Two days had passed since the episode in the old pulse-bot factory. The rebellion was now in Mystacor, recovering from all the pain of the last few days. Bow and Glimmer had left to go and check on Bow's dads, and they had refused to go near the failsafe until they had discussed it with them first. Shadow Weaver had not been happy about that, but, as Glimmer was the official leader of the rebellion, she had no choice but to wait for them to get back.
Frosta had woken up and was recovering nicely. She had just taken a nasty hit to the head. Sea Hawk was now fully recovered, and neither he nor Mermista had gone anywhere near Adora. Not that it was difficult to avoid her. Adora had not left her room the entire time they had been there.
Bow and Glimmer had come in to try and assure her that no one hated her, nor did they blame her for what she had done. Entrapta had then come in and removed the chip from the back of her neck. When she was done, King Micah then came in to ask Adora if she could give any insight into Horde Prime's plans. She could not.
Adora had now removed her armour and was back in her old clothes (not her red jacket – she did not know what Horde Prime had done with it). She lay on her bed and tried to sleep. Maybe when she woke up she would be back on Darla. Catra would still be alive and she would not feel like she was being stabbed every time she thought about her.
***
It had taken two days, but Scorpia, Perfuma and the squad had finally made it to the Crimson Waste. Glimmer had asked them to go and find out just how dire the Horde's situation was, and to help them however they could.
As they approached the Valley of the Lost, they began to work out a plan. It was decided that Perfuma and Scorpia would go and find Huntara, while the squad got their hands on a skiff to take them to the outpost. As they went their separate ways, someone watched from the shadows.
***
Octavia fell to the ground. Grizzlor raised his arm as he prepared to strike her again. Force Captain Lance got in the way, however, and yelled:
"Stop! We can't start fighting each other! That won't help anyone!" Grizzlor turned and glared at him.
"It's been nearly four days since Catra was here! She's had four days to get us help, and guess what? Nothing has changed!" He then turned back to Octavia, who was staring up at him angrily.
"We have no food, no water and no time! We have to surrender!" Octavia growled as she stood back up.
"The Horde doesn't surrender." There was a tense moment where no one said anything. Then the weapons store exploded. Horde Prime was finally attacking.
***
Perfuma tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she and Scorpia walked down a side street to where she remembered Huntara had taken them last time. As they approached the shack in question, a voice they both recognized called out to them:
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The purple giant isn't exactly in the mood to receive guests." Perfuma and Scorpia turned around to face the voice.
"Double Trouble" Perfuma muttered under her breath.
"Hello darling! Long-time no see!"
***
As the squad approached Horde Prime's outpost in the center of the valley, Kyle got increasingly nervous. He hated fighting and was bad at it. That being said, his squad was his family and he would not leave them to go on a mission alone.
He had the imp strapped to his back and a stun baton in his hand. He took a deep breath as he prepared for the ordeal ahead. Well, Lonnie would not call it that. All they had to do was knock out a clone and steal a skiff. What could go wrong?
***
Octavia ran frantically towards the entrance of the outpost. She was followed by an entire battalion of Horde soldiers. Maybe Catra had failed them but she would not. She would stand and defend this outpost until the end.
Octavia watched out of the corner of her eye as Force Captain Lance was trying to gather as many survivors as he could from the initial explosion, and move them to safety. She then heard Grizzlor's signature roar as he led another two battalions close behind her.
There were still about two hundred Crimson Waste residents hiding in the underground bunker, but they were being saved as a last resort should the Horde be unable to win on its own. This seemed incredibly likely as the outpost's entrance was blasted open, and dozens of clones and robots began to rush in.
***
"What do you mean she's not in the mood? What happened to her?" Double Trouble looked down at the ground before continuing in an almost sad voice:
"Horde Prime took control of her. He's taken control of everyone in this valley. If you go in there, you'll be walking into a trap." Scorpia turned to her girlfriend as if to ask her whether they should listen to them, but Perfuma was distracted. Somewhere in the distance an alarm was going off.
Scorpia recognized it - it was the same one that went off when Catra saved her.
