Catra opened her eyes again to find herself lying not on a metal floor, but a pure white bed of snow. Her injuries were gone, faded away as though they were never there. Perhaps they were never there. She tried to get up, but she was too cold and tired to move, she looked around to see falling snowflakes through the dead trees of the Whispering Woods.

"A dream..." Catra realized, breathing a sigh of relief, "It was all just a dream. A hallucination brought on by the cold. I didn't let everyone down and there never was that annoying skeleton bothering me. The Princesses aren't dead and the world isn't coming to an end. This was all just a figment of my imagination brought on by my brain slowly dying in the snow."

Catra's momentary excitement soon dwindled as the implications of her situation soon dawned on her.

"I'm going to die here..." Catra said morosely, "I'm going to die in the middle of the woods and no one will even know what happened to me."

Catra closed her eyes and began to cry again, when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of jingling bells in the distance. She listened closer and heard the sound of a skiff engine powering down and two heavy boots stomping quickly towards her. Catra opened her eyes again to see two bright red tabi boots in the snow, she looked up to see a large figure standing over her wearing a red coat and poofball hat with white fur trim that matched the figure's pure white beard.

"Catra? Catra!" the figure called out, picking up the shivering kitten with a set of large red pincers, "What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Santa..." Catra groaned weakly, as she looked over the figure in the red suit, "Santa Claus? Is that you?"

"Yeah, that's right, Wildcat..." the figure chuckled, using one of the pincers to wipe away her tears, "It's me, Santa Claus. Now come on! We need to get you home!"

Catra felt the warmth of her rescuer's chest against her body, and she cuddled up as close as she could to bask in that warmth. The figure in the snow carried her over to the sleigh where she was wrapped up in warm blankets and laid peacefully in the two seater bench at front of the craft. The giant climbed on the other side and sat next to her before taking the reigns of the sleigh in his big red claws.

"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed the jolly sleigh driver, as their ride began to rise into the air, "Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen! Take us back to the Fright Zone! To the west hangar bay! Where we can finally bring back this gaudy old sleigh!"

And with that the sled flew upwards, high above the trees. Catra wondered if this was another dream, but quickly decided she no longer cared. It didn't matter if the reindeer didn't look quite right, or that Santa was flying the sleigh with a control stick. As far as Catra concerned she was a little girl again, being saved from the cold by Santa Claus and enjoying a beautiful ride on his flying sleigh. She gazed in awe at the magical night and gave in to believing the dream she was having. At least this one was happy, and she could enjoy her final moments as a fantastic adventure with someone who truly cared about her. She snuggled up against Santa's bright red coat and felt a muscly arm wrap around her shoulders, holding her close and tight. Catra closed her eyes and purred contently as she felt the smooth surface of a pincer pet her tenderly.

~*~

Catra heard the steady rhythm of continuous loud mechanical beeps next to her when she woke up. She was laying in a bed, much different to the one she first went to sleep in. Catra rolled over to her side to try to get more comfortable, but was stopped by something chained to her wrist. She opened her eyes and saw a white room with bright florescent lights, which she recognized as the infirmary.

"What the-" Catra exclaimed, looking at her hand to see she had been handcuffed to the bed post, "What am I doing here?!"

"Force Captain Catra," a gruff female voice called out, "You're awake!"

Catra looked down at the end of the bed to see a Horde soldier in full uniform sitting down on a chair, looking back at her.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Catra demanded, "Why am I handcuffed?!"

"That is for you own safety, Ma'am," the soldier explained, "You've been placed on suicide watch."

"Suicide watch?!" Catra repeated, "I'm not suicidal, Buckethead! I just got locked out of my room, you idiot!"

"You were found outside in the middle of the Whispering Woods wearing nothing but a large white puffy shirt and some sweatpants," the soldier argued, "Given the high statistics of depression at this time of year we only figured-"

"It doesn't matter where you found me!" Catra interrupted, "I'm fine! You've done your job, now get me out of this thing!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the soldier firmly, "You know the protocol for these situations."

"Uggh! Nevermind!" growled Catra as she slashed the handcuffs off with her claws and leapt off the bed, "How long have I been gone?"

"I don't understand," the soldier replied nervously, "What do you mean gone?"

"I mean, how long has it been since I went missing?" Catra explained, rubbing her recently restrained wrist, "What day is it today?"

"What day?" the soldier repeated, "It's Christmas Day, ma'am."

"One night..." Catra realized, "All of that happened in one night..."

