A/N: Hey boys and girls! Say, do you like Flashback episodes :D!
Audience: NO!
Author: Well too bad, here we go ^^!
Lol... *sigh* I'm gonna be straight with you guys. This might be the worst chapter i've written yet, and I don't mean just storywise either. When I started working on this yesterday, it was during a period where I went 2 entire days devoid of sleep, so i have no idea what was going on through my head at the time. That explains the story-telling issue of things.
The other issue is the technical issues of this, and I mean that in every sense of the word. See, throughout all of this, I rewrote some parts. A lot.
Like a LOT a lot T_T!
Throughout the entire thing, I was writing and rewriting in the middle of this, going back to past paragraphs, going back to the ending to continue where I left off, went back to write somewhere in the middle again for more detail, had to reread the entire thing SEVERAL times to make sure I didn't mess up any continuity, went to the end to write again for 10 seconds, had to re-edit a scene above again, go back to the end to continue, went back to make 2 changes, reread it a second time to make sure i didn't forget anything, went back to the MIDDLE to make consistencies again, THEN BACK TO THE END, and I think you get where I'm going with this X/
I'll be honest and fair, I'll delete this chapter if the feedback wishes for it. There were so many things wrong in the middle of writing this (like my "brilliant" idea to do it despite being without sleep for 2 days so who knows how rusty or what my mind was doing P_P). It is however a slightly necessary chapter because it'll answer a majority of the questions shown through the entire story so far no matter how badly it's written.
So, it's kind of essential even if its bad. I seriously don't know what i was thinking as I did the first 2/3rds of this fic, and like I said, i'll delete it if the feedback requests it. The overall point of this chapter was to answer questions that were different from the show, specifically most of the stuff involving Catra.
So with that said, i apologize, and hope you guys can get some enjoyment out of it all the same!
...
...
...
"W-What do you mean I wasn't supposed to find the sword?" No matter how many times Catra's question was answered, it still left her baffled.
Catra. Defector. Magicat. She-Ra-in-training. Out of all the things to describe her as, recently, she discovered that one of these things did not fit like the other, and that part happened to be the She-Ra part.
Not much happened throughout Catra's day since waking up, not anything she found worth reminiscing anyway. From what little adventure her day had so far, she woke up almost completely encased in a mechanical spiders' web, broke out, was given her sword back by the very spiders that tied her up in the first place, was transported to this strange place immediately after touching it, and then found herself running into the very person who started this insane adventure of misery and woe for her.
Light Hope.
There were so many questions she had to ask after she spent the first hour of her time trying to claw away at her. Why wouldn't she be angry at the person who basically turned her life upside down since day one? She's lost her home, she's lost her life, she even lost the greatest friend she could ever ask for! All because this stupid lady she met after touching the sword the first time said she was destined to do something.
Now, not only was she finding out she wasn't supposed to find the sword to begin with, she was also discovering that a certain someone else was supposed to, somebody who's friendship she had recently ruined.
"I meant exactly what I said, Catra." Light Hope replied, completely devoid of emotion. "You were never supposed to find the sword. Adora was."
"B-But you said I was suppose to!" She argued. "You said my name, you were asking for..." She had almost forgotten the entire conversation that took place the first time she came across the sword. It was during that brief glimpse into her memories that she suddenly remembered every word.
"We were never calling your name, Catra." Waving her hands through the air, Catra watched as numerous holographic screens of varying sizes were displayed. All around her she saw hundreds of different images, from graphs and charts, images of of Catra and Adora, and various screens displaying possible videos that were waiting to be played. "The day that you found the sword, an error occurred that we had not anticipated."
"An error? What kind of error?"
At this, Light Hope turned to the girl as she brought one of the monitors up closer. "You." With a single touch, Catra watched as a small video began to play, depicting the true events of the first time she found the sword.
"Balance must be restored." It stated. "Etheria must seek a hero." The next two things Catra saw were very confusing to her. The first one was an ancient-looking temple, one she was sure were within these very woods given the scenery surrounding it.
As for the latter image however, it was not only confusing, but harder to make out given the blinding light that surrounded it. All she could see here was a mysterious swordsman, possibly a knight, with flowing long hair and a cape, standing on what appeared to be a cliffside. Whether she was willing herself closer or the strange voice was controlling her imagery, she found herself being drawn closer to the mysterious figure, followed by what sounded like a baby's cry.
