A/N: Final Word Count: 8.4k Pre-A/N's. What's going on guys, monokub here with another fun-filled episode to boot ^^
Don't have a lot to say this time around. Chapters might be surprisingly short (and by that i mean like 8-10k a piece) for a good while folks, but honestly not too surprising XP "Shocking" as it might be, this is the size it usually was when the full episodes came out. Heck, the first two chapters alone were 1 episode in total (god I miss those days...) But still XP
My ultimate goal is to hopefully fin this before Friday when season 5 FINALLY comes out so i can watch the entire season 4 before then XP i'm forcing myself not to until i fin this episode since I cheated a little and watched it after season 3 finale. I couldn't help myself XP lol
Anyway, enjoy!
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"So, what do you think?" The eager young princess of the Kingdom of Snows known as Frosta asked, excited to see the reaction of the soon Queen-to-be as they stood outside upon the terrace. "I wanted to do something special for you."
The three gazed at the marvelous (which was one way to put it) statuesque figurines standing in front of them, made completely out of solid ice. Upon the platform of the masterpiece of ice, the one that Frosta made with all the love and care and destructive force of ice in the world, stood what would be the centerpiece of her very own coronation.
Upon the platform were two familiar individuals known as Glimmer of Bright Moon, and Frosta of the Kingdom of Snows, flexing their incredible muscles more than ever for everybody to bare witness to! They even came with Frosta's personal touch to them as they stood, with both their muscles almost bulging out the seams as Glimmer stood, with her always faithful, always trustworthy, and definitely favorite friend, Frosta, kneeling at her side, flexing her own gigantic muscles that were clearly just a little more awesome than Glimmer's own.
It almost petrified Catra and Bow as they stared at the statue, at a loss for words as it was more than they could handle. Bow didnt' know exactly what he could say, or any of them, that could be said without hurting the young princess's feelings. As for Catra, well, she was struggling to hold in the biggest groan in her entire body, unable to tell what she should be doing at a time like this.
"I don't know if I should laugh or be disturbed..." She mumbled, swallowing down whatever answer was piling up in her throat. This was her own little issue she had to deal with as Glimmer went about her own.
All throughout the last week, a majority of it, Catra had been all but silent to Glimmer. Barely speaking in her presence, and that's if she was talking to someone else, unable to bother being in the same room with her, the magicat had made it a priority to avoid Glimmer at any cost, going as far as to run away if she caught so much as a whiff of her scent. The strange thing was, it wasn't due to anything Glimmer did herself. Instead, it lied solely on Catra as the main, personal, cause.
She couldn't be with Glimmer after the tragedy a week ago. Ever since the Queen sacrificed her life so Catra wouldn't have to, she's been rattled by a bizarre haunting where she saw the Queen's face every time she saw Glimmer. Just seeing that stare in her eye, that smile, every little detail of it reminded her of the Queen, and threw on a heaping helping of guilt that Catra didn't know how to process.
She couldn't find a way to make up for such a huge loss, she couldn't think of how to repay her, or her mother which would be impossible from this point, and left Catra with seemingly no choice but to apologize for her loss in order to move on with her life. A way to make her feel better through her words than her actions.
The minor setback?
CATRA WAS TERRIBLE AT MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BETTER!
Don't get her wrong, she was used to helping people out and everything. She's been on plenty of missions, helped dozens of regions and lands, and kicked plenty of Horde butt along the way. But not once has there ever been a case where she needed to directly talk to someone like this in order to make them feel better. She didn't even have to do this when she tried cheering her up at the Princess Prom, she just went with her actions instead of words.
Which is why Catra opted to try her hand at actions rather than words, seeing it as the only means to get past her struggling blockade. With the Princess's Coronation Ceremony being held this afternoon, she found no greater means to support her friend than by pitching in and attempting to help make sure everything was perfect. When she did, she knew she was going to be able to see her again, her guilt would go away, and she could go about their daily lives of the Horde trying to wipe them out, just like the good old days!
... But MAN was it forcing her to bite her own tongue! She passed by a dozen things on the way to the terrace alone that made her want to laugh and burst out into fits, and she couldn't over the fear of messing up Glimmer's coronation! She had to make sure everything was perfect throughout the proceedings, not just for her, but for both their sakes.
"This is going to be awful." Glimmer groaned, lowering her head.
"Awfully inspiring, right?" Frosta jumped pumping her fists to her, looking dead in the eyes to the soon-to-be-Queen as waves of light shined through them with excitement and hope. There was nothing else she wanted to do other than to help her proclaimed-best friend! "I can make more!"
"I... appreciate the idea." Glimmer declined, gently lowering the fists Frosta raised. "But I need someone for an important job to, uh... greet the guests!" For a moment, Catra almost wanted to volunteer at the sign that it was important, until she realized the trick behind it.
