Cat-Ra

by Monokub

"If" is such a powerful word. What if the reasonings for our duo were different? What if the personalities of our two favorite females were altered ever-so slightly? And most of all, what if Catra became She-Ra? Currently Season: 4

54. Season 1 Finale: No Happy Endings End

A/N: Hey Gang! You like reads that take over an hour :D?

Audience: NO!

Me: Well too bad, here we go!

God this one was annoying to re-edit and fix X/. It wasn't bad writing itself, the annoyance came in that when I had to copy and paste the flashback bits, they all came out jumped and bulgy in a bizarre way, and annoyingly enough, CLUSTERED TOGETHER, so i had to manually re-paragraph them myself T_T and I know i could've copied and pasted differently to fix it, but that was after the first fifteen minutes of corrections i listed, so I couldn't afford to miss anything i forgot about.

But with that jumbledness out of the way, behold. Not just the grand finale to our first season, but the most I had ever written in a day. I pray to you all:

Enjoy X)!

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...

"You can't be serious." Adora smirked with a hand at her side, staring across the ravine to her former friend.

The Rebellion was, as of now, finished. Every last ounce of resistance the Rebellion had to offer had finally been wiped out. The barrier protecting the Moonstone from the Black Garnet's dark magics was destroyed, allowing its corrupted energy to slowly drain away at what little lifeforce remained within the jewel, even as they speak.

The archer, Bow, laid unconscious against a tree after Adora bashed him away. Glimmer lost her energy saving her mother from one of the droids after another surge of her glitching washed over her, while being electrocuted by the robot she destroyed at the same time. Scorpia made quick work of taking out Spinnerella in person as she snuck up behind her and stung her, followed by Netossa who she took out with a group of soldiers after trying to avenge her fallen friend. And Swift Wind, the noble steed, was powerless to protect himself as he flew Catra across the valley, trying to reach the Queen in time to save her, only to be blasted out of the sky.

The mightiest of these defenders was the Queen of Bright Moon herself, the Immortal Queen, Angella. Everything the woman had done affected all the soldiers and machines launched against the castle. Her barrier proved resilient throughout the battle, her magics managed to blast away the tanks and droids several time throughout the war, disrupting their efforts and advances as the remainder of the Rebellion attempted to fight off the invading Horde army.

It wasn't until the tanks and droids had finally amassed in number that they managed to launch a surprise volley against the barrier directly, firing a barrage of energy at the barrier endlessly without mercy. Eventually, the barrier gave way as it crumbled, the combined might of the Horde finally beating back the last barrier the Queen had to throw at them as she focused on defending the Runestone directly as a last resort.

She was an easy target for the approaching droid that managed to scale the pathway earlier, the Queen struggling to maintain what little magic she could around the Runestone and fight off the droid at the same time. She was defenseless to stop the droid as it advanced, launching a single, powerful, blast of energy at the Queen, knocking her out cold like the rest had been, and for those who were soon to follow. With her unconsciousness, there was nobody left to protect the Runestone or the castle.

Except for one.

Her name was Catra, the last defender standing between the Horde and the destruction of Bright Moon Castle, along with the rest of Etheria.

Catra was in no state to defend as she stood there, sluggishly standing on her own two feet with a weak grip over the sword as she panted. She was beaten, battered, bruised, exhausted, panting, sweating, and still the furthest one from the edge of consciousness. She was the only one who managed to stay around throughout the entirety of this battle, the very one she didn't want any part in, the last battle that would determine her relationship with Adora from this point onward.

Ever since their one-on-one fight began, Adora held the advantage. Thanks to the mass of shadows she managed to collect, due to the never-ending darkness that swirled above, the Force Captain was all but invincible in her present state, shrugging off most of Catra's potentially lethal attacks from being blown at point blank range by an explosive arrow to the back, to being bashed away with a massive tree and slammed against a rocky cliffside as a result.

All of Catra's best attacks were brushed off with ease for the blonde girl who managed to walk off what little injuries she sustained throughout the fighting. Anything Catra managed to dish out proved to be in vain, even in her partial She-Ra form, as she was powerless to resist against Adora's own attacks. Her strength was enhanced, her defense was enhanced, even her agility was enhanced in this state, and it still wasn't enough to defeat Adora.

From being slammed against the ground, bashed against a tree like her, and having four painful scars across her back that never ceased to burn, still ripe and fresh from the moment Adora scratched them into her flesh a few minutes ago. Maybe it was because she was in her She-Ra form that they didn't bleed, not that the alternative was any better as she still felt everything. If her She-Ra form ever gave out after all the pain and exhaustion she's gone through, there was no telling how much pain she would be in anymore.

Her emotional struggle with the situation was proving more problematic than her physical one, just by an inch as of now. She didn't want to fight her friend, she didn't want to hurt her. Everything from where they were now to how they came to be was all of her fault. She's the reason Adora is doing this in the first place, she's the one who caused Adora to go off the deep end. All because of how she treated her in the past, all the ways she used their friendship to her advantage. She was responsible for what Adora was doing here, and she needed to find some way to fix it before it was too late.

She was all that was left by the end of all this. Through all the fighting, through all the struggling, she was the last one still standing, however weakly she might be. And now, she was staring at two Force Captains, at least forty soldiers behind them, a dozen tanks behind that, and who knew how many droids that were roaming the forest.

She couldn't afford to lose here.

"What do you think you're doing, Catra?" Adora couldn't help but grin at her pitiful display, an ounce of her still feeling sorry for the state she was currently in, and a pound of her laughing on the inside.

"I'm... huff... g... gonna stop you... right here..." Catra panted, struggling just to breathe, much less hold the sword up.

"Really... You? Stop us? By yourself?" Every question she asked was fresh in her mind, hearing the chuckling and laughter from the fellow soldiers that stood behind her, joking about the freak's antics. "Don't waste your breath. Soldiers!" With her arm raised to her side, the soldiers stood at attention as they began to march forward, ready to take Bright Moon Castle for glory of the Horde.

"How... How about a wager?" The magicat's curious bargain actually managed to intrigue the Force Captain, the soldiers coming to a halt as they saw Adora close her hand again.

"A wager?"

"Yeah, a wager. Let's make a bet right here, right now, about which of us will win in a fight."

She chuckled quietly. "Catra, what makes you think you're in any position to make a bet against me right now? I mean look at you! You can barely stand on your own two feet-!"

"Then you should be more than enough of a match for me, Adora." Catra interrupted, tightening the grip on her sword. At this point, she was grasping at straws here. She had no idea what to do, any idea of how to do it, or how long she could hold on to this charade. All she could do is hope enough time would pass for a potential miracle to come about. Being the way she was right now, Catra knew the kind of person Adora was presently.

She was being Catra. And nobody on Etheria knew how to play at Catra's own game better than her.

"Think about it for a minute. Would you, the so-called honorable Force Captain," she sneered, pointing her sword directly at her, "really be satisfied if anyone else got to finish me off?" At the comment, Scorpia noticed a small twitch from Adora's eyes, as if the girl was actually contemplating her words. "If they're the ones who finish me off, you'll never get over your grudge against me. You'll always have that annoying spark of doubt clouding your mind, and it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"..." She was no stranger to Catra's trickery and pranks over the years, and this was barely any different from them. She was just trying to pull something here in order to get the drop on her or to come up with another scheme. If anyone was capable of seeing through Catra's plots and shenanigans, it was Adora, the very person she grew up alongside with all her life.

Then again, she couldn't deny there was some semblance of truth in her words when she thought about it. She still had that annoying spark of concern over Catra like she claimed, and it was something that continued to bring an endless source of pain to her, no matter how miniscule, even after all that's happened. The moment she could get rid of that spark, she knew she would be free of her past and her pain, and all she had to do was strike Catra down with her own two hands.

"...What are the stakes of this wager?" She finally asked, much to Scorpia's surprise.

"But Adora-!" Any argument she had to make about this was silenced as Adora raised her hand a little in pause as she focused on Catra.

"One on one. You against me, in front of your entire army. If I win, everyone has to turn back and leave Bright Moon, including you."

"And if I win?" Adora asked curiously. If there was something as big as a retreat for Catra's victory, then surely she had to have something big for Adora's victory.

"Satisfaction." She stated.

"...What? That's it? Satisfaction for kicking your butt?" It was almost insulting how little the reward seemed in comparison to Catra's own reward. "How is that supposed to be a big payoff for me? It feels like you come out with more on top if you won."

"Are you kidding me? Do you know what I would give to have any sense of satisfaction?" She played on, gulping in the back of her mind that she could pull this off. "If good always wins, you would have the satisfaction of beating me and proving that you were right about everything. You would prove that the Horde are the good guys, prove to the world that they stand united against tyranny or whatever garbage you believe they're telling you. More importantly, you would be proving yourself right about me." At the statement, Adora blinked. She was getting to her.

"Prove that everything you said about me was true. That I really am a terrible person, and everything I've done was for my own gain." She said, lowering her sword as she looked off to the side in partial disgust. "You would prove that everything I've done in my life was for my own selfish desire... that I'm only looking out for myself. It would show everybody that you have every right to hate me, Adora, and nobody could blame you anymore." As she finished, she glanced over to the Force Captain as she saw a small twitch in her shadowy fingers. That was the twitch she needed from her to prove that this was working.

Catra had messed up so much of Adora's life from the moment they first became friends. She used her name to sew fear into the hearts of the Fright Zone guards, soldiers, and staff just to get away with whatever she wanted. She always let Adora take the fall whenever they caused trouble, knowing any punishment she received would be nowhere near as severe as anything Catra would claim.

If she actually took Catra on her bargain, she would prove to everyone that everything they feared about Adora was wrong. It would prove that Adora was unaware of Catra's actions from the beginning, that she was the innocent victim in all of this. There would be no one to question or fear Adora or her name any longer if they bore witness to her cutting off all her ties to Catra right now. She could communicate with her fellow soldiers again, with no one trembling at the mention of her name, regardless if Shadow Weaver was around anymore.

Not to mention what she said about the good guys always winning. Everybody that wasn't part of the Horde doubted in them. They saw them as senseless savages that were only trying to spread chaos and ruin across the world. Nobody wanted anything else to do with the Horde unless it was to benefit themselves, or simply out of fear. If she managed to beat Catra, she could prove to the world that they were wrong about them. The potential relationships and allies they could garner out of it would be superb!

