Catra's Pov

"You've always held her back. Ungrateful wretch!"

"I told you, it wasn't like that!" I shouted. But she never listens. I feel as her powers start to encase me, feeling as the static of the Black Garnet's powers lock me in place.

"Consider this your final warning. Your training is lax, your manners are nonexistent, you respect no one! You sabotaged your team in Plumeria, and you continue to try and fill Adora's head with lies about how I'm using her."

Rich, coming from her. I want to retort, to talk back, even if it puts me in a worse situation, but I'm still paralyzed. And afraid. I've always hated when she did this, and she knows that.

"This is your last chance, Catra. Straighten up, or I will make sure you are removed from Adora's team. Who knows why she is so fond of you, but when I make it clear to her that your only options are to be removed from her or disposed of, I think we both know what she'll choose, even if it isn't what I would choose."

I feel the enclosing force tighten around my throat, and the world slowly starts to fade from me. "No… please…" I manage to choke out. She can't do this, we're going to Salineas! I can prove myself! No!

"No!" My heart is racing, and I sit up quickly, shaking. That's right… that didn't happen at the end.. I'm still here… I try to bring my breathing back under control, and I look around the bunker. Good, no one stirred, not even Adora. I take a look over at her bed. She isn't there. That's right. Shadow Weaver gave her her own room after Salineas, said the barracks were "unbefitting" of a Force Captain. I take a deep breath in, and lay back down, still coming down from the panic.

We barely squeezed out a win at Salineas… and Shadow Weaver acts like Adora won the war. At least she didn't think the mission reflected poorly on me, but I'm still not in a good spot, I need to fix things. If Adora keeps getting all the credit for the successes, while I get dragged for the failures… I'm going to be left behind. I need to fix this.

It should be almost morning. The others will be awake soon. I get off the mattress, stretching as I stand up. I know an early riser, she isn't the person I'd most like to talk to, but I need a plan, and I… can't go to Adora right now.

I take off, exciting the barracks. Good, the curfew bots are already offline for the early risers. I guess I'll wind up part of this crowd now, there isn't much reason for me to lay in bed all morning when she isn't next to me. I shake the thought out of my head, so she has her own room? We're still friends, there's nothing wrong between us, and only recently she came to me for more help about that stupid sword.

Things were almost like they used to be, there. The laughing, the jokes, the quick heartbeats… We're part of the war now, on the frontlines. We don't get that luxury much anymore.

Continuing through the halls, I find the room I'm looking for. Force Captain quarters. Wow, right next to Adora's, how great for me. I think about going in, of talking to her about my concerns with the sword, or with Shadow Weaver, but decide against it. I need to prove I still have a place with her, before she leaves our whole team behind.

I turn back to the door I came here for, and knock. And… nothing. Huh, maybe I'm still a little too early? I guess I'll just take another lap and-

The door slides open, and Scorpia looks at me confused. Then, her face seems to light up a little as she shouts, "kitty!"

I shudder at the word. Adora used to call me that when we were kids, when she was trying to get under my skin, or win an argument, or get a rise out of me. I don't care for it.

"Hey, Scorpia. Can I… come in?"

Her smile slightly drops, the confusion returning. "Uh, absolutely. I mean, yes, you can. If you want…"

"I… I just asked… whatever. Thank you."

She steps aside, and motions for me to enter, so I walk in. So this is what the Force Captain's rooms look like? Adora's been wanting to show me hers, but I… kept refusing.

"So, Catra, what's um, what's going on?"

"Scorpia, can you… I need advice."

"From me? Why not go to Adora?" Her expression changes again, and she speaks as if she thinks she said something wrong, "I mean, not I'm ungrateful you came here, just, we don't exactly know each other, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just… You're a princess, right?"

"Doesn't everyone know that? I mean, I know all the Force Captains do."

"Well, yeah, I found out through Adora."

"Oh that… makes sense. Yeah."

"Well, I wanted to ask you about that. So, you're a princess without powers?"

"I… guess?"

"Is there anything that makes you feel like a princess, or is just a hereditary title?"

"I don't really think I'm any different, other than well, these," she holds up her pincers, clinking them together. "Why do you ask?"

"I just… don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Sure, I'm great with secrets."

"There's this sword the rebellion has, you've probably seen it, on the back of the archer that's always with the Bright Moon princess?"

"What about it?"

"It's a runestone. And we don't know how, but it's important."

"Who's we, who else knows about this secret of the sword?"

"Well, it's-" I pause. I don't know if I can actually trust Scorpia. "It's not important. But I need to figure something out."

"Who the princess is that it's connected to?"

I blink at her, she put that together really fast. "Um, yeah."

She looks lost in thought for a moment, before she seems to beam with excitement, "maybe it's the archer!"

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Oh… well if you want to get the sword, why don't we just go find them?"

"We can't. Adora said the princess tracking mission was called off, they figured out how Shadow Weaver was doing it at this place called Mystacor, which isn't on the map, and warded themselves off."

"Well… if we need to find Glimmer and that archer… we could do it when they're on their way to Princess Prom, assuming he's her plus one."

"What- what is that?"

"Okay, I wasn't going to go, but there's this thing held every so often by the Princesses. They gave me an invite, probably as a formality since they don't exactly like me, but the Ball is tomorrow and we could always head over there, all the princesses usually go."

"You… want us to go to a fancy dance party surrounded by Princesses?"

"Well, we can't just go. We'd have to run the plan by Shadow Weaver, who will probably tell Adora."

"I… I think that'll be fine, but Shadow Weaver can't know about the sword, okay?"

"Then we tell her it's subterfuge. Wait, not that one… spying!"

I think about it for a second, this could work. I can get the sword for Adora, and maybe at the same time prove my worth to Shadow Weaver. "What if… what if we don't go to spy?"

"Well, I don't have any other non-sword ideas."

"Leave it to me. We'll need a diversion and a quick exit. Can you get us the Horde airship?"

"Catra, we don't use that thing for a reason, it's hard to work with and can't even hold that many people, the horde doesn't have the resources to build good air-vehicles."

"Just… try, okay? I'm going to work on the plan, and then we'll present the idea to Adora before going to Shadow Weaver."

"Okay, Wildcat. I'll try."

