A/N: And now we reach the grand finale of our lovely little "dance".
I gotta be honest with you guys, this is probably the biggest chapter I've struggled with. Not in terms of size or anything, but of difficulty. Why was it difficult for me? Check up the Authors notes at the bottom to find out afterwards.
With that said, enjoy!
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The music picked up through the majestic halls of the Kingdom of Snows' palace. All throughout the guests were continuing to mingle and party with one another, regaling one with a tale of heroism and adventure, and another with the history of their heritage and what it meant to them. Others were keen on showing off their amazing skills, putting off a spark or two of their magic, some shredding the dance floors as the music continued.
Truly, it was the Ball to remember.
Sadly, it was a Ball Catra wanted to forget more than anything. Ever since she arrived at this place this Ball wasn't the least bit interesting to her, in any respect. Most of the guests seemed too stuck up to her to socialize, the guards were verily strict with everything they were doing, any of her previous allies were with their own Plus Ones and other friends, and out of all of it, there was the brat of the party and the Revered Hostess, Princess Frosta herself.
There was no end to how much of a headache the girl gave her, no way to process what was going on through that annoying beyond all reason attitude of hers. She was a brat to Catra's perspective. Plain and simple. Actually, far from simple, because ever since she met her, the only thing she's done royally was being a royal pain to Catra's rear end!
Perhaps it didn't help when Catra called her a brat not two seconds after meeting her, but so what? If she was supposed to be some high and mighty princess, one who would be Queen one day, she should've acted like less of a brat, right? She was stuck up, snobbish, insulted others who didn't deserve her respect, and made it her mission to nitpick every little detail at the Ball. What's worse, when Catra did eventually try to apologize to her for earlier, she had to go and be a brat about that too! She was nothing more than an ungrateful princess who looked down on everybody!
Again, to Catra's perspective, anyway.
Surprisingly, that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part also happened to be somewhere near the best part, because halfway through this party is when she saw her.
Her. Adora. Her best and only friend in this world. She was attending the Ball as Scorpia's Plus One. There was no limit to how shocked Catra was at the prospect, or how quickly she managed to befriend the Princess upon meeting her, all because she gave her a personally-made Snowglobe upon her arrival, going through the whole innocent explanation of how she didn't know what kind of party it was going to be.
It was then that the two had a talk. Up on the balcony right outside the party's room, the two reminisced about their past and present. Everything they loved about it, everything they hated about it, and where it was going to go from here. Neither of them wanted to hurt the other too deeply, both sides feeling as if the other had been played for. It didn't help when towards the end of the conversation that Glimmer had to show up, immediately upon Catra going off in a tangent about how she didn't consider her or Bow friends, and how she never would.
When this whole day started, Catra was actually a little interested in the idea of attending the Ball. She would go in, see how good it was, and then determine if she wanted to go to the next one in another ten years. After the events of day though, she felt like the wait was more of a death clock, slowly winding down and drawing the next one closer and bring about further ruin.
This day, despite it's ups, was a complete downer.
It was as she descended the stairs that Catra noticed a certain girl missing from the event, aside from Glimmer who was still crying, unbeknownst to her, out on the balcony. There were too many sounds and too many scents to pick up on the girl's location, the smell of food filling the air second to the amount of people that were there. That's when she noticed something she had never seen before, something that drew a good number of people to the Kelp Bar.
Mermista smiling and partying.
"O-Okay, now watch this- watch this, are you watching? Huh? Watching? Watching? Good! Now this is gonna freak you out!" She chuckled as her face was flushed. With a wave of her hands, each of the dozen bottles in front of her popped their corks in a wave from left to right, spritzing as the waters burst through the top. They all gathered into one a large wave of beautiful surreal colors as Mermista waved her hands, collecting all the various juices and drinks into one wave.
The waters danced along her arms like a snake, the mermaid princess not having so much as a drop of it falling to her skin as she continued to chuckle, tantalized by the beauty of the water surrounding her. Lifting both of her arms slowly into the air, the waters began to swirl as they merged together, bubbling and frothing into a variety of colors between blue, green, brown, yellow, orange, and back to blue again to repeat itself.
Everyone was watching with anticipating as the waters began to separate, each of them forming a small glob as they danced around in a circle to each other, hopping individually as they circled around her in the air. Then, with one thunderous clap of her hands, she pulled all the globs together, causing them to burst at the center.
Instead of a watery mass that would've dumped onto her head, they instead scattered across the crowd as they formed a bright, beautiful mist, one that rained down around the guests. The specs of water were so minuscule that they simply sparkled as the lights reflected off of them, all putting on a glittery display as if it was snow.
At this, the crowd applauded in cheer as the show came to an end, Mermista giving a cheeky, wobbly, bow as the people watched, a few of them leaving as she did.
"T-Thank you- Thank you par-tree... P-puh-parteen- party, peep-Hic!-olesh!" Mermista swooned in her strange stupor. "I'll be here all we-week, or until my ride g-ETsh here..." She smiled, leaning against the counter top as she continued her random outbursts of laughter.
"M-M-Mermista, darling?" Sea Hawk spoke as he lowered himself to Mermista's head on the counter. "Maybe you should take a break right now?"
"What's wrong with Mermista?" Catra asked as she finally approached the Kelp Bar.
"Ah, Catra! You've got to help me!" Sea Hawk fretted. "I don't know what's going on with her! She's been like this ever since the arm-wrestling match!"
"Heheheh, t-that Sh-corpia girl, she's a real...a real... real real real good sh'port, you know?" Mermista chuckled as she drooled a little on the counter, face still pressed against it on her left side. "Ev-Ev-ON after she cheated, she sh'till shook muh hand on it and congradull... congrackle...con...cong... heheheh she thanked me for winning!"
"What do you mean she cheated?" Ok. Maybe Princesses were a little weird to Catra. This was far beyond the line of plain weird, even for her.
"She, per... prick... prickled... heh heh... prick prick prick...heh heh, it sounds like pickle... she poked me with some'tang on my leg, and then shudden... suddenly I'm just reeeeeally happy to see everyone, heheheh!" She turned her head over as she faced Catra directly with a sappy grin. "Hi!"
"She pricked you with a..." Catra's face flashed as she blinked with realization. "Wait, are you saying she drugged you?"
"Heh heh heh... you're a cat..." Out of nowhere, she suddenly grabbed Sea Hawk, throwing her arm over Sea Hawk, causing him to squeal as she pulled him closer, announcing to the world as she pointed at him with her other hand raised in the air. "He-Hey, everyone, everyone! I just want everyone to know...I LOOOOVE this man, right here... He is such a... greeeat guy... I love him shooooooo mu'sh!"
"M-Mermista darling, please," Sea Hawk begged, blushing as he tried to pry her grip from him, "you're embarrassing me."
"H-Hey, where did that Mermish'ta girl, go?" She asked looking around. "She said she would pay me if I... if I uhh...Hic! Threw up in the punch bowl awhile ago..."
"Oh dear First Ones!" Sea Hawk panicked, breaking free of her hold as he made a mad dash for the punch bowl. Watching him leave, Catra found herself getting pulled over by an intoxicated Mermista, the girl chuckling as she looked her in the eye.
"Heheh, I'm just kidding, I didn't really make the beh-bet." Her hiccup was followed by a deadshot look in her eyes, looking serious for the first time. "I don't trust that Mermish'ta girl. I heard, I-I-I heard, she's a mermaid!" She pulled Catra's head even closer as she whispered into her ear. "Never trust a fish, Catra!"