That was when everything began to distort around the Catra in the monitor.
"A... ra... Ra..." As the video played on, Catra watched as the scene shifted directly from Light Hope's viewpoint, staring at the girl as several statistical graphs and readings were taking place as a red outline filled Catra's body within the video.
"Your heart was impure when you formed a bond with the sword." Light Hope spoke as the video continued to play. "You ended up corrupting the sword almost entirely at first touch, distorting any details and information we would have provided for you otherwise."
"Impure...?" Catra mumbled as she viewed the scene. She might've been full of herself occasionally but there was no way she would call herself impure. Knowing this Light Hope lady, she was probably just trying to get under her skin. "I doubt it helped being over a thousand years old, either..."
"Err... Or... Inv...Er..." The source of the mysterious figure finally revealed itself to her briefly, appearing as a mysteriously tall purple woman, who became just as distorted as the previous images did, all while everything around her was swallowed in a surrounding darkness. "Err... Y-Y-You are n-n-not-"
*bzzzt*
"-n-n-not the-"
*bzzzt*
"-tore bal-al-al-al-al-ance-"
*zzzt*
"What are you talking about?" Catra finally found her voice as she asked the strange figure. "Not what? You're not making any sense!"
"Y-Yo-Yo-You must-"
*bzzzt*
Normally this kind of conversation would've annoyed Catra to no end, feeling like she was speaking to someone over a broken radio. But for the first time, she found herself more curious and confused on a situation, and slightly afraid. "Must what? What do I have to do?!"
"Y-Y-You-"
*zzzt*
"-Ra-"
*bzt*
The voice began to fade as darkness slowly filled her vision.
"Ca-"
*zzzt*
"Catra... Catra..." Were the last recognizable words she could gather before everything went dark, almost immediately being filled again as the voice changed to one of familiarity.
...
"That doesn't make any sense, though." Catra said as she tried to get her barrings on what she had witnessed.
"Would you like me to play the video, again?" Light Hope inquired.
"What? No, I mean... Why did you keep calling me to the sword later on instead of Adora? You had me dealing with a killer headache for three straight hours until I came back to find the stupid sword!" Of all the past experiences Catra's had in her life, pain was one of them she wished she could forget. From full-out torture to severe migraines, there were a handful of painful times Catra prayed she could ever forget, sadly being cursed by all of them.
"Because when you found the sword, at first touch, you automatically formed a connection to it. The sword drew you in and allowed you to find it again, as it would have with Adora if she found the sword." Light Hope explained, showing three different screens of a detailed graph, statistics about the sword, and an orangish outline of Catra's person with a couple of readings coming off of her.
"Okay... then why did you change your mind? If you wanted Adora so badly, then why did you choose to stick with me?" There was a disturbing silence lingering in the air as Light Hope stared at her.
Catra had no idea how she was supposed to be talking to this woman. First off, she was a hologram. That alone made the conversation really awkward when the person, or thing, you were talking to wasn't real. Second, there was no way to grasp what she was thinking. Everything she said was blunt and emotionless without any tone to her voice hinting at how she was feeling. And third, she had all the answers if Catra could come up with the questions.
If she ever came across Light Hope again in the past, she always told herself she would have a lot of questions for her. How does she get this sword to work? How does she transform into She-Ra successfully every time? Why did it feel like this blade had a mind of its own?
But now, here she was, being swarmed by an endless amount of questions filling her head without the ability to directly speak her mind. She couldn't tell if Light Hope was affecting that at all or if it was all the stress and confusion she's suffered since she came to this stupid place. All she knew was that if anyone could answer her questions, it was Light Hope.
No matter how painful the reality came to be.
"We never, as you put it, changed our mind, Catra." She replied, pulling over another display. This one had half a dozen outlines of people, all shaded in blue, as they stood under the magnificent Sword of Protection that shined above them. "We were trying to task you with the duty of finding Adora since the beginning." Swiping across the screen, Catra watched as another familiar scene played out, displaying the second time she met Light Hope.
"Hello. I am Light Hope. I have been waiting a very long time for this moment."
"Y-You can see me?" Catra questioned still in disbelief as she got to her feet.
"Yes." Light Hope responded with an almost robotic tone. "I could not reach you before until you had forged a bond with the sword."
