Author's Note: Finally. I've gotten around to starting this. Consider this a Christmas present from me to you. Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Enjoy. Any and all comments are welcome.

Etheria, a magical world last to the fabric of space. It was by a great miracle that the inhabitants of the planet Cybertron found this planet as it was covered with Energon, the lifeblood of all Cybertronians. The evil forces of the Decepticons wish to use the Energon to conquer the universe. But the Autobots were formed to fight against them. While the Decepticons have allied with the oppressive Horde, the Autobots have joined forces with the Princess Alliance and the mighty She-Ra to fight back.

However, a great secret has been unearthed. After a long search to assemble the Golden Disk, the Autobots have learned that there is a connection between their past leader, Zeta Prime, and the previous wielder of the She-Ra title, Mara. The mystery continues, and because of a certain intruder, more questions flood our heroes' minds and start an event which will change the war forever.

Adora was taken aback by the dark presence she detected in her room. She leaped out of bed before the shadowy figure could lay a hand on her. She grabbed the Sword of Protection and pointed it at her intruder. Much to her own surprise, the intruder turned out to be her dark mother-figure.

"Shadow Weaver?" Adora asked.

"Adora…" Shadow Weaver said weakly. She coughed a bit before collapsing in front of her.

After Adora told everyone about her intruder, everyone immediately went on high alert. They escorted the unconscious Shadow Weaver to another room and all the guards and Autobot sentries were put on emergency shifts.

The Queen of Bright Moon, Angella, walked down the hallway with Optimus Prime and Castaspella beside her.

"I want security to double. I need to know how Shadow Weaver got here."

"Why is she here?" Castaspella asked.

"That is what we are going to determine." Optimus said. He noticed that Angella stopped in the hallway. "Why did you stop?"

"This is where we're keeping the prisoner." Angella gestured her hand over toward the bedroom door next to her.

"This is a prison?" Castaspella asked.

"Well, it used to be the guest bedroom," Angella said, "But it is more than adequate enough for a prison. We've removed the cushions… Some of the cushions."

Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Hot Rod, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Sari caught up with the leaders and approached. Adora looked at the door and looked confused.

"This is the prison?" Adora asked.

"Yes, this is the prison." Angella repeated in agitation. "What are you kids doing here?"

"Don't look at me." Hot Rod said. "Adora and Sari were the ones who wanted to talk to the crazy witch lady."

"What?" Angella asked.

"Absolutely not." Castaspella said. "She's far too dangerous."

"But I know her." Adora said. "I need to be there for the interrogation."

"Me too." Sari said. "Mom, Shadow Weaver's the one who brought me to life. I feel like I need to look her in the eyes with that in mind."

"You can't look in her eyes anyway." Arcee said. "She's always wearing that mask."

"It's too dangerous for any of you to be in there." Angella said.

"Agreed." Optimus said. "For now, all we need is Ironhide in case Shadow Weaver tries anything."

Right on cue, the ammunitions expert arrived. He pulled out his arm cannons. "Okay. All set. Where is the prisoner?"

"She's in there." Angella said pointing at the bedroom again.

Ironhide shared the confusion. "This is the prison?"

Angella groaned. "Let's just go." She opened the door and allowed Castaspella, Optimus, and Ironhide to follow her.

Adora groaned. "Shadow Weaver could have gone anywhere, but she came here. I want to know why. I know I can help."

"…Can you though?" Hot Rod asked. "The last time you saw this woman, she tried to wipe your mind."

"Adora, Shadow Weaver raised you." Glimmer pointed out. "She knows how to push your buttons."

"Glimmer's right." Bow said. "If you go in there, you might fall for one of her mind games."

"What if I helped?" Sari asked. "I've got a bit at stake in Shadow Weaver being here too."

"That's why you can't go in either." Arcee said. "Sorry, but you two are too close to this."

Bumblebee buzzed.

"What did he say?" Adora asked.

"He said we should let Optimus handle this." Rod said. "And I agree. The guy's a professional. He'll have that witch talking in no time."

