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Chapter Text

Lykosia, Etheria, moondate 36467.1:

Catarrah loved going to Unbounding ceremonies. 

They didn’t happen very often, usually once or twice a year. But when they did, it was always a time for celebration. The entire village of Fenris (located within the Etherian kingdom of Lykosia) would organize a party right in the middle of the village square, there was a parade after the main ceremony, school was cancelled… it was a happy day for every wolf, especially for the Unbound Ones.

Being an Unbound One meant occupying a very special place in Lykosian society. Free from the shackles of one’s birth, they were allowed to choose a new name and new pronouns, and they would be given a necklace, with pink, blue, and white beads dangling from a chain. They were treated with respect usually afforded to the royal family, and it was not uncommon for an Unbound to one day be elected monarch.

Whenever she would attend an Unbounding ceremony with her moms, Catarrah would think: “I wish I could be like them…” While just about every wolf thought that way, for her, she really meant it. Most of her friends were girls, the only boys she knew were the ones she went to school with. But she still didn’t voice her thoughts aloud.

While Unbounds were loved and respected by the majority of Lykosians, it wasn’t always true. Every once in a while, an Unbound would be rejected by their birth parents, and if that happened, the parents were cast out of the village, and their young would be adopted by the Elder Unbound.

Catarrah loved her parents, and she didn’t want them to be sent away like she’d heard had happened in other villages. “But then,” she thought, “if they didn’t like Unbounds, we’d never go to the ceremonies!” This calmed her. And so, one warm summer day, she made her decision: she would tell her parents that she was an Unbound.

This excited her so much that she ran as fast as she could back toward the little cottage she called home, leaving the playing field behind. 

Catarrah was a young wolf, little more than a pup. She had grey fur with cream colored markings, warm brown eyes, and curly brown hair that fell to her shoulders that bounced when she ran. She bounded through the front door of the cottage, much to the surprise of her mothers.

“Well, well, well! What’s gotten into you, pup?” Ace asked, looking up from her work. She was an engineer, and was always working on projects for the current royal family. She had blonde fur with streaks of brown in it, and bright green eyes.

“I… I…” Catarrah froze. This was her moment, she couldn’t get cold paws now! She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, like Mama Mags had taught her to do. Once she was calm, she reopened her eyes and said, “I’m an Unbound, Mama! I wanna be a girl when I grow up!”

Ace yipped and hugged her daughter tight, licking her nose fondly. “That’s wonderful news, pup! I’d always hoped we’d have an Unbound One in the family!” She cupped a paw to her muzzle and called, “Mags! We have a daughter now!”

Mags peeked her head out from her music room, looking surprised. “We do?! That’s amazing news! I’ll let the mayor know, and we can start planning the ceremony immediately!” She came out and joined in the hug, nuzzling both Ace and Catarrah. “An Unbound in our family… what a wonderful day!”

"I only wonder what took her so long to tell us!" Ace said, letting Catarrah down. "What's the reason?"

Catarrah shrugged a little and said, "I was nervous that you wouldn't accept me, and you'd be sent away and then I'd be adopted and I love you too much!"

"Awwww, dear heart..." Mags nuzzled Catarrah gently and held her, stroking her between the ears. "We'd never leave you behind. When you were born, Ace and I promised to love you unconditionally."

Ace nodded. "It's just like the old saying, 'No packmate left behind.'"

"Exactly!" Mags smiled. "Do you know what name you want?"

Catarrah shook her head. "I haven't even thought about it!"

Mags hummed, and gave her tail a few thoughtful flicks. "Why not... Catarrah? Our word for resilience?"

The aforementioned wolf smiled and nodded, her own tail wagging furiously. "Yes yes yes yes!"

Ace grinned, "Then you are Catarrah, daughter of Lykosia! Or you will be once the ceremony happens!”

“I’ll go out to the mayor’s office and get to work on the preparations,” said Mags, already preparing to leave. “I’ll be back in a few hours!” She left, leaving Ace and Catarrah to their own devices.

Lykosia was one of the oldest kingdoms in Etheria, having formed shortly after the planet was moved to Despondos. What began a small tribe of a dozen or so wolves soon blossomed into a village. They were led by Garoux, the very first of the Unbound Ones. She carried a connection to Etheria’s magic that non-Unbound did not have, making her the most powerful of her species. In the vacuum formed by the breaking of the She-Ra line, Garoux took on the role of protector, for her own kind as well as the rest of Etheria.

Time passed. Garoux grew old, and she could not fight as well as she once had. Sensing the end of her life was near, she searched the village for another Unbound, and found one: a strong male known as Remus. In the small, solemn ceremony that followed, Garoux asked three questions: “Will you serve your kingdom with honor? Will you protect your own people, as well as Etheria? Will you, when the time is right, pass on your role to another?” Remus agreed, and so began the sacred tradition of the Unbound. 

At first, there was but one in every generation, but as decades and centuries passed, the count multiplied. After a hundred years, it was decided that the eldest of all Unbound would become the protector, while the others would act only when called upon to assist.

When the Princess Alliance first formed, the role of the Unbound Ones changed. With the rest of Etheria safe, they could focus on protecting their own kind, and the centuries of culture and tradition that had grown with them. The Elder Unbounds became wise, knowledgable souls, and began assisting their fellow Lykosians in ways beyond combat. This was the world Catarrah was born into. Little did she know that she, through no fault of her own, would become the last daughter of Lykosia, and thus, the last of the Unbound Ones.

The next day, the entire village of Fenris turned out for Catarrah’s Unbounding ceremony. In one part of the square, cushions had been set up for everyone to sit on, and in front of all of them was a raised platform where Catarrah and the village’s Elder Unbound, Tírecam, would stand during the ceremony. Off to the side was a table filled with food and drink, which would be eaten after the parade.

One by one, the citizens of Fenris left their houses and sat on the cushions. When Catarrah and her family arrived, her moms went to sit down, while Catarrah herself turned to the stage. She didn’t move, suddenly afraid that everyone’s eyes would be on her.

Ace came up and nuzzled her cheek. “You can do this, pup,” she whispered. “I believe in you.”

“I can do this,” Catarrah echoed, taking a cautious step forward. “I can do this…” She kept it up, repeating it over and over in her mind as she walked until eventually she was on the stage and Tírecam was there, smiling at her.

Tírecam had snow white fur and blue eyes. She smiled at Catarrah and said, “Your mothers have told me you have already chosen your name, young one… will you say it aloud for all to hear?”

“Catarrah!” she squeaked, throwing her arms out wide. “My name is Catarrah! And I’m a girl!”

Tírecam nodded. “Then… young Catarrah of Fenris Village… Will you serve your kingdom with honor?”

“I will, Elder,” Catarrah answered promptly. 

“Will you protect your own people, as well as Etheria?” asked Tírecam. 

“Yes!” Catarrah squeaked.

There was a dramatic pause, and Tírecam asked her last question. “Will you, when the time is right, pass on your role to another?”

Catarrah couldn’t imagine when that day would come, but she nodded just the same. “I will.”

Nodding satisfactorily, Tírecam’s paws began to glow, and she placed them on Catarrah’s shoulders, looking into the sky. “Lunar Goddesses of Etheria, bless this young soul with her true self, and allow her the chance to live as all she really is.”

There was another brief pause, and then Catarrah began to change. She became a little taller, and a little slimmer, just as all Lykosian girls looked. A mark appeared on her hip, a crescent moon. This marked her as a female Unbound One. (The males had the same image but reversed.)

Tírecam placed a necklace with blue, pink, and white beads around her neck and smiled. “By the power vested in me as the Elder Unbound of Fenris Village, I do now pronounce you to be Catarrah Sicmet, Daughter of Lykosia.” Then, she turned to the crowd. “Let the festivities begin!”

The parade went all the way through the kingdom, it was an opportunity for all of Lykosia to meet their newest Unbound One. Catarrah, her parents, and Tírecam were at the front, while banner-carriers (holding the Lykosian and Unbound flags) followed behind. Crowds cheered and howled to the sky above, and Catarrah joined in, howling like only a wolf can.

After the parade came the party. A cake, decorated with pink and white icing, was cut to reveal chocolate beneath. There were also cookies, scones, muffins, and cupcakes, on top of delicious fizzy drinks and warm dinner foods like macaroni and cheese. It was a proper feast, and Catarrah ate as much as she could.

As the moons rose, a dark-blonde furred wolf with blue-grey eyes approached Catarrah. She smiled shyly. “Hi… I’m Celia,” she began. “I’m an Unbound too.” She turned slightly to one side and Catarrah could see the crescent moon on her hip. “I just moved here from Sanbourne… will you be my friend?”

Catarrah smiled. “Duh, of course! Nice to meet you, Celia!” She gave the other Unbound a hug, which made her blush. “Welcome to Fenris!”

“It’s nice to be welcome,” Celia replied, smiling back. “I’ve never lived in a village with so many other Unbound Ones before… Sanbourne didn’t have very many.”

“How come you moved?” Catarrah asked.

“My parents wanted me to be around others of our kind,” Celia replied. “I was the only Unbound in my old school, so during magic class I kinda sorta… blew up a few things?” She blushed some more.

Catarrah giggled. “I bet I might blow up a few things when the school year starts… we can do it together!”

“Yeah!” Celia grinned, her tail wagging furiously. “I like you Catarrah, I think we’re going to be great friends!”

Now it was Catarrah’s turn to blush. “Yeah, me too! Maybe we can play some more tomorrow? I think I can see my moms coming to take me home.”

Celia nodded. “Yeah, tomorrow! See you then!”

Catarrah waved, just Ace snuck up from behind her and picked her up, carrying Catarrah on her shoulders. “Come on, pup,” she said, grinning. “All the good little wolves have to go to bed sometime.”

Catarrah giggled. “Am I a good little wolf?” she asked.

“You’re the best little wolf in the whole world,” Mags added, smiling too. “And we’re both very proud of you.” With that, they headed home, an exciting and momentous day behind them.

A couple of months later, the seasons began to change. The days grew cooler, and the nights cold. Leaves began to change color from green to red, yellow, and orange. With the coming of autumn came the start of school, a time every pup in Lykosia dreaded. After all, it meant they couldn’t play outside all day, and instead had to spend their time inside learning!

“Catarrah, time to get up for school!” Mags called, knocking on the door of her daughter’s bedroom.

She was met with a loud groan. “Augh… Mama, I don’t wanna go to school!” Catarrah called out.

Mags laughed. “Sweetheart, you have to go! You won’t be able to see Celia otherwise, and Ace is making waffles!”

“Fine…” Catarrah got up and padded out of her room, following Mags down the hall to the kitchen.

“Morning, pup!” Ace said happily, pressing another batch of batter into the waffle iron. “Sleep well?”

Catarrah nodded. “Yeah! I still don’t really want to go to school though…”

“I know, I know,” Ace replied, nuzzling Catarrah’s cheek. “But you have to! You want to become a strong wolf, don’t you?”

Catarrah nodded. “Okay, I guess I’ll go.” She stuck out her tongue.

Mags chuckled and booped Catarrah’s nose, “Silly little pup. Go wash your paws, breakfast will be ready soon!”

“Okay!” Catarrah hugged her moms then ran off to clean herself up, her curls bouncing with every step she took.

As their daughter left, Mags turned to Ace. “That exchange student from Mystacor will be coming today, won’t he?”

Ace nodded. “Yeah… they should be arriving right now, in fact, him and his chaperone. They’ll be here for a year, learning about how other cultures use Etheria’s magic.”

“Been a while since a human’s walked in our kingdom,” Mags said, looking thoughtful. “I hope Catarrah likes him.”

“I bet she will,” Ace said, beginning to plate the waffles and drizzle them with syrup. “She’s always been good at making friends.” Then they heard the sound of their daughter’s paws scampering back to the kitchen, and quickly moved on to another topic.

In what seemed like no time at all, Catarrah walked through the doors of her school, still looking somewhat nervous. It was her first time back since her Unbounding ceremony, and she was nervous about how she might be received by the other students. The teacher was already there, he had messy black fur with white markings, and yellow eyes. His name was Magister.

Catarrah’s reverie was broken when suddenly, she was pounced on by a certain dark blonde pup! “Catarrah! I’m so glad to see you!” Celia exclaimed.

Catarrah yipped and nuzzled Celia’s cheek, smiling. “Good to see you too, Celia! Ready for school?”

Celia nodded. “You bet! I can’t wait to get started!” She got up and sat down on one of the cushions, inviting Catarrah to sit next to her. Catarrah did, and the two talked while the other students filed inside.

Lykosian schools were very simple. Since the villages were so small, there were only about a dozen or so pups in total, so everyone learned together in a single room. There were cushions on the floor for students to sit on, and a small kitchenette that could be used to prepare meals. Subjects taught included magic, history, mathematics, reading, physical education, (including the basics of hunting and self-defense) and the sciences.

Slowly but surely the rest of the class entered the building and sat down, talking quietly amongst themselves. Magister rose from the desk and cleared his throat.

“Good morning, class,” he began. “And welcome to the start of another school year. I am your instructor, Magister.” He cleated his throat and began to call the roll, and when everyone had said that they were, in fact, in the classroom, he rolled up his scroll and placed it back on the desk. 

“Before we begin today’s historical lecture,” Magister continued, “I have an announcement to make. Today we shall be joined by a human exchange student, the wizard Micah of Mystacor, and his chaperone Lady Light Spinner. They will arrive following our break for lunch.” 

This announcement was met by some curious mutterings and murmurings from the gathered pups. At least two young ones were heard to ask what a human even was!

“I sure hope they’re nice,” Celia said, from where she sat beside Catarrah.

“Me too,” Catarrah replied, nervously flicking her tail. She’d never met a human before, and wasn’t sure what to expect. Still, she put her worries aside for the moment, so as to focus on that day’s lesson. 

“Today, we will be learning about She-Ra, the legendary mythical hero of Etheria,” Magister said, once the class had calmed back down again. “Prior to Mara, the She-Ra line existed as an unbroken chain for well over a millennium. Much like our Elder Unbound Ones, the line was passed down across the generations, protecting every kingdom of Etheria from harm.”

“But it did not last. Nearly a thousand years ago, Mara became the last of the She-Ra, but she was not fit for duty. She went mad, moving Etheria from its former home to an empty void known as Despondos. The name is from Ancient Etherian, it means ‘to give up on a promise.’ With Mara’s betrayal, the She-Ra line was broken, and the Unbound Wolves of Lykosia took their place.” A pause, and then: “Does anyone have any questions?”

Catarrah raised her paw at once, she was the only one who did. “Do you think She-Ra could return one day?”

Magister blinked, his eyes widening in surprise. “That is not a question I’ve ever been asked before… very good indeed, Miss Catarrah. The truth is, it is impossible to say for sure. One assumes, given that the She-Ra line passed out of living memory centuries ago, that there is no hope of any She-Ra being chosen. On the other hand, no one knows how the Sword of Protection chooses its wielders… perhaps the right one simply hasn’t been born yet.”

Shortly before lunch, a chariot arrived from Mystacor, and two humans stepped into the schoolhouse for the very first time. One of them was short, a boy of around Catarrah’s age, with light skin and messy black hair that was tied in a bun. Beside him was a tall woman with dark hair and grayish-skin, and bright green eyes. She wore a cloth over her mouth, and her ears were pointed.

“Class, allow me to introduce Micah, a first year wizard at Mystacor Academy, and his chaperone, Lady Light Spinner,” said Magister, gesturing to the two humans. The gathered pups all oooh’ed and awww’d collectively, and an excitable babble broke out as they all tried to ask a question at once.

“Please, everyone, do not overwhelm our guests!” Magister boomed, his voice carrying easily above the racket. “As it is lunchtime, you may use the opportunity to ask Master Micah a question, but please, one at a time! Is that understood?”

“Yes, Magister,” chorused the pups. 

With that, the class broke up for lunch as each student took out the meal packs that their parents had made for them. Catarrah’s contained a sandwich, an apple, and a cookie.

Micah came over to sit next to her, smiling. “So… uh… hi there! I’m Micah,” he said, offering his hand.

Catarrah instead nuzzled his cheek with her nose. At Micah’s confused look, she explained, “It’s how we greet each other.” She smiled at him. “I’m Catarrah. It’s nice to meet you, Micah.” She shook his hand, and for Micah it felt a little like shaking a dog’s paw.

“What’s the moon on your hip all about?” Micah asked. “Is it some kind of birth mark?”

Catarrah shook her head. “It means I’m an Unbound One,” she explained. “At first I was a boy, but then magic changed me into a girl, because that’s how I’m supposed to be. The kingdom was founded by an Unbound, and she passed on her gift for magic to every Unbound that followed her.”

“That’s amazing!” Micah beamed. “What kinds of spells can you do?”

Catarrah blushed. “Nothing fancier than telekinesis, right now… whenever I try to cast anything big, I accidentally explode stuff.”

“That used to happen to me too,” Micah said, nodding in understanding. “I could help you with your control if you want!”

Catarrah smiled. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

Micah nodded. “I sure would!”

Catarrah beamed and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Micah! You’re the best!” 

Micah blushed.

With Micah’s help, Catarrah’s spellcasting got better and better as she learned not only how to control the flow of magic through her body, but some of the very same spells Micah was learning in Mystacor, taught to her by Light Spinner.

Eventually however, Micah returned to Mystacor, much to Catarrah’s sadness. The two of them had formed a strong bond, and Catarrah’s parents would often tease their daughter, hinting that they might someday marry and have a few pups of their own. As it was, they continued their friendship by sending letters to one another via magic, so the distance did not seem quite so insurmountable.

In the rest of Lykosia, changes were afoot. Four years had passed since Micah’s departure, and the current king, a dark-furred wolf by the name of Karab, was nearing the end of his term, and an election would soon be held to choose his replacement. 

There were two candidates: Nitloc, a former member of his cabinet, who if elected would become the first queen in a thousand years, and Krumpf, a wealthy wolf from one of the kingdom’s few cities. He had bright orange fur and no government experience, and yet, many of Lykosia’s citizens seemed drawn to him.

This was not so in Fenris. Fenris supported Nitloc almost unanimously, and Catarrah’s parents felt sure that she would win the election. One of the few wolves in town who didn’t support her was Akanvi, Krumpf’s pampered daughter. She was a few years older than Catarrah, and though she played the role of innocent angel when adults were around, Catarrah knew better than anyone that in truth, she was more like a demon.

Akanvi sneered when she saw Catarrah enter the school one morning, just a month prior to the election. “Well, would you look at that! One of the changelings has arrived!” she said, tossing her hair as she spoke.

“I thought I told you to quit calling me that, Akanvi,” Catarrah said, her ears pinning back at the insult. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that Mr. Magister and my parents told you that, too!”

Akanvi scoffed. “I don’t have to listen to anything that old windbag says, changeling. Once my father becomes king, wolves like you are all going to be left behind in the wilds, where you belong!”

“You’re lying,” Catarrah gasped, taking a step back. “There’s not a wolf alive who would dare hurt one of the Unbound Ones!”

Akanvi smiled a cold, cruel smile. “Don’t be so sure, little changeling. Enjoy the next three months while you can, because by this time next year? You’ll be all on your own.” She turned her back on Catarrah as the teacher entered the room, wiping the smile from her face.

The mood was jubilant as the citizens of Fenris turned out to hear the nationwide election results being read. Due to a quirk of Lykosia’s election system, a candidate could lose the popular vote and become king, though such an event had only happened twice in a thousand years. The polls, however, showed that Nitloc would win the election handily, so the village-wide gathering had an atmosphere similar to a party.

This didn’t last. It was soon clear that Krumpf had an early lead in electors, (the people who actually chose the king) and Nitloc would have to work hard to keep up. It seemed, however, that would be too much to ask. As the vote totals went up, Krumpf’s lead was soon insurmountable, and by midnight, he had enough votes to be called the winner of the election.

As the citizens of Fenris realized this, the celebratory atmosphere began to drain away, and a deep sense of despair filled the town square. Balloons and bottles of sparkling grape juice went untouched, the food uneaten. Mags began to cry as she realized Krumpf had won, and Ace gathered their daughter on her shoulders, simply saying, “Come on, pup… you have school in the morning.”

Catarrah thought of what Akanvi had said. “Mama… they’re not gonna take me away from you, are they?” she asked, looking down at the crescent moon on her hip.

Ace growled. “If they put so much as a single paw on you, Cat, I’ll tear their hearts out myself. No one hurts my daughter and gets away with it.”

Mags nodded. “We’ll protect you or die in the attempt, Catarrah.” They soon reached home, and both of her mothers hugged her tight before putting her to bed. She did, in fact, have school in the morning.

Two months passed, and Krumpf was officially inaugurated as the new king of Lykosia. The ceremony was sparsely attended, much to his anger, so he forced the royal press secretary to state that the crowd was actually much larger than what had been reported, even though anyone could see that it was a transparent lie.

That turned out to be the least of his crimes, however. Working with a senior advisor, legislation was crafted that would constrain the influence of Unbound wolves in Lykosian society, for fear that they might choose to overthrow a duly elected king. (All Unbounds of voting age had voted for Nitloc.) To accomplish this, every Unbound wolf in the kingdom would be sent to internment camps located in the wilderness.

This news was met by protests from many citizens, all of whom wondered why in the world such a drastic step was necessary in a time of approaching war. The Horde had recently been gaining power in other parts of Etheria, and it was believed they would try to annex Lykosia next.

On the day that the Royal Guard were due to capture Fenris’ population of Unbound wolves, Catarrah did not go to school. Instead, her parents ordered her to stay in her room, with the door locked. Catarrah did so, hoping she wouldn’t get caught.

At nine o’clock, a loud booming sound echoed through the house. “OPEN UP!” barked one of the royal guards. “BY ORDER OF THE LYKOSIAN CROWN! RESIST, AND YOU WILL BE PUNISHED!”

“Leave us alone, you thugs!” Mags shouted, refusing to open the door, but starting to channel magic just in case. “We didn’t vote for Krumpf! He’s a liar and a traitor to this country, little more than a Horde puppet!”

Someone began to attack the door with a battering ram, and Ace and Mags hurried to try and block the door with what furniture they could. Inside her bedroom, Catarrah was hiding under the bed, shaking with fear. She quietly prayed to Luna, the Guardian Wolf of all Lykosians, who was said to watch upon her kind from her kingdom on Etheria’s largest moon.

While the guards were busy, Ace burst into the room. “Catarrah, you have to run,” she said, pulling her daughter out from under the bed. “Get out of town while you still can! Please!”

“I won’t leave you, Mama!” Catarrah cried, hugging Ace tight. “Never ever!”

“Cat, you have to go,” Ace insisted. “If you don’t, you’ll die!”

Catarrah shook her head. “No packmate left behind, Mama,” she simply said. “I’m strong, I can defend myself!”

That got Ace to smile, if only slightly. She took her daughter’s paw and squeezed it, as if for the last time. “I know you can,” she said softly. “Then I guess we haven’t any choice… come on!” They ran from the bedroom, headed for the living room.

By this time, the guards had managed to pour into the house, and Mags was already putting up a fight, doing her best to keep the guards at bay. Ace and Catarrah joined her, and soon all three of them were locked in combat with the six royal guards, with Catarrah using every defensive spell she could think of from her lessons with Micah and Light Spinner.

Unfortunately, the guards also had proper weapons, not just magic. At one point in the fight, when Mags stopped to catch her breath, one of the guards drove their sword through her chest. Blood spurted from the wound like a fountain, and Mags fell to the ground, her eyes wide and unseeing.

“MAMA!” screamed Catarrah, unable to comprehend the grisly sight in front of her. She turned on the guard who had killed Mags, her eyes beginning to glow white as she tapped into a source of magic only Unbound Ones could reach. More powerful bursts of magic came from her, and the guard in question was thrown through the wall and outside, impacting a nearby pine tree with a loud metallic thump.

On the other side of town, Horde soldiers, working on instructions from Krumpf and Hordak, quickly got to work setting the village aflame. Tíremac and her group of Unbound Ones had tried to stop them, but all ended up dead, while other Unbound Ones, like Celia, were dragged away into the internment camps.

The fire spread quickly, and Ace, sensing the end was near, hugged Catarrah one last time. “For the last time, run,” she said. “Be brave, pup. For me, for Mags, and for yourself.”

Catarrah sniffled. “I love you, Mama Ace…”

Ace kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I love you too, Catarrah… make us proud.” She let her daughter go, and Catarrah ran for her life, as the inferno grew closer and closer to her home.

Perched on a rocky outcropping, Catarrah watched sorrowfully as flames consumed the town she’d grown up in. She saw her school burn, the sand pit where she had played many times with Celia was incinerated. She could hear the screams of Unbound Ones like her as they were led into camps, and mournful howls filled the air.

Catarrah did not join them, feeling as though she had failed. Moons ago, at her Unbounding ceremony, Tírecam had asked if she would do her utmost to protect her kind, and she hadn’t. Her kind were being led into camps, or being burned alive, and her parents were dead.

Her gaze flicked to the blue, white, and pink necklace she wore around her neck. Distraught, she threw it off and tossed it into the distance, feeling unworthy of it. Then she stood, and took a step toward the flickering flames, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Miss Catarrah,” said a familiar voice. 

Catarrah looked up. “Miss Light Spinner? What are you doing here?”

“I came to ask you a question,” said Shadow Weaver, stroking Catarrah’s head. “Micah has completed his studies with me, and I saw a lot of potential in you when we last met… you could be a powerful mage yourself one day, should you choose to join me.”

“But I can’t leave my people!” Catarrah sniffed. “They need me!”

