Chereads / The Cat of Speed / Chapter 33 - Fallout

Chapter 33 - Fallout

 The sound of a soul crushing scream caused anyone who hadn't seen what had occurred to stand still and look in the direction, halting anything they were doing.

 Entrapta had stopped running around and messing with her tablet.

 When she looked over and saw a limp Tigra impaled by Adora's rather wide blade with Adora screaming, Entrapta did something that many would think was heresy for her.

 She dropped her tablet in the snow while her hands covered her mouth in shock.

 Entrapta's mind was running on overtime the instant she took in the situation.

 'Tigra's not conscious. Large blade in her chest suggests that one or both of her lungs could be damaged. For her to even get hurt that badly, Tigra must have been taken off guard through either a high speed comparable to her own or she couldn't access her speed anymore. Heavily cut right leg suggests broken bones and torn tendons at best.'

 Entrapta's eyes hardened.

 'Tigra may genuinely be dead or heading that way.'

 Entrapta looked over the field before landing on Glimmer.

 'Need to get Tigra to the emergency medical supplies. First aid alone won't cut it, but with the few magic users, surely one of them can keep her stable until I can cobble up something to do that.'

 Entrapta hurried towards her, leaving the tablet behind.

 _____________________

 When Bow had seen the Data Disk that he had thought they destroyed back in Entrapta's Castle start infecting She-Ra through her sword, he had started to panic.

 The fact that he was dealing with a fire clone that clearly wasn't taking him seriously didn't help the matter at all.

 He couldn't help but remember how Tigra explained why they were still alive. She had proven that she could easily take down two or three Princesses in quick succession if she found the need necessary, such as preventing them from getting the Spirit Ember she had been after.

 She had largely stayed away from close quarter combat, which he knows they both are aware that he's not as proficient in and he has been working on it. It just doesn't help that Tigra had disabled one of his arms for two weeks, even with the magical healing from Brightmoon.

 She would shoot a fire arrow or two at him, which would keep him on the move. It made shooting a bit harder, but he swears that he's almost hit her a few times, despite the constant smirk directed at him.

 Until suddenly, the clone heard a screech and looked in the direction with something that Bow isn't sure he's seen on her face before.

 Fear.

 The clone dispersed, leaving him alone in the cold.

 Until several booms could be heard. The wind picked up enough to cause the snow to blast around the area that it felt like tiny ice crystals pounding against his body.

 He held his arms in front of his face while closing his eyes to prevent anything from getting on them.

 It continued for maybe half a minute before suddenly stopping, with Bow opening his eyes.

 Just in time for Bow to hear Catra screaming.

 Bow looked in the direction with worry, knowing from the few times they had encountered the magicat that she doesn't scream like that. Maybe from annoyance or anger, but never something sounding so terrified.

 No sooner did he see the moment that would be in his own nightmares for a bit.

 Adora fell to her knees, grabbing her hair, screaming in horror, as if her family had been found dead.

 Which it may have been, considering the large sword was in a slumped Tigra's chest and stuck in the tree.

 He couldn't move. He wanted to help in some way. Get her off the snow that would surely be going through her clothes in a few seconds.

 But his body refused to move, seemingly stuck on Adora doing that to Tigra.

 His body was snapped out of it the instant Glimmer appeared next to him.

 "Entrapta has called a ceasefire. I accepted. She needs your help with tech."

 While confused at first, he still did what she asked him and quickly made his way over to Entrapta.

 _____________________

 Glimmer watched as Bow ran off towards Entrapta before breathing out slightly and teleporting near Rani.

 Rani looked at her while her back was glowing from some sort of healing spell, considering that her back almost seemed normal with the exception of a slashed mark on her clothes.

 "Entrapta wants a ceasefire and I accepted."

 "Why?" Rani grunted out. "Did Adora get captured or something? Though it's probably for the best. I can't fight for another few minutes. Even then, most of my magic will be-"

 "Tigra's dying due to a sword in her chest." Glimmer cut her off, needing to get the urgency clear to Rani.