And, of course, all of it came down to Adora's ties to Catra herself. She needed some way to cut her ties directly from the girl, no matter how forceful or cruel they were. As long as Catra was around, she would continue to torment her to no end, whether or not she was alive. She would be reminded of their possible friendship that still remained, plaguing her with memories of a better time with her that would bring pain back to Adora everytime she remembered something.

She needed this outlet. She had a chance to fix her past once and for all, every last detail from beginning to end.

It began with Catra, so it was only fitting that it would end with her as well.

"...Soldiers!" Adora finally spoke, raising her arm again as they prepared to strike. "...Everyone is to stand down." Her orders were met with expected skepticism and surprise amongst the crowd, none of which matched Scorpia's expression. "I'll take care of this myself. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to interfere or assist me until this battle is over. Am I clear?" The few mumbles and questions she heard were quickly silenced as she shot a sharp look at them. "Am I clear?!"

"Yes, sir!" They replied, saluting.

"Adora, you can't be serious!" Scorpia replied as her half-blonde-half-black-haired friend stepped forward. "She's just trying to trick you, there's no need to this! We're just wasting time if we-"

"Scorpia." She cut off, speaking calmly and directly as she turned her head to the left, just enough to see her mouth as her hair covered her eyes. "I need to do this... please..."

It's not like Scorpia couldn't understand why she wanted to do it. With all the pain she put Adora through, she needed to find some way to bring back the original Adora, the fun, perky, chipper one that always made the Fright Zone feel a little less darker whenever she walked through it, who always had a smile glued to her face whenever she greeted somebody. If anyone deserved to ask for a selfish favor for a change, it was her.

Thinking about it, too, if she was to do this and came out of it victorious, it might actually bring the real Adora back to her! She could have her own little buddy back in the Fright Zone instead of this one that was slowly starting to scare her with each passing moment. If she refused her right now, there was no telling if her dear friend would ever come back to her, not when she needed her most.

So, with a hearty sigh and a small smile, Scorpia nodded, taking a few steps back as Adora turned her head back, not before Scorpia noticed the small smile growing on her face.

"Besides," Adora continued as she reformed her blackened shadowy arms, "I never did take off that bounty on her. When I finally beat her, everyone who's present here will be rewarded for her bounty. They'll be praised for defeating the terrible She-Ra, on top of destroying the Rebellion." With conviction and darkness running through her veins, Adora took a stance. "Everything I do, I do for the Horde. It's always been for the Horde."

"And what has that gotten you, Adora?" Catra questioned, tightening the grip on her sword as she prepared for her last battle. "Nothing but sadness."

"..." There were no more words that could be said between the two, despite the voices shouting in both of their hearts.

They had messed with each other's lives sine this tale began. Catra ruined the best relationship a friend could ask for. Adora assisted in kidnapping Glimmer and Bow which lead to the events that have unfolded within the last few days. Both of them were responsible for each other's current misery, and both were at fault with their own. Nothing could be said anymore that the two haven't heard from the other before.

All they could do, was fight.

"Haaaaaaaahhh!" Catra roared as she charged straight ahead at the Force Captain, her feet splashing against the shallow waves of the water below. Adora didn't even bother putting up much of a resistance as she casually walked over to the girl, her face devoid of emotion or care as Catra drew back her sword.

*clang!*

As Catra attempted to strike the first blow, it became clear why she was so calm about everything. With just the tip of her shadowy finger, Adora easily managed to block the attempted swipe from her right, standing in place as she looked on at her former friend in disgust.

"Is that truly it?" There was barely a twitch in her finger as Catra attempted to increase the pressure on her sword, glancing back and forth between her sword and Adora's cold expression.

It might have been another fault with her new She-Ra form, something she wasn't used to given the lack of times she managed to transform with it. After all the beatings she took to get as far as she was now in the conflict, every injury she had sustained and what little she actually felt given her She-Ra state, it finally dawned on her that, while her new form was enhanced and amplified like Adora's was, her physical body still had its own limits. It grew exhausted like an average person, it became weaker as her muscles were spent. She was playing with an exhausted, tired out, body that has grown progressively weaker throughout the fight, and she barely noticed it.

Adora mentally shook her head as she saw Catra struggling to push the blade any further against her finger, watching as Catra attempted to apply more pressure to it by using both of her hands. Seeing the girl trying her hardest to injure Adora in some way, to protect these people she barely knows, was revolting to her.

"You know, there was a time I would have given anything to see this day." Adora commented as she easily blocked several of Catra's incoming blows with her claws. From above, to the left, and straight at her head, she brushed away every strike that came to her. "You, fighting with all you got to protect a side with all your might, doing what's right? I would've been more than proud of you any day I got to see that, to see you give your all even though it was pointless.

*WHAM!*

"Agh!" Catra cried out. It took a single punch to the gut to blast Catra nearly twenty feet of way, causing the girl to skid across the ravine like a doll. She winced a little at the pain, wiping away the small scrape against her chin before charging straight at the girl again, ready to strike with all of her might. "In case you haven't noticed, that's exactly what I'm doing!"

"But you were supposed to be on our side while doing it!" She yelled angrily, blocking the overhead swing with her blade-covered arms. "We were supposed to be a team the entire time, Catra!" At the shout, the force attempted to swipe clean across Catra's head, forcing the magicat to flip backwards from the first strike and dodge back when the second strike attempted to impale her in the ground, the shadowy blade cutting clean through it. "We were always supposed to have each other's backs, Catra!"

"We promised each other each and every time that we would be there to support each!" Thrusting both her arms into the solid earth below her, the ground started to tremble violently. From where she stood, Catra watched in horror as the ground around Adora started to pool in an unearthly shadow, one that started to spread further and closer into the magicat's direction.

Starting from the halfway point towards reaching the girl, her eyes widened in shock as large shadowy spikes started erupting from the ground in all directions from the shadows. Ones that were thin in diameter, large in length as they could tower over the two combatants, capable of puncturing solid holes into anyone caught into this deadly trap, and were on a direct course towards Catra herself as she observed the pattern approaching her.

Is this really how things would've gone originally, Adora? Catra wondered in her mind as she continued to push on. Vivid flashes of an alternate reality pushed through her mind as she wondered to herself, Would we really be right here today on opposite sides if you found the sword first?

A part of her could see it now, probably in the exact same predicament. Adora would be fighting with everything she had in a futile effort to stop Catra, as she and the rest of the Horde continued to lay siege against the Rebellion. She would be looking at a distraught Adora who struggled against Catra or her merciless army as she continued to fight in a losing battle. Or would we actually be on the same side again? That was another sea of possibilities that began to flash in her mind.

In another take, she never would've been fighting against Adora in any reality. Here, in this scene, she could picture the two of them fighting tooth and claw against their enemies, either laying siege to the Rebellion itself or protecting it against whatever foe threatened to destroy everything they held dear. Then again, if Adora really did find the sword originally like she was always intended to, there was a greater chance the war would've been over by now, with Adora having won the war for the Rebellion in the short few months that Catra had taken her place in.

I bet you would've done everything perfectly, you know? Coming back to reality, Catra jumped to the air as a final, massive, spear, sprouted straight towards her, nearly striking her foot as she jumped upon the shadowy tendril, running as fast as she could down it and into the sea of spears ahead of her. You probably would've united all the princesses already, you could have saved Glimmer without any casualties like me. Maybe you would've done a better job convincing me to come back, or maybe I would've been too stubborn for my own good.

I just know that... we shouldn't be fighting like this. She told herself, ignoring the small tear that ran down her left cheek. We shouldn't be on opposite sides of everything, Adora. We never should have been. All that your doing, everything that's going on... it's my fault.

Reacting appropriate, as best she could, she ran through the shadowy pillars that sprouted around her, carefully maneuvering through the dreaded impalers that were sure to end her miserable existence if one of them managed to strike her directly. Despite her best efforts, she wasn't capable of reacting to all of them perfectly, finding her right arm getting scratched once, the other one twice, and nearly jumping as the tip of one of the protruding spears just scratched the right side of her cheek by half an inch, all while she was focusing on running up towards the Force Captain causing all of this.

Little did she know that the same Force Captain was charging at her at the same time, the feline being too distracted on avoiding the pillars that blocked her path to realize they had stopped sprouting. By the time she reached the epicenter where they first grew from, she found her entire face grabbed by a large shadowy hand, lifting her off the ground as the suddenness of the event caused her to drop the sword to the ground.

She pulled as hard as she could against the hardening shadow as it slowly squeezed tighter and tighter around her head, feeling the lack of necessary oxygen being nowhere near in comparison to the pain it was causing by having her head slowly crushed.

"We made all sorts of promises to each other, Catra!" Adora continued, gritting her teeth tighter as the rage began to redden her eyes. Within a mere second, releasing her grip from the girl's head, Catra nearly heaved in agony as she felt another direct strike of a shadowy fist colliding into her stomach, blasting her away far enough to crash her into the edge of the doorway to the Moonstone's stairs to the chamber. "And you broke every single one!"

"Ough-!" Catra coughed, spitting a little into the water.

Let Go

Shut up! Catra yelled inside of her own mind. Light Hope ruined enough of her life as it was. She was taking her old life away, gave her a task she never asked for, and expected her to follow suit as she became the She-Ra the world needed her to be. She would never give in to Light Hope's final demand, she would never let go of Adora!

She had no idea how far her body was being pushed to its limits, unable to get a firm grasp on how exhausted she was becoming. All she knew was that the minute she gave up, everyone would lose. Even with the sword being kicked a few feet closer to her, ten feet away from where she kneeled, Catra didn't give up, instead choosing to charge the girl head on as she extended the claws in both her hands. "Nggghhhhhh!"

"Who promised to always have my back while I had yours? You did!" Right as Catra attempted to claw at her face, Adora easily managed to grab her right hand entirely in her shadowy tentacle-sprouted right arm. "Who promised to help me whenever I needed her the most? You did!" Growling, the half-blonde tossed the girl into the air behind her, launching her a good fifteen feet away and above the ground. "And who promised they would always be there for me, to always stand by my side, and would never allow anything bad to happen to us as long as we had each OTHER?!"

Shooting her tentacle forward, Catra found her new flight halted as the same tentacle wrapped around her stomach, feeling her head and feet lurching as she came to an abrupt stop. "You did." Before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself being arched over Adora in a perfectly aligned angle, eventually slamming her into the ground back where she started from was a thunderous crash shook the ground throughout the ravine, small cracks forming along the pillar from the shock-wave.

