Chapter 41: Memory Shift (Part 1)

"No… You can't do this…! NO!"

"Brittni? Brittni! Wake up!"

Cold sweat and a feeling of trepidation were the ingredients to how Brittni was feeling when she was awoken. Deep, hyperventilating breaths of air replaced Brittni's screaming until she regained her composure.

"A...dora?" Brittni inquired. Sure enough, as Brittni looked around, she found herself in her and Brett's room. Adora was sitting on Brittni's bed with her hand on Brittni's shoulder. Adora closed her eyes and smiled.

"No duh! O'course it's me." Adora lightly giggled, "You having a bad dream or something?" Brittni blinked her eyes a few times as she gazed at Adora. For a few moments, Brittni said nothing but retained the petrified, unsure look on her face. After a few moments, Adora's mouth and eyebrows shifted downward, "you okay?" Brittni shook her head to snap back to reality and cleared her throat.

"Oh, uh… y-yeah. I'm fine." Brittni's words came out awkwardly. She scratched the back of her neck and added, "sorry, I guess it's one of those moments when you're trying to remember a dream, but the more you try, the more you forget, y'know?" Brittni explained. Adora nodded and Brittni continued, "it's like… I can almost remember… I think we were in a battle of some kind. Adora cocked her eyebrow.

"A battle? Awesome! Like against the Rebellion?" Adora inquired. Brittni slowly shook her head.

"No… it's like… I almost remember fighting against a green-eyed version of Lord Hordak." Brittni explained. Adora merely smirked at this explanation.

"Well, that definitely was a dream. Lord Hordy is the one leading us to victory!" Adora said, assuredly. She stood up from the bed and added, "I mean, you do remember how we took over Thaymor, right? You and Brett were so excited after beating the rebels at Elberon, you both couldn't wait for the next mission!" Adora declared, waving her hands in the air. Brittni continued to gaze at Adora with unsurety.

"Adora…? You're acting... kinda weird." Brittni observed. Adora cocked her eyebrow at Brittni.

"Not sure what you mean, but whatever!" Adora said, brushing off Brittni's observation. Brittni eyed Adora suspiciously but then shook her head, letting it go. Brittni knew that she needed to focus on remembering. And slowly but surely, Brittni did begin to remember.

"Elberon… where… where we were betrayed by Vultak and we captured the mayor?" Brittni inquired. She then thought about Thaymor, "and… Thaymor, they had those rebels that were mounted on those… those large muscular animals called horses? And, their little magic ritual that they called a 'festival?'"

"Yes!" Adora said excitedly, "now you remember, dude!" Although Brittni did have these memories, some of them felt almost fabricated. Before Brittni could inquire further, Adora gasped and reached out her hand, "oh, man. I forgot! I came in here because you overslept! You're wanted at the clinic, asap. We still have, like, a ton of wounded soldiers from the siege of Thaymor. Hordak wants them healed up and battle-ready as soon as possible!" Adora indicated. With hesitation, Brittni reached out her hand, to which Adora grasped it and pulled Brittni out of bed. Brittni quickly dressed in her nursing scrubs and made her way out of the room with Adora.

As Brittni walked out, she saw the hustle and bustle of daily Horde military and labor forces going about their business. Everything seemed so normal, and yet Brittni could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Nevertheless, she pushed aside her concerns and heeded the call to her medical duties. As she walked into the infirmary, she saw a multitude of soldiers and civilians with a wide variety of contusions and lacerations.

"I'll leave you to it. I need to jet; if you know what I mean." Adora said as she moved away from Brittni, "I don't know how you stomach all this blood and gore, but I guess that's why you were chosen to be a nurse. Later, Britt." Adora said as she walked away. Brittni looked back at Adora and cocked her eyebrow.

"Something's weird about Adora…" Brittni muttered to herself. "Somehow, I remember her being more… serious." Regardless of Adora's strange behavior, Brittni shook her head and went into the clinic to begin her work. It was indeed a bloodbath in there and Brittni knew she had a long day ahead of her. Before she could begin any treatments, she was greeted by Keirnan in the front lobby going over charts as the rest of the medical workers were rushing patients in and out of rooms.

