Aftermath
She blinked at the terrible, indescribable monster and Frosta beaming with satisfaction . Absolutely happy Frosta and terrifying monster who stared at her with curiosity in countless eyes.
"Your new friend?" she said completely confused, completely not understanding what she was seeing. Where did Frosta get this monster from, how did she find them, why aren't they chewed?
"Yes, he's my new friend, I don't know his name, but I call him Shogi . It's very nice, if a bit snoty. We found him in the ruins of the First Ones and freed him. Now we're buddies." Frosta explained cheerfully.
"Yeah," she replied when she realized she was staring at them with her eyes wide open.
However, Kyle smiled and waved vigorously at the monster.
"Hi Shogi , I'm Kyle . Nice to meet you." said the blond-haired boy in a cheerful voice. She looked at her old friend from the Fright Zone. Kyle was never the bravest of the cadets, but there was no denying his caution and self-preservation. It was almost like the litmus paper they used in the old days to test for hydrochloric acid in the sink water . If he wasn't afraid of something, that meant it wasn't really dangerous. Melog didn't seem scared either, just a bit confused. So she decided to trust her friend's judgment and, relaxing, smiled at Shogoth Shogi and said try to sound as friendly as possible.
"Hello Shogi . I am Catra and this is my companion Melog." She pointed to the translucent cat. "I guess you saved us from being pierced like a sieve, for which I thank you."
"Blurp!" Shogoth greeted and brushed her hand with a tentacle, showing a surprising delicacy. There was smell of wet mud around him, definitely not the worst smell she had ever known.
"Did you find him here? So is there anyone else here?" Kyle asked hopefully.
Frosta nodded vigorously.
"Yes, your friend is here. She... has something important to tell you." said the Ice Princess in an excited voice. Then a figure wrapped in fur emerged from the shadows.
"Hello, Kyle . I'm glad Lonnie decided to save me, and I'm glad you took part in it." she said in a voice that took a moment to recognize as Scarlet's. She tensed up a bit , but the sorcerer didn't seem to have any hostile intentions towards them.
"Oh, how wonderfully glad I am to see you and that you are safe and sound!" Kyle exclaimed with undisguised joy. She thought she saw sadness and disappointment in Frosta's eyes , but before she could ask how they got here, she saw a rainbow flash.
She was immersed in the light, she felt that she was swimming in a river of bright. She knew there was a cold dead void beyond its shores, and if she allowed herself to be swept out by the incredibly fast current, she would be forever trapped in darkness. She had to be strong... She had to be brave... She had to fight with all her strength... For her... For Catra. "Evil is coming. There are shadows all around." she heard the voices in her head, imperious and insistent. However, she did not pay attention to them, she had to save Catra. Her beloved. Her dearest... There were monsters born of darkness in the void, waiting only to devour anyone who emerged from the river. She also felt the presence of other beings. They weren't hostile to her, but they wanted something from her, something very important. They foretold something to her, a future that was destined for her. It terrified her…they terrified her, but she couldn't afford to be afraid, all would be lost… So, despite the horror that gripped her heart, she plodded on. "If I stop... If I look back, I'm lost" she thought half-consciously, swimming with a current of light that burned her like fire and was cold like the dark emptiness of space at the same time. She was already reaching the end of this journey, she felt that the exit was at hand. "A shining road. A road meant for you. The Loneliest Road. The road you must follow" she heard inside her soul as she reached the end of her journey. Then she was in the dark...
She took a deep breath, feeling as if she had come out of the depths of the sea. She was in a large cave plunged into darkness. However, her inner glow dispelled the darkness, allowing her to see a terrifying scene. She saw Catra, her beloved, alive and well, though her shirt was dirty and stained with slime, staring at her in understandable surprise. But there was a terrible monster nearby. It was huge and shapeless, with hundreds of eyes and mouths and tentacles, one of which was just reaching towards Catra!
"Leave her alone, you… monster." she called in a loud voice, although she herself was not quite sure what to call this terrible creature and slashed its tentacle. The creature let out a loud gurgling sound and began to back away, and she continued to attack… Until her legs were trapped in ice.
"Adora, don't hurt Shogi ! He's our friend." she heard Frosta shouting at her in a desperate voice. She turned to see the Ice Princess looking at her pleadingly. Beside her, she saw Kyle sheathing some strange sword. Her old friend was wearing some kind of uniform, now an obscenely dirty… She remembered that Lonnie had created this People's Rebellion of hers. Next to him, she saw a red-haired woman dressed in furs, whom she recognized after a moment as Scarlet, her old friend from the Horror Zone, whom she hardly remembered. She felt the touch of a well-known hand on her shoulder and turned to look at Catra's gently smiling face.
