A/N: Final Word Count: 9.6k Pre-A/N's. Hoooooofty lala! How's it going folks, monokub here, ready to get back from my looooong(3day) break ^^! Man, it feels so good to watch season 4 and JUST season four! Haha, god I can't help but wodner what the next season will bring, I mean it's just so... sooo... Eghhhh... OK I ADMIT IT! I CHEATED! I WENT AHEAD AND WATCHED SEASON 5 ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND I DONT REGRET THING A THIIIIING X*D!
DEAR FREAKING GOD THAT FINAL SEASON WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND THEN SOME! HOLY SMOKES! I swear- I freaking tear up at the final episode finale every time i watch it on netflix and youtube, it was everything I wanted to see in the end of She-Ra and they delivered it with breathtaking emotions and feels. And I do not exaggerate-i mean EVERY time i watch it I tear up even now X*D god I love this show so bad, WHY DID IT HAVE TO END X*(! Ughhghhgh... *sigh*
But, we must move on, to bigger and better things-... and sadly that means more Cat-ra XP lol.
Now with the announcement and confessed that i watched season 5, a few things to be aware of- 1, the chapters here miiiight be a little choppy today, i was having a bit of issue concentrating cause i couldn't stop thinking about the freaking finale which I can't stop watching X*D. On top of it, my tinnitus has been distracting me more so concentrating on the fanfic has gotten a little harder as of late. Add in the fact its been at least 3 days since I last wrote so my quality might be a little wobbly to and forth. There also might be more delays since I'm not 100% sure the direction to take this season; not that I dont have a solid script/idea, i just need to clarify a few things because some of the changes I do have in store all depend on a few key features X)... (mwahahaha!)
Also, this season might actually have a lot of chapters that are 3 chapters long, pray to god not lower, and for 2 certain reasons: 1, I WANT TO GET TO THAT FINALE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND MAKE MY OWN ENDING CATRA VERSION OF IT DARN IT XD-! Lol, but aside from that, the more IMPORTANT reason; a lot of the scenes within the season kind of take place within the same clustered area- like the party from the next episode, they were at that place for a solid 8 minutes before the action kicked up :/ It's not that it'll be that big of a deal or anything, but idk how i'd make an 8 minute bit into 2 chapters or whatever to get a full 4-part episode out.
Then again, like i said, my tinnitus has been acting up, so it's most likely just me XP
Lol, anyway, so yeah, no need to worry about spoils people, I'm 100% caught up and weeping over the finale i can't freaking shut up about XD hands down #1 best ending to a series and greatest cartoon ever.
Now with that said, let's work our own way up to the next season and take a wild ride on Cat-Ra: Episode 2 ^^! Enjoy!
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...
...
"Yaaaaay!" The children cheered in unison as they gorged themselves with the tasty foods the likes of which the Fright Zone has never known of.
Jelly-filled tarts.
Fresh grapes.
Whatever a "oat-meal" is supposed to be.
It was food with a good taste that was new to these children, these future members of the Horde, and they were ecstatic. To obtain food this good, one would have to already be a soldier, working somewhere on the front lines against the Evil Princesses of Etheria. All around the lunchroom, the kids were treating themselves like royalty for the very first time!
And it was all thanks to a smirking Adora who leaned against the entrance to the room, watching the future cadets and soldiers eating to their hearts content with a sense of pride.
None of this would've been possible before Adora's involvement, and none of this would've happened if she never took over leadership of the Horde, not that anyone else below Hordak himself was aware of. Along with this, there were also additional resources being sent to the medical wing of the Fright Zone, providing more pain relievers and sedatives to the soldiers and cadets with more severe physical injuries. And those benefiting from the surplus of supplies had never been more thankful.
To them, this was simply Hordak showing compassion for the first time, or rewarding his Horde for doing such a great job in their daily efforts to contribute to the Horde.
To Adora, it was the fruits of her labor as everything fell into place.
Since the transformed soldier had forcefully made a partnership with the leader of the Horde, everything was going her way, and everything was going lovely. When it came to recruiting new regions and villages to join the Horde, either one of two things usually occurred.
A, they would sign without hesitation. Whether its through fear, intimidation, or their own desperate need, they would always sign the transactions that would solidify their unity to the Horde right in front of Adora and her soldiers, wherever they were. Her primary first targets were villages that were plagued by one disaster from another, between possible creatures running rampant or places struck with terrible conditions of one form or another.
From this, Adora would make good on her promises as she established trade routes and helpful working conditions to the newly aligned village, and, in exchange, they would donate a large commodity of their resources to the Horde. Things from cloth, weaponry, and food were the minimum they produced. Otherwise, they would recruit soldiers from the pleasant villages.
Then, there was Option B, an option that usually irked Adora's sight. Option B usually involved some head of the village or region either declining or physically tearing up the contract and dealings Adora presented to them, even with an army at her back. Usually it was because they weren't interested, they were with the Rebellion already, Adora never bothered to care.
Those villages were quick to change their tunes when Adora snapped her fingers, watching passively as the soldiers walked past her and began to march their way into the declining village. While nobody was hurt, people were forced to submit to the Horde through this, with the Horde establishing some force of control over the town and capturing the heads of these villages, usually placing them under house arrest of some sort as the Horde ran their business.
To those villages, they were forced to pay double, sometimes triple, the allotted tribute that Adora had established. Adora didn't accept no for an answer, and when she did, she usually made things work around it after.
This, was the new Adora. The one who was tired of people treating her like a rat, the one that people could push around dy in and day out. She realized she was being too merciful to those who betrayed her, those who wanted to steal her happiness of uniting Etheria under one roof. She would help and reward those that paid tribute to the Horde, that were willing to join her side without hesitation. And to those who don't, well...
They would join her eventually.