"Are you okay, Ma'am?" asked the soldier, "Maybe you should go back to bed."

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine!" Catra screamed in frustration, "Just go bother someone else! You're dismissed for today!"

"Are you sure, ma'am?" inquired the soldier, "I could-"

"NOW!" Catra shrieked, scaring off the soldier as she walked out of the infirmary.

~*~

Catra opened an external doorway to the Fright Zone and climbed up onto the balcony to look up to the roof. Wrapped around one of the radio antennae was a skinny boy with messy blonde hair covered in ice and snow.

"Kyle!" Catra called up to the Hordcicle, "Are you still up there?! What have you been doing this whole time?!"

"I-I-I h-h-have b-b-been c-c-cleaning th-th-the..." the frozen boy stuttered impotently.

"Nevermind!" Catra interrupted, "Just get back down here, so I can talk to you!"

"S-s-sure th-th-thing..." Kyle acknowledged as he tried to carefully let go of the antenna, only to slip on a patch of ice and fall off the roof, "AAAHHH!"

Catra quickly reached out to grab Kyle's leg with both claws as he fell past her, and she slowly pulled him back onto the balcony.

"Th-th-thanks, C-C-Catra..." stammered Kyle.

"Don't mention it..." Catra grumbled, "Ever!"

"Y-y-yes, M-M-Ma'am," Kyle shivered.

"Come on, let's get you inside," Catra ordered, dragging Kyle behind her, "I have a new job for you."

"Y-y-yay..." Kyle cheered weakly.

~*~

Catra laid Kyle up against the wall of the corridor and waited a moment for him to get warmed up before she spoke.

"You know the animal pens on the south side of the complex?" asked Catra.

"Yes, ma'am..." replied Kyle.

"I want you to go over there and bring back a dozen of the biggest birds you can find to be slaughtered and prepared in the kitchens," Catra ordered, "This is a direct order from Hordak's second in command."

"Ma'am?" Kyle exclaimed with nervous confusion.

"And I want you to inform all hands that there is a special meeting happening in the Western Canteen this afternoon at o'fourteen hundred," Catra continued, "The one big enough to fit a whole army in there. Is that understood, soldier?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kyle responded with some more confidence.

"I'm serious, Cadet," Catra growled sternly, "This mission is to be carried out with the upmost discretion. Information regarding the meal preparations is only to be given out on a need to know basis. Any security leaks and I will be most displeased in you, Kyle."

"Of course, ma'am," Kyle saluted, his face beaming with pride, "You can count on me, Catra."

"You are dismissed, soldier!" Catra shouted loudly.

"Yes, ma'am!" Kyle shouted back, turning to run down the hallway, "Thank you, ma'am!"

After Kyle disappeared around a corner and Catra was certain no one else could see her, she allowed herself to smirk proudly and merrily waltz down the corridor.

~*~

When the door to Scorpia's room chirped, she lethargically got up out of bed and staggered over to the wall panel to open it. The doors hissed open and Catra was standing before her, with her claws clasped behind her back and an inpatient frown on her face.

"Catra!" Scorpia cried out in shock, "I didn't know you were out of intensive care already! Look, I know I'm late for my shift, but I didn't sleep a wink last night. I had to do this special assignment for Hordak and I only just got back to the Fright Zone. I was gonna come visit you in the infirmary after I got a little shut-"

"Save it, Scorpia!" Catra glowered, "I don't care what Hordak has had you doing for him. I am your direct commanding officer which means you answer to me on my prepared schedule, got it?"

"Of course, ma'am!" Scorpia saluted, "Sorry, ma'am!"

"For this flagrant act of insubordination," Catra scolded, "I have no choice... but to relieve you of all of your duties for the next couple of days."

"Catra, I'm really sorry," Scorpia apologized, "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't..." Catra ordered, "But now that you apparently have the time off, maybe we could hang out later today."

"Huh?" Scorpia exclaimed in confusion, "Uh, yeah! Totally! I mean, if you're okay with it, of course!"

"Good..." said Catra smugly, "There will be meeting in the mess hall at roughly o'fourteen hundred hours. I expect all able bodied personnel to be there. In the meantime, I've been asked to deliver this to you."

Catra held her hand in front of her to reveal she had been holding a colorfully wrapped white box with red stripes and tiny crawling scorpions on it that read, "A Very Special Winter Solstice To: Scorpia, From: Entrapta" on it's tag. Scorpia took the box in her pincers and snipped it open immediately. Inside was a tiny globular robot with three legs and two tiny arms, holding a very small brush and dustpan. The robot turned on and leapt out of the box onto the floor and began sweeping Scorpia's room.

