A/N: Uuuuugh, im still not done with this episode yet _?! *sigh* honestly I'm just as surprised as any. I guess i called it when I said some episodes would be longer than others and made the right call with stating I would post final parts labeled with an End at the end of the chapter episodes. I can safely say with 100% certainty next part WILL be the last for this episode, so sorry to those wanting the finale before my short break.
1 thing to keep in mind here- as I am going through the episodes scene per scene in some cases, some parts of this are going to "appear" rushed more than others. Keep in mind a majority of this takes place during the last seven minutes so even that's going to be a bit stretched out in here. As such i apologize if some parts are a bit choppy or rushed looking.
All the same i hope people enjoy!
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"What... What is all this?" Adora examined the room she was brought to.
It wasn't anything fancy or a room she was never brought to before. It was the Loading Bay for the dropships and various hovercrafts the Horde was supplied with.
She needed this moment to get a grasp on what was going on. Her first mission ever proved to be the most complicated one she's ever come across on an emotional level. At first she was looking forward to it. After all, after being promoted directly to Force Captain almost immediately after reaching the rank of Senior Cadet by Shadow-Weaver, the closest thing Adora had to a motherly figure within the Horde, she was ready and willing to do everything she could to repay the only family she's ever known. And how did her first ever mission go?
Oh, about as well as she could expect. What was being dubbed as a rescue mission in order to save Catra, who Adora originally believed to be brainwashed by the evil princesses of Etheria, from a facility that was going to interrogate her ended up being a harrowing misfire of epic proportions.
It wasn't some princess stronghold where they kept weapons of mass destruction, it wasn't some secret kingdom facility where they experimented on their own people with various chemicals and mutations all for the sake of power! It was nothing more than a simple village full of innocent civilians running for their lives! There was nothing remotely to even suggest that it was a facility to interrogate Catra, unless she had a strange phobia of all the flowers and festivities that were scattered around.
The one dilemma Adora had in believing Catra entirely was her behavior. After finding her several minutes into her mission, she didn't have any desire to return to the Horde, she didn't want anything to do with the rest of their friends. In fact, it almost seemed like she didn't want anything to do with Adora either! What did she want instead?
Who cares! Nothing she came up with mattered to Adora! Here she was, her best friend in the world, suddenly announcing how she was turning her back on the Horde and everything they stood for! How was Adora supposed to know what to feel when she dropped a bomb on her like that? There wasn't any comfort to it, there wasn't any reasoning to explain it. All there was was a distraught Adora who hastily called off the mission in order to protect what seemed to be everyday civilians
Now, here she was, demanding answers to all the confusing mysteries she came across in the last day, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer! On the bright side, Shadow-Weaver seemed intent on doing just that. The minor setback was, what was she supposed to make of what she was looking at?
"It's what I promised to show you, Adora." Shadow-Weaver replied, displaying the numerous caches and container before them. "All of these materials were collected during the raid on Thaymor. You can check the manifests and data for accuracy, if you so desire my dear."
This didn't make any sense. Where did these things come from? Why the heck did Thaymor even have half of these things. As if they were illusions, Adora checked over the containers and their contents, feeling the smooth texture and craft for authenticity. Sure enough, however impossible, these weren't fake. All of them were real.
And they were all sitting right in front of her.
"This... This can't be right!" Adora argued. "None of these things were brought to my attention before! Why am I just finding out about this?"
"Well my dear, I was hoping I didn't have to remind you of that, but from what I hear, a Force Captain supposedly threatened insubordination for not following her orders." How could she forget something like that? Adora herself was the one who issued them in the first place! "Granted, I am very proud of you using whatever means necessary to get your fellow soldiers in line, but because of it there wasn't any time to report on their findings."
Adora turned back to the caches she was kneeling in front of. There must've been at least eighty pounds worth of materials here between explosives, weaponry, shields, etc. "But... But... This can't be right! Thaymor was just a peaceful village when we came across it! Nobody was attacking save for the guards, and even then they-"
"Oh, my poor, innocent, Adora." Adora found herself embraced in a hug from behind. She could feel Shadow-Weaver's caring hands caressing her cheeks softly. "This is the reality of our war. Why do you think these weapons were found in the least likely of places to begin with?"
"What... What do you mean?" She turned to look into her nurturing eyes. While she couldn't see it through her mask, Shadow-Weaver gave her a soft smile at this.
"Tell me, my dear. What makes for the best kind of shield in the midst of a war?"
"T-There weren't any shields. A-All there was... was civilians to... to..." Like a fire slowly burning to life, a realization came to Adora's mind. "N-No... they wouldn't..."
"Oh, sadly they would. The Princesses cruelty know no bounds. If it means keeping a low profile, they are willing to build a town around their facilities just to keep a cover, all the while the supposed happy townspeople are oblivious to the weapons of mass destruction being produced right under their noses."
