A/N: And with that another gloriously long chapter has been posted! What is up mi amigos! Muchachos! Some other way of saying guys...
Lol, anyway, we're nearly there people! We are almost at the FINAL chapter of season 1! I can hardly wait! In fact, I don't have much else to say, so... enjoy!
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"Spinnerella!" Netossa cried out, tearing at the corners of her eyes. The others could see the fire burning in her eyes, filled with fear, sadness, and rage, no matter how far away they were standing. If that wasn't enough to convince them of her emotional state, the sight of her squeezing her fists angrily were more than enough to get a grasp on how Netossa was feeling right now.
Till recently, the war against the Horde had gone... somewhat smoothly. Without end, the Rebellion found the Horde constantly charging them with their troops, droids, and tanks which flooded the valley as they waged their war on Bright Moon. Thanks to the effects of the new device Entrapta had created within the confines of the Horde, the Runestone of Bright Moon had started to weaken, and the Whispering Woods, which confused and kept the Horde at bay, were frozen over. They now had a clear path straight to the Rebellion, and they intended to make use of it while they could.
Lead by Force Captain Adora, Catra's best of friends, the Horde army had pressed on through the frozen wasteland as they began their siege on the castle, chipping away at the magnificent structure that was a symbol of the Rebellion and everything wrong in the world. They finally had a chance to take down the headquarters of the Rebellion, the Rebellion, and the Moonstone, all in one shot. They would be fools not to use this opportunity presented to them!
And it's a good thing they came prepared as they did. With half their forces diverted to the outer walls of the valley, with the palace guards defending from the ocean and the mountainside over the castles, the last line of defense between the Horde and the Moonstone were the few allies and princesses that had remained. Bow, the archer, Glimmer the Princess of the Rebellion, the Immortal Queen Angella, Catra's steadfast horse-turned-alicorn Swift Wind, and the last two remaining allies of the Rebellion, Netossa, and Spinnerella.
These remaining defenders of Bright Moon were proving more than a match for the might of the Horde. Despite the lack of numbers, they managed to keep the Horde out of their home for much longer than Adora initially expected. The princesses proved their worth as warriors with their magical capabilities, and Bow's trick arrows were keeping the droids and tanks at bay as he managed to disable the oncoming machines before they could even reach the waters.
Truly, they were proving to her the potential might of the Rebellion, and why it continued to stand against the Horde with each passing day. But like many empires, they, too, were eventually doomed to fall. No amount of power would surpass the numbers of the invading Horde, nobody could topple the unity that Adora knew the Horde brought. They worked together far better than any force in Etheria, they stood united against any threat that would oppose them. And she would see it through to the end until the Rebellion was squashed.
Starting with the first princess to fall, Spinnerella.
She proved just as valiant as the rest of them did in her efforts to combat the Horde. Taking position along the cliffside leading up to the castle, Spinnerella fought her hardest against the invading forces. The troops that were brave enough to scale the pathway of the cliffs found themselves blown off by the festering winds of Spinnerella's magic, half of them being forced to drag their allies back into the woods for safety.
Her downfall eventually came, though, after the attack beset on her cliffs by the droids that had intercepted passed the frontal heroes as they began to scale the cliffs from the walls directly. With her feeble blasts doing nothing to wear down the hefty droids, Spinerella was forced to use a vast amount of her magic all at once to push back the ascending droids, blasting them off the ropes they used to climb with and hurdling them down to the base of the large wall, crashing and exploding upon impact.
Suffice to say, the princess was exhausted briefly from this expenditure of magic. Mixed in with the amount of magic she used to fight off the advancing troops, the magic-user had more than spent her reserves in destroying the droids before they got any closer. She was completely unprepared and unguarded as she found was captured by an eager Scorpia, and on the receiving end of her paralytic stinger which knocked her out cold.
Now the defenders were down to four, and would find their numbers continuing to dwindle as time progressed.
As expected, the most troubled by their recent loss was Netossa, the one who was always closest to the fallen Princess. Panic took over her mind and fear rang through her heart at the sight of her beloved friend. As if noticing the distressed state from where she stood, Scorpia took the opportunity to goad the other allies as she lifted her from the collar of her dress, dangling her lifelessly in her hands.
"Nooo!" Netossa screamed as she ran through the waters.
"Netossa, stop!" Bow pleaded, blocking her way as he tried to calm her down. "It's a trap! She's just trying to draw you in!"
"We can't separate like this!" Glimmer added, running to their side. "We need to stay together!"
How could they expect her to understand in a time like this? In a time of war for that matter?! Spinnerella was one of her most cherished companions, she meant everything to her! She was up there all by herself and now she was completely defenseless! Worse, she was in the clutches of one of the dreadful Horde Captains, one who sneered back to her from up above as she showed off her pincers menacingly, wagging her tail around like she was ready to use it in an instant.
She didn't care if it broke formation, not if it meant losing someone close to her like this. With a heavy heart, she hastily pushed passed the two, ignoring their cries to come back and pleas as she ran to save the one who meant most to her, and to get back at the one who dared to attack her dearest friend in the first place.
Gathering all the magic she could into a small sphere in her hands, Netossa tossed the magical conjuration a good ten yards ahead of her. From the magic, Netossa jumped atop the magical sphere as it enlarged into a giant mystical barrier of nets, one that could prove itself as a useful forcefield, or, in her case, become a suitable pathway that grew under her feet, springing her up in the air and throwing her high enough to reach the cliff Scorpia and Spinnerella were on.
Netossa wasted no time unleashing her fury upon the scorpion girl as she gathered another sphere of her energy in the palm of her hands, tossing it directly between Scorpia's feet where it burst into a miniaturized version of her previous barrier, pushing Scorpia back a good distance down the pathway, and more importantly, away from Spinnerella.
With the two distanced from one another, Netossa carefully took her into her, checking over her worriedly as she brushed the hair out of her face. The one spark of solace she had out of all of this was the fact she was still breathing just fine, unaware previously of the effects of Scorpia's stinger. More good fortune came to her in the form of Swift Wind, the gallant alicorn flying his way over to the side as he heard Netossa's screams of fear and her cries of worry as she ran towards the cliffs.
The girl had never been so happy to see the horse appear before her as she lifted her dear friend in her arms.