"Oh, wow," Scorpia gasped, "Thanks, Catra! Tell Entrapta I really appreciate it! Why does the packaging look singed?"

"Some idiot tried to throw it in the incinerator," Catra explained, looking away from Scorpia briefly, "Fortunately, I was able to rescue it in time. One more thing, Scorpia... I believe I owe you something from last night."

"Oh, you don't have to do anything else for me," Scorpia humbly assured her, "I'm just happy you're okay."

"Look, I'm only gonna do this once," Catra hissed in annoyance, "So you'd better appreciate it, okay?"

Catra grabbed Scorpia by the neck and pulled her head down towards her so it was close enough for Catra to crane her neck up to her face and give her a soft kiss on the cheek. After Catra let her go, Scorpia rubbed her cheek with her claw as she stared lovingly at Catra with diamonds in her eyes.

"I will never wash this cheek again," Scorpia vowed to herself.

"And if you tell *anyone* about this," Catra threatened, "I *will* have you taken out back and shot, got it?!"

"Oh, yeah, sure, got it!" Scorpia nodded, "You totally just kissed me..."

"It was *one* time... on the cheek... because of a stupid holiday tradition," Catra explained, "This means nothing between us, understood?"

"Sure it doesn't," Scorpia chuckled softly, "Merry Christmas, Catra."

"Merry Christmas, Scorpia," Catra replied as she turned away and began walking down the hallway.

~*~

Catra entered the doorway into Hordak's sanctum, carefully climbing up the tall stairway to bow solemnly before the dark lord on his throne.

"Lord Hordak," Catra greeted, "You asked to see me?"

"Ah, yes, Force Captain," Hordak chuckled, with a bright smile on his lips, "I wanted you to bear witness to my latest victory over the Princess Alliance."

Catra stood up and saw that Hordak's entire sanctum had been filled with a bizarre array of colorfully wrapped boxes and Christmas decorations, including a very familiar looking five foot tall aluminum tree. The entire throne room was filled with stockings and ribbons and presents.

"You seem uncharacteristically pleasant today, My Lord," Catra observed, "I thought you hated all this Christmas stuff."

"Oh, but that is the beauty of this holiday blight!" explained Hordak, "You see, I've had one of our Force Captains perform a task for me last night. Using your description of the being known as Santa Claus, she was able to pass completely unnoticed through Brightmoon's jaws. While there she was able to acquire every last bough of holly, every single strand of mistletoe, every physical piece of Christmas right down to the snow. And she brought them all here, to my impenetrable spire, leaving behind only some hooks and a surveillance wire."

Hordak produced a radio speaker and placed it on his throne, making sure to turn the dial up as far as it will go. Catra cautiously approached the dark lord, to listen in on this radio on behalf of the Horde.

"And through that wire, we can listen in on their petulant mumbling," Hordak explained, "By now they'll all know that no Christmas is coming! When they all wake up I know just what they'll do! Their mouths will hang open for a minute or two and then every Princess in Brightmoon will cry, 'Boo-hoo'! And that, my dear Catra, is a noise I simply must hear."

And so Hordak placed the radio up close to his ear, and he did hear a sound rise up from the static and the snow. The signal came in low, but then started to grow.

"We wish you a Merry Christmas..." sang the radio, "We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Good tidings we bring! To you and your kin! Good Tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

But this sound wasn't sad. Why, it was practically glad. Every Princess down in Brightmoon, the tall and the small, were singing without any presents at all. Hordak hadn't stopped Christmas from coming. It came. Somehow or another, it came just the same. And Hordak taken aback and sitting down on his throne, puzzled and puzzled.

"How could it be so?" Hordak exclaimed, grabbing Catra by the collar and pulling her close to his face, "It came without ribbons!"

Hordak released Catra long enough to listen to the singing again before grabbing her again and pulling her in as close as he can.

"It came without tags!" he snarled, letting Catra go once more to listen in, before yet again pulling her to right up to his face, "It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

Hordak puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore. Then Hordak thought of something he hadn't before.

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "Isn't bought from a store... Maybe this Christmas, perhaps, is something more..."

"Well, it was worth a shot, I guess," Catra said diplomatically, making sure to stand far away from his grasp, "So, look. I'm planning this celebration for the lower ranks in the mess hall this afternoon, and... well... if you wanted to make an appearance..."

