It had been two days since Adora had displaced Hordak as Lord of the Horde. As was expected, there had been some opposition. While Adora was arguably the most obvious candidate to take over, Grizzlor, in particular had made his feelings pretty clear by threatening to withdraw his troops and march on the Fright Zone. Adora had seemingly settled this by sending Lonnie to Brightmoon to calm him down.
Lonnie had now become Adora's second-in-command, assisting the blonde with every decision she made. Lonnie had been the one who had thrown Catra in a cell after the feline had been thoroughly beaten up by Adora. She had been the one to help Adora interrogate Entrapta about the machine she was building - finding out about Horde Prime and the need to get a message to him.
While not interested in Horde Prime, Adora was strangely fascinated with the idea of communicating with the universe outside of Etheria, and had ordered Entrapta to continue her work.
Bow had been in the medical bay ever since he had passed out in Hordak's sanctum. The stress of everything that had happened to him had raised his blood pressure to dangerously high levels, not to mention he had suffered a major panic attack when he first woke up. If it had not been for Kyle's quick response, Bow might have actually had a heart attack. The short blonde guard, while not trusting Bow after what he had done to him, had appreciated the fact that the archer had cared enough to try and get him out of the Fright Zone.
Adora had also reached out the princesses, announcing that she was now in charge and there would be no surrender this time. The defeated party would be executed, as justice demanded. She also warned them that, as soon as her forces were properly reinforced in Brightmoon, the Horde would march on the Kingdom of Snows – effectively declaring war on Princess Frosta. No one had answered her call, but Adora was confident they would receive the message.
As the new leader of the Horde sat on her throne, reviewing the battle plans for the attack on Frosta's castle, Lonnie entered and announced that Entrapta had reached a dead end with her work. Apparently the princess needed a power source: a First Ones' artifact.
Adora raised her eyebrow. While she had successfully established herself as the new leader of the Horde, there was one matter she had still not resolved: She-Ra.
Bow had not been well enough to interrogate and neither Catra nor Hordak had told her anything. Adora had wondered about asking Shadow Weaver but, given everything Catra had told her, she figured that would be a bad idea. The only person who had offered her any explanation was Entrapta, who had said she was an ancient princess who carried a portable runestone in her sword; a sword which was First Ones' tech. Apparently, She-Ra was Adora and Adora was her.
This had thoroughly confused the blonde and she had dismissed it as yet more indecipherable gibberish coming out of the princess' mouth. That being said, Adora had not worked very hard to investigate it further – deciding she had more important matters to attend to. Now was her chance.
"Fine, let's go see Entrapta. Lead the way, Force Captain."
Catra had barely moved in the two days since she had been locked up. She was chained to the wall and her hands had finally gone numb from the cuffs several hours ago - but she did not care. Her memory played what Adora had done to her on repeat – the angry screams, the pain of being repeatedly hit with the stun baton, the agony of having her left ear sliced with its laser…
After Adora had finally learned the extent of Catra's betrayal, it was like every ounce of her previous self completely disappeared. The blonde had lost control and had seriously injured Catra with the brutality of her attack. If Lonnie had not returned as quickly as she did, distracting Adora from her assault, the feline would have definitely passed out from the pain alone. Now she lay on her side facing the wall, having already cried every tear she had but wanting to cry more. Not because she hated Adora but because she hated herself.
As far as Catra was concerned, she deserved this. She had always deserved this. And the fact that Adora had taken her anger out on her (instead of her idiotic archer friend) was a small victory. The feline had no idea what had happened to him since then. For all she knew, Adora had killed both him and Entrapta, along with every other member of the Princess Alliance. All of her efforts had been for nothing – the girl she loved was completely gone and, if she ever did come back, she would never forgive herself, yet alone Catra.
Just as the feline began to whimper once more, her cell door opened. Catra turned over, glancing sorrowfully at the newcomer. She expected to see some unidentified guard carrying food. Instead, she saw Adora. The blonde was now wearing a tailored version of Hordak's outfit, with a cape and dark eye liner. Catra would have laughed in her face had she not been so scared.
Adora walked up to her, knelt down and cupped the feline's chin in her hands:
"Wow, you look pathetic." Catra reverted to who she was when Shadow Weaver would insult and demean her – an angry kitten who would put on a brave face while doing everything she could not to throw up. Annoyed at Catra's silence, Adora pushed her roughly against the wall before standing back up, looking down at her menacingly.