"But... But that would mean the Princesses... they... they..." It was too painful for Adora to speak.
"That they would willingly risk innocent lives just for the sake of winning this war. Every town we've struck, every seemingly-horrible thing we've been forced to do, has been for the sake of Etheria." Adora didn't know what to say. Shadow-Weaver's caring tone seemed genuine enough, and with how evil the princesses were this seemed just like the sort of thing they would do. "They force us to combat them on their own turfs, less we continue to allow them to run amok, bringing chaos and destruction across the land. And because of this, they force us to attack the towns infes- filled," she reworded, "with innocent people. Do you understand now, dear?"
This.. This was too much. How was she supposed to know what was real anymore? Her friend left her, the princesses are risking civilian lives for their own sake, and they are forcing the Horde to fight them in towns filled with innocent people?! Were these just more lies or was Shadow-Weaver actually telling her the truth out of all of this? If it was a lie, it was an incredibly elaborate lie, and if it wasn't, like she hoped, then it furthered every reason Adora had to fight against the princesses!
"I..." After a small silence, Adora finally spoke, keeping her head down. "I'd like some time to examine these caches, if you don't mind, Shadow-Weaver."
"Of course not, dearest." Shadow-Weaver calmly patted her shoulder before turning her attention towards the wall. "Guard!"
"Y-Yes, Shadow-Weaver!" He rushed up to attention.
"See to it that Adora isn't interrupted during her examinations, and give her unrestricted access to all the details and manifests regarding her mission to Thaymor. I don't want a single line of info withheld from her."
"A-All of them?" As a personal guard to Lord Hordak himself, he knew what that level of information could reveal. It wasn't anything someone even of Adora's ranking were allowed to simply view. "B-But mam, Lord Hordak states that-"
"DO YOU DARE TO DISOBEY A DIRECT ORDER FROM ME?!" Shadow-Weaver's eyes narrowed as darkness filled across the room towards the frightened guard. He could already feel himself suffocating under the weight of Shadow-Weaver's piercing gaze and she hasn't even reached him yet with her magic.
"N-No mam! I'll see to it everything she asks for is presented to her on the double!" He stated asuringly, only finding relief once the shadows around him faded.
"Good!" As with everything, her demeanor and entire expression shifted to a peaceful tone as she directed herself to Adora once more. "Take as much time as you need, my dear." She watched as Adora turned her head in Shadow-Weaver's direction for a moment before looking back to the caches. "I trust I'll hear of your findings upon your inspection?"
"Of course, Shadow-Weaver." Adora replied unwavering. She planned on examining every single piece of these caches twice to make sure there was little to no room for doubt. It was also her excuse to give herself some time to think. She didn't know what to make out of all these stuff. The one problem plaguing her mind at this moment was whether she was to abandon all her morals and principals, or trust the very family she's held dear to her heart.
Seeing her so focused on her personal task and knowing the guard wouldn't dare leave his duty, Shadow-Weaver floated away, smiling to herself as she exited the room.
"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Adora. One day you'll understand everything I do for you... no matter how much of your innocence I must break..."
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...
"So you don't know anything else about the sword?"
"How would Madame Razz know about it? I've never seen that sword before."
This woman was like a broken radio to Catra. Whenever she wanted to make headway of this stupid sword and unlock it's power, Madame Razz had something to get them sidetracked or distracted to the point she forgot the entire conversation. It didn't really matter to her anymore after the day she's been having.
Her day's been nothing but a nightmare since she woke up. Thanks to Madame Razz, Catra managed to escape the training camp she fell into and eluded the numerous soldiers that nearly captured her with their strange sleep powdered bombs. If Madame Razz wasn't wandering the woods at that time she didn't know if she would've gotten out of that situation, much less alive. From there she found herself following the old hag after she mentioned she somehow had knowledge of the great sword in Catra's grasp, in addition to finding the right way to repay her after saving Catra's life.
Unfortunately, even after finding returning the favor by catching her from fall, all she's been given was more questions and confusion, half of which was provided by the old lady herself, the other half provided by the mysterious visions she saw in her head after activating some mysterious First Ones ruins they came across, a simple glimpse of a starry sky bringing back visions and scenery the likes of which she's never encountered.
Since then she's been trying to piece together the strange vision shes had of that as well as the mysterious memories she's encountered at least twice so far today. Whether she was passed out or conscious didn't seem to affect her ability to have them. They came to her no matter how badly she didn't want to, and there was an infinite abyss of how much she didn't want to.
"You should focus more on looking for solutions than finding answers to all your problems." Razz suggested as she pushed through the woods.
