4. Failure


Catra walked down the pearly hallway, toweling off her hair. The beach vacation motif was overdone, but Salineans sure knew their plumbing. Back in the barracks water pressure was a joke, and Rogelio took forever in the shower.

Troopers were busy converting the glittering throne room into a functional Horde-ugly command center. The throne itself was conspicuously empty, of course. Shadow Weaver didn't need more reasons to think her commanders' heads were getting too big for their helmets.

"Thanks for the rescue, Admiral," said Catra, approaching the map table. "Like what you've done with the place."

"The Salineans grew soft behind their wall," Ursula huffed. "There was barely any resistance."

"And the Princess?"

"Found her washed ashore, unconscious," said Ursula, pulling back the curtained-off corner of the hall. The Princess looked asleep.

"Thought mermaids weren't supposed to drown," said Catra.

"She didn't," said Ursula. "Medically, she's fine."

"So what's wrong?"

Ursula checked whether anyone was within earshot. "Int-Dep suspects each Princess uses some kind of source to replenish her powers."

"Like Shadow Weaver and the Garnet," said Catra.

"Precisely."

"Why haven't I seen these reports?"

"They're above your clearance," Ursula said smugly.

"Perfect," said Catra. "It's not like I'm fighting Princesses on a daily basis."

"If the Gate was the source, shattering it may have messed with her mind," said Ursula.

"I don't think it's the Gate," said Catra, noticing a familiar white orb over the seashell throne. Would it have killed them to make it ground level? She pulled out the sword. "I need a ladder."

"Ladder!" barked Ursula.

Troopers rapidly assembled one over the throne.

"For the honor of Grasykull," said Catra, climbing three steps at a time. Up close there couldn't be any doubt, it was the same…

Flash.

#

"What have you done to me?" cried the Princess, launching herself on Catra.

"It's some kind of psychic projection," said Catra, "you can't hurt… oof." A solid right hook. "Ok, maybe you can hurt me. But you shouldn't cause I'll leave you here to rot!"

That seemed to get to her.

"Good," said Catra, gingerly touching her ribs. Would her real ones bruise? "Your body is fine. This is some kind of control interface in your power source - big orb thing over your throne, looks like a pearl?"

"You mean the Pearl?"

"Good name," said Catra. "When I shattered the Gate…"

"That Gate protected Salineas for centuries!" cried the Princess, charging again.

"Unless you want to be here that long," said Catra, dodging, "I suggest you listen."

"Why can't you just leave people alone?"

"If the roles were reversed," said Catra, "you'd be happy to lock me up."

"Not in a surreal mind-prison! And Salineas didn't invade the Fright Zone!"

"We're trying to rebrand to just Zone, now," said Catra, touching the miniature orb on the pedestal. "Anyway, this was an accident, we're trying to fix it. Gotta run."

"Wait!"

Flash.

#

"Princess is alive," said Catra, nearly falling off the ladder, "and royally pissed." Her ribs hurt.

"What do we do with her?" asked Ursula.

"Ship her and the Pearl to the Zone," said Catra. "They're Shadow Weaver's problem. Have you tracked the others?"

"We lost the pirate," said Ursula, moving to the map, "but the other three were spotted heading into the mountains. They may seek refuge with the Princess of Dryl. We'll have coms up in an hour so we can report to Shadow Weaver."

"Great," said Catra, "I'll be sure to leave before then. I'll need one of your marine squads."

"All squads are busy securing Salineas," Ursula said stonily.

"Seriously?" said Catra. "Fine, whatever, more glory for me."

#

"It was nice of Ursula to lend you the skiff," Scorpia said from the rudder, "considering your… history."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," said Catra. What was she supposed to do? Walk up the mountain?

"Dryl up ahead," signed Rogelio.

"Are the red lights and blaring siren normal?" said Kyle, watching the gray citadel.

"Get ready," said Lonnie.

"Yeah, get ready," said Catra. She wanted to be the one to say it, but now Lonnie had said it and she just looked stupid.

The courtyard was deserted.

"Could be an ambush," whispered Lonnie.

"Argh, they got me!" shrieked Kyle, something caught on his arm.

Rogelio held him down while Scorpia removed the assailant. "Just a robot hand," she said, "probably scrap from… Ah!"

