Catra dropped the note and stared blankly at Scorpia's bed. She had been abandoned – again. Why did this always happen to her? What was so wrong with her that people kept leaving her? She had conquered Salineas. Her. No one else. Of course Hordak had taken the credit, but her strategy with Double Trouble was the only reason they had succeeded. She was the best Force Captain the Horde had ever had. Now that Salineas was theirs, Etheria would fall within a matter of weeks. The planet was hers yet no one stayed with her. Not even Scorpia. Catra screamed and fell to her knees. Had she been wrong this whole time? Was she really just a villain fighting a pointless war? Was Adora right? Catra picked the note back up and shredded it with her claws. The tears began to fall uncontrollably. She half-wondered whether she should be ashamed of her weakness. However, the stress she had been under, combined with the intense wave of emotions, clouded her judgement. She kept crying on the floor of Scorpia's room until she had no more tears left in her.
She could not tell how much time had passed and she did not care. She slowly got up and headed back to her quarters. It was then that her tablet began to beep. She assumed it was Hordak and quickly wiped away all evidence of her breakdown. She was now standing in an empty hallway of the Fright Zone. Catra vaguely recognized a pipe which she used to hide behind when she was smaller. She accepted the call but strangely no video came through. Instead she heard what sounded like Hordak, but was definitely not Hordak.
"Little sister?" Catra's eyes went wide and her left ear tweaked in alarm.
"What? Lord Hordak, is that you?"
"Hordak? Is that what my little brother has called himself?" The voice sounded genuinely amused. Catra was stunned. If she did not know better, she would guess this was Double Trouble playing a trick on her. Only she had not heard from them in a while, and whatever this was did not fit their sense of humour. She checked the identity of the person calling her. It was not Hordak - the number was unknown. The voice had now gone silent, but whoever it was was still connected.
Catra took a deep breath before asking:
"Who are you?" She heard an unsettling chuckle.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm Horde Prime." It was then that an image finally came onto her tablet screen. What she saw made her recoil in disgust. It was Hordak with four eyes, dreadlocks and an extremely malevolent smile. Horde Prime laughed.
"I thought you would be happy to see me, Catra. You did open the portal to get my attention, did you not?" No, she did not.
"Um…do you want to me to put you through to Hordak?"
"No" he said, briefly moving all four of his eyes to look at something near him. Catra felt a cold chill run down her spine. Before she could wonder why, Horde Prime continued:
"It took me a while to identify you as the one who opened the portal, and even longer to connect to your personal communication device." Catra's eyes went wide. How had he been able to do any of that? Just how advanced was his technology? Horde Prime continued:
"I assume you can re-open the portal?" Catra shifted nervously. She did not like this guy.
"Well, I suppose I could, but the equipment was destroyed after I activated the portal the first time." Catra paused before asking:
"Why do you want it reactivated?"
"So I can come through with my army of course. You wear the symbol of the Horde - I assume you would not be opposed to some reinforcements?" Catra began sweating. If they were led by him, she would definitely be opposed.
"Of course I would appreciate your help" she lied.
"Brilliant. How soon can you open another portal?" Catra's throat went dry. She gulped before lying again:
"It's hard to say. It could take several months…" Catra began to look around. She was still alone. She continued:
"What would you do once you arrive on Etheria? I mean…would you take over the Horde?" Horde Prime grinned before saying:
"No. I would simply invite everyone to join me and be freed from their pain and suffering." Catra raised an eyebrow.
"How would you do that? And what would happen to those who refuse your invitation?" Horde Prime laughed. Catra grimaced.
"You ask many questions little sister. Let's just say they would be persuaded. I have ruled the universe for hundreds of years - my knowledge surpasses time and space. I know the secret to peace and happiness as well as the fastest and easiest way to achieve it." "And what would that be?" Catra half-growled, not wanting to know the answer.
"The secret or the method?" Horde Prime smirked. He continued:
"The secret is servitude and the method is a chip fused with the subject's brain." Catra closed her eyes. This guy was insane. She decided right then and there that Horde Prime could never come to Etheria.
"You need me to open a portal in order for you and your army to reach Etheria, right?" "Yes." Catra took a deep breath before putting on her best fake smile.
"I will see what I can do." Horde Prime seemed to believe her.
"We will accomplish much, little sister. Once Etheria is mine, I will be happy to have you rule in my stead." Catra looked away from the screen. She was already on the verge of ruling Etheria and she hated it.
"Thank you, Horde Prime" she said slowly through gritted teeth. With that, Horde Prime hung up and his hideous face disappeared from view. Catra immediately went and hid behind the pipe, just like she did when she was a cadet. She wished she could be a cadet again. Everything was simpler then. Sure she was continuously hurt and abused, but she had had Adora and everything made sense. Nothing made sense now. She was alone, hiding from no one. She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes. She had never wanted to rule Etheria – not alone. Shadow Weaver had trained her together with Adora. Her whole life had revolved around Adora. She had opened the portal to get back at Adora. And even though they were bitter enemies, she was the only person Catra ever wanted to see. It was then that Catra heard a noise and quickly stood up.
Catra saw two young cadets walk by looking very subdued. One of them had been badly beaten up and the other had clearly been crying. Catra stayed hidden until they had passed. She then reflected on how she was effectively the leader of the Horde, and therefore one of the chief administrators of the cadet programme. She had never given it much thought. Most cadets were forcibly taken during campaigns and brainwashed to follow Hordak in his conquest for Etheria. Catra had never been alright with that. She herself had been abandoned, and Adora had been found, but they were the exception. Catra remembered how much she used to hate the Horde for what it did to the cadets and their families. She nearly ran away several times and she would have done so had it not been for Adora. Stupid Adora.