"While we weren't expecting anyone else to find the sword," Light Hope explained, "we did provide a failsafe protocol on the off chance it occurred. We call it the Finder's Initiative."
"The Finder's Initiative?" Catra repeated raising a brow. "I'm pretty sure you didn't mention anything of the sort when we met the second time."
"As I've said, due to your impure heart, the details and explanations we had provided were disrupted. We were unable to fully convey our intentions to you as our message at that time were predetermined."
"I apologize for the discomfort previously, but there was an malfunction created when you first came into contact with the blade." Light Hope explained, adding on to Catra's confused state.
"Malfunction? What, was the sword broken or something?"
"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."
"You're kidding... right?" Catra asked in somewhat hopeful disbelief.
"I can not comply in my current state. This message is broadcasted in the event of an unforeseen circumstance such as this. I can only respond to certain statements."
"Sheesh, you weren't kidding about that. What about this whole 'Finder's Initiative' thing? What exactly was I supposed to do?"
"The Finder's Initiative is a safety protocol in the event that the sword was to fall into someone else's hands. If you had received the entire message, it would have informed you to search for the one known as Adora, and return the blade to her. Once the sword was in her grasp, we would have set her on the right path."
"The right... path?"
She nodded. "The path to becoming She-Ra."
"Affirmative. This sword was created in ages past for the one who was chosen to wield it."
"Chosen to wield it?" Catra pondered the statement for a few seconds. "You mean... me?"
...
"DATA CORRUPTED. Etheria has need of you, Catra." Catra nearly shouted in anger when she heard the annoying "DATA CORRUPTION" line again, finding herself thankful that it had more to say after. "Will you answer it's call? Will you help fight for the honor of Grayskull?"
"A Gray-Skull? It's honor? What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"
"If you wish for all the answers you must find me..." Light Hope stated as she began to slowly back into the blinding light, her form dissipating along with the scenery around her.
It... It really wasn't asking me to fight for them... Just to help them... The disgruntled Catra said to herself. Every word that she had received from the ancient Light Hope was literal and precise. When she asked for help, she was just asking for help, not involvement.
"FIND... ME..."
When the screen faded, all that Catra saw was an empty screen showing her own reflection, staring at the magicat in the surface who had her ears lowered like she did.
Catra's heart sank a little in dismay as she summarized this. All this time, she thought she was destined to be some incredible warrior from a prophecy, just by pulling a wondrous sword from ancient times that would've made her a princess.
Here, she was learning that she was nothing more than practically a bystander, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A mere nobody that wasn't anything unique or talented whose life they decided to bring down even further than it already was. All this time, all the effort she had wasted, was for naught.
Based on what this Light Hope lady was supposedly telling her, Catra was, all things considered, a complete and total accident.
"So... I was... never supposed to find the sword at all then?" Catra guessed accurately.
"Correct. When I realized the data was still corrupted from your exposure, I left behind an emergency follow-up of instructions to come find me, so we may speak personally without interference of any kind."
"But then why did it let me turn into She-Ra then if I was just an "accident", according to you people?" Asking one question to an ancient being continued to leave her with more questions at this rate.
"That was part of the Finder's Initiative." Pulling a screen directly from above her, she tapped away at the holographic projection until it displayed a detailed outline of She-Ra standing next to a blue outline of the average person, with an arrow directing straight from the person to She-Ra. "As carrier of the legendary sword, you were granted a limited amount of its abilities to assist you in finding the true owner of the blade. You were given a basic understanding of our language and technology, as well as the ability to borrow a portion of She-Ra's power."
"You mean the one that barely worked half the time?" She scoffed crossing her arms. "I could barely get that sword to work for me when I wanted to, so why don't you try explaining that!"
"I can." Catra almost regretted challenging her on that. "Your reasoning and personality were against the sword's own judgement. It found you lacking in honor, sincerity, and purity, all of which individually would have given you the power to transform, regardless of the inhibitor placed upon the sword."
"The inhibitor?" Catra looked off to the side as she remembered Entrapta's exact words.
"Great! So anyway, good-ish news, depending on what you want to hear and don't," Entrapta went on as she flipped through a handful of papers, "based on what I found, there is a small inhibitor keeping the sword's power from, being fully utilized."
