Bow's POV

"I'm telling you, it isn't a good idea."

"We need a way to deal with her, none of you saw the look in her eyes at Dryl," Glimmer is standing out of her chair, hands on the table.

I respond with, "it was just like at Bright Moon…"

"So we're supposed to just let them keep winning and hide like cowards?" Mermista chimes in.

Perfuma hesitantly looks up, "yeah, didn't you say they fled from the encounter in the woods?"

"Well we don't exactly know their every move. What we do know is that Adora only really engages us when she feels she needs to, just like when she left us at the Crystal Castle."

"So she doesn't always want us dead, that doesn't change the fact that sometimes, she does. She has Entrapta! We need to find a way to get her back!" Mermista stands up, her voice raised..

"You aren't listening to us, Entrapta isn't a prisoner!" Glimmer shouts back.

"So she's a traitor?" Frosta asks, looking confused.

"If anything, we're the traitors…" Perfuma mutters, looking down.

"No, we aren't, this doesn't change anything. We'll stop the horde," Glimmer says to Perfuma.

"But we left her…"

"Yes, we did," I say, "Entrapta… made her choice. But we can still get through to her!"

"That isn't our priority, we're here to retake the pass that's kept us from reinforcing our outposts outside of this valley since it was seized while the woods were frozen over," Glimmer reminds everything.

We're in a tent, talking strategy, in the valley overlooked by the pass, but no one has come with anything useful. It's fortified, and we know Adora's team is there. Well, some of them, which means Adora could be there but we don't know, especially with how we thought she wasn't at Dryl.

"Our priority should be on our friend," Perfuma argues.

"The friend who hacked the Black Garnet and nearly destroyed Etheria? Yeah, I think Frosta's right." Mermista says.

Frosta looks shocked, "w- wait, I asked if Entrapta was a traitor, I didn't say she is!"

"Doesn't seem like much of a difference to me…"

"This isn't getting us anywhere," I say, "Glimmer is right, we need to focus on retaking the fortress." Truth be told, I just can't bring myself to think about Entrapta right now. She was an inspiration to me for years, the reason I started putting tech into my arrows. Her being with the Horde now feels almost like a betrayal of everything science is supposed to be, using it just because instead of enacting positive change.

"This won't be like the woods, they'll be expecting us. There's a reason the horde upped their security and scent for Adora's team yesterday, they know we set up an outpost here," Glimmer says, pointing to a map at a spot that shows where we have this tent set up.

"They were expecting us when we went to rescue you, and… technically… no one got hurt," Mermista says warily. It's true in a way. Glimmer was able to dispel the Black Garnet energy, and Entrapta… isn't gone. Somehow, though, Perfuma and I canceling the funeral did not fill us with relief.

Perfuma speaks up with a, "but now they have She-Ra."

"We can't not fight just because they have an eight foot tall warrior lady with a giant sword."

"This isn't a boss battle, Mermista, this is a very serious situation."

"Yet as far as we know, Adora's team is one of the few known Horde squads that has no known attributed casualties… well, again, in retrospect."

"That doesn't mean we can just march in there like you have your own magic super weapon."

"I know, I know. I'm just saying, along with Glimmer, that we can't keep running away from them if we want to have land to run away too."

"Mermista is right," Glimmer says, "Bright Moon was too close a battle, and we only won because Adora retreated. Even having decimated their artillery and tanks, we were seconds away from the collapse of the Moon Stone and Etheria being covered in darkness. We cannot afford to wait until She-Ra has another crack at it."

"So we're back to this debate," Perfuma stands up now, too, leaving only Frosta and I still in our chairs. "We don't have a reliable way to permanently stop She-Ra unless we can manage to get the sword back from her."

"Bow and I tried that in the woods, and I'd rather make sure we did something more certain to succeed."

"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I'll have no part in it."

"Glimmer is right, we need to keep our options open."

"Then let me keep trying to get through to her," I plead, "it's working! You all remember how she looked before she struck the tower. Don't you remember what she said?"

"So she put on a face of sympathy and claimed to be sorry. She doesn't have any care for us, we need to make sure she doesn't have the chance to hurt us again," Mermista doubles down.

"Wait, maybe we should keep trying to retake the sword," Frosta says quietly. She shuts down somewhat when everyone starts bickering like this.

Perfuma senses it immediately and gives Frosta a small smile. "Frosta is right, if we can get the sword we can stop She-Ra."

"How do we even know that will work?"

"Light Hope talked about the sword being important, she locked it for a while, too."

"The janky hologram you spoke to? And she unlocked it?"

"Our only link to learning about She-Ra. And no…"

"That was probably Entrapta," I say, "it was First One's tech, and we just learned the darkness back then was Entrapta hacking the Black Garnet. She probably hacked the Sword of Protection, too."