Her She-Ra form was starting to lose its pain tolerance as Catra's body started to numb. She could feel the sores of her battle escalating around her her arms and legs. Her head was beginning to feel lighter as her senses dulled, doing everything in her power to maintain the will to stay conscious. Her eyelids were taking up most of her energy as she refused to close them any further than the halfway point, fearing what would happen if she closed them completely.

She didn't know what to do anymore. What could she do anymore? She needed to protect her friends. She refused to fight Adora with all of her might out of fear of hurting her, or any possibility of reconciling their relationship. She wasn't able to accept the consequences of her past actions, her inability to let go of her past keeping her from achieving anything close to victory. She had an entire society that needed her to back them up, and she couldn't give that to them when they needed her most.

Her body shaking from the pain of what she was experiencing, she barely had the energy to pull herself to her hands and knees, staring at the water as tears formed in the corners of her eyes that she could see in the reflection. She wasn't a hero. She wasn't a She-Ra. She wasn't any symbol of Hope.

She was Catra. Worthless. Useless. All she could do is lift her head as she saw Adora approaching in the reflection, her friend looking down at her with her own tears of anguish filling her eyes.

"And now, I'm going to end it." She started, looking to the sky where the darkened Moonstone was still floating. "Starting with the Rebellion."

"No!"

*thump*

Following Catra's cry, the girl found her feline ex-friend wrapping her arms around her waist, burying her head into her stomach as she sniffled. Adora had never seen Catra cry so dearly before, never fight for something like this. With little option left, the girl did the only thing she could do as she threw her arms around her, hugging onto her for dear life.

"You're right." Catra finally admitted, mumbling into Adora's stomach. "You were right about everything, okay? I was a horrible, horrible, friend. I abused you, I took you for granted, used you to make my own life easier because I was a coward. I was scared, I was weak, and I was tired of everyone picking on me. And I used you every time I could just to feel like I belonged somewhere, alright? And I never took your own feelings into account for anything I did."

"Catra..." Adora... surprisingly... found her expression starting to soften as the redness left her eyes a little. Was she... really seeing the real Catra now? The one that she previously knew as the sweet, sincere, kind, and sensitive girl that she was before? Was she actually being serious about everything she was saying?

"I deserve whatever punishment you think is necessary, okay? For all the times I used you, for how horrible I made your life just to make mine a little better, I deserve all of it. If you want me to come back to the Horde to pay for my crimes or whatever, I'll do all of it. You can carry out the punishments yourself for all I care. I deserve whatever's coming to me."

Lifting her head up, Adora could see Catra's tear-stained face as she continued, "But please, just stop this already. Let the others go, alright? They shouldn't have to pay for all of this just because you have a personal grudge against me. I'm the one you want, not them. So just let them go and take me like you always wanted, and I'll do everything I can to prove to you that I'm really your friend. I promise, and this time, I swear I won't break it."

"..."

*scrunch*

That did it.

That pushed her over the edge.

From her right hand, Catra's attention was drawn as she saw her friend squeezing her gargantuan shadowy arm, shaking it as she did. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting from her, or anywhere near it for that matter. When she turned to look into Adora's eyes again, her heart nearly fainted.

The seemingly-peaceful, softening, expression that was originally growing over Adora's face started to boil with the blood rushing through her veins. Her eyes started to harden as every fiber of her being was reaching a bursting point, her eyes starting to redden brightly as anger and rage consumed her entire person. Whatever she said just now to reach Adora's heart, any chance she had to finally make amends with the girl, was finally broken. She could see it perfectly well in on Adora's expression.

Right as the tears ceased to flow from her eyes, and the rage consumed her.

"You just proved it." What did Catra do to spring this reaction out of her just now? What did she mess up in to anger her all of a sudden? "You never did care for me to begin with, did you? Here you go again, worrying more about the people you just met instead of the person who was always there for you... I truly never was your friend, was I?"

"What?!" Oh no. "Adora, that's not what I- Gnnk!" Catra nearly bit her tongue as she found a powerful grip wrapped tightly around her neck, lifting her off the ground as her airwaves were completely cut off.

"They're the only ones you care about, huh?" Adora scowled, tightening the grip. "They're the ones you keep talking about, the ones you always came back for. I don't know if you really consider them friends like you say, or if you're just so insistent on getting that fancy kingdom of yours, and honestly, I don't care anymore. If you care so badly about the Rebellion..."

With a pause, Catra was suddenly tossed high into the air by her former friend, shooting into the sky like never before as Adora threw her towards the sky above her. She was so high up that, for just a second, she saw the top of the chamber, the sight of her friends and allies sprawled across the room flashing in front of her eyes.

At that same moment, Adora appeared in front of her, having thrown herself high into the air with the tendrils behind her back pushing her off the ground with great force, almost like a spring, as she gathered nearly every shadow she possibly could into both her arms, enlarging them into the terrifying tentacles that they were until they were twice her own size in length and width.

"Then you can fall with them!" It was a force unlike anything Catra's ever experienced, a strike possibly hard enough to shatter a small mountain. In one solid strike, squeezing both her tentacles together like a wrecking ball as she rose them above her head, she slammed her massive shadows into the defenseless magicat, and in one spectacular motion of speed, the victim shot back towards the ground like a speeding bullet, the five seconds it took to be thrown this high up being a flash of a second that it took to come back down.

Hard.

*CRASH!*

The ground quaked with a massive tremor as the girl was slammed straight into the ground, the massive tentacle bringing her down with full force, the Horde Force Captain easily returning to the ground back to the other side of the ravine where her army was still at the ready. Adora smiled with wicked glee as the dust burst from the hole she had made, returning the long tentacled arms to her side once more as she waited for the dust to settle.

"...Mmh... Ngh..." Catra groaned in tremendous pain as she slowly pulled herself out of the small crater Adora had made with her body. Her entire body was drenched in water from the large stream as she groveled, her muscles weak from exertion as she crawled out. Her body was aching all over, her back was scarred beyond measure. In one small flash of light, Catra's entire person was engulfed in white temporarily until it diminished over the span of a few seconds.

She could see the state she was in from the stream's reflective waters. She had scrapes, cuts, bruises, and she didn't even want to think about what happened to her back. The sight of her injuries were the farthest concerns from her mind at that moment as she stared at her body in general, realizing something that she didn't think was possible.

"It's... It's gone..." She muttered weakly in disbelief. Her She-Ra form, the one she had used to fight off Adora, had disappeared. She was back to being the same plain old Catra once again. The one who always screwed things up, the one who could never see things through to the end, and the one who always needed to be rescued.

Adora had won this fight with her own two hands, and had removed her painful ties to the past at long last. With a mocking grin, noticing the sword was spaced between them, Adora flung an extended shadowy foot at the sword, flinging it across the ground until it stopped a few inches away from Catra's side.

With her sword tossed to her side, she watched as the glow from the Runestone completely faded, as if its powers were completely used up. She actually wanted to hear the voice for a change to see if this was all really happening, and there was nothing!

Adora had literally beaten the She-Ra right out of her.

There she stood across the Stream, about forty feet from her, as she cackled with an overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment. She had defeated She-Ra, the supposed Symbol of Hope for the Rebellion, the one who was always a thorn in the Horde's side. Legend says she was supposed to be all powerful, all knowing, and if that was the case, then there truly wasn't anything special about who she just smacked down.

Everything had gone pretty smoothly since the start of this fight. She would commend Catra on her efforts if she had any sense of care for her anymore, but she should've known she couldn't win. Nobody can compete with the supreme might of the Horde, or its armies, as long as they had Lord Hordak leading them. The Rebellion's defenders were crushed, any resistance they once had lying beneath the ground they collapsed upon. This wasn't just the day Adora would declare victory over the Rebellion itself, this would be the day that she foiled Catra's selfish desires to obtain any kingdom she had imagined.

Ahead of her she watched the kneeled Catra, the magicat who could barely stand on her hands and knees as she panted out of breath. Without her She-Ra form, or what was a part of it, she was experiencing all the pain her body had gone through till now, all the exhaustion and the energy she had spent since her fight began. It was hard enough for her to stay awake at this point she was so exhausted, and nobody was coming to save her anymore.

All around her the allies and friends she came to know and care about were done for. Glimmer had succumbed to her injuries from the droid combined with her glitching, Bow was knocked out by Adora without any sort of magical protection like Catra had, Scorpia had disposed of Spinnerella and Netossa with the help of their soldiers, and her noble steed had been blasted out of the sky because of her own recklessness and need to charge straight for the Moonstone to protect the Queen who had been incapacitated.

They were exhausted, passed out from the amount of effort they took and the injuries they had sustained throughout the fight. The Princess Alliance wasn't going to answer her call, not that it mattered since all of them would've been too far away to save them in the nick of time. For the first time ever, Catra found herself completely alone without anyone to back her up.

Nobody was coming to rescue her.

Nobody was coming to save the Rebellion.

Nobody was going to survive what soon followed.

Everything relied solely on Catra... and she could do nothing about it.

Shakily stretching her arm over, still weak from injury, she dragged the sword in front of her as she sluggishly lifted it till it was standing in front of her, requiring both her arms to keep it lifted as is. "Fo... For the Honor of Grayskull." She panted. Nothing happened, her fears doubling down at the reality. "F-For the... the honor of... Grayskull!" There wasn't any spark emanating from the sword.

Just holding it alone was enough to give Catra shivers. She couldn't feel the same warmth she used to whenever the sword was in her hands. There wasn't any sense of optimism or hope coming from the sword as she stared at it. With the darkened sky and the energy of the sword tapped, she couldn't see any reflection from the sword's blade or its stone. The sword's energy had been used up. There was nothing left to save any of them.

"It's... It's not fair..." Catra teared up as she collapsed from her present state. There was a small splash as a part of her body was sunk into the stream, the right side of her face submerged as she stared at the last hope they had falling to her side next to her.

Adora could just make out the small wiggle of Catra's tail, confirming to her that she was alive, as she felt the rumble of half a dozen tanks rolling up behind her. As part of the deal, Adora got to claim the reward she wanted for winning this duel. With Catra's defeat, there was nothing left to combat them or keep them from destroying the Rebellion at long last.

And after the new revelation Catra had given her, she would've happily destroyed the Rebellion anyway even if she had lost.

As for the beaten girl, she could barely twitch as she weakly pulled her arm towards the sword, dragging it over at a snail's pace as the tears flowed from her eyes. "I-It's not fair... not for them..." She whimpered quietly to the sword. "They... They didn't do anything wrong here, they never did."

