"Are you certain of this, Catra?" Hordak growled menacingly. Catra tried to stay calm but, along with Hordak intimidating her at the best of times, Adora was fearfully squeezing Catra's hand - and it was really distracting. Catra gulped and said:
"Yes, Lord Hordak. Adora's…on our side." It still felt so weird to say, considering Adora had actually been working for the Horde only a few weeks before. Hordak raised an eyebrow, stood up and approached the two kneeling girls. He then cupped Adora's chin, lifting her face to meet his.
Adora looked like she was about to have another panic attack. Hordak said:
"Well, it seems Shadow Weaver did something useful after all. Take Adora with you on your next assignment – see how well she does and report back to me." As Hordak released Adora and returned to his throne, Catra reached over with her free arm to give Adora a quick hug. She desperately hoped Adora would not spiral again. Hordak then yelled:
"Catra!" Catra immediately let go of Adora and turned back to face Hordak, her face red with guilt. Hordak narrowed his eyes, saying:
"Don't fail. Now get out of my sight." Catra nodded, muttering:
"Yes, Lord Hordak." Catra then stood up, pulling Adora to her feet and practically dragging her out of the throne room.
Once the door closed behind them, Catra let out a sigh of relief. She did not have a chance to breathe back in, however, as Adora instantly wrapped her in a tight hug.
Adora was shaking, stuttering:
"I…I hate him…" Catra tapped Adora on her arm, making her aware that she needed to breathe. Adora sheepishly let Catra go. Catra then took a deep breath before replying to Adora:
"I already told you, he's just cranky. He's not going to hurt you – not while I'm here." Adora reached for Catra's hands, squeezing them in her own. Whatever Shadow Weaver had done to Adora had made her way more affectionate – and it was really confusing Catra in more ways than one. Adora then whispered:
"Thank you, Catra. I'm not sure what I'd have done without you." Catra gave an awkward smile, muttering:
"It's…nothing, really…" It really was nothing. Catra had done nothing to help Adora. She had let Shadow Weaver turn her best friend back into the scared little girl she now realized Adora had always been.
"I'm…Catra. Do you not remember me?" Adora shook her head. Catra then glanced back at Shadow Weaver, who was still lying unconscious on the floor of the Black Garnet chamber. Catra asked:
"Do you remember her?" Adora took a deep breath before replying:
"That's…my mother." Catra's eyes went wide. She almost yelled:
"She is not your mother!" Adora was surprised by Catra's reaction, stepping back in fear. Catra realized her mistake:
"Wait, um…she's not your mother but…um…she did raise you. She raised both of us…"
"Then why'd you hurt her?" Catra stared at Adora in disbelief. Even at her most braindead, Adora did not need to ask why Catra would want to hurt Shadow Weaver. After all, she had witnessed half the things the witch had done to her…
Ignoring the shocking reality of just how much of Adora's memory was gone, the feline took a deep breath and explained:
"Because she hurt me. She also hurt you. I was saving us." Adora nodded slowly. She then asked:
"So…who am I?" Catra's eyes filled with tears. How could she have let this happen? She had known better than anyone what Shadow Weaver was capable of. Why did she think, just because Adora was the golden child, she would not be in danger in the Black Garnet chamber? Catra sniffled:
"You're…Adora. You're my best friend and…it's so good to have you back."
It took a long time but Glimmer eventually made it to the Whispering Woods. Every few minutes, her body would become temporarily consumed with electricity, and she had almost passed out from the pain several times.
As Glimmer collapsed in a flowerbed, she tried to remember how far away Brightmoon was. She then realized she had to know the exact time of day to figure it out, and of course it had to be cloudy the one time she needed to see the moon.
Glimmer sighed in exasperation and almost immediately burst into tears. The last 24 hours had been too much for her to handle. That was when she felt something nuzzling her cheek.
Glimmer wiped away her tears only to see an alicorn looking down at her. It was so beautiful that the princess stopped crying. Then it spoke, shocking Glimmer to her very core:
"Hey, why you crying?"
"You can talk?!"
Bow was pacing his cell, worried sick about Glimmer and his friends. He had heard the siren and had managed to get his guard, Kyle, to tell him that the Rebellion were attacking. Kyle had also told him that Glimmer was being held in the Black Garnet chamber. Bow shuddered. The name itself sent chills down his spine…Bow's anxiety was interrupted by two guards arriving at his cell door.