"Brittni. You're late." Keirnan said in a rather stern tone. Brittni was taken aback by Keirnan's gruffness.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Keirnan-" Brittni began to apologize before being reprimanded.

"That's Head Nurse to you, young lady." Keirnan snapped. Brittni gazed at Keirnan with perturbation.

"I...I'm sorry, Head Nurse," Brittni said, almost awkwardly. Keirnan let out a gruff scoff.

"At any rate, this entire floor is beyond max capacity. Every floor is double roomed," Keirnan explained. Brittni nodded.

"I understand," Brittni said as she headed towards the lobby. She did not take many steps when Keirnan stopped her.

"I actually have a special case for you. There's some blue nutjob our soldiers captured. She keeps claiming some weird stuff about the 'Celestial Kingdom,' 'Horde Prime,' and how nothing we're experiencing is real… or whatever." Keirnan explained. Brittni narrowed her eyes at Keirnan and trembled a bit. Something about the Celestial Kingdom and Horde Prime sounded familiar… but what really hit Brittni was the last statement.

"Not...real?" Brittni inquired almost as though she were really questioning reality. Keirnan let out another scoff.

"Yeah, she's a loon," Keirnan said as he handed over the file. Brittni took a good look at it and saw the picture. Sure enough, it was a picture of a sky blue-skinned woman with a silver dress and glowing yellow eyes. Brittni stared hard at the picture. There was a feeling building up inside her that brought out a sense of familiarity.

"Do I… Know this woman?" Brittni inquired.

"Funny you ask. She actually asked for you by name." Keirnan explained. Brittni cocked her eyebrow.

"Asked for me…? But why?" Brittni inquired. Keirnan dropped his clipboard aggressively on the front desk and stood up.

"Do you always question me this much? Need I remind you that we've got a lot of people that need urgent care in here? Now get to that psychopath, find out what she knows and lemme know when you're done so I can send her to Beast Island." Keirnan snapped. Brittni was completely caught off guard by Keirnan's gruffness. For some reason, she always remembered Keirnan as a nice, loving, and patient man. Brittni then nodded and made her way to the patient's room. On her way, Brittni's suspicion that something was seriously wrong grew to the point that she was hoping that this supposedly crazy woman could answer her questions.

As Brittni entered the door, sure enough, she found the blue woman restrained against the bed with two Horde soldiers on two sides of the room monitoring her. The blue woman was struggling mightly against her bonds until she gazed at Brittni.

"It's you… You're finally here! Brittni!" The woman declared. Brittni gazed at the woman with complete confusion.

"I'm… sorry, do I know you?" Brittni inquired. The woman let out a deep groan.

"Oh, no… the memory shift has already been applied, hasn't it? Oh, Brittni, you need to fight Horde Prime's control! You need to remember!" The blue woman shouted as she continued to struggle against her bonds.

"That's enough outta you!" One of the soldiers shouted as he was about to plunge his energy baton into the woman's neck. Right before he could, Brittni quickly ran over and grasped the baton. The electricity surging from the end of the barrel licked the woman's neck but otherwise did not harm her. The soldier growled at Brittni as she pulled her hand away from the baton.

"Please, don't harm her. Keirn- I mean, the Head Nurse told me to get whatever information I can from her." Brittni explained. The soldier grunted but then nodded. Brittni then moved over to the woman, "Hey, it's okay. You'll be fine." Brittni then turned to the soldiers, "could I get a little privacy? This shouldn't take long." The soldiers looked at each other and shrugged their soldiers.

"Fine, but if she attacks, that's on you." One of the soldiers sneered as they both left. With the two individuals left alone in the room, Brittni pulled up a chair and began to inquire of the woman.

"Who are you?" Brittni demanded, pointing an accusatory finger, "how do you know my name, and why does everyone seem... off?" The woman merely smiled and a tear fell down her face as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Brittni. I was beginning to believe I would never be able to reach you." The woman declared. Brittni grew impatient.

"Answer my questions! Who are you?!" Brittni snapped. The woman closed her eyes and nodded.