"Fully utilized?" Catra repeated, looking back to the other two who gave her a shrug. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means there actually is something in the sword keeping you from using it's full power." She clarified.
"So it wasn't the sword's inhibitor that was keeping me from using it..."
"You had only shown one such case in which the sword granted you its power outside of your time of need." Catra knew perfectly well which time that had to have been, recalling the first time she was honest with herself after being threatened by the Queen. " As such, the blade's limited power would only grant you its strength when it was deemed most necessary."
"Most necessary..." That did explain a small portion of her past annoyances, which annoyed her in turn.
Until now, the two most important times she found herself actually requiring the sword was when they were attacked by a giant bug in the Whispering Woods. The other time was when the ridiculous Captain Sea Hawk lead them into the middle of the ocean in order to show off, forcing them to fend off a giant sea creature that towered over them. It's a wonder what would've happened if Catra didn't have She-Ra's strength at that time.
It also explained the other occurrences where it didn't work. She wasn't fighting anything dangerous when she was practicing in trying to transform after arriving in Bright Moon, the soldiers weren't intending to destroy her when she made her way through a Rebellion Training Camp, she was just trying to transform in front of the Queen for her own benefit the first time, and she managed to overpower the behemoth-like Force Captain she encountered back in Plumeria. Granted, it would've made the battle a lot more easier, but apparently the sword thought she was capable enough as she was.
It didn't get rid of one major concern she had. "But what about when I came across Adora, then?" She shot back. "Adora gave me a chance to transform back in Salineas with the Watergate! If you or this stupid sword had let me back then, she would've joined her side and then I could've handed her the sword in the first place!"
"I will admit fault on our part in its design." She admitted. "In addition to the other possible conditions, none of which you were found redeeming for," Catra couldn't tell if she meant based on her personality or based on her appearance at that, "the sword would not allow the Finder to transform if they were in the presence of She-Ra nearby, even if they were in danger. It was a means to help others track and locate She-Ra if they were ever to search for her."
She scratched at her head in frustration as she tried to process all of this. "I don't understand. You're saying, all this time, you wanted me to find Adora so she would become She-Ra? You weren't asking me for my help whatsoever?"
"I apologize for the misunderstanding, again. But all we required from you was your assistance in returning the sword to it's chosen wielder. The moment Adora came into direct contact with the blade, all of its necessary knowledge and detailed would've transferred to her immediately."
"When she... hang on a minute, that doesn't make any sense! Adora's already come into contact with the sword before, so why didn't it work?"
"Are you sure it was direct contact?" Light Hope questioned.
"Yeah!... I mean... kind of... Ugh!" She didn't know what was starting to annoy her further at this point, the realizations she was coming to or the fact Light Hope seemed to have an appropriate response to everything she had to ask.
...
*Clang!*
"Ghh!" Catra grunted as she was lowered to one knee, trying desperate to push the massive claw off her sword.
She didn't think she'd ever find herself on the opposite side of a claw trying to cut someone. If anything, she always thought she'd be the one clawing someone's face off, not the other way around. What's more, it wasn't just anyone's claw in particular that she was dealing with either. It was the darkened claw that belonged to the one single friend she had in this world.
Adora.
The blond Force Captain continued to grin as she looked at her other gargantuan arm of darkness, flexing the tips of her fingers while ignoring the person she was playing with.
...
"You're... letting us go?" Glimmer panted, doing her best to keep herself off the wall.
"No." Adora replied firmly. It was then that Catra noticed the string over Adora's chest that ran all around her from her shoulder to her left thigh. Trailing the string itself, Catra's jaw dropped as she removed the last thing she needed from her back, holding it out in her hands, still in its sheath.
The Sword of Protection.*
...
It was never direct contact, no matter how picky the details were. She never touched the sword directly with her own two hands, the shadowy darkness covering them obviously didn't count, and the sheathe itself was custom made by the crafters within the Rebellion, giving Catra a means to carry it on her back. It wasn't anywhere near First Ones technology, and even if it was, there was no guarantee it would've somehow connected Adora to the sword anyway.
"And... if I did return the sword to her... how would she be set on the right path?"
"We would display the same information to her and then some. She would have been informed of the important destiny that lied before her. With her, she would have most likely joined the Rebellion instead, and waged war directly on the Horde."
