Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adora

The princess awoke with the sun teasing her closed eyelids. The warmth and the sound of birds happily chirping outside seemed like something out of a dream. She couldn’t remember the last time she had ever been allowed to wake up at her own pace, much less wake up in her own bed at Bright Moon. While she could sleep anywhere if the time asked for it, she had grown to like her spacious room. And thinking back to her first night there and how over time she realized the real reason to why she could not find peace alone, made her smile.

At that thought her eyes shot open. And next to her, to complete this dream, was a bundle of soft fur with a ray of sunshine tickling big brown ears.

“Catra,” she whispered without meaning to. It was a reflex she had developed after dealing with the aftermath of the war for month, and finally getting peaceful mornings with her lover. They had easily fallen into a rhythm, where one moved and the other followed, two pieces of a whole that breathed easier when the other was close, and who made the world appear brighter than the day before.

“You’re staring awfully hard today.” The feline’s eyes were still closed, but a ghost of smile played on her lips.

“I can’t help it.” Adora reached out to lightly graze an eyelash off Catra’s cheek. A hand shot out and held it in place. Soft purring followed.

“You seem awfully content this morning,” Adora teased back, but felt her heart melt as her girlfriend started rubbing her head, ears and all, against her hand.

“Shut up you dummy.” Catra scooted closer, pressing her chest to the other’s and intertwining their legs together to get as much skin-to-skin contact as she could. Not that she had to try hard since they were both wearing tights shorts, like the ones they wore back in the Horde for training, with the matching top. A middle ground they both agreed on, as they learned that they had to wear something in case Glimmer decided to barge in unannounced. Their sparkly friend had gotten better at using the front door, but sometimes, in her excitement she reverted to old habits.

“Well, good morning,” Adora tried to hold back a grin as Catra snuggled close. It warmed her heart to know that they had finally gotten to the point where she was comfortable enough to openly show affection, even if most of it occurred behind closed doors. And even then, she knew it was a daily struggle for Catra, so she made sure to let her take things as far or as little as possible. Whatever she wanted she got from Adora. With the unspoken rule being that she’d return the favor, whatever Adora needed from Catra, she’d indulge.

“Why are you awake so early?” Catra all but whined, her tail circling Adora’s wrist which was now thrown over her waist.

“No reason. Plus,” Adora dropped the tiniest of kisses on Catra’s forehead, “I got the best view to wake up to.”

A noise between a meow and a whimper escaped Catra’s lips. Suddenly, Adora was being held down by a small frame, which was a funny concept since Adora was not only taller but stronger. Not that the feline wasn’t strong, she just never used her actual strength when they playfully sparred but if her opponent was anyone but Adora, Catra held nothing back. It made Adora irrationally happy that she held back for her, but also made her want to tease her girlfriend that much more, to test her resistance.

Adora sat up straight, leaning against the bed frame, allowing her to pull Catra onto her lap fully.

“You are so cheesy, Princess,” Catra said, smirking down at her, but there was a lightness in her eyes.

“You love it.” Adora, feeling like a fire was beginning to burn and grow at the pit of her stomach, pulled her lover into a hot, wet kiss. They fought for dominance for a second, before letting herself lose. Catra nibbled at her lips with a sharp fang, pressing enough to sting but not enough to break skin.

Adora’s face warmed up instantly at that, her body reacting automatically. She moaned softly when she felt Catra begin to move up and down slightly, the friction going straight down to the most intimate part of her.

“Oh? Adora, you seem to be really enjoying yourself,” Catra’s arms were now around her neck, pulling her closer still, so that Adora could not tell their racing hearts apart.

“Less talking, more kissing,” She responded, placing her hands on her lower back, gripping the skin there firmly.

“I think I can manage…”

But just as they were going in for a second round, the door to their room opened suddenly.

Adora, as if having expected it, quickly shoved Catra aside, already ready with her pillow dagger in hand, ready for anything.

A big figure jumped at them both, purring loudly.

She let out a loud sigh of relief, “Melog!”

“Meoww!” The big cat’s purring vibrated through both girls. Melog licked Adora’s face, making her laugh.

“Oh Melog! Stop it!” He meowed loudly, pawing at her shirt, pulling it down to expose more of her chest.

“Whoa, there buddy!” Catra interjected, fighting to keep her spot on Adora’s lap now, “All this is mine! No touching!” She showed her fangs a little.

“Meoww meow!”

“Don’t give me that! You know the rules!” Catra was hugging Adora’s body tightly now as if her tiny frame could cover hers.

Melog frowned and jumped off the bed, screeching now, and began walking in circles rapidly.

“What’s wrong?” Adora’s smile dimmed as she noticed Catra’s body tense up.

“I don’t know, he’s not making any sense. Melog! Calm down, who/what is going on?” Catra rolled away from Adora and was trying to calm the big cat down.

Adora, moving swiftly as her body recognized the beginning of a crisis, was already throwing on her usual red jacket and pants on. Catra was right behind her, getting dressed as fast as she could, trying not to trip as she ran after Melog who sprinted down the hall.

As she followed two steps behind Catra, Adora cursed at herself under her breath. She knew it! Literally the second she decided to relax something new popped up! Sure, she was the one to rebuild towns and the former Fright Zone, now known as Bright Zone upon Scorpia’s request, and helped rebuild every kingdom. And sure, it took months and endless sleepless nights, but it made the past couple months of peace that much more enjoyable. Adora should have known that the other shoe would eventually drop.

“Adora! Wait!” Catra grabbed her by her arm swiftly, making Adora suddenly realize that Melog had stopped in front of Glimmer and Bow’s door, and she was about to run right by it.

“Oh!” Adora shook her head. Concentrate. Come back.

“Come back,” Catra slowly drew circles on Adora’s hand, knowing full well what the beginning of an episode looked like. “Melog has calmed down some, look, he just wanted to bring us to their room.”

“Adora? Catra?” Bow and Glimmer popped out of their room, looking as disheveled as the female couple probably did. “What’s wrong?”

“Melog is acting insane right now and even I can’t understand what he wants.” Catra was crouching down in front of said cat, who had stopped screeching but looked like they’d bolt at any second.

“Adora?” Glimmer placed a hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay?”

Adora, realizing she probably had a panicked look on her face tried to unclench her jaw and relax her stance (she had unconsciously taken a fighting stance without realizing it).

“I’m okay,” she lied. Well, half lied. She was coming down from her panic mode but wasn’t fully out of it yet. Not until she knew what had caused Melog to react in such a way. After everything that happened, Melog had taken a liking to the gardens in Bright Moon, usually going off on its own to stretch out in the sun and play with dancing butterflies. It was rare that he ever fussed at anyone, that is, unless he wanted treats but even then, he’d just make his way to the kitchen. With Catra being so content in the past few months, there was little need for Melog’s help (unless it was to help the couple be invisible so they could make out in peace without being spotted for hours). So, seeing arguably one of the happiest beings on Etheria be on edge like that, Adora was not not justified in going into a panic.

Melog, acting more like himself, started to rub his entire body against Adora, purring loudly, surely a reflection of Catra’s emotions affecting him.

A tiny smile formed at the corner of her lips.

“Thanks, Melog.” At the sound of her heartbeat calming down, Melog shrunk in size, and hopped onto her shoulder, hanging there, tail curling happily.

“Now,” Catra interjected, hands on hips, “why are you being a nut case today, Melog?”

The tiny cat meowed and tilted its head. Didn’t take a genius to know that meant “What?”

She sighed and clenched and unclenched her hands, as if trying to hold her frustration in. “Why, then,” she said through tight lips, “did you wake everyone up so early in the morning! Adora and I were about to—”

“Catra! Be quiet!” Adora felt her cheeks flush.

“No, Adora,” Catra was not about to let it go, “Come on, Melog, you can’t just act like that and interrupt me getting some.”

At that Melog started meowing again, as if remembering what he was doing. He jumped down from his spot and circled Adora’s ankles and started pawing at her pants.

“Hey!” Catra tried to grab him, but he swiftly avoided her hands and rubbed all over Adora’s other side. “You can’t say stuff like that while rubbing all over my lover!”

Adora let out a laugh, feeling herself relax further. She gave Catra her famous grin-raised-eyebrow combo. “Maybe if you cooled down, they wouldn’t. But don’t worry,” She caught Catra’s wrist, “You’ll always be my favorite kitten.” They shared a quick loving kiss.

“Awww,” Bow beamed at them.

“Yes, yes, very nice,” Glimmer fake eye rolled. “I sure hope all this noise wasn’t all just so you could kiss in front of us. Is it some kind of foreplay?”

Adora’s face heated up again, more so than before. Because while she was open about her love and devotion to Catra, she still needed work when it came to PDA, which, ironically, Catra had no problem initiating.

“Okay,” Adora scooped up tiny Melog into her arms, “what was it you wanted us for?”

Melog’s ear twitched, happy that he finally had been picked up, and purred.

“In the woods?” Catra seemed to finally understand whatever Melog was fussing about.

“He’s saying that there was something happening in the woods. There was a bright light and now it’s gone but he said,” it was Catra’s turn to tilt her head in confusion, “I was there? That’s why you rushed in our room to see if I was ok?”

Melog meowed long, as if agreeing.

“And then you got distracted because my emotions were too intense? Well, that’s the understatement of the year, but okay.”

“Catra!” Adora complained but she was smiling.

“Do you think we need to bring everyone else?” Bow asked Glimmer, who had a serious look on her face.

“No,” she shook her head, “I had given everyone the day off today for their hard work. I’m sure that we can handle it.” She glanced at Adora, “Plus, we have She-ra, that’s as good as it gets.”

Adora nodded, willing the sword to manifest itself onto her outstretched hand, “Come on, let’s go.”

Adora

“He says it was around here,” Catra leaped from tree branch to tree branch, leading the group from above, Melog close to her side.

Adora clenched her hands around the hilt of her sword, getting ready to jump into action at the first sign of danger. Catra leaped ahead behind a bush. Where was this light Melog had said he saw?

“There are no abnormal readings,” Bow looked down at his device.

“So, it was just a light?” Glimmer asked.

“I didn’t say that. I meant there are no current abnormal readings, but it looks like there was something here. Wait,” he clicked on his tablet for a while, “why does it look familiar?”

This caught Adora’s attention. “Familiar? Like when we used the Heart of Etheria?”

“No,” Bow responded slowly, “It resembles the portal.”

Something flashed across Glimmer’s face.

“The portal…” Adora suddenly had the urge to find Catra. And then she realized that she hadn’t come back to complain about them not keeping up with her.

A sinking feeling began to build in Adora’s stomach. Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own as she began to run towards the directions she had last heard her voice. Why didn’t she follow her? She knew that the situation could potentially be dangerous and should have insisted that she keep close. Gods, what is wrong with her today? Normally she would have thought of a plan before hand, and everything would have run smoothly.

“Catra!” She yelled, “Where are you?” No response. Fear flashed across her face. She quickly shifted into She-ra, her serious demeanor not allowing her to say the words that would transform her; there was no time to waste. After emerging from the shining beam that signaled her change, she leaped toward, not caring that she left Bow and Glimmer behind, all that mattered was getting to her lover’s side.

“Catra!” She shouted again. Then she heard it, shuffling coming from behind a hedge that she swore wasn’t there before. She raised her sword, feeling power spread from her body to her sword, a shimmering rainbow indicating she had gathered enough magic energy. Then she swung and slashed the hedge. And to her relief, she saw Catra’s familiar silhouette standing in the clearing in front of her, Melog, who had now turned small, was curiously eyeing something in front of them.

“Ugh, Catra,” Adora, She-ra, lowered her sword and ran to her side. “Geez, didn’t you hear me calling you? Why are you just standing there? I could have hurt you.”

“Adora,” came a dry response, “Shut up for once and look.”

The blonde turned to see what the feline had not taken her mismatched eyes off, and felt her own eyes widen in shock. There, lying on the ground in the middle of the field, surrounded by tiny magical creatures of the forest, was herself. Or, rather, a younger version of herself, and next to her was a younger version of Catra, complete with her past signature long voluminous hair.

As if thinking of the same thing, Catra—real Catra—grabbed the ends of her hair with one hand, still silent. She had decided to keep it short after everything that had happened with Hord Prime, and Adora knew even if the other never admitted it, it helped her cope since whenever it grew long enough to touch the back of her lower neck, where she now bore a permanent scar, it tended to mess with her head. Of course, Adora was supportive of the decision, and had even suggested to just put it up in a ponytail if she wanted to, but Catra just kept trimming her hair constantly, so it never came to be.

“WHAT?!” Glimmer and Bow shouted as they had finally caught up to the other couple.

“How can this be?” Bow paused, “Maybe that’s why there were those reading from before, somehow, you two were pulled into the portal and it caused your passed selves, or present selves in their case, to be pulled into our dimension.”

When Glimmer spoke, her voice was tiny, “It was because of what I did, wasn’t it?”

At that, Bow set down his device, and pulled her into a tight hug. “There was no way you could have guessed this would happen. And you need to forgive yourself for it. Plus, I said it looked familiar, it could have been anything, really.”

Adora noticed Catra’s lips pulled into a tight line at hearing that. Oh.

Without saying a word, Adora slipped her hand onto Catra’s and squeezed, a silent act of support. Despite all the talks and work Catra had been doing with Perfuma to help her through her guilt, Catra would still bottle things in, and Adora, knowing all the signs of it, would simply put a pin in it, and discuss it later when they were alone, that was the only way that seemed to work for her.

The blonde warrior willed her sword to disappear, and turned to her friends, right now, she knew, she had to be the calm one, even if she was internally freaking out. I mean, seeing a younger version of yourself passed out in the middle of the woods would stump anyone.

“Okay,” She-ra started, “I think it’s best we bring them back to Bright Moon, we can call a meeting and see what to do. Maybe they will just disappear after a while, I can’t imagine that it’s permanent, and if it is,” she paused, something unnamable caused her blue eyes to glow, “well, let’s just head back. I’m sure Entrapta will have more than a few thoughts about what to do about them.”

A small moan came from the direction both younger girls were laying at. Everyone froze.

Young Catra shifted where she was, and attempted to pick herself up, mind still groggy and body heavier than usual. And then she stiffened and pounced backwards, landing on all fours, tail frizzled up, classic sign that she was afraid, not that old Catra would have ever admitted it.

“W-what,” the younger feline started, “What’s going on?” Then her eyes landed on her Adora, then snapped back to see the four other figures that were thus far silent.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!” She shouted at them, claws extended to their full capacity, ready to strike who ever got close enough to her.

“Uh,” She-ra said, “I know this is hard, and so very confusing, it is for us too, but—”

Younger Catra did not wait to hear the rest of it as she pounced at her. She-ra’s body automatically responded, calling upon her sword in a split second and in fighting stand.

But before they could exchange blows, Catra, older Catra, grabbed her younger self by her tail and delivered a swift and precise blow to the side of her neck, effectively knocking her out.

“God,” she said, something between a laugh and a scowl playing on her lips, “I cannot believe I was so insufferable.”

“Here,” Catra threw her (past) self towards She-ra, “Let’s just grab them and head back before she, I, decide to wake up.”

As if on cue, Glimmer blinked away from Bow’s side, and crouched down to grab young Adora, who was still out. She teleported with her to where everyone else stood a few feet away.

She-ra involved everyone in an embrace, making sure to keep her Catra by her side, closer than she even held her in the morning, when everything was perfect. As if reading her mind, the older feline stared a quick tender look with her, eyes droopy and sad, but yet, still full of love.

And with that, the Best Friend Squad, plus young Adora and Catra, were surrounded by a shimmering glow, curtsey of Glimmer’s magic, and disappeared from the forest and made their way back to Bright Moon.

Chapter Text

Catra

Everyone in the room had a frown on their face. Even the usually joyful and flamboyant Swift Wind remained silent after Adora and Catra had finished explaining the situation at hand. The Princesses were seated around the ex-War Room table, now just known as the Conference Room, with Glimmer at the head of it, her father and Aunt seated to her left and Bow at her right, followed by Adora and Catra, Spinnerella, Netossa, Frosta, Perfuma, Scorpia, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Entrapta and Wrong Hordak. Glimmer had insisted that it was now the time to call for reinforcements, especially when it came to going into uncharted territory.

"So," Mermista was the first to break the silence. "Just when Catra was on the good side, we have to deal with her evil twin?"

"She's not my twin," Catra spat out.

"And she's not evil," Adora quickly added.

"No, just an angry cat that tried to kill us repeatedly."

At that, Catra couldn't help the way her claws extended under the table, digging into her skin a little. Adora, having a pretty good idea what was going through her head, placed her hand over her clenched ones. At the feel of her light touch, Catra's shoulders relaxed a little, but her hands stayed balled up.

"What I'm most concerned about," Glimmer stated, commanding voice on as to have everyone converse in a productive manner, "is what we do to send them back, or if we can, I guess is the better question."

"Well," Entrapta enthusiastically started, "it is definitely not that hard once you think about it. I was able to bend reality last time so it is not a big stretch to imagine someone creating a portal of some kind that would be able to go at lighting speed and send someone through it to land in our reality. But I guess that would mean that it was done on purpose, but it could also have been an accident. Hordak fell into a portal and ended up in Etheria after all so it's not completely out of the question."

"And Mara was able to pull of Etheria into Despondos years ago." Adora nodded, for once being able to keep up with Entrapta's explanation, though to her benefit, she had gotten better at dumbing things down for the group.

"Okay great," Glimmer said, "but how do we send them back? And what's going to happen to our Adora and Catra."

"Hmm," Entrapta's hair formed a hand under her chin in a thoughtful manner, "I would have to observe them all interacting to be able to conclude anything."

"Plus," Bow interjected, "there have been no abnormalities at all, even after we found them. It's like they were just plopped into our reality. And they, well, at least past Catra was able to recognize her Adora and us so their memories might still be intact."

"And their personalities, apparently," Mermista rested her chin on her hand, sounding bored.

"Well, maybe after spending time with us, she'll be like our Catra," Scorpia added hopefully.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have either interact with our Catra and Adora," Perfuma spoke up, "It's can't possibly do them any good, if they are stuck in their mentality as our own were years ago, I don't think it will be easy for them." Especially for Catra, everyone seemed to hear the unspoken words.

Everyone turned to look at Catra who still wore a serious look on her face.

She let out a long sigh. "Relax, I'm not going to go crazy, I've improved a lot thanks to Perfuma and Adora."

"Yeah, but," Netossa said, "while it might be okay for you it might not be for your old self. I mean she attacked you guys as soon as she gained consciousness. What's to say she won't start trying to kill us all?"

"We have her locked in the spare room," King Micah said, "That should be good enough to hold her until we can figure out a plan."

"You put them both in a room together? Is that really the best idea?" Frosta sounded concerned.

"Oh, dear god no," Glimmer waved her hand, "We had another spare room since Catra moved into Adora's, so Ado-errr I mean Other Adora is staying in Catra's old room. Plus, I figured she'd be less hostile than Other Catra, so I didn't bother putting a magical barrier on her room."

"So, we'll get to ask her question as soon as she regain consciousness?" Castaspella asked hopefully.

"I'll be the one to talk to her first," Adora stood up. "If I were in that situation, I think it'd want myself to be there when I wake up."

"But she might not even realize that she's not in her reality, do you really want you to be the first thing she sees? She might get freaked out," Catra stood up as well.

"We have to do it in a way that won't be too damaging to their own reality, we have to assume that they will remember everything, or not, when they return to their own time." Entrapta spoke into her tiny recorder more so than to everyone else in the room.

"I think I should go with Adora," Catra insisted, "She's too casual about everything, she might say something that might upset her or freak her out."

"What," Mermista said in a teasing voice, "Like the fact that you two are practically married?"

At that both girls blushed red.

"Well, it's not like we are going to spill our whole life story, I mean they are us a couple years ago. I think we'll be fine if we don't say too much. We'll just go in, explain the situation, and she'll probably want to help us," Adora was the one insisting now.

"Ha," Catra snorted, "with that hero complex, for sure."

Adora frowned at her, but her eyes showed affection. In turn, Catra's tail lightly wrapped itself around Adora's waist, and flashed a dazzling smile at her.

"Yeah, see that? Don't do that in front of her, her tiny brain might explode."

"Hey! I do not have a tiny brain!"

"Sorry," Catra crossed her arms and leaned against Adora, "but you kind of did, and still do. I mean, I had to shout my feelings for you while you were about to die to get it."

Adora gave her a cocky grin and raised a brow. "Says the one who didn't believe me at first when I said it back."

"Oh you little," Catra pounced on her and they started to playful struggle on the floor, rolling and laughing.

At the sight of them being their usual loving, and PDA, self's, everyone else in the room felt themselves relax. Leave it to the two most thick-skulled of them to always work things out.

Glimmer clapped her hands, making the two lovers stop, with Catra being on top and Adora on bottom, their hands intertwined in a manner that was more muscle memory than thought.

"Okay, so that settles it, you two check on Other Adora and Entrapta can work start on her research—"

A guard burst into the room suddenly, cutting her off.

"General Juliet! What's the matter?" Adora was quick to jump to her feet.

"Adora and Catra are awake! And they're both pretty rattled up."

Glimmer nodded at her, "We will head there now," she turned to Adora and Catra, "Guess we're going to have to split up since they're both awake at the same time."

"I'll take care of myself," there was a seriousness to Catra's voice that left no room for argument.

"Are you sure?" Adora lightly touched her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Adora," she smiled warmly, "I'll take Melog with me." At that the blonde relaxed a little.

"Okay but have Juliet outside so you have backup and if you need me just tell her to come get me immediately."

"Adora, seriously stop worrying. I'll be okay." Catra boldly leaned into her lover and kissed her hard before shoving her towards the door. "Now go and deal with yourself. And good luck cause believe it or not, you were such a handful before."

Adora poofed up her cheeks as if protesting but did as she said and walked out the door with Glimmer and Bow not far behind.

That left Catra with everyone else. It was the unwritten rule that if Adora, Glimmer and Bow were unavailable, it fell onto Catra to lead. It wasn't that way at first though. Most of the Princesses were still hostile even though her and Adora were attached at the hip for the first few months of Catra being in Bright Moon. Even the villagers were wary, not that they would ever say so to her face, or even in front of She-ra. No, they would wait till she was out of earshot (but not out of Catra's) to speak their mind about having her there. At first, it was painful, a constant reminder of all the lives she had ruined, of all the damage she had done. But then she slowly learned to tune out the whispering voices, who would not dare say anything since Adora hadhelped rebuild their homes and towns. And then eventually, she made up her mind to make amends and worked just as hard as Adora, if not harder, to help in any way she could. Needed to tear apart Horde Primes' remaining bots? She's got it. Needed someone to help organize temporary housing while their houses were being fixed? She organized it. Wanted someone to stand guard while everyone had their breaks? She was there. No task was too small or big for her, and slowly, painfully so sometimes, she gained recognition on her own merit, and whenever she went into towns now, she was seen as someone to have equal standing to the Princesses, second to only She-ra herself, cause, you know, it she was kind of hard to top off.

"Okay," Catra sat back down, "So while they take care of that. What are the reports for your kingdoms? I know it's a week early to our bi-weekly meetings but since we're all here, might as well."

"Um," Perfuma spoke up, "Aren't you going to go see Other Catra? We can just come back next week no problem. Better yet, if you want to converse with me for a few minutes before seeing her I'm more than happy to do that. Whatever you need, Catra."

"I can take care of her later," Catra rested her chin on her hand, "Knowing me, I'd be trashing the room, so I'm waiting it out for her to exhaust herself some. And what I need is those reports so I can order whatever supplies you guys still need and so you guys can start on a new report."

"What kind of report?" Frosta asked.

The feline sat up straight now. "To investigate within your own kingdoms of any changes, inconsistencies with people's memories, actions, habits, mannerisms. What if Other Adora and I weren't the only ones who were pushed out of their time? We need to know the extent of it."

"Catra," Netossa interjected, "If you'd like, I can take over the usual reports and you can take full charge of this, for efficiency's sake."

She nodded, "That could work, but I still would like to be involved, I owe it to everyone to still be in the loop on the town's progress."

Netossa agreed.

"Now then," Catra stood up, "I leave the reports to Netossa, for anything just come find me. I'll be in—"

"—the spare room," everyone said in unison, knowing from years of experience Bright Moon had no dungeon or prison.

The sound of everyone laughing faded as Catra closed the door behind her, Melog shrinking in size to hop onto her shoulder, pressing their head against her cheek.

"I know," Catra whispered.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Gosh, you sound just like everyone else."

"I can tell what you're feeling, remember?"

"Then stop asking obvious questions," Catra snapped a little too harshly.

"Whoa!" Scorpia's voiced sounded behind her. Sure enough there she was, and Catra cursed at herself for not having noticed her there earlier. Man, maybe she really wasn't okay.

"What is it Scorpia?" Catra's voice sounded exhausted.

"I figured you'd need a helping hand." She sped up to fall into step with the feline, not that she had to try hard as she was taller than her.

"I'm fine." Catra felt like she was starting to sound like a broken record.

"No, yeah I know," Scorpia smiled at her, "I was mostly just curious so don't mind me, Wild Cat."

At hearing her old pet name, the feline let a small smile slip. After much needed time, they had finally fallen back to being friends. Catra was eternally grateful that Scorpia had forgiven her for the horrible way she had treated her when she left the Horde and was always up for helping Catra whenever she needed it, though she made sure not to ask too much of her, knowing that there were set boundaries.

"Okay, if you want to follow who am I to stop you? It's a free world."

Melog started to press onto her neck harder, feeling she needed the extra support as well.

"Melog," Catra grabbed his tiny body and let him hop onto the floor to grow into their full size. "Do you think you can go somewhere else? I've got Scorpia and I don't want you to see my past self."

I can stay, I do not mind.

"Well, I do," Catra let those words hang in the air a little, letting Melog feel that she really did not want her past self's emotions to be too much for Melog.

Okay, I'll be waiting back in the room. Melog let out a small yawn, days of lazing around after the war have made him get accustomed to a daily afternoon nap.

Catra laughed and gave him a gentle pet before watching him leave, leaving Scorpia and her alone.

They walked in silence after that, quickly reaching the spare room with Juliet and some of her underlings standing guard in front of the door.

"Catra!" She walked up to her, "Princess Scorpia," she bowed quickly.

"Oh, no need for that Juliet! We're friends after all." Scorpia instinctively bowed back to her, earning her a laugh from Catra.

"Let me guess," Catra said, "She's been noisy."

"Well, yes, I think she realizes she's in Bright Moon. She's been demanding to see She-ra and shouting some not very nice things. Also breaking stuff so I'm not sure what you'll be walking into."

"Thanks, you can wait here, if we need anything we'll let you know."

Juliet stepped aside and opened the door.

Scorpia placed a supportive pincer on Catra's slim shoulders but didn't say anything as they stepped into the room.

Inside, everything was ripped to shreds, feathers floating in the air as the mattress was torn apart as well as all the pillows and bed sheets, there were even deep claw marks on the walls, everywhere except on the side closest to the door where Glimmer's barrier closed off the area.

"Wh—"

"AARGHH!" Other Catra threw herself against the barrier, causing Scorpia to flinch as a zap went through the younger girl's body. Not strong enough to cause any real damage, but enough to be a warning and frizz up her tail.

"Yikes, not the best idea, kitten," Catra smirked, crossing her arms across her chest, feigning bravado. She was not willing to admit to anyone (yet) that seeing herself in her past Force Captain outfit dug a spear into her. Memories she had revisited time and time again returned once again.

At the sight of her, herself, Other Catra stopped her snarling.

Good.

"What's going on?" Other Catra sounded more genuine. "Why the hell am I here?!"

"Uh, if I knew you wouldn't be here anymore," Catra said. "Believe it or not."

"Scorpia! Answer me!" Other Catra ignored her older self and addressed the taller woman.

"Uh," came her only response. Even though she had gone in there for moral support, Scorpia had not expected the pang of pain that shot through her at hearing Catra's old icy voice yelling at her. She put a pin on that, making sure to take note about the fact when she was back with Perfuma.

"You don't talk to her like that," Catra bared her fangs at her former self, shooting daggers with her eyes.

"Oh! I get it," Other Catra let out a long and harrowing laugh. "She got you to go all soft. Ha! That's pathetic to see. Who knew I would have stooped so low?"

"Catra, maybe we should come back later." But the feline was not listening to her.

"Shut up for once," Catra spoke through gritted teeth, ignoring Scorpia. "You can make this as hard or easy as you want it to be so stop being a little brat and listen to us."

Other Catra frowned and sat down on the floor crossed legged, eyes still narrowed.

"Now," Catra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 1…2…3…

"Are—are you doing breathing exercises?" Other Catra looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh.

Catra was slowly beginning to feel exhausted. God she really was something else before. It made her wonder how Adora was able to stay by her side for as long as she did.

"Yes," she finally replied. "Because, as you well know, we weren't, aren't, okay."

"Pshh," Other Catra shrugged as if brushing her off, but her tail curled around herself, in the all familiar way she did when she was trying to comfort herself. "If you have issues just say so. I'm fine."

"Well, good thing we aren't here to have a therapy session, we need to know why you ended up here."

"How should I know?" Other Catra licked the back of her paw, grooming herself, bored.

"Are you sure you didn't do anything to end up here?" Catra eyed her suspiciously.

"What? Like I wanted to end up here, with princesses, to meet a weird version of myself with a ridiculous haircut?" At the mention of her hair, Catra could not help the way her hand automatically went to the tiny scar on the back of her neck.

It did not go unnoticed by her former self.

"What? Oh." Other Catra seemed to be taken aback for a fraction of a second before smiling deviously. "Sorry, princess, did I say something wrong?"

"That's enough." Scorpia, who had thus far been silent, spoke up at seeing the panicked look that was beginning to creep into Catra's eyes.

"Juliet!" Scorpia shouted, "Get Adora NOW." There was no reply but the sound of running down the hall.

"Adora?" Other Catra's ears twitched at the mention of her name.

"Catra," Scorpia spoke to her softly, but kept her distance, she knew that she hated being touched in these moments by anyone but Adora.

"Hey! What about Adora?" Other Catra sounded concerned.

Scorpia stared at her, not knowing if she should say anything.

"Adora is the only one who can calm her down," she finally said, "You know, wild cat, just because you can't come to terms with your own past, doesn't mean you have to shove other's in their face."

"How was I supposed to know?" Other Catra spat. "Also, I wasn't asking about your Adora, I was talking about mine."

"Oh," Scorpia waved a pincer at her, "She's in Catra's old room since she had basically moved into Adora's forever ago. Our Adora went to go see your Adora so she's in good hands…." Her voice trailed off as she realized Other Catra had gone silent, eyes wide with something as she took in her words.

"Oh crap, I think I said too much," she started to talk faster, "Forget what I said, there's nothing there and everything is normal."

A pained expression crossed the younger feline's face.

"Oh shoot, no, no, that's not what I meant. I mean that even though you currently are still trying to kill her on a constant basis, here you guys are good, more than good, actually. Everyone is used to you guys kissing in the hallways and stuff, really, no one minds as much anymore since you guys look so happy."

Other Catra was now beet red, feeling her heartbeat hard in her chest. Scorpia opened her mouth to say something else, but just then Adora burst into the room.