All that was and all that shall be was by the might of Adora's new campaign. She would prove herself to Etheria as the savior that united it under one banner, that allowed everyone to live in peace and prosperity. And for those who would tarnish it, who would turn their backs on her, she would drive fear into their hearts, remind them of their consequences, and she would do it under the new name she had given herself, one that inspired terror and intimidation into all who heard it.
And she would call herself, Despara...
...
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"S-Stop laughing!" Adora yelled with a small blush, watching as all of her friends laughed in unison within the locker room. It wasn't that funny, was it?
"Ahahaha... haha... ha... S-Sorry, Ado- Pfffft! Despara?" Lonnie bellowed with a cry, wiping away a tear.
"I-I thought it was a good name! It sounds intimidating, doesn't it?"
"Tch, hahah! Ehhhh..." It took Kyle a moment to compose himself as he held his side. "I-I can't help it, Adora, it's just... pfffft!"
"Y-Yeah," Daisy chuckled a little as she leaned over Adora's shoulder, "I mean, no offense boss, but you? Intimidating? Except when you're fighting, you and intimidation usually don't go hand in hand."
"I- Tch..." Scorpia sniffed a little as she smiled to her best friend. "I think it's kind of cute!"
"I-It's not supposed to be cute!" Adora stuttered, still blushing a bit. "It's supposed to be scary! Threatening!" Despite her insistence, the rest of the gang continued to laugh at the name of the supposedly horrifying person known as Adora.
Sure, she had her angry sides to her, but this was Adora they were all talking about. She was the one who was always looking out for everybody else, she was the one who put her team before herself. Whenever there was an issue to deal with, people could always count on the one known as Adora to help them through whatever crisis.
The words "Adora" and "intimidating", never usually went so hand in hand. And the additional outfit she was wearing didn't help matters either.
"And really, what's with the hairdo?" Daisy continued to ask, pulling on the few bangs she dyed black without much care.
"H-Hey!" Adora yelped, trying to pull them back as Daisy's blue lizard friend laughed alongside her.
"You only did like a quarter of your hair? Not even that?"
"Doesn't this scarf get caught in everything around you?" Lonnie added, giving it a firm and the wearer a small choke.
"You guys-!" Adora's attempts at getting the bellows and chuckles to clear up were overshadowed by the powerful laughs still filling around the room. From the left, to the right, it felt like everyone was laughing at her for being her, not just because of what she was doing. They reminded her of her laughter, the one that haunted her around every corner.
Mocking her of her failure.
Reminding her that she failed.
Tormenting her with the reality that Catra, someone as selfish and greedy as her, deserved better in her life, while Adora was made to suffer.
And, just for a moment, she saw them. All of her friends, all of them, being replaced by Catra in image and sound, as the world turned red around her.
And in her eyes.
"ENOUGH!"
*WHAM!*
"Huff... Huff..." A few strands of the Force Captain's hair dangled in front of her face as her friends went silence. In a burst of rage the young girl formed a shadow over her fist as she slammed it into the locker behind her, finally grabbing everyone's attention as they stared at the huffing girl.
Taking a few deep breaths to clear her mind, the girl finally pulled the fist back from the dented locker as she turned back to her friends. "This is exactly what I'm talking about! Everyone keeps treating me like a joke around here and it has to stop!" The girl was still squeezing her fists as her friends continued to stare, feeling a sense of unease slowly filling up the air.
"H-Hey, cool it, boss." Daisy replied with a slightly nervous smile. "We were just goofing around and all."
"Yeah, Adora," Scorpia nodded in addition, "we were just playing around. We don't think of you as a joke or anything."
"But everyone else does." Adora stated, looking at her fist. "Everytime I play nicely with everyone, they keep pushing me around. They don't take me seriously enough and they keep betraying us!"
"Well, Adora, that's just..." Scorpia tried to find the right words. She knew of the history Adora had, somewhat, with relations in the past, and the stress and grief that caused her alone. She just didn't know what to make of this side of her. "There's no controlling who does or doesn't betray us-"
"Before, there wasn't a way to control who did or didn't betray us." Adora crudely interrupted. "Everyone who betrayed the Horde in the past became a greater threat to us in the future. Villages assisting the Rebellion in taking down Horde outposts, entire regions rising up against us because the Rebellion persuaded them, but no more." She gazed intently at her surrounding friends as she stared into each of their eyes with her glowing red.
"And I want each of you to remember this going forward. From now on, we don't let anyone betray us, we don't let ourselves be pushed around. And anyone who does so otherwise, who thinks they can leave us all behind while they run away..." With her anger directing, the Force Captain marched her way out of the locker room through the door behind her, leaving her friends a bit anxious and concerned over the one now calling herself Despara as everything faded to black.
"They'll be sorry..."
...
...
"Uggghhh... How much longer?" Catra groaned as she leaned against the chair of the Meeting Room. Much like the huntress that was filing her nails across from her, aka Huntara, the ex-Horde soldier was bored out of her mind for a ridiculous wait she felt was taking too long. "I thought Glimmer was the one who called us in the first place?"
A week after the events of the portal incident, things have been far from the same involving the trio of best friends. Following her mother's passing, the day of Glimmer's Coronation came and went, leaving many people in distress prior and during the festivities until the very end.
For Glimmer, it was the grief she still suffered from the loss of her mom. Everywhere, everyone, people were acting like it was supposed to be a joyous occasion, like there was supposed to be things worth celebrating instead of remembering the heroic sacrifice of her mother. On top of that, Catra, the person she unknowingly became sisters with in a parallel timeline during their time in the portal, had been avoiding her for nearly a week. Was it because she was mad at her? Because she blamed Glimmer for something she unknowingly did?
The answer? No. Quite the opposite, in fact. Throughout the last week, Catra was subjected to a painful sense of Survivor's Guilt, one that manifested through the use of a haunting vision of Angella's last words to her before sacrificing herself, one that always seemed to flare up anytime she spoke to or so much as looked at the daughter Angella left behind, and leaving Catra with the inability to communicate with Glimmer on some level.