Adora rolled her eyes before getting an idea. She feigned a yawn. "You know what, you're right. Let's just head back to bed." No one was buying it.

"You're gonna try to sneak in, aren't you?" Bow asked.

"What? No." Adora replied nervously. After a brief pause, she made a mad dash toward the guest room. Thankfully, Glimmer caught her just in time and teleported away.

Shadow Weaver woke up very weakly in the middle of a magic circle. The circle was creating a barrier which kept her inside. She looked up to see her captors.

"Adora…"

"You've done enough to that poor girl." Angella said. "Right now, you're our prisoner."

Shadow Weaver looked around to examine the luxurious bedroom she was in. "This is a prison?"

"Why does everyone always… Yes, this is a prison!" Angella replied.

"Ah, you must be Glimmer's mother." Shadow Weaver said. "I can tell by the sound of your yelling."

"You dare…"

"Calm yourself, Angella." Optimus said. "Shadow Weaver, my name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

"Forgive me for not bowing. Not a lot of room to in this confinement." Shadow Weaver said sarcastically.

Ironhide pointed one of his cannons right at her. "Try anything funny and there'll be nothing left but a pile of evil ash."

"What are you doing here, Shadow Weaver?" Angella asked.

Shadow Weaver groaned trying to compose herself. "I have information that will be valuable to you all, and I'm willing to share it. But… I will only speak to Adora."

As soon as Catra woke up in Shadow Weaver's cell, she immediately felt dread. The last thing the remembered was Hordak summoning her to his lab and was exposed to have lost Shadow Weaver. He suffocated her into unconsciousness, and now, she woke up ironically where her prisoner was held.

"No." Catra panicked. "No, no, no!"

"Well, it's about time you woke up."

Catra widened her blue and yellow eyes looking around. She followed the voice that came from the cell next door and recognized it.

"Starscream? What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you." Starscream said glumly. "Shadow Weaver escaped, and we're paying the price for it."

"What?" Catra asked. "What do you mean we? Why are you in prison? I'm the one who lost her."

"Megatron holds me just as responsible."

"Why?"

"…Because I told him I would be."

"You WHAT?!" Catra yelled out.

"When Megatron came to Etheria, he and I had a long discussion over joining forces with the Horde. He was pretty stubborn on the idea to just destroy you. I kept going on about how much the alliance would benefit us… and my argument kinda relied on you."

"On me?"

"Ever since you became Force Captain and made your secret alliance with us, we've gained more wins than we have in the past three decades. As soon as Megatron heard that, he decided to make the alliance official, but on one condition. If you ever messed up, I would take as much responsibility as you and share your fate."

"You… I don't believe it." Catra said. "Why would you agree to that?"

"It was the only way to convince him that the Horde would be useful. Besides, at the time, it seemed like a sucker deal. I didn't think you'd lose Shadow Weaver."

Catra sighed. "All right. So I guess we're just waiting for Hordak and Megatron to punish us?"

"It seems like it." Starscream answered.

"Catra!" A familiar voice called out. The scorpion princess turned Force Captain, Scorpia, approached Catra's cage with her partner, Waspinator, buzzing behind her.

"Scorpia. How did you get here?" Catra asked.

"Oh, boy. It was quite a heist." Scorpia said. However, the truth is, all she did was grab the guard in the prison and threw him off a a cliff. "Now, let's go. We gotta get you out before the assembly."

"What assembly?" Starscream asked.

"The bosses are angry. They want sentence to be public as example."

"You said it, Waspinator." Scorpia said.

"Don't bother." Catra sulked. "It doesn't matter. I did everything right, and I still screwed up. I deserve this. And now, Starscream is going to get punished too for a mistake that I made. Shadow Weaver was right about me."

"SHE'S NOT RIGHT!" Scorpia yelled. "You can't give up! You're Catra! You're a Force Captain! You're my friend! You… You're everything to me."

