Cat-Ra

by Monokub

"If" is such a powerful word. What if the reasonings for our duo were different? What if the personalities of our two favorite females were altered ever-so slightly? And most of all, what if Catra became She-Ra? Currently Season: 4

82. S2 Episode 5: White Out Finale

A/N: Final Word Count: 15.3K Pre-A/N's. Ah, another chapter, and with it, another episode ^^ And another sweet sense of relief with it as we're only 2 episodes away from completing the season! Yes, I'm sad to inform the rest of you that this is the last of Drunk Catra we'll see for now-

Audience: Awwwwww...

A/N: Yes, yes, I know... But at least you get more of me now :D!

Audience: BOOOOOOOO! *throws random crap*

A/N: Ow! OW! Stop it! Stop throwing that junk! Ow!... okay, so now that random garbage is done being flung around (hopefully T_T) Let's move on and see the epic conclusion to our episode ^^!

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...

*tap*

*tap*

*tap*

"Enjoying yourself there?" The She-Ra Catra chuckled as Catra, the real one, continued to poke along the She-Ra's armor and shoulders.

"This is... This is seriously unbelievable..." Catra commented, finally backing away from the She-Ra in front of her.

"You have the three different past versions of us standing back here, and you find her unbelievable?" The mid-aged Catra behind her grunted, crossing her arms as she blew a bang of hair out of her face.

"You know what I mean!" Not that Catra could say the rest of them were normal, either. When the day started for her, she didn't think she'd be experiencing any of sent on a mission to the Northern Reach to investigate Horde Sighting Reports given to the Rebellion, and coming across Adora of all people on the very same mission, while being forced to team up with the traitorous Frosta, was all relatively normal compared to all of this.

After being infected by the red virus from one of Entrapta's First Ones tech she had lying around, in no small part thanks to Adora, she found herself experiencing another dream-like scenario like the first one, one that was far less detailed than her previous version and one that was seemingly trying to kill her from the start. From a beast that was hunting her down, a river that literally threw her away, a forest that nearly lead her into a pitfall, and a mountain that seemed to grow without end. Each with its own annoying gimmick and Catra to go with it.

She couldn't understand what was going on at first, and a part of her still couldn't. Originally, she was lead to believe that this entire experience was to teach her a lesson like last time, in this case, to learn to forgive Frosta, even though she didn't want to. Later on she came to realize that the entire point of this wasn't to forgive Frosta, but herself.

Forgive herself from her past mistakes, to forgive the times she's been tricked that lead to a domino effect of betrayal, such as ruining the Princess Prom because of Adora's trickery. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't have been subconsciously dealing with the guilt that Frosta's betrayal was her own fault, as well as the guilt of other several past mistakes. All this time, Catra was the one person she wouldn't forgive, all because of a lifetime of mistakes that made her who she is.

It was thanks to that revelation that nightmare seemingly came to an end as the beast disappeared, right before it was about to sink its teeth into Catra's neck. Hooray, right? Well, that had yet to be determined. No sooner did she come to understand the meaning behind all of this did she end up coming face to face with the one person she didn't think she would meet, or anyone she ever could meet.

She-Ra.

Her.

The Wielder of the Sword of Protection, in the form that Catra assimilated in the Battle of Bright Moon. She was actually standing right in front of her in this plane of blackness, and it felt like a meeting like no other.

"Are... Are you really here?" Catra asked, still in disbelief over the entire situation.

"About as real as everything else around here." She-Ra replied with a shrug.

"Good."

*WHAM!*

"...OOOOW!" Catra yelped in severe pain as she pulled her fist back from the She-Ra's surprised, and unscratched, face. She felt like she just slammed her fist into a brick wall, one coated with a sheet of iron, with another brick wall in front of that, while scraping her fist against sandpaper at the exact same time!

"Um, was that supposed to accomplish something?" She-Ra asked, tilting her head a little at the strange, granted expectant, behavior.

"That was for trying to kill me since I got here!" Catra grumbled, shaking her bruised fist like it was on fire. "You put me through all of that nonsense for some lesson thing, and decide to get me killed in the process!?"

"You wouldn't have died." The youngest Catra behind her said innocently.

"If you ended up falling into some trap or whatever, the whole thing would've just started from the beginning." The one closest to her age added.

"...You're saying I went through all that garbage for nothing...?" Who was she kidding? Of course that's what they were saying! It's an annoying detail that only Catra would be capable of coming up with, so naturally she, or they, would make sure to withhold that rather important detail just to spite her.

"It wasn't for nothing, Catra." The magicat turned her attention back to the shining figure in front of her as she spoke. "There was a point behind it all-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Learn forgiveness, whatever. It still doesn't make up for it!" Seriously, it didn't. A river that threw her out of it if not trying to drown her, the punji-filled pit that she nearly walked into, and the avalanche that came back to her several times in a row, she could deal with that. Finding out now that it was all a waste of time? She couldn't! "I've been running my tail off trying to get out of here, and while I'm stuck in here, who-knows-what is happening out in the real world. You need to get me out of here!"

"I'm afraid I have no control over that, Catra. It's true that I placed you within these sequences, yes, but I have no control on how you got here or get out of here." She apologized. "And I also couldn't allow this opportunity to go to waste while you're still fighting with yourself."

"Fighting... myself?" She repeated with a raised brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it Catra," She-Ra said gesturing to the Catras behind her, "what do all of these versions of yourself have in common?" Catra stared at them differently as she tried to understand the confusing question.

They were all her from the past, she understood that. What they had in common was a different story. Her young one was definitely a bit of a crybaby, seeing how she broke down when Catra yelled at her, the second one between their ages was full-on stubborn and annoying to deal with, glaring back at her with an annoyed look, and the last one was her most recent version of herself, maybe a little more bitter than she was now.

"I... I don't know..." She admitted, crossing her arms. "They're all pretty much the same to me. No matter how young I was or how old I got, my life was pretty much unbearable. Nothing really good happened in any of those ages. They were always bad."

"Exactly." The confirmation of her guess drew Catra back to her. "They're all the parts that torment you, all the parts that you've been trying to repress."

"Well, no duh, lady!" She gritted her teeth a little to the figure who could easily snap her like a twig. "If you've been in my head then you should know enough why I keep them out of there!" She turned to each of them with mixed disgust as she spoke. "Nothing in my childhood was remotely good, at her age," she gestured to the middle one again, "I pretty much learned how to fend for myself, and with her..." She paused as the Catra's narrowed their eyes to each other. "...That's pretty much me, now."

"But it's not far enough that you haven't made mistakes that you don't regret." She rested a soothing palm on the magicat's shoulder, surprising Catra with the strange warmth it provided. "All of these instances from your past haunt you to this very day. They cloud you of your judgement, frighten you from making the same mistakes without taking risks. Even something as simple as trusting others is keeping you away from unlocking your true potential."

"Of course it's turning me away!" Catra huffed a little, shrugging her shoulder away. "Do you have any idea what trusting people did for me in the past? What it does for me now? It gets used against me at every turn, and every time I try to start trusting someone again, it bites me in the tail! I'm better off learning to fend for myself."

"You only think that because of your past, a past I want to help rid you of." Catra blinked to this statement, unsure of whether it was to be taken as an assistance or a threat.

"What do you mean be rid of my past?"

"Catra," with a warming smile, the She-Ra version of her extended a hand in front of her, "I want to help restore you, to become She-Ra, right now." The declaration was enough to make Catra flinch, partly in disbelief, partly in shock, and the rest of it in an overwhelming sense of... something. Looking back to the other Catra's who smiled and nodded to her, she looked back to her.

To become She-Ra? Right now? That... that sounded amazing! She was actually doing it! She was offering to help Catra become She-Ra, the real She-Ra, the She-Ra that could save this world! For weeks now, the one thing on Catra's mind was trying to figure out how. How was she going to become She-Ra? What was she lacking at the Battle of Bright Moon? Why couldn't she turn into the true She-Ra since then? All of those questions without answers, now had a solution.

She could actually do it if she wanted. She could accept She-Ra's proposal. She could take her hand, do whatever it involved, and actually become She-Ra! It was like a dream come true. Heck, the entire world was a dreamworld after all, so whose to say it couldn't?

She couldn't help herself. Her hand was slowly moving towards She-Ra's with unparalleled excitement running through her veins. Her heart raced loudly for the first time in ages, racing with excitement, racing with actual joy. For once in her life, something was actually going to happen for the better, something that could help make the rest of her life better for her.

