She-ra, the Great Princess of Power

Chapter 8 In the Crimson Waste (part 1)

That day was the hottest Etheria ever had. The high temperature was making the metal of the Horde robots expand, causing them to make an annoying sound as they moved.
Scorpia and Catra were in Hordak's room, to recive instructions for their new mission. That was the only place in the Fright Zone with air conditioning.
Entrapta was on Hordak's throne, right next to him. She looked comfortable and he was calm with her by his side.
"My Lord, what are your orders for our next mission?" Catra bowed to him "Are we going to fight the rebells?" She was already excited.
"Less enthusiasm, Catra" Scorpia whispered. She didn't want Hordak to get angry with them from the start.
"Not today, sweetheart" Entrapta said after taking a sip of her fresh drink. She left to Hordak the glass and got closer to a robot that was standing there.
"We're in a delicate situation right now: we're running out of the mineral that powers our robot soldiers" Entrapta openned the little hatch on the robot's chest and showed the mineral she was talking about: it was an orange crystal that emitted a strong heat.
"This is called Fire Stone. The heat generates the energy that makes our robots work" Entrapta explained in a simple way.
"Got it. And where can we find that?" Catra asked before noticing Scorpia's hurted expression.
"The Crimson Waste supplies us with Fire Stone. Usually we send a small group of soldiers to collect the load from the mines, but I thought you'd like to go as well" Hordak said and then he took a sip of Entrapta's drink.
He was sending them to the hottest place on Etheria instead of giving them a conquering mission or similar.
"Aren't you happy, Scorpia? You're going to see your home!" Entrapta made a teasing smile.
Scorpia's expression became more sorrowful.
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Glimmer, Adora and Spirit were at the Crystal Falls.
The princess took off her boots and walked into the water.
"Join me, Adora! The water is so refreshing and the pebbles tickle my feet" .
"I don't know, Glimmer. . ." Adora was afraid of going in.
"Nothing is going to happen as long as we stay far enough from the waterfalls" Glimmer started to jump in the water and splashed her friend.
"This means war, princess!" Adora took off her boots and finally joined Glimmer.
They were having so much fun splashing each other, but then Glimmer slipped on a smooth rock and fell.
"Glimmer!" Adora jumped after her. When she held Glimmer in her arms, she realized the level of the water was barely knee-deep.
The two girls exchanged a look and laughed.
"My hero~!" Glimmer vehemently said.
They heard the neighing of another horse.
"I knew I'd find you here" Bow said, riding Arrow.
"We were just refreshing for a bit" Glimmer said after Adora let her down "We got a little carried away".
"Is there a problem?" Adora asked.
"Sea Hawk gave us new informations about the Horde plans. They programmed a visit to the Crimson Waste" Bow informed them.
"They must be running out of Fire Stone" Adora guessed.
After the girls came out of the water, they left the Crystal Falls.
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Catra and Scorpia were heading to the Crimson Waste with the Crawler. They were followed by a small group of non-robot soldiers in another tank, including Romeo and Lohni.
"You didn't tell me you're from the Crimson Waste" Catra said to Scorpia.
"I'm not so proud to say that the Horde finds refueling in my home" Scorpia replied "But for the record, the place where I come from is called Scorpion Kingdom. That's where we're directed" She added.
The tanks were steering on hot sand and passed across the main street of a city.
None of the citizens had claws or tails like Scorpia.
The Crawler stopped before a castle made of red stone while the other tank turned in the direction of the mines.
Two guards with sickles approached the Force Captains.
"Welcome back, your highness" They bowed to Scorpia.
"Your highness? Wait a minute. . . Are you a princess!?" Catra gasped.
"Yes" Scorpia said with a tired voice.
The guards escorted them inside the castle where the royal family was waiting. Scorpia's family members were the only people with scorpion traits.
"Hello, father. Hello, mother. It's good to see you again" Scorpia greeted her parents.
Her mom, queen Clawdiana, was so relieved to have her home.
"Welcome back, dear. How are they treating you in the Fright Zone?" .
"They treat me like the rest, so" Scorpia shrugged.
"Are you hungry? You must be hungry after that long trip" Clawdiana snapped her claws and a servant brought a plate with food.
"No, thanks. I'm fine" Scorpia said.
"I'd like to eat something!" Catra finally spoke.
"Sorry. This is Catra. She's a. . . I work with her" Scorpia introduced her to her family.
The servant went to Catra with the food. She was licking her lips, but when she saw what there was to eat, she lost her appetite. The food consisted in a bowl of earthworms, cockroaches appetizers and a plate of fried crickets.
"Actually, I should go check if everything is alright with the loading. It was nice to meet you!" Catra said and ran out of the castle.
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Lohni and Romeo were outside the mines, standing next to the veicle some slaves were loading under the survilliance of a guard.
Lohni was watching those people dressed in rags working.
"They look so. . . miserable. Why do I feel like this?" She questioned, touching her chest.
"Can I tell you something?" She looked at Romeo "I don't think I like to be a part of the Horde anymore" .
"Me neither. But if we try to defect like Adora did, we could end up working here just like them" Romeo looked resigned.
A slave was carrying two heavy crates of Fire Stone fragments by himself. Lohni decided to help him.
"You don't have to do that. That's his job" The guard told her.
Lohni gave the crate back to the man and he smiled to thank her for trying to help. That only made her feel worst.
"How's it going?" Catra asked when she arrived to the veicle.
"It's going to take a little while" Romeo informed her.
"Don't mess anything up. We have to be back to the Horde before sunset. Shadow- I mean, Hordak! He's counting on me" Catra said and walked back to the castle.
"Did you hear her? WE don't have to mess anything up?" Lohni complained with Romeo.
"She was annoying when she was a cated, but now she's unsufferable" He frawned.
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Glimmer, Bow and Adora were keeping an eye on the Scorpion Kingdom from a mountain, using binoculars.
"So this is where Hordak sends his prisoners" Bow said.
"Those poor people are forced to work in the mines with this heat" Glimmer expressed with displeasure.
"I can't believe I used to support this. I really thought we were doing something good. But now I'm ready to do whatever it takes to stop the Horde" Adora affirmed.
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Catra was looking for Scorpia in her castle.
She was with her father and it sounded like they were arguing, so Catra stood behind the door and listened to what they were saying.
"I don't know how longer I can tollerate this. We have to devast our home and provide the Horde with Fire Stone so they can keep on with their conquest" Scorpia was exasperated.
"I know how you feel. It hurts to see what our kingdom has become, but we cannot rebel against Hordak. Our deal with him is what allows us to stay here" King Scorpius argued.
"This isn't fair. Everyone knows the Horde sends their prisoners in the mines and they despite us!" Scorpia raised her voice.
"Once the war is over, Hordak won't need to exploit this land anymore and we'll be free again" her father assured, but she didn't believe him.
"If Hordak wins, there will be nothing left" Scorpia walked away.
She passed next to Catra but she didn't even notice her.