Catra looked over at Scorpia. She then boke out into a laughter. "Caring about people is what got me into this mess. Get out of here or they'll take you down with me."

Scorpia frowned hearing Catra's words. "What?"

"Are you stupid? I said leave." Catra demanded. "GUARDS!"

Scorpia reluctantly had no choice but to run off. Waspinator transformed and ran off with her.

"Well, that was cruel." Starscream commented. "I'd applaud if I wasn't in stasis lock."

"Just be quiet." Catra said glumly as she curled up in a ball in her corner.

For half of the night, Adora has been trying to sneak away from her friends and get into Shadow Weaver's prison. She tried sneaking through the halls. She tried scaling the wall. She even tried to impersonate a guard to relieve the one at her door. But every single time, Glimmer showed up to teleport her back to her room where the others were.

"You know, Adora," Hot Rod said, "There comes a point where this becomes a bit too sad to see you try."

"I don't care." Adora said. "I just need to talk to her."

"I agree with Adora." Sari said.

"Adora, she'll try to hurt you again." Glimmer said. "And Sari, you'll get hurt just by looking at her. The last time you and she met, she tried to destroy you and Mystacor."

"Adora, what makes you think that Shadow Weaver deserves a chance?" Arcee asked.

"I got a chance, didn't I?" Adora asked. "I'm from the Horde just like her. And I changed."

Bumblebee buzzed.

"Bee's right. That's different." Bow said. "You had no idea how evil the Horde was. Shadow Weaver knew before she even joined."

"It's more than just knowing how evil the Horde is." Adora said. "I was just like the rest of them, and I left. Not because I picked up the Sword of Protection, but because it was the right thing to do. I have to believe that the others can change too, even Shadow Weaver. Just trust me. I'm strong enough to face her now. I need to know if she's truly changed. If the woman who raised me still has some good deep down inside her. Deep, deep down inside her."

Everyone looked at each other before giving in. "We trust you," Hot Rod said, "But we won't let you face that devil woman alone. All right. I've got a plan."

"Now, for the last time," Castaspella said as she finished a spell circle to the prisoner, "Tell us what you know."

"I know that when you cast a truth spell, you should make sure you've drawn it correctly." Shadow Weaver barely grazed the truth spell before it fell apart. "Sloppy work. Are you sure you're Micah's sister?"

Castaspella growled wanting to hit Shadow Weaver, but Angella stopped her. "Don't. She's trying to get under our skin."

"Just say the word and I'll pop her like a bubble." Ironhide said pointing a cannon at Shadow Weaver.

"Stand down, Ironhide." Optimus said. "We need her alive."

"You could spare yourselves the trouble if you just let me talk to Adora." Shadow Weaver said.

"No! You've put that girl through enough." Angella said.

Optimus approached. "Shadow Weaver, I know not what motives you had for joining the Horde or why you were willing to work with the Decepticons, but…"

Shadow Weaver began to laugh. "Willing to work with them? As if I'd ever stoop that low. Making an alliance with them was Catra's idea, not mine. I tried to keep the Horde away from them. But when the truth came out, it didn't take much for me to be their prisoner."

"Then why did they send you?" Angella asked.

"You think Hordak sent me? I escaped from Hordak and paid the price for it." She began coughing and much of the shadows that surrounded her began to fade into the ground.

"You're dying, aren't you?" Angella asked.

After that, Castaspella brought Angella, Optimus Prime, and Ironhide out of the room to talk. "This isn't working. We've tried everything, and her condition is growing worse. Perhaps we should let Adora…"

"That is not going to happen." Angella interrupted.

"Normally, I'd be on your side, your majesty," Optimus said, "But in this instance, I fear we may have no choice."

"You'd actually allow this?" Angella asked.

"We cannot cast the truth out of her and considering her condition, we may be running out of time." Optimus said. "Unless we can come up with an alternative solution, we have to at least consider the possibility."

While the leaders were debating, the kids and their Autobot partners sneaked their way to the corner of the hallway. Bow glanced around before turning to his friends.