"Catra!" The blonde was breathing hard from sprinting to where she was.

"Adora," Catra spoke softly from her position in the corner. She had moved away from the other two while they had been talking, since suddenly, there was too much. Too much light. Too much noise. Too much green.

"Catra," Adora quickly went to her side, "Can I touch you?" She asked with such kindness that Catra felt tears start to sting the corner of her eyes.

Catra nodded and let herself be pulled so she was standing and was caught by surprise when Adora swiftly picked her up and carried her in her arms.

Adora turned to Scorpia, "Can you wrap this up? I've got her from here. We'll get back to it later."

"Hey, Adora," Other Catra drawled.

The blonde found herself staring at her lover's former self. There was a mix of emotions as she saw her standing there, sporting her old uniform with complete with torn bottoms and a sleeveless top that showed off her stripes. Pain mixed with something else. Because while she knew that it was Catra, it wasn't hers, not really. And yet she couldn't help the pang of affection that hit her.

"I see some things never change," Other Catra pointed at her hair poof.

Adora, unsure how to reply began walking towards the door when Glimmer and Bow entered.

"Adora! Is she okay? What happened?" Glimmer looked concerned and Bow was right there with her.

"She needs a minute," Adora said, hugging Catra's body closer. "Can you reinforce the barrier? I don't want her to see her like this."

Glimmer looked between the Catra that was in her arms and to the younger one who was staring at their interaction with disbelief in her eyes.

"No problem, we'll take care of her," Bow said, "Go."

At that Adora stepped out of the room, even though Other Catra had begun to protest once again, having regained energy after resting for a bit.

"Hey! Come back here! ADORA!"

With every step she took away from them, the harder her heart squeezed unexpectedly at the familiar sound of desperation mixed with anger in young Catra's voice as her yells filled the halls of Bright Moon.

Chapter Text

Adora

While Adora knew that she could have made it back to their room faster if she transformed, she did not want Catra to see She-ra’s face right now. Sure, Catra had grown to like She-ra, and even enjoyed climbing up her body to sit on her shoulder, but in certain moments, all Catra wanted was to see Adora’s familiar face. And so, keeping that in mind, Adora ran through the hall with everything she’s got, hyper aware of the way Catra’s claws dug into her red jacket.

Her heart squeezed tightly. She hated seeing her this way, it reminded her too much of when she had died in her arms years ago.

She shook her head. No. This wasn’t about her. It was about Catra. She had to remain calm for her sake.

As she arrived at their room, she couldn’t help bringing Catra’s body close to her. She pressed her ear to Catra’s cheek, feeling the way her breathing was coming in short bursts. But she was still breathing. At that, Adora was able to muster the remaining strength to be there fully for her.

She stepped into the room and found Melog on their bed, looking alert and ready.

“Melog, move,” Adora said, swiftly moving towards their bed. Melog quickly obliged but stood by the end of the bed.

Adora gently, oh so gently, placed Catra’s balled up body on top of the sheets. They had gotten rid of most of the pillows that Glimmer had constantly tried to sneak into their room as both enjoyed a simpler style for sleeping.

Melog ran to their closet and brough out a familiar worn-out blue blanket. It was Adora’s old blanket that she had left behind in the Horde.

The blonde was quick to wrap Catra’s body with it, tucking her in.

“Melog, the lights,” Adora said as she began to strip out of her clothes, so she was only in her usual white long sleeve and training shorts. Melog pulled the curtains shut. Adora made a quick mental note to thanks Glimmer for letting them install them in their room since both  girls wanted privacy at times.

It was now dark in their room, and Adora finally, finally, allowed herself to sit on the edge of the bed, as close to Catra as she dared.

“Catra,” she whispered, “I want to hold you, can I?”

Catra peeked over the blanket, eyes glowing in the darkness. “Yes,” she replied weakly.

Adora grabbed the edge of the blanket, giving it a small tug, silently asking Catra if she could get under it with her. The shorter girl simply lifted it up some, allowing Adora to slip inside.

She placed her chin on top of Catra’s head whose big ears lowered to allow her to set it there comfortably.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Adora asked after a few minutes of silence, she began to draw slow circles on Catra’s shoulder to provide some, any, comfort she could give.

Catra shook her head and buried her face deeper into Adora’s chest, who in turn held her closer than before.

“That’s fine. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Adora began to whisper sweet nothings into her lover’s ears. Slowly, oh so slowly, she felt Catra’s body begin to loosen up.

For greater measure, she began to kiss Catra everywhere she could reach. Her ears, her forehead, the top of her head, her cheeks, her closed eyelids, the corner of her mouth. Anywhere and everywhere. Suddenly she felt the need to be as close to Catra as much as possible.

“Adora,” Catra whimpered. The blonde’s heart jumped at the vulnerability she found in her voice.

“I’m right here,” Adora put both her arms around Catra’s head and pulled her in tightly.

“Please don’t leave.”

A pang of guilt and pain shot through Adora, but she shoved it down. “Never ever.”

“You promise?” Catra uttered familiar words.

“I promise.” And to seal the deal, Adora pulled Catra up and kissed her. The kiss was deep and raw, and salty, Adora realized. Catra must have been holding back her tears but let a single tear slip through at the feel of her lover’s lips on hers.

“Oh Catra,” Adora kissed her harder this time. She hated it. Hated feeling useless. Hated not being able to take away her pain.

“Adora,” Catra’s voice was muffled against her lips. She lightly pushed Adora away, a string of saliva bridging their lips together. Her breathing was coming in short bursts now, but for different reasons than before.

“Oh,” Adora was quick to inch away and put her hands up. “Sorry, I’ll stop.”

“No, you idiot,” Catra grabbed the blonde’s wrists swiftly, letting her tail wrap around Adora’s thigh. “I just need to be able to breathe.”

“Oops,” Adora blushed. “Sorry.”

Catra turned so she was laying on her back, mismatched eyes staring at the ceiling, tiny little sparkling lights twinkling in the darkness of their room. Adora did the same, glad that they had put these glow-in-the darks specs that reminded her of their time in space, which they both found peaceful. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine they were in Darla, moving across space, with no one to bother them for miles and miles. Sometimes, when they both had free time, they would hop onto the ship and take it for a spin for no particular reason, just to be able to enjoy the quiet while being in each other’s presence. For Adora, it was a reminder of when Catra finally joined their side, and for Catra, it was a reminder that Adora had finally come back for her. And so, they spent as many days as they could in outer space. And even though they could still see the stars from outside their windows, the only way they could truly feel at peace was when they laid down to stargaze at the shiny specks on the ceiling of their room.

“You know,” Adora started, “I always thought that they remind me of you.”

“Sparkly lights?”

“The way they’re spaced out from each other resemble your freckles.”  At that, Catra turned to look at her, but found Adora looking up still.

“When I saw them for the first time, that’s what I thought. And I missed you so much more then.”

“You never told me that,” Catra said slowly.

Adora looked pensive for a moment. “I guess I never did. It’s not something I could have just brought up in the middle of a fight. Can you imagine?” She changed her voice to have a harder edge, “Hey, Catra~ By the way, I love the stars because they remind me of your freckles.”

Catra laughed lightly at that. “You are such a goofball.”

“I’m your goofball.”

“You bet your ass you are.” Catra reach over and grasped Adora’s hand in her smaller one.

Finally, Adora turned to face her.

“What’s on your mind?”

Catra sighed. “I guess I’m the dumb one now. I really thought I’d be okay seeing my former self. Guess that backfired real quick.”

“Oh, Catra, you aren’t dumb. Far from it.”

“But I am!” Catra half sat up to be able to look down on her, pressing her elbow on the bed to hold herself there. “I knew more than anyone what probably would have happened and still I acted all tough in front of everyone just for her to mention one thing. That’s all it took for me to lose it back there!”

“It’s not that it was just one thing,” Adora whispered. “Everyone understands that it’s something major that happened to you. No one expects you to have overcome it quickly.”

“But it’s been years! I should be over it by now.”

“What exactly happened?” Adora asked kindly. “You don’t have to tell me, only if you want to,” she quickly reminded her.

“She just mentioned my hwaor,” Catra grumbled the last word.

“What?” Instead of responding though, Catra simply touched the tips of her hair, already long enough to warrant her usual trim.

“Oh.”

“I told you it was dumb. I mean, look at Spinnerella! She was chipped longer than I was, and she got over it quickly! Her and Netossa always seem so happy.”

“And you don’t think you and I are happy?” It was Adora’s turn to half sit up to stare into her lover’s eyes, searching for the truth in them.

“No! I mean, yes! They’re just so sure of their love, they never wasted any time and the only reason we were able to be together was because I got chipped for being so dumb and not leaving with you when you asked me countless times.”

“No,” Adora’s face turned serious for once, a frown decorating mouth. “I should have left sooner and taken you with me. I was the dumb one who was too blind to see how evil the Horde was. And I knew of everything they had done to you. I’m so very sorry, Catra. I couldn’t protect you then, or when Horde Prime captured you.”

Catra suddenly felt the urge to cry again.

“Look, Catra,” Adora took her lover’s other hand into hers, holding them delicately like they’d break if she squeezed too hard. “You aren’t the only one to blame for everything that happened. The war was something bigger than both of us; we were both just pawns in a game that began ages ago. We both did things we regretted, and now must deal with the consequences. But I would never switch it for anything in the world. Because they best thing came out of it all: I got you. And you got me.”

“And just because Spinnerella looks like she’s over it doesn’t mean she is.” She hesitated before continuing, “Netossa sometimes asks for my help. It seems that she still gets nightmares too. So don’t you dare feel inferior. Everyone is different and deals with things differently.”

“I—I didn’t know that” Catra whispered and laid back down flat on her back.

“That aside, my biggest concern is your recovery. Anything you need I will do.”

“Anything?” Catra peered at her, a new glint in her eyes.

Adora’s heart skipped a beat, “Anything.”

Catra

“S-should we be doing this?” Bow asked as he and Glimmer stood outside Adora and Catra’s room, ears pressed against the door.

“Yeah! It’s fine! We’re just checking to make sure they’re okay,” Glimmer said, her words serious but a grin played at her lips.

“I don’t know, Glimmer,” Bow looked around to make sure they weren’t spotted. “Someone could see us and get the wrong idea…”

Just then, the door they were leaning against opened up suddenly, making them tumble forward and fall onto the floor.

“You know,” came the familiar voice of Catra, “We can hear you from inside.”

Glimmer and Bow laughed nervously, dusting off their knees and standing up. Only to have their mouths hang open.           

There, in front of them, stood Carta, her hair, which usually was just worn down, was half up, sporting a tiny ponytail, with the other half down. Her hair was teased in such a way that looked both disheveled and done up all at once. Her hair, which she had not allowed to grow enough to graze against the scar at the back of her neck, was now just long enough to cover it completely.

Glimmer and Bow squealed with joy.

“Awww,” Bow circled around Catra to get a closer look at the back of her head, “Your tiny ponytail is so cute!”

“Yeah,” Glimmer smirked at her, “It almost seems like you have a hair poof of your own.”

Unexpectedly, Catra blushed.

“Right? It’s like we’re matching now,” Adora joined them, sporting a wide goofy grin.

“Terribly cute!” Bow clasped his hands together in glee.

“Why is it so dark in your room?” Glimmer peered inside. She gasped. “And you removed the pillows I sent to your room, again?!”

“Yeah, Sparkles,” Catra said, “You’ve got to stop with that.”

“But they add color! And they’re so comfy!”

They walked out of their room together, laughing, feeling like lighter than before.

“Oh,” Bow said, blushing, and Glimmer just eyed them suspiciously.

“What?” Adora asked.

They responded by just looking at her, a little lower than her head. Adora slapped a hand on her neck and ran to the nearest mirror in the hallway, and yup, just as she suspected, there, unmistakably, were tiny little love bites, varying in size and color, some red and others turning purple already.    

Never, in her life, had she felt her face warm up as fast as it did.

She turned to Catra who was trying not to laugh out loud. “Catra!”

“What?” The feline batted her eyelashes innocently, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes. You. Did!” With every word, Adora stepped closer to her, but Catra was quicker and dashed down the hall, laughing freely now.

“You two are something else,” Bow and Glimmer followed them, laughing as well.

They chased each other down the long corridor of Bright Moon nostalgically. It reminded them of the first time Adora had arrived at the kingdom. Her, Bow and Glimmer would mess around with the guards and sneak as much food from the kitchen as possible, just to return to their rooms and stuff their faces until they felt their stomach was going to explode. And later, when Catra first arrived at Bright Moon, she would often disappear on her own, only to be found walking the corridors, mind miles away. And it wasn’t until Adora would challenge her to a race or tease her that she had gotten behind on her training, that the light of Catra’s eyes would come back. And eventually, all four of them ended up spending more and more time together, throwing a huge sleepover party for Catra to make her feel more welcome. At the time, Catra was insanely happy, even if she grumbled when Glimmer and Adora started to braid each other’s hair and did so to Catra’s tiny locks too. She had never really thought of the Horde as her home, not after all the abuse she went through, but when she arrived at Bright Moon, hand-in-hand with Adora, she felt the warmth of a home for the first time. It made her glad that she had gotten her act together, because if it meant she got to spend time with the love of her life, and yes, even her equally as goofy friends, it was all worth it. She wouldn’t trade these special moments when her for anything in the world.

“Wait up guys!” Bow was huffing and puffing now, leaning against the wall for support.

“Tired already?” Adora ran back to where he was, energy pumping through her veins so much so that she was running in place when she made it to his side.

“Just need a breather, some of us can’t just teleport or have magical powers to give us strength.”

“Guess this is as good as any time to get some food,” Glimmer magically appeared in front of Bow and Adora.

“Yes, let’s,” Catra smiled smugly, “I’ve worked up an appetite, what about you Adora?”

Adora rolled her eyes but smiled at her. “I am starving.”

“Eh—” Catra started at seeing Glimmer grab ahold of Adora and Bow’s hands to teleport everyone to the kitchen. “Hold on, Sparkles, why don’t we walk there like normal people?”

“Ugh, that’s so boring though,” Glimmer pouted, cheeks puffing up like a chipmunk.

“Some of us like to take the scenic route,” Catra teased.

“Ugh, fine, only because you asked so nicely, I guess.” And with that they began their way to the kitchen. But not even a couple minutes later, they made it to what used to be Catra’s old room.

“Oh,” Catra said, suddenly realizing that she completely forgot to ask about Other Adora. Her Adora, having guessed by the way Catra’s eyes drooped a little, took her hand and squeezed.

“You want to meet her?” Adora asked, drawing small circles onto her hand with her thumbs.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Catra fidgeted.

Adora beamed at her, “Actually, it was her suggestion. I was going to bring it up after you spoke with Other Catra but—Anyways, yes, it’s a good idea. Plus,” she bumped her shoulder against Catra, having to bend down a little as the latter was shorter than her. “I’ll be there to support you.”

“Okay, if you insist, oh great powerful Princess,” Catra’s tail flickered back and forth in both a nervous and playful manner.

And with that, Adora knocked on the door. “Hey, mini-me, it’s me!”

The door cracked open a bit, and then was pulled wide open.

“Back already?” Other Adora’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! I brought someone with me.” Adora stepped inside, everyone else following suit.

Catra couldn’t help staring at young Adora. Sure, she remembered clearly what she looked like, but it brought back many memories, both bad and good. Mostly good now.

“Catra,” Other Adora waved shyly.

“Um, hi,” Catra’s tail flicked back and forth.

 “Wow, you look so different with your hair shorter.” Other Adora inspected it, tilting her head slightly.

“Right?” Catra’s Adora bragged, straitening her back and flicking her wrist, “She looks hot! Not that she didn’t before. But damn, my girlfriend is a cutie.”

Other Adora blushed and shyly scratched the back of her left calf with her right foot. “It’s still hard to believe.”

“You told her?” Catra asked accusingly. “Didn’t we have a whole meeting about being careful not to say anything that could jeopardize their reality?”

“What can I say? It’s not something I like to hide. Plus, technically, she’s me, and Other Catra ended up finding out too. It’s not really something that they wouldn’t notice.”

“How is Catra?” Other Adora asked, worry filling her blue eyes.

“Well,” Adora’s eyes flickered to Catra before meeting the gaze of her younger self. “Just as good as you’d imagine. Like I said before, she’s being held in another room, so don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere, and I asked Juliet to remain outside her door to deliver meals and such for her.”

Other Adora’s eyes filled with sadness. “So, even now, she’s being difficult? Guess that’d be the more predicable thing.”

“She’s just going through it all right now,” Catra interjected, trying to soothe her, “I mean, I know she is. She just needs time and space to figure things out.”

Other Adora nodded slowly, her smile not reaching her eyes. “I know.”

“Hey,” Catra closed the gap between them to place her hand on her shoulder, “Listen to me, even though I can’t say too much, just know that there is hope. If my Adora could bring me back when I hit rock bottom, I’m sure you have it in you to save yours.”

Other Adora’s smile now seemed more genuine. “Thank you, that means a lot coming from you.”

“Now,” Adora clapped her hands together, “What were we talking about when I had to step out?”

“Right,” Other Adora went to sit on the huge bed they had brought in for her, so she’d be comfortable. Everyone took a seat as well. Bow and Glimmer grabbed a pillow each to hug close to their bodies, while Adora outstretched her legs in front of her to let Catra rest her feet on her lap.

“You were telling me how you found me in the woods.”

“Ah, yes, Melog, that’s Catra’s magical cat partner, um, interrupted us in the morning and was acting completely bonkers. We,” Adora motioned to everyone, “went to see what the fuzz was about and we found you and your Catra unconsciousness.”

“Well,” Catra added, “Your Catra woke up and tried attacking us but I knocked her out pretty quickly.”

“Mm,” Other Adora nodded, “I see. Did you guys notice anything off? Like any sign of how or why we’d have been pushed into your realities?”

“Actually,” Bow said, “We were kind of hoping you could give us a better idea as to what happened. Or if you remember anything of what you were during before you were unconscious?”

Other Adora placed hand under her chin thoughtfully, “I do have a vague memory of what was happening. We, I mean, my Glimmer and Bow and I were out trying to find some first ones tech in the Northern Reach. Catra and I were sparring and next thing I knew there was a bright light and that’s the last thing I remember. Sorry if that isn’t much help.”

“No,” Bow shook his head, “Anything helps. And by the sound of it, it might have been some kind of First Ones tech that brought you into our present, though not necessarily your future.”

Other Adora’s eyes suddenly widened. “Wait, where’s my sword?” She scanned around the room frantically.

“We didn’t see your sword when we found you. Maybe it got stuck on the other side, your present.”

Panic flashed across Other Adora’s face. “No, that means I can’t transform. What if I need her power to go back? Does that mean we’ll be stuck here forever?”

“Don’t panic,” Adora was quick to respond, “I still have my abilities, so if we need She-ra’s power, we can still use it. Plus,” She smiled kindly at her younger self, “You might learn that you don’t physically need the sword to be in touch with her.”

“No way!” Adora’s eyes shimmered, “You can do that?”

“Oh, yeah, I don’t physically need it, I just summon it when I want to channel She-ra.” Adora puffed her chest out a little.

“Yeah, but you should have seen her before she got the hang of it!” Glimmer giggled.

“Yeah, Adora kept getting distracted,” Catra smirked at her lover, and for old times’ sake, moved closer to her until she was sitting on Adora’s lap, legs dangling, as she once had before in the past.

“Ha ha, very funny, Catra,” before she could hold herself back, Adora gave her Catra a small kiss on the lips.

Other Adora watched in wonder at the two and felt her heart squeeze with…longing?

Glimmer must have noticed because she cleared her throat, cutting the couple’s kiss short.

“Hey, none of that, we’re trying to stay on track.” Glimmer eyed Adora’s neck, making Other Adora stare as well.

Other Adora blushed beet red at seeing the marks that decorated her older self. Partially since she was pretty oblivious to that kind of stuff, but also because she still could not believe that in this future, her and Catra were a thing. And from what she could see, everyone seemed okay with it? It made her heart flutter in a new and curious way. Then, maybe…No. She mentally shook her head. Just because it happened for them, it doesn’t mean that it would happen for her as well. Catra was just digging herself into a deeper hole with every new attack and every new invention to conquer Etheria. Yeah, there was no way. She had asked Catra every chance she got to leave the Horde, to join the Rebellion but she always refused and made her life even harder than before.

Young Adora could not help but let her heart sink, maybe, she thought, maybe she was too far gone. But even as she thought it, she quickly shoved it aside. Because even though that was the logical thing to think, even though everyone could only see Catra as the evil Horde Lord, she could not help seeing Catra the way she saw her when they were kids. When Catra would be clinging onto her as she sobbed after a long day of training or of simply missing her if they had ended up doing different tasks all day. Young Adora kept holding onto that idea of Catra, and she knew in her heart, that she would silently hope for the day that Catra would change her mind.

“…because there’s no way of knowing for sure what the long-term effects are.” Other Adora found herself tuning back into the conversation in time to catch the end of what Bow was saying.

“I’d have to check with Entrapta to see if she has any theories.” He finished.

“Entrapta?” Other Adora asked. “She’s here too?”

“Oh,” Glimmer said, “Yeah. Forgot to mention that. A lot of things might be different. Here, Entrapta joined us after being kicked out of the Horde…” She glanced at Catra.

“Yeah, by me,” Catra said bluntly.

“But it all worked out in the end,” Adora said letting out a nervous laugh.

“Oh,” Other Adora smiled a little, “That’s good to hear. We all felt bad when we found out she was left behind and didn’t die.”

Everyone nodded. “Yeah, we did too. But we’re all friends now so that’s all in the past.”

“You’ll find that as long as everyone puts in the effort, anything is possible.”

Other Adora looked pensive for a while.

“Do you think I can see Catra—my Catra?”

Bow and Glimmer shared a look, as well as Catra and Adora.

“I guess that’s mostly up to you,” Adora said slowly. “She’s not in the best of moods since we’ve had her coped up in her room. But maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea. If you can convince her that it’s in her best interest to help us figure out how to send you two back to your time period, it would be a major help.”

“I mean, you more than anyone knows she doesn’t really listen to anyone.” At that, Adora face lit up. She made a ‘come here’ motion with her hand to her younger self.

Adora whispered something into her ear that made Other Adora blush slightly but nodded none the less.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine now,” Adora winked.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Other Adora got up from the bed and turned to Glimmer and Bow. “Mind showing me the way?”

“Yeah,” they followed her as she headed out the door, leaving Adora and Catra in the room. “No problem.”

“What did you say to her,” Catra eyed her lover suspiciously. “I hope it wasn’t anything weird.”

Adora laughed, “Pshh no way. Just a tip. Nothing to worry your pretty little head over.”

“Ew, please don’t say things like that to me,” Catra fake gagged.

“Oh, shut it, kitten, you know you love it.” Adora lunged at her, tickling her sides.

“Stop! I’ll hurt you for real if you don’t stop it!” Tears of laughter gathered at the corner of Catra’s eyes.

“Make me.”

“Oh, now you’re in for a whole lot of trouble, Princess.”

Chapter Text

Other Catra

Young Catra was hanging off the edge of the bed upside down, staring at the walls she had just scratched up. It had been an hour since her prison guard had come and left food for her, but it remained untouched. She had tried to find anyone­, anyone, that she could have a mild conversation with. Maybe it was because she hadn’t gotten any visitors for what felt like forever, maybe it was because the person she wanted to see had yet to pay her a visit.

Tsk, she thought to herself, she’s probably off playing nice with her friends. Nothing ever really changes, does it?

She scowled to herself. Why did she even care? Adora left her. That’s all there was to it. She made her choice, and Catra made hers. There was no going back. And yet…

They looked like they’re very close, she pondered. Maybe after everything they became friends again. But how could that be? She’s tried to kill her and her new friends more than once.

‘Everyone is used to you guys kissing in the hallways’ Scorpia’s words echoed in her mind.

Kissing? So maybe they were back on good terms like they were before when they were friends. I mean, that was the closest relationship there was. Everyone knew that. Maybe it was just a friendship but with some evolved elements. Not that Young Catra wouldn’t mind.

She missed kissing her.

It was not often that she thought back to their childhood. But one thing she would sometimes come back to, was when they were teens. Adora had overheard someone being punished by Shadow Weaver for doing something called “kissing.” Of course, later that night, she had brought it up. Catra had heard of it as well but only had a vague idea of what it was. Something to do with their lips.

And so, they had tried it out. Mostly because they were curious and could not stop thinking about it. They waited until everyone was asleep, like their usual sleepovers, before Catra jumped down to Adora’s bed. Adora was shaking with excitement at trying something new with her, it was almost adorable. Almost. Because while young Catra had also been excited, she felt a pang of something nameless as she thought of what they were about to do. She had no idea what it was called, she just knew that as they turned to each other in the dark, and Adora stared at her lips that she realized she didn’t care, and leaned in, closing her eyes for some reason.

Their first kiss was short. Just a touch of lips to lips.

Catra opened her eyes and found Adora staring at her, blue eyes wide with wonder.

“Adora!” Catra hissed a little. “Why didn’t you close your eyes? You’re supposed to!”

Adora looked embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. Let’s try again.” Adora grabbed Catra’s head, so she was facing her again, making the feline’s mismatched eyes widen in shock, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“I guess, if you want to so badly.” Catra had tried to play it off, but her façade melted away as Adora closed the gap between them again. This time, their kiss was longer, and made something burn deep within Catra. And she knew from then on, that she did not care what happened to her, as long as she had Adora, she would be fine. More than fine. Perfect.

Of course, that was not how things ended up going. And now Catra was stuck in a princess’ room of all places, thinking about unnecessary things. Yup, and now she felt the need to scratch something up, but there was hardly any wall left.

Other Catra looked up at the long pieces of fabric hanging over her bed, no doubt it was purely for decoration and had no actual purpose. Maybe if she…

She leaped into the air, claws fully out, and latched onto the lowest part of it. She carefully, skillfully using her tail to remain balanced, climbed up until she reached where fabric met ceiling. She adjusted her weight so that she could free her left hand and slash with a flick of her wrist. Fabric was no challenge to her sharp claws; it was child’s play really.

What she didn’t account for was how flimsy it was, before she knew it, she was falling, the sound of cloth ripping filled the otherwise silent room. But before she could fall face-first, she flipped midair, and landed gracefully on all fours. She smugly stood up.

The sound of the door opening made her brace herself, but before she could see who it was, the metal hooks that the rest of the long pieces of cloth were hanging from made a cracking noise before falling.

“Catra!” An all too familiar voice, or voices in this case, called out her name as the whole thing fell on top of her.

“Aarg!” Other Catra shouted from under the heavy pile.

“Wait, let us help you!” Glimmer, she recognized her voice, said. There was a whooshing sound and flickering sparkles everywhere, and Catra knew without looking that the barrier was gone.

She leaped at the chance, tearing up the rest of the canopy’s remains in an instant, and leaped at the nearest person she could reach. It just so happened to be Adora. But not her Adora.

She hissed in her face; fangs close to slicing the skin near the blonde’s neck. But then her eyes landed where she was about to pierce where tiny purple/red marks sprinkled around her light skin.

In the split second she took to hesitate, she was shoved away from Not-Her Adora, and tumbled around as Adora grabbed onto her. She landed on top of Catra, pressing her onto the floor from behind. Suddenly, Catra was hyper aware of the way Adora’s toned thighs felt as they pressed into her sides and couldn’t help feeling the heat from them warm her insides.

“Stop fighting us,” Her Adora said, digging her elbow onto her back, making Catra wince a little.

“Get. Off. Me!” Catra swung at her, making sure her nails were retracted. The blonde shoved her away to dodge, and quickly grabbed her by her wrists, easily pulling her up so that she was restrained. Other Adora, for better measure, spun her around and pushed her onto the nearest wall, pressing her wrists against it, effectively pinning her in place.

For what felt like the first time in forever, Catra was able to peer into the other’s blue eyes. So bright, so full of good it almost always made Other Catra feel like looking away. Even in a world that was not their own, Adora was still the goody-two shoes.

She must have been staring too long because she saw a something shift in those blue eyes. And she saw her Adora’s usual white skin turn the loveliest shade of pink.

From behind her Adora, there was laughter, light and lively.

Other Catra peered behind her to see the older versions of themselves trying not to laugh outload again, holding their sides, faces red while trying to hold it in.

“Okay,” Older Adora said, a goofy grin decorating her face, “I think that’s enough.”

Her Adora let go off her and Catra was not expecting the way her heart fell at the loss of physical contact. It was the first time she had been able to be that close to her in, well she supposed it had technically only been a day or two, but they had just traveled through space and time, so she felt justified in her desire to be near her again. Not that she had to know that.

“Well,” she started, voice dripping with indifference, “I’m glad I could be the entertainment.”

Her Adora looked at her, searching for something in her face. She must have found what she was looking for ‘cause she smiled softly, and stepped back, giving her much needed space so she could concentrate.

“I guess you’re okay to talk now, huh, kitten?” The older version of herself was smirking at her, arms crossed, and it was the strangest thing, seeing herself outside of herself. Probably because she’d never met another magi cat, and she certainly had not expected this to be the way she would.

“Ha! Says you! Changed your hair ‘cause of it, Princess?” She snarled at her, taking note of her new messy ponytail.

“It’s not ‘princess,’” Older Catra said, matching her tone, “It’s Bishop: Master Strategist and Advisor.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” She rolled her eyes, “Now you look even more ridiculous than before.”

Older Catra stared at her then smirked. “You’re one to talk, Catri—”

At the sound of the beginning of her real name, Catra’s entire body tensed, tail frizzing up. “DON’T YOU DARE!”

“Oh?” Older Catra slowed walked towards her, tail swaying back and forth lazily. “I’m sorry, I thought you had said something, Catri—”

“Fine!” The younger feline took on a more relaxed stance, and looked away at the scratched-up walls, the shredded sheets, anything but at the blue eyes she felt boring into her. “But only if Adora stays.”

“Where else would I go?” Her Adora scratched the back of her head, like a dork. “I kind of have nowhere to go until we come up with a plan to get back.”

“Then that settles it,” Sparkles clapped her hands like she was teaching a class. “We can move to the Conference Room, IF,” she glanced at the younger feline, “you promise not to run away. I do not want to spend my whole day chasing you.”

That made her roll her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she waved her hand dismissively.

“Juliet,” Glimmer called out, only to have her already be walking towards her, “We’ll be taking Other Catra to the Conference Room, have someone fix this place up.”

“Absolutely, Queen Glimmer,” she bowed and left the room as quickly as she had entered.

“Queen?” Other Catra stared at her with new eyes. “Wow, does that mean your mom stepped down? That’s surprising that she’d leave everything to little ol’ Sparkles.”

Everyone shared a look. “She passed away.”

At hearing those words, Other Catra felt a little bad, just a little, at having mentioned it, but wow, if only that was how things were back home, the Horde would have won a long time ago. Maybe if she was lucky, it would happen. Not that she desired the current Queen of her world to die, it would just help.

Unexpectedly, her older self placed a hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. Hm. She was going to have to find out what that was all about.

“Come on, Catra,” Her Adora held an outstretched hand in front of her, making her stop in her tracks.