 Rani's wide blue eyes made her feel like she accomplished that.

 "But her healing factor-"

 "Is not working. Her leg, which is badly hurt, is not healing ." 

 Rani stood up before swaying slightly before planting herself strongly.

 "I'm going to see if my magic will at least stabilize her. The Horde Base should have emergency care." Rani muttered before quickly making her way over to the tree.

 Glimmer felt like her skin was slightly too tight and she could feel her own heart beating.

 She gulped before refocusing, pushing anything she was feeling to the back for now.

 'I can always freak out later. Right now, Entrapta needs Bow, and Adora…she's not going to be okay for a while.' She grimaced before looking over at the next person she needed to talk to before things got out of control.

 She glowed before vanishing again.

 _________________

 Rani forced her aching muscles to move, even as some snow started to stick to her legs more and more.

 She stepped by the now silent Adora, who could only stare.

 Rani could make out tears running down her face and her blue eyes seemed almost vacant.

 'The group can focus on that later.' She forced herself to think.

 While Rani didn't dislike anyone in the group, she got along alright with Adora since she also was a soldier for the remaining members of her race. She hasn't experienced the situation that Adora is now in, but she has seen it before.

 When a few people decided to turn towards crime despite how much their people could not afford such a thing in the beginning.

 So they were hunted and often brought to justice by those that knew them.

 1 out of 10 were often executed as they tried to steal something that the people needed to keep control over their sudden loss of their kingdom.

 She stepped next to Tigra before holding her hands in front of her as they glowed blue.

 'Destroyed femur in the right leg, snapped muscle in the ankle, cracked spinal cord near the pelvis, multiple ruptured arteries and veins, sliced open lungs, a knick on the heart, severed spine near the middle, 8 broken ribs, major stab wound in the chest, major internal bleeding.' She thought as her diagnostic spell described all of this.

 Her hands stopped glowing before they began glowing red.

 The glow spread from her hands to all over Tigra, yet nothing seemed to happen.

 "Adora!" Rani barked. "I need your help!"

 Yet nothing.

 She glanced back and saw what she feared.

 Adora was nowhere near the present.

 'Flashback or complete dissociation.' She grimaced.

 'I don't have anywhere close enough magic to keep this spell going along with a clone. Even then, I can maybe keep this spell going for 3 or 4 more minutes.'

 She glanced around before she saw Glimmer talking to a crouched down Catra. Bow and Entrapta were nowhere to be found, all of Tigira's clones were dispersed as she couldn't see a single one, and Adora isn't here.

 "Glimmer!" She yelled, catching Catra and Glimmer's attention. "I need a pair of hands!"

 Glimmer sparkled before she and Catra were nearby.

 A quick glance downward revealed that Catra was holding her arm.

 "What do you need us to do?" Glimmer asked.

 "I need one or both of you to help pull the sword out from her."

 "Are you crazy!? That will guarantee-" Catra started.

 "Catra, she is in a stasis spell." Rani interrupted. "As long as she is in this spell, she won't get worse or better. It is almost like she is frozen in a point in time. However, we need to get her off of this tree and somewhere we can keep her stable."

 "Are…are we taking the sword out of her or the tree?" Glimmer asked, grabbing the hilt.

 "Out of the tree. If my spell fails for some reason, at least she won't be bleeding out of the massive wound." Rani explained.

 Catra's hands shook before she grasped the hilt.

 "3..2..1..Pull!" Rani commanded, pulling Tigra away from the tree.

 The two girls grunted before the sword came free of the tree.

 Rani gently placed Tigra on the ground before looking at Glimmer once more.

 "Where are the tech people?"

 "Back at the base in order to help Tigra once she arrives."

 "Teleport Tigra and I back there so we can keep her out of the cold. When you do that, come back for these two."

 Glimmer touched both of them before the three of them glowed before vanishing.

 ______________-

 Scorpia had been having a nice, warm time. Sure she had been missing her friends since they went out to check on the mining bots, but they had told her that she could stay behind.

