Chapter Two: All the Lost Things


Three-seven-eight. Four-nine-two. Five-five-three.

These last few weeks hadn't been as perilous or world-threatening as so much of the previous years had been, but they were still quite hectic. Between the New Horde's departure and Glimmer's ascension to the throne, Adora had been left with little time to ponder these enigmatic words given to her by Light Hope. In her free time, she had tried to ponder its meaning, if any, but came up with nothing each time.

Rather than repeat the numbers endlessly to remember them, Adora had taken to changing the Sword of Protection's form into a bracelet that bore them as an engraving. Lying on her bed, she stared at her wrist. "Come on, why can't my brain just make this work!?" she complained, going limp in frustration. "Light Hope's counting on me! Angella's counting on me. Everyone's counting on me…"

Sighing, she pulled herself to her feet, approaching a nearby mirror. While she had pondered on her origins from time to time, Light Hope's words had really brought out the curiosity in her. "Who am I?" she wondered, examining her features intently. She had to have come from somewhere before she arrived on Etheria. Steven had told her she looked a lot like this Prince Adam guy–maybe she really was a descendent of some sort? This would mean not only that she was a First One–or Eternian, rather–but that some of them had survived.

Her attention was drawn away when there was a knock at her door. "Adora?" Bow opened it a crack, peering inside. "We're almost ready to head out. Is everything going okay in here?"

She shrugged. "Eh. Kinda. Nothing's wrong, if that's what you're asking." Bow opened the door further, walking in. "Sorry I missed the briefing."

"It wasn't anything important," he assured her. "Just some more disagreement, as usual. I'm sure Connie and the others would be glad to see you!"

"Yeah. I wanna see them again too, it's just…" She stared blankly at the wall. "With everything that's happened lately, it feels like…nothing's the same anymore, you know? Everything's changed, even more than it had before. We took on an evil undead wizard and an army of killer robots, why does…why does this time feel so much harder?"

Bow nodded in understanding. "It's Angella, isn't it? It's been hard on all of us. I know Glimmer's taken it the hardest of all, but Angella was like a mother to me, and I know she was to you too. We're all going through similar stuff, so don't feel like you have to pull away." After a moment of hesitation, he pulled her in for a hug. "You can talk to us. We're the Best Friend Squad, and we always will be."

Touched by Bow's words, Adora returned his hug. "Thanks, Bow. But…yeah, I miss her, but that's only part of it."

"Catra?" he guessed.

"Catra," she confirmed. "I…I just can't believe she'd do something like this. Trying to destroy the world just to get at me. I-I want to put all the blame on Emerald, and say she's the reason why she did that, but I know it's not that simple." She cast a pained look towards her friend. "This part of her, it's always been there, Bow. Part of me can't help but think, is it my fault for not seeing it?"

"No, Adora, don't think like that," Bow said gently. "Catra's more than capable of making her own decisions, good or bad. Mostly bad. And I know you want to help her, but you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. The most we can do is stop her before she does any more damage. Once the New Horde is defeated, then we can try and reform her."

Adora smiled, despite herself. "Thanks, Bow. I just hope Glimmer can see it that way."

The two of them stood up, heading for the door. "She'll come around," he assured her. "Now come on, We're all set to head out as soon as Steven shows up!"

Adora glanced down at her wrist once more as they descended the staircase. Three-seven-eight. Four-nine-two. Five-five-three. The meaning of these numbers would have to wait, as she had to put all of her focus into fighting the Horde. She owed that much to Glimmer.

Soon enough they had reached the courtyard where the new warp pad had only just been installed. All the princesses waited there, as well as Hordak, and the Crystal Gem B-team. "Hey, we were just talkin' about you," said Mermista. "Good things, of course."

Glimmer stepped forward, holding her staff. "Are you sure you're up for this, Adora?" Her tone was an odd mixture of accusation and concern. "You've seemed distracted for the past few weeks. I don't want you putting yourself at risk unless–"

"No, no, it's fine, just thinking about those numbers Light Hope gave me," she said. Glimmer raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'll put it aside for the mission! Trust me, the only thing on my mind for the next few hours will be putting a stop to whatever plan the remaining Horde is up to."

