A/N: Final Word Count: 10.6k Pre-A/N's. And once again, we come to another exciting chapter with another dash of excitement, humor, and emotion! Really not much to say here folks but thanks to everyone understanding my point about Adora with the last chapter- was honestly fretting how the feedback was going to turn out from that (I'm too paranoid after one chp of a fic i did some time ago i posted in 2 parts- without the 2nd part being posted on the same day or same chapter, people were freaking bashing it within hours X_X)
Speaking of which, writing might get a little sloppy/too straightforward towards the end, my head was getting a little fuzzy as I neared the ending scene. Headaches are a usual when I write/come up with 10k words worth of stuff to write a day XP
Anyway, hope you all enjoy!
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"Mmmh..." This was the most infuriating staring contest Catra's ever been a part of as she sat across from Bow, atop the hanging bed from where Glimmer usually sleeps, where she slept now even as she rested her head against Bow's shoulder, as the two continued to stare at each other.
Bow made it his current-life mission to keep his eyes glued to the cat for as long as possible. He wasn't going to let her out of her sight, let her get the jump on them, or, most importantly, take off in a mad dash for Shadow Weaver's prison, like she wanted.
There was no warning for the witch's sudden appearance as she appeared in Catra's room in the middle of the night. Needless to say, Catra's greeting with her went about as well as anyone could have expected. Without wasting a beat, giving the woman a chance to explain her presence, she tore into the woman with her bare fists.
She got the jump on her as she kept lunging and charging at her, she smacked her around like it was nothing as she threw her into her assortment of furniture around the bedroom. She knew that the moment she gave Shadow Weaver a chance to catch her breath, that she would use some of her twisted magic on her, even with the sword by her side.
Instead, the witch never came here to cause trouble or fight them to begin with. As Catra came to understand, and still refused to care, the woman came seeking Catra's own assistance for something, reaching out for the girl she had tormented since childhood. Watching her collapse in front of her, practically on her knees, she knew that for the first time in her life that Shadow Weaver was being genuine, and sincere.
And she didn't care.
It took Bow and Glimmer's combined strength to pin the girl down long enough to get the guards to capture the weakened woman, to escort her to the makeshift cell. They couldn't let Catra carry out any angry vendettas she had against the woman, knowing not of what she did specifically to Catra, just that Catra's hated her for it ever since.
She wanted Shadow Weaver to suffer, to feel agony, to experience pain like she did throughout all her life. And, as it stood, she was very tempted to relinquish her bond with the sword, the thing tied to her emotions and her heart, if it meant possibly achieving that.
But first, she had to get past these two idiots who wouldn't let her leave the room!
It was getting harder and harder for the girl to keep her eyes open like this, never staring so intently before against somebody else. She's played plenty of games in the past against other kids growing up, usually when she was making bets and whatnot for snacks the kids were hoarding, and, of course, she skillfully won. Even if those skills required trickery on her part like making them flinch or something, a wins a win and a treat was still a treat!
Here, she couldn't afford to do any of those stupid tricks, unfortunately. As long as Glimmer rested sleepily on Bow's side like that, she couldn't move around too much without giving herself away or waking the princess up. Her eyes drooped a little at the thought of it, given how late it was in the night and the wake-up call she had a short while ago.
"Mmm..." She mumbled to herself as her eyes lowered a little. Bow copied this apparent drowsiness as his own eyes slowly lowered. Catra refused to give up in her quest for vengeance, that much was for certain... But... maybe a little sleep wouldn't hurt as much.
"Mmmmm..." The girl mumbled to herself again as her ears lowered, along with her eyes and head. Like mimicry, the archer found his own eyes drooping like the shades from a curtain. The magicat appeared to give her last yawn as her head bobbed up and down, the motion somehow making Bow's eyes feel even heavier.
Seeing how Catra was defeated, the archer finally dozed off on his own, hoping to take a quick power-nap, and finally closed his own eyes to join the duo in Snoozeville.
"...?" Or, so he thought, as Catra opened a single eye. She kept her eye on the two for a full ten seconds, counting to herself to make sure, before grinning.
Getting to her own two feet, the sly cat carefully reached over to the two, waving a short quiet hand in front of both of them, just to make sure there wasn't any sort of reaction. First Glimmer, then Bow. Nothing. And that was more than enough coverage for the girl as she slowly stepped towards the edge of the bed, being careful not to shake it too much as she jumped down. Feet planted firmly to the ground, she gave one last look to the bed before grinning, running towards the door.
"Hah! Idiots." Catra sneered as she peered her head out the door to make sure the coast was clear. No guards to the left, or to the right, and her ears weren't picking up anything. "This is almost too easy-"
*Twang*
"Huh? Ahhh!" The magicat let out a cry of fear as she was suddenly hoisted up into the air by her foot. To her surprise as she looked back down, apparently the so-called "idiots" didn't leave the room unguarded as much as she thought.
Not two steps out of the room did Catra find her foot crossing an incredibly thin yet durable tripwire, one that went off at the slightest touch. By the time she could so much as feel the wire her foot was crossing, it was already too late. In a matter of seconds, the cat's foot was suddenly snagged by a large sturdy rope as it was hoisted into the air, leaving the cat girl dangling from the ceiling as the pulley system worked its technical magic.
On top of that, her two friends didn't seem as asleep as she first expected because three seconds into the trap going off did she see both of their unamused faces staring up at her ten feet below her, both of them with their arms crossed and neither one of them looking surprised.
At this, Catra just gave a nervous grin, having realized she had been played for a fool this whole time. "Ehh... I had to go to the bathroom? Heheh..."
"You mean the one connected to my room by the other door?" Glimmer shot back.
Catra's Attempt To Break Into Shadow Weaver's Prison Cell #3 - Failed.
...
"My mom had Shadow Weaver transferred to this room." Glimmer informed the guard in front of the door, who nodded in response.
"We haven't seen Catra in the last ten minutes." Bow added. "Wherever she is, she couldn't have gotten far. And I doubt she knows about the switch yet."
