A/N: Final Word Count- 8.09k. Hooftah, this was a chapter. As a reminder this isn't just a standalone chapter, this was intended to be part of the last chapter in its entirety. But due to time constraints and the freaking chapter getting so big (seriously, i can safely say this would've ended up with a nifty 20k words if I waited till now to post it :/) I just had to do an early posting and later posting, which is the one before you now.
And I mean it when I say it was part of the other chapter. Like, there weren't even 3 paragraphs to this when it started, i added those in since i always do my usual "refreshers" on what happened in the last episode and everything. Because of this, I would like to point out and apologize if any portions here and there actually seem rushed or blunt for an unexplained reason- keep in mind this was the latter half of the previous chapter, and with that, i wrote the rest of this with that frame of mind like I usually do.
Also, if you guys could do me a favor, not really much, just keep an eye on the writing and let me know if i'm still maintaining the same quality of writing as I used to. I know its been awhile and I definitely need to work on my writing skills again, but just let me know if I'm getting back into it okay, kinda self-conscious about it since I want to bring everyone an enjoyable writing experience XP
But with that all said, enjoy!
...
...
...
The silence that pervated the room was still as everyone stared at the magicat after her recent breakdown, all with a mixed range of emotion, but ultimately, sadness. The girl just went through several detailed minutes of explaining why none of their plans, if she could even call them that, would work, and then went on to provide them a detailed scenario of the reality they'd be facing as soon as the mission started.
Failure. Capture. Dying. Or all three. And all of them had one common knot that tied their failure together- her.
She was distraught about everything, tense about the mission that was to follow. Despite the time that past since the mission to rescue Glimmer and Bow from the Fright Zone, the magicat had been wracked with a guilt, and one she had kept bottled up no matter how many times she ranted about it. She blamed herself for what happened with Entrapta, and continued to do so to this day. And now, with the discovery of Entrapta's alliance with the Horde, it just made the pain more unbearable for the warrior to manage.
"...Catra?" Glimmer spoke softly, rubbing her shoulder. The girl barely lifted her face enough to glance at Glimmer through the corner of her eye and her arms. "I was captured by Shadow Weaver, taken to the Fright Zone, tortured by Adora, and lost all my powers."
"Gee, thanks for the reminder." Catra muttered as she looked away, barely keeping her eyes open as she stared at the table.
"Glimmer, not helping..." Bow teethed as silently as possible as he gestured for her to stop.
"But you know what? We escaped. I fought without my powers, and we won!" Although she couldn't tell from the look on her face, she felt she was making some form of connection to her as she saw Catra's ears lift a little. "And I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you."
"You don't know that. Your mom was going to exchange herself for you, and the Horde could've let you go. Only then, we wouldn't have Entrapta to worry about."
"And what if they didn't let me go? I would still be rotting in a cell, with my mother, tortured every day, or possibly worse!" Physically reaching out to her, Glimmer pulled Catra up from her shoulders, making sure she was listening. "Catra, bad things are going to happen to us. That's just a part of life. The difference is you can either let it paralyze you with fear or you can just roll with it." She turned her face in the direction that Glimmer was looking to figure out what she was staring at.
Them. All of them. They were still around here despite all the ups and downs they've had. "Figure out the things you can, and trust your friends to have your back for the rest."
"..." The magicat strained to resist a small smile from coming up at the corner of her mouth as she looked down, though it didn't keep away the terrible fear of their real dilemma she remembered a few seconds later. "Huff, it still doesn't matter. We've been spending so much time goofing around, and we don't even have a plan to come up with!"
"Is that this is all about?" Bow wondered, looking amongst the princesses then back to her. "Catra, I'm sorry if you were really worked up about that, but to be honest, well, we didn't really think we'd need one so badly."
"What?" She knew people like Bow to be a bit of a pain and annoyance, but... She was just too confused at the serious tone he was using. It wasn't like anything she's heard from Bow. "Why would you think that?"
"Because we have you." Perfuma smiled, growing an all new look of embarrassment for the depressed cat. "Catra, whenever we're in trouble, you rush in. You never cared about how big the other person is, or how powerful the other robot could be. You're always the first one to answer the Horde's call for war with your claws, you're the best at making up the plan as it goes along and thinking of ways out of any trouble you come across. And honestly... that's what we love about you."
"I'm not sure I'd say "love"," Mermista commented before smirking to the cat as she leaned on her arm, "but she's not wrong. You're always the first one to rush in to something, and even when we think we'll lose, you don't care. You always charge first no matter the risk to save us or to knock down anyone who gets in your way. Your recklessness has been your best quality, even if it, you know, drags on the occasion."
