"Hello. . . God, this feels weird." Catra muttered to herself. Slightly shaking her head, she looked up at the tablet positioned in front of her, recording.

"So, Mara said that I should record my thoughts and experiences as some type of journal. She says it will help me 'center myself' or something. I'm not sure about it." Catra said, pausing for a few seconds.

"I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to say during this. Hmm. I suppose I'll just say everything that's happened so far since I learned how to 'switch.'" Catra shifted awkwardly, somewhat self conscious of talking to herself.

"So after I learned to switch, I met Mara's. . .commanders? Is that the right word? Anyways, they helped me figure out I was time traveling and wanted some help with finding anything that could help them. Unfortunately, when I got back to the future, I couldn't find anything on anybody called the Eternians. After that I met some strange woman named Shadow Weaver and she said she raised me and I could do magic. She gave me a picture of me and Adora with three people I have yet to meet or remember.

"But I'm a little on the fence here, regarding her. At first, she seemed, I don't know, inviting? But thinking back on it, something seemed off. Maybe it's just nerves, but Adora's trip to Mystacor says something else." Catra said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"On the topic of Adora, she got back about two weeks ago with Bow and Glimmer. Bow's been really nice and is pretty respectful of my boundaries. He even gave me this tablet I'm recording with.

"Glimmer is. . .weird. I can't pin her down. She doesn't seem to like me very much and I'm sure that has to do with me being a former Horde captain. But whenever we do talk about anything else, it's like we get each other. It's strange, like I said.

"Adora is. . .complicated. It's so easy to talk to her and she seems to know every little thing I'm gonna do before I do it. She even knew what food I liked before I tried it. It's comforting in a way. It's like I don't need to impress her or try to get her respect or approval." Catra gave a small smile, tilting her head down. "But. . .It can be awkward, if that's the right word. It's a little strained sometimes, like something's missing. I know it has to do with the memories that I lost. Something must have happened between us that I can't remember.

"I've gotten more comfortable around Angella. She's very patient with me and I appreciate it. When we can sit down and talk, I find it's very calming. Like all of my worries melt away. It's an unfamiliar feeling. When I went back to 'switch,' Angella sat beside me and watched. By her account, I light up with 'brilliant hues of color' and then I pass out.

"When I switched back to Mara, she had several things to say. I guess my theory about the time of day and night was correct, because I had slept through a full day and night beside her. I had to explain that the mental strain had been taking a toll on me and I needed to sleep and not just switch. She was pretty understanding. That day kind of sucked. Mainly because I had to explain it to several people. When Kai and Stratos talked to me about my findings, they offered several answers about my lack of findings in the library. The most prominent ones being that their particular race was going by a different name and not Eternians or they didn't exist in her timeline.

"What's funny is that Kai already guessed about my sleep problem. He seems pretty knowledgeable regarding these things. He's got a familiar feeling to him that I can't pin down. Probably something to do with being militaristic? I don't know, but I told them I'd check again and see if I could find any words regarding their language. I also couldn't read their writing. Mara laughed about that and explained it. Turns out their written language structure is so simple that you could learn it in an afternoon. Mara showed me how."

Catra stopped talking, putting her face in her hands before letting a breath out. "I'm not sure what to make of her. She's so kind and helpful, but she seems lonely. Like nobody hangs out with her. I decided that I'll check in on her from time to time. We're friends after all."

Catra's ears perked up as she paused. As if on cue, a knock at the door could be heard, "Catra, are you in there?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda in the middle of something, Adora. Can you give me a couple of minutes?"

"Oh, are you doing your recording thing? Sorry, I'll wait." Adora said through the door, somewhat muffled. As the sound of footsteps sounded away from the door, Catra turned back to the camera.

"Right, so, uh, anyways, like I said, It's been about two weeks and I've just been taking it easy. I've only talked to Mara twice since then. We found out that when I switch, I can only do it about two more times in quick succession before I need to stop. It gets kind of painful, so. . .yeah. Waiting a day or two is the smart decision, according to Angella and Kai. Mara said I shouldn't even consider doing it without waiting a day at least."

Catra shifted a couple of times before huffing and grabbing the tablet from where it was sitting. Walking back to the bed, she laid down and set it beside her face, able to see her reflection in the table as it recorded her. She turned to look up at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

"Bow was fascinated by the prospect of time travel and wanted me to tell him more, Glimmer was skeptical and understandably so, and Adora. . . Well she wasn't too enthused about me messing with the things that made me lose my memory. She outright confirmed what Shadow Weaver said to me. That I could never do magic before this whole thing. I don't know, I just thought that she would be happy about it. But all she said was that I shouldn't mess around with it. That if I 'remembered' my past experiences with magic, I wouldn't want to mess with it." Catra ran a hand through her hair before pulling the photo of her and the other kids out and looked at it.

"I'm sure she means well, but how am I supposed to understand her about this? The only memories I have regarding magic are the ones from Earth. Every memory depicts magic as something cool and powerful, something to be harnessed and used, to better people's lives. Of course it's dangerous. I mean, how could it not be? Anything that can harm people is dangerous." Catra unsheathed her claws on her hand, examining them, "I have claws that can carve through steel and she didn't say not to use those. Why would she? They're a part of my body. But so is this magic."

Catra sat up, picking up the tablet, "Glimmer seemed kind of excited when she learned I could do magic, surprisingly. I figured she would have been uneasy, seeing as how her opinion of me is kind of negative right now. Either way, I'm going to approach this with caution. On Earth, there are a lot of depictions in the media of 'dark magic.' If that's the case here, then I'll have to be more careful."

Catra paused, looking around awkwardly, "That seems like a good place to end it. Um, I guess. . .End of log number 1?"


As Catra walked through the halls, she saw Adora holding a. . .scroll? "Hey Adora, what you got there?"

"Oh, Catra. Hey. Yeah, I don't know? It's some kind of invite." Adora said, looking back down at the half unrolled parchment.

"Well, let me see it," Catra said, snatching the paper from Adora's hands to her protests, "Welcome to blah blah blah, we, at the Kingdom of Snows, love snow, blah blah. Oh here we go." Catra cleared her throat while dodging Adora's attempts to take the invite from her hands.

"Princess Adora," Catra snorted at that, "You are hereby, formally invited to the All Princess Ball, Winterwonderland. You and a plus one of your choice may attend this once in a decade event."

"Catra, I already read that part. I'm just confused about what it is. Can I please have that back? I'm about to go ask Glimmer and Bow about it." Adora said, planting her hands on her hips in annoyance. Catra chuckled at her look of irritation, before handing her it back.