I turn to walk out of the room. This, "Princess Prom," is going to be my chance to make everything right. Still, I feel like I'm missing something… I turn back to her and say, "oh, and Scorpia?"

She picks her head back up, "Yeah?"

"Thank you. This is… I mean it when I say it's important."

She smiles, and only says, "Of course."

Bow's POV

"What!?" She shouts, as if she didn't quite make sense of what I just said to her.

"She asked and I said yes. I didn't think it'd be a big deal," I try to reason with her, she clearly isn't taking the news well.

"It's not a big deal, it's fine. When… when did you two talk about it?"

"Oh, she was super slick. Back at plumeria, once Adora and the magicat started retreating, and we ran to regroup with everyone inside the factory-building thing?"

"Yeah…"

"She just asked, "do you wanna go to the ball with me?" And I said yes."

"Do you… know what slick means?" I don't respond to that.

"I thought it'd be fun! And she seemed cool," I didn't get to speak with her much, like I did with Entrapta. Even Mermista kept in touch a bit since we're still trying to keep the Sea Gate situation from devolving.

"Yeah, she's fine, but like, we always go to events together. What about our thing?" I thought about this for a moment. She's clearly hurt.

"There's nothing wrong with a new thing. We'll hang out with you there, okay?" I try to convince her, maybe the three of us could go, and if Entraptra shows up too, there's nothing wrong with everyone getting along as a group.

"I'm just supposed to head in alone?"

"I… well… We'll meet up with you, I promise." I think of a way to get more time with her, even though I have plans today, " I know the ball is tomorrow, but I'm planning on heading down to the market to pick up a suit piece. Do you… wanna come?"

"I… already had a dress picked out. But I'll take you there?" I smile slightly, she's probably going to wear the same thing she always does.

"Actually, now that I kind of own a horse, I was thinking we could take him into town? Maybe use it as an opportunity to pick out a name for him?"

"Oh, okay, fine. I'll take us to the stables?"

"Sure, ready when you are."

She nods her head, but seems hesitant. I need her to know things are okay, that this can work. I reach my hand out, and she.. moves past it, grabbing my shoulder. We're down at the stables now, and instead of talking about it, I get to work readying my horse. I still think it's funny that the Thaymor citizens felt the urge to let me keep the guy, but I guess they didn't need him. After a few moments, with Glimmer taking the time to brush the horse's head, we set off, much to the confusion of the worker at the entrance as to where we appeared from. Some of the people outside of the castle forget Glimmer can just show up to places.

We haven't had the time to take the horse out much since Plumeria, what with the Sea Gate attack and being tracked by the Adora girl. But a few days ago, we decided to just take a trip to Mystacor, to relax and view the Eclipse Ceremony.

While there, we mentioned to Glimmer's aunt, Castaspella, how someone from the horde was tracking us, but figured Mystacor was safe due to having stronger protections than we have at Bright Moon. Thankfully, she immediately figured out some sort of magic ward spell, and said she'll remember to recast it when needed, thankfully not needing us to be there. We don't know how they were doing it, but Castaspella had this idea that it might have had something to do with a former teacher.

After a few minutes of trotting, I decide to try and break the silence. "So… Any idea what you're going to say to Frosta?"

"Not really, no," She responds. She must not be feeling very talkative.

"Glimmer, come on… let's talk about this. We're best friends, we need to work through these things."

She seems annoyed, I must've seen right through her. "I told you, I'm not mad at you for wanting to go with Perfuma."

"But… you are disappointed?"

"I… I guess, yeah. I'm disappointed."

"Glimmer, there's nothing stopping us from all hanging out together. And Perfuma and Entrapta will almost certainly be there, too. I'm not sure about Mermista." Thinking about it she's still adamant about making sure no passing horde ships try to disembark. And take over her kingdom entirely.

"Yeah, but… but it isn't going to be the same."

"It doesn't have to be the same. But that doesn't mean I don't want to hang out with you."

"I know, I know you said we can all hang out together, but… I want it to be the same."

"I'm sorry Glimmer, but I already made up my mind. Please, understand that I'm allowed to have more friends."

She says nothing for a moment, before letting out a quiet, "I know."

"Good." I say. I don't think this is the right time to push her, we can always talk more later. "We're at the market. Come on, okay? It'll be alright."

He move to help her down, but she just teleports on over to my side with a *poof.* "So, did you think of a name yet?"

"No, there's too many options. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to get a pet, just because of that."

"Heh, I'm sure it'll come to you. You're usually great with names. Now, let's go get that suit top," I sigh a little. I have a bad feeling she's going to be really weird about this all night, and even tomorrow, too. Still, she's at least here, talking sometimes. Glimmer has a tendency to either be very verbal when she's frustrated with something like this, like with her mom, but on the very few occasions we've been upset with each other over the years, she tends to get quiet. Just like she is now.

We make our way through the marketplace, stopping every now and then when we see something exciting, but not really purchasing anything or even talking to each other. I keep trying every now and then. I'd make small talk, she'd give short, closing responses:

"So, Angella's a lot less stressed after Castaspella helped us out."

"Yeah, it's good."

Or:

"Entrapta and I got to work on some long-range communication prototypes, we are able to send sort of, well, voice memos to each other using my tracker pad."

"That sounds cool."

"It is, if we get this perfected the way we want to, we might be able to talk over any distance in real time."

"Exciting."

She's, suffice to say, very frustrating when she gets like this, and I'm trying my best to get her to stop, but she probably isn't going to budge today. Once we get to a building selling tailored clothes, I decide to drop it.

I'm sure we can fix this before the ball, tomorrow.

Catra's POV

"Okay. And by the time the heat bombs go off, the chaos will be so large, we'll have a chance to send Kyle and Lonnie into the armory and grab the sword."

"And how do you expect to get them in?"

"The guard uniforms are restrictive, hiding most identifying features. None of the princesses will recognize them, they wore helmets every time except on the boat, so we just keep them away from the archer."

"And so we grab the sword, separate Glimmer, and get out using an untested, unreliable horde airship?"

"If Scorpia can get it for us, yes."

"Shadow Weaver will let it happen for this. Catra, this is amazing. But… what makes you sure the princess and the archer will separate from the main ball?"

"Scorpia and I will be there in the open, Sparkles hates all of us, they'll follow us if we split off."

