Predominantly set in S5 EP8, but also in before EP9

~

Adora left the library the following morning, and Violet tightly secured to her back. She hadn't been able to sleep anyway. Prime was too busy infiltrating her nightmares, taunting her of her failures and the soon-to-be destruction of Etheria. Catra had stayed as well; which was... out of character. The magicat hated interacting with people, period. Never mind people she didn't know, especially those in the rebellion. Yet, the magicat trudged behind as Adora scurried around for a pen and piece of paper. Something caught her eye though, as she was looking. She frowned, pulling the arrow off the wall. A letter fluttered into her grasp.

Adora.
Neatly scribbled on the front. She hummed, flipping it open.

Adora.

Bow warned us that you may try to leave early in the morning, or very late at night, so as not to worry us or inconvenience us further. You have done no such thing; the least we can do for you when you're out risking your life for cowards like us is watch your daughter. Violet was perfect, better behaved than some of our own children, in your time away. We would not hesitate to watch after her again.

However!
We do have to warn you now... we think Violet will need to find a safer place. We had many close calls with drones, clones and bots while you were away. We do not know if Violet, being your daughter, has some kind of magical energy that is being traced or if it is simply coincidence. We do not think the former is wrong. But, we are nog magic. We do not know. If you are to leave her in safety again, we would recommend that you stay with Razz. Her house seems impossible to find - Lance has tried and gotten lost for multiple days on end - so she seems like the safest place for you to hide Violet.

If you are leaving early in the morning/late at night, know this. We are proud of you. You may not be one of our many daughters, but you are an incredibly close friend of Bow's. As such; you are family in our eyes.

George and Lance.

Adora folded the letter down shakily. She wiped her eyes harshly, stuffing the letter into her bra. She'd hide it somewhere better when she went... wherever. "You done reading?" Catra asked by her shoulder. Adora turned. Violet grumbled when she was hit by Adora's ponytail. "Sorry baby," She said, chuckling. "Yeah... I'm done. We- we need to find the others," She sobered up, nodding for Catra to follow. The magicat's claws clicked softly on the ground, morphing into silence as they ventured into the forest. Violet was happily cooing in the back carrier, reaching out for random things, including but not limited to birds, random animals and Adora's dangly hair, tugging it every few seconds.

She bit her lip in frustration, ignoring Catra's snickers as Vi tugged on her hair again. "She's got a grip," The magicat slunk up to her side. Adora huffed as she pried her hair loose again. "Oh, I'm aware," The hair was back in Violet's grasp again. Catra chuckled. She stuck her finger out, smiling softly when Violet grabbed it. She began to gnaw with her gums. Catra snorted. "I think she's hungry," She commented lightly. Adora rolled her shoulders slightly, the strain of the back carrier aching a bit. "She's always hungry," She said back. Catra barked a laugh. Violet jumped in the carrier, immediately crying. "Oh god. How do you stop it crying?!" Catra fretted. Adora rolled her eyes. "Put the dummy in. It's attached to her shirt," She said. Catra whined. "What's a dummy?!" She hissed. Violet continued wailing. "There's something that looks like a nipple, attached to a string on her shirt. Grab it and put it in her mouth," Adora said calmly. She swatted a branch out of the way. Catra grumbled about nipples and dummies but succeeded in stopping Violet's crying.

Catra was silent for a minute, speeding up a little to match Adora's pace. Adora grunted as she elbowed her in the side. "So... motherhood?" Adora raised an incredulous brow. "Since when do you care about motherhood?" She asked playfully. Catra narrowed her eyes. "I..." She sighed, glancing back. "I didn't think I did," Adora reached back and grabbed her daughter's toes softly. "Yeah, I didn't either. I didn't even like Vi for the first few weeks," She admitted. Catra hummed. "You? Not liking someone? What'd she do? Wreck your vagina?" Adora rolled her eyes. "No," She hissed. "But... it all happened so fast, I didn't get the chance to catch up," She said. "I thought childbirth took hours?" Catra asked. Adora frowned slightly. "It does and it doesn't. The contractions take hours," She winced. "And they hurt. A lot," Her mind flashed back to the unpleasant tightness of her stomach. "But the actual birth?" Adora snorted to herself. "She was out in thirty minutes," She paused. "Unmedicated, I might add,"