During the day of the Coronation itself, the magicat resigned herself into trying to help with the festivities, ranging from cleaning to catering and so forth, thinking that it would make Glimmer forgive her for an event she never blamed her for. Sadly, from her perspective, all she ended up doing was making things worse. Worse to the point that it took a run in with a giant guardian during the ceremonial Ritual Quest for Glimmer's coronation, for the two of them to reconnect.
There, they confessed. They confessed their sorrows, confessed their griefs, and all that had befallen them through Angella's passing. Both girls would miss the mother figure they shared, even if Glimmer never knew it, and came to realize they would both have to move on for their own sakes.
Looking back on it, if it never came to pass, if Catra never admitted her care for Angella or her promise to watch over Glimmer and her friends, chances were her Survivor's Guilt would still be haunting her to this day.
With the Ritual Quest complete and the ceremony taking place, Catra had one last surprise for Glimmer, albeit one that was slightly forced on her. Wanting to make a good impression with the rest of the royals attending, to prove that Glimmer kept good company, and to help her overall image, Catra had a complete makeover, forced courtesy of Glimmer's Aunt Castaspella tricking her into agreeing with it.
It was the new attire she wore to this day that would greet her every morning she woke up from now on, seeing how Shadow Weaver had the rest of her clothes burned, at least those she could find, and Catra herself placed her tiara upon Angella's altar in recognition of everything she meant to her. On top of it, it would also be the last time she was allowed to attend the world without brushing her hair in the morning, something she was annoyingly reminded of for the last several days by a certain witch who played a hand in Casta's ploy.
"Uh, I'm sure she'll be here soon." Bow tried to assure with a calm smile. In truth, he didn't know how busy or how swift the new Queen would be, knowing the tasks required of her almost doubled in size since her coronation.
Papers, documents, meetings, strategies. There was a whole list of important work thrown under her belt as Queen, so much so that she could appear at any moment.
*swish*
"Ah-!" Catra yelped, nearly falling out of her chair as she planted her feet against the ground. For a moment, she almost reached for her collar itself out of surprise.
"You're all here." She smiled, ignoring the cat furrowing her brow from behind as she stood. "Good. Just one second.
"Glim-" Was all the magicat could get out before the pink Queen disappeared again, dropping her ears and expression in annoyance. "-mer."
"Oh, I see. She's really taking this queen stuff seriously." Huntara commented, getting a small chuckle out of the sight as she continued her filing. There was something a little irritable about the whole situation. Not just with Huntara, with everything.
Ever since Glimmer officially became the Queen of Bright Moon, she's been available for less and less activities around the castle. Most of which involved pranks, others usually involved just being around to hang out with with Bow and Catra, her tasks taking priority above all else. It's not like the feline couldn't understand her importance, she just wished the girl could catch a break once in awhile, long enough to have a conversation together after the week-long silence she gave her friend after the portal incident.
*swish*
At least she appeared to be keeping herself busy, such as the way she teleported back into the meeting room with a slightly surprised Mermista who was still drinking a glass of juice with a straw in it and a fish cracker. "As part of my new anti-Horde strategy, I'm sending you, Catra, Bow, and Huntara to retrieve Mara's ship from the Crimson Waste. Then, Bow will repair it and we'll have a spaceship." Just thinking of the prospect of having a technology over the Horde left her giddy enough to punch her fists into the air. "Take that, Horde!"
"Hahaha," the magicat's tail twirled a bit a she stared between the two teleportees, "what? Is she going to construct some sort of enchanted sandcastle or something for us while we're there?"
"What's wrong with Mermista?"
"How long do you have?"
"I mean with the mission." As sarcastic as Catra was, Glimmer wouldn't deny that she missed these small quips too after the week of silence the two shared. "She'll be able to help using her water in the... desert of..."
*sllllllllurp*
And by the sound of the mermaid's slurping through a straw did she finally understand the root of sending a mermaid to a wasteland. "... Oh... good point. Be right back." With a grab and another sparkle of dust, the pink princess teleported once more, leaving her three friends behind again.
"Is she going to do that all the time now?" Huntara asked, still focusing more on her nails than the rest of them.
"Most likely." Catra shrugged back, leaning against the table as she crossed her arms.
"Did I just hear the queen?" The guard captain asked as she entered the room.
"Huh? Well, yeah, why? Is there an emergency?"
"Oh, no, she's just needed in the defense meeting immediately."
"A meeting? But we're about to-"
*swish*
As if on cue, the Queen returned with another familiar ally by the name of Perfuma, one who appeared to have a handful of snow over her shoulders and a bit above her head. "What a wonderful..."
*achoo!*
"-interruption to my morning meditation and to see so much of our beautiful planet before I've had my daily tea ceremony." It's not like she minds the fact that she was interrupted from her daily ritual by a Queen who popped out of nowhere to drag her into the freezing WASTE OF THE NORTH LANDS WHERE HER SKIN WAS EXPOSED TO THE HARSH CONDITIONS OF WINTER EARLY IN THE MORNING! If she did that, she wouldn't be squeezing the flakes of melted snow out of her hair as Glimmer walked ahead.
"Sorry," she apologized, "I may have gotten a little lost on the way. But, like I was saying, the Waste has tons of plants which you can use to bring the ship back."
"The Crimson Waste?"
"That's the one." She smiled confidently with her hands at her hip. "As my first act as queen, I'm sending you all on the mission while I... stay back and do important queen duties..."
The cat's ears fell to her side at the announcement as she stood away from the table. "Wait, you mean... You're not going to come with us?"
"Huh? Oh..." The small discovery the Queen had about Catra's lack of knowledge over the development was a little surprising to her as she replied. "You... didn't know?"