The Rebellion was in shambles, their defenses were done for, and the last hope for the Rebellion lied on the ground, beaten and battered.

"All they've done... was being nice to me... when I didn't deserve it..." The cat's ears lowered against her will, her tail coming to a halt as they used up too much energy themselves.

Adora would've gladly let Catra live so she could rot in the prison sector of the Fright Zone for the rest of her life, along with the rest of her stupid friends.

"I treated them... t-terribly... and they still... s-still put up with me." Her consciousness was beginning to falter as she continued reaching her claw towards the sword. "They sh... shouldn't have to pay... for my recklessness... for my own greed..."

Adora shook her head at the pathetic display Catra was putting on as she saw her feebly reach for her sword. It didn't matter if she could't hear what she was saying, much less knew she was talking, she had enough of this girl. She would come by for a visit every couple months with an intention to taunt her, poke fun of her at how she failed, and reminding her that she would never get her kingdom anymore.

"P-Please..." Catra gritted her teeth against her tongue, trying to keep herself awake. "I know... I'm selfish... I... I know I can never c-change... B-But please... let me... let me do this one thing."

But she was passed the point of showing mercy to this girl, the one who used her almost as much as Shadow Weaver did.

"Let me save them... just this once..." She cried. "Let me be the She-Ra they need, the hero I have to be... just to save them... I don't... I don't care if I can't... can't ever turn into She-Ra again, or any part of She-Ra."

Smirking, she raised her hand to the sky, directing the tanks behind her as they aimed the barrels of their cannons to the defenseless magicat.

"Just let me... save them..." She could feel the tip of her claw brush against the hilt of her sword as her vision started to dim, struggling to see any portion of the sword in front of her, forcing her to rely on her sense of touch.

She would stamp out the last threat to the Horde, and the Sword of Protection, all at the same time. And without any hesitation, she threw her hand down, giving the signal. It was time for her to cut all ties to her past and start moving towards the future.

"Let me save them..."

Starting with Catra.

"Let me save them!"

"Fire."

Feeling her hand finally wrapping around the hilt after all of this time, she used every last ounce of strength to call out the one phrase that she needed most.

"FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL-!"

*BOOM!*

In a spectacular array of destruction, Adora watched as a dozen massive beams of energy blasted from behind her, enveloping the magicat in a cloud of sparkling thick dust. Catra had no means of protection anymore with her She-Ra form spent. She had no allies, none that Adora knew of anyway, that could've rescued her from such a strong force. Catra had been consumed completely by the explosive might of the Horde, as would anyone else who would dare to challenge their supreme might.

This was the way it was meant to be. Adora knew this sense deciding to lead the attack. This was her mission, not just to destroy the Rebellion once and for all, but to cut all the remaining ties to her past that had plagued her even after the events of the Beacon. With Catra gone, she was finally free of her past, free of her burdens. A smile crept along her face as she knew of the new reality that would soon meet her.

At her side, Scorpia turned to the girl with a small smile too. It might have been a bit different to see Adora in such a state, but at least she had her friend back as she saw the familiar, friendly, smile coming back to her. She knew Adora wasn't in pain anymore, and after everything she knew the girl had been through, she deserved it.

She just hoped it meant things would go back to normal between them again.

It was a momentous day for the Horde as Adora raised her fist to the air, listening with glee as the soldiers behind her roared with cheer and excitement. And why wouldn't they after all they had accomplished this fine day? They defeated the dreaded She-Ra, crushed the Rebellion and proved to the world that they were the greatest fighting force on Etheria, and that nobody should cross them. They proved the other kingdoms were better off joining them in unity than against them in war.

Most of all, it was the end of hope for anyone who would dare to resist in the Horde's endeavors. The Horde would bring unity across the world, just like Adora always knew they would, and unite the kingdoms under one banner. It would be a glorious one that stood for the peace and protection for all life in the world, and one of endless destruction and warfare for anyone who would dare to tarnish that rule of peace they had to offer.

Finally, at long last, the war had finally come, to an en-

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

A magnificent force of wind blew across the entire valley as a spectacular pillar of light erupted through the dense cloud that had previously blanketed Catra, one that stretched to the very heavens themselves! It was massive in size as it scaled that of a tank in radius, the force of it's wonderful creation pushing passed a dumbfounded Adora as the force nearly pushed her off her feet. She was forced to plant the tendrils in her back into the ground just from being this close to it, Scorpia barely maintaining any better as she blocked the wind stinging her eyes and pushing at her with her large claws.

The soldiers behind them didn't far any better as the pillar continued to erupt. A handful of soldiers that couldn't maintain their footing, first one, then two, then four, found themselves being blasted into the air across the ravine, colliding into a few of the trees, and droids that were behind them. Even the tanks were being blown back by the terrifying force of power they were bearing witness to, some of them being turned completely to the left or right, a single tank actually being flopped over on it's back, nearly crushing one of the soldiers who dodged out of the way in time.

"W-What is this...?" Adora was at a loss for words at what was happening right now. Had one of the other princesses come to save them? Did they have some backup plan or an ally they didn't account for? Who was responsible for this sudden burst of energy, the ones that showed no end in sight?!

"Adora!" Scorpia shouted out, grabbing her attention as she faced the sky. Turning to the sky itself, Adora's eyes widened at what she saw; the newly created force of light, one that had the energy to push passed the surrounding tanks and send soldiers through the air, was so pure in its magic, that it actually tore a hole in the sky, specifically, the cloud of darkness that had engulfed everything above, as the pillar blew passed it.

At least several feet were surrounding the pillar were clear of its dark energy, allowing the Force Captain to see the beautiful blue sky that the clouds were covering. This force, this beam of light, was so pure in its energy that it managed to combat the power of the Black Garnet's power, her power, as the clouds continued to partially dissolve every inch. And all of it was emanating from the very person they tried to shoot at, the one she had finally cut ties with after all of her pain and suffering.

There could be no coincidence to explain all this, nothing behind the scenes to suggest to her that someone else was pulling this off. There was only one person who could fit the criteria at this moment, the one person she knew as capable of ruining her chances of happiness and made it their personal mission to see Adora miserable and suffering to the bitter end.

Catra.

Surrounded by a seas of beautiful stars and a bluish galaxy, Catra rose herself from her as her body glowed with a beautiful blue light, one that had seen the cosmos since the dawn of time, and had met with the night's sky on a regular basis. With her eyes close and a calmness in her expression, Catra continued to float in place as a gargantuan sword, one that made her look like the size of an ant in comparison, rose behind her.

With the energy that gathered, the sword slowly started to pass through Catra, all while an array of flashing lights started to pull towards the girl, enveloping her in a glorious display of light and beauty. Catra could feel the wondrous energy fill her entire body as the sword slowly pushed into her, eventually phasing passed her as the rest of her glorious creation had come to be.

Starting with the back, a serene crimson-colored cape started to flow forth, gliding along her back in a fluid motion as the rest of her body followed in her transformation. The cape sparkled in a dazzling array of light as the small anchors of light finally pulled from it, allowing the cape to stretch across half of her back, connected to the armor that continued to materialize around her.

Both her shoulder-pads and her tiara that had transformed in her previous She-Ra state were nothing in comparison to the beauty that they were now. Her shoulders were cover in a pristine golden orange that jetted from the tips of her shoulder, nearly a foot in length, as they spiked across them to offer her shoulders maximum protection. Along with that, her tiara shimmered like never before as it grew, the tips along her cheek growing until they reached her jaw, and protruded inward an inch along her cheek where they curved.

The top of her tiara grew the most amazing pair of, what appeared to be, golden wings, one that extended right in front of her cat ears as they rose from the tiara's new shape. Within the center of this wonderful transformation, two small brow-like slits could be seen on both ends of the tiara above her eyes, while a lone, red, jewel was adorned within the center of this fascinating spectacle, one that sparkled like the light that grew from her.

As the sword passed halfway through her, Catra began to hug herself as the rest of her body continued to take shape. From her wrist, passed halfway up her elbows, grew the most formidable pair of bracers one could ever ask for, one that shined with a radiance like the protective anklets that formed along the sides of her legs, also stretched halfway up to her knees, though lowered on the inner sides of them. And despite the lack of shoes, the sword continued to offer its protection to her as it grew a shining force of gold sandals across her feet, thin enough for her to use her feet's claws and as sturdy enough as a tank's armor, despite how thin it was.

From within the center of her chest, the spirals of light began to gather as they spread across her body as a whole, creating a bright, shining, vine of energy that formed along her outfit as it sprouted in all directions and corners around her, creating a golden flower-like design in the middle as the petals were painted around her stomach, with the only golden lines that connected the collar of her chest-piece running down the middle of her outfit, connecting to the bottom of her spiked white skirt that grew around her waist, with a serene blue coloring on the inside.

Her legs weren't barren anymore as a simple weave of white covered them like it had her chest, a few slits along the knees to allow her the maximum mobility that she needed to preform her mighty leaps and agile reflexes that she was used to. They stretched all across her legs to the tips of her ankle where they were mostly transparent, allowing one to see the golden ankles that protected her legs.

As the incredible transformation slowly came to an end, the last of her magnificent appearance didn't end with another piece of clothing, but her hair. Her hair flashed in a sea of warmth as it grew along her back, nearly doubling in size, as its color changed to that of one of a blazing fire, lighter along her head and stretching out into a slightly darker orange. It was as if she had the fires of the morning sun blazing from behind her head.

With the last of her transformation finally coming to an end, the sword that phased through her shrank to a decent size as it spun around her, spiraling as if it was happy at the new transformation she had finally came to. With her form now fully completed, Catra threw her right hand behind her back, grabbing the sword's hilt, the same sword that appeared to gave grown an additional foot, as it was aimed across her left.

Opening her eyes, her transformation had finally been complete, the look of pride crossing her expression and amusement at what she had become.

The TRUE She-Ra had been formed.

With her transformation coming to an end, the pillar of light around her dissipated, allowing the rest of the world to gaze at the marvelous creation that had taken place. Nobody present to see her face stood there without their mouth gaping open in shock and amazement, others in fear, as some of the soldiers pulled themselves back to their feet. A couple of the soldiers were getting weak in the knees as their legs wobbled, fear taking some of them as they gulped.

Adora couldn't be more amazed or confused at the new form that her friend had taken, only knowing the rage that was building up in the recesses of her mind as her friend returned with renewed life. All of her injuries she had sustained, everything that she had done to her, had completely vanished. There were no cuts, bruises, not even a scratch, as Catra stood there, staring back at her friend like nothing was out of the ordinary.

