Adora awakens with a start. The last moments of her encounter with Shadow Weaver still on her mind and the fact that she needs to save Catra. She pushes herself up from the standard Horde bed and looks around at a room she doesn't recognize. The walls are even more sterile than she's used to and it's colder somehow.
She stands to her feet only to have Shadow Weaver seemingly materialize right in front of her.
The old woman reaches out her hand to cup Adora's left cheek. She tuts, "Adora, you should lie back down. You had quite the fall."
Adora looks at her in disbelief. "I didn't fall. Y-you used your magic on me."
"Well, I had to my dear. You were about to storm off without a single plan in mind and I had to make sure you didn't do anything too rash." She inches closer to Adora – her hand never leaving her cheek. Her thumb gently swipes Adora's soft skin. "Adora, you should know that without reinforcements those princesses will be a terror to deal with. If they have Catra," Adora's eyes widen, "then you must be more cautious."
The words drip from Shadow Weaver's mouth like honey, but they give Adora a sick feeling in her stomach. "We have to go after her," she says with conviction. "She could be in danger and being tortured for information. It would be best for the Horde to retrieve her."
"You are quite right." She says so deceptively sweet. "Catra probably doesn't have the fortitude to withstand a princess's torture, let alone survive it." She eyes Adora's reaction and receives what she had hoped. The blonde's eyes widen just slightly and her lip quivers with anger at that revelation. "She's probably being tortured right at this moment." She looks down and Adora's eyes are beginning to glow beneath her enraged features. "Now, Adora. We don't want to lose our focus, now do we?" The tone she uses is bittersweet as it flitters into Adora's brain.
The blonde looks down and away as she realizes how easily she was riled up. She knows Weaver makes a good point and she shouldn't be losing track. That's exactly what the princesses want her to think.
She hardens in her resolve and looks back up at her. "What do we do now?"
Shadow Weaver folds her hands in her lap and leans forward just slightly. "Well, I'm glad you asked, Adora."
/
"Mom! You're not even listening to me." Glimmer throws her hands up in exasperation. "I told you that she saved me. I gave you every detail. Why won't you let her out?!"
"Commander Glimmer!" The queen's eyes are stern as she looks down to her daughter. She pinches the bridge of her nose as she breathes a calming breath, but it does little to ease her frustration. "How can you not see the danger in letting a Horde soldier roam free through the castle? She could flip on you in a second! You never think these things through."
Glimmer's eyes widen at the accusation. "You never trust me! I'm trying to tell you that I have this under control. She saved me out there from those disgusting alphas and you're telling me that means nothing to you?"
The queen walks forward, arms outstretched as if to ground her daughter from her hysterical train of thought. "Glimmer, I understand that you went through something out there with that soldier, but that doesn't mean she isn't a part of the Horde anymore. That doesn't mean that we can trust her! It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't want you to get hurt." She gently squeezes her shoulders and Glimmer looks down at her left shoulder disdainfully.
"There's something more going on here than we both know. I can feel it." Glimmer looks to her mother with determined hope in her eyes. "She wanted the sword and when she was able to hold it, something happened. There was a golden light, with a powerful magic coming from it. Mom," she pauses. "What if it has something to do with She-Ra? Do you have any idea what that could mean for the rebellion?"
Angella's features become tight with frustration. My daughter is just as stubborn as her father. She raises a hand to her face to soothe herself once more. "Glimmer," she says it sternly. "This is not up for discussion. The 'would be,' 'could be's' and 'what if's' won't help us win the war. We have to focus on what is in front of us and we currently have a Horde soldier in our dungeon."
Glimmer crosses her arms. She just isn't getting anywhere with her mother. "You mean the spare room?" The young princess's attitude is difficult to hide and it's the final straw.
"Glimmer! I don't want to hear another word of it. She is our prisoner, and she is dangerous. I won't have you in that room at all."
"Ugh!" The groan lasts longer than it should, and the sparkly princess stomps her foot before she vanishes in a shimmering poof of magic.
