Out in the Northern Reach tundra, in the middle of the snowstorm, the Horde had set up a drilling site which was overseen by Catra and Starscream. Catra was clearly not enjoying the cold. Entrapta didn't seem bothered and was more focused on her research. The rest of the crew that oversaw the excavation were Scorpia, Waspinator, Strika, and Lockdown.

"Entrapta, how much longer?" Catra asked tucking herself in her own parka. "We've been here all day."

"You can't rush perfection, Catra." Entrapta said.

"I'm not rushing perfection. I'm rushing you!" Catra shot. "The third Autobot pod and the Golden Disk piece inside is located under this ice. And the Autobots are probably on their way here right now."

"Lord Megatron and Hordak won't appreciate it if we come back empty handed after using up so many of our resources." Starscream pointed out.

"A scientist never comes back empty handed." Entrapta said. "There's always data."

"I'm not freezing my tail off for data." Catra sighed. "Just keep getting that Autobot pod out and prepare for whoever's guarding it. Who is it anyway?"

Lockdown replied, "His name is Wreck-Gar. He's a Junkion."

"Is that some kind of third faction in your war?" Catra asked.

"Not exactly." Starscream said.

"From what I've heard, Junkions are Cybertronian residents of a planet that's also called Junkion." Strika said. "It's basically a giant garbage planet?"

"Zeta Prime entrusted a piece of a super-important relic to someone who lives in the galaxy's biggest dumpster?" Catra asked. "Whatever. The least we can do right now is try to get warmer. Come on, Starscream. I'm sure someone as big as you is shivering too."

"Not really." Starscream said. "Cybertronians have an internal heating system that allows us to tolerate the cold much easier than organics."

"What?" Catra asked loudly. "You have your own heater inside you and I get this jacket that doesn't even seem to work? Do you have any idea how unfair that is?"

"So sue me."

"Behold, the Dragon's Daugher 5!" Sea Hawk presented his new ship that carried himself, Adora, Hot Rod, Glimmer, Arcee, Bow, Bumblebee, and Seaspray. They rode it through the icy waters of the Northern Reach closing in on the Horde base.

"What happened to the Dragon's Daughter 4?" Bow asked. "Was it adventure?"

"Or did you you set your ship on fire… again?" Arcee said.

"Neither actually. Termites."

"Thanks for taking us all the way out here." Glimmer said.

"Think nothing of it." Sea Hawks said. "Truth be told, I was glad I finally have something to do. Mermista cancelled her plans on me and didn't invite me to hang out with her or her friends. That's okay, right, Seaspray?"

"Yeah, I guess. Actually, I'm glad to be a part of this mission. I heard that Strika was going to be here and I've been aching for another shot at her for betraying the Wreckers."

"Oh." Sea Hawk said feeling slightly depressed. "So you have your own plans. That's fine. That's fine. You know, come to think of it, Mermista never invites me to hang out with her other friends. Why is that? Am I not cool enough for them? I'm so cool. I'm Sea Hawk. Don't tell me they think I'm trash."

"Focus." Adora said as She-Ra. "We need to find Wreck-Gar and his disk piece before the Horde and Decepticons do."

"Right. Right." Sea Hawk said. Although, he still wasn't focused. "I am cool, right? Not garbage?"

It was done. The Horde's excavating tools lifted a large piece of metal encased entirely in ice. The Decepticons and Horde soldiers gathered outside as their machines pulled the pod out of the frozen depths. Lockdown swiped his hook all over it and all the ice fell apart leaving only a clean Autobot pod there.

"Nice trick." Strika said.

"Thank you." Lockdown replied. "For my next trick, I shall open this cocoon and we'll be looking at gold in no time." He bent down to hack into the control system.

While the bounty hunter was working, Scorpia turned to Waspinator. "This is it, Waspinator. I think that now is a good time to invite Catra to hang out."

"I still don't know, bug girl." Waspinator said. "Cat girl is quite mean, especially to you."

"Don't worry about it." Scorpia said. "She and I are the best, truest friends and deep inside her heart, she knows that."

Scorpia took a breath and approached Catra nervously trying to ask Catra for some personal time outside of work. While she kept failing, Waspinator noticed a bit of ice that fell off of the pod. When it fell and shattered, a dark-red device shaped like a triangle slid on the floor. Waspinator took a closer look to inspect it.

"Well, this is weird." Lockdown said.

"What is it?" Catra asked turning her attention away from Scorpia.

