Work Text:
Chapter 1
Catra held the cube gingerly. Entrapta squealed, “Isn’t it amazing? I based it off of an experiment back home that went a little… unexpectedly! This piece of corrupted First One’s tech is capable of making any machine murderous!”
She passed a gentle claw over the First One’s chip, glowing red and almost pulsing. Then the claw moved over the various holes, a variety of plugs and interfaces any machine could find a way to interact with. Catra asked Entrapta the important question, “So can this upgrade our weapons?”
Entrapta paused. “Well, no.”
Catra threw the piece of junk up into the air and began to walk away, “Not interested.”
Entrapta squeaked and caught the cube with her hair. She brought it in close and cooed at it, reassuring it that it was safe now. She scurried in front of Catra, “Don’t be so hasty! This cannot upgrade our weapons, but it can certainly affect the Rebellion’s!”
This caused Catra to stop. She turned back to Entrapta and raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”
“Back home, when I linked this to my mainframe, the corruption propagated into every piece of machinery connected. My adorable little delivery and maintenance robots became adorable little harbingers of death and destruction!”
“I like the sound of ‘death and destruction’,” Catra admitted.
“And I became completely unable to communicate with them! They stopped obeying orders! From anyone! They would just attack anything that made a sound!”
“So if we hooked this up to some Rebellion tech...” Catra mused out loud.
“Yes, yes, yes, but I was also thinking of-”
Catra snatched the cube. “You had me at ‘attack anything’, I’m gonna hook this up to whatever on Bright Moon has wires.”
As Catra began to run off, Entrapta threw another small piece of machinery at her. “Take this! You can use it to communicate with me over long distances!”
Catra caught the flying object by instinct. She pocketed it, because only a fool would throw out Entrapta’s tech, but did not have plans to use it.
Catra was gone before Entrapta could say anything else. Entrapta turned on her own communicator, and tried to tell Catra, “I don’t think there’s much tech on Bright Moon,” but Catra had not yet turned on her communicator. All Entrapta got was static. She shrugged. She left it on and put it to the side, hopefully Catra would turn it on at some point, then Entrapta could explain. For now, Entrapta had some other fine pieces of non-corrupted First One’s tech to translate...
Catra dug through the underbrush. Although the Whispering Woods had been frozen, nature always finds a way and was starting to grow again. Fortunately, despite the newfound greenery, it lacked almost any formidable defense. Reaching Bright Moon was a piece of cake.
What wasn’t a piece of cake was trying to find somewhere to plug the thing in.
There were citizens going about their daily business, so Catra was stuck slinking in and out of shadows on the perimeter. She hoped that some houses might have at least some sort of mechanical operations, but no. Literally every door in the Fright Zone was electronically controlled, but these… nothing.
Catra was about to call it a day and head back to regroup when she heard a familiar voice. A voice that she heard every day in her childhood, and that came back to her nearly every time she slept. It was faint, but Catra was finely attuned to the little variations of her speech. Catra climbed up one of the trees in the Whispering Woods to get a vantage point to see her. Her eyes scanned the crowd until she saw the straw-blond hair tied up in a ponytail. The red jacket she stubbornly continued to wear. The-
“But I’ll be back in a snap, I swear.” The voice Catra could never forget. “Don’t worry, Bow, you need some time to craft your arrows, right? And I need some time to craft my skills. I’ll just be in the Whispering Woods, doing some swordsmanship training.”
“But you’re already so good at it!” Bow, who Catra had not noticed until now, exclaimed in a whining voice, “You could hang out with me while I make my arrows instead! Otherwise I’ll be so bored!”
Adora laughed, and something twisted inside of Catra. “I’m only so good because I practice, Bow. I’ll see you later.”
Adora approached the woods, Bow no longer following, and Catra realized she had to go. Being around Adora always led to… weird feelings. Unless Catra could focus on fighting Adora, her mind would go places. And every time-
Catra shook her head, she had to stop thinking. Just get back to the Fright Zone. Adora was right below her now, already lazily swinging the sword around to warm up her wrist. Catra leaped off of her current branch onto a neighboring one.
And failed to notice that the neighboring one had been weakened by the freezing. It broke, sending Catra scrambling for other branches.
