Perfuma trudged sadly through the Whispering Woods, accompanied by Mermista and Sea Hawk. They were returning from their failed mission to get Prince Peekablue's help in locating their friends in space. Some terrible monster dressed like Hordak, with a hideous black helmet and sword, had burst in and ruined everything. The clones who followed her called her "Despara", and it was obvious she worked for Horde Prime.
As soon as Despara had entered the undersea party where Prince Peekablue was performing, she had headed straight for Mermista. Mermista had immediately sent water from a nearby fish tank hurtling in her direction, but Despara had used her sword to divert it away from her. She had then picked up a table and tossed it at Mermista. Sea Hawk had then heroically pushed Mermista out of the way, only to get hit by the table himself. Scorpia had then come rushing over and successfully knocked Despara down, pinning her to the ground. The clones had then begun to swarm around them, with around five of them grabbing Scorpia and pulling her off Despara.
Seeing Scorpia in trouble, Perfuma had not hesitated to shoot some vines directly at the clones – sending all of them flying against the wall. Mermista had then got hold of some more water and sent it hurtling at Despara again. Despara had just got back up, and everyone had watched in horror as Mermista's water had simply washed over her without destabilizing her at all. Despara had then turned to Mermista and had spoken with such malice in her voice that it could be heard through her voice modulator:
"Pathetic." She then raised her sword and shot a laser at Mermista. Mermista had barely dodged in time, and the laser had hit the glass dome separating the dry interior from the extremely wet exterior. As the water poured in, the guests had started screaming even more than they had before, and they had tripped over themselves running for the exit. Perfuma thought she had seen Prince Peekablue in the crowd, but she had been distracted by Mermista heroically turning away from the fight and using all her strength to hold the water back. In doing so, Mermista had left herself exposed to more laser-fire from Despara. Just as Despara was about to fire again, however, Scorpia had regained her footing and jumped on her.
Despara was strong, but Scorpia was stronger. As the clones had begun to recover and move, Perfuma had run over to the semi-conscious Sea Hawk and had managed to pull him up. She had made her way to the stage elevator and had called everyone to join her. Mermista had then turned and told Scorpia to fall back. She could survive underwater, and as soon as the guests and her friends were safe, she had had every intention of letting the entire ocean crash into the room.
Scorpia had not listened, however. Instead, she had maintained her position on top of Despara and had managed to get her helmet off. Whatever she had seen made her freeze, however, at which point the two of them had been surrounded by clones yet again. Perfuma had sent her vines flying once more, but this time they were cut away by a newly freed Despara. Her helmet had returned to her head, so the princesses could only guess as to what Scorpia had seen to make her freeze the way she did. At least ten clones had now got Scorpia pinned to the floor.
Mermista had desperately tried to think of a new plan of attack but, short of drowning everyone in the room, she had had no ideas. Perfuma had then called her over again, and Mermista finally decided to follow her lead. She had begun to move towards the stage when Despara had reached her, swinging her sword like a lunatic. Mermista had then thrown a sizable torrent of water at her, causing her to lose her balance for a moment. Taking advantage of this, Mermista had made a beeline for the stage. She had turned to see that the guests were now gone and the clones had left with Scorpia. Groaning in frustration, Mermista had let the water crash in as she squeezed into the elevator with the others. She had watched spitefully as Despara was swept away.
"You failed me, Despara." Adora stood before Horde Prime's throne feeling completely ashamed and undeserving of the honour of being in his presence. Her helmet was off and the clones behind her were restraining a bound and gagged Scorpia. Horde Prime continued:
"I ordered you to terminate the water princess. You not only failed to do so, but you did not even hurt her." Adora closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame. With that, Horde Prime's features softened and her gently cupped Adora's chin with his hand:
"Don't worry, child. Prime is merciful. You will have another chance. For now, I will content myself with the consolation prize you have brought me." He then walked over to Scorpia and looked at her thoughtfully before saying:
"Oh yes, I believe I can find a use for you too."
Catra had been wandering aimlessly around Horde Prime's ship for almost an entire day. She had been teleported back here from his base in the Crimson Waste, but had been told he was too busy to hear her report. She was to sit and wait for him until further notice. She was happy to wait. She did not exactly have good news to share.
Catra sat on the sill of one of the giant windows where two corridors converged and stared at the planet below. It was not Etheria but it was definitely under attack by Horde Prime. She could just make out the explosions from what she assumed were those "missiles" he was so proud of. She grimaced when she imagined what one of those things would have done to Adora on that tiny spaceship. Catra hoped she was alright and on her way back home. The rebellion needed her to win against Horde Prime, and the Horde needed the rebellion to save them.
