Catra hummed to herself as she walked through the corridors of Brightmoon castles. Thoughts of Adora drifted through her mind as she wandered towards the gardens. Angella had said that Juliet would be privy to the magic lessons on the off chance that Shadow Weaver tried to pull something. Catra had seen no reason to argue.

"I see someone's in a good mood." Juliet said as she fell in stride with her. "I take it everything went well last night?"

Catra simply nodded as she kept on humming happily. Juliet gave a small smile before falling into a comfortable silence. As they entered the courtyard, Catra caught sight of Shadow Weaver with several books and materials in hand. No doubt for the lesson.

Shadow Weaver noticed Catra out of the corner of her eye. She immediately looked at her hair. Brown as always. Shadow Weaver let out a sigh before straightening up. "Good Morning, Catra. Did you enjoy your night?"

Catra smiled, "You could say that. Thank you for your help. And thank you for helping Adora. With the gift, I mean."

"Of course." Shadow Weaver gave a small chuckle before becoming serious. "Are you ready for your lesson? Be warned, I am not going to start small like I normally would. We will be jumping right into advanced forms of combat magic."

Catra lost her smile in favor of a more serious face as she nodded. "Yes, Shadow Weaver."

Shadow Weaver looked at her previous ward in contemplation. She was under no false pretenses that Catra didn't remember her treatment. Her memories were returning at an accelerated rate and she was sure that she remembered a bit of her mistreatment at the very least. The fact that Catra was maintaining a professional outlook on her objective to learn magic was somewhat commendable.

"Alright. Then you will be needing this. Use it to take notes and record anything you might wish to revisit." She said as she handed Catra a large book of blank pages. On each of the pages there seemed to be preplanned slots for recording notes. One could immediately tell that it was for a scholar. She looked over at General Juliet. "Will you be sitting in on this lesson? I was under the pretense that Adora or the Queen herself would be here during this."

Juliet nodded, "Queen Angella had initially planned on being here but something came up that has called her attention elsewhere. In the future I expect that the Queen or Adora will be here instead of me."

Catra spoke up on Adora's behalf. "Adora headed to the Crystal Castle with Swift Wind for some training with Mara.

Shadow Weaver nodded, "Very well." She said as she walked forward, her hand emitting a slight glow. "Lesson One, the basics of magic and the origins of ley lines. . ."


Adora stepped into the Crystal Castle with a smile on her face. Swift Wind hadn't stopped grinning at her for the whole ride. She might have found it annoying if not for her current mood. As she walked into the main chamber a flash of light appeared, revealing Light Hope.

"Hey, Light Hope. I'm ready to begin training. Is Mara available?" Adora asked, gaining a more serious tone.

Light Hope nodded, "Mara is currently residing in her quarters in the Royal Palace of Eternos. I can contact her if you wish."

Adora blinked before gaining a look of understanding. "Oh right. Our times are different aren't they? Is she asleep? I don't want to bother her."

Light Hope shook her head. "Fortunately, you are somewhat mistaken. Eternia and Etheria are on reversed lunar cycles. While our Etheria may be approaching sunset for you. It is very much close to the same time right now."

"So while Mara's on Eternia we're running on the same time frame?"

"Yes, although I calculate that the time is off by forty three minutes and twenty six seconds." Light Hope said.

Adora nodded to herself before looking at Light Hope. "Yeah, if you could get Mara that would be great."

Light Hope continued to smile. "One moment." She said as her eyes lip up in a digital glow.

Suddenly a hologram appeared and the Crystal Castle shifted into Mara's quarters. Adora took note of Catra laying on a bed off to the side. Entrapta was right in the sense that Catra doesn't move when she's switched.

"Yeah, I suppose that's weird for you, huh?" Mara said from behind her.

"A little bit, but it's alright." Adora said as she gazed at Catra's image blissfully.

Mara stared at her for a moment before smiling. "Y'know, you both look like that when you're talking about one another. Maybe you should say something to one another."

Adora smiled as she turned to look at Mara. "We did."

Mara's eyes widened, "Oh! Uh, congratulations. I see it went well?"

Adora nodded, "She told me last night at the celebration for the war's end."

Mara grinned, "Well good for you two. I'm happy for you. In fact we should take advantage of this."

Adora frowned, "What do you mean?"

Mara pulled her sword out and held it in front of her. "See, She Ra works a little differently from other magics. Our power isn't something that you can command just through meditation and discipline, although it helps. She Ra's power has an emotional aspect as well. Positivity and love play a big part in the power as well."

"Oh, I see. Is that why I haven't been able to heal? I thought I had healed Catra earlier but we were unsure of it until Catra told me that you were healing her at the same time." Adora explained, a bit of dejection slipping into her voice.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Healing isn't something I could do right away either. It took training. So, let's get to it. We'll start with the basics."

For most of the day, Mara taught Adora about the skills and abilities of She Ra. Mara noticed that Adora seemed hung up on the fact that she couldn't heal and so she prioritized it. Within a couple hours, Adora had figured it out and could perform the power. Adora was in awe at how much she was able to accomplish in a single lesson with an actual teacher.

"Wow!" Adora marveled at her progress.

Mara giggled, "Having a teacher makes a world of difference, huh?"

Adora nodded with a grin. "I've been struggling with so much this past year and you showed me just how simple a lot of it was. Thank you so much."

"No problem. Believe me, I get it. A lot of my early training was touch and go. Until my sword was made, I was only to transform one time."

"What do you mean? Can we transform without our sword?"

Mara nodded, "Supposedly, yes. Razz told me that She Ra's been around long before the sword. I've never been able to trigger it though since that first time. Intense emotion seemed to trigger it for me."

". . . Was there a bright glow? Like an intense rush of euphoria and joy?"

Mara nodded, "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Why?"

"Last night when Catra and I–" Adora stammered.

Mara smiled, "When you kissed each other you started to glow?"

Adora's face lit up with a blush before she nodded, "Yeah. I was just confused as to what had happened."

Mara nodded, "You accessed your power without the sword. If you keep training, who knows, maybe you'll be able to–"

Mara was cut off by the sound of her door opening as Adora looked behind her. She was met with the sight of Evelyn entering with several things in hand including a few bags. Evelyn stopped at the sight of Adora, going abnormally quiet, ". . .Who's this, Mara?"

"Oh, I suppose introductions are in order. This is Catra's. . . girlfriend, Adora." Mara stumbled on her words, unsure of how to address it.

"Adora?" Evelyn muttered in confusion before walking up to the young woman.

"Uh, nice to meet you ma'am. I'm Adora, the She Ra of my timeline. Catra's talked a bit about you." Adora said, holding her hand out.

Evelyn reached out to shake her hand, before it phased through. "Oh, right. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. . .Adora."

"Oh, um, I suppose since Catra hasn't had the chance to ask you I'll ask for her. Catra is wondering if you would teach her magic. She also wants to know if the upgrade to her technology will be available soon." Adora said, relaying Catra's message.

Evelyn just stared at Adora quietly. Mara eyed her mother for a moment, confused at her strange behavior before grabbing her shoulder and gently shaking. "Mom. Adora asked you a question. Are you alright?"

Evelyn looked at her daughter for a moment before looking back at Adora, "Adora, do you have any parents? I'm not trying to sound rude but I'm trying to figure something out."

"Oh, uh, no. I was raised by the Horde along with the rest of the war orphans. Why do you ask?" Adora asked, a bit put off.

"Your name is very familiar and you look like somebody that I once knew." Evelyn said as she shook her head. "In any case, I had already planned to offer to teach Catra magic. As for the technology, yes. It will be ready within a few days most likely."

Adora nodded in affirmation before turning towards Mara, "I'll be sure to let Catra know. Besides that, thank you. You've helped me more than you know. Is there a schedule that works for you? I don't want to be a bother and pull you away from your duties."

Mara shook her head, "No, it's fine. When Catra switches over I'll send the schedule with her. Speaking of Catra, what's she up to right now?"

Adora lost her smile immediately, "She's getting a lesson in magic at the moment."

"You don't look too enthused about that? I thought you wanted her to learn magic?" Evelyn spoke up.