"You can get meds for childbirth?" Catra asked curiously. Adora nodded. "Yup. Something to numb the pain. Like... completely numb it," She remembered being numbed to have the placenta. Apparently, it'd done something funny in her womb after Vi came out. Catra snorted. "Typical Adora! Soldiering through the pain," She dramatically fanned her eyes. Adora tutted. "If I could've had them, I would've," She said. Catra stepped over a log. "Then why didn't you? Flexing that pain tolerance?" She tensed her arm in a flex. Adora punched her hard in the shoulder. "NO," She barked. Catra cackled. "Then why?" She asked. "I had her in the woods," Adora said. "I went for a walk to try and ease the pain, and she crept up on me," She shuddered, remembering the feel of a newborn literally falling into her hands out of her body. "Wait, you had her in the woods? These woodss? On your own??"

Adora nodded. Catra whistled lowly. "Better you than me,"

...

Several hours later found Adora leaving Violet behind, yet again. She'd chosen Entrapta to watch over her, which the scientist did gladly. Entrapta was surprisingly good with kids. Perhaps that was because she was a kid herself... "What if she needs feeding? Or changing?" She'd asked. Adora straightened her jacket out. "She shouldn't do. I fed and changed her twenty minutes ago," Entrapta continued pressing. Adora sighed heavily. "Um... I dunno. Call me, I guess? I haven't had a chance to pump yet,"

Satisfied, Entrapta wandered off with Violet, blathering on about some experiment she wanted to do.

"The townspeople might be able to tell us what happened to the Rebellion, but we need to keep a low profile. We should be able to avoid detection as long as we stick with Wrong Hordak. Let's go," She pulled her cloak over her head. Wrong Hordak led them across a bridge towards Erelandia. Horde clones were stood outside the front gates, guarding. Wrong Hordak approached. "Brother, uh, I hoped you, too, are full only of loved for Horde Prime and have no crippling doubts eating at your soul,"

Adora grimaced. "Glory be to Horde Prime,"

She grimaced even harder.

They walked for a few moments, Adora walking closely behind WH. Glimmer was uncharacteristically quiet behind her, but Adora was mighty fine with that. Truth be told, Adora would be fine to never hear her voice again. Violet had grown in those six agonisingly long weeks. Not a lot, granted, but she had. Her eyes were brighter, and her ears were sharper. Her hair had bloomed as well, the same colour as Adora's - dirty blonde, but longer than what you'd consider to be normal for three months. Perhaps that was She-Ra's interference?

Never mind the fact she'd changed developmentally. She could now grab out at things and vocalise her hatred for the world in clearer bursts. To be honest, Adora was fine without Violet's urges to yank on her hair. She shook her head. There's no point in mourning what she couldn't get back. And anyway, Violet still had plenty of time to grow some more. She still had to speak, crawl, walk and other stuff. Adora sighed softly, finally glancing up from the ground. "Oh, there's a local. I'm gonna go talk to him," She announced, pulling her cloak tighter over her form. "Um, hi there. I was just wondering if-"

I don't know anything. Please, just let me go. I was just trying to get home!" The citizen cried. Adora stepped back slightly, holding her hands up in surrender. "We're not going to hurt you. We just-" She tried. "Glory be to Horde Prime. Glory be to Horde Prime!" The citizen chanted, scrambling over his feet to run away. Or he tried to. Melog, no doubt on Catra's interference, caught his ankle with its tail and tripped him up. Catra peered over. "Hmm. No chip. But something is making the locals real skittish,"

Glimmer scoffed. "You think?" Maybe they can sense that you're a raging bitch. Adora thought bitterly. "If these people are scared, they're more likely to sell us out to Prime than tell us anything useful," Catra continued. She inclined her head slightly, looking beyond Glimmer's shoulder. Adora narrowed her eyes softly as she followed the gaze. The citizen was talking to some clones, pointing in their direction. "We should just go," Catra said.