"And you always do what you think is right. No matter what everyone else thinks, or you feel that they're against you, you put yourself in front of any danger." At the comment, Frosta turned to the broken droid that Catra dropped behind, frowning a little with her conscious. "Even when it scares you..."
Catra gazed at the rest of her allies... friends... with wonder. Were... were they still talking about the same person here? Like, another Catra somewhere she couldn't see? The way they were saying all these things, all the encouragement they were giving her, it was... weird. Really, really, weird. It... made her chest feel a little funny, strange. And... for some reason, she... she didn't hate it.
They had all this... trust... in her, in a way she wasn't used to. It wasn't like they just trusted her with another job or anything like that, it was... different. Despite the dangers lurking ahead, they believed in her. Not just a normal belief, either. They trusted her enough to bail them out of it if they were ever caught, believed she was strong enough to get them through the trouble they were going to find themselves in.
They expected any plan they came up with to have a hiccup somewhere down the line, and they all trusted her to save them.
"We're with you, Catra." Bow declared. She could tell just by the way the rest were smiling at her that he was telling the truth.
She didn't know how to describe it as she lowered her head, finally powerless to resist the small smile that grew on the side of her face. All she could was scratch behind her right ear as she shifted her eyes away, a brief flash of red crossing her cheeks. "T... Thanks, guys." She muttered quietly, though still enough that the others heard her whether she wanted to or not.
"So... what is the plan, then?" All heads turned to her with affirmation, the confidence in their eyes ready for everything.
For once in the long day, Catra grinned, genuinely, as she stood. "We do what we do best. We get reckless." She announced, punching her fist into her palm. "We hit them hard, we hit them fast, and we take them out before they can do anything." With nods returning to her, the girl raised her sword to the high heavens again, ready to get this mission on it's way. "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 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.
Below this skirt was the gift of a beautiful pair of pants that Catra always treasured, with small slits in the knees that allowed her to access the maximum amount of her agility without holding her back.
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.
As the incredible transformation slowly came to an end, the last of her magnificent appearance didn't end with another piece of clothing, but her hair. Her hair flashed in a sea of warmth as it grew along her back, nearly doubling in size, as its color changed to that of one of a blazing fire, lighter along her head and stretching out into a slightly darker orange. It was as if she had the fires of the morning sun blazing from behind her head.
And from their magnificent glow, the red cape slowly formed from behind her, connecting between the two as it slowly descended down to Catra's thigh.
With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed.
With the miraculous light dimming around them, her friends could finally see her transformation for what it was, and Glimmer could not contain the gasp or surprise that spread across all their faces. "C-Catra!"
"Huh, what?" She blinked, wondering what all the sudden shouting was for. Actually, she felt kind of funny. Like, good funny. If she didn't know any better, she could almost swear that... She looked down again, and was instantly filled with a sense of joy and pure wonder. "My pants came back!"
"Pffft! Hahahaha!" Glimmer couldn't help as she burst into laughter, followed along with Perfuma and an admit-able chuckle from Mermista at the simple sight of her.
"W-What? What?!" Catra felt a little self-conscious as the laughter continued, seeing the suppressed faces of Bow and Frosta as they tried to cover the cheeky grins they had. She looked around herself some more to get a clue as to what could possibly be funny, or to tell what else was off about herself. She did notice she actually felt a little better than the last time she wore her pants. Beyond that, she couldn't spot any notable difference. "What are you looking at?"
"Hah, I think you might need this for comparison." Without another hint, the mermaid girl casually tossed the She-Ra figurine, the only one not destroyed by this point, as she made her way to the outside of the tent.
"I think we should get ready, here." Bow said as he was followed by Perfuma and Glimmer. "If the Horde's been spying on us, the sooner we take off the better before they can defend themselves."
Catra watched as the allies left one by one before looking back to the figurine she was given. What exactly was she supposed to compare it to? It had basically all the same things she did at this point. It had the general-same outfit, the sword, the stance. The only thing was missing was the part that Mermista said she needed a dye job with.
And that's when it slowly dawned on her. With most of her hair stretching to her back, it was easy to get a clear view of it from the reflection in her mirror. Whatever day decided to take leniency on Catra after all her trouble, it appeared to be today. Having grown along her shoulders and filling her with a sense of warmth, she got to admire the sight of her hair returning to the same shades they were on the day she became She-Ra at her full power, and the revelation that came with it.