"Is she alright?" Swift Wind asked, folding his wings enough for Netossa to rest the princess on his back.
"She's fine, just unconscious." Netossa replied, ensuring Spinnerella was placed carefully on the horse before setting them off. Take her back somewhere into the castle, somewhere she'll be safe for now." She ordered, glaring back as Scorpia climbed her way over barrier, sinking her claws into the barrier with each step.
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" He wondered, knowing their chances of victory diminished even further as they were down a princess.
"I'm fine," she grunted, turning her attention back to the smirking Scorpia as she stood atop the descending barrier, "I can handle her myself."
There was nothing he could say that could get through to her, he knew that within an instant. With their lines cut off from the coast, the Horde would now rush the ravine much faster than they originally were, becoming problematic for Glimmer and Bow with each passing minute that he wasted time out here trying to talk any sort of sense into her. The only chance they had in maintaining their position was with him flying through the air as they speak, soaring straight towards the interior of the castle so he could set the sleeping beauty somewhere safer and return to the front lines to assist the others.
With the safety of her friend ensured, Netossa turned her attention back to the oncoming Captain as she lunged for her, wanting to take advantage of her distracted state as her back was turned. Netossa could commend her quick wits, if nothing else, but was prepared for the young Captain as she grabbed her oncoming pincers, rolling onto her back as she kicked her away a few feet behind her.
Both girls were already on their feet by the time Scorpia landed again, the two circling each other in a defensive stance as they kept their guard up.
"You're going to pay for what you did to her!" Netossa growled, maintaining her position as she came to the ledge of the cliff.
"Oh don't worry, you'll be joining her soon in dreamland." Scorpia smirked. Without any hesitation the scorpion girl lunged at her again, this time thrusting her stinger directly at her left side, leaving no space to for her to dodge unless she jumped from the cliff itself.
However, much to her surprise, she hadn't anticipated the girl's cunning as she leaned herself over the cliffside just as Scorpia's stinger passed her. Before she could reel it back in, the girl wrapped her arms tightly around Scorpia's tail in a hold strong enough to crush her bones, planting her feet firmly to the ground as she held onto it for balance.
Grinning, Netossa pulled with all the might she could as she lifted Scorpia off her own two feet, actually lifting her a couple feet off the ground. Using her own momentum to pull herself back towards the ledge, the girl swung Scorpia over the cliff itself, forcing the captain to clamp her pincers against the rocky walls from the thirty foot drop that awaited her below. It didn't matter if she could survive the fall, any drop from somewhere this high up was surely to leave her out of commission for the rest of the battle.
Perhaps it was this same line of reasoning that she saw Netossa standing over her now, with an angry yet satisfied grin on her face as she gathered another handful of energy again, raising it over her head as she prepared one of her durable net-based traps. She was going to capture this captain, and then she was going to make her pay when this massive battle was over.
"You shouldn't have hurt my friend!" She hissed, feeling the sphere in her hand ready to explode at a moment's notice. Despite the situation she knew Scorpia to be in, the Force Captain just grinned, even as she was hanging from the edge of a cliff.
"And you should've brought yours like I did."
*Bzzzzzt!*
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Netossa let out a terrible scream of agony as she felt several thousand volts course through her body. From behind the spellcaster, at least three soldiers were pinning their stun batons into her back, sending an endless stream of pain and numbness throughout her entire body as the sparks jumped off her.
Even with this, the vengeful friend wasn't about to back down, not when these goons were responsible for hurting someone so close to her. Gritting her teeth to shrug off the pain, the girl stared back in anger, grabbing two of the cadets by the throats and sending the same thousands of volts that were electrocuting her moments ago through their own systems.
The cadets were in for the shock of their life as they felt the same electricity being returned to them with three times the strength of a single baton being shot through them as well. Netossa did what she could to shrug off the pain, clenching her eyes tightly as she waited for the soldiers to loosen the grip on their batons. No amount of training had ever prepared them to fight through the intensity of three stun batons at once. It was a miracle the woman here wasn't collapsing from the combined might of the three batons!
Finally, after what felt like hours of torture in a reality where just a few seconds had passed, the two guards had relented in their attack as they dropped the batons at long last, collapsing to the ground in a heap on both sides of the only soldier still standing between them. The panicking soldier glanced back and forth at the two fallen comrades in worry. By the time he so much as thought of looking back at the grand spellcaster, he found his face being smacked by Netossa's enraged fists, knocking him back against the walls of cliff's pathway, knocking him out colder than the previous two found themselves to be.
The princess was in a similar exhausted state as Spinnerella found herself to be in, right before Scorpia got the jump on her and knocked her out cold. Remembering the scene vividly in the corner of her mind, she spun around in a haste in an attempt to find Scorpia behind her, only to be met with an empty cliffside and no Scorpia hanging around.
*swiff*
And dodging expertly to her right as the anticipated stinger sprung out behind her. The Force Captain was caught by surprise at the sudden dodging, especially coming from someone who just took three stun batons to the back directly, as Netossa quickly grabbed onto the tail like before, this time tossing her against the wall, further away from the cliff so she could keep her attention on her and the incoming guards that continued to charge the steps after her.
"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Scorpia commented, watching as another cadet tried to charge the enemy. Even though she managed to shrug off the majority of the batons she took earlier, her strong bravado did nothing to quell the partial paralyzing effect they had through her system.
"The Rebellion will never give up!" She yelled, grabbing the cadet's arm before he could swing at her and tossing him over the cliff into the waters below, the armor only keeping him from taking the brunt of the fall, yet could do nothing against the loss of consciousness from the impact.
*bzzzt!*
"Nghhhh!" She grumbled as she felt another cadet's baton press against her back. The continuing build up of the shock through her nervous system was weakening her muscles, Netossa struggling just trying to stay conscious through the ordeal. With another grunt, she grabbed the same guard by the wrist before puling him over and harshly headbutting him against the helmet, knocking him off his feet. The lessening consciousness were dulling her senses by this point, otherwise she might've seen the other two guards approaching her from behind.
*bzzzt!*
*bzzzt!*
"Ghhhhhhh!" She was running out of time and energy, her fading consciousness preventing her from gathering any of the energy she could to conjure up another magical net to ensnare her enemies or shield herself. With what little she had to go by, she swept one of the batons next to her feet in the air, using the cadet's own weapon against him as she batted the right guard against his chest with the stunner, using it shortly after to block off the left cadet's baton as he swung it over her head.