"You'll no doubt be pleased to know that your rebel allies are still alive – for the moment. Entrapta has informed me that a certain item is required to finish the job Hordak started – an item that you may know the location of." Catra gulped. Adora bent down and spoke in an almost silky voice:
"She-Ra's sword, Catra. Where is it?" Catra went white. She was not actually sure where it was. The feline knew Scorpia had hidden it in her room, but it was also possible the former Force Captain had put it somewhere else entirely. After all, Scorpia's room had been cleared out a few days ago and no one had found anything…
"Catra?!" The feline's eyes went wide as Adora picked her up by her uniform, holding her up against the wall. The blonde growled:
"I'm losing patience! Tell me where the sword is or I'll not be responsible for my actions!" Catra whimpered in pain. Her head was hurting from being whacked against the wall, which was reminding her of her scarred and largely untreated ear. The scar running down Adora's face was hauntingly reflected by the dim light of the cell and it was all Catra could do to mutter:
"S-Shadow Weaver…she was the last one who had your sword…" With that, Adora dropped Catra on the floor, causing the feline to wince in pain. Catra had not been eating and was very weak. The blonde then turned and marched back towards the door, pausing on her way out.
"Didn't you say Shadow Weaver was the one to make me forget everything?" Catra nodded. Adora looked down at the floor, deep in thought.
"I don't want to talk to her, but I will if I have to. Are you sure there's nothing more you can tell me?" Catra was about to turn back to the wall as a feeble demonstration of her disgust, but something stopped her from doing so. Adora had said everyone was still alive. The second she talked to Shadow Weaver that would no longer be the case. And who knew whether or not Adora using her sword again would have disastrous consequences? Maybe it would not work for her anymore, or it might even heal her!
Catra knew she was grasping at straws but the idea of Adora interacting with Shadow Weaver seemed far worse than anything else she could have possibly imagined in that moment. The feline sighed and said:
"I might know something…but you need to unchain me!"
Catra had not expected Adora to actually unchain her and take her with her to Scorpia's old room. It turned out that the former Force Captain had not hidden the sword that well at all: it was in the vent.
When Adora picked up the sword, she collapsed almost immediately. Catra had immediately knelt down and held up her former best friend, unsure of how or even if she could help. After a minute or so, Adora woke up again, declaring they had to go to the Whispering Woods immediately. She had seen something and had to go and investigate. Catra had said nothing when Adora suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her to the nearest skiff hangar bay.
No one stopped Adora as she climbed into a skiff and pulled Catra in it with her. No one said anything as the two of them left the Fright Zone and headed deep into the forest. The feline guessed Adora had had another of those weird visions she had had when she first touched the sword; and she had no idea whether or not that was a good thing.
After what felt like hours (but was only a matter of minutes), a giant burst of blue light shone through the forest, partially blinding both of the women. Adora remained unfazed and continued to head straight for it. Catra was getting increasingly worried, however.
The former Force Commander did not remember Adora being so confident and/ or in tune with She-Ra part of her. Something had changed. Maybe Shadow Weaver's messing with her mind had enabled her to think more clearly?
After a few more minutes in the air, Adora landed the skiff in a clearing. The light dimmed to reveal an ancient ruin that looked mostly intact. It was giant and was shooting its light straight up into the sky.
Catra gulped as Adora leapt off the skiff and walked towards it. Uncertain of what to do, the feline decided to follow the blonde as she effortlessly opened an entrance into the structure.
Catra knew she would regret this later – she just knew it.
Catra was regretting a lot as she ran after Adora down countless corridors while being chased by giant robot spiders. She was regretting not staying in the skiff. She regretted not eating anything in the last two days. She regretted touching the crystal while Adora was conversing with the hologram…and that was only the superficial stuff. She also regretted effectively betraying Adora and breaking their promise over and over… she regretted leaving Adora in a room alone with Shadow Weaver while knowing exactly what the witch was capable of…
Adora suddenly stopped running and Catra's feet automatically sped to a halt behind her. Despite everything that had just happened, Adora had still said nothing to Catra since telling her they were going to the Whispering Woods. She still said nothing as she suddenly raised her arm cannon and fired at the ceiling behind them, causing it to cave in.