She didn't just acquire the same portion of her power back. She gained two entire portions on the same day, and without having to put in extra work for the latter. If it wasn't enough for the sword to fill her with a sense of warmth, the warmth she got at realizing this was more than enough.
"Wow..." She awed, viewing the streaks of hair she never got to witness before. "This is awesome!" She didn't know what percent of her power she had at this point, and she honestly didn't care. From what she could recall, she only had a few portions she needed to reacquire from the Battle of Bright Moon, and then, and only then, would she be back to the fully powered She-Ra she was!
"Hmhmhm!" With all the excitement, she almost forgot about the one person still remaining in the room, one that was covering er mouth as she looked at her.
"What? It's not like it's that bad." And there was no way she was going to get to her today of all days when she was in this good of a mood!
"No, it's not that, it's just, hehe..." Frosta scratched the back of her head as she informed her. "I just now noticed, but... When you were having your little rant there a few minutes ago, you called everyone by their real names, no nicknames or anything."
"Huh?" Okay, it didn't' dampen her mood, but it was a decent attempt. She scratched her cheek a little as she gave a small blush at the detail."I-I did, huh? Guess I just... forgot..."
"Heh heh... heh..." It was strange to her, in a way. Catra, for all her ups and downs, still didn't seem like she was willing to open up to anybody around her, or those that treated her fairly. At the same time, she had her own strange way of acknowledging them, something Frosta only now realized as she continued. "Hey, Catra?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you... You do actually like the others, right?" She was expecting one of two different responses. Either a flat-out now, or a typical, even shy, yes. Instead of either of those, she was drawn to how she turned her head away, scratching her head as she looked unsettled.
"It's, eh... It's complicated."
"Complicated? How is it complicated, it's just a yes or a no, right?"
"Well... I-It's not like I don't care about any of them, it's just... I... I don't really know how to describe it."
"Well do you like them?"
"I can't really say either-"
"Do you hate them?"
"What? No."
"Then you do like them?"
"No- I mean..." She tried to push through the subject as much as she can. "W-Why are you asking all these questions in the first place? Is something wrong?"
"Of course not-!" Frosta meeped, her face nearly flashing for a second at the sudden turnaround. "I just... I guess I can't really tell if you like any of us, or you don't. I mean, it seems unfair to the others that you keep rejecting them while they keep encouraging you, you know?"
"Well, yeah, it's just..."
"Just what?"
This was getting a little too deeply for the cat. She didn't know why she was pestering her with all these questions or what the big deal was. At the same time, she also knew as a child she wasn't going to let well-enough be well-enough. She would keep pestering her and pestering her until she gave her a solid answer.
One of the few reasons she found kids the most annoying.
"It's... It's like this, okay. Back in the Horde, I didn't have people I could trust, I just had people who annoyed me a little, and who annoyed me a lot. And around here, it's really not any different. Glimmer and Bow annoyed me to near-death about this teamwork junk constantly when I first joined, Perfuma has her interest in way too many plants, especially with pollen, and is way too open about her feelings and everyone else's, and Mermista, is... well Mermista."
"And... yeah, they're just as annoying, all the time, at any time. But," Frosta noticed the small blush forming on her face she was trying to hide, "it's... I don't know. When the Horde annoyed me, it was annoying. Irritating. Frustrating. And it usually ended in a fight. But when these guys do it, it's more tolerable, compared to the Horde. Almost... preferable, in some way."
"And what about me?" She asked, crossing her arms in a smug fashion. "Am I annoying?" As opposed to giving her some long, winded, answer, she instead just came out and replied to her like it was nothing.
"Are you kidding? You're probably the most annoying of the bunch around here!"
"O-Oh... I understand."
*dink*
The moment she turned her eyes away, the moment she dropped her attention, that's when Catra got her. Square between the middle of her forehead, right in the center of her skull, she caught the small projectile after it made contact with her. Opening her hands, she saw it was the small She-Ra figurine Catra was holding a short while ago. Looking back, she saw the same thrower with a grin, sticking her tongue out at her for a second.
"But at least you know how to be fun while you're doing it." It might've been the first genuine compliment Frosta heard Catra ever utter, or the closest thing to it. Out of all the princesses and members of the Princess Alliance, she considered her of all people to be "fun" and annoying at the same time. It also gave her some insight she never saw about Catra before.
Catra wasn't someone who didn't consider other people a friend or not. The matter was, she was virtually incapable of doing so. It was a detail she never saw in the magicat till now, much less anyone she's ever come across, and it said a lot of things Frosta didn't know about her. And honestly, it was all depressing.
