SEASON 5 COMING SOON AHHHH

I'm going to try really hard to finish this before the season drops!

This was a terrible idea.

Absolutely awful, if you stopped to think about it.

Which was why, perhaps, Catra was doing her best not to think about it. Instead, she concentrated on the iridescent glow of the smooth crystal floor, landing one foot in front of the other in a calm stride that exuded far more confidence than she felt.

Because… this was a really bad idea.

She'd barely been able to frighten off the smaller of the beasts before. Sure, she'd been preoccupied with protecting Adora, but still… She flexed her injured arm, feeling the slowly healing scratches pull and burn under their bandage. And after that, nearly losing to Octavia?

The view screen only showed one beast outside the castle, but it was big. And she had the distinct feeling that the other two wouldn't stay hidden for long.

Three terrifying killing machines against two incompetent rebellion fighters and one half-drowned Catra.

Perfect.

The crystal under her feet made an abrupt vertical turn, and she realized she was staring at the door leading out of the castle. Daylight flashed through the hole at the seam, hairline cracks spidering outward. She rapped her knuckles on the surface and winced as the light impact dislodged a few shards of crystal.

"Hey, hologram lady!"

If Light Hope wasn't going to use Catra's name, then Catra wasn't about to use hers.

Silence.

Well, that figured.

"I can't exactly go join the fighting outside if I can't get outside," she said, voice echoing across the empty room.

There was silence for a split second, and then the door swished open with almost insulting speed.

"Yeah, hate you too," Catra mumbled.

The door slammed shut behind her with an unsettling, extended cr-crack, more shards of crystal tinkling gently as they fell away from the hole in the door. The gap was still too small for anything to force its way though, but…

Well. She'd just have to make sure the fighting stayed far away from the castle.

Because that should be easy to do, along with the whole "staying alive" thing.

Bursts of sparkling pink light flashed across her vision from the fight in the distance. She took a deep breath, steeling herself against the twinge in her chest and the ache in her bones. She'd lost track of all the times she'd had to start a battle sim bone-weary with exhaustion, barely able to move from the lingering effects of one of Shadow Weaver's punishments. All she needed to do was let whatever was left of her adrenaline take over.

It'd be fine. Sparkles and Arrow boy would be fine. Adora would be fine.

Everyone would be fine.

She'd make sure of it.

Things could really be going a lot better, Glimmer thought to herself, ducking the swipe of a massive paw that landed on the ground beside her with a jaw-rattling impact.

Between near-constant teleports and trick arrows, they'd managed to keep the beast confused, but… that was about it. Their best shots didn't seem to do anything more than annoy it, and she still couldn't manage to get close enough to slap a hand on the beast and teleport it into the air without a rapidly descending tooth or claw aborting her plan. It was a stalemate.

At least they weren't dead yet.

But then—she teleported just to the side of the snap of slavering jaws—neither was the beast.

And that was getting to be an issue.

She was already beginning to feel the toll of constant teleports and sparkle bombs. Eventually, she was going to run out, and when she did… well, the beast wouldn't run out of claws. Or teeth.

The beast dove toward them again. Glimmer launched a glittery orb toward the beast's face, latched onto Bow, and teleported them to the other side of the clearing. Still on the defensive. If they didn't change things up fast—

Something streaked past the corner of her vision, and the beast gave a sudden, pained cry. It wheeled, snapping at its haunch and swiping ineffectually at its own back with one paw before bucking, sending a dark figure thrashing through the air directly toward them.

The figure twisted just in time to mostly land on its feet, crouched low to the ground, one hand sinking into the soft dirt and tearing deep lines as it slid to a stop.

Glimmer stared.

Torn, stained uniform. A red-soaked bandage wrapped around an arm held stiffly to her side. Wild hair, and exhausted, mismatched eyes that still managed to be full of derision. How was she here? Why was she here?

"Ow," the figure muttered, then jumped to her feet with a wince and a curse.

"Catra?"

"Sparkles," she acknowledged, eyes already back on their target. The beast held its distance for the moment, snarling as it assessed the new player. "You're looking even dumber than usual."