"You guys go in. Bee and I will distract them."

Glimmer teleported the others while Bow and Bumblebee distracted the leaders with a magic act. Once they were inside, the guys approached Shadow Weaver, who continued to cough before sighing in relief at the sight of her adopted daughter.

"Adora."

Before anything else could be said, Hot Rod pulled out his gun and aimed it at Shadow Weaver as a warning. "Go ahead, Give me an excuse."

"Oh, I remember you." Shadow Weaver groaned. "You're the brute that fired at my Black Garnet."

"I'm also the brute who's willing to finish you off if Adora didn't want to talk to you." Hot Rod said.

"That makes two of us." Glimmer said. "After your kidnapping and mind-wiping, I'm just looking for a reason to serve up a little payback. So if you do anything to hurt Adora…"

"Glimmer, Rod, I got this." Adora said. Her partner and her best friend stepped back to Arcee.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Arcee asked Hot Rod.

"Of course, this isn't a good idea," Hot Rod said, "But we made due with worse ones."

"You snuck into Bright Moon. Why?" Adora asked Shadow Weaver. "That's the only reason we're speaking."

"To see you. You are the only one I can trust. I've missed you, my child."

Her words weren't fooling Adora. "We're past all that. Try again."

"Clever." Shadow Weaver said. "You always were. From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were…" Shadow Weaver stopped when she noticed Sari looking at her in curiosity. "What's going on with her?"

"Don't change the subject." Adora said. "And more importantly, don't try to tell me how special I was. What you told me was that I didn't matter. I was special only as long as I obeyed you. Why are you here?" She noticed Shadow Weaver's coughing fit. "What's happened to you?"

"It took all of my magical power to come to you. I am dying, Adora."

Everyone expressed their surprise at the news, especially Adora who simply stared in disbelief.

"You… You're lying."

"Adora, I don't think she is." Sari said.

Adora looked down at her weakened mother figure. Her pity for her gave her all the reason to pull out her sword.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"

In a flash of light, Adora changed into her She-Ra form; taller, bigger, white outfit, golden tiara, and golden boots.

"I don't know why you're here," She-Ra said, "But I won't let you suffer like this. I'm going to heal you, Shadow Weaver. And then, you will answer our questions. Do we have a deal?"

"Adora," Arcee interjected, "You don't know how to heal."

"I can figure it out." She-Ra said. "I don't have a choice. She'll die if I don't."

"Perhaps I can help." Shadow Weaver said.

"You?" Hot Rod laughed. "That's rich! What makes you think you're an expert on She-Ra?"

"I'm not, but I am an expert on magic." Shadow Weaver said. "Remember, I used to be a teacher on Mystacor. I can help you control your magic, Adora. But first, you have to trust me."

"Trust you?" Hot Rod asked. "You're the cause of most of what Adora's going through right now."

"It's fine, Rod." Adora said. "I'll trust you, Shadow Weaver, but in return, you trust me. Trust that I'm not stupid. Trust that I'll see right through your mind games. Stop lying for once and trust me with the truth."

Hot Rod sighed. "Well, we're at the tipping point now."

Deep in the sanctum of Hordak's lab, the Horde leader was having his machines put on his mechanical armor. A stray buzzer made him yell out in pain, but he quelled it as soon as his company arrived. Megatron and Shockwave walked in followed by Entrapta.

"You're not looking so well, Hordak." Megatron said.

"I'm fine." Hordak insisted with a snarl. "What do you want?"

"Entrapta and I have been going over the little bit of data from the Golden Disk piece she briefly had at the Northern Reach." Shockwave said. "She just said that she has made an interesting discovery."

"It's true!" Entrapta said. "I didn't want to say anything until you were all here. And now, that you are, here we go. There wasn't a lot to go off of considering that it was only a quarter of the disk itself and it was behind layers of encryption, but I did manage to get a peek at the first layer. As you know, we've been struggling with using Decepticon tech, Horde tech, and First Ones tech to construct our own space bridge. We seem to be missing a key component that's irreplaceable. Luckily, the data from the Golden Disk showed some kind of First Ones message. I don't know what most of the words are, but one of them can easily be read as 'portal'. It could be the missing something we're looking for. Where's Catra? We should send her and Starscream out ASAP."

