Corrupted System
Lightning and thunder echoed in the night sky as a single small kingdom built on the side of a mountain lit up. This was the Kingdom of Dryl, a kingdom said to be populated half by people and half by the strange mechanical contraptions created by the royal family that ruled over the region. The buildings were all purple and metallic, that showed the kingdom valued science and sought to explore more of it.
Inside the castle's kitchen, a pink dressed kitchen lady prepared a small pig-shaped cupcake. She moved with delicacy and as silent as a mouse, trying to keep herself from making any noise. Just then she heard a creek behind her. She yelped only to find her assistant. A short woman with a green chef's uniform, short green hair and a fizzy bottle in her hands.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to spook you, Cook," she apologized, wiping the frosting with her handkerchief.
"Oh, no, it's not your fault, Mei. I just can't stand some of the princess's robots coming out of nowhere," Cook whispered.
Just then the door opened up, revealing another member of the castle staff. This time a young butler wearing a purple suit.
"Is it ready?" the butler asked.
"Just about," Cook said, holding up the cupcake and the small fizzy glass. "Is she in her room or her room?"
"Is there a difference at this point? She spends as much time in that lab of hers that she might as well live there," the butler replied. "Here, let me." The butler picked up the tray before calling in for a small mouse robot to come out from the floor.
The butler gave the tray to the robot mouse before it rushed off with it.
"Those things give me the willies," Mei whispered.
The robot mouse sped through the halls of the mechanical castle. Taking turns and moving through rooms, the little robot passed through the maze with the skill that would make the most skilled tracker seem slow. It stopped in front of a small door next to a much larger one. It entered through the small door and into a large laboratory.
The lab of Princess Entrapta was filled with robot parts, tables filled with notepads, old books, and half-built experiments that looked like the works of mad scientists. There, in front of a large screen, sat Princess Entrapta.
Princess Entrapta was an average height young woman with tanned skin, violet eyes and long, ridiculously long, light purple hair tied in two pigtails that she could control with her mind. She wore long brown overalls meant for working in a forge, a white t-shirt with greasy oil stains with long purple sleeves, long fireproofed gloves and steel-toed boots. On top of her head was a welder's mask with two purple goggles on them.
"Ooh, dinner time," Entrapta cooed at the sight of the tray. "Ah, piggy!" she gasped at the sight of the food.
She controlled her hair to snatch her food, eating it in just one bite.
"Mm, how can something so tiny have so much flavor?" Entrapta wondered, before her hair grabbed the drink, giving it to her hand. "Now let's get back to work."
Using her extremely powerful hair, Entrapta lifted herself up to where her monitor was and started going over all her recorded data. She pulled up a three-pointed green crystal-like object. She examined it as she noted all the small circuit-like markings on it before placing it inside an antenna.
"Log date 103-wait was it 103 or 104? No, it was 103," Entrapta recorded her words. "The First One's artifact number 58 has yielded a treasure trove of unbroken and intact coding. If I can unlock its meaning and understand its function, this could bring the secrets of the First Ones out of myth and into reality." Entrapta recorded as she used her hair to walk around with ease and speed.
However, as she was recording her expectations and her work and what she was about to do, the crystal turned red. As Entrapta noticed the change in color, the crystal started spreading like a corrosive disease throughout the lab. The princess was so awestruck at the sight before her that she only just realized her robots all turned on by themselves.
"This is incredible, it would seem that the crystal is spreading to the other machinery around like some sort of virus," Entrapta said, observing what was going on as all her robots turned on with red eyes instead of their usual green ones. "Oh, um. This is not a good sign."
Entrapta soon found herself face-to-face with a tall tower of robots with red eyes glaring at her as more and more of the corruption spread through the castle. She felt a great sense of fear at the sight before her. She would normally love the idea of her machines attaining a new level of advancement due to the First One's tech, but at that moment she could only think one thing.
"Edit to log. I am now going to run!" Entrapta sped out of the lab as the robots chased after her like a horde of zombies.
Back at Brightmoon, Izuku was sitting at the castle library, trying to learn as much as he could about the other kingdoms. He flipped page after page in the third book he'd found about the other kingdoms and their histories, but this was in part because he wanted to learn more about something else, The First Ones. But he had found very little. According to what little he found, the First Ones were a race of beings that had great scientific accomplishments under their belts and great control over the world of Etheria, and their ruins were the only reminder of their great civilization.
Izuku put down the book, huffing in annoyance. He'd read the same thing three times over. Apart from his knowledge of She-Ra's role in their legends, he knew nothing new. Scratching his head, the green haired heir of One For All wondered if he could ask someone else about them but he couldn't think of anyone.
"What are you doing here?"
Izuku jumped up a bit at the sound of the voice calling him out. He turned around, spotting Netossa, the head strategist of the Alliance.
"Why are you stuck in the library?" Netossa asked, picking up the book Izuku was just reading. "And reading books on the history of the different kingdoms of Etheria?"
"I wanted to learn more about the other kingdoms for future reference. But I haven't found much apart from what Glimmer has already told me." Izuku admitted.
"And apparently circling information about the First ones," Netossa added, opening the page of the First Ones. "I didn't think you were interested in some old ruins and leftover tech. You sound like the royal family of Dryl. See ya." She shrugged off.
"W-w-wait!" Izuku reached out to grab Netossa's shoulder, only to stop as the memory of his first interaction with Netossa. "Um, please, do you know anything about them? The royal family of Dryl, I mean?"