Bow and Glimmer listened in horror as Perfuma told them what had happened. On top of everything else, it seemed the rebellion's camp in the Whispering Woods had been attacked in their absence (that being said, the presence of the squad had tipped the odds in their favour and had ensured that no one was taken over by Horde Prime). Glimmer did her best to remain composed. She had not expected good news, but she had hoped it would not be as bad as this. They were a day away from Etheria and had had several adventures since being on Horde Prime's ship.
After two whole days of being trapped on the flight deck, Wrong Hordak, of all people, had successfully turned off Darla's lockdown function. They had then been almost immediately attacked by three clones who had been trapped in the corridor outside the flight deck. They must have run in right before the lockdown was initiated. Glimmer and Bow had successfully knocked them out and tied them up, and were currently keeping them prisoner in the cargo bay. In addition to this, they had been attacked multiple times by Horde Prime's robots, and were no doubt still being pursued by them. Entrapta theorized they were able to track their prisoners using the chips on their necks. Wrong Hordak had then unhelpfully stated that Horde Prime would simply terminate his brothers if they were causing an inconvenience. Bow had refused to do that, however.
Turning back to the situation at hand, Glimmer did her best to assure Perfuma that they would be there to help soon enough. Perfuma then asked if they were all okay. Glimmer lied and said they were.
"Catra, what is your opinion on the water princess, Mermista?" Catra's eyes went wide. Had Horde Prime not heard anything she had just said? She had just given her report on how the Horde was still undecided about accepting his offer. How did Mermista relate to this? She bit her lip and rolled with it:
"I think she's incredibly annoying and easy to beat with a good distraction." Horde Prime raised his eyebrow.
"Ah yes, you conquered her kingdom, did you not? You are well placed to take her down." Catra now raised her eyebrow.
"Take her down? Why? How is she more of a threat than any of the other princesses?" Horde Prime paused before replying:
"I'm currently building an outpost in Salineas. It's crucial nothing impedes its construction." Catra lowered her eyes. She had heard this before. Salineas controlled the seas, and, once you controlled the seas, you controlled Etheria. Horde Prime suddenly stood up from his seated position on his throne.
"Return to the Crimson Waste and launch an attack against the Horde. If they were undecided after you personally presented my offer, it means they will never be truly loyal to me. I have no interest in incorporating them into my army." Catra audibly gasped. Horde Prime looked at her in confusion.
"Is this something you do not want to do, little sister?" Catra tensed up hearing that name again. She stood up straight and looked Horde Prime in the eye.
"I am happy to obey your orders, Horde Prime, but I do have a suggestion to make." Catra barely hid her panic. She prayed with all her might that this would work.
Upon seeing the blockade of ships surrounding Etheria, Bow had been unsure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Darla was barely holding together as she was, and now they had to fly through an entire armada of enemy space craft? They would not survive. Wrong Hordak had then proposed that they simply announce over comms that they were brothers of Horde Prime, as his brothers would never fire on one another. While a good idea in principle, especially with an actual clone present to relay the message, Bow knew it probably would not work. They would be seen and identified regardless of what they said. Entrapta had then proposed that they simply try and jam every ship's comm link so no one could hear anyone else. Apparently it could be done provided no one was very attached to the wiring in the kitchen. Bow and Glimmer looked at each other in bewilderment before agreeing that that was their best shot. At least then they would only risk dealing with the ships they were immediately passing rather than all of them at once. Entrapta set to work making the device and Bow gazed at Etheria in the distance. They would make it. They just had to.
The rebellion, or what little remained of it, had been wandering the Whispering Woods for several hours looking for a new place to set up camp. They eventually stumbled upon an abandoned Horde base that Lonnie recognized as being the old pulse-bot factory. The squad had had to do a couple of supply runs here for Catra. Catra – now that was someone Lonnie did not miss. She wondered what had happened to her. They had seen the Fright Zone blow up – did she get caught in the explosion? It would serve her right as far as Lonnie was concerned.
As they entered the base, the smell of dust and rusty metal was overpowering. However, using her old Horde badge, Lonnie managed to turn the ventilation system on. She also managed to turn on the lights, or what little remained of them. As the lights came on, Lonnie finally understood why the base had been abandoned. The ceiling seemed to have almost completely caved in during a fight which could only have been between Catra and a princess. The tell-tale claw marks were everywhere and the damage was too significant to have been caused by an ordinary person. No one else seemed to figure this out, however. Mermista groaned:
"Ugh, why is your interior design always so sad?" The question was directed at Lonnie, but she was ignoring her. Instead, Lonnie had wandered over to the still largely intact control panel at the far end of the base. She wondered whether they could find out what happened here. Lonnie tapped her badge against the monitor and half the screens turned on. Much to her surprise, the last person to sign in had been Catra, and she was still logged in. Lonnie immediately began sifting through her messages. She had hundreds of them, most of which were unread. A lot of them were just boring mission reports, but some seemed fairly important.
