Catra of the Crimson Waste (A She-Ra Quest)

Where had everything gone so wrong? It was stupid, why didn't everyone see how evil Catra was? She kidnapped Adora, was building her own little empire, and wouldn't stop until she'd conquered all of Etheria. Oh sure, she was talking a good game, but after everything Catra had done, why did anyone think we could trust her? Now everyone in the Alliance had turned on one another over what to do with Catra. It made me want to scream.

I paced back and forth in Frosta's throne room, my thoughts fuming as I kept thinking back to the meeting with everyone. This was a disaster, and I wasn't sure how to fix it. Shadow Weaver watched me as I went back and forth, standing unmoving as I did so.

"Ugh! I don't get it!" I said as I stomped around. "What went so wrong? The plan made sense when we came up with it. But now nearly everyone has turned against me."

"Unfortunately, we underestimated how ... naive your fellow princesses are," Shadow Weaver said. "If they had been rational they would have seen they had a golden opportunity to nip an existential threat to their kingdoms in the bud. But they've erred in believing that they can negotiate with Catra, who will only betray them in the end."

I groaned and threw my hands up. "Yeah, well that plan fell apart as soon as Adora revealed she and Catra were sucking face!" I picked up a pad and thought about pulling up that video Scorpia showed us, then growled and tossed it to the side. Sure, she'd told us Catra and Adora were getting closer, but I thought that was just another one of Catra's lies. "I can't believe Adora's doing that with Catra! Has she just completely forgotten about everything Catra did to us? How can she just make out with someone who tried to kill her multiple times?!"

One of Shadow Weaver's hands twitched before it stilled again. "Adora's judgement has always been flawed where Catra is concerned. It is possibly her greatest weakness, and one I warned her about countless times. Unfortunately, she has always refused to listen, no matter my warnings or the evidence right in front of her face. I fear that Catra could threaten to destroy the whole world, and Adora would still stand by her."

"I've never understood what Adora sees in her." I scowled down at the icy floor beneath us. "Maybe they used to be friends once, but Catra's been nothing but horrible to us ever since I met her." I paused and thought about it. "Well, except for that one time she gave Adora back her sword and let us escape the Fright Zone..."

Shadow Weaver raised a finger. "That was most likely a manipulation. She probably wanted to make you feel indebted to her. Valuable currency to be spent later when she might need you to do something for her. Catra only received her promotion because of Adora's departure, if Adora actually returned to the Horde she would no longer be a Force Captain. Not to mention at that point Catra was already plotting to overthrow me. Giving you the sword and letting all of you escape badly compromised me in Hordak's eyes, and allowed her to supplant me as Hordak's second. You must always remember, Catra is a creature of low cunning. She would betray everyone around her for the slightest advantage to herself. The fact she deserted the Horde and started her own empire shows just how nakedly ambitious she is."

"Right, that makes sense." I should've known that anything Catra did that seemed nice was just a trick of some sort. "I bet she planned this all from the beginning. She just played on Adora's old feelings for her to seduce her, and then used that to drive a wedge between everyone in the Princess Alliance. The only thing I don't understand is why Bow doesn't understand that, or any of the others."

Shadow Weaver spread her hands as though presenting something. "Many suffer from the weakness of wanting to believe the best in people. Someone says they're on their side, make oaths of allegiance and loyalty, and they'll believe them at face value. They don't look at what's below the surface, or to their history. It makes them vulnerable to being betrayed. They see Adora and Catra being nice to each other, they like Adora, so they assume that everything is alright. They are being fooled, and it's only a matter of time until Catra sinks the knife in all their backs."

"Adora did look pretty happy," I conceded. "Really, the happiest I've seen her in a long time. Even when we were having a good time with her, it always felt like there was something missing for her. I guess ... I guess she still missed Catra. If everyone else picked up on that too, then maybe they just decided to overlook all the obvious red flags if it meant Adora could be happy. Plus ... well I know we can't trust Catra and she's gonna stab us in the back sooner or later, but it would be a pretty huge win to have her join our side if we could actually trust her." I ran a hand through my hair. "The power of wishful thinking, I guess. And now Catra's fractured the Alliance and done far more damage than she ever did when she was with the Horde. Assuming the whole Crimson Empire thing isn't just some sort of long con she cooked up with Hordak."