"I would be if this stupid sword wasn't solution to the problem!" Catra moaned looking at the sword again.
No matter how many times she uttered "For the Honor of Grayskull", or how much she focused on what she wanted, the power and form of She-Ra never came to her after that one time. There was no way she could return to Bright Moon if she couldn't figure out how to transform into She-Ra, and there was no way she could turn into She-Ra at this point without finding out how to use it properly. And the only one within Bright Moon who might've had more answers was the ruler herself, Queen Angella.
There was a no-win situation here that seemed feasible to Catra. At this point she didn't know what to do anymore.
"You need to find a way to relax, dearie." Madame Razz continued. "So much anger is going to cloud your mind. Here, have one of Madame Razz's berries, they're good for you."
Still skeptical for obvious reasons, Catra resigned herself as she accepted one of the blue squishy berries from the old lady. She wasn't entirely wrong about the anger issue, granted she was causing a good chunk of them. And at least the berry tasted-
"Oomph!" Catra's entire face paled as she spat out the horrendous berry. It tasted like dead fish over a dead rat over a dead bird over a shoe. Even the gruel she ate as a child tasted better than this, and those were flavorless! "BLEGH!" She spat wiping her tongue. "What was that? It tasted horrible!"
"Well what did you expect? It was rotten."
"What the-? Why the heck did you feed me a rotten berry of all things? It was disgusting!"
"Yes, but are you angry now?"
"..." She didn't want to give the satisfaction of an answer, instead ignoring her as she walked on. Of course she wasn't feeling angry anymore, but having a disgusting taste in her mouth wasn't exactly the best substitute for anger either! If anything she found a new reason to get angry!
...So why didn't she? Did the berries actually have some sort of anger-repressing effect or something?
"You see? Solutions are all around you yet you always try to focus on one answer instead of all the answers." Razz continued to ramble. "Instead of just jumping into a problem head on, try thinking of every solution first, and then facing your challenge. It'll cause less stress and..."
"And what?" Catra awaited an answer as the woman suddenly paused. She continued looking at her until her foot brushed against the dusty rocky surface of the... wait a minute. She looked on ahead, growing shocked at the sight before her.
Desolation.
Vast emptiness and sorrow in it's physical form. All ahead of her she saw nothing but complete and utter ruin of the forest behind her, the land itself practically cutting off between what was once a lush beautiful forest into a deserted land devoid of life and beauty. There was no life here, nor was there a sense of death. All she saw here was an empty desert of concrete and coldness, and the trunks of desecrated trees that remained.
This is what the Horde did. This is what she used to fight for before she defected. There wasn't any room to doubt their involvement here either, the numerous tanks they left behind with their symbols sprayed across them. There was even steam rising in the air at some parts.
Just how recently was this part of the forest destroyed?
"What... was the point of all this?" She couldn't fathom the reasoning. It was a forest, it was pointless. That wasn't any reason to destroy it though!
"Ah, it's the same old story, dearie." Razz frowned as she touched the cold twisted steel of one of the tanks. "Wicked people destroy what they cannot control."
"Once, the princesses would have protected us. But these days, they... they stay in their castles, caring only for their lands and their people. Some would say it's selfish desire that drives them." Catra couldn't help lowering her ears at that comment, rubbing her shoulder with unease. "Meanwhile, the Horde creeps ever closer." Catra didn't notice as the woman looked up to her frown with a small smile. "You remind me of my dear Mara in many ways."
"I doubt that's a good thing..." Catra muttered.
"No, I mean it in the best of ways. She was strong, put on a brave face for everyone, always threw herself at whatever challenges came before her." Catra could understand that much, she guessed. Especially with throwing herself into danger, whether or not intentional. She looked back as the woman held her hand. "But she could never face herself. No matter how much pain she was in, or how happy she seemed, she was always frightened of how the world saw her."
Catra grimaced at this, pulling her hand from Razz's grip as she walked away. "We're nothing alike. You don't know anything about me, you old hag."
"I know you fear being abandoned." That one single statement made Catra freeze in her tracks. "You talk very loudly in your sleep. Just like Mara used to do." What was with this lady? Everything she said for the last several minutes felt like it had actual purpose to it, and at the same time it felt like she was just putting on one big joke. The way she thought she got into Catra's head, the way she compared her and this Mara character with a smile on her face.
What was she trying to do?
"I'm not afraid of being abandoned, lady!" Catra declared crossing her arms. "Matter of fact, I prefer being alone, I actually hate being with people! They're lazy, they're annoying, and they're never dependable! I don't need anyone but myself." The woman seemed to pay her little mind as she removed her glasses, wiping off the lens for a better look.
