Scorpia is freaking out.
First, it turns out the portal was a bomb! But Entrapta figured that out, even though no one knew that was a potential possibility, so it was all good. But then Wildcat zaps Entrapta, SHIPS HER OFF TO BEAST ISLAND, and goes to have Lord Hordak set it off anyways!
But that doesn't happen, so all good right?
EXCEPT Wildcat is gone. Taken by another, bigger, scarier cat from a portal that Catra didn't open, but one that opened anyways.
According to Lord Hordak, Force Captain Catra was likely victim to whatever manner of creature that came through and he wasn't going to devote any resources to her recovery.
Scorpia knows Catra must have been scared, felt guilty, the weight of her actions catching up to her. She knows deep down Catra doesn't want to be cruel, but the Horde has a way of twisting people, breaking them all in different ways. Catra's damage just shows itself in breaking things further, a bid to give her some measure of control over the way the world seems to keep hurting her.
And since Catra is that way, and no one can see underneath the fangs and claws sharpened by the harshness of the Horde, Scorpia's pretty sure she's the only one who cares enough to go looking for her. So that's what she's doing—right now, that is.
Except she might be lost. In the Whispering Woods. Scorpia swears she was following Catra's trail but then the trees moved and the grass with it and now the tracks are nowhere to be seen. She hears rumbling, whispers of hungry critters eating away at the silence, but somehow anything hungry that picks its way through the forest doesn't find her.
Scorpia only hopes Catra has the same luck.
Scorpia sighs, clambering over a large root when she catches sight of a firefly flittering close. She furrows her brow and holds up a pincer up carefully. The firefly hovers around the limb as though a bee to a flower. "Hey little guy," she whispers loudly, trying not to frighten it. It buzzes quietly, settling on the hard chitin. "Well, aren't you friendly?"
"Scorpia? What are—woah!"
Scorpia shrieks and her stinger lashes out instinctively. She whirls around as she hears a squeaky shout.
Catra shoots away from her.
"Wildcat?!"
Catra grunts from the crouched position she's taken on the forest floor. Her tail is lashing in offense at the near stinging. "Nice to see you too. What are you even doing out here? I thought I'd have to go all the way to the Fright Zone to find you."
"I-I was looking for you! Where have you been?" Scorpia scoops Catra up into a crushing hug before Catra can manage to evade her pincers. "Are you okay?! I've been so worried!"
Ignoring Catra's struggling, Scorpia holds her fellow captain up and scans her for injuries and anything else out of place. Scorpia lets out a huge breath of relief when not a hair is out of place on Catra's head, though Catra's kitty ears are flat against her scalp as she glares dourly at Scorpia for her manhandling.
"I'm fine, Scorpia."
Scorpia finally lets Catra settle back onto the ground. Her exhale is full of relief as she wipes her brow. "Oh, gosh, oh, man, I'm so glad you're okay, what happened? Hordak told me you were kidnapped by a big—CAT!"
Scorpia picks Catra up and twirls her to place the bewildered girl behind her. With Catra securely hidden from view, Scorpia defensively raises two snapping pincers at the large, glowing feline that stalks forward, rumbling. "Stay back, Wildcat, I got this! I won't let it take you again!"
"That's Melog," Catra says dryly, putting a hand on Scorpia's tense arm and stepping forward to greet Melog with a hand on his head. "And they're a friend."
"Huhwha?" Scorpia balks, retreating as the big cat—Melog, apparently—sidles up next to her anyways and purring audibly. Scorpia hesitantly drops her arms. Catra, admitting so easily that she was friends with this cat that just showed up? That kinda stung. Still. . . "I mean are—are you sure about this Wildcat? It sounds cute and all but it did kind of take off with you without a word and—aww. . ."
Melog is rubbing their head into Scorpia's pincers. It mimics a sneeze that sounds suspiciously like Catra's.
"Okay, I'll admit it, they're kind of really cute, but, no, really, what's going on, Catra?"
Scorpia tries to focus on Catra but all she can see in the dark is the gleam of Catra's gaze as she glances over her shoulder at Scorpia. Scorpia pushes froward. "You didn't pull the switch. You sent Entrapta to Beast Island," Scorpia thinks she sees Catra flinch, tail wrapping around herself, "but you didn't even pull the switch. And I'm glad you didn't, really! But after everything, and this big, glowy, magic cat thingy. . . why? What's going on? What happened in there?"