"Oh! You mean like a Bouncer?" Frosta smiled with greater excitement than before as she forced icicles over her fists, nearly doubling their size. With a grin, she slammed the two fists together, alerting all those who would try to bounce pass the amazing princess that she would bounce them right back! "I'm on it! Bouncerrrr!"
"Hey, wait. I didn't say Bouncerrr... okay." Glimmer's attempt to stop the young princess were in vain as she ran off, preparing to bounce the infiltrators who refused to be bounced. There was no stopping the unshakeable will of an 11 and 3/4ths year old girl.
"Glimmer!"
"Ah!" Nearly all of her friends yelped in fright as the familiar Aunt Castaspella popped out of nowhere from her right, holding along two differently colored drapes in both over both her sleeves.
"I need your opinion on color schemes." The proud aunt was excited for the answer she was about to hear. Between the cruddy, simple, bland, boring blue one on her right, it would only make too much sense to pick the obviously atmospheric, beautiful, elegant, graceful, and all-around better looking purple one, there was only ONE possible answer she could expect from such a perfect niece!
"Uh... Blue?"
"..." Maybe she wasn't related to Glimmer after all. The bored look in her eyes as she shrugged to it said everything.
"Uh, what about purple?"
"... Excellent choice." Never mind! Crisis averted. "Isn't this fun? Soon, you will have to make many decisions, just like your moth... erm..." Anything the aunt had to say was cut off as she was reminded about the certain loss behind all of this, as well as the princess she was addressing, as she gazed at the two friends gesturing behind her.
To her right, she a nervous-looking Bow silently gesturing with his hand sliding against his neck to cut the question short before it was too late. And to her left, she saw the easily irritable creature known as Catra, the cat girl giving her a threatening scowl as her eye twitched, trying to suppress the anger for her own sake as well as her friends.
"That is, uh... Chop, chop, everyone!" She purposely tried to move the conversation ahead as to ignore the conversation that almost was. "Catra, move the ice sculpture to the side." Giving a simple nod, Catra followed her instructions as she and Bow dispersed from the group. "We still need flower arrangements. Where is that florist?"
"... You fired him." Glimmer reminded unhappily. At the rate things were going, she was going to fire half the staff before everything was set up.
"Oh, right." The aunt stirred in her thoughts as she tried to think of a counter-plan, refusing to let up as her own mistake threw a hitch in the coronation's development. "Perhaps you'd like to do the flowers, Glimmer?"
"Uh..." Uncertainty crossed her mind as she looked back to her two troubled friends. Towards the center of the terrace, she could see Catra struggling to move the massive hunk of rock as she pushed against it with her back, scrambling her feet across the floor as she heaved with all her might an inch at a time. It was moments like this where she wished she could just use She-Ra to solve her problems, but the last thing she wanted was to cause panic or concern during Glimmer's big day if people saw that She-Ra was running about.
On Bow's end of the world, things weren't fairing much better as he glossed over the list of things and arrangements from the scroll. He didn't appear to be enjoying himself any better than Catra was as he groaned, burying his face in the mountaintop of things they would have to go over before they were done for the day.
Based on their expressions alone, there was little more than fear as she thought over the various and exhausting tasks she would be forced to do if their first assignments alone brought them this much stress. She also worried over what sort of magic she would need to do it. That's when she was drawn to the sound of Mermista groaning to her right, standing out in the open with an exaggeratedly bored yawn that escaped her throat.
She was the only one not helping with anything right now.
"You know, I bet Mermista would love to do the flowers!" She finally offered, chuckling a bit as her aunt turned around. "Right, Mermista?"
"Wow, how did you know?" You'd have to be a complete idiot not to notice the extreme sarcasm coming out of her tone as she crossed her arms. "Flower arranging is my passion."
"Ah, wonderful!" Her aunt spoke with satisfaction as she threw an arm around Mermista's free one, causing a small blush as she was dragged away. "Now let's talk stem length."
"What? No, why?!" And leaving Perfuma, who was a few feet away behind her, to collapse to her knees in despair as the overgrown plants to her side withered away. Why did Mermista get to have the fun job of Flower Arranging? Why was the Universe punishing her like this?!
"Is now a good time to talk about my song at the coronation?" Swift Wind abruptly asked, catching Glimmer by surprise as she squeaked. "I will require a stage and oats for the backup horses."
*creeeak*
Before Glimmer could get any sort of word out, pertaining to information about Catra's strange behavior, a solid clear wall of ice was grown between them as Frosta arrived to save the day. "Stop bothering Glimmer!" She yelled, waving her icy fists as she scared off the horse. Nobody was going to get passed Super Bouncer Frosta whether they were friend or foe! "Bouncer!"
"Wait-! Ugh..." Although she had little to no work to do herself right now, she was feeling just as exhausted as the rest of them. Between people coming in and out every two seconds, plans and assignments being thrown around one after the other, and nobody giving her a chance to speak to speak with them for more than a sentence, this was becoming the most grueling day of her life.
