The Fright Zone. The closest thing Catra could consider a home for most of her life, now overgrown in nature and creatures. It was odd seeing it not covered in smoke and machinery. Horde soldiers no longer patrolled around, no weapons to manage, and no Kyle to use as a scapegoat. It was simply… a place. Not a military base.

Despite all that, Catra looked at it and all she felt was a sense of dread. Even with all the changes, all this place reminded her of was abuse and abandonment. The place Shadow Weaver called her worthless every day. The place where Scorpia called her a bad friend and left her behind. The place where she lied about Entrapta's betrayal and sent her to Beast Island for no reason. The place where Hordak tried to kill her.

Catra stared out and almost wanted to run away. Anywhere but here. This place only gave her nightmares, and left her as a shell…

"Catra?"

Catra's consciousness snapped back. Adora was a few steps ahead of her, looking over her shoulder. She could tell Catra was distracted by this place, and with valid reason. Adora herself barely wanted to return. "Huh?" Catra exclaimed. "Oh, yeah, I'm… I'm good."

"You sure?" Adora asked, stepping up to Catra and placing a tender hand on her shoulder. "We don't have to come back just yet, you know. We can leave it for another day," Adora spoke. Catra put a hand over Adora's on her shoulder and softly sighed, nuzzling her cheek against Adora's warm hand.

"No… No, it's fine. Lets just get this over with. Just a quick check and we can leave, right?" Catra asked, and Adora nodded. Catra clung to Adora's hand. As long as they had each other, nothing really bad could happen to them. And so, Catra held Adora's hand as they entered the source of her nightmares.

The usual path she took around the Fright Zone was mostly blocked off by the occasional tree or bush, but it wasn't impossible to navigate. Small critters frolicked around them every now and then as Catra looked around. The red hue that used to surround this place was instead replaced by a bright, blue sky. The beaming sun shining upon them. A star.

"Is it weird to say that the Fright Zone looks… really beautiful?" Adora asks.

"Yeah… No… Yeah, that's definitely weird to say," Catra pondered for a moment. "But weird things always come out of your mouth so it's nothing special."

"I do not always say weird things!" Adora protested, immediately turning her attention to her smirking girlfriend.

"So it's normal to say 'For the honor of Grayskull!' to activate your superhero mode? Oh, and don't even get me started on the things Scorpia told me you say when your sword was infected with that weird virus," Catra was clearly gaining the upper hand in this conversation as Adora's face turned red. "I almost wish I had footage of it to use whenever you annoyed me. The legendary She-Ra acting like a playful, giggling cadet!"

"Okay, first of all, I only got all… weird like that twice!" Adora pointed at Catra, who was too busy laughing to listen to whatever Adora was saying. "And second of all… shut up. Need I remind you that you made friends with a shapeshifter who infiltrated us whilst pretending to be a cute, little girl?"

"Hey, don't get mad just because Double Trouble outsmarted you. Besides, they're super fun to be around! You should hang out together some time," Catra suggests.

"… They make fun of my hair poof," Adora mopes, using that as the only excuse for why she hasn't talked much to the master of trickery shapeshifter.

The banter was enough for Catra to relax a little bit. There was still that sense of unease, dread and anxiety that came with being in a place that had haunted her for years, but now that she was with Adora and open about her love with her, it felt a tad easier.

Soon enough, the two of them were inside. Even the inside was overgrown with nature, leaving some doors blocked. The girls made a beeline, however, for the place they used to sleep together in. The bedroom for many squadrons, including Adora and Catra.

What started as a one night thing, with Catra sleeping at the foot of Adora's bed, turned into something the two of them did for years. Catra always curled up at Adora's feet when they slept together during the time when Adora was in the Horde. Catra made the excuse that her own bed was horrible, but really, it felt nice to have that sense of closeness to Adora.

The bedroom was relatively unscathed, with only a few shrubs here and there. Catra went over to the lockers where she and Adora kept most of their gear. When Adora abandoned the Horde, it was elected that most of her stuff be tossed or burnt, and unfortunately, most of it was.

But Catra kept a few items around.

She opened her own locker and found most of her and Adora's gear still there. It was mostly useless now, since she had no need for Horde weaponry or combat guides to fighting Princesses, but the most precious items were at the back of the locker, where she could hide things from Shadow Weaver.

