A/N: Another chapter done and man was it a fun one! While I can't say how many this chapter, much less all future chapters, will have, I can safely declare this fanfic halfway done you guys ^^!
As always, had a lot of fun with this one! Not much else to say that I can think of off the top of my head, except for one celebratory HUZZAH because we've reached the 100 Review Milestone on Fanfiction dot net! Not only that but I current come in first place for the most reviews for a she-ra fic on that site which I consider an accomplishment!
So, here's hoping you guys enjoy the episode as much as I did with all the fun I was having!
Enjoy!
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"Mmh... stupid Lonnie... dummy Adora..." A young six-year-old Catra grumbled as she poked at her usual morning breakfast of gruel and fruit.
Life sucked.
Everything sucked around here, more than usual now because of Shadow-Weaver's involvement. It wasn't bad enough that she was constantly picked on day in and day out. It wasn't enough that she was harassed and mocked by the numerous kids and staff running around the place either. And apparently it wasn't enough for her to be locked into a jail cell for over twenty-four hours until a guard finally found her, scolded her for playing around, and had her returned to her bunk room where all the other kids were.
She didn't tell Adora anything about what occurred that day, and that's the way she planned on keeping it. What would be the point of it anyway? Adora wanted to be friends with the very bullies who put her in that cell to begin with, and after returning to the kid's room, she finds a happy and excited Adora going on and on about how they were all finally part of a gang, how they both had friends now. As much as she started to hate those around her, she couldn't bring herself to shatter Adora's view of the world or ruin her chances of possibly making friends. At least then she would be safer than she would be if she protected Catra all the time.
And that wasn't what bothered Catra the most.
No, now she got slapped in the face with a hard ball after the revelation Adora had to make the other day...
...
"What do you mean you're leaving?!" Catra whined as Adora continued to pack her bag.
"I'm sorry Catra, but Shadow-Weaver said I have to." Adora replied, frowning a little. "She said me and some of the other kids have been doing a really good job around here that they're taking us to an advanced class."
"Who are you talking about? What other kids?"
"Simple. Lonnie and the others." Adora said, waving to Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio as they packed their own bags. Catra gave a small glare at the girl as she smirked back. Something told her this was their reward for that horrible prank she pulled on Catra, when she lied to her about the initiation and cruelly trapped her in a prison cell for over a day. "Shadow-Weaver said we're the hardest working kids she's ever seen, and she said if we do a good job in that, we'll be promoted to Junior Cadets early!"
"Junior Cadets?" No one hasn't heard about the Cadets. When one became a cadet, an entire world of opportunity opened up in front of them! They could then work towards a different career in the Horde between engineering, weapon's expertise, prison guards, the whole nine yards! Better yet, there were a whole bunch of better benefits that came with it! Better food, softer clothes, comfier beds, and so on.
Usually kids wouldn't start training to be a cadet until the age of eight, but if Adora and the others were going to become cadets earlier, then they definitely had to have impressed somebody around here!
Or, more likely, Shadow-Weaver was pulling the strings to advance their training. She did always favor Adora, after all.
"But... what about me?" Catra frowned, drooping her ears a little. Adora went silent at this, sharing the same frown as her best friend. Both were aware of what this meant for them.
"...I'm sorry, Catra but... Shadow-Weaver says you need more training." Adora replied, zipping up her bag. "I tried to ask her to bring you too. Lots of times! But she says the training will be a lot harder than the classes that they're giving here. She says some of them are even dangerous."
"So you're just going to leave me...?" Catra said as the tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. "We're not friends anymore?"
"No, of course we're still friends." Adora gave her a hug with a small smile. "It doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore. We'll just... see each other a little less..." There was no easy way to bring up that bit of news. "Most of the classes we'll have will be different from the ones we used to do... and there's another sector they're bringing us to, so... we won't be able to sleep together anymore."
"B-But..." Catra sniffled. There wasn't any positive side to this that she could think of. Adora was her best friend, and now she was going to go away for who knows how long? What if they never saw each other again? What if an accident happened that separated them for life? What if she got another promotion that sent her to another sector again?!
"But hey, it's not all bad!" Adora tried to cheer her friend up. "With Lonnie and the others going, no one else will pick on you as much. And that means no one will be stealing muffins on Muffin Monday anymore, so that's good, right?"
"...I guess..."
"And we'll always be friends forever. Remember the promise we made before?" As if she needed a reminder of that day.
"Yeah..."
"No matter how far apart we are, nothing bad can happen to us-"
"-as long as we have each other." Catra sniffled.
"And we can still write to each other too! No one says we can't write letters to one another around here, so we'll be able to keep in touch with each other, no matter where we are!" While that might've sounded good to some people, Catra wouldn't be surprised if those letters conveniently disappeared while they were being sent back and forth. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she got Adora's letters and Adora didn't get her letters, making her think Catra didn't like her anymore.
"..." She didn't know how to respond to that. Was she supposed to accept everything that happened and move on? Who on Etheria would be that cruel to her? It made things worse when she saw Adora's own pained expression, knowing she wasn't feeling any better than Catra was about the situation. "I hope you have fun, then." Catra mumbled as she walked away. She couldn't bare to look at Adora anymore, more out of sadness than anger.