“What are you doing?" She stared at it like it was going to bite her. "I can walk on my own,” she spat out, ignoring it, and following Older Adora and Older Catra who were already bickering. She was much more curious about what was going on there, and just because they weren’t in their world, didn’t mean that her and Adora could be chummy, only she would still try to get her on the ‘good side’ while being away.

“By the way, Adora,” Queen Glimmer said as they all began to walk the ridiculously long corridors of her palace, “How long are you going to have those on your neck? We get it. You got some. Can’t you just heal yourself now?”

“But,” Older Adora whined.

“But what? It’s hard enough for everyone to see you sucking face in every room possible, seriously, the servants have a club at this point, wondering where and what you’ll be doing. I have to keep some kind of order.”

Her older self laughed out loud at that. “Only at Bright Moon would that actually happen. But hey, does the club have group activities? I just might join.”

“No,” Bow chimed in, “I asked. It’s invite only. And don’t get too cocky, there’s a club just for you Catra.”

“There is?!” Her eyes shined.

“But I don’t think you’d approve,” Bow said, looking away.

“Oh no, it better not be what I think it is.”

“Uh,” Bow rubbed the back of his neck, “It was originally a photography club, and it still is, it just changed subject permanently.”

“What. The. Hell. Arrow boy!” Older Catra glared at him. “I thought I had told you told stop! I can’t be giving all of this for free! Also, that’s a huge invasion of privacy.”

“But you’re just so cute,” Bow squealed. “Here I have some.” He started to pull out a stack of pictures from his pocket.

“No!” Other Catra pounced at him, chasing him as he ran away from her, trying to save his dear pictures.

The Adora’s and Glimmer were having a laughing fit and Young Catra could not help staring at the sound. It had been a while since she had heard that sound. It had been a while since she could afford to laugh whole heartily as everyone was. I guess that just what happens when you’re constantly at war. She felt herself loosen up even more. It wasn’t too bad. Not having to plan or boss around less than capable soldiers around all day.

She shook her head. No. It doesn't matter, she thought to herself. Because while it was their future selves, it didn’t mean that’s how things would end. It’s not the future she had envisioned. So, there was no question about it being a possibility. Not for her at least. Even though her other self could manage it, how she did was beyond her, she knew she was too deep in to go back now. She had commitments and had a goal to achieve: rule all of Etheria. And if going back home meant that she had to play nice for a bit then she’d do that.

There was a shimmering light wrapping around Older Adora now, blue eyes glowing, and a sudden gush of wind as she finally caved and healed herself. Sure enough the love marks were gone.

“Wow!” Her Adora stared at her older self, eyes sparkling with wonder, “You really can just use She-ra’s powers without the sword!”

“And yet she refuses to spare us from witnessing her extracurricular activities.”

“You’re one to talk,” Older Adora teased her friend, making the sparkling girl blush.

“Come on, now! No time to waste,” She seemed to have gained a burst of energy as she marched in front of everyone else, effectively leaving Catra with the two dumb blondes who were currently exchanging workout routines.

And then she realized, she was stuck with them. Two for the price of one? Catra thought to herself, making herself smirk. Just because they were enemies, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t secretly enjoy being around them. Sure, she would much prefer only her Adora being there, but there was a certain edge to her older self that was making her feel some kind of way. She was slightly taller, and a tad bit more muscular. There was both a softness and roughness to her that she couldn’t ignore. If that was what her Adora was going to look like in the future, she sure wouldn’t mind.

Catra frowned, “Are we there yet or are we gonna walk by every door on Etheria before getting there?”

Both Adora’s stopped talking and turned to her. Two pair of light blue eyes stared at her. She gulped.

“Yeah, it’s up ahead,” Older Adora said, waving at the other three that were waiting for them in front of two big double doors.

Older Catra caught her eye, and she must have seen something in them since she started to walk towards her. Young Catra braced herself, claws extended slightly.

“Try not to enjoy yourself too much while you’re around them, it’s showing,” she whispered to her, pointing at her mismatched eyes, referring to the way their pupils would noticeably dilate at certain times.

“Sh—Shut up!” She took a swing at her, making her older self laugh.

“Catra, come on, everyone is ready.” Older Adora extended a hand at her.

“Of course, dear,” Older Catra took it without skipping a beat, adding a pet name sarcastically just to get Older Adora to squirm.

Arm in arm, they walked into the Conference Room after Older Bow and Older Glimmer, leaving her with her Adora.

 “What were you trying to do back there?” Catra turned to look accusingly at her ex-friend.

“Oh,” Adora seemed embarrassed at being found out. “She said it would help calm you down though I don’t really understand why.” Ouch.

“You don’t need to do anything,” She snapped. “Just because we’re here with them doesn’t change anything between us. I just need them to get back.”

At that, Adora looked sad, but quickly fixed her facial expression.

“Fine. Not like that’s anything new. I’ve kind of given up on getting you to change sides. Let’s just stay focused on getting back.”

I’ve kind of given up on you.

Those words echoed in her mind as they walked in, separately, one after the other.

Other Catra

Too many people, princesses, for her liking. They were currently sitting around the longest table in the world. Many she recognized and was vaguely surprised by Scorpia and Entrapta being there, and others were new faces. Some other character that looked like Hordak who everyone unironically called him Wrong Hordak. And there was a small cat that was spread across her older selves’ shoulder.

“—there was barely enough material to make tools for harvest, this seems to be a particularly good season.” Netossa, Catra thought that was her name, said. Haha nets.

Glimmer simply signed some paper to order more and then there was a silence. Oh. It was time.

“That concludes that,” Older Catra stood up. “Now, what about the other matter at hand?”

“Oh,” the one with the fish outfit said, “You mean evil twin?”

“She’s not evil.”

“She’s not my twin.” Older Catra and Adora spoke over each other, clearly having had this conversation before.

“She’s right here,” Catra waved at everyone, making sure that her claws her slightly extended. “And as much as I love sitting at boring meetings, I would rather do that back at the Horde.”

“Why is she not bound?” The flowery one said.

“She promised she’d be on good behavior, right?” Her older self flashed a fangy smile at her.

“Only because I want to get out of here.” She crossed her arms.

“Yeah, you made that clear,” Her Adora muttered under her breath, so low that only she could hear.

Catra narrowed her eyes at her.

“Okay!” Queen Sparkles said, “Well, Entrapta? Did you find out anything?”

“Why yes!” The purple haired girl stood up. “Wrong Hordak, press the button!”

A hologram of planets appeared in front of them.

“I made a simulation of what could have possibly happened around the same time that you said you found Other Adora and Catra. I had to guess what time it was exactly to create the perfect conditions. Once I had that down, I widened the scope of it more and more to see if there were any abnormalities across all of Etheria.”

“Did you find anything?” Not-Her Adora asked, a stern look on her face.

“Actually, no.” Entrapta said enthusiastically, “But even better than that! I was able to get a visual of close by planets! Look!” Sure enough, in front of them, a projection played exactly as Entrapta said. Starting at Bright Moon and moving out until they were all staring at nearby planets, all varying in size and distance.

“Right—There!” She pointed at a sphere that was a light shade of blue. “There was something going on there at the same time when Other Adora and Catra appeared! There were massive readings coming from this place.” She squealed.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Glimmer asked, smile slowly growing bigger and bigger.

“Yes! We have to go to space!”

Chapter Text

“Come on guys! We have to leave today! Adora!” Glimmer yelled at her. “Stop messing around!”

In the distance, there was She-ra, as big and bright as ever. On her shoulder was Catra, feet dangling as she watched her lover carry all their luggage. Every few steps, Catra would swing around one of the warrior’s toned arms and swing upward, just to land on She-ra’s shoulder perfectly.

“What?” She-ra grinned. Catra, clearly enjoying messing around with their friend, jumped onto the top of the mountain of suitcases Adora was carrying, and stretched out, sunbathing. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Catra,” Glimmer slapped herself on her forehead, “Please let her finish taking all our stuff. I swear you guys are making this more difficult than it has to be.”

“I mean, you could just teleport everything there yourself,” Other Adora said, laughing at seeing their bickering.

“I’m trying to preserve magic this time around.” Glimmer said, “We have tried a bunch of different things so that I can use it in space, and I’ve gotten better at it, but we don’t know what’s out there.”

“Wow,” Young Adora stared at the big spaceship on top of the hill with stars in her eyes, “Space! That sounds so exciting! I can’t believe that I get to be out in space! Glimmer and Bow are going to be so jealous!”

Queen Glimmer gave her a sideways glance. “How are they, by the way?”

“Oh, those two? They’re doing great,” Young Adora waved her hand, noting the slight concern in her voice. “It’s not much different than how you two are, still as affectionate and fun as always.”

“Affectionate?”

Young Adora smiled widely, “Yeah! All lovey-dovey.” Now Glimmer was confused.

“Wait, but, if you and Catra are still enemies, then how are we together? We didn’t confess till after Catra joined the Rebellion.”

Now it was Adora who was confused, “When I met you, you guys were together already.”

“WHAT?” Glimmer shouted, causing Bow to run to her side.

“What? What’s wrong?” Bow placed his hand on her shoulder. Glimmer pointed at Young Adora.

“I just said that you and Glimmer back home were together when I met you. But” Adora glanced between the two, “I guess that’s not how things were here.”

“No, not at all,” Bow looked pensive. “I mean, it does make sense that there are differences in our realities. We may be older versions of you guys, but that doesn’t mean that our lives progressed the same way.”

“You are correct, Bow.” Entrapta popped out of nowhere.

Everyone shouted and jumped in shock.

“Alternative realities are very plausible,” Entrapta continued, sipping on a fizzy drink loudly. “Every day we make billions of choices, small and big. Those choices lead to who we are today. So in that sense are infinite possibilities at to who we could be! There’s no way of knowing just how many different realities there are unless we were to visit all of them. And that’d take countless years!”

“So there might be a reality where you and I don’t end up together?” Glimmer and Bow stared at each other. Then hugged each other tightly.

“No!” Glimmer cried, “I can’t even imagine that!”

“If there is,” Bow squeezed her harder, “I promise to love you as much in our reality enough to reach all the other Bows and Glimmers everywhere!”

“Bow,” Glimmer pulled back to stare at him, then closed the gap to share a quick kiss.

“Ew,” Young Catra said, “Get a room.”

Glimmer and Bow pulled away, embarrassed, but held hands as they finished to make their way to Adora and Catra who had already finished moving everyone’s stuff inside the spaceship.

“Geez, what took you so long,” Catra grinned.

“Ugh!” Glimmer threw her hands up in the air. “It is just so great that there are two of you now.”

Catra winked. “The more to love, Sparkles.” Glimmer went to jump at her but She-ra effortlessly brushed her aside, a goofy smile on her face.

“Is everything ready to go, Entrapta?” She-ra asked, noticing the purple-haired Princess was poking at things in the screen in front of her. She shrunk back down to her mortal self as she walked up to where she was in order to see what she was doing.

“Pretty much.” Entrapta’s hair kept typing at buttons as she turned to talk to the group. “I had to tear a wall to add more space to increase square footage to our rooms, oh and I added an actual kitchen to make tons of tiny food, cooler for fizzy drinks, and added a gym since Adora really wanted one.”

Everyone turned to both Adora’s.

“What?” They said in unison, making everyone laugh. They fist pumped and bumped elbows before laughing as well.

“Looks like everything is good to go.” Catra broke their laughing fit, rolling her eyes at the two dumb blondes.

“Yeah, real bummer none of the other Princesses could come with us,” Other Adora pressed her index fingers together shyly.

“Well, with you two here, there’s hardly any room for anyone else. Even Wrong Hordak had to stay behind to take care of Dryl while I’m away. So, I made sure that there are four bedrooms so there’s plenty of room for everyone going.”

“Wait,” Other Catra interrupted, “Four rooms?” It dawned on everyone at the same time.

“Entrapta,” Adora started, “By any chance did you plan it so Other Adora and Catra have to share a room?”

The purple-haired princess tilted her head in confusion. “Yes? Adora and Catra always share a room. Why would I do it any differently for Other Adora and Other Catra?”

Glimmer and Bow huddled around her so the others could not hear.

“Because,” Bow whispered, “They aren’t even friends. It’s not the best of ideas if they share a room.”

“Ohhh,” a light bulb went off in Entrapta’s mind.

“Yeah,” Glimmer said, “so what do we do about it?”

“Um,” Other Adora spoke up, having clearly heard their entire conversation.

“I don’t mind staying with Catra, if that’ll be easier for everyone.” She fidgeted with her hands.

“I’m not sure…” Bow’s voice trailed off and everyone turn to look at Other Catra.

“What? I can handle being in a room by myself. I don’t need a roommate.” At that Adora and Catra shared a quick look.

“If It makes you feel better,” Other Catra pointed a sharp nailed finger at Glimmer. “You can have Sparkles put a barrier in my room, so I don’t escape or anything.”

“I’d actually prefer to save some of my magic so that won’t do…”

“Then I guess I’ll be the one to keep any eye on Catra,” Other Adora spoke up again, this time sounding more determined and firmer, leaving no room for disagreement.

“Well, that settles that,” Entrapta whistled, and a row of tiny bots arrived at her command. “Take their luggage where it needs to go.” Off the tiny army of robots scattered as each followed directions from the tech Princess.

“So,” she turned to the group, “Before we leave, I wanted to share some new information I found out about this new planet we are going to.” A projection of said planet appeared in front of them. “This is the planet the first ones referred to as Kari. They didn’t really have any important notes about it, just that they tried mining it’s energy like here on Etheria, but the frigid cold made it almost impossible to stay for long periods of time so they left it untouched for the most part and couldn’t really explore it.”

 “So, we’re going in blind,” Adora said with a serious face. She was currently sitting on the driver’s seat, legs spread wide as she gripped the arms of the seat.

“Basically!” Entrapta replied excitedly. “Just imagine what we’ll discover! New creatures! New civilization, if there even are any!”

“So, I’m guessing you upgraded our space suits?” Glimmer asked.

“Of course! And I made some for Other Adora and Other Catra. I had to change the color scheme so we wouldn’t accidently confuse them, but otherwise the design is the same. Though I did add a self-heating feature to keep our core temperature at an average temperature. So, we will definitely not die of cold, though I’m more concerned about a light source. The first ones made a note of the long nights on Kari.” Entrapta rambled on, now speaking into her recorder out of habit.

 “I can just use She-ra,” Adora immediately offered up.

“Don’t go overboard,” Catra peered up into her lover’s eyes.

“I won’t. Don’t worry.” To complete that promise, Adora pulled Catra onto her lap, enjoying the soft purring that followed.

“But,” Entrapta continued, “even with the suits we should not stay out there longer than four hours at a time. The suits need to charge up again. I’m working on it to make it last longer but if I can’t finish them before we get there, we’re limited to four hours.”

“That sounds like plenty of time to explore one small mission at a time.” Glimmer nodded her approval.

“Alright, that settles that,” Adora turned to She-ra for good measure, standing up, careful to lift Catra onto her shoulder. “Now let’s set course to Kari!”

Other Catra

“Ugh,” Young Catra groaned, holding her stomach. “This is the worse feeling in the world. Why did it have to be in space?” It had only been a few hours since they had set forth on their mission, but the feline had already seemed to have had enough.

“That’s where the signal was coming from,” Entrapta said matter a fact-ly. “I went over it like a dozen times.” Other Catra frowned at her.

“I know that,” she snapped, “I just hate that I have to be here in the first place. I just want to go back already and going to where that dumb signal is doesn’t mean it’ll help us.”

“True,” Entrapta continued, opening a vent to keep tinkering at Darla. “But it could give us a clue as to what’s going on.”

“Entrapta is right,” Not-her Adora replied, “It’s all we have to go off and until then that’s the only plan we have.”

“Well, the plan is stupid.” But even as she said that Young Catra knew that they were right.

“Well, I’m starving,” Glimmer clasped her hands together. “I will make my famous space dumplings!”

“I’ll help you,” Bow quickly offered, making sure to set Darla on autopilot before heading towards the kitchen with Glimmer.

A long silence followed.

“So,” Not-her Adora finally spoke up. “What do you guys want to do in the meantime?”

“Ooo oo!” Adora raised her hand like she was in class. “Can I see you turn into She-ra? She looks different!”

Not-her Adora stood up and puffed her chest out a little. “Yeah,” she grinned, “I kind of got access to her power after I broke my sword.”

“YOU BROKE THE SWORD?!” Adora screeched.

“Yes,” Not-her Adora turned serious. “I actually couldn’t turn into She-ra for a while. And then,” she looked at Older Catra with loving eyes, “when I needed her the most she came back. And soon after, Catra joined the Rebellion.”

 “Yeah,” Her older self said, “Only because you were being a stubborn idiot and came back for me.”

“Of course, I went back for you.” Older Adora’s voice raised a little. “Horde Prime captured you and if I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself for not protecting you again.”

Young Catra felt something in her stir as she heard her older self and Not-Her Adora bicker back and forth. She knew. She knew that it didn’t reflect her own reality, or her future. But she couldn’t help being jealous of them. Jealous that they had gotten to where they were in their friendship. Oh, what Catra would do to get to mess around with her Adora again like that. To feel her rub her ears when she cried due to the pain in her smaller joints after being pushed around in training. To get to wrap her tail around her calf as she slept on the same bed. To feel her lips on hers again…

At that thought she didn’t realize that her Adora was staring at her. Catra clamed up right away.

“What?” She asked, even though she intended to snap at her, her voice lacked her usual edge.

“Nothing! Nothing.” She responded in her usual worse nothing-is-wrong voice which made it obvious she wanted to say something.

Catra huffed and then jumped up to sit on the ledge so she could stare outside the spaceship. This was her first time seeing stars and a small part of her was curious and excited to see more. They looked like tiny little fires in the distance. And the way they shimmered in the darkness of outer space reminded her of the way Adora’s eyes brightened when she saw her back when she was her best friend. Back when she’d promised to stay by her side forever and rule all of Etheria with her.

But that was all in the past. She had broken a piece of her and taken it with her when she left. And there was no undoing the damage now. Not when she’s hurt too many people. But, if she could at least reach her goal and remain on top, where her guilt and longing could not reach her, she could finally live with herself and what she had done. Alone. She was alone for a long time before Adora claimed her as her own and she was alone when she left. If she was going to be alone again, it would be on her terms and hers alone. The world owed her at least that much.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Her older self was staring up at her from the bottom of the ledge.

“What is?” Catra turned back to look out the window. “Stars? Big deal.”

Older Catra shook her head. “The quiet. It’s peaceful.” Catra had no response to that and kept gazing outside. For miles and miles there seemed like there was no living soul but them. It was…tranquil.

“You know,” Her older self spoke softly now, so softly only her super hearing would pick up on it. “They may not be the same people as I know, but I bet they’d be willing to forgive if you gave them the chance.”

At that, Catra narrowed her eyes at her reflection.

Older Catra leaped onto the ledge where she was and mirrored her stance, propping one knee up to rest her arm there, mirror images of each other except for their hair. She continued, peering outside where they were passing an asteroid field. “If they could forgive me after what I did to them, I’m sure you can be forgiven too. Before it’s too late.”

This peeked Catra’s curiosity. “Did it have something to do with Sparkles?”

She watched as her older self’s expression faltered. “Yes.”

“And I’m guessing that’s how she became Queen.”

“Yes,” Older Catra repeated. She began to pick at the metal in between them, carving with a sharp nail an abstract figure that resembled the ex-Queen based on the big wings she drew on the figure’s back. “I opened a portal that could have destroyed everyone, and in order to close it, Queen Angela gave her life. Adora looked at me with such hate after she destroyed the portal that I couldn’t even face her for a while. And I did everything to try to forget it ever happened. But the guilt was too much. I wanted to die at some point.” At that, Young Catra looked at her with shock in her eye. “I even asked Glimmer to finish me off.” A small smile played at Older Catra’s lips. “And then we were taken by Horde Prime and Adora came back for me. Even after everything I had done. The kingdoms I had destroyed. The lives I took.” She stared at her hands, extending her claws to stare at their sharp edges.

 “So,” she concluded, sitting up straighter, “ask yourself what it is you really want.” She stared where both Adora’s were, who were currently in an intense arm-wrestling match on the floor. “Because we both know that even though she left us, we never left her. We couldn’t let go. What do you want?” Young Catra opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of Glimmer bursting into the room.

“Dinner is ready!”

Other Catra

Entrapta had installed artificial sunlight all over the ship. The lights slowly dimmed as it reached what could only be nighttime. After dinner everyone had dispersed into their rooms. It wouldn’t be another couple days before they reached their destination, and everyone was trying to rest up and prepare for what they might encounter. Young Catra didn’t know what to do with herself. She had always kept busy but here, in space, there was almost nothing to do, leaving her with her thoughts. And so, she wandered the corridors of the ship, going around and around in circles. She clawed at the walls, leaving a trail behind everywhere she had been. She knew that Entrapta could make a fuss about her damaging them, but she did not care.

Truthfully, she was avoiding going to her and Adora’s room. She was not ready to meet those blue eyes just yet. Especially not now that her older self’s words kept repeating in her mind. What do you want? WHAT do you want? What do YOU want? What do you WANT? Who…?

She shook her head before her mind could give the answer she suspected would arise if she thought of it any longer. Because even though she knew her answer, she suspected Adora felt differently. Why else would she had left? Why else would she actively try to destroy Catra’s only wish? Why else would she not have protected her from Shadow Weaver’s abuse and asked her to run away? Why else did she find it so easy to forget about her so quickly?

She stopped in front of a door and suddenly realized it was her room. Her feet must have had a mind of their own to end up exactly where she didn’t want to be now. The door opened itself automatically, sensing someone standing in front of it.

Inside, Adora was doing push-ups, her usual nightly work out routine. She wore her old Horde pajamas, something that caught Catra off guard. She never really thought about what she’d done with her old clothes, but definitely not actually using them after she had left. It was almost nice to see.

At hearing her come into the room, Adora sat up and leaned back against her heels. Catra was very aware of the way sweat made her skin glisten in the low artificial light.

“Catra,” Adora breathed out, chest going up and down as she came down from her workout high. “You made it. I was starting to wonder where you were.”

The magicat stepped into the room and leaned against the wall next to where the door was, away from where her ex-best friend was.

“Well, I’m here now. Are you going to sleep on the floor, or can I pass through?” Though she said that, Young Catra did not move when Adora stood up and marched to her half of the room. There were two beds there on opposite sides of the room. The beds themselves almost reminded her of the bunk beds they had shared their whole childhood, except the distance between them seemed miles away instead of a few feet.

“Okayy,” Adora said slowly, clearly confused that Catra hadn’t moved from where she stood. “I’m gonna take a shower. So don’t mind me.” She grabbed a towel and began to walk towards the door. It opened automatically but before she could exit the room, the whole room shook. Catra stumbled at the sudden motion and landed on top of a soft body. Both held on as another wave of sudden turbulence hit the ship, sending them flying deeper into the room, a half shout half yelp sound escaping their lips at the impact of crashing onto the metal floor.

Just as suddenly as it began, it was over. A static sound sounded overhead as Entrapta turned on the intercom. “Sorry! There were some stray asteroids but that was the last of it! I’m going to check Darla for any possible damage, but rest assured I won’t rest until she is at 200%!” With another beep, her voice was gone, leaving Catra to realize how they had landed.

She found herself under Adora’s body, who unconsciously was gripping her head towards her chest in a protective manner. As if she was oblivious to what position they were in, Adora looked down at her, worry coloring her expression.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?” Catra could only shake her head, not taking her eyes of the other’s lips.

Adora didn’t seem to notice. “Are you sure? Here let me check—”

Catra grabbed her by her shirt, interrupting her babbling. “Adora. Shut up.” And then she kissed her.

Chapter Text

Other Adora

Hot. Young Adora felt so hot as she felt her ex-best friend’s lips on hers. It could have been from her working out, but she knew deep inside her that it wasn’t. If it were, then she wouldn’t be able to feel blood rushing to her face, and she wouldn’t feel suddenly lightheaded at the simplest of touches. And she wouldn’t be craving more.

She missed this, she realized as she felt her body respond in a way that could only be described as yearning. She parted her lips and let her mouth be explored by a rough tongue until she could no longer think straight.

Her Catra and her pulled away at the same time. Both panting hard as they felt their whole world rocked in a kiss that felt so natural. A kiss that held the weight of years of pain, loneliness, hatred, and affection all at once.

Adora felt a set of blue and yellow eyes burning a hole into her soul as she looked anywhere, the walls, the floor, but at Catra’s face. She knew that if she looked at the expression she wore on her face, she’d cave. And she couldn’t. She mustn’t. Not after all their history. Not after all the betrayals and broken promises.

Catra didn’t say anything, but Adora could feel her entire body vibrating under hers as a silent question made her heartbeat faster and made her arms flex as she tried to restrain herself. She was close. Oh, so close.

And then she felt Catra’s tail slowly, cautiously, graze the back of her hand which was flat on the ground. It traveled up, up, all along her wrist, to her forearm where it finally wrapped itself around a toned arm. Adora’s pulse jumped, and goosebumps arose in the wake of at the intimate touch of Catra’s tail. She didn’t push it away. And she didn’t push Catra away as she pressed closer to her, arching her back.

They were so close their noses were touching, the concept of personal space now nonexistent. Their legs intertwined as Catra placed her knee in between Adora’s. She responded by lowering her body down a little so some of her weight pinned Catra down in place.

This time, it was Adora who made the first move. She leaned in to rest her head on Catra’s shoulder. Just being close to her felt good. Almost too good.

Closer, she thought as she began to leave a trail of kisses along the magicat’s neck and throat. She felt something inside her stir as Catra responded with a soft groan followed by light purring. She began to pick up the pace, replacing her lips with her teeth, lightly biting the same trail she'd just gently grazed.

At that, it was like a switch was flipped. Adora was shoved backwards, landing roughly on her back and felt Catra’s thighs on either side of her as she kneeled over her. It was a familiar position they had taken multiple times back when they’d train together. But now, it was completely different. There was a fire in Catra’s eyes as she looked down on her that made Adora swallow hard, heat traveling down her entire body.

“Catr—” She was cut off as Catra pulled on her shirt to kiss her again, and her every thought melted away. She was exhausted. So exhausted of holding back, of shoving down her feelings for her ex-best friend. Maybe just this once, when they were dimensions away from their home, away from everything that separated them, away from anyone who could take this moment away from them. Maybe now she could give in a little.

Other Catra

It took all the willpower Catra had to not tear the sorry excuse of a shirt off her Adora. It was nothing, less than nothing, especially since with the slightest flick of her finger, she could cut it in half. Instead, she dipped her fingers under the hem of Adora’s shirt, grazing the skin there with her nails, careful to not cut skin. For now.

Adora’s breathe hitched at that. Catra smirked. She really hadn’t changed in the time they were away. She still knew how to get a reaction out of her.

As she deepened their kiss, she began to ride up the flimsy fabric standing in her way, and before she knew it, her claws dug into it, tearing it up some. Adora's breath hitched at the roughness of it.

Yet, Catra took her time. Not for the first time thankful that she could see clearly in the dark, as she took in the sight before her: Adora’s hair was now free of her ponytail, chest heaving up and down as she breathed hard, lips parted, face flushed. And God, her smell was intoxicating. Even when Catra had first stepped inside, she had noticed the strong smell of Adora in the room. It made her head spin, not that she’d ever admit it. Especially not now as she had Adora right where she wanted her.

Catra grabbed her by the chin making Adora peer up at her with hunger in her eyes.

“Enjoying yourself?” The magicat smirked, earning her a frown from Adora. “Now, now, don’t look at me like that. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. But,” she grabbed a hold of one of Adora’s perfectly shaped breasts through her tattered shirt, making her gasp, “it’s up to you to not be too loud or you’ll wake up the whole ship.”

Catra laughed as she saw Adora press her lips together as she began to slowly circle a hard nipple with her thumb. She had always been super sensitive.

“Good girl,” Catra purred. She leaned closer to her, allowing one of her knees to close in on Adora’s core, but she stopped, falling short of her goal, earning her a whine. She tsked at Adora and stopped touching her all together when she tried to press herself against her knee to get some much needed relief.

“Catra,” when Adora finally spoke again, there was such raw desire in it that it made Catra's body go into overdrive.

The magicat shook her head. “I’ll say when and how. You owe me that much, Princess.” At that, Adora glared at her. “What? If I remember correctly, you like it this way.” To emphasize her point she stopped teasing her nipples and grabbed a fist full of blonde hair and yanked on it. Adora hissed at the pain, but her body was having the exact opposite reaction as she felt heat travel all the way down into her core.

At seeing her reaction, Catra laughed. “See? So very predictable.” But her victory was short lived as she felt the wind knocked out of her as Adora swiftly picked her up by her ass and threw her onto one of the beds in their room. It had to be Adora’s since Catra was hit with another wave of Adora’s familiar scent.

“So impatient,” Catra purred, her tail finding its way to Adora’s upper thigh. She froze as she noticed Adora staring at her. “What?” Catra felt an uneasy feeling grow inside of her as she realized, maybe she…

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Catra whispered softly, “If you want to stop fine. It’s not really my style to make you do anything against your will.” It was Adora’s turn to grab her by the chin and make her look at her.

“That’s not it,” Adora said, smiling down at her. “I was just thinking how much I missed this.” But who’s the one who left in the first place? Catra barely held back her retort. Adora, oblivious to her thoughts, was just staring down at her lips.

Catra flipped them around so she was on top again. “Then let’s do it like this, for old times sake.” Adora nodded eagerly, making her want to tease her again.

The magicat raked a sharp nail up her arm, her shoulder, all the way to the side Adora’s neck, where she knew she was most sensitive. She pressed into the skin there, earning her a sharp gasp as Adora closed her eyes as a mix sensation of pain and pleasure shot through her body. At seeing a thin line of blood decorate her pale skin, Catra licked her lips. She ran that same nail up the sorry excuse of a shirt Adora still had on. Catra pulled it all the way up to her chin and was blessed with a perfect view of Adora’s toned body. She really was built to perfection and was glad that only someone as uptight as Adora would find training relaxing enough to do it on a daily basis. Which resulted in sculpted abs that looked delicious. Especially now as a thin layer of sweat decorated Adora’s body. Catra watched as a bead of sweat travelled down, down, between her breasts and down the toned muscles of Adora’s midsection. She leaned in and licked the same trail, letting her fangs lightly graze her warm and plump skin. Adora arched her back, but Catra held her down with her forearm as she continued her assault on her, sucking and nibbling.

To get back at her for throwing her onto the bed before, Catra bit into the tender skin just under Adora’s breasts. She made sure to hold the pressure for more than a few seconds, effectively marking her as hers. She licked the wound with the tip of her tongue, making Adora whimper. Catra’s hand shot up to cover her mouth.

“Quiet, remember?” For good measure, Catra pulled Adora’s bundled up shirt and pressed it to her lips, prodding her to open her mouth. Adora flushed as she obeyed and bit the fabric in between her teeth to muffle any sounds she’d utter.

Satisfied, Catra sat up again only to lower herself over Adora’s midsection. Through her own thin layer of clothing, she could feel the hard muscle there and threw her head back as she began to grind against it, adding some much-needed friction. The small whimpers she let out as she swayed her hips made the other girl's core pulsate. Adora’s eyes widened at the sight and felt herself become slicker as she saw Catra pleasuring herself. She went to grab Catra’s hips to hold her steady but she swatted her hands away with her tail. Adora instantly regretted attempting to touch her as Catra got off her but excitement shot through her again as she saw Catra travel lower down her body, stopping as soon as she was face to face with her tight workout shorts.

