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All her life, Shadow Weaver had craved power. It was an addiction for her, something she wanted more than anything. She also wanted to prove herself to the world, to those who had judged her and to make those who had wronged her pay dearly. But along her path to power, she’d hit plenty of bumps in the road.
Her natural talents as a sorceress made her feel superior to the other sorcerers of Mystacor, who she saw as incompetent fools who didn’t do enough with their magic. To that end, she’d sought the spell of obtainment to empower herself with dark otherworldly powers, but of course, that had failed and she’d been left with the deep scars that covered her body.
When she joined the Horde, her lust for power only kept going. Though she did serve Hordak, she knew she would make a much better leader than him, to take over the Horde and wreak vengeance on those who had cast her out. But that had failed too when one of her own wards betrayed her and she was imprisoned.
And then when she’d defected to the rebellion and informed them of Hordak’s plans, getting into Glimmer’s good graces, she’d manipulated the young Queen into using the Heart of Etheria, but of course, that had failed too and in the end, Horde Prime had arrived and now sought to conquer the world Shadow Weaver desired for her own.
But despite all these failures, she was a survivor. She could easily thread others around her finger and manipulate them to do her bidding. She was most proud of how she’d managed to do that with Adora and Catra. Despite her cruelty to them, they’d in a way been the ones to save her.
The final battle now dawned and all of Etheria’s hopes rested on getting Adora and the failsafe to the Heart of Etheria. Shadow Weaver didn’t care about power by this point, she just wanted to get rid of Horde Prime. She and Catra had teleported down to the chambers beneath the planet, after Prime had already caught onto the rebel’s plans.
As Catra was fighting the alien horror that Prime had unleashed upon Adora, Weaver helped Adora through the corridor underneath the planet to the Heart’s chamber. Adora wasn’t in good shape, she was unable to transform and green scars covered her body, the result of Prime’s biovirus infecting her.
“Catra…” Adora whimpered weakly. “Wait.. we can’t… We can’t just leave her.”
“Don’t lose your focus,” Weaver insisted. “We’re so close.”
As they both looked upwards, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel, the Heart of Etheria was almost within reach. Yet, Adora was still distracted and as she clutched her chest in pain, the two of them heard Catra’s scream from behind them. Adora turned around, staring at the end of the hall, watching Catra fighting the alien monster as it wrapped its tendril around her leg.
Shadow Weaver then looked at the Heart… and then at Adora and Catra. And at that moment… something finally dawned on her. Despite all of her life seeing Adora and Catra as mere pawns in her plans… a part of her still cared about them and it was clear that the two of them cared for one another.
And she could see how weaker Adora was now without Catra being there. Then everything made sense. Magic, Power, neither was the most powerful force in the universe and neither was worth destroying oneself over. No, love was the most powerful force in the universe and it was the true way that they were all going to survive.
For the first time in her life, Shadow Weaver felt love for the two young women she’d raised. She had been a terrible mother figure to them… but maybe, in this one last moment, she could make a difference. Catra in a way, had been an inspiration to her… and these two girls didn’t deserve to have their story end like this.
Reaching out to the Heart, Shadow Weaver empowered herself with its magic, feeling the energy flowing through her. She hadn’t felt this powerful in years… and knew that now, she had the advantage.
Rushing down the hall, she fired a blast of dark magic right at the monster, freeing Catra from its grip. Catra jumped to her feet and stared in shock as Shadow Weaver blasted the creature again, driving it into a corner of the room. She was utterly ferocious, the most powerful Catra had ever seen her. It was a though Shadow Weaver had become a force of nature itself.
“Shadow Weaver?”
“Take Adora and run!” Weaver shouted, before she blasted the creature again. “I’ll hold it off!”
“No, it's too powerful!”
Shadow Weaver didn’t listen, instead, she just blasted the monster again. The green-scaled beast roared, pushing through her magical blasts. It tried to strike her with one of its tendrils, but Shadow Weaver summoned a blade of dark magic that sliced it in two. Catra stared in a mix of awe and horror.
