A/N: Final Word Count: 13.9k Pre-A/N's. Hey guys, been a few days, but I'm back again, and this time roaring to go ^_^! God i can not begin to tell you how excited I am for the rest of the season, especially the next episode.
Why? Because after a nice chat with Petie doon from instagram, I came up with, what I consider to be, an incredibly awesome change to the episode! I was always wondering how i would change up the dream world thing since I already did it for entrapta's first episode (which btw i need to have a LOOOOOOOOOONG talk about XD) and developed a way to make the new dreamworld episode both fun, exciting, and dramatic X)
And no, i ain't spoiling what that is. you'll have to wait till those chapters come up after this episode. What I will offer though is an opportunity! To celebrate my 100th chapter, even though it's late, I'm looking for some scenes I can make flashbacks with for the dream world. For those interested in it, send me a PM or tell me in the review. Please note this WILL involve me giving spoilers ( i mean how else will you know what the flashbacks are supposed to be about?) but it will give people their very own chance to show their own work in the story for everyone to read ^_^!
But I'm getting ahead of myself, we still got a lot of story to cover. So with that said, enjoy!
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*Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt!*
"Nggghhhhhh!" Adora gritted her teeth as the electricity surged through her as her recharging took place.
"Come on, that's it, you're almost there." Entrapta said as she continued to observe the readings on the various monitors along with Adora's expression at the same time.
It was always like this when it came to Adora recharging her powers. After about two to three days, she'd come back to the lab, run the machine herself or with her friends help if she couldn't conjure the shadows at that point, and she would have to go through about twenty to thirty seconds worth of pain as the machine filtered the magic within her in and out, clearing up the shadows in her veins and clearing out her bloodstream.
It hurt as it always did, lasted as long as it always did, and for a change it actually lasted longer. She supposed it wouldn't have been that surprising, seeing how she's gone further and further from recharging since the last charge. It didn't make the pain any more bearable, no matter how many times she became used to this. All it did was make it slightly more understandable as time went on.
Giving it about another twenty seconds, Adora exhaled as the machine died down, the blond girl panting with exhaustion as the shadows subsided within her. Taking a onceover with herself, checking her hands and rolling up the sleeves to her shirt, Adora sighed.
"Annnnnnnnd done!" Entrapta chirped as the machine powered down, looking back to her readings for several seconds before rolling her swivel chair back to Adora. "How you doing, Adora? Feel any better?"
"Y-Yeah..." Adora muttered, still with a small frown over her face, rubbing the right side of her face where the corruption spread. "Thanks."
"Sorry about your face, Adora." Entrapta said with a small frown, feeling the side of it with her hair. "Does it hurt or anything?"
"Well, no, nothing like that. It just... It's gonna take some getting used to, that's all." She said with a small smile, pushing off the hair softly. "Don't worry about it."
"Okay!" With another colorful chirp, the scientist attempted to wheel back to her original spot by the console. Mentally rolling her eyes with a small chuckle, Adora quickly grabbed Entrapta's hair, pulling her back to where she was as Entrapta stared at her curiously.
"Next tip: when someone says don't worry about it, always check with them first just to make sure because they might not be serious about it." She advised.
"Ooooh... got'cha!" Entrapta replied, pulling out her tracker pad as she began typing away one of the new details she was given. "Don't assume... they really mean... "Don't worry about it". Annnnnd done!" The scientist smiled as she finished typing away. "Thanks, Adora! This is doing wonders for my Sociology Lessons."
"Heh, it's not a problem, Entrapta. It's the least I can do." Adora said as she slowly got up to her feet. She winced a little as she rubbed her shoulder, feeling a slight crick in her neck as she swerved her head around once. "You're the one always helping me out with this, right?"
"Yeah, but it's what friends do, like you said." Entrapta nodded, returning to her monitors and typing away at the readings she received. "Besides, I'm getting loads of feedback from these readings alone."
"Are you any closer to figuring out how to stop it?" Adora wondered as she approached from behind. "It's been getting in the way of my work lately, and my emotions are making it worse." Pain, sorrow, anger, everything that made her lose control of her powers and go berserk. To keep them to herself, to prevent herself from hurting anyone or lashing out at those around her.
That's what Scorpia and Adora came to discover yesterday, the possible clue to finding a solution to her magical fever.
"Unfortunately... no." Entrapta rubbed her chin with a length of her hair as she pondered. "Every time I come close to something, the reactions in your brain keep changing on me. I think it's part of the corruption affecting the rest of your body. The more it spreads the more the alterations are affecting your brain."
"So, in other words, you don't know any way to fix it yet?" Adora's guess was confirmed with a regretful frown from Entrapta.
"Not without getting up close and personal to your brain through surgery..." For a second, Entrapta's face lit up as she turned to Adora. "Huh-!"
"No."
"Awwwwww." And the next second, she was pouting as she went back to work.
"So there's no way to stop it from getting worse?"
"I wouldn't exactly say that. I could potentially make an emotional dampener for you if you want? It'll nullify your emotions, but you might be able to control your powers easier, and there's a good chance it'll stop the shadows from spreading in you."
"No thanks," Adora shook her head, "the last time I wore anything to dampen my emotions, all this happened. I don't to wear something that'll either make my emotions go berserk or keep me from feeling anything." She smiled a little as she crossed her arms, leaning against the device behind Entrapta that hooked her arms up to the Black Garnet. "Besides, minus Catra, I think I'll be good for a little while."
"Why's that?"
"Because of Hordak." Given all that's happened to her, from those who betrayed her and those who shunned her, any ounce of enjoyment the girl had was limited to the miniscule respect she garnered from the leader of the Horde, no matter how little of it she cared about. "To go through everything after all this time, to hear him say anything a little nice to me, it's... refreshing. Appreciated."
"Mhhm!" Entrapta smiled, giving her a short not as she resumed her typing. "No problem. I'm happy I could help."
"...?" As Adora stared off into thought, she thought more closely about what Entrapta had just said, sounding as if she was accepting the appreciation personally that she had for Hordak. "Happy you could... help?" Adora raised her head to her at this. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I convinced him to review your contributions and everything." She said in a casual tone, typing away with her hair as she examined some printouts coming out from underneath one of the monitors. "I thought it would've been a bit harder to do like you said, but he seemed to really warm up to the idea eventually." Adora's heart shook at the announcement, knowing Entrapta had yet to fully understand the implications of what she meant.
"He... He only gave me respect... because of-"
"Oooh!" Entrapta shot up as she got back to her feet and hair. "I'm losing time. I should get back to work with Hordak." With her brief announcement, the quirky genius pulled herself along the way with her hair, giving off a simple wave to the friend she left behind. "See you later, Adora!"
"Ah..." Adora didn't get a chance to respond as she watched the scientist disappear into the darkened halls. With the metallic doors closing behind her, Adora stared down at the floor, her brow furrowing over the recent reveal she just had.
He... He still doesn't respect me... Not even a little...
"Ouch. Bet that's gonna leave a mark, among other ones." The ever-pleasant, ever untimely-arriving Aroda commented as she appeared behind Adora, floating around the girl. "You did all that work and he still shows more respect for the scientist than you." Grinning, the eager reflection tapped her chin as she floated onto her stomach in the air. "Actually, I take that back. That would imply he actually has any respect for you at all."
It didn't make any sense to Adora as she thought about everything. She went out of her way to prove herself for a final time, tried everything to make things right again, and even lost a good portion of her appearance after half of her face became corrupted. And after everything she's been through and the heartache that followed, he still didn't respect her, not even a little.
It was because of her. Because of Entrapta. The genius scientist that Adora could never even hope to come close to in terms of intelligence. She was the one "fighting Adora's battle for her", in this case, trying to gain Hordak's respect. She wasn't even aware of the reality of the situation herself and thought everything was fine.
