A/N: Hooftah, another fun chapter down! Sorry for the wait on this one folks, been busy with a bizarre work schedule + school. On the bright side I got the entirety of tomorrow off (Yay) but sadly no day off next week (Boo), but overall I might/should be able to finish the last part to this episode tomorrow too.
I'd also like to take this moment to bring up a recent reviewer I met named "Farla". I don't know much about him/her, but after much prodding they were...*kind* enough to leave a review on my fanfiction dot net version of this story. And I use the term kind loosely because the review itself was rather...well... just look at it.
I'll be 100% honest, I actually really like the review despite how degrading it is ^^! I feel so giddy for some reason just to meet someone who claims to be a die hard fan of the show to review my work... in a rather questionable way, but it's nice to know that the fanbase is strong with it. Now i'm not here to start a fanfic/author war, and not just because i would win *cough cough* (lol jk XP) but because she did bring up something several times that I wanted to address.
Do you guys think I'm doing Catra's character all right? I know I have her a bit different from the show and I accept that. The problem I want to address though is whether or not you guys find it enjoyable. Based on what they said I seem to be taking her character out way too much (which says a lot for someone doing the same thing apparently...) and I don't want it to be distracting from the original. i mean I want her to continue the personality I gave her, but my overall question is whether or not you guys enjoy Catra this way. Are you having fun with the fic, are you not having fun? Just let me know and I'll change it. If you are having fun, then I'll keep it the same ^^
With that said, I do recommend supporting Farla's work on fanfiction/Ao3 of She-ra. It's another "What if Catra stayed after thaymor" story, and while I can't say it's the best (not out of rudeness, I mean in detail wise- and no I don't think mines the best either. So far my absolute fave She-Ra fic is by someone named X-ross or something, they do the same plot but it's really touching and fun. I think it's the best so far and support their work too ^^), it's still an enjoyable read. And don't give her a hard time over what I said above here. I'm actually thankful for Farla for pointing it out so he/she's all good as far as I'm concerned ^^
And with that out of the way, enjoy!
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Catra - WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Subject has been charged with multiple accounts of treason to the Horde, including but not limited to:
-Sabotage of Plumeria's Energy Plant
-Defection
-Attacking fellow Soldiers
-Refusal to disclose essential information involving possible ancient First Ones Technology
-Resisting Arrest
-Aiding and abetting the Rebellion
Subject has been deemed dangerous to fellow members of the Horde and should be approached with caution. Subject has been seen attacking fellow Horde Outposts on several occasions and reported as suffering possible dementia as a severe side effect from personal encounters with the Princess' magic. All Horde members are to proceed with capture with caution but are not advised to avoid unnecessary force. Subjects capture is deemed secondary to termination. Any and all members of the Horde must report to higher ranking officials or Lord Hordak directly if they obtain any information deemed necessary to assist with her capture.
Anyone caught assisting with the defector will be deemed a liability and charged personally. All members are to report suspicious behavior of fellow cadets and officers to higher officials immediately.
"Mmmh..." No matter how often Adora reread the transcript, the data on the electric manifest refused to change. Sitting in the small cabins below the deck, leaning against the bed with her eyes focused intently on the data pad. This is all she could to occupy her time until their arrival in Salineas.
Wanted dead or alive? Charged with treason? How could they consider her a threat as severe as this? She wasn't a traitor, she wasn't at fault for any of this! She was a dear friend and fellow ally, she was just like everyone else in the Horde! Sure, she had attitude half the time and an uncaring characteristic the other half, but it's not like she was at fault here.
It was those stupid princess'! They had to be the ones responsible for everything, they must be the ones responsible! Adora knew they had to be at fault here, who else could it be? Maybe they caught Catra herself with their magics, maybe they cast some intense illusionary spell over her to make her follow their orders? That had to be the reason! There was no other reason Catra would ever work for the Rebellion!
Or was there? In Thaymor she seemed fully aware of what was going on around there, and she was right about the place being nothing more than a simple town, even if they were harboring weapons that were unknowingly smuggled in by Shadow-Weaver. Did that mean she was telling the truth? Was it just one of the many tricks orchestrated by the princesses? She didn't know what to think anymore! She knew the only person she could trust at this point was the closest thing she had to a mother figure throughout her life, the only one who seemed to be helping her with this.
Shadow-Weaver.
It was at that time her attention turned to the small box she kept in her Horde jacket, pulling it out to examine the contents again.
"How is a headband supposed to help me?" She wasn't inconsiderate of the gift. If anything, she was more than overjoyed to receive such a gift, any gift for that matter, from anyone in the Horde. Shadow-Weaver continued to give her trust to Adora, she knew that perfectly well. She enjoyed her company, she had high expectations of her, and she continued to shower her with sympathy throughout all that's happened. She was the only one she could trust at this point so she was sure this was meant to help! The question was how?
Taking the headband out herself, she felt along the fabric as she rubbed the small gem adorned in the center of the headwear. It had a strange smoothness similar to the robes Shadow-Weaver wore on a daily basis. Did she make this herself out of the same material? Did that mean it had a more personal touch to it than Adora could notice? It was strange. Just holding it in her hands like this, knowing it came with strange side effects that Shadow-Weaver warned her about. It was...