"I do. From you or Castaspella. She's currently learning from a woman named Shadow Weaver. She's. . .like my mother I suppose, as in she raised me. Although she's anything but."

"Shadow Weaver's training her?" Mara said aghast.

"Catra told you about her?" Adora asked.

Mara nodded, "A bit. I'm more concerned with what I saw in both of your memories. She's a vile person. Does Catra know? Have you told her?"

Adora nodded, a hard look on her face. "Catra knows. I've told her and I suspect she remembers more than a fair share. Her memories are coming back fast. But she's the only one who can teach her magic that's close by." Adora's face lit up in a desperate look as she turned towards Evelyn. "That's why I need your help. If you can teach her instead, she won't need to be around her as often. I don't know what she wants from Catra but I don't trust her. Catra tells me you're the most skilled sorceress on your planet. Is there any way you could teach her across the time stream like Mara's teaching me."

Evelyn nodded, her strange behavior gone. "I can. Easily. As I said, I will teach Catra magic. We're currently preparing to head back to Etheria in six days."

Adora nodded gratefully, "Thank you." She let out a sigh. "I have to go, but like I said, I'll let Catra know to switch in a few days."

Mara waved, "Goodbye Adora."

With that, Adora's image disappeared. Mara turned towards her mother in confusion. "Okay, what was that? As soon as you saw her, you started to act weird."

Evelyn looked at her daughter. "Why didn't you mention her before?"

"I did. What are you talking about?" Mara asked.

"I meant her name. Not just 'future She Ra.'"

"Does it matter?" Mara asked, confused.

"I– . . .Nevermind. I just thought she seemed familiar." Evelyn said.

"Well, if–"

Mara was immediately cut off by a guard rushing into the room. "Ma'am! Ma'am! Come quick!"

They were both immediately on their feet at the guards frantic tone. Mara stepped forward, shifting into She Ra before anyone could blink. "What's wrong?"

The guard eyed Mara for a brief moment before shaking her head. "King Randor has called for the High Mage. The queen is awake!"

Mara and Evelyn looked at one another in shock before they ran out the door. As the sounds of their footsteps faded, the door slowly opened. The room was deathly quiet as a figure stepped into the room, looming above Catra. Upon seeing the unconscious Catra they let out a gasp. Had everyone not been so focused on the waking of the queen, they might have noticed the cloaked figure carrying the unconscious Catra away from the castle.


Catra was having a marginally less successful time with her lesson compared to Adora. So much so that Shadow Weaver had ended the session for the day. Catra had been understandably upset by this. But to her surprise, Shadow Weaver wasn't angry or disappointed and had shown no outward reaction. It was like she had expected it. Unfortunately, this had left Catra with nothing to do for most of the day besides dwell on her shortcoming.

She wasn't sure what the problem was. She had been able to use magic several times before today and hadn't struggled with it before today. Her motivation was there, unfortunately it seemed her magic was not. She let out a dejected sigh as she headed back towards her room.

Glimmer and Bow caught sight of Catra trudging through the castle grounds before heading towards her. Bow spoke up first, "What's going on Catra?"

"Yeah, you look upset. I thought you'd be happier today." Glimmer said with some concern.

Catra looked at them before letting out a sigh, "I'm not upset, not really anyways. It's just. . . today was the day I'd start learning magic and I completely failed. I couldn't even conjure it at all."

Glimmer looked a bit confused at Catra's words. "How? Haven't you been doing magic for the last week? How does that work?"

"That's what I'm wondering!" Catra said exasperatedly, throwing her arms in the air. "I did the drain just fine, I did the time stuff, but the moment I can learn about throwing a fireball or something, I can't even call on it."

Bow gained an inquisitive look, "I hear magic has to do with a lot of focus and emotions. How do you normally do your time magic?"

Catra shrugged, "I don't know. It's just a feeling I get. Even when I switch, I normally just think of Mara or Adora, but even then I'm just kind of doing it. Shadow Weaver said that I have a lot of magic potential. Like a serious amount. But I can't even call on it."

Glimmer hummed, "That kind of sounds like how I teleport."

Catra raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

She shrugged, "I just do it. I don't really need to think about it. It just comes naturally. Even the light bolts I throw out, I just kind of do. But when I tried magic without using my powers, well. . ." Glimmer trailed off before holding a finger up, "I sucked. But, when I figured it out and that feeling I needed," Glimmer drew a circle in the air before letting it dissipate, "I found it was much easier."

"So you're saying, what, I'm too used to the wrong feeling and I'm latching on to my time powers?" Catra asked.

Glimmer nodded, "Pretty much."

Bow spoke up, "Actually, speaking of your time powers, have you actually tried using your powers in a different way without rewinding?"

Glimmer nodded in agreement, "Yeah! You should try your time magic. See if you get any different results."

Catra was quiet for a second before slowly nodding, "Alright. How do you throw a light bolt? Like, what's the feeling? Aggression?"

Glimmer held her hand out, conjuring a ball of light in her hands. "I use the feeling of my magic that my runestone gives me and think about a projectile, something I can throw. When that starts forming in my hand I pretty much just think of a ball or a fist of light. And then I just rear back and–" Glimmer finished by throwing the ball at a tree causing a small explosion of sparkles.

Catra looked down at her hand, thinking of what glimmer said. She tried to envision the feeling when she would rewind. She quickly felt it swirl in her body before going somewhat still. It was almost focused. No, it felt more. . .primed. Catra imagined a projectile, something that would shoot. She felt the energy swirl in her palm to her shock. After a moment she could see it.

"Woah!" Glimmer exclaimed.

"Now what?" Catra said in a slightly panicking tone.

"Just imagine a ball or something. It needs to feel comfortable to you. And then when you're ready, let it rip!" Glimmer exclaimed.

Catra nodded before imagining a shape. Her mind drifted to the Horde bombs that she was trained to throw in her youth. She noticed the shape quickly shifted to an orb. It looked almost distorted. Catra looked at the tree that Glimmer had shot a few seconds prior and arced her hand at it, sending the orb at the tree.

The effect was immediate. As soon as it hit, the orb expanded, creating a very familiar field that she immediately recognized. She realized that it was the same effect the pockets of energy had emitted during the day that Catra and Mara had erased. Although this looked cleaner, less corrupted.

"Wow! You did it!" Glimmer said, stepping closer to the orb of distortion and examining it. "What does it do?"

Catra walked towards it. "If I'm right," Catra reached down and picked up a rock, "It should be a field of stasis. I ran into one of these pockets with Mara when I rewound the day for her. I should be able to walk through it just fine."

Catra took a step inside and saw the same field that had encompassed her body in a protective layer earlier was doing it again. She took the rock and tossed it in the air. As soon as she let go, the field retracted from the stone leaving it frozen in time, unmoving. Catra walked out of the field before stepping beside Glimmer.

"I think it only lasts about a minute. Bow, can you time this?" Catra asked.

Bow gave a nod. True to Catra's words, about thirty seconds in, the rock started to move up slowly before starting to fall at an accelerated rate. After the minute had passed, the orb immediately vanished. Catra couldn't help it and immediately her face broke into a grin.

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Catra wrapped Glimmer into a hug. "What else can I do?"

"What's going on?" Angella's voice sounded as she walked around the corner.

"We just figured out that Catra's basically a princess." Glimmer said with a smile.

Catra immediately stopped, "Woah woah woah, I am not a princess."

Glimmer gained a bit of a smug look, "Then what do you call what you just did? You even had to emulate me."

"Well. . .Princesses have runestones. I don't have a runestone. I have weird time powers." Catra said, firing back with an equally triumphant grin.

"What happened?" Angella looked at Bow.

"Catra made a time bomb that she was able to throw like Glimmer's light bolts. It froze time for a single minute in the affected area. It seemed completely safe as well."

"You did? And it was controlled? Huh, the payoff on the lesson was greater than I thought it would be." Angella said happily, "I'm glad you're doing well."

"No, see that's the thing. Catra said she absolutely failed at magic the way I initially did. So I told her how I used my powers from the moon stone and she copied me. That's why I think it's like a princess." Glimmer said teasingly.