And troubling to her.
"Well, come on, squirt. We've got a Horde tower to bring down." Catra was actually looking forward to this for a change as she felt her strength surge with the new portion of her She-Ra state. She didn't know if she was capable of defeating Adora in this stage, much less on her own for now, but she felt a little more confident about it after all the day's given her.
"Catra, wait-!" The warrior quickly turned around at the sound of the sudden shriek. She couldn't really get a read on her expression, the once curious and confused expression she had on now replaced with something more concerning, almost fearful.
"Yeah? What's wrong?"
"..." Frosta hesitated to reply for a bit as she nervously glanced over the room. Pulling her arms to her side, she finally gave her a casual smile, much like the others had before when they were encouraging her. "J-Just... You know. Don't worry about anything, everything will work out. I promise."
"O... kay?" It felt a little strange to Catra, who simply shrugged it off as she made her way out of the tent. With the coast being cleared and the room fresh to breathe in, she finally sighed.
This wasn't good. Nothing about this day was good. Even though she's had proof to the contrary, Catra was just... different, than Adora made her out to be. She didn't deny anything she had to say about her. She was arrogant, bossy, snide, full of herself at times, and she still seemed to be interested in only herself half the time. Now, things were a little harder to decide after their little chat.
Catra didn't hold any grudges against the people that annoyed her, and she still considered them to be outright annoying. So why... why did it just sound different to her right now? Was it because of her personal guilt? Something different Catra said, or the way she said it? She couldn't tell.
There was only one thing she was sure of right now: Catra was strong. She was strong enough to admit her faults when they finally caught up with her, and, unlike herself, she wasn't afraid to keep fighting for the same side over and over again, even when it felt wrong.
Taking a look at the small figurine in her hand, Frosta moaned. She envied Catra more deeply than anyone right now. She was brave enough to go through with everything after it all scared her, and Frosta... she wasn't. She didn't feel the same sense of courage to convince herself that all of this was wrong. It felt wrong, believed it was wrong, and, at the same time, it felt right. She was stuck between two opposing forces at this point who both needed her, and she's seen enough humanity in both Catra and Adora to call their sides right. She just wasn't smart enough to know who to go with.
Or brave enough to make a final decision in the right direction.
"Sorry about this, Catra..." She muttered to herself before tossing the figurine and walking away into the trashed Spy Bot.
She knew what side to fight for, for now, and she wasn't going to change that determination anytime soon. She just hoped to herself that it would truly prove to be the right decision after all this time...
...
"Is everyone ready?" Bow asked as they stared at the base across the chasm.
This was it. This is what the last several stressful hours had been leading up to. With a resounding plan in mind, and a much stronger Catra on their side, it was time for the Horde assault to begin. There was barely a cloud in the sky, there was still plenty of daylight out so visibility or weather wouldn't be an issue, and they were all together.
It was still a little nerve wracking when they stared across the chasm. Even with nearly everyone side by side, didn't make the pressure of the future mission any lighter, nor did it help escape the tension rising through the air. They weren't just going to be taking on the Horde with their soldiers, weapons, turrets, or anything. They would be taking on Adora.
The one who always had the ace up her sleeve, the one who surpassed Catra constantly as they grew up, and the one who nearly brought the downfall of Bright Moon. If any one of them were prepared about what they were going to do, they never had to deal with Adora before. It wouldn't just be a harrowing mission of danger for someone like Catra, it would be the first time they came across each other face-to-face in over a month.
What's changed about her since the last time Catra saw her? Was she any different? Stronger? From what little info she was given since Bow and Glimmer's pointless rescue attempt of Entrapta, she still appeared to have her shadow magic without relying on her headband anymore, and she wasn't any happier about the princesses or the Rebellion since their last confrontation. If anything, she's been more determined to fight the Rebellion since her loss.
And she still hasn't forgiven Catra for her past.
"Ready as we'll ever be, I guess." Mermista shrugged, eyeing the turrets of the tower. "Is there any specific plan, though, besides rushing them?"
"Not in terms of detail, no." Catra replied, never taking her eyes off the structure. "We hit the walls from every side and take out the turrets as soon as possible while everyones confused for a moment. Once we hit the outer walls, we'll head for the turrets up the tower as soon as possible and disable them. After that, we'll stick together and clear out the soldiers from within."
"And Adora?" It didn't surprise Glimmer that her question caused Catra to lower her head, not after all they've been through. She wasn't sure if Catra was even capable of fighting Adora on her own after all the history the two had together, and what's lead them to this.
