Adora's POV

"You fumbled a perfectly good opportunity to take out the Princess of Bright Moon, you walked away."

Another day, another screw up. Another mistake in being Second in Command. Can't find a document here, overstep my authority there. Try to make things better, I get in trouble.

"Our mission right now is to distract the princesses while we conquer Etheria from under their noses. She-Ra is still a wild card."

"A wildcard you have shown twice without using her effectively once," Hordak's voice booms out, as he walks in a circle around me.

"She isn't ready yet… I can't use her properly, people could get hurt."

"You should not have qualms about hurting those who stand in the way of our mission."

"Not them. My own team. Her powers are wild, difficult to control." Catra's injuries at Bright Moon weren't actually due to me… they were an accident.

"If your team is unable to watch themselves around you, then it is your duty to properly instruct and discipline them," he leers over me. His red eyes boring through my resolve…

"They- they're all capable."

"I know. I read all the reports. I was disappointed when I discovered how much Shadow Weaver has lied to me."

I pause, going still in fear. "L- lied?"

"Your handling of Salineas was… proficient. But the details on who did the planning for your little incursion into the Kingdom of Snows, or the field strategist for your fails attack on Bright Moon… those were your newly appointed Force Captain's doing, yes?"

"... Catra is brilliant, Lord Hordak."

"Then why was Shadow Weaver always so quick to give the credit to you?" he leans in close, his face inches from mine as he leans forward. He bends, almost unnaturally, due to his towering height. "Understand, Force Captain Adora, I do not place the blame on you. It was one of the reasons I have given you Shadow Weaver's position, as she has lost my trust. I want you to prove to me that you're more than just this prophecy about some princess."

"Y- yes, Lord Hordak." He isn't mad? He does this a lot. Calls me in, yells for a moment, and tells me to fix it. It's strange, he's actually… very understanding of the reasons for why things go wrong when they're outside of my control.

He stands up straight again, backing up. "Dismissed."

I bow, and turn to exit the chambers. I honestly don't really know what to think of this encounter. Was it a warning? It felt like a warning, but there wasn't a threat. Not that there needed to be a threat for it to be a warning. Is he mad I'm focused on She-Ra? He didn't even end up yelling too much for the failure with those bots the other day.

That's another thing with Hordak. It always takes so long to hear from him. I gave him that incident report three days ago, and he only now called me in to yell at me for it.

I step by Entrapta's room, debating popping in to say hi. But knowing her, she's probably busy. I hear a loud bang, but that isn't really unusual, she can be a little clumsy.

I turn, continuing down the hall. Maybe I should use those tablets the Horde started producing to check on Catra? No, she's busy…

"Are you lost?" I hear Lonnie's voice, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turn to face her.

"Lonnie? What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Kyle's with Entrapta, I said I'd bring them both their lunch rations. How's it going?" I look down. Oh, a ration bar. And… a ration bar that seems to have been cut up… okay then.

"Talked to Hordak. He's… confusing me."

"You said he wasn't as scary as you thought, what did he say?"

"That's the thing, he barely said anything. He just… told me to prove my worth, he doesn't really care for the She-Ra stuff."

"I mean, it is a little flashy."

"I know, Entrapta was tinkering with it, I asked if I could like… change the outfit, but I don't exactly give her much time with the sword."

"I don't really blame you, she'd probably make it go haywire."

"No, I'm more worried about her losing it. Or… it ending up in Shadow Weaver's hands."

"What is Shadow Weaver going to do?"

"I don't know. But she already knows how to tamper with one Rune Stone, I don't want her near this one."

"Are you two really on that bad of terms now?"

"No… Well, not really. Things are just tense. Every conversation I've had with her feels… less like I'm walking on eggshells and more like I'm walking on glass that is slowly breaking apart."

"Well, you'll figure it out. You did say she'd end up a problem."

"I'm trying not to let it get there. You were wrong when you said it felt like I was provoking her."

"Well if it isn't you, it'll be Catra."

"I know! Shadow Weaver is… a complicated factor right now. But it'll get handled."

"Spoken like a true Second in Command," she says with a light tone.

"Spoken like a suck up," I tease back.

She gives a half smile, before she nods her head, and moves down the hall to where Entrapta is.

I should head over to Dryl, I said I'd end up there by nightfall. It's been too long since I did any actual field work, and pacing these halls is not helping. Or I'll go training for a bit, then head over. Yeah, probably that, the bot site is on the way regardless.

Glimmer's POV

"And you're sure she's here?" I ask Bow, standing next to me as we're scouting out the Horde Occupation at Dryl. I teleported us up the cliffside above Entrapta's castle, Bow looking down with a pair of binoculars for anything that seems out of the ordinary.

"No… I don't see anyone, other than a few Horde grunts and also… Scorpia. But this place is a maze, and if we had to go inside we might never actually find her.

"But… no She-Ra?"

"Not outside, no promises."

Great. Still, I allow myself to relax a little. She-Ra really worries me after how hard Bow got hit at Bright Moon. That, and Bow said she's a lot more 'put together' now. He watched She-Ra lift one of those new bots that most of the princesses struggled with to pull via sled.

Suffice to say, I don't like the odds of just the two of us coming into conflict with her.

After a few more moments, Bow puts his binoculars away, "okay, take us down to the building cluster closest to us."

I nod, grabbing his shoulder, and concentrate on the buildings surrounding the castle square, and we're there. These few months of teleporting under pressure in combat has been a lot different than a lifetime of taking it slow to get it right, and I'm still getting faster with it.

It actually helps to conserve magic energy too, to spend less time in the transitional phase.

I start to take in the surroundings, but Bow grabs me and pulls me over to the side of a building, hiding behind a few boxes. We need to get inside, without being caught, but I can't just teleport us blindly into the castle without risking landing right in front of someone, and I have no idea where Entrapta's workshop is in this maze of a castle.

Bow touches my shoulder, so I turn to see him pointing out into the clearing. Catra has just walked outside the door. She yawns, stretching slightly. Must've been a late start to her morning. She picks a tablet up off a few crates to her side, pressing a few buttons.

There's a voice on the other end, I can't make it out exactly but it's probably the blonde boy who's part of their team. He sounds in distress, slightly.

"Pull it together, Kyle. You're fine." Catra responds. Not really one for sympathy, I see.

Then, Entrapta's voice comes through. Shrill, a screech. She sounds like she's in pain…

Bow gasps in shock behind me, "Entrapta! She's alive!"

I lean forward, glaring at Catra. Adora has always been a problem, but I've never liked Catra. The way she carries herself, the smug aura she presents like she just couldn't be bothered to do most of the things she does… and now, "and they're hurting her."

I feel my fist clench up beside me. Entrapta was captured on a rescue mission because I got caught… Well I'm going to make it right.

"Wait-" Bow tries to say, looking over to me, but he's a little too late.

