2128/Moving the Moon(stone)

Moving the Moon(stone)
Date of Scene:	03 December 2024
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	Glimmer tries to move the Moonstone with Bow, Scorpia and She-ra's help, unfortunately Catra gets involved and it almost goes as bad as possible... And then when they're beaten, hurt and Glimmer has lost her powers? It DOES go as bad as possible, when Horde Prime makes his grand appearance.
Cast of Characters:	Glimmer Brightmoon, Takashi Agera, Bow, Catra, Adora Rainbowfist, Scorpia, Double Trouble

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Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Today was the day. Preparations were ready, Glimmer had gathered her allies. She-Ra and Scorpia would be the beacon to where she'd move the Moonstone. Bow had figured out a lot of the stuff she didn't understand, helping to figure out WHERE they could move the Moonstone.

Something to do with leylines and whatnot? That she... kind of understood. Vaguelly. The runestones were connected to Etheria, so they needed to move them, right?

But now came the hard part. Melog was off to the side, seemingly sleeping but... honestly? Watching.

Magic circles were over and under the Moonstone, preparing for the teleport. She was just waiting for the text from everyone to let her know they were all setup, then she'd be able to move it.

For now? She was just trying to balance any disturbances she felt and gather as much power as she could from the runestone. So much that she was actually glowing, like a little pink miniature star. She couldn't lie, it hurt, a little bit. But she could NOT risk this failing. She'd NEVER cast a spell this intense and it required absolute focus... and frankly... she wished she had ALL of the runestones to call to. If Mermista, Perfuma and Frosta had been here as well? She'd be a LOT less nervous... As it was... well...

For now, she was standing by the runestone, arms out, the magic flowing through her.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi's primary point of focus in this whole business was to ensure that Precia, and frankly, the rest of Obsidian didn't lose their mind at the Runestone doing things. There were a lot of reasons why neither of them wanted anybody from Obsidian to go and poke their noses at anything in the area.

    But that didn't mean he didn't have opinions about the success or failure of this venture. On some level he wanted Glimmer to succeed; to be one step closer to freeing her mother. He couldn't imagine dealing with what she was going through... but he also knew the only reason Glimmer was in Obsidian and occasionally even helpful was because the Runestone was stuck here. To lose another employee would be... bad, for him. Maybe for his health but at least for his current status. Luckily, he had a few things going for him. But that didn't mean he couldn't try to tilt things into his favor - both now, and if the runestone project failed. A little mix of legitimate information and disruption, partly from who gave the information.

    So as Glimmer prepared for the upcoming ritual... Takashi didn't arrive in what was now 'her' room, but a small chara-sized Night Hope certainly did.

    "Brightmoon-san? I apologize for the intrusion but I must share some information with you that Agera-sama has elected avoid noting to you. He fears it may disrupt your ritual, but I can see you are already at risk of injury."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon let out an exhausted, annoyed sigh. Of course. Night Hope. "What, are you afraid I might accidentally blow up the universe? Because it's not attached to the Heart of Etheria anymore. It's... the heart of Earth, I guess? Doesn't sound right."

"... Wait, is Takashi getting interference on his end? Does he need help?" she asked, glancing back at the little trouble maker. After all... all of her focus and power would be on moving the Moonstone. She didn't have the ability to try and hide all of it, too. She didn't even have the focus to stop herself from glowing like a gosh darn knockoff strobe light!

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "No. The calculations do not show the universe being at risk from this endeavor."the little form says bluntly. "However, the chance of success is lower than the chance of injury to yourself. Agera-sama has elected not to tell you so as to avoid prejudicing the success of the intended act. However, I believe it is also in his best interests for you to be at full operational capabilities, and therefore you should at least know that this act carries a level of risk you may not have accounted for."

    "I am unaware of any difficulties he is personally facing with his actions in assistance of this project.". She states. "However... I do not... understand his decision to keep this information from you in fear of harming your limited chances of success."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, of course you'd doubt us. Well, low chances, high chances, that's the difference between you and him, Light Hope. He's a friend and actually believes in us. With Adora, Bow and Scorpia, there's no way we're going to fail. Just watch and see. Actually, don't watch. Go download an emulator or something," Glimmer snapped. "I need to focus."

She took a slow, deep breath, pooling more and more of her power. The magical circle under and above the runestone was more elaborate and powerful than she'd ever tried to control... but she could do this.

THEY could do this. With She-ra and Scorpia as beacons, with Bow's knowledge on how this stuff worked and setting the location...

They WOULD move the Moonstone.

For now, all she had to do was wait for the text message from Bow to let her know that they had everything setup. She knew the general location, but well... there were two runestones to help with this. It was going to be perfect. It was going to be fine. Nothing could interfere.

She glanced down at her phone... then back towards the Moonstone. It was glowing bright pink, like she was.

Just. Hold it... and then... move. Like moving herself and her friends...

... But ten thousand times more difficult. And way heavier. And her mother was trapped inside. And and and and...

She shoved the thoughts aside. Focus on what she had to do. What she WOULD do. FOCUS!

Bow has posed:
It had been weeks of research that Bow had put in, cross-referencing Etheria's leylines, as best as he can remember them, along with those of Earths. While the leylines of Etheria seemed to have several connections, mainly where runestones were located, the Earth had much fewer conglomerations - mainly in Tokyo, Paris and Seattle. The last two were too far for Glimmer to consider to move - Bow wouldn't risk her going that far away. But where was the closes leyline crossover that could handle the amount of magic the Moonstone could provide?

He had found it at Kashima-jingu Shrine, where according to Japanese mythology, the great goddess Amaterasu sent a messenger in the form of a deer to Takemikazuchi, the kami of that reigon.

With that information set, Bow had place many of his arrows to serve as a guidepoints to attract the Etherian magic to it. It was going to ardorous, and there was only going to be this one shot at it, but he's certain his calculations are correct, and that he had left a beacon mark on Glimmer's phone so the Queen would know where to focus her efforts.