Catra pulled them away painfully slow, but Adora was afraid to kick them off quickly at the fear that she’d stop touching her again so she tried her best to lay still as Catra finally exposed her to the cool air of their room. Catra licked her lips at the sight of her slick folds, but she was far from finished torturing her.

The magicat went up Adora’s body again, ignoring the heat between the blonde’s legs. Instead, Catra began to lick the valley between Adora’s breasts, going down, down, excruciatingly slow making Adora’s hips thrust up and she grew closer and closer to where she needed her the most. Catra bit into her inner thigh making Adora gasp through the material muffling her. This only enticed Catra more as she began to leave tiny bite marks everywhere. Anywhere. Licking and sucking harder and harder just to hear the sweet, sweet noises coming out of Adora's mouth.

Mine, Catra thought as she finally came face to face with Adora’s sex. At feeling her hot breath there, Adora leaned her head back and let out a muffled whine, tears threating to spill as she grew more needy by the second.

“Hm,” Catra faked mused at Adora, mismatched eyes boring into her blue ones. “I know I said to be quiet, but I think I’ve changed my mind.” To answer the confused look Adora gave her, Catra tore the rest of the flimsy fabric that was still in  her way with a quick flick of her wrist.

“There,” the magicat smiled smugly at her, “Now say it.”

“What?” Adora whispered, obviously taking the be quiet rule a little too seriously.

“Say how much you want this.” To demonstrate what she meant, Catra probed her entrance with the pad of her finger, careful to retract her nails some. Adora’s face turned crimson red at the suggestion. Of course, Catra would want to drag it on as long as she could just to see her melt into her hands. But Adora was just as stubborn.

“Come on,” Catra circled her clit with a sharp nail now, if she moved even half an inch, she’d accidently nick her.

“Say it, Adora.” At the sound of her name, Adora felt something in her crack.

“Please, Catra,” she said, her voice deep with desire. “I want this. I want...I want you.” The last word she said was more of a yelp as she felt Catra insert two fingers inside of her. Adora hissed at the pleasure that began to build more intensely now that she felt Catra’s tongue lick the bud just above her fingers were. She slowly worked them inside of her, curling them up slightly to hit the sweet spot there. Adora screamed when she felt the magicat suck on her clit and buckled her hips up to give full access to the most intimate part of her over to her rival. Right. She was her enemy now.  But every thrust, every lick, every sound filling their room, made her forget all of that.

Adora felt her thighs tense as she began to near her peak. Oh, so close. So close.

“Mmm,” Catra groaned against her, making her realize she’d said that out loud. But before she could respond with something snarky, Catra felt Adora’s insides clench around her fingers as she circled her clit with her tongue. And in a moment that broke all premises, Adora grabbed onto Catra’s disheveled hair, and stroked the back of her ears, making the magicat shudder at the shock that shot through her body as having the most sensitive part of her grabbed on to so firmly.

Catra helped Adora ride out her orgasm by lazily taking her fingers in and out, gradually making her way out of Adora’s drenched insides. At seeing the slickness attacked to her fingers, Catra licked them clean not breaking eye contact with Adora’s half lidded eyes.

She watched as Adora collapsed deeper into the bed as her body began to slowly recover from her high. Suddenly sobering up, she began to stand up, but Adora, at feeling the mattress tilt, sat up quickly and grabbed Catra by her wrist.

“Wait,” Adora said breathlessly, cheeks flushed, “We aren’t done yet.” Catra gave her a startled look.

“Again already?” Catra reached for Adora’s lower half regardless, but Adora pushed her away. Instead of saying anything, Adora picked her up, so Catra was kneeling over her again. She grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her in, kissing her deeply. Catra's stomach fluttered at realizing she'd be able to taste her on her lips. Adora pushed her tiny frame higher up her body enough so that Catra was hovering over her face. Adora pressed her nose against the wet spot of her shorts.

“It’s your turn now.” Catra’s heart skipped a beat, half surprised she’d want to return the favor. I mean, this was all just so Adora could relieve stress, right? So why did Catra have to receive anything? That’s how things worked for the longest time. Catra was nothing without Adora and what she could do for her to remain in Shadow Weaver’s and pretty much everyone else’s favor. Sure, now she was Force Captain but that was hardly anything compared to being She-ra. It was the very reason she’d refused to leave. She didn’t want to be seen as some pest that Adora just had laying around, and when it came to sex, she suspected Adora might revert to their past dynamic, even if she didn’t realize it herself. She was too good, too oblivious to realize the hurt and anguish her every word caused her. And after becoming She-ra, Catra realized how easy it was for her to cast her aside. She didn’t need her. Didn’t want her now that she was the most powerful being in the universe. There was no room for her in her new life as leader of the Rebellion.

That same Adora was now offering to make her feel good. Not that she hadn’t before, but it felt different somehow. There was a serious glint in her blue eyes, a question and a promise all at once. And Catra hesitated as she held herself inches away from Adora’s awaiting mouth. She suspected that if she caved, she’d have signed away some right, that she’d somehow promise to change. But the more she thought about it, the more her heart squeezed painfully as she realized her answer.

“Catra?” Big blue eyes stared up at her, waiting for her response. The magicat smiled sadly before lowering herself completely. For now, she just wanted to feel something, anything, other than the numbness that'd gripped her heart after Adora left her. Yes. She wasn’t hers. Not anymore.

At that conclusion, Catra left herself be taken over and over by Adora’s hands and tongue. And after, with the smell of sex clinging to their bodies, she turned away from a sleeping Adora to face the empty room. She was never mine to begin with.

Chapter Text

Adora

One of the things Adora and Catra had grown to love about being in space was the silence. That feeling that they were the only two beings in the universe. Not She-ra and Ex-Force Captain. Just Adora and Catra. The metallic nature of the ship and its beds reminded them both of their sleepovers they had since they were kids. It was both familiar and new. And completely theirs. That is, that’s how it normally would be but their moment was interrupted by Entrapta on the third day of their travel as she decided to screech into the overhead speakers in the middle of their usual late night sex session.

“I’m gonna kill her,” Catra hissed lightly as she stopped mid-stroke. Adora just laughed and raised a brow at her.

“Meow,” she said, wrinkling her nose to tease Catra at her unusual anger. Most of the time it was a facade but this way not one of those times as Catra’s mismatched eyes narrowed into thin slits. Moments of real anger were rarer now that she had learned some anger management unexpectedly from Mermista. Perfuma never really had the patience for that and Glimmer only matched Catra’s anger so Bow and Adora learned early on to not let one fuel the other’s anger or they’d end up destroying public property.

“Everyone!” Entrapta’s way-too-cheerful-for-this-ungodly-hour voice squealed, making Catra’s ears ring. “Kari is within visual range!” At that, Catra swiftly stood up and marched over to the opposite wall where there was a call button so she could speak directly to Entrapta.

“That’s great and all,” she sneered into the mic, “but could you at least keep it down? Some of us are trying to finish off.”

To Adora’s embarrassment, Entrapta asked, in her usual oblivious way, “Finish off what?”

“Ad—” At hearing the beginning of her name, Adora ran up to cover Catra’s mouth. She rapidly spoke into the mic.

“Nothing, Entrapta!” Her voice gave her away though, pretty sure that if anyone besides her were listening in, they’d hear the breathlessness in it. “We’ll be there in ten minutes!”

To her horror, she heard laughter coming through the speaker. When she spoke next, she did so softly, as if scared of the answer to her question. “Entrapta, by any chance did you turn on the feed connection so that everyone could listen in?”

“Of course!” Came the response Adora feared. “It’s way more efficient if everyone can hear what the others are saying. It’s way faster than just a two-way communication channel so everyone is on the same page and reduces the amount of time spent repeating ourselves!”

Catra laughed at seeing Adora, who had dropped her hand from the magicat’s mouth, sink down to the floor and cover her beet red face. She was sure she could see smoke coming from the top of her head as her tiny brain went into overdrive.

“Please, if there is a God just take me now,” Adora melodramatically chanted from her fetal position on the floor.

“It’s okay, Adora!” Bow’s voice went through, “We, um, didn’t hear anything.”

The voice that spoke next was very much like her lover’s but not as deep. “If you guys don’t shut it I’m going to slash all your beds and pillows so you’ll sleep on the floor!” Other Catra shouted, making Adora feel a pang of nostalgia. She had to admit she loved seeing her all riled up on occasion, it was one of the things that made her want to come back for more. Other Catra’s voice had that edge that Adora had grown up listening to. And learned to love over time. It was only obvious it’d stir something in her as she was heard that familiar tone.

Entrapta, obviously just caring to get onto the new planet, said, “Well see you guys in the main room in nine minutes and thirty-four seconds!” There was a click and then silence as Adora and Catra were finally alone with no prying voices.

But before Adora could get up to start getting ready, she felt a body lean against hers as Catra knelt behind her to rest her head on her shoulder and leave her mark as she rubbed the area there. It was their usual ritual whenever Catra noticed that her scent no longer clung to Adora’s. She had learned early on that with She-ra’s many fangirls, she needed, mostly for her own peace of mind, to let others know she was hers. It was funny really, before, she found it hard to express her love for her at the fear of rejection, but now, she was greedy with it, not letting anyone forget Adora was hers.

“So clingy,” Adora teased as she felt the vibration of Catra’s purring.

“Shut up,” Carta’s voice held no real bite as she continued to rub her scent all over Adora, as if what they were doing before Entrapta hadn’t interrupted hadn’t already left it all over her. Adora sat there patiently as she finished up and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.

“Catra?”

“Hm?”

“I love you,” tender blue eyes and a soft smile decorated the blonde’s face.

“I love you too.”

Catra

“The more I look at the suits, the more ridiculous I feel,” Other Catra said, sporting her own cat space suit. It was almost an exact replica as Catra’s but instead of being a soft pink-red hue, it was a deep plum purple, and had a hole on the back to accommodate for her voluminous  hair. Other Adora’s was the same deep purple shade as Other Catra’s so as not to be confused for her older counterpart.

“It feels nostalgic doesn’t it?” Glimmer said, feeling the so as she looked around the room at their friend group back in their space gear.

“Well that and heavier,” Bow experimentally took a few steps to adjust to the new weight of their space suits.

“The core heaters I added did add some weight to our suits but not a whole lot.” Entrapta appeared out of nowhere, sporting her usual space suit.

“In a good and bad way,” Catra said, referring to Glimmer’s comment. “The only reason we ever had to be out here was because of Prime.” At that Melog meowed and circled it’s body around Catra’s legs in a comforting manner.

“Well, I would like to think that I would have eventually made it to outer space to study the stars and all kinds of never-before-discovered things but yeah sure,” Entrapta poked at things in front of her and a projection of what was outside their ship appeared on screen. In it, a big blue planet came into view.

“Welcome to Kari!” Entrapta began as if she were a tourism guide. “According to my reading there is currently a stormy cloud of some kind happening on the surface of the planet.”

“Meaning landing will be tricky,” Bow nodded, being able to keep up with the tech Princess.

“Yes, but that’s not all,” Entrapta pressed another button and the image changed. It was of a heavily distorted map with a single flashing red dot. The purple haired girl pointed at it. “This is where the signal was coming from. It’s not too deep into the planet, and based on this First Ones map of the planet, there shouldn’t be much alive or otherwise to get in our way. It might be a bumpy rode getting into the planet’s atmosphere but after that there should be nothing in our way that could damage Darla.”

“So it’ll just be like a bad roller coaster,” Other Catra yawned, looking bored and tired. This was something Catra had noticed since the first night of their trip. After all, she had a keen sense of smell and as she herself partakes in a marking routine, she knew what antics her and Other Adora had been involved in. Heck, she wasn’t judging. If anything she was impressed and a little jealous they had reached that point in their relationship faster than she and her Adora had as it took a literal war for them to confess their feelings to each other much less actually have sex. There was just one problem.

Catra stared at the younger pair, trying to read their body language. They weren’t teasing each other as her and Adora had when they had rekindled their friendship after she’d first joined the Rebellion. In fact, nothing had changed about their demeanor, not really, since they first found them in the Whispering Woods. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. God, was I this god damn stubborn? She thought to herself, catching glimpse of Adora and Other Adora sharing their delight at being able to keep their dumb ponytail even in outer space.

Catra mentally groaned. Then again, there’s dumb and then dumber. She shot a pitied look at her younger self, earning her a glare but she just ignored it. Melog meowed  again and began to paw at Other Adora’s leg who began to pet them softly.

“Okay, everyone,” Adora said, having finished gushing about whatever with her younger self and sat at the main chair in the room. “Our mission is to figure out why this signal simultaneously went off at the same time Other Adora and Catra appeared. If the First Ones were right about this planet, it’s going to be cold as hell so we only have a few hours before we had to be back to the ship.” She nodded towards Entrapta to signal the beginning of their descent.

“Everyone take your seat and hold on!” Another one of Entrapta’s genius upgrades involved having added chairs to the main room so it made reentering Etheria much smoother for them, their past history of almost crashing had gotten her thinking of seat belt safety and boom, new seats.

At that last comment, Catra was quick to sit next to Adora, and not for the first time, squeezing through her current man spreading position, Melog shrinking in size to fit comfortably on Adora’s lap. Everyone else took their respective spots as they began their descent. As they grew closer and closer to Kari’s atmosphere, the temperature inside the ship began to decrease at rapid speed, making a blaring red light and alarm to go off on screen.

“Darla!” Entrapta shouted, “Turn on the heating unit!”

“Turning on heating unit,” a robotic voice responded. There was a click and everyone felt heat begin to reenter the area around them. But before they could rejoice, they felt a sudden vibration go through the entire ship, sending them thrashing about in their seats.

“Ahhh!” Other Adora and Other Catra yelped at the sudden movement, tightening their seat belts as much as they could.

“We’re going through the first layer of clouds!” Through the windows they saw a white blanket of clouds get closer and closer until they were completely surrounded by them. The sound of frigid ice cold air hitting metal screeched in everyone’s ears, making them hold their head in their hands. They were hit with a second wave of turbulence as the ship was tugged one way then the opposite way, tossing everyone left and right as they screamed in unison. After they made it past the initial storm clouds, they had a clear view of the planet. Or as much as they could before they realized that they were going straight down and not parallel to the ground.

“Uh, Entrapta!” Adora shouted, feeling her stomach sink as they ship took an even steeper dip. Said Princess unbuckled her seat belt, using her hair to balance herself against the ship’s shaking, and pulled open a panel on the wall. Using one of her tools, she zapped away at a wire that had not been connected properly and adjusted them.

Everyone shrieked as they felt Darla readjust itself and slam on the brakes just feet before they fit the snow-covered ground. After checking that everyone was still alive, aside from Other Catra who exclaimed she’d lost one of her seven lives, they all turned to look at Entrapta.

“Ha ha,” she said sheepishly. “I might have gotten too excited will all the new upgrades, and forgot to double check this. There were some weird noises when I tried to do my night patrol when we went by that astroid field.” Catra knew a knowing look at the younger pair as they tried too hard not to make eye contact. Would it be too much if she slapped the shit out of her younger self? She really was going to be tested on this trip.

“The important thing is we made it,” Adora, ever the optimist, took off her seat belt and peered outside. “Looks like its too dark and foggy to see much outside so let’s be careful and stick together.”

“There doesn’t seem to be any sign of life here on Kari,” Entrapta’s voice came through the microphone in their helmets as they walked through the intense fog, following She-ra as she held her sword in front of her to emit light to guide the way. “It really is just a winter wasteland. The crushing pressure and frigid cold temperature seems to make it impossible for life to grow here.”

“Ugh, so why are we here then?” Other Catra’s voice patched through. “For all we know that signal could just have been a machine or device that was left behind.”

“We can’t discount anything,” Bow said, “There has to be something here somewhere.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“We’ll know it when we see it,” Glimmer groaned, already feeling tired as déjà vu hit her, reminding her of another magicat’s first space mission. 

“Get used to it,” Catra told her younger self. “Don’t expect an actual plan from these Princesses. I reluctantly resigned years ago. Save your energy for when you have to save their asses.” At this She-ra laughed as she heard the whole thing through an ear piece Entrapta cooked up before they had left the ship in order to keep her in the loop of their conversations. In her transformed mode, the warrior Princess did not need her suit to keep her warm and relied on pure magic to keep her alive. She was glad she had done some endurance practice on the way to Kari, as she kept in mind that Entrapta said she’d had to provide light for them for hours back to back. She had plenty of practice being She-ra but when it came to releasing magical energy for hours on end, it could begin to wear on her, as so to prepare for it, she remained transformed almost every waking hours, only stopping to rest when it was time for bed or when Catra scolded her as she’d be the first to notice when she became exhausted.

As they kept walking, Adora noticed the mist thinning out, and before they knew it, they were past it, making it easier on everyone else to see what was in front of them as one by one they stepped out of it. They stared in awe. It was like an ice kingdom. Except there was not building or real structure to the ice covered figures in front of them. It was a vast row of ice covered hills, reaching as far as any of them could see. The ground was covered in snow, though there were huge chunks of it that were frozen over. Now that they’d made it past the mist, they could see thin strips of light shine through the stormier atmosphere, making the ice glisten and refract as tiny rainbows sprinkled throughout the ice glaciers.

“It’s beautiful.” Other Adora was the first to break the silence.

“It is,” Bow agreed, looking down at his pad, “It looks like the fog won’t reach this far in for another two hours or so. We should make it quick so we can make it back to the ship and recharge our heating gear. We’re already down to a little over three hours and a half,” he looked down at the four bar on his suits wrist, noting the light that confirmed his words.

“Nice, nice,” Other Catra waved them off. “Adora, you can stop with the light show, you’re burning my eyes.”

“Oh, right,” Adora lowered her sword and let it disappear, but reminded in her She-ra form. “I’ll stay like this for now just in case we need to move boulders of ice out of our way.”

“God, I wish Frosta could see this!” Glimmer said, taking in the ice wonderland. “I’ll take pictures to send back when we get back on the ship!”

“How’s your magic, Glimmer?” Bow asked, concerned she’d forget that tiny detail if she got too into exploration mode. The pink-purple haired girl stared down at her hands and wiggled her fingers, manifesting a tiny sparkle of shimmery magic.

“Huh, I can feel most of it. Definitely more than I expected but not as much as on Krytis.”

Melog besides She-ra meowed repeatedly.

“Melog says that there is definitely magic here,” Catra explained when everyone shot her a confused look. “He can feel it in there.” She pointed towards the frozen over landscape. Melog’s ears twitched as a noise seemed to set him off and he was gone in a second, dashing straight for the unknown ice fortress.

“Melog!” Adora shouted.

“Not this again,” Glimmer and Bow began to run after him, realizing this felt familiar.

“Entrapta,” Bow turned to her as they dashed through the snowy-icy ground, the newly added spikes to the bottom of their boots helping them avoid sliding on the slipper bits. “You don’t think that—”

“That is a possibility!” Entrapta eyes shined at what Bow was implying. Other Catra caught on to what they were talking about.

“We might not have been the only ones to be pushed through the portal.”

“That’s just great!” Adora sounded exasperated as she led the group, seeing as Melog reached the entrance of the icy hills. “Catra! Can’t you tell Melog to slow down a bit? We’ll lose him in the middle of all that ice!”

“Don’t you think I’m trying?” Catra leaped into the air on all fours and landed behind her as she was fast enough to keep up with She-ra’s big steps. “He’s not making any sense! Everything is all jumbled up.”

Suddenly, she felt like a she’d run into a wall as she slammed into Adora who abruptly stopped in her tracks. “What the hell?” Entrapta caught up to them in that moment and squealed loudly.

“This isn’t just a big block of ice!” Entrapta began to inspected the new discovery. “They’re trees! Frozen over by the extreme conditions of this planet!” What first appeared as a giant ice glacier now went into focus as everyone was close enough to see right through the ice and see tree branches extending into the sky, covered in a hard cold surface.

“Trees?” Glimmer asked. “How can there be trees?”

“I have no idea!” Entrapta declared excitedly. She held a drill to one of the frozen over tree trunks. “If I test this,” she held a tiny shard of ice with a small piece of a branch embedded in it, “I should get a better idea of how they survive!” She placed it in a testing tube and attached it to her suits belt where she immediately went to grab another one.

“Entrapta! We don’t have time for this! I lost sight of Melog!” Adora looked back and forth among the frozen forest but Melog was no where in sight.

“Shh!” Catra shushed everyone’s bickering as they were all talking at once trying to decide where the magical creature had gone. “I can hear him!”

There, in the distance, Melog’s familiar silhouette appeared.

“He found something! Come on!” Catra leapt back into action everyone one her heels as they followed her through the  forest.

Eventually, they made it to where Melog was, and stopped at the sight in front of them. As if stuck in a dream, they saw as Melog pawed at a big block of ice, in its core, an even younger Adora and Catra were frozen in place, embracing one another as they used to when they were toddlers. Adora and Catra imminently ran to where they were. 

“They’re so small,” Catra murmured, clearly remembering how much of a nightmare their childhood was.

“Yes, we were,” Adora placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Let’s take them back with us. We can figure more out after you guys recharge.” Catra nodded, looking up at her lover with warm eyes. Adora, feeling their plan solidify, went to touch the ice cube when a sudden bright light emitted from within. The ground they stood on began to shake, causing shards of ice to fall onto them. Adora swiftly manifested her shield and pulled Catra closer to her so shield her from the falling debris. 

“What the hell?” Other Catra and Adora suddenly exclaimed as a pain shot through them like nothing they’d ever felt before. It was like someone had taken a sharp knife and were jabbing it into their brains over and over again, making them fall to their knees, clenching their heads while screeching in pain.

“Adora!” Bow yelled, “Somethings wrong with them! We need to retreat!”

“I’ll take them back,” Glimmer placed a hand on both of them and a familiar shimmery light enveloped all three of them before dimming. “No,” the queen stared at her hands as she felt her magic diminish in strength. “I should be able to teleport! This doesn’t make sense.”

“We don’t have time!” She-ra rejoined them, Catra by her side, carrying the block of ice that Toddler Catra and Adora were in. “Carry them and I’ll take this back to the ship!”

“Everyone lets go! Entrapta!” Bow screeched at seeing the tech Princess climbing a  frozen over tree to gather some of the pieces falling over them. 

“Just. One. More!” She strained to grab one and in the last second before a big chunk of a tree landed on her, Catra grabbed her leg and pulled but she lost her footing as she tried to land backwards and they both came crashing down on top of the rest of the group below them.

Just then, the whole planet shook as a big cracking sound came from below their feet. They all screamed as the ground seemed to swallow them whole as they fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

Other Catra

Young Catra groaned at the heaviness of her body. She felt like a horse had run over her. Everything ached but mostly her head. And then her memory became less foggy as she remembered the unbearable pain that had shot through her. She rubbed her head with her hand, only faintly being able to feel the echo of that pain. Then she realized she was laying down on a hard surface.

She sat up quickly, too quickly. Her head spun but the feeling of the arm’s around her sliding down her body made her look down. She instantly recognized Adora’s arms around her waist.

“Ah!” She pushed her arms away and scrabbled back until her back hit a wall.

“Catra, you’re awake!” Older Adora, still in her She-ra form, crouched down to inspect her.

“Yeah,” she winced at the glow surrounding She-ra. “Again with the nightlight?”

“Sorry,” She-ra looked apologetic, “Not everyone can see in the dark as well as you.”

It was then that Catra remembered they’d fallen into a hole in the ground. That would explain the ice walls around them.

“Adora’s been out since then, and I haven’t seen the others. Thankfully, I was able able to grab these kiddos.” And then Catra’s mind was blown. She-ra was holding two toddlers, perfect replicas of herself and Adora.

“What?!” She screeched, rubbing her temples, “How can there be more? Never mind. Is Adora okay?” Catra looked at her limp body which had stayed where she had left her.

“She’s fine. I healed her but she hasn’t woken up yet. Probably just needs some time to recover.” She-ra looked around them into what looked like a cave with a serious look in her eyes. “We got separated from everyone else when we fell and I couldn’t exactly leave you two back here. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You and Adora looked like you were in pain before that earthquake.”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” Catra ignored her concerned look. “It hurt like hell but it’s gone now.”

“This is what I was afraid of. You’ve been in our dimension for too long. It’s starting to affect you both. And soon, it’ll affect them too.” She-ra looked down at the two toddlers who were cuddling together, with Toddler Catra’s tail wrapped around them both.

“We have to figure out what is going on in this planet and get out of here. You’re suits won’t last much longer.”

Catra looked down on her wrist where there was only one bar left of energy left. “One hour huh? We have to get moving and find Sparkles and the rest.” She stood up, and began to inspect the area they were in.

It was dark, the only form of light source, which wasn’t much, was coming from above them, the wide crack on the roof was only a slit now, which must have moved after the earthquake’s aftermath. The floor they were on wasn’t frozen over or covered in snow as it was in the surface. It was more rock than anything else, no wonder Catra’s body felt achy after falling on a hard surface. She-ra had probably healed her while she was unconscious, that would also explain the queasy feeling she had in her stomach.

“Okay,” Catra declared, “That way!” She pointed towards the tunnel in front of them that seemed to lead to an even longer icy corridor.

“Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” She-ra agreed, looking behind them as there was a wall there in their path. “If we follow it we have to meet up with everyone else eventually. Hopefully they didn’t fall too far form here and they aren’t injured.” She-ra readjusted the still sleeping toddlers in her arms and elbowed Catra’s shoulder.

“I have to keep these two warm,” She-ra grinned, “So be a dear and carry my younger self.”

“Why are you smiling that like?” Catra’s tail flicked back and forth, scowling at her.

“No. No reason,” She-ra smile only grew bigger as Catra kicked at her. But even though she glared at her, Catra immediately went to grab the still unconscious Adora and picked her up into her arms.

“Ugh, heavy,” Catra complained as they began to walk, struggling with Adora’s bigger frame.

“Well,” She-ra glanced at her, “You could sit on my shoulder.” At that, a light blush decorated Catra’s cheeks.

“Never mind!” The magicat adjusted Adora’s limp body so she was thrown over her shoulder. “I’ll just carry her like the sack of potatoes she truly is.”

She-ra laughed at that, happy to see that she was acting more like herself.

“So,” She-ra started as they continued to walk through the tunnel, the light radiating from her making the ice refract and illuminate their way. “I couldn’t help but notice the, um, advances in your relationship with my other self.”

Catra avoided looking at her directly, instead, focused on the shadows following them on the ice walls.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, about the sex, obviously.” Catra almost dropped Adora then. It was so bizarre to hear the word sex come out of She-ra's mouth.

“Oh? That?” Catra shrugged her shoulders, then instantly regretting it as Adora’s body felt heavier when her shoulder lowered.

“It was kind of obvious,” She-ra said sheepishly. “I noticed the bite marks when we were working out the other day. And, well, she didn’t really say anything to disproof me.”

“Such an idiot,” Catra rolled her eyes. “Can’t even keep a secret to save her life.”

She-ra laughed. “Good to see some thing don’t change.” Then her voice turned serious as she continued to lead them through the never-ending tunnel. “I know it’s not really my place to meddle with your relationship, well, I mean, she is me, so I would like to say something.”

“Well out with it,” Catra snapped at her when she didn’t continue.

“Right. Right.” The tall warrior princess stopped in her tracks and turned to her. Catra couldn’t help but notice their height difference. She seemed so much taller than the She-ra she knew, with her long ponytail that was very Adora and her long legs covered by white material, not to mention her muscular arms that were more prominent. She mentally shook her head. Get your head out of the gutter, she isn’t your Adora. But she sure smells more like her than the She-ra she’s used to fighting against. That was something Catra had noticed. Her appearance was different, but it just screamed ADORA. What had happened to her in this world that caused her to seem more like herself and less like a weapon for the Rebellion?

“I know no matter what I tell you it’s up to you to decide what to do with your life,” She-ra’s voice sounded almost sad. “And I’m not trying to say that being together is the something you have to do. But I’ve noticed how you are with each other, and I can’t help want to help her.” She motioned to the dead weight Catra was carrying. “Because, well, I know what it’s like, at least from my experience. Catra and I spent years fighting each other, almost killing each other multiple times. We hurt our friends, but mostly we hurt each other.”

“Almost like that could have been avoided if you’d just stayed,” Catra hissed, picking up her pace to walk passed She-ra, not needing her guiding light to see in front of her.

“I couldn’t—” Adora stopped herself and let out a long sigh. “I don’t think what you need is a reason why I left. It was more so how I did it and the circumstances around it.” She adjusted toddler Adora and Catra so that she could place a hand on Catra’s shoulder, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

“I now know what you needed to hear. What you needed to know.”

At that Catra swiftly turned around and shoved Adora’s body into She-ra arms, leaving her to scramble to not drop her or the other two she was carrying.

“I don’t need a lecture from you. You’re right, you have no business meddling with our relationship, not that there is any. It’s not like it is with you. Sex is sex. And nothing more. What?” Catra smirked. “Like you never messed around with your Catra before you got together? Please. Don’t act like you’re so different just because you live under the same roof now and look different.”

She-ra, getting reeled up now, placed the bodies in her arms onto an ice-free spot on the floor, before turning back to her, voice raised. “It’s because I went through it too! Sure, Catra and I never had sex before we got together, but that doesn’t discount our love and doesn’t mean that yours means nothing. You may say one thing but I know you. No matter if you’re from a different reality. I know that you’re just the same as Catra was when I’d left her. Trust me,” her voice lowered a little, “if there’s anyone who know’s about how much pain she was in its me.”

“Well, I’m glad you know,” Catra spat out. “Sure, you may have patched things up with her but that doesn’t mean the same thing will happen twice.” There was just no way that Catra could get that lucky in two life times. If this world’s Catra was able to have the one thing she wanted, there was no way the universe would allow her to have happiness in more than one reality.

“Everyone deserves to be happy.” At her words, Catra felt like she’d been slapped in the face. “And it’s okay to be selfish and demand something if that’s what’s going to make you happy. Don’t wait until she’s dead before you realize all that time you spent shying away from it was in vain.”

“What do you mean before she dies?” Catra’s blood ran colder than the air around them.

“I almost died,” She-ra placed a hand on her chest, and pulled down on her top, exposing her chest.

“Hey, what are you—” And then Catra saw it. There in the middle of her chest was a scar. It was unnaturally perfectly shaped with straight lines and dots that almost resembled a heart.

“In order to save the world,” Adora traced the scar with her fingertips. “I was ready to give my life. Catra, she, tried to talk me out of it but I decided to go on my own, leaving my friends and her behind again.”

“How surprising.”

“Ha,” Adora let out a fake laugh, “I know. But most importantly, Catra came back to me after I’d left her again. She’s refused to leave my side even as Prime’s virus infected  Etheria, and me.” She finally let go of her top, letting it bounce back to it’s original place. “I almost died. She almost died with me. But my point is: Don’t wait until the last second because if I hadn’t been able to muster up all my power because I was finally able to accept my feelings for her, we’d have ended before we’d even began.”