That was until she blinked, at least. Catra didn't know what to say to as she blinked, feeling as good as new, as if she hadn't been put through the most painful experience of her life. She felt a new wave of warmth washing over her that she's never felt before, a calmness that she's felt for only moments of her life. For the first time in her life, she felt peace.

At this, she started to get a better look of herself as she nearly jumped, almost dropping the sword out of her hand as a result. Everything about her was completely different, looking as if she had seen a ghost as she observed. Her hair was a different color, she swore she was possibly a foot taller than before, and she could see muscles grown over her arms and legs. She felt lighter than ever before, yet sturdy all the same.

"W-What the-?" She muttered, seeing the reflection in the surprisingly now-clear waters in front of her. To Adora's dismay, even though the pillar of light had dissipated, the hole it left in the sky did not. "My hair, my wrists, my-!" Her eyes bugged out for a moment at the greatest of changes she had ever witnessed in her She-Ra form. "I have pants!"

She couldn't tell what she should be feeling right now, or if she should try to feel anything else out of fear if the She-Ra form would spontaneously disappear from her. Pulling the large sword in front of her for a closer look at her own reflection, a small smile grew over her face. For once since finding this sword, right when she needed it the most, it came through for her, She doesn't know if it bargained with her deal of never transforming into She-Ra again, and she didn't care. She was just glad it listened to her for what felt like the first time ever.

"Thank you..." She whispered to it, seeing the runestone embedded within the center of the sword shining with a brilliant radiance of white light.

*spzzzt*

"Huh-?"

*pew!*

*BOOM!*

That time Catra did jump, as well as anyone it suddenly passed by, as one of the dozens of tanks behind Adora was destroyed in a fiery explosion. Much to Catra's surprise, and shock, as she admired the sword for once, a small bit of energy began to radiate from the blade of the sword itself. Without so much as a blink, the blade shot out a pure blast of energy from its tip, firing directly at one of the many tanks and destroying it entirely.

It was fortunate for Adora that no one had been directly piloting the tanks, being newly automated thanks to Entrapta's new design, though that didn't get rid of the rage burning inside of her that Catra effortlessly destroyed one of their tanks as she glared back to her. The magicat lowered her ears guiltily as she looked back and forth between Adora and the sword, just as surprised as she was that she managed to do something so incredible with barely a thought.

She had achieved the true state of She-Ra. Hooray! Now if only she could figure out how to use its powers, that would be a big help.

Giving a nervous smile to her former friend, she quickly shook her hands back and forth as she leaned back. "Heh, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out. That was seriously an accident I swear!" Her pleas of apologies fell on deaf ears as Adora directed her hand towards the girl again.

"Fire!" She ordered one of the surrounding tanks. In two seconds, Catra watched as the beam of energy blasted from the tank towards her, the feline throwing up a hand out of reflex like it was actually going to stop the blast.

*spzzzzzzz*

And it did.

The momentary smoke that engulfed her diminished rapidly as she appeared through the smoke. On the other end, Adora watched in amazement as her friend continued to stand there, her eyes closed and her head turned away as her still-risen hand took the entirety of the blast head on, leaving only a small whiz of steam erupting from the blasted hand. Waiting a few more seconds for something to happen, Catra opened her eyes in confusion as she gazed at her protective hand. She barely felt the blast from a tank coming to her, feeling like nothing more than a ball she simply caught out of the air, and barely feeling any heat from her palms at all.

She knew she wasn't invincible, and she didn't care. If she had the power to destroy a tank and shield a blast with her hands, then that must've meant she was strong enough to take on the Horde army, right?

That foolish optimism was swept aside as she lifted her head back, eyes widening at the sight of the droids that were marching through the woods that approached the tanks. She could tell Adora was lining up her troops in a grand formation to wipe out the magicat from the face of Etheria, the rage burning in her as the black-half of her hair levitated a little.

"Fire! Everyone fire!" The Force Captain barked, the droids and tanks taking aim immediately upon command.

In another torrential rain of destruction, the magicat was assaulted by an endless barrage of firepower, lifting the sword in front of her for protection as the explosions and blasts went off all around her. Despite being more invulnerable than she had ever been, she couldn't shrug off the indefinite damage they were doing as if they were nothing, feeling each blast against her legs and her arms hurting a tiny bit more, growing progressively painful as the endless sea of red and green energy rained around her.

After a solid minute of the nonstop firing, Adora rose her hand again, ordering them to hold their fire so she could check on the girl's status. Much to her dismay, and annoyance, even after what should have been enough force to take down Bright Moon Castle directly, the girl still stood her ground, holding her arms around chest and protecting her head with her sword as she took the brunt of the Horde's might from forty feet away.

Noticing the lack of energy raining around her briefly, Catra opened her eyes and arms back up, trying to process what she should do. She wasn't reckless at this time, and she knew she couldn't afford to be. If she thought the same way she always did, she would throw out the one chance she had at using the sword's spectacular gift, and she couldn't afford to waste it. What she did need was to think of a way to defend herself, and the entirety of Bright Moon that stood behind her defenseless.

As if reacting to her frame of mind, the runestone within the sword shined a little brighter, catching Catra's attention. It was the first time the sword had ever spoken to her like this ever since the time before she became She-Ra for the first time, back when the entire adventure started. She knew it was trying to do the same thing to her too, and, while not hearing any actual voices in her head, the fact it responded to her line of thought made her wonder if it was trying to tell her how or what to do.

"Could it be... really easy with a single thought?" She mumbled to the sword. There was no reaction this time, and it was the first time she ever felt that was all she needed to understand. With a look of determination spreading across her face, giving a firm nod to the blade, she looked back towards her friend, the same one that would glare daggers at her if she ever could. "I'm not letting you hurt anyone else, Adora. Not around here."

"Tch, you think you have a choice in the matter?" Adora spat, raisin her arm again as she prepared her orders.

"For once... yeah... I think I do." Catra replied, gripping the sword in both her hands as she flipped it over. Closing her eyes, calming her breath, the girl gave a loud battle cry as she plunged the sword directly into the ground at her feet, holding onto it tightly as she tried to focus all of her thoughts into what she wanted the sword to do.

Right at the exact same time Adora gave another order to fire.

*BOOM!*

"What?!" Unlike her previous attempts, this one was met with resistance, the kind no one would ever be able to expect, much less pull off, as stupendously as Catra had managed.

From the point of impact, a mystical barrier began to sprout, blocking off the explosion as the smoke rushed passed Catra's head without any sense of care. From the cracks in the ground that grew from where Catra planted her sword, with all the energy she had, the entire Horde army bore witness as a great barrier began to grow, not just around Catra, but around the entirety of Bright Moon itself.

Spread all around her from where she stabbed the blade, a dazzling transparent array of rainbow colors danced across the valley from where Catra kneeled, all the way behind the girl as it formed its mighty shield. The magical barrier of wonder stretched towards the sky as it started to encase Bright Moon in a bubble-like defense, forming around the castle and everything it touched around it, including the runestone's chamber and her friends that her behind her, in a magnificent defense that grew over the valley.

It stretched so far that it nearly touched the sky, raising above the Moonstone as well, as it continued to form and center at the tip of the bubble-like shield. All this time, Catra focused all of her energy, wincing a little as she knew she was taxing her powers, as the energy poured around her. She needed this to work, otherwise she didn't know what else to do. She still didn't know what to do once the barrier came down for crying out loud! She just knew she needed to buy a little more time for something, anything, to help them.

And she didn't know why, either. It was just another feeling the sword was giving her.

At long last, with the Horde in a trance-like state of wonder, the shield had finally formed. Still being at its core where she maintained the barrier, Catra tightened the grip on her blade, knowing it required her constant energy to be maintained. The bubble stretched and connected to the sky above the castle, forming the perfect defense as it stretched across in all directions in a perfect sense of balance.

The energy to pull off this incredible feat could only be maintained by someone with magnificent power, someone with a mastery of the runestones that were used to power the world. Someone like the true state of She-Ra that Catra had finally formed. Now the only question that remained was figuring out how long she could keep this barrier up for.

"Ghhhhhh!" She hated this girl! Hated! Hated! HATED! She was the last thing she needed to get rid of if she was ever to find peace, and Catra couldn't give her that, like everything else in her past. She continued to be a nuisance to her after being down and near-death, and she still managed to somehow pull herself off the ground in a glorious new state of wonder. She couldn't allow this girl to continue existing, she couldn't allow anyone with this much power to exist! Without raising her hand first in preparation, she thrust her fist in the barrier's direction, a vein of anger appearing over her right eye. "FIRE!"

At her beck and call, one of the droids obeyed her as it targeted the middle of the barrier in the air, taking its shot directly at the center of the great dome that covered Bright Moon. Upon the impact of its red-colored beam of energy, Adora watched with amusement as she saw a small portion of the barrier's dome waver. She knew despite Catra's seemingly newfound power, even she couldn't maintain something this grand indefinitely.

However, to her surprise, it didn't seem like it was a simple barrier they were dealing with either. After a few seconds passed, the forces noticed as a small streak of electricity began to spread around the point of impact that hit the barrier. Right as she was beginning to ponder what could possibly be happening, Adora watched in horror as that same beam of energy, coated in a beautiful glowing light, was returned in a random direction, turning back to watch as one of the tanks on the opposite side was destroyed in a small explosion from the droid's energy.

This barrier wasn't just a wall that stood between them. It was a living weapon that protected them Catra, and Bright Moon, from harm, and would ensure anyone that tried to cause them harm would find their attack bounced back.

But she wouldn't give up.

"EVERYONE OPEN FIRE!" She screamed angrily.

All at once, like before, a rain of destruction was showered upon the barrier, with the lights and waves of its energy bouncing across the points of impact. As expected by the Force Captain, one that slightly frightened Scorpia, seeing the extreme anger rising through her friend, the beams of energy that were blasted at the tank were bounced back in multiple directions, each shot of energy being directed harmlessly towards the sky, or, in some unfortunate cases, back at the tanks and droids that fired in the first place.

Dozens of the soldiers found themselves scrambling for their lives as they tried to dodge the incoming fire, feeling like they were out in the open for hunting season, as they had no means to protect themselves from the tanks' and droids oncoming blasts. Noticing the panic building up behind her, Adora decided to create her own barrier out of the shadows, one that was minuscule in comparison to Catra's, but one that protected a large portion of the soldiers who ran behind it as the droids and tanks took the rest of the rebound energy.

