Devil I Know - Ch2

Rating: E

Relationships: Catra/Adora

Tags: Canon Divergent, Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra is inlove with Adora, Marriage proposal, Despara, Memory loss, Dark Adora, Horde Lord Adora, Adora is inlove with Catra, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a happy ending,

Adora got lost in the portal and Catra just broke. She just wants this war to end so she can grieve in peace. The arrival of a horde army through a portal was unexpected, but when the commander wears Adora's face Catra has a decision to make. This may be her only chance to have Adora the way she wants her, even if it's not her Adora.

--

Despara was in a room in the Fright Zone. She was sure she had never been here but she knew it. There was a book before her that she’d never read but she was sure she could recite every word. A younger Catra, laid beside her in a tiny, uncomfortably hard bed.

The covers were pulled up over their heads which caused the stale air to be hot and stifling but it felt comforting. She looked at Catra, feeling butterflies erupt inside her body like the first waves of a summer breeze. She could feel her cheeks colour as Catra’s glowing eyes turned to look at her.

“What do you think it means?” Catra asked in a soft whisper, the light they were using to see in the dark was dull and barely dispelled the shadows, but it made Catra’s eyes sparkle like they were made of magic.

“I can’t really read it,” Despara admitted shyly, her voice soft and young. Catra rolled her eyes and Despara felt the overwhelming feeling to put her mouth to Catra’s.

“I swear you're blind, your eyes are so bad,” Catra teased as she turned back to the book and the strange feeling melted out of Despara’s mind.

“It says when two people want to spend their lives together, they do a bonding ceremony, Etherian’s call it marriage,” Catra said, tracing the words with her clawed finger.

“That sounds nice,” Despara said, trying to make her voice sound normal around the dry feeling in her throat. “Promising to be with someone forever,” Adora said in a soft whisper as Catra’s eyes captured hers again.

“Would you want that?” Catra asked curiously, her eyes looking rounder than they had before.

“I think I would…”

“Who would you pick? It better not be Lonnie,” Catra growled, her tail attempting to flick under the blankets' weight. Despara somehow knew that meant she was upset at the suggestion.

“No, it’s not. Would you like it?” Despara asked, her voice coming out as a soft squeak. Catra’s eyes softened as a red colour came to her cheeks.

“Are you asking me?” Catra asked softly and Despara felt her face heat up.

“Yes….?” Despara said softly and Catra’s cheeks darkened.

“Is that what you want?” Catra asked again, her eyes searching Despara’s for answers.

“Do you?” Despara asked, feeling unsure and vulnerable like a newborn clone.

“Yeah, when we're older,” Catra said, her voice soft. Despara knew what she had to say.

“Promise?”

“Promise,”

Despara woke with a single thought in her mind, she needed Catra. She knew it was a foolish feeling but despite how Despara knew that, she couldn’t stop it. Even if the dream was just a dream, Prime didn’t believe in coincidences and neither did she. She had dreamt of Catra’s eyes long before she ever saw her face and that was enough for Despara to know she was special.

Despara was a simple woman, she fought, and she took. She fought in Prime's name, taking everything to serve him, but Despara wanted this one all for herself. She had very little desire to fight Catra, even if that desire was never zero, but she felt an overwhelming desire to take her. To possess her and to ensure no one took her away ever again.

Again?

Again…

Never again.

[...]

Despara had a problem. Her problem was about 5 feet tall and walking around Despara’s base like she owned the place. Catra didn't act afraid of Despara. Cautious. Yes, but not afraid. It felt unnatural, but Despara had to admit that she didn’t want Catra to fear her.

“What is your army’s next move?” Despara asked as she paced before her throne. She hated sitting idle so the movement soothed her restlessness.  The Force Captains stood at the base of the stairs to Despara’s throne. It felt ridiculous that such a large staircase separated the Lord from the Force Captains since the plateau was too small to fit them all. It was a stupid design. Despara preferred to lead from the front rather than command from a safe distance so this was completely absurd.

When the Captains didn’t answer and simply looked nervous, Despara looked at Catra for the answer to her question. Catra looked back, tilting her chin up just slightly as they made eye contact.

“Force Captain Scorpia is taking a village in Plumeria for their food stocks,” Catra said. A woman behind Catra to her left waved a red claw at Despara.

Despara hadn’t taken the time to learn names and she didn’t plan to, but she questioned this particular Captain's capabilities based on her bright and cheerful disposition.

Despara stopped her pacing and turned to walk down the stairs. The Force Captains behind Catra shifted uneasily as if they wanted to move away, but Catra stood her ground.

