1348/Princess Rescue Operation

Princess Rescue Operation
Date of Scene:	16 March 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Takashi takes Double Trouble into the dusk zone to find a lost girl... and oh, they find her. Queen Glimmer has entered the stage, along with her Moonstone... He didn't need that desk anyway, right?
Cast of Characters:	Glimmer Brightmoon, Takashi Agera, Double Trouble, Catra

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Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon was exhausted, to be kind.

Was feeling awful and like she'd gone three rounds with Adora in a wrestling match, no magic.

She was collapsed against the side of her crystal, scrapes covering her body, panting with exertion, and trying desperately from losing consciousness...

Above, a strange, dog-sized shadowy scorpion was... slowly... making its way over the crystal, getting ready to pounce and--

It was zapped, disappearing in a surge of her sparkles.

Melog, meanwhile, nuzzled his head against her side. She gave a weak, gentle chuckle. "Y-yeah, it's... it's going t-to take a lot more than... than that to stop... m-me..." she said softly, giving a weak little grin.

Everything hurt. She was so tired. How long had she been here?

She looked up and saw the dusk zone was creeping in again. She put her hands together and pulled them apart... but it fizzled. It took her three tries to get it right, before the ward surrounding the runestone extended again.

She had power... so much power.... but she was exhausted. It didn't matter how much of her magic she recharged, if her physical body was so drained she could barely stand.

"I-I'm sure... that.... clone is... on its way by now... surely... right? I jsut... need to close my eyes for a second. You'll keep an eye on me... right?" she asked, before closing her eyes. Melog at her side, trying to comfort her.

They just... needed a little more time....

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Glimmer wasn't the only one still feeling the exhausting effects of some heavy physical activity. The damage Takashi suffered from going through a building or three and having o give all he had in that moment to defeat the crazed Adora was... still taking a toll on him. Too prideful to go to Mamoru or Hotaru for healing now, he was just letting his bruises deal with things naturally.

    But a chance comment from Double Trouble had reminded him about the girl in the Dusk Zone. He hadn't intended to leave her as long as he did, whether or not her attitude was somehow clear across the language barrier. Well, maybe this time would have mellowed her out. Assuming there was still a her to mellow out.

    "Well, it's hard to navigate back to anywhere in the Dusk Zone so honestly my plan has been to wander around until I got a sight or sound or gave up." Takashi admits, turning to the lizard that's with him. "But, I think Axion's got a pinpoint. The energy it's picked up is very much unlike the normal Dusk Zone background energy so it's either the girl that spoke that funky language or something else equally interesting." he says, as they tromp through the purple-black, evershifting, vaguely-like-the-other-world-but-you're-on-a-lot-of-drugs landscape.

Double Trouble has posed:
It didn't take Double Trouble very long to figure out just who they were going to see. Takashi had given a description including all of her key traits: pink, purple, sparkles, and rude. The only question was if she'd know Double Trouble or not. Catra hadn't.

Well, they were about to find out. Adora knew they were here, and so they weren't bothering to hide their face everywhere they went anymore. Besides, if this was the same Glimmer they'd left behind, well, they were on pretty good terms. And if she's here in the Dusk Zone, clearly she needs Obsidian's help just like they did.

"I get lost every time I come here," they say with a shake of their head. "If it weren't for Sunny, I'd've been lost forever months ago." Sunny was their serpentine dusk familiar, slithering along beside them. Sunny is short for Suneku. Except it isn't shorter, but Double Trouble thinks it's hilarious. "So, I'm just following you."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon was shaken back awake by Melog. "Hnrg?" she asked.

Something was coming. No. SomeONE. She gave a soft sigh. "Hide," she said. If it was the Horde clone, then... well... HOPEFULLY it had brought the ship. If it hadn't... Well... she couldn't walk here. And she had to move the Moonstone. And there was so much...

Grudgingly, though, she got to her feet and put her hands together. A magical seal flowed over her body and she... was not affected. Nope. Spell didn't work. Of course not. She teleported, appearing on top of the Moonstone. Arms crossed, a knowing smirk on her face. If this was one of Horde Prime's old bases, they'd likely respond well to a show of strength. And even if she didn't.... feel good, didn't mean she couldn't at least LOOK like she didn't feel as bad as she felt. Magic in her hair at least helped her look... perky. Somewhat.