"Then that means..." Catra's eyes lit up with a spark of optimism for the first time in ages. If she got the sword back to Adora, she could get her to join the Rebellion! If she did that, she could learn or master the sword within minutes, add a powerful new ally to their cause, find a way to heal Glimmer, and most importantly, allow Catra the chance to make amends with her and hopefully prove to Adora that she never saw her as a tool.
Blinking, Catra quickly looked in all directions, looking for an exit. "How do I get out of here? Where's the sword?"
"Catra-" Light Hope tried to acquire her attention as Catra walked about.
"I know what I have to do now. If I can get the sword back to her, then I can-!"
"The sword will no longer respond to Adora's touch." Light Hope stated, freezing Catra in her place. She wasn't bothered by the look of confusion directed at her from the troubled magicat. "Now that the Alpha Protocol has been initiated, the Finder's Initiative has been rescinded."
"The Alpha proto..." What did she mean by that? What the heck was the Alpha Protocol, and what did it have to do with... Oh no. "What did you do?!" She hissed. Did this pest of a First Ones do something else that she wasn't aware of? Something that, most likely, botched her chances with making amends with Adora?!
"It is not out of what we've done that the Alpha Protocol has been initiated," with a pull of her hand, Catra watched as she brought over a new before them, "but what she did."
The scene she displayed brought pain and torment through Catra's heart as she watched the ten second loop of an all-too-familiar scene. It wasn't anything that happened that far into the past, it wasn't something that happened past the last week. it wasn't even anything that happened beyond the last twelve hours.
Here, Catra watched, as Light Hope replayed the video of Adora's betrayal, the very moment Adora turned her back on her after Catra's selfish past had literally caught up to them. The scene showed the ten-second interval as Catra had made her way to her best of friends just seconds before finding herself captured by the ferocious spider-like robots that forced her to the ground. There she could see just how helpless she was as Adora turned her back on her, watching as Adora went through the small door of light, the very same that slowly dwindled as the door closed itself, eventually leading it to perfect darkness.
And from there, against her personal wishes, Light Hope had the video repeated over and over again.
"Adora's heart has been consumed by an conflicting darkness. With anger, sorrow, confusion, and fear overwhelming her, the sword cannot recognize her anymore." She explained, popping up smaller displays next to the scene depicting her emotions.
Already Catra was starting to worry as her ears drooped along her head, the excitement displayed by her tail dwindling down to a small waft. "W-What, that?" She tried to play off with a nervous smile. "That wasn't anything! S-She was just having a real bad day, alright? Just give her another chance, she'll come around."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Catra." Before Catra was given the chance to counter, Light Hope threw out her argument as she displayed other various scenes from Adora's life since Catra's defection. Among them, Catra could see the twisted sense that had taken over Adora in those short intervals of her life. "When our defenses downloaded your memories, it also scanned for signs of irregularities, corruption, on Adora's behalf. The amount of details we received were quite... troubling."
...
"Your little friend never cared about any of us since day one." Lonnie continued to talk down as Adora lowered her head. "She didn't care about who she hurt, she didn't care about who was involved, and she didn't care about you. All that little freak ever wanted was whatever benefitted herself. End. Of. Story."
"...push ups..." Adora muttered.
"What?" Lonnie nearly flinched as Adora grabbed the collar of her vest, pulling her closer so she could see the anger burning in Adora's eyes.
"I said push ups! One-Hundred of them! Now!" She ordered.
The current screen gave off a small buzz as it shifted to a few moments after her order. "I want to hear you count!" She ordered, pressing her foot onto Lonnie's back. The girl grumbled louder at this but refused to bark back. Again, the scene skipped to a few seconds after. "I didn't say to stop counting! Start over!" Adora shouted down to Lonnie, continuing to apply pressure to her back.
...
"Adora... I really can't... I'm sorry..." Catra didn't know how much longer she could keep apologizing. It wasn't for a lack of effort, she didn't have much time to fix the Sea Gate's core.
"...I am too." Adora kept her gaze intensely on Catra as she raised her wrist to her face again.
"Adora, don't-!
"This is Force Captain Adora, do you read me Scorpia?"
"Yup, loud and clear, Adora." A staticy Scorpia said over the radio. "What are your orders?"
"Adora, please, don't do it!" Catra begged raising a hand forward. Adora stared at her sternly, making Catra wonder what was going through in her mind. Was she going to listen to her? Did this situation warrant enough to hope for it?