"I'm trying to hack the pod's controls, but I've noticed that most of the system seems… corrupted somehow."

"What do you mean, corrupted?" Starscream asked.

"I mean, it looks like this pod has some kind of virus." Lockdown said. "I can't make out what it is."

"Can you still open the pod?" Catra asked.

"Yes, but there's no telling what may come out." Lockdown said. "Who knows how whatever infected this pod may have affected the contents inside?"

"We'll have to risk it." Catra said. "Open it up."

Lockdown continued his work. At that very moment, Waspinator picked up the device on the ground. Suddenly, a burst of red lightning flowed right through the Predacon's body. He suddenly burst upwards and flew around the area at an uncontrollable rate confusing everyone there.

"Waspinator, what is wrong with you?" Starscream asked.

The Predacon answered as if he was glitching. "Waspinator… Negative! Negative! Negative! I am Shrapnel, Decepticon hero-ro-ro!"

"Shrapnel?" Strika asked. "He was a Decepticon who died on Cybertron. Bug boy's gone wacko."

Waspinator landed behind everyone. "Wacko? No! Wonko. Wonko the Sane!" He repeatedly punched the side of his head.

"Well, that's strange." Scorpia said. "Would someone mind telling me what happened to my partner?"

Catra looked over to where Waspinator once stood. She found the red device he touched before he turned into a maniac. But when she picked it up to examine it, she didn't panic.

"Whoa! Careful with that!" Entrapta yelled just as soon as she saw what was in Catra's hand. "It's a rare First One's relic! I thought it was gone! Perhaps that's what made Waspinator go…"

"I smell puppies." Waspinator said proving Entrapta's point.

"How can it make him like that?" Starscream asked.

"Well, I studied it once, and it suddenly infected all my robots with some kind of murder virus."

"A murder virus?" Catra asked. "How did it end up here?"

"Well, last I saw it, Fixit tossed it out of my window and landed in the river. I guess the stream carried it all the way here. And it was sealed frozen on the pod until we recovered it. What are the odds of that?"

"If this thing give robots a murder virus, then why is it confusing Waspinator?" Starscream asked.

"Well, it does other things too." Entrapta said. "For example, when it infected She-Ra, she lost all her powers and became floppy. And when it infected the Autobots, they went into stasis lock. I guess since Waspinator is half-organic, the virus had a different effect on him."

Of course, when Entrapta explained what her device did to She-Ra and the Autobots, she focused entirely on that. She smiled at her reflection on the device. "An off-switch for She-Ra and the Autobots, huh? Starscream, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Starscream shared her sinister grin. "Yes. This might become a most fruitful opportunity."

"And… done." Lockdown said getting the control pad to turn green. "We may want to stand back."

The pod opened up and a large Cybertronian stepped out. His body was gray with black stripes on his face and he wore orange armor that matched his backpack which was filled with garbage. In his hand, he held onto the third Golden Disk piece.

"I am…" the Junkion said before looking confused. "What am I?" He reached back at his garbage pack and pulled out a soda can reading the side of it. "Um, I am… 'carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup'… No, that's not right." He tossed the can away and started ruffling through different bits of junk. "There's gotta be something here that can tell me who I am." He pulled out a pink bra which he tossed away casually. "Meh. Not my size." His eyes fixed on the Horde and Decepticons that watched with confusion. "Oh, hey. I was wondering if you all could tell me who I am?"

Starscream leaned in to Entrapta. "Any theories on this one?"

"Well, this Wreck-Gar guy was inside of the pod when it became infected with the virus." Entrapta said. "I guess the indirect contact with the relic must have short-circuited his memory or something."

"So you're saying this guy has no clue who or what he is?" Scorpia asked.

Catra smiled. "Works for me." She walked away from the group and approached Wreck-Gar. "Hello. My name is Catra."

"Hi, Catra." Wreck-Gar greeted. "Do you know who I am?"

"Sure do. Your name is Wreck-Gar, and you are a Decepticon."

"I am Wreck-Gar. I'm a Decepticon. Uh, what's a Decepticon?"

"A big alien robot army bent on peace." Catra lied. "It seems a strange set of circumstances has caused you to lose your memory. You see, you were sent on a mission to give us that disk piece in your hand. So if you don't mind…" She held out her hands.

"Oh, of course." Wreck-Gar said. "Here you go." He gently gave the Golden Disk piece to Catra. "I'm a good Decepticon."