*Poof* I'm beside Catra, But before her ear finishes twitching as she processes the noise, I already drive my fist forward. "Where is she!?" I shout, flinging a magic blast towards her face. Catra leans back instantly, I can see as her pupils constrict into tight black slits. Just like that, Catra has her bearings.

She fights on instinct for a moment as I try to get another blast off on her, before her body reacts automatically. I get hit hard in the stomach, Catra has an incredible amount of lean strength, as I see her expression harden from confusion into anger.

Catra moves for me, and I fire a scattered shot of magic just to stun her, when I suddenly hear a cry out from my side.

"Wildcat!" Scorpia's voice rings out, running over. I turn just in time to see her tail coming down for me. No thanks, never again.

In an instant, I'm behind Scorpia, and I slam my weight into her back. Scorpia falls forward slightly, and I watch as both she and Catra recover. She moves for me, but Bow gets her attention. Good, I can focus on Scorpia for now.

The brawling continues. Scorpia is quick to recover from every hit I land, and her reflexes are pretty decent. Every so often, I need to teleport to have any chance of dodging her. And getting all the way up to the Crypto Castle, well, this is going to be a long day.

I dodge, fire some magic. Teleport, fire some magic. Dodge again, and Scorpia's pincer clamps down on my leg. Uh Oh.

With an impressive amount of strength, I'm lifted up so quickly that her arm is above her head before my head winds up under me. I swing another blast of magic, wildly, and she throws me aside. I stumble along the ground, getting slightly scraped up as I try to catch myself. When I do, I look up to see Scorpia charging back for me as she takes a stray shot from Bow, buying time as Bow runs up to me.

"We've got to get out of here, now!" He shouts, and I turn to see what he means. A two on two fight is one thing, especially with She-Ra nowhere to be seen. But there are more guards coming. Fine, I'll take our chances to get in, find Entrapta, and get out. I was in her castle before, I can find one room.

Bow and I grab each other's hand as I focus on the interior of the castle, anywhere, and…

*Poof*

It was one thing when there was a crazy amount of interference being thrown off. I can actually see where I'm teleporting to now, but it doesn't help when I don't know where any of these places are. Suffice to say, the next few attempts to teleport don't go well, and we end up in the same hallway twice. Bow thinks anyway, there's so many hallways it's impossible to tell.

"I hate this place!" I exclaim in frustration, as a door to the courtyard opens up. Oh, you've got to be kidding me, we weren't twenty feet away!

"I see the rebels have sent their finest," Catra quips, chuckles, and I lunge forward. There's another short exchange, but I can barely land a hit on her. Her reflexes are fast, and Bow can't line a shot up.

We don't have time for this, we need to get out of here, and I can't teleport through this castle. We'll find another approach. I reach for Bow, and just aim for anywhere that isn't here. But at the last second, there's a tug on my cape, and my concentration is thrown off as I teleport Bow and I out of the castle.

*Poof*

We're high, too high. Bow and I scream again as we see the rapidly approach.

"What did you just do to me!?" I hear Catra's voice, turning to see that she's holding onto my cape. I kick her, causing her to spin off of me. I try to focus, but this teleport was so far and wild I'm dazed. I feel Bow pulls me in and wrap his arms me as he spins us both so he's towards the ground and-

The impact is sudden, Bow hits the ground hard as I roll off of him, and I hear another thud as Catra lands too. I pick my head up after a moment of everything hurting. Catra and Bow are both groaning, and I move to help Bow up to his feet. Catra stirs, nearly stumbling as she goes to stand herself. There's a short staring match before Catra unsheathes her claws, and Bow holds his arm to the side.

"Get back," he says, drawing his Bow and firing an arrow before Catra reaches us. She's gotten hit with a few of these so far, as Bow always uses a slightly different one. Some spread out to pin the person to the ground with light but uneven weights to disorient, and this one wraps around Catra, effectively keeping her claws from cutting herself free.

Catra falls back, hissing, as she glares up at us. Did we just win?

Bow and I look at each other as Catra squirms, trying to figure herself out. "What do we do?" I ask him, as Catra tries to stand, before falling back.

"She's gonna get that off, we need something more… restrictive…"

"You don't have more rope?"

"Not in rope form."

"Fine," I teleport out of the clearing we're in, onto a branch of a large tree, and summon my staff. I swing it, cutting down a few large strands of vines. I teleport down to the floor, grab a few, and teleport back to Bow. He just stares at me for a moment… "What? If we use enough, we'll keep her hands at her sides."

"Are you okay? You took us pretty far from Dryl… maybe relax for a little."

"I'm not a child, let's just deal with her."

"Stop talking like I'm not here!" Catra, snarls, getting to her feet. She's still struggling with the rope around her. I move for her, to stop her from actually getting it off, and she goes to throw her weight sloppily into a kick. It doesn't work very well, as I side step the attack and hit her with a concussive blast near her head that sends her back down, dazed.

"Now," Bow says, moving forwards with the vines. We start wrapping the long strands around Catra, trying to keep her less maneuverable as she slowly comes back to her senses. But by then, it's too late, and Bow is trying the vines behind her back.

"Let me go!"

"Not a chance," I say smugly. It's nice for something to be… well, this wasn't easy, but it was certainly less stressful than everything else we've dealt with lately.

Bow motions his head up from behind Catra, and we lift, so we're all standing again. Catra huffs and starts yelling obscenities at us as Bow motions his head again, towards a rock a few feet over. We move, Catra trying the whole time to get us off of her, before we get to the rock. Bow goes to set her down. I however might have just pushed her a little, and she stumbles back, falling onto the rock.

She actually laughs for a moment, and Bow glares at me, placing his hand on my shoulder, "let's talk."

I frown, but nod, and we walk a few feet away.

"What did we do!?" He yells quietly. A hushed voice, but not at all calm.

"I don't know, take her back to Bright Moon?"

"Oh boy… if Adora was there, she's going to be really mad…"

"... That's what you're worried about!?"

"You didn't see her at Bright Moon! The look she gave me when my arrow hit Catra-"

"-Accidentally grazed Catra's side and seemed to barely hurt her," I cut him off.

"... She was mad. Like, it got personal for her. That was when she sent me flying across the bay."

"So what, you want Catra to be off limits so we don't tick off the princess of power?"

"No! We just… we need to be careful. We both know we can't fight She-Ra alone. We weren't even supposed to go into Dryl because of how dangerous-"

"Bow, I know! But we didn't see her out with Catra and Scorpia, she probably isn't here."

"I know, but-"

"No, we're taking her to Bright Moon," I look over at Catra. We can't march on Dryl, it's more guarded than we thought. "If the horde decides you aren't expendable, we'll make a trade for Entrapta."

"Entrapta? Which princess is that again?"