"Uh... duly noticed." Catra muttered, lifting Mermista's grip from her and wiping off what she hoped wasn't drool from her hands. "Hey, have you seen Adora anywhere?"
"A-Adora? A-A-A door...heh... I've seen plen...p-p-LOTS of doors today, Catra..." She grinned, drawing a circle on the counter with her finger. "What kind of door was it? Sliding doors? G-laaaaash door? A door... door? Heh heh heh... you're a cat..."
"Yeah, I get it, I'm a cat. What about that Scorpia girl? Do you know where she went?"
"...Heh heh heh... Cat rhymes with dog... Hic!" With another hiccup, Mermista ended up sliding off the counter, falling to the ground with a thud large enough to shake the various bottles around here. "Ugh, who put this floor here?"
"Ok, this was funny at first but now it's getting sad." Catra commented, looking around the room. Seeing how Mermista was out of commission, she made her way across to the entrance stairs as she saw Bow, now wearing a cummerbundt with the rest of his outfit, as Perfuma waiting at the bottom of it for him. "Hey, Bowey! Flower Girl!"
"Huh? Oh, hi She-Ra!" Perfuma greeted cheerfully. "Are you enjoying the party as well this fine day?"
"Fine's the last word I'd use to describe it." Catra shrugged, looking to Bow as he finally reached them. "Have you seen Adora?"
"You mean the girl who attacked Salineas before?" Bow asked rather surprised. "She's here too?"
"Yeah, she's up to something. We need to figure out what before it's too late."
*chunk*
All heads, eyes, and ears turned to the ceiling at the sound of the lights flashing off, brightening just enough of the room to display the tranquil dancefloor and the hostess of the Ball, Princess Frosta, standing proudly at the top of her stairs to the Throne.
"It is my solemn duty as hostess to now announce," she decreed to the partygoers, "it is time for the first dance of the Ball."
All at once, the entire room filled with cheer and the thunderous roar of the crowd. One by one, dozen by a dozen, the groups of people rained down from the side lines. From the stairs, to the balcony, from the counters themselves, hundreds of people pushed and shoved as they made their way to the main attraction of the Ball, the dance.
Catra, Bow, and Perfuma found themselves helpless as the onslaught of people rushed them, pushing them ahead and separating them one by one until they found themselves on different ends of the room, all separated from one another and incapable of reaching the others as the dancing commenced.
All around her, Catra watched as, one by one, the individuals linked hands together, throwing their other hands professionally behind them. A certain awkwardness filled the air as she watched the happy, smiling, faces of the crowd stare at their partners. She might not have been one for dancing, but it did leave behind a certain ambiance when you found yourself in alone while being surrounded by hundreds of people at the same time.
That's when she appeared before her. With a hand raised to her, other behind her back, and a grin plastered on her face, Adora smiled as she saw her friend before her, looking as calm and peaceful as ever. Rolling her eyes to herself, Catra was incapable of refusing the offer as the dance started to commence, less she be kicked out of the dance floor for the other partygoers to enjoy.
"Miss me much?" She teased as the two danced in tandem.
"And where did you disappear to?" Catra asked almost interrogatively.
"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that." Adora replied casually, dodging the question.
"I'm serious, Adora!" Catra raised her voice a little.
"Oh, hush, just enjoy the dance." She retorted, doing a small spin as she switched partners with another.
It was that time Catra found herself switching partners, one with a very sluggish looking Mermista. "Hey, Ca-AT-ra, buddy'sh!" She squealed. "Hey-hey-hey, li-li'shin... There'sh...There's this, cat I know... I know her I know... she looks ju'sh like you!" She leaned Catra back as she sluggishly danced. "I think her name wash... C-Catra too!"
"Egh... Mermista, it's me, Catra!" Catra groaned. Mermista blinked a little at the statement, then dropped her jaw deeply as she gasped.
"Oh, my gosh! You're the same ppppppperson!" She sputtered. "Heheheh, I gotta tell the other Catra about th'ish..." With a mad fit of giggles, Mermista found herself twirling away uncontrollably, being replaced with Bow soon after.
"Have you seen Glimmer?" He asked slightly worried.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention," she hissed a little as she crushed his fingers a little, "nice going with her, idiot."
"Ack-!" Bow squirmed in his grip, waiting and biting his own teeth until Catra loosened her grip. "What are you talking about?"
"Thanks to you I've been stuck babysitting Princess Crybaby all evening." She complained. "You mind telling me what you said to upset her so much?"
"Catra, it's not what you think." Bow said hardening his expression as the two curtsied for the second act of the dance, taking each others hands gently into the others. "She's been acting like she controls who I get and don't get to hang out with all night."
"Like how has she been acting?"
"Like she owns me! She keeps going on and on about how she's "okay with me being with other people", like she gets to decide who I do and don't get to hang out with!"
"What? Uggggh, Bow, you idiot!" She stammered. "She wasn't talking like she owned you! She was saying that because she thought she was being selfish! She probably thought she looked like she was owning you and she was trying to confess that!"
"What?" A slow raincloud of guilt started to pass over Bow's heart at hearing this. "Then where did she get an idea like that in the first place?"
"Uhhh..." Now Catra felt the rain cloud passing over her mind, from realization of who's fault that was and the fact she was responsible for causing the argument with them in the first place. "I... Might've... given her that idea... possibly..."
"You what?!" Bow stammered as quietly as possible as the mood lighting surrounding them shifted to a forest green. "Aww Catra, I can't believe this! She probably thinks I hate her now because of it!"
"Hey, I just gave her the idea, I didn't have anything to do with how you reacted." She reminded with a snarky tone.
"Mmmh..." As much as Bow wanted to argue about it, along with the fact they were still dancing, he couldn't deny that she was right. While she might've been the one to instigate the thought in her, there was no excuse for the way he acted either. "Do you know where she is then? So I can apologize to her?"
"Last I saw her she was on the balcony. You mind asking her if we can leave after this?" She grumbled as they switched partners again, swirling around the room. "I've had enough of this place."
"Hey sh'puddy!"
"Aww geez, it's you again." Why did she keep finding herself in an intoxicated Mermista's arms?
"Hey! Hey! Li'shun to mi'sh!" Catra used every bit of power she had to refrain from scratching Mermista after the spittle she felt on her face. "There's thi'sh udder cat I met, her name is Catra, toooooooo! You should totally meet eesh other!"
"Yeah, sure, she sounds like a real charmer. Now go!" She twirled again as she losted her latest partner. When she stood in place again, she found a familiar blonde haired friend of hers backed up to her.
"Hello again." Adora ginned.
"Ok, seriously Adora, just tell me what you're planning."
"I don't have anything to tell you, nothing you need to worry about." The way she spoke almost sounded like she was threatening her and warning her peacefully at the same time. "Just enjoy the night, Catra, ok?" She smiled as Catra leaned her back as far as she could be bent. Lowering her eyes down so she could see her friend again, she smiled. "Otherwise you might ruin it for everyone."
"What do you mean I'll ruin it for everyone?" Pulling her back, the two twirled away from each other, still hand in hand.
"I mean don't worry about it, ok?"
Gritting her teeth, Catra hastily pulled her back right in front of her, keeping their noses from touching by a single inch. "What's it?" At that moment, with the music coming to an end, right before the band started it's next ballad and just before the applause, Catra's ears twitched as she heard it.