The hand scrambled crab-like across the skiff, dodging Lonnie and Catra, and dived onto the control panel. The navigation screen flashed big red letters: DESTROY.

"That can't be good," said Kyle.

The skiff lurched at the stone wall, gathering speed.

"Everybody off the skiff!" cried Catra. Deja vu?

#

Catra dusted herself off as the skiff wreckage smoldered.

"V-Dep won't be happy," said Scorpia.

"Hey, it crashed itself!" said Catra. "Besides, V-Dep is never happy."

"We need to be careful," said Scorpia. "Entrapta has traps set up all over her castle."

"Like killer robot hands?" said Kyle.

"How do you know?" signed Rogelio.

"Besides her name," said Lonnie.

"Force Captain orientation," beamed Scorpia.

Catra should really look into that at some point. "Okay guys, don't touch anything that might…"

Click.

Catra turned, Lonnie and Scorpia looked puzzled. "Where's the B Plot team?"

"They were just here!" said Lonnie. "And thanks for the promotion."

"Fine," said Catra, moving forward. "Try to stay together and…"

Click.

Catra turned just as the trap door closed, leaving her alone. Why did she even bother with a squad?

#

The castle had a creepy industrial look, Hordak would've loved it. This was enhanced by the fact that it seemed as empty as the courtyard. Catra was about to give up on another fruitless corridor when she heard steps around the corner. She pressed herself against the wall to strike, but the other person apparently had the same idea. Good instincts. She counted to three and came out yelling.

"Catra?" cried Adora, stopping mid-attack.

"Adora?" said Catra, connecting her punch anyway.

"Where's Mermista?," growled Adora, slamming her against the wall.

"Who?" said Catra.

"The Princess!"

"Ah," said Catra. "She's alive, we got her."

"Good," said Adora, relief washing over her.

Catra took the opportunity to break the hold.

"Okay, time-out," said Adora.

"You can't call time-out!" said Catra. "This isn't practice, this is real!"

"So's the horde (sorry) of killer robots chasing me," said Adora. "I don't think they care whether you're Horde or Alliance."

"You expect me to fall for that?"

"Suit yourself," said Adora, running past her.

The darkness lit up with dozens of red eyes and groaning metal.

"Wait!" cried Catra.

#

"I think they're gone," Adora whispered into Catra's elbow.

"Why are we whispering?" said Catra, extricating herself from the nook they were hiding in.

"They seem to be attracted to sound," said Adora. "It's all I know. Well... good luck."

"Wait, what're you doing?" said Catra.

"I need to find my friends, find Entrapta, and deal with the robot uprising," said Adora.

"Your new friends."

"Catra…"

Could she capture her and drag her past the robots? Doubtful. "Guess I should get started on rescuing your old ones."

"They must be so excited to be seeing active duty," said Adora. "I'm sure you're a great leader."

"Not really…" said Catra, actually embarrassed. Embarrassment turned to anger. Was she that desperate for her validation? "Stop it. You've made it clear we're enemies."

"I hope we don't have to be," said Adora, walking away.

Good riddance. She didn't need anyone, least of all Adora. And yet. "Wait."

Adora stopped.

"Don't make me say it."

"Catra," Adora said with her stupid smile, "would you like to work together against the killer robots and save our friends?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

They jumped back as a ventilation grill crashed between them.

"Fascinating!" cried a six-legged creature with glowing red eyes. "Subjects appear be in a state of quantum superposition, simultaneously friends and enemies without collapsing into either equilibrium. I shall call this completely new phenomenon enemiends. Note to self: brainstorm better names."

#

Catra was ready to whack, but Adora was faster. "Princess… Entrapta?"

"Welcome to Dryl!" said Entrapta, walking into the light on huge purple pigtails. "Things are usually fun around here, but now it's all gone a teensy bit deadly."

"Why did you invent killer robots?" asked Catra.

"I like your sword," said Entrapta, swooshing closer. "It's First Ones tech, right? Can I touch it?"

"No," said Catra, slapping away an inquisitive pigtail.

"The robots didn't start out that way," said Entrapta, undeterred. "Usually they're super useful. They're even voice activated, I'll show you."

"Actually," said Adora, "we already figured…"

Entrapta clapped enthusiastically.

