"Glimmer…I know this is a really tough subject to talk about. But if we're going to have any chance at saving Catra, we need to know as much about the ship and Horde Prime as we can. Do you think…are you ready to talk about what happened? Can you talk us through what you experienced so we can come up with a plan?"

"I…I…yes. Okay. I know it's important. Just give me a second."

The girls sat together on the floor of the main deck trying to come up with a plan. Bow stubbornly sat sideways in the captain's chair, still refusing to interact with Glimmer any more than necessary. He stared ahead while he slumped down into the chair, arms crossed. He wasn't looking directly at the group, but he was still listening intently. Entrapta tinkered with some contraption she had built with spare Darla parts; it was impossible to tell whether or not she was actually paying attention.

Glimmer hadn't talked much about her experience on Horde Prime's ship. Adora brought it up a few times, trying to understand exactly what all her friend had gone through during her absence. But each time Adora asked, Glimmer reacted the same way; there was always a brief moment where fear flashed across her face and a shiver ran through her body before she forced a smile or a laugh and brushed off the question. She would change the subject as quickly as possible, and usually Adora obliged. Clearly this was a traumatic experience for Glimmer, possibly far worse than Adora had even imagined; she figured Glimmer would talk when she was ready.

Unfortunately, she was going to have to start talking about it, ready or not. Time was of the essence, and the only way the group had any shot at saving Catra was by using as much intel as Glimmer could provide. As much as she didn't want to relive her experience, she knew how important it was for theirs and Catra's safety. So after a few moments of deep breaths to steady herself, Glimmer began.

"The ship is full of corridors that all look nearly identical. I tried really hard to pay attention and try to learn my way around, but they always took me in different ways so it was hard to keep track…at the center though is the Command Station, which Prime almost never leaves. At least not physically…" Her voice trailed off and Adora raised a confused eyebrow at her.

"His clones all have these…chips that he uses to contact them through what they call the 'mind hive'. Prime has this awful ability to transmit his mind into any clone at any time and control their body, see through their eyes, and speak through them. It's…unsettling, to put it mildly." Glimmer stared intently at a spot on the ground in front of her, eyes unfocusing as she remembered.

"When I was first beamed up into the ship with Hordak, Prime fully intended to kill me. He had readied his weapon and everything. It was Catra of all people who saved me, if you can believe that. I don't know if she did it just to give herself more leverage, or if she actually took pity on me…but she told Prime all about what the Heart was and how I played a role in activating it. That piqued his interest, and he decided that instead of executing me, he was going to make me his 'honored guest'." She nearly spat the words.

Adora listened intently without interrupting, allowing Glimmer to take her time. Entrapta even looked up from her tinkering when Glimmer mentioned Hordak. Bow continued to sit facing away from them, but he angled his head towards the girls to hear better.

"Things weren't too bad at first, all things considered. Most of the time it really did feel like I was just a guest; the clones addressed me with respect, Prime himself was…I can't believe I'm saying this…pleasant? And friendly? They would bring me and Catra to these dinner banquets and show us their collection of 'keepsakes' from worlds they destroyed. It made me sick, of course, to see all these things, but at least I was being treated fairly well. It honestly kinda felt like being at Bright Moon any time we had visitors.

"But despite all the pleasantries, I definitely was their prisoner. I was never left alone. Unless I was in Prime's direct company, I was babysat or escorted by multiple clones. When I wasn't at dinner or a show-and-tell session, they kept me in a small cell that was barricaded by some type of plasma door. It didn't hurt to touch, but nothing I tried could break the barrier. The clones were able to deactivate the plasma with their hands; I don't know if it was a fingerprint code or some type of device in their gloves, I could never tell for sure. But this plasma barrier blocked all the high level security areas on the ship too; some clones didn't even have access to the higher security zones.