Adora is one thing. Smug, cocky, a little arrogant, and with a hint of naivety. Catra on the other hand… Her cocky arrogance is insufferable. It's less self-sure and more pure mockery. I step forward, charging up with magic, "We know you have her!"

Bow grabs my arm, pulling me back and I let the magic dispel. "Glimmer…" his voice is a stern warning.

Catra is just staring at us. Her eyes dart between him and me, then her eyes settle into a look of recognition. "Ohh, Entrapta! The Princess you left to die!"

I step closer to her, grabbing her shirt and pushing her down into the rock, "where is she!?"

"Don't worry!" She laughs, actually laughs at me, "We're taking good care of her."

I grunt, pulling her up, "I had hope a majority of the Horde's army were ignorant, or just in it for the money, but you're really just cruel and heartless, aren't you?"

Her response is to drop, sitting down in the grass, "oh no, Sparkles, I think I broke my leg when I fell! I can't walk! You're gonna have to untie me!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" I yell, I have never felt more of a drive to kick someone while they're down… "Fine. I'll teleport us all the way to Bright Moon."

"Uh… Glimmer?" Bow's voice comes in, "Are you sure we can make that?"

"Bow! Not while she's right there!"

"Relax Sparkles, Adora figured out you're battery-operated really early on from the way you teleport less as a fight goes on." Catra taunts from the ground, she's laying in the grass now.

I look down, "she what!?"

"What did you think our plan was for your dumb little ball? Get lucky?"

"Ugh! Your little stunt at the ball almost got people killed!"

"Yeah, but it didn't."

"Am I supposed to feel relief at that?"

"You're lucky Adora's a better person than I am, is all I'll say."

"Bow, can I please wipe that smirk off her face?"

"Let's just pick her up and start walking, we walked to Dryl after all, we can walk back too."

"Ooh, I'm gonna get to see Bright Moon again? Maybe I'll finish what we started!" Catra says, sitting up. I groan, and reach down to lift her again. Bow helps, so she can't just overpower one of us. Fine, we'll drag her back down the mountain.

Adora's POV

Etheria is beautiful. The scenery, the wildlife. I spent my whole life wanting to see outside the Fright Zone. I finally have the freedom to do that, and It's only been to tear it about.

I slash, slicing through a bot. She-Ra is unbalanced, wild in her strength, yet efficient. A useful tool.

The trees are mostly grown back now. The Horde did what we needed to with the time we had, managing to secure several outposts and passes on the borders of rebel territory. The woods look almost healthy again, so we're back to the status quo.

I drive my sword down into a bot behind me, they're not very good at sneaking up on someone. I'm getting too used to these… I need something different to actually learn anything new about She-Ra.

She-Ra is magic, magic I don't understand. I can change the sword, it's easier when I need to, adrenaline helps. But I don't understand the light beams, the glowing, the energy this sword puts off…

A laser misses me barely, and when another one fires I block the blast with the flat side of my sword, before I throw my foot down into the ground, hard, disrupting the floor in front of me. I move forward, and the other bot is destroyed. EKS was a better training hot.

I detransform, turning off She-Ra. Thankfully I don't need a random phrase about some nonexistent group called, 'Grayskull.' Whatever they were, it was probably First One's stuff. And the only way I could learn about that…

Light Hope can't be trusted. I sigh, putting the sword on my back. I should get to Dryl… I turn back to the entrance of this clearing, getting onto the skiff I came here on, and head off through the trees. I should go the long way, take the short path through the woods, but they probably aren't fully regrow yet. I'm sure it'll be fine, and I'll get to Dryl sooner. Especially since driving this thing up that cliff will take long enough anyway.

The woods are so… pretty. Once everything is said and done, when the consequences of Hordak and the princesses are dealt with… I can see myself actually enjoying being out here, especially since the Whispering Woods haven't exactly been whispering to me since I found the Crystal Castle.

The ride through the woods is actually surprisingly peaceful. There are no bot swarms anymore past the line the horde is safe to go to. The princesses are still patrolling it nearly every day, so I'm cautious, but it's fine. They've stuck to their portion for all of this, falling back slowly. Bow and Glimmer showing up at the clearing the other day was… the exception.

Those two… always trying to put up a facade of being righteous, when Glimmer pulled me out from under the bot… Bow always speaking like he knows me… At least Glimmer's smug hatred of me makes sense, her actions are understandable. Bow's… he confused me. What's his game?

I'm so lost in my thoughts I don't see the creature that walks out into the path early enough, and I slam the skiff brakes as I veer it onto its side, closing my eyes as I brace for the impact- I go over as the skiff hits the creature, rolling over its back onto the floor as I hear a surprised yell, and a pained neigh?

I grab my head, as I rolled off the ground… ow. I look up. The horse from Bright Moon?

The horse looks at the skiff that crashed into it, but it was slow enough that there doesn't seem to be any damage to the horse. The skiff on the other hand, its rear engine is smoking, not good.

"Bow's Horse?"

"Adora! I found you! But um… I am no one's horse."

My eyes go wide as I look up at the horse, "oh no… how hard did I hit my head?"

"Probably a lot!" The horse somehow says cheerfully.

"You- you're talking… you're actually talking…"

"Um… yeah. Listen, I think we should keep talking. Like, have a conversation.

"You're talking!" I gasp, standing up and backing up. My head isn't that bad… I pinch my arm. Yeah, I wasn't knocked out…

The horse looks at me, as if he finds my frantic state annoying. "Yes, I can talk. And I really think we-"

"Did I do this? At- at Bright moon? I hit you, and you… changed…" She-Ra magic just got a lot weirder than I thought it would get.

"Yes, I am changed!" He boasts, "I am Swift Wind! I named myself after the swift winds of rebellion! But, uh, we really need to talk."

"Sw- Swift Wind? Okay…" I pause for a long moment, my brain still racking everything in front of me. "Um, what… do you want, Swift Wind?"

"I already explained that I want to talk, you're not very good at listening, Adora."

"I- you- that isn't what I meant!" I look down and bring my hands up to massage my temples, this is going to be a headache. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"She-Ra," he says, as if it was obvious.

"Of course. What do you know about She-Ra?"

"As much as you, probably. I'm not here to talk to you about She-Ra, but, well… Walk with me?"

"I really don't have time, I need to-"

"Catra will be fine, she seems to be able to handle herself." His interruption startles me as he starts trotting forward, a large colorful wing of his brushing against me to get me to start moving with him.

"I- was going to say Dryl! How… how do you even…"

"No you weren't. Your thoughts have been stuck on the same few things all day."

"You can- but- get out of my head! How are you in my head?"

"I'm," he starts, loudly, as if about to explain. But of course not, he gets quieter, "not sure."

"Great. A magic talking horse who can read minds."

"Oh, I can't read minds. I can just… sense things. About you, about She-Ra."

"Oh yeah? What do you sense now?"

"You're frustrated!" He sounds cheerful again.

