A few hours later, the transport carrying Pyroc as well as the Rogue Squad arrived at Frosta's castle. Sure enough, once the guards saw the Rogue Squad approaching, they immediately let them in.
"Alert the princess," one of the guards told a servant nearby, who then promptly ran off. The other one offered to escort the team to Frosta's throne room. As the group followed, Catra noticed that others in the castle were looking at Pyroc in shock, or maybe almost fear. She leaned over to Makuta.
"This newcomer seems to have a bit of a rep around here." She said, gesturing to the people she had noticed. Makuta looked around as well, then looked back at Pyroc, then at Catra: "I think it's because he's fire-based. That's not exactly a good combination with ice, which is pretty much everywhere in this kingdom." He whispered back. Soon they reached the doors to the throne room. The guard turned to the team: "Wait here. I'll go let Princess Frosta know you are here."
Makuta nodded and then the guard went through the door. Makuta then turned back to Pyroc and said, "Okay, listen up. It's been a long while since you were here, so obviously a new princess is on the throne."
"What's your point?" Pyroc asked impatiently.
"My point is that she's a little different than what you would expect so let me do most of the talking, and whatever you do, don't question her age."
"Why would I question her age?"
Before Makuta could respond, the doors to the throne room opened and the team was let through. Once they were inside, Pyroc saw Frosta and widened his eyes in surprise.
"Oh, that's why." He said, noticing Frosta was far younger than he had expected.
Frosta smiled as she saw their approach and said: "Hey there, Makuta. Long time no see."
"It sure has been," Makuta replied, "Everything going good?"
"So far, but since you and your new team is here, I assume that's about to change."
"Maybe. Actually, there's someone here who needs to speak with you."
"Who?"
Makuta gestured for Pyroc to walk forward, which he promptly did. The servants flanking Frost stepped back in horror; Frosta widened her eyes.
"Is he…?" she began to ask.
"An Infernian?" Pyroc said, "Yes, I am."
"I thought they were all dead at this point."
"Entrapta and Mermista found him in some form of suspended animation in the ruins of Infernia," Makuta explained, "Glimmer told us to bring him to you as he may have the answers to the mystery that has surrounded both Snows and Infernia."
"Well, it's about time someone figured that out," Frosta said.
"The thing is," Pyroc said, "Is that we did indeed send a call for help to Snows; I watched the messenger leave myself. What I don't understand is that your kingdom somehow denies ever receiving such a message, so I can either assume you lied and let my kingdom be wiped out, or there's something else going on that we don't know of."
"Let me guess," Frosta said, "You need my help."
Makuta nodded: "Do you know of any place where old messages or documents go?"
Frosta thought for a moment: "Well, there is the historical archive. I can take you there if you need to look around. It might not be much, but it's a start."
Pyroc nodded, "Very well."
One of Frosta's advisors leaned over to the princess: "Are you sure that's a good idea? That archive isn't…"
"It's fine," Frosta snapped, "Besides, that mystery has put a small taint on our kingdom's reputation, and if this gets rid of that, than I'm willing to do it. Plus, if Glimmer sent them, than we don't really have much of a choice."
She then got down from her throne and gestured for the team to follow her. She led them down a lift and into a larger room that had walls of ice. To the team's surprise, there was all kinds of parchments, scrolls, and other documents frozen in the ice.
"Why is everything in ice?" Waspix asked.
"It helps preserve the documents in case we need to use the later." Frosta explained. "Ice preserves things pretty well."
"And, what if you need to get one out?"
Frosta encased a hand in an ice ax: "We bust em out."
Skorp rubbed his pincers together in glee: "So, we get to break stuff? Alright then."
"Hold on," Makuta said, "We need to know what exactly we're looking for first. Pyroc, what would this message look like?"
"It's a scroll," Pyroc said, "It should be in a black case and/or have handles with spikes around them. Shouldn't be too hard to find."
Makuta nodded, "Alright, gang, spilt up into pairs and let us know if you find something."
The team nodded and went off: Skorp and Waspix, and Makuta and Catra went off, which left Pyroc and Frosta to go on together. As they walked, Pyroc ran his hand against the ice, as if he could feel the scroll.
"What are you doing?" Frosta asked.
"The scrolls we used are made of a magical material that radiates a flame that we can sense, which helps us find it should it be lost." Pyroc explained, "The flame is unquenchable and, supposedly, can last for ages. If it still burs, I should be able to find it in the ice."
"Well, that will certainly help."
The two continued walking in silence, until Frosta said: "If it's not too much trouble, I just want to say…I read about your kingdom. What happened to it was terrible, and I just want to say I'm sorry about what happened."
