Catra did not know what she expected Horde Prime to do to her. Probe her with needles? Beat her senseless? Maybe threaten her non-existent friends and family? Any one of those options would probably have worked on Sparkles but not on her. Growing up with Shadow Weaver had had few advantages, but knowing how to deal with torture was one of them. The clones dragged her to an empty cell and dumped her unceremoniously on the floor. Catra let herself fall. They then handcuffed her to the wall, much like she had been when Hordak had imprisoned her all those months ago. It was not necessary – the mere act of standing up had become too painful for Catra. The clones left and locked the entrance with a sickly green force field. Catra leaned back in her seated position and stared at the ceiling. Had she made the right choice? It was a bit too late to wonder.
Adora did not know what to think. The Fright Zone had a giant crater in the middle of it. It looked desolate – and it was quiet. Too quiet. Adora could not remember a time when the Fright Zone had not been bustling with life, or at least the noise of machinery. There was nothing and no one there now. As soon as Bow had told her what happened to Glimmer and Hordak, her thoughts had immediately gone to Catra. She had not been in the Whispering Woods with the rest of the Horde, meaning she must have been here, in the Fright Zone. Adora was not sure why she was there now. It had been a couple of days since she had broken the sword. Horde Prime's clones and robots had driven the princesses out of Brightmoon and they were currently hiding in the Whispering Woods. She had gone on a few rescue missions as Adora, but it had been hard. She missed She-Ra and, now that she was here, she realized that was not all she missed. She closed her eyes and hoped that, wherever she was, Catra was alright.
Catra was not alright. After being left alone in her cell for what felt like days, Hordak himself came in and pulled her to her feet without saying a word. Catra had no idea how to react. It was clear something had happened to him – he was dressed like all the other clones and did not seem to recognize her at all. She made a feeble attempt to resist as he dragged her out of the room, but she was too weak. She had not been eating the food they had been giving her, and she was still injured from the fight she had had with Hordak before all of this. She was half-convinced that she had broken or fractured something. She let Hordak lead her down two long winding corridors before being pushed into a room with a large green pool. Hooded clones surrounded the pool at a distance, and they all glared at her in eerie silence. It was then that Horde Prime himself walked in behind her.
"Hello little sister." Catra turned and glared at him. Horde Prime continued:
"I apologize for your accommodation, but you did agree to take the queen's place." Catra lost the strength to keep glaring and let her eyes fall to the water. She hated water. Why did she get the impression she was about to be submerged in it?
"The queen currently occupies your quarters. If you wish for things to return to the way they ought to be, you need only ask." Catra raised her eyebrow and finally spoke:
"What am I doing here?" Horde Prime was expressionless as he responded:
"I meant what I said. I wish to bring peace to Etheria and I want you to help me do it. I would have brought you out of your room sooner had I not found out certain information." He enunciated the last two words. Catra's throat went dry. Which lie had been exposed? There were numerous possibilities. Horde Prime continued:
"You blew up the Fright Zone, did you not?" Catra said nothing. She wanted to laugh in his face and call him pathetic for having only just figured that out, but fear got the better of her. He continued:
"You also fought and defeated my little brother. I assume you grew tired of his incompetence?" Catra nodded. He was more or less right about that.
"And you disbanded the Horde. You sent the children away, along with every single soldier. Why did you do that, Catra?" Catra hated the way he said her name. Then again, she preferred it to "little sister." She cleared her throat before exclaiming:
"Why bother with them when you already have an entire army? They pose no threat to you! They are nothing without me!" Another lie. Octavia was a competent leader and she trusted that she had followed her orders. The remainder of the Horde should be on its way to the Crimson Waste by now. Horde Prime growled:
"But that's just it, isn't it? You're the reason the Horde almost succeeded in its conquest of Etheria. And you're also the reason it failed." He turned to look her in the eyes before whispering menacingly:
"You are a traitor." The blood drained from Catra's face. She was definitely going swimming.
Glimmer paced in her cell. She did not know how much time had passed but it could not have been more than a few days. She had neither seen nor heard from Catra. Horde Prime had not been to see her either. The same clone came by every few hours with a fresh plate of food, but she had been unable to eat anything. She was worried about what Horde Prime was doing to Catra and she was really worried about what was happening back on Etheria. Had Horde Prime started his invasion? Would She-Ra be able to save everyone like she always did?
