Escaping Corruption (Seasons 1-3)

S2 - Tapestries and Anarchy

ERIS watched silently from a distance as Araidne coddled the planet to her chest.

It was placed delicately on the mother goddess' midriff, in place of a navel.

The goddess had folded in on herself, with her knees pulled up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around them, her head burrowed in the linen of her skirt.

Eris had never seen Araidne so distressed.

‘My lady? What troubles have upset you so?’ She cries out finally, flying to a halt right above the goddess's knee.

Araidne lifts her head, revealing her bloodshot eyes, streaming white tears.

‘Hemera…my bebe….she…she has given her life in place of the princesses of Etheria…’

Eris gasped and clasped her clawed hands over her mouth. But calmed down a second later as a plan began to spin in her head.

‘Worry not, my lady. I have a plan to save her. And to destroy those meddling fools such as Perseus and Horde Prime.’

Araidne watches sullenly as Eris summons her spinning Wheel, and begins to weave a tapestry.

The mother goddess schooches closer as she notices herself being

drawn above her beloved daughter.

‘What is it you are issuing?’ She questions the little lady known as Eris.

‘I will need your help because I am destruction, not creation. To seal it finally but I was wondering…is it possible that we could simply….revive her? I mean Rhys holds no power over you or fate. We need Hemera to restore balance. It's only necessary.’

Araidne seemed to grasp the gist of Eris' plan, and began her job as the weaver fixing her woes.

It wasn't lonh before the duo finished, and Araidne wrapped the finished tapestry around the planet at her midriff.

They watched as the tapestry faded into the planet, preparing for the tying events to become reality.

All they had to do was wait.

~~~~~~~~~~

Catra found herself alone.

In the room of eternal darkness and loneliness it seemed.

Except for the girl.

The younger Catra stared back at her.

The Horde Catra, that was.

She stared at her.

'What have you done to yourself?' Her younger self sneered.

'What I should have done years ago.' Catra replied, staring at the ground.

'We both know we don't need Adora or any of her stupid sparkly friends. Why have you betrayed us!'

God, her younger self was livid.

'I haven't betrayed myself. I healed. I'm not bitter, or angry, or shaming anymore. You can say whatever you want, but I've changed. For the better.'

And with that final declaration, Catra tore her claws through her past self, and watched in shock as the younger one exploded in a cloud of smoke.

The following moment was scary.

Catra felt herself changing, transforming, shrinking.

A flicker of dark, mossy green.

Then she was plunged into total darkness.

~~~~~~♤~~~~~~~

The crowd has long since dispersed.

The war has resumed.

Puca was gaining on his enemies, while they recovered from the sudden blow.

The morning drew nearer, it was not quite sunrise when the magicats and

their allies stared parallel to their enemy.

Puca, and his eternal army of Shadows stood before them.

The field they were in was entirely of dead grass and overgrown maple trees along the side.

It was a pitiful sight.

Gata led the magicats and allies, the fierce look in her eye met with the nonchalant gaze of the perpetrator of their problems.

'Retreat, and we shall spare the crown' Fajr announces, raising his blade in a show of intimidation.

Puca just grazes his bottom lip with his teeth.

'And what good is that to me? Lilith is a traitor. She is worth nothing. I am the King of darkness, I need no light. Unless you  wish to join me?'

Gata snarled suddenly, stepping in front of Fajr.

'Listen Shadow man, He may be an idiot, but he's my idiot. Say anything like that again, and I won't hesitate to reach down your throat, tear out your intestines, and choked you to death with them.'

Fajr squeaked and quickly pulled his sword down.

Puca raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

'Wait!'

Everyone turns to look at a nereid, Perse.

'I do not have time for measly mermaids to disrupt a whole fucking war.' Puca glowered.

'Well my lady has been exterminated. I come with a prophecy from the oracle of Aeaea itself.' The nereid insisted.

'What is it?' Aeris stepped forth, knowing to trust the nereids.

'Ahem....On the night rimmed in red, on the night with stars aligned, When three crows of past falls, sleep shall adorn the earth and dark, A sunlit riot led by riding souls, Bending, twisting, To the Weavers woes by
mother and wrath, Luminous eyes belong to the light,Devious minds of gold and bright, Descending of doom shall be the snake, And at last the Keeling wraith shall fall to his heels'

The nereid falls to her knees, wheezing and clawing at her throat.

The prophecy has been revealed.

Aeris glanced between Gata and Puca, seeing two very different reactions.

Puca had fury written written over his expression while Gata was smirking.

There was silence, but it was broken by rustling parallel to where Perse had fallen.

It caught everyones attention.

It no one. Absolutely no one.

Expect to see a sixty foot black hued serpent the width of a bus slithering through the tall ferns toward them, tongue flicking hungrily towar