Pyroc hesitated, and Frosta became worried that she had said something wrong.
"Too soon?" she asked.
Pyroc sighed and continued to search saying, "No, you're fine. I'm just still getting used to the fact that it's been nearly a hundred years since that happened, and that I feel Snows had abandoned us, and is now trying to cover it up. However, I sense you're telling the truth, which means Snows still has some good in it. I…" then he stopped and began feeling around a certain spot: "I sense something."
"The scroll?"
"Could be. Hang on." Pyroc felt around a bit more, than continued further down the wall. After a few moments, they came to a section of the wall that seemed almost completely empty. Pyroc felt around some more until he stopped at one particular spot.
"I can feel it strongest here," he said.
"This is a reserve area," Frosta said, "Future documents will go here; we haven't put anything in this part of the ice yet."
"Maybe that's what they want you think." Pyroc replied, "We'll cut in here."
Channeling fire through his armor, Pyroc began melting through the ice, following the source of what he was sensing. Frosta shrugged; he knew more about Infernian magic than she did, and she encased he hand in an ice pick to help Pyroc get through. After a few minutes of melting and digging, it seemed as if they were on a wild goose chase as they went incredibly deep into the wall, when suddenly, Pyroc's hand touched something. Melting the ice trapping it, he pulled back to reveal a scroll in a black casing, spikes ran around the edges of the handles.
"This is it." he said. Frosta widened her eyes an amazement.
"What was that doing in a reserved spot?" Frosta asked.
"I don't know. We should tell the others."
Frosta nodded and held up a comlink: "Makuta, we found it. We're in the hall farthest on the right."
"On it." Makuta said on the other end.
Pyroc opened the scroll and showed it to Frosta: "See for yourself."
Frosta took the scroll and looked it over: "It's definitely a call to help, but from the way you opened the scroll, I'd say it was never even opened before being sent down here."
"And it was then hidden away in this spot for a hundred years."
"This doesn't make sense. Who would do such a thing?"
"Someone who hated your kind." A woman's voice behind them said. The two whipped around to see the advisor from earlier who had questioned Frosta's taking the Rogue Squad to the archives. She now pointed a gun at both of them. A few moments later, a group of other soldiers appeared behind her.
"There were a few of us here in Snows who saw your kind as too dangerous to even let live, much less make an alliance with," she said.
"What do you mean?" Frosta asked.
"I am part of a secret organization whose goal was to ensure that Infernia was gone, and that they would never join us, as well as keep their deaths a secret. It was bad enough that they had to go and join the Etherian kingdoms, so we needed other options."
Pyroc narrowed his eyes as he put the pieces together: "YOU told Horde Prime to attack us."
"Well, not us specifically, but our ancestors did a hundred years ago."
"But why?" Frosta demanded.
"Infernia was too dangerous," the advisor said, "What do you think happens when fire touches ice, or plants? Yeah, we have people in Plumeria too. Fire only causes destruction, so it had to be done away with. How this one," she said, pointing to Pyroc, "managed to survive is beyond us, but it doesn't matter. We'll simply get rid of him, then find a way to erase your memory, Frosta, so that you'll never know what even happened."
Pyroc drew his axe, both the axe and his armor beginning to glow as the fire within them intensified: "You won't get away with this!"
"Oh, please," the advisor said, "I already have some men keeping your other friends busy, so looks like you won't be getting any backup, sweetie."
Suddenly a lion's roar sounded from behind them, and the advisor whipped around to see the Rouge Squad standing there in ready positions. Her face paled and she stepped back in fear: What? How? Those were some of my best warriors!"
"Really?" Catra said, "Well, then your men REALLY some more training, cause you'll have to do a lot better than that to even impress us."
Makuta cracked his knuckles: "Let's get 'em."
"This is where the fun begins," Skorp said.
"KILL THEM ALL!" the advisor shouted, and the soldier charged.
"Attack!" Makuta shouted, and the Rogue Squad flew into action. It had only been a few weeks since they first formed, but they were already coordinated enough to be incredibly terrifying when together. As Frosta watched, Skorp was already tossing soldiers aside like ragdolls, with Waspix zapping them out of the air as she flew past them. Makuta was the most terrifying, using his shotgun to blast any enemies far away as well as using his claws, and even his teeth, to cut down any who got too close. Catra ran up to Frosta and Pyroc, somersaulting over the brawl and landing on top of one of the soldiers, knocking him out cold.
"I can help you get the scroll out of here," she said, just as a pistol shot from the advisor hit the wall next to her.