*tick-tock*
That noise. That familiar ticking noise. Growing up in the Horde, it had a familiar sound to it. Always a tick, followed by a tock, and always something bad.
An explosion.
This was the sound of a bomb.
Scanning the room, feeling the time around her freezing for a second, Catra observed every nook and cranny that she saw in those few seconds. She saw Perfuma looking at a distraught Bow, Sea Hawk trying to pull away Mermista who was still in her stupor, Adora's worrying eyes as she saw her, and no sight of the Scorpion lady, not that she was her biggest concern right now. Where did she hear it come from? How could they get it passed security?
How could she get it passed everyone?!
It has to be something small, if not something nobody would point out! Was it coming from the bar? There were servers and drinkers going in and out around there, not to mention Mermista who'd been occupying the Kelp Bar all day. The band's instruments? If there was something off about the noise, Catra should've picked it up in a heartbeat. The spotlights? They might've been able to sneak something up there, but it sounded far closer than the ceiling above.
Where could this thing possibly be? Where could it be hidden in plain sight? When would they have time to get it planted in the first place? How could they have snuck it in? Where could they place it? So many questions and she knew there was so little time to find the answer!
And that's when it hit her. Looking up to the stairs to the throne, right before the next ballad played, she heard another tick.
That was it. That one single tick that confirmed where the bomb had to be planted. It wasn't hidden by anyone, it wasn't brought in without anyone knowing. It was the Snow Globe itself.
The Snow Globe was the bomb!
"No!" Catra yelped, trying to pry Adora's grip from her hands. "Let go!"
"Catra, stop." Adora begged a little sternly.
"That was your plan, wasn't it?! You gave the child a bomb?!" Catra yelled, turning a few heads as the dancers kept going. "Let go of me!"
"Catra, stop it! You need to- Ngh, stop struggling!" Adora grumbled as she struggled to maintain her grip.
"Get off!" With one mighty shout, Catra rolled back, flinging Adora across the room.
*Crash!*
Everyone gasped in shock at the sound of the large crashing. The lights returned to the room, the band went silent, and Princess Frosta herself grew rather surprised at the sound of the crash. Ahead of Catra, planted over a collapsed table, was Adora, lying in a mess of various foods, hair soaked from the punch, and a small dab of cream sticking to her right cheek. She was covered head to toe with the foods of the ball, and a total mess to everyone who gazed her.
Catra continued to grumble as she rushed her way over to the downed friend, more intent on her mission at this point than the state she left Adora in. She cared deeply for her friend, there was no mistake about that, but what she found Adora doing was just heinous. Bringing a bomb for whatever task required it, to a place filled with innocent people, and giving it to a child, even if she was the biggest brat Catra had met so far?
This was something possibly on Shadow Weaver's level, and knowing her, she put Adora up to this, possibly without her knowledge!
"Deactivate the bomb, Adora!" Catra yelled, oblivious to the deafening silence of the other guests and hostess.
"What bomb?" Adora's innocent line of questioning lead to her getting picked up by the scruff of her neck in both of Catra's hands.
"Don't you dare lie to me about this! Tell me where it is, Adora! Right-!"
*crickkk*
Before the two of them, a large pillar of ice grew out of the ground, separating the two with a transparent wall of blue, large enough and wide enough to keep the two of them separated. Falling to her back, Catra was defenseless as pillar after pillar of smaller ice was formed around her, just scraping over her skin without cutting her while pinning her to the ground at the same time. By the end of the sudden grow of frost, she only one right hand out of the cluster of pillars, barely getting herself any headspace or room to burst out, though plenty if she planned on making a scene.
Standing right in front of her hand was the Revered Hostess of the Ball, Princess Frosta herself. The girl had loathed Catra with every fiber of her being just from looking at her. After taking her insults, taking her constant interruptions, and her direct threat to her the second time they met, she decided to ignore her warnings. She gave her each and every chance to behave here, even an additional chance, and she still failed to behave.
Here she was, a pinned kitten, standing before a princess of ice, Princess of the Kingdom of Snows.
"Frosta!" Catra gasped. "You've gotta get everyone out of here! She has a-"
"Princess Ball is a ceremony of unity." She stated coldly as she stood forward. "Violence is strictly forbidden."
"Forget all that! You've got to listen to-"
"Silence!" She seethed, cutting Catra off. "You've been warned since the moment you came here, you've been given more chances than anyone deserves, but no more! As hostess, in accordance with the rules set down over the centuries, I hereby revoke your invitation! You are to leave my kingdom, and never, EVER, return!" With a scathing look in her eye, she turned her back to without hesitation as she walked away. "Someone come and collect this pet, and get her out of my sight."
"...Ghhh..." Catra's face tightened as she clenched her teeth.
No.
No.
No no no no NO NO NO NO NO!
Catra could handle a lot of things. She could handle losing. She could handle people making fun of her or the people she cared about. She could handle getting beaten physically, talked down to by her superiors, bullied through most of her life, being called a freak, manipulated by her enemies, lied to by her allies, betrayed by her friends, shot down by the people who supported her, harassed on needless things that bothered her, and so much more without reacting to it violent the first couple times around.
But this? Oh, this brat right here? She was an exception.
She is every bit of everything Catra hated in a person. Someone who saw themselves above everyone else, someone who thought they could talk down to other people, got to say how people lived their lives, got to insult and mock them for their lifestyles, decreed who had to do what without opposition, and never thought about the consequences because they were well protected by an army of guards, idiots who would go around and protect someone for stupid money and not their ideals.
She was all of these things and then some put into one. And honestly, Catra could put up with that much. She could let it go if it was a simple person she met for the first time, whether they were royalty or not, someone of import that mattered to the Rebellion, and so forth, and she would contemplate what she would do to them in her dreams later.
This time, however, was different. Here, not only was she dealing with an obnoxious beyond all get out brat who thought just because she was the host of the Ball she got to do whatever she want, to Catra anyway, oh no. Here, she was dealing with someone who was being beyond a royal pain, both literally and metaphorically, as Catra herself was trying to help her! She was trying to warn her, warn everybody about the bomb, and did they listen? No. Why? Because they were every single reason Catra hated being surrounded by people.
There were too many different kinds in the world. Good. Bad. And worst of all.
Those who took advantage of both.
Not anymore.
"Agggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Catra screamed violently. With all the strength she could muster, all the anger welling up inside of her, she let out a roar as she broke her way through the surrounding pillars of ice, shattering the ice all around her, shooting it in every direction, some of it nearly scratching the guests themselves as the ice fell around them. Everyone watched in terror as the magicat stood her feet firmly on the ground, panting heavily at the burst of force she had to use to get out.
"I've had it with you you little brat!" Catra yelled, extending her claws. While maintaining a composed demeanor, Frosta couldn't help herself as her heart trembled a little at the sight of the enraged cat whose tail flailed wildly. "I've tried to be patient with you," she spoke as she stepped over the ice, "I've tried to apologize to you, and I try to warn you, and do you ever listen? No!"
"Eh, excuse me, hey, pardon me..." Bow muttered as he pushed his way through the crowd of people. Making his way to the front, he was in shock at the scene, hoping to himself he was imagining things when he made his way through. "Catra, what are you doing?!"
"Stay out of this, Bow!" Catra shouted back to him, shooting him a deathening glare.
