It had taken several days for the news of the cadets' absence to reach Hordak. He was bound to find out eventually. While he had been regularly checking in with Catra, who had constantly assured him that everything was fine, he had also been hearing whispers from his soldiers. He had eventually contacted Sergeant Cobalt and it had not taken long for him to admit the truth. Enraged, Hordak decided to return to the Fright Zone.

Catra's mental state had gone from bad to worse. She had not been eating or sleeping. She had begun to doubt the wisdom of destroying everything she had built, and it killed her to know she could not take back what she had set in motion. She had heard nothing from Octavia (not that she had expected to, but it would be comforting to know whether or not her plan was working). She still had no news of Double Trouble. She assumed they must have been captured. The Horde's invasion of Etheria was going nicely.

Catra had successfully got her troops to the borders of the Kingdom of Snows and Plumeria. She was just waiting for Hordak to signal his complete control of Salineas before launching a simultaneous attack. The rebels would not know what hit them. Catra had made little effort to weaken the Horde since disbanding the cadets, but she did not have to. Almost half of the soldiers still in the Fright Zone had deserted, along with several in the field as soon as they found out. Without the cadets, the Horde had no future. Only an idiot or an insanely loyal follower would stay. She marvelled at how long it was taking Hordak to find out about the cadets. It must be common knowledge by now. As if on cue, Hordak rang her on her tablet. She quickly answered:

"Yes Lord Hordak?"

"I shall be returning to the Fright Zone shortly. You and I have much to discuss." Catra noticed the scowl on Hordak's face. She had displeased him. He must have found out. She chose to play it cool.

"Very well. I will prepare for your arrival." Hordak grunted before hanging up. Catra breathed heavily before checking the cameras again for Scorpia. She did not understand why she was so obsessed with her. She should be happy for her. The princesses were probably treating her like a queen. It is what she deserved. Catra was sad and lonely, however, and that drives people to do strange things. She looked out the window and saw her old squad returning from a mission. She decided to go and yell and them.

When Hordak arrived, he wasted no time in summoning Catra to his throne room. It was bizarre seeing him in there. He had almost always been in his sanctum since Entrapta entered his life. Catra entered cautiously – not knowing if he would try and kill her before giving her a chance to explain. Not that she could explain.

"Catra."

"Yes Lord Hordak?"

"Where are the cadets?" Catra gulped. She had to lie and it had to be believable.

"They are doing a training exercise outside of the Fright Zone." Hordak raised an eyebrow. Catra continued:

"Force Captain Octavia is supervising the exercise. They should be back soon." Catra shifted nervously before attempting to change the subject:

"Are you ready for our attacks on Plumeria and the Kingdom of Snows to go ahead?" Catra prayed she had convinced him. Hordak glared at her before turning around and staring at the wall.

"Sergeant Cobalt said you ended the cadet programme and sent every one of them home." Catra grunted in annoyance. She figured she had not entirely convinced Sergeant Cobalt to support her cause of weakening the Horde. She had used the wellbeing of the children in the midst of an intensifying war as her main argument. He was stubbornly loyal to Hordak though, so his tattling came as no surprise.

"Sergeant Cobalt is wrong" Catra stated calmly. She continued:

"I did not include him in the training exercise and he must have been upset about it." Hordak turned and glared at Catra. Catra lowered her ears. A long minute passed before Hordak turned back towards the wall.

"Launch the attacks."

Catra could not believe her luck. She had managed to convince Hordak that she was not a traitor and now she was closer to conquering Etheria than she had ever been before. She had half-changed her mind about the Horde. This could work – it had worked for a very long time. Yes, the Horde was evil, but she was not evil. Once the war ended, she would fix everything. She'd already freed the cadets! She'd been ruling Salineas and authorizing projects to rebuild while Hordak was securing its borders! The people of Etheria would not hate her by the end of this. Maybe ruling alone would not be so bad. Hordak would be easy to remove from power, and whatever was left of the Horde would do whatever she asked. She went to her old squad's locker-room and splashed water on her face. She was so glad her lie had worked and Hordak had not tried to kill her. That being said, she did not look happy. She looked miserable. Before Catra could figure out why, her old squad walked in.

They stopped when they saw Catra and tried to leave. Catra told them to stay, however, and asked them to report on their mission. She had wanted the comfort of some friendly faces. She had wondered whether she should brag about her little victory over Hordak. Instead, however, she was brutally reminded of how lonely she was, and how, even with all her supposed power and success, she seemed doomed to be alone forever. Maybe that was why she reacted so strongly to Kyle accidentally hitting one of Scorpia's old drawings. Maybe that was why she lashed out at Lonnie for defending Kyle. Maybe that was why, when Double Trouble suddenly appeared, she did not listen to her better judgement and believed everything they said. It had to end. It all had to end. The sooner it was over, the sooner she could fix everything and be with Adora again. She did not give the order to invade Plumeria and the Kingdom of Snows. She instead gave the order to go and invade Brightmoon.

