Catra had spent the time skinning, carving, and cooking the rat by thinking about how she was going to tell Adora the news. She was going to take time tallying how much food remained but she couldn't delay any longer. She came to one conclusion, there was no good way to tell Adora that she had even less time to get them out. She silently tensed and groaned in her mind. The rat was ready, "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" There was nothing good to come from this.

~oO0Oo~

Adora sat on the bed and relaxed with a smile while Catra was out. Unfortunately, Adora had a knack for overthinking. She thought that Catra had only showed affection because Adora was closer to getting her out of that temple. That the sex was meaningless. Pent up passion just waiting to be released with another warm body. Familiar words rang in her mind, It doesn't mean I like you. But, damn it, she already admitted that she had. She scolded herself, STOP THINKING, ADORA! She scratched her scalp as if there had been a terrible itch and forced herself to relax. She decided to get up, get dressed, and sit at the library table. Luckily, there were still five other chairs available for smashing.

Catra eventually came into the library holding the hot meat. She was deep in thought and Adora was beginning to think she was right about Catra's affection. No smile. Stoic as ever. Got hopes up for nothing.

Catra placed the food down and tried to force a happier tone but her voice was flat, "Enjoy."

Adora tried to lighten the mood and buried her nose in the food. She took a large whiff, and while she thought to be sarcastic about how good her usual bland rations smelled, she was actually surprised that it did. She looked up at Catra, "Wow, what did you do? This smells wonderful."

Catra raised a brow. To her, the scent was quite potent, "You couldn't smell it from where I came in?"

Adora was reluctant to answer at first, "I haven't been able to smell since Shadow Weaver's punishments," she wanted to quickly get back to her question, "Seriously, what did you do to make it smell like this?" She took a bite, again expecting the tastelessness, "Catra!" her eyes widened, "You are a natural chef! Hey, you know what this reminds me of…?"

Catra certainly had an idea, "Burger from the Fright Zone?"

Astonished, "Yes!" She threw her hands up, "Exactly! You know it's impossible to find this in Bright Moon or, like, ANYWHERE! How did you make this?" She took another bite and then thought to offer some to Catra, "Here, open." She smiled at her and waited.

Catra really needed to get the information out but she opened her mouth regardless. The flavor was incredible compared to the dried rations by far. She forced herself after a hard swallow, "Look, Adora-"

Adora thought it had to come sooner or later. She sighed quickly and dropped her shoulders. You could see the disappointment on her face, "I get it Catra, you don't have to say anything. 'It was fun but don't look forward to more,' I get it. Please just let me enjoy this?" Her eyes plead.

Catra closed her eyes to process, "What? No. Idiot. I'm not talking about…," she groaned a frustrated sigh briefly and pulled Adora into a kiss and released, "That," she pointed to the bed, "was great and real." She gave Adora a moment and continued, "I need to tell you something and you need to listen. It's bad, not us-bad, just…, shut up and listen." She took a deep breath, "I-I found it in the inventory room. I-I mean," a heavy sigh, "It tastes like the food we used to have because it essentially is." She watched Adora try to put the pieces together but was too impatient and just came out with it, "A rat, I found a rat."

Adora turned white and swallowed the piece of food that was in her mouth. Panic and fear, as Catra had, washed over her like embers from hot coals. She grabbed her sword that laid on the table and ran to the supply room abruptly and swiftly.

"Adora!" Catra wanted to calm her down but there was no way of doing that in this scenario. She rubbed her face, uttered another, "Fuck," and got up to go after her.

~oO0Oo~

Frantic, Adora ran down the isles to look for more vermin. She cursed herself for not even considering that wildlife could get in before she trapped Catra. She cursed herself for ever having conjured the idea. Tears built as she angrily searched. She was so furious at herself. She kept thinking she just killed Catra. Her breath became heavier, and the more she went through the isles, she felt her heart beat so hard it was dizzying.

Catra came in the room and searched for Adora. She tried to think of a way to calm her down but unfortunately no ideas came. She needed her calm so they could make a careful count of what was left. "Adora!" she called out.

Filled with panic in the distance, "IF THERE'S ONE, THERE'S MORE! HELP ME LOOK!"