"Catra, stop!" Adora begged as she attempted to pull her arms away.
"Ngh! Get, OFF!"
*swiff*
"Ah!" Adora yelped a bit as she winced in pain, Catra blinking at the realization of what she just did.
"A... Adora..." For a moment, Catra returned to her senses. What had she done? She just scratched Adora's arm. Her friend. The one who's always helped her. It didn't matter if it didn't bleed, she had a notable scratch against her left arm, rubbing it profusely to ease the pain. Adora looked back to her with a look of shock, neither of them able to believe what Catra just did to her. "I... I didn't mean i-"
*WHAM!*
The humanoid feline was powerless to defend herself in her distracted state as a another giant pillar of ice grew from her right side. In one simple motion, the ice slammed into Catra's stomach at a vertical degree, slamming her and pushing her several yards off her feet and into the air, throwing her off and harshly to the ground to the throne above.
Rolling onto her side, feeling like she just got slammed by a table, Catra glared back to her attacker, grumbling to herself as she saw the child prodigy of ice make her way up the steps, a look of rage matching Catra's own as she narrowed her eyes.
She thought she had been lenient enough. She thought if she gave this stupid girl enough chances that she would eventually learn from her mistakes. But did she? No. She just had to keep pushing her buttons time and again, as if she got a rise out of it, never taking her threats seriously or listening to her. She always threatened, she always hissed, and she never knew when to stop. And now, she had injured one of her guests.
She didn't care how it would look to the general audience, provided they even cared about the She-Ra who attacked an innocent teen to begin with. She was going to throw this cat out of the house for good, even if she had to use her own two hands to do it.
"I gave you more chances than you deserved." Frosta scowled. Raising her hand in front of her, Catra watched as the girl's entire body began to glow with an aura of blue right. "And you refused them."
As she squeezed her hands together, Catra pushed herself off the floor and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the smaller pillars of ice that grew around her that would've encased her in another trap. With her blood boiling with anger, Catra made a charge directly for the girl, intending to get her intended target if it was the last thing she did.
Without even batting an eyelash, Frosta raised both her hands to the air as she grew another pillar of ice. This time directly under her, she launched herself fifteen feet in the air from the pillar, separating her from Catra right as she was about to reach her. Unwilling to let this child beat her, Catra jumped to the air herself, digging her claws straight into the pillar itself.
Noticing the small grin this elicited from the young child, she quickly shot a look directly above her, hearing a rumbling coming from the ceiling. Directing her magic towards it, Frosta watched the cat as another pillar grew from the ice, this time from the ceiling, as it pressed directly in front of her and downwards towards the cat who disappeared from her view as it slammed towards the ground.
Thinking at first that she had caught the cat finally, she found herself growing rather surprised when she saw the cat now pulling herself around from the pillar she had created, somehow getting behind it and on top of it all at the same time. She was so surprised in her momentary state of confusion that she failed to react in time when Catra tackled her off the pillar, throwing the two of them back towards the main floor of the Ball Room.
Nevertheless, the princess of Snows refused to back down, or give this wretched guest a chance to catch her breath. Closing her eyes again, Catra watching as her body radiated the same blue aura from earlier, she found herself suddenly crashed into from her side by the fist-size pillar protruding from the ceiling, throwing her back to the dance floor where she crashed into a table near a handful of the guests. After getting a moment of clarity to herself from her surprised state, Frosta flipped herself backwards in the air as she regained her balance, planting her feet firmly on the ground as she slid a short distance on the ice behind her.
With the destruction of the party going on, numerous guests started to flood towards the exit, running in fear and terrified for their lives as the ground started to shake around them. The only ones who remained behind were Adora, Bow, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, Mermista, and an intrigued Entrapta, watching it from the railings atop the stairs, who took notes on the fighting style between the savage beast vs the young child who controlled a mighty empire.
The young Bow ran over to Catra as she pulled herself from the wreckage, growling like the animal she was as she scraped off any chunks of food from her shoulder, continuing to glare daggers at the girl. "Catra, stop!" Bow shouted grabbing her arm. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Get out of the way, Bow!" She yelled, easily shoving him off his feet and away from her right. Bow couldn't believe or understand what had gotten into her! She wasn't just throwing off the reputation of She-Ra, she was doing so by attacking a small child at that, an attack that hundreds of different princes and princesses were becoming aware of!
Nobody would ever forget the image of the icon of the Rebellion, She-Ra, attacking an innocent girl that was trying to protect her own party guests. Any time someone would mention what happened to the ball, recall the events of this day, they wouldn't be describing every detail on their own. Others would interpret what the attack was like, making the story more and more misunderstood with each rumor it was passed on to.
At that rate, everyone would only know She-Ra as the girl who tried to assassinate a young princess.
Not two seconds after pushing Bow away did Frosta gather another handful of her magic. Lifting a single hand to the air, Catra's eyes widened a little as a dozen small, albeit lethal icicles materialized in the air, all swirling about until they achieved a solid form. Directing her hand towards Catra, she launched a volley of the dreaded shots at the girl, intending to hit anything that would immobilize her, even if it was permanently.
With little options or space to work with, Catra quickly ducked down as she flipped the table over, shielding herself from the many icicles of death that penetrated halfway through the table, one of them nearly reaching her eyes in the process. With the icicles lodged into place, Catra followed this up with a retaliation of her own. Throwing her back to the ground, she kicked off the foot of the table as she kicked the bottom with both her feet, avoiding the icicles in the process, and blasting it towards the girl in one swift kick.
Like before, the girl found herself stunned by the sudden reaction to her own attack. Catra knew this brat might've been powerful with her magic, but even someone as young as her has never been in a full-fledged fight before, and it was during those moments of shock value that gave Catra a small gap of time to respond to whatever she did.
That would be her key to winning.
Try as she might, she found herself unable to materialize a wall of ice in front of her more than halfway through. Right as the table flipped over the small, sending it spiraling towards the young girl, she found herself getting tackled out of the way, the table passing by her as it flung towards the Kelp Bar where it crashed, shattering hundreds of smaller bottles and breaking through the middle of the Kelp Bar's counter.
Looking back to her apparent savior, she was awestruck to see that Adora had saved her in time, Adora picking herself off the floor a little sorely and still smiling to the young girl as she helped her up. "Are you okay?" Frosta gave her a simple nod, Adora finding herself relieved before glaring back to Catra. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Don't get in my way, Adora!" Catra shouted, sprinting towards the two of then furiously with her claws still extended, arms at her side.
Seeing how she wasn't going to learn her lesson, with the guards preoccupied with evacuating the citizens and royalties from the room, Frosta created a small obstacle course of ice, throwing pillar after pillar at the attacker who skillfully maneuvered out of the way, up and above and to the side of the powerful pillars, while making a beeline for the girl.
"Ahhhh!" Frosta roared in anger. Finding her patience continuing to wane further, the princess gathered the magical ice below her feet, creating another pillar that pushed Adora away and ascended herself directly up to the air, right at the very center of the Ball Room. With a better view and vantage point of her target, she prepared herself as she set up the ultimate trap.
From the pillar itself, she shot out another massive pillar in front of it directly towards Catra, the pillar being practically the same size of the girl herself. Despite noticing how obvious the attack was, Catra showed little hesitation as she jumped above it, stretching her claws out as far as she could as she pulled her hands back ready to strike. The brat made the stupid mistake of making a direct path towards her own pillar, like the rookie she knew her to be.