She stood there, her cape managing to slightly billow, looking to all the world like a horde warlord....

Who had been through a lot of recent fights and was in desperate need of a bath and hot meal.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi pulls a small riceball, wrapped in plastic, out of his pocket. He holds it out to the lizard-person. "Here, if you can get her to eat it. The witch made it. She'll be able to communicate with us after she eats it. If she eats all of it." He says. "I don't want to deal with her much till I can understand what she's saying. It's headache inducing. But if she's from your world, maybe you can open the doors for her. I don't think she's handling the Dusk Zone very well. When last I saw her she had kind of made a bubble of safe space. I was going to come back sooner, but then Hinoiri got stabbed and my priorities shifted." he admits.

    "There she is. Good, looks like she's still in there. I'll let you handle it first, 'talent scout' - that is one of the things on your card, right?" Takashi asks them, inclining his head to indicate the small sphere around the large crystal and the girl on top of it.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble takes the riceball. Their tongue flicking out to lick their lips. It's weird and reptilian and not at all like when a human does it. "That's how I learned Japanese, too," they say as they look down at the riceball in their palm. They know several other languages now, but they learned those by watching movies and using apps on their phone.

That infernal owl never leaves them alone any more.

They narrow their eyes and look at Glimmer from afar. The corners of their mouth dip down because that is not what Glimmer should be wearing. Not if she's their Glimmer. As they close the distance, Sunny suddenly slithers off at an entirely too-fast speed for a snake, darting off toward something past the girl.

"Sparkles, you are a long way from home," they say, speaking Etherian as they approach. They look at her and then at the Moonstone behind her. They had wondered if there was a reason none of the other princesses had come to this world. Maybe their runestones kept them bound to Etheria. But clearly, that was not the case.

"And you look like a hot mess," they add, their eyes looking her up and down. They hold out the riceball in their hand. "You must be hungry."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon looked down and...

Of all the people she expected to see, Double Trouble was NOT one of them. She hadn't even ASKED for them!

Not that she would have. The fact Double Trouble was here, of all people, made her incredibly wary... and confused. She teleported down, stopping in front of the reptile. And...

"Double Trouble?" she asked, sounding confused and a little wary. She held her hand out, taking the riceball if it was offered... but not biting into it. "What is this? And what are you doing here?"

Then... "And what's with the defective Horde Prime clone?" White hair, green eyes...

Melog, meanwhile, was invisible and watching the snake with curiousity...

"Sorry I don't look my best, being trapped between dimensions and fending off an army of... whatever... the things on this planet are does not leave much time for proper manicures. You look well, all things considered."

"... What happened on this planet? And is this thing actually safe to eat?" Pause. "... Should I drop the disguise? Is he more like one of Horde Prime's loyal clones, or more like Not-Hordak?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi doesn't understand Etherian, but he does understand body language. He's spent a lot of time trying to figure out what people mean when their opinions don't match their explicit words. But for now he just clasps his hands behind him, content to sort of stalk around the outside of the sphere. He's taking energy readings, of course, of the ward that can hedge out the Dusk Zone - that might be useful later. Eventually he steps in, but says nothing, just getting the readings off the crystal and the barrier from this side.

    He knows he's being talked about, at least, but for now he just has to wait until DT gets her to eat the riceball.

Double Trouble has posed:
There was something oddly comforting about Glimmer's rapid-fire series of questions. Something that felt a bit like home. Double Trouble felt a brief urge to hug her, an urge which they quashed. This was no place for feelings. Not right now. They were working. The only feelings they would express were the ones they intended to.

"It's food, darling. Magical food. It'll help you speak the language here. I ate one when I first arrived. They're not particularly tasty, I'll admit, but they get the job done," they say. Then they nod their head over toward Takashi as he's taking his readings. "He'll actually be able to understand you then."

"He's not a clone at all. Believe it or not he's human. They're all human here. I've never seen so many humans," they say. Then they pause. "But not here. This is the Dusk Zone. You can't stay here, sparkles. It'll kill you. We need to get you and your rock out of here."