"And if we have to fight literally all of the princesses?"

"We won't. They'll get their people out first."

"I… so you know?"

"Know what?" I ask, looking up from the paper I've been reading off up and raising an eyebrow at her.

"I… I don't think the rebellion people are as heartless as Shadow Weaver says they are. Like the Thaymor deal, or how they don't seem to use… lethal attacks."

"We don't either."

"Because prisoners are more useful than bodies. Bargaining. That's what your plan here relies on, right?"

"I guess, yeah. Bargaining. But there's one thing I can't place."

"What is it?"

"We want the princess of Bright Moon, right? To force a surrender? How do we contain someone who can teleport?"

"Hm… Let's leave that part to Shadow Weaver. If anyone can use Runestone powers to contain Runestone powers, it's her."

"Ugh… I kind of wanted to avoid talking to her."

"Then I'll do it, it'll be fine."

"No, you're right, it will be fine. I need to do it. Just… come with me?"

"Of course."

We both stand up, and collect a few bits of paper and work on the princess that will be useful for this, and leave the barracks.

"So," she starts as we begin our walk to the Black Gernet chamber, "How long have you been working on this?"

"Just… this morning."

"When did you talk to Scorpia?"

"Also this morning." She turns her head forward, looking slightly down. She looks a little upset. Is that because I still haven't gone to her room?

"Huh, you've had a busy day."

"There's a lot that went into this."

"Can I ask why you did it?"

"Because I could, it's simple."

"Doesn't sound simple."

"Whatever. We need another win, and if this works, we win the war. It doesn't get simpler than that. Do you know how good we'll have it if we pull this off?"

"When we pull this off. I know, we're going to conquer the earth, like we always said," she says with absolute certainty.

I slow down a bit. That's always been the dream but the dream was to conquer the world together. And she's always said the conquer part quieter, I always thought our friendship was more important than that. I'm not upset that she said it like that, but I am surprised. I pick back up the pace, not wanting to fall behind. I'm done falling behind.

We reach the Black Garnet Chamber, and Adora knocks her knuckles on the door four times, like she always does. It's weird, it's like she does it so Shadow Weaver knows to answer. It takes a second, but she does open the door relatively quickly.

"Adora," she says with pleasant Surprise. "Catra," she says more coldly, and my hand immediately tenses into a fist. "What's with the visit? Training isn't for another hour, and I'm not scheduled to oversee it today."

"Catra and I have an idea, we'd like your permission to embark to the Kingdom of Snows." It stings a little, given that this is pretty much my plan, but this isn't Adora taking credit. It's making sure Shadow Weaver gives it a chance.

Shadow Weaver's mask eyes are as motionless as ever, but after a second, she gestures with her arm saying, "Come in, then."

We step into the room, her gaze burning as she turns her head, keeping her eyes on me.

"What do you have for me?"

Adora just looks at me, so I do my best to recite the plan without looking back at my papers. "Once a decade, the princesses get together for this little song and dance ball, and this year, it's being hosted by the princess of the Snow's kingdom. Provided we get access to the experimental horde airship, I believe that Scorpia and our team will be able to-"

The explanation isn't long, but it isn't exactly something I glossed over. I needed to show this is serious.

"Adora, you believe this could work?" Seriously? Everything I just laid out, every way I've thought of incase something goes wrong, and she still doesn't like it?

"Yes, Shadow Weaver. Even if we don't manage to secure the princess of Bright Moon, making it out of there with a single High Value target will give us a bargaining chip we could either end the war for, or flip vast amounts of territory to our side."

"... okay. Your plan will go almost completely as you say, but you mentioned Scorpia's invite only contains a plus one, and I'm changing a detail. Adora will go as Scorpia's plus one, instead of playing the role of an overseer from the airship. That will fall to you."

"What? Shadow Weaver, with all due respect, I need to be in there. I won't pretend Adora isn't better in the field than me, but I'm quicker. Whoever distracts the princesses in the ballroom while Scorpia draws the attention of the Bright Moon princess is going to need to be able to quickly get out of danger and scale the castle."

"Adora will figure it out, Your role will still be important, Catra. Do not argue this, you are lucky I am giving your mission approval."

Adora looks at me, a state of concern in her eyes. She's warning me.

I sigh. "Okay, Shadow Weaver. I'll go prep our team." I turn around and exit the chamber, and Adora starts to follow me.

"Adora, remain for a moment." I turn back to Adora, and she nods at me, turning back around to face Shadow Weaver. I hang my head slightly in frustration and anger, and turn back around to leave.

Walking back to the barracks is a much slower trip without Adora here, talking to pass the time, and as I round a corner, Scorpia manages to not only be right there, but has slammed into me.

"Ow, watch it!" I shout at her.

"Sorry Wildcat, but I was looking everywhere for you." She pauses, placing her hands on her knees, breathing. "Wow, jeez, this place is big, you know? Anyway I couldn't find anyone to talk to about the airship, but here, I found the flight manual."

"Oh. Thank you, and don't worry, Shadow Weaver okayed the mission. We're going to Princess Prom."

"Really? That's awesome! Good job, Catra!"

"I… Thank you. I'm gonna give this manual to Rogelio, he'll stand out more than anyone else so I figured he'd fly it."

"I thought we were trying to stand out?"

"We are, not the heist part."

"Oh, okay. So, does this make me a part of Adora's team, then? Since this is my second mission with you guys?"

Ugh, why is she so excited to be with us? "Sure, whatever, or I don't know, ask Adora."

"Alright, teammate, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Thanks for the manual. And here, this is the plan I came up with, make sure you know your general beats and what to do if things go wrong."

She takes the folder, nods, and heads on her way.

I keep walking back to the barracks, and upon entering, see Rogelio panicking as Lonnie is on top of Kyle for some reason, looking like she's trying to break his arm behind his back.

"Knock it off guys, I have news." They all turn to face me, Lonnie not letting go of his arm. I don't care to ask what they're fighting over, so instead, I just decide to start filling them in. "Okay, I came up with a plan to gain huge leverage in the war, because apparently Scorpia is a princess."

There's a, "really?" and a, "seriously?" from Kyle and Lonnie, respectfully."

"Yes, we're going to this princess ball thing tomorrow and we're going to draw out the princess of Bright Moon, and hopefully, capture her for the rebellion."