The only one who did have her ire right now was Lonnie, the girl she gave a silent hiss at as she continued to smirk back at her. Lonnie was the second worst person in her life. She picked on her, pranked her, and did so many cruel things to her for a five-year-old, and she was being rewarded for it!
She didn't care about Kyle or his excuses when he tried to apologize for the prank, she barely paid any mind to Rogelio while still being as angry at him. She was taking her best friend away, they all were. Why couldn't Adora see that? This felt less like a promotion and more of a means to torture Catra even further. And just because Lonnie and her goons were leaving didn't mean the pranks would end! It's not like Lonnie was the only one who pranked her every time, just the one who did it the most.
All she knew was that the world was against her right now. Lonnie was against her, Shadow-Weaver was against her, and for the first time, the thought of which made Catra's heart ache, she felt like her best friend was against her.
...
*splat*
Speaking of which...
"Freak!" The shout of laughter that followed the handful of gruel that was in her hair went on to prove her point. It didn't matter if Lonnie was gone or not, she was still going to be picked on, she was being picked on. She could feel every slimey bit of it oozing through her hair, the stickiness making her ears twitch as she felt it.
Why? Why did this always have to happen to me? Catra would ask herself. It was like the entire universe was against her! Everyone hated her, nobody else wanted anything to do with her, and the one person in the world who liked her was now leaving her, possibly forever! It was unfair, it was cruel, it was heinous! To be treated this way no matter how many times she tried to be nice, no matter how often she tried to ignore it!
That's when it finally hit her. The tears that used to form in the corners of her eyes quickly dried up as her face contorted with an unfamiliar anger. What was this feeling? For the first time in her life, she didn't feel the sadness of being picked on, the terror she was inflicted with whenever she was bullied. She felt a different feeling boiling up inside of her, a volcano that was dormant until today.
She hated these people. She hated the way they always treated her. Most of all, she hated Lonnie and Shadow-Weaver.
Claws outstretched from her fingers, she picked up her tray. Her ears were tilted back with irritation as she casually walked her way over to the thrower's chair, tightening the grip on her tray with each step. Standing right behind the young boy, she tapped his shoulder, grabbing his attention as she pulled back the tray in her hands.
"What do you want, freak?"
*WHACK!*
...
...
"-end usually do that?" Was the first thing Catra heard as she came back to reality.
"She's fine, Aunt Casta." Glimmer replied as the four of them stood in the hallway. "She just has a habit of... daydreaming, from time to time. It's no big deal."
"Ngh..." As usual, Catra moaned as she rubbed her head, letting the others know she was back to normal from whatever vision she was recently having.
"See? She's perfectly fine!" There was some lie and some truth to that, the lying part of it Glimmer hoped wouldn't be picked up by her Aunt Casta.
Ten minutes into this vacation and things were already off to a rocky start.
Following the morning, which was more like Midnight in Catra's case, the girl found herself pretty exhausted from spending the whole night keeping watch for the three of them as the other two continued to sleep in the middle of the woods. It's not like she didn't want to get back to sleep either, but the nightmare that woke her up in the middle of the night kept her from ever thinking about going back to sleep again.
Shadow-Weaver. The person who used to torment her on a daily basis through various means, and the person she feared the most since defecting to the Rebellion. When she was in the Horde, Shadow-Weaver wouldn't dare to strike against her unless she was punished for some reason, taking any excuse she could find to do so. She constantly mocked Catra and scolded her on a moment's notice, and did everything in her power to remind her how she was inferior to everyone else no matter how many times she tried to prove herself.
She also reminded her how she was no longer safe, no matter where she was, since joining the Rebellion. Her twisted magics could reach her anywhere, she could infiltrate the girl's dreams and turn them into nightmares if she wanted. She could make Catra suffer beyond the wildest horrors Catra could conjure up.
She had a very thorough experience of that memory.
There wasn't any Adora that could keep her safe anymore. There wasn't anyone strong enough to protect her from her magic. All save for this place, Mystacor, the magic capital of the world, she currently found herself in. Being protected by a magical barrier and enchanted with a spell that kept the land invisible to others, she hoped this place could offer the relaxation Glimmer promised her that she desperately needed. She needed it, and the others knew she needed it too.
Ever since this morning when they found her, she's been on edge. Always checking over her shoulders, always pausing to check her surroundings, even going as far as to grab Bow out of nowhere and threatening to cut his head off when they snuck upon her at the pond earlier. The girl was clearly paranoid for reasons she wouldn't explain, chalking it up to the pressure and stress she was under after the events of Dryl.
That's why they hoped this place could offer her some moment of peace and respite. There was no other place in the world Glimmer could think of where she would be protected and capable of resting better than Mystacor, the one lead by her very own Aunt Castaspella.
Now if her aunt stopped dotting on her over every single little thing, then she'd be able to relax too.
"You all right, Catra?" Bow asked, rubbing her shoulder.
"I'm fine." Grumbly attitude, shaking him off of her, wanting to move on and completely ignore the conversation. Yup, she was all right.