"Everything's all right. This creature is friendly despite its… unusual appearance. He saved us, me and Kyle when the First Ones robots were chasing us… They really hate cats." She laughed amiably. She looked at the monster, which cowered in fear. He looked at her apologetically, the way a pet would look at someone it made angry, though it didn't know what it had done wrong. She felt ashamed of how she had treated them. She lowered her sword and turned to... Shogi .
"I am very sorry that I attacked you, but it was a terrible day and recently I heard that someone was threatening my girlfriend, and when I saw you I thought you wanted to hurt her and ..." She looked at the creature, which clearly "relaxed". In fact , he began to look at them with interest, as if he recognized her.
"Yes, I am her. I'm She-Ra. How do you know me?" she asked, she herself wasn't sure who, while Frosta removed the ice around her legs and said.
"Yes, Shogi know you. Another She-Ra, fought such Old Things long ago and set Shogis free!" There was genuine delight in the Ice Princess's voice.
"We're actually talking about the Elder Things and the Shogots. two ancient races much older than the First Ones." Scarlet corrected Frosta . Oddly, she sounded a bit like a Shadow Weaver when anyone around her was wrong, though of course she didn't threaten to electrocute anyone. Butwhen her friend got into this habit... Although, on the other hand, they hadn't seen each other for five years, and even before that they hadn't been particularly close. Recalling the dark sorceress, she involuntarily shuddered… she remembered the shadow that seemed to be watching her in Clytemnestra. Surely it's just an illusion created by fighting a warship.
"Uh, Elders Things? Former She-Ra?" she asked confused, also trying to pull herself out of unpleasant thoughts.
"It's a long and rather gloomy story ..." said her fiancée in a serious voice, but then smiled cheekily and asked. "You'd better tell me since I've become such a damsel in distress that her beloved must come to save her from another planet. Actually, how did you do it?" she asked.
"I did something similar when I defeated Horde Prime, but this time it was much more difficult." she thought, remembering her recent journey through the river of light. She wasn't sure how much of what she experienced then was real, but she had an overwhelming sense of terrible destiny while in that place... "But I had to risk it because I had a dream and then..." She looked at the others, it wasn't time to tell them yet about Angela and what happened to her. "It's also a long and grim story."
She saw Catra frown when she mentioned the dream, but then she smiled and said.
"It was hard, but Frosta came with her new friends to help and they destroyed these creatures." She pointed to the shattered body of some metal insect somewhat resembling a mosquito, only the size of a cow. "She's our heroine." she gave the girl a buddy's shake, and Frost jumped with joy, but when she landed, she winced in pain.
"Are you OK?" they asked simultaneously.
"I was bitten by a saber-toothed penguin , but Shogi bandaged me." She rolled up her trouser leg, showing an elastic bandage made of a substance similar to that Shogoth was made of . "But I wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for my new friend." She pointed to Scarlet, who nodded politely and said.
"We were trapped together, so helping each other was just a matter of common sense." the former cadet explained.
She smiled at Frosta and walked over to her, then drew her sword.
"The Shogi did well, but as long as I'm She- Ra , I'll use my power and heal you" She said and flooded her friend's leg with healing power. To her surprise, she didn't have to use much of it, apparently Shogi's bandage had worked.
Frosta moved her leg a few times and smiled happily. Then she closed her eyes and with great effort sent back the power. It was then that she felt the exhaustion flooding her previously filled with power body. She staggered, but Catra immediately came to her to steady her.
"Are you okay too?" her fiancée asked.
She smiled weakly at Catry.
"I just teleported from another planet... and before that I was fighting a pirate ship... it was a really long and exhausting day." She said laying her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.
"I see," Catra said and kissed her tenderly and began to purr loudly as Melog started rubbing against her legs.
Frosta rolled her eyes, Kyle blushed, and Scarlet cleared her throat meaningfully and said.
"We still have a long way to go, especially for me and Kyle, and I prefer that Lonnie doesn't meet us here by chance, because then it will end very badly for many of us."
She looked questioningly at Catra , who sighed.
"Lonnie and I had a little quarrel here earlier."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Like Hordak and you ?" she asked with slight amusement, but Catra replied with a sour smile.
"Almost… Scarlet's right, the sooner we leave this place the better for all of us." she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Where could they be! It's been over two hours!" she growled. She'd been in the damn cave all day, trapped and powerless. During all those years of war, she hadn't felt as powerless as she did now... Maybe she'd overdone it. When chipped Spinny was much worse, then she thought she had lost her wife forever and there was nothing she could do about it... But now she was completely useless. She felt like she was more of a hindrance than a help because of her broken arm. Lance and George were already more useful, and they were just bloody librarians! So she walked back and forth cursing what Etheria was standing on. She wondered if she had already made her way through the cave floor.