“And, oh, Catra.” Young Catra felt a pang in her chest at the way she said her name. “There is not a day that passes that I’m not grateful that we are together. Did you know?”

“No,” Catra said smartly.

“I had a vision of our future as I was slipping away,” Adora continued her long tale, ignoring her smart remark. “And it was beautiful. And I wanted to live so bad, not just be alive. So.” She finally stopped her talking to kneel in front of Catra so she could see eye-to-eye with her and smiled.

“It’s okay to want her. To demand more. And before you rule anything out.” Adora glanced at her younger self’s body. “Ask her what she wants. She may not give you the answer you need right now, and she’ll probably not say exactly what she means. But it will be an improvement in the right direction. Because even thought you might not want to admit it, she’s your soulmate, and Catra’s mine. Even in another dimension we’ve managed to drift back to each other.”

Catra felt like she’d been hit by a wall. She felt too raw. Too exposed. Every word Adora had said echoed in her mind. What do you want? Even the words of her older self bounced back to the forefront of her mind. Maybe they were right. Maybe there was a chance that she could find happiness too. But not like this. Not here. Not when they were far from home. Sure, their problems were too far away to reach them here but that doesn’t mean that the conflict between the Horde and the Rebellion had ended.

She looked up at the cave’s roof, as if she’d be able to peer through space and time. What would happen if they did give in and then went back home? Everything she’d sacrificed thus far would have been for nothing. Everything she’d done, everything she’d earned on her own would be gone. But she’d have the one thing she’s always wanted. Maybe. Maybe, just maybe she could…

“Ergh,” a mumbled groan caught both of their attention and Catra’s Adora sat up slowly. “Wha hwappened?” Her words slurred, clearly not fully conscious again. She-ra jumped to action.

“Whoa, take it easy, here,” she clasped her hand and pressed their joined hands to her forehead. A bright hazy light enveloped She-ra andher Adora from head to toe. A few seconds later, her Adora jumped to her feet as if everything was fine and stretched her arms and legs.

“Thanks!” She smiled broadly at She-ra, who smiled back just as widely.

“Oh wow so it wasn’t a dream,” the dumb blonde gaped at the two toddlers still asleep. “Wait, so that means that this is a bigger deal than we thought.”

“Not only the,” She-ra touched her younger self’s shoulder. “Something happened to you guys when we found them. You’ve been here too long. We need to find everyone else and figure out how to get out of here before you guys run out of heat.”

“Less than half an hour.” Catra glanced down at her wrist. “We’ve wasted too much time. Carry those two and let’s get out of here.”

“Not only us,” her Adora glanced at She-ra. “You must be getting tired too being in She-ra’s form for this long.”

“I’m fine,” her light flickered as she said that, indicating she that was a half truth.

“Less chatting more action!” Catra’s raised voice sent an echo through the tunnel, making the walls shake.

“Oh no,” her Adora realized, “Bow said there would be another storm soon. We need to be back in the ship before it hits us. There’s no way you’d be able to protect all of us if we got stuck in it.”

“I can sure try,” She-ra frowned. And then Catra heard it before they both it: voices at the end of the tunnel.

“Adoras! Catra!” Sparkle’s unmistakable voice was getting closer as was a tiny pink light emitting from her palm. A big figure ran towards were they were, and before any of them could react, tackled Catra.

“Hey! Get off me!” Catra felt a rough tongue lick her face over and over again despite her pushing Melog away.

“Melog found them!” Arrow boy was with them.

“Don’t underestimate my familiar,” Catra recognized her older self’s laughter. That just left…

“Hour three and a half, and we have rejoined the rest of our team. They seemed to be arguing among themselves. Tension is high. Could it be due to Other Catra and Adora participating in coitus as I had anticipated with a 98% chance of probability?” And yup, there was Entrapta.

“Could you not make up statistics about us?” Catra put her hand on her hips and gave her her best sneer. “You don’t hear us making bets about you.”

“Oh, sorry,” Entrapta circled her with the help of her hair. “I’ll make a note I was wrong. Guess I underestimated that 2%.”

“I think she’s trying to say to not analyze their intimate lives.”

“I don’t see why not, I’m observing everything while they’re staying here in our dimension. This could be the first and last time we ever get to encounter this. There is no stone left unturned when it comes to making observations in the name of science!”

“Ugh, fine,” Young Catra rubbed her head, feeling a headache forming. “Just discuss that with yourself or your robots. Not in front of everyone.”

“Deal!” Entrapta stood on her own feet and used her hair to pet the top of Catra’s helmet, making her flinch a little before standing her ground and letting herself be pet.

“Awww,” Bow awed at the sight, making Catra slap Entrapta’s hair away.

“Please tell me you guys found the exit,” Catra pressed her hand together in an attempt to calm herself. Melog meowed and rubbed his now smaller body against her leg. She looked down at him and he looked at her, head slightly tilted.

An image of the end of the tunnel, leading back to the icy forest they’d come across flashed through her mind. What the—

“Whoa,” Older Catra pushed everyone out of her way and grabbed her shoulders, almost shaking her. “Did you see that too?”

Catra nodded slowly, rubbing the middle of her forehead. “Was that…?"

“What?” Both Adora’s and Glimmer were confused but Bow and Entrapta were able to guess.

“You can hear him too?”

“It’s more like he was able to show me something, it wasn’t really talking,” Catra explained, making her older self nod.

“It was different, and I saw it too.”

“Hm,” She-ra said pensively, “Maybe over time you guys are becoming closer to each other. Like mirrors, you’re starting to reflect each other’s habits and abilities.”

“I have been feeling more snarky lately,” Older Catra put a pensive finger on her chin.

“And I’ve been feeling more powerful,” her Adora glanced down at her hands. “Even without the sword.”

“Our power is within us, the sword just helps direct it and manage it so we can use it when we want to for a specific purpose. I’ll help you nurture it so you can access it again.” She-ra bumped her hip against Adora’s shoulder

“Okay,” Catra interjected their mentor-student bonding, “Seriously. Get us out of here. I don’t care if you teleport us, Sparkles, we’ve almost run out of energy.”

“I’m afraid this is all I can do for now,” she manifested the light Catra had seen before making it disappear as quickly as it’d appeared. “We’re stuck walking our way back.”

“Oh, right!” Entrapta was the one who spoke up, “While on our way here, we came across something interesting! Come this way!” She was gone in a second, clearly excited about whatever she’d discovered. It was refreshing to see she was just as science crazed as the Entrapta Catra was familiar with.

She-ra picked up their toddler selfs as everyone chased after Entrapta. The deeper they went into the tunnel, the darker the ice around them turned, even with She-ra glowing light. That could only mean that the storm Bow had predicted would be upon them any minute now.

The new section of the tunnel they were passing by had all kind of icicles and stalactites, their sharp edges threatening their every step. They had to be careful. Catra looked around, if any of those fell, or were weakened by any big impact to the walls, they’d be trapped with no where to run except towards the exit or what where’d they’d came from, except if they did, they’d be stuck for sure.

At that realization, Catra’s tail sought out her Adora’s wrist, searching for the familiar feel of it. She found it quickly and at the confused look Adora sent her, she just pointed upward. Determination flashed through her eyes as she got what Catra meant without having to share words. A warm feeling spread through Catra as she felt the familiarity of their in sync teamwork. Even she could not deny that they were good partners in the field.

“There!” Entrapta pointed at some of the lower bits of the roof of the tunnel, where what appeared to be roots covered in ice were. “These roots are able to collect heat! I just need to channel it and we can recharge our suits enough for use to make it back to Darla!”

“Wait, how is that possible?”

“Earlier when we were looking for you guys,” Bow elaborated, “We felt what we thought was an earthquake but it was these roots. Look,” he pointed below one at a gaping hole in the ground, about the same width as the root. “This root was covered in ice but then it moved down into the ground.”

“According to my analysis,” Entrapta excitedly interjected. “These roots dig deep into this planet’s core, close enough to get its energy and transform it into heat in order for the tree to grow and survive while protected by the ice surrounding it!”

“Whoa,” She-ra’s eyes sparkled, “Trees can do that?”

“Apparently these can! They must have adapted in order to survive, and since there’s no heat source on the surface, they must have searched underneath to get the nutrients they needed to thrive! I love Kari!” Entrapta went on the pull out equipment out of her massive ponytails. “I just need to attach a device to these roots and to our suits and bam heat!”

“That’s amazing, Entrapta!” Her Adora exclaimed.

“Just give me a second while I do this and then we can get out of here,” the tech Princess went to work on it, drilling into the icicle enough to expose more root enough to attach suction pads onto it. She flicked a switch on her own suit, humming happily. The exposed root began to shimmer and glow as she accessed the energy within. Tiny sparkly dots like tiny stars began to lead from the roof above them down into the space of the tunnel they were in, down to the pads Entrapta had placed, and into her spacesuit. She held her wrist to the others so they could see the bars there begin to fill up, line by line, until it was charged to 70%.

“That should be enough to get us back.” Entrapta disconnected herself, “Who’s next?” They all took turn recharging. And when it was just She-ra left, Entrapta disconnected everything as she didn’t need any source of heat to remain warm.

“You sure you’re okay?” Older Catra peered at her lover.

“Yes,” She-ra said through tight lips. “If we hurry I wouldn’t mind though.” This made her older self’s eyes narrow.

“I told you to not overexert yourself you goofus.” She stood on her toes to leave a gentle kiss on her neck for comfort, making Catra look at her Adora who was eyeing them with curiosity and…longing, she realized. She looked away quickly, not wanting to get caught up in the moment too.

“I think I can get us back to where we were,” Sparkles snapped her fingers, tiny shimmery magic flicking. “But that’s about it. We’ll need to walk the rest of the way.”

“More like run,” Bow looked down at the his wrist, “They may have filled up but the amount of energy is draining faster than what Entrapta used the first time around. We should have three hours left but it says here we’re down to almost two hours.”

“Okay,” Sparkles grabbed onto Arrow Boy and Older Catra’s arm, who grabbed She-ra hand. Leaving Catra to hold onto her Adora’s hand as she held She-ra’s.

“Ugh,” Catra whined, hoping she wasn’t as pink faced as she felt. “Make it quick, Sparkles.” And that she did. This time around, she barely felt nauseous from the magic that surrounded them and before she knew it they were back on the surface, just outside the frozen forest they’s chased Melog into.

“It’s so nice to smell fresh air!” Her Adora inhaled deeply before exhaling, making Catra’s ear tickle as she felt her breathe through the mic in her helmet.

“Well it’s not really the air, it’s your space suit filtered air, but sure, it is nice to not have sharp icicles above our heads.” Entrapta commented,

“There were sharp things pointed at us?!” Bow seemed genuinely shocked.

“Sorry,” Sparkled rubbed his arm comfortably. “I didn’t want you to freak out if I wasn’t able to teleport us out.”

A sharp whistle startled Catra as the the sappy couple continued their fussing.

“Hey, Darla!” A swooshing sound and rumbling headed straight for where they were. The spaceship they’d come in coming into view though the thin fog, and stopped perfectly a few feet away from them, the door to the inside of it opened and the ramp extended.

“Why didn’t we do that before?!” Catra didn’t wait for an answer as she turned to head into the ship, purposefully bumping into her Adora. “Don’t just stand there. Let’s go, I’m sick of seeing ice.”

Other Catra

“Hot chocolate is ready!” Sparkles announced an hour after they’d all made it back safely. Even though the group had not really felt the extend of the cold outside, there was still a chill in their bones they couldn’t shake as they got dangerously close to running out of a heat source in the tunnel.

“None for me,” Older Adora, finally out of her She-ra form, said from her place on the floor next to the dining table in the kitchen. “I’m way too hot right now for that.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Older Catra playfully kicked her on the shoulder as her seat was nearest to hers. “Here, just drink water.”

“You’re the best!” She proceeded to down it.

“Here you go, Catra,” She turned towards her Adora who had a hand outstretched towards her, mug in hand as an offering.

Catra looked down at it. And couldn’t help turn back between her older self and Older Adora (who was staring at the interaction), then back to her Adora. She took it from her after what felt like forever.

“Thanks,” she said, plainly.

“You’re welcome!” Her Adora beamed at her, making Catra feel her face flush but quickly turned away and messed up her crazy hair to cover her face further as she took a sip of the hot beverage.

Her eyes widened at the taste. “Wow.”

“Right?” Older Catra smiled at her. “Trying new food never gets old. No more grey bars.”

“This is definitely better,” Catra agreed, making the room fall silent.

“Did you just agree with us for the first time?” She didn’t like the way Bow and Glimmer were looking at her with mischief in their eyes.

“Catra likes chocolate! Catra likes chocolate!” They chanted over and over again, standing up to circle around the chair she sat in. 

“Ah! Stop them!” She turned to Adora for help but she was laughing. And God had she missed that laugh. She felt her anger and annoyance melt away at the sight of her blue eyes brightening with joy. Joy. Something she didn’t think she’d feel after everything that’d happened. Maybe Adora’s older self had a point.

“Ooo tiny donuts!” Entrapta piled up them onto her plate oblivious to the shift in Catra’s heart.

A device beeping inside the tech princess’ pocket made everyone stop conversing.

“Oh sorry, guys,” with a quick motion of her hair, Entrapta quieted the machine. “It’s just my motion detector I put in the other room.”

“Wait,” Older Adora jumped onto her feet, “That means they’re awake.”

“Probably.” Entrapta slurped her usual fizzy drink through a straw loudly, clearly unbothered.

“Come on,” Older Catra held out a hand towards Catra. “Now you’ll see how it feels to see a young version of yourself.”

“Psh,” She scoffed at her, but took her hand but let it drop just as quickly, “You’re just being dramatic. She’s just a toddler.”

“Exactly,” Her older self shot her a knowing look. Catra gulped. Right.

“Oh no,” Her Adora said, “Get ready to be scratched to oblivion. You have a first aid kit right Entrapta?”

“Yup! It’s right there!” She pointed with her hair towards a huge white box attached to the kitchen wall.

“We also have me,” Older Adora chimed in, flashing magic through her enough to make her eyes glow, indicting she could heal any victims of Toddler Catra’s un-retractable claws.

“Cowards,” Both Catra’s said in unison, making them look at each other before bursting out laughing. And in that moment, Catra felt a small weight lift from her shoulders, and even though it was scary, and even though she didn’t know exactly what her next steps were, she knew she was ready to try to figure it out as she laughed for what felt like the first time in forever as warmth began to fill her heart once again little by little.

Chapter Text

Adora

“Ouch! Stop pushing!” Glimmer whisper-shouted, elbowing the closest body to her who so happened to be Bow.

“Glimmer! You said I could see first!” Bow whined.

“Hey! I want to see too!” Other Adora was right there in the middle of it all, trying to push her way through.

“Ow! That’s my rib!” Adora shoved at Other Catra who was trying to squirm her way through as well.

“Can it, Princess,” she hissed at her, “I was here first.”

“Okay, everyone just stop pushing!” Catra said but she was there too, trying to climb on Adora’s body like a tree to try to look from above.

“Or,” Entrapta said, sounding way calmer than everyone else, “You could just open the door all the way so we could all fit.”

Everyone froze in the position they were in. Glimmer and Bow were crunched down on the floor, trying to peer from below, with Other Catra and Other Adora now pulling on each other’s hair and shoving each other to try to overpower the other, and with Catra who had a leg over Adora’s shoulder to get on them trying to peek overhead.

“Haha, right,” Adora said, a goofy grin on her face. “I knew that. Come on, guys. A little room.” But nobody moved.

They each exchanged suspicious looks, trying to see who’d be the first to give in.

“Okay, this is childish, even for us,” Catra agreed, but her tail clung to Adora’s midsection, making no move to get off her anytime soon.

“Ahh! Alright!” Glimmer spoke up, “Entrapta! Get straws and write numbers on them and we have to go in the order we draw them.”

“Ooo! A game of chance!” Entrapta clapped her hands together, “Get me some paper!” She ordered one of her bots as they approached them. A few minutes later, they returned with the strips of paper.

“Okay!” Entrapta declared, holding the bottom of the strips after writing numbers on them. “Everyone draw one!”

“I’ll go first,” Glimmer clenched her fist determinedly.

“Wait,” Bow said, “Let’s all draw them together.”

Glimmer nodded. “Good idea. Ready, everyone?”

They each grasped a piece of paper, holding a fighting stance all at once.

“Three…” Entrapta began, “Two…one…Now!” They each let out a battle cry as they pulled the one they were holding.

“Ha!” Catra waved hers around, shoving it in everyone’s face as she whooped. “See it and weep, losers!” This earned groans from everyone as they realized they lost then quickly scrambled to look to see who got second.

“Hmph,” Other Catra flipped hers around to show a small number two on hers.

Catra laughed loudly, “How does it feel to be number 2?!” She evaded a slash from Other Catra as she attacked her.

“Don’t tease her too much,” Adora said, though she was trying to hold in her own laughter. “I’m third by the way.”

“Fourth!” Glimmer held up both her hands and held up two fingers on each.

“Fifth,” Other Adora chimed in.

“I got sixth,” Entrapta said.

“Why?!” Bow shouted, “Why am I stuck being last?! It’s not fair!” Tears streamed down his face.

“Who cares? Make way!” Catra finally got off Adora to stand in front of the metal door. She grabbed the handle and began to shove it open but Adora stopped her.

“Slowly! We’re trying not to freak them out, keep your voice down!” Adora warned her.

“I know that,” Catra shoved her shoulder playfully. “Besides, who are you to talk? You’re way louder than I am.” She winked.

“Catra!” Adora’s face turned red at the innuendo. She seriously had to start expecting it from her lover to take a stab at her, especially when they were in public. She made a mental note to get back at her later.

“Seriously?” Glimmer groaned. “Right now, guys? Just open the door already.”

“Geez, relax,” Catra began to open the door wider. “So touchy.” Even though everyone had drawn their number, they all huddled around Catra as the inside of the room became more visible little by little.

Inside, there was a single impromptu bed built out of huge blankets and pillows. The artificial lights had kicked in so it was darker than normal inside indicating it was nightfall. On top of the bed Entrapta had to quickly assemble upon finding more guests during their quest, was a tiny bundle that was moving every so slightly. At the sound of the door fully opening, a tiny fluffy head peeked out from under the covers, hissing.

“Awwwww!” Adora’s heart squeezed at seeing Toddler Catra tiny ears and fangs. At her outburst, another head popped out, this time a blonde one, with a tiny strand sticking up from her ponytail.

“They’re so cute!” Glimmer and Bow exclaimed, trying to hold back tears of happiness.

“What even was the point of pulling numbers if you were all going to barge in anyways?” Other Catra glared at everyone who, as soon as the door was open, let themselves in, ignoring that she called second place.

“Oh relax,” Adora placed a hand on her shoulder, “They’re just excited to see us as toddlers. Sure brings back memories, huh?” She bumped her shoulder to hers.

“Hmph.” Other Catra huffed, but didn’t shy away from her touch. “Of course Princesses can’t be trusted to keep their word.”

“Lighten up!” Catra slapped her on the back, making her younger self grunt and bare her fangs.

“Come on, guys,” Other Adora did a ‘calm down’ motion with her hands. “They’re terrified.”

“Entrapta,” Adora turned to her, “Can you override the lights so it can be brighter in here?”

“Of course!” The tech princess pressed buttons on the keypad by the door they’d come through and within seconds the room grew brighter.

“Hey!” Toddler Adora held Toddler Catra in her tiny arms, a fierce look on her face. “Don’t try anything!” Her tiny hands were clenched into fists, as if ready to attack, clearing trying to act tough, but they were visibly shaking.

“Don’t be scared,” Adora stretched out her arms to make everyone stay put behind her. “We aren’t going to hurt you, or Catra. We’re…well, we’re you so, I guess, in a way we’re your friends.”

“Friends?” Toddler Catra turned around in Toddler Adora’s arms to face everyone. Her mismatched eyes widened at seeing so many strange and familiar figures.

“Yes,” Catra kneeled to stare into the perfect replica of her own eyes. “We’re all friends.”

“We came to check up on you guys,” Adora mimicked her lover by getting down on one knee to be at eye level with them. “Are you guys hurt?”

“Ow,” Toddler Adora winced but quickly tried to hide it.

“Adora? Are you hurt?” Toddler Catra gasped when she showed her she had a cut on her palm. The young magicat eye’s filled with tears at seeing a few drops of dried blood there.

“It’s okay, Catra,” Toddler Adora ruffled her voluminous hair and ears with her hands, “It doesn’t hurt, promise.” But tiny Catra looked like she didn’t believe her. She held her friend’s palm up to her as if to inspect it closer and then began to lick it softly, making Toddler Adora giggle.

“Stop! That tickles!” Of course, this just made Toddler Catra lick faster and faster, until tiny Adora was left in a laughing fit. She playfully shoved her until she had her pinned down, put the act of her grasping her hands to hold her in place made pain shoot up her arm from the wound on her palm.

“Let me see that,” Adora was at her side in a flash. “Wanna see a neat trick?”

Toddler Adora nodded quickly, eyes shinning with excitement, but tiny Catra looked at her suspiciously.

“What are you gonna do?” Adora tried to hold back at hearing her tiny voice fill with concern. She was not gonna last long if she didn’t stop acting so cute.

“I’m gonna heal her!” Adora stood up quickly, startling them both. “With the power of love!” She manifested her sword and held it up to point at the ceiling dramatically.

“You dummy,” Catra shook her head at her ridiculousness but a light blush decorated her cheeks.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” At the magic words, though she did not need them to transform, a bright light surrounded her, her regular boots turning to heels, followed by arm guards appearing on her forearms, along with gold plated shoulders with a matching gold tiara. Once her transformation was complete, she grinned widely and turned to look at everyone behind her who had watched her transform from start to finish, but she focused on her lover and her lover’s younger self.

“Hey, Catras.” She winked at them, her grin widening at seeing them get visibly flustered.

“Is she always like this?” Other Catra whispered to her older self, attempting to hide her flushed face by pushing her wild hair forward.

“Like you have no idea,” Catra licked her lips slowly. She leaned in so only she could hear what she said next, and even though Adora couldn’t hear, she could take a wild guess based on the way Other Catra’s face just turned redder and freaked out even more, avoiding eye contact with her.

Satisfied she’d gotten back at her lover, she turned to her younger self.

“So cool!” Toddler Adora exclaimed at seeing her in her new form. “How did you do that?” Even Toddler Catra was staring at her with wonder in her eyes. Clearly, Adora’s charm had worked on all the Catra’s in the room.

“With magic,” She-ra gently grabbed her injured hand. “You’ll be all better soon.” She channelled her magical power, closing her eyes to focus and make sure to heal any other non visible wounds. After a few seconds, the shimmering yellow light was gone as she returned to her regular She-ra form.

She smiled at her toddler self. “How’s that?”

But it was Toddler Catra that replied next, “Do me! Me!” She leaped at her unexpectedly but Adora was quick to grab her before she fell.

She laughed as she felt her rub her head on her chest, fluffy strands of hair tickling her chin.

“Of course!” She repeated the process with her, taking special care to be gentle, remembering her unpleasant experience with dark magic, and wished she had the power to erase the trauma left in her tiny heart. Physical wounds would have to suffice for now.

“Look at me, Adora!” Toddler Catra waved her arms around and leaped out of her arms to tackle her friend. “I’m all better too!” Both Toddlers tussled and turned as they play fought, leaving everyone with smiles on their faces.

Adora, now reverting back to her mortal self, couldn’t help but grab her lover’s hand as she witnessed their interaction. She had always been fond of their earlier memories, when they’d both been young enough to play around and hadn’t yet fully experienced any sort of hardships at the hands of the Horde. But mostly, she’d missed seeing Catra’s fangy smile, that is, before Shadow Weaver made sure to erase and shove it down so it only appeared in rare occasion as they grew older.

Catra, probably sensing where her thoughts had led her, began to purr softly, wrapping her tail around Adora’s forearm that held their joint hands.

Across from them, even louder purring overpowered hers, making everyone laugh.

“Good to see some things never change,” Glimmer elbowed Catra playfully, her grin indicating she was enjoying the interaction happening before her.

“Psh,” Catra dropped Adora’s hand in order to shove Glimmer on her shoulder. “Shut it, Sparkles.”

“Yeah,” Adora gave her best raised-brow-grin combo, “Really embarrassing of you. Even when we were kids you would—”

“Ahh!” Catra quickly covered her mouth to stop her from telling any embarrassing childhood stories.

“What’s that thing do?” Toddler Catra and Adora stood in front of them suddenly, holding hands. It was tiny Adora that had directed the question at Bow who happened to have his many arrows on him.

“Great question!” Bow beamed at them, crouching down as he swung his quiver around to show them off. “This one turns into a rope, this one turns into a magnifying glass,” he took that one out and pressed the button to flip the sharp edge inwards to demonstrate. “See?”

“What about this one?” Toddler Catra grabbed one randomly and tried finding the button on that one.

“Oh, be careful, that one is—” But it was too late. She’d found the switch to it and water sprayed across the room landing mostly across the room where everyone stood, and ended up gushing herself as well as Bow and Toddler Adora.

“Gahh!”

“What the fuck?!” All Catra’s yelped, and began to scatter all around the room, trying to find any dry spots in the room.

“Ow ow ow!” Bow shrieked in pain as Toddler Catra decided to cling onto his arm, nails fully extended, digging into his skin.

“Catra! Let go!” Toddler Adora tried to pull her away from him but obviously it just made her tighten her grip.

Catra and Other Catra had both swooped to the far end corners of the room, tail frizzy, ears lowered, nails digging into the walls as they gripped them as the shock of getting wet so suddenly spooked them.

“A little help here!” Bow was now in a tangled mess as Toddler Catra still wasn’t letting him go, and somehow, Toddler Adora thought it would help if she grabbed onto one of his legs, leaving him an unbalanced mess.

Glimmer was too busy taking pictures to intervene, leaving both Adora and Entrapta to help.

“Here!” A row of small robots entered the room to hand everyone towels. “This should be of help!”

“No, wait, Entrapta!” Bow started, “They’re gonna—” But it happened again before he could stop one of the robots from stepping on his arrows that were now scattered across the room. One arrow set off the next and suddenly there was nets, gooey green stuff, and more water flying all around the room at once.

“Hey, what the—” Adora was blinded by some of the green stuff as it stuck to her eyes. “Get, get it off!” She flailed her arms around trying to find someone to grab on to but ended up walking straight into Other Catra who was still clinging onto the corner of the room.

“You get off me!” Other Catra tried to push her away as Adora clung onto her midsection. Other Adora was busy trying to help Bow out, somehow dripping wet from head to toe, which of course just made Toddler Catra shake her head vigorously and hold on harder. Meanwhile, Catra had grabbed onto Entrapta as she was hovering overhead with the help of her hair. The only one was left unscathed was Glimmer who had teleported out of the room in time to avoid the chaos that followed as soon as Entrapta’s robots had emerged.

“Everyone, stay calm!” Entrapta called out from above, Catra still clinging to one of her long ponytails. “Everything is under control!”

“Just, someone do something!” Other Catra was now holding Adora at arms length, trying to separated herself from her clinginess.

“I’ve got this!” Somehow, Glimmer thought it would help to release a ball of magic into the ceiling, making it zap and disperse around the room. This just made the robots go into overdrive, making everyone try to dodge them at all cost as they zoomed throughout the room.

“Ah!” Entrapta yelped as one of the robots’ wheels caught her hair and got her off balance enough for her to fall smack onto the floor, Catra behind her as she hadn’t let go of her yet.

The tech princess held up a remote, “Stop moving…around!” She pressed one of the two buttons, making the robots stop their shuffling around. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until the robots started back up again, faster than before.

“Oops, that was the wrong button.”

“Entrapta!” Everyone shouted as chaos descended again.

Catra

“How’s that?” Adora asked, pausing from towel drying Catra’s short hair. The magicat felt her hair triple in volume as she shook her head back and forth quickly to dry it further.

“Much better,” her tail lazily flicked back and forth, finally being able to feel herself calm down at the gentle way Adora was careful to not touch the scar behind her neck.

As if being able to read her mind, Adora leaned forward to place the tiniest of kisses on her bare shoulder, but didn’t move away, instead, she nuzzled the side of her neck. A noise caught in the back of Catra’s throat at feeling her tease the skin there. Not for the first time that day, Catra wished they were in the privacy of their own room. But no, they were all gathered around the main room of the ship. The Toddlers were catching a ride on Melog’s back, Other Catra and Adora were huddled together whispering to themselves, Entrapta had gone to her room to study the very fascinating aspects of the trees they’d found, and Glimmer and Bow had gone to take a shower and change into none wet clothes. Catra and Adora had gone first, which led to them being in the main room, drying each other’s hair.

“My turn!” Catra felt her heart sink a little as Adora let go of her to turn around, wet blonde hair facing her now. But her sadness was short-lived as she felt Adora’s usually tense shoulder relax under her touch as she began to towel dry her hair.

“Mm!” Adora let out a happy sigh, “You’re the best, Catra.” The magicat felt her heart flutter as the affection in her voice.

“Of course I am,” Catra continued to work at her hair, “You’re lucky I like you. Or else I’d let you dry your own hair.”

“Only ‘like’?” Adora turned around to peer at her with her sad puppy eyes. Catra pressed her lips together, trying to hold back a smile.

“Take it or leave. I might just have to take it back if you keep it up.”

“No, no,” Adora quickly turned back around, “I’ll take it.” She tried to push back her hair poof, but it wasn’t staying in place and she hadn’t brought any hair ties with her.

Catra grabbed her chin from behind and leaned forward. Using her tongue, she slicked the stubborn strands of hair back, locking them in their usual place. She inspected her handy work and finally let go of Adora, who didn’t move away as she turned so her body was half facing her. A pink tint had spread across her pale cheeks.

The magicat smirked, “Now you don’t have much to say? Dummy.” She leaned in to give her a quick but tender kiss that left her breathless and wanting more.

Toddler Catra and Adora popped out of nowhere, “Kissing?!”

“Oh, hello there mini-me,” Adora let her younger self sit on her lap, and fixed her ponytail as it had come lose after riding Melog.

“So, so,” Toddler Catra turned to look at Adora with shining mismatched eyes. “Are you guys the closest of friends?”

“Even better,” Adora booped her little nose, “We are lovers.”

“What’s that?” Toddler Adora got up to look curiously at Catra’s hair. Catra looked down at her, but tiny Adora was not intimidated by her and smiled widely, displaying an almost perfect smile except for the gap left from a missing tooth. Slowly, Catra bent down her head so she could reach her hair, gripping her thighs as she anticipated her touch. When she did feel her small, fragile fingers go through her hair, she was filled with such joy as memories flooded her mind of Adora doing the exact same thing when they were younger and she needed comforting. In reality, she hated when others touched her hair but she’d almost always let Adora touch it, heck, she’d even let her within her personal space bubble when she’d scratch anyone else on the spot. Though to be fair, sometimes Adora was acting dumb or she was getting on her nerves and she’d hiss at her to get away. A girl had a right to want to be left alone once in a while, right?

“Lovers are people that love each other very much and promise to be together forever.” Of course Adora gave the vaguest explanation for it. A little too vague for Catra’s liking, it made her worry a little.