Netossa wanted to tell the baby-faced heir of One For All to buzz off as she still didn't think much about him, despite having accomplished all his missions with his friends and in one piece. Plus there was a part of her that didn't like that her wife was being sweet with him and Catra. However, she didn't have any reason to be mean to him apart from that. Also she couldn't say no to the begging look of the young man before her. An idea popped into her head.
"I might," Netossa smiled, giving izuku a hopeful smile. "But only if you can beat me at a small game of strategy me and my wife play from time to time."
Izuku felt like he had made a big mistake.
"Um, um, what game are we talking about?" Izuku stuttered.
Netossa fired a light string out of her hand. She smiled as she pulled out a game board with different pieces on top of it. She placed it on the table before Izuku.
"This here is Dragons and Queens. A strategy game that is meant to test your planning and strategy skills," Netossa explained. "Spinnerella hates it because I beat her. But if you can beat me, I might tell you everything you need to know about Dryl. Even stuff that the other princesses don't know."
Izuku sat down, looking at the game pieces on the board. He had never played the game, but it was his best chance to learn what he needed.
"Alright, tell me the rules." Izuku sighed.
"Prepare to be defeated, Green Bean." Netossa laughed. "The rules are simple, we play as either dragons or queens, and we set up our armies according to a strategy and the player wins by taking either the queen or slaying the dragon. And to make it more interesting, if you lose you'll have to wear a dress and call me Grand Master Netossa."
It had been two hours and Netossa was gritting her teeth at the sight before her. She had expected to steamroll the little perv like she'd done with almost everyone she had played with in the past, even her wife had barely gotten around to winning a round against her. But now she was all tied up with the boy before her.
Netossa watched the board. She was down to her dragon, a couple of knights, and one archer, while Izuku was down to his queen, a rogue, two knights, and a shield maiden. She hadn't been brought so close to a defeat like she had up until now. She bit her thumb as she thought of another strategy. Her eyes darted as she thought of a new way of making Izuku make a mistake.
"Gotta say, you're making me sweat here, kid." Netossa moved her archer in front of Izuku's knight. "But you're not going to get the best of me a second time!" She declared.
"Okay, let's see what I can do." Izuku muttered, tapping his chin. "IcouldredirectherarchertoaimfortheshieldmaidenbutthatwouldmeanthatInolongerhavetheprotectiveshieldthatIcoulduseforherknightsandthatwouldmakemyroguehavetotakeanunnecesaryriskthatcouldbeavoided…"
Netossa couldn't help but feel like Izuku was getting too into the game like she was. But she wasn't going to let that get to her.
"Honey, are you here?" Spinnerella asked, walking into the library. "Oh, I didn't realize that you two were playing a game. It's so nice that you two are getting along." Spinnerella said in delight.
"We are not!" Netossa countered. "I'm about to teach this little boy not to mess with me!"
"Well, you better do it quick, Queen Angella just ordered him and his team to go to Dryl and get their support for the Alliance," Spinnerella commented.
"Wait what?!" Izuku asked, snapping out of his muttering.
"Yeah, Catra said that if you didn't show up in ten minutes, they'd leave without you," Spinnerella explained.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't know it was that late!" Izuku rushed out, knocking off the board game as he ran out of the library.
"No! I was about to win!" Netossa snapped in shock before turning to her wife. "Why did you do that?!"
"I'm sorry, sweetie. But at least you've got a playmate now," Spinnerella said in a sweet tone, only for Netossa to pout despite her agreement.
The team were on their way to Dryl with them making great progress.
Izuku managed to catch up with Catra, Glimmer and Bow just as they were about to go out for another adventure. He got teased by Catra for his tardiness which forced him to come clean about being caught up in a game which he had kinda liked.
"I still can't believe that you got caught up in a game of all things," Catra laughed.
"I already said I was sorry," Izuku whimpered.
"Knock it off Catra, the fact that he was tied up with Netossa of all people is impressive," Glimmer commended. "She beat me in like three moves last time I played her."
"It was hard. I think she might want a rematch," Izuku said, already thinking of a possible counter strategy for her.
"Well, you'll have to think about it later. Right now we need to get Princess Entrapta into the Alliance," Glimmer said.
"Why do we need her anyway? With me and Izuku at the helm, we can take on everything the Horde can throw at us!" Catra laughed.
"Because Princess Entrapta has the best knowledge of First One's technology," Glimmer explained. "We could use her tech expertise to help the Alliance's soldiers with better armor and weapons. Not everyone can turn into a superpowered warrior of legend or know ancient martial arts."
Izuku and Catra chuckled at the comment, knowing that it was true. Despite all their hard work and help to the Alliance, they were only two warriors that could only do so much against a whole army. If they could keep as many soldiers on the same or even slightly similar fighting level as them, they could really put a dent in the Horde's war machine. The idea of them taking down Shadow Weaver and putting her in her place was a very tempting prospect for Izuku and Catra.
"Not to mention that Princess Entrapta's inventions have made her an important member of the Etheria inventor's community," Bow added. "I really hope to show her some of my new trick arrows. Like my new fashionable, Sonic Arrow!" Bow pulled out an arrow shaped like a rooster's head.
"Um, Bow, why does it have a bird's head?" Izuku asked.
"And how exactly is that thing supposed to work? You shoot it and it makes a loud wake up call?" Catra laughed.