They froze, nothing happened. Maybe they'd finally lucked…

The hallway shook as a massive cleaning bot charged.

"Isn't it adora-ble?" said Entrapta.

"No," sighed Adora. "Run!"

"I'm done running," said Catra, pulling out the sword. "For the honor of Grayskull."

"Wow," said Entrapta.

"It gets old when she's kicking your butt," said Adora.

Catra dodged a high-speed waxer and plunged the sword into the beast's crystal core, shutting it down. Scorpia was right, whacking did solve most problems. In fact, it was exhilarating. How dare anyone challenge the She-Ra?

"Catra?" called Adora, climbing the robot.

Catra was focused on beating the robot's head into sizzling, oil-dripping pulp, her eyes gleaming red.

"That's enough, honey," said Adora, grabbing the vine-covered hilt.

"Adora."

Weird sword. Adora hurled it away, Catra collapsed.

"Hi Adora!" she said groggily.

"Not so loud," hissed Adora. "Are you okay?"

"Peachy," druled Catra.

"Sure you are," said Adora, looking at Entrapta.

"Fascinating," Entrapta said into her recorder. "The disk seems to have corrupted a biological organism that was somehow connected to First Ones tech."

"That organism is my friend," said Adora. "Take me to the disk."

#

Entrapta stared at the keypad in confusion.

"Did you try your birthday?," said Adora.

"It's not the code," said Entrapta, "it's really…"

"Let me guess," said Adora. "Fascinating."

"Exactly!" said Entrapta. "The door is infected too, it won't let us in. That's so smart!"

"This would be so much easier with Glimmer," said Adora. "How do we get in?"

"The air duct, of course!" said Entrapta, pigtail wielding a screwdriver.

The lab was covered in red vines sprouting from the main console, robot guards everywhere.

"How do we destroy the disk?" whispered Adora.

"Hey guys, I found the robots!" cried Catra, charging.

Adora tackled her, but the robots were already swarming

"We're doomed," said Entrapta. "There's no way…"

A ventilation grill crashed onto an elevated platform.

"Damnit, you were right," signed Rogelio.

"Told you," said Bow, high-fiving Kyle, "it was left at the intersection."

Another grill crashed onto the platform on the opposite wall.

"Glimmer!" Bow waved.

"Bow!" she waved back, paused. "Why are you fraternizing with the Horde?"

"Cause they saved me from a death trap?" said Bow. "Why are you?"

"I'm not!" cried Glimmer, pushing away from Lonnie and Scorpia. "They're my prisoners!"

"Hey, you're our prisoner," said Lonnie.

"Girls, girls," said Scorpia, "robots first, prisoners later?"

"You sure like air ducts," said Adora.

"I never step outside," said Entrapta, "I need the ventilation."

"Hey guys!" cried Adora. "Little help?"

"Adora!" cried Glimmer, working out some math. "I think I need like three teleports to sort out the good guys. It's like that river-crossing puzzle..."

"No time!" cried Adora. "You need to destroy that disk!"

"Bow!" cried Glimmer. "You and the boys take the disk, we'll help Adora."

"Kyle!" yelled Lonnie, "don't you dare follow her orders."

"But it's a good plan," signed Rogelio.

"What're we supposed to do?" said Kyle.

"Fine," groaned Lonnie, "but not because she told you to!"

#

Adora couldn't help feeling proud watching Lonnie fight - she'd been at the receiving end of it too often. But for every bot they crushed it felt like two more took its place. They were getting tired, the robots weren't. If Bow didn't…

"Hey, Adora?" Catra said drowsily, sitting behind their defensive line.

"Little… busy… right now," said Adora.

"It's important."

"Fine," said Adora, rolling up to her. "Make it quick."

"How come we don't hang out anymore?"

Adora was not prepared.

"We used to do it all the time," said Catra, tearing up, "and I think you're so amazing. But we don't anymore. Was it something I did?"

"Oh no, honey," said Adora, hugging her. "It was something I had to do, and I didn't know how to explain it to you. I'm so sorry I hurt you. We're gonna to work it out, okay? Catra?"

Catra snored loudly on her shoulder.

"We're gonna work it out," said Adora, rocking her as the robots closed in.

"Got it!" cried Bow, loudly high-fiving something - probably a robot.

