A/N: Hooftah! Barely passed the halfway point people and we're still going! What can I say, people? It's the finale of season 1, so of course I got to make it longer/epic for the masses ^^ Since I plan on having a humongous post for the last chapter of season one, we'll either get 3 more chapters after this one or possibly 2 depending, making this a severe and long 6-7 part finale :o!
After all, how else would I be able to end such a beloved first season other than having an epic climax/fight at the end ^^ One of the fun things about making a war scene in a fanfic out of a single episode- you can make it as epic and long as you want because, heck, its a freaking war XP Especially since its the season finale episode, so i HAVE to make it nice and long.
With that said, hope you enjoy!
...
...
...
*Boom!*
"Haaaaaaah!" Glimmer roared with a battle cry as she jumped to the nearest skiff that was riding straight towards her. The princess showed no signs of fear as she charged the two soldiers head on, headbutting the first one over the helmet, sweeping the second one off his feet with her staff and bashing him away off the skiff with it.
In this small space of opening, the first soldier attempted to get the upper hand over her as he jumped her from behind, pulling the magical staff against her neck in an attempt to restrain her. The princess grumbled angrily as she elbowed the soldier right in the gut, grabbing onto his head and throwing him over her shoulder and off the skiff itself, clearing the skiff of any of the remaining soldiers who retreated in wait for reinforcements.
With the skiff clear, the princess directed the skiff into another of the automated Horde tanks, piloting it at full speed into the monstrous machine and jumping off as soon as the two were intercepting each other's path. With her feet splashing into the water, she turned back in time to see smile victoriously at the sight of the two crashing into each other, exploding in a blaze of glory.
That was another tank down, who knew how many more to go.
*pew*
*bzzzzt!*
"Ahhhhh!" Glimmer cried out in pain as she collapsed to her side. Her entire body was filled with an electrical current, paralyzing her senses temporarily until she collapsed to the ground. Twitching a little in pain, she looked back to see the attacking Horde Soldier who disabled her, the soldier's glee coming off of the soldier as he aimed his stun baton at the girl again, charging it at full blast as he prepared to take the princess out cold.
*WHAM!*
"Ah!" The soldier cried out as he was bashed away by the full force of an enraged alicon, the horse flaring its nostrils angrily as he shoved he soldier a good distance through the air and slamming him against the tree, knocking him out himself.
Flaring his nostrils, the horse checked his surroundings for a moment before turning his attention towards the princess, helping hre up with his wings as she grabbed onto him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Swifty." Glimmer replied, looking around the surrounding valley.
This, was the Battle of Bright Moon, the last hope for Etheria and the final line of defense between the Horde and annihilation. Glimmer always wanted to place herself on the front lines of a dreadful war, always picturing the way she would heroically charge in with an army of soldiers at her beck and call as she destroyed the robots and machinations created by the dreadful Evil Horde. Now that she was actually in it, it was nowhere near what she expected.
The fact they were in this war at all was nothing short of surprising. Up to this point it had been one large problem after the other ever since the Princess Prom. She's been kidnapped, along with Bow, by Adora and her friend, Scorpia, tortured by the person Catra considered a dear friend, lost her powers after escaping from Shadow Weaver's magical imprisonment, escaped and lost Entrapta's life as a result, spent an entire day trying to hide her bizarre glitching thing the magical bonds left her with, spent another day trying to find Catra, and were now defending her home with their lives as they attempted to combat the evil storm that threatened Etheria.
And that didn't even include what they went through today!
She thought the worst of the problems were behind her now after they returned with Catra. At first, the magicat didn't seem too interested or inclined to help the Rebellion defend their home. Not out of lack of interest or care, far from it. She didn't want to face her friend who she pushed over to the Horde, not after all the guilt and regret she experienced during her time in the Beacon which drove Adora further into darkness. On top of that, she couldn't stomach the idea of trying to help out in their fight and risk exposing herself to danger, which, in turn, would've forced someone to rescue her again and leave them vulnerable to attack.
There were too many dire situations that could've accumulated from it, from one friend getting severely injured, one of their few remaining allies getting captured, or possibly far worse. With all the stress and drama the girl had been facing till now, it was a miracle she wasn't shaking her head while huddling in a corner somewhere, not that Glimmer would blame her after all she's been through.
Thankfully, her hope in her friend bore fruit as she came to their rescue. Catra decided, after long last, and after an intense heart to heart with Swift Wind about her fear of the pain this would bring her, to join them in on their war, literally jumping in at the last second and saving Glimmer and Bow's lives before Adora or Scorpia could do either of them any harm. It was the most noble rescue Glimmer had ever seen, and hopefully one she would never have to hope for again as last second rescues were a lot scarier in person.