"Great, Entrapta is directly responsible for two of the worst things the Horde has done," Mermista mutters. "And helping the person who took down some of the oldest architecture on Etheria at the Sea Gate."

"Yeah, it's not a good situation."

Frosta interrupts, "so what do we do?"

Glimmer huffs, "clearly we aren't going ro reach a unanimous vote."

Perfuma sits back down, looking dejected. Frosta looks worried. Glimmer looks angry, Mermista looks angry but is acting more like she's just frustrated. I sigh, we're going to be here a while.

Adora's POV

Catra and I together, on top of everything. It's been so long since we last came up here, now. Well, not really, it's only been a few months since I got promoted. But so much has changed. I sigh, looking down at the badge I'm holding in one hand, sword in the other, feet dangling over the edge. Catra is next to me, it's been quiet. She's sitting with one leg over, the other she has her arm braced on, looking out over the Fright Zone.

Even the Fright Zone is different. I've made a few orders to the foundry when I got promoted to Second in Command. Hordak wouldn't approve much, but I was able to put in a convincing argument that the smog was causing too many respiratory issues in our ranks, so… it's a little better. A little less gray. You can barely make out the mountains on the horizon, now.

There's still damage down at the docks we can see from here, most of it has been repaired but whatever those princesses did during their rescue mission was still being fixed, I sort of handed that problem off to Octavia.

"Adora… what are we doing?"

I look up from the badge, "what?"

"You know this complicates things further, right?"

I think about her words. Everything we said the other day… Yeah, complicated for sure. Swift Wind was right about Catra, I do care. And she does too… we've been trying to figure out what it means. The problem is that none of us understand this stuff. We know we'll always be there for each other, always support each other, always work to push the other to be better. But there's too much wrong, too much we either haven't been telling each other. We're best friends and we trust each other, but we've been terrible friends and have been bitter.

I know I haven't been fair. I sent her to Dryl because I needed a breather, and immediately regretted not going with. I almost sent her with Scorpia yesterday, too, but… she's been a problem, too. She hasn't listened to orders multiple times, or has outright acted against the horde's interests as a means of, 'looking out for me.' We need to figure this out.

"Adora, you didn't answer me."

I look up again, "sorry. Lots going on."

"Talk," she says simply, she's still looking out over the Fright Zone.

"I'm sorry I've been distant, I'm still trying to figure out why."

"I know. And… thank you for taking a few days for us to just…try and work this all out."

We haven't made much progress. Even speaking to each other has been difficult, despite how much we both want to speak. I couldn't count the number of times she's glanced my way and opened her mouth just to look away again. Or how often I've done the same.

"Things were never like this before. It was always simple. Follow orders, do what I'm told, get high marks-"

"Adora, stop. Just… stop. You've been going on endlessly about how 'complicated' and 'confusing' everything has been since you found the sword."

I lean back, a little shocked. "B- but, it has been."

"No, it isn't complicated. Shadow Weaver is complicated, how we are going to deal with Hordak is complicated. The rest isn't."

"Fighting the princesses isn't complicated? She-Ra isn't complicated? This isn't complicated?"

"One thing at a time. Why are the princesses complicated, because Shadow Weaver is a liar?"

"It's complicated because they act like we're friends, like after a battle I should hang up the sword and join them for tea."

"So Bow keeps trying to be weird about the whole, 'you're She-Ra' thing. It doesn't change anything."

"It does when our entire mission involves taking them down."

"And yet, we keep running, or letting them go."

"You- you said we should leave that time in the woods!"

"Because you were still pissed at Bow and I know you make it a mission of yours to not start dropping bodies as She-Ra."

I look down. Seriously? Another decision she made under the guise of 'holding me to my own morals?' "The princesses are just… confusing."

"Clearly. And being Second in Command? I've seen the workload, you can do it. Shadow Weaver did it, you just… you're overthinking everything all the time. You need to relax."

"I can't just relax, Catra. There's always more work to do, and I need to do it better than her."

"Well, Scorpia and I aren't exactly always busy. What if you start divvying some of your work to Scorpia and I, when you're feeling overwhelmed? It's not like I haven't helped you before."

"That… might actually be a good idea. It's just a lot. Paperwork, troop management… I went from managing a team under Shadow Weaver to managing, in some capacity, every team through the various Force Captains. And the paperwork, and Hordak…"

"I know. You kind of hinted at being overworked when we dealt with that," she points up towards my head.

I run my fingers through the hair on top, smoothing it back slightly. "Heh, yeah, there's a lot I'm dealing with right now."

"Understatement of the century," Catra chuckles, looking back out over the ledge. "But being busy doesn't mean it's complicated."

"Fine, okay? I'm busy, just busy, and that part isn't part of the issue. I like staying busy, I don't know what to do when there's no work to be done."

"Of course not, you can't relax to save your life," she says with a chuckle.