Lonnie clicked on one unopened message titled "Salineas Sea Gate Reconstruction". As she did so, she could feel everyone beginning to surround her. Mermista would particularly want to see this. The message was a video and Lonnie played it. A Force Captain who looked just like Rogelio, but with wavy green hair, came onto the screen. Lonnie did not think it suited him.
"Hey commander! Force Captain Lance here! I know you never check my messages but I just wanted to let you know that your orders have been carried out and the sea gate is almost completely rebuilt! I've also just come back from the palace – the renovations are coming along very nicely over there too! Also, I should tell you that a whole bunch of the locals are now down by the port helping us fix the docks – I know you said not to let them help but they really wanted to! Their leader said that he really appreciated us trying to fix our mess and said it was more than their princess ever did for them - so I guess that's another point for you, boss! Anyway, that's all the news from Salineas! Thank you again for giving me this post! I still can't believe it! Um… Force Captain Lance, over and out!" As soon as the video stopped, almost everyone turned and stared at Mermista. She had gone completely white. She then started yelling furiously:
"No – he's lying! He has to be lying! My people would never say that about me! How dare he-" She kept yelling as King Micah leaned over Lonnie's shoulder and asked:
"Is there anything relating to Horde Prime or what happened in the Fright Zone before it blew up? What's the last message?" Lonnie scrolled down the screen. She saw several messages pertaining to the disbanding of the cadets, as well as a few from Hordak about the planned invasions of Plumeria and the Kingdom of Snows. She finally reached the bottom of the list and found a video message from Hordak. It was untitled. She played it. The screens lit up to show Hordak in his sanctum.
"Catra! Report to my sanctum at once! This is an order, not a request!" The video abruptly stopped with everyone suddenly having a better understanding of why Catra was so grumpy all the time. One could only imagine what it was like working with Hordak. Upon seeing and hearing his voice, the little imp that Kyle had been carrying leapt onto the control panel in an effort to find his master again. In doing so, he activated what Lonnie realized were Catra's personal logs.
Lonnie honestly did not think Catra did those. They were supposed to be a requirement of all Force Captains, but Catra was not known for following the rules. A video from two years ago came onto the screen. Catra was in her old Horde uniform and sitting in her then brand new Force Captain quarters. She had a snarky grin as she began talking to the camera:
"Alright, this is my first personal log. It'll probably be the only one I ever do, but I just wanted to say that Hordak made me a Force Captain! That's right! Lord Hordak himself! You should have seen the look on Shadow Weaver's face! Ha, Adora would have laughed!" Catra's face suddenly fell and a full ten seconds passed where she just stared into the distance and said nothing. It was very unsettling to watch. She finally continued:
"You know, I have no idea who's watching this, but I need you to know that I earned this badge." She held her Force Captain badge up to the screen before continuing:
"I deserve it! Just because it was meant for Adora doesn't mean it's not meant for me!" King Micah scratched his head. He was missing a lot of context. Catra and Adora had been close? Adora had been a Force Captain? He had not known this.
Everyone had varying degrees of shock and confusion on their faces. Catra was displaying vulnerability and insecurity. It was a side of her that none of them, not even the squad, had seen before.
It turned out Catra had done a few personal logs and so far no one had complained about them being played. Not even Mermista, who was still seething. The second log had been from just after Princess Prom. Catra had related how much fun she had had "distracting" Adora and how much more she had accomplished in one night than Shadow Weaver had in her whole career with the Horde. Frosta had scowled at that.
The next video had been from just before the Battle of Brightmoon. Catra had actually started the video properly – listing the date and time followed by her name and rank. She then proceeded to outline what Entrapta had been doing to the Black Garnet and had confirmed with great joy that she had taken out Shadow Weaver. She then announced her intention of invading Brightmoon and promised to do another report once the battle was over. As Lonnie expected, there was none. Instead, Catra waited several months before filing her next report. She recognized the date on the screen – this next video was from the day after the portal incident.
The Catra that now came onto the screen looked completely broken. She was still in her old uniform, and she looked so sad. She told the camera about what had happened in the portal, specifically between her and Adora. This was the first time anyone had heard anything about this. Adora had only spoken to Bow and Glimmer about her interactions with Catra in the portal, and Catra had not spoken about it to anyone at all. After describing all the horrible things she had done to Adora, Catra tearfully related how Adora had punched her. She then surprised everyone by acknowledging that she deserved it.