At least some people appeared to be making progress as she looked past the ice. On the other side of the cold clear wall, she could see Catra looking as tired as the rest of them as she slid against the floor, her tongue hanging out a little in sweat. Despite the icy feel pressing against her back, the found the situation anything but tiring as she was forced to push the giant block of ice like her life depended on it.
Partly, because it did.
Seeing how everyone else was preoccupied, and Perfuma was still weeping over her shattered dream, the pink-haired soon-to-be-Queen made her way around the solid wall of as she approached the tired magicat as she got back up again to push. "Hey, Catra?" Catra immediately shot her head back at the sound of her voice as she continued to push with her arms. "Could we talk for a minute-"
"Take good care of each other."
Catra's face twitched as the haunting visage came to her again. Wasn't she doing enough around here to keep the visions from clouding her mind? It was aggravating alone just dealing with everything without letting out a scoff or two at everything around here. The last thing she needed was for something to haunt her every time Glimmer came into her life.
Shaking her head briefly, the magicat turned her head back to the icicle itself as she tried to focus solely on the task at hand. "Uh, c-can't talk now! Working!" She sputtered, trying to ignore the friend for both their sakes.
"Look, I really need to talk to you, okay?" Glimmer said in a slightly mournful voice as she tried walking to her side to grab her attention. "I've barely seen you around the castle, and I haven't heard from you since we got back. And there's a lot of stuff on my mind right now, and I-"
"Eh, n-nope! Nope! Sorry!" Catra spat, side stepping a little further away as she pushed the icicle from another angle. It did nothing to stop the same princess from simply walking over to her as she followed, knowing the cat was too busy to actually get away.
"I just really need someone to talk to right now-"
"Ehh... H-Hey! Bow!" Trying to find anything to distract the tension already rising within Catra's mane, the warrior caught sight of an equally exhausted Bow as she began to approach him. Glimmer could barely raise a hand to her before she left again, like she always did every time Glimmer tried to talk to her.
Did Catra hate her right now? Was she trying to avoid her because of something she did? It was Catra they were talking about, so there could've been any number of things that she could've done to set her off. The only difference between then and now was the fact Glimmer couldn't recall a single thing that she could've done to cause this.
Sighing, following the continued sounds of Frosta crashing something else and Perfuma still weeping, Glimmer resigned herself to follow Catra around as she did anything she could to reconnect with her old friend.
"Hey, Bow," Catra greeted as she ignored the princess's approach, "do we need to do anything else?"
"Still don't know what the lantern is for!" He moaned, reading over the massive scroll that had unfolded and stretched over his head to the back of his feet as he continued reading. "This is all so official and confusing. And it says Glimmer needs to wear some kind of ceremonial robe? I don't know where to get that!" Of the massive list of lists he ever listed, this was the most troubling list of all.
"Maybe, if we all work together-" Glimmer tried to encourage with a hopeful smile, only to be shot down as Catra panicked again.
"N-No need!" She stammered, raising her hands up defensively with a nervous smile. "I'm great at tracking things! I'll find it myself. Better yet, I'll take Bow with me." She added, pulling the archer against his own wishes to her side. Even this was troubling to the soon-to-be-Queen of Bright Moon, seeing Catra more than eager to work with someone else if it meant avoiding her.
"But-"
"Glimmer," And of course, her aunt had to come and interrupt her before she could get a word in edgewise, "you're needed in the Dining Room, at once, to choose the napkin folding technique! I'm thinking swans, what do you think?"
"Uh... I-"
"You're right, it's a terrible idea." She felt so disgraceful to have thought up such an unruly idea. What kind of favored aunt was she?! Tears were already forming in the corner of her eyes as she rusted a fist to her chin. "I should just fire myself!"
"Aunt Casta, no-"
*SPLASH!*
The two were suddenly submerged in a brief deluge of seawater as the Princess of Salineas doused them from overhead with her magic. Within moments of the water clearing, the two were seen covered in seaweed over their head and shoulders, and a starfish wrapped around Glimmer's face before she plucked it off. There wasn't any room for doubt about the cause of this little ruckus as Casta grumbled back.
"Mermista! Vases!" She clarified.
"Don't stifle my creativity!" She yelled back, standing in a pool of water that reached her ankles.
"Ugh. Please." She needed to clear the air around herself as she walked off, hoping to calm down before making a scene.
"No worries," Catra assured as she pulled out her sword, transforming it into a mix between a squeegee and a mob on both ends, "Bow and I can handle this, you relax. Let's go!"
"Wait, why do I have to?" Groans could be heard emanating from his voice as Catra dragged him away by the wrist, leaving the lone princess on her own again as everyone left her side.