I lean in, teasingly saying, "we can't all take the time out of our days to hang out with the team on weekly, 'bonding exercise.'"

"Hey, it's not like I like those two. Scorpia and Entrapta just invite the team to play cards or something, and I have nothing better to do with you off filing paperwork."

I go back to normal posture. "Lonnie skips a lot too, even Kyle declines half the invitations."

"Kyle is afraid of us getting berated by Shadow Weaver for slacking off still."

"Well she doesn't really have that ability any more. You guys are allowed to relax."

"Adora, just once, this week, join us," she looks back over to me. "Just one hour. you wouldn't know it, but Scorpia has an extensive contraband stash of board games."

"Actually, that doesn't surprise me at all. Scorpia isn't exactly the biggest on rules."

"It isn't about rules. Look, I don't get it because half her ideas are dumb or stressful, sometimes I just watch. Or I go help Entrapta, something about her not trusting her old robot helpers?"

"Yeah, okay, I can stop by next time."

"You stopped hanging out with them all. You used to spend almost an hour every day talking with the team. When was the last time you did anything with Lonnie, Rogelio, or Kyle that wasn't sparring?"

"I did a mission briefing two days ago before they set off for that fortress Scorpia is guarding."

"I can't believe you put her in charge of that. They're going to lose the pass," she shakes her head in disbelief.

"I would've sent you, but after Dryl…"

"You think I can't handle any of it." Her voice is suddenly colder, far less inviting. It makes me flinch.

"No! I just… we needed to spend more time together. You are right, I'm burying myself in work." She turns to me, opening her mouth. "No. I'm not 'losing' myself. Let's not start this again."

She looks down, then back up again, "Alright, spill it. Ever since Dryl you've been practically hovering around me. Did a simple attempt of making me a prisoner make you decide I need to be coddled over?"

"It isn't like that, Catra," I turn away from her. Catra is a very capable fighter, and it's one thing I always hated about how Shadow Weaver was sometimes right: Catra would be unstoppable in the field if she just applied herself a little more.

"It is. Why else did you promote me to Force Captain but to keep a closer eye on me? I always took you as one for optimization and efficiency, not cronyism."

"No, not that. There's no one better for the job than you, no one I can trust to keep our team focused when I'm not there. And… I remember what you said about me leaving you behind, at the castle."

"Adora, I… I know, I know you aren't going to leave me behind. But when you send me off to Dryl, or decide to not send me with Scorpia to the pass fortress on a whim, it sure seems like you're struggling to keep me around."

"No, I'm just struggling to keep us on track for the dream."

"Yeah, the dream. Then why does Shadow Weaver still act as a voice in your ears?"

"How couldn't she?" I answer, as if I'm just not realizing it for the first time. "I learned everything from her. Can you really blame me for the parts that stuck?"

"When you recognize it and don't move past it? Yes." Her voice drops into a much more serious tone, almost an accusation.

I sigh, she's right about that. "Okay… I know. She's full of it, and I need to recognize that most of what she said isn't true. But a lot of it was. How am I supposed to filter that all apart?"

"I don't know, Adora. You know I struggle with her words too," she says, her expression falling slightly.

I look down, the ground of the Fright Zone far beneath us. Everything is so far away from up here, but more suffocating than ever. "I thought she'd stop mattering when she stopped being our commanding officer."

"Well, there's your classic Adora naivety for you," she sighs, turning back to me. "You know that isn't what she was. She wasn't our commanding officer any more than she was our mother. She was a tormenter, an abuser."

I bite my tongue. She speaks so harshly of her… I know Shadow Weaver was hard on her, unfairly so, but I still feel like I owe everything I am to her. "You speak about her like she's gone."

"For all extents and purposes, she is. She doesn't have power over me anymore, even when she comes into my room unannounced and uninvited to try and keep me down. I'm trying to help you see that, too."

"Shadow Weaver has barely spoken a word to me since we got back from the castle, even less when we used the Black Garnet."

"That's because for once in the witch's life, she's afraid. You scare her, Adora."

"Because I'm She-Ra?"

"Because you don't need her anymore. She can't control someone who doesn't need her."

I look at her. She's right, isn't she? Whatever Shadow Weaver must've said in this conversation in her room, it must've gotten Catra to realize quite a lot. I sigh. I… don't need her. "Princesses, Second in Command, Shadow Weaver… so much to sort out."

"We'll figure it all out," she says, turning back over the edge. I sigh, she visibly relaxes. The silence dawns on us again.

I know Catra loves these moments. The quiet moments where you can just be with someone. Where there's no pressure to perform, or even think. You can just exist, and do it without being alone, which is important in a place like this. I much prefer to be doing something, but sometimes it really is nice to just pretend that nothing else matters but the quiet.