Catra is quiet for a long moment, and Scorpia steps closer, around, to face Catra. Closing the distance between them lets her see Catra hunch in on herself. Melog follows and the nearing radiance from their cool blue body illuminates Catra in depressing hues. She's almost smaller than usual, refusing to lift her head.
"Scorpia, do you . . . do you still trust me?"
Scorpia blinks. And she hesitates, but something in her tells her she still can, so she nods. "Yeah, yeah I do."
Scorpia doesn't say always because, for a good minute there, she wasn't sure Catra wouldn't turn on her, too, but something's changed. She trusts her gut when it says so.
There's a sardonic laugh from Catra and its squeaky in the way Scorpia thinks is adorable, yet there's a touch of bitterness to it that keeps her from enjoying it. When Catra speaks again, her voice is slow, careful, any almost brittle.
"I've got a story for you, Scorpia, but first we need to get Entrapta back."
Scorpia stiffens, both surprise and elation crossing her face. "R-really? You mean it, Wildcat?" At Catra's nod, she whoops. "Yeah! I knew you'd come around! But, uh, what changed your mind?"
Catra rubs her neck at Scorpia's beaming smile. "Let's just say I've realized I haven't been the greatest . . . f-f-friend, and Melog here is helping me with it. There's, uh, there's a lot at stake here, and . . . and I need help. I need your help, if you're still willing to help me after everything I've done. I need to apologize—to you, and to Entrapta, for everything to, and I understand if you don't want to help me anymore—"
Scorpia doesn't let her finish. She can see the glimmer of tears in Catra's eyes, knows she's struggling, and she tugs her into another hug before settling her pincers on Catra's shoulders. Catra's eyes are huge when Scorpia smiles at her, small and serious.
"I forgive you, Wildcat," Scorpia says, and she means it. From what she's seen Catra doesn't do things halfway when she sets her mind to it; if she's apologizing, something Scorpia's never heard Catra do, she means it. "I don't know what's going on but I trust you. If you want to go and make up with Entrapta, there's nothing that would make me happier. Lead the way, Captain."
Catra huffs before managing the tiniest sliver of a smile herself. "That's another thing I should mention, Scorpia. . ."
Dark claws pry off the Force Captain's badge affixed to Catra's person, and there's a moment where Catra stares down at it with what's maybe misery, hissing a tick, before she flicks it into the woods. The grass turns into teeth, the ground opening up to swallow it gladly before it can land. Scorpia stares at the spot the badge disappeared into uneasily.
The Whispering Woods doesn't care much for the Horde.
"We're defecting."
Scorpia gapes. "What?"
"Yeah. Long story, but the Horde is part of something bigger, worse than anyone knows, like enslave and end worlds kinda bad, y'know? So, we're not going to do that. I'm also not willing to believe that the portal Melog came through didn't send out a signal to Horde Prime, or that Hordak won't try while we go get Entrapta, so we're still going to plan for the enslavement and annihilation of all life as we know it in the meantime."
Again, Scorpia's mouth flaps uselessly as sweat accumulates on her brow. "Uh. Okay. Hold on a minute. What?"
"Don't worry," Catra's waves a hand dismissively, making her way past Scorpia. The overhanging foliage parts for them whereas Scorpia had to duck beforehand. Is it just her, or do the Woods, like, like Catra or something? Because Scorpia could totally understand that, she'd just, like for them to like her too. As it is, she trips after Catra in a stupor. "I'll explain it on the way to the Fright Zone."
"The—the Fright Zone?"
"Well I did say we were going to get Entrapta, didn't I? We need a boat and it's not like the Rebellion is going to lend us one on faith."
Scorpia shakes her head of the cobwebs, literally, as she trails after Catra. "Right, right, yeah," That, at least, she understands. "But aren't we defecting?"
"They don't know that yet."
"Ohhh. Right. Gotcha. Smart."
It's surprisingly easy making their way to and through the Fright Zone. They don't even need Melog to cloak them though the cat themselves remains hidden. Even without her badge, everyone fears Catra enough to make themselves scarce at the mere sight of her it, and she would feel bad about it—will, even, later, in privacy—but their fear serves a purpose currently, allowing her and Scorpia to continue unimpeded.