"Relax... Right..." Unsatisfied with the events that were unfolding, Glimmer sighed in silence as she was forced to accept this. This is the most that she's gotten out of Catra all day so far, and if listening to what she had to say to her on the spot was her way of talking to her right now, then so be it. She gathered a pool of her own magic as her body shined for a short moment, only to turn away as a feeling struck her, gazing upon the Moonstone far behind her.
The Moonstone represented the peace and tranquility that was always within Bright Moon's borders, and would always stand as a testament of Bright Moon's power over the fierce technological might of the Horde. It would be here long after they were gone, long after the Rebellion or the Horde was gone, and long after the war was over, one way and another. She just wished it would've been gone before losing...
At the thought of her missing mother, the power faded from Glimmer's body as she moaned, walking away in silence. Nothing ever felt the same the same to Glimmer since her mom's passing, and she doubt anything ever would again. Between the ceremony commencing this evening, the people that were moving away from her life, and the feeling of despair looming over her head, she saw very little reason to be happy right now.
It was the same look that Catra caught as she eyed her from the corner of her eye. She grimaced over the expression in her eyes as she continued to stand over the water in her boots, trying to ignore the cold feeling around her feet. She was working her hardest physically and mentally as she played along with everything, and Glimmer still didn't feel or look any better about it. All it did was make the guilt stronger in her heart as she grumbled, trying to mop away the water even harder as she did anything to push the pain away.
For all it was worth, both, she and Glimmer, shared the same thought with one another, even if they weren't aware of this.
This day was going to be Perfect... ly disastrous.
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...
The Inner Sanctum. One of the most unseen places of the Fright Zone.
To be associated with this place, one must have the honor and status as being one of Hordak's closest followers, usually reserved for Force Captains, officers, and commanders alike. Very rarely was anyone allowed access or brought to his Inner Sanctum otherwise, and those that did, usually weren't seen again.
It looked no worse for wear as Adora entered through the metallic doors of the sanctum, seeing the lab was still a mess. Everything looked to be about the same as when she left it, with maybe a few more broken pieces of machinery and destroyed vestige tanks still dripping with liquid after the lab was destroyed by a certain traitorous enemy. The same enemy who wore a familiar pair of cuffs, ones that were still active, as she stepped over the broken devices.
To think, this is where it almost happened. This is where she almost succeeded in stopping Catra from ruining her happiness like time and time again. If not for her, everything would've been peaceful. People could disappear in the portal world without a care in the world, completely unaware of it, and nobody would have to return to the miserable lives of war that were continuing to run amok within the real world itself. Everyone could live out their greatest fantasies and desires until the very end, and it was a more peaceful reality than anything else Adora has ever known since her time as a Force Captain in the Fright Zone.
Then SHE came along and had to ruin it!
Catra couldn't just live out her life in happiness and wonder over this place, oh, no, no, no, no, no. She was unsatisfied. She apparently wanted more of something, more of anything, just to make herself satisfied in the end! People could've disappeared peacefully, happily, and that's all Adora wanted for them after everything she's been through! And did Catra allow that? NO! She had to get herself involved again and find some pitiful excuse to ruin it for her all over again!
Make no mistake, it's not like she wanted everyone to disappear, heck, it wasn't even her original agenda. But as the illusionary world began to fall apart, she felt her memories returning, too. Memories of a life of deeds she regretted, memories of terrible thoughts she didn't want to recall. It wasn't until Catra forced her to remember them that she remembered why she hated her old friend so much, and how much Catra had taken from her life in the first place. Making her experience the same pain was the only solution she saw.
Not to mention the fact everyone seemed happier here than a world of constant war and fear. Why on Etheria would she ever want to return to such a life where so much constant pain was inflicted?
And then, there was Aroda, her source of power. When the world acme to an end, everything was back to normal, including herself. The corruption that had rotted away at her, all of Aroda's influence around her, had vanished after the parasite had ceased to be. While it was something of a comfort to see her old skin back to the flawless shape it was before, it also came with a temporary side-effect of her powers being gone as well.
Leaving behind a small gift that was almost just as good.
Finally rifling through the wreckage, the jacket-less girl came upon the leader of the Horde, sitting in the same spot she saw him last time. Sitting along the broken archway of the portal, having yet to clean up a single spot around him. It was almost disgraceful to her to see her once-beloved ruler in such a state.
Making her way over to him, standing with the same respect she always showed, though no longer felt, Adora stood at attention as she cleared her throat, placing her hands behind her back. "Ahem. Lord Hordak?" She said calmly. "Our troops are just waiting around. They need to be given orders. What are we waiting for? We need to talk about plans for-"
"Plans?" The leader of the Horde spoke coldly, not even lifting his head in her direction as he chuckled bitterly. "Your last plan was to set off the portal machine before it was ready. Do you remember how that ended?" Adora choked back a bitterness in her throat as she clenched her hands behind her back tighter.