The fear in Adora's voice was almost contagious. Catra forced the feeling away and caught up with her. She stepped in front of a distraught face peppered with sweat. Tears streamed down Adora's cheeks and she tried to push Catra out of her way to continue her search but Catra firmly grasped Adora's shoulders, "Adora! Not all of it is gone! We need to calm down."

Adora spoke hysterically. Every word came with such vigor, "I JUST KILLED US! HOW THE FUCK CAN I CALM DOWN!? I CAN'T DO IT, CATRA! I NEED-" she struggled to get air in her lungs.

Catra pat her back, unsure if it was really helping, "Breathe, Adora! Just breathe."

After several gulping breaths, Adora finished what she was saying, "I need more time, Catra. I wasn't even sure I could do it with the time that we had!" Adora screamed a quick and hard, "FUCK!" Her scream filled the room and throughout the halls.

Adora was completely out of breath and knelt to the floor. Every single one of her muscles wanted to destroy something in the temple; namely everything. Catra didn't have much leverage for consoling but she gave it a go anyway. With a calm voice, "Alright, so we're fucked. Let's just get over it." She received an incredulous, cringing glare and even Catra thought the words she chose could have been better. "Look, I'll give you as much time as I can. We're both gonna have to cut back but I'll do it more. I don't want you to give up. You've gotten so far and I want to see it 'til the end," she paused a moment to make sure Adora was listening, "But I need to find out how much we have left…, okay?" Catra waited for some form of confirmation.

Adora rolled back to a sitting position and her breath slowly became more steady. She gave the nod that Catra was looking for and spoke quietly, "We still need to see if there's more."

"I didn't smell any but I'll make sure when we're going through inventory. Go back and eat." Catra did her best to give her some semblance of hope but it generally wasn't her field of expertise. She had no other words of comfort and if she continued she might have said, "Try not to think about how fucked we are."

Adora squinted hard with fists even tighter and then released. Adora grabbed Catra's wrist, "You're eating it with me." Adora's eyes were fierce. Catra had no choice but to follow her back. Adora was far too distraught to say 'no' to even though Catra thought it would be wiser to have Adora finish the meal herself.

When they sat together, side by side, Adora divided the meat in half. Catra tried to protest but was quickly silenced. Adora made her point, "I won't stand for you to have less than me. Bare minimum, Catra…, bare minimum we split everything equally. That's all I ask." Her voice was almost a whimper. Adora took a stab at the meat and handed the fork to Catra, "C'mon, I don't get any more than you do." Catra was hesitant to take the fork. The sound of Adora's voice fighting her tears crushed Catra's heart. Catra no longer thought that Adora was just going to cry then try harder. Adora gave up.

"Only if you're willing to keep trying. Otherwise, I'd rather quicken the pace." Adora looked at her with panicked eyes and startled gaze. Adora looked down with those eyes widening and with quickened breath. "Adora, there's no point if you don't try. I believe you can do it. I really do, Adora, but you gotta try," she placed a gentle hand on Adora's face and lifted it up slightly, "We'll take inventory, do the math, and then do what we can." Catra stayed calm. She knew if she gave into her emotions she'd be feeding the fire. She looked for acknowledgement but before it was given she took the bite as if she forced Adora's hand to sign a contract. "Now you have to."

"Catra-"

Catra quickly placed a finger on Adora's forehead, "Nope. Just eat. When we're done, inventory. That's it. Keep it simple."

Adora closed her uneasy eyes and swayed her head left and right once. With a breath she gave a subtle nod.

"Good," Catra handed back the fork.

~oO0Oo~

Adora was still clearly distraught. She was unfocused as she stared blankly at the empty shelves with a hand resting on a bare ledge. Catra decided to give her simple tasks to keep her moving and occupied. Catra would actually do the count while she made Adora move the boxes that contained food closer to the door. When Adora wasn't looking, Catra would discard the empty and chewed up containers.

It went on like this for hours. Catra's hands were drying out from the dusty preservatives in the boxes. And, each box was checked to see if some portion of food, if any, could be salvaged. She felt nauseous from the scent of urine and droppings behind her. And the rate in which Adora had moved the containers and come back was faster than Catra could actually find food for her to move. She needed Adora to stay positive with the idea of, "Look at all the food we still have" but it wasn't enough to make that kind of impact.

