A/N: Nooooo! I don't wanna do it, I don't wanna do it! Nooooooooo-! *gets dragged over to the computer* Oh god, this episode is going to be so freaking depressing when I have to rewatch it again T_T...
*sigh* Well, it's here folks. This is it! What I hope to be the most emotional series of chapters and episode of season 1. God help me if I get a rush of feels cause this is going to snap my heart in half X_X! It's like that old saying about friendship: If I'm going down, IM TAKING YOU ALL WITH ME!
Enjoy ^^!
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The light was almost hypnotic to the young Catra as she approached the miraculous structure left behind by the First Ones, the people who created the magnificent, albeit annoying, Sword of Protection.
The entire morning till evening was all but a nightmare for the trio of heroes, especially Catra who was riddled with guilt. In the wake of Entrapta's passing, unaware the technological genius was still alive, the Princess Alliance had a falling out. Spurred on by feelings of regret, all of the princesses disbanded from the alliance, returning to their own kingdoms where they would protect their people all on their own. They wanted nothing more to do with the Rebellion if it meant possibly losing their lives and leaving their people defenseless.
After returning to Bright Moon themselves, the remainder of the alliance found themselves with several other dilemmas to deal with. First of all, was Glimmer's mother. Much to Catra's surprise, and the rest of them, the queen of Bright Moon was beyond thankful to Catra for rescuing her beloved daughter, actually hugging her for the first time and going an entire day without berating her on anything she did. That was the bright side of the day, and would've remained as such if not for the second dilemma that occured.
Specifically, Glimmer's glitching.
After the events of the dramatic rescue, Glimmer was under a state of pain and agony whenever a strange glitching aura-like magic swept over her at random periods throughout the day, each one more painful than the last. There were no words to describe the sensation every time it struck her, each wave feeling like a new form of torture with each instance. Catra wanted nothing more than to warn the queen, seeing how she promised her she would and after the kindness she's shown Catra throughout the day.
Unfortunately, that delved into the third problem two of the three found themselves in with Glimmer's unwillingness to confess to her mother. She escaped from one of the most harrowing situations any of them found themselves in and she didn't want her mother to worry any more about her than she already has. With the stress they dealt with on a daily basis the last thing she wanted her mother to find out was that she caught some bizarre magical virus of some sort, fearing it would lead to a lifetime of grounding for her own protection.
And none of this compared to the biggest dilemma they were dealing with, one Glimmer and Bow weren't aware of till later that evening because of all that's happened up to that point- Catra's overwhelming guilt.
She felt responsible for everything up to that point, more than the other two possibly could combined. She was supposed to be the magnificent She-Ra, the symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the one leading the charge, saving the day, and all that cheesy stuff that came with it, and she felt like nothing other than a complete failure. She was incapable of acknowledging her own successes throughout the day and focused solely on all the bad parts of it leading up to the present. To her, she should've been able to save everyone with the power of She-Ra. She should've been the one to charge the Fright Zone to save the very people she now considered friends.
She felt like she was nothing by the end of all of this. She kept thinking back to how wonderful everything would play out if Adora was leading them through this, knowing how flawless the perfect student, the very one she always found herself left in the dust by, would come in to save the day. She would've figured out a way to save everyone, she wouldn't have needed saving constantly like Catra did. She wished she was more like with each passing minute since her personal revelation, feeling like the Rebellion deserved better than her.
After much deliberation, she set out to make a change. Entering the Whispering Woods, she journeyed and traveled through the constantly changing landscape in search of this mighty structure, hoping to find some means to control her powers, to become a better She-Ra. She needed to find a way to change who she was, for her friends' sake. If she remained the same old Catra, she knew they would pay the price for it.
It was one of the many reasons she preferred not having friends. She didn't want to be burdened with the constant guilt she felt now or the pain the loss of someone like Entrapta brought. She wasn't that close to her as she was with Glimmer and Bow and she still found it painful. She almost wished she never felt as close to those two as she did now for those very reasons, yet was unable to think about them the way she used to as mere "allies".
She needed to change, one way or another. And she knew this place was capable of fixing all of that.
At the same time, she was unaware that she was being followed by her closest friend, Adora, being too focused on the task at hand and unable to pick up her scent or her sound with the mysterious Whispering Woods' capability of messing with her senses.
The Force Captain was in a bind as much as Catra did. Following her unintended assistance in Catra's and Glimmer's escape, along with her reclaiming her sword, Adora was sentenced by Lord Hordak himself to atone for her transgressions. She was given a single week to find a way to contribute something of equal or greater value than what she lost, meaning she needed to find something worth as much as one prisoner, one princess, and one ancient sword of the First Ones' that she ended up losing.
Suffice to say, that was easier said than done.