“Your people will soon be dead, Miss Catarrah,” Shadow Weaver replied. “Krumpf will not allow the other Unbound Ones to live, that is why he ordered them captured and the villages set aflame. Very soon, he will be ruler of a pile of ashes, and little else. Lykosia is doomed, Catarrah. But you still have a future.” 

She tilted up Catarrah’s head so they could look each other in the eye. “I can take you to a place where you will grow into a strong warrior, one your parents would be proud of… do you accept my offer?”

Catarrah was quiet. On the one paw, she didn’t want to abandon her people in their hour of need… but on the other paw, she was still young, and what Light Spinner said seemed true. It seemed like she didn’t have much of a choice. So she got up, and took Shadow Weaver’s hand. “Okay… I’ll go with you,” she said. “Maybe someday, I can return, right? And rebuild?”

“Maybe,” said Shadow Weaver. She went into the trees and collected Catarrah’s necklace from where it had fallen, and handed it back to the young pup. “This is yours, I think?”

“Thanks, Miss Light Spinner,” Catarrah said, putting the necklace back on. Then, at last, she turned away from the burning village, and with Shadow Weaver leading the way, they walked together into the gathering night.

Chapter Text

The Fright Zone, moondate 60157.2:

Lord Hordak’s inner sanctum still sent shivers up Shadow Weaver’s spine. Interrupted in her work by the sound of a crying baby, she stopped what she was doing and walked out into Hordak’s chamber. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the child: light skin, a small tuft of blonde hair, wrapped in a blanket. A part of her she didn’t even know she had seemed to rise up, and made her stop where she stood.

A child, she thought. I must take care of them. She turned away from the young one and went up to the throne, bowing. “Was your excursion successful, Lord Hordak?”

“I arrived too late,” said Hordak, glowering down at her with those ominous red eyes of his. “I found something, but it’s useless. Put it with the other orphans in the infirmary.”

Shadow Weaver turned to find the two guards holding the baby were already walking away. She turned back to Hordak and spoke quickly. “This one is different… can’t you feel it? They have power.”

Hordak sighed and put his head into one bony hand. “Fine, take it, just get it out of here!” he thundered.

As the baby was placed into Shadow Weaver’s arms, they stopped crying almost immediately, looking up at her with wide blue eyes, and reached out to touch her face.

Shadow Weaver chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry, little one… we’re going to do great things together.” And with that, she walked back to her own quarters, already thinking of names.

“Force Captain’s log, moondate 60776.4, Catarrah Sicmet recording: The Horde continues to expand our territory across Etheria. One of the more recent acquisitions is the kingdom of Felinae: the natives appear to be cat-like humanoids with retractable claws, pointed ears, tails, and a thin coating of fur.”

“As I took my squad through the capital city, I found an orphanage that had been burned down recently. All the occupants had been killed, except for one: a boy by the name of Catro. Shadow Weaver has taken him in to raise him as her own child, like she’s done with Adoro.” 

A year had passed since the child had arrived. Shadow Weaver had named him Adoro, and while he was too young to be of much use in physical combat, she could at least give him a proper Horde education. This, of course, meant stories about the evil Princesses of Etheria, beings of great power with no control over their own abilities.

The Horde was not as evil as their reputation suggested. All indigenous peoples of captured territories were put to work as “indentured servants,” and if they did their jobs adequately, they could join the Horde proper and work their way up from grunts to Force Captains, provided they lived long enough and didn’t give Hordak a reason to summon them into his rooms. (The turnover rate for Force Captains was appalling.)

As a proper Horde member, they were given food, lodging, and a surprisingly generous health care plan, including full dental coverage. Given the wide variety of species that served, this plan was more of a tactical advantage than anything else. After all, any defections would be punishable by death.

The only thing the Horde did not cover was maternity care. Children, though they made up the bulk of the recruits, were treated as adults from the time they began puberty. And puberty was something one only went through once. Never, in the Horde’s entire history, had anyone gone through puberty twice.

At least, that was the case before Shadow Weaver adopted her children. It wouldn’t be for much longer.

Adora didn’t like the sound of her given name. It sounded wrong to her ears, like it didn’t fit. Like it belonged to someone else. She had the same opinion about her body, it didn’t seem to fit her either. The short blonde hair, her height, her broad shoulders… none of them seemed right. But what could she do? It was the body she’d been given, it wasn’t like she could change it.

And anyway, she had more important things to worry about. The Horde’s entrance exam was coming up soon, and she had to pass it if she was going to remain in the Fright Zone with Catra, her younger sibling. Even being Shadow Weaver’s adoptive daughter wouldn’t be much of an advantage. As far as everyone else was concerned, she was just another cadet.

So with a sigh, Adora got up from her bunk, dressed, and walked down to the mess hall. Being a military organization, Horde breakfasts were not exactly the tastiest things in the universe. In fact, they were just about the most unappetizing thing on Etheria. They consisted entirely of an oatmeal-like substance that the Force Captains swore was packed with all the nutrients a soldier would need, and water.

After receiving her bowl of gruel and glass of water, Adora carried her tray over to an empty table and sat down, starting to eat. She wasn’t alone for long however, because within a minute or two she felt something leap up onto the bench next to her. Then a voice said, “Hey, Adoro.”

Adora jumped. “Oh! Uh, hey Catro! What’s up?” She frowned slightly, noticing something long was dangling from her friend’s mouth. And there was the crunching noises.

“Not much,” Catra replied. “Just grabbing my breakfast to go.” She swallowed and licked her lips. “Oh yeah, nothing like the taste of freshly caught mouse in the morning.”

“If you say so,” said Adora, wincing. “Hey, could you… uh… not call me Adoro?” She grinned hopefully.

Catra blinked. “Why? It’s your name. Unless you came up with something silly and embarrassing that you want instead, like… I don’t know, Adam.”

Adora shook her head, “No, I just don’t like Adoro, that’s all.”

Catra’s blue and yellow eyes narrowed. “Okay, but why? It’s been your name ever since we were babies. What’s changed now?”

“I just don’t think it fits me,” Adora admitted. “How I see myself, I mean.”

Catra scowled. “You’re not making any sense, but fine, sure. Whatever. What do you want me to call you?”

“Adora,” said she, after looking around and lowering her voice to ensure they wouldn’t be overheard.

Catra, who’d been eating Adora’s gruel during this entire conversation, almost spat it back out. “Seriously?!” she exclaimed, ignoring Adora’s rapid shushing movements entirely, “All this over a name that’s exactly the same as your old one but with one letter different?!” She rolled her eyes. “You humans are so weird.”

Before Adora could reply to this, the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a particular Force Captain: Catarrah Sicmet. She was tall, about 5’11”, with curly brown hair that fell down to her shoulders. 

Being a wolf, her fur was dark grey with cream colored markings, her eyes were hazel, and her face and body bore scars here and there from previous battles. She walked into the room, her claws clicking on the floor of the mess hall as she surveyed the cadets. “ATTENTION!” she barked.

The other cadets all sprung up and saluted, except for Catra, who simply looked over with mild interest. Catarrah locked eyes with Catra and said, “That means you too, Cadet Catro.”

“Fine...” Catra grumbled, standing and saluting.

“Here’s the deal!” Catarrah said, looking around at everyone. “I’ll be conducting the entrance examinations! There will be three rounds, for cadets whose names start with A through G, H through N, and O through Z! The first round will take place this afternoon at 1300 hours, and I expect all of you to be in attendance!” Again she glared at Catra. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” chorused the cadets.

Catarrah smiled, showing deadly sharp teeth. “Excellent. If anyone has any questions, feel free to come by my office. Until then, dismissed!”

As the cadets went back to chattering, Adora turned to Catra. “Should I tell her about my name?” she asked.

Catra shrugged and swished her tail. “If you want. Good luck, Adora.” She grinned.

Adora blushed faintly, and smiled. “Thanks. You too.”

Later that day, Adora walked through the halls of the Fright Zone’s main complex, headed toward the area where the Force Captains offices were kept. After mulling it over all day in school, she’d made her decision: she would tell Catarrah her new name. Sure, she was scared, but it was worth it to hear a name that made her happy, right? She wasn’t entirely sure how Catarrah would react though. The huge wolf was something of an imposing presence, after all.

Still, Adora swallowed her fear and knocked on the door of Catarrah’s office, straightening her uniform as she did.

“Come in!” Catarrah barked.

Adora entered, saluting. “Force Captain Catarrah, I have... well, it isn’t exactly a question, more of a request.”

Catarrah looked up from the paperwork in front of her, raising an eyebrow quizzically. “Oh yes? Get on with it, Cadet.”

Adora gulped, and wrung her hands before speaking. “I... can you... call me... Adora, please? Ma’am?” she asked haltingly.

To Adora’s surprise, the wolf smiled. And not a toothy, predatory smile, but a kind one. “A surprisingly feminine name for someone who presents themselves as a boy,” she said. “Let me guess: you don’t like your old one much.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “How… how did you know?”

“Because, when I was a little pup, I was in the same place you are now,” Catarrah replied. “My mothers, Ace and Mags, taught me that it was okay to question things and make my own decisions. In time, I told them I wasn’t a boy at all, but a girl. They accepted it without question, and with the help of a sorceress from a place called Mystacor, I became the wolf I am today.”

Catarrah rose and walked over to Adora, pulling her into a gentle hug. “Cadet Adora, I promise to do all that I can to help you become who you want to be, whether masculine, feminine, somewhere in between, or neither.”

“How am I supposed to know?” Adora asked. “I see a boy every day in the mirror, but that doesn’t feel like me.”

Catarrah nodded. “People who are not like us do not spent large amounts of time questioning their sense of self,” she said. “My people had a word for this.” What followed was a strange noise that sounded a little like a growl and a bark. “In Etherian, we were called the Unbound. It means to exist as someone whose internal self is one gender, but their exterior self is another.”

“How am I supposed to know if that’s me?” Adora asked.

“That’s a little more complicated,” Catarrah said. “But there is one way to tell.”

Adora groaned, “It’s the test later today, isn’t it?”

Catarrah nodded, chuckling. “Sure is. Run along now, Cadet. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Adora saluted and hurried back toward her barracks, new thoughts running through her mind.

Etheria had a somewhat odd relationship with gender. Women made up the vast majority of the planet’s population, and were found in leadership positions around the globe. This was even true of the Horde: women made up not only most of the recruits, but they were usually Force Captains as well. While it was not uncommon for a man to serve in the Horde, it didn’t happen very often.

It was generally assumed that women would be better positioned to handle the more complex and labor intensive tasks, while men would be better at general upkeep, maintenance, and guard work. To make sure this was backed up by evidence, the Horde had instituted a test to decipher which jobs a particular person would be best suited for. The test was simple: a person would be hooked up to a special machine that ran on magic, allowing that person’s aura to be read. The training exercises that followed were based on whether the result came up blue or pink.

For Adora however, the next few minutes had an extra layer of significance: today she would learn whether she was male or female. Even though she knew that in 99.9% of cases, one’s reported gender matched the one they were assigned at birth, there was always that one other time. The one where they didn’t match. Would that be her? She didn’t know.

Her name was called in short order, since it started with the first letter of the alphabet. She entered the little room where the machine was and sat down, saying little as Catarrah began hooking up wires and things to her person.

“Nervous?” the Force Captain asked, looking down at Adora. When Adora didn’t reply, she took the young girl’s hand in her own paw-like one, and squeezed it gently. “You’re going to do fine,” she said. “Just fine. Trust me?”

Another pause, and then Adora nodded. Catarrah pushed a button, and the machine hummed and whirred for several minutes, glowing white. Then, slowly, the white light began to shift colors, changing to a pastel pink.

Catarrah smiled. “Welcome to the ladies’ club, Adora. The room you want is on the left, I’ll report the results to Shadow Weaver while you’re training.”

Adora gulped. “Do you have to? What if she gets mad?”

Catarrah laughed, “She won’t. Not if I have anything to say about it. After all, she’s the one who raised me.” Then she went out another door, leaving Adora to join the girls for the first time.

Catarrah had known Shadow Weaver for a very long time, ever since she’d been a pup in the land known as Lykosia. Back then, Shadow Weaver had been called Light Spinner, and had once visited the village where Catarrah grew up. Light Spinner had helped Catarrah in working with the magic of the Unbound Ones - Lykosians who had shifted genders. 

These were powerful beings who bore a special connection to Etheria’s magic, one that other races (like the First Ones) could only dream of. When the last She-Ra, Mara, abdicated her responsibilities, it had been the Unbounds of Lykosia who had stepped up to the plate, keeping Etheria safe in She-Ra’s absence.

Under Light Spinner’s guidance, Catarrah became an exceptionally powerful mage, which came in handy when her village burned down some years later. Catarrah had been able to hold her own in a fight with soldiers who had come to kidnap her, all thanks to the training she had received from Light Spinner.

But eventually, Catarrah was forced to flee from the inferno her home had become. Light Spinner, now calling herself Shadow Weaver, found Catarrah just in time and brought her back to the Horde, to raise her as her own daughter. In time, Catarrah became a skilled military officer, rising to the rank of Force Captain.

So it was with casual confidence that the Lykosian entered Shadow Weaver’s room. It was dimly lit with red light, as always, and the Black Garnet stood tall in the center of the space, pulsing gently. Its raw power made the fur on Catarrah’s neck stand on end.

“Ah, Force Captain Catarrah,” Shadow Weaver said, stepping out of the darkness. “I suppose my wards have completed their tests?”

“Your eldest has,” Catarrah answered. “Congratulations, Shadow Weaver: it’s a girl.”

Shadow Weaver scowled. “I do not understand,” she said. “Are you playing a trick on me? Adoro has always been male.”

“Not according to that machine Emeralda built,” Catarrah replied. “The auras don’t lie. I plugged her in and it came up pink. Your son is actually your daughter, and you know what that means just as well as I do.” (By this, Catarrah meant that Shadow Weaver would have to cast an ancient Mystacorian gender alteration spell.)

Shadow Weaver heaved a deep sigh. “Very well. I shall begin casting the spell as soon as she returns. Thank you, Catarrah.”

“Just doing my job, ma’am,” the wolf said, stepping back toward the door. “I’ll come back with Catro’s results in a few hours.” Then she left, closing the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Catra sat alone on the roof of the barracks, looking deep in thought. Adora had come back from the test announcing that she not only passed, she got to train with the girls, rather than the boys. The other cadets didn’t seem to mind this, but not Catra. 

Her emotions were a little more complicated than that. 

One the one paw, she was happy for her now-sister, and was glad she’d be staying in the Horde. On the other paw, it felt as if she was losing a brother, someone she’d grown close to, a rare masculine presence in the estrogen-filled Horde. Now that had been taken away from her.

“Stupid humans and their stupid genders,” muttered Catra, her tail flicking furiously. Then her ears perked up as they caught the sound of a door opening. Catra looked over to see who it was, and chuckled. “Hey, Adora. I was just thinking about you.”

“You were?” Adora blushed. “Were they good thoughts?”

“Some of them,” Catra replied. “I’m glad you’re staying, but… I kinda miss what we used to have.”

Adora frowned slightly. “What do you mean, used to?” she asked. “I’m not that different, Catro. I just go by a different name and pronouns now.”

“Sure, you do now,” Catra said. “But what about later? You’re gonna start growing out your hair I bet, and maybe you’ll figure out how to change your body and go through girl puberty or something. Does Shadow Weaver know yet?”

Adora gulped. “Uh, yeah… she does. Catarrah said she was okay with it. Kinda.”

Catra sighed. “Great. So now everyone knows what you are. What about me, Adora? What about us? How are we supposed to be friends still?”

“We’ll find a way,” Adora said soothingly, reaching out to gently stroke Catra’s fur. “We always do.”

“If you say so,” muttered Catra, scooting herself closer to the blonde girl. Then she began to purr, just for Adora.

When Catarrah returned to Shadow Weaver’s chambers a couple hours later, the atmosphere couldn’t be more different. “I have Catro’s results, ma’am,” she began. “She passed.”

Shadow Weaver swooped over, her eyes narrowed. “She?” she hissed. “I have but one daughter, Force Captain, not two.”

“According to the analyzer, you do,” Catarrah said. “She came up pink, just like Adora.”

“Impossible!” Shadow Weaver thundered. “Perhaps the machine was malfunctioning!”

“Nope,” Catarrah said. “Emeralda said it’s in perfect working order, and I believe her.”

“Then have her run the test again!” Shadow Weaver shouted. “I will not allow this blatant attempt at attention-grabbing to move forward!”

“Or, alternatively, you could treat her as a girl, just like you did with me!” Catarrah yelled, her ears pinning back. “It’s only fair! Goodness knows she deserves some equal treatment for once in her life!”

“I treat my wards with the respect they deserve,” Shadow Weaver said, getting up in Catarrah’s face. “Do not presume to critique me on my parenting skills, Force Captain Catarrah.”

“And don’t expect me to keep quiet,” Catarrah growled. “You’re damaging those girls, Shadow Weaver. Not everyone gets to have the kind of upbringing I had, but they should.”

“You dare to steal my wards away from me?” asked Shadow Weaver.

“We’ll see,” Catarrah replied, turning away. She left the room, all but slamming the door behind her.

"Force Captain's personal log, moondate 69779.7: I'm starting to think that Shadow Weaver may not be the best choice to raise Catra and Adora. The woman who rescued me from the burning remains of Fenrir Village is not the person I know now.  Those girls need rescuing... I just wish I knew how to pull it off."

The Horde’s officers quarters were much nicer than those given to the cadets. Each Force Captain had their own room, with a bed, a desk, an adjoining bathroom, and even a couple bookshelves for the more literary-minded ones. They were also decorated with some of the occupants’ personal effects, to add a little bit of color to proceedings. Catarrah’s room held a picture of her and her parents on the desk, a small magic kit, and some of her favorite Lykosian books.

Today, however, Catarrah wasn’t reading from the books, nor was she practicing her magic. She was lying down on her bed, throwing and catching a rubber ball. Her Force Captain uniform was draped haphazardly over her desk chair, while the green badge rested on the bedside table next to her.

One bounce went too far and hit the wall across from her, missing the picture frame by inches. She sighed and sat up, going to fetch the ball, when her eyes fell on the photo: The day of Catarrah’s Unbounding ceremony, when they were happiest. 

“I miss you two,” Catarrah whispered, picking up the frame. “What would you do if you were here?”

She flopped down in her chair and closed her eyes, remembering her childhood. The way her mothers had comforted her when she told them she wasn’t a boy. “A true wolf never abandons her packmates,” Mama Ace had said. Sure enough, the other wolves in their village supported her just as strongly, and she’d grown up happy and healthy.

She thought of the Horde, and how in the span of a night, her village had been reduced to charred rubble. There was nothing left of it now, as far as she knew. The mystery of who had started the fire had never been solved - Catarrah had asked Shadow Weaver about it many times, but never got a reply.

She thought of Adora and Catra, two young girls who were struggling with the same problems she had, at the same age. She tried putting herself in their place, and found she’d likely be just as angry at the world as Catra was now. Who could blame her, what with that witch Shadow Weaver making their lives a living hell? Whatever had happened to Light Spinner, Catarrah knew the woman who’d helped her was effectively dead, and had been for a long time.

Again, Mama Ace’s words slipped into her mind. “A wolf never abandons her packmates...” she whispered. “Well... Catra and Adora may not be wolves... but they are pack. I have to save them. But how?”

Unsure, she collected her ball and went back to playing catch, staring off into the distance.

Meanwhile, Shadow Weaver was in conference with Lord Hordak, which mainly meant she was being read the riot act.

“I have been informed that both of your wards are now laboring under the delusion that they are females,” said Hordak, glaring down from his throne at Shadow Weaver. “This sort of foolishness will not be tolerated within the Horde.”

“My Lord,” Shadow Weaver began, “I believe that only Adora’s claims are legitimate, Catro is only trying to draw attention to himself-”

“SILENCE!” boomed Hordak. “When I allowed you to raise them as your wards, I assumed you would mold them into true Horde soldiers. While I suppose you have done well enough with Adoro, Catro has proven to be a dismal failure, and Adoro may yet go the same way if his delusions are permitted to continue.” He narrowed his eyes. “Your new task is to… disabuse them of these notions. Should you fail, I will have all three of you exiled, as well as Force Captain Catarrah. Do I make myself clear, Shadow Weaver?”

“Yes, my Lord,” said Shadow Weaver. “I will do as you ask.” She left, returning to her chambers to plan.

“How can I possibly be a girl?” Catra was saying to Adora. The feline was pacing back and forth in front of their bunk, her claws clicking on the floor. “I’ve never had that feeling of something being wrong like you did!”

“Not everyone does,” Adora replied. “Catarrah told me. And that’s okay! Your aura came out pink, and that’s all that really matters.”

“It was a stupid test though,” Catra said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, it didn’t even make sense!”

“No, it didn’t,” Adora admitted. “But look at this way: did you want your aura to be blue?”

A pause. Then, Catra admitted: “No… I think I’m okay with pink… even if pink is a dumb color.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of another Force Captain, a dark haired human man. He stormed over to them and grabbed them roughly by the shoulders. “Shadow Weaver wants to see you two,” he said, starting to drag them both off toward the door.

“Hey, let us go!” Catra shouted, struggling to free herself. But she and Adora were too small and weak to properly escape, and off they went, into the bowels of Hell. Or at least, the room where Shadow Weaver kept the Black Garnet.

“Thank you for bringing them here, Force Captain Tylar,” said Shadow Weaver, as the two girls were strapped down. The Black Garnet glowed ominously, and Shadow Weaver’s hands began to crackle with red magic. “This will hurt a little, girls, but believe me when I say it is for your own good,” she said, turning to face the frightened children.

“W-w-what are you going to do to us?” Adora asked, her eyes wide with fear.

“Something I should have done a long time ago!” Shadow Weaver exclaimed. “By the time I am finished with the both of you, you will have no memory of ever pretending at being female, nor will you remember Force Captain Catarrah! It is her fault you are deluded, but no matter! Everything will be as it was!” 

She bent down. “You first, Adora…” She placed her hands on either side of the blonde girl’s head, and Adora began to scream.

Catarrah was on her way back from the mess hall, carrying a tray in her paws as she walked. She preferred to eat in private, away from the other Force Captains. She was unaware that Catra and Adora were being held prisoner and tortured, at least until her keen hearing picked up the sounds of screams.

But not just any screams. Human screams. Screams belonging to a young girl, probably nine years old.

Catarrah threw her tray to the side, sending it clattering to the floor, and her food along with it. “Hold on, you two,” she growled. “I’m coming.” 

She dove onto all fours and began to shift slightly, her body lengthening and becoming more streamlined, like those of her wild four-legged cousins. Her uniform ripped apart and she shook off the remains. She was bigger now, and 7 feet long from nose to tail.

Then, she did the only thing she could: she ran to the sound of the screams.

Catra’s eyes were wide with fear as she watched Adora scream in pain. The Black Garnet was glowing so brightly, she had to close her eyes to keep from going blind, but she could still just make it out even through her eyelids.

Then there was a tremendous noise as the door to Shadow Weaver’s room burst apart. On the other side was an enormous wolf, with a grey pelt, cream markings, and hazel eyes that were practically glowing with fury. 

“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTERS, SHADOW WEAVER,” Catarrah roared, her voice reverberating off the walls of the chamber. It was deeper too, Catra noticed.

Then, she paused. “Daughters? Us?” Catra thought.

Shadow Weaver looked up and took her hands from Adora’s head, rounding on Catarrah. “THEY ARE MINE!” she shouted back. “AND ONCE I AM THROUGH HERE, EVERY MEMORY OF YOU AND YOUR LIES WILL BE WIPED FROM THEIR MINDS FOREVER!”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Catarrah thundered, pouncing on the dark sorceress. 200 pounds of raw wolf muscle was nothing to sneeze at, and Shadow Weaver fell to the ground, too surprised to magically defend herself.

After a few moments though, Shadow Weaver’s hands began to glow again as she tried to magically attack the enraged wolf, who was scratching and biting her. Catarrah yowled in pain as one of Shadow Weaver’s spells struck true, but the fight continued nonetheless.

“Catra! Can you cut through these straps?!” Adora shouted, once she’d gotten her breath back.

“Maybe!” Catra replied, starting to wriggle her limbs. The straps were meant for a fully-grown adult, and since she wasn’t one, the fit was just loose enough to allow for limited movement. With some concentration, she was able to free her hands from the wrist restraints, and used her claws to slice through the straps around her upper arms, then the ones on her legs.

Once this was done, she leapt off the chair she’d been restrained to and went to free Adora, making a few cuts in each strap. “You okay?” she asked.

Adora shrugged. “Other than the pounding headache, yeah… I’m fine. You?”

“No problems here,” Catra said, as Shadow Weaver and Catarrah continued to fight.

Though Shadow Weaver had plenty of magic to spare, she was quite physically weak, which meant it was easy for Catarrah to overpower her. Soon, the witch lay in a heap, alive but injured, and unconscious.

“About time,” growled Catarrah, turning to Catra and Adora. She began to shift back from quadruped to bipedal form again, now naked, save for her thick fur coat. “Come on, you two. We’re ditching this place.”

“What?! Why?!” Adora asked, looking bewildered.

Catarrah narrowed her eyes, “In brief? Shadow Weaver was horrifically abusive to both of you, and the Horde is no place for girls like us to grow up. We’re going to the only place on Etheria where the Horde can’t get us: Bright Moon.” Then, she grabbed one hand each in both of her paws, and ran with them down the hall toward the vehicle storage bays.