"You know, this complex is huge. It probably stretches all the way through the mountain range." Lance said looking at the stalagmite.
"Underneath all of Etheria, actually ." Entrapta interjected. She was building some device whose purpose only she knew.
"How is it all Etheria?" she asked the inventor with a little fright.
"You know, our planet is not like others. We have no sun, only magical moons, and the interior is a larger maze of tunnels and caves than Dryll. Maybe someday I'll build a special vehicle and we'll organize an expedition to the center of Etheria! We will go there together, there will also be Adora, Glimmer and of course Hordak." Entrapta said in an increasingly dreamy voice. She sighed heavily. Perhaps she should explain to her friend that locking Hordak, Catra and Glimmer in one place could end tragically, not to mention the odds of Hordak being allowed to leave Beast Island, but she thought it would be cruel ... Or maybe that's what a true friend should do ... However, she failed to finish her thoughts, because the stones in the heap trembled and one of them was pulled inside creating a passage, and Frost stood in it, who happily waved to them.
"Hi, how are you"" she called as if she had come back from an afternoon stroll
They looked at her speechless with surprise and relief, but their amazement increased incomparably when Catra, Melog and… Adora stood behind the Ice Princess. She had no idea where she came from. She was supposed to be on Icarus, or whatever that planet was called?
"You didn't expect me, but she had to come here because I felt that something was threatening Catra, but when I arrived here, it turned out that the girls are doing great without me, with the help of their new friends." They moved away and made room for others. The redhead sorceress stood in the passageway and a skinny blonde. At the sight of them, she tensed, instinctively preparing for a fight, until her broken arm ached, but when she saw a tentacle with many eyes staring at them timidly, she wanted to summon an energy net, but then Catra was at her side in two leaps
"Relax. Now it's friends who helped us survive in those caves. This monster is Shogi Shogoth . He's much nicer than he looks."
She blinked a few times, looking from the creature to Catra and back again, and asked slowly.
"You have a fascinating story to tell."
"you don't even know how much weird" said the feline woman.
Everyone, including this strange creature, went downstairs, and then Catra and Frosta, with a little help from Scarlet and Kyle, what were the names of the People's Rebellion members, explained briefly what had happened.
"How did you came here? That's hundreds of light years away!" Entrapta asked, examining Adora with some sort of radiation sensor. "No, it doesn't look like you're going to die anytime soon or grow a second head. The latter would be really fascinating, don't you think?"
Adora was probably so exhausted that she didn't even pay much attention to the words of the purple-haired woman and said in a tired voice.
"Yeah, that would be interesting," she yawned, "I have no idea how it happened, I just felt like I could do it. You know, magi did it and so on."
Then, with the help of this strange, if indeed kind, creature, they were able to clear a path outside. It was light, it was just dawn, so they had to stay in the dark all night. Terrible. Now she felt an overwhelming exhaustion creep over her. The Pain in her makeshift bandage hand was unbearable, but then Frosta offered to let her new friend bandage her hand. With rather serious hesitation, she allowed him to do so, and indeed, thanks to the strange bandage, the pain eased. It was then that they had to separate. Catra walked over to Frosty and addressed her seriously,
"You know, it's going to be a bit difficult for us to fit Shogi in Silverwing"
Shogoth heard her and suddenly he started bending and squeezing and turned into a chest with legs...
"Oh, and you could turn into a Goat!?" Frost exclaimed delightedly.
Shogi began to transform again and turned into a goat. The size of a cow and with a single eye on his forehead, but actually he looked just like a normal goat.
"You're so cute!" she called, and Shogi chirped…he needs some work on that.
Then Kyle walked over to Lance and George, sword in hand.
"I guess it belongs to you. It's a really great sword, it saved me and Catra's life It's really very sharp." He stretched out his hands, handing them the sword.
The two men looked at each other and smiled at each other, then handed Kyle the blade and Lance spoke.
"Take it, it will serve you better-"
"Neither of our sons are interested in fencing anyway," added George.
Kyle turned red and tears flowed from his eyes.
- It's so nice. No one has ever given me anything so precious. At least one thing we will take away from this trip."
"And why exactly did you come here?" she asked.
The boy sighed and started talking.
"Because we came here for the transponder, but the broadcast tower was destroyed and we found out about this city so Lonnie thought there might be some kind of weapon in here, she just saw Catra and she kind of lost her temper, and I'm so sorry about that." Kyle exuded sadness , and even Scarlet seemed embarrassed.
