The other girl

Once upon a time in the Waste (part 1)

Claire

"I can't believe I'm standing in front of Mara's ship." Adora said.

"How do you know this is Mara's?" Glimmer asked.

"Light Hope showed me Mara's ship crashing. Right before the Stars disappeared."

"I don't know who Mara is, but that's definitely the ship that says your name." Huntara said.

"Wait. Says my name?"

"Not Adora. It says She-Ra."

We all ran towards the ship. When we got inside it was completely empty.

"Or it could be empty. That's an option, too." Bow said.

Adora put her hand on the ship. "This can't be it. Where's the message coming from then?"

"Has this ship always been here?" I asked.

"The Crimson Waste got hit with the mother of all dust storms. And when it cleared. This was unearthed."

"And then people stole everything they could pry up and take." I said.

"If they didn't want things stolen, they should have bolted everything down. Besides, no one comes here anymore."

"Because there's nothing left to steal?" Glimmer asked.

"Well, that. And it's haunted."

There was this voice echoing through the ship saying "She-Ra. Etheria. Gone."

"Where is that voice coming from?" And where's the door?" Adora asked.
"The ship is massive but this room is tiny."

"Maybe it's like one of those houses that seem huge but feel small." I suggested.

"No, there had to be a door somewhere." She looked down and seemed to notice something. "Hold on."

She pulled out her sword and transported it into a shield. It started glowing. After a couple of seconds the whole ship started to glow and a door opened having bats fly towards us. We all yelled but Adora didn't even flinch.

The voice echoed again saying the same thing.

...

"We do this on three. One, two—" Glimmer was cut off by Bow.

"Wait! On three or after three?"

"On three. One, two, three!"

We were trying to go through a door, but Glimmer and Bow were scared of something coming out at them.

There was a chair with controls on it.

"This is it." Bow shouted. "This is the same message from my tracker pad." The message stopped and a hologram started to play. It was She-Ra but not Adora's She-Ra.

"I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone."

"Mara. I have so many questions for you. I don't even know where to start." Then the hologram started to glitch and then repeated itself.

"Um... hi I'm Adora." It just kept repeating itself. "No, no. This isn't it! I've done this before. There's usually a password or something." The hologram started over again. "Eternia. I have the sword. I am She-Ra. Administrator detected! Speak to me!" Adora started laughing like a maniac.

"Adora?" Glimmer and I said in union.

"Of course it's on a loop. If course it is. Because why would a hologram ever give me a straight answer? Solve a puzzle. Train. Let go. I do everything they tell me, waiting for answers, and all I'm left with is... Why was I taken from my family? Why was I forced to become a soldier? Why did I come here if this was nothing but another dead end?" She smashed her hand on the controls. A hologram sword showed up.

"Adora, I'm sorry. Maybe we can—" Bow stopped himself. Adora pulled out her sword and plug it where the hologram was.

The place lit up and there was another hologram of Mara. She was sitting in a chair crying while there was a baby on her lap. She looked up and started to look around.

"I don't have much time. I barely made it out. If you are seeing this, it means you wield the Sword. You are the new She-Ra. It means I failed. I was supposed to be the last. And I am so, so sorry. I don't know what they told you, but it wasn't all bad at first. We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to study this planet's magic. How could it go so wrong? Light Hope use the——Can't——Weapon—— The Weapon—— Weapon——"

"What Weapon? Bow, how's it going? Have you fixed it?" Adora asked.

"I'm trying, but I think the message got damaged when the ship crashed."

"I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in. I hid us from the rest of the universe to keep everyone safe. To keep my baby somewhat safe. This is the one place they'll never find us. I saw what they would do. The deaths that would follow. I couldn't help them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option. Maybe it's been a week. Maybe it's been thousands of years. I never wanted to be a hero. I won't be remembered as one." An alarm started beeping in the hologram. "You have the Sword now. It is the Administrator Key to our planet. With it, you can activate a portal. So I'm begging you. Don't do it. Leave us here. If you open a portal, death and destruction will follow. For the good of the universe, Etheria must stay in Despondos. Please do it. For my baby, Claire."

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