"Either way, we should get some more guards." Glimmer suggested, earning an agreeable nod from Bow. "Long as she doesn't know about the switch, Shadow Weaver should be safe for now." And another agreeable nod from the guard. With this, the trio made their way down towards the hall, intending to find more help to guard the prisoner's cell from the sneaky cat.
The very cat who grinned as she heard every word as they passed by.
She wasn't surprised none of them were aware of her presence at the time, given how creative her hiding spot was. It was the last place the dweebs were expected to look for a person. It wasn't something like being right under their noses or anything. Rather, it was the complete opposite as Catra looked down upon them from the ceiling above.
One of the greatest traits she was proud to be blessed with were her claws. With nails as sharp as hers, it was easy for her to sink her claws into the ceiling, even if it required a great amount of strength to maintain her hold over the hallway's top as she traversed through the castle at a snail's pace.
Thanks to this, none of her friends were aware of her presence as she slowly unhooked her claws from the ceiling, leaping down to the floor's rug as quietly as possible. Gazing at the door, it made sense to her that they would try something as sneaky as transferring a prisoner she wanted to another room.
Looking back on it, it almost seemed like an act to the girl as Angella and Castaspella insisted the room they were about to enter, the prison room where she couldn't catch Shadow Weaver's scent thanks to the barrier, was the one they were holding Shadow Weaver in. And with everyone else having traversed the castle on a daily basis, there was no way in knowing which room the Queen and her friends had been to and which ones they haven't.
She had to admit, it was impressive how well their acting was.
But nothing pulls the wool over Catra's eyes twice.
Smiling, once again making sure the coast was clear as she reached for the handle, the magicat quickly dashed into the room, sliding against the ground in case there were another pair of guards hiding behind the door, ready for her. Jumping to her feet, she had her claws outstretched and ready as she glared at the center.
"All right Shadow Weaver, what are you-!" All of her fame and fluster grinded to a halt almost immediately as she blinked. "Huh?" She stood straight as she looked around the empty room, one that was identical to the guest room, save for a lowly prisoner, queen, and aunt that were missing from the premises. "Where is everybo-"
*Thud!*
*click*
"Wha- HEY!" Catra shouted as she rushed back for the door. The very moment that the cat had entered the room did she fall into, yet again, another of her friends' devious trap.
From the other side of the door, her friends smiled to themselves, along with the guard, as they pulled out the key from the handle, locking the door in place in time as they heard the familiar pounding from the other side.
"Hey! Let me out of here!" Catra shouted, pounding her fists against the door.
Of course, her friends were more than aware of Catra's tricks up to this point, including they ones that have yet to see that they knew she was capable of. With how easily Catra usually scaled the walls of the inside of the castle when she wanted her space, usually finding a good perch to sit on above them within the taller rooms, it made too much sense to expect that she'd be sneaking around a ceiling at some point.
Granted, the one thing they couldn't predict on was where and when the magicat was going to near them since acknowledging the sight of her would mean she would give up on her current trick to try and find another means of infiltrating the castle.
So, instead, they decided to play Catra's own game against her by staging a prison transfer to the current room she was occupying, and putting on their own act by pretending Shadow Weaver was inside the room they were in front of, and ran around the hallway in a full circle until Catra finally took the bait, hook-line and sinker.
An act they had to preform at least several times in a row before Catra finally fell for it.
"That should keep her out of trouble for a few minutes." Glimmer stated as she handed the key back to the guard. "Thanks for the help."
*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*
"You guys are dead after I get out of here, I swear!" Catra yelled from the other side as her friends continued to listen.
"It's for your own good, Catra." Bow called back in a casual tone. "Trust us."
"Gee, you're right. How about opening the door so I can shake your hand on how much I trust you?"
"You can forget it, Catra." Glimmer replied. "We're not letting you out of the room until my mother's done with Shadow Weaver. Period."
"Grrrrrr!"
*BAM*
*BAM*
Bow did have to admit, the girl was very persistent on getting out of there. "How long do you think that'll hold her for?" He asked looking to Glimmer.
"Meh," Glimmer shrugged back, "I'd give it five... six-ish minutes before she either breaks out or finds a way to sneak out herself."
Catra's Attempt To Break Into Shadow Weaver's Prison Cell #17 - Failed.
...
Peering around the corner, having finally lost track of Bow and Glimmer for the last fifteen minutes, Catra grinned to herself as she finally donned the helmet, making her way over to the guard outside of Shadow Weaver's prison cell and to her greatest plan yet!
"Ahem." She gruffed, catching the guards attention. Presently, the girl was clad in an oversized guard uniform with the ends of her outfit dragging to the floor. With all the supplies she could get her hands on, knowing Glimmer and Bow wouldn't think to check for her in the armory as she came out with a perfect disguise.
A large white robe that covered her whole body, the spears that all the guards were equipped with to prepare for combat, silken white, almost transparent, gloves to cover her furry hands, which she was thankful for as they gave off the appearance of white skin, and a helmet that covered her head, spending several minutes flattening her hair down enough so she could get it over her head without it puffing up in the back.
Yes, she truly had the perfect representation of somebody resembling a guard whose outfit was oversized and dragging... if the ears and the tail to her sides and behind her didn't make it even more blatantly obvious.
"The, uh, Queen wants to see you immediately." She saluted with a scruffy voice, trying to retain her disguise. "I'll remain guard in your stead."
"...You mean the Queen who's in the room behind me?" The female guard remarked. Catra paused as she contemplated to herself. There was a slight chance she may have been running out of ideas here.
Crud, that usually works... She cleared her throat again. "Uhh, y-yes! She wants you to go to the Throne Room first to, eh, secure it first for her arrival!"
*swiff*
*clang*
With the guard not wasting any of her or the horrible actress's time, she casually swiped off the tip of her helmet straight from Catra's head as it clattered against the floor. Here, Catra blinked to herself for a bit as she tried to come up with a new idea, all while her hair puffed up again and her ears rose.
"...Uhhh con... gratu... lations. You passed the... I'm not a guard test. You passed with flying colors!" She stated, pointing down the hallway. "There is an award ceremony in your honor to celebrate waiting for you in the kitchen."
*swish*
"CATRA!" Glimmer yelled, red-faced and irritated at the number of times she had to pull her friend away like this. She didn't give the girl a chance to explain herself as she grabbed onto her shoulder, teleporting the two away again like she had been for the last hour, leaving a bewildered and confused castle guard behind.