"Catra?" Bow echoed over Glimmer's indignant sputtering, pausing after a fresh volley of arrows.

"In the flesh. By the way: duck."

The warning was delivered so nonchalantly that Glimmer almost didn't react. Then: movement in the corner of her eye—she dropped to the ground barely in time, a whoosh of air blowing by as the beast's claws sliced through the empty space just above her head. Glimmer teleported behind the beast and launched a sparkle bomb at its eye just as it turned toward her. It reeled back, snarling and shaking its head.

"What are you doing here?" she shouted across the clearing.

"Oh, you know. Trying not to get eaten." Catra rolled to avoid another angry swipe of claws. "You?"

Catra rose from her roll and fluidly launched a sharp rock toward the beast as she spoke. It cracked off its skull, a dark patch immediately beginning to soak its fur. The beast roared and dove toward her before pulling to one side an arrow full of green goop exploded against it.

"Crap! Wrong arrow!" Bow squeaked.

Oh, for the love of—

In a flash, Glimmer teleported to Bow's side, whisking him behind the beast on the opposing side of the clearing. Another flash—she was behind Catra. Hand on her shoulder.

"Hey!"

Flash. She was across the clearing, hand fisted in the torn red material of Catra's shirt, slamming her against the sturdy trunk of a tree. An involuntary whine escaped her target and Catra's eyes screwed shut as she wavered, sagging for a split second against the bark. For an instant, Glimmer regretted the force of the blow.

In the next, Catra's eyes were open again, glaring and venomous. Something grabbed Glimmer's thumb and wrenched her wrist painfully to one side. She cried out, grip loosening, and Catra slid out of her grasp, leaping a few steps away.

"What did you do to Adora?" Glimmer demanded, cradling her wrist. The pain was sharp, but fading.

"To her? I didn't do anything to her, aside from save her life a few times." Catra actually had the gall to sound incredulous.

"Save her?" Glimmer laughed, high-pitched and short. "Oh, that's rich. How many times have you tried to kill her, again?"

Another roar, far too close, punctuated by the twang of a bowstring and the boom of a muffled explosion.

"Yeah!" Bow shouted, distantly. "That's the arrow I wanted!"

If she hadn't been so consumed with concern for Adora and rage towards this—this Horde scum before her, Glimmer's mouth might have twitched upward.

"Oh, come on," Catra said. "I came out of that stupid castle! How could I have gotten in there if I wasn't with Adora?"

"I didn't see you come out from the castle! Maybe Adora got in there on her own, and you've just been waiting in the woods to strike!"

"Oh, for— Gah! " Catra rolled her head back, pinching her brow in frustration.

Another roar. "Uh, Glimmer?" Bow's voice pitched upward, and she glanced to the side to see the beast alarmingly close. Glimmer growled in frustration and launched two sparkle bombs, one singing the fur of its haunch and the other landing near its ear. The beast howled and pulled back, shaking its head.

"I think your friend could use a little help," Catra said, pointedly.

"He's fine."

"Actually," Bow shouted, "he really wouldn't mind a little assistance against the giant terrifying murder-beast ."

"I'll be right there!" Glimmer shouted back. She turned to Catra with a glower and jabbed a finger at her chest. "Stay here. Don't do anything."

"Bad idea," Catra sing-songed.

"I don't need someone from the Horde telling me what a bad idea is, thank you very much."

Catra opened her mouth, paused, sighed, and then tried again. "That beast? You've barely managed to scratch it. You two, on the other hand…" she gave Glimmer a critical glance. "You look like you're running out of sparkle juice, and Arrow Boy—"

"Bow."

"—right—is a low on arrows, which isn't good for his nickname." She casually examined her sharp nails. "Of course, he probably won't need one if he's dead."

A hot spike of rage surged through Glimmer's chest, and she fought the urge to slam Catra back against the tree.

Instead, she stepped into Catra's space, seething.

"Stay. Here."

A flurry of pink sparks, and she rejoined the fight.

