Adora punched her bed and threw her pillows. There was no way she could sleep. From his sleeping bag Bow sat up and yawned. He watched his friend take her anger out on not only the pillows, but a chair as well.
"Adora! Stop!" He finally yelled out.
She spun with bloodshot eyes and heavy bags under them. "How can we do this? I'm powerless. I'm only . . . just . . ." She paused in great sadness. "Only human." She went to sit on her bed as tears now fell from her eyes.
"We will figure it out. We also need to seek out as much help as we can. We won't let Prime take our planet away from us." Bow said, coming to sit beside her. He gave her a hug. "This best friend duo is gonna get our squad member back even if it means blood shed."
Yellow eyes looked up at castle Bright Moon. A wicked smile was forming as sensitive ears listened. There was so much going on around here. A dozen more of Prime's ships slowly crossed the star lit sky.
Double Trouble was yearning for some new acting roles. A guard perhaps, maybe even the cute little twerp named Frosta. They'd been watching for the last few hours. They'd seen Prime's light gravitational pull suck up Hordak and Glimmer. They didn't realize Catra had been a part of it too.
Catra intentionally let herself get dragged up too. She was stuck with Glimmer and a newer version of Hordak.
Prime was talking to his guards.
Glimmer nudged Catra. "So what's the plan?"
Catra's eyes smiled at her. "Use Hordak as bait." She stood up and looked at what Hordak was doing. It looked like a puzzle on a screen. "Let me try."
Hordak sneered at her. "Prime asked me to do it."
"I bet you I can do it faster." Catra said with a laugh.
Glimmer joined them.
Catra looked at the pieces of this screen-touch game thing. She knew it wasn't a game, but it needed to be fixed. She moved the pieces around until it formed Outer Space. She lined up old and new planets. "Done."
Hordak growled at her. "There's no way you're right!"
Prime turned to the three people. "What's going on?" He said as he came over.
"I fixed this, well at least I hope I did." Catra said, wanting to score points with Prime.
Prime smiled to himself. "Well done, I might add. Perfect."
Hordak was stunned. "She stole it from me!"
"Praise is earned not given." Prime told him.
Catra crossed her arms. "When are we going back to claim Etheria?"
Prime laughed low and gradually laughed louder and louder. "We?" He shook his head. "I am claiming Etheria as my own, cat girl." He walked around them. "We are on our way right now. We should we there within the hour."
Hordak grinned. "Land in the Crimson Waste and I'll send skiff's to get the troops."
*
Swift Wind knocked a hoof on Adora's door. "I'm hungry got some apples?"
Adora opened the door. "What are you doing?"
"What I do best being me!" He said, smiling. "Now about those apples."
Adora sighed and began to cry as she dragged herself to her bed.
"Deary, what's the matter?" A voice said.
She wiped her tears. "Swift . . ." She turned around. And tried to reach for the sword that was no longer a part of her. "Double Trouble!" She yelled out.
Double Trouble bowed. "Mighty good horse performance, huh?"
She took a fighting stance. "What do you want?"
"It's more about what you need. I just want compensation for any performance I must give." They changed from Hordak, to Entrapta, to Adora, Bow and Glimmer. "I can do so many more. I know you need help getting your sparkly friend back and Catra too.
Adora looked surprised. "Catra's on the ship too?"
Double Trouble came closer. "I don't want to fight you unless I have to. I don't wanna break a heel or a nail." They looked and smiled at both then saw the sadness in her eyes. "Hon, what's wrong?"
Adora slumped onto her bed. "She-Ra is gone. I'm just Adora now. The sword is broken. It was the only way I could save the planet."
Double Trouble sat beside her. "Should I hug you?"
She laughed to herself. "No, I'm okay."
The sound of running feet stopped at Adora's room. "Oh my . . . " Bow was ready to shoot his arrow.
"Bow! No!" Adora cried out.
Bow dropped his stance and put away his things. "Why are you here?" He asked Double Trouble.
They stood up and twirled around just because. "Hordak, Glimmer and Catra are stuck on a spaceship. I'm sure Prime is going to hold the queen and Catra for ransom. You need my help am I not right?"
Bow looked at Adora for an answer. He already knew it though. Yes, they needed Double Troubles help more than they knew.
Scorpia, Perfuma and Frosta made it back to Bright Moon. They were all very tired and collapsed into the chairs in the war room.
"What are you doing?" A curious male voice asked. None of them had noticed the man sitting in one of the chairs.