Since then, wherever she was now, she was contending with a newly empowered Adora, one who used the vast amount of shadows and shade to her advantage as it empowered her greatly beyond anything she's ever experienced in the past. The power the girl felt was overwhelming, actually forcing her to protrude four tentacle-like tendrils out of her back to keep the excess magic from destroying her body. There was no way in knowing how well she was doing against her newly empowered friend, even with her present She-Ra form. All she could do was hope for the best as she continued her own assault.
As she contended with the Horde Force Captain, the others continued defending the Moonstone with their lives, doing what they could to destroy the tanks and robots that were attacking the Runestone directly. For every tank Glimmer seemed to destroy, a handful of soldiers appeared from the forest. Whenever they fought off a group of soldiers, two more tanks seemed to appear out of nowhere. There was never any end to the onslaught of the Horde army, all it came down to was whether or not they could hold out long enough for Catra to push back the Force Captain and assist with defending the Runestone right after.
"What about you?" Glimmer asked back. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's Catra I'm worried about." He replied, turning in the direction that he could sense her from.
"Catra? What's wrong? Did she get hurt?"
"Not right now, but it's after this fight that has me worried!"
"What do you mea-"
*Boom!*
At the sound of another explosion, the two turned back in the opposite explosion as another fight was escalating at the shoreline of the ravine. There, the two could see Bow fighting alongside Spinnerella and Netossa, maintaining an even footing as they ran across the shoreline and destroying any Horde vehicles and tanks they could come strengths worked in perfect tandem with one another as they fought back to back.
With Bow's expertise with archery, he managed to keep the distance between them and any droids with blasters or soldiers with their stun batons, the annoying ones that could be used at a range. His variety of arrows kept the enemy on their toes at all times, disabling some of them with his trick arrows that stuck them with an adhesive sap by their feet, destroying other droids with the many explosive and incredibly durable arrows that he got from Glimmer's armory. With his range he managed to provide ranged support for the two princesses who charged in directly.
When it came to the other two princesses, they could always been seen side by side with each other. within arms reach to ensure the other remained safe. Netossa's enchanted powers allowed her to conjure up several kinds of different nets, ones that managed to disable an entire group of enemies or a whole tank with one cast, leaving them open and exposed for Bow to deal with them when he had the opportunity.
As for Spinnerella, she was the powerhouse of the trio as she charged in to the oncoming troops. With her powers, the enemies found themselves constantly blown back by the ferocious winds she summoned around her, keeping the enemy fire off of them through the sheer force of her magic.
There was no way she would allow anyone to hurt anyone as precious to her as Netossa. Add that to the fact they were invading their Rebellion HQ, and she wasn't going to show any of these Evil Hordelings any mercy! Even as another skiff came charging right at her, she refused to back down as she charged her winds directly, blasting the skiff out of the air and watching with pride as the soldiers came tumbling out of it.
Yet, just like with Glimmer's own experience, the trio found themselves constantly at odds with the invading armies. The difficulty on their end came from the distance they had to close between themselves and any of the tanks that charged directly toward the Moonstone that lied defenselessly, save for the barrier Queen Angella was continuing to maintain. If they didn't come up with a plan to stop them sooner, she would be overrun and defenseless from her attackers.
What's worse is when a handful of droids started to make their way out of the frozen woods, continuing their march towards the Moonstone or its remaining defenders without fear. The blasters these powerful bots were equipped with were on par with that of a tank, possibly even stronger to Glimmer's surprise.
"Are you sure she's the one who's in trouble right now?" Glimmer repeated as she observed the invaders that never seemed to quit.
"Glimmer, I'm telling you, she's going to be a wreck after this." Swift Wind fretted, bashing away a soldier that tried to sneak up behind him with his two back hooves.
"Yeah, you said that before. What do you mean by a total wreck?"
"I mean personally!" With their area cleared temporarily, he looked on in the direction of the conflict in question. "Do you know how hard it was to convince her to come out here in the first place? She couldn't bring herself to leave after you guys left her, and now she's forcing herself to fight because she feels like she has to, not because she wants to."
"B-But we didn't force her to join us, Swift Wind! We gave her a choice, remember?"
"I'm not saying she didn't want to fight with you guys, I'm saying she decided to help you guys and is struggling with her choice. Glimmer, don't you understand what's at stake here for her? If we manage to defeat the invasion, Catra would be cutting all personal ties with her past! That mean would mean she would have to cut her ties with-"
"Adora..." Glimmer could tell immediately what the problem was getting at here.
Adora, Force Captain, ally, and the one person Catra always considered a friend. From what little they managed to gather out of Catra's personal life and history, Adora was the one friend she always had on her side, the one she would always talk about as if they were sisters. She was the one Catra always felt safe and comfortable with, never hiding her comments about the girl or ever thinking about betraying her unless she had absolutely no choice.