They look up at the Moonstone behind her and back down and nod toward Takashi again. "He'll be able to help you move that, but he's gonna have to talk to you to figure it out. So eat up."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon gave a small nod. "Speak the language? And that's all? Okay then. I tried to use a translating spell but... sigh... I really should have paid more attention to dad's lessons. 'When am I ever going to need a translation spell? Everyone speaks ONE language!' 'Well, Glimmer, what if you need to talk to a dog?' 'When will I ever need to talk to a sentient dog?!' Yet, now here I am."

She cocked her head to the side. "ALL human? Like. A whole planet of humans? That's... weird. Like... humanoids? But... humans? Wow. Not even like... cat-people? Reptiles? Some sharkmen, right? JUST humans?" She gave a shudder. Before taking a bite of the riceball... Then devouring it. Ohhhh, she'd been hungry.

"And yeah, this... oh, that is definitely magic. Yeah. Wait, dusk zone? Like... the fright zone? It definitely gives me Hordak vibes. It--" She paused.

"Ah. Yeah. That is definitely weird." AND TAKASHI COULD UNDERSTAND THAT ONE! "So then. I hear you, human, can help me move my Moonstone?"

Then, aside, she whispered to Double Trouble. "Psst. I had a whole cover story planned out where I was pretending to be Horde Prime since, you know. He's gone now. But they don't know that. Should... I keep doing it? I worked on my laugh and everything."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi just listens to the two of them talk back and forth - even if he doesn't understand the language, picking up on things in both directions is helpful. The reactions. The nonverbal communication. He wondered if he should try and learn the language, but really, when was it going to be more useful than Japanese? Even the TSAB spoke Japanese. Somehow.

    "I'm not 'human' like some sort of object, I have a name. I'm Takashi Agera." He says as she finally speaks said lingua franca. "You should give me yours, unless you like being called 'annoying girl'." he notes.

    "Anyways, this big thing - and you - obviously aren't local to the Dusk Zone. How did you end up here, if you're from the same place as DT and Catra?" he asks.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble smirks and shakes their head. "The only people who'd even understand your disguise are Adora, Bow, and Catra. Do you really want to lie to them?" They reach out and pat Glimmer on the shoulder. "Leave the acting to me, sparkles. I'm good at it."

Then they take a step back as Takashi comes over to discuss. Turning their attention to the terrain, looking for their familiar. Where had Sunny gotten off to? Suspiciously close to Melog, that's where. Almost as if it were circling around the invisible cat. Spooky.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon glanced towards Takashi and... she held her hand up and the staff appeared. She tapped it once on the ground and like glass shattering, the 'disguise' she wore fell away and he could see the real her. It was... oh gosh there was SO MUCH pink and her HAIR visibly SPARKLED!

"My apologies. A pleasure to meet you... uhhhh... Takashi... Agera." The problem? She said it like 'Age-ra'. Not Ah-ger-ah.

"I am Queen Glimmer of Brightmoon. I'm sorry for-- oh. Actually, uhhh. I guess you couldn't understand me anyway, but, well. I am sorry for the things I said about you earlier, even if you couldn't understand them. And, errr... how I... ended up here. I couldn't really say."

She glanced back to the Moonstone. "I was trapped, before. In this place between dimensions and uhhhhh... it was... unpleasant. It took a while, but I was able to sense my Moonstone eventually and teleported to it. I ended up, well... here. The Dusk Zone."

She turned back towards him. That was all, technically, the truth. There were some things she was hiding, though.

"I take it you're a friend of Catra and Double Trouble's, then? They say you can help me get my Moonstone... out of here? That'd be helpful. I uhhh... tried to move it before, but it's not easy. And I'm not even sure where I'd take it from here even if I could. But with help and some direction it could be teleported."

Then, slowly, she glanced back towards Double Trouble. "Waaaait a moment. Just how much are you going to be charging me for all of this? Oh, whatever... Compared to the alternative it certainly beats... well. Getting eaten. MELOG! You can come out! It's friends!"