"So, wait, there isn't a ceremony for me, then?"
Catra's Attempt To Break Into Shadow Weaver's Prison Cell #35 - Failed.
...
*swish*
"Ah-!" From his peaceful rest on the bed, Bow nearly jumped as he drew his arrow at the sound of Catra and Glimmer teleporting back into her bedroom. As annoyed as Glimmer was for having to spend the past several hours dragging the magicat back to her room, it didn't come close to comparing to Catra's own irritation at their refusal to let her pass.
"Gahhh! You guys are such a PAIN!" She grumbled, squeezing at her head as she walked away from the girl.
"Look who's talking!" Glimmer shot back. "Don't you get it, Catra? We're just trying to look out for you!"
"I'm not asking you guys to look out for me!" She barked. "Look, I don't know what Shadow Weaver's doing here, but if anyone can get her to talk, it's me. Not you, not your mother, ME!"
"And that's probably what she wants." Bow replied, walking to Glimmer's side. "Don't you find it weird she came to you first of all people? If she was up to something else, she probably would've targeted Glimmer, or Queen Angella. Instead, you went to you first. And I'm willing to bet if you went in there, you'd be falling into any trap she has."
"Don't you think I know that?" She snarled, having already thought about every reason Shadow Weaver came here in the first place while trying to break into her prison. "That I didn't stop to think for one moment why she was so desperate? Whatever Shadow Weaver's planning, it has to do with me. And I don't have a choice but to fall into it before she makes people suffer for it." Growling a little, the angry warrior pulled out her sword from her back. "I should've just gone She-Ra from the start."
"Catra..." Pulling back his arrow, Bow grabbed her attention as she saw a sight she never expected to see, except for when she first met them.
Bow pulling back his arrow a little threateningly as he kept his eyes locked on her, and Glimmer actually gathering a tiny bit of her sparkling magic in her right hand. Unlike the archer, the princess had a small frown at her face, knowing where this was possibly headed.
"You're kidding, right?" Hissing, the girl gripped her sword tightly as she pointed it to the bowman. "You're really going to fight me if it means keeping me here, huh?"
"Not fight, hold back." He clarified. He knew the way Catra played, the way she insisted on whatever irritated her the most. If the girl was actually considering going She-Ra just to break into the prison cell, then Bow knew he couldn't let it past him. He kept an arrow locked on the sword itself, ready to shoot it out of her heads if he needed to.
"And you don't think I'll fight you to get through?" She said, slightly threateningly as she bared her teeth.
"Catra, we don't want to fight you." Glimmer remarked, taking a step closer. "We just want to keep you safe. It's not that we don't trust you to deal with Shadow Weaver, it's that we don't trust Shadow Weaver in whatever she has planned for you."
"So you're going to fight me to keep me safe from someone else?" She rolled her eyes at the comment. "Yeah, perfect logic right there."
"I already said, we don't want to, Catra." To prove her point, Glimmer diminished the energy she had gathering around her hand until it disappeared. To add to this, as he saw, Bow lowered his own weapon from her. "And I really don't think you want to either."
"You don't know me as well as you think, Glimmer." She growled. "Not when it comes to that woman."
"Yes, I do." She stated, taking another step forward as she looked into Catra's rage-filled eyes. "You hate her, Catra, and you don't want that woman anywhere near your life. But I don't think you'd start fighting us over her, either."
Catra glared at the girl with such a ferocity and anger the likes of which she's never felt before. Why were they being so ridiculous behind all of this? Why were they trying to make her feel like the bad guy here? Shadow Weaver was the one who started this whole mess, she's the one who ruined an otherwise great day for the girl, and just by showing up.
She knew what Shadow Weaver was like better than the rest of them, even Adora. She was cruel, vile, malicious, did everything she could for her own personal agenda, and was willing to use and hurt anybody that stood in her way, and make examples of others who disobeyed.
Examples like herself.
So, yeah. They were planning to get in her way, huh? That was actually perfectly fine for Catra as she squeezed her grip on the sword. In cases like these, this made them her enemies, and that was the best way she could think of them as. She wasn't going to let Shadow Weaver do whatever she wanted, she wasn't going to let her try to ruin her new life, and she wasn't going to let anything, or anyone, stand in her way!
"You wanna be like that? Fine!" With a scowl, the enraged magicat rose her sword to the air. "For the Honor of..." While she spoke the oath, she couldn't stop staring at the look Glimmer was giving her, or the one Bow was sharing. "...F-For... For the Honor of... of..." Her ears started to lower. They were making such stupid faces that she couldn't think straight. Why was she having such a hard time with this? She just had to say "Grayskull", and then she'd be unstoppable, capable of bursting into Shadow Weaver's cell within minutes!
"...Aaaaagggghhhh!"
*clang!*
The two watched as Catra threw her sword to the ground, grumbling as she made her way over to the wall, leaning against it and crossing her arms. "You guys are SO annoying!" She huffed, shifting her eyes away. The two friends ahead of her stared at each other before walking to the girl, trying to offer their support given the circumstances.
"Catra, do you really want to see her just to get revenge?" Glimmer asked curiously.
"What do you think? Of course, I do! Do you have any idea what that woman's done to me all my life?" Just mentioning it was enough make Catra's scowl soften, looking a little hurt as she wrapped her tail around her own waist, lowering her ears.
"Every day I spent growing up with that woman, she made my life miserable, okay? She abused me since I was a kid, she haunted me wherever I went, ordering me to do my work and insulting me even when I did it right. It was always "Adora this", "Adora that", with her, and when it came to me, she was sickened just by looking at me." The friends were a bit surprised by this as the cat continued to open up about her past with Shadow Weaver.
"I tried getting along with her almost everyday. She made me jealous of the fact Adora had something close to a... I don't know, something. And I thought if I managed to impress her somehow, I'd get the same kind of respect she gave Adora, and she never did. She just pushed me aside from day one like I was invisible or something, except when she needed someone to yell at."
"So... you hate her because you were jealous of Adora?" Bow wondered, trying to understand where the story was getting at.