This seemed to satisfy Glimmer, who, though still suspicious, turned back towards the warp pad. "At least with Steven's new powers, whatever Catra left behind shouldn't be that much to worry about."

"Indeed. I just hope she left enough for me to rebuild that which I lost." Adora thought she could see a brief look of sadness or regret in Hordak's eyes, but it was probably just a trick of the light.

That was when a pillar of light shot up from the warp pad, revealing the form of Steven and the Crystal Gems. Looking the same as he had the last time they met, only this time with a large sword slung over his shoulder, Steven gave a cheery wave. "Hello Etheria!" he said. "Nice to see everyone again! Your majesty." He gave a slight Bow to Queen Glimmer, who at least seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"Long time no see!" said Bow. "Well, not that long. What have you been up to all this time?"

"Training," replied Steven, drawing his sword and twirling it about. "It's no shield, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. So, what's been happening here?"

"Glimmer's coronation, as you noticed," Bow said. "It was pretty cool–she fought a giant snake!"

"I did fight a giant snake," said Glimmer, giving a little smile. "Now then, are we ready to go? Our scouts have a location on a Horde holdout, but we don't know how long they'll stay there. I'd like to get there before sundown, just in case."

"Um, how exactly are you planning on getting us all there?" asked Amethyst. "Didn't Lars crash his ship or something?"

"Follow me." Glimmer led the procession of princesses and Gems over to the bridge overlooking the waterfall behind the castle. "It wasn't easy getting a hold of these, so whoever's driving, please be careful."

During their walk, Connie made her way over to Steven. "So, how's Jasper treating you?" she asked. It wasn't so much a question, as much as it was wondering if he was alright.

He shrugged. "Eh, like Jasper. She's never been the type to do anything with a gentle hand. Honestly, I'm surprised she agreed to train me at all. I'd like her to be a bit more positive, but hey, I can't argue with the results!"

"You realize she's probably trying to turn you into another version of herself," Connie said. "All violent and angry like that."

Steven nodded. "I know. Garnet was very adamant I understood that before I even started talking to her. But right now, I think it's best if we remember that the Horde are the bad guys now, not Homeworld. Jasper's…intense, but I don't think she'd throw her lot in with them, right?"

This was, admittedly, a question Connie didn't feel qualified to answer. "Um, just be careful, okay? She hasn't really apologized or tried to make up for anything she did, so I wouldn't put anything past her."

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. On the other side of the mountain, they saw the means with which they would be traveling to their destination: a handful of Horde skiffs were parked near some stables, with none other than Swift Wind standing guard. "Hey, about time you got here!" he greeted. "I take it we're ready to go?"

"We are," said Glimmer. She turned around to face the others. "So, who's driving?"


Heavy footsteps created prints in the sand, which were soon washed away by the surf. Only for their owner to return, repeating the process the other way. Back and forth this went, a distressed Scorpia pacing back and forth on the beach. And the reason for her distress was quite obvious: she had just woken up on Beast Island.

"Okay, this is alright," she assured herself. "So, Catra basically had you shipped off to Beast Island, so what? Emerald was in her head, she wasn't thinking clearly. Any day now, she'll send someone to pick me up. Why wouldn't she? I'm her bestie! We're the Super Pal Trio!" Her optimism quickly faded, as she gave a worried moan. "I wonder how Entrapta's doing with them. Hopefully Emerald's not putting any ideas in her head either…"

Adding to Scorpia's trepidation, and the reason she had stayed on the beach, there was no shortage of menacing noises emerging from the jungle beyond. Reasoning that they called it 'Beast' Island for a reason, she was in no hurry to venture inland. Though her plan to stay put wouldn't last long, as she was growing hungrier by the minute.