"What are you asking Force Captain?" Hordak inquired.

"Nothing," Catra hesitated, "It was a stupid idea. Forget I mentioned it. But there was one more thing, Entrapta wanted me to give this to you, in thanks for letting her stay with us."

"I do not require tribute from my subjects," Hordak growled impatiently, "Only results. What is it you have brought for me, Force Captain?"

Catra produced a small package from behind her back and placed it carefully in front of the dark lord, taking a step back from him to reach down and pick it up. It was a red box with black stripes and tiny flapping bats and a small tag that read, "Happy Holidays To: Hordak, From: Entrapta". The dark lord raised an eyebrow as he carefully unwrapped the present and pulled a smaller container out from inside.

"Self sealing stem bolts..?" Hordak described, as he shook the container with what sounded like tiny metal chunks, "I had been trying to find these for some time... The one's I've been using just keep falling off... How did she know?"

And what happened then, well, in the Fright Zone, they say, that Hordak's small heart grew three sizes that day.

"Hack!" snarled Hordak, as he clutched his chest in pain, "Haeeerrrggghh..."

And with that, Hordak collapsed face down into the ground in front of him, no longer moving, no longer breathing.

"My Lord?" Catra said cautiously as she softly kicked Hordak's metal armor with her foot, "Are you okay..?"

Unwilling to take responsibility for her master's apparent untimely demise, Catra quickly fled down the throne room, making careful steps not to trip down the stairs as she retreated away.

"It'll be okay," Catra whispered to herself as she ran out the doorway, "I just dropped off the present and left. As far as I knew, he was still alive when I was gone."

~*~

Entrapta was hard at work in her makeshift workshop inside a Fright Zone holding cell, when the door opened behind her.

"Entratpa..." Catra called out nervously, "Can I come in?"

"Of course!" Entrapta shouted back, "Just be careful not to touch anything. I'm working on a very unstable power source I think we can use on my next generation drone tech."

"Okay, I won't keep you long," Catra said, "You remember what I said to you last night..? About you needing to be useful to stay here..?"

"Not to worry!" Entrapta assured her, "I've been working all night on this project and you are all going to love it when it's ready!"

"No, Entrapta!" Catra exclaimed in a panic, "What I'm trying to say is you don't need to worry about that! Because you've already been very useful!"

"Oh, okay..." Entrapta replied, her voice becoming uneasy, "To be honest, I'm having a little trouble reconciling what you're telling me now versus what you told me last night."

"Forget what I said last night!" Catra ordered, "I was just being stupid, okay?! You already have helped us in ways we couldn't even imagine, alright? You've done well and I appreciate it, so don't worry about getting kicked out. You can stay here as long as you want..."

Entrapta looked confused at what to say next, so she simply closed her mouth and gave a polite smile.

"Listen..." Catra said softly, "We're having this thing at the mess hall this afternoon, and was hoping you could come and meet everyone. Maybe make a few friends?"

"Oh, yes!" Entrapta shouted with excitement, grabbing her recording device from her pocket, "I have been taking copius notes on social interactions when we went to the Princess Prom together and I have been just waiting for the perfect excuse to try them out."

"Great..." Catra said, "Just try not be too weird, okay? Not everyone's used to having a Princess in here."

"Okay, Catra!" Entrapta acknowledged, "I'll see you at the Party! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Entrapta..." Catra replied, closing the door behind her as she looked off into space in confusion, "What's a 'Party'?"

~*~

The festivities in the mess hall were in full swing when Catra arrived. It seemed the entire Fright Zone had made it to the meeting. Catra made sure that food and drink were plentiful and had requested some of the decorations from the Throne Room be brought in to brighten up the place. What Catra did not expect was the person who brought them in.

"Hordak?" Catra gasped in surprise at the dark lord carrying a box full of green wreaths and a five foot tall aluminum Christmas tree, "What are you doing here?! I thought you died!"

Hordak stared intently at the small catgirl infront of him for a few moments of silence. A small childsized creature with solid yellow eyes was crawling on his shoulder, wearing a red hat with a white trim and poof ball. Hordak placed the decorations on the table and hovered close to Catra's face.

"I merely suffered from a minor attack of cardiomegaly," Hordak hissed threateningly, "And I will forget the fact you had left me for dead, if you promise never to mention my condition or what had happened to anyone else as long as you live."

"Of course, sir..." Catra saluted, standing at attention.