"I hate her because of how she treated me! Any time I spoke out of turn, she'd abuse me. Whenever I did something against her orders or something she didn't like, she'd terrify me with her magic, assault me with it sometimes! And when I did something really stupid, something that got her precious Adora hurt," she paused as she slammed the side of her fist against the wall, "she'd actually torture me!" The scars she received from that memory, emotionally and mental, would never stop plaguing her.
"Catra..." Glimmer's brow wavered a bit as she heard the girl. They've never seen this side of Catra before, one who had an evenly balanced mix of outrage and sadness. It was like the angrier she was about Shadow Weaver the more sad she became, and vice versa. And any time she tried to speak out of anger or sadness, she sounded more hurt, like a child who didn't know how to feel.
Trying to do anything to comfort her friend, she held Catra's arm gently in her right hand, getting her to look at her. "Look, I know how you feel, all right? Don't forget she tortured me too-"
"You call THAT torture?" She hissed a little, shaking her arm off. "Pinky, what she did to you, is what I WISH she did to me. What you experienced was nothing more than Shadow Weaver doing her job." She stated, pointing back to herself. "What she did to me, on the other hand, I-..." She squeezed her fist as she looked away. "... I can't even mention it. And she did it for two days straight!" Glimmer was at an impasse, unable to comprehend just how terrified she should be right now.
To suffer physical abuse from someone one looked up to and being able to describe it, or suffering abuse from someone one looked up to and being unable to do so. She's never felt more sorry or hurt for Catra before in her life just thinking about it.
"And now she's here, and I finally have a chance to get some payback, and I..." Catra struggled to find the words to say, ones that wouldn't rise to her lips for some reason. "I need to do something about it."
"... Do... Do you really want revenge then?" Bow finally asked, getting Catra to turn back.
"What are you talking about? Of course, I do!"
"But it doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't?" Catra hoped he wasn't rubbing his chin trying to picture what Shadow Weaver did to her because if she couldn't describe it, she shouldn't have to.
"Well, think about it for a minute. Out of anywhere she could've gone, she came to you of all people."
"Yeah, and I think we explained that a dozen times by now."
"But that's just it, Catra. If Shadow Weaver did all that stuff to you, abused you, treated you so terribly, then she'd have to know about it too and all, right? Which meant she came here knowing how you felt about your past. So if that was the case... then why did she feel it necessary to come to you at all if she felt like you wouldn't listen to her anyway?"
"I-" Catra paused mid-sentence. "... I don't know..."
"Do you think it's really revenge you're feeling right now, Catra?" Glimmer questioned as Catra lowered her head. "Are you sure you're just not sure how else to feel about her, that you're mistaking it for something else?"
"Like what?"
"Like, I don't know, curiosity?" She suggested, getting a twinge of legitimate surprise out of Catra as she thought about it. "Maybe you don't really want to hurt her or anything, or as much as you're describing it as. Maybe you just want to talk? Was there anything she said to you when you first saw her?"
"She..." Catra recalled the state she was in, the way she groveled as she collapsed to her knees. The weakened form she had, the humiliating appearance of someone begging at her feet, the cry for help she requested from her, the one person in the world she knew would sooner throw her over a cliff rather than help her. It actually did make her motive questionable.
And she still didn't know how to feel. "I... I don't know." She admitted with a frown. "I... I just know if I don't figure out what's going on right now, she's going to make everything worse, you guys. And I... I don't want her to hurt anyone around here, not like she did me." She held a small mournful look on her face as she turned her head away from them. "Please..." She muttered, unable to finish her plea for their help.
The two looked among themselves in contemplation for this. From everything Catra told her, Shadow Weaver, this woman, was part of the reason Catra became the person she is today, the one that as cynical, apprehensive, quick to anger, and lacked a certain amount of trust in others. It wasn't just the trust she lacked from being hurt by others, but from others who would've hurt her back for hurting the ones they cared about.
And she was right about Shadow Weaver. The woman was, from her description, vile, manipulative, and cared for nothing other than one person in the world, and Catra had every right to be angry and untrusting of her. They almost would've agreed with her in that Shadow Weaver deserved to be punished, to an extent.
But they also knew there was another pain behind Catra's anger towards her. She had the anger of a child who never had the attention of a parent like she wanted, one that would lash out just to get them to notice her. All her life, Catra was the one who tried to be the perfect student, tried to be the one that Shadow Weaver recognized, and she denied her.
It was that denial that got her to where she was today, the jealousy that made her hate Shadow Weaver for what she did. Because she never felt the sensation of someone close to a family member before, never experiencing how it felt.
Growing a small smile to one another, Glimmer approached the girl again with a confident look in her eye. "We trust you, Catra, and we're with you." Hearing this, the girl's ears shot straight up, turning around in surprise.
"You... you are?" She was a little skeptical of the announcement, wondering if this was going to be another trick to lock her in a room again for the third time now.
"But we're not going to let you face her alone." Bow added, assuring their commitment as she smiled a little. "We're coming with you, one way or another. Now what do you need us to do?" Grinning, the cat went back to her sword, staring at it a little, before sheathing it in her back. If they were willing to help her then she knew she couldn't go through with her vendetta with them in the way. They were willing to give her a chance to prove herself, and it couldn't be squandered.
Not even for Shadow Weaver.
...
"For the last time, tell us what you know." Castaspella demanded as she crafted the mystical runes in front of her out of thin air.
The prison became far more depressing as the time went on, which was saying a lot given how luxurious it would be compared to actual prisons. Every question they demanded, every answer Angella and Castaspella wanted from Shadow Weaver, was met with another snide comment or a petty insult, infuriating the women who tried desperately to retain their composure.
If she wasn't insulting the women themselves, she was poking at their history. From the time she tortured Glimmer to the ways she remarked about Micah's past, and her past as his teacher when he was young. She knew all the right buttons to get a rise out of these two women as she delayed them, refusing to give them any answer until she got what she wanted herself.
And, while time was of the essence, she could do it for as long as she needed to.
"I know that when you use a truth spell, you should make sure you've drawn it correctly." Shadow Weaver replied, pointing out a line within the rune that was still incomplete like the others. "Sloppy work. Are you sure you're Micah's sister?" And there she went again with another insult.