If Scorpia could compliment anything else about this girl, it was how much she managed to endure up to this point after taking a handful of batons directly and still remained on her feet. If it wasn't for the fact the same girl was now pressed against one knee to the ground from her waning strength, after being forced to grab another baton as another soldier attempted to attack her, she might have considered her a good fight.
But compliments and details were above her when it came to the enemy. The only thing they deserved were the Horde's respect when they put up a good resistance, not praise.
Netossa was too exhausted at this point to counter anything else that was thrown at her. If she wasn't, she would've been more than capable of reacting in some way to stop Scorpia's back attack that was thrown at her. With both her tired arms barely maintaining the hold on her batons as she was pressed towards the ground, she could do nothing as she felt the tip of a third and final baton pressed against the back of her neck, letting out a scream of agony as Scorpia watched with satisfaction.
There was nothing left she could do as the energy finally drained from her at long last. With her eyelids drooping, her arms dropping to her side, she was defenseless as Scorpia kicked the girl off the cliffside, hurdling her into the calm waters below of the ravine. It was thanks to all her training and years of fighting that she managed to survive the fall into the shallow waters with ease, though it mattered little in comparison as her consciousness finally faded.
Hearing the sound of another object falling into the waters along the cliff, taking a moment to himself after he dealt with the recent droid, Bow let out a small gasp as he saw the state of his second fallen comrade, alerting Glimmer as she batted away at the third guard since Netossa's rush. "Netossa!" He barely had a few seconds to himself to call out to her before another handful of soldiers approached them.
That was another ally down, another defender lost to the Rebellion. Swift Wind withholding as he took care of Spinnerella, wherever he was, that left Glimmer with the cold reality that she and Bow were the last defenders of Bright Moon, and more importantly her mother, as the Horde's numbers never ceased to increase. If anything, their numbers were almost doubling during the ensuing fighting that had been taking place as the robotic droids started to fill the hills and the cliffs of the valley, with many of them starting to take formation as they focused on their target: The Moonstone.
Catra, where are you?!
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...
"Nooo!" Catra cried out as she saw one of the defenders fall atop the pathway over the valley. While she couldn't get a good view of the princess herself, she could assume it was Spinnerella as she saw the mighty gust of wind she flourished before Scorpia snuck up on her, collapsing thereafter.
They were starting to lose the war. Anyone with eyes could see that by now. No matter how much the Rebellion tried to push back, or the number of soldiers they managed to fight off, they just kept coming nonstop. They showed no signs of wavering as each of the cadets and soldiers that ran into the battlefield were filled with vigor and fresh energy, while those defending Bright Moon were few and scarce in-between, given no time to catch their breath or to relax themselves.
To think that this is something Catra wanted once in her life. To go out into the battlefield to fight a grueling battle with no end and no chance of victory. Personally, she still wanted to be a part of such a battle, and would gladly jump into one at any time if she wasn't on the side that didn't have the endless supply of soldiers on hand! There was no merit out of this situation, nothing to be gained from the Rebellion as they tried to defend their homeland. It was just a needless source of destruction like everything else the Horde touched, lead by her best friend, Adora, of all people!
It as a battle that grew more hectic as time went on. Here Catra was, defending the Rebellion, and fighting off the Horde, and fighting off Adora directly in order to do it, and trying to finish this fight fast enough so she could join them at the ravine to hopefully turn this fight around, AND while trying to convince Adora to come back to their side at the same time! There was never a break for this girl, and there would be no one to help her the moment she slipped up either!
This was exactly what Catra feared would happen if she tried to join the Rebellion in the battle for Bright Moon, right down to the last detail. She knew if she fought Adora, she could choke up. She would mess up, she would falter, she would burden the others in trying to rescue her if she couldn't willingly fight against the Horde, and she still chose to throw herself at their side in order to protect them.
What kind of hero was she?
...
That was when she noticed there was a lack of a friendship meter at the end of it. Did she not have enough space to write it in? Reexamining the page, she noticed how it didn't seem to have much of an ending either compared to the other entries. Deciding to give it a check, she found the following page continued the diary entry.
But that's what I thought only at first. She still doesn't seem to know whether she wants to be a hero herself or not, but after the day's experience, I can say she has the qualities of one.
Is this the same person writing this all of a sudden?
Looking back on the days events now, she did a lot more than I originally thought. She saved us from a giant monster, she stuck by our side until I woke up. She got a Force Captain to call off a Horde invasion in the middle of Thaymor, and a few hours ago, I learned she actually saved a little girl named Kim from a collapsing building! She risked her life, the one she seemed more interested in, to save a child!
I felt stupid thinking she wasn't hero material anymore since then. Even if I still don't know what kind of person she wants to be, I think I know now what kind of person she is.
Anything. She is any kind of person she wants to be. She can be a glorious fighter, she could be the hero we need, she could very well be the person to save our entire Rebellion, she could be anyone she wants to be. She taught me a hero can come from anywhere, regardless of where they're born.
Throughout the entire day, I think what I learned the most is how dependable she can be. She might always be the one to charge in head first, she might be reckless, and she might even mess up a few times along the way. But deep down, I'm pretty sure, she can be the one thing this Rebellion needs most of all.
Someone who can be there for you when you need her the most.
...
Apparently the kind that was given visions of the past by a stupid sword that never left her alone. She didn't care if the sword was trying to get her to let go of her attachments to Adora in order to help her friends. After everything this sword put her through since she came across it, she was unwilling to get rid of either!
Self-doubt and questioning would have to be put on hold as she shook her head. Knowing her allies and friends needed her at this very moment, she ignored all that surrounded her a she began to sprint towards the ledge, intending to race through the woods in order to save them. The brief lapse of judgement and worry that filled her were enough to distract her from Adora's next attack as she threw the shadowy tentacle from her left arm around Catra's chest, pulling the girl away from the edge of the cliff they were on.
"Where do you think you're going?" The malicious Adora grinned, asking.
With a slight toss off the ground, Catra found her entire chest punched directly by Adora's massive shadowy fists, throwing the girl along the walls of the crater-like cliffside they were on, and crashing her through the rocky terrain at full force. She felt the rough edge of the stones as she scraped by them, a small puff of dust jumping into the air around her as her body was shoved into outer edge of the crater.