As she grinned to herself at her nearing victory, behind her back, Frosta channeled a large portion of her magic into her plan, preparing all the ice she possibly could for the would-be attacker. Right as Catra had passed the halfway point, the girl yelled as she leaped directly for ice queen, preparing to catch her target once and for all, not realizing it was possibly the last mistake she could ever make until the little girl finally grinned.
"Too slow." With that one simple comment, as Catra was still in midair, Princess Frosta pushed herself away as she jumped into the air.
All at once, all the ice Catra had used to trail up to this larger pillar, all the ice that formed the pillar Frosta had jumped from, slowly began to disintegrate, fading away as her trap was finally sprung. That's when Frosta showed her hands with the energies that grew around them, directing Catra's attention to the ceiling where she heard a rumbling noise coming from.
She gasped.
All above her, nearly covering half the dance floor itself, she saw numerous and perfectly shaped cracks in the ceiling, the very ones she saw whenever Frosta shot at her with one of her pillars. With a single wave bringing her hand down, Catra found herself incapable of dodging out of the way as pillar after pillar shot straight at her, slamming her towards the ground where the pillars continued their brutal assault on the girl.
With Frosta returning to the ground herself, she focused all of her energy into her attack on the girl, refusing to budge while also being careful not to overdue it, less she end up killing the attacker by mistake. She was against the act of taking someone's life, no matter what kind of enemy they were.
All around her, as the last of the party guests continued to flee, Catra's allies and friends all watched in terror as the girl used up every ounce of her magic into her one attack, covering the floor in a thick dust of ice that blocked their view of the magicat girl who was lead into a trap she couldn't avoid. Every time one fist-sized pillars struck her, it was instantly replaced with another, dissolving soon after to repeat the process in an endless cycle.
After what must've been at least a good ten seconds of the endless attack, Frosta finally eased up, panting a little out of breath at the excess energy she must've used, as the pillars surrounding the area slowly dissolved into nothingness. Here, the group waited till the thick fog of ice dissipated, lying and waiting for any reaction out of Catra who they had yet to see at this point. It was at the same time Frosta finally saw the aftermath of her present battle, finding herself unable to believe the destruction both she and Catra caused throughout the party.
Everything was destroyed. Everything else was in pieces. From the Kelp Bar being smashed into by the large circular table, to the top of the steps of the throne being crushed from where Frosta slammed a massive pillar of her ice, to the ceiling above that shattered a couple spotlights above her and crashed to the ground, it was ruined. What few guests had remained consisted of the rest of Catra's friends and allies, everyone else having fled for their lives.
A part of her heart sank at the sight of everything. She was so preoccupied with her fight, trying her best to immobilize the cat creature, that she failed to take fact in the hundreds of guests that used to fill her Ball Room, now practically empty because she let her emotions get the best of her.
Just like Catra.
This was not a transgression she would forgive so easily. With the fog of ice finally beginning to clear, everyone saw the state Catra was in before them. There she lied, face down and into the ground with her arms still ahead of her, passed out and severely weakened from the attack she had taken from the young girl.
Glaring, she walked her way over to the young teen until she was standing not two feet away from her. This person, this one single person she should've thrown out from the very beginning, was responsible for the destruction and ruination of her Ball, the ever enchanting Princess Prom had been ruined because of her.
Did she shoulder some responsibility too? Sure, she could admit that. She was the one who also destroyed half the Ball Room in an attempt to stop the invitee, though she was also wise enough to know that the blame could not be placed squarely on herself. None of this would've happened, none of it could've happened, if it wasn't for this one miserable person who had to be a troublemaker at her party. She was warned, repeatedly, and she denied all of them.
This was all her doing.
And her friends knew it too. They had no idea what had gotten into her or what caused her to act this way, and for the first time they didn't care. She was attacking a young child, one who was the hostess of her own Princess Prom, and the ally they desperately needed for the Rebellion. Whatever reason Catra had better have been a good one, because if she didn't, none of them knew how they were going to react whenever she regained consciousness.
"As Princess of the Kingdom of Snows," she began, "I hereby officially decree, from this day forever, that you will be banished from my king-"
"Graaaaaaah!" With a mighty yell, with Frosta being too close to react in time, she attacked.
*Skreeeee!*
"Ahh!" Princess Frosta cried out in pain as she was struck squarely against the face, throwing her a few yards ahead of the girl and continuing to slide another good distance of feet away. The attack wasn't anything too horrid, though it did leave a notable scratch on Frosta's right cheek. Wincing from the deep pain it brought as she rubbed it, Frosta slowly leaned herself up again, seeing the wretched She-Ra that managed to finally land a hit on her, standing where she left her.
Out of breath, out of energy, Catra panted. Throughout the fight she could tell she needed to close the distance between the two of them, and despite Catra's speed, with the Princess's magic she had the element of speed and mobility at her disposal. So what was the best thing to do? Simple: make the princess come to her. It was the single best way, if not the only way by this point, for her to get close enough to the brat for her to launch an attack. And while it wasn't anything she wanted to repeat a beating over, her body slouching over from the sores, she accomplished her mission in the end, no matter how tired she was from the excursion.
"You..." Frosta grumbled, wobbling a little as she made her way to her feet. She barely had any concern over the girl at this point. She struck her. Struck. Her! An attack on a direct line of royalty was one of the worst crimes anyone could ever commit, and she had done it with a cheeky grin on her face. The same grin Catra had at this moment as she raised her right hand up, revealing what sent shock to Frosta and the rest of her allies' spine.
The Snow Globe.
The same precious snow globe that Adora made with love and care into the craftsmanship. Looking to her right coat pocket, Frosta finally realized what her intended target was all along. There, she saw a noticeably large-sized hole, the pocket completely torn from the coat itself from Catra's sharp claws.
Being this close, with all the noise and ambiance in the air now silent, she could hear it perfectly. The continuous tick of a time bomb just waiting to go off, waiting to enact whatever evil plan Adora or Shadow Weaver had in store for the Ball since the moment she arrived. Upon closer inspection, she even saw an incredibly faded Horde symbol over the glass, a watermark almost invisible to anyone not in front of it. It was if it was taunting Catra about how obvious the trap was, how stupid everyone else were for being gullible enough to accept such a gift from the likes of the Horde.
She refused to let it mock her any longer.
"Ghhhhhh!" With a low-pitch grumble, Catra raised the mighty orb to the air, intending to finally end the madness once and for all, no matter how much the others pleaded her not to.
"Catra, wait!" Bow cried out.
"She-Ra, please don't!" Perfuma begged.
"Catra, stop! It's not what you thi-!" Was the last bit of words she heard from Adora.
But it was too late.
*crash!*
With one single, solitary, throw, she did it. Lying in pieces broken and shattered below her, lied the shattered remains of the snow globe, one Adora worked so hard to build and one the Princess of the Kingdom of Snows considered to be a nice gesture, just for her. The water pooled out of the shattered glass around her, the structure inside now broken in half as it lied in littler tiny pieces, scattered all around Catra in a small circle, completely destroyed.
She attacked a princess in front of countless people. She crushed a little girl's present right after she struck her. She destroyed an entire party that should've been a pleasant night for everyone across Etheria. All the world would remember from this day forward was how Catra showed the world just how violent and extreme the hero of legend could be, what the hero of legend truly was.
A monster.
A freak.