This time, it proved to be enough for the woman as she tried to march her way towards her. Like she did before with Angella, this time Angella was the one who cut her off from making a scene, cutting off her path. ""She's trying to get under our skin." She stated.
"You could spare yourself the trouble if you would just let me talk to Catra." She casually reminded.
"No!" The Queen flat out denied her, shaking her arm. "You've put that girl through enough. Now tell us the truth."
"You want the truth?" Shadow Weaver sighed, leaning on her knuckles as she sat on her knees. "Very well." The women prepared themselves as Shadow Weaver appeared to be relenting. It was here that they forgot that appearances were deceiving.
"When I had my fun with your daughter, Adora had her share of the fun next." Her eyes narrowed with glee as the queen balled up her fist. "I can assure you, that at least one of them were enjoying themselves. But I'm sure Catra told you plenty about it herself, right? After all, she was such dear friends with the both of them, and you know how trusting she can be..."
Angella nearly lashed out in anger right then and there, her wings almost flapping open in aggression at the woman's statement. If she wasn't for the fact she was trying to keep a reasonable and dignified demeanor, she would've felt tempted to let Catra try her own hand at this woman. "Quit wasting our time and answer me! Why did the Horde send you here? What are you planning?"
In reaction, the woman laughed at her meager questions. "You think Hordak sent me? I escaped from Hordak and paid the price for it." She emphasized her point as she held up her arm, showing the magical dark hazy essence that continued to leech off the woman. That took more out of the woman than she expected in herself as she let out another violent cough.
All around her, the women watched as another mist of haze spread away from the wicked witch, Shadow Weaver struggling to hold herself up to her hands and knees as she coughed. During this, the queen came to realize exactly what she was going through, feeling a small drip of remorse for the horrendous woman.
"You're dying, aren't you?" The question caught Castaspella by surprise as she looked between the two. If there was one quality she knew Angella had as an immortal over most people, it was her vast knowledge of the world and its history, including possible ailments.
Looking at her in person, she came to realize that it couldn't be anything else herself. The way Shadow Weaver coughed violently, the small rasp in her voice from time to time. It had all the signs of a dying woman, the signs of someone with barely anyone left to live for as she forced her way to Bright Moon's castle. Nobody else would've done such a thing otherwise by themselves.
Taking a moment to take in the scene, she finally looked back to Angella as she spoke, "Angella, can I speak with you for a moment?" She requested. Glancing once more at the woman kneeling before her, she gave a small nod, heading to the door with head sorceress.
Even that didn't get the woman to stop in her little fun.
"Oh, and be sure to give my regards to your daughter." Angella shot her head back as Shadow Weaver brought her up again. "If I knew how much fun Adora intended to have with her, I would have told her to ease up..." She took all the satisfaction she needed as she saw a small glare forming over the woman's eye before the doors closed behind them.
This has been quite the amusing day to her so far.
"Mmmmmh!" Angella grumbled, trying to refrain from shouting as she stepped away from the door. "I owe Catra more of an apology than I thought. How did she put up with an entire lifetime with that insufferable woman? I can't even last an hour!" That was a study of the understatement.
To think, the person she thought was snide and rude and unbearing at first actually came from somebody she made look like the devil by comparison. It was almost surprising to her Catra was only as bad as she was when they first met if this was the woman who raised her!
"Angella, this isn't working." The head sorceress deemed as she frowned a little. "We've tried everything, and her condition is growing worse." As they conversed, the trio of heroes popped their heads out from the corner of the hallway, checking the area fro themselves. "Perhaps we should let Catra-"
"I am not letting that poor girl anywhere near Shadow Weaver!" Angella fumed, refusing the request before it was even completed. The women continued to chat with one another as Bow turned back to his friends.
"You guys go in. I'll distract them." He said with a confident smile. Nodding, Glimmer teleported herself and Catra as Bow made his way to the conversing women.
"We should consult with the Princess Alliance before we go further."
"Your Majesties. Hey." He greeted upon approach. With a casual look over his face, he dug out his pockets as he pulled out a pack of cards, shuffling them through the air playfully as he talked. "Soooo, who wants to see a magic trick?" There was an awkward feeling in the air as the women were offered to see a "magic trick" with cards to two women who were gifted in actual magic themselves.
"Bow, where's Catra and Glimmer?" Angella asked, a little concerned.
"Oh, Glimmer took her and Swift Wind to Light Hope to do some training. You know, to work out her aggression and everything." He replied, remembering his lines if they asked. "Glimmer went with to keep an eye on her and to make sure she couldn't get away. Now, moving on, tell me if you've seen this trick before..."
...
Already Catra was disgusted by the sight of her former mentor and the cell she was supposedly rotting in. The walls, the furnishes, the plants, all of it was far too good for her. Then again, she also knew that the cells of the Fright Zone were too good as well.
She didn't give it much thought or care as she heard Shadow Weaver let out a few coughs, seeing the woman continuing to convulse with energy that was slipping away from her.
Hearing the familiar patter of feet, one indistinguishable even with an unusual pair of boots, Shadow Weaver greeted her without even having to raise her head. "Ah, Catra." The young warrior was already scowling at this. "How nice it is to see you again."
"Listen up, lady!" Glimmer perked up from the side, standing between them with her hands at her hips. "After all your kidnapping and mind-wiping, I am just looking for an excuse to leave the room alone with just the two of you. Got that? I'm not here to keep you safe from her, so I could care less! I'm here to make sure she's safe from you. And if you try to do anything to hurt Catra-!" The princess began as she gathered a bolt of magic in her hands.
"Glimmer," Catra pulled her back, walking passed her before shoving the sword in her hands, "hold that for me. I'll be fine but too tempted to use it. And I'll be alright, okay?" Glimmer gave a quick nod as she took a step back, knowing how serious the situation was for her as she gave an okaying smile. With the sword out of the way, Catra glared back at the woman, one who kneeled to her in mercy for a change instead of the other way around.
Before giving the official okay, Glimmer shot Shadow Weaver one more stern look, shaking the sword in front of her face so she knew what to expect if she stepped out of line.