Starscream chuckled. "This is even better than I thought."

"CATRA!"

The Force Captain widened her eyes turning around with her allies (and Wreck-Gar who thinks she's an ally). The Autobots came out of the snowy fog and approached.

"Oh, look." Wreck-Gar said. "More Decepticons."

"What?" Hot Rod asked. "No. We're not Decepticons. We're Autobots."

Wreck-Gar turned to Catra. "What are Autobots?"

"Our enemies." Catra answered.

"What's going on?" Seaspray asked.

"Looks like Catra's pulled some kind of trick on Wreck-Gar." Arcee said.

"This is your one chance, Catra." She-Ra said. "Surrender the Golden Disk piece and Wreck-Gar."

'Nah. I think I'll hold the piece for now." Catra said. "And as for Wreck-Gar, he can leave whenever he wants. Tell me, Wreck-Gar, do you want to leave?"

"Why would I?" Wreck-Gar asked. "You seem like good people. And since these Autobots are your enemies, that makes them my enemies too, right?"

"Bingo." Catra said. "Now, knock over their chances of getting out of this alive."

"Right. I am Wreck-Gar. I knock things over!" The Junkion pulled out a lamppost from his pack and ran charging after the Autobots. He engaged with Hot Rod who didn't want to hurt a brainwashed Autobot.

"Perhaps we should sit down and discuss our differences like good ocelots." Waspinator said nonsensically.

"So I've got no quality time with Catra, a partner who can't tell which way is forward, Catra's former best friend is here, and my wildcat's got a new alien robot to make friends with." Scorpia summarized. "This isn't how I wanted this night to go." She charged and engaged with Sea Hawk who drew his sword.

"Hey, be honest please." Sea Hawk said to Scorpia. "You think I'm cool, right?"

"Potentially." Scorpia answered.

"Focus, Sea Hawk!" Glimmer said facing Scorpia with him. While they fought, Seaspray and Strika had one of their famous brawls and Bow was unsuccessfully trying to reason with Entrapta.

Arcee went on to engage with Lockdown, who kept countering her moves. "Time to finish our earlier conversation, Lockdown! You said a Decepticon hired you to kill all those Autobots, including Mirage! Who was it?"

"Why?" Lockdown asked. "What's in it for me?" He continued fighting Arcee without anything else said.

She-Ra in the meantime was at one of her famous battles with Catra. She ended it by grabbing the Horde commander by her ankle and slamming her into the snow. She pointed her sword at Catra's face.

Before anything though, Starscream approached She-Ra and pointed a laser at her. "Do that and I'll do you in."

"Don't waste your ammo, Scream." Catra said grinning mockingly at She-Ra. "Adora doesn't have the guts." She was right. Adora wouldn't kill someone she once called friend. "You know, it's such a chilly day out here. Let's try heating things up."

Catra pulled out the First Ones relic and tapped it on the jewel in the sword handle. That's when red veins popped out of it and She-Ra yelled feeling her mind reel. Her eyes turned red and she began to growl. That was what Hot Rod saw.

"Oh, no!" Hot Rod shouted. He pushed Wreck-Gar off and changed into vehicle mode chasing after She-Ra.

The berserk She-Ra turned herself towards Catra and Starscream who looked scared. She-Ra jumped forward swinging her sword at Starscream's face. Thankfully, the Decepticon commander ducked. He and Catra took a few steps away back to Entrapta.

"What's going on, Entrapta?" Catra asked. "You said the device will leave her powerless!"

"She will be… probably… I think. I'm still trying to figure out how this works."

"ADORA, STOP!" Hot Rod shouted. He changed into his robot mode and tried to grab She-Ra, but she jumped up and struck him with an uppercut so hard, it sent him flying backwards.

When he landed near the other heroes, it created an avalanche that sent them all (except for Hot Rod) down. Hot Rod sat back up, shook the snow off his head, and grunted at his partner.

"This may seem like I'm a bad friend," Hot Rod said kneeling up, "But I've always wondered who'd win if we ever fought. Sorry in advance."

Rod pulled out his gun and fired it at She-Ra. It sent her backwards, but she quickly recovered and struck back. Hot Rod dodged each swing, but She-Ra kicked him in the leg sending him down on one knee.

She-Ra thrusted her sword at Rod and he raised his hand to stop her. However, the sword right through his hand and got stuck. A burst of red lightning burst through him and he was frozen in place. She-Ra tried to pull her sword back out, but her hand slipped and she fell unconscious in the snow changing back into her normal Adora form.

