Chapter 9

Adora was finally given new clothes the other day. Some plain tight black trousers and a white top. They did offer her a sparkly cloak which she declines as politely as possible. She won't wear anything sparkly. As her crimson jacket was taken from her, it was undamaged so they gave her that back which was something. At least she still had that.

She had just tied her belt when the door to her dark grey room opened. In walked Glimmer who looked just so pleased to see her, as always. That boy was with her too, the one with a red heart smack in the middle of his armour plating. 'Bow' Glimmer called him. Adora may or may not have overheard them arguing outside of her cell once.

Entrapta couldn't get that word from the sword, it was all muddled and glitched, but it didn't stop her finding more stuff for Adora to translate. Which was probably why Glimmer was there, often she stole her away to translate things.

"Come on, let's get this over with," Glimmer huffed.

"Good to see you too, sparkles." She groaned loudly at Adora. She followed behind Glimmer as she left the room, heading out into the pastel corridors again. They met up with the other princesses where Glimmer snatched the magic sword and continued to struggle holding it. It was as if the sword was putting up a protest.

Adora, with the princesses, left the main body of the castle, heading outside to a terrace that overlooked the entrance to the Whispering Woods and the tall spire for which a giant glowing moonstone rests atop. Queen Angella was there, staring down at the wood, many guards lining every wall of the castle. Glimmer had a tendency to slip information every so often and she accidentally told Adora that her mother's name was Angella. A lovely name for such a magnificent winged creature.

She looked around, thinking she was here to do some translating but there was nothing here to translate.

Glimmer approached her mother. "Mum, why did you summon us here? We've got things to do. Entrapta's going to try to build a new weapon today." Angella didn't turn around.

Adora stepped close to the terrace edge, following the Queen's gaze, as did most of the princesses. There, by the edge of Bright Moon, royal guards were seen cutting prisoners free. Adora's team. Catra made eye contact with her but didn't say anything. Just run, Adora tried to say through her eyes. Please.

"Ready the arrows," Angella commanded. Adora looked at her, wide eyed, her heart temporarily stopped. The guards, all of them, drew their bows, arrows pointed at her team.

"What?" Adora asked. "You promised you'd let them go."

"And I have. They have been set free of Bright Moon but currently they now stand on the Whispering Woods side. And they are trespassing." Angella didn't look at anyone. Adora glanced back, seeing a wave of panic pass over the team.

"You can't!" Adora shouted.

"I will. As if I'd let Horde soldiers live." Adore couldn't breathe, she didn't know what to think or what she should do. All she knew was that she would not let her team die. She couldn't.

"Don't do anything stupid," Catra shouted up to her. "You hear me?"

"But–"

"That's an order." Adora wanted to argue, however she would not defy her orders. Not from Force Captain Catra. Never from her. From somewhere next to her she heard Glimmer still trying to activate the sword without any success, Entrapta noting down the results.

Adora went to say something to Catra but the ground shook violently. They were all thrown to the ground, guards protecting Queen Angella and the other princesses. The ground below the terrace, between Adora and Catra, ripped right open and from that hole came a giant dusty blue bug. It had six giant armoured legs, a long body with the tail of a snake, the tip consisting of sharp iron spikes. Hundreds of green eyes sprawled on its face. It let out a screech that deafened half of Bright Moon, several rows of razor sharp teeth out on display.

"What is that?" Perfuma asked, stunned, shocked and terrified all at once.

"It's a creature that dwells under the Whispering Woods. We've awoken it somehow and angered it," Queen Angella explained briefly. They didn't have time to get into specifics as it started attacking people. Its legs caused tremors in the earth, feet stomping all around Catra and the team like they're bugs to be squished. They scattered and dodged it for a while, they didn't have any weapons on them at all so all they could do was duck and cover. The royal guards tried firing arrows but it's got a thick armoured shell, the arrows didn't even so much as scratch it.

When it got bored of being down there, it then scaled the castle walls and came to the terrace where the princesses made a failed effort to push it back. Glimmer had an argument with Bow about not being able to teleport a beast as big as that. Frosta tried to freeze it but it broke through the ice, it snapped off Perfuma's vines with such ease Adora wasn't even sure it noticed them at all. The scorpion's lightning didn't even touch it and it was creeping ever closer to Adora. Angella tried to use her light magic to subdue it but it paid her no heed. Nothing they were doing was working.

"Adora!" Catra shouted up to her.

"Go Catra! Hurry up and leave, I can handle this!" Adora called back.

"I can't leave you there, that thing will kill you." It screeched again, chomping down on a guard that screamed bloody murder. The spear got wedged within its mouth, armour, bones and everything in between got crushed and shredded by its teeth. Blood gushed out of its mouth to the ground.

"Not if I kill it first," Adora said. She never mentioned the sword but they both knew that's what she was referring too.