The last personal log was much more recent – only a few months old. It was the day Scorpia left. The day Catra had finally made the right choice. She was now dressed in her Force Commander uniform and she spoke fast into the microphone:
"Hello, it's me again. I just wanted to officially announce that I will be disbanding the Horde, starting with the cadets. The Horde is evil. It drives good people away. People like Scorpia. People like Adora. It needs to be stopped. This war needs to be stopped and the Horde cannot win! If anyone sees this message, I dare you to send it to Hordak. I dare you to take on the guilt of stopping me from making the one good choice I've ever made in my life!" Catra took a deep breath before continuing:
"Horde Prime reached out to me. He wants to give me Etheria in exchange for re-opening the portal. But I cannot and will not do that! Trust me when I say this guy is messed up! He's way worse than Hordak!" Catra then sighed and put her head in her hands. She continued:
"This is my last personal log. In two days, Octavia will get here and we will get all the cadets out of the Fright Zone and back to their homes. It will only be a matter of time before Hordak finds out and tries to kill me. But the damage will be done. With no cadets, the Horde will collapse. I'll have accomplished my goal." Catra then went silent before scoffing in annoyance and lowering her hands to look back at the camera. There were tears in her eyes.
"Hordak's off securing Salineas while my forces sit around the Sea Gate and do nothing! I'll give my troops orders to start rebuilding what they destroyed. If they're going to sit around anyway, they may as well do something useful. Anyway, that's all I had to say. It felt good to get it out there. I'm genuinely sorry it's taken so long for me to do this. I hope Adora can forgive me." After another short pause, Catra regained her composure and looked back at the camera with newfound resolve.
"This is Force Commander Catra, over and out."
Entrapta's device was working. Darla had just begun to pass the first ships in Horde Prime's blockade and so far no one had stopped them. Bow watched anxiously as several clones stared at them through their ship windows. He took a deep breath and kept Darla moving at a steady pace. They were almost halfway through the blockade when several robots inevitably appeared and surrounded them. Thankfully it was not anything Bow could not handle. He flew over the robot in front of him and took an immediate right next to a particularly large ship. Once he had done that, he turned left again, then right again, then left again, and so on and so forth until he was reasonably confident he had lost them.
There was now a new problem, however. Darla was on the point of entering Etheria's atmosphere and Bow had not yet started the landing process. If he did not do this, the ship would burn up on entry. Entrapta ran around the flight deck frantically trying to do everything she could to help. Glimmer sat in the back with Wrong Hordak and began hyperventilating. She gasped between breaths:
"It's okay, we got this…It's okay, we got this…"
Adora was tracking the rebellion through the Whispering Woods. Her helmet was on and her sword was drawn. Spinerella was with her along with a battalion of clones. She had new orders: terminate every princess on Etheria. This even included Spinerella once the mission was over. Adora had wondered what that meant for Scorpia, but Horde Prime had said he would deal with her, and who was she to question the great galactic emperor?
Scorpia had been led away while desperately trying to communicate with Adora. Adora was grateful to her brothers for gagging Scorpia and preventing her from having to hear whatever lies she had wanted to share. That being said, it was a little strange how quickly they had gagged her. In the back of her mind, Adora wondered whether there was something Horde Prime did not want her to hear from this woman. As she began to think that, however, her head began to hurt like crazy. She decided to stop thinking about it in the hope the pain would go away.
With that, Adora looked down and saw fresh hoof marks in the mud. She did not know how she knew this, but the hooves had definitely belonged to a flying horse called Swift Wind. She looked further down the path and muttered menacingly through her voice modulator:
"I got you now, princesses."
Catra walked down the now familiar hallways of Horde Prime's ship towards the teleportation chamber. She reflected on the new lie she had fed Horde Prime and wondered whether this time she had been really smart or really stupid. She assumed Adora was back on the Etheria by now and as safe from any "missiles" as she would ever be. This meant that Catra could me more lenient in her allegiance to Horde Prime. She had suggested that, instead of wasting valuable resources on destroying the Horde, she should be allowed to go to an old Horde base in the Whispering Woods to retrieve some powerful tech that could do the job just as well. After a moment's consideration, Horde Prime had agreed.
Catra tried to imagine what the old pulse-bot factory looked like now after she and Glimmer had wrecked it. She did not think it was still standing, yet alone that there were any pulse-bots still there. Catra was simply stalling for time to track down the rebellion and beg for their help in freeing the Horde. Even if the Horde did not want her help, Catra had been the one who had sent them there and she felt responsible for what they were going through. She was done making selfish choices, and she already knew exactly what she would offer the rebellion in exchange for their help.
As Catra passed by the cell she remembered as her own, she was surprised to see it was locked - it had an occupant. Catra stopped and looked around. There was no one nearby. Letting curiosity get the better of her, she pressed on the force field so she could see who was inside. When she saw who it was, she gasped so loudly the person inside heard her. They called out:
"Hello?" Catra teared up. It was Scorpia.