"Oh, scrap." Hot Rod said noticing he can't move. "Not again."

"Well, this turned out better than I thought." Catra said coming out of hiding with her fellow villains (and Wreck-Gar). "Take them in."

At the bottom of the pit they fell in, the Autobots picked themselves up from the snow. Sea Hawk shook the snow off his head and mustache spooked by the events that just happened.

"What was that?"

"I saw Catra." Glimmer said. "She had that virus device that Entrapta used back at Dryl."

"What?" Seaspray asked. "How? I thought Fixit said he threw it away."

"Guess they recovered it." Arcee said. "And knowing Rod, he probably got himself infected by now trying to handle Adora. We need to go back up there and stop the 'Cons."

Bumblebee buzzed.

"She can't." Bow told his partner. "Glimmer used up all her magic in the fight. She can't teleport us up there."

"Guess we're climbing up there ourselves." Seaspray said.

"I hope Catra survives Adora… so I can kill her myself!" Glimmer yelled out as she began climbing.

The Horde carried Hot Rod's petrified body and placed him in the storage bunker. He kept trying to move, but all he could do was blink. He sneered at Catra who stood over Adora's unconscious body with the infected sword in her claws.

"You better let us go if you know what's good for you." Hot Rod warned.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Catra said. "Just think. With this infected sword, we can make Adora go berserk whenever we want. We can turn the Rebellion's own hero against them."

"Bad idea, Fuzzy Boots." Hot Rod said.

"Fuzzy Boots?" Catra asked. "No one calls me that."

"What? Everyone calls you that." Rod said. "Also Whiskers, Furball, Sam, Diablo Gato…"

"Wait. Sam?" Catra asked. "What does that even mean?"

"You know, I have no idea. I assumed it was short for Samantha. Anyway, you really don't want to keep Adora like this. She's going to be more of a burden than a weapon."

"We'll see about that." Catra said. "I was thinking I'd have her kill you first, but now that I think about it. I suppose you are useful for something." She picked up a spare jacket and hung it over his held-out hand. "Like a talking coat rack." She laughed out of the room.

"I really hate that girl." Rod commented upset.

At the main lab, Catra walked into Entrapta and Lockdown who were scanning the Golden Disk piece with their computers.

"Anything useful?" Catra asked.

"Well, that's the tricky part." Entrapta said. "Since the disk was inside the pod when it was infected, I think the disk piece itself was infected too. I can't get any piece of data from it."

"Well, can you remove the virus from it?" Lockdown asked.

"Hard to say for certain." Entrapta replied. "After all, the virus was made over First Ones programming. Even with my expertise, it could take me a long while. Last time the virus took over, the Autobots had to break the relic to stop it."

"Well, find another option." Catra said. "If the virus stops, Adora goes free."

"Catra, Megatron and Hordak are counting on us to give them some answers from the disk piece." Starscream said. "I know how valuable you think Adora can be as a weapon, but getting the data from the Golden Disk takes higher priority."

"I'm not giving up Adora, Starscream." Catra said. "We'll find a way to get rid of the virus from just the piece. In the meantime, Scorpia, where's Waspinator?"

"Well, he's in the other room working out his crazy mind." Scorpia said. "Strika's keeping an eye on him."

"Hold still, you bugbrain!" Strika shouted from the other room that everyone could hear.

"NO!" Waspinator yelled. "You'll have my chocolate milk over my cold, dead leprechaun! Good luck, Charlie!"

Catra sighed. "Well, in the meantime, you can watch over Adora in the storage bunker."

Scorpia sighed. "Aye, aye."

Lockdown watched the two part ways and sighed. "Such a short-sighted fool. I'm surprised Megatron hadn't mowed them all down yet. Any ideas about the disk, girl?"

Entrapta fixed her eyes on her screen. "Hmm. Well, it's impossible for me to receive any data from the Golden Disk with the virus. With the virus messing up the disk's software, it should be easy for me to add a new program, but I can't read anything and I can't think of anything that could be useful to add."

Lockdown widened his eyes and grinned. "I think I can."

Scorpia entered the storage bunker. She giggled at seeing Hot Rod being treated as a coat rack, but there was no sign of Adora.

"Hey, Hot Rod," Scorpia said, "Where's Adora?"

"Behind you."

