A/N: HOOOOOOOLY BALLS i think this is a new record :O! I'll be honest, I actually did come to a good cut-off point earlier in the chapter, and I'm pretty sure some fans will notice where, but then I thought it seemed a little too short, and since the episode was nearing its end, I decided to see it through to the end ^^...hooooo boy, now you know why I try not to do more than 5-7 minutes worth of footage per chapter T_p (it was also the only excuse i could come up with to post and finish this season faster so I can start watching season 2 XD)
Lol, anyway, hope you all enjoy!
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"Lo-Lord Hordak!" Shadow Weaver was incapable of thinking what to say, the words emptying from her lips out of sheer instinct. "W-What are you doing here?"
This could not be happening. Not here, not now! Here was Lord Hordak, over the monitors, watching over them with a fascinating curiosity as he grinned. He had heard everything that uttered straight from Shadow Weaver's lips, all of her wicked plans and schemes lying before him in a big healthy basket of betrayal. The amount of shock that dripped from her head was nowhere near in comparison to the shock she had at just who betrayed her.
Adora. Her Adora.
Everything she's spent years in the process of detailing and perfecting had suddenly crashed right in front of her very eyes. Since day one she had molded and crafted her one true ally into being the perfect soldier. Obedient, strong, wise, all these things were what Shadow Weaver bestowed upon her since the moment she was found. She was her little spark, her little gem, the shining key behind all of this that would've made this work all the way through!
She had Adora trained by the best of instructors and teachers around here, she offered her the most care and comfort to ensure that she would always look up to her, almost like a mother. She did everything she could to provide for her and scold her when she considered it the most necessary. She never laid a hand on her like all the rest, never tried to purposely scare her except whenever she truly needed it. She was the closest thing to a daughter, something she made sure Adora was well aware of to make sure she would never risk the chance of betraying her.
Why would she ever expect Adora to betray her of all people? She was the closest thing she had to a mother, she was the one person to give her a gift, the head band which granted her tremendous power. Adora had nothing to gain from betraying her other than entering Lord Hordak's good graces, and there was no way she could ever want that.
And here she was now. Standing in front of her with a prideful grin as she looked back to the leader of the Horde, the one who lead the Horde through his mass of intellect and creative genius. He was the one who waged war upon this world, and he was the one who decided what happened and where. Failure was not tolerable to him, multiple times or even once.
Above all else, there was no room in his Horde for traitors.
"I came to witness everything for myself, Shadow Weaver." Hordak replied, petting the head of his useful pet as it appeared over the screen. "I admit I was quite surprised when I heard you were planning on overthrowing me, though, given your tenacity and pungent for
power, it wasn't unexpected."
"M-My Lord, there must be some mistake!" Shadow Weaver tried to defend her innocence as she formulated a plan. "I have always shown the utmost loyalty and respect for-"
"Save your breath, Shadow Weaver." Hordak scowled, the pet hissing in his master's defense. "I always knew you were up to something the day you started dotting over a single child throughout your life. Your strive for compassion and good fortune were always a means to an end with you, no matter how much care you showed."
"How much..." Shadow Weaver turned her attention to the Force Captain who stood her ground with authority as Scorpia approached from behind her. "I don't know how he found out, Adora, but no matter what he says, you mustn't listen to whatever he had to offer you! You can still turn this around-!"
"Hahaha!" At the sound of his cackling, the dreading witch turned back towards the mocking Lord. "Offer her? I didn't even have to approach the young officer about this. She came to me, willingly!"
"Sh... She what?" Adora? Her Adora? The one she had shown affection and wisdom to throughout the years? She went to Lord Hordak himself about all of her plans? "How... That's not true-!"
"Why wouldn't it be true?" Adora spoke nonchalant, the expression on her face hiding whatever thoughts were going through her mind. "You always did tell me, Shadow Weaver. How to undermine my enemies, how to exploit them. To make allies in the right places and enemies in the wrong. I'm just doing what you've been teaching me after all these years." She grinned. "Quite frankly, I thought you'd be more proud of me."
"A... Adora..."
"You were right about her, Shadow Weaver." Lord Hordak deemed as his pet jumped off screen. "The girl is full of surprises and promise. You should hear what she has planned for the Black Garnet."
"T-The Garnet?"
*bzzzt!*
Hearing this, the group looked back towards the Black Garnet itself, seeing a certain scientist continuing to adjust the wires and metals of the machine she was building around it. Already, the girl had a semi-functioning control console as well as a several power-adapters that were running around the Runestone itself. The confusion growing over Shadow Weaver's mind was almost perfectly matched by the stroke of fear that as starting to engulf her.
"What are you doing?!" She roared angrily, Entrapta giving a slight "eek" at the rage directed at her. It took all of her power to hold back Emily, her personal droid, from charging the wicked witch from threatening its master.
"Whatever she wants to, Shadow Weaver." He answered in her stead. "Since the girl came to the Horde, she's increased the firepower of all our weapon and technology in a process that have taken our own scientists years to come up with. Whatever she is doing with the Black Garnet, she is allowed it. As I've said to you before, the Black Garnet is mine to do with as I see fit. And with all that I've witnessed till now, I see little reason to continue allowing it in your hands."
"Y-You-You can't do this to me!" The blackness in her hair began to spiral out of control as the rage began to escalate. "I've unlocked its secrets, the power that lays dormant in it! I've learned how to harness its power for magic, learned to transfer it into a useful weapon! It belongs to me!"
"Not anymore. Force Captain Adora, Scorpia. Please see to it that our new prisoner is escorted personally to her new cell."
"Yes, Lord Hordak." Scorpia saluted with a nod, running her way over to the biggest traitor the Horde has ever known.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With a mad howl that rocked the entire room, Shadow Weaver blasted her dark powers in all directions in a massive wave, temporarily engulfing Scorpia, Adora, Entrapta, and Emily in one sweep, and destroying the monitors as they stretched across the room. When it subsided, the girls, and robot, were shown to be frozen in place, a red aura lighting off their bodies as a result. "YOU WRETCHED INGRATE!" Shadow Weaver screamed, amassing the shadows around her as she approached the one who betrayed her.
"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! COMPASSION! SUPPORT! I HAVE NEVER TREATED ANYONE THE WAY I'VE TREATED YOU, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!" Adora showed no signs of fear as Shadow Weaver towered over her. The last time she towered over her like this, she got the scolding of a lifetime, something Adora always feared to see again. "ALL THAT I'VE DONE, ALL THE TIME SPENT, HAS BEEN WASTED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY CHILD! ALL MY WORK! ALL MY EFFORT! DASHED AWAY BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND COULD YOU?!"
"I WILL NEVER ALLOW LORD HORDAK TO TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? I'VE WORKED TOO HARD FOR ALL OF THIS TO LET IT BE SHATTERED BY ONE MISTAKE, BY YOU OF ALL PEOPLE! FOR ALL THE ATTENTION I GAVE YOU, FOR ALL THAT I'VE HELD DEAR, I RISKED IT ON YOU, AND YOU DO THIS TO ME! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!"
"...Tch...pft...pffffffft! Heheheheh!" Laughter. The girl was actually laughing. She jerked her elbows around as she convulsed into a massive fit of laughter, her lower head keeping Shadow Weaver from seeing her face. "Tch, hahahahahaha!"
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, YOU FEEBLE WORM?!"
"Hahahaha! Oh, boy... I don't know what's funnier right now. The fact you've wasted so much time on me," with probably one of the most sinister smiles she's ever seen on the girl's face, Adora lifted her head, surprising Shadow Weaver that she could move at all, "or the fact you think you're still holding me."
*crash!*
There wasn't enough time to so much as blink before what happened next. With the gem glowing off of Adora's band, the Force Captain gave a mighty roar as she slammed Shadow Weaver across the room with one swing of her gargantuan, shadow-covered, arms. The dark witch couldn't even comprehend what just happened, nor how it happened, as she rose off the ground again. From here, she could see Adora grinning, continuing to walk over to her with no signs of fear, despite the red aura that surrounded her.