Even after rescuing Glimmer from the Horde, the way she had to use Adora's own feelings for their friendship in order to reclaim the sword disgusted her. She was filled with regret, despair, anything negative she could describe herself as in relation to someone who just backstabbed their friend. It was the one instance in Catra's life that she betrayed Adora on a whole nother scale, and she's never forgiven herself with it since.
Based on what Swift Wind was telling her now, she was fighting a physical and emotional battle with Adora as the two continued to clash their powers against one another. With every strike Catra attempted to swing with her sword, another part of her was being cracked as the reality of the situation worsened. For every hit she took from Adora, she felt another piece of their possible friendship beginning to shatter.
Adora was the only thing Catra cared about next to a kingdom, and if she lost that, there was no telling what she would do or how she would be.
"...It's fine." The calming reply from the princess surprised Swift Wind a little, blinking as he stared back at her. She appeared to have a look of determination on her own face as she squeezed her fist, looking prepared for any eventuality that was to come. "If Catra breaks from this, Bow and I will be right by her side like we always are." She said with a small, warm, smile. "I'm not going to force Catra to choose between her friends if she can't, but we'll be ready in case she has no other choice. And we'll bring her back up again no matter how painful it is for her, like we always do."
Swift Wind was amazed by the resolution of her response. To speak with such certainty in her tone, with a calmness covering her face and a strict determination in her eyes. She had all the makings of someone who would grow up to be a powerful leader one day, a Queen at that. While it didn't make the situation any less worrying or easy, it did sound like she had a set goal in mind as Swift Wind nodded back to her, with a relaxing sigh through his nostrils as he did.
"I hope you're right about this." He commented, raising his head towards the others as he saw them approaching.
So do I... It would be a lie to say she was one-hundred percent convinced that she could pull something like easing Catra's pain when this was over. Whenever her past was brought up in some way, it was always followed by a pound of pain and inner turmoil, the scars on her past continuing to haunt her in the present. There was no way to tell what would happen to her or how she would be. She just knew that they would be right by her side to help her up again like they always were.
And she prayed that would be enough.
"Glimmer!" Bow panted as he and the princesses arrived, holding his knees as he regained his breath. "There's no end to them, they just keep coming!"
"We're not accomplishing anything by meeting them at the shore like this." Netossa added, glancing over at the sound of tanks roaming through the woods. "We need to take them out faster."
"I know. We need to cover more ground than we are now." Glimmer stated, watching as another skiff flew passed them a hundred feet away. "We need to cut them off at the coast and at the ravine."
"We should split up, then." Bow informed, his years of fighting and experience making his mark. "Glimmer and I will hold off what we can at the ravine itself. Netossa, see if you can keep them slowed down while we fight them off. And Spinnerella, we need you on defense protecting the pathways to the Moonstone directly. You're the second fastest between us for now, so you can close the distance along the different pathways." The aforementioned princess gave a nod in agreement and understanding.
"What about me?" There was no way Swift WInd wanted to find himself left out of the fun and the Horde bashing.
"Do you think you can run support between the four of us?" Bow suggested. "You can cover the most ground out of all of us, and you're the only one who can reach anyone if we need help."
"As long as I get get to break a Horde machine with each trip, I'm ready."
The group nodded to one another in unison before racing to their assigned destinations. Splitting up might have been one of the more reckless ideas in terms of safety, but they had little choice in the matter anymore. The Horde continued to flood Bright Moon along with the terrible storm that was risen over them, with neither of the two seeming ready to back down or turn away.
There was no way to tell how this day would path out by the time it was over. The Rebellion would be victorious and push back the mighty Horde army, or they would be burned down along with the rest of the remaining castle that continued to be under siege. There wouldn't be any hope remaining if the Runestone fell on this day, and that meant there wouldn't be any chance for the rest of Etheria as well.
One problem did cross Glimmer's mind as she charged another group of soldiers with Bow's support. Watching the others as they ran to their assigned positions, with Swift Wind being the active supporter he was as he flew Spinnerella over to the pathways, she had to wonder.
If they were all having this much trouble with the Horde army themselves, how much trouble was Catra having with the leader of all this madness?
...
...
*ssssskkkkkk*
Hnnnnnnnngh!" Catra growled as she skidded across the dirt on her own two feet, slowing down her momentum as she dug her claws into the ground.
The battle had been intense between the two friends since Adora re-donned the headband at the beginning of all this. Being in the center of an entire valley that was filled with shade, the Force Captain was filled with a never ending supply of energy as shadows and darkness filled her entire being, empowering her to a state beyond comprehension and imagination. She never thought her friend would become the supposed monster of an invading army, and she still felt responsible that it happened at all to begin with.