He still didn't have an ounce of respect for her after everything that's happened, as he always did. What she first adored and desired from him later turned into a coldness that she no longer cared about.
Now, it did nothing more than anger her.
It was YOUR orders to do so... She was smart enough to not speak her mind at the moment as she glanced away. "It still proved to be a success in the end, anyway. The Rebellion's in shambles, and their Queen is gone. If we were to strike now, we could catch them completely off guard-!"
"And how are we going to do that when you couldn't even prevent the Rebellion from infiltrating the Fright Zone?" Her leader sneered as he rose from his seat, glaring anger and seething rage from his core.
"We've already been over this. Entrapta was the one who betrayed you, I'm the one who's been helpi-"
"RAAAAHHHH!" Boasting with a newfound rage, the leader of the Horde pulled apart a metallic support beam with his bare hands before tossing it directly at the Force Captain. Adora barely managed to duck out of the way in time as the two ton steal flew past her, forcing her to the ground in reflex. From where she lied, it was almost as if she was bowing at his very feet as he loomed over her again. "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO MENTION THAT NAME IN MY PRESENCE!"
At that moment, she noticed a small light emanating from the collar of his exoskeleton, glowing around his collar in response to his newfound rage.
And, primarily, strength.
"If you are so desperate for a task, redouble our defenses so that no Princess can ever set foot in the Fright Zone again." The master was fuming with anger as Adora slowly rose to her feet, being wise enough to keep her head down as he hugged, if only to keep her own skin alive. "Fortunately for you," he continued, gesturing to one of the cracked monitors along the room, "my signal to Horde Prime went through."
"I understand that, so let's-"
The leader was quick to cut her off as he began to approach her in a menacing manner, the very one that forced her to back away a little in fear like it always has. "That is the only reason you're here instead of facing punishment for your failure." Adora's breathing became still at that remark.
Her failure.
Her... Failure?!
"My failure?!" She growled back, squeezing a fist at her side. "How is it my failure when you're the one who built the portal in the first place-!"
*WHAM!*
"Agh!"
*crash!*
It was like getting slammed into by a skiff as Hordak lashed out in anger. With a single swipe from the back of his hand, Adora found herself being thrown through the air, crashing into a small pile of metallic alloys, miraculously coming out of it alive with only a few aches and pains. She was fortunate enough she wasn't cut or impaled on any of the jagged pieces.
Said fortune might have only lasted as long as such as the leader of the Horde was already standing over the blonde soldier, pressing the palm of his hand against her chest right below her neck, nearly suffocating her in the process as she tried to pull away.
"You DARE to accuse me of failing this!?" He roared. With but a simple toss, Adora was once again thrown across the room, this time slamming against one of the few unbroken glass tanks within the room. Within a second, before she could fall, she felt a tight grip around her very own neck as Hordak pushed her up to the center of the glass, pinning her in place.
"If not for your minuscule contributions to the Horde, you'd be taking Catra's place at the execution at this very moment." He lowered is menacing gaze lower to her face as Adora turned her head as the red eyes reflected off her face.
During this moment, she noticed a small shine of something reflecting off the dark ceiling above, something that was hard to make out as his face was pressed so closely. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but she almost could've sworn it almost looked like... Is that...?
"Do not waste what little reason is left to keep you alive, Adora." He scoffed at the word before finally tossing her away to the ground. "Now, get OUT!" With his order ringing in her ears, Adora quickly scrambled to her feet, pulling herself together before heading out the metal doors. Looking back into the room of the menacing leader, Adora had officially decided for herself as a small glare crossed her brow.
She's had enough. She's had enough of people ruining her ways, enough of people pushing her around, and enough of people taking her for granted. She worked day in and day out for Hordak, and did he give her any sense of respect? No! All he does is push her around physically all the time, and now he had the gall to blame her for his own mistakes!
She might not have Entrapta's and technological advancements, but she had spirit, she had her loyalty. A loyalty she displayed to Lord Hordak on a daily basis where she asked for little more than acknowledgement, for appreciation, after all she's suffered through from the Rebellion, from She-Ra, and from Hordak himself. And he treated her no better than a stepping stool or a punching bag.
And she was pretty sure he'd respect those things more than her!
Well, as of now, no more. She didn't care about Hordak's personal desires or his wishes. He didn't represent what she thought the Horde was about. He was nothing more than a cruel tyrant who pushed away those he considered a nuisance, those whose uses he exhausted, reminding her of Catra in some way.
And if he didn't want anything to do with her, then so be it. She smiled to herself as the doors closed, knowing a change had to be in order.
Such as who ran things around here...
...
...
Glimmer stared into her hands as she tried to concentrate. A pulse, a wave, some sort of energy. She wanted to create any source of magic that she could within her palms like the past, some sort of connection to a better time in her life. Maybe she would feel better about everything if she had something that recounted her troubled history, something to remember what it was like to live back then.
