Regaining control
Together with Melog, they decided that flying even at such altitudes was much more pleasant than sailing in a boat. Although she had no experience, half of the captains she sailed with were Sea Hawk... To think that she once doubted Scorpia's sailing talent...
Though she had to admit she'd feel a bit more comfortable if Netossa wasn't so eager to demonstrate Silverwing's capabilities to them, and Entrapta refrained from testing the ship's systems.
The Silverwing was a large flying machine with silvery wings that spanned more than twenty meters and was capable of vertical take-off and landing… and breaking the sound barrier. Which Netossa immediately demonstrated to them with joy .
" Look!" she said as the craft passed over the seas and plains of Etheria. Entrapta squealed with delight, she instinctively clutched the armrests of the chair.
"Where did you get it from? You never used it in the war?" she asked warily, looking around the passenger compartment. It was much tighter than the interior of the Taillsting Scorpia's vehicle . Up to six people of normal size could fit in here.
"Because he was unable to fly. After my grandmother organized a raid to slay the Usurper King, the Shadow Weaver damaged him. We dragged ourselves to Brightmoon with difficulty . But the damage was too great, and for the next thirty years it sat gathering dust in an underground hangar. After the war, I bought parts from an off-planet dealer and repaired it. Spinny was skeptical at first, but then she grew to like it." Netossa explained with joy in her voice. "It's the fastest atmospheric craft on all of Etheria!" cried Princess Armori and laughed merrily. Melog turned slightly blue in concern. Admittedly, Netossa was a great, albeit over-enthusiastic, pilot.
"And what happened to your ship? The ones Scorpia flew to the ball with." asked the white-haired woman.
She winced. It was her greatest success, but she wasn't proud of it. To this day, Frosta looked at her reproachfully at all events.
"After we hacked the Black Garnet, Taillsting was hit by lightning, and it turned out that his navigation system failed." She replied looking out the window
"Couldn't you fix it? "asked the surprised princess of Armoria . "You had all of Hordak's facilities ."
"It also fried its friend-or-foe system, and any inorganic flying object without that First Ones-design device was destroyed, probably by Light Hope." Entrapta said. " I've built many flying machines, even before I worked for you. But they all exploded, absolutely all of them. Silverwing and Taillsting are remade First One vehicles."
She bristled.
"We're on the First Ones' vehicle now?" she asked scared. He and Melog wagged their tails in sync.
"Yes, judging by the data and technical specifications on Darla, it was a strategic bomber. It was supposed to drop weapons of mass destruction, atomic bombs, for example, on critical targets."
"Like the bombs those psychos from Bellum dropped on themselves ?" she asked, genuinely scared this time, as if the vehicle was going to explode at any moment. The people of Bellum fight the Horde twenty years ago. When they started losing, they took a desperate step: they dropped nuclear warheads on the entire planet, rendering it uninhabitable. Only a few giant fortresses- shelters built in mountain ranges have survived. Even Horde Prime must have been impressed by their act, for he refrained from further attacks. The people of Bellum, the Coldhearts , claimed to have won the war, though they had killed their world.
Bellum was an ally of Etheri, but they caused more trouble than they helped. They demanded that Glimmer give them the captured fleet, allocate all available resources to defeat the Horde Ultimate and the Heavenly Brothers, preferably by orbital bombardment ... They could not completely ignore them, however, because they had the most powerful army among their allies. Ambassador John Kilthem lived in Brightmoon and was a pain in the ass of them all.
"Don't be afraid, we don't have such weapons here. Though we are not defenseless either. Netossa said smiling a bit diabolically." She shrugged and began to rummage through the packages.
"Just don't let Spinny pack us those sandwiches. You see, she's eating herring with toffee and pickles now." Netossa laughed, smiling tenderly.
"And I ate something like that recently." she said thoughtfully. Netossa gave her a sidelong look and said a strange Aha.