When it was all complete, they both walked to the front and looked at the remainder. It was more than they expected but far less than they needed. If they were to continue their diet as is, they'd have about a month and a half before it was completely consumed instead of the four months and a week they originally had. If they were to both cut back equally, Catra could give Adora another month. If Catra sacrificed a little more for her, she could give two and a half.

Catra grabbed Adora's hand to get her attention, "Hey…, we'll have to be smart about this. Cut back slowly. But we can do it. The upside of this is that we don't have to worry about water."

"You thought of an upside?" Adora tried to laugh. What else was she going to do? She was beginning to accept what was in front of her. Other thoughts had invaded her mind but the core conflict in front of her was no longer worth the effort to weep another tear.

"Pff, fuck you." Catra tried to smile but what came was just a gentle raising of her brows. "Come on. Today we rest. We don't need to keep staring at this."

They left the storage room. About halfway to the library, Catra's hands bothered her with an increasing dry itch that went beyond the point of toleration. She let Adora know that she was going to stop at the pools first since it was closer and let Adora head back to the library. Adora looked away with her acknowledgement and Catra wasn't sure why. Catra knew she wouldn't be long and thought to attack it later. Adora was vulnerable and needed support but the itch was persistent.

The moment without Adora gave Catra time to wonder why Adora wasn't angry with her. The reduction of food would not be a problem if Catra would just forgive her. Why then? Why wasn't Adora furious? It bothered her. It was unfortunate for Catra that trust was always in question. Shadow Weaver still haunted her and Adora would occasionally trigger those trust issues in particular. She questioned if Adora's lack of fury was a means to manipulate her. To convince her with insincere kindness. Catra quickly suppressed the thought as she often did. If it weren't for Shadow Weaver, Catra wondered if she'd be able to be a better person like Adora.

She swirled and clawed the water in the pool. Her hands began to feel refreshed and the itch dissipated quickly. The crisp coolness from the residual water traversing between her fingers sent a slight chill as she shook the droplets away. She rubbed her hands quickly, a final shake in the air, and dried them on her pants. She looked around once and decided to head back to the library.

~oO0Oo~

Catra pulled the door to the library down and, ever since she learned of the First One's servants, she made a conscious effort not to bend too lowly. As she let the door drop, Adora lightly gasped at her entrance and quickly wiped away tears that had been pooling in her eyes. Catra's pillow had been tightly wrapped with her arms. She quickly flipped it to hide the teary wetness she had left behind.

She took a big sniff through her nose and tried to normalize her voice as if nothing happened, "Hey," another sniff and a quick exhale, "you're back?" She gave a light cough to clear her throat and forced herself to steady.

Inquisitive eyes looked at Adora, "Am I not supposed to be?"

Adora sat up on the edge of the bed and placed her hands between her knees. She shook her head subtly, "I just thought you wouldn't want to see me. I thought… you needed to be away…," she came to a whisper, "after everything I did."

Catra returned a smirk as she walked closer to her, "That was always your problem, Adora."

Adora lifted her head to look at Catra, "What is?"

"You 'thinking' never did you any good." She sat down next to her. "I'm done being away from you."

Another subtle shake of Adora's head. She just couldn't understand. Joking aside, Catra was unexpectedly gentle. "Why aren't you furious with me?" Her fingers began to grip the folds in her pants tightly.

A soft huff. The irony. Catra leaned backwards on the bed and threw her hands up into a shrug and then let them drop to the bed, "I don't know. I really don't have anything else left to lose with you here." She then outstretched a hand to Adora's shoulder and pulled her backwards to have her lie next her. She turned her head towards Adora, "Hey…, I'm sorry I'm so damaged. I just… can't forget. I really am tryi-"

"Don't ever apologize for that," Adora turned and leaned on her arms over Catra, "That is not your fault." She stared into Catra who was a little startled by the seriousness of her tone. Adora blinked into her realization that it may have been too dramatic. She rolled back to the bed and spoke quietly, "It just isn't."

Catra bumped her hand with Adora's and spoke with the same solemn tone, "Thanks."