"Bow!"

"Little busy!" He called back, firing a desperate volley of arrows toward the advancing beast. Some stuck shallowly into its flesh, some bounced off an armor of matted, mud-crusted fur and careened into the thick grass. Glimmer teleported beside him, grabbed him, and moved them both to the other side of the clearing.

"I feel like a ping-pong ball," she groaned, launching a sparkle bomb toward the beast and then teleporting them further away.

"What's Catra doing here?" Bow asked, reaching back to tally his remaining arrows.

"I don't know! She says she was helping Adora, but that doesn't—"

Bow lit up. "Oh! So that's how Adora got so far, even with all that blood."

Glimmer's stomach twisted at the memory of the deep red stains on the ground. She shoved them from her mind. " Or she's lying, and Adora's been running from that thing and Catra the entire time."

"I think we'll have to debate that later," Bow said, his voice climbing an octave as he strung a fresh arrow and nodded toward the advancing beast. "Party's back on."

Glimmer opened her mouth, then clamped it shut again as she caught something edging out of the trees toward the beast.

Catra.

Stupid, stupid princesses.

Catra stood at the edge of the clearing, circling the beast and testing for openings. There weren't any. The beast seemed far less aggressive than it had been earlier, but it still towered above her, teeth and claws exposed, an occasional deep growl rumbling out of its throat and vibrating through her own aching chest.

Long claws swept suddenly toward her, and Catra barely jumped out of the way. She risked a glance toward the two rebellion idiots.

"You two planning to shut up and fight at some point, or do I have to kill this thing myself?" she shouted. Pure bravado. If she had to stay there much longer on her own, it was probably going to kill her.

The sparkle princess's eyes narrowed at her.

"I told you to— argh!" She cut herself off, then clapped a hand on her friend's shoulder and teleported them behind the beast. She left the archer there, then teleported closer and unleashed another two glitter bombs in rapid succession. Flashy, but nearly useless. The stench of burnt fur permeated Catra's nose.

"Nice of you to drop in," Catra sniped. As long as they were distracting it— there. She sidestepped to avoid a downward strike, then sunk her own claws into the beast's leg, springing up and onto its back. Searing light sizzled past her, a sparkle blast coming unnervingly close to hitting her.

"Watch it!"

"You watch it!"

The beast bucked and turned, trying to bring its jaws around to snap at her—and then reeled off balance as one of Bow's arrows exploded near its face. The claws of her feet sank into its matted fur as she tried to keep her grip.

If she could just—aha!

She sprang forward, her claws diving toward the sensitive flesh of its neck, and—another ball of sparkles erupted in her vision, singing the lighter fur of the beast's neck and sending small burning sparks across her skin. The beast bucked harshly beneath her and she was thrown—falling—hitting hard, feeling her abused bones crack and creak at the new pressure.

'What in the name of Etheria was that shit?" she yelled, as soon as she felt like breathing wasn't going to dislocate a rib.

The princess ignored her, firing off more useless glitter bombs. "Stop getting in our way!"

A growl of her own built in her chest, ripping its way out of her throat as she sprang—well, stumbled—to her feet.

"Look, Princess. I'm here to help you. Not because I want to, or because I like you, but because I owe Adora and you're our best shot at taking these things down right now. If you don't work with me, we're all gonna die."

"I kind of agree with the angry cat lady, Glim!" Bow called from across the clearing.

Glimmer made a frustrated noise and threw her hands in the air. "Fine! But just so we're clear," she narrowed her eyes, jabbing a finger toward Catra again: "I do not trust you."

"Likewise, Sparkles."

"My name is Glimmer!"

"I know!"

Catra jumped to the side—the beast had finally decided to go back on the offensive. One of crop-top's arrows glinted in the grass, and she snatched it up and tucked it smoothly into her belt.

"Hey, Sparkles!"

She ignored her. Another sparkle blast fired off.

"Sparkles!"

"I'm not responding to that!"

Oh, for… "I'm assuming there's a good reason you haven't teleported these things up in the air and dropped them?"

