CHAPTER XVII: FIXING THINGS
Heat… almost unbearable… fire creeps closer… it's engulfing everything.
Someone stands over Catra… she wants to reach out but… she can't.
She can only cry.
"Queen Katrina…"
The voice is terrifying… and… familiar.
Too familiar…
"You don't know how much I have dreamt of this moment."
"Little people will always dream of little things."
"You always had a big mouth… it'll be my pleasure to shut it forever."
The one who stood protectively over her pounces on an ominous red figure.
Blow after blow… the two grow slow…
Until the red one falls.
"You're done for… this is for everything you've done to my people."
"Your people deserved everything I did to them… you're nothing but beasts! You don't deserve all that power! You don't deserve that crown!"
"And you do, isn't it? You're nothing… just a sad, old woman, craving for the most meaningless thing in the universe. Power is nothing if you're alone. I pity you."
"Spare me the sentimentalisms… do your worst, freak."
Catra can see a clawed hand raised in the air.
And then…
A loud explosion…
Her ears are ringing.
Her hearing is muffled.
Another figure approaches.
"Lord Hordak…"
"Finish her."
"With pleasure."
The red figure takes a sword from the ground.
Catra can see the blade shining under the moonlight.
When it comes down, a strangled scream resonates in the air.
"Let me kill her daughter too."
"No."
"What?!"
"Their last stand failed. They're all gone… but this one? This one will know what we'll tell her… her strength will be ours. Raise her."
"You can't ask me that. You can't!"
The tall, white faced figure steps closer to the red one.
"I… can't?"
…
…
…
"As you wish… my lord."
The red figure grows closer…
Clawed hands reach out for her…
Catra screams…
͠
The feline woke up with a strangled scream. She looked around frantically, as if she was expecting the room to be still on fire. But she wasn't in that damned tent anymore… she didn't feel that terrifying, unbearable heat on her skin any longer. No, she just felt… warm… her hand felt especially warm. Catra looked down and found out that her hand was still intertwined with Adora's. The feline's breathing became less ragged, more stable as she let her gaze linger on the blonde's face.
It was then that she saw Adora open her eyes slightly.
"Catra?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The feline let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she had been holding.
She was fine…
Adora was fine…
"Y-yeah… I'm here." Catra stuttered, moving closer.
"I'm… cold…" The blonde muttered.
"I'll get you another blanket… tell me where-" The feline began to speak only to stop as she felt Adora's hold on her hand tighten.
The blonde's gaze was lowered… her cheeks slightly flushed…
"Can you stay? With… with me… please. Just for tonight… I don't want to be alone."
Adora's voice was so fragile… so vulnerable… Catra could have broken her heart right there and then.
…
…
...
The feline raised the thin sheet covering the blonde and slipped under it.
"What are you doing?! Leave her! You know she's gonna to break your heart all over again! She doesn't… she doesn't… care…"
The voice inside Catra's head screamed… but as it kept speaking… it became less secure… because the feline knew… Adora had almost died for her. How could she not care? And when Catra felt that long forgotten closeness… that comforting warmth… she realized how much she had missed that. How much she had missed Adora. The blonde tightened her grip around the feline's hand once more. Catra looked at her face and saw a tear streaming down her cheek.
"Adora?" Catra's tone was laced with worry.
She didn't care about hiding it anymore.
"You're enough… you've always been enough… I'm…" Adora muttered between quiet sobs before raising her gaze and bringing her free hand to rest upon Catra's cheek. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you weren't… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"I'm sorry too…"
The statement shocked Adora. She watched as Catra lowered her gaze in shame.
"You left because it was the right thing to do. The Horde was going to destroy many more lives… just like it probably did with the ones we should have had… and you decided to stand against it. I choose to stay… of course I choose that, I'm that weak-" Catra hissed between her teeth but stopped as she felt her chin being lifted up.
"That's not true." Adora shook her head.
"Yeah… yeah it is. I should have followed you, but instead of caring about the only person who ever gave a damn about me and following her… I chose to stay to be someone in the eyes of people who always treated me like trash…"
"It's not your fault… if I had been treated like you all my life… I don't think I would have had the strength to leave either… I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you the way you needed me to. Truth is… truth is I'm the one who wasn't enough." Adora's lip trembled.
"Shut up! Okay?!" Catra startled both Adora and herself with the strength of her voice. "You were everything to me, you got it?! Everything! The only reason I didn't die in that hell was you… I just… I just wish that place hadn't torn us apart…"
"It doesn't matter, okay? It doesn't matter now… we're… we're here now…" Adora gave the feline a teary smile.
"How… how can we go back? H-how can we fix it?" Catra's voice began to crack.
"We'll find a way… one day at a time. I… I know I shouldn't say it. I know you probably don't trust me… but I…"
Please don't…
Please don't say it…
I couldn't bear it if you broke another one…
"I promise you… we'll fix this." Adora's voice was so hopeful, and it carried a warmth in which Catra simply wanted to drown.
We won't be able to do it…
We can't fix it…
It's broken beyond repair…
"Okay…" Catra muttered.
Adora's teary laugh… it made the feline chuckle as well. The blonde grew closer and wrapped her arms around her. Catra stiffened. Adora must had felt it and began to shift away, muttering a barely audible 'sorry'. Before she could retract her arms, Catra locked her own behind her, keeping the blonde close.