This was... beautiful.

"H-How..." Catra paused looking back to her face. "How is this going to work? What's going to happen."

"I want to rid you of your memories," she replied, "the bad parts, all of them. Nothing of the sort like when you bump your head or catch an irritating cold, but the truly bad ones. The awful ones. The ones that kept you from experiencing the joy of a real life."

"So, it'll erase my mind? I won't remember anything?"

"Mh, I wouldn't say it quite like that. They'll still be there, they'll just be like under lock and key, sealed away so they no longer bother you. The only memories that will remain are the peaceful ones, the ones you cherish, and the people you cherish them for."

"Then... it'll erase my pain? All the memories of the bad stuff that happened to me that I still remember?"

"To an extent. Like I said, the day you ran into a wall or got sick isn't enough to cause your doubt or cloud your minds. Only the ones that truly affected your life will be locked away." The real Catra turned to the faces of her past selves, seeing the optimism pouring from their smiles again, then back to the hand that could make it all better.

Her hand was inches away from She-Ra's, actually shaking a little to She-Ra's amusement. "And... What happens to me? Will I, like, still be aware of everything, or-?"

"Heh, if you're asking if you will be in control, the answer is yes." She assured. "You've always been the one in control, Catra, even now. You'll still be you, you'll still be the one running the show. Just think of this as... cheating, as you would put it. One meant to make the world better, and to make you a better hero."

"Hehehe, that sounds nice when I think about it." Her tail wagged lightly through the air, the anticipation breathtaking. "What about the people I know? The ones I... care about. The ones who caused those memories of pain to begin with. Will I still remember them?"

"Yes. The only portions that'll be removed of them will be what they did to you, how they did it. You'll still know of them as your enemies, there won't be any confusion in the mix."

"Yeah... that sounds nice..." This was it. Her fingertips were right at the claws of She-Ra, gently brushing against them as she prepared to embrace her hand.

No longer would she remember.

She will have a happier life now.

Maybe once its done, she can actually get along with the other princesses again, including Frosta. She might even see them as her real friends for a change, like Glimmer and Bow. And all she had to do was forget the bad stuff that happened to her. The memories that plagued her all her life. The people that caused those memories in the first place.

There would be no more pain because she wouldn't remember what they did. In some sense, it might even be forgiveness. Their involvement in her past, the things they did to her, all the... bullying she had to endure... the way they treated her... all of the... all of the pain they caused her...

"..." Catra stopped suddenly as her thumb was about to grip She-Ra's hand.

*Whap!*

And slapped it away, to everyone's shock. Catra's face formed a hardened scowl as she looked her dead in the eye.

"No!"

...

...

The Force Captain jumped atop a pile of crates, sword still in hand as her shadows surrounded both her arms. "What is with you guys showing up when you're not wanted?!" She yelled, tightening the grip on the sword as she refused to part with it. The whole day had been a mixed bag of amusement and annoyances all at once.

Being left in this frozen outpost to find some annoying First Ones' tech was one thing. She could use the space to sort out her personal issues, she didn't mind leaving the investigating and digsite to Entrapta's droids, using the opportunity to relax as she focused on the heavy-handed paperwork she was left with. It also gave her some much needed space from the Fright Zone as her recent anger issues that kept flaring up whenever it came to her work.

She could also handle the fact that She-Ra had to show up here of all places. After finding a virus-laced disc that Entrapta kept around, it looked like things would turn around. Once she infected She-Ra with it, the girl was anything other than dangerous, at least after they separated the sword from her. To come back to Lord Hordak with the Sword and She-Ra? There would be no end to the gratitude and respect she would have from him, finally seeing her as an honorable soldier, not one of his greatest failures!

Now, what could she not deal with? Everything else!

Thinking they were dead, thanks to the enraged state She-Ra was in when she attacked them, she thought all of her problems would be over. They were finally out of her hair, Catra was theirs to corrupt and control with the virus, and the rest of her life appeared to be smooth sailing. What happened instead?

Not only does she find out that they're still alive, ready to take back Catra and find a way to fix her, their outpost was also being invaded by these bizarre, dangerous, giant insectoid-like creatures, ones that were unearthed in no small part thanks to Entrapta's droids awakening them from slumber under the digsite. And, as if that wasn't enough to get under her shadowy-skin, they decided to invade the outpost all at the same time!

"Where's the disc, Adora?" Glimmer demanded to know, what little of her magic charged in her fist.

"Aww, princess not like my new She-Ra?" Adora teased twirling a finger in the air. "Personally, I thought you'd be grateful. You're finally seeing the same person Catra is on the inside that took me years to discover. Then again, she is going to wipe out the Rebellion for me, so, I understand."

"Entrapta, please, look who you're working with." Bow pleaded, watching the ensnared scientist who continued to study the ensnaring fabric wrapped around her body with her hair, using her own track pad and measuring tapes. "Whatever the Horde is giving you, it's not worth the damage you're doing to Etheria. Those monsters outside are infected by the same virus that's infecting She-Ra."

*crash!*

"Infected? That can't be right." Even as the beats continued to bash away at the durable metal keeping them all safe, the scientist had little to no interest as she continued her observations. "The disc only infects First Ones tech. Unless..." Out of everything, the revelation she had was the one thing to make her gasp. "Huh! The bugs are First Ones tech!"

...

...

"Zzz..."

"Eghhh! Catra! Your butt is crushing me!" Frosta continued to yell, struggling to get out of the confinement that was Catra's posterior as she continued to lay tiredly on her back. It would've been so much easier to get herself out from under her if she had two fully-functional arms, but the pain in her right was still severe enough that trying to apply pressure to it to push away from her imprisonment proved too much for the young princess. "Sea Hawk, get her off me!"

"Sure, sure, just a minute." Sea Hawk waved off without even looking at her as he continued to chat with Scorpia. This was a moment the two desperately needed as they tried to figure out the dilemma behind their struggling.

For Scorpia, it was a matter of trying to be Adora's new BFF, an endeavor she had been working on since the day one, especially after the Battle of Bright Moon left her in such a wreck. She tried contributing all of her energy into helping her with whatever she needed, usually resulting in giving her more work in the process when she messed up, and whenever she tried to confront her about her recent string of problems, she was far too moody to be approachable.

On Sea Hawk's side, his dilemma related to whether or not he was cool enough to hang out with Mermista and her friends, much less the princess herself. He's done everything from writing lovable ballads no princess should be able to resist, regaled her with stories of his heroism, and even went as far as to trim a quarter-centimeter of his moustache for her! What else could a man do to get a woman to notice him?!

Thus, when the two met each other in the storage unit, discovering the other were dealing with the exact same problem, they knew they had to chat. They needed to understand what it was about themselves that they were lacking, and what they could possibly do to make things right!

Even if that meant Frosta had to suffer for it while she was stuck under Catra for the foreseeable future.

"I mean, just once I'd like to hang out with Mermista and her friends." He continued as Scorpia nodded along. "I'm good at groups. I have excellent stories of derring-do! Why don't they want me around?"

"I hear you." Scorpia sighed as she moped. "Adora used to be so easy to get along with, you know? We used to do everything together! Investigate outposts, form alliances with nearby villages, destroy the enemy defenses, everything. And it wasn't a matter of fun or anything, she took pride in her work! She enjoyed being Force Captain, she loved to watch the young cadets to their work, she was great."

"But now?" She sloped against her arms as she lamented. "Now she doesn't even look at me the same anymore. Catra left her, she was torn from it. I try being there for her but nowadays she just keeps pushing me away, like she wants nothing to do with me. And she won't say why! I try helping her when I can, I try to keep things positive around her. But every day she gets worse and worse, and I'm terrified it's because of something I did!... Am I a bad person?"

"Yes!" Frosta yelled, trying to push the cat off of her to little effect.

"No, no, of course not." Sea Hawk gave a small smile as he patted her shoulder, completely missing the fact he was talking to a member of the Horde. "I don't think she could ask for a better friend. She should be grateful to have a friend like you."

"I know!" Finally, Scorpia found someone who understood her! "I do everything I can for her, and the only time she ever does want to hang out these days is when we're on a mission and nothing else!"

"Exactly!" The Pirate agreed boastfully as he stood. "I-I-It's like the only time anyone wants to hang out with me is when they need me to give them a ride or do something for them."