Scorpia turned only to be blindsided by a mop that covered her face. She was unfazed, but she was also confused to see Adora with her eyes half-open and her movements sloppy. She chuckled like an idiot seeing the Force Captain.

"Wow. You are a big bug."

"Yep. That is the truth." Scorpia said. "Hey, Rod, what's up with Adora?"

"Another drawback of the virus." Hot Rod answered. "When she's She-Ra, she's a raging berserker who destroys everything in her path. When she's Adora, she's a floppy idiot who never stays still. Back then, she's been keeping Glimmer on her toes all day."

"Well, how do we fix this?" Scorpia asked.

"Oh, I don't know. How about… Destroying the virus by breaking the relic? That worked last time!"

"I can't do that." Scorpia said. "Sorry, but Catra doesn't want the thing destroyed and I'm trying to get in good with her enough to hang out."

"Scorpia, I told Catra, Adora's going to be more of a burden in this state!" Hot Rod argued. "When you give her the sword and let her become She-Ra, you'll be risking her destroying you along with the Autobots! And if you let her stay as Adora, the entire Fright Zone will soon end up like… Whatever that control panel she's messing with is going to turn out!"

Scorpia turned and widened her eyes seeing Adora messing with the front door keypad making booping noises with her mouth. Scorpia grabbed her and moved her away, but she slipped around her and continued messing with the controls. Scorpia moved her away again.

"Could you please stop fooling around? Please?" Scorpia begged. "I'm a woman on the edge! I've had a real challenge of a day!"

"Oh, YOU'RE having a bad day, Scorpia?" Hot Rod asked. "Well, news flash… I'M TRAPPED IN STASIS LOCK BECAUSE OF YOUR CRUSH!"

Adora went back to the panel and kept pushing random buttons. At the last button, the light became green and the door slid open.

"How did you do that?" Scorpia asked.

"I put in Catra's favorite number." Adora chuckled.

"There's a favorite?" Hot Rod asked. "Now, I'm kinda curious on what it is."

Scorpia groaned. "Of course, you know Catra's favorite number and I don't! Well, that won't matter as soon as I get in good with Catra!" She stepped outside but widened her eyes seeing the hallway she just came in gone. The outside was exposed. When Scorpia looked out, she yelped seeing large, centipede-like creatures with red eyes. She quickly returned to the room and closed the door. "On second thought, let's stay here."

Just outside the Horde base, Sea Hawk elected to search the perimeter for Adora while the others moved over to the main lab. However, when they noticed saw the centipede monsters roaming around the area getting closer, they ducked down.

"Okay. What are those?" Seaspray asked.

"Why are you asking us?" Glimmer asked. She peeked over and gasped. "Their eyes. They're just like Adora's when she's infected by that virus."

"You mean they're infected too?" Arcee asked. "How?"

Bumblebee buzzed.

"Good point, Bee." Bow said. "If the Autobot pod was infected, it must have spread to whatever would touch it, including those things if they're from underwater."

"So they're going to tear the place apart with us inside." Glimmer said. "We need to find the relic and destroy it fast."

"I can't believe I'm stuck in a closet with you." Scorpia said to Adora and Hot Rod.

"Hey, it's not picnic for me either." Hot Rod complained. "I should be in Bright Moon giving the third disk piece to Optimus right now."

Suddenly, the door opened up. Sea Hawk marched in with a dramatic pose. "Adora, I'm here to rescue you!"

"Uh… More like I'm here to rescue you." Adora laughed.

"That doesn't make any sense." Sea Hawk said.

"Sea Hawk!" Hot Rod cheered. "For once, I'm glad to see you!"

Sea Hawk wasted no time grabbing Adora by her arm and pulling her towards him. Scorpia grabbed her other arm and did the same.

"Let go!" Sea Hawk yelled.

"No! You let go!" Scorpia returned.

"Look, I know Adora's tough as nails," Hot Rod said, "But if you two keep pulling her, she's going to lose her arms!"

"I can't help it!" Scorpia said. "Catra gave me this very important job!"

"Catra." Adora chuckled getting the other two to stop. "She's mean."

"No!" Scorpia protested. "She's misunderstood! Adora, you of all people should know that! You grew up together! How can I compete with that?" She let go and sulked at the bench. "You two. Even when you're fighting, you know that there's a special bond. For once, I just want Catra to see me as someone worth her time." She buried her face in her claws.

Sea Hawk began to tear up. "I know how you feel? It's that way with me and Mermista too."