"You're not taking that thing anywhere," the advisor said.
Pyroc stepped in front of Catra and raised his axe, ready to charge the advisor: "You want it? Come get it."
The advisor pulled out a sword from the sheath on her hip and both her and Pyroc charged. Their weapons connected, leading to a massive duel with both putting up a good defense and leading up with powerful offensive moves. Seeing them distracted, Catra grabbed a gun from a fallen soldier and ran to Frosta.
"I'll cover you. Get the scroll out of here."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Frosta said, taking the scroll. The two began making their way back to the elevator, Catra gunning down any soldier that saw them.
"Almost there!" Frosta shouted. Then, she made it to the doors and pressed the button to summon the elevator. Catra fired back into the crowd for a few moments, protecting Frosta.
Meanwhile, it was clear Pyroc was getting the upper hand in the duel against the advisor; not only was he better trained, but he was also stronger and was driven by his anger, unleashing brutal offensive strikes. Finally, he brought his axe down on her sword once more, this time shattering the blade. Then, he grabbed her by the neck and threw her across the floor. Slowly regaining her senses, the advisor looked to see Catra and Frosta at the elevator with the scroll. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out her pistol again and fired at Catra, hitting her in the shoulder.
As the bolt hit, Catra shouted in pain, dropping her gun, forcing Frosta to create an ice shield to protect the two of them as the remaining soldiers slowly approached, constantly firing at the shield, which slowly began to break.
"And so ends the Infernians," The advisor said with a cruel smirk, only to drop it as a shadow soared over her; her shot on Catra did not go unnoticed, and it angered the lion that Catra's brother was. With a massive roar, Makuta dove into the soldiers claws bared and he began beating down on them, tossing them aside and clawing the parts of their body left vulnerable by their armor. The remaining soldiers were dispatched in a manner of less than a minute. Then, Makuta turned to the advisor and narrowed his eyes, growling. The advisor's face paled as she realized her mistake, just as Makuta ran up on all fours and tackled her, pinning her to the ground with his claws and then knocking her out cold with a blow to the head.. Just then, the door to the elevator opened, and Frosta dropped the shield. Skorp helped Catra up and said: "You okay?"
Catra winced: "Yeah, I've taken worse."
Makuta walked up, carrying the unconscious advisor over his shoulder: "What do we do with this one?"
Frosta narrowed her eyes in determination: "Bring her up so my guards can arrest her. It's time to start righting the wrong this underground syndicate has done."
An hour later, the Rogue Squad led Pyroc back to the ship. Before that, Frosta had ordered the advisor to be arrested as well as a search to begin for the rest of the underground syndicate in Snows. She also decreed that the contents of the Infernian scroll were to be made public, as well as the truth behind Infernia and the mystery surrounding its fall. For added measure, the palace medics tended to Catra's shoulder wound. With their work completed, the Rogue Squad headed back for the transport to take them back to Brightmoon.
"So, what do you plan to do now, now that you've uncovered what really happened to your kingdom." Skorp sked Pyroc.
Pyroc shrugged: "Guess I'll just go where I'm needed, I guess."
"You should totally come with us," Waspix said, "You'd make a great addition to the team."
She then heard someone clear their throat and looked to see Catra glaring at them. Waspix turned red under the metal helmet: "Oh, well, if the two co-leaders say so."
"He might be a good teammate," Makuta said.
Catra nodded: "He certainly wouldn't fit in with the princesses, or much else for that matter."
"So, would you like to join?" Makuta asked.
Pyroc thought for a moment; he was impressed by how well the team worked together in combat. Besides, Catra was right; with Infernia gone, he didn't really have anywhere else to fit in. His mind made up, Pyroc looked at Makuta and Catra and nodded.
"I'm in," he said.
"Good," Makuta said, "Because that was the last empty spot in the team."
"Welcome to the Rogue Squad, Pyroc." Catra said. Pyroc nodded, while Waspix flew excitedly through the air, pumping all four of her fists. Skorp grabbed he by. Her stinger to stop her.
"Alright, calm down," he said, "Now, let's get back on the ship."
With that, the fully formed Rogue Squad got onto the transport and headed back to Brightmoon for some much needed rest, unaware of where their next adventure would take them.
Author's note: This ends Pyroc's beginning story. I made Makuta and Catra co-leaders because they are a pretty good pair. In the spirit of Catra being a co-leader, if you do not remember from the last author note, I have given Catra her second-in-command outfit, and hair, from season 3. For the final intro story, we will finally go to Earth, and the world of Las Vistas as we meet the deadliest warrior to walk the surface: The Hunter.