Hey guys, quick warning. The fight will be a little bit gruesome, not "Doom Guy's glory kills" gruesome, but let's say "Brienne vs The Hound" gruesome. You've been warned!
CHAPTER XXIII: A REAL HERO
The clones didn't hesitate. The first threw a punch to the feline's face. Easy, predictable. Catra dodged his blow and hit him with all of her strength under the jaw. The uppercut made the clone stumble backwards, bumping into two others. Catra ran, jumped, planted her right foot on the first Prime guard's chest plate and propelled herself into the air. She kicked both of the clones he had bumped into in the head, before coming down, her elbow colliding with the top of his head. The trio fell to the ground.
Nine more…
That's when the first punch hit her, right in her left cheek. When Catra was younger, the other cadet's blows never truly hurt, not that much. Shadow Weaver's… punishments… those hurt in a different way. Adora's hits? Now that Catra thought about it, she always felt like she had never truly put all of her strength in those… not when the blonde faced her… but the clone's punch? It hurt… it truly hurt…
The iron gauntlet collided with her cheek and sent her stumbling back. The clone didn't relent, he just closed the distance that separated him from his objective and threw another punch. Catra dodged it, lowered herself, swiped at his legs and made him fall to the ground before jumping on his chest and hitting him a few, quick placed punches to his head.
She screamed in pain as the point of another clone's boot hit her straight in the stomach. The clone she had just punched however… didn't stand up. But three more were towering over her as she opened her eyes. The first stomped his foot down, trying to crash her chest underneath it, but failed miserably as the feline rolled to the side. The second one tried to grab her. Catra planted her claws in his gauntlet, pulled herself up, kicked the first clone right in the face before slashing the third one right across his eyes.
The first Prime guard fell on the floor, the third one screamed before collapsing to his knees, while the second one, with Catra's claws still inside his arm, tried to punch her. The feline grabbed his fist, kneed him in his stomach, making him double over in pain, before hitting the side of his head with her elbow, as hard as she could.
Five more clones… just five more…
The first punched her in the sternum, and Catra felt herself lose her breath. The second one kicked the back of her knee, making her fall to the ground. She tried to stand up, and the third one kicked her right in her back, sanding her crushing down to the floor. The remaining two kneeled down and held her by her arms. Catra screamed in rage, pulling with all of her might, but they didn't let go. The three clones who towered above her began to kick her. Again, again and again.
"Do something! They are going to kill you! They're going to kill you and then they'll kill everyone else! Do something!"
Catra raised her left leg and threw a blind hit. Her knee collided with the chest of one of the two clones who were holding her. Her left arm was suddenly free. She rolled to the side and slashed the remaining clone who was holding her down across his face. He let go and fell to the ground. Finally… she was free to stand up again. The clone she had just hit in the chest tried to raise himself from the floor but Catra moved quicker and kicked him in the head.
Three more. Just hold on.
The first clone threw a kick at her. Catra grabbed his leg and roared in anger as she pulled him down to the floor. The second one grabbed her from behind and the third didn't hesitate for one second. He hit Catra across the face. The feline's vision was getting blurry, and she was tasting copper in her mouth. But she wasn't going to let a bunch of "Hordaks" take her down. She pushed back against the clone who was holding her, raised her feet from the floor and kicked the third clone in the chest.
Catra saw the one she had pulled down by his leg starting to get up. She had to act quickly. She bit down on the arm of the clone who was holding as hard as she could. The Prime guard yelled in pain and let go. Catra turned around, grabbed the sides of his head and headbutted him. Not really one of the quickest or more 'energy saving' moves she had ever come up with, but she was truly starting to get pissed off.
The clone Catra had pulled to the floor tried to grab her from behind, but the feline saw him coming. She grabbed his arms and sent him to ground. Both of the clones who had just attacked her laid in front of her, unmoving.
One mo-
The kick in her lower back sent her to the floor. Tears prickled in her eyes. That really hurt… and Catra felt like she wouldn't have been able to stand up even if she tried with every little bit of strength she had left. She rolled onto her back only to see the clone kneel on top of her. He grabbed her neck with one hand, while he balled the other into a fist.