As expected from the Force Captain, just as she was starting to wonder if the barrier could ever be taken down, she grinned as she saw holes and tears starting to form around the bubble, ones that tried to regrow itself in a futile effort to protect the castle. Large beads of sweat started to pour from Catra's forehead as this went on, struggling to maintain her concentration on the barrier, even more so now that she could feel the tears in the barrier as if they were in her own mind.

What was she supposed to do now? The sword told her specifically how to form the colossal barrier, and it gave her the power to do it at long last, so she was thankful for that, but there was little else she knew how to do. With all the energy she was pouring into this great barrier alone, she didn't know how long she could hold out against the rest of the Horde with the near hundreds of droids, tanks, and soldiers that remained.

And that didn't include the two Force Captains she knew she would have to deal with!

Come on... think of something... She yelled in her mind. There had to be another thing she could do as the barrier continued to diminish, with large spots of red starting to form over the weakened dome, burning with the energy that was slowly down its restoration. Could there be a way to still turn this all around and get Adora back on her side? Was she just supposed to wait here for the end to come, after everything she went through just now?

Personally, she didn't know which part would annoy her more at that- being unable to get Adora back to her side, or the idea that she would still lose everything right AFTER she finally gained the true form of She-Ra?

As she continued to fret, Adora grinned some more as she lowered her own barrier. The protective bubble was losing so much of its power so fast that it couldn't even direct its energy back anymore, cracks appearing along the walls and top of the dome as it started to crumble. Knowing it would all come down once it was dealt with at its source, Adora shot both of her large shadowy arms directly at the protected Catra, forming massive drills that began spinning out of control as they reached the wall just inches from Catra's lower head. Catra did her best to ignore the sparks and the cracks that were quickly forming as she tried to protect the Rebellion in her last stand.

Was becoming She-Ra just a fluke? She wondered. Was this just a tease to make me feel better before my end? Or did I do something to mess everything up, again, like always? She was tired of being a screw up, tired of letting everyone down. She thought with this new form, she could finally be the hero they needed her to be and actually make a change for once in her life when she needed it most. And, like always, it was proving that it was all for naught.

Maybe she should just be happy that she finally got to experience what it was like to be the real She-Ra for once? Thinking about it, she could at least admire the fact she actually stood her ground against Adora and the Horde army directly like this, single-handedly, which was more than anyone else could have ever said. She couldn't tell if she was still feeling at peace anymore as she used every ounce of her strength keeping the barrier formed as best she could.

At the very least, she could say she died trying for someone else, for once. She just wished she didn't have to smell saltwater while she was doing it.

"...!" Catra blinked as she opened her eyes again. "Wait... Saltwater?" She muttered.

Around her, across the ravine on both ends, The Horde, Adora, Scorpia, and Catra, began to watch as small specks of water began to rise around them, little droplets that were rising upwards instead of downwards for once, the Horde coming to a halt as everyone gazed in confusion at the events. The humidity in the air began to flourish as the sounds of waves were becoming increasingly louder. At the stop of their firing, Catra finally rose to her feet, pulling the sword out of the ground so she could regain some of her energy from the diminishing barrier, just in case.

Her ears gave a small twitch as she swore she heard the familiar splashing of forced waves, the rhythm of the ocean beating gently across her ear drums as it came from the ocean the ravine was connected to. She wouldn't believe it in a million years, even if she saw it twice, as they finally came.

Atop a mighty wave that nearly stretched to the top of the chamber, she saw Mermista, the Princess of Salineas, riding atop the magically gathered waters, with the adventurous and brave Captain Seahawk riding his ship at her side, the two of them charging straight through the opening of the ravine as Seahawk rose a torch towards his ship's sails.

"For adventure~!" His joyous cry for adventure came to an abrupt end as a smaller wave of water washed over him, drenching him in its warm liquids and dousing his fire.

"No!" Mermista yelled, continuing to focus on her wave steering. She wasn't about to put up with him burning his fifth ship after all this time!

"Awww..." So much for letting his new ship meet the glorious fate of the previous ones.

"They... They came..." Catra was frozen as she continued to stare at her, watching as Mermista's wave split around her as it continued on towards the Horde. Adora let out a yelp of pain as she and the rest of her forces were swept across the ravine, half of them gargling in the fresh saltwater that was forced down their throats, knocking several of the tanks off the ground in turn.

As she watched the amazing display of power, Catra turned back, seeing a still-chipper Seahawk land gracefully with Mermista right next to him. "Tadaaaaaa~!" He sang with his arms spread out, waiting for an applause that never came as Mermista approached Catra with a firm look on her face. Catra returned the same look as she stared into her eyes.

The last time these two met each other, they were at each other's throats. They blamed the other for losing Entrapta, hated each other thinking they were responsible for Entrapta's loss. Neither of them talked about or showed the least bit of interest in reconciling with the other, whether or not the Princess Alliance was still around, and Catra was sure they would still try to tear at each other's face if they were given the chance.

Then again, she knew she wasn't fair either. What happened on that day was something outside of both of their controls, along with the rest of their friends. They couldn't allow a petty, unnecessary, argument get between them when they found themselves in the middle of a war. Catra could bear no anger towards the girl without being angry with herself, especially since she still harbored the guilt of Entrapta's loss in the back of her mind.

With a mental sigh, Catra shrugged off the nerves in her shoulder as she prepared to speak.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry." Both girls blinked at one another at the revelation, Catra noticing a small smile growing on the mermaid princess's mouth as she stared at her.

"Look, I shouldn't have blamed you for my own doing, okay?" Catra commented, scratching the back of her head. "We lost Entrapta because of me, it didn't have anything to do with you."

"Are you kidding? It had everything to do with me. For all of us at that." Mermista added, gesturing towards Seahwak as he tried to relight his torch with his soaked matches. "We were all supposed be a team back there and have each other's backs. I shouldn't have left the airhead's side when we ran through the vents, none of us should. If you're responsible for what happened to Entrapta, then we are too. All three of us."

This was... warming, to her. A special kind of warmth that gave the strength to smile a little. They didn't harbor any ill will towards the cat girl for everything she's done, at least not involving Entrapta or the botched rescue. It gave her a closer feeling of true peace that she hasn't known for years, and it made her-

"Wait... did you just say the three of us?"

Meanwhile, Adora was grumbling as she pulled on the tank near her to rise to her feet. She growled as she saw the other princess standing next to Catra, another one of her friends that she traded Adora for and left her behind for. So this princess wanted to meet her end too? That's fine. It saved her the work of having to track her down later and invading her kingdom. Without a princess at the command, they took easily take over Salineas with little resistance, and gain control of the sea with their superior naval fleet at their hem.

Looking across the ravine, seeing her troops, tanks, and droids sprawled all around her, the Force Captain squeezed what little water was still in her hair, directing her attention to the closest pair of troops that she could find. "Hey! Get off the ground!" She barked to the disoriented guards. "We still have a job to do, so find a tank and blast them already!" The guards shook the dizziness out of their head, too little too late as a new force began to sprout around them.

Literally.

Within seconds, the guards were ensnared by a tangle of greenish vines that rose through the water, pulling them to the ground and immobilizing them where they were. Seeing this display, the angered Force Captain saw the same vines beginning to grow around the surrounding woods, capturing several other guards as they pinned them along the trees and the forests. As if it wasn't adding enough insult to injury, the same vines turned to some of the remaining tanks, forcing their barrels downwards where they couldn't fire.

Then it had the audacity to do the same to her! Without missing a beat, Adora found her arms, waist, and neck ensnared by the sturdy vines too, the Force Captain struggling to pull away from the surprisingly efficient vines that bound her. Her attempts to pry away from the incredibly strong vines were put on hold as she noticed pink rose petals beginning to fall around her, looking away into the woods on the opposing side, she saw another of the dreaded princesses appearing, Perfuma, as she rode along a massive green vine at its tip, chuckling as she made her way over to the others where she saw the most spectacular sight of all!

Landing on her feet, Catra's relieved expression quickly changed to nervousness as she saw the sparkles growing in Perfuma's eyes, the princess of flowers squealing with her hands in the air. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-!" Catra had never been more thankful for her new state of resistance, otherwise she had no idea how painful that high-pitched squeeing would've been to her ears.

"Ehh... Perfuma?" Catra spoke, raising a hand to her. "Are you oka- Agghh!" The cat was powerless to stop her as Perfuma suddenly threw herself at the dazzling wonder standing in front of her. Rolling her eyes at the display, Mermista picked the two off by the backs of their necks, trying her best to keep Perfuma pried off the feline as she continued reaching for her. Releasing her grip, she watched Catra catch the girl's wrists in her own hands, keeping her at arms length away from her as she continued to squeal.

"I knew it!" Perfuma squeaked at long last. "I always knew you were the real She-Ra!" Catra sighed at the comment. Of course, out of all the plausible reasons to be squealing like a moron... like a goofball, this would be one of them.

"Perfuma, I'm not exactly..." Catra stopped as she stared into Perfuma's eyes. The girl just stared at her, blinking on and off, with the biggest smile Catra could ever expect anyone in the world to have. She wanted her to be She-Ra, she believed her to be She-Ra with everything she had! How was she supposed to dash away her dreams like this when she had a smile that brightly pointed at her? Glancing over at Mermista and Seahawk who gave her a shrugging smirk, she sighed. "...Ok, fine... I'm She-Ra. Happy?"

"EEEEEEEEP!"

*thud*

For once, Catra didn't seem to mind as Perfuma jumped her again, wrapping her arms tightly around her and pressing her cheek against Catra's for dear life. While it was embarrassing enough to make her blush, Catra still found herself being filled with an unfamiliar warmth again, this one actually starting to grow around her. She barely paid any mind or attention to herself as she chuckled a little, a white aura beginning to spread around her body as she playfully tried to pull Perfuma off of her.

At the disgusting sight of the aforementioned princesses, Adora noticed how all of their attention seemed to be drawn at the pitiful display between the two, concentrating back at the matter at hand. Whether or not she could fight back the princesses with her remaining army, she knew everything would still follow in turn after she destroyed the Moonstone of the Rebellion, the source of Angella's and Princess Glimmer's powers.

Seeing how brute force was out of the question, she resorted to the shadows that obeyed her every command, forming a pair of efficient blades that cleaved the vines in twain. Grinning, the Force Captain jumped into one of the surrounding tanks, focusing as she directed the barrel of the powerful war machine at the pillar itself. By the time Catra even saw this from the corner of her eye, it was already too late.