So we stay up on the roof. I'll get crap for it tomorrow if the work gets piled too high, but that's nothing that can't be handled. The best part about how I managed to convince Hordak of the smog danger is that the sunset looks better. It isn't something you get to see much growing up in a place you can't really leave. It's pretty.

I look over at Catra, who is still as in the moment as always. She's cold, rubbing her arms slightly even if her fur keeps her from being as exposed. I look down. When Catra and I were kids, we'd sit up here in each other's arms more often than not. One day, for reasons I'm not sure of as she never told me, Catra decided she didn't like that anymore. It's fine, we were teens at that point, and Shadow Weaver probably would've seen it as impure.

But even if Catra still wouldn't want it, that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do. I reach down and undo the belt tied around my jacket, setting it aside, and take the jacket off my shoulders. I don't get cold as easily as Catra, and it helps that my shirt is good at regulating temperature slightly due to its material. I lean to my left, placing it over my shoulders.

I can see every sign of shock in her body. Her ear twitches, as does her tail. She tenses slightly, looking over with her eyes wide. She looks down at her shoulder, then at me, realizing what I did. "You- you're an idiot."

"You're welcome," I chime back, smiling.

She smiles too, quickly looking away for some reason as she puts the jacket on properly. It isn't the best for staying warm, it does sort of have two giant holes in the sleeves, but it'll do the trick. Besides, it gives us more time to enjoy the quiet.

Bow's POV

"What if we don't do anything?" Frosta asks, trying to cut through everyone talking over each other.

"We can't, we left them in charge of the pass for a month already, the people in this valley aren't getting the supplies they need and they're running out of reserves. We're out of time," Glimmer's answer shuts it down completely.

"What if we sneak into the fort at night when everyone is sleeping to take them out?" Perfuma asks.

I sigh, "maybe if they didn't have round the clock and the ships and this was an action book."

"Mystery novels are so much better anyway," Mermista says, leaning back and swinging her hand dismissively. Perfuma looks down, her face contorting into a slight pout. "What if I just flood the place?"

"The stream that runs through the fortress won't give you enough water."

"What if I teleport us all straight into the middle of the base instead of attacking from the outside in against the artillery?"

"You barely managed to teleport three people last week, let alone five."

"Maybe we should grab Spinnerella and Netossa? They seemed to do well against She-Ra before…" Glimmer tries again.

"But they're busy defending the towns on the edges between our territories and the Horde. We can't all be in one spot."

"Yeah, like if the Sea Gate goes down again."

"Not going to happen," Glimmer says to Mermista.

Mermista looks at me. "What about you, Bow? You're very keen to shut everything else down."

"I think we need a good plan for us to actually take this pass. So far it seems She-Ra can't be reasoned with, can't be overpowered, and can't be ignored. Which means our best bet after all does look like trying to take back the sword."

"Which is not a great idea either," Glimmer says, "but it doesn't leave us much else."

"So we just keep charging her trying to grab the sharp murder weapon?" Mermista sighs, "we're all going to die."

"No one is going to die!" Perfuma leans over the table towards her, "we just need to focus on pacifying She-Ra so she isn't a threat."

"Pacify? I don't know if you know this, Perfuma, but not every battle against her went as well as the time she lost at Plumeria. Adora, not She-Ra, is directly responsible for months of complicated work repairing one of Etheria's oldest structures."

"And she almost melted my home!" Frosta chimes in.

Perfuma leans back, seemingly upset. "I'm just saying…"

"Yes, Adora is a threat even without She-Ra. But that doesn't mean getting rid of that sword won't help us."

"I'm just saying, getting rid of Adora would help us more," Mermista mutters.

"That isn't what we do," I say, growing frustrated. I take a breath to collect my thoughts, her insistence on this is not helping.

"Well what do we do?" She says with frustration in her own voice. "Run away? Dodge the issue? Kick the can down the road?"

"We are working on a solution, Mermista," Glimmer says, holding her head.

"We just need to be prepared," Perfuma says. "Maybe we can't beat She-Ra. But also, maybe we don't have to."

"Isn't that just more running away?" Glimmer asks.

"No, it's dodging the issue! We don't need to run away, but She-Ra also isn't a one woman army. She can't be everywhere at once. What if we come up with a simple plan, create enough chaos and noise and cause enough damage to their troops without engaging She-Ra directly?"

"And how do you expect us to just avoid that issue?"

"Glimmer! What if you just pop in, grab She-Ra, and pop away with her?"

"I'm not exactly faster than her reflexes. Believe me, I tried when I met her in the woods. She's fast with or without the powerup."

"Then what if you just play defense? We go in, mess up the Horde forces, and you make sure to get anyone she targets out of danger?"

"You want us to play keep away with the world's strongest woman?" Mermista asks.

"I know I said we should take the sword, but I also really want to punch her. Can't we just do that?" Frosta asks, making an ice fist.