There was a low growl and then *the cat* thing appeared again. Being circled by the familiar, it gave a light growl and began to pad towards them.

"So, where are we going! Aaaand do we have to walk there?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi looked the transformed glimmer up and down and made a face. "Oh gods, you're a sparklesquaddie. I was hoping you'd be more like DT and Catra, but you're like if She-ra traded muscles for glitter." he says, putting a hand to the side of his face and slowly dragging it down. "Are you sure we can't leave her here after all?" He asks DT, but he's already pacing around her crystal and sizing it up.

    "There's a lot of power coming from whatever it is. First question is: is it liable to blow up? Second question is: how did you get it to the Dusk Zone in the first place? Generally people who can access this place aren't quite so... pink. And the environment and stuff is clearly hostile to you." he notes. "So you must have done something spectacular." He wonders if she's been disassembling any cell phones...

    "I don't think you -can- walk anywhere, because I suspect the area outside will eat you. Plus, all the things outside that want to eat you. If we're not letting you just die here, we're gonna have to figure out how to move you, and the crystal, to an actual place."

    "It's gonna take me a little bit to figure out how to compensate for the aura it's putting off and see if we can all get back to Obsidian."

Double Trouble has posed:
Sunny slithered along on Melog's heels, returning to Double Trouble, and circling around their leg and then torso until they came to rest across their shoulders, winding around their arms like some sort of serpentine shrug. It really makes Double Trouble look so much more evil.

"Doesn't sound like sparkles is the one who got her Moonstone here, Agera-san," they say, emphasizing the correct pronunciation for Glimmer to hear. "She was trapped and eventually detected and teleported to it here."

They look back toward Glimmer and say, "I imagine she's just as clueless about how she ended up like that as the rest of us are about how we got here." It's like they're saying it directly to her, even though they're clearly addressing Takashi.

They look at the stone and then look at Takashi and then back to Glimmer. If he's got to figure something out, that just leaves them standing around keeping Glimmer company. They could reach for small talk, but that's hardly the most dramatic choice. So instead they go for usefully manipulative vulnerability.

"So, Adora almost killed my girlfriend the other day. Ran her right thru with her sword."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon blinked a few more times. "A... Sparklesquaddie? Oh, no. I'm part of the best friend's squad. And... yeah. She-ra is one of my best friends," Glimmer said. Before glancing back to Double Trouble. "Like... you and Catra? What does he mean by that?" she asked, looking bewildered. And Double Trouble's... familiar... only made her look more concerned.

She then glanced back towards him., "I can tell, he's quite a... social person, huh? Kind of reminds me of Sea Hawk, honestly..."

"As for how I got here? Not sure. I thought I was coming to the Moon Stone. But maybe it was coming to me? I couldn't really say. It was... not the best times. But..." She walked to the stone and put a hand on it. "It was *amazing*. Kind of freaky... but Amazing. Wait... what do you mean the others don't know how they got here? Did they teleport? How did..." And now she looked confused. Then worried.

She then hummed, shaking her head. "Do you think you could show me how to get there?" she asked. "And... can you do magic? Any? Because... I could likely get us there if I know where to go. We can go the fun way."

OH THAT WASN'T OMINOUS OR ANYTHING!

Melog, sensing things were gonna get weird, leaped up, onto the Moonstone.

Her other hand did a small circle, forming a magic circle. She held a hand out to him... sliding it through it. "This is a spell I used a... while ago. I think I've got it right. Double Trouble, hold the stone. Agherha?" Better. "Take my hand. You direct, I'll move."

Oh, this was going to go *so wrong*.

However, then she looked away, to Double Trouble. "Wait, WHAT?! Adora did?! Who? Why? What?"

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi blinks. He isn't often called social. And then the girl wants his help. Now he's extra suspicious - not of her, but of it possibly working. "I'll try and direct. I'm going to use a place I'm very connected with - it should minimize the chances of there being an error."

    "DT, can you be ready to pull her either back into the safezone or just jump out of the Dusk Zone with her if this goes poorly and we lose the shield? Even if you end up in the Sahara or something, you should be able to reach out for Fuyuko if you've got one of her pens. And she can get to you and me." He pauses.