After a brief pause where panic and sorrow passed through Catra's amber eyes, she said, "Fine. Then take this as your next order. Kill that bug and return to the Fright Zone."

"Fright Zone? Is that what you call it?" Perfuma asked, disgusted.

"You're orders suck, Force Captain," Adora said, smiling down at her. Catra smiled back. Her and the team made for the forest, eager to leave but not happy about leaving Adora behind. Adora picked herself up from the ground and looked at Glimmer who was still arguing with Bow and now her mother, all the while holding onto the sword hilt. The tip of the sword was pressed to the ground, since Glimmer couldn't hold it up any longer.

While they were arguing, Adora ran over and wrapped a single hand around the hilt which caught sparkles attention.

"Hey, you're not getting this sword!"

"Can I tell you a secret?" Adora stared her straight in the eyes.

"Now? Can't this wait? We're trying to not get killed." Adora ignored her and leaned in closer. "Get your hands off the sword. It's mine." Wrong, it's mine, Adora thought.

"For the honour of Grayskull," Adora said. The sword erupted in a blinding light that engulfed Adora, shadows wrapped around her and when they dissipated into the sky like smoke, she had changed. The sword was securely in her hand, the princesses gawked at her.

"Oh sure, the sword works for her but not us!" Glimmer shouted, it seemed all she did was shout.

Adora turned away from her to carry out her order and stalked towards the bug. The other princesses stepped back, out of the way, unable to look away from Adora.

The giant bug shouted at her and lifted one of its legs to crush her, she raised her sword to act as a shield. The bug's leg connected with the sword, causing a strange green light to flash. The shell over that leg cracked and burst, revealing the flesh underneath. She pushed the bug's leg away, it became unsteady and stepped back. Adora jumped up, propelled up by magic, she then thrust her sword right into the bug's biggest green eye. It screamed. She channelled some magic from her through the sword, causing a wave of electrical currents. Its legs fell out from underneath it, its body quivering.

She removed the sword from its head and landed back on the ground. Her sword glowed with a dark aura and with it she slashed through the air sending a ripple of energy towards the beast. It cut through the legs like butter, green blood gushed free of the veins. Adora rushed under the bug and cut through the neck of the bug and then dodged out of the way of the emerald waterfall that ensued. The bug squirmed, then went still.

Adora walked away from the bug, turned to look at the princesses for a moment and then looked away, about to jump from the terrace to the ground. Her first order completed, now to return to the Fright Zone. She was stopped by a pressure on her wrist. Adora looked down to see purple hair wrapped around her wrist, she followed it to Entrapta's sad eyes.

"Wait, don't leave. The Rebellion needs you, She-Ra." I am not She-Ra, Adora thought. "Well, infected She-Ra that is."

"What has the Horde done to you?" Angella asked, getting close. Adora looked at them but had no power to respond.

"Please, stay," Entrapta begged. "We could learn so much from you." Adora freed her wrist from the geek and kept walking away.

"We will not let the Horde have you!" Angella called. "Bow!" the next thing she knew, she heard the whistle of an arrow through the hair. She turned and grabbed the arrow mid-flight, breaking it in two, letting it fall to the ground. A vine snaked up her arm, her sword arm. Thorns bury deep into her skin, blood trickling down onto the sword. After a burst of light, the vines explode, taking their thorns with them.

Adora stepped towards the princesses, since they have attacked her, this body will attack them. She doesn't get the chance, however. A burst of visions and voices halted her, a brief white light emanating from the sword burned through her hand and she let go. She collapsed to her knees, a massive migraine tearing through her head. She groans and grinds her teeth.

The magic faded finally, letting Adora be in control of her own body. "Take her away to rest. Scorpia, take the sword to the armoury," Queen Angella commanded. Bow grabbed her arm and pulled her up, supporting her so she could stand. Adora glanced at the sword in Scorpia's pincers, how her crimson blood drops stain the gem green. A gem, slowly turning blue.

"Adora!" a woman called. It sounded like the hawk lady from her dreams. "Adora!"

The voice was louder. She looked at the sword, a hologram of the hawk lady appeared, the upper half of her body reaching out from the sword, her arm outstretched towards her. Adora reached out to grab her hand but she was too far away.

"I cannot reach you, I'm being blocked." Green chains appear around her. "Dear child, I am sorry. I cannot get to you. You must fight it, fight the virus, take control of your destiny. The blood of She-Ra will save you." The hologram started to glitch and her speech failed.

"Wait! Who are you?" Adora asked for the millionth time within the time span of nearly two weeks.

"There's no time," she answered, the response broken up and distorted. "Fight it, Adora. I know you're strong enough." The hologram faded, there was nothing left but the sword, which was now dull, no magic flowing at all. Adora's breath was shaken, eyes stinging with red hot tears. She blinked them away, utterly refusing to do such a weak act in the face of her enemies.

She's wrong. Adora's not strong enough.