Catarrah barged into the first bay, scaring the daylights out of the attendant. “What the?! Force Captain Catarrah?! What are you doing here?! Why are you naked?! Why are Shadow Weaver’s wards with you?!”

“No time to explain, Cadet,” Catarrah barked. “I need a skiff and I need it now! Got it?” Between the patches of scorched fur and the fact that she was bearing her very sharp fangs at the young cadet, there was no room for argument.

“Right away, ma’am!” the cadet said, grabbing a piece of paper.

Catarrah wrote her name, date, and the time, then jumped into the first skiff she saw, pulling Catra and Adora in with her. She started the engine, and soon they were off, zooming toward the Whispering Woods.

Their departure didn’t go unnoticed. In what seemed like no time at all, they were being shot at by Horde soldiers in their own skiffs. “DAMMIT!” Catarrah swore. “And we’re unarmed too!” She sighed heavily and pushed the skiff onward, but in her haste, they ended up crashing into a tree.

The three fugitives fell out of the skiff and onto the ground, which began to smoke. Adora got up first and looked around, surveying the surroundings. She couldn’t see or hear any Horde soldiers, which was good. But she could feel something strange, some kind of power.

“Does anyone else feel that?” Adora asked, looking to her companions.

“Feel what?” Catra asked.

Adora shrugged. “I don’t know… I just feel something. An energy of some kind. I can’t really describe it.”

“Think on it later, Cadet,” Catarrah barked. “We can’t stay here, the others will be on our tails in a few minutes. I can smell them from here.”

“So, what can we do?” Catra asked. “The skiff is broken!”

Catarrah smiled. “Run, of course.” She shifted forms again, dropping onto all fours. “You two, get on my back! I’ll carry you to Bright Moon!”

“Do you even know where it is?” Catra asked, climbing onto the wolf’s back with some difficulty.

Catarrah nodded. “We’ll find it. Hold on tight!” And she began to run again, with the two young girls riding along on her back.

Hours passed. After a while the sounds of soldiers faded away, the strange magic of the woods helped the three fugitives lose their pursuers. Soon the sky began to brighten with the approaching dawn, as Etheria’s day moons took the place of their nocturnal counterparts.

Soon, they passed through the last of the trees and found themselves on a small shoreline, surrounded by cliffs and waterfalls. In the distance was a castle.

“HALT!” shouted some voices. Guards came down to meet them, dressed in armor. “What business brings you to this place?” asked one. “Are you members of the Horde?”

“We were,” said Catarrah, who’d shifted back into bipedal form by now. “My name is Catarrah Sicmet, and these are my adoptive daughters, Adora and Catra. We’ve come to seek sanctuary in your kingdom.”

One of the guards narrowed her eyes. “It is not customary to offer sanctuary to our enemies,” she said. “We’ll have to bring you to Queen Angella.”

“Do it,” said Catarrah, falling into step behind the two guards. The girls followed suit, and in this way the five of them proceeded up to the main castle, and from there into the throne room.

The woman in the throne approached the newcomers, looking wary. “Guards, what is the meaning of all this?” she asked.

“Horde soldiers have managed to find their way through the Whispering Woods, ma’am,” said the second guard.

“Well, one Horde soldier and two young children who can barely do more than basic hand-to-hand combat,” Catarrah interrupted.

“Explain yourselves,” said the winged, purple-skinned woman, stepping onto the main platform of the throne room.

Catarrah bowed. “My name is Catarrah Sicmet, and until quite recently I was indeed a soldier of the Horde, a Force Captain to be specific. These two,” she gestured to Catra and Adora, “were raised by Hordak’s chief witch, a woman named Shadow Weaver. To say she was unsuitable for rearing pups would be an understatement.”

“Why did you come here?” asked the queen. “Do you intend to tell the Horde how to escape the Whispering Woods?”

Catarrah shook her head. “Not at all. In fact, I’d like to do the opposite.”

She stood tall, and met the queen’s eyes. “We wish to join the Rebellion.”

Chapter Text

“Force Captain’s log, moondate 69782.5: The girls and I have escaped the Fright Zone, and I’m currently trying to convince the ruling Queen of Bright Moon to take us in as members of the Rebellion. Negotiations are… not going very well.”

“Why should I believe a word you say?” asked Angella, as she stood in the throne room, glaring down at the three ex-Horde soldiers. “You come into this place with a truly impossible story, and you expect me to think you are telling the truth? How do I know you are not a decoy, sent to distract us while the Horde launches an assault on Bright Moon?”

Catarrah sighed. “With all due respect, your majesty, but if the Horde were launching an assault they would not have sent me in to speak with you at all. If anything, you would have been captured and held prisoner, then killed once we were finished with you. And it wouldn’t even be difficult.”

She began to pace. “Even before the Alliance fell, the Horde was growing in strength,” Catarrah continued. “We had more soldiers, more supplies, more weapons. We had tactical advantages that the Rebellion lacked, and when it fell, that gave us the ability to take over the rest of the planet. The only thing keeping Bright Moon from being the Horde’s new HQ is that enormous forest. If we could get past that, I can guarantee Bright Moon would be ours in no time. But that’s not why I’m here.”

“What do you intend to do?” Angella wondered. “Boost our defenses?”

“Even better.” Catarrah smiled. “Allow me and the girls to remain here, and I can train your people into a fighting force to be proud of. You need someone with intimate, insider knowledge of Horde tactics, strengths, and weaknesses, and… well, it doesn’t get much better than an ex-Force Captain. You can’t solely rely on a group of princesses to do your dirty work, you need brute force too. I can give you that.”

Angella nodded. “But again, why should I trust you?”

“A personal story, if I may?” Catarrah asked. At Angella’s nod, she began. 

“Truth be told, I never actually believed in the Horde’s cause,” Catarrah began.

Angella blinked, surprised. “Really? Why?”

“It goes back to when I was a kid,” Catarrah said. “I was born in the Lykosian village of Fenrir, and when I was nine, someone set fire to the place. Though Hordak’s chief witch Shadow Weaver rescued me and took me in, I would sometimes ask her if she knew who might have destroyed Fenrir… but she never told me.”

“What are your suspicions?” Angella asked.

“It could only have been the Horde,” answered Catarrah. “Our king at the time probably did a deal with them. So, when I became part of the Horde, I decided I would work within the system, rise through the ranks, and rebel the first opportunity I got. So I became a soldier, and I was probably the most compassionate of all the Force Captains I served with.” She gestured to Catra. “It’s because of me that Catra here wasn’t left for dead when the Horde took over Felinae.”

“And what about you?” Angella asked, turning to face Adora next. “What is your story, young one?”

“A little bit ago, I realized something very important about myself, and Catarrah was the only person I knew who would even be willing to help me,” Adora said. “No one else could, or would. Just a few hours ago, she jumped in to save Catra and me not because she’d been ordered to, but because it was the right thing to do. An evil person wouldn’t do that, would they?”

Angella shook her head, and a small smile appeared. “No, an evil person most definitely would not do that,” she said, ruffling Adora’s hair. “I suppose the only thing left to say at this point is, welcome to the Rebellion, Catarrah, Adora, and Catra.”

“It’s an honor to be here,” replied Catarrah, smiling warmly. “Any chance you could furnish me with some clothes?”

Angella chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

True to her word, Catarrah began to whip the Rebellion’s scattered people into shape, forming platoons and insisting upon daily training sessions. This took a lot of work, since they had no formal military experience. They learned Horde passcodes, fighting techniques, and even guard shift change times. They learned how to subdue their opponents without resorting to weapons, and which weapons to use in the event of a firefight. When the time came to use those skills in a real battle, they were able to make some progress in recapturing some Horde territory.

Adora and Catra, however, were too young to really fight, so instead they made friends with Angella’s daughter Glimmer, and her best friend, Bow. There was some early distrust, but as the Rebellion began to win, this faded over time. Angella was even able to help Adora and Catra with their transitions, which they were both thankful for.

Slowly but surely, the two former Horde children began to grow up, blossoming from girls into young women. They began to fight too, and joined Glimmer and Bow on the fields of battle on many occasions. It was because of them, in fact, that the Siege of Elberon was a success, albeit a narrow one.

There was, however, one mystery that remained unsolved: the legend of She-Ra.

According to myth, she was a warrior princess who served as Etheria’s chief defender in times of need, but the previous She-Ra had gone mad, unable to carry the weight of the title. The legends said she carried something called the Sword of Protection, a piece of powerful tech created by the First Ones. It had gone missing after Mara’s betrayal, and hadn’t been found since.

It was nighttime at Bright Moon. Adora was asleep in her room, dreaming of swords and powerful women. Someone kept calling her name, but she couldn’t see who it was. When she wandered into the dining hall for breakfast the next day, her hair was a tangled mess, and there were bags under her eyes.

“Hey Adora,” said Catra, waving to the blonde-haired girl. “What happened to you? You look like a wreck.”

“Weird dreams,” Adora said, sitting down beside Catra at the table. The plates filled themselves with all kinds of delicious foods, and the two of them began to help themselves. “Women with swords and someone calling my name.”

Catra smirked. “Sounds more like some kinda fetish to me, but don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.” She stuck her tongue out. “I guess this has to do with what we learned in school yesterday?”

Adora nodded as she cut up her waffle. “Yup. It made me think of when we came here, and we ran through the Whispering Woods… remember that strange feeling I had?”

Catra shrugged. “Kinda. You think it could be connected to Her-Ra or whatever?”

“Maybe,” said Adora. “I’m not really sure.”

“Well, if you ask me, I don’t think there’s anything in it,” said Catra. “You heard what Bow’s dads said, Dor. Even if She-Ra existed, there’s no finding her now. Besides, we’ve been in the Whispering Woods thousands of times since we got here, and never found a thing.”

Adora shook her head rapidly. “Look Catra, I know I saw something out there all those years ago. I just need to get another look. It feels important somehow.”

Catra sighed. “I guess I’ll come, and you know Sparkles and Bow will be all over this.”

Adora nodded. “Yup. Meet me at the front doors in twenty minutes, I’m telling Mom where we’re going.” And she ran off to Catarrah’s office.

A few minutes later, Adora had arrived at Catarrah’s office door. She knocked a few times and said, “Mom? It’s me!”

“Come on in!” Catarrah replied, and as Adora entered, she rose and embraced her eldest, smiling and nuzzling Adora’s cheek with her cold nose. “There’s my brave warrior! What are you up to today?” In the decade that had passed since their arrival, her brown curls had begun to turn grey, and she’d picked up more scars.

“I was thinking of going back to the Whispering Woods,” said Adora. “I can remember feeling some kind of energy there back when we came here, and I want to find out what it was.”

Catarrah frowned. “Commander, it’s been nearly ten years since we arrived here, what energy you may have felt is probably long gone, if it hasn’t been taken by the Horde already. And I’m not sure I want you that close to enemy territory.” She met her daughter’s eyes. “Shadow Weaver’s still out there, you know… what if she captures you?”

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” Adora said, looking back to Catarrah. “I’m not going alone, I’ll have Catra, Glimmer, and Bow with me! And in case any Horde soldiers are there, we’ll be able to handle them. I learned from the best, after all.”

Catarrah blushed and relented. “Fine, go and look all you want. But be careful, okay? If you’re not back by nightfall, I’ll lead a platoon into the forest to come looking for you.”

“Got it,” said Adora, hugging her mom tight. “Thanks Mom.”

Catarrah smiled again. “You’re welcome, pup.”

“Squad General’s log, moondate 79283.9: Adora is leading an away team into the Whispering Woods to track down the mythical Sword of Protection. I personally think she’s going on a wild goose chase, so if they’re not back by nightfall, I’m leading a squadron out just in case. After all, I always have a contingency plan.”

Twenty minutes later, Adora, Catra, Glimmer, and Bow were walking through the Whispering Woods, headed toward the clearing where Adora remembered feeling the strange energy.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way, Bow?” Glimmer asked after a few hours, looking to the brown-skinned boy. “It seems like we’ve been going in circles.”

Bow shrugged, and held up his trackpad. “I can only hope so. This thing is just acting up. Looks like it's being overloaded by the tech's signal.”

“Maybe if you put your pad down and used these things called eyes, you might be able to navigate better,” snarked Catra. “Sparkles is right, we have been going in circles. All. Morning.”

“What’s your point, Catra?” Bow asked, glaring at the feline girl. “Think you can navigate better? You’re welcome to try.”

“Maybe I will!” Catra snarled, her ears flattening. “I’m a natural-born hunter, not like you stupid apes!”

“ENOUGH!” Adora shouted. “Guys, I know it’s almost noon and we haven’t made much progress yet, but that’s no reason to get at each others’ throats. Let’s take a break, then we can back to it.”

The other three nodded and each began to unpack the lunches the royal cooks had made for them. Bow looked over to Catra and sighed. “Sorry I shouted at you, Catra. I’m just frustrated, this forest is so big, and navigating it isn’t easy.”

“I’m sorry too,” Catra admitted. “Humans aren’t stupid. You can be a pain in the tail sometimes, but you aren’t stupid.”

Bow laughed. “No kidding. Lemme tell ya about growing up with twelve older brothers…”

They passed the afternoon in relative peace, talking amongst themselves as the search continued. Eventually, as the daymoons began to set, they reached a clearing, where Adora could see the crashed, rusted wreck of the skiff they’d used in their escape from the Fright Zone.

“Feel anything?” Catra asked.

Adora shook her head. “Not yet… wait!” A rising nightmoon passed from behind a cloud, and the area began to glow with an otherworldly light. And something shiny was glinting.

Bow gasped. “Hey you guys, look! I see something! I can’t tell what it is from here, but it’s definitely First Ones tech!”

“And the skiff is covering it,” Catra added. “We’ll have to clear it away, but the plants are going to make that hard.”

“We’ll just have to do our best,” said Adora, walking toward the rusted skiff. “Come on everyone, let’s get to work!” Working together, Bow and Catra began cutting the vines away from the skiff, using arrowheads and claws respectively. Once that was done, Glimmer and Adora worked on moving the skiff to another part of the clearing.

Once that was done, they heard the sounds of marching feet, and from behind them came Catarrah, flanked by six Rebellion soldiers. “Told you I’d come looking,” she said, hugging each of her daughters in turn. “What have you found?”

“It looks like some kind of sword,” said Bow, kneeling to get a closer look. “I can see First Ones writing on the blade!” After clearing the vines away, he tried to lift it, but found he couldn’t. “Ugh… either this thing is heavier than it looks, or it’s got some kind of spell or something on it…”

“Let me try,” said Adora, stepping over. She grabbed the hilt and lifted it easily above her head. Then, everything went white.

Adora found herself in a strange place, like a crystal castle. A purple-blue skinned woman approached her and said pleasantly, “Hello, Adora.”

Adora gasped. “Who are you? What's going on? Where am I?” she asked.

“My name is Light Hope,” replied the woman. “I have been waiting a long time for you, but I could not reach you until you forged your connection with the sword.”

“You sent the sword?” Adora asked.

Light Hope nodded. “The sword is meant for you. Etheria has need of you, Adora. Will you answer its call? Will you fight for the honor of Greyskull?”

Adora’s mind raced. Everything was happening so quickly, and it seemed as though the legends of She-Ra were real after all! She knew there was only one way she could answer. “Yes. Yes, I will.”

The next thing Adora knew, the sword was on the ground, and her friends were gathered around her with identical looks of concern on their faces. Catra and Catarrah’s tails flicked in agitation. “Whoa… what happened?” she asked, sitting up. “The last thing I remember was lifting the sword, and then I was in some other place… there was this woman, and she spoke to me.”

“What did she say?” Catarrah asked, helping Adora to her feet.

Adora closed her eyes, trying to remember. “She said… ‘The sword is meant for you. Etheria has need of you, Adora. Will you answer its call? Will you fight for the honor of Greyskull?’”

Catarrah gasped, her paws flying to her cheeks. “By all the moons of Etheria… I never thought it possible…”

“What?” Catra asked, her hands on her hips. “What’s the big deal?”

“That sword isn’t just any sword,” Catarrah explained. “It’s the Sword of Protection, wielded only by those of the She-Ra line. Adora… you’re the new She-Ra.”

“How can she be She-Ra?” Bow asked, looking thunderstruck. “My dads always said she was just a legend!”

“Oh, she’s real, alright,” Catarrah said. “In Lykosia, we called her the Great Protector.” Then the ground began to shake beneath her paws, and she looked down. “Looks like we’ve got company!” she exclaimed. “Troops, take defensive positions now!”

The six uniformed Rebellion soldiers quickly complied, with Adora, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer falling in nearby. Catarrah took her place behind them all, in full military commander mode. (Her new rank was Squad General, the Rebellion’s equivalent to a Horde Force Captain.) 

“Prepare to fire on my mark,” Catarrah said. “Bow, I hope you’ve got some of your special effect arrows on you.”

“Always, ma’am,” said Bow, saluting as the uniformed soldiers readied their guns.

They didn’t have to wait long, because in no time at all, the ground burst apart as an enormous spider-like creature came up from beneath, roaring loudly.

“FIRE!” Catarrah shouted, and the air was filled with the sounds of laser guns firing their beams toward the creature. The only problem was, the lasers seemed to not have any effect; instead they bounced off its carapace and went ricocheting off into the trees. Bow fired off one of his special arrows, and a green slime covered the spider’s mouth, keeping it from biting them.

Not to be outdone, Glimmer began sending bursts of magical light toward the beast, but just like with the lasers, they seemed to have no effect. Instead, Glimmer was thrown into a tree, and as the spider was about to bear down on her, another shot from Bow (a rope arrow this time) allowed him to pull it away from her, if only briefly.

As the spider tried to attack Glimmer again, Adora saw her chance. She grabbed the sword from its place on the ground and shouted, “HEY! BUG BRAIN! COME OVER HERE!”

And it did so, skittering toward Adora and roaring again, fangs bared. But Adora was ready for it. She lifted the sword above her head and it caught the light of the moons above, shinning bright like a beacon. Awed, Adora remembered a key phrase Light Hope had said, and shouted with all her might: “FOR THE HONOR… OF GREYSKULL!”

The next moment, Adora was enveloped in a flash of light as she began to transform. Her clothes became a white dress with gold accents and matching boots, with a red-lined cape that streamed out behind her. She grew a foot in size, until she matched Bow’s height.

Her mother had taught her and Catra how to fence when they were younger, so she thrust at the beast with her sword, pretending it was just another fencing lesson.

The others weren’t taking this sudden change in quite as much stride, however. “Glimmer?! Are you seeing this?!” Bow asked, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, I see her, Bow,” said Glimmer, sounding stunned.

“Okay, I wanted to make sure it wasn't just me,” Bow replied. “How about you, Catra?”

“…This is the hottest thing I have ever seen,” was the cat-girl’s reply.

The creature bore down on her, but Adora was ready! She stabbed, thrust, and parried every attack, grunting with each movement as she moved closer to it. “I NEED A WEAK SPOT! ANYONE GOT ANY IDEAS?!”

“Try its belly!” Bow suggested.

Adora dove and began to crawl beneath the creature while Catarrah shifted into her battle form, keeping it distracted with her claws and fangs. While chitin covered most of the spider’s body, as Bow had predicted, the belly was the softest part, and so was unprotected. Adora thrust forward one last time and the sword went straight through, splattering her with bright green ichor. The creature spasmed and then lay still, dead.

Adora changed back into her normal self, covered in green goo. “Oh gross… what is this stuff?!”

“Blood, I think,” said Catra, taking a few sniffs. “Yeah, definitely blood. It’s just a different color.”

“Will it stain?” Adora asked, still looking disgusted.

Catarrah shrugged. “Hard to say. I saw a creek about half a mile back from here, try washing your clothes in it. Ms. Noella, go with her in case any adversaries pop up.”

“Yes, General,” said one of the soldiers, leading Adora off toward the river.

With night having fallen completely, Catarrah looked up into the sky. “Hmm… it’s too late to go back to Bright Moon now, we’ll have to make camp and hope the Horde doesn’t realize we’re here.”

Bow raised his hand, “We, uh, could always go and stay with my dads? I’m pretty sure I can find our house from here, I practically grew up in these woods.”

Catarrah thought this over. “Let’s see… there’s seven of us and the four of you, which makes eleven… they should have just enough room for all of us.” She looked back in the direction Adora and Sergeant Noella had gone, and added: “But first, we have to pick up our wayward hero.” She led the group toward the river.

Meanwhile, Adora busily scrubbed her clothes, doing her best to get the bug slime out of them. Noella kept a silent guard a few feet away. So engrossed was Adora in her task that she didn’t even notice anyone else was there until a shadow fell over her, blocking the moonlight. Then, a familiar voice purred, “Well, well, well… the prodigal daughter has returned.”

Adora felt her blood turn to ice, and she looked up. “…Shadow Weaver? What are you doing here?”

Shadow Weaver chuckled quietly, and stroked Adora’s cheek with a bony finger. “Oh, just rescuing you from the clutches of the mueling quims you’ve spent the last ten years being surrounded by… don’t worry, I’ll be sure to set things right, as I mold you into the Force Captain you were born to be.”

“What makes you think I’d go anywhere with you?!” Adora shot back, standing up and drawing her sword. “I don’t want to be a Force Captain, or part of the Horde in any way at all! The Rebellion is where I belong!”

“Are you sure?” Shadow Weaver asked. “Why would you ever think you belonged anywhere but with me? I was an outsider like you once, a long time ago… you’ve spent so many years with people who claim to love you, but they don’t… Not like I do, Adora. That mangy dog you’ve spent all this time around? I bet she’s been secretly plotting to exile you. You can’t trust wolves, you know.”

“But I’ve spent half my life there…” Adora said softly, her resolve weakening. Her grip on the sword’s hilt slackened. “Catarrah said ‘no packmate left behind…’”

“A lie, and little more,” Shadow Weaver continued. “The moment you step out of line, you’ll be thrown out like that.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis. “You remind me so much of my younger self… Come home with me, and we’ll show them all what you’re really capable of.”

Her eyes fell on the sword, and she slipped it out from Adora’s hand. “And imagine how they might react… when the mighty She-Ra herself is on our team.”

She looked back into Adora’s eyes. “Come home, Adora. The Horde needs you.”

And without even realizing it, Adora quietly followed after the witch, and back toward the place where she spent her earliest years.

Catarrah and her band arrived at the stream a few minutes after Adora and Shadow Weaver left, missing Adora by moments.

The wolf stopped short. “She’s not here…”

“Ma’am, Sergeant Noella’s been knocked out,” one of the cadets reported.

“There should be smelling salts in my pack, Cadet,” Catarrah said, beginning to sniff the air. “She must have wandered off… but there’s no sign of a struggle…”

“Mom?” broke in Catra. “I can smell her.” Her tail frizzed in agitation. “I bet she lured Adora away, with some fake promises. And I don’t see the sword, which means she knows Adora could be She-Ra.”

“And if the Horde gets She-Ra, that’s very bad news for the rest of Etheria…” Glimmer said. “What can we do?”

“We return to Bright Moon immediately,” Catarrah barked. “We’ll need a lot more than a pawful of soldiers and generals to face off against the Horde.”

“We’re retreating?!” Catra snarled, her teeth bared. “Whatever happened to ‘No packmate left behind?!’”

“Enough, Commander Catra,” Catarrah said, looking down at the wildcat. “We’ll bring Adora home soon, I promise. But we don’t have enough people to fight the Horde right now. We can’t rescue her if we’re all dead.”

“Fine…” Catra grumbled, falling into step beside the wolf as they began the long march back to Bright Moon.

Chapter Text

Adora and Shadow Weaver made their way back to the Fright Zone, following the same route the skiff had taken all those years ago, when Adora, Catra, and Catarrah had first escaped. “I haven’t been back in such a long time...” Adora was saying. “I hope no one thinks I’m a traitor or anything, with how long I’ve been gone.”

Shadow Weaver chuckled and stroked Adora’s hair. “It will be all right,” she said. “You’re something of a prodigal daughter among the cadets, Adora. They see the rebels you lived with as little more than glorified kidnappers, as do I. But now you can put them behind you, and focus on the glory that awaits. Etheria still needs to be unified, and with She-Ra’s power at our disposal, we will be unstoppable. Doesn’t that sound good?”

Adora looked down to the sword in her hand and smiled. “Yeah... it does.”

Soon, the two of them strolled through the main entrance of the Fright Zone, and from there into Hordak’s rooms. Lord Hordak himself sat in his throne, looking balefully down upon the two of them. “I sent you into the forest on a separate mission, and you bring me your old ward and a sword?” he said. “I am beginning to wonder why I keep you around, Shadow Weaver.”

“My Lord, this is the Sword of Protection,” replied Shadow Weaver, handing it to him. “It has been lost for a thousand years, until today… it is meant for Adora to carry. According to the legends, with it she can become She-Ra.”

That got Hordak’s attention. “And by bringing her here, you intend to use the Rebellion’s greatest threat against it?”

Shadow Weaver nodded. “If I have your leave, of course.”

Hordak took the sword in both hands, running his bony fingers along the hilt, and then the blade. Then he did something that neither of the two women below him had seen in their lives: he smiled. “You have more than that, Shadow Weaver. I order you to bring She-Ra on to our side, use whatever techniques you must in order to achieve this. Am I understood?”

“Yes, my Lord,” said Shadow Weaver, taking Adora’s hand. “Come along, my daughter… I think your new training regimen will go quite smoothly…” They left, with Shadow Weaver escorting Adora to the Force Captain barracks.

