Chapter Fifteen: Out of the Bag
"Adora, I'd just like to reiterate that I really don't approve of this!" said Bow, as he and Adora made their way into Glimmer's room. "It's more than just a breach of privacy, I'm pretty sure snooping in on the queen's things counts as treason!"
"Relax, Bow, Glimmer's our friend–in theory," she added bitterly. "Hordak has to be the one pulling the strings, turning her against us. If we can find proof that he's trying to take back the Horde, we can get her back!" She immediately went over to rifle through drawers, open cabinets, and even look under mattresses.
Bow cringed at the display. "This is so wrong!" he said quietly. "Please, Adora, can't we just ask her what's bothering her?"
She let out a frustrated huff. "I already told you, Bow, that wouldn't do any good! Hordak has his hooks in her, and if we try to confront her about it without proof, he'll just turn us into the bad guys!"
"Well, we are going through her private things…" Bow pointed out.
"Yeah, but for her own good!" Adora produced Glimmer's diary, quickly flipping through the pages. "Come on, help me look!"
The conflict between helping his friend and invading his friend's privacy began to reach its boiling point. "How is this supposed to help her!? Even if Hordak is really manipulating her, how do you think she's going to react when she finds out we went through her stuff!?"
"She'll thank us! If anyone understands that sometimes you have to do dirty deeds for a good outcome, it's Glimmer! Hordak taught her that one…" she muttered. "Are you gonna help me or not?"
He took a deep breath to calm himself down, but it didn't do its job very well. "Adora, while I agree that Glimmer has been acting strange lately, this is going to do more harm than good. So please, stop this before you see something you shouldn't!"
"I can't stop!" Adora shouted. "My friend is being turned into a tyrant by a madman, and I'm not just gonna sit there and let it happen! You don't have to help me, but don't try and stop me!"
"Fine." With a heavy heart, Bow walked out the door. "I can see now that you're intent on destroying our friend's privacy. I can't stop you, but I can tell you that when Glimmer finds out, she'll be very upset. And you'll only have yourself to blame!" After making his dissatisfaction clear, Bow closed the door behind him, afraid of what this meant for the three of them down the line.
Adora was desperate to find something, anything, that could help free her friend. She all but tore up her room in the process, so focused was she on locating what she hoped would be decisive evidence. In fact, she was so focused that she didn't notice when a fight broke out in the garden–until it was already over.
The moment Glimmer learned of the attack at Brightmoon, the queen immediately sped back to deal with the situation. Flanked by Hordak and Topaz, she stormed past her guards and up to the room where everyone was gathered. "Where are they!?" she demanded.
"We're keeping them all in here," Bow said, pointing to the guest room beside them. Steven sat on the floor nearby, surrounded by all of the Gems and Connie, as well as the other three princesses. Glimmer took note of this, but rather than ask what was wrong, felt that checking in on their prisoners was more pressing. The trio headed inside.
Spinnerella and Netossa were standing guard, the latter holding a dome-shaped net around the villains. "Oh, Queen Glimmer, we weren't expecting you to get here so fast," said the former. "Did you deal with those Horde insurgents?"
The corner of Glimmer's mouth twitched slightly. "They didn't show–but we'll deal with them later." She approached the net, examining the captives. Two Gems, a scorpionkin, and a sorceress from Mystacor. The scorpion was the largest of the group, but appeared the most heavily injured. He was the only one who didn't look up at her. "Let me guess, she set this all up in advance. Tried to lure me out so you could all attack Brightmoon when I wasn't here."
"'She?'" said Netossa, but Spinnerella stopped her before she could continue. She needed to keep her focus to maintain the dome holding them all.
The blue Gem scoffed. "Don't underestimate me–this plan was all me!" Wings emerged from her back, and she flew up next to Glimmer's face. "As if I'd care about you. No, this was all about revenge on Steven Universe!"
"Sure, just tell her the whole plan, why don't you!" said the red Gem, rolling her single eye. The blue one glared at her.
A light knock on the door–Spinnerella opened it. Bow peered inside. "Uh, Glimmer, are we starting the interrogation? I think everyone should be here for this. I, uh, don't want you to have to handle it on your own." He left out the part about him worrying what she would do if left to her own devices.
