"Canon is fragile" - Sorrel
The rest of the trip was quiet as Nanini concentrated on steering her ship through the wormhole of space when she began to slow down upon exiting the anomaly. Now face to face with an earthly planet and a collection of moons orbiting it, Kitra took the time to appreciate their beauty, making keen observations on the way Etheria's atmosphere.
Fink even noticed and remarked, "Geez, look at all these moons…!"
"I'm trying to figure out how the planet isn't crushed by all these celestial bodies scattered around this close to it," Kitra noted. "But I'm sure I can explain that later. Anyway, bring us down, captain."
Nanini nodded, "Make it count."
As they wandered through the white clouds, Nanini slowed her descent, holding steady in an open area of a thick forest valley packed with tall, green trees and surrounded by huge, snowy mountains. Once the ship touches down, the hatch opens for Emily to roll out, followed by Spinel stretching herself like a snake beside Kitra casually walking. Before she could go further, Kitra noted her surroundings. Her ears twitched, and her tail wagged at the beauty of it all, soaking in the morning sunlight and the blooming flowers.
"It's just like Entrapta said," the cat commented. "It's beautiful. And now we'll have time to drink it in."
She pulled out the small beacon in her pocket for an instant warp and faced Fink at the shuttle, "Wait here. I'll set up the beacon when I meet She-Ra and explain everything."
"Just keep us updated, ok," said Fink. "We like action too y'know."
"Oh, trust me. We will."
Spinel asked, "Wait, why not set it up here, GF?"
"I've gotta be in a good range for the teleporter to work. For some reason, it's bugging out back here. Probably cause of the moons and this being another dimension. We'll just have to walk the way till it starts beeping."
"Okie doke."
With that, the pair immediately got to trekking through the wide walkways of the forest. Fortunately, the path was clear, and the three could take in the scenery as they roamed. Spinel occasionally stretched her head out, looking above the shrubs for any signs of life, apart from horses and squirrels roaming the land. A bird nearly pecked her hair and ruined her heart-shaped do, which Kitra chuckled over while riding atop Emily. Several minutes pass, and the robot's search protocols trigger, stopping to scan her surroundings and detecting the presence of people but with no signal.
Kitra studied her readings on Emily's projection and noted, "At least we know someone's out here. Still, no beeping just yet."
Spinel slithered back over to Kitra, arching close to her, asking, "So…what's gotcha spooked today, pal? You ain't said much since we started walkin'. Er…since I started stretchin'."
"This is technically my home we're standing on," said Kitra. Catra, or the clone Catra who came to the Toonverse, was born here. And for some reason, this all feels familiar to me...like it's genetic."
"Figured you were just anxious about messin' up the mission."
"That too. But I'm 90% sure we can get all this sorted easily. I mean, I don't know Adora or anyone here besides Entrapta and Emily. So I've got no clue how anyone's gonna react, considering they should be at war with the Horde."
Spinel pat her friend's back with her enlarged hand, and told her, "Don't sweat it. I'm sure they'll understand. After all, we're the good guys!"
"How come I get the feeling I'm no-"
BEEP BEEP
"OH! Here we are!"
At the edge of a cliff overlooking the rest of the valley, Kitra knelt to the ground and checked the beacon. She said, "Alright, this should be good. Let's..."
BOOM!
A storm of dirt burst in front of the pair. Before the group was a battlefield littered with machines of a similar design to Emily. A few sharply armored soldiers accompanied them, with some triggering the robot's self-destruct modes to blow holes in the surface. Those along the furthest side of the operation went into defense as the Princesses of Etheria began to attack, led by Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. With her sharp vision, Spinel noted their attire. Only Mermista and Bow seemed suited to the task. While the archer launched arrows from a high vantage point, Mermista used the river water to nearly drown the men firing back at them. Interestingly, Frosta, a younger team member, froze the water with the troops partly inside, while another Princess, Perfuma, turned the plants against them. Fly traps and vines began to sprout, shielding them from the explosions and smashing through the robots before turning their attention to her.
"Wow, how'd I miss that," Kitra grunted.
More of the Horde turned their attention to the heroes, forcing them back with the threat of a self-detonating robot going off near them.
Mermista sighed as she sent a tidal wave through the troops, "All this for something we don't even know is here…!"
"If Mom's the one sending us, it must be," Glimmer retorted.
"Can't risk it either way," said the archer, Bow.