/
Catra groans as she slowly wakes from her magic induced coma. She rubs her head as the fog continues to lift from her periphery. She looks around and sees pink and purple walls with glamorous decorations adorning the room. The brightness gives her more of a headache than the magic. She rolls her eyes and looks down at herself. Well, I'm still in one piece, she thinks as she runs her hand over her tail. She sheaths her claws to make sure those are still intact as well. She sighs with relief when they appear immediately.
Once she's gotten her bearings, she starts to really take in the room around her. She raises an eyebrow in confusion as to where she is. Is this a simulation? Am I dead?
Before she has a chance to confuse herself even more, the door slams open. A tall woman with wings enters the room and Catra's eyes never leave her as she gracefully enters with three other women in uniform.
"What's your name and unit?" The tallest of the guards' questions Catra, but the feline's eyes remain glued to Queen Angella. "I'll ask you again, Horde soldier," the guard comes closer to the perimeter of magic surrounding Catra. "Name and unit?"
"You can torture me with magic all you want. I'm not telling you anything." Catra bares her fangs and her claws as she prepares for a wicked attack. She's been told stories of magical sorceresses, but she's already endured from one of the sickest of them all. She can take it.
"Torture?" Angella says. "We don't torture people with magic. That's barbaric." Her eyes are fiery with determination and slight disgust at the accusation. The queen folds her arms as she continues to observe.
Catra's eyes widen a fraction. "Bullshit. You're telling me you have an enemy prisoner that could give you vital information that could stop the war and you're not even going to try to get it out of me? What? Are we just going to sit in a circle and hold hands until I puke it out?"
The queen raises an eyebrow at the child in front of her with slight horror. She can't even begin to imagine the brainwashing and manipulation that goes on in the Fright Zone, but this does give her some insight. "It doesn't surprise me that the Horde would tell you such things." Angella does her best to choose her words carefully. Even if Glimmer had vouched for this girl, it was difficult to trust her and Angella could now see exactly why that is. "Have other people used magic on you in such a manner? People outside of the Fright Zone."
Catra knows she hasn't, except for Sparkles poofing them to some new location, but never the kind of magic she expected. She had always been told by Shadow Weaver that's how princesses operate. They use their magic for horrible experiments and torture. Obviously, she knew the stories the cadets heard were exaggerated to scare the babies – hell, Catra practically made up most of them. But, from the moment she experienced the magic from Shadow Weaver, she just assumed they were all like this, or worse. "Yes, torture. Like holding people under magic spells that make them hurt themselves or suck the air out of their lungs. Or-or cause increasing pain like electricity frying every cell of your body." She spits it all out in a fury as she begins to feel herself unravelling.
All that the queen can do is look on with pity as she shakes her head 'no.'
The revelation begins to take a toll on Catra. All the shit she was put through had no meaning or purpose. It wasn't to make her stronger against the enemy. It was only to punish and control. She knew Shadow Weaver was a fucked-up witch trying to use and manipulate them all, but she couldn't be honest about this one thing?!
Catra's eyes look left and right as she processes what's happening. She starts breathing heavily and far more quickly than her body can handle. As she hyperventilates the young woman starts scratching her claws through her hair, dragging them against her scalp. It provides something to hold onto. A pain that reminds her what's real. She closes her eyes and finally the pain from gripping her hair causes her to remember where she is and what's happening. She's losing her shit in front of the enemy and she cannot show weakness. She looks back up at the queen who now looks on with concern. "Stop looking at me like that!" Catra snarls out her words. She's losing her temper as she huffs out panting breaths. She's on the verge of panic as the air doesn't seem to fill her lungs enough. She clenches and unclenches her fists. The pain from her unsheathed claws giving her a constant reminder of what's real and currently happening.
All Angella can do is look on with slight horror at this child coming undone before her. Watching her go through a series of revelations about the undoubted lies that have been fed to her.