They stalk the empty halls quietly. Behind Catra, Scorpia fidgets uneasily with her newfound status as a deserter, and as a guardian of Etheria, not that anyone else knows. They don't meet anyone on the way despite Scorpia's trepidation. Catra figures everyone else is stationed elsewhere to begin the ever-endless repairs the Fright Zone requires, especially in the wake of the portal Melog came through. Most of the Horde's equipment is hopefully on the fritz. It wouldn't be unbelievable; the portal Catra opened overloaded so many systems she was up to her neck in managing the tech teams coming to her with complaints. Not even the Imp makes an appearance to summon Catra to Hordak, so recent was the portal fiasco.
Emily chirrups uncertainly when Scorpia and Melog enter the room harboring the remnants of the AI's maker, Catra on their heels. Catra hesitates before crossing the threshold, remembering all to well how she betrayed the one the room belonged to.
Emily doesn't react well to her presence. The AI skitters along the edges of the room when she senses Catra's approach. Catra can't stop the frown at her retreat. She's weighed down with remorse as she hones in on the scratches she left on Emily's shell, noticing the paint chipping at the edges of the marks.
Standing in the middle of the room while Emily takes cover behind a pile of scrap, Catra considers what to say, tail hitting at her shins. Melog is a steady presence at her side. Scorpia takes initiative, moving closer to Emily's poor hiding spot.
At least with Scorpia Emily does not retreat.
The AI beeps nervously, still, but Scorpia holds up her pincers placatingly. "We're not going to hurt you, Emily. Catra isn't going to hurt you." Scorpia glances furtively at Catra to ensure that is the case, which Catra nods. "And Melog is a new friend! But, Catra actually has something she wants to say to you. Are you okay with that? Will you listen?"
Emily swivels, rotating her mainframe to center the purple light in the front of her shell on Catra. She twists her spherical body between her and Catra, nervously, but slowly moves back and forth in a nod.
Catra's ears pivot backwards and she grimaces. She's starting to think apologies will always be difficult for her. Still she swallows, closes her eyes, and forces herself to start anyways. "Hey, Emily. I know that you . . . you probably don't want to see me. And that's fair. I'm pretty awful."
There's clicks from Emily and Catra can't begin to understand what they mean. Whether or not the robotic chatter is positive or negative, it helps her push on, having some sort of response. "Look, I have done . . . a lot of things, that I shouldn't have, that deep down, I didn't even really want to, but that doesn't change the fact that I did. I did those things. And a lot of times, I hurt people. Like Entrapta. Like you."
Catra heaves a sigh, peeking. Scorpia is sparkling, pincers held under her chin, and there's unmistakable pride shining on her face. It's hard to look at, knowing how cruel she'd been to Scorpia, especially at this point in time. Emily, though, is expressionless, which was a given, but she's moved out from behind her cover, focused on Catra. That's—that's a good sign, right?
Suddenly, Catra's aware Emily could blast her into pieces with Catra leaving herself open and vulnerable in her wish to begin amends. It would be all too easy for the AI to—no. Catra fights the instinct to close up, hiss at this weakness she's still struggling to accept. It is with unspeakable effort that she keeps her claws retracted, knowing that Emily would notice and only be reminded of Catra's abuse, of the wickedness that still lingers underneath the surface of Catra's fur, her skin, like poison in her veins.
Catra holds her breath, then exhales. taking pointers from the advice that Perfuma has given her in the quiet moments they were allowed.
"I just—I know, now, that I haven't been good. I know that I've been—" Catra's mind flashes to the future that she's changing, her eyes finding Scorpia's, and Scorpia is overlayed by the disappointed visage of her not too far from this moment. Catra clenches her fists, struggling as her tail lashes, a deep ache burrowing into her chest. ". . . a bad friend. A bad person. And I want to change. I want to . . . maybe not fix what I've done, but make it better. And more than that, I want to be better. And I know to start doing that, I have to say . . . I have to say I'm sorry."
Catra's eyes open and finds Emily's light shining at her, intense in the glow that will never unveil to Catra what the AI is feeling, and her gaze falls to the scratches on the face of Emily's shell. "I am so sorry, for hurting you, for hurting Entrapta. You don't have to forgive me. I'm not going to ask you to. But I do—I do want to ask for your help. Because I have to apologize to Entrapta too . . . and so many others. I have to make things right. For everyone."