Hordak grunted in response and strode confidently into the mess hall where the other officers bowed in reverence at his passing, before quickly returning to their reverie. Catra breathed a sigh of relief when three familiar Horde soldiers in cadet uniforms walked over to Catra.

"I must admit," Lonnie greeted, "You really had us going with the whole hating Christmas shtick. So how long have you had this whole thing planned out?"

"What can I say?" Catra shrugged proudly, "Rank has its privileges and what's the point of being the new boss if you can't slurge on your friends every once in a while."

"You're alright, Catra," Lonnie teased, punching Catra playfully in the shoulder, "Just don't let it get to your head, okay?"

Catra looked around the room to see everyone inside chatting amicably. Scorpia was in the corner, talking with the other Force Captains. Entrapta was busy explaining something technical to Hordak, showing him blueprints and diagrams, while he listened with rapt interest. Kyle and his large lizard pal were playing with the tiny imp in the Santa hat. And many soldiers of the Horde from all walks of life were able to take off there armor and relax with their friends and family.

For one magical day, all of Etheria was able to forget about the war and spend time in warm cheer with all their fellow creatures. At the Feast, Hordak himself carved the cooked beasts as Entrapta distributed the food equally amongst the common soldiery. Force Captain Scorpia had volunteered to clean up the decorations and requested the gifts be brought to her room as well as a tiny bellyflop sled sized for a twelve year old girl. Later that day, there were reports from Brightmoon that Santa Claus had returned to bring back all the gifts that were taken last night, when a certain sea pirate was rescued from drowning by a mermaid princess and had spent the next morning in bed nursing multiple bone fractures. And Catra brought a large plate of food down to the single occupied cell to the Fright Zone Prison before being summoned once more to Hordak's throne room.

~*~

"I must admit," Hordak began, petting his imp soothingly, "Today's events have left me most optimistic in our upcoming operations this spring. My Force Captain's report general morale has never been higher and our soldiers are more enthusiatic than ever to return to active duty. You have done well, Force Captain Catra, and I hope I can look forward to your next... 'holiday surprise'..."

"Thank you, Lord Hordak," Catra bowed graciously, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not at this time, Force Captain," Hordak replied, letting the imp fly free as he stood up from his throne, "I want you to be ready for when we can begin our renewed attacks against the Princess Alliance. With luck, I predict this year will see the final defeat of She-Ra and her pathetic group of friends."

Hordak walked up towards a nearby wall, where a large painting was hung. Catra looked over his shoulder to see the picture depicting Hordak standing amongst a ragtag group of monsters, cyborgs and sorcerers who were unrecognizable to Catra, save for one. In the center of the painting, sitting on a throne of bones, sat a wizard with blue skin and long dark hair with a goatee, wearing dark purple robes, boots and a loincloth, with leather straps crossed over his chest. In his blue hand, with long black fingernails, he held a tall wooden staff adorned with the skull of a goat.

"Hordak..?" Catra asked, cautiously, wondering if this man inspired her recent dream, "Was that painting always hanging here?"

"Hmm..?" Hordak grunted, "No, I only just brought it out of storage for this evening. Today has made me want to look back on a previous life, before I brought the Horde to Etheria. This painting was made in a place far from here, at a time of celebration not too dissimilar from Etheria's Christmas."

"There are other places that celebrate Christmas?" asked Catra.

"Of course," Hordak answered, "Though each has their own cultural differences and some go by different names. Hogswatch, Life Day, Hearth's Warming Eve... there was this one species of ape descendants who just called it Freezer Day, but I think they have since gone extinct."

"I see, but... that man there," Catra pointed at the blue wizard in the painting, "I think I've seen him before."

"Unlikely," Hordak replied, "Like I said, this piece was painted in a place very far from here. Further than any Etherian has ever travelled. And I doubt I will be seeing any of these people ever again. But today, they all seemed to be much less further away for some reason... and I almost find the thought... comforting..."

"Okaaay..." Catra said nervously, "I'll just be heading out now, Merry Christmas, Lord Hordak..."

"Merry Christmas, Force Captain..." Hordak replied.

Catra kept her eyes on the painting as she walked down the stairs. And a crack of thunder sounded from the sky and echoed though the air. And for one brief second, Catra thought she could see, a green glowing skull that was cackling with glee. Catra may have been changed by what she had just been through, but change can be painful and it can sometimes corkscrew. Sometimes we all need a big, scary warning, to keep us in line until next year's Christmas morning. So I say to those cuddling by the warm fire light, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good Fright! Nyeh-heh-heh-heh-heh-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!

The End