“Who’s there!” Adora called out, spinning towards the sound of the crack.
Catra should have run. But when Adora was so close, Catra could find an excuse to stay. Wouldn’t it be nice to taunt her? Adora was so easily stressed, after all. Catra couldn’t ruin any Bright Moon tech, but she could at least put Adora on edge.
Catra snorted, and stepped to the edge of a branch. “Did you miss me?”
Adora’s eyes narrowed. The grip on her sword tightened. “Catra.”
Before Catra could say anything else, Adora transformed. Catra cringed at the sight, seeing her ex-best friend swallowed up by some giant superheroine.
Adora, or She-ra now, spoke with her sword pointed at Catra, “What are you doing here?”
Catra thought fast, and held out the corruption cube Entrapta had made. “I wouldn’t point your sword all willy-nilly like that, She-ra.” Catra used that name deliberately, and was pleased to see Adora stiffen in reaction. Catra continued, “I’ve planted bombs in the civilian areas around Bright Moon. With this… trigger, if you attack me you’ll disappoint even more people.”
She-ra glared at Catra, but did not move. So Catra came down from the branch to taunt her up close, swinging the cube around and posing her thumb over an extrusion as though it were a button. She-ra still stayed put, and addressed Catra, “What do you want?”
Catra smirked to bide time. She began to circle She-ra. Honestly Catra had not thought this through entirely, but she was not about to admit that in front of Adora. “I was hoping you could come up with something to give me.”
“I’m not interested in your games,” She-ra shouted, turning to keep Catra in her line of sight.
“Ever think I just want to talk?” Catra said with a sarcastic tone.
“I’ll ask you again, what do you want?”
Catra shrugged, “Maybe to let you witness the moment when I destroy these towns,” Catra brought her thumb a millimeter closer to the extrusion.
That was the wrong thing to say. She-ra jumped into action at the threat, stabbing her sword towards Catra so fast Catra couldn’t escape. So Catra did the next best thing and brought up the cube to block the attack. She-ra’s sword embedded itself into the cube, barely missing the red chip. Catra braced herself to dodge the next hit, but She-ra was stopped. She let out a painful yelp, and her eyes glowed red. Catra’s heart jumped at the sight, what was happening to her?
She-ra detransformed, and Adora crumbled onto the ground.
Adora did not move. Catra stood, paused over the body, uncertain what to do. Attack? Run?
Adora still wasn’t moving. Had Catra…? No, there was no way Adora could be taken out by… by a dumb cube. Catra knelt on the ground next to her and checked her pulse. Still beating, at least.
Adora groaned. Catra jumped back instinctively. Adora looked at Catra, and began to giggle. “There’s three of you.”
Catra grimaced. She wanted to forget Adora’s beautiful laugh. “What’s wrong with you? Get hit on the head?”
Laughter. “You’re too funny, Catra.” Adora stood up and began to walk towards Catra, before tripping onto her own face. That did not seem to dampen her mood though, as she just rolled over and looked up at Catra with playful eyes.
“Is this some sort of trick?” Catra quizzed her, glancing around in case some of the Rebellion were hiding in the woods, waiting for Catra to let her guard down.
Adora tried to get up again, and seeing her clumsy steps made Catra hesitant to run. Why should she have to run from someone who was apparently… incapacitated? Another trip and Adora fell towards Catra. Instinctively, Catra reached out and caught Adora before she hit the ground again. Adora clutched Catra’s arms, and the grip made Catra suspect this had all been a trick to grab her. Catra shoved Adora off, but rather than holding on with her usual vise-like grip she was shoved off as easily as a coat. Adora sat down, and looked up at Catra with pursed lips. “Why can’t we just hug?”
Catra sneered. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Let’s hug and make up,” Adora whined, eyes looking shiny, “I miss you.”
Although Catra was ready for any physical attack, she was not prepared for emotional ones like this. “I thought I told you, I don’t want to-”
Adora got up again, swaying. “I want to! I get lonely at night, Catra,” Adora wiped her eyes, “It’s not the same without you at my feet.”