Glimmer assumed Adora was the reason the Heart of Etheria had not destroyed everything. She felt terrible about that. All of this was her fault. For once she could not blame Catra for causing a near-apocalyptic event. Speaking of, why had Catra lied to protect her? She could have told Horde Prime about the Heart of Etheria. She could have even used that as her reasoning for keeping Glimmer alive! What she had done instead was put herself at his mercy after dethroning Hordak and blowing up the Fright Zone. It had to have been her, right? She had not seemed that surprised when Horde Prime said it was gone. What game was she playing? Was she friend or foe?
"You are a traitor." The words echoed in Catra's ears as Hordak held her under the water. It turned out to not be water at all but a horrible thick electrifying liquid. Catra felt the all-too familiar sensation of electricity coursing through her body and slowly burning her fur from the inside out. Everything hurt – her head most of all. She was seeing her life flash before her eyes and almost all of it had been bad. All except for Adora. Catra clung to those memories of Adora, back when they were together and everything made sense. She tried to imprint her face in her brain while the green liquid slowly erased everything that made her who she was. When she emerged from the pool, her mind was blank. Horde Prime extended his hand towards her.
"Behold the purest among you!"
Glimmer felt sick. She had been taken back to her cell after having a meal with Horde Prime. He had told her he knew about the Heart of Etheria and had demanded to know how it worked. Glimmer had refused to cooperate until he had shown her what he was doing on Etheria. She saw her friends mercilessly attacked by robots, and she saw Adora trapped and defeated on the ground. What had happened to She-Ra? She dared not think about it - everything was her fault. She pleaded for Adora's life and explained that the Heart of Etheria needed all the princesses alive and well in order to be activated. Horde Prime had given her his best evil smile before inviting her to finish her food. Despite her hunger, Glimmer had not been able to bring herself to accept his invitation.
It had taken longer than Adora would have liked, but the upgrades to Mara's ship had finally been completed. Entrapta had managed to get Glimmer's co-ordinates and Bow had finished packing their supplies. The loss of She-Ra had badly impacted Adora, but she was determined to rescue Glimmer at all costs. As they had been about to leave, Horde Prime's forces had launched yet another attack against them. King Micah had heroically stayed behind to cover them as Bow and Entrapta had got the ship in the air and up through Etheria's atmosphere. So much had happened and Adora had barely had a chance to process it. That being said, she meant what she had told Bow outside the Fright Zone. They were going to save Glimmer, and then they were going to save the universe. As long as she stayed focused on that, she would not get distracted by her crippling self-doubt, dangerously over-developed hero complex, and increasing concern over the safety of her friends. Glimmer had to be alright. She just had to be.
Catra was feeling great. She had been a sister of Horde Prime for several days now and she felt so fulfilled. Whenever Horde Prime called her, she rushed to his side. She performed every task she was given as if it was her life's purpose. She had cleaned rooms and hallways, helped prepare food for the prisoner and her brothers, and had even been called by Horde Prime to answer a question about the location of a space ship. She had desperately wanted to help him, but her mind was empty. She could not remember anything. Horde Prime had dismissed her and Catra had felt like an utter failure. Still, she was generally happy and at peace - until she saw the prisoner.
Horde Prime had told her not to go near the prisoner's cell, but she had been given conflicting orders to go and get something from a storage unit nearby. She had to pass by the cell to get to it. She dared not question Horde Prime and had instead resolved to do her very best not to look at the cell, trusting the bright green force field would hide whoever was inside. Unfortunately the prisoner was having her meal delivered right at the moment Catra walked by, and she had seen her. She could not take her eyes off her. She was purple and sparkly, which contrasted very strongly with the white and green colors surrounding her. Sparkly. Sparkles. Catra yelped as she felt a sharp pain in her head. What was happening? What was so bad about the word "Sparkles"? Both the prisoner and the clone looked in her direction. She must have said it out loud. The prisoner ran to the edge of her cell and yelled:
"Catra? Is that you?" How did she know her name? Before she could begin to wonder, her mind felt like it was being turned inside out. She heard Horde Prime's voice telling her to resist and to go to him immediately. Normally she would have - she would have raced to his side – but the way he told her to "resist" did not sit right with her. Resist what? Who was this prisoner?
