A/N: Hooftah, another grand finale to a grand episode! Now I'm really glad I spaced this and the last one out or we would've been looking at like 15k words to read, and even I wouldn't want to read that much :/ I think I also am going to leave an END whenever I reach the end of any episode, in the event anything takes more than 2 parts to write out.
Huge thanks to the numerous fans coming to this series and all the feedback! I have a tradition where I do a freebie chapter of choice to anyone who reviews when I've reached a certain amount, so if you guys have a request or idea for a non-canon episode involving Catra's time in Bright Moon, please let me know!
Should point out this might be a bit rushed in some parts and confusing in others cause when I wrote this i was on sleeping medication for like the first half of this in the middle of night, so no telling how rushed or how badly something I wrote came out X/.
With that said, enjoy!
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"Alright kids, now watch closely." Bow instructed as he spun the whacking stick playfully.
Festivals were the best, weren't they? There was so much to do at these events and so many fun things to do that one could forget their troubles of everyday life and just enjoy themselves, just like Bow was displaying before the dozen giggling kids. He knew he was acting goofily in front of them but it was purely intentional.
As a supporter of the Rebellion, he knew what kids needed was a good laugh, and displaying such over-the-top behavior was the best way to draw out those smiles. "This is a technique I used to take down one hundred Horde soldiers single handedly! Hooowahhhh!" He screeched, once again gaining the support and laughter of the kids.
"Did you really take out a hundred soldiers with one attack?" One of the curious five-year-old girls asked.
"Oh, you bet!" He eagerly demonstrated the events of that day by himself. "There I was, surrounded in the Whispering Woods, when all of a sudden a massive Horde army crashed through the trees, heavily armed with massive tanks and weaponry the likes of which you've never seen before!"
"Are tanks really big?" Another girl asked.
"Oh yeah, bigger than big! They're heavily equipped with massive thick metal plates and weigh a ton! In fact, whenever they were on the move, you could feel the ground beneath your feet beginning to rum-"
*rumble-rumble-rumble*
"Is this what it feels like?"
The group of children and Bow were interrupted by the vibrations of the very ground before them shaking. They had no idea Bow was so good at storytelling, believing for a moment that he was the one putting on this giant ground-shaking display. As for Bow himself, the bowman found himself confused at the shaking he felt underneath his heals, questioning what was going on and realizing too little too late what it was.
"Oh no..."
...
...
"You what?"
"You heard me right, Pinky. I want a Kingdom." Catra declared proudly. It had been a rather harsh day for the cat girl, and after what happened through the last half hour, she didn't care how she came off. If anything, the events she experienced a short while ago only fueled her desire for her own Kingdom.
She actually thought for a moment she could fit in here, for the first time in her life! After arriving in town with the other two and being forced to participate in some strange festival "par-tee" thing, she actually found herself having something close to a good time! There was plenty of new and tasty food she got to try out, various events around the town she had to participate in, granted she rather enjoyed them after awhile, and she met a rather sweet four-year-old, the very same who dragged her along in the first place, who seemed interested in her!
The very first person she's ever met that wasn't scared of her or suspicious of her since Adora, and she seemed interested in her. It was the first time in Catra's life she found herself possibly making a new friend, finding something to actually smile about, and how did it end? The same way it always does whenever these situations revolved around her.
Badly.
After exploring the festival with her quiet friend did they come across the kid's mother who had been frantically looking for her young child during the several hours Catra had been playing with her, and just like everyone else, she only saw Catra as a monster. Sure, she admitted she probably should've tried to find her parents instead when she literally bumped into her, but she was having too much fun! She's never met someone who warmed up to her so quickly before, and instead of understanding that, the mother just snapped at her before taking her daughter away, an event Glimmer herself happened to notice.
It was at that time Catra reminded herself of every reason she was doing this, every reason she hated people in the first place. They were all the same arrogant, snobby, good for nothings that judged first and asked questions later, never the kind who just took a moment to understand something different than themselves. They were all the same to her, no exceptions.
They were nothing but garbage.
"But why do you want a Kingdom?" Glimmer asked with mixed shocked and confusion. "What would you even do with that in the first place?"
"That's for me to know and anyone I feel like who needs to know. And no, you don't fall under that category." Catra snarled crossing her arms. "But I do know your mother can make that happen, and I expect it to happen when this is all over!"
"Look even if I did tell her there's no guarantee she would even agree to it!"
"Then I guess you can find yourself someone else to help your stupid little Rebellion." She stated turning her back to her.
She was kidding, right? She had to be kidding. Up till now Glimmer's known her to be snarky, blunt, insulting, and many other selfish-related terms, but this was a new low. "Can't you just do this out of decency though?"
"Decency?"
"Yeah, decency! Kindness, selflessness, whatever you want to call it! I know there's good in you Catra, you showed it when you were with that little girl."
"...Pffft...Tch, hahahaha! Oh gosh, that's what you think that was?" Catra cackled as she looked back. "You've got to be kidding me! If you thought for a second I cared about that stupid kid or her mother, you're sorely mistaken!"