"What?!" How was she still moving? How was she resisting her control like this? That gem didn't nullify Shadow Weaver's own powers. She shouldn't be able to do this! "How can you move like this?!"
"Oh, poor, Shadow Weaver." Adora continued to taunt. Shouting, Shadow Weaver blasted at her with deadly streaks of red lightning, never caring at this moment about who her intended target was. This was nothing more than child's play for Adora as she casually dashed off to the side, avoiding the pain streaks that nearly struck Scorpia. "You still haven't learned a thing after all this time, have you?"
"See, while I was stuck being the obedient little slave of yours that answered your beck and call," Shadow Weaver blasted another wave of her darkness directly at the girl, only for Adora to easily block it with the palm of her hand, "I've been training. Ever since you gave me this gift, this wonderful head band I thought you made with love, I've been training. Practicing. Honing my skills for the day I ever came across Catra again, the one you lied about being brainwashed."
"Arrrrrrgh!" With both of her hands, the murderous witch blasted the largest bolts of lightning she could muster, firing more than a dozen of the deadly bolts in a cone in front of her, leaving no chance for the girl to escape. At least, she assumed she had no means to escape. But Adora was clever, quick-thinking. With one arm raised to the sky, the three watched as a massive tentacle sprang from her arms, latching on to one of the ceiling pipes and pulling her out of harms way.
Following her trail with their eyes, they saw Adora hanging from under one of the sturdy pipes, a look of glee and amusement crossing her as she created another gargantuan clawed arm on her left. Before Shadow Weaver could even think of what she was doing, they saw and heard as Adora pulled away one of the massive pipes, crushing it and releasing the contents that filled it as it spread across the chamber.
Steam.
*ffffffffffffft*
The pipes gave off a hollowed groan as the white smoke danced across the room. Dissipated and spread around like this, the three who were being surrounded by the thick fog felt very little in comparison to what they would have suffered if they took it at full force. There was barely an increase in humidity as Shadow Weaver's vision began to obscure, losing sight of everyone around her until all she could see was a room full of white.
She cautiously stepped forth into the fog as she heard Adora drop down from the ceiling. She was going to give her the biggest piece of her mind when she finally grasped her hands around her throat again!
"And during my practice," Shadow Weaver turned in all directions, hearing the voice echoing all around her, "I learned a few tricks."
"Haaaa!" Behind her, Shadow Weaver threw a combined bolt of her lightning and shadow at the same time, penetrating the fog for a few seconds as she tried blasting what she picked up as the source of the voice. What little she may have seen of a shadowy figure through the penetrated fog ended up being too fast for her as it disappeared immediately after, the fog filling up the small vacant hole soon after.
It still wasn't enough to deter the witch as she continued blasting wherever the source of the sound appeared to be coming from.
"I learned how to harness my shadows better."
*crash!*
"How to defend my body with it while using it to attack at the same time.
*Bash!*
"How I can easily nullify your own shadows against mine with just a thought!"
*crush!*
"Not a day went by where I didn't devote my life to you and the Horde, just to find out you've been using me since the moment I met you!"
"How could you betray me like this Adora?" Shadow Weaver tried to maintain her composure as she steadied her magic. Blasting around wildly wasn't going to help. She needed to figure out a way to draw Adora out, and think of a plan after she did. "Did anything I did for you mean nothing to you? Was it so easy to turn a blind eye and betray me like this?"
"No. Not at all." The girl didn't drop an ounce of her tone as she spoke, eluding Shadow Weaver's attention as she tried to find her. "In fact, I never wanted to do this. I wish I didn't have to do this."
"Then it's not too late, Adora." She stood at attention as he placed her hands behind her back in a calming manner, hiding the small pool of magic she was gathering in her palms. "Join me now, and we can still take out Lord Hordak, together! The Horde would be ours for the taking, Etheria for us to rule! All of it can be ours, now and forever."
"And why would I want that?" The girl wasn't falling for any of her words of comfort, whether through her training of repressing her emotions with the head band, or through sheer will. "Why would I want to help the person that never showed any real love or care for me since I was found? What makes you think I would ever help somebody that showed me false compassion throughout all of my life, to make me think I was cared for by someone I looked up to, to find out I was just a pawn in your game?"
"It hurt, Shadow Weaver." At long last, the fog started to dissipate, revealing the room around her. She saw Scorpia, Entrapta, and Emily still frozen, and the broken monitors with glass lining the floors, but no Adora. "It hurt a lot. Almost as much as your methods to train young children." Getting fed up with the game of cat and mouse, Shadow Weaver directed her magic into both her sides, attempting to sweep the room in one go. Unfortunately, like before, it was met with little result as she struck nothing, adding on to dissipate the steam further.
"I know what your cruelty does to children, Shadow Weaver. It confuses them, makes them wonder what they did wrong, makes them fearful to the point where they only think of themselves, and it turns them into freaks. Your methods have gone on to ruin the Horde, Shadow Weaver, and that's when I decided." Without warning, the very instant that Shadow Weaver turned around, she found a shroud of shadow covering around her forehead, crushing against the gem that housed her powers. And for a split second, she saw the look on Adora's face, the look in her eyes that showed Shadow Weaver what she was feeling.
It was sinister pleasure.
"I don't care anymore."
*CRUNCH!*
"Noooooooooo!" With a single squeeze around her mask, unable to see the little tendrils directly touching the gem, she heard it. That one sound of untimely horror that Shadow Weaver had always feared to hear. With little specks of red dropping in front of her, she watched helplessly as the source of her power, the gems extracted from the Black Garnet directly, were shattering before her very eyes. All at once, the power and shadows that had engulfed the room quickly receded, the red aura diminishing over Scorpia, Entrapta, and Emily as they could move again.
Powerless, after Adora released her grip on her, the witch dropped to her knees, scrambling to pick up the shattered pieces of the gem as they turned dark and lifeless. "No.. No no nooooo!" She cried. It was over. Everything she had worked up to till now, was officially over, all because the one person she trusted the most betrayed her.
"I might never know what you did to Catra to turn her into this," Adora commented as she circled her. "and I don't care about that either. All I know is what you've taught me, and I did exactly like you said. I saw an opportunity to get rid of you, and I took it, like you've always been telling me to."
This... This is what she's been turning Adora into all these years? This couldn't be! Where was that innocent little girl that stood in front of her all this time? What happened to that perky smile that was plastered on her face whenever she saw her, even if she wasn't smiling? What in Etheria's name happened to turn her into this?
She worked her tirelessly to ensure she would never turn her back on her. The lessons she taught her she thought she would never use against her, not with the love that she showed her. Not a day went by where other children didn't wish they were in Adora's place, being under Shadow Weaver's constant and good graces, instead of fearing for their lives in case they ever did anything to Adora instead. Nobody wanted to be Adora's enemy, and dew ever wanted to become her friend because of her relationship to her.
She caused Adora's rise to power, and caused her own downfall.
"I've created a monster..." She finally realized, squeezing the remains of the gem in her grip.
"No," Adora was still giving a wicked smile as she squatted in front of her, "you've created your replacement. Someone as young as me who's surpassed you in just about every way. And that should be a very comforting thought for you."
That was when Shadow Weaver remembered the head band over her forehead, the one that amplified her emotions tenfold when she didn't suppress them. Whatever minor thoughts she was harboring at this time was a result of it, the implications causing her to act as cruel as she was now. "Adora, listen. This isn't you talking, this is the headband-"
"I know." Adora butted in, waving her hand uncaring. "And I don't care. Out of everything you've taught me growing up, this was the one thing you were wrong about, Shadow Weaver. I shouldn't be trying to suppress my emotions with this thing, I should be embracing them! They give me such a sense of relief that I didn't think was possible before! And it's all thanks to you that I have this now, and it's the only reason, and out of respect for raising me, that I convinced Lord Hordak not to execute you for this."
"Adora..." Lowering her head, the dark witch refused to show the solemn look in her eye as Adora continued to gloat. "You forgot about one thing, child."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"Without me, you will never be able to harness the Black Garnet's energy. Your stupid head band will be as useful as a paperweight when you finally drain it of all its power."