"Alright, fine, let them in," she said. Bow motioned for everyone to enter. The three princesses came first, followed by Steven, who entered reluctantly, with Connie and the Gems refusing to leave his side–she'd ask later. "So, what happened?"
"Steven and Jasper were sparring when these three, er, these four attacked," Bow said. "It seems like they have a grudge against them both."
"You got that right!" shouted Eyeball, jumping to her feet and pounding her fists against the net. "I used to look up to Jasper! She was my hero, ever since the Earth War! But after you came along," she glared at Steven, "she's practically one of the Crystal Gems!"
"I wouldn't go that far," said Bismuth.
But the Ruby wasn't done. "Y'know, I used to have it all! I was a local hero when I testified against Rose Quartz! But once Era 3 came along, all anyone talks about is Steven, Steven, STEVEN! Is it any wonder we wanted revenge!?"
"Now who's telling them everything?" snapped Aquamarine.
Crita put her head in her hands. "I can't believe I sided with these people…"
"Alright, enough!" Glimmer shouted. "Okay, so it's clear now that you only came here for revenge because you're petty little babies." Both of the Gems glared at her. "And I assume those two were just along for the ride. But I can't imagine you came all this way without Catra's knowledge, at least not without her noticing. Did she send you here?"
There came a laugh from the large scorpion man, who everyone had assumed to be unconscious. "This isn't exactly an ideal situation for an interrogation, princess! Think about it: not only do we not have any incentive to tell you what you want to know, but you've got no way of making us. We're in here, you're out there–what was your plan again?"
Glimmer clenched her jaw. "My friends were able to handle you just fine on your own. Imagine how much worse things are for you now that I'm here. And that's 'queen' to you."
"Terrifying," said Karikon, examining the tiny girl. "Why don't you try sending him in here?" He nodded towards Steven, who looked away in shame. "Now that might actually get something done!"
"Why are you giving her ideas?" muttered Crita.
Despite feeling that the interrogation was more pressing, Glimmer couldn't ignore the issue with Steven any longer. "Okay…what happened with him?" she asked.
Nobody, including Steven himself, seemed to want to answer. Eventually, however, he stepped forward to tell her what had happened. "I…I lost control," he said. "I was He-Man, and I was fighting with Jasper, and when these guys attacked…"
"Steven." Connie placed a comforting hand on his chest. "You don't have to relive this again."
He shook his head. "No, it's fine, I'm fine." He turned back to Glimmer. "Something about the Sword of Power is making me more violent. The more I use it, the more I enjoy fighting. I'm worried that if I keep using it, I-I won't be able to stop." His voice grew quieter as he related this, eventually trailing off.
Seeing how upset he was, Glimmer decided not to mention how this could be seen as a positive. Especially considering she had seen firsthand what happened when She-Ra lost control. Hordak spoke before she could: "We'll have to deal with that later. Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to." He turned his attention back to their prisoners.
"He's right." Mermista approached the net. "She sent you here, didn't she? What's Catra doing on Etheria?" When none of them opted to answer, Glimmer subtly took her aside, where neither they nor the others could hear them. "Just you wait, we'll come up with something to make you talk!"
Huddled together, Glimmer asked her the question that she had been meaning to since she returned. "You ran into her, didn't you? Tell me what happened."
"Yes, we saw her," she said. "I convinced Perfuma and Frosta to hold off on telling everyone for now, but they both have questions. She got away, but we did manage to capture another one, a Gem."
"Okay…I think I have an idea." Glimmer returned to the center of the room, glaring at the captives. "I'm going to give you one last chance: did Catra send you here? Did you come alone?"
"Does there always have to be a sinister plot behind everything?" asked Crita. "These two already told you: we came here for revenge on Steven. I doubt they even told Catra we were going anywhere."
Glimmer hid her growing smirk. "You expect me to believe you came here with just the four of you? What would be the sense in that? You're telling me you don't have any kind of backup plans at all?"
She received a shrug from Karikon. "Never said we were the brightest bunch. My partner here's right: we came here for one reason only, and we failed. Oh well!"