"What's happening here?" Hot Rod asked. "I want to look away, but I physically can't."

"Look, the only reason people seem to want me around is if they need a ride or something." Sea Hawk said. "I'm just some kind of tool to them."

"I hear you." Scorpia said. "I mean, Catra once used my hide as a file her nails. I even had to buff."

Hot Rod wanted to talk against it more, but he eventually gave in and joined in. "Look. I know you two may feel like you're being taken for granted, but don't you think that we may not see you as just tools. I mean, Sea Hawk, we have plenty of Autobots who can turn into boats. We could've asked one of them to take us all the way out here. But we didn't, because we were depending on you and your expertise on the unknown."

"Really?" Sea Hawk asked.

"And you, Scorpia," Hot Rod said, "You said so yourself. Catra gave you this very important job which is evidently difficult to keep Adora in the same place. You really think Catra would have entrusted this to people like Waspinator?"

Scorpia thought for a moment. "I guess not."

"You two are already good friends on your own." Hot Rod said. "Maybe the people you care for won't be able to realize that, but that's not important. It's about caring for them. If you keep sulking around about seeking validation from them… Well, I don't know what it would do. Maybe it'll make you miserable forever. Maybe it'll ruin a mission. Either way, something will happen that you don't want to happen."

"Oh, you two are such good friends and good people." Adora said confusingly.

Sea Hawk smiled. "He's right! I don't need validation! I'm Sea Hawk!"

Scorpia smiled too. "Yeah! And if my wildcat needs me, then I need to be there for her even if she doesn't want me to!"

Scorpia and Sea Hawk yelled out running out of the storage bunker. Adora grabbed a mop and swung it around running behind them. The door was sealed shut leaving Hot Rod alone.

"Well, now, I'm alone and bored."

"What's happening?" Catra yelled out.

"Monsters seem to be breaching through the walls." Entrapta said.

"What kind of monsters?" Starscream asked.

BOOM!

"The kind you all infected!" Arcee cried out as she burst in with the rest of the Autobots.

"Autobots!" Catra hissed gripping hard at the infected Sword of Protection. "What, did your beating earlier not teach you a lesson? Afraid we're a little busy here with those monsters outside!"

"Entrapta, please!" Bow pleaded. "Look who you're working with. Whatever the Horde or Decepticons are giving you, it's not worth the damage you're doing to Etheria. Those monsters outside are infected by the same virus that's infecting She-Ra."

"What? That can't be right." Entrapta said. "The whole berserk effect only applies to First Ones tech unless…" She gasped. "The bugs are First Ones tech! They must have been some kind of leftover sentry drones. That explains why the relic that depowered She-Ra and gave Wreck-Gar memory loss is affecting them too."

"Gave me memory loss?" Wreck-Gar asked. "Starscream, if that thing is what took my memories, why do you have it?"

"Uh… There's no time for jibber-jabber!" Starscream shouted. "The Autobots are our enemies! Go make them pay!"

"Right!" Wreck-Gar said pulling out a cash register from his pack. "Cash, check, or plastic?"

"What?" Starscream asked. "No, not that kind of pay! I meant with attacks!"

"Okay." Wreck-Gar said pulling out assorted items. "What kind of tacks, though? Thumb tacks? Carpet tacks? Income tax?"

"Forget it, Scream." Catra said. "He's too stupid to understand."

"I am Wreck-Gar! I dare to be stupid!"

"Besides, I still have this." Catra said pulling out her virus relic. The Autobots were about to chase after her, but she held it out threatening to touch them with it. "Funny how this thing can freeze an Autobot even though it hasn't touched you yet."

Wreck-Gar was confused for a minute, but smiled. "Ah, the Universal Greeting. Bah weep granah weep nini bong." He held out his hand and tapped the relic in Catra's hand. His whole body buzzed with red lightning before it tied out and he was still. "Hey, why can't I move?"

Before anyone could answer, the wall burst open and the bug monsters managed to knock Catra over. Everyone got into battle positions and tried to blast them out. It wasn't long before Scorpia, Sea Hawk, and Adora ran in to help fight the infected monsters. Scorpia had her tazer gun, Sea Hawk raised his sword, and Adora waved her mop around like an idiot.

"For the Horde!" Scorpia declared.

"I don't agree with that sentiment, but I'm also here!" Sea Hawk said.

Adora and Sea Hawk ran to reunite with their friends. Scorpia, in the meantime, ran to protect Catra.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine!" Catra said. "Just find the sword! I've got Adora!"