Huh... now that she thought about it, staring into the gem itself, was there any harm in wearing the headband already? I mean she was told it would affect her mind and her emotions too but who knew in what way? Would it make her blind, would it make her feel constant sadness? Come to think of it, there was nothing wrong with a bit of practice, right? There was nothing to say she couldn't hold it closer to her head. It was strange, it made her feel... comfortable on the inside. She could see her own reflection coming off the jewel itself, despite being the mere size of a thumb.
"I guess it... wouldn't hurt to try it a little..." She told herself with a small smile.
Hey, she was smiling, imagine that! She was worked up about all the stress she had going through her mind till now and just holding this band this close to her face was already relaxing her. Was that the side effect she warned her about? Relaxation? Why would she worry about something that made her relax a little? It was funny just thinking about it. "Heh... heh... that's a laugh..." She didn't know Shadow-Weaver had a dark sense of humor...
Ha! Shadow-Weaver! Dark! Man, what a tease! And what was with this headband? It felt great being this close to it alone! How good would she feel if she just put it on her head for a second? After all, she was a Force Captain now, so of course she would be expected to have some practice with it, right? Collecting both ends in both her hands, she unfolded it as she raised it towards her forehead. She was already happy just having it in her hands like this. Who knows what could happen if she actually wore it for a cha-
*knock*
*knock*
*knock*
"Ah!" Adora yelped suddenly dropping the headband to the floor. She shook her head of the small fuzziness she felt, rubbing her forehead a little to ease the tingling. What just happened? She opened the box, she felt the headband itself, and then she... It...
*knock*
*knock*
*knock*
"Hey, Adora?" Scorpia could be heard calling from the other side. Shaking her head clear of whatever was troubling her mind, Adora quickly scooped the headband back into the box, stowing it in her jacket again, and made her way to the door.
"Hey Scorpia," she greeted back with a smile, "is something wrong?"
"Nope! Just wanted to let you know we reached Salineas!" Eyes widening at the news, Adora quickly brushed passed her as she ran her way upstairs where the rest of the crew, Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio, we're waiting. The ship itself was hidden among the rocks almost half a mile out from the Sea Gate itself, the ideal location to spy upon the kingdom.
"It's the Sea Gate, Force Captain!" Kyle stated as he handed her a brass spyglass.
Looking through it herself, she was amazed at the sight of the massive structure. It was one giant archway that blocked access into the kingdom from any sized ship, practically five times the size of their own boat. It also appeared to be held in high regard given it's design, the archway itself consisting of two opposing mermaid statues holding tridents against one another. And it was within the gap of that archway a massive barrier stood, glittering with beautiful white lights as the sunset shined behind it.
She had to admit. For a kingdom of water like this they really knew how to design their structures.
"That's the Sea Gate?" Adora lowered the spyglass, seeing the large barrier easily enough from where she stood. "I thought it was going to be some giant wall or an actual gate. Did anyone else know about this?"
"Well sure, a lot of us did." Scorpia replied as she came up. "Didn't you get the details at the Force Captain Orientation?"
"Orientation?" Why was she the last one to know about these things? "We have Force Captain Orientations?"
"Yeah, a few from time to time. I think Shadow-Weaver said you were excused from it due to the problems you were having with your friend."
Oh, great. Another thing she can add to the stress she's been going through. Not the fact she wasn't aware or informed about Force Captain Orientations from anyone, but the fact she wasn't told of it because of the issues she's been going through since Catra's defection. This pretty much summed up to a matter of her stress keeping her from preforming at peak efficiency, and the last thing she wanted was to slow down or become problematic for the Horde.
"What are your orders, Captain?" Kyle asked as he stood at attention with Rogelio and Lonnie. Looking back to the gate itself, Adora took a few seconds to come up with a plan.
She wanted to try and align with any people she could save from the Rebellion's clutches. She didn't want to have a repeat of the last time this happened in Plumeria. If they attacked first they could dash any chance of a possible alliance and if they waited too long the Rebellion could easily recruit them. Was it even worth trying since they maintained the Sea Gate for them anyway?
"Wait..." Adora quickly brought the spyglass to her eye again as something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Looking passed the Sea Gate itself, she saw what appeared to be another small ship coming through the small fjord from within the kingdom itself. No matter how small the image was after zooming in as far as she could, the one thing that did was the sight of a familiar friend at the helm of the ship. "Catra!" She gasped.
Catra. The Traitor. The Defector. The one person everyone said betrayed the Horde and doing everything out of her own selfish desires. She knew she was innocent in all this, she had to be. There was no way the same friend she grew up with was this same backstabbing traitor that everyone else claimed she was. It wasn't Catra's fault she was here, it wasn't Adora's fault she was here. She knew exactly who was responsible for all these misgivings and the one person she needed to direct her anger at.
The very princess that approached Catra from behind.
She still couldn't piece together what she did to her. Maybe she manipulated her through trickery without magic, like how they fooled Adora into thinking Thaymor was a completely innocent village? Or perhaps there was some spell being played on her that kept her from realizing what she was doing? A simple spell that could erase her memories could do wonders too. All Adora knew at this point was that she was responsible for Catra's defection. Her and the rest of the Rebellion that continued to sew chaos wherever they went.