"Are you sure you don't want to consult with one of our mages?" Aunt Casta asked with a hint of concern. "We have a lot of mages that can help you with your daydreaming issues."
"I think I'll take my chances." Catra folded her arms behind her head as she walked passed her down the hallway.
"She really is fine, Auntie." Glimmer assured with a nod. "She's always like that, trust me."
"It'd be worrying if she didn't act like that these days." Bow joked as they continued down the same hall.
"Well, if you're sure she's okay." It always warmed Glimmer's heart to see her Auntie caring about others as much as she did, even if it became a little tedious every now and then for her.
"Anyway, onto the Lunarium!"
...
"Woah..." Catra stared in amazement at the room.
All around her, from top to bottom, back to back, side to side, were thousands upon thousands of beautiful pink diamonds. Surrounding all across the walls, all of them reflecting it's beautiful magnificent light off of each other from the skylight in the ceiling above, Catra could turn and watch ten or twenty diamonds sparkle in every direction.
The floor itself was nothing to gawk at. Beautifully crafted with a pristine violet color, which helped to reflect the sun's warming ray, and polished possibly three times a day by the looks of it. Everywhere around the floor was spotless and clear, her reflection greeting her wherever she walked.
This room was the very definition of beauty, or the closest thing Catra could consider.
"The Lunar Lenses." Aunt Casta spoke as they looked around. "We use them in the monthly ceremonies to renew Mystacor's magic defenses, and keep us shielded from the outside world. You will be coming to the Eclipse Ceremony tonight, won't you?"
"Uh..." She wasn't sure how to respond. Does she decline her offer and possibly incite some sort of vengeful aunt on herself? Or does she say yes and partake in possibly the most boring who-knows-how-many hours of her life?
"Aunt Casta," Glimmer thankfully interrupted, "I've seen the ceremony dozens of times. And we're all really tired from traveling." She slouched as if to emphasize her point. "Maybe we'll skip it this time?"
"Nonsense. Your friend Catra hasn't seen it yet," she retorted, pulling Catra closer to her, "and it's quite a sight to behold for a newcomer." It was the most awkward feeling for Catra when the sorceress suddenly booped her on the nose out of nowhere. "Besides, don't you want to spend more time with your aunt?"
"Of course!" The princess frantically nodded in assurance, doing everything she could to keep from looking rude to her dear aunt. "But we also really wanted to show Catra the beach."
"Well, if the beach is the only reason you're here, I really shouldn't keep you, should I?" Oh no, she was doing it again. The one thing Glimmer hated that her aunt would always try to pull on her to get Glimmer over to her side. The Guilt Game. "I certainly don't want to waste any of your time. I mean I know it's been so long since we last saw each other, but what's another year or two, I suppose..."
"Ugggh... Auntie, please don't do thiiiis..." She groaned.
"Do what? Just remind you of how much I care for you and ask to spend a little quality time around here?" While the three tweedles were currently preoccupied, Catra walked along the room to examine the diamonds up more closely.
If she ever came to this room on her own, she'd think this was some sort of treasury. All the crystals were neatly organized and arranged in every direction, not a speck of dust covering a single inch of this place! Maybe when she got her own kingdom and her own castle she could make a treasure room like this, filled with nothing but beautiful diamonds and jewels, decorated gems from beyond the seas, and floors covered in solid gold which would fill the room with a beautiful yellow hue.
Looking at this place made her crave her own treasury more, and this was just some stupid Lunarium room! Imagine what the rest of this place could look like, she wondered to herself as she stared at the large mirror-sized diamond in front of her. Maybe they have a dining room the size of a baseball field around here? Maybe all the servants used magical projections of their elements, like summoning golems and whatnot to do their bidding! Even the shadowy figure in the mirror seemed-
"Huh?" Catra quickly shot behind her as she saw the apparition in the mirror. For a single, solitary, second, she saw it. A ghostly mass of shadows which dissipated as quickly as she saw it. Where did it come from? Was it a part of this place? Her instincts were telling her to investigate down the hallway, the source of the strange creature seeming to originate from there.
As she did, Bow took notice of the missing member from their group. "Catra?" Grabbing the others' attention, Aunt Casta smiled as she saw Catra run her way towards the hall.
"Well, someone is enthusiastic."
...
The hallways were just as elegant as the rest of the building, if not more so than the rooms they connected to. Between the walls and the interiors, the opened windows that shined the magnificent sunlight in, the archways connecting to the doors of this open place, everything was decorated and painted with a serene view. It went on to give showmanship for the crafts and details of this fine temple, further indicated by the amount of display brought onto each wall.
But she wasn't here to sightsee.
Ever since this morning, she's had this nervous twitch in the back of her mind going off. She knew she must've been hallucinating after the nightmare she had last night, but why was it still bothering her? The last time these strange twitches went off was when she ever found herself alone without Adora, if Shadow-Weaver was somewhere nearby.
That couldn't be though, right? She was possibly thousands of miles away from her at this point. All around Mystacor were hundreds of mages, a spell that casted invisibility over the land, and a barrier that warded off evil. On the off chance she was around here someone would've easily spotted her by this point.