For Adora, re-adjusting to Horde routines after a decade away took a bit of doing, to say nothing of her new digs. She’d been housed in Catarrah’s old room, if the profusion of moth-eaten clumps of fur and dusty photos of her as a pup were any indication. She swept them off the desk and threw them into the trash, as if putting her old life as a rebel soldier behind her. Now she would fight for the Horde, and for the unity of Etheria.

On her first full day back, Shadow Weaver summoned Adora into her lab. “Ah, Adora… so glad you could join me,” she purred, stroking Adora’s cheek. “Have you brought your sword as I requested?”

Adora nodded, pulling it free from its scabbard. “Right here. What do you need it for?”

“Oh, just a little experiment,” Shadow Weaver said. “Do you know much about the Sword of Protection?”

Adora thought for a few moments. “I know the topaz stone in the hilt is actually a runestone, which gives the sword its power. Why do you want to know?”

“The Black Garnet is a runestone as well,” Shadow Weaver explained, picking the sword up. “Theoretically, a connection could be forged between the two, and doing that would increase the sword’s power exponentially. You’d become unstoppable.” She smiled behind her mask. “Is this something you want, Adora?”

“It sounds great,” Adora said, smiling. “Let’s do it!”

“Excellent,” said Shadow Weaver, and with glowing hands, she touched the Black Garnet first, then the Sword, using her connection with the former to bring dark power into the the latter. The stone began to change colors, shifting from blue to purple as more power was added, then red. The hilt changed too, becoming obsidian rather than gold.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Shadow Weaver stepped back, and spoke. “It is finished. You may touch the sword now, Adora.”

Adora nodded and took up the sword again, then screamed as dark magic coursed from the sword through her body, covering her in black smoke. Inside, she began to change: her skin paled, her blonde hair turned black, and her eyes became red, with pupils like a snake’s.

When the smoke cleared, she faced Shadow Weaver with a dark smile. “I feel so powerful… so much stronger… so much better than I ever was before. Thank you… Mother,” she said, in a deeper voice.

Shadow Weaver stroked Adora’s cheek. “You are welcome, my daughter,” she replied.

Months passed. Adora began to settle into a new routine: solo sword training in the morning after breakfast, then afternoon drills with her platoon following lunch. When dinner was over, she spent her evenings in her quarters, reviewing the latest reports from the Horde’s many satellite outposts and planning out plans of attack for territories they had yet to recapture. Her first battle would be coming soon, and she needed to be ready.

Her big moment came when they were sent to recapture the kingdom of Plumeria, one year after her trip to the Whispering Woods. A small agricultural community, it had been under the Horde’s control until nine years ago, when Catarrah had liberated it as her first mission for the Rebellion. Now it would be up to Adora and her troops to undo that progress, and show a new generation of Plumerians what true Etherian unity was all about.

Truth be told, the Rebellion had seen this coming. Horde scouts had been seen in disguise at various times over the preceding days, and so Queen Angella had sent Glimmer out to keep an eye on things. She and her small regiment had been patrolling the place, and while so far nothing had happened, Glimmer could feel that something was amiss.

On the day of the battle, it began to rain. While this wasn’t uncommon, (plants had to grow somehow, after all, and light showers helped with that) this particular rainstorm was different. Instead of light grey skies and a warm, gentle rain, the clouds on this day were dark grey, almost black, and visibly churned in the sky. Thunder as loud as cannons boomed, and the rain lashed down in great sheets.

In the tent they were using as a makeshift headquarters, Glimmer had her hands full just keeping a shield spell going, but then word came that Horde troops were marching toward them. “Uh… um… fire at will!” Glimmer said into her radio, looking nervous.

And so battle was joined. Scorpia, a white-haired woman with the tail and claws of a scorpion, was leading the Horde troops, but the weather was making it difficult for either side to make much of a dent. Between the stinging, ice cold rain and the gale-force winds, to say nothing of the thunder and lightning, neither rebels nor Horde soldiers were having an easy time of things.

Soon, both Scorpia and Glimmer called for a time out. “Force Captain Scorpia, we need a new plan of action,” said a second lieutenant. “This weather isn’t helping at all like we’d hoped.”

Scorpia grinned broadly. “I got just the thing,” she said. “Hey Adora, ready for your big debut?”

“I am,” said Adora, drawing her sword. “Let’s get started.” And without a care in the world, she stepped out into the storm.

The rain did not care for Adora, it soaked her to the bone almost instantly. But as she drew her sword, it seemed to stop for her and her alone, as if afraid. With her midnight-black hair streaming behind her, she took her stance and swung the sword into the sky, letting out a fierce battle cry: “FOR THE UNITY OF ETHERIA!”

Then she transformed, growing taller, while her outfit changed into a black ensemble with red accents, where before it had been white and gold. Then she dove into the rebel camp, and what followed after this was pandemonium.

Though the rebels tried to fight the one-woman army, the black magic she wielded meant that even Glimmer barely managed to keep up. In the end, almost all the rebel soldiers were massacred. The Plumerians waved the white flag, and the rest of the Horde marched forward, victorious.

“Squad General’s log, moondate 80379.8: The Horde has successfully taken Plumeria, and they did it using a secret weapon… She-Ra. How they managed to corrupt Etheria’s greatest hero into a villain, I can’t imagine. With nearly every kingdom on the map turned into enemy territory, and She-Ra on the Horde’s side, I’m starting to think we might be out of time and options. What we need, right now, is a miracle.”

In Angella’s war room, the mood was bleak. The battle of Plumeria had been the first of over a dozen rebel losses, meaning almost every kingdom on the planet had a red pin stuck in it, marking Horde territory. Catarrah paced in front of this map, her swagger stick tucked under her arm. Bow, Glimmer, and Catra sat at the table, wearing grim expressions. There were two empty chairs: the one to Catra’s left (meant for Adora), and one for Angella, who hadn’t arrived yet.

Then the door opened and the Queen of Bright Moon came in, taking her seat at the head of the table. “Ladies and gentleman, how goes the war?” she asked.

“To be blunt, quite badly, ma’am,” Catarrah answered. “With the return of Dryl to the Horde yesterday, we’ve now lost almost every territory we managed to liberate, with three exceptions: Bright Moon, Mystacor, and Thaymor.” She pointed to each safe spot with her swagger stick. 

"Obviously, they can’t get through the woods, which leaves us safe, and Mystacor is protected by the Lunar Lenses, which leaves Thaymor,” Catarrah continued. “They haven’t sent any squads yet, but our spies in the village have reported some reconnaissance. We think they might attempt a recapture within the next few days.”

Angella nodded. “Very well, see to it that Thaymor’s defenses are strengthened to the limit. Is there anything else?”

Glimmer spoke up next. “It’s like what we were afraid of, Mom… they’re using She-Ra.”

Catarrah nodded. “That’s why we’ve been so thoroughly trounced, ma’am. Her strength is what is allowing the Horde to retake all that territory so quickly. If we can rescue Adora, that should allow them to be beaten.”

“How do you plan to accomplish this?” Angella asked.

Catarrah stopped pacing and stood still. “We wait for them to make a move on Thaymor. We haven’t been able to get close to She-Ra yet, but in Thaymor they’ll have no choice. Once they arrive we can confront her directly. I’m confident we’ll be victorious.”

Angella smiled. “Then you have my permission, General. Good luck.”

Catarrah saluted. “Thank you, ma’am. I believe we’ll need it.”

At the same time as this, Adora was attending a briefing of her own. Hordak stood in his throne room, in front of a map that displayed all the captured territories caught by the Horde in the past few weeks.

“Force Captain Adora, I have been pleased with your work these last several weeks,” Hordak said, looking down at Adora. “Our conquest of Etheria is almost complete, we have just a few territories remaining to bring over onto our side. The first of these is Thaymor, a rebel fortress near Bright Moon. Do you think you can capture it, Force Captain?”

“I do, sir,” Adora replied, saluting. “When do we leave?”

“Immediately,” answered Hordak. “Good luck. Dismissed.” 

Adora left, high-stepping the entire way.

Some time later, Adora led her squad of soldiers toward the fortress of Thaymor. She carried the sword with her, held in a scabbard worn with a sword belt, which was wrapped around the shoulder. Marching alongside her was Scorpia, who was looking cheerful, as always. “Ahh! Nothing like a brisk morning march to get the blood going, right?” she said, smiling to her fellow Force Captain.

“It would help if the daymoons weren’t in our eyes,” Adora grumbled, shielding her eyes with one hand. “Recapturing Thaymor would be a lot easier if we could see what we were doing.”

“Maybe it’ll get cloudy!” Scorpia replied, her good mood not dampened in the slightest. “Look, we’re almost there!” Sure enough, in the distance the two of them could see some rebel guards standing in front of some kind of magical shield.

Adora smiled darkly. “Oh good, low-hanging fruit. This should be easy.” She approached the two guards and drew her sword. “Alright, you two, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she said. “Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully, and you will be allowed to live. Refuse, and you will die painfully. What’s it going to be, ladies?”

One of the guards frantically reached for her radio while the other one drew her laser pistol, firing off several shots. Scorpia managed to deflect them easily with her claws and tail, and instead they hit the shield, causing it to flicker and die.

Adora grinned. “Looks like they picked the hard way.” She turned to her troops. “Attack the fortress on my signal! Take no prisoners! If you find Princess Glimmer and those lapdogs of hers, bring them to me and I will deal with them personally. Any questions?”

“What signal, ma’am?” asked someone, as Scorpia sent one of the guards flying into a tree with a sickening crunching noise.

“You won’t miss it,” replied Adora, thrusting her sword into the air. It caught the light and began to glow darkly. “FOR THE UNITY OF ETHERIA!” Then she began to transform, and the crowd of Horde soldiers behind her overwhelmed the barrier and streamed into the village. The nightmare had begun.

Across the village, Catarrah, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra were using Thaymor’s meetinghouse as a temporary base of operations. Repurposed Horde communicators allowed Catarrah to direct troops. The citizens had been ordered to stay in their homes in the event of invasion, so as to avoid civilian casualties. So far, things were quiet, but each one of them knew that wouldn’t be the case for long.

Finally, Bow voiced what they were all thinking: “Guys… what if we can’t save her?”

“Don’t talk like that, arrowhead,” Catra hissed. “We’ll save her! We’ve got to!”

“Catra, come on!” Glimmer exclaimed. “I know you’re thinking it too! She’s a completely different person now!”

“We’ll save her, everyone,” Catarrah said, hugging each one of them tight. (Catra purred quietly.) “I am certain of it. Shadow Weaver’s tricks can be beaten if you know how.” She looked to Catra. “And we know all about that, don’t we, my little wildcat?”

Catra blushed. “Moooooom… I’m not a kitten anymore.”

“You always will be to me,” Catarrah said, nuzzling the cat-girl’s cheek with her nose.

The sweet moment was interrupted by a call coming from Catarrah’s radio: “Squad General, the Horde have arrived. They seem to be waiting for a signal.”

“Fire at will, Colonel, but at all costs, do not shoot Force Captain Adora,” Catarrah barked. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal, ma’am,” answered the colonel.

Then they all heard it, echoing across the village and striking terror into their hearts: “FOR THE UNITY OF ETHERIA!”

“Looks like that’s our cue,” Bow said, grabbing his bow and slinging his quiver of arrows along behind him.

“Stay together, and get as close as you can to Adora,” Catarrah said, leading them all outside. “Be prepared to subdue her! Use the maneuver I showed you!” The other three saluted, and together they marched off into battle, using their respective favored tricks: Bow fired arrows, Glimmer used her magic, Catra had hand-to-hand combat, and Catarrah had her battle form.

Fighting wasn’t easy. The two sides battled as hard as they could, but it was clear She-Ra gave the Horde an advantage that the rebels lacked. Soon, only She-Ra and her erstwhile family were left standing in the battlefield.

“It appears we are at an impasse,” said She-Ra, glaring at Catarrah and the others. “You are worthy opponents. That’s why I have not killed you yet.”

“That’s not the reason and you know it, Adora,” growled Catarrah. “You know we’re your family, your real family. No matter what spells that witch of Hordak’s put into your head, you can’t deny the truth of where you belong!”

“Silence, dog!” She-Ra snarled, pointing her sword at Catarrah. “Or I will cut off your head! My place is with the Horde!”

“Hey, if the Horde’s so freaking great, have you looked around this place lately?” Catra shot back. “This is a civilian town, sis! These aren't insurgents, they’re innocent people! They’re hiding in their homes because the Horde took the one symbol of hope they had and turned it against them! They’re scared of you!”

“Why should they be scared of me?” She-Ra asked. “My only wish is to unify Etheria under one banner.”

“Oh yeah?” Glimmer shouted. “Ever since The Horde got here, they've been poisoning our land, burning our cities, destroying everything in their path. And you're a part of it! How's that for orderly?”

“It is the way it must be,” She-Ra answered. “To cleanse the land and rebuild, the old must be destroyed.”

“That sounds like classic Hordak, alright,” Catra said. “Manipulation is his and Shadow Weaver's whole thing. That was why Catarrah took us in, remember?”

“I remember being sent away,” She-Ra hissed. “Rejected after I found the sword. Then Shadow Weaver found me and took me home.”

“Then turned you into this,” Catarrah said. “A demon from the pits of Hell. But we all know that’s not who you really are.” She reached out. “Come home with us, Adora. To Bright Moon, where you really belong.” Her paw wrapped around Adora’s hand, and her eyes began to glow as she cast magic of her own.

Memories filled Adora’s mind: escaping the Horde wit Catra and Catarrah, meeting Glimmer and Bow, a thousand sleepovers and birthday parties, visiting Mystacor and hanging out with Bow’s dads at their library.

But then the tendrils of Shadow Weaver’s magic wrapped around her, changing the memories, falsifying them. Then, they weren’t in a battlefield anymore, but Adora’s own mind. She was a child again, a young girl.

On one side, lit by moonlight, was Catarrah. On the other side, lit by the red light of the Black Garnet, was Shadow Weaver. Between them both was the Sword of Protection, restored to its normal look.

Shadow Weaver glared over at Catarrah. “I should’ve known you would try to tempt my daughter away from me,” she said. “But she’s so much stronger now, she doesn’t need you anymore!”

“She never needed you in the first place, witch,” Catarrah growled. “Clearly my first mistake was letting you live, I should’ve killed you all those years ago. It would have saved us all a lot of heartbreak. I’ve given her a home, unconditional love and acceptance, as any child should have! You’ve given her lies, deceit, and trickery. She is my daughter, and I will not let you take her away from me again!”

“But it’s not up to you,” Shadow Weaver pointed out. “This is Adora’s choice. She must make the decision.” She looked down at the blonde haired girl. “Pick up the sword, Adora.”

Adora picked up the sword, and in a flash she was fully grown, still looking indecisive. She looked first to Shadow Weaver. “You raised me from birth… you taught me how to talk, how to walk, and all the things a young girl growing up in the Fright Zone should know.”

Then she looked to Catarrah. “You showed me unconditional love, kindness, and acceptance. As I grew you showed me how to navigate the world as a young woman. But I’m torn.”

“You can only choose one,” said Shadow Weaver, the scenery around them changing to memories of her youth in the Fright Zone, and false memories of fights and anger in Castle Bright Moon.

“Don’t you dare,” Catarrah growled. Her paws began to glow, and the images changed to a scene with Shadow Weaver fighting two faceless figures, a man and a woman, the second of whom bore a strong resemblance to Adora. The figures fell to the ground and Shadow Weaver stood over them, gazing balefully down.

“Mom?” whispered Adora. “Dad?” She looked to Shadow Weaver again, her eyes wide. "You...killed my parents?”

"What?" scoffed the sorceress. “Don’t be ridiculous, Adora. Even I would never…” Then a realization dawned, and she turned to Catarrah. “You'd have been better off staying with the Horde using tactics like that,” she said, a smirk in her tone if not evident on her face. “We’re not so different, hm?"

The wolf stopped casting, the glow disappearing from her paws. "I will never be like you," she hissed, "You may have Adora now, but I know that girl. She'll see through your lies, and I don't need a spell for that.” Catarrah reached out and cupped Adora’s cheek in her paw. “When you think of me, what comes to mind?” she asked.

“Safety,” Adora replied. “Home. Love. Kindness. Acceptance.”

“And what do you imagine when you think of me?” asked Shadow Weaver.

Adora turned to look at the dark sorceress. “Training… power… rescued…”

“Yes, she did do all those things,” Catarrah conceded. “But think harder, pup.”

Adora was quiet, turning back to Shadow Weaver as more recent events came to mind. “You took me away from everyone who ever loved me and turned me into a monster! Etheria is scared of me now, because you turned me against them! You corrupted me, and I realize now that if Catra and I had stayed in the Horde all that time, we would’ve ended up just as cruel as you are now!”

Adora swung her sword into the air and became She-Ra, a white and gold angel of light. “YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME ANYMORE, SHADOW WEAVER,” she boomed. “AND I SHALL PROVE IT!” She ran to the dark side of the mindscape and drove her sword straight through the Black Garnet, causing it to crumble and break.

Shadow Weaver screamed, her voice echoing as she began to turn into black smoke. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Adora ran back to Catarrah and embraced her, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder. The thick fur tingled against her skin. “Can we go home?” she asked quietly.

“Of course we can,” said Catarrah, smiling. Then there was a flash of light, and Adora knew no more.

Chapter Text

When Adora woke up several hours later, the day moons had set, and the night moons were up instead. “Uuuugghh… I feel awful…” she moaned. “My everything hurts…”

“Don’t you dare get up, Commander,” said a gruff voice. A tall man wearing a white coat and stethoscope walked into the room (which was the hospital wing) with a frown on his face. He was an older man, pushing 60, with grey hair and thick eyebrows. “You just spent the last seven hours in what amounts to a magical concussion, quite frankly you should be glad you’re not dead.”

“Seven hours?!” Adora yelped. “But what about the battle?!”

“Done, dusted, and buried,” answered the doctor, scanning Adora with some sort of tool that made a buzzing noise whenever he pressed a button on the side. “Tie game. The Horde ran away when they saw the dark magic expelled from your body, and our side… well, apart from the senior staff, the rest are dead.”

“And where is the senior staff?” Adora asked. “I thought they’d be here.”

“Not until I specifically said they could come in,” said the doctor. “And now that I’ve verified you’re more or less in good enough shape for visitors, they can come in.” He snapped his fingers and the door at the end of the room opened, allowing Bow, Catra, Glimmer, and Angella inside.

Angella smiled warmly and helped Adora to sit up, embracing her. “Welcome back, Commander. It is good to have you back with us again.”

“Hey, Adora,” said Catra, nuzzling her quasi-sister’s cheek. “Thought you’d never wake up.”

“You scared the living daylights out of us,” added Bow. “After Catarrah touched you, you went into some kind of trance with her and then, the next thing we knew, you started screaming really awful screams. Then this shadow flew away from you and you were normal again.”

“I don’t remember much of anything after she touched me,” Adora admitted. “I’m glad you guys are here, and I’m really glad to be back… I’m sorry I let Shadow Weaver get to me.”

“No sweat,” Catra said, smiling too. “She’s kinda good at the whole manipulative thing. I’m just glad you’re alive. Need anything?”

Adora blushed. “Some food would be nice, I haven’t eaten anything other than gruel in ages.”

Angella nodded, “I believe we can arrange something. Glimmer, if you would please go down to the kitchens and inform them Adora is awake?”

“Sure, mom,” Glimmer replied, teleporting away after giving Adora a quick hug.

Angella turned back to Adora. “Do you have any other questions, my dear?” she asked.

“I’d just like to know a couple things,” said Adora. “Where’d my sword go? And where’s my mom?”

The mood in the room shifted as everyone, even Catra, began looking around awkwardly. “The sword is in good hands,” said Angella eventually. “As for your mother…”

“She’s been hiding in her office all day, and no one knows why,” Catra said. “She’s not letting anyone in. I don’t even think she knows you’re alive.”

“Oh.” Adora got up and stood. “Then we should go check on her! Maybe she needs our help!” She took a step forward, then immediately fell over, with only Bow catching her saving her from hitting the ground.

“She’s not leaving until I say so,” said the doctor, striding over. “I’ll let her have dinner, but after that it’s lights out. Got it?”

The others all nodded, and talked quietly with Adora some more as she ate. Then it was all over, and Adora sunk into a dreamless sleep, lulled to rest by the darkness.

For Catarrah, things were not going well. The last few days had been spent hiding from everyone: the castle servants, her subordinates, her family. She’d been absent in war council meetings and hadn’t turned up for meals either, preferring to eat alone in her room, or chase rabbits like her feral ancestors had done.

Through it all, her mind was wracked with guilt over what she had done to Adora during the battle for Thaymor, when she’d used magic to manipulate the girl into learning things about Shadow Weaver that weren’t true. The witch’s words echoed over and over in her mind, and she imagined Adora rejecting her when she finally learned the truth.

So, afraid of losing her daughter but also afraid of telling her anything, Catarrah hid instead, convincing herself that she wasn’t worth anyone’s love, that she had lied to and deceived everyone she’d ever met. It wasn’t hard.

Now she sat alone in her bedroom, the only light came from the night-moons shining through the window. It was quiet, she wasn’t playing any soothing music like she normally did. She just lay there, miserable, wishing the pain would end.

Then there came a knock on the door, and a voice: “Mom? Are you in there?” It was Adora. When Catarrah didn’t reply, Adora tried again: “I haven’t seen you since I got back... are you okay? Can I come in?” Still no answer. “Alright, I’m coming in whether you want me to or not.”

She turned the knob and found it turned easily. The door opened, and Adora came in, flicking on the lights. “Oh no... Mom, you look terrible!” she cried. “Should I get a doctor?”

“No,” Catarrah said in a hoarse voice. “Don’t, Adora... I don’t deserve one.”

Adora frowned and approached the bed. “What do you mean? No one deserves health care, it’s a fundamental right, and I...” She stopped. “Mom... what happened to you?”

Catarrah sighed. “If I answer that question, you probably won’t want me as your mother anymore. Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes,” said Adora softly. “Please.”

Catarrah nodded and closed her eyes, steeling herself. “Tell me... what do you remember of Thaymor?”

“Everything but the ending,” Adora said. “I remember you reaching out to touch me, and then the next thing I knew, I was back here, in the hospital wing.”

Catarrah nodded. “There’s a good reason for that... you know my species has a magic of our own, yes?”

“I do,” said Adora. “That lets you change into a four-legged wolf, right?”

“Among other things,” Catarrah said. “My magic works differently from what humans like Glimmer and Angella can do. We are natural healers... but that power can be used for good as well as evil. During Thaymor, I used some of my power to go into your mind, to try and cure the dark magic that had been affecting you.”

“Shadow Weaver was there... not physically, but because of her connection with the Black Garnet. Simply put, you were her puppet, and she pulled your strings. You were made to choose between us, and we both tried to influence your decision... if you’d chosen her, you would have stayed corrupted, unable to be purified. I couldn’t bear to lose you... so I created a few false memories of my own.”

“How come?” asked Adora gently. There was no judgment in her voice, only curiosity.

“Desperation and fear,” replied the wolf. “As I said, I didn’t want to lose you to the darkness... you’ve been away for a year, I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again. I was afraid that I would fail, that Shadow Weaver would remain in control… so I did what I thought was right. But in truth, it made me more like her.”

“Now that’s not true,” said Adora flatly. “I still don’t like that you did it, but I understand why. You weren’t acting out of your own desire for power or anything, like she always did. You just wanted your pack together. Shadow Weaver was just manipulating you, like she did to me and Catra for all those years.” She wrapped her arms around the wolf and hugged her tightly. “She may have raised me, but you made me who I am today, and I love you very much.”

Catarrah smiled and hugged Adora back, nuzzling her affectionately. “I love you too, little pup,” she whispered. “And I am very glad you’re home. However… I have bad news.”

Adora felt her heart sink. “What’s that?”

Catarrah got up and walked over to a corner of the room. She held up the Sword of Protection, its runestone was blue once again, but broken. “Being corrupted by the Black Garnet was bad enough, having dark magic forcibly ejected from it was too much for the stone. I’m afraid that unless we can find a way to strengthen your bond with it, there is no other way to repair it.”

Adora hugged the sword to herself and began to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks. Catarrah held her close and stroked her, letting her cry for as long as she needed. That, it turned out, was quite a long time indeed. When she had finished, Adora found a cot and slept there, while Catarrah slept on the bed. There would be much to do in the morning, but for now, the important thing was that mother and daughter were back together. And so they slept peacefully, unburdened by dreams.

In the morning, the war council met to discuss the situation regarding the runestone. Adora now took her place next to Catra at the circular table, and also joining them were Bow’s parents, Lance and George. Since they were the foremost experts on She-Ra, they were most likely to know what, if anything, could be done about the Sword of Protection.

“Adora!” Lance bounced up and hugged the blonde woman tight, grinning. “Am I glad to see you! Bow was so broken-hearted when you disappeared, we’re glad you’re safe and sound.”

“Indeed we are,” said George, smiling faintly before resuming his usual stern expression.

Angella entered the room at that moment, carrying the Sword and laying it down on the table. It had obviously seen better days, for not only had the runestone shattered, but the blade itself had rusted. George ran his finger along it, frowning. “I must admit, Your Majesty, I’ve never seen anything like this before… I didn’t know runestones could break.”

“Neither did I,” Lance admitted, adjusting his glasses. “I couldn’t find anything in our books about this… it’s completely unprecedented!”

“Is there nothing that can be done?” Angella asked. “If the sword cannot be repaired, and Adora’s connection with it restored, then surely Etheria is lost.”

“Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place,” Catra said. “The runestone got corrupted by magic, right? Maybe magic is the one thing that can fix it.”

“Mom, why don’t we take the sword to Mystacor?” Glimmer suggested. “I bet Aunt Castaspella could help!”

“Perhaps,” Angella mused. “It is an option I’ll consider. Does anyone else have any suggestions?”

Catarrah raised a paw. “I do. As you all know, we Lykosians are mages by nature. What you don’t know is that our spells come from what’s called the Book of Shadows. Every family in my village had their own copy, based on the original in our royal castle.”

”Do you think this book might have anything that can help us?” Glimmer asked.

Catarrah nodded. “From what I remember; the Book had an extremely powerful healing spell written in it. It was said to cure any affliction or ailment, other than death. Many years ago, the village I lived in caught fire, so I buried my family’s copy of the Book and fled as the flames swept through the town. If I can find the Book, we may be able to use the spell to fix the sword.”

Angella nodded. “It sounds like our best option, but I’ll talk to Castaspella in the meantime, as a backup.”

Catarrah nodded and turned to Adora and Catra. “So, girls, ready for a road trip?”

Both of them grinned and said, “You bet!”

"Squad General's log, moondate 80382.5: The girls and I are traveling to Lykosia today, to see if we can track down my family's copy of our people's Book of Shadows. I haven't visited  home since the fire swept through the village... I'm a little worried about what I might find when we get there."

Adora, Catarrah, and Catra traversed through the wilds of Etheria, approaching a distant mountain range. They didn’t carry much, just 3 backpacks filled with supplies and some sleeping bags. They’d been on the road for a while now, and were just two days short of reaching their destination: Lykosia, one of the least well-known of the many Etherian kingdoms.

“What do you think we’ll see when we get there?” Adora asked Catarrah as they approached a clearing to make camp for the night.

Her adoptive mother shrugged, “I haven’t the faintest idea... maybe they rebuilt the place after the fire. I certainly hope so. All those centuries of arcane knowledge and culture... irreplaceable. They'd be fools not to keep it alive somehow.”

“Do you know how the fire started?” Catra asked, taking off her sunglasses now that they were out of direct sunlight. Her leather jacket was draped around her shoulders.

Catarrah shook her head. “I honestly can’t remember… all I do recall is the Horde sweeping into town one day, rescuing the surviving villagers, and taking us all to the Fright Zone. Then I grew into the proud soldier that I was when we first met.” She sighed as she began building a fire. “I hope it’s okay… I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s not.”

“At least you have a home to go back to,” Catra said, helping Adora with dinner preparation. “When the Horde came to my old hometown, they just ransacked the place and burned it.”

Catarrah gave a thin smile. “Yes… I remember that night. You were one of the few survivors, I carried you out all by myself.” She finished with the fire and helped the other two cook, and they settled in to eat. By now night was falling, and the air was beginning to get cooler.

As they ate, Adora said: “What was Lykosia like when you were growing up?”

At this, the wolf smiled fondly. “The most wonderful place you could ever want to live in… our society was a communal one, of course, everyone helped to raise the pups. When you were old enough to walk on your own you were taught to hunt, which meant shifting into quad-form, as we called it. At eleven, you were taught magic: mainly all manner of healing and cleansing spells.”

She looked up into the sky, staring at the moons. “I used to have a friend… her name was Celia, and we were like sisters… then the fire came, and I didn’t see her when I was taken to the Fright Zone. I wonder what happened to her… I hope she’s safe.” She didn’t say much else as they unrolled their sleeping bags, too lost in her own thoughts.

Two days later, the trio arrived in Lykosia, or at least, what was left of it. Where once was a sprawling village that echoed with the sounds of laughing and playing children and the howls of adults, there was now an ashen remnant. Scraps of buildings were everywhere, and burned objects littered the landscape. The graves to honor the dead had been desecrated by Horde soldiers, centuries of art and culture and history had been lost forever.

Catarrah did not move or speak as they approached the wreckage. She simply stood, stared, and watched. After a long while, she finally growled: “They set the fire… I should have realized it wasn’t an accident.”

Adora and Catra looked to each other, trading concerned looks. They had never seen her like this before. Catarrah seemed to have forgotten they were there, she was running now to a particular ruin: where a house had once stood. She could see a singed photo of a red furred wolf lying on the ground, its frame had melted. She put it away and looked around some more.

In the distance, a group of Horde soldiers were preparing to lay down some concrete. The place they’d chosen had once been a meadow where Catarrah and her friends had played, now it was dusty and barren. The soldiers talked and laughed as they worked, they hadn’t noticed the new arrivals.

Catarrah walked toward them, looking casual and calm. “And just what do you lot think you’re doing?” She asked, in a cool voice.

The dozen soldiers all jumped and turned to face her. “Expanding the Fright Zone,” said one, a girl named Lonnie. “With all the new recruits, we need more space, so Shadow Weaver ordered us to start work out here.”

“This is not your territory,” Catarrah growled. “It belongs to my people.”

“It belongs to the Horde!” said another soldier. “No one has lived here for years!”

“Who are you, anyway?” Lonnie asked. “Some kind of wildlife preserver or something?”

“My name is Catarrah Sicmet, ex-Force Captain and now, apparently, the last daughter of Lykosia,” Catarrah whispered, narrowing her eyes. “You have ten seconds to make yourselves scarce or I will deliver the lot of you to Hecate’s gates myself.”

A third soldier, Kevin, blanched. “Uh, guys? We should go. Now.”

“Why?” Lonnie asked. “She said she’s an ex-Force Captain. What do we have to be afraid of? We’re younger and stronger than she is!”

“Once again, my name is Catarrah Sicmet,” snarled the wolf. “Your ten seconds are up.” She transformed, dropping onto four paws. “You have trespassed here long enough! I will avenge my dead sisters or die in the attempt! Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” said Lonnie. “Let’s bring Hordak a pet dog, guys! Attack!” They fired their weapons, but in her battle form Catarrah was stronger and tougher than usual, meaning she withstood them easily. She pounced on the soldier nearest her and tore him to shreds, blood flying every which way as he screamed for mercy.

“GET OFF OF HIM, YOU WALKING FLEA CONDO!” Lonnie shouted, trying to pull Catarrah off her comrade.

Someone swiped at her hand with a set of deadly sharp claws and said, “Get away from our mom. Or else.”

There was a gurgling noise, and the Horde soldier Catarrah had been fighting breathed his last and died, the wolf looming over him. Lonnie refused to give up and simply ordered for those who were still alive to take Catarrah and Catra prisoner.

The battle began in earnest then, as mother and daughter used the weapons nature gave them against their enemies. Adora joined in too, for even though she couldn’t become She-Ra, she still knew how to fight.

Outnumbered though the trio was, there was no denying their fierceness. Soon the battle came to an end, as with half of her group either dead or injured, Lonnie chose to make a tactical retreat. The Horde soldiers left, leaving the three rebels in peace at last.

Adora held her mother’s paw as she changed back into her biped form. “I’m really sorry, Mom… I was looking forward to seeing where you came from.”

“As was I,” Catarrah said. “But we also came here to find a book… and I remember where I buried it.” She walked back to the ruins of one particular house. Burned remnants of furniture littered the place, which mainly consisted of a frame and a dirt floor. She gestured around. “This was the house I grew up in,” she explained. “And I buried the book where any child who wants to keep things safe would do the same: my bedroom.”

And with that, she got down on her knees and began to dig. Catra and Adora joined in, and soon they had a large hole that went down several feet into the ground. They dug some more until finally, Catarrah saw the edge of a book’s spine and grabbed it, heaving it out of the dirt. For a book that had been buried underground for forty years, it was in remarkable condition.

“How come it hasn’t fallen apart?” Catra asked, taking the book in her hands. “I would’ve thought it would be worm food by now.”

“Preservation spells,” Catarrah explained. “Due to its importance it was one of the few books to be given one. So, it looks exactly as it did on the day I buried it. I suppose I didn’t need to do that, but you know me.”

“Always have a contingency plan,” Adora and Catra both said in unison.

Catarrah nodded. “Exactly.” She slipped the book into her bag and began to climb out of the hole. Once they’d climbed out and refilled the hole, Catra and Adora began to prepare lunch while Catarrah leafed through the book, humming thoughtfully. Then she got to a certain page and let out a yip of excitement, beaming. “Girls, it’s here! It’s really here!”

“What is?” Adora asked, coming over. “The spell you were talking about?”

Catarrah nodded eagerly. “This, Adora, is spell of the White Wolf.”

“The spell of the White Wolf?” echoed the other two.

“Who’s that?” asked Catra.

“Our creator,” answered Catarrah. “According to the old books, she was the only one of our kind who could cast these spells naturally, without needing to read the incantation. It is because of her that we have our magic, and while almost all of her spells are still in use today, this one is so powerful that it can take years off of your life, so you can only cast it once. But more importantly? It can cure anything. And it might just be the key to restoring the Sword of Protection.”

“How does it work?” Adora asked.

“I would place my paws on your shoulders, like so,” Catarrah began, doing exactly that. “Then I would say the incantation, and then, so long as you’re holding the sword while I do this, both it and you will be purified.”

“And… you’re sure that’s all that will happen?” Adora asked. “Has it ever been cast on humans before?”

For this, Catarrah had no answer. “That’s… actually a fair question. I don’t think so. I would check the library, but… well, I can’t really do that now, thanks to the Horde.”

Her tail drooped, and her ears pinned back. “They didn’t just burn a kingdom down, they killed an entire culture, a whole way of life. There might not be any Lykosians left now, except for me. And the thought of that… it makes me want to march down to the Fright Zone, light a match, and burn the place to the ground.”

“Well, we can’t exactly do that yet,” Adora said, “But you can cast the spell.”

Catarrah nodded. “Indeed I can.”

The rest of the day passed in relative quiet. Catarrah went to a small cemetery to pay respects for those she’d lost, then cooked dinner for herself and her daughters. The night-moons, all of them bright as can be, shone down from the heavens. When at last they had eaten, Catarrah added some more wood to their fire, then told Adora to fetch the sword.

This Adora did, and Catarrah took out the spell book, opening it to the page with the healing spell on it. She read the incantation several times over and then, when she was sure she had it memorized, she began to speak it aloud, placing her paws on Adora’s shoulders as she’d demonstrated earlier.

A magical wind began to blow, cool against Adora’s skin, and the fur coats of Catra and Catarrah. Ghostly, spectral howls were heard. The words she spoke were unpronounceable by humans, but that hardly mattered. Adora could feel something coursing through her and flowing to the sword. The broken shards within began to reconnect, the rust and grime falling away. Soon the sword was restored again, glowing like a beacon in the moonlight.

Adora knew there was only one thing left to do. She widened her stance, swung the sword up above her head, and called: “FOR THE HONOR... OF GREYSKULL!”

As before, Adora began to transform once again. Now that the dark magic was purged, her outfit had been returned to the same white with gold accents look that she usually wore. Her hair lengthened, and she grew several inches in height. The sword shone brightly, and she smiled. “Ah... it feels good to be back!” Adora said, turning to Catra and Catarrah.

But something seemed off. Catra was smirking, but she didn’t know why. Catarrah was looking befuddled and worried. Adora frowned. “Mom, what’s wrong? The spell worked great! I’m back to normal!”

“I... wouldn’t exactly say that, pup,” said Catarrah, coughing. “Tell me... where are your ears?”

“What are you talking about?” Adora tilted her head to one side, confused. “They’re right on the side of my...” She reached up to touch one, but found only skin. Catarrah pointed up, and she ran her fingers through her hair, where she found the truth: she had new ears, triangular and furry. They were cream colored, like Catarrah’s markings.

“And that’s not all,” said Catra, pointing. “You have a tail too!”

Adora looked down and found that there was indeed a tail poking through a hole in her shorts. It was bushy, and again cream colored. She wagged it, astonished. “What... what’s happening to me?”

“Well, you did ask if the healing spell had been cast on humans before,” Catarrah said. “I suppose not, if this is happening.” She pulled Adora close and hugged her. “You’re turning into a wolf, sweetie. A Lykosian, like me.”

“Weird…” Adora’s fingers brushed up against her tail, and she wagged it. Then, testing something, she changed out of She-Ra form. The ears and tail remained. “Oookaaaay. Yeah, this is definitely permanent…”

“Fine with me,” said Catra, still smirking. “And I thought you looked hot as a giant sword lady.”

Adora blushed. “Catra, what are you talking about? We’re practically sisters!”

Catra shrugged. “Why, because we were raised together? Get real, Adora. We’re not even blood related! I can have a crush on you if I want!” She clapped her hands over her mouth. She’d said too much.

Adora just stood there, Catra’s words echoing around in her head. This was becoming too much! First Lykosia’s ruins, then the fact that the spell her mom used was changing her into another species, and now this?! All of a sudden, she felt very lightheaded.

“Mom… we don’t have to go back to Bright Moon right now, do we?” She asked, in a dazed voice.

Catarrah shook her head. “Only when you’re ready, pup. Why do you ask?”

“Because right now… I really need a nap,” Adora said, keeling right over.

Other than Adora freaking out about how her friends would react to her changing body and whether or not she could still be She-Ra as a wolf, the journey back to Bright Moon was uneventful. The difficult part came when they returned to the castle proper.

“Ladies, it is good to see you have returned in one piece,” Angella said from her throne. “Was there any…” she trailed off, as Adora’s new ears and tail registered in her brain. “Why, Adora, what in the world has happened to you?!”

“It’s kind of a long story, your majesty,” Adora said, blushing.

“But the gist of it is that the healing spell worked perfectly,” Catarrah said. “The Sword of Protection is once again functional, and Adora now has full use of her magic.”

“A little too perfectly, it would seem,” Angella said, frowning. “However, I am glad the Sword has been restored. Commander Adora, report to the infirmary at once, I will have Castaspella see if your… changes can be reverted.”

“Ma’am, I must protest!” Catarrah interrupted, raising her paw. “My kind’s magic doesn’t work the way that yours does, trying to remove her ears and tail would be like trying to remove mine!”

“Be that as it may, General,” said Angella loudly, “It is out of my hands. The people of Etheria are already afraid as a result of Adora’s actions while she was with the Horde, I cannot risk frightening them more! That is my final word on the matter! General, you are dismissed!”

Catarrah saluted, then turned and marched off to the infirmary, Adora following along beside her. “Humans... afraid of change, the lot of them...” she muttered, once they were out of Angella’s earshot. “Be honest: how are you holding up, Adora?”

“Honestly? It’s still kinda weird,” Adora admitted, her ears pinning back as she spoke. “I mean, I have new muscles that work completely differently… but at the same time it’s like they were there all along. But I’m not scared. I still feel like me, I just look a little different.”

Catarrah smiled at that and gave Adora’s cheek a gentle nuzzle. “That’s good. Hold on to that, pup. If I’m right, you’re going to be getting a lot more than a new set of ears and a tail… by the time everything is settled, it’s entirely possible you’ll look like the blood daughter I never had.”

Adora smiled back. “That would be nice. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too,” said Catarrah softly. Then she pushed open the infirmary door and headed inside.

Castaspella was waiting for them, a warm and welcoming smile on her face. “It’s good to see you again, Adora,” she said, hugging the blonde woman. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly? Fine, all things considered,” Adora replied, shrugging. “Still getting used to my new body parts, but like I was telling Mom, they also feel… normal.”

Castaspella nodded, “Now that is interesting… I must admit, I’m looking forward to studying your race’s magic, Catarrah.”

Catarrah chuckled. “Always happy to lend a paw, Castaspella. What’s the plan?”

“Oh, just a simple diagnostic spell,” Castaspella said, her hands already beginning to glow. She waved them in a complex-looking pattern, and a circular matrix formed in midair. She pushed it toward Adora, who was bathed in cool blue light for a few moments.

Castaspella nodded. “Well, I don’t recognize the matrix, but I can tell you the ears and tail can’t be removed… they’re as much a part of her as anything else. But I am wondering…” She tapped her chin, then turned to Adora. “Can you turn into She-Ra for a bit? I want to test something.”

Adora nodded and withdrew her sword, turning into She-Ra with a flash of gold-white light. When the light faded, she’d changed some more: she now had a black nose just like Catarrah’s, and what looked like a very thin coat of cream fur.

“Well… looks like my guess was right,” said Catarrah, staring at Adora in awe. “Maybe I’ll be able to teach you our kind’s magic now…”

“I’d like that,” Adora said, hugging Catarrah tight. Very tight.

“Adora!” Catarrah gasped, “Airways, please!”

Adora quickly let go, “Oops, sorry… didn’t mean to do that.”

“Don’t worry,” Catarrah said with a smile. “Are we free to go, Castaspella?”

Castaspella nodded. “She’s perfectly healthy. Bow and Glimmer are around somewhere, I’m sure they’ll be glad to see you.”

Adora nodded and, after changing back into herself, hurried off to go find her friends, her tail wagging furiously.

“So, what do you think Adora’s doing right now?” Bow asked, as he sharpened some of his arrows. He and Glimmer were relaxing in the latter’s room, glad to have a day off from training.

Glimmer shrugged, not looking up from her mystery novel. “Maybe they found some ancient Lykosian ruins and they’re exploring.”

“Or maybe they got abducted by aliens!” Bow waved his arms around.

Glimmer laughed, “Sounds to me like someone’s been reading too many sci-fi books lately,” she teased. “What was this one about? The guy in the blue box?”

“No!” Bow shot back, a little too quickly.

“Glimmer, come on,” said a new voice. “Give him a break! If I really had been abducted by aliens, I’d be the last to know.” Adora was standing in the doorway, watching with an amused smile.

Bow looked up. “Oh hey Adora, when did you- OH MY GOODNESS! GLIMMER! I THINK SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH ADORA!”

“What?!” Glimmer teleported down to the floor and gaped. “Adora, what happened?! You… you’re turning into a wolf!”

“Yeah, I know,” Adora said casually, inspecting her nails. They’d gotten darker and sharper, making them look more like claws. “We got the Sword working again, but there were some… side effects.”

“I’ll say,” Bow said, looking Adora up and down. “I didn’t know that was even possible!”

“Neither did I,” Adora admitted. “Then Mom used one of her… our… her kind’s healing spells on me and the sword and, the next time I became She-Ra, I got ears and a tail.”

“Wow…” Glimmer ran her fingers along Adora’s coat, and booped her nose. “And this is… permanent, right? You won’t be able to change back?”

Adora shook her head. “Nope. Your aunt confirmed it, this is my new look. What do you think?”

“Not gonna lie, it’s a little freaky,” Bow replied. “But I think we can get used to it. Right, Glimmer?”

Glimmer nodded. “Absolutely. We aren’t going to abandon you over something like this! The Best Friend Squad is forever!”

Adora smiled and hugged them both. “Yeah… forever.”

Adora’s transformation continued over the next few days. Her fur got longer, her hands developed pads on the palm and on each finger, her feet shifted into paws, making boots basically unnecessary. She even developed a muzzle, and much sharper teeth. By the time all was said and done, she’d been completely transformed into a Lykosian, with all the physical abilities that entailed.

So, once she was fully changed, she began a new morning routine: a shower, followed by brushing out her hair and fur so they looked their best. After a quick breakfast (she ate a lot more meat now, being a carnivore), she’d train with her platoon for a few hours, then go out with Catarrah to either practice hunting (including shifting into her own battle form) or healing magic. After some time, she’d gotten quite strong, which only enhanced her abilities as She-Ra.

The only problem was, the rest of Etheria hadn’t seen her as a wolf yet. The denizens of Bright Moon had, after a few months, become quite used to the idea (even Angella, with some prodding from Castaspella), but as far as the wider world was concerned, She-Ra had gone missing. The time had come for her to make a return, and Angella knew exactly where to go.

“I must stress that this is will be a dangerous mission,” Angella said in the war room. “Plumeria has struggled to regain its independence since Horde occupation began last year, you must do all you can to free the kingdom and invite Perfuma to join the Princess Alliance.”

“We’ll do our best, your majesty,” Adora said.

Angella nodded, smiling. “I know you will. Good luck, all of you.”

And so, Adora, Catra, Bow, Glimmer, and a small squadron of backup troops (all wearing their blue and white Rebellion uniforms, of course) marched toward Plumeria. Though the journey started with clear skies, the weather grew increasingly stormy as they got closer.

“ARE WE THERE YET?!” Catra shouted over the wind, looking to Bow.

Bow squinted at his tracker pad. “WE SHOULD BE, BUT I DON’T UNDERSTAND! WHERE ARE ALL THE TREES AND FLOWERS?!” Indeed, the landscape around them was almost entirely devoid of plant life. Even the Heart-stone tree was missing.

“LOOKS LIKE THEY ALL DIED!” Catra said, glancing around at everything. “NO SURPRISE, GET A LOAD OF THAT!” She pointed at a huge ramshackle building that was belching black smoke into the dark sky.

Glimmer cast a shield spell so they could talk in normal voices. “What have they done to the place?” she asked, tears in her eyes. “This looks awful!”

“Looks to me like they built a munitions plant,” Adora said, frowning. “And forced all the Plumerians to work for them. Do you see any people around?”

Bow shook his head. “Nope. Not even guards… guess they figured no one would try to liberate the place.”

“Good thing we’re here, then!” Adora said, drawing her sword. “Let’s go save Plumeria!” Glimmer dropped the shield, and Adora exclaimed: “FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!”

Since completing her transformation into a wolf, Adora’s She-Ra form looked a little different. She still had the white and gold outfit, but the boots were missing. What was more, her connection to the sword influenced her Lykosian battle form, giving her a humanoid upper half, while her lower half was quadrupedal. Getting used to walking on four legs had taken some work, but Adora had always been a fast learner.

Once changed, the three bipeds in the group climbed onto Adora’s back and they ran right for the front doors of the factory, the remaining troops following along in their wake.

Time had not been kind to Perfuma. Since the Horde had successfully taken over Plumeria (with the She-Ra in their midst, even!), they wasted no time in razing the kingdom, transforming it into a miniature Fright Zone and munitions factory, with her people on the assembly lines. She’d gone from a princess of Etheria to a cog in the evil machine that had changed her home for the worse, and she couldn’t stand it.

However, seeing Etheria’s last hope turned to the dark side scared her too. It seemed now that there was nothing left to hope for, except maybe a relatively painless death. That, surely, would be preferable to life on a world where the Horde reigned supreme.

Which was why, when she heard the sound of rebel soldiers rampaging through the factory, she could hardly believe what she was seeing. She thought the rebels were dead! And as for the one leading them… was that a wolf?! Dressed like the She-Ra?!

“It can’t be…” Perfuma whispered. “It just can’t be…”

But it was. An enormous centaur-like wolf creature was bounding through the place, with a cat and two humans perched on its… no, her, the creature was clearly female, back. She had a white dress with a golden circlet around her head, and she carried a sword, which she used to fight off any Horde soldiers foolish enough to approach her.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF HORDAK IS GOING ON DOWN HERE?!” boomed a male voice. Force Captain Sendak came marching over, furious. “WHAT’S ALL THIS…” He trailed off, seeing the changed She-Ra, her friends, and the two dozen soldiers behind them.

Adora grinned, baring sharp white teeth. “Hello, I’m She-Ra. The real She-Ra. The last time I was in Plumeria, I wasn’t myself, literally. But not anymore! I might look a little different now, but the important thing is, I have a duty to protect Etheria, and I will uphold that.”

She leveled her sword at Sendak and said, “You have a choice. You can either surrender, take apart this factory, and go back to the Fright Zone, or you can choose to fight me while my friends take apart the factory instead. You’ll lose, by the way, because between my magic and my Lykosian strength, I’m practically unstoppable.” She looked down her muzzle at him, and flicked her tail. “What’ll it be?”

Sendak’s merciless black eyes met Adora’s warm blue ones as he said, “Stand and fight, mangy dog. I don’t care what you call yourself, it will be I who defeat you in the end!”

Adora’s grin, if possible, got even wider. “If you say so.” She turned to her friends and the squad of troops behind her. “The rest of you, free the Plumerians and start destroying the factory! We’ll take any prisoners with us back to Bright Moon! Got it?”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” The others said, all of them saluting. Catra, Bow, and Glimmer got off her back and led the troops deeper into the factory, while Adora and Sendak went to a wide-open space to fight.

Perfuma saw her chance. She got up from her station and whipped the grey cap she’d been wearing (it was marked with a Horde symbol), allowing her long blonde hair to flow freely. Focusing on her own magic (the Heart-Stone was kept somewhere deep inside the building), she began to summon vines to aid in the destruction of the factory.

The other Plumerians were inspired by this and got to work assisting the rebels, turning against their Horde overlords with great enthusiasm. Though the Horde soldiers put up a good fight, the combined strength of the rebels, the Plumerians, and Perfuma’s plant magic meant they were effectively outnumbered, and so they fled. Other than Sendak, of course.

Sendak grinned as the enormous wolftaur stepped toward him. "You aren't the only one with a sword, Princess," he said, pressing a button on his cane. The bottom part retracted to reveal a sharp blade that looked as though it could slice up Adora without a problem.

The two began to fight, their swords clinking together as they parried, stabbed, and thrusted. Adora had strength and power on her side however, and Sendak knew he had to take her sword out of the equation if he was going to have even a slim chance at besting her. So when his next turn came, rather than aim his sword at her, he instead hit the Sword of Protection with the flat part of his blade.

Adora was so surprised by this that she let go of the hilt, sending her sword flying into the air as Sendak's blade hit it. Sendak caught it expertly and grinned again. "Surrender, dog, and I will let you live."