"Catra, we already said the Queen was sending us on a mission, remember?" Bow reminded, leaning a little from behind as he looked at her.
"W-Well, yeah, I know that, I just... I don't know, thought it was just a way of saying we were all going on a mission or something." Glimmer wasn't... coming... with them? The way it sounded in her head sounded less weird than when she sad it to herself out loud.
Princess, now Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, wasn't joining them on their next mission to the Crimson Waste, or anywhere for that matter. The pink-haired wonder that annoyed Catra since day one, the one who knew how to get in and out of places in a jiff, and one of two of Catra's best friends.
Without Glimmer around, it would just be her, Bow, Perfuma, and Huntara, with the former of the two somehow being the odd one out of the list. Bow was just fine, he knew how to be useful, and he had his fair share of dealings between his two friends. She could accept him coming along just fine, or Glimmer coming along if he couldn't.
But now it was just going to be with one of her friends instead of both, one of which was gifted in calming Catra's anger at times, something she felt was a little more important to her at times, and... She couldn't really explain the feeling, it was just weird to her.
It was also weird to the the pink queen who noticed the faraway look in Catra's eye, sensing a concern emanating from her violent friend as she stood there. "Look, Catra, if... If you don't really want to go on the mission, then-"
"What? Oh, no, no, it's fine, honest." She assured, giving her always smug look as her allies gathered at her side. There was also the added fact that she didn't want to stress her friend out, knowing she would already have a lot to deal with given her new role as Queen. "We'll be fine, really. We'll go to the Waste, pick up the ship, and be back faster than you could teleport from there."
"Heh, you wanna bet?" The Queen asked, raising a glowing fist to the challenging magicat.
"Queen Glimmer, you are extremely late for your next meeting." The guard captain interrupted, diverging the direction of the conversation.
With a small sigh, the cheerful eyes of a well-known friend returned to Glimmer as she smiled to the guard captain. "We'll go the fun way!" And with a grab of the arm and another teleportation, the Queen had said her piece before the group could officially take off for their very next mission!
Without her...
...
...
The intro starts with a mysterious pair of gauntleted hands holding a communicator pad, showing a still image of Catra on it. The hands shake as their grip tightens on the pad, and the image dives into the screen.
~ We're on the edge of greatness ~
Where we have Catra staring off with anger into the distance of the Fright Zone to the left. With a turn to the right, the scene transitions to a view of her new home of Bright Moon, with Catra's new outfit and an unsure look upon her face.
~ turning darkness into light ~
From behind in the valley, the two she's come to know as friends teleport behind her, running up to her side with a small hug each, and turning the uncertainty of doubt into a small smile of her own.
~ We're right beside you ~
Compared to before, Catra accepts this with a soft pat on their shoulders as the three begin running towards the cliffs. Bow readied at the arrow, Glimmer donning her new Queenly attire, and Catra drawing her sword for battle.
~ Ready to Fight! ~
With a jump through the air, Catra descends forth as She-Ra, prepared for battle as she draws her weapon to the Horde army below.
~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~
And following right beside her are her two friends, weapons drawn, and magic blasted as the three storm the battlefield.
~ We're gonna win in the end! ~
Mermista rises out of a tide, smirking to herself against the colorful warm background with trident at the ready.
We must be strong, and we must be brave ~
Perfuma burst from the bud of a sunny flower, captivated by the tranquility of nature surrounding her with glee.
~ (we must be brave) ~
Frosta skates her way across the scenery, morphing large chunks of ice into weapons over both her hands with a silent laugh, followed by a masked Entrapta stares into the view before lifting her mask off with a hearty smile.
~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~
The scene shifts to Hordak's throne room. Where once Hordak sat, now Adora lounges with her new outfit in his place with the former standing at her side in contempt, a cruel smile on her lips, surrounded by her old squadron, and Double Trouble, glancing aside at Adora with a grin. Scorpia stands to the side, eyes closed and sad. And throughout it, the camera zooms in on Adora's right eye as it changes from blue to red, all while a sinister dark spectre of Horde Prime appears in her pupils with a black outline and glowing green eyes.
~ and never let go ~
The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's crossed blades, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the electricity of her twin swords lights up her face.
~ (Oh ah Oh) ~
Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends: Double Trouble and Scorpia for Adora with the Horde standing behind them, Bow and Glimmer for Catra at her sides as the Princess Alliance stands bravely behind them.
~ We must be STRONG! ~
The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;
A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.
...
...
The desert sun felt just as humid as it used to as Catra walked across the Crimson Waste. Being out here, with a group of allies and one of two best friends, gave Catra a small sense of dread, remembering the first excursion she took out here and how the world almost ended because of it. And while that wasn't going to be a concern, hopefully, anytime soon, it did make her hairs stick up on the ends of her skin, including her new blue shirt... and white pants... and boots still.
And it would be like this from henceforth, no matter where the magicat went. Even when they were out on certain missions that took her, Bow, Perfuma, and Huntara across the Crimson Waste.
"Does this feel... I don't know... Sort of weird to you?" Catra asked as she walked alongside Bow.
"What? Being back in the Crimson Waste?" Bow replied curiously.
"No, not that, I mean..." There was a small hint of remorse in her irritated eyes as she stared at the soft sand around them. "Being out here on a mission like before but... without Glimmer."
"Oh..." The archer shared her silence as he looked to the side. The unease was shared evenly between the two as they walked under the bones of a great beast, thinking about all they've been through together. This would be one of the very first missions the two ever went on without the third friend to their party, the friend who was no longer princess at their side. "Yeah, I... guess it is a bit strange. But Glimmer's a Queen now," Bow reminded, "and she has a lot more responsibilities now."
"We're out saving Etheria, what could be more important?"
"Keeping Bright Moon safe? Discussing everything related to the entire Rebellion? She has a lot to deal with now, Catra. She's not a princess anymore. Besides, we're just here to recover Mara's ship, so it shouldn't be that hard."