"Oh, why didn't I think of that! I'm such a fool!"

Catra ignored the sarcasm dripping from Glimmer's tone, scooping up another of Bow's arrows and tossing it to him. He accepted them, flashing a grateful smile before loosing another arrow.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything—"

"Obviously I would have done that if I could, but—" Glimmer cut herself off abruptly, as if deciding whether she should continue. "I can't. I can teleport myself hundreds of times before I have to recharge. Me and Bow, dozens. Three people, maybe a couple times. Something this big… not a good idea."

Well, wasn't that just dandy. Of course she had to get the defective princess.

Catra tensed to join the fight in earnest when something pricked at the edge of her senses, flooding her with icy apprehension.

A shadow in the trees shifted, then slowly took shape: a beast with one shining, yellow eye. Lips pulled back to expose sharp, glistening fangs. The other eye… gone. Scratches carved deep in its face to mark its absence, angry red lines surprisingly well-healed for the short time that passed. Dark fur matted with dried blood. A slight limp to one haunch.

She smiled, flexing her claws.

Time for a rematch. And this beast wasn't going to like the result.

"You two better keep that one busy," she called over her shoulder, "because our party just acquired another guest."

It didn't take long for her to realize that going solo might not have been the greatest plan.

She jumped out of the way of another roaring slash, abused shoulder sending jolts of pain through her body as she skidded on all fours in the grass.

No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to get in the beast's blind spot. It reeled constantly, snapping its jaws and forcing her on the defensive before she could find an angle of attack that wouldn't end with her guts on the ground

The beast slashed at her again, and she felt air whiff past as sharp claws barely missed her head. This really wasn't working.

Time for a new plan.

"Hey, Glitter!"

"What?"

"Teleport me."

A growl, sounds of more sparkle blasts. "Where?"

Catra looked into the air over the smaller beast. "I could really use a new angle."

"Wha—Fine." A flash. Glimmer appeared next to her, grabbing her elbow. Catra suppressed the instinctual urge to flinch back and punch her in the face. "Hold onto your tail."

"Do you want me to kill y—" Light flashed in her eyes, blinding her, and a faint electrical feeling raced across her skin, standing the fine hairs of her arms on end. An involuntary shiver ran through her. She hated magic.

Another flash. Glimmer was gone, and Catra was falling, the trees oddly small beneath her. The beast below her swung its head from side to side in a fruitless search for its quarry.

Ha. She reached for the arrow still tucked in the back of her belt, and—

The beast looked up.

Shit.

The beast started to rear on its hind legs, reaching upward with gaping mouth and sharp claws, but she was already almost on it—twisting sharply midair to avoid the sweep of its jaw—landing clumsily on its back, sinking her own claws deep into its flesh.

The beast bucked violently. Her claws sank deep, flesh tearing beneath her fingers with the strength of holding her grip. There was one shot at this.

She released one hand and snatched the arrow from her belt, preparing to drive it down into the beast's remaining eye—but the instant her hand lifted, the beast bucked again. The fur and skin under her other hand ripped free. She grasped air.

Not again.

She pulled herself tight and hit the ground in a disorienting roll, ribs and shoulder screaming. Trees and sky spun around her. Not good.

The ground trembled as the beast leapt forward.

Get up.

She felt its oncoming attack more than saw it. The lightning-fast sweep of its sharp claws, aiming straight for her stomach. She rolled to the side—the strike missed her gut, but four lines of agony tore across her thigh. A scream caught in her throat.

No time.

The arrow. It was in her hand when she fell, the impact knocking it free from her grasp. Her frantic gaze caught a glint of gold, and she reached for it—almost—her clumsy grab knocked it further away, and she strained to reach it—

Distantly, Bow called her name. She couldn't hear it. The beast was on her, mouth agape.

It lunged for her head.

Her fingers closed on the shaft of the arrow.

Down came the beast's teeth, and she thrust the arrow straight into its gaping maw.

Time stood still. Sharp fangs scraped at her arm, drawing thin beads of red that trickled down across her skin to her shoulder. She twisted the arrow, forcing it further in.