 It was so thoughtful that Wildcat and Tiger understood her apprehension with the cold. While she had thought it strange that they had requested her to come along since she would be more groggy with the snow and cold, she was happy that they understood.

 Turns out, they told her that they are the same when it comes to hot spots. If one of them were to find a spot to lay down with constant heat, they would get sleepy and annoyed with anyone who would try to take them away from that spot.

 While they hadn't shown it to her, they did tell her that they have a building they often went to lay on when it entered the warmer months.

 She had been humming in front of the makeshift fire when things went wrong.

 She heard a noise and looked over before blinking in confusion.

 "Grab the second box in the third row. The one next to the open box." Entrapta commanded.

 Scorpia would have gotten up, if she had been the one talked to.

 Bow and Sea Hawk ran over to the boxes before carefully getting on top of the boxes, grabbing the one Entrapta has said.

 Even then, Entrapta hadn't stopped moving and had grabbed several boxes herself and quickly started getting out equipment.

 "What else?" Bow asked, placing the box down.

 "Fourth box, fifth row. First box, second row. Sixth box, fourth row." Entrapta listed off, now messing with tech pieces and constructing them into something.

 "Uh, Entrapta?" Scorpia started.

 "Scorpia! Grab boxes 17, 24, 19, and 28!"

 Scorpia had quickly gotten on the move. She may not know what is going on and why a Rebellion member is helping them, but something big must have happened.

 Something that has actually made Entrapta seem panicked.

 She grabbed two boxes at a time and placed them near the two opened boxes that Entrapta was scrounging in, small pieces clinking onto the ground as Bow started to help her look for something that Scorpia had no idea.

 "Boxes 11, 13, and 21!"

 When Scorpia placed them down, she heard the sound from earlier again and looked over.

 And immediately covered her mouth as her eyes watered.

 A magicat that she hasn't seen before and Glimmer were holding Tigra, who had a giant sword impaled through her chest.

 There were other wounds, but forgive her if the sword drew her attention immediately.

 "Scorpia! I need your venom to keep her under while we try to heal her!"

 Scorpia steeled herself and moved her stinger into a small bowl that she set to the side.

 Glimmer disappeared as the first drops of her venom started going into the bowl.

 "How much venom is safe versus deadly?" Entrapta asked.

 "Half of this bowl is the maximum amount you can use within a day before it starts damaging organs."

 She was glad that she was made to listen to the medical folks who were making her clear about her venom when she was younger.

 "How many doses can you make with that in mind?"

 Scorpia did her best to not look at Tigra while the venom kept splashing.

 "About 5 or 6 right now. If this was anyone else, it could keep them out for about 12 hours total."

 "But we don't know how long with Tigra's healing factor in the mix." Entrapta muttered before she began speaking technical and medical terms that were hard to keep up with.

 "Let's assume that it would keep her under for an hour or two." Bow decided.

 "What happened? Or, what led to this happening?"

 "Glimmer will explain it to you. Bow and I need complete concentration on making these devices that will monitor everything we need on shorthand notice." Entrapta explained.

 The magicat that showed up grunted lightly as Scorpia noticed a red light surrounding Tigra seemed to grow weaker.

 "3 minutes!" They exclaimed.

 Glimmer reappeared with Adora and Catra.

 'Hoo boy.' Scorpia couldn't help but think.

 Catra was hugging herself tightly with her claws out as she looked around the room frantically before landing on Tigra. Her body seemed to stiffen as if to move before it stopped. The fur under Catra's eyes was wet and her fur was slightly puffed up. Which did not help with the white of the snow sticking to any open fur not covered by some piece of clothing.

 Adora…even she knew that something bad had happened as Adora just stared in place. If Scorpia had to think it, she's pretty sure Adora's not even aware that her surroundings have changed.

 Her body was mostly limp with the exception of the muscles preventing her from just falling on the ground, yet Scorpia didn't know how long that would last. Her skin seemed so pale that she could barely see the difference with the flakes of snow on her.

