They stayed in that position for a while, hugging each other, naked and content, listening to the Woods living around them. They didn't want to go back to reality. They didn't want to think of what was ahead.

But sooner or later…

Adora was the first to pop their peaceful bubble.

"So what now?" she asked, still holding Catra close to her heart.

"Now…I gotta find a way to contact Entrapta."

"I can help you with that."

Catra raised her head suddenly, her ears perking up.

"Bow has been talking with Kyle and Entrapta for a while, so he can-"

"Shhh," Catra smashed her hand on her mouth. "Do you hear that?"

Adora rolled her eyes. A lifetime spent together, and Catra still hadn't processed that if Adora didn't react before or at the same time as her, it meant she couldn't hear whatever ultrasounds Catra perceived.

"Get dressed, we got company."

Adora didn't like her urgent tone. Catra got in her clothes faster than Adora, her ears twitching regularly as she was listening. Finally, she grinned.

"Talk about a fucking coincidence…"

Adora didn't have the time to ask Catra what she meant. The feline leapt in the branches of a tree and disappeared.

"Hey!" Adora ran in the direction she last saw her. She heard a scream from afar. She hurried, her heart beating fast. What kind of new opponent would they have to fight now…?

She tripped on a rock and fell forward. She yelped as she rolled on a slope, protecting her face with her arms. When her descent finally came to a stop, she stood up groggily and grunted.

"Adora! What a surprise!"

Adora hadn't heard that trembling voice in months. She snapped her head on the side. Kyle and Rogelio were perching on a skiff, waving at her. On the ground in front of them, Scorpia was hugging Catra so hard she could see the feline's face turn red.

"What the-" Adora blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We ran away and came to Catra's rescue," Rogelio signed. Adora was about to answer when she saw his legs. His metallic legs. Then as she looked at Kyle, she saw worrying red spots on his shirt, a swollen lip, a black eye… What on Etheria happened in the Horde?!

"Scorpia, I can't breathe…"

The giant princess let her friend go. Catra was about to groan, when she saw the tears that were rolling on her cheeks. She put a hand on her pincer.

"Scorpia, are you okay? What's wrong?" Then she eyed the skiff and the crew.

Scorpia, Rogelio and Kyle… That was an odd combination Catra had never imagined could be possible. What exactly happened to make the two teams mingle? ...and where were the missing members?

"Where is Entrapta? And Lonnie?"

Rogelio and Kyle's heads lowered. Their sad pout made Catra widen her eyes, suspicion making her heart pound in her chest. She looked back at Scorpia's face, raising a brow in expectation.

"They...they couldn't come with us."

"You left them behind?"

Adora would have smacked her head if she could do it discreetly. She walked towards the skiff and helped the boys to put down some heavy backpacks instead.

"I didn't want to," Scorpia whined. "Entrapta made us leave. She blackmailed us so that we'd escape without her. And Lonnie...we lost her just when we were about to get to the skiff. She… She sacrificed herself for us."

Catra's heart skipped a beat. "But they're… They're alive, right?"

"As far as we know, yes."

Catra had always been quick to process and react adequately during stressful situations. But after that exhausting night full of terror, revelations and disappointment… After finally finding a resolution and bonding with Adora... Her mind wasn't ready to accept another drama.

"Lonnie mentioned you," Scorpia pursued. "She wanted me to tell you something, but she didn't say it in the end…"

Adora looked at Catra from the corner of her eye. The feline had a grave face.

"We must go back there, now."

"We can't Catra," Kyle said. Catra glared at him, eyeing him up and down like he was bold to even talk to her. "Um…" he pursued with a weak voice. "The Horde knows we escaped, it's impossible to break in now."

"Entrapta controls the cameras, it should be easy enough to sneak in and leave."

"We barely made it out with her help," Rogelio pointed out. "Octavia has become a control freak, and it's only going to get worse."

"Octavia?" Adora asked. "She's the new Second?"

Kyle nodded. He put a tablet out of one of the backpacks, and handed it to Catra.

