A/N: Another slow bit to a chapter with some rough edges, but I'm slowly coming around (I think).
I think my biggest issue at this moment is my overwhelming fear of episode 11, 1 because of how freaking depressing it is and knowing I'll have to watch it, and 2 because of any and all attempts I'm going to have to make to make the feels hurt as much as possible XP (I aint trying to make people sad on purpose, but let's face it- the best kind of fanfics are ones that make you feel something. So being able to match possibly one of the SADDEST CARTOON EPISODES EVER is going to be a challenge Xo...
That and my college finals eating up to my time, either or.
So with that said, enjoy!
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...
"...I can feel you watching me." Glimmer said as she lied under Bright Moon's Rune Stone with her eyes closed.
"I am not." Bow replied, his eyes watery as he watched his friend in worry. He needed her to be okay, he prayed for her to be okay! So when he saw her opening her eyes knowingly, he gave a nervous smile as he backed away from her, sitting a few feet away to give her the space she might've needed to heal.
As for Catra, the magicat was currently leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, staring off into thought.
The morning had taken a serious toll on everybody since the morning sun had risen. Despite rescuing Glimmer and Bow from the Horde's clutches and retrieving the Sword of Protection, the reward did nothing to outweigh the loss of Entrapta's life. There was so much guilt and regret over the loss of their beloved comrade, the very one who used to make everyone smile with her quirky antics and helped those she could in their time of need. It was the beginning of all the terrible things to come thereafter.
How terrible could it get after losing one ally? For starters, there was the fact the Princess Alliance had disbanded. Entirely. Everyone was wracked with guilt and regret for the loss of Entrapta's life, everyone's consciousness weighing them down to the bottomless pits of despair. It didn't matter that Catra lashed out against everyone, thinking it was their fault at the time for not listening to her before. No one was innocent or guilty in the wake of Entrapta's death, something she knew even after attacking Mermista in anger.
All of the Princesses of Etheria, those who were with them and those who weren't, returned to their own separate kingdoms in response. They didn't hate each other for what happened, but they couldn't risk their lives while they had their own kingdoms to look out for. This was the very first mission that the Princess Alliance did as a whole, and it resulted in tragedy. Who's to say the next one two of them wouldn't die? Or three? Or all of them?! They couldn't risk leaving their kingdoms leaderless or defenseless, and withdrew from the Princess Alliance for good.
In the end, this left Catra with a fountain of guilt. She should've forced them to stay away from the Fright Zone, she shouldn't have been so eager to join them after reading Glimmer's stupid diary of all things! She knew how risky the challenge was and she still went out of her way with the rest in order to rescue the two people she now called friends, and this was the price she paid for it.
And it still wasn't the worst part of the mission. No, the worst part of the mission came to the very end of Catra's and Glimmer's escape, where they came across the one person Catra considered the closest of friends.
Adora.
The girl she had left behind, the friend who's had her back in the Hord even after she left. She was tired, stressed, exhausted of all she had to put up with and she still wanted to give Catra a chance to come home where she belonged. She offered her an ultimatum between choosing to flee with Glimmer without resistance, or to come back to the Horde with Adora, along with the promise she would get her sword back too. It wasn't a choice of which option she chose, it was a decision that would determine who Catra saw as her real friends.
The decision Catra made continued to sicken her to this very moment. She presented the three of them with a third option, one that betrayed the sanctity of trust Adora had for her, one that practically stabbed Adora through the heart. Feigning her friendship to the blonde Force Captain, she stole the sword right out of Adora's hand when her guard was down and took a mad dash down the exit with Glimmer in her hands. She used Adora to get both things she wanted, showed Adora how little she meant to her in that moment of choice.
She betrayed the very friend who's defended her since day in order to protect the injured Glimmer, and not a moment goes by where she doesn't regret it.
"Ah." Catra looked back as she heard Glimmer sigh with relief. The Princess of Bright Moon had a warm smile again as she leaned up from her floating altar, giving a big stretch of her arms as she recovered under the stone's magical gaze. "See, I told you. Just needed to re-"
*rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt*
"Ahhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain as her body glowed with a deathly aura of red. The princess felt like she was being torn apart and pushed together simultaneously, crying out as she clutched her chest in agony until the effects finally wore off. "It didn't work!"
This was the third issue that came about after Glimmer's rescue.
After allowing herself to be captured in order to find Glimmer, Catra was tortured by Shadow Weaver's dark energy as she intended to turn her into a living doll, one that would obey her every word without question. Watching her friend cry out in pain, Glimmer summoned up the greatest amount of magic she could possibly muster, breaking free of her restraints as she teleported to her friend's side at the last second, and blasted the wicked witch away with her strongest blow. While it was one of the greatest rescue's Catra's ever experienced, it came at a cost.