"Not exactly, no, she's a little difficult to punch," I tell Frosta.

"Everyone got a bunch of hits in on her at Bright Moon."

"She had no idea what she was doing then, it was obvious from the way she walked off balance," I say.

Glimmer makes a coughing noise to get everyone's attention. "No, I think Perfuma might have the best plan of action for now if She-Ra is at the fortress. Which just leaves us with the game plan part of this."

"Surprise attack!" Frosta shouts.

"Yeah, they definitely know this is coming," Mermista says. "What about the diversion tactic again?"

"On an all-angle star fortress?" I ask her.

"Worth a shot."

"What if we just do an assault?" Glimmer asks, looking at me mostly, "we're great at improvising!"

"You want us to just charge the wall?"

"Perfuma could take it down easily," Glimmer waves a hand dismissively and Perfuma smiles.

"We need some plan. Like how to deal with the artillery."

"Hmm… What if I teleport in with just you? Take you up to a vantage point. Then the other three come in through the wall. I don't overexert myself before She-Ra, we get the cannons down, everyone gets in, there'll be noise for cover, She-Ra won't know what hit her!"

"So you're telling me we spent an hour here thinking of a plan, and that plan is attack?" Mermista groans, leaning back in her chair.

"I like that plan!" Frosta shouts, standing up and throwing a few punches in the air.

"I… kind of do too," it might actually work. "Planning things in depth just causes things to fall apart when anything goes wrong." Like when we lost Entrapta.

"Perfuma?" Glimmer asks, looking over her. She looks a little worried, but gives a half smile and nods her head.

"It is getting late, but maybe that'll just give us an edge. We'll just have to have everyone's back and overwhelm them!"

"Great!" Glimmer shouts.

Mermista groans again, "fine, frontal assault while playing keep away it is."

Glimmer smiles. "Alright then, time to regain control of the valley!"

Adora's POV

I reach over and grab my discarded belt. Standing up, I brush off the dirt on my pants from sitting on the roof for so long, and extend a hand to Catra to help her up, "we should turn in."

She takes it, I pull her up, and we head for the climbing path, "that's probably a good idea. Wanna race down?"

"You sure? I wouldn't want to embarass you," I brush up against her shoulder, causing her to stumble to her side.

She glares at me, gives a playful shove, and races forward. "You're still the world's slowest person!"

I chuckle. Maybe it's low, but she always used her natural abilities to win our races. Now… I get to even the odds. I sprint forward, watching as she takes the first jump down, onto the catwalk under the overlook we're on, and I jump too. But I don't aim for the catwalk.

I feel the wind racing past me as I completely overshoot the jump, hearing a screech of panic from Catra that comes all too soon. I grab the sword off my back, say the words, feel the surge of magic course through my veins, and by the time I hit the ground there's nothing but an audible thud. I turn up towards where Catra is still on the catwalk. She has her hand over the ledge, as if she was reaching out, but the expression quickly changes into one of anger.

She climbs the rest of the way down. "You're seriously an idiot, that wasn't funny!"

I chuckle, detransforming, putting the sword away. "What? I leveled the playing field."

"Cheater."

"Sore loser."

"Dummy," she turns to walk back inside the Fright Zone complex, I follow after her.

"Probably, yes."

"Don't do that again," she says, the frustration rolling off of her. She looks slightly upset.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"What? You didn't. I just didn't want to have to deal with cleaning the mess if you went splat."

"I wouldn't have, 'gone splat,' Catra," I chuckle again at her playful dismissal.

"I know, I know," she turns back to the way we're walking, and she pauses. I turn forward too. Oh, Shadow Weaver was waiting for us again.

"Force Captain, Second in Command," she greets.

"Shadow Weaver," I respond, stepping forward instinctually to put myself in front of Catra.

"You two are out late."

"Yes we were," I try to study her posture. She's definitely less imposing than usual since Hordak decided she wasn't to be trusted with the Black Garnet. The usual dark vibe isn't there, her hair isn't floating above her head, she's just staring from behind that cold, inexpressive mask.

There's a short pause before she says, "we should talk. Alone."

Catra steps forward, grabbing my arm, "we're turning in, busy day tomorrow."

Shadow Weaver's head turns slightly. "I don't approve of the wardrobe change."

"Full disrespect intended, I don't give a shit what you think-"

"Catra, don't. I'll talk to her," I turn to her, watching the anger in her eyes fade to confusion as she looks over to me.

"Adora, I-"

"You heard her. Run along."

Catra turns back to her, glaring. She steps forward, tightening her grip on my arm again. I quickly place my hand on her shoulder to keep this from escalating. "Catra, I got this."

Catra sighs, "I'm going to bed. I'm not giving this back," she says, walking past Shadow Weaver and heading down the hall.