"Transponder! It can be done!" Entrapta exclaimed cheerfully and began to search Alice. After a while, she took something strange out of it. "Please take it, I have more than I need anyway." Said the former Lady of Dryl. She wasn't sure if it was a wise idea, after all, Lonnie recently wanted to kill them, but seeing the joy in Kyle's eyes, she decided to give peace a chance.
He and Scarlet walked along the ridge. It was cold and he was exhausted, but he did something to make Lonnie happy. Though he wasn't sure if it was a good deed. Their girlfriend has been focusing more and more on her… No, their Rebellion lately, and she doesn't care about anything except her fight. He was afraid it would end badly for all of them. Her new allies… They were terrifying, and now, thanks to this transponder or whatever that thing was, there would be even more of them. No, he didn't like it at all. He looked at Scarlet, who was walking briskly ahead of him. Even though she'd been lost in those stinking caves for much longer than he had, she still didn't look tired. Even Adora seemed more exhausted, while the sorcerer was bursting with energy. How is she k
"You're thinking about throwing that contraption to the heck." said Scarlet with a Sour smile on her face.
"How do you know that ... "he asked scared, but his companion waved her hand.
"Because I considered it myself, but I decided it was pointless. Mi-Go, if they wanted to, could build such a transponder themselves... If they didn't already... No, they wanted to see if the Comrade General was up to the task they assigned to her... This time Lonnie didn't provide them with what they really needed. They desired." explained the sorceress.
"And what did they want from her?" he asked, but his companion didn't answer.
They came to a small depression in the rock, and Scarlet told them to stop.
"Listen Kyle ... Now I'm going to do something I was very afraid of. You will know my biggest secret, so please keep an open mind." she said and started undressing. It turned out that under the fur coat she had only underwear ... which she also began to get rid of. He started screaming all red.
"Wait! I know you and Lonnie sleep together, and I don't mind. It's not like you have to sleep with me now. Anyway, I'm tired and it's cold!"
However, then Scarlet's body buckled and began to change. She became a tall, tall creature with emerald eyes, pale skin patterned like broken porcelain, and hands ending in sharp claws. He drew his sword and pointed it at the creature.
- Stay away. What have you done with Scarlet! he shouted. For a moment, he thought some horrible creature had eaten Scarlet and taken her form, but then he understood what the creature was, and then he felt real fear.
" Kyle, it's still me..." the creature said to him in a soft voice, and there was pain in her eyes, but he was too scared to think about it.
"I… I can fight. I have the power ..." he said and suddenly the light around him flashed. Power surged through him. He began to transform. He grew taller and stronger, his cape billowing behind his back, and his hair grew even more. He knew what had happened to him, though he had no idea why.
"No no no!" he shouted in a deep, unfamiliar voice.
"Kyle?" asked the being who had been Scarlet not long ago, staring at him in disbelief, as amazed as he was.
"Yes, it's me Kyle ... I want to be Kyle again. Only Kyle!" he shouted and dropped his sword, then returned to his former self. Scarlet, or the creature claiming to be her, picked up the weapon and studied it with interest.
"Weird, as far as I know, there should be some Writings here." she said in a thoughtful voice
"They are, can't you see them? There it writes that it is called a sword of power and so on." he explained, still bordering on panic.
"And what do these inscriptions look like?" the creature asked cautiously.
"Yeah, like someone's connected the stars, but I can read them normally." he explained, and then the creature looked at him, as he had looked at her before. As if he was a completely alien and dangerous being. You was a terrible feeling.
"Well, yes, you are Adora's age, in fact you are quite similar, you have the same type of beauty. You're just so mediocre that no one noticed." said the being in a voice so different from that of his old friend. He was terrified of the truth hidden in the words of his… companion? It was all too scary to think about!
"Shadow Weaver, of course, suspected nothing. I wonder what else she didn't see in her arrogance? I need to talk to Dr. Moors, considering what he said to Catra, he must know a lot of secrets that the cadets keep, but I'm thinking we'll talk to Lonnie first, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know your secret, don't you think?" The creature smiled, showing sharp teeth.
Overwhelmed by indescribable Terror, he shook his head vigorously and spoke imploringly.
"Please... don't do this. When Adora found that sword and infuriated Catra about it, you don't know what was going on... Or you do. If Lonnie finds out, she won't forgive me, and Rogelio will probably get hit right away . I love them both. Please, I don't want to lose them.
The person he had known before as Scarlet came up to him and, kneeling down beside him, said.