Catra took some steps back, away from Adora, until her back was against a tree. Catra sneered again, trying to focus on any emotion aside from what Adora seemed determined to communicate, “At your feet. Nice. Like your pet.”
Adora lost her balance, and Catra was dumb enough to catch her again. Adora leaned into it, pressing Catra against the tree. “If you don’t want to sleep at my feet, sleep next to me.”
Catra could feel heat rising to her cheeks at the implication. “A-Adora, that’s not-”
Before Catra could bring up some counters, Adora shut her up with a kiss. And Catra could not push her off, not while Adora was holding onto her with such gentle hands. One hand slid up to Catra’s head, reaching behind her ears and scratching where Adora knew Catra was sensitive. Catra couldn’t resist the resultant purr, which only seemed to egg Adora on. Another hand snaked around Catra’s waist, bringing their bodies close enough to share every curve. Adora was the one who parted for breath, and Catra hated that even now Adora was calling all the shots.
Adora ran a hand along Catra’s cheek, eyes lidded by whatever was making her act so weird. They were enemies now, Adora should know that. What was making her so loopy?
The cube.
Whatever had happened, it happened right after the cube. Entrapta would know how to fix this.
Adora leaned back into Catra’s face, and consciously Catra thought she should push her away. But while this lasted, would it really hurt to… explore a little? To taste what might be her last meal before the normal Adora returned? Another long kiss, and Catra allowed her hands to wander along Adora’s back. She ran a claw along Adora’s spine, eliciting a pleasing gasp that caused Catra to grow warm. She clung to Adora, pulling her tight, as if clinging could keep her from ever leaving again.
The thought of Adora leaving snapped Catra out of her haze long enough to push Adora away again. Whatever was going on was not normal Adora, and she needed to fix it.
She pressed Adora to sit down, and joined her on the ground. “Okay, Adora, I need to, um, call someone, so can you be quiet for a bit?”
Adora whined, “More kisses?”
Catra flushed, unfamiliar with this expressive, open, affectionate Adora after all their battles. “Um, sure, but after this call.”
Adora hummed happily. She held onto Catra’s arm, and Catra decided shoving her off would be more trouble than it was worth. She pulled out the communicator Entrapta had tossed her and tried to work the thing.
There were a lot of buttons. A lot of buttons. And nothing was labeled. Catra pressed the biggest one first, listening carefully for any sound from the thing. “Hello?” She spoke towards it experimentally.
“Hello!” Adora chimed in.
Catra nudged her. “Shush, I’m trying to hear a response.” Catra put her ear up right next to the communicator, but there was no sound. She pressed some other buttons, carefully listening.
Which was a little hard to do with Adora stroking her arm. And when Adora buried her face into Catra’s shoulder, Catra had to hold back a flinch. She doubled-down on pressing buttons. Surely one of these would get her into contact with Entrapta.
Finally, she heard a noisy buzz. A clang came out of the communicator, metal against metal. “Entrapta!” Catra exclaimed, almost certain that she had reached her.
Adora sobbed.
Catra glanced sideways, afraid to move or jostle her. Adora hadn’t cried in years. At least, not that Catra saw. Catra couldn’t see her face now; Adora had decided the safest place to hide her crying face was Catra’s shoulder. But Catra could certainly feel the wet, hot tears against her fur.
“It’s all my fault,” Came Adora’s muffled voice.
“Umm...” Catra was not sure how to respond.
“Entrapta died all because of my dumb plan.”
Catra stiffened. “What do you mean, Entrapta’s dead?”
“That’s what the princesses said. When they were escaping she was-” Another sob rose up before Adora could elaborate.
Catra gingerly patted Adora’s head. So that was why they left Entrapta behind. They thought she was dead. Some unkind thoughts Catra had about the situation loosened. But nonetheless, it was better for the Horde to keep Entrapta. “I’m sure it wasn’t… totally your fault?” Catra offered an attempt at comfort, leaving out the little detail that Entrapta was alive and kicking.
Interfering with that plot, Entrapta’s voice came out of the communicator. “Catra? Was that you?”
“Sometimes it’s like I can still hear her voice!” Adora moaned.