"Entrapta has left a message for you. She said only you must watch it."

Catra took the tablet. The play button was waiting for her to push it. The ex-Horde soldier blinked. This was all too surreal. What was so important for Entrapta to bother recording herself in what looked like a few hours long video? What was it that made her literally chase her friends away from the Fright Zone whereas she stayed behind?

She stared at the three fugitives, one by one. How did they end up like this? Deserting the Horde to find her? For Scorpia it made sense, but for the two others?

...what kind of mess did they have to put up with while she was being held in Brightmoon's prison, waiting every day for Adora to come balm her back, and only worrying about the trial and her escape?

"Guys…" she started. They smiled at her, like they had perceived what was on her mind.

"Go watch that video," Rogelio signed. "For now, we need to know what we're getting into."

"We'll talk later," Kyle added.

Catra nodded. She turned towards Adora, who mouthed a silent "go", with a comforting smile on her face. She would wait for her.

So Catra groaned and jumped in a tree, disappearing in the high branches where nobody could follow her.

Whatever Entrapta had to tell her must have been pretty heavy, because Adora was left with the group for what felt like hours. At first, an awkward silence had settled between them, which she found odd considering she knew Scorpia was not the kind of person to let a blank linger. But Scorpia was completely off. The situation must have been hard for her. Kyle was also pretty worn out. He wore the face of someone who had not slept for days….

Eventually, Adora started to talk with Rogelio. The lizard man explained to her in silence everything that happened since the battle. His coma, what Kyle did for him with Entrapta, how it led to the deal with the Rebellion… Then he explained how the Horde had drastically changed in a a couple of weeks, and he, who had been in a coma, had noticed all too well when he woke up.

He told her about Entrapta's injuries, and about the mysterious hand device that linked her to Hordak. He told her about their escape, and the painful separation with Lonnie. He told her how they spent the whole night of their escape tracking Catra, until her signal disappeared. Then, during another very long day, they had tried to find her again. They had lost their path in the Whispering Woods. They'd had to find food whereas they didn't even know what fruits were good to eat. They got desperate. They even talked about surrendering to the Horde.

And finally, a few hours ago, Catra's signal had reappeared, bringing back hope.

His sign language allowed the two others to doze off and ignore the speech, already knowing what was being said. They needed rest and silence for now. So Adora didn't speak. She asked a question in rudimental sign language from time to time.

She couldn't believe everything they had been through… Their bravery was immense, and it wasn't a surprise they were so down now.

"Hey guys," Catra finally climbed down from her tree. She stood in front of them, her eyes lost in the air, like her mind was travelling far away from Etheria. "So…"

"So?"

Catra watched the four pair of eyes stare at her expectantly. They had given her the leader role. She had to commit to it…

"Entrapta…" she started. Scorpia's eyes watered at the mention of her name. "She gave us somewhere to go."

"Where is it?" Adora asked. Catra sent her an apologetic look, one that pinched Adora's heart as she guessed what she was about to say.

"I can't tell you Princess."

Adora tried not to let the disappointment show. But Catra knew her. She tugged her wrist, and excused herself to the others as she dragged Adora through the trees. Once they were alone, she wrapped her arms around Adora's waist, and kissed her gently.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad," Adora scoffed, pulling away from the kiss.

"...just a little bit," Catra smirked. She pecked her neck slowly, then sucked roughly on the skin without a warning.

"You intend to drive me crazy before you leave maybe for years?"

Catra chuckled. "Probably not for years. We need to rescue Entrapta and Lonnie at some point..."

"So you're not going back to the Fright Zone…"

"No, we're not."

Adora wanted to ask so much more. She didn't want her to leave… But she knew she had to let her go.

"I'll be back soon Princess. Don't worry."

Adora cupped her face and kissed her with all her passion. She tried to convey how much she was going to miss her, but she didn't think it was enough.

Catra broke the kiss. "We can drop you off next to Mystacor by the way."