"Or in case we get separated in a crowd of people?" Glimmer giggled along with Catra.
Just as they were walking, they heard a rumbling next to them. They looked up before jumping back as a landslide came down right before them. Jumping out of the way, they avoided the landslide that cut them off from the rest of the pass.
"That was a close one," Izuku commented, noting the large stones in their path. "I guess we'll just have to climb over these rocks if we want to get to the castle."
"Or, we do this!" Catra drew out her sword. "For the Honor of Grayskull!" She transformed into She-Ra, splitting the rocks with a single strike of her sword. "Done and done, let's get going."
"That was not really called for, Catra," Izuku commented.
"That could've set off an avalanche or worse. We could've gone around it or over it," Bow added.
"No offense, Bow, but as Spinnerella says; If you've got it, you gotta flaunt it," Glimmer commented, winking at Izuku.
Catra noticed that as Izuku blushed at her comment. She grew a smirk as she found a way to get back at the princess. She swung her tail like a whip and struck Glimmer's ass, making the pink princess jump in shock.
"What was that, Sparkles?" Catra laughed.
"You're so lucky the castle is just up ahead." Glimmer threatened as the group came upon the castle of Dryl.
"Whoa, this place is much more advanced than I expected." Izuku awed at the sight.
"As I said, Entrapta is a master when it comes to tech," Bow reiterated. "Not surprising that she lives in a mechanical kingdom." He added as the group entered the kingdom.
As the group walked through the castle square, they couldn't help but feel like they were entering a ghost town. They didn't hear any sounds coming from within the homes or on the streets; not even so much as a whisper. Their eyes darted from side to side in search of a shadow of people inhabiting the kingdom of technology. But even as they crossed the square and passed several alleys, they didn't find even so much as a presence that didn't want to be seen.
"It's quiet, too quiet," Izuku commented.
"Makes me remember when-" Catra began.
"Sh!" A quiet hush cut her off.
The group looked around for the source of the hush, but they didn't see anything.
"They are drawn to sound." A whisper said, coming from within a manhole.
"What is drawn to sound?" Glimmer asked loudly.
As the princess of Brightmoon finished her sentence, several red eyes peered out of the darkness.
"We have company," Izuku said as his body became encased in a green aura.
"Is it the Horde?" Glimmer asked.
"If they were, they would have tanks at the ready and fire everywhere," Catra said as the owners of the red eyes came into the open. "Oh yeah, they are not the Horde. But they'll fall like them!" Catra charged at the robots with her sword to her side ready to slice down the robots.
Izuku ran after her with One For All pulsing through him like a lightning bolt. As Catra sliced the robots into pieces with wild slices and strikes, he jumped over her, landing a punch on the face of the larger robots. He landed a roundhouse kick, swiping robots into pieces and into the air.
Glimmer teleported around the robots, picking up a severed arm before smacking another robot with it. She blasted another robot's head off, but it kept coming towards her. Just as she was about to hit it with the severed arm, Catra sliced it in half.
"I had it!" Glimmer snapped.
"Sure you did," Catra mocked.
Bow shot his trick arrows at the robots, proving his skills as a maker of tricked arrows. His first shot released a large net that tangled the robots where they stood before Izuku shattered them. Bow's second let out an electric pulse, short circuiting the robot as it fell. He then fired his third trick arrow, unleashing a magnetic pull that drew in the robots for Catra to slice in half.
Catra continued slicing the robots with ease as she spotted them running back towards the castle.
"They're trying to escape!" Catra pointed to the castle. "Let's get them!" She chased after the robots with Izuku and Glimmer behind her.
"Wait!" Bow called out, running after them only for six hands to pull him into the shadows, covering his mouth.
Izuku, Catra and Glimmer arrived at the entrance before the door closed in front of them.
"Catra, it could be a traAAAAAHHHH!" Izuku called out as the floor beneath the three young heroes opened up.
Izuku, Catra, and Glimmer slid down a long tunnel slide like a trio in the middle inside a water slide, only for them to have no water and no fun to make their experience bearable. They saw an opening at the end of the tunnel, but it wasn't a bright light, it was instead a small room with bars covering all doors and windows. They landed on the floor with Izuku being at the very bottom while Catra and Glimmer landed on top of him.
Izuku tried to move but he found his head being crushed by the combined weight of Catra's and Glimmer's breasts. His face became red as he could feel them grinding on top of him, trying to get up.
"Are you okay, Izuku?" Catra asked.
"Did we hurt you?" Glimmer added.
Izuku wasn't able to reply, due to not only burying his face against the ground of the floor but also because he didn't have the mental stability to say something coherent. He tried to get up only for his hands to grab hold of Catra and Glimmer's asses.
"Whoa!" Glimmer jumped back at the feeling of Izuku's hand. "What was that for?!"
"Easy there, Izuku! I-I-I mean, there's got to be a time and place for this but not-," Catra rambled before noticing their positions. "Oh. Sorry Izuku. Didn't know we were crushing you."
Catra got up as she blushed along with Glimmer who looked like a tomato with a pink stem on top of it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Izuku bowed his head over and over, not facing either Catra or Glimmer. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear!"
Glimmer could feel her heart beating like a war drum against her chest as her face and body grew hotter. She had never been touched like that before and a part of her enjoyed it.
A lot.
"Nevermind." Glimmer turned around, avoiding having to give Izuku such an un-princess look but Catra did get a glance of it. "I'll teleport us out of here and nothing will be wrong."