Yeah, it's all in my mind. Catra told herself. She was in an empty hallway all by herself, one housing several statues on the right hand side of her within the walls. Ha, imagine that. She wasn't really alone, was she? She had these stone dummies looking across the halls all day. Some of them looking majestic, others regal, all kept in check as they spent the rest of eternity staring across the room.
So why was she still feeling an uncertain chill in the air?
"Ah, yes. The Hall of Sorcerers." Aunt Casta made her presence known as she spoke next to Catra. She was followed by Bow and Glimmer in line, Catra joining in on them as they explored the halls. "Theses are the Great Ones who led Mystacor through the ages." Coming to a stop, she smiled brightly as she stood in front of the statue of a great man. "This is Micah, my brother. We trained in these very halls together. Glimmer looks just like him, you know?"
"He had a beard." Glimmer reminded with a small blush.
"Hey, wait a minute. You mean Glimmer's dad was your brother?" Why did no one tell Catra about this sooner?
"Catra, you do know what aunt means, don't you?" Bow whispered over.
Trying to play it nonchalantly, Catra rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "W-Well of course I do! ...It's the rank that comes after general, right?"
Glimmer clearly understood what Micah meant to her Auntie. After all, she was his daughter. The way she smiled whenever she talked about him, the sadness hinting in her eyes whenever she recalled what happened to him. It was the sign of what true family was all about. "Auntie, we're going to avenge my dad and make sure that the Horde never hurts anyone else. Mom believes in us, and in She-Ra."
"...Well, if your mother believes, who am I not to?" A small unapproving scowl crossed her expression, raising her hands in the air in exaggeration. "She's an angelic being, after all, and I'm just a common sorceress."
"Ugh. Please, not this again." Her Aunt Castaspella was considered the head sorceress of Mystacor, how much more could she ask for? Glimmer would gladly trade her own title of princess for anything as grand!
"She never writes to me, you know? I send letters, but do I ever get a reply?" She went on as she lead the way down the hallway.
So far Catra's impression of her was... interesting. She seemed to go on and on about herself while still embarrassing Glimmer from time to time, a personal plus if you asked her, yet also seemed rather full of herself half the time. Yeah, it was something Catra felt like she could relate to, wanting something better of herself, but the way she repeatedly put it off by talking about Glimmer and Queen Angella felt weird to her.
At least she wasn't anywhere near as terrifying as Glimmer's mother was.
That was when she came across one statue in particular, one covered in a faded shadow from head to toe. It was that strange stare she saw in the statue's eyes, one that emanated a deep hatred even through stone. "Who... Who is she?"
"Light Spinner." Casta's voice dropped as she breathed in an air of hate. "A scar on Mystacor's past. She sought power and complete control above all else, and she was cast out. Although some say she never really left. That she's only biding her time, waiting to exact her revenge!" Somehow the strange yet obvious creepy performance Glimmer's aunt was putting on was actually creeping Catra out. Was it more of her own stress and exhausted state affecting her or was she legitimately creeped out by this?
"But those are only children's tales, of course." No amount of smiling from her could make the creep factor suddenly disappear. "Anyway, on with the tour. Are you hungry?" Taking Glimmer and Bow down the hall, Catra stared back at the outcast of a statue. Her voice faded into the distance as the two followed behind her. I've had the dining room redone since last time you were here, Glimmer."
Who was this Light Spinner she was talking about? The face, that stare, the eyes. There was a familiarity to it that she couldn't quite put a claw on. She felt like she should've known her from somewhere, like it was on the tip of her tongue, and it kept going right outside of her reach.
Maybe it was the strange chill in the air that distracted her? Maybe it was how this strange place was all sorts of different compared to what she was used to? Maybe it was the sinister statue that she was looking over that gave her the chills? Or maybe it was the shadow looming over her from behind, one as silent as the air itself.
The shadow gazed upon it's target as it blended into the wall behind her. Its target was distracted by the sight of the statue, perplexed at what she was staring at. Without making a sound, the shadow began to seep it's mist-like tendrils through the girl's ear as she continued to stare at the woman made of stone. Catra couldn't feel any sort of draft as she stared ahead, feeling as if everything was all right little by little. By the time she bothered to move on, over a third of the shadow had entered Catra's mind,
For one moment, both of Catra's eyes flashed yellow, before returning to the same heterochromia blue and yellow they always were.
*Swoosh!*
"Ah-!" Catra yelped as Glimmer and Bow materialized right in front of her.
"OK, Aunt Casta's going to fix us a big dinner and now it's finally beach time!" The entire time Glimmer spoke with her eyes closed, Bow stared into Catra's eyes. For possibly the very first time since meeting her, she actually looked kinda timid. It took a brief silence to fill the air before Glimmer saw Catra's uneasy expression, seeing the pupils shrinking a little in her eyes. "Catra, are you okay?"
"Wha..." Catra shook her head to get all the fuzzy feelings out of it. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Because your claws are stretched out like you're about to attack someone, for starters." Bow commented pointing to the dangerous duo. Sure enough, looking down herself, Catra was surprised to see her claws fully on display and ready to pounce on the first person that attacked her.
"O-Oh... my bad..." She mumbled retracting them.