Hordak only showed her any respect because Entrapta said so. That's it. He didn't take Adora's contributions at value, he didn't have anymore respect for her than when she left. In fact, she was willing to say he had less respect for her now than he ever did, if he did.
Just when she had a glimmer of hope that she earned something out of this, Adora was still nothing to him.
"All of this has... been for nothing..." Adora muttered as pain crossed her eyes, lowering her head as she hugged herself.
"Aww, don't pout like that. Look on the bright side, you finally completed a mission successfully." Aroda teased as she held up her fingers. "In fact, let's make a list of all of your successes around here. One, getting the First Ones tech and kidnapping Catra. Good job! Two..." Aroda blinked briefly as she rose her finger. "... Huh... I guess that's it. Oh well, now let's compare them to Entrapta's accomplishments! We're going to need a lot more fingers for this though."
"Ugh, will you just leave me alone already?" Aroda groaned walking towards the door. "I have enough annoyances to deal with as it is, like a certain ex-friend to be watching."
"Awww," Aroda moaned as she appeared in front of the girl in the blink of an eye, cutting her off, "are you just jelly because my face is still pretty while yours is... blegh."
"Knock it off." Adora grumbled a bit, walking right through her. "I'm not in the mood for this. I need to keep watch over Catra."
"Oh yeah, because Lord Headache over there really wants you in his company." There was no end to the taunts and teases she threw towards the blond companion as she floated her way over to her. "Don't you think it's about time you established a new pecking order around here?"
"We've been over this a hundred times, Aroda-"
"Technically 176-"
"Shut it. I'm not getting rid of him and that's final." The girl was interrupted again as she stopped in front of the door, a smirking Aroda grinning ear to ear to her as with everything else.
"Oh, I get that now. Big ol' persistent Adora has made herself clear on that. So, I'll accept it. Because I'm starting to think we should be focusing our priorities on a different target this time."
"Like who?" Adora asked, genuinely curious about Aroda's change of pace. The reflection didn't say anything to her. All she did was continue to grin to Adora, wanting the girl to figure out for herself who she should've been targeting. It took Adora a few moments, but as she continued to ponder Aroda's little game, she came to realize who she was referring to. "You... You think I should get rid of Entrapta?"
"Do birds fly?" She chuckled back.
"No, absolutely not!" Adora gave a stern expression at this as she finally vacated the room, keeping her eyes on the hallway ahead of her as Aroda floated behind.
"Yeah they do, I see them fly all the time. Birds, ducks, geese-"
"I mean I'm not-!" Adora paused as she passed a pair of guards, ones that were giving her a bit of a look over the "complexion" issue. Knowing she couldn't afford to speak with herself about getting rid of anyone, much less someone Hordak favored, she shifted her methods of communication to the way Aroda told her awhile ago. I mean I'm not getting rid of Entrapta!
"Awww, why not?"
Why do you think? Entrapta's been a great friend to me since I first met her, she's helped me deal with this whole shadow sickness thing, she even made an entire machine to fix my problem! Adora yelled in her mind.
"Yeaaaah... and?"
And forget it! It's not happening.
"So you'd rather keep living a fantasy where Hordak respects you through Entrapta and keep living your life that way?" Aroda raised a brow at the suggestion, glad to see the Force Captain coming to a halt as she stopped in the middle of the hall. "You want to pretend he shows you the slightest bit of decency through your friend? Because that definitely seems healthy to do."
Well... I mean... Adora's pained expression twisted with a frown as she tried to think of something. As much as she hated to admit it, Aroda was absolutely right about that. What kind of person would try to live their live through another person's life just to satisfy themselves? Even worse, it would feel like she was using Entrapta to do it, a person, a great friend who's been by her side since the two met, like Scorpia! Sure, they might not have shared the same bond the two had, but she was helpful nonetheless!
"Face it, Adora. As long as Entrapta's around, you'll never have the same position and understanding that Hordak shares with her. You can keep fooling everyone else that your satisfied, but is that really what matters to you after everything you've been through? That you can keep pretending things are fine even when they aren't?"
It... It's not... It's not like I don't want to be happy, I just... I... She was willing to do her part. She was willing to put on a brave face, to pretend things were fine, if it meant showing everyone that she was fine with everything. But how long would it be before her emotions burst again because of it? How long until she has another near meltdown like she did with Catra?
She almost suffocated Catra to death by mentioning how Shadow Weaver had come to her in Bright Moon, an event she still wasn't able to accept at heart. What would happen if another soldier, a guard, or even a passing child said something that made her snap again? That made her attack them due to an emotional break in her psyche?
She didn't need to think about the consequences for doing such a thing, either. Detainment, locked away forever, at best, depending on who she attacked. If she did it in front of the last few friends she had, in front of Scorpia of all people, there was no way they'd ever be able to maintain the friendship Adora was struggling to accept thanks to Catra's betrayal.
She didn't want to turn into a horrible monster that attacked her friends, she didn't want to be seen as a traitor that took down those closest to her just to improve her own status. Yet if she didn't get rid of one of the root causes of her anxiety and stress, then she would continue to be more and more emotionally unbalanced and her shadows would spread throughout her body faster.
There was no side she could accept, not one where both options came out on top. She knew it, and Aroda knew it.
"Face it, Adora. It's either you, or her." Aroda smirked, disappearing into nothingness and shadows. "And I think we both know who is going to come down to..."
...
...
"With the sword connected to the portal machine, we should finally be able to bypass the planetary interference." Entrapta explained as she held up the sword to Hordak. All around her, the girl ignored the trembling sounds and the sounds of struggling as Hordak noticed the vibrating machines and electricity dancing around the cords.
This was going to be one of the best days ever to the eager young scientist, she just knew it! To think, this sword, the Sword of Protection, created by the first ones, was also a planetary key that could affect the entire world in an instant! With the levels of energy it was outputting and the way it managed to affect its environment, there was no way this thing couldn't be the key to their solutions!
When the portal was reay and operational, she couldn't wait... well, she could since completing the portal device would mean never seeing her new friend again, Hordak. But the two were still just as satisfied to see the experiment come to a grinding success, and they knew they would work something out over time.
As for Hordak, he could hardly wait for his own reasons. This was the chance he needed, the chance to prove himself to his leader, to show he was wrong about his defection. By opening the portal, he would have it all back. His glory, his honor, his pride, and his leader's respect at long last. Once the portal was ready, Hordak's army would finally reach Etheria, and the conquest over the rest of Etheria would finally come to an end!
He did have to admit he felt some misgivings about leaving the scientist behind. Out of everyone on this backwater planet, she was the only one he could consider an equal in matters of the mind, of intellect. Perhaps his master may still have some use for the scientist when this was over, not that he would let it interfere with his goals.
"...I just have no idea how it works. Heh." Entrapta mentioned with her fists at her side, holding the sword in her hair.
"Mmmmh! Mmmmmmmh!" As pleasant as the scientist's presence was, the sound of the muffling prisoner was not as his small look of pride turned to anger.
"Must she be here?" He asked.
Turning around, Entrapta took notice of the very same prisoner who was struggling at the wrists, the only part she could move about herself given the circumstances. "Good question... I already said the two had a bond, but I don't know if we need Catra for the sword to work, She-Ra, or neither of them." At the comment, Catra's eyes briefly turned to worry as she stared back.
She had to get out of here, and now, for a number of reasons. Firstly, she couldn't allow them to use the sword. If the Horde managed to get the portal machine working, it would spell the end of Etheria. Hordak's army would be too large to stop and there would be no saving the rest of the world, much less Bright Moon, when his soldiers came through.
And that was the best case scenario. The other case scenario was something really bad happening if the portal worked at all. While she didn't know the exact specifics behind it all, Catra knew enough from Mara and Light Hope that something terrible would happen if a portal was ever to be activated within Etheria again.
And it still wasn't the part that worried her the most, as close as it was.