“Not only that,” Catra interjected before their Toddler selfs got confused. “They kiss and do all kinds of stuff together to show they are together. They sleep in the same bed, wake up next to each other, share meals…” As she continued to list things off the top of her head, she realized she sounded just as ignorant as Adora. And that they had both been doing all that stuff since before Adora had left the Horde.

“Adora,” Toddle Catra turned to her and grasped both her hands in her tiny ones. “Want to be my lover?”

“Yes!” Tiny Adora wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly. “I’ll never leave you!”

“Promise?” All Catra’s caught themselves repeating the word they were all too familiar with. All Adora’s shared a look. Other Adora and Adora’s was filled with guilt, knowing what happened years after they’d made that same promise. But Toddler Adora was oblivious to it all and simply smiled widely.

“I promise!” This made tiny Catra smile softly as she rested the top of her head under tiny Adora’s chin, cuddling her close.

“Awww!” Bow and Glimmer made it back to the main room.

“I just want to eat them up!” Bow’s eyes sparkled.

“Hey, guys!” Adora waved. “Feeling better, Bow?”

The arch master rubbed his arms, still being able to feel the sharp pain of Toddler Catra digging her nails deep into his flesh. “Yeah, healing did the job, though it would have been better if you had helped before it got so bad.”

Adora huffed. “I was kind of occupied since I couldn’t see.”

“Sure is lively in here!” Entrapta appeared from within one of the air ducts. “I’ve got some news about what we found out there.”

A hush passed through the room at that, everyone putting their game face on.

“So, we learned that the trees were able to generate heat by digging their roots into the planet’s core. Using that same logic, I figured they’d be able to isolate all the different energy sources the trees had absorbed through contact alone. And I found remains of a portal similar to the one back on Etheria.”

“So we were right,” Adora nodded.

“Yes, and no,” Entrapta continued, “It definitely is the same energy source, but there is not much else to go off of. There is nothing new to be learned from it.”

“So we did come all this way for nothing,” Other Catra’s eyebrow twitched irritated.

“Not for nothing,” Bow said, “We found these two. They would have died if they’d stayed out there longer.”

Catra couldn’t help but notice the way both toddlers were following the conversation with big wide eyes following whoever spoke.

“Do you guys have any idea why you ended up here?” Catra asked them, causing everyone’s talking to cease.

“Hmm,” Tiny Adora mused about it for a few moments. “We were just playing around back home and then there was a bright light.”

Toddler Catra nodded, “There was this really weird machine next to Hordak’s room.”

“Hordak?” Entrapta was instantly intrigued. “Was it that same portal he had been building way back then? Did he succeed in your alternative reality? Then…” She looked genuinely sad at the realization that he had probably gone further without her help as he had in their own reality.

“Did—” Other Catra’s voices seamed smaller than before, “Did Shadow Weaver…?” She let the question hang, not that she needed to finish it since everyone knew exactly what she was referring to.

“No,” Toddler Adora was the one who responded, holding the other ones hand tightly in hers. “We were pushed through the light really quickly.”

“That has to be it then.” Something seemed to have clicked in Entrapta’s mind. “Other Adora and Catra were both touching some First Ones tech when they were pulled through, and those two were near a portal at the same time. What were you and Adora doing when you happened to find them?” Eyes turned to look at the couple.

“Nothing,” Adora said too quickly.

“Doesn’t sound like nothing,” Glimmer snickered.

“We were getting it on,” Catra said bluntly, “Then Melog so rudely interrupted and made us chase him to the Whispering Woods.”

“Hm,” Bow mused, “Doesn’t seem like there was anything that could have pushed them our direction. At least nothing that we have learned yet.”

“That could only mean that there is still a missing piece to this all.” Entrapta continued, “We have the energy source, the portal itself, but we need what drew all of you guys here. Something like a beacon. Something or someone who knows how to send people across universes and dimensions.”

Panic shot through Catra as the worst idea flashed in her mind. No. There was no way. There was no way in hell that…

Adora, sensing a shift of energy around Catra, turned to look at her with concern in her eyes. “Catra?”

But Catra’s mind was miles away. Far away from Kari, across space, and back to Etheria and the magical tree that floated above them every single day. The remains of Horde Prime’s ship that was a daily reminder of what had happened. Of how he had tormented many people on Etheria, of how he had chipped them…chipped Catra.

Her breathing was coming in shorter bursts now, the edges of her vision blurring. She shook her head. Focus. Focus on Adora. So she did. She remembered what it’d felt like to feel her hands in her hair, of the firmness of her lips on hers, of her breathe on her neck…She clenched her hands into fists, nails digging into her palm but not enough to break skin. Just something to bring her back to the present and out of her thoughts.

“Catra!” Only then did she realize Adora had been calling her name for a while. She wasn’t touching her, waiting for the go ahead to be able to do so.

“I’m—” Catra cleared her throat as it sounded shaky and tried again. “I just had a thought.”

“You don’t think it had anything to do with Prime, do you?” Glimmer sounded just as freaked out as Catra felt. And of course she would, she was there to witness the horrors of what he’d do to his subordinates if they appeared to be failures. And the chanting, the horrible gut wrenching chanting while he…

“He did have tons of portals accessible to him.” Entrapta flipped through her keypad. “There is a chance, as a last effort before he was taken down, he probably put in motion a backup plan.”

“To do what?” Adora asked, starting to get a panicked look on her face. “We destroyed everything there was. His ship is gone. His army is gone. We rehabilitated all his clones that happened to stay behind. We fixed everything two years ago. What could we have missed? What did I miss?”

“You didn’t miss anything, Adora. His goal was to eradicate She-ra and the entire universe.” Bow comforted her, “He wasn’t able to destroy the universe because we stopped him. And She-ra was the one who put a stop to him. There was no way to know that he was going to pull something last minute.”

“We should have thought of it though,” Catra hissed, “I should have thought of it. We should have made sure that everything, the backups, whatever plans he was cooking up, everything was gone.”

“You were in no place to do something like that.” Adora placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Everything happened so fast and we couldn’t have taken any other risks. We barely made it out alive as is!” She turned towards everyone and stood taller. “But now we know. We have to figure out what orders he placed, where, and to who. If we find that out, we are sure to come up with a solution and send everyone back.”

“Some clones must have been too indoctrinated when we broke the connections that they continued his work else where.” Bow pressed a button to project what was on Entrapta’s keypad. “Based on reports of the Star Siblings who helped us stabilize planets after Prime had taken over, there were two remaining planets that seemed to have been more difficult than the others.”

“We don’t have time to go to both,” Glimmer inspected the map and pointed. “This is one seems to be too far off our way.”

“Are you sure? What if that is the right one?” Other Catra spoke up.

“So what do we do then?” Adora asked to no one in particular. Then, Catra had an idea. And hated it instantly. But they had no other choice.

“I can try and remember whatever I can,” Catra said, placing a hand over the scar behind her neck. “I may have been chipped a long time ago but I’m sure I can come up with something like when we found out about Krytis.” Melog emerged from their room then, probably feeling Catra’s distressed emotions.

I’ll be here to support you. His familiar voiced echoed in her mind. Other Catra’s ears twitched as she felt the impact of his words without being able to hear them.

“Okay, I just need quiet.” Catra sat down on the floor, feeling Adora do the same to stay by her side. She closed her eyes, trying to shove the fear that shot through her as she dug into her memories as far as she could. Back to two years ago when they were still in the middle of a war. Voices, all jumbling over each other, echoed in her mind as she looked back on it. Memories as well. Of her being chipped, of Prime making her fight Adora when she’d gone to rescue her, of feeling a shock go through her entire body, of feeling her life slowly leave her body…

She shook her head. Not that. Deeper. She had to look deeper. Maps. Yes. Look at those maps. There were several planets he had been keeping tabs on. But which ones were more important to him? There had to be another planet that had a special place in his mind. Terra. The name popped into her head.

“Terra.” She whispered, then slowly opened her eyes and pointed at the same planet Glimmer had just stated was far away. “That has to be it. He conquered it rather quickly and kept close tabs on it. It could have easily been a second base of some kind.” Melog shrunk in size and pressed his body on hers, trying to comfort her silently.

“Then that’s where we’re going next,” Bow said, already talking about the logistics with Entrapta and Glimmer. Leaving all Catra’s and Adora’s to themselves.

“So that’s what happened,” Other Catra actually looked apologetic.

“I know it must be hard,” Other Adora joined them on the floor. “But we can do this. We may not belong here but we can still be of some help. We will help.”

Toddler Catra and Adora nodded, a fierce look on their face that almost made Catra smile. Almost.

“Alright,” Other Adora assertively spoke up, “Let’s talk mission then.”

“Actually,” Adora interrupted before her younger self got too carried away right off the bat. “I think we could all use some rest.”

“You? Asking us to rest?” Glimmer, who had overhead the conversation, was shocked.

“This is getting out of hand quickly,” Adora continued, “We were lucky before that your magic started working again, and that Entrapta was able to recharge your suits. No more mistakes. And for that,” she smiled at Bow, “someone once told me that sleeping helps come up with more sound plans.”

“If you say so,” Catra tried to keep up her facade. Just a little longer and it’d just be the two of them alone. She didn’t want to have another meltdown in front of everyone. Again.

“I’ll keep Entrapta company,” Bow said, “I got a quick power nap in so I’m not all too tired.”

“Don’t be too late either way.” Glimmer yawned and stretched out her arms. "Gosh, using magic out here is so much more draining.”

“You can sleep in our room,” Other Adora addressed the two toddlers. This made Other Catra start to complain as all four of them began to walk to their rooms, followed by Melog who seemed to enjoy the Toddler’s company.

“Come on,” Adora’s voice was so gentle Catra could cry, “Let’s get you into bed.”

“Already trying to get into my pants?” Catra’s usual banter didn’t have its usual bite.

“Always,” Adora laughed. Catra let herself be taken back to their room, feeling the exhaustion of the day weigh down on her. But mostly it was mental exhaustion. She thought she wouldn’t have to revisit her old memories of the war ever again. Not like this. And yet somehow the universe really seemed to like to ram it in for laughs.

That’s what I get for all the things I did, she thought to herself as Adora cuddled close to her. Good to know karma was alive and well.

“Hey,” her lover whispered into the darkness. Thankfully it was. Catra wasn’t sure what kind of expression she had on now that it was just the two of them.

“No talking,” she murmured back as she buried her face into her chest, her hands folded neatly so she could fit in Adora’s arms easily. “Just hold me.”

She felt her head move as Adora nodded. To let her know that she was somewhat okay (she clearly was not), Catra let her tail wrap around Adora’s thigh. It seemed to have worked as she pulled her closer. So close that Catra couldn’t tell where her body ended and her’s began.

Chapter Text

Other Adora

Young Adora groaned as she felt a huge weight on her chest. It was hard to breathe. The world seemed to be caving in on her, smothering her as she laid there. She huffed and whined as she tried to move but failed.

This is it, she thought to herself. This is how I die.

On top of her were two smaller figures, mirror images of her much younger years. The blonde one was spread across her face, her weight pushing down on her nose as she tried her best to wiggle her head to set it free. The tiny magicat was clinging onto her midsection, her wild hair tickling her exposed stomach as the position of both toddlers had disheveled her sleep clothes. She was unsure who’s limbs were who’s as she just felt arms and legs all over her body as the toddlers slept peacefully, limbs spread out.

“H—help,” she whispered into the room, hoping, praying really, that her—um, friend would be of some assistance. She heard soft shuffling from across the room. After they’d both made it back to their room with the toddlers, they’d moved the two beds together in order for all of them to fit.

But as Adora was finally able to free her face from under her toddler self, she turned her head to confirm what she suspected. Where the other bed should have been, connected to hers, there was an empty space. Catra must have moved it across the room while the rest of them had been asleep. And yup, there she was, curled up on her own bed, looking as comfy as the two toddlers currently killing Adora.

They had talked some about their current, um, situation. Not enough to ease Adora’s fears of what they’d become once they returned back home but enough that she knew that she wouldn’t kill her in her sleep or intentionally harm her. Adora knew it’d be a long road for her to become comfortable with the idea of them, even if they had agreed they’d, at the very least, not be enemies for now. But seeing her joke around in her own Catra way, the way she would when they were younger, was enough to give her hope for them. Even if she herself had to try her hardest to forgive her for what she’d done to the Rebellion. But she was willing to give it a try. After all, she’d never admit it to anyone back home, she missed her all the time. And even when they were on opposite sides of the war, she couldn’t help the pang of joy that’d hit her whenever she saw her familiar face.

But now, she glared at Catra’s sleeping form, eyebrow twitching with annoyance for leaving her to be smothered while she had slept soundly. Then, as she saw her ears twitch, and the blanket she had over herself rise and fall as she took deep breaths in her sleep, she got an idea, and tried her hardest to hold back a giggle as she put it into motion,

Carefully, with enough grace and agility that surprised herself, Adora shuffled the two sleeping forms on top of her, and slowly picked them up, holding them both in her arms while walking to where Catra was still sound asleep.

Then, she dropped them both on top of her.

“What the fu—?!” At the impact, Catra instantly woke up, which of course, woke up the toddlers. Toddler Catra, startled, jumped onto Catra, clinging onto her head, tail frizzy and alert. Somehow, Toddler Adora, still half asleep, thought it was best to wave her arms around and ended up landing a hit on Catra’s chest.

“Adora!” Catra hissed at her, eyes narrowing into thin slits as she saw her laugh her ass off at the scene before her.

But her glare turned into surprise as a tiny fist clenched onto her tail. Catra yelped, jumped onto her feet, grabbing Toddler Adora at arms length, stumbling as Toddler Catra shifted to hang onto her from behind as her tiny arms connected around her neck.

“I would help…” Adora began to slowly back away, hands clasped behind her back, wide grin on her face. “But I have some training to do. I’m sure you, the big ol’ scary Force Captain, can take care of toddlers for a few minutes.”

Panic shot through the magicat’s eyes. “No, wait—”

“Sorry!” Adora yelled back exaggeratedly as she stepped outside the room, one leg at a time, milking her exit as much as she could.

“I’m gonna kill you!” She heard Catra shout from inside, followed by giggling. Adora could only imagine the way they’d tease her and play with her ears and swat at her tail. She couldn’t help smile at the mental image. Only children seem to brighten the mood at such dark and uncertain times.

Young Adora made her way down the hall of the spaceship, too early for anyone else but her older self to be awake. As she kept making her way towards the gym, she passed a huge window. Outside, they had begun their next trip to Terra, going through so many stars Adora had lost count of them. Every time they passed a planet, she couldn’t help feel small. So small, and powerless.

At that thought, she clenched her fists, missing the weight of her sword in her hands. She felt empty. The one task she’d been given, an inheritance of many brave warriors before her, gone. Lost in another dimension. She could only hope that it hadn’t fallen into the wrong hands.

“You made it!” Older Adora greeted her as the automatic doors opened upon her arrival. Adora took note of the way she was already covered in sweat, no doubt having had a head start, even at this crazy hour.

Older Adora was wearing a sleeveless version of their normal white long sleeve shirt they wore underneath their red jacket, an echo of the horde uniform she’d worn for most of her life. Adora herself had her own after finding a dozen of them in her room their first night on the ship.

“Looks like I need to catch up,” Adora said, beginning to stretch before jumping in.

“No worries,” Older Adora smiled widely at her. “Besides, I wanted us to focus on more She-ra related training. I’m pretty sure you can handle regular training on your own.”

Adora looked at her confused. “I don’t have my sword, there’s nothing I can really do without it. I know you mentioned not having to rely on it but that’s different than with me. I am no where near mastering She-ra, even with the sword.”

In response, Other Adora summoned the sword with an ease that she envied since she first saw.

She must have seen it on her face because her older self twirled the sword inward so the hilt was facing her, arm outstretched in an offering manner. It was different than the sword she was familiar with, and seemed to buzz with more energy than she’d ever be able to imagine.

“Oh, are you sure it’s okay?” She hesitated, but her fingers ached to reach out and take it, missing the weight of it in her grasp.

“Of course, here.” Older Adora gently tossed it in her direction. It fell right into her hands, heavier than she remembered. It had a different design, with the gold hilt having sharper edges, even the blade itself seemed thinner, the emerald green stone winking at her as she shifted the sword in her grasp.

“It looks different, and yet, it feels the same,” Adora stared at it intensely. When she spoke the magical words, silently, she half expected to feel the magical energy she’d grown to tolerate, as it was painful at times, but nothing happened. Less than nothing. If anything, she felt it recoil at her demand to change, rejecting her as she was not its rightful owner.

Feeling gloomy, she gave it back to Older Adora. “Guess it doesn’t feel the same way.” She sighed heavily, “I wish I had my sword with me. I feel useless without it. Without She-ra.”

The sword blinked out of existence, and Adora found herself being tugged towards a bench on the other side of the room, facing a huge clear wall, stars twinkling as they observed the two blondes, one grown and mature, the other, a half baked heroine.

They sat down facing each other, hand in hand.

“Adora,” her older self paused, then laughed, “that sounds so weird to say. I never thought this would be possible. It’s like looking in a mirror.”

“Can we please just focus on She-ra?” She began to get irritated at seeing her older self not take this matter as seriously as she was.

“This is about She-ra,” Older Adora placed a reassuring hand on her knee which had been bouncing up and down restlessly. “She-ra isn’t something, or someone, to fight against. I know it feels like you have to go against yourself to let her take over. The sword that the First Ones created in order to use her as a weapon, it…has limits. But that doesn’t mean you can’t exceed them. If your resolve and feelings to protect are greater than the limits set by others, the possibilities are endless.”

“Easy for you to say,” Adora grumbled, standing up to peer outside where a comet was passing by, blue and white specs following it in its wake. “You have everything you’d want. I…I haven’t accomplished anything. I haven’t done nearly enough.”

“Well,” in the reflection of the glass in front of her, Adora could see the other rub the back of her neck. “I guess, I’m one to talk. I remember feeling that way for a long time.” Her eyes turned hard. “Even during the climax of the war, I couldn’t bring myself to accept what I wanted. I was ready to give up my life.”

Adora snapped her neck around to look at her head on. Had she just said what she though she’d said?

“I—what?” She stuttered out, being unable to look at her in the same blue eyes they shared.

“You wouldn’t know this, not yet at least,” Older Adora went to stand by her side, “but there were other times where I was willing to do it. Without a second thought. And by extension, that means that you would too.” She shook her head when Young Adora opened her mouth to deny it. “It’s alright. It’s just me. I know.”

Tears threatened to spill from Adora’s eyes. She felt her chest tighten, and she tried her hardest to silence the sob that threatened to escape her lips but failed.

“Oh, Adora.” She felt strong arms envelop her, holding her up as her legs gave out.

At the sound of her name, Other Adora felt her world cave in for real this time. Every emotion she had been holding back came back tenfold as there was no one to witness her meltdown but her older self. The sound of her heart wrenching sobs that shook her body echoed in the room.

And then she finally let herself be open. About everything. About her insecurities. About her failures. About her need to be better, to go above and beyond to be the savior and hero everyone needed her to be. About her regrets. Of not having left the Horde sooner. Of not taking Catra when she’d gone back for the sword. And yes, she even admitted to her feelings for Catra, which had only grown now that they were stuck together dimensions away from their home.

At that last bit, Older Adora grinned knowingly.

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious.” Adora stared at her in horror.

“Does everyone know?”

“Well,” Older Adora said sheepishly, “yes. We are you, remember? They went through it, and much more, believe me.” A sarcastic laugh.

“So,” Adora asked, wiping off her snot with a tissue, “does that mean it can happen again? With us?”

“Of course it can!” The confidence in her voice made Adora’s tears dry up suddenly. “I mean, it won’t be easy, but if you both want to improve your relationship, that’s the first step, and it looks like you’ve already taken it.”

Adora looked at her older self with a questioning look. It was her turn to avert her eyes, like she’d said something she wasn’t supposed to.

“What do you mean by that?” Adora pressed her, but she had let go of her, and turned away to fidget with one of her many machines in the gym.

“Nothing!” She said too quickly. “Psh. Why would I know anything? Hahaha.” She glanced back at Adora, as if to check if it’d worked, but at seeing her staring at her suspiciously, she began babbling.

“I mean, does anyone know anything really? The universe is so big, there’s so much nobody knows about. So much to see, so much to learn. So much to talk about. I mean, it’s like I know anything. Nope. Not about your Catra, or about what we talked about when we were back in Kari. Nope, nada.” Older Adora laughed nervously, making Adora laugh out loud.

It was refreshing to see that even her older self wasn’t perfect like she’d imagined herself being in the future. Seeing her get all flustered and nervous came with much needed relief.

“I know you said I don’t need help with regular training,” Young Adora began, “But I’m curious to see how I measure up to my older self.”

At the whiff of a challenge, Older Adora’s entire demeanor changed, a cocky grin tugging at her lips.

“Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got, mini-me.”

Toddler Adora

Laughter filled the air around tiny Adora as everyone began to slowly come together again in the big room they’d been in before. It was the only place they could all fit without it feeling too cramped.

Her Catra and her were huddled up together, for once, Catra let her pet her ear and wild hair.

“So soft!” She exclaimed as she tousled it. She preferred this version of her hair. The other Catra with similar voluminous hair wasn’t as soft, and the older one didn’t have enough of it, in her opinion. At that thought, she searched the room for her. To her surprise, both of them were together, leaning against a wall, talking.

“Catra! Come,” She tugged at Catra to stand up, laughing as they both ran up to them.

“What do you want now?” Other Catra asked, sounding tired.

“Sit!” Adora pointed at the floor, then stretched out her tiny arms, fists closing and opening, signaling she wanted to touch their hair. Her Catra instantly followed her direction, while the Older one was slow at first but eventually did. Leaving Other Catra to grumble about it.

“Come on,” Older Catra said, teasing, “Are you really going to break a child’s heart?” Adora’s eyes were wide and oh so blue, as she gave her her best puppy eyes look, hands clasped together under her chin, silently begging.

“Ugh, fine,” Other Catra sat down swiftly, ears lowered, light blush on her cheeks.

With speed that seemed other worldly, Tiny Adora took turns ruffling their hair and ears one after the other before starting all over again. Their hair ended up looking like it had a birds nest in it, all tangled and disheveled, but they stood their ground to keep the toddler, who found it delightful and was laughing wholeheartedly as she continued her assault on them, happy.

“Oooo what are we doing?” Glimmer and Bow joined them at that time. They awww’ed at the scene before them, and before any of them could protest, joined Tiny Adora in petting all three Catra’s.

“Who told you you could join in, Sparkles?” Older Catra scowled as the Queen lingered on her hair, no doubt to tease her more.

“What? Tiny Adora can touch it but we can’t? Come on, and here I thought we were friends.” Glimmer grinned at her, hands still working.

“Right now, we aren’t,” Older Catra kicked her gently, but it just made Glimmer laugh.

“You have amazing hair, Little Catra,” Bow would be the only one brave enough aside from the Adora’s to sit her on his lap. Catra seemed a little tense, not used to the touch of others that wasn’t Adora’s but she seemed to tolerate him. Probably as a way to apologize for slashing his arms the other day.

“You like it?” Tiny Catra asked.

“I love it,” Bow smiled at her gently. “I made you something so it doesn’t get in your eyes and you don’t have to cut it.” He reached to grab something from his pocket, and emerged with a tiny hair clip, with a Melog look-alike figurine on it, blue and delicate.

Toddler Catra’s eyes widened and sparkled as he handed it to her.

“Adora! Look, look!” She showed it proudly to her, making Toddler Adora smile widely. Tiny Catra shifted so she was in front of Adora, eyes closed, offering the front of her head to her.

Adora grabbed the clip from her and pushed back the bangs Catra usually had hovering just below her eyebrows. She placed the hairlip in and inspected it.

“How does it look?” Catra twirled around to show it off to everyone, chin tilted up so everyone had a good view.

“Now it looks like you have your very own hair poof,” Other Catra laughed, messing up the hair where the clip was.

“Hey!” Tiny Catra glared at her. Adora was quick to place a calming hand on her shoulder and fixed the clip that had been hanging on by a few hair strands.

“There, all fixed.” Adora beamed at her. Catra looked at her before pouncing on her, rubbing her head against the side of her neck. Tiny Adora laughed, used to her being extra clingy at times. She was happy to see her slowly more relaxed and enjoying herself.

While Tiny Adora was aware that they were far from home, this place, with people she barely knew, it felt more like a home. She felt in her tiny heart that she didn’t want to leave, but knew they would have to eventually. They didn’t belong there.

She hugged Catra back hard.

“Adora?” She peered at her with mismatched eyes.

“No matter what, let’s stay together.” Adora’s eyes were serious.

“Always.” Catra nodded, looking determined too.

Melog burst into the room, followed by the other two Adora’s.

“What’s going on here?” Older Adora asked as Melog ran straight for Adora, purring loudly.

“Catra has a new hair clip!” Adora pushed Catra in front of her so they could see what she meant.

“It’s a tiny Melog,” Both Adora’s eyes filled with tears at seeing the tiny clip struggling to hold onto Catra’s wild and thick hair. They rushed to where she was and started to fuss over her. Over her hair, her tiny fangs, her soft baby fur, her big wide eyes.

Adora joined them, playing with her ears again, leaving Toddler Catra to be surrounded by all Adora’s, tail moving back and forth as her head, chin, and ears were stroked.

Catra’s entire face went beet red even though she was purring so loudly it shook her entire body.

“Hey, no fair,” Older Catra pouted at seeing her lover all over her younger self. Even Other Catra stared at them gushing over her with clenched fists.

“But she’s so cute!” Other Adora tapped the tiny hair poof the hair clip made. “Think you could make me one too? We can all be matching!”

“Ooo yes!” Older Adora began to finger comb Toddler Catra’s hair, pulling it back. “We could all have ponytails!”

This just seemed to further irritate the other two Catra’s. Toddler Adora frowned at seeing their reaction. Then she got an idea.

She began to walk towards them, stopping just in front of where they stood.

“If it makes you feel better, you can play with my hair,” she pulled the hair tie she had holding her ponytail to release her blonde hair. This got the two magicat’s attention.

“Who’d want that?” Other Catra huffed but didn’t push Adora away when she hugged her middle section.

“Tell me,” Older Catra peered down at her, “Why do you like to have your hair up? Isn’t it better this way?” She combed her hair with her fingers.

Adora thought about it for a second. “I’m not sure. I just like when Catra licks my hair back into place,” she pointed to her hair poof, not as big as the other Adora’s but enough that it was clearly the beginning of one. “Usually just this part tho. It grows going this way because she does it all the time.”

“Really?” Both magicat’s glanced at each other, mischief in their eyes. Older Catra picked her up, resting her tiny frame on her shoulder. Then, they began to lick her everywhere they could reach. Toddler Adora laughed out loud as their rough tongue prickled her skin and pulled at her baby hairs.

The sound of whimpering made Adora turn to where her Catra was, only to see a frown on her face as she saw the other magicat’s gushing over her. She was there next to them in an instant.

“Hey, she’s mine!” She tugged at Adora’s hand, pulling her away from Older Catra’s arms and into hers.

“It’s okay, Catra,” Adora tried to soothe her, “They’re you but just older.”

“I don’t care,” she tightened her grip on her, “They have their own. You’re mine.”

Adora patted her head, “We’re all friends. All the other Adora’s get to play with you and they want to play with me. Isn’t it so much fun?” She grinned widely, displaying the gap between her front teeth. That seemed to work as Catra’s body relaxed and loosed her grip on her, instead, settled by simply grabbing her hand.

“Please,” Bow said, clenching his chest dramatically, “I can’t take this anymore.”

“We must stay strong, Bow,” Glimmer leaned into him as if she was feeling faint.

“Got enough of them?” Older Catra teased Older Adora’s thigh with her tail. “I suddenly feel like I need attention.”

“Earlier this morning wasn’t enough?” Older Adora smirked.

“Never.”

“Bleh,” Glimmer fake grimaced. “Can’t you two keep it in your pants for more than a few minutes? There are children present.”

“Then look away, Sparkles,” Older Catra stuck her tongue out at her.

Other Adora laughed at their bickering, then suddenly went serious. “I know we still have a day to get to Terra, but maybe we should prepare in someway.”

“With what? We went over the gist of it. There’s not much we can plan since we know nothing on this planet.”

“That is correct,” Entrapta emerged out of nowhere, “I searched all the First Ones’ records and there was nothing. We would be going in completely blind!” She finished enthusiastically.

“We know that,” Other Adora said, “I was referring to what we are going to do with the little ones. It’s not safe to have them go with us on our mission.”

Tiny Adora wrapped a protective arm around her Catra.

“We will leave them behind with Melog,” Older Adora said, agreeing with her. “We can’t risk them getting harmed.”

“If they were,” Entrapta added, “their dimensions would forever be altered. Everyone in their world could be destroyed.”

Everyone took a protective step closer to the toddlers.

“We will never let that happen,” Bow said, eyes narrowed.

“Absolutely not,” Glimmer spoke up, “No one is getting harmed. Not again.”

Older Adora kneeled down to be eye to eye with both toddler.

“I know you may want to come with us,” she said, placing a hand on their tiny shoulders, “But we can’t risk you two being harmed. Everyone in this room cares for you. Trust that and trust us to send you back home safe and sound.”

Young Adora glanced between all the concerned faces in front of her, feeling it in her bones the serious nature of the matter.

“Adora?” Her Catra turned to her, waiting for her to ease her fears as she always did. Toddler Adora tried to keep her hands from shaking by clenching them into fists.

She nodded.

Everyone instantly looked relieved and began to discuss a “plan” Tiny Adora listened to intensely even as her Catra began to play with Melog again, and she knew, in her tiny heart, that she had to protect her at all cost. Even if the weight of the responsibility weighed heavily on her tiny shoulders.

Adora

Adora twisted and turned all “night.” Every time she thought she’d finally be consumed by exhaustion, something jolted her awake: a sinking feeling in her gut that something was about to go terribly wrong.

“Hey, some of us need, and like, our beauty sleep.” Catra grumbled, eyes closed even though Adora knew she’d woken her up with all her shuffling a few minutes ago.

“I just—” The blonde sat up, giving up on her fleeting hope of getting any quality sleep tonight. “I have a feeling something is gonna happen.”

“Something will always happen,” Catra peeked at her with a single blue eye, the other buried into her pillow. “It’s almost amazing how badly plans always go with you guys. In all these years, I still have no idea how you guys managed to get anything done.”

“Gee, thanks, Catra, just what I needed to hear,” Adora turned her back to her, facing the wall. She felt a hand pull her back around so she came face to face with a now fully awake Catra.

“Listen to me, dummy. My point is, we’ve gotten out of worse situations with worse odds.” The familiar touch of her lover’s tail as it coiled itself around her thigh soothed Adora some.

“Don’t lose faith, my love. We will do this. Together.” To seal the deal, the magicat planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

At least, it began that way. It quickly escalated as Adora gasped for air, only to feel a rough tongue begin tease the inside of her mouth.

“Catra,” she groaned, starting to feel the familiar heat spread across her body whenever they were even the slightest bit intimate.

“Yes, princess?” Blue and yellow eyes bore into hers as she stopped to hover over her now, waiting.

Adora blushed at the intensity of her gaze, somehow feeling more exposed than normal, even if they were still fully clothed.