There was plenty of hope present in this situation, none of which reached the two best friends.
"Take down the barrier and everything around it!"
"No!" Catra lunged the Force Captain as fast as she could, too little too late as Adora slipped the radio off her list and into the water below them.
"She... She was just under orders for that." Catra argued, trying to find a means to defend her friend. "She wasn't doing any of that because she wanted to."
"She didn't seem unwilling to give you a chance, did she not?" Catra has never hated a person as much as the lady she needed to answer all of her questions. Every time she had a comeback, Light Hope had an easy rebuttal to make, dampening Catra's optimism and continuing to fill her with doubt as time went on. "Orders are not a thing one must do all the time. She was perfectly aware of her orders, and she chose to follow them."
...
"Catra..." She spoke softly. "I'm sorry all of this happened..." With a heartfelt apology, she slowly wrapped her arms around her captured friend, embracing her in a hug that provided her the only source of warmth she could feel at this moment. And from here, she leaned her head further to Catra's right ear as she whispered the most shocking of words to her. "But I did warn you, didn't I?" From the corner of her eye, she could see it.
Adora grinned, letting Catra be the only person to see it.
This. This was the trap. All along, she tricked Catra from the moment she came here, by putting Catra in a trap she knew she would never be able to escape from.
By letting Catra be herself.
...
All around her, Catra couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. The memories, the ones she has and hasn't seen before, were all shocking to see played back to back against one another. She remembered each of the events she bore witness to personally, with some of the unseen ones adding on a sense of guilt to Catra's already downridden conscious, remember how Adora commented on how much she's been defending her since leaving the Horde.
Are acts of violence against the people she considered friends truly the means she used to do it?
"I... This isn't what it looks like!" Catra's faltering argument was becoming more obvious to the artificial First One.
"Are you sure?" Turning her head from Catra to the monitor, the magicat followed suit as she watched the next display that took place, almost trembling for a second at what it was.
Glimmer's interrogation.
...
With that, she displayed her red-tinted eyes, one devoid of almost everything. "Now I'm not going to feel bad about what I do next." She stated monotonically.
"D-Do next?" The Princess gulped at how she worded that. "What do you mean by that?" Instead of answering the girl outright, Adora opted to provide a demonstration. Without batting an eyelash, she casually walked her way to the console, standing in front of it as she started to turn the device on.
"Thanks to Shadow Weaver, she was kind enough to make a few modifications to the restraints you're currently stuck in." Adora explained going on. "So, let's say I ask you a question, and I don't like the answer. And then, perhaps out of shock, or confusion, I accidentally hit this."
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*
*"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in agony. In one fell swoop, the electricity around her exploded in a mad frenzy, covering her entirety until Adora lowered the settings again. That pain, the surge she felt right now, felt like nothing compared to what Adora put her through in the last three seconds alone. She felt like her entire body was being shocked simultaneously, like bolts of lightning were striking every single part of her body at the same time.
"We'll call that, "letting my finger slip"." Adora joked, barely twitching a face as she did so in an uncaring mood. "So, the way this game is going to work is like this. I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to provide me with an answer. And every time I'm not satisfied with what you give me..."
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*
"Aggggggggghhhhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain, physically cried out in pain. The pain she was feeling was so barbaric compared to what she felt seconds ago. This person, this supposed person, was the friend Catra cherished so deeply?!
"Are we clear?"
"What do you want?" Glimmer cried out asking.
"I want to know how to break the spell you put on Catra." Adora replied firmly. "By the time this session is over, you're going to tell me exactly what I want to hear!" A small portion of her anger rose at that, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down.
"I don't know anything! There is no spell!"
"Liar!"
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her entire body wracked with pain as the surge continued.
This, was Adora's payback. This was the device that was going to solve all her problems. Watching as the princess cried out in pain, she proceeded with the electrocutions.
"There were no orders given to her at that time. She wasn't under any orders to interrogate your ally, or the barbaric means she used to extract the information." Catra tried to look at her for any sort of expressional response, though, none was given.
The sight of the interrogation alone was enough to almost frighten Catra. Her friend had changed more deeply than she thought, all for the sake of trying to save her. Glimmer's suffering through the interrogation was another part of guilt that was starting to weigh upon Catra's mind, seeing how Adora only did it for her sake.