"Yeah, let's go slay more robots," Catra agreed.
In another part of the castle, Bow was being held down, struggling to get loose.
"Let me go!" Bow demanded. "My friends need me!"
"Quiet!" Cook whispered. "If they hear you they'll come."
"Huh?" Bow asked, getting a good look at his kidnapers. "Who are you three?"
"Shh." The three shushed him.
"Sorry, who are you?" Bow whispered.
"We're the castle staff. Or what's left of it." The butler answered in a whisper. "I'm John, this is Mei and Cook." He introduced himself and the two ladies.
"Where are we? What's going on?" Bow asked.
"We don't know. One minute the robots are acting like normal and then the next they were trying to kill everything." Cook explained.
"It must be another one of Princess Entrapta's crazy experiments," Mei added. "She was working on something about signals with someone's tech she found."
"Someone's? You mean First One's tech?" Bow asked, only to get a shrug from the staff members. "This might be because of that tech. If I can figure out how it works, maybe we can undo it." He pulled out his holopad and started looking for signals and his friends.
"Is that safe?" John asked.
"Well, it does tell me where the robots are and there are several outside. We'll have to fight our way out," Bow said, putting back her holopad.
"We don't have to go out. We have plenty of food and drink to last a long time," Cook suggested, pulling out a tiny flower shaped cookie. "Given it is tiny food so I might be wrong. Besides, we aren't princesses, we can't fight."
Bow saw the looks on the three members of the staff and he could tell that they were scared. He looked at all the stuff they had around and he figured out a plan that could not only turn the tables on them but also teach them how to be brave.
"Then let me show you how." Bow pulled out his bow and picked up a frying pan.
Back somewhere inside the castle halls, Izuku, Catra and Glimmer appeared once more after teleporting for the hundredth time. They were panting in exhaustion, feeling their hearts punching against their chests after all the close calls they had just had. Their first attempt at teleporting out of the cage landed them on the edge of the castle, nearly falling. Their second attempt landed them in a hallway so small and tight that they were a little too close together with Izuku being caught between Catra and Glimmer's breasts once more. Their third attempt landed them in a free fall down the cliff next to the castle. However, before they fell to their deaths, they managed to get back into the halls of the castle.
"That was too close," Izuku panted out, clutching his knees to keep his heart from going out through his throat.
"Yeah, not my brightest moment when it came to teleporting," Glimmer sighed, wiping her brow of sweat. "This place is a nightmare to navigate."
"Yeah, who puts a damn cliff so close to a castle or a pond full of electric shock bars?" Catra panted, leaning against the wall. "This day cannot get any worse."
Just as Catra said that, there was the sound of something scurrying under her. She looked down to the air vent railing. She signaled Izuku and Glimmer, getting their attention. She reeled back her free left arm as Izuku and Glimmer got ready to attack the possible threat. Catra plunged her hand into the air conditioning duct, pulling out what was making all that noise. But her hand was tangled up with lots of strong hairs instead of wires.
"Ouch, ouch ouch! Please let go of me!" Entrapta winced in pain from behind her mask. "Princesses, I'm saved!"
"What the-?" Glimmer asked.
"Catra, that's a person, let her go," Izuku instructed, causing Catra to drop the woman.
"Ouch," Entrapta winced, rubbing her butt before looking at Catra's large stature. "Wow, you're a tall one." She commented, taking off her mask.
"Excuse me, are you Princess Entrapta?" Izuku asked, helping Entrapta back to her feet.
Entrapta turned to look at Izuku's face and time seemed to stop for her. She could feel her eyes going wider as the hall appeared to grow brighter than any of the lights in her lab. Her heart beat faster, making her feel the very air around her. Her hair started moving, fluffing itself like a regal bird would to attract a mate. She couldn't speak or think like she normally would, all she could do was stare at the hand presented before her.
"Princess Entrapta, are you alright?" Izuku asked, snapping Entrapta from her trance.
Entrapta shook her head before jumping back to her feet with the aid of her super hair.
"Yes, I'm alright and in good condition! A little shaken and dirty because of the vents also for some reason I can't stop looking at you," Entrapta ran through her explanation while looking at Izuku dead in the eyes. "Who are you by the way? Do you carry some sort of chemical agent on your person?"
"Um, what?" Izuku blushed as Entrapta's face got within inches of his own.
Catra pulled Entrapta away from Izuku's face, giving him some breathing room.
"Alright pigtails, back off." Catra pulled Entrapta up to her face, sneering at her.
"Oh sorry, I-I don't know what came over me," Entrapta apologized, using her hair to get out of Catra's grip. "So, um, who are you three again?"
"I'm Catra, the pink one is Glimmer and Izuku is the boy you were looking at like a science experiment." Catra pointed to her friends.
"Princess Entrapta, what happened? Did the Horde do this?" Glimmer asked.
However, Entrapta was more focused on Catra's sword and Izuku himself.
"Ooh, is that a Runestone in your sword? Is it First One's tech?" Entrapta asked. "By the way, why is the green one so alluring?"
"Um, could we please not talk about that," Catra begged. "What about the robots?"
"What robots? Oh, my creations! They are amazing and they work by combining First One's tech with my own, which has made them very good at picking up sounds," Entrapta explained, pulling out her recorder. "I recorded all my findings in this recorder to track my progress, I even made upgrades to all my utility robots."