What little optimism she had that she had experienced the worst of Adora's newest attack were quickly dashed away. The very moment she opened her eyes again, she felt the tentacle around her chest tighten as it reeled it in back towards Adora. Here, the Force Captain greeted her with another devious smile as she smacked her against her mighty fist again, slamming her back into the rocks, and repeated this seeming game of "paddle-ball" with Catra's body without end.
Strike after strike, barely given a second to register the first three strikes that came with the pain she experienced, Catra was forced to endure as Adora continued her relentless result as she kept pulling Catra back to her just to slam her away again after every consecutive blow. There was no pause or hesitation in her attacks, no time for Catra to come up with a counterattack as Adora kept pulling her in faster than Catra could process. All that was filling her mind right now was the intense pain she was given as Adora continued to attack her with an overwhelming sense of joy.
Every hit she struck with her, another part of her attachment to Catra began to edge away. Adora didn't want these feelings of guilt riddling her anymore, she didn't want to put up with Catra's potential, future, betrayal like she always had. The moment she struck Catra down with her own two hands, she knew she would be free of the pain and guilt she's felt over Catra after all these years, the misery Catra put her through without a care in the world.
After at least a full minute of this nonstop barrage of being Adora's punching bag, the girl finally showed some decency as she stopped in her continuous brawl. By now, Catra's entire body was covered in scrapes and bruises, accumulated from the recent attack and the constant fighting she's had with Adora since this battle had started.
She saw Catra wince a little in pain at this, letting out a cough as a small bit of dust entered the magicat's lungs. The last time she was in this state, Adora held back. She felt sick just by seeing the state she put her friend through in Salineas, the way her entire body seemed to be wracked with pain. Even now, a small part of her was guilty over the pain she put Catra through, that small ounce that determined whether Adora still held any attachment or not to the former friend.
That was the part Adora hated the most, the one she wanted to be rid of as soon as possible.
"You know you would make it a lot easier for yourself if you just surrendered, Catra." Adora reminded, cracking the knuckles in her shadowy hand as she squeezed her fist. "You really are just hurting yourself here."
"...Huff... Huff..." Catra panted deeply as she regained her breath while she could. There was no telling how much longer she could hold out for, no indication if she was ever going to get through to Adora. All she knew for the time being was that she needed some way to get out of Adora's grip like this.
"Maybe if you spent a lot less time living in the past, you wouldn't be in the sorry state that you're in."
"Say's the one who won't forgive me, Adora!" Catra retorted angrily.
"That's because you haven't changed how you treated me since then, Catra!" She yelled back. "You're still manipulating everyone for your own gain, you care only about yourself, and everything is just a means to an end with you! You treated me that way the entire time since we met, and you're still doing it even today! Who lied to me about coming back to get the sword? Who tried to convince me that the princesses weren't a threat just to get me to come over to your side? The same ones who nearly destroyed you at the Princess Prom?!"
Anguish and pain crossed Adora's expression as she lowered her head, a small tear forming in the corner of her right eye. "All you've done... all you've ever done... is lie." That was the reality of the matter to her, the realization Adora had to learn the hard way. Catra couldn't be trusted, no matter how sincere she seemed to be or about what. With this assertion in her mind, she squeezed her shadowy fist as she glared back to the girl. "And I'm sick of all the lying, Catra!"
"..."
"...Catra?" Adora blinked as she stared at the girl.
Catra just... stood there. Her mouth was partially gaped open, her arms were at her side, and she was staring into space. She was alive for sure, she knew that much. Her tail still gave a small wag and there was a twitch in her ears, but aside from that, nothing. It's like she was there and wasn't there at the same time. She was practically looking passed Adora than to Adora herself, the Force Captain tilting her head at her strange behavior until a thought occurred to her.
She's seen this several times throughout their brawl, an occurrence that made Adora grin the more she thought about it. This must have been one of those bizarre moments she's had where she seems to fade from reality for a few seconds, the kind she appears to have with everyone as she's running another vision through her mind.
This was all too priceless, honestly. The Hero of the people, the Symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the defector that didn't even compare to past defectors. Here stood the almighty Catra in all her glory, staring off into space again for who knew how long, all while she was having an intense conversation with Adora as they spoke.
She couldn't let this opportunity pass up, no matter how dishonorable it might've been or cheap. Catra liked playing dirty with her opponents half the time, so why couldn't she? With a grin, Adora pulled the girl over to her with her tentacle as she pulled back her right arm, intending to land the finishing blow that would knock Catra out of consciousness till the next year-!
"Psyche!" That was the only word she heard during the brief second she saw Catra's grin.
Right when she pulled her close enough, as she was about to deliver the finishing blow, the magicat surprised her. With a single kick off the ground, holding onto the tentacle to help her, Adora flinched as she jumped from the ground and landed behind her, the Force Captain being in too much of a state of surprise and confusion as Catra pulled her extendable tentacle back.
Planting her feet as firmly as she could into the ground, with a mighty roar, Catra turned the tables on Adora as she pulled the tentacle upwards, lifting Adora off her own feet in the process. There was too much force from the She-Ra as Catra began to spin her around, preventing Adora from pulling away the tentacle or diminishing it as her body was flailing too fast in a circle around her, her mind unable to process where her shadow was precisely as she was spun in all directions, feeling herself stretching farther and farther with every full-body swing.
Stretching the girl out as far as she could, tightening the grip on the tentacle as she did, Catra screamed. With one, thunderous roar, Catra decided to give Adora a taste of her own medicine, or the stony crater to be more specific, as she slammed Adora against the edge of the crater, dragging her entire body all along the wall of it as she spun her around. No amount of durability could prevent the injury that ensued as Adora felt her body scraping over the harsh ground, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes to ensure the pain as her shadows tried to keep up to protect her. It was like they were being peeled off as she was pushed against the ground.
Catra needed an opportunity to get close to Adora and in a way she would least expect it. So what better chance did she have by taking her own weakness as her weapon? Pretending to be in her zoned-out state, the one most of her friends were used to, and lowering Adora's guard enough to get the drop behind her! It didn't matter to her how reckless her recent plan was if it bore fruit. Here, she was finally getting some actual damage done as she spun Adora twice in a circle against the crater before slamming her directly into the ground with a tremendous rumble.
