Disclaimer – First of all, let me say that I love the show exactly how it is. However, the fan in me wants more, and the writer in me won't let me rest until I explore this plot that has planted itself in my brain after re-watching the series for the third time. Don't worry though, we'll be going some familiar places, seeing some familiar faces, and we'll end up where we're supposed to be. I do not own She-Ra.

Chapter 1

"What?" Adora asked, not quite believing what she'd heard.

Catra shrugged, folding her arms across her chest in an attempt to look nonchalant, but really, she'd done it to hide the way her hands were trembling as she waited for Adora's answer. "You heard me. If you want me to leave The Horde, you've gotta give me something worth leaving for, and just switching to the opposite side of a war isn't gonna cut it for me."

Adora looked to be considering what she'd said, and Catra felt her heart beat faster. She was so close to finally having Adora all to herself. Catra had been in a state of panic ever since Adora hadn't come back from The Whispering Woods, and now that she'd found her, there was no way she was losing her again, especially not to some lame princesses.

Tossing the stun baton aside, Catra stepped forward, and took Adora's hands in hers. "We've been fighting someone else's war our whole lives, Adora. Aren't you tired of it? Don't you ever wonder what else is out there?"

"I do, but..." Adora trailed off as she tried to remember why she had objected in the first place.

"Then, let's find out. Come on; we're never gonna get another chance like this. Run away with me." Her voice was gentle -almost pleading- and she hated it, but if it meant Adora would come with her, she'd just have to salvage what was left of her pride later.

"Okay," Adora finally said, and Catra released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

"Really?"

Adora nodded. "I can't keep fighting for The Horde now that I know what they're really doing, but I can't be without you either, so yeah really."

Catra willed away the blush she could feel blooming in her cheeks, and thanked all of Etheria's moons for her copper-colored fur that would more-or-less hide the evidence of how Adora's words had effected her. Try as she might to suppress her feelings for her beautiful best friend over the years, she'd had no luck. Thankfully, Adora seemed to be oblivious to Catra's love-sick state... that or she was just pretending she didn't notice so that she could spare her friend's feelings. Adora was pretty, strong, brave, and a brilliant strategist despite being a little naive at times. She was kind, determined, and everybody loved her. There was no way someone like Adora would ever think to look twice at someone like Catra.

But a girl could dream, right? And with them finally getting to spend some time alone, who knew what could happen? This was her chance, Catra realized; this was her chance to show Adora that they could be more, that she could make her happy... that she was good enough.

Adora looked down at the sword with a sad expression on her face before reluctantly moving to toss it aside onto the ground, but before it could leave her hand, it began to glow so brightly that both girls had to look away. When the glow subsided, there was a golden bracelet on Adora's wrist with a blue runestone as its centerpiece.

"Um, okay then," Adora said dryly, shifting her wrist back and forth to examine the admittedly-pretty bracelet. Catra took her hand, and made to pull her onward, but Adora stopped her. "Wait! We can't just leave while this place is literally going up in smoke."

Catra scoffed. "Why not?"

Adora glowered at her, and Catra had the decency to look ashamed. "Because that would be wrong."

Catra cleared her throat. "Right, right, of course it would. See I knew that; I just wanted to see if you knew."

"These people are innocent and defenseless. We've gotta help them." The look of determination in Adora's eyes made it clear that she wasn't about to take no for an answer on this. "I promise; just one last fight, and then we're out of this war for good."

Catra thought it over in her head even though they both knew what her answer would be. Try as she might, Catra had never been able to deny Adora anything. "Fine."

"For the honor of grayskull!" Adora yelled, holding her arm up toward the sky. The blinding light was back, and when it had dissipated, an 8-foot-tall, warrior goddess now stood in Adora's place.

"Wow," Catra breathed. Seriously, every time she thought she couldn't fall any more in love with her...

"I can handle the tanks. You help Gimmer and Bow get the villagers

Catra quirked an eyebrow. "Um, help who now?" Really though, what kinds of names were Glimmer and Bow.

Adora laughed. "You'll know them when you see them."

Catra nodded, and headed off to do what Adora had asked. The faster they got this done, the faster they could leave all of it behind. Though Catra knew Adora could handle herself in a fight, she couldn't help but keep checking up on her as she evacuated the villagers. She had no need to worry though. Adora made stopping the Horde troop in its tracks look like child's play as she tossed tanks four-times her size so high that they vanished from view and sent soldiers retreating for the hills. That girl really was something else.

Catra spotted a little kid with tears running down her face as she called out for her mother. A pair of Horde soldiers steadily approached, and Catra felt her blood boil. That was how she and many others had ended up in the ranks of The Horde. Catra was far more observant than Adora; she'd seen the scared, young kids soldiers would bring back from missions. They'd turn up in the cadet barracks that very night. It was how Hordak made sure he never ran out of soldiers.

Catra sprinted toward the kid, scooping her up in her arms, and easily took out the approaching soldiers with a couple of well-placed kicks to the head. She then carried the kid to the village's edge where she'd led all the other evacuees. A guy with a quiver of arrows hanging from his back stood with a pink-haired girl ushering the last of the villagers into the nearby woods. When the two of them saw Catra approach, they immediately tensed. Catra sat the little girl on her feet, and she rushed over to an older woman who looked a lot like her. The woman scooped the kid into her arms, and gave Catra a grateful smile before following the rest of her fellow villagers into the forest.

"Keep away from them, Horde Scum!" Cried the pink-haired girl decked out in glitter, a princess no-doubt. She approached Catra with her fists clenched at her sides.

Catra rolled her eyes. She looked about as threatening as a butterfly. "Relax, Sparkles, I'm on your side... for today at least." She didn't wait around to hear a reply. She was going to find Adora, and the two of them were getting as far away from all of this as possible.

She found Adora -now back to her normal form- standing in the midst of the charred battlefield. Catra could tell that the day's events had shaken something inside of her friend. Understandable; Shadow Weaver had always said that Adora's big heart was her greatest weakness, but Catra didn't know if she agreed. Regardless, the sooner she got Adora away from all of this, the better. "Ready?" She asked her, offering her hand.

Adora gave her a watery smile before placing her hand in Catra's. "Ready."