"I'll cover you… from a safe distance." Starscream said. "You know, in case you accidently drop that virus thing and I might step on it."

Catra ran toward Adora, but ran into Glimmer. They were fighting over the virus relic while Scorpia tried to keep Adora away from the sword. Starscream tried to shoot Glimmer, but Arcee managed to knock him away.

"Where's Lockdown?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know. He disappeared minutes ago. AND GET OFF!" Starscream said trying to fight Arcee away from him.

"Just give us the virus, Catra!" Glimmer ordered.

"Are you kidding?" Catra asked. "I've got control of Adora! I'm not giving that up!"

Starscream cowardly dodged to get away from Arcee's attacks. "Catra, maybe this whole chaos can end if you just comply! Destroying the virus will be able to stop the monsters! We'll get Adora another day!"

"We have her now!" Catra argued. "I'm not letting her go!"

The bug monster managed to get completely into the compound and chase Catra around. She accidently dropped the relic. Starscream didn't see it until it landed right at his head effectively freezing him in place.

"Oh, scrap." Starscream said.

The relic slid across the lab right into Scorpia's claws. She looked and saw Catra literally in the bug monster's mouth. The cat girl used all four of her limbs to keep it from biting down at her. Scorpia was worried.

"Scorpia!" Arcee shouted. "You can end this! You have to break that device now!"

"Don't you dare!" Catra warned trying unsuccessfully to escape the monster's jaws.

Scorpia was at a crossroads. She had a choice to make, either save her best friend's life or disobey her and possibly mess things up between them. It wasn't until Sea Hawk spoke up.

"It seems to me that caring about someone is the greatest adventure of them all."

Still frozen, Wreck-Gar began to tear up. "Such a heatwarming quote."

Scorpia smiled. "Sorry, Wildcat, but this is for your own good." She held up the relic ready to snap it in half.

"NO!"

CRACK!

As the relic was destroyed, a purple wave burst from it. Once it hit everything that was infected, they all returned to normal. All the frozen Cybertronians moved again. Wreck-Gar widened his eyes as if he was waking up for the first time. Adora regained her sanity, and the bug monsters stopped attacking and returned outside disappearing into the snow.

"Looks like it's over." Arcee said.

Bumblebee buzzed.

"Thank goodness, indeed, bud." Bow said.

"Well, I have good news and bad news." Wreck-Gar said. "The good news is, I remember everything. I am Wreck-Gar! I am a hero!"

"And what's the bad news?" Starscream asked nervously.

Wreck-Gar turned to glare at the Horde and Decepticon. "I don't like liars."

Catra backed away when suddenly, the storage door behind her opened. As soon as her spare jacket fell right into her hands from above, she knew that Hot Rod was standing behind her ready to move again.

"What was that again," Hot Rod asked readying his arm cannon, "About turning me into a talking coat rack? I'd run if I were you, Sam." He emphasized the last word.

Quick as a flash, the villains ran off. Waspinator and Strika returned to the lab.

"Waspinator feel better now." He and Strika stopped when their allies ran off.

"Where are you going?" Strika asked before turning to see the Autobots grouping up. "Oh. Let's go, bug boy!" She grabbed Waspinator's arm and quickly ran off. She was so forceful, Waspinator's arm popped off. He yelled before running away in a cartoonish fashion.

"Look what I got during the fight." Bow said holding up the Golden Disk piece. "And thanks to what Scorpia did, it's completely virus-free."

"Good." Arcee said. "Now, all that's left is finding the last piece."

After abandoning their base, the Horde and Decepticons took a boat and drove out. Catra was still shivering, so Scorpia put a blanket on her. Catra was still discontent, but she accepted and didn't make a big deal out of it as she wanted to. She also saw Entrapta talking with Lockdown and growled.

"Where were you, Lockdown?" Catra asked aggressively. "We could've used a so-called 'elite' bounty hunter to fight off those bug machine things, but you just disappeared!"

"Don't get your whiskers in a twist." Lockdown said. "I didn't see a reason to join you. Honestly, I'm glad the Autobots got the disk piece."

"Are you joking?" Catra asked. "They're just one piece away from unlocking the secrets of that thing, and we can't even beat them to the last piece because we don't have that information!"

"Exactly. And that's what we can use to our advantage." Lockdown said.

