Smoke curled off Lonnie's discarded limbs, trailing into the air as silence reigned in the prison block. Catra could feel her heart in her throat as she clipped her lightsaber back on her belt. Her jaw clenched, and she turned away from Lonnie's mangled body. She needed to get out of here, to find Adora and get her away from Shadow Weaver. Lonnie had simply stood in her way.

The green vines that covered Perfuma and Scorpia slithered apart. The noise startled the others out of the shock they were in. They spoke at once, breaking the silence in a cacophony of noise, all of it aimed at Catra.

"What was-"

"How did-"

"Her limbs-"

"Why-"

Catra pinned her ears back, trying to block out everything. She should have expected this. The Rebellion never struck her as the brutal sort. Because they rarely took prisoners, never left a man behind, and didn't use villages the way the Horde did. It was just more proof that Catra would never belong among their ranks, no matter how friendly they tried to be to her.

"Quiet!" Perfuma's voice bounced off the walls, finally silencing the group. "That is enough." She stormed her way up to Catra and spun to face her friends. "We still have a friend to find."

"What about Scorpia?" Glimmer asked, glancing back at the downed woman. "We can't leave her here."

"She'd only slow up down." Scorpia was too injured to be anything but a liability. While Catra had never been one to blindly follow Horde doctrine, this was one aspect she agreed with. If someone jeopardized a mission, it was better to finish without them. You either went back and got them after a success or let another squad know. Better than failing a mission. "We can circle back-"

In a blink, Glimmer invaded Catra's personal space to glare at her. "I don't know how the Horde works, but we don't leave people behind."

A growl started in Catra's chest and she returned Glimmer's glare with a snarl. "I'm not willing to wait around for you and your new friend. Adora doesn't have the time it would take to help her."

"We're not leaving without her. The Rebellion doesn't trade lives."

"We'll come back."

"So she just gets to be a sitting duck for the next patrol that comes through?"

"She's one of them, they'll probably give her medical care."

"And when Lonnie tells them she's a traitor?"

Catra pulled at her hair as she spun around. This was why she didn't like people. Adora would've understood, so why couldn't her new friends?

"What if we split up?" Bow's question got both Glimmer and Catra to look at him. "We've got two injured people right now." He gestured and Scorpia and Glimmer, talking over his friend when she opened her mouth to protest. "I know you're hurt Glim, can't hide that from me. You're not in a good condition to fight right now. So let's send a group to our exit early, another to get Adora."

"I'll go with the fur-ball of death over here," Mermista said as she raised her hand to point at Catra. "Two should be enough to grab our prize and hightail it out of there."

"I'll probably need help with..." Perfume trailed off as she looked over to Scorpia. "I want to stay with her. Bow can you?" She let the question hang in the air to which Bow nodded and made his way over to Scorpia. "Catra, where is the wall you were talking about?"

"You're not going to find it. You don't even know where you're going," Catra said.

"We can find our way."

"How?"

"I can help," Scorpia said. She was upright, leaning heavily on Bow's shoulder as the two made their way close. "You need a guide, right? I was here around when a lot of this was still being constructed, and I can still point." She lifted a claw, clacking her pincers together as she offered a strained smile.

"Then we just need to let Proxy know." Perfuma nodded towards Catra.

She had forgotten about Proxy between the time they marched through the sewers and the fight with Lonnie. This was one reason she never excelled at the strategy side of Horde training. Details often slipped out of her grasp then came back to slap her in the face later.

"Right yeah," Catra raised her gauntlet and pressed the coms switch.

The tinny voice of Proxy replaced the static burst when Catra activated the coms. "Please tell me you are ready for pickup, Mistress. I don't think I'll last much longer with your... companion." Entrapta's laughter filtered through the background.

"Some of us are. You'll need to do a quick pickup then retreat till later."

There was a pause over the coms before Proxy's voice came back. "Are you sure, Mistress?" He sounded desperate now, though when Catra thought about what she wondered if droids could actually be desperate. "I only mention it because flying in now could ruin the element of surprise we have at the moment-"

"We don't have a choice. We only have half of our goal and two injured."

Glimmer opened her mouth to protest at Catra's words but hissed in pain when Perfuma spread the same slimy leaves she had used on Scorpia over her wounds. "Don't. You're coming with us to the ship," Perfuma said, her eyes narrowing. "I'll drag you there if I have to."

"Understood, Mistress. We will be at the extraction point shortly."

"Then let's get going," Bow said as he draped Scorpia's arm over her shoulder, letting part of her weight settle on him. He looked to Mermista and Catra, "Be safe you two. And bring Adora back."

The fur on Catra's body was standing on end as Mermista and her made their way deeper into the Frightzone. Each step was a test of her will to ignore the fear that coiled in her gut telling her to run. The force offered no comfort for her either. Instead, it was a roiling inferno pulling her in all directions.