With all her strength, Catra disobeyed Horde Prime for what felt like the first time in her life, and she headed over to her. The clone moved between them but was seemingly knocked out by the prisoner. Catra barely made it over to the cell before she literally fell into the prisoner's arms. She could barely focus with all the noise in her head. The prisoner stared at her in complete shock and horror. Never before had Catra seen someone so afraid. The sparkly girl cried out:
"Catra! What happened to you?!" Catra closed her eyes and thought hard. What had happened to her? A mess of blurry images and long-forgotten sounds and voices began to circle around her brain. She knew this girl. She had fought this girl. Had she also saved her? It was getting to be too much – Horde Prime's voice dominated her brain and she felt like her head might explode. She began to slip from consciousness as the girl leaned over her in concern. Catra flinched as the prisoner put her hand on her shoulder.
"Catra, what's on your neck?" With that, Catra lost control. It had been a valiant effort – an incredible effort – but Horde Prime finally took over her brain and Catra could feel her mouth moving as he spoke for her. Whatever she said upset the prisoner. She then felt her bones break and re-align as Horde Prime took control of her body. Her claws extended and she took a swipe at the girl. Catra could do nothing. All she could do was watch.
Glimmer winced in pain. Catra's claws had scratched her badly on the side of her face. She fell over backwards as Horde Prime's laugh emanated through Catra voice. It was horrible. Catra's hair had been cut short and she was wearing a clone's uniform. There was a metal object on her neck which Glimmer assumed was how Horde Prime was controlling her. However, Catra was clearly a lot stronger than he thought. Her eyes were bright green now, but they had been their usual blue and yellow a moment ago. Glimmer decided she would do everything she could to see those eyes again.
After being satisfied that Glimmer was neutralized, Horde Prime turned Catra's body around to walk back out of the cell. Big mistake. Glimmer grabbed her chair and threw it at Catra. It hit Catra right in the back and she collapsed with a howl of pain. Glimmer then jumped on her and took advantage of her position on Catra's back to begin examining the metal device on her neck. It was too small and complex to risk actually removing, but maybe she could just break it? Catra began to squirm under her. She was surprisingly strong and Glimmer almost lost her balance. It was then that she heard clones approaching in the distance. She had to think fast. She grabbed the glass of water from the tray of food on her desk. She poured it on the device. She really hoped this worked.
It did not work. Whatever the prisoner was trying to do was not working and was just needlessly hurting Catra. Why had she dared to rebel against Horde Prime? She knew he had her best interests at heart – he had been trying to protect her from this monster who had pretended to know her and now had her pinned to the ground. She had poured some water on her neck which had felt really unpleasant and served no purpose whatsoever. Water. What felt like a distant memory floated to the surface of her mind.
Catra remembered being forcibly submerged in green water. She remembered how it hurt her. She then remembered it had been at Horde Prime's command. Before she could delve deeper into the memory, however, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. The prisoner was lightly punching her there. What was she trying to do? Horde Prime finally managed to free Catra's hand and successfully pushed the prisoner off her back. As Catra felt herself jump up and move backwards into the hallway, five clones emerged behind her. Horde Prime had saved her. Everything would be alright.
This was her last chance. Glimmer was not going to give up so easily. Using every last ounce of strength she had, she charged at Catra. She wrapped her arms around her as their bodies made contact and forced her way through the two clones who tried to block her. Glimmer ran straight into the wall across the hallway, ramming the device into it with all her might. Catra screamed and collapsed in her arms. Before Glimmer could do anything, however, the clones were on her. Two of them held down her arms while another grabbed her around the waist. They managed to pick her up and throw her back into her cell. When she tried to get back up, the two other clones entered the cell and pointed their arm cannons at her. It was over. She had lost. Or had she?
Suddenly, one of the clones in the hallway let out a howl of pain as someone grabbed him and pulled him down. The clone next to him turned around and readied his arm cannon, but he was too late. Catra punched him square on the jaw. She then narrowly avoided an attack from the third clone and just managed to knock him over before knocking him out too. The two clones in the cell with Glimmer looked on in confusion and the queen decided to use this distraction to her advantage. She grabbed her tray of food and whacked the back of one of the clones' necks. The clone collapsed as his brother turned back around in horror. Glimmer was about to try and take him out too when Catra did it for her. For a second, the two girls stared at each other in silence. Then the alarm went off.