Try as she might, in the end, she couldn't get anything more than a few sparks of magic. Within her cold fingertips, she watched helplessly as the magic barely conjured a strand of malleable energy, one that barely waved through her hands. It just didn't have the same feel to it as everything else did, feeling as foreign as the rest of the castle felt to her right now.
She knew that nothing would ever be the same again. That much was clear. She just wished at least something could retain some semblance of normalcy around here.
"Well, it took some searching," Bow captured the girl's attention as he, Catra, and Casta entered the room, "but we finally found the Royal Coronation Robe!" Approaching with the robes in hand, Catra tossed the leatery sheet over her pink friend, taking a few steps back to examine the entire outfit in person.
"There, see? You look... um..." Catra rubbed her chin in wonder as she tried to find the best words. It was hard to when most of those words involved jokes, teasing, or were just plain insulting like she usually did. Especially when the very robe she was wearing stretched out to, like, twenty feet in full length on both sides. "... Something..." She said with a nervous smile. What little smile she got from her young friend quickly turned to despair as she lowered her head again, moving on to further Catra's guilt.
"Oh, my little Glimmer." Casta mourned for her sorrowful niece as she approached her side. She smiled warmly as an aunt could as she caressed her saddened cheek in her hand. "I'm so proud of you. I know you're going to make such a wonderful queen." The aunt's kind words did little to soothe the sadness in her heart, but it did at least keep the frown from deepening as she shifted her eyes away.
"Well, almost time for your quest!" She happily announced, brightening her own mood at the mention as she booped her young niece in the nose again.. "Give me a tick and this robe will fit like a dream."
...
"Of course." Glimmer huffed as she sat against the spare bed of the room, still wearing the same robes from earlier as she spoke with her friends. "The quest we still don't know anything about. But it'll be fine." She spoke with a sense of denial in her voice as she tried to force a smile. "Castaspella will fix the robe, Bow has the lantern, and I'll have you guys by my side the whole way. Right?"
"Um... R-Right." Bow replied hesitantly, supporting his troubled friend as much as possible.
"Wait, you mean we all have to go on this quest thing?" Catra questioned, hoping for once that she misheard things around here. She ended up regretting it as soon as she asked it as she saw the expression dropping on Glimmer's face again. "Nnnnot that... it would be a problem... of course." She slowly added, giving an uneasy smile as she did.
"Hey, um Catra, can I talk to you real quick?" For better or worse, the archer pushed her furry butt out the door with him, leaving a somber princess alone with her thoughts as the door closed behind them. "I don't know where the lantern is! Glimmer can't do the quest without it, and she can't be queen without the quest!"
Dear First Ones, he could see it now! Riots and pillaging on the streets, castles burning and being torn asunder, and everyone knowing it was Bow's fault for losing the sacred lantern in the first place! He wasn't ready to be torn to pieces by an angry pitchfork-wielding mob!
*whap!*
"Bow, calm down!" Catra yelled shaking his shoulder as the archer rubbed his sore cheek.
"Owww, you didn't have to slap me, I wasn't panicking that much."
"I know that, but when else would I get the chance?" She joked, earning another moan from the same archer. He would've preferred a more verbal joke than a physical one for a time like this. "Look, it's a lantern, it couldn't have gotten far. Just retrace your steps, figure out where you left it, and I'll be fi- I mean, Glimmer will be fine, okay?"
"You'll be...?" Raising a questionable brow to the seemingly calm magicat, Bow gently brushed her hands from his shoulder. "Catra, what's going on with you lately? You've been a bit more... active, than usual."
"Well what do you expect? It's a coronation thing, everyone's working around here." She shrugged back, trying to walk past the archer before he blocked the way.
"Yeah, but you're not acting like you're doing it for the coronation. You're acting like you're doing it just to make Glimmer look happy, not because it's important."
"And what's wrong with that?" Catra raised a brow back, trying to pass the archer again before he moved. "I'm still helping, and it's not like I don't want to make sure her day doesn't go smoothly."
"I just wanna know what's going on with you. You haven't been acting like your usual self lately."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"No."
*whap!*
"Ow!" He muttered to himself as realized what it sounded like out loud. "What I mean is, why are you acting like you're forcing yourself to make Glimmer happy? It's like you're more focused on making her happy than helping at all with the ceremony."
"W-Well that's good then, right? As long as it's helping her, then who cares why I'm doing it, right?"
"So, what? Is this supposed to lead up to one of your pranks or something?"
"What? No, I know how important this is-"
"So you're doing it because someone told you to do it?"
"No, it's just-" She was starting to feel her veins tighten around her skin in distress as the accusations continued.
"Then why are you acting so close and distant at the same time, then?"
"BECAUSE I-" And with a pause, it happened again.
"Take good care of each other."
Catra looked around herself nervously as her ears faltered, trying to see if there was any sense of Glimmer around them at all. When nothing showed up, she started silently at Bow for a few seconds until the archer himself waved a hand in front of her.