She reached in and grabbed an old piece of paper. It was a rough drawing Catra had made as a kid. Two girls, drawn crudely, but almost anyone could tell it was Catra and Adora. They stood together with a heart drawn around them. Something Catra made when she was young and starting to realize her feelings for her best friend.

It was something she struggled with for years. Whether to tell Adora or not. She had always heard that telling your friend you loved them was a one step way into ruining everything. Catra was stuck on what to do, but Adora just… left. Catra stared at the love heart picture of the two of them, and almost wanted to tell her younger self that everything would be okay.

"Whatcha got there?"

Catra immediately leapt at the sound of Adora's voice and immediately hid the picture back in the locker, slamming the door shut. However, it seems as if the lock was broken, since the door just creaked back open again after bouncing off the locker. "Is… Is that my stuff?" Adora asks as she looks over Catra's shoulder, recognizing a few things.

Catra was doomed already.

"You… really kept one of my jackets?" Adora asked, holding out a red Horde jacket. It was the same one Adora always wore. She had multiple. Most of them were discarded, but Catra kept just one. Catra's face went red as she looked at the floor. She kept that jacket for one reason only.

"It… it smelled like you."

Catra felt like she could die right there, and almost expected Adora to cry herself laughing. But instead, Adora put a hand over her own heart. "Aww… Catra, that's so sweet…" Adora gushed.

"Don't make fun of me!" Catra protested.

"I'm not! I swear, I'm not!" Adora held up her hands defensively. "I just… I'm surprised, is all. I thought you hated me."

"… I thought I did too," Catra mumbled. "I was going to burn that one. Like the rest of everything you left behind. But I just… couldn't. It would be like letting go of you entirely… I always thought you were going to come back. That things would… change."

Catra couldn't stand to look at Adora's face. She wasn't used to being this vulnerable, and it was still only around Adora. However, she soon found Adora's hand touching her own, and looked up to see Adora smiling sweetly at her. "Hey… I love you so much."

Catra looked at Adora, before scratching her hair, her face growing an even more intense shade of red. "… I love you too."

Adora searched through the locker some more. She pulled out a small photograph. "It's… us. Yeesh, bad hair day for you?"

"You're one to talk about bad hair," Catra scoffed. She glanced at the photo of Catra and Adora with Kyle, Lonnie and Rogelio. "That's… the day we got assigned our squad. We were just happy to pass basic training… Shadow Weaver was beaming over you."

"And you barely scraped by," Adora reminisced. "I'm so glad those three found love within each other. I could almost tell it from day one."

"You could not!" Catra snorted. "They barely talked to each other for ages!" As Catra stared at the photo, she remembered Lonnie. Specifically, her face after all those times when Catra forced her into missions that were nearly impossible. How she acted after Kyle was injured. Those three really loved each other, and Catra was their nightmare.

Catra felt her smile fade.

"We… We should get going," Catra suddenly spoke in a softer voice. "There's a few more rooms to check out."

"Catra? Did I say something wrong?" Adora asked, taking Catra's hand in her own. Catra shook her head.

"I just… I just want to go somewhere else. Please." Catra had almost shut down as Adora slowly stood up.

"Okay… Can I take this stuff with us, at least?" Adora asked, and Catra simply nodded, slowly walking away. This place wasn't the happy memories of her and Adora anymore.

This place was never meant to be for happy memories.

As they advanced to the upper levels, they barely spoke. Each room brought about at least one bad memory for Catra. The room she held Entrapta prisoner in. The room where Shadow Weaver told her how useless she is. Most of them were simply empty, save for the occasional Horde weapon that wasn't of much use anymore.

"… Alright, I think we've got one more place to look at," Adora suggested as they finished searching what was meant to be the final room. Catra looked at Adora, confused. "The rooftop! Come on!"

Adora ran ahead and Catra took some time before following her. She was almost surprised to find the pathway nearly the same as always to the roof. To the place her and Adora used to hide from everything. She felt the fresh breeze hit her as they went outside, and climbed up to the spot overlooking the entirety of the Fright Zone.