"Yeah, I know, I know. I'm just sayin'." The bowman couldn't help but feel sorry for his sullen friend as she walked off ahead. She still wasn't used to the other allies of the Rebellion enough to call them her friends, even though they were close to it. With Glimmer's new position as Queen, they would be attending missions less and less throughout their time together, making what little time they did have to be together rare and in-between.
Throughout their small chat, the princess of plants, Princess of Plumeria, known as Perfuma was also trying to strike up a conversation, specifically with a rough and outgoing huntress known as Huntara as she smiled to her. "So, this is, like, your kingdom?" She asked with a curious smile.
"I'm not a princess." Huntara stated bluntly, keeping her eyes ahead of them.
"Still, it must be nice to be home. Do you miss it?"
"I left. Now I'm back. No need to make a big deal out of it."
"Mh-hm." The huntress continued staring off ahead as she shifted her eyes over to the Princess of Plumeria, one who was still smiling to the girl as they walked.
What exactly was her deal here? Throughout the huntress's life, she has made it a deal to be able to read anything or anyone around her. For example, Bow was the technological genius of the Rebellion. He was quirky, had some keen shooting skills, and was capable of disabling droids with a single arrow. Glimmer was a young girl aspiring to fill the shoes of her beloved mother. She was kind, caring, sincere, and she was great with magic. Able to perform feats and magic like no other that made her a formidable opponent to face out in the field. And then Catra was-
... Well... Catra.
But this girl? She was something else. She didn't have the same air about her like everyone else did. She knew she was supposedly good with plant magic, capable of making flowers and vines grow to great lengths, but the girl herself was just a mystery to her. From what she could gather, she was a perky, friendly, type.
That's it.
She didn't display any characteristics that really stood out from the others, ironically making her stand out more to Huntara, she didn't appear to have any hidden agendas or the eyes of one who did, and she seemed interested in nearly everything about the new people she barely met, such as herself. She was just weird.
"You, um, make flowers?" Huntara finally asked, wondering about the girl.
"Heh heh, I control all plants." She replied with a small wave of her hands. "Watch." Spotting a purple cacti along the path, the eager princess of nature began to channel her powers as she waved her hands, ready to sprout and blossom the wonderful fauna into a working miracle of nature! "...Hm?" Any minute now!
"Uh-huh." Huntara shrugged crossing her arms unimpressed.
"Hmmmm!" This was it! ... Eventually! ...Hopefully... Okay, it was proving to be a bit of a hassle, but she wasn't going to give up! She was the princess of plants, a humble gift for a princess of elegance and peacefulness such as her. Drawing forth as much power as she could within this wasteland, she focused, harnessed her energies until it finally happened.
With a burst of growth that surprised even the mighty Huntara, the princess of plants managed to grow the small purple cacti to nearly three times its original size, almost looking like a small tree in comparison. Everything about it was bulging and grotesque in appearance as it stretched as high as Perfuma's neck, but it still proved a point the princess was proud to make. "See? It's just something I'm blessed with to be able to-"
*SPLAT!*
For about three seconds.
"Ah!" The mysterious cacti unknown to Perfuma wasn't as done growing as she initially assumed. The small moment of pride the princess had quickly vanished as she found herself sprayed upon by a torrential spout of green goo, covering the young princess in head to toe of the disgusting muck.
"Uh-huh." The hunter smirked teasingly as she wiped a finger of the gallons of goo covering the princess. "Blessed." As she walked away from the sniveling goo-covered princess, Huntara had officially made an assessment of her fellow ally as she caught up to Catra. She was hopeless. "If we run into trouble, is flower girl gonna be able to handle herself?"
"Who? Perfuma/" Catra asked to clarify as she glanced back. "Ah, don't worry about her. I know she's, eh. Perfuma, but her plants are a lot tougher than they look." Looking back herself, Huntara hoped so because all she could see of the powerful plant princess was someone who was whining in disgust as they continued. "Besides, even without her plants, who needs nature when we have this?" She asked, smiling with pride at the collar around her neck.
The collar had a very intricate, familiar, design to it that was almost recognizable to the hunter. In a mask of solid gold with a blue gem encrusted in the center of the one-inch accessory, one could almost assume that it came from the royal treasury, where it most likely did.
"A collar?"
With Catra taking the initiative to show off for herself, the magicat pried the collar from herself as it glowed with a flash of light, revealing the Sword of Protection in its rightful form as it always came in. "This is how I'll carry the sword from now on."
"... By keeping a sharp, dangerous, object that grows into a sword over your neck?" Huntara joked, raising a brow back as Catra sneered.
"Well where else would I keep it? Over my arm where it could get cut off?" Catra joked back, returning the sword to its previous form as she placed it around her neck in one swift motion.
"Well at least then, you'd still have one more arm left."
"And I couldn't carry it in my sheathe anymore." She added, grumbling a bit as she pulled at her mane. "Thanks to Aunt Castaway, she forces me to brush my mane almost every day. I kept grabbing at my mane almost every time I tried to grab for it."
"Didn't you ever grab for it when your mane was normal?"
"Not all the time. It was still bunched up enough to reach the bottom part of it. But thanks to the stupid combing it kept getting caught up and tangled when I tried pulling it out."
"And you're just going to keep combing your hair then like they tell you to?"
"Like I have much choice. Like I said, she keeps forcing me to comb my mane and having Shadow Weaver make sure I do it." The magicat was unaware as the huntress stood back for a moment, watching the girl moving on ahead.
This wasn't anything like the brave warrior she's known for several weeks now, the rebellious teenager that would go about throwing a fit at nearly every little thing. Sure, she still had her snarky side and groaned at anything irritable the moment it appeared, but now it had more of a playful edge towards it. Not to mention the lack of pranks she's been pulling off around the castle, even IF it was because someone told her to ease up on the shenanigans.