Part of it dragged her deeper toward whatever awaited her in the Garnet Chamber. The other whispered warnings, urging her to retreat, that she wasn't ready for what was to come. Still, she kept marching forward, unwilling to turn back now.

"You doing ok, Kit-cat?"

Catra gritted her teeth at the name her current partner kept using. "I'm fine," she snarled, refusing to look back.

Water shot in front of her, forming a wall that extended from the floor to the ceiling to block her way. A growl formed in Catra's throat as she spun on her heel to face Mermista. "Take it down, now!"

"No."

"This is a waste of time."

Mermista's eyes narrowed. "Your tail is nearly three times its size, your ears haven't stopped twitching since two hallways ago." She pointed down to the floor, stepping closer to Catra as she matched the glare she was getting. "And I'm pretty sure that's your blood dripping onto the floor."

Catra cursed to herself and checked her palms. True to Mermista's word her claws once again pierced her palms. Her new gauntlets contained most of the blood, but she could still see the tracks it left behind when it escaped. She pressed her palms into her thighs hoping to hide the red color with her clothes and staunch the flow.

"I'm fine," she reiterated before spinning back around. The silence stretched on as Catra waited for Mermista to give up and take down the water wall.

"We're not leaving till we figure out what's bothering you so much." Mermista walked around to face Catra as she leaned against the water wall. "Back in the prison, you took down Lonnie without blinking. Now you act scared of your own shadow. What's different?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, not believing that, Kit-cat."

The tension Catra was feeling finally boiled over into rage. With a snarl, she reached out with the force, grabbed Mermista, and slammed her up against the hallway wall. "Will you shut up!" She stalked toward the pinned girl, baring her fangs in a snarl. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Mistress Catra?" Proxy's voice interrupted Catra's tirade. With a last glare, she let Mermista drop to the ground. The princess rubbed at her throat, though said nothing else.

"What is it?"

"The group you sent for evacuation has been picked up and are safely aboard, however-"

"The Horde appears to have some kind of anti-aircraft emplacements," Entrapta finished.

"Yes, that... I do not believe we will be able to use that evacuation point again Mistress."

Catra groaned as she hung her head. How were they going to get out now? Could Vader's ship survive what the Horde could throw at it long enough for another pickup? They could go through the sewers again as that entrance was hidden well, but if Adora wasn't able to move on her own, that would be a challenge.

"I will provide an opening," Vader's mechanical timbre came through the com-link. "Do not bother with the wall for the second run, instead come to the central compound outside the fortress. You will pick us all up there in thirty minutes."

"Affirmative Lord Vader."

"Is that timeline possible, Catra?" Vader asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Catra glared at Mermista again and gestured at the wall of water. "We're almost to the Garnet chamber. Once we get Adora, we should have a quick exit."

"Very well."

Mermista waved her hand lowering the wall of water. "Let's get going then. We can have this conversation later."

"No, we won't." With that Catra spun on her heel and stalked down the hallway, Mermista following close behind. True to what Catra had told Vader the Garnet Chamber wasn't far from where they had stopped. There were only a few more corners between them and the room.

The door to the Garnet Chamber was open when they got there. The giant red gemstone towered above them, red lightening sparking along its jagged surface. As they entered the room Catra spotted Adora strapped to a table, her sword hanging next to her.

Catra fought back the urge to rush over and free Adora. She didn't know if Shadow Weaver was there or not and so she kept her eyes on the oily darkness at the edges of the room as she crept inside. The force roiled and bucked around her, making it hard for her to feel anything other than Mermista and Adora.

As she approached Adora, she reached out to touch her friend's arm. It was warm, almost hot under her fingers. Adora stirred at her touch, her eyes opening slightly to look at her with an unfocused gaze.

"C-Catra?" Adora's voice cracked halfway through the name. "What… Are…"

"Hey it's ok," Catra said. "Just hold on-"

"Catra." The oily voice sent a chill down Catra's spine. She twisted around to see Shadow Weaver materialize from the darkness. Her hair spun around her mask as she lifted her hands, black magic mixed with red lightning pooling in them. "You were supposed to be dead. I should have known you couldn't even do that right."

Catra's throat tightened as she tried to speak. Her hand clenched around her lightsaber as she backed into the table, the hard metal pressing sharply into her spine. This was exactly what she didn't want right now.

Mermista yelled as she darted forward, water shooting past her towards Weaver. The witch waved her hand, red lightning arcing across the water and into the princess. She flew back against the wall and slumped down onto the floor.

The force screamed at Catra. With a snap-hiss her light ignited, intercepting the lightning sent in her direction before she could think. It slammed into her lightsaber, nearly jostling it out of her hand, but she held it in place. Vader's blows were worse than this.