~oO0Oo~

Each day, they cut back just a little more. Hunger was their biggest enemy besides time. Catra ate the same portions as Adora every time they ate. It was a promise to Adora she kept but she was going to have to put her foot down soon. Catra couldn't stand seeing Adora put all her energy into her magic while she simply rested and did nothing. Adora was definitely losing weight faster than Catra and she had enough.

The next meal, Adora was given her cut-back portion plus Catra's half. Adora furrowed her brows at her. Catra glared back without a word at first until Adora was about to pull the "promise" card. Catra put her hand on the table and leaned in, "We can waste time fighting about it and I force feed it to you or you can simply accept that what's in front of us is actually equal. You need it, Adora. Eat!"

Hunger had left Adora emotional. Catra's logic was hard to refute but seeing how much smaller Catra's portion was to hers had brought tears to her eyes. She wanted to fight back but she had nothing left to fight back with.

"Adora," she placed her hand on Adora's cheek, "don't worry about me. This is enough. I sleep all day, remember?" A slight tilt of her head asked for Adora's affirmation. She received the nod she was looking for. "Good." She gave Adora's cheek a kiss and started to eat as soon as Adora took her first bite.

~oO0Oo~

Time was quickly running low. Only two weeks were left until all food was depleted. Adora trained hard while Catra did her best to support Adora. Besides providing more and more portions of her food, she massaged her head, she made sure she was well enough to continue. And, there were breakthroughs! Two chairs and a bowl had made their way outside the temple. Catra shouted and cheered, "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! I KNEW IT!"

Unfortunately, Adora needed the entire rest of the day to rest. She was brought to the medical station on several occasions. Adora's head was always in pain. There were days where she had even lost her appetite and Catra had to sit with her to eat slowly. And, every day they needed to count how much food was left to keep track of time as the days began to blur.

~oO0Oo~

Once, when Catra had bathed alone, Adora opened a portal near herself as She-Ra. She tried to place her fingers through it. The surge was unlike anything she felt before. It was if she had poked her own mind with her fingers. The portal collapsed quickly and nearly took her fingers with it. She gave a few dry heaves as the sensation caused her stomach to turn sour. Nothing had come up as there was nothing left for her to puke. The taste of acid was left in her mouth and she doubled over clutching her stomach as if she'd been punched. That was it. That was her answer when the time came.

She turned on her back and took deep breaths. The air had filled her lungs slowly, and luckily, she began to recuperate. The nausea went away but the pain behind her eyes remained. She panicked, I don't want to die. I don't want to die! She went through stages of anxiety quickly and tried to calm herself before Catra could discover her. She had to. A few more deep breaths and a decision. She wouldn't tell Catra.

~oO0Oo~

Three days left. Adora was confident she'd get Catra out. She was able to hold the portal open for a couple minutes now. She tried to convince herself that if she just ran through with Catra, it'd be worth the overwhelming negative consequences.

"I promise, you'll like Bright Moon, Catra. First thing you're gonna do…," she gave a soft chuckle, "you're gonna eat a feast." She smiled brightly on the bed. She was face to face with Catra with an hand underneath Catra's arm. "You're gonna meet everyone and you're gonna love 'em."

Catra scoffed with a smile in return, "Pff, ya, I'm sure they'll love me too." Catra's looked away, "Adora, when we get out, I can't-"

Adora rolled her eyes, "I'm pretty sure I destroyed all your plans with the Horde, Catra. We'll figure it out. You aren't leaving me." I'm just going to run through it. No matter what, I'll do it. I just need to push myself. "There are so many things I want to show you." If Adora started talking about the Horde, she was likely going to break down again. She needed the positive reinforcement.

Catra was having trouble reading Adora. She couldn't tell if she was excited or bordering hysterics. The pressure to get both of them free was clearly on Adora's mind. It was the one thing Catra couldn't relate to. Magic was out of her hands, an extension of the mind that she could only imagine. A tinge of jealousy lingered but otherwise she didn't care to possess the power herself. Especially with the indescribable "pain" Adora mentioned was something she was alright to be without. The physical pain and mental torment that Shadow Weaver inflicted was more than enough knowledge to discourage any curiosity about what Adora was going through.