"Don't let him win! Shadow Weaver always tried to make you behave like a human being… be a beast! Destroy them!"
Catra screamed in pure rage before she pushed down her chin, managing to put it between the clone's hand and her neck. She bit his thumb and ripped it off. The Prime guard held his bleeding hand as he cried in pain. But Catra wasn't done with him. She was seeing red, so the feline grabbed the sides of the clone's head, pulled herself up and sank her teeth into his neck before ripping out a piece of white flesh.
Catra spat it to the ground, pushing the clone aside. The Prime guard fell beside her, holding his neck for a few moments before going lump. She wanted to stand up but fell to her knees the moment she tried. She wasn't seeing well, everything was blurry, and her body hurt… it hurt everywhere. But as Catra looked around, she saw what she had just accomplished.
Twelve Prime's clones…
She had defeated them all…
And even if for a moment… even Horde Prime seemed impressed.
"Is this… everything you've got?" Catra breathed heavily, a crooked, trembling yet smug grin growing on her face.
Horde Prime's disbelief soon faded as he began to lowly cackle. He walked up to the former Horde Commander, his arms crossed behind his back.
"Your arrogance has brought you far in life, that I can say… but it won't bring you farther." Horde Prime spoke as he slowly reached for Catra's neck, circling it with one hand and raising the feline from the ground into the air.
"The great Horde Prime is finally ready to get his own hands dirty? Are you sure you don't want another dozen of your clones to beat me up some more before you try that? Might just make things even easier for you." Catra laughed.
She wasn't scared…
She wasn't begging for her life…
She was still disrespecting him…
Prime didn't like it one bit. His smirk faded, replaced by an angered scowl. He balled his free hand into a fist and hit Catra in the stomach, making her fly five meters in the air before she crushed down to the ground. She heard Prime's steps becoming distant for a moment, before he came back with something in his hands. As he towered over her, Catra's gaze fell upon his weapon. It looked like a crossbow, a big, white, metallic crossbow that the tyrant secured to his right arm before pointing it towards her face. The feline thought he would have fired it, but Prime hesitated, humming thoughtfully.
"I might just start with something else… after all… if I'd hit you in the head, everything would end in an instant. Let's say… I'll shoot you a dozen times before I give you my permission to die, Commander. That seems only fair counting the number of soldiers you took from me, am I not right?" Prime asked, hoping that the threat would at least make a spark of fear appear in the feline's eyes.
In response, Catra spat at him.
Horde Prime's eyes widened as the mixture of red and green blood dripped from his forehead.
"I'm going to use my crossbow to blow off your legs, then it'll be the turn of your arms. I'll make you suffer so much that you're going to pray me for your death!" Horde Prime screamed in rage, pointing his crossbow at Catra's left knee.
They were safe. Scorpia, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, Ivy… the people of the Horde whom she hoped had listened to her message… she wouldn't have seen them again… but they would have been alright. Catra closed her eyes and let her mind drift elsewhere.
"I don't want to go…"
"They won't say anything about your ears… or your tail… or anything else that makes you special."
"Ugh… special… it's starting to sound as if it's something bad."
"Not to me… never to me."
"Stop being cheesy."
"Nope, I know you love it."
"Yeah, yeah, I love it sooooo much."
…
"So… are you ready?"
Underneath her eyelids, she noticed the darkness getting brighter. She knew it would have hurt… more than anything else, but somehow… it didn't bother her… because everything she truly cared about was safe. It was a strange sensation, really. One that Catra didn't fully understand and yet choose to feel. She always thought she would have only cared about herself, about her objective, and that nothing would have ever mattered more than that.
She was wrong.
Now she knew.
Catra smiled.
"Yeah, I'm ready princess."
The darkness became brighter and then…
Steps…
They resonated through the training chamber, loud and quick. She had expected Horde Prime to fire his weapon at any second now, but when Catra heard those steps, she opened her eyes, and saw her… a flash of blonde and suddenly… Horde Prime grunted in pain as he stumbled back and fell to the ground. He hadn't been quick enough, and the figure had caught in by surprise, hitting him in the back.
"Catra?"
She knew that voice…
Catra blinked a few times, trying to shake away the blurriness. Blonde hair… blue eyes.