"Um, Catra? Are you there?" He asked, waiting until the girl finished shaking her head, blinking to him.
"Huh? Y-Yeah, I'm just-"
"Take good care of each other."
It happened again, and this Catra reacted physically as she took a few steps back from the archer, looking as if she saw a ghost. Her eyes were darting back and forth around her as she faced Bow's direction, the archer taking note of her mysterious behavior and how it seemed to be affecting her with him as well.
"Okay, something is officially going on with you." Bow stated as he grabbed her wrist. "Come on, we're going to talk with Glimmer about thi-"
"Wh- No!" Catra yelled, swiping away her wrists. She was mortified, troubled, as the visions continued to haunt her mind without pause. Pulling away from the archer, rubbing her grabbed fist, a senseless worry came over her as she backed away down the hallway, trying to distance herself from the new source of her trouble.
It was now affecting her with Bow as well.
"Just... Just get on with the celebration thing. I'll find the lantern and then Glimmer will forgive me and everything will go back to normal."
"Forgive you?" For once, he was at a loss by a completely surprised reaction from the girl. "Catra, what are you-"
"N-No time to talk, gotta hurry!" She sputtered, racing down the hallways as she continued with her ceremonial preparations.
None of this made any sense to the archer. Catra was plenty weird as it was, and she had a handful of strange habits and behaviors around here. Easily angered, easily amused by people's misfortune, usually along the lines of pranks, and easy to get under her skin unwittingly.
But this was nothing like Bow had ever seen before. Catra wasn't just acting like she didn't want anything to do with her friends, she was acting like she was becoming fearful of them herself. Of the many things he's known her to be, easily startled and frightened wasn't one of them, no matter how was involved or what she actually feared.
That's when he recalled what she said a moment ago before she left. About Glimmer forgiving her for something that nobody could recollect. There was nothing to forgive her for, not to Bow's knowledge anyway, and the way she was acting, it was as if whatever problem came about her she came up with herself.
And then, it suddenly hit him with a strange thought.
Does Catra have Survivor's Guilt?
...
Racing down the hallways, Catra distanced herself as far as possible as she tried to go about her day like the rest of them. Whatever it was that just happened with Bow had to be a coincidence, it just had to! like, maybe mentioning Glimmer too much triggered it, or maybe it was something else? She didn't know for sure, she just knew that whatever it was, she needed to hurry up and fix it.
If it actually carried over to Bow now of all times, then that meant it was getting worse, that it was spreading. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone within Bright Moon or the Princess Alliance for that matter without having these stupid visions haunting her!
At best, she could go about this day, get Glimmer to forgive her for herself, and then everything would be back to normal as much as possible. At worst, she was stuck with these stupid visions haunting her day in and day out for the rest of her life, be committed to an insane asylum, and be making friends with several imaginary friends within the padded walls of an asylum, which she knew would be just plain ridiculous.
The asylum wouldn't let her keep any imaginary friends with her.
As she raced down the halls, she was sidetracked for a bit by a pair of guards standing overhead with their backs turned to her. Initially, she thought nothing of it until the pair faced her again, revealing the familiar figure who once shook Catra at her core.
"Catra." Shadow Weaver greeted in a calming voice, keeping her hands to herself.
"... Shadow Weaver..." Catra returned her greeting with a little disdain as she lowered her brow.
"There's no need to be alarmed, my dear. I'm a guest now. Can't you tell?"
"Tch, the only thing different about you is your mask." Catra spat, reminding her of her position. Of the few amenities Shadow Weaver had acquired since helping the Princess Alliance save Catra, getting the three irritating scratch marks Catra leftover since their last encounter removed was one of them.
"Oh, come now, Catra." Shadow Weaver cooed a bit as the magicat walked past her. "I believe we both know things have changed between us. Or am I mistaken into thinking you had no involvement over my release." There she goes again, pushing Catra's buttons right where she knew them, whether or not other people were aware of her doing so. The magicat grinded on her teeth at the accusation as she shifted her eyes over, refusing to let the old witch amuse herself by the expression on her face.
"The reason you're free at all is because you helped save me. That's it. And you know more about teaching me how to use She-Ra's powers better than anyone." She stated, growling. "As long as you're helpful, that's all that matters. The minute you do anything suspicious around here, that gets under my skin, I'll make you wish they threw you back into the prison." For a moment, the two guards escorting her turned to each other with a bit of confusion. "... The spare room! You know what I mean."
"On the contrary, Catra, I believe you know I can be more than helpful around here." Swooning a bit, she brought a gentle hand to the cat's face. "Surely you-"
Before it could make contact with her skin, Catra grabbed the old crone's hand, glaring into her eyes. "Save it. I'm not interested in anything you have to tell me. I'm doing just fine on my own." She stated again as she tried to take off."