The real struggle, the real worry, was what would happen to her after this was all over. There wasn't any threats or warnings given to her by Lord Hordak, she didn't have to wait very long into her imprisonment to find out what would be her fate.
The moment that the portal was open, as soon as Hordak's army was through, he was going to have her executed, likely on the spot. According to him, her existence would no longer be "tolerated" once she had served her purpose.
For all of her betrayal, for all the resources Hordak had wasted since her defection, and his disappointment on whose side she ended up working for, he could no longer allow the girl to live, for personal motives or otherwise. His disgust for the girl was unending because of her betrayal, and he would see her removed from his list of disgusts as soon as possible.
For now, the fact that the portal wasn't working was the only thing prolonging her life, her reason for living. As long as it remained unfunctional she would have a brief moment of time to figure a way out of this mess. The only problem was the brains behind the machine at the time. Knowing someone like Entrapta, she had a few hours at best to break free somehow before she would meet her untimely, painful, end.
"Hey, Catra, you wouldn't happen to know, would you?" Entrapta asked curiously, using her hair to pull down her cloth gag.
Catra shook her face a little bit before glaring back to the duo. "Bite me!"
"I'll take that as a no." The scientist assumed with a casual tone, pulling the cloth back up over her nose. "And that's okay! I like figuring stuff out."
Catra grumbled a bit as her brow twitched, shaking her head irritably until she finally shook the cloth off her face again. "Entrapta, listen to me. You don't want to do this." Catra tried to warn, doing her best to contain any anger and past aggression she had against her.
"SILENCE!" Hordak yelled in anger, startling the scientist a little as he did. "Entrapta, begin."
"Grrrrr!" Catra growled, doing what she could to pull away from the immovable pillar that stood behind her. "Why'd you do it, huh?" The leader turned his head a single degree at the question. "Why'd you kidnap Adora when she was a baby? Did you know she was special? Do you know where she came from?" Catra narrowed her eyes. "Did you know she was meant for the sword?"
"I could not begin to care about Adora or her origins, because I have never known nor cared about someone as inconsequential as her." He stated.
He's worse than Shadow Weaver! Catra would never believe it unless she saw it for herself. At least when it came to Shadow Weaver, she waited for someone to start something before reacting with disgust. But this guy barely gave her two lines of dialogue here without seeming despicable! And all throughout her anger, she continued to pull her arms ahead as much as she tried to free herself from the impossible bindings.
With the way it was constructed, she would never get out without some sort of plan. The way the cord to her wrists were around the massive pillar and connected to a single ring-sized cuff to her tail, she could never pull her arms more than two feet past her head without yanking on it. She had yet to give up as she used said anger, trying to push herself to break through the stupid machine no matter how many times she needed to pull ahead.
If not for herself, then for the cretin in front of her who looked down upon someone Catra knew admired him.
"You know, it's easy to see how Adora became so messed up with you acting like her role model." Catra commented, growing a smug grin. "I guess failure runs with her icons too, don't it?"
"I will not fail!" He seethed as he turned around, Catra's ears drooping a little further in fear with every step of his approach. "You have no power over me, and you never did. I am opening that portal. And I am going to use your own sword to wipe out the rest of your pathetic Rebellion once and for-!"
*bzzzzzzt!*
"Agghhhh!" Before he had a chance to finish, the leader of the Horde let out a cry of pain as the collar around his exosuit began to spark with electricity, dropping him to his hands and knees.
"Aww, what happened? Big scary leader fall down?" She teased. If Catra was going to die anyway, she knew she could at least spend the most of it by toying with the fearless leader. At worst, she was going to die for it. At best, she was going to die for it. But at least then the sword might no longer work if a She-Ra wasn't around. "Geez, even Adora knows how to take ten steps ahead of herself without falling over."
"Ghhhhhhhhh!" He grumbled fiercely as he lifted his head. He knew exactly what he was doing and it took every ounce of his willpower to restrain himself.
Barely.
Looking off to the side without a seeming care in the world, Catra continued. "And what exactly is with all these restraints, huh? It takes all this equipment just to keep one girl tied down?" She sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprise. I mean, do you know how easy it was to break in here the first time to rescue the two dweebs back from Bright Moon? Man, your security sucks."
"Watch it, pest-!"
*BZZZZZZZT*
"Ghhhhhhhhh!" With another bout of anger came another resounding wave of the electricity the collar gave off, almost as if it was increasing with each rise of anger.
"Oh, that's new! You made a shock collar for yourself?" She smirked. "I guess you really are more like a dog, given how much you bark- Mmhhh!" Before Catra could let out another small quip or a jest, her mouth was closed forcefully as a shadowy tentacle wrapped around it, stretching all around her head, cutting her off.
"Lord Hordak!" Adora called as she approached with Entrapta at her side, the latter helping him up as Adora checked on him and glared to Catra. "Now do you know why I refused to leave her side?" Catra shot an equally irritated look as she tried to shake the tendril off her mouth.
While Hordak did wish to bare his teeth at the girl's pathetic, unnecessary rescue, he continued to withhold himself as Entrapta made her presence known. "I see what you mean... Force Captain." He continued to maintain his glare between the three as he turned back to the scientist. "Get back to work and fix the portal," he paused, narrowing his eyes at the prisoner, "faster!" He emphasized, making his point to Catra as he left the room.
It was nothing more than a threat telling Entrapta to speed things up, wanting to be rid of the magicat as soon as possible. And while Entrapta wanted to say something to him, the sight of his anger and the growl in his tone kept her from doing so, incapable of mustering the same bravery that Catra could manage as she frowned.
"You really can't go two minutes before causing trouble, can you?" Adora commented, finally pulling the shadow away from Catra, the girl gasping a bit for breath.
*bzzzzzzt!*
"Huh?" All three heads turned back as the sword began to hum, levitating a little as energy began to radiate around it.
They watched as the electricity appeared to build of its own accord, drawing in power from everything and anything around it as a powersource. While her connection with the sword was still incomplete, Catra could feel something was wrong as the blade began levitate a few inches higher. The way it started to glow, the way it acted as if it was alive, she could tell she wasn't going to enjoy what came next.
Like an animal learning to fly for the first time, the sword spun around as swift as lightning as it flew across the room, spinning endlessly as it encircled and drew closer and closer to the center of the room where the machine was being built. As if it was trying to agree to the scientists' wishes, it eventually stopped right in the center of the machine, standing up straight as it hummed further with a bountiful source of energy.
The scientist was amazed, Adora was speechless, and Catra was fearful. It was like the sword itself was trying to hasten her demise, giving the Horde less to deal with as it prepared to be a power source of its own choosing. Given the way it stood, glowing and illuminating with energy, Catra could tell it knocked off an hour of preparation needed to complete the portal, and drew her closer to her eventual execution.
"Hahaha!" Entrapta chuckled, returning to work as her hair pulled her over.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she pulled away her shadow. She stood across from Catra with her arms crossed in the same demeanor she was in several minutes ago, returning to her watchpost. "How are you making it do that?"
"Ngggghhh!" Catra struggled for a bit, trying to break free of her restraints, before answering. "Do you think if I was doing that, I wouldn't try to cut myself free or something?!" She yelled back.
Adora turned her head back to the sword, admitting to the small point Catra had with a shrug. "Fair enough, I guess."
"Adora, listen to me. You need to get me out of here, right now!"
And already Adora was annoyed with her, seeing her asking questions as soon as she arrived. "Hmm, a prisoner asking me to help them escape. Is that really the best you could come up with?" Adora questioned rolling her eyes, blowing a puff of air in front of her face to clear away the long strand hair in front of her eyes.
Again, Catra grumbled a bit as she tried to pull her arms ahead, eventually giving up when she realized Adora would stop her from escaping even if she did pry herself loose. "I mean it! You don't know what's going on here as much as I do."