The robots collapsed around them.

"Adora?" said Catra, waking up.

"Glimmer," said Adora, "get Bow, we're leaving. Entrapta, you should come with us."

"But my research…" said Entrapta.

"Is it more important than your freedom?" asked Adora.

Entrapta thought about it. "Yes."

"Very well," said Adora, taking the sword. "Don't give up hope."

#

The hallway maze was plenty scary even without killer robots. No sign of Glimmer yet. Had they teleported ahead to the courtyard? Had they been captured back in the lab?

Adora froze at the sound of claws raking metal.

"It was just a ploy, wasn't it?" Catra said, gold and blue glowing in the dark. "Working together, all that nonsense while I was out of it?"

"You remember that?" asked Adora.

"Barely anything," said Catra. "But I don't have to. You've wanted that sword ever since I kicked your ass at Thaymore. Tell me, Adora, how does it feel to be number two for a change?"

"Why does your sword know my name?" asked Adora.

"Why? What did it tell you?" said Catra, desperate. "Doesn't matter. It came to me, not you - me! No one really liked me as Catra - not even you, Adora. Did you keep me around out of pity? As a foil to your golden girl act? But as She-Ra! Everybody loves the She-Ra. This must be what it feels like to be you every day."

"You can't really believe that," said Adora. "I took this cursed sword to weaken the Horde, that's all. But I've heard you say the words. Do you think they'd work for me?"

"Give it back!" cried Catra, tackling her.

The sword clattered over the flagstones.

"Adora!" cried Bow, running in. "We gotta go!"

"The sword," grunted Adora, holding Catra in a headlock. "Get the sword!"

"Got it, let's go!"

More footsteps were coming. Horde boots.

"Use it!" cried Adora. "Ow - no biting!"

"I'm improvising," said Catra, rolling out of her grasp.

Bow looked at the sword. "I'm not sure I…"

"Just do it!"

"For the honor of Grayskull," Bow quickly whispered with his eyes shut.

The sword flashed. He now sported a glorious fro, a dashing red cape, and…

"That's a skirt," said Catra.

"Don't listen to her," said Adora, "you look amazing."

"It's not a skirt!" said Bow. "It's just really tight shorts, and the shirt gets pleated under the belt like a… fine, it's a skirt. But you know what? I like it. It's breezy, easy to move around, and it hides my butt, cause these shorts are really tight." He adjusted himself. He didn't know the first thing about swords, but the Horde didn't know that.

"You're holding it wrong," said Catra.

The sword flashed. He now held a gilded compound bow with wing-shaped limbs.

Bow smiled. "How about now?"

He collapsed into Scorpia's arms.

"Paralyzing venom," she said, eyeing the sword. "It'll wear off."

"Don't even think about it," said Catra.

"C'mon, Adora!" cried Glimmer, blinking in and blinking out with Bow's body.

"Hate when that happens," said Scorpia. "Should we follow?"

"No," said Catra, touching her shoulder where... "I'm exhausted."

#

"Princess Entrapta," said Catra, returning to the lab. "You are hereby arrested and…"

"I'd like to join," said Entrapta.

"What?" said Catra.

"Is that an option?" said Entrapta. "I don't need much, just my lab."

"Sure is!" Scorpia said merrily. "The Horde gave my family an offer they couldn't refuse!"

"Very well, then," Catra said warily. "Can you get a radio link to this frequency?"

"Please," said Entrapta, reconnecting cables at the sparking console. "Why not smoke signals while you're at it?"

Ursula's giant face took up the screen.

"Who is this?" she growled. "This is a military channel. If you don't…"

"Hey, Ursula," said Catra.

"Force Captain Catra," said Ursula. "Theft of a military vehicle is a serious…"

"The Kingdom of Dryl has willingly joined the Horde," said Catra.

"What? Without a fight?" said Ursula, disappointed.

"If your squads are finished moonbathing," said Catra, "it would be great to get a garrison up here before Bright Moon gets any ideas."

"Of course," Ursula grumbled. "En route."

"Peachy," Catra said sweetly, signing off. She turned to Entrapta. "We need a transport. Our skiff kinda tried to kill us."

"Contaminated Horde tech!" cried Entrapta, goggles gleaming. "Show me!"