“Shadow Weaver, no!”
The sorceress turned and fired a blast at Catra, knocking her into the hallway that led to the Heart and sealing it off with a magical force barrier. “I told you to run!”
Catra got to her feet and punched the barrier, tears streaming down her face. Despite all this woman had done to her, despite all the pain… she didn’t deserve to die like this. No one deserved to die… other than the bastard who was controlling that alien monster.
“Stop, it's going to kill you!” Catra pleaded.
Shadow Weaver used her magic to bind the creature in chains of dark energy, holding it in place. It tried to strike her with its free head, but the witch merely put up another energy shield. She was holding her down, but it was clear that her power boost was only temporary, as Catra could see Weaver straining.
“Please… Catra,” she groaned weakly, using all of her power to hold the monster back. “You need to get Adora to the Heart. It’s the only chance we have.”
“No! Let me out of this barrier! We can take it together!”
Weaver chuckled a little. “Oh, Catra, my sweet child… it’s much too late for me. I’ve been wrong all my life, hurt too many people. No, this is how my story has to end, this is my only chance to do one right thing in my life.”
Catra stared in horror, remembering how Glimmer had said those very same words to her.
“But it’s not too late for you and Adora. I know you’ll survive this. This may be my ending… but it is your beginning, Catra. You can finally let me go. I am so proud of you.”
“No!” Catra sobbed, but before she could punch the barrier again, Adora grabbed her wrist.
“Catra,” the blonde said weakly, staring into her eyes. The two of them then stared as Shadow Weaver then raised her hand and removed her mask from her face, revealing to them her true face.
For many years, Adora and Catra had wondered what Shadow Weaver looked like under her mask. Monstrous, deformed, utterly inhuman. While her face was scarred, they’d never expected her to look so… beautiful. She stared at them with her green eyes and her scarred mouth formed a smile. It was strange to see her so… normal and peaceful.
“You’re welcome,” she said, speaking sincerely for the first time in many, many years.
Then, she gathered all of her magical power, energy swirling around her. Her eyes glowed golden and with a mighty scream, she let out all of her power in one final blast that consumed both herself and the monster in burning flame, a massive burst of light that blinded Adora and Catra for a few moments… and then, both Shadow Weaver and the monster… were gone.
Catra sobbed, as did Adora, but the two of them knew they didn’t have time to mourn. They still had a planet to save. They hugged each other for a few moments, before Catra pulled Adora over her shoulder and helped her down the hall to the Heart. Shadow Weaver was dead… and Adora and Catra would make sure her death wasn’t in vain.
When Shadow Weaver awoke, she found herself in a familiar, yet strange place. As she groaned and pulled herself onto her feet, she rubbed her head. Memories came back to her, of what she’d sacrificed, what she’d finally learned… and yet, despite that sacrifice, Shadow Weaver was surprised to find that she wasn’t dead.
More to the point, she was surprised that she’d found herself… in the Fright Zone of all places, namely in her old sanctum no less, the Black Garnet pulsing with energy beside her. She was confused and disorientated. She stumbled around, feeling the room. It was… seemingly real, but being a sorceress, she knew how convincing illusions could be.
“What… What’s going on?” she wondered, walking around the room.
She tried to ponder what had happened. She’d never actually tried the magical spell she’d used to sacrifice herself with before, gathering all of her magical energy to let it out as one destructive blast. As far as she knew… she should have been killed, her body utterly vaporised by the blast.
Yet here she was, seemingly alive… and barely a scratch on her. She tried to theorise what had happened. Perhaps this was some kind of simulation that the systems of the Crystal Castle were projecting. She’d heard how the ancient ruin had such abilities. Or maybe… she was dead and this was some kind of afterlife?
She’d never been a spiritual sort. Though she believed in magic, she knew for a fact that the souls of the deceased never went anywhere after they died. They merely just expired along with the body.