Catra can't look at their faces anymore. They're filled with pity and Catra is anything but pitiful. She clenches her teeth and sets her jaw. All she can think of to soothe her racing mind is the alpha on the other side of Etheria. Her face. Her touch. It soothes her. She can't lose control at a time like this. She needs to get to Adora. After a moment, she's able to relax her hands and jaw. She says, "So then, if you don't torture people, then what do you want?" Her voice is low and raspy as though she'd screamed all night long.
Angella's face hardens once more. She concedes, "Why were you in the woods? What is the Horde planning?" Her voice is icy as she commands explanation.
Catra rolls her eyes and huffs. She can see the family resemblance in her air of snooty royalty, but the Queen has more regal elegance than the whining sparkly one. "What makes you think they'd tell me anything? They lied to me before." She turns at the end with a snarl on her lip.
The queen stiffens and asks again, "And why were you in the Whispering Woods?"
The feline whips around to face the queen fully. "Because your sparkly princess and Arrow Boy tied me up and drug me through the entire thing," Catra says it with impatience. She finds it imperative that she doesn't disclose anything. She knows Sparkles probably told the queen about the sword, but she doesn't trust any of these people. Catra only knows one thing and that's that people lie to get what they want out of you. She won't reveal all her cards this soon.
"And yet you protected Glimmer, why?" The queen's eyes squint slightly in suspicion.
Catra huffs again not wanting to dwell on the nagging sensation she's had this entire time about why she didn't just run for it. She puts her hands on her hips attempting to regain some of her tough, confident exterior. "No one deserves that from a pack of alphas, even if she's an annoying bratty princess." Catra says the words as though she's a little ashamed to admit them out loud.
Angella's face turns neutral and unreadable as she tries to assess the person in front of her. She makes the command decision to leave on that note and doesn't give Catra another word.
The feline's shoulders relax some as the interaction ends and she tries her best to hold it all in. Her mind turns itself to the only thing keeping her from losing it, or well, the only person. She tries to focus on the foggy dream they shared while she was in that mental prison. Adora was there in the Fright Zone showering. She tries not to dwell on that part for too long, because it's of little use right now. Adora was so close, yet so far away. She kept trying to reach for her, but it was no use. The feeling just makes her angry and desperate to get to Adora. You'd think after all this time, she wouldn't still be so focused on getting to Adora, but it's like this pull she has no control over. She needs to get to Adora, protect her. Something doesn't feel right.
/
Glimmer paces in her room while Bow sits on one of the floating pillows. "Ugh, I just don't get it Bow, why doesn't she trust me? We did all that work to get a Horde soldier and the sword, and she doesn't listen to a word I say!" She throws her arms up in exasperation.
"Well," Bow starts, "maybe she's right?" His voice goes up in pitch at the end. He throws his hands up in defense as Glimmer turns abruptly to face him. "Now, just listen." He settles his arms back down, "She is a part of the Horde Glimmer, and your mom just wants to make sure everyone will be safe. Maybe it's not that she doesn't trust you, she just doesn't trust Catra."
Glimmer's mouth turns into a flat line, "That's exactly what she said Bow… but I don't care. She's wrong. Catra came back for me, and yeah I get that she's a Horde soldier. I, of all people, realize that they can't be trusted, but I think she's the best chance to help us with the sword. She made all this magic appear after she held it up to that monster! There has to be a connection somewhere I just don't know what it all means." She puts her hand to her face in contemplation.
"Well, maybe she's She-Ra?" He says it with more confusion than confidence.
"No, I don't think so." Glimmer's brow is furrowed in contemplation as she starts pacing again. "She doesn't do any magic. I think it was just the sword. She looked startled when the glowing light came from the sword and she seemed to like, recognize the figure or something." She drops her hand and groans. "It just happened all so fast I can barely remember it except that it was really bright, and she's super adamant on staying with the sword. Ugh! Why doesn't it make sense, Bow? Make it make sense!" Glimmer's hands are wrapped up in the collar of Bow's shirt by the time she finishes her exclamation.