Catra breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that the building's crazy security system was now prevented from reaching them. Adora then scowled:
"You're not supposed to be in here, Catra. Those things see you as an invader and, as long as I'm protecting you, they'll see me as a threat too." Catra gasped in anger:
"What? You're protecting me now?! Look at my ear, Adora! You did that!" Adora narrowed her eyes:
"Oh yeah? Well, look at my face! I got this scar protecting you – not that you deserve it!" Catra hissed at Adora, who then began to wave her sword threateningly at the feline. This made Catra stop and simply look away in contempt. Adora pinched her nose and put away her sword, muttering:
"Look, it doesn't matter. We're here now and I need to find Light Hope. I saw this place in my vision and she was the one telling me to come here." Catra smirked:
"So why didn't you come alone? Why didn't you send me back to my cell, Lord Adora? Why am I here?!" Adora went red, but Catra realized it was not from anger; it was from embarrassment. The blonde looked away and mumbled:
"I…I wanted to give you the chance to escape. You co-operated, you got me my sword…I didn't want to send you back to your cell. You know what'll happen to you if you stay there. You'll be sent to Beast Island or worse!" Catra's eyes went wide. Adora continued:
"I thought…I thought you could go and find your rebel friends. Or, even better, you could forget about them and go and make a life for yourself somewhere in the forest. I promise you that, if I ever found you, I wouldn't have arrested you. You'd be free. By taking you with me and leaving you out there, I was freeing you. But you came after me instead! Why?" Adora had now turned back around and was looking at Catra with tear-stained cheeks. Catra was in awe. Her former best friend still cared about her, and she was getting emotional thinking about what would happen to her…
Unable to process Adora's words, Catra briefly reverted back to her former self and wrapped her tail around the blonde's hand:
"Don't worry, it's not because I like you."
Catra groaned in pain as she was once again pushed against the wall by Adora. The pair of them had wandered into a dark room, only to have a weird light temporarily blind them and seemingly send them back to the Fright Zone. This had angered Adora and she had taken her frustration out on Catra. After immobilizing the feline, the blonde had yelled:
"What's going on? What did you do?!" Catra forced herself to speak against the arm pressed to her neck:
"I don't know! Adora, there's no way we can be in the Fright Zone!" This just made the blonde angrier. Adora leaned in closer and screamed:
"What about Shadow Weaver?! Is this another of her sick mind games?!" Realizing that Adora was about to suffer another panic attack, Catra forced her hands onto the blonde's shoulders, saying:
"No, Adora! She's locked up, remember? Her connection to the Black Garnet has been severed - I severed it! You know this, you were there!" Adora, who had started to hyperventilate, now regained control of her breathing. After another moment of trying to catch her breath, the blonde let go of the feline, turning to lean on a pipe. Adora then murmured:
"Sorry…you're right…I do remember that…" Catra's attention was drawn by a guard walking over. Without hesitation, she called out to him. Adora needed help and the feline was not sure she was the best person to give it. The guard ignored her, however, and proceeded to walk right through her. Adora, who had had her head in her hands, turned to look when Catra squealed:
"Adora, it's not real! We're not really in the Fright Zone – it's an illusion!" As soon as the feline finished talking, a younger version of her ran through the blonde, yelling:
"Adora! ADORA!" Both women watched their shared memory play out with the same incredulous expressions. Adora because she had no recollection of ever calling Force Captain Octavia a "dumb-face", and Catra because she could see for herself the literal second she fell in love with Adora.
When the memory ended, Catra and Adora found themselves in a different corridor. Catra leaned against the wall, trying and failing to process what happened. Adora, who looked thoroughly shaken by the whole thing, suddenly asked:
"Was…that…us?" Catra nodded. Adora scratched her head:
"I…I don't remember that…we were so happy…you were my friend…" Unable to listen to anymore of Adora's revelations, Catra pushed herself off the wall and rushed down the corridor. She came across a giant room with a collapsed floor. Catra quickly climbing onto the fallen stone beam which provided passage to the other side of the chamber, while doing her best to ignore the hurried footsteps behind her.
No one spoke as both Catra and Adora successfully crossed the room and made it to the other side. Then, as Adora jumped off the beam, she slipped and started falling through the giant hole in the floor. The blonde desperately screamed:
"Catra!" Without thinking, the feline whipped around and ran to save her falling friend. It was all she could do to grab onto her arm and pull her back up. The added weight of her sword and armour, along with Catra's lack of nourishment, made the whole exercise almost impossible. Thankfully, Adora was able to take advantage of Catra's assistance to pull herself back up relatively quickly.
"Thank you" Adora muttered. Catra gave an uncertain nod before continuing to head out of the room. She did not look where she was going, however, and found herself falling headfirst into another memory.
Adora was not sure of anything anymore. A lot had happened since she had picked up She-Ra's sword, not least the revelation that her relationship with Catra went much deeper than that of two soldiers assigned to work together. They had been friends… close friends… Catra cared about her enough to follow her into untold danger in spite of everything Adora had done to her, not to mention turning down the option to escape and accepting a fate worse than death… And now Catra had saved her life.
Adora watched in awe as the feline walked away, only to watch her walk straight into a pillar, causing the whole room to change again.
Adora raised her eyebrow as she saw her younger self fight Catra in the training room, being evaluated by a blue hybrid who she recognized as Sergeant Cobalt. She watched as a younger version of Lonnie came to her rescue, causing her to smirk as Catra was summarily defeated.
