บท 55: A 'Trip' To Thaymor
Tigra ran out of the Fright Zone with a faint orange light surrounding her body while also covering Catra, who had repositioned herself to have an arm around the back of Tigra's neck. Alongside that, there was practically a yellow, electrical dome surrounding the two that seemed to take the shape of a bullet.
Speed: 193.2 [Base] * 3.49 [Running] * 2.407 [Haste] * 7.5 [Lightning Armor] = 12,177.1 mph | Mach 15.9
Time until reaching Thaymor: 737/12177.1 * 60 [minutes] = 3.6 minutes. | 3:36
…
Catra looked around as the surroundings blurred before scrunching her eyebrows slightly.
"You're going slower than you could." Catra accused.
"Yep. Instead of using my Dash skill, I'm using my Run skill. They both affect my Stamina, but it seems as if Run was intended to be a 'Long Term' skill that I could use for just over 6 hours straight compared to Dash 's 4.5. Currently, Dash affects my speed nearly 10x as much as Run due to being over 300 levels higher than it."
"So you're trying to increase run to have a similar speed to fall back on? But why? I can't see you in a battle that would last that long, nor is there likely anywhere on Etheria that you can't reach in minutes."
"Most of my Skills undergo an improvement once they breach the hundreds: 100, 200, and so on. At which point, their effect on me doubles. Levels 1-100 gave me 1% per level. Then 2%, 4%, 8%, and so on. Along with that, most of my skills give me bonuses to my base Stats, which further improve me. Increasing the levels of Run and Dash are likely what gave me 60% of my speed.""
"That's…insane." Catra admitted. "You'd just have to reach 700 and 1 level would give you more of a bonus than your first Level 100 would provide. Do you have a maximum?"
Tigra continued running, not really paying attention that she should have fallen off of a cliff and has been running on air for the last 10 seconds before landing.
"Haven't reached any yet besides Resistances, which maxed out at Level 100. At that point, I can't be hurt by anything with ill intentions such as spells or weapons specifically designed to use that element as an attack. I can further improve on those to prevent damage from that element permanently."
"So why haven't you? If you haven't."
"They use a rare function that requires something called Trait Upgrade Point or TUP . Essentially, TUP are points that, as the name implies, allow me to upgrade traits. Fire Immunity to Unburnable. With that, nothing that involves fire seems to be able to hurt me; which includes lava."
"So you used one earlier and that's how you knew you'd be okay in the lava at Cadalia. Not because you got some on you and found out, but because you used one of these to become unaffected."
"Yep. You were right a while ago about these abilities being why my DNA changes so much. When I upgrade my Immunities, it is physically changing all of my cells to be able to be unaffected by what it is doing."
The two of them ast in silence for a few minutes before Tigra noticed it would take ~ 5 seconds to reach Thaymor.
She slowed to a stop before coming to a complete stop 3 miles out from Thaymor.
Run has gained 734 [Miles] * 300 [EXP/Mile] * 3 [Artemis] = 660,600 EXP!
Run has leveled up! (2)56 → (2)87!
[Run LV (2)87 (7920/20808) - Increases DEX by 25% + 87*2^2%. Increase: 373% or 4.73. SP: 28]
Due to reaching LV 260, 265, 270, 275, 280, and 285: DEX +3, CON +6
DEX: 1391 → 1399
CON: 1037 → 1051
…
'Gosh, maybe I should grab those Racial traits to increase the EXP multiplier for every mile. Then again, Run leveled up 31 times in about 3.5 minutes. Based on gaining 700k EXP in roughly 4 minutes, I could gain ~8.5 million EXP per hour for Run right now.' Tigra thought, looking at the skill.
Catra rolled out of her arms and landed in a crouch. She stood up without showing nearly any kind of discomfort from moving over Mach 15.
"What's got your attention?" Catra asked, walking towards Thaymor with Tigra right behind her.
"I'm likely one of, if not the , fastest known person on Etheria. But I can grow so much more. I'm trying not to let some skills fall behind too much, but would it be better if I maxed out certain skills first? I mean, if I maxed out Dash , I wouldn't need to split my attention, but that would leave Run even further in the dust." Tigra asked.
"What was it some Generals say to improve on things you know first instead of always branching out?"
"Build your foundation to survive, specialize to thrive, expand to avoid one's demise." Tigra recited.
"What were your foundations again? Hand to hand, magic, and the ability to outrun a skiff." Catra answered her own question. "You've survived, your foundations are practically set. You've specialized in each of those categories enough that I think you never really specialized ."
"What? I've been focused on getting faster though?" Tigra pointed out.
"Have you?" Catra asked. "How many of the spells you have been learning have gone towards making you faster? How many of your spells have been learned to complete some other objective?"
Tigra went quiet at that.
"I have no doubt that you learned Haste and your Lightning Armor to move faster, but is there anything else that you learned specifically to focus on your speed? Or have you been learning magic because you unconsciously drifted from speed to magic once you started outspeeding everyone?"
"...huh."
"If you want my honest opinion? Max out your Dash skill since you stated that will be your combat skill. If you get that high enough, the distance between the Fright Zone and Thaymor could feel like a step to you in the future. Besides, it's not like you're leaving everything behind to focus on that.
Think of it as a percentage," Catra explained. "You put 60% of your focus onto your speed, you still have 40% to work with. You could do 30% with magic and 10% with the rest. Once you max out your speed, you can then distribute that 60% of focus to whatever you want."
"I'll think about it. But…I'll probably max out dash like you said. It would increase my CON and DEX a large amount and would allow me the comfort of always having something prepared for fighting." Tigra admitted.
"Now then," Catra clasped her hands together quietly as they walked through the edge of the forest to reveal Thaymor. "I called a few places and made a reservation with a restaurant named 'Fiery End' with the condition of having a table away from eyes."
"How much time do we have before the reservation?"
Catra pulled out her tablet and checked the time.
"About 10 minutes."
Tigra raised an eyebrow at that.
"10 minutes? It would have taken us another 4 hours to reach Thaymor on a skiff. 2.5 if we used the Entrapta modified ones."
"Well…I figured that you would have done what you did. So I took that into consideration." Catra rubbed her arm lightly, moving Catra's light brown fur around before smoothening it again. "Even if we had to take a skiff, I would have called ahead and asked if we could move the time."
"But…there's a slight problem with that plan?"
"I know. Adora would have been there much earlier than she should be, but that's why I have this."
Catra pulled out a small tablet that was white and had the red Horde symbol on the back.
"This was specially ordered from Entrapta to have an encryption on it that Entrapta personally designed to prevent anyone from following the digital trail back to the device. With this-"
"We could contact anyone without those who find out about it knowing who is contacting them. Depending on the security of that device, we could genuinely have a conversation with the Queen of Brightmoon and Hordak wouldn't have a clue about who was talking with her." Tigra finished as she realized the implications.
Catra nodded.
"How many could be made? It would be useful in the future."
"Not many. I specifically asked Entrapta to spend roughly 40 total hours designing the encryption to be unique to this device. And you know what many of the engineers are saying about Entrapta's hours."
"An hour of Entrapta's pure focus is worth almost an entire week's worth of time from a team of engineers." Tigra answered with a smile. "Crazy just how well she knows her stuff."
"Because she specialized." Catra gave Tigra a look.
Tigra rolled her eyes.
"I know, I know. What does the 'Fiery End' look like?"
Catra messed with her standard tablet as she put her special one back in her pocket.
She handed it over with a picture on it.
It was a two story brick building with a fiery sign hanging above a wooden door with the logo on it. There were a few windows that looked like they could have blinds to close in case Moonlight shined in someone's face.
Tigra swiped to the left and was shown the inside.
It had wooden-like floors with maybe 25 booths and tables on the first floor. The seats had orange cushions on brown chairs. The tables were dark, almost dirty orange that grew in saturation the closer to the middle it got before a small fire circle in the middle turned into a bright red. Above every table was a light that stated that it could spin in a way to simulate the light of an actual fire.
"Cozy." Tigra admitted.
Another swipe showed the second floor.
Instead of a brown floor, the floor was now a dark red, almost as if the brown wood from the previous floor had been stained in blood. The cushions now a dark red on the chairs and the tables were dark red until the center with an almost flower-like blue flame circle. Above the 10 tables were more extravagant lights that were stated to provide light and heat similar to a fire and that each could be adjusted by that table, seeing as the tables were able to be placed far enough away that Tigra guessed wouldn't be too affected by the other lights. It likely also helped that each of the booths had walls around the tables with a curtain that one could close.
"A bit fancy but not too much." Tigra spoke before continuing. "Says that each table has a button against the wall that is pressed to alert staff that a table is requesting service should their curtain be drawn shut."
"Picked the place for that reason. As long as we don't draw too much attention, word shouldn't get far about us. Because while most may know our names, they likely won't know our faces."
"Right. Most people who recognized me on the battlefield did so after I used either my Lava Armor or my Lightning Armor. The only ones who recognized me aside from that would be the Princesses."
The two of them walked into town.
Tigra and Catra were just walking up to the entrance of Fiery End. They were just about to enter when Tigra spotted a figure with blonde hair down to their shoulders quickly making their way over to them.
Tigra nudged Catra and gestured towards the direction before the woman came to a stop next to them soon after.
"Sorry I'm…late." Adora breathed slightly hard before standing back up.
Adora had worn a simple black shirt with red pants that hugged her legs well in Tigra's opinion. Her iconic ponytail was gone and replaced by her hair laying softly just below her shoulders.
The only sign that she had been running before now was them seeing it and the fact that Tigra could notice that Adora's skin was her lightly flushed face and some strands of hair hanging to the side of her head.
Tigra reached over and put the hair behind her ear and nodded.
"Better. And you're not too late, we had another 3 minutes before we had to enter to get our booth." Tigra informed.
Only after did she see just how flushed her face was.
'Man, Adora really needs to work on her endurance more. She doesn't look like she's run much but she's practically red already.'
"Oh…uh, alright?"
"Come on you two, we have a reservation to get." Catra told, giving a curious look at Adora.
The three entered before stopping at a greeter.
"Welcome to the Fiery End. Will this be a walk-in or a reservation?" They asked.
"Reservation of three under the name Peach Puma." Catra informed.
Tigra looked at Adora out of the corner of her eyes and saw the same confusion at the sudden name in her eyes.
"Peach Puma…ah, here we are. You've reserved a booth on the Blazing Lotus floor." They commented before picking up three menus and turning around.
"Luza! Table 8B has arrived!" He announced before a male waiter walked up and bowed lightly before taking the menus.
"If you would follow me dearies." His voice seemed like silk if she had to describe it.
They followed before being led up some stairs before seeing the floor and the picture did its work beautifully. They continued before being taken to a booth.
As they sat down, Tigra was in the middle with Catra to her left and Adora to her right. The table they were at was shaped like a U, giving each of them plenty of space to sit and to eat their food.
"My name is Luza and I will be your waiter for this afternoon. Right next to the lovely lady with black hair is a button that you will need to push once you are all ready to order. Are there any drinks that you would prefer?"
The three of them looked at each other.
"3 waters would be appreciated." Tigra answered, receiving nods from the other two with her.
"Very well. Next to the lovely ladies with brown and blonde hair, you will find two buttons each. For both of you, the buttons closest to the walls will retract the curtain and the other buttons will close the curtain. I will be right back with your drinks."
Luza left and, nearly instantly, Catra pressed the button.
A red curtain moved over and blocked everyone's view of them.
"This place is fancy 'Peach.'" Adora smirked. "How much is this going to hurt our wallets though?"
"Not as much as you may think. If my guess is right about what food we're ordering and such, this will likely cost about 800 credits." Catra waved as she picked up a menu.
Both of their eyes widened.
"800? That would be enough to buy 160 rations!" Tigra whispered.
"Yes, but you're not accounting for privacy as well as anonymity."
"Wait, what do you mean by that last bit?" Adora asked.
"Fiery End is a restaurant that appeared 8 months ago, four months after the B.O.B. [Battle of Brightmoon] At that point in time, Thaymor was switching allegiances every other week." Catra started.
"As such, they began building restaurants and stores that were opened to anyone with cash. They did this by providing anonymity. You pay money and don't cause a scene, most will shrug if they are asked if someone with your appearance is questioned.
If you pay Fiery End an extra 100, they give you the second floor, where only the staff know where you are seated. Another 50, you are given a curtain that produces a small area similar to the Silence spell, which stops sound from escaping the area. It's why these ones have buttons." Catra explained.
"That would be interesting to learn." Tigra muttered.
"You've done a lot of research into this place." Adora admitted with a smile.
"Someone had to." Catra shrugged, looking away and at the curtain. "If I hadn't you two would have simply picked an open booth place and everyone would see us. It wouldn't be 4 days before word would reach the Fright Zone."
The red curtain suddenly had a large blue spot on it.
Catra pressed the other button and the curtain opened, revealing Luza with a tray and 3 glasses of water about maybe a foot tall.
"Here are your drinks, dearies. We will be waiting for you to decide your food." Luza then bowed and walked away.
Catra pressed the button again and the curtain closed once more.
"Neat way of indicating that someone is standing outside." Adora noticed.
"So, who knows that you're in Thaymor?" Tigra asked.
"The Rebellion thinks that I'm at the Crystal Keep training except for Bow. He somehow figured out that I wasn't heading out to train and said to be careful with whatever I was doing." Adora answered.
"The Horde believes that we are meeting an informant out here while also checking up on the condition of Thaymor. Make sure that the Rebellion isn't thinking of slowly trying to take back Thaymor after the Neutrality Agreement with Thaymor." Tigra gave her their backstory as well.
Catra set her menu down.
"Both of you look at your menus. If I'm right, you'll appreciate the Heat Steak with reviews stating that the spices provide enough heat to warm up your mouth without needing to drink a gallon of water to offset it, Adora.
As for you Tigra, I'd suggest looking at the Blazing Pork and Steak combo that will provide you about 1800 calories, 55 grams of fat, 80 grams of protein, and comes with a spice that is rated their 3rd hottest spice food. I suggest you not get anything higher in their spice range as we want to enjoy the food and have a conversation." Catra suggested.
The two of them looked at the menu before looking at each other in slight amazement.
"You do know that, based on the amount of effort you've put into this, we're going to have to do something as well?" Tigra pointed out.
Catra smirked at them.
"And I'll be waiting to see it."
Tigra smacked the button to order and, 10 minutes later, they had their food.
"Let's get business out of the way." Tigra spoke.
"I've already told you that Hordak won't be leading the Horde for much longer," Tigra started. "We have a timeframe now. In two weeks, a group consisting of me, Catra, and various Generals and Captains will be capturing or taking out the heads of the military that we believe won't side with us.
Entrapta still likes Hordak as a science partner, but is willing to simply block all communication from specified soldiers. With that, we can prevent Hordak from calling his special Squadrons, calling allies, and trying to do something drastic.
Generals and Captains we trust are going to call a mandatory in person meeting that if they don't attend, they will be demoted back down to a Cadet."
"Do you have enough time to do that?" Adora asked. "If you have anyone stationed near the Kingdom of Snow, that would take them 3 days just to travel back to the Fright Zone."
"That's why the meeting was scheduled and sent out 3 days ago." Catra informed her. "Now everyone has proof that the meeting is taking place and we will be making personal calls to everyone starting next week. When the meeting occurs, I will be attending to provide potential support to the Generals and Captains, seeing as I recently learned Tigra's Lightning Armor."
"You know that too? At this rate, I'll need to learn those Armor spells; otherwise the two of you are going to leave me miles behind." Adora muttered.
"I mean, your She-Ra form is a multiplier as well. A rather large one if it alone allowed you to constantly break Mach 15 with ease alone." Tigra pointed out.
"Speaking of that form," Catra started. "Can you use that form now too? We both saw your strange appearance when you came out of the Portal."
Adora looked at Tigra with curiosity with a hint of hesitation.
"Right now? No." Tigra shook her head, confusing the two of them. "When the Portal almost destroyed reality, I grabbed the Sword. Only to find myself talking with the manifestations of all of the Runestones and She-Ra."
"Wait, the Runestones have consciousnesses?" Catra questioned.
"Yep. Some of them worry me though. At least 2 or 3 of them claimed to be neutral about the world ending. Oh!" Tigra snapped her fingers. "There are a total of 9 Runestones including the Runestone in Adora's Sword."
The table went quiet as they thought about it.
"The Frostal Flake, Moonstone, Spirit Ember, Heart-Blossom, the Pearl, Black Garnet, and She-Ra's stone." Catra listed off. "That's only 7."
"Yeah, I've only heard about those 7 as well." Adora confirmed.
"Same here. But I was talking to them and I'm pretty sure that there is an Air Runestone and a Shadow Runestone out there." Tigra explained. "And it makes sense. Why would every element in magic but those 2 have a Runestone? Spinnerella is considered a Princess and she used Air magic. My theory is that her family lineage used to be connected to the Air Runestone that may have been lost through time."
"But where could that be? You can't really lose a Runestone that embodies one of the main elements." Catra pointed out.
"You can. In fact, in one specific place did we see this already happen."
"The Crimson Waste." Adora answered with wide eyes. "No one knew that the Spirit Ember was inside Mount Cadalia for over 25 years until the storm you guys created. Everyone had thought that the Ember had destroyed itself after destroying Mount Cadalia in a wave of fire."
"Correct. When we activated that storm, all of the Runestones started acting strange and that forced the Spirit Ember to release a pillar of fire into the air as it jump-started its magical engine. That's what drew everyone's attention into learning a lost Runestone was indeed around.
But tell me this: If the Whispering Woods were freezing, Dryl was experiencing earthquakes, the Kingdom of Snow was melting, the Fright Zone was cover in a massive electrical storm, She-Ra's Runestone only seemed to be affecting Adora, and giant waves about 250 feet tall out in the ocean that genuinely seemed to worry Salienas were connected to the known Runestones, what caused the massive dust storm that is still going on in the Waste?"
"The Air Runestone." Catra answered.
"And in the fake reality, the Queen of Halfmoon mentioned that we used to have another Runestone about 250 years ago, around the time the Ember activated and nearly doubled the size of the Waste at that time. Rey mentioned that the name was likely called Onyx."
"And the only known element remaining that a Runestone could be connected to would be Shadow." Adora finished.
"Exactly."
Tigra glanced at a certain quest and she must have allowed apprehension to show on her face.
"What are you looking at that gives you that kind of worry?" Catra asked.
"A quest that was provided to me after talking with the Black Garnet. They told me that, in order to prove to them that they would put their trust in me like the Ember did, I need to…"
The two were quiet as they waited. Only after 5 seconds did Adora speak.
"What is this quest asking you to do?"
"...let the Crimson Current flow through my body for 2 minutes."
"You need to do what ?" Adora spoke with wide eyes. "You mean the red lightning from it?"
Tigra nodded.
It was at this point Catra spoke up.
"Aren't you immune to lightning like you are with fire? If so, then is there a problem with it?"
Tigra shook her head and looked at her sheet; specifically her 2 Trait Upgrade points.
"I have the ability to do so, but as of right now, electrical attacks can't hurt me. Electricity can still hurt me." Tigra shook her head. "But that's not my main issue. One action and I don't need to be worried about being hurt."
"Then what's…Weaver." Catra narrowed her eyes. "You're getting flashbacks aren't you?"
Trust Catra to understand the unsaid when something affects them. Most may say to just upgrade Electrical Immunity and just sit in the room and let it flow through her. Yet, Catra must have already gone through that thought process and already knew that, if it was that simple, Tigra would have already done it.
"Kind of? I'm not getting flashbacks of her, but I…I can't even look at that quest requirement without Lightning Armor activating. Without feeling the need to get as much distance away from the Garnet."
"You're flashbacking with the pain." Adora determined before holding her chin. "You're fine around yellow electricity and you didn't seem to have a problem when you were fighting Bolt, who had blue electricity around him. Therefore, you don't have a problem with electricity in general."
"How were you going to do it?" Catra asked, raising a judgemental eyebrow, as if she already knew the answer.
"Just…force it?" Tigra answered quietly. "Force myself to be in the room and have the Crimson Current travel through my body."
Catra hummed at that.
"I don't recommend that." Adora cut in. "If you try to force it, you're just going to keep sending your body into one of the 4 F's: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. Which, you don't really want to fight the Runestone that you are trying to do something with. We've known you for a while and you wouldn't freeze or try to bargain with the Current. I...I know a few people who may be able to help by talking with them. But that will likely not happen for a few days."
"Your body would do what you have trained it to do in stressful situations: run. While you consciously do it to go towards the enemy, your subconscious may be the opposite. If you are going through a loop of previous pain, your mind knows that you shouldn't be getting hurt. However, it then likely comes to the conclusion that something you don't know about is happening. In which case, you would retreat and gain new information." Catra joined in.
Tigra groaned lightly.
"But I need to complete this quest to confidently say that I can lead and protect the Horde. Even if we were able to end the war, that's not going to be the end of it. This war has drained the fight from most of our soldiers on both sides, but there are still more people joining the military, hoping to get revenge on those that have hurt them."
"Is there really going to be that many that it will cause a problem?" Adora asked.
"Not in the way you may be thinking." Catra denied, understanding this problem as it has come up in their planning sessions. "No matter if we end this war peacefully, through conquest, or by creating a ceasefire for an indefinite amount of time, there are always going to be those who disagree with the way we did it. Even if we say maybe 1% of our soldiers don't agree and go rogue, that's still 1% of nearly 1.6 million soldiers. That would mean that there would be roughly 16,000 rogue Horde soldiers. They could decide to attack the kingdoms or cities themselves and would inevitably restart the war. That's not even taking into account the soldiers from your side either."
"She's right." Tigra sighed and looked at Adora, feeling as anxious and exhausted as she probably looked. "Me wanting as much power as I can get right now is more to be a deterrent than anything else. As of right now, I feel like everyone knows that the major players in this war are: Me, Catra, Entrapta, and Hordak on the Horde's side; the Princesses on the Rebellion's side."
"But if we go for pure power," Catra cut in. "Then everyone is looking at you and Tigra. You being She-Ra means that you are in possession of power that earned the title 'Princess of Power.' Then there's Tigra with her two main nicknames going around: The Hero of the Horde and the Magicat of Speed."
"Adora's already a deterrent for most as some members of the Horde high up know that She-Ra is my main weakness at the moment. About how you completely nullify my Regenerations and, as such, I can take much less damage than normal."
"Then there's you," Adora pointed out. "While most are scared at your current power, you have entire kingdoms terrified at your potential. About how Bolt barely jogged and could outpace you, yet a few months later, he could no longer keep up with you despite his extra years of training. Then there's reports about you becoming a Princess not long after, before finally being put in a report of being able to take down a Young Behir fast enough that She-Ra could barely track you then."
"But back to being a deterrent," Catra picked back up. "I already gave you my answer on how you should do that. Or do you think learning 5 spells will be more useful to use in the short amount of time you can learn than improving your other Skill?"
"How fast are you now?" Adora asked.
"Without using that form or Phoenix…"
Max Speed: 155.4 [1399/9] * 101.25 [YAS [3], Hare [1.25], Raiju [3], Dilation [4], Cheetah [1.5], Fire Charge [1.5] ] * 24.54 [Dash] * 7.5 [L. Armor] * 2.407 [Haste]
[155.4 * 44,854.6] / 767 = Mach 9,093 | 1.04% SoL
…
"I can move just over Mach 9,000." Tigra informed.
She got two blinks at that.
"That number has gotten too high for me to really comprehend." Adora admitted. "Also, weren't you moving under Mach 200 when you fought She-Ra in the Northern Reach?"
"Mach 193 to be precise." Tigra corrected. "But yes."
"So in the span of what? 2-3 months? You multiplied your already ludicrous speed by nearly 50 times?" Catra confirmed. "And you haven't maxed out Dash?"
"Correct to both. I actually don't know what level Dash will max out at."
Due to [Huntress] being selected and then evolved into [Artemis], the following skills: Dash, Run, and Sneak will max out at Level 1750.
For example, if you obtain [Warrior], the following skills: Blades, H2H, and Spear would max out at 1250.
…
"Huh. It maxes out at level 1750 for now. It is currently 572."
"Hang on," Catra holds a hand up as she seems to start to think. "You mentioned that every 100 levels, the effect you gain from the skill doubles before we arrive. Am I hearing that your effect from dash is 72% while being multiplied by two to the fifth?"
"Close. The skill has a set base of, at minimum, 50%. So, it would be 50% plus 72% times two to the fifth." Tigra corrected.
"2 to the second is 4, which is 16 next - which equals 2 to the fourth. Multiplying that by 2 gives 32." Adora was muttering. "72 times 3 is 216. That times 10 is 2160, where adding 144 - which is 72 times 2 - to that becomes 2304. Adding 50 to that…"
Adora just looks at Tigra with a hint of dumbfoundedness.
"Your dash skill has an effect of 2,354 percent?!"
"Yep." Tigra confirmed.
"So, using that logic, your maximum percentage would be 50% plus 50% times two to the seventeenth." Catra determined.
Adora's head lightly hit the table, likely from having to do all of it mentally.
"It's not that bad, 'dora." Tigra rolled her eyes. "You simply round down to the closest even number in this example, which will be 16. Divide it by 2 and it simply becomes 4 to the 8th. Again and it is now 16 to the 4th. Once more, it then becomes 256 to the 2nd. While that number is, admittedly, large, it becomes 65,536. Now, we bring back the 1 power we went down by and multiply it by 2 and we get 131,072."
"But then we've got to multiply that by 50 and, after adding 50 afterwards, gives us a final number of 6,553,650%, or a multiplier of…65,536.5."
The three of them went silent.
"Holy fuck." Tigra commented. "Just with Dash at that level, I could break Mach 85 by moving 1 mph."
"Yeah…I'm not sure I could do anything if you are moving that quick Tigra." Adora admitted.
"Well, since we talked about us for a bit, what's new with you, 'dora? Especially after your little episode in Mara's ship."
"Wait, what happened in that ship?" Catra asked.
"I may have gotten frustrated at finding even more conflicting information about the previous She-Ra and the First Ones." Adora informed.
"You also implied that you were a First One." Tigra reminded. "You said that I had technically seen a First One the same way that you have seen my previous deaths. So, how did that happen?"
"Light Hope confirmed that Hordak opened a portal about 19 years ago and I apparently came out of it. That the reason that the Sword had been unresponsive for a thousand years being that only a First One could use the power."
"Bullshit." Catra cut in. "The three of us both saw/know that Tigra managed to connect with that power, even if only for a few seconds. So the control thing can't be that specific."
"But what if it was?" Tigra asked, confusing the two of them. "I didn't get that form when I touched the Sword. I gained the form after the embodiment of She-Ra granted me temporary use of it. So, we could look at it as She-Ra being the one who gave me the power, not the Sword."
"So, what? You think the power is there but the Sword is like…a fingerprint scanner but for DNA?" Catra asked.
"The Northern Reach showed that there is a connection between how Adora is using She-Ra after the corruption device. So, if there is something preventing anyone from gaining the power through the Sword who isn't a First One, it could be interpreted as controlling the person instead of the other way around if it was corrupted." Tigra thought aloud.
"So the Sword is like a key to a locked door." Adora suggested. "If you're outside, you need to have the key to unlock the door and enter. However, if someone is already on the inside, they can open the door for you."
"Not a bad analogy." Catra admitted. "While I doubt it is that simple-"
"Could be." Tigra cut her off gently. "After all, these aren't inanimate batteries full of power. These Runestones have consciousness so they can potentially provide their power to those that they want to. Not to mention, She-Ra straight up told me to convince them to allow me to use their power to fix Reality."
The three went quiet for a moment to think about that.
"Light Hope said it was my destiny to bring balance. That it was an honor to be She-Ra."
Adora sounded more bitter about that than Tigra expected. Adora had seemed to have thought the same things early on when she had seen her acting as She-Ra. Which is what caused her to be confused right now.
"Said that I didn't get to choose the matter. That I was chosen for this. That my opinions about what I wanted didn't matter."
A low rumble came from Tigra and the narrowing of Catra's eyes showed that she felt the same way about that sentence.
"Adora…are you sure the Rebellion is good for you?" Tigra asked, taking Adora back. "Because this is the second time you mentioned someone trying to change you. The first was the entirety of Brightmoon about how their environment was, in your words, 'forcing yourself to change' when it wasn't hurting anyone. Now you've mentioned that the hologram that has been training you to be She-Ra is telling you that you don't matter. That She-Ra matters, not the vessel."
Tigra leaned forward.
"Never change for someone else. Change to make yourself better. Change if you genuinely don't want to be the person you are now. But never," Tigra growled out. "Change because someone wants you to. Because at the end of the day, there is only 1 Adora Happysmile Rainbowfist in this Universe."
Catra chuckled as Adora groaned.
"As much as I wished you didn't bring that up," Adora started. "You don't need to worry about the Rebellion's end. Bow's dads mentioned that I likely experienced a major culture shock. How most have the choice of going into the military being a major thing in each kingdom.
Light Hope…she did cross a few lines. But she also didn't know that Magicats are the only species that remain cognizant after they reach 2 years old. While almost every other species becomes cognizant around 4 or 5. So, she likely just doesn't understand most things that aren't technological."
"She's over a thousand years old, Adora." Tigra pointed out. "She talked with Mara at least and I very much doubt that Mara was the only humanoid person back then. I also doubt that she didn't have access to medical, psychological, and more about people back then."
"Those could have been degraded or destroyed over the years." Catra spoke up. "After all, we need to replace machinery every 5-10 years if in constant use; 20-30 as technology will go obsolete after that long."
Tigra hummed. "Fair point."
"However," Catra turned back to Adora. "You mentioned that this 'Light Hope' stated that She-Ra was meant to bring balance. Balance to what? Etheria? Etheria has had conflict hundreds of times over the last millennium and not even a whisper of She-Ra until 2 years ago."
"It's also not the Horde because, if it was to keep balance, She-Ra should have shown up when King Micah of Brightmoon vanished." Tigra joined in. "That was the major turning point where the Rebellion was being pushed back. That happened 10 years ago when Shimmer was 6 years old. If anything, that's the best time for She-Ra to show up to keep the balance of power. And considering that they didn't means two things: Your 'destiny' has nothing to do with keeping the balance of power of Etheria; or She-Ra is only supposed to show up when something could threaten the destruction of a Runestone."
The curtain turned blue before Adora opened the curtain.
"Your meal has been paid for." Luza informed. "We hope you found the atmosphere welcoming and welcome you back if you are in the area."
Catra nodded and gave the two of them a look as she stood up.
"The food was wonderful and the peacefulness was quite the blessing." Catra told. "We will keep Fiery End in mind should we be in the area once more."
Luza stood to the side as Catra walked out of the booth with Adora right behind her.
Tigra had to slide out before the three of them exited the Fiery End.
"I need to talk to Catra about something." Adora asked.
"I'm guessing you mean in private?" Catra clarified.
As if timing could be any more convenient, Tigra's tablet rumbled.
She pulled it out and saw Double.
"Alright. I'll be near the benches near the park here."
"Weren't we trying to stay hidden?" Adora asked.
"Would you believe someone saying that Force General Tigra was seen talking on a tablet while lounging on a bench in the middle of a park in Thaymor? Or would you believe that I was back at the Zone improving myself?" Tigra asked.
"Fair point. Just don't do something like this too often. You have that appearance because you have been in the Zone for a while." Catra pointed out.
"I'll see both of you after you have your little talk." Tigra told before walking to the park.
Catra watched her leave as she grew smaller before turning to Adora, who seemed nervous suddenly.
"So, what did you want to ask me without Tigra being around?"
"It's been awhile so I'm not sure if it has changed or not…"
"Just say what's on your mind. We both know that growing up with Tigra caused us to like being told what we both meant, not what the other may like to hear." Catra reminded.
Adora took a breath before speaking.
"Chosens can be more than two people still, right?"
Tigra sat down on a bench before calling Double.
"Hello darling. I'm going to guess and say that you finally saw my message?" Double asked as their green face appeared.
"I just got your message, Double." Tigra sounded monotone.
She heard what sounded like Double popping their lips.
"I sent that message about 40 minutes ago."
'That's problematic. Have to tell Entrapta.'
"Either way, did you actually read it or did you call when you saw my name and couldn't help but reach out to hear my wonderful voice?"
"I glanced at it. Something about an issue with the gangs?"
"Yes. I don't know if you know it or not, but after you took over, the group changed its name. Couldn't really be called Lasher's Gang if he's not leading."
"Understandable I guess." Tigra shrugged. "But what are they going by?"
Double gave a sly smirk and Tigra knew that they found something amusing.
"They are going under the name: Tigra's Pride. Saying how you took them under your protection but commanded that they not wreck your name by doing something you'd dislike."
Double seemed to chuckle as Tigra had a hand pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Not…a bad name." She admitted. "But continue with the issue, please."
Double nodded, keeping their smirk.
"With the Pride being less antagonistic, a couple more gangs have shown up: Buuka's Band, Vulra's Venue, Huntara's Hunters are more active, and Cheet's Coalition. With these gangs, the Crimson Waste has split into 5 main parts.
Huntara's Hunters control about 26% of the Waste, your Pride controls 22%, Cheet's Coalition controls 21%, Buuka's Band controls 16%, and Vulra's Venue controls the last 15%."
Tigra narrowed her eyes at hearing just how much work she would have if she still wanted to control the Waste.
'Wouldn't be too bad to claim that land.'
2 Quests Created!
Queen of the Desert
You entertained the idea of taking control of all of the Crimson Waste. Whether through conquest or diplomacy, it won't matter so long as they work either with you, for you, or under you.
So long as they don't oppose you.
Objective: Unite all of the Crimson Waste under you [1/5]
Reward: 200 EXP every day for every major Gang under your control
Gangs of the Desert
There are a total of 5 major gangs in the Waste.
Either bring these gangs under your control or create a reminder of why the desert is known as the Crimson Waste
Reward [each]: [Queen of the Desert] updated, 25,000 EXP
Remaining Gangs: Buuka's Band, Vulra's Venue, Huntara's Hunters, Cheet's Coalition
…
Queen of Desert rewards being acquired: 200 * 14 [days] = 2800 EXP!
Tigra | 19
Level 83 (10155/24900) | 40.78%
…
'Yeaaah. I'm taking control of the Waste. Up to 1000 EXP a day would set me up largely. That translates to 365,000 EXP a year, 30,000 EXP a month, or 7,000 EXP a week just for completing that Quest.' Tigra thought.
"Do you know where each of them are? Which would be willing to simply work for us?"
"Hm. Like that you're asking if we can just take them over. After all, if they're under you in the future, you want as many soldiers under your command as you can get." Trouble narrowed their eyes slightly. "That, and you could let the groups run automatically without having to turn to you constantly in the future."
Tigra nodded.
"I'm already dealing with a large amount of people. I'd prefer to let others run things for me so I can focus on other things. But you didn't answer my questions."
"We know where Buuka's Band is as they're trying to look like the powerful ones by acting out and constantly trying to get more territory. If we were to deal with them, you'd have to make the leader submit because they seem to value strength over diplomacy.
Vulra Venue are around when two other gangs have a conflict where they then tend to attack both of them when weakened and take the fight over territory. From my sources, they also tend to let one go from each group but bribe those leaving with either land or resources into simply leaving them out of their reports. The two groups then believe they lost the land to the other and try to take territory from each other.
Huntara's Hunters are tricky as Huntura has been on the move recently due to a couple of violent Basilisk fights breaking out over the Waste. While it's not definite, it seems as if the entire race is undergoing a ritual to determine who their future leader is going to be.
Finally, Cheet's Coalition is hidden. It's actually a group of smaller gangs being led by one gang. So they can't be easily removed because once you get rid of one, the rest will go under sand and wait out the mess. They'll simply wait for it to blow over before reforming under a new name in a month. They technically have had 4 leaders over the last 2 years.
Out of all of them, they rank this way from least to most dangerous: Band, Venue, Coalition, Hunters. Coalition and Hunters could switch simply due to how difficult it will be to either remove all of the grouped gangs or get all of them under us." Double listed off for her.
Tigra narrowed her eyebrows as she digested all of that.
"See if you can get feelers out for the Hunters and Venue. The Coalition may control the 3rd most land, but that seems more of a group effort. Not to mention, when we take over the Band and Venue, I doubt that many in the Coalition would refuse to work under us. After all, the Waste is about 12,000 miles away from me right now."
"Oh? And why would that be a plus?"
"Because I can get there in 5.5 minutes on average."
Double's shocked face met her once more before shaking their head.
"That's right. You mentioned you could travel half the speed of lightning for a few minutes."
"No, I can travel that speed for a few hours now."
Double head snapped to the camera once more.
"Come again darling? I could have sworn you just said you could travel that speed for hours."
"You did. But how urgent is this?"
Double opened their mouth before a door opening quickly on their side could be heard.
"DT! Buuka's Band just took two of our territory while Vulra's Venue is trying to get Cheet's Coalition to join them in an attack on here!" Bleka's - the goat - voice came through.
To give Double credit, they seemed more annoyed at the situation than worried.
"Timeframe?"
"About 2 weeks."
"Did you hear that Tigra?" Double asked.
"You're talking to Boss?"
"Fuck." Tigra muttered but could be heard. "I've got my own situation happening in two weeks."
Tigra gave Double her full focus.
"Double. If I were to remove Buuka's Band from the playing field, would that be enough to make sure those two groups hesitate and potentially delay their attack?"
"For sure Boss!" Bleka called out. "While they give us trouble, it's more like they're testing the waters. They don't know why we're less aggressive except that Lasher's not the true one in control any more and Huntara's gang is on the move due to a suddenness of Basilisks. These three groups are simply trying to grab as much area as they can."
Tigra smirked.
"Get me the locations that I would need to bring this Band to heel."
"And if you can't?" Bleka asked, coming into frame.
"Then I'll put the mutts down." Tigra's voice held no hesitation. "After all, they messed with what's mine."
"We'll have it ready in a week." Double informed.
Tigra nodded before seeing Catra and Adora walking towards her, Catra nudging her with her elbow.
"I've got to go. I'm meeting my own contact at the moment. Keep things running alongside Lasher, Double and I'll ensure you're paid well later."
Double still had their smirk, yet it held a different 'energy' to it.
"Make sure to treat them well, Tiger. After all, it's best to keep contacts liking you, even if they need to act as an enemy."
Double signed off with that, leaving Tigra wondering just how much do they actually know once more.
"Hey." Catra called out once they were close enough. "Are you done with your call?"
"Yeah. Just business with the Waste. Something I'll have to take care of next week." She informed.
"Is it going to interfere with your training?" Adora asked, a slight pink to her face.
"Nah." Tigra waved off, standing from the bench. "If anything, it will help me level up Dash. After all, It's about 11,000 miles both ways and I gain 900 EXP [Artemis multiplies EXP for Sneak, Dash, and Run by another 3] per mile."
Catra whistled.
"You're looking at 19.8 million EXP just from traveling?"
"Why do you think I kept running around the Fright Zone so much and calling that training?" Tigra shook her head before smirking with a hand on her hip.
"What are we doing now?"
"You know, there was this stall I was thinking about last time I was here." Adora suggested.
"Lead the way then. Catra and I need to leave in 2 hours though."
The three of them walked away from the park.
--------------------
Tigra | 19
Level 83 (7355/24900) | 29.54%
HP: 21,020 | HPR: 9459
MP: 29,600 | MPR: 17,339
SP: 10,510 | SPR: 4730
STR: 226 | DEX: 1399
CON: 1051 | INT: 734
WIS: 642 | CHA: 154
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