They flew towards the Kingdom of snow, which took them a while. It was a remote and vast realm, almost as large as Brightmoon , though less populated. It was always cold here, though not as many thought, she'd heard. Apparently, on other planets that had that sun, it was weird, and sometimes in one place it was hot and then cold. Once they went to Eridani prepared to bask in the warmth, only to find that frost and snow greeted them. In addition, there were no clothes anywhere for people of their size. On the way back everyone was sneezing and couching, but it was a successful adventure. Frosta lived in her castle made of crystal and ice , though she usually stayed in the warmer part of the wood and stone castle. They landed on a wide airfield for ships and similar vehicles. It was crowded here, and Silverwing was by far the largest, so Netossa had to work hard to land properly. Then they went to the palace. She tried to smile friendlyly at the ice guards, but they kept their eyes on her. Well, she's earned a certain reputation.
They wandered the corridors for a long time, she had the impression that they were not very welcome here. Finally, they ended up in front of Frosty's office . From there came a tall Saihe dressed in blue armor resembling an insect. Something about her posture was oddly familiar.
"If you call me Shadow Weaver's ward, I can't vouch for myself." She growled, claws out.
The woman looked at her surprised.
"Ah, it's you... I heard about you. You knew Light Spinner well . " she stated rather than asked. Her voice was lower and hoarser than the dark sorceress's.
"I knew Shadow Weaver. Light Spinner died many years ago, If you want to talk about her, ask Mikah , though I doubt he will answer" she replied sharply, but she retracted her claws.
"Yes, I heard she hurt you. Well, not only you. And this woman… What does she want from me?" she asked, looking at Entrapta , who began to look at her as if she were a research object
"Shadow Weaver was never studied, but her ability to draw magic from her surroundings was fascinating. By learning the physiology of an object related to it, we can finally decipher one of Etheria's greatest mysteries." Entrapta explained, continuing her research. Catra felt a little sympathy.
" Entrapta, you will certainly have the opportunity to examine someday lady... " She looked at the woman questioningly.
"Storm Heart. Storm Heart the Guardian Storm. – said the woman – We will meet sooner than you think .
She had a feeling that there would be many unwanted guests at the wedding.
It turned out that Frosta is not in the castle. They were greeted by the Chancellor, a person so sullen and serious that she felt at home. It didn't bode well for this person. When asked where she was, she heard that she left with the Techmaster's Bow's fathers in search of some ruins. Saying this, he looked as if the ice princess had offended him and his parents with this act. She sighed and told her friends as they left.
"I did not expect such difficulties. We'll look for Frosta or you'd rather go back to your families and activities." she asked, looking questioningly at both women. They had their families and important jobs, she had her responsibilities too, but she was probably a kind of leader here. Netossa looked at her surprised.
"Of course we're looking for her. It was my idea after all, I warned Spinny that it might take a while. At most, the next time we go on a similar trip, we will give the kids to the babysitter and go on a trip together, remember the good old days." She smiled with a dreamy expression. But then she became serious. "I don't like that chancellor talking to Storm Heart behind Frosta's back . In the old days, the Isles of Sorrow only traded with Scorpions and the Star Isles, and as far as I know, it's a gloomy place. The townspeople are said to worship some kind of spider , just as the townspeople of Eridani worship this Iomdi thing . Netossa shook her head. Yes, it suited Shadow Weaver.
She looked at Entrapta .
"What do you think? she asked her friend, apparently snapping her out of her thoughts on the datapad." She looked at them surprised.
"Yes? I'm sorry, I was just thinking about a secret, mine and Catra's."
She grabbed her forehead.
"Entrapta, I asked you something! she said, trying not to shout at her friend, but Melog growled.
"Don't worry, Adora will be the first to know about everything!" She said and patted her shoulder. Netossa made a strange face and covered her mouth with her hand.
"What do you think about us looking for Frosty ?" she said, massaging her forehead between her eyes.
"I told Hordak that I might be gone for a day or a week, maybe even a month. He's ready for it." she said, and headed for Silverwing.
She sighed. She hoped Frost hadn't gone far. After all, how fast could she wander in the company of householders like George and Lance"
"Hold on, we're just entering the gravel pit!" she called to George and Lance in the backseat of her landspeeder. The vehicle was built by combining solutions from old Horde skimmers and Prime's combat drones . Three gravity engines gave this triangular machine excellent stability, but also great speed. It was certainly the fastest land vehicle on Etheri.