"Work? I think it made things worse!" Bow stammered.
"Glimmer? Are you up there?" Catra looked over the side, letting out a small shriek as she saw Queen Angella coming across the bridge.
"Your mom is coming!" Catra announced.
"We can not let my mom see me like this!" The worried princess swatted away at the small glitching sparks that surrounded her.
Catra shook her head furiously. "Glimmer, we have to! She really needs to know!"
"What? No!" The princess panicked. "Catra, please, you can't let my mom find out about this!"
"I have to. She made me promise to tell her if there was something suspicious going on, and I think your glitching problem more than qualifies!" Catra replied, looking back as the queen started to fly up.
"But Catra, you can't!
"Why not?"
"Because... Because she'll want to know every detail then!" Glimmer quickly came up with. "I'll have to tell her every single detail about what happened, and that includes Adora!"
Catra looked crossed at the comeback. It didn't matter if she had no part in Glimmer's interrogation. If the queen found out that it was one of her beloved friends that did the torturing she might end up blaming Catra in part too, which is especially troublesome after how kind Angella has been to her since this morning. "I'm sorry, Pinky, but I don't have a choice. I need to tell her about this!"
"Tell me about what?" The queen asked as she flew in ahead of Catra.
"Your majesty, there's something really important you need to know." Catra took in a deep breath as she prepared her reveal and for any misgivings the Queen had for her after. "The-"
"Oh, say, Catra, before I forget, I was wondering if you were planning on joining us for dinner this evening." Angella asked curiously with a smile as she turned around to her.
"I-... Ehh what?" Catra's ears and expression dropped at the announcement. It's not like she hasn't eaten with the queen on a handful of occasions during breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but this was the first time she's ever inquired about Catra possibly eating with her this time. A part of it could be attributed to Catra's lack of manners and then some, not to mention the somewhat stale relationship she already had with the queen. "You... actually want me at dinner tonight?"
"Why, yes." The queen nodded clapping her hands together. "And Bow too, of course. I feel like I haven't been giving you a fair chance since we met, and after saving my daughter and her friend, I felt like this would be a good chance to get to know each other better. I'd also like to know what your preference is for dinner tonight, so I can make sure the chefs prepare everyone's favorites."
"You uh... you don't say..." And this was the final problem Catra found herself dealing with since this morning. Ever since she's returned with the queen's daughter, Angella has been the friendliest she's ever been with the girl. Hugging her upon her return, patting her head when she promised to tell her about anything suspicious. It almost felt like a dream to see her so nice to her, having gone an entire day without raising her voice once to the girl.
"That... uh... does sound pretty good..."
"Mh-hm." She nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting you like that. Now what were you going to tell me again? About something important?"
"Uhh..." Taking a look passed Angella, she could see the worried looks and pleading hands of her two friends, begging her not to say anything. Noticing the perplexed look on her face, Angella turned around to see what was causing the uneasy look only to find Bow and Glimmer casually looking away from the conversation, minding their own business.
Catra's never felt so conflicted in her life as much as this moment. Getting on the queen's good side has always been a constant struggle for the magicat, and now she had a golden opportunity to take advantage of her kindness to try to warm up to the grateful Queen. On the other hand, if she did tell her then she would risk ruining whatever friendship she had with Glimmer and Bow in the first place, and she was in no position to start trying to make new friends after her fallout with Adora.
What choice did she have?
"That... um..." Switching between looking at the queen's smiling faces and the worried looks of her friends, Catra finally gave in. "That the... Princess Alliance had a bit of a falling out after we got back, because of what happened to Entrapta." Both her friends sighed silently in great relief at this. "They're um... They might not exactly be on the best terms with us at the moment."
Compared to all the other times Angella would question Catra at length in confusion and irritation, here the queen simply smiled as she patted her shoulder. "I'm sure all your friends and allies will return after they've had time to mourn Entrapta's... passing." It was beyond strange at that moment. For some reason, it almost scared Catra more to see her acting friendly and polite to her instead of bitter and off-putting like she used to be. "Now, as I was saying. Glimmer, are you feeling any better?"
"O-Of course- I mean jeez, mom, can't you give a girl some privacy when she's recharging?" Glimmer replied smiling nervously as Bow did. "Anyway, we were just leaving."
"Leaving? But I just got here-"
*thunk*
*thunk*
*thunk*
"...And why is Catra banging her head against the wall?" She asked upon finding the source of the strange pounding.