"In that case…Netossa? Could you give me a little opening?" The princess closed one hand, and a small hole appeared in the net. After that, Glimmer nodded to Perfuma, with Mermista backing her up. "Then how do you explain this?" Perfuma produced a small object wrapped in vines from her pocket, unraveling it before tossing it through the hole.
The object, Carnelian's gem, clattered to the floor, before it started to glow. Azurite's group tried to hide their recognition as her body was restored, which proved difficult to do as she looked at each of them when examining her surroundings. "What!? Who!? Where!? …Oh. They got you guys too, huh?"
Glimmer chuckled, the cards turning in her favor. "If you came here alone, then what's she doing here?"
"What do you mean?" Crita said, doing her best to obfuscate. "I don't recognize her. Even if she is with the New Horde, there's Gems all over the place. She could easily be here for some other reason."
Carnelian caught on quickly, doing her best to corroborate her details. "Yeah! I don't know these guys! Me 'n Catra were just here on a scouting mission when you guys attacked us for no reason!" …But not quickly enough.
The moment she said this, nearly everyone present tensed up. They knew now. Everyone knew. Adora, looking all but stunned, approached the net. "Catra is…here?" she asked, staring at Carnelian.
It was now that the Quartz began to realize she had accidentally let something slip. "Uh…no, why? I mean, she was here, but not…anymore…" She looked to her allies for help, but they only responded with varying degrees of anger and disbelief.
"Catra came to Etheria personally," Lapis said gravely. "What is she after?" she demanded of them.
Netossa had almost faltered, nearly releasing the prisoners, but Spinnerella was there to keep her together. "Stay strong, you can do this," she told her, supporting her both physically and emotionally. She turned to the others, her concern obvious on her face. "She has to be planning something. She wouldn't be here without a reason."
Mermista had rather uncharacteristically frozen up, looking like she was moments away from bolting out of the room. Making matters worse, Frosta took that moment to sidle up next to her. "Is this why you didn't want us to tell everyone?" she whispered.
Nobody heard her–except for Pearl, who glanced over, confused. "Tell everyone what?" she asked. "Did you know Catra was here already?" Mermista looked over at her in panic, while Frosta tried to shrink into the background. Perfuma whimpered, turning away. Their reactions seemed to confirm her question.
"You…you did know?" asked Bismuth. A schism had begun to form in the room: the Crystal Gems on one side, the princesses on the other. "Well, why not say something? I mean, sure, there was an attack here, but if one of the New Horde's leaders was here, you'd think we should know about that, right?"
An increasingly-worried Mermista glanced over at Glimmer, who responded with a stern almost-glare. "W-we wanted to avoid causing a panic," she explained. "Like is happening right now! Sure, Catra is here, but we don't know where, or why, or–
"That's exactly why we should be panicking," Adora said gravely, turning away from the dome. "We don't know anything. Which means she could be up to anything. And that should scare you all." She turned to Mermista. "Where exactly did you run into her?"
"In the swamp just outside of Salineas," she replied. "But she's long gone by now. There's no telling where she went."
"I'll ask Demantoid to calculate the possibilities," Glimmer said. "She found her once, she can find her again."
"Don't tell me you knew too!" pleaded Adora.
"Indeed she did."
Everyone's attention now turned to Hordak, none of them having expected him to speak up. Glimmer, about to argue that she hadn't known all the details at the time, was aghast at being revealed like this. Adora was equally horrified. "...What?"
"Queen Glimmer and Princess Mermista have known that Catra was on-world for some time now," he continued. "Indeed, keeping this a secret was an attempt to avoid panic, as well as to prevent her plan from getting out. Of course, this was a plan she had concocted even before knowing this."
Glimmer was furious, her eyes piercing through him as her hands glowed with magical energy. "Why are you telling them this?" she asked, her voice disquietingly calm.
"A better question would be, why didn't you tell us?" Glimmer turned to see Adora looking hurt. "I mean, preventing panic, I get that, but what about Bow and I? Didn't we deserve to know?"