The guards opened the cell door and threw Entrapta inside. They then turned and left. Bow gasped:
"Entrapta? They got you too?" Entrapta nodded enthusiastically before saying:
"Isn't this great? The technology here is so much more advanced than I expected! Now that I'm living here, I'll be able to-" Bow cut her off:
"We're not living here, Entrapta! We're prisoners! We need to escape!" Entrapta looked at him blankly before chirping:
"Okay!" Bow nodded:
"Great! Now, here's the plan: I've befriended one of the guards, Kyle. The next time he comes by, follow my lead…"
Catra felt sick. She hated the sea and the boat they were on was moving slowly against the wind.
Adora was leaning silently on the railing next to her. She had barely said a word since they had got their assignment: Salineas.
Now that Adora was on their side, She-Ra would not be a problem. Not that anyone besides Catra and Scorpia knew that (and she intended to keep it that way). Speaking of, Catra's thoughts were then interrupted by Scorpia tapping her on the shoulder. Catra jumped and hissed:
"Argh! Don't sneak up on me like that! What do you want?" Scorpia gave a sheepish expression which made Catra feel guilty. This was the second time she had yelled at Scorpia in the last few hours. After an awkward silence, Scorpia pointed at Adora, saying:
"I…just wanted to see if you were okay, boss. I mean, it's great that Adora's…on our side…but…won't the water princess recognize her? She might…I don't know…try and tell her things Adora shouldn't…um…" Catra's eyes widened as she grabbed Scorpia's pincer, pulling her to the other side of the deck.
"What's the big idea? Are you trying to mess this up?!" Catra growled. She then took a deep breath, muttering:
"I know Adora might be seen. I didn't want her on this mission to begin with – it's Hordak's orders. What am I supposed to do?" Scorpia smiled, taking any ounce of acknowledgement Catra offered her.
Scorpia then looked over Catra's shoulder, seeing Adora in her usual red shirt with her now short blonde hair shining brightly in the moonlight.
"How about we put her in some Horde armour? That way she'll still be with us but Mermista won't know it's her!" Catra raised her eyebrow and grinned:
"Scorpia, that's…a really good idea. Go and find some armour – now!"
"Mom, you don't get it!"
"What don't I get, Glimmer? You're injured and can't teleport anymore! Adora's…gone…and Bow's still a prisoner in the Fright Zone…the Princess Alliance failed once again! It was never a good idea to begin with! And that…witch…still has She-Ra's sword…it's over. We've lost." Before Glimmer could disagree with her mother, she was once more overcome with electricity.
Crying out in pain, Glimmer slumped against the table. Queen Angella rushed to her daughter's side and hugged her, despite being hurt by the electric current as she did so. The queen whispered:
"It's alright – we'll get through this. We always have. Let's focus on rescuing Bow-"
"And Entrapta!" Netossa burst into the dining room with her wife close behind. She continued:
"We've just received word from the other princesses – they saw Entrapta get captured before they were forced to retreat! She's in there too!"
"So, do you understand your assignment?" Entrapta's eyes went wide at what Hordak was suggesting:
"You want me to take a look at your runestone? I WOULD LOVE TO-" Before she could continue, Bow pulled Entrapta away from the force field separating them from Hordak. He then covered her mouth and said:
"No - no she wouldn't! We'll never help you!" Hordak growled in annoyance and snapped his fingers. The force field disappeared and Lonnie and Rogelio entered. They grabbed Bow and pinned him to the wall. Entrapta, upset at the violence she was witnessing, cried:
"Hey, that's not nice! Leave him alone!" Hordak replied menacingly:
"Only if you do what I ask. Do we have a deal?" Entrapta looked uncertainly at Bow, who tried and failed to shake his head under the force of Rogelio's elbow. Entrapta, failing to get the message, mistook Bow's silence for agreement and chirped:
"Deal!" Hordak smiled:
"Good." He then turned to Lonnie, saying:
"Take them to the Black Garnet chamber!"
Mermista grunted in pain. It was all she could do to hold the Sea Gate up on her own. She needed help but, now the Princess Alliance was no more (and She-Ra was gone), there was nothing she could do.
Mermista could just make out Catra in the distance, ordering her soldiers to keep firing from the advancing Horde ship. It was only a matter of time before they broke through. After almost ten minutes, that is exactly what happened.
"The Sea Gate's down!" Catra cried happily. She then turned to Scorpia:
"Salineas is ours! Launch the skiffs and take the city!" Scorpia gave an almost evil smile:
"You got it, boss." As Scorpia ran off to follow her orders, Catra turned to look at Adora, now dressed like all the other soldiers around her. Catra smiled:
"Don't worry, it's nearly over." What Catra did not know is Adora was not at all scared in that moment. The violence happening around her had done something, something not even Catra would suspect. Adora was smiling.