"You can't sit there!" Frosta cried out, "That's kin-king," She finally realized the man sitting there was Glimmer's father. "You're alive?!"
"Whoa!" Scorpia said in shock.
Perfuma stood up and went over to him. "Are you real?"
King Micah laughed. "I'm recovering from my days trapped on Beast Island. Yes, I am real."
Perfuma smiled, "I'm Princess Perfuma of Plumeria. That's princess Scorpia and princess Frosta."
King Micah smiled and greeted them. "I know the Horde has taken over much of Etheria. We're going to find a way to get it back."
Scorpia jumped up. "Is Entrapta here too?"
He nodded. "She's with a robot named Emily."
Scorpia ran off to find Entrapta.
"Does Glimmer know that you're here?" Frosta asked him.
King Micah frowned. "Adora and Bow said Horde Prime took her and Hordak."
SeaHawk and Mermista came into the room. "We saw Scorpia running down the hall and she told us to come in here." He said with a tired smile.
King Micah stood and moved to see them. Their faces were priceless as they stared. "I'm home." He said and walked over to them. "Good to meet you."
"I am SeaHawk and this is princess Mermista."
"Wow! This is so cool." She looked around, but didn't see the three amigos.
Perfuma came over. "Glimmer and Hordak were taken by Horde Prime." She told Mermista and SeaHawk.
King Micah stood before them. "I know I haven't been around. I've lost time and memories, my wife." A few tears escaped his eyes. "With the Alliance's help we have a greater chance of beating Horde Prime."
There was a knock on the open door.
"May we join?" Double Trouble said sauntering into the room.
Adora got in front of them. "King Micah, Double Trouble has the gift of shape-shifting. We're gonna need it if we want Glimmer back." She looked around and added, "I guess we have to help Hordak and Catra too."
"Catra?" Scorpia's voice boomed out from the doorway. She came in with Emily and Entrapta. "They took her too?"
"Please everyone sit down. It's okay to use Glimmer and Angella's chairs for now." Adora told them.
Entrapta took a seat on her beloved robot.
"I will fill in the guards and other personell in a seperate meeting. For now we need to discuss the best way to go about the invasion." Adora said, knowing she'd lost her princess status, but felt like she needed to be in charge.
She walked around the table and stood in front of Entrapta. "We need to know which side you're on now."
Entrapta smiled, teeth showing. "Science!"
Everyone heard Mermista's, "UGH . . . WHY?"
The rest of the alliance gave mean glances her way.
SeaHawk held her hand and Mermista bit at her bottom lip.
"Are you with the Rebellion or the Horde, Entrapta?" Adora asked, starting to get annoyed.
Bow came over. "We NEVER meant to leave you in the Fright Zone. We honestly thought you had perished." His eyes looked deep into Entrapta's. "We're all very sorry."
Flashbacks of Catra being cruel filled her head and she shivered. Then images of her and Hordak came. That time with him had been filling and nice. A part of her she never felt before came to life around him.
Her eyes looked at the floor. She smiled at he memories with Hordak. "He understood me and he was my best friend." Entrapta finally said. "Even with being on Beast Island I thought of him fondly."
"Hordak was using you, Entrapta." Bow told her. "He just wanted you for your mind and skills."
She got upset. "No! He cared about me! I saw the good in him and he saw it in me!"
Adora knelt down. "We are your friends. Not the people in the Horde."
"Excuse yourself!" Scorpia said and standing to the side. "Entrapta's my friend."
Adora now was feeling like Mermista. "Okay! One more time, which side are you on, Entrapta?"
Entrapta got off Emily and curiously asked, "Scorpia, why are you here?"
Scorpia's face lit up. "I finally connected to my runestone. I'm a princess too ya know."
"Oh yeah I forgot." Entrapta turned to the waiting eyes of everyone else. "I'm on whatever side Scorpia is. I trust her."
Adora didn't say anything else. She just let things be for now. "I don't have any powers anymore. I am not She-Ra, she's gone. The sword is broken. It was the only way I could save the planet. If you haven't noticed we are free from Despondos. We are more vulnerable now."
"We need all the help we can get. If we can find other people to join us that'd be a huge plus." Bow told the Alliance.
King Micah stood. "Looks like . . ."
Shadow Weaver came floating into the room. "I apologize for interrupting." She was followed by Castaspella.
King Micah ran over to his sister and they hugged.