 Glimmer hunched in on herself for a brief second. She seemed to take a deep breath before looking up and meeting Scorpia's eyes.

 "What happened."

 ______________

 Catra could only stare at Tigra.

 If it was anyone else, she knows that they would be dead.

 Scorpia would be dead. Entrapta would likely have been cut in half. Sparkles may get away due to her powers. Archer wouldn't even pull back his bowstring. That other magicat would likely have been able to get away.

 But Catra now knows how it feels for Tigra to fight She-Ra.

 She always found it odd how she constantly said she fought She-Ra, yet had never said that she fought Adora. Up to this point, Catra had thought that they were one in the same with no other way to look at it.

 But now…now Catra knows that there's something there that Tigra must have seen.

 Because the three of them would never have seriously harmed each other. The most may be a broken bone, some split skin, and maybe some damage from knocking each other out.

 But she knew that they would never be able to kill one another.

 They simply had too much history. 

 They had been together for all of the highs, such as when Adora or Catra ended up with some kind of high mark in the Academy and Tigra insisted on some kind of celebration. Adora and her had always insisted on some kind of reward whenever Tigra stayed first at the Academy for a week. Which changed to second after Weaver happened. Then they simply hung out on the top of their building, just enjoying each other's company.

 They had been through the lows as well. Adora received some kind of punishment or negativity from Weaver when she didn't "meet her expectations" which were unreasonable. Catra from getting into a few fights that she really shouldn't have started. Tigra for dealing with Shadow Weaver more than the two of them combined.

 So there had to be something else with She-Ra for her to attack them hard enough to actually try to kill them.

 But it still all comes back to that virus she slammed onto that damn sword.

 It had been like usual until then.

 Then suddenly, Catra was slamming into the ground from a punch to the head then swung into the ground again. That had dislocated her shoulder slightly and caused her to genuinely be afraid.

 Because she saw the 6'5" to 7' woman standing over her form, raising a sword to end her.

 No talk, no bragging, and no insisting on surrendering.

 Adora-no. She-Ra had really meant to try and kill her right there.

 She had been forced to watch from the sideline as Tigra engaged She-Ra after using her failsafe which was still that strange bird.

 They were blurs from the beginning of their conflict all the way to the end.

 The sudden stop as Tigra had been slammed into the tree echoed in her head, a sharp crack echoed in the area.

 The frantic clawing of She-Ra's hand told that Tigra was genuinely at her mercy. That she couldn't get out of She-Ra's grip, regardless of how fast she could be.

 She-Ra's mercy was non-existent as she slammed Tigra into the tree again and watched as Tigra's legs hung limply.

 Before pulling back her sword.

 Catra felt her throat slightly as she could still feel the sudden scratch in her throat from screaming for Adora to stop.

 Then the scream at the moment She-Ra's sword entered Tigra's chest. 

 Catra knew that this could be what could motivate her enough to actually want to eliminate She-Ra instead of neutralize, if it wasn't for seeing Tigra break the Data Disk on the sword and She-Ra turning right back to Adora.

 Catra couldn't hear what Tigra whispered, but the moment she fell unconscious, Adroa screamed herself.

 It was that moment that confirmed it.

 Adora may be She-Ra.

 But She-Ra likely isn't just Adora.

 And whatever their connection with the sword, Catra had done something that caused this.

 Catra had led to Tigra potentially dying in front of her.

 All Catra could do is plead to whatever or whoever is out there, to let Tigra live. Even if Catra knew that she wouldn't be able to live knowing that Tigra would hate her. Hate her for almost getting her killed. Hate her for making Adora's body do it.

 But Catra could deal with all of that…if Tigra could live.

 'Lord...I'm an awful Chosen.'

 ______________

 Glimmer let out a deep sigh as she fell to the ground, letting any stress that just built up try to leave.

 It barely worked.

 Some of her muscles felt the tiniest relaxed but not enough that she would be able to be her usual self for a while.

 The reason being who she sat next to.

 Adora was still in her deep slump. Deep enough that Glimmer isn't sure if she's realized that 4 minutes have passed since they had decided to call a truce.