"Some days in the cell they would leave the plasma translucent enough to see through, so I could at least watch what was going on outside; but most of the time they made it opaque and made me sit in there all alone. Not that I particularly wanted to hang out with the clones, but…hours and hours on end without any interaction with a living being was difficult, to say the least. The lights were always on, so it was impossible to know what time it was or how many days had passed since I was captured. I still don't know exactly how long I was gone."

"Four weeks and five days," Bow said quietly, staring down at his hands. Though his voice was soft, it was unexpected and made both Adora and Glimmer jump a little. He continued to sit facing away from them and avoiding eye contact, but something had shifted in his demeanor. Glimmer looked over at him in surprise, her gaze lingering for a moment before continuing.

"The first few days being on the ship were…bearable, I guess, but the pleasantries didn't last long. I really think Prime wanted me to go along with his plans willingly. as opposed to forcing me into them. I couldn't figure out why that was exactly, but my best guess is that it's harder for him to control beings that actively fight against him. Or maybe he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to control my magic once we were back on Etheria…whatever the reason, he sure did try to butter me up at the beginning and convince me to join his side. When I made it clear I wasn't going to work with him, and that I was going to fight him every step of the way…that's when things started to get…bad…" Glimmer's voice trailed off and it was several moments before she continued. Adora gently placed her hand on Glimmer's shoulder in support.

"Take your time, Glimmer. You're doing great." She smiled gently at her friend in encouragement.

"I didn't realize how tight of a hold he had on Etheria by that point. One night early on, he brought both me and Catra in for dinner. She wasn't being kept in a prison cell like I was, but she always had a guard or two tailing her…Anyway, at this dinner, he pulled up transmissions of Etheria while we ate and he asked again if I would reconsider saying no to helping him. At first, the images were just of Etheria from afar, like he was just casually keeping an eye on the planet…but when I said no again, he pulled up footage from a battle. I couldn't tell if it was live or if it had already happened, but he started zooming in on people…

"I saw the entire rebellion fighting a battalion of clones. Mermista, Scorpia, Frosta, and…my dad? That one was a real shock. But then he found you two, Adora and Bow…", she looked up at them with a sad look on her face. "...and he read me like an open book. He knew in an instant you were my weaknesses. It was almost like he could read my mind, but it was probably just that he is extremely perceptive…either way, he could tell immediately how much I cared about each of you. Especially…" Glimmer stopped herself, cheeks flushing pink and eyes growing wide.

"Well…anyway," she said quickly, hoping nobody had caught that. "Prime started to use that knowledge against me. He tried to convince me they knew exactly where you and all our other friends were and that they had you cornered. He said if I didn't help him, they'd mow all of you down and that it would be all my fault. He said he would inflict a pain worse than death on us all if I didn't start cooperating. I'll admit, it was so hard not to cave in; I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to you all because of me. Not again. I realized though…if they really had you cornered, why were they wasting their time with me? Why wouldn't they have brought in She-Ra already? I saw from the footage you weren't transformed, so I knew something was off. I figured - well, hoped is more accurate - that they were bluffing about knowing where you were, or at the very least they couldn't get to you for some reason. I knew that either way…as hard as it was, I couldn't let him use the Heart. I didn't want anything to happen to my friends, but I also knew he had the power to wipe out entire worlds with it…so, I held on to the hope that you were actually safe, that you would continue to fight on your own, and I refused to talk to him.

"That really made him mad. Like, really mad. He thought he had me with that, really believed he could get me to join him by threatening my loved ones. But I didn't cave…and from that day forward, I stopped being an honored guest. I was officially a prisoner of war."

The ship was silent for a few minutes, save for the occasional click and whir of Darla's mechanical parts hard at work. Glimmer was clearly struggling with what she was going to say next; her eyes stared ahead but didn't focus on any one thing; it was like she had been transported to another planet. But no one dared say anything, or rush her to continue. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, a habit she had been doing ever since she had been rescued. Eventually, Glimmer found the words, but her voice was softer than it was before.