"But I'm not. I only got my powers after I touched a. . ." Catra's smile slowly faded as something clicked in her mind. The mood shift was obvious as well.

"The soul shard." Glimmer finished before looking at Bow, "You don't think. . .That's not possible, right?"

"No, it's not. A runestone can only work when it's whole. Even chipping away at one can have dire consequences. You also need to be attuned to it through a bloodline. The soul shards also took Catra's memories away. Rune stones don't do that." Angella explained. Catra let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

Glimmer shrugged, "Well, in any case, let's get some supper. I'm starving."


Adora returned to Bright Moon on the back of Swift Wind fairly quickly. She was a little put off by Mara's mother but if Angella was anything to go by, not all mothers were the same, so she did her best to not judge.

As she dismounted Swift Wind she thanked him before heading for the main hall. As she walked the halls, she heard Glimmer, Bow, and Angella talking. Upon rounding the corner she caught sight of Catra as well. It seemed like she had arrived just in time for lunch.

"Hey guys. How's your day been?" Adora asked as she took a seat next to Catra. Adora didn't miss the way Angella smiled at them.

"Catra learned a new spell." Glimmer said excitedly.

"You did? What can you do?" Adora asked, matching her friend's tone.

Catra set her drink down before speaking, "Well, turns out, I suck at normal magic."

Adora was dumbfounded upon hearing this. "What? How? You've been doing magic for the past month."

"Yep. Which brings us to the new spell I learned. Turns out that my time powers operate similar to a princess. Glimmer helped me out and now I can make an orb that freezes time for about a minute."

Adora's eyes widened in awe. "I wanna see!"

Catra grinned at her tone before looking at a pitcher of water on the table. She turned towards Angella. "Can I. . .?"

Angella, who at this point had not seen it either, was quite interested as well. "Go ahead."

Catra nodded before standing from the table and grabbing the pitcher. In her other hand she summoned the time bomb. She looked at Adora, "Are you ready?"

Adora nodded, focused on Catra. At the affirmation, Catra threw the water into the air before chucking the bomb at the ground below the water. The effect was instantaneous in the way everything froze. Adora and Angella stood up and walked around the distorted field, marveling at the water suspended in air. Catra stepped into the field as the protective layer formed once again. She took the pitcher and grabbed the water out of the air before stepping out of it. After about a minute, the few water droplets that remained in the air slowly started to fall before immediately resuming their normal speed.

"Woah! Can you do anything else? Also, why can you do that?" Adora asked.

Catra shrugged, "Beats me, but it's cool right?"

"Super cool!" Glimmer said.

Angella looked at the water on the floor, contemplating something. Marleena had used this same effect on her and the guards the first time they had spoken although it had been reversed as everything outside of the orb had been frozen. Angella glanced at the best friends squad before nodding. Another piece of the puzzle was added.

"While that is cool, I don't think you should play with it." Bow said.

Catra raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Messing with time sounds like a bad idea. I know that it's your magic and everything but I would still advise some caution." Bow explained.

"I get that, but I'm not rewinding. I'm freezing and at most only for a minute in a relatively small area. I don't think there's any chance of problems with the bomb." Catra said.

Adora nodded, "I'm with you on the rewinding part Bow, but I think this is a bit different. It looks stable and safe." Adora stopped for a minute before turning towards Catra. "Oh! I met Evelyn."

"You did? I only talked to her for a little bit before I went to talk to King Randor." Catra said.

"Who's King Randor?" Glimmer asked.

"Who's Evelyn?" Bow asked immediately after.

"If I recall, Evelyn is Mara's mother, correct?" Angella asked.

"Yeah," Catra said, "She's the Eternian High Mage under King Randor. He's the King of Eternia."

"Wow!" Bow's eyes seemed to sparkle, "You actually met a king from another world. What did he talk to you about? Why did he come all the way to Etheria?"

"Oh, no, I'm on Eternia. Mara and I left Etheria because he wanted to speak with me. But that's besides the point," Catra turned back to Adora, "What did you guys talk about?"

"Evelyn has agreed to teach you magic. She also said that she can easily teach you through Light Hope like Mara's teaching me." Adora explained.

"That's great news." Angella said, genuinely happy that there was an alternative to Shadow Weaver.

"What was she like?"

Everyone turned towards the door to see Shadow Weaver. "Where have you been?" Angella asked hotly.

"Evelyn. What was she like? Did she act strange at all?" Shadow Weaver asked, ignoring Angella.

Adora looked at Shadow Weaver suspiciously, "She was a bit weird I suppose. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Although she asked me if I had any parents."

"What? Why?" Catra looked at Adora.

Adora shrugged. "I don't know, but she said my name sounded familiar and I looked like someone she knew."

"Shadow Weaver! Answer me. After Catra's lesson, Juliet reported that you left Bright Moon. Explain yourself." Angella demanded.

". . .I have reason to believe that Marleena is lying to you." She said looking at Catra. "Lying to us all in fact."

"That's ridiculous. Catra was literally by her bedside just two days ago." Glimmer said. Although Angella remained quiet.

Shadow Weaver noticed Angella's silence, "You've thought about it too, haven't you? That she's not what she seems?"

"Do you have proof?" Angella asked.

Shadow Weaver turned towards Catra. "Tell me something about Earth. Name a country or a capital city. Anything that sticks out. If I'm right it should be extraordinarily difficult."

"I—It's hard to! I know Marleena's from Washington and that she's an astronaut but I can't think of anything else." Catra said in shock.

"I thought so. The reason is that the soul shards are a lie. Glimmer, you were right." Shadow Weaver said, turning towards her.

"I was? About what?"

"Catra's powers aren't like a princess's, they are a princess's. We haven't been reforming her soul. We've been reforming a runestone that Catra has formed a connection to." Shadow Weaver said, holding up the shard of the Black Garnet. "You know what this is right, Adora?"

Adora nodded, "It's a piece of the Black Garnet. I didn't know you had two of them though."

"I don't." Shadow Weaver said as she dropped her illusion over her mask. Immediately the shard in her mask returned to its light shade of blue. "Yesterday, Kyle delivered several things, this being among them. I noticed the energy off put was almost identical to the Black Garnet and the Moon Stone."

"But that's impossible. A runestone loses all power once broken. Every princess knows this." Angella said.

"Unless it's in a perpetual stasis field." Catra muttered. "But what does it have to do with Adora? Ever since this started, Marleena has brought her up over and over. Not just as She Ra either."

Angella looked at Shadow Weaver. ". . .Is Adora an Eternian?"

"What!" Glimmer exclaimed. "Why would you think that?"

"Yeah, that sounds ridiculous. Especially considering they've been dead for a thousand years." Bow said, throwing his thoughts out on the matter.

Angella looked at Catra with a hopeful look. "Catra, tell me, what has Marleena said about Adora. Anything at all will help."

Adora looked at everyone around her. "How could I be Eternian? I've lived here my whole life."

Catra looked at Adora before answering. "She said she didn't know. She said that Adora being She Ra bothered her and she didn't know why she knew her."

Angella lost her hopeful look in an instant. "Shadow Weaver's right. Marlena's lying about something."

Adora looked at Angella. "What? How do you know?"

"I believe it was Catra's third night here. You switched for the second time?" Angella looked at Catra.

"I remember."

Angella nodded, "Well, that was the night I met Marleena. She said that it was impossible that you could be She Ra. She very clearly knew you, Adora."

Adora looked at Catra, "I. . .did she say anything else about me?"

Catra shook her head, "I've only talked to her twice. Maybe Mara would know more."

Shadow Weaver stepped forward. "I know how hard this must be to believe. Until this month, we on Etheria had no concept of other universes and timelines. Yet the proof stands before us."

Everyone turned to look at Catra and Adora. "Us?" Adora asked.

In Hordak's quest to escape Etheria he succeeded in his goal of creating a portal years ago. It was only for a moment but in that, a child came through. That child was you, Adora. You were brought through a portal from another world. But now," Shadow Weaver looked at Catra, "Now I'm not so sure."

"What are you saying?" Catra asked.