"Just like that?" Lonnie asks, letting go of Kyle's arm and standing up.

"Just like that. So, here's the plan."

A few more hours later, and night is upon us. I'm laying in Adora's old bunk, tossing and turning. This needs to go right. This needs to work. It can't afford not to. I can't be left behind even more.

I turn, facing the marked drawing on the side of the bed. A random scribble Adora and I left there of our faces. We were supposed to do this together, but Shadow Weaver seems determined to pull her further and further away from me. It isn't fair. I put in so much, I push myself just as much as her, and it's never good enough. Even now. Hours of planning this out today, and she seems so willing to rip it all away from me for her precious Adora.

No, that isn't fair of me. This isn't Adora's fault. I get up, leaving the mattress. Unlike this morning, I have to be careful as the curfew bots patrol the halls. Thankfully for me, careful just means hopping up to the support beams along the ceiling. I start crawling along, making my way to the Force Captain quarters, and after scouring for any bots, I drop down in front of Adora's door.

I knock, and wait. I hope she's awake… I think I hear stirring, but the walls are too thick for me to pick up anything other than the bed creaking. I start to feel like she didn't wake up, but then the door opens.

"Catra?" She asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, Adora. I… Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Um, sure. Of course. Is… everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just… couldn't sleep."

"Oh, well no problem. You're always welcome here."

"Thank you." I go inside, and we make our way to her bed. I notice the bed is actually a lot nicer than what we deal with in the barracks, and also that Adora is actually wearing sleepwear. Well, a tank top and a pair of shorts, but still. Usually we just wear clothes to sleep, changing the uniform every 24 hours. "Your room is nice."

"I guess… I don't know."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's… lonely, I guess."

I pause for a moment. Seriously? "So, why did you take it? I mean, I can't exactly make this a regular thing, not with Shadow Weaver being so strict on me whenever I break policy."

"Pretty much that. She told me I pretty much had to accept the offer as part of the promotion." So she's still just trying to pull us apart.

"Promotion?" This is the first I'm hearing of this. She sits down in the bed, and I go to lay on it too. It feels a little different than us sharing the bunk-mattress, but… it's nice. More comfortable, but not soft. Just nice.

"There is… a slight tier system to the Force Captains. Everyone falls somewhere. I got promoted from last place up to right behind Scorpia. I wanted to explain that to you, but well, you exactly talked to me about anything other than this mission of yours, or when I asked you for help with figuring out that sword a few days ago."

"I… I'm sorry. I had a lot on my mind."

"So talk to me."

Talk to her, Catra. "I don't want to talk. I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow?"

She seems disappointed, but nods, and closes her eyes, letting us lay in silence. The sleep still doesn't come quickly, given the unfamiliarity of this room, but before long, I'm out too.

Glimmer's POV

The road to the Kingdom of Snows was a long one, far too many hours than I was comfortable with it taking. I didn't really speak to Bow much since the market. I feel guilty, but I don't know how to exclaim to him how much it sucks coming here alone. I spent the last few hours in silence, in a carriage. I'm honestly tired from the ride, and the air got progressively colder the more north we went. Still, the carriage does come to a stop.

I exit the carriage and approach Frosta's castle. This… is a big castle. I make my way up to the entrance, and after a quick screen by the guards to ensure I don't have any weapons, I head inside. It's a bittersweet sight. On one hand, the sight is gorgeous. There are so many people here, all dressed up nice, having a good time. I immediately notice Spinderella and Netossa, the only princesses who have ever actually made it to Bright Moon for the meetings.

Other than that, there's just a sea of faces. I don't see anyone else I know. Although Bow and I left Bright Moon at the same time, he had to go pick up Perfuma. Which is why this isn't so sweet. I know Bow and I never talked about it, I just always thought we were going to come here together. I mean, we did everything else together…

I start walking through the main ballroom, looking around nervously. If it wasn't for me needing to greet princess Frosta to try and recruit her, I don't think I would have come to this. I push down my nerves and move forward. This is important, Glimmer, keep your focus. I walk up to Frosta's throne, partaking in the proper ball-greeting etiquette.

"Revered hostess, I come into your halls under the ancient rules of hospitality, bringing greetings from Bright Moon."

She glances down at me, a stern, solid look on her face. "You are welcome in the Kingdom of Snows under the ancient rules of hospitality. Leave at the door, and please, enjoy the ball."

"Thank you, your majesty." I express the proper closing, and move back into the main area of the hall. I take a look around, trying to figure out what I should do, when I see Glimmer up on the upper level. I head on over, but not up deciding not to teleport just to pass the time a little more, and approach her. She slides down this column she's been hanging up on, to the lower floor, and looks at me.

"Hi Glimmer! Are you here to watch the social Experiment?"

"What…?"

"Different groups are thrown together and forced to mingle. Hierarchies form and break. It's the perfect place to observe behavior. And they have tiny food!" She pulls her pocket open a little, showing me that they do indeed have… tiny food… okay then. "Where's Bow? I need to tell him what I found out about the sword."

"He's coming later," I say. I'm not really surprised, I came up here to say hi, but, what would the two of us even have to talk about? I certainly don't know what she's talking about with this, "social experiment."

"Why didn't he come with you? Aren't you two friends?"

"Why would you think we're not!?" I ask, a little offended she would ask that.'

"There he is! Bow!" She shouts, waving.

I turn and see him and Perfuma slowly moving down the stairs near the entrance. She's got her arm through his. He is wearing the suit top he bought when we were at the market yesterday, but it looks like he modified it to show his stomach. But… that's why he chose pink. They're… matching…

"But… that's our thing…" I whisper to myself, feeling betrayed.

"Feelings seem to be getting hurt…" I hear Entrapta whisper as she moves past me.

Bow and Perfuma start heading over, having seen Entrapta and I. They're still talking, laughing about something. Just how close are these two, they only spoke for like, an hour before this!

"People are just walking in circles…" Entrapta whispers into her recorder again, as Bow approaches.

"Hi, Glimmer. Great to see you!" Perfuma says, sounding so cheery.

"Perfuma was just telling me about this story from when they were cleaning up that horde base, about this horde guy who woke up and took off screaming."

