A heated argument

Itel was finally started to like it here. This place, the headquarters of the People's Rebellion, Castle Crypto or whatever it was called, made a good impression. Order and discipline reigned here. During the last two days, she had seen the members of the Rebellion training, repairing equipment, as well as talking, having fun, in short, they do exactly what she do with her friends, but somehow better. More neatly. She didn't know much about the military, after all, her only exposure to it was her time among the Shadows of Tarak, but they seemed quite competent. She was even starting to wonder if they could somehow support them in their fight. They had a large arsenal of quite good weapons and were well trained. Many of them were cadets, orphans trained from childhood to fight for Wrongdak's Brother. Now they fought against the queen, the same one who had been stunned by Rosie and then kidnapped Eti. Now she was hosting the thousand times cursed Antares. Perhaps she could somehow use this to talk her into fighting the Admiral, but there was a problem. Everyone here avoided them as much as they could. Yes, they were polite and polite, but they kept their distance. It even seemed that they were afraid of them. They had many reasons for this.

For most of them, the existence of other planets was something new, and the fact that civilisations completely unfamiliar with this Horde Prime had survived and thrived beyond the Empire was difficult to imagine. They were the first people from their part of galaktyki that they encountered, she was aware that their group could cause anxiety among normal people, and from what she had managed to notice, the Rebels were definitely less trusting and friendly than the inhabitants of Brightmoon, at least towards strangers. This was probably partly due to Wrongdak's presence, most of the Rebellion members once belonged to the Horde, which was ruled by his Brother, and they were probably not too proud of that. They transferred their dislike for their former leader to Wrongdak and the remaining clones...

However, these were not the most important reasons for the distrust and fear they aroused. She guessed the others. First of all, Eti's sister was their friend, their comrade in arms with whom they grew up together... And she must have been very... mean to the others, to put it mildly. She knew Eti, and although she loved her like no one else in the world, she was aware that relationships with her could be... difficult. And Catra seems to have become the leader's second in command, his right hand. She knew Igzar and knew well how ruthless a leader he could be, much like the Lord Admiral. Subjugating others may have been in her genes. But perhaps they were most distrusted because of Miss Daisy, or rather Shadow Weaver, which was her real name, quite an apt choice, she had to admit. She was the one who supervised the cadets and raised Eti's sister and her fiancée... She understood that much, but there had to be something more to it. What had this old alcoholic done that she was treated here like a bogeyman, a demon to be feared and not allowed to approach anything he had a connection with lest he become corrupted. She knew the woman was a powerful sorceress skilled in dark magic, but nothing more. Why should anyone be afraid of her? Apparently they didn't know what true terror was, they hadn't experienced what they had, they hadn't encountered the Swarm.

But eventually she had to talk to someone, if only to pass the time. She saw a stocky, slightly gray-haired Bugbear watching with a sour face as the Rebels unloaded fruit from the truck. Bugbear shouldn't be afraid, right?

„Hello, I'm Itel." she stretched out her hand, smiling. Unfortunately, in contacts with other people she was only good compared to Eti, especially when she tried to be nice. Maybe she should ask Rosie for help? Everyone liked her. Bugbear didn't shake her hand, but looked at her with a little interest.

„They call me Grizzol , and I'm the Storm Captain here. What do you want from me?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

„I've never seen Bugbear before , even though I've traveled a lot around the galaxy." she said and cursed in her mind, because this was not the best way to start a conversation. She really should have asked Rosie for help. Grizzol, however, looked at her curiously.

„I have never heard anyone from outside our people use this word." he muttered.

„And there are many of you here... Bugbears ... On Etheri." she continued the conversation, sticking to this topic, because it seemed to have a good effect.

„Not many now, although we were never many, but during the war lot of us died fighting for both sides. Now there are maybe a thousand of us left and most of those who survived live in scattered groups... Although if you say that we can be found on other planets... But I have not survived over twenty years of war without developing the ability to read between the lines. So tell me what you really want from me, okay?"

She hesitated before asking.

„It's about my friend. Eti, the cat-like one. Why is everyone here reacting so strangely to her... I know she reminds you of someone you know, but you all act like she's about to do something terrifing." she didn't add that most of those who got to know Eti better also expected her to do something terrifying soon.