" 'ish is how I 'eal with 'eadaches in the 'orde." Catra muffled into the wall during the brief pause in reply.
"I... see... Well if you really have a headache, I do have some medicine for it." She offered.
"Trust me, not for one like this..." Catra groaned turning her head a little.
"Yup! See? She's perfectly fine!" Glimmer insisted grabbing Catra's shoulder. "Good talk mom! Gotta do it again sometime. Bye!" She sputtered, pulling her friend in a hurry as she and Bow ran from the room.
"Wait, Glimmer-!" Her mother tried to stop her, too little too late. She knew her daughter was still recovering emotionally and mentally from everything she's been through in the Horde,though she just wished she had a little bit more time to spend with just the two of them. "We didn't even get a chance to talk yet..."
...
...
"SHE WANTS YOU TO WHAT?!" Scorpia gasped in disbelief.
"SHHHHHH!" Adora shushed placing a finger to her mouth. "Not so loud!"
"But Adora, this is huge!" Scorpia fidgeted with her claws as she tried to calm down.
It was times like this where Adora was thankful that the hallways were usually so barren and empty. Away from any cameras they could come across save for the droids that patrolled this place, being somewhere the Horde guards usually didn't patrol too often. It was the perfect place to panic while pacing back and forth without raising too many eyebrows.
As Catra was dealing with her own dilemmas on the other side of the world, Adora was dealing with her own situation ever since Lord Hordak passed judgement on the girl for letting Catra get the sword back and aiding in their escape unintentionally. She had one week to provide Lord Hordak with something that could contribute to the Horde, anything that would be equal to or greater than the loss of the Princess of Bright Moon and the Sword of Protection, or she would face Lord Hordak's judgement.
Personally, it didn't matter to her if she met her end for her past mistakes or not. She regretfully trusted her friend to come through for her, to return to her side when Adora offered her the chance to come back to the Horde where she belonged. This single act, one she was tricked out of by losing the sword and the princess, may have very well cost them the entire war in general. If she lost her life as punishment or was imprisoned till the end of time, either punishment would've been appropriate to make up for what could eventually lead to the Horde's downfall.
And somehow it wasn't nearly as bad as Shadow Weaver's proposal following his sentence.
"You're talking about overthrowing Lord Hordak, the big guy himself!" Scorpia said much quieter.
"I know, I know, and I wouldn't even question telling him if it wasn't for the one who told me the idea." Adora rubbed her hands anxiously as she walked back and forth. "I can't turn in Shadow Weaver after all she's done for me, and I can't tell Lord Hordak about it or I risk losing the one of the last few people I have in my life!"
"But Hordak said you needed to find something better than the princess and the sword, right?" Scorpia reminded with a small smile. "If you tell him about how his second in command plans on betraying him, I'm sure that'll more than make up for it!"
"Ugh, Scorpia, you don't understand." She moaned. "Shadow Weaver has always been there in my life, ever since I could crawl. I can't betray her after everything she's done! Besides, even if I did do it and Hordak does forgive my past crime, that still leaves Catra in danger if the rules involving defectors remain in place. You know as well as I do what'll happen if she gets caught again."
"You mean the friend who turned her back on you and betrayed you?" The scorpion girl's face contorted with anger. "The very one who stole your sword away, who took advantage of you?" At this, Adora stopped her pacing as she stood in place. Scorpia could never understand how a friend like that could easily turn their back on their former associate like Catra did. Leaving her best friend all by herself, pretending she was still her friend in order to get everything she wanted, and then ditch her at the last second anyway. A part of her almost wished she was captured by this point for hurting her friend like this.
That was when she noticed a small tear forming in the corner of Adora's eyes, the girl holding herself as she thought about everything Scorpia said. It pained her a little to see her cheerful friend riddled with guilt and sadness, knowing there was almost no one else Adora could turn to. With a small smile, she gently pulled Adora in a little bit, giving her a small hug as she patted her back. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." She apologized.
"But it's true..." Adora sniffled a little.
"No it's not." Scorpia tried to assure in a positive attitude. "I'm sure there's a good reason for everything she did, you'll see. And hey, whatever you decide, I'll be right behind ya, okay?"
Adora wiped a bit of her tears away as she smiled up to her hulking friend. "Thanks Scorpia." She doesn't know what she would do with herself if she didn't have one more friend watching her back, being the last person she could trust in this world that was still in the Horde. She needed to tell someone about this secret before she exploded, and it was comforting to know she could truly trust in someone like Scorpia to be by her side.