"Catra, your origins are a mystery even to me. There was no record of birth. No parents. Nothing. And certainly nothing to imply a royal descendance. But until you made contact with the shard, it had never reacted in such a way before." Shadow Weaver put a hand on her shoulder, "Catra, you formed a connection with a runestone that manipulates time. Do you understand the implications of that?"

"Are you saying that Adora and I. . . aren't from Etheria?" Catra asked in a small voice.

"Leave her alone. You're lying, we all know it. You lie about everything."

"I wish I was. But I'm not." Shadow Weaver turned towards the door, "Entrapta, show them the video."

Everyone turned towards the doorway to see the long purple haired princess. "Hello!"

"Entrapta? What are you doing here? What video?" Bow said, confused.

"Last night at the moment Catra and Adora kissed, a pulse washed over Etheria, destroying everything. Rifts started appearing, tentacle eye monsters were everywhere, it was fascinating!" Entrapta said as she pulled the video up on her tablet. "I have no prior memory of what happened but somehow I retained footage of the event."

True to her words, everyone watched as the exact details were displayed on screen. Catra felt ill as she watched a repeat of events that had happened to Mara's timeline before she had stopped them. And then, as the pulse closed in on Catra and Adora, a bright light appeared and sent the pulse retreating as if the events hadn't happened.

The group remained silent before Bow spoke up, "Did. . .did Catra's hair just turn purple?"

Catra looked at Bow before taking the trackerpad from Entrapta and rewinding it. True to Bow's words, Catra's appearance had changed drastically in those few short seconds. It wasn't just her hair either. Her fur had lightened to become almost white, her tail was bushier, and she seemed to get a bit taller and more developed. But beyond that, she could still tell it was her. "What happened to me?"

Shadow Weaver looked at Catra, "I don't know. My best guess is that time was affecting us all in different ways. Entrapta was killed as you can see, but several people had changed. Angella, when the pulse washed over you you disappeared. Glimmer, you became taller, more akin to your mother's appearance. I'm sure there were others but I was only allowed a few seconds before Adora sent the wave retreating."

"I did that?" Adora asked as she watched the wave instantly retreat from the glow.

"Yes. Although I'm not sure what exactly you did." Shadow Weaver drawled, "Any ideas?"

Adora thought back to her training with Mara, "Mara said that we can turn into She Ra without the sword. It just takes intense emotion to achieve."

"Like kissing your girlfriend?" Glimmer asked with a slight smirk.

Adora huffed, "Yes, like kissing my girlfriend." She turned back towards Shadow Weaver, "But that doesn't explain–"

Adora stopped mid sentence as everyone turned to look at Catra. "Catra?"

"What? Why are you all staring at me?" Catra asked, slightly panicked.

"Catra, you're glowing again. Can't you see it?" Angella asked concerned.

Catra looked at herself. As far as she could tell, there was no glow. "No, I don't see any glow. What are you guys talking about?"


"What? Why are you all staring at me?" Catra asked, slightly panicked.

"Catra, you're glowing again. Can't you–" Angella stopped mid sentence. "What just happened?"

Catra looked at herself. As far as she could tell, there was no glow. "No, ̸̧̨̦̐͆͜I̵̦̓̋̍ ̶̡̬̞͎͇́͒͆͜d̷̗͇̗̼̫̅̏ȯ̷̬̕̚n̸͙̮̐̀̏ͅ'̸̻̹̠̰͓̖͂̓t̷̫̮̃͠ see any glow. What are you guys t̶̢͔͚̟̥̩̓̽̈́a̷̤͗ḷ̵̢̯͙̤̏̔͝k̷̉̎̀̌ͅį̷̠͕̫͚̽̓̂n̴̞̳̹̉̏̓̈͘ͅͅģ̶̞̮̼͛̚̚ ̷̝̳̮̥̀̂͘a̸͚̳͑̊̚b̵̹̩̣̗̞̓̉́̎͋͝o̸̤̝͋̆͛̉u̷̯͍͈̙͎͋̆̀̓̑̔t̶͔͙̻͛̈́̃̄ͅ?̵̤̼̩͎̻͗͝"


"If I recall, Evelyn is Mara's mother, correct?" Angella asked before a look of horror appeared on her face.

"Yeah," Catra said, "She's the Eternian Ḧ̴̡̧̛̛̙͎̜͓̝̥̘͕̲͐̑̾̈̐̐̆͗̃́̎i̵̳̩̼̫̾̽̀͒̑̇̂̎g̷̨̡͔̞̙̞̲̬̗̈̔͂h̸̡̨̨̼͔̦̤̫͖̦̖̬͚̗͐̈́͐͊̊̌̏͠ ̷͕̙̇̇̍̑M̵͎͚̮͖̹͗́̓̀͋̈̆̉̃̈͑̈́͠͝a̷̼͙͔͇̬͗́̾̅̾̐͂̚͠g̶͚̖̞͈̣͓̋́́ě̸̡̢̬̣͚̳̹̜͕̘͑̂͝ ̵̗͌̾́͌̽̒̚̕̚̚͘u̵̹̺̔͋͛̈́̔̿͗ͅn̶̡̛̮͍̪̆̌̿̅̋́̌͗̓̔d̵̗̭̝͓̋̈́é̸̯̮̫̞̺̺̝̤̗̜͈̍̽̅̔̂̾̍͝͝r̷̨͎̝̙͖̥̖̥̻̍̓͂̊̐̄ͅ ̵̘̦̘̤̻̲̓̈́̅̆̇̎͊̽̈́̀Ķ̵̢͉͉̟̤̘̳͍́̒i̶̫͈̝͙͚̖̥͈̭̜͂͌̂͗̆̄n̸̩͖͙̣̭̥͇̜̠̗͛̓̏̍̌͑̂̓͋ͅg̴͎̱͌̽͌̔̋ ̵̳̇̾̈́͌̽̄̿R̵̛̫̤̳̻̱̫̊̌̌́̇̓͋̐͑̔̒̒̈͂ȧ̸̭͈͇͖͚̤̖̩̻̗̠̰̈͛̈́̓͛̽͝n̸̨̙̬̰̪̭̟͕̬̳͔̓̽͊́͊͋͐̐̕͝d̷̨͈̘̠̤̳̭̭͎̩͉̥̖͋͋͒̍͐̇̍͋͋̕o̸̢̧̢̥̯̰͔͑̑̽̉̀̈̾̓̽̏r̵̻̱̺͇̭̼̀́͗̎̾̍̄͊̈́̋. He's the King of Eternia."

Adora and everyone looked around. "We're rewinding! Catra, stop!"