Adora shook her head. "Not until we find out if there are any signs of the Princesses here," She said, folding her arms. Bow strolled past her form, walking to a stray citizen. "Leave this to me. You may all have magical powers and alien pets, but what we need now is the team's resident regular guy. They'll talk to me," Adora rolled her eyes. "Resident regular guy?" She mumbled to Catra. She snorted. "If anybody's the "regular guy" it's me," She chuckled. Adora softly kicked her shin. "Fuck off with that. You have a magic cat now. Therefore, you're magic. Therefore, therefore, you're no longer the resident regular guy. Ha!" Adora expected the jab. She caught Catra's hand, laughing softly, spinning her around to avoid the slice.

She turned in enough time to see Bow land on his ass. "So, obviously, at least some of our friends were here recently and made an... impression," Adora jutted her eyebrows with a sigh, stepping closer. "A town that hates Princesses? Should I buy property here?" Catra snarked. Adora levelled her with a warning glare. Catra seemed to rethink her words. "..is what I would have said before I joined you. Go, team," Adora rolled her eyes. "We should split up and look around. Whoever it was could still be close. Catra, you take Melog. Kept them safe, okay?" She said. Melog purred as it butted its head against her leg. Adora scratched it behind the ears.

"Let's move out,"

...

"After everything the Rebellion's done for Etheria, how could people be afraid of the Princesses?" Bow asked softly. "We've been gone a while, Bow," She didn't miss the way Glimmer stepped further away from her form. "Things are worse here than when we left... you can't blame people for being scared of..." She trailed off, noticing the citizen from earlier talking to some more clones.

"...suspicious dissenters. They're over there," Adora gasped softly. She looked to the side, shoving Bow and Glimmer into the shop. "them... cover for us, okay?" She addressed WH. "Yes, brother," He winked with a smile. Adora paused. "Did you just-? Did you just wink at me?" She stuttered. Adora glanced to the left, quickly ducking into the shop and closing the door. "Oh, no. I don't want any part of this. You're wearing hooded cloaks," The shopkeeper said. "It's highly suspicious. Are you hiding from the Horde? I'll call for help," Adora panicked, but Bow stepped in. "No need for that. We're just, uh... browsing," The shopkeeper crossed her arms, watching with narrowed eyes. Adora picked up a babygrow, turning it over in her grasp.

Mom's little mushroom.

It said on the belly. The babygrow itself was a soft pale yellow with pink and blue mushrooms dotted across the arms and legs. It was really cute, and it'd suit Vi really well. Adora scurried around in her pockets, pulling out a coin. She tucked the babygrow into her satchel and approached Bow. "So, what, you're all just giving up and letting Prime take over?" He argued. "Well, what else are we supposed to do?" The shopkeeper argued back. "Bow, be cool. Undercover, remember?" She hissed into Bow's ear. "Well, I'm just a completely objective third-party observer," He paused, slamming his foot onto the ground. "But Erelandia should join the Rebellion and fight back,"

Adora sighed, palming her face. "Oh, yeah. That's nice," She snarked. The Shopkeeper scoffed. "The Rebellion? The Rebellion is on the Horde's side now. If it's not clones attacking us, it's Princesses," She snapped. "No. No, it's not their fault. It's Prime's chips controlling them-" Glimmer finally spoke up. The shopkeeper scoffed. "Do you think that makes a difference to us?"

Glimmer ripped away her cloak. "Well, there are still some Princesses fighting for Etheria," She proclaimed.

Adora palmed her face again. "Okay, well, there she is," The Shopkeeper gasped. "Queen Glimmer, I--I--I'm sorry. Please, I don't want any trouble," She stuttered, her confidence failing. "We're not with the Horde," Bow said softly. Wrong Hordak was suddenly by the window. "Someone is coming, brothers. Ah?" He winked again. Adora growled. "hat's not how winked works. Is someone coming or not?"

The windows shattered open with a pink burst. Adora yelled, covering her face. Spinnerella glared at her from across the way, her eyes that horrible lime green. Adora scowled. She paused and reached into her pocket. "Here, I'm buying this," She handed the coin to the shopkeeper.