"Tell me about it." The memories of her past assistances made Scorpia groan. "The last time I tried hanging out with her, the only thing she wanted to do with me was hand her a ruler in a drawer across the room. She can grow shadows, why does she need me for something pointless? She might as well have been sitting on a couch and asking me to hand her a remote, it was so lazy!"

"..."

"..."

The two shared a stunning silence with each other as they evaluated all of their problems and their issues. To be here, to have someone to talk to, enemy or not, it was really refreshing. They had so many issues on their hands that they needed to find someone to vent it out with, and they ended up going to the enemy to take care of their problems. It was unthinkable, something no other person would consider doing! And here they were, exposing their grievances with their sworn enemies.

And laughing.

"Hahahahaha!" They could not begin to understand the difficulties the other person must've been having, and they still found reason to laugh. Here they were, bitter enemies, revealing insecurities with one another while everyone else was doing their own thing. They should've been fighting with each other, and instead were treating each other like their best friend, like a sibling who understood them.

"...Is there something wrong with us?" Scorpia finally asked as the laughter died down.

"UGGHHHH!" Frosta rolled her eyes, groaning like her life depended on it, before glaring back at the two. "If I tell you two what you need to do, will you get me out of here?" FOllowing a pause as the two stared at each other, they nodded. With their assurance, she pointed to each of them as she threw the solutions at them.

"You, stop worrying about how cool you are in front of her and maybe she'll let up. People don't like people who boast about how wonderful they are constantly. Just play it cool and eventually she'll think you are cool. And you," she went on pointing to Scorpia, "give Adora just a little bit of space and stop smothering her. Give her some time to herself and let her come to you for once, stop going to wherever she's going. Got it?"

There was another brief silence as the duo shifted their eyes to one another again, contemplating Frosta's words of wisdom. The princess was blunt and direct with both of them, but, honestly, it felt like the thing they needed to hear. They kept pushing on about how great and helpful they were that they really never noticed how often they were doing it. It made them feel a little guilty when they considered it.

*pat*

*pat*

*pat*

"Why won't thi'sh alarm clock turn off?" Catra slurred, repeatedly tapping Frosta's head as she leaned up.

"Get off me!" Sweet relief finally came to the princess as the girl, sluggishly, obeyed.

Arms still drooping to the side, she smiled half-awake to the duo who continued to watch her shamble her way over to them. "You know, I've been listenin' to the two of you the whoooole time-"

"Are you serious!?" The fact she could finally stand up did nothing to quell the annoyance that came with Catra's little revelation.

"And really, you're worrying for nothing." She nearly made Sea Hawk jump as she leaned on his shoulder. "You guy'sh are like... the be'sht." He paid little mind as she poked at the tip of his stache. "You're good peoples, and good friend'sh." With a simple toss, she took one large step forward as she threw her arms over Scorpia's shoulder. "Hehehe, that's why I like you guy'sh, sh'oooo much! You guys ju'sht do your best... and don't take anything from- AHHHHHHHHH!"

"AH! What? What?!" The sudden scream of horror and the look of terror on Catra's face caught Scorpia off guard as she shook. She watched the girl's shaking finger as she pointed behind her.

"You have something sticking out of your butt!" She panicked. She had never seen such a horrible, disgusting, unholy configuration sticking out of someone's backside!

For a sheer moment, Scorpia had actually considered having her own panic attack before realizing what Catra was referring to. "Um, Catra? That's just my tail. You have one too."

"Huh?" How absurd! Like Catra of all people would actually have something like that sticking out of her- "Ahhhhh!" It was true! Turning her head around, she saw the abomination wagging behind her! "It's spreading!" With all of her might, she tried to yank the evil contraption out of her posterior, doing whatever she could to remove the appendage as she spun around for dear life. "It's biting me! It's biting me! It's-!

*CRASH!*

There was no stopping the girl as she collided into another stack of crates, making this about her sixth crashing since the Horde took her in an hour ago. "Whoa... When did we get a floor?"

"...You know what? They're right!" Sea Hawk agreed triumphantly.

"We are really great! I'm clever, roguishly good-looking, and a top-notch sailor." Perhaps this journey was just what he needed, because now, he felt an incredible sense of pride coursing through him as he jumped atop a crate, fists firmly at his side. "I don't care if anyone thinks I'm cool. I don't need their opinions to validate me. I'm Sea Hawk. And I'm more than willing to let Mermista figure that out on her own!"

"And me, I'm brave, strong, give great hugs, and I'm loyal!" Scorpia's confidence surged as she stood, squeezing her claws tightly as Catra sluggishly waltzed her way over to her arms. She gave the girl her direct attention as she looked her straight in the eyes. "You might have left Adora, but someday she's going to see that I won't. I'll prove that to her on my own, no matter how much space she needs or a shoulder to lean on, because that's who I am!"

"Yeah, good for you!" Catra might not have known what they were getting at, but it didn't keep her from raising her fist in support all the same. "...Who's Adora?"

"...You guys are really willing to wait for as long as it takes to prove it, aren't you?" Frosta questioned, switching her gaze between the three of them all together.

"Of course we are, lass." Sea Hawk nodded back, watching as Scorpia flexed her muscles, ready for anything. "You can't rush anything good or bad. You just have to wait."

Waiting, huh? Frosta thought as she looked at Catra. Was that really her best option at this point? To wait for her to forgive her on her own? She nearly broke the girls arm and had shown the utmost disdain for the girl since bringing her on the mission, none of which was her fault, and even though she said they should be patient, she wasn't sure about herself.

If it was a day or even a week, she could deal with it. She could wait for Catra to forgive her if that was the case, if she needed to spend some time away from her to get used to her again. But seeing that look of hate in her eyes was something she had a hard time dealing with. This was just their first mission after teaming up for a mission, and it was hard to stand by. She couldn't imagine doing that for the rest of her life.

Then again, maybe it's what she deserved in the end. She betrayed them and these were one of the consequences she would have to deal with for now. Would it be any easier waiting for their own issues than her own? She didn't know the answer to that, and she doubt they'd be willing to trade their issues with hers. As much as she disliked it, she was going to have to suck it up and wait for her, no matter how long it took.

She wasn't going to enjoy it, but she was willing to do her part as a small smile crept to her face.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to kick some big bug butt!" Scorpia tensed her muscles, taking a few practice jabs as the others watched.

"Yeah! Let's show them what we're made of!" Sea Hawk couldn't let this opportunity of excitement go to waste! It was time to show the world what Captain Sea Hawk was capable of, and how reliable Scorpia could be to her friends!

Starting with the people waiting in the other facility.

...

...

*wham*

The entire complex continued to shake as the four struggled to keep their balance. All around, the creatures continued to hammer away at the outpost from the outside, struggling to get in with each passing breath.

"Adora, we have to destroy that disc, or none of us are getting out!" Glimmer tried to reason with any part of Adora that related to the girl's own safety!

No matter how pathetic the plead appeared, Adora just grinned to her as she tapped the sword on her shoulder. "Whoops, silly me. With all that's been happening, I completely forgot where I left it." She let out a sarcastic sigh of regret. It was such a cruel fate that she would forget her own disc, wasn't it?

"Adora, you silly. It's in your pocket, remember?" Entrapta, unfortunately, reminded her as she rolled around.

"...Thank you for the reminder..." Of everything that was wrapped up, why didn't Bow wrap up her mouth as well?

The reminder gave Bow and Glimmer little reason to continue standing around as they prepared themselves, ready to fight for Catra's sake and to save their friend from the virus.

*CRASH!*

"Ahh!" Right as they were about to duke it out, with Adora already summoning the shadows to both her hands, there was a large crash from the wall behind her as a beastial head crashed through it, slamming the girl away and throwing her into a large metal crate, dropping the sword in the process. No sooner did it appear that several green shots of energy blasted it in the face, injuring the creature enough to scare it out of the opening.

And where did the blast of salvation come from? From four questionable but determined, and one delirious, heroes who charged in, with Scorpia taking the lead with a blaster in hand, with a determined Sea Hawk to her left, and a young princess, followed by Catra carrying a bucket over her head, behind her.

"For the Horde!" She cried out, more than determined to prove her usefulness to Adora at long last.

"I don't agree with that sentiment, but I'm also here!" Sea Hawk announced, his electric Rapier firmly in hand.

"Yeaahahhh! Whoo!" Catra cheered as she gripped her bucket tightly. Boy, she could already tell everyone was going to be jealous of her bucket when she ended up saving the day!