"Oh, he does know," Hordak continued, as Bow silently gestured at him to stop. "He knows all about Glimmer's master plan. He shared his reservations about it with me himself."
Everyone's focus was away from the prisoners, who were listening intently to this breakdown of partnership occurring before them. With their enemies distracted, Karikon and Crita shared a quick nod. Karikon discreetly removed a hidden communicator he had taped to his back. Crita magically summoned it to her hands, and began broadcasting.
Adora looked back and forth between Bow and Glimmer, growing madder by the second. "And this 'master plan,' what exactly is it? No sense in hiding it now that we all already know!"
Because Bow had completely clammed up, Hordak placed himself behind Glimmer. "Go on. Tell her. She deserves to know. The two of you are friends, are you not?"
"You know what? No!" shouted Glimmer. "Yes, you're my friend, but I'm the Queen! I'm the one who decides what's best for Brightmoon, best for Etheria! So if I say you don't get to know, then you don't get to know!"
"That's not a queen, that's a dictator!" Adora shouted back. "Don't you get it!? Hordak's getting inside your head, trying to turn you into a copy of him!"
"In case you forgot, I'm the one who went to him! I take his advice because I decide it's right, not because he's tricking me! I'm the most powerful woman on this planet, and I would never let anyone manipulate me!"
"There's no way the Glimmer I know would act like this! Do you really think Angella would want to see her daughter acting like–
"My mother is dead!"
"SHE WANTS TO KILL CATRA!" Bow slapped his hands over his mouth the moment the words had left it. Too long had the secret festered inside of him, too long had he allowed it to linger. In the heat of the moment, he had let it out. Everyone stared at him in varying degrees of disbelief, but none more so than Adora and Glimmer.
Adora no longer looked angry. There was no way to describe her expression as anything other than hurt. "You…what?" she asked quietly. "Glimmer…why? Why would you–is that true?" She looked over at her old friend, silently pleading that it wasn't.
No longer could she hide the truth. Glimmer closed her eyes, clenching her fist. "Yes," she said, just as quietly. "Yes, it is!" she roared. "I want to end her, once and for all! I want to fly up to that ship of hers myself, and tear her apart with my bare hands!" Tears slid down her cheeks, her face contorted in pure fury. "She's the reason my mom is dead, Adora! She nearly killed all of us, everyone on Earth and Etheria! How can you still be defending her!?"
"Because she's my friend!" Adora yelled back. "She was the only one I had growing up, and I can't just forget that! Glimmer, this…this isn't you. I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust you."
Hordak glanced over at Peridot, who tensed up. "Now, now, Adora, Queen Glimmer wasn't the only one here keeping secrets. A little bird told me you've been hiding something from her as well. Something about a mission of your own?"
Glimmer glared at Adora, who looked over at Peridot. "You told him? I shared that with you in confidence!" Peridot tried to hide her face. "If you had to tell anyone, why him!?"
"Tell him what, Adora?" Glimmer wiped her eyes, her rage replaced with a sinister calm. "Go on. I shared my secret. Now share yours."
She took a deep breath. Glimmer was right–now was the right time, if there was any. "It's…the numbers Light Hope gave me. I know you told me to stop looking into them, but they could be the only way to find out where I come from. And they are! I asked Peridot to look into them, and it turns out they're coordinates for a First Ones space station! If I can go there, I might be able to find my family, who I was before I came to Etheria…"
Glimmer raised an eyebrow. "That's it? That's the big secret you were so insistent on keeping from me? Why would I care!?"
"You wouldn't, that's the problem!" Adora shouted back. Ever since Angella… Ever since then, you've been so laser-focused on the New Horde that you've turned into a completely different person! I assumed that if you heard about this, you'd throw your queenly weight around and forbid me from going!"
"Do…do you really trust me that little?" she asked, hurt by the accusation.
"Apparently I do," Adora huffed. "And it seems like I was right to. You're letting Hordak turn you into a tyrant just as bad as he was."
"Oh, sorry going after the bad guys makes me a tyrant!" Glimmer shouted. "Just because he gave me the idea doesn't mean that–"
"See!? See!? He planted the idea in your head! That's what he does, he's insidious! Please, Glimmer, you have to come to your senses! I looked everywhere to find some sort of proof, anything to show you that he's lying, but he must've hidden it better–show me where it is! Help me help you!"