"...Captain? Your orders...?" He didn't want to push his luck and anger the captain anymore than she seemed. They already learned from Lonnie's experience that you didn't want to push it when it came to Adora's anger. It wasn't so much that she herself was intimidating, entirely, it was the person who raised Adora more personally that they didn't want to anger.
"...If the Rebellion's already reached the kingdom, then there's no point in trying to call out to the princess of Salineas." Adora stated as she collapsed the spyglass in her hands. "Get the cannon ready. We're taking down that barrier if it's the last thing we do!"
"Yes sir!" The three cadets saluted before running to their stations.
Turning back, Adora was still seething with anger as she knew what awaited them on the other side. Her best friend, and her personal enemy. If she could catch the both of them in one shot then this entire trip will have been worth it, though it wasn't her key priority at this rate. Her first and primary objected was to capture and bring back her dear friend alive through any means necessary.
Even if it meant she had to drag her all the way back herself.
...
...
"Catra?" Glimmer called out as she slowly approached from behind. The other girl was still shivering a little as she continued to dry off with the warm towels hugging her.
It was a bit annoying when she thought about it in the long run.
After all, she finally got a stupid She-Ra transformation to take form for the third time after finding this sword, using her newfound strength to fight off a sea beast the captain lead them to for the sake of pride, and what happens next? She nearly drowns because of it! Why couldn't a single good thing stay a good thing whenever she came across it? Whether it was finding the sword, being praised upon by the locals of Plumeria, or getting her transformation to work a few minutes ago, every time something good happened it was immediately followed by something worse, like how she thought these two were concerned for her for a brief moment.
She was surprised to find herself suddenly being rescued by the two just as her body gave out and she began to drown. Bow jumping headfirst to dive in after her, Glimmer teleporting them back to the ship, it all seemed too unreal to her. Didn't they hate her because of all her insults? Weren't they fed up with her like everyone else she knew? It was for a single second she actually thought these two genuinely cared for her, and what followed this immediate thought?
Glimmer makes the mistaken comment to the captain she was shouting at about how she needed this mission to go right.
That one single comment confirmed to her how she was seen on this mission. She was nothing more than a means to an end, a tool to be used in their war against the Horde. And honestly, that's the way she was fine with. That's how it's always been all her life and she didn't bother caring about it now. LIke her, she found them as a means to her own end. If fighting with the Rebellion got her what she wanted then so be it. At least then she wouldn't need to worry about unnecessary thoughts.
"Hey, you doing okay?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, just fine. Nothing like a good drowning to make you feel better." Being used to the sarcastic attitude by this point, Glimmer simply smiled at this. If she was well enough to joke around then she was doing all right. "What do you want?"
"What do you think? I came to check on you after-"
"I meant your question!" Catra restated a little peeved.
"My question?" With all that's happened up to this point she actually forgot about it. How could anyone remember anything after having a panic attack when a friend of theirs nearly died on a mission?
"We had a deal, remember? Help me get the She-Ra thing working, I'd tell you something about me?"
"The deal to... Ooooh that!" The realization grew upon her face as she remembered the details. "What about it?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you? What question did you want to ask me?"
"Heh, you don't have to worry about it, Catra." Glimmer smiled. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."
"Tell me what it is already!" Catra yelped.
What was irritating her this time? Usually she wasn't annoyed or bored with a conversation this early into it, she usually waited until someone gave her a piece of information and then she snarled at it. Here, she just fumed a little at the greeting alone. How close would she come to attacking someone for having a conversation at this rate? "Catra, is... is something wrong?"
"I'm fine." If it was anymore clear that she was lying, she'd turn invisible. "I just want to get this question stuff over with, that's all." She took the time to dry off her hair with the towel as her body dried off. From the looks of it, they were going to reach the shore any minute from now and she didn't want some other princess yelling at her for getting the floors wet.
"Well...do you mind if I think about the question first then?" She wanted to know specifically what to ask. The last thing she needed was to ask something that offended her or got her angry at everything again. There were too many things she was curious about Catra's life, the life of anyone who grew up in the harsh environment of the Fright Zone. How did they live, what was their life like, what did they teach them all their lives? Simple obvious questions like those were the most likely to get a reaction out of her.
And not a friendly one either.
"Just come up with something before the day is over, ok?"
"Deal."
"Land Hooooo~!" Sea Hawk exclaimed as the ship came up to the coast of the kingdom.
Salineas, the kingdom of water. Known for it's powerful naval fleet and it's vast variety of seafood. From here, the kingdom could obtain and export nearly any sort of fish to the neighboring kingdoms, as well as aid the Rebellion directly from the sea. With it's massive Sea Gate guarding the kingdom itself, they were the last line of defense between the Horde and destruction from the sea.
Looking around the scenery, Catra gazed around her as her ears twitched from side to side, as if trying to locate something that she couldn't see. "Is something wrong?" Glimmer asked seeing the strange look Catra was giving off. She waited a few seconds for any sort of reply until Catra finally turned to her.
"It's way too quiet around here." She stated.