Noticing the state that Catra continued to display, fearing for the girl's life, Frosta let off a small roll of the ices before encasing the floor in front of her in ice. "Sorry about this, Catra." She apologized, requiring only a single hand for a feat this small.

In an instant, the magicat's eyes bugged out for a split second before she toppled over herself, in a state of confusion as she collided into the floor after the bucket landed on her head, covering her eyes. "Where did everybody go?"

"Catra!" Glimmer's never been so glad to see her friend, regardless of how ridiculous she was, as she ran over to her, lifting the bucket enough to get a look at her face. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Haha, Glimmer!" She chuckled. "How's my best buddy?"

"... You're definitely sick, aren't you?" She commented, patting her on the head. In truth, they were the very words Glimmer always wanted to hear from her feline friend, but, sadly, it was not meant to be.

*crash*

The reunion was cut short by the sound of the debris dropping from the roof next to them, nearly crushing Sea Hawk who slid out of the way at the very last moment. On Scorpia's side of things, she hastily ran to her dear friend's side as she covered her a little with her arms, preventing any of the smaller rocks from getting to her while she got up.

"Adora, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

Shaking her head, the Force Captain glared a little as she saw the other side already regrouping , feeling the sense of them ruining her plans all over again. "Just get the sword!" She barked, rushing off ahead. "I'll get Catra!"

She was not going to come so far only to lose, AGAIN! Every time, every single stupid time she was about to win or feel some feeling of joy, they had to come in and ruin it for her! They ruined it at Dryl, they ruined it at the Horde Tower a few days ago, and now they were willing to get in her way again with this. She refused to let anyone ruin her plans for a third time, especially when her life depended on it!

She was so caught up in her blind hatred that she failed to notice as Glimmer rushed in tackling her away, refusing to let her anywhere near Catra again. It was a small matter to deal with for the Force Captain as she rolled over to her feet, but it was no less annoying as she pushed against Glimmer's hands, the princess keeping her at bay as Adora was forced to use her as a shield while Bow lined up a shot right behind her.

"Got anymore magic in that little hand of yours, princess?" Adora teased again, knowing her shadows gave her the advantage she needed to push back a little

As opposed to looking worried or anymore irritated, Glimmer grinned back to her as her fist charged up once more with magic. "You tell me!" It was less of a request and more of an order as Glimmer gave her some much-needed personal experience. Slipping her wrist right out from under Adora's grip, she managed to uppercut her square in the face, blasting her through a stack of crates that topped on top of her.

The force of the hit was enough to knock the disc loose from her coat pocket, scattering it across the ground a few feet from where the commander crashed.

"The disc!" Glimmer hastily rushed over to it, hoping to put an end to the nightmare that trapped her friend in this state. Not two feet away from the precious cargo did she feel another piece of cargo slamming into her side, hurtling her away as a large crate collided into her, and an annoyed Adora standing up from the wreckage.

"No one's getting my disc!" She shouted, running for it. Attempting to stop the madness himself Bow attempted to fire one of his explosive arrows directly at the corrupted disc, assisted by Frosta who stood at his side as she coated the ground ahead of Adora in a solid sheet of ice.

Unprepared for the sudden freeze, Adora was powerless to stop as her feet slid against the ice, toppling her onto her back as she continued to slide ahead. Despite this minor setback, she still refused to let any damage come to this valuable prize, managing to pluck Bow's arrow out of the air with a tendril of shadow right before it struck, tossing it back to the archer who quickly grabbed Frosta and jumped out of the way before it hit them.

...

As they continued to play their game of keep-away, Scorpia searched frantically for the sword, the simplest thing Adora could possibly give her to do, and the task she was more than determined to fulfill. No matter how much of a good talking to they gave her, she still refused to let her temporary-friends get in the way of her proving herself to Adora.

Especially if that person ended up being Catra of all people! The girl who barely knew what was going on around her and waltzing around with a bucket on her head who eyed the sword in curiosity and started reaching for it.

"Oh no you don't!" Scorpia yelled, charging straight for the girl who grinned goofily to her with a wave.

"Crabby-!"

*CRASH!*

She didn't register that she was in danger. She didn't register that Scorpia was currently pinning her down by her shoulders. All she did register was the fact that a crab girl caught her again and that she was staring down at her, refusing to let up.

"En Garde!" With a boisterous presence, Sea Hawk declared his readiness for a duel as he drew his rapier in front of Scorpia, ready to engage the girl in all matter of swordplay, if she had one.

"Ifs" would not be an issue here as Scorpia looked back. She might have been outnumbered, even if the second number was Catra, but with the sword sitting a few feet behind her, she already had a means to fight back.

...

"Give us the disc!" Glimmer demanded as she continued to struggle with Adora. No matter what was surrounding them or what sort of dangers were invading their territory, Adora refused to part with the disc as she kept it under lock and key within her shadowy palms. It would've been more amusing to see Glimmer struggling to open it as she pulled on Adora's arms if she had any decency or respect towards the girl.

"What are you, nuts?" She nearly chuckled at the demand. "I have the disc, and I have Catra! Two of our greatest weapons under one roof, and I'm not parting with either of them!" Her grin darkened sinisterly as she leaned her head up a little closer. "And I'm going to be watching from a safe distance when I send an enraged She-Ra back home with you!"

*GAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOO!*

The sound of the ferocious bipedal beast was the only thing to break the tension between the two as they looked to the ceiling again. With the view of its head lunging straight towards them, both girls were forced to part away as they avoided the colossal head slamming against the ground, devouring the very metal they briefly lied upon in their little quarrel.

Rising up to her feet, Adora's eyes widened as she saw the beast turn in her direction, focusing its attention on the girl with the disc rather than the princess behind her. While she was confident enough in her own ability to deal with the creature, to deal with it and the alliance, not to mention the rest of the creatures outside, would've been suicide. With everything to lose in the palm of her hand, she sped up as she retreated behind her, hoping to ditch the creatures attention until they could escape.

Sadly, for her case, the creature's attention was the one thing she couldn't lose no matter how much she wanted. No matter how fast she pulled herself ahead with the tendrils, the distance she managed to keep between them, the beast closed the gap behind her more and more, destroying the interior of the outpost in the process. There wasn't any defending against that if she got caught.

If that beast caught Adora in its mouth, no amount of shadow armor would keep her protected. It would be permanent lights out for her.

The remainder of the group continued to struggle as they tried to keep Scorpia's claws off of the sword. With Bow pulling her head with his weapons, Sea Hawk feebly pulling her arm away as she reached for it while pinning him down, and Frosta trying to pull Catra back by her tail as she wanted to help the "crab girl" out, it was anyone's guess how the situation would've turned out. Everyone was determined to get the sword for themselves, no matter the cost.

"Ngh!" Adora screeched as she collided into another metallic crate, almost dropping the virus in the process. This was one of the few times in Adora's life she was thankful the Rebellion didn't have weapons as great as these creatures, less they turn the entire Fright Zone into a scrapyard by tomorrow's end. Her expression hardened as she glared angrily at the creature, waiting for it to make the first move.

"Adora, you have to destroy the disc!" Bow warned, seeing the scene from afar. "It's the only way to stop them!"

"Adora!" Scorpia cried, pushing off from the group. Who cared about orders when her personal best friend's life was at risk?!

With the creature lunging straight at her, Adora pulled and jumped her way atop the pile of crates behind her, keeping as much distance as she possibly could from the creature that backed her into a corner. No matter how close to death the commander was, she refused to part with the disc if it was the very last thing she could control!

A control she soon lost as the creature's gaping maw sprang around her, forcing the captain to push away the creature's ferocious jaws with her arms and feet as it attempted to swallow her whole. She barely noticed as the disc fell out of her grip, prioritizing at keeping the creature at bay for as long as she possibly could. And it still didn't matter as much to her as the disc was that started this whole mess!

The very disc came across the scorpion's feet as she picked it up, eyeing it curiously.

"Scorpia," Glimmer called as she walked to the rest of her friends, keeping a hold on Catra's sluggish arms, "you can end this. You've got to break that disc now."

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" In a burst of primal rage, the unthinkable happened as all eyes turned to the Force Captain who's life depended on the disc.

With all the stress building around her, and the idea that Scorpia, one of the last few people she trusted, would so much as consider breaking the disc, it finally exploded out of Adora in a burst of anger, the overwhelming burst of shadows physically exploding around her body, not enough to destroy the deadly jaws, and actually shattered the wristband along Adora's arm.

She didn't care if the shadows instantly spread to her neck and along the left half of her face, she didn't mind the fact her life depended on that disc being destroyed, and as surprised as she was by her own burst of anger, she still didn't care. She was ready and willing to die before letting the Rebellion claim another victory over her.

"I swear, Scorpia, I'll never forgive you if you break that disc!" Adora screamed in anger, even as her arms started to waver and the jaws sank a little deeper.

Scorpia was at an impasse as she looked between the disc in her claw and Adora. What was she supposed to do at a time like this? Risk her friendship just to save a friend who would probably hate her for the rest of her life, or obey Adora's dying wishes knowing she would be happy with her at long last before her final moments? Obviously she didn't want her friend to die, but if Adora was fed up with Scorpia as much as she was now, how would she deal with a friend hating her for the rest of her life?!

"It seems to me that caring about someone is the greatest adventure of them all." Sea Hawk commented, reminding the girl of their previous conversation as he stepped ahead of the rest. His inspiring words worked near-instant as the scorpion smiled back warmly, mixed with sadness, as she knew what she had to do.

"Sorry, shadow bunny." Scorpia apologized back to her begging friend. "But this is for your own good!" Adora's eyes widened in shock as she watched Scorpia raising the disc firmly above her head, unable to believe what she was about to do.

"Noooo!" Her cries of anger meant nothing to her as the Force Captain finally did what she had to do, what any true friend would do. With all of the weight of her arms, she threw the disc against the ground, smashing it into dozens of tiny pieces that brought forth the miracle of purple light that waved around them.

One after the other, the creatures returned to a more docile state as their eyes glowed blue once again, the one holding Adora in is jaw letting out a more peaceful roar as it dropped the Force Captain to the ground, leaving the feverish Adora sick and weakened as it retreated from the outpost, along with the surrounding creatures outside that began to run away of their own volition.

Among the infected, Catra also began to moan as consciousness left her, Glimmer finding her weight slipping out of her grasp as she fell to the floor.

"Catra!" Bow ran to the side of his collapsing friend as the virus slowly left her system. On the other side of the battlefield, Adora had reached an all new height of depressing anger as she weakly stood from the landing zone and refused to give up.

Her state looked terrible to anyone watching it. The shadows around her dissipated no matter how forcefully she made them stay with her, looking like the gel of a lava lamp slowly rising off the girl all around and disappearing. Her vision wavered back and forth as she tried to focus her attention on the group ahead of her, the people who, once again, ruined everything. And no matter how little muscle she had left, she refused to let any of her arms drop to the floor, breathing harshly as she glared daggers at the alliance ahead of her.

"This... T-This isn't... Huff... O-ov-ahh!" She couldn't even get a chance to declare how she was going to keep fighting as she was suddenly picked up around the waist by a trustworthy Scorpia, one who held a freed Entrapta in her other arm, as she rushed out the door. "Scorpia, put me down!" She shouted. "Did you hear me!? I said-!" She stopped as she saw her face.

There was nothing there other than determination as she focused on the exit. She didn't look at Adora, she didn't ask her for her opinion, she didn't say anything. All she did was worry about the girl's safety as they made their escape, against Adora's will, and retreated to the Horde ships that would take them home.

This was a day that Adoa lost, once again. And, for a change, one that left her more confused over her friends than not. It was a sight that left some of the remaining alliance members confused, save for a courageous pirate by the name of Sea Hawk, who watched the scorpion's retreat with tears of pride in his eyes, and a nod of understanding as the girl left.

"Catra, wake up!" Glimmer begged, returning the remaining group's attention back to her as they gathered at her side. "Catra, please, say something!"

"Is she going to be okay?" Frosta asked worriedly to the two.

"I don't know," Bow shook his head admitting, "she wasn't affected by the virus for this long last time. Who knows what other sort of ways it could've affected her." Seeing the worry in the rest of their eyes, the uncertainty in their expressions, Frosta frowned. She didn't care if Catra came back forgiving her or not.

As long as she came back at all, that would be enough for her.

...

...

"You what?" She-Ra replied, startled and surprised by the girl's reaction. She tried raising a hand to the girl again, only for Catra to slap it away once more.

"I said no!" Catra shouted, taking a step back.

"You're kidding, right?" The preteen Catra asked, grumbling behind her as she shared the others' disbelief. "Are you stupid or something? This is a chance you've been waiting for! Take it!"

"And what? That's it? I go on living without knowing what I hated everyone for?!" There was no way anyone was going to make her take it if that was the price she had to pay!

"But don't you want to be happy?" The youngest Catra asked, sniffling a little. "You could have a better life now, you could make some friends."

"It's not about me being happy or not, kid." She gritted her teeth. Whether or not she was dealing with a real child or a past version of herself, she still couldn't bare her fangs to a child that young. "It's about getting payback for what they did to me!"

"Then accept the stupid offer, and go!" The one closest to her, sporting an identical appearance to her, told her. It almost had a hiss of irritation behind the tone, heck, Catra knew the other one had a hiss of irritation behind it, seeing how she was the closest to what she currently was. "You can finally be She-Ra, the way you want to be! You can turn this whole war around! Who cares if you remember why you hate them or not?"

"Because it matters to me!" She grumbled, pounding her fist to her chest. "My life, everything I've suffered from the Fright Zone, was because of them. The people who made me regret ever being born, the ones who took every second of the day making my life miserable for their own amusement. They picked on me, bullied me, did everything to me, and now you're saying I should just forgive them?!"

"You wouldn't be forgiving them, Catra." She-Ra tried to diffuse the anger rising from the girl. "You're simply forgetting what they did to you that scarred you most."

"And that's the problem! I don't WANT to forget what they did to me! I want to remember everything! I want to remember why I hated them so much, I want to remember the reason I didn't care enough to go back to the Fright Zone after getting the sword! I want to remember what it was they did to me so I can have satisfaction in the end. Satisfaction that I finally got back at them for everything they did, to remind them it was their own faults I beat them in the first place!"

"So that's it then?" The preteen spat in disgust. "Pure selfishness, huh?"

"Call it what you want, I already said I don't care." It could've been easier, maybe. She could forget all her problems like they never happened in the first place, and go on living a semi-normal life. But what would be the point then? "I'm working for the Rebellion now, with the only few people I care about, to stop the Horde for my own reasons. I don't care if you call it selfishness, stupidity, or anything. I'm not about to let someone change how I remember someone, how I look at them. If I forget everything I joined the Rebellion for, then there's not even a reason for me to be here, is there?"

She-Ra could partly see what the girl was getting at. Her very reasons for being She-Ra while selfish, were still her own, and what defined her as the person she was today. If she lost her memories of those horrific events, she wouldn't just be losing a reason to keep fighting them, she'd be losing a part of herself. She would lose part of the reason she became the hero she is today.

"...Catra-"

"Just get me out of here." Catra interrupted, lowering her head to them as she turned away in anger. "I've had enough of this stupid place."

"... If that is what you wish." She-Ra replied emotionlessly.

One by one, Catra watched as the other Catras slowly disappeared, walking away into the shadows. Each of them with their own line of thinking as they disappeared into oblivion, with disgust and anger towards the one who had a chance to fix all of her problems and threw it away for her own personal gain. Out of the three, the only one Catra gave any heed towards was the youngest one, who looked back at her briefly with bitter tears in her eyes, before finally disappearing.

"You too, move it." Catra directed, unwilling to look at what she could have been in the end. "I'll wait till I wake up on my own or whatever."

"Very well." There was no use arguing as she started to walk away. She was the wielder of the sword, and she refused to force any opposition on the girl, especially one who had been through so much already. "But Catra," she continued, pausing, "if you ever wish to change your mind-"

"I won't." Catra stated as a fact. No one would convince her to do this. Nobody ever could other than herself.

"...Seek out Light Hope, then." She finished. "And she will purify your memories. Always know, no matter how much of my potential you achieve, you will always risk the chance of breaking the connection due to your emotions. Until you let go of the past, you will always be alone with your own worst enemy." She turned her head for the last time, catching Catra in the corner of her eyes. "Are you absolutely sure you want to-"

"Yes." There was no changing the girl's mind, no matter how much she tried to prod. "Just leave me alone. I'm tired of this place already."

"...Then we shall never meet again." As she entered, so she left, as a magnificent pillar of light descended from the heavens, enveloping her in a glorious light. "Goodbye, Catra."

Without another word, her voice echoed as the light returned to the heavens. All around her, Catra watched as the blackness slowly started to be enveloped by darkness, all while a grim look crossed her face.