...

The next thing she knew, Adora was spinning violently in a tornado. The motion made her feel incredibly sick. Everything just kept spinning and spinning and spinning. "Spinnerella, this isn't you. You have to fight the chip!" Adora begged, hoping her voice carried to the ears of her friend. Spinnerella's voice was calm. My fight is over. Lord Prime has given me peace. It's time for you to join us," Adora span faster. Her stomach shot into her throat at the motion.

"Not... today!" Somebody grabbed her hand, replacing the violent turbine spinning for violent teleporting. Adora crashed to her knees. Bow stumbled off, retching behind a bush. Adora had the same idea. She scrambled away, throwing up violently in a nearby bin. A hand rubbed her shoulders, and she expected it to be Catra. But it wasn't.

A white gloved hand rubbed her back. Adora grabbed the bin tightly, unwilling to meet Glimmer's eyes. "Prime really did it. How--? How are we supposed to fight our own friends?" She said into the bin. Catra's bitter scoff made her turn. "It never stopped you before," She moaned. Adora swiped an arm across her mouth, making a mental note to wash it when they returned to... wherever.

"Hey, guys, welcome back,"

Adora turned, gasping loudly. "Netossa!" She cried. Spinnerella continued pounding Netossa's nets with her winds, making the older woman struggle against the force. She grunted, blasting harder. Adora elbowed Glimmer. "Get us outta here," She said. Glimmer was already on it, grabbing Netossa's arm. "We've gotta go," She said. The last thing Adora heard was: "No. Wait!"

...

They landed in a forest. Netossa huffed angrily. "What were you thinking?" Bow charged at the older woman. "Netossa, I'm so glad you're ok!" Netossa tapped Bow's head. "Why'd you do that? I've been tracking Spinny for days. I almost had her!" She whined. "Looked more like she almost had you," Catra snarked. Adora rolled her eyes. "Catra? Stand back. I'll handle this one," She threw a net straight at the magicat, trapping her against a tree. Adora rushed over. "Netossa!" She grabbed her pre-charged hand. "It's a long story, but she's with us now," Netossa frowned dubiously. "Really?" She lowered her fist nevertheless. Catra hissed petulantly from the tree. "Yeah," Adora said with a sigh. Netossa removed the net. Catra flopped on the ground with a grunt. Adora snorted.

"Watch out, a clone!" Adora stepped in front of the caster. "He was, uh- he's actually on our side, too," She chuckled meekly. Netossa glared. "So, the only person I'm fighting here is... my own wife?" Adora knew the feeling of fighting somebody you loved liked well. She'd been doing it for nearly three years. "Netossa, what happened to everyone else?" Adora asked. Suddenly remembering that Entrapta had no idea where they were, Adora activated the tracker watch she'd been given. It lit up blue, alerting Entrapta where she was.

"They got Spinny first. And she got to the others. She chipped them. Mermista, Scorpia... King Micah," Adora didn't miss the sharp inhale from Glimmer. "Prime's forcing them to attack the people of Etheria, to attack us. The other Princesses are in hiding, trying to figure out what to do next, but I can't wait for them. All I know is, I have to get Spinnerella back. Whatever it takes,"

Adora nodded solemly. She rested her hand on Netossa's shoulder. Bow approached. "We were gone. We weren't here to help our friends. And the people we were supposed to be fighting for have lost all hope in us," Adora growled under her breath. "Horde Prime tore our home apart. He took our friends. He's not gonna stop until he's taken everything from us," She kicked a rock, wiping away sudden tears in her eyes. fucking hormones. "Netossa... I'm sorry. We should've been there," all of this is because of you! "But we're here now and we're not giving up. We've never faced greater odds than this. But for everything Prime has thrown at us, he still hasn't managed to stop us,"

Adora looked up. "We're going back for Spinnerella and for the people of Erelandia and to show Prime that Etheria's not done fighting yet. We'll need everyone's help to pull this off. So?" Glimmer looked around, hesitantly meeting Adora's gaze. The blonde stepped forward. "We won't let Prime win this one,"