"This is a mistake. You're going to regret it." The voice inside the feline's head muttered in a dark tone of voice.
Catra didn't listen, she focused on Adora's light breathing and listened to it until she fell asleep once again. This time, the nightmares didn't come back, and when she opened her eyes, the new day's light had already illuminated the chamber. When was the last time she hadn't woken up at 0500 sharp? It had always been dark when she opened her eyes… but not now it wasn't… and if Catra had to be sincere… she loved it.
And even if she wasn't ready to admit it… she loved it when Adora opened her eyes and gave her a warm smile.
"Hey…"
"Good morning…" Catra answered, unable to keep a smile from forming on her lips.
Adora's grew even wider as the blonde noticed the feline's one. How much had she dreamt about living a moment like this with Catra again? As time went by, Adora had convinced herself that it wasn't a dream worth having, because it would have never turned into reality… but here she was…
Here they were…
"How are you feeling?" The feline asked.
"Much better, just a little tired." Adora answered before trying to sit up.
A hand immediately flew on her shoulder.
"Razz said to take it easy." Catra's voice became stern, but not unkind.
"So, she really was here… I don't remember very well… just fragments."
"She was here… she… I think she helped you… healed you… just a little bit but enough for you to… turn into She-Ra."
"I-I turned into She-Ra?!" Adora exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah… a sword appeared out of nowhere and woosh… you turned for a second… and your wound disappeared."
Adora felt a smile grow on her face. She-Ra… if she had turned without the sword… it really meant that the magic warrior wasn't a sword… she was so much more. Madame Razz was right. However, the blonde's smile vanished as she noticed Catra's face. She looked… ashamed.
"Catra?"
"It's my fault… isn't it? Your old sword…" Catra's gaze lowered in shame.
"I had to destroy it to stop the Heart, but Catra-" Adora tried to speak but the feline interrupted her.
"Yeah, like I said, it's my fault. If I hadn't pushed the Rebellion to use the Heart, you wouldn't have had to destroy your sword and… maybe you would have still had it when you faced Prime… you wouldn't have risked to die…"
Adora placed a hand on Catra's cheek and gently raised her face.
"With or without the sword, it doesn't change the fact that I would have gladly accepted my death, if it meant that you would have continued to live."
Catra let out a shaky breath.
"Always the hero, huh?" The feline chuckled after a brief pause, although, there was no malice in her words.
"Nah… just a girl who'd do anything for the person she loves the most…" Adora spoke softly.
The person she loves the most…
It took time for Adora to realize that. It took her time to understand that despite everything that happened, she would have never been able to hate Catra and finally… after what the feline had done for Glimmer… that she had never truly stopped loving her.
"Adora… I…" Catra muttered, an uneasy expression on her face.
"Hey, you don't need to say anything, okay? I just wanted you to know that."
"Thank you…" The feline whispered.
Maybe they could really fix this…
Adora slowly sat up. She didn't feel dizzy, just a little bit tired.
"You know what we need right now?" The blonde asked, her tone dripping with enthusiasm.
"What?" Catra chuckled at Adora's childlike excitement.
"A good breakfast. You won't believe how good the Rebellion's food is."
"You sure? That old lady said you should rest."
"But I'm sooo hungry…" Adora said dramatically as she fell back on the mattress.
She turned towards Catra and smiled brightly as she saw the feline smirk.
"Well, it can't be worst than the Horde's ration bars, so why not?"
͠
"I'm telling you Glimmer, this is a great idea!" Perfuma insisted.
"A ball? Really?" Glimmer said, clearly unconvinced.
"Uhhh… did you like… see how the people down there are looking at us?" Mermista pointed at the large camp that had been built just outside the palace's grounds, at the edge of the Whispering Woods.
"That's exactly why we should do it! We should show the Horde's people that we're not the monsters Hordak told them we are! We should show them how much happier they could be here!"
"That's… really nice Perfuma, but I doubt that a single party could make them change their mind." Glimmer gave the flowery princess a sad smile.
"Don't be like that Glimmer! Trust me! I bet that it's going to be great and-" Perfuma began to speak, but was suddenly interrupted.
"Hey, you!"
The new voice caught the three's attention. As the young queen and the two princesses turned around, they found themselves face to face with a small girl. She had to be around nine or ten. What took the princesses most by surprise was the stun baton she was holding in her right hand. A moment after, another girl appeared. She was older, one of Adora's old friends if Glimmer was not mistaken. She was called… Lonnie! That's what her name was. She rushed to the young girl's side and swiftly grabbed the baton away from the young girl's hand.
"Ivy! What are you doing?!" Lonnie hissed through gritted teeth.
"Give that back to me! I'm tired of you saying that I have to wait! I know they did something bad to her!" Ivy shouted back.
"Her?" Perfuma asked in confusion.
"Don't play dumb with me, princess!" Ivy addressed her with a mocking tone. "I know you took Catra and locked her up in your big, stupid castle!"
Glimmer snorted and chuckled slightly.
"Something's funny?!"
"You're cute, you're just like an angry little cupcake." The young queen mused, making Perfuma giggle and Mermista smirk.
"W-what?!" Ivy became as red as a tomato as she heard Glimmer's words. "I'll show you 'cute' rebel scum!"
But as soon as the young girl raised her fists into a fighting stance, her eyes fell on a figure near the castle's gates.
"Catra!" Ivy yelled, rushing towards the feline.