Catra was getting the hang of her attempts at encouragement, "I know you can do it, Adora. But, if you don't, it's okay. And I know you don't want to fail, but I know you, you're going to beat yourself up until the very end. Don't." She hesitated a moment to catch one of Adora's tears with her thumb. "Just remember…, that's my job." She brought herself to smile and to laugh at her own silly joke. "You're gonna do great. And when we get out…, I will cut you up if you tell anyone I was this nice to you." This time Adora laughed. Catra leaned in to kiss Adora's lips and said those helpful words again, "You're gonna do great."

Adora nodded emphatically to agree with her. Adora brought her in close and hugged her to sleep. I'm gonna do it.

~oO0Oo~

"We have another day, Adora, are you absolutely sure?" Catra and Adora both stared at the last two boxes of food in the inventory. They haven't had a full serving of food in two months. They could either make it last one more day or settle their hungry stomachs for once and get out.

Adora hesitated her reply. She then grabbed both boxes and handed one to Catra, "One day isn't going to make a difference and a full meal is something we need." Adora stated this firmly but she was overcome with profound nervousness. Those two boxes, that's it. A literal "do or die" scenario. The emergency gardens meant to supply extra food when all supplies were depleted were still two months away from fruiting. Any existing vegetation just wasn't consumable.

~oO0Oo~

They sat, side by side, at the small dining hall. Adora couldn't stop staring at her food with anxious breath. Catra placed an arm and her tail around Adora's hip to calm her, "You'll be fine," she gently pulled Adora's face toward her, "I'm not wrong." A not-so confident nod. "Do you want me to feed you?"

A nervous huff, "No…," another, "I can manage." She broke off a piece and ate it, "See?"

Dripping with sarcasm, "So proud." Catra really did try her best. The night before, while Adora was sound asleep, she placed her hand on the force field only to feel it's bite. Catra's memories still cursed her thoughts of ever being able to forgive Adora. She wanted to forgive so desperately but every time the thought were to announce itself, nothing but anger erupted. She couldn't understand it and she wanted to tell Adora but it was not a time to focus on the negative. She especially didn't want to surface the idea that neither of them knew the status of the war or who might be left alive. Lift Adora's spirits and continue to work on forgiveness after they get out, that's the goal. "Hey Adora, don't let your friends hug you for too long, I might get jealous." A smidge of a smirk to a grin tugged the corners of mouth.

A subtle laugh, "Only if you tell Scorpia the same thing."

Catra nearly spit her food, "You think I haven't already? She is a very aggressive hugger!"

Adora began to relax a little but unfortunately she was only trying to delay, "Did you ever hug her back?"

Catra looked away only to roll her head back to Adora, "Like once. I think I broke her." Adora chuckled at this but panic was still in her chest and tightened around her heart. Only a few bites left. Her breathing was starting to get erratic again. Catra quickly tried to soothe, "Hey, hey, focus on me. Look at me," she said calmly. Adora turned her head and focused. Catra continued, "I'm going to say something very serious, alright?" a brief pause, "If you can't do it then you can't do it. And I've been trying. I really have Adora. There's something wrong with me and I'm just fucked up." Adora tried to disagree but Catra quickly carried on, "Just listen. During the time between now and when we just can't go on, focus on me. We try the original plan and we break the barrier together." Catra slipped her hand into Adora's, "I want you safe and out of here. So, come on, I don't want to spend the rest of the day wondering if it's going to be spent in or out." Adora began to nod slowly and then quickly pulled Catra in by the collar and kissed her. Catra held her close in response.

She released, "Okay, let's get ready." She shoved the remainder of her food in her mouth and swallowed. She refused to look at her plate and got up. She took Catra by the hand and went to the Entrance hall.

~oO0Oo~

They quickly discussed the usual plan. The entrance portal, obviously, being on the inside of the temple but placed very close to the barrier as to reduce the distance between it and the exit portal. The exit portal, similarly, would be placed outside the barrier. Adora was actually unsure how far that was exactly but two of the chairs in previous tests she sent through answered that question. Catra would sprint through the portal and Adora would attempt to hurl herself through it regardless of the consequences. Adora and Catra spent the next ten minutes mentally preparing themselves.

Catra went to the library to get Adora's sword. When she came back, she tilted the hilt towards Adora, "Let's get out of here." A reassuring smile as she squeezed Adora's arm when she took the sword.