Pressure.

Her grip slipped in the warm slickness of the beast's blood.

Resistance.

She tightened her grasp, driving the arrow further, past the sinewy pressure of muscle and tendon and bone and skin—

Release.

The golden and red-stained tip of the arrow pierced through the back of the beast's neck. A fresh wave of hot blood cascaded down her arm, mingling with her own.

A broken whine escaped the beast's throat, remaining eye clouding as its body went limp and dropped on top of Catra like a puppet with its strings cut. The air left her body in a rush as its heavy form collided with her abused ribcage.

Any sense of victory she might have felt was obscured by the fact that now, she couldn't breathe . Pain lanced through her chest under the crushing force of the beast's limp body. Move. Move her arms. Move the beast. One more thing. One more thing and she could breathe, she could rest—

She pulled at the dregs of her adrenaline and forced screaming muscles into motion, bracing herself against the ground and shoving the limp form of the beast to one side as she wriggled out from under its muscular bulk. Air. She filled her lungs with ragged, gasping breaths, letting her eyes close. Some part of her screamed that it was a stupid thing to do on a battlefield, but the other, much louder part shot back with let the other beast eat me, see if I care.

Someone called her name again. She ignored it. Just for a minute, she needed to breathe. Her leg was on fire, and she could feel the nauseating warmth of her own blood soaking into her clothes.

Should probably… do something about that.

The ground shook beneath her as the remaining beast's weight came down, followed by the sound of something metallic clattering nearby and a sudden cry from Arrow boy.

Oh, come on.

She groaned, wrenching her eyes open. The archer was a few feet away from her, one foot braced against a large rock as he tried unsuccessfully to yank his bow free from the crevice where it seemed to be jammed. Sparkle princess was shouting at him from across the clearing, trying to draw the beast away with a barrage of sparkle bombs.

It wasn't working.

The beast was getting closer now. Catra tried to choke out a warning, but she could barely hear her own voice.

Come on.

Somehow, she shoved herself to her feet and took a staggering step forward, injured leg almost buckling beneath her. The beast was nearly on him. He gave a panicked glance over his shoulder, still pulling desperately at the weapon lodged in the rock.

Idiot.

She was going to die for an idiot.

At least they were Adora's idiots. Small comfort, that.

The beast roared. She dove forward, half-falling into arrow boy as she shoved him aside. Massive claws descended toward her, and she barely had time to shut her eyes before—

The faint sound of Sparkles' magic.

Silence.

A distant, confused yowling, rapidly growing louder—

WHAM!

A bone-rattling impact that would have knocked her prone, if she hadn't already been flat on the ground.

She opened her eyes to see the massive beast huddled on the ground, dust from the impact shifting around it in a hazy cloud. A relieved laugh bubbled in Catra's chest. That sparkly princess actually did it.

The beast groaned, shifted, and the faint bit of hope Catra felt dropped into the pit of her stomach.

Glimmer came into her blurred vision, pale and unsteady. Her eyes were on the beast's slowly shifting form. She turned, meeting Catra's unfocused gaze with something unfamiliar in her expression. Relief? Gratitude?

Sparkles extended her hand. Catra stared at it. The princess's eyes shut briefly, and her balance wavered before they reopened.

"Come on," she said, impatient.

Hesitantly, Catra grasped the offered hand and was hauled to her feet with a groan from each of them. A fresh pulse of warmth trickled down her leg.

Glimmer's gaze was back on the beast, watching as one leg slowly unfurled from its huddled mass.

"This isn't over yet."

Thud.

A dull beat.

Thud.

Stone and dust fell to the ground, clouding the crystal floor.

Crack!

The seam of the door shattered, dust and shards of crystal crumbling inward. Daylight streamed through the gaping hole. A silhouette in the light: Two arms. Tentacles. Sharp teeth bared in a wicked smile, glistening in the low light.

One eye.

"Unauthorized presence detected."

A/N: I have been waiting for this cliffhanger for FOUR MONTHS