"Huh, really now..." Rising up to her feet as Scorpia approached Shadow Weaver from behind, she watched as Adora made her way over to the Black Garnet, standing in front of her as a proud symbol of the Horde.
The source of Shadow Weaver's power, the Runestone gifted to the Horde by Scorpia's kingdom, and the key to turning this entire war into their favor. Here it stood, as tall and mighty as Lord Hordak himself, letting all who gazed upon it awe and wonder at its magnificence and importance.
Placing her hand against the crystal, she closed her eyes as she concentrated. Until now, Shadow Weaver has never been able to see Adora preform this task on her own, the girl never managing to siphon a mere fraction of the power the Black Garnet was capable of bestowing upon her head band. She always needed Shadow Weaver for help with this, the black witch being her one source of power throughout all this time, the one person who could harness its power for herself and all she wished to share it with.
Until today.
Against Shadow Weaver's beliefs, against her wishes, it was happening. With a slight tingle running across Adora's hands, she watched as a small strip of red lightning danced around the back of her hand, being siphoned through Adora's willpower, as the energies were pulled directly to her headband. There were no words to describe the feel of what was happening between both of them, Shadow Weaver in a state of utter disbelief, and Adora feeling refreshed like she slept for a hundred hours in one day.
This power was amazing! Astounding! It was no wonder Shadow Weaver was so drawn to its secrets and all it had to offer! With something like this within the Hordes' grasp, there was no end to the possibilities they could use this thing for, and with all that Adora and Entrapta had in mind, they were going to see it used to its full potential, and a means to turn this war around in their favor.
At long last, Adora let out a sigh of sweet relief as she felt the power wash over her, the headband on her forehead rejuvenating with new life. The girl had finally mastered the means to draw the garnet's power to herself, without Shadow Weaver's assistance. There was no longer any use for Shadow Weaver, and she might not be kneeling here if it wasn't for Adora's, her pupil's, good graces.
"Ah... much better." Adora smiled as she stared at her flexing fingertips. "So, you were saying?" As expected, the witch went silent at this. She knew there was nothing else to say, nothing she could do to defend herself. "That's what I thought. Scorpia, restrain Shadow Weaver and bring her to a fresh cell. I don't think we'll be needing her anytime soon." Nodding, Scorpia grinned as she picked the evil sorceress up from her armpits, dragging her away as Adora examined the Black Garnet, all while Entrapta was still messing with the machine.
*shoom*
"Ah!" At the sound of the yelp, Adora and Entrapta turned towards the door, growing surprised at the sight of a familiar figure and the two royal guards who escorted him. "Lord Hordak!"
The leader scowled at the sight of he disastrous witch, the former second in command who had earned her spot at his side until recently. He would have seen the witch burned or hanged like she should be, if not for Adora's one condition in return for all of her obedience. "Get this garbage out of my sight." He ordered. Scorpia gave a respectful salute as she continued dragging her away, the two guards following alongside her as Hordak entered the room personally, examining the ruined room and its steaming destruction.
"Lord Hordak." Adora greeted respectfully, kneeling before him with her head down and her fist planted to the ground.
"Adora," he greeted back, allowing the girl to rise again, "you did quite well. In your sentencing, I gave you a week to atone for the great loss you caused, and tasked you with finding a way to replace our spoils. And what did you do? Not only do you return in just one day, you managed to acquire a powerful new ally, discovered advanced technologies from the Data Crystal you unearthed, and rounded out a high-ranking traitor who has been in our midst this whole time. You've more than tripled your necessary contribution, Adora, and I personally thank you for that."
"You honor me, Lord Hordak." Adora gave a small bow at this, suppressing her emotions within his presence.
"However, one question still eludes me about you, Adora." The sound of his voice was enough to warrant her full attention. "How can I be sure I can continue to trust you throughout all of this?"
"Because I only have two conditions, My Lord." Adora stated, holding up two fingers. "One, I never want me and my friends to ever be seen as your pawns, or expendable."
"I would never dream wasting such valuable allies." His tone was genuine, as well as his commitment. He gave the girl what should have been an impossible task, granting her a single week out of his blessing, and she returns with a prize three times the size of what she was required to in over a day. He would be a fool to betray the trust of someone so valuable such as her! "And your other condition?"
"It's ready!" Entrapta announced, smiling with excitement as she rubbed her hands together.
Instead of answering his question, Adora turned her back to him as she walked over to the Black Garnet again, examining all the wires and power modules hooked up to it that Entrapta managed to place within minutes. This was what all her time and effort was going to come down to, and, at long last, it was time to see the results. Without so much as a word, she gave Entrapta a simple nod, the scientist shrieking with excitement as she threw a pair of purple goggles over her eyes.
"This is gonna be so much fuuuuun!" Rapidly clicking against the control module all the wires and machinery was hooked up to, smiling with uncontrollable glee as she cracked her knuckles. "Alright everyone! Lets. Get. WEIRD!" And with the flick of a switch, it happened.
*whoooooooooooooooooooo-!*
The machine hummed to life as Adora and Hordak were in fascination, seeing massive bolts of the Black Garnet's energy swirling around the mighty Runestone. The power ran all throughout the cables connecting to the great gem, stretching up to the ceiling and against the walls that the cables protruded out from. Whatever this machine was, Hordak knew that he was going to be thoroughly impressed with the results.
And he was not disappointed.
Against all the walls around them, they witnessed as a handful of red crystals, the ones that illuminated the room lightly and decorated this dreary place, began to shatter. Black smoke began to rise from the crystal itself as power was being generated through its core, creating a massive wave of energy the likes of which has never been seen before! It didn't limit itself to destroying the crystals either as Adora noticed all the shadows across the room, from the smallest crevices to the ones under their feet, were being drawn towards the Black Garnet, adding on to fuel its power.
The fortress rumbled violently, the residence of the mighty citadel feeling the ground shaking beneath them, as the Black Garnet finally exhumed its power. In one mighty burst, straight from the crystal, Adora, Hordak, and Entrapta watched as a giant pillar of energy burst through the ceiling, the entire fortress, and blasted into the sky. In a barrage of black and red, the powerful beam shot straight into the clouds, erupting them into a thunderous storm as red lightning protruded out from every angle of the pillar's blast mark, booming the noise of thunder all around the Fright Zone.
Forget tripled. This girl has managed to quintuple her contribution to the Horde in a day's time, a feat never made possible before in all of the Horde's history. This lone Horde Officer was a goldmine in and of itself, Hordak looking back as he saw the girl squeezing her fist out of her own excitement at the display.
Whatever else this girl wanted he would make sure she was given. He would never turn away such a useful asset to the Horde, as long as she showed promise.
"I want to burn the Rebellion into ashes."
...
...
"Come again?" Light Hope inquired as Catra stepped away.
"I said no!" She growled, squeezing the claws against her palms.
"Catra, do you not understand your importance? All of Etheria is counting on you-"
"My importance?!" She gritted her teeth angrily as she glared back. "What exactly makes you think I'm important around here? That I'm necessary anymore?!"
"Since I've joined the Rebellion, I've made it look like a joke, got my friends captured and tortured, couldn't pull off one single mission without losing somebody's life because of my own recklessness, caused a huge uproar that resulted in the Princess Alliance to disband, can't pull off a stupid healing magic that I need to save my friend, lost the best friend I ever had in my life, and now this!"
"You're telling me that I was never chosen to begin with, that I was just in the wrong place in the wrong time. I went through all of this nonsense, all of this craziness, when in reality, all I was required to do was a stupid delivery girl the entire time, and even that I couldn't pull off because my heart wasn't pure or whatever cheesiness you claim it to be, that the form of She-Ra was only a fourth of what it was capable of and I'm still not capable of pulling off the true form of She-Ra because of my personality!"
"And you know what? I'm fine with that part. I don't want to change for anyone other than myself, big whoop! I relied on my speed and recklessness the entire time, to think on my feet while fighting off my enemies. That's probably the one thing I've come to learn about myself out of all of this. But you want to know the one part that bugs me as of now, the one incredible reality that you just threw on top of me out of this? You!"