"Um, what utility robots?" Izuku asked.
The ground began to shake, causing the now four member group to look to the end of the hall. Their eyes widened at the sight of a large robot with sweeper legs and wheels coming towards them.
"Like my floor sweeper-bot," Entrapta replied. "Isn't he amazing?" She leaned on Izuku as she pointed to the robot.
"We'll see how amazing these things are when they're scrap!" Catra roared, jumping at the large machine.
"Catra!" Izuku called out, but she was already on top of the large machine.
Catra slashed the hood of the robot's metal skin with her sword, making large gashes on it like a wild cat cutting through a wrapped toy. She dodged the water hoses and the soap dispensers as they fired at her with a snarl on her face. She made a horizontal slice, cutting them off with one fast flowing movement before slamming her claws on top of the remains of the metal hood. Tearing out the piece of slashed metal, Catra found herself face to face with all red corrupted cracks across the circuits and the power core.
"Let's see you move without your batteries!" Catra plunged the Sword of Protection into the power core.
As the sword pierced the power core, the red vines of corruption crawled up the sword and into the runestone on the guard.
Catra's body recoiled in pain as her eyes turned bright red and filled with rage and desire for violence. She fell off from the top of the robot, shocking Izuku and Glimmer.
"Catra!" Izuku caught his friend in his arms as One For All coursed through his body. "Are you alright?"
Catra's eyes snapped open, revealing the crimson color that they now had.
"Catra?" Izuku asked before Catra roared at him.
Izuku jumped back, barely avoiding a claw swipe from Catra. He slid down the wall as Catra charged at him, forcing him to dodge a punch that shattered the wall. He rolled out of the way as Catra punched on him once more. Using his arms, Izuku kept Catra from biting and or hacking him to pieces. He held back her sword arm while he used his other arm to push her head back. But he didn't use his full strength, fearing that he could hurt her. He dodged the swipes of her remaining hand while holding back her bite.
"Catra, please! Snap out of it!" Izuku begged as Catra's hand grabbed his face, pinning him down.
Glimmer teleported behind Catra, pulling her off of Izuku.
"Catra, calm down!" Glimmer snapped, pulling back Catra's sword hand.
Catra grabbed hold of Glimmer, digging her claws on her back before tossing Glimmer off of her.
Glimmer grabbed hold of the Sword of Protection as she landed on Izuku.
Izuku used this chance to jump back with Glimmer and the Sword of Protection in her hand.
"Catra please, come back to us!" Izuku said. "To me!"
However, as soon as the sword left her hand, Catra recoiled in pain as all the energy shot out of her like a violent discharge or energy. She turned back to her normal form before collapsing on the floor, unconscious.
"Catra!" Izuku and Glimmer rushed to her side as did Entrapta.
"Whoa, that was unexpected. The tall one known as Catra has shrunk in size and is no longer on a rampage," Entrapta recorded as she made notes on Catra's changes. "Perhaps a dissection will tell us more about these changes." She pulled out a small scalpel.
"You're not cutting her open," Izuku snapped, snatching the scalpel bending it with ease.
Glimmer looked at the strange red crystal vines on the Sword of Protection, causing her to drop the sword.
"Alright, Entrapta, what is going on? First your robots attack us, then your castle nearly kills us, and now our friend was turned into a rampaging super soldier. And I feel like you know what is going on," Glimmer recalled. "So spill."
Entrapta got back up to her feet with her recorder in hand.
"Okay, I was running an experiment with a piece of First One's Tech that was found. A crystal with an intact coding. I believed that if I could figure out what it did, I could use it as a Rosetta Stone to unlock the secrets of the First Ones." Entrapta explained. "But it seems that my experiment has yielded some unexpected results. Maybe if I can get back to the lab I can collect the data and try again to avoid this."
"Or we can stop this," Izuku suggested.
"But the experiment hasn't reached completion, yet," Entrapta argued, only getting a look of disbelief from Izuku and Glimmer.
"I think we can all agree that this experiment has been a complete failure!" Glimmer snapped in a loud whisper.
"Well I think it can still-No, nope. You're right, the experiment has gotten out of hand." Entrapta admitted.
Catra started to groan back to the waking world, catching the attention of everyone else. Her eyes started to blink awake, adapting to the light of the hallway.
"Catra, are you alright?" Izuku asked, rubbing her cheek.
"The one designated as Catra seems to be waking up," Entrapta recorded. "Also, I do not know why but I want to be in the same position as her."
"Catra, please, talk to me," Izuku begged.
However, Catra licked Izuku's cheek, leaving a slobbery trail up to his right eye.
"Meow," Catra mewled.
"Huh?" Izuku, Glimmer and Entrapta said at the same time.
Catra jumped off of Izuku's arms and started walking on all fours like a cat, looking around the hallway. She looked up at one of the portraits on the wall that had a tassel hanging on one of the edges. She mewled with delight as she swiped at it like it was a toy that delighted her.
"Catra, what are you doing?" Izuku rushed to her side only for Catra to hiss at him for getting between her and her toy. "Catra?"
Catra mewled back before she rubbed herself on Izuku's leg, sending warm feelings up through his body. She continued doing so, imprinting her scent on him just like a cat would with someone that they really cared for.
"Why is she doing this?" Glimmer asked as she noticed how Catra was rubbing Izuku with her whole body.