"Prime…has all these machines. Tech beyond what we can imagine, even beyond what we've seen from the First Ones. He started regular 'questioning' sessions with me. They involved his fists, and whatever weapon of choice he had picked for the day. On the first day when I refused to speak…he broke my nose, and by the end I was bruised and bleeding all over." Adora and Entrapta gasped aloud, and Bow was now looking at her properly, a look of concern on his face.

"I told him he may as well kill me and get it over with because I was never going to help him. He said he had no intention of killing me, that we were just getting started…When he beat me so badly I could no longer stand up on my own, he dragged me to this healing machine. Within a few minutes, my injuries were almost completely healed. The memory of the pain was fresh in my mind, but my body was physically repaired. So he'd start again. His machine made it possible for him to inflict as much pain as he could without risk of actually killing me." Glimmer's words hung in the air for a moment; everyone was too stunned to say anything. They had no idea just how sinister Prime was, or how much Glimmer had gone through.

"He…didn't do this every day, luckily. He was pretty busy managing their invasion of Etheria and gods know what else he does in the universe. Selfishly, I was thankful for that much. But I think he realized pretty quickly the physical pain wasn't working on me anyway. In a weird way, the pain was almost cathartic. I felt like…", she paused, not able to make eye contact with Adora. "Like I deserved it, to be honest. With everything that I did, everything that happened…it felt like it was a way I could pay for my actions, or something…I don't know. I just know as awful as it was, it was a lot easier to deal with than his next tactic…"

Glimmer's breathing now started to quicken, and she nervously wrung her hands together in her lap. Adora had already thought everything Glimmer told them was awful, but it was obvious whatever happened next was far worse. "Hey," Adora said gently. "First of all…you didn't deserve any of this. You made a mistake, but it came from good intentions. You didn't deserve to be imprisoned or beaten or anything else that happened to you, okay?"

Glimmer nodded but she didn't look convinced. Her lip began to quiver, and she bit it hard to keep from spilling any tears. She wrapped her arms around herself again to try and stop herself from shivering. Bow turned his gaze away once more, but this time it was only because it was starting to feel unbearable not to go comfort her.

"Do you want to take a break?" Adora asked. "You're doing great, but we can stop for a while if you'd like."

"No, no. I need to get this out. It's important." The group let her take a few more moments to collect her thoughts.

"Prime could tell his physical methods weren't working, so he started to go in a more psychological approach. They started messing with my cell, keeping it freezing cold, not bringing me regular meals. Leaving the lights on extra bright, or turning them off and leaving me in complete darkness for hours on end. It felt like I would go days without so much as a guard checking in on me, but it was hard to tell. I didn't get much sleep, but it was still better than the beatings. Pretty soon though, Prime started bringing me to a new machine…

"I don't know what it was called. It looked similar to a machine I had seen Prime use to extract memories from his clones. But this one was definitely used for…torture. It had a chair that strapped your arms and legs down, and this thing they put over your head. When they activated it, the machine could basically read your mind. It made you experience all of your worst memories from throughout your life, as though they were happening again right in front of you. I would get lost in them, forget where I was or that I was even strapped to a machine. It all just felt so…real.

"For me, it was usually the same cycle of memories…losing my father, being captured and tortured by the Horde, fighting with my mother the last time I saw her…Salineas falling. Every horrible thing I ever said or did to you two…

"And when the machine ran out of real memories, it would prey on your worst fears and biggest insecurities and make you experience them first hand. Sometimes they were relatively silly, like bugs swarming my body or my teleportation magic running out while falling off a cliff…but most of the time it was far worse than that. I'd see how much better off the world and everyone in it would have been if I had just never existed. Or how much happier all of my friends were now that I wasn't around. I'd overhear conversations between people I care about talking about how much they secretly hate me and were glad I had been captured...Sometimes it was my parents, coming back just to tell me how disappointed they were in me, that it was all my fault my mother died. But the worst ones involved the two of you." She glanced back up at Adora and Bow.

"They were always a little different, getting worse and worse as time went on…but they all ended the same way. I would have to watch as one of you died, usually in my arms. Whoever didn't die would stand behind me and remind me that it was all my fault, that I did this, and that I deserved every awful thing that was coming for me."