"What do you mean, you looked everywhere?" Glimmer said. "What exactly were you trying to find?"
Adora faltered, but figured there was no reason to hide anything now. "Okay, so I may have dug through your room to try and find some proof, but–"
"And now you're invading my privacy!?" Glimmer teleported up to her, pressing a finger against her chest. "I could have you imprisoned for treason!"
She threw up her hands. "Go ahead, it's not like anything's beneath you at this point! After all, you were already plotting to assassinate my best friend!"
Bow stepped forward to try and mediate the conflict. "Um, Adora, while I don't condone Glimmer's plan, you have to remember that Catra did try and destroy-slash-take over the world," he said. "I hate to say it, but maybe she's not as good a friend as you once–"
"I don't want to hear it from you!" Adora snapped. "You were complicit in all this! Why don't you just go and join her team? You're already on her side!"
"Don't talk to him like that!" shouted Glimmer. "And he's right, you know–why are you still sticking up for Catra after all she's done!?"
"Because it's not her fault! Not all her fault," she hastily corrected. "Emerald was involved in this too, but I don't see you going after her!"
"That's because she isn't the biggest threat right now," Glimmer replied. "Her time will come, same as everybody else in the New Horde. But right now, I'm focusing my efforts on the biggest threat to not only Etheria, but the rest of the universe. And I don't care that she used to be your friend, I'm taking her down."
Adora's hand twitched, slightly reaching towards the sword on her back. "I'm not letting you kill her," she said.
"And I'm not letting you stop me." Glimmer turned her back, facing towards the prisoners with a chilling glare. "Go on. Go chase after that past you want so much. I won't stop you."
After a tense moment of silence, Adora responded. "Maybe I will." With that, she stormed out of the room and up to her own, but not before shooting one last remark over her shoulder. "Just don't be surprised if I don't come back."
"Adora, wait!" Bow ran after her, but it was clear she was in no mood to listen. He stopped just outside the door, returning after he watched her walk down the hallway. Before he could accost Glimmer for her role in this, one of the prisoners spoke up.
The silence was broken as Karikon broke into laughter. "Now that was pretty spectacular! We didn't even have to do anything, your whole chain of command just broke down all on its own! What are we even doing here? At this rate, the Princess Alliance is just gonna tear itself apart by itself!"
Instantly, Glimmer vanished in a flash of light, appearing within the net before the scorpion man. She pressed her fist, glowing with energy, against his chest as she looked him dead in the eye. "I want you to remember exactly what He-Man did to you," she growled. "And then remember that He-Man can't fire white-hot lasers out of his hands. However badly he broke you, I can do a thousand times worse. Understand?"
All four of the prisoners were frozen on the spot. Karikon, with a mix of respect and reluctant self-preservation, only nodded.
"Good. Remember this when I come back for the real interrogation." She teleported back out of the dome, appearing next to Spinnerella and Netossa. "Sorry this is taking so long. Just hold them for a little while longer, until I get a more permanent solution."
"You kidding? I could hold this pose all day!" Netossa said confidently, albeit strained. Spinnerella stayed by her side, ever worried about her. And although both of them put on a brave face, they were both worried about Glimmer.
Glimmer herself, however, was not worried. "Well? What are you all standing around for?" she said to everyone else. "Catra's here! ! Ready the castle's defenses, ready your offenses, we need to prepare for the worst!" She disappeared in another flash, most likely returning to the throne room.
Everybody wanted to talk about what had just happened. But at the same time, nobody wanted to talk about what had just happened. Seeing as neither party involved in the argument wanted to be talked to, all they could do was listen to the queen. She did have a point about Catra being a threat, after all. Princess and Gem alike left the room to prepare for what may or may not be coming.
Then only three were left. Hordak began making his way to the throne room, and Bow and Peridot, after sharing a quick glance, followed after him. "So, was this all part of your evil plan?" he asked bitterly. "Wait for just the right moment to reveal our secrets, and let everything fall apart?"