"Very well… Brittni, I am your mother. My name is Oracle." Oracle declared. Brittni's eyes grew wide and formed a partial glare. Brittni opened her mouth to respond but Oracle held up a hand, "please, let me explain. At the moment, you, your companions, and sadly myself, have been captured by Horde Prime."

"My mother?!" Brittni demanded, "and... Horde… Prime?" Brittni inquired. Oracle nodded.

"Indeed. It will all make sense, soon enough. And I'm guessing you slightly remember the encounter with Horde Prime. He looked very much like Hordak, though he had four green eyes, white attire, and hair that resembled dreadlocks?" Oracle explained. Brittni shuddered, as she did slightly remember a brief memory of Prime. Suddenly, Brittni felt a very slight shock on the nape of her neck. She then shook her head and pushed the memory away.

"No..." Brittni muttered, standing up, "everything you're saying is crazy. No way is that true. Everything's just fine here." Brittni snapped.

"It is, daughter! If you merely touch my hand, the truth will manifest onto you!" Oracle beseeched. Brittni took a few steps back, knocking the chair back.

"Don't touch me! You... you're just a crazy lady!" Brittni accused.

"Brittni, please!" Oracle pleaded, "you felt a little shock on your neck just now, didn't you? It's Horde Prime deterring you from the truth!" Brittni scoffed.

"...I don't know what you're talking about..." Brittni lied. Before Oracle could say anything else, Brittni added, "I don't have time for this. I have other serious patients to deal with." Brittni then marched out of the room with Oracle screaming out for imploration.

"...Keep an eye on her." Brittni said to the two soldiers as she walked out to go help out with the other patients.

As Brittni began her procedures; although focused on healing her patients, she could not shake the information that Oracle had given her. Something about the things Oracle said; it was almost as if the truth was manifesting until Brittni felt that little shock on her neck. Barring these thoughts, Brittni looked at her chart and found her next patient would be...

Catra?!

"Oh, great..." Brittni thought to herself, "Catra's probably going to say it's my fault that she's here in the first place and that I'm doing a horrible job." The moment that Brittni walked into Catra's room, however...

"Oh, Nurse Brittni! Thank goodness you're finally here. Oh, the pain is just too great!" Catra wailed out the moment she saw Brittni. Brittni widened her eyes suspiciously at Catra.

"...Catra?" Brittni inquired, confused. Catra was laying on the hospital bed, writhing in pain. She had a couple of laser wounds at her torso and what appeared to be a broken leg.

"Ohhh... well, it's my fault, really." Catra proclaimed, "I mean, I should have reacted quicker to the mines."

"M...Mines?" Brittni stuttered. Catra let out a groan and nodded.

"Yeah, if I had been a better scout, I could have saved more of our soldiers..." Catra sighed, "I don't deserve to be here right now." A few tears began pouring down Catra's cheek. As Brittni moved closer to begin her treatments on Catra, Brittni inquired of her.

"Catra, this might be a weird question, but... have you always been this... humble?" Brittni inquired. Catra let out a slight wince of pain.

"Oh, Nurse Brittni, I could be so much more humble. I get upset way too easily." Catra said, matter-of-factly, "I mean, just the other day when Scorpia took my gray ration bar, I hissed at her." Brittni cocked her eyebrow at Catra.

"Scorpia? As in, kind-hearted, hugs everything in sight, completely obsessed with you-Scorpia?!" Brittni demanded, rather confused as she tied the splint on Catra's leg. Catra eyed Brittni suspiciously

"No... more like sting you in the back, pincer your arms off, Scorpia. But, never mind that I'm being rude. Obviously, Scorpia was hungry. I could have been so much nicer." Catra admitted.

At that moment, Brittni definitely felt something off about everything. Brittni had a few memories of Catra, and they most definitely were not pleasant ones. It was as though there were memories from two different memory banks attempting to shove their own interpretations into Brittni's brain. These two sources seemed to conflict, deeply and Brittni did not know which memory to believe. For instance, Brittni thoroughly remembered when they were kids that she saw Catra crying and Adora attempting to comfort her. Catra scratched Adora and vowed to never apologize to anyone. Yet, the Catra in front of her was in complete contrast to the Catra in Brittni's memory. No... something was definitely wrong.

