Hey guys, so I woke up this morning with this idea fully-formed in my head, so I immediately set to writing it. It's a bit sketchy, but it's my unbridled sadness and hope for a satisfying Season 5 compressed into a text document.

Enjoy!

"It's Glimmer!" yelled Frosta from the bow of Mara's spaceship. Everyone's eyes followed the line of her pointing finger out of the viewport to where Glimmer could be seen standing on the platform of Horde Prime's ruined lair. She looked bruised and beaten, but she was alive.

"Set 'er down, Entrapta!" commanded Bow. Entrapta nodded, then stuck her hands into her jury-rigged controls and started manually steering the ship to land.

Adora looked over at Bow. She shook her head slowly, a grin plastered on her face. "I can't believe she figured it out herself. I can't believe it."

"You underestimate the power of Queen Glimmer!" Bow wiggled his fingers, replicating his best friend's sparkles. They both laughed, then rushed to the gangplank.

Frosta beat them out. She darted across the broken metal terrain, squealing excitedly, and flung herself into Glimmer's arms. "You're ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

Glimmer chuckled and set the younger girl down gently. "So are you! I thought Horde Prime's armies would have overwhelmed you all!"

"But they didn't!" Frosta broke away and formed ice over her hands. "We fought them off as best we could! Wham, bam, CRASH!" She swung her fists around, fighting off invisible enemies. "But then there were too many, but that's when some defect Horde soldiers gave us secret codes to help us sneak into their defenses!"

She pointed back at the ship, where Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio were standing together but separate from everybody else.

"That's great!" Glimmer exclaimed.

"And THEN," Frosta continued, "then Adora took some old lady-"

Glimmer never got to hear the rest of Frosta's story.

She was intercepted by a charging Bow.

"GLIMMER!" he yelled, spinning her around in the air.

Glimmer laughed and teleported out of his grasp. "You're hurting me!"

"Yeah, Bow, don't hurt her!" exclaimed Adora, clapping him on the shoulder. "She saved us all, remember?"

Glimmer chuckled, but her face took on a slightly pained look. She glanced briefly over her shoulder.

"Didn't you?" Bow asked.

Glimmer cast her eyes downwards. "I… I'm sorry for being a bad friend."

Adora's brows knitted together. She laid her hands on Glimmer's tense shoulders. "No, it was me who was the bad friend. And I'm sorry."

"No, no, I did terrible things. I shouldn't have trusted Shadow Weaver. I nearly destroyed the planet with the Heart of Etheria."

"But I didn't trust you to do your own thing. I tried to overshadow you." Tears beaded at the corners of Adora's eyes.

"C'mon, guys," interjected Bow, "don't try to blame yourselves. Everyone did something wrong, especially me. But it's okay now, isn't it? Can we put that all behind ourselves and just, you know, focus on the friendship in the present?"

Adora and Glimmer both looked at Bow, smiling warmly. Then they both hugged him. Bow let out a startled yelp, then returned the embrace.

"Best Friend Squad forever?" he asked.

"Best Friend Squad forever," replied the two young ladies.

Glimmer glimpsed a vaguely familiar-looking figure over Adora's shoulder. It was a tall, well-built man, with distinctive facial hair and a… a magic staff?

She dropped her arms. Her mouth opened wide.

Bow and Adora looked at each other, then they gestured for her to go to him.

Glimmer walked forward, feeling as though she was lost in a dream.

Micah looked at the short, regal young lady approaching him. Her dress, though tattered, reminded him of something he had known long ago.

"Glimmer?" he asked.

Glimmer stopped in her tracks.

"D-Dad?"

Micah's jaw quivered. He stepped haltingly forward, extending his shaking arms.

"My baby girl…"

Glimmer looked at her dad, memories rushing into her head as quickly as her tears could leave it. Her dad carrying her around on his shoulders… her dad using magic to create sparkles of light that she would try to catch in her tiny hands… her dad going off to battle but always promising that he'd come back to play with her again… her dad not coming back one day…

"You came back!" Her voice barely rose above a whisper. She stepped forward, her heart pounding like a jackhammer against her bruised ribcage.

Micah nodded, tears leaking from his own eyes. He rushed forward and hugged his long-lost daughter. "Look at you!" he managed through choked sobs. "You've gotten so… so big!"

Glimmer wiped off her eyes with her free hand. "N-not b-big enough, I'll warrant."

Micah pulled away and gripped her shoulders, holding her at arm's length. He shook his head slowly. "You… you look so much like her…"

Glimmer hung her head, unable to meet her dad's gaze any longer. "She missed you. So much… and so did I..."

Micah broke out into loud sobs and covered his face with his hands. He sank to his knees, and his little girl wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head.

Adora and Bow looked on, smiling sadly, an arm around each other. Bow wiped a tear from his eye with his own hand.

Suddenly, Adora realised what that niggling itch of doubt in the back of her mind was referring to. "Where's Catra?" she says to nobody in particular.

Glimmer glanced back at her. The look in her eyes said it all.

Adora's eyes widened. "No…"

"Hey, is that Hordak?" called Perfuma, pointing to a spot behind Adora.