*BOOM!*

Jumping from the ground and off She-Ra, the princesses and Captain gasped as the pillar started to crumble at the base. With its massive weight playing against itself, the pillar above started to give way as it shattered, tilting from the explosive force of the impact as it started to tumble towards the Castle as a result.

"Noooo!" Catra panicked instantly as she sprinted for the great pillar, knowing half her friends were still trapped at the top of the great chamber, unconscious.

*crackle*

"What?" What was going on? Was the weather starting to affect the castle too? It had yet to at this point, so there was no way in knowing if it finally had. Around the broken base of the pillar, stretching up passed the middle of it for added support, a giant pillar of ice grew along the outer wall of the great stone monument, saving it from its inevitable collapse, and catching it from falling any further.

As if that wasn't enough, the exciting display that played out following this was too good to be true. One by one, in massive frozen waves that burst from the ground, the group watched as many of the Horde tanks were thrown through the air, tossing them into the frozen woods where they shattered, others exploding upon impact. It was like the very element of frost was at their side, fighting alongside them as it pushed away the surrounding tanks near the pillar.

Or a very young child by the name of Princess Frosta, who rode along a blanket of ice she created from the palm of her hands, just like the other princesses did with their own elements. Reaching the group of able-bodied heroes, the young princess jumped from the edge of her frozen wave, spinning through the air briefly, and landing perfectly a few yards ahead of a group of relieved and excited heroes, and a very surprised Catra as she looked at her with the same cold stare she had at the Princess Prom.

"You... actually came to help?" Catra asked, still unable to comprehend what she was saying.

"Hmph." The young girl mumbled, turning her head away. "Don't get the wrong idea. You were still an obnoxious and rude guest at the party, and I still don't like you. But..." The girl shifted her eyes back to the cat as she continued. "It doesn't mean I'm going to leave someone behind when they need it. Besides, they messed with my kingdom's weather. That's as good as declaring war on it." She sneered back to the She-Ra as she got back to her feet. "Unless that's a problem for someone's pet."

"...Heh..." Catra smirked back as she saw what remained of Adora's army. "Not at all, brat."

This was... astounding, to say the least. Lined up one after the other, with Catra in the center of all of this, the princesses and captain stood beside her as they stared down the army and the scowling Force Captain. Sea Hawk and Mermista on her right, and Perfuma and Frosta on her left. All of them drawn with their own weapons and element at the ready, all ready and willing to sacrifice their lives for a war that they wanted to part in, but came to anyway because of her.

Her.

Catra.

The person who was always the screw up.

She's never felt so much happiness before in her life as she stared at the reflection she saw in her sword, this time finding a joyful Catra instead of one who was always sour or confused. They accepted her after all her mistakes, despite what a screw up she was to them. They saw her as a friend who needed them at her side, across the Rebellion's side, and they were willing to answer the call.

Catra couldn't help it as a small tear rolled down her face, all while the aura around her grew brighter, as she smiled proudly. Looking back to the angered friend ravine, Catra raised her sword to the sky, with the conviction and determination to finally bring this battle to a long awaited end.

"FOR ETHERIA!" With a roaring cry, Catra unleashed a radiance of light as the surrounding allies charged straight at the surrounding Horde, knowing victory was at their side as long as they had each other.

*Sheeeeeeeeeem!*

And it was from the radiance of light that surrounded her that a bright aura of energy erupted, spreading across the environment around the valley and causing all of her friends and allies to glow, no matter what state they were or from where. One by one, her downed allies were awakened by their renewed energies as life started to return to them, feeling their consciousness returning to them in full.

Netossa winced a little as the water touched her opening eyes, rubbing the slight sting she felt as she rose to her knees. Still a little disoriented, Bow rubbed his head as he slowly got to his feet, shaking the weirdness out of his mind as he felt like he slept for a thousand years. Not one hint of exhaustion remained in his blood as he looked around, gasping in surprise as he saw the new state Catra was in.

"Catra?" Was it even her? She looked so different from how she used to be, yet somehow more familiar than ever before!

Up above, the remainder of the fallen allies slowly started to find their own energies returning, starting with Swift Wind as his nostrils flared with life. Of all the ways he could've gotten blasted out of the sky, he prayed he would never have to feel the massive force of a tank's barrel blasting against his side again. Chances were, without the armor that broke off from his recent attack, that he wouldn't be able to tolerate the pain twice as agonizing.

Along the side, Glimmer winced as her fingers slowly twitched, finding the hazy vision from her opening eyes beginning to clear up. While questioning what she was first experiencing, her confusion slowly changed to wonder and joy as she saw her mother picking herself off the ground as well, the Queen rubbing her eyes as she felt her energies return to her.

"Mooom!" Glimmer cried out, rushing to her side.

"Glimmer!" The Queen only had a second to open her arms before she found them filled by the tender embrace of her loving daughter, smiling tearfully as she wrapped her arms around her. Never had the two been so happy to see each other like today, both nearly crying with joy as they hugged.

It was at this time Glimmer saw a tendril wave of light rushing over them, sweeping towards the sky until it connected with the Moonstone that loomed above them. With a gasp, she and her mother turned to the runestone as the light covered over the massive rock, shining it with a mystical force of energy that Etheria had never experienced in the past.

Filled with its newfound source of power, the energy coursing through its entirety, the stone began to spin in place as a blue light started to fill it from the inside. With every spin, Glimmer felt her body starting to rejuvenate with her magic, a smile crossing her lips as she saw the wonders being shown in front of her. She had no doubt that, despite everything she had been through at this point, Catra somehow managed to save the day, like she knew she would.

And she failed to disappoint.

Upon reaching its limit, the runestone unleashed a massive wave of energy across the entire valley, coating everything in a warm light that cleared the entire sky of the darkness that had once surrounded Bright Moon. All around her, Adora watched in terror as the darkness that had previously given her so much strength had been taken away from her in an instant, knowing the only source of magic she had left would be whatever she retained from first putting on the headband. While it may prove problematic, she still had an excess amount of energy, one she ensured wouldn't go to waste.

As if it wasn't enough to just envelope the valley in its beautiful light, the same streaks of light swept across the entire world! From Salineas, to the Kingdom of Snows, to Plumeria, one by one, the many runestones that had given the princesses the source of their power were washed over with a sense of tranquility and life, filling them up again as the princesses felt a surge of power like never before!

It didn't just limit itself to the allying princesses, either. All the way towards the Fright Zone, as she continued to examine and take readings from the mysterious Black Garnet, Entrapta's attention was directed to the wave of unusual light she saw spreading through the complex. Upon touching the Black Garnet, the mysterious stone shimmered with an unusual light, one that pried the many wires and technologies from its body and preventing the technological genius from continuing her studies. In another flash of light, the entire room went dark after the Black Garnet flashed, leaving Entrapta confused with only the glowing eyes of her mask showing through the dark.

As the two continued to hug, Glimmer saw a light coming from her mother's being, being filled with wonder as she observed the unseen spectacle taking place in front of her. As if she knew what was going on, the Queen opened her eyes calmly to her daughter, brushing a hand softly against her face. This one simple brush was all that as needed for the princess to feel her own source of energy return to her, eyes widening at the sight as her own body began to glow. She chuckled with glee as she watched a small spark of her magic dance off of her.

Her powers had finally returned.

"Go on, go get them." Her mother instructed with pride. Glimmer gave off a single tear of joy as she clutched her mother's hand tightly for a moment, the happiness filling both of them never being any brighter before today. With another smile, the princess disappeared in a flash of sparkling light, her mother's pride overwhelming the Queen as she turned to Swift Wind. She couldn't tell if the Horse was somehow more excited than her daughter as he flapped his wings triumphantly, taking off to the sky as he planned to charge headfirst into the ensuing Horde below them.

*swoosh*

Glimmer's excitement continued to climb as she teleported back to the ravine, her powers flourishing with each passing second. All around her, her smile somehow widened twofold as she saw her friends and allies all fighting around her, thrilled to see her friends and allies hadn't given up on her like the Rebellion originally thought. Not only that, but the princesses shared in their new surge of power as they glowed with their own fantastic lights as they battled away at the evil Horde.

From the streams, she watched Mermista washing away the dozens of soldiers and several tanks and droids with a massive wave of her magic, her body glowing with an aquatic blue light of energy as she did. Surrounding what massive gathering she could of automated tanks and droids that she could, encircling them in a wave of powerful water, Mermista moved out of the way as a large boat began to surface from the waves behind her, being sailed by an experienced, seaworthy, captain known as Seahawk.

"Adventurrrre!" Seahawk could be heard shouting from afar as Mermista made her way towards him. The Princess of Salineas couldn't help but smirk as the Captain's quirky antics as she grabbed onto him, riding on another way as she moved the two out of harms way, right as the boat finally caught on fire. All of the droids that had encircled the field were crushed under the combined might of Seahawk's flammable ship and the power of adventure, delivering a devastating blow to the remaining forces that failed to fight back.

A short distance below Glimmer, from what few guards managed to run passed everyone, trying to make a futile effort at stoping the runestone at its source,, Netossa could be seen duking it out with them directly, glowing with a dark violet hue, and throwing an ensnaring net of energy at a pair of guards, trapping them against each other, and kicking away at another soldier that rushed her from behind.

As she did, she saw a pair of droids attempting to approach the princess directly from both sides, wanting to get the jump on her depending on whoever reached her first. Before that became a possibility, though, Netossa found herself engulfed in a large violet wave of gust, one that spread across from her in all directions, sweeping the droids off her feet and blasting them into the icy formations that had grown out of the ground from where Frosta had attacked. Curious at the brief spectacle of wind she had witnessed, her wonder soon turned to excitement as she saw Spinnerella, her beloved friend descending from the sky above her in a brighter shade of purple, and tearing up the sight of her wellbeing.

It was a touching reunion as Glimmer saw Netossa throw her arms around the princess, glad she was okay after all they've been through.

On another side of the battlefield, she saw Princess Frosta and Perfuma, two unlikely elements working aside one another as they rode across the field with their own magic answering their calls. From Frosta's vantage, radiating with a bright sky blue in color, she fired several streaks of frozen crystals at the surrounding tanks and droids, trapping half of them while destroying the other half that tried to counter her antics. They were powerless to stop the small princess as she jumped into the air, surrounding herself in a dozen smaller icicles that shot in all directions ahead, consuming the dreadful machines and solid cases of ice.