In some respects, Lord Hordak gave her a near-impossible task with the amount of time she had. It wasn't simply a matter of her losing the sword and the princess. What Adora did may have very well costed them the war itself, having lost one of the greatest bargaining chips the Horde has ever known. It was only due to her previous contributions to the Horde and the loss of morale her removal would've costed them that he decided to show any leniency at all, something Adora was very thankful for as well as troubled.
She wanted to atone for her mistake even if she wasn't sentenced for it. Not just for the Horde, but for herself. She felt hurt and betrayed after Catra manipulated her to steal the sword and the princess from her at the same time. Why did she allow let her guard down like that? Why did she clear the path for them to escape in the first place at all? More importantly, why did Catra refuse her offer to return to the Horde?
All of these questions plagued her mind along with another concern that was brought up at the end of her judgement. Not two minutes after her sentence did she find Shadow Weaver providing her with an alternative, one that Adora was torn between committing. If she was to aid Shadow Weaver in removing Lord Hordak himself, not only would she be free of any judgement or punishment, she could also revoke the penalty that applied to all defectors, knowing Catra's fate if she was ever caught by the Horde again.
How was she supposed to know which task to choose from? If she went with Hordak then she needed to contribute something in atonement, and if she went with Shadow Weaver, she would be betraying the very icon of the Horde itself, the leader whose army took her in as an infant and raised her as one of their own. It wasn't allies that she would be betraying, it would a family in and of itself! The very people she worked alongside and grew up with!
When hope started to seem lost, a miracle occured in the form of a bubbly, energetic, and quirky scientist that went by the name of Entrapta. Taking pity on the girl, Adora decided to take her in and recruit her to the Horde. She felt sorry for the girl, knowing she was betrayed by her friends and left behind, seeing how they never bothered to return for her. Tempted by the offer to work alongside these marvelous machines and hurt by betrayal, Entrapta thanked Adora with the solution to her problems.
Using a data pad she kept on her person, among other things, she pinpointed and triangulated a position where Adora could find a motherlode of First Ones' technology, the first settlers of Etheria itself. There was no telling what might be in there, be they risk or reward! Despite the fact she needed a princess as well, Adora refused to hand Entrapta directly over to Hordak as compensation, knowing the harm it would bring her due to her involvement in the previous princess's escape, and set out to track down and return with caches of wonder and technology left by these supposed First Ones.
By the end of a long and tiresome trek through the woods, she finally came across the last two things she thought she'd ever see. The first one was a glowing light that revealed itself to be the source of the signal's energy reading, finding a large Beacon in the center of a clearing. The second thing she saw was possibly more shocking than the first.
Catra.
Ducking and weaving through the bushes, she tried to think. What was Catra doing here of all places? Was she on some mission to collect the First Ones' tech too? Or was she here for a different reason entirely? Whichever one it was mattered little to the betrayed friend. After being gone for so long and leaving Adora behind, she deserved the one thing she wanted second to bringing Catra back to the Horde.
Answers.
As she came upon the strange groove in the ground, Catra watched as a pink pillar-like symbol began to glow. With a glow between the lines and the many symbols, she watched in amazement as the floor in front of her descended into a staircase, waiting until it finally opened up to the lower floors before continuing onward.
Trailing far behind her, Adora crept up to the wondrous symbols in the ground. There was something familiar about these strange markings, whatever they were. She almost felt like she saw them before somewhere, wherever that was. She didn't have much time to process as she noticed the floor starting to raise itself up once more. Knowing time was of the essence, she quickly slid her way down the stairs, scraping her feet quietly to avoid Catra's hearing, and ducking through the last half of the ascension as the stairs had finally risen to the top. Looking back for a moment, she shook her head, then continued.
There was no going back now.
Up ahead Catra was examining the glowing markings in the ceilings and walls above her. She had to admit, for a bunch of old science nerds from a thousand years ago, they definitely knew how to give a rather interesting shine to a place like this. The violet glowing lines around her waved off and on in a wave, like the place itself was pulsating with life.
Coming up to the first of many rooms, Catra nearly flinched as everything brightened before her, the room giving off a beautiful array of colors and crystals as she started her way through again. Everything had a strange mix of feeling old and futuristic all at the same time to her. Nearing the center of the room, she examined what looked like an altar-like platform leading up to a throne. Half a dozen crystals of different sizes lined up all around the center, continuing to give off that old-yet-new atmosphere to her.
Making her way to the top of the three-foot ascension, her ears twitched as she looked around, tail casually wagging behind her as she tried to pick up on anything. "Hello?" Her voice echoed out around her. "First Ones? Anyone?" Unable to get a response, she pulled out her sword to see what would work. "I got your sword! I need training. One of my friends are in trouble." She grimaced at the lack of response out of that. It didn't look like she was going to be able to play the same sympathy cards like in the woods.
As she called out, Adora continued to creep her way around her, watching her and observing with every shout. Moving in-between her shouts to drown out her footsteps, she took in the magnificent view of the citadel with actual wonder.
Just look at this place! She smiled. This place is amazing!