What used to be an endless landscape of fire and misery was now covered in a field of flowers, green and life. A flock of animals Catra had never seen before ran around in the far off distance as she slowly sat down next to Adora, overlooking Etheria.

She felt Adora's head lean on her shoulder, and Catra wrapped an arm around Adora's shoulders, holding her girlfriend close. "Been a while since we've come here, huh?" Adora asked.

"Yeah… I used to get scared that you were gonna fall off and Shadow Weaver would kill me," Catra said. "But… back at the Princess Prom… I was the one falling. And you caught me. I… I was always confused about that. There was your one chance to off me and… you saved me. Why?"

"Why…" Adora was almost shocked at that question. "Why would I ever let you fall? It would destroy me if I ever let that happen to you. I never wanted you to die. I was always afraid of that. I saw you slip and… I thought you were gone. You looked so scared…"

"But if you had let me fall… I… A lot of people would be happier if I was dead," Catra sighed. "I'm… an awful person, Adora. I abused Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio after you left. They were so excited to see you as squad leader but… they got stuck with me. And I drove them so far that they abandoned the Horde too… I drove almost everyone away…" Catra brought her knees up to her chest. "I'm afraid I'm gonna drive you away again."

They sat in silence for a few moments, before she felt Adora's hand on her own. She looked up to see Adora staring at her worryingly. "Catra, I… I get scared when you talk like this. About death. I was scared for so long that I would lose you… And I'm not saying this to blame you. I promise. I just… Please, please know that I am never going to leave you ever again. Neither will Scorpia. Neither will Entrapta. We're all here for you and we all care for you so, so much. I love you beyond… beyond words. I don't want you to go."

Catra looked into Adora's eyes as she spoke. She took Adora's hand and placed it on her own cheek. "… You're right. I'm sorry. I… I just… don't really like myself, Adora."

Adora stroked Catra's cheek with her thumb tenderly. "Well… If there's one thing I could do in my life that I could be proud of… It would be trying to help you love yourself just a bit, Catra. Nothing would be more important than that."

It was a conflicting mood. On the one hand, Catra felt a sense of deep warmth at those words. That Adora would never leave her. That Adora would help her through this time of stress and turmoil. That Adora would help Catra learn to love herself.

On the other hand… Catra had no idea how Adora felt about herself. Catra felt as if she was taking away Adora's time and using up all of her energy. She felt like a leech, sucking Adora dry and using her up for her own personal gain.

"You know… I just remembered," Adora smiled. "Mermista let me know this morning that she and Sea Hawk were planning on travelling together for some time, and she needed someone to look after Salineas while she was gone… And I think that's an offer for a certain duo to take up."

"Us? Staying in Salineas for a few days?" Catra asked.

"Yeah. Take some time for ourselves, you know? I've heard that the way the stars reflect off the water is a sight to behold," Adora said. Catra held Adora's hand, thinking for a bit. Though, realistically, there wasn't much thought needed.

"That sounds perfect."

Adora smiled at Catra's acceptance. "Good… because if we wanna make it before it gets dark, we kinda need to leave, like… now," Adora chuckled. Catra shook her head.

"You never were a great planner," Catra sighed. She looked at Adora again, and silence fell upon the two. Those ocean blue eyes of Adora's were so damn easy to get lost in. It felt like time moved differently when Catra stared at them.

"Can I kiss you?" Adora asked in a whisper. Catra didn't need to think twice. She tilted her head and accepted Adora's lips, kissing before a view of Etheria. A gush of wind picked up and Adora's hair gently swayed with the wind as Catra kissed the love of her life. These kisses were all the energy she needed as she tucked a strand of Adora's hair behind her ear, breaking the kiss slowly and stroking Adora's cheek with her thumb.

"I love you," Catra whispered.

"I love you too, Catra. So… so much."

Adora was the first to stand, making her way downstairs to leave the Fright Zone. Catra stood up after her, looking out towards the landscape and taking in her and Adora's usual hideout.

But even with the tender kiss and Adora's words, Catra felt a knot in her mind. Things just… weren't clear. How was this love going to work in the long run given everything Catra had done? How long could Adora handle Catra's mental state before she left her? Catra looked at the ground, sighing. Things were too good. Catra wasn't used to good things lasting long.

Conflicted, Catra followed Adora, and headed for Salineas.