Okay, so this is the start of my first She-Ra fanfic, and my first public fanfic in general. I'm aware the new season is coming out soon, but this is an idea that has been dancing around in my head for quite some time. It will be (I hope) updated daily, though some days I will not update it, and when season 4 is out, I will incorporate characters and arcs from it, even if things that happen here are bound to contradict things that happen there. It's an alternate universe.

She felt warm. She felt happy. She was wrapped up in a warm, comfortable blanket. Her mother was cradling her in strong, gentle arms. For the first time in a very long time, Catra felt happy.

Her mother kissed her on the head and smiled a great big smile. "My beautiful baby" she said "My dear little Cyra".

But for Catra, no good thing ever lasted, and as soon as those words had escaped her mother's mouth, a whip had struck her. Catra's mother fell down, unconscious… or dead perhaps? Either way, Catra started to cry loud, high-pitched cries. Then, she saw a face.

The face was that of a handsome young man, who was still somehow hideous. He had pure ivory skin, with peculiar red markings on it. His ears were pointed, and his hair was long and white. His eyes, though, were the worst of all. They were black all around, with tiny yellow dots for pupils. Catra whimpered.

He opened his mouth impossibly wide, revealing a set of razor-sharp fangs, and swallowed her.

Catra woke up in a sweat, her heart racing impossibly fast. That had been one of the most terrifying nightmares she ever had, and Catra had a lot. Quite standard for someone who had been abused almost their entire life.

Still, that one felt so… real. It was probably just a reflection that deep down inside, Catra wanted a real family, not one constructed of cruel, abusive sorceresses and unfaithful blonde warriors.

Scorpia told her she needed therapy. Catra had told her to bugger off, but maybe, in hindsight, she should have listened to Scorpia. She did feel a little bad about betraying Entrapta. Not because of Hordak, of course, she couldn't give less of a crap about his feelings, but because of Entrapta.

Entrapta had been very loyal, in her own strange way. She had been helpful, friendly, and honest to Catra. She had been…

Her friend.

Catra quickly shook her head. It was only counterproductive to think such thoughts right now. She got up, changed from her nightclothes to her usual outfit, and headed out.

The Fright Zone was the same as every other morning - busy, loud, and still kind of eerie. Catra, at this point, had nowhere to go. Hordak had forbidden anyone from entering his sanctum without being requested ever since Entrapta 'betrayed' him, and Scorpia didn't talk to Catra much anymore. Lonnie was never much interested in her, and why would she want to talk to Kyle or Rogelio? Not that Rogelio talked much, of course.

So, she simply wandered around the Fright Zone. Aimlessly. She knew that if there were any problems with the rebellion, one commander or officer would report it to her. And therefore, she could let her mind wander.

However, she bumped into someone while wandering around, into one of the last people she wanted to run into. Scorpia.

"Oh, hey Catra." Scorpia said, trying to sound happy but failing miserably.

Catra nodded "Hi, Scorpia."

Just as Catra tried to walk past, Scorpia grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Catra, we need to talk."

Not wanting to hurt Scorpia more than she already had, Catra nodded and decided to go with her. Scorpia took them to a quiet spot where numerous crates had been stacked. They both sat down there, and Scorpia immediately started talking.

"Catra, you need to tell Hordak the truth about Entrapta."

"Scorpia, we've been over this. It's not that simple!"

Scorpia looked annoyed "Catra, this is for your own good! If you tell him the truth, it's our first step to making this all okay again!"

"Yes. And Hordak, being the understanding, reasonable person he is, will, of course, forgive me and let me make up for it."

"Touche."

Scorpia covered her face with her pincer. Catra reached out to comfort her, but Scorpia simply brushed her away. Catra was at loss. Was this really the same Scorpia she knew? Or was it an impostor?

Scorpia looked back up at Catra, and then said "Catra, I'm not sure if you've caught on yet, but your position is in danger. You know the new force captain, Keldor?"

Catra slowly nodded "I… think?"

"From what I've heard, he's got his eyes on your job. And Hordak has praised his successes numerous times. He was one of the leaders in the conquest of Salineas, which has been the biggest horde victory in ages."

"Oh… that guy. The blue-skinned freak. He's a threat to my position?"

"Yeah. He's been asking about you, waiting for you to slip up. And if he finds anything to discredit you, then it's, well, it's curtains."

"I, um, understand."

"Yup. Just something to consider."

And without another word, Scorpia got up and slowly walked off. Catra frowned. Where was the old Scorpia, who she had met? Where was the Scorpia, who, no matter what happened, made the best of things?

Then it occured to Catra. A painful, tragic revelation. Catra had killed that Scorpia. With years of neglect, anger, and coldness, Catra had killed her.