"...I'll deal with her myself. Just focus on the towers, then we'll all meet up. Whether or not I can beat Adora won't matter if her tower's been taken over." She turned head to the left as she felt Glimmer's hand again on her shoulder.
"You'll kick her butt in no time. I'm sure of it."
"...Hmph, yeah." It didn't matter to her at this rate if she truly could take Adora out on her own. She's never been more sure of herself than now that the mission would lead to success no matter how dangerous the fighting got. Sheathing her sword, she nodded back to the others as she began the assault. "Let's go!"
With a nod, several of the members made their way to the fortress as Catra took off, leaping from the edge of the cliffside with her enhanced agility and sinking her claws into the wall of the cliff, nearly reaching the cliff's edge as her strength had increased. Nodding to each other with a smile, Glimmer held Bow's hand as the two teleported to the top of the cliff, just as Catra made her way to the top, and leaving the remaining two princesses behind.
"Ready to go, Mermista?" The princess smiled as she already started to channel her magic into a bridge of vines.
"The name is Sea-Ra, and yeah. Let's go." The princess new the plan was going to take a little time to accomplish, provided they reached all the turrets together. Even with the six of them together taking out a section of the turrets, that still left two sections of turrets unmanned, not to mention the turrets up the tower. It would definitely be among Glimmer's and Perfuma's talents to deal with them the quickest.
"Pssssst!" The princess of plants paused in her magic as the two were drawn to the sound of the strange noise from behind them. Taking a small look, the two spotted Frosta peeking out from behind a large boulder in the ground, gesturing for the two to come over. "Over here!"
Turning to one another, they gave each other a small shrug at her strange behavior as they made made their way over. They noticed she was looking in all directions as if wary of something while they did. "Is something wrong, Frosta?"
"No, I... I found a way inside of the Horde fortress that we can sneak in through!" Her announcement came as a welcoming surprise to the two princesses as they listened.
"You did?" She didn't need to see her nodding to look at Mermista with a bright smile. "This is wonderful! We can sneak in with the others to-"
"No!" Frosta nearly shrieked, taking a sec to compose herself. "I-I mean we can't tell them."
"What? Why?" Frosta shifted her eyes from the Mermaid's suspicious brow, the older princess already questioning the strange behavior within seconds.
"Because... Because the Horde might be watching us right now. If they see us all moving in the same direction, they'll know something is up! But if we split into two groups, we can take them by surprise."
"I... I'm not sure if-"
"Perfuma, please!" The cold princess pleaded begfully as she grabbed Perfuma's hand. "You have to trust me on this."
What was distressing her? Was she nervous about the mission? Perfuma would admit she's tensed too, but she knew they could get through all of this if they stood together. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but awe a little at how sincere Frosta was being, the way her eyes were practically pleading for her to trust her. "...Of course, Frosta." It was refreshing to see the relief filling Frosta's face as she lead the two girls.
Mermista, on the other hand, felt different. Something was off about Frosta in a way she couldn't punctuate. From the way she moved strangely in the tent earlier to the way she needed them to listen to her now. She just couldn't figure out what.
At the same time, Glimmer was already at the top to greet Catra by the time she reached it, helping her friend up to her feet before Bow called out to them.
"Hey, where are they going?" Turning around, the two saw the remaining princesses as they were turning around the corner, back into the encampment.
"Maybe they're going around from the front?" Glimmer proposed. "It would help us spread out more if we attack from both sides, and draw the guards away long enough for them to attack."
"Yeah, I guess." Something wasn't right. It was just before the three turned the corner, but she could've sworn Frosta shot her a glance before they returned to the encampment. She couldn't tell what it was about, or why they were all returning to the camp, just that something wasn't right. "A-"
"Hey Catra, you ready?" Bow called out before the girl could get another word out.
Knowing time was of the essence, Catra took one more look in the direction of the camp before following along with the others. With turrets mounting every corner, they made sure to spread out evenly, distancing themselves enough so that they could assure one another when they were ready to attack. From Glimmer to Catra to Bow, the three nodded to one another before Catra took a deep breath.
"Three... Two... One..." Without another word, the warrior's face lit up as the three began their own assault on the tower.