"What do you-"
"I never liked that kid!" She continued to interrupt. "I was just with her because the whiny brat kept crying her eyes out whenever I didn't listen to her! You said it yourself I had to keep a low profile around here and that's all I was doing. Keeping a low profile. That's all it was. That's all it ever was! I was just mad about having to deal with a bossy mother, I didn't care about that little pipsqueak in the slightest! I don't care about anybody!"
"...I see..." Catra watched as Glimmer's expression hardened into the stern glare she usually had when addressing Catra. "I guess I was wrong about you. You really are just like the Horde."
Catra just stared at her eyes for a brief few seconds to this. "...Like I said at the other village, Pinky. I don't care. All I care about is myself and that stupid sword."
"...Of course. That's all you ever cared about." With a final huff, Glimmer began to walk away.
There was no end to the irritation Catra had building up inside of her. How many times did she have to say it out loud to her? As long as she got the sword, nothing else mattered in the world! The sword was her ticket to fame, respect, and a stupid promotion! And at this point, with Bowey preoccupied, now seemed better than ever to take that sword by for-
*BOOM*
Both Glimmer and Catra were caught off guard as the sound of an explosion rang throughout the entire village, a small vibration trembling through their feet.
"What was tha-"
"Glimmer!" Bow suddenly shouted out as he ran up to them in a rush. He was already panting and breathing heavily as he finally reached the two.
"Bow? What happened? What was that?" Glimmer asked worriedly. With her enhanced hearing, Catra's eyes widened as she could hear the sounds of smaller explosions and crashes through the other end of the village, realizing what it was.
"I-It's the Horde! They're attacking!"
"What?!" Glimmer stammered. Her mind was already putting all the possibilities and all the explanations as to why this could possibly be happening, taking no more than three seconds before she returned the harshest glare Catra had ever seen her give to her. "You!" Catra was so surprised by the sudden expression on her face that she failed to react as Glimmer tackled her to the ground, pinning her by her shoulders. "You did this, didn't you!"
"What?" Catra's skepticism didn't register to the angry princess.
"Glimmer, what are you talking-" Bow tried to ask.
"Just think about it, Bow!" She yelled. "The Horde just happen to attack after we bring her to the very first town we go to? This entire meet-up was all part of an ambush, wasn't it!"
"Ambush?" There would be no end to Catra's annoyance after this, she just knew it. "Would you just listen to yourself for a second? Why on Etheria would I ask the Horde to attack the same town I come to? I'd just get caught in any crossfire!"
"Glimmer, Catra's right." Bow placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Plus she wouldn't still be here if all she had to do was find the town. She would've taken off by now."
"Nngggghh..." Glimmer grumbled for a bit as she processed this, then grunted to herself as she finally helped Catra back to her feet. "Fine! Then what are the Horde doing here?"
"I don't know." That was the one detail that worried Catra the most. "But I know how to stop them. I just need to find whoever's leading this operation and force them to stop."
"And what about us?"
"What do you think? Hide? Help the townspeople? Do whatever you want, I don't care! Just don't get in my way when I'm going in!" And with that, Catra leapt to one of the nearest buildings she could, hopping to the closest building with each leap.
There wasn't any way to find comfort in the present situation. Was Catra on their side? Was this all a trick? There were too many questions throughout the entire day and not enough answers, and that's what infuriated Glimmer the most! "Come on, we need to help everyone we can find." She didn't even look back as Bow replied with a nod, taking off into the warzone that would determine who was on who's side...
...
...
Madness. Chaos. And plenty of fire and smoke. That's all that filled Catra's view since she ventured into the crumbling city around her. She knew that wars were supposed to be violent and all, but... this? This was just a stupid town in the middle of nowhere that were trying to have some sort of boring party thing.
Was that really worth attacking them over?
Looking back towards the streets and walls surrounding the city, she took notice of several droids who were followed by soldiers, all flooding into the town while the townspeople ran away screaming in fear. That was when she took special notice to the large rumbling that came from the wall as a massive tank crashed through it. "There!" Catra determined for herself as she quickly leapt to the ground. If there was a tank, there was bound to be a commander, or at least someone in charge of this entire operation.
Waiting till she found a path up ahead, she quickly leapt back to the ground, holding her arms out to grab the Tank's driver's attention as she cut it off. "Wait!" She watched, slightly nervous, as the tank steaded to a halt, just inches away from the barrel of the massive cannon touching her. "Come out here, whoever you are! We need to talk!"
There was no way to tell who could possibly be driving this dangerous weapon, and the uncertainty of it is what left Catra most nervous. It could be any number of people to someone she knew, one of the higher ups, to possibly Lord Hordak himself if the army was large enough. She could've been unfortunate enough to even come face to face with Shadow Weaver herself, though if it was the latter chances are they wouldn't have stopped the tank.
At last, the tank's hatch popped open, finally revealing the very last person Catra expected to see here. "Adora?" The brimming brightness on Adora's face completely confirmed it was her.
"Catra!"
"What are you doing he-ahh!" This was the second time Catra found herself tackled to the ground within the last 5 minutes, Adora squeezing her arms around her as she helped her to her feet.