She just did it. She gave up the one chance to be She-Ra easily, and she rejected it, an act she never thought she would do. She would've gladly taken the offer if there was some other means to it. Perhaps make her forget a single day? Perhaps make it so the memories didn't even bother her? She would've accepted those.

But this? This was truly the only way? She gritted her teeth as the surrounding darkness swallowed her from toe to head.

She refused it. She refused to give up the part of herself that made her who she was, the person that was scarred by her tragic past. To her, there could be no forgetting what those people did to her, what parts of her life were so messed up that she turned her back to them without a second thought. As long as she had that, nothing else mattered.

Not her reasons for being She-Ra.

Not her friends.

Not her.

Nothing...

...

...

"..Mmmh..." She moaned as she slowly came to, the others watching with joy as Catra winced. Slowly, the magicat lifted her eyes partway, eyeing the various people that were filling her vision as they looked down at her.

"Catra? Is that you?" Glimmer hoped. Who knows what would've happened if the virus affected her any longer? The fact she wasn't acting like a cat like last time already spoke for itself about how different it was this time around. What if she forgot about them? What if she was still the enraged She-Ra that nearly killed them? Only time would tell.

And time didn't have to wait very long as she blinked.

"...Please tell me I didn't lick anyone this time..."

...

...

The moonlight pierced the night's sky beautifully as Sea Hawk piloted his ship across the frozen sea. With their mission a success and everyone alright in the end, they were all looking eager to getting some nice, relaxing, sunshine and warmth from the comforts of their own home. Everyone was looking better for it, whether it was Frosta who had a makeshift blue sling around her right arm, or a bitter-looking Catra-turned-She-Ra who waited for them to return home. All in all, it was a hectic journey, but one they still survived.

At the princess's assistance, once again, giving a light nudge to Frosta, Glimmer watched from the other side of the boat as she anxiously approached the honorary princess who still seemed to be in a foul mood as she leaned over the ship's railing. She didn't know what to say as she looked over the ocean herself, leaning her good arm over the same structure as she debated how to make this conversation go.

"...I-"

"Is your arm okay?" Catra's sudden question shocked the girl as she faced her. She kept her focus on their surroundings rather than her, but the fact she still spoke to her at all seemed like a miracle.

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah!" She felt excitement as her heart pumped a little, gesturing to the sling she was wearing. She was actually talking to her again, it was wonderful! "Nothing too excessive. Bow said it'll be good as new in a matter of days-"

"Then get lost." Just like that, all the optimism she felt rising up was quickly torn asunder by Catra's next line. She still hadn't forgiven the girl, she wanted nothing more to do with her. The only reason she bothered checking on her was because it was her own fault to begin with since she attacked her in her enraged state. Whether or not she was in control mattered to her. As long as her arm was okay, that's all that mattered to her.

With a small frown, debating on how to proceed with the sudden situation, Frosta nearly opened her mouth to speak again before going silent. She remembers what the others talked about letting Catra be on her own. Walking away to the other princess and Bow, she knew she would have to. She knew to expect this, given the circumstances.

But it didn't make it any easier. For her, Bow, or Glimmer as they looked over the water of the railing from the other side, watching the calming waters themselves.

Out of the three, surprisingly, Glimmer was the most disappointed by the turn of events. She thought Catra would've changed again after the mission, like she always changed after a mission. Sometimes for the worse, others the best, but she always changed regardless.

Yet here, there was nothing. There was still a sense of betrayal Catra felt that she hadn't forgiven the young princess for her actions, a sense that she wasn't going to forgive her anytime soon. It was a harsh lesson Glimmer had to learn herself, but one she couldn't blame Catra for, seeing how she's the one who forced them to come in the first place.

Sometimes, people just didn't change...

...

...

"Achoo!" Adora sneezed as she rubbed her reddish nose. The cold she felt did little to contribute to the reddish face she had going on from the mix of the fever and her new ailment from the surrounding weather. Right now, she didn't know what annoyed her more- Entrapta's cheerful attitude, or the two ailments she was currently stuck with for the next few hours, not to mention days with her cold.

"What are you so happy about? We lost everything, Entrapta. The mission was a bust. A failure." It disgust her to consider the fact they failed for a third time in a row, and sickened her knowing what fate awaited her more than the sickness itself. "We have no sword, no Sh-Sh- Achoo!" She sneezed, blowing a bang of hair in front of her. "No She-Ra, no anything. Ghhhh... we didn't even do the mission we came here for." The thought of what awaited her made her shrivel as she hugged herself under the blanket.

"Hordak's going to have my head for this..." It almost made her tear up as she thought about it. She couldn't tell if she should feel worse knowing whatever punishment awaited her, or the fact she proved herself as a substantial failure to the ones she was trying to prove herself to for the last time. All she felt was an equal measure of disgust with herself and all she had tried to accomplish, and failed.

"Failure?" The chirpy scientist ran behind several of the crates still aboard the ship, returning a second later rolling in a large coin-like device grafted by the technology of the First Ones. It held intricate, beautiful, pink symbols across its border, all stretching from the serene pink diamond encrusted in the center. "The mission was a resounding success. Ta-daaaa! I got the First Ones tech!" She squealed hugging the miraculous marvel

"What?" It was nearly enough to make Adora's eyes pop open from the mix of shock, surprise, and happiness filling her, if not for the lack of energy she currently felt. "Where did- When did... How did you even get this?!"

"Oh, the bots salvaged it in their first dig before the creatures got to them." She casually remarked. "I would've said something sooner, but we were having so much fun that I didn't want to say anything. Isn't it amazing? This puppy will be able to power Hordak's portal technology and then some. He'll be so excited when he gets it!" The scientist cackled as she rolled the tech away into the ship.

Adora's never found a greater reason to breathe in relief than she did today. Despite all the ups, which, honestly, there were none of today, and the downs this mission had to offer, she had the pleasure of knowing that Entrapta had done her job successfully, and, more importantly, meant this mission wasn't a failure in the end. Knowing Hordak, it bothered her little if he decided to give the praise to Entrapta for the finding, seeing how she discovered it in the first place.

As long as Adora had a hand in it, that's all that concerned her, knowing it meant she was safe, and she did something right, all thanks to her friend, Entrapta. The day was actually much better than she truly thought. Speaking of which...

"Hhhghhhhh.." She turned to her left as she saw Scorpia still standing there, shivering from the cold as she hugged herself. With the happy look of her friend's face, Scorpia was satisfied enough to leave her be. It was like Frosta said to her earlier; if she wanted to help Adora as best she could, she had to stop bothering her and give her some space, resulting in her sadly walking away from the girl.

She just hoped, however long she did have to wait, it wouldn't be very lo-

*tug*

She was caught by surprise as she felt a small tug on her tail, turning around to see a small tendril stretched several feet away from the Force Captain around her tail, and a solemn-looking Adora looking away, partly in shame, and other in... she couldn't quite put her claw on it.

"Scorpia," she muttered quietly, "could... could you stay? Please?" Without showing it on her face, Scorpia's heart lit up like a star near-instantly. "I... I need to talk to you. Could you-"

"Oh, boy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed, rushing to Adora's side as she sat alongside her, throwing the rest of he blanket over her as the two huddled closely side by side. Despite the massive smile it brought to Scorpia's face, she couldn't help but frown a little after as she noticed the look of sadness on Adora's face as she stared straight ahead. "... So, um..." She scratched the back of her head to think of what to say. "I'm... sorry if I-"

"I'm scared." Adora cut her off, still refusing to look at her as she muttered softly.

"Scared?" Scorpia repeated in confusion. "Of what?" What could possibly scare her? She was brave, she was smart, she was strong. Save for Hordak when he's angry, there shouldn't be anything that could scare Adora.

"Of me." She admitted, further surprising Scorpia. "Scorpia, I... I don't know what's happening to me lately." She held up her hand in worry as she saw the shadowy veins under her skin. "It's like... A-At first, it was all easy, you know. I do a mission here, deal with the shadows later, and... just go about my day, you know? I hung out with you and Entrapta, we used to work together, and everything was fine."

"But now? Just... Lately, I've felt myself lose more and more control over my emotions, and been lashing out. I'm... I'm getting scared that I'm turning into something, and I don't know what..."

"Adora..." Scorpia spoke softly as Adora closed her eyes, seeing small streams of tears pouring from the corners of her eyes. In this weather, tears like that must've stung the moment she opened her eyes again and they froze over, and she didn't care.