I groan in response, "genius. You still haven't told me exactly what it is you want to talk about, though."

"I've been… trying to figure that out exactly. Let me start with this: how's She-Ra?"

I groan again, "I'm not speaking about She-Ra with Bow's horse, you're lucky I don't take you… down…"

"Again, I'm no one's horse, and I doubt you would. Besides, you seem pretty trusting of me."

I frown slightly, I… don't distrust this winged talking horse… it's weird, I have no idea what his deal is. "I don't know what to make of you."

"Oh, I talked around. Mostly with some lady in a castle you've been to before. She said stuff about being, "She-Ra's noble steed," but something about her words seemed off. I mean, you didn't trust her."

I pick my head up at this. He doesn't buy it either? "So what's your deal?"

"I'm trying to figure that out, and the best place to start is with you. I feel like… I'm supposed to talk to you."

"Well if you're looking for answers, I don't have any." It's the most frustrating truth there is.

"Well, that's the thing. I think you do! You have all this stuff floating through your head. And I can't sense it all, only snippets. The princesses, your friends, your mission; there's a lot you're juggling."

"And this affects you how?"

"I'm not sure. I just… feel drawn to help you figure it out. Maybe it'll help me figure my own self out?"

"Seriously? You're here to… help me?"

"Yes! Maybe. I don't know! I think. Let's start with this: Are you happy?"

I stop in my tracks, nearly being knocked over by his wings, and choke out, "excuse me?"

"What you're doing. Are you happy?"

"I- of course I'm happy, why wouldn't I be?" I'm completely taken aback. What is this horse's problem?

"It's just, I feel your feelings. Every one of them seems clouded in conflict. It took me days to register the sheer conflict that was felt the moment I gained sentience at Bright Moon."

I stare up at him confused, "conflict?"

"So much, and, I feel like I'm supposed to help you, but I don't know how. I can't help you fight the war-"

"Well then I don't need help," I mutter, turning back away from him. I don't need another Light Hope and Bow, telling me I'm on the wrong path. There is no right path.

"You may be right, but I can still help you sort through your conflicting emotions."

"I don't need some majestic therapy horse. I need to do my job."

"But what is your job?" He looks right at me as he asks, no longer walking the path ahead of us that he's 'not pushing' me down.

"To conquer Etheria for The Horde, to liberate the people of Etheria from the uncontrollable power of the Princesses," It's the motto that's been almost relentlessly drilled into me my whole life, the motto I've come to grow disillusioned from. He clearly knows it, too, the way Swift Wind makes a quick exhale of disagreement.

"We both know that isn't true. I'm not saying I don't get the goal, I see myself as a liberator, too, but for horse kind. But I've seen enough battle in the woods already to know that you don't fight for freedom under an oppressor."

I look down at the ground as we keep walking. He's right. I've known it the whole time. I even knew since Princess Prom that I'm not even fighting tyrants. I'm fighting kids. Teenagers. People who have as much experience, if not less, fighting than I do.

"See? You know you're not even being honest with yourself. How can you fight for something you so clearly know is wrong?"

"Because… I need to."

There's a pause, before Swift Wind asks, "are you going to elaborate on that?"

I pause, not even sure what to say, so I start simple. "It's all I know. I've spent my whole life being used by others, being a perfect soldier, that I don't really know anything else."

"But why is it too late to learn other things?"

"I am learning other things. About She-Ra, Etheria, the other princesses… I just don't know what it all means yet." I need to be cautious about how much more I reveal, I still don't trust this horse. And he should be able to tell that.

"Learning that you're not fighting who you think you're fighting? I know you don't really hate the princesses."

"I… Some of them."

"Sure, you're mad at them, but you aren't sure why, are you?"

"I know why. Glimmer is arrogant and irritable and Bow is too nice to me but he hurt Catra."

Swift Wind studies my expression. I can feel him staring at me, I can… feel him judging me. I don't know how, but I'm starting to think this supposed connection works both ways.

"Are you doing this for your bosses?"

"I only have one now, and I'm not doing it for him."

"Are you doing this to stop the princesses?"

"No… I'm not. I don't care about the princesses, it isn't personal. Even if Bow and Glimmer keep getting in my way…"

"The way of your mission?"

"Yes, the way of my mission."

"But… it isn't your mission. It's Hordak's."

I feel him staring at me, I can almost tell what he's doing. "Will you stop being in my head?"

He leans in close to me, whispering now, "I'm not in your head, you're just a really bad liar."

"What? I am not…"

"... sure." His casual refusal to argue just frustrates me more than if he had said I was. "What about your friends?"

"What about them?" I ask, a hint of defensiveness to my voice.

"I mean, do I really have to say it? I may not be able to read your mind, but I felt the way your thoughts surged and your mood shifted all three times one of us brought up Catra. What about the Princess you have in the horde?"

"I- well- Entrapta's nice, if a little energetic. Catra and Lonnie think she's a little annoying… But Catra spends a lot of her free time with her and Scorpia now, even started assisting Entrapta with bot construction and First One's tech recon." I don't know why I'm saying this, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to be honest when he can already tell if I'm lying.

"What about Scorpia?"

"Scorpia is… a lot." I hesitate. I'm not exactly close with Scorpia, and I don't really know what I think of her. "Very friendly, very loyal. And for some reason, I don't think she's the biggest fan of mine. Catra just says it's because Scorpia knows I'm busy," I pause, it's probably just something I look too much into. "Scorpia likes Entrapta, though, and won't leave Catra alone…" I look down again. I do like Scorpia, she's just… she's a lot.

"Uh huh… and you mentioned Lonnie? What about her?"

"She's my second oldest friend, after I started hanging out with Catra. She… complicated things at first, when I was around nine, because Catra never liked her. But I think the two of them are okay now." It's not exactly an in-depth answer, because I'm still not sure where he's going with it.

"Okay. And what about Catra?" His voice grows the slightest bit smug at this, as if he just got to the bottom of something, and I turn to see his face. He looks almost excited, watching me as we walk.

"Catra?" I don't know why the question surprised me, of course he was going to ask. "Catra is a good friend. She calls me out on my mistakes, supports me when I need it… she keeps me grounded…" I say it quietly, and actually realize just how much I've been giving away. I feel my fists clench at my side, I need to stop this or he's probably going to start asking me about Shadow Weaver, or jumping to conclusions. "Why, are you going to get to the point?"

"Are you aware you talked about Catra for every person I asked you about?"

I stop walking, both of us coming to an immediate stop. Did I? Still a little defensive about his pestering, I ask, "so what?"

Swift Wind actually sighs. "It isn't exactly hard to see you care about her," he says, as if it was some secret, huge revelation.

Except it isn't, because, "of course I care about Catra. She cares about me. We're all friends, my entire team, and that involves caring."

"You're getting awfully defensive," he says, his tone only containing sincerity.