"It's worse than we thought." Glimmer felt so sorry for her distressed friend. She doesn't know what sort of horrible nightmare of a dream Catra could've gone through when the virus took over her. Patting her shoulder, she gave her a soft smile as she gestured out the hallway. "What you need right now is warm sand and calming waves. Stat."
"Uh... sure..." She felt strange all of a sudden as she followed the two. She felt like something was creeping up on her skin, but she couldn't put her finger on it. There was a certain chill in the air that followed around her as she was lead through the hallways, Glimmer and Bow giving her as much of a comforting smile as possible from time to time to make sure she was alright.
"Trust me, Catra, the beach is the best place to relax." Bow assured. "There's the warm sand, the smell of fresh water, the perfect place to drown Adora."
"Yeah..." Catra blinked to herself as she realized what he just said. "Wait, what did you say?" She asked with a small hiss in her voice, Glimmer and Bow looking at her like she saw a ghost.
"I said it's the perfect place to get some rest." He replied. The certainty in his voice left her baffled. For a moment, she could've sworn he said something different. "What did you think I said?"
"N... Nothing, nevermind." Catra rubbed her hands along her arms as she tried to warm herself up, continuing to follow the two to the beach. She was sure of it for one second that he had said something entirely differently. And the way he assured her of what he said left her doubtful of it at the same time. Was this a result of the stress getting to her? And why was it so chilly around here? "Is anyone else cold around here?" She asked as she continued hugging herself.
The two gave her an odd look but said nothing. After all that she's done for them and knowing what a harsh life she's had up till now, she deserved some nice R 'n R. It was going to be tricky to find out what made her feel relaxed but in a place as grand as Mystacor, they were sure they could find something fun for her!
...
...
And as they left, they were all unaware of the shadow slowly rising out of the ground behind them. The spectre was a little shorter compared to it's original size, not that it's master was about to complain. From the other end of it's view, through the fountain of Shadow-Weaver's vision, the witch of darkness grinned to herself while in contemplation.
"Hmm... It seems the traitor has a little more mental resistance than I gave her credit for." She surmised, splashing a finger across the fountain as it focused on Catra. "Who would've thought she had a stronger mind in that empty head of hers... Oh well." With a wave of her hands, darkness seeped into the fountain as she continued her work. "She'll play her part accordingly as she has with everything else so far."
"Even if I have to snap that mind of her's in half!"
...
...
This was the farthest thing Catra expected from a beach. Then again, if they were hundreds of feet up in the clouds, she supposed it was the closest thing this place had to an actual beach. With still warm beach sand she could feel under her feet and the clouds acting as the seas themselves, this was basically the same as an ocean-filled beach in every way.
And for some reason it still didn't get rid of the chill creeping up on her.
"So... this is supposed to be some magical sitting thing?" Catra questioned as she watched the two lay out some towels on the sandy beach.
"It's called, relaxing, Catra." Glimmer said as she flattened out her and Catra's towels. "Didn't you do this kind of thing in the Horde?"
"Not unless your definition of relaxing involved breaking apart droids that kept blasting at you."
"Well, luckily for you, it's really easy. You just need to lie here for awhile, take in the sun, and let your mind wander."
"Sounds like something Bowey's used to." She joked, earning a chuckle from the other princess.
"Hey!" Despite the joke being put on him he still managed to give out a chuckle in fair game. The two were genuinely glad to see her in such a jokeful manner after the long morning she had. Hopefully she would get a good amount of rest out of this by the time this day was over. Smiling at the towel lying before him, Bow casually slipped on top of the towel as he rested with his arms behind his head. "Ah, this is the life."
"...And when does the whole relaxing part kick in?"
"As soon as you lie down." Glimmer gently pulled Catra to the ground on top of her towel, watching as the magicat spread herself against the cloth as she settled in herself. "And now you just relax!" With a smile, she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the peaceful weather around her.
"Hmm..." Catra, on the other hand, was enjoying less of the weather than the other two simpletons were. Ok, so I'm lying down... now what? Did she need to have some sort of magical power to make these things work? This didn't feel any better than the beds back in the Horde. In fact, it almost felt a little rougher than lying on the beds in the Fright Zone. Least those had comfortable pillows compared to lying her head back like this.
"Ngh..." Maybe lying sideways like this so she was facing Glimmer would help? The princess seemed to be doing relaxing all right, and with all the problems she had to face on a daily basis that was saying a lot. She looked so peaceful with her head lying against the ground and her arms covering the stomach. And she had way too bright of a smile.
"Ugh..." Deciding to try lying down the way she was used to, her curled up into a little ball at the end of her towel, hoping some semblance of how she used to sleep with others would give her a peace of mind.
Still nothing, unfortunately.
"Huff..." That stupid chill was still bothering her too! She tried facing Bow's direction to see if he had any idea on how to do this but he was of no help. He had the same stupid grin Glimmer had on her face as he slept, and it might've been even more annoying because he was facing her direction as he rested with his eyes closed. The least he could do is pop in and check with her on how she was doing of all things!