When the shadows consumed Adora, being drawn in by the power of the mystical headband, they transformed her into a force beyond reckoning, her powers surpassed any state she's felt previously. The shadows amplified her magic tenfold in this state, with the excess magic being forced out of her back in the form of tentacles just to compensate. She could draw in the shadows into any shape or form in the blink of her eye, actually shrouding her skin in an invisible layer of armor around herself that kept her from feeling most to any injury Catra could throw at her, and the pain that went with it.
That didn't even include her enhanced physical state. Adora was stronger than she ever had been before, knocking over an entire tree with a single headbutt when she tried to attack Catra earlier. The girl could also jump a good distance thanks to the assisting tendrils that grew off of her back, allowing the girl to reach at a far distance and pull herself around the trees to close the gap on Catra. Catra's speed was the only defining feature that kept her alive for the time being, a detail that was becoming less useful as Adora found new and creative ways to get closer to her.
There were no tricks that Adora didn't hesitate to use. When she had the opportunity, she grabbed at Catra with her own hands while morphing the shadows back into whatever deadly combination they could be used for. If she found Catra getting a bit too far, she played at her emotions, pretending to be the same helpless girl that Catra wanted to take advantage of again for the sake of being another tool among her assets.
Adora showed little care for Catra anymore, save for the occasional pang in her heart. Despite everything she's done, she couldn't deny that she didn't want to do this. With every swing she took at the girl, she released another steam of anger she had for her, lamenting the times they used to be friends and all the ways they used to play together as kids. Even now, a part of her wished Catra never found the sword, that things could go back to the way they were supposed to be.
But at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to rip Catra to pieces. For every time she used Adora's name to get what she wanted from people, all the falls she made Adora take for her so she could get away scot free, and the numerous occasions where it always came down to Adora helping Catra, never the other way around unless it was to benefit Catra in some way in the end.
To her, Catra was the very essence of greed, and someone as corrupt as her shouldn't exist in this world, especially one intending to rule a kingdom.
As for Catra, she was struggling with her own dilemma, one that did and didn't involve the fight between them. She wanted to reach through to her in some way, to show that their friendship still meant something to her. She got a glimpse of how wretched she could be in the Beacon, and it sickened her to think she was like that to her friend. These new found feelings of guilt may have been a result of spending too much time with Glimmer and Bow, and she didn't care. She just wanted things to work out between the two of them again.
That brought her to the bigger dilemma that kept rearing its ugly head in front of her half the time. As Adora attempted to impale her with another lunging attack with her spear-formed right arm, Catra dodged out of the way, keeping her footing on the ground as Adora left herself open. Even with the so-called "Shadow Armor", she was sure she could do some damage by attacking the shadows directly on the back.
And that would mean she would have to hurt Adora as a result, and the thought of that gave her enough hesitation to trigger another-
...
"Catra!" Barely paying a wink to the downed witch, Glimmer quickly ran towards her distressed friend, the one who seemed to be out cold as well. She wasted no time removing the restraints from her one after the other, fretting endlessly at the possibility she was too late. It was with the small tremble quiver in Catra's eyes that she realized she was awake, watching worriedly as she opened her blue and yellow eyes weakly. "Are you okay? Do you know who I am?"
"...Who... Who are you...?" Catra muttered in confusion, feebly pointing at her.
"No..." Glimmer's eyes started to water as she covered her mouth. She was too late... she failed... Catra needed her most in this one moment of distress, and even after all the positive thoughts, all the hope that she could muster in this bleak situation, she couldn't save her friend completely from Shadow Weaver's magic! Catra was... was gone... "C-Catra..." Glimmer whimpered, It would be the first of many tears she would shed for the rest of her life, living with the knowing-regret that she failed to save her-
"Pffft! Tch ahahaha!" Catra bellowed out with laughter. "Oh man, you should've seen your face, Pinky! You were like "oh no, I'm too late," hahahaha-!"
"Oh thank gosh!" Glimmer instantly cried, hugging herself into Catra's stomach as she cried heavily. Catra let out a small cry as Glimmer threw her arms around her torso as she sobbed into her chest.
"Ack-!" She yelped. "Hey, easy, easy! I'm pretty sore you know!" She grumbled a little, giving an irritated look at the girl. "...Pinky?" Catra questioned again, noticing as she continued to cry loudly. For one of the few times of Catra's life, she felt an actual sense of guilt for what was, in fairness, a pretty cruel prank. Her ears drooped around her as she scratched the back of her head, feeling awkward for one of the few times in her life. "H-Hey, Pin... Glimmer, hey, come on, it was... it was just a joke..."