"What's to understand? You got invited to a ball and they want the mighty 'She-Ra' to attend." Catra said in a mock tone, puffing her chest out while raising an arm into the sky.

"Well, no duh. I'm just wondering what it's about. LIke, why am I getting an invite? Now come on," Adora said, grabbing Catra's hand and pulling her along, "I need to talk to Glimmer about it. Hopefully she'll shed some light on this."

Catra raised an eyebrow at the hand that was currently dragging her along, "Hey, Adora?" Aren't you trying to form some sort of alliance with the other princesses? If this thing is a princess only thing, doesn't that stand to reason that princesses will be there?"

Adora stalled her steps for all of a second, before continuing to trudge along. "Well, I mean, yeah? But I want to run it by Glimmer. She knows all about these events after all."

Catra rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh of defeat, "Lead on."

As they arrived at Glimmer's room, Adora knocked on the door, "Uh, hey, guys, I got an invite to the All Princess Ball, Winter Wonderland. Do you know what this is?"

Before Catra could react, the doors flew open to Glimmer and Bow yelling out 'princess prom.' As she watched them dance around the room in mock horror, she looked at Adora, who looked completely dumbfounded.

"Okay, well, you've gone crazy, got it. I'll just- I'll just come back later." Adora said as she went to leave the room to Catra's amusement.

"The princess ball is a meeting for all of the princesses of Etheria." Bow said, walking over to Adora.

"And a giant party," Glimmer said before teleporting in front of Adora, grabbing her into a tango spin, "Dancing, food, fancy dresses." she said ecstatically.

"Dancing?" Adora said, her voice a mixture of fear and shock.

""It only happens once a decade. I've been waiting years for this." Glimmer said, letting Adora stand back up as she turned away.

"Uh, I'm only a princess sometimes, so are you sure I should even go?" Adora asked nervously, looking at Catra for some support.

"Of course. Every princess is invited, that includes you." Glimmer said smiling.

"Oh yeah, It's all in the invite." Bow said, unraveling the scroll. Catra took notice of the deceptively long scroll as it rolled across the room. Adora blinked at the sight before leaning down and picking up a section of the laid out parchment.

"Okay, rules for greeting the hostess. Expected curtsy?" Adora scoffed, a smirk on her lips, "Proper stair descending etiquette?"

"The ball has been going on for centuries. There's a lot of really old etiquette stuff you gotta do before you can party." Bow said sheepishly.

"But it's gonna be so fun! And Princess Frosta is hosting it this year in the Kingdom of Snows! Her magic is incredibly powerful. She'd be a huge get for the rebellion." Glimmer said pointedly.

Adora whimpered as she sat down. Catra laughed out loud at Adora's plight, before Glimmer cut her off.

"Don't worry, I'll be right there with you. And so will Bow, since he's going as my plus one." Glimmer said.

"Um, Actually–" Bow went to say before being cut off.

"And besides, you'll have Catra with you since, as you just found out, princesses get a plus one. Together, the four of us can accomplish anything." Glimmer said, gesturing to a now shocked Catra.

"About that. . ." Bow went to speak again.

"It's the best friend squad in action! Right Bow?" Glimmer said confidently.

"I'm going with Perfuma." Bow forced out before he could be interrupted again.

"What?!" Glimmer cried out.

"'What' is right. I'm not going to some stupid dance. Let Adora dress up in a dress. She's the princess. Besides, have you all forgotten that your mom doesn't want me to be on the front lines?" Catra said, crossing her arms, her tail swishing agitatedly through the air.

"What happened to your humor, Catra?" Adora said slyly, "You seemed to be laughing a second ago."

"Nothing happened to it. I still think it'll be hilarious to see you dolled up in a dress. But if you think you'll catch me in one of those frilly death traps, guess again. I'd tear them to shreds before I would make it out the door." Catra said unabashedly, as if she had not just threatened to tear up a very expensive piece of clothing.

Bow seemed to have other ideas, though. "Oh, come on Catra. Don't you want to see more of Etheria? You've been stuck in the castle for two weeks. You have to be getting bored?"

"If I wanted to see more of Etheria, I'd switch and ask Mara." Catra didn't catch Adora's look of annoyance at the mention of Catra's new friend, "And Angella wouldn't let me leave the castle anyways."

"We haven't even asked her, yet. You don't even know what she'll say, Catra." Bow said.

"You know what? Yeah, that's right. If I have to suffer through a dance, then you're coming with me." Adora said with a smirk, her posture betraying her cocky attitude.

Catra looked at all three of them in silence as they looked back at her. After several seconds of silence, Catra's ear twitched. Immediately, Adora went for a full dive tackle, which Catra dodged effortlessly.

"Don't let her get to your mom, Glimmer! She'll persuade her not to let her go. We have to get there first!" Adora yelled as Catra ran out the door.

As Catra ran through the halls towards the throne room, a flash of pink sparkles appeared in front of her, obscuring her vision. She narrowly dodged Glimmer's arms as she went to grab her.

"Catra, just hold still." Glimmer uttered through clenched teeth.

"Nah, I think I'm good." Catra called back as she started to run on all fours. The approaching sounds of feet hitting the marble floors told her that Adora was right behind her and quickly closing the distance.


As Angella sat at the war table with Juliet, Spinerella, and Nettossa, she heard the muffled sound of yelling and running behind the main door. Letting out a sigh, she stood up and walked toward the door.

"Catra, you're coming with me!"

"Like hell I am. Just go with Glimmer. Bow's going with some other person and you can go with Glimmer, problem solved."

"You can't stay in the castle forever!"

"Oh, yes I can."

"Got you!"

"Get off, Sparkles!"

"Glimmer, Catra, stop fighting. What if the queen sees?

"She will realize that I am 'Horde scum that is attacking her daughter' and tell me that I am 'not to go to some stupid dance.'"

"Don't mock my mom's voice! And she not stupid. She'll let you go, maybe she'll even force you."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Angella pinched the ridge of her nose, before opening the door. As if on cue, Glimmer, Catra, and Adora rolled into the room in a tangle of limbs. Looking up showed Bow following close behind. As the argument continued, Angella looked at Bow, silencing him with a look. She turned back to the ball that was Glimmer, Adora, and Catra and cleared her throat.

Immediately Glimmer teleported out of the wrestling match and stood in front of her mother. Catra went to speak before Adora shoved her to the side, standing up quicker than Catra could.

"Your Majesty–" Adora spoke.

"Mom–" Glimmer said at the same time as Adora.