"Oracle..." Brittni thought to herself as she finished treating Catra, "Oh, no... Oracle must have been right. I have to find her!" As Brittni finished her thought process, she quickly made her exit.

"Uh, you're good to go, Catra. Stay off that leg for a little while and take these antibiotics for the burn wounds!" Brittni cautioned as she ran out of the room. Catra looked at the bottle.

"Brittni, these are multivitamin gummies-" Catra began to say before Brittni was already gone.

Brittni ran to the room where Oracle was but could not find her. Her heart sank as she remembered that Keirnan said she would be sent to Beast Island. A chill ran down her spine as she imagined the worse for Oracle. Without hesitation, Brittni ran back to the front desk where Keirnan was. He looked up with narrowed eyes at Brittni. Before he could speak, Brittni cut him off.

"Keirnan, what did you do with Oracle? Where is she?!" Brittni demanded. Keirnan glared at Brittni.

"Your tone is borderline insubordinate, nurse. You will address me as-" Keirnan began before Brittni interrupted him.

"What did you do with her?!" Brittni demanded. Keirnan jumped up from his seat and growled.

"Your little blue friend is on a one-way ticket to Beast Island!" Keirnan snapped, "now get back to work!" Brittni's lip quivered as those damning words came out of Keirnan's mouth.

"N...No, no I need her!" Brittni exclaimed as she headed for the doors of the clinic.

"Hey, wait! Get back here and finish your shift!" Keirnan shouted. Brittni merely ignored Keirnan and bounded out of the clinic. Brittni indiscriminately shoved several workers and soldiers as she made her way towards the vehicle bay. Unfortunately, during these rude gestures, Brittni made the mistake of running into the back of a rather tall, scorpion-human hybrid.

"Oof! Ugh... oh, sorry, Scorpia-" Brittni began to apologize until Scorpia turned around with a face completely full of rage. Brittni blinked a few times then sighed.

"Okay, it seems like everyone in the present has the complete opposite personality than the one in my memories... so that means..." Brittni inferred as Scorpia grabbed Brittni by the collar of her scrubs and lifted her several feet into the air.

Although Brittni's heart was already pounding from the makeshift cardio that she had just performed, it was now feeling as though it was going to burst through her chest from the fear Scropia put in her.

"Why don't you look where you're going, squirt!" Scorpia snapped.

"I'm sorry, Scorpia, I was just-" Brittni began before Scorpia interrupted her.

"Honestly, I don't even know why the Horde bothers keeping a weak little insect like you around!" Scorpia sneered. Brittni blinked her eyes a few times then glared.

"You know, scorpions are barely a step up from an insect." Brittni snapped back. Unbeknownst to the two, a crowd had gathered around them. A few quiet gasps and murmurs began permeating through the crowd. Although Scorpia had an enraged countenance prior to Brittni's insult, her cheeks began turning a brighter red than her carapace.

"Why, you...!" Scorpia growled as she cocked back her right claw with the intention of massacring Brittni's skull. Brittni struggled to get away but instead closed her eyes, waiting for the blow. Brittni did hear a blow and the next moment, she fell to the ground. Groaning as she opened her eyes, Brittni saw Scorpia fly into a crowd of onlookers, knocking them down like bowling pins. Brittni turned to see who or what caused this and saw none other than...

Rogelio?

Rogelio let out a deep roar as he raised his fists in the sky. He then looked to Brittni and gave her a thumbs up. Brittni picked herself up and chuckled.

"Hey, thanks, big guy!" Brittni said. Rogelio took a small bow and... spoke?!

"Ah, but of course, my dear Nurse Brittni. It was my utmost pleasure to be of service to you." Rogelio spoke, rather eloquently. Brittni's jaw dropped.

"You... You can talk?!" Brittni demanded. Rogelio tilted his head.

"But, of course! Through the study of various linguistics, I've become rather articulate, despite my species' normal inhibition to speech." Rogelio, again, articulated. Brittni continued to blink her eyes.

"Of course you did..." Brittni sighed, happily. The happiness was cut short, however, as Scorpia picked herself up and let out an inhuman growl.

"You're dead, lizard!" Scorpia growled as she trudged towards Rogelio.