Megatron chuckled making Entrapta confused. "Well, you came upon that conclusion a little too late."

"What do you mean?" Entrapta asked.

"Catra is no longer a concern of yours." Hordak said. "She and Starscream are being sent to Beast Island."

"I'm confused." Entrapta said. She pulled ut her pad to show off her data to everyone's faces. "As you can see, the overall productivity of the Horde and the Decepticons have increased by 400 percent since Catra has been your second-in-command. And during that time, she's been working with Starscream to establish an alliance between our two empires. They're more useful than you think. The evidence shows that our three technologies have gotten us closer than ever to creating a working space bridge, especially First Ones tech, which Catra and Starscream have been incredibly successful at getting. And the data from the Golden Disk piece indicates that whatever key component we're looking for is in the Crimson Waste. We don't have a moment to spare. We need Catra and Starscream."

"It is meaningless!" Hordak snarled. "I am not going to squander troops on a lifeless wasteland! This discussion is over!"

"Actually," Shockwave said, "There may not be a need to squander anything we don't need. I have a much more logical solution that can handle all of our current situations."

"You are a princess," Shadow Weaver said to Adora, "So you have a runestone. Yours dwells there within your sword. With it, you channel the elemental magic of Etheria. Let it flow through the sword and into you. You must learn to concentrate. Focus your power."

Adora tried to concentrate, but nothing happened. She grunted in frustration. "I've tried this before! I can't get it to work! What do I do? Point the sword at you or what?"

"Calm down. Your frustration will cause the energy you produce to become destructive if you're not careful. Ther must be peace in your mind if you are to heal. Come closer and allow me to help you."

"'Come closer'. Yeah, that's trustworthy." Hot Rod said sarcastically.

"Actually, I think it's best." Sari said. "So far, everything Shadow Weaver says makes sense to me. Just try it, Adora."

Adora sighed before entering the magical barrier. She held out her sword for Shadow Weaver to observe.

"You are afraid, and you refuse to admit it. Afraid of your power, of it spiraling out of control. Let yourself feel it, then move past it. You are greater than your fear."

With those words, She-Ra's sword began to glow. That was right when Angella, Castaspella, Optimus, Ironhide, and most of the Bright Moon guards came charging in. Bow and Bumblebee entered last. Wit ha flash of light coming from the sword, Shadow Weaver's shadow magic became more wholesome and she stopped coughing. She-Ra changed back into Adora and fell out of the prison barrier.

"So it actually worked?" Hot Rod asked. "Shadow Weaver was telling the truth? That's a strange change of pace."

"I told you all to stay in your room." Angella said.

"She's She-Ra, Mom." Glimmer said. "What was I supposed to you?"

"Sari!" Castaspella cried out to her daughter. "I told you to stay away!"

"I had to, Mom." Sari said. "It was very important to me."

"I held up my end of the deal." Adora said to Shadow Weaver who was just finished recovering. "Now, you hold up yours. Why are you here?"

"You want the truth? I have nowhere left to go." Shadow Weaver confessed. "Catra betrayed me. Hordak cast me aside. And the last thing I want is to be conquered by the Decepticons. I want to take them down. And helping you is the best way to do it. Hordak has been working for years to build a machine capable of opening a portal through the fabric of space."

"A portal?" Arcee asked. "You mean like a space bridge?"

"If that is what you call it, then yes. That is what I've been hearing them talking about building." Shadow Weaver said. "Hordak intends to bring the rest of the Horde's armies through this portal and use them to conquer Etheria once and for all."

"Armies?" Angella asked. "You mean there's more of the Horde?"