"Oh, no, I'm on Eternia. M̶̧̼͇̆̋a̷͚̪͎͂̒̈r̴̭̻͆̎a̶̟͕̋̽̆ ̵͊͜a̸̰͕͘n̶̘̹͆͐̏d̸͎̤̠̆ ̸͓̲͌͌̽Ḯ̴̩̾̏ ̴̖̎̔l̶̲̾́͝è̸̡f̶̳̅͊t̸̻̮̠̉́̀ ̵̨̥͚̊͊E̷͙̔̒̽t̶̢̊̕h̶̜͔̓e̵͍̩̋ŗ̶̢̼͝i̶̩͍̽̂a̶̘̞͚͆͠͝ because he wanted to speak with me. But that's besides the point," Catra turned back to Adora, "W̸̡̧̢̰͙̫̲̟̱͖̪̥̱͉̲̣̥̋̈́́̽̉͆͑͌̐̕ḩ̵̡̡̢̛͙͙̰̪̯̼̠̙̫̼̯̫̘̝̈́̋̃̽å̶͖͇̩͕͎̙̫͑̊̀̾̌͊͋̃̚̚ţ̶̧̧̢̧̪̼͎̘͚͍̤͈̭͙̝̼͈̳̪̐̀͐̈́̈́̇͌͗̊̍̃̉̈́͆̓͜͝͠͠͠ ̸̛̛̟̖͓̖̰͇̬͖̇͊̀̔̿̌̓̇͌͂̐̑͌͂͒̀͆̀͝ď̷̡̠̦̳̱̫͖̻̼̟̼̠̳̙̟̬̗̤͗̐͐͛̕͠ͅȉ̵̡̗̟̉̔͋́̍͛̓͆̂̀̉̋d̷̨̢̛͕̱̥̞̖͎̭͙̟͇̗̹̽̂̒̏̈́̇̌̋͋̅̓̒͗̋͒̏̃̄̕̕͘͝ ̴̠̼̳̫̲͚͎̣̦̤̀͌͂̈͆͋͛͘̚͘͝y̵̡̖͖̮̞̰̪̥͎̰̏̎̀̊̿͊́͠͠ơ̴̞͎̞̭̲̱̪̲͖͖̗̭̰̳̥̐̓̀̑̔̒̇́̆̿͒̀̉̌̊͐̕̚͝ͅứ̷̡̡̫̪̪̺͔̜̼̠̝͓̦̥̺͓̗̘̦̭̫̗̥̈́̃̆̀̉̿̆̃̀̅̕ ̴̢̟̖̩̺̰̰̝̯̞͓͉̮̖̼̻̂̔͋͑̓̊̅̿̓̃̋͘̕͠͝g̶̛̬̯̳̙̜̹̞̱̠̺̯͎̙͉̰̝͖̲̥͔̤͚̘͚̏̐̂̉̑̈́̆͊̑̆͘͜ử̴̡̧̡̺̜̭̭͇͎͇̦̖̱͙̳̠̜̲̮͉̞̝̆̐͌͌͐̐̀̎̾̌͜͝ͅͅy̵̡̨̻̞͉̲̖̠̣̮͕͋͘͘ͅś̵̛̛̛̞̪̥͆̊͂̀̕͝͠ ̵͍̗̹̗̙̯̣͒̈̊̾̈́͗t̵̡̡̡̬̤̼̠͓̦̳̹͉̝̖͉̣͐͑̄̿͐̄̓̈̃͑̅̌̔̀͑̽̚͘͜͝͝͝ͅȧ̵̢͕̘͓̫͇̰͎̞͔̖͚͓̘͚̖̯̝̞͍̦̱͎̹͓̆̍̌̀͑̊̿̇̾̃͜l̸̡̨̢̝̣̪͔̱̘͉̫̭͈̺̠̜͔͈̞͉̤̍͂̃̚k̴̨̛̫̭͎̹͎̋̐̇͌́̎̐̍̏̈́͛͘͘͜͝͝ ̸̨̧̧͈̠̭͉͎̞̳̜̙̖͕̤̳͙̃̆̑͂̒͋̕͜͜͜͜a̵̟͊b̷̧̧̢̧̧̘̰͕̝̙̲̭̩̣͎͇̭̮͈̒̉̈͗̾̀͐̆̐͗̽̓̇͒̐̎̀͊̕͘͜o̵̻̮̙̦̘͕̻̝̟͍̳̻͐͋̀̂̏̓͌̓ͅủ̶̢̨̢̲͔̖̝̦͇̣͎̰̱͕̜͕͕̲̃̾͑̀͌ͅͅt̵̢̧̢̖̰̹̭̖̜̱͍̩̩̍̒̈̾̓͑́̿̈́̊͑̍̍̿̒́?"

"I can't touch her! It's like she's not real!" Glimmer cried as she tried to grab Catra only for her to slide back from her.

Adora looked around the castle as cracks in the very air itself appeared. She quickly raised her sword, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

As soon as She Ra was present, she saw it. The pulse of magic hovering in the air, flowing through Catra. She noticed the energy almost seemed to hiss at the door. Suddenly the door crashed open to reveal Shadow Weaver. She quickly drew a circle in the air before sending it out into the room.

Adora watched as all of the magic that was assaulting the area recoiled away from Catra.


Catra looked at herself. As far as she could tell, there was no glow. "No, I don't see any glow. What are you guys talking–" Catra looked at Adora. "When did you transform into She Ra?"

They all looked at one another. Shadow Weaver quickly drew a circle in the air before sending it into the castle wall. When nothing happened they all let out a sigh of relief.

"Anyone wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Adora gave a small nod, "It looks like we stabilized it."

"Hello, Etheria to Adora? Anyone gonna answer me?"

"Guys, her hair is purple." Glimmer said in a shocked voice.

"Yeah, so what? My hair's always purple." Catra said. "Are you guys alright? You're kinda freaking me out."

"Catra, what were we just talking about?" Adora asked in a serious tone.

Catra eyed her girlfriend for a moment before answering in a cautious tone. "That Marleena might be lying to us. . . and that you and I might not be from Etheria." Catra looked at Glimmer, "Did I mess with time? Is my hair not supposed to be purple?"

"Catra, your hair is brown." Angella said.

Adora looked at Catra's face as it turned pale. Suddenly she looked around, "Where's Entrapta?"

"Who?" Catra asked.

"Entrapta! She just showed us a video?" Glimmer said, panicking.

"But. . .Bow showed us that video. Who's Entrapta?" Catra looked increasingly worried.

Shadow Weaver looked at everyone. "Is Catra still glowing to anyone else?"

Everyone said no before Adora answered, "Yes. She's still glowing."

Shadow Weaver nodded, "Good. Now listen to me very carefully Adora. Do not transform back. Remain as She Ra. As for you Catra, I need you to–"

Shadow Weaver was interrupted by Catra's trackerpad ringing. Catra pulled it out to see Mara's face. Adora looked at Catra, "I thought that the technology wouldn't be done for a few days."

Catra looked back at the pad before answering, "Mara? How are you calling us?"

"Catra! Thank Sharella you answered. I'm riding a signal in between our swords. Zed and Light Hope set it up. Listen, it's absolute chaos here right now. We– What happened to your hair?" Mara asked.

Adora peered over Catra's shoulder. "It wasn't purple for you?"

"No, It's supposed to be brown." Mara said somewhat suspiciously. "What happened?"

"Catra started rewinding at an accelerated rate. We couldn't touch her in any shape or form. She wasn't responding at all. Shadow Weaver and I were able to stop it, but now Catra's hair is purple and one of our friends is missing."

"Guys? Dryll is gone." Bow said from the side.

"What do you mean gone?" Glimmer asked.

"I mean gone. No signals, no images, any information I had on Entrapta or Dryll is gone. Like it doesn't exist." Bow said in terror.

"Fuck," Mara muttered, "Listen! Catra, you need to switch to me now. Somebody abducted you from the castle."

"What!" Angella gasped.

"We're all over the place. But something isn't adding up. You're kidnapped, something's messing with your time, and now Queen Marlena's awake."

Shadow Weaver chuckled harshly. "Yes, why not have the most suspicious person wake up at the same time."

"What do you mean by 'suspicious?'" Mara asked.

"Marleena lied to us." Catra answered. "The soul shards don't contain souls. They're pieces of a runestone. My runestone. That's where my time magic comes from."

"It's also the only reason we're safe right now." Shadow Weaver said, stepping into view to get a good look at Mara.

Mara was quiet as she stared at Shadow Weaver before narrowing her eyes. "Give me a second." She pushed a few buttons before Light Hope appeared on screen. "Hope, pull up Queen C'yra's runestone."

Light Hope's eyes glowed before looking apologetic. "I'm sorry Mara, but I'm not permitted to give you access to that information. This is restricted."

"What? What do you mean? By who?" Mara asked incredulously.

"By Queen Marleena." Light Hope answered.

Mara looked shocked before Adora asked a question, "Light Hope, when was this information deemed classified? Can you answer that?"

Light Hope nodded, "Three years ago."

Adora nodded, "And when was Marleena put into a coma?"

"Approximately eight months after."

"Does Queen C'yra have access to her runestone anymore?" Adora asked.

Light Hope looked like she was struggling to answer this question before shaking her head, "No. It became. . . inoperative. For classified reasons."

"Light Hope was it? Can you pull up an image of Queen C'yra?" Shadow Weaver asked.

"One moment," Light Hope said before an image appeared on the screen.

For a moment Catra thought she was looking in a mirror. Coupled with her now purple hair and her one golden eye that matched hers, Catra was a bit shocked to say the least.

Angella looked at Catra and Adora's faces before walking around them to look over her shoulders only to see the striking similarities.

"Light Hope, set our course for Primus." Mara said before looking back at Catra. "I'm getting a pretty clear picture here but I'm hoping I'm wrong."