She never knew there was anything this beautiful within the Whispering Woods, much less one belonging to a millennia-old civilization. If she brought all of this back, there was no end to the amount of contributions and promotions this would entitle her to. She could possibly run her own division of the Horde, maybe like a Diplomacy Wing of the Fright Zone? There was no way nothing in here couldn't benefit the Horde without causing utter chaos and destruction to the innocents.
"Greetings."
"Jeez-!" Catra nearly jumped as the voice spoke behind her. Turning around, she was staring face to face with a familiar hologram. Not quite like the first one she met, it looked more like the other one she met when she was being chased into a cave with Bow and Glimmer.
"Hello Administrator." It greeted. "What is your query."
"Finally some help around here." She mumbled. "I need your help. One of my friends is sick or something, I don't know. I just know that magic was involved. I need your help to save her." She examined the sword in her hands as she held it out in front of her. "People say She-Ra was supposed to be able to preform great miracles of magic or whatever. I just need to know how to heal someone, that's it. So... can you help me out?"
"What is your query?"
"Ugh..." Catra groaned, facepalming. "You're going to make this a long day, aren't you?"
"...What is your query?" Translation: Yes.
"Look, Lady, I had a long day and that was before coming here, I don't need one now!" She waved her hand over the holographic image, trying to see if it could get any sort of response out of her. When that didn't work, she took another look at her sword, watching the small flash as it's center glowed. With little else to try at the moment, and assuming the smashing the machine was a bad idea, she decided to opt for Plan B.
Raising her sword to the sky, unaware as Adora kept watching, she called out. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"
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The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell.
~ We're on the edge of greatness ~
Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance.
~ turning darkness into light ~
A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield.
~ We're right beside you ~
But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them.
~ Ready to Fight! ~
Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light
~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~
Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her.
~ We're gonna win in the end! ~
Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water.
~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~
Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines.
~(we must be brave) ~
Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks.
~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~
The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta.
~ and never let go ~
The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines.
~ (Oh ah Oh) ~
Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer.
~ We must be STRONG! ~
The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;
A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.
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"...Ok you are one Honor of Grayskull away from me dropping you into a volcano, you know that?" Catra threatened as she looked at her overly irritating sword.
It didn't surprise her anymore. If it did, she swore she would've been throwing herself over a volcano instead due to the sheer annoyance of the situation. The sword, once again, didn't work. It was becoming less surprising these days and something more of a nuisance.
It didn't work when she wanted it to, it didn't work when she needed it to, it didn't do squat. Sometimes she started to wonder if the sword actually was live or not because that would explain its lack of compliance after everything she said about it. She would gladly apologize to the sword in any way it wanted her to if she knew if it was alive or not. She got done talking to trees awhile ago that were definitely alive.
She drew her lines at apologizing to inanimate objects.
With Glimmer's previous idea given, she chalked it up to the sword being on cooldown again. As to how or why the first ones invented a weapon that could transform her once a day, she would never know. All she did know was that it left an annoyance in her mind she couldn't process.
Knowing it wasn't going to lead her anywhere, after sighing, she made her way over closer to the hologram itself as she tried to think of what to do. "Look, I don't know what else to tell you." She glanced over the control module itself that the hologram was coming out of. "Is there some password I need? Eternia? Etheria?" There was one she was missing, she was sure of it. "Who was that first lady again? Um..." She rubbed her temples to soothe any growing frustrations.
"It was something-Hope. Um... White... Bright... Li- Light!" Her face flashed with a grin as she remembered. "Light Hope! I'm looking for Light Hope! Is she here?" The brief pause of silence coming from the hologram was a good sign. With every other question she asked being returned with the same response, the lack of reply in this scenario was giving Catra something to hope for.
Light Hope was the strangest person she's met on her travels, and that was saying a lot. Being some mysterious entity she met after connecting with the sword the first time, Catra had yet to figure out who exactly Light Hope was. Was she one of these First Ones this place belonged to? Was she possibly in the sword itself? With the advanced technology she's seen this race had left behind, she wouldn't put it passed her.
Adora rolled her eyes at the situation, a little bit concerned over her seemingly-confused friend. She wasn't bothered so much by the fact the sword wasn't working or doing whatever Catra wanted it to do. What did bother her this time around was why she continued to mess with that sword if she wasn't under the princesses' spell or brainwashed? Was the sword the one actually making her brainwashed? Did it control her?
After the last couple months of confusion and worry, she pushed away those crazy thoughts. From what she could finally understand, Catra was in full control of herself. Nobody could betray someone else like she did to Adora and make her feel as terrible as a result.
Figuring Catra was distracted enough talking to the hologram, she decided to examine the rest of this place. This unfamiliar place was giving her a sense of peace for some reason, one that made her feel partly at home. The walls were pristine and the clean floors gave her a sense that this place was well maintained, even after all the years that had past. If anyone ran this place they definitely did a great job at their work.