"That's great," I say, not really listening, or even looking.

"Bow! Your sword is in the armory for when you want to leave," Entrapta starts talking to him. "I couldn't find out much from what little there is on it, but you're right about it being powerful, and a Runestone. Look, I couldn't figure out more, but I did learn something useful."

"What would that be? And thank you so much for the help."

"I don't know how it works, probably magic, but the Sword seems to be receiving some sort of message from this unmarked place in the woods. Here, pull out your tracker pad."

I sigh, not listening any further. I look around, seeing Frosta near the food banquet, and head on over, deciding to try and get my mission accomplished so I can leave."

"Frosta?" I call out, as I approach.

"Hello, Glimmer. Are you here to invite me to your rebellion? Because I'm not interested."

"I- well- you know about that?" I ask, stunned.

"I heard from Entrapta, she's been here a while. Princesses talk, you know."

"I know, it's just… we need your help in the war. Salineas isn't in good shape, your magic is the strongest of all of us, with the largest kingdom. Your help could be exactly what we need to win this war!"

"The Horde hasn't threatened us. My responsibilities here are to my subjects first."

"The Horde has made it clear it doesn't care about neutrality when it attacked the Sea Gate, you won't be safe for long if the Horde is able to successfully gain control of the northern seas."

"The Kingdom of Snows has done just fine for centuries. We weren't part of the last alliance, we won't be part of this one. Enjoy the ball." She says firmly, as she takes off.

That was… very unexpected. Everyone was so quick to join, this is probably going to be difficult.

I turn to look back to Bow, he seems like he's having fun at least. I'm not. It's not that I don't like Perfuma, she's really nice, I just… What if he moves on? What if he leaves me behind? I can't be left behind, I don't have any other friends. I sigh to myself again. I need to fix this. I need to forgive him, right? I can't let this push us apart. I hear the door open again, and look over to see… Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Two Horde women just entered the hall. Adora and Scorpia. Ugh! At least Mystacor wasn't ruined, because I am really getting sick of this Adora girl. But I thought they weren't tracking us anymore? I shake my head. How were they let in?

They approach Frosta, who has returned to her throne. I can't let this happen, that girl and her team have caused far too many issues for us already.

As they bow to Frosta, I run up. "Hostess Frosta, you can't let them in, they're Horde commanders!" I shout, urgently.

"Revered hostess," Adora says, "Princess Scorpia was invited to this ball."

"Invited!?" I shout, surprised.

"Princess Glimmer, As per the rules, Scorpia and her guest are welcome here."

"Um also," Scorpia looks to me, "we're, "Force Captains," not, "commanders." I stare at her, my mouth dropping. Is that seriously what she decided to say!?

"Frosta, No, these are the people that took down the Sea Gate, we can't let them in, they're up to something!"

"I am not going to throw away the respect I have worked too hard for to break centuries of tradition for your feelings. Scorpia is a princess, princesses get plus ones, they stay."

I look back to Scorpia, my mouth dropping again. "You're a princess!?"

"You didn't know that? That's weird, most of the rebellion knew that, I thought."

I don't say anything. I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders, turning to see two guards behind me. This isn't right, they shouldn't be here. But I can't get thrown out just yet, so I allow the guards to escort me back to the ball."

"Wow, Glimmer," Adora says, approaching me. "I knew that princesses didn't carry a sense of respect or honor, but this?"

"What- what are you talking about?" What on Etheria does she mean princesses don't respect things?

"You know, I'm a bit shocked that Frosta, for being like, 10, was so willing to show Scorpia and I hospitality, and you want to kick us out over a feeling?"

I glance over at Scorpia, who just seems to be standing there.

"I read the invite, thoroughly. Maybe you should've too." Adora says, as her and Scorpia begin walking away.

"I… You're going to get away with, well, whatever you're doing! I'll stop you?"

Adora turns back over her shoulder. "Like you did at the Sea Gate? Good luck, princess." She turns back around and keeps moving. Unfortunately, they split up now, I can't just let them go. I look over, seeing Bow. He'll listen to me, he has to.

"Bow!" I shout, running over. "Wait up!"

"Glimmer, hi." He says, confused.

"Bow, I…" I want to ask him for help, but I feel like there's tension between us on his end, too. I guess I need to fix this first. "I know things have been weird between us, and… I just wanted to say…"

"It's all right. I accept your-"

"I forgive you."

There's silence for a moment, and I see a flash of annoyance in my best friend's eyes. "You forgive me? Glimmer, I'm allowed to hang out with other people."

"But- But don't you see? That's how it starts! Suddenly, You'll have new friends, and won't need me anymore! You're all I have!"

"What? Glimmer, you have me, plus the entire princess alliance, everyone who joined the rebellion."

"You know that's all different, though, right? I don't actually know Entrapta or Perfuma. I don't want you to leave me behind!"

"I'm not leaving you behind. I wanted to hang out with you and Perfuma. Or, anyone else we know here. But you're the one who keeps walking off, or ignoring me. I know change is scary Glimmer, but you don't get to take it out on me."

I pause. Stunned. Did I really… I don't know what to say. How do I fix this?

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to get my cummerbund. It's freezing here! We'll talk later, okay?"

He doesn't wait for me to collect my thoughts, he just turns around and starts walking. I hang my head down, feeling like I just lost control of everything. All I did was mess things up. Wait, I needed his help! I start moving forward, but already lost him in the crowd. No…

I turn around, both Adora and Scorpia being nowhere to be seen. I spin, turn around, looking all over the ballroom for anything I can see to tell me where the two horde "Force Captains" went, but I see nothing. No Adora, no Scorpia… no Bow… I'm definitely too upset for this right now… What should I do?

Okay, think… Perfuma and Entrapta. They're here too. I can fix this. I need to find them. And thankfully, I have a pretty good idea on how to find Entrapta. I just need to find which part of the second level she's on…

It doesn't take long to see her, and… oh no. There Adora is. She's standing right behind Entrapta, definitely contemplating something. Is she going to push her?

*poof*

"Get away from her!" I shout as she appears not three feet away.

Entrapta screams as the noise makes her foot slip from under her.

Immediately, Adora reaches her arms out under Entrapta's, catching her as she falls forward, and struggles slightly to pull her back in. I… what?