The sake of their friendship.
And it still wasn't the darkest moment of Adora's life, in terms of resolve, that is.
...
And with her red-colored eyes opening, she continued, "I'm tired of always being the nice one. I am never allowing people to use me again, Catra. Not you, and not Shadow Weaver. And if Hordak tries to use me next, I'll get rid of him too."
"Get rid of...? W-What are you planning to do, Adora?" There was anger in Adora's tone, no matter how much she tried to force herself to repress it.
"Isn't it obvious?" To emphasize her point, she drew the shadows into her right arm, tightening her gargantuan form into a mighty fist. "I'm going back to the Horde, Catra. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you from achieving your selfish dream. And that starts with me, burning down everything that can hep you achieve your dream. Starting with the Rebellion," at this, Adora turned her back to her as she started to walk away, "and everyone in it."
...
"Adora's descent into darkness has grown progressively worse in such a short span of time." Light Hope finished as the last display vanished in front of them. "I fear what she will become as time moves on."
"But... Yeah, but..." Catra didn't know what to say. First she was told she wasn't supposed to find the sword, aka an accident, then she was told Adora would have joined the Rebellion if she had just gotten it to her in the first place, and now she was being told, and shown, the corruption and cruelty that Adora's been descending into in front of her very eyes! "It never would've happened if your stupid simulation thing never ruined her in the first place!"
"Our defenses did nothing to affect her in her time before coming here." She retorted. "It also would have recognized you as the Finder if you were purified by the sword by your time of coming here."
"Purified?" There were a number of ways that could've been taken and not one of them made any sense to her. "What do you mean purified?"
"Did you not noticed?" She asked in wonderment. "The memories it showed you?"
"My memories...?" How could she forget? She could never forget! Since day one of joining the Rebellion, she's been plagued endlessly by these barrage of visions of her past. They usually last seconds in the real world while anywhere between several minutes to half an hour could pass in her mind! "That was... You mean to tell me the sword is responsible for haunting me?!"
"It wasn't haunting you, Catra. It was trying to purify your heart of its darkness." Her explanation did nothing to ease the doubt clouding Catra's mind.
"Yeah, I think we both have two very different definitions of the word "purify", lady." She snarled.
"Think about it, Catra. What were you feeling towards the end of those memories?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, "confusion at why it was happening? Frustration at how annoying my past was? Take your pick, I got a list of complaints to make about 'em."
"I mean within them, Catra. What did you feel towards the ends of those memories?"
"I don't know, I just..." She tried to think as she scratched her head. "I... I don't really know what I was feeling. All of them were different, but I...I don't know. I just know when I was with Adora, I was feeling... safer, maybe? Relieved?"
"You were feeling peace, Catra." Light Hope stated. "An emotion you haven't experienced in a long time, one you can't even recognize anymore. In each of your experiences, no matter how frightful they were, you always felt a sense of calmness and serenity. For one to be able to use the sword with ease, one of several conditions must be met, one of which is being-"
"-at peace..." Catra stared at her right hand as she clenched it softly. Is that really what she was feeling at the end of all those memories? Something along the lines of peace? She knew there were some memories that were happier than others when she was a kid, and she did like a few days out of her childhood growing up, from the ones she saw anyway.
Was this supposed to be what peace felt like, then? Happiness? Calming? She really couldn't say. She knew there were a handful of times she was feeling happy or calm, yet during the few experiences she could turn into She-Ra, she always felt some sort of wave washing over her, assuring her that she could transform again. During the few times she was actually happy in the Rebellion or calmed after a stressful day of work, she felt nothing.
When it came down to it, what truly was peace?
"...So... what's this whole Alpha Protocol thing you mentioned then?" Catra asked with morbid curiosity. Every time a question of hers was answered, it left her a little more depraved of her optimism, and was starting to fill her with worry.
"The last hope we have as of now." With this, Light Hope pulled up the final display she had to offer.
This one depicted another basic character outline, filled in blue, on the left hand side of the image, and a reddish filled-in outline on the right hand side, that appeared to be in the shape of She-Ra if Catra guessed accurately. The strange part was how in-between the two was an outline of the sword, with an arrow pointing to it from the blue outline to the sword, and, to her confusion, an X standing between the She-Ra outline and the sword.