Now, however, he is waiting for She-Ra and Scorpia to arrive as he puts on the finishing touches of his makeshift antenna. "This is most powerful concentration of magic I could calculate. It's gonna work." he says finally, and texts the group.

<PHONE> Text to Adora, Sarah, and Glimmer: Ready when you are! I have faith in you!

Catra has posed:
Nobody invited Catra to this thing. Probably a wise move. However, in true feline fashion, she's managed to show up anyway, at precisely themost inconvenient anr/or awkward moment. She's freshly back from another outing to collect dark energy, another Youma used to collect the stuff, but after losing Fishbones -- apparently he didn't make it back to the Inhumans department, which is somehow her fault because they won't admit to it being theirs -- they only let her have a small one. There's only so much you can accomplish with a Youma made out of someone's compact car and one Mahou showed up to defeat it, which has left the cat most disgruntled.

So of course, when she's walking past where Glimmer's Runestone is and can hear the argument -- because of course she can -- she has to stick her nose in to see what's happening, and see Glimmer in an absolutely radiant state of being. Which means she's drawing a lot of energy for some purpose. Catra stands in the doorway, holding her jar full of dark liquid in one hand, and clutching her side with the other. And then she just sort of... stares.

"Uhm. What are you doing?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Okay. Beacon of teleportation target or something! She can do that. Being a big ol shiny lady is kind of Adora's specialty! Well. Kind of. It's the sword's specialty but whatever that's beside the point. Regardless, she would be there to support her friends!

As she approaches that little shrine holding her sword, she gives a soft breath, before talking to herself before entering the actual area of the shrine. "Okay. Okay. You can do this, Adora. You just have to give off a lot of energy and be a beacon and help Glimmer and stuff." She says to herself, giving a soft exhale afterwards. Phew. Soon she was actually at the shrine, looking at it quietly. Ancient locations. It's laways ancient locations. Well, whatever.

"I'm here, Bow." She says, turning into She-Ra pretty much immediately and stepping to the center of that circle of arrows with very little hesitation, lifting her sword up into the air because it just seems ... right.

When unleashing a giant beacon. Nevermind it probably didn't need to be visible to anyone /other/ than Glimmer, but well.

...It's Adora.

So it would be a very visible beacon.

Scorpia has posed:
Scorpia was already on her way to the shrine when she received the text from Bow. Tucking her phone into a random pocket in her armored leggings, she jogged the rest of the way to where he had setup the technology they would need to help Glimmer.

Standing at attention, like the good soldier that she was, the blonde takes a deep, steadying breath and grasps her runestone. She knew this needed power. And she had a lot to give. Turning her dark eyes to her friends, she asks, "What do I need to do? I don't want to mess this up for Glimmer."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon let out a low sigh of relief when, finally, she heard it.

Text arrived. She glanced back down at it and...

And then there was Catra.

Glimmer was visibly shining like a beacon of her own, the pink magic enveloping her so visibly that she was shining. There was a LOT of magic going on. The kind of magic that... well. Catra had NEVER seen Glimmer do something like that.

"H-hey Catra. B-bit busy... a-at the moment... R-Riventon is hiding this from the rest of the b-building. Once we're finished, I-I'll explain it... just... ngggg..." She closed her eyes, and when they opened? Her eyes were just two glowing pink lights. "Gotta... focus... Nnnnngggg... don't... don't come closer..." she said. "N-not safe..."

... Telling Catra to NOT... This, of course, ended poorly. As Melog got up and, for the first time since arriving here, tried to interfere! But they were too slow. Telling Catra to stay back... only edged her on. "CATRA!" Glimmer screamed.

But she couldn't keep holding it. Then she felt it. She-ra.

And then there was a flash of light and the spell erupted.

Riventon would be able to feel it. If he had been expecting something small, he'd be sorely mistaken. If the others in Obsidian Tower knew that it could do something like THIS, that Glimmer could? They'd likely have a whole lot more attention towards the rock. So it was a good thing he was working so hard to dampen it.

She-ra, though? SHE'D feel it. Something latching onto her. Something trying to pull onto her. Grabbing her. Something trying to climb out THROUGH her... well. Her power. Something for her to grab and try to pull along. Scorpia would be able to feel it as well, through her runestone, but her power had not been added yet to the process.

However, Catra? Catra... found herself back in that void. That endless white void. Empty. Hollow. The same void where she had 'ended the world'.

And she was alone.

Back at Obsidian Tower, Melog lashed out, catching the vial of dark energy before it could hit the ground, giving a low mrowl, eying the brilliant pink Moonstone... the great magic circles glowing ever brighter around it.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
     "Hey, Scorpia. Uh. I think we're mostly just here to be giant beacons of energy to make it easier for Glimmer to aim more than anything if I understood correctly, so uh." She-Ra lifts her sword a little bit higher, as she gathers her energy, the She-Ra Glow surrounding her as she gives a soft exhale. Something about saying those words, even though she was already transformed, felt right. "For the honor... of GREYSKULL!"

And the She-Ra aura erupts, shooting into the sky, the energy of the nearby active She-Ra spreading out to the other princess nearby as well, likely leaving Scorpia herself feeling energized, even if it might not have its own immediate effect when she does so.

And something... something felt like it was trying to climb through her. Oh gosh oh that feels so weird no no focus that's probably just Glimmer and/or the moonstone it's fine probably maybe hopefully!

And she tries to draw whatever was trying to crawl through her /out/, trying to channel it into that sword and out.

...Because really if it shoots up she can probably catch it. She's She-Ra after all, Bow was there as well and he could help... and Scorpia, probably the second physically strongest person on Etheria was there too!