"Is that why you've been worried about your Princess friend all day?"
How does she always know?! That was the very question that struck Catra time and again as she stopped once more. Whenever something was bothering her, whenever she had the smallest hint of something causing her distress, somehow Shadow Weaver was among the first to know about it. First, it was just plain annoying. Now it was borderline creepy.
"You didn't really think you could be as active as you have been without raising some gossip, could you?" Shadow Weaver commented, answering the girl's question before being asked.
"It's none of your business, got it?" She trudged back to the wicked witch, knowing there was nothing she could do that would cause a scene. "I just want to help out with Glimmer's coronation as best I can. That's all."
"Then perhaps you could start out by not embarrassing her at the Coronation's Ball tonight?" She hinted, saying her piece as she began to walk away with the guards.
Catra was easy to manipulate for someone like her. She knew how to stir the pot in her favor, how to get a reaction out of the girl, and how to gradually build up the girl's curiosity without her even knowing it. Why, if her predictions were correct, Catra could be stopping her right about-
"What do you mean so I don't embarrass her?" Catra asked in a timely fashion as the shadowy witch looked back.
"It means exactly what I said." She gestured around the entirety of the girl from her feet to all the way up her head, and then back again. "Look at yourself, you're a mess. If you want to start making a good impression among the royals for Glimmer's sake, then I recommend a change in attire."
"A change?" Catra repeated as she looked at her own outfit. "We'll be dressed up for the coronation when it begins, I don't see why-"
"You'll be dressed up for the coronation only." She corrected. "Before that, you'll be walking around parading yourself as a member of the Horde still. Scaring off individuals and drawing attention to yourself, which will no doubt spread rumors and comments about the people Glimmer associates with."
"Then what's wrong with the stuff I'm wearing?"
"Try everything." Shadow Weaver left no room for second guesses as she addressed the entire look. "Torn pants, messy hair, aggressive outlook," she paused as she took a whiff of the air, "and judging by the smell, you haven't bathed in two days."
"Hey! ...Technically it was only one day, but still!"
"My point is, if you want to help out your friend at all, the least you could do is make yourself more presentable. Provided, of course, you are still her friend after this. Power tends to change people. Just ask Ado-"
"Don't even say that word in front of me." Any emotion the magicat had fell within an abyss of outrage and anger as she shot a deathly glare in her eye.
"Oh, right. You're not friends anymore, are you?" Never did she think she would be witnessing the day the two would officially break off from one another. Sadly, it never happened when they were growing up. "I can't imagine how you're feeling for her right now."
"I don't feel anything for her right now." She snarled, squeezing her fist as tightly as possible. "And Glimmer is nothing like her. She's strong, she's brave, and she's a good friend. She's not going to end up being anything like Adora!"
"Hmm, I hope for your sake, you're right." She mused, earning a threatening claw from the magicat who glared daggers at her. "Just remember everything I told you if you truly wish to help her. From this day forth, everything you do will be reflected on the Rebellion more so than it ever has before. You would do well to remember that." Without another word, the old sorceress continued down the hallway as she made her farewell, leaving Catra to grumble to herself as she crossed her arms.
She didn't care about Adora anymore. Her home and her friends were the only concerns to her life now, and she intended to take care of them. And she knew for a fact that Glimmer would be nothing like a world-ending monster like Adora turned out to be.
... Then again, she never thought that Adora would end up that way, either. Even if it was due to a lifetime of mistakes on both their ends, it still didn't excuse what Adora did to the world, or the sacrifice it required that haunted her today. She used to be selfless, concerned over others, honest, and did everything she could to make the world right again. Glimmer was... admittedly the same.
But that's where the lines were drawn.
Glimmer was a princess and a noble one at that. She was calm, she was passionate, and Catra wasn't going to make the same mistakes with her that she did with Adora, she'd be there by her side all the way through. Glimmer and Bow were two of the first people she came to accept as being friends again, and that meant something to the magicat.
It also meant she grew more concerned over their livelihoods and what happened to them. Looking back down at her pants, she did notice the slits she had around her knees were a little wider than usual, guessing they must've been stretched too far awhile back or something. And she supposed she could at least wash her hair a little more or comb it by this afternoon.
"..."
*sniff*
*sniff*
Buuuuut judging by the smell of her right armpit, maybe a bit of soap wouldn't hurt either.
Maybe it was three days?
...
...
...
A/N: Annnd another chapter bites the dust... so to speak ^^ lol.
Hoping you guys are enjoying these as much as the long 2 episodes we had earlier. There really isn't much room or space to change things up here since its clustered around both sides of Etheria, and what little I am getting out of it is going on to make these as long as possible. But I promise to add a few nice little goodies to the next few chapters, including the final chp for this episode, cause trust me folks: things are gonna hit the fan like no tomorrow X)
So, with that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review and hope to see you soon!