"Something we do have to consider," Shadow Weaver said. "Hordak is more than capable of playing the long game. He might have sent Catra out to the Crimson Waste to see what opportunities might be available. Then she got unexpectedly lucky with capturing Adora, bringing the Waste gangs to heel, and seizing her First Ones ship. Thus she's been riding the success, and exploiting every advantage for what it's worth. She might just be seeing what all she can get away with before moving into the endgame."

"Everyone said Catra captured Dryl basically without a fight." I rubbed my chin. "What if that was just something the two of them set up? It wouldn't be the craziest scheme Catra came up with. Compared to seducing Adora, it's downright normal."

Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed. "It does seem suspicious just how many Horde soldiers defected to Catra. Even old Knockout defected. His talents may have been limited as a force captain, but he was eternally loyal to the Horde. He served Hordak for decades. So it seems curious an old soldier like him would suddenly change sides. Unless, he had orders that told him to assist Catra."

It was all starting to make sense now. There was just one problem... "How do we get anyone else to believe us? Adora smacked me the last time I pointed out how stupid trusting Catra was, and Perfuma and Bow still took her side despite that. I tried writing to Mom, but all she cares about is that I didn't follow her plan, and now I'm supposed to go back to Bright Moon to 'account for my actions.' It's like she thinks I did something wrong!"

"I sympathize with your plight." She let out a long sigh. "I warned the council in Mystacore the danger the Horde presented early on, but they didn't listen to me until it was too late. Unfortunately, it seems no one has learned to be wary of future threats even after Hordak's rise. I'm afraid we might need to seek ... alternative measures if everyone isn't going to listen to us just yet."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What sort of 'alternative measures?' I'm not starting a fight with my own friends, or kicking off a civil war within the Princess Alliance. That's the last thing we need right now, and probably exactly what Catra's hoping for." I grimaced and shook my head. "And we can't really attack Catra right now either. If we went after her, Adora would probably try to stop us, and then we're right back to a civil war. Plus Mermista would probably stop sitting on the fence if we looked too much like the ones who started it."

"You're exactly right," Shadow Weaver said. "Open conflict would be ill-advised. Thus we will seek other methods. Right now, your priority needs to be to shore up your power base and support. One of your weaknesses right now is that people don't trust you. Also, your lack of power is a concern. As of now, you don't have the influence or power to exert your will. That's a problem, as you can see."

"Yeah, if I try anything everyone would probably just go to Bright Moon and ask Mom if they should listen to me or not." I scoffed. "Nobody cares if I've actually good ideas or not, it's all about whether Mom approves of them, and Mom never listens to me. It's like she still thinks I'm just a stupid kid or something."

Shadow Weaver gently cupped my cheek. "That is a common weakness for most parents. They raised you, they're used to telling you what to do, correcting your behavior, being your parent. It can be hard for them to understand that you're now an adult and should be taken seriously. That can lead to a ... lack of respect, however accidental that might be. No doubt the problem is exasperated by your mother being immortal."

"Yeah, she never exactly planned on passing the throne to me one day." Some part of me kept saying I should swat Shadow Weaver's hand away, but it felt ... nice. "Every other princess is trained to take over and rule one day, but I was always just going to be the Queen's daughter. Nobody ever expected me to actually take over for her. Even when I'm old and grey-haired, I'll still just be her little kid who won't ever actually rule anything."

"And that would be a pity." Shadow Weaver shifted to place a hand on my shoulder. "I can sense great potential in you, and you can see the threats to Etheria that others can't or won't. You would make for a fine monarch if you were given a throne."

"Yeah, well too bad that'll never happen," I grumbled under my breath.

"There are always ... possibilities," Shadow Weaver answered. "A great many things are uncertain when Etheria finds itself embodied in war. Princess Frost has already placed herself under your command after seeing the wisdom of your choices. Others will follow suit in due time. Once your mother sees the wisdom of your choices, she will come to respect you as much as I already do."

That really caught me by surprise. "Wait, you respect me?"

"Of course, you have earned it." She squeezed my shoulder. "And with wisdom and the right moves made, everyone else will too."