"Identification not recognized." The hologram said back to Catra, finally responding to the magicat. "Please present Identification."
"I'm Cat... I'm She-Ra. SHE. RA." Catra took her time in answering back. If any name was going to be recognized around here, she was going to need to provide one she heard a thousand times over. "Looking for Light. Hope. Respond!"
"...Please hold for Identification Processing." The hologram requested.
Catra didn't even have time to think of what she meant as the floor around her suddenly came to life. All around the center surrounding her, there was a harmless red light, one that stretched to the size of a wall, that appeared as if it was a giant net. From one end of the center to the other, she watched, cautiously, as the wall crossed from one side of the platform to the other. She swore she could almost feel a tingling sensation around her skin as it passed her, as if it was brushing over the small amount of fur that covered her.
She almost started to think it plucked a hair or two off her skin as it did so, as if scanning her DNA.
During her period of distraction, Adora's investigation happened upon a glorious object. It was a jewel-like object displayed at the tip of a large pedestal. Judging from the many symbols and icons she discovered around it, seeing how the lines throughout this entire complex seemed to originate from this one spot, it must have been some sort of great powersource for the citadel. Returning anything of this size for Entrapta to study and duplicate would surely advanced the war efforts!
It was as she was reaching for the device that the scanner surrounding Catra had finally come to an end, the red wall of light slowly diminishing as it reached the control module again. After a momentary silence, the hologram began to glow red, as if an anger was radiating off the machine itself.
"WARNING! WARNING! INVALID USER DETECTED! INVALID USER DETECTED." The hologram's voice rang throughout the room as the entire complex began to fill with an eerie red glow.
"Invalid user?" Catra questioned raising a brow. "What are you talking about? I'm She-Ra! SHE-RA!" It was around the same time Adora had plucked the device from the machine, nearly jumping herself as her surroundings emanated with an angry red glow, causing her to back away nervously as she pocketed the item. She was unaware of how loud she was stepping backwards or how close she was getting as Catra's hearing and smells started to pick up, shooting a look back to her in surprise. "Adora?"
Turning around, Adora's own eyes widened in surprise that she had been caught, her friend looking back to her with mixed stare between confusion and accusation. Switching between Adora to where the hologram used to be, everything slowly started to dawn upon Catra as she realized what happened. "Aodra, you messed up the scanner!"
"I did?" Catra ran over to her friend as the girl questioned her. She truly didn't know as she wasn't paying attention to what Catra was doing, only checking on her to ensure she was distracted from time to time while she excavated the room.
*THUD*
The girls were drawn to the sound of a large metal doors that began closing around them, blocking off the various routes and exits of the room in a clockwise time being of the essence, containing the annoyance building up at her from this recent interruption, Catra grabbed Adora's wrist as she pulled her along. "Come on! We need to get out of here before the whole place locks down!"
She remembered the first and last time she was in one of these rooms when the lockdown initiated with Bow and Glimmer. The stupid hologram back then didn't answer any of her questions despite being She-Ra either for some reason, and the entire cave started to collapse in on itself soon after. At times she wondered if she would still be standing here today if Glimmer hadn't teleported them out of the first cave or if she would still be clawing her way out of the rubble to this day, assuming she survived.
Adora never wanted to apologize for everything around her as she did now. If she messed up something from grabbing the stupid artifact then you'd think the people who built this place would've left some warning label lying around! Or if they did you'd still think they'd make it harder to steal from one of their numerous devices. Whoever's fault it was remained anonymous between the two friends as they ran their way across the room, trying to reach one of the many hallways that haven't closed.
As they did, there was strange scraping noise the two could pick up on coming from one of the darkened hallways. "What is that?" Adora's question was met with the high-pitched screeching sound of several mysterious creatures, ones whose eyes glowed red as they made themselves known.
Stepping out of the darkness, Adora and Catra found themselves coming face to face with a handful of spider-like mechanoids that seeped out of the darkness. The creatures' menacing red eyes were enough to terrify the both of them, and the sheer amount of them were enough to tell them they were both outnumbered.
"What are those things?!" Adora asked backing away, running with Catra as the girl chased after her.
"Trust me, they weren't around last time!" Catra yelled back, trying to keep pace with the girl as she took the lead.
The sight of the doors closing around them started to fill the two of them with dread. They didn't know what was going on and they were convinced if the room blackened then they would be surrounded by those horrifying bug creatures in an instant. Seeing the door ahead of them starting to close, Adora knew she had to act fact.
Digging through her jacket, she wasted no time as she tied the head band around herself, Catra watching all the same as the shadows surrounding the place started pouring into her own shadow under her feet. With the darkness pooling around her and strengthening her, Adora's speed nearly tripled as she ran her way across to one of the closing doors. Forming a pair of the gargantuan shadow arms on each side, Adora rushed over as she grabbed under the door itself, leaving just enough space for her fingers to slide under, letting out a growl as she slowly started to lift the door up to her shoulder.