 While many in her kingdom would likely ask if she's gone crazy for wanting a truce right when Force General Tigra had been taken off the board and their Second in Command is right there, not focusing on anything but Tigra.

 She knows how true that is, seeing as she had walked over near them, seeing as neither of them have moved since she teleported them here. She hadn't kept her steps quiet, not wanting Catra to think she could be sneaking up on her, yet she didn't react.

 Not a glance to see who it was or even a twitch of those ears to acknowledge her.

 This would be the perfect time to eliminate a major threat to the Alliance, capture their Second in Command, capture Entrapta, and return to the kingdom with news that could shake the war heavily towards the Rebellion's favor.

 The reason was in front of her.

 Adora being unresponsive is enough for her mother and herself to worry about her, but for those who don't care much for Adora, it means no She-Ra. No She-Ra means that they have lost one of their big hitters.

 But more importantly, Glimmer doesn't know how long it would take for Adora to be herself again. If she ever would be.

 While Glimmer knows that she can't imagine being the one to do this to her best friend, she thinks it may actually be worse than if Adora had done it.

 Her body had been taken over by that damn First One virus that she's certain that they broke months ago.

 Her body had been taken over and forced to fight Catra, serious enough to almost kill her.

 Her body had been taken over and forced to fight Tigra badly enough that she may have killed her.

 Adora's reaction once she returned to herself revealed plenty.

 Adora had no control or knowledge of what was happening until she turned back to normal.

 Just in time to see her childhood best friend slump over, a blade in her chest that she had used for over a year. A blade that she was still holding.

 Glimmer had never seen that look on Adora's face before.

 Not on her.

 The few people who were still fighting would gain that face when asked about the war, especially those who had been in the worst fights.

 Especially those that had been in the fight that took her father away.

 When she had asked her mother about it, she had explained that they had PTSD regarding something they had encountered at some point in life. It was shown through different ways but the look she had seen was either a flashback to those moments or they were dissociating.

 Where they may be there physically, but it is unlikely that they are there mentally and may not be able to remember things that are happening around them while dissociating. 

 How it is a mental thing and that there is no one correct answer to every example of someone going through this.

 But one thing that many have supported as helping them was getting them to focus on their surroundings. Make them be in the present.

 So, Glimmer forced herself to focus on someone else one more time.

 _________________________

 Tigra had been moving around her fast enough that she could just barely see her. Usually she could only see her moving, yet she seemed to be in slow motion.

 She felt something tickle her head and looked back, briefly seeing Tigra's foot where her head had been. Tigra moved slow enough that she could react for once and blocked her claws with her sword.

 Then suddenly, Tigra managed to get in close and she moved on instinct.

 Adora slammed a punch into her chest, feeling muscle move and feel the creaking of bones before a few shifted abruptly and Tigra flew backwards.

 Tigra got onto her feet and stumbled, something that Tigra only used to do when she tripped, not after getting back onto her feet.

 She heard the Horde's retreat signal be activated and watched as Tigra moved away, holding her chest.

 That was the last time Adora saw Tigra for over a month.

 /////////////

 "...ora."

 /////////////

 They were fighting once more, even the first time she's seen her after that incident the first time.

 Tigra had been fighting them before making a mad dash at her.

 Not wanting to inflict such damage on her friend one more time, she forced herself to ignore her instincts while using this form and swung.

 Tigra managed to avoid her slow punch before landing two slashes on her chest.

 It had upgraded from a tickle to a pinch.

 Feeling the unexpected hurt, her body lashed out at a slightly faster speed and slammed a fist into one of Tigra's shoulders.

 She felt it pop out of its socket before Tigra backed off and sounded a retreat.

 Yet her mind was focused on how she, once again, inflicted a somewhat serious injury to her friend.

 /////////////

 " -dora!"

 /////////////

 She was in pain as red lightning flashed around her head.

 While this was always fuzzy, she remembered how Tigra had escorted her to the Garnet Room, despite knowing that she must have had an escape plan.