The boy's hands are up in defense again and his eyes wide from shock. "I don't know!" His voice cracks.
They pull apart and begin to settle when a guard rushes into the room. "Princess! The queen requests your presence in the war room."
Glimmer and Bow look at each other and make their way out to the queen.
/
As everyone in the war room settles, the queen addresses the room "We've received word from our scouts that there may be trouble in Plumeria. We'll need to send a team out to fully survey the area and assess the needs of their kingdom."
Glimmer's hand shoots up. "Oh! Bow and I will go. We'll even take She-Ra's sword and ask for people to join our rebellion. I'm sure the news of She-Ra will really get people excited about the Princess Alliance again."
"No, Commander Glimmer." Glimmer instantly deflates as her mouth drops to protest, but the queen raises her hand. "We can't afford to send you out onto the frontline, especially because you're in heat. You barely made it back from Thaymore. We cannot afford to lose you."
"But you can lose someone else? That makes no sense. I can handle my heat symptoms with some magic from the mages before we go. You know Bow and I are the best suited for this mission! Especially if we try to recruit Plumeria back into the Alliance. We'll need a strong presence and…"
She's cut off by the queen, "Alright." After a moment of hesitation, "You may go. But you will take a guard with you, and I expect you to be in and out."
Glimmer poofs from her chair over to the queen and squeezes her in a big hug. "Oh, mom! You won't regret it! We got this and I'm sure Princess Perfuma will be on board with us." After a gentle squeeze back from the queen, Glimmer poofs back over to Bow's side.
"Glimmer," the queen starts, "you must promise me that you'll take care of yourself. A heat can be very draining even with magic to tame the primal instincts. You must take a steed with plenty of supplies."
Glimmer groans, "I know mom. I'll take care of myself and drink plenty of water. I will not mess this up." With a cheesy grin she poofs Bow and herself out of the war room.
The queen rubs her forehead and hopes for the best.
/
Shadow Weaver looms over Adora in the logistics room. "Now, Adora. I have tried to tell Lord Hordak your pleas for Catra and he too thinks it's a waste of resources."
Adora turns down her head in disappointment with her eye firmly fixed on the corner of the room. Her inner alpha churns from feeling so out of control and helpless.
The old sorceress pulls her from her inevitable downward spiral. "But… after some deliberations he has agreed for a small team to head out for retrieval."
"I want to be on it. I have to get her back." Adora's face is set with determination and a flicker of hope.
"Well, yes of course. That's part of the plan. Force Captain Scorpia will take you and a unit out for retrieval. And in order to not waste resources on such a minimal mission, you will also assist another unit with their mission. It seems they've run into a few… inconveniences along the way." Shadow weaver is methodical as she chooses her words wisely.
"Is it princesses? Because that won't be an issue." Adora is nearly jumping out of her seat to pack for this upcoming mission. She doesn't care what else it entails if Catra is saved from those princesses and their magic.
"Oh, Adora. I know it won't and that's exactly why you'll be going. Don't disappoint me. Remember, Catra's life may be on the line." Shadow Weaver floats over to the door to exit when she's interrupted.
"Wait, where did you say this other mission is? We need to start at Thaymore and work our way on. Catra said…" Adora's eyes go wide and she tries to recover. "Catra's said before that they torture prisoners of war with magic. That can't just be anywhere. It has to be at one of their prominent bases."
Shadow Weaver's eyes narrow slightly, "Why yes, only the most highly regarded prisoners go to Brightmoon, and other kingdoms of the like." She pauses in contemplation, "therefore, Catra must be somewhere else. She's just a cadet, what could they possibly want from her? She's probably holed up in dusty basement somewhere." The older woman continues to leave when she stops at the frame of the door. "And your mission is to Plumeria. There's a unit there preparing to strike as soon as the energy collection equipment is up and running."
Not another word and Shadow Weaver leaves Adora to her own devices. She looks down into her lap and realizes she almost let slip about their shared dreams. After the last time I told Shadow Weaver something she completely changed everything. I should keep that to myself for now.