"Everything's all right." George groaned, though he looked as if it were the other way around. Lance looked around holding the telescope to his eye and admired the views. When his husband saw it, he snatched the telescope from his hands and hid it in the glove box.
"Be careful, if we brake hard at this speed..." He didn't have to finish the description, because Lance realized what was at stake and turned pale.
"Sorry. I forget myself sometimes. The nature here is so majestic." he said to his husband. She had to give them a reason. The views in her kingdom were beautiful. Majestic mountains shooting up to the sky. Flowery plains as far as the eye can see. Fancifully shaped rocks were everywhere, reminiscent of creatures from legend such as owlbears or dragons . Why would anyone living in such a beautiful country want to care about politics?!
She was glad of this trip, finally able to break away from the whining of the chancellor and the nagging of the heads of the great clans. Maybe she should take him on this adventure too? He'd be entertained, amused, a little scared, but he'd finally feel alive instead of whining about imperial titles. It will be a great trip, they will explore ruins like Adora, Glimmer and Catra. Ruins…
"Are these the ruins of the First Ones? That crystal and blue? Do you think I'll find another sword there? Or a magic cat? Or the Magic Goat! I like goats! " she screamed and made a sharp turn. Bowa 's fathers groaned as they were thrown.
"We do not know. It's a very old city. He is mentioned in several stories and one book". George said, trying to stay straight.
"Stories? But scary ones, about monsters and murderers!" she asked in delight. She liked it more and more.
"Yes, very scary. Supposedly, the city was inhabited by some terrible, wicked beings who built cities with alien architecture. Apparently, a monster with countless mouths and eyes lives there to this day." Lance said with all seriousness in his voice. She thought for a moment.
"Why didn't anyone count them? Just sit down and count." she said, and looked at the Bowa fathers questioningly. George scratched his head.
" This is probably the most important feature of all scary monsters. They are very difficult to describe, especially when they try to devour you." he said, slightly taken aback by her question.
"Maybe we can count them." she said, and burst into the most sincere and joyful laugh in months. Yes, it will be a great adventure!
She believed this trip would make a difference. That she would finally be able to get out of this deadlock in her life… Not that she would finally be able to regain control of it. For as long as she could remember, someone else had always tried to bend her to his will. First Hordak and Shadow Weaver, then the dark sorceress was replaced by Catra. And then they had to hide from the real Horde, not the ridiculous imitation they belonged to. She believed that once she led the People's Rebellion, she would finally regain…no, finally gain control of her own life. But she only felt even more lost. Doctor Moors , Mi-Go, Scarlet. Especially Scarlet, they wanted to bend her to their will again. To turn back into a kid whose whole point of existence was to follow orders. She had had enough of it. Kyle and Rogelio might have accepted it, though she didn't understand why. Maybe the Fright Zone took a lot more from them than the others. Or was she the one who resisted its pernicious influence more than others? Only she, as one of the few, retained her own desires, her own ambition.
"You're ambitious too, much more ambitious than we all imagine." she thought as she looked at Scarlet lying beside her. The woman seemed to be asleep, though she suspected she was only pretending to be asleep. At first she thought it was Kyle or Rogelio sneaking in, but then it turned out to be the red-haired woman. The first time she was with another girl. She used to dream about Scorpia. There was nothing strange about it, half of the cadets had a crush on a strong and nice scorpion princess. And that one chose Catra anyway , who hadn't seen the world but Adora , and in the end she ended up with this stupid flower princess...
Both common sense and loyalty to her boyfriends told her to get that woman out of the tent, but she told herself she was fucking it and… well, she was fucking her too. Scarlett was good at it, you had to give her that. In the old days, she paid no attention to her at all. It wasn't until after the war that she met the real Scarlet and was confused. She didn't think that the red-haired girl could hide so much. She was always just a lazy cadet who was only interested in getting out of class and then getting the most boring job that no one else would take anyway. She usually disappeared into the darkness of the Zone's corridors then. Everyone knew it, but in those days, no one cared. Everyone had more important things to do. Also, no one expected Adora to find that cursed sword and started to transform into a blonde warrior, why shouldn't Scarlet become a sorceress. her sorceress. Her right hand. Her…
My own Shadow Weaver. she thought, and felt bad. She needed some air, so she dressed and left the tent.