Before either of them could get a word out, Angella held a hand up, effectively silencing both of them. Catra snickered as she pushed herself off of the ground.

"Adora, explain what is going on." Angella said in a stern voice with a hint of exasperation.

"At once, Your Majesty. You see, I had received an invite for the All Princess Ball, Winter Wonderland. After Glimmer and Bow explained it to me, they said I may bring a plus one. I request that Catra be allowed to attend with me as my plus one." Adora explained in a militaristic fashion that showed her upbringing. Angella remained silent, as if thinking about what she had just heard. Her face must have not inspired too much hope, because Catra's tone was heavy with smugness as she spoke.

"Ha, told you Adora. Don't feel too bad though. I would never have–"

"Granted." Angella said with an almost unnoticeable smirk. Almost.

"What?! Why? It's only been two weeks, how can you be so sure I won't turn tail and run with everything I've learned? It's unsafe and unwise to–" Catra tried to talk her way out of it before being interrupted by Nettossa.

"Face it, Catra. You're going to Princess Prom. Just accept your loss with dignity."

". . .Who are you?" Catra asked after a moment of confused silence.

"Oh where are our manners? I am Spinnerella and this is my wife Nettossa. Pleased to meet you." Spinnerella said.

Catra took note of their appearance. Spinnerella had light pink skin like that of Angella and Glimmer. Her hair was dark lavender and she had deep blue eyes. She was wide hipped and wore a pink and purple leotard-like armor. Her choker had a blue gem on it that matched Netossa's color theme.

Netossa was a dark skinned woman with dark eyes and silver blue hair. She had on silver gray vambraces with blue stars on them. She had a build similar to that of Angella but not as tall. She also wore a choker, like that of Spinnerella, although hers matched Spinerella's color theme. She also took note, that despite being married, neither wore a ring.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Nice to meet you?" Catra said awkwardly before turning back to Angella, "Like I was saying, I can't be trusted to go to this dance. You should lock me in my room for the night."

"Catra, I can safely say that you can be trusted. I also know that you have no memory of the Horde or you wouldn't have been reading that book about the Horde history. Besides, every princess will be at Princess Prom. If every princess combined couldn't stop you, then I fear for the rebellion." Angella said slyly, a smirk on her face. "Besides, are you telling me that you can't handle a dance? Here I thought you were much more capable than that Catra. Oh well, I suppose you can stay if you would like, but I–"

"Woah, woah, back it up there. I can handle a dance. It'd be easy too. You just have to remember the stupid etiquette." Catra said, crossing her arms, "I'm just not keen on wearing a dress. . . Or shoes for that matter. My claws don't exactly mix well with fabric, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Then it's settled. I will have several suits prepared and Glimmer and Bow can coach you on proper etiquette. This will be a breeze for you as you have just now assured me. This meeting is dismissed for the day. Everyone, enjoy yourselves. It only comes around once a decade. Make some memories." Angella said as she strode out of the room.

Catra blinked, confused, "What just happened?"

"It looks like you're coming with me to Princess Prom. Don't feel too bad though, I would never have gone without you." Adora said smugly, throwing an arm around Catra's shoulders. Spinnerella and Netossa gave a small laugh.

Catra gently shoved a hand in Adora's face with an annoyed hiss, taking care not to cut her with her claws. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Catra turned towards the sound of laughter, irritation flooding her body.

"Don't feel too bad Catra. Adora beat everyone's scores, not just yours. It's nothing to be upset about." Kyle said gently.

"Yeah, except her score was the highest for once. Maybe if she put in more effort, she wouldn't be so agitated right now." Lonnie said angrily, holding a hand over a bleeding gash on her shoulder..

"That's not fair Lonnie. We lost too and Catra did try. She did her best." Kyle defended Catra.

"Did her best? Ha, that'll be the day. Catra doesn't try. She's self centered, arrogant, and lazy," Lonnie turned to look at Catra, letting out a harsh laugh, "The day you actually try is the day that Shadow Weaver says she's proud of you."

Catra could feel herself becoming more and more angry the longer Lonnie laughed. Her claws were unsheathed and her hair was standing up on end.

"Fuck you, Lonnie." Catra snapped at the laughing woman. The room was a lot quieter now, all eyes focused on Catra.

"Catra are you okay?" Adora asked, sympathetically.

Catra looked around at her surroundings. Looking down at her hands, she could see her claws were out and her fur was standing up. Taking a deep breath, she put her claws away and smoothed the fur on her tail back down. Coming to the realization that she had been caught in the middle of a memory, she turned towards Netossa and went to apologize before being cut off.

"Ah, save it. I understand and it's fine. No harm no foul. Are you alright?" Netossa asked in a relaxed tone.

"Uh, yeah. . .yeah, I think so. Sorry for killing the mood." Catra apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Castaspella said that that's normal. It means you're recovering your memories." Bow said as Adora rubbed Catra's back calmingly.

"But didn't I try and kill you guys a couple weeks ago? Why is me getting my memories back a good thing for you guys?" Catra questioned.

"Because, even if you want to fight us again, you'll have yourself back. No one should go through that. Not even our enemies. Not that you're our enemy or anything. . .I meant that–" Bow stuttered out a hasty response before being cut off by Catra.

"I get what you meant. . .Thanks." Catra muttered that last part. Adora gave her a small smile, to which Catra gave one back.

"Sooo. . .Which one was Lonnie again?" Glimmer asked curiously.

"She's a dark skinned girl. I think you fought her at the Salineas gate, Glimmer?" Adora offered. Glimmer's face lit up in recognition.

"Oh yeah! Was she not your friend?"

"I wouldn't think so with the response I just got." Netossa said, leaning back in her chair.

"She was a friend. She could just be a bit much at times. I couldn't even pinpoint which moment you remembered just now if I tried. You two have butt heads more times than I can count." Adora informed her.

Catra thought about that. The picture she had gotten had a younger Lonnie in it. She was smiling and had a hand on Catra's shoulder. Kyle had also been smiling in the photo. Rojelio might have been smiling, it was hard to tell, but the photo showed that they were all in the same squad. Maybe their relationship was similar to Mara's and Serenia's. Not quite best friends but definitely more than an acquaintance. Slowly nodding her head, she turned to look at Adora.

"Lonnie was berating me for being lazy and self centered. Kyle was there too. He was trying to cheer me up, saying not to 'feel too bad, that you had beaten everyone's score.' She was holding her arm. It was bleeding." Catra explained to Adora.

"Oh. . .was there a gash on her shoulder? And did she say anything about Shadow Weaver?" Adora asked.

"That's oddly specific, Adora." Spinnerella said.