"Mhh..." Trying the same way he did when he started relaxing proved fruitless too. Resting both arms underneath her head as she lied completely on her back yielded zero results. Why was she having a hard time with this? It's called relaxation, not torture. Then again, at the rate it was going, it felt like practically the same thing to her. And she wasn't the only one having a hard time relaxing around here.
There was also Glimmer, the Princess of Bright Moon, daughter of an Immortal Queen, who also found herself struggling to rest and relax. Not out of the lack of trying or inability to, but because of Catra's constant moaning and groaning every five seconds, her shuffling around the towel being louder than the moaning itself. It was quite an impressive feat for someone to be able to do that for over a minute.
After another three minutes of Catra trying to do everything in her power to relax, which including all the moving around and moaning that went with it, Glimmer finally gave up. "Ok. This isn't working for you, is it?"
"No. Can I get up now?" Catra whined.
"Yes."
"Finally." She stretched out her arms as Glimmer and Bow rose from their towels. Catra surprisingly looked worse after the course of the last three minutes. She looked more exhausted and somehow grew a small amount of baggage under her eyes, the dark blurs barely noticeable from afar.
"Clearly, we're going to have to take this relaxation to the next level. Bow, wake up." She ordered clapping her hands, Bow springing up to his feet almost instantly.
"Wha-? What's going on?" Catra envied anyone with the ability to fall asleep as quickly as Bow did.
"We're taking this up to the next level." She informed. "I think this calls for... it!"
"Huuuuh! You mean... IT?!" Bow's eyes shined with a bright morning star at this, squeezing his cheeks with excitement at the prospect of it.
"Yes, Bow. It!"
"And... what exactly is it?"
...
"Mmh... How much longer do I have to wait?" Catra asked herself as she sat in the chair.
Ok, the beach thing made sense... sort of. The idea was to go to a tranquil beach where they could have peace and relaxation, where anyone could get the perfect amount of sun. While it might not be anything Catra was used to, she could feel the general idea of why it was so relaxing.
What she couldn't understand was this new thing Glimmer suggested to her. Heading over to the Northeastern wing of the mighty citadel, she brought Catra and Bow to a little spa area of Mystacor. Passing along the halls, the interiors changed from it's hardened stone-covered floors to a verily soft and cushiony white carpeting that stretched throughout the entire area.
There were dozens of doors on each side of the halls with various numbers or symbols on them, half of which were unknown to Catra. Some had designated signs like men and women bathrooms, others had a simple round circle on the frame of the door with various colors designating them. The weirdest of these doors were the ones with squiggly lines around them, ones Glimmer told her they were only for the advanced mages around here.
Not that there was any reason or desire for her to examine the rooms, of course.
After five whole minutes of walking did they finally come across a door with a bizarre symbol on it, strange even for a place like this. It displayed five different hands with eyes in the center of all of them. All the hands angled their fingers and hands in unison with each other, all working together to make a single star on the top center of the door. All the hands seemed welcoming and peaceful while being slightly threatening at the same time. What kind of person who draw a single eye in the middle of all the hands anyway?
The room inside of it wasn't any better and made things even more confusing. Taking the appearance of a doctor's office, Catra saw a lone padded rectangular table in the center of the room with two different shelves on the right side of the room, and one shelf on the left side of the room. The right side was housed with different peaceful-looking plants that brought a sense of comfort to her, while the shelf on the left side of the room had dozens of different incense-like candles that were still freshly lit. It wasn't overpowering to Catra's senses and it wasn't too little to notice either.
It felt peaceful in here. Nothing more, nothing less.
"It won't be that much longer, Catra." Even Glimmer's assurance did nothing to quell Catra's recent chill. "Trust me, after this you'll feel dead as new."
"I'll feel what?"
"Good as new?" Glimmer raised a brow to this as she repeated herself. Strangely, this was about the fifth time today either her or Bow had to repeat themselves because Catra couldn't hear or understand what they were saying. While most people might've misheard the average person once or twice a week, there was never a time when Catra didn't or couldn't understand what the two said. If anything, her hearing should've been sharpened compared to everyone else. "Catra, is your hearing okay?"
"It's fine, why?" The cat grumbled a little crossing her arms.
"Because they've been twitching a lot more than usual lately." She replied. Feeling around the ears herself, Catra shrugged this off as she looked away.
"It's nothing, it's fine. Probably just the lack of sleep." Sadly that was the biggest distraction out of all of this. All this stress she's apparently going through and all the confusion she's felt all day, all of it amounted to the possibility of stress. There was no way to tell if her strange behavior amounted to something else. "And why do we have to wear these stupid dresses?"
"They're not dresses, Catra, they're bath robes." Bow corrected, pulling on his own white robe to feel the smoothness of it against his skin. "They're supposed to help you relax. I mean feel how comfy they are!"
"I just feel a little less cold if anything."
What was going on with her? Her behaviors been increasingly strange ever since arriving to Mystacor and it was beginning to get harder to tell if it was the result the stress or the actual lack of sleep. Something about Catra's behavior, between the strange twitches and the chills she was feeling was far too strange to ignore. "Catra-?"
