1293/The Cat(ra) Came Back

The Cat(ra) Came Back
Date of Scene:	16 March 2024
Location:	Abandoned Dojo
Synopsis:	While checking out Adora's hiding spot the last few weeks, Bow comes across Catra. Things don't go well. But at least they didn't fight?
Cast of Characters:	Catra, Bow

---

Catra has posed:
It's been just over a day since Catra's last encounter with Adora. Well, she hasn't seen Sunbreaker or Riventon or Double Trouble since the attempt to ambush her went ary, either, but Adora's the one on her mind. Which, she admits to herself, might be a little unfair; afterall, Sunbreaker is the one who might well be dead by now, but if she is there's no use caring at this point, is there? Adora was the one who... said things. Did things.

And there's definitely a lot of bruising around Catra's throat.

There's an abandoned dojo, in the half abandoned part of town. Nobody goes here anymore. Well, almost nobody. There's a motorcycle parked outside; a Honda Rebel, fake plates and probably in need of an oil change. Inside, there's a mess of a bedroll, where someone's been sleeping for a while. Catra isn't standing over that, though, or anywhere near it.

Right now the feline is in the center of the fighting space, sitting concealed only by the darkness, and not troubling to use her illusion; her phone is beside her and she's listening to music just off the speakers, without her earbuds, something angry and unrelenting. She's got her knees huddles up against her chest and her face in her hands, quietly crying.

Alone.

She only ever cries alone.

Bow has posed:
Adora's going to want whatever it was she left here. That was Bow's driving thought when he decided to do this. His jaw freshly healed by Mamoru, and a short nap later, and Bow was on his feet and on the move. It was easy to ping the last locations where Adora was thanks to the tech pad tracking the Sword of Protection, and narrow it down to where she speant the most time.

Arriving at the abandoned dojo, Bow doesn't bother to henshin - he doesn't expect anyone to be there. Currently dressed in a yellow crop-top with a pink splash of an archer in mid-draw beneath an open flannel shirt, matched with Carhart work jeans and Chucks, he looks like something from the 90s. Very vintage.

Using his henshin device as a flashlight, the Etherian teenager makes his way towards where the bedroll is, and sighs. "By Brightmoon, Adora..." he manages quietly, his expression confused. "...this is worse than anything we stayed on back home. I don't know if I should bring any of this back." he admits.

Catra has posed:
Catra's head snaps up, and her ears perk to the sound. Someone is here. She stabs her phone with a fingertip and scoops it up, silencing the music; she heard Bow's voice, because of course she did, but over the music she couldn't quite recognize it. But it does sound like...

No. No, it can't be.

"Who's there?!" she shouts, bouncing to her feet and fumbling in the pocket of the jacket she's still wearing from her time in the Crimson Wastes, overtop of her Horde jumpsuit -- only thing missing is the Force Captain badge -- and pulls out the hilt of a katana, just missing the blade. Missing, at least, until a flash of purple summons it into being, a weapon that crackles with dark energy and illuminates her immediate vicinity in a dim, malign glow. The feline rubs her free hand below her eyes as her expression hardens, lips curling upwards at the interuption. "Get out," she snarls, "GET OUT!"

She swings Powersend in a wide arc, releasing a burst of purple energy that sizzles through the air, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake and splintering the walls. (As if the place wasn't already structurally unsound.) As the glow fades, Catra stands in the middle of the fighting space, breathing heavily, she casts her gaze about in the darkness. "Whoever you are," she snarls -- she knows who it is -- "Leave... Leave me alone!"

Bow has posed:
Ooooh, spooky ghost of Etheria.

Except Bow's totally not that. As he was just about to call this whole idea a wash, suddenly, there's a new voice. And he would have loved to have had a chance to respond to it, but that is all thrown to the way side as Catra opts to attack the darkness first. The Powersend crackles and sends out it's wave, and Bow is diving to the side as it slams into the wall where he just was. A tuck into a roll and he bounces back to his feet.

Crystal Hope is screaming in his ear for him to henshin, to defend himself. But Bow knows the voice - more importantly - he recognized the hurt in that voice. He does keep the phone in his hand, however, he turns to face the glowing blade, and the figure illuminated by it. "I could switch into my armor, and we could fight and there would be arrows all over the place and you know my goo arrows stick to everything and it would be a huge mess." Bow offers quietly.

"But I'd rather not do that." His voice is soothing, as if trying to approach a cat that wants to swipe at him - because she probably would if he tried to pet her. Not going to do that, but at the same time. "Not here to bother you, Catra." He knows her name, that lends more that he's who he looks like. "Just was seeing if there was anything here Adora may have wanted." And there is. It's Catra. But.

Compassion finds his voice as he watches Catra, dark eyes showing his concern. While his posture remains defensive, it's showing no sign of going on the attack. His next words are going to be his most important. "I'm not going to ask how you're doing. That's clear. Do you want to talk?"

Catra has posed:
Let it out. Tell someone. Stop bottling everything up all the time. Somewhere deep in her mind, the need to just be heard and understood is crying out for it, but Catra can't hear it.