Catra was an idiot. She was an absolute idiot. Of course Double Trouble had gone behind her back and betrayed her to Hordak. They had been absent for so long – it made sense that Sparkles had bought them off. Catra was poised on a girder in the forge of the Fright Zone. Hordak was chasing her and had every intention of killing her. Catra took a deep breath and assessed her situation. She had several cuts and bruises, but nothing too severe. She was not very familiar with the forge. She had not even known it existed before she was made second-in-command two years ago. That being said, it was not her first time hiding from a figure of authority who was stronger than her. She had beaten Shadow Weaver by attacking from above. She could beat Hordak too. She had to. It was then that she heard his footsteps and prepared to pounce.

Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle made their way out of the Fright Zone. They had not gone with the rest of the troops. They were never going with them again. Catra attacking Kyle in the locker room had been the last straw. It had been Lonnie's idea to leave. Rogelio had agreed with her and Kyle had agreed with Rogelio. When they left they had bumped into Scorpia and the sparkly princess. If it had been any other day, they would have done their duty and defended the Fright Zone. It was not like any other day, however, and while the squad had been hurt by Scorpia's desertion, they understood why she had done it.

Catra really had gone too far. They had been hopeful when she disbanded the cadets, but her recent actions confirmed how little she had changed. The squad had let Scorpia and her friend pass without a fight. They were now in the wasteland outside the Fright Zone and had stopped to take a break under a large boulder. They watched as explosions lit up the sky. It was a good thing there was no one left in the Fright Zone. Whatever was happening there was absolutely destroying it.

She had done it. She had defeated Hordak. Catra fought to catch her breath. What was she going to do now? If Double Trouble could do this to her, then they certainly could have lied to her about Brightmoon. And even if they had not, Catra should have been with her troops. She needed to be with them to assure their victory. She was the only member of the Horde left who could take on the princesses. Having Shadow Weaver as a mentor had few perks, but learning how to deal with magic had been one of them. It then occurred to her that because Hordak had prevented her from leaving, it was more than likely that the battle would end in the rebellion's favor and the Horde really would be destroyed. Catra began to hyperventilate. If the war was going to end, it was going to end on her terms. She knew what she had to do – she had to get to Brightmoon. She was about to go when Adora's voice suddenly rang in her ear:

"Hey Catra."

Lonnie sighed loudly as Kyle took forever to find a map in the bag of supplies he had hastily grabbed on the way out. She was the unofficial leader of the squad and she had no idea where she was going to lead them. All she knew was they had to get away from the Fright Zone. Even the sparkly princess had said as much. What was her name? Lonnie could never remember. It was then that Kyle screamed, dropped the bag, and fell over backwards. Both Lonnie and Rogelio stared as the bag began to move and a pair of eyes began looking at them from under the flap. Lonnie slowly approached it with Rogelio following her. She reached for the flap and opened it. The squad looked in amazement as Hordak's pet jumped out and onto Kyle. Kyle squealed in alarm before the imp nuzzled him happily. It seemed that he wanted to escape too.

Catra sat on the ground of the forge - utterly defeated. Double Trouble had confirmed her worst fears about the Second Battle of Brightmoon, had insulted her to her face, and presented her biggest flaws and insecurities for everyone to hear. Well, everyone being Hordak and herself, and she did not think he was even conscious. Maybe Double Trouble was right in their presentation of her character, but Catra simply did not care anymore. Whatever resolve she had had a few minutes ago was gone. Let the Horde be destroyed. It made no difference to her. As if on cue, Queen Glimmer chose this moment to materialize before her. She was prepared for a fight. Catra did not want to fight anymore.

"He's so cute!" Kyle exclaimed while cuddling the little imp. Rogelio raised an eyebrow while Lonnie pinched her nose.

"We can't keep him!" she said almost angrily. Rogelio gave her a confused expression and Kyle looked at her sadly. Lonnie stared at them incredulously before continuing:

"We have barely enough supplies to get us to the Whispering Woods! We don't have any ration bars to spare!" Kyle looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes:

"Please? He can have mine!" Rogelio growled in agreement. He could have his too. They had only been able to grab brown ration bars anyway. He hated those. Lonnie rolled her eyes before giving in:

"Fine – but he's your responsibility!" Kyle's eyes lit up and Rogelio gave him a loving smile.