"I am not!" I definitely am. "I'm just, I don't see what the big deal is," I do. "Why does it matter that I care about my friends?"

"Do you think it's possible you might not understand exactly how you care for them?"

"I-" I go say that I understand exactly, that of course I do, but I don't say it. "What, you wanna give a speech about how my friends are 'my real family?' Guess what, Swift Wind, I know what they mean to me," my words are confident, smug even, "I know that they're important, and I know that everything I do is for her- er, them." I pause, looking down yet again. I'm not usually one to get pronouns wrong, that was a weird mistake. I look back up at Swift Wind, his smile is gleaming.

"Exactly. You aren't doing this for Hordak."

"Of course I'm not! Hordak is just as much a tyrant as the horde says the princesses are. I just… need to keep going. Finding this sword, being She-Ra… it's complicating things. I have a target on my back from most of Etheria. I'm dangerous to the princesses, I'm 'acting out' to Shadow Weaver, Hordak probably thinks I'm a danger to his rule with my power, so he started keeping me on a leash." Oh, that's why he made me second in command…

"It sounds like I was right: you know a lot more than you think you do. Even if you don't let yourself see what your feelings really are," he says it with an inflection that implies there's a double meaning to his words.

I think back on this entire conversation. I don't see how he thinks this really helps me. I already knew my friends were important. But… I guess that was his point. "I don't really see how helping me helps you," I whisper, feeling a little… defeated. He had been right, I have been holding my own truths right under my nose…

"If I am She-Ra's noble steed, like the hologram lady says, then my job is to help you figure out what it means to be She-Ra."

"What it means to be She-Ra is that she's the key. I can use her to finally make sure there's nothing looming over them all." I had known this too, I admitted it to Catra directly in the Crystal Castle. Our dream… ruling Etheria. The top of the world…

"I don't think you're being honest still. You're saying the words of someone willing to go to all lengths to be on top."

"Savior, conqueror, liberator, tyrant, champion. So many words to describe the same thing from different perspectives. You want to have a talk on morality?"

"You know morality. I know your feelings. Your compassion, it's there even if you don't show it. Your very first mission, you defied orders to grab prisoners in order to ensure a smooth capture of Thaymor."

"The horde doesn't target civilians. My orders were to grab war prisoners, and there was no need because Glimmer listened to reason that day. And I always followed that rule. No one got hurt at the Sea Gate, we didn't shell civilian structures at Bright Moon, and our Heat bombs at the kingdom of Snows were planted and detonated in deserted halls so the main ballroom would be… mostly okay."

But he doesn't respond to any of that. What would he add? A quick acknowledgement of how good a person I am? I'm not, I learned very quickly what my job actually entails. This isn't about morality, it's about the mission. I just… employ more moral principles than others…

"Do you want me to tell you what I see in you, Adora?"

"No," I respond quickly and coldly. I know he's going to say it anyway, but I really am getting tired of him acting like he knows me inside and out.

"I think you're a protector who isn't always sure what you're protecting."

"I thought we went over this," I say, growing more frustrated.

"We did. I'm just waiting for it to sink in," he says matter of factly, as if I should've known this. But it just further makes me want nothing to do with this.

"... we're done here," I say with a sense of finality to try and get him to stop talking.

"I was thinking this was about as far as we were going to get… Listen, I know you don't want to talk. But I think I can help you, if you'll let me. When I gained consciousness, I fled into the woods. I met someone who seemed to know me, who seems to know She-Ra, but also seems to know you. You can… contact me, through our feelings, according to Light Hope."

I interrupt Swift Wind, "look, this has been a real swell conversation," I say sarcastically, "but I have places to be that I have been distracted from for long enough."

He stares at me, his eyes big, round, pleading. Ugh, why does this horse have to so… majestic, it's really the only word for it. I sigh. I'm going to make a bad idea, but I know how I can get him to leave me alone and get what I need.

"Fine, I'll make you a deal. You made me late. I need to get to Dryl, and you have wings. If you give me a lift yo Dryl, I will… consider meeting this lady in the woods.

His eyes sparkle slightly in an affirmative glare, "deal!" He lowers himself down, allowing me to get on his back easier.

For a moment, I think this is a bad idea. I have never ridden a horse before, I barely know what a horse is. And he flies, and I've never flown. Skiffs hover, there's a difference. But I need to get to Dry before sundown, and since the skiff is busted, this is the only way.

Swift Wind takes off. It's panicking for a moment, as my hands dig into his main slightly, but he doesn't seem to mind. I'm higher above Etheria than I've ever been. We don't go too high, but it's high enough for me to see everything from the edge of the dingy grays that lead to the Fright Zone on my right, the dim glow of the Bright Moon Moon Stone at the horizon to my left, and the mountains of Dryl far in front of me.

I feel a surge of adrenaline, holding tight as we race over the trees. Swift Wind doesn't say anything else, even though I feel his excitement of flying match with my mix of adrenaline and slight fear. It gives me a moment of clarity to just start thinking back on everything we said, and I feel like even though I already knew everything he said, it's still given me a lot to think about in terms of how it fits together.

Bow's POV

The Dryl mountains are a pain to navigate normally, even more so when you and your friend are dragging the world's largest pain in everyone's behind with you.

'Catra is difficult' is like saying Bright Moon's castle is a one room shack. Catra has bitten, tried to claw, fallen over, tried to trip, snarled, hissed, groaned, snarled, and has not stopped complaining. We even had to ditch the vines because she started scratching through them by rolling on the ground, settling for a simple wrist binding. She's much more dangerous this way, but she hasn't tried anything other than being annoying.

"Come on Sparkles, my legs are *tired,* just teleport us down the mountain at least!"

"I am not doing anything! Your legs are sore? Good, I hope they collapse on you."

The banter hasn't stopped for a while now, I'm mostly trying to keep Glimmer from killing Catra as much as I am focusing on keeping Catra moving. Because Catra immediately shrugs and goes to drop to the floor. I grab her by the shoulders, keeping her up, but she groans in pain as her theatrics cause her to twist her ankle.

"Glimmer, walk ahead of us before you kill her," I say, my voice a little too stern. Glimmer shoots me an exasperated look, before she walks a few feet ahead. "You okay?" I ask, getting Catra back to her feet.

"Like you care," she's walking like normal, so it must not have hurt too much.

"Yeah, actually. The rebellion treats its prisoners with compassion."

"Save me the speech, you and your bleeding heart."

"Hey, caring about people isn't a bad thing. You care about other people."

She scoffs, her face twisting up in annoyance, "whatever."

"What about Adora?" I ask. A few of the rebellion members have suspected those two are at the very least good friends for a while now, given the way everyone on their team looks at each other. Adora has genuine compassion for her team, but the way she looks at Catra, and Catra at her, I feel like I had to ask.