Before Shadow Weaver could ponder any further… the door to the sanctum opened. Shadow Weaver turned… and saw a sight she never expected. None other than… herself.
Standing in the doorway of the sanctum was a being identical to herself in appearance, though unlike Weaver herself, this other version of her was wearing her mask. The other Weaver glared at her, just as shocked to see a duplicate of herself as Shadow Weaver was. Se raised her hand, it glowing with dark energy.
“Who the devil are you?!” She demanded. “What are you doing here?!”
“I thought that was obvious, Weaver,” Shadow Weaver said. “I’m you. Another you. I don’t know how this is possible, but I have no intention of fighting you.”
“You are tresspassing!” The other sorceress bellowed. “You must be some kind of trick.”
Shadow Weaver chuckled. “Then go ahead. Cast a spell on me. You’ll see I’m no illusion.”
Her other self then lowered her hand, before she raised her other one and cast a magical circle through Weaver’s body. “You’re real… where did you come from?”
“I think I should be the one to ask the questions,” Shadow Weaver stated. “I can tell where I am and if I had to guess… What year is this?”
“A time traveller!” the other Weaver declared. “So, you must be a result of the anomaly Hordak detected. I didn’t think he’d have been able to pierce time as well as space.”
Then everything clicked into place. Shadow Weaver… had travelled nineteen years into the past and the other version standing before her was none other than her younger self and today was the day that Hordak would find the infant Adora and bring her back to the Horde. Shadow Weaver looked at herself in the reflection of the Garnet.
When she’d used her final attack on the alien creature, the raw power of the Heart’s energy she was channelling must have opened some kind of rift in the fabric of space and time and she was then sucked into the rift before her own explosion could vaporise her. Now here she was, in the past.
And then Weaver had a thought. Perhaps… perhaps this was her way to atone for what she’d done. She wasn’t far back enough in past to change everything, but maybe… she could at least correct a few of her notable mistakes. But then she pondered how dangerous messing with time travel was.
As far as she knew, she was the first in Etherian history to actually travel through time and as such, there was no telling what her actions now would do. But perhaps… she could convince her younger self to see the error of her ways. She at least had to try and if not... well, she had a contingency for that too.
“I know this is going to sound rather farfetched,” Shadow Weaver then said. “But yes, I am a time traveller it seems. From nineteen years in the future.”
“So you’re from the future,” her younger self remarked. “Let me guess, you travelled back in time because at some point, a plan of ours is going to backfire and you wanted to correct your mistake before it happens?”
“Sort of like that,” Weaver said. “I suspect you must be wondering what happens in your future?”
“Do we overthrow Hordak?” Her younger self asked. “Get revenge on those fools in Mystacor who exiled us?”
“No, we do not.”
“So… you’ve come to help me with that?”
“No,” Weaver shook her head. “I’ve come to tell you to abandon your quest for power.”
Her younger self stared in shock, before she laughed. “That’s… rather funny. Who knew I was such a comedian?”
“I wasn’t joking,” The future Weaver said seriously. “I’ve come to warn you about the future, about how your lust for power will only cause you more pain and suffering.”
“You… You’re mistaken!” The younger Weaver argued.
“Am I? Let me tell you what Hordak is going to find out there. He’s going to find a little baby girl, a precious little thing. He’ll place her in your care and you’ll sense a great magical potential in her. You’ll want to raise her to be your perfect little servant, your ultimate weapon in overthrowing Hordak and taking over the world for yourself.”
The future Weaver sighed. “But in doing so, you’ll be putting that girl through so much pain and suffering. And she will have a friend who you will come to despise and treat worse than her. You’ll pit these two girls against one another, letting them compete for your approval. It’ll tear them up inside.”
“No different than what we did to Micah.”