Adora quickly wrapped her other arm around Catra, "I, um, just whatever happens-"

Catra sighed into her shoulder, "Don't worry Adora."

"Just know that I really did try my best." Adora kissed her cheek and released. She took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

Catra readied herself with a smile. She squat down and faced the doors of the temple. She shifted her feet like she had before to make sure they were secure and wouldn't slip on the kick off. She was much closer this time, only a few arm lengths away. She nodded at Adora.

Adora positioned herself very close to the adjacent wall. Only a hair away from touching the barrier herself. She changed to She-Ra, "Only when I say 'go.'" Catra gave a nod. Another deep breath, I can do this. She pointed the sword to the doors, grit her teeth, and released all that she had to creating those portals. She pushed the exit portal farther and farther to ensure Catra could not be hurt by the barrier. "GO!"

Catra kicked hard. She pushed herself as quickly as possible. Anything to give Adora more time to get herself through. Before she knew it, Catra was tripping on thick foliage. Her heart pounded into her throat and she was breathless, "I'm through. ADORA! I'M THROUGH!" she turned around to face the exit portal quickly.

Adora tried to take a few running steps. Sweat poured out of her face and she was horrified to find that the portal wasn't big enough for her. She froze and closed her eyes, "I-I-I ne-" she was so tired, "make it bigger," it came out as a whisper. She gave it another push. It widened as she groaned in pain. She opened her eyes and could only see darkness. Blank eyes searched for the portal but nothing revealed itself. Her chest heaved with panicked breath. "Catra! I-I can't see!"

"Adora! COME ON!"

Adora felt the portal closing again. She just couldn't hold it any more. "Catra!" her voice shrieked with fear, "CATRA, I LOVE YOU!" Smaller and smaller the portal went. Her voice screamed a whisper, "I'm sorry!" The portal simply disintegrated to nothingness. Adora fell backwards. The world felt as if it had slammed into her. Darkness enveloped her. Sound ceased except for the whispering breaths escaping her lungs. Her arm, now pressed against the barrier, but no resistance came from it.

~oO0Oo~

"ADORA! ADORA! NO!" Catra clawed at the air as if to try to physically open the portal again. She couldn't believe it. Her whole body trembled. I should have pulled her. We should have gone together. I should have- "ADORA!" Her shrieking voice echoed through the air. Birds quickly fluttered away. Sounds of life scattered through the nearby leaves and vegetation. A whispering cry, "Come back." I have to find her. I have to get her! Catra looked ahead. Only trees and bushes and intertwining vines. There was no temple. She clawed at everything in her path. She climbed over and under frantically. Thorns scraped her body. She didn't care. She scrambled. She lost her sense of direction. Any direction she chose was just more woods. "LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HER!" She screamed harder. Her voice cracked to the horror of losing Adora again. She beat on everything around her to no avail until she just couldn't any longer. She leaned against a tree trunk, "I love you, Adora." Blood dripped from her arms, legs, and her hands. Thorns stuck to her and went deeply under her skin. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything else.


So I obviously decided to go with a 100% Plot A on this one. I must apologize though. I felt this chapter was a little more sloppy than my previous ones. When all is written, I do plan to go back and do some clean up work and make it better. This one, I think, is going to be a little tougher to fix.

I will need two weeks to get Chapter 09 out. I've been near some sick children and I can already feel the grossness shrouding my weak crap-body. Please know I really do need to wrap up plot B. The best case scenario is I will label it with ~oO Plot B Oo~ so can skip along but I highly encourage you NOT to skip. I mean you probably could without issue but it blends a little. If by some miracle, I will post an update on Twitter and only twitter. If you don't know, I'll be participating in phase three of the tumblr protest. Follow logoffprotest for better details but the short of it is, log off tumblr for a week from 12AM Feb 1 to 12AM Feb 8. And lastly, my twitter is /AmbiguousThe

UPDATE: Apparently my tumblr, ambigousfool, has been shadowbanned for supporting the logoffprotest. SO, if you want dumb She-Ra deep thoughts now and then along with updates, you won't see them unless you follow me. OH WELL... sigh... oh well... *sniff*