It did nothing to soothe the tears draining from Glimmer's eyes. Even as she looked up towards her good friend with tears in her eyes, she couldn't get a single word out as she continued to sniffle, feeling overjoyed for the first time to be at the butt of one of Catra's jokes, and drowning with the continued sadness that she almost lost her dear friend.
Seeing how the princess was truly remorseful, the very person she never wanted anything to do with since first meeting her, she did the one thing she had never done before.
She threw an arm around her warmly in a small hug, trying to give her a soft smile as Glimmer tried to dry off the tears. "H-Hey, I'm... I'm sorry, okay? Now come on, you're embarrassing me." She chuckled a little. "I'm the one who's supposed to be saving you, remember?"
"Hmph..." Glimmer smiled in reply, wiping her own tears a little as she helped Catra from the metallic slab. "Y-Yeah... heh... sorry for ruining your moment." She lightly joked. Turning to the door, she gave an knowing nod to her certified friend, holding her own side with one arm as she walked to the door. "Now come on... we need to get out of her asap..."
...
-that.
*Wham!*
"Agh!" Catra cried out. Upon returning from her vision, she found half her body slammed away by a gargantuan fist, knocking her through one of the surrounding trees and toppling it over. Those accursed visions were back again, and they had a worse time of popping up than ever.
Unlike the previous times, these ones were incredibly different. First off, they were far or spaced between one another. These visions came from her most recent past, ranging from the last few weeks to months that she's been in the Rebellion. They would always flash a memory in front of her very eyes like the others, reminding her of the possible good times she's had with Glimmer and Bow and the adventures they shared together.
Secondly, was just that. They weren't of Adora or any of her time in the Fright Zone. These were the memories she's grown over the course of her journey, ever since she thought she became She-Ra. From the mighty cliffs they walked upon in the Kingdom of Dryl, to the enchanted floating landscape of Mystacor, the adventures they've had together were far, few, and many in-between. They ranged from a whole assortment of things Catra's always wished she could do, albeit with a different friend in mind.
Third, these were a lot more frequently than her other visions in the past. Usually, her visions were anywhere between one to a few days between visions, and almost never popping up at the worst timing, save for one unfortunate near-drowning incident she had. Here, they wouldn't stop plaguing her! They happened every several minutes here and there, messing up her concentration or thoughts whenever she was thinking about Adora.
Lastly, she knew the exact reasoning behind this too. These weren't meant to bring her any semblance of peace or calm her state of mind. This was something she managed to pick up on her own after all that's happened. These visions were telling her to let go of her past, and in turn, Adora. They wanted her to let Adora go from her memories, from her heart, in order to combat the evil darkness within her friend and the darkness that threatened to consume the entire world.
And she couldn't do that!
Where did this stupid sword get off by telling her how to run her life?! She doesn't know what she's been through despite seeing her memories, it didn't know what her life was like! Adora was the only person in her life that brought her comfort, that made her feel like she belonged among an entire group of people that considered her the freak of the Horde. She was always there for her when she needed Adora most, and, especially after realizing how horrible she had been in turn, there was no way she could turn her back on her again, acting as if everything Adora said about her was true and then some.
She would find her own way to make this work, she was positive. She had her sword, she had her agility, and she had her friends protecting the Moonstone during her current skirmish. Surely she could think of something to say to get through to Adora in the short amount of time they had... right?
It was this optimism that kept getting Catra back to her feet as she jumped from the ground again, planting her feet firmly as she focused on her surroundings.
"Heheheh..." She could hear Adora's voice echo from all around her, any sight of her being obscured by the trees that filled he woods. "Catraaaaa~" She sang.
"What are you hiding for, Adora?" Catra grumbled back. "I thought Force Captains were supposed to be braver than this?" She needed her slip up in some way. With the ground the two covered, she couldn't pick up any scent from her to pinpoint her location. All she could do was listen closely at the next distortion.
"One of the many basics of Horde Training, something you would know well about if you didn't make me do all the work!" The voice yelled, filling the air with an eerie echo. "First you need to know to how to undermine your enemies..."
*whap!*
"Ah!" Catra yelped, covering her face as it took a split-second whip to the face by one of the shadowy tendrils. Just as quickly did it hit her was it out of sight by the time she managed to open her eye, wincing from pain.
"How to confuse and use their own environment against them..."
*Whap!*
"Geh!" She couldn't get a read on her! Every time she thought she knew the location, she was met with another whip of the tendrils, this time stroking across her back. The lack of scarring they managed to leave didn't alleviate the pain that it brought, each whipping being followed by a burning sting to it.
"And how to catch them by SURPRISE!"