"All right, let's make a deal now. First, you won't tell Lonna who I am, and two, you'll let me know the secrets of this sword and yours. I'll keep your secret to myself in return, what's your deal? Not that you have a choice."
He nodded his head, tears streaming down his face.
It was dusk when they stopped and lit a fire. Even Frosta, despite all her inexhaustible energy, was dozing off, almost scorching the marshmallows Kyle had given her . Netossa pretended not to be asleep at all, although her head dropped every now and then. Her hand was much better now. Lance and George just went to sleep and snored so loud you could probably hear them for miles around. Melog and Shogi played like little pets until they fell asleep. Many forgot that her companion was not a cat at all, but a creature as amorphous and shapeshifting as Frosta's new friend . He was left alone now and she laid her head on Adora's shoulder. She massaged her thigh and he purred loudly. She kissed her neck. She could smell the captivating scent of her fiancée. She felt such overwhelming desire that she wanted to drag her to the tent and make passionate love to her all night and then all morning ... But first she had to do something ... Yes, now she will tell her. He will reveal the truth about her origins. She looked into the eyes of her beloved and then she understood that something had happened. Adora stared at the fire, deep in thought. She became withdrawn again, as she often did when she was in trouble. Something very bad must have happened there on Icarus.
"Adora, you know, you can tell me anything." she asked Adora, who took a deep breath and began to tell her in a broken voice.
"I wanted Glimmer to be the first to know about it, because it concerns her the most, but i need to tell someone about it. When I was on Icarus , I had a very bad dream first, and then I was warned about the Slave of Ice and… Shadow of the Moon. I murdered the Clock after that and this one Ivory Claw accused me and I had to spend some time alone... Then I met some nice kids and we went to the capital and there was Lady Cala Grayskull and... Never mind because after that Angela... Queen Angela lives.
Her heart stopped for a moment, then tears of joy filled her eyes. Queen Angela, mother Glimmer is alive. Her greatest sin was opening the portal, and if it wasn't for the queen's sacrifice, everyone would be lost... It always weighed on her conscience, but if she lived, it was wonderful...
"Oh, that's amazing. Tell!" she shouted happily, but Adora was not happy, she seemed to be terrified, even broken...
"She tried to kill us, she wanted to burn the city down, and she murdered an innocent child. She is a monster. she became a monster because of me.
On the way back, she told Kyle the same story she had told Frosta, albeit in a more dry form. At last they reached the entrance to the side tunnels. They had notified Lonnie via Comms earlier, so Rogelio was waiting for them and greeted Kyle affectionately, then led them both to Lonnie. Comrade General did not look very well. The wound on her face looked nasty, and she wasn't sure even her magic would be enough to heal it. But when she saw them, Lonnie smiled with relief. Seeing this, she felt bitterness in her heart. She knew all too well how Comrade General would react to seeing her true self. Good-natured Kyle drew his sword at the sight of her, and what Lonnie, who was already suspicious and full of anger, would do was predictable. For a moment, she seriously considered Frosta's proposal, there was really little to keep her in the People's Rebellion, so she would have nothing to regret. She also suspected that knowing the princesses would protect her from the revenge of the cults. But then what? Following a straight and clear path, she would not gain the power she wanted ... which she needed. And, of course, there was the promise that was made to her... She's ready to do almost anything for Scarlet.
They told Lonnie the story they had established between themselves. Kyle didn't even have to lie, which was good because he was a tragic liar. She just missed a few details. There was only one problem she had to solve. At first she considered justifying her lack of clothes by saying that she and Ice Princess had spent some time "getting to know each other" but then they had to run away, but she thought it sounded silly and might be mean to her new... friend, she just said she had to change shape, a good lie should be as close to the truth as possible after all. Lonnie didn't go into detail anyway, maybe the wound was bothering her too much, or maybe she was thinking about something else. Comrade General, as soon as she found out about She- Ra's return and Frosty's new pet, clenched her fists angrily, but said nothing. Then Kyle showed her the transponder she had obtained , and she showed the crystal that Frost had inadvertently given her.
"They say Entrapta was able to extract data from it, so maybe we can."
Lonnie tossed the crystal in her hand and said in an oddly thoughtful voice.
"Entrapta has a truly exceptional mind" and told them to follow her. They walked for a quarter of an hour through a narrow tunnel leading to a ledge.
"We came across this when we were looking for you." she said and pointed to the glacier stretching out in front of them. Only after a moment did she understand what was there. It was a ship, a gigantic, mile-long First Ones warship, only a tiny fragment of which protruded from the ice.
"How many lives is worth such a ship? asked Lonnie with barely concealed despair.