“But then the girl you’ll take in will eventually see through your ways and so will her friend. The girls you raised will turn against you. One will defect to the rebellion, the other will usurp your place and try to become Hordak’s new second-in-command. You’ll escape of course and though you’ll survive through our usual ways of treachery and deceit, it will eventually come to a point where there’s no turning back, that all the effort you’ve put into gaining power will be for nothing. Please, Weaver, don’t make the mistakes I did.”
“And maybe I do believe you,” the younger sorceress said, still sounding a little sceptical. “What would you have me do instead?”
“Forget your dreams of power and raise those girls right. Make sure they are happy and loved. I know you are still capable of that. As for Hordak, convince him to stand down and end this pointless war. You know he’s only doing this to prove his worth to his brother, a brother who will only reject him. You can relate to that.”
“I… I suppose I can.” The younger Weaver then removed her mask, showing her scarred face. “So what you’re telling me is… these scars were for nothing? That nothing I’ve done has been worth it.”
“No, let those scars teach you the lesson you should have learned years ago,” Weaver insisted. “Take that pain and hurt and turn it into something better! Please, you won’t get a better chance than right now.”
“I….” The other Weaver thought and for a moment, the future Shadow Weaver thought her younger self had finally seen the light, that she’d been able to convince her.
But, it was all for nought. The younger Shadow Weaver just laughed. “You know… you almost had me there. Even if what you say is true, that my actions will only be my downfall… Well, you’ve at least given me some pointers on what mistakes I won’t repeat again. I will raise those girls right… and together, we shall take this world and make it ours!”
The future Weaver scowled. “I should have known. Your ego and ambitious nature overpower any sense of doubt that you’re wrong.”
Her hands charged with magic, the younger Weaver raised her hands and smirked. “And just to make sure you don’t get in the way, I think I’ll kill you right here and now.”
“Oh… I very much doubt that!” Suddenly, the future Weaver drew a massive amount of magical energy from the Black Garnet and fired it right at her younger self. The blast struck the other woman right in the chest, the younger Weaver’s eyes widening in shock and horror, as dark magical energy started to spread out from the wound, disintegrating her into magical particles.
The future Weaver chuckled as her younger self slumped to the floor, screaming in utter agony as she was slowly torn apart by her future self’s magic. As she wailed helplessly at her fate, the future Weaver picked up her younger self’s mask and placed it over her face, clearing up all loose ends.
“I had a feeling I might not have been able to convince you… so I kept you talking while I re-established my connection to the Black Garnet,” The future weaver stated. “I don’t think Hordak will be able to tell the difference between us. We do age rather… gracefully.”
The younger weaver glared at her future self, still screaming. “You… You witch!”
“Takes one to know one, my dear,” The older weaver said, before she watched as with one last scream, her younger self was completely disintegrated, leaving nothing left of her but the mask that was now on her future self’s face. The other Shadow Weaver disappeared into tiny little embers that faded as they fell, leaving no trace of what they'd once been. With her younger self dead, the one true Shadow Weaver smiled beneath her mask.
“Now… to put things right.”
Twenty-Five Years Later…
Adora and Catra smiled as they walked towards the landing platform where their ship awaited them. It had been a most productive diplomatic visit to Brightmoon for the Empresses of Crimsonia, especially since they’d gotten to see some dear friends of theirs. But alas they couldn’t stay forever.
As they made their way down the steps landing platform, Glimmer, along with Bow and her parents, accompanied them. The young Queen had been such a dear friend to the pair for many years, as had Bow. And not only that, she was taking the role of Queen very well since her mother had decided to step down.
“You sure you can’t stay longer, Adora?” Angella wondered. “I know you’re busy and all with being She-Ra and ruling your kingdom.”
“I’d love to, Angella, but well, I do need to go home at some point,” Adora chuckled. “But still, it was nice to see you all again.”
“Yeah, I even got to beat Sparkles at chess again,” Catra teased.
Glimmer grumbled. “You… just got lucky.”
Bow giggled, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “And Adora, you’ll make sure to drop those artifacts you recovered at my dads when you get round to it, right?”