"Phew, thank goodness you're alright, I was so worried! You were gone for over eight hours and ...What is this?" She tilted her head as she pulled a strange flower out of Catra's hair, reminding Catra of the one thing she forgot to remove.
"Oh, it's nothing forget about that. What are you doing here anyway?"
"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm here to rescue you!" She wasted no time grabbing Catra's hand as she pulled her towards the tank she considered salvation. "We got to get out of here as soon as possible.."
"Wait- what? Leave?" Adora was surprised as Catra shook her free all of a sudden. "I'm not leaving Adora, you gotta get everyone else out of here yourself!"
"You're not coming? Catra don't you understand what's going on here? They're going to interrogate you, you're their prisoner here!"
"I'm not anyone's prisoner here, Adora, I want to be here!"
"Want to..." A look of terror began to fill Adora's face. "No... they really did brainwash you didn't they?" She grabbed Catra's hand again, squeezing it comfortingly with both her hands. "Catra, I know it might be hard for you to understand right now, but you're here against your will. You need to come home with me right now, we can fix whatever spell they casted on you!"
"I'm not- ugh..." Catra rubbed her eyes as she tried to explain. "Look, Adora, you're the one who needs to understand. I'm not here against my will, I'm not here after being tricked by anything, and I'm doing all of this because I want to! Do you understand?"
There was no way to tell what Adora was thinking at that moment. She had a vacant look in her eyes and her face keeping Catra from telling what was being processed out of all of this. She didn't like the town itself or anything like that, but that didn't mean she found it fitting to just attack a random town out of nowhere regardless of what their reason was. On top of that, if they really were just here for Catra herself, they could've just come in disguise or something!
"...I understand..." It brought moments of pure relief to the founder of the sword.
"Huff, thank you!" Catra sighed turning around. "Look, I know it doesn't look like it but this town's harmle-"
*BZZZZZZZZZZT*
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Catra screamed in pain as she collapsed to the ground. In her place just a foot behind her was Adora, her best friend, looking over her friend with regret and a stun baton in her hands.
"They really did brainwash you, didn't they..."
...
...
*BOOM*
"Get to safety!" Bow shouted to the fleeing civilians as he fired another arrow, destroying another of the round droids in a large explosion.
Glimmer found herself questioning if everything up till now was going to be worth it in the end. All around her she saw the remains of ruined buildings and the poor people who were still running for their lives from the invading Horde. All this destruction, all the fear she was watching fill the faces of the townspeople as their lives became hectic.
Was it really all worth? Just for one Horde soldier who may or may not be able to use the sword to help the Rebellion? She wouldn't find out until they got out of this place alive, and only if they got out of here alive.
"That's the last of the droids in this place." Bow stated turning to Glimmer.
"I think the civilians in this part escaped too. We should regroup with Catra and see if she needs any- LOOK OUT!" Glimmer quickly yelled, teleporting him and herself nearly a dozen yards away before a building crumbled atop them. When they rematerialized seconds later, Bow could instantly see the color of life drain from Glimmer's face, knowing the massive toll she just took on herself.
"Glimmer!" Bow cried worriedly, catching her as she fell. It was then that he heard the sound of oncoming droids, knowing their fight was far from over. The only thing standing between the droids and Glimmer's capture was him and the dozen arrows he had left in his quiver.
"Come on Catra, where are you?"
...
"Ngggh!" Catra grumbled as she pushed herself a little off the ground, nerves still suffering from the immense physical shock she just experienced. "What the heck, Adora?!"
"Eep! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that was reflex, honest!" She quickly apologized. "But I need to bring you back, you're not well!"
"I'm not well? You're not well!" The fire in Catra's eyes left Adora in a questionable doubt.
And slightly too nervous for Catra's own good.
*BZZZZZZZZZZT!*
'Ahhhhh!" Catra cried out in pain again, little streaks of lightning coursing around her body. "Stop that!"
"I'm sorry, you just..." It was hard to explain everything wrong with a person who didn't know there was something wrong with them! "I'm trying to help you! You need to open your eyes, Catra! They did something to you-"
"Open MY eyes?!" Catra groaned and stammered as she slowly rose back to her feet, still weakly as she tried to shake off the shocks going through her body. "Look around Adora, they lied to you!" As she insisted, Adora took the moment to look around her, noticing how strange this place looked for what was supposed to be a facility. "Do any of these people look like soldiers or guards? They're just stupid people running for their lives because you attacked them!"
"This... This doesn't make any sense..." Still in denial of the situation Adora took the opportunity to dig through her coat pocket, pulling out a digital tracker pad that displayed all the information provided for this mission. Nothing about the info matched up with the information she was given! She was told this was a facility yet, like Catra said, there were nothing but innocent people running for their lives! "Why... why did they lie to me about the mission?"
"Because that's what they've always been doing, Adora!" The soldier's shouting recaptured her attention, and distress. "They've been lying to us since the day we've been found. Are you just now realizing this or what?"