“Why not raze it to the ground?” Despara asked as she stopped at the last step to look down at her Force Commander. Despara had maybe half a foot's height advantage on Catra, but the slightly higher ground forced Catra to look up a little more. Catra crossed her arms defensively and Despara inwardly delighted that her actions were enough to cause a reaction.

“Because, Lord Despara, our soldiers need food. This village has substantial farmland which could supply our army for months. Your army may not need food, but if you want the local’s working at their best, this is what we need,” Catra said, her voice dripping with challenge that made Despara want to react. Unfortunately, this subject wasn’t something she knew well, so she couldn’t comment. In her previous conquests they didn’t care about keeping the locals alive unless they proved to be useful so this would be an adjustment.

The clone army got everything they needed as nourishment from the fluid that Prime provided and Despara ate the tasteless bars which the ship provided through the onboard fabricator. Those bars had everything she needed to thrive without consuming what the clones needed for whatever was in those fluid vials.

Despara looked at Catra for a moment, but could see no fault in her reasoning.

“Very well, what do you suggest?” Despara asked and Catra smirked at her victory.

“I suggest we attack at night, take out the watch and avoid the alarm, they’ll be ours by morning,” Catra said and Despara nodded her head.

“Take your squad and find a way inside. If your army needs this food, then they will be the ones fighting for it,” Despara said and Catra nodded.

[...]

Despara was looking at the computers in the sanctum when the door opened. She closed the blueprint she was looking at and turned to her visitor.

She expected it to be Catra simply from the silence of her entry and she was not disappointed. Catra didn’t announce herself as the clones or Captains did over the course of the day. It was a simple etiquette that the brunette did not appear to subscribe to.

“Yes, Commander?” Despara asked as Catra approached, she walked like her body was made of silk. She moved with such grace and ease it was as if she flowed from step to step as her hips swayed in her tight suit as she approached. Despara was not immune to such distractions, but she was trained to ignore them. So she did.

“My team is ready to move out, we will leave tomorrow so we can approach after dark,” Catra explained. Catra’s team had been one of the first requests Catra made after Despara’s proposal. Catra was clearly acutely aware of the substantial change in her status caused by Despara’s actions.

Despara didn’t regret her proposal, it was a logical step to keep a powerful ally. What Despara did regret was rushing into it on her second day on this planet. It doesn't scream mental stability to propose a lifetime commitment to a stranger after they’ve first met. Still, she didn’t regret it.

“Is there anything else?” Despara asked as she turned back to the computer, not wanting to give Catra too much of her attention.

“Now that you mention it, yes,” Catra said, moving closer to the computer Despara was using and sitting on the surface of the desk. Despara wished she could say that she managed to continue to ignore Catra’s actions. She ignored the way Catra crossed one leg over the other and leaned back to recline on her hands but Despara was unsuccessful. Despara moved her eyes from the flashes of soft fluffy thighs back to Catra’s face to see Catra watching her with interest. Despara ignored her gaze and looked back at the computer screen as she moved to another folder.

“Proceed,” Despara instructed and could feel the weight of Catra’s eyes on her as she looked through the computer.

“I was thinking, since you are taking so long to find a gift for me, that I should have my own room away from the Force Captains,” Catra said and Despara paused her idle action to look at Catra.

“You don’t have your own room?” Despara asked curiously, a strange burning feeling growing in her chest at the knowledge that Catra shared a room with other people.

“Nope, but Shadow Weaver’s old room is available,” Catra said leaning forward to rest her laced fingers on her crossed legs.

“You could stay in my room,” Despara offered without thinking, but it felt right. What the hell was wrong with her? She never spoke without considering all the options first and having a plan to execute. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut?

“I would love to,” Catra said as she slipped off of the desk to stand closer to Despara. Catra was close, but Despara wasn’t going to back down by moving away. Catra looked up at her with hooded eyes that filled Despara with butterflies like she had felt in her dream. It was maddening. Had she become infected with a virus when she arrived on this awful planet? “Once you find an appropriate proposal gift…I can be all yours,” Catra said and Despara was unable to stop herself from reaching out and clasping Catra’s arms to pull her closer. Despara didn’t know what she wanted to do with that motion but she felt she was missing a step that would make the action more satisfying. Catra took a sharp little breath at her unnecessary touching but she didn’t react any further as she waited. Despara looked into her eyes for a moment longer before she released Catra and took a step back.

“Very well,” Despara said, feeling hot under her skin and turning to hide her face from Catra’s view as she returned to the computer. Catra waited for more but after the silence stretched on she silently took her leave.

[...]

