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Catra was going to commit murder tonight.
In all honesty, she’s surprised that she hasn’t done it sooner. There have been countless occasions where she has debated it of course, but it’s never gotten to the point where she planned to follow through. The worst crime she’s done was break Kyle’s wrist when she was ten, and that was kind of an accident anyway.
But here in this moment, hiding in a goddamn storage room full of cleaning supplies, she was seconds away from grabbing the mop and making a shish kebab out of Queen Sparkles.
Catra had the situation completely handled until Glimmer decided to throw a full on temper tantrum. She had convinced Horde Prime to keep them alive, and even set up decent living arrangements for the time being.
That was before Glimmer started to run her mouth, whining about Etheria and it’s safety.
Horde Prime had not reacted well, and ordered an immediate execution of the two prisoners. Catra had grabbed Glimmer’s cape and ran out of the throne room as fast as she could, flight instincts taking over for once in her life. Glimmer had then transported them to a random hallway and they rushed to the first unlocked door they could find.
Currently, Glimmer leans back on the wall and lets out an annoyed huff, “Well this sucks.”
Catra offered her best death glare, and it seems to do the trick because seconds later Glimmer moves off the wall and falls into a stance of defense.
“Well no shit it sucks, what possibly made you think that was a good idea?”
“He was talking about destroying Etheria, I’m not just going to sit here and let it happen.”
Catra rolled her eyes at that. “In case you forgot, we’re on a spaceship, we’re in space. There’s nowhere to run and fighting is not an option right now.”
A determined look fell on Glimmer’s face and Catra felt the urge to punch her teeth out. “Don’t worry, Adora will come and save us, it’s only a matter of time.”
Catra wishes she left Glimmer with the guards.
“What, so we’re just going to sit here and wait to be saved? Hell no, I’m not a damsel in distress.”
It was Glimmer’s turn to roll her eyes now, “you said it yourself, we’re in space, it’s not like we have a choice in the matter.”
“I had it figured out. I swear, all you princesses do it mess things up.”
Now Glimmer looked livid, and Catra almost took a step back. Almost.
“I am a Queen.”
“You sure aren’t acting like one.”
Glimmer stomped her foot and let out a growl, and Catra thought it didn’t really help to prove her whole ‘queen’ point. But then, Glimmer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She unclenched her fists and spoke after a beat of silence, this time significantly more calm.
“If we want to survive we can’t fight like this. As much as I hate to say it, we need to be on the same side.”
Catra gave a humorless laugh and raised an eyebrow, “and you expect me to trust you?”
“Yes, and I’ll try to trust you.” The hope in her voice made Catra laugh out loud.
“You can’t be serious.” But Glimmer simply nodded, seeming unbothered by Catra’s response.
“You saved my life back there, you can deny it all you want but that proves that I can maybe trust you... at least for the time being.”
Catra crosses her arms. “Trusting me will be the biggest mistake of your life.”
Glimmer seemed to consider this, examining Catra was with calculated look in her eyes.
“I guess that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
~ ~ ~
Catra was almost relieved when the guards finally caught them.
It had been two hours since they ran into the closet, and Catra was admittedly starting to get antsy. Glimmer tried to start civil conversation a few times, but Catra always shut it down as soon as it started.
The two were dragged into a cell room where they would wait for Horde Prime to decide how he wanted to kill them.
The cell wasn’t too bad all things considering. It had a decent looking bed at the side of the room and a toilet directly across from it. Of course, the bed didn’t come with a pillow or blanket but Catra was used to sleeping in less than ideal areas through her time in the Horde.
The only real issue however, is that there was only one cell. This meant that Glimmer was right by her side when the cell doors locked into place. Catra let out a sigh, accepting her cruel fate.
Glimmer turned to her once the guards were out of sight. “Just so you know, you’re not allowed to use the bathroom.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” Catra extended her fingers and attempted to climb up the wall. However, there wasn’t enough grip on the cell for her to get very far. She landed on her feet and kicked the wall in aggravation, ignoring the way pain flared in her leg directly afterward.
“Here, take my hand.”
Catra spins around to see Glimmer closer than she expected, arm raised in her direction like she was waiting for her to grab it.
“Excuse me?”
“I can teleport us out of here.” Catra sighed once more.
“Save your magic Sparkles, it’s not like we have anywhere to go.”
Glimmer’s lips fell into a thin line. “I know that, but it’s better to make it difficult for them rather than waiting here like sitting ducks.” Catra refused to admit that she had a good point.
Begrudgingly, she took hold of Glimmer’s hand and waited. “Fine, but if the guards find us again, and they will, I won’t hesitate to leave you behind.”
Instead of verbally responding, Glimmer simply closed her eyes and teleported them five feet out of the cell. Not even a second later alarms were blaring and red lights were flashing around them. Catra heard a shriek from her side and then the alarms suddenly stopped. She looked around to see Glimmer back in the cell, a shocked look taking over her face.