Taking shelter, the three hid alongside Adora in the ditch behind them, protected by a shield of vines from Perfuma.
"Think about it. Catra's always looking for artifacts for Hordak. Imagine she finds a First One's Nuke or something!"
"He's right," said Adora. "She once made a practical sting operation to steal my nail filer. Now she's sending an army over a hunch!"
"What happens if we come up empty," asked Perfuma.
Frosta lifted her hands and pretended to cheer. "Hurray! We beat the bad guys! Woo! I say that's a total win."
Adora smirked, "Right, exactly!"
Seeing the situation worsening, Adora pulled out a long sword strapped to her back. Standing firm, she raised it and yelled, "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"
Suddenly, a burst of colors shrouded the Princess, giving her a golden armor and skirt, taking the form of the legendary warrior, She-Ra! Kitra saw it all from her perch.
"That's her," said the feline with starry eyes. "But why would you announce that on a battlefield? They're gonna know where you are!"
Indeed, the Horde knew. They started swarming the Princesses, with She-Ra leaping out to attack. A few whips of her sword easily shattered the guards' weapons while her friends dealt with the rest. But more would soon follow, forcing them to scatter. Bow accompanied She-Ra, providing cover for her while Glimmer and Frosta took to shielding Perfuma and Mermista using magical barriers and ice-cold weaponry.
As the situation got stranger, Spinel asked, "None of this is canon, is it?"
"Nope," Kitra answered. "But we were going to break the show's timeline anyway. Let's play along. Emily, you're modeled after these robots. Try to sneak your way in and take out a few. Spinel and I will meet She-Ra."
The robot responded by rolling off the hill to the battlefield, keeping her guns concealed and effortlessly blending with the other machines. Along the quieter end of the area, a group of two humans and a dragon-like man stood by the transports with more soldiers on standby. Emily moved around them into the haze where her look-alikes were preparing to march, launching an EMP that instantly shut them down and triggered their detonation.
Lonnie, perhaps the most aware out of the trio, cocked her head and asked, "I ain't the only one who saw that, right?"
Kyle shook his head no, and Rogelio continued to monitor the action. Meanwhile, Kitra and Spinel continued to sneak through the exposed gaps in the surface from the self-destroying robots. The princesses kept their advance but immediately recognized they were outnumbered as they stayed in close range with each other.
Occasionally, Kitra poked her head out to check, seeing the fight going south for the heroes and commenting, "I've heard stories of heroes overcoming great odds, but it's looking kinda bleak back here."
Surprisingly, she was proven more correct as rocket troops began to fire. With the haze from the explosions shrouding her vision, She-Ra couldn't see the missile headed straight for her. But as it got close, Kitra had Spinel launch her towards it, deflecting it with her Magisword and sending it into a hill! Adora stood silent, seeing the hybrid fall to the ground with a loud snap and fumbling over to her.
All she could mutter was, "What the…?!"
Kitra quickly rose and stroked her fist, screaming, "OUCH, my hand...! Felt the bone crack on that one! OW!"
"Having a rough day like always, Catra?"
Kitra's ears wiggled as she turned to the Princess. "It's a long story, She-Ra. We need to…"
SLING
Adora swung her sword at her foe, nearly missing her face when Kitra weaved and screamed, "WOAH!"
The Princess furiously hacked and slashed at her, but Kitra was quick to avoid each blow. She-Ra even went as far as splitting a boulder and kicking the upper half towards her. But this did nothing as Kitra caught it and chucked it aside. More determined, Adora got up close and nearly kneed the hybrid, then threw a punch and an elbow; each countered relatively smoothly as Kitra used every method of defense, making no attempt to harm the Princess.
"Hey there! Can't I finish my case first?!"
Once She-Ra prepared to strike her again, Spinel snatched her sword and tossed it into the air. The Gem bounced over to her, gently moving her with her foot while bringing the rest of her body towards Kitra.
"Wow bestie," said Spinel. "Is this how you say hello to everybody?"
Thrown off by her looks, She-Ra asked, "…Uuuuuuh, is this a holiday thing, or…?"
"Hiya! Spinel Version 2. Gem hybrid. Nice ta meet'cha."
Kitra began to explain, "We're on a mission to save your world from a universal supervillain, terrorist, dark wizard, war profiter, whatever Black Hat is at this point."
Adora scowled. "What do you mean your world? We live on the same planet!"