Another night, another dream. The last dream had been a revelation but this one was a whisper. Catra and Despara were much smaller this time. Catra was mostly hair and wrapped in a blanket. Despara had promised that she would take care of Catra and Despara had woken with a sense of responsibility for the woman. Catra was known as a capable and a strong fighter, but Despara still felt the desire to protect her even if it was unnecessary.

Despara had a job to do but all she wanted at the moment was to find out where Catra had gone after their last meeting.

Focus.

Despara looked around the sanctum. In her investigation of the technology of this base she discovered that communication back to Prime was blocked. Which meant she was now free to act in Prime's name.

The freedom to do what she deemed necessary was the best part of any attack. Despara needed to ensure she didn’t act on any more of her impulsive desires, even if Catra had worked out (so far), the next might not. Despara would not disappoint Prime, but the result would be fatal.

Prime sent Despara to look for a powerful energy source he located over a year ago. A year is a long time and there was a possibility that this planet had already used the weapon his readings discovered. She would need to create her own device to find it and use it to conquer this planet. Prime had been unusually secretive about this weapon which meant he was likely testing Despara, and she would not disappoint him. She would not allow any distractions.

Despara looked through the computer again, looking at the documents of cloning attempts, body modifications, weapons, and plans for a teleporter gate. The gate was ancient technology made with leftover parts of a crashed ship. It was very clever. Did Hordak do this?

Despara wondered if she could use something similar to this gate to get a message back to Prime. She would find out who made this and make them build another one. At the centre of the blueprint was a sword, but that didn't seem right. The sword must be a stand-in for a different power source. No matter. She would find that too.

Despara decided she had questions regarding the devices and Catra would be the perfect person to answer them, considering how closely she worked with Hordak. If Catra was as indispensable as she made herself appear then she would have answers to Despara’s many questions.

With a reasonable excuse to find the brunette, Despara left the sanctum to do just that.

[...]

Catra wasn't hard to find. She kept a strict training schedule with her team and preparations for her mission that evening was important so she was hard at work.

The cadets and soldiers pledged their loyalty to Despara as she expected. Even this isolated offshoot of the Horde remembers that power ruled. Despara didn’t need to be a scientist to work out that Hordak had limitations, based on his research it was plain to see he was compensating for his weakness. Despara, even smaller and not a clone, was more powerful than him, even without her army. Hordak had yielded and accepted his imprisonment without complaint but in desperate hope that Prime would reward him.

Despara watched Catra’s team go through their drills as her eyes followed Catra as she shouted commands and her team responded.

Catra's team was smaller than most, consisting of only ten people. Members of her team started to notice Despara as she watched them and the distraction proved to be too much for a slender blonde man as he tripped and rolled into a stack of boxes being used as an obstacle. Catra looked over at him and her head tilted back as she sighed.

The group stopped moving and noticed Despara as she approached. Once the blonde man was on his feet again he dropped to one knee to join his squad as they bowed to Despara.

Catra turned to face Despara, not even attempting to conceal her eye roll. Catra had a light layer of sweat that made her skin glisten even under her short fur and Despara found herself admiring the glow.

Despara didn’t have a chance to fight Catra when they first met, or the second time, but perhaps she could rectify that now. Her original reason for seeking Catra out was forgotten as an opportunity to fight her presented itself.

“Yes, Lord Despara,” Catra never hid her disdain when speaking her name, but her venom didn’t drip in every word she said to her. Despara wondered what that might mean as her lip twitched up.

“Spar with me,” Despara asked and Catra looked a little surprised before she smirked.

“What weapons?” Catra asked, her eyes alight with the excitement of a challenge.

“Do you need one?” Despara poked and Catra rolled her eyes.

“Hand to hand then? Afraid of my claws?” Catra mocked.

“Hardly, you can use them if you need them,” Despara challenged and Catra scoffed at her.

“I don’t need them,” Catra responded hotly and Despara nodded her head towards the matted area.

Catra’s team was watching them with confusion but they followed so they could witness the fight. Despara took some time to remove the shoulder pauldrons from her armour and her cape before she turned to see Catra already watching her.

“First to pin?” Despara asked and Catra nodded as she flexed her body ready for action. Despara knew Catra was fast and she had seen that herself. But she was also smart. Catra was a difficult opponent in body and mind, which is why she was such an important ally to have. Despara didn’t know why she felt she needed to justify her actions to herself. It had nothing to do with the way her heart raced at the sight of Catra, or the way her fluid moments made her want to drag her eyes over Catra's body.

Focus.

Catra was waiting.

“Ready to start?” Catra asked.

“Go,” Despara said and for a moment neither of them moved.