"I-I-I do all that I can, but no matter what, it's just... It just keeps building up over and over again, and I feel myself losing more control because of it, and I... I feel like I'm losing myself in all of this." She let out a small hiccup as she shriveled. "The more I mess up, the angrier I get, and I... I lose control of my powers, and I... I..." She hung her head low as she struggled to fight against the tears.

She held in so much after all this time, held everything she could to keep herself together, but in the end, she still wasn't strong enough.

She couldn't hold it in.

"I feel like I'm turning into a monster." A monster she was more than aware of. She knew how she was acting only after she lashed out in rage, she knew what she said to people when she didn't mean it. She became so blunt and direct about her innermost thoughts that she barely registered who she was saying them to, and the fact she wasn't aware of it was what truly terrified her.

"...So what?" The reply threw Adora off guard as she opened her eyes again, looking into Scorpia's as she offered her a sweet smile. "Adora, I don't care if you're turning into a monster or not, you're still my friend."

"You... You don't?" Was Adora losing so much of her senses that she didn't even know if she said the right thing to Scorpia or not? Because she was pretty sure she said-

"So what if you're turning into a monster? It doesn't bother me," she went on, poking Adora's chest, "because I know what the real Adora is like inside and out."

"B-But... What about my anger-" Before she could say, she felt Scorpia wrapping an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her in tighter.

"So you have a few bad days and you get angry and something. And you have shadows coming out of you. So what? Octavia has tentacles, Rogelio has a tail and a lizard-head, it doesn't make them anymore of a monster than you are."

"B-But..." Her glum appearance returned as she looked away again. "I don't even know what I'm turning into... and I'm starting to lose focus of who I am."

"I already know who you are, Adora!" She smiled happily as she tugged again. "You're my friend, my best friend." For the first time, Adora actually looked back to her as the hiccuping stopped.

"You... You are?"

"Of course we are!" Entrapta ensured, appearing right next to the blond on her right, wrapping the other half of the blanket around her as she held it in her arms.

"...Entrapta, how long have you been there for?"

"Since I heard the crying start. I figured this would be a good time to work on my study on human-interactions with people."

"Wow, she's good..." Scorpia complimented, never noticing Entrapta's ninja-like presence like this.

"But it's true all the same, Adora." Entrapta smiled, patting her on the back with her twintail. "Honestly, I probably wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you, much less working with all this great stuff! I owe you a lot, Adora. We both do."

As comforting as it was to hear those words, it still left a small frown on Adora's lowering face. "B-But..."

"Uh-Uh, no buts. No more buts." Scorpia pushed away, waving her claw. "We promise that no matter what happens, we'll always be friends. Best friends."

"Yeah!" Smiling, Entrapta used her long strand of hair to bring Scorpia's claw to Adora's center, along with a smaller strand lifting Adora's pinkie finger to the front. "Along as the three of us are together, nothing bad can happen."

Adora's eyes flashed for a moment as the memory played out again, against her will. The flash of the numerous times she's told Catra, the times Catra said it right back, the moments of her life she never wanted to forget, no matter how much pain it brought her.

"Nothing bad can happen to us as long as we have each other."

"...D... Do you really mean that?" Adora sniffed.

"Of course we do!" Scorpia chirped up. "What are friends for?"

Adora... Adora felt a small smile creeping along her face as she lowered her head again, this time with a bit of warmth in her chest instead of the darkening cold. "T... Thank you..." At at this, Scorpia and Entrapta embraced the three of them tightly, finding comfort, and observations, in the group moment they shared.

This... This is a feeling Adora hasn't felt in a long time, one that she had almost forgotten. It was a sense of warmth, of comfort. To have a friend again, two friends, who vowed to be by her side when she needed them most, ones that... that she promised she would return the favor to... it was comforting.

The hole Catra left in her heart would never be replaced, not that she didn't wish it. The pain she caused her was still unbearable at the thought, and the fear filling its void that things would continue to get worse over the years was horrible to think of. Even now, she knew this moment wouldn't last forever, and for the first time, she actually wished it did.

Whether it was from the scorpion on her left that promised to be her best friend, no matter how angry Adora got at her, or the scientist on her right, who was never bothered whenever Adora yelled at her out of frustration, she knew she could count on them. Whenever she was feeling at her lowest, they could be the ones to bring her back up. No matter what happened in their lives, for the first time, Adora felt like she had genuine people she could count on to be by her side, ones that wouldn't betray her.

And no matter how little it was, it made Adora smile. "Thank you..."

"...By the way, Entrapta," Scorpia spoke up, "if you're here, who's managing the ship?"

Entrapta opened her eyes. "Huh?"

*Crash!*

"... I can fix that!"

...

...

The silent night was another blessing the Queen was thankful for, like every night, as she traversed the great halls of her castle. Nothing pleases her more than to see her darling daughter return with all of her friends, no worse for wear than when they originally left. Granted, Catra looked a little bitter, more than usual anyway, upon her return, but it was nothing some personal space couldn't fix as everyone else turned in for the day.

Like the many nights she enjoyed seeing, the sky was beautiful as it held the planets that stretched just beyond their reaches, their crimson or aquatic colors lighting up the sky around them as she flew towards the top of her castle. She remembered fondly of when she and Micah used to do this every night, a timeless tradition she wished Glimmer would share.

Not that the girl was interested, mind you, just that the days were far and few inbetween. Not to mention the silence gave the Queen some much needed peace of her own.

From the beautiful chirps of the crickets in the woods and the sound of rushing water from the nearby waterfall, everything, once again, was peaceful for the Queen, as her wings fluttered through the air and landed at the top of her-

"Catra?" The Queen spoke rather surprised as the magicat quickly looked back, sharing in the same.

"O-Oh, hey." She muttered, somewhat embarrassed as she stood up. "Spots all yours, I was just-"

"Nonsense," Angella smiled as she blocked the girl's exit, figuratively since she could climb down from any direction, "please, feel free to stick around."

"No, seriously, it's fine." Catra replied, ducking under the arm without a care in the world, or who she was talking to. "I was just on my way out-"

"Catra, I insist," the queen continued to suggest, lying a hand on her shoulder, "I could use the company."

"I insisss." She snarled, brushing the hand off as she rolled her eyes. "Seriously, lay off. I'm going to bed." It was times like this the queen had forgotten how different Catra was to the rest of them. She wasn't just a warrior or hero to the Rebellion, or some respectable young teen who knew her manners.

This was Catra, a hardened soldier of the Horde who kept things personal and to herself, and showed little interest for the people or things around her, the very same who respected her in turn. If she wasn't so used to Catra's behavior by now, such an act would've appalled her to witness out of anyone.

But, this was Catra she was dealing with, and the challenge it brought to her caused Angella to smile a little bit as she grinned. "Very well then, we'll do it your way." She declared, raising a finger to her before she left. 'Catra, as your Queen, I order you to stay here and keep me company."

"Gh-!" Catra froze on the spot with her foot still in the air. Of all the annoyances, all the things she had to put up with, nothing, EVER, was as infuriating as Angella ordering her to do something as her queen. The very act caused a great amount of irritation in Catra as she gritted her teeth, the ends of her hair sticking out as her tail wavered, just as Angella inspected.

With a growl, keeping her mouth closed, Catra sucked up whatever air she could before stomping her way over to the queen. "I hate it when you do that..." If it wasn't for the fact she lived here now, she would've sworn to get revenge on the queen for all she's done. Like, she planned to prank her and the rest like she usually did on a weekly basis, but that's besides the point. "Fine! But I'm out of here in five minutes, got it?" She grumbled, sitting at the queen's side with her knees curled and her arms around her legs, glaring at the ground beneath them.

"Hmhm, very well." Angella smiled as she sat near her, sitting with her legs at the side as she stared up at the planets above them. "Truly is a lovely night for this, isn't it?"

"Yeah... pretty..." She garbled, rolling her eyes again.

"You know, I did this once with Glimmer when she barely came up to my knees. She actually got scared and cried because she thought the planets were going to fall on us from the air. She was about four at the time." She remembered the memory fondly, and the many minutes after it took to calm her down and tell her everything it would be alright.

"Wow, amazing..." Like before, Catra barely paid her any mind as she shifted her eyes away. The fact Catra wasn't enjoying herself wasn't what got Angella to frown, but the way she wasn't enjoying herself seemed off compared to her usual self.