Taking the lead the two followed after Bow as he jumped from the ship to the rocky coast, being the first bit of solid land any of them have touched in nearly a day. There was a stirring silence throughout the place like Catra said. There wasn't any people, there wasn't any noise among the winds, there wasn't anything. For a kingdom known for it's massive watery structures and infamous sea gate, you'd figure somebody would be walking around and maintaining everything.
It wouldn't be as troubling if the city itself wasn't so massive. Looking at the structures that stood before her, Catra was amazed at the severe lack of people. Most of these buildings alone were the same size as any of the massive watchtowers in the Fright Zone, and not a single one of them housed a single person.
At least not anyone she could pick up on.
"Where is everybody?" He turned to the others with the same unknowing look.
"Hmm... Very odd indeed." The captain scratched his chin looking around. Though it was sunset, there was still enough daylight out for this place to be bustling like any village. Even the village guards would be making a patrol around here so there should've been at least two or three people present. "If I know the Princess Mermista, and I do, something's amiss-"
"Halt!" Everyone looked to the nearby archway of stairs that lead deeper into the village. There, from the center of one of the many tall buildings, was what appeared to be a lone guard, flailing his trident around in proclamation. "Halt I say!" He wasted no time running as fast as his feet could carry him down the stairs. Catra could hear the man panting heavily from this far alone as he reached the stairs to the docks. Whatever kind of guard he was he took his job very professionally, not slowing down a single step until he reached them himself, panting heavily and out of breath as he sweated. "What's your business in Salineas?"
"We've come to speak with Princess Mermista." Glimmer stepped forward as she answered.
"Tell her Sea Hawk is with them." Sea Hawk quickly butted in pushing passed her. "She'll be excited to see me."
...
"Ew, who let him back in here?" That was one way to formally greet a man who seemed very keen on meeting her. Lazily insulting him while leaning against her arm on a throne she didn't seem to care about.
The throne room they stood within was pretty much everything and anything Catra could expect from the Princess of Salineas. The throne itself was decorated after the finest sea-based fauna you could find in the ocean, with giant corals and barnacles stretching across a watery pond surrounding the throne. All the walls and floors were colored in an oceanic blue coloring to them with many hues between light to dark, along with several variations of clam and sea shells decorating the exteriors of the floor along the edges.
The walls in particular also had their own artistic designs to them. It kind of reminded Catra of the painted walls within the Meeting Room back in Bright Moon Castle, dozens of different displays being depicted on several of the walls. And on the back walls themselves, there were bright pink lines that strewn across several portions of the wall, each centered with what appeared to be a bright white pearl.
All in all, it wasn't that bad a touch for whoever this princess was, especially for one who had the right kind of attitude to Catra.
"Princess!" Oh how wonderful it was to see her again! No maiden should be without the wonders that is Sea Hawk's person, and without skipping a beat he hastily ran up to her throne, kneeling respectfully with his arms swayed out. "Oh, it's been too long. I've dreamed of you night and day since we parted."
"Uh huh," she moaned as if half asleep, "and who are you?" She referred to the approaching members of the Rebellion behind him.
"My name is Glimmer of Bright Moon. We've never met, but our parents fought in the Rebellion together."
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about the old Princess Alliance." It was like everything she said was emotionless and bored at the same time. "My dad said it was a total disaster."
Ouch. No wonder she frowned at that.
That was a way to strike a soft spot on Glimmer's person. Of course the previous alliance was a disaster, she didn't need a reminder of it! So many good and innocent people were lost to the Horde scum that wiped them out. Every person she lost was like a quick needle to her heart as it reminded her immediately of her father. It didn't matter if she knew them as well as him, it didn't make a difference if she was friends with the people she lost or the worst of enemies. She didn't want anyone to go through the same pain her and her mother went through.
A single constant pain that came back every single time it was mentioned.
"I didn't think it was possible, but your beauty grows greater with each passing day." If words could make someone gag Catra would'e thrown up a dozen times by now as she listened to Sea Hawk's continued displays of affection. Thankfully the guard at her side, the same one who lead them here, was decent enough to elbow him away.
"Would you quit it? I'm trying to talk to my new friend Twinkle."
"Pfffffft! Ok, she's officially my favorite person in this room!" Catra chuckled, getting a reaction out of a blushing Glimmer.
"But you just met her!"
"Yeah, and she's already my favorite person, Twinkle. Pffffft..." She sneered. Glimmer couldn't help but feel a little irritated and jealous. After all the times she and Bow have worked on trying to get Catra to open up and think of them as friends, she instantly goes on to say how the random person she met not a minute ago was her new favorite person. And now she had a new nickname to look forward to, oh joy.
"Butler, can you bring us some hors d'oeuvres." She ordered. The same man who was once the princess's right hand guard quickly swapped out his spear for a small towel over his arms, proceeding with his orders without a second thought.
"Ooh! Hors d'oeuvres!" The captain squealed leaping to the side of her throne.
"For everyone but Sea Hawk." She added.
"Your guard is also your butler?" Bow wondered exactly how many jobs a single guard can have. He was more curious as to why a single guard would have more than one to begin with.
"I'm a little understaffed right now. Everybody fled because the gate is falling apart or whatever." She explained walking away from the romancing Sea Hawk with her trident in hand.