"You guys never wanted me to begin with, yet you took me anyway. Since finding the sword, my entire life has been torn apart from my livelihood, my home, and the one friend who now has a personal vendetta against an entire Rebellion because of how I treated her in the past. You practically didn't give me any choice, you asked me to help with an annoying message you weren't advanced enough to get out properly, and then, right then, you have the nerve to ASK for me help, again, even though you still don't want it?! After everything you put me through, after how much you've ruined my life, you're asking ME for help?!" The magicat panted in exhaustion as she finished her long winded retelling.
She could not recall the last time she ever felt as angry as she does now. She was hurt, confused, betrayed, scared, and above all else, enraged. After everything she's experienced up till now, all the horrible stuff she had to put up with since she became, or thought she became, She-Ra, just to find out no one wanted her actual help in the first place, and instead wanted the help of someone else?
It was painful to take all at once.
"I understand your anger, Catra. You have every right to be upset right now." Light Hope acknowledged as the girl pulled at her own ears. "Etheria has need of you, Catra. The Alpha Protocol can not be undone once it's been activated, and it wouldn't recognize Adora if it was. You are the last-"
"Get me out of here." The bile in her voice was filled with disdain, Catra being unable to look Light Hope in the eyes as she ordered her. "I am not a She-Ra, okay? I will never be She-Ra, and it wouldn't matter if I was." Pain was all she could feel at that moment inside her heart, her ears twitching as she pent up the emotions swirling inside of her. "Everyone gets hurt because of me. I ruin everything no matter how much I try to make things better. If I tried to be She-Ra, I could end up destroying the world myself for all we know. I'm not a hero, I'm not some great leader, I'm..." She paused as she faced her right hand, watching the claws extend from them as she frowned.
"...I'm just a freak..."
Nothing would get through to her, she realized. Her emotions were rapidly changing her moods on a dime, her confusion was keeping her from seeing the importance of what her mission was. She might be able to tell what was going on through her mind with the readings they had, but there was no way to gauge what was going on in her heart. Being built to understand emotions meant nothing to someone if she couldn't process emotions themselves.
After a brief silence, Light Hope raised her hand as it shined, creating a small triangular pink door right next to Catra. "If that is your decision, then so be it. We can not force you to fulfill your destiny, yet you will always be She-Ra until then, or you perish."
Right now, the latter seems preferable. The ex-She-Ra said to herself, walking over towards the triangular door of light. She didn't want to die herself or anything, that was a fact. She would fight tooth and nail if someone tried to harm her. But if her end meant that a new She-Ra would take her place and be tasked with saving the world, then it sounded better in the long run. Knowing them, they would be able to get everything done right, do so without screwing everything up.
"But know this last condition, Catra." Light Hope said as she held up three fingers. "The final requirement to obtain the true form of She-Ra, the last role you need to fulfill in order to summon the sword's power, is to acquire a sense of selflessness." To Catra's surprise, the last statement actually made her stop before she walked through the doorway.
"Selflessness? Pffft, what do you think I've been doing this whole time? Standing around wagging my tail back and forth like an idiot?"
"I'm referring to True Selflessness, Catra." She reaffirmed. "Once you obtain a sense of that, when you finally let go of your past, when you think of saving the lives of others over yourself, only then will you finally don the true form of She-Ra."
"...You're wasting your time, lady." At this, Catra turned back towards the doorway, walking through with the final word. "I'm not who you think I am." And with that, she vanished from the simulation as the pink door closed behind her.
Not a second after, Light Hope observed her surroundings as the entire place began to rumble. Some sort of outside interference was affecting the inner world that she was presently in, distorting the scenery and herself in the process. Someone or something has tapped into the Runestones' powers, and began to corrupt the world of Etheria itself.
She was a program, she knew that since the beginning. She was tasked with ensuring the destiny of She-Ra and finding those who were worthy of becoming its champion as best she could. She was taught how to respond and react to the emotions of others, even though she was incapable of experiencing real emotions for herself.
And yet, for just one moment, she swore as she lowered her head, and she felt a twinge of sadness.
"Then all is lost..." Lost was the world. Lost was the Champion of Grayskull. Lost was the being known as Light Hope as she disappeared from this crumbling simulation.
...
"Ngh..." Catra moaned as she came to, blinking her eyes awake slowly as she felt around. "Now where am I?" She had to be back in the real world, she was sure of that. Leaning up from the flat surface of the strange room, she was back in the Crystal Castle, lying against a small altar surrounded by crystals behind it as tall as she was. This was definitely the Crystal Castle, she could tell at first glance. The intricate markings in the ground, the fact there were crystals around this place to begin with, and the sense of helplessness as she curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees and her tail against her feet.
What was she to do now? She didn't get anymore powerful than she was when she left Castle Bright Moon the other day. According to Light Hope, the form she had been using after all of this time was a fourth of She-Ra's actual power, on top of a fourth of the power she had access to due to the inhibitor that had been placed upon the sword. That meant even if she could transform into She-Ra, the form she's incorrectly known her to be, that she would still be at a fourth of She-Ra's true power, and that did nothing to help her.
She came her over a day ago to find a way to help someone, somebody she considered a new friend out of a pair of friends she now had. She wanted to actually help her, to find a way to heal her after her own personal mistakes, and set out on this mission with the intent of returning with a means to do so.
And now she had nothing to return with. With the sword lying at her side, there was no way in knowing what to do now. Every time she helps, she makes things worse. Everything she ignores a problem, it escalates and eventually comes back to bite her, like how she ignored the way she treated Adora after all these years, and saw what she turned into as a result. She messes up everything no matter what she does, all because she was around.
Maybe that was the solution to this problem? If she stayed here for the rest of her life, maybe everyone else would be okay. She wouldn't be directly helping them in the process, and it wouldn't be ignoring them either if she was doing it with them in mind. "Yeah, sounds about right." She mumbled, burying her face into her knees.
Just sitting curled up like this, staying within the Crystal Castle where no one else knew to find. Maybe that was her ultimate purpose in life? Staying away from everybody for their own benefit, so she could finally do something useful for once by not being in the presence of anybody. If she was She-Ra, she assumed any of the security that lingered around here wouldn't trigger anymore, and that meant she wouldn't have to deal with those pesky robot spiders in the process.
Just sitting around here for the rest of her life, away from others so she could do no wrong. It almost felt like a suitable punishment after everything she's done, everything she's messed up. Her. Her sword. And the Crystal Castle. All surrounding her as she experienced the one fear she had that toppled Shadow Weaver most of all.
Complete, and utter, loneliness.
...
...
"And then I realized I'm free, but the other horses aren't." Swift Wind regaled to Bow as he, the archer, and the Princess of Bright Moon continued down their path through the Whispering Woods.
This was the weirdest form of traveling Glimmer's ever experienced. She's ridden with horses plenty of times in her past, through training and for fun when she was little. She was used to riding on top of them through a path, walking along with them in a dense forest, and so forth. Those were all completely normal circumstances where one would be traveling with a Horse, using them to haul cargo or help with their businesses, it was just fine.
What she wasn't used to was the current situation she found herself in. First off, the Horse with them was the one that Catra transformed accidentally into this flying orange-maned, beautifully-winged, horned alicorn. Secondly, it was talking. It was fully capable of human speech, was self aware of his surroundings, and was able to interpret thoughts and emotions like an everyday human being. And third, the part that really made this awkward was how they weren't the ones leading the horse to wherever Catra was.
He was leading them to where Catra was.
In all fairness, it shouldn't be that weird, she guessed. With how bizarre the horse ended up looking after Catra transformed it, it only made sense that there would be other alterations to it, not that it lowered the weirdness factor it had going for it. With some kind of sixth sense-like intuition, the horse knew where Catra was at all times, and was leading them towards their lost friend through the Whispering Woods, knowing they would be incapable of finding her in time otherwise.
With that, a part of her wondered how she was doing, if she received any help or training for the sword like she set out to do. It hurt seeing her in the way she did before Catra left the castle, feeling like she was personally responsible for everything that happened following the rescue mission to save her. Feeling like she caused Entrapta's loss, followed by the incident with the Princess Alliance disbanding, the magicat felt like she was the one to blame for all of it, feeling as if she was supposed to burden herself with these thoughts and feelings.