"Catra? Is something wrong?"

"No." She sputtered, a little too quickly for Angella's taste.

"Catra, come now. What seems to be the problem?"

"..." Expectantly, like the usual, Catra reminded silent as she wrapped her tail around her curled legs.

"...It's about Frosta, isn't it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Her reply was basically confirming what Angella assumed.

"Can you still not find it in your heart to forgive her?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because no, all right!" With a small shout, the girl huffed as she rose to her feet, walking away from the queen. She paid little attention to the woman as she flew in front of the girl, cutting her off. She didn't even care enough to turn the other way and leave again knowing she would just cut her off again. "Do you mind? Get out of the way."

"Catra-"

"Get out of the way!" Grumbling, she physically tried to force the queen to move with her own two arms, forcing the queen to act in turn as she grabbed the girl by her wrist, Catra struggling to pull out of them.

"Why are you being like this?" Not once in her life had she ever met someone so restless, so unwilling to talk about themselves or their issues. Even for the Horde, Catra was something else. "Wouldn't it feel better to get everything off your chest?"

"Gee, lemme think? NO!" She continued to struggle. If it wasn't for the fact it was the Queen she was dealing with, Catra would've been more than happy to scratch her, bite her, or anything else that would've thrown her off.

"Why not?" Unable to get an answer out of the girl, she finally released Catra's wrist as the girl continued to glare. "I know she hurt you Catra, but she's trying to make up for it. The least you could do is appreciate it a little at the very least."

"Tch, that's a laugh. We appreciate when our allies betray us here? No wonder the Rebellion hasn't won yet!"

"How can you..." It was taking everything Angella had not to react to the girl or her antics as Catra walked away again. "Catra, I can't begin to understand why this is so hard for you. I know you have issues with friends, but is it really too hard to think of her like family? To think of her as someone who cares for you like the Horde?" Just as Catra began to leave after all the annoyances, crouching down to prepare her descent down the walls, she stopped.

Angella was taken back a little as she saw the lack of response coming from the girl for a change, instead being drawn by the ears on the side of Catra's head as they slowly lowered with her head. A twinge of guilt rose up in Angella's chest as remembered who she was speaking to. "You... You're not used to being betrayed by people you care about, are you?"

"Oh no, I'm used to it alright. PLENTY!" She had such a fire in her eyes as she looked back, practically stomping her way up to Angella's front as she glared at her. "I cared about who picked on me so I could get back at them, I care about who tried to prank me so I could prank them twice as hard next time. And I definitely cared about the people who used me for their own gain so I could get payback on them as soon as possible!"

"You think I'm being unreasonable in not forgiving them? You guys keep going on and on about being a team and some junk when you don't look at the reality around you. You let people in who stab you in the back when you least expect it, and when you do expect it, you don't know what to do because you care too much about them enough for them to get away with betraying you again! And I refuse to be that gullible!" Grumbling, she stormed over to the front of the castle's roof again, sitting as she did before with her head down.

The guilt that piled up in Angella's chest was heavy as she contemplated her every word. She could very well understand what Catra was coming from, where she was getting all of it, and why she was the way she was. The Horde did things to the cadets they raised that she didn't want to even picture, especially if it was just directed at Catra herself. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't figure out how to fix it.

What could she say to the girl that hasn't already been said before? How would she open Catra's eyes in a way that wouldn't come down on her and let her open her mind a little bit more for the first time? She was the sturdiest person she's ever met when it came to their feelings, the toughest person to break through.

As well as the most sensitive.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I... I keep forgetting who I'm dealing with, or where they're from." Unknown to the apologizing queen, there was a short moment of Catra frowning to herself that only lasted for a few seconds. "I've had a life of hardships too, but I was surrounded by people who loved me, who motivated me to be the person I am today. I just thought that..."

"Thought what?" Catra couldn't wait to roll her eyes at whatever reply she gave her.

"...I thought you would've felt the same way about the people who care for you."

There was no rolling of the eyes. There was no taunting, no teases, ignoring on Catra's part. She wanted to find something to mock about it, something useless to find in it, but she never did for once. For a change, she was left without anything clever or witty to remark. And she didn't know why.

"...I'm going to bed." She announced, getting back to her feet and ready to turn in.

"Catra, wait." Rushing to her side, she grabbed Catra's shoulder from behind, fueling Catra's fire once more.

"For the last time, I'm not-"

"I want to make a deal with you." She was a queen second, and a mother first. And if she couldn't appeal to Catra in one way, then she would attempt to in another, one that played on Catra's fascination with deals. "I'll tell you what- I promise to stop bugging you about your past, about your life, about your days, and I promise to stop giving you direct orders as your Queen, if you can do just one thing for me from now on."

"Yeah, like what?" She groaned knowing it was going to be something stupid. Probably like forcing her to forgive someone, aka Frosta, maybe be nicer around here, which, lets face it, was a total waste of a wish and would never happen, and above all, she would probably ask her to be respectful towards everyone and everything for the rest of her life.

She almost wanted to see how stupid it was going to be.

"I want you to realize that you are no longer in the Fright Zone. You're somewhere safe." ...Ok, there wasn't much stupid in that she could find. But she was willing to bet it was going to get worse! And it did... as she turned Catra around, lowered down to her height, and smiled warmly in her eyes as she stroked Catra's cheek. "And to remember, that within Bright Moon, you're surrounded by people who love you. People who look up to you to forgive them as they forgive you Can you promise me that?"

Catra was... was speechless for a change. She didn't know what to feel. She didn't feel angry, she didn't feel sad, she couldn't bring herself to say anything stupid about what the Queen announced. In fact, she... she didn't know how to respond. She didn't even feel embarrassed for the first time after hearing something so cheesy, so stupid that she'd rather cough up hairballs instead. She just felt... different... for a moment.

She shifted her eyes away as she gently grabbed Angella's hand, pulling her hand away softly as she tried to find something to say. "U-Um... I-"

"Ah." Angella wouldn't let her respond as she put a finger to her lip. "You have no need to tell me. Instead, I want your actions to speak for them. If you promise to think of everyone in the Rebellion with an open mind, then come sit by me for a short while longer and watch the sky. If not, you may leave of your own volition, and it'll be the last we ever discuss this." With her decree, Angella walked her way back to the center of the roof's ledge, gazing at the stars as she anxiously waited for a response.

She couldn't help it. How could it be helped? She took a small glance at the catgirl who continued to look away with unease, unsure of what to do. When she thought she had actually considered it for a moment, Catra decided to walk away, unsure herself of what to go with. It was a choice that the queen gave in full to the girl, and she still continued to sigh when she saw the result. For a moment, she honestly thought she might've reached her, and the next moment, the feeling went away.

Maybe she didn't push in the right direction, or maybe it was too sudden or hard for her to adapt to. Whichever the case, it was the one she would have to live with as she gazed back at the planets shining down on them.

*-t*

*-at*

*pat*

One which didn't look like she would have to deal with alone. Looking back to the other side, the queen smiled warmly as she saw Catra coming back, having walked around the entire pillar-like top of the castle as she reappeared on her right. Catra didn't give her any direct attention as she sat alongside her again, curled up knees once more as she hugged her legs, looking away.

"...This doesn't mean anything." She muttered, earning a small chuckle from the queen as she unfurled her right wing, wrapping it around the girl, to Catra's blushing face.

"Of course it doesn't." It was more than enough for the queen to enjoy the rest of the night as she stared back at the sky, overjoyed to have a friend to enjoy the show with even if she didn't watch. Catra might not ever change on the outside towards people, but she knew, inside, however small, she was starting to warm up a little.

And it was more than enough to make Glimmer smile as she overheard the entire thing from the windows under them, wearing her PJs as she looked up at the sky in gratitude.

Thanks, Mom...

... And sometimes, people did change.

...

...

...

A/N: And with it, another episode down, one with a much warmer ending than the previous one ^^ and hopefully not one that lit someone on fire...

Lol, i'll admit, it felt nice to just write a simple, goofy, episode after awhile. Sure, there was the previous one, but it ended kind of sadly, I'll admit, so to leave one with a refreshing ending felt nice ^^ it was an enjoyable experience to write from beginning to end of this chapter as I did it all within the day. Now, it's time to move on to the next episode, one guaranteeing to leave us with more laughs, less feels, and a whole lot of good times ^^

Which reminds me, what is the next episode anyway? ... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

...Hope you enjoyed, please leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon, god help us all next episode X_X...