"Wildcat. . ."
Catra glances to Scorpia but is surprised to find her blurry. Even through the smear of colors, she thinks Scorpia seems sad. "What, Scorpia—oh."
Catra's cheeks tickle. She raises a hand, rubs at them, then stares down at the pads of her fingers numbly. They're damp. She's crying. She feels hollow, at this show of weakness, with no visible wound to show for it even though she feels like she's bleeding out.
She can't believe she's falling apart right now.
In the midst of trying to shove the tears down, there's the clatter of Emily's legs on the floor. She gasps when Emily beeps at her plaintively, bumping against her. Melog puts a paw on the bot to keep her from clumsily knocking Catra over but otherwise allows Emily to nudge against her. Catra blinks down at Emily, unsure of what this gesture meant, but the heavy claw of Scorpia falls on her shoulder and Scorpia is beaming.
"I think that means she forgives you." Scorpia informs her.
Catra makes her promise not to tell anyone how she bawls at that.
When Catra's recuperated enough to regain her unapproachable aura, and explained enough to get Emily to roll along with them to the docks, they leave the safety of the room. Melog falls back into transparency when they enter the hallway.
The docks are mostly empty as with everywhere else when Catra's group gets to them, though Catra's ears swivel when she hears something hit the ground with a heavy thunk. Kyle's unmistakable whine follows.
"Aw, mannn."
Of course, Kyle. She shakes her head almost fondly.
She's about to carry on her way as they round the corner, but Catra pauses as she sees Kyle struggle uselessly to lift the crate he dropped from the ship ramp onto a nearby pulley. She hears the grumbling of Rogelio and Lonnie's grunt from the deck of the ship they're unloading, Kyle's predicament outside of their range. Catra watches quietly for a long moment. She wonders why he still bothers when she's sure even he knows his scrawny body is incapable of it.
"Uh, Wildcat? What're you doing?"
Catra glances at Scorpia then back to Kyle, who has yet to spot them. "Hang on a sec."
Scorpia raises a brow as Catra pads over to Kyle. "Uh, okay."
Kyle's still struggling with the crate when Catra nears him. He lets out a frankly embarrassing 'eep!' at Catra's appearance and flinches away when she reaches out, squinting his eyes shut and raising his hands to protect his face. "M-my apologies, Force Captain Catra, I—!"
He hears the creak of wood, the heave of a breath and the thump of wood onto metal, and he blinks his eyes open when he notices that Catra hasn't hurt him but has instead lifted the crate from the ground and onto the pulley. He gapes while the feared Force Captain and his former squadmate is now stares at him inscrutably.
She looks different.
Wait.
"W-where's your badge?" he asks without thinking, too caught off-guard by her surprising act of kindness to filter his thoughts.
Catra's eyes dart to her badge-less uniform and back to him. She shrugs without a trace of irritation on her face.
Weird. That's weird. Kyle's sure anyone else would agree with him, too, that it's weird. Catra is either mean, bored, or taking joy in the misery of others. Not talking to him like he's worth a minute of her time.
"Lost it."
"Oh." Kyle drops his hands. He realizes that Catra's done his job for him, now that the spike of adrenaline is ebbing. "T-thanks? For picking up the crate, I mean." Then he realizes something else. "Are—wait, are you okay? It's been hours since you were last seen! We were told you were eaten by a giant cat!"
Catra blinks. "Oh, right. That. No, I'm fine. The cat's friendly."
"Oh, that's—that's good?" Kyle scuffs his shoe against the metal plating of the dock, awkward.
Catra never just talks to him. Nobody besides Rogelio and Lonnie, and sometimes Scorpia now, talks to him. Unless they're yelling at him. But Catra isn't being mean to him for once. She isn't yelling at him, either, even helped him—
Something's wrong with Catra. That's the only explanation for her sudden show of decency to Kyle of all people. There's no advantage in being nice to him, so obviously something's wrong.
He jumps back from Catra, sweating. "Oh, no, did it brainwash you?! You're being . . . you're being really nice right now. You're never nice!"