"..." The quivering in Adora's eyes showed the inner struggle going through her mind. How was she supposed to be able to comprehend this? Just to go on her first mission at random and find out everything she's known was a complete lie since the beginning? On a mission to save her brainwashed friend? Was she becoming brainwashed?! "I... Don't... This isn't..."
"Adora," Catra spoke again grabbing her hand, "call off the attack. Now."
"But... But how am I supposed to know you're telling the truth? How do I know this isn't some elaborate trick? I mean why would you even work for them willingly to begin with?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Catra's face brightened as she said this. "Adora, this is our chance to get everything we wanted! The Rebellion's queen is going to give me a Kingdom, they won't have a choice. We can have our own land where we call the shots, we can do whatever we want, rule whoever we want!"
"..." Her voice was silent as she stared into Catra's face. All she did was pull her hand back from Catra's grip, a sense of unease coming from the blond Force Captain. "You.. you just left because you wanted something? You sold us out just for your own gain?"
"What? No, Adora it's not like that!" Worry began to build up in her mind, feeling like she was losing her. "I did this for the both of us! That's how it's always been, just us!"
"And what about our friends, Catra? What about Kyle? What about Lonnie? What about Rogelio? Where do they fit in in all of this?"
"Who cares, they can come too if they want." The fact Catra could shrug off some of her friends so easily distressed Adora. Did they really mean so little to her? "It doesn't matter. What matters is what we can get out of this if we team up!"
"...Do they really mean nothing to you?" Catra watched as Adora's face slowly twisted to anger. "The people we grew up with, the family we knew? You'd just throw that away for a few shiny trinkets or some stupid piece of land?"
"I-It's not stupid!" Worry and fear began to infect Catra's tone. "Look, just take a second to think about it-"
"I don't need to think about it!" Adora swatted Catra's hand away as she tried to hold it again. "From where I'm standing, you just decided to betray us because you couldn't stand living with the Horde, and the only thing keeping me from fighting you right now is the possibility you have been brainwashed by these evil Princesses!"
"A-Adora... that's not it at all-"
"Then tell me Catra!" Catra took a step back at the rage building up in Adora. "Tell me exactly what this is because I am begging you to help me understand!"
"Kiiiim!" A familiar shout cried out, catching Catra's and Adora's attention. "Sweetie, where are you?"
"You've gotta be kidding me..." There was no control over her actions as Catra ran over to the sound of the mother.
"Catra wait-!"
The woman looked more terrified at the sight of the familiar face, as well as the addition of the Horde outfit said face was wearing. "You... You're with the-"
"Where's Kimberly? What happened?" The woman continued to look stunned at the young teen.
"You were the one who took my daughter, and you're with the Horde..."
"Listen Lady!" Catra shouted shaking the woman's shoulders to snap her out of it. "Just tell me where your daughter is. Now!"
"I..." The lady shook a little from fright, both from the Horde before her and the worry she had for her daughter. "I don't know... When you invaded, we got separated in the chaos."
"Do you have any idea where she could've gone?"
"H... Home..." The woman struggled to maintain her composure as she answered. "I always told her to head straight home if she ever got lost or in an emergency." Catra followed the lady's hand as she pointed to one of the rundown buildings. To both their dismay, there was a large chunk of the house destroyed on the second floor, a sizeable hole in it along with the rubble that fell around it.
"No..." For the first time, Catra's pupils shrank for someone other than herself, somehow finding her feet moving on their own as they ran past Adora yet again.
"Catra, what are you-"
There was so much going on, too much in fact! First she doesn't want to go home, then Adora found out the information she was given was falsified, and now Catra is going out of her way for someone else Catra had no way of knowing for more than a few hours! She didn't apparently consider the friends back in the Fright Zone she's known till now family and yet here she was, leaping up to the second floor of a small dome building, looking for someone she had no way of knowing for longer than several hours compared to the literal years she spent with her allies!
During Adora's confusing mental episode, Catra hastily ascended the partially ruined building as she looked over the second floor. From the looks of it, this entire smaller upper floor was for the four-year-old's own use, noticing a crumbled bed, a toy chest with several toys scattered around the floor, and several giant stuffed animals in the corner of the room covered in dust from the debris.
The same dust that messed with Catra's sense of smell as she examined the room. She couldn't get a good lock on the kid's scent or where the strongest scent of it was coming from, everything the girl touched mixing with the air and masking it. She already found herself on a deadline to stop the attack before more people got hurt around here, and every second she spent searching in here could potentially waste the time she had to find her if the kid was somewhere else entirely.
"Kim?" Catra called out, checking around the bed and the toy chests for possible hiding spots. "Hey squirt, where are ya? I really need you to say something if you're here!"
*rumble*
Catra tilted her head up as small bits of debris and dust rained from the ceiling following the most recent rumble. "This whole place is going to fall apart..." Why was she doing this in the first place? Why did she care about some brat she's only known for several hours anyway? She kept asking herself this and more as she searched top to bottom of the room. She knew as a kid she must've had some sort of hiding space around here, but she's overlooked every possible spot imaginable! Well, everything except for the-
*Creeeeak*
As if to answer her line of thinking, she instantly looked back to spot a lone wardrobe at the other end of the room, a wooden door still creaking ever so quietly and still opening just slightly. "Kid?" A small shuffle could be heard scraping from the inside, confirming her suspicions. Hastily running to the door, she felt a rush of relief overcome her at the sight of the lone four-year-old looking back at her huddled in the corner of the wardrobe."Hey there, squirt..."