"What?!" That might've been the very first time the three said anything in unison.
"Yeah, I know, right? It figures I'd inherit a kingdom that's crumbling, but it's totally fine. I'm handling it." With a swish of her trident, the waterfall next to her cleared up, allowing the group to see through the window directly to the Sea Gate itself. Nothing she said just now convinced them of her words, the princess turning her backs to them as she stared out the window. Seeing her reflection, Catra noticed the small look in her eyes. It was one she was all too familiar with, having seen it in the mirrors herself plenty of times. "It's just kind of inconvenient, because the Horde won't stop attacking us."
"Why is the gate falling apart?" The other princess sped a little to the window, looking at the failing gate and Mermista.
"I mean, who knows?" She shrugged back. "But it's getting weaker every day. And if the Horde tries to attack us again, we're pretty much dead."
"The Horde is the reason we're want to rebuild the Princess Alliance. None of us stand a chance on our own, but we might be able to stop them together."
"Hah, sure, because that went so great the first time." Mermista scoffed as she walked back to her thrown, the waterfall descending over the window again. "Why should I help Bright Moon? It's not like they've ever done anything to help us."
"Mermista, if I may." Sea Hawk spoke up, preparing to sing. What little fear Catra had building up inside her from the atrocious song quickly went away with Mermista's insistence.
"No! No more shanties. Why did you bring him here? He is so annoying!" She teethed.
Ok, it's official. She's the first person I like around here. Catra grinned to herself.
"I thought you said she liked you?" Bow looked back to him with confusion.
"We have a rich, complicated past..." The depressed captain hinted a little.
"If by that you mean you got us kicked out of the Dolphin Social for challenging the doorman to a duel, then sure." She clarified.
"Iiiiii don't recall doing that." He tried to pass off as he fell into her lap on the throne.
"And that time you set our gondola on fire in the Tunnel of Love." She also added, throwing him off her legs to the ground. Like everything else he did he was quick to spring back to his feet with as much dignity as he could display.
"Heh heh heh... that I do recall..." He blushed.
The Tunnel of what? Catra shook her head as she walked away. She could only put up with so much nonsensical talk between the two before she started to hate both of them, and she refused to put Mermista on the same list as the rest of them! Besides, there had to be a better way to spend their time than just bickering like this. She had her She-Ra transformation down now, realizing she needed to think of defending others other than herself, so she knew that could help a little.
Provided she didn't have to wait for it on cooldown or something.
It was at that time her attention was drawn to the murals along the wall, her vision getting glued to the sight of one as she compelled herself to walk forward. There was a... strangeness... going on here. Looking at it like this from top to bottom, she felt a weird tingling sensation going through her mind. It was just like the time when she first met Bow and Glimmer. It was the same day she found the sword, and stumbled upon...!
"This is First Ones' writing." Catra realized, quieting the rest of the room.
"...And... who is she again?" With the annoyance that was in the form of Sea Hawk, she almost forgot to ask about the strange cat girl that Glimmer brought along with her, wondering who she was and why she was wearing a Horde outfit. "What is she doing?"
"Oh, that's Catra." Bow replied with a smile. "She has a magic sword." Noticing the perplexed frozen stare she was giving off, Glimmer ran up to her side with curiosity.
"What does it say?"
Catra remained silent for a bit as she was entranced by the mystical mural. Without thinking or knowing what she was doing, she slowly brought a finger up to the mural, reaching out to touch it. "I... I don't know... It just...It's coming to me slowly... something about a gate siphoning it's power from... the Salinean Runestone. Something must've happened to disrupt it's connection to the power source."
"We suffered numerous attacks from the Horde in the past." Mermista commented. "Maybe it shook a wire loose or other over time."
"Do you think you can fix it?" Glimmer asked a bit hopeful.
"How should I know?" Unlike her previous witty remarks or stern looks, Catra kept her attention on the mural. She couldn't bring herself to physically turn and look Glimmer in the eye when she said that. "Everything else about it is either jumbled or taking too long to translate to me. It's like it's... Ngh...Aggghhh!" Pain shot throughout her head as she squeezed her head, falling to her knees.
"Catra!" Glimmer cried out worriedly, kneeling next to her as Bow ran over to the pair. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Nggghhhh!" What the heck was this? This wasn't like the time at the ruins and this wasn't another issue involving random visions. At least she thinks it wasn't that. It felt like someone was drilling something straight into her head from every angle inside and out! Some bizarre numbing pain shooting throughout her brain, feeling as if it was reeling from one side of the pink residue to the other, bolts of lightning briefly but painfully streaking throughout her mind.
"Should I get the butler in here?" Mermista got to her feet as she ran over, noticing the seriousness of the situation.
"Ngghh...N-No... No, I..." Then it finally stopped. Opening her eyes again, Catra stared at the mural once more, still seeming to be entranced by it's depictions as she had earlier. Something clicked within her mind without her control, something she wasn't expecting and the last thing she thought she would receive as a solution to the crisis at hand. Slowly getting back to her feet, Glimmer preparing in case she collapsed again, she stared at the others with a look of certainty on her face. "I think I know how to fix it!"