A sharp nail trailed up her arm, raising good bumps in its wake, sending a shiver down her spine.

“I’m waiting.” To anyone else, it would have sounded like Catra was bored, but Adora knew her better than anyone in the whole world, and she knew what she wanted her to say before they continued. No matter how many times they had sex, her lover always insisted on teasing her before they carried on.

“Please,” she wrapped her arms around Catra’s neck, pulling her body closer to hers, arching her back to finish closing the gap for good. “I need you.”

The magicat smirked, satisfied she’d won this time around.

“Only because you seem so eager tonight.” A hand had begun to wander south, further igniting Adora’s throbbing clit. It was pulsating, ready and eager in a way that would have been embarrassing if she cared in the moment.

“Wait,” she grasped Catra’s wrist before she could reach her destination. She felt her freeze up instantly, always careful to not push her in any way.

Adora smiled gently, reassuring her that she had done nothing wrong. But when she didn’t continue, Catra began to worry.

“What’s wrong?” In response, Adora flipped them around swiftly, with her ending on top of Catra, kneeling over her as she glanced down with fiery blue eyes.

“Let’s do it like this instead,” she said, leaning in close. Catra closed her eyes, waiting for gentle lips to land on hers but they never came. Instead, she jumped a little when she felt a tongue on the side of her neck.

“Adora,” she murmured.

“Shhh,” the blonde shushed her gently, “I need this right now. Let me do this for you.” She felt no resistance as she continued her lip’s assault on Catra’s skin, sucking and licking every inch she could get her mouth on.

“Definitely…” Catra gasped as she nibbled a tender piece of skin on her collarbone, “don’t mind at all.”

“Good.” Adora snickered up at her from her position at eye level with Catra’s sleeping shorts. “Because I don’t plan on stopping for a while.”

“Do your worst, Princess,” Catra grinned back, arching her hips upwards to allow Adora to strip off the last piece of fabric standing in her way.

“With pleasure.”

Chapter Text

Catra

The ex-force captain watched as everyone began to gather the rest of their materials. Other Adora and Catra had gone off somewhere, under the pretense that they had to grab something from their room. It only made her roll eyes at their obvious excuse, if not a little jealous. But she was stuck coordinating everything as usual, leaving almost no time for any fun. Adora was just as busy, talking to Entrapta and Bow till the last second.

They’d landed on Terra almost a half hour ago, surprisingly without any hiccups as opposed to their previous attempt. Leaving everyone to prepare to depart and explore. Entrapta had assured them that the air was safe to breathe in, leaving a nostalgic taste in Catra’s mouth of the first time they’d explored another planet.

She was currently making sure they had enough food and water if they ever found themselves stranded. When she was finished with that, she moved on to pack whistles, a rope, a small knife, and bandages in each pack. It wasn’t much, not when they’d all known real danger in the past, but those experiences also taught her to expect anything. Especially since her shortcomings had led to them being in this very situation. She had grown too careless, too comfortable. If she had only done more, expected the unexpected, they wouldn’t be scouring the universe in search of answers they may or may not find.

She sighed, trying not to let her frustration get the best of her. But what she had told everyone before was true. She could feel something in her shift, ever so slowly. It was a dark feeling that she was all too familiar with from her previous years in the war. A dark cloud that followed her everywhere, that made her taint everything she touched and everyone she held dear.

She heard the familiar sound of Adora’s steps before she heard her speak. “You ready, Catra?” Adora held out a hand for her to take.

“As ready as any of us will be,” Catra took it, loving how it felt as natural as breathing. She could never grow tired of the way her touch calmed her even without her trying.

“You sure you’re okay?” Adora pulled her close to rest her lips on her neck, tilting her head back for easier access.

“You weren’t in bed when I woke up.” Her lover murmured into her skin, her lips tickling the skin there. A glimpse of what they’d been up to the night before flashed in Catra’s mind, tempting her to forget why they were there in the first place.

“I needed some space to think.” Clearly that was the wrong answer as Adora pulled back, searching her face.

“I wasn’t too harsh on you, was I?” Adora inspected her wrists, looking for any evidence of their vigorous love making. “I was sure I held back this time. I’m sorry,” and, much to Catra’s embarrassment, she lowered her head and left tender kisses on the unmarked skin there.

“You idiot,” Catra cupped the side of her face gently, careful to not nick her with her nails. “I’m fine. You worry too much. Besides,” she gave her her signature smirk, “If I didn’t like it, I would have told you.”

“True,” Adora matched her teasing tone, “I heard something from you but it definitely wasn’t complaining.”

“You’re one to talk,” Catra noticed Sparkles out of her peripheral vision, “I had to cover your mouth or you’d wake everyone up. Especially,” she spoke louder as their friend approached them, “when I use my tongue to lick your—”

Glimmer stopped a few steps away from them, having clearly heard the last part of their conversation.

“Guys,” she said, rubbing her temple, “I beg of you. There’s just so much I can take, please, stop flirting so loudly. I do not need those images in my head.”

Catra mock gasped. “You imagine us? You perv.” That comment earned her a shimmery magic bomb on her face.

“Adora!” Catra hid behind her lover’s taller frame. “She’s being mean.”

“You are such a child,” Glimmer started chasing her, circling her around Adora who was just laughing at their playful banter.

“Come on, guys,” Bow joined them, sporting a fresh set of arrows, his earring from a matching set glistening in the light. Ah, yes. At least Terra had that going for them. No more frigid icy storms or clouds, the sun was something they all welcomed. 

“Entrapta just finished securing the ship so the little ones are safe while we’re gone.” He paused, “But wait a second,” he grinned, “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing,” all three of them said in unison.

“Hmmm,” Bow inspected them before sighing, “I hate when you guys leave me out. I get it, I’m a guy but we’re still friends!”

“Awww,” Glimmer went to his side, giving him a comforting hug, “We don’t mean to leave you out.”

“Yeah,” Catra interjected, smirk back on, “It’s already been established that Sparkles is a perv.”

“What?” Bow looked down at his lover.

“Shut it, Horde scum,” Glimmer glared at her, making the magicat’s smile grow bigger, “You know these two, always getting on my last nerve with their shameless flirting.”

“You can’t really blame them,” Bow said, proving for the millionth time to being the voice of reason in the group. “A lot of stuff has happened in such a short time. They deserve to be happy after everything they’ve been through.”

Sparkles simply pouted. “I hate it when you’re right.”

Laughter filled the air as Melog emerged from the hallway, both toddlers riding on his back. Catra couldn’t help smile softly at the sight. Even if they were going to eventually return to their own reality, she was glad that she could introduce a small amount of joy into their lives, more so since they were so young. So young it made her heart squeeze whenever she remembered all the manipulation and harm the Horde had done to them both.

“Guys!” She called out to them, waving them over. Melog, sensing the seriousness through their bond, quickly went to her side.

“Thanks, Melog,” Catra scratched just behind his ear, earning her some soft purring.

“We know,” Toddler Adora had the cutest fierce look on her face. “We’ll stay here.”

“To ensure their safety,” Entrapta popped into the main room, “I made these necklaces to be able to track them.” She held up two black pieces of jewelry, one with a pendant of a sword resembling She-ra’s sword, the other with a cat-like figure that resembled Melog. At seeing more merch of himself, Melog was besides himself with joy, jumping up to lick Entrapta on her face.

“Is that really necessary?” Other Adora and Other Catra finally joined them (smirk). “It seems very…”

“Like they’re prisoners,” Other Catra spat out, clearly still being adverse when it came to things to do with tracking having had experienced it first hand.

“It’s just a safety measure,” Bow reassured. “We’d be leaving them defenseless, so if anyone or anything were to come for them, we’d just—”

“Snap back in here in a jiffy,” Glimmer snapped her fingers, conjuring a fleck of magic.

Catra turned to tiny Catra, kneeling so they were eye to eye. “Is that alright with you?” She asked.

Toddler Catra just looked at tiny Adora, who only looked at her with that look Catra has grown to recognize as her supportive and affectionate look.

“Yes,” she nodded her head, tilting her head down. Catra took the necklace from Entrapta and put it over her head, laughing under her breathe as her hair went poof as it fell back into place.

“Stay safe, kiddo,” Bow ruffled her hair, making everyone follow suit.

“Stop it,” Toddler Catra bared her fangs but it held no real bite as she began to laugh as Toddler Adora tickled her sides, her very own new necklace glistening.

Good luck on your mission. She pet Melog one last time before he set off deeper into the spaceship, both toddlers following him, no doubt about to ransack the kitchen while they could.

“Welp,” Glimmer clapped her hands together, turning to Catra, “Did you at least finish doing our packs? Or were you too busy flirting?”

Catra glared at her, “I always finish my work. I made one for each of us.” She handed them out, throwing Sparkle’s at her harder than intended.

“Hey!”

“Okay, guys,” Bow interjected before there was an all out fight between the two most hotheaded individuals in their group. “Entrapta was able to get some information. Entrapta?”

“There seems to be no life just like in Krytis, with low levels of magic energy from what I could gather. It’d be best if we stayed as close to Darla as much as possible.”

“You sure there was nothing the First Ones left behind?” Adora asked, sounding a little panic-y. Catra knew that even though she herself was struggling with wrapping her mind around the whole ordeal, of the possibility of more clones roaming around, she knew Adora felt its impact more than anyone. After all, she had been the one to promise everyone on Etheria, but more specifically Catra, that there was nothing else to worry about. After two years of frantically searching for any remaining signs of Prime, even Adora had been able to settle down and look towards a brighter future. Last night was evidence of her growing uneasiness as Catra had let her get some much needed relief. Clearly though, it had not been enough.

“Don’t worry, Adora,” the magicat wrapped her tail around her thigh, knowing that as much as she enjoyed Adora’s touch to calm her down, it went both ways. The last thing this mission needed was for her to have a panic attack in the middle of it. That and she hated feeling helpless so she soothed her whenever she could. “Even if she couldn’t find anything, we’ll figure it out.” She grinned. “Wasn’t it us that saved the universe once? What’s a small mission like this compared to that?”

Just as she anticipated, Adora’s expression brightened, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. “Only ‘cause you said you loved me,” She embraced her from behind, puckering her lips at her, reminding her for the millionth time that it was Catra’s confession and kiss that helped them in their time of need.

“Stop it, silly,” Catra half heartedly shoved her away but her eyes let her lover know that she was enjoying her teasing.

“As much as we all enjoy watching you guys suck face,” Other Catra rolled her eyes, “If we plan on getting anything done we should head out soon.”

“Says you,” Catra shot back, giving her a knowing look as her eyes darted from Other Catra to Other Adora.

“Catra!” Glimmer shouted.

“Yes?” Both Catra’s responded making everyone laugh out loud, the sound resonating in the space ship before they set off into Terra.

Other Catra

They decided to stick together instead of dividing into groups. With her Adora not being able to transform and Sparkles not being able to use most of her magic (surprise, surprise), they had to rely on each other so no one got separated. Everyone really seemed to be taking it hard with what Entrapta said about them getting hurt and how it would affect their own dimensions if they never returned.

Terra was much more “normal” than they had anticipated. No frigid ice cold storms or clouds. It would have almost been perfect, if only they would see any signs of water or actual civilization anywhere in the horizon.

Oh, and did she forget to mention that it was a desert? All of it, as Entrapta reassured them after setting foot outside. How she knew that was beyond Young Catra’s comprehension. Just in case, though, she kept double checking her water bottles were in her pack, not trying to die of heat and exhaustion. Though it seemed she wasn’t the only one.

After walking for what felt like hours in the blazing heat, everyone was trudging their feet. Other Catra frowned at that.

“I knew you guys were weak,” she said, though she herself was fanning herself, her fur not helping with the humidity and the feverish weather, “but if you keep dragging your feet, and there is someone here, you’re leaving a nice trail for them to follow.”

“If there are,” Entrapta, the only one who seemed not as bothered by the intense heat, said joyfully, “They would have noticed the second we came through the atmosphere.”

“Since we haven’t crossed paths with anyone, it could mean there’s no one.” Bow said, groaning. “I wish Mermista were here to bring us some more water.”

“Don’t tell me you already finished yours?” Older Catra narrowed her eyes at him, making him shrink under her intense gaze.

“Well, it’s hot!” Sparkles was the one who came to his defense, wincing when another wave of heat hit them. “Ugh! Let’s just hurry it up so we can go back!”

“Well, according to the Star Siblings,” Older Adora interjected, then paused to take a swig of her drink. She exhaled loudly, using the sleeve of her white long sleeve to wipe her mouth. For once, she had ditched her red jacket, leaving her in her undershirt, not that there was much to complain about.

“They didn’t say much,” Older Catra continued, who clearly got tired of waiting for her to continue, “Just that after they had cleared this area, they hadn’t really gotten any reports back about it.”

“Then,” her Adora, also down to her undershirt, chimed in, “There has to be something here.”

With that, they all shut up (finally) and continued their way. The environment was starting to get to everyone, even Other Catra, she had to admit. The ground wasn’t solid, the air was bone-dry making it difficult to breathe, with sand whirling around them whenever a strong wind picked up. The hills all resembled the last hundred they’d seen already, which was why they’d attached the rope Older Catra had packed and used it to attach themselves to it, creating a line. They’d rather not tempt the desert to swallow them whole, or have them roaming around in circles, feigning relief in the form of a mirage, only to have them succumb to the extreme heat. Catra wasn’t sure if she preferred the Whispering Woods to this. 

They continued their way uphill. It would have gone smoothly, in Other Catra’s opinion, if some of them weren’t putting their whole weight into it, making it feel like she was carrying a ton of bricks tugging at her waist.

“Pick it up,” she hissed at those behind her. “Can’t you guys at least not drag the rest of us down.”

“Geez, sorry!” Sparkles called out from behind Bow, “Some of us aren’t used to walking in a desert!”

“Seems to me like you rely too much on your powers,” Catra scoffed, “typical Princesses.”

“Catra!” Her Adora tugged at the rope, she was in the spot right behind Catra. Her voice did that high-pitched thing whenever she did something wrong, which, though she knew she intended it to be a scolding one, Catra couldn’t help enjoying it, it reminded her too much of the noises she made when she raked her sharp nails against the side of her neck.

“You’re one to complain,” Older Adora yelled back, she had taken the front position in their formation, as her being able to become She-ra and all (barf).

“Just,” Older Catra was right behind Older Adora, sounding just as irritated as Catra felt. “everyone be quiet. I can’t hear myself think.”

“Why?” Other Catra’s Adora called out, “Did you think of something?”

“It’s just strange,” came her response. “I can feel something coming.”

“And it’s not me,” Older Adora said. That earned her a smack on the ass from her lover.

“No wait, guys,” Bow stood moving all together. “Listen.” And then it hit Catra as well. How hadn’t she picked up on it? The ground was rubbling, growling like a beast that had been awakened.

“Oh no no no,” Entrapta ran up ahead, pulling everyone with her with surprising strength. They made it over the eternal hill they’d been trying to get over. Ahead was more deserted land, but then they saw the first sign of civilization. Or what used to be. There was a fallen temple of some kind, more sand than bricks. And the ones that were still stuck together, were lopsided from what could have only been due to years of being pushed around by sandy storms.

And that’s when everyone saw it. A dust cloud approaching them from a distance. Rapidly gaining ground, swallowing everything in its path.

“Okay, screw the rope,” Older Catra slashed it so everyone was set free. But in doing so everyone stumbled forward.

“Ahhh!” They fell down the sandy hill, rolling and rolling. Glimmer and Bow clung to each other as they fell, the archer keeping a protective arm around her, while the Adora’s fell in the most ungraceful way possible, rolling with their limbs extended, doing unintentional cartwheel in the sand. Unlike them, Entrapta had converted her hair into a circle, laughing gleefully as she spun around and around, her cartwheels where on her purpose.

Other Catra felt sand go up in unnamable places before she had had enough. She adjusted her body so the momentum of her fall helped her turn her body in order to leap mid-air and land on all fours. Older Catra landing gracefully beside her. Leaving both of them to dramatically stand up and extend their arms in the air as they landed perfectly.

They turned around in unison at the sound of several bodies colliding at the bottom of the hill.

“A little warning would be nice!” Glimmer spat out sand from her mouth.

“Not my fault you guys are too slow,” Older Catra said, smirking as she helped Older Adora up.

“Um, guys,” Bow said, standing up straighter than normal. “That thing is coming straight for us!” They all realized it at the same time as everyone stopped dusting themselves and began to run towards the fallen structure nearest to them.

“Everyone!” Older Adora yelled, “Hurry! Take cover!” Without uttering the famous words, she transformed into She-ra, willing her sword into existence just for her to transform it into a golden shield.

Catra heard the whooshing sound that Sparkle’s magic did whenever she teleported. She was gone from behind her and made it a few feet in front of everyone. Before blinking back to where she previously was.

“Hold on!” Without warning, she grabbed the first people she could reach, Bow, who grabbed Entrapta, and her Adora, who in turn tried to reach for Other Catra but she snatched her arm away before she could.

“No way in hell I’m teleporting!” She yelled at them as much as she could without getting sand and dust in her mouth.

“Don’t be stubborn!” Adora yelled back, reaching for her again but just as she was about to reach her shoulder, she was gone. All three of them ending up at their intended hideout just as the the storm cloud began to approach them rapidly.

“Catra!” She-ra grabbed her hand and jerked her towards her, “You two are making this very difficult!” She let out a battle cry as she mustered up as much magic as she could in the few seconds before they were hit. Her shield tripled in size, essentially making a protective dome over the three remaining people.

“Hold on,” She-ra pulled both Catra’s close to her. They braced themselves for the impact of the storm to hit them, but where surprised when it never came.

“What’s going on?” She-ra asked, beginning to pull back on her shield.

“Stop,” Older Catra grabbed her wrist and pressed her ear to her shield, “I can hear something outside.”

“It’s that sound again,” Catra agreed. It was that deep rumbling that echoed in her ears. They didn’t dare peek as they were suddenly surrounded by the loud noise. It was then that it clicked in her mind.

“Fuck,” Older Catra cursed under her breath, coming to the same conclusion. “It’s not a sand storm, those are machines. We were right. There’s others in this planet.” She could feel her pulse quicken as they seemed to circle around them over and over again. So close to them that if they looked under what appeared to be a big boulder in their way, they’d be spotted. There was no telling if they were friends or foes. If it was the latter, they were outnumbered and with the toddlers alone in the spaceship, it wouldn’t take long for them to be targeted.

They all held their breathe, until, finally, the loud motor sounds got smaller and smaller. But even then, they waited for what felt like an eternity, until, a knocking sound against their protective barrier almost made them jump out of their skin.

“They’re gone,” at hearing the familiar sound of Sparkle’s voice, She-ra retracted her shield, shifting it to its original sword form.

“Did you guys see who they were?” Older Adora was all business now, her previous joking tone gone as the seriousness of the mission began to escalate.

Bow shook his head, “It was a bunch of tanks.”

“They appeared to be made of familiar technology,” Entrapta raised herself up with her hair, trying to peek at them in the distance. “Hard to say what without opening one of those babies up. But from what I could see, each one is big enough to fit two people. They didn’t seem to be fueled by magic.”

“Then that means that they could be Prime’s clones,” Older Catra began shaking her head so hard that her growing ponytail began to swish back and forth. At seeing her begin to dissolve, She-ra reverted back to Adora, and held her hand in such a tender way, Other Catra couldn’t help stare with longing.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Older Adora said, “There are plenty of planets out there that don’t use magic to fuel their machines. It’d actually be surprising if they did!” Her reassuring words seemed to do the trick as Older Catra’s breathe began to even itself, and Catra could hear her heartbeat begin to calm down as well.

“Why don’t we just find out then?” Entrapta dropped herself from her look out position, plopping in the middle of them all. “They left perfectly good tracks. Besides,” she rubbed the two ends of her hair together. “I can test the soil they left behind for traces of magic. Oh oh! Maybe they left behind some scrap parts!”

“Yes, and while we’re at it, let's hold hands and sing a song.”

“I’m not much of a singer,” Entrapta said, inspecting a handful of sand she’d already collected, “But I’m willing to try if you are.”

Other Catra sighed. “Let’s just follow them.”

Catra

It was taking all she had to not let herself freak out the further they went into the vast dry land that was Terra. She hated it. Hated feeling like she was waiting for something to just burst from one of the many hills they passed and attack them. Even though the air was perfectly breathable, she was still finding it hard to breathe normally. With every step, she felt her getting suffocated by the dry air, but mostly, it was by the crushing pressure of her shortcomings two years ago. If only she had been smarter, faster, thought longer about everything…but she was so taken by the promise of a new life, and with Prime gone she let her guard down, allowing herself to finally enjoy being among friends.

And Adora. She was the one thing she wanted the most in the world and finally she could have her. She wanted to live in that dream forever. Of their morning routine, of helping rebuild Etheria, of sneaking of to make out every chance they got, of chasing each other through the Whisper Woods, of waking the other up in the middle of the night to make love. Her new life was everything she had ever wanted.

At that, her fear turned to anger. How dare he still ruin their perfect future together? And not just hers, now it impacted the lives of all the other Catra’s and Adora’s in the universe. Even if she was able to give some relief to her other selves, it was messing with forces beyond their comprehension. No one knew what the impact of their presence here, and how they change, could affect them in their realities.

“Maybe we should have brought Melog along,” Adora’s words made everyone stop in their tracks. She had insisted on leading everyone, saying that if they had to hide she’d use her shield ones again, though Catra knew that it must be painful to make swift transformations like that.

In front of them was a metal spire, it's familiar silhouette in the distance made a shock go through everyone. It was identical to all the other Prime ships they’d seen with its pikes and geometric shape. The ship was tilted, as if it had crash-landed, appearing to be half swallowed by the desert. It would have appeared vacant, evidence of Prime’s reign ending Terra, if it weren’t for the drones circling the tower, and the tracks that they had been following leading right to the base of it.

Catra bumped into Adora as she began to walk forward, as if her body was attracted to the spire. She wrapped her arms around herself, memories flooding her mind of the war two years prior. Adora stepped up to stand beside her, not saying anything, or touching her, just being close enough to her that Catra could feel her arm lightly graze her shoulder. 

“There’s no way,” Glimmer said, horrified at seeing concrete evidence that all of their fears had not been unfounded. “This can’t be happening. Not again.”

“We know nothing yet,” Bow said, placing a comforting arm around her. “For all we know it could be people who got stranded here and are just living there.”

“Looks like that’s highly unlikely,” Entrapta said loudly, “They wouldn’t need to have the drones working for that. If all they wanted was simple security, then they could just have installed cameras. Though it does beg the question of who or what they need protection from.”

“So that is the ship of big bad Prime?” Other Catra placed her hands on her hips, unfazed.

“Catra!” Other Adora scolded her, but the younger magicat just tsked at her.

“What?” She asked, “If you want to find out what’s going on, standing around isn’t going to help. Let’s figure it out. I’m happy to do it on my own if that’s what it comes down to.” She dropped her pack onto the floor, making a show of stretching her limbs as if getting ready for a routine workout.

“That’s crazy,” Adora had a serious look on her face. “You don’t know what we had to go through. It’s not something any one of us can do alone. If you’re going in then I’m going too.” She turned to face everyone, standing tall. “Other Catra, Entrapta, Glimmer and I will go scope it out. We’re less likely to be seen if we go in a smaller group and can escape quickly if we have to.”

“I’ll go too,” Catra spoke up, trying to hide her shaking hands. Adora looked at her sternly.

“No.”

“What?” Catra raised her voice, “What do you mean ‘no’?” Everyone averted their eyes, suddenly finding the landscape very interesting.

“I mean, no,” She stepped close to her, blue eyes that normally held so much warmth it made Catra feel all fuzzy on the inside were now foggy with seriousness but she didn’t back down.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” She spat out, taking a step forward so her and Adora were chest to chest. “I’m the one who should be going along. Not her.” She pointed a finger at her younger self. “She’s too reckless and I’ve been in one of their ships before.”

“So has Glimmer,” Adora shot back. “And it’s because Other Catra hasn’t been there that she should go.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Catra asked, taking a step back.

Adora mirrored her, taking a step forward so they were the same distance apart again. The next time she spoke her voice was gentler, it caressed Catra’s skin but she tried to not let it get to her.

“It means that I hate seeing you suffer. Don’t you get it?” Adora pressed their foreheads together in a manner that was all too familiar to Catra. The magicat let herself be embraced, feeling her lover’s rough hands on her cheek, stroking it softly.

“I promised I’d never let anything happen to you again. And this,” Adora tightened her grip on her. “This is too close to home for you. Please. Let me protect you.”

The gravity of her words hit Catra like a ton of bricks. That’s what this was about. Adora’s need to do everything in her power to protect those dearest to her. Because she was, is one of those people now. And just how Adora had sworn to protect her, Catra had made a similar promise: to lessen her burden as much as she could. She’d stepped up every chance she got in the Post War years to make sure of it.

This was just another one of those times. It dawned on Catra what she had to do. She clenched her jaw, speaking through gritted teeth to let her lover know her discontent.

“I’ll stay.” Adora broke out into a radiant smile, brighter than the sun shining on them. “But,” Catra smirked now, cutting through the tense air. “If you get yourself hurt, I’ll kill you.”

Adora laughed. Catra took the opportunity to pull her by the front of her shirt and kiss her hard, pouring everything into that one kiss. All her anger towards herself, her sorrow, and her love towards Adora, infinitely burning within her till the day she took her last breath.

“Get out of here before I do something that’ll make Sparkles over there blush,” Catra pushed her in the direction of the metal spire.

“Oh goody,” Glimmer said sarcastically. “Thanks for sparing me.”

“Whatever, Sparkles,” Catra stuck her tongue out at her.

“Horde scum,” the Queen shot back, but embraced her tightly before joining Other Catra and Adora.

“I’ll took after her,” Catra heard Other Adora whisper to her Older self. Adora responded with a thank you, sharing a quick hug with her younger self. 

“Here,” Entrapta threw everyone a small earpiece.

“I’ll be on the lookout from here while you guys are inside,” Bow took out his trackpad, making sure that all of their locations appeared on his screen.

“Good, we’ll let you know if we need backup.” Adora paused before continuing. “And the kids?”

“Still in the ship. Safe and sound,” Bow flipped his device around so she could see for herself. “They haven’t moved and no alarms have gone off.”

“Good.” Adora dropped her pack, the others doing the same to lighten their load. Their silhouettes getting smaller and smaller as they made their way silent into the gaze of a blazing sun.

Other Catra

“Wait for my signal,” Older Adora’s voice quiet in Catra’s ear. They were currently crouched down, hiding behind a giant rock just outside of the entrance to the spaceship. They had yet to see anyone enter and exit the place, the only evidence of there being anyone to hide from were the tanks in front of the entrance way.

Tiny drones circled around the base of the spire.

“There aren’t a lot of them this time around,” Entrapta peeked around the corner. “I’ve only been able to account for seven in total. At least in this area.”

“On my count.” Adora whispered. “One…two…”

“Three!” Other Catra said, pouncing forward swiftly, taking extra care to not make a sound. She landed a few feet away from the door, which opened automatically. Huh, she thought, so much for security. Before she could take a step into the very cryptic corridor, she felt a hand grab her wrist hard.

“Catra!” Adora hissed in her ear as she caught up to her. “I said on my count.”

“You’re the one who brought me on board so are you going to let me do my thing or hand-hold me like everyone else?” She knew her words were harsh, but for some reason, after seeing her interaction with Older Catra, she felt anger boil in her veins.

“At least let us know before you do anything,” Adora sighed. Was that disappointment in her voice? Ah, thing never really change do they?

“If it’s anything like Prime’s ship,” Sparkles blinked into the spot next to them, “There should be guards coming from—“ She didn’t get to finish as the air vent lid opened suddenly, sending a loud clanking noise through the hallway.

“Good news and bad news!” Entrapta emerged from inside of it, “Bad news is, I was able to see ahead and there are at least a dozen clones gathered in commanding room of some kind.”

“Well? What’s the good news?” Catra asked when the tech princess began to update her notes instead of finishing her report. And Adora was annoyed at Catra when Entrapta was even quicker to disappear.

“The good news is there are vents here to help us hide while we venture on. At least these new clones had a better sense of architecture and added vents!” Entrapta cackled as she dove back into them, motioning with her hair to follow her.

Other Catra motioned to Adora. “After you, Princess.” She rolled her eyes at her, but she took her outstretched hand and on all fours, went into the dark tunnel in front of them.

“Ugh, I hate tiny, dark, confined spaces,” Glimmer shuddered as she followed Adora’s lead, leaving Catra to be the last one, closing the vent door behind her.

“Entrapta slow down! Ow!” Adora inspected her knee, “I don’t know how you’re always using the vents as a travel system.”

“I can’t believe you don’t,” Entrapta took a right turn, changing trajectory at the last minute, making everyone behind her fumble as they tried to keep up. They continued in this manner, Other Catra making mental notes of which way they came through for future reference. After the initial right turn, it was another right, then left, left, right, left. Until, finally, without warning, they stopped in front of another vent door, but they didn’t go through it.

After peeking around everyone, Catra understood why. There were these white robots, green eyes glowing. If Catra thought that some of the cadets back in the Horde walked with a stick up their ass, they didn’t hold a candle against these clones. Some were walking about, in groups of two while others were busy working in front of a big screen, typing deadly commands without a second thought.

“Whoa,” she whispered at seeing as a big projection manifest in front of said big screen. It was words in a code she couldn’t decipher, but from the looks of everyone else, they had no idea what it meant either.

“That’s different,” Entrapta put her goggles on, peering at their work. “They seem to be based on a different language than Prime. That means when their connection was broken, they continued his work, building on it to develop a new plan.”

“So they aren’t connected to him at all?” Glimmer asked, sounding hopeful, but then her face fell. “Even if they aren’t, it looks like they’re still plotting something.”

“Then let’s get out of this super tight spot and investigate!” Other Catra squeezed her way through everyone so she was at the front. With a flick of her wrist, she slashed the vent door open.

“Wait,” Adora stopped her as a new clone walked into the room. But he couldn’t be a clone as his appearance was slightly different. While the others had white silver hair, this one had a green streak running through it. That, and judging by the way everyone stopped working to greet him with a two step salute, gave them enough information to gather that he was their leader.

Everyone froze, waiting for him to speak, but he simply seemed to inspect whatever was on the big screen, and nodded his satisfaction.

“Everything is moving along smoothly,” one of the clones said in a monotone voice. “We’re waiting for a response from them to move forward with the next phase of the plan.”

There was a response but even with Catra’s super hearing, it was hard to make out what they were saying. She leaned forward, closing her eyes to concentrate, grabbing onto the edge of the metal entrance to the vent. She wrapped her tail to grab onto Adora for more leverage.

“…two more…yeah…the one…child…” At the last bit, her grip slipped, pulling everyone down with her. She yelped, waiting for the impact of falling on the solid metal floor. But it never came. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in front of the other half of their group outside, heat rushing back to her after exiting the temperature controlled spaceship.

“Whoa,” Bow was the first to approach them, “Did something happen? You guys were in there for a short while.”

“Yes,” Older Adora said, throwing a glare at Other Catra “Thanks to Other Catra we were almost spotted. We could only see enough to know it is run by clones and some new leader. We couldn’t really hear what they were planning. This mission was a failure.”