***
Lonnie grunted furiously as she drove the skiff through the tiny streets. She was not a good driver and was hitting everything in her path. She wished Rogelio had told her sooner that he did not know how to drive, and that Kyle had not ruined everything by screaming as he knocked out the clone. Not only had this directed everyone's attention towards them, and it had led to them being chased by every clone in the valley. She hoped they found the others soon – she was really not sure the skiff would stay intact for much longer.
As if on cue, Scorpia, Perfuma and Double Trouble came into view. She stopped the skiff and told everyone to get in. As Double Trouble leapt on board, she grunted in annoyance. Even though she had never interacted with them, she had never liked them.
They then sped off to the old Horde outpost, completely unprepared for what they would find.
***
As Bow left the First Ones' ruin where his dads had been hiding, he had mixed feelings about what he had learned. He was thrilled that his dads were safe and well, and he was equally happy that there was a failsafe that could destroy the Heart of Etheria, but this meant they would have to work with Shadow Weaver. He knew Glimmer was particularly unhappy about that.
Meanwhile, Glimmer walked next to Bow silently. She had had a lot to process over the last few days. Aside from reconnecting with her long lost dad, and dealing with a traumatized Adora, she had also had a major fight with Shadow Weaver. She had told her she was wrong about everything and that she was never going to listen to her again. Now she would have to take it all back and ask her to lead them to the failsafe.
Glimmer sighed at the thought of it, and instead began to wonder how Scorpia, Perfuma and the squad were doing in the Crimson Waste.
***
Horde Prime's forces were totally overpowering the Horde. Octavia, who had been at the forefront of the battle, watched in horror as her soldiers fell one after the other. Grizzlor, who was fighting behind her with his troops, was having more luck – but just barely. There were simply too many clones and not enough Horde soldiers to fight them.
When all hope seemed lost, Force Captain Lance came rushing out of the underground bunker leading the two hundred Crimson Waste residents who had been hiding there. For a brief moment the odds were evened. But only for a moment.
Octavia closed her eye. This was it – the end of the Horde. Some leader she had turned out to be. She was then startled by a wave of red lightning which hit nearly every clone who had entered the base. This was followed by several roots shooting out from the ground to block the entrance. Two people then stepped out of the shadows and approached her. Octavia gasped:
"Scorpia?"
***
When they had gotten close enough to see what was happening, Scorpia had instantly taken command:
"Okay everyone! We need to stop Horde Prime and free the Horde! Perfuma, you come with me and we'll go inside the base. Lonnie, Rogelio, Kyle - you stay up here and try to stop the clones and bots from getting into the outpost! As for you..." Scorpia turned to Double Trouble and narrowed her eyes uncharacteristically:
"Stay here and don't move." Scorpia had then jumped off the skiff as they arrived, followed closely by Perfuma. They had quickly cleared a path to the entrance and gone in, with Perfuma then closing it up with roots.
Lonnie's eyes had grown wider with every command Scorpia had given. What had happened to her? Was this the same sweet person who had messed up that operation where they had to protect that fortress ages ago? Perfuma must have been helping her with her self-confidence.
Lonnie was then brought back to the present by a couple of clones climbing onto the skiff. Rogelio quickly knocked one of them out, while Kyle stunned another with his baton. As more clones began to approach them, Lonnie took command:
"Rogelio! Go to the entrance and try to stop them breaking through! Kyle, go with him!" Rogelio growled in agreement and hopped off the skiff to start pushing through the sea of clones surrounding the entrance. While he was much stronger than them, he was greatly outnumbered. It would not be long before he needed help. Kyle did not move to help him, however. Instead he froze and began to stutter:
"Wha...what about the imp?" Lonnie turned and stared at him in disbelief.
"Seriously Kyle?"