"...Ugggh!" And to grumble about right after. "And now I have this to deal with!"
"What, you don't want me to help you?"
"No- well... yes, but...Mmmh." She scratched her head at the piling frustration building above her. "Now I really need to figure things out before it's too late. I don't want to risk you getting into trouble too."
"Hey, it's fine with me. I'm sure you'll come up with something great!"
"Yeah, but-"
*clack*
*clack*
*clack*
The two went silent as she noticed one of the droid bots enter the vicinity, staring passed the two as if they didn't exist. "But... that... thing," Adora redirected her choice of words in case the droid was spying on them, "is still a pretty big deal." She gestured with her head as the two began walking down the halls, hearing the droid following from behind.
"Well, I'm sure that... it will be okay in the end." The other Force Captain continued to remain optimistic. "With the two of us working together, I'm sure you'll think of something."
"Yeah but I don't even know what that something is!" She grumbled again scratching at her itchy head. "I can't do that to them, I can't turn in *that person*, and I don't want you to get involved if things get worse! Ugh, this day has been so annoying!" With a growl Adora released all of her pent up anger as she kicked the nearby large pipe that they were walking alongside.
*thud*
"Ow!"
"Are you okay?" Scorpia ran around her, checking on her foot. She noticed Adora's vacant and confused expression as she stared at the pipe itself.
"Scorpia, that... that wasn't me..." Adora whispered, slowly walking over to the pipe. Placing her ear over it, she lightly tapped around the large metal vent, checking for something.
*thud-thud*
"Um are you trying to make some music or some-"
"Shh!" Adora kept her ear to the pipe as she continued to knock against it.
*thud-thud*
*thud-thud*
*Clunk*
That was it! Edging closely to the pipe's ventilation hatch, she carefully inched towards it, trying to remain as silent as possible while also staying out of the line of sight the inside of the hatch had to offer. She noticed how the droid itself seemed to be trailing her movements, something it had yet to do until she started examining the pipe itself.
Brushing her leg against the pipe, Adora stood firmly right on the side of the hatch as she gestured her fingers Scorpia, counting down from three as she told her to prepare. Nodding in return, the scorpion carefully made her way over to her, waiting until Adora prepared to do whatever it was she was doing.
"3... 2... 1... NOW!" With a yell, Adora hastily threw the hatch of the door open, both her and Scorpia preparing themselves for whatever monstrous invader rolled itself out of the vent. Their looks of aggression and defensiveness flipped immediately once they saw the face of the perky princess that tumbled out of the pipes, shaking her head of the small daze she had before looking back to her two verily confused captors who found her.
All Entrapta could do was offer a sincere smile to the two as she waved to the both of them, using the magical hair she was blessed with. "Hiya!"
...
...
"Maybe it's like a cold!" Glimmer guessed as she and Bow tidied up the room. She needed to come up with whatever explanation she could to keep everyone else from panicking about their situation, specifically Catra who was still torn between keeping Glimmer's secret quiet and telling the queen the bad news while she still liked her as much as she did. "I've never been sick before. Having an immortal mother has some advantages."
"You're mom's actually immortal immortal?" Catra was amazed by the statement. "I thought that was just a title she took because it sounds good? Which raises the question, why hasn't your mother charged head first into the Horde if she's immortal? I'm pretty sure she could wipe out the entire army by herself in that case."
"She's not invulnerable, Catra, she's immortal." She remarked. "I'm pretty sure she needs a head to survive and I wouldn't see her getting very far breathing underwater without magic. Even if she was, that still risks her being captured you know."
"Point taken." Catra shrugged back.
"Now for a follow up question... what do you do when you're sick, Catra?"
"Run and hide until we're not sick anymore." She watched as Glimmer and Bow eyed each other in confusion over this. "What? Shadow Weaver had an annoying policy over it. You take care of yourself or you were punished for getting sick in the first place. Not to mention the rest of the Horde looking down on it." A little bit of anger built up as she saw her reflection in the glass of the sprout-looking lamp hanging next to her.
"Okay, well, let's approach this like a cold. Now let's see..." Bow rubbed his chin in thought. "Um... Lots of liquid and, uh... rest. Huh! I'll make soup!"
"Great, and I'll nap!" Glimmer added cheerfully. "I bet when I wake up I'll be as good as new! I just gotta let this thing run its course." Catra couldn't tell if it was enlightening to see their misplaced optimism or depressing. The only thing she felt out of the entire situation was annoyance. "...Ugh, why did I have to make my bed so high?" She groaned. She would have to make a mental note to herself to get a very tall ladder or a regular bed after all of this was over. "Give me a boost?"