"No, it's just beginning."
"Please…I need help…come quickly!" Queen Angella replayed the message again.
It had been almost an hour since she had received Mermista's call. Given how the Princess Alliance had disbanded, the queen had correctly surmised just how desperate the princess had been to have called her.
Unable to send Glimmer in her current state, the queen had sent Netossa and Spinerella on the flying horse who had brought Glimmer home. It was strangely beautiful that, even though Adora was gone, she had left the Rebellion a talking alicorn to help them in their fight. The queen knew they would need him.
As Queen Angella was about to play the message again, General Juliet entered the War Room.
"Your majesty, we just received word…Salineas has fallen."
"How are you okay with this?" Entrapta turned to face Bow, lifted her face shield and said:
"It's science, Bow! Imagine all the data we could get from this!" Bow could not believe the princess. He approached Entrapta, who was hovering over a whole mess of wires connected to the Black Garnet. Hordak and the squad had left them alone – for now.
"Entrapta, I know how fascinating this is for you, but we cannot help these guys! You heard Hordak – he wants us to find some way of using this runestone's power to charge a weapon!" Entrapta cocked her head thoughtfully:
"Well, he didn't say weapon per se…he said 'device'. That could mean anything…and come on, Bow! This is my chance to prove my theory that runestones are, in fact, First Ones' technology put on this planet to help control its environment! Imagine what we could do if we could decipher the code imbedded in this thing!" Bow took a deep breath before saying, as calmly as he could:
"That's only if you're correct, Entrapta. And even if you're right, do you know who gets the data? The Horde! They want to hurt people! They're hurting Glimmer! Don't you get that?" That shut Entrapta up, causing her to lower herself back to the ground. She turned to look at Bow sheepishly:
"I don't want Glimmer to be hurt…" Bow smiled:
"Exactly! Now, how about we save our friend, get out of here, and maybe Glimmer will let you look at the moonstone when we're back in Brightmoon?" That made Entrapta smile once more:
"Okay!"
Catra stared at the remains of Mermista's palace. She was happy the Horde had won but was also very concerned at how they had done so.
Catra flinched. What had Adora just said? She slowly turned around, saying:
"Excuse me?" Adora replied:
"You heard me – this is just the start! Once we've taken Salineas, we can move on to Plumeria, the Kingdom of Snows, Brightmoon…the Horde will control the seas and nothing will stand in our way!" Catra raised her eyebrow, saying:
"Sure…but let's focus on getting this kingdom first, shall we?" Expecting Adora to simply agree and shut up, Catra was astonished when her best friend wordlessly marched past her, shoved the soldier manning the cannon aside, and proceeded to start firing it herself.
Unlike the gunner who had been firing before her, Adora did not time her hits or even aim at specific targets. Instead, she fired wildly and aimlessly, destroying more than even Catra thought possible, given the limited range and power of the gun (as well as how far they still were from the shore).
Catra narrowed her eyes at Scorpia and her landing force in the distance, realizing too late that Adora was going to hit them. Without hesitation, Catra pounced on Adora right as she capsized Scorpia's skiff. Pinning Adora to the ground, Catra turned to the terrified gunner:
"Get back to your post! Keep firing and don't hit our ships!" As the gunner ran past her, Catra looked down at Adora. Her helmet had fallen off when Catra had pushed her, and now Catra could see a look of genuine horror on her face. Adora mumbled:
"What have I done…what have I done…"
"Boss?" Catra was pulled from her thoughts by Scorpia. Catra gave a big smile and ran to her, wrapping her in as big a hug as she could manage:
"Scorpia! Thank goodness you're okay!" Scorpia blushed, saying:
"Hey, it's no biggie! I'm a very good swimmer!" She then gave Catra a concerned look:
"I heard what happened with Adora…are you okay?" Catra shook her head:
"Something's wrong with her, Scorpia. Something's very wrong…"
General Juliet tried and failed to reach Netossa and Spinerella on their communicators. It had been over an hour since the news of Salineas' destruction had reached Brightmoon.
Queen Angella paced the floor of the War Room, with Glimmer sitting sadly in her seat. After another ten minutes, the general was about to try again when a majestic alicorn suddenly flew through the window, carrying one more princess than he set out with.