"A-Adora?" Catra muttered.
"Yes, yes! I'm here Catra, I-"
"W-why did you come?! I-I told you to stay away!" Catra tried to yell, but her voice came out as barely more audible than a whisper.
"And how could I?! I couldn't leave you, not again…" Adora's voice began to crack as her eyes roamed her ex best friend's injuries.
"Adora…"
"Don't trust her! She's here only to be the hero again!" The voice inside Catra's head screamed.
And yet… somehow… Catra knew… it wasn't true. She could see it in Adora's eyes.
"Y-you need to run away, Prime… he's-" Catra tried to warn her.
"So, the Grayskull's descendant interrupts us once again… but this time… she's alone…" Horde Prime chuckled darkly as he stood up.
Catra's eyes widened, she lifted her head, noticing how behind Adora… there was no one to be seen. Did the idiot come alone?!
"A-Adora?! W-where are the others?!" She asked in a panicked tone of voice.
"W-we got separated in the corridors!"
"No… no, no, no! G-get out of here!"
"I won't leave you!" Adora declared, standing up and putting herself between the wounded feline and the tyrant.
She didn't have her sword… just one made for Bright Moon's soldiers, and a round shield. Adora didn't have She-ra with her this time, but it didn't matter. She would have never left Catra again.
"Please… Adora… this doesn't have to end like this." Horde Prime lowered his crossbow, extending his free hand towards the blonde. "Don't you want to go back to your family?"
Adora trembled slightly.
"You're trying to trick me." Adora hissed between gritted teeth.
"On the contrary. When my brother stole you from your family… it broke them. Your father, King Randor, and your mother, Queen Marlena… oh, they did everything in their power to find you. They sent scouts to the farthest places of the universe… even your brother Adam looked for you for years… but how could they find you? You've been isolated in Despondos for so long, unable to reach them, unable to reunite with your true family. But you still can. Come with me, leave your past behind… leave this beast to die and I'll grant you your most intimate desire… to finally find out who you truly are."
And for a moment, just for a single instant… Adora thought of how everything would have turned out if she had left everything behind. She would have finally been able to embrace her family again. And what would have happened if she stayed? She could have died, and she would have never found out who she truly was…
Who she truly was…
Adora's gaze fell upon Catra. Their eyes locked. The feline looked confused and… scared. She must have noticed Adora's hesitation, how the blonde had held her breath as Horde Prime spoke to her about a family that Catra didn't know anything about.
"See? She has a true family she can get back to… do you really think she'd turn that down… for you?" The voice inside Catra's head cackled darkly.
"Who I truly am…" Adora muttered.
"Yes… don't you want to know?" Prime pressed on, a sickening grin plastered on his face.
Adora looked down upon Catra…
And smiled…
"I know who I am." Adora raised her gaze, her blue eyes locking with Prime's green ones, now filled with disbelief. "I am Adora, a girl who has been stolen from a family that one day I'll meet again, but not today. I am a soldier who fought for the wrong side for a long time, but who's finally doing the right thing… and I'm a friend… who won't leave behind those who she loves."
"And so… you've chosen the path of pain. A shame, really. But don't worry, I'll bring your head to your family once we're done, so you can be finally reunited."
Prime raised his crossbow. Adora took her stand. She knew she could have easily dodged the blast. She remembered when the tyrant used his weapon on his space station. It would have taken a few seconds to charge. She would have been faster. But then… the tyrant's smile grew more sinister. He shifted his aim… pointing his crossbow right at Catra…
She would have never been able to avoid the hit…
"Catra!"
Adora crouched down in front of Catra and raised her shield.
"Adora! No!"
Horde Prime fired his weapon.
The incandescent, white ball of pure energy traveled across the air and met its target.
Catra felt Adora's body collide with her own, and the two got thrown a few meters backwards.
"Ugh…" Catra groaned, slightly pushing Adora, as to give the blonde a hint to move.
But Adora didn't move an inch…
When the feline raised her head… her face lost every trace of color and her eyes widened in horror. Adora's shield laid shattered in pieces on the ground. Horde Prime's shot had pierced it… but the broken shield wasn't what Catra had been staring at.
…
The shot had pierced Adora's chest.
...