And she tenses up, too. Her shoulders tighten under the grip I have on her right arm to keep her moving. She looks over at me and snarls defensively.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone has friends." I look ahead at Glimmer, she's walking with a slight pout in her step even now, and I can't help but feel warm at the sight of how expressive she is. She always makes it clear what she's thinking, it's a good quality to have. I look back at Catra, and decide to probe this whole Adora is She-Ra thing. She seems on edge, but differently, like I'm getting closer to something. "So, your friend is a princess, and you're working to wipe out the princesses?"

"You don't know what I'm working to do!" She says with the same anger in her voice.

"No, but I can tell you have a drive for something. Adora does too. But we haven't been able to figure her out."

"And you expect me to spill?"

"I mean… you did lead me to Glimmer during the rescue mission. I know that whatever you're working for, it isn't what everyone else is."

Her eyes flicker down, but then she hisses again, leaning closer to me. "The rescue mission where you left your more disposable friend behind to die? That we got loads of useful information out of? I'd say it was worth the trade!" She says the last part with a chuckle to her voice, but I don't miss how she completely dodges the topic.

I see Glimmer freeze up ahead, and she turns around. But something isn't right. I hold my hand up, and Glimmer stops moving. The way she's flipping her mood right now, the way I keep seeing the flashes of second guessing in her eyes… "You're bluffing," I say to her.

"As if!" She scoffs again, every other noise that leaves her mouth is a sound of utter contempt.

I sigh in frustration, but I can see Glimmer is fuming at how she's speaking about Entrapta. "Let's get moving."

Every step we take is tense. Catra is great at thinking, that much is clear. She looks so relaxed, her body language is loose and she's not resisting. But I can see the way her eyes are contracted fully, the way her ears twitch at every subtle noise. She's hypervigilant, waiting for an opening.

But she doesn't. We all go back to marching along, towards Bright Moon. Catra adjusts her uniform slightly, straightening the belt and adjusting her… badge.

"You got a promotion? I thought that was Adora's." I didn't actually notice it until now.

"It's not, shut up," she grumbles.

"Wait, but if that's a Force Captain badge… Adora really isn't at Dryl, is she?"

"I don't care to explain that to you," she hisses. This is weird, though. If Catra has their team now, what does Adora do? She wasn't wearing her badge when we met fighting those bots the other day, but it was probably still on her jacket, which means she wasn't demoted. What comes after Force Captain?

Then Catra lets out a breath. "You really care about her."

"Huh?" Her question takes me by surprise, given her earlier hostility. But I guess with the way her eyes were flickering this whole conversation, it was only a matter of time.

"Sparkles. I can see the way you look at her." She doesn't say it with a smug tone, or any mocking support. It's just… a raw observation.

"I… she's my best friend. She has been for years. I met Glimmer a long time ago, before her powers even fully developed, back when I first decided to…" I pause, I shouldn't reveal anything that could lead my dads' to become a target. "-become a rebellion fighter, before I could even use a bow."

"Really? That makes sense, the way you two fight as a team like you do."

"I imagine it's similar for you and Adora?"

She looks down, clearly debating on if she should speak. "Since we were kids."

It's a simple answer, but it's more open than Catra has ever appeared. I smile down at her, "It's good to have someone by your side, through everything."

"Whatever," she mutters, back to being dismissive. She glances ahead at Glimmer, then over to the cliffside we're walking down. Her expression betrays nothing but I still tense up, worried what she's thinking about, "It's good to have a friend who'd do anything for you,"

"Um, yeah. I'm sure Adora's a good person too, she seems… conflicted."

I watch as Catra's stance relaxes again. Whatever she was thinking about doing, my words seemed to have made her hesitate. Then she glares up at me, "you don't know her."

I feel her push off the ground before I can react, and I lose my footing instantly. I fall back, and reach out to grab her as I stumble, but it only succeeds in pulling her with me as my foot slips off a crumbling edge of the cliff.

For the second time today, I'm falling from a pretty high place. Unfortunately, the ground below here is much less soft, much more rocks… and even higher up. I shout out, Catra shrieks as she puts her hands into my shirt, but quickly gains her senses and smirks as we're falling.

*Poof*

"How are you such a nightmare!" Glimmer shouts, inches away from the two of us.

"Hah, years of practice."

They look like they're about to start needlessly bickering, but we're a little halfway down for that, "Glimmer! Falling!"

She looks down at me, groans in annoyance, and teleports us down to the ground. If we're already falling, no use saving her powers now.

Except it's still a wild teleport, meaning she really is tired, because we end up over a river. The water is cold as soon as we make contact, and the current is barely manageable. I reorient myself and swim up, poking my head above the water. Where is she…

Glimmer's head comes up, and I watch as Catra pulls herself up too. "Not a fan of wat-?" but Glimmer's smug remark is cut off with a shriek when Catra throws her arms over Glimmer's head.

I swim closer to them, closing the distance as the current brings us down river. We slam into a log, dislodging it as we start drifting down the river and using the log to stay afloat.

"Glimmer, you gonna pull us out of this?" I ask, seeing Catra nearly digging her claws into Glimmer's shoulder.

"Just… need a minute to rest."

Great, she really is exhausted. I look forward and- oh no. "Uh, what can you do with ten seconds?"

Catra scoffs, "seriously? You guys are terrible at this!" It's met with a groan from Glimmer, who teleports us out of the water and back to grass.

At least we're down the mountain pass now.

"Hahahahahaha," Catra laughs as she sits up, "Wow, Adora said you guys didn't know what you were doing, I thought she was just being cocky!"

Glimmer shouts, "Argh! I am so sick-" she moves forward, but her eyes flutter and she slumps back down. I move for her quickly.

"Are you okay?" I help her up to her feet as she brings a hand to her head, clearly tired.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Catra asks in a tone that is dripping with malice and mockery, "sleepy after all that magic?"

"I'm fine," Glimmer grimaces, picking Catra up, "you're not worth my time. C'mon."

"Scared now, knowing that your weakness has been exposed?" She taunts again. I swear I'm going to get a headache listening to these two bickering.

"Funny you should say that, given that I still have magic left and you're being taken to a Bright Moon prison to be questioned until we can make a trade," Glimmer still has just as much snark to her voice as Catra, just as confident and just as angry. These two should never have had a chance to speak.

"Like I'll tell you anything," Catra snarls.

Glimmer chuckles, turning back around, "we'll be able to get our answers, you don't know our methods."

"Actually, I do. Shadow Weaver is a sorceress after all," she smirks, leaning closer to Glimmer. "And we all know you princesses don't have the guts for the fun stuff, and truth spells can be… malleable. You won't get any results."

"You want to see results!?" Glimmer shouts, turning around. That's not good.

I move myself in between them, keeping a hand on Catra's shoulder and holding my other out towards Glimmer. "Enough! Glimmer, just keep moving, we'll get her where we need her to go."

"Ugh! She doesn't deserve a Bright Moon cell!"