„She doesn't look like her, she just looks like she's her sister….„ Bugbear growled , and she interrupted him, grinning and trying to smile friendly.

„Because actually, they are sisters."

She thought she's the first person in the galaxy to have managed to render a Bugbear speechless.

„Who the fuck is she... Never mind, I don't think I want to know if there are even more Catras in the world, one was too many. You see, Catra was one of the cadets. She has always been a cunning girl, willing to win at all costs, no matter how she can hurt everyone. I really shouldn't blame her, we were all more ruthless back then than we are today, and she was, after all, Hordak's right-hand protégé ... She had harder life than most, I admit, but when she took Shadow Weaver's place... she became even worse. She was willing to do anything to win, she forced us to do terrible things when we opposed her, she threatened to tear us apart or condemn us to a fate worse than death, which she did to her friend, and in the end, it was because of her the Prime's Horde came . I don't know if your Eti is like her, but everyone prefers to assume that she is. So don't be surprised that we all remain reserved, because that's what life in the Horde and over twenty-five years of war have taught us, and you also brought Shadow Weaver here.

„Exactly. Miss Daisy…Shadow Weaver. I know she's a powerful mystic and all, but basically she's just a conceited old drunk and you're acting like she's fucking Glabrezu."

Grizzol looked around fearfully, then swear.

„Damn it, it's starting again! You see! Because of this hag, we lived in fear for twenty-five years. Almost everyone on the planet hates her and was very happy that she was dead"

Itel blinked twice.

„How is she dead? From what I saw, she's quite alive. He gets drunk, goes to the toilet... The undead don't do that." she said, although honestly she had no idea whether Doctor Sidonius was using the toilet… This is not a topic that normal people think about. „ I know a somethingabout the undead, I even destroyed some!"

Bugbear looked at her for a moment before speaking.

„Catra and Adora told everyone that and I have no reason not to believe them. Adora can't lie, and Catra wouldn't lie for her. Not after everything she had done to her." for a moment she saw something like sympathy in bugbear's pale eyes. She felt a little disconcerted and even a little worried.

„What do you mean? What did she do to her? What she did to all of you."

Grizzol became a bit suspicious . He laughed darkly and said.

„It's best if she tells you herself. She's a lying bitch, she can't deny that. Maybe she faked her own death, though I don't know how she escaped with Etheri where you found her... And my advice to you is to stay away from her, or at least don't trust anything she says."

She smiled sourly at the Bugbear

„Do not worry about me. I don't trust anyone... Almost no one."

She was thirsty, she was fucking thirsty. She would give a lot to have a drink... although one word would probably be enough for her to get alcohol. She saw here the former subordinates from the technical department, who were probably making their old product, although they probably improved the recipe to get rid of the disgusting taste, although it didn't bother her, the only thing that mattered was how quickly she could get drunk on it... Yes, no one would refuse to give her moonshine… Probably as much as anything else. She suspected that even if she wanted to take over, she wouldn't encounter much resistance. A simple show of power would be enough to force her former subordinates into submission. But it wasn't something she wanted. And what exactly did she want? She wasn't sure... She looked at her clawed hands. They were shaking from alcohol withdrawal. It was harder for her to concentrate now, even though she knew that if she started drinking now, she would fall into a bloody drunken spree... She had to resist this temptation, although to be honest, this whole place was one big temptation.

"So this is what it's like to be in the Abyss…" she said darkly, but Ireanis looked at her, smiling crookedly.