*crash!*
There wasn't any warning this time around as Catra focused more on her injuries than the environment around her. Instead of getting struck with another nefarious whip of darkness, she found her face getting pounded directly by one of Adora's gargantuan shadow fists, her entire face taking the brunt of the attack as it tossed Catra through the air, throwing her back against one of the toppled trees where she slammed into.
She spat what little irritation she could out of her mouth as she panted, her arms slung over the fallen tree as Adora revealed herself, approaching from behind as she cracked her knuckles. There wasn't any way Catra could continue fighting her like this, not out in the forest where she could remain hidden from Catra's senses. She needed to direct the fighting somewhere else, where Adora would be exposed at all times.
The Ravine? No. There were too many tanks and soldiers around the ravine. She had a hard enough time dealing with Adora, the last thing she wanted was to deal with them at the same time. Especially with her friends already battling the Horde army, there was no she could afford to distract them with her own battle, or worse, sick Adora on them directly in the process, the Force Captain already having a notable grudge against several of her friends.
The Whispering Woods themselves were also out of the question. While the frozen landscape would make it easier to see Adora, with the ice reflecting her appearance and giving Catra the advantage with her sight, it would only last for as long as Adora doesn't destroy the obstacles blocking her way. On top of that, it was a direct path on the march of the Horde soldiers, throwing reinforcements at her at the same time she was dealing with Adora.
At this rate, there was only one location she could think of as her claws dug into the bark of the broken log that Adora cut in half.
"You know, I thought you were going to entertain me for a moment, but I guess I was wrong." She shrugged playfully, forming blades in both her arms. "I guess I'll have to see if any of your friends can entertain me after I'm done with you. Who knows, maybe that princess girl will make an entertaining punching bag for the young recruits."
"...eav... 'em... on..." Catra huffed, panting between breaths as she sunk her other claw into the hunk of wood.
"Come again? I can't here you when you're not giving me the proper attention." Her look of amusement was dropped to one of bewilderment as she saw the deathly glare that Catra shot back to her.
"I said, leave... them... ALONE!"
*WHAM!*
If Adora expected a punch, she would have easily blocked it with her own two hands or one of her shadowy appendages. If she expected Catra to smack her with the sword, she would've created a blade within seconds, blocking it easily and countering it with another one of her blades, or impaling her with one of the many tendrils sprouting from her back. And there would be no way she would be stupid enough to lunge at her directly.
What she didn't expect was getting slammed by something the size of a tree, specifically half the size of some overgrown bush that she sliced in half personally. In a furious, roaring, cry, with her own two clawed hands dug into the husk of the mighty oak, Catra slammed the tree a full one-eighty behind her like a bat, knocking Adora off her feet and out of the playing field. The Force Captain barely had time to see the attack before she register the intense slam that covered half her body, shooting her through the air and over to the rocky cliffs.
*CRASH!*
She was actually amazed that Catra would pull off such a feat, much less could, as her body soared through the air like a ball, hurdling her through the sky until she came upon the harsh landing of a rocky cliffside. Her body was dug in a good foot into the solid mass of rock after she landed, her mind disoriented from the impact of the attack and the landing that followed. Whatever this new state Catra was currently in, it wasn't just some fancy fashionwear she was currently going through. Like her, it appeared to give her some enhanced characteristics like the headband did with Adora.
If she ever needed more proof of her theory, it came at her in full force. Without missing a beat, the next thing she saw was Catra herself, holding up the massive log as she jumped through the air. Adora barely had any time to cover herself as the magicat gave off another seething hiss, slamming the butt of the freshly cut-in-half log straight on top of Adora, and plunging her deeper into the cliffside by another several feet into the semi-crater that the two found themselves in.
Catra really hoped this enhanced persona of hers really couldn't feel any pain like she let on, because she was pretty sure if it didn't, then she just killed her friend. The other part of her was hoping she didn't overdo it just now either. The log really did feel like she was carrying a simple baseball bat at the touch, a good chunk of its weight mitigated by its halved size, and with her already athletic agility being supercharged in this state, it was easy for her to leap a near fifty feet in the air, carrying the sword on her back and the log in her hands.
Too bad for her, it didn't seem like Adora was rather keen on being pelted by a giant log or crushed by one in the short span of a few seconds. Still being suspended above the ground, huffing to herself in an exhausted state as she held onto the other end of the log, Catra nearly jumped as she saw a strange yet horrific spiral of darkness bursting through the other end.
On the Force Captain's side of things, Adora grinned as she used her shadowy abilities to make possibly the most useful tool in this scenario- a drill. The massive three-foot-wide drill skewered straight into the end of the log she was planted on as she thrust it forward, stretching it further and further towards the magicat as it ripped the long to tiny little wooden chips that shot in every direction in the process. Catra had no choice but to from the useful hunk of wood, standing her ground with sword firmly in hand again as she watched the rest of the tree being scattered into thousands of smaller chips.