"Actually, yeah. Something about Shadow Weaver being proud or something. My claws were out." Catra said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I remember that. It's not something I like to remember.." Adora said.

"Tell me." Catra said bluntly.

"What?" Adora asked, taken aback.

"Tell me. I don't have the full memory. Tell me about what happened next. Please." Catra said, looking at Adora pleadingly, her eyes becoming soft and wide.

"Alright, alright. Just stop making that face. You said you'd never do that again." Adora muttered. "Okay let's see. . ."

As Adora started to tell the story of the events that led up to that point, Glimmer and Bow wandered off, saying that Glimmer wanted to talk to Bow privately. After they had left, Netossa and Spinnerella had sat back down in their chairs, intrigued.

"The score that had been beaten had been an all around score, focusing on speed, aggression, and overall combat ability. Catra had held the top score for the first time and was quite proud of it. At some point, I had beaten it and Lonnie had provoked Catra over it.

"Well, you stormed off muttering about Lonnie. The thing was, Lonnie was kind of right. You didn't try if you didn't have to. You preferred to stay in the back, away from the limelight. Not that that's not a bad thing. Kyle did the same thing throughout most of our childhood years.

But Lonnie had pushed you. So that week you decided to, er, apply yourself. You beat every score I had, by a pretty good margin I might add. You were determined to make Lonnie eat her words." Adora went silent for a moment before continuing, "After the scores were tallied, Lonnie looked pretty shocked. She couldn't believe that you had topped all of my scores. Nobody had ever even come close and you blew my scores completely out of the water. Lonnie apologized for what she had said."

"As she should have," Netossa said, nodding, "Wasn't even her business to begin with."

"Well I was really happy for you, Catra. We all were. We were–"

"Wait, why don't you like to remember this? This seems pretty awesome. Catra proved everyone wrong, right?" Netossa asked, confused.

"I was getting to that part. We were celebrating your achievement. You had set a record, actually. . .But then Shadow Weaver came in. She took one look at you and your scores and had decided that the rest of us weren't trying hard enough. That we were slacking off. It's like she couldn't handle you beating me.

"She said you hadn't accomplished anything on your own. That you owed it to me and that my potential had rubbed off onto you or something." Adora's hands were clenched white-knuckled. "She couldn't dispute the fact that you had broken several records, not when the numbers were in front of everyone. She congratulated you though. She let you relax for the next week."

"Okay, besides the obvious devaluation of your victory, she still congratulated you though. How is that a bad thing?" Spinnerella asked, slightly lost.

Catra had already realized what had happened. She didn't need her memories to figure out what had happened. "It was bad because if I could do it, then why should they be struggling, right?"

Adora nodded, "Yeah, Catra was 'supposedly' the worst one in our squad. So when she broke those records, we had to catch up. Unfortunately, the rest of us couldn't keep up. As it turns out, due to Catra's physiology, she's a lot stronger than most people. Her muscles matured a lot faster as well. So while Catra could hit these extreme scores for a ten year old. . ."

"The rest of you couldn't." Spinnerella said, aghast.

"Yeah. . .and Shadow Weaver drilled it into us for a week after that. 'Life's not fair, Catra is better than you.' She made sure that Catra couldn't help us or participate in any shape or form. Shadow Weaver gave you extra meals, gave you extra privileges, you even got to meet the Force Captains. Anything to show us what we were missing out on because we couldn't keep up." Adora explained bluntly.

"She was trying to make you all angry at me, wasn't she?" Catra asked in a small voice.

"Yeah and unfortunately it succeeded. We were always together, so I knew you could hit those scores long before you ever did. It didn't bother me and I was too happy that you were getting the recognition you deserved that I didn't notice what she was doing at the time. But Lonnie and Rojelio? They were too angry to think about it. We were ten, how could we understand?

"About three days into that week, you had realized what was going on and had tried to get Shadow Weaver to stop, to let us get some rest. She told you that they had slacked off. That we had to realize what we had done wrong and that until we could top your scores or at the very least come close, we would do those drills until we couldn't move."

"What a bitch." Netossa muttered darkly. Spinnerella put a comforting hand on her wife's shoulder before speaking.

"So what happened? Were you allowed to stop?"

Adora nodded, a small smile graced her face before slowly disappearing, "Catra hadn't shown up on the fourth day for our drills. See, I hadn't known until a couple hours later, but Shadow Weaver had received word that Catra had hurt one of the Force Captains. That had been enough for her to turn her abuse on to Catra again. Lonnie had been run ragged and was angry, but Kyle had figured it out. He had seen what Catra had done for us and defended her.

From that point on, you started slacking, Catra. You wouldn't show up to practices on time. You would break things or show up at the last second. You kept your scores just high enough to stay on the squad, but just low enough that nobody cared. But I knew the truth and Lonnie did too."

Catra sat quietly, thinking about what she had just heard about Shadow Weaver.

"I was hard on you, much harder than on Adora, this is true. I won't deny it and I won't apologize. I wanted you to be strong, to be prepared for the world. It is unforgiving and dangerous and even now, subconsciously, you retain those lessons."

"Helloooo, Etheria to Catra, are you in there?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just. . .thinking about something." Catra paused for a second before turning to Adora, "Was this Shadow Weaver woman our mother figure? Did she raise us?"

"I mean. . .yes? Kind of. More of a commanding officer. She taught us how to tie our boots and how to read and how to subvert the enemy and be victorious in battle." Adora explained.

"So, mom stuff. Got it." Netossa said.

"No, commanding officer stuff. . . and mom stuff." Adora reluctantly added that last part.

"Then she couldn't have been that bad." Catra said out loud. Adora whipped her head at Catra in disbelief.

"Catra, you absolutely hated her. You were the one who was always taking the brunt of the punishment. She is that bad." Adora said firmly.

"Well, Angella is super nice and supportive and not all moms are the same. Plus you said we were in the Horde and that's like a military thing right? Maybe she was just doing her job." Catra said, feeling as if she wasn't hearing the full story.

Adora looked like she wanted to say something else before she let out a sigh. "Look, Catra, I know you lost your memories and you want to get them back, but Shadow Weaver is not like Angella. She's abusive and cruel and manipulative and. . .and she'll say or do anything to take advantage of you. Especially now that you don't remember anything about her."

"But what if–"

"No, Catra. There are no 'what if's.' She's a horrible person who would physically and mentally hurt us." Adora said before continuing in a gentler tone, "I'm not lying to you Catra. I just want you to be prepared for when your memories come back."