Right then Kyle gets the idea that he might have screwed up. Catra's jaw flexes and she huffs a breath through her nose that can only be angry when he questions her. And honestly, why would he scream out his suspicions like that? Oh, man, he was going to be murdered right here, right now, clawed right in the throat—
But no, Catra is just sighing. Frustration creases her brow rather than rage. "I know. I've been kind of an asshole, haven't I?" Catra admits lowly, something faint lingering in her tone as her gaze goes foggy. Shaking her head, she grudgingly continues, "Okay. Listen, I'm . . . sorry. About that. Being an asshole, I mean."
Kyle stills and his face pinches in confusion. He doesn't know whether to be concerned or scared about this version of Catra who's suddenly so much more pleasant than memory serves him. "Why are you—?"
Lonnie and Rogelio thud down the ramp with hasty steps, having finally become aware of Kyle, and more importantly, Catra in front of Kyle. "Kyle, what did you get yourself into now? Whatever he did, I can assure you Force Captain, we will make sure—"
"At ease."
Lonnie and Rogelio look between each other nervously and lower their hands from the quick salutes they scrounged up. Catra's tone is off, they notice it too. That doesn't make Kyle feel any more relaxed. "Right, Force Captain. Is there anything we can help with?"
Catra is quiet for a moment, considering. Then her ears perk up. "Actually," a small smirk, no, a smile, curves Catra's lips. "I need a crew, and who better than you guys?"
"I'm sorry?" Lonnie asks, befuddled. "A crew for what?"
"I need to go to Beast Island."
That's a red flag. Lonnie and Rogelio narrow their eyes, suspicious. Lonnie folds her arms against her chest.
"No disrespect meant," Lonnie starts—she's lying, full disrespect implied in her tone, but Catra doesn't call her out on it. "But why? That doesn't exactly sound like something anyone would want to volunteer for."
"Let's just say I screwed up," Catra says.
And that's new, Catra admitting to a failure, a shortcoming of her own volition. It pulls them in in their curiosity and keeps them listening.
Catra continues, "I haven't the greatest to you guys, or in general, and I'm sure that isn't a shock to you."
Lonnie can't hide her snort nor the surprise on her face when Catra doesn't so much as glare at her for her insolence. Their Force Captain draws herself up instead, taking a deep breath as if she were bracing herself to go under water.
"But—ugh—this is actually really hard for me to say—but I need your help."
"Our help?" Kyle repeats brainlessly. The cadets look between themselves, stunned at the feared Force Captain's confession. "Does that include me?" Kyle points to himself.
"Why do you need our help?" Lonnie questions. "There's thousands of other soldiers you could pick. Why us?"
Catra rubs at her neck. "I need capable people besides Scorpia here because what I'm going to be doing is bigger than anything before, and I'm not so egotistical as to think I can do it alone. And as much as I've always put you guys down in the past, and . . . been a general nuisance and bully. . . we grew up together. No one else knows what it's like to struggle day by day to, just, get by, hoping for things to get better until they beat that hope out of us.
"Because what happened with the portal, something changed for me then. Changed how I saw things, the things I've done, and myself. . . And it might sound cheesy, but . . . I think I found that hope again."
Rogelio and Lonnie don't know what to think about what they're hearing, but—
Cheesily enough, Kyle listens with his heart.
Catra's words are tugging at him in a place easily bruised and easily broken but a place he has always managed to keep unguarded despite the Horde's teachings otherwise. It's weird, but in this moment, he feels closer to Catra than he ever has. He's a witness to this vulnerability that she's allowing them to see while she admits she's as flawed as the rest of them.
While he's listening, the rest of his squad watches on, unsure of what to say as Catra continues on.
"It's shown me that we can't keep going on this way. Hurting each other and other just because we were taught that it's survival of the fittest and Hordak's will. And I'm not stupid, you're not stupid. What we're doing is bad. We all know it. And if we keep on this way? We're going to lose more than this war even if it looks like we're winning."
Lonnie shakes her head, interjecting, "Hang on a minute, what the heck are you going on about?" she demands derisively, putting her hands on her hips. "You're starting to sound like you don't believe in the Horde anymore."
Catra doesn't say anything. She does, however, tilt her head defiantly.
It's obvious she doesn't.