***
As the last clone and robot fell within the outpost, the Force Captains all ran to their rescuers. Grizzlor recognized both of them while Force Captain Lance recognized neither of them. Grizzlor huffed:
"Princess Perfuma! Force Captain Scorpia! Long-time no see!" Perfuma grimaced when she saw him. He was one of the Force Captains who had tried to poison her kingdom two years ago. Force Captain Lance was out of breath but managed to cough out:
"'Princess?' Are you from the rebellion?" Octavia then interrupted him, directing her own question at Perfuma:
"Did Catra send you?" Scorpia glanced at her girlfriend before speaking for her:
"Yes, she did. Well, technically Glimmer did, but Catra asked her to." As she said this, the noises from outside the entrance grew louder. It was clear the squad was struggling. Octavia then spoke up again:
"Where is Catra? Is she here?" Before Scorpia could answer, Rogelio was pushed through the roots and fell at Scorpia's feet. Kyle came flying through after him, screaming loudly as he did so. After that, a blast re-opened the entrance and several clones and robots began to make their way through. Scorpia prepared to fire her lightning and tried to forget what had happened to Catra.
***
Upon seeing her friends overcome by clones, Lonnie had turned to Double Trouble, who was now holding the imp.
"I'm going to drive this skiff into the entrance and block it for good. You get out of here and keep that thing safe!" As she prepared to start the engine, Double Trouble reached for her hand.
"I think I might have a better idea - I just need a moment to get into character." Before Lonnie could protest, she found herself staring at Horde Prime. The imp shrieked and jumped out of his (their) hands. After taking a second to adjust to their new appearance, Lonnie smirked:
"That's actually a good idea."
***
Scorpia and Perfuma were successfully holding off the advancing clones and robots, and had given the Horde a chance to fall back and re-group. They were beginning to get overwhelmed, however, and were relieved when Lonnie blocked the entrance with the skiff. They were a bit confused, however, when she immediately jumped down and ran towards them carrying the imp. They were even more so when Horde Prime suddenly stood up in the skiff and began addressing the clones:
"My brothers! Stop this at once! Lay down your arms and return to your ships! Leave these poor pathetic Etherians in peace!" Scorpia gasped in astonishment. Once Lonnie reached them, she pulled her aside and asked her what was going on. Lonnie explained:
"That's Double Trouble and, from the sound of it, they're being way too dramatic. We probably have a few more seconds before someone gets wise."
***
Horde Prime stared at his screen in disbelief. He was still in Hordak's body and had had to spend the last two days delaying everything in order to adjust to the change. He had also been distracted by several rebellions across his empire, all of whom were supposedly linked to the rebellion on Etheria. On top of that, Catra had somehow survived the fall off the platform, and he had wanted her to be properly secured before he continued with his plans.
Horde Prime had learned not to underestimate Catra, nor her astonishing ability to survive everything that happened to her. He had decided that the best solution was to imprison her, and he had had her unconscious body flown to a prison far away on a tiny nameless volcanic planet. There was only one other living soul there, and he was confident they would never meet. Catra would be thoroughly alone and helpless.
Horde Prime's thoughts then turned back to the situation at hand as Double Trouble continued their poor impersonation of him. Horde Prime snarled. This embarrassment had gone on long enough.
***
It had been two days, not that there was any sunlight on the planet Catra was currently imprisoned on. There did not seem to be anyone living here at all, with only robots staffing the base and her food being completely artificial and in liquid form.
Catra had barely eaten anything and the heat was really beginning to affect her. She had started to hallucinate and watched as a long forgotten memory played out in front of her.
A small kitten ran into her cell and hid behind a box that was not there. She was crying. A young Adora had then walked in, calling her name:
"Catra, come out! I know you didn't mean to hit Lonnie! It's okay, I'll tell them! They won't be mad. But first you've just got to come out and tell her you're sorry."
***
As Double Trouble continued with their performance on board the skiff, they wondered whether doing this would grant them favor with both the rebellion and the Horde. Their thoughts were interrupted, however, when one of the clones was taken over by Horde Prime and proceeded to yell:
"Kill this imposter now!" Double Trouble immediately stopped and gave a devilish grin.
"I'm not an imposter – I'm an actor. There's a difference." As they said this, Scorpia leapt onto the skiff and blasted every clone and robot in the vicinity with red lightning. They all fell, and those she had not hit began to retreat. Perfuma then climbed up behind Scorpia and gave her a passionate kiss before wrapping her in a giant hug.
"You did it! I knew you could!"
***
"Catra? It's dinnertime and you're missing it." Catra sat in the corner of her cell in tears. The hallucinations were getting more vivid and the memory playing before her was bringing up emotions she had long been suppressing. A young Adora continued:
"It's the grey kind tonight. I know it's your favorite."