"It would appear that the energy overload of the sword's energy, reverted Catra into a more feral state of mind," Entrapta recorded as she tried to touch Catra's body, only to get hissed at by Catra. "Perhaps giving her the sword once more will fix this?"
"O-Or maybe it won't, since we don't know if it'll even work," Izuku stuttered as Catra pounced on his shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
"Okay, so our options are either have Catra all cat-like or full on murder machine?" Glimmer sighed. "Izuku can you keep her behaving normally or not wild until we find the lab?"
"I'll try." Izuku blushed as Catra purred on top of him.
Back in the kitchen, Bow and the kitchen staff were preparing to open the door. Bow and John had flipped the table as Cook and Mei armed themselves with dishes and pastry fillers.
"Alright, are you three ready?" Bow asked.
"No." John, Cook and Mei replied.
"Well, then let's hope this works." Bow pulled the door open, letting the robots into the kitchen. "Now!" He shot an arrow at one of the robots before pulling out one of the frying pans.
Bow swung the frying pan, smashing another robot's head before another one of the robots pinned him to the wall.
"John, now!" Bow struggled against the robot.
The butler threw his plate at one of the robots, splitting its face down the middle.
Cook fired a blast of paste at two of the robots, blinding them and causing them to attack each other.
Mei picked up one of the fizzy drinks and shot it at the floor, making it slippery for the robots to stand on.
Bow kicked down the robot that had him pinned down before using his frying pan to smack another robot, breaking it apart. He ducked under another robot swinging its arm only to get an arrow shoved into its head.
The group panted as the last robot fell down to the floor.
"I can't believe we survived," Cook said, only for a robot to jump up. "AH!"
Before the robot could attack Cook, Mei smashed the empty bottle on top of the robot.
"I'm sorry, I panicked!" Mei dropped the broken glass.
"Don't be, let's go. We have to find my friends and put an end to this mess," Bow said, pulling out his pad.
"Are you sure we can do this?" John asked.
"You tell me," Bow replied with a reassuring smile.
The castle staff turned towards each other giving each other a reassuring look as they grabbed more weapons. Despite their little combat experience and lack of proper weapons, they were willing to fight for their home. They had worked in this castle their whole lives and were not going to let some robot zombies destroy it or take it over.
On the other side of the castle, Entrapta was leading the rest of the group through her labyrinth of a home with very little success. She was moving using her hair while looking at her pad for guidance while the rest of the team were behind her.
"It should be right about here," Entrapta felt around the wall.
"How can you not know where you're going?" Glimmer asked as she carried the Sword of Protection in one hand. "This is your own castle."
"Well, after several experiments and reconstructions, my parent drones believed that reconstructing the castle into a labyrinth was the most logical move," Entrapta replied. "Also the pad got infected with the virus isn't helping much." She showed her corrupted pad to Glimmer.
"Why do all our missions always get complicated?" Glimmer groaned as Izuku finally caught up with them with Catra on his back.
"Don't worry, the secret entrance is right around here. I'm ninety–no, seventy-five percent sure." Entrapta touched the wall looking for the switch. "By the way, what is Izuku's condition?"
"Huh?" Glimmer asked.
"What did we miss?" Izuku asked as Catra followed a piece of lint in the air like a common house cat.
"Not much," Glimmer sighed, noticing Catra swiping at the air before jumping off of Izuku's back. "So, how's herding Catra?"
"Um, ever heard the term 'herding cats'? This is much harder," Izuku groaned, rubbing his back that now had several scratches and bitemarks. "But this is my usual Catra, so I can manage."
Glimmer smiled at Izuku. She always found it strange how he was always all the optimist and capable of so much care. It also made her wonder a few things about him and Catra's relationship.
"So, hey how did you end up with Catra?" Glimmer asked as Catra tore apart some drapes with her claws before hissing at Glimmer. "I mean, how did you two become friends in the first place? No offense but you two are like oil and water."
"None taken." Entrapta replied as she checked the wall.
Izuku and Glimmer paid her no mind as they turned their eyes on Catra as she played with the remains of the drapes.
"Well, we didn't start as friends. But we were both raised in the Horde orphanage, and friendship options were limited, especially when you were a skinny kid." Izuku remembered. "Every day, I was reminded that if I didn't do what was expected of me then I would be fed to the pits. The other kids basically saw me as either someone that wouldn't last long, and Shadow Weaver was no different. One day, I was hiding in one of the many dark spaces of the Fright Zone and Catra came in, crying. She had gotten into a fight with Adora and Shadow Weaver had threatened her. At that moment she looked just as lonely as I was."
Izuku went up to Catra as she fought against her own shirt. He scratched her behind the ear, making her purr.
"I talked to her and we made a connection. She wasn't dangerous or a pest to me," Izuku said. "We were outsiders where everyone wanted soldiers or pests. Less than what we were, just for existing. After that we became friends, Adora came shortly after." Izuku blushed as Catra started rubbing herself on him once more. "We thought we'd be the three that would be helping people. But that was a lie. And now Adora is being used by Shadow Weaver and Hordak to do their bidding."
"You two are planning on getting her back?" Glimmer asked.
Izuku gave her a serious expression before giving her a friendly smile.
"We don't leave our friends behind. No matter what," Izuku said. "That's what a hero does. They save people."
