspiciously. The more she calmed down, the smaller and more vulnerable she seemed.
"I am really sorry. I didn't want to do anything to anyone. We orcs don't usually do things like that." She burst into tears as she said this. She knelt beside her and hugged her, and then the girl burst into tears. Perfuma sat next to her and gently stroked the girl's head. However, she had the impression that her wife was worried about something.
"These are my friends. They saved me and Emily from a terrible fate…" Wrong Hordak said and Emily nodded.
"Are you from Kesler?" Perfuma asked suddenly. The lizard looked at her surprised. Then he added heartbreaking sadness.
"Not any more. Kesler is no more."
"I don't like this blonde." said Itel, staring at the back of Adora , who was marching briskly in front of them .
"You never like anyone, especially pretty girls who are nice to me." Eti replied. The Solarian gave her an indignant look, but spoke in a conspiratorial tone
"She's a random chick who was hanging around in the wild looking for who knows who or what, then she said something about her friends, and now she suddenly wanted to meet Lady Cala"
"Okay, that last one is weird, but that's because Rossie faked Stinka image." when she said that, the deaf girl huffed. She did it in a really cute way. "But as soon as she meets her, she and her gang will rub her up."
"Gang?" both asked incredulously.
"Can't you see she's a gang member? Adora, Scorpia, Perfuma , no one is called that. They're gangster nicknames. He's probably going on a job with them. Not only is she pretty and athletic, but she also has an honest profession. I like her. Only that hair fetish Is weird." she said with more commitment than usual. Lately she's been feeling more... just feeling...
"That makes sense." Itel said frowning, but Rosie just rolled her eyes.
"You're terrible. We met a very nice woman, and you suspect her of gods know what." she said in agitation.
"You like even Lady Cala , you'll see for yourself." Eti said and ran to Adora.
"Hey blonde, tell me about your buddies." she asked the blonde-haired woman, who smiled softly.
"Scorpia is a huge and powerful warrior, we grew up in the same place, although we met very late ... our first meeting was not the best. But she has a good heart and loves to cuddle, she's great at it. Her wife Perfuma quite strange, Very spiritual and tender. But don't be fooled by appearances. She becomes a real awesome in combat. And he loves plants, all of them, even cacti." Adora told them.
"Yeah." said Eti and doing a dance pirouette and said to her friends and began to explain in a hushed voice. "Have you heard? This Scorpia is thug. They grew up in the same neighborhood, but they were in rival gangs until she changed sides. This Perfuma is a botanist who grows funny plants for commodity, of those who will taste some of their herbs, but in battle she takes a drug that turns her into a battle monster."
Rosie looked at her skeptically.
"She told it completely differently." said the white-haired girl.
"Because I can read between the lines." Eti said in the most scholarly tone she could manage.
"Probably between your imaginations." Rosie said, crossing her arms over her chest.
They were taking back roads, or rather paths, and she felt torn, as if her soul had been stretched between two rocks. A rock of awe and a rock of despair. For her, both were the same and intertwined so tightly that they became inseparable. She balanced between Stormy and Rainy Days, and whichever will prevail, she and the others would suffer. Another reason to find something to do, and taking this cool blonde to Odora was as good as anything…
Itel came up to her and said.
"Someone's following us. Some shadows."
She sighed.
"It's Grimmy. It's good that she does." Solarian replied .
"But why? There's something wrong with her." Itel said looking at her like she was crazy.
"She saved my life twice, Rosie's and Alatar's once, though she could play dumb. I want her to keep an eye on us and come to our aid." She looked hard at her friend. They moved on, they were already reaching some settlement, from where came the increased noise, which she sensed with her sensitive hearing. Could be interesting, would love to see what's going on there.
She didn't know why she felt so strange. Maybe because of that fight in the monastery. The whole trip had been pointless, she'd known it all along, everyone knew it. They had no chance to save anyone, it was known from the beginning that they were all dead, murdered by a monster as evil as Horde prome or Lord Admiral… or herself.
But, most likely, everything was due to her dream, the meeting with Other One. She sincerely hoped it was just a product of her warped subconscious. Or at worst, an angry and tormented ghost. She came to punish her for a life he never knew. Otherwise, it would mean that... she was the one who was robbed of her life. She clenched her fist full of impotent rage.
"Wrong Hordak?!" Adora exclaimed happily.
"You know Wrongdak?" she asked, seeing a white-skinned alien from a distance, as well as Lilka and Alatar, and Emily and Toshi. This didn't surprise her, after all, they had arranged to get the Wrongdak off the ship somehow and go to the city, where they would meet together… The first part of their assignment had gone well, but the second had gone… worse. Why did they make such a crowd around them? Had Wrongdak messed something up? And she was already starting to like him!
And then she saw two women. One was huge, white-haired, wearing a black and white jacket. Most importantly, it had pincers and a scorpion tail. The second was tall and blonde, though much smaller than the first. She had flowers in her hair and wore a green dress.
"Perfuma and Scorpia?" she said under her breath. She had imagined them differently.
Wrongdak gave Adora a tight hug while Emily brushed against the scorpion woman who, along with her companion, moved towards them. Just like the soldiers.
"It's so good to see you. A lot must have happened while I was gone. he said sadly.
"You do not even know. You've changed a lot too. You don't call me brother anymore." Adora said.
"Because calling Vesk brothers can end very badly. But I met many new friends. Adora, Scorpia, Perfuma, Meet Eti, Itel, Lilka, Alatar and Rosie. And I present to you Princesses Scorpia and Perfuma, and Adora , Princess of Power, She- Ra'a of Etheria