Adora's hand covered her mouth as her own eyes filled with tears. She didn't even know what to say, but just imagining what Glimmer had gone through was awful. Adora felt guilty for not having been able to rescue her sooner. Entrapta had a lot of questions about this advanced tech, but even she sensed it was not the time to ask about it. Bow's grip on his crossed arms tightened and he had an unreadable expression on his face.

"I can't…I can't even explain to you how…awful…" Glimmer was struggling to get the words out now, but at the same time she couldn't stop. She went on despite having to take shaky breaths more often as silent tears ran down her cheeks. "Every time I went in there, I would try so hard to remember that it wasn't real, that it was just a simulation..but I would always forget. Always. So each time, I had to experience those feelings and pain all over again, convinced it was actually happening until I was pulled out...I lost count of how many times I watched the two of you die. It felt like it happened at every session. By the time they would end the simulation, my arms and legs would be bruised and cut from pulling so hard on the restraints. I still have the marks…the healing machines could heal serious injuries, but it didn't do much to the bruises and scars…" She pulled up her sleeves to reveal her forearms, covered in dark splotches and scars that ran in straight lines where the straps must have been. Adora's eyes widened; she never noticed that Glimmer had kept her sleeves down since they rescued her. None of them realized just how much she had been hiding all this time; Glimmer had just been putting on a happy facade…how could they not have noticed how much she was actually hurting?

Rolling down her sleeves once more, Glimmer continued, her voice steadying once again. "The beatings were bad, but they at least ended eventually. The simulations haunted me long after they were over. I would go back to my cell and have nightmares about them. I'd question how many of my secret fears were actually true? Maybe my parents would be disappointed in me, maybe everyone I cared about was happy I was gone. I hoped with all my heart that you guys were safe, but I had no way of knowing for sure. My mind would replay the simulations over and over long after the session was over…it was a torture that never ended.

"Prime was thrilled. I could see it in his face every time a session ended, he knew he was finally getting to me. He thought he won, like this was the thing that would break me. In a way…he was right. If I'm honest…I really did want to die at that point. I didn't know how long I could take the simulations for. But I also knew I still couldn't turn my back on Etheria, no matter what he did to me.

"A few days before you rescued me, he came to my cell and told me he wanted me to send a couple of video messages. He said the sessions would stop if I complied. All I had to do was tell Etheria to accept his reign and turn on She-Ra. And to call off anyone trying to rescue me…which at that point, I really didn't think was happening anyway…I think Prime believed that if Etheria could see how broken and defeated I was, they'd just give up. But I knew better than that.

"As much as I wanted to end the sessions, the beatings, the worsening conditions of my cell, I knew this was my chance to help our people in a small way. Prime gave me a day to 'think about my best course of action'. He must have been really convinced that I was going to do as he asked, because when it came time to record he set me up in a room with just one guard. When I started my video, I foolishly thought it was live…looking back, of course Prime was too smart for that, he would never have given me that kind of freedom. I recorded the video, telling the people of Etheria not to give up. I realized too late that I would have to manually send the message out after I recorded it…but at that point I knew I had nothing left to lose. That feeling gave me some kind of power, I can't really describe it. But despite not having eaten or slept properly in weeks, and not having any magic power..I really felt like I could take him on. When Prime caught on to what was happening, he possessed the guard in my room so he could fight me himself. I was only able to hold out for a few minutes, he was able to overpower me before too long…but I got away just long enough to hit the send button. At least, I think I did…did you all see my message?"

Adora's eyes filled with new tears, this time out of respect and admiration for Glimmer's bravery. "Yeah…we did! It was a huge morale boost for the rebellion. Your bravery and strength breathed much needed life into the rebellion. It gave everyone a boost and helped us win that battle. It's even more impressive now hearing the full story…" Adora smiled sincerely at Glimmer.

"Good…then it wasn't all for nothing." Glimmer sighed in relief with a small smile of her own.