Adora changed back into her normal two-legged wolf self and growled, pinning her ears back. "I don't need a sword to kick Horde tail," she snarled. "I have claws." She pounced at him, her claws glinting in the factory's fluorescent lighting.

Sendak tried to fight back, but the Sword of Protection was much heavier than his cane, and its weight threw him off. He dropped it to the floor just as Adora landed on him. She rolled off him on to her back and snatched up her sword again, changing back into She-Ra. She smiled dangerously, looking down at him. “Still think you can take me?”

Sendak sighed and put away his weapon. “I yield.”

Adora patted him on the head, “Good boy.”

Then there came the sound of marching feet as one of the rebel soldiers came to give a report. “We’ve taken the factory, m’lady. Princess Perfuma has asked to speak with you.”

“Does she want She-Ra or Adora?” Adora asked.

“I believe she requested to see The She-Ra, ma’am,” the soldier replied.

Adora nodded. “Lead the way, cadet.” And away she went.

Perfuma was sitting in Sendak’s office. When Adora entered, she got to her feet and inclined her head. “I always said the universe will repay the Horde one day, it seems that day has come at last!” She smiled. “It is wonderful to see you fighting on the side of good again, She-Ra. But I have one question: why do you look like a wolf?”

Adora blushed. “Long story, I’ll explain later. I have a question of my own: Queen Angella has ordered us to bring back the Princess Alliance, and we need your help. Will you join us?”

Perfuma nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! I’ll spread the word out across Etheria, we’ll do all we can to support you!”

“We appreciate it,” Adora said, smiling. “Will you need any assistance tearing down the factory?”

“Much,” Perfuma replied. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Adora shook her head. “Not at all. Let’s get started!” She and Perfuma left the office, ready to begin the long process of rebuilding Plumeria.

Chapter Text

“Squad General’s log, moondate 80401.7: Thanks to the Rebellion’s successful recapture of Plumeria a week ago, we’ve been able to add at least one Etherian princess to our burgeoning alliance. If it were up to me, I’d be in favor of trying to recruit the rest of them too, but… let’s just say Queen Angella has her own thoughts on the subject.”

Catarrah Sicmet walked through the halls of Castle Bright Moon, her claws clicking lightly on the cobblestones as she went. Beside her were her two adoptive daughters, Adora and Catra. All three of them had been a part of the Rebellion for around ten years now, after a daring escape from the Fright Zone when the girls were young.

Since then, Catarrah had essentially taken over the Rebellion’s military operations, putting the skills she’d honed in her years as a Force Captain to good use. For the most part, Queen Angella was happy to give her free reign… just not all the time.

“What do you mean, you don’t like the way Queen Angella runs the government?” Adora asked as they walked along. Though she had been human upon joining the Rebellion, a recent incident involving a healing spell had transformed her into a wolf-like being known as a Lykosian, just like Catarrah.

“Oh, I like the way she runs Bright Moon just fine,” Catarrah answered. “When it comes to domestic policy, there’s no one else I’d rather be working under. My problem is that she’s a terrible military strategist.”

“What do you mean?” Catra asked, in between bites of an apple.

“Let’s put it this way,” Catarrah said, as diplomatically as possible. “There’s a reason the Horde was able to conquer almost all of Etheria before we figured out how to get Adora back from them. Times have changed since we got here, and what I’ve come to realize is that we need the princesses if we’re going to beat the Horde once and for all.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to get her to see that?” Adora asked.

Catarrah shrugged. “Goddess only knows, girls.” With that, she headed into the war room and took her seat, right next to Angella’s right. Glimmer, Bow, Adora, and Catra all sat down too, and once Angella arrived, the meeting began in earnest.

“Good morning, everyone,” Queen Angella said, taking up her throne. “Today, we're looking for plans to strengthen our defenses against the Horde. Who would like to go first?”

Glimmer's hand shot up. “Me, me, me! Me! Me, me!”

Angella sighed. “Who besides Glimmer would like to go first?” When no one answered, she turned to Catarrah. “What about you, General Sicmet? Have you any tactical suggestions for us?”

“As it happens, my tactical suggestions are actually pretty close to something your daughter has been working on, your majesty,” Catarrah answered, smirking ever so slightly. 

Angella groaned. “Fine… you may speak, Glimmer,” she said reluctantly.

Glimmer stood up. “Mom— Uh, eugh, your majesty… You should let me, Bow, Catra, Catarrah, and Adora continue our princess recruitment mission! If we can form a new Princess Alliance, the Rebellion would actually stand a chance for once!”

“The princesses withdrew from the last alliance,” Angella pointed out. “They chose to focus on protecting their own lands.”

“So, are we supposed to just... give up?!” Glimmer demanded. 

Angella glared at her daughter and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Catarrah cleared her throat. “With all due respect, your majesty, I think Commander Glimmer’s plan has merit.”

“You would say that,” Catra said, smirking. “Weren’t you working on it together pretty much as soon as we got back from Plumeria?”

“Yes, but that’s beside the point,” said Catarrah. She activated a holographic map of Etheria, pointing at various locations with her swagger stick. “As you know, anyone approaching Bright Moon by sea needs to pass through the Salineas Sea Gate. It's controlled by Princess Mermista now that her father is retired. With her on our side, the Rebellion could control the seas, allowing us to establish new supply lines and the ability to more easily send reinforcements to our more distant platoons.”

“That may be so, but what makes you think she’d be willing to establish a potential alliance?” asked Angella.

Catarrah resisted the urge to facepalm. Instead, she said, “Your majesty, the last alliance broke up at around the same time Lykosia burned to the ground. It’s been nearly forty years, is it so difficult to believe that a new generation of leaders might be more willing to do what their parents are not?”

Angella sighed. “If it was just Glimmer, I might be more reluctant… but very well, General Sicmet. You may have your Salineas mission.”

“WOOHOO!” Glimmer shouted, unable to contain her excitement. “WE DID IT!”

“ON ONE CONDITION!” Angella said loudly.

“And that is?” Catarrah asked.

Angella narrowed her eyes. “You go with them, General Sicmet,” she said coldly. “I don’t appreciate members of my cabinet going behind my back like this, especially during a time of crisis. If you—”

“If I wasn’t so good at my job, you’d have fired me already,” Catarrah finished for her. “And then, as I told you the night I arrived here, the Horde would have no trouble breaking into Bright Moon and taking you prisoner. We didn’t want that then, and we don’t want it now.” 

She took a few deep breaths to calm down. “Your majesty… let me handle the war from here on out, alright? As rough as the situation with Adora and the Sword of Protection was, that’s nothing compared to what could be coming down the pike. And if things get bad, the last thing Bright Moon needs is to lose its queen.”

Angella closed her eyes, and took a long, deep breath… before finally exhaling. “I will concede your point, General Sicmet. Henceforth, I will be placing you in charge of the war room from here on out.” She smiled, ever so slightly. “Do try to keep us from getting blown to pieces.”

Catarrah smiled back. “I will do my best, your majesty. Thank you.”

And the meeting broke up.

“Squad General’s log, supplemental: The pack has arrived in Seaworthy, a port city on Bright Moon’s border with the kingdom of Salineas. Our mission objective is to procure the services of an experienced naval officer to take us to Salineas Island, where Princess Mermista is expecting us.”

“I can’t believe my mom just gave you control of the Rebellion like that,” Glimmer said to Catarrah, as the skiff the wolf was piloting came in for a landing on the edge of the cliff face. “Usually she prefers to do everything herself!”

“It was facts and logic that did it, Glimmer,” Catarrah replied. “Wars aren’t won by staying in a map room moving little figurines around, they’re won by leading from the front.” She smirked a bit. “I’d take your mom over Hordak any day of the week.”

Disembarking from the skiff, the quintet made their way into a tavern, where they found various Etherians were cheering, drinking, making deals, and playing cards. 

Bow gasped excitedly. “This is so cool! Seaworthy is just like I imagined it! Everyone here looks like a real pirate!”

“I think the technical term is privateer,” Adora pointed out. “Not that it matters too much. None of these people look qualified to sail a ship.”

“Sail them, no. Burn them down, maybe,” agreed Catra, as she watched one privateer turn a table over in anger.

“We’ve got to try!” Glimmer cried, ignoring these complaints. She strode over to the bar and cleared her throat, looking to the muscular woman behind it. “Excuse me? We’re looking for a sea captain to take us to Salineas.”

The bartender pointed to two Etherians arm wrestling, surrounded by spectators. One of the figures, a muscular man with purple hair and a matching mustache, successfully slammed his opponent’s arm down on the table. 

“I won!” cried the muscular man, as the spectators began to disperse. “Drinks all around! Put it on my friend here's tab!”

Catra groaned. “Oh great, the Creator’s gift to men, women, and enbies. We’re doomed.”

Glimmer ignored this, taking the lead once again as she approached the man’s table. “Uh, hiiii. We were told you're a sea captain?”

“I am the one and only Seahawk!” the man announced, jumping up onto the table. “Has my reputation preceded me?”

Bow gasped in awe. “Your name is Seahawk? That's the coolest name I've ever heard!”

“Why thank you, good sir,” Seahawk said, preening as he sat down, resting his boots on the tabletop.

Catarrah approached, looking like the stern military officer she knew Seahawk wasn’t. “Captain Seahawk, we're interviewing potential captains to take us to Salineas,” she said. “Would you like to apply for the position?”

Seahawk began to laugh, as if the very idea were nonsensical to him. “Apply for the position?! I am the one and only Seahawk! I'm offer only!”

Catarrah scowled, fixing Seahawk with her piercing golden eyes. She slammed her paws down on the table and growled, lashing her tail in annoyance. “Okay, just because "Sea" is in your name, doesn't tell us anything about your ACTUAL qualifications,” she snarled. “Your résumé, please. Now."

Seahawk got to his feet again and, put his hands on the table, matching Catarrah’s pose if not her expression. “Qualifications? I once ran the 50-klick Galebreath Gauntlet in less than 20 klicks!” he said. “I maneuvered the straits of Serpentine with nary a chip in the paint of my bow! My shanties are considered so desirable, that sirens fling THEMSELVES into the sea at the sound of them!” He glanced over at Bow. “And because I can tell you're wondering, my mustache is... naturally shiny.”

Bow leaned in to look at Seahawk's mustache, and sure enough, it was indeed naturally shiny. Bow gasped, impressed. “It IS shiny! You're hired!”

Seahawk paused, and frowned at Bow for the first time since they’d met. “Whoa, there, kid. What makes you think you can afford me?” he asked. Handing Glimmer a folded piece of paper, he said, “Behold my fee!”

Glimmer opened the paper, gasped, and closed it again. “Catarrah, how are we supposed to afford this?! The Rebellion doesn’t even have that kind of money!”

“Uh, hello?” interrupted Catra, “Who says we have to go with this guy? There’s gotta be another sea captain around here somewhere, this place is crawling with sailors.”

“Good luck with that,” said Seahawk, smirking. “You won't find another soul who knows the treacherous route to Salineas as well as I do. I brave it often to visit my close personal friend, Princess Mermista.”

Catarrah nodded. “Well then,” she said, “Consider yourself officially drafted into the Etherian Rebellion, Captain Seahawk.”

Seahawk froze, his bravado vanishing in an instant. “…I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” Catarrah replied. “I am Squad General Catarrah Sicmet, commander-in-chief of the Etherian Rebellion. And we need to visit Salineas for a diplomatic mission to facilitate the development of a new princess alliance. I am thus empowered to recruit any civilian I deem necessary to the successful completion of the mission. This fee,” she took the paper from Glimmer and ripped it into pieces, “will not be required.”

“But you can’t!” cried Seahawk. “I have bills to pay! Repairs to make!”

The other Lykosian in the group cleared her throat. “General, let me handle this,” said Adora, padding forward. She slammed her paw down on the table, sat down, and held her other arm up. “Okay, here's the deal,” she said to Seahawk. “We go one round, winner takes all. You win, we leave you alone. I win, you take us to Salineas. At no cost.”

“That's a terrible deal,” Seahawk said, “Especially against a wolf!” Then he smirked again, regaining some of his grandeur. “But I am undefeated at arm wrestling! Let me show you how it's done, lassie!”

He grabbed Adora’s free paw, and the two of them grunted furiously as they arm wrestled. For several tense moments, the group watched, uncertain as to how Adora’s recent transformation might affect the outcome… 

And then the blonde Lykosian shoved Seahawk’s hand onto the table. “HA!” cried Adora, grinning widely.

Seahawk got up and cleared his throat, attempting valiantly to save face. “Well, truth be told, I let you win so as to, ahem, boost your confidence,” he said, entirely unconvincingly.

“Keep telling yourself that, Seagull,” Catra said, not believing it for an instant. 

Seahawk didn’t let the jibe slow him down. “I've been wanting to go to Salineas anyway!” he said, leaping over the table to join the rest of the group. “Come on, everyone, with me! Forward to… ADVENTURE!”

“Goddess be with me…” muttered Catarrah, as the group made their way out of the tavern. None of them noticed the shadow spy looming watching on the balcony above, magical energy hissing as it dispersed itself to follow them.

At the docks, the quintet climbed aboard the deck of a sailing ship. Seahawk gestured grandly and announced, “Welcome aboard The Dragon's Daughter… THREE.”

Catra smirked. “What happened to The Dragon's Daughters One and Two?” she asked.

Seahawk’s bravado seemed to disappear for a moment. “Tragically, they went down in flames… because I set them on fire!” He leapt to the front of the bow and pointed ahead. “ADVENTURE!”

Catarrah groaned, and facepawed. “Goddess, give me strength…” she muttered.

To her credit, Adora seemed to pick up on her mother’s frustration. “Are we sure about this guy?” she asked Glimmer in an undertone.

“He just needs to get us there,” Glimmer whispered back. 

“You'll of course be expected to earn your keep by helping out around the ship,” Seahawk continued, as if he thought he had any power in this situation whatsoever.  “Never fear! I will teach you everything you need to know… in shanty form!” 

He began to sing, but only got as far as the first note before Catarrah began to growl at him. “One more word and I rip your throat out with my teeth, buster,” she snarled.

Looking spooked, Seahawk flinched and went to go visit Bow, who was busy tightening a rope knot. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I noticed your mainsail wasn't secured, so I fixed it,” Bow answered, looking up from his handiwork.

Seahawk looked stunned. “Tying proper knots is a task that takes years to master... You did these just now?!”

Bow nodded eagerly. “Yes!”

Seahawk smiled proudly and placed his hand on the young archer’s shoulder. “Excellent work! Even if it is just beginner's luck. Now then…” He walked across the deck to Glimmer. “We'll also need to set a lookout!” He beamed widely. “Come on, Sparkle, we'll sing a shanty duet and I'll show you how to climb the ratlines!”

Looking thoroughly disgusted, Glimmer simply teleported into the crow’s nest without a word. Then Adora came by, looking proud of herself. “I unfurled the jib!” she exclaimed.

“By yourself?!” spluttered Seahawk. “Not even a sailor as experienced as me could do that!"

Adora caught the inadvertent confession and smirked. “Oh, so what you're saying is, I'm better at this than you are?”

“Well, you are a strangely overqualified crew,” said Seahawk, not directly answering the question. "What do you even need old Seahawk for?”

“Believe me, I have been wondering the same thing,” grumbled Catarrah. Seahawk pretended not to hear her.

Some time later, Glimmer and Catarrah were in the crow’s nest, staring confusedly at a map. A ship graveyard had come into view, and there were various ominous creaking sounds as the Dragon’s Daughter III came closer and closer to it.

“I don’t understand it!” Glimmer was saying to Catarrah. “According to the map, we're way off-course! There’s no ship graveyard anywhere near Salineas! So what are we doing here?!”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Catarrah growled. “Leave this to me, Commander.” And with that, she climbed down from the nest and dove back onto the main deck. Seahawk and Adora were arm-wrestling again, and as expected, Seahawk was continuing to lose.

“YOU!” Catarrah snarled, grabbing Seahawk by the shoulders and spinning him around, “WHAT, IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESSES, ARE WE DOING HERE?!” she demanded, just as a booming crash was heard. 

The ship shook mightily, and then a truly enormous serpent with many extremely sharp teeth rose up from the water, snarling loudly. 

“The Serpent of the Sea!” Seahawk cried, sounding like he’d expected this would happen. “I knew he'd be lurking in these waters!”

Catarrah froze. Catra, Bow, and Adora watched as Seahawk’s words registered, but rather than an explosion of anger, the squad general’s face simply grew calm instead… unnervingly calm. “So… you brought us here… on purpose?” she asked.

Bow gulped. “Uh-oh… I’ve never seen her look like that before…”

“Neither have I,” Adora said, looking worriedly between Seahawk and Catarrah.

For his part, Seahawk continued to sail blithely into the tempest of Catarrah’s fury. “But of course!” he said, in answer to her earlier question. “You see, I don't just provide sea transport! I give you a tale to tell your friends!”

Catra, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on the serpent. “Uh, guys? It looks like he’s getting ready for another attack!”

“On it!” Adora replied, reaching behind her and pulling the Sword of Protection out of its scabbard, just in case. At the same moment, the serpent burst from the ocean, roaring, water crashing in its wake.

“FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!” Adora yelled, as in a flash of light, she transformed into She-Ra - now, a four-legged blonde-furred wolf with a humanoid torso and upper body, not unlike a centaur. 

Claws skittering across the wood of the ship deck, she leapt from the ship and flew toward the monster, her sword clanging as she slammed it down and cracked the serpent's teeth with it. The monster roared and hissed as it slunk down under the surface, taking She-Ra with it.

Meanwhile, Catarrah had returned to her normal state of apoplectic fury. “LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT!” she yelled at Seahawk. “YOU STEERED US INTO A GIANT SEA SERPENT JUST SO YOU COULD, WHAT, SHOW OFF?!”

“That was the plan, until your tall friend there STOLE my THUNDER!” Seahawk shouted back.

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR THUNDER!” Catarrah roared, spit flying from her very sharp teeth. “THAT IS MY DAUGHTER, YOU EGOTISTICAL BLOWHARD! WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE ETHERIA AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS WHETHER WE'RE IMPRESSED WITH YOU?!” 

Catarrah punched Seahawk in the face, sending him flying across the deck. Standing over him, she took out a blaster from its holster and pointed it at him. “By the power vested in me as commander-in-chief of the Etherian Rebellion, I am taking command of this vessel for the duration of this mission!” she barked. “Is that understood, Mister Seahawk?!”

Seahawk weakly raised a hand, looking somewhat dazed. “Can… can I be first mate?” he asked.

Catarrah rolled her eyes, and turned to Bow. “Take him belowdecks,” she ordered. “Once we get to Salineas, I’ll have him remanded into custody for violating national security.”

Bow nodded and saluted. “Aye aye, Captain!” he said, helping Seahawk to stand. He then tied Seahawk’s hands together with a spare piece of rope and led him downstairs, while Catarrah took up the helm.

At the same instant, Adora surfaced from below the water, grinning happily. “Okay! Now, I got it! We’re all good!”

“Adora! Get in the damn boat!” Glimmer shouted from the crow’s nest.

“You got it!” Adora cried, swimming back over and climbing over the rail. The Dragon’s Daughter III sailed on, as Catarrah altered their course and took them far, far away from the ship graveyard.

A few hours later, Seahawk’s ship came ashore at the edge of Salineas. The man himself had been dragged up from below and released, with specific instructions not to interfere with the diplomatic mission the crew were about to undertake. But as the group got a look at the city, they found it was entirely deserted.

“Where is everyone?” Bow asked, looking around in confusion. A wind was blowing, filling the air with the salty taste of the sea. 

“Hmm...very odd, indeed,” commented Seahawk. “If I know the princess Mermista, and I do, something’s amiss.”

Catarrah scanned around with a data recorder, then checked the display. “Minimal life signs… some, but not very many.”

“Could everyone else be dead?” Catra wondered.

“…Not outside the realm of possibility, I’m afraid,” admitted Catarrah. “There is a war on, and the Horde want control of the seas just as badly as we do.” 

Before she could continue, a Salineas guard came running from her lookout post, shouting all the while: “Halt! Halt! Halt, I say!” she cried, getting increasingly out of breath. Finally reaching them, she stopped to catch her breath. Only once she was recovered did she finally ask her question: “What’s your business in Salineas?”

“My name is General Catarrah Sicmet, and this is Commander Glimmer,” Catarrah began, gesturing to herself and her second-in-command. “We’ve come to speak with Princess Mermista.”

“Tell her Seahawk is with them! She'll be excited to see me!” Seahawk insisted desperately. Catra, rolling her eyes, clapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

The guard nodded in response to Catarrah’s reply. “The Princess is expecting you, General,” she said, and she led the group up a long flight of stairs into the castle.

The throne room of Castle Salineas was every bit as impressive as its equivalent back in Bright Moon. The decor was of course sea-themed, and several waterfalls ran alongside the sides of the space. The throne itself was truly enormous, just as sea-themed as the room around it. Even the seat, in which Mermista sat, resembled an open clam shell.

As the crew of the DD3 came inside, Mermista wrinkled her nose at the sight of Seahawk. “Ew, who let him back in here?”

Seahawk ignored this. He ran to Mermista's throne as the crew and the guard follow at a walking pace, swept into an elaborate bow, and said, “Princess! Oh, it's been too long. I have dreamed of you night and day since we parted!”

Mermista rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. Sure.” She turned instead to the crew of the DD3. “And who are you?”

Glimmer spoke up this time, with Catarrah at her side. “My name is Commander Glimmer of Bright Moon,” she said. “We've never met, but our parents fought in the Rebellion together.”

Mermista nodded disinterestedly. “Oh, yeah... I remember hearing about the old Princess Alliance. My dad said it was a total disaster.”

Catarrah nodded. “From what I have been able to determine, the previous alliance fell apart due to inter-party squabbling among the participating kingdoms, and a lack of proper military discipline. The new alliance will not fall prey to those same disagreements.”

Mermista blinked, surprised. “…You’re joking, right? You actually want to rebuild the Princess Alliance?”

Glimmer nodded. "None of us stand a chance on our own, but we might be able to stop the Horde together! We’ve already got Perfuma on our side!”

“And?” Mermista said, raising an eyebrow. “Why should I help Bright Moon? It's not like they've ever done anything to help us.”

Catarrah stepped forward, and locked eyes with Mermista. “That may have been true before now, but things have changed, Princess,” she said. “I’m heading up the Rebellion now, and I’ve got 45 years of military experience at my back. So believe me when I tell you that right now, we have two choices: We can either come together and fight as a unit, or we can stay isolated and die as my former employers roll their tanks over every square inch of Etheria.” 

At last, the wolf locked eyes with the human. “The Horde destroyed my home kingdom of Lykosia. I refuse to let the rest of Etheria’s kingdoms go the same way.”

Mermista hesitated, but gave in. “Okay… fine. I’ll work with you. It’s just as well you guys showed up when you did.” She gestured to the almost entirely empty throne room. Only one guard stood sentinel, positioned next to the throne itself. “As you can see, I'm a little understaffed right now.”

“Why?” Adora asked. 

“Everybody fled because the Gate’s been falling apart,” Mermista replied. She snorted. “It figures that I would inherit a kingdom that's crumbling, but it's totally fine—I'm... handling it.” (She did not look like she was handling it.) “It's just kind of inconvenient because the Horde won't stop attacking us.”

“Why is the gate falling apart?” Glimmer asked.

Mermista shrugged. I mean, who knows, but it's getting weaker every day. And if the Horde tries to attack us again, we're pretty much dead.” She glanced around at the crew of the DD3. “So. Got any miracles up your sleeve, General?” she asked Catarrah.

Catarrah smiled. “As a matter of fact, I do.” She gestured to Adora. “I present… my adoptive daughter, Adora. Better known as She-Ra.”

Now Mermista’s mouth fell open. “Okay, hang on a sec. Wasn’t she the one who turned Plumeria into a Horde munitions depot?”

Adora nodded. “Yeah, but that was only because the Horde kidnapped and brainwashed me. Then I got better.” She crossed the room to a nearby section of wall, looking thoughtful. “This is First Ones writing…”

Glimmer gasped and ran over to stand next to adora. “It is?! What does it say?!”

“It's something about the Gate,” Adora answered. “The First Ones must have built it. It looks like the Gate gets its power from the Salinean Runestone... It could be that the Gate is failing because it's losing its connection to the power source.”

“Do you think you can fix it?” Glimmer asked.

Adora shrugged. “I can try.” 

“Do it,” Catarrah ordered. She turned back to Mermista. “Princess, we’d appreciate an escort.”

“Consider it done,” Mermista said, leading the group out of the throne room.

The Sea Gate, it turned out, was exactly that. Elaborately carved stone guards protected a shimmering magical gate, through which small spouts of water occasionally seeped. In the center of the gate was what appeared to be some more First Ones writing. It was glowing red, indicating the gate was low on power… borne out by the gate’s periodic glitching.

“I really hope you know what you're doing,” Mermista said to Adora, as she, Catarrah, Bow, and Adora floated over to the gate via a platform. (Glimmer and Seahawk had returned to the DD3 to look out for any approaching Horde vessels.)

Adora chuckled nervously. “Uh...yeah, totally! [chuckles nervously] I got this!” she said, drawing her sword from its scabbard. “FOR THE HONOR...OF GREYSKULL!”

And in a flash of light, she transformed into the quadrupedal form of She-Ra.

Mermista looked stunned. “Wow. Okay. That’s... different. I thought She-Ra was human.”

“Long story,” Catarrah explained. “I’ll explain later.”