"Then what are you afraid of? And why are you still with me if you prefer being alone?" The old lady looked around some more as she put her glasses back on. "Do you even know the answer yourself? Are you going to think of an answer I can't question or are you just going to say the first solution that comes to your mind, like always?"
"I..."
"You know what I think? I think you're too scared to embrace what you are because you don't know what will happen next." As she said this, she dug her hand into the ground, pulling out a pocket's worth of ash that filtered through her opened fingers. "You throw yourself at any obstacle that blocks your path without hesitation so you don't have to think about what happens after. Some would definitely call it brave my child, and sometimes a situation calls for it, but others would call it foolish. The very same foolishness that brought you here today, no?" Opening her hand again Razz revealed, what Catra at first assumed would've been empty air, a small acorn from one of the burnt husks of tinder.
In all honesty, Catra could see some truth to the crazy lady's words. This entire adventure began because of one bad fall from a skiff just because Catra wanted to have some fun. From there, she's made reckless decision after reckless decision, throwing herself at nearly every problem she came across and everything that got in the way of her grand schemes. She doesn't regret saving a little girl, but almost everything else that had gone wrong today was because she rushed into every first solution she came across, making her ordeal through the last several hours more challenging with every passing minute.
It was her own fault that she was here to begin with.
If she had just taken the time to tell Glimmer or Bow she needed a while to master using the sword, she might've gotten that done by now. If she didn't decide hitting the sword against a boulder could shake it into working, the horse wouldn't have transformed and started a wild goose chase. And if she didn't attempt to leap at the horse in mid-air, she probably wouldn't have lost her stupid pink robe and reveal herself as a member of the Horde in the middle of a Rebellion training camp!
Everything that happened today was the result of pure recklessness. And she had no one to blame but herself.
It did leave her with one nagging question.
"What exactly am I supposed to embrace though" Catra asked as Madame Razz planted the small acorn within the soil. "You said I should embrace what I am but what is that? Should I try to become She-Ra and stick with the Rebellion? Should I go back to the Horde and beg for forgiveness with the sword? Or do I just chance it and go back to meet the Queen without the She-Ra?"
"Why does Madame Razz have to answer all questions? Why don't you answer my questions, like you don't come to visit me more often!" While it did bring a sigh to Catra's lips, she did understand her point.
Probably.
She had to find the answer for herself. She wasn't going to get the answer just by asking a whole bunch of questions to someone she's never met before.
*Neeeeiiigh!*
Both Madame Razz and Catra were caught by surprise by the sudden shriek of a certain animal, one crying out in pain and fear. Now matter how hard Catra didn't want to believe it, her heightened sense of hearing wouldn't allow her to ignore the familiar cry of a certain horse.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
...
*Neeigh!*
Despite the improbable odds of the events leading to today, everything happened as if it was destined to. Down below the cliff before the two, Catra and Madame Razz bore witness as the mystically-transformed horse was crying out in terror, struggling against it's hunters as half a dozen Horde soldiers were attempting to apprehend the creature with hardened whips. No matter how hard the soldiers attempt to pull at it however, the horse continued to put up a resilient fight, pulling back with all its might and throwing several attackers to the ground often on.
As for the Horde themselves, they seemed to be well-armed too.
They had several tanks within the canyon as well as a small base of operations within the center of this great field. If there appearance wasn't enough proof of who they were, the large flag displaying the Horde symbol did. There was little doubt that Catra was staring at one of the numerous Horde Outposts around Etheria. Judging by the one hulking hairy behemoth watching the soldiers doing the hard work, she was confident that he was the one calling the shots here, and most likely responsible for the destruction of the surrounding forest.
"That stupid horse made it here of all places?" Catra commented still in disbelief.
"It must've been frightened quite badly by something to want to flee all the way out here." Madame Razz remarked in a slightly knowing tone. The look of Catra's face along with her shifting her eyes away confirmed what she already knew. "Thankfully it seems we have the opportunity of surprise here to catch them off guard. The question is, what are you going to do now?"
"Pffft, what do you think?" Wasn't it obvious to everyone? Catra grinned looking at her sword. "I'll just try to go She-Ra and then..." As she stared at her reflection again, memories of the past mistakes began to resurface to her. She wasn't aware of it as Madame Razz grew a slight smile at her silence, already telling what was going through her mind. No matter how badly she wanted to fix the entire situation, no matter how much she hated the Horde's guts, she couldn't be reckless again. It got her into enough trouble as it was, and this time something depended on her to save it.
"...No... No, I can't do that." Catra shook her head before planting the sword firmly in the ground. "If I did that and failed, I'd just get angry over it and do something stupid."
"Really now? Then what would you do instead?" For once taking the advice of someone else, Catra crossed her arms as she observed the situation.