"There's nothing here Adora wants," she snaps. "Just a bunch of garbage." Her ears swivel, tracking where Bow is now. She could send another wave of energy straight his way, but instead she just turns around, facing in the opposite direction. Powersend is held loosely in her right hand, with the blade curving up behind her back. Her left hand balls up into a fist, resisting the urge to wipe away the last vestiges of tears she doesn't want anyone to see, because that would give the game away, wouldn't it?

"Still doing her errands I see," she comments coolly. "Running around fetching her stuff, cleaning up her mess. Don't you ever get tired of it? She's the Chosen One and just does whatever she feels like with enough magic to stop an army and a First Ones Sword, you follow around with your pointy sticks and a string? You got here across a whole galaxy and you're still doing it. Haven't you got anything better to do?" Catra's fingers flex around the hilt of her sword, and she arches her spine, squaring her shoulders and tilting her head to one side until the vertebrae crack against each other. "I don't need anyone," she adds, totally not answering the question.

Bow has posed:
She could could send another wave of energy his way, and Bow would try to dodge again. He could do that all day. But then she starts to speak, and he listens, without malice, even when Catra tries to use every hurtful comment she can against him.

"She doesn't know I'm here." he responds to her. "She's recovering at the school. Swiftwind's with her." Sure, she may claim she doesn't care. But just in case she wanted to know. "I'm here as her friend. To see if there was anything here."

"But. Not cleaning up a mess. Checking on on someone. And now, checking on someone else." A sigh, he lets out a breath, even as Crystal Hope is telling him - Catra's right, you should listen to her. "I'm doing what I can do best at the moment." And that would be being here. For Catra, apparently.

"She told me about her future. I'm not from it." he finally tells her. "My Etheria is on the verge of collapse." A shrug of his shoulders. "But, after all she's done? I'm sure that you feel your own world is in much the same way." Offered in a nebulous term, but it's easy to see what he means. "You didn't deserve what she did these last few weeks. No matter the influence, no matter the excuse. You didn't deserve it. I'm sorry you were hurt, Catra."

Catra has posed:
"How would you know anything about what I feel?" Catra growls. "Where I'm from? You and Adora and Sparkles all had it so perfect. And your Etheria was collapsing? That's nice. At least you didn't personally blow yours to pieces like I did to mine." The feline still doesn't turn around, and still doesn't lift her hand to her face. Her ears continue to track Bow in case he moves, and her tail lashes angrily behind her.

"Who are you to tell me what I deserve? What do you know? You don't know me! You've hardly even talked to me! You've got no idea what I've done since I got here." She turns and stalks off to the side, taking a path that moves her further away from Bow, without actually turning to face him at any point.

Of course, walking further away from an Archer isn't generally a good plan, unless you are actually planning on not fighting them, so there's that.

"What does it matter if I deserved it or not," she mutters. "Sunbreaker said the Dark Energy would take away her inhibitions. What she said was what she really thought. What she said was the *truth*. And now that I've heard it I know what I need to know." She tilts her head, lifting her left hand at last to brush her knuckles across her cheek beneath her left eye, as she glances over her shoulder. "I don't need your help. I don't need *anyone*. Go look after Adora, she's probably bawling."

Bow has posed:
"How did you blow yours to pieces?" Bow asks, it's reflex. He's trying to figure it all out. Yes, there is this drama with Catra and Adora - but now, he's facing three, different, unique Etherias. His, the one on the verge of Horde victory. Adora's, the perfect Etheria that Catra just mentioned. And now Catra's. "Why is this world pulling us all in from all over the place?" he asks aloud. Just to give Catra something to chew on.

"You're right. I don't." comes his admission as she starts to storm off. "And I'm not going to know if you keep fleeing and walking away. Or do you just not want to be heard?" That asked bluntly, he finally lowers the phone to put away now that there's some distance between them.

"I was told that the dark energy would enhance the most negative of those inhibitions." he points out to her. "So that fear becomes hate. So that worry becomes panic. So that love becomes obsession." Again, no excuses for Adora. He straightens his posture, looking at the pile of stuff that was Adora's nest. Catra is right. There is nothing there that she would want.

A soft noise, one of concern and worry as he looks back towards Catra. And without prompting, he offers. "You want my phone number? In case you change your mind. I know there are others here. But in case... you know. You change your mind."

And finally, he can't stop himself, he has to know. Because since the moment Adora said it, it's bore a hole in his heart.

"Is Glimmer okay?"

Catra has posed:
Catra sighs, a world-weary sound escaping her lips. "I opened the portal. Entrapta warned me not to. Said I could rip a hole in space and time and destroy Etheria. But I didn't care because more than I didn't want to lose, I didn't want any of *you* to *win*. So I took that risk, pulled the lever, opened the portal, and next thing I knew I was here, on this awful, dirty, human-infested and INCREDIBLY LOUD PLANET!"

Catra's shoulders heave once her shouting has finishing building to an angry crescendo, and she pants softly. "Yeah, enhance," she mutters. "Not change. Just enhance. So she always thought I was a worthless coward. Well what does it matter if she was *right*. So I don't care what Adora thinks anymore. And I don't care what you think either."