Thinking of that, it also didn't make sense that she was listening to someone in the first place! She was the one who ignored people whenever they had a dumb plan or something stupid to say (which to Catra, was nearly everything) constantly. She was the one who was quick to scratch, bite, or punch the nearest person that so much as brushed against, pulled, or get her tail caught in a doorway, even if it was herself.
And how could she ever forget the clothes she was wearing? No longer did she resemble the mighty ex-Horde soldier that struck fear into the heart of her enemies, or at least could pass off with some intimidation. Instead, she looked like some sort of high schooler going off on her way to the academy, or someone who was just walking around a village on your average day.
There could be only one explanation that Huntara came to as she finally commented on the reformed magicat, "I know you trained with the Horde, too, but I think all this time with the princesses has made you... soft~"
Frozen like a statue, arms bent out of shape from mere stress, the warrior came to a sudden halt as her ears twitched, her right eye blinking rapidly as her expression contorted into pain. Never, in all of Catra's lifetime, has anyone, ever, said something so horrific, terrible, completely unrealistic, to the hero of the Rebellion.
"Geeehhhhh-!" Already, her hairs were on end as her claws extended a little, growling bitterly at the huntress as she marched up right in front of her. "What did you just say?" She seethed to the smug-looking cross armed Huntara.
"You heard me, little kitty. Soft. You're losing your edge. The Catra I fought against awhile back wouldn't let a bunch of people run around and tell her how to do things. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were almost acting nicely towards people."
"What? Oh, right. Hah!" Catra sneered, still squeezing her fists with a twisted look in her eye. "Nice try. Me? Soft? I'm the least softest person in the Rebellion. I'm the toughest warrior you'll ever meet, even without She-Ra. Everyone knows from Bright Moon, all the way to Thaymor, not to mess with me! And the clothes? My lifestyle? It's a free roof over my head and decent meals all day, so I'm just playing along."
"Uh-huh, sure. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the new Queen or your archer friend. You know, the people you've known since day one and have been holding your hand this whole time? I bet if I closed my eyes right now and just listened to your voice, I'd think I was actually talking to one of the princesses around here."
"... You take that back, NOW!" She had never been so insulted in all of her life. Even Shadow Weaver said nicer things to her than that!
"And what if I refuse?"
"Then I'll make you take it back." She threatened, showing off the claws that had yet to be regrown to their previous size.
"Oh, yeah? How so?"
"By..." Catra tried to think for a moment. As much as she wanted to claw her face off right now, she was still an ally, and the best person who knew how to navigate the Crimson Waste, seeing how the constant death and decay meddled with Catra's senses still. With a raised eye to the side, she smirked back to the senile huntress who clearly didn't know who she was messing with. "By beating you to the ship."
The reaction got a small chuckling snort out of the woman as she lowered her head to her eye-level, leaving Catra satisfied as she wiped the smug look off her face. "That'll never happen."
There was a small bit of static shooting off between their eyes as they sneered to one another. Neither of them were going to let the other tell them what to do, nor would they allow their honor and pride be tarnished by some brat who clearly didn't know who they were dealing with.
"..."
"..."
Without missing a beat, the two ex-Horde soldiers began to tear down the pathway as fast as their legs could carry, blowing up a pack of dust that blew past the young archer as they ran past him. Watching the two fighting over whatever it was, it brought a small sigh to the archer's mouth as he saw the two soldiers butting heads and shoving each other out of the way as they constantly tried to one up the other while keeping ahead in the race.
It was moments like these where he missed having Glimmer around, knowing she was best at dragging Catra back to the group.
Such pleasant thoughts and ideals would have to be on hold though as he was drawn to the small whine still coming from behind, seeing the goo-riddled Perfuma trying to move about with the sticky cactus sap covering every inch of her body.
"Here, let me help." Bow offered as he pulled out one of his arrows, lining it through his weapon as he aimed at the defenseless princess.
It was the sight of the archer pulling back on his arrow that truly frightened the girl over the sight of the arrow itself. "What are you...?" Perfuma exhaled with terror at the sight, questioning whatever desert madness was making the Bow point an arrow at the defenseless ally-
*Spzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
"Ahhhh!" Or blast the princess with a new trick arrow that doused her in a gallon of water. Now instead of being thankful for being covered in goo, she could be thankful for the freezing cold water covering every inch of her body.
"I'm trying to expand my arsenal with new tech. What do you think?" Bow asked with an innocent smile, showing off one of his arrows.
"Why would you have an arrow for this?" The unhappy princess moaned as she squeezed the water out of her hair. "It just seems like there are easier ways." Bow was a little surprised by the reaction to be honest. With all the peacefulness and tranquility that the young princess was about, he would've expected a small thank you before the princess chewed him out for such an act. "... Your intention was kind. Thank you."
Smiling back to one another, the archer graciously accepted the young princess's hand and her attention as he noticed the small discomfort coming off of her. "Wanna talk about it?"
"I'm really trying to be zen about it," Perfuma went on as she pulled against a strand of her hair in distress, "but if I'm being honest, and I always speak the truth, I just don't get cacti. They're so rough and unfriendly."
Bow grinned a little at the choice of words the princess had, catching the idea. "Well, maybe if you give cacti a chance," he hinted, eyeing the two ex-Hordes who were trying to pull each other off the cliff they were climbing, "you'll find that under that rough surface, she's a really great friend."
"... Huh?" A friend as a cactus? What was Bow talking about?
"... Uh... This cacti thing is about Huntara, right?"
"What? No, I really mean cacti!" She stated, directing him to the surrounding fauna of the Crimson Waste. She didn't even know where he was coming from with Huntara as she stopped in her tracks. "They're the one plant I can't control or keep alive. And everyone says they're so easy, but you still have to water them, and I always under water and then over water. And I... Mmph!" She couldn't go on like this, not with the discord running through her heart.