“Of course!” Adora replied. “It would be cruel of me to just hoard them for myself.”
As Catra and Adora approached their ship, the landing ramp lowered for them on Adora’s command. It was truly a magnificent vessel, having once been the ship of Mara, Adora’s predecessor as She-Ra. When the Horde had been disbanded and Adora had been told of her true origins, she’d decided to journey with Catra to the crimson waste. Together, they’d found this very ship and it had been very useful during the battle against Horde Prime.
That felt so long ago now, yet it was only a couple of years. The great battle that finally united all of Etheria, put away any grudges from the war against the Horde two decades earlier. And it was all thanks to Adora.
“Hey, girls,” Micah then said. “Tell Light Spinner and that sister of mine not to forget our meeting at Mystacor next week.”
“We’ll remind them, don’t worry,” Adora reassured him, as she and Catra climbed up the ramp. “Anyway, we’ll see you soon!”
“Try not to miss us too much,” Catra replied.
The ship’s ramp soon raised and the engines hovered into life, the craft taking off into the sky and flying towards the horizon. It wouldn’t be a short flight, the ship was capable of flying faster than the speed of light, but nevertheless, Adora and Catra were anxious to finally get back home.
“Keep the autopilot on, C’yra,” Adora instructed the ship’s AI.
“Acknowledged Adora,” it replied.
Catra leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Ah, it’s always good to catch up with them.”
“Wish we could get round to doing it more often,” Adora admitted. “But well, we do have our kingdom to run.”
“And you still have being She-Ra on your plate,” Catra noted.
“That too.” She chuckled. “To think our lives nearly went down a very different path.”
It was true. Had things been different, they would have been raised to have been among the most fearsome soldiers in the Etherian Horde… had it not been for the kindly sorceress who had taken them in and brokered the ceasefire that had ended the war all those years ago.
While the war was over, most of the former Horde soldiers had decided to stay together, with the one who had raised Adora and Catra being their leader, while Hordak had decided to go into exile with his lover Entrapta at her kingdom in Dryl. But of course, the Fright Zone had been built on stolen land.
So after giving the land back to Scorpia so she could rebuild her kingdom and claim her birthright as a princess, Light Spinner and her allies decided to form their own nation in a remote part of the Crimson Waste. Allying with the various gangs and mercenaries there who would become their honour guard, they built quite a kingdom out in that desert.
Though of course, it wasn’t a desert for long. After Adora had become She-Ra and had worked with her fellow princesses to set Etheria’s magic free, the area around her kingdom was transformed by the planet's magic to become a verdant garden paradise, becoming an oasis in the desert sands.
It was then that Adora, not long after defeating Horde Prime when he’d come to enslave Etheria for his own empire, had accepted Shadow Weaver’s offer to become Crimsonia’s new Empress… with Catra ruling at her side as her wife and consort. And so that’s how things had been for the last five blissful years.
And very soon, through the large window of their ship, Adora and Catra could see the sight of their kingdom, perfectly beautiful, its shining metallic spires and ethereal magical glow making the whole area look like it was a scene from a painting and what a work of art it was.
Taking the controls, Adora landed the ship beside the royal palace and she and Catra disembarked. They took in the sights of their kingdom, the shining red and gold spires that dotted its architecture, the large statue in their honour in the city square that honoured them and their deeds.
“Ah, it’s good to be home, isn’t it, babe?” Catra wondered with a grin.
Adora kissed her wife on the lips. “Yes… though if you ask me, home to me has always been wherever you are.”
“You cheesy dork,” Catra purred, before she wrapped her arms around Adora to kiss her again. Before their tender moment could continue, however, they heard the sound of someone clearing her throat.
“Ahem. Your majesties?"
Both of them saw Light Spinner walking towards them, dressed beautifully in her white, red and gold stately robes. Though she had stepped down as Empress, she still served Adora and Catra as their primary advisor and was often the one to look after their kingdom when they were away.