"Oh, thank you, you were right, this is a much better vantage point. Oh, hi Glimmer, have you met my new assistant?" Assistant? Did she not hear that confrontation in the middle of the hall?

"I told her I like her weapons work and long-range communication projects. And suggested a view not blocked by a chandelier. You know, she's spying on people, watching their every move. Sound familiar?"

I tense up at this. "Yeah, you didn't confirm it on the boat, but we were pretty sure anyway." I walk up to Entrapta, pulling her away from Adora.

"Entrapta, that is the horde commander of the team responsible for the poison attempt at Plumeria and the destruction of the Sea Gate!"

"Huh-" Adora interrupts, "I guess that is going to be fixed anytime soon. Is that why the Salineas princess isn't here?"

Entrapta talks almost over her, saying, "Oh, that sounds bad."

"Uh, yeah. We need to keep an eye on her, I don't know what she's up to but it can't be good."

"Oh, okay, that's kind of what I'm doing anyway. But uh… she did just walk away, so we're not doing a good job."

I turn around, seeing her head slowly moving down the steps and move after her, but quickly lose her in the crowd.

"Ugh!" These people are so difficult.

Adora's POV

Okay, everything is going to Catra's plan so far. Well, except for how we switched places. She was understandably upset, but it seems like everything went well so far. I already saw Lonnie give me the hand signal saying it was her, and we already have the Bright Moon princess on edge. Good, Glimmer took the bait, and Scorpia was able to sneak off.

I keep walking, feeling incredibly out of place. I mean, I'm dressed the part, wearing a simple, modest black dress, but I definitely don't belong here. I mean, it's not that I'm not actually kind of enjoying it. The music, the atmosphere… I wish the horde had something like this, but a little less princess-y.

I sigh. Catra probably wouldn't be enjoying the atmosphere, but… I still wish she got to be here. This is something we could have fun with. Although half the time Catra and I do anything outside of training or cleaning, I get the sense she doesn't even like what we're doing, she just follows me.

I start moving off into the center of the ballroom area. I hope everything else is going well. No alarms have been sent off, no one came or went screaming. By this point, Lonnie should have the sword, and Scorpia should have the heat bombs ready to go off. When they do, I just need to make sure Glimmer sees me, and lead her to the landing platform. The horde had old, outdated blueprints of several rebellion kingdom castles, including the Kingdom of Snows, which is technically still neutral for, well, any second now really.

As I'm waiting for the heat bombs to go off, Frosta's voice rings out over the room. "It is my solemn duty as hostess to now announce it is time for the first dance of the ball."

A bunch of people start moving to the center of the hall, right where I am. Great. People are pairing up, dancing. I read a little about the moves we're supposed to make here from Scorpia's invitation, but I've never really danced before. I take a quick glance around, something striking me as odd, the Bright Moon princess is standing at the side of the room. She isn't even looking at me, she just looks… sad?

I get an idea, and walk over to her. She sees me approach, anger appearing on her face. She says nothing, just glaring, and I hold my hand out to her. Catra told me we would be out of here before the dancing started, but I'm guessing someone got held up after all. But it'll work. This has to work, that sword and the opportunity for my team is too important.

She takes a quick glance at me, the anger fading and replaced with utter confusion, and she decides to play along, grabbing my hand.

"I don't know what your deal is, but it isn't going to work."

"Are you sure?" I ask, pulling her into the crowd with me. Part of me feels like this is something I shouldn't be doing, but also, it won't be long before she realizes I'm only a distraction. "I mean, do you even know what's going on here?"

"You and that horde princess are planning something, I know it."

"Well, of course we are. But you aren't exactly doing a good job at stopping us." I say, the two of us both awkwardly moving in a circle as we pretend to be invested in the dance.

"Where'd the horde princess go?"

"Because I'd tell you that." The dance shifts beats, and a few people switch partners, but she holds onto my wrist.

"You know at Thaymor, I almost thought you'd be… different."

"And I thought you were supposed to be dangerous." It's true, there's definitely something not right with everything I've been told about these princesses. I mean, I spoke a little with Entrapta. She didn't really seem like anything we've been taught.

Suddenly, Glimmer pulls away, I got to her. As she does, as her eyes go from shocked and confused to angry, the princess from Plumeria, Perfuma, approaches us. She doesn't even register that I'm there, it isn't like I got as close to her as I did Mermista. She whispers something into Glimmer's ear.

"What?" Glimmer asks. "I thought Bow was with you?" Hmm… the archer isn't here, but he's supposed to be? And his name is Bow? That's… I'm not even surprised. But that's strange. He must've gotten a lead. But if we were made, something would've been done about it. That can only mean… "He's been gone this whole time?" Glimmer asks again, not bothering to whisper like Perfuma.

She turns back to me, the anger prevalent, and Perfuma finally seems to recognize me, her face also dropping. Go time.

"Your friend Bow is missing?" I ask. "Do you think he's okay?"

Glimmer shouts in frustration, and I watch as the hair decor in Perfuma's hair begins to grow, connecting and twisting into a vine of some sort. Glimmer moves forward, her fist sparkling. I decide, just this once, to let the hit land, and I take the hit, hard, being knocked back off my feet.

"Where is he, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, I'm just as shocked as you are!"

"Don't lie to me!" Her fists keep sparkling.

I get to my feet, brushing off the dress I'm wearing. "Careful, Princess," I say calmly. "Don't want to get kicked out, do you?"

"Where is he?" Glimmer asks, as Perfuma finally decides to take an offensive stance, too. A few dancing pairs around us start to stand still and stare.

"Well, probably still in one piece." I taunt, trying to get them to actually do something.

Glimmer has more patience than I thought, though.

"Adora… I swear, if he is in any way harmed…"

"Relax princess, I didn't do anything. I'm just stalling," I admit, deciding it can't be long now.

"What?" She asks, and Perfuma starts moving to the side to flank me. By now, half the dance room is standing still, when the music finally stops.

I hear Frosta's voice next, as she approaches us. "Princess Glimmer, princess Perfuma, guest of princess Scorpia, what is going on here?" She says, putting on a facade of toughness and control.