Nodding over to her, Bow helped Glimmer onto his own shoulders as she tried to stand, hoping to get enough height in order to reach her bed from there. At the same time, Catra looked over her, brooding over everything that's happened because of this hunk of junk, and all the problems that ensued after touching it for the first time.
She defected from the Horde, praised as a hero and into loathed as a person in a village, almost drowned because of the unexplained visions of her memories that pop up at random periods of time, went on a feral rampage of confusion by a virus infecting her sword, almost brought the entire downfall of Mystacor itself after being possessed by Shadow Weaver's magic, ruined any chance of a relationship she had at the Princess Prom with Princess Frosta, went on a rescue mission to save Glimmer and Bow that resulted in losing Entrapta, and finally, possibly brought about the end of the much-needed Princess Alliance all by herself.
And she still couldn't get this stupid sword to work!
*crash*
Twitching her ears at the fourth attempt the two took to get Glimmer onto her bed, she sighed. "Okay, seriously, you guys. You can't let this thing run through its course." Catra said helping Glimmer to her feet. "It's getting worse, your mom's eventually going to find out, and I guarantee she'll be angrier at me because I didn't tell her."
"I'm not getting worse, Catra-!"
*rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttt*
"Ahhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out as she doubled over in pain. As if to prove Catra's point, her entire body lit again with the painful red aura, lasting an additional second longer than before. "Huff... Okay, maybe a little."
"Look, Glimmer, you got sick because of whatever dark magic Shadow Weaver made with the Black Garnet. What you need is magic to break magic, and your mom's the best chance you have of that."
"But Catra-"
"No, Glimmer. Your mom's already suspicious enough as it is. If you're that scared, I'll go tell her myself." Catra offered as she walked over to the door. "She's trusting me to let her know, anyway."
"No, please! I..." Glimmer started to panic as she chewed on her thumbnail nervously. She couldn't afford to have her mom find out about all of this, not with all that's happened! Her mom worries about her enough during her missions to practically ground her for weeks to months on end if she helps someone in their time of need. Here, she'd risk her mother never letting her leave her bedroom again until the war was over she would be so much in panic! "I... W-Wait! Wait!" Glimmer rushed over to the door, slamming it shut right as Catra propped it open.
"What now?"
"Y-You said magic is needed to fix it, right?"
"Yeah...?" Catra raised her brow with suspicion.
"Then why don't we have She-Ra help us instead!"
"...You're kidding, right?" This was either the greatest joke Glimmer's ever told her or the dumbest thing she's ever heard in her life.
"No, seriously! Remember? She healed the Heart's Blossom in Plumeria!"
"Err... No she didn't. She stopped the machine from sucking out its energy." Bow reminded.
"Ok, well... she fixed the Sea Gate!"
"She repaired it's engine, Glimmer. And you're not a machine, you're a person."
"Bow, stay out of this!" She yelped.
"But he's right, Glimmer!" Catra took the archer's side without question. "I can't even get this stupid sword to transform me over half the time when I call on it. What makes you think it'll do so much as that this time?
"Uh... well... maybe it just needed a good recharge!" She proposed. "Think about it. You've never transformed into She-Ra more than once a day, right?"
"Yeeeah...?"
"So, maybe it'll work now! You haven't tried it since we went to Salineas, right?" Blinking at the curious suggestion, Catra took out her sword from it's sheath again, examining blade from the hilt to its blade with wonder.
This thing never worked whenever she needed it to. It didn't work in Salineas when she wanted to prove to her friend she was telling the truth, it didn't come back after she revealed herself to the kingdom of Plumeria, and it took her several dozen tries in one day to get it to work once when she first arrived at Bright Moon. The chances of it working now weren't just slim, they were astronomically small.
Then again, maybe that really was the key to using it's power? Like the princesses needing their own rune stones, maybe this thing really did have some sort of cool down period? It wouldn't hurt to try at least and if it didn't work, she could always go to plan B. "If this doesn't work, you have to promise me we'll tell your mother right away. Deal?"
"Deal!" Glimmer agreed with a nervous smile crossing her fingers looking hopeful. In reality, she was shouting in her mind that this worked now more than ever, crossing her fingers in doubt as she prepared to run away first thing if this sword didn't transform Catra into She-Ra again.
Taking a deep breath as the two backed away from her, Catra called out, "For the Honor of Grayskull!"
All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought the sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her.
With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist.
Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders.
With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed.