"Well... they seem pretty intent on burning down the woods around here, and given the amount of destruction they must've been here for quite awhile." While she didn't know it right away, Catra rubbed her chin as a line of thinking began to build up. "So if they were here long enough then they probably haven't been back to the Fright Zone for several days or even weeks. Which means... they probably don't know that I've defected yet!"
It was weird. Very weird. Compared to the previous times she came up with a plan, she actually felt a sense of calmness coming from the situation here. So much so that she knew if that planned already backfired, she could easily jump in to fight them head-on instead. It was rather relaxing to say the least.
"Taking time to plan things out help clears the mind and the heart, dearie." It was as if Madame Razz was feeling the peace coming off of Catra. "Just remember a little recklessness never hurts either."
Nodding to this, Catra quickly made her way down the cliffside, taking care not to be seen on the way down, and hid behind one of the various tanks. Looking over the side again, she turned her focus to the large behemoth running the operations here. If she convinced someone as scary-looking as him to let it go, nobody else would question it. Taking a deep breath to relax herself, she began walking towards the crowd, heads turning in her direction one by one until the large man himself saw her.
"Halt!" One of the guards ordered. His thoughts of drawing his weapon drained away as he noticed the outfit she was wearing, recognizing it as a fellow member of the Horde.
"Hmm?" The leader watched as she made her way directly towards him. "What is someone like you doing out in these parts?"
"I'm on private orders from Lord Hordak himself." Catra lied with as much authenticity as she could muster. One wrong move could result in a blaster firing into her back. "He wants you weasels to return to the Fright Zone on the double. There's been some commotion about a riot or some crap going on."
"A riot? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" He mocked. "No one would be stupid enough to start a riot against Lord Hordak himself!"
"Then what else would I be doing here, idiot?" Catra asked raising her brow. The leader took a few moments to look back to the other soldiers, each of them giving curious and confused looks to each other, then pulled out one of his tracker pads. Already seeing a possible hindrance to her plan, Catra quickly slapped the pad out of his grip, scratching him a little. "What part of private orders did you not understand, stupid? It's not going to be in those useless piles of junk!"
"..." His unnerving gaze made Catra's heart race with every beat. While most people would've been intimidated by her tone and voice, here she was facing someone who was almost as intimidating as she was just by his mere appearance alone. It took all her composure just to keep any part of her from shaking, even her tail. "How do I know you're even telling the truth here? Maybe you're a spy instead!"
That one announcement actually made things a little easier on her. "Oh, right, I'm a spy. I just happened to find your random outpost in the middle of nowhere completely by chance while wandering through the wasteland." She joked. With the taunt of her expression, she crossed her arms once again as she started to walk away. "You know what? This is just a complete waste of time. I'm sure Lord Hordak will be happy to hear how you disobeyed his direct orders when you get back. You know how understanding he can be..."
"...W-Wait!" The leader shouted almost begfully. He paused for a few seconds in deep thought. "S-Solders, pack up your belongings and prepare to leave. We're taking off in half an hour. If you're not ready by then, you're walking home!"
"B-B-But sir, what about the-" The soldier didn't even get time to finish his sentence. With all the soldiers distracted and their grips loosened, none of them had time to react as the horse shook off it's restraints and flew away. Catra watched as it disappeared into the sky with an inner smile.
The plan had actually worked!
"Forget the stupid horse! If Lord Hordak wants us to return to HQ, then we're going to return to HQ!"
"B-But sir, we we're ordered to- gak!" The soldier began suffocating as the man raised him off the ground by his throat with a single hand.
"Are you going to question Lord Hordak's orders, runt?!"
The soldier struggled to get a word out, much less breath as his legs flailed around. "Uk..ack..n-no...erk...s-sir..." Satisfied with his answer, the leader dropped the man to the ground.
The soldier never felt so lucky to be alive. Looking back to the soldier who provided all this information, the leader called out. "Do you need a ride back to base too?"
"Nah, I already got my own ride." She replied as she began walking away. "If I don't get it returned to the Fright Zone myself, Hordak's going to have my tail. You know how he hates wasting resources."
"Of course, I under..." The leader blinked to himself as something occurred to him. "Wait a minute, what did you say your name was, again?"
"It's Catra, moron. Get it through your thick skull." She said with a smug. She was unaware as the leader went over to the information device again, slowly scrolling through several details as if searching for something. "Anyway, I'll see you lemmings back at base. I got one more job to take care of befo-"
"Swiff-Swiff-Swiff*
"Ack-nnnngh!"
There wasn't even time to react. In less than three seconds she felt the hard steel-like leather of several ropes wrapped around her neck and both her arms, dropping her to her knees. There was an incredibly strong grip against her joints, preventing her from being able to pull or twist her way out of the strong bindings. The one around her neck tightened with every breath of air she tried to inhale, feeling the noose-like rope slowly close in on her neck, It took all of her energy alone to keep one of her feet planted firmly on the ground, preventing her attackers from pulling her closer.