"Thank you Lonnie! You're the best!"

When the Heart of Etheria was activated, Glimmer immediately collapsed and screamed in pain. Catra was both confused and scared. What kind of ancient super weapon could do this to a princess? Was it doing it to all the princesses? Her thoughts turned to Scorpia. She hoped she was alright. Glimmer began to say something - someone called Light Hope had "used" her? The name sounded familiar. Was that the name of the person Adora was looking for in that First One's temple two years ago? As soon as Adora came to mind, Catra growled in annoyance. Double Trouble's wounds were still fresh. She angrily dared Glimmer to use her weapon, asking whether or not she wanted to win. It was then that Glimmer explained the weapon would destroy everything and that she had to fix it. With a grunt of pain, she got up and left. Catra followed her. Glimmer headed to the Black Garnet chamber. Catra took a detour.

Lonnie did not know Kyle had packed her tablet before it began ringing. She pulled it out of the bag uncertainly and saw that Catra was calling her. Lonnie could not believe it. Was she going to ask for help? Would she apologize? No, Catra would never apologize - but she would never ask for help either. Curiosity got the better of her and she answered the call. Catra looked awful. Before she could say anything, however, the sky went dark and the ground began to shake. Lonnie saw what looked like lightning in the distance. She cowered under the boulder with the rest of the squad. Catra began to yell over the noise:

"Lonnie! Where are you?" Lonnie scoffed and yelled back:

"As if you care! We've left, Catra! You can't make us stay!" Catra stared at her incredulously before lowering her head in defeat.

"Fine" she said quietly. She hung up. Lonnie was shocked. She had never seen Catra concede defeat before.

Octavia was outside Salineas when everything went wrong. The sky had gone dark and a vicious storm had started. Octavia ordered everyone to abandon ship when some lightning set fire to their sail. She had successfully taken all the cadets back to their homes and was now taking the few remaining cadets (who had no home to go back to) to a group of deserters hiding out in Salineas. Catra had found them soon after ending the cadet programme and had told them that she would give them no trouble as long as they looked after whoever could not be returned to a home. Octavia managed to get everyone to shore quickly. Her reptilian nature really came in handy in situations like this. As everyone huddled under a massive piece of debris, her tablet began ringing. It was Catra. Octavia quickly answered it:

"Hey Catra! What's going on?" Catra looked terrible.

"The Horde has been defeated! It's all over!" Octavia gasped and stared at the soldiers and cadets who surrounded her. They all heard that. Catra continued:

"The rebels have unleashed some kind of super weapon. I don't know what's going to happen now

– but whatever happens, the Horde cannot be left like this!" Octavia stared at Catra wide-eyed.

Left like what? What had happened? She had been out of touch for the last few weeks.

"You need to get on comms and get as many survivors from the Second Battle of Brightmoon to converge on your position as you can! You are the new leader of the Horde! Congratulations!"

"What?!" yelled Octavia, but her voice was drowned out as the sky lit up and the whole planet seemed to vibrate. After a few seconds, the blinding light disappeared and Octavia could see what looked like thousands of little lights in the sky. Catra yelled over the noise:

"Octavia! Did you understand what I said? What just happened?" One of the more scientificallyminded cadets then proceeded to shout at no one in particular:

"Stars! Those are stars! Another portal must have been activated!" Catra's face went visibly white.

Octavia looked back at her. For a few seconds no one spoke. Then Catra broke the silence:

"I need to go, Octavia. Please do as I ask. Rally all remaining members of the Horde and keep them safe. Once you're altogether, head for the Crimson Waste. No one will bother you there. You can set yourselves up in the old Horde outpost. And stay hidden, okay? If anyone called Horde Prime reaches out to you, do not trust anything he says! Stay away from him!" With that, Catra hung up.

Octavia was thoroughly confused and, for the first time in her life, genuinely afraid.

Catra was in Hordak's throne room. Her injuries were becoming more apparent and every step was agony. She turned on Hordak's control panel and watched as the thousands of security cameras of the Fright Zone began flooding onto the screen. She saw what she thought was Hordak and Glimmer in the Black Garnet chamber. Then an intense green light suddenly appeared, making the two most powerful rulers of Etheria disappear. Catra gulped. It had to be Horde Prime. She quickly got to work. She could not let Horde Prime get a hold of any of the Fright Zone's resources. She needed to give Adora time to figure out how to beat him.