    "Did you get a pen from her?" He asks as the magic starts to take hold. Quite possibly, too late.

Double Trouble has posed:
If Double Trouble's going to pull her out, they're going to need to be close. They can't pull her out if they don't have hold of her. So they move over to place their hands on the stone, and then extend their tail out to coil the tip around her ankle. Good enough.

Meanwhile, Sunny slithers down around their torso and disappears into the gemstone set in their belt buckle. Out of all of them, that little dusk creature is going to have the smoothest ride.

"She's practically my boss, Agera-san, of course I have one of her pens," Double Trouble says, patting one of the pockets of their bodysuit.

Then they look at Glimmer and laugh. "The look on your face is priceless, sparkles," they say, as if this isn't the worst possible moment to be trolling her. "Don't worry. Adora's all better now. You know how she gets when she gets taken over by a little evil."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon nodded. "Sounds good. Just, ummm. Focus on it. Reallllly hard. And wait, what's a Sahara?"

But now he had her hand. There was a weird moment where the magical circle went black... well, she learned it from Shadowweaver.

But he could FEEL the power, there. Behind Glimmer. In that Moonstone. It was bound to her. And through her, he could access it. Touch it. And it was incredible. It tapped in directly to the leyline.

And then there was a weird, dark surge over all of them. "One moment," Glimmer said. Deeeeep breath. Focus.

AND THEN SPARKLES! SPARKLES EVERYWHERE! It was a... not the most unpleasant teleport. A lot like being inside a barrel that went through some white water rapids. And hit every wall. And then went off a waterfall.

Except it did all of that in about 0.7 seconds.

And then they were hovering a few feet above his desk....

Before all of them *dropped*. And there was a sickening *crunch* as his desk, monitor and, frankly, anything on his desk was *smashed* by the massive Moonstone.

And Glimmer let his hand go and stumbled, teleporting a few feet so she could lean on the wall. "Oh... ohhhhh that... that was... heh. Wow. Ohhhh wow... That was... Wait... what... did you say?" Glimmer asked, holding up a finger. "We're... we're gonna come back to that, Double Trouble. I just... need a moment... woooo!"

And the rock? Wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. Takashi had felt it. when he teleported? They hadn't just moved from point A to point B. They'd been riding the leylines themselves.

Which was *not* pleasant.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi doesn't like sparkles everywhere. Even when they don't burn scars into his arm, they just remind him of all of those things that stand against him. But thankfully, it's less than a second of it, and then he just feels more like achy hell, and then... well, he never really liked that desk anyways. But he was glad he didn't have anything else on the desk. Like an explosive project. Or worse, something from Hinoiri's homeworld. Hi, Glimmer, Welcome to Showtune Hell.

    Instead it was just a boring desk that got shattered a computer that frankly, he only used to get emails on. All of the good equipment was part of the increasingly arcane, lab-like gear taking up all of the space on the walls.

    Takashi shuddered. "Who the hell taught you to teleport like that? It's supposed to be connecting point A to point B, not riding the lightning through points Z and Q..." he says, shaking his head.

    "I don't think this thing is moving again soon. Something happened, it's... stuck, magically." He says, looking it up and down.

    And sighing. "Stuck taking up a big chunk of my office." he says, with a very 'why is it always me' tone.

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble has been teleported by Glimmer before, but never anything like that. But they recognized the magic circles. They've seen those before. They know who taught her. But that's her story to tell. What the chaotic chameleon is more interested is the story that's unfolding now.

They know enough about the runestones to know what it will mean for Glimmer that her rock is parked in Obsidian Tower, and they could not be more delighted about that situation. They try to keep the delight off their face, but they just can't help but seem at least happy. Hopefully they can just play it up as being happy to see a friend.

They zip over to the spot of wall where Glimmer's leaning and insinuate themselves right up next to her, their arm around her shoulder for a friendly sort of hug. "Welcome to Obsidian, sparkles."

Catra has posed:
The sound of a massive runestone crashing to the floor and smashing... basically everything within range, as it turns out, is not quiet.