It gave off a dreadful feeling in Catra's heart as she stared at display. Whatever the image was showing her, somehow she knew, it was going to end badly.
"The Alpha Protocol is the system in place should the current She-Ra perish, or if she has been deemed unsuited for her destiny. Should She-Ra be incapable of fulfilling her task under those conditions, ownership of the sword would transfer."
"Transfer to who?" With so many other thoughts clouding her mind at the moment, even the obvious stuff didn't fully reach her at the time. Waiting several seconds for a response, she turned her attention back to Light Hope, seeing the woman staring directly at her. There were no words, no expressions to read, all Catra had to go by was the lingering silence until it struck her. "...Y-You mean... me?"
"That is correct."
"But you just said I wasn't worthy of the sword to begin with! Why are you suddenly throwing the sword at me now? We should give it to Adora while we have the time!"
"You're not listening, Catra. Even if Adora was to grab the sword, nothing would happen. To her, it would be nothing more than a sword created by us, and she will never be able to awaken its power, not on her own. She will never be able to reclaim the sword unless the darkness vanishes from her heart."
"Then... You mean..." Catra's eyes wavered as she looked down, staring into thought.
There was no going back for Adora. There was no way for Catra to fix everything, to bring Adora back on the right side of this war. As long as she remained in the Horde, she would be their Officer. As long as she hated Catra with the utmost contempt, she would do everything in her power to make Catra, and the people she cared about, suffer. And as long as Light Hope and the sword were in doubt of Adora's heart, she would never be able to reclaim her destiny.
The sword belonged to Catra now, whether she liked it or not. All that has happened to Adora, from her suffering and grief, her epiphany over what their past has lead to, the people who've manipulated Adora behind the scenes, all of it had lead to this moment. Every ounce of bad luck, every abysmal dilemma that could and has happened, has been building up to where they were now.
All of this, right from the beginning, has happened, because Catra came across the sword first. She didn't know anything about the sword back then, and barely wanted anything to do with it other than to turn it in to the Horde, just to give herself some fancy big promotion. Her greed was what separated her from her best friend, her lack of emotion and heart was what was holding the Sword's power back, even with the inhibitor.
"...Let me see if I got this straight..." Catra inhaled deeply and released a calming breath as she prepared her long winded summarization.
"I was never the one who was meant to take the sword, but because I came across it by accident and touched it, that started some Finder's thing that couldn't even talk to me because my heart was screwed up or whatever. Because of that, I could never get the sword working, and my friends had to pay for that. So I ran around wasting time while Adora was being corrupted on the other side."
"After awhile, we finally meet each other again, but because of the stupid defense thing running around this place, it showed us scenes from our own past that sent Adora off the deep end, and because she left me behind, that automatically makes her unworthy of having the sword anymore. And because of that, you activated some Alpha thing in order to take the possession of the sword away from her, and now you're giving it to me despite the fact you never wanted me in the first place. Am I understanding everything here?"
"Essentially, yes. I do apologize for the confusion and grievances you might be experiencing through all of this, Catra, but Etheria has need of you now. More than ever." At this, the multiple displays and images around her began to dissipate within a matter of seconds, disappearing in the air around them. When the last one finally came to an end, Catra found herself nearly blinded as she was engulfed in another bright light emanating from Light Hope's chest.
She might not have understood a detail or two here, and it was safe to say there was plenty she forgot to mention. So many emotions were running through her at the time, distracting her from all possible questions she had yet to answer, her mind clouded in an emotional void. Light Hope seemed insistent on making Catra the new She-Ra, a plan Catra couldn't tell if it was a mistake or not to do so. But there was one thing Catra was aware of as she prepared to witness the destiny Light Hope claimed she had.
Everything that has happened to everyone she came across, has been her fault. She was not a hero.
She was not a She-Ra.
...
...
...
A/N: Gawd, that was painful to write X_X... Like I said people, apologies for the quality, reeeeeeeally really sorry, and if you guys want me to I'll take down the chapter later. I'm hoping it did at least answer your questions though. And to be fair, the entire chapter, when it came down to it, were two people talking back and forth to each other. The fact i turned a single conversation into an over 7.4k words is astounding to me :/
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter we'll finally return to the main plot as we hear the traditional story of the past and First Ones and whatnot, with some changes to fit catra of course ^^
Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon ^^!