“Country roaaaads, taaake me hoooome…..” The tinny voice of a musician called out, stifled by the loud roar of a dirty pickup truck. The afternoon sun beat down from above, relentless heat flowing endlessly across the Fright Zone. It was truly a desolate wasteland. Large mesas dented upwards to the sky, surrounded by an expanse of purple sand and rocks. The only landmarks for hours around, they had a coarse, war-torn rockface from the frequent dust storms. Occasionally, a small desert animal scurried by, but there were simply no other life forms... "To the plaaaace, I belooooong! West Etheria-" called out Entrapta, joyously belting out the chorus from the shotgun seat. Scorpia happily poked out over the center console, her body and claws packed into the crowded back seat. They hollered the next line together. "DESERT MAMMAAAA--" Catra's grip on the steering wheel tightened, her nails puncturing the grip of the ratty cover. Brow furrowed, a sweat drop traveled down her face from the oppressive heat. "Entrapta, if you don't turn that off right now, I'm gonna smash it." "Aww..." A purple tendril snaked up, and poked the power button for the music box. A harsh noise filled the cabin, the engine struggling to get them across the desert. After a few moments, she frowned at the tan driver. Catra was deep in thought, her eyes laser focused on the empty land ahead of them. "Hey, Catra.... We're just trying to make the best of things." No response. "It's not like we have anything else to do until we get to Headquarters." Slowly, the sky became a beautiful painting, full of blazing red and deep purple. Fading beams of light shone through the ever present dust cloud behind them, marking the transition to night. "Guys, we're not gonna make it." The truck came to a slow stop, momentarily lurching forward in relief. The group shuffled out of the cab, walking towards a large and rusted metal shell. It was their new makeshift camp, although in another life, it may have been an overturned military tank. After clearing out a small sitting area, Catra apologetically looked at the wily engineer. "I'm sorry Entrapta, but we need a fire..." She sighed, gloomily looking at the ground. "Yeah, I know." She pulled out her backpack, and unscrewed a tightened casing. She shook the bag, and several large lithium-ion battery packs fall on the ground. "Yay!" Scorpia excitedly bound forward, and started stabbing the tip of her claws through the batteries. A shower of sparks gushed out, and it catches. "I'll take first watch." Slumped over each other, they rest against the abandoned metal husk. Scorpia had found several tribal knapsacks tucked under the front seats, which they promptly emptied and used to stoke the fire. Although it warmed them, they couldn't afford to lose any body heat to the cool desert night. If one of them got sick, who could they call for help? The other two decided to sleep until their shift came. Meanwhile, Catra idly twiddled with a strand of Entrapta's hair, gazing into the embers of the fire. They glowed with an intense heat, never ceasing to burn as much as they could. Licking at the charred fabric, always grabbing upward for dominance. Her thoughts began to drift off to the past night. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I had a feeling you'd be here." It was the worst possible time to be caught. Inside an unmarked village hut, Adora stared deep into her catlike eyes. A gaze of intense hatred. Her fist clutched Catra's wrist, her claws a moment away from ending her. "I just knew it. You thought you could attack me here, knowing that I'm on a solo mission. Kill me, escape with your new friends. Wasn't that the plan?" Her fist grew tighter around the other, trapping her feline hand in a vice grip. "Why don't you just give up? Why can't you stop trying to hurt me? Take a break for once! Just... **stop!**" "We're leaving. Now." Catra pushed in the stolen keys, and turned on the ignition. Entrapta and Scorpia were half awake, stuffed into a villager's pick up truck. They drove away from the village, the road illuminated by a dire red glow. Behind them, the village was set ablaze. Entrapta blinked, her eyes bleary. "Hey Catra, can you tell me what's going on?" No response. "Can't you just relax for a bit, and explain...?" "No."