„No... This place doesn't resemble the Abyss at all. I know because I've been there several times. The longest time was when we had to bring back some student who summoned a succubus because he wanted to fuck... Well, that actually happens quite often, I mean summoning succubi, not kidnapping students or traveling to the abyss, but I get what you mean. I am thirsty too. Thirsty as hell.„ sighed the sorceress from Lost Golarion. She smiled at her. When she served in the Horde, she preferred to stay alone most of the time, plotting her intrigues and conducting experiments, usually more or less unsuccessful. Once, one almost killed her... If it weren't for Catra finding her unconscious on the floor, she would probably have faced the Creeping Chaos much earlier. Of course, she returned the favor by yelling at Catra, furious that the girl saw her in a moment of weakness. Now she was happy with Ireanis' presence, thanks to the Elf it was easier for her to endure both the rehab and the waiting. Lonnie gave her and Ireanis a room, asked to share a room with two separate beds, but hasn't called her since. The room was comfortable, located among the outer buildings of the castle, where servants and officers probably lived in oldtimes. It was spacious, but so short that her head hit the ceiling; the inhabitants of Castle Crypto were not known for their height. It was always cloudy around the castle, and the windows were narrow, so it was dim. It didn't bother her, what was much worse was waiting to talk to Comrade General. She guessed that Lonnie wanted to soften her up by making her wait, and also to prepare for the interview with his former teacher. These weren't bad tactics, but they didn't have time for such games now, they had to come up with a plan as soon as possible to counter the Lord Admiral before it was too late!

Lonnie… She didn't know this girl well, at least not as well as she should have, as proven by the fact that she had to rely on her for help. She remembered that the current Comrade General was Adora's friend, but she couldn't stand Catra. She was always the third best cadet, even though Catra and Adora were several levels more capable than her. Although she apparently didn't even appreciate it, she eventually became the leader of her own rebellion and even took over Entrapta's castle, although it wasn't really a great achievement. She organized her former comrades in arms and gave them a new purpose, making them a military force to be reckoned with. "As they say in the Pact Worlds, once you let a Genie out of the bottle you can't put it back in."

Finally she heard footsteps and the door to her room opened. There stood a small person who was probably not even eighteen years old when the war ended.

„Comrade General Lonnie is calling you to his quarters." it said, trying not to let its voice crack.

„You've grown up, Sune. Okay, take me to your leader. Ireanis, if any of my wards ask, tell them where I went. – she said and followed Sune

Itel looked for her friends. She found them by the fire, roasting marshmallows. Or rather, she found Rosie, Lilka and Alatar. Eti could be absolutely anywhere, and she would be here as soon as she smelled meat sizzling on the fire. Their ship landed nearby. They had even made a makeshift landing pad for him, and now Mr. Ilemshaw 's drones were floating above their heads. They lived on a ship, although they were also offered shelter in the castle, or rather its outer part. As far as she could tell, everyone was avoiding going inside the castle. As she approached, Rosie stood up and waved at her.

„Hi! Eti said she was going to look for Kyle and would be back in time for dinner." she said in sign language

„Kyle?" she asked, wondering who the deaf girl was talking about.

„You know, the tall blond one. He was nice to us. I guess that's why Eti wants to talk to him." Rosie replied. She nodded, she remembered him now. He was nice and quite handsome.

„Okay, where are Wrongdak and Emily?" she asked, and Alatar pointed behind him. The clone was cleaning the inside of the ship, more for the sake of something to do than out of any real need. Then Dragonkin asked a question himself

„Did you learn anything new?"

He grimaced before she answered him

„Nothing specific. They told me a little about Eti's sister and Miss Daisy's past, although I don't know what to think about it. This Catra has a lot of Eti in her, but more of their father. And what they said about Miss Daisy... I can't believe this drunkard could be someone everyone here is afraid of. If there is any truth in this, she must have fallen very low."

When she said this, she was given her own stick with marshmallows, and Alatar started stiking sausages and local bread onto other sticks. They stared into the fire for a moment until Rosie finally spoke carefully.

„You know, if I had known earlier that the Lord Admiral was evil and you didn't like him, I would have told you about him earlier."

Everyone froze and looked at the white-haired girl.

„So you knew about him before…" she asked slowly in a very quiet and seemingly calm voice, and Rosie blushed and looked down guiltily.

„Because our expedition was related to the fleet from the beginning. That's what the others said. Dilayla, Arkan-tar, Miss Daisy, but they forbade me to mention it to anyone. I would tell you everything anyway if..."

She didn't let her finish. Feeling rage flooding through her, she summoned her moonblade and leapt at the girl.

„You false, traitorous bitch! You planned it all from the beginning!" she screamed, putting the blade to her throat. Rosie tried to back away and started waving her arms.

„Silence, you crippled whore!" she said and ripped her glasses off her face, and then, to the white-haired girl's horror, crushed them with her shoe with cold satisfaction.