"You think so highly of me, Sparkles!"

I huff, glaring at both of them in turn, "look, I'm glad you two are able to converse with such ease, but maybe we should stop bickering and make sure we make our way back to somewhere before night falls!"

"Then make her shut up! Tape, use more rope, a bit of cloth, I don't care!"

"I'll gladly shut up if you cut this rope off my wrists, they're so sore. Still, it probably beats that Black Garnet magic."

Glimmer moves for Catra, pushing my arm aside. After a split second of shock, I turn from Catra completely to grab Glimmer and pull her back, "Glimmer, knock it off!"

"How are you calm about this, after everything this girl has done! After Entrapta!"

"Oh, Entrapta," Catra says behind me, as she sits down and lays back on the grass. "I gotta say, you two leaving her behind was so great for us, thanks for that."

Glimmer grinds her teeth together, and I see a spark in her eyes. This could get bad. "Glimmer, ignore her. She isn't worth getting us stranded out here."

"We already are! Can't we just shut her up?"

"I tried, she bites, so let's just keep going as we are and get where we need to go. Remember what we are here for. We get Catra to Bright Moon, we make a trade for Entrapta."

Glimmer is glaring past me, and I can see the anger and frustration in her eyes, but she knows I'm right. Her eyes drift down, softening, then back up to me. She gives a single nod.

I sigh in relief, looks like we're actually going to-

"Trouble in paradise?" Catra's voice rings out behind me. I turn to see a smug smirk on her face, and suddenly Glimmer past me towards her. She's furious. I place my hand on her shoulder and she pulls against me.

It doesn't work, and I manage to hold Glimmer back. She screams something at Catra, Catra starts laughing, I pull Glimmer more.

"Let go!"

"Stop-"

"Hahahahaha!"

"Don't. Move!"

Glimmer and I both stop.

Catra's POV

I heard the skiff coming a while before it got here. Those things are pretty good at going downhill if you know how to pull them back up before the ground levels off, and Rogelio and Adora were always good at driving them. I signaled my location out a bit ago, I was kind of hoping to drag everything out longer and get Glimmer more exhausted, but this is going to have to work, because I need to get away from the princess. And Bow.

So when I hear Adora's voice boom out from a few yards away, I'm confused. I turn to see her and Scorpia. Well, She-Ra and Scorpia. Adora went to Dryl?

"Catra, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Scorpia's expression is one full of concern, her eyes are on me. Adora's are not. They're on Glimmer, who is still visibly furious.

Glimmer turns away from me, towards Adora, and steps out past Bow. "She's fine. We're here to propose a trade. We'll release Catra, for Entrapta."

Give up the Horde's single most strategic asset? Not happening. Entrapta is still in trouble with a rogue bot. This'll be easy. "I have a-"

"Come here, Catra." Adora says. Her voice is firm, commanding. I can hear reassurance in it by the way her words aren't as strained as when she issues her warning. It's still the same voice as Adora's without She-Ra, but she's both angry and overly confident right now.

I look at Glimmer and Bow. Glimmer's expression is still one of anger, but Bow's is of shock. They're… afraid. Of She-Ra. I smirk, and start walking forward. Neither of the rebels move to stop me.

I walk across the clearing, Adora carefully uses the sword to swing down between my wrists, freeing my arms. I have to be honest, I really didn't like being restrained like that, those two idiots have taken far too much control in their useless quest for Entrapta.

"What about Entrapta?" Glimmer asks, her and Adora's eyes haven't left each other.

I look over to Scorpia, who is still looking at me with an expression of pity. Ugh, I'm really going to tell her to stop doing that, even Adora is better at hiding her emotions, which is saying a lot. "The tablet?"

Scorpia nods, handing it to me. "Uh, sure thing, Catra."

I take it, turning back to Glimmer. "Wanna talk to your friend?" Bow reaches behind his back, finally moving, as Glimmer continues glaring at us. I let out a small chuckle, and call the number of Entrpapta's datapad that I reached Kyle through earlier. Surprisingly, Entrapta picks up.

"Hey Catra! We got the problem under control, Lonnie showed up to help Kyle distract the bot and I was able to turn it off. The flaws will be worked out, and the next model will be much, much bigger."

"Entrapta?" Bow asks, stepping forward. His grip on his weapon relaxes, even Glimmer lowers her raised fists an inch or two. "What's going on?"

I flip the tablet around. I let a short conversation play out between Bow, Glimmer, and Entrapta. Entrapta immediately lets out that she's now working in the Fright Zone, and doesn't want to be rescued. and by the end of it… "hacking the Black Garnet was just the first step."

Bow gasps out loud, his expression turning to one of hurt, "That was you?"

I turn the feed off, "So much for the power of friendship."

Glimmer and Bow share a look of resignation, hurt, betrayal. I smile. Their whole stunt today was- quite literally- for nothing.

"Let's go, Glimmer," Bow places a hand on Glimmer's shoulder.

Glimmer glares over at Adora, then her eyes settle on me. Something tells me today may have changed things about how our future fights are going to be. But then, *poof.*

"Well… you sure got to Dryl at the right time." Scorpia says, chuckling.

Adora looks down at me, detransforming. Her gaze is one of confusion, she's still tense, and her gaze is hard. "Let's go home."

Great, she's ticked. I slump my shoulders a little, before I notice it and correct my posture, following her. Scorpia shoots me a glance of concern, "you sure you're okay, Wildcat?"

"Peachy, they didn't touch me. Let's go."

We follow through the trees to where the skiff they took is parked and get on.

"Wait, Adora, how did you get to Dryl without a skiff?"

"Long story, " she says, taking the driver's stick. And we're off.

So apparently, that horse from Bright Moon and the castle is now sentient and can talk. Adora didn't say anything about what the horse wanted though, and the entire ride back on the skiff was awkward and tense. Adora never spoke a word to me.

She's mad. I get it, I got captured. They got the better of me again, just like at Bright Moon, just like when Glimmer was rescued. When we get back to the Fright Zone- Adora had said she wasn't taking the skiff up the mountain after what happened and just wanted to get home- Shadow Weaver is in the skiff bay again. She was waiting for the return to talk to Adora. However, she had been blown off as soon as she went to speak, and the three of us kept walking.

Scorpia splits off quickly to go speak with Entrapta. Adora and I both head back to the Force Captain hall, saying nothing to each other. It isn't until I finally head into my room without even shooting her a look that I realize she wanted to talk in private, as she steps into my room with me.

I don't know why exactly, Adora has never scolded or yelled at me outside of our petty arguments or that bickering in the castle… but I'm immediately on edge. I can feel the fur on my neck sticking up in the same way it does when I'm expecting the witch to… well- Adora and I stand there, in my room, staring at each other for a long few moments. Her gaze isn't hard anymore, she just looks conflicted. It takes a while before the silence is broken.