After a moment of silence, Bow spoke from the captain's chair without looking over at the girls. "Did you really think we weren't coming to save you?"

Glimmer blinked for a moment in surprise. It was the first time he had directly addressed her in quite some time. "Well…the last time I saw the two of you, we had that huge fight. And that was on top of the months I spent before that treating you all terribly and ignoring everything you tried to tell me…I figured you'd hate me after all that, or at best you would be absolutely furious with me. Which…to be fair, was pretty accurate…"

"You don't stop loving someone just because you're mad at them."

Bow's voice was low, but his words hung in the air. A flood of emotions hit Glimmer at once, too many to properly sort through in the moment. A new wave of tears flowed down her cheeks, but at the same time she couldn't stop a smile from growing. He couldn't possibly know how much his words meant to her.

Bow swung his legs down so he was sitting in the chair properly. After a moment he looked over at Glimmer, who was currently being swept into a giant Adora hug. Their eyes met over Adora's shoulder, and Bow kept her gaze for a beat before getting up and walking to the sleeping quarters.

Later that evening, when everyone else was in bed, Glimmer sat in the captain's chair in the helm with her knees pulled up tight to her chest. In some ways it had felt good to finally talk about what happened to her on Prime's ship, but it also stirred up so many emotions she had been trying to suppress…now she knew it was impossible to sleep.

After sitting in silence alone for some time, she heard the shuffle of soft footsteps behind her. She jumped up out of her seat when she saw who it was.

"Oh, Bow!" she said in a hushed voice, trying not to wake anyone else. "I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep so I came out here…but I can go back to my bunk if you want to be alone." She made a move to walk past him when he gently placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Glimmer, I…", his voice trailed off. It seemed like it was still hard for him to look at her, but eventually his eyes found her face. "I didn't realize...all that terrible stuff that happened to you…I had no idea how bad it was. You've acted so normal since we rescued you, I had no clue you had been through so many awful things. I…guess what I'm trying to say is…I know I've been cold to you since you came back. I should have been more sensitive...I didn't realize…I mean, you didn't deserve how I've been treating you, especially on top of everything else that's happened. I'm sorry for not being more civil."

"Bow…you don't need to apologize. It doesn't really matter what happened on Prime's ship. Our problems are because of what happened before I was kidnapped…what I went through is irrelevant. Even if you had known everything, it wouldn't change what happened before, or the fact that I hurt you. You still wouldn't want to be around me. It's okay, I understand. I don't blame you."

"Is that what you think? That I don't want to be around you?"

She blinked up at him, like it was a trick question. "Well - you've been avoiding me like the plague, and you haven't spoken more than one sentence to me at a time since I came back, so yeah…I came to the conclusion that you didn't want to be around me..."

Bow took a deep breath, his face full of emotion. "Glimmer…it's not that I don't want to be around you. It's that I can't be. Because every time you're near me, it feels like one of two things is going to happen. Either all of my anger and hurt that's been building up since before you were even captured is going to bubble up, and I'm going to lash out at you and say something I'll regret and can never take back. Or…" His expression softened along with his voice, almost sounding defeated. "Or, I'll just forgive you. Just like that. Because the last few weeks have been absolute hell without you, worrying about you constantly, seeing you be beaten in that video and now hearing about everything else you went through. It takes every ounce of energy I have to stop myself from wrapping you up in my arms and holding you and telling you everything's fine. Because…it's not fine. I can't just ignore everything that's happened this past year. I can't just pretend everything is okay now. It's not fair to myself to just let go of all the hurt like it never happened. I just…I can't do it. So it's just easier if I distance myself from you. I'm sorry but…that's just the way it is right now. I know you've been through a lot, and that I've been acting like a jerk since you came back…I'm sorry for that. I'll try to be more cordial from now on…but I can't act like we used to. Not yet."