Horde Prime snarled as the cameras showed Catra and Glimmer running frantically down the corridors of his ship. He telepathically instructed every available clone to converge on their location. This embarrassment had gone on long enough. He had made a mistake sending Catra near Glimmer's cell. He should have known that the purifying process would work less well on her than it did on his brothers. Still, both she and the queen were nothing more than weak defenseless prisoners with nowhere to go. He would catch them and, when he did, he decided he would get rid of the queen. She was more trouble than she was worth and he had other ways of accessing the Heart of Etheria. As for Catra, he had grown intrigued by her. She was a great asset and it had taken this little incident to remind him of it. Not only had she successfully resisted his control, albeit for a moment, but she had taken out four clones at once. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. She was wasted as a mere clone. A different approach was needed – one where she agreed to work with him of her own free will.
Bow was a patient, understanding and loving friend by definition, but the continued technical problems on board Mara's ship, along with Enrapta's unwillingness to stay in one place while she fixed everything, was beginning to get to him. The power had shorted out again and he had had to leave Adora on the flight deck while he tried to find Entrapta. All three of them had been in space for several days and they had heard nothing from the rebellion. Not that he had expected to – they were probably too far away by now. It would be nice to know they were alright though, or, more accurately, it would be nice to know whether or not they had heard anything about Glimmer.
Bow had been so relieved when Entrapta had found her location, but he was still worried. What was Horde Prime doing to her? Was she being tortured like she was all that time ago by Shadow Weaver? Was she being treated well, with access to food and water? Did she have somewhere to sleep? Was she able to sleep? Bow cared for Glimmer. Despite everything she had done, he truly and deeply cared about her; and if anything happened to her before they arrived, he was certain he would not hesitate to send an arrow flying straight into Horde Prime's heart.
Catra's head hurt so badly. She could still hear Horde Prime's voice, but even it was being drowned out by the throbbing pain in the back of her neck and the inside of her skull. It was only a matter of time before Horde Prime regained control of her – as soon as she lost consciousness it would all be over. She had to fight it. She had to stay awake. She turned right into a different corridor, only to find more clones at the end of it.
Catra quickly opened the door to a room she vaguely remembered being a teleportation chamber and ran inside. She waited until Sparkles had entered before locking the door. Was that her name? Whether it was or not, it suited her. The girl in question was out of breath and raised her hand to point out the open door on the other side of the room. Catra ran to close it and just managed to do so before more clones got in. The alarm was still blaring and Catra's sensitive ears had almost gone deaf with the noise. She tried to concentrate.
She tried to figure out what to do next.
Glimmer gasped as Catra grabbed her arm and pushed her behind yet another green force field. For half a second Glimmer wondered whether Horde Prime had finally regained control of her, but her fears died when she saw Catra frantically fiddling with the control panel in the centre of the room.
Her eyes were still blue and yellow. She was still in control. Glimmer called out to her:
"What are you doing?" Catra groaned in pain as she answered:
"What does it look like? I'm getting you out of here!"
Catra's hands shook. Her head was on fire. She tried desperately to remember how the teleportation controls worked. She had had to use them once before on a supply run while under Horde Prime's influence. Horde Prime. She was still confused about what had happened with him.
Every bone in her body told her to just give in, to listen to him, to go and beg for his forgiveness. Who was she if not a beloved sister of Horde Prime? The memory kept stopping her, however. The very real memory of Horde Prime ordering her to be drowned in electrifying green water. She did not know what she had done to deserve it, but she did know her hair had been longer and that she had been wearing a different uniform. She was also certain that this prisoner, whoever she was, was someone good who had freed her from Horde Prime's control not for her own personal gain, but out of genuine concern for Catra's wellbeing. She decided she would return the favor. Catra tried to remember any co-ordinates that were not outposts of Horde Prime's army. The clones had begun to force open the doors. She heard Sparkles yell over the noise:
"Catra! Why are you doing this? Where are you sending me? What is going to happen to you?" Catra grunted in agony. She could feel herself slipping from consciousness as Horde Prime's voice got louder. Somehow hearing his voice made her remember the discussion she had had with him about the space ship. The space ship! She remembered the co-ordinates for the quadrant it was in! That would have to work. She had no idea who was on the ship, but she figured they were neither clones nor fans of Horde Prime. She activated the comms on the control panel and isolated the signal to that particular quadrant. It was unlikely the ship had left it yet, or that any other ships would be there. The signal was received by someone who proceeded to open the communication channel.
"Hello? Who is this?" Catra gasped. For a second all of her pain melted away. She knew that voice. It was the one that had been circling in her mind the most since she had been released from Horde Prime's control. This time she knew the name of the person who spoke – Adora.
"Hey Adora."