Catra lies still for a long time, the only sound her ragged breathing. Then, finally, she rolls her head to the side, scanning Adora's face incredulously. "It's really you," she whispers hoarsely. "You came back for me."

"Yeah," Adora responds simply.

Adora helps her sit up. Catra's muscles are still tense, but her fur has smoothed — her eyes scan the room as if searching for any inconsistencies that would give away the illusion. She looks down at her own body. Then her hand goes to the back of her neck — her ears flatten as she feels the chip still clamped onto her spine. Her claws scrabble at her skin, her clothes, tearing into herself, drawing blood — it all happens so fast Adora barely has time to react.

"Catra, stop! Stop it!" Once again, Adora has to wrestle Catra's claws away, but she's already managed to open a few slashes in her own flesh, the red blooming across the snowy white of her uniform. Adora keeps Catra's wrists in a tight grip as she struggles. "Let go," hisses Catra, straining against her, but Adora doesn't relent.

"Look at me," Adora commands. She waits for a long moment until Catra finally does. "I'll let you go, but you have to promise you won't hurt yourself again. Catra, promise."

She figures that will get through to her, and it does. After a moment, Catra retracts her claws and nods. She tugs weakly against Adora's hands, but Adora doesn't let go just yet.

"Take it off," Catra pleads quietly, and Adora understands.

She lets go of Catra's hands, which curl into fists against the floor, and moves around to Catra's back. She runs her hands over the white uniform covering Catra's back, searching for some kind of zipper or closure, but it all seems to be made in one seamless piece of smooth, glossy fabric. Of course Prime wouldn't make it easy to remove. Catra feels Adora fumbling around, and the hackles on her neck rise as she suddenly shouts. "Take it off! Adora, please, take it off!"

Adora can't bear the desperation in her voice. Without hesitation, she grips the edges of the uniform and pulls as hard as she can. The fabric is stiff and heavy, but clearly not designed with the protection of the wearer in mind, and it comes apart in Adora's hands surprisingly easily — or maybe it's another burst of She-Ra's strength. Adora rips the uniform all the way down, exposing Catra's shivering back, then helps her struggle out of it.

Free of the uniform, Catra finally seems to relax. Her muscles go slack as she leans back against Adora's chest, breathing steadily now. She looks so small, Adora thinks. In her mind, Catra has been so big for so long — a looming shadow of rage and spite and darkness, its shape so unfamiliar to her.

But this shape — Catra's narrow, curled up form — this shape she knows better than anything.

And then with a shock, Adora realizes that she's staring at Catra's naked body, and that she probably shouldn't be doing that. She looks away, grabbing the shredded uniform and crushing it up into a ball.

"I'm going to throw this out the airlock," she announces, and she feels the slightest rumble of Catra's chuckle in response. Adora carefully extricates herself from Catra and stands up, still averting her eyes. "I've got some extra clothes, I'll bring them to you. Do you need water? I'll bring water too." With that, Adora rushes out.

She practically sprints through the ship — she doesn't want to leave Catra alone for more than a moment. She bursts into the bigger bunkroom where they've all been sleeping, and catches Bow and Glimmer cuddling on Bow's bed. Glimmer's head snaps straight up from where it had been nestled on Bow's shoulder, blushing furiously.

Adora doesn't have time to get into whatever that is. She gives them a quick, knowing smirk, then raids her bag of clothes, pulling out a clean gray top and matching shorts. They look just like the standard-issue ones she had once worn in the Horde; she had the Bright Moon tailors make them to her specifications. The familiarity had brought her comfort, and she figures they will for Catra too.

"Everything okay?" asks Bow.

"Fine," Adora responds. "Hey, this ship has an incinerator, right?"

"Yeah, it's right outside the cargo hold. What —"

But Adora's already off. As she rushes out of the bunkroom, she feels something soft hit her head, and realizes Glimmer has thrown a blanket at her. "Take this too," Glimmer shouts after her.

Adora finds the incinerator, a small square door in the hallway intended for garbage, and shoves the Horde uniform inside. She closes the door, imagining the white fabric going up in flames, burning away to a crisp, and with it every trace of Prime's cruel, lingering touch. When she's satisfied that the garment is definitely destroyed, Adora sprints back to Catra's room, stopping only briefly in the galley to grab a bottle of water.

When she steps back into the brig, she finds Catra on the bed, curled up into tight ball. The brig is right next to the engine room and so it's one of the warmest places on the ship, but Catra is shivering. Her head shoots up at the sound of the door, eyes wide with terror.

"It's okay, it's me," Adora soothes. She crosses to the bed and lays the clothes out next to Catra. Seeing her eye the bottle of water, Adora hands it to her, then waits as Catra drinks greedily. She resists the urge to try and help her as Catra slips on the clothes with clumsy, shaking fingers. The last thing Catra needs right now is for Adora to act possessive.

"How are you feeling?" Adora ventures.

Catra sighs, laying her head back down on the mattress. "Like shit."

Adora nods in sympathy. "I know. I'm sorry. Magic or not, the healing process sucks. You should try to sleep, it's really the only thing that helps."

"I don't suppose you have some other magical power that would keep me from dreaming," grumbles Catra.

She's still shivering, but she looks calmer than she has since she woke up. The scratches she left on herself aren't deep and have stopped bleeding, so they'll probably be fine without treatment. Adora gently draws the blanket over her and starts to stand up, intending to give Catra some privacy so she can sleep. But Catra's hand closes on Adora's wrist before she can pull it back, hanging on tight. Her eyes meet Adora's. Where before they were dim and unfocused, now they are clear and piercing. She holds Adora's gaze unrelentingly.

"Why did you come back for me?" she demands.

"I —" Adora's voice trails off in the silence. Catra doesn't let go. The only sound is the soft, muffled humming of the ship's engines as it moves through space, away from Horde Prime. "Because..." She trails off again.

What is she supposed to say?

"Because...you're Catra," she finishes weakly.

Catra flinches. Her hand slips from Adora's and she rolls away, so small under the blanket that she almost disappears. Adora listens to the ship's beating heart in the silence, not sure what else to say.

"You should sleep," says Adora, once it's become clear that Catra isn't going to answer.

Catra doesn't respond. Doesn't even move. "I won't be far," Adora adds. "If you need anything, just call for me."

Still nothing. Adora's heart is pounding. She doesn't want to leave Catra alone. She doesn't want to let her out of her sight ever again. She wants to lie down on the mattress next to her and pull her against her chest and stroke her hair until she falls asleep, she wants to be there if Catra has a nightmare or tries to hurt herself again, she wants to wrap Catra in her arms and absorb her into her chest where she'll be safe and never feel pain or fear again.

But she can't. She's never been able to do that for Catra, as much as she's wanted to. And every time she tried, it just made things worse.

Adora stands and leaves the room, pressing the panel to close the door behind her. She walks far enough away that Catra will be able to hear her footsteps retreating, then slips her shoes off and tiptoes back as quietly as she can. She lowers herself to the ground and leans against the door, listening as hard as she can for any sound of distress within.

If Catra needs anything, she'll be there.

She's not leaving her again.

The ship rumbles and creaks as it moves through space, away from Horde Prime.