Catra looked down at her hands as she felt that familiar rush of magic, "Adora. I think I'm–" Immediately Catra legs buckled under her as Adora instantly reached out and caught her.

"Did. . .did she just switch?" Mara asked.

I think so." Angella said as she picked up the trackerpad. "Thank you for calling us Mara. Keep us posted on any updates that may arise."

Mara nodded. "Can do."

The screen went black as Adora started towards their bedroom. Adora stopped mid stride as she saw a crack appear in the air before Entrapta was back.

"Wow! Did I just get erased?" Entrapta asked excitedly.

"Entrapta!" Glimmer rushed over, enveloping the woman into a hug. "We thought you were gone."

Bow quickly looked at his trackerpad before breathing a sigh of relief, "Dryll is back."

Entrapta patted Glimmer's head with her hair. "There there, but in other news, I've isolated the cause of the pulses."

"You have? That's great! What is it?" Bow asked.

"Surprisingly, there are two sources. The first one was obviously Catra and the second one is Adora."

"Me? How?"

"I don't know. Isn't that great? But once I figure it out, I should be able to neutralize them." Entrapta said with a tone and smile that seemed a little manic.

"Adora, look." Angella said, pointing to Catra.

Adora looked at Catra as she noticed her hair. It was like a wave of blue energy as it slowly crawled across her body, returning Catra's hair to it's normal color of brown.


Catra's eyes snapped open as her claws unsheathed. She went to stand before finding that she was unable to move her arms or legs. Catra looked around the room only to find herself alone.

"Shit. Okay, okay, think Catra." she said to herself trying not to panic.

"C'yra." A woman said from behind her.

Catra strained her neck to look at the owner of the voice, only to find it somewhat difficult. "What?"

The woman walked into view. It was none other than Queen C'yra herself. "Your name? It's supposed to be C'yra, not Catra."

Catra eyed her. She really did look just like this woman. "Queen C'yra?"

She chuckled, "Yes, that's me. I suppose you have questions?"

"That's putting it lightly." Catra twisted her arms uncomfortably. "Can you let me out?"

"Can you put your claws away?" She countered.

Catra realized that she probably looked highly aggressive and did as the woman requested. "Are we good?"

C'yra nodded before stepping forward and undoing the straps. "I'm sorry I had to do that. I couldn't take the risk that you wouldn't swing at the first person you saw."

Catra shrugged as she rubbed her wrists and ankles. "It's fine. So, do you wanna explain why you kidnapped me?"

C'yra studied Catra silently. She looked quite sad from what Catra could see. Catra decided to ask a different question, "Why'd you say my name was C'yra?"

"It's what I was going to name you."

Catra looked baffled at her words. "What do you mean?"

"I suppose this is all quite confusing." C'yra said as she started towards the door. She stopped and turned back towards her, "Are you coming?"

Catra quickly got to her feet and went after her, falling in stride. As they walked down the hall, Catra took note of the architecture. She was seeing a lot of archways and marble pillars. If she was being honest, it looked more rugged in a royal aesthetic. It was definitely different from Brightmoon. She was also getting an eerie feeling of deja vu, "So do you want to explain what you meant by that?"

C'yra looked solemn as she continued forward. She didn't give any notion as to where they were going but replied softly, "I'll explain shortly."

Catra threw her hands up in exasperation as she walked with the woman. As they came to a hallway, she noticed other people were walking the halls. All of them looked like her in the sense that they all had feline features. "Am. . .am I on Primus? Is this Halfmoon?"

For the first time, C'yra smiled. "It is indeed. Do you. . .recognize it by chance?" She asked cautiously.

"It. . .feels familiar. I can't explain it." Catra said.

By this point people were staring at her as they parted and kneeled for the queen. It was a little irritating that she couldn't hear any whispers. These people were dead quiet.

"You know that eavesdropping is considered rude, right?" C'yra said, her brow raised.

Catra shifted a bit. "I wasn't eavesdropping."

"No, but you were trying."

"How can you tell?"

"Your ears twitch when you're listening intently. We all do it." C'yra continued, "but you're in my presence so they will not whisper around me. It's considered socially unacceptable to whisper in my presence."

"Why?"

"I'm sure there's a reason for it but that is how it's always been. Ever since my great great grandmother's time." She explained. As they walked into a room with a large stone table and several seats Catra couldn't help but wonder if this was the war room. C'yra turned towards a guard, "See to it that we aren't disturbed."

"Of course, your majesty. We also have reports that She Ra has just landed. She will be here very shortly."

"Mara's here?" Catra asked.

C'yra looked at Catra for a moment, "Send her here when she arrives. I want to speak to her as well."

"As you command." The guard replied before stepping out of the room and closing the door.

"There we are. Now we can talk." C'yra said

Catra eyed the woman, a thousand questions on her mind. ". . .Why do I have time powers?"

"Ah, so that's the one you want to start with, huh? Alright. It's a complicated answer though." Catra nodded. "You have these abilities because you are my daughter. Or rather are supposed to be my daughter."

"So I'm like a princess then?" Catra asked. 'Guess Glimmer was right.' she thought to herself

"So you were raised on Etheria then?" C'yra asked.

"How'd you know?" Catra asked.'

"The term Princess, meaning an individual with a powerful bloodline or connection to an external source of power, is exclusive to Etheria. There are other names for them such as conduit, the chosen, elementals, etc. The list goes on, but Etheria's is 'Princess.'"

Catra was genuinely surprised to learn that. "Oh. Well, yeah, I'm from Etheria."

C'yra smiled, "That's good. I couldn't think of a kinder place to grow up."

Catra looked at her before asking another question, "You said I'm supposed to be your daughter. How?"

"That is also complicated. I suppose–" C'yra was cut off by a knock.

"Queen C'yra, She Ra is here."

"Send her in."

The guard nodded as he closed the door. Catra's ears twitched and she could hear Mara outside the door. After a few seconds the door opened to Mara and the guard. C'yra nodded at the girl, "Mara."

"Queen C'yra." Mara said a bit tensely. Catra didn't fail to notice the hint of hostility in her voice as Mara bowed. C'yra noticed it as well but said nothing. "Can you explain to me why you snuck into Eternos and kidnapped my friend?"

"I can. Please sit." C'yra said. Catra looked at the woman who claimed to be her mother. She seemed tired above all else.

Mara sat beside Catra, "Are you alright? Your friends were worried when you suddenly switched."

Catra nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. C'yra's explaining some things."

Mara looked towards the Magicat Queen. "Explaining what?"

C'yra let out a tired sigh. "C'yra–" She quickly corrected herself, "Catra, I imagine the last month has been rather hectic for you? Rewinding time, losing memories, discovering a disposition towards magic, stopping a war. You've been quite busy."

"How do you–" Catra asked before she interrupted her.

"Because I've seen this all once before. Or pieces of it anyways. I suppose we should start with the obvious. Catra, you aren't from Etheria. You aren't even from your own time. As a result of our runestone being tampered with, you were displaced." C'yra explained.

Mara looked confused, "What? I thought the Magicats didn't know magic."

C'yra nods, "That brings us to the next part. "Mara, your mother and Marleena manipulated time in such a fashion that time itself has been fractured. For lack of better words, they broke time. Well, Marleena did at least."

"How?" Catra asked.

C'yra sighed before calling for somebody. "Percival, can you get us some drinks please? Do either of you want anything?"

"Can I get some water?" Catra asked.

Percival nodded at Catra before leaving, "Of course, Your Highness."

Catra raised an eyebrow, "Why'd he call me that?"

"Percival is my brother. As such, he shares the same blood lineage as me and is privy to the unique abilities of our royal line. We were both born under a Midnight Moon." C'yra explained.

"I think I've heard of this. It means you have visions right?" Mara asked.

C'yra nodded, "Among other things. It allows me to see the flaws of choices I may make in the future and know what certain outcomes could happen. Percival has seen glimpses of you before. It also allows me to see when time has been altered. Like the last two days for example."

"Altered how?" Catra asked.

"A pulse washed over the universe, affecting quite a few things. It was almost unnoticeable." C'yra explained.

"Why would that matter?" Mara asked.