The eye's on Weaver's mask narrowed as she jutted her other hand forward. Black tendrils pulled Catra's feet out from under her. She yelped as she fell, the back of her head cracking against the metal floor. Spots danced in her vision to the tune of the spinning room.

"So pathetic." Shadow Weaver's voice whizzed past as Catra flew across the room. Her back smacked into the stone basin that Weaver used for her rituals, driving the breath from her lungs. Her lightsaber was ripped from her grip and clattered across the room. "How you ever hoped to stand against me when you're nothing. Just a weakling trailing at the coattails of those greater than you. First Adora, and now your new Master."

Lighting coursed through Catra's body once more. It differed from what she was used to. Shadow Weaver often used lightning on her, usually to rebuke, remind, and re-tame. Those days were over now. Weaver was done playing her games.

Screams ripped themselves out of Catra's throat as the electricity danced along her nerves. Every muscle tensed, threatening to rip apart as they spasmed and contracted at random times. Copper filled her mouth from the many times she bit her tongue. It felt like the torture lasted a lifetime, every moment as excruciating as the last till Shadow Weaver relented.

"Do you see now, child?" Weaver's voice sounded far away, even though she was moving closer. Blackness burbled around the edges of Catra's vision as she lay on the floor, suffering through the aftershocks of the lightning. "You never stood a chance."

Catra rolled over onto her side, placing an arm on the floor to steady herself. Shadow Weaver moved away from her, towards the table Adora was strapped down to. "Now I can finish my work." A single finger traced along Adora's jaw and then down her arm. "I will make Adora into what she could have been, what she should have been."

"Leave her alone!" The shout came unbidden from Catra, surprising even her. She still couldn't stand, her legs refusing to acknowledge her commands. She drew upon the force, the flames in her chest sparling to life and traveling down her limbs, soothing them slightly. "She was better off without you."

"You don't know what I've done for her, what I've sacrificed-"

"Hah!" Catra finally stood, leaning heavily on Shadow Weaver's pedestal for support. "What you've done for her? You lied to her, manipulated her. You know that was the main reason she left right? Cause she learned the truth?"

"Lies-"

"When're gonna learn old lady," The flames in her chest roared higher, giving her the strength to stand fully. "Adora wanted to leave. Why would she stay? She's too good for this place."

The eyes on Weaver's mask widened for a second before narrowing. "I knew I should have gotten rid of you when I found you, helpless and alone. The two of you grew too attached to each other." She raised her hand again, the lightning building in her palm. "A state I can rectify soon enough."

Catra raised her hand as well. She could dodge, and that would have been the wiser action to take, however, Catra was never known for wise actions. Petty, vindictive, and emotional actions? That was what she knew best.

As Shadow Weaver unleashed her lightning once again, Catra reached out with the force, willing it to protect her. It worked for the moment. The lightning slammed into the protection, bursting apart in front of Catra in a kaleidoscope of red. Her teeth gritted together, and she added her other hand to her efforts.

It would not be enough.

The wall she'd constructed with the force was crumbling under Weaver's onslaught, unable to hold against the energies being released. Stray strands of lightning leaked through, zipping up her arms and charring the gauntlets she wore. She needed to switch strategies.

Instead of blocking Weaver's attack, she tried to redirect it, following Vader's advice from their many duals. But where would she put it? Having wild lightning fill the room wasn't ideal, especially with Adora and Mermista still in here. Maybe she could store it and then use it against Shadow Weaver? With a grunt of effort, she tried to fold the force in on itself, trapping the surrounding energies. To her surprise, it worked. The lightning dissipated, filling the air with crackling heat.

Shadow Weaver broke off the attack, her eyepiece widened in shock at the fact that Catra still stood. "Impossible..."

A smirk slid onto Catra's face. The force shuddered around her, full of energy that leaked out, setting Catra's fur on end. It was begging to be released, held back only by Catra's will. She had a plan for it, to turn the energy that was used against her for so long. "My turn."

She pushed the energy out, trying to follow the furrows Weaver's lightning had left behind. The force bent and twisted around her, not wanting to follow her direction. That just made Catra push harder. Memories swirled in her head of every moment Weaver had abused her. Treated her as less. Every threat, veiled or not, every punishment, every snide comment fueled Catra's flames till they were a raging inferno calling for Weaver to feel what she had done.

The force shattered and screamed.

Blue lightning arced from her fingertips, slamming into Shadow Weaver and flinging her against the wall. The woman's screams filled the air, a reflection of the screams that came from Catra as she poured more of her hate and rage into the lightning. She stepped forward, approaching Weaver as the woman writhed and twisted on the ground under Catra's onslaught. Finally, she'd done it, made Weaver pay for everything the witch had done to her.

And it felt so good.