"Not us. We're from the…" She froze before she could finish. Kitra's eyes flashed, and she realized, "Oh right! You think I'm…"
CATRA!
From aboveground, Bow hopped into the ditch and aimed his signature weapon straight for Kitra's face before She-Ra stood between them, telling him, "Bow, wait!"
The archer paused, standing with his signature weapon aimed for Kitra. "Wait for what? She's right there!"
BOOM!
With a bang, the gang was blown across the ground! She-Ra slammed against the wall by the back of the head, getting knocked out, while Bow tumbled with Kitra to the floor, dropping the beacon. Spinel's noodly limbs flung all over the place as she said, "So many surprises!"
The explosion transformed the ditch into a partially buried pit, exposing areas of a cave held together by old stone pillars. Upon shaking herself out of her daze, Kitra looked up to find a familiar face—her own, but much less friendly with the eyes. Catra nearly retracted her claws out of confusion, seeing herself lying on the ground.
"What…?!"
"Uh-oh…"
Immediately rising, Kitra blocked her twin's kick with her injured palm, pushing her back and yelling, "OW," while changing her stance. This time, she resorted to her Magisword, whipping a coil at Catra for her to keep back.
"Same hairdo, same skin, tiara, and no shoes. Definitely my evil twin."
"Is this some kind of prank," Catra asked.
"I'm a clone. I mean, I'm the byproduct of a clone, and- Y'know what? We can discuss it later. We've got a bigger threat coming, and we need all hands on deck, including you."
"Does it have to do with what's happening now?"
"No."
"Then who cares?"
"Wait wait wait," Spinel said. "Which one of you is Kitra and who's Catra?"
Both hybrids yelled, "I AM!"
Catra was the first to attempt to strike Kitra in the face, but she hopped to the side and kicked her spine! The force captain paused shortly, then flung back with her claws, almost scratching her twin when Kitra used her sword like a shield. Adora only caught a glimpse of the two duking it out before falling back asleep, unable to shake herself awake. The action was short, with Catra actively attempting to hurt her foe, while the other kept her defensive stance with one arm. Recovering from the blast, Bow reached for his arrow and launched it for Catra, covering her hand in puddy that solidified before she could take a swing. This distraction gave Kitra an opportune time to ram the hilt of her blade into her foe's gut, then knee her in the chin and kick her against an old brick wall. Catra tried retaliating with the rocket launcher she dropped, but Kitra's sword easily sliced through the barrel.
Just before Catra could pounce, a thread from the blade snagged her leg. Before she knew it, she was flung flat into the concrete wall, then a pillar, and then spun like a twister before being slammed face-first into the ground, shattering her tiara! Regrettably, Kitra didn't realize that the beacon was placed where her twin had landed, activating and teleporting the force captain off to the Toonverse. Right after, a blast bot detonated above them, vaporizing the device.
Kitra stood motionless. Her eyes shrunk realizing what she's done with Bow asking, "You ok?"
Trying to make light of the situation, she cocked a nervous grin and replied, "Is 'no' a good answer?"
The explosion nearly shook She-Ra awake. She struggled back up to find Kitra helping Bow to his knees while Spinel removed herself from the rubble.
"Catra…?"
Another machine self-detonated above them, beginning a cave-in between them. But before the walls could topple, Kitra pushed shouting, "Look out," sending Adora on the opposite end of the debris. Separated, the Princess would be picked up by branches sprouting from the ground bringing her towards Perfuma. More blast bots began to combust around them, forcing them back. However, Glimmer quickly took notice of Bow's absence. Too stunned while processing what just occurred, Adora couldn't say or do anything as the Horde drew closer to the sight with reinforcements soon to arrive.
Frosta snapped her fingers at her with, "Hey, Earth to Princess. I think we could use some heroic banter again!"
"We uh…we'd better get back home. Looks like Catra came prepared this time."
Shocked, Glimmer whirled her head back towards Adora. "Wait, what?! Bow's still down there! We have to help him!"
"I never said we wouldn't! But look how many soldiers there are! And there's too many bombs going off. They got us..."
"Can I just say one thing," asked Perfuma. "RUN!"
As they got close, she summoned a torrent of leaves between them and the Horde. Mermista would bring about a tidal wave followed by Frosta freezing it into a wall, covering their escape. The rest of the sentry drones crawled over to melt the structure, but the princesses had fled by the time they finished.