***
The Force Captains stood with their rescuers outside the base. The Horde soldiers and Crimson Waste residents had started to march in the direction of the Fright Zone. There was an awkward silence before Grizzlor finally spoke:
"It seems we owe you a debt. If ever the rebellion needs us, you know where to find us." He then grunted and joined his troops. It must have killed him to say that. Force Captain Lance then spoke:
"Thank you so much for your help! And please thank Catra too! We owe her everything!" He smiled before running after Grizzlor. This left Octavia standing alone with the members of the rebellion. She turned to face the squad.
"You sure you don't want to come along?" Rogelio shook his head and Lonnie crossed her arms. Octavia got the message. She turned to Scorpia:
"It was good to see you again. I'm glad you're alright." Octavia then lowered her eye and asked:
"But, is Catra alright? I need to know." Scorpia looked down at the ground and Perfuma looked at her girlfriend in concern. She then spoke for her:
"She saved Scorpia from Horde Prime and then..." Perfuma paused, unable to get the words out. Lonnie finished the sentence for her:
"She's gone. Horde Prime killed her." With that, a tear rolled out of Octavia's eye. She could not believe herself. She hated Catra – she had ruined her life. Then why was she so sad she was gone?
***
"Go! Eat with your new best friend Lonnie!"
"Is that why you hit her?"
"I know you like her better than me! - You're supposed to be my friend!"
"I am your friend, Catra. I'm always going to be your friend."
***
Everyone was assembled in the great hall, waiting for Glimmer to speak. Glimmer cleared her throat before explaining the situation:
"After going to visit Bow's dads, Bow and I can confirm that what Shadow Weaver said about the failsafe is true. It does exist, it's here, and it can stop Horde Prime from using the Heart of Etheria." Everyone began to murmur as Glimmer continued:
"So we'll be going to find it as soon as this meeting is over. Any questions?" Mermista raised her hand:
"Yeah – I guess I have a question." Everyone looked at her expectantly as she pointed to the girl sitting in silence by the window:
"Is Adora coming too?"
***
"You should say sorry to Lonnie, and then we can all be friends." Young Catra's eyes flared up as she jumped on young Adora – pushing her to the ground.
"No" she said before getting up and jumping on her stomach. As young Catra ran away, young Adora called after her:
"Come on! Catra!" Catra let out a sob as she heard her younger self yell:
"I'll never say sorry to anybody - ever!"
***
"Well this has been such fun, but I'm afraid I simply can't stay. The people need entertainment in these dark times, and I must answer the call!" As Double Trouble turned towards the skiff, Scorpia grabbed them by the shoulder.
"Um, where do you think you're going?" Double Trouble turned their head so Scorpia could see every point in their profile. They replied:
"Wherever the people need me, darling." With that, they hopped on the skiff and drove away.
Several seconds passed before Lonnie yelled:
"Hey! That was our ride!"
***
"Yes." Shadow Weaver's voice echoed through the hall and sent chills down Glimmer's spine. How had she let this woman get so close to her? Shadow Weaver continued:
"Adora needs to be the one to accept the failsafe. It needs to be bonded to a willing soul and carried to the Heart of Etheria in order to be deployed. Who better to do that than She-Ra?" Glimmer crossed her arms.
"You didn't tell us this, and I can think of someone better than She-Ra - someone like you, for instance." Shadow Weaver groaned before saying:
"No – it has to be Adora." Mermista then spoke up again:
"Why? I'm sorry, but I'm not going into a dark creepy sorcerer's cave with the girl who almost killed my boyfriend!" Sea Hawk then sat straight up and exclaimed:
"I'm your boyfriend?!" Mermista looked down at him and blushed before muttering:
"Yes – don't make a big deal out of it." Sea Hawk gave the biggest smile he had ever given in his life as he barely restrained himself from saying anything else. Shadow Weaver then interrupted the moment:
"If any one of us deliver the failsafe, the magic of the Heart of Etheria will consume us. She-Ra is the only one who can hope to survive the process." Glimmer and Bow gasped simultaneously and were about to protest when Adora finally spoke:
"I'll do it."