It was a cruel reality to live with in that mindset. She hoped whatever thoughts were in her mind right now that she'd at least be okay. "And I named myself, "Swift Wind", after the swift winds of revolution, and left to go kick down the door stables. Freedom, equality, and hay for all!"
*sksksksk*
"Do you guys hear that?" Glimmer asked as the group came to a stop. There was nothing in these woods that ever turned out to be okay or normal on their end, the most friendliest thing being whatever they could outrun. The rustling went on as it drew ever closer to the trio, increasing in volume, getting closer by the second without giving away who or what they were. It could have been an attack, it could have been some form of giant monster, or-
*clak-clak-*
"Agh-!" Glimmer and Bow coughed to themselves as the dust was kicked into their faces. Without pause or hesitation, a dozen green-colored deer-like creatures burst through the forest, letting out small yips of panic as they ran passed the heroes, kicking dust all around them as they galloped away.
*Skraaahhhhhh!*
What they were running from made itself known as the trembling picked up again with an increased mass and a ferocity hidden behind it. Through the underbrush of the trees and through the woods, the group saw one of the massive bug creatures, the very same that attacked them when they first met Catra, charging straight towards them.
"Acckkk-!"
*rrrrtttttt*
"Ngh!" The girl's shriek of terror was followed by another burst of her glitching, the red aura of pain falling over her in the small instance that she screamed.
"Get behind me!" Seeing the tired and painful state she was in, Bow pushed himself between between the princess and the monster, pulling back his arrow as he prepared to fire. The last time he met this thing, it was safe to say he was terrified. It was big, terrifying, filled with an unquenchable bloodlust, and jaws big enough to eat him in one bite. It was thanks to his adventures with Catra, though, that he prepared to stand his ground, having witnessed and fighting off creatures nearly twice its size.
Thankfully for him, the fight never came to be as the creature screamed, running along in the same direction as the deer-like creatures did before it. The three blinked at this, perplexed as to why such a vicious animal would suddenly let them go, turning to one another for the answers.
"What was that about?" Glimmer asked as Swift Wind walked along the path the giant creature made through the trees.
"I feel something..." The horse's ears lowered in fear as worry overcame his face, a detail they were still trying to get used to. "We should run... No!" He jerked his head straight away as he turned in the opposite direction every second. "We have to get to Catra. Get Catra, then run."
"Swift Wind, what's wrong?" The archer's never seen him so distressed before, much less at all.
"Something bad!" He whimpered. "We have to find Cara, fast!"
...
...
"Amazing!" Entrapta giggled aloud as she continued studying the data she was getting out of this amazing machine! It just went on to show what sort of masterminds the First Ones were, the studies and technology leftover attesting to years of progress. "The garnet is siphoning energy at a near exponential rate, yet the output is still building!"
"What does that mean?" Adora asked as she examined the module with Scorpia beside her. She didn't think this thing would be blasting a wave of energy as constantly as it did. Throw in a spark here, a ray of energy there, and she thought that'd be it! She never thought anything anyone could make in this world could result in something as grand in design such as this!
"It means things are getting interesting~"
...
"Is it me or is it getting colder around here?" Bow rubbed his arms around as he tried to warm himself up. From a sunny disposition to a rather frigid air, he could feel the icy winds blow across him with every breeze, almost like Winter was here.
Which is exactly what it was as Glimmer watched one snowflake after the other float from the sky. "It's... snowing?" Glimmer's surprise at the falling snowflake was well met as the sky started to rain its frozen flakes.
"That's impossible. It never snows in the Whispering Woods-"
*WHOOSH!*
"Ah!" The two cried out as they were blasted by a powerful force of wind, feeling a hurricane's force of wind blowing the freezing snow over them. Forget snowing, this sort of weather never happened in the Whispering Woods! The two were being blown back by winds they've never experienced before, struggling just to stay on their toes as they did. Swift Wind wasn't fairing much better, the benefit of his added weight keeping him down matched by the unhelpful push against the winds as he stood his ground,.
Grunting, he forced his wings to cover his head as best he could, taking one step at a time as he fought to push back against the mighty wind and its terrible freeze. He folded over the left side of his wing, providing some cover for Glimmer and Bow as they ran over to his side, holding onto him for dear life.
"What's happening?" Glimmer shouted, speaking over the loud gusts.
"The bad thing!" Swift Wind neighed in response, drowning out the noise. He was powerless to pull back his wings as the large guests of wind as the intensity nearly doubled in the short amount of time. From above, the group could see the blackened sky as it shot out a massive bolt of lightning, signifying the terror that was affecting the weather and everything around it. The ground itself trembled as thunder crackled in the air, Swift Wind doing everything to fight against the powerful force that blew away at his feathers.
"We can't stay here!" Bow yelled, fearful of the terrible lightning they just witnessed. "Swift Wind, do you sense Catra anywhere?"
"Ghh..." That's right. He had to think of Catra throughout all of this. He was her mighty steed, and no matter what terrible danger they were about to face, he had to press on against it. Concentrating as hard as he could as he closed his eyes, his horn lit up for a few seconds, trying to get a reading on wherever his beloved master was. "Ngh... Ov-Over there!" He declared, pushing his way over to the large beam of blue light standing over the forest.
The two felt tightly as they moved together as a team. If this was how badly things were for them, how bad were things for Catra, who continued to wait further into the storm?
The trek itself was a harrowing experience for the group as they ventured through the forest. Throughout their half-mile journey, the group came across the foliage and greenery around them as it was decaying, the withered vines matched by the missing animal life that flourished through the woods. It didn't matter if the woods themselves were dangerous, they were home to a wide assortment of life, from the animals that inhabit it and the people that lived alongside it.
It was also one of the very few means of protection the Rebellion had against the Horde. Aside from its dangerous wildlife such as the giant bugs that skittered through the land, the woods themselves were filled with magic, confusing and disorienting trespassers that tried to traverse the woods against its wishes.
The Horde had resorted to desecrating the forest up till now, forcing them to spend precious time and resources while the war loomed around them. From fighting off the giant beasts and annoying insects that lived within it to the woods doing everything it could to keep the Evil Horde out of its home, it was the last line of defense standing between the Rebellion and annihilation. Now, if things continued the way they were, they would have easy access to the woods themselves, and worst of all, a straight path to the Rebellion.
All they did have working for them at the moment was the lack of animals cutting them off from their path. With Glimmer's powers as wonky as they were, she had no means to fight off any of the possible creatures they could encounter, almost being thankful for the giant catastrophic calamity affecting the weather if it wasn't for the fact it was destroying the forest in the first place.
Finally reaching the illuminating Beacon, the three looked against the wall and the ground beneath it, searching for an entrance. The walls were sturdy and the ground was real. How were they supposed to pull or push open any sort of door? "This would be a great time for my POWERS TO COME BACK!" The princess stammered angrily.
"Wait. Wait. I know this!" Swift Wind announced, the ideas coming to his mind from seemingly nowhere, almost like Catra's knowledge of First Ones technology. "Hang on, I think I can..." Focusing his powers, glowing his horn as he did, he kept one eye opened as he brushed the tip of his horn against the Beacon, touching one of the many symbols that were still glowing. With a small flash of light, the intricate symbols began to illuminate, the ground ahead of them starting to come undone in lights of blue and pink, lowering to the lower levels of the ground and providing entree at long last.
The group wasted no time for idle chitchat as they ran on through, the entrance closing right behind them. The walls brightened as Swift Wind passed by them, the others following behind not two feet away. Apparently the Beacon was aware of his connection through some means as it followed. The other two, however, appeared to be less than welcomed within these sacred halls as the walls began to burn with a bright red.
Throughout the halls, Glimmer and Bow listened as an eerie screeching sound could be heard. It's unusual sound gave little comfort as it appeared to be getting closer, sounding less than protective of its sanctuary and more along the lines of hungry.
"Um... What is that?" Bow asked nervously. Shifting his eyes around for a sec, Swift Wind gestured his head in the other direction.