Turning back, she silently hissed as she grinded her teeth, seeing the smirk plastered on the behemoth-like man. In his one massive hand, he was holding all three of the whips that were currently binding her. There was no way she was going to overpower him in this state, the continual decline of her air making it more difficult to think of a way out.
"Ah, I thought I recognized you from somewhere." The man said standing behind her. In his hands he showed the device displaying a large pool of information about Catra herself. While she couldn't make out the smaller words, the one that did worry her the most was the large red print under her image that displayed, 'WANTED'. "Catra, newly promoted Senior Cadet. Wanted for treason and aiding the Princesses against the Horde."
"H-Ho-How?" She struggled to ask. This didn't make any sense! There was no way that information could've been displayed so quickly in the short time of her defection! At this, her eyes widened as she felt the man's massive foot press against her back. It slowly pushed her towards the ground while the whips tightened around her, especially the one now squeezing against her windpipe. If suffocation didn't kill her at this rate, she would've found herself breaking her neck against the man's tightening rope.
"I know, right? It's hilarious!" He bellowed with laughter. "I've never seen someone pushed so hard on the Horde's wanted list in the matter of time you did! You must have someone who really hates you because they're offering a HUGE bounty on your head!"
"H-Ha-Ha..." She couldn't finish the word, finding her breath dwindling. It truly didn't make sense to her at first. It's been twelve hours since she left the Fright Zone, half that time before she defected, and half of even that time before anyone could've made the announcement of her defection and bounty. That meant someone had to hate her enough to put her bounty on within a mere three hours! And like the fading consciousness, it slowly dawned on her who that someone could be. "Sh-Shadow...W-Weav...Urk!" She gasped in pain as he man applied more pressure to her back.
"Ah, Shadow-Weaver, that makes sense." No one was unaware of Shadow-Weaver's disdain for the girl, no matter how high or low they were in the Horde. "You must've done something to really make her mad. I don't know what you did, but man oh man is she going to make the reward worth my while." He grinned turning back to his fellow soldiers. "You hear that, boys? We're gonna be set for life!"
"Wooooo!" Catra couldn't drown out the various cheers and applause from the other soldiers and she didn't care. Too many lights were beginning to go off in her mind, slowly reaching the one that kept her conscious.
"And you know what the best part is?" He asked lowering his head closer to hers. "She's offering double the reward money depending on how we bring you back to her! And guess which one that is?"
There was no way she wanted Catra brought back alive.
"So why don't you stop struggling and it'll make the end much less painful, freak!" Uh-oh.
There it was. The one simple word that made Catra's eyes shoot open. Time after time, day after day, she's heard it uttered from nearly everyone she ever came across. Not one person within the Horde, save for Adora, has ever called her anything else. It was never weirdo, it was never creep, it was never stranger. It was one single, solitary, word.
And it was the last time she was going to put up with it.
"I... am... not... a... FREAK!" With one mighty roar, using all her strength to support her right foot, she quickly spun herself as far as she could as she scratched at the leader's face with the claws of her other foot. The fool had made a mistake of putting his face so close to the tiger's cage, and now he found himself with several mighty scratches that would never fade.
"Ahhhhh!" He cried out, releasing the ropes and covering his face. Catra immediately pried the ropes from herself, gagging a little as the air returned to her. "My eyes! My eyes!" By the appearance of it, she didn't cut deep enough to blind the man, noticing the distinct lack of blood, but it didn't matter. This distraction was all she needed to deliver a powerful uppercut to the unsteady man, dropping him straight to the floor as he continued to spasm.
That was one person down. Now she just had to contend with the surrounding soldiers.
None of the soldiers wasted times drawing their weapons, several of them drawing their stun batons while the other few attempted to use their whips. Already having learned from her previous mistake, Catra grabbed onto the incoming whips with one arm, quickly pulling it and using the soldiers on the other end of them as weapons as she flung them into the other incoming soldiers that tried to rush her. She still had to duck out of the way of another baton that tried to strike her, grabbing the attacker's arm as he attempted a follow-up attack, and hurdled him against one of the ironclad tanks, knocking him out cold.
As she fought, her ears picked up the sound of another tank as it was humming to life. She barely escaped the incoming blast with her tail still between her legs, ducking in cover behind another tank as her previous spot was vaporized in a single explosion. Gritting her teeth, she quickly rushed the tank as it charged, taking careful measure to duck side to side as the cannon prepared another shot. Right before it went off, Catra leapt into the air, avoiding the attack in time and landing squarely in front of the soldier who trembled at the sight of her.