She whirled around, instinctively reaching for a sword that still isn't there. She advanced forward cautiously.

Hordak emerged from the rubble, somberly carrying a limp form in his arms. His face was overshadowed and downcast; only his glowing red eyes were visible.

"Oh, oh no! No, no, no!" exclaimed Scorpia, setting down Frosta. Electricity crackled between her pincers, which snapped open and shut out of either grief or fury.

Hordak strode forward, stopping in front of Adora. She could see that his skull-like face was wrought with sorrow. She could see that he was carrying Catra. Her mouth gaped open, and her hands, clenched into fists, loosened.

Catra looked half dead. Her mask was broken. Half of her face and the entirety of her right arm was blackened, almost corrupted, like it had been in the perfect world. But her left eye still managed to flutter open, fixing on Adora's distraught face.

"Hey, Adora…" she whispered, a small smile crossing her lips.

Hordak laid Catra down on the ground in front of Adora, then gave her shoulder a comforting pat as she sank to her knees. She shied away from his touch. Hordak backed away and stood at a distance.

Adora looked down at her former best friend. She sat down cross-legged and pulled her across her lap. Catra tilted her head and looked at her with her one working eye.

"Catra…"

"He's really not that bad, under all the armour." Catra limply gestured to Hordak, who had an uncharacteristic smile on his face as Entrapta ran over to him.

"He just… needed love."

Hordak picked up Entrapta and held her tightly, like he never wanted to let go.

"But he didn't know... how to accept it."

Entrapta pulled away from him for just long enough to tap the crystal embedded in his armour.

"We didn't think… we deserved it."

Adora's gaze drifted back to Catra. The catgirl was smiling with one half of her mouth, though her eyes held a serene sort of pain.

Adora cradled Catra's head in her arms. Tears ran down her cheeks. "But you do deserve it. Everybody deserves it. Don't they?"

"I… I thought I had to earn it." Catra sniffled.

"Y-you don't n-need to earn love! It j-just happens!"

"But I… I didn't work at it…" Catra's eye closed, then half-opened. "But… but I… I saved… at least you're… all… okay…"

Catra's eye closed. Her body went limp.

Adora could do nothing but stare at her best friend's body for several seconds. Then she started to cry. She clasped Catra's body against her own and buried her face in her uncorrupted shoulder.

She felt someone give her a comforting pat on the head. It was Bow, struggling to hold back his own tears. He knelt on Adora's left, and Glimmer did the same on her right.

"She saved us," Glimmer managed. "She's the reason Horde Prime was defeated."

"And n-n-now, sh-she's dead…" wept Adora.

She cradled Catra's body, looking down at her face. So peaceful, and yet so marred… but perfect in her own way.

Adora bent over and pushed away the pieces of her mask. After a long, longing look, she gently pressed her lips to Catra's forehead. Twin saltwater trails ran through her fur.

Adora lifted her head and saw that all her friends had gathered to mourn Catra's demise. Scorpia bawled into her claws while Perfuma tried to comfort her. Frosta clung to Glimmer's arm, and Micah stood behind her. Entrapta and Hordak stood at a distance, an arm around each other. Swift Wind bent his head. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio stayed huddled together. Seahawk wore a distraught puppy-dog expression. Even Mermista looked kind of sad.

You cannot control magic.

Adora looked down at herself. Teardrops dotted her jacket and arms and Catra's face.

Magic simply is.

The droplets were glowing.

Adora's eyes widened.

A drop landed on the corrupted side of Catra's face. It burned away at it like acid. It grew and spread and enveloped half of her face in a yellow light. The energy ran down to her chest and arm, covering them.

Adora looked on in amazement.

Catra's eyes snapped open.

The light faded.

Catra sat bolt upright. Her face and arm were healed completely. She took several deep breaths and stood up, her eyes darting around. They locked onto Adora.

Adora stood up, fresh tears brimming anew. Her expression was one of awe and relief and love.

Catra smiled, showing her fangs. It was genuine and warm. So was her tone of voice.

"Hey, Adora."

Adora practically flung herself into Catra's arms. She wept again, but this time, it was tears of joy.

Catra tensed up and pushed Adora away, but left her hands on her shoulders. They stood there, an arm's length apart, for an uncomfortably long time, not saying anything. What could they say? What was there to say?

Finally, Catra spoke. Her smile faded. "I've been a horrible friend."

Adora's smile was nothing but welcoming and warm. "I forgive you."

Catra hesitantly leaned forward and kissed Adora on the lips. Adora didn't shy away. Instead, she put a hand on the back of Catra's head and pulled her closer.

Scorpia slumped over and turned away.

"Hey, don't be disappointed," said Perfuma. "You've got us."

Scorpia's mouth quirked up. "I guess I do."

Catra pulled away from Adora and walked over to her. "Yeah, Scorpia. I'm not gonna forget how good of a friend you always were to me."

"And me!" added Entrapta, dragging Hordak along behind her. "You're the BEST friend!"

"And you give great hugs!" exclaimed Frosta.

Scorpia blushed and looked away. "Aww, you're all too nice!"

"No nicer than you deserve," responded Adora.

Scorpia chuckled. "Okay, everybody, let's, let's all go home."