Catra had been in the break room, busy eating a bowl of noodles with a large amount of chicken mixed in (obligate carnivore and all that) when the impact reverberated around several floors of the tower, and with her ears she had no trouble at all pinpointing whereabouts it came from. A couple of minutes later, and the feline is stalking into Takashi's office.

"What just happened?!" she demands, still holding the box of take-out noodles in one hand and chopsticks in the other. She's dressed in her Horde jumpsuit, with the jacket from the Crimson Wastes with the circular emblem on the back, and her headdress; but her Force Captain badge is conspicuous in its absence, for those who're familiar with her usual get-up. Equally conspicious is the angry purple bruising all the way around her neck. She's still eating, too, until she notes the presence of the runestone and her chopsticks pause, halfway between box and mouth.

"Hold up, is that the... Brightmoon... Runestone?? How'd you get that here? You should absolutely carve that thing into pieces and use it for..." She trails off, hearing Double Trouble addressing someone standing on the other side of the stone, from where she'd just walked in. 'Welcome to Obsidian, Sparkles', they said.

'Sparkles'.

...'Sparkles'.

The expression on Catra's face would, if Double Trouble could see it right this moment, probably be priceless. Feline teeth are locked together, and Catra lobs the rest of her food into the nearest trashbin as she slinks around the runestone.

"...Sparkles," she greets, her tone equal measures of poisoned honey and soured milk. "Should've known you'd show up here eventually. Guess the gang's all here."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon just held onto the wall, but slowly she began to stand up straight. Better. She was feeling... better. Stronger.

Deeeep breath.

"It's normally not like that. It's just... going from point A to point B. But I don't normally have to drag the Moonstone with me. YOU were the one steering there, maybe it was your fault," she snapped at him.

Just how much he was 'steering' that was up to debate. Heck, how much ANYBODY was steering that was up to debate.

She nodded to Double Trouble. "Thanks. Obsidian, huh? That sounds nice. Is that the name of this planet, or just the kingdom?" she asked.

Only to hear a voice. An all too familiar voice.

And then she teleported. One moment she was there, the next--

SHE WAS HUGGING CATRA?!

"Oh my gosh, CATRA! You're here! You're okay! I should have known if Double Trouble was here, you'd be here too!" Then she teleported away, back onto the Moonstone, and ruffled Melog's ears. "And, as promised, here's Melog. Safe and sound JUST like I promised. Thanks for uhhhh, well, everything."

There was a crunch from below.

"... Also, ummmm. sorry about the... desk... and all... Errrrr... I'll get you a new one, once we get in contact with home. A better one. With glitter."

Then she looked back to Catra and... "Wow, princess. You look... angry. She's... not mad at me, is she?" she asked, looking to Double Trouble.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi watches Glimmer shoot over. "I'll get my own desk, thanks." He says. Then she attack-hugs Catra. And Takashi is just quiet. "So, I bet glitter takes forever to get out of that fur." he notes.

    "Anyways, I guess there's worse places for us to be than my office - could have ended up a room over in Beryl's, then I'd really be hosed. Or in a board room or something. At least here we can keep an eye on it." he notes.

    He outstretches his arm and Axion pings once. "I think... it was drawn to the Obsidian Reactor. Like a magnet. It's in... resonance with the big reactor, yeah. So we're probably not moving it anywhere for a while."

    "I hope she likes working with you as much as she seems to think she does, Catra, because unless she wants to leave the crystal with us and go on her own - well, it's not going anywhere for a while. My desk is gonna have to be in front of or behind the thing, cause it isn't moving a milimeter anytime soon."

Double Trouble has posed:
There's so much delicious drama to delight Double Trouble in this moment. So much drama, in fact, that they find themselves prioritizing. The dramatic payoff of Glimmer being with Obsidian is far bigger than the momentary joy they'd get from watching this scene play out right now. So they explain.

"Last thing Catra remembers is that portal getting opened, and then she was here," Double Trouble says, trusting that Glimmer is clever enough to follow that fact all the way to its conclusions. Should be all the answer she needs.

"And no, this world is called Earth. The country is called Japan. Obsidian is a company," they say. They glance toward Takashi and then back to Glimmer. "We're the bad guys."

Catra has posed:
Catra is being hugged.