At the end, all that was left was an entire cliffside with a small bit of dust looming in the air, Catra watching as the Force Captain pulled herself out with her gargantuan shadowy hands. She couldn't tell if she had herself to thank for it or if it was just the layer of transparent shadow over Adora's skin, but she was positive she saw a few scrapes and scratches from her recent counterattack lining Adora's clothing and right cheek.
For the first time through the fight, Catra was confident that she finally did some damage. Too bad there weren't anymore trees left lying around her.
"There's no way you didn't feel any of that, Adora." Catra commented, side stepping slowly as she prepared for Adora's next attack.
Adora grinned as she stretched her arms from side to side, getting the few cricks she could out of her shoulders. "Okay, you win. That one I actually felt. I mean, it did tickle a little, but it's the best you've done all day." To be fair, Adora had to admit that was a bit more severe than she let on. It felt like a good solid punch to her, which was saying a lot for someone who got slammed then crushed under a giant log. "If you keep playing like that, I might actually have to start trying."
"We shouldn't have to fight, Adora!" Catra's argument intrigued Adora by just a little. "Adora, we shouldn't have to be fighting on different sides like this, we shouldn't be fighting each other at all! We should be fighting on the same side like we used to in the past, not trying to kill each other like we're sworn enemies."
Was she being serious right now? Every time Adora brought up the two of them fighting, Catra always had to make a rebuttal or an argument about why they shouldn't be fighting in the first place. Out of all the times Adora's ever known Catra to get into a small brawl, not once has she ever chosen to find another way to do things peacefully, even if it was to catch the enemy off guard. She considered it a sign of weakness whenever someone tried taking the easier path out of things, something she never wanted to be in front of her peers.
"...Do you think I want to?" Adora questioned, looking at the tips of her claw-like gargantuan hands. "I always wish that day never happened, Catra. The day you fell out of the skiff and all of this had to happen. I don't care who's on the right or wrong side anymore, I almost wish we weren't on opposite ends."
"We don't have to be!" At this, the feline lowered her sword a little, trying to maintain a passive composure. "We can go back to the way things were, and start fighting for the Rebellion! You can't honestly think everything the Horde does is right, can you?"
"Would it matter if it was?" Adora shifted her eyes towards the girl as she continued to face her hand. "What makes your side any better than my side to begin with? What makes you guys attacking the Horde "heroic", and what makes us attacking the Rebellion "evil"? Who do you think you are, getting to decide if we're the good guys or the bad guys, Catra?" Disdain started to spread across the girl's face as she squeezed her fist. "I told you a thousand times, Catra. I'm done talking, and I'm done living in the past."
"Adora..." Catra turned her head in thought, tightening the grip on her sword again. How was she supposed to get through to her? She refuses to try and go back to the way things were, she's shown little interest in reminiscing about anything in the past, and she won't listen to reason.
"Besides," she continued, looking off to the distance, "why would I want to switch sides when we're the ones winning so far?"
"Huh?" She let her guard down. She couldn't help looking in the same direction towards Bright Moon Castle as she watched the battle unfold.
...
All around the ravine, she saw her friends and her allies battling it out with the Horde, seeing the explosions and magics being unleashed as the battle progressed. It didn't matter if they looked like half the size of her pinkie from where she stood, she could make most of them out clearly and tell who was where.
As she watched, she saw the Queen unleash another powerful shockwave across the valley, pushing back another handful of tanks and droids that made their way towards the castle. Sadly, her efforts began to show little reward as the last blast was nothing more than a simple shove at best. The tanks and droids that were pushed this time around were barely moved a few inches, half of them not moving at all from the recent attack.
What's worse, was the size and scale of the force that continued to swarm them. The troops and soldiers that descended upon the valley were now outnumbered three to one by the amount of robotic droids that started to flood the valley. From the waters, she could see Glimmer fighting off one skiff filled with soldiers after the other, doing what she could to send them crashing into the tanks and droids soon after in an effort to combat the invading army.
Her efforts were matched with Bow's own efforts as he managed to fire several arrows into two of the approaching droids, shooting them right at their core with the powerful arrows he obtained from the armory, ones that shot through the droid's thick armor like paper. His efforts would only last as long as the number of arrows he had remaining, and he already felt himself down by over half.
Assisting them, she could see Netossa work tirelessly as she threw one enchanted ball of nets after the other, creating barriers through the ravine that the others could hide against while using others that pulled the droids, tanks, and skiffs together, sometimes resulting in them crashing into one another, and providing a means for Bow to make use of his explosive arrows as he took out the machines all at once, greatly lowering the amount of fighting that took place.