Catra slightly narrowed her eyes. She wanted to snap at Adora, to tell her to let her make her own decision on this. But she held her tongue. Adora could see that Catra wasn't happy with what she was being told, but in her opinion, Catra needed to hear this.

"Fine." Catra said through gritted teeth, before turning and walking towards the door.

"Catra, hold on. I didn't mean. . .I'm just trying to–" Adora went to say before Spinnerella and Netossa stopped her.

"Let her cool down. She's just agitated about her memory loss. Let her work through it on her own." Spinnerella said comfortingly.

"I'm not trying to tell her what to do." Adora said, frustrated.

"We know and so does she. She just needs a minute." Adora let out a sigh of defeat.


Catra had decided to get something to eat. Recently, she had found eating or drinking something calmed her down. She had also found that dragging her claws across things also worked, much to Angella's irritation. She figured out that doing that while in the castle was not a good idea.

An hour passed before Catra had calmed down enough to go see what Angella was up to. She found her in the throne room looking over some papers. As she approached her, she turned her gaze to Angella's wings. It wasn't the first time she had taken an interest in her wings. They were quite deceiving to the eye and if you didn't know any better you would say they weren't physically a part of her due to their transparency. Their natural radiance gave a shifting pattern of light that rippled across her feathers. It was quite captivating, if she was being honest. She was quite envious of Angella. If she wanted privacy, she simply needed to go up into the sky.

"Catra, it's rude to stare." Angella said, an eyebrow raised.

"Huh? Oh, uh, sorry." Catra fidgeted with slight embarrassment.

"It's alright, although, keep in mind that staring at me in that manner might send me mixed signals. Do you understand where I'm going with this?" Angella asked with an amused smile.

"I'm not sure what. . ." Catra's words died on her lips as a look of understanding spread across her face.

"No! That's not what–I mean–I wasn't– I-I'm just gonna go." Catra said, flustered, her face a bright shade of red.

As she turned to walk away, Angella's laughter rang out in the hall, "Catra, come back. I'm only teasing you. You were staring at my wings, yes?"

"Y-Yeah, I was." Catra said, fidgeting in place, as her embarrassment slowly died down.

"What did you want to talk about?" Angella asked, her smile still present from her joke.

"Nothing, I was just bored. Adora irritated me so I went and got something to eat and now everyone's run off to go prepare for their high school dance." Catra said, still a bit sour over earlier.

"High school? Is that an academic thing?" Angella asked.

Catra realized that high school was not a thing on Etheria. "Oh, uh, no. It's from Earth. Kids go through pre-school at five years old to learn to read, then they go through a thing called kindergarten at six, then grade school for five years, middle school for three, and then high school for four. Then they'd have a choice of going to college.

"Ah, I see. That is a fascinating concept. And their parents are okay with sending their children away for these long periods of time? I assume it's similar to the tutoring systems the princesses have?" Angella asked.

"Uh, yeah, kinda? They go for several hours a day and then go home." Catra said, slightly glad the topic had changed from the embarrassment she had just suffered.

"Ah, so I was right. Basically tutoring. And as they got older, the lessons would naturally become more advanced and difficult." Angella stood up and started walking through the halls, beckoning Catra to follow.

"Here, on Etheria, we have no knowledge of other worlds, besides Earth. It's a completely foreign concept and even then, only the community of Mystacor has knowledge of it. So while I am quite eager to learn more about it, I do insist that we pause this discussion. You have to pick what you would like to wear to princess prom tomorrow night." Angella said as she stopped in front of a room that Catra hadn't been in yet.

"Just give me a suit and call it good. I don't really care what I'm wearing." Catra said, irritation slipping into her tone.

"Do you remember what I told you about appearances?" Angella asked expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Appearance is important. Can't rule a kingdom with a bedhead." Catra recited.

"That's right, now come. Your input is important and the measurements need to be fitted to your height and build. It'll be fun. You've never picked clothes before, am I right? Adora only ever wears her jacket, but I feel like you like diversity and style.

"What's wrong with her jacket?" Catra asked as she followed her into the room.

"Nothing's wrong with it per say, it's just that Adora doesn't like to dress up. It's something to do with her upbringing regarding routine. I suspect you would have done the same had you not lost your memories." Angella paused before turning towards Catra with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry. I have steered the conversation to less than pleasant territory."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Besides, they're coming back. Slowly. But they are coming back." Catra said, waving Angella's apology off.

"Well, here we are. Where would you like to start first?" Angella said, gesturing to shelves and dressers filled with clothing. Catra was taken aback. She had no clue where to start. As she went to say something, a thought hit her.

"Shouldn't I do this with Adora? I'm her date for this thing, right? Shouldn't our choice of clothing match? Appearance and all that?" Catra asked, turning to look at Angella.

"Oh, um, if you wish to do that, you may. But, typically, the custom for princess prom is to surprise your plus one after choosing your attire, although the younger generation has somewhat forgone it." Angella said, slightly flustered.

Catra raised an eyebrow at Angella's flustered response, "What's with that response? Is it weird to match at a ball? Earth dances do that all the time."

"Oh, it's not. . .uncommon. It's just normally reserved for married couples." Angella explained.

Catra blinked at that answer, "Say what?"

"Well, it's an Etherian tradition for engaged and married couples to match color schemes. If you look at Netossa and Spinnerella, you may notice that their clothing had matching highlights." Angella said.

Catra thought back at their meeting earlier. Angella was right. Their vambraces and chokers matched one another's colors. She had simply thought they were doing that as a way to signify their closeness in their marriage, now she realized that it was actually tradition.

"On Earth, the way to signify your marriage is to present a wedding band, er, ring to your spouse. You would both wear these rings on your left hand on the fourth finger. These rings would be identical." Catra explained. "I just thought that they chose not to wear rings or something."

"Ah, no. Although I see the parallels of matching colors or jewelry pieces. But I can get Adora if you wish. I'm sure that–"

"No!" Catra cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed, "No, it's fine. We can stick to customs. If princess prom says to surprise your date, we can do that. I assume Glimmer's helping her pick a dress and she seemed pretty excited about that, so. . . yeah."

Angella gave a small smile, "Alright, Catra, let's see what we have."

Throughout the next hour, Catra tried on dresses that offered functionality for claws and a tail. By the seventh dress, Catra had decided that a suit was the better choice.

"So, tell me Catra, have you given any thought to who's memories you might have? Adora says you have had a few minor personality shifts. Mainly your speech patterns." Angella asked while a servant took Catra's measurements for a suit.

"What do you mean by speech patterns?" Catra asked, confused.