"Ehhhehehhhh!" She cried, tears flowing down her face, like any child would in the present situation.
"Hey... nice hiding spot kid. Come on, your mommy's waiting for you. She's just outside-"
"Ehhhhhhehehhh!" The kid cried again as she tried to push herself further into the small corner.
It took a moment for Catra to realize what she was crying about. She wasn't fearful of the monsters outside, she wasn't terrified of the explosions she was hearing, or at least not in comparison. She was terrified of Catra, the person currently dressed like a Horde soldier in an outfit anyone would recognize. "I keep forgetting I'm wearing this... Look kid," she did her best to put on the kindest smile she possibly could, "I'm not with them, all right? Your mommy's waiting outside, she's here waiting for you!"
"Mmmmhhmmmm..." She girl continued to sniffle.
"Come on, I mean it. Come look, she's right down there, I can bring you to her and you two can get out of here." Looking back on everything, Catra found herself in a bit of amazement. For one of the few times in her life, she actually found herself needing someone to trust her like their life depended on it.
Mostly because it really did!
At the same time, both, Adora and Kim's mother, continued to look at the hole in the wall with anticipation and worry. Nothing about today was going the way Adora expected. She expected to break into a high tech facility heavily armed and guarded, find Catra and hopefully break her out of whatever illusion or brainwashing was influencing her, and bring her back to base where she could be healed and rested after the long day they both had. And what did they do instead?
She found herself not attacking a facility but a seemingly-harmless little village, finding out she's been lied to about hundreds of different things in the matter of seven minutes, found out her orders were complete hogwash, found Catra, who might not have been brainwashed after all, unwilling to return to the Fright Zone, discovered Catra might have done all this for her own gain, and now found herself risking her life to save someone she deemed more important than the closest thing she's known to family. This day could not get any worse.
Except it did.
*clank-clank-clank-clank-*
Both the women waiting outside turned their attention to the sound of mechanical gears clanking across the surface of one of the few non-destroyed buildings, finding themselves face-to-face with one of the few round mechanical droids that were invading the city. Noticing the two, the droid turned it's immediate attention to the mother as the center of it's core began to brighten, charging it's laser to attack.
"S-Stop!" Adora ordered, quickly placing herself between the droid's line of fire and the mother. Analyzing the person who stepped forward, the droid immediately powered down it's laser as it registered the Force Captain, much to Adora's relief.
Said relief quickly came back into full panic however as the droid's scan detected directed it to two other living signatures; specifically, Catra and Kimberly who were still on the second floor of the crumbling building, charging up it's laser once more. Adora's eyes filled with fear and concern at this, realizing there was no way to call off the attack without the radio or placing herself between her friend and the child she was trying to save. "Catra!"
"Huh?" The rescuer only had enough time to notice the droid for a few seconds, realizing too late what it was about to do. "No-"
*pew*
*BOOM!*
"Oh my gosh!" The mother cried out with tears flowing down her eyes. Adora herself was in just as much shock as the two watched the entire building collapse. The droid didn't fire directly at Catra herself, not that she could tell from her vantage point, but that mattered little as the attack targeted the building itself, causing a minor explosion that managed to knock down the entire building, reducing everything to pure rubble as the droid returned to patrol the rest of the city.
"N-No..." What was Adora supposed to feel at this point?! Every minute she spent outside here was causing her life to go from bad to worse with each passing second! The building was destroyed, the very one her friend was scavenging in order to save the life of an innocent little girl. Now, not only did she inadvertently cause the death of a little child by a mission she was tasked with leading, as well as possibly many others throughout the city, but now she just lost her best friend in the entire world.
This... was a nightmare. No, scratch that. Nightmares usually ended no matter how badly they got. This... this was what Nightmares had nightmares of. This was... pure terror. Dreadful, absolute, terror-
*rumble*
"Huh?" The two's moment of complete despair was interrupted as a pile of rubble started to shake amongst the debris. Was Adora supposed to get her hopes up again at the unlikely possibility? Was there a remote possibility that the impossible had occurred? She didn't know. She couldn't tell if it was worth getting her hopes up. After everything that transpired this mission she realized each and every one of her hopes and dreams were dashed in an instant. It couldn't have been worth it!
But... fate decided to show leniency, just this once. With a large mound of rubble beginning to shake, both witnesses to this tragic event found their hope replenished and certified as right there, pushing a large flat mound of wooden rubble with one of her arms, was Catra, the former Horde soldier, coughing her lungs out at the smoke and dust that flew around, while in her other arm, was the innocent little life she went to rescue.
Both covered in dirt, both with several scrapes across their body, but alive and well.
And coughing.