Catra rushed over and hugged the woman tightly, sighing. Though Adora and Catra had both been orphans and never knew who their true parents were, Light Spinner was the closest thing to a mother the two of them had ever had. And if they were honest, they wouldn’t have anyone else.
“I missed you, little one,” Light Spinner said softly.
“You always miss us when we leave,” Catra remarked, chuckling.
“I can’t help it,” Light Spinner said, before Catra pulled away. “Was everything alright in Brightmoon?”
“It was fun, we need to do it more often,” Adora replied. “Oh and Micah says-”
“I know, I haven’t forgotten,” Light Spinner remarked. “I may be old but I’m not senile.” She rolled her eyes.
But under the veil that covered her scarred mouth, she smiled at the two women. She remembered how she’d allowed them to grow up as childhood friends with Glimmer and Bow, how she’d reunited Glimmer and Angella with their father. And how she’d kept her promise to herself all those years ago, to raise Adora and Catra right.
“Anything happen while we were gone?” Catra asked as they all walked towards the palace.
“Nothing much. Your old friend Lonnie dropped by to remind you about her and Scorpia’s visit. She also mentioned they’d be bringing their children too.”
“Never would have expected Scorpia and Lonnie to get together,” Catra remarked. “Or have kids for that matter.”
“And they do so very well at it too,” Adora admitted.
Light Spinner chuckled. “You know, people keep asking me when you two will have a few kittens of your own.”
“Hey, that’s a big step!” Catra exclaimed, blushing.
Light Spinner laughed. “I think you’ll be good mothers, both of you.”
“Well,” Adora said fondly. “We did have a good example.”
Catra stretched her arms and looked away. “Okay, it’s been a long day and I’m fairly certain we don’t have anything else going on so… I think I’m gonna go take a nap.”
“And I’ve probably got some paperwork to catch up on,” Adora said. “Who knew running a kingdom was so much.”
“You’ll be fine, dear,” Light Spinner reassured her. “Just remember to take breaks and not to push yourself. I’ll be there to help as always.”
“Thanks, Light Spinner,” Adora said, gratefully.
As the two wives went their separate ways, Light Spinner looked at them with pride on her face… and guilt that she still hadn’t told them her deepest secret. But how could she? How could she tell them that she wasn’t the true Light Spinner, that she’d come from a future where she’d abused and hurt them?
Just then, she felt someone touch her hand and looked to one side, seeing her wife Castaspella, smiling at her. After disbanding the Horde and taking back her old name, Light Spinner returned to Mystacor for a while to make amends with her former colleagues there… and ended up bonding a lot with Castaspella.
Not long after the formation of Crimsonia, the two had fallen in love and were soon married. Casta was also the only person Light Spinner had felt comfortable revealing the truth about her her secret past, a secret her wife had gladly kept for all these long years. She knew how painful a truth it was.
“You were thinking about them, weren’t you, love,” Casta noted.
Light Spinner nodded. “Yes… It’s been twenty-five years, my love. You would have thought I’d have gotten round to telling them about who I used to be.”
“Do they need to know?” Castaspella wondered. “Do they need to be aware of your old world?”
“No… but it’s just I feel bad for keeping that from them,” Light Spinner noted. “I did so many horrible things to them and they don’t even know.”
“But you changed and the universe gave you a second chance,” Castaspella reminded her. “Be grateful for that, my beloved. Some people never get that second chance.”
Light Spinner sighed and reached up, gently removing the veil from her face. “As always, my sweet, you are right.”
“I always am,” Castaspella sighed, before she cupped her wife’s cheeks and gave her the most passionate of kisses. Wrapping her arms around her, Light Spinner held her close and safe.
The world Light Spinner had come from had been pain and misery and she’d only added to that. But in this world, this new utopia that she’d worked hard to protect, she’d been able to do something she’d never been able to when she was Shadow Weaver. She’d been able to create something truly beautiful.