The feline's eyes almost pop out of her skull, and as Glimmer teleports out she actually swipes her claws through the now empty space, and her claws are *out*, teeth bared, hackles up. Double Trouble and Takashi are talking too, of course, and it... sort of registers. They said things, she heard them. Glimmer also said things, and she heard her, too, but none of it really sticks in the brain, it all just sort of... goes straight to the trash folder.

"What the... WHO do you THINK you *ARE*?!" Catra's tail lashes behind her and her ears lay flat against her head. "Did you forget who's side you're one?! Or who's side *I'm* on? 'Cause I don't think I've ever experienced a time when I was on *your* side!"

For a moment it looks like Catra's going to go ahead and just claw her way to the top of the Moonstone. But, no, that would be silly. Or at least, that's the reason floating through Catra's mind as to why she does't.

Catra looks at Double Trouble, then at Takashi. "You can't seriously be considering... She's one of the *good guys*. You know, people we *don't like*. She's Adora's best friend!"

She fumes openly, looking at Double Trouble for help, and staring for a long moment, before she turns her yellow and turquoise gaze back up to Glimmer, and the... creature... accompanying her. And her tone shifts, to one of a lower key, long simmering irritation.

"What's a Melog supposed to be?"

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon shook her head. "Not really. The glitter goes away after a few seconds." Magic glitter, it was awesome.

She was focused on her Moonstone, though. "I am *not* leaving it... any..." She then blinked.

And just blinked. As what Double Trouble spoke. And she listened. And words connected. "... What. Wait. Which portal?"

She then turned back to Catra... "I... am Queen Glimmer of Brightmoon. You are... oh." And then more dots connect. Oh no..." A hand moves over her mouth, a look of horror on her face.

And pity. "Oh no... You mean... THAT portal? Before Horde Prime, before... Oh no. Catra... Do you think I'm still the princess of Brightmoon?"

Pause.

And then groaned. "Ohhhh by the moons... Adora must be losing her mind."

Blink. "Wait, what do you mean you're the *bad guys*? Wait, I thought you said the Horde WASN'T here? How can you be a part of the Horde if..." And then she put her hands together and just...

"AHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Just, you know. A few calming yells. "Okay. So... Catra remembers the portal? Well, great. Because THAT'S where I've BEEN the last few months! Trapped INSIDE the stupid thing!" Then glanced to Double Trouble. "And, wait. You. You didn't show up and start working with Catra until after it and-- OW!"

Because it was then that Melog BIT her.

Glimmer glared at the cat-thing.

The cat thing glared back.

And it was then that Glimmer noticed... the cat... had shrunken to about 'stuffed animal size'.

"... What... in the world... what?"

Then glanced back to Catra. Then Takashi. Then Double Trouble. Her hand rested on the rock for a few moments before she sighed and just laid down on her back.

"FINE! WHATEVER! I guess I'll join your STUPID horde or whatever. Because there is NO WAY I am leaving the Moonstone here with..." Pause. "Hordak-Adge-era? No offense." Then she picked up Melog. And looked between it and Catra.

"... You... really don't know... do you?" she asked Catra. Looking... pitying again.

And then, for just a moment, but Double trouble would likely see it.

Glimmer looked guilty. Before she put the small cat in her lap and pet it. "But NOBODY messes with the moonstone. Got it? Those are my terms."

... As if she was in any position to be making 'terms'.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi just roams, wide eyed. Back and forth between the three Eternians. Just. What does he even do with this. Glimmer's screaming, making demands, Catra looks ready to fight, Double Trouble is genuinely smiling, (and that's never a good sign) and it's all...

    Too damn much. "Okay I haven't decided anything. Clearly, 'Glimmer' and I are going to have to talk. Catra, I don't know what side she's on, but she was going to die in the Dusk Zone and maybe take a giant item of power with her, so I brought her here. If she starts trouble she dies here and I have the big magic crystal. But maybe we can avoid that. Talk to the right person and you're a goody two shoes too, Catra." he notes.

    "Everybody in this room has things they want that brings them together, and I think what Glimmer wants is going to keep her here for a bit. If she tries to backstab us and start a fight we all know where the big shiny thing she was recharging her powers from is." He notes. And he did notice how it was working for her - if there's one thing Takashi picks up on it's how power flows.