Swing Wind seemed to almost be enjoying himself as topped one of the approaching droids from the air, planting his hooves firmly into their metallic armor and stomping repeatedly until they were steaming husks in the ground. The horse's weight mixed with his durable hooves proved quite effective in taking out the droids, using the air to his advantage as he strayed out of the droids line of sight where they couldn't fire.
That left Spinnerella, the pinkish princess maintaining the defenses as she protected the cliff's pathway towards the Queen. The soldiers that met with her were no match against her magical winds, pushing them off with ease as she used her magic. It didn't matter how much practice one had in the training rooms of the Fright Zone. There was nothing remotely similar between fighting holographic images presented by droids of the princesses, and fighting an actual princess in person.
There didn't seem to be any sway in this line of defense, no matter how hard the Horde try to advance. The heroes were tired, exhausted, and never wanted to be over with a fight as much as they were now, and still they continued. They were Etheria's last hope of defeating the Horde, this conviction inspiring them to push passed their exhausted state as they fought back against the Horde army. They wouldn't let a single one of them near the Runestone as long as they stood their ground, giving it everything they had to keep the Moonestone and Queen Angella safe.
Until it happened.
From the cliffside, Spinnerella saw as a dozen different small hooks suddenly sprang over the side, up to the ground level where she stood. Looking over the side, she nearly gasped as she saw four of the three-legged droids attempting to climb the cliff itself directly, using their small anchors to latch onto the rocky cliffs as they propelled themselves up slowly, using their hold as they ascended the rocky walls with their legs.
Refusing to let a single one of the Horde invaders pass her, Spinnerella channeled her powers into concussive bursts of magic, firing at the droids and unleashing an erupting torrent at air towards the mechanical beasts as they tried to make their way up the mountain. The droids proved themselves durable against the princess's magic, shrugging off the blasts as they made their ascent to the cliff she was up on.
Seeing how smaller direct blasts weren't going to cut it, the princess resorted to her last chance. Crossing her arms against her chests with her clenched fists, she grumbled audibly as the massive bulk of magic started to gather and swirl around her. The others turned to the pink princess as they felt the disturbance and shift in the wind, finally noticing the droids that were attempting to climb their way to the mountain to confront her. Netossa panicked over the sight of her beloved friend like this as she knew the girl was pushing herself, realizing she didn't have a choice in the matter.
With as much magic as she could possibly gather, Spinnerella was ready. In one spectacular burst of energy, they watched as a gigantic sphere of magic blew across the cliffside, effectively blasting away the droids whose ropes and cables were snapped by the force, and plummeting them towards the ground after managing to reach a good halfway up the mountain. The resulting fall was enough to destroy the droids one by one as they crashed to the surface, almost piling on top of one another in a fiery explosion, and eliminating the threat of the robots for good.
Suffice to say, Spinnerella was exhausted, panting out of breath as her arms dropped in front of her. If the soldiers she wasn't fighting off till now were enough to wear her down, the recent energy she had to expunge to destroy the robots were, the annoying droids proving quite resilient to her magical capabilities. None of the others had expected the droids to come up with such a clever tactic, or to provide such a meaningful distraction for another Force Captain to make her appearance.
"Remember me?" Those were the last two words Spinnerella heard before she found a pincered arm wrapped around her neck, pulling on it to try and break free from her overpowering grip.
*ting*
"Ngh-! Uggghhhh..." The flash of pain Spinnerella felt against her back was shortly replaced with a lack consciousness as the princess moaned. All her energy had been drained from her body as she felt herself passing out, her arms dropping to her side as the princess closed her eyes, dropping to the ground itself as Scorpia smirked, flexing her recently-used stinger with glee. By the time the princess woke up again, it would most likely be in a cage in the Fright Zone.
"Spinnerella!" Netossa cried out, tearing at the corners of her eyes. Catra didn't need to see from up close to understand what just happened. She could see the familiar tail-like appendage coming from one of the small figures across the valley, and another figure she could hear Netossa screaming her name out for.
The first princess of the defenders had fallen.
The Horde army was still advancing.
And the Rebellion was losing...
...
...
...
A/N: For those of you who want to argue Catra couldn't lift a tree nearly fifty feet through the air, I'd like to remind you that 1: Adora managed to pry a massive boulder out of the episode and threw it squarely at the one Catra was on in the episode, and 2: As i've used for the basis of this episode, which I'm pretty sure is the case, the sword/she-ra does enhance her physical characteristics too, so I wouldn't put it passed her (especially if He-Man is practically strong enough to push a freaking moon through space!).
Hope you all enjoyed and continue to enjoy as we reach are !GRAND FINALE! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!