Glimmer managed to hold back tears. Honestly, this was probably the best response she could have hoped for. "You don't have to apologize, Bow. You have nothing to be sorry for. I understand, and I promise I'll give you that space and leave you alone after this, if that's what you need. But first…can I please say a few things? I promise I won't bug you any more after tonight. But I just really need to get some things off my chest. Please." She looked up at him hopefully, and after a moment he shrugged a shoulder and nodded his head.

"I just…I don't even have words to express how sorry I am. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently, but I can't. I know I hurt you. I know our relationship was deteriorating over the last year, and I did nothing to fix it. I didn't listen to you, I pulled the 'Queen' card on you, I was just all around an awful friend. I know this doesn't matter in the end…but I need you to know, I really was just trying to do what I thought was best for Etheria. I was scared of losing you and Adora or anyone else. My only goal was to find a way to save everyone, even if it meant I had to alienate myself to do so. I really felt like, in the moment, I was doing the right thing. This isn't an excuse by any means, but after I lost my mother I just felt…so alone. I didn't want anyone else to feel the way I did, and I thought if I could use the Heart, I could stop that from happening to anyone else. I just…I don't know what I'm trying to say. I just want you to understand I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. Not that it makes anything better, but…" her voice trailed off. There was so much she wanted to say but she just couldn't get the right words out.

"Glimmer, it's not even the fact that you opened the Heart that I'm so mad about. You were lied to, and you didn't know what was going to happen. I can't and don't blame you for what Prime is doing...that isn't in your control. But...you stopped talking to me, Glimmer. You pushed me out of your life. After everything we've been through over the years, it was like I didn't even matter to you anymore. You ignored everything I tried to tell you. I worked so hard to get you and Adora to get along, and that was thrown in my face over and over. It was like we weren't even friends anymore. I tried for so long to get us back on track, and it was like you didn't even care. You at least fought with Adora, but you started ignoring me altogether. Honestly, I think I would have preferred you fighting with me to that. And now…now you're back. And I want so badly to go back to the way things were before. I want to laugh with you and hang out and goof off and spend every second I can with you to make up for all the time you were gone. But…I can't. Because if I do, it's like everything in the past year just didn't happen. It's not fair to just…move on "

Glimmer's eyes shined with regretful tears, but she didn't dare let herself cry. She didn't think she deserved that release. "I know. I am so sorry Bow. You deserved none of that. I care about you so much, more than you could possibly even know…I was so focused on trying to save you and the rest of Etheria that I lost you along the way without even realizing. You have every right to be angry with me. You can be angry with me for a long time, forever even. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me. But just know I'll always be here for you. Even if it takes a year, or five years, or the rest of our lives, I'll be ready and waiting if that time ever comes. If you do find it in your heart to forgive me, I promise I'll never stop working to be a better friend to you than I have been. In the meantime though, I'll give you as much space as I can on the ship. You don't have to spend any more time with me than is absolutely necessary, if that's what you need. Just know…I'm here, if you ever change your mind."

Glimmer shot him a sad smile before starting to make her way back to her bunk. She only made it a few steps before Bow called after her.

"Wait!"

She turned back towards him, and in two large strides Bow closed the gap between them and wrapped her up in his arms, holding her tightly against himself. Glimmer gasped in surprise before returning the hug, nestling her face into his chest. She didn't realize until that moment just how badly she had needed to feel his embrace, and despite herself she broke down into full on sobs, muffled against the fabric of his shirt. Bow gently placed a hand behind her head and let her cry.

"Everything might not be fine right now…" he said softly, his head now resting on top of hers. "But it will be, Glimmer. I know it. I still need some more time, but I know we will get there. I care about you so much. I'm so glad you're safe. I've never wanted anything more in the entire world than to get you back. I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I know you're sorry too, and I know you're trying. I'm going to try too, okay?"

Glimmer couldn't speak, but she nodded against his chest. Neither knew exactly how long they stood there holding one another, but it was far after Glimmer's sobs subsided. Eventually though, they made their way back to their respective bunks, where Glimmer slept better than she had in weeks.