"Get out." She didn't give him any time to respond as she tossed him out of the driver seat itself, quickly hopping into the seat as she took control of the tank.
She wasn't going to bother using it on the lemmings around her, she could take them. Her only two targets were the other tanks positioned around the base. She wasted no time firing upon each of them just before any of the other soldiers could board them. The few moments she had of reprieve were quickly interrupted as the entire tank began to shake violently. Wasting no times asking questions, she quickly leapt away just as the tank was lifted onto it's side. As she slid against the dusty ground, she gritted her teeth at the sight of the large man again, back on his feet and enraged.
"You're gonna pay for my face you stupid brat!" He roared. She grinned a little at the sight of the four claw-marked scars she left over his face. It didn't bleed surprisingly enough, but there was a definite bright red scar now over his face and his intact eyes.
"Trust me, it's an improvement!"
The man roared again as he charged at her, Catra doing the same as she kept low to the ground. As the man raised a mighty fist to strike Catra leapt straight around him, leaving another painful scratch through the opening he left for her, dropping him to one knee. Turning around, he immediately found his face scratched again as Catra quickly dashed around him, covering the fresh wound with his other hand and growling.
Looking around, he noticed the empty view surrounding him, save for the several unconscious guards and the wreckage of the destroyed tanks. "Come out here you stupid brat! Fight like a soldier!"
*skreeek!*
"Ahh!" He yelped as another cut scratched him behind. Just as quickly as the attack came did he notice her vanish again, seeing a mere shadow pass by before he was alone again.
*Skreek!*
"Gah!" He cried again, this one scratching at his right ankle he was kneeling on. "Grrrrrrr I'm done playing around kid!" He lifted the collar of his shirt a little as he began speaking into a tiny radio.
Catra had him on the run, peeking around the wreckage of one of the tanks to see him kneeling there. As long as she targeted the joints further away from the body, she could strike at him without getting close enough for him to counter. On top of that, each of the joints were weakening his stance, however small, and was bringing him down further. "Just one more strike..." Then she could fight him hand to hand.
With a short breath to herself, she sped off, aiming at him from behind again. There was no way he was going to be able to catch her even if he did realize what direction she was coming from. One more attack on the other ankle, and she could bring the behemoth of a man crashing dow-
*swiff*
"What the- Ahh!" It was too fast for Catra to witness. There were too many scents to notice any soldiers approaching. Just as she leapt to claim her final strike, several more whips from the arriving soldiers from the base sprung out from behind her, wrapping around her ankles tightly and halting her entire assault, and dropping her back to the ground. She barely had time to register what just happened as she felt a large hand wrap around her mouth and another one squeezing her two ankles tightly together. 'Mmmmhhh!" She let out a muffled scream.
She found herself being lifted over the head of the large man as he held her at both ends far above his head. No matter how much she tried to scratch at his hands he wouldn't loosen his grips. "Let's see if you find it funny now, freak!" With another mighty roar, Catra found herself suddenly pulled while being bent backwards as far as he could possibly pull her.
"Mmmh!" She cried out in pain as she tried everything to pry his grip from her head. The pain was unbearable as she felt herself slowly bending backwards in half and apart at the exact same time. This guy wasn't just trying to break her back, he was fully intent on ripping her in half at this rate! And there was no means to fight back at him or scratch the rest of his face as he had her too far above himself for her to reach, and there was no prying her feet away as they were still bound within the whips.
There was no way out of this.
"Say your prayers, kid-!"
*Neeeigh!*
"Huh-"
*CLAP!*
"Ahhh!" The man didn't have any time to react as he found his face suddenly pounded with the strong firm hoofprints of the flying horse, the creature arriving with Madame Razz on it's back just as he man was about to finish off Catra. While it didn't knock him off his feet, the combined pain of the scratches now with blended in with the fresh and firm hoofprints over his eyes forced him to cry out in pain, tossing Catra harshly away with all his might, as he rubbed his face again. "Agh, stupid horse!"
*THUD!*
"Uuuggh..." Unfortunately, Catra found herself slamming her back harshly against the side of one of the tanks. The impact along with the physical stress she previously suffered proved too much for the poor warrior, passing out as she slumped to the ground.
"Mara!" Madame Razz cried out worriedly as the horse flew over to her side. Looking around, she saw the leader of the group already rising back to his feet along with several dozen soldiers closing in on their location. With their options limited and Catra's unconscious state, she hmphed to herself as she pulled out several assorted berries and vials. "Razzle Dazzle!"
*POOF*
With one large shout, she tossed the assortment of items to the ground, causing a massive explosion of glitter and dust in the surrounding area and blinding all the soldiers. By the time it all dissipated in the few seconds it lasted, all three of them, Madame Razz, the horse, and Catra, were gone...
...
...