Catra typed in her passcode and ordered the computer to start the self-destruct sequence. Only Hordak, Shadow Weaver and she knew this existed. Once activated, hidden charges would blow up the forge, the robot assembly line, the main weapons store, Hordak's sanctum and the Black Garnet chamber. It was only supposed to be activated in the event of a successful invasion of the Fright Zone. Catra did not care about that. She had to destroy whatever Horde Prime might be able to use against Etheria. She had just managed to set the timer before she was also engulfed by a green light and felt herself pulled skyward by an invisible force.

Bow had run back into the wasteland surrounding the Fright Zone. He needed to get help. He had been unable to stop Glimmer from being captured by Horde Prime. The only person who could help now was She-Ra. He needed to find Adora. It was then that a deafening explosion could be heard coming from the Fright Zone. He turned around and saw a giant plume of smoke emerging from its center. He heard what sounded like a big metal structure collapsing. Had Horde Prime decided to blow up the Fright Zone? Was someone else trying to? The first big explosion was followed by several smaller ones, until there were half a dozen plumes of smoke floating upwards.

Bow took a deep breath. He really hoped no one had been in there.

Glimmer was starting to panic. She had just watched Hordak get violently reprogrammed by Horde Prime. Shadow Weaver had warned her about him and about the danger his arrival posed; but she had not listened. Just like she had not listened to Adora and Bow when they warned her about the Heart of Etheria. Before she could start feeling sorry for herself, however, Horde Prime turned to her and apologized for Hordak's behavior. Glimmer nervously inquired as to Horde Prime's intentions, to which he replied with some well-rehearsed speech about peace. That should have encouraged her, but the way he said it was just wrong.

Glimmer then asked uncertainly if that meant he would leave Etheria alone. Horde Prime smirked and confirmed that that would not be the case. He began to move towards Glimmer threateningly when the platform they were on began to shine with green light once more. It quickly dissipated to reveal Catra sitting on the floor looking very disheveled and defeated. She looked up at Horde Prime and Glimmer. Glimmer gasped in surprise. Horde Prime turned towards her and held out his hand:

"Welcome little sister."

Catra stared at Horde Prime with barely concealed fear in her eyes. Surely he must have realized she betrayed him. If he had technology that enabled him to call her tablet from a different dimension, he must know what she had done. She took his hand and just managed to stand up. She was in a lot of pain.

"I am happy to see you, Catra. We can now finally bring peace to Etheria." Catra visibly cringed. She knew what his version of peace was. From the look on Glimmer's face, she had just found out as well. Horde Prime continued:

"Before we begin, however, I am curious about something. How did you manage to reactivate the portal? You said that your equipment was damaged." Catra looked at Glimmer who was staring at her in disbelief. Catra could guess what she was thinking – time for another lie:

"I used some special new equipment in the Fright Zone. Would you like to see it?" Catra prayed the place had been blown to bits already. It had to be. Horde Prime raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you are unaware that the Fright Zone was blown up a mere moment ago?" Catra restrained herself from smiling, and gave her best fake look of surprise while exclaiming:

"No! I had no idea!" Glimmer certainly had no idea. She had gone from glaring at Catra to simply staring at her in confusion. Catra gave a small chuckle. It had always been fun to mess with the princesses. Horde Prime noticed this and asked suspiciously:

"Do you know each other? I was under the impression that you simply fought against one other." Catra gave her first smile of the day.

"I was under the same impression. Then again, princesses are very emotional. It's what makes them so predictable." Horde Prime smirked and signaled to two of his clones to take Glimmer away. She tried to resist, only to discover her magic did not work here. Catra stopped smiling immediately and turned back to Horde Prime.

"You shouldn't hurt her." Horde Prime and Glimmer both stared at her in stunned silence. Catra took a deep breath and continued:

"Sparkles here is the ruler of Etheria. The real ruler. If you hurt her, it will be harder to achieve the peace you want." She really hoped this worked. She could just about cope with blowing up the Fright Zone, ending the Horde and losing the Second Battle of Brightmoon; but she could not stand by and do nothing while Sparkles got hurt and/or killed. She was not sure why she suddenly cared so much. Was it simply because she hated Horde Prime so much? Or was it simply because she could not stand the idea of letting Adora down yet again? Horde Prime then signaled for his clones to stop and gave Catra an unsettling smile.

"You make a very good point, little sister. I suppose then that you will not mind taking her place?" Catra stared at him wide-eyed. Every bone in her body was screaming at her to say no, to apologize for speaking out of turn, and to go and find a pipe to hide behind. Maybe she would have done that a few hours ago, but she was done running. She did not know what Horde Prime had intended to do with Glimmer, but she knew it was not good. Either way, out of the two of them, there was no question who was more deserving of the punishment.

"Sure. I'll take her place."