After that moment they both moved at the same time and lunged forward. Despara threw a heavy punch which Catra dodged and flipped to land behind Despara. Despara turned on her heels, her fists close to her chest before she struck out again but Catra sprung away. Despara didn’t let her rest, rushing her again with another blow that Catra dodged.

Despara could feel herself smirking as she saw the excitement sparkling in Catra’s beautifully mismatched eyes. Catra ducked and struck out. Despara grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer. Catra slammed into Despara’s chest as her eyes widened with surprise.

Despara used the confusion to pull back enough to land a punch and Catra barely managed to dodge her. Despara yanked her wrist again to pull her off balance and Catra hissed childishly.

Catra may have been anchored by Despara but she wasn’t ready to fold. She jumped towards Despara and used her feet to push off her chest, forcing Despara backwards and Catra out of her grasp.

Catra flipped before landing on her hands and righting herself to her feet. Catra was fast but Despara was built for endurance. She could keep this up all day but she could see Catra's breaths coming quicker already. Catra had already been training for hours after all.

Despara rushed forward again, aiming a punch to her shoulder and knowing she would move. She grabbed Catra with her other arm around her waist and pulled her close again. Catra’s face coloured as she growled.

"Fight properly" Catra said, shoving her away and out of her arms. Despara chuckled. Catra had worked her out so easily. She wasn't really fighting Catra seriously but Catra wasn't either. They were both equally toying with each other.

"I could say the same to you," Despara said as Catra dodged a kick casually.

Catra tilted her head forward and glared.

"Fine," she growled and closed the space between them as everything got serious. There was so much intensity that it was hard to see what was happening. Punches, kicks, claws, biting.

Then Catra's back hit the mat. She laid panting and sweaty looking up at Despara with shock on her face.

"I let you win," Catra said breathlessly as she tried to recapture her breath.

"I know you did, kitten," Despara whispered back before she leaned closer to her ear. “Next time, don’t hold back” she whispered, pulling away to witness Catra’s smirk as she ran her tongue over her fang threateningly.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Catra responded coyly and Despara glared before she pushed herself off of Catra. Catra was still toying with her, but Despara wasn’t sure what her end goal was just yet. She was sure she would work it out and she had time.

Catra made a soft noise but said nothing as Despara attached her armour again. She was sweaty but not spent. If anything, the spar only filled her with more energy, and she wasn't sure what to do with it.

"You're strong," Catra said and Despara turned to look at her. The black of her eyes was larger than usual but Despara didn't know what to make of that.

"You're fast" Despara returned and Catra nodded before she looked at her team who were watching with mixed expressions.

"Right, the break is over, everyone starts from the top" Catra barked at her squad and they moved back to the obstacle course. Despara didn't stay to watch, returning to the sanctum to consider her findings.

[...]

Despara was unsuccessful in finding out information from Catra simply because she didn’t ask her any questions. But now Despara knew what it felt like to have Catra underneath her. Which was not helpful to Prime's cause, but definitely something to file away for later.

Hordak had spoken positively about Shadow weaver, she had been of use to him at least, which made it worth keeping her around. Despara wasn’t a big fan of magic, not for any particular reason but she hadn’t experienced much of it. The witch having control over such things seemed incredibly dangerous.

Despara descended to the lower levels of the Fright Zone and found Shadow Weaver easily enough. Weaver looked sickly, or at least as sickly as someone could look wearing a mask. Her hair was flat and her body slumped.

Despara opened her cell, noting that the woman was tied to the wall with glowing green restraints. Shadow Weaver looked up from blankly staring at a wall and seemed surprised. Could a mask look surprised?

“Adora? What a pleasant surprise,” She said, her voice sounding like nails along Despara's spine. She wanted to leave but that reaction only spurred her to remain where she was. Her own comfort was not important when she had a job to do.

“My name is Despara. I will not correct you again” Despara said coldly.

“Yes, my mistake, Despara. How can I help you?” Shadow Weaver asked as she dipped her head like she was apologising without saying the words.

“What do you know of the technology in Hordak’s sanctum?” Despara asked as she clasped her hands behind her as she straightened her back.

“Surely Catra could give you the details of their little projects,” Shadow Weaver said, moving to face Despara more directly now. Her expression, however expressionless it was, seemed interested.

“I'm asking you,” Despara continued, her tone level, but her anger rising as Shadow Weaver didn’t answer her question directly. Was it really so hard? She knew very little about this woman and she was already angry. This woman unsettled her and that kind of vulnerability made her insides burn.

“Is she giving you trouble already? She has no respect,” Shadow Weaver said and Despara stepped closer to the woman sitting on the ground.