"Catra, your birth was unique. Unique in the fact that not only has it not happened when it should have many years ago, you also were born under a Celestial Moon."

"What do the moon cycles mean?" Catra asked.

"There are four moons that occur naturally and then there's the moon you were born under. The Blood Moon is marked as a powerful birth for a prince or princess. It grants them a unique control over gravity and allows them to teleport. The Midnight Moon is as we just discussed. Then there is the Ashen Moon. One could argue that it is our strongest ability. It allows us to rewind time a couple of minutes back. A redo if you will. I imagine you've experimented with this particular ability?"

"A few times, yeah." Catra nodded. "It wasn't. . .fun, to say the least."

"I imagine not doing it the way that you did. And the fourth moon is the Ageless Moon. My great great grandmother was born under this moon and ruled as our reigning monarch for several hundred years, as this moon grants immortality. Hence the name, ageless."

"But what is a celestial moon?" Mara asked, "I imagine it's pretty important."

"Yes, it is. Our people declared that invoking a celestial moon upon the King or Queen's birth is forbidden. All shall follow this law as the consequences of such a thing can be dire. Catra, you were initially planned to be born under the Ashen Moon as is our cycle. But Marleena and your mother ruined that."

"My mother would never attack your people. In fact, she can barely get on a spaceship without having a panic attack." Mara said accusingly. "So what exactly are you implying?"

C'yra smiled. "You're right Mara. I know Evelyn and she wouldn't have willingly done it. But Marleena did."

"Did what? I'm still confused." Catra asked.

"Five years before you were born, two women were saved by the Eternian fleet. Their names were Evelyn Morgan and Marleena Glenn. Their mission was to find a suitable exo planet and report their findings back to their homeworld Earth. The planet's ecosystems had been picked clean and were on the verge of mass extinction. To get here, one of Earth's brightest minds, Eric Lawrence, developed a ship that would allow them to utilize a warp drive to cross their galaxy. It failed, to say the least.

They fell through a wormhole that had closed behind them. For several weeks they drifted through space until they had exhausted their rations. They were found by King Randor's brother, Fleet Admiral Keldor and General Sunder. For the next three months they were nursed back to health." C'yra explained as Percival came into the room with the drinks.

"Thank you," Catra replied as she took the water from the man.

C'yra swirled her drink before taking a drink. Catra wasn't sure what it was but it looked orange and had what appeared to be a stick of cinnamon in it. C'yra looked at Catra and smiled, "It's quite good. Would you like some?"

Catra went to respond before Mara nudged her. "Maybe later. I think I should keep a clear head."

C'yra smiled before finishing the drink, "All the same. Now by the time that they had recovered, Evelyn had found that she quite enjoyed Loric's company. She had also fallen in love with magic. Humans, from what I've been told, have quite the fascination with it as it was thought to be nothing more than children's stories. But Marleena was driven and had no time to enjoy the scenery. So she went before King Randor and begged his assistance on helping Earth. The King would have helped her even had she not asked. Randor is a kind man in that regard. It also helped her case that he was completely smitten with the woman. But see, the problem with wormholes and warp drives is that once you're in one, there's no telling how much time has passed outside of it.

"The Eternian fleet arrived to Earth's solar system within weeks. Unfortunately, by that time, it was too late. They searched for months, scouring every inch of Earth, looking for any sign of human life to no avail. So they returned and life went on. Evelyn devoted herself to her magic studies to help forget the pain of losing her people and married General Loric Sunder and became the Eternian High Mage. She found happiness again." C'yra smiled. "And then Mara was born and life got better." And then her smile was gone, "And then Marleena had a child with King Randor."

"What?" Mara asked instantly.

"Can I finish?" C'yra deadpanned.

"Sorry." Mara replied before sitting back.

"Right, well, like I said, Marleena had a daughter and it should have been good but Marleena couldn't let go. She looked for any possible way to bring back her people. Eventually, she stumbled upon us. The magicats. She found out about our runestone and told Evelyn. Together they worked on cracking the code to the temporal dimension and unlocking the secrets of time travel. Well they were missing a piece and it was pretty obvious what it was. They needed a catalyst and I, feeling sorry for her, offered her my aid. I was fairly close to my due date with you and couldn't really offer much help. So I helped her with her tests and she came to the conclusion that without a suitable mage to control the power that it was useless. So, upon learning this," C'yra's tone turned sorrowful, "She devised a plan. She sent Evelyn back to Eternia and remained here on Primus."

"She manipulated my birth." Catra said in a soft tone.

"She did more than that. She broke the runestone and destroyed the timeline. Events that weren't supposed to happen for another ten years happened within weeks, events that did happen hadn't come to pass yet. Your birth–," C'yra choked back a sob, "Well, I don't think I need to say anything about that."

"Do . . .you need a minute?" Catra asked.

C'yra held a hand up, "I'm fine. Marleena's actions destroyed things. I don't think the gravity of what she had done had set in until she realized that she had undone her own daughter's birth."

"What? How?" Catra asked.

"Your and hers lives were connected. Without one of you, the other was simply not to be." C'yra explained, wiping her eyes.

Mara furrowed her brow, "Catra's birth was that important?"

"Catra was, or rather is, the future Queen consort of Eternia, so do with that what you will. Like it matters anymore. Adora was never born and instead of her being She Ra, it fell to the only other union of a human and an eternian. Imagine my surprise when–"

"What did you just say?" Catra asked, stunned.

"Yes, I know. Queen of Eternia sounds nice and all but–"

"Not that. I don't give a shit about that. What about Adora?" Catra asked, standing.

C'yra looked at Catra confused before a look of dawning crossed her face. "Adora was still born?"

"My girlfriend is most certainly alive and is She Ra so start explaining what you meant by all that." Catra said with an angry tone.

Mara put a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down Catra. Maybe there's a mistake."

C'yra stood up as she searched Catra's face, ". . .I thought you said you grew up on Etheria?"

"Yeah, like a thousand years in the future! I touched some stupid shard and suddenly I was time traveling and seeing Marleena in my head." Catra threw her hands up. "I thought you said that you had seen all this before?"

"That's not how the visions work!" C'yra said frantically before rushing out the door in a panic, "Percival! With me! Tao, don't let the–" She was cut off mid sentence as a familiar field of distortion froze her in place before the same shield that Catra had used wrapped itself around her body, allowing her to dispel it.

Catra and Mara quickly stepped out of the room, taking in the sight of rifts appearing all over the cavern walls. "What's happening! Why are the rifts back!"

C'yra turned back towards Catra, "Where is Adora?"

"She's still in the future. Only I've been shifting. What's going on!" Catra asked before a deafening screech filled the castle. She felt her stomach drop as the shadowy eye monsters crawled out of the rifts.

Mara went to raise her sword before C'yra grabbed her arm. "No! Listen to me, both of you! Catra's timeline is too destabilized and It's collapsing on top of ours. Adora is a temporal foundation. Bring her back and it should stabilize it."

"What'll that do to my timeline? Or Mara?" Catra asked.

"I. . .I don't know." C'yra answered solemnly. "We have rules regarding a Celestial Moon for reasons. Marleena broke those rules and now. . . now I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

As the monsters drew nearer, C'yra raised her hand before sending out a wave of distortion, sending the creatures recoiling.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to Mara's ship!" Catra yelled over the monster's screams.

Mara was quiet before she got an idea, "Rewind, Catra."

"What?"

"For the Honor of Grayskull!" Mara yelled out as she raised her sword before transforming into She Ra. She turned towards Catra, "Absorb some of my magic and rewind us ten hours. That should be right when we were both in my room."

Catra nodded before grasping Mara's hands and focusing. Catra hadn't even taken a sliver before she let go of Mara's hands, her eyes glowing with power. She fell to a knee, "There's so much." Catra felt almost crushed by the power in her body. She looked up at the approaching monsters as they got closer and closer.

Catra gritted her teeth and quickly grabbed Mara's arm.


Catra sat up with a gasp as she immediately dissipated the feeling in her body. She looked around at herself, checking where she was, only to find that she was back in Mara's room. She still could feel a lot of power in her body from absorbing She Ra's magic. She noticed the room was quite dark and realized that it was well into the night.