"Ggghhhhh... Come on!" She grunted to Catra, trying to keep the door held in place. Her shadows empowered her enough to lift this nearly half-ton door, but even they took a moment to fully kick into place. With the spiders gaining behind her, Catra quickly slid underneath her, Adora quickly lifting the door high enough until she could throw herself under the door, letting it slam behind her, and narrowly avoiding the pincers and claws that pierced through it.
No sooner had the two made their way to the hallway did the lights behind them start dying one by one, the darkness creeping closer to them as every light turned off with a loud bam. Every second after the lights shut off were the two of them greeted by more groups of angry red eyes, hearing the loud screeching sound of the predators they were being hunted by. It only took the appearance of one head through the darkness to convince the two to run away.
"What the heck is going on?" Adora shouted nonchalant as she ran. With the headband endowing her with power, she forced her emotions to remain enclosed as she always did. "What are those things, Catra?"
"You think if I knew I'd be running rather than fighting them?" Catra yelled back. "Far as I know, you messed something up when you were in the room! They probably think you're an intruder!"
"Then why are they chasing you?"
"I don't know! Did you mess with anything while you were in there?"
Adora's shifting eyes already told her the answer without her saying anything. "Um... possibly."
"Adora-!" Any shouts of anger at whatever mistakes she's made were interrupted as the lights ahead of them started to fail, the darkness approaching them from the front. It didn't matter if the spiders were up ahead or not, they wouldn't be able to make their way through it with the ones still chasing after them.
'This way!" Adora said, pulling Catra's arm along as the two cut down a narrow hallway. The hallway definitely gave the two some breathing room as the walls were closer together, but their trail of fortune came to an abrupt end when the duo ran into a dead end, coming across a completely closed exit point with no means of opening it.
"Great..." Catra turned around as she stared down the incoming swarm. If she kept her calm, she might be able to fight them off, provided the cramped spaces forced them to come in one by one. The problem was not knowing how many of them were still coming and how many of them were already after them.
Regardless, she still had a friend to protect, even if she was on the wrong side. Drawing her sword, she stood her ground between Adora and the incoming spiders, ready to make a last stand if she had to. "Don't worry, I've got this." Her assurance wasn't as convincing to herself as it was to Adora. There was no telling how long she actually had this and how long the two of them had until another unexpected surprise dropped in on them.
That was when she felt a tug around her waist, looking as a tentacle wrapped around her stomach, pulling her behind Adora as the Force Captain stepped forth in front of her. "No, I got this!" With a roar, Adora screamed as she materialized a gigantic shadowy blade over her right arm, staring down the creatures without any sense of fear in her eyes, not that Catra could see at the moment. With one fell swipe, she watched as Adora crashed the giant blade over the ceiling itself, causing the hallway to collapse in on itself and crushing one of the giant spiders in it's wake.
It wasn't a celebration that lasted forever though as the ceiling continued to cave in. She might've been able to prevent the rocks from crushing her if she had her She-Ra form working, but, like every occasion, it was't going to work anytime soon. It was only thanks to Adora's involvement, finding her wrapping her arm around Catra, that the two were saved.
With another growl to the open air, Catra watched as an entire dome of darkness grew over the two of them, reaching just above Adora's head as the rocks came tumbling down. They could feel the vibrations as the rocks crashed around them, Catra doing everything she could to push the shadowy dome above them in order to help keep the two of them from being crushed. There was no way to tell how durable Adora's shadows truly were when enough weight was applied to them, and this was less than the idea location to find out.
Salvation finally came after a few more seconds had passed, feeling the last of the rumbling rocks knocking against the sturdy dome with a minor crackle. Giving it a bit just in case, Adora slowly eased the dome away as the two of them pulled themselves out of the shattered hallway. Their lungs were assaulted by a cloud of thick dust as the debris settled around them, the friends leaning themselves against the wall as they tried to catch their breath.
"Ack! Ough!" The magicat coughed, turning her head over to her friend that saved them.
If she was trying to be little miss perfect again she couldn't tell, because the girl barely gave a puff as the dust settled around them, Adora stretching her back as the shadows receded around her. With a sigh, the girl pulled the headband from her head, effortlessly and without the pain that used to follow after enough exposure to the dreaded band. With her emotions returning and her mind cleared, she looked over to her long lost friend with worry. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah..." Catra rubbed her throat as she let out another cough. "I-I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."
"Good."
*WHAP!*
"Ow!" Catra yelped, rubbing her hand-printed left cheek sorely. "What was that for?"
"That was for leaving me in the Horde, you jerk!" Adora yelled, still angered by her friend's betrayal.
"Which time? The one two days ago or several months ago?"
"...Oh yeah..."
*WHAP!"
"Ow!" If both her cheeks weren't already printed on, Catra would've gladly slapped herself out of stupidity. "Stop that!"