Whether or not she'd allow Catra to use the sword if she got pushed to far being besides the point.
"Ah, Catra, look at how much you've grown." Shadow Weaver cooed, raising a hand to her. "A comfy palace, a decent home, so many new friends-"
"Can it." Catra hissed, narrowing her brow further with her glare. "Just skip the small talk and tell me. What are you doing here?"
"Catra, I'm surprised at you." The woman fawned, waving her hand. "You know I always held a deep amount of respect for y-"
"Either tell me why you're here right now or I'm leaving. You have five seconds." She stated. Shadow Weaver narrowed her eyes as she lowered her hand to her side.
"Just as reckless and to the point as ever, I see." She sighed. "Very well. If you must know the truth, I came here to see you."
"Me?" Catra shot Glimmer a look at this, actually as confused as she was as Glimmer shrugged back. "Out of anyone in the world, you wanted to see me?"
"Trust me, my options were severely limited." Ah. There's the old spiteful Shadow Weaver Catra knew and loathed. "But you're the only one I can trust. I need you Catra, more than you can possibly know."
"You're losing my patience, again." She warned, kneeling down to her.
Again, Shadow Weaver sighed. "That's the thing I didn't like about you Catra-"
"The feeling's mutual."
"You were always so quick to anger, quick to rush. As fast as you were, as agile, as keen, you never looked at the bigger picture of things."
"Gee, I wonder who's fault was that?" Catra spat. "Maybe its the one who tormented me all my life!"
"All I did was to keep you in line for Adora's sake!" She glared back. "Everything you did was looked down upon by the guards and soldiers. People started to talk, superiors became questionable. I knew if you went down then Adora would stick to your side and try to bail you out at the cost of her own future, and I couldn't let that happen."
"Oh, well that's more sense. Hey, while you're at it, why don't you-" She stopped as she saw Glimmer off to the side, giving her a small look, and making her groan. As much as she wanted to stop and play 20 Arguments all day long, she knew they only had so much time before Angella and Castaspella came back, and that she needed to control her anger. Sighing to herself, the girl rubbed her eyes briefly as she glared back to the woman. "Look. Just tell me what you want, and we can be out of each other's hair."
"That's just it, Catra. I need-! Hack-ough!" It was only two sentences in that Shadow Weaver started to convulse with a violent cough, catching Catra and Glimmer by surprise. All around her, the woman's energy drained from her more, this time actually hacking out a portion of her energy directly from the slits of her masks, the scars Catra left behind in their last encounter.
"Sh-Shadow Weaver?" Catra blinked as all her anger was draining away from her as magic drained away from the woman. "What... What's going on?"
The older woman wheezed as she gasped for breath, doing everything she could to stay alive for as long as she did. "It took all of my power to come see you. I'm dying, Catra."
"Y-You're... You're what?" Catra rose back to her feet as she stepped back. For the first time in Catra's life, she actually felt empty inside. Pure, utter, emptiness. She didn't feel angry at the news, she didn't feel sadness. She didn't feel happy or joyful, she wasn't confused at the statement, she simply felt empty. "Y-You're bluffing... You're trying to get something out of this, aren't you-"
"Catra," Glimmer spoke up, appearing next to the girl as she stared at the prisoner, "I don't think she is." Catra stared back as she took in the sight.
How was she supposed to react in this situation right now? The woman she hated for years, the one she still hates, the very person she wished was dead for some time now, actually WAS dying. She was dying right in front of her in a way Catra couldn't understand. Maybe it was the confusion behind it that kept her from enjoying it? Or maybe it was something else?
"You're... You're really dying?" Catra asked, stepping closer again.
"Either that, or this is the first time I've ever experienced a cold." She joked a little, not earning so much as a twitch from Catra's mouth. "This, is why I came to you Catra. This is why I need you."
"You..." Lowering her ears, she turned to the sword still in Glimmer's hand, putting the pieces together. "You came all this way... to ask me to heal you?"
"I came here to ask you to help me." She emphasized. "I need much more than simple healing before this is over."
To think. All this time, all this confusion, the reason why Shadow Weaver, the worst person in the world to her, would actually come seeking her help when her end drew near. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and nobody to help her. Like Catra, she was all alone in the world with nobody by her side except for her magic, and even that was leaving her.
"...Tch...Pfft...PFFFFFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" All at once, Catra's stomach burst into a mad fit of laughter as the girl held her sides, actually coming close to crying as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is-! Bwahahaahahaahaha!" Catra couldn't help herself as she fell to her back, Glimmer watching in confusion as she hoped her mother and aunt wouldn't hear.
"C-Catra?" She tried to get her attention. "Are you okay?"
"Believe me," Shadow Weaver answered for her, "she's just getting started.
"Oh my gosh, this really is the greatest day in my life! Hahahahahahaha! Oh man, I'm gonna pee, I'm not kidding. I actually think I'm going to pee, this is so hilarious!" The girl struggled to get up to her feet as she continued to burst with laughter, wiping away her tears with her thumb. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe this is really happening."
"The feeling's mutual." Shadow Weaver remarked, quoting Catra's own words.
"Oh man..." She sniffled a little, trying to get the words out. "I-I'm sorry, it's just... hoof... I just can't believe this. I can truly, completely, one-hundred percent, not believe this." There was so much beauty in the world right now to Catra. She actually swore she heard birds singing her name as she came to realize all that was happening in real life.
"Ah... Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but... Just let me get this straight." Still grinning, she cleared her throat as she smirked back to Shadow Weaver. "You're dying. You're at your end, your dying for reasons I don't care about, and you're running out of magic. Okay. I get that part. But out of everywhere in the entire world, out of everything you could have done to prevent it, you thought, and I'm being serious here, you thought that out of anybody, any one single person on this planet, that I would be the one to heal you? Much less want to heal you?! That's pure gold, right there! Hahahaha!"
"You're actually taking it better than I expected." She commented, positioning herself so she was a little more comfortable sitting on her side.
"Why wouldn't I be? This is perfect! I get my revenge, I don't even have to lift a finger, and I don't have to worry about losing She-Ra's power!" She chuckled. "Sure, maybe it'll drop a point or two from this, but it'll be SO worth it!"