As soon as I see she's gone, I step forward to face Shadow Weaver. "You have some nerve speaking to her like that."

"So now it's too much for your good heart to take? What did you two get up to?"

"None of your business."

"It is my business. Adora, you are the second most influential person in the Horde, and you got there after only months of field duty. It took me years to earn Hordak's trust."

"And you lost it just as quickly as I gained it."

"Which is just more of a testament to exactly how much is riding on you. You have more important responsibilities to get to than spending time fawning over Catra."

"The war is being fought, things are getting better for us. The rebels just failed to take Dryl."

"Ah, Dryl, the mission you had to spend playing rescue."

"Catra was fine, she was working on wearing Glimmer out for the end. Had they not fled, it would've been easy."

"Yet it seems like more often than not, you don't engage the enemy anymore."

I freeze up slightly. She's right. Ever since Bright Moon… no, before Bright Moon, I left them alone at the Crystal Castle too…

"You aren't doing your job. You need to stop allowing Catra to distract you. That's what Dryl was, the rebels figured out your obvious weakness for the girl."

"I am not weak! Catra is not a weakness!"

"You are letting the princesses walk over you, what will Hordak say when he realizes that you did nothing while the woods were frozen and haven't made a serious mood in weeks?"

"I'm working on getting She-Ra ready so we can wipe the rebellion out in one smooth push!"

"Because it worked so well at Bright Moon."

"I know I was overconfident at Bright Moon, I wasted a great opportunity with the runestones being off, but it screwed She-Ra up, too."

"Adora, I always knew you were destined for greatness. This power that has been entrusted to you, for the liberation of Etheria, is too important to squander by treating the enemy with respect or wasting your time with Catra."

I clench my fist at my side, "you're still going with that lie? I'm getting older, Shadow Weaver. I'm not a kid anymore."

"Don't like this isn't what you have always wanted. To rule, to lead the horde to victory, to have the entire Fright Zone treat you with respect."

"Don't tell me what I want." The words come out slowly, filled with disdain as I step towards her. I'm rarely quick to anger, except when the people I care about are threatened. And right now, she's trying to get in my head. To pull me from Catra.

She reaches forward, placing her hand on my cheek. "Adora… look at where you are. You've given up your hair, your jacket, cast aside your team to steal my place. And for what? Why lose yourself to this if this isn't what you want? You know I'm right."

No. No, I don't want this. I don't want what she wants. Catra was right. She's a liar. That's all she's ever been, isn't it? I push her hand away. "Stop! You can't control me anymore!" I glare up at her. If there's one thing I've learned time and time again over the years of being an effective soldier, it's that you need to stay focused. You can't let your emotions get the best of you. But it's a little harder to do when there are tears in your eyes.

"I have never once controlled you. I only want what is best for you, to help you reach your full potential. It hurts me to see you throwing it away, letting yourself get distracted."

"I- I…" I am not distracted. I am focused. Driven. Learn to use She-Ra. Overcome her. Make the Horde a better place for the people who live here. Protect my friends. Protect my best friend. "Stop." I can't get anything else out.

"Please, just think about what this all really means to you. You're clearly hurting. Ever since you found out about this She-Ra, ever since you started letting Catra pull you away from me, you haven't been yourself. I can help you, I can help you push past this pain you're feeling and make you strong again."

"I- I said stop…" I say quietly. I walk forward, past her, I need to go to bed. Clearly this was a bad idea, and I was wrong to tell Catra I had this handled.

She grabs my arm as I walk past her. "Even in your desire to protect your friend, you are slipping up. The Adora who destroyed the Sea Gate and attacked the Kingdom of Snows would never have let the rebels get away with what they did at Dryl. Like I told you so long ago, your attachments are making you sloppy, Catra is getting herself into issues more and more."

"Let go of me…" Nothing works any more, I can't think of anything else but her words in my ears, surrounding me. Suffocating me.

"Let me help you understand She-Ra and regain control of your emotions, so you can protect Catra in a way that actually keeps her safe."

Liar. Liar. Liar. She doesn't care, she wants Catra gone.

"I only want you to be strong."

I stare up at her, my thoughts start racing. My mission. Protect Catra. But Catra is getting hurt more. The rebels… using her to get to me. They wanted me to trade Entrapta for Catra. Am I letting them go too easily? No, Shadow Weaver is a liar, she always lies. She lies about the princesses, she lies about the nature of the horde, she lies about Catra, and me, and my team…But everything she says… it's still true. Lies and truths… and I can't pick them apart anymore.

She lets go of my arm, placing the hand on my shoulder. Her other one wipes away a stray tear I didn't realize had fallen. She doesn't say anything else.

And neither do I.

Bow's POV

We're sitting on some rocks, not far from the fortress. Just out of the reach of what the lookouts can clearly see. It's cold, it's late, it'll work to our advantage.