"Oh, wow, I had no idea! I guess I should let you go in exchange for the information then, shouldn't I?" Catra could nearly vomit the amount of sarcasm coming out of Adora right now. "What could you possibly know that I don't right now? That the sword was "meant for me" again?"
"N-No..." Catra shifted her eyes away a bit as she pondered. "But... Haven't you... Haven't you ever wondered where you came from? Like who your real family is?" It was just for a moment, but there was a small twitch in Adora's eyes as she heard this. She definitely took that at heart, and definitely considered it.
She just refrained from looking at the girl as she turned her eyes away. "... Of course I have, everyone around here does with their own family. And I suppose you're going to tell me you know who they are?"
"Well... n-no." She muttered, earning an eye roll from the former friend.
"Typical."
"But I know who they are, what they are! I know why you were chosen for the sword, why you..." Catra frowned as she looked away. "Why you were chosen to be She-Ra instead of me..."
Adora stared at her a bit as Catra turned away. She hated to admit it, Catra loathed at the realization and the time she wasted being jealous over Adora for something she couldn't control. It wasn't just because Adora was better at her at everything. It wasn't because she was stronger, faster, smarter, everything Catra wished she was to prove herself as a child. It was because of what she was.
"... And why's that?" Catra shifted her eyes over to the asker, skeptical if Adora would believe her to begin with.
"It's because you're a First One Adora." If she didn't believe her, then the look of genuine surprise on Adora's face would've been a complete lie. "When you were a baby, Hordak attempted to use a portal device for the first time, and he took you from it."
"He... He what?" Adora lowered her arms to the side as she listened, showing a mixed bag of skepticism and belief in her face of corruption and purity. "You're lying... it's ridiculous."
"I know it's ridiculous, but it's the truth. You were meant to find the sword, you were better at... better at everything because of it... maybe... I don't know, maybe you were naturally gifted and everything, it's really confusing. But you are a First One, Adora. You're the reason I even came across the sword to begin with, it wouldn't have revealed itself if you weren't around." Adora was at a small loss on what to say.
On the one hand, she didn't trust Catra. Enough said.
On the other hand... why should she believe her? As in actually why? What would telling her she's a First One have to do with anything in the past? It's a little late to change anything as far as that went, but what was it supposed to mean? And why should she care, anyway? So she's a First One. Okay. She's also a girl. Did that determine if she became "She-Ra" or "He-Ra" or some other ridiculous thing?
"... Let's pretend for a brief moment that I believe you." At the mention, Catra lifted her head to her, a small spark of hope present in her mind. "What does that have to do with anything right now?"
"Uh, how about everything?" The magicat was tempted to talk in a snide tone, knowing she needed to restrain herself for her sake. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? He took you away from your family, Adora. Maybe you would've been She-Ra a long time ago if it never happened."
"I don't even want to be She-Ra if it means turning my back on everyone, Catra! Why would he even take me from my family to begin with?"
"I don't know. Maybe he knew who you were? Maybe he knew you were supposed to be She-Ra? It doesn't matter! You shouldn't be working for him, you shouldn't be a part of any of this."
"And why should I be listening to you? You'll have all your life to tell me these lies from your cell after this."
"Because he's going to kill me as soon as the portal is done!" She finally yelled. Instantly, the color drained from Adora's face and eyes as Entrapta looked back briefly, hearing the strange commotion for a few seconds before going back to work.
"Th... Then good! Maybe you'll fit in better at Beast Island! Traitors like you deserve to get sent there." For a second, Catra almost feared Adora had truly meant what she said, knowing she misunderstood what she was getting at.
"I don't mean sent to Beast Island, Adora. I mean he's really going to kill me as soon as it's done!" She stated, looking at Adora with a strict set of eyes.
Adora tried to get a proper read on her. From her look, from her expression, from the tone in her voice. All the evidence pointed to her telling the truth, a truth that Adora slowly took in as her expression revealed her true thoughts towards the matter.
"You mean he's really... planning on executing you?" She asked.
"Yes!" Catra prayed she was finally getting through to the girl. "As soon as Entrapta starts up that machine and he gets his army, he's going to execute me on the spot."
"T-That's outrageous."
"He said it to my face! He said it was for betraying the Horde, because he was disgusted with how I turned out."
"He wouldn't be the first one disgusted by you, Catra."
"Adora, please." The only thing Catra feared more than the thought of execution was the possible method she would be executed with. It was the Horde, it was Hordak, she was dealing with. There was any number of means he had to end her, some slower and more painful than the last. "I swear it's the truth. You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me."
"It's because I DON'T believe you that I'm not going to bother asking him, Catra." Adora grumbled, walking towards the friend-turned-prisoner. "You've lied to me all my life, Catra. Every time I trust you, every time I think about trusting you, you've ruined a piece of my life. You left me behind when we were in trouble, you had me take the fall knowing I wouldn't be yelled at as harshly." Adora turned her head away as she crossed her arms.
"Even after you've left, Catra, I've been suffering. I'm the one who's been cleaning up the mess you've made after each mission, I'm the one losing any self-respect I had after we lose each outpost. And you're..." While keeping her head away, only allowing her to see the corrupted half of her face, Adora shot her a small scowl. "You're the reason I'm suffering, Catra. You're the reason for... this..." She said, gesturing to her corrupted half.
"Every time your side wins, it hurts me. Every outpost you take, it hurts me. The stress continues build around me, the pressure keeps getting bigger with every new workload. The pain... The pain that Hordak puts me through whenever I fail a mission because of you... it hurts... it hurts a lot..." Catra could see it, just barely, as a small corner near the bridge of Adora's nose filled with tears. There was no lying on her part, nothing for Catra to poke at or convince her that she was lying.
"And now I finally have a chance, a chance to earn his respect, and you want to take that away from me? Haven't you already taken enough?"
"I-I don't..." It was getting hard to look at her. Not because of the way she looked, or the aged, corrupted, half of her face, but because of the guilt still welling in Catra's chest.
At first, it was for all the times she used her, all the times she wishes she could take back to make things right with her again. Then, it was knowing that she cared, that Adora still cared a lot about Catra, despite being on opposing sides. After that, it was the fact she stole her destiny, a destiny she was becoming sickened with herself, that turned her whole life upside down. Finally, it was for her jealous. All the years she wasted being jealous over Adora for something she couldn't control, something she should've accepted or be happy for her with.
Now, she had a new reality of guilt to deal with- how much she's taken from her former friend.
How she took all those things without a second thought, how she took those victories from Adora, her success, those she became close with like Frosta and Shadow Weaver, the latter she barely cared about. It's not like she would just g back in time and "give" her those victories back, obviously. It's just the fact she never considered what would be happening to Adora, why she would become more and more desperate after each time they met.
Hordak was hurting her. How much, in what way, she couldn't say. All she knew was that it was Hordak, the man Adora always idolized as a child, always inspired to be. The same monster that admitted his disgust with Adora, even after all she's done for him. To say she felt horrible over the guilt building up in her heart would be an understatement.
She was feeling like a monster.
"I... I didn't know it was like that, Adora. I'm... I'm sorry..." Adora turned her face a little more as Catra turned her's away. Her expression, her movements, all the key little details of a person Shadow Weaver taught her to recognize. Tips and keys to determine if someone was lying, and Adora couldn't spot an ounce of it from the girl.
"Yeah, well..." Adora lowered her head as she scoffed. "You never did care enough to ask." A silence befell the two girls for a brief period, an unusual tension within the air until Adora spoke up. "You still haven't told me why I should consider letting you go."
"Because we're... we were friends, Adora. And you're the only one who can save me." Adora became silent. Adora walked up to the magicat, staring into her eyes. Adora appeared to be staring into thought. Adora brought her hands up slowly to Catra's head. Adora was unreadable to the prisoner. And Adora's hands went around the magicat's head.
Catra was hopeful.
*TUG!*
"Mmmhhh?!" And Catra was letdown. Instead of doing anything to help her, Adora tightened the cloth gag over Catra's face again, tightening it enough to ensure it wouldn't be shaken off anytime soon.