"Wha-You can?" Was Mermista supposed to be impressed? Confused? This random Horde girl who strolls on in here with another princess says she has the solution to all her problems and she's supposed to accept it with no questions asked?
"I mean... sort of..." Catra glimpsed over the mural to recheck everything. "I don't know if I can fix the barrier itself, but I might be able to restore it's connection with the runestone."
"Mermsta, we really need your help, and you need ours. If Catra can repair the gate, will you please consider joining us?" It was the only chance she had to ask her. If she said no to this arrangement there was little doubt anything could convince her to join the Princess Alliance.
With a groan, one that didn't really spark much more emotion into her tone, she replied. "Ugggh... I don't know... I guess. But he has to leave." That was her condition as she pointed to the captain who brought them so far.
"But... where am I supposed to go?" For the first time since meeting him, his voice cracked a little with worry and sadness.
"Maybe wait with the boat, okay, buddy?" Bow suggested as politely as he could, directing the captain to the door as calmly as possible. "We'll take care of the gate."
...
...
"No... not here...mmh where is it?" Catra mumbled to herself as she felt along the massive statue's arm.
There were many twists and odd turns this day was bringing the group. The first would have to be the Seaworthy Cantina they had to go to in order to find themselves a sea captain. Out of the many possibilities, there was only one who had enough experience and social standing to take them to Salineas, and that was the self-proclaimed infamous Sea Hawk himself.
The infamous part was a little questionable after the several shanties and misdirections the crew took, like to the ship graveyard where the captain wanted to show off his prowess in order to impress the young shipmates. That went about as well as expected; terribly. While they managed to fight off the massive creature itself, thanks to Catra finally transforming again into She-Ra, it was a bit of a hectic turnabout when a vision went off in front of her again and the next thing she knew she was drowning a hundred feet underwater.
Not the best vision she's had the pleasure of seeing so far.
Then, after reaching Salineas, they enter what appears to be a town that's more barren than the ship graveyard was, the populace all but evacuated and having swam for their lives as the kingdom started to crumble. The Sea Gate was the one source of protection they had against the terrifying Horde and their invading armies, and it was finally revealed how it was starting to lose any connection to the source of it's power, the Salinean Runestone.
Until now, everything else seemed pretty simple in explanation and complexity. Why? Because Glimmer was still trying to figure out why she and Catra were standing atop one of the mighty Sea Gate's large structures, one of the humanoid statue's arms to be exact, as Catra continued to feel around the ground with her hands. It was about twenty yards above several floating platforms that led up to the Sea Gate, where a lone relic seemed to be expelling it's mystical powers from the center of the gate to form it's barrier.
"Would you mind telling me again what you're looking for?" It was times like this Glimmer was thankful for her teleporting powers. She didn't want to imagine being up this high without some way to break a fall if she slipped. It also made carrying the toolbox in her hands much more manageable.
"I already told you, I don't know." Catra repeated as she continued feeling up to the hand. "Something in my head is just telling me what to do one piece at a time. If I knew everything to expect, I'd be telling the rest of you in seconds to get this done faster."
"What's telling you? Is it the sword?"
"I don't know. It could be a split personality for all I know!" She paused for a few seconds as she stared off into space. "Actually that would explain the blackouts and the visions now that I think about it..." Brushing the tips of her claws against the back of the hand, her eyes widened as she felt an unusual scrape. "Ah ha!" She quickly began tapping several invisible codes that flashed up for a second with each click.
Glimmer continued to watch in wonder as Catra fiddled with whatever she found. She didn't know if it was something useful or something dangerous. The only one who did at the moment was Catra and, as she shouted several times, she needed everyone else out of the way as she did her confusing work. Waiting another several seconds, she started hearing what sounded like the strange screech of metal as the stone parted several feet to each side from the back of the statue's hand.
To both their amazement, within the exposed statue itself, there laid several dozen wires and machinations of unknown origin or identity. Each one seemed to be alien to the princess with several pieces protruding in a strange manner in some areas, other areas having a strange glow of energy running across it.
"Jackpot!" Catra declared victoriously.
"Whoa... it really is First Ones' tech!" Glimmer exclaimed, kneeling down over as she placed the toolbox at Catra's side.
"I'm guessing they made the gate first and built the statue around it afterwards." Catra suggested as she grabbed one of the wires while digging through the toolbox. It was so weird seeing Catra suddenly turn into some sort of mechanical expert out of nowhere just by staring at a mural.
"So now do you know what to do?"
"Once again, no." Catra never took her eyes off the various technologies she was fiddling with. "It's seriously just one thing at a time. I don't even know what to expect next until it pops into my head. And as soon as it does, the other thing goes away!" She didn't know what half the things she was pulling were, she couldn't tell why she was unscrewing what bolt with her hands. All she knew was that if she was going to fix this thing, she needed to do whatever her brain was telling her to at this moment.
Even if it meant pulling the wrong wire by accident.
*bzzzt*
"Yeowch!" Catra yelped a little bit as she nibbled on her burnt thumb.
"Are you going to be okay working on this? A lot of this tech is still old. Some of it might still be unstable."