Between teleporting, jumping at unimaginable heights, and grappling oneself with a trick arrow, the three made their way up the wall, scrambling to reach the top at the same time before going about the attack. With a wave of her hands,
Glimmer withdrew her father's staff from the air, impaling the ancient weapon within the controls of first turret she came across. Catra had more than enough fun testing the limits of her own newfound power as she managed to crush the barrel of her own turret with her bare hands before pulling it right out of the ground, tossing it into the yard of the tower with a loud crash. And, being the tech expert he was, Bow easily managed to disable his own turret with a single arrow, followed by the turret higher up the tower that was within their line of sight with an explosive arrow.
That was four turrets down, and without any resistance. So far, the attack was going wonderfully for the three of them.
And that was what was most troubling.
"...Uh, guys?" Catra called out as she looked around. The sound of her voice did nothing to distract the fellow princess or archer as they were drawn to the emptiness that she was. From the pathways along the wall, the archway to the tower, and the courtyard itself, everything was all but abandoned. "Where did everyone go?"
...
"Come on, this way." Frosta continued to lead with the princesses towing behind her. The few yards they covered alone was nothing compared to the lingering questions creeping along the back of their minds.
"You could at least tell us where we're going, you know." Mermista's nerves were telling her to be on guard for something she couldn't see. With tents in every direction of the camp, a handful of the Rebellion's soldiers and guards, and bushes and groves beyond them, there was nothing she could see that would warrant a threat.
"It'll be easier to show you, we're almost there."
"Frosta, I feel like we're drawing further away from the fortress than closer." The worry Perfuma had for her friends were understandable, yet balanced with the trust she had in the small child. "Maybe we should go back before they need our help."
"I'm telling you, we're almost there! It's just a bit further now."
"Then can you at least tell us why you won't just tell us here?" Mermista came to a halt as she rested a hand at her side, being waited upon by Perfuma. "We're in the middle of our own camp so I'm pretty sure it's safe."
Frosta receded the small tension in her eyes as she stopped several yards ahead of them. "Because... Because of the Spy Bots. We already had one sneak past Mermista, so who's to say there aren't more around here? They could be listening in right now!"
"I... I guess that makes sen-"
*thump*
Any agreement on Perfuma's behalf came to a stop as she felt a firm hand over her chest. Trailing it to the left, she saw the look of contempt hanging over Mermista's face, her hardened gaze never derailing from Frosta as she blocked Perfuma's advance.
"What did you say?"
"Huh?" A lump began to form in the young princess's heart as Mermista's stare intensified.
"What did you say just now?"
"I-I said there could be Spy Bots around here." She turned away as she examined the rest of the encampment, seeing a few wandering suppliers going about their business. "Look, we really should be hurrying. The others are going to need our help soon-"
"No, not that." Grabbing her attention again, the mermaid princess took a step forward a little in the direction of Perfuma's path, as if shielding her. "You just said that Spy Bot snuck past me."
"S... So?"
"So? So how did you know it snuck past me personally if nobody saw it before Catra?"
"Ah-!" Mermista didn't push any softer as she saw Frosta lowering her head, like a kid who had been caught in the act of a lie, rubbing her hands to ease the chill growing across them.
Throughout this, Perfuma looked back to one another, trying to process what she was witnessing between the two. "Mermista, what is going on? What is this about?"
"Think about it, Perfuma. Out of all the places the bot could've crawled in from, she knew personally that it came in from the entrance behind me. I thought I heard something myself, but when I turned around, I just saw Frosta moving behind me for a second."
"Th-That doesn't mean anything, I just-"
"She's right, Mermista." Worry began to overwhelm the girl as she tried to defend one of her friends from the other. "It doesn't mean she knew about the droid."
"No, but then you have Catra finding the Spy Bot behind the same princess a few minutes later." The further Frosta's head sunk, the closer to the truth Mermista was getting. "If the bot stayed behind me or entered from the other side, then that's where Catra would've found it. Instead, she found it behind Frosta who was in the middle of the tent along the table."
"...Mmmh..."
"You knew that Spy Bot was there, didn't you? You tried to hide it from the rest of us." She could feel Perfuma's gaze wandering onto her without having to lift her head. The feeling of guilt from one friend coupled with the suspicion and threatening look of another kept the young princess from being able to speak any clearer. She could only rub her hands smoother as she kept herself from blurting everything out at once.
"Frosta... Is that true?" What would it mean if it was? Why didn't she say anything about it? She was a member of the Princess Alliance, and above all else, one of their friends. She trusted her as much as she did with the other princesses, so why the sudden silence?
"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Pulling out her trident, she gripped it tightly in her right hand while directing it to the ground. She wasn't enjoying the direction this conversation was going, and was hoping to herself this was going to wind up as a genuine misunderstanding despite the strange behavior and her recent silence.