„Listen, Itel. I think you're exaggerating a bit... maybe you could sit down and calm down?" Alatar said carefully, but she ignored him. He's always been a wimp. She smiled predatorily and said.

„ Now you will pay for everything." and she jumped at the girl, taking a swing. She didn't actually mean to kill her, just to tear her face open or take out one of her blue eyes. She won't be so fake cute anymore. But before she could strike, Rosie grabbed her hand and looked at her. Her eyes glowed white.

She liked it when others were afraid of her. She felt safe then, aware of how dangerous she was. If you were dangerous, no one could do anything to you. But she didn't want to be scary all the time. It made her feel guilty, like she was someone evil who should be feared, one who thought hurting others was just fun... she wasn't a monster, certainly not that bad anyway, and she didn't and she didn't want others to see her as one. Moreover, it was not her fear, but inherited from the other one. From that Catra. She didn't know why they were so afraid of her, but she would find out. That's why she was looking for this blond guy. He will definitely explain everything to her. He was her sister's friend after all... He certainly knew a lot about her. And besides, she liked him. He was afraid of everything, but he had courage in his heart, even if he fainted at the sight of Miss Daisy.

She found the blonde in the tool shed. It wasn't too difficult, the boy had a very specific scent around him. Now he was crouching down in thought and staring at this strange sword.

„Hey Blond Boy was she scary?" she asked, approaching him from behind. At the sound of her voice, he jumped and screamed softly, then turned towards her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

„Ah, it's just you... Do you have to be sneaky like that?" he asked with a trembling voice.

"Just You!" she thought indignantly and replied.

„Of course I could, why wouldn't I be able to, but why would I want to, and besides, a question isn't answered with a question. Haven't you in this Horde learned basic social skills?"

He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and disorientation, others often looked at her this way, and said in a very uncertain voice.

„I don't know who you mean… Shadow Weaver or Catra …"

„Well, of course my sister, because why would anyone in their right mind be afraid of Grimm? Sure, she knows some dark magic, but she's basically alright. She saved me and Sparkle Paw's skin several times, and you look at her as if she was electrocuting you for your insubordination..." she said, and he looked at her that way again.

„Because she did it, often... Especially to Catra... That and other, worse things. That's why Catra became the way she became. She was a bit like you and Shadow Weaver... Dangerous, ruthless, cunning, terrifying...„ He didn't finish because Eti interrupted him.

„Yes, those are my traits, but how was she similar to Shadow Weaver?" she asked, tilting her head on her shoulder. Kyle took a deep breath as if to say something, but then stopped and stared at her hand. She rolled up her sleeve and put it under his nose.

„Cool, isn't it? I had her when she woke up one day... I don't know exactly where she's from, I'm not sure, but it was after a fight where... Never mind, it can shock people with electricity , open locks and has these funny inscriptions...

„I know, I see them... „ the Blondie Boy blurted out.

„But only I can see them." she finished and started looking at him. "Can you read them?" she asked curiously. She guesses Rechiza could read them too, or at least that's what she claimed.

„Well, yes, but... „ he was as pale as a corpse, she felt like she was going to faint again. Just don't tell anyone about it because… Just don't tell anyone…"

The thought began to form in her mind that she probably knew why the boy didn't want anyone to know that he could read the First Ones' language. But there was one more thing she had to find out.

„Okay, but tell me what it says, because I can't read that."

The blonde nodded and began to look at her hand with concentration and then slowly read it.

„This is the Punishing Hand, created to avenge... And this is where the writing ends, I'm sorry... he looked at her apologetically, so she patted him on the shoulder. He smiled at her and seemed to want to ask her something, but then Itel screamed.

She wiped her forehead and looked at Shadow Weaver sitting in a chair, drinking tea. She shuddered. She hasn't gotten used to looking at her face yet. She should have known from the beginning that the arrival of that damned witch would not portend anything good, but not that it would be something so terrible.

„Did this guy, this Antares, come here with his fleet?" she asked, feeling her head starting to hurt more and more.