'Huh, guess I overshot by a couple of hours.' Catra thought to herself. She noticed Mara slowly sit up and look at her. As she went to say something, Catra heard voices outside the room. Mara looked at the door and along with Catra they quietly made their way to the door. Mara's eyes widened as she recognized Randor and. . .Marleena? They quickly followed them through the halls until they reached the throne room, remaining hidden. Marleena seemed to have woken up the prior day.

"My love, you just woke up. It's not been more than a day. Is there no other way? Maybe we could just talk to Catra? She'd understand. I'm sure of it." Randor pleaded.

"I'm sorry but she won't. I've. . .I've done too much damage. The timeline is already deteriorating." Marleena said sorrowfully.

'No doubt the cause of the pulse at the festival,' Catra thought to herself.

"What'll happen to them? Will her friends be okay? Will. . . Will Adora?" Randor asked with a heavy tone.

Marleena let out a shaky breath, "Once Adora's transferred to us I'll be able to undo what I did to Catra."

"This is a lot to process my love."

"I know. And I know it hasn't been an easy three years. But this will fix it. It'll be like it never happened. Time will right itself and Catra and Adora's births will happen when they were intended to. As for her friends, they'll all be born, I've made sure of that. Their lives should play out the exact same way up until when they were supposed to meet Adora and Catra. Randor," Marleena turned to look her husband in the eyes, caressing his cheek, "Catra wasn't supposed to go to Etheria. She lived a life of abuse and cruelty with her only source of happiness being Adora. What kind of life is that?"

"It's a life, Marleena. It may not have been glorious or kind but Catra came out stronger for it. She made friends, she met Adora, and even now seeks to help us end a war that's not hers." He squeezed her hand lovingly, "How could I look my daughter in the eyes after erasing her history?"

A tear streamed down Marlena's face, "This is the only way. I can sense the fractures even now. It's not just theirs but ours as well. How long until all of time is destroyed. Me being in the temporal dimension was the only foundational pillar left. The fact that I stepped into the future to retrieve as many shards as I did only made it worse. I don't think there's even a week left."

"If we go through with this, what will happen to Mara? To Evelyn? To Keldor and Stratos? Will they be okay? Will we even remember this?" Randor asked.

"If it all goes right? Our memories should gradually fade away around Catra's eighteenth birthday. That will allow Catra enough time to train her powers, rewind Earth and all damage to right itself. As for Mara, the power of She Ra will be transferred to Adora as it was initially intended. Mara was never supposed to receive the Sword of Protection. Her destiny was linked to He-Ro and the Sword of Power. Everyone will be safe."

Catra looked at Mara who was shocked upon hearing this. They looked back towards the pair as they soaked in this new information.

Randor turned away, "As long as everyone is safe. . ." He let out a deep breath, "How do we do this?"

"No." Mara whispered.

Marleena went to reach into her bag. "Once we have Catra in the main room, I'll display the Magicats runestone before her and it should take its original form."

The Temporal Obelisk?" Randor asked.

Marleena nodded, "Once reformed we'll need to be ready. It'll begin making drastic changes to the timestream, resealing the cracks and repairing the damage I caused."

"What'll happen to Catra?"

"She'll become immobilized. It won't hurt, it'll just feel like a lot of pressure around her. The Obelisk has been slowly forming a connection with Catra for the last month. Once she's in front of it her reflection will vanish from the future and Adora should soon follow. Once Adora's pulled here, her status as a foundational pillar will crumble and. . .and their initial timeline will crumble."

"And then?" Randor asked quietly.

"The obelisk will be complete and Catra's status as a Celestial Moonborn will reinstate itself. The missing shards will reform through her power and then, nothing. The fissures in time will be fixed and everything will return as time intended it. After Earth is repaired, no more time travel. I promise. I should never have done it in the first place."

Randor hugged his wife before pulling back. "How do you want to go about this?"

"You'll need to do it. Catra trusts you and Mara will vouch for you as well. You've been nothing but honest with her, while I on the other hand. . . She has already started to distrust me. Her friend Angella has begun to suspect I'm lying. She's a good woman for watching out for them."

"How do you know that she suspects anything?" Randor asked.

"I saw her discussing them earlier in the. . .day." Marleena went quiet.

"What is it?" Randor asked, suddenly on guard.

"It's the middle of the night."

"So?" Randor furrowed his brow.

"So, Our timeline's Eternia runs on the same sun cycle as Catra's Etheria."

"I'm still not following Marleena."

Catra pulled Mara further back into the shadows as Marleena turned, scanning the halls, "I just returned a few hours ago and it wasn't even sunset yet."

"How do you know? Wouldn't we have noticed?" Randor asked.

". . . Time is distorting. Catra rewound." Marleena muttered before casting a spell, causing Catra and Mara to light up.

"Time to go!" Mara said with urgency.

"Way ahead of you!" Catra yelled as they turned to run before Catra found herself unable to move. "What the hell?" Catra uttered as she tried to put up her temporal shield to no success.

"Guards! Apprehend Mara! Do not let her leave!" Marleena commanded.

As guards flooded the throne room, Mara raised her sword, "For the honor of–" Mara was cut off by a fist striking her in the back of her head, knocking her out cold. Catra strained to look at the attacker only to find Keldor and Stratos.

"Keldor! What happened to you?" Randor asked, running up to him.

It was then that Catra realized why he seemed so familiar the first time that she had met him. As he stepped into full view, she saw that Keldor had been changed. His skin around his jaw had turned from blue to dark gray with splotches of pure white along his arms and face. His once black hair had splotches of white as well and his golden eyes were now red. "Hordak?" She uttered.

Keldor looked at her, "Catra, my apologies it's come to this." he said before looking at his brother, holding up what looked to be a pile of black goo with green dots. "Behold," Keldor said with a mocking and disgusted tone, "Horde Prime, or what's left of it, was nothing more than a parasitic bug. It attempted to seize control of my body, altering it in the process before Stratos killed it. As if it thought it could be equal to me. Become me? Pitiful."

"But are you alright?" Randor asked with concern.

Keldor waved his brother off, "I'll live. Stratos assures me that a little gene therapy should fix it."

Catra could only listen in horror, for she could only hear Hordak when he spoke. "Stop this. Please!"

"I'm sorry for lying to you Catra, and for manipulating your memories in the way I did. I knew you wouldn't do it if I hadn't. But this is for the best." Marleena apologized. "Now, I suppose this is as good a time as any." Marleena said as she pulled out the orb. Catra noticed one thing as it started to form the obelisk shape. A shard was missing. Not a very big shard, but big enough that she recognized it as the piece that Shadow Weaver wore on her mask. She looked down at Mara as she lay beside her, unconscious.

Catra took a deep breath, resigning herself to what was about to happen. Utilizing the power that she had absorbed from She Ra, she unleashed a wave of distortion that encompassed the whole room, freezing everyone. She was brimming with power as she quickly made her way towards Mara. She noticed that the Obelisk remained unaffected and seemed to be speeding up the minute of frozen time. She could feel the pressure increasing around her by the seconds. With Mara barely conscious, there was no other option. She knew it was a long shot but she had transferred clothes with her as well as one of the shards before when shifting, so she tried the only thing she could with the remaining time she had. She poured all of her magic into Mara and thought about Adora. She felt the familiar sensation of shifting as it flowed through her before she opened her eyes. Mara was gone. And so was her energy. And like that, Catra felt herself being dragged into the air, hovering in front of the Obelisk as an inescapable pressure as time resumed.

"Where's Mara! She's gone!" Stratos shouted.

"It doesn't matter!" Marleena said. "It's too late to stop it now."

"What's happening!" Keldor exclaimed.

"It's repairing the fractured timelines." Randor answered.

As Catra looked at the Obelisk as it grew the same size as the Moon Stone and realized something. The outline was identical to the portal she had stepped through. She could see her reflection in the smooth blue stone and watched in horror as it flowed out of the stone and into her body.


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And that concludes chapter 13. I can confidently say that either the next chapter or the next two chapters will mark the end of this fic. Beyond that, as always, let me know your thoughts. I always read them. Enjoy.