All around her she saw the numerous eyes of her allies and single friend, and she didn't care in the slightest. They were mixed between shocked, surprised, confused, intoxicated while hanging over Sea Hawk's shoulder, and most of all, furious. Who was the furious one? Adora, naturally. Who wouldn't be if a friend they knew suddenly destroyed a young child's gift right in front of them, one they happened to appreciate themselves?
It didn't matter to her. After she recovered from her exhausted state, after she finally had a chance to explain themselves, she knew it. She knew they'd understand. They'd have to. Nobody could fault her of destroying a fake gift if there was a bomb planted inside of it, no one could stay mad if she was trying to protect everyone.
With her tongue hanging out from exhaustion, Catra finally sighed. "There... huff... it's over now... it's over-"
*tick-tock*
No! It couldn't be! Catra could still hear the ticking going off from the pieces of shattered junk. It was still ticking! She destroyed the orb, she crushed the castle remnants. How was it still ticking after all this time?!
Then she realized it. The Base. The bottom of the snow globe that held the orb in place. It was an inch thick, several inches wide, and big enough to house anything the size of a sandwich, or in this case, a verily small explosive device that could explode into epic proportions, ones that the Horde were more than capable of creating.
"No-!" Catra cried out as she reached for it, too little to late however as the ticking finally reached its end, revealing to the remaining inhabitants what it had to offer.
Music.
Catra froze in place as she and the room heard the fine tune that composed the sweet and beautiful melody of a lullaby song. It was playing the simple sound of music, one anyone could fall asleep to, and loud enough for the rest of them to hear with the room being as quiet as it was. This was what the countdown was leading up to, this was the surprise waiting at the end of the ticking noise. Not an explosion, not destruction, beauty. A beautiful melody that she worked so hard to disrupt, one that caused her to lash out violently in her attempts to save everyone.
One that caused her to ruin the Princess Prom.
Catra didn't know what to say. Was there anything she could say at this point? She thought she was saving everyone from what could've been dangerous, being denied the opportunity to explain herself after the music went off. She had no excuses for her actions, no line of reasoning she could offer. She barely had an apology she could give away that would explain the travesty that had befallen her.
"I... It's music...?" Catra continued to stare at the musical device as it slowly started to die down, becoming more dysfunctional and distorted as the breaking of the device started to take it's toll on the item. "I... I don't under-"
"Catra, you idiot!" Adora shouted angrily, glaring at her. "I kept trying to tell you not to worry about it, but you couldn't listen, could you? I tried to tell you and you ignored me every time!"
"But... But I... I thought it was a bomb..." Catra muttered, still staring at the snow globe in sheer denial. "I... I heard the ticking, and... and... I thought that-"
"Well excuse me for not taking people with extra sensitive hearing into account when I made it!" Adora cut off. "I'm a little rusty on making a music box, so sue me! It didn't have anything to do with any explosives though, and it never did!"
"B... But..."
"Catra," Bow spoke steeping forward, "is this what you were all worked up about?" He couldn't process the revelation of these events either. To go all this way, all this destruction, just to destroy a snow globe she thought was planted with a bomb? How could they ever explain themselves to the world.
"I... I'm sorry, I...I- Gehh!" With a sudden yelp, Catra found herself pinned to the ground by a group of guardsmen. There were probably two guards for each of her limbs, pinning her to the floor along with the two separate ones pinning her by her shoulders. Struggling, she lifted her head up as her ears lowered, trying to look at the hardened face of the princess who she scratched, whose present she just destroyed. "P-Princess Frosta... I... I didn't mean to-"
"Be quiet." She ordered coldly and without emotion. She walked her way over to the pinned Catra until she was right in front of her, this time knowing there was no means of a sneak attack with the guards pinning her down. There wasn't a single chance she could break free after the exhaustion and injuries she took either. "The entire Princess Prom... all the destruction you've caused... attacking me directly... is punishable by either a life sentence, or a graver penalty." She stated.
The eyes of the crowd turned to one another in worry. They couldn't risk the chance of Catra being imprisoned through all her life or worse, yet they were in no position to argue back to the princess after all the destruction their friend caused, all the chaos that erupted. They needed to think of a plan fast, a way to stay Frosta's punishing hand from Catra's person.
"I should lock you up and throw away the key," she continued, "or throw you over the cliff side and let the fall judge if you're innocent or guilty." She had so much pain and anger in her eye. A portion of that pain was for herself as the rest was for the people around her she cared about. With a heavy heart, every bone in her body yelling at her to the contrary, she sighed. "But... I can't fault you if you were just trying to protect everyone." She deemed.
Everyone was at a loss at the merciful sounding words coming from her. They thought she'd punish her in the worst possible ways, possibly declare war on the Rebellion itself for this devastation. They had forgotten that they were dealing with a child mature well beyond her years.
This was the power of an absolute ruler. One who was cunning and wise, yet had enough heart to put themselves in the place of those who needed to be judge.
"Your actions are unforgivable but your reasons are not. Therefore, I am simply banishing you from the party." She declared. Was this supposed to be a good thing? A bad thing? She wasn't going to get executed, thank goodness, but this didn't put their relationship with the Kingdom of Snows anywhere better. In a way, it almost felt worse than it could've been otherwise. Waving her hands, this time for her guards instead of magic, the dozen of guards lifted Catra to her feet, slowly dragging her away. "Remove her from my castle. Immediately."
What was the point of struggling here? She wasn't the victim here, she was the attacker. She felt empty for the first time in her life, staring blankly at the spot, filled with remorse for everything she had done this night, for everything she ruined with her own two hands after everything they worked so hard to build. For one of the few times in her life she felt absolute guilt, knowing where all the blame was and who to put it on.
"Wait!" Adora called out, running up to her as the guards stood. They maintained their tight grip on Catra as Adora approached, not wiling to give the scoundrel a chance to lash out at someone else. Being right in front of her, Catra gazed into Adora's solemn eyes. She could feel a small part of guilt coming off from the girl, a guilt she had no reason to feel. She was the exact same Adora Catra knew her to be.
Innocent and peaceful. Too much for her own good.
"Catra..." She spoke softly. "I'm sorry all of this happened..." With a heartfelt apology, she slowly wrapped her arms around her captured friend, embracing her in a hug that provided her the only source of warmth she could feel at this moment. And from here, she leaned her head further to Catra's right ear as she whispered the most shocking of words to her. "But I did warn you, didn't I?" From the corner of her eye, she could see it.
All of a sudden, it flashed right before her.
"What exactly are you planning here, Adora?" She needed to give her something else to think about, something that could turn this conversation around. At the question, she watched as Adora's face hardened a little, turning away from her as she leaned over the balcony again.
"...Nothing you should worry about." She revealed, shooting a look of concern to her soon after. "Not if you come back with me."
"Hello again." Adora ginned.
"Ok, seriously Adora, just tell me what you're planning."
"I don't have anything to tell you, nothing you need to worry about." The way she spoke almost sounded like she was threatening her and warning her peacefully at the same time. "Just enjoy the night, Catra, ok?" She smiled as Catra leaned her back as far as she could be bent. Lowering her eyes down so she could see her friend again, she smiled. "Otherwise you might ruin it for everyone."
Adora grinned, letting Catra be the only person to see it.
This. This was the trap. All along, she tricked Catra from the moment she came here, by putting Catra in a trap she knew she would never be able to escape from.
By letting Catra be herself.