"A force so large, you cannot even comprehend it. You have struggled to hold off Hordak's paltry troops for years, even though they're allied with the Decepticons. You will stand no chance against the full might of the Horde."

"And Megatron's allowing this to happen?" Optimus asked.

"I don't know much about Megatron's goals, but my best guess is that he intends to integrate his Decepticon forces in the Horde's full armies and use them as a means to conquer the universe."

"And what makes you think he's close to finishing this space bridge now?" Adora asked.

"Because he has something he didn't have before: a princess who know how to combine First Ones technology with the Horde's machines and Decepticon tech."

"Entrapta." Bow gasped. "That must be what she's been up to all this time."

"You really think they can just recreate space bridge technology?" Arcee asked. "Zeta Prime, our original leader, destroyed every last bit of data about it."

"From what I've heard, Entrapta is combining Decepticon technology with the Horde's and the First Ones' to try and finish what they could remember from memory. Apparently, she is attempting to rebuild the space bridge system from scratch. And she's closing in on the answers as we speak."

"And what makes you think the Horde can help the Decepticons when they can't open a portal themselves?" Hot Rod asked.

"You want proof that Hordak has the means to open portals to other worlds?" Shadow Weaver asked. "The evidence stands before us." She raised her finger and pointed it right at a certain individual: Adora.

"Me?" Adora asked. "What do I have to do with portals?"

"Hordak succeeded once before. Years ago, he opened a portal. It was only for a moment before it collapsed. But in that moment, a child came through. That child was you, Adora. You were brought through a portal from another world."

Adora's eyes widened shaking in her knees. She took a step back staring in disbelief. "What?"

"Hold on." Hot Rod said. "You're telling me Adora here isn't Etherian? How do we know you're not lying about that?"

"I gain nothing from lying." Shadow Weaver said. "Adora is different from us. Do you think just anyone could bring a dying woman back to life?"

"Come to think of it," Arcee said, "This would explain a lot."

"Arcee!" Hot Rod shouted.

"No, think about it. The Sword of Protection is a First Ones artifact. The First Ones set up a colony here on Etheria. If Adora's the only one who can work a First Ones relic, then wouldn't that mean…"

"I'm… a First One?" Adora asked even more surprised.

"Not quite the reunion you pictured, is it, Adora?" Shadow Weaver asked. "Perhaps you would have preferred the comfort of lies."

Adora still had her face like everything was spinning around her. She stepped backward before heading over to her partner.

"Rod, I need you to take me to the Beacon." Adora said.

"What? Why?" Hot Rod asked.

"I need to ask Light Hope something!" Adora said.

"…All right." Hot Rod said before changing into his vehicle mode.

Adora went in and the two of them left the castle. Most of the others went to see them off. However, Sari stayed behind glaring at Shadow Weaver.

"You really don't know anything about being a mother, do you?"

"Why do you care?" Shadow Weaver asked.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" Sari asked.

"Of course, I do." Shadow Weaver said. "You're that brat who meddled in my attempt to take over Mystacor."

"I'm also the byproduct of your own creation."

Shadow Weaver stopped to stare for a moment. "Come again?"

"Thirteen years ago? You attacked Mystacor to force open a strange pod. But a stray magic blast of yours made you believe that whatever was inside was destroyed? Only, it wasn't destroyed. …I wasn't destroyed."

Shadow Weaver's eyes widened behind her mask. "No. It can't be…"

"'Fraid so… Mom." Sari said with a bit of disdain. "After I learned the truth, my real mom, Castaspella, told me a lot about you. I was both afraid of you and feeling sorry for you. That's why I wanted to come down and see you, to look right at you and judge you for myself. I used to see you as a villain. Then, I see you as a poor excuse of a mother. And honestly, I don't know what's worse. See you later, Shadow Weaver." She walked out leaving the witch in stunned silence.

After some time in the Beacon, Adora and Hot Rod returned to Glimmer's bedroom where the princess, Arcee, Bow, and Bumblebee waited.

"What happened?" Arcee asked.