"This way!" He ordered, running down the hall with the two giving chase. The lead could not have brought them to a better spot as instead of a long twisted maze filled with death traps and monsters, around the corner, they came across their beloved friend, finding her sitting along the pedestal where she's remained since awakening, still curled up in her own legs as she hugged herself.
"Catra!" The three called in unison, overjoyed as they rushed over to her side.
Immediately, Glimmer and Bow threw their arms around her in sweet relief as Swift Wind ran behind her. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Glimmer smiled happily. The sense of joy and fulfillment slowly started to disappear as she felt the silence coming off of the magicat who barely twitched an ear at their arrival. "Catra?"
"Hey, you okay?" Bow asked, shaking her by the shoulder. He was met with little resistance as she lazily waved his hand away, refusing to let herself go as she hugged herself again.
"What are you guys doing here?" She muttered. This was a tone unlike anything she or Bow have ever heard. There was no anger, no joy, no emotion, just... emptiness.
"Catra what's wrong?" Glimmer's never seen her like this, in any sense. She was always quick to react emotionally in whatever way she deemed fit, and could change her feelings on a fly.
"Why aren't you talking?"
What fear they had that she would ignore their worry was fortunately swept away, even if it did nothing to calm the worry itself, as she lifted her head a little. Here, Glimmer could see into her eyes, seeing how they were vacant, empty. There wasn't an ounce of the Catra she knew and lived with in was something else entirely, like she had completely given up with herself.
"You know, it's funny how life can work around here." She began, putting no effort into her words. "You fix one problem, you end up with another. You ignore one problem and it still comes back to bite you anyway. Everything's been for nothing since I joined the Rebellion... it's all a mistake."
Her two friends looked to one another with concern, feeling like they understood where she was coming from, being further than they could possibly imagine. "Catra, we already told you. It's not your fault about what happened with Entrapta-"
"You don't understand." Catra cut her off, lying her chin between her knees. "It was all a lie. I... I was never She-Ra." The were taken back by this remark, trying to decide if they should be surprised or confused at the announcement.
"What do you mean you weren't supposed to be She-Ra? You've always been She-Ra, remember?" Bow reminded, trying to give his support with a comforting smile.
"No, I mean I'm literally not She-Ra. I was never made She-Ra by the sword, I was just some errand girl who was supposed to look for her."
"You mean... you actually weren't She-Ra? But what about your transformation? Everything you've done since you joined us?"
"It was just a small taste of it. I learned I was never supposed to find the sword in the first place, it was a complete accident. The dumb sword made me a "Finder" or whatever, it never trusted me to be She-Ra. The one who was supposed to find the sword, the one I've angered to the point of wanting to destroy us? The entire time, it's been Adora."
"Adora?" That was a name the two recognized, Glimmer feeling goosebumps spreading in her skin at the thought. "You mean your friend from the Horde? She was supposed to be She-Ra?"
"Of course she was." What little emotion Catra did put in that reply was the small amount of disgust she could pull out. "She was the one the First Ones wanted since this all started. It was always supposed to be her, it was never about me. Why would it want me anyway? I've been nothing but a screw up since I joined you guys. I've practically made it easier for the Horde to destroy the Rebellion after all I've messed up."
"This again? Ugh, look, Catra-"
*Skreeeeeee!*
All eyes, save for Catra's, were drawn to the darkened corridor at the sound of the mighty screech. In the darkness down the hall, the three gasped in terror as they saw hundreds of glowing red eyes drawing closer from the darkness, the sounds of ferocious beasts following behind the eyes.
"Ack!" Glimmer yelped, shaking Catra's shoulders hastily. "Look, Catra? Why don't we discuss this later? We need to get out of here right now!"
"Just leave me alone, Pinky." The magicat said in a request-like tone, hiding her face in her knees again. "They won't bother me anymore, at least that's what I was told after being made She-Ra against my will now."
"Wait, you are She-Ra now? Which is it?" Glimmer glanced at the approaching arachnids.
"Catra, now would be a real good time doing the whole She-Ra thing..." Bow hinted as he armed himself. Hearing this, Glimmer noticed as Catra tightened the grip of her arms around her knees, pressing her face deeper into her knees.
"...Bow, can you give me a full minute to talk to her?"
"He can give you two with my help!" Swift Wind declared as he stepped over to Bow's side, spreading his wings as far as he could to block the approaching creatures, and give the little ladies some privacy like a true gentlemen should. This was his first interaction with Catra since obtaining the ability to speak, and he refused to allow her to mope around like this when he wanted to get to know her. If Glimmer could snap her out of her stupor, then he was ready to lay his life on the line!
Grateful for their help in buying her time, she gave Catra her undivided attention as she kneeled in front of her. "Catra, we need you right now, we need She-Ra, whoever you want to be."
"What I wanted was to be She-Ra, Pinky." Catra replied, lifting her head a little again. "What I didn't want was to be someone's burden they had to put up with because they had no choice. The First Ones didn't want me, they were forced to because of how Adora turned out. All this time I was meant to bring her to the Rebellion, and now that our past caught up with us, because I never spent a day trying to go back for her like I should, she became the person she is today. It's all my fault... it was always my fault."
"Catra, everyone's made mistakes in the past, but-"
"Ugggh, would you just stop it already!" She groaned irritably. "Don't you even get it?! I was never supposed to find the sword. I was a complete accident since the day I met you! I could've ended up in the exact same place Adora is right now! We were never meant to be allies, Glimmer, or friends. Knowing myself like I do now, I'm pretty sure... I'm pretty sure I would've been your enemy, and this conversation would never have happened."
"So what?" It was the first question Glimmer managed to get out that got more of a reaction out of Catra as her tailed twitched for a moment. "Catra, there's no telling what would've happened if you became She-Ra or Adora did. Maybe you would've joined her and you'd both be in the Rebellion? For all you know, maybe she would've gone back to the Horde with the sword and we'd be having a She-Ra to face right now. There's no way in knowing, but that's not enough reason to suddenly give up and quit."
"I'm not giving up, Glimmer, I'm just... staying away." She stated, resting her right cheek against her knee. "All I've done at this point was make things worse for everybody. I ruined the Princess Alliance, I... I'm responsible for what happened to Entrapta, and I do mean entirely by the way, and I... I haven't done anything useful. All i've done was push any possibility of a future Princess Alliance further away, and lost the best allies we could have hoped for. I can't change myself, Glimmer, I can never change myself."
"B-But-"
"Don't even bother with me, all right? The best I can do for you is to remain here for the rest of my life. That's the best I can do for anyone around here." Sighing, she glanced over to the sword still resting at her side. "Considering all that's happened, it would've been best for everyone if I never existed in the first place."
*crash!*
Checking on them, Glimmer panicked about what she should do as Bow and Swift Wind fought off the giant spiders. The mechanical creations were easy to dispatch for the lone archer, firing off several explosive arrows that bombed away at the creatures' heads, destroying whatever life they had as they collapsed.
Swift Wind himself was proving to be a capable fighter as well, for being a horse at that. When one of the horrifying monsters attempted to blast a large sticky webbing at their new ally, the horse easily dodged out of the way, taking flight a few feet off the ground to avoid the shot. Without missing a beat, he dove his way straight into the creature's skull, crashing his legs straight through the robot's head, and shattering it to bits. With freshly destroyed body at hand, he decided to barricade the lower half of the hallway the best he could, pushing the robot's massive body against the entrance as Bow braced against the robot too.
Unfortunately, their assistance was starting to falter. Bow was running low on arrows, and there was no telling how many more of these bots were going to appear on the other side of their makeshift wall. Already, Glimmer could see half a dozen mechanical legs protruding from around it, two of which actually pierced through the wall itself and nearly hitting Bow and Swift Wind respectively. They were running short on time.
And so was Catra.
Glimmer couldn't tell what had happened to her to make her this way in the day that she's been gone. This was a new mix of irritation, anger, guilt, practically an entirely new emotion specifically created for Catra to show off to her. The girl didn't have any sense of accomplishment in her eyes right now, the small lights of hope that used to fill them unknowingly being darkened by her sorrow. Glimmer couldn't think of any other way to get through to her in their time of need, not when the clock kept ticking.