Glimmer steps in front of everyone, "alright, is everybody ready?"

There's a short mix of affirmations. A nod here, a thumbs up here, an excited yes from Frosta.

"Good. This could be tricky, due to our limited intel and lack of confirmation on if She-Ra is even going to be here."

"If she is, we'll manage. No one's getting hurt," Perfuma assures everyone.

"I think the damage Spinnerella and I took at Bright Moon was enough already," I say, readying my weapon.

"It's fine. We've beaten Adora's team before, we can do it again!" Glimmer says.

"Yay," Mermista rolls her eyes. "What good odds we have in our favor. Anyone been keeping score?"

Glimmer and Perfuma both frown at her, Frosta is just excited. I look at Glimmer. "Ready?"

"Ready." She turns back to the others, "see you all on the inside!"

Glimmer places a hand on my shoulder, and in an instant, we're on top of the fortress.

It's relatively high up, especially compared to the land it overlooks. I can see the guards roaming around the edges, but it's clear they're expecting something. There's too much noise, too much movement. My eyes scan down over the fortress.

"You see her?"

"No, not yet," if Adora is here, she isn't out in the open. I do see Scorpia, down talking to Lonnie about something. They're too far for me to hear anything.. I also see quite a few of the artillery cannons.

"Me neither."

I ready one of my explosive arrows. "Have fun."

Glimmer chuckles. "Yeah, this'll be great."

And now, we wait. The others will either get past the wall or someone will spot them coming. After that, no plan. Just combat.

"If She-Ra is here… take care." She whispers, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Always," I respond, lining up a shot on the cannon closest to where the others should be coming from.

It takes a little bit longer, but there's suddenly a bit of rumbling. Shifting, as if you can hear the dirt moving, the ground being displaced. I see the instant panic sweep through the ranks of the soldiers down below. Now's the time. I let the arrow go, it connects flawlessly with the target right near the barrel, and the explosion is enough to completely disable the weapon.

At the same time, a decent chunk of plant matter is lifted over the wall, Perfuma half catapulting herself into the fortress, followed by the other two princesses.

*Poof!*

Glimmer is gone, fighting soldiers on the upper wall of the fortress. I ready another arrow, firing for another cannon already adjusting to fire on Mermista.

I knock the grunt loading the cannon down with a concussive arrow that embedded next to him, turning to see Glimmer already teleporting around the castle. She-Ra hasn't shown up yet, either. I do see Adora's team, though. Glimmer effortlessly deals with Kyle. I see Lonnie charging her too, and prepare a good old fashioned net arrow. As I aim it, Glimmer turns around and blocks Lonnie's stun button with quick summon of her staff. I hold, I'm a good shot but at their distance they're too close for me to be sure. And while a net would never hold Glimmer for more than a few seconds before she realizes she can teleport, a few seconds is all it takes for something bad to happen.

Glimmer isn't the most skilled with direct fighting, but she gets Lonnie off balance enough to hit her with some fist-sparkles, and Lonnie goes down. And true to every fight, now that another one is down, another one shows up. Rogelio is running for Glimmer, and this time I take the shot. Rogelio gets knocked over in an instant, I see Glimmer turn to give me a thumbs up, before teleporting off somewhere else.

I look back over at the other princesses. They're all doing great, Frosta is having fun and Mermista even looks like she isn't apathetic to what is going on. And with She-Ra still not making an appearance, it seems like we actually have this in the bag. We wasted too much time worrying about She-Ra.

I ready another arrow, and feel something rock the ledge of the roof I'm on. "Wo-o-ah~" I fall, but I'm the type of person to learn quickly. I drop the arrow I drew, grabbing a different one and turning up towards the roof I'm falling from. I fire an arrow with a hook on the end that embeds itself into part of the roof I'm rapidly falling from. Another half second of falling, and the rope connected to it goes taut. The strain on my shoulders from the sudden stop is jarring, and I swing into the side of the building.

I look down, Rogelio got free quickly and fired a shot for me. He's aiming it up again. If I swing, I can make it for one of the walls, maybe grabbing it. I move quickly, kicking off the wall at enough of an angle to then wing forward, running off the wall, and unhooking the rope tether. I barely get out of the way as the next energy shot hits, and the concussive force slams me into the wall. My bow is knocked out of my hand and I slip, only managing to get a hand on the ledge.

I swing my other hand up to the ledge, but I never had enough of a grip and I'm falling again. This one is going to hurt, a lot. I brace myself for the inevitable, but hit something early. I'm suddenly rolling and sliding down a cold surface, and when I stop, I look up to see a slide formed loosely out of ice.

"Come on, up!" Frosta says, running over to me. She makes an effort to grab my arm and help me up.

"Ow… I'd really like a fight where I'm not left bruised," I joke, "thanks, Frosta, you probably just saved me from a world of hurt."