Fate would prove unkind.
"...I didn't want to do this."
*pew*
"LOOK OUT!" With a mighty scream, Perfuma found herself getting tackled out of the way by Mermista as the two barely dodged the blast of an oncoming laser. Mermista could practically feel the force of the blast touching the tips of the hair on her neck as she dodged out of the way in time, both of them nearly ending up like the pile of rubble behind them as the beam blasted away at the mound of boulders behind them.
It was a miracle that Mermista saw the small light charging from the tents ahead of Frosta before they could launch their attack. It was little wonder why her nerves were on guard throughout all of this, and why she felt so defensive around Frosta all of a sudden. With the smouldering pile behind them, looking back, the two soon discovered why that feeling didn't go away.
From the eyes of the few Rebellion men and women within the camp to the smoke that started to billow behind them, they saw it. Nearly a dozen droids with the firepower to take out a small building by themselves, and a handful guards that entered from behind, shock batons at the ready, the two princesses would soon learn the question plaguing the other three of why the Horde fortress was so empty.
The only question they couldn't answer at the time was why Frosta showed so little concern as they approached.
...
"Where is everybody?" Catra asked as the three converged on the fortress's courtyard.
It didn't make any sense, granted there was little to complain about. All throughout their point of view, from the bridgeways that connected the walls to the tower, to the turrets that were left unguarded, they couldn't find anyone. Not that they were inclined to separate and search different sections of the tower on their own, just that it was too-unguarded for their liking.
"Maybe they ran when they discovered when we were going to attack?" Glimmer wasn't gullible enough to assume they would just throw the base at them and run in the opposite direction, but what other assumption was there to make within a mere minute of this place? "Or maybe they were barely here to begin with? We never really did see how many people were here compared to the tower's own defenses."
"No." Taking a whiff of the air, Catra gathered as much information as she needed from her sense of smell. "There were definitely a lot of people here a minute ago, and I'm still picking up some of their scents. Wherever they are, they're still around here, waiting for something."
"That wouldn't make any sense, though." Bow eyed the turrets carefully as he replied, being careful not to let his guard down from the turrets that could take them out in one shot. "We don't know when the Spy Bot dropped in on us or how long they've been listening in. They could've been spying since we got here and building their defenses even further. Why would they just hide?"
"Hmhmhm, we've been spying on you a little longer than that." A familiar voice echoed throughout the fortress, alerting them as they searched around. It didn't take very long before their eyes were drawn to the bridgeway to the right, seeing a familiar Force Captain leaning over bridge's wall with her friend Scorpia smiling next to her. "Hey, Catra."
"Adora!" All the blood in Catra's veins were boiling from the mere sight of her. The person who tried to end her life a month ago, the very same who almost destroyed the Rebellion because of a personal grudge against her, going so far as to threaten the remaining few she still cared for.
"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this day, Catra?" Adora questioned as she twirled a sing bang of her hair in front of her face. "All the time spent waiting for an opportunity? The work I've gone through to make sure everything was just right? The last three days alone have been-"
"Look, save the drawn out speech for someone who cares, all right? Either get out of the tower, or we'll make you get out-!"
"Wait." The archer spoke as something dawned on him, something he felt was unsettling. "You just said you were planning for this for the last three days? How did you know about the mission in advance?"
Looking cheekily to the archer who denied her offer to join the Horde, Adora let out a small puff of a sigh as she shook her head. "Oh, Bow. With that kind of brain power, you would've done wonders on our side. I'm pretty sure you would've been good friends with Scorpia, too."
"Hiya."
"Just answer the question!" The princess squeezed her fist at the remark of the offer she made to him nearly a week ago. "How did you know we were going to come here today of all days?"
Staring. Watching. Grinning. These were the reactions she was giving each and every one of them as the seconds ticked by in silence. Looking at them here now, and the lack of the other princesses, made her excitement all the more satisfying as she pictured herself looking back on this day. The day when she turned it all around, the day she proved herself to Lord Hordak.
And the day when she brought down the Princess Alliance with her own two hands.
"You know what's funny about time?" Adora asked the three as she climbed over the small wall, letting her legs dangle in the air below her. "All the things that can happen within a minute of it."
*boom*
"What was that?" Catra was the first and fastest to shoot her head in the direction of the camp, following a small explosion that rang in her ears.
"You can gain the upper hand on your enemies." As she spoke, the scene cut back to Frosta as another one of the Horde soldiers walked casually up to her, the small princess showing no signs of fear or remorse as Perfuma and Mermista saw all that was transpiring in horror.