The Force Captain's face twisted as she lowered her brow to her. "You were better when your mouth was shut." She spat, taking the liberty to walk away as Catra screamed to her.
"Mhhmhh! Mhhmhhhh!" Catra yelled, renewing her efforts in trying to break he hands free once more.
Adora couldn't put up with her. With her lies, with her trickery, she couldn't stand to listen to Catra cough up another one of her various lies and reasons. Every time she did, Adora suffered for it. Suffered through all of it, and she was tired of her always trying to get to her. There was no way she could believe a ridiculous story as hers, not without proof.
"I'm going out for a walk for a bit, Entrapta." Adora stated as she headed for the metallic doors. "Remember what I said about her?"
"Yup!" Entrapta saluted with a friendly smile as her hair continued to weld down some sheets of metal for the device. "Don't listen to a word she says because she's always lying!"
"Perfect." Adora glanced back to the grumbling girl as she continued to try and free herself. "And let me know when the portal is ready to be activated. I... I want to be there to witness it."
"Sure thing, Adora!" With nothing else to say, the Force Captain gave one last look to her former friend and prisoner, then made her way for the door.
"Mhhmhhhh! Mhhhh!"
Stop! Come back! Catra tried to yell at her, watching her leave though the metallic doors without any sense of care.
Catra couldn't believe it. She was actually going to leave her here, leave her to die! She always discussed how she hated Catra, even went to many lengths to practically end her life when her emotions got the best of her. But this? All of this? It was unthinkable.
*Bzzzzzzzzzzt!*
"Oh, that's new!" Entrapta squealed, drawing the magicat's focus to her. Seeing what the scientist was seeing, she saw as a small ray of light encompassed the entire sword, giving off an aura of power around it as the lights flickered off and on for a short while around them. Looking back to her, Entrapta gave her an excited grin as she donned her mask partway through. "Don't worry, Catra. With this development, we should be ready to go in a few hours!" And as she went back to her work, without a care in the world and unaware of Catra's situation. Catra panicked.
She was running out of time.
She couldn't break herself free no matter how hard she struggled.
And no one was going to save her.
...
...
"This is a bad idea." Bow whispered as he peered over the corner of the hall, eyeing the two guards who stood at attention, blocking the door.
"It's a great idea." Glimmer whispered back to him, pressing her head against the wall for a peek. "...Okay, it's terrible. But what choice do we have?" Odds are, they had none.
Catra needed to be rescued, and the sword had to be retrieved before it was too late. Nothing more, nothing less. They were racing against the clock even more than they originally thought, unaware of the death sentence that had been placed on the magicat.
With Catra and the sword taken from them, Hordak had near-to-everything they needed to complete the portal. They had the power source and the planetary key to the world, they had a means of opening the portal as soon as it was ready, and they had She-Ra under their roof, the Rebellion's greatest weapon and ally in their battle against the Horde. To top it off, it was Catra, no less, the very person who would've known how to infiltrate the Horde in this situation.
And without one, Glimmer's mother had absolutely forbidden the girl from trying to attempt a rescue, incapable of bearing the loss of another member of her family.
Without Catra, they had no means of saving her. They didn't have a She-Ra of great strength, they didn't have any means of navigating through the Fright Zone, wherever she could be, and they didn't know the layout enough to launch a successful assault. Even if they had the right amount of people for the job, it would be pointless to attempt a rescue operation without any sort of plan or assistance.
So what were they to do? They needed somebody who knew the Fright Zone well. Somebody who had been there just as long as Catra has to know the area for themselves. Somebody who had come to them several nights ago out of the blue, who was still being held prisoner beyond those guarded doors. Somebody who was their last chance at saving Catra.
"I wanna help as much as you do, but Shadow Weaver?" Bow questioned arguably.
"Catra needs us now." Glimmer stated, eyeing the door again. "And Shadow Weaver would know all about the Fright Zone's weak points. Let's at least talk to her." She didn't give Bow a chance to get the first word out in argument as she grabbed his hand, teleporting the two of them past the walls and beyond the guards, into Shadow Weaver's "prison room".
"Princess." Shadow Weaver greeted with an amused tone as the two made their appearance. Taking the book from her face, the witch smiled to them behind the mask. "It's about time.
Certain luxuries and accommodations were hard to allow when you were supposed to be a prison room, which was nothing more than a spare room the castle had lying around. You couldn't be too sincere or too aggressive against the prisoners in question, less they snap or try to undermine the system. You had to be thorough, lenient to an extent, and maintain control over the prisoner at all times.
Here, Shadow Weaver was living the lifestyle in her new cell in comparison to the ones back in the Fright Zone. With a large, comfortable, cushiony, chair for her to lie and sit on, a book of enchantments and magical arts for her personal entertainment, and a magical barrier encompassing twenty feet around her, this was practically a vacation in all regards compared to the Fright Zone.
Shadow Weaver could live in this cell for the rest of her life if she so much as wished it.
"You knew we were coming?" Glimmer asked uneasily as the sorceress of darkness set the book aside.
"Him, I had no idea. But you..." Her colorless white eyes showed all of her expression. "You are smart, you want to stop the Horde, and you know I'm the only one who can help you do that. I must admit, I thought it would take you longer to speak with me." She confessed raising an eye.
"Adora kidnapped Catra in the Crimson Waste. We need to get her back, before the Horde uses her and her sword to open a portal." For one of the few times Glimmer's ever known Shadow Weaver, the black-haired sorcerer looked at the two with unguarded surprise.
"His machine is complete? And they have Catra?" She looked off to the side as her eyes narrowed. She never did think something like this would happen, even to Catra of all people. She figured the cat would've gladly gone down fighting instead compared to getting taken to the Fright Zone of all places. " This is more troubling than you think. We must hurry."
At this, the witch stood. "If Hordak has the opportunity to open a portal, he will do so immediately. And once he's finished with his work, he will have no more use for the girl."
"No more..." Bow turned to his friend with worry, fearing the worst. "You mean... she'll..."
"What did you expect? Catra's a defector, a traitor, and one of the Horde's greatest enemies. Any one of those reasons would guarantee her death. And I promise you, it'll be done slowly." She confirmed. Things just went from terrible to horrendous and fear and worry rushed over Glimmer and Bow's mind.
Catra... was going to die? Truly. It's not like they wouldn't have expected it as a result, but for it to be confirmed among all else was troubling. It was better to live with the unknown of whether or not Catra would be alright rather than the certainty that she would be put to death. And if anyone was going to make Catra face a death penalty, they could guarantee it would be Hordak.
"T-Then we have to hurry!" Glimmer fretted, nearing the magical barrier. "We can't listen to what my mom said, we have to go now!"
"I wouldn't bother." Shadow Weaver brushed off her fear with the wave of her hands. "No matter how soon you launched an assault, you would never make it in time. The moment the portal opens, we all lose-... unless... " The woman remained silent as she gazed away from the two.
"What? What is it?"
"Let me out and I can help you teleport right into the heart of the Fright Zone." Shadow Weaver proposed, squeezing a fist in front of the girl.
"Heh, me? I couldn't even get to the edge of the Fright Zone without running out of power. I'm nowhere near strong enough-"
"But I can make you stronger." She interjected. "I'm still the only sorceress who has ever been able to tap into a Runestone. If you allow me to access your connection to the Moonstone, I can enhance your powers. You could teleport us all the way there." An atmosphere of darkness fell over Glimmer as she listened intently to the witch's proposal.
Giving her all that power? The power to teleport all the way to another corner of the world? With all of them? Was such a thing actually possible? She knew Shadow Weaver was a great sorceress, she knew she somehow formed a connection to the Runestone. There could be any number of things that she could do for her, so much power that she could give her, but at what cost?