Her stomach growling, Scorpia anxiously peered into the trees. "Okay, just gotta grab something to eat real quick, then it's back to waiting for help to arrive." She crept into the jungle, eyes open for any potential predators that might be lurking in the shadows. The very same shadows that, unbeknownst to her, seemed to be pulled towards her as she trudged through the underbrush.

Not that individual shadows could be seen for much longer, as underneath the trees it was essentially nighttime. Worse still, despite the abundance of screeching and chittering in the distance, the jungle seemed to be completely devoid of animal life. Nothing crawled through the bushes, no birds flew overhead, not even any insects buzzed by. The effect was very much similar to a nightmare, with everything seeming normal superficially, but something being demonstrably off.

The lack of any monsters was somehow scarier than any actual monsters, though Scorpia hoped it would remain as it was. "Hmm…no fruit, no berries, not even any meat," she said, scanning her dark surroundings. "I might have to resort to eating bark…can't be any worse than anything in the Fright Zone cafeteria…" She experimentally scraped off a strip from a nearby tree, giving it a sniff before tossing it aside. "Nah, 's probably poisonous."

Onward she walked, heading deeper and deeper into the forest. The more distressed she became, the darker it seemed to become. Not helping matters was that all the creature sounds in the distance seemed to silence all at once. Now deathly quiet, she seemed more alone than ever.

"Ah, Beast Island, the perfect tourist destination!" she said nervously, hiding behind a tree from whatever might be lurking in the green beyond. She crouched down to make herself as small as possible, a difficult feat for her. "Come stay at one of our famous five-star monster-infested caves, and enjoy being ripped to pieces by–What was that!?"

Scorpia suddenly froze when she heard the telltale footfalls of something a good deal larger than her. The echoing stomps were accompanied by another sound, a low, chattering hum that seemed almost constant. Based on the shuffling of plant matter, it seemed to be looking for something–likely her.

Luckily, she had a good hiding spot–well, a passable one, in any case. She scrunched herself up even further, wrapping her tail around herself and holding it close to her chest. She held her breath, hoping that her heartbeat wouldn't be enough to tip off the unseen giant.

Minutes that seemed like hours went by, the creature seemingly certain that something had been here. After a few more agonizing moments, its footsteps turned away, retreating from the area until they ceased. Scorpia let out a long sigh of relief. "Man, am I glad that's over."

It wasn't. The silence split apart, as did the tree she had taken shelter behind, torn clean in half by a pair of enormous scythes. Their owner, a titanic insect-like beast, roared in fury. Its maw split open into four parts, each lined with more teeth than most creatures had in their entire mouth. Instinct took over as Scorpia sprang to her feet, clawing her way through the dense jungle.

The giant bug wasn't intent on letting its next mean escape. Using its sharp pointed legs, it hauled itself up to the top of the trees, pulling itself after her. She looked over her shoulder as she ran: the dark shape was growing closer, the occasional breach of sunlight glinting off its cobalt carapace as it bore down on her. Even with the shadows obscuring it, she could still make out its beady black eyes, glaring at her hungrily.

Scorpia wasn't the fastest runner on the best of days, and all this underbrush slowed her down considerably. It was only due to adrenaline that she was able to get as far as she did, tearing through the plants with her claws as she sprinted away from danger.

While not fast, the monster could haul itself pretty well, especially without worrying about obstacles. Once close to its prey, it dove down blades-first, with Scorpia only barely leaping to the side in time. The attack left her with only a small scratch in her armor, but that was enough to show her that her carapace would do little good to keep her safe against this thing. Her eyes darted to try and find safety, finding the next best thing in a hollowed-out fallen tree. It wasn't ideal, but then again, nothing about her situation was. She was barely able to squeeze inside, the insect reaching its blades inside to try and reach her.

"Why did this have to happen to me!?" Scorpia wailed, sure her end was near. "Not that I'd want it to happen to anybody else, but why did I deserve this!? I was nothing but supportive to Catra, I tried to be friends with Entrapta, I wanted to see the best in everyone…and this is where it got me…" The insect tore its way through the rotting wood, with seconds left before it reached her. She didn't see the point in trying to get away. Even if she could think of something, where would she go from there? No help was coming. If it wasn't this beast that ate her, it would be the next.