"That was for both times." Her anger was understandable, Catra still in shock at her own actions of betrayal after all that's happened. She manipulated her. Used her. A slap on the face was the least Catra deserved, twice debating, after all the time apart they've spent away from each other. They haven't talked to each other, every time they do see each other it's in the middle of a mission, and there's been so much confusion on each other's end that neither of them truly knew the other anymore.
It didn't mean she wouldn't get payback though.
"Oh, you wanna play it that way?"
*swiff*
"Wha- Hey!" Adora yelled as she tried grabbing at her headband that was swiped out of her hands. Catra had enough common sense to keep it out of arms reach of her, pushing her away with her other arm as she did. "Give that back!"
"Not until we get out of here, Adora." Catra informed, stuffing the headband into the collar of her vest. "We have a lot to talk about, starting with you."
"What? Starting with me?"
"Yes, you! And there's no way you're getting this until we're done."
"That's not fair! What if those bug things attack us again?"
"Then I'll keep us safe! I have the sword, remember?"
"And if you get jumped? I have a stun baton half the size of my arm to defend myself with, and you have..." Adora shot her a strange expression as she looked to the ground. "...Are you wearing shoes?"
"Huh?" Checking her own feet, she was rather surprised. After everything that's happened, with all the stress built up throughout the castle and the guilt she's been ridden with before leaving, she completely forgot about the leather soles around her feet, the very ones she wore inside of the castle, instead of the outside, to avoid tearing up the rugs and carpeting within it. "Oh, forgot about those. Technically they're combat boots, but that doesn't matter right now. We need to get out of here while we can, Adora, before more of those things show up. And I'm keeping this until we get out of here, got it?"
"Uh, how about an alternative? You keep the band, I go home where we belong, and Shadow Weaver makes me a new one!" Adora retorted as she glared.
At the suggestion, Catra gave her an almost questionable smirk, planting her right hand against her side as she looked behind Adora. "Really? You're going to go back that way?" Taking a look in the same direction, Adora's plans were shattered as well as her expression as she saw what was before her.
An entire hallway, completely filled, to the brim, with piles of rubble and debris. The very ones she caused trying to fight off the spider swarm and save Catra while doing it. Without her head band those rocks would've taken forever to remove, and that was provided she didn't have to deal with any more rocks continuing to fall atop of her while doing it. Add to the fact that there were possibly spiders on the other side, there was no way she was going home that way.
"...Ugggh..." Groaning to everyone and everything around her, Adora stomped her way down the hallway as Catra followed behind her. "I'm not talking to you right now."
"Well, too bad, cause I'm talking to you." Catra threw her hands behind her head casually as they walked. "What are you doing here in the first place?"
"Oh you know, just trying to save my own skin after you BETRAYED ME for like the hundredth time by now." Adora grumbled crossing her arms.
"What do you mean you're trying to save yourself?"
"Gee, I wonder? If you'd like to know, I'll keep it short for you! After you guys left I was going to be punished by Lord Hordak since I aided in your escape."
"You... got punished because you helped us?" Catra's ears drooped with a twinge of guilt in her eyes as she shifted them off to the side.
"I was going to be punished, if it wasn't for one of the few friends I have left having my back." Catra could see the small bit of pain in Adora's face as she turned her head a little. "What did you think was going to happen to me after you left me behind, Catra? Do you think anyone was happy I helped you escape, and you stole the sword?"
"Oh... Y-Yeah..." There wasn't much else she could say to that. She was so paranoid and frantic when the situation occurred that she didn't even consider what would happen to Adora as a result. "I'm sorry..." She couldn't tell if Adora accepted her apology as she turned her head away again, keeping her face from being seen. She was unaware of the increased pain on her face as she appeared to be thinking to herself.
"B-But I had no choice, Adora. The Rebellion needs the sword, and I can't turn into She-Ra without it. And Pinky looked like she was-"
"Who's Pinky?"
"Glimmer, whatever. My point is, she looked like she was going to die, and I needed to get her out of there as soon as I could!"
"I already told you she could leave if you wanted her to, remember?"
"Yeah, I know, but she could barely run at the time. Even if you did let her go, there was no way she was going to make it on her own with everyone else chasing after her! Do you realize how much pain she was in after you tortured her?"
"..." Did that get through to her now? Catra has no idea what state of mind Adora has these days.
Ever since she left the only thing she did know was that she spent ore of her time alone with Shadow Weaver, and that spelled trouble in a variety of ways. There was no telling what sort of lies she was told, no end to the manipulations that were pulled to bring Adora closer to her side. To take the caring, fun-loving, person Catra knew Adora to be, even if she was too nice for her own good, there was no end to the possibilities that drove her to commit such a terrible act.