This was Shadow Weaver they were dealing with, the betrayer of Mystacor and Tormentor of Catra. Countless times Catra had warned them never to trust the woman, never to give her a chance, never to believe a word of her. She was the one who gave Catra the snarky, snide, irritable, foolish, jesting, subtle, prideful, and downright wholesome personality that Catra had come to know. Everything she learned to irritate and annoy people, to undermine them and drive them mad, was all from her.
And this was all revealed from Catra in just the last few days since she appeared! There were hundreds of stories she'd go on about with how untrusting someone like Shadow Weaver was, how horrible she could be. Who knew what other terrible stories she had to say about the woman if she revealed more about her since day one?
But what other choice did they have? To keep Shadow Weaver here to let Catra die? There was no way they could choose otherwise, no time to formulate another plan.
"Uh, us?" Bow threw in as he stepped forward, reminding Shadow Weaver that he was coming too.
"I suppose you could come." She shrugged. "We'll teleport directly into Hordak's sanctum, disable the portal machine, and save Catra."
The Princess of Bright Moon slowly stepped up to the barrier, a look of unease over her eyes as she squeezed a fist against her heart. "You can really make me that powerful?"
"You think of yourself only as a Princess," she grinned, her white vacant eyes narrowing, "but you're the child of a great sorcerer." She relished the sight of the sparks shining in Glimmer's eyes, the glittering dust of hope and wonder dashing through them. "You have a more powerful connection to magic than you ever realized." Finally, Shadow Weaver offered her hand. "Let me show you." Glimmer contemplated, standing there with her eyes open, unable to move of her own free will.
She could have it all right now. A chance to gain more power, a chance to teleport to the Fright Zone, and a chance to save Catra. All she had to do was take the woman's hand, and give her her trust.
"You just want to use Glimmer's power to escape!" Bow pointed out, standing at his friend's side. "And why should we trust you to help us save Catra, anyway? You've always hated her!"
"Hate is a strong word," she swayed, waving her hand, "and a little inaccurate. I despised the girl for everything she did, everything she was, growing up. I never hated her for only herself. Even if I was, it would prove pointless. When Hordak uses his portal, there will be nowhere in Etheria for me to escape to. Nor will I be able to rescue Adora from the Spell of Obtainment without Catra's help. Saving her and destroying Hordak benefits me as much as you."
"Yeah, but-"
"Besides, this is her decision. Not yours." She reminded, standing firmly before the Princess. "You know as well as I do that we must strike now. Hordak can't be allowed to open a portal. We'll never have another opportunity, and you know that." Glimmer turned her head a little anxiously, worried about all the things that could happen if she set her free, and if she didn't. "The moment he does, all of Etheria will fall and burned to ash from the might of the Horde. And Catra will be the first to die."
Staring into the Woman's eyes, Glimmer finally tightened her expression as a decision had come to her mind. She couldn't allow Shadow Weaver to escape, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she was tricked and set a sorceress free. She also knew there were no other possibilities with time running out, with the life of her best friend hanging on the line.
Her choice had become clear.
Gathering as much of her magic, growing an aura of pink around her tightly squeezed hand, she decided. She slammed her palm flat against the surface of the barrier with all her might, using as much magic as she could to disrupt the barrier, and watching with shock as it finally fell apart in front of her. Like cherry blossoms in the wind, the three watched as residuals of the barrier's magic swept around them. Dissipating, dissolving, shrinking in front of their eyes. And then, nothing.
Glimmer had set Shadow Weaver free.
Bracing herself, the princess stepped over the edge of where the barrier once stood, the purple enchanted dust brushing against her shoes as she approached the wicked witch. She had no choice, she had no options. All she could do was raise her hand to Shadow Weaver in acceptance over their newly formed deal.
Leaving Bow to rub his hand between his eyes. There was no going back.
...
...
*creeeak*
The metallic, large, doors opened before the girl as she stepped through, surveying her surroundings as she searched for the person in question. If he was where she knew him to be, knowing he wasn't in his inner sanctum, then his personal lab would be the best place to search for him.
"Hello?" She called out, approaching the inner lab of his sanctuary. "Lord Hordak?"
Sure enough, the person in question was right where she expected him to be. The leader of the Horde was grumbling to himself as he worked with his personal devices, fixing the short circuiting collar around his neck as he stood within the center of the machine. Hearing the voice himself, Hordak have a small apprehensive look at the teenager, doing his best to keep himself from scowling. For all he knew, Entrapta could be anywhere around, or popping out of the vents at any moment.
"What do you want, Adora?" He asked, keeping his back to her as the machine repaired bits of his exoskeleton.
Brushing off the dust from her white long-sleeve shirt, Adora placed her hands in repect behind herself, standing at attention. "Ahem. I, um, interrogated the prisoner recently, My Lord." She stated.
"And?"
"And? Uh," it was hard for her to think of what to say without risking the thread of respect he had left to show her, "it has... come to my attention that, she..."
"Out with it!" He seethed, refusing to waste his precious time or sanity on a girl prattling on about what she deems important.
"S-Sorry. As I was trying to say, she had brought to my attention that... S-She believes you have the intention of executing her once the portal is finished." She didn't trust Catra a single bit, but it also didn't hurt to hear it directly from the source, right? After all, despite everything, there was no way he was possibly considering-
"What of it?" He showed no signs of hiding his intention as the machine finished tweaking his suit's collar, the leader examining the readings and layout of the armor within his monitors to the side.
Adora was slightly taken back by his casualness, staring at him for a bit as she pulled back some of her flowing long hair in front of her shoulders. "A-And I just wanted to confirm with you that..." So many thoughts were conflicting in her mind that she didn't know what to say. "Y-You don't really intend to execute her, do you?"
"Of course I do." Adora's heart became still at the confirmation. "Why?"
"Why? B-Because-... I-I just thought we were going to use her as a bargaining chip, My Lord. It would seem kind of wasteful not to use the opportunity given to us."
"And I don't intend to." He spat, typing for a short while within the consoles connected to his machine. "That girl has cost this army more than you could possibly know. So much time and resources wasted because of one defector, one traitor. And I presume you know how traitors are dealt with within the Horde."
"E-Exactly, Lord Hordak. I just thought like... W-Wouldn't it be better to hold her ransom or something? We could demand a shipment of resources from the Rebellion everyday, forcing them to pay tribute in exchange for keeping her alive as our prisoner."
"And, do tell, what exactly would you suggest if they refused to pay tribute?" The leader paused from his typing as he lifted his head a little, getting a strange feeling off the girl's behavior. "Would you have us just keep her around without any source of tribute? Or would you be willing to execute her yourself for all she has done?"
Adora froze as her eyes refused to blink. What was she supposed to say? Yes and she would execute Catra on the spot? No because they could still get another opportunity with holding her hostage? They could make an easy trade off for the girl, possibly demand their entire army back from the Rebellion's prisons in exchange for the legendary She-Ra again.
Better yet, why not demand the Queen herself in exchange for She-Ra? She was just as important to the Rebellion as Glimmer was, if not more so, and there's no way she would waste a chance to return the Rebellion's greatest warrior to their side.
Then again, knowing Catra as Adora did, she wouldn't be surprised if the Queen didn't want her back.
It was becoming increasingly concerning as Adora could actually feel her heart beating, feel the vibration against her chest with every passing tick. Staring back to Lord Hordak, throwing the respect he had left for him on the line, it was... maddening.
"I... I-I would... I would continue using her as we see fit!" She declared. "We could learn so much about her sword and She-Ra's powers by keeping her alive! Think of everything Entrapta could study from her if we could-"
"Do NOT use her name for your own reasoning, Force Captain!" He shouted with anger, unable to hold himself back. He could tell what she was trying to do, tell she was throwing Entrapta's name into the mix of things in order to better appease to Hordak's line of reasoning. To throw out someone's name like that, to use a respectable scientist's title like an item. It sickened him. The fear in her eye was well placed at the sound of his voice, the tension in her heart rising to new levels of stress.