Underground, however, Spinel kept the cave intact with her outstretched limbs, shining a light for Kitra and Bow, who said to himself, "Well that just happened."
The hybrid silently panicked, "Oh no... Ooooh no. I messed up royally! Without that beacon, we can't get everyone back here before Black Hat shows up. And Catra's been sent over instead of me. I didn't even get a chance to configure it properly so there's no telling where she is."
"At least I know you're not her when you're not wearing her tiara and permanently resting witch face," the archer joked.
Kitra smirked, "Glad you could tell."
Hearing no more gunfire, Spinel peaked out a small hole above them, only spotting more Horde troops patrolling the empty land.
She said, "Hey, I don't see the cosplayers anywhere."
Bow shrugged, "They must've retreated. We've never seen the Horde pump out this many robots before. Not unless Entrapta's involved."
Kitra tilted her head, "You know her?"
"Yeah. You said- I mean, Catra said they have her, and they've got her working for Hordak now. How'd you know about that?"
"I was raised by a clone of her."
"A clone…? How many copies of us are there?!"
"Just her, Catra, and a robot we've got up top. See, there's a cosmic event that's meant to happen soon that this world's gonna get caught in the middle of. And when it does, it'll warp reality. We're here to make sure a similar thing doesn't happen. A man named Black Hat is gonna show up and cause a disaster that'll doom not just this world but ours too. For all we know, it all circles back to some portal Hordak is building."
"So that's what this search party's for...!"
Spinel grinned, "Speaking of, I think Emily's faked her way into 'em. I'm Spinel, by the way."
"And I'm Kitra."
"Bow."
Confused, the Gem brought her head closer to him. "Why do they call you that? …Oh wait, nevermind. Bow and arrow."
"All good."
Kitra continued to say, "Bow, I know this is a lot to take in. I was hoping to tell the rest of the rebellion and figured I could give Catra a chance to listen. But it looks like they wouldn't have trusted me since I'm basically her twin from another universe."
She shrugged, "And to be honest, I can't blame 'em since her copy nearly destroyed our home too."
"Agh, tell me about it. Since Catra's promotion, she's been throwing everything she's got at us just to mess with us, especially Adora. I only knew you couldn't have been her since you started talking and saved me just now."
"What about me," the Gem asked.
"Oh, I thought you were First One's tech. They're this cryptic, ancient civilization that shaped the world into what it is. Everyone's obsessed with them. You could spend a lifetime studying their work, and you still wouldn't have scratched the surface."
"If they got a lead on that here, it looks like they've come up empty," said Kitra.
"They're still gonna expect to get something out of it, even if its just me. I mean, it's literally in their name!"
With that thought, Kitra burst out and cheered, "BRAIN BLAST!"
"…Huh…?"
Spinel clarified, "Oh, that means she's got an idea."
Towards the collapsed cave, Lonnie spotted Kitra climbing out with Spinel keeping Bow in a bind using her arm as a lasso. Both Kyle and Rogelio arrived with first aid, stopping to look at the alien, never quite seeing something like her before.
Lonnie asked, "Another Monday?"
"Another Monday," said Kitra.
"And who's that?"
"First Ones tech. Right?"
"That's right," said Spinel. "That last blast set me free! For that, I am eternally in the Horde's debt. You can call me Spinel."
The gang still stood silent assessing the look of Spinel and noticing who they think to be their boss wearing different attire.
"W-why're you all still looking at me like…? OH! Right! This is my tank top. My shirt got burnt off, but I'm fine. Anyway, not only do we have living tech, but we've also got a prisoner. We'll get back to base and I'll update Lord Hordak. Spinel and me will watch over Bow here."
She waved her hand for the transports ahead. "Now ready the shuttles you fools!" But she stopped, quick to apologize with, "Oops. Sorry. I dunno why I just called you that. U-um… Let's get outta here."
The three of them left. But Lonnie kept looking with her group, lifting an eyebrow. While all the troops gathered the remaining robots, Bow pretended to scowl and Kitra whispered to him, "Sure you don't want me to bail you out? I could say you're not of use to us and just drop you off somewhere."
"We just met, and it's risky…but something tells me we've got a chance at stopping Hordak if this plan works out. I'm down for the Best Friends Squad."
Kitra chuckled, "Best Friend's Squad?"
"It sounds a lot cooler when you're in it."
"Sounds like something I'd say," Spinel commented.