"Yo! Stay away from my man!" Kyle shouted out, running at Scorpia and attempting to tackle her. Scorpia's exoskeleton prevented that from happening, causing him to fly backward. Despite the embarrassment, Brittni was still impressed with Kyle's determination.

"Kyle grew a spine?! What world am I in?!" Brittni demanded. However, she did not have time to speculate this any further. Brittni had to get to Oracle before it was too late! As Scorpia ran at Rogelio, a huge brawl began between them and the rest of the crowd that was watching. If nothing else, this served as a distraction as Brittni made her way to the vehicle bay. Sure enough on her way to the vehicle bay, Brittni found a group of soldiers taking a hospital gurney carrying an unconscious Oracle into the vehicle bay.

Once she made it to the double door into the vehicle bay, Brittni quickly shoved the automatic doors aside and yelled.

"Stop! Wait! I need her!" Brittni hollered out. The group of soldiers stopped their pacing. Slowly, they turned towards Brittni, almost robotically. Three of the soldiers donned standard-issue Horde armor while the fourth's armor was dark blue and had a symbol of a wrench where the Horde insignia would normally be.

Brett!

"Man, am I glad to see you, Brett!" Brittni shouted out.

"Brittni... sister," Brett spoke out, rather strangely. "Lord Prime has been expecting you."

The moment that Brett said those words, Brittni's heart sank and a flood of memories began rushing through her mind. Suddenly, Brittni audibly and physically shuddered, and she finally remembered everything.

"Wait... WAIT! Brett! It's Horde Prime! I remember now!" Brittni indicated. Brett and the three other soldiers said nothing but slowly removed their helmets. When their helmets were removed, Brittni saw a strange green glow to their eyes. Brittni let out a gasp and choked on a slight sob.

"Oh... oh, no. No! Brett!" Brittni cried out. Brittni remembered when Horde Prime took control of Entrapta. Brittni retreated a few steps, unsure of how to proceed other than diplomacy, "Brett! Wait, it's me! I'm your sister!" Brett's mouth slowly curved into an unnerving grin.

"There is no Brett… there is only Horde Prime." Brett muttered, robotically.

A few more tears began strewing down Brittni's cheek as she felt completely helpless. Brittni was not donning her armor nor any weapons, plus she was pitted against her brother and three fully armed soldiers. She bit her lip looking around for anything in the room to tip the scales.

"Take her," Brett ordered the three soldiers. Per his command, the three soldiers pulled the energy batons from their holsters and slowly approached Brittni. She quickly observed their movements and figured out their formation. They were going to attempt to triangulate around her. With one soldier to her left, one to the right, and one to the front, Brittni squared her body up and waited for the first to make their move.

The one to her left had had her finger on the projectile trigger while the other two had their fingers on the shock triggers. Readying herself by switching glances between the three soldiers, Brittni saw the one on her left squeeze the projectile trigger. As the laser flew from the barrel towards Brittni, she ran forward and rolled towards the one in front of her. While the laser that was meant to hit her, but hit the soldier on her right, Brittni got up from her roll and sent a major left uppercut on the soldier in front of her, sending his helmet flying off his head, and sending his body to the ground. Brittni then grabbed the baton out of the soldier's hand and aimed it at the one that was to her left. Simultaneously, the two fired their lasers, sending a shockwave between the two. The soldier got the worst of it because she flew into a skiff, leaving a metal imprint on it, while Brittni merely flew back. Brittni took a few moments to catch her breath, though it was stopped when she felt a cold, armored hand grab her by the neck and pick her up. The hand belonged to none other than Brett.

Brittni flopped around and gasped for any air that she could receive. As she choked from Brett lifting her up, his soulless, glowing green eyes stared apathetically at her. Brittni gripped his hand trying to rip it from her neck, but his power armor was too strong.

"Look at you, Brittni. This all could have been avoided if you just accepted Lord Prime's will." Brett muttered. Brittni, while maintaining eye contact with Brett, quickly stuck her energy baton into Brett's side and pulled the projectile trigger. Right before the laser went off, Brett, with the strength of his power armor, heaved Brittni towards a skiff, knocking her back into the side. Brittni let out a shriek and a groan as she slid down the skiff. Brittni quickly shook her head and saw Brett running at her, his fist ready to strike her. Right before his fist made contact, Brittni moved a little to the right, which caused him to punch a hole through the skiff. She then grabbed hold of his head and bashed it against the skiff, seemingly knocking him out. Brittni shuddered at the action she just took and stepped back a few paces.