Here, the magicat sighed in relief as she panted, seeing the girl's tentacle recede from her body. She was sure that wasn't enough to kill Adora, hopefully, as long as she put her out of commission. The sooner she got back to the others the better, and the faster she did it, the faster she could save-!
*Krush!*
"Ahh!" Catra yelped a little as she shielded her eyes with her arms. What little chance of victory she had obtained banished before her eyes. Right as she was prepared to run from the scene towards her friends, without wasting a chance, Adora gathered an entire chunk of crumbled rocks and dirt as she slung it at the warrior princess directly, giving a few small scrapes and cuts along her arms and legs as she was forced to shield her eyes directly from the hazardous material.
In those short few seconds until she finally opened her eyes, with the buildup of dust that had sprouted from her surroundings eluding her sense of smell, she saw that Adora was gone. Vanished. There wasn't a trace of her anywhere within her field of vision, save for the small personal crater she created as she threw Adora to the ground. There wasn't anything resembling her anywhere around her, save for the one giveaway that told her where she was.
The small chill of death that was creeping from behind her as she felt a large, darkened, claw pressing against her left shoulder.
"Miss me?"
*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!*
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Pain. Unbearable, dreadful, pain. She thought what Shadow Weaver did to her was bad, and it still was given how long she did it for, but this was a close second. Given no time to react or to recuperate from her own exhausted strength, she was powerless to defend against Adora's next attack as the girl struck from behind her.
In one sweeping motion, from the corner of her left shoulder, all the way down across the back to her right thigh, Catra felt the most painful scratching sensation in her life as Adora shredded her entire back with one of her gargantuan hands. These weren't simple scratches like she had inflicted others with, or herself on a few occasions by accident when she had an inch. She could feel them even after Adora pulled her hand away from Catra's back, watching as the girl collapsed to her hands and knees in agony.
Upon her, Adora watched with pride, as she observed the four two-inch thick scratch marks she spread across Catra's back. Maybe it was the resilience of her quarter She-Ra state, maybe she just didn't dig deep enough, it didn't matter. The scratches, while being crimson in red, weren't bleeding profusely, if at all. Not that they did anything to numb the sense of unbearable pain Catra now felt on her back, of course.
On her back now were four painful, scarring, reminders of a fraction of the pain Catra put Adora through all her life, and no amount of powers were going to let Catra forget this experience of pain she was inflicted with.
"How's that for a backstabbing, traitor?" She teased, returning the shadows to her side as she watched Catra tremble with pain. It took all of Catra's strength to keep from tearing up at the intense pain as she squeezed her eyes shut, biting against her own teeth to prevent any satisfying screaming for Adora to listen to.
Unfortunately, it did nothing to compare to the pain she felt immediately after Adora slammed her back against her foot, pushing her to the ground with ease. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She cried out, squeezing her claws against the dirt as she struggled to tolerate any of the pain. If this was what she felt in her She-Ra state, she'd had to see how it felt if it wore off any time soon.
"Oh pipe down, you big baby." She taunted, lowering her head towards Catra's ears as she smirked. "Why don't you just lie back and enjoy the show? It's about to get a lot more interesting." At the comment, Catra briefly ignored her pain as she looked out to the distance with worry, seeing how Adora pinned her here intentionally in order to watch what came next.
...
The army was amassing in numbers as the droids and tanks lined up side by side as they gathered. There wasn't any break in their formation as they all locked on on the same target, gathering all the energy each of them could muster as they unleashed a horrendous wave of energy upon Moonstone.
Nothing but energy and blasters filled the sky as a torrential rain of destruction spread across the land. Trees were effortlessly blown away, the castle took a waterfall of damage as large chunks of the entire castle were blown away and crumbled entirely on the western side. The worse of these attacks were directed at the barrier protecting the Moonstone, the transparent bubble shielding the pillar beginning to break away and crumble within a matter of seconds. There was nothing Queen Angella could do as the barrier finally collapsed over the entire chamber, most of her strength passed out from trying to push back the Horde time and again.
With the last ounce of strength she had left, she formed a personal barrier over the Moonstone directly and her entire body, refusing to give up even as the strength of the Rebellion continued to falter.
Below her, the battle continued to worsen as Bow was knocked back a dozen feet, grunting in a small bout of pain as he struggled to get back on top of his own legs.
"Bow!" Glimmer cried out, rushing to his sides as she gazed at their surroundings. Horde, Horde, and more Horde. There was only Horde and broken trees as far as the eye could see. There strength was fading progressively as the battle continued, the small injuries they've suffered being nothing in comparison to the state they found themselves in.
It was at that time their attention turned to the skies above them as they saw the rain of fire that was blasted at the barrier, gasping in horror as she saw the barrier finally shatter after long last. Nothing about this day is what Glimmer ever thought she would see in her life, much less this soon in her own life. Chaos, destruction, mayhem. They were just a few of the words she could describe this day if she ever looked back on it, if she managed to survive after today.
"Mother!" Glimmer cried out, knowing the vulnerable state she would be in if barrier was ever shattered.
"Ngh... Go!" Bow struggled to order, pulling out one of his few remaining arrows as he shot at another droid. Glimmer glanced back to him, an obvious state of fear filling her eyes with worry about him.
"But Bow-"
"I said go!" He tearfully interrupted. There was no way they would survive this war if the Moonstone was destroyed. She also knew there was no way Bow would manage to survive on his own for too long if he tried to fend for himself and the pillar. But what other choice did she have? There was no way she would get through to him, and with the short amount of time they had remaining, there was little to argue about.
With a heavy heart, and a teary eye, Glimmer wiped her eyes away as she ran for the pathway along the cliffs, seeing how a portion of the pillar's stairway was broken in the amassing fire of energy the Horde unleashed. She didn't look back as she heard Bow continuing to give his all, the sounds of explosions filling the surrounding air as he fought against a couple of droids that approached him with the last few arrows he had on hand.
She had to push passed her doubt, her fears, her worries, as she made her way up the stairs. There was no turning back with the destruction that continued to spread, no time to second-guess her options as she made her way towards the Moonstone, the one that was barely lit with energy as the barrier around it and her mother continued to die out. And there was nothing but panic filling Glimmer's mind as she saw a tail spring out from behind the upcoming pathway, taking a stand with her staff in hand as she saw Scorpia appear before her.