 She really didn't.

 She had forced herself to sound like she was lying when she was truthfully telling Tigra that she didn't have a plan to get out. She was truly willing to trade herself to let Glimmer go.

 Then she heard that Weaver would have manipulated and erased the last year from her memory.

 She hadn't expected for Weaver's head to suddenly move and slam into the ground.

 Less to see Tigra standing with lightning coming off of her.

 At that moment, she knew that Tigra still cared for her.

 And Adora had thought that she would have left her to have her memory erased to have her come back.

 /////////////

 " Adora! Listen to-"

 /////////////

 She had been defending Catra and a seriously injured Tigra from one of the Spyderbots.

 Apparently it had been attacking her while the two of them were so in disbelief to know that they had been letting Weaver torture her in secret for over 10 years.

 Catra was holding Tigra, trying to reassure her that she better stay awake.

 She had gotten distracted when Catra had told her that Tigra needed attention now and cursed inwardly at not knowing how to heal yet.

 That distraction cost her as the bot had knocked her sword out of her hand and into the dark abyss below.

 The bot then shot out one of their legs and smacked her over the edge.

 Catra's cry was the last thing she heard…

 But the slow closing of Tigra's eyes had been the last thing she saw before falling.

 /////////////

 " Ugh! Why can't I get through-"

 /////////////

 Seeing Bolt slam lightning claws as long as a blade through Tigra's chest had caused Adora to feel certain emotions she hadn't for a long time.

 She hadn't felt rage this strong. Strong enough for her not to care about sides anymore and just wanting to get rid of the person who had hurt Tigra.

 She hadn't felt despair this strong since Shadow Weaver had threatened to get rid of the two 'annoyances' unless she improved her scores, which were pretty low compared to Tigra.

 She hadn't felt this powerless since she learned that Tigra had been tortured and she hadn't noticed at all.

 Just as she was willing to move, Tigra struck and defeated Bolt.

 Once again, Adora had underestimated Tigra's strength.

 /////////////

 " Adora's going to hate me for this."

 /////////////

 Tigra's eyes were the first thing she saw when she came to.

 She glanced downwards at feeling her sword in her hands before she saw-

 /////////////

 *SMACK*

*NOTE: Do not do this as I have no idea if this would work, let alone the implications this could cause.

This is simply a fictional way of using shock to get through to Adora.*

 

 Adora felt something hit her face before she struck outward, yet didn't hit anything.

 "Oh good," She heard. "I was worried that wouldn't work and then I'd be out of options and then-"

 "Glimmer?" Adora's voice came out quiet, yet confused as she looked to her right.

 "Where are we?"

 Glimmer was quiet for a moment.

 "We're at a Horde outpost. But!" Glimmer started as that got Adora's attention. "But a ceasefire has been called for now."

 "Why?"

 "So we can keep Tigra alive."

 Adora's heart stopped before beating again.

 "Keep?" Her voice had been barely a whisper.

 "Rani has a stasis spell that is preventing her from getting worse."

 "That's…that's great!"

 "There's a catch." Glimmer started the bad news. "Rani can only keep it going for another minute or two. And while she can't get worse, she's not getting better either. Rani explained it as if Tigra is frozen in a point of time. Entrapta and Bow are using parts around here to make the needed machines to keep an eye on her recovery."

 "What do you mean? Shouldn't she be getting better?"

 "Tigra's…healing factor isn't working."

 "Then, how is she supposed to get better? If it's not working, she needs heavy medical personnel and equipment."

 "Well…"

 Adora's eyes went wide.

 "You want me to turn into the thing that did this?!"

 Glimmer winced.

 "Look. I'm going to lay out the facts." Glimmer started.

 "We don't have the medical equipment to keep her alive longer than half an hour here at max. Rani told me that she'll run out of magic long before Tigra will be out of the danger zone with her injuries. Bow, Entrapta, Scorpia, Sea Hawk, and I can't do anything to help speed up her recovery. Catra said that she can't. That she hasn't practiced healing magic enough for it to be useful enough to heal a broken finger, let alone what's happened to her.