Glimmer's face lit up as she saw the smile on Izuku's face. She had known that he had a righteous moral code and the spirit of a true hero, but she always assumed that he'd been taught that back at the Crimson Waste. But now she could only see that despite all the bad things he was raised with, his true intentions and spirit were never broken. She could only look at him with a fond smile as Catra jumped on top of him once more. The Princess of Brightmoon could now honestly say that the man before her was worthy of being a hero of the Alliance and her friend.
"Ah ha! Found it!" Entrapta pressed the button at the bottom of one of her paintings, which ironically had a kitty on it.
A secret passage opened up before her.
"Ready to go stop this robot uprising?" Glimmer asked, placing the sword over her shoulder.
"Do you even have to ask?" Izuku agreed with Catra mewling.
The group walked down the hidden passage, passing through other tunnels and pieces of machinery until they came upon a dark wall that blocked their way forward. They pressed the wall causing it to spin out, opening the wall into another hallway.
"Here we are," Entrapta said.
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked.
"Yep, this is the entrance to my lab." Entrapta pointed to the large metal door in front of her. "Where I seek to unlock the secrets of the First Ones. I-I-I could give you a tour, assuming it isn't filled with killer robots."
"Maybe it's empty," Izuku shrugged.
Catra hissed at the door.
The group heard movement inside the laboratory. The sound of light metallic steps struck the floor in a pattern, going back and forth at a zombie-like pace.
"Or maybe not." Izuku sighed.
"Where exactly is the crystal?" Glimmer asked, handing the sword to Izuku.
"All the way at the back. It's a three point red crystal with First Ones inscriptions on it." Entrapta described with accuracy. "Can't miss it."
"Okay, be back in five." Glimmer teleported inside.
"Wait, Glimmer!" Izuku tried to stop her but he ended up with sparkles all over him.
"Does she do that often?" Entrapta asked only for Catra to mewl in agreement.
An entire ruckus was unleashed within the lab. Pieces of equipment were being thrown around and broken within the room, with lots of metallic feet scrambling to catch her. The sounds of shocks and Glimmer's screams didn't stop the situation from becoming even worse than it already was.
Glimmer appeared once more between Izuku and Entrapta, panting like a dog after running a marathon.
"Okay, there were a lot of robots in there," Glimmer panted out.
Catra growled as the robots started beating on the door. Her hair stood up on end as her tail shot out. She bared her fangs, acting just as her namesake. While she assumed a dangerously fierce defensive position, she swiped at the rattling lab door.
"I think we should go," Entrapta commented before Izuku grabbed her hand and Glimmer's.
"No kidding! Let's go, Catra!" Izuku pulled Entrapta and Glimmer by their hands, using One For All to run away from the rampaging robots as they broke down the doors with Catra by his side.
The group took to running once more, keeping their distance from the horde of zombie robots. But despite the distance that they were putting, the noises of the robots were attracting the others. They looked ahead and saw that the other exit from where they stood was blocked by other robots. They were trapped and unable to run back.
"We're trapped!" Glimmer gasped.
"I could fight them off while you three escape," Izuku said, preparing himself for a fight. "Find Bow and get word to Brightmoon about the situation."
Catra hissed in disagreement at Izuku's idea.
"I agree with Catra, we're not leaving you." Glimmer said as they all got together in a tight circle.
"Alright, me and Catra will fight the ones in front of us, Glimmer, you and Entrapta try to hold back the robots from the back." Izuku instructed.
"Um, I'm more of a scientist rather than a fighter, sorry," Entrapta apologized.
However, just as they were about to fight, the group heard explosions coming from the other side of the passage. They saw a large makeshift battering ram rolling past the robots in front of them.
Leading the charge from the other side was Bow and the rest of the Kitchen Brigade, armed with pans, plates, rolling pins and more than one fizzy beverage.
"For the Alliance!" Bow called out, smacking one of the robots with his frying pan.
John flung his plates like frisbees of death made of china, landing shots on the heads of the robots. He landed a plate, splitting a robot down the middle while using another plate to cut the head of another one.
Cook and Mei smashed robots with their rolling pins before they collapsed on the ground. Working in unison, they became a powerful robot killing duo. Cook swung her rolling pin, denting the side of the robot's head. Mei pulled out her fizzy bottle, shaking it up like a master bartender before uncorking it. She fired a shot of pure soft drink goodness at the robots, causing them to short circuit.
"What's happening?" Glimmer asked.
"I don't know, but I do know that now there's only half of the enemy left!" Izuku jumped back with Catra, attacking the robots that they were chasing after them like a horde of zombies.
Izuku punched through one of the robots with his fist before spinning into a roundhouse against another robot. He sped past the robots, using his speed to land punches on their metallic frames, reducing them to pieces. He jumped up, kicking the air with enough strength to make the air into a compressed cannon that pushed back the robots while tearing them apart.
Catra slashed at one of the robot's legs, cutting them down before she pounced on another robot. She scratched at the robot's face like a wild cat before biting the face of another robot with her sharp fangs. She jumped back, getting behind the last robot, cutting it down the middle.
Bow smashed another robot, making it the last standing threat.
"Nicely done, Kitchen Brigade!" Bow cheered.
"I feel so alive!" Mei called out.
"Bow, you're okay!" Glimmer hugged the archer.
"Glimmer, Izuku, and…Catra?" Bow asked as he watched Catra place the head of a slain robot at Izuku's feet. "Um, is she okay?"
"Long story," Izuku sighed, picking up the dead robot as Catra started playing with Entrapta's hair.
"Is he your friend? Hi." Entrapta waved at Bow.