A strange feeling filled Scorpia as the monstrosity bore down on her. Despair, for one, but a sense of finality as well, as though she wasn't afraid of dying. But then, slowly but surely, it was replaced with anger. Anger at this giant bug for giving her such a lackluster end. Anger at Catra and Entrapta for just leaving her here. Anger at Emerald, and Hordak, and anyone else she could think of. And then…

And then her long-dormant connection with the Black Garnet was awakened.

Scorpia was not a sorcerer. She was a warrior of the body, not of the mind. Even with the power of a runestone surging through her, she wouldn't know what to do with it. So, as her eyes glowed red, and shadows from all around flowed into her form, it was her body that began to change.

The monster stepped back as its prey began to morph as she grew larger. The only parts of her that stayed the same were her claws and tail, both increasing in size as well. When the blackness that covered her body faded, her red exoskeleton had spread across her entire form. Her mandibles spread in a furious screech as the giant scorpion faced down its foe.

This display only gave the monstrous bug momentary pause, as it let out a screech of its own before raising its blades, preparing to face down the equally-giant arachnid. Scorpia, or the beast she had become, lunged, grabbing hold of her enemy with her claws. It speared her with the blades, which now had some trouble cutting through her shell. She lifted it over her head, slamming it down on the ground. But it still kept trying to slice her open.

Holding it in place, she speared her stinger into its underside, again and again, not simply content to let her venom do the job. But still it persisted, knocking her tail aside after one last stab, sending its bladed forelegs towards her eyes. She blocked with a claw, reaching out with the other one and grabbing tightly to its arm. With one quick movement, the limb was torn off completely.

The bug staggered back, but did not retreat even after losing one of its weapons. It simply charged forward, likely to its detriment, as Scorpia was not simply a mindless beast in this form. She still had her thinking mind, and now she had a new weapon. She charged as well, using one claw to deflect its remaining blade, while the other held tight to the severed one.

With enough force to smash through sheet metal, Scorpia drove the blade into its former owner's side. Stunned from the impact, this gave her the opportunity to drive it in deeper, as well as grab hold of it with her claws. Stabbing it with her stinger for good measure, she gave one final twist, and completely bisected the monster. Both halves of the beast fell to the ground as she panted, letting out a final screech of victory before falling to the ground herself.

The shadows returned, enveloping Scorpia's body as she returned to normal size. She stood up shakily, reeling from the amount of magic that had entered and exited her form so suddenly. "W-what?" she mumbled, looking up at the insect's broken body. It was hard to tell if it was a robot or just a big bug, seemingly made either partly or mostly, maybe even entirely of First Ones tech. "Did I…do that?" she asked herself.

She looked down at her claws, still not entirely sure what had happened. The sensation itself was entirely alien, but the energy that did it, that felt familiar. She then felt a much more familiar sensation: the rumbling of her stomach.

"Ooh. Not out of the woods yet," she said, looking around. "Literally." She examined the insect-thing's remains, wondering if eating it would be more like eating a bug or eating a robot. Neither would be pleasant, but she reasoned to leave it alone in case it turned out to be the latter. "Alright, gotta be some berries around here somewhere…" She staggered further into the woods, where the distant bestial sounds had resumed. She had survived one encounter…but who could say what–or who–else she would meet on Beast Island?


AN: Hey all! I've been anticipating this chapter for a while now, as Scorpia's arc on Beast Island is one I'm pretty happy with. Some of you might be wondering why she turns into a giant scorpion with her Black Garnet magic: well, there's two reasons for that. First of all, this was planned out before it was revealed the Black Garnet gave her electric powers, so I reasoned it had shadow powers, fitting both the name, as well as how Shadow Weaver used it. The second is that I thought transformation fit her better than actual magical powers, being more physical in nature. Plus, it's also kind of a nod to how it was Catra who turned into an animal version of herself in the original series! Anyway, hope you're enjoying this so far, and there's more to come soon!