„I told you, I have no idea. I only saw a fragment of the conversation between the Lord Admiral and Glimmer. I don't know more than that, although our sensors didn't detect anything, but that was two days ago. Besides, I don't know if his ships have any jamming systems." she said in an irritated voice. With some effort, she stopped herself from cringing. All these years they had been afraid of her wrath, even the slightest anger. He won't let her do that to them again. Never again!

„Is he really such a monster as you say? And why should I believe all this? You've been feeding us lies for so many years, so how do I know you're not doing it again?"

The dark sorceress smiled sadly and spoke in a gloomy and very tired voice.

„You have no reason to trust me, I have earned your suspicion. But you don't have to ask me, ask those kids, they'll repeat everything I told you."

„You're talking about Catra's sister and the rest." she asked, frowning. The thought of damned Catra having a sister wandering freely around her castle was downright painfully frustrating. She didn't know what she should do now, she agreed to take it because she needed Shadow Weaver, but she didn't like the fact that her Catra amount had doubled. Truth be told, the girl wasn't that bad, she didn't get in her way, she just wandered around the castle. But after all, she was the sister of the Grand Marshal, and if what Hordak's old Right Hand said about the cat girls' father was true, then this whole damned family was corrupted through and through. She was very happy with the new alliances she had made, despite her earlier doubts.

„But what do you think we should do?" she asked the dark sorceress, who hesitated before answering.

„I had already taken some steps, although at that time I didn't know that the Lord Admiral would arrive here so soon, or that he was Catra's father…." she didn't finish because there were shrieks outside .

Itel tried to pull her hand from Rosie's grip, but she couldn't. The girl was unnaturally strong. So she kicked her in the chin as hard as she could, but it didn't help. The deaf girl clenched her hand and her bones broke. She screamed softly, luckily, she had high pain toleration, but she had to unsummon the blade, which she then had summoned in her other hand. From behind, Lilka tried to pull her back, but she was kicked hard and fell backwards for several minutes, but thanks to this she managed to pull her arm away, although the wrist was still broken. She attacked Rosie several times but the girl dodged them all without any problems, then she jumped high into the air and fell to the ground, dealing a terrible blow with her fist. She jumped away at the last moment, but the impact was so powerful that the ground shook and the elf fell over. She rolled under the truck, but Rosie jumped over to her and lifted the truck, then threw it aside. Where does this strength come from? The former intern was radiant with bright light, and her eyes were as uniformly white as a blind man's, although the brightest light emanated from them. The white-haired girl's face expressed absolute concentration, but otherwise she did not express any emotions. She lunged towards Itel, intending to strike a blow that would probably shatter her skull. But then black tentacles shot out towards the girl's arms and immobilized her. It didn't take long for them to suddenly break apart as the light coming from Rosie pulsated, but it gave the elf a moment to get back on her feet. She wasn't going to run away, even though she knew she couldn't defeat the deaf girl. It was a very stupid death, but she probably asked for it. Several rebel members tried to surround the girl, but she waved her hand and blasted them away with a wave of bright light. She was getting ready to receive the final blow, but then Eti appeared behind Rosie and placed a metal hand on her shoulder. Then the glow faded and Rosie's eyes went back to normal. The girl began to look around confused and scared. She tried to say something, but apparently she had damaged her gloves during the fight and no one understood her... Except Eti... The cat girl said something reassuring in Sign Language, and Alatar began to talk about what happened. At first she felt a surge of anger towards the dragonkin, but the longer she listened to his words, the more she realized that she had gone too far. Eti hugged Rosie, who started sob spasmodically, and then she said.

„Listen, Itel. I know how you feel about me, and I love you too, but not like this... I can be your friend, sometimes I can even make love to you, but nothing more... Because you do things like this."

Tears began to run down Solarian's face. She realised that what Eti had said was final. That it was forever over between them.

„She knew that the entire expedition was organized by Antares and she didn't tell us anything, and she considers herself our friend! If it weren't for the Shadows of Tarak, we would all be lost!"

Alatar and Lilka looked at her with horror

„What have you done... „ said the shocked Dragonkin. Eti just said quietly.

„It's easy to see a hero in a villain..."

„Who are the Shadows of Tarak?" asked Lonnie, who had just arrived.

„The biggest bunch of bastards you can imagine." Dragonkin whispered.