"I am honoured to fight beside you, brothers," WH proclaimed. Catra grinned. "Sure. Why not? I have some experience taking out Princesses," Netossa sniffled with a smile. "Thank you,"

~

"You're clear!" Catra led the charge, Adora and Netossa running closely behind. Catra tackled another bot, yanking his chip out. "You go deal with Spinnerella. We'll take care of the bots," She said. "Be careful," Adora implored. Catra smirked. "Always am," She chuckled. Adora looked through the bridge. "Please, I have nothing to do with her. You have to believe me," She begged in a tornado. "The shopkeeper. No wonder she didn't trust us," Adora sighed softly. Netossa was quiet as she stared at Spinnerella. "Adora, what if... she can't come back from this?"

Adora shook her head, remembering those exact thoughts when she fought Catra. "She's still in there. She needs you to remind her who she is. And we need to remind Prime who we are. For the honour of Grayskull!" She raised her sword. Her body lit up in the usual warm golden glow. The sword, for once, didn't hurt to summon. It stung a tad, but no more than the usual pain she faced daily. She grew three feet, her grey trousers and red boots giving way to the white and gold bottom half of She-Ra. Her jacket burned away to the sleeveless armoured top, and her hair flew behind.

She loved the new look.

"New look?" Netossa felt the same, apparently. Adora loved the confidence boost, turning with a smirk. "Spinnerella!" Netossa yelled. Spinnerella smiled evily. "Welcome back, beloved," The shopkeeper dropped, teleported out of the way at the last second. Spinnerella literally flew at them, delivering a hard kick to Adora's chest. She grunted as she hit the ground, chest pounding. Not the time for pain. She told herself, rising from the ground. She gasped as Netossa struggled under the force of Spinnerella's power. She swung her sword with a scream, flinging waves of harmless light towards the wind controller.

"What are you doing?" Netossa screamed. Adora fumbled. "I'm trying not to hurt her!" She yelled back. "Stop holding back. She won't!" Netossa snapped. Spinnerella glared at She-Ra and conjured a strong wind. Adora steadied herself against the winds to no avail. A rock smacked her in the head, followed by a chunk of Earth hitting her in the stomach. Adora dug her sword into the ground, stopping herself from flying off into another wall.

She breathed deeply, channeling all of her magic into the sword. She screamed, yanking the sword upwards, sending a (slightly more harmful) blast towards the wind user. Spinnerella grunted as she hit the wall behind. How do you like it? "That's more like it!" Netossa cheered, trapping Spinnerella's fallen form in a net.

"Spinny, stop. It's me, Netossa. Please. I loved you. Come back to me!" Adora wobbled slightly, still not used to channeling so much power at once. She kept her sword readied in case Netossa needed the backup... but upon closer looking, she was very much ok on her own. Spinnerella let out a gutteral yell, throwing Netossa back. Adora rushed over to her fallen friend as Spinnerella disappeared in a purple tornado. Adora helped Netossa up, gripping her shoulders. "She's still in there. I saw her. We can get her back, I know it,"

...

"It's good to have you guys back," Netossa smiled, grasping Adora's hand in a firm grip. Adora nodded. "She'll, um...She'll be okay. Spinnerella. After the chip, I mean. I, uh, have some experience," Catra rubbed the back of her neck.

"Princesses," The shopkeeper hissed. Adora turned with a frown. "Well, technically, I'm not actually-" Bow argued, but the shopkeeper interrupted. "I still think you sort are trouble, but thank you for freeing our town. I don't know what we can do, but if the Rebellion ever needs it, you can always find a friendly face in Erelandia,"

Adora confidently raised her sword to the sky. She blasted away Horde Prime's symbol, replacing it with her own. "I think Horde Prime is going to know She-Ra's back," Catra commented with a soft smirk. Adora grinned. "Good," She hissed.