Casta said, "Oh, it's so good to see you! Shadow Weaver told me what happened to you."
"The Horde trapped me on Beast Island and I had no way of escaping. I'll tell you more about it later. Right now we need a plan." Micah told her then went to face the crowd.
"Bow and SeaHawk, is it? Do you have any powers?"
Mermista clamped her hand over SeaHawk's mouth. "No he does not, but he is a pretty good fighter." SeaHawk smiled under her hand and his eyes looked at her with love. "You're welcome." She said, not wanting him to say anything stupid.
Bow spoke for himself. "I'm a master archer and tech guy. No super powers, sir."
Casta placed her hands on the table. "Shadow Weaver, Micah and I will be on the front line. Perfuma and Frosta, then the rest of you.
Mermista was slightly annoyed because her power only worked near water. Unless Frosta and her worked as one would hers work too.
Adora knew she was one of weakest links now. Sure she could still fight just as good, but without the She-Ra powers she was on the back line. Bow put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything will work out."
Double Trouble shifted into Shadow Weaver. "It would be nice to have a twin wouldn't it?"
"Stop That!" Shadow Weaver yelled at them.
They all got into different groups to discuss tactics.
Prime's ship landed in the Crimson Waste along with almost a hundered others. His people lined up in rows. Each one carrying a gun, wearing armor with a large H on it and the Horde symbol.
"Are we walking?" Prime said, only seeing five available skiffs.
Hordak was confused too. "Brother, I will look into this."
Catra and Glimmer were chained. Arms behind their backs and feet too. They could walk, but it looked like two puppy dogs on leashes as the men held on to the chains.
"I thought we were in this thing together!" Catra yelled out, getting Prime's attention.
Prime laughed and rolled all of his eyes. "Once we're back in the Fright Zone I'll let you loose. Under my control and all."
"She-Ra's gonna kick your butt!" Glimmer yelled at him, not knowing about Adora and the sword.
Prime turned to her. "For a queen that language has got to be cleaned up young lady. Your attitude needs a reconditioning too."
Hordak grinned as they boarded two skiffs and headed back first. A memory glitched inside of him. He remembered running after Catra and fighting her, but why?
Arriving minutes later Prime's face dropped in horror. "What happened here?" He saw how destroyed the place was.
"Must've been the Rebellion." Hordak said,
Catra's eyes popped in shock. He doesn't remember! She bit her own tongue to silence herself.
Glimmer stumbled into Catra. "Didn't you two do this?"
"Uh huh." Catra said and pushed her back. "Are you dehydrated or something?"
"Yes!" Glimmer said loudly. "I'm so thirsty."
Hordak barked, "Stop your whining!"
Glimmer gave him a dirty look. "You're not human. Human's need water to survive."
Prime gave an order. "Take these ladies to an available cell. I'll get someone to get you food and water."
"Hope you like ration bars." Catra said with a laugh. "Can we get the gray bars?" She asked as the guards began to take them away. She looked at Glimmer. "The brown ones taste like horse crap."
Glimmer's eyes teared up. "Just great."
Chained and alone the girls began to whisper. "Hordak doesn't remember why we were fighting and why he was blowing things up!" Catra said to her.
"Are you gonna tell me why?" Glimmer said her eyes curiously stared into Catra's. "The truth, please."
Catra hated confessing anything. "It was about Entrapta. I tased her and sent her to Beast Island. I told Hordak that she let you all in that she betrayed him before the portal opened."
Glimmer felt sick to her stomach. "Why do you always hurt people? What did she do to have that done to her?"
Catra twitched, " . . . because she said Adora was right."
"About?" Glimmer said.
"The portal opening and destroying everything." Catra told her.
Glimmer laughed until she cried. "Oh my gosh. You're . . . wow," She trailed off and didn't finish what she was saying.
Catra felt bad enough.
Two bottled waters and two gray ration bars were shoved into the cell. The guard walked away without saying a word.
They worked together to get the water and food.
The face Glimmer made biting into the ration bar had Catra rolling in laughter. "That's disgusting." She said spitting pieces of it out. She happily drank the water.
"Every now and then they serve chicken and fries. That's a luxury around here." Catra said, gladly eating the bar. Glimmer shoved the rest of hers into Catra's lap.
"How are we gonna get out of here?" Glimmer asked, looking hopeless.
Catra swallowed her food. "See this tray? We're gonna use it near the control panel. You need to hold it as I whip my tail out and crush the panel. Wait until the night comes then we'll do it."