The room continued to fill with a brilliant white light until her transformation was complete, leaving her viewers to stare off in wonder, and Glimmer with relief, at the success in transformation. Seeing herself donning the outfit of the mighty She-Ra once more, Catra let out a small gasp, looking over herself entirely with disbelief like she had done the first time she had donned the outfit.
"I-It worked!" She was still in shock as she continued.
"You did it!" Bow cheered with the raise of his fist.
"Oh, thank goodne- ehh I mean, I knew you could!" Glimmer smiled, feeling an immense pool relief washing over herself at that very moment.
Personally, Catra was stunned and slightly disappointed. This was actually the very first time she wished she didn't get the sword to work so she could tell the Queen right away about Glimmer's predicament. At the same time, a part of her was ecstatic that it actually worked after the last several straight months she went through of not using it. After all this time of never using the sword, unable to comprehend how to get this strange creation of the First Ones' to work, it finally threw her a bone as it transformed her once again.
"...Ok, this so does not count." Catra stated, still wishing she could've told Glimmer's mother instead.
"Nope! A deal's a deal!" Glimmer replied proudly, grabbing Catra's hand as they marched down the hallways. "You transform into She-Ra, then we try my idea for awhile. No ifs, and, or buts." With the princess's mind made up, Catra reluctantly allowed her to pull her across the halls, continuing to mope to herself about her present situation as Bow followed behind.
If things worked out, she could eventually heal and save Glimmer's life, possibly winning more points towards her mother being forever nicer to the young She-Ra. If not, she would have to tell her immediately about Glimmer's situation and hope she doesn't get angry about Catra not warning her sooner.
And at worse, they completely fail and Glimmer either ends up exploding from whatever the glitching issue is doing to her, or Catra ends up blowing her up herself by accident and then explaining to her mother why Glimmer is currently in twenty little pieces.
And strangely the latter somehow seemed less likely to leave Catra with an angry mother to deal with to her...
...
...
*munch*
*munch*
*munch*
"Mmh!" Entrapta squealed in delight as she continued to feast. "Oh, 'eah, dish ish 'ood!" She complimented through her full mouth, eating bite after bite of the delicious food brought into this room. It was amazing how much better food tasted when you went over a day without eating anything, save for any scraps and crumbs you could find within the ventilation shafts.
...Well hopefully they were crumbs.
*shoom*
It was at the sound of the door opening up that she greeted the return of her two favorite, and only, captors, having returned to the interrogation room after the last half-hour of solitude. "Oh hey, it's you guys!" Entrapta beamed as she grabbed a large plate of ham that was still roasting on the table with her hair, stretching it over to the two who brought her here in the first place. "Either of you care for a bite?"
"Ooh!" Scorpia squeaked, smelling the delicious scent of freshly roasted ham. Taking a brief look to the friend in front of her, Adora gave her a small nod with a smile, assuring her it was okay. "If you insist!" The Force Captain cheerfully accepted as she grabbed the entire plate, loading the roasted ham by it's bone as she dug right in walking into the room. Mentally rolling her eyes playfully at the girl's antics, Adora made her way over to the table itself, sitting in the chair across from Entrapta with a curious look in her eye.
"So, Prisoner-" "Adora began as she leaned her arms on the table.
"Entrapta!" Scorpia corrected, still eating the ham.
"They're the same pers- never mind." Adora shook the thought out of her head. "Anyway, Entrapta, Lord Hordak as tasked me with your... interrogation, to put it gently."
"I'll say!" The purple-haired princess wiped her lips delicately with a napkin held in her hair. "You guys really know how to treat your enemies!" That went without question. After all, ever since she was captured by the insidious Horde, at least with these two, they've been nothing but nice to her! They brought her to a cozier room than those prisons she's seen, they didn't bother to lock her in the restraints when they made her promise to stay here, and not ten minutes after did she find a handful of guards suddenly bringing in a buffet of food for the starving scientist.
This place was awesome!
"Heh, well, the way I see it, I don't think we have to be enemies." There was a small, saddened, look on the blond's face. "I just want to ask you some questions first, if you don't mind."
"Hey, go ahead, I'm not going anywhere!" She replied, happily digging into another serving of food. Adora looked over to her friend, finding it rather surprising that a princess, one that recently broke into the Fright Zone to rescue two prisoners, was being so cooperative.
"Okay then. First thing I want to know; what were you doing in the vents when we found you?"
"Oh, I was just waiting for my friends!" She answered happily. The lack of hesitation or pause was enough to convince Adora she was telling the truth. "They had a lot of trouble trying to find me the first time around, so I thought, you know, they'd have an easier time if I waited in one spot."