"I..." Adora paused in the hallway, giving Catra a chance to see the pain in her eyes as she lowered her head. "I was just trying to save you... Catra." Catra's own heart struck a chord of guilt as Adora looked into her eyes, sadly. "You were gone for so long, and with the Princesses of all people. I thought they tortured you to the point of brainwashing, I thought they did unspeakable things to you, and I... I was so angry... and afraid..."
"Adora-"
"And I know it was wrong, okay?" She continued, cutting her off. "I didn't want to do it. I asked her to tell me a single question repeatedly, and she wouldn't budge. I thought she was resisting. I didn't think she actually didn't do anything."
"I told you repeatedly Adora, I wasn't being brainwashed."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure a lot of brainwashed people would say the same thing." The girl thought through every possibility and explanation behind Catra's brainwashing. "How was I supposed to believe you over Shadow Weaver, anyway? She gave me proof, she was the only one trying to help you, and I checked everything myself. She was the only one who stayed by my side after you left, Catra. How was I supposed to not believe her?"
"Mmh..." Shadow Weaver continued to be a pain in Catra's side even when she wasn't anywhere near them. Obviously Shadow Weaver would have the answers to everything, track down every piece of evidence she did and didn't need to make her plans follow through. That's the way Shadow Weaver worked, by making sure every eventuality and probability was accounted for, no matter the cost or those who suffered for it. "Then why did you give me the chance to leave if I wanted to? Why did you open the path for me and Glimmer to escape through?"
"Because we're friends, Catra. We have each others' backs." The resolve behind her statement left no room for doubt to Catra. "And even when it hurts, we always will be." With that, she continued on ahead in the hallway, leaving Catra with a new assortment of thoughts and regret.
Despite being on opposite sides of the war here, she still considered Catra the dear friend she could always count on, and after everything Catra's done to make her unintentionally suffer, too. From the moment Catra first ran off into the woods by herself to this very moment, Adora was still thinking about her and the bond these two shared. It was one of the many reasons Catra considered her the best of her friends.
She stood by Catra regardless of whatever trouble they got in and if it meant she would suffer to. From standing up to her after she defected to trying to do all she could possibly do to keep Catra alive and well, she always had her back. She was the very definition of what a true friend should be, and what did Catra have to offer in turn?
Zilch.
...
The journey through the halls provided a wide array of various wonders, from it's architectural designs to it's seemingly impossible landscapes. They passed by beautiful hallways of colors and designs, from waterfalls against the walls, to a pathway over a great gorge of color. Nothing like this had ever been seen in Etheria, at least not by Catra and Adora.
The two remained silent for the rest of the way through, keeping to themselves and their own thoughts as they tried to think of what to say to each other, conveniently sharing the same thoughts every now and then.
Should either of them use the opportunity to convince the other back to their side? Whenever they did, it would start a long chain of arguments between the two that would usually result in a physical or verbal fight between the two, and ending with the two of them going their separate ways again. And somehow, they always left on a worse note than when they began whatever conversation they had between themselves.
Maybe they should try to apologize to each other, but to what end? Catra left the Horde, and Adora's been defending her since day one. Adora almost killed Catra and Catra's been trying to assure her that she forgives her. Adora manipulated Catra at the Princess Prom, leading to her capturing Glimmer, Bow, and the Sword of Protection. And Catra took advantage of Adora's kindness when she offered to let them leave in order to get Glimmer and the sword back, choosing a third option that Adora hadn't counted on.
They were great to each other and horrible to each other, and the strain it was putting on their friendship was noticeable. They still considered each other the best of friends, naturally, but there was a small gap forming between them, one that neither of them wanted to break. And it lead to the both of them asking themselves what they could do to fix it.
It also left Catra with a new assortment of feelings she didn't know how to process. After all the time she spent bonding with Glimmer and Bow, she felt a new array of different emotions she wasn't used to, or if she did not ones she recognized anymore. How was Adora feeling? How was she forgiving Catra to the point of seeing her as a friend still? Questions like this swarmed her mind without any answers, creating a vortex of guilt and despair.
Adora's own thoughts weren't much better. She's fought for Catra's commitment to the Horde, she wouldn't allow anyone to talk down about her friend as long as she was around, and now she's finding out Catra may have truly defected to the Horde intentionally? Why? What did the Rebellion have to offer her that the Horde couldn't? She could gain notoriety and fortune from her accomplishments, nobody would look down on her with enough hard work, and there were the bonds she's made with her fellow allies.
It didn't matter if they didn't consider her as much of a friend as Adora did. She knew they still held high esteem and respect for her best friend. And, to Adora, that should be what counts the most!
After a near hour of silence between the two, did they finally come towards the end of the long pathway, coming to another dead end. Almost instantly, Catra recognized the door as the two approached, having the strange symbols and markings on the door as the previous one.
"Is this... a door?" Adora wondered before watching Catra approaching it. She watched as her curious friend placed her hand against the door, as if she knew what to do.