Meanwhile, Adora gripped her sword with both paws and pointed it at the Gate, concentrating. The sword glowed with magical energy that thrummed and shot out to the Gate; which glowed blue in return before beginning to repair itself with various digital beeps and hums. Adora grunted slightly as she struggled to keep up the connection.

“...Is it working?” Bow asked.

Adora nodded, trying very hard not to move a muscle. “Don’t distract me… this is a lot harder than it looks…” She continued to grunt as she charged the Gate, whirring noises and beeping signifying its repair. “This might take a while…”

Suddenly, Catarrah’s communicator chirped, and she tapped it: “What’s your status, Mr. Seahawk?”

“We’ve got a Horde vessel en route, General,” Seahawk replied, having been sufficiently chastised by now. “I think I can see some kind of laser cannon.” 

Catarrah swore. “That’s all we need… and with our ace in the hole otherwise engaged, we’ll have to fight them off on our own.”

Am instant later, the Horde laser cannon activated. A jet of green light shot out from the ship and struck the gate, creating a huge hole and disrupting the flow of the Sword’s magic. Adora was zapped with electricity as the Gate was hit, making her shout in pain and stop charging the Gate. 

“They're coming for the gate!” Bow cried, realizing what all this meant.

Adora groaned as the electricity faded. “I just need a little more time!” she said, raising her sword to charge the gate again. “Keep them busy!”

While Mermista jumped off the platform and transformed into a mermaid, Bow and Catarrah hopped and jumped their way down a chain of rocks closer toward the water. Bow then fired a rope arrow at the Horde ship, which stuck to the mast. “Grab on to me, General!” he cried. “It’ll be like a zip-line!”

“Works for me!” Catarrah said, wrapping her arms around Bow as tightly as she could. They then zipped along the rope onto the Horde ship, whereupon Bow drove the edge of his bow into the sail to slow their descent, ripping the fabric. 

Landing on the deck, Bow fired an arrow at the Horde soldiers on board, while Catarrah attacked them bodily, punching and kicking and biting at every guard she saw. Though she and Bow put up as good a fight as they could, they were still outnumbered. At one point, a scorpion woman scooped Bow up and tossed him toward one of the engine blades…

Only for Seahawk to come swooping into the rescue, depositing Bow safely aboard the DD3. Catarrah, who’d changed into her battle form by this time, used the moment to leap over the railing of the Horde ship, landing neatly on all four paws on the DD3’s deck.

But they didn’t have much time to celebrate, because the Horde ship's laser fired again as it raced toward the Gate.

“Nothing's slowing them down!” Seahawk cried. “What do we do?”

“I think I have a plan,” Glimmer said. “But it’s kind of insanely dangerous.” She blanched. “General… you’re not gonna rat me out to my mom, are you?”

Bipedal once again, Catarrah smiled and ruffled Glimmer’s hair affectionately. “She made me CNC, and that means you report to me, not her,” she said. “But if it’ll calm you down? Your secret’s safe with me.”

Glimmer breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Seahawk. “Seahawk, I need your help. I need you to do what you do best.”

“What?” Seahawk asked.

Glimmer grinned. “Set your ship on fire!”

Seahawk beamed happily. “YES!”

By this time, repeated attacks from the Horde’s laser cannon had punched several large holes in the Sea Gate. The only way to shut down the laser cannon, Glimmer reasoned, was to ram the Horde ship with the DD3… which would, of course, be on fire.

With Catarrah, Glimmer, and Seahawk each manning the helm, the DD3 skirted quickly around the Horde ship, then doubled back, heading straight at the enemy vessel. Just before the moment of impact, Glimmer used her magic to teleport the crew to safety, just as the ship itself caught fire. Seeing what was about to happen, the Horde crew screamed and jumped ship, landing in the water just in time.

The flaming ship and the Horde vessel sailed full-speed at each other and collided. The resulting explosion sunk both ships down under the waves. With nothing to get in her way, Adora took a deep breath and concentratds, her aura glowing. The sword sent out charging energy to the Gate again, allowing the gate to magically repair itself. 

“Huh, what do you know, you actually fixed it,” Mermista said, looking awestruck at the sight of the newly-repaired gate. She turned back to Seahawk and sighed. “I guess you're gonna be needing a new ship?”

Seahawk nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind?” 

Mermista groaned and gestured behind her  to a different ship that now sat on the shore. “I suppose you can have one of mine… just don't set it on fire.”

“No promises,” Seahawk said. “But, Princess,” he took Mermista's hand and kneeled, “If I might ask for one more favor?”

“What?” demanded Mermista.

“You should think about joining the new Princess Alliance,” Seahawk said. “General Catarrah and Commander Glimmer are brave and strong captains! With them at the helm, they are sure to lead the Rebellion to victory!”

For the first time, Mermista smiled. “Okay, I'm in.”

Glimmer gasped in surprise. “Really?!”

Mermista nodded. “Yeah. The Horde almost destroyed my home. I wanna help fight them.” She gestured at Adora. “Plus, your friend over there can turn into like an eight-foot tall wolf lady with a sword, and I want her on my side.”

“Well then,” Catarrah said, grinning. “I think I speak for all of us when I say: Welcome to the Rebellion, Princess Mermista.”

Everyone cheered, and as the moons set over the horizon, the newly-named Dragon’s Daughter IV sailed off into the gathering night, leaving Salineas behind.

Chapter Text

“Squad General’s log, moondate 80423.6: The senior staff of the Etherian War Council are headed to Dryl to recruit Princess Entrapta into the Alliance. Very little is known about her or the kingdom she rules over, as available historical records indicate the Princess is something of a recluse.”

The skiff containing Catarrah, Glimmer, Bow, and Adora alighted on the edge of a rocky outcropping, and the four members of the war council got out, walking along this outcropping toward a castle in the distance. 

“Princess Entrapta will be a total catch for the Rebellion!” Glimmer was saying, bouncing up and and down excitedly.

“Why exactly is Entrapta so important?” Adora asked, looking confused.

“She's a brilliant inventor,” answered Bow. “She makes robots and rehabs old tech left by the First Ones.” He grinned. “She's a pretty big deal in the Etherian makers community. Which I am a part of, because I dabble in gadgetry myself.”

Adora blinked, and whispered into her adoptive mother’s ear. “What does any of that mean?”

“It means that if we convince Entrapta to join the Rebellion, she'll be able to design weaponry all that can match, or even surpass, what the Horde have been able to develop,” Catarrah answered. “And that will dramatically improve our performance on the battlefield.”

Bow nodded enthusiastically. “Like my trick arrows!” he cried, taking off his quiver to show his arrows off to the others. “I'm running low so I built some new ones.”

“Such as?” Catarrah tilted her head, intrigued. 

Bow held them up as he discussed them. “This one is a stun arrow, this one is an emergency flare, and here is my newest one!” With a flourish and a dramatic spin, he pulled it from the quiver and showed it off proudly. “A sonic arrow!”

Glimmer scoffed, amused. “When will we ever need a sonic arrow?! If we have to wake up really early?”

“Or if we get separated in a crowd?” chipped in Adora, as the two of them began to laugh.

Bow rolled his eyes. "Separated in a crowd… I bet Entrapta will like my arrows,” he said to Catarrah, looking discouraged.

Catarrah patted his shoulder with a paw, and smiled. “I’m sure she will, Bow. You’ve done the Goddess’s work with these arrows, and I know you’ll find uses for all of them.”

Bow blushed. “Thanks, Catarrah.” Cheered up, the two of them walked along the mountain path after Adora and Glimmer. They weren’t at it for very long, however, when they found their progress had been blocked by an enormous pile of boulders.

“Must have been a rock slide,” theorized Bow, considering the mass in front of him. “Any loud sound could cause another slide. We need to be as quiet as—”

What they needed to be as quiet as, they never found out. Adora ran for the boulders, brandishing her sword in one cream-furred paw. “FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!” she yelled, transforming into She-Ra in a flash of bright light. 

With several quick slashes, the boulders tumbled off over the edge of the path and out of view. Adora beamed, swinging her sword about as if it were a baseball bat instead of a weapon of immense magical power. “Ha! I'm getting the hang of this!” she said, padding along in the lead.

“That was incredibly dangerous!” Bow cried, not remotely amused by any of this. “You can't just bust through everything with magic!”

“What's the big deal?” Adora asked, unmoved. “It worked!”

“She-Ra could have caused an avalanche!” Bow pointed out.

Adora let off a very lupine huff of annoyance. “But she didn't, OK? I've spent my whole life without powers! No way I'm going to stop using them now!” She continued on, quickly outpacing the three bipeds.

“Can’t you stop her?” Bow asked Catarrah. “You’re half the reason she has magic in the first place!”

“True, but some things are best learned by example,” Catarrah answered. “Practically speaking, Adora is the equivalent of a young pup just starting to learn telekinesis. The training I received at that age helped with my control, but it took proper field experience for me to learn both what spell to cast, and when. She will learn these things too, in time.”

Bow sighed heavily, but walked on with the others.

After a while, the quartet finally arrived at Dryl Castle. A high wall surrounded most of the castle, but they could see the very tops of some turrets. A large sphere at the top of one occasionally shot lightning, leading to almost immediate thunderclaps whenever a new bolt struck.

Glimmer teleported up to the edge of a parapet and frowned. “Something's wrong! The castle's distress beacon is lit! They must be under attack!” she cried.

“I don’t see how,” said Catarrah, frowning deeply. “There's been no reports of the Horde in this area.”

“Let’s go investigate,” Adora cried, heading for the door set into the wall. In doing so, one of her hind paws jostled a boulder, which activated a trap: a section of the ground in front of Bow and Catarrah retracted, and in its place rose a metal plate with several very sharp, and very deadly, looking spikes attached to it.

“Let’s… maybe go around the deadly spikes,” Bow said, gulping as he crept around the gaping hole.

“Agreed,” said Catarrah, doing likewise. The two of them entered the castle proper together, but found the main square was entirely devoid of… well, anyone.

“This place looks like a ghost town,” Bow commented, frowning at the emptiness. “And where did Glimmer and Adora go?”

“They can’t be too far,” Catarrah said, checking her tracker pad. “Glimmer’s teleportation range isn’t that great.” They walked side by side for a while, listening to the cold wind blow through the empty square. “This place… it feels uncomfortably familiar to me.”

“How do you mean?” Bow asked. “This is the first time we’ve been here!”

“Not the place, the vibe,” Catarrah answered. “Lykosia was like this when the girls and I went back to where my village used to be… or Felinae, after the Horde ransacked the place nearly twenty years ago.” She sighed. “Those were places marked by the stench of death. I’m worried Dryl might have gone the same way already.”

“Maybe not,” said Bow, consulting his own tracker pad. “I have lifeform readings… I can see Glimmer and Adora!” 

They broke into a run in time to find Glimmer struggling to get a robotic hand off her arm. It finally came loose and she kicked it, sending it flying off into a corner.

Bow got to them first, gasping for breath. "Okay, we need to be careful! Entrapta has traps set up all over her castle!” 

As he spoke, an explosion went off somewhere in the distance. A manhole cover opened as someone said, “They're coming! Get out of the square!” before slamming the cover back down again.

“Who's coming? Is it the Horde?” asked Adora, somehow managing to kneel.

“Hello? Come back!” Glimmer cried, but the being who had spoken did not reappear. Ominous metallic footsteps grew louder, and Glimmer visibly blanched. “I'm thinking we should probably move away from whatever is making that sound!” she said, and the four of them made to duck in through a nearby doorway…

But then a tall robot approached, limping out of the dark and into the light. It ran straight for them, only to be met by Adora kicking it in the face with her enhanced Lykosian strength. The robot crashed to the ground and lay still for a moment, but slowly began to move forward…

Which was exactly when Bow and Catarrah shot it with an arrow and a shot from a phaser, respectively. In a shower of sparks, the robot collapsed to the ground, deactivated.

Bow frowned, kneeling down next to the robot’s chest. He could see the large crystal that had powered it, but it was an ominous red, and scarlet vines covered most of the chest cavity and even some of the outer plating. “Looks like one of Entrapta's designs,” he said. “Why would it attack us?”

“No idea, but something tells me those vines shouldn’t be there,” mused Catarrah. She got to her paws in time to see Adora swinging her sword around again.

“Alright, stand back!” Adora cried, leaping confidently toward the door… but a trap door slid open, and both she and Glimmer fell inside, screaming all the way.

“GLIMMER!” Bow cried, banging his fists fruitlessly against the door Adora had been trying to open.

“ADORA!” Catarrah yelled, searching for some sort of mechanism to force the trap door open again. But before she could get very far, strange hands came out of the shadows and pulled both she and Bow into the dark…

When Bow and Catarrah came to a short while later, they found themselves lying on a cold metal floor. Bow woke up first, believing himself to be tied up in some kind of horrible dungeon. 

“Ugh! Let me go!” he demanded, struggling to free himself from bonds that didn’t exist.

“Please keep your voice down, sir,” said a young man with pointed ears. His name was Soda Pop. “The robots respond to sound!”

“Do they now?” asked Catarrah, waking up next. She got to her paws and helped Bow up, straightening her jacket. “Just what we need, murderous robots who respond to sound waves… at least you’re not all dead.” She scowled slightly. “Who are you people? And where are we?”

“Dryl Castle Kitchen,” replied the baker. “Sorry for stealing you away like that, we're just trying to help you.”

“What's going on?” Bow asked, as someone handed him a tiny cupcake and a bottle of some sort of fizzy beverage. “Why are the robots attacking people?”

The busgirl shrugged. “We don't know. We're just the kitchen staff.”

The baker gestured widely to the room at large, which was indeed a big kitchen. “You two'll be safe in here with us! We’ve got enough food to last for months!” She smiled slightly sheepishly. “It's tiny, but still.”

“The bots will run out of power eventually, right?” asked the busgirl, without much hope.

“We need to do something!” Bow protested. “We can't just hide in here forever!”

“Oh yes we can,” replied the Busgirl. “We don't have powers like the princesses! We can't fight!”

“Nonsense,” Catarrah shot back. “All magic does is give you a bit more of an edge than you might not have otherwise, it’s not the be all end all to anything.”

Before the busgirl could reply to this, Bow’s tracker pad buzzed loudly. Soda Pop gasped and exclaimed, “Sir, kindly quiet your whatever that is!”

“It's a tracker pad,” Bow said, picking it up. “It tracks energy signatures from magic. It will help us find our friends.” He could see four red dots were rapidly advancing toward the kitchen.

“Are those little dot thingies your friends?” asked the baker, just before loud clanging and roaring sounds were heard beyond the door.

“Gonna go with no,” Bow replied, turning to Catarrah. “We got bots on the way, General. How do we stop them?”

“First thing to do is to prepare to defend ourselves,” Catarrah answered. She began to pace the length of the room, thinking. Turning to the baker, she said, “I need a length of rope. Do you have that lying around?”

“Sure do!” said the baker, going over to a supply cupboard and handing a large rope to the wolf. “What’s it for? Are you going to tie something up?”

“Not quite,” Catarrah answered, turning to Bow next. “If you attach this to one end of an arrow, you can fire it into the opposite wall and create a tripping hazard for the next bot who tries to get in,” she said. “They’ll trip, and being metal, they’ll go sliding across the room and into the fire there.” 

Bow saluted. “Aye, General!” he said, taking the rope and beginning to tie it to the shaft of one of his regular arrows.

“What are we going to do?” the Baker asked, glancing worriedly toward the front of the room. “That door won't hold much longer! We’re defenseless!”

“No you’re not,” Catarrah replied. “You’re in a kitchen, it can become an armory in a tight spot! Knives, rolling pins, cabinet doors, even big wooden spoons can become harmful if you use them properly.”

Outside, the clanging and roaring grew louder. Busgirl gulped nervously and said, “Guess we’re about to get a demonstration…”

“Yep,” the baker said, putting her hand on the doorknob. “Here goes nothing….” She pulled the door open and three robots came barreling into the room, ready to attack. At the same moment, Bow fired his arrow, and the rope he’d tied now stretched across the entire width of the room.

A robot with three arms walked right into the rope and tripped, sliding across the floor into the kitchen fireplace, whereupon it promptly exploded.

“Yeah!” cheered Bow, just as a larger robot wearing a hat loomed up from behind him. He spun around and shot another arrow right at its face. The robot crashed to the ground, deactivated in the same fashion as the one from the alleyway.

The third robot started to menace the baker, but Catarrah shot it with her phaser just as the Busgirl slammed a cabinet door into its head, sending it crashing to the floor. “Is it over?” she asked, peeking out from the cabinet where she’d been hiding. She spotted the dead robot on the floor and gasped in surprise. “I did that? Hey, I did that!”

“You certainly did,” Catarrah said, smiling approvingly. “I commend you on your quick thinking! Very important skill to have in the battlefield.” She made for the door. “Everyone, with me! We have people to find!”

The quintet fled from the room and wandered the cavernous corridors of Castle Dryl, searching for Glimmer and Adora, but no luck… or so it seemed. As they went down one hallway, they heard what sounded like screaming, and raced toward the noise. One of the kitchen robots had woken up and now dove from a nearby doorway, quickly grabbing Bow and pinning him to the wall.

“Uh, guys, a little help?!” Bow cried, as the robot went in for the kill.

“NOW!” Catarrah roared, and Busgirl promptly threw a plate she’d been holding like a frisbee, slicing the robot’s head off from the rest of the body. The severed head went flying down the hallway, and the body crashed to the floor, unmoving.

Bow’s tracker pad began to beep, and Sodapop groaned. “Please don't say it's more bots…”

“No, that's Glimmer teleporting!” Bow cried, turning to Catarrah. “General, I know where Glimmer and Adora are!” He checked his scanner and frowned. Between them  and the two girls was a horde of robots, closing in all the time. “Uh oh, that's not good!”

“We have to do something!” Catarrah cried. “We have to save them!”

“Oh no, ma’am, no thank you,” Soda Pop said. “It's one thing to fight them off out of necessity, but to seek out danger? It's madness!” Pardon me.

“Besides, they're princesses!” cried the Baker. “They have powers! All I do is make baked goods!”

“Sure, we don't have powers like the princess, but that never stopped me, and it doesn't have to stop you,” Bow said, smiling confidently.

Catarrah nodded in agreement. “When I took over the Rebellion’s operations ten years ago, I said that Queen Angella couldn’t solely rely on a group of princesses to do her dirty work. Today, the Rebellion is a force to be reckoned with - not because of magical princesses, but because of ordinary people working together toward a common goal.” 

She smiled warmly. “You each have a skill that only you can do, even if it doesn't come from some magical jewel. That’s how wars are won - the unique talents of every soldier coming together to do the work.” 

Bow nodded. "You say you're just ordinary people, I say you're warriors of the Rebellion!”

“To the Rebellion!” cried the Baker, and they all ran off toward the concentration of robots.

Appearing in another room in a cloud of dramatic smoke, Glimmer caught sight of Bow and proclaimed, “IT’S BOW!”

“YAY, THERE’S A RAINBOW!” cried Adora drunkenly.

Bow, Catarrah, and the Kitchen Knights leapt into action, firing sprays of icing, laser fire, and even soda at the robots. When it was over, the attacking robots lay in a pile, deactivated… for good this time, they hoped.

“Bow! You're okay!” cried Glimmer, running over to hug her friend. “I was so worried!”

“From the looks of things, it seems like Bow and I have had an easier time of things than you three,” Catarrah observed, going over to Adora. “Commander Adora, status report!”

But Adora simply looked vacantly up at her mother and said, “…Hi dog lady! I’m a dog lady too! Wanna play fetch the stick?!”

Catarrah blinked. “…Glimmer, what’s happened to my daughter?”

“Entrapta was experimenting with First Ones tech, and it infected all of her machines with some kind of virus, and She-Ra's sword got infected to and made Adora all, oh, weird!”

Catarrah nodded. “I believe the word you’re looking for is intoxicated. Continue.”

“I teleported into the lab and it's full of bots and maybe with She-Ra we'd have a chance, but without her, it's hopeless!” Glimmer cried, groaning in frustration.

“We don't need She-Ra!” Bow exclaimed. “We can do this together!”

So saying, the reunited squad made their way toward the lab, doing their best to stay hidden so the bots wouldn’t attack. “Okay, where's the disc?” Bow asked.

Entrapta pointed silently. On the other side of the room they could see a horde of robots standing in front of a group of computer monitors, which were all covered in red roots. Pulsing quietly was the disc, which looked impenetrable. [disc is covered in red roots]

“How fascinating!” Entrapta muttered in amazement. “It has completely protected itself!”

“We have to find a way to turn it off,” Catarrah growled. She turned to Entrapta. “How do we do that?”

Before Entrapta could respond to that, Adora burst out from hiding and happily exclaimed, “HEY, GUYS, I'VE FOUND THE BOTS!”

“ADORA!” Glimmer cried, running after her friend and teleporting her away… on to a high tower, with all the bots swarming toward them. They were trapped.

“GLIMMER!” Bow cried, looking frightened.

“We'll get your friends!” promised the baker, putting a hand on Bow’s shoulder. She grinned at Catarrah, Bow, and Entrapta. “You three get that disc turned off!”

And so, while the Kitchen Knights used their homemade armaments to fight off the attacking robots, Catarrah, Bow, and Entrapta scurried across the room to the computer terminal. Trying to pull the disc free from the roots didn’t help at all, and neither did pulling the power conduit - because the computer just turned itself back on again.

“It's running on its own power now!” Entrapta cried, as all this became clear. “That's it! We need to get outta here and burn this place to the ground! Experiment officially failed!”

“Not yet, it isn’t!” Catarrah exclaimed. “Bow, your sonic arrow! Now’s your chance!”

“Aye aye, General!” Bow said, grabbing the arrow and nocking it. He fired, and the arrow flew across the room to the exact middle of the root complex. A loud noise much like an alarm began to fill the room, and the bots were driven mad by it. One robot slammed its fist onto the arrow, breaking the crystal beneath…

And one by one, the red glow of their eyes became purple and blue again.

“Where am I? What's happening?” Adora asked, coming back to herself. She glanced to Catarrah. “Mom? Do you know?”

“Not as much as Glimmer and Entrapta do,” Catarrah said, pulling Adora in for a hug. “I am very glad you’re safe, pup.” The two wolves nuzzled each other, their tails swishing this way and that.

Entrapta smiled gratefully at Bow, Glimmer, and Adora. “Thanks, former tall one, and companions, for saving our lives,” she said. “I would be honored to join your Rebellion and provide you with weapons!”

“And we would be glad to have you, Princess,” Glimmer said, shaking Entrapta’s hand. “Welcome to the Rebellion!”

Everyone cheered.

With their mission complete, Catarrah, Bow, Glimmer, and Adora made their way home, walking back the way they had come along the rocky path. “So, maybe you had a point before,” Glimmer was saying, looking sheepish.

“What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you,” Bow said, pretending to be deaf for a moment.

“I think what Glimmer is trying to say is that you were right, we can't always rely on our powers,” Adora clarified, smirking slightly.

“And my sonic arrow was a great idea?” Bow asked.

Glimmer nodded reluctantly. “Yes, it was brilliant, and you were totally right, okay?!”

“If you hadn't come, the bots would have gotten us for sure,” agreed Adora. Then something occurred to her, and she frowned worriedly. “And, I didn't know that She-Ra could get sick like that. What if it happens again?”

“It won’t,” Catarrah said, squeezing her daughter’s paw. “One thing I intend to do is rein Entrapta in a little. At the very least, stop her from doing anything that might make you sick like that again.”

Adora breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”

And so, the quartet climbed into the skiff, and sailed away into the gathering night.

Chapter Text

“Squad General’s log, moondate 80565.8: Thanks to our efforts to reconstitute the Princess Alliance over the past couple of months, I’m glad to say that the tide is finally turning in our endless battle with the Horde. The troops we’ve conscripted from Plumeria and Salineas have integrated nicely into Bright Moon’s military, and Princess Entrapta’s work with our engineers has given us weapons that can stand up to anything the Horde have been able to come up with.”

“The thing is though, fighting a war is an all-consuming experience. Ever since the Horde kidnapped and corrupted She-Ra last year, and our successful recovery of her two months ago, we’ve barely had a moment to catch our breaths. So, I’ve ordered the War Council to travel to Mystacor for a few days of rest and relaxation.”

Catarrah Sicmet had never been the sort of wolf who led from behind. 

Ever since her Force Captain days, the grey-furred lupine preferred to be out in the field, in the thick of battle with those she commanded. That was doubly true now that the Rebellion was starting to win back the territory the Horde had conquered over the past fifteen months - if she was going to command troops, she wanted to see the lay of the land for herself.

So, two weeks ago, Catarrah had built herself a skiff, to make traveling easier. She named it the HMS Fenris, after the village where she’d grown up. The main body of the ship was comprised of two decks: The upper deck housed the bridge, living quarters, and a holo-matrix. The lower deck held the mess hall and sickbay. Cargo was stored around the open spaces of both decks. The dining area had a large replicator, though the ship could replicate items elsewhere, such as on the tactical console on the bridge. 

In addition to a number of physical consoles and touchscreens, the Fenris was mainly operated through holographic controls which were mainly found on the bridge and in sickbay, but occasionally even on the support struts along the upper deck. Significantly, the piloting controls surrounding the captain's chair were entirely holographic. (She was also equipped with landing gear.)

Currently, Catarrah was sitting in the command chair of the Fenris, piloting the vessel with those very holographic piloting systems. Glimmer, Bow, Catra, and Adora were grouped around her, taking various empty chairs on the bridge.