Blue fear-filled eyes snapped open next to Catra. The harsh light from the lightning cut jagged lines across Adora's face, accentuating the terror plastered there. It took Catra a moment to realize that Adora's fear was directed at her.

A dark, twisted part of her reveled in that fear. It was why she'd joined Vader, to instill the feeling in others, to stop feeling it herself. But not from Adora. Despite how confused she'd felt about the girl Catra never wanted Adora to fear her. It went against the promise they'd made.

She pulled back, trying to reign in the lightning. It bucked and struggled under her command. She'd brought it into being. Her hate, her fear, wrapped into a destructive force that overwhelmed the person who hurt her for all those years. Why should it stop now?

The lightning went wild, lancing out at the room. It took all of Catra's concentration to keep it away from Adora. Bolts of blue plasma wrapped around the large garnet, cracking the gem before turning back on the one who called it forth. The gauntlet on her right hand melted into a single piece, fusing itself onto her arm from the heat.

Catra cried out, collapsing to the floor as her lightning finally died out. She cradled her ruined arm, smoke curling into the surrounding air. Shadow Weaver's body lay crumpled on the floor, silent and unmoving.

After a moment Catra stood, letting her arm drop to her side. She shuffled over to the table Adora was strapped to. With a flick of her left hand, her claws cut through the straps and they fell away. "We need to-"

Whatever else Catra was going to say was cut off when Adora launched herself into her. Arms that Catra never expected to have around her again pinned her as they both collapsed to the ground. Idly, she registered the tears soaking through the fabric of her cloak as the girl pressed against her, shuddering. She was crying, a fact that surprised Catra enough to keep her from pulling back.

Her arm came up, pausing for a second before settling itself over Adora's back. She hiccuped then pulled away from Catra; her gaze roaming hungrily over the cat-girl as her grip tightened, as if afraid she would disappear if let go. "Are- Are you real?"

Catra's brow furrowed. "What? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You... Lonnie-" Whatever Adora was planning to say stalled in her throat. She clamped her mouth shut, the muscles in her jaw working furiously. Catra squeaked when Adora roughly pulled her into another hug. Words spilled out of Adora's mouth, barely intelligible with her face pressed deeply into Catra's shoulder. "I'm sorry, please... I didn't- I won't leave- Not again..."

"Alright, you two," Mermista's voice interrupted the two, causing Catra to jump, though Adora wouldn't let go. "As touching as this is, we need to go like, two minutes ago."

Adora's grip tightened for a second before the girl nodded and let go. Then she did a double take, looking between Mermista and Catra with wide eyes. "What-" Adora's hand dropped, brushing against the burns on Catra's arms causing her to hiss and scoot back. "You're hurt!"

Catra shook her head. "I'm fine, it's nothing-"

"It's not nothing," Adora said. She tried to stand to get closer but stopped halfway through, groaning in pain as she clutched her side.

Mermista pursed her lips to keep whatever she was thinking from slipping out. She flicked her wrist and a tendril of water snaked around Catra's arm. It burned for a moment before cooling down to ease the pain as it soaked in. "That's the best I got, Perfuma has better stuff. We should probably get going now."

"Let me grab the sword." Adora stood, taking it slowly this time. "Then I should be ready."

"Didn't Glimmer and Bow ban you from using She-Ra to cover your injuries?" Mermista called out. At Adora's dismissive grunt and wave, she rolled her eyes, turning to Catra with a deadpan look. "Was she always that stubborn?"

Catra snorted. "Yeah, stubborn is an understatement." She frowned when Adora didn't respond. Not even to deny her statement. They had always talked back to one another, and while Catra knew things had changed, it still left her feeling like something was missing. What happened since the last time she had seen Adora?

The lightsaber being waved in her face drew her from her pondering. Without thinking she reached out with her right hand to grab it. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as it felt like the gauntlet was trying to peel off her arm and take half her skin with it.

"More water?" Mermista asked when Catra pulled her arm to her chest. The princess raised her other hand, a small tendril of water floating between her fingers.

"Don't think that'll help at this point." Catra grabbed her lightsaber with her left hand this time, clipping it to her belt as she stood back up.

Adora pulled her sword out of the pedestal by this point. She lifted it above her head, grimacing slightly at the weight. "For the honor of Gray-" A crackle of lightning cut her off as red sparks traveled from the gem set into the sword's cross-guard and down her arm. She screamed, dropping the sword as she collapsed to her knees.

The garnet in the middle of the room seemed to glow brighter as Adora stared at the ground. When she looked up, the lost look in her eyes sent a chill down Catra's spine.

"I- I can't turn into She-Ra."

A/N: Wow, it's been a while hasn't it? Happy new year! Another chapter, another fight scene... I'll be somewhat glad when we leave the Frightzone behind in the next chapter. Anyway, I've got other projects I'm working on, and as always, I'll see y'all in the future.