"Catra!" Glimmer yelled a little. She could understand Catra's deep-rooted hatred for the woman, she despised her herself. But going and taking it as far as Catra was saying it, looking so happy to see someone in a dying state, was troubling to her. Almost frightening.
"Save it, Pinky." Catra told her, taking the sword back as she buried it in her sheathe. "It's over now."
"You're not going to at least hear what she has to say first? Maybe it's important?"
"And what? Heal her if she promises to talk?" She gestured to the dying woman who let out another loud cough. "I've dealt with her all my life, Glimmer. Even if I did heal her, she wouldn't keep her word. The minute I did, she would probably teleport out of here with her magic or something, using me, once again, and coming out the victory. Thanks, but no thanks." With her decision being final, Catra started to make her way towards the door, not caring in the slightest if the queen calls her out on being inside or not.
"But Catra-!"
"Save it." Shadow Weaver moaned. "You're wasting your time with her. Once she sets her mind on something, it's almost impossible to make her reconsider." She narrowed her white eyes as she said this.
"I'm glad we've come to understand each other, Shadow Weaver. Later." Catra waved off without looking back as she continued for the door.
"Even if that information involves Adora of all people..."
That was the word that made Catra stop, right as she was an inch away from reaching for the door. Ears twitching a bit, she quickly looked back, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Huh?"
"Never you mind, my dear." Shadow Weaver shook her head as she waved her hand. "Go on and live your life and enjoy yourself while I die. You know you want to."
"What did you say about Adora?" Like a fishing being snagged on a hook, Catra knew that she immediately fell for the bait as she came reeling back in.
"Oh, now you're interested in what I have to say?" She said in a teasing tone. "What happened to the girl that was laughing on the floor a minute ago?"
"Just shut up and answer me!" Catra growled, forcing Glimmer to hold her back a little as she grabbed her shoulders.
"There really isn't much you should be thinking about right now, Catra, except for how strange this day is. Strange that I felt it necessary to come to you instead of her, strange that I came all by myself without Adora around me, strange that I had to break out of the Horde's prison just to get here, and strange that out of everybody else in the world, that sword was meant for her..." She trailed off, leaving no hint of Adora's involvement behind this entire scene.
"What does Adora have to do with any of this? Huh? Tell me!" She tightened the grip on her sword as she felt the urge to turning She-Ra rising. Not to heal the wicked witch, but to MAKE her talk.
"Ough-!" Right as she opened her mouth to speak, the woman began to cough out some more, leaving a larger miasma of magic floating around her, taking longer to dissipate. Catra gritted her teeth as she looked at the sword.
Everything behind Catra being here started with this thing. Her desire to obtain a kingdom for the both of them, the long and tiring journeys she took along with Glimmer and Bow since day one, the fact that this sword was meant for Adora in the first place, and the fact that, because of her own involvement, she messed up some desired fate where Adora was the one with the sword and not her.
That's not what threw Catra out of the loop, though.
What did throw her out of the loop was Shadow Weaver, the sorceress of darkness who made Catra's everyday a living nightmare. Through all the ups and downs, through everything that Catra has done and has been doing as the new She-Ra, she somehow knew. She knew that, somehow, the sword was originally meant for her of all people, or at least that she had a key part to play in all of this.
Biting on her lower lip for a few seconds, she hissed audibly as she glared back to the coughing sorceress. "What's the point in asking me to heal you, anyway? I'm still trying to figure out how to be She-Ra, what makes you think I know how to heal you?"
"Because I can teach you, my child." She raspy replied. "I was once a teacher of magic in Mystacor. I taught your father, Princess" she commented, looking at Glimmer and back, "and I can teach you. I can help you learn to control the magical side of your abilities, Catra. But first, you're going to have to trust me."
"Trust you?" She slowly scowled as she pushed past Glimmer. "Trust you!? All my life, I gave you my trust. I trusted you to be impressed with me at some point, I trusted you enough to think I would earn your respect some day, and did I? NO! You are the last person I would ever trust- no. Scratch that. The last person I would even THINK about trusting! And you're asking me to trust you now?"
Glimmer reached for the girl for a moment as she saw Catra raising the tip of her sword up to Shadow Weaver's neck, as far as she could with the barrier in the way. Instead of attempting to cut it like she expected her to, or to destroy the barrier, she, instead, rose the sword slowly, Shadow Weaver raising her head until their eyes met as if she was actually touching her with the sword.
"Give me one good reason why I should trust you now of all times, of all places?" Whatever Shadow Weaver had to say, this was her last chance. She was tired of being lead astray with the woman, and she wasn't going to take anymore sass, anymore insults, from the woman who treated her so horribly through her life.
With that in mind, knowing it for herself, Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed, allowing Catra to see deeply into them as she saw the seriousness of the situation. "Because helping you also benefits me, in the end." She admitted. "I stand to lose more than just my life if you don't, and without my magical guidance, you will never defeat the Horde, or what Adora's turning into."
She looked for anything. A small twitch of the eyes, a shake of the hand, and found nothing. There was nothing Shadow Weaver did to point out that she was lying to her now of all times. The sincerity of her voice, the desperate look in her eye, it was all there. She was either the world's greatest actor, or telling the truth to Catra for the first time in her life, and she didn't know what to do.
"So, do we have a deal?"
...
...
The girl remained silent as she had been for some time. Sitting with her knees curled up against the torn walls of the cell, she couldn't begin to figure out how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? Days? No matter how ridiculous the last option might have seemed, Adora didn't care. She shut her brain off as she awaited her own demise, waiting for Hordak's likely execution for, and to keep herself from feeling how she tore at Scorpia's heart.
She still hated herself for it, every second of every hour. The way she pulled at her emotionally, the way she berated her for her past mistakes, real and false, and the way she went as far as to say that Catra was a better friend than she would ever be, the one person Scorpia hated as much as Adora did. It didn't matter to her if she went to far, she needed to make sure it was far enough so she wouldn't risk trying to save her.
And she still felt horrible about it.
Horrible that she was officially all alone in the world with what felt like everyone hating her, the world was more upside in terms of Lord Hordak than she thought, and the fact that she broke apart the very person who was her friend, her newest best friend, in the end, when she was trying to raise her spirits.