"You were abandoned by your friends?"
"What? Oh no, no, not at all!" Entrapta chuckled at the notion with the wave of her twin-tails. "I'm sure they'll be here any minute now to rescue me, just like they did with Glimmer and Bow."
"That's what I used to think." The interrogator plucked a single grape from a fruit bowl, squeezing it softly in her hands. "I thought Catra was someone I could trust, someone who would come back for me as soon as they disappeared."
*squish!*
"And she's never shown the least bit of interest in getting me back." There was a strong silence in the air as Adora wiped her hand of the squished leftover.
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. But she's been really nice to me though!" Entrapta listed off all the good times she's had with the magicat. "She's always been funny with her nicknames like calling me a geek and a weirdo, or threatening to claw my hair out if I touch her again, and..." A small decline started to form over Entrapta's smile. "The way she hates my inventions and robots I keep making for the Rebellion... Keeps shoving me away if I get too close to her..." Scorpia was a little disheartened to hear this as she returned to the table, her ham chewed down to the bone.
"And the way they abandoned you after she got her own friends back."
"They're coming... Ooh!" The scientist's despair instantly brightened as she grabbed Scorpia's tail in her hair. "Your tail secretes some paralyzing agent, right? Mind if I study a sample of it? I'm still trying to figure out how you intoxicated Mermista at the Prom."
"Hey," Scorpia yelped pulling away her tail, "you can't touch a woman's tail without asking! And I didn't mean to intoxicate her at the party, I was surprised as you were when it happened."
"Hmm... it must've been a combination then of the Kelp Juice she had and the other substances she consumed before you stung her." As Adora walked around the table, Entrapta began detailing her theories into the small tape recorder she smuggled in with her hair, donning her red-eyed mask. "Possible breakthrough in case 1-I.M., Data Record 1-0-3. Apparently the paralyzing agent might not have been the entire cause of Mermista's intoxication at the ball. Will have to experiment for further analysis after my friends come back to rescue me."
"Entrapta..." Adora shook her head as she sat against the table, looking apologetic to the tragic scientist. "They're not coming back for you. I don't think they ever cared for you to begin with."
"Of course they do!" The Princess's optimism began to wane as she defended herself. "They'll be breaking down those doors any second now and then we'll all go home!"
"Are you sure about that? Are you sure they even care enough to come back for you?" Adora stroked a portion of her hair softly, still glum about her own experience with Catra. "Do you see the Rebellion willing to risk their lives to save one princess alone?"
"Well... statistically speaking, they would stand to lose more if- I mean yes, of course they will! After all, they... they're my friends..."
"Then where are they? Glimmer and Bow weren't here for more than a day and they came back for them. How long have you been here for?" It was hard to tell what was going on through Entrapta's mind as Adora stared at her mask. Unlike Shadow Weaver's there weren't any slits or openings through it to let them see her face. All Adora had to go by was the small silence in that moment, waiting and watching for any sort of response.
"..."
*click*
"Fright Zone log, hour 45. Still no sign of my... friends. By the first hour in the previous rescue, we were already infiltrating the prison block... two-thirds into our last mission." Adora picked up on the small sniffle the scientist let out. "They... they always said we had each others' backs, that... That we were a team. A-Assuming they knew I was still hiding, they should've picked me up... seventeen hours and forty-two minutes ago..."
*sniff*
"Entrapta-"
"A-And now I'm being interrogated because they... they consider the risk outweighs the reward... outweighs my life... a-and now I'm... Now there's a thirty-two percent chance I'll b-be tortured if they don't res...rescue me-"
"No, no!" Adora offered a soft smile as she flipped Entrapta's mask, seeing the tear-stricken face of the mad scientist. "Entrapta, we're not going to do anything to you. We want to be your allies, your friends." She helped remove the small trail of tears from Entrapta's face with her sleeve. "Do you know how helpful you would be if you were to join us? The Horde needs people like you, people we can trust!" Shifting her eyes away, she saw Scorpia standing opposite of her, giving her a comforting smile with a nod.
"...You just want my inventions." She accused, wiping her other eye with her hair.
"We want your help. The Horde accepts all forms of allies, I mean look at us. Scorpia has a stinger and claws, I have a headband that lets me control shadows, we don't care about past alliances or enemies. We all stand united in the Horde. We care for each other, and we wouldn't let an ally fall into the wrong hands, no matter how much we feel about them."
"...Hmm..." It was a rather tempting offer by this point in the conversation. "Catra did say there were a couple times you came back for her... and not the other way around... And I've made more progress on my work in secrets here than I did in my entire life out there. The Horde technology gives me so much more to play and work with."
