Escaping Corruption (Seasons 1-3)

S2 - Seven weeks and seven spies

Catra had enough time to strut over to Adora, making sure to swing her hips side-to-side with a smirk, and help her up.

But a second later, the shadow warrior who had caught the girl pounced on the magicat.

Catra sidestepped away and the warrior tumbled over a hedge.

She raised a brow, and turned to the others.

They saluted her, and hurriedly scrambled through the forest.

She turned, smiling, to Adora. Who collapsed into her arms, yelling furiously through tears.

'I'm sorry for being kidnapped, replying to you once, and returning without telling you....but now our problem is Naevas whereabouts.' Catra patted her on the back as she explained.

'I...She's over there' Adora pointed towards a cluster of rose bushes.

As if on queue, a disgruntled looking Naeva fell over them, and Catra couldn't help but laugh seeing the guards ruffled hair and dirt covered face and clothes.

But upon seeing her, Naeva raced forward and captured her in a hug.

'You promised you would be gone for a week or two! Not seven!'

'Right...I forgot about that...sorry...?'

Naeva sighed, grabbed Catra by the ear as gently as possible and gave her a little tug then limped off toward the base in the mountain.

Catra turned to Adora, who smiled encouragingly and gestured for her to go on.

They walked back together, with Catra going on about the adventures she had embarked on during her journey through space.

When they entered, they found the room bustling with life.

Every single person was clad in armor, geared in weapons, and rushing around to fill their stringe doubles with bottles full to the brim of acids, venoms, deadly powders and oddly enough, flour.

At each landmark across the twelve kingdoms, there would be a few briefcases with food, and spare trackerpads and pieces of armor and explosives.

Castaspella, Micah and C'yra were perfecting their magic in the corner, while Shadow Weaver observed.

She seemed shocked that there was utterly nothing that she could comment negatively on from C'yra. The magicat woman was tactical, strong, and her spells were perfect and worked better then any of the elderly witch's ever had before.

Catra smirked.

Of course her mother was stronger then Shadow Weaver, maybe that's why she had hated her so much.

Her attention was drawn to a loud clattering sound.

Naeva, Juliet, Gata and Fajr were knife throwing in the corner.

She was amazed by how easily the four met their targets.

Suddenly, Glimmer and Bow were beside Catra and Adora, handing them everything they needed.

From armor to weapons to maps, thry made sure that they were ready.

'Hold up, everything was chill before I left to get two dumbasses out of danger, and I come back and everyones preparing. I need an explanation.'

Glimmer glances at Bow in a confused way, but he just smiles and responds.

'You see how the sky always starts getting darker in the south before the North? Just by a small bit. So you guys were in the North, and its already becoming nighttime. So...'

'So the time has arrived.' Glimmer finished.

Catra swallows, and looks over the lively allies she had gathered over time. Friends, family, comrades, leaders.

'Adora? Come with me for a second, I think....before we go to war for real....we need to talk to Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio.'

Adora nodded solemnly.

They hugged Glimmer and Bow and wished them luck, then went to find their old friends.

It was easy.

'Can we have a moment outside? Like, all five of us?' Catra asked.

The trio shared a surprised looked, then nodded and followed the couple outside, onto the flattened mountain summit overlooking the Whispering Woods.

'I guess this is it...' Lonnie admitted quietly, sitting on the ledge between Kyle and Adora.

'The final battle...' Rogelio added in his reptilian grunts.

'We probably won't make it...' Kyle sighed out, leaning against Rogelio.

'So if we don't....I don't want us to go down without saying goodbye' Catra confessed.

'I would prefer we didn't go down at all...we wouldn't have to say goodbye at all then..' Adora pursed her lips, tears threatening to spill.

'You want to cry, why don't you?' Catra acknowledged.

'Shadow Weaver always said it was a sign of weakness.'

'Shadow Weaver is incapable of honesty, we are going to war and may possibly die. Cry if you feel like it.' Lonnie divulged.

'Exactly.' Catra smiled.

The dam broke for both Adora and Kyle, quietly crying.

Catra and Lonnie had always known this group was like broken glass. Rough, unwanted, useless.

But atleast they shone in the sunlight and the moonlight.

If you got rid of one shard, you would have to get rid of them all if you didn't want to get cut. Even the smallest ones could bring harm.

They were proud of it.

They were Horde kids. They were friends. They were family.

No matter how broken they were.

'Remember that time Adora screamed something about sparkly underwear in her sleep and denied it every time we brought it up?' Rogelio said, smiling faintly.

The group laughed quietly.

The Moons began to form a ring in the sky, a burgundy light emitting from each one.

Catra ignores it.

They all do.

Its just an agonising reminder of their slim chances of ever seeing each other again.

'The time you two kissed after catching Force Captains Lainey and Vora in the act?' Lonnie rolled her eyes affectionately at the memory directed at Kyle and Rogelio.

The whole group shares a bout of giggles.

When they have finally finished their reminiscing and laughing, they all stand on the cliff edge.

They look over Etherias beauty once more, then share a large group hug.
No one wants to let go, as they hold each other.

This time they are all crying.