Catra got up, seconds after Scorpia had escaped from view. Or was it minutes? Hours? She was so consumed in thought, she didn't keep track of time. And she was decided. She would come clean to Hordak, and tell him about what she did to Entrapta, and beg for mercy.

Or… would she? No, she wouldn't. A tear escaped her eye. She just realized - she was a mess. Everything she ever wanted was gone. Scorpia was no longer friendly and supportive, Entrapta, if she was alive, probably hated her, Hordak no longer held her in high regard and was perhaps considering replacing her, and worst of all, Adora had died before Catra got a chance to talk to her.

It had been during the battle of Salineas, where all the princesses had assembled to deal with the Horde invaders. Catra wasn't there, so she didn't know the full details, but the Horde soldiers had returned reporting that not only had they taken Salineas and captured the royal family, but they had also slain She-Ra. Catra supposed she should have been happy, but she wasn't. She admitted it. She missed Adora. Ever since the portal fiasco, Adora had never pulled her punches as she once had, and Catra had more than enough bruises to prove it.

Catra had once taunted Adora that she would never have the guts to kill her. But… didn't she feel exactly the same?

Catra grinded her teeth. It had probably been Keldor, that blue bastard who now wanted her job, who killed Adora. She would have a word with him later.

But now… she thought back to her dream, wanting to think of something else than just Adora and their now nonexistent friendship. What had it been about? Had those been memories from before she was taken into the Horde? She knew she hadn't been born in the Fright Zone, but…

She never actually cared about that. But that dream, it piqued her interest. Where did she come from? Had that really been her mother? And that sinister face, why had it been so familiar? She didn't know.

But she knew someone who she was certain did know.

Hordak was working vigorously. It had been his twenty-seventh try today, but he wouldn't stop trying to get the portal machine working again.

He looked at the sword on his desk. The sword of protection, presented to him by Keldor after the 'death' of She-Ra. But Hordak knew better, and so did Keldor. Adora wasn't dead - not quite.

Hordak's eyes darted to the half-alive young woman in the preservatory tank next to him. A slight grin crossed his lips. You may yet be useful he thought, and immediately went back to work.

No matter how many times he tried, he could not get it working again. It had been so much easier with Entrapta.

Entrapta.

Hordak hated her. He absolutely despised her. If the wretched purple-haired witch turned up in the Fright Zone again, he would feed her to one of Vultak's beasts. To abuse his trust like that, to make him feel cared about for the first time in his life, and then betray him - it was unforgivable. If he were to see her again he would -

But would he? Deep down inside, he didn't believe she betrayed him. Perhaps it was Catra who betrayed him and sent Entrapta to beast island to cover it up? Or perhaps it was simply a huge misunderstanding?

It could be, could it? Deep down, he still held onto that hope that something else had happened, and that Entrapta had stayed true to him all along, and that someone had betrayed her, or that the entire thing was just a huge mess-up?

Then he thought of Catra. He hated her - that kind of burning feeling that one gets when someone picks up your life and shatters it into thousands of pieces. He has had thousands of fantasies of killing her in the most painful way possible. He could burn her, or throw her into a pot full of acid, or simply choke her to death. Still, he could not deny that she had her uses, and despite her unorthodox methods, there was barely any failure where she was involved.

And, if she did slip up, he always had a promising replacement in Keldor.

Then he thought of himself. What a mess he had made of himself. Gone was the intimidating, magnificent warlord. Now, looking at himself in the reflection of Adora's preservatory tank, he saw someone who looked more akin to a karool'd addict. His eyes were practically bleeding from lack of sleep. His practical, short hairdo had been turned into a thick black mane of unkempt hair, and his once clean-shaved face had now been hidden by a bushy, unkempt beard. Perhaps he should take a break - get some sleep, shave, maybe take a bath, and generally get some time to think. But no - taking time from important work to do those things was a sign of weakness, as he had been taught by Horde Prime.

A knock on the door. He quickly took a sheet and covered Adora's preservatory tank. Nobody could know what he was planning.

Hordak then rolled his eyes. What could be so important that someone interrupts his work on the portal? "Enter" he groaned.

Catra walked in. Hordak immediately remembered his fantasies of murdering her in the most painful ways possible.

But that would be unprofessional. "Yes, what do you want?" He asked, once again groaning.

She simply said "Lord Hordak. I'm uh, really sorry to disturb you, but I have an important question which may impact my performance with the Horde. It's a personal question."

Hordak simply waited expectantly.

Catra, then all of a sudden losing the sarcastic element to her interactions simply asked "Where did I come from?"

Okay, so that's the first chapter. Sorry if it felt a bit forced, I'm not so good at starting stories. Expect it to be a bit more smooth from here on out. I am open to both compliments and criticism, but please know that if you like absolutely nothing about my work, there's always the option to not read it.