Once the fight ended, and Catra walked away, Adora stayed to watch her younger self conversing with Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle. Lonnie laughed at her, saying that her crush on Catra could prevent her from passing her final evaluation. Younger Adora pushed Lonnie playfully, telling her to mind her own business. The room was then filled with Catra's screams and the memory paused.
Without thinking, Adora ran towards the noise, finding Catra about to be dragged away by a giant robot spider. The blonde cried out as she ran to help the feline:
"Catra! CATRA!" Catra, who had her mouth gagged with the robot's artificial webbing, cried out in response, but was dragged away before Adora could figure out what she was saying.
As the door locked behind ahead of her, the blonde began to panic. The way to her friend may be blocked, but she was not going to let that stop her. Adora raised her sword and cut through the thin sheet of metal, jumping through the hole and dealing the death blow to the robot that Catra had already disarmed.
The feline glared at her in the same way she had in the training room. Adora figured it as competitiveness, remarking:
"Oh, don't worry! I'm sure you had it covered!" Catra muttered:
"I did." As the feline stalked off once more, Adora, realizing she may have misread Catra, ran after her and grabbed her hand:
"Wait, Catra, I'm sorry…" Catra scoffed:
"For what? Your list of offences is getting pretty high, Adora." Pulling her hand away, Catra started climbing some boulders to the next floor. Adora sighed in frustration. As far as she was concerned, she had done nothing wrong. Not only that, but she was thoroughly confused: Adora did not have a crush on the feline and yet Lonnie seemed to think she did… was that why she cared so much about Catra? A crush?
The room suddenly changed again, showing the halls of the Fright Zone once more. Another memory was starting. Catra crossed her arms and sighed:
"Let's just get this over with."
Catra screwed her eyes shut as she heard one of her worst memories playing before her eyes – the very first time Shadow Weaver had ever electrocuted her. She could not bring herself to look, not even at Adora, who was almost certainly becoming more traumatized with every second.
When Catra left the room, Adora followed her. The blonde's demeanour had changed since the beginning of this expedition. She was like she was all those days ago, when her mind had just been wiped and she was depending on Catra to help her.
Finally, unable to take anymore, Catra stopped walking and spun around to face Adora. The leader of the Horde almost tripped on her cape as she forced herself to abruptly stop as well. The feline hissed:
"Well? Say something! I know you want to!" Adora looked down and hugged herself the way Catra often did. Her scar no longer made her look menacing – it made her look pathetic.
"I…I'm sorry, Catra…" Before Adora could finish, the light of the room started to dim and several large robot spiders appeared. Adora spun around and began blasting them with her arm cannon. Catra, on the other hand, was too emotionally overwhelmed to respond - so she ran.
The feline ran for what felt like days, but was only really a few minutes. Different memories materialized and disappeared as she ran through them. Eventually, Catra ran out of breath and collapsed on the floor. That was when a memory she had not seen yet caught her attention – a memory that meant a lot to her:
"Catra, it's okay. It's just me."
Without Catra's help, Adora had been overpowered by the robot spiders and was now dangling from a ledge; her sword still on the edge of the concrete cliff. As the spiders moved to finish her off, Adora was relieved to hear the sound of Catra diverting their attention and single-handedly taking them down.
When the noises stopped, Adora called out:
"Catra?" The feline then emerged with She-Ra's sword:
"Hey Adora." After a moment of awkward silence, the blonde asked:
"Could you help me? Please?" Catra narrowed her eyes:
"You know, I would normally say yes… but this is not normal." With that, the feline threw She-Ra's sword down the cavern, leaned down and unsheathed her claws. Adora gasped:
"Catra, what are you doing?!" Catra growled:
"Don't think this is easy for me! Trust me, Adora, I don't want to do this but you leave me no choice! Yes, I betrayed you, but you betrayed me first! You'll continue to hurt me and the rest of Etheria unless I stop you right now!" Catra began to choke up when she said the last bit. Adora began to hyperventilate:
"Catra, what are you doing?! STOP!" Using her claws, Catra cut through the webbing holding Adora's right arm up, causing it to fall by her side. The feline sniffled as she said:
"I'm so sorry, Adora. I really am going to miss you…but you're too far gone for me to save… for anyone to save…"
"CATRA!" With that, Catra cut the remaining webs, causing Adora to fall and desperately grab onto a rock on the way to her supposedly guaranteed demise. As Catra walked away, the blonde screamed:
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, CATRA! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
As the moon lit up the forest once more, and the shining beam of blue light no longer lit up the sky, the Whispering Woods became eerily silent as nature itself became aware of a noise which was foreign to its environment. That noise was a magicat crying her heart out in a skiff parked in a clearing in front of an old ruin. A magicat who had just lost everything – and was about to lose even more…