"Ya think?" She rubbed her thumb a little soothingly as she went right back to work. "If you want to help give me some space here. This is going to take a couple minutes."
It wasn't just Glimmer that looked over the situation with confusion. Down below them, on the closest floating platform that reached the center of the gate, stood Princess Mermista and Bow, the two hanging back as they watched Catra work in unison. With Glimmer still nearly a day's worth of travel away from home, they couldn't recklessly have her expend all her energy to teleport all four of them to the top of the arm with them. It was fortunate enough Catra managed to easily scale the statue's structure alone, meaning she had a way to get herself back on top if she ended up slipping and falling.
"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" Like everything else, Mermista asked this without a single care.
"She has a few... quirks... from time to time, but she's always pulled through." Bow's assuring smile left a little hint of nervousness behind his own voice. Out of the many things he has seen her do since joining the Rebellion, technician work isn't one of them. For all they knew she was suffering some strange vision-induced sleepwalking, which, after everything else so far, wouldn't surprise him.
At the same time, Glimmer's focus shifted to the docks where the ship previously landed. To her surprise, having a great vantage point from atop the arm, she saw the legendary captain Sea Hawk, master of the oceans who braved the mighty seas, conqueror of monsters and capable of swooning woman with a single shanty, untying his boat from the dock post without hesitation. Grumbling to this, she looked back to Catra for a quick second. "Will you be fine up here by yourself?"
"The quieter it is around here the better." Catra spoke as she refused to take her eyes off the repairs. With that assurance, Glimmer teleported from the statue's massive arm to the bow of the captain's ship, catching him off guard.
"Eek-!" He shrieked.
"Where are you going?" She puffed with hands at her side.
"I'd really appreciate it if you stopped doing that!" Whoa, that was a total shift in his voice. Every word he just said sounded like it was in-between a cry, the screech behind it blending with his feelings of turmoil.
"Are you leaving without us?" She guessed correctly as she earned a hearty sigh from the captain.
"It's for the best," the one reasonable thing he said all day and right as he was about to leave, "I keep getting in the way of things. It's time for old Sea Hawk to be where he belongs, alone." That was... actually sad to hear from the once chipper captain as he walked along the rails. It's like resigning himself to reality brought out his true emotions and standards. "I wasn't always like this. Where I'm from, I had friends, a crew. Every day an adventure more daring than the last. The fact that I kept setting my boats on fire was considered charming. But here, I can't get anyone to take me seriously. Huff, you have no idea what that's like."
"...Actually, I kind of do." Glimmer mellowed, leaning against the rails beside him. "Everything I've done up to this point was to prove I could be responsible, mature enough to help in this war. Even after all we've done up till now though, nobody will take me seriously."
"What? You? But you're a princess."
"Try being the daughter of an immortal queen when your powers are *sparkles*." To prove her point, she showed off her fantastic sparkling-ness with a wave of her hands.
"Glitter..."
"Glimmer!"
"We've just met, but I can tell you are a brave and powerful soul." He smiled. He was surprised to find the person who yelled at him a near hour ago to be so relatable to his own troubles. It's like looking in a mirror, albeit if he was a princess, with every word she said. He could hear every word and feel every emotion behind it. It was rather endearing to think he had any similar qualities to someone of royalty. "Anyone who'd underestimate you would live to sorely regret it."
"Thanks Sea Hawk." She returned with her own smile. "And you know what? You still have friends and a crew. Reporting for duty, Captain!" She saluted.
Who was his to kid? She was absolutely right! He was THE Sea Hawk! He was THE one and only true captain of the legendary seas! Where he went, adventure followed. Where he journeyed, thousands were in awe at his prowess. With a crew at his back and friends at his side, he knew there was nothing the illustrious adventurer that was he couldn't accomplish! For he was Sea Hawk, the greatest Captain Etheria has ever known!
...
"So this over here... remove this..." Catra continued to mumble to herself as she fiddled with the controls.
It was really strange how this was working out. The information she needed to fix this thing came in her head one after the other, and then mysteriously vanished. She had no idea what she was doing and whenever she completed the previous step she forgot all she did to accomplish it. Sure, she was picking it up by herself as she kept a side memory of the details of what she did, but she just couldn't figure out what her mind was trying to tell her or how it was doing all of this.
*chunk*
"Huh? Oh you gotta be kidding me! Ghhhhhhh!" She growled angrily as she took out another panel. What kind of advanced prehistoric race were these stupid First Ones supposed to be?! After about several minutes of playing telephone with her own mind, rewiring the last wire and removing the eighth bolt, she thought she would be done! It shouldn't take that long to get a stupid gate this advanced up and running again if the first settlers of Etheria were as advanced as everyone said they would be. And what did she get instead?
Another stupid hatch behind a false panel with even more confusing technology! It lead a few inches deeper into the hand and had a shockingly more advanced system by the appearance of it. Several of the screws were completely different from the ones she's seen everywhere else, there were at least several different meters displaying various scales of information, and last but not least, this stupid contraption was apparently on a rotation with every stupid side to it having even more confusing and irritating mechanics!