Excited, and angry.
"You and your friends have a lot of nerve, you know that?" She shouted. The pitiful display of defense Glimmer held up as she blocked her overhead swing was met with pain as Scorpia easily jabbed her in the stomach with her other pincer, causing the girl to out a cough as she was shoved back. "Do you know how much pain your stupid friend put Adora through? How much she's cried over here?!"
*clack*
Glimmer pushed back with all the might she could as her feet skid across the ground, feeling the force of Scorpia's strength as she pushed her back an inch every second. "Yeah, because she really seems like the sensitive type to me! I can really picture the person LEADING AN INVADING ARMY as a decent person!" Glimmer shouted back swiping at her head with the staff which Scorpia dodged under as she backed up.
"She was before your friend messed her up!" With a furious shout, Glimmer was forced to back away as well as Scorpia crashed both her pincers to the ground, nearly pounding the girl as the earth beneath them crumbled. "She used to be happy, cheerful, always thinking about others first and herself second! Every day she kept talking about Catra and how she was worried over her. How to protect her, how to save her from you guys. You couldn't ask for a better friend!"
She couldn't tell if Scorpia was being serious about this or trying to mess with her head. She wanted Glimmer to believe that Adora, the girl who tortured her, to manipulated Catra at the ball, who nearly ended her life in Salineas, and was now probably doing the same somewhere else at this very moment, was actually a considerate and caring person? She wouldn't even consider believing her if it wasn't for the fire she saw in Scorpia's eyes.
That kind of fire is one you'd get when you met somebody who truly cared for another. Someone who was willing to fight for them because of how much they meant to her. She had no idea what kind of person Scorpia was, yet she was going out of her way with her own personal grudge against her because of what happened to Adora and how she is now.
Was she telling the truth?
"And ever since she came back from the ruins, she hasn't spoken a single word about what happened! All she does now is frown and look angrily at everything except for weapons to destroy you guys with. I can't even give her a daily hug without her backing away from me! And it's your fault!"
At this, the Princess of Bright Moon grumbled as she was pushed against the wall of the cliff, the Force Captain refusing to give the girl the same paralyzing agent she gave Spinnerella as she wanted her to watch. "So you mess up someone I care about," she grinned," and I mess up someone you care about!" She didn't need any hints to what she was getting at as she turned her head towards the Moonstone chamber, fretting at the sight she was beholding.
Within the chamber, the Queen continued to use every ounce of strength she had in reserves, barely maintaining the grip on the Moonstone's barrier as she heard the mechanical whirring of gears approaching with increased volume after each step. Shifting her eyes to the side, her brow lowered with renewed worry as she saw one of the deadly droids approaching her, intending to destroy the Queen and the Moonstone on its own.
Gathering a small fragment of energy she could at the tips of her finger, the Queen drew a small decimal of the Runestone's remaining magic as she blasted at the oncoming droid, pushing it away with as much power as she could. It proved to be in vain as the droid was scraped against the ground, pushing it back only for a few seconds before it regained its footing again, the round carapace of its shell opening up as it began to charge its lasers.
There was nothing more the Queen could do as it charged. In a futile attempt at a last stand, the Queen projected one last barrier over herself as she prepared to take the full force of the attack with everything it had to offer. Sadly, her attempts to shrug off the blast were met with naught as she took the empowered force of the enhanced droid's attack, blasting her away to the broken walls of the room where she collapsed, weakened.
With the Queen out of commission, there was nothing left to protect the barrier from the dark energies that filled the sky. With the last of the magical resistance fading, there was nothing to keep the dark energies from being drawn towards the Runestone, the darkened clouds swirling around with the Moonstone at its center, as it began to darken the magical jewel and blacken the sky with its everlasting darkness.
The last line of defense for Bright Moon against the Horde had finally fallen, and the thoughts of everything that would come after terrified Glimmer to no end.
"MOTHER!" She screamed tearfully.
*rrrrrrrttttttttt*
"Gaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Of all the lousy time for her glitching powers to pop up, it had to be now! She was already in enough pain at the fear of what happened to her mother just now, wasn't that enough for her to endure?! Couldn't this glitching cut her a break for a change and let her fight through the rest of this madness before rearing its ugly head?
That was when she noticed the staff's tip starting to glow, the energy rushing through her body transferring a little to the tip of the staff as it filled with a renewed source of energy. In addition, she noticed Scorpia's grip against her starting to weaken as the Force Captain stared at her strange state in confusion, inadvertently loosening her grip in the process. It was the one push Glimmer needed to turn this entire situation into her favor.
With all the strength she had, she pushed off Scorpia's grip, swinging the staff with all her might as she directed the energy at the Force Captain personally, blasting her off her feet and knocking her over the ledge, just like she did with Netossa a short while ago. Of all the times for her glitching to spike up, now proved to be the most useful as it faded away soon after. She didn't care how the staff managed to draw in the glitch's energy, all she cared about right now was the safety of her mother as she ran up the steps of the pathway, hoping to save her mother from an untimely fate.
...
"No matter how much you push back, we'll keep throwing everything we have at you, Catra." Adora stated as she continued pressing her foot painfully on Catra's back.
Catra was at a loss for words as she watched the darkness gather around the Runestone. If the Runestone was starting to fall, there was no telling what sort of state the Queen was in, causing her to fear the worse. If the Queen was in as bad of a state as Catra presumed, there was no telling what sort if dilemma Bow, Glimmer, or the others found themselves in at the same time. For all she knew, they could've been captured by now, at best, as she tried in vain to fight against Adora.
Let Go
For less than a second, barely a flash in her mind, she saw Light Hope. The one who started all of this upon touching the sword, the one who told her of her role in all of this and hew new destiny, and the one who kept telling her to let go of her past, now more directly than ever before.
She still hated that woman, A.I., whatever she wanted to call it, for messing up her life to begin with. None of this should've been happening. Not to her, not to Adora, not to anyone she came to care about or consider close to friends. She was the one who told Catra she had to do this, practically forced her to do this, from her point of view, and now she had the gull to continue ranting to her about letting go of her past, and everything she held dear.