To their surprise, Hordak let out a sigh. "In my time as leader of the Horde, I've come to learn one thing: secrets should only be kept if absolutely necessary. And secrets kept by subordinate from superior are decidedly not necessary, nor is a superior keeping their subordinates in the dark. Revealing the truth may have painful consequences now, but may have spared even more painful consequences later on."
"How? By turning Glimmer and Adora against each other?" Bow asked. "How is that supposed to help anyone?"
"Because now, both of them can pursue their objectives without interference," answered Hordak. "Adora will find what she is looking for, while Glimmer and I can handle what is truly important. All without getting in each other's way."
Bow didn't look impressed. "Yeah, except now they hate each other. I wouldn't exactly consider that a win."
Hordak only shrugged. "And if either one were to find out of their own accord, how would they react? What we saw from them today would look subdued by comparison. I did what was best for everyone involved, harsh though it may seem to you. Now, if you are sated, I have more important business to take care of." He walked off, leaving the two of them standing in the hall. Bow glared after him.
"Do…do you think Adora meant what she said?" asked Peridot, guiltily staring at the floor. "About not coming back?"
"Of course she…" Bow was about to assure Peridot that there was no way Adora would leave Etheria for good, but went silent when he realized he couldn't be sure. If she really found her home and her family, would she have any reason not to stay with them? "I guess all we can do is wait and see."
Peridot slumped to the ground. "This is all my fault," she whimpered. "If I had just told somebody…"
"No, it isn't your fault," Bow reassured her, offering a comforting pat. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I kept secrets too."
"Maybe Hordak's right," Peridot wondered aloud. "Maybe this is like ripping off a…what do you call those?"
"Bandage?"
"Like ripping off a bandage. It hurts now, but it has to be done."
Bow wasn't so sure, but if anyone could stay positive, it was him. "I hope you're right," he said, though he still hesitated to believe Hordak didn't have ulterior motives. "It would be so much easier that way…"
Nobody had noticed, but during all the commotion, Steven had stepped outside to get some fresh air. Nobody noticed, that is, except Connie, who headed out after him. "You alright?" she asked, sitting beside him on the steps.
He didn't seem nearly as upset as he had just under an hour ago, which was a good sign. "Fine," he told her. "Well, no, not fine, but…I'll live."
"Just 'live?'" she replied, playfully nudging him. "You don't have to put on such a brave face, you know. I'm right here if you need to tell me what's bothering you."
Steven looked away. "You know what's bothering me. "I can't…I can't afford to lose control like that again. I might hurt somebody I care about next time. I might kill somebody next time!"
"Steven, I know you're scared," Connie assured him, "but this isn't your fault. Jasper's been trying to turn you into her idea of a warrior, without restraint or mercy. And the more time you spend with her, the more control she has over you."
He took the sword off his back, holding it in his hands like it could catch fire at any moment. "No," he said quietly. "Jasper didn't make me do that. She didn't turn me into…that. Whenever I become He-Man, I feel stronger than I've ever felt before. And since I don't have my Gem powers anymore, I like that feeling. It's the only time I feel…important. But I have thoughts when I'm transformed–bad thoughts. And I just…let my power control me. This isn't the first time I've lost control. Just the first time someone got seriously hurt because of it."
Connie could hardly stand seeing him like this. "You're not useless, powers or not, okay?" He nodded, but didn't say a word. "And I'm sure Adora can help us with that issue. She's had the Sword of Protection a lot longer than you've had yours, so she has to know some tricks by now."
"Thanks, Connie," said Steven, "but I don't think this is something we can fix. I think…I think the only way I can avoid hurting people is to not be He-Man." He placed the Sword of Power on the ground; a weight seemed to lift off his shoulders when he did so.
"I'll admit, I don't know much about magical swords and transforming warriors," she said, "at least not personally. But if this is what you think is for the best, then I believe you." She opened her arms for a hug, which he eagerly returned. "Feeling better?"
"Much," he said, smiling warmly.
AN: If it wasn't obvious, I have been eagerly awaiting this chapter for a while now! Hope you're all prepared, 'cause this is where things get real!