And he didn't care. "Do not think to tarnish the little respect I have left for you after your own betrayal, Adora." He threatened, walking towards the Force Captain as she stood with fear. "That girl's very existence right now threatens to undermine everything we have accomplished, all that we have achieved, and I will not allow it's existence a second longer after the portal is finished."
Somehow the fear only heightened as he continued past her towards the door. "When that portal is finished, that girl's life will end by my hands, quickly, or slowly, if I so choose it. And I will let nothing stand in my way."
'BUT YOU CAN'T-! Mmmh!" Adora froze with unquestionable shock and fear as she covered her mouth, Hordak himself becoming speechless as he stopped at the sound of the girl's voice.
Adora didn't know what came over her. She just stammered the first thing that came to mind, and her mouth. Bits of sweat started to seep from the girl's forehead as she lowered her gaze, knowing there was no excuses for what she just did.
"... What did you just say, Adora?" Hordak was at his scariest when he spoke without emotion to Adora. The room going silent all around her, the sound of Hordak's footsteps echoing throughout the room. Somehow it all became more terrifying to the young blond as she forced herself to stare at the floor, eyes shriveling as her hair drooped to the sides.
"N... Nothing, sir." She muttered, overwhelmed with fear for the first time in her life.
"Did you just say what I could, or couldn't do?" His narrowed red eyes made him all the more menacing. Adora could feel his gaze directly on the back of her head.
"N-No... No. Of course not, L-Lord Hordak. That would be foolish, disrespectful... stupid."
"Hmph..." He wanted to strike the girl at any given moment, the restraint on his part nearing the limits of his patience as his anger seethed with clouds of anger. "That's what I thought." At this, the towering figure of anger turned again, leaving the girl behind as he finally vacated the room. Leaving Adora all to herself.
But not alone.
"Ooooh, did you hear what I heard?" Aroda awed, smiling cheerfully at Adora's side. She playfully brushed her shoes against the floor as she hovered, sliding against the ground as if she was ice skating around the girl. "It looks like boss man is going to be useful to use after all! Good choice in not getting rid of him, Adora. Turns out you "told me so" for once, huh?" She chuckled, smiling brightly at the door.
This was perfect, beyond perfect! With Hordak doing the work for her, they could finally move on with their life! He would execute the girl, the sword's bond with the magicat would be broken, and then Adora could reestablish her connection to the sword anew, with Aroda's help! She didn't even need to worry anymore about Adora's spinelessness or weakness now with someone else planning to take care of the cat for her! Everything was going smoothly, and ironically, thanks to Adora's desire of not wanting to get rid of the Lord of the Horde after all this time!
"Man, I really wish I had one of those party horns right now. Don't you?" She giggled, floating onto her back as she leaned her arms behind her head. "Catra gets taken down, you get to live with a clear conscious, and the sword will be ours! Talk about a lucky break, am I right, Adora?... Adora?" The reflection looked back, seeing the girl vanished from her spot and moving silently to the door. "Helloooo, Adora? You there?" This was new to her.
Usually, she could always tell what was on Adora's mind. Whether she's happy or sad, calm or angry, there wasn't an emotion she experienced without Aroda being aware of it, not a single thought to herself that Aroda wasn't aware of.
Until now.
The girl was like a blank slate to Aroda for once, more than usual, as her body moved clear of thought. She didn't know where she was going, she didn't know if she was willing to accept what was happening to Catra or planned on getting in the way. For the first time, Aroda was actually troubled by this lack of unknowing, unable to grasp what was going on in the corner of Adora's mind.
All she did was humph to herself as she lowered her eyes a little in annoyance. "You better not screw this up for us, Adora..."
...
...
"Ooooh... Where is he..." Entrapta moaned as she sat on Emily, staring at the lever in front of her.
The lever that would determine it all, the lever that would begin the portal activation, the lever that was so irrisistable to pull!
This was a scientist's worst nightmare; having a shiny red button or a sparkling lever standing right in front of them just waiting to be tested and she couldn't afford to let herself pull it until Hordak was present with her. He had every right to witness the portal's activation as much as she did!
...Aghhhhhhh but it was so unbearable! Could you tell a fish not to swim? A bird not to fly? Or a scientist to not pull a lever that activated an ancient First Ones portal used by technology left behind by thousands of years ago that could revolutionize the history of the world by granting access across space itself that could summon and sent physical matter through an intergalactic wormhole that no one has ever created before!? OF COURSE NOT!
It was so tempting just standing there and... levering! She needed a distraction, a hobby! Sitting around and doing nothing was just as bad as standing around and doing nothing! And she still couldn't decide on if she should pull the lever or not!
"Mhhhh! Mhhhhh!" Oh yeah, there was that person in the room twenty feet away from her. Turning her head, she eyed the muffling magicat who was trying to speak with her.
Shrugging at the garbled words, she assumed it was better than asking no one. "What do you think, Catra? Should I pull it now or later?"
"Mhh mh mh mh mhhhh!" She tried to shout to her. She knew if she responded with a nod or a shake that she would assume it was a yes, regardless of what she actually meant, and that would be the end for her.
"Whaaat? Hold on." Giving her a moment, Catra breathed a little relieved as Entrapta lowered the cloth again with her hair. "Now what were you saying?"
"I said don't pull it you idiot!" She stated.
Entrapta just blinked at her. "... Oh. Right. Not friends." She reminded herself, staring back at the lever.
Catra lowered her head a bit in dismay. It wasn't her fault that everything was happening so soon and the stress was getting to the magicat's head. She was lucky enough she kept herself from trying to bite at Entrapta's hair, let alone threaten her like that.
"Look, Entrapta, I'm sorry about what happened, all right?" She said, drawing the Scientist's eyes. "We didn't know you were still alive, we all thought you were dead. That's why we didn't come back for you. It... It was my fault, okay? And I'm... I'm sorry"
Entrapta stared off into thought for a bit, lowering the mask over her face as she turned away from her. "But Adora said you abandoned me. And so far she hasn't given me any reason to doubt her." Taking the opportunity to chat, the eager young scientist pressed along the controls of a monitor, getting a small window to pop up in the middle of the left side of the screen.
There, it displayed a recording. A recording Catra wasn't surprised she had, given all the fancy gadgets and machines she's built on a regular basis. It was only natural that somehow, while she was unaware of it, she would have a drone with a recording showing the way Catra attacked her at the Northern Reach, the anger and ferocity in her eyes, showing no regret on her part.
"You even tried to attack me in the Northern Reach when we first met again." She said, turning her masked face in her direction. "That casts doubt on your part." Turning off the video again, she resumed her silent watching of the lever. "LIke why you would attack me if you guys did care about me."
"That... Look, that wasn't on them, all right? That was all me." No matter how many times she remembered how she felt over the guilt of Entrapta's loss, it never made the feeling in her heart any easier. "When I first thought you were dead, I was... sad. Really. And then when I thought you betrayed us because you wanted too, I was... I didn't know how to respond, but I shouldn't have tried to hurt you. I was angry and upset that you betrayed us. I was even more upset with myself."
"Because you failed to hurt me?"
"Because I felt guilty over the fact it was my fault!" She revealed. While still keeping her guard up and her curiosities in check, the purple-haired genius gave her a surprised look behind the mask. "I was really upset when we thought you died because I thought I was the one responsible for it. I threw you into those vents to begin with, I was torn up. I never would've come across the Beacon if it wasn't for that."
"... Hmmm..." She hummed to herself as she pulled out her own tracker pad, typing away with her hair as she went over her Rules of Sociology list. "I can't quite tell if you're lying or not, but Adora told me not to trust you either way."
"You can't listen to Adora, okay? She isn't herself lately, she can't be trusted."
