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Life and Times After the End

Chapter 10: Due to the Dead

Summary:

On the anniversary of Angella's death, the former Rebellion pays tribute.

Notes:

Back again with a new chapter after just a little over a month. Oops. But hey, at least it's the one I planned to be next, even though I said last chapter that it might not be. And it has words and isn't just a scene playing on repeat in my imagination, isn't that wonderful?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Micah was the first to visit the grave of his late wife on the anniversary of her sacrifice.

"Hello, Angie," he said softly. "All the time I was on Beast Island, what I wanted more than anything was to see you and Glimmer again. And seeing Glimmer again was wonderful. I knew you'd do a great job raising her.

"Still, every day, I wish I could see you again. I wish I could hear the voice I fell in love with again. I miss you so, so much, more than anything.

"But I also know that what you did was for the best. I saw you fly away while the world was being destroyed by that portal, and am at least thankful I could see you that one last time, even if none of it was real. You saved everyone, Angie. You saved our little girl, you saved She-Ra... you saved the world.

"Your bravery and your will to do good are the reasons I fell in love with you." He rested his hand on the grave. "And I still love you. Until we meet again..."

He walked away in silence as Castaspella approached the grave next.

"I never liked you, did I?" she asked with a humorless smile. "Probably why I don't have much to say to you here. But I can't just not acknowledge everything you've done. You were a good wife to my brother, a great mother to my niece, and you saved everyone. Even when I look back to the times when you bugged me and annoyed me, I'll never forget that. Hope I see you on the other side one day."

With that, Castaspella gently placed her hand on the grave before following her brother. The grave sat in silence for a while before Adora, Catra, Glimmer, and Bow came to the grave, Adora and Bow both carrying bouquets of flowers.

Adora knelt down by the grave. "Queen Angella. You took me into your home and believed in me. You were such a noble ruler, and despite everything you said to me, so, so brave. You saved us all.

"I remember the last words you said to me. 'Take care of each other.' At first, I didn't listen to you, and it almost wrecked me and Glimmer's friendship, and almost put our mission in jeopardy.

"But now, I know what you meant. You never wanted me to take it upon myself to protect Glimmer. You wanted us to fight side by side. Protect each other, and save the world together. And we did. And we still take care of each other.

"Not only that, but the world is saved from Horde Prime. And while we all played our part, we would have never gotten that far without you." Adora gently placed the flowers down and got up.

Bow knelt down by the grave next. "Thank you for everything you've done, Angella. I've known you since I was a little kid, and you always made sure the Bright Moon Castle felt like another home for me."

He scratched the back of his head and glanced away. "Um, I don't really know what else to say that everyone else hasn't already said. Before you, I never really lost anyone important."

"It's all right, Bow," Glimmer softly said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know that she'd just appreciate you being here. You don't have to give a grand speech."

"Right." Bow set his flowers down and got up, making room for Glimmer to take his place.

"There's never a day that goes by where I don't miss you, Mom," she said. "We got into our fights now and then, but it doesn't change the fact that you raised me to be strong and brave, and made me into what I am today. No matter how angry you got at me, I never once doubted that you loved me."

Some tears gathered in Glimmer's eyes as she continued, eventually rolling down her cheeks. "And you may have called yourself a coward, but you never were. You always did what was right no matter what, and most importantly, you sacrificed yourself so Adora didn't have to. You saved everyone." She took a shaky breath and her voice broke. "I love you, Mom."

She got up and wiped the tears away with her arm. "Catra, do you wanna say anything?"

Catra hesitated. "Um, yea. But can I do it alone?"

"Of course," Glimmer replied as she walked a distance away.

"We'll only be a little ways down when you're done," Adora said as she and Bow followed her.

After making sure they were out of sight, Catra took a knee by the grave and looked at it in sorrow.

"So, you died going through that portal, huh?" she asked. "The portal that I insisted we open, and that I banished Entrapta and lied to Hordak to get open, even though Entrapta knew it was dangerous and Hordak probably would have agreed."

She sighed. "I'm still coming to terms with all the bad things I did. As happy as I am living this peaceful, quiet life with Adora and her friends, I still always wonder how much I deserve it. And I wonder that now more than ever, since I'm kneeling at the grave of someone who died because I was stupid, reckless, petty..."

She let out a frustrated groan and curled some of her hair into her fists. "I'm the reason you died, and I just can't get over it." She released her grip and took a deep breath. "But I also can't change it. I can only move on and try my best to make amends."

She placed her hand onto the grave. "I just hope that you can forgive me, wherever you are."

As she got up to walk back to where her friends were, she mumbled, "Even if I don't think I deserve it."

As she rejoined with them, she plastered a smile on her face and took Adora's hand as they walked together back home. As they set off, Glimmer turned to her with a smile.

"She would forgive you," she whispered. "As a matter of fact, I think she'd like you."

Catra smiled back at her. Maybe she could try to believe that.


Over the course of the rest of the day, everyone who had been in the rebellion came and paid their respects. Perfuma and Scorpia came with Frosta and left more flowers than any grave would ever need, Perfuma giving a small speech about Angella's good heart. Sea Hawk gave a mighty salute and got Mermista to begrudgingly do the same thing. Spinerella and Netossa simply stood in front of the grave with a moment of silence.

The final arrivals to the grave, however, were a little surprising. Entrapta walked to the grave with a metallic fake flower in hand, followed closely by Hordak.

"Wow, so many flowers here already," she said, placing her own down. "Do you think she'd like mine? It's not real, but it's kind of the best that I can do."

"I think she'd appreciate it," Hordak responded.

"Great!" Entrapta smiled. "Still, though, I wonder why everyone is doing this."

"It's a custom among them to leave flowers as a tribute to the dead, dear."

"Well, yea, I knew that," Entrapta said as she walked away from the grave with him, "but she's not dead."

Hordak stopped. "What?"

"Going into the portal didn't necessarily mean death. It simply meant she'd be stuck between dimensions indefinitely. I mean, maybe she died, but given that she's an immortal angelic being, I don't think that's very likely."

"So, you think this Queen Angella may be saved?"

Entrapta smiled. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what we can do."

Notes:

honey we all know angella ain't dead and I imagine entrapta knows too

if netflix makes a movie and doesn't bring her back imma fucking riot (I'll also riot if there's no movie)

Of course, if that happens, I also do need to specify that this fic would obviously take place before the movie then, or would have to be just totally AU if that's not possible. Either way...