Cold greeted her. Kyle and Rogelio slept in their tents separately, though after what had happened today, she preferred not to check. They never promised or forbade anything, but she had a constant feeling that she had betrayed them. She looked up at the starry sky and smiled to herself. "They're not as bad as I thought." she thought.
"Looking at the stars is like looking into the eyes of the dead, don't you think?" she heard Dr. Moors ' voice behind her and flinched. She spun around and saw the brain in the top hat, tilted so it could watch the sky. He was still fucking creepy.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at the mad scientist with undisguised disgust.
"The light that reaches us is thousands of years old. Those who saw them for the first time are dead for centuries."
Shivers ran through her, and the moment of delight passed forever. She looked at the glacier stretching out before them. There the dead city waited, with its treasures and riches. Her salvation awaited her there. Opportunity to has finally regained control over her life.
"Do you remember our deal? Or rather, your deal with the Overseer." said the brain in the cylinder. She smiled contemptuously at him.
"So you know everything." she said.
"It's always wise to know more than others," replied the Brain in the Cylinder.
"She used to say that too. Shadow Weaver." she said, and when she saw that Dr. Moors laughed contemptuously. "You're still afraid of her, even though she's been dead for years."
"Is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aens even death may die. She was a powerful sorcerer and had dealings with dark forces that made Horde Prime mere speck, an intrusive worm ."
She ignored the ghastly doctor. Looking at the mountain range stretching out before her, she finally understood one thing. All her life she's been a pawn, a pawn in the hands of Shadow Weaver, Hordak , Catra. The ones who always used her and her friends in their games. Games whose rules they didn't even fully understand, they only thought they were players, and they were like these blind mice. They forced them all to do terrible things for a cause that made no sense. Now, however, he will only fight for himself. She regain control of her life, and anyone who opposes her will die like rat.
They saw Frosta three hours after leaving her castle. Not because the girl happened to be so far from her castle, but she was not easy to find in this wasteland. They stopped in front of her vehicle, and as they left, the girl ran to them and jumped to hug Netossa, while Entrapta began examining her landspeeder, barely registering the existence of Georg and Lance.
" Glad you're here. Dad Glimmer asked Uncles George and Lance to find an ancient city with monsters. are you going there too?"
"Actually, he just asked us to know something about him." Lance said carefully. She groaned as Entrapta priking her hair.
"Ruins? First Ones! Catra, you know, I'm just thinking, it wouldn't hurt if, by the way, we" she started, but Lance cut her off.
"Not the First Ones, actually. They were of another ancient race, equally ancient and mysterious."
She groaned. She couldn't say that the first ones were mysterious to her, after all, she knew one of them ... deeply. But she didn't like exploring more cursed ruins. She looked at Melog eating Frosta's dried anchovies. When he noticed that she was staring at him, he pulled away from the girl in embarrassment. Not everything that came out of the ruins was bad... Maybe they'd find something valuable there... Or they wouldn't let something dangerous fall into the wrong hands.
"We just came for a certain item that Netossa's grandmother gave your mother." But we can accompany you if Mikach sees fit to investigate.
"This item is in the vault, when we get back, I'll give it to you. So where are we going?" asked the ice princess.
Entrapta didn't have to be persuaded, she was already the heart of the excavations, looking for damn ancient devices. All that was left was to hope that it wouldn't be another doomsday machine. But she looked at Netossa, she might not be too happy about taking her away from her family. However, Princess Armori was already carrying some sort of tricycle with a small trailer in the back.
"I knew I'd need him. We'll leave the Silverwing here, closer to the mountains, and there'll be nowhere to land anyway, and no one but me knows how to fly it anyway." Netossa said.
She smiled widely hearing her words. Maybe that was a really good idea. She will also need an adventure during which she will be able to take a break from it all, from the truth about herself. Maybe it would help her regain control of her life, because she felt like she was slowly losing it.