    "Right now even She-Ra couldn't move this crystal." he says. "So it's in her interest to not screw around. We can figure out the rest over time. Glimmer, I'll ask you to stay in this room till we hammer out an agreement. Catra, if you want to have input on leadership decisions you have to give back more to the team, and Double Trouble, thank you for your time and I'll pay you in energy credits for your time. Alright? Good."

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble slowly made their way toward the exit. Everyone else's attention was focused on each other. They didn't want to leave, but they wanted to be closer to it when they were ready.

That just happens to mean they're also getting closer to Catra. "I know who she is better than you do, kitten. But you should know me by now. You do see how it's better that she's with us, don't you?" It's so much more dramatic. "Tragically forced into conflict with her best friend Adora and her beloved Bow." They look from kitten to queen and they say, "It's going to be delicious."

But then Takashi is talking and he's talking about payment. They came along because they were pretty sure it was Glimmer, and how could they not? They're getting all this drama, and they get energy credits? Well that's just icing on the cake. "Pleasure doing business with you, Agera-san, as always."

Then they turn to look up at Glimmer up there on the Moonstone and they say, "Find me later, once you hash things out with management. We'll catch up." With that, they lay their hand on the door handle and push it open, slipping out.

Catra has posed:
Catra draws herself up, like she's preparing to engage in a complete, rage-filled meltdown. But, then she lets out the breath she was holding, and just... doesn't. The emotions get packed away, shoved down into her brain where she can just.. irgnore them for a while. At least a few hours.

"See this?" Catra gestures up towards her neck, and the bruising. "Adora did that. Told me how she *really* felt and then tried her best to rip my head off. So, I wouldn't go running to her for help, Sparkles. She's not the friend you thought she was." Well, the dark energy was expelled from her, but it's not like she needs to tell Glimmer that.

The feline glares at Double Trouble, "I don't *care* about what's dramatic," she snaps, and then looks at Takashi. "You make whatever choice you want, but I promise you that sooner or later you're going to wish you'd listened to me. Nobody ever listens until it's too late. Do yourself a favor and at least don't let her have access to that stone without supervision, or she'll be working out how to steal it, I promise you. I've been fighting Glimmer for a long time, you've known her for like two minutes, trust me on this one."

As if anyone should trust Catra on anything.

Catra's tail lashes behind her, and her ears lay flat. "Whatever, I'm hungry," she pronounces. "Tell me when you've got something worth my time to test." She glares at everyone once more, just for good measure, before she turns and stalks off, dire footsteps carrying her down the hall.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon gave a small nod. "Uh huh..." she said softly. Yup. She called it. Hordak-Agera. He was in charge...

She put a hand down on top of the stone, feeling it pulse under her fingers. "I'm not leaving my Moonstone," she said, defiant. "So I'm fine staying here. Can you have a suspended bed moved in?" she asked. "I don't think I've actually slept in days..." she mumbled.

"... Energy... credits?" she asked. Blinking a few more times.

She glanced to Double Trouble again. "Oh, yes. I look forward to our next talk. I think we're going to have a lot to talk about."

She just hoped she could match Double Trouble's prices this time. After all, when it came to them? It was alllllll about what was in it for them...

Catra's words, however, made her eyes go wide with horror and she covered her mouth. "Adora... she..." There was no way. Was there? Could Adora... hurt...

I mean, sure, Catra likely DESERVED it. Almost guaranteed. But...

But it was Catra. Adora would never... could never...

She watched Catra go before teleporting down. "Well, I guess I get to at least know Catra when she was still a jerk. That'll be fun. Maybe I'll even learn what Adora found oh so irresistable about her! I won't want to kiss her at the end, though," Glimmer said, rolling her eyes.

Melog growled.

"What? It'll be fine. Probably. I won't throw her off a building... without catching her first."

She then began to, slowly, teleport around the room, looking at things. "Huh, what's this..."

"Coooool, what's this do?"

"Is this an ARM?! Why do you have an ARM? Is it a real arm?!"