Crimson Blood

Chapter 21

Catra's POV:

My ears were brushed up against the glass of Bright Moon as I listened to the conversation Glimmer and Adora was having. Hordak had sent me here to spy on the coronation to see if I can spot any weaknesses but all I saw was a princess lying on the floor looking defeated.

I was about to go to the other side of the palace before I heard something that caught my attention. Adora was talking about opening up all the dimensions to free Queen Angela.

When Queen Angela was brought up in the conversation, my mind blanked out. Did I really mean what I said back at the trials? My head really wanted me to say yes but deep down somewhere inside, I knew the answer would be no.

"So this is how to save the queen?" I quietly asked myself before tuning out my thoughts.

Dang it, stop thinking about secretly helping them! You're done with Adora, you're done with it all!

I decided that was enough for the time being and I would go back to report to Hordak.

"See you soon Adora," I smirked. I should be feeling happy and smug... so why wasn't I?

I started walking down the halls of the Fright Zone and saw Scorpia approaching with hot tea. Before I could escape, she grabbed my waist and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Scorpia!" I groaned, my voice muffled as I tried to escape the tight grasp.

"I'm sorry, it's just been forever since I've seen you!" she exclaimed, tightening her grip around my shoulders.

"It's been two hours," I stated plainly before squirming my way out of the hold.

"Well still a long time," she hummed before walking off to greet Entrapta. I made my way over to Hordak's lab while figuring out what to say.

"Catra," he said threateningly, it didn't scare me.

"Well, Glimmer's becoming queen, but Adora and Glimmer are trying to bring Queen Angela back," I explained blandly as Hordak growled.

"That's obviously true but did you find any real weaknesses? Ones that we don't know of?" he asked, irritated.

"Obviously not, I was there for like two hours, did you really think they would just recite their weaknesses in front of a wall?" I explained, annoyed.

"Perhaps Shadow Weaver was right," he mumbled under his breath as my tail went up instantly.

"You're saying that dirty hag was right? She wasted almost a year to make people go look for her precious Adora!" I burst out in anger as he glared at me.

"Very well then, I do expect more reports from you with real information," he said before adding, "And remember, the only reason you are still standing is because of the loss of Queen Angela."

"Yeah, yeah," I scoffed, before turning my back to him and leaving the room.

Horde Prime's POV:

"Cast out the shadows! Cast out the shadows!" the clones were chanting as one stepped into the pool and their eyes went blank.

"Ah yes, behold the purest of them all!" I proclaimed before hearing cheers from the clones. I started walking towards my throne before hearing a beep on the screen.

"What is this?" I asked, smiling.

"Little Brother, I thought I'd never see you again," I smirked before turning my attention back to my clones.

I pointed at one of them and said, "Try to track down this strange signal, it seems that this planet is not among the stars."

Queen Angela's POV:

"Glimmah!" I called out, "Where are you?" "Adora!" I was about to keep looking before I remembered the portal.

"Welcome to the trials!" a loud voice spoke overhead.

"Trials?" I asked in confusion as it piped up again.

"Oh! Right! Well, obviously there's a way to escape this which I'm assuming you would want to do! To do that you must complete these trials but it's not that easy. After you complete the trials, you must wait for an opening of this dimension," it explained as I looked at the setting in front of me warily.

"You know oddly enough, the dimension here opened earlier today, kinda weird considering it usually takes years for it to open," the voice said mystified.

"Very well then, I shall complete these trials so I can sort everything out with my daughter," I said firmly before taking a step forward to receive my first challenge.

Bow's POV:

Gah! Everything's a mess! The coronation has been postponed and Glimmer told me about this plan to get Queen Angela back. Not that I don't want to but there's so much going on right now, I wish time could just stop to give everyone a moment to think!

"You seem stressed, friend!" Sea Hawk exclaimed dramatically, slinging his arm over my shoulder.

"How are you okay with all of this?" I asked, before taking a deep breath and saying something else, "I mean- how's everything going with your relationship- with Mermista I mean!" I burst out as a proud smile had crept its way onto Sea Hawk's face.

"I like to take breaks and sing shanties with my best friends! Please come along Bow! We can sing for hours with no care!" Sea Hawk bust out with his hands waving dramatically over him.

"There's a lot of stress at the castle especially after-" I started before Sea Hawk put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"They're making a plan to rescue Queen Angela and they put off the coronation, now is the best time to party!" he exclaimed, giving me a side hug.

"If you say so..." I said, unsure.

No One's POV (I told you they'd be back):

Entrapta sat down near the Fright Zone sewers before investigating the recordings she had made during the time at the Fright Zone.

"Wow, so much information and only a few steps away from seeing the stars again," she gasped in awe, grazing her hands over the metal in front of her.

Her eyes came across a piece of First One's tech that she had found in the portal realm, looking at its abnormal color.

"I've never seen green First One's tech," she murmured, "I must figure out what to do with this, it's quite fascinating!" she looked at it in awe before bursting through the doors of the lab.