"Princess Entrapta, it is an honor. I am Bow, inventor amateur," Bow introduced himself. "Big fan." He finished as Entrapta's hair flicked Catra away.
"Um, can we go stop the crystal before the robots try to take over the kingdom," Izuku said, pulling Catra away from Entrapta's hair. "And maybe get Catra back to normal before she starts chasing mice."
"To the lab!" Bow said heroically.
The group made it back to the lab as they gazed upon the corruption that was unleashed by the murder virus. The room was a disaster as the red marks of corruption spread like a poison inside the bloodstream. Several of the remaining robots stood in front of the crystal like the followers of a cult in wait for their great leader to speak to them once more.
The heroes hid behind one of the broken computers and tables.
"This is so fascinating." Entrapa beamed at the sight, taking notes.
"Alright, I see the disc. I can easily teleport there and destroy it with one blow," Glimmer said.
"What about the robots? We need to distract them for you to get an opening," Izuku pointed out as Catra's eyes landed on the small robotic mouse.
"But the only way to do so is by sound and they seem pretty focused on the disc," Bow added.
"Sorry, but the cat one seems to have gone on her own," Entrapta pointed out.
The group's eyes shot out of their skulls at the sight of Catra pouncing on the robot mouse, knocking back the robots in a domino effect.
The robots turned back at the sight of the group of heroes and Catra playing with the robotic mouse.
"Well, there's your distraction," John said.
"Glimmer, Entrapta, get the Crystal, we'll handle the robots!" Izuku instructed, charging against the robots, before they could attack Catra.
Izuku punched a robot away. He grabbed another one of the robots before slamming it against another robot, making an opening. He picked up Catra while the kitchen brigade struck at the robots.
Bow led the charge once more with his bow and frying pan in each hand. He smacked the robots with swift movements. He drew back the fry pan, using it as an improvised arrow before firing it at the robots knocking two of them back.
John kept tossing his plates with deadly accuracy as Mei shot more of her fizzy bottles and Cook used her rolling pin like a pro.
Glimmer and Entrapta appeared before the disc thanks to the teleportation. They pulled at it, trying to get it loose, but the red crystal didn't move an inch, even with Entrapta's hair tugging at it.
"It won't budge!" Glimmer commented.
"If only Izuku were here with his large muscular arms to break it!" Entrapta said. "Did I say that out loud?"
"Loud? That's it!" Glimmer got an idea. "Bow, the sonic arrow! Shoot it this way!"
Bow quickly caught on to Glimmer's plan. He pulled out his sonic arrow with a courageous smile on his face.
"Fly true, sonic arrow!" Bow released his arrow as it flew directly towards the disc.
Glimmer teleported herself and Entrapta out of the way as the arrow struck the disc.
The sonic arrow let out a powerful sonic screech, getting the attention of all the robots.
As the powerful sonic screech echoed through the lab, the robots attacked the source of the noise in a blind rage. Their robotic hands struck the antenna and the disc trying to destroy the origin of the noise, but with every strike they grew closer to the destruction of the disc. With one mighty strike the disc shattered into three pieces, destroying its hold on the machines that were infected.
The robots powered down as their eyes turned black and lifeless.
The red vines on the Sword of Protection vanished, undoing the corruption they had caused.
Catra groaned in pain, dropping her toy mouse.
"Ouch, what happened?" Catra asked, rubbing her head.
"Catra, you're back to normal!" Izuku hugged Catra, much to her enjoyment and confusion.
"Um, what happened?" Catra asked. "And why was I playing with a robot mouse?"
"We did it!" Bow cheered with the kitchen brigade by his side. "We all did it!"
As the kitchen brigade spoke and cheered with Bow, Entrapta walked up to Izuku and Catra with Glimmer by her side.
"Um thank you, princesses and green knight for helping me fix this mess," Entrapta blushed as she looked at Izuku. "If you need anything, I am at your services. Anything." She added, making Izuku blush.
"Actually, if you joined the Alliance we'd be very thankful," Glimmer interjected.
"Okay," Entrapta replied.
"Just like that?" Catra asked.
"I mean, I first have to fix my lab and castle, and do some other stuff but yeah, sure. I'll help you," Entrapta replied with a smile.
"Thank you, Entrapta, for your help." Izuku bowed in gratitude, causing Entrapta's hair to poof up.
Once the group said its goodbyes they made their way back to Brightmoon, while explaining what happened to Catra.
"So wait, that thing turned me full on rage bitch mode and then I acted like a cat?" Catra asked, looking at her sword. "So much for being invincible."
"It was a bit fun to watch you act like a house cat with Izuku," Glimmer giggled.
Catra turned red before chasing after Glimmer with her sword held up over her head.
"Get back here, Sparkles!" Catra roared.
"Those two will be the death of me," Izuku muttered, chasing after them with Bow laughing at how the girls teased each other wildly.
The group made it back to Brightmoon with Izuku and Catra breaking out from the group.
"I thought I'd find you here," Izuku said, looking at Netossa who was pouring over maps.
"Oh, it's you. Come here in search of something?" Netossa asked.
"I was wondering if you'd like to finish our game?" Izuku wondered, scratching his head sheepishly.
Netossa only looked at Izuku with curiosity and confusion.
"Don't bother trying to weasel out of this." Catra sat down.
"Alright, I could use a break anyway," Netossa replied, smiling cockily. "Set up the board, Green."