Kyle gasps loudly and his hands fly up to cover his mouth. Over Rogelio's grumbling, Lonnie's jaw goes slack. She shakes her head slowly at Catra. "You . . . don't. You're—you're a deserter? You? After everything, after Adora? You would do the same thing she did?"
"Is there a problem here, Force Captain Catra? Cadet Lonnie?"
Scorpia finally comes around the corner, Emily in tow, no longer willing to eavesdrop when the conversation seems to be taking a turn for the worse. The cadets notice how Scorpia's tail is poised to strike at a moment's notice, her arms crossed and flexed in her tense state. All three cadets freeze at the sight of her.
Catra studies Lonnie, ears angled backwards. "No problem here, Scorpia. But Lonnie, do think about it. We were taught no one cares about us. That we were expendable. We were only ever worth anything as long as we proved our usefulness." Catra sighs and rubs her arm. "We were taken as children. We were made into soldiers and never given the chance to be people, to make mistakes without being punished."
A wretchedness crosses Catra's features, misery and pain etched in her eyes as that statement strikes up something personal within Catra. Then she turns to Kyle. "You know this, Kyle, same as I do."
Kyle flinches.
"And I know, believe me that I know, that you don't trust me. Maybe you never will. But you can't tell me that you're happy here. And you can't tell me you believe Hordak thinks anything more of you than just some poor war orphans he repurposed into conquering and destroying more families."
Holding up her hand, Catra nearly pleads with them, with Kyle. "This is hard for me to say, but please. Come with me. I won't force you. But I could really use the help."
Kyle looks at her. He drops his eyes down to her hand after facing her earnestness. Rogelio and Lonnie, they're grumbling, taking steps back at the lunacy Catra's spouting.
But Kyle, he kind of thinks she's making sense.
He wants to take a step forward. He's never ventured beyond the safety of Rogelio and Lonnie, never taken a risk that was all his own. And he knows if he steps forward, he'll be alone for that split second, and maybe every second after. Lonnie and Rogelio have too much animosity towards Catra, always have, and they won't take that step themselves, not on their own, not for Catra.
But. . .
But Catra is speaking the truth he always whispered to himself in the rare moments he was alone, the thoughts he always pushed to the back of his mind to make up justifications for the abuse and cruelty that the Horde as a whole, as an ideal, subjected them too.
Catra suffered too, he knows this. She's suffered worse than anyone Kyle knows, really, but no one ever paid attention like Kyle did. Catra was too mean for him to ever say anything though, all fang and claws and hissing at any show of kindness towards her that didn't come from Adora. She was always making trouble, always being punished, and always taking out her rage on others.
And the sad bit is, a part of him twisted by the Horde thought she must have brought it on herself. But later, later he always feels bad, and he instead thinks about maybe if Catra had been nicer, reached out before, Kyle would have had a real friend who understood. Or, if he's feeling brave, Kyle thinks about how maybe if he had reached out, been less of a coward, maybe Catra would have been nicer. It wouldn't have been easy and it would have taken time, but he's not stupid enough to think that his own issues could be solved in one day, and Catra's could probably take a lifetime.
But she's reaching out now, and so, as two victims of abuse often do, he reaches back.
Maybe their shared experiences will make them stronger together, now that they know they can overcome them. Or maybe he's just being Kyle, and thinking silly things again.
When he takes her hand Catra is shocked by his boldness, because even though she must have hoped for this she surely didn't expect it; he can see it in the way her tail stops its nervously-paced swaying abruptly, twitching at the tip before dropping to her thigh.
Kyle explains his decision away at her wide-eyed look, over Lonnie and Rogelio's loud protests, "You said sorry. You apologized. I-I think that's all I ever needed to hear from someone, really."
And who would ever apologize to weak, useless Kyle?
"A-and everything you're saying, it's true. I've always known it," and he looks over his shoulder to his squad, their searching, bewildered eyes wide themselves at his blooming independence, "we've always known it. . . but I didn't think I could do anything to change it. But you think you can?"
Catra hesitates before clenching Kyle's hand. Strange, that it doesn't hurt, that Catra is now capable of a touch that doesn't raise bruises or split skin. Her hand is surprisingly small, in his, and Catra is just as small as Kyle, really. It's a testament to how real this is, to Catra's sincere change of heart that she allows him this close. She holds his gaze evenly.
"I know I can."