 The only other person who is thought to have been able to help her is She-Ra and her healing. Yes, you don't know how to do it personally, but is the chance of it working not enough to even attempt at trying?"

 "She-Ra nearly killed her!"

 "And She-Ra can fix her!" Glimmer exclaimed this time. "I'll say it plainly then. Tigra. Is. Dying. And there's nothing we can do about it."

 "But…"

 "Horde's sake!" Adora heard to her left, causing her to look over and see Catra wiping her eyes.

 "You know what? Fuck it! Tigra and I are calling in our 'save our ass' cards!"

 "Your what? "

 "We saved you from being mind wiped by Shadow Weaver, so you owe us a favor. And I'm using this favor to get you over yourself and save Tigra! " Catra yelled at her. "I don't care if you try and fail. At least then the avenue was tried! But this?! Lord! When did you become such a coward!?"

 "Catra-"

 "Shut it Sparkles." Catra spat out. "Tigra and I practically risked our lives getting you two out of the Zone. And she can't even attempt her magical bullshit to heal her!?"

 "Fine!" Adora snapped at her. "Don't blame me though when I can't use magic that I don't know! "

 Adora grabbed her sword.

 Tigra slumped over the sword.

 Adora gripped the sword tighter and walked over towards Tigra.

 ______________

 "That was kind of harsh." Glimmer had to say.

 "Yeah, but when Adora gets in her head, you have to confront her. You can't do any of that convincing shit if she can't hear you over her own thoughts." Catra explained. "The more you target her character that she's created, the bigger the reaction."

 "Noted."

 "Don't." Catra warned while narrowing her eyes. "You have known Adora ever since she became She-Ra. Only Tigra and I know which buttons to push to get her out of her head and which buttons may push her even further into her head. Only Adora lets you know those buttons."

 "Aw, you still care about her." Glimmer teased.

 "Course I do." Catra shrugged her shoulders. "However, know this. If Tigra doesn't make it today, Adora may self-destruct. She'll either fall into a depressive episode the likes she hasn't before, or she'll work herself to the bone and the last drop of blood has fallen out of her. All to avoid thinking about this."

 "Thanks for the warning. And you?"

 "I'll throw myself into this war to take my anger out." Catra shrugged again.

 Glimmer shivered at imagining what an angry Catra would look like in the war.

 "You'd probably conquer a lot more territory."

 "But I'd lose a lot of loyalty by pushing my soldiers too hard by being solely focused on the war."

 They watched as Adora flickered before staying as She-Ra.

 "Phew, Tigra really did a number on her." Glimmer admitted after seeing all of the scratches on She-Ra's arms and sides.

 Catra stayed silent as she knew those injuries were for Tigra's life.

 *Beeeeeeeeeeee*

 Turns out that Entrapta had a heart monitor on hand.

 'Doesn't surprise me that much.' Glimmer thought.

 "Now's the last call." Catra tensed.

 She-Ra was whispering to herself before placing her hand on Tigra and a light started to shine.

 The light kept glowing brighter and brighter.

 Until it stopped.

 *Beeeep....Beep....Beep....Beep*

 "She did it." Catra released all of her energy with those three words.

 She-Ra returned to Adora, who held her face with both hands, her sword clattering for a moment from dropping it.

 "Yeah. If only we weren't going to be stuck in the blizzard."

 "What?"

 "The blizzard heading this way was expected to reach this area around now. Your building seems to be really well built to keep the outside out enough that you can barely hear the wind hitting the walls."

 Catra went quiet before groaning.

 "Looks like we're extending the ceasefire?" Glimmer hoped.

 She did not want to be forced to try and escape that blizzard.

 Catra gave a fake sigh.

 "Yeah, sure. Just to make sure that Adora knows that Tigra will be fine this time."

 __________________

Hello once again, Young Tigra.

 

 Tigra stared into the black void with small lights surrounding her.

 

You're back here so soon. But while you're here…

 

Let's talk.