"Eternia!" With a resounding voice, and a glow emanating from her palm, the door came to life as it separated along the doorway, clearing the path for them. The small smile she had was dashed away as she turned back, noticing the just-as-curious gaze of her blonde-haired friend. "Don't ask. Long story." She brushed the future questions off as she continued on ahead, Adora questioning what she witnessed as she followed behind her.
First she defects to the Rebellion after finding some long lost sword in the forest, becomes one of their more troublesome soldiers that have countered a handful of campaigns the Horde have launched against them, and now she knows how to interact with ancient technology created by the First Ones without any natural way of doing so. What else had changed about her friend that she didn't know about?
Stepping into the darkness, Catra pulled out her sword as she used the bluish glow from it's gem to light the way around them. The darkness around them was similar to that of the lockdown systems of the prison cells, the one that were made specifically for humanoid creatures that could see in the dark. Being surrounded by perpetually endless darkness was one of the greatest fears to most people, and Catra would be lying if she said the pitch blackness didn't affect her after the events of that day.
Between her and the doorway they came out of, there wasn't much light at all in this place. There was no telling how massive the room was on the inside or if they were inside of any room to begin with given all the darkness. Adora felt like she could fall off the edge at any second if she took the wrong step and landed through a hole, or she could smack her face right into a wall without realizing it.
"What kind of room is this?" Adora asked, hoping her friend would have the answers like she always seemed to have for this place.
"The room of Infinite Darkness? How should I know?" The magicat answered, shrugging. "I've never been here before."
"And yet, you know how to open up ancient doorways that haven't been unearthed for thousands of years?" Adora smirked accusingly to her.
"Like I said, it's a long story. Let's just-" A look of fear and concern crossed her face as she saw passed Adora. "Where's the door?"
Turning around, the Force Captain was also struck with the same surprise and worry as Catra was. Behind them lied nothing. No noticeable walls, no exits, no doors that existed seconds ago, just nothing. Standing where they were now, they didn't have a clue as to which direction they even came from, both girls looking all around themselves as they tried to remember their pathway.
"Catra, please tell me you didn't get us stuck in some prison room or wherever those bugs came from.?"
"I-It's fine, I'm sure there's another way out." She wished she was as sure as she sounded at the moment because she didn't have the first clue as to where they were. Fortunately, any chance of panic rising up in either of them was dashed away as Catra turned back, noticing a glowing light at the other end of the darkness. "Wait, what's that?" Following the trail Catra walked, Adora noticed the same miniscule light that drew her attention.
It was small, practically barren within this eternal darkness. It didn't seem to rest on any sort of wall or hang from any sort of switch, it just... floated in place. Reaching the small pinkie-nail-sized spec of light, Catra kneeled in front of it as Adora looked over her shoulder, wondering if she should touch it after the disaster of the last thing Adora messed with.
"...What's-"
*BOOM*
"Ahh!" The two friends were blinded by a powerful burst of light that gave off a sonic boom with an echo, the explosion-like sound filling the darkened room as it reverberated off of every solid matter contained within. Closing her eyes from the blinding flash, the two were unaware as a wide yellow light began scanning the two where they stood, checking them from head to toe as it processed the information it needed for what happened next.
Slowly opening her eyes again, Catra found herself staring into the halls of the Fright Zone, the last place on Etheria she ever wished to be. It was something she found herself in common with at this point since she became She-Ra. Ever since she found this stupid sword, she's had vision after vision of this place, recalling the memories she's tried to repress in order to move on with her life. Nothing about her memories brought her any joy, only more suffering.
Sure enough, she was positive she was watching another memory as she saw her younger self casually walking down a hallway, looking about twelve years old at the time-
Something was wrong. A lot of things were wrong about this. One, whenever she had a vision, she wasn't on the outside looking in, all of her visions were from her direct point of view. Here, she saw her own two hands, feet, and self, as if she was truly there in person. Whatever she saw back then she saw now, and the only peace she had from this was the inability to feel anything physically she went through.
Two, her visions used to have a closer chronological memory to them. Her visions usually split between weeks to months apart from each other, and sometimes a couple days in-between. Right now, she was looking at her twelve year old self, with the typical casual attitude and uncaringness she usually had, and was certain of that seeing how she was about twice the size she knew herself to be the last time she had a vision.
Finally, the third problem came in the form of what she heard next.
"What's going on here?" The question nearly made Catra jump where she stood at the sound of the familiar voice. It wasn't anything uncommon to the young feline, having heard the voice all throughout her life. No, what troubled her was the fact she was hearing it right next to her, seeing the speaker right next to her.
There, Adora stood, watching in disbelief as she saw another Catra walking down the halls while the original one was still standing right beside her.
She was sharing in her vision.
...
...
...
A/N: Oooooooooh boy, here we go. We havent even gotten to the feely parts yet and I'm already terrified T_T... At least i'll have fun with the visions/memories I include myself ^^ and you guys will too!...until you all see what it amounts to...*gulp*
Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!