Well it was nice to know Perfuma didn't want Scorpia to die.
As soon as the roots carried her up, she saw Glimmer and Bow glancing between the two of them, uncertain what exactly had occurred with their ally. Scorpia's gaze finally landed on Perfuma.
Perfuma's face was naked relief. The sight caused Scorpia's heart to swell. Despite their breakup, Scorpia was hardly immune to her lingering feelings, and seeing Perfuma struggle with the same gave Scorpia a strange comfort. There was even the slightest satisfaction upon seeing Perfuma working so hard for Scorpia's sake. Scorpia could see sweat rolling along her face, even from such a distance away.
And behind her, Catra.
Scorpia called out "Wait!" just a moment too late as Catra rammed her electric baton into Perfuma's back.
Glimmer immediately teleported to Perfuma, grabbing Perfuma and teleporting away again. Bow, angling his body so his back was not directly to Scorpia, notched another arrow towards Catra. Catra hurried to him, not giving him a chance to fire, drawing him into close combat. Glimmer teleported right behind Catra, forcing Catra to draw back.
Scorpia knew she should be supporting Catra, but she was still frozen in place, wrapped up in Perfuma's plant embrace. She wished she could stay there for the rest of the fight. She shook her head to get out of the muddiness clouding her feelings. The battlefield was not the correct place to muse on her ex-girlfriend's actions. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but look at Perfuma's collapsed body. There was a groan from it. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
Now reassured, Scorpia charged into the fray, grabbing Bow from behind as he aimed at Catra and Glimmer. With that distraction, Catra was able to sink her claws into Glimmer, leading to a shout from Glimmer as she teleported away again, appearing behind Scorpia and aiming a solid kick at Scorpia's which she barely dodged.
Now with both of them on Scorpia, it was hard to keep an eye on Perfuma. That didn't stop her from trying, and as a result she saw the danger before Glimmer or Bow. Catra, now freed from assault, was again approaching Perfuma, who slowly lifted her head. Both her allies were terribly focused on Scorpia, though, to the point where Scorpia would not be able to tactically evade them to defend Perfuma.
"Perfuma!" Scorpia shouted her name, hoping to remind her allies about her vulnerable state.
Fortunately it worked, as both immediately turned, leading Glimmer to teleport for defense. Catra took a step back, looking at Scorpia with a confused expression. "What the hell, Scorpia?"
Scorpia shrugged, trying to deflect with an innocent smile. "I'll explain after the fight."
Unfortunately, everyone else finally seemed to want to stop, paused by confusion. Glimmer and Bow, holding Perfuma, were now a solid 20 feet away from both Scorpia and Catra, who had plenty of distance between each other as well. Although everyone was in defensive stances, people did not seem interested in initiating the next round of fighting until this unusual behavior from Perfuma and Scorpia got sorted out.
Bow raised a hand. "I'm also very interested in why you just helped us."
Scorpia laughed. "What? Just paying back a favor! After all, she saved me first!"
Catra crossed her arms. Perfuma, held up by Bow, lifted her head enough to glare at Scorpia. Now everyone was looking at Perfuma, expecting her to explain. "Wow, throwing me under the bus?" She asked Scorpia.
Catra now had her eyes narrowed at Scorpia. Scorpia waved her arms, as if she could wipe away everything that had just happened. Could Entrapta create a memory-erasing machine? "Do you really think this is the right time to explain?" Scorpia challenged Perfuma.
"Explain what?" Glimmer asked, eyebrow raised.
Perfuma pushed Bow gently, showing she had recovered enough to stand on her own. "Well I'm not going to pretend I rescued a Horde soldier just because."
Catra looked between the two of them, eyes widening. She gasped. "Scorpia, is Perfuma the girl?"
"What girl?" Bow asked.
Scorpia bit her lip, looking away. The jig was up.
Catra marched straight up to Scorpia and grabbed her Horde uniform, pulling her down to Catra's height so Catra could stare into her eye. "Scorpia, are you secretly dating a princess?"
Scorpia smiled, trying to ignore how loud Catra was at this distance. "Just to be clear, we broke up."
Glimmer and Bow both made a sound of surprise, between a squeak and gasp. Scorpia couldn't look at them, with Catra demanding her attention. Catra was angry, for sure, but underneath there was a pain behind her eyes that made Scorpia's heart ache.
"I'm sorry," Scorpia tried to assure her.
"Can you turn your back on her?" Catra spoke, suddenly quiet, "Or are you going to be like this every fight? Defending her?"
Scorpia hated the answer. Catra was one of her dearest friends. In spite of her prickly demeanor, Scorpia knew there was an ocean of emotion hidden beneath her shield of fur and claws. And staring into her eyes, Scorpia glimpsed a rare emotion on Catra: Desperation. Scorpia could already feel pain piercing her heart, but she knew if she lied now she would regret it sooner or later. "I'm sorry, Catra, but I… I can't hurt her."
Catra let go of Scorpia and turned away, closing Scorpia away from her reaction. Her shoulders were hunched. "Don't come back to the Horde. We don't take traitors."
With those parting words, Catra bolted, running into the depths of the woods, not giving Scorpia a chance to explain or apologize again. Scorpia stared after her, knowing a chase would be useless. Catra did not go back on her word.
Bow's voice eventually brought Scorpia back. "…Wait, what?"
Scorpia turned to their group. Perfuma stared at her, brows furrowed, uncertain, mouth barely parted as though she couldn't decide what to say.
Scorpia opened her arms. "Take me back?"
Perfuma's face broke out into a smile, and she ran towards Scorpia. She jumped into Scorpia's arms, allowing Scorpia to wrap her up and spin her around, letting her hair and dress swirl. Perfuma's face was buried into the crook of Scorpia's neck, and the warmth was everything Scorpia had missed.
As painful as it was to separate from Catra and the Horde, Scorpia couldn't bear to regret choosing Perfuma's relieved giggling on her shoulder. When they stopped spinning, Perfuma pulled back, her eyes sparkling. She pulled her hand behind Scorpia's head and pulled her into a kiss, which Scorpia gladly returned, dipping Perfuma in the air.
When they parted again, all smiles, Glimmer spoke, "No, really, what?"