*creeeak*
"Ah, hello." A female wizard interrupted, speaking as she entered the room. She had curly pink hair while donning a white robe herself, the edges of the trim colored in a dark purple, while her underclothes consisted of long skinny grey pants and a plaid white short-sleeve shirt. She also had a simple small pair of glasses planted in her hair. "I take it you're all here for the spa treatment?"
"Yeah, we're here to help our friend get settled in. It's her first time." Glimmer replied as the three stood up.
"Excellent!" She didn't give Catra the chance to do it herself as she immediately took the girl's hand, shaking it profusely. "My name's Dr. Kiroh, and I'll be giving you your massage today."
"A massage?" She looked back to the other two as they smiled to her. "I came all this way for some massage?"
"More like the best massage of your life!" Bow exclaimed. "They use their magic to mix hot and cold temperatures on your bones while giving you a massage, you'll feel like you're melting away from the feel!" She couldn't tell if that was another part of his recent mishearing or if he actually meant it that time. "I got it done here once, I was so relaxed that I fell asleep in under a minute, and I woke up feeling like a year had passed!"
"Trust us, Catra, you'll love it." Glimmer assured. "Bow and I are gonna head over to our own massage areas, we'll see you after a little while." Nodding back to him, Catra watched as the two made their way through the door, leaving Catra alone with this Kiroh girl who stood a good foot over Catra.
"Ok, let's hop up on the table and we'll get started!" She stated, patting the foamy tabletop in the middle of the room. With a sigh, Catra surrendered to the bed of comfort as she lied on her stomach, resting her chin at the top of the table as Kiroh stood at her side. "Oh, shoot, I forgot a towel. I'll be right back!" She quickly walked over to the door, shutting it quietly with a small click as Catra tried to make herself comfortable.
"Ok, relax... relax..." She kept muttering to herself as she lied her arms under her chin, closing her eyes trying to sleep. She did have to admit, as weird as this place was and the current relaxation method seemed, she did feel a small sense of comfort. The table itself was surprisingly comfortable for what it was, almost as much as her personal bed back in Bright Moon. With her ears drooping with exhaustion, she felt herself slowly drift away, unaware of a creeping shadow that slowly seeped in from underneath the doorway.
The shadowy assailant slowly crept along the floor and over the table itself as Catra continued to rest her eyes. Like it had done previously, waving it's smoke-like arms towards her head, little by little the smokey spectre dissolved as it penetrated the girl's ears, shrinking every second as it seeped into the girl's head. The more it did, the more Catra felt the strange chill creeping up on her, but she ignored it. It wasn't any colder than it was before, but it did feel like it was lasting a little longer than usual.
Maybe it was the result of her trying to relax? Every time she tried to feel comfortable around here she felt a strange chill, so maybe it was a good thing? Even if it wasn't, based on Bow's description of the place, the chill itself should slowly melt away when the massage itself began.
As it continued, it's attention quickly shifted back to the door as it heard another click. Hissing to itself silently, the spectre, now a third of its original size, dissipated into nothingness right before the doctor finally entered the room with a small white towel under her arms.
"Ok! How are we doing so far?" She asked perkily.
"Beats me. We haven't started yet from what I know." Catra shrugged back, keeping her eyes closed.
"Well we can get started right away." Catra opened her eyes a little as she felt the doctor raise her chin, sliding the white towel under her head. "Here, these should feel more comfortable to you."
"Thanks..." Hmm what do ya know? It really was a lot more comfortable. Unlike the pillows she felt basically anywhere, these felt as silky as the robe she was wearing and foamy like the table she was lying on. Paying little mind as she wrapped the towel around Catra's neck, the magicat made herself even more comfortable than before.
Maybe it won't be so bad after all? She thought to herself. Being in a comforting room with the delightful smell of incense filling it, it really did make her feel a lot more relaxed than when she came here. If the massage itself was anywhere near as good as Bow described it then she couldn't wait until they actually began the massa-
*SCRUNCH!*
"Ack-Ough!" Catra suddenly gasped for dear life as she leaned up. All around her she felt an immediate lack of oxygen as the towels around her neck tightened immensely. Unable to pry the painful towels from her throat, she shifted her eyes to the left where she saw Dr. Kiroh, giving off a sinister smirk as she pulled both ends of the towels apart as it squeezed the life out of the poor girl.
"Oh, dear, poor, Catra..." There was an ominous tone echoing in the Doctor's voice. "It pains me dearly to see you so stressed out." Grinning, the magicat felt as the grip tightened, increasing the suffocation tenfold. "But don't worry. Soon, all your troubles will wash away, and you'll fall into a deep, deep, sleep...
"Urk-! Guh!" She rasped as she continued struggling against the immense pressure squeezing her throat. Seeing how she couldn't overpower the surprisingly powerful grip from the doctor, she did the second best thing she could think of. Stretching out her claws, she started cutting away at the towels against her throat, taking care as to not cut herself by accident as she did. With every thread she felt cut she felt the towel loosen it's hold on her, feeling the airwaves coming back to her.
She might not have known what their version of massages were in Mystacor, but she knew they had to be better than this. With her mind reeling from the pain, she knew that she had to deal with the doctor before the doctor dealt with her...
...
It was at this time that Glimmer and Bow had finally found their assigned doors for their own massages, smiling to each other as they found them ten doors down from Catra's and placed right next to each other's.