Catra pulled Adora in close to her chest, wrapping one arm to try and cover both ears. This was to keep Adora from hearing too much. It had nothing to do with calming Adora’s shaking shoulders, or to enjoy Adora’s arms returning the hug.
Catra whispered into the communicator, holding it close to her mouth with her other hand. “Yes, it’s me. I-”
“Did you notice that Bright Moon doesn’t really use much technology?” Entrapta asked.
The volume on this communicator was awfully high. Catra pulled Adora closer. “Yes I noticed-”
“And now you’re heading back?”
“No!” Catra hated when Entrapta interrupted her. Was it that hard to let Catra say what was going on? “Something weird happened.”
“Well, being weird is kind of the norm for my inventions, but do elaborate.”
“I ended up, um, confronting She-ra, and she-”
“You WHAT!” Entrapta exclaimed, “With no backup?”
Catra bristled at the implication that she could not take Adora on her own. “Let me finish. She-ra stabbed the cube, and now she’s acting all… weird.”
“Like she can’t stand up straight? Like she needs to be carried everywhere she goes? Like everything is super funny?” Entrapta listed the symptoms.
“Yes!” Catra exclaimed, pleased to hear that Entrapta already had some sort of knowledge or expectation of this. “How do I fix it?”
“She-ra was infected by the First One’s corruption, since she’s technically First One tech. But you’re not gonna like the solution.”
Catra glanced down at Adora. Vulnerable. Defenseless. Catra gulped. What would she need to do to her? “What’s the solution?”
Entrapta spoke slowly and gently. “You’re gonna need to destroy the source. Break the red disc, and she should go back to normal, with no memory of what happened since the infection.”
Catra paused. “Why wouldn’t I like that solution? That seems pretty easy.”
Entrapta huffed. “Well maybe I don’t like the solution! It took me forever to find another piece of corrupted First One’s tech, and now-” Realization dawned on Entrapta, “Hey wait a sec, isn’t it good for the Horde if She-ra is out of commission?”
Catra pushed the biggest button, and the noise with Entrapta’s voice was shut off. She looked around for the cube, and saw it busted a few feet away. She stood up, simultaneously pushing Adora away.
Adora was not longer sobbing, at least, but she tried to stand up with Catra and was stuck leaning on her for support. “Don’t go, not so soon-”
“Look, Adora, you’re unwell. I just gotta grab that cube there and I can fix you. I’m literally only travelling three feet.”
Adora did not seem amendable to logic. “You can’t go. I’ll miss you too much.”
Catra sighed and dragged Adora along with her to check out the cube. Catra picked it up gingerly, and saw the red disc intact. Entrapta said Adora would not remember anything. How unfair.
Catra turned and brought Adora’s lips against hers. Adora responded enthusiastically, leaning into the kiss. Catra hated knowing that she would hoard this memory, along with her trove of other sweet Adora memories, to think about late at night when she couldn’t sleep. And Adora would not remember a thing.
The thought filled her body with anger, and her claws pressed deeply enough into Adora’s back to draw blood. At least she could leave some sort of mark that this had happened. But when Catra pushed Adora back there was no pain or betrayal on Adora’s face. Instead, it was flushed, hair strands gone astray against her face, and her eyes looking up as if to beg. Her lips, still wet, mouthed her only desire, “More.”
An electric sensation flowed up Catra’s spine, leaving behind a warmth that became harder to resist every second. But Catra knew she could not keep this distorted version of Adora. They had said and done things that could not be taken back, this Adora was just too dumb to remember any of it.
With heavy hands, she raised the cube and slammed the red disc directly into a nearby rock.
Adora released her, falling to the ground. Catra, not wanting to be caught, scurried into the shadows. She climbed up a tree, still keeping an eye on Adora.
Adora stayed on the ground for another few seconds before groaning. Then she sat up, rubbing her temple. Catra could hear her mumble, “What happened?”
Adora then stood, balance steady. She glanced around the woods suspiciously, and grabbed her sword. She looked alert. Catra did not dare breathe a sigh of relief, afraid of being caught again.
Instead, she waited until Adora left, returning to Bright Moon. Then she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to remember Adora’s warmth. She took a deep breath. It was dangerous to focus on the past.
She turned and made her way back to the Fright Zone.