"Nothing bad. Just that you seemed to speak more properly and you started cursing a bit more." Angella said, holding up two suits, to which Catra shook her head at both.

"Oh, yeah, that. I mean. . . not really? I had a dream that I can't quite remember. Something to do with Earth, but it's strange. I have so many memories about Earth that I can recall effortlessly, but not that one. Do you think it means something?"

"That depends. Can you recall anything like specific people in it? Or any feelings associated with your dream?" Angella asked, turning to face Catra.

"Actually, kind of, yeah. It was a mix of excitement and anxiousness. But, I can't remember any faces."

"Hmm, I wonder if this dream was actually a personal memory of this person that created the shards. As we get older and learn about the world around us, we kind of stop thinking about it. It's just there. Kind of like the air. You don't think about breathing, you just do it. It's just something that's there. If this was a personal memory, it may be more intimate."

"Huh, I hadn't thought about it like that. Well whatever it was, it doesn't pertain to me. So, whatever." Catra said, shrugging.

Angella's thoughts were filled with images of the mysterious woman that had appeared before her. She had an idea that this woman was from Earth. She wouldn't speak of her yet, not until she had a better understanding of the shards. Angella turned with a suit in hand back towards Catra.

"What about this one?" Angella asked.

Catra was about to shoot it down out of reflex, but paused when she looked at it. The suit coat and pants were a dark purple, almost burgundy and the trim that ran along the edges of the coat was a light purple, borderline pink. The undershirt was the same color, giving it a nice clash of dark red hues. It seemed to be missing something though.

Angella thought that this one might catch Catra's eye. She had heard descriptions of Catra back when she was still a force captain. The appearance given to her in reports always depicted her in dark reds and purples. So when she had seen this suit in the piles of suits, she figured Catra might like this one. Seeing Catra take an interest in one of the suits made her smile. She had been fairly dismissive of most of the choices, but she seemed to have taken an interest in this one.

"Somethings missing." Catra muttered to herself, her irritation catching Angella's attention.

"Ah, there it is." Angella said with a smile.

"There, what is?" Catra asked in confusion, turning her focus to Angella.

"You are now going through what every person who goes to princess prom goes through. Tell me, would you go to princess prom wearing that suit as is?" Angella asked with a grin now fully present on her face.

"No, it's not right. Something's missing. Is that the full piece? Are there any accessories to it?" Catra asked, taking it from Angella and holding it up in the mirror.

Angella shook her head, "No, what you are holding is it."

Catra hummed at that before letting out an annoyed growl. As she went to set it down, a flash of white and gold caught her eye. Turning towards the shelf, she laid the suit down on the chair before walking over. As she pulled out the eye-catching cloth, she found it was a single white coat, with its shoulders and cuffs adorned in gold highlighting.

"What did you find?" Angella asked.

Catra turned before pulling the coat on. It was a little big and it needed to be tightened a bit to fit her, beyond that Catra quite liked it. It was a far cry from what she typically wore and it clashed with her current clothing choice, but there was something about the white and gold that made it appealing to her.

"It looks nice on you," Angella said with a smile, "Unfortunately, beyond the coat, there is nothing else to it. It's only the coat."

"Nothing? Could we pair it with something?" Catra asked. She didn't know why she liked it. Perhaps it made her seem more mature?

"Is that what you are planning on wearing to princess prom? If so, I'm sure we could find something." Angella said.

"Oh, uh, no. I just. . .kind of like the coat." Catra said as she took it off. Maybe it was because it was eye-catching. It definitely stood out among the other colors. Holding it up beside all of the suits, she couldn't unsee it. To Catra, it was one of, if not the most captivating thing in the room. It was. . .enthralling.

"You may keep it if you wish." Angella said.

"Really? You don't mind?" Catra asked, turning her head to meet Angella's gaze.

"Catra, that is the most interested I've seen you all day and over a coat no less. If you like the coat that much, take it. It's just a coat and if you want to find something that matches with it later, come talk to me. It's no trouble, I assure you. Think of it as a gift."

"Thank you. I mean it." Catra said, a smile lighting up her face.

"I take it, you are going to wear the burgundy suit then?" Angella said, picking it up from where it was draped.

"Yeah, I think that's the one. But I–"

"Queen Angella, are you in here?" Adora's voice rang out from the corridor, her footsteps quickly approaching the door.

"Mom, Adora and I need an accessory. Sorry if we're interrupting. We'll be–" Glimmer said before being cut off.

With surprising speed and agility that Angella had not seen before, Catra had jumped through the furniture, maneuvered through the piles of clothing, and landed in front of the door before slamming it shut.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Glimmer exclaimed.

"I'm in the middle of making a choice, sparkles." Catra yelled through the door.

"So? Why'd you slam the door in our faces?" Adora asked.

Glimmer's muffled voice came through the door, "Ohhh, sorry. I didn't know you were here."

"What's that matter? Catra, are you still mad at me?" Adora asked.

"What? No. You just aren't allowed to see me until I've picked what I'm gonna wear." Catra said through the door.

"Why not? I don't care if you see what I picked." Adora said, confusion present in her voice.

"It's custom, Adora. You're not supposed to let your plus one see you until you both are in your outfits. Not many people do that anymore. I hadn't even thought of that." Glimmer let out a gasp before speaking, "You didn't see Adora, did you?"

"Nope. Now shoo, I'm almost done picking." Catra said.

"Do you care if I come in? I just need to grab something for Adora." Glimmer asked aloud.

Catra paused before turning to look at the burgundy suit. Glimmer's input would help and she, herself, couldn't place what was missing. "Only you. Adora, we'll talk later, alright?"

"I still need to tell you about customs and the curtsy and other stuff. You also have stuff you need to know as my plus one." Adora said.

"Got it, I'll show up after this and we can go over it. Now shoo, Glimmer will be back in a second." Catra said through the door.

"Alright." Adora said,before turning to nod at Glimmer. As she walked back to the room, Glimmer teleported into the room, landing on a large pile of suits.

"Great, I need your opinion." Catra said, hauling Glimmer to her feet.

"Mine? What do you need my help for?" Glimmer asked. Angella watched in amusement as Catra pulled Glimmer to the side, showing her the suit.

"Something's missing and I don't know what. Help me out." Catra said, holding the suit in front of her.

"Ooh, I like that. But you're right." Glimmer let out a hum as she examined the suit up and down.

"Well, for one, it should have a tie. And it should be black or the same color as the suit's coat." Glimmer said as she walked to a specific shelf and pulled out two ties.

Catra examined both ties and decided it should match the coat. Glimmer was in agreement. As Catra walked out in the suit, Glimmer and Angella nodded in approval.