She played with her from the moment they got here, from the moment Catra first laid eyes on Adora at the Ball. She toyed with her past, she pointed out the flaws of their current predicament, she set her paranoia on fire from the single moment she told Catra not to worry about anything, reverse psychology at it's finest.
She made Catra into her own worst enemy, made her reveal herself as the monster Catra was. She did everything she said, told her every truth she wanted to hear. She did tell her the truth from the very beginning, all while knowing Catra would react this way and she would ruin the party. She took the bait and fell from the trap, never realizing all of it was a ruse, allowing Catra to ruin the party herself the way she knew she would.
Adora didn't have to do anything unnatural either except being herself, whereas Catra tried to be someone she wasn't.
And she paid the price for it.
"N-No, NO!" Catra screamed as she was hauled away. "Let go of me, she tricked me!" She shouted angrily, trying to break free of the guards' grip. There was no fighting back against the heavily trained guards, ones that were trained since the moment they enlisted to protect the Princess and her people. "She set me up, I swear, she did all of this!"
Nobody listened to her as she was carried through the doors, Catra watching in anger as Adora grinned the entire time she left, her back turned to the remaining people as Catra was carried away. She paid no attention or mind to her allies as they all ran passed her, trying to catch up to Catra to make sure she was okay, wherever she was taken to.
Admittedly, Adora was a little hurt inside. To manipulate her best friend like she did, to use her as a means to show the world how evil the Rebellion truly was, it sickened her a little. Yet, if it was to prove her point to every princess who had an actual good heart, one Scorpia showed her to have from the moment the two first meant, then she didn't care. She proved to everyone how destructive the Rebellion truly was, no doubt swaying a few minds here and there about the possibility they lied about the Horde.
To Adora, the Horde stood united as the single force to combat the evil princesses, and protect the world from everything they threatened. She didn't feel any guilt from the methods she used to make this nice work, only guilt towards the one she had to betray a little to make it happen.
Looking back, she gave a small caring smile as she saw the other injured princess. Despite her tough demeanor, she could tell the princess was in pain, both inside and out. She couldn't prevent a single tear building up as she touched her, the pain excruciating for a child to bare along with the emotional pain that doubled down on it. Her night was ruined by Catra, someone she couldn't fully blame given the circumstances of her reasoning.
Walking up to the child princess herself, Adora kneeled down as she took a small cloth from her dress, prepared from every occasion. "Here." She offered. Still questionable on it, Frosta allowed her to place the cloth gently against her cheek, wincing a little from the sting as it was applied to her injury. "You know, the Horde isn't as evil as the Princesses make us out to be..."
...
...
"Ahhhhhh-!"
*thud!*
"Oof..." Catra groaned as she thrown over the stairs to the palace, landing on the hard icy ground and grumbling a bit as she held her sides. While she might've survived Frosta's clever trap, she still had to contend with the injuries she took in the process of it. Followed by the hoarse tone in her voice after shouting through the castle for the last minute as she was dragged away and she was sore all over.
"Mmmh..." She didn't know what part of her hurt the worst right now.
Her aching bones, or her heart.
"Catra!" Her allies called out as they made it through the doors, running safely down the stairs as the guards returned to the castle, two of them waiting by the doors as they stood guard.
"Are you okay?" Perfuma asked worriedly, kneeling to Catra's right side as she patted her back.
"I can't believe... she tricked me..." Catra muttered, still unable to comprehend what just happened. "She used my emotions against me... without having to pull a finger..."
"Catra, it wasn't your fault." She refused to believe the fabled She-Ra was as cruel or malicious as she made herself out to be in front of the crowd. She's seen her for herself, and there was no way that She-Ra from Plumeria would ever be capable of committing such an act of violence without a good reason. "She tricked you, she tricked everybody. You shouldn't blame yourself."
"The Princess is right, lass." Sea Hawk nodded, still holding a loopy Mermista's arm over his neck. "There are many nefarious individuals who know how to manipulate matters of the heart. No one can blame you for being a victim of these poor circumstances."
"H-He-Hey, guys, I gotta id- I got- I got an idea..." Mermista slurred, exposing a flushed face for all for them to see. " I know how to- I-I-I know how to cheer her up! Hic! I-I- I heard that- I heard that... There's...Princess P-P-Prom, going on today, tha'sh like... t-totally...legim...legitimin...le-le-legiter... true!" She squealed in a loud whispered tone as she chuckled. "We should t-totally crash it and have a bl... blast!"
"I... Think we'll put a pin in it, sweetheart." Sea Hawk replied, still embarrassed over the state she was in.
"Heh heh heh..." Mermista drooled a little as she slowly rose a finger to his upper lip. "Y-Your mustache is... p... purrrrtty..."
"Besides, it's not like it's all bad." Entrapta added, descending from the stairs by her hair extensions. "Since Princess Frosta knows why you did it, she's sure to tell everyone else who asks her about it."
"And what if they don't ask?" Catra spoke emotionless. She stared at the ice ground she was kneeling on with her hands and knees, unable to accept the reality of how badly they lost today. "What if they just assume what happen and don't question it later?"
"Well, then we'll just change their minds ourselves." Bow retorted tying to sound encouragingly. Catra was harsh, direct, even blunt at times whenever it came to talking about other people around her, and he knew she still had a good heart about it. Whatever sort of trickery was played around them, whatever this Adora did, she wouldn't get away with. "Catra, even if we lost public support, it doesn't mean we can't change their minds or prove them them they're wrong later."
"And what if we can't?" She didn't bother looking back to anyone as she spoke. "What if whatever we do doesn't change their opinion about us?"
"Then we just have to keep trying." He smiled back. "If everyone can change their opinion on us in one night, then it'll be just as easy to change their opinions on us over time. And we'll have their support too!" He gestured to the princesses and allies that smiled to her, regardless if she looked to them or not. "It'll be like how it always is. Them, you me, Glimmer- Huh!" His eyes widened as he finally noticed something out of place. "Wait, where's Glimmer?"
"I haven't seen her since before the dance started." Entrapta shrugged back.
"I think the lass headed over to the balcony when I last saw her." Sea Hawk said trying to remember.
"Gah, she's probably still inside somewhere." He gave a brief pat to Catra's back as he stood up again. "I'll run inside real quick to get her, you guys wait right here."
"Whatever..." Catra groaned waving her hand away. Getting back to her own feet, she made her way over to the ledge, dangling one leg over it as she stared at the remaining snowy kingdom.
Giving a noticeable concern to each other, Bow nodded to the rest of them as he headed back to the stairs where two guards remained stationary. "Hey, I need to run back inside real quick, I think my friend's in there." He watched as the guards gave a small look to each other for a second, turning back towards him as they waved their hands to come inside, telling him to follow.
He left the others outside as the rest continued to keep to themselves with their own thoughts over the next few minutes. Perfuma looked to the stars in wonder, trying to figure out how the Universe could pull something like this on her dear friend, Entrapta was doodling notes and sketches about all of the nights recordings and notes she took, and Sea Hawk was helping an ailing friend of his who gagged with dry heaves over the side.
He had a good feeling she would wake up with a hangover by this time tomorrow.
That left Catra with her own thoughts and worries about everything tonight. How long has she been away from Adora at this time? How much had Shadow Weaver influenced her, manipulated her, into the very person she was today? What sort of trickery or brainwashing did she commit to get Adora to plan out such a cruel and manipulative plan like this one?