Lonnie balks behind Kyle. "You guys are crazy. Crazy! You're talking about leaving the Horde, and leaving the Horde is betraying the Horde!" she shouts, arms ending in fists and neck straining in her frustration. "She's infecting you with her crazy, Kyle! How can you trust her when she's always been pushing us around?"
Kyle shakes his head, letting of Catra's hand and turning to them. "She's not crazy, Lonnie! She's just opening my eyes to what's always been in front of us. Do you really think anyone here will care if we go out on the battlefield? Do you think Lord Hordak will miss us? Do you think if we lose, and we're losing, there'll be a place for us after all the damage we've done to the world?"
"I. . . Well. . ." Lonnie trails off. Finally, she's thinking beyond the present and what she can beat down next.
And frankly, it's hard to envision on this side of the war.
Beside Lonnie, Rogelio tilts his head at Kyle beseechingly, and Kyle fights not to shrink before him.
Kyle needs to do this, not just for himself, but for Rogelio and Lonnie. He needs to convince them, because he's not sure he can do this without them, and he knows nothing good will come from them staying, as much as he deluded himself into believing once upon a time.
"We're not wanted here. Not even needed, really, because the way things are going, if we go down we'll just be replaced by more kids. Do you want that for us? Do you want more kids to end up like us? You can't tell me that's what you want."
Kyle can't believe he's standing up like this, projecting his voice, but his back feels straighter than it's ever been. And maybe that's it, because after a tense minute of them staring off, of Lonnie and Rogelio parsing through their thoughts, Lonnie lets out a soft, exasperated sigh, running a hand over her forehead.
"When did you grow a spine?"
Kyle lets out a whoosh of air. He did it. "I think I always had it, I just never used it."
Rogelio lets out a grumbling laugh. Kyle blushes, and Lonnie moves close enough to slug him on his bony shoulder. He winces. Newfound confidence or not, that still hurts. A lot.
Lonnie turns her head to Catra who had been watching the proceedings with no small amount of interest. "Listen. We'll go with you, but we're going because of Kyle. Not you. The moment you show that you're the same as always we'll throw you overboard, former Force Captain or not. So I hope you've learned to like the water."
After that threat, a bulbous tail appears before Lonnie's face and she backpedals with a yelp. Scorpia's mouth twists unpleasantly as she looms over Catra's shoulder to glare at Lonnie. "You'll have to get through me first."
Behind her, Emily beeps threateningly, following Scorpia's lead, and there's a grumble from something unseen floating in the air. The cadets look around nervously.
"Scorpia, Emily, Melog, chill. It's fine. Fair, even." Still, Catra's ear twitches in displeasure at the thought.
"Melog?"
"My invisible friend." Catra replies.
Lonnie is about to start yelling again about her being crazy when a spectral cat appears for a brief second before disappearing again. Catra doesn't so much as bat an eye at when they jump.
"Anyways," Catra begins again. "You know if you do this there's no going back to the Horde. I'm going to Beast Island to bring back Entrapta, and we're going to stop the real leader of the Horde from coming down and shitting on all of Etheria. Are you prepared for that? Again, I'm not going to force you, not in this or anything else ever again, but this is a decision you won't be able to go back on. We all know what Hordak is like."
"Does that mean we're joining the princesses?" Kyle shivers. "The Rebellion?"
Catra grimaces. "I don't actually know yet, because there's so much I need to plan for, and I need Entrapta's help for that part. It could come to that, but let's just say I'm avoiding it for the time being."
"You are going to tell us though? What this plan is? What we're even doing?" Lonnie crosses her arms.
A fang pokes out when Catra smirks this time. "Long story made short; we're going to save the world. But I'll give you the details after we get Entrapta and I actually figure them out. Deal?"
Lonnie frowns but concedes with a slow nod. Rogelio steps forward, throwing an arm over Kyle whose cheeks bloom with the flush of blood underneath. The lizardman hisses and grunts, and Catra's ears flick as she listens. "Then, you're sure?"
The three Horde cadets share a single look. "I have no idea what he said," Kyle says, and Lonnie nods along, "But I think I finally speak for all of us when I say, we're with you."
Catra breaks out into a smile. When it's not condescending, it's actually pretty cute, not that anyone here would tell her that besides Scorpia.
"Good. Then let's set sail."