~

"This is where the Rebellion is hiding out?" Glimmer asked. "Yep. Why? Have you been here?" Netossa answered. Adora pressed her tracker button again, alerting Entrapta to her new location. "There's no need for that!" The scientist grinned. Entrapta walked out from behind a tree, with Violet secured in a chest carrier. Adora rushed over, taking her daughter. "Hi baby!" She cooed, grinning. Violet's hands grabbed out to her tiara, then to her face. Then, as per usual, to her hair. Adora grimaced, shaking her hand off as the three month old tugged on the strands tightly. Entrapta suddenly poked her neck. Adora frowned. "You ok there, Entrapta?" She asked, holding Violet in her arms. The scientist nodded. "Yup! Perfuma wants everybody's necks checked before they come into the base," She shrugged. Adora nodded. "Fair enough,"

She began to walk away, but Entrapta grabbed her waist with her hair. "Wait, Adora, I have something to ask you," She said. Adora turned. "Sure, what's up?" She asked. "So, when I was looking after the baby, and yes - she was fine, um, she did have a tantrum," Entrapta said. Adora grimaced with a sigh. "Sorry... she does that," Entrapta waved her hand. "No matter, babies do. But anyway, I was recording some energy readings of the Princesses, and I noticed a huge spike in the readings when the baby began screaming," She displayed a tablet. "I am almost 100 percent sure that Violet is magic!" She grinned. "Maybe because of her other biological mother, or maybe because of you and She-Ra, I won't be able to tell until she gets old enough to harness it," She cackled.

Adora smiled warily, holding Violet just that little bit tighter. "Um... sure. You- when she's older, we'll have another talk then," She placated. Entrapta cackled. "GREAT!" And she scampered away on her hair.

~

Catra meandered into the makeshift war room on Darla. The old war room in Brightmoon had apparently been destroyed in an attack led by Prime... which wasn't surprising. That fucker destroyed everything he got his dirty little hands on. Nevertheless, Catra walked into the room. She waited by the side, simply watching. Sparkles was quieter than Catra remembered, occasionally sending glances to the corner of the room. Catra initially ignored her looks, putting them down to worry or stress. Maybe she was looking at Adora for a guide? But no. Upon the tenth glance in fifteen minutes, yes - Catra counted, she followed Sparkles's glance. There, in the corner of the room, lay a sight Catra never thought she'd see in her life.

Adora, the ever-dutiful warrior, was tucked up in the corner. She leaned against the wall, her head tipped back, exposing her neck. Her mouth was open, softly inhaling and exhaling in sleep. Violet was curled tightly against her side on the bench, with Adora's arm wrapped firmly around her.

Catra found it adorable.

The meeting droned on for ages (it was only thirty minutes) eventually coming to a close with the acknowledgement that only Adora could stop Prime... or rather; only She-Ra could stop Prime. Everyone filtered out, save for the sleeping blondes, Catra, Sparkles and Arrow Boy. Catra slowly walked over. "Catra," Glimmer called. Catra turned with a small frown. "Yeah?" After Adora had hung hers and Glimmer's dirty washing out, Catra lost a little respect for the Queen. The latter approached slowly. "Um... I- I know Adora's not gonna wanna speak to me," She began. Catra couldn't help the soft scoff as she crossed her arms. "But um... can- could you ask her? T- to come see me? Please," She implored. Catra shrugged. "I can ask her. Whether or not she does it... that's not my problem," She said. Glimmer wrang her hands. "Ok... thanks,"

Catra slowly approached Adora. She gently unwound her arm from around Violet, lifting her into her own arms. The baby remained asleep, as did the elder blonde. Catra sat on the edge of the bench, nudging Adora's leg. "Hey, wake up," She said softly. Adora remained asleep. Catra shoved harder. Adora jolted up, inhaling sharply. "Wazzat?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She seemed to realise that Violet was no longer in her grasp, judging by her panicked gasp. "Relax. I've got her," Catra assured. Adora's frantic eyes rested on the sleeping blonde. She slumped, elbows pressed on her knees, as she scrubbed her face. "I fell asleep... didn't I?" She asked. Catra nodded softly. "Yup. And that's all you're gonna do. Come on," She stood up, extending a hand out to her (former?) best friend. Adora hesitated. "You and baby you need sleep," She said. Adora rolled her eyes, taking Catra's hand.

"She's not baby me,"