Starscream raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"It's like this. What would have happened if we got the third piece? We would have one piece, but the Autobots would still have two. And since they have first access to the pieces' locations, it's likely they'll have the final piece before we get the chance to figure out where it's hidden. All they'd have to do after that is launch a full-scale assault for the piece we have. So instead of wasting damages, we'd have to turn the tables on them when they're on the brink of victory."

"I don't follow." Catra said.

"Lockdown had me program a little addition to the software in the disk piece we had." Entrapta said. "The virus prevented me from getting any useful data at the time, but I was free to add something of my own. We gave the Disk a virus of our own, one that would allow Lockdown to track it down anywhere on Etheria, but only when the Disk itself is fully complete."

"Once the Autobots have the full Golden Disk, I will be able to track them down, no matter where they hide it." Lockdown said. "Then, all I have to do is sneak in to where it is and sneak out."

"What if the Autobots figure out the secret before you take it back?" Starscream asked.

"It won't matter if we Decepticons find out the secret a few seconds after." Lockdown said. "If I go by myself, I'll be able to swipe it from them even if they're inside of the Ark itself. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Starscream growled. "This better work."

"In the meantime, we've got data to look at!" Entrapta said. "Since the virus was cleared up, the little data I managed to extract from the disk piece is now clear. Hordak and Megatron are going to be so thrilled.

Catra sighed before turning to Scorpia. "Hey. Thanks for what you did. I was pretty stubborn."

Scorpia smiled. "Anytime. Glad you're not mad."

"Well, I am!" Starscream shouted. "Catra, you fur brain! You should've destroyed the disk when you had the chance! Now, we've got a destroyed base that I'll have to report to Megatron! Not to mention, that relic put me in stasis lock! You indirectly made me freeze in place, possibly for the rest of my life!"

Catra shrugged, smirked, and came back with the same words Starscream used on her earlier.

"So sue me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Hot Rod asked.

"You heard me." Arcee said. "Wreck-Gar was so moved by Sea Hawk's caring-adventure quote, he decided to join him as his first mate."

"Wreck-Gar wants to be Sea Hawk's partner after a cheesy line like that?" Hot Rod asked. "But I thought his brain damage was fixed after the virus was destroyed."

"It was." Arcee said. "Apparently, he's naturally a goofball. Kinda like you back at boot camp."

"Very funny." Hot Rod said. He turned back to Ratchet as he was examining the three disk pieces in his lab onboard the ark. They along with Adora, Glimmer, Bow, and Bumblebee grouped up to meet him.

"So anything, doc?" Glimmer asked.

"Well, remember when you kids couldn't find the last disk piece?" the old medic asked. "Well, apparently, the First Ones virus was interfering. Now that it's gone, our data's being updated. Still can't get a good reading on the current disk pieces yet."

"Well, now, we can find the last piece." Adora said. "That's good. Where is it? And who's the Autobot guarding it?"

Ratchet looked at the computer screen with a confused look on his face. "That's strange. Apparently, the Cybertronian that's with the disk piece is… a protoform?"

Bumblebee buzzed.

"Exactly. It doesn't make any sense." Hot Rod said.

"What's a protoform?" Glimmer asked.

"A protoform is a base design that all Cybertronians came from." Arcee explained. "We all started off with blank slates. All that was needed was a Spark and a bit of personality, and suddenly, we are born."

"Basically, it's like a big, metal baby." Hot Rod summarized.

"Zeta Prime gave an important relic to a Cybertronian baby?" Bow asked. "Why would he do that?"

"Well, that's a question for another day." Ratchet said. "According to this scan for the Autobot pod, it's already opened. And now, the protoform has already gained form."

"You mean there's another Cybertronian living here before we showed up?" Hot Rod asked. "How is that possible?"

"Our data on the disk's guardian is coming through, starting with a digital image of their current form."

Everyone gathered around the computer watching the image form on the screen pixel by pixel from the bottom up. The feet came first, but much to their confusion, it wasn't robot feet. They were boots. As the image became more clear, the Autobots were looking more surprised. As the update was finished, they were all speechless. They couldn't do anything but stare with shock and confusion. Glimmer was the most confused. She took a step closer to make sure she was seeing it right. The image on the screen wasn't Cybertronian, but an Etherian that she knew very well.

"Sari?"

Author's Note: Well, this chapter really took a lot out of me. There were many jokes and moments that I've been saving for this. Anyway, based on this dramatic revelation, it seems that the Rebellion's got to have a word with Castaspella.

Any and all comments are welcome.