If she wasn't a transparent A.I. Catra couldn't touch, she would've gladly scratched her life out by now.
Out of all the things her and this sword were nagging her for, there was one thing she agreed with. She could no longer afford to waste anymore of her time fighting Adora, not here when the majority of the fighting was happening down in the ravine. Even if it meant she followed her all the way through, she needed to get closer to where all the other action was, where her friends and allies needed her to be. She needed to get there swiftly, and safely.
And that gave her an idea as she pressed her finger and thumb into her mouth.
*Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!*
"Hey!" Adora grumbled as she slammed Catra's head to the ground, earning a grunt of pain. "Did I say you could interrupt the show here? What are you whistling about anyway?"
"Mhmhmhm..." She heard Catra mumble, rolling her eyes as she pulled Catra's head back by her hair, ignoring the few pebbles that fell from her exhausted face.
"Say that again?"
Catra spit a little as she cleared the small ounce of dirt out of her mouth, growing angrier as she turned her eyes towards her. "Calling a friend."
"A friend?" It was as if she had never heard the word before, not from Catra's lips anyway.
*neeeeeeeeigh!*
*WHAM!*
"Agh!" Adora yelped as she was tackled out of the way by three-hundred pounds of literal horsepower, crashing against the crater again.
"Catra!" Swift Wind called out worriedly, seeing the beaten and battered state of his master and friend. "Are you okay? You look hurt-!"
"I'm fine, let's just go back to the Moonstone, quickly." Catra interrupted, weakly throwing herself over the horse with her sword still in hand.
"But Catra, your back-"
"I said go!" She repeated, kicking at his sides a little.
Swift Wind had to force out a sigh at the pent up dread he was feeling as he flapped his feathery wings and took off. He knew Catra to be stubborn, heck everybody knew that, but he at least wished she would take better care of herself and possibly request they'd go somewhere she could recover for a minute or two. Time was of the essence and she was in a better state to defend them if she spent a minute just to catch her breath for a change.
Unwilling to argue, the alicorn soared through the air, taking off for Castle Bright Moon again as Adora clawed her way out of the ground she was planted in. She didn't know whether to be enraged by the constant interruptions or overjoyed at the fact they were headed back towards the castle.
One way or another, she was ending this battle once and for all by the time this day was over.
...
*clak*
*clak*
*Clak*
The mechanical footsteps drove on as the droid within the chamber approached the Queen. With its primary directive being to destroy the Runestone and the hostile takeover of Castle Bright Moon, it couldn't allow any survivors or possible resistance to escape from this place alive. It didn't matter if the Queen was truly immortal or not, it would ensure it blasted at her enough until nothing remained, save for a smoldering pile of ash.
It was this reality that was met as Glimmer ran halfway across the bridge, panting heavily in exhaustion at the dire path she ran all the way through. Despite slowing down, she refused to give up as she ran with all the energy and conviction she had left, the urge to save her mother overpowering the draining energy she felt in her legs. She was the only one who could reach her in time at this rate, and the last chance she had to save her mother and possibly the Runestone, all at once.
Or so she thought.
*neeeeigh!*
With the shouting neigh that filled the air, the droid turned its focus from the collapsed Queen to the direction of the angry war cry that approached it, detecting the flying horse that was charging in its direction with a warrior on its back. Neither of the two seemed to show any hesitation as the robot started to charge its lasers, preparing to open fire upon the two as soon as they were within range.
"Are you ready?" Catra said as she squatted onto her feet on the back of the horse, ready to lunge at the robot and cleave it in one strike with her sword.
"Ready when you are, She-Ra!" Swift Wind replied proudly, ready to dodge at a moment's notice as soon as the robot appeared ready to fire.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Thr-!"
*BOOM!*
"Ahhhhhhh!" The two screamed as Swift Wind cried out in pain, throwing Catra off his back as he began to fall out of the sky.
With the two so focused on the robot they were about to charge, they didn't anticipate or prepare for the endless barrage of lasers that charged at them, seeing at least six different blasts shoot off passed them until one of them struck Swift Wind's side, exploding upon impact with his armor, the force knocking the energy and consciousness out of him as he fell directly into the chamber a short ways away, the droid within it watching as it powered down its shot, knowing the combatant was unable to battle any longer.
The same soft landing he experienced from being so high in the sky wasn't replicated on Catra's end, sadly enough, as the girl dropped straight out of the sky with her arms and legs flailing to grab on to anything out of the thin air, dropping the sword out of her hands as she fell. There was nothing to catch her save for the harsh shallow waters below that barely mitigated the impact with her She-Ra form, the near-hundred foot drop being enough to kill the average person. Her entire body was met with pain as she survived this, feeling her bones nearly at the breaking point from then on.
Back at the top of the Moonstone Chamber, the droid diverted its attention back to the fallen Queen, knowing its primary priorities came first, specifically the one dealing with the Queen. As before, the droid began to charge its lasers as it focused its sights directly at the Queen's head, her weakened and unconscious body unable to put up any sort of resistance as she laid there, ready to be shot at.
"Hey! Bucket head!" It heard Glimmer shouting, turning away from the Queen right as it was about to fire to see the incoming princess charging right at it. With its charge still ready, the robot fired straightaway at the shouting Princess, Glimmer dodging gracefully out of the way as she jumped to the air, standing on top of the robot where its sensors and sights couldn't reach her.
*rrrrrrrtttttttt*
"Nngggggghhhhhhaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" The pain that surrounded her was nothing like she felt previously, feeling like her entire body was ready to burst at the rate these buildups were going. Seeing the staff draining away at the energy again, remembering how she dealt with Scorpia a minute ago, she powered through the pain as best she could, grumbling as she impaled the tip of the staff directly through the robots metallic head.
Both, she, and the robot, were overcome with thousands of volts of its own electricity combined with the unbearable pain of the glitching as the two struggled to maintain their footing, Glimmer refusing to let go knowing what it would mean for her mother if she couldn't stop the robot here and now. It was a painful process, and not one she ever wanted to repeat in the future unless it was absolutely necessary, but after an eternity's span of time within ten seconds, Glimmer finally released the staff from the robot's skull as it exploded, blasting the girl off of her and against the wall.
