It was a trap. It had to be. Prime had been watching, he was always watching, and he'd lured her here and Glimmer had fallen for it and now he'd—

No. No, she had to keep it together. There was no point in freaking out until she knew what she was dealing with.

There were half a dozen large barrels in the corner that looked like the one full of green stuff she'd overturned before. She crouched between them, taking careful breaths, trying to stop the familiar acid smell of Prime's creepy clone juice from sending her into a full on panic attack. She had to keep her head and figure out what to do next.

An eternity ticked by as she strained to hear something, anything. Nothing. What were the chances Prime's goons were all running around looking for her and had left the ship completely unguarded? She exhaled. She was wasting precious time she could use to escape, but she couldn't shake the feeling this was too easy.

According to the schematic, this was the only bay and the door she'd blocked off the only way out of it. She didn't know how long her makeshift barricade would hold, but it should slow them down at least. Of course, it also meant that she'd trapped herself in here and was screwed if someone opened the loading bay. She had to leave on that ship or she wasn't leaving at all.

Well, here goes nothing. If there was someone in here with her, she'd just have to handle it. She tensed, ready to make a sprint for the ship when she heard something whir to life and retreated farther behind the barrels.

She could barely see anything from back here and didn't dare risk taking another peek now. She probably wouldn't have heard it at all if the bay wasn't so freakishly quiet and she hadn't been listening so closely. It sounded enough like the one on Darla that she realized what it had to be at once. The shush of the ship's ramp lowering.

And then footsteps.

So there was someone else here. Only one descending the ramp, from the sound of it. Well, she could take one. She adjusted her grip on her trusty wrench.

The footsteps were soft, slow and deliberate, nothing like the usual march-like step of the clones. There was something very menacing about it, like a hunter stalking its prey. Unbidden, the image of Prime on the screen flashed into her mind, that dark smile like a twisted knife, and the way he said he wanted her to suffer. He wouldn't bother coming after her personally, would he?

She strained to hear the quiet steps over the slamming of her heart. They sounded like they were headed away from her. This might be her chance. She glanced around the edge of the barrel and saw the door of the ship, wide open and inviting. And no sign of whoever came out of it.

She'd sprint for it. If she could reach the ramp before they noticed her and if she could shut the ramp behind her in time to keep them out and if she could then figure out how to get the ship out of here and to her friends… Damn, those were a lot of ifs. Whatever. She hadn't come this far to start over-thinking this now.

She crouched, ready to run, when she heard something that made her heart skip a beat.

"Glimmer?"

Bow? What? No! No, that was impossible!

Bow had left with the others, he was safe, that was why she'd done this, why she'd sacrificed herself, he couldn't be… but that absolute noble dumbass, of course he wouldn't have left without her. Warmth flooded her chest. Oh, Bow, you completely wonderful heroic IDIOT. He couldn't even be mad at her right!

She jumped to her feet, elation buzzing through her. She needed to find him. Needed to hug him and feel him and know that he was real. And yell at him for putting himself in danger for her. He shouldn't have come after but, oh, she was so glad he did and now they could both go onto the ship and get out of here together.

"Bow?" A flash of movement from across the room. She craned to see.

There was a sudden rush of breeze next to her ear and the thunk of something hitting just behind her. She dove back down instinctively, clutching her wrench to her chest. How could she have been so stupid? It had been a trick. Obviously, it had. Bow wasn't really here he was—

The bottom dropped out of her stomach as she registered the barrel behind her oozing green fluid down its cold gray side and onto the floor. Something was sunk deep into the thick metal. Something impossible.

An arrow. Someone had shot an arrow at her. And very nearly missed.

She choked, forgetting how to breathe. Never, not once in all those battles and missions, had anyone ever shot an arrow AT her. The Horde didn't use arrows. They used blasters and robots and stun guns. Arrows were what the good guys used to protect the people they loved. The shaft had sunk almost entirely into the oozing barrel, but she could still see the pale brown feathers at the end.

No! She heard the string release this time and dove to the side just in time. The barrel she'd been behind slammed backward into the wall, glued there with green go. If she hadn't figured it out before, that would have done it.

The wooden one in the barrel, the green goo. These were Bow's arrows. But how did Prime have Bow's arrows? Did that mean something had happened to Bow?

There was no time to think as she heard the bowstring ping again, a sound it had never once occurred to her to be afraid of before, but now it filled her with absolute terror. She needed cover, NOW. She dove behind what looked like a replacement panel for one of the ships, hot fire stabbing through her bicep.

All the strength left her right arm, and she dropped her wrench. It clattered, heavy and loud on the metal ground. No, no, they'd hear that. They'd be coming. She was going to have to move again and soon, but—she sucked air through her teeth when she moved—the pain in her arm was like nothing she'd ever felt.

She was dizzy from pain and shock, but she'd been in one place for too long. There was a rolling ladder a few feet away, and she lurched for it. It wasn't great cover, but she only needed a minute to check her wound. The arrow had gone all the way through, dark red blood soaking the gray arm of her spacesuit. Bow had told her over and over what to do if this happened, if she got hit with one of his arrows, and she had laughed at him because that would never happen.

Well, never was here.

She tried to rip off part of her spacesuit to use as a bandage, but the material was too tough to tear. She finally just rolled up the sleeve, bunching it tightly around the wound. It was snug, but not tight enough for a proper tourniquet. A thin line of blood still slid down her bare arm.

"Heeey, Glimmer!" It was Bow's voice, but the tone was all wrong, chilling her to the bone. It was a twisted mockery of his usual sweetness. How was Prime doing that? It must be some kind of illusion.

Where were they? She listened for her attacker, but she could barely hear anything over her own frantic breaths. If she could just get to the ship…

"Come on, Glimmer! Don't you want a big ole hug from your bestest friend in the whole world." That creepy fake voice was coming from right over there. She leaned around the edge of the ladder for a better look.

No. Oh, gods, please no.

It didn't make sense. It couldn't be.

Now that she could see her attacker, she realized with horror that she knew him. She recognized every curve of his face, the way he moved. How could she not? She'd known him her entire life.

It was Bow.