"Hack-ough..." Catra groaned as she wobbled a bit with the explosion still fresh and ringing in her ears. She shook off what little dust she could while pulling her feet out of the rubble, walking out of the rubble as best she could. "That was one sturdy wardrobe kid..." She was more than thankful that she was on the second floor of the building when she popped into the wardrobe before the collapse. There was no way the wardrobe would've been able to withstand two entire floors worth of debris without being crushed. "You okay, squirt?"
"Ough!" The little girl coughed a bit looking up at her, a big bright smile brightening on her face as well as her eyes. "D'ank you." She lisped, speaking for the first time since meeting the girl.
Never in Catra's life had she felt such embarrassment. She was incapable of keeping the small pink blush off her cheeks as she turned her eyes away from the bundle bursting with joy in her arms. "Um... yeah, it was nothing. Just consider us even for the festival..."
"Kimberly!" Kim's mother cried screaming with pure happiness and joy as she quickly scooped Kim into her arms, hugging onto her for dear life so she could never leave her side again. While Catra still hadn't forgiven the woman for snapping at her earlier, she did at least acknowledge that the mother was legitimately caring for the young girl in her arms the way all mothers' should. She found her attention turning to Catra herself, Catra preparing for whatever yelling the mother had in store for her now. "Thank you so much!"
"Yeah... Uh..." Well that was unexpected, along with everything else today. She was preparing to make some witty retort to anything she had to say but a "thank you" was the last thing she expected. She didn't want to make a habit of saving people like this but something told her if she wanted to claim her own kingdom, she was gonna have to get used to it.
Alot. "W...Whatever... Just get out of here while you still can." The mother wasted no time with arguing with her instructions, quickly sprinting off in the opposite direction as she went to find safety. Just like before, the little girl was waving back to Catra, fading into the distance like the blush that had been on Catra's cheeks. That just left one thing to do now. "So Ado- Adora?" What was she doing?
Adora had her back to her as she casually walked over to the tank. Was she preparing to leave again? Was she going to continue going through with her mission after everything that had been going on? Was she crazy?!
Climbing up on the tank, for a short second, Catra feared she really was going to go through with her mission as she climbed into the hatch. Instead of taking off like she thought though, she pulled out a small radio, along with the most stern and assured expressions Catra had ever seen from her friend.
...
"Ugh... Bow?" Glimmer mumbled waking up again. As much as Bow wanted to smile back, he was too preoccupied with the soldiers and droids approaching their location.
The last ten minutes have been hectic for the young warrior. He was down to just several arrows left, found himself running from cover to cover, and carrying Glimmer along with him as he tried to outrun the invading soldiers that patrolled the city. There was no end to them, or they were just really good at tracking their location, because no matter how many droids he shot down and how many soldiers he trapped with his numerous arrows, another one was there to take their place.
They were definitely focused on Glimmer herself, the best bargaining chip the Horde could possibly get their hands on. Get the princess and there was nothing the Horde couldn't ask for that her mother wouldn't be forced to comply to, if only to assure her daughter's safety.
By now, Bow found himself stuck between a pile of rubble he used as cover and the walls of the city. There was no way he could carry Glimmer and himself over it, and he wouldn't even think of abandoning her, and he was out of explosive arrows that could've cleared a path through the walls for the two of them to escape. Much like his encounter with the giant bug several hours ago, he found himself stuck protecting the princess and trying to find the solution to their problems.
At least he had a few more arrows he could count on.
"Glimmer," he spoke turning his attention to her, "can you teleport yourself out of here?" In the state she was now, there was no way he could possibly expect her to teleport the two of them at the same time, not with her lack of energy. Unfortunately, her answer came with the shake of her head, eyes still filled with exhaustion and tiredness that the day had taken out of her.
"No... I don't think so..." Eyes were filling with fear as she saw over the debris. They were about to get captured, at best if Glimmer was staying hopeful. "Mom was right... I don't know what I'm doing anymore... I really am too reckless..."
"Are you crazy?" The smile on Bow's face alone was enough to give her a small ounce of confidence. "Glimmer, within the day you found a sword belonging to the First Ones, found a First Ones' ruin, and we recruited a Horde soldier! Maybe you are a little reckless but that's always been your best quality!"
"Hmm..." It was comforting to find such kind words from her friend despite the situation the two were in. Although she was already taxed, maybe she could pull off one last teleport? The situation looked grim, but even if she passed out immediately after, he could carry her away with him somewhere safer. At least, assuming it didn't cost her her li-
"Hold your fire!" The two cornered teens looked back as they heard one of the helmet-wearing soldiers shout. The soldier placed his hand on the side of his helmet, trying to make sure he heard exactly what he thought he heard. "What did you just say, Captain?"
"I repeat: all soldiers are to stop what they're doing and return to the dropzone immediately!" Adora ordered assertively.
"You want us to retreat?" The soldier turned his head to the other surrounding soldiers, unable to believe what he was hearing. "B-B-But mam- Sir! We surrounded the-"
"Are you disobeying a direct order from your superior, Cadet?!" Adora shouted. "Do you want to be held for treason once this is over? Or maybe you wouldn't mind a chat with Shadow Weaver herself after this!" That was the one bargaining tool Shadow Weaver told her to use in the event of insubordination, or the off chance someone with a death wish wanted to disobey Force Captain Adora's orders directly. And while Adora herself might have been against such threats, she wasn't against using them in a time of crisis like she found herself in.