Glimmer asked, "Do we get a bathroom break?"
"Every three hours." Catra said, feeling tired. "Try to sleep. It'll help."
"Catra, do you think you could use your nails and get my chains off?" Glimmer asked.
Catra quietly worked on trying to unlock Glimmer's chains. Five minutes later they both heard a wonderful click.
"I'll blast yours off soon. Now we have to pretend and sleep if we can." Glimmer said with a smile. "And thank you so much."
Catra half smiled, "Yeah, don't mention it."
*
"We move out at dawn's first light." King Micah told everyone in the war room.
Casta smiled, "Are you sure?"
"I want my baby girl back. I've been ready." He told his sister.
Adora and Bow were getting all the weapons they could.
About sixty-ish people showed up to help fight the rest were hiding or just scared.
"This is kind of lame." Mermista said, looking at the rather small crowd. "Even the pirates in SeaWorthy backed out."
"They have families too. Can't really blame them." SeaHawk said and smiled lovingly at her.
She was diappointed in them and the other people of Etheria not standing up to this Prime guy.
Scorpia entered the war room. She came to check on Entrapta. "Hey!"
Entrapta was on her new tracker pad that Bow had given her. "I'm updating the data on Emily."
Scorpia smiled and nodded. "Cool. So would you like to talk or vent about what happened to you?"
Entrapta saved the information. "I'm good."
"You're good with what? Losing time and being trapped?" Scorpia said with a concerned laugh.
"Beast Island is a dumping ground for tech and it became very useful to me. I even stole the king's tiny food. It was delicious!" Entrapta smiled and went back to what she was doing.
"Did you miss me or Hordak?" Scorpia sadly asked.
Entrapta's purple hair patted Scorpia's shoulder. "I did miss you and Hordak. He's my friend so yes I missed him too." She felt tears in her eyes now. "What's it like to have feelings for someone? I've never known. I've been married to my work all this time."
Emily made a lot of noise that was confusing and not understood by Scorpia. Entrapta knew Emily's sounds, anger, sadness and happiness.
"Complicated because you can't make someone feel anything for you back. Sometimes you give more love than you'll ever get in return. It's just the way life is unfortunately." Scorpia said thinking about Catra now.
*
Prime came to check on Catra and Glimmer. He smiled at the sleeping girls. "I've got plans for you both." He said and laughed to himself.
Catra listened closely as soon as his footsteps faded away she opened her eyes. "He's gone." She told Glimmer.
Glimmer yawned. "I do need a nap, but getting out of this place is more important. I wonder what he meant by plans."
Catra shook her head and scrunched her nose. "I really do not want to know."
Hordak found himself looking at his sanctum. Imp came flying outta nowhere and sqeaking happily. Hordak swatted him away. "I don't know what you are! Leave me alone! "
Imp landed on the floor and looked at his master in confusion. Hordak's armor was different now. He even looked more regal in his new outfit.
"What?" Hordak said to Imp. "Go away."
Imp now looked sad. He took one last look at his owner and flew off. He heard voices and carefully followed to where they lead.
"Right. We take it all. If Catra is right then this planet will be the beast of the universe and I will control it all." He told his confidant, Prima. She looked very much like him, but her three eyes were bright pink with braided hair.
"Yes, brother." She said robotically.
Catra? Imp thought. He had not seen her. He went searching quietly and quickly. Almost ten minutes later he heard the grunts of an unhappy Catra followed by grunts of someone else. Imp landed outside of the cell that held the girls.
Then he opened his mouth. Prime's voice came out, "Right. We take it all. If Catra is right then this planet will be the beast of the universe and I will control it all."
Glimmer and Catra ran to see Imp sitting here. He repeated the message. "Shhh!!" Catra said. "I need you to stay quiet! Are you here to help me? If you are turn this thing off! Please!"
Imp looked at the control panel.
"Just smash the whole thing!" Glimmer told Imp. She couldn't use her teleportation in the cell. After Shadow Weaver escaped Hordak had enhanced them with dark magic from a witch he knew.
Imp did as asked. He smashed the panel with his hands, feet and tail. It was down now.
The girl's ran out of the cell. "Thank you for helping us!" Glimmer said as she grabbed Catra. "Let's get out of here!"
Imp moved into the teleport and grabbed Catra's tail. She screamed as Glimmer took them to Bright Moon.
With the panel crushed, alarms blared loudly. The cell was now empty.