"You sure Catra will be fine on her own?" The concern on Glimmer's face was more evident by her voice.
"Relax, she'll be fine." Bow nodded back. "I mean what's the worst that can happen?"
*CRASH!*
Neither of them could've been prepared for what happened immediately after. The very second the two of them reached for their own door, they turned back down the hall after hearing the familiar sound of wood being crashed through by a heavy object. What made the situation worrying was how the object was less of an object and more of a particular doctor.
A doctor named Kiroh at that.
With eyes widening, their mouths dropped as they saw Catra jump in front of the doctor, growling at her like a ferocious beast as she pulled back a claw. The doctor herself was easily terrified of the strange humanoid cat that just tossed her through the doorway, finding herself too frozen with fear to fight back against the menacing creature, staring at the multi-colored eyes feeling like she had already taken away her life!
"CATRA, STOP!" Glimmer shouted as she teleported herself and Bow hastily over to her. Right as Catra pulled back her sharp claws in order to strike, Glimmer and Bow popped up right behind her, each of them grabbing her arms before she could do any more damage.
"Ngh! Let go of me!" She screamed, frantically trying to reach the doctor that assaulted her.
"Catra, what are you doing?! Stop!" Glimmer struggled to maintain her grip as she tried to worm her arms out of Glimmer's hands.
"No! You have to let me go! She tried to suffocate me!" Catra yelled, snapping her teeth as close to the doctor as possible.
"I-I didn't do anything!" Kiroh cried, sniffling as she rubbed her own sore shoulders. "I was just giving you a towel to lie your head on!"
"Yeah, and then you wrapped it around my neck and then tried to suffocate me with it!" Glimmer and Bow looked to each other with confusion at the strange accusation. The sorceress was trying to suffocate Catra? Here, in the middle of Mystacor, of all places?
"I didn't even touch the towel after I gave it to you!" The doctor cried.
"You liar!"
"Catra, get a hold of yourself!" Bow snapped yelling right into her ears. The immense pitch of the shout was enough to rattle Catra's eardrums, enough to grab her attention for a brief moment. "Look at her, Catra! Does she look like someone who would try to kill you?!"
What was he babbling on about? Of course she was! Just look at her! That evil look in her eye as she cried, the trembling in fear as she stared at Catra, the way she was covered in dust after being thrown through a wall... the way she... didn't defend herself after being attacked... the way tears flowed... from her... face...
"Wha..." Catra finally slumped in their arms as she shook her head. "Wha... I don't... Where..."
"Catra," Glimmer spoke stern yet patiently, "you need to calm down."
"I..." Feeling like their friend was no longer a threat, the two released the grip on her arms as she rubbed her head, making the doctor jump for a moment thinking she was going to attack again. "I don't know what's... What's going..." Why was she finding herself so confused? There was a whole lot to her life that she had to adjust to but not one of those things confused her as much as this did. She didn't feel any control of her mind at the moment, like someone else yelling propaganda and paranoia into her brain.
And everything they said was true. She was staring at the doctor crying to herself on the ground after she attacked her. She didn't seem the least bit threatening to her and she didn't look like the person capable of coming out and suffocating a person out of nowhere. She just seemed... innocent. "I'm... I'm sorry-"
"Get away from me!" The doctor cried out as she slapped Catra's hand away when she tried to help her.
"I am very, very, sorry for what she did." Glimmer apologized kneeling to her level. "Please, don't tell my aunt about this, I'll take her to see a sage right away."
Kiroh stared at her eyes for a few seconds. She knew Glimmer was the niece of the head sorceress here and there was no way she would voluntarily bring a person as dangerous as Catra was here unless she needed help in some way. While she was still terrified of the fact a girl younger and shorter than her managed to toss her through a door, one that could easily be fixed in seconds with her magic, she knew Glimmer was innocent enough to assure her this was an accident.
"J-Just get her out of here for now." She instructed with a bit of a harsh tone, getting back to her feet as she channeled her energy at the door's remains. "I need to clean this up." With her magic, she began levitating the pieces of the door, almost perfectly without a crack in-between the pieces as they re-originated back into their proper place.
Nodding thankfully to the compassionate and understanding doctor that she was, both she and Bow took Catra's hand as they pulled her down the hallway.
Catra herself was at a loss for words. First the strange chills, the constant misunderstandings, and now this? She felt like she should know something was going off around here, but the paranoia building up in her mind kept her from acting out and investigating on it. All she saw was the destruction she was causing and the people she was hurting, and she felt like she herself was the blame for it!
What's happening to me?!
...
...
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A/N: As above, not much to say, other than a thank you to all the fans and supporters I have out there for this series and have been reviewing on Ao3 and Fanfiction for helping me reach this milestone! I appreciate all the feedback and fans of this series and hope for the continued support as season 2 draws near.
Fun fact: I recently found out the series is intended to have 52 episodes :D! Which means, if we're lucky, we'll be looking at a glorious 4 seasons of 13 episodes or so each ^^! God I can't wait!...actually I can because until I get this done I don't intend to watch a single episode of it XP Ugh...
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!