Older Catra was the first to reject that idiotic notion. “Are you kidding? At least with this much we know that we have to do something about it.”

“I was able to hear bits and pieces of their conversation,” Other Catra’s ears flickered. She repeated the broken sentences she was able to identify then waited for something to ring a bell.

“I don’t understand. Child? What child? And more? More what?” Older Adora began to pace back and forth, a pensive hand under her chin. “Tanks? Weapons? More spaceships?!”

“Children?” Panic shot through Older Catra’s eyes. At realizing where her mind had gone, Bow was quick to check up on the young one’s location. The two red dots in a big blob was enough to calm her down.

But it just meant that what Other Catra had overheard made no sense. At least not for now.

An alarm blared behind them, echoing in the empty desert, making everyone flinch and drop to the ground. There, they saw as clones began to run outside, grouping themselves again in order to take a few of the tanks that were in the front away from their location. They went the opposite way they’d followed them in, leaving brand new tracks in the sand.

“Well, lets go see what it is then.” Other Catra was stopped by her Adora.

“We have to regroup first,” she glanced around at the serious faces of her future selfs. “It’s a lot to take in but also we need to move Darla so the Toddlers, and us, are safe.”

“Fine,” Other Catra let her place a hand on her shoulder, effectively helping her come down from her high. It felt like forever since she’d been on a mission. Sure, normally it’d be in the name of Hordak but he wasn’t here and she was. If she could figure out a faster way to get back home, she would utilize everything she learned.

“Hang on!” Sparkles grabbed onto Bow, causing a chain reaction between their group and this time, Other Catra wasn’t quick enough to shake off Adora’s touch.

In a heartbeat, they found themselves in front of Darla, miles back to where they had started their mission.

“What the hell, Glitter?!” She shouted at her, falling to her knees as an unwelcome nauseous feeling churned her stomach.

“Sorry, I could feel my magic slipping so I needed to use it before I ran out.” Sparkles motioned towards the spaceship. “Besides, we had to beat them since they got a head start.”

Entrapta whistled, activating Darla’s functions making it open the door and extend the walkway up.

“Melog!” Older Catra called out as soon as she stepped foot inside. But was met with stark silence. She frowned.

“Maybe they’re having a nap,” Bow suggested, walking out of the main room to check for himself.

“The tracking devices say they’re here in the main room.” Entrapta circled the area, being carried by her hair. She stopped suddenly and picked up something from the ground.

It was the two necklaces she’d made for the toddlers.

“Tiny Catra! Tiny Adora!” Everyone scrambled to look in every room, wondering, hoping, that they would be in one of its many rooms. As Other Catra and everyone cleared the entire ship, the horrible realization sank in. The toddlers were gone.

Chapter Text

*Hours Before*

Toddler Adora

“Catra!” Toddler Adora giggled, chasing after Toddler Catra down the corridors of the spaceship. They’d been playing this new game they learned from Older Catra, called Tag. Even though it was a similar game they’d played all their lives, having a name to it made it ten times more fun.

“You’re so slow!” Catra laughed out loud as she climbed the walls, hanging onto the pipes running through the entire ship, reminding them of how they’d play back home.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Adora did her best to follow her, but when she tried to swing her body forward to reach for the next pipe, her grip slipped. She shut her eyes tight waiting for the impact. Instead, she felt a force shove her sideways, making them roll around before hitting the wall.

“Catra!” Adora, ignoring the sting on her palm, sat up quickly. Catra had her tiny arms wrapped around her tightly, and had turned mid-air so that she took the impact of their fall.

Catra whimpered. “Adora,” Her voice cracked a little before tears welled up in her eyes. “It hurts.”

“I’m sorry,” Adora held her tightly, rubbing her hair and ears in an attempt to distract her from the pain. “I should have held on tighter.” Then, she got an idea.

“I know what’ll make you feel better!”

“What are you doing?” Catra stopped crying at seeing her stand up and extending a random stick she’d found on the floor towards the ceiling.

“Look!” She waved it around, puffing her chest as much as she could. “I’m She-ra! And I have magic healing powers!” She placed the end of it on top of Catra’s head gently. “WooOOoo waaaaa.” Catra giggled at the silly noises she made.

“And you’re all healed!” Adora declared. “How do you feel now?” Catra looked at her palms, claws fully extended.

“I think I feel better,” she looked up at Adora hopefully. “You know what will make it ten times better though?”

“Oh! Right! I forgot!” Adora quickly went back to her side where she sat up straight. Once they were face to face, they held each other’s gaze. A pair of blue eyes peered into mismatched ones.

Then, they slow blinked, never breaking eye contact. They burst into giggles when they did shut their eyes, and began to rub against each other, Catra’s loud purring vibrating around them.

Melog emerged then from their room, awoken by the toddler’s playing.

“Melog!” Adora laughed out loud as he began to lick her face. His loud purring overpowered Catra’s, making their entire bodies shake.

But then, Catra hissed at him, pulling Adora away from him.

“Catra?” Adora asked, trying to get out of her grasp as her claws were beginning to dig into her arm. “What’s wrong?”

“You take that back!” Tiny Catra glared at Melog, who tilted his head.

“Can you hear them now too?” Adora’s eyes widened.

“He just said you smell just like that other Catra’s mate.” Catra’s grip on her tightened. “But you aren’t her. You’re mine.”

“Of course,” Adora peered at her with gentle eyes. “It’s just confusing because they are us. It just means that we’ll stay together no matter what. Just like we promised, remember?”

At that, tiny Catra loosened her grip, gasping when she noticed the tiny marks she’d left on her. Adora instantly went to play it off even if it did sting.

“I’m okay,” she insisted as she saw Catra begin to withdraw. “It doesn’t hurt.”

“You’re a liar!” Catra yelled at her, running down the hall, Melog following her. Tiny Adora chased after them, calling out to her to stop and listen to her. They ended up in the main room. It seemed more empty and quiet now that everyone was still away. It just meant that they could potentially be heard if they were too loud in the quiet of the desert outside.

Tiny Adora, at realizing this, sped up, grabbing Catra from behind, tackling her so they rolled around. They tossed and turned, each trying to push the other off.

“Let go of me!” Catra screeched, slashing at Adora, but her, knowing how she would react, evaded her deadly claws.

“No!” Adora got a hold of her wrists, “We have to be quiet. What if someone outside hears us?”

“I don’t care!” Catra only yelled louder, making her voice travel through the empty spaceship. “You lied. I know it hurts!”

“Okay, fine!” Tiny Adora was yelling now too. “It does hurt a little! You know how sharp your claws are!”

Catra looked at her shocked, dumbfounded that Adora had raised her voice at her. She stopped struggling, ears lowering.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered so low, Adora wasn’t sure if she had imagined it. Catra stood up and extended a hand at her. “Get off the floor, you look silly sitting there."

At seeing her usual demeanor coming back, Adora grinned. “You say that. But you’re the one who lost!” She grabbed onto Catra, playfully trying to pull her back down.

“No I didn’t!” Catra put her arms around Adora’s neck, grunting as she tried to stay on her feet. “You lost!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did—” The sound of tapping on glass stopped their playful banter. They froze in the position they were in, Catra on top, Adora on the bottom, hands in each other’s hair as they’d begun to pull on it. Their eyes darted across the room, searching for the source. But when it didn’t start up again, they stood up slowly, Melog running to their side protectively.

“I think it was nothing,” Adora said slowly. Catra held onto her shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

But before she could reassure her, the tapping sound started up again. Catra yelped, jumping back, tail frizzled up.

Adora searched for the sound again, but found nothing. Then, she looked up. There, outside the ship, was a bird. Black eyes stared back at her. Its feathers, ranging from red to yellow, fluttered as it began to fly staying in place as it tapped its beak against the spaceship again.

“Look!” Adora pointed at it, turning to Catra who had begun to use Melog as a shield against the noise. “It’s a bird!”

“A bird?” Catra’s ears perked, going to where she was quickly. Adora laughed at seeing her eyes widen, her sharp teeth flashing. As if sensing her intention, the bird squawked, flapping away over the spaceship.

“Aw! Where’d it go?” Catra ran to the other side, stopping short when she was stopped by the door that led to outside. She went to press random buttons, but Adora stopped her. 

“Stop,” she said, “If you enter the wrong code you’re going to set off the alarm.”

“Ugh, stupid door!” Catra kicked it. Adora looked at her as her ears began to lower again as they did whenever Catra was upset about something. She looked at her, then the closed door, then at the keypad.

“If I open the door,” she started, “Promise we’ll be right back? We can’t go too far.”

“How do you know the code?” Catra asked as she nodded eagerly for her to open it.

“I saw them put it when they left,” Adora pressed the five digit code in. There was a beep and then a whoosh as the door opened, the ramp extending to let them to the ground floor.

“I take it back,” Catra said, eyes sparkling with excitement. “You definitely won before. Come on,” she grabbed her hand. “Let’s go!”

But before they could take a step outside, Melog meowed loudly, blocking their path.

Catra hissed back at them. “Let us through!” Her ear twitched as she heard whatever Melog had said, “Well, we’re going whether you like it or not. Come on, Adora.” She tried to push through but Melog stood firmly.

“Please, Mee?” Adora pouted, “They said as long as you’re there, we’ll be safe. So come with us. We’ll be right back, promise.” At seeing both toddlers beg, Melog slowly stepped aside, and turned around, offering his back to them.

“You’re the best!” Adora and Catra climbed on, swinging their feet joyfully.

“Oh, Catra,” Toddler Adora said, reaching for the back of her neck where the clasp of her new necklace was. “Take it off.”

“But Auntie Entrapta made them for us.” Catra hesitated.

“I know, we’re leaving them behind so they don’t worry if they check up on us.” She helped Catra with hers before throwing them into the room as far as she could, satisfied with the clanking sound of it hitting the floor.

“We’ll be right back,” Adora said.

“We’ll be right back,” Catra echoed as Melog ran down the ramp. She squeaked when she instantly spotted the magical bird they had heard before. Now that they were outside, they could tell that the tips of its feather were covered in tiny flames, making a whirlwind of fire as it flapped its wings above them. It seemed to call to them as it chirped at them, before flying away.

“Follow it, Melog!” Catra pressed her heels against his sides making Melog lurch forward. Cloaked by Melog’s magic now, the toddlers rode into the horizon, laughing as they chased after the magical bird.

“Adora,” Tiny Catra whined, fanning herself. “It’s so hot!”

“I know,” Adora took her hair tie off, letting her hair fall down. “Here, use this for your hair. I know you get hotter than me.” She pulled back her thick mane, the poor hair tie struggling to contain all of it but it didn’t snap.

“I have this too,” Catra took out the hair clip Bow had given her.

“You kept it?” Adora asked as she pushed Catra’s bangs back with it so her face would be less sweaty.

“Well,” a blush decorated her cheeks. “He said it was for me, and no one had ever given me anything.” Adora smiled at her, hugging her from behind once she was all done rearranging her hair.

“Um, where did Chocolate go?” At hearing what name she’d given him, Adora raised a brow at Catra.

“‘Chocolate?’”

“Well, it had fire so it’s hot, and it reminded me of that hot chocolate we had the other day so its name is Chocolate now.” Catra explained. Just then, there was a cry from above them, as “Chocolate” dove back down making itself visible again against the glaring sunlight. It flew low enough for Adora to notice the collar around its neck. Her eyes widened at what that meant. It had an owner. And it was probably leading them to that person. Or persons.

“Catra,” she started, worry in her voice, “I think we should go back. We’ve gone far enough.”

“Good,” Catra replied, “I’m thirsty.”

“Let’s go back to the spaceship, Mee.” Adora stroked him. He stopped walking and turned around to head back. The bird they’d been following was suddenly in front of them, flapping its large wings hard enough to slap sand in their faces. Melog yowled as it got in his eye, and dashed forward in the opposite direction of the spaceship.

“Melog!” Adora called out to them as they bounced around before sprinting. “Hold on tight, Catra! I don’t think he can hear us.”

“Adora.” Catra whimpered as the magical bird began chasing them, making them venture deeper into the unknown.

“It’s alright,” Toddler Adora grabbed her hand tight even though her own were shaking. “As long as we stick together, we’ll be okay.”

For what felt like forever, they continued deeper into the desert, the further and further they went, the less Adora could tell where they had come from. All the sandy hills looked the same no matter what direction she turned to. And with the bird still trailing after them, it was hard for them to stop and attempt any new routes. After that last spook it’d given Melog, it had gone back to flying high, not too far though, as Melog tested how close it would get if he slowed down even a little. It would just swoop down swiftly and maneuver them in order to stay on course. And even when Melog cloaked them, those black eyes never left them, somehow being able to see exactly where they were.

So for now, they were stuck running towards who knows where. Eventually, the bird swooped down to try to nip at Adora, causing Melog to veer right, which, she suspected was on purpose. It led them straight for what appeared to be a large boulder sticking out of the sand.

The bird stood on top of it as Melog came to a halt.

“Why’d it stop?” Catra clung to Adora.

“I don’t know,” Adora’s eyes searched for something abnormal but no. It appeared to just be a rock. Melog’s body dipped, exhaustion from running at full speed taking its toll on his body. The toddlers instantly got off him, but stayed close, eyeing the bird suspiciously as it began ruffling its feathers and extending its wings to groom itself. At least one of them was content.

“Are you okay?” Catra asked, resting her tiny hand on Melog’s forehead.

“What’s he saying?” Adora asked when she appeared to be listening.

“Don’t blame yourself,” the pain in her voice stunned Adora. “It was my fault. Shadow Weaver is right. Everything is always my fault.” She cried out, sprinting away from them.

“Catra, wait!” Adora tried going after her, but saw her stumble back as she appeared to hit something. Or someone.

“Well, this is unexpected,” the newcomer said, peering down at the toddlers. Catra froze in place at seeing them.

“Stay away from her,” Adora was quick to push herself between her and the stranger. But froze when she had a closer look at them.

“So this is what you’ve been up to, Pheo,” the stranger whistled, the bird, Pheo, instantly flew towards them, landing perfectly on their shoulder.

“Now, what to do with you guys.” The toddlers gulped at that, as they realized they had no where to escape to.

*Present*

Other Adora POV

Other Adora’s eyes darted back and forth as several voices spoke up at once. There was a tension in the air that suffocated her as everyone began to argue.

“—should have stayed behind.” That was Older Catra, pointing a finger at Other Catra who scoffed at the suggestion.

“As if that would have been the best idea!” She smirked, “You weren’t of much help out there anyways.” Other Adora saw a blur as Older Catra tackled her swiftly.

“Guys!” Bow tried to calm them down, though he, along with everyone else was keeping a safe distance, knowing all too well what it meant to come between Catra’s claws. And now that there were two, they were twice as deadly.

“We don’t have time for this.” That was Older Adora, who was the only one brave enough to get close to the two Catra’s who were currently circling each other, their slashes meant for the other just damaging the floors and walls of Darla.

“Ooo,” Entrapta took out her recorder, “This is my first time witnessing two magicats fighting! Who will win? Our Catra who has more experience, but is retired, or Other Catra who is at her peak?”

“Just who are you calling retired?!” Older Catra sneered at her, causing her to shriek back.

“Guys,” Bow said.

“And is it even a question to who’s stronger?” Other Catra smirked.

“Okay, Entrapta, you are not helping!” Glimmer said, taking this opportunity to speak up. “Seriously, though, stop fighting, we need to find the toddlers as soon as possible! For all we know they could have been captured as soon as we left!”

“Exactly!” Other Adora chimed in, “We don’t know where they are."

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Bow shouted, his voice echoing in the spaceship as everyone looked at him, surprised by his outburst.

“What is it, Bow?” Older Adora turned to him.

“Wellllll,” he started, dragging out that one word. “I kind of have a confession to make.”

“Just spit it out already,” Her Catra said, ear twitching with annoyance.

“So, I kind of figured something like this would happen.” When everyone started to speak again, he raised a hand to quiet them down. “This is Catra and Adora we are talking about, and I’ve heard enough stories to know I did the right thing.” Adora saw as Older Catra glared at Older Adora who laughed nervously at being exposed.

“So,” Bow flipped his track pad around. “I put a tracker on the clip I gave toddler Catra. Figured, best case scenario, I wouldn’t have to activate it, but worse case, we could use it to find them if we ever got separated.”

“Bow, you are a genius!” Glimmer smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s follow it and find them before those clones get a hold of them.”

“Alright,” Older Adora stood proudly, manifesting the sword. “Entrapta, stay behind and make sure the ship is ready to go if we have to make a quick exit.” She eyed both Catra’s. “If you guys want to keep fighting, you’re more than welcome to stay.”

They both grumbled out a response to not try it again.

“Good girls,” Older Adora nodded before turning back to everyone. “We need to be ready for anything. Glimmer, think you can teleport us as close to their location as possible?”

“Hard to say. You know I have to know where I’m going, and either way, it’s all desert and it all looks the same. Even if we passed it on the way, we could still get lost.”

“Actually, that may not be a problem.” Bow displayed the half finished map he had constructed of Terra, basing it off the route they had taken already. It flashed into the main screen, a tiny red dot blinking in what appeared to be some kind of structure. Adora’s blood ran cold as she realized where that was. It was of the spire they had just been at. Somehow, they had made it that far in such a short amount of time.

“Everyone hang on!” Glimmer shouted, everyone scrambling to hold arms so as to not be left behind.

When they emerged again, they were back where they had been, hiding behind the hill just outside of eyesight from the drones circling the base. Except now, as Other Adora peeked over, she counted triple the amount as before. Shoot.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to separate again,” she said. Her older self nodded.

“Glimmer, Catra, come with me. Bow, go with Other Catra and Adora.” She instructed them, placing her ear piece in.

“If anything happens, evacuate immediately, yeah I’m talking to you, Catra,” Other Catra rolled her eyes.

“I’ll come get you guys if I have to.” Glimmer and Bow shared a quick hug before going with their respective group.

“Are you sure this is the way?” Bow’s voice sounded in Other Adora’s ear piece.

“Who’s the one who’s been in here before?” Catra gasped dramatically. “Oh, right, it’s me.”

“Catra,” Adora said, feeling a headache beginning to form. “Now is not the time.”

“It’s always a good time to get under your skin,” Catra purred from in front of her. Adora felt the urge to push her, but resisted.

“Right or left?” Bow asked when he came upon an intersection.

“Hmmm,” Catra pondered, “It was right, right, left left, right, then… a right? No! A left! No wait, definitely a right.”

“Which is it?” Bow sounded close to tears. Adora “accidentally” tugged at Catra’s tail, making her jump, hitting herself on the roof of the vent in the process.

“Ow, what the hell?” Adora just responded by glaring at her. “Geez, fine, it’s a left.”

“Next time we are so leaving you behind. You’re worse than the toddlers.” At her words, Catra stopped, Bow moving on ahead of them.

“Geez, since when have you become such a sensitive little princess?”

“Since we are on a mission to save our younger selves!” Adora said, taking the earpiece out so no one could hear their conversation. “If anything happens to them, it can mess with their reality, and ours.” Catra frowned.

“Yeah, no shit. I know that. It’s not a crime to want to lighten the mood. You guys are too tense. No wonder all your plans failed.”

“Our plans never failed.” Adora paused. “Well, maybe sometimes.”

“Exactly,” they continued on their way, catching up to Bow. “If you guys just had a more easy going way of doing things, maybe you’d be even better at expecting the unexpected.”

“What?” It was Adora’ turn to smirk. “Like you knew they were going to get kidnapped?”

“Duh.” Catra said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “What else would the outcome be? You left children by themselves.”

“They had Melog.”

“Right. As if they’d be able to stop them.” They stopped once they arrived at the all too familiar vent opening that Catra had gone through before. But this time, when they peered through it, there was nobody in sight. None of those weird robots looking things, and not the one with the green piece of hair.

“The coast is clear,” Bow pushed open the vent door, jumping down with a thud. Adora and Catra followed suit, being as quiet as they could. They walked towards the door opening, expecting it to automatically open. When it didn’t, Bow began to inspect it. It was made of some green force field, the keypad next to it indicating they needed a passcode.

“No worries, we saw these doors a bunch the last time we were in Prime’s ship. Wrong Hordak helped me develop this exact replica of his hand just in case we had to go into some of the remaining spaceships.” He pressed the screen of his device against the keypad. It beeped and the green force field dissolved, clearing the way for them to pass.

“Looks like there are several rooms that are more highly secured than other,” Bow spoke into the ear piece. “You guys take the ones on the west side, we’ll take the on the east.”
“Will do. Be careful.” Older Adora’s voice sounded a little different. No doubt having had transformed into She-ra in order to power through any clones they’d encounter.

“There’s two rooms on our side,” Bow explained as they followed Catra who was walking down the halls like she owned the place.

“You guys check that one out.” Catra pointed at the one further down the hall. “I'll take that.”

“We need to stick together,” Adora said, grabbing her wrist before she could disappear.

“I’ve defeated worse monsters—” But just as Catra had ended her sentence, the door they’d been in front of suddenly opened, a dozen clones emerging from behind, each carrying what appeared to be guns.

Catra pounced on them instantly, slashing at the back of their necks as Older Catra had instructed them earlier. At the time, she had been filing her nails, Adora was surprised she’d even heard any of it. Just as soon as she had taken one down, two were on her.

“Watch out!” Adora pulled out a small pole, and pressed a button to extend it, converting it into a spear-like weapon. She jumped up, pressing her thighs against the head of one of the clones to shove him down, then she twisted her lower half to send him flying, landing the final blow with her spear. She quickly turned to check on Catra, finding a handful of defeated clones at her feet.

Bow grunted as he shot an arrow at two clones coming at him, sparks consuming them, destroying their energy source on the back of their necks.

“We need to retreat!” Bow led them into the room as more clones emerged to fight them. He shot several arrows at them, that green sticky stuff flying in the air, holding them in place momentarily, allowing them to retreat further into the room. Catra smashed the keypad once they were all inside, closing them into the compact room.

Adora scanned the room quickly, trying to find an exit as Bow reequipped his arrows, and Catra stared at the clones who were hitting the green wall with their fists, trying to get in. There were boxes everywhere, indicating it was a mere storage room, but Adora froze when she looked at a strange rectangular looking box with legs.

“Bow, what’s that called?” Bow, used to her hundred questions a day about what was what after being exposed to so much now that she wasn’t in the Horde, turned to her quickly, getting ready to say what it was when he realized it himself.

“That’s a crib!” He all but shouted, quickly going to inspect it. Adora tilted her head, the word feeling weird in her mouth as she tried to say it.

“Here?” Catra seemed to know was it was as she recoiled. “Why would these things have a baby?”

“That’s what they must of been talking about.” Bow said, referring to the fragmented message Catra had been able to catch on their last mission. He gasped as he peered down at the inside of the crib, eyes filling with tears. “You guys might want to see this.”

Adora and Catra scrambled to look inside. There, Other Adora stared at wide blue eyes, exact replicas of her own. A single blonde bundle of hair peeking out from under the blanket covering her head.

“It’s me,” Adora whispered, going to stroke her cheek. It was so soft and delicate. Her heart melted when a tiny baby hand gripped her finger tightly, a smile brightening Baby Adora’s face.

“Great there’s more hair poofs.” Catra looked around the room. “But I don’t see a baby me, haven’t we been teleporting in pairs? Do you think she’s in the other room?” She turned to look at the door, only for them to see as one of the clones punched through the green wall, its arm instantly being cut off by the high energy plasma.

“Ew. Well we definitely aren’t getting out going that way,” Catra said, grimacing. Adora wanted to pick Baby Adora up but was afraid that she’d harm her.

“Don’t worry,” Bow said, noticing her hesitation. “I’m great with babies. We just need to let the others know we need to get out of here ASAP.”

“We haven’t found the toddler’s yet,” Catra said, reminding them of their initial mission.

“Well, they aren’t in this room. Hopefully the others have had better luck.” Bow pressed his inner ear. “Guys, we need to get out of here. We didn’t find the toddlers but—” The sound of metal clanking made him go silent. Adora looked up as tiny sparks started flying from above them.

“Brace yourselves.” Bow carried Baby Adora who began to play with rattle he manifested with one of his arrows. Other Adora and Catra braced themselves as a laser tool began to cut into the metal roof in a circular shape. The cut out piece clanked as it hit the floor near them. Adora raised her spear, Catra extending her nails, Bow placing a protective arm around Baby Adora.

They were ready to strike when they heard two familiar voices.

“We found you guys!” Toddler Adora jumped down through the opening, Toddler Catra following right behind her.

“What do you mean?” Adora couldn’t help the way her voice raised a little. “We were worried sick! We’re the ones that have been looking everywhere for you two!”

“Well, see,” Tiny Adora began, “First, we were playing Tag, then I fell, and Catra got mad because—“

“Okay, that sounds great,” Catra interrupted. “But we need to get out of here first.”

“Follow us!” Toddler Catra leaped into the hole, holding out a hand for Tiny Adora who jumped up and was pulled up.

“Here,” Bow motioned for Adora to take the baby, but she just looked down at her. “Just hold her for a sec and pass her to me when I get over there.”

“Hurry it up,” Catra urged as she saw the clones on the other side beginning to full on body tackle the green barrier between them, with every blow, weakening it.

At the urgency, Adora grabbed Baby Adora as gently as she could. Don’t drop her, don’t drop her. She repeated, extending her arms to hand her over to Bow’s awaiting arms.

She jumped up as soon as he moved aside, making Catra the last one. But just as she was about to follow the rest into the tunnel leading to outside the spaceship, the clones finally broke the barrier, rushing in to grab a hold of Catra’s ankle as she leaped to escape.

“Catra!” Adora yelled, going to reach for her.

“Adora!” Catra’s playfulness was gone, replaced by genuine fear as at least a dozen pair of arms attempted to pull her back. Adora, feeling desperation and terror invade her every fiber of her being, clung to Catra’s outstretched hand. A powerful sensation overwhelmed her as she felt strength course through her, using all her strength to pull up Catra, and away from the clutches of the clones.

As soon as they were all in the clear, Adora grabbed an arrow from Bow’s quiver, throwing it down the hole, an explosion setting off in the room below them, filling the air with smoke and flames.

“Go! Run!” Everyone moved as fast as they could as they were half crouched, the low ceiling stopping them from running at their full height, only the Toddlers being able to walk upright. They led them through a tunnel, the sound of an alarm blaring around them spooked Baby Adora as she began crying.

“Shhh,” Bow cooed. “Don’t cry, we’ll be out of here soon. Look! There’s the exit!” Adora could see there was a light at the end of the way. When they finally reached the outside, she embraced the suffocating heat and warmth of Terra, suddenly realizing how cold it had gotten in the spaceship. She rubbed her arms trying to make the goosebumps on her arms to go away.

“Hey, you okay?” Catra placed a hand on her shoulder, the gentleness of it making her breathe start to stabilize.

Nonetheless, she laughed softly, peering into her eyes. “I should be asking you that.”

“You know me, it takes more than a few robots to take me down.” Catra pointed at herself with her thumb, oozing confidence in the way that made Adora’s heart flutter in her chest.

There was a flash of pink sparkles as Glimmer appeared in front of them, along with the rest of the group.

“We came as soon as we could!” She ran to Bow, “Are you guys okay?”

“Well, we found the toddlers and made a new friend,” he uncovered Baby Adora’s face from the bundle of fabric he held in his arms.

There was a collective gasp at seeing her for the first time. But before they could revel in her cuteness, bots began to circle them.

“Think you have enough magic to take us back?” She-ra asked as she begun to conjure up magic at the tip of her sword just in case.

“I—,” Glimmer shook her head as her eyes began to give away how exhausted she was. “I have to.” At seeing her strong resolve, everyone grabbed onto each other, letting out a panicked yell as drones went at the full speed ahead, but just before they could be hit, they blinked out of the spire, and in front of Darla.

“Glimmer!” Bow cried out as the queen lost consciousness, finally fully drained of magic. Other Adora dove in to catch her before she could hit the floor.

The ramp opened automatically as they approached the spaceship, Entrapta emerging from inside.

“Looks like there’s a dust cloud which I suspect is not as dust cloud quickly approaching.”

“They caught up to us already?” Older Catra glared in the general direction they’d teleported from.

“Another time, everyone just get in. We’re leaving this place, right now.” She-ra commanded, everyone swiftly making their way inside.

There was a whoosh sound as the ramp closed along with the door. After placing Glimmer’s unconscious body on the floor, Other Adora was quick to jump in and turn on the camera’s outside the spaceship to keep an eye out as they prepared for launch. It was only then that she noticed the other spaceship right next to theirs. In their haste to get in, they must of missed it.

She opened her mouth to point it out to everyone but Entrapta gave everyone a two second warning before sending Darla retreating at full speed, leaving behind a cloud of sand in their wake.

“Set course towards Etheria,” Adora said. She was no longer in her She-ra form, but clutched her sword just in case. Darla beeped as it acknowledged the command, moving straight ahead until they were out of the atmosphere. Terra appearing smaller and smaller on screen with every second that passed by. Nobody spoke, not even when Bow came back from taking Glimmer to their room. It wasn’t until they were sure they weren’t being followed that they finally sighed a breathe of relief.

“That was a close call,” Other Adora said, still being able to feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

“Yeah, no shit,” her Catra said, wrapping her tail around Adora’s wrist.

“We’re so sorry we left the spaceship.” The toddler had tears in their eyes at seeing the serious looks on everyone’s faces. Noticing the guilt in their young eyes, everyone forced themselves to relax.

“We’re just glad you guys are okay. Plus,” Bow brightened, “I was glad you wore the clip I gave you, that’s how we were able to find you.”

“My clip?” Tiny Catra inspected it.

“If you ever need help, I’ll be right there in a jiffy. Only if you want to,” he added that last part quickly to ease her skepticism. 

“Plus, thanks to you guys disappearing and us having to find you, we were also able to rescue Baby Adora who we had no idea had been captured.”

Now, finally having time to digest what he’d said, everyone huddled around him to see the new addition to their group.

“She’s so adorable!” The Adora’s gushed at her while the Catra’s simply stared at her, as if she were going to jump out at them. But when she giggled as the rattle she still hand in her hand jiggled, their stance relaxed.

“She’s so…tiny,” Older Catra was the first of the three to poke at her hair poof. “I cannot believe you were born with that.”

“It’s a classic,” Older Adora puffed her chest out proudly.

“Oh! Oh!” Toddler Catra raised her arm to get everyone’s attention. “We made a friend too!”

“Who did you meet?” Older Adora crouched down to ask the little ones.

“Finally, my grand entrance,” a voice said from above them. Other Adora saw as the shadowy figure stood on the perch that Catra had taken a liking to while traveling through space.

Everyone except the toddlers ducked as a screech echoed in main room, as a bird circled around them. The shadowy figure jumped down gracefully to the ground level, the orange-yellow feathered creature landing on their arm perfectly. As they stepped into the artificial light, Other Adora gasped.

“The names Finn,” they extended an arm in greeting, claws decorating their fingertips, the grin tugging at their lips exposing sharp canines. Their cat-like ears twitched, tail lazily swaying back and forth in amusement at seeing everyone’s jaw drop to the floor.

“Nice to meet you, Moms.”