Catra looked at the ground and then back up with newfound determination. The Horde was evil. It always had been. It made no sense to keep leading it the way she had. She needed to make it better, and by doing so she would make it lose the war. The first step would be to end the cadet programme. Catra climbed back over the pipe and continued her walk to her quarters. A plan began to form in her mind. It would be dangerous and she would need help. Catra had run out of people she could trust, so she turned to the one person left with whom she had a connection. Once she reached her room, she pulled out her tablet and called Force Captain Octavia.
Force Captain Octavia hated Catra. Catra had partially blinded her when she was a senior cadet, humiliating her in front of her peers and superiors. How could she have let a creature half her age and height hurt her so severely? It did not help that Adora, the golden child, had protected Catra from her so she was never able to exact her revenge. When Adora left, Catra had been promoted and was almost never in the same place as Octavia. At least, not before the Battle of Salineas. Octavia had been put in charge of the Horde's navy and had been coordinating the attack from the sea. She had seen Catra from a distance and had had to restrain herself from shooting her with her laser cannon. When the battle was over, she had searched for Catra in the debris, but had not found her. She then learned that Catra had been sent back to the Fright Zone and that she had yet again lost her chance to get even. A couple of days later, Octavia was napping on board her ship when a call came in from the last person she ever expected to call her. Octavia answered the call with surprise and confusion painted on her face. Catra, on the other hand, looked unusually nervous.
"Force Captain Octavia. It's been a while." Octavia growled in response. Her hatred for this feline was clouding her judgement. Catra ignored her, however, and continued:
"How soon can you return to the Fright Zone?" Octavia's face went white. Why should she return to the Fright Zone? Surely the navy had to stay stationed along the coast of Salineas, assisting Hordak in his invasion? She had been working non-stop transporting troops and supplies, conducting patrols, and had even been attacked by She-Ra and the princesses in the performance of her duty. She was clearly in the right place! What was Catra thinking trying to pull her out? She growled louder.
"Just because Hordak sent you home doesn't mean you get to drag me back with you." Catra gave her an annoyed expression.
"Look, I know you don't like me, but just hear me out. I'm disbanding all the cadets and I need you to take them all back where they came from." Octavia stared at her blankly before laughing in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, you're doing what? Has Hordak authorized this?" Catra looked away sheepishly and said nothing. This surprised Octavia.
"Wait, you're serious? You're disbanding the cadets and going behind Hordak's back?" "Yep."
"Why? We need the cadets to keep the Horde running. Doing this will destroy the Horde." "Well, maybe it needs to be destroyed." Octavia gasped. Had Catra lost her mind?
"You are running the Horde, Catra! Your job is to keep it running! I don't understand what you are doing-" Catra interrupted her:
"The Horde is evil, Octavia. We're the bad guys. You know this. Who in their right mind praises a child for blinding a teenager?" Octavia's head jolted up as she relived one of her worst memories: Shadow Weaver commending Catra for successfully beating and blinding Octavia in front of all the cadets. It was one of the few times Catra was praised for anything. Octavia looked away as a tear welled up in her one good eye.
"Are you even sorry?" she whimpered. Catra looked confused.
"About what?" Octavia could not believe this.
"Taking my eye? Ruining my life? Do you even care about what happened to me after you did that?" Catra raised an eyebrow.
"If I recall correctly, you did provoke me."
"I called you names and chased you around a bit – like everyone else did that back then! I did not deserve to get blinded for that!" Catra scoffed:
"Did it ever occur to you that I did not deserve to get bullied like that? I wasn't just called names and chased around you know!" Catra sighed and pinched her nose before continuing:
"Look, I acknowledge that you were badly treated, but this only proves my point. The kind of environment that encourages this kind of thing is wrong and we need to put a stop to it. Do you really want the Horde conquering Etheria? Having every child in Etheria deal with the same trauma we did?" Octavia looked at the ground. She could not believe she was agreeing with the person she hated more than anything in the world.
"I guess not. But how am I supposed to transport hundreds of children back to their homes without Hordak knowing? He's bound to find out eventually. Also, how do you even know where each kid comes from? Is there even a list?" Catra rolled her eyes.
"I assume so. If not I'll make one. Look, just be here in two days with as many ships as you can muster without causing suspicion. I'll handle Hordak. I'll see to it you are not punished for this." Octavia's expression softened for the first time since she had answered the call.
"I may have misjudged you kitty-cat." Catra glared at Octavia.
"Do not call me that." Octavia smiled. Everyone used to call her that. Well, everyone except Adora. With that, Catra hung up. Octavia looked out the window and thought hard about what would happen next.
Octavia returned to the Fright Zone with around five ships. Catra was waiting for her along with Sergeant Cobalt. The sergeant was a legend in the Fright Zone – a blue-skinned Etherian who had trained several generations of Horde soldiers; including Octavia and Catra. He had been the main individual running the cadet programme and it had taken a long time to convince him to agree to this without alerting Hordak. Catra had somehow succeeded, however, and he promptly began organizing the children into groups and directing them to their respective ships.
Some of the cadets looked sad to be leaving, while most looked confused or excited. Many Horde soldiers both in the boats and in the Fright Zone were looking on in awe as the future of the Horde was literally sent away. Octavia went and got the list from Sergeant Cobalt and began to distribute copies of it to the captains of the different ships. She had been careful in who she had asked to come with her. They were all generally sympathetic to the cause. After this, she finally turned towards Catra and the two of them stared at each other awkwardly before Catra broke the silence:
"Thank you for coming. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't agreed to come." Octavia was caught off-guard by that remark, and the shock must have shown on her face. Suddenly all her hatred began to ebb and she awkwardly looked down at the ground before muttering:
"You're welcome."