"Yeah!" The other Princess nodded with enthusiasm. "You wouldn't have to worry about working alone either if you didn't want to. You could be working alongside our science division. Running the science division!"
"Hmm I usually prefer to work alone on my projects. I mean Emily's the most advanced bot I've ever built!"
"Er... Who's Emily?" Adora asked.
"Oh, where are my manners! I'll introduce you!" The once downtrodden scientist instantly filled with excitement and glee as she stood on her feet, clapping her hands. "Emily, here girl!"
*rrrrrrr*
"Uhh what is-"
"GET DOWN!" Without any warning, Adora found herself tackled to the ground, narrowly avoiding the massive laser that blasted at her through the all. "I gotcha, I gotcha, I gotcha!" Scorpia repeated endlessly. As she tried to squeeze out of Scorpia's hold, Adora watched as the three-legged bot made its way across the room until it was standing right next to Entrapta's cheery side like a trained animal.
Rising from the ground, the two stared in awe at the massive hole melted into the wall, nearly half their size in radius, along with the other three walls the robot blasted through. This wasn't just a technological marvel, this was an amazing display of a scientific genius! A genius named Entrapta as she petted her companion like a dog.
"Wow... Hey, Entrapta, do you mind waiting here for a bit while we talk?" Adora requested. With a nod from the potential new ally they've created, Scorpia followed Adora behind as they exited through the doorway, one that didn't seem to matter given the new exit Entrapta *built* with Emily's help, and locking the door behind them.
"Way to go, Adora!" Scorpia congratulated, roughly patting her on the back.
*thunk*
"Ow."
"I think she totally bought your performance."
"Performance?"
"Yeah, she thinks you really meant all that! I mean, I might've found it a little harsh to lie like that, but I'm sure it'll be enough to impress Hordak and get you off the hook!"
"Scorpia, I didn't lie about any of that." She took a moment to open the hatch to the interrogation room, watching as Entrapta continued to play around with Emily like a child, wiping any dust it collected with the cloths she had at the table. "I know what Entrapta's going through right now, being abandoned like that by her own friends. She's in a lot of pain right now and she didn't even realize it until now."
"Oh... Well either way it was nice of you. I still can't wait to see Hordak's face when you turn her in."
"I don't plan on turning her in, Scorpia." Adora replied, turning her back and leaning against the doorway. "She's only one princess. I need to make up for losing one princess, one soldier, AND the sword. All those things alone isn't going to clear my crime, I need something as big as all three."
"Oh yeah. Well maybe Entrapta can build you something big enough to impress him then?" She suggested, smiling back as she watched Entrapta and Emily play. "She made a bot out of whatever she found lying around, right? She's gotta be able to create something good."
"And then let her think I abandoned her after? I really do want to make friends with her, Scorpia, and I do mean it." Adora's face hardened without her knowing it.
She officially hated people that abandoned others. She never wanted anyone to feel that sort of pain again until she figured out what to do with Catra and where she was in her life. With a new princess possibly on their side they were one more victory towards the war efforts and one step closer to pleasing Lord Hordak and escaping his judgement.
She wasn't going to use people just for her own benefit either. She was going to make her allies, make her friends, ask them for help, and assist them to the best of her abilities. She wasn't going to abandon them like Catra, judge them like the Horde, and she wasn't about to manipulate them for her own personal gain.
Like Shadow Weaver..
...
...
...
A/N: You know two things that always bothered me about this show (the 2nd being this episode specifically)? 1, you can never tell how much time has passed in the show XP I mean it, especially in here it's relevant when, according to Entrapta, it's been nearly 2 days since they all left, yet I'm pretty sure it's only been one morning in Bright Moon since the crew returned. At least there it's easier to imagine it took a day bringing everyone back on the skiff I guess but even then like when they're traveling to distant locations, you can never tell how much time has passed.
The only logical idea i can come up with is that it's weeks inbetween since the missions/adventures they go on are most likely the result of the Alliance Meetings held every week.
The 2nd issue i have with this particular episode is also something I find kinda off-putting, only about this episode alone: does anyone else think everyone got over Entrapta's passing a little too quickly? I Mean up till now Adora has shown having some grievance with the sword still and not being able to unlock it's full potential (and it probably has been over a day) but still. If I found out my friend died I'm pretty sure I'd still be mourning over a full week.
Then again, considering they're in a war and they acknowledged they've already lost people, I guess that gives them a pass?
Oh well, show is still pretty awesome ^^. Anyway, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!