"I... I understand, Captain." With that, the two watched as the soldier gestured to all the other soldiers before walking away, the robotic droids following in suit. The two were baffled at the sight of this miracle of wonders, unable to comprehend how or why the soldiers had retreated, until Glimmer smiled widely.
There was only one person who could've brought this miracle about.
"Catra..."
...
"Phew... thank's Adora." Catra sighed with relief, catching herself on her knees. The battle here was finally over which meant Catra no longer had to be concerned with anybody in this stupid village... much. Her optimism and hope for the future were dashed, however, when she saw her friend descend into the tank, the large vehicle humming with life as it was started up again. "Adora?" Her legs were too numb from the earlier shock she sustained along with everything she had to endure immediately after. All she could do was cry out again as her friend turned the tank around, leaving her and the village behind her. "Adora!"
She didn't know what to believe in anymore. The look of anger and betrayal was still on Adora's face as she drove the tank out of the city, ignoring the numerous monitors showing the city around her, including the view of Catra. What was she fighting for anymore? Who was telling her the truth here? Everything she fought for up to this point came crashing down upon her after her very first mission, and she had no idea who she could trust.
What made it hurt the most was just that. She didn't know who she could trust. Could she trust the family she knew since she was a baby that raised her and taught her how to fight for the unity and peace of Etheria? Or, what she found herself painfully asking, could she trust the friend who betrayed them for personal gain? She didn't bother asking Adora what she wanted like a friend would, she didn't bother trying to bring Adora with her on this adventure no matter how much Adora pleaded.
All she knew is that she felt betrayal from her greatest of friends, and that didn't change the expression on her face even as a single tear rolled down it, wiping it away with her thumb without hesitation or distraction.
She couldn't trust the Horde. She couldn't trust her best friend. And she's never felt more alone in her life than she does now.
And Shadow Weaver had a lot to answer for upon her return.
At the same time Catra's ears and mood drooped as she watched her friend leave. This wasn't how things were supposed to go if Catra ever caught up with Adora again, especially this soon! She thought she'd be overjoyed and welcoming in joining Catra in on her plan. With everything they could get out of it there was no reason for her to possibly turn down Catra's offer! They could've had virtually anything they ever dreamed of!
So why did she? Why did she consider the few people she knew in the Horde more important than Catra herself? Did she find herself wrong about Adora? Did she not care about her at all? Maybe she didn't know Adora as well as she thought she did. If they ever met again though, she would need to get some answers.
"Catra!" She heard her name called, slowly rising back to her feet as she saw Glimmer sluggishly approaching.
"Oh, hey Pinky." She was surprised to find Pinky in a state as sorry looking as herself. Then again at least she could flaunt how she had a building collapse on her to get to her sorry state. Then again, she'd rather avoid a conversation about her little rescue attempt after her repeated denial about caring about anyone else. Glimmer never would've let her live it down if she did. "You still hanging in there? It'd be a shame if you killed over before your mommy got me my kingdom."
At this point Glimmer was so used to Catra's snarkiness that she didn't even care anymore. "Heh, I'm sure you'd be crying your eyes over it if you lost your chance at a kingdom."
"Oh, I don't know," Catra rubbed her fist against her own chest with pride, "when you're as talented as me, you can get anyone to listen to you. I mean I did get them to call off their attack after all, right?"
"Yeah... you sure did..." She didn't want play into Catra's ego. She didn't want to agree with anything she had to say at the moment knowing Catra would continue to brag on and on about how amazing she was. Yet at the same time, she found her deserving of the praise.
Despite everything they've been through, all the chaos this day had brought about, she deserved some praise for saving their lives twice in one day, no matter how much she didn't trust them. On top of that, Catra had risked her own life and credibility by confronting whoever was in charge of all this and getting them to stop what was going on. How couldn't she trust someone after saving a whole town?
During her moment of thought however, she noticed a slight pained look in Catra's eyes, noticing how she looked out into distance that the Horde retreated to. "Hey, you okay?"
"Huh?" Snapping back to reality, Catra quickly shook the concern out of her mind. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just... ran in to some familiar faces and all..."
That's right. How could Glimmer forget?
Catra was a defector now. She's betrayed her own people and who knows how many of her friends. She still had no idea why someone would demand a kingdom as payment, nor what one would do with a kingdom if it was placed into someone else's hand. All she did know is that Catra might've been hurting a little, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
While she might not have been an actual animal, in some sense, she did deserve some form of "treat", and something she didn't expect to give away until she returned home. "Here." Catching Catra's attention again, her eyes widened at the sight of what was in Glimmer's hands.
"Y... You're seriously giving this to me?" She took it without hesitation of course, but she didn't think it would be this easy. Within her grasp was the very sword that started this entire adventure, her entire reason for being out here in the first place. It was FINALLY hers!