"I don't know," Catra said as she examined herself in the mirror, "should I wear shoes? You said it's going to be at the Kingdom of. . .Snows. . ."

"Oh, don't worry about the temperature. It's regulated through magic. It's actually quite warm in the palace." Angella said.

"No, not that. Gloves." Catra said in realization.

"What about gloves?" Angella asked?

"What it's missing. I need some gloves. And maybe some different footwear." Catra said, examining her feet.

Glimmer teleported to a top shelf and grabbed a pair of black fingerless gloves and black dress shoes that left her heels and toes free. After she put them on she twisted and turned, examining herself in the mirror once more. She was quite happy with her choice.

Catra turned towards Glimmer and Angella, "What do you think?" Catra with a smirk on her face.

"It looks great. And it really suits you. But aren't you gonna do your tie?" Glimmer asked.

"Nah, I think it looks better undone." Catra said.

"It's quite becoming. You look quite confident, which gives you a certain appeal and attraction. But what matters is what you think of it." Angella said, encouragingly.

"I think. . .I look hot." Catra said, turning once more to admire herself in the mirror before turning towards Glimmer, "Thanks for the help Glimmer. I couldn't place it."

"No problem, now can you do me a favor?" Glimmer asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Catra asked.

"Could you turn around? I don't want you seeing what I'm grabbing for Adora."

"Oh, right. Sure." Catra said as she turned her back to Glimmer. Catra heard the sound of shuffling for a few seconds.

"Thanks, I'll see you later. You can turn back around again." Catra heard Glimmer say before a flash of sparkles lit up her vision.

"Aaand she's gone." Catra said, a chuckle leaving her lips.

"So excited, isn't she?" Angella said.

"So is she taking someone else? What, with Bow going with Perfuma and all?"

"Oh, is he? I had figured he–" Angella was cut off by Catra.

"Wait a second! Isn't Perfuma the vine girl? Why's he going with the girl who tried to kill me!" Catra exclaimed.

Angella rolled her eyes, "She didn't try and kill you. She merely tied you up."

"Well, she could've. Some of those vines had thorns." Catra complained in mock anger.

Angella opened her mouth to speak before pausing, "Catra, I'm not going to be goaded into a fake argument so that you don't have to go learn proper etiquette. My daughter has used this trick too many times."

"Eh, It was worth a shot. Alright, I better go see what Adora had to say." After Catra changed back into her clothes, she stopped at the door, "Thanks for this. It was fun."

"Yes, I found myself enjoying this as well and don't worry about your hair. I can help you with that before you leave." Angella said, ushering several servants inside to help her clean the suits and dresses up.


Catra arrived at Adora's room, it was technically her room as well, and knocked.

"Who is it?" Adora's muffled voice came through the door.

"It's me Adora," Catra said in a sarcastic spooky voice, "I've regained all of my memories and have decided to become a Force Commander again. Ooooh"

"Ha ha, very funny Catra. And it's Force Captain, not Commander." Adora said as she walked over and opened the door.

Catra immediately took notice of all of the charts and papers pinned to the walls. It looked like Admiral Stratos' war room. Catra took one small step back and before she could turn to run, Adora grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't. I've seen that look enough growing up to know you were about to run." Adora said, dragging her into the room and closing the door.

"Ugh, fine. Educate me on this stupid etiquette." Catra said, exasperatedly.

Adora's face shifted into an infuriating smirk, "I will."

For the rest of the day Catra was stuck learning the proper dance, the proper way to bow, to eat, to greet, and all manner of other proper things. More than once, she thought about making a run for it. Unfortunately, Glimmer had shown up and was blocking the door.

'This sucks,' Catra thought to herself.


Deep in the Fright Zone, Kyle, Lonnie, and Rojelio were engaged in a dangerous and deadly mission. One slip up could mean the end for everyone. Surprisingly, it was Kyle who was their saving grace. For the enemy posed a challenge that was unlike any other.

Scorpia was in the middle of choosing a dress for princess prom. And because their squad was pivotal to the mission involving Catra, they had to, unfortunately, help Scorpia pick a dress.

Lonnie didn't know the first thing regarding this. She was a Horde soldier, not some fashion designer. She didn't even know the Horde had dresses. Until today, that is. Turns out, Scorpia's family were the original rulers of the Fright Zone. She knew that she was a princess, but she hadn't really thought about what that entailed. As she leaned back against the chair she was sitting on, Scorpia came out with another dress on. This one was a little weird. It was a frilly black and red dress with the Horde symbol on the midsection. It had red coverings that encompassed her shoulders, and some sort of strange black gloves. She also wore green eye liner that clashed horrible with the color scheme.

"I'm not sure that's the one," Kyle said, "The earrings suit you though. The choker is alright, but the green eyeliner kind of clashes with your color scheme."

"Yeah, I thought that too. I just wasn't sure. This is why it's important to have a second about the gloves and choker? Too much?" Scorpia asked, holding her pincers up.

"The choker could work, but I'm of the personal opinion the gloves could go. But black and red is definitely your color. You should stick with that. It suits you. . .and maybe less frilly." Kyle said as he wrote down notes about her dress choices.

"Okay, so what do we have so far for notes Read 'em off to me." Scorpia said.

Lonnie groaned in the background and Rojelio didn't look too impressed either. When Shadow Weaver had been informed about the invite, they had been instructed to help Scorpia get ready. It should have been a quick process, but no. She had to look as good as she could possibly be for Catra. What if she didn't even show up?

"Okay, so what we have so far is that black and red are the colors." Kyle said.

"Right." Scorpia confirmed.

"It should be more form fitting and less frilly."

"Mm-hm" Scorpia nodded.

"Earrings are a good choice, gloves are optional, and the choker is a toss up."

"Okay," Scorpia said, "I think I might have a dress in mind. What else?"

"As for makeup, black was a good lipstick and eyeliner needed to match. You said the high heels were non-negotiable?" Kyle asked.

"That's right." Scorpia said, "Is that everything?"

"Yep. That's all of it." Kyle said.

"Alright then, I think I have the perfect dress in mind." Scorpia said as she went back into her quarters to change.

Lonnie turned to look at Kyle in annoyance, "You. Are. The worst. You dragged this out for four hours, Kyle. Four hours!"

"I wasn't going to lie to her, Lonnie. This is obviously super important to her. Plus, her and Catra were, like, close. I think. Regardless, if she says she's got the perfect dress, I believe her. Back me up Rojelio." Kyle said with his arms crossed.