She just wanted everything to be over now.
"Hmmm hmhm hmhm hmhm hmhm hmhmmmmm~" She barely batted an eyelash as she continued to stare at the ground in front of her curled-up legs, past her hugging arms. From the other side of the force field, Aroda could be seen, humming to herself in glee as she pushed her fists to her side in pride. "Ahhh, take a whiff of that sweet, fresh, freedom air!" She piqued, taking an exaggerated inhale with her back turned to Adora. "Ah, refreshing, isn't it?"
Adora just remained silent as she stared ahead of her at the ground.
"Come on, Adora, why don't you come on out of there and share the air with-" She paused intentionally as she turned back. "Oh, that's right, how silly of me. The cuffs, the cell. Honestly, I forgot you were a prisoner for a second because I thought things would have gone so well after your last meeting with Hordak. Oh well! I'll just have to take a breath for the both of us." The reflection closed her eyes as she inhaled through the nose. "Hnnnnnnnnnnnnh! Ahhhh, refreshing."
"..."
Surprisingly to her, this still didn't get a reaction out of the girl as she looked back. "What? Still pouty because of how you treated your friend?" She asked, stepping easily through the force field and standing right in front of her. "Or was it the fact I told you so, once again, what would inevitably happen? Because, I'll be honest, you can't blame me for either of them, especially with that scorpion girl."
"..."
"Geez, aren't you the mood killer?" Aroda said, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "You know, I think we're lucky that we'll be facing banishment to Beast Island, at most. There, we should be just fine and dandy, provided we last two to three days of not getting eaten before starving to death, but besides that, I-"
"You were right."
Aroda blinked. "... I'm sorry, come again? I think I had something stuck in my ear." She asked looking down. Adora didn't look any more attentive of her presence than she did before, just bitter.
"You were right." Adora repeated. "About everything." Aroda would've gasped if it didn't ruin the moment for her, instead opting to drop her jaw as her eyes widened with surprise.
"Am I mishearing you or something? Because for a second there, I thought it sounded like you said I was right."
"I did." A sly grin grew over Aroda's face as she squatted down to her eye level. "You were right about everything. Hordak doesn't have any care or respect for me, I've been too soft on the enemies around me, and I've been fooling myself into thinking things would work out in the end." She took the moment to look at her frayed hand, the one that was aged beyond her years. "None of this would've happened if I had just gotten stronger instead."
"Adora, I'm," Aroda sniffed, wiping a finger against her eye, "I think I'm gonna cry! I've never been so proud~" Which was definitely an understatement in her present situation. With a gleeful smile, she playfully twirled a piece of Adora's own hair which dangled in front of her face. "Oh, Adora, you have nooooooo idea how much it means to me to hear that."
"It's not like I've changed my view completely." She restated. "I still don't want to hurt the people I care about or the people who had nothing to do with this war. But until I get stronger, I'm never going to be able to change anything."
"And you don't have to!" Aroda happily agreed. "Making friends or enemies is your own choice, there's pros and cons either way, so I'm not too picky on that. But what is important is how you go about living your life now. As long as you keep living your life the way you do, people are just going to take advantage of you and take you for granted. And as long as that happens, you'll never be growing stronger. Ever."
"I know." Adora's tone never changed so much as once throughout the conversation. "And I can't accept that anymore. If I'm going to learn to stand up for myself more within the Horde, to prove to everyone that I'm not a failure, then I need to change. I need to stop letting people look down on me after I do all the work. I can't allow them to waste anymore of my time with stupid paperwork every hour." At this, the girl finally raised her head a little, looking into Aroda's eyes with a stern look. "And I'm done being nice to the people who don't deserve it."
Aroda smirked.
This was too perfect. Beyond, perfect. Sure, it had some ups and downs, but it wasn't the worst experience she's ever been put through. In fact, she can't remember the last time someone made such a large development as she did. All it took was for her entire world to collapse around her, and then she'd come running into Aroda's arms like she should have done in the first place.
"Oh, Adora," Aroda smiled, scooting up to the girl's side as she kneeled next to her, gently patting the top of the girl's head soothingly, "you're finally starting to learn~"
...
...
...
A/N: And another chapter down! And with it, i have 2 big announcements folks!
1, We're nearing the 1 Million word mark ^^! Huzaahhhhhhhh! Let the confetti rain! And anything else that usually does. This is without a doubt my biggest line of work to date, and I can't wait to hit it. Double huzzah because we're almost reaching the ONE HUNDREDTH CHAPTERRRRRRRRRRR! So double hooplah for that!
To celebrate/commemorate the event, I decided to propose a writing contest/challenge. The rule of the game is simple: Make up a short story or one-shot taking place within the Cat-Ra universe. It can be about anything (except anything past season 3 to prevent spoilers, haven't seen 4 yet X/) within the show at the time, from a simple episode about everyone spending the day doing who knows what to something actiony. It can be a one shot or several chapters long oas as many as needed.
Everyone will have until I post the 100th chapter as a deadline, so it should be about a week or 2 at most, definitely a week at least.
The winner of the challenge will be acknowledge and commemorated by having their story posted on here on this very series for everybody to see! As for when it'll be posted, it'll likely be after I finish whatever episode i'm currently on at that point, so it might be a chapter or two before getting it. Let me know if you guys are interested in it, and if you need a little bit of extra time to do it. Whatever the plot is, remember to keep it kid/K7+ rated. Anything with cursing or large amount of blood (I mean if someone gets like a bloody nose or something due to something like a prank or like someone slamming their face into something, that's fine XP) but otherwise keep it kid friendly! - Says the guy who mentioned torture several times~*
The 2nd thing to announce is, that's right! We're going to finally learn what Aroda is after all this time! One of the biggest mysteries of this part of the She-Ra verse and this AU that people have been dying to know! No real contest on that part, sorry XP, but I am interested and curious in your peoples' thoughts about what and who you people think Aroda is by this point. I won't give any spoilers till then but, presumably, I will have it revealed or hinted-to-near-answered by the very end of the next chapter.
With that said, hope you all enjoy! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon!