Archive of Our Own ^beta

As the skiff sped across the frozen tundra, the biting wind sank into Catra’s bones, completely disregarding the ridiculously fluffy overcoat Scorpia had provided for her as well as her own fur. She shivered, already done with this … prom thing. It was already unreasonably cold, why couldn’t Etheria give the wind a break? While being wet was the absolute worst thing ever, freezing was quickly climbing her list of least favorite experiences. “How much farther do we have to go?! Ugh, I’m sick of this!”

Ahead of her, Scorpia was hunkered down, hanging on to the skiff base like Catra was a bad driver or something. Her (self-proclaimed) best friend had literally begged Catra to come as her plus one after finding out that Entrapta was going with Bow (she still didn’t know what was weirder: that someone asked Entrapta to this thing, or that she said yes and let herself be willingly pulled away from her experiments). It’s not like she wanted to go herself, but if there’s one thing she’s learned in her past couple of weeks with the Rebellion, it was that Scorpia is surprisingly good at getting her way. Plus, Scorpia and Entrapta were growing on her, though you would never get Catra to admit it. The Super Pal Trio had begun filling the hole left by...her. Stop thinking about it, dummy! You’re here to forget about all of that...oh, and help Scorpia, right. Catra tuned back in to the world around her, catching the tail end of Scorpia’s rambling, “—and I think we are only a couple miles from the Kingdom of Snows now, but you know, I really can’t tell with all this, well, snow haha! It reminds me of that time Entrapta and I built snow princesses at Horror Hall—actually, I built a snow princess, and Entrapta built a snow robot but then ran off to make a real robot, you know how that goes, and—”

“Scorpia! Just a simple ‘we are almost there’ would have been fine.” Honestly, Catra doesnt know how she puts up with the princess most of the time (that’s a lie, Scorpia is a great friend and Catra knows it, she just isn’t all that good at this whole friendship thing yet). Heaving a sigh, she let her tail curl up to rest against Scorpia’s left pincer, in plain sight just in case she couldn’t feel the weight. “I didn’t mean to snap at you: I’m just really tired of this weather.” There, as close to an apology as she’s going to give. 

As if in reward for her efforts, there is an immediate decrease in the wind all of a sudden. The air gets noticeably warmer, and the snow no longer is falling in sheets. It was most definitely magic, which means “—oh look Catra, we’re here!!” Yep, they had finally arrived in the Kingdom of Snows. 

~*~

~*~

Catra was so glad to be out of the cold that she almost forgot one of the most important rules of the ball: no weapons. Apparently, that meant the Mask of the Magicat too. “What do you mean I can’t take it in?!? It’s not a weapon, for crying out loud, it’s just a mask!” She had gotten very attached to the thing since discovering it; it was her only link to her people, and she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. Her tail fluffed up, an instinctual response to make her look more intimidating, while her claws flexed in and out, prepared to gut the next guard who tried and take the mask off the sash of her dress. It reminded her too much of the last person who attempted to take her mask. 

The town was burning. Everywhere Catra looked, the Royal Army was rounding up villagers, forcing them to watch as their homes and belongings burned into ash. Scorpia and Entrapta were trying to hold them off, but there was only so much the two of them could do on their own. She had to hurry, had to find the commanding officer and...do what? Convince them they had the wrong town? (She hadn’t thought that far ahead, ok? Seeing children crying set off Catra’s admittedly ambiguous sense of morality. She didn’t stop to think, she just moved .) She raced through the shadows, trying to find — there! The standard bearer. The commander would be near there, able to direct the entire battalion from that central position. She hurried to make herself presentable, casting off the jacket Scorpia had given her and straightening her uniform. She made sure to double check that the mask was secure on her belt near her tail. Stepping out of the shadows, she cast a salute to the nearest captain, who startled and dimmed her visor. “Catra?? Oh my gosh, thank Angella you’re safe! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Well, that answered which battalion this was.

“Adora? What are you guys doing here? I thought we were supposed to be attacking the rebel base of Rosewood today.” She hoped, she prayed, that Adora would calm her fears, tell her that Consort Micah mobilized an entire battalion to find his adopted daughter’s best friend. Anything, any story except — “What are you talking about, silly? This IS Rosewood.” Oh no.

Everything crystalized in Catra’s mind at that moment. She had been harboring suspicions for a while now, noticing small inconsistencies with the history and training they had been getting. She hadn’t wanted to tell Adora, not until she was certain. She wouldn’t have believed Catra without irrefutable proof, without undeniable facts that Adora’s adopted family wasn’t as benign as they appeared. Adora had always been too trusting (more like naive, but Catra tended to be easier on her than anyone else: a combination of growing up together and her not-so-platonic feelings that had been growing ever harder to suppress). Now that it was staring her in the face, it seemed that Adora was blissfully turning a blind eye to what was happening. It was time to shed some light on this; she just hoped Adora would listen.

Grabbing Adora by the arm, she dragged her best friend half into the shadowed alley. This was not a conversation Catra wanted overheard. Taking a deep breath, she gestured to the chaos around them. “Adora…this is wrong, you know? We were told that the Sovereignty was bringing order to Etheria, uniting the kingdoms and-and fighting barbarians and ruffians, not...this! Not...burning civilian villages and stealing children!! How can you stand to put anyone through what we went through? These peoples’ homes are burning in front of them, and you’re just letting it happen! Children are being torn from their families, rounded up like cattle! At least when we were given to the orphanage, we weren’t old enough to even remember our parents. These kids are always going to remember how the Royal Army dragged them away from people who love them. How in the world are you ok with this!?” By the end of her rant, Catra’s claws had come out, ready to tear into this injustice. Panting, she brought her gaze back to her best friend, expecting to see that determined gleam in the eyes of the person she cared the most about, the one that always preceded one of their crazy adventures. Instead, all she saw was the bemused look that signaled Adora thought Catra was being ridiculous and was about to say something well-intentioned (but mildly condescending) to change her mind. 

“Catra, these people are supporting the Rebellion. From our mission briefing, they have repeatedly turned away all of our diplomatic envoys with increasing amounts of violence. The parents and adults are too set in their ways to see the light of the Sovereignty, but the kids aren’t. They’re going to be well taken care of. Da-I mean, Consort Micah assured me that these kids were going to be sent to the best caretakers he could find. We are burning this place down so that the rebels can’t come back and occupy it again. We will set up a colony here later, offer citizens incentives to move out here, and continue our mission to bring order and peace to Etheria. This is what we’ve been working for ever since we signed up for the army, Catra. You know this, what’s going on?” There it was, Adora’s patented ‘I know better than you, why are you being crazy’ tone (ugh, she was so tired of hearing it these days). It drew out a chuckle of disbelief from Catra, which morphed into full-on ugly laughter as she turned away from Adora, her face falling into her hands. 

It was just like Adora to ignore the truth in favor of what she wanted to believe. She knew this was going to happen, why did she get her hopes up? (Because she wanted Adora to come with her, to stay with her like they promised all those years ago in that orphanage.) Still, she hadn’t asked her yet. Maybe Adora would leave with her, leave for her. “Hey, what’s this?” 

Catra jerked up as Adora fished the mask out of her belt. “Where did you get this, Catra? It doesn’t really seem like your thing, and you know it’s not in regulation to wear anything besides our issued helmets on missions.” Catra was so tense as Adora just casually tossed it around, feeling possessive of the last remaining link she had to her past. She remembered the moment she first put it on: the flashes of instructions, that phrase burned into her memory, a line of people just like her, all wearing the mask throughout the ages. A flood of magic filling her body, the rush of power as she assumed a form not quite her own. Eventually Catra snatched it out of the air, holding it to her chest with her left hand. “It’s mine, Adora. Jeez, what is with you today? First you refuse to see the truth when it’s slapping you in the face, and now you’re trying to steal my stuff? What, did Daddy Micah not give you enough attention this past week? Too busy focusing on his real daughter to pay attention to his little project, huh?” Catra knew she’d crossed a line with those statements, but she couldn’t help it. Adora being adopted by the royal family had always been a sore point between the two of them, sworn by the cuts on their right palms to always be there for each other until that day when Adora suddenly wasn’t, and she couldn’t resist pushing that button sometimes. 

“What the hell, Catra?” Adora yelled out, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. (Shit, this was not how she wanted this to go, but it was too late to go back now.) “What gives you any right? I’m sorry that they only took me, you know I never wanted to leave you behind!!” She always said the same thing every time, and Catra was just done. Done with the apologies, done with never being really noticed, done with the hypocrisy of it all.  

“Adora, I can’t go back to the Sovereignty.”

“...What?” Adora laughed weakly, like she was hoping this was all some big joke I’m pulling on her. “Come on, Catra, what are you talking about? You can’t be leaving, I am still right here. We promised we are always going to look out for each other. Is this some ridiculous way for you to remind me of that?”

“No, Adora, this isn’t a game!!” Catra steeled herself to look her square in the eye, to give her this one last thing before she begins to hate Catra forever (not that hate would make Catra love her any less). “Seeing this, it’s just- it’s the nail in the coffin for me. I can’t be a part of an army that would do this to civilian children, and I won’t serve a leader who condones it either.” That did it, there came the waterworks streaming down Adora’s face. Catra wished she would stop crying. (Really, all she wanted to do was go over there and hold her, to wipe those tears away and promise Adora that she was not going anywhere, but she couldn’t, and oh how it broke her heart.) She stretched her free hand out to her best friend, (to the girl she loved), “Come with me. Deep down, you know this isn’t right. I know you care for Glimmer and Micah and Angella, but do they really care for you if they are asking you to commit such atrocities?”

The words light a fire in those steely-blue eyes in front of her, but not the kind she had hoped for. Adora smacked her hand away, brow furrowed in anguish and rage. “How can you say such things? After all they’ve done for me, for us, how can you dare say that they don’t care!? You know what it was like before Micah sponsored us, having to claw our way tooth and nail to just survive in those barracks. Would a horrible person do that, huh? Would a horrible person spend hours, days, weeks trying to perfect a cure for their daughter’s best friend, who contracted a terrible disease and wasn’t getting any better? Where is your loyalty, Catra?? The Sovereignty is bringing order to this world, and all of a sudden you think you know more than the queen?” 

Those words set Catra aflame herself. “Oh, I don’t think I know more than her ‘Imminent Radiance’, Adora, but I definitely seem to know what is right and wrong better than she does. How can you not see the problem here??”

“The only problems I see here are your attitude and that mask.” Tears were still falling down her face, but the fire inside had frozen into ice. Adora was no longer the girl she grew up with, the girl she wanted to see the world with, the girl she would do anything for. She was Captain Adora, on her way up the ranks of the Royal Army, who had no compassion for Catra left in those stormy eyes. “Give me the mask, Catra, and I won’t report this. We can go back home and everything will be perfect. Just let me get rid of that thing.”

“No.” Drawing herself up to her full height, she resolutely set the mask on her face. “This is the legacy my people left me, and I am going to use it to set this right.” Taking a deep breath, she slid the mask over her eyes. “For the pride of Halfmoon!!”

~*~

~*~

A (not so) gentle shake of her shoulder snapped Catra back to the present. Scorpia was leaning into her space (seriously, did she not learn?) and saying words that just weren’t reaching through the static filling her ears. She blinked up at the tall woman, trying to make sense of the words coming out of her mouth, until her hearing finally kicked back in. “—et them take the mask, Wildcat. There’s no way you can bring something that turns you into a massive, amazingly hot-I mean, strong woman, into the ball. Speaking of balls, did you know that Entrapta has been getting ever closer to producing her designs for those little robot soldiers? You know, the ones that are shaped like balls and can roll around for quick movement? Yeah, so, anyway, she says that the last prototype lasted, like, a whole minute longer before exploding, and according to her that means they are almost ready to be manufactured and sent out to fight—”

“Scorpia. Remember the talk we had about personal space? In particular, my need for it?” Giving her a look seemed to help jog the memory, and Scorpia backed away quickly, apologizing profusely to her until Catra calmed her down with a hand laid against the nearest pincer. Sighing, she took the mask out of her sash, and moved to hand it to the guard behind the counter. She didn’t let go when she set it in his hands, demanding his attention. Glaring deep into the eyeholes of the mask, she let out a low growl before delivering her threat: “If I find so much as a scratch on that mask when I come back for it, you’re going to see firsthand just how sharp these claws are as I rip your eyes out and—” Catra suddenly found herself being lifted off the ground and away from the man as Scorpia tried to run damage control (and yeah, ok, looking back, maybe she took that threat a little too far: she should have let him imagine the things she would do, that’s always more tortuous than knowing exactly what is coming). 

“I am SO sorry about my friend here, she’s just, really obsessed with that mask. Girls, am I right?” Laughing awkwardly as she carried Catra straight through the foyer into the restroom, Scorpia did not budge no matter how much she hissed and squirmed. Once inside, she deposited her Wildcat (oh no, now she had Catra saying it about herself, gross) on the sink counter and placed her pincers on her hips. Looking away, Catra quickly muttered “what?” (As if she didn’t already know what was coming, preparing herself for another lecture on being nice and not using violence to solve all her problems.)

Heaving a big sigh, Scorpia raised her pincers up, and Catra couldn’t prevent the ingrained flinch as they approached her face. Carrying on as if she didn’t notice, they came to rest on Catra’s shoulders. “Are you ok?” Scorpia asked, her big dumb face full of concern and something else that Catra really didn’t want to think about. “I know you came to this shindig for me, and, don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate that, but if you need to get out of here, we can blow this joint. We don’t have to stay if it’s going to make you miserable, Catra. This is supposed to be a night of fun.” 

A warmth seeped into Catra’s chest, filling her up and making her want to wriggle out of Scorpia’s grip. She stayed still though, working on experiencing and expressing her emotions properly like Light Spinner had been coaching her to do in those sparse times they got to spend together. (She didn’t often get a chance to help Catra, due to her many responsibilities, but Catra didn’t think she could handle having those sessions more often than they already happened.) Looking up into her friend’s eyes (and wasn't that weird, to have friends again?) she let out a shaky exhale, before giving her a slight smirk. “I’m alright, you big lug. You’re right, we came here to have fun, so let's go mess with some snobby princesses and enjoy ourselves.” The matching grin on Scorpia’s face told Catra she managed to say the right thing for once. She turned around and gave herself a once over, smoothing out the high necked, sleeveless burgundy dress she had been convinced to wear that night. After everything was good as could be, she took the arm Scorpia offered to her, marching out of that restroom with a confidence she hoped no one could see through.

~*~

~*~

Honestly, this prom thing wasn’t half bad so far. The food was decent, though lacking in fish for Catra’s taste, but the real enjoyment so far had been poking fun at all of the stuck up princesses here, finding the best ways to embarrass or upset them. When Entrapta had entered on Bow’s arm, Scorpia had wasted no time in excusing herself from their current conversation partners (victims, really) and made a beeline straight for the shorter woman (who was still annoyingly dressed in stained overalls, did she not know what kind of event this was?) pulling her aside and asking if they were ok. Catra wandered closer, not so far that she would be noticed, but just close enough to hear what was going on. Scorpia was doing her usual rambling, worried that Entrapta was upset with her since they hadn’t gone to prom together like they normally do for fancy events. Entrapta blinked up at her a couple of times before saying “Why would you ask such a question? I don’t think I’ve shown you any signs of annoyance or displeasure, but maybe my expressions were wrong. It’s happened before, but I thought I had fixed that. Well, in any case, I’m not mad at you! Bow just asked me first is all!”

A small (but very real) smile spread over Catra’s face as she watched Scorpia scoop her friend up into a crushing hug, glad that everything had worked out for them. When Scorpia caught her looking their way, Catra automatically tried to cover up that smile with a smirk, but the look in Scorpia’s eyes told her she hadn’t done it fast enough to hide her feelings. (Wasthat really such a bad thing, to let her friends know she was happy for them?) The doors opened again, probably for some loser princess who didn’t know a thing about the war going on. Catra lazily shifted her eyes towards the entrance to the hall, only to freeze with shock at who she saw. Her mouth opened slightly, eyes wide as she uttered the name of the most beautiful girl in attendance tonight: “Adora…”

Her eyes briefly flicked over Adora’s companion, noting the rather tasteless and tacky purple dress Glimmer was wearing (it wasn’t that bad, but Catra had long held a grudge against the princess, and wasn’t about to change that now). She quickly refocused on Adora, taking in the thigh-length maroon duster that she was cuffing the sleeves on right now, admiring how well it accentuated her form. The matching tie ran down an immaculate white dress shirt, ending past the top of her form-fitting black pants. Her hair was up in its usual high ponytail, but the standard poof was missing; instead, Adora had curled her bangs over to the side in a mesmerizing look that exuded confidence and beauty. As if by some magical destiny bullshit, she found their gazes meeting for a fleeting second, before Catra tore her eyes away and rushed to grab Scorpia. “Emergency, I need help in the bathroom NOW, ok?” Scorpia took one look at her face and nodded, letting herself be dragged into the nearby restroom.

Once in there, Catra fell against the wall, sinking down on her heels as she tried to regulate her breathing. Adora is here. Adora is here, why is she here!? Wait, duh, stupid ass Sparkles would have brought her. Stupid princesses and all that unearned privlege. Ok, she’s here, I really can’t afford to not look my best. I have to show her I don’t need her to be someone. (I want her to call me beautiful, to take my hand and never let it go.) Shaking her head vigorously to bring herself back to the present, she looked up at her (best) friend, who was crouched down as best she could nearby. “You ok, Wildcat?” She asked as she extended her claw to help Catra up.  

Catra hesitated for a moment, fighting with that stupid voice inside her that kept her from asking for help. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and stretched out her hand. “Adora is here. I need you to help me make sure I don’t look like the boy I used to be...please.” 

“You mean, the boy you pretended to be.”

“Yeah, that, whatever. Look, I just want her to be jealous of how beautiful I am tonight, ok?” Crossing her arms with her ears pinned back, Catra turned her head away, hoping that would mitigate some of the blush (it didn’t help at all). Scopia gave her a long, searching look before smiling gently. “Alright Wildcat, let’s make sure no one can keep their eyes off you tonight.” Taking her small, black pouch off her shoulder, she guided Catra closer to the mirror, pulling out all the makeup she had brought with her tonight just in case. 

“Now, I am going to need you to hold still…”

~*~

~*~

At some point during the impromptu makeover, Scorpia had stepped out for a moment, only to return with Perfuma right behind her, one hand on her pincer and the other covering her eyes for some reason. Perfuma’s eyes widened a little bit when she uncovered her face at Scorpia's command, before they gained a knowing gleam as she took in the makeup products next to Catra on the sink. The feline’s ears had flattened, but after remembering she had asked for this, only grumbled a little bit longer before allowing them to resume the work. With Perfuma’s experience, it went by much faster than it could have, and it wasn’t that long at all before Catra was permitted to see the results.

When she was finally allowed to turn around and look in the mirror, Catra couldn’t believe her eyes. (She had to do her best not to cry, she couldn't ruin this look). Her ratty, impossible mane had been swept up into an elegant updo, complete with a black lily to compliment her dress and match Scorpia’s. She looked at her face, and for once she didn’t see a boy pretending to play dress up. She saw a girl— no, she saw a young woman looking back at herself, and it was more than she imagined she would ever get to see. Turning back to look at Perfuma, it took a couple moments to get past the lump in her throat. “Perfuma, I... thank you. I never dreamed…”

She was blindsided by the hug the flower princess pulled her into, but for once she didn’t fight it. “Anytime, Catra. I know how hard it can be, feeling like you must these days. After tonight, we should find some time to hang out. I can teach you more about how to look just like you want, and you could help me learn to defend myself. If you would like to, that is!” Looking up into the face of another new friend, Catra let that soft little smile peak through for the second time tonight, “That sounds...really nice, actually. It’s a deal.”

Perfuma had grinned, giggled, then gave a short wave before leaving the bathroom, giving Catra time to collect herself before facing the crowds. This time she wasn’t going out there as Catra, that one person who looked like a boy wearing a dress. This time, she was going out there as Catra, Princess of the Magicats, and everyone would see it.

Heads turned when Catra re-entered the ballroom. She hadn’t really cared before, deciding that putting on a dress was enough for this stupid thing, but now it mattered. It wasn’t just because Adora was here, though (it totally was). It was also to throw that stupid, snotty sparkle brat off her game. Back in Bright Moon, Glimmer had always made fun of Catra for doing anything girly, but always managed to do it in a way that flew right over Adora’s head as being anything more than harmless teasing. Now that Catra was out from under her thumb (now that Catra could be the girl she always wanted to be), she refused to let Glitter have any power over her ever again. If that meant being the best looking woman in here, well, who would she be if she didn’t rise to the challenge? 

People stopped to stare as Catra made her way through the hall at Scorpia’s side, quite a few of them flushing at the sight they now beheld. She didn’t have eyes for any of them, though: she was scanning the room for the one person who’s opinion mattered (the most) to her. She finally found Adora, laughing with Glitter at the buffet table. Her eyes were shut, her nose was crinkled like it always does when she laughs without restraint, and she looked so radiant in that moment it made Catra’s heart hurt. In that next moment, Adora opened her eyes and saw Catra. In that next moment, everything else seemed to fall away but the two of them. They drew close to each other like magnets, bound by a pull neither could deny. They stopped a few feet apart, Catra crossing her arms over her chest but unable to stop the softness in her voice. “Hey, Adora.”

“Catra...wow. You look….amazing.” The look Adora was giving her was so thrilling, so electrifying. Why couldn’t she have looked at me like this before? Her mouth had fallen open into that small little “o” shape, her stormy eyes wide with what was hopefully wonder or amazement or something at the sight before her. “I honestly don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything, dummy. Just come here.” Catra held her hand out, offering Adora this moment of truce. Slowly, cautiously, the blonde across from her reached out, gently clasping their hands together. They shared a soft, little grin with each other, before they both rushed in for a hug. “Jeez Adora, if this was all it took to get you to pay attention to me I would have worn a dress long ago.” Shit, that was bad. That was not the thing to say after seeing your childhood friend for the first time in weeks. She looked up at her face, seeing the hurt displayed across those chiseled features. “Shit, Adora. I didn’t mean to… ok well I did, but I shouldn’t have said that.” 

“...It’s ok. I kinda deserved that one. I didn’t know what I had, what I was losing, until you were gone.” There’s a sad little smile directed back down at her, and Catra’s heart leaps at what she just heard, head falling to her chest to hide her blush. Could she actually...is this actually happening? This has to be a dream, right? Lost in her thoughts, she was startled when a soft hand gently tilted her face back up. “I missed you so much, Catra. And I’m so sorry you never felt like you could tell me how you felt about yourself...I would have listened, you know?” She could feel the tears welling up, so she buried her face against Adora’s jacket, breathing in the smell of the girl she likes (loves, actually, but she can barely admit that to herself). After taking quite a few moments, she lifted her chin up to rest on that strong shoulder, letting out a deep, shuddering breath. “You know what it was like in the barracks. I couldn’t...I couldn’t admit it to anyone, not even myself. It wasn’t your fault, dummy. Trust me, you were the person I wanted to tell more than anything. I just...”

“Yeah, I think I understand. It’s hard keeping a secret that you think might ruin everything you care about.” That same hand from earlier, that familiar pattern of calluses and scars, rested on her cheek now, brushing away remnants of tears that never quite fell. Catra knew that she shouldn’t, knew that she should pull away, but she couldn’t help herself. Leaning into Adora's palm, nuzzling her wrist...it felt like coming home. It was going to hurt so much when the night was over, but in that moment it was everything Catra had been missing for months. 

The sudden change in music startled them, popping the bubble that they had found themselves in, reminding them that there was still a ball going on. Looking around, both girls noticed that everyone else had paired off for dancing as a rich, warm pink light suffused the hall. Turning back to Adora, Catra found herself face-to-face with an outstretched hand. Adora had taken a step back, and asked with a small smile on her face, “May I have this dance, m’lady?” In that moment, that realization of a dream she has held tight for almost a decade, Catra willingly shed tears for the first time in years as she took Adora’s hand.

They began slow, testing the waters as Adora naturally took the lead. Thankfully, this didn’t seem to be one of those “switch partners every five seconds” dances, a fact Catra was infinitely grateful for. This close to Adora, watching her face as she worked to remember all of the dancing lessons she received alongside Glimmer, being held in her arms, her own looped around Adora’s shoulders... Catra forgot all about the past few months; all the fighting and hurtful words and heartbreak meant nothing when compared to this moment, this experience.

The music swelled inside the hall, drowning out everything but her own heartbeat. Adora spun her around, twirling Catra around in a pattern that seemed half-familiar: as if they had done this before, but not quite in the same way. Her senses started to dial in to Adora, watching her gracefully glide across the floor, catching whiffs of her subtle perfume, feeling those strong arms catch her time and time again. She more felt than heard the soft whisper in her ear, a seductive rasp in that well-known voice Catra had never heard before. "Now, if only this moment could last forever." She dipped Catra, startling her before pulling her back up. Her eyes fluttered close as Adora's face drew near, palm resting lightly against her furred cheek, only to snap open when she felt that hand grip her jaw firmly. "Say, where's your friend, Scorpia?"

Catra’s eyes widened as everything inside of her froze. Suspended in time, she hoped for a brief second that she mistook the anger, the harshness in Adora’s voice. Time resumed, and for the fourth time in her life, Catra’s world crumbled around her as she realized what had happened. I should have known this would be too good to be true. Guess that’s what I get for following my heart. She jerked her body out of Adora’s embrace, glaring through more tears (she was so tired of crying today, it had to stop) at the person she thought she knew. “What did you do, Adora?”

“Me? Oh, well, I did nothing to Scorpia. I promise you, I didn’t lay a single finger on her tonight.” Adora was smiling again, but the warmth previously there had fled. In its place was something darker, something that wormed its way into Catra’s chest and squeezed at her heart fiercely. Balling her firsts as her tail lashed back and forth, Catra opened her mouth only to be cut off by Adora’s smug tone. “Now Glimmer, on the other hand….she’s been very busy.” 

Multiple explosions rocked the ballroom, inciting panicked screams as people began to rush out of the castle. Momentarily distracted, Catra glanced back to where Adora had been standing, only to see her sprinting away into another hallway. No, she is NOT getting away this time! She takes off after her, only to stumble when she remembers Scorpia is missing still. Looking around wildly, Catra zeroes in on Entrapta, who is standing next to a cracked support column taking notes (seriously, at a time like this??) as if nothing is wrong. Grabbing her by the shoulders and moving her out of the way of falling debris, Catra looks directly into her face. “Entrapta, Glimmer has taken Scorpia. I need you to go find her and help her escape.”

All she gets back for a couple of long, agonizing seconds is a blank stare, before Entrapta flips down her mask and tosses her a salute. “Aye aye, Captain!” She raced away before Catra could correct her that “I’m not a captain, dammit!” Dragging her hand down her face in exasperation, she rushed off down the hallway she saw Adora enter moments before. In a short amount of time she managed to catch up, tackling and pinning her quarry to the ground. Adora smirked up at her as she mockingly said “ Aww, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?”

With a mighty shove, Catra was thrown back and hit the wall. Hissing, she dusted herself off, launching another assault on Adora. They traded blows for a while, falling into old habits. Catra ducked and dodged around most of Adora's powerful attacks, knowing that too many of them could spell the end for this fight. She focused on landing kicks and punches where she could, keeping her claws retracted for some reason (she still couldn’t go all out against Adora, no matter how much she had been hurt by her). Eventually, Adora managed to connect with a lucky punch, sending Catra onto her back. She quickly scrambled out of the way as Adora tried to end the fight with another punch, ears pinned back as she yelled, “Why are you doing this, Adora?!?”

“Because I need you!!” She yelled, panting on the other side of the hallway. “These past few months have been awful without you, but you still won't come home voluntarily no matter how much I’ve tried to convince you. Then, Glimmer came to me with an idea. I need you back in Bright Moon, Catra, and if you won’t come willingly, I will just have to force you.”

“...What?...”

“Glimmer pointed out how obsessed you are with your new ‘friends’. If I can’t bring you back willingly, then I will have to lure you back. If you come back to Bright Moon, we will let you friends go, no harm done.” There was a determined glint in her eyes again, the one she always got when she wasn’t going to be swayed on her decision. But I still have to try, for the Adora I used to know.

“Can't you see how insane that is?? You would lock me up to keep me in your life?? Adora, you can't be serious!!” Images flashed through her head, of cruel looks and steel bars that she had been thrown behind before. Adora had always been there, helping her out once the sentence was done, but now she replaced her captors, looking grimly down at Catra. 

“Yes, I am!! Don't you get it?? We made a promise to stick together, to always be there for each other no matter what! I’m not going to let you break that bond, no matter what I have to do!” There was a look in Adora's eyes that Catra had never seen before, and its darkness scared her. Screaming, she charged at Adora again, hoping to beat some sense into her...her ex-friend. 

They fought for what felt like hours, neither gaining the upper hand. Eventually they ended up on a balcony overlooking the canyon, the railing missing along with some of the floor. Adora’s punches and kicks had become wilder as Catra forced her further and further towards the edge. “Please, Catra, for once in your life stop fighting! Stop all of this madness, and just come home. Come back to me!”

She couldn’t take it anymore. She launched herself forward, planning to tackle Adora to the ground again. Instead, all she met with was air. She looked back, seeing the outstretched hand just miss her as she tumbled off the edge. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she flipped around, sinking her claws into the cliff face. Catra yowled as a couple broke off, tearing right out of her fingers and leaving bloody gashes behind, but she managed to stop her descent. Looking back up, she noticed Glimmer had joined Adora on the balcony. “I got both Entrapta and Scorpia, just like we planned sis. And, for extra insurance, I snagged this!” With a flourish, she pulls Catra’s mask out from behind her back, handing it to Adora before flashing a smug look down at her. 

“One more chance, Catra!! Come with us now and you won’t have to be a prisoner. You can return to the Army in your old post, and everything can be as it was! No, it will be better, because I can make sure no one treats you like a boy ever again, just come back to me.” Adora was on her knees, pleading with her as that hand reached out one more time. Her ponytail had come loose during the fight, and it left her hair at the mercy of the wind. It only made the scene more heartbreaking. Tears frozen on her face, Catra turned away from the sight above her. She heard Adora stand up, giving her one last statement before she left. “You have three days to report to Bright Moon Castle. After that, our deal is off, and you ‘friends’ will find themselves enjoying the delightful prisons of Bright Moon on a much more permanent basis. I would promise you they won’t be harmed, but we’ve both seen how little you care about promises today.” The familiar whoosh of Glimmer’s teleportation signaled their departure, leaving Catra crying against the cliff as she agonizingly made her way back up.

~*~

~*~

The night played on a loop over and over again. Catra sat in her bedroom, fingers wrapped in stained bandages as she combed through every minute she could remember. Why was I such a fool? I knew better, but I still let it all happen. (She knew why, but her heart hurt too much to even consider thinking about that reason.) Over and over, she relieved every moment, from the skiff to the prom to the fight to the cliff. She thought about every interaction she had with Scorpia, how removed she had been from her friends that night, how easily she let Adora distract her from everything that was really happening. Her fingers throbbed with every beat of her traitorous heart, reminding her that she could not allow something like this to happen again. 

A knock on her door had her brushing her tears away before getting up to open the door. As she opened it, she was blindsided by something tall and way too flower-scented for Catra’s nose. Pulling her head back from Perfuma’s chest (but not from her hug, it felt too nice), she noticed the rest of the Alliance crowded into the hallway. “What’s...what are you guys doing here?”  

“Our friends are missing, right? Well, we are here to help you get them back.” She looked into each of their faces, noting the determination present on every last one of them. Catra took one last deep breath before stepping out of Perfuma’s embrace. Squaring her shoulders, she nodded and ushered them all back into her room. It was time to make a plan. This time, Catra wouldn’t allow her feelings to get in the way. She was going to rescue Scorpia and Entrapta, even if she had to go through Adora to do that.