Bow has posed:
When Glimmer starts on her end, Bow looks at the readings on the tech pad. For the moment, everything's looking as he had planned it. The Power Runestone and Moonstone were in sync, and in fact for a moment, it seems like that the won't even need the Garnet... that is until he sees a fluctuation. He doesn't know that the fluctuation is Catra, he just knows...

"There... these readings aren't right!" Bow suddenly announces and as She-Ra pours out more energy, he realizes. "No no no, we're getting pulled towards Glimmer! We have to hold here! Scorpia!" he calls out over to the tall (but not tallest) one. "It's your turn! We're going to need you to add the power of your runestone to this, the Moonstone is trying to overpower us!"

For his part, Bow creates and arrow, drawing it back and firing. A pair of magnets smack on either side of the sword's blade. The other end is anchored to his bow that he pulls to anchor to the makeshift transmitter he had created. "We're not going to fail!" he demands as he grits his teeth, arms straining as he anchors down.

"I..." something flashes through his memory, and unexpectedly...

"I'm not going to lose her again!"

Catra has posed:
Catra just... gapes. Gapes and what's going on in front of her. Her ears lay flat and her mismatched eyes go wide, as she takes a step back from the scene. Her mind churns in a dozen different directions. Glimmer is drawing a lot of power. Glimmer needs a lot of power for something, all at once, right now. What could Glimmer need a lot of power for? What could possible take this much, when there isn't any sort of battle going on? Of course there can be only one conclusion.

"You're... leaving?"

Glimmer is going back to Etheria.

Just like Adora had professed to care about her and then opened a portal and left, leaving Catra behind, rather specifically and intentionally leaving her behind in fact, Catra is now watching Glimmer do exactly the same thing.

Adora left.

Hinoiri left.

Glimmer is leaving.

"NO!" she growls, when Glimmer tells her to stay back, and she immediately dashes forwards. Not again not again not again WHY she didn't even do anything to Glimmer here outside of calling her Sparkles a few times and that mixup where they had a fight but she'd stitched her up they'd made up why is Glimmer leaving her why now why why why why why

Melog tries to get in her way, but is just a hair too slow; and as Glimme rand her runestone vanish, so does Catra, only to find herself in a featureless, white void, like being bathed in sunlight and sorrow at the same time.

Just like when she opened the portal.

Glimmer destroyed Earth.

"No no no NO NO NOOOOOOO!!!" she screams, her voice rising in pitch and heedless to the pain lancing through her abdomen from her broken ribs. Her hands hold her face, clawtips digging into her own skin as she collapses to her knees and screams, before finally pitched forwards to crouch on the floor and wail.

Back in Obsidian Tower, her jar full of dark energy falls and is caught by Melog.

Scorpia has posed:
She knew what she had to do. She hadn't been sure when she would need to start helping. And then Bow is frantic. Stressed. Her anxiety spikes dread in her heart as she closes her eyes and calls to the deep well of power inside of her, inside of her runestone.

Thanks to She-Ra's aura, Scorpia feels an extra jolt of energy as she powers up exponentially, raising a pincer in the air so that a river of lightning bolts flow up and combine with the bright energy beam her friend has created with her sword. Energy crackles around her as she holds her pendant in a deathgrip, her only thoughts, "Please don't let us lose Glimmer. Please don't let us lose Glimmer. This HAS to work."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
"What? No, I'm not leaving!" Glimmer said. Or tried. But well, if it was heard over the spell going off...And things were quickly going from bad to worse. Glimmer was trying to control the spell, trying to make things settle. And now--

Now CATRA was mixed up in it. Why did she ALWAYS have to--

And then... then she felt her. And all thoughts of hatred towards the kitty fled. "Mom?" Glimmer asked. "Mom? Where are you? I--" She was there. She could feel her. She just had to... there was so much to do. She wasn't that good a mage. She was passable, at best. She just was REALLY powerful thanks to her parents and the Moonstone.

But now CATRA was wrapped in this. She just had to... THERE!

A hand would reach out and grabbed Catra, cupping her cheeks. And...

Catra would look up at Angela. It was... strange. She didn't seem to be all there. Like a ghost. But she smiled down at Catra. She didn't say anything. Or rather, her lips moved, but there was no sound. Whatever she said... well...

This, as far as Catra knew, was the leader of the rebellion. Glimmer's mother. Her greatest enemy. But she didn't attack. Didn't strike at her. Didn't do anything... All she did was give her a slightly... pitying look... Then reached out to gently pat her head, as if to tell her everything would be alright. She would be okay. A moment of comfort... and then she was gone.

And then there was a scream. And a much firmer hand grabbed her arm. "C-Catra, I swear," Glimmer said, before letting out another pained scream. "A-are you... t-trying to get yourself k-killed? I already t-told you I wasn't going w-without you. H-hold on. I-I need to... to do t-this right or w-we're going to be in a lot of t-trouble."

And Catra could see it, though, what Glimmer couldn't. 'Tears' were forming in Glimmer. Like reality itself had been 'torn'. And light was spilling out from her. Judging by the grimace on Glimmer's face, though, she could feel... some of it.

Meanwhile, the magic circle had appeared in the area, around She-ra.

And then, in the middle of the light... Angella.

The queen of Brightmoon. In all her splendor... like a phantom, she appeared in front of all of them. She began to solidify...

And then... she just disappeared. The magical circle began to vibrate and then...

It began to collapse.

Glimmer shook her head, putting her hands together, before pulling them apart. "I-I can't... I-I need to..." A magic circle appeared. Growing bigger, bigger, bigger...

Then it collapsed.

Then all of the circles collapsed. And there was light. So much light. Glimmer screamed, grabbing Catra tightly, and purple light enveloping both of them...

But it wasn't enough. She couldn't do it... maybe if it was just her. Maybe if she didn't have to bring Catra too. Maybe she could do it...

But...

And then, like two hands reaching through the darkness, the magic of She-ra and Scorpia enveloped them. Giving them just that little edge they needed...

And two figures were suddenly driven out from the beam of light. Catra, who likely looked... singed. Very singed.

And Glimmer. Who hit the ground and kind of rolled. Except Glimmer... looked more than a little singed. There were no sparkles in her hair. Her pink clothing had lost all of its sparkle. She had burns all over and, if one of them went and turned her over, her eyes didn't even glitter. She'd just kind of groan.

Back at the tower, the Moonstone was sparkling, crackling with the power, the feedback from it disrupting its light but, fortunately, not breaking.

They'd failed.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
     Fwoop--ping! There were now... uh. Magnetized arrows stuck to the Sword of Power. The ever so slightest note of concern flashing through Adora's mind. Messing with the Sword hasn't gone well in the past. Hopefully it isn't going to be /that/ bad today... fudge.

Okay! There's... there's... there's the magic circle, it's almost over, she's sure it'll be fine! Probably!

...The figure of Angella appears before her briefly.

Something that makes Adora's focus falter for a moment, likely not helping the already-unstable magical circle.

Which is collapsing. She-Ra doesn't hesitate at that, as she swung her sword through the air, slicing at where the magical circle was to infuse it with a burst of magic as she reaches her hand forward. "Scorpia! Help me!" She calls out as she reaches in and grabs at whatever it is she could feel that was trying to suck its way through her... because that was probably her friend.

Which she was now beginning to drag out.

...Though she, specifically, wasn't grabbing the friend she thought she was.

Unlike Scorpia, her thoughts had strayed less completely from Glimmer.

Likely to Catra's benefit as she's ejected from that still-lingering beam of light.

"...Catra??? What???"

Catra's injured. And so is Glimmer. "Uh. Fudge. Uhm. Uhm!" She lifts her sword, trying to call forth the healing power of the Sword of Power!

...Unfortunately, Adora is panicking a little and still shaken by the brief appearance of Angella, so there was no hope of her healing working.

Catra has posed:
Catra looks up at Angela, in the void, from the floor where she's crouching and wailing about everything that's just happened in the last forty seconds. And here she is. Angela. The leader of the Rebellion, the woman she'd been taught all her childhood to hate as a violent, murdering war criminal, and she just looks... gentle, and sad. Of course, she can't be real, Etheria was destroyed, she's gone. So she can't really be here.

Can she?

Catra doesn't react to Glimmer grabbing hold of her and berating her. It's not like Catra was trying to screw things up. She just panicked, at the thought of being left by someone, yet again. Again. Why did people always have to leave?

As she and Glimmer are ejected from the void to return to Earth, she finds herself burnt around the edges and her ribs are absolutely on fire, and she eventually realizes that she's wailing again, in pain; a fact that makes her clamp her jaws shut. She plants both hands on Adora and pushes herself backwards; not with her usual strength however, so she isn't getting free if Adora doesn't want to let her go. "Lemme go," she gasps, as tears form in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "What... how... where... No! No no this is all wrong let me go let me go!"

Bow has posed:
The feedback of energy from the sword through his tie-downs, and enhance by Glimmer's magic is... in a word, overwhelming. Bow lets out a small cry as he's overloaded and thrown onto the ground. When he stirs and pushes himself to his feet, he turns to see an image. Angella, in all her resplendit glory, as she once was in life. He had always had the theory that Angella was in the Moonstone in his back pocket. Something to figure out once the runestone was safe and he could pay closer attention to it.

Instead... she's here, present and... fading. And despite all his tech saavy, all of his skills, even with the small level of magic in him, nowhere near on par of Glimmer, She-Ra or Scorpia... he can tell whatever they did is failing.

"No. No, no, no!" His heart hammered against his ribs, his mind racing to process what had just happened. The collapse of the magic circle, the overwhelming light, and then Angella's disappearance, and now Glimmer, lying there, barely moving.

He ran towards the crumpled forms of Glimmer and Catra, dropping to his knees beside Glimmer, he reached out with trembling hands, careful not to touch the burns marring her skin. Her clothes, her hair, everything that usually shimmered with life and magic, was dull. Lifeless. His chest tightened as he looked into her unfocused eyes, the familiar sparkle completely gone.

"Glimmer," he whispered, his voice breaking as he brushed a strand of singed hair from her face. "Hey, it's me. It's Bow. You're okay. You're going to be okay. Just... hold on, okay?"

His hand hovered over her shoulder, unsure if touching her would cause more harm. He could feel tears welling in his eyes, but he blinked them back. She needed him to be strong. She always needed him to be strong.

Behind him, Catra stirred, coughing and groaning, but Bow didn't look. Not yet. Not when Glimmer looked so fragile, so-- No. He pushed the thought away. She wasn't gone. She couldn't be.

Nearby, his tech pad bleated out an alert. The Moonstone was still active. Something was happening to it. And they're too far away. All he could do was pray it stabalized... if it shattered, if it exploded... it would probably destroy most of Tokyo.

"Come on, Glimmer," he murmured, squeezing her hand gently. "I need you to come back to us. I need you."

As he spoke, he glanced back toward the tech pad, still sharing readings from the Moonstone, its alerts reflecting in his eyes. They were running out of time. Whatever feedback the stone was throwing off was going to get worse if they didn't act quickly.

Scorpia has posed:
Heart in her throat, Scorpia helped Adora pull their friends through. She had no idea what had happened, what was happening. But she knew that whatever they all had been working together to try and accomplish, it had failed. Falling to her knees, she looks over to Bow and Glimmer. The glimmerless Glimmer.

Tears well up in her eyes and then she sees Catra. She rushes over to her best friend, as fast as she can on her hands and knees, and gently brushes some of her singed hair out of her face, "Catra? Can you hear me?" She'd been coughing and groaning, but had yet to make any other signs of life.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon groaned and, very slowly, her eyes opened. She smiled up at Bow. "H-hey, Bow. D-did we do it?" she asked, before groaning. Then tried to sit up, only to drop back down. "Hsssss... ow... okay. Right. I-I think... I think I-I know what... what I did wrong..."

She laid there for a moment, forcing a smile. "A-and... B-bow? I... I need you... too... Just... need to--"

And then lifted her hands up, covering her mouth. Trying to suppress the scream. Light shone out from her, likely blinding all of them for a moment. Flash bang Glimmer...

And then it was gone. Glimmer was laying there. Shaking. Gasping for air. She put her hands together and pulled them apart and... nothing... happened. "I... I can't feel it," Glimmer said, the horror in her voice. "I-I can't feel it. I can't feel magic! I can't feel ANY of it!" she said.

The runestone was calming down, at least. But... her connection to it... wasn't there.

She'd only felt this once. Not that long ago... when she'd been taken from Etheria.

And now? Nothing... "M-my... my magic... it's gone! I've lost my connection to the Moonstone!" Glimmer said, the panic clear in her voice.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble had been plotting. They had been scheming. Now they were ready to act. They'd sold themselves as Horde Prime to the Board, and they were busy spinning up Horde Enterprises. Now, the newest Director at Obsidian needed to make His debut. There was no point in His being there if the heroes didn't know. His reputation was one of Horde Prime's most effective weapons.

The best part about being a villain was having dramatic impact, and Horde Prime was such a dramatic villain. Horde Prime sees all. Horde Prime knows all. Say what you wanted about Him, Horde Prime knew how to wield drama and emotion effectively. He was beautifully cruel in a way Double Trouble couldn't help but admire. It was fun for the chameleon to be Him. They just needed to find the right stage to which they would deploy their sacrificial squadron of Horde bots.

More than any other mahou, Double Trouble wanted to catch the attention of the other Etherians. It was pretty easy to figure out that Glimmer was up to something, but her operational security had been, up until that moment, better than usual. Then Adora set off her beacon, and even Double Trouble could feel it. They knew that whatever it was, it was going down, and if they were doing something with as much power as they'd felt? Well, they had a hunch what it just might be.

Effortlessly shifting into Horde Prime, He unlocked the door to His office and stepped out, carrying a small tablet with them. He'd managed to hook up control of His bots to the tablet. He was placing His faith in Obsidian that they'd be able to provide Him with more minions that had the same impact as these bots did in Etheria. Bot-like minions that would stand up better to the foes He'd be facing. These, though? These all needed to be the real deal, to have the right impact.

The beacon made it easy to dial in and march the bots through a Door that opened up not too far from the shrine. So, just a few moments after Glimmer and Catra arrived, a sound that was all too familiar to the gathered Etherians could be heard. The whirring metallic sound of Horde bots. That couldn't be! They were on Earth, not Etheria.

But then? Then there were lasers. Four red lasers, one for each of the expected Etherians. Not that the bots had that kind of precision aim. Four spherical Horde bots, like they all knew and loved to destroy, emerged from the shrine's surroundings and continued to bear down on the gathered Etherians. Pew pew pew pew. Just like home.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora barely realized she'd been holding Catra like that, as the smaller cat pushed against her and she looks down at her, there were tears in She-Ra's eyes, though she almost looked more stunned than anything. "..." She kneels down, setting Catra down just as requested, standing again. "Sorry, Catra. I... don't think my healing will work right now." She-Ra says softly. She straightens back up, looking towards the unmoving Glimmer. Who was probably the one in more immediate need of help at the moment. ...Bow's there though, he can probably do more than she can, as she focuses back on Catra.

"...You uh. You don't look like you got much rest." Adora comments awkwardly. Ugh the heck is she supposed to do here, she's useless for this kind of thing. And it's not the kind of wounds you should bandage. If only they were somewhere familiar, at least then she'd know where the first aid kits are.

Ah. Scorpia has Catra now. ... She'll be fine with her, then. Scorpia was probably the most reliable person there, after all.

And then reality was briefly consumed in a flash of bright light, which Adora reflexively covers her face for.

...And Glimmer is talking about not feeling her magic. "..." And everything is going wrong again. And... and...

There were terribly familiar sounds.

And terribly familiar red dots on her friends.

"...GET DOWN!" She-Ra calls out as she SLAMS her sword into the ground, using the shockwave of magic from the bottom of the sword to disrupt the ground around them, launching a section of the shrine's land UP so that the earth took the worst of the brunt.

Getting down was more for the following impact of, well, gravity setting in afterwards. "Bow! Bow! Focus! Come on! We need your brain! Scorpia! Those two need out of here /now/!"

She-Ra yanks the sword back out of the ground, turning towards the spherical droids, trying to keep an eye on them, even though she was clearly exhausted from the way she was breathing and sweating.

Bow has posed:
"Glimmer!" Bow's relief at seeing her eyes open was immediate, a flicker of hope breaking through his fear. He smiled back at her, though it was strained. "Hey, you're awake. That's-that's a start. Just don't move too much, okay?"

Her groan of pain cut through him like a knife, but he stayed steady, hovering protectively over her. When she tried to force a smile and talk through it, he gave a soft laugh, more to keep himself grounded than anything else.

Then the light burst from her. Bow recoiled instinctively, shielding his face, only to snap back to her side the moment it was gone. "Glimmer! Glimmer, I'm here. It's okay," he said quickly, though his heart was pounding. The trembling, the gasping; none of it was okay.

And then she said it.

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. I can't feel it. I've lost my connection to the Moonstone.

"No, no, no," Bow said, shaking his head as if that would undo it. "That's not... no. You're just exhausted. You've been through a lot. It's not gone. It can't be gone. You just need to rest, okay? We'll figure it out. We always do."

His voice was calm, steady, but his hands betrayed him, trembling as they gripped hers. She was shaking, panic rising, and Bow had to fight to keep his own fear in check. He wasn't going to let her spiral. Not now. Not ever.

"Listen to me," he said firmly, leaning closer so she could see nothing but his face. "You are Glimmer Brightmoon. You don't need the Moonstone to be powerful. You are powerful. You're the heart of this rebellion, with or without magic. And we are not going to let this beat you. Do you hear me?"

He glanced toward the tech pad, its chaotic energy readings finally settling. It wasn't shattered, and that was something. Maybe... maybe there was a way to restore the connection. He didn't know how, but he wasn't going to give up. Not when she needed him.

"I'll fix this," he promised, his voice low but fierce. "We'll fix this. Together. You just have to trust me, okay? Trust me, and we'll get through this."

His hands tightened around hers, his gaze locked on hers, willing her to believe him. "You're not alone, Glimmer. Not now, not ever."

And then there a distinctive sound. One he had not heard since he landed on a beach some ten months ago.

Bow froze for a split second. The metallic whir, the mechanical hum, and then the lasers cutting through the air. His mind snapped back to Etheria, to every skirmish and ambush they'd fought through together. But this wasn't Etheria. This wasn't home. And yet, here they were. Horde bots.

How did they get here? Did he cause them to arrive with this experiment? Doubt crawled up his spine, taking root in his mind. Everything he had done. Trying to help Glimmer. Trying to get the Moonstone out. Trying to reunite the Best Friends Squad. Instead... he brought this upon them. He somehow brought the Horde here with this experiment. It's all his fault.

He draws back his first arrow, aiming for the same sensor spot he's fired at countless times before. Firing, he can hear She-Ra calling for him, and he thinks. He can't... won't ask Glimmer. Instead. "There's only four, we can take them!" Perhaps a bit of overconfidence... no.

It's anger. He's angry, and these Horde bots will make do for something for him to take out his failings on.

Catra has posed:
And just like that, Catra has her wish, she's released and she's.... right back on the ground. She tries twice to get up, and has to admit to herself that between being burnt, having broken ribs, and being exhausted... she does manage to roll over onto her stomach and push herself up, and then it hits her. An intense wave of nausea, that has her fighting to retain her lunch.

It's a battle she manages to win, after a few rounds, and leans back until she's resting, sitting upright. "What... were you all thinking," she gasps, the question turning into a loud snap at the end. "Do ANY of you have ANY idea what almost just happened? You idiots almost destroyed Earth the same way I-- I--"

All of Catra's rage dissipates just as instantly as it came about. The emotion visibly drains out of her, and she just... sighs, letting her shoulders slump. She watches, out of the corner of her eye, Bow tending to Glimmer. She doesn't see Scorpia approach, but hears her; well enough that by the time she's brushing her hair out of her face, she's unsurprised about it.

"I can hear you," she mumbles. "Per... personal space," she mutters, half-heartedly.

And then, Horde Prime. ...Which is who, exactly? Other than the person Glimmer's been utterly terrified of. And, of course, Horde robots.

"I got sleep," she mumbles, in assurance to Adora, even though she very specifically doesn't look like it. "I just... you know what nevermind." In the face of the oncoming robots, she just... stares. None of them are shooting at her, afterall. Why would they? For the first time in a long time, Catra just... wishes she hadn't thrown away her Force Captain badge.

Scorpia has posed:
Scorpia disregarded her feline friend's words and scooped her up into a gentle hug. She'd been through so much, and she didn't remember the half of it. She goes to pick Catra up to relocate her somewhere away from the fighting. A glance to Glimmer and she gently scoops her up as well. If her friends allow it, Scorpia rushes to get them both setup in a comfy spot by a cluster of trees far enough away that they'd be safe. Hopefully. They had to kill these damn bots.

With a seriousness that was slowly becoming more common in the tall blonde, she turns and gathers orbs of electricity between the points in her pincers. Her eyes glow the dark red of her runestone and she yells, leaping up into the the air and hurling the balls of energy towards one of the four bots. She was pissed. This was supposed to be safe. This was Earth. Even as she lands on her feet again, she's already gathering more energy. They could, and they would, handle these bots. And then they would fix whatever it is that they'd fucked up. Together they could do anything.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon smiled up at him. His hand on hers. And... it calmed her so much more than she'd have imagined. "You're right. As long as I have all of you, then--"

And then that sound? No. Oh COME ON!

"HORDAK! What in the world?! Is this about Entrapta?" she asked. Paused. Wait. "... Or is it Entrapta? I don't care, now is NOT the time!" she snapped, trying to put on an air of bravado she definitely did not feel. But Bow and She-ra were here. No amount of bots were going to mess with things. And Bow was right. She was just... tired. Right. This whole world was weird. She'd just... need to get... some rest. That was all. Some rest. And with She-ra protecting them, they were fine. "Catra... we weren't... ugh. I'll... e-explain it to you... l-later. For now? Just... let them keep us safe. I freaking SWEAR HORDAK! I'm going to PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE! You think your COMMUNITY SERVICE was a harsh punishment?! Just you wait!" she yelled, even as she and Catra are picked up by giant scorpion lady! "Entrapta's fine, so whatever has you all pissy, KNOCK IT OFF SO WE CAN TALK! I swear! Is everyone in the horde like this?" she asked, glancing to Catra. "All slashy first? Cause like... I'll be honest. I do not think I am prepared to deal with two of you. One of you is enough Catra to handle right now."

When they were put down, she... didn't object. She was exhausted, everything hurt, and... she couldn't even fight. But this was probably fine. They were separate teams, right? For now...

"... Catra, I meant what I said before. I'm not going to leave you behind. I promised, didn't I? But seriously, please never do that again. Interfering in a spell like that? It's dangerous... I could have lost you. Then where would we be?" ... Did she ever promise that?

Catra has posed:
Catra is scooped up by Scorpia, against her express wishes but she's hardly in a state to do anything about it. Sure, Scorpia might get some claw marks against her pincers, but she could probably write that off as a cat holding on for dear life as much as anything else. And so, Catra is left in a safe(-ish) spot, wheezing and sputtering as she is, once again, waiting for her abused ribs to clam down. Which, they aren't doing. Broken ribs are actually horrible. Who knew?

The feline watches the battle going on, and shakes her head. "Not Hordak," she mumbles. "Hordak doesn't... show up with only four bots. He sends an army. That's just some moron with a few Horde bots."

'Or whatever'. Catra's ears are flat against her head, and her tail curls around her as she draws her knees up against her chest. She rests chin on knees, and closes her eyes, just for a moment. But, wait. What did Glimmer say?

"Why do people bother with that," she snaps. "'I promise I won't leave you'. Yeah, sure. Aside from you only ONE person has ever made a promise to me. And it was never to leave. And next thing I knew she was frolicking in the forest with you and Arrow-Boy after leaving me behind."

The feline fishes around in her jacket pocket for a second; it's funny how things get stuck when you really need them. But eventaully she manages to withdraw her phone, and after a brief rise of the head to look around, texts the location to Riventon, with a 'need pick up please' request. Also an update of 'Dumb plan didn't work, Sparkles is crispy'.

"Maybe next time you've got a plan you should Tell me up front what you're doing so I'm not surprised when I walk in on you doing it," she mutters, as she puts her phone away again. "So like, whatever. Don't worry about four Horde bots. Adora can smash them to bits on her own. She's very good at breaking things."

Double Trouble has posed:
As soon as the bots were through the Door, Horde Prime turned around and marched to where He suspected he'd find something interesting. He wasn't sure what, but Takashi wasn't in his old office any more, but the Moonstone surely was. There was no way they could move it. Not without a lot of energy.

Like how much they'd felt.

Others at Obsidian had not been particularly interested in the Moonstone, but others weren't Horde Prime. Of course He'd want to just barge in and use His power as a Director to see it. It was a perfect approach. Of course when He arrived, Melog was standing inside the office issuing a low growl at anyone who dared enter.

The destruction was glorious. He could use this. He tuned in to the signal from the bots just in time to hear the most magical word. A name, actually. Entrapta was here?! His day just got so much better. He resisted the urge to evil laugh as he turned on the holographic projector.

---

The ridge She-Ra's shockwave pushes up catches all the laser blasts, and the shockwave ripples farther out shaking the legs out from under two bots, sending them rolling on the ground and forcing the other two to climb over them. The bots don't seem to care about each other or teamwork. They just have one goal: destroy. They just don't know they're what's supposed to get destroyed. Double Trouble has faith their old comrades can take out a few of these. The bots are entry-level. Hordak's worst models.

Bow's arrow flies true. He's taken out so many of these bots. And one of the two still moving bots shorts out and rolls over, but the other keeps advancing.

Right into Scorpia's energy balls. Four of these bots are nothing. Each of them land true, causing the remaining three bots to all short circuit and shut down, smoke rising up from the seams of their metal shells.

And that's when He appears. Standing as tall as a two story house at the other end of the shrine's courtyard from them, His huge holographic feet in the rubble of His bots, Horde Prime applauds.

"Bravo! I would expect nothing less from Etheria's Queen and her companions," Horde Prime says, his voice rather loud. "My little brother had the worst junk laying around when that portal pulled me here." But then He smiled as he looked down at them. "Facilities is not going to be happy with you, Glimmer."

The holographic image shifts, the two story tall Horde Prime disappearing, replaced with the image of a doorway. The doorway to Glimmer's office. Melog is standing in it and their low growl can be heard. Beyond the cat, though, is the Moonstone, damaged and still occasionally crackling. The office is burnt. It was a good thing it was empty.

That lingers for a moment and then it is replaced once again with Horde Prime, who looks down at the assembled heroes and smiles, all four of his big green eyes staring at them. "Horde Prime sees all. Horde Prime knows all," He preaches, and then says, "Be seeing you soon."

Then He's just gone.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Okay. Okay Bow is focused on shooting the bots now and he's probably the one with the most energy left even if he got fried. In spite of feeling low energy She-Ra is still She-Ra! ... ... And separate from Etheria so somewhat less of a boundless well of energy but it's fine they're just basic Horde Bots!

"Alright! We'll take them out and then... then we can figure this out!" She calls out, giving a soft exhale. Come on. You have to focus, Adora.

"Catra, it's. It's fine. Just rest for now. We'll... figure things out later." Pause. "And get you to a healer too. You're not being given an option this time."

She's not unpacking the emotions that were welling up in the wake of Catra's comments, it's not the time to think about watching Angella fly up to sacrifice herself to the portal. Nope.

Bow and Scorpia had at least one of the bots, probably, so She-Ra opts to do what she does best!

Over-extend herself and go for the two remaining bots not being focused on.

"..." She leaps towards the pile of bots with the Sword of Power glowing! ... ... Only for them to ... short-circuit and ... shut down, and she lands ... ... having done very little.

This is a weird feeling. A feeling that turns to confusion as a holographic projector turns on.

And Horde Prime appears, a... not really familiar but sort of familiar face nonetheless? "Hordak is here?" She says softly. "Why does he look so weird?" Horde Prime sees all.

"...Oh." Oh. Oooooooh. Fudge.

It's the one Glimmer got terrified of. ... ... ... Aaaand ... it's over. "...Huh."

"..."

"This is bad right?"

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon rolled her eyes. "Of course it's Hordak. Who else would send that? And I never said I wouldn't leave, Catra."

"I said I wouldn't leave you behind. I'll totally just stuff you into a bag and drag you out if the time comes," Glimmer said with a shrug. "I'm not Adora, I have no qualms about kidnapping you if that's what it takes. But that's not... for... for... for for..." And the words just locked up for her. She stared.

Horde. Prime.

And suddenly she was back there. On his ship. Helpless. Her power gone. Helpless.

She was helpless. She was... was helpless. "N-no... it's not... not you... that's impossible... it can't be... you're not..."

And then? The next worst thing.

Horde Prime... by her Moonstone. Her eyes went wide. "STAY AWAY FROM THAT!" she screamed, the panic clear in her voice. She tried to get to her feet... only to fall flat on her face. She was too beat. "No no no no no no no NO! Stay away from it, not him, he can't be here, he's not, he's, no. I-I need to get back to the tower. I NEED TO GET BACK TO THE TOWER!"

She tried to get to her feet, only to drop back down. She was in no shape to walk, let alone face Horde Prime.

"C-Catra... c-contact Riventon. T-tell him he needs to... he needs to k-keep the M-Moonstone safe. I-I'll be there soon... I..." She, finally, managed to pull herself to her feet...

And make it all of three feet...

Before she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Ring a bell for her. She was done.

Bow has posed:
When Scorpia pulled Glimmer from Bow, for a singular moment, Bow looked angry. As if he would be the one to protect the Queen. That it was his sworn duty. He shakes it off quickly enough. "Thanks." he offers to her, as his attention turns to the advancing robots.

Bow's chest tightened as he lowered his bow, watching the last of the bots collapse into smoldering heaps of metal. His relief was short-lived as Horde Prime's towering holographic form materialized above them, his slow, mocking applause echoing in the courtyard.

"Of course it's him," Bow muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth. His fingers tightened around his bow, but he didn't raise it. What good was an arrow against a hologram? Still, his heart pounded, the adrenaline from the fight mingling with a cold wave of dread.

"Hordak," he said aloud, his voice sharp with defiance. "Still hiding behind your toys and theatrics, huh? You couldn't fight your own battles back on Etheria, and it looks like nothing's changed. Something wrong with your tech? Your colors are all types of off."

He bristled at the mention of Glimmer's office, his eyes narrowing as the image of the Moonstone, damaged and sparking, flickered into view. His stomach churned at the sight of the scorched room, Melog growling protectively in the doorway. Glimmer's safe haven, their strategic center, turned into a warning. A threat. But worse... the suggestion that she knew he was with Obsidian and had not bothered to tell him.

Bow's knuckles turned white as he gripped his bow tighter, his mind racing. Hordak was here. He'd been pulled through the portal, just like them. But now he had access to Earth, because of him.

When the hologram flickered back to Prime's sneering visage, Bow straightened, forcing himself to meet those unnerving green eyes with unwavering determination. "You don't scare us," he said, his voice steady despite the fury bubbling beneath the surface. "We've beaten you before, and we'll do it again. You can preach all you want, but it won't change the fact that you've already lost."

And just like that, he was gone, and the soft sound of a deer baying out in panic is the only sound that remains. As Horde Prime vanished, leaving nothing but an unsettling silence in his wake, Bow exhaled shakily. He turned to the others, his expression fierce but focused. He knelt beside Glimmer, his hand gentle on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern softening his voice. "Because I'm not letting him get away with this."

When Glimmer collapses, Bow puts away his bow as he catches her, and he lifts her into a gentle Princess carry as he looked from where Horde Prime was - to Glimmer. He glanced around at the others, his resolve hardening. "We need a plan, and we need it fast. If Hordak's playing games, we're already on the clock."

Catra has posed:
Catra's reaction to the hologram is... basically unreadable.

So that's Horde Prime. That's what's had Glimmer so spooked. He looks like Hordak but bigger, really. Well, bigger and meaner. No, not meaner, just more confident. More controlled. Probably more dangerous somehow. Hordak just wanted to conquer Etheria, from what she remembers Glimmer saying it sounds like Horde Prime is a special sort of unhinged.

"Well, too bad!" she snaps at Bow, instantly regretting it as pain lances through her torso, but she keeps going as if she didn't regret it. "What kind of plan do you think you're going to get?! You don't know anything about how he got here. Sparkles is out cold and has apparently lost her magic. Adora and Scorpia don't exactly make the best plans, and I hate to tell you this but if he's with Obsidian THEN I WORK FOR HIM so I'm not going to be helping you make any plans that involve fighting one of my bosses."

The feline pulls her phone out again, and texts Takashi, 'send minions to get Sparkles, she sez protect her big smooth rock'

"Come on," she mutters, and reaches out to, of all things, scoop Glimme rright up from under Bow. "We gotta get bck to the tower."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Whelp, now that explanations have been made, She-Ra ... gives a simple nod. "Okay. So we'll get things taken care of fast." She says simply. "Or at least as fast as we can. For now, the step is..." She ... moves over to a part of the shrine to get some rope. And then makes her way over towards Catra.

"...Catra."

Yeah she fully intends to just straight up tie up and kidnap the cat so she can get healed without escaping.

This definitely won't have repercussions later.

After doing the tying she looks towards Scorpia. "...Can I leave getting her to a healer to you?" She hesitates.

"I don't... want to say something stupid and accidentally ruin the progress other people have made with her."

...And then Adora would turn to leave.

Bow has posed:
"I'll contact Mamoru." that at the mention of the healer.

And with Catra's words searing in even deeper?

Bow walks away. She's right.

It is all his fault.

Scorpia has posed:
The bots falling to heaps gave Scorpia an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. A feeling that was short lived when Horde Prime's holographic image appears, larger than life. As he always tried his best to be. An icy hand grips her heart with dread, listening and watching as his unspoken threats and manipulation land on all of her friends.

Turning to Catra and Glimmer, she nods, "Yes. I'll make sure they're both looked at. I don't know who this Mamoru is, but I trust them if Bow trusts them. I can take them to a clinic nearby if you'll have him meet us there? Please Bow." And she's effectively scooped both girls up into her arms once again, walking away from the shrine towards the closest medical care facility.