"No problem, go get your bow and get back to fighting!" She shouts, full of adrenaline. She turns again, and heads off to go deal with another two guards running over to us. I smile as I watch her leave, she grew a lot more relaxed now that she isn't performing for the ball.

I run over towards the wall I slid away from, picking up my Bow. One of the collapsable joints is busted, but it'll work. I head back towards the princesses, firing off arrows at a guard, then two, on the way.

"Perfuma, can you get me back up there?"

She picks up a grunt with vines, then throws them into another guard, sending them both sprawling. She turns to face me, "Of course, hold tight," she moves her hand towards me, and I feel a vine wrap around my torso, thankfully they're not thorned but she takes enough care to grab above my abs anyway. I'm lifted quickly back up to the walls connecting the outer rim to the center tower, and am unwrapped mid air at the lift's apex.

I land with a soft thud between two soldiers. I swing for the legs of the one on me left. As the one on my right moves to shock me, I move. Their baton connects with the body of the soldier I ducked behind and they drop. They look down, shocked. When they look back up, I already have an impact arrow drawn. I fire, it hits their helmet, and they fall back.

I stand up, and fire on the cannon Rogelio used a moment ago, but I don't see him, anywhere. Maybe Glimmer got him? I turn back to the tower. On one hand, I should wait for the other princesses. On the other, if She-Ra is here, I have a better chance of talking to her without surrounding her. I walk towards the tower, damaged bow drawn.

Thankfully, She-Ra isn't there.

"Scorpia?"

Scorpia steps out of the tower, "surprised to see me?"

I blink twice, pulling back an arrow. "Not really, just expected more."

"I'm almost sorry to disappoint. Almost." She moves towards me, so I don't waste any time. I fire a stun arrow but she manages to catch it with her pincers. She smirks.

I ready another arrow, backing up as I fire to keep the distance. She takes a blunt impact arrow to her stomach, stumbling slightly. She reaches out and grabs my bow. We struggle against each other, for a moment.

*Poof!*

Glimmer slams her staff into Scorpia's side, and as Scorpia lets go of my bow I back up enough to draw another arrow. "Is She-Ra here?"

"No?"

"Catra?" Glimmer asks.

"No!"

"Are you in charge here?" I ask, keeping the arrow aimed as Scorpia finishes catching herself.

"Yes! Why?"

Glimmer and I share a look. She shrugs. We both turn back to Scorpia. Glimmer fires a blast of sparkles as I fire a net arrow. Scorpia takes both hits without issue, swinging her tail for me. Glimmer grabs me, and we're both teleported behind Scorpia. I drive my bow into the back of her knee, moving her off balance. Glimmer de-summons her staff and puts both her hands into a magic blast, and Scorpia is hit hard in the side, knocking her against the edge of the walkway.

"Give up the fortress, Scorpia."

"You'll have to try harder than that! Catra told me to defend this pass, and that's what I intend to do!"

I vine pulls up over the wall, wrapping around Scorpia. Scorpia looks down, not processing what it is.

"Well, tell her you did your best," Glimmer says," and Perfuma pulls Scorpia over the wall.

I move forward, looking over the wall as Scorpia is dropping into the water that runs through the pass. She picks her head up, pulled back out of the water by Lonnie and Kyle. They're retreating.

I turn to see the princesses on the ground, then look back at Glimmer. We grab each other's hand, and suddenly are right next to the other three.

"Yay, we got them!"

"An actual useful win!"

"I love punching people!"

I smile, looking up towards the tower. I draw one last arrow, lighting an incendiary charge, and fire it up towards the large banner being flung off the edge of the tower. It burns to more cheering from the princesses.

Glimmer is beaming, everyone is celebrating. We won. But all that time, She-Ra wasn't here.

"Hey, you okay?" Mermista asks.

"She wasn't here. We spent all that time bickering for nothing."

Her reaction is to shrug. "That doesn't mean it wasn't for nothing. The more we figure out about how we all work and think, the more we'll be able to actually have each other's backs when we do see her."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just worried, Mermista. She was passive at the Crystal Castle, she was doing a job the first few times. But then Bright Moon, and ever since then, I just don't know what to expect from her."

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Even if we don't win every battle, we still win where it counts. She-Ra isn't going to change that."

I smile at her, "yeah, I know. But there's so much division on how to deal with her, and I still haven't even sorted out everything Light Hope gave Glimmer and I."

"We'll get there. Glimmer brought this alliance together for a reason. We couldn't help Entrapta, but we can help Etheria. We'll stop She-Ra."

I nod, looking back at the other three. Frosta and Glimmer high five, Perfuma is excitedly chatting with them both. Of course it's a good mood, we did fine. And with proper teamwork, Mermista is right. We'll deal with She-Ra.

One way, or another.