Chapter 6

                                    

                                          
Adora breathed heavily as she steered the skiff through the Whispering Woods. The forest has been almost entirely destroyed by the snow and, while the storm had stopped and moonlight was starting to shine through the clouds, it was clear it would be months before the forest fully recovered.
The Force Captain bit her lip nervously when the Fright Zone came into view. She then glanced down at her unconscious passenger, now lying perfectly still on the floor of the skiff: Catra.
Adora could not help but admire how beautiful she looked. But then she would remember what the feline had done, causing her to frown in anger and frustration.
Catra deserved to die for betraying Hordak. She needed to be punished for her cowardice and insubordination. Adora had even heard Scorpia talking to the Force Commander – the feline had been working with a traitor! Despite all this, however, some part of Adora refused to accept it. She needed Catra. Adora was not sure how and why, but she did.
When they arrived, Adora parked the skiff and gently lifted Catra up, carrying her to the Throne Room.
***                                                            
When Catra woke up, she found herself in a dark room. Her hands were cuffed and her head hurt terribly. Just when the feline's senses told her she was back in the Fright Zone, her suspicions were confirmed by the lights suddenly turning on, revealing she was in the Throne Room. Hordak stood on the stairs leading up to his seat of power – his red eyes glaring down at her.
Catra tried and failed to get up. She was too dizzy to move and too scared to speak. How had she even made it to the Fright Zone so fast? Who had taken control after she was tazed? Was it Adora? Just then, Catra's senses identified the Force Captain standing behind her.
The feline spun her head around, looking for her friend. She saw Adora looking down at her with a dark expression. Catra could not tell if she was angry or sad.
"Force Commander?" Catra gulped. This was it – she was certain of it. Hordak was finally going to kill her.
Catra looked up at the Horde's leader, replying as indifferently as possible:
"Yes, Lord Hordak?" Hordak narrowed his eyes and growled:
"Force Captain Adora says you helped the Queen of Brightmoon escape and that you let her entire army go. She also says you are working with a traitor: Force Captain Scorpia. Is this true?" Catra turned back to look at Adora. The Force Captain looked away sadly.
Realizing that going against Adora's testimony would get her friend in trouble, Catra decided to make the ultimate sacrifice: admit the truth. Yes, Adora was not like she was before Shadow Weaver changed her...but she was still Adora and Catra loved her in spite of everything.
"Yes, it's true."
***
"I hope Hordak gets back soon! I cannot wait to show him the progress I've made on his new project!" Bow made a half-hearted attempt to reply to Entrapta but the gag still prevented him from communicating. He had been tied up for a couple of hours now, watching helplessly as Entrapta worked to fix Hordak's portal machine.
It had been three hours since Hordak had come down to the Black Garnet chamber to announce that his forces had taken Brightmoon and the war was all but over. He had then ordered Entrapta to stop tampering with the Back Garnet and to go with him to his sanctum. He had a new project for her. Bow had been temporarily untied and dragged to the new location as well.
Entrapta did not seem to have noticed Bow's suffering nor his many attempts at getting her attention. At this point, Bow had all but given up hope of escape; but he was still clinging to the possibility that Entrapta would listen to him if he could just get his gag removed.