Most of all, how much had Adora changed? She still saw her as the friend she's known throughout all her life, the person that protected her since they were friends. She always had her back and her Adora's, up to a certain extent until Adora just had her back. So much time must've passed, more than she realized it. She was using the dark energies Shadow Weaver granted onto her through the headband, and after today, she pulled off a wicked scheme the likes of which she's never seen from Adora before.
How long would it be until she became someone like Shadow Weaver herself? Would it be possible for her to be anything worse than Shadow Weaver by the end of it all?
The thought of it gave Catra chills as she hugged herself, feeling colder from the thought than the winds that brushed passed her in the dead of night. Seeing the snowy terrain around her, seeing how big this kingdom truly was, worked towards her sense of guilt. In one single night, she lost the chance to give the Rebellion all of this, all the support they've been working so hard to build. A chance that might've cost them the war in the near future.
After another several minutes had passed, everyone turned to the sound of the front doors opening up again. Instead of Bow with Glimmer, they found two other guards taking station outside the castle gates, without a single Bow in sight. While she might not have been allowed back into the castle, nothing said she couldn't stroll on up to the front of it, right?
At the sight of her, the two guards armed themselves with their spears, ready to defend the castle again.
"Keep your pants on, all right?" She waved her hands peacefully with an uncaring look in her eyes. "I wanna know if Bow found Glimmer yet." The two guards looked to each other as the rest of her allies came up to the door behind her.
"Who?" The right one asked.
"Bow. The guy who went in earlier? You guys brought him in with you?" She reminded. Concern started to cross over in her mind as the guards stared at each other confused again, as if she was speaking some foreign language.
"What are you talking about?" The left one asked back.
"BOW!" She rubbed her head trying to refrain from starting another fight here. "You brought him in or another pair of guards brought him in, it doesn't matter. He's in there with Glimmer somewhere-"
"Miss, I think you're mistaken." The right guard interrupted, passively standing his spear up. "We're the only guards stationed here for the night. There wouldn't be any other guards out here."
What?" The group said in unison together.
This didn't make any sense to Catra. Why wouldn't these two know about the other guards that were here a few minutes ago? It didn't matter if they all wore snow masks to protect their eyes from the icy winds, they should know who's who in a place as important as this one! Who else could've...
"No..." And like previously with Adora, another reality struck Catra, one she realized all too late.
"I know you're not in control right now, Catra, so I'm not going to even bother with you right now." She shot her gaze from her to the smaller princess instead. "And as for you, I'll be watching you, got it? I'm not going anywhere until you leave the party. I'm not going to fall for any of your tricks, any of your wicked spells, and I'm especially not going to consume any of your poison drinks!" With a proud grin, she poured the contents of the container over the balcony, having bested the princess in one of her many wicked schemes!
"Ah!" The three blinked as they heard a sudden scruffy yelp from under them. Peering over the side, Adora's face switched from rage to anxiety as she saw the pour victim of her dumpage. "Hey! Adora!"
"S-Sorry!" She apologized back.
That guard knew her name. They said Adora. She wasn't able to pick up on the voice with the acoustics from where they stood a near fifty feet below them, their echo being drowned out by the music of the Ball, and it didn't make a difference. That guard knew her name was Adora, knew specifically that Adora would be up there without seeing her for themselves. Adora wasn't the only person Scorpia brought to this party.
They brought the Horde with them.
"No!" Catra yelled as she quickly shoved her way passed the guards, ignoring their demands to stop as she ran through the castle. "Glimmer! Bow! Where are you guys?" She yelled through the castle, outrunning any of the guards that tried to chase her after passing them.
This was beyond the realm of bad. This was a whole new night,are of bad. If the Horde infiltrated the castle without their knowing, there was no telling what they could've done or what else they were party. If ruining the Rebellion's possible future relationships was all there was, they wouldn't have bothered bringing reinforcements with them, there'd be no point if the rules of neutrality prevented any violence from harming the two of them.
There was a single place she thought to check, one place she's seen Glimmer at before she disappeared on them. Running through the castle, she barged her way into the Ball room, ignoring the stares she got from most of the staff currently cleaning and fixing up anything damaged, thankful Princess Frosta herself was either retired or absent from the room.
Dashing away, she climbed her way up to the balcony, pushing through the curtains, to see the very last thing she wanted to see, or expected.
The Horde was truly here. Piloting a scorpion-like flying vehicle, she saw all of them, everyone who went missing tonight. A disguised Lonnie and Kyle without their masks on, a Scorpia with an unconscious Bow passed out over her shoulder and in thin cuffs over his wrists, and a passed out Glimmer who was also cuffed, in the passenger seat near the final person she saw grinning back to her as the vehicle took off into the air.
Adora.
It was no wonder she never saw Scorpia during or after the dance by this point. While she was tying to stop Adora's plan, thereby making it come true, she was off capturing Glimmer from the balcony, Catra too distracted by Adora's schemes and mischief to hear any possible signs of a struggle outside, provided she could in the first place with the music blasting off. With the Horde being as manipulative and secretive as they were, it wouldn't surprise her if Scorpia managed to get the drop on Glimmer, the girl already shattered and distracted from her own emotional state.
And now she was here, smirking at Catra as she held her latest capture that carelessly walked through the doors thinking he'd be safe; Bow.
"Thanks for the dance, Catra."
"Adora!" Catra yelled as she ran for the vehicle. Adora sneered, watching Catra's futile attempts to reach them as the vehicle flew off over the balcony, distancing them a good thirty feet from the ledge straight ahead, too far for Catra to reach and exposed enough for her allies to see from the Castle's entrance. "We should do it again sometime. Take care!" With a final taunt, Catra watched helplessly as her closest allies flew away.
If any of that didn't bother her, the one additional detail she saw did. She didn't just take Glimmer, she didn't just take Bow, and she didn't steal the last ounce of pride Catra had left either. With Lonnie waving it playfully in her hands, she saw it.
They had taken her sword too.
Today was one of the biggest victories for the Horde.
And the greatest loss for the Rebellion.
...
...
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A/N: So, if you're still reading this and didn't get fed up with me potentially ruining a character or something, you're probably wondering what i meant earlier about my struggle with this.
Well, on a grand scale, my struggle was everything... specifically everything related to the characters. I didn't contemplate it at first but it was actually hard to write out what Adora's plans/scheme was in this chapter. Why? Because i needed to do something that fit her.
I couldn't do something simple or it'd be boring, and I couldn't just do the same thing Catra had done because aside from being a direct clone of it, it wouldn't be fitting. I can't really expect Adora to do something so cruel that could potentially injure hundreds of other people for the sake of her mission, and at the same time i needed to give it something that was more fitting for her while still holding true to her values at the same time.
In short, I was going into this with a no-win situation :/ So if anyone has a problem with what I did with Adora, I apologize, but there was literally nothing I could do about it. Hopefully I still kept her fun and more in-character (specifically in this universe's version) along with her show's counterpart. If anyone had a better suggestion on how I could've done her scheme, I'd love to hear it. I dont say that as a mock or a challenge, I mean I'm legitimately curious. Otherwise, again, sorry. No-win situations are just that- no-win situations X/
Otherwise, if you did enjoy, thanks to those of you who followed along and kept to the story to this point! We're almost at the grand finale ^^! And two episodes away from THE SADDEST FREAKING EPISODE I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO X*[!
Huff... Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!