Rojelio let out an annoyed hiss, to Kyle's chagrin, "Aw, what? Not you too. Come on guys."

"Let's just hope that this is it. I don't think I could take another hour of this." Lonnie said with a huff.

As Scorpia opened the door, everyone looked up at her. She was adorned in a sleek, black dress that hugged her curves. It had a stylish shredded look where it hugged one of her shoulders and down her arm. She wore a bright ruby red belt that had small garnets along the sides of it. Her earrings were also garnets and she wore black lipstick with barely noticeable eyeliner that accentuated her eyelashes. She wore sleek black high heels that went up her ankles.

"Wow, that is definitely the one." Kyle said encouragingly, "You look great."

"Ah, thanks guys. Well let's go inform Shadow Weaver. I wonder what she's wearing to the ball." Scorpia said. As they walked through the halls of the Fright Zone, they stopped in front of Shadow Weaver's chambers.

"You may enter." Shadow Weaver's voice drifted through the door. As they walked in, they all took notice of the articles of clothing that were draped along the furniture. Shadow Weaver was nowhere to be seen, to Scorpia's confusion.

"Um, hello? Shadow Weaver? We're all ready for the ball. Are you in here?" Scorpia asked to the dark room. The only source of light in the room being the black garnet, which gave off a mysterious, dark, crimson red glow.

"One moment, Force Captain Scorpia." Shadow Weaver's voice came drifting through the air, sending shivers down everyone's spines. The hiss of the door opening was the only indication of Shadow Weaver's arrival. There, illuminated by the soft glow of the black garnet, stood Shadow Weaver in all of her glory.

Her dress gave off the appearance of dark black ink with dark red highlights along her ribs and hips. It flowed behind her like soft silk flowing in the wind, giving an almost ominous aura. Her shoulders were covered by a dark mesh that looked like webbing. Along the trim were dark feathers that shimmered like oil. The feathers stretched along down her neck giving a sensual appearance.

She wore dark stockings that stretched up her thigh, along with high heels. Her arms were also encompassed by thin dark gloves that stretched all the way to her shoulder. The dress accentuated her curves, showing a mature woman. Her mask was slightly different as well, giving a more sleek, thin appearance with a beak-like pattern down the center, the glowing red gemstone in her mask giving a glow that completed the look.

All in all, her dress gave off a sensual, dark allure. Almost no skin was showing beyond a sliver of her neck and shoulders. Every move she made allowed the dress to shift in just a way that promised a peek before being hidden once more. It was meant to draw attention, which, of course, was Shadow Weaver's goal.

"Wow. You look great. If it were a contest, your dress would blow mine out of the water. And I am loving the mask " Scorpia gushed, "Your whole raven theme, muah, gorgeous."

"Thank you, Force Captain Scorpia. Your dress suits you as well. I like your earrings, the red suits you. Naturally." Shadow Weaver said. She wasn't even being sarcastic. She was in quite the good mood and was surprisingly looking forward to the ball. She hadn't personally been out of the Fright Zone in years and was quite eager.

Turning towards the guards at her door, Shadow Weaver spoke, "Has the transport ship been readied? I don't want to be kept waiting."

"Yes, Shadow Weaver. The ship is ready for takeoff at your command. Everything has been prepped." The head guard saluted.

"Good," Shadow Weaver said before turning to face Lonnie, Kyle, and Rojelio, "Be aware that guards are not permitted inside the ball until a certain point after midnight. You also may not bring your weapons near the castle nor inside. Scorpia, you read over the proper etiquette, I hope?"

"Yes, Shadow Weaver, I've memorized it perfectly. You don't have to worry about a thing." Scorpia said, saluting.

Shadow Weaver looked at her reflection in her cauldron, admiring her appearance. "Good, then we may depart. Cadet Lonnie, take Cadets Kyle and Rojelio to the ship and outfit them with proper equipment. Scorpia, accompany the guards to the transport ship. I will join you shortly."

As everyone nodded and left the room, Shadow Weaver turned towards the screen. Within seconds it flashed to life, showing the image of Hordak.

"Shadow Weaver. . .I see you have dressed well for the occasion." Hordak said, his voice taking a similar tone to that of his predecessor, "Am I to understand that Force Captain Catra will be at this event?"

"Yes, Lord Hordak. I have one hundred percent faith that she will be there. The princess alliance will be looking to expand their numbers. With such a golden opportunity in front of them, they would be fools to not jump at it."

"Hmm, I had come to this conclusion as well. But, if you have not confirmed this, how can you be certain?" Hordak asked in a low voice.

"That's quite simple. When Adora was a child, she wouldn't let Catra out of her sight. They were glued at the hip. With Adora's new status as a princess, she will no doubt attend the ball. Her plus one would naturally be Catra. I have already made contact with Catra and have established a good connection with her. The plan is to speak to her at the ball." Shadow Weaver explained.

"Could you not simply take her and the shard? Why the subterfuge?" Hordak asked with narrowed eyes full of suspicion.

"At this point in time, Force Captain Catra has lost almost all of her memories. She is in the company of the enemy and no doubt being dissuaded from returning to me, to the Horde. If I act too brashly, or am not cemented in her mind as an important figure to be trusted. . .well, you saw what happened with Adora." Shadow Weaver said darkly.

Hordak stayed silent for several moments before giving a slight nod. "I see. Yes, that would not bode well. Beyond Catra, how has the search for the shards been coming along? Your report said you were able to displace most of them without alert. A commendable action, I might add."

"Thank you Lord Hordak. Ever since my excursion into Mystacour, I have been able to locate several. While we have not retrieved any, it is only a matter of time until we locate the rest. Unfortunately, several landed in the crimson waste."

"No matter, we only need a few. From what you've told me about these shards, I've been able to deduce they are not of Etheria. If what you suspect is true, that Force Captain Catra really can manipulate them. . .well, I have several theories that need to be tested." Hordak said, gently petting Imp

"Of course, Lord Hordak. I'll have Catra returning of her own volition soon enough." Shadow Weaver said, giving a slight bow.

"See that she does, Shadow Weaver." Hordak said before the screen turned black.

"Oh, I'll have her return to me. You can be sure of that Hordak." Shadow Weaver muttered darkly. A sneer present in her tone.

'And once she has, I'll have no more need of you. You can be sure of that.' Shadow Weaver thought to herself as she made her way to the transit. Soon, her plans would take shape and then she would never need the Horde again.

Alright, so just a heads up everyone. My summer job starts in two weeks, so unfortunately that means my time of writing is reduced somewhat significantly. Just giving everyone a heads up. Beyond that I hope everyone's enjoying the fic.