"I still don't know if I can trust you completely, but-"
"Geez, about time!" That reaction was expectant to Glimmer after the long time they've been out here. Catra wasted no time taking a few practice swings with the massive sword, trying to get a feel for it's unusual weight. "You know if you had just given me the sword in the first place, we probably could've avoided all this mess."
"Yeah, but then you couldn't have saved a town then, could you?" Glimmer asked cheekily.
Catra sneered back at this, grinning. "Heh, don't think this lets you off the hook, Pinky. I'm still expecting a full-fledged Kingdom after this is all over."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard it like a dozen times."
"By the way, where's Bowey? Is he dead or...?" Catra looked around noticing the one absent member of their group.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's just getting something to help me ride in. I don't think I'll be able to walk all the way back on my own," she looked back with a playful grin, "unless you plan on carrying me all day."
"Well as fun as the idea is of having princess sweat drip from my arms, I prefer not getting any more of your princessness." She looked over the sword again, seeing a smaller reflection from the gem in it's center. "I still don't know how that happened in the first place.
"Well you should probably find a way out before we meet my mother. If you're going to have any chance of convincing her to let her join you, much less get a kingdom, you're going to need to-"
"Hey guys!" Bow calle from the distance.
"Oh, hey Bow! You're back!" Glimmer smiled to him as he approached with her ride.
"Hey Bow, you doing ok- WHAT THE FREAKING FRESH HECK IS THAT THING?!" Fear and absolute panic filled Catra's mind at the sight of the strange creature.
Whatever this ride was it was the strangest creature Catra had ever laid eyes on. It had four legs, an incredibly long face, least compared to other creatures she knew, a strange mohawk-like mane for it's hairdo, and caused it's feet to clack with every step as it approached. Glimmer couldn't help but look back to her newest ally with a tilted head, curiously looking over her frightened face, noticing her body shaking with chills.
"What? It's just a horse, Catra." Glimmer replied. "Don't you have them around the Fright Zone?"
"I think I'd remember having something this freaky looking." She muttered, tail flailing about as her ears tilted. Glimmer looked back and forth between the horse and cat, growing a mischievous grin at what she was seeing.
"What's wrong, Catra? Is the itty-bitty-kitty all scawed of the big mean horsie?" She taunted.
"N-No! I just think it looks freaky looking!" She stuttered.
"It's really nothing to be scared of Catra, really." Bow assured as he stepped off. "Here, look." He displayed how gentle and affectionate the horse was as he stroked it's mane, the horse calmly tilting it's head to get a better scratching spot. "Come on, give it a pet."
"I-I will! I just... Y-You know, don't want to catch fleas or something!" Her excuses were starting to become too obvious to the two, one of whom were enjoying the sight.
"It doesn't have fleas, Catra. It gets groomed and taken care of every day."
"Oh, just leave her be, Bow." Glimmer continued to taunt. "She can't help being scared of da big bad howsie, can she?"
"I-I'm not scared, alright! I can pet it without any hesitation!" She wished she was as confident as the words coming out of her mouth sounded.
"Alright then, go ahead and pet it." Glimmer gestured to the horse, the animal continuing to stare at the trembling cat in front of him.
"I-I will!"
"Then do it!"
"F-F-Fine!" Catra gulped as she slowly raised her hand to the strange creature. She couldn't figure out why she herself was so terrified of the creature, just that if any creature looked as strange as this horse did that it had to be bad news. It had strong sturdy legs, a look of any commanding officer in the Horde, and enough of a temperament to stare down Shadow Weaver herself!
Ok maybe not that last one but the point remained the same.
*Neeeeiiiiigh!*
"Ahhhh-!" Faster than they could blink, Catra instantly disappeared from the spot, leaving a large trail of dust in her wake, and reappeared hanging from the top branch of a tree when the two next saw her, her eyes completely white and body shaking with fear.
She could not believe she was seeing it for herself, but Glimmer had finally found Catra's weakness, something that finally scared the previously terrifying member of the Horde. She was going to have to get used to the horse eventually, she didn't have a choice if she was planning on meeting the queen and getting everything she wanted. She was going to have to follow along with them whether she liked it or not, and Glimmer was fully aware of that one little detail, all the way home.
Payback never felt so good.
"Oh, this is going to be a very fun trip."
While today might've been the start of many victories for them, one thing did cross Catra's mind. In just a few short hours, she left the Horde, lost her placement naturally in said Horde, and lost the only friend she's ever had. A terrifying fear sprouted in the back of Catra's mind, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.
How much would she end up losing by the time this was all over?
...
...
...
A/N: I know it might seem weird for Catra to be scared of the horse, but has she even met the horse yet? I don't remember. Even if she's not scared of it in the show, that's what makes fanfics so enjoyable XP.
Anyway hope to get massive feedback for this finale of episode 2 as i'll be gone most of the day working all day (UGGGH). Same rules as always, 3 reviews for next chapter and such. If you want to request a freebie/non-canon episode of any sort involving catra, you must include it WITH A REVIEW of the episode first. Otherwise if you want to just review to review, feel free to do that too ^^!
With that said, hope to see you guys next episode! Leave a like, fave, and review and see you guys later!