There was a strange warmth in the air again as Catra's consciousness slowly returned. She squinted a bit as she felt the touch of the strange horse rubbing it's snout along her face, hearing it's whine of concern as she slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the Whispering Woods, and more importantly, safe.
"H-Horse...?" She mumbled. Opening her eyes slowly, she was slightly startled to find the faces of both, Madame Razz and the horse staring back right at her.
"Hello, dearie." Razz greeted.
"Ah-!" Catra jumped slightly against the large cushion, almost immediately yelping as she rubbed her sore back. "Ow..."
"Swift Wind and I have been talking while you were asleep." Razz commented.
"Swift Wind?" Catra wondered. It took the Horse's neighing get her the right idea. "Oh... so you talk to horses now..."
"He would prefer it if you called him that from now on. He thanks you for coming to his rescue."
She found herself slightly tickled as the horse nuzzled against her neck, though did her best not to show it. "Heh, yeah, well... thanks for coming back for me too..." She muttered petting his mane. She was officially and completely over her fear of the horse, which meant one very important thing to her.
Pinky couldn't torture her anymore!
"Also, he wanted me to let you know he won't eat your hair anymore as long as you don't call him stupid." She didn't know whether to look at her with surprise or more confusion. Did she really know how to talk to horses? Given everything else she's seen her do and put up with, she wouldn't put it past her. "So, how do you feel?"
"Honestly?" Catra scratched her ears a little as she came to a realization. "Nothing. I don't feel any better or worse than when I started, really. In fact, I think I prefer being reckless compared to thought out and tactical or whatever. It suits me better." She said looking at her claws. The battle with the large man was proof of that. If she had gone in head first and taken them by surprise, she was more likely to bring the large man down before he got the jump on her instead.
"Wonderful! It's good that you know yourself, Mara." She still seemed intent on calling her that.
"But I thought you wanted me to learn how to be more tactical or heroic? Wasn't that the point of all this?"
"Is that what you thought?" She did until Razz gave her a questionable look. "Dearie, dearie, you haven't learned a thing. I was never telling you how to be one way or the other. What matters is how you choose to be yourself. You can choose how you want to be and who you want to be. Never let one's judgement influence you."
Annoying. Pure and utterly annoying. This whole time, this whole trip with her, Catra thought she was going to learn some sort of "valuable life lesson" or other tacky thing from this lady, but she didn't. She didn't learn anymore than when she started this trek, and if anything, she's learned less than she already knew.
...But to be fair, she understood her point. The entire time, she was looking for answers on how she's supposed to be and what she needed to be when the reality was, there was no answer. She has to decide for herself if she wants others to see her one way or the other, and in addition, see how she sees herself.
It was strange, and didn't make sense... but for some reason, she felt more confident in how to use the sword than ever before.
"I... I think I know what to do now."
"And what would that be?"
"What I always do. Be reckless and throw myself before the Queen." To this, Razz smiled brightly with a small nod.
"If that is what you think, then embrace it."
Catra gave her a small nod in return as she shook her hand. "Thanks for the help old ha... I mean Razz." The old woman gave her a nod in turn as she watched the mysterious warrior mount the horse, giving her a short wave.
"You can come and visit anytime you'd like. You know where to find me."
"I wouldn't count on it!" Catra replied in a snarky tone. Despite what she just said, she doesn't think she would mind visiting this place once in awhile. With one final wave, Razz watched as the two flew off through the trees and into the sky. It was just now after everything she's been through that Razz returned to her home with a rather annoyed and confused look on her face.
"That was one weird dog..."
...
Catra held on as she flew through the sky with her horse. She might not have learned anything new or gained any help in using her sword, but she felt a strange sense of peace now compared to before. She found it rather cliched that the sun was now lowering like in a natural fairytale, yet rolled with it as she headed off to Bright Moon Castle. She didn't know what to expect or how she was going to be greeted, and for once she didn't care. After all, she was never one to back down from a challenge.
She just embraced the breeze blowing through her ears, hair and tail, and grew determined as she headed off to the next obstacle. She just finished a long battle against the Horde, and part of herself. Now she was going to face her greatest challenge today.
Queen Angella herself...
...
...
...
A/N: And as stated, another lengthy chapter. Least this one had some (hopefully) fun action in it ^^! I really don't know how long the next one will be as we're seriously cutting down to the wire. There's like 4 minutes left from this point of the show in the episode, so I'm expecting maybe 3-4k at least? Maybe more, who knows? Anyway again sorry for the choppy bits here and there. I had a long day for the longer half of all this but a fun time with the fight scene ^^ Lemme know what you guys think of those.
Anyway hope you all enjoyed, and see you in a few days! *ENJOY THE EVIL THAT IS THE CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAAHAHAAA!*