"No need, Madam Razz gave me some of her magical berries to bring me back to my bedroom."

Catra's face twitched. Her tail raised behind her back. "You're not gonna trust her, are you?"

"...I am. It's clearly not in her interest to kill me or send me back to the Forbidden Zone or anywhere else."

"We don't really know what her interest is Adora…"

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

Adora could see the irritation Catra tried to conceal. It made her smile. She stared at every detail of her face, trying to engrave it all in her mind. That disapproving face, these angry eyes, shining more than the runestone on her forehead, her arms crossed beneath her chest like when she was about to brood… This screamed Catra. This was part of the Catra she'd known for years.

This would be one of the last memories she would have of the feline before who knew how long.

"Glimmer learned recently how to send a magical message. I can reassure you that I'm alive and well that way. It can find you wherever you are…but you can't send it back," she said sadly.

"You really are reckless."

"Like you're one to talk."

They shared their last kiss, reluctantly letting go of each other. Catra promised once again she would come back to her. Adora promised she would wait for her, and keep the secret of her escaping the Forbidden Zone- she would share it only with Glimmer and Bow, with Catra's permission.

Then Catra stepped aside, watching anxiously Adora take the berries to her mouth. The princess disappeared in a blue cloud and a popping sound, leaving Catra alone, regretting she let her use that magic…

She shook her head, pushing her worry in a corner of her mind. The three fugitives were still waiting for her, curiosity rising when they saw their new leader come out from behind a tree. From the way Rogelio was smirking at her, Catra knew he had guessed what was going on between her and Adora.

"Okay, guys…" Catra clapped her hands together. "Adora left, now it's just us. I can't tell you everything that I learned from Entrapta, but I can at least tell you where we're going and why."

"Good enough for me," Rogelio signed.

"And what about Entrapta and Lonnie?" Scorpia asked. "We're gonna get them back soon right? Once we're more prepared?"

"As soon as possible. I promise."

"Alright, so what did she say?"

Catra's heart raced in her chest as she remembered the heavy information…

"Hi Catra! I know this must be pretty weird to talk to me through a machine and not face to face, but I didn't really have any other option, and to be fair… It's pretty cool right?!"

"Let's leave right now, we don't have time to waste. I'll tell you on the way. We need to find food and water too."

"I'm leaving you this message because I unfortunately can't leave the Fright Zone… I'll explain to you later, I'll leave some flags on the video sidebar for you to find the topics' times more easily.

So I can't come, but Scorpia and the others will be here to help you in your next quest. I call it…Operation New Rebels.

You see, I learned some very huge info in my research on the data crystals from the Temple of Light Hope. This is the biggest discovery of my life...and it can't fall into the wrong hands, I understand that now.

So I decided that even if you are a very unstable angry feline with trust issues, the stats indicate you probably are the person who could handle this the best way. Besides, the first thing I'm about to reveal is about you.

The second big thing I'll expose in this video...you shouldn't be watching it unless you're in your most emotionally stable state. Trust me, even I got nervous when I decrypted it."

Catra sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose. What kind of secrets had this crazy woman found…? Catra was scared to know.

Despite her strong curiosity, she had resisted the temptation to see the rest of the video. The part where Entrapta explained what Hordak had done to her had messed her up enough. She would have more than enough time during their trip to learn new disturbing things…

As she let the wind ruffle her hair, perched on the edge of the skiff, she felt a very light pressure on her hand. She raised it and saw a purplish shiny little butterfly, stepping on her skin.

She grinned as the magical creature vanished in the air. She could at least relax on that matter.

"Bye Adora," she said softly. "I'm gonna miss you..."


Mystacor was a mess…

The castle was still partly destroyed, plunged in artificial darkness, wounded people being taken care of in the gardens. The Alliance princesses had been released from their watch after Angella's outburst, but they decided to stay for another day to help with the repairs, like the sorceresses had done for them two weeks ago. To make them even.