The feline finally gets around to wiping her hand under her right eye, and Powersend's blade is banished before she stuffs the hilt back in her pocket. "You haven't seen what I've done since I got here," she mutters. "Ask Adora about the Pureheart Rifle sometime. I helped make that." She pauses, and tilts her head to one side.

"Glimmer? Still got unresolved romantic tension with her, hunh? As far as I know she's dead. If she got pulled through time and space like the rest of us I haven't seen her yet."

Bow has posed:
There's a few blinks from Bow's eyes. Now he knows where Catra fits into the timeline. It's before him. No wonder she's acting the way she is. That gives him another piece of the puzzle, something for him to consider as he tries to reconstruct the events that caused this. But. "You were brought here by the Portal. I was brought here when Adora disappeared during..." he scrubs at the back of his head. When did Adora disappear? Why can't he remember. A frustrated noise from him.

"Pureheart Rifle? That sword you have? You're capable of great things. We should be working together to try to figure out why we're here, and how we can save Etheria. Each of us seems to be pulled from some point in the timeline where we were absent. We should figure out why!" he points out to her, offering the suggestion.

And then she starts in on him on Glimmer, and his confusion grows. "No... Adora said she was..." Double Trouble. Now it makes sense. Double Trouble must have masqueraded as Glimmer, that's the only explanation as to why Adora thought she saw her. His cheeks burn hot with a blush that he can't explain, but his words sound out, "No! She's my best friend and we grew up together. That's like me asking you if you have unresolved romantic tension with... okay, not the best example, but nothing like that!"

Catra has posed:
"To hell with Etheria," Catra snarls. "It's gone and I don't care anymore. Let it all burn. Let the whole *galaxy* burn for all I care." The feline turns, facing away again, just so Bow won't see her blinking back tears again. Maybe he'll figure it out. He's smart. She sucks in her breath and holds it, waiting until she has her emotions back under control. Or at least, until the anger is the one on top of the pile, keeping all of the rest safely hidden away.

"I'm capable of terrible things," she corrects. "I didn't make the sword or the rifle, I just help test them. Y'know. In the field. On *people*." And then she immediately gave Adora the pureheart crystal she generated and basically arranged for the prototype to be destroyed, but she doesn't mention any of that of course. "All I do is hurt people. You're looking for a redemption in the wrong place. Happy Endings only happen in fairy tales, and not the kind that Shad-- that ever got told to Adora and I. Not everyone is worth saving."

Catra shrugs her shoulders as Bow puts two and two together. "Get used to it," she mutters. "You're here now and there's no going back. Find a place that sells noodles that you like, learn to fit in somewhere, and forget about Etheria. You're never going to see it ever again."

Bow has posed:
"Catra..." When Bow says her name, it's sympathetic, worried. Of course she'd feel this way. She was torn from Etheria. Torn from the Adora she knows. His hand reaches out. Yes, she's so very far away, but archers are great at long distance hugs?

"I arrived here in the middle of all this. And I'm figuring it out. But the Catra I know... the Catra that is you? She'd not want to give up. Yeah, she may feel the mood, but... deep down, I have to believe you want to help." And she did. Not that he knows what she did with the rifle. "I'm not looking for a redemption. I'm not looking for a happy ending. I'm looking for... for... I'm looking to make sure that those I know are okay. That even if we were on different sides... I'm here. If you need to talk. Or just. Send random memes to."

Though, at her last bit of advice - one more time. He has to try one more time. "If you know a place, I'd be happy to buy you a bowl, if you want it." Because he's not going to give up.

Catra has posed:
Catra grinds her teeth. Why is everyone always trying to talk her out of what she's doing? Why is everyone always trying to tell her what to do? "I'm tired of people telling me I'm something I'm not," she replies. "I wish people would stop trying and just *leave me alone*."

The feline starts walking once more, making a beeline for the exit. Her mind is a frothing mess of emotions, but outwardly she moves slowly, precisely, every stop a demonstration of control. Like when someone's trying too hard to keep it all in.

As she reaches the doorway, she pauses, glancing over her shoulder once more, glaring in Bow's direction. She can see him, through the darkness; of course she can, she's a cat. "...Korma Chameleon," she states, flatly, before she turns and keeps heading out. Somewhere along the way, she restores her illusion and her visage is replaced by that of Rachel Miller, the irritating American tourist. It isn't long followed by the sound of a motorcycle engine revving up.

Bow has posed:
Bow watches her as she leaves, every step she makes. He tries to find the words, but she's made her wish known. It's a damn shame he's not a genie, because that's not going to be granted. He's going to try. And keep trying. Because he's too stubborn and probably too dumb to understand the word quit.

She turns to face him and when those words come out - Korma Chameleon, he feels a spike of hope. Why? Because he had an interview set up there to work in the kitchen there. He'll have another chance. He won't give up on her. On any of them.

The Etherians are scattered, displaced. Lost. But he just knows that if he can get them to work together - to come together - they can figure this all out. They can find a way back.

Everyone can have the ending they deserve. The Princes and Princesses Prom just became that much more important. And in the darkness, as he's left alone... he lets out a breath.

"I'm not going to give up on you." he promises.