Glimmer immediately launches into these absolute truths that sound like total fabrications. "She and the horde princess are planning something big, and they've got-"

"Glimmer, I already told you to watch yourself. The ball is a ceremony of unity, no violence allowed. Perfuma, this is your warning." Perfuma seems upset, and undoes the vine rope she did, putting her hands together. Okay, so that one's a bit easy to push. Glimmer' however, seems furious.

"They have Bow!"

Frosta opens her mouth, but actually seems to listen and turns to face me. "Your name is Adora, right? What do you say about these accusations?"

"Your highness, princess Glimmer is clearly-"

"She told me she's stalling!"

"-being paranoid, there is no indication of any wrongdoing-"

"Scorpia isn't even here,-"

"-on my part. But I'd be happy to direct your attention to the mark on my face-"

"-and my friend is in danger!"

"-from when she hit me moments ago."

"Enough!" Frosta shouts, as an ice wall appears between Glimmer and I as Frosta stomps her foot. "Adora, Glimmer, you two are clearly determined to ruin this ball for everyone here, and for that reason-"

The castle halls are rocked with explosions, heard from the surrounding hallways. Immediately, I take off running, knowing I need to be fast to get out of here before the entire alliance is on my back. I don't turn around, only processing the sounds of screaming, gasping, and Glimmer shouting something at me.

I hit the door into the outer halls so quickly, I bash my shoulder before I turn the handle enough to open it. I'm moving quickly, and suddenly, I hear the telltale poof sound as Glimmer is in front of me, clearly furious.

"Where is he!?" She shouts, readying her sparkle powers.

I don't stop moving. I close the distance fast, and I guess this catches her off guard as I reach her before she moves her hands to do anything at all, and I slam into her. We both sprawl across the floor, and I'm standing up quicker. You'd figure someone who could teleport would be used to reacting quicker in combat, but she clearly relies on the surprise factor that's wearing off already.

I feel something wrap around my ankle, and I'm pulled back towards the hall. I look down in panic, and see a vine, immediately pulling a decorative piece out of my hair and using it as a makeshift knife to cut the vine, and scramble to my feet. Perfuma is standing at the start of the hall, and Entrapta is there too. She must have been signaled. Entrapta stays put, and Glimmer is now standing to my left as Perfuma steps over to be in front of me. I'm cornered by three princesses, and need to think quickly. I make my choice to go for the flower princesses, not wanting to get close to whatever Entrapta's hair is doing with… giant… hair fists?

The building is rocked as a pillar down the hall comes down, as well as a large chunk of the ceiling. The distraction is enough for me to decide to move.

I close the distance on Perfuma, as she whips a limited vine through the air to wrap around my arm. If I get closer, I'm at too big a disadvantage, and go to cut the vine again when I take a blast of magic in my left side. I fall over, almost going to clutch my side, when I remember the vine. I sever it, and quickly move back away from the two elemental princesses, when I feel Entrapta's hair wrap around me in a locking maneuver, holding me in place. The other two approach, fists raised.

"Where is Bow!?" Glimmer shouts.

I laugh a little, and struggle against the hair wrapping my arms and torso. I'm stuck. This isn't good. "I wasn't the one who grabbed him!"

"Then where's the horde princess?" Perfuma asks, with way less anger than Glimmer, almost like she doesn't know how to shout.

"Already gone, most likely," I lie, but it isn't impossible. I was only supposed to have 3 minutes to get out, and while I'm not counting, it's probably getting really close.

Glimmer steps closer, holding a fist close to my face as it sparkles, "Not a good enough answer!"

I struggle a little against Entrapta, realizing she's gotten closer than she needs to be to maintain better control, but she's too close. I could get to her, but not with these two in front of me.

"You princesses are so spoiled. Well I'm not going to just hand you whatever you want!"

"And I thought you were nice!" Entrapta says behind me.

Glimmer seems to be growing more frustrated, and a new concern enters my mind. These people clearly aren't blood-thirsty killers… they're all inexperienced. However, she seems to have decided on going forward, and puts both her hands together, charging her magic I suppose? I actually pull my face away. I need to make a move, now, or-

"Ah!" Glimmer shouts as she gets hit from behind, as her attacker quickly turns on Perfuma. Catra?

I drive my foot backwards into Entrapta's shin, causing her to stumble, giving me enough give to turn around and push forward, knocking her down as I throw my weight clumsily into her. Immediately, I'm pulled up.

"Catra, What are you doing here?"

"You were taking too long, clearly things went wrong. Let's go!"

We take off down the hall as the princesses reel from the hits, and I turn to see Perfuma helping Glimmer. We turn the corner, and the castle shakes again as the debris starts… pulling itself back together? This whole castle really is made of ice, then.

"Adora, I have an idea." She hops up onto a large piece of rubble that is slowly rising to the roof, and I hop on. As it starts rising faster, I see Glimmer appear on the floor beneath us.

"Get ready for her." I say. This wasn't exactly the plan, but it works for me.

*Poof*

She's on the rubble with us, no room left for any real movement, and she instantly raises her hands, one at each of us. This time, I duck instantly as the blast fires, and Catra moves forward, leaning to the side, and drives her foot into Glimmer's stomach. She stumbles, and I move forward and throw a punch. She was ready for this though, and she's suddenly behind me. Too much momentum, I stumble as I stop myself.

Glimmer seems to get an idea, her eyes drifting down, and suddenly charges her hand again. Nice tell. Glimmer drives her hand down, and the rubble cracks apart instantly. Even though it's being magically repaired, it still shatters enough for us to fall through it, and Catra and I each jump to another piece of rubble as Glimmer falls, her plan being smart but not executed fast enough.

I grab some sort of siding detail. Whatever is pulling this place together is strong, and the piece doesn't react to my weight. I see Catra hop off the side of a piece of rubble quickly, grabbing the ceiling, pulling herself up on the roof. As I near the top, I struggle to pull myself up and raise my hand to her. She helps me get onto the roof, both of us panting and tired.

"Thanks for the rescue. Where are the others?"

She says nothing, just nodding, and turns towards the side of the roof. We start moving forward, and go to slide down the slanted wall to the landing the aircraft was landed at. Rogelio probably flew Catra here, so it means it must've worked. As we slide down, I hear the poof of Glimmer teleporting again, and turn my head to see her looking around for us.