Sighing, Glimmer resorted to the last tactic she ever wanted to use in a conversation, standing off to the side as she regretted what she was about to do.
"Catra, I'm sorry about this, but..." Catra barely had a second to see what she was talking about before she felt it.
*WHAP!*
"GET OVER YOURSELF!" She shouted angrily, right after slapping Catra across the face at that, much to Bow's and Swift Wind's surprise as they continued holding back the bots.
"I'm tired of always hearing about how you need to do everything perfectly, Catra! You're not perfect, okay? Nobody is! You think just because you're She-Ra now you should be able to do everything flawlessly now? That you're incapable of making mistakes like the rest of us are? News Flash Catra: everyone makes mistakes! It's a fact of life, it's not something that will ever go away, and people have to deal with it, all right!"
"..."
*whap!*
"Ow!" Glimmer yelped in return as she was struck across the face, looking back to a glaring Catra who was growling. "What was that for?"
"What do you think? I've already been slapped twice within the last day and I draw the slapping limits at three!" She yelled. "And you're still not getting it, Glimmer! Everything I've done has gone on to make things worse-!"
"You haven't done anything wrong that you should be ashamed of, Catra!" Glimmer shouted back, actually surprising Catra. This might have been one of the first times she ever cut her off and had been angrily about it. "Are you forgetting everything you've done since joining the Rebellion? You inspired the entire Kingdom of Plumeria to rise against the Horde!"
"T-That was just a scheme Shadow Weaver came up with to-"
"You fixed the Sea Gate in Salineas with your own two hands, and fought off your crazy friend doing it!"
"But I wouldn't have to fight her to begin with if I-"
"Do I even have to remind you of how you stopped Entrapta's computer virus and an army of killer robots while still being under their control in the first place?"
"Well why don't you mention how I went crazy in the middle of a stupid vacation at Mystacor while you're at it!" Catra challenged, unable to believe she was being talked down to by Glimmer of all people.
"Oh really? Gee, let's do that then." She showed no signs of backing down as she crossed her arms. "Why don't I remind the girl who was being possessed by Shadow Weaver and driven to insanity in order to destroy the Lunar Lenses? Why don't I go on to say how immediately after, that same girl had to conquer her fears, got the sword to transform into something that she could fight back with, and fought off the one person she feared most of all in her life!"
"Y-Yeah, we-well..." What was going on here? How the heck was she losing to Glimmer like this? She was nothing more than a mama's girl to Catra, always trying to do her proud and gain her acceptance, and here she was staring down Catra no matter how threatening she tried to make herself look. "Then maybe you should ask Entrapta, huh? Ask her how I did on our last mission? Why don't you tell me while you're at it! How's that for a challenge!"
"Catra, did you build the ventilation systems to burst out the fire that ended Entrapta's life?"
"N-No, but-"
"Did you not save Bow before me and get him out safely? And fought off another person who bullied you throughout your life?"
"Y-Yeah, okay, mayb-"
"And how was I supposed to escape on my own, Catra?" That was the biggest question of all she decided to shoot at her. "If I broke out on my own with my magic, how was I supposed to escape the Fright Zone, huh? How was I going to get far without someone to lean on or carry me through half the complex while being chased by a legion of Horde followers and deadly robots? I sure didn't have a plan for that. All I know is if you guys never came around, I would be rotting in a prison cell somewhere alongside Bow, or worse."
"..." ...Well... this is a first. Lowering her right knee against the slab she was sitting on, she tried to think. What was she supposed to do in this situation? What the heck was she supposed to say to counter her? She couldn't afford to screw up again, but she couldn't find a way to argue after every detail she considered minor was shot back to her.
Seeing her friend struggling to come up with something, Glimmer's expression softened. Sitting along the slab next to her, she rubbed her back. "Catra, everyone has made a mistake at least once in their life, okay? We're in the middle of a war, and I guarantee you we're all going to make plenty of more mistakes before it's over. But it's not a mistake to keep on fighting, not when you're trying to fix everything you've done. It's only a mistake when you don't try to fix what you've done."
"It... Glimmer. I already told you, I'm not-"
"You told me they didn't pick you to be She-Ra, Catra. I don't know who you're talking about, but that's all you said. She didn't, they didn't, it doesn't matter what they think. You became She-Ra because you were chosen." Lifting up the sword between them, she pushed its grip into Catra's chest. "Don't you get it by now? The First Ones might not have picked you to be their champion, Catra, but the sword did." The look of amazement and shock growing on her face gave Glimmer something to smile about, seeing the light starting to return to her eyes.
The sword... Chose me? Looking back on it now, she never really gave too much thought about the sword. If the blade was as powerful and advance as the First Ones claimed it was, who was to say the sword itself wasn't actually alive? That it didn't have its own thoughts or feelings?
In fact, right at the beginning of all of this, she had nearly forgotten the one time the sword actually talked to her...
...
At the same time, Catra grinned to herself as she peeked around the tree she was hiding, taking a moment to enjoy the usefulness of the Whispering Wood's creatures. They gave her everything she needed to perform the perfect escape, and a way to dispose of the two delinquents without causing her further discord. Now she just had to be on her way, find her way back to the clearing that she found her sword, and make her way home from there!
"See ya later guys, thanks for the assist." She joked to herself as she began to walk away.
That was when another of the unexpected list of things happened. Before she could take her third step away from the tree, the blade glowed with a blindingly fluorescent light, one that blinded her for merely a full second, before disappearing again all the same. The timing of it along with her actions helped Catra put two and two together, though she was incredibly skeptical of what she was thinking.
"What?" She asked it as if it could speak. She stared at the blade as if expecting an answer, growing irritated by the second. "What? You want me to go back there and help them?" Once again nothing, yet something told her that's exactly what it wanted. "Are you kidding? Forget it!" She grumbled looking back behind the tree. "I mean look, they're doing fine, I'm sure they can handle it anyway."
The line of certainty quickly dwindled as she saw the twos' bodies being thrown against a tree with Glimmer landing on top of Bow before falling to the ground. Despite the injury, Bow seemed to be the least injured of the two as he quickly got back to his feet, frantically firing several ineffective exploding arrows at the creature while protecting a temporarily out-cold Glimmer.
"Well... they're still doing fine... sorta..." She mumbled growing increasingly unsure. She looked back to the blade in annoyance as if expecting an answer, never getting one no matter how hard she stared. "Look, it's not like I owe them anything anyway, remember? They're the enemies, we're not on the same side, and your my ticket to a better life!" Once again, nothing. That's when her attention was caught by the frantic shoutings of Bow again.
"Glimmer! Glimmer! Wake up!" He yelled shaking her worriedly. He grumbled as he stared back to the giant monster itself. The last stand he was prepared to make for himself was using the study bow as a weapon, the other arrows most likely having little to no effect that could delay the creature any longer.
"Mmmmmmh..."
...
If it did, that might've meant it truly was capable of making its own decisions, and if that was the case, then... then did that mean it actually chose her?
"...Glimmer? Why... Why are you guys being so nice to me? After everything I messed up? What if I'm not even She-Ra like you said?" How... How could they do this? Why were they wasting their time with her after everything she revealed? Even if she saw them more as friends, it didn't mean the feeling felt reciprocated half the time, and given the circumstances she was currently in, she didn't think they would want anything to do with her.
She wasn't She-Ra, she kept messing up, she made everything worse. She was far beyond the point of faulty and more of an accident waiting to happen, she was... she was a freak. Someone who did more harm than good based on her personal experience. A jerk who abused her friends' trusts for her own benefit, like Adora said.
Why were they treating like this?
"It's like I keep telling you, Catra." She replied with a smile, patting her shoulder. "We're your friends, and even if you mess up, we'll always be by your side."
"..." The magicat turned to the blade as she held it in her hands, staring at the familiar reflection as always.