"Well, based on what Adora said that Light Hope said, Shadow Weaver was telling the truth, at least about Adora." Hot Rod said. "Adora's a First One and as such, she's the only one who can be She-Ra, whether she likes it or not."

Bumblebee buzzed.

"That's rough indeed, Bee." Bow said. "You doing okay, Adora?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I think I know what I have to do." Adora answered. "My whole life, people have been hiding the truth from me. So, I'm going to look for answers myself. Mara started all of this when she stranded Etheria. And somehow, she's connected to Cybertron. I have to continue deciphering the Golden Disk, by going to the Crimson Waste. I need to know where it's trying to lead me. I know it's incredibly dangerous, but this is my choice. You don't have to come with me."

"Adora, of course, we're going with you." Hot Rod said. "I mean, you're my partner."

"We're going too." Glimmer said.

"You think you could get us to stay behind if you tried?" Bow asked.

"I can't do that, and I'm five times their size." Arcee said.

Bumblebee buzzed leaving everyone to chuckle.

Catra and Starscream were taken from their cells in chains and brought straight to Hordak's throne room. To their right, they could see other Horde cadets and Decepticons watching them in disappointment. Standing next to Hordak was Megatron, who showed off a sinister smile. Starscream and Catra couldn't raise their heads to them.

Hordak stood from his throne and walked down to address his subjects. Megatron followed.

"I want you all to watch and learn. This is nothing I do not know. Nothing I am not willing to do to punish those who betray my trust. Your former Force Captain has proven to be compromised, ineffective, and worthless."

"And Commander Starscream is no better." Megatron said. "Desperate. Cowardly. Lacking in any sort of judgement. Next time, don't make promises that others can't keep."

"To the rest of you, take a lesson from this." Hordak said. "This is what happens to failures."

"…You're the failures!" Catra cried out shocking everyone in the room. Even Starscream was startled at that comment.

Catra began laughing in defiance turning to the two evil leaders. "You need me, just like you needed Shadow Weaver, because you have no idea how to run this place. All you people know how to do is hide in your command centers. Hordak, you've never even set foot out of your lab, have you? And Megatron, if you're so strong, why is it that your war against the Autobots have been lasting for over a thousand years and is still continuing to this day? And for the record, you shouldn't count Starscream out either. After all, you wouldn't even get far in your war without him. I know all about how he helped you take the Energon in Skyfort. If it wasn't for Starscream, the Decepticons would have lost long before you lost your home planet."

Megatron growled turning to Starscream. "Is this really how you think, Starscream?"

The former Decepticon second-in-command was hesitant at first. He turned over to Catra who gestured for him to speak out. He took a breath and answered. "Yes. I do think that. All you care about was winning with brute force, Lord Megatron! You're still as battle-crazy as you were in your days as a gladiator! It's my quick thinking that got you where you were! So if you wish to scrap me, get it over with!"

Megatron growled, but recomposed himself. "Not to worry, you two. There's been a change in plans."

Catra and Starscream's confidence turned to confusion. "What?" Catra asked.

"Hey, you two!" Entrapta greeted as she came on in. "I saved your lives! You're welcome!"

"I don't understand." Catra said.

"Me either. Would someone mind filling us in?" Starscream asked.

"Entrapta has interceded on your behalf." Hordak said. "You should be thanking her. Instead of the many punishments Megatron and I discussed, you two are being sent to follow a lead on the Golden Disk… in the Crimson Waste."

Catra gasped. "The Crimson Waste? That's insane! It's a total dead zone! Nothing survives out there!"

Hordak chuckled. "Exactly."

"And it's a good thing you decided to speak out." Megatron said. "Starscream, for someone who was supposed to be clever, that was very foolish of you to say. So even if you succeed and bring back something useful, do not expect a warm welcome for long. Because if you give me the chance, I will make you wish you hadn't returned."

Starscream was practically white with fear. He turned to Catra. "Another fine mess you've gotten me into."

"Oh, shut up." Catra hissed.