That was everything she had left in energy. She was tired, she was exhausted, and she could barely feel any muscle as her body felt like a wad of gelatin. The last thing she saw was the sight of her mother's unconscious body as she slowly succumbed to the same fate, leaving the chamber filled with three unconscious beings, none of whom could protect the Moonstone any longer.
...
Catra would've wished she was in the same state of unconsciousness if she had any idea of how peaceful they were in, yet knew it wasn't an option. She had no idea how Swift Wind was other than alive, or the state of Glimmer for the few seconds she saw her. All she knew was that whatever state she was in, it wasn't awake, or she'd be yelling Catra's name in worry or fright like the last person she heard.
"Catra!" Bow picked up the pace as Catra rolled over onto her stomach, wincing at the pain it brought as she feebly got back to her knees and hands. "Are you alright?"
"Tch, I..." The cat kept her head down as she stared into the murky waters her hands were submerged in. "I can't beat her." It was just like her first confrontation with Shadow Weaver after she joined the Rebellion, only this time it wasn't out of fear.
"Catra?" He soothed her back as he rubbed it, trying to ease any pain she was in over her shoulders, nearly making a face as he saw the scars on her back.
"I can't beat Adora!" She specified, lowering her ears. "She's too strong... too fast... I can't..."
"Catra, we can't give up now!" It was a miracle in and of itself that Bow seemed to retain any sort of optimism out of this. "Even if we're the last two standing, we have to keep trying!"
"What's the point?" It was hopeless to her, now more than ever. "What do we have to gain if we continue fighting like this?"
"What do we have to gain if we don't?" Bow shot back, earning Catra's full attention as she looked up. As she did, she noticed the sword in his hands, the same one he gladly handed back. "Catra, if we give up now, there will be nothing left to stop the Horde. No kingdom will be strong enough to fight back, nobody will be brave enough to unite the kingdoms around here. If we threw in the towel, we lose everything. No matter how impossible it seems, we have to push forward no matter how hard it gets!"
A part of her wished she shared in Bow's foolish optimism. To be able to look something like death in the face like this multiple times, to always have a strong backbone after all the beatings he took, the noticeable bruises and scrapes against his arms and armor as he spoke to her, it was almost endearing to see from anyone in these dark times.
It really was his greatest quality.
"Awww, now don't go getting her hopes up like that~" A familiar voice taunted, much to their dismay as they looked back.
There stood Adora. The Force Captain leading the charge against the Battle of Bright Moon, the one who casually carried herself over to the other end of the ravine through all the trees in a matter of minutes. The one who had shadowy tendrils sticking out of her back, the one who sneered at them with nearly forty soldiers behind her, followed by a row of tanks behind that. They were all staring down at the last futile resistance that the Rebellion had to offer, and Adora couldn't be any happier than this.
"Don't you know it's rude to get peoples hopes up, just to crush them later?" She added, giving a small scowl at Catra as she said this. "Trust me, I know from experience..."
"Adora!" Bow shouted angrily, standing his ground as he reached for one of his numerous arrows. Or he would, that is, if he wasn't met with empty air. Turning his head, he saw all of his arrows were gone, having used them up in the climactic battle against the Horde's forces and their droids. Still, refusing to back down, demonstrating his courage in front of a friend who needed it most, he let out another scream of anger as he charged Adora directly, intending to fight her off with the bow clenched tightly in his hands.
The Force Captain would've been amused by this endeavor if it wasn't for his relationship to the person he hated most right now, and Catra. Side stepping the oncoming strike with ease, his movements being as slow as a senior citizen in her newly enhanced state, the captain didn't show any signs of caring as she smacked him away with one of her gargantuan fists, tossing him into the air until he slammed directly into a tree within the woods, out of the ravine.
The archer huffed his last breath as he fell to the ground, snapping through a giant branch as he passed it, and falling face-first to the gravel below. It was the last amount of energy he had as he tried to pick himself off the ground. What few inches he could manage were dusted away as he finally collapsed again, out of breath, out of energy, and out of consciousness.
Just the way the Force Captain liked it.
"Well that was a good warm-up." She teased as Scorpia sluggishly made her way over, holding an arm over her stomach. "Hey... are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah," Scorpia smiled a little, glad some part of her friend still remained, "just sore."
"Well, you can take it easy now." She replied, patting her shoulder as she turned back towards the feline. "With Bow out of the way, there's nobody left to-"
*splish*
"You've got to be kidding me..." The captain's irritation was matched only by her scowling.
Their attention was caught by the small splashing sound they heard at the other end of the ravine, the very place a lone magicat struggled to stand up. They watched her as she weakly pushed her way off the ground, using the sword to support her as she picked herself out of the shallow waters that submerged her feet. It almost looked like it was taking all of her energy to lift the sword to her side with both her hands, panting heavily as she stared down the invaders.
She was broken, battered, weakened, exhausted, scarred, scared, trembling, and nervous. Her clothes were torn with a few cuts along her chest, not to mention the gaping hole that was scratched off of the back of her outfit, she was severely bruised on nearly all her sides with cuts on every limb of her body, and the girl looked as if she ran a hundred miles without taking a single moment to rest or get a drink of water to freshen up.
There was nothing about her that looked ready to fight against the legion of the Horde, yet she was the only one who remained conscious after everything she's been through. She was the only one still standing on her feet, the last person blocking their way to the castle, and the final obstacle standing in their way.
The one person standing between Etheria, and complete and total destruction. She was the one who needed to finish this fight before all was lost.
Her name, is Catra. Her name, is She-Ra.
She was the last hope for the Rebellion.
This was her last stand.
...
...
...
A/N: I don't think I could end a cliffhanger more suspenseful than I had now of all times XP Hoping this keeps everyone on the edge of their seats because, as of now, we are down, to our GRAND BIGGEST FINALE OF ALL TIME PEOPLE! THE FINAL CHAPTER OF SEASON 1!
There can be no words to describe everything that will happen, just know that through it all, it will (hopefully) be the biggest chapter I've done to date, as well as hopefully the most enjoyable/tearful. There will be a lot happening in it, i give you my word, hence the oversized chapter I intend/hope to get pushed out. There also will be a bit of music recommended to listen to to intensify the feels and whatnot. And after that, after a noticeable break I intend to have, we'll finally be moving on to SEASON 2! (which i've yet to watch any of so im very excited for it ^^)
Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!