“Catarrah, you can’t fly yourself to Mystacor on a spaceship!” Glimmer was shouting, even as the Etherian landscape flew past them on the main viewer.

“Because?” Catarrah asked patiently, still concentrating on her flying. 

“It's a secret floating kingdom that's protected by an invisibility spell!” Glimmer cried. “It’s just not possible!”

“Really? Looks pretty possible to me,” Catra said from the ops console. “Only question is how we’re actually going to get down once we arrive.”

“I thought about that,” Catarrah replied. “Landing directly won’t work thanks to the magical shielding, so I’ll have to put us down on the mainland instead. Not ideal, but hey, you work with what you’ve got.”

“Aunt Casta is going to be so mad!” Glimmer complained. “She’ll probably banish us forever or something!”

“Actually, I think she might be pretty impressed!” Bow chirped. “I know I am!”

“NOT HELPING!” Glimmer shot back, glaring at him.

“Glimmer, please!” Catarrah cried, “I’m trying to land here!” Pulling very carefully on the holographic throttle, the Fenris came in for a landing at last. She opened the entry hatch and everyone made their way out, collectively choosing to ignore Glimmer’s muttered frustrated commentary.

It was only once they reached the edge of a cliff that Glimmer perked up. “We’re here!” she proclaimed, gesturing downwards… at a considerable number of thick clouds, none of which looked solid enough for landing.

Adora blinked, confused. “We’re on a cliff, overlooking a thousand foot drop.”

“Yes we are, but not for long!” Glimmer cried, and she and Bow jumped off the edge of the cliff, poofing through the clouds below… only to reappear a few seconds later, standing on top of a floating patch of land.

“C'mon guys, jump!” shouted Bow, gesticulating wildly. The patch of land he and Glimmer were floating on was definitely closer to the edge of the cliff than the clouds had been, but the drop was still significant.

Catra gaped. “You have got to be kidding me. How are we supposed to do that?! I hate heights!”

“Hang on to me, girls,” Catarrah said, taking her daughters’ paws in both of hers. “Lean forward, like you’re about to pounce on a rabbit! It’ll make landing easier!” They ran toward the edge, and at the count of three, leapt off, as Glimmer and Bow had done. But as they dropped, a black shadow zipped past them and dipped below the clouds, out of sight.

Adora, who was closest, just caught it out of the corner of her eye. “What the?! Mom, did you see-ACK!” 

They landed abruptly: Catarrah and Catra more neatly, falling into a three-point stance, while Adora tumbled to the ground, rolling for a bit before getting to her paws.

“Oh, ouch,” Bow said, helping her up. “You okay?”

“I'm fine,” Adora said, dusting herself off. “I thought I saw something weird…”

“What kind of something?” Catarrah asked, furrowing her brow.

“It looked kind of like a living shadow,” Adora answered. “It flew right past me as we were falling, and dove beneath the clouds…” She pointed back to the cliff edge and swept her paw downward, indicating the flight path. 

Glimmer huffed, annoyed. “Okay Adora, I know you're on edge because of what happened with Entrapta's infected robots, but it's all over now!” she said. “You've got to relax! Which is why we're going to Mystacor! It's the safest and most peaceful place in all of Etheria, we'll have you relaxing in no time!”

“Sparkles, I’m pretty sure this isn’t about those freaking robots,” Catra said, crossing her arms in annoyance. “If Adora said she saw something, I trust her. Why can’t you?”

“Because this is supposed to be a vacation!” Glimmer shouted. “We’re supposed to relax, not see things that may not even be real!”

“Enough!” barked out Catarrah. “Glimmer, I understand your intentions, but I think Adora’s worries have merit. Equally though, one shadow does not an invasion make. Let’s have our vacation, but be prepared to fight if we need to.” A pause. “That’s an order, Commander.”

“Yes, General,” Glimmer said, rolling her eyes in exactly the same way she did with Angella.

Pretty soon, the comparatively small patch of floating land the Fenris quintet were riding drifted toward a much, much larger such patch. After passing through a shimmering shield, the five saw Mystacor for the first time. It was a very mountainous place, with large towers reaching high into the sky, with streams and waterfalls sparkling in the light of the daymoons. 

The smaller island drifted right up to the edge of the larger island, and the five travelers stepped off neatly, taking in Mystacor for the first time. “You know, Micah used to tell me all about this place,” Catarrah said, looking around in awe. “It sounded absolutely incredible. I remember insisting that one day, I would go there myself.”

Glimmer’s jaw dropped. “You knew my dad?!” she cried. “No way! When?!”

“When we were kids,” Catarrah answered. “He briefly went to my school back in Lykosia as an exchange student, and started teaching me magic.” She blushed faintly. “I… might’ve had a crush on him. But in fairness, I was ten at the time.”

Catra smirked. “Well, what do you know? Actual puppy love.”

Further reminiscences and commentary were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Castaspella herself, who approached the group with a big, beaming smile on her face. “Is that my Glimmer?!”

“Hi, Aunt Casta!” said Glimmer happily, embracing her aunt.

“It's been so long since you've come to visit!” Casta said, hugging back. “And Bow! It’s always nice to see you too,” she added, hugging him as well. Then she spotted Catarrah and Adora. “Ah, hello you two! I was wondering what happened with Adora’s changes, she looks great!”

Adora blushed through her fur, swishing her tail in a bashful sort of way. “Thanks,” she said, smiling. 

Then and only then did Casta finally notice Catra. Looking curiously at the feline, she asked, “And who’s this?”

“My other daughter, Catra,” Catarrah replied, stroking Catra’s ears with her clawtips. “I finally convinced her to get out of the field for a bit to join us here.”

“She’s our friend too,” Glimmer chipped in, nodding. “Kinda.”

“Back at ya, Sparkles,” Catra shot back, lightly punching Glimmer in the arm. 

“How wonderful!” Casta said happily. “It’s so nice that Glimmer has started making some new friends. We were all so pleased when she started bringing Bow around. I was sure she had made him up at first!” Managing to miss Glimmer’s facepalm, she instead said, “So, what brings you all the way out here to visit little old me? Is it once in a blue moon already?”

“We're on a diplomatic mission, actually,” said Adora. “We’re rebuilding the Princess Alliance.”

“That sounds like hungry work,” Casta commented. “My goodness, you must be starving! I'll have a feast prepared!” She smirked at Catarrah and winked. “I'm sure your mother hasn't been feeding you!”

“Freshly caught rabbits are an excellent source of vitamins, I’ll have you know,” Catarrah said, as they all trooped toward the castle. Various people all stood outside, practicing their magic - some held staffs, others conjured balls of energy from their hands, and still more drew glowing rune designs in mid-air.

“Whoa… there’s so much magic here!” said Adora in astonishment.

Casta nodded. “Mystacor has been the hot spot for magical practice for the last thousand years or so,” she said. “Only the Lykosians were a match for us.” She glanced curiously to Catarrah. “I don’t suppose I could interest you in a duel while you’re here? Just to see how strong you Unbound really are?”

Catarrah grinned, showing teeth. “Casta, I’m pretty sure I haven’t had a magic duel since Micah and I were kids. Count me in!”

“Excellent!” Casta beamed and said to the rest of the group, “By the way, you’ve come at the perfect time, there's an eclipse tomorrow evening! I’m headed right now to inspect the Lunarium for the ceremony. And nothing would make me happier than to give my favorite niece, and her friends, a tour!”

Glimmer coughed awkwardly and said, “Uh, Bow and I have had the tour before. And we don't want to get in your way!”

“It's all right Glimmer!” Bow pointed out. “Adora and Catra haven’t seen it! It'll be fun!”

“I’m game,” said Catra, nodding in agreement.

“And so am I!” chirped Adora. 

“That settles it then,” Casta said happily. “Let’s go, everyone!” And they headed into the castle at last.

After around an hour or so of walking, the little group of six made their way into what seemed to be some kind of atrium. It was a dome shaped room, covered with ancient crystals, with a skylight right in the exact middle of the ceiling.

“What are all the crystals for?” Catra asked, pointing at one of the six spell crystals surrounding the skylight. They simply floated there, in a magical field of their own.

“Those are the lunar lenses,” Casta answered. “We use them in the monthly ceremonies to renew Mystacor's magic defenses and keep us shielded from the outside world.” She gazed expectantly at her guests. “You will be coming to the Eclipse Ceremony tonight, won't you?"

“Aunt Casta, I've seen the ceremony dozens of times!” Glimmer said. “And we're all really tired from traveling. Maybe we'll skip it this time?”

“Nonsense!” said Casta, undeterred. “Your friend Adora hasn't seen it, and it's quite a sight to behold for a newcomer. Besides, don't you want to spend more time with your aunt?”

“Of course,” said Glimmer, hoping she sounded like she meant it. "But we also really wanted to show Adora the beach!”

Castaspella rolled her eyes and turned away, affronted. "Well, if the beach is the only reason you're here, I really shouldn't keep you, should I? I certainly don't want to waste your time.”

Catarrah spoke up. “I won’t speak for my girls, but I can tell you that I’d be happy to attend the ceremony,” she said. She smiled warmly at Casta. “It’s been ages since I last got to see a proper Esbat ceremony, I’d love to see how Mystacorians do them.”

Casta beamed, cheered up. “That’s wonderful, Catarrah! I knew you’d be interested!” She hugged the wolf tight, before heading off to continue the rest of the tour.

The next place they went was a very long hallway, with statues of various people at regular intervals. The walls were covered with engravings, and had crystals embedded in them, along with many large windows.  

 “Welcome to the hall of sorcerers,” Casta said, gesturing grandly as they walked along. “These are the Great Ones that led Mystacor through the ages.” She paused before a statue of a heroic-looking man with a thick beard, and sighed wistfully. “This is Micah, my brother,” she said. “We trained in these very walls together.” She smiled down at her niece. “Glimmer looks just like him you know.”

“Aunt Casta, he had a beard!” Glimmer complained.

“He didn’t when I knew him,” Catarrah said, gazing fondly up at the statue. “If I remember right, he was only three years older than me… Great Mother, I miss him.”

“What happened to her?” asked Adora, pointing to another statue. This one was masked, as well as dark and faded in color. It had scuff marks, and appeared to be eroding.

“Light Spinner,” said Casta grimly. “A scar on Mystacor's past. She sought power and control above all else, and she was cast out. Although, some say she never really left… That she's only biding her time, waiting to exact her revenge.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” grunted Catarrah, glaring at the statue as if it had personally offended her. At Adora’s puzzled look, she added, “Light Spinner was Micah’s teacher… and mine too, for a few years. After Micah went back to Mystacor, I didn’t see Light Spinner again until the night Fenris burned down… and by then? She’d changed her name to Shadow Weaver.”

Adora and Casta both gasped at the same time, and Casta said, “You mean… she’s still alive?!”

“Regrettably,” Catarrah answered. “These days, she’s Hordak’s chief witch. She shepherded me through my teens, and used to be Catra’s and Adora’s foster mom… until I rescued them when they were ten. Spending a long time planning revenge is just what Shadow Weaver does.”

“Let’s hope she doesn’t attack any time soon,” said Casta, trying to brighten the mood. She turned to her niece. “Are you all hungry? I've had the dinning room redone since the last time you were here, Glimmer.”

“Starving!” Glimmer admitted, and everyone hurried off down the hall… and no one noticed the mysterious shadow that watched them go, as if waiting for the right moment to strike. ran up the opposite wall. It hissed at Adora briefly, then disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

After a very filling lunch courtesy of Castaspella and Mystacor’s cooking staff, the War Council’s next move was to relax in the castle’s steam grotto. This was a large stone chamber filled with various stone pools filled with water. Enchanted to be permanently warm, the steam grotto was thus constantly filled with mist, rising off the surface of the pools.

Entering the grotto, the War Council changed out of their regular clothes and into simple bathing suits. Bow, Catra, and Catarrah got in one pool, while Glimmer and Adora got in another.

“These pools are full of magical healing minerals,” Glimmer explained to Adora, as everyone began to lower themselves into the pools. “The sorcerers use them to cleanse themselves of worry and fear before big ceremonies or spells.”

Catarrah nodded from where she sat, looking entirely at peace. “That was how they did things back home too,” she said. “Cleansing was very important before engaging in any kind of magical work, but especially if it involved working with the moon goddesses.”

“Now, just clear your mind,” said Glimmer, placing her hands on Adora’s shoulders. “Breathe deeply… Focus on the warmth on your fur… Let your body go perfectly still…”

Adora closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was asleep.

Adora didn’t know how long she’d been out. All she did know was that she’d been having a wonderful nap when suddenly, she heard a low, disembodied voice whisper her name, getting louder with each repetition: “Adora… Adora… Adora…”

Adora screamed and leapt from the pool, landing on the floor. Only the tough pads on her paws kept her from slipping on the wet stone as she ran across the grotto to where the Sword of Protection was lying. Black smoke surrounded her, and the sword, once she got a handle on it, was cold to the touch.

“No, no, no, no, no! Help!” screamed Adora, gripping the sword as tight as she could. She turned to face the shadows, holding the sword aloft. The shadows drew back as she advanced, and soon, she was surrounded only by white mist again.

“Adora!” a voice cried. Catarrah appeared suddenly, looking worried. “Are you alright? What’s going on?” 

“Mom, Shadow Weaver's here!” Adora protested, as Bow, Glimmer, and Catra joined them. “I saw her!”

“But you couldn’t have!” Glimmer protested. “This place is magically protected! It's not possible!”

“Glimmer, that’s enough,” Catarrah growled. “You don't know what Shadow Weaver is capable of. She’s one of the most powerful magical beings on Etheria, and she knows this place like the back of her hand. If she’s already able to manifest even in a non-corporeal form, then Mystacor may not be as safe as we think.”

“So what do we do?” Catra asked.

Catarrah flicked her paw, and her black and blue field jacket drifted over to her. Putting it on, she said, “I’m going to go speak with Castaspella. She needs to know what has happened.” And she left the room, putting all thoughts of vacation behind her.

Meanwhile, Bow glanced worriedly to Adora. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you wanna try something else? We could get massages, or find you something to hit, if that would work better.”

“No, it's okay,” Adora lied. “I'm okay. I just… I think I need to be alone. Clear my head.”

And before the other three could stop her, she too departed from the grotto.

That night, Adora couldn’t sleep. Abandoning the four-poster bed she’d been given, she simply wandered the halls for a while in her pajamas, and found herself in the Hall of Sorcerers again. The statue of Light Spinner seemed to glower balefully down at her… or maybe that was just a trick of the moonlight coming in through the windows.

“You're just a stupid statue,” whispered Adora, before face-pawing at her own words. “Pull it together Adora, there's no way Shadow Weaver can be here…”

She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, another shadow leapt out of nowhere and attacked, sending her falling to the ground. Adora hurriedly got to her paws, grabbed her sword, and shouted: “FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL!”

One spectacular flash of light later, Adora had transformed into the tall, centaur-wolf form of She-Ra. The shadow from before fled from the light and through a doorway, but Adora gave chase, pelting down the corridor as fast as her four legs would carry her. 

Soon, Adora found herself in the darkened Lunarium - the light of Etheria’s three moons, reflecting off the hundreds of magical crystals, was quite beautiful at night… but Adora didn’t really have time to appreciate it.

“The Horde had high hopes for you, Force Captain,” said a new voice, one Adora recognized at once - Hordak. “Disappointing. Does the Rebellion truly think you can save them? Nothing can stop the Horde, least of all you!”

“Show yourself!” demanded Adora, even as memories of the time she’d spent working as a Horde agent filled her mind. For a whole year, Adora had been corrupted and forced to  work against her friends and family in the Rebellion, only to be rescued after the Battle of Thaymor. 

“You will lead them all, every Etherian, to their complete and utter annihilation!” Hordak’s voice continued. “Nothing will be left of Bright Moon but smoking ruins, your friends and family buried beneath!”

Seeing Hordak’s reflection in one of the crystals, Adora snarled, her lips pulling back to show her fangs as she swung the sword mightily with both paws. A beam of magic shot out from the blade, and the next thing Adora heard was the sound of dozens and dozens of crystals all shattering at once… but Hordak was nowhere to be seen.

Casta came running in to find Adora standing amidst the wreckage, and then her eyes fell on the thousands of broken crystalline shards. She gasped in horror, picking up a few pieces, before turning to face Adora… and this time, her face was warped with hate.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” demanded Casta, her voice bouncing off the Lunarium walls. “EXPLAIN YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY!”

“I’m sorry!” shouted Adora, dropping the sword and turning bipedal once again. She pinned her ears back, looking visibly frightened. “I didn't mean to! I thought I just saw something!”

“Casta, what’s going on in here?” asked Catarrah, running into the room. She took everything in and frowned, but more in concern than anger.

“Your daughter has destroyed a thousand years worth of sacred writings!” shouted Casta, jabbing her finger into Catarrah’s chest. “She could have destroyed the lenses that protect Mystacor!”

“Castaspella, please! Be reasonable!” Catarrah shouted. “I’ve already told you Mystacor’s protections aren’t as strong as you think!”

“They were, until you and that bitch of yours showed up and caused all this!” screamed Casta, completely losing her composure. “I want you all out of here as soon as the eclipse is over, is that clear?!”

“As crystal,” snarled Catarrah, grabbing Adora’s paw and dragging her from the room.

Breakfast at Mystacor the next morning was a frosty affair. Adora and Catarrah chose to eat in their rooms, avoiding the long tables in the Great Hall entirely. Casta was still angry, but she made it clear to a worried Bow, Glimmer, and Catra that her fury wasn’t directed at them, and they were still welcome at the ceremony.

That night, the Esbat ritual began in the Lunarium. While Bow, Glimmer, and Catra watched, Casta drew a diamond in midair, which became a crescent moon. She raised her glowing hands up high as the moons came into alignment, and their light refracted off the Lunar Lenses, recharging the protection spells that had been placed over two thousand years earlier.

As Casta prepared to do the next part of the ritual however, something went wrong. The small bowl of enchanted water below her was suddenly swallowed up by black mist. The mist expanded to fill the entire room, as the gems clouded over and the room Lunarium began to darken. 

Castaspella raised her arms to try and hold off the darkness, channeling as much magic as she could, but it was too late. Shadows filled the room as the Lunar Lenses were forcibly deactivated, and then… 

Everything went black.

Outside, Catarrah and Adora were heading back toward the Fenris when suddenly, the protective shield grid that kept Mystacor safe flickered and died. Next moment, screaming filled the air as Bow came running from the castle, shouting all the while: “Adora, come on! We have to get out of here, now!”

“What's happening?!” shouted Adora.

“The protection spell is failing!” answered Bow. “We need to go!”

“Wait, stop!” demanded Catarrah. “What do you mean, failing?!”

“And where’s Glimmer?!” asked Adora.

But instead of answering, Bow simply smirked and said, “Everything that's about to happen is your fault, Adora. You’re to blame.” His body dissolved into mist, and disappeared into the night sky.

“It’s a trick!” shouted Adora, spinning on her paws and grabbing her sword. “Mom, we have to go help them!”

“Agreed!” cried Catarrah. Not having a sword of her own, she settled for the next best thing - one of Entrapta’s recently-developed phaser rifles. Snatching one from a compartment inside the Fenris, she and Adora ran full-pelt back toward the castle, heading right to the Lunarium.

When they got there, they found Casta, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra were all lying on the floor, unconscious. But before they could try rousing them, a black shape manifested itself in the middle of the room, cutting Adora off from both her friends and her mother.

“Shadow Weaver!” cried Adora, realizing who it was in an instant. “What are you doing here?! What’s all this about?!”

“The eclipse is nearly over Adora,” answered Shadow Weaver. “When it is, the shield will be down, and the Horde will conquer Mystacor and bring you home to me!”

“No, I'll stop you!” shouted Adora.

Shadow Weaver chuckled coldly. “Why? To help these people? Who are they to you? They don't understand you!” She glared balefully at the prone form of Castaspella. “Just as they did not understand me when I walked among them as Light Spinner! They'll never accept you either! Not like I do!”

“No, no! You're wrong!” cried Adora. “For the honor of Greyskull!”

She drew her sword, but nothing happened - the blue gem set into the hilt simply flickered and died. Shadow Weaver laughed and snatched the sword from Adora, then began to taunt her some more. “You know deep down what I say is true! You are the ambitious, cutthroat, ruthless warrior I raised you to be!”

“No!” cried Adora, falling to her knees. “Catarrah raised me! She’s been kind to me, something you never were!”

Shadow Weaver laughed again and said, “That wretched little dog? Oh, hardly. She doesn’t care about you, she just want to use you for your strength! Return now to the Fright Zone, and rule by my side!”

“I said no!” shouted Adora, breaking free of the grip Shadow Weaver had on her. “You never loved me! You just played twisted mind games! I'm none of the things you say I am! You are bitter and cruel, and you're the one who used me!” 

She gestured to the blonde-furred, blue-eyed wolf she now was, and raised her muzzle, defiant. “This is who I am! You hurt my friends, and my family, so now you're gonna pay!”

“It's too late!” said Shadow Weaver. “The eclipse will be over in moments! Mystacor will fall, and it will be your fault!”

“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, WITCH!” snarled Catarrah, bursting through the wall of shadows surrounding Adora, and blasting Shadow Weaver with her phaser. A beam of red-orange light struck Shadow Weaver in the chest… but she simply reformed, being insubstantial.

Catarrah didn’t care - all she needed was a moment. The sword, now freed from Shadow Weaver’s control, began to fall to the ground, but Catarrah caught it, handing it to her daughter. “Let’s finish this, pup!” she shouted. “Together!”

“Yes, Mom!” Beaming, the sword changed into a shield, which thrummed as it blasted Shadow Weaver with a second beam of light. Catarrah joined in with her phaser, but just as before, Shadow Weaver simply kept reforming.

“How do we stop her?!” Adora shouted.

Catarrah glanced around for ideas and caught sight of the moonbeams still shining from the skylight. “Adora! Move a little bit to your left, make sure your shield gem is directly in the path of the moonlight!”

“Why?!” Adora asked, doing so anyway. 

“Because the moon is the most powerful source of magic there is!” Catarrah answered. “Lykosians believe it was the moon goddesses themselves who gave Etheria its power, to use moonlight in spellwork is to experience a taste of divinity!”

Catarrah began to chant, even as she kept firing her phaser at Shadow Weaver. “Bewitching Goddess of the crossroads, whose secrets are kept in the night! You are half remembered, half forgotten, and are found in the shadows of night! From the misty hidden caverns, in ancient magic days, comes the truth once forbidden, of thy heavenly veiled ways!”

“Cloaked in velvet darkness, a dancer in the flames, I call upon your wisdom, and beseech thee from this time! I beckon thee, O ancient one, from far and distant shore, Come, come, be with me now! This I ask, and nothing more!” And suddenly, Adora’s shield began to glow white with lunar power, growing larger at the same time.

While this was going on, Shadow Weaver was trying again to tempt Adora: “Adora, enough of this! Come home!”

“I'm not going back!” shouted Adora. “You have no power over me anymore!”

As Catarrah finished her spell, she and Adora linked paws, and a beam of light flooded the room as Adora’s shield and her mother’s magic combined, creating a rainbow of light. The next thing they heard was Shadow Weaver’s screams as the darkness was banished from the room, filling it instead with bright, cleansing moonlight.

Gradually, Castaspella, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer woke up as circles of light covered the floor and spread up to the ceiling. Mystacor was shielded in a glowing forcefield once again, safe.

“Adora, are you okay?!” Bow asked, running over. 

"I'm okay,” said Adora, swishing her tail as she nuzzled both of her friends. “Yeah, I think I'm finally okay… She's gone.”

“I'm so sorry we didn't believe you,” said Glimmer unhappily. “We've been bad friends.”

“No! You're not,” said Adora at once. “This is what Shadow Weaver does. She manipulates people, and she pushes them apart. But it's never going to work on me again.” 

She turned to face Casta, looking ashamed of herself. “I’m sorry, it's my fault she was here. I endangered Mystacor.”

“Nonsense, you saved Mystacor!” said Casta happily. “Glimmer has chosen her friends well… and you,” she smiled at Catarrah, “have raised a wonderful daughter.”

Catarrah grinned. “What can I say? It runs in the family.”

And everyone laughed, filing out of the Lunarium.

“So, what’s going to happen to Mystacor now that the shields are back up?” asked Catra, as the War Council headed back to Fenris for the trip home to Bright Moon. “Are they gonna keep hiding and pretending the rest of Etheria doesn’t exist?”

“Not anymore,” said Catarrah cheerfully, leading the way up the gangway and into the ship. “Casta says she thinks she can spare a few mages to drill everyone in defensive and offensive magic. They know now that magic alone won’t keep them safe… but allyship and practical action will.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” said Catra, as everyone settled themselves in various chairs around the bridge. “Maybe she can teach me something. I gotta have more than just claws and teeth to work with in the field, you know?” She punched Adora playfully in the arm. “We can’t all have magic swords!”

Adora laughed. “I bet I can help with that,” she said. “Maybe some of Mom’s spells will work for you too!”

“Only one way to find out,” said Catarrah, beaming. “Mr. Bow, lay in a course for Bright Moon, if you don’t mind!”

“Aye, General!” said Bow happily, tapping on the helm console in front of him. “Course laid in!”

Glimmer groaned, she knew what was coming. “Here it comes…”

Catarrah pointed forward as the ship’s engines began to roar, and the little vessel began to take to the air. “Mr. Bow… Engage!”

And the Fenris soared away into the clear afternoon sky, leaving Mystacor far behind.