As Catra and I touch down on the landing, I hear the poof again, and she's next to the airship. I see what she does, Bow is unconscious and being dragged into the ship by Lonnie and Kyle, and Scorpia is standing there holding the sword. They actually got it!

Catra and I charge forward, going to meet Glimmer, and she makes her move, instantly knocking Kyle down as she turns her attention to Lonnie. Scorpia moves in, and Lonnie draws a stun-stick as she drives it for Glimmer. Glimmer is instantly behind Lonnie, and knocks her forward with a concussive blast. Scorpia moves her tail for Glimmer, and she's gone again.

Catra and I reach Lonnie first, and I lean down to help her up as Catra leaps forward to where Glimmer appeared. Kyle is slowly getting up on his own, but doesn't seem to be trying too hard.

"Get him on the ship!" I say to Lonnie, and move to support Catra as Catra goes to help Kyle the rest of the way.

The two of us are doing everything we can, just as she is, to take each other down. Me not being in a uniform, however, is really restricting me, while Catra manages to be as quick and agile as ever, but Glimmer is taking this much more seriously than in some of the other fights. Serious, but also definitely desperate.

As the fight drags on, Glimmer is leading us farther and farther from the airship, towards the edge of the landing platform.

Catra and I keep up the pressure, as the airship starts a slow vertical takeoff. We need to get back there, but Catra seems more focused on taking Glimmer down. Her mission. She moves forward, and Glimmer only sticks out her tongue. She's gone, and Catra moves forward too quickly.

No!

I push forward with everything I can put into my legs as Catra finds herself over the edge of the landing, and as she tries to get her foot to connect with the platform, I reach out, grabbing her. Time stands still for a second as I pull her back up, her eyes wide in shock of how she almost flung herself to her death. We just stare, as we hear Scorpia shout out.

"Get on the ship, we need to go!"

We start moving, seeing a blast of magic fly out from the still open cargo bay. This thing really was experimental, it's only four feet off the ground. By the time we reach it though, it's already four feet. Catra leaps up no problem, turning around to grab my hand, and helps me up. We notice Scorpia and Glimmer in combat, Lonnie and Kyle having probably moved up to the main cockpit already. As I steady myself, I watch Glimmer dodging Scorpia. Not teleporting, she really does have a battery.

Catra is already moving forward, and Glimmer needs to make her move. The airship lurches, and I look out of the closing hanger to see that Perfuma found us, which makes perfect sense given the noise of the engine and how we weren't far from the door out here.

"Catra, tell Rogelio to power the thrusters!" I shout, as we all struggle to stand up. Glimmer was quick thinking, and is moving to the cargo door, having made it to Bow, and reaching down. However, Glimmer let herself get distracted, and as she's going for Bow, Scorpia's tale hits Glimmer's back leg.

She looks up at me as I hit the button to close the hangar, and as she stumbles forward, she picks Bow up enough to push him as she falls down, and he falls out of the hangar. I'm initially horrified by this, as he isn't conscious enough to catch himself or roll the fall, but look down as the hangar is pulled up enough to barely see that Perfuma dropped the ship and made a cushion of flowers.

I move for Glimmer, as she tries to fight the paralyzing agent coursing through her, crouches down in front of her as the ship manages to start its quick course to the Fright Zone.

"Now, our plan is done." I'm a little bummed about losing the archer, but this is exactly what we came here for. She takes one last look at me, and her head drops, unconscious.

I've been tense this whole time, ever since Scorpia and I walked into the ball, and I feel like I can finally take a breath. I head into the cockpit to speak to Catra as Scorpia starts securing Glimmer.

I enter the room the other four members of my team are, taking stock. Kyle is holding the sword now, seemingly confused, as Catra and I didn't really explain why it was part of the plan. Catra actually walks up to him, and holds her hand out. He hands it to her, and she immediately says, "Shadow Weaver doesn't find out about this. You two only worked on assisting Scorpia and securing our exit, okay?"

Kyle nods, and Lonnie seems confused, but does eventually also nod. "Can I ask why not?"

"No," Catra says, walking over to me. I watch as her eyes drift into the cargo room, and then at me.

"Uh, Catra?"

"The dress is nice," she says, as her eyes go slightly wide and she seems to stutter, "I mean, good job, we… actually did it."

I glance at her a little, unsure of how to respond. She likes my dress? But then my mind turns back to what hasn't really sunken in yet, but… yeah. "Catra… we did it!" I shout, hugging her.

Kyle speaks up from the seat he's in, "Catra, your plan worked almost perfectly!" Rogelio roars in agreement.

Even Lonnie voices support, saying, "Yeah, I was worried for a moment you two weren't making it back. But good job all the same."

Catra seems to tense up slightly, and I put my hand on her shoulder. Those two never have gotten along…

"Well… I'm going to sit down. I'm going to have to speak to Shadow Weaver as soon as we get back, so hold onto the sword, okay?"

"No problem, we won't actually be too long in this thing."

Scorpia enters the room now, carrying Glimmer, carrying rope. "Hey, uh, I went to secure Glimmer here, but uh… I can't exactly tie knots very well."

Catra sighs, putting her hand to her head.

"Scorpia," Lonnie starts, "That one can teleport. We either get back with her still unconscious or she just leaves if she comes to."

"Oh, I guess… Um… I'm just gonna… set her here." She sits Glimmer down in the seat closest to her, putting Glimmer two seats over from Kyle, and I go to at least buckle her in so she doesn't fall about during transport.

"Well," Catra says, "You all, umm…" she clears her throat. "Thanks for the hard work."

I smile at her, she really isn't the best at the addressing part. I'm sure she'd be great if she actually did it more, but it's usually just left to me. I walk over to her, smiling again, but also mostly watching the sword. I already feel a sort of… call… as I'm this close to it. I think about reaching out for it, trying to figure out why it's so important.

But I can't risk it knocking me out again, so I decide to just wait until we get back and I'm done debriefing Shadow Weaver. As Catra stands there, looking at me, I just kind of watch my reflection in the gem on the sword.

I was so worked up over this, spending so many nights wondering why I had that vision, what that voice I kept hearing is. Is this a good thing? A bad thing? I have no idea, but I guess we'll figure it out. Here it is.

I guess that feeling I had that something was wrong was just paranoia. I guess Catra was right, staying that night those few weeks ago was a good idea.