Coming to a small stop as she climbed up the small hill, Perfuma began to hum to herself as she hummed where she stood, trying to regain her composure and her zen state as she let all of the negativity float out of her body. There wasn't any point for her being so worked up over one plant, not when the universe was filled with thousands and millions of possible fauna.
Letting out a deep breath as the archer caught up to her, she finally let out a heartfelt peaceful sigh, smiling to her fellow friend who didn't need all the negative energy directed at him.
"That's better. I'm... I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized with a smile, clapping her hands together. "I greet each dawn with a centering morning ritual to make sure I am my best, but today my ritual was interrupted." There was a small twinge in the girl's step as she ascended the hill again. "And now I am here... surrounded by cacti! Cacti that hate me!" She sniffed as she cried into Bow's arms. "How am I ever gonna use them to move the ship?"
She had never been punished so deviously by the universe as she was now. Nor would she expect what happened next after the next words to come out of Bow's mouth as he patted her back.
"Uh... That... may... not... matter." The archer slowly muttered as he walked past the the troubled princess, seeing something that was clearly missing out of place over the large hill. Jogging up to meet him, the princess let out a small gasp of her own at the sight that befuddled the archer's imagination.
Where once stood a mighty ship of unknown origin, one that was a sight to behold within the dreaded Crimson Waste, now stood an open underlying crater that an exhausted Catra and Huntara observing the scenery as the former panted,, clearly pushing herself to her limits while trying to outrun and out-shove the other.
"Di... Did the Horde really take that huge ship?" Catra panted, toddling a short distance with her hands pressed against her knees as she reached the crater. "Also... I totally won that."
"No, they didn't take it." Huntara huffed, looking back to the panting cat girl. "It's a cloaking device that triggers every evening till early morning." The huntress explained as she began waving her hands around the invisible structure. "Sometimes, you need to come into contact with the ship directly to get it to disable the cloaking device."
"Wait... really?" Catra raised an ear and a brow at the statement as she looked over the invisible ship. She wasn't one to instantly buy into whatever someone said, but given the advanced First Ones technology they were dealing with, odds were there was some truth behind it. It would've been easier to dictate for herself if her senses worked as well around here as they did anywhere else.
"Yeah, I just need to feel around for... Ah, here." The hunter smiled as she came to a stop, placing her hand on seemingly-empty air. "With this here, it means you should be able to walk into it from over there." The Huntress directed as she pointed a few feet away from where Catra stood.
Catra stared off between the hunter and the spot she was pointing to as she gave her a questionable look, gesturing to the spot her fellow ex-soldier was pointing to as she nodded. Finding her place along the ground at the edge of the invisible ship, she gave one more look back to Huntara before letting out a sigh. Placing a hand in front of her for good measure, she took her first step onto the rim of the invisi-
"Ahhhhh-!"
*Thud*
"Tchahahahahaha!" Oh man, Huntara has never bellowed out with so much laughter before quite like she has now. She actually began to tear up for the first time in her life as she looked back down, laughing at the grumbling magicat who was rubbing her head in the ten foot crater before glaring up at the liar. "See? I knew you were going soft!" She laughed. "The real Catra I know wouldn't have been so gullible enough to trust someone like that. Hahaha-!"
"Nggghhhh!" With a menacing grumble, and agile swiftness, the magicat quickly lunged for the proud huntress from her ten foot divit as she tackled her to the ground, the hunter still laughing as she tussled with the warrior trying to swipe at her face as they rolled around.
"The Horde took the ship?" Bow still couldn't believe it as he finally reached the ground with Perfuma, seeing it with his very eyes.
"Gosh, well, I guess we'll just have to come back another time." Perfuma disappointedly sighed. Gosh darn, and she was so looking forward into spending the remainder of her day in a barren wasteland of evil cacti she couldn't control.
*biiiip*
*biiiip*
Immediately, the two former Horde soldiers sprang to their feet as a mysterious signal went off around them. Huntara refused to take any chances around her as she grabbed her trusty spear, preparing it at the ready as Catra prepared her own two claws. No matter how juvenile their antics may have been from time to time, they were ready to fight alongside each other if it meant being able to bash some Horde skulls.
Even if Catra did have a bit of a forced aggressive look on her face. "Ah! Where are they!"
"Sorry, it's my pad." Bow revealed, blowing out all the fluster and excitement from the two disappointed warriors. "I souped it up so Glimmer can check in."
"Glimmer?" Catra repeated, growing a small thought as the video buzzed with life.
"How's the mission going? Got the ship yet?" The excited Queen wondered from the other end, hoping there was some sort of fun news out of her morning of boredom.
"Eh heh, well there's-"
"Gimme that." Without hesitation or concern over the current mission the feline swiped the tracker pad out of the archer's grip, walking away without a second thought.
"Wha- Hey! Catra!"
"Hey, Glimmer, you mind settling something for me?"
"Huh? Oh, sure, Catra. What's up?" She asked, leaning to the side of the view from her perspective as she looked around her friend's shoulders. "Did you complete the mission-"
"Doesn't matter, who cares." She quickly waved off. Who cared about a rusty old ship anyway when something more important to the universe was at stake here?! "Listen, I was just wondering, um..." There was a small blush on the cat's face as she turned her eyes away, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck.
"Yeah?"
"... I was just, uh, wondering. You don't think I've gone, like, soft or anything, do you?" The Queen stared at the figure waiting for an answer, pondering what sort of importance this question had over the mission itself.
"Um... No, I don't think so?" Glimmer shrugged, much to Catra's relief as she smirked back to the hunter of the wasteland.
"Hah! Told you so!"
"You've just been nicer to everyone lately, but you're still tough."
Oh no.
"... I'm sorry, what?" Terror infested the young girl's mind with fear as she slowly looked back to the smiling Queen in the video.