“Watch your tongue. I did not come here for your opinion,” Despara said and Weaver looked at her quietly for a moment. Despara wasn’t about to stand here and listen to anyone talk about Catra that way. Shadow Weaver didn’t know that Despara had aligned herself with Catra but she wasn’t about to talk to this witch about that.

“Apologies my lord,” Shadow Weaver said, bowing her head. “I merely wish to help. I would be happy to tell you everything I know of Hordak’s creations,” She wasn’t making eye contact anymore but something about this display felt wrong. Despara squinted her eyes at her, suspicious of this change of tune.

“Why were you locked up here before I arrived?” Despara asked, it was a question she would have asked Catra if she had thought of it or any other question while in her presence.

“Catra and I had a misunderstanding,” Shadow Weaver said with a shrug and Despara glared. She wanted more details but apparently getting them would be a slow and arduous process.

“What misunderstanding?” Despara asked and Shadow Weaver leaned back against the wall of the cell as she looked at Despara. She looked small and frail, but Despara would not be misled, she hadn’t seen much magic in her time, but the little she had seen was dangerous.

“I have a connection to the Black Garnet and Catra wanted its power for herself,” Shadow Weaver said. Catra did seem interested in power, but Despara had trouble believing this opinion of her.

“And Catra would corroborate this story?” Despara asked and the woman shrugged again.

“She would never admit to wanting power so desperately and she knows she is too weak to take it,” Shadow Weaver said, and Despara stepped closer again, her face hard and her jaw set. She did not like the way this woman spoke about Catra and she would not stand for it.

“Watch your tongue or I will remove it,” Despara threatened and Weaver leaned back. She at least had the good sense to know Despara was serious.

“What is it you are looking for? I can use my magic to find whatever you desire,” Weaver said and Despara glared at her.

“Maybe you will be of use to me,” Despara said and Weaver looked pleased.

Shadow Weaver did not get the freedom she had hoped for as she was brought to the sanctum in handcuffs by two large clone soldiers. Shadow Weaver had the ability to walk but she was weak and slow, so she stumbled as her guards moved her along to match Despara’s pace.

Once inside the sanctum, Despara turned her attention to Shadow Weaver, who stood looking around the room at the equipment.

“I expected him to have created more while I was locked up,” Shadow Weaver said thoughtfully and Despara went to the computer to find the design for the teleporter.

“Who made this? Was it Hordak?” Despara asked and Shadow Weaver laughed.

“Some of it, yes, but he couldn’t get it to work until that Princess showed up,” Weaver said, her voice dripping with disdain.

“What's a princess?” Despara asked, her confusion not settling her temper.

“We have a lot of ground to cover,” Shadow Weaver said and approached the computer on steadier legs. The soldiers allowed her to move freely, though she was still chained up. “May I?” Shadow Weaver asked and motioned to the computer. Despara nodded and stepped back out of the way.

Shadow Weaver opened a file filled with information on Princesses and presented it to Despara.

“Princesses are magic users that have no control over their magic, they are wild and unreasonable, they are our enemies in this war,” Shadow Weaver said and Despara looked at the images with interest. This war was against magic users? That would change things. She wondered if Catra knew that when she planned her attack on the farming village.

“They are the ones standing in the way of the Horde’s victory, without them, we would have won years ago,” Shadow Weaver continued and looked at Despara with an unreadable expression. Despara ignored it and looked at the computer again.

“Why do we need a Princess to make the gate?” Despara asked and Shadow Weaver clicked back to the blueprint.

“She is a tech Princess and she has a way with machinery. According to Catra, she was stolen back by the Rebellion which is made up of the rest of the Princesses,” Shadow Weaver said and Despara looked at her with a frown.

“Why do you sound unsure?”

“I wasn’t there to witness the event, and I wouldn’t take anything Catra say’s at face value, she can be misleading” Shadow Weaver said, and Despara felt her anger bubbling under her ribs again.

“You know what I despise?” Despara growled out and saw concern flash over Shadow Weavers' masked face.

“What, my lord?” Shadow Weaver asked, gripping her hands together in front of her.

“Someone questioning me,” Despara said, turning to face Shadow Weaver.

“I’m not questioning you my lord,” She said, her voice carefully neutral.

“You see, I think you are. You are questioning who I find worthy to associate with,” Despara said, her voice colouring with a hit of a threat which made Shadow Weaver move uneasily in her bindings.

“I wasn-” Shadow Weaver started but Despara cut her off quickly.

“Any disrespect of Catra, is a disrespect of me. If I say Catra is gold, you will judge everything against her shadow until I say otherwise. Is that clear?” Despara asked and Shadow Weaver bowed her head slightly.

“Yes, my lord,”