In short, she just wasted several minutes of her life to fix something that wasn't what she needed to fix! Given the complexity of the various sides, there was no way she was ever going to keep track of everything in her memory. If there was any solace to all of this it was that it seemed to be the core to the advanced Sea Gate barrier and the key to fixing whatever was wrong with it. At least the sight of a dozen flashing and dimmed lights informed her there was something legitimately wrong with all this.
"Everything okay up there, Catra?" Bow yelled up.
"I just wasted several minutes to open a fake hatch!" She yelled back, peeking over the side.
"There's a hatch up there?" Mermista yelled. As a child she often had fun exploring the sea and the kingdom a dozen times over. She's been all over the kingdom through the city itself to the surrounding ocean around it, and not once did she ever come across something like Catra just described.
"Yeah, I think it's the thing that channeled the connection between your Sea Gate and the Runestone. I think I can get it fixed in a few minutes."
"...Uhhh Catra?" The bowman grew nervous as he looked at the sea behind him. "I don't think you have a few minutes..." Her and Mermista looked back to the direction he was facing, growing shocked at the same sight that worried him.
Beyond the tide, making it's presence known from behind the shaggy rocks, the three gasped at the sight of the mighty battleship that displayed the infamous Horde symbol on the mast. There was no telling what it was capable of or why it came all the way out here on it's own. All that worried them was how it was daring enough to come all the way here without any sort of support, the presence of it alone showing off it's incredible strength.
"It's the Horde!" He shouted as Sea Hawk and Glimmer approached from the other side with the boat.
"What?!" Why did the Horde suddenly show up like this? What was their plan to come all the way here by themselves?
Meanwhile on the ship itself, Scorpia could be seen pulling a massive lever attached to the side of a giant canon in the center of the ship, the canon itself being about fifteen feet long and eight feed wide. With one mighty pull, the canon charged up it's powerful attack before releasing a giant burst of energy in one shot. Reacting quickly, Bow grabbed Mermista as he ran off to the other platform next to them, narrowly avoiding the explosion that took out the platform itself. Waiting for the ensuing dust to settle, the two looked back in fear as they saw the decimation left behind from it's one blast.
Not even a pebble of the platform remained.
Turning back to the three other cadets, Scorpia gave them direct orders as she charged another shot. "You guys know what to do. Continue forward and don't slow down for anything!" With a salute the three rushed to their battle stations as they prepared for the oncoming war against Sea Gate itself. Following this, she watched as another blast went off from the canon, striking the Sea Gate's barrier directly. The blast was powerful enough to leave a brief melted hole in the barrier, slowly reforming as it repaired itself. Unfortunately for Catra, the amount of energy it exerted caused several surges of electricity to run rampant throughout the core, sending several thousand volts through her body in an instant.
*Bzzzzzzzt!*
"Ahhh!" She screamed pulling herself away from the mechanism. She shook off the pain as best she could from her slightly burnt hands, grumbling as she turned towards the others on the lower platform. "You guy's mind taking care of that! I can't leave the gate like this or the whole system could explode, the Sea Gate with it!" She didn't bother waiting for a reply as she quickly got back to work, realizing how little time she had left to fix this entire mess.
Nodding to each other Bow and Mermista ran down the other platforms till they were near enough to jump into the water safely. As she did, Mermista used her magic to create a set of fins where her legs were, ready to take on the Horde with everything she had to protect her kingdom.
As for Catra, she bit bottom lip with tension as she wiped her brow. She fixed one of the sides already, at least she hoped she did, as she directed her attention to the next side. With one side down and another three to go she was sure she could get the Sea Gate fully function again, provided she didn't end up incinerated from a direct blast by the canon. Wiping the sweat from her brow, tail swishing back in forth as she tried to keep her composure, quickly reached in for another one of the tools, frantically trying to feel around for any sort of item that could help her unscrew and tighten several nuts she found loosened from the core's panels.
"Gehhh where is it?" She looked down to the toolbox as she became agitated.
"Is this what you're looking for?" A familiar voice asked as it handed her a screwdriver.
"Oh, thanks Adora." Thank goodness she was here. It was always handy to find Adora at her side like this as she fiddled with the mechanism. Having two people on the job definitely made it easier when... Catra's eyes flashed open as she hastily turned around, unable to believe what she was seeing.
It wasn't a vision, it wasn't a hoax. It wasn't an illusion, a hallucination, it wasn't someone in disguise. She recognized the scent of the one friend she had in this world, she recognized the look of those eyes that nobody else could duplicate. This was her, the real thing, standing right in front of her, equipped with a large stun baton on her back and a hook rope over her shoulder.
This was Adora. The real thing. The person she hasn't seen since the incident of Thaymor. And right now, she was responsible for the attack on the Salinean Sea Gate.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
...
...
...
A/N: What's the most evil way to end a story? On a cliffhanger that people have been waiting to see since day one X)! Mwahahahahaaaa!
Lol, anyway thanks for all the positive feedback as always guys. And I know some bits above here are a bit chappy. Keep in mind i was working on this in the mix of several days and at random intervals so I had to keep coming back and forth to it here and there so some parts might be a little wonky.
Btw if you know any other fanfiction-like sites be sure to let me know! I might consider posting on Deviantart at some point, idk, but for now leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and can't wait to see you next chapter!