Darkness, cries of anger, fear and finally the metallic crash... When Kipo awoke, all this chaos was still controlling her head. The poor child was sweaty and took easily 5 minutes to calm her jerky breathing. When she was finally convinced to be awake, she observed her surroundings. It was a pretty room painted white.

"Nightmare?"

The girl's attention was immediately diverted to the half-open door. Catra was there, leaning against the doorframe. She had a sorry look. As answer to the question, Kipo sat up on the mattress and nodded her head slightly, looking down.

"Figured" sighed the elder, coming to sit on the bed. "It took me three years to see the end of it. But you will see, a happy life dispels every fears."

To accompany these reassuring words, Catra gently scratched the pink head. Without surprise, the little one hastened to give her a hug. The older one let it go for a few minutes before gently ending the embrace.

"So..." she said calmly. "Can you tell me how you got away? How are DT and Hugo?"

***

In the kitchen, the girls were happily eating the pancakes Camilla had prepared while she and Eda were cleaning the dishes. These two women may have only officialised their relationship a month and a half earlier, but they already seemed to complement each other perfectly. In addition, the smiles they exchanged every times their eyes met could they savor this kind of complicity.

Luz, whose chair gave her a good viewing angle on the stairs, was the first to see the two latecomers arrive. Kipo had returned to her human form and, although the redness around her eyes indicated that she had been crying, she was smiling broadly. Catra followed her closely and smiled back.

Luz was very happy to see her stepsister in this state. She hadn't seen her happy often since they met.

"Hi girls!" smiled the latino with a wave. "Come on, we've saved some plates for you!"

Usually, Luz's enthusiasm for something as simple as lunch would have annoyed Catra and she would go get her meal without even giving her stepsister a look. However, surely thanks to the presence of Kipo, the cat girl was satisfied to roll her eyes with a sigh before going to take the two plates patient on the counter. She put one in Kipo's small hands before going to sit next to Adora to eat. However, the young girl did not join them at the table. She was frozen in place, staring at the plate with round eyes.

"What's this?" asked the child curiously.

"Pancakes!" Luz replied with a big smile. "You have to try. Believe me, that's the best thing in the world!"

"Don't exaggerate either" Amity laughed beside her. "But it's true that Camilla makes great pancakes."

More or less convinced, Kipo went all the same to sit at the table. She observed how the others ate this strange dish, then looked at the utensils next to her. Her face expressed a curious mixture of fear and disgust, which astonished the teenage girls. Only Catra suspected that the wanton knife must remind her of a scalpel.

After ten seconds of hesitating, Kipo seemed to find a compromise and grabbed a pancake with her bare hands to take a bite in the same gesture.

Instantly, the little girl's eyes lit up with stars and her pink fur appeared, rising from her head to her feet like a wave, before disappearing in the same way.

"I LOVE PANCAKES!"

This expression of pure innocence spread joy throughout the room. Motherly laughs could even be heard from the kitchen. The rest of the meal was spent in good humor. Then, with the mothers tending to the new dishes, Catra led the others to the living room. She had to talk about serious matters.

"Well!" launched the feline without wasting a second. "I'll spare you the hellish childhood and the years of therapy that this kid will need. Most importantly, Kipo, DT and Hugo ran away two nights ago. They stole Emilia's car and spent a good part of the day driving. After a while the police started chasing them. I guess our mothers reported the theft. Anyway, they ended up swerving at the entrance to town and the other two told Kipo to hide and that they would find her. It was during her flight that she arrived here."

A heavy silence filled the room for a good minute or so before Adora questioned her girlfriend.

"I get that they wanted to run away from such terrifying parents, but how are we supposed to find them now? Did they know where they were going at least?"

"Surprisingly, yes. Apparently they were supposed to join a friend of DT. I didn't quite get the details, but it seems they've been planning this for a long time."

Kipo, who had let Catra explain until then, suddenly looked down with a crestfallen expression.

"T.I.B.T. are the best. I wish they were here for pancakes too..."

Luz, feeling her little heart tighten at the disappointment of the pink one, hastened to squeeze her with all her strength. However, Amity seemed to think about a whole different matter.

"T.I.B.T." repeated the teenager. "Is it the person you were supposed to meet?"

"Yes" Kipo replied. "The grown-ups always spoke with code names. We were D.T.T.D for Double Trouble The Diva. I never got what meant T.I.B.T tought..."

Instantly, Amity pulled out her phone and began rummaging through her Facebook contacts. It took a while for her to find this contact she spoke to as little as possible, but the letters T.I.B.T eventually appeared. As Adora and Catra peered over her shoulders to see what had got over her out of the blue, Amity texted at full speed.

Amity: I need to talk to you right now!

The answer did not take long to arrive.

T.I.B.T: Sorry, but this is really not a good time. Can you call back later?

This message seemed to annoy Amity deeply and she replied with clenched teeth.

Amity: Look, whatever prank you planning, it can wait. Do you know someone called D.T.T.D?

The phone was silent for almost a full minute and Amity was about to resend a message when she got a call. She picked up immediately.

"Hello?"

"Listen Mittens. Find someone to drive you and get to our place as quickly as possible. And take Kipo with you!"

Before Amity could even answer, the other had already hung up.

"So..." Amity sighed. "Apparently, T.I.B.T. stands for The Infamous Blight Twins..."