"Mermista!" cried Glimmer. She got up and ran over to her friend, giving her a hug the second she got off the back of the flying horse. Unfortunately, she had to pull away once electricity began to consume her yet again.
Mermista, who had not returned the hug, now looked at Glimmer with a distant look in her eyes:
"I see your day's been about as good as mine." The queen then rushed forward, helping the two other princesses off the alicorn.
"Netossa, Spinerella, are you both okay?" Netossa gave an almost drunken thumbs up before falling off the flying horse. Spinerella helped to catch her, explaining:
"She got badly hit in the head. I'm going to take her to the doctor to get looked at." Queen Angella nodded uncertainly. Before she could say anything else, she was pulled aside by her general:
"Your majesty, this is not good. We need a plan – fast!"
When Bow tapped on the door of the Black Garnet chamber, Kyle jumped. Despite growing up in the Fright Zone, he was still not used to sudden noises or people sneaking up on him.
Kyle turned to face the door, calling to the people inside:
"What do you want? My orders are to not let you out! If you have something to report, you need to call Hordak directly!" Bow's voice rang through the door:
"We tried that! The communicator isn't working! Can you take us to see him instead, please?" Kyle hummed uncertainly:
"Um…I don't think that's a good idea…" Bow replied:
"Come on, Kyle! We're friends, aren't we?" This was enough to convince him. Kyle opened the door, only to get knocked out by Bow holding one of the many large pieces of metal lying around the Black Garnet chamber.
As Bow and Entrapta left the room, the princess looked down at the now unconscious Kyle.
"I don't want to make you feel bad, Bow, but that was mean." Bow sighed:
"Yeah, you're right. Let's take him with us – I'm sure Kyle would love it in Brightmoon!"
Adora was shaken up. She was not sure what had happened to her.
When Catra had told her they were going to Salineas, she had asked where it was and why they were going there. Catra had said it was a few hours away by sea and that they needed to conquer it so they could take over the rest of Etheria. When Adora had asked what Etheria was and why they wanted to invade it, Catra had simply sighed and said:
"It's…just what the Horde does, okay?" Adora had not said anything when the ship left, nor when it arrived at Salineas. The whole place had seemed strangely familiar to her – as if she had seen it in a dream. And then the shooting started.
The firing of the cannon, the yelling of the orders, the launching of the skiffs - something happened to Adora and she blacked out. When she woke up, Catra was on top of her, ordering another soldier to rectify a mistake she had apparently made.
Adora was distraught as she sat on the stairs of the remains of Mermista's palace. That was the name of the water princess, or so Catra had told her when she asked half an hour ago.
It was clear Catra was upset with her, but it seemed she was also mad at herself. Adora wished that was not the case. None of this was Catra's fault.
"This is all my fault, Scorpia! Why did I leave Adora in that room? Why?!" Scorpia put both her pincers on Catra's shoulders and bent down to look her in the eyes:
"Hey, it's okay, Wildcat! It was just a crazy moment – people often go crazy in battle! There's loud noises, everyone's angry, scared, tired, sometimes hungry - it happens to all of us!" Catra got cross and shoved Scorpia's pincers away:
"Not to Adora." She then marched past Scorpia, stopping when she saw Adora sitting alone not too far away on the steps of the palace. Scorpia spoke quietly behind her:
"You should…go and talk to her…" Catra said nothing but decided to take Scorpia's advice.
Catra cleared her throat as she approached Adora, causing Adora to immediately turn and look at her. Her helmet had never gone back on since Catra had knocked it off, but it had not mattered. Mermista, along with anyone still left in the city, had fled as soon as the Sea Gate collapsed.
Catra sat down next to Adora and asked:
"So…what happened back there?" Adora teared up, turning away from Catra:
"I don't know! One minute I was watching you ordering Scorpia to start the land attack and the next…" Adora then started to actually cry.
This was almost too much for Catra. The amount of crying, whimpering, fearful hugging and handholding over the last few hours – it made Kyle look as unemotional as their trainer: Sergeant Cobalt.
Emotion is a sign of weakness in the Horde – it always had been. But Adora had clearly forgotten that, or was just incapable of controlling herself after Shadow Weaver messed with her mind. It was probably a combination of both.
Despite Catra's gut reaction to move away from Adora, to not be associated with this much weakness, the feline simply sighed and pulled Adora in for a hug.
Catra knew that Adora was not weak. She had a pretty good idea of what her friend had been through, and she was not going to hold it against her. Catra then said:
"It's okay, we'll get through this. It doesn't matter what they do to us. You look out for me and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other."