As for the High Council of Mystacor, they were struggling between the protection of their domain, the political tension that had arisen with the Alliance, the fear of the future regarding the war that they were just getting involved in, and the disappearance of the mask of the Magicats, stolen by an unknown magical woman.

The guard who had warned them had described an old lady with glasses and a broom… She must have had magical powers for sure to be able to break into the castle and defeat the guard, who had woken up locked up in a closet after a long unnatural sleep…

It was an unknown sorceress, that was for sure. The Council had no idea who it could be. All citizens with magical powers were registered at some point to learn the secrets of their art and none of them matched the description.

The queen had ordered to search in the castle. But nobody had found her. The mask had vanished...right after Catra had been sent into exile. That couldn't be a coincidence. What was the significance of that…? Was it Hordak's doing somehow?

Mortella rubbed her chin as she paced around the room where they had kept the mask. She was so focused she didn't see the little bot that was hiding in a corner, zooming on her with its small lens.

The sorceress stopped in her track. She stared at the table where the mask should have been, then suddenly turned around and sent a ray of purple light in the direction of the bot. Her magic paralyzed the robot, lifting it in the air. Mortella made it float until it reached the table.

"I knew someone was watching us…"

She grabbed the bot with both hands. The machine didn't try to put up a fight. Mortella rolled it in her hands, trying to find something… Annoyed by her failure, she put it down on the table, and crossed her arms beneath her chest.

"Show yourself."

She waited for a good five minutes, before the bot suddenly clicked its metallic legs, moving so that it was facing the wall. A new lens came out of the core, and projected a picture on the wall.

"I knew you were behind this...Hordak."

"Good day to you too, Mortella."

The sorceress raised one of her perfect eyebrows at him, discontent showing on her face.

"Destroying our castle wasn't enough, now you have to spy on us."

"All is fair in war, my dear sorceress."

"We are going to fight you now, Hordak. Our days as a neutral force in this war are over."

"I am aware of that. Your intervention during Brightmoon's battle sent a crystal clear message."

"And you only have yourself to blame for that," Mortella's voice was harsher than the metal of the robot. "You broke our pact, Hordak. Twice."

"Hmm, that's semantics really… In my vision of it, you were the ones who broke it first."

"Whatever you're saying, it's over now. You won't last long with us against you."

"If you say so. Good luck fighting alongside the princesses… Your arguments were a real entertainment…"

The bot self destructed, Hordak's snicker fading with the smoke. Mortella fumed, but composed her face as she left the room. Hordak didn't know who he was dealing with.


"My Lord…"

Hordak's smile fell as he heard the annoying whining voice of his Force Captain. He left his lab, revealing himself in the throne room, where Leech was waiting for him on his knees.

Hordak sat on his throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest. Leech didn't move an inch, respecting the silence his master had imposed.

"What is it?"

"I have...bad news, my Lord."

The tapping noise intensified, echoing ominously in the large room, promising the Force Captain a terrible punishment regarding the information that was about to leave his mouth.

He swallowed dry. "It's about the prisoner."

"Did Entrapta lose even more memories than before?"

"No, it's not her. It's the coach, Lonnie. She escaped."

Hordak raised from his seat. He took a few steps until he stood just in front of his trembling soldier, towering over him.

"And how exactly did that happen, Force Captain Leech?" His low voice was barely veiling the threat lying underneath that question.

"...I don't know. All the cameras were jammed," Leech dared look up at his master, but regretted instantly. "We...we spent the day searching and-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Hordak had hoisted him up in the air by the neck, squeezing so hard Leech's green face turned a deep purple in a few seconds. He watched his soldier choke and wiggle, trying to escape his deadly grip, then let him fall on the ground. No mercy showed in his empty eyes as he watched him catch his breath heavily.

"Find her."


Hey guys! so next update will be the epilogue of the first part of this story. The second part is plotted out for the big events, and I'll start writing it this summer, after my graduation exams in late June! I'll tell you more when I release chapter 30 : SUNDAY APRIL 28TH (two days after the release of season 2 ;) )

See you! :)