"You can catch them off guard with a surprise of your own." Kneeling respectfully to the young princess, the soldier handed her the large blue orb that Entrapta had spent the last several days preparing, all for this one occasion to spring the Horde's own ambush on the Princess Alliance. Staring briefly at the reflection of herself from the guard's helmet, the child accepted the orb into both her hands, and turned to her two former comrades soon after.
"You can stall a couple of idiots with a few short sentences."
"Frosta, please!" This couldn't be happening. Perfuma refused to accept it. The way she showed no signs of fear around the Horde, the fact she accepted an item from one of the guards like it was the most normal thing in the world to her. She knew what this could only mean, and she still refused to accept it, even as the tears slowly started to fill the corner of her eyes.
"...I'm sorry." Nothing more could be said to them that she wasn't saying to herself already. With a pat at the small indent on top of the device, the ball-like sphere quickly sprang to life as it started to float in place, spinning in opposite directions on its upper and lower half as a blue florescent light shined from it.
"And a traitor can stab you in the back."
At this, the three princesses, along with the Horde present in camp, all watched with curiosity as the blue orb suddenly shot into the air at a burst of speed, the light emanating from it growing ever brighter as it began traveling into the direction of the fortress. It was the first thing to catch Adora's attention as she smiled to the approaching device, one which soon caught the attention of Catra and her friends as it flew over the fortress, maintaining its coordinates until it was centered at the very top of the fortress.
Nothing could be asked in the short amount of time that transpired after as a small click could be heard, and the open began to stretch open to nearly double it's size. Glowing brighter and stronger with each passing second, a large wave of blue burst from the flying orb as it blanketed the entire fortress in a transparent wall of blue light, hexagons pattering the designs of the slightly-flashing wall, as it continued to disperse a never-ending flow of energy in all directions.
With this, the trap had been sprung, and Adora had them all where she needed them to be.
"There's two ways to end a war swiftly, Catra." She continued, kicking her legs as the excitement built up within her chest. "First, you divide and conquer your enemies. Secondly, you can have someone working for you on the inside. You should've seen how eager Frosta was when it came to bringing you all down.."
"F... Frosta...?" Pain. Something was causing pain in Catra's chest as her heart-rate quickened with every word from Adora's mouth.
No. No, no, no, no, NO! There was no way she was supposed to believe her, not after all the time that's passed since then, especially since who she was referring to. She was annoying. She was a kid. She was also the only one Catra had some legitimate fun with, pulling pranks back and forth, the way she didn't take attitude from anyone else around her, and the way she prided herself on her own accomplishments.
Everything Catra could relate to.
Above all else, she was Frosta. Their ally. Her ally. With all this lame talk about "working together" and "being a team" being drilled into her head since joining the Rebellion, there was no way she could take any of Adora's words for granted. Be it denial, or refusal, there was no way that Catra would ever accept the truth. So how was she supposed to counter everything she just heard without the evidence?
"You... You don't mean..."
"What? Do you still not get it? Fine, let me spell it out for you."
There was no turning back for her now, she made her decision. Her alliance with the Horde was confirmed in front of all these people, in front of her allies. With her face tightening and her muscles tensing, she raised a hand in the direction of the other two princesses, gathering a glorious amount of her magic as a winter's chill solidified in the palm of her hand, ready to attack those she once called "friends".
"Frosta's been working for us since the day we met~"
...
...
...
A/N: Annnnd we finally reach the conclusion of the go-lucky humorous bits of the episode (again, keeping in mind this is part of last chapter) and we'll finally move on to the next few chapters getting into some of the action and whatnot.
Now on top of keeping up with the writing, I'd like you guys to do another thing for me, albeit this time more fun XP not even that hard of work, I just want you guys to decide after you finish reviewing the next few chapters: in the Episode Whiteout (the return of Drunk-Adora ^^ Woohoo!) I want you guys to decide what you want- the return of "Cat-Catra" or a "Drunk Catra" too? It would take some re-twinking here and there, but I suppose I could make the drunk catra work if you guys wanted me to, just might take awhile. I for one can't decide on my own, so I need my fans' support to elect who they want: Drunk or cat XP
Also-also, i've gotten to that point of time where I have a stupid cold again, so if updates slow down a little, you'll know why X/ I swear these things gunk up my nostrils like crazy and disgusting. So, with being a bit under the weather, updates may come a day or two late, or some of the writing might be off since the occasional sneeze leaves me disoriented for a few seconds and I miss what I type XP
But with that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!