"Sorry, Catra, but when the data comes down to it," she turned to the monitors again as a new screen was displayed, "she's been a much better friend to me than you." Looking at the monitor herself, Catra examined the strange head-like outlines of herself and Adora, both of them with nearly a dozen hearts pointing to a head outline of Entrapta, like a rating. And while Adora's rating had a full twelve hearts over her's, Catra's had nothing more than a giant red X over it.
Catra frowned further as she lowered her head away. All the guilt, all the anger, all the sadness, had been leading up to a moment like this. If their situations were reversed, she wasn't sure if she would be the one forgiving Entrapta or not. And at the same time, if she was aware that their situation was reversed, then Entrapta would want Catra to believe her right now.
"Is that what this is, then? Some revenge against me? Fine, deal with me. Do whatever you want! But you can't take it out on everyone else around you. They had nothing to do with how I was acting, I acted out all on my own." The girl listening to her remained silent as she lowered her head. Did Catra have the right idea behind all of this? Was she really doing this just for revenge? To get back at her for all the anger she shot at her?
...Who was she kidding? Entrapta wasn't like that. She was nice, sincere, quirky but with a big heart... and she didn't deserve Catra's anger.
"Look, I know what it's like, okay? She was my friend too. She does her best with everything with a big smile but the truth is she doesn't care. All she cares about is progress and results, she doesn't know if its right or wrong and she doesn't care anymore! If you go through with this, that portal is going to summon an army big enough to wipe out all of Etheria and nobody will be safe."
"..."
"..."
"..." The scientist contemplated as she slowly lifted the buns of her hair to her side, Catra watching as they shook like a balled-up fist. She looked troubled, angry, upset. All the signs that Catra gave off when she was about to lash out at someone. It wouldn't surprise her by what she did next.
*WHAP*
"Ah!" Catra yelped, covering her eyes. Like a bullet out of a canon, her twintails quickly shot at the magicat, looking ready to strike or strangle the girl at a given notice. But instead of feeling any sort of injury, any danger from her, Catra opened her left eye, then the other, as she trailed the hair from the source to where they were connecting to.
Right above her, around the metallic pillar. Staring at the curious twintails for a moment, Catra's eyes were drawn to the sound of Entrapta again as the girl dragged herself over to her, still sitting on Emily and scraping against the ground. There was no telling what sort of look on her face as she stared at her, breathing behind the mask with the glowing red round eyes. For a moment, Catra was actually scared of how she was going to react as she slowly reached to flip up her mask.
"Of course I can!" She smiled. "Did you miss the whole sword makes the portal machine work thing?" She wondered, drooping her arms and legs around Emily, staring right into Catra's face. "I really don't have time to explain."
"It's too dangerous!" Catra tried to argue as she pulled herself back to the machine.
"All exploration has an element of danger! But think of what we could find?" She became giddy with glee as she pulled her way to the monitors, marveling at the outline of the universe, filled with bright shining stars and entire planets just waiting to be explored. "Whole worlds, galaxies, things we can't even imagine."
"But it's not going to work." All the fluster and excitement drained from Entrapta's eyes as she turned them to the side by the magicat's voice. "Mara made it so another portal couldn't be opened. We don't know what could happen, it could destroy everything!"
The girl found herself at an impasse as she thought of this, tapping her chin with her hair and fingertips. On the one hand, what Catra said was true. There were a few issues she came across as she inputted the data over and over again. On the other hand, she wasn't supposed to listen or trust anything Catra said. So how was she supposed to decide if it was right or not?
"... I have noticed some anomalies in my portal trials." Taping against the consoles before the screen, Catra watched as several red X's in boxes flashed over the large monitor. "They could potentially pose a problem. Maybe I should run more tests... Then again, Adora told me not to trust you. And I can't let her down."
"Entrapta..." Catra had to think, and think fast. How was she supposed to get an eager young, quirky, annoying, gullible-as-she-was-smart, scientist to listen to her? It's like everything she was saying was draining out of both ears and keeping her from thinking straight! She doubt trying to use typical reverse psychology would do any good, especially if ADora had been helping her with interacting with people all this time. All she cared about was being a true friend to Adora and that meant...!
Wait a minute.
"... Huff, you're right. What was I thinking?" Catra sighed, looking away with regret.
"Oh, that's okay. This is going to be an exciting moment for all of us!"
"I mean, I thought since you knew as much as I did about what was wrong with her right now that you'd be trying to prove yourself as her friend and helping her with it." Glancing an eye over to the girl, she questioned exactly how much of Entrapta's curiosity she had piqued.
"... You know what's wrong with her?" She asked, turning her head to her.
Bingo.
"Eh, more or less. I doubt you'd believe me though, so why should I bother-"
"But I can help confirm it!" The scientist stated happily, rushing straight into Catra, pushing her face close enough until she was mere inches from Catra's nose. "I've been taking multiple readings from her since her illness began. I can prove it for myself!"
"U-Um, okay..." Catra muttered, waiting for starer to back away before she continued. "It might sound crazy and weird, but there's this thing inside her head trying to tell her how to do everything."
"What do you mean? Like a Associative Identity Disorder?"
"Um... I guess? All I know is that whatever's causing causing her deformity and appearance lately, it's connected to the very same illness. It might even be the cause of her shadows hurting herself."
"But... that can't be right." Tilting her head a little, the scientist looked over her tracker pad again as she reviewed her various scans. "I've done multiple brain scans of her during testing-"
"She let you do that?"
"- and so far I haven't found any anomaly with her mind. It seems to be the healthiest part of her body, really."
"Well maybe you missed something then? Something that was either so obvious or not obvious enough to notice?"
"Hmmm..." Entrapta frowned a little rubbing her chin, staring back at the prisoner herself. "I don't knoooow..."
"Look, Entrapta, just look over your findings one more time. If you find something wrong with it, then that means I was telling the truth. And if I am, then you have to trust me and stop what you're doing with the portal."
"And if you're lying?"
Catra shrugged. "Then nothing happens and you go right back to it. Plain and simple." She eyed the scientist hopefully. "Right?"
"..." She could've been thinking a million things, and Catra would never guess one of them. Everything at this point was riding on Entrapta trusting her, or Catra being lucky enough to prove to her that she could be trusted. She didn't know any of the bizarre sciencey things that Entrapta did when it came to examinations and scans, but if she was to have any chance of getting the girl to believe her, then this was her last resort.
Playing on Entrapta's care for her friends.
"... Okay!"
Catra breathed deeply at the agreement as Entrapta made her way towards the door. Inspecting the sword for a moment, Catra's eyes lowered as she stared at the key to the portal. "Uh, s-say, Entrapta? How much longer until your portal is complete?"
"Oh, it's already done." Her reveal was sending shockwaves of fear through Catra's systems. "Once Hordak and I are ready, we'll be opening the portal right away... You're not going to try and escape if I leave you alone, are you?"
The feline shot her an unamused look. "Don't you think I would've tried to by now if I could?"
"... Good point. Okay, bye!" With a cheerful wave, not having the sense to remain for any more questioning, Entrapta left, leaving Catra to panic, struggling with all her might against her newfound horror.
It was a serious case of do or die time at this point, all of it coming down to whether or not Entrapta could find anything. If she did, she might be able to stop the portal, stop the activation possibly for a few days, and, most importantly to her, stall the execution placed on Catra's head!
If not...
Then Catra could only pray that her death would be quick.
Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:29:42
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A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know, it's cliche as all get-out writing that "Timer" at the end, what do ya want from me XD I just thought it'd be a nice bit of suspense to add to the end of this and the next chapter, and maybe after each new scene as the timer starts coming down little by little. I don't know, but i'm keeping it in anyway no matter how tacky it is XD Lol
Not much to say here, again refer to the top A/N's if you're interested in making scenes/flashbacks to go along with my dreamworld episode :D! Again, they will contain spoilers ahead of time since i'll need to tell people what they need to consist of, but outside of that, whatever scenes you want to do for them will be of your own choosing ^^
With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!