"B...Brett?" Brittni inquired. Brett immediately tore his head from the skiff and grinned creepily at Brittni.

"Lord Prime didn't think you had it in you to actually harm your brother!" Brett muttered in an almost distorted voice. He pulled his fist out and ran at Brittni with his energy baton raised. As he swung viciously at Brittni, she parried each swipe with her own baton. This would go on for a few minutes as Brett swung and Brittni kept moving back, parrying. As they moved, a certain memory came to Brittni and she said one simple thing:

"Elberon!" Brittni declared. Brett stopped his attacks and jumped back a couple of feet, keeping his weapon ready.

"What?" Brett inquired.

"Re...Remember at Elberon when… when we captured the king… and when we went through the mirror maze… and…" Brittni began, though she began to lose her breath. Brett slightly shuddered as Brittni helped him reminisce. The glow in Brett's eyes began dissipating and he started groaning. Brett put his hand to his head and groaned even louder.

"I… Can't… Fight it!" Brett declared. "Just… Get outta here… sis!" Brett said as he raised the baton to his neck and turned the shock value to one hundred. As the volts surged through his body, Brett was severely knocked out. He collapsed onto the floor, to which Brittni ran to him.

"Brett! Oh, no…" Brittni gasped as she felt for a pulse. Although his telemetry was irregular, he would live. Suddenly, Brittni heard a voice behind her.

"Brittni…" Oracle said, weakly. Brittni turned and ran to Oracle, and removed her restraints. Oracle smiled as she said her next words, "oh, my daughter, thank you." Brittni smiled as a few tears began strewing down her face.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Brittni said as she wrapped her arms around Oracle. Oracle hugged back and smiled.

"It is alright… but, listen. We need to move, now." Oracle cautioned. Brittni nodded and helped Oracle out of the gurney. Brittni looked around for any kind of jet that would get them out of the Fright Zone quickly.

"Ugh, but we need keys to activate the jets." Brittni groaned. Oracle smiled.

"Follow me, child," Oracle said as she began walking towards a particular jet. Confused, but willing, Brittni followed Oracle to the jet. As Oracle approached the passenger door, Brittni cocked her eyebrow. Oracle then knocked a few times.

"Yo! is that you, Bluey?!" A familiar voice inquired. Oracle let out a stifled sigh.

"Yes, Adora." Oracle said, putting her hand to her head, "do I ever miss the old Adora…" A few moments later, the passenger door opened, and two characters were revealed. A euphoric, borderline stoned, Adora, and an apprehensively agitated Catra sitting on a passenger chair, hugging her knees.

"Oh… Adora, how did I let you talk me into this…?" Catra muttered, nervously. Brittni cocked her eyebrow as she and Oracle walked in.

"How did you get to this jet before I did…" Brittni wondered to herself.

"Magic works wonders, darling." Oracle declared, looking back and winking at Brittni, seemingly reading her thoughts.

"Hey, alright! Brittni, we can finally get out of this place!" Adora jeered as she sat down at the copilot seat.

"Oracle- er, Mom, what is going on? What are we doing?" Brittni inquired. Oracle nodded to Catra who merely sighed and moved over to the pilot seat. After a few switches, the jet's engines ignited and it began levitating, ready for takeoff. Oracle sat down in the passenger hold and smiled. Oracle then patted the seat next to her as an invitation for Brittni to sit. Brittni switched glances between everyone and nodded, taking her seat next to Oracle.

"So… where are we going, Mom?"

"Mystacor…"

Yo! Hey, everyone. Sorry this next update took so long. Moving and settling down was a lot more strenuous than I imagined. Also, I've been playing Stay-At-Home Dad for the past two weeks. And… well, it might be a while lol. But, hey! That means I should have plenty of time. Hopefully, I'll be able to shell out a chapter a week, but no promises. Anyway! Thank you so much for reading! :D