"What was that?" Adora is usually so easy to read, to understand, but right now I don't get it. I can't figure out what it is that's in her voice. It isn't frustration, or pity, or concern… It's just Adora.

"What was what?"

Adora puts her sword on her back and spreads her arms out, "everything?"

"We got ambushed, I got zapped with Sparkles and we fell out of the sky and later into a river."

"Why did you show them Entrapta?"

"Oh, that was entirely done because I'm petty. They kidnapped me to get her, but since she's kind of with us willingly… now… well it was nice to make those two realize this was all for nothing."

"Seriously? You're still thinking of all this as if it was some game?"

"Adora, it's never been a game. I just wanted to make Glimmer finally shut off after running her mouth for what felt like hours." I say, looking down. But her tone… I still can't place it. I'm still on edge, still waiting for the snap… but Adora never snaps. Adora could never snap.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this all really was for you? You could've gotten killed, again," her voice finally breaks slightly, her expression betrays concern.

"Oh come on, I was fine! Bow and Glimmer are rebel softies, they would never have hurt me."

"You're underestimating them. Glimmer was moments from snapping, I could see it as soon as I saw her."

I rub my hand against my left arm, looking down. I am not doing this. "She was basically out of magic-"

"You didn't know that. Clearly, she popped out of there no problem."

"Lay off! I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Bow's hurt you before."

"That was an accident!"

"An accident that was a few inches away from you being seriously hurt."

"Well I wasn't." I need to change the subject, push this conversation somewhere so we aren't talking in circles. "Besides, my princess in shining armor got me out of trouble again, it'll look great on a report to Hordak." My words contain a lot of venom to them, I am getting really tired of Adora acting like I can't cover for myself.

"H- Hordak!? Catra, that doesn't help me! Nothing that hurts you helps me!"

"Well I'm not hurt! Your argument is still invalid!" Our voices are getting louder.

"But you aren't looking at how close things could have been! You said you fell into a river!"

"I handled it, I can handle myself!"

"One mission Catra. You got one mission since being promoted, and you aren't even seriously considering what could-"

"What could have happened isn't what happened! I handled it, I always do."

"Catra, it only takes one slip up, and then I lose you, and… then what?"

I pause, feeling my blood boil. I recognize Shadow Weaver's words when I hear them, and I have heard these ones directly. In that stupid Crystal Castle. "Stop. Stop acting like I need protecting, like you need to both keep me at arms length and on a leash. Don't think I didn't notice how much you've been avoiding actually talking to me since Bright Moon. I know the only reason I was with you when training against Entrapta's robots was because I needed to be on standby. And the one time you actually send me out, you're what, right outside the Dryl gates?"

"I- I…" she looks down, I can see the guilt eating away at her face.

But I'm not done. Adora spent years trying to tell me I need to be more honest. She wants honesty? "You're looking at me the way she wants you to see me. And you can't let anything bad happen to me without it reflecting poorly on you."

She picks her head up, looking shocked. Taken aback, even. "No, no- this isn't about any of them. This isn't about Shadow Weaver, or Hordak, or even me being worried about Bow hurting you again or the rebellion. What, you think I only care about you because it helps my position?"

"Then why do you care!?" I shout, feeling all my frustrations with her welling up. "I thought things were getting better. I let myself think the castle ended up being a good thing, that it let us be more open with each other. But that isn't the case. You're still acting like I'm weak!"

Adora looks hurt now, upset even. She steps forward and puts a hand on my shoulder. I hiss at the contact, but she doesn't seem phased at that. "You were never weak."

"... Then what is it!?" I slap her hand away. I can see her face slowly twisting up, see as her thoughts wind and unwind as she tries to pull an answer together.

"I can't lose you," she finally says.

I feel myself grow to be a little uneasy, what does… of course she can't, just like I couldn't lose her. It'd change everything, ruin everything. "Then why are you keeping me at arms length?"

"Because I can't lose you. I… I care about you."

I blink twice, then shake my head. "No, you've been treating me like a child practically since you got promoted to Force Captain, even more so ever since we saw those stupid flashbacks. You don't care about me, not like I care about you!"

The silence hangs in the air for a few moments before I realize what I'd just shouted at her. I do care about Adora. I would do anything for her, and we've already established that includes doing what needs to be done to keep her herself. And she hasn't done the same, she's just pushed me, but held me still. Kept me between close and far for months. And I'm done, I can't do that anymore.

"And… how would that be?" Oh, Adora. Adora… why did she have to ask to clarify that? Not that there was anything else she would've asked.

I clench my fists, looking down. How would that be? Adora is my only real friend, the only person in the Fright Zone I'd trust to have my back to the bitter end, well, maybe not always against Shadow Weaver, but… she's getting better with that. Now if she could just stop thinking what Shadow Weaver wants her to think. Even with their 'closeness' being tested, she still has Adora completely in her grasp…

I guess Adora decided I was taking too long to respond, because she steps closer to me. "I do care about you. More than you could ever know. More than.. even I know…" she looks to the side as she says that part, as if this was a recent revelation. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"No… No you don't. You don't need me. I hold you back." Now I'm the one using Shadow Weaver's words… but I need to, here. We're close to something, I need to say it out loud to get her to realize how bad it sounds when said out loud. And it works, I see the guilt flash in her eyes. I- I'm hurting her with my words. But this is important.

"And you did it on purpose before. I'm important enough to you that you'll hold me back because you think I don't want this." And there it is, in the open. Things we've said before but never fully contextualized. I don't hold Adora back because she's going to leave me behind, she'd never leave me behind. And Adora… Adora is holding me back too. By keeping me at arms length…

"We need to stop doing this to each other," I whisper, all the anger from earlier gone in an instant.

"Catra… I want to do this right. You don't hold me back, you're my reason to move forward. So I- so we can work to give us a better life. This, right here… it's why I do what I do. And I'm sorry I don't always do it right, but I'm always going to try to keep making things better."

And this, I didn't expect. She's doubling down… and I just don't have it in me to be angry. "... you're going to lose yourself."

"No, I found myself. I- look, you're right. I've been a jerk, I need to give more attention to this, and I'm sorry. I'd like to fix this. But… I need to keep pushing to get closer to Hordak and learn more of what I can. Swift Wind gave me a lead, I need to do this. For us."

I sigh, she really did give this thought… and if she isn't doing it to be dismissive or cold… she isn't doing this for the dream after all… "Adora…" I don't know what to say, where to go from here. Everything feels like it's spinning, but… not. My thoughts are racing but I'm not thinking about anything.

"It's okay, Catra. I know what I'm doing. Let me prove it to you." She reaches forward, taking another step, and grabs each of my hands with hers, and I just… I can't argue this. Not now, not when she just changed everything by saying, 'for us.'

I just stand there, staring down at our hands between us. Adora, what are we doing? It's not a question I dare ask out loud. I swallow and look up. "Okay."