Catra opened her mouth to yell at her, but then a door slammed open and a group of guards came marching in.
“How did you get out of your cell?” Instead of answering, Catra turned back to glare at Glimmer, but she avoided eye contact, having a sudden interest in the toilet seat.
Catra was going to commit murder tonight.
She turned back to the group of guards and threw her hands up in surrender. “Hey, I mean no harm.”
A guard roughly grabbed her by the hair as the cell door opened once more. He then threw her back inside with so much force that her head collided with the metal bed.
The guards left and went back to their original positions, and Catra and Glimmer were back to square one.
Catra looked to the other, eyes fuming, “What was that?”
At least Glimmer had the audacity to look guilty. “I’m sorry, I heard the alarms and I just panicked.”
“You left me out there.” Catra realized the hypocrisy of the statement, since she had just finished telling Glimmer she would leave her behind just minutes ago.
Glimmer sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
No words were further exchanged, and Catra made sure to sit as far away from Glimmer as possible.
~ ~ ~
Catra was able to fall asleep on the floor until she felt something poking her side.
“Catra, wake up.”
Instead of opening her eyes, she swatted her hand and turned to her side.
The poking became more aggressive. “Catra, please.”
She could tell that Glimmer wasn’t going to give up any time soon, so she reluctantly sat up. “What do you want?”
There wasn’t a response given right away, so Catra took a better look at Glimmer and saw that she was wide awake, fidgeting back and forth on her feet.
“Look I’m sorry, but I have to use the restroom.”
Catra blinked, not able to comprehend the words that just left her mouth.
“You woke me up for that ?”
“Well I wasn’t going to go without your permission.”
“You need my permission ?”
“I tried to hold it for as long as I could but I don’t think I can for much longer.”
Catra rested her hands on her face and let out a scream.
~ ~ ~
Catra couldn’t fall asleep after that, and it seems that Glimmer couldn’t either.
Both of them were sitting on the floor despite there being an unused bed. Catra was too stubborn to claim it as her own if Glimmer wouldn’t. And plus, it’s not like it would provide much more comfort anyhow.
She can’t tell how much time has past since they got on the ship, but it must have been a decent amount of time because one of the guards eventually came back in and offered them food. The black tray contained a piece of stale bread and an odd colored drink on the side. Honestly, Catra was surprised they were being fed at all.
Glimmer didn’t eat any of her portion, and Catra waited ten minutes before stealing the other ration. To Glimmer’s credit, she didn’t offer any fight when she ate the second piece of bread. The food made her throat dry and for some reason the drink did nothing to help.
More time has passed and Glimmer eventually fell asleep, her head was tucked to her chest and Catra could practically feel the neck pains that she was going to have the next time she woke up. While Glimmer was asleep, Catra decided to finally sit on the bed.
More time had passed until the door opened once again. Catra assumed it was going to be a new guard delivering their next ration of food, so she was surprised when she made eye contact with Bow.
“Catra?”
She took a good look at him, making sure she wasn’t having a hallucination. Bow was wearing one of the guard’s uniforms but still had his arrows by his side. He gave her a smile of relief.
“Thank god you guys are okay, it took a long time to find you.”
Catra didn’t respond.
Glimmer eventually woke up after Bow called her name a few times. They had a huge, gushy, emotional reunion that Catra decided not to pay attention to. She’s pretty sure Bow started crying at one point.
Then, it was time to go.
Glimmer extended her hand to Catra just like she did on the first day, but this time with a huge smile on her face. “Come on, let's get out of here.”
Catra kept her hands at her side and gave a pointed look. “I’m not going.”
Glimmer’s smile dropped as she gave a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Remember last time we tried to escape, the alarms went off immediately.”
“We can get out of here before they catch us.”
Catra refused to move off the bed. “What are you going to do, teleport all three of us to safety, you don’t have the energy for that.”
“But Adora is waiting for us on Mara’s ship, I can get us there.”
At the mention of Adora, Catra felt her heart skip a beat like it always does.
“Just go.”
“Catra we’re not leaving without you, I thought we were on the same side.”
This time, Catra did stand up, pushing Glimmer away from her with rage that consumed her in seconds.
“If one of us stays in the cell, the alarms won’t go off. If the guards come none of us will be getting out of here, use your head .”
Glimmer paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. She turned back to Bow who looked equally as distraught. Eventually, she nodded.
“We’ll come back for you.”
Catra sat back down on the bed, refusing to make eye contact. She reminds herself that this is what Adora would want.
“Go.”
Then, Glimmer teleported out of the cell, and no alarms went off. She and Bow exchanges a quick hug, and they were out of the room, seeking safety.
Catra was back to being alone.