What if she was wrong about this? What if she was wrong about everything? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be She-Ra, maybe she still isn't She-Ra based on what Light Hope told her. What if the very next mission they went on could be their last, like it was with Entrapta's last mission? What if she doomed everyone from the start and lost the entire Rebellion as a result? What if everything Light Hope and the others said about her was true? What if...
... Why? Why did she care what they thought? She was Catra, one of the best soldiers the Horde could ask for, the person everyone labeled a freak. She was always talked down to and insulted by her peers and the kids she grew up with. They always told her she was never capable of accomplishing anything, they never saw her as one of their own like Adora did. They were quick to point out her mistakes and mock her for it, conflicting her with numerous feelings and issues in her heart. And they were with the Horde, the force that threatened to destroy Eitheria.
So why should she care!
She proved those neanderthals wrong about everything, continued to prove them wrong about everything! It's like Glimmer said, she's accomplished so much! She saved an innocent child from a collapsing building, obtain a partial form of She-Ra and stood before the Queen. She encouraged others to fight for their lives rather than succumb to the horrors of living in the Horde, she had the brains to fix a broken Sea Gate that no ones worked on for thousands of years! And so much more!
She defeated Shadow Weaver of all people. Shadow! Weaver! The person who tormented her throughout her childhood, who took the liberty of assuring Catra would never raise a hand against her or disobey her orders ever again. She pushed passed her pain and fought her off, and actually foiled one of her masterfully designed schemes!
Come to think of it, so what if she was an accident? It was an accident when she turned the sword into a shield and used the Lunar's energies to defeat her. It was an accident when she observed the ancient symbols from a First Ones writing in Salineas and managed to fix a lost piece of technology. It was an accident when she sent her remaining friends through the ventilations and saved most of them as she stayed behind.
It was an accident when she came across the sword to begin with.
She gave a stern look at her own reflection as she contemplated all of this. Her recklessness is what caused accidents to happen and lead her to this moment. And yet... maybe that's what the Rebellion finally needed...
"...Glimmer?" Catra spoke, Glimmer noticing the hint of emotion behind her voice. "I really, really, really, hate you." Lifting her head towards her, she gave a small grin, giving Glimmer the idea despite already having a pretty good one.
"Catra! You're back!" She was unable to resist the urge as she threw her arms around her neck, squeezing her tightly. She didn't return the hug and she didn't try to push her away. For once in Catra's life, she welcomed it. "Bow, she's finally back! Isn't that great?"
"Um, yeah..." Bow couldn't bring himself to give any sign of relief or joy as he pushed against the robotic wall, shaking nervously as he watched one spear-like appendage piercing through the wall and nearly hitting him each time. "Any chance you could wrap this up so we can get out of here?"
"Like TODAY if possible!" Swift Wind added.
"...Did that freaky horse just talk?"
"Yeah, long stor-"
*rrrrrrrrtttttttt*
"Ahhhh!" Glimmer cried out, nearly falling over as she collapsed in pain. Fortunately Catra, being the swift feline that she was, jumped to her feet in the nick of time, catching the weakened princess before her face met the ground.
"Glimmer!" As great as her newfound optimism was, it still lead to one very important problem. "I still don't know how to heal you yet..."
"I-It's okay." Glimmer gave her back a small smile as the aura disappeared around her, holding her stomach. "We'll come up with something. We should be getting out of here as soon as possible before the storm gets any worse outside."
"The storm?"
"Long story. Talk later. Run now!" Bow sputtered, sliding off from the wall as he and Swift Wind ran towards the two. Without their support, the broken wall of robots came crumbling down, revealing a lone spiderbot among a sea of them that let out a high-pitched screech. Taking the hint, Catra nodded to the rest of them as the four ran their way out of the room that quickly started to fill with them. "I thought you said they wouldn't hurt you?"
Catra followed along the wall as it gave a colorful wave along the symbols, as if directing her towards the exit itself. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they're not all buddy-buddy if I help the people they consider enemies!" She pointed out. It was a fair point, not that they were in any position to argue.
Making his way to the head of the herd, gesturing to himself with his head, Swift Wind helped the heroes as they climbed onto his back, all while Swift Wind concentrated his magic into the horn again. Without needing to touch it, pulling Bow at the end of the trail, Swift Wind gave flight as the small ramp-like door lowered above them, providing a means of escape from this dangerous Beacon and throwing themselves out into the world that was falling apart.
"Jeez," Catra yelled almost instantly as they exited, rubbing her arms for warmth, "what happened to the weather around here? Everything's freezing!"
"Catra!" Glimmer caught her attention as she pointed directly ahead of them.
Down the path the horse took, Catra could see a handful of broken down branches, some the size of her head, others bunched together to make a solid barrier to anyone or anything at its level. Grumbling, with one clean sweep, Catra cut through the mighty underbrush, lowering her head like the others as they continued to run until one of the bolts of lightning struck a tree further up ahead.
"Swifty!" Catra called out, giving the horse the idea as he nodded. The path ahead of them was wrought with dangerous from the forest they were running in and the weather that snowed upon them. Spreading his wings out, Swift Wind let out a proud neigh as he flapped, taking flight towards the sky until the four passed above the clouds themselves, out of harms way as the terrible weather affected the world below them.
"Guys, look!" The bowman pointed to the layers of clouds that looked more sickly than the last.
They couldn't believe their eyes at what they were seeing. All across the distance, as far as they could see, the storm ravaged the lands as bolts of red lightning blasted out of the sky. With every bolt, a thunderous crash soon followed, the wind picking up off and on as they made their way across Etheria.
"It's not just the woods, it's-"
"The entire world." Catra knew what this was. It was exactly as Light Hope told her about the world coming to an end as long as the Princess Alliance faltered. This is why Princes Alliance was necessary, to combat against insane threats such as the weather bursting out of control.
"Huh! Bright Moon!" The pink-haired princess gasped. "Swift Wind, we have to hurry!" She pleaded as they made their way back to the Rebellion.
Nothing really changed between the time Catra left to train herself and the time she came back with them. She-Ra-wise, at least. She was still the same person with a complicated personality and an unpredictable future. If this was all the result of what Catra did by accident, then she was going to fix it, with or without the Sword's powers. There was no way to tell if it was working at long last, or if it would end up being a plain sword she held on her back.
All she knew was that for the first time, she didn't care. She would be the very person she wanted to be, and she wouldn't let what others thought about her say otherwise.
She just hoped the person she was didn't have to fight Adora in the end...
...
...
Walking over to the rail of the balcony, Adora and Scorpia took in the view. The lightning was at its worse here than anywhere else in Etheria, with each crackle of the sky giving off a tremendous boom. From what Adora could see as she gazed out into the distance, this dark power was covering the far reaches of the Fright Zone and well beyond it, maybe to the world itself! If the machine they used was capable of this sort of thing, there was no telling what would happen if Adora or Entrapta managed to find some way to direct its energies directly at the Rebellion.
"Wow- Ah!" Scorpia cried out in fear as she covered her head with her claws, blinking as she waited for the horrible lightning to pass. "What do you think its doing?"
"I don't know." Adora replied, staring up at the sky that rained with energy and life from the Black Garnet. She was now the owner of the powerful Runestone with Shadow Weaver gone, save for Hordak who still had the first say. With its power, she could unleash who knew what kind of power against the world, the Rebellion. This was the moment in her life that she wanted to bring this war to an end, and the thought of it made her grin as her head band gave off a small reflective shine.
"But I'm fine with it. I think it's time to bring this Rebellion to a close, Scorpia."
It was time for War.
...
...
...
A/N: Annnnnnd another satisfying (hopefully) conclusion to the end of another episode! Phewfta, am I tired. I think the amount of words I added can prove that :/
Anyway, this is it people! We are down to not just the big finale, but the last episode of Season 1! Hoooooooooh mama, am I excited for the action in that ^^! It also will have its own drama too, but I promise it'll be one of the last ones to have as much of dramatic spark to it like my last several episodes have been- presuming they dont get dramatic in the cartoon in season 2 (Which i've yet to see XP).
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, Fave, Follow, and Review if you enjoyed and hope to see you in our next Chapter, the season finale, titled with the most appropriate title i can think of for a season 1 finale:
No Happy Endings..