"Yeah! I mean, you tried to make my coronation better, you've been pulling less pranks around the castle, and you've been doing your share of the chores a lot more. It's really helped me spare the time I need to manage my tasks as Queen."
"But... But it's still done, like, jokingly, right?" She grinned nervously. She couldn't bare the thought otherwise. She needed to hear her say how Catra has been terrible, rude, obnoxious, or so forth just to move on with her day.
And Glimmer couldn't give that to her as she tapped her chin.
"Mmh... no, I don't think so. If I had to be honest-"
No. Please dear First Ones no. If she was about to say what Catra thought she was going to say-
"- I'd have to say you were being a little more... considerate..."
*crackle*
The word felt like it was being drawn out forever to Catra's mind despite it being said all at once. In an instant, the magicat found herself in a black featureless void as a look of pain, disgust, horror, trauma, and shock filled the magicat's consciousness.
Never had something so terrifying been uttered over the magicat's demeanor. Never has anyone said something so not-true to her to the point that it would make her eye twitch so rapidly. In all of the young warrior's time in the Rebellion, in all the various ways the girl had been humiliated and troubled by those surrounding her, not once did it ever leave her with a state of being such as this.
One where everything in the universe was collapsing in on itself as the black void cracked around her until it shattered, returning her to the empty dimension of where her friend and allies were all staring at her.
"Oh gosh, it's TRUE!" She finally stammered, yelling to the heavens as she inadvertently tossed the pad into the air, caring for nothing else as she sulked away from the group. She didn't want to believe it, she didn't want to think it, but if one of her two best friends were there to confirm it, there could be no denying it any longer.
Catra, ex-soldier of the Horde, one capable of tearing bots to shreds with her bare claws and throwing tanks with the power of She-Ra, has, officially, gone soft.
"Ah! Catra!" Bow cried out as he dove, barely catching the tracker pad before it could break against the ground. Sighing in relief, the technical genius of the Rebellion glanced up to the sulking magicat who was muttering to herself as she sluggishly walked around the shipless crater, contemplating the purpose of life if people thought she was going soft.
"... What was that about?" Glimmer asked, trying to see the magicat behind Bow as he turned the camera away from the missing ship.
"Iiii honestly have no idea." Catra's strange mood would have to be the least of his priorities at the moment as he continued to feign ignorance with a nervous tone. "Anyway, uhhh the mission is going... super well! In fact, it's, uh, going so well that we're off to do more mission stuff now!"
"More mission stuff? But I didn't assign any-"
"Great! Talk later, bye!"
"Wait, don't-!" Glimmer's plead to continue fell on deaf ears as the master archer clicked the side of the device, cutting off communications for good before letting out a sigh of relief. To say that conversation could've gone better, between turning on the communications and Catra's sporadic behavior, would've been an understatement. It's a miracle she didn't discover the ship was missing throughout the brief exchange.
"Is... Catra alright?" Perfuma asked with a bit of concern, watching as her friend and Universal Hero dragged her feet around the crater as she returned to them.
"You do realize it's Catra you're asking about, don't you?" Huntara teased as Catra grumbled over.
"Shut it." She spat, directing her one wandering yellow eye to one of the two friends she accepted. "Anyway, what's the story with the ship? Are we going to wait for something or do you want me to track it?" Of the many senses that were dulled within the Crimson Waste, one of the few that weren't was her keen eyesight. As long as she stayed hydrated enough or kept from seeing mirages, she could find a good perch along the jagged plateaus of the wasteland to find some sort of clue over the boiling sand.
"Huntara will be the one to track it, kitty." Huntara assured, taking the offer to track it almost like a challenge from the young cat. Examining the ground beneath them, she kneeled down for a moment of observation as she brushed a small bit of sand with her fingertips, giving it a solid taste to study the elements she found within. "Mm-hm. Rubber, mechanical. You may be right, it was the Horde." She agreed, nodding back to Catra's earlier guess as she offered to join in.
"You already got me to walk into a hole, I'm not going to be stupid enough to eat sand after that." Catra's statement did nothing to prevent the smirk growing over the hunter's face as she stood aain.
"Yeah, but you didn't deny it was pretty stupid, did you?
"Grrrrrr-!"
"OR," Bow gladly interrupted as he stood between the two friends, quickly pushing them an arm's length away before the magicat could step any closer, "instead of killing each other, we could, you know, follow the tracks?" To his relief, his suggestion caught the attention of the two ex-Hordes as they looked back, seeing the same thing the archer noticed from the start.
Along the twisted sands was a straight and cut pathway that lead off into the distance, a definite trail that could take them to the missing ship and the perpetrators behind its mysterious disappearance. Grumbling back to the Huntress that had been toying with her for the last few minutes, Catra resigned herself to march on ahead, grinding her teeth against one another as she kept her anger bottled up.
With this, Bow watched as he was passed by a ferocious wildcat, a taunting Huntress who went on to make Catra's experience more and more irritating, and a somewhat moaning Perfuma who was still uncomfortable with the limited variety of plants that surrounded everything around them. It was then, he had the ultimate revelation.
He was the only one out of the entire group who was sane enough to keep the rest of the team from getting themselves killed, or, more importantly, each other.
It was moments like this where he was surrounded by questionable friends on his own that he would need to keep in check that he realized one thing.
He officially missed Glimmer...
...
...
...
A/N: Annnnnd scene ^^ You know the other fun little detail about being at the start of a new season? Now that I'm back to the first half of the season, I can start making some more light-hearted adventure episodes :P Don't get me wrong, there will still be plenty of serious moments, especially for the later third or so, but otherwise, with episodes like this one where people are just being silly, it gives me a greater excuse to pull off some funny quirks here and there like exploiting Catra's denial of being "soft" XP lol
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and hoping my writing quality is still up to speed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and SHE-RA HAS THE BEST ENDING TO A CARTOON EVER I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH X*D!