She had no concern or reason to hold back as she attacked the nonorganic creatures and machines of the battlefield, saving that excitement for the flowery princess riding next to her in a bed of vines. With the blessing of nature lighting up her body in a green light, the princess of Plumeria laughed with amusement as she entangled a handful of guards and soldiers who were powerless to fight back against her ensuing vines, some of them being hung upside down by their feet while others were tangled up completely in a heap, ready to be collected and brought to the prisons the Rebellion had for their enemies. At least she took the liberty of making sure each and every one of them were presentable for later capture, creating a small necklace of flower over their heads and necks as she caught them.

This is exactly what Glimmer expected the Princess Alliance to be like when it finally formed. This was the Princess Alliance to her. Friend and friend, ally and ally, side by side. Everything about this scenario was perfect as she saw Bow running up to her.

"Glimmer!" He cried out with joy, the small V-shaped heart of his chest's armor glowing.

"Bow!" The princess called back, teleporting from her spot as she appeared right next to him, hugging onto him tightly. The two didn't think they were going to see each other given how the night was starting to play out. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too! I mean, you being glad, not me but... heh, you know what I mean." He chuckled, glad to see his shining pink friend again.

"I don't get it, how did this all happen?"

"How do you think?" He grinned, looking off in the distance.

Following his gaze, Glimmer nearly gasped as she saw the new state of She-Ra Catra was donning, watching her friend battling it out with her other friend as the two stood their ground. From the battle, Catra yelped as she was tossed into a tank by the vengeful Force Captain, Adora's hair becoming more erratic as the rage continued to consume her. Within seconds from being tossed into the tank's hard defense, the girl was quick to jump atop of it as she was nearly impaled by Adora's shadowy, spiked, fist that came crashing into it. Without wasting a breath, the Force Captain roared as a blade sprouted from the tank soon after, nearly cutting the girl in half if she hadn't reacted in time, blocking the terrible blade with her sword.

It did little to keep her from being flung a few feet into the air, forcing her to repeat a good distance behind Adora. Having expected this, unwilling to give Catra a moment's peace, Adora tore down the middle of the two tanks as she ripped them aside through the power of her shadows. Shooting two massive tendrils into the ripped halves of the tank, Adora roared violently as she turned around, stretching the tanks as far as she could in order to reach them, and slammed them against Catra from both directions all her might.

In a scenario that might've crushed the average person, the Force Captain continued to grumble in pain as the sight kept her from feeling any sense of peace or joy. At the other end of her shadowy tendrils where the ripped halves of the tanks still stood, she saw Catra, the magical gritting her teeth as her body continued to glow with a white light, as she kept the tanks at bay through the sheer force of her own personal strength, her arms pushing aside the incredible contracts with all her might.

"Is that... Catra?!" Glimmer stammered as if she had never met the girl before.

"I know, right?" Bow replied, still excited by the sight of the amazing duel. "Can you believe it? She's actually winning!" Bow's hopeful optimism wasn't shared by his friend who continued to look on with worry. It didn't matter to her if she could see Catra giving it all she's got, she couldn't forget the concerning worry Swift Wind told her about in the middle of this great war.

"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.

Coming back to reality, she couldn't help but notice the pained expression on Catra's face from afar as she saw the girl struggling keep the tanks away at arms length, the two halves seeming to draw an inch closer as she did.

"No," Glimmer replied to Bow as she watched, "she doesn't." It wasn't a matter of Catra being unable to overpower Adora, she knew Catra wouldn't be able to force herself to overpower Adora. She still had care and deep concern for her friend, the one she was responsible for ending up in this mess! "She can't bring herself to fight Adora with everything she's got, Bow!" She stated worriedly. "She needs our help!"

...

*WHAM!*

"Ngggh!" Adora grumbled as she was thrown to the floor of the ravine, pushing herself up to her chest as she gazed all around her. Throughout her field of vision she could see it, feel it, as they were losing.

The soldiers that failed to make their escape were being captured by the remaining princesses that continued to surround the battlefield with their magics, their droids were being destroyed and pushed aside like they were mere toys. All of this, all that was happening right now, was because of her, and Catra. The person she gave in to and allowed to stall for time, the person who might've known her friends were coming to save her at the last second, and purposely proposed a duel to stall for time.

Once again, Catra had used her. And that was the most sickening feeling she ever had as of now.

Her new appearance didn't come without any merits, she realized. She needed to be careful with her shadows as of now. With the bright shining sun in the sky, she couldn't afford to take off her headband anymore, not without losing all the powers that came to be. If she tried to recharge her own powers, she would only receive a fraction of whatever she started out with previously when the valley was coated in darkness. And actually keeping or maintaining her shadows were starting to become problematic as Catra's new state continued to remove them!

Whenever she threw another of her tendrils at her, not only did Catra manage to keep her from reeling in her former friend, Catra, at least twice, managed to rip them from her person, actually ripping off one of the shadowy tentacles that were over her back in the process! The pain was unlike anything Adora had ever experienced, feeling like she lost a limb, whether or not it was real. All that remained in its place was a blackened stump that Adora had to power on through, being careful not to expose her back anymore than she had to towards the magicat.

Along with her strength, her surprising ability of shooting energy through her sword wasn't just for show, either. On multiple occasions, when Adora attempted to call in any surrounding droids for reinforcements, the droids were quick to learn just how powerful the new She-Ra had came to be. The energy that drew from the sword shot forth like a beam of light at her enemies, piercing through the droids one second and causing them to explode in the next one after. They even hurt Adora's shadows, to her dismay, forcing the captain to keep the shadows close to her being once again.

Whatever this new state of She-Ra was, it was a nightmare. She had power, she had newfound strength, and worst of all, she was losing this war. Like many times over, Catra had used her for her own benefit again, and this time, there could be no forgiveness. She didn't care at all as she heard Catra approaching her, the patter of her feet brushing against the cold water doing nothing to distract her.

"It's over, Adora." Catra stated, standing a good twenty feet away from the girl for safety.

"No... No it's not..." Adore grumbled, wobbling a little as she got back to her feet, panting out of breath. "I... I can still..."

"Would you just stop it already?!" How much was she supposed to argue like this?! She couldn't keep protecting her if she wasn't willing to surrender. "Just look around you, Adora!" Catra ordered, seeing the Force Captain turning her head as instructed. "You've lost! Okay? Just accept it! If you don't stop any of this, I can't protect you from the Queen!"

"...Protect... me?" The girl lowered her head as she squeezed her hands, letting out a small chuckle that Catra's ears could pick up. "You... protect me? How laughable..." Catra spotted an irritated scowl on the right half of her face, while the blackened hair on her left half covered the rest. "So what? Now I'm supposed to turn into you? Weak, pathetic, useless?" Catra's heart stung at the comments as her ears lowered. "I'm supposed to turn my back on my morals and start using everyone around me like pawns?" With an anger fueling behind her, Catra saw the tendrils of her shadows starting to gather at the palms of her opened hands, Adora drawing in all the energy she could as she was consumed with rage.

"I want to be perfectly clear, Catra. I, will never, be, like, you. Not now," the shadows around Adora's feet started to spiral in a terrible display of power around her as she raised her hands, "not EVER!"

*Sssssssssssssssskkkkkkkkkssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh-!*

"Ah-!"

*spzzzzzzt-!*

Catra only had moments to react to Adora's final attack as it came right at her. In a colossal wave of dark energy, bursting from the palms of Adora's hands, Catra was nearly consumed by a never-ending flow of darkness as a gigantic blast of shadows were directed right at her. She-Ra was barely given a moment to catch her breath as she was forced to direct her sword at her ensuing shadow, stopping the blast just a few feet ahead of her as a stream of white energy poured from the tip of her sword, combatting the darkness. It did nothing to prevent her from being pushed back another thirty feet, but it was better than ending up as a potential stain in the water.

Around her, all of her friends and allies were drawn to the sight of the terrifying display of power as they saw the power of light and dark being forced upon each other, seeing streaks of light and darkness shooting across in nearly every direction as Catra managed to push back the beam of energy towards its center. Both, Catra, and Adora, found waves of energy shooting passed them in a spiral of power, with pure light bursting passed Adora, and an empty darkness spiraling over Catra.

"Catra!" They all called out with worry, rushing over to the scene as close as they possibly could. The streaks of light and darkness were destroying everything around them as they continued their epic struggle, neither girls showing any signs of faltering under the intense might of their magic, or signs of backing down, knowing what it would possibly mean for either one of them if they were to show any signs of weakness for even a second.

"She-Ra!" Perfume cried out.

Unwilling to just sit on the sidelines and wait for one side to win, Mermista nodded to herself as she attempted to shoot a large stream of her magical waters directly at the enemy ahead, only to find the energies disintegrating her waters the moment they approached, evaporating almost instantly.

"I can't get any closer!" She revealed, attempting to fire another stream of water at her, meeting the same results. Deciding that approaching Adora was out of the question, Perfuma attempted to sprout her vines closer to She-Ra, hoping to pull her out of the twister of darkness that was pushing passed her. Unfortunately, it proved to be just as in vain as Mermista's attempts as the moment they neared the poor girl, the vines found themselves shredded in under a second, the darkness unwavering as it ripped through the vines.

"I can't reach She-Ra, either." She felt so useless as she watched her friend struggling with all her might.

"Catra!" The group turned to see the Princess of Bright Moon and her friend running towards them, the looks of worry shared among their faces.

"Hey Twinkles, are you okay?" Mermista asked, finally seeing her for the first time in awhile.

"I'm fine," she replied, not caring at the choice of nickname she picked, "but what's going on?"

"The lad's doing everything she can to fight back against Adora, lass!" Seahawk explained, looking back to the fight. "Nobody can reach them in the state that they're in, the girls' magics are too strong!"

"Nooo..." Glimmer fretted, looking at the scene with anguish.

What was she supposed to do at a time like this if magic couldn't get through their magic? Everyone was helpless as they watched the two girls continuing to collide their magic against one another, struggling to get the pull on the other one as best they could, only one side refraining from using everything she had.

Let Go

"No!" Catra yelled aloud, ignoring the voice in her head as she tried to maintain her grip on the sword. Every second that passed she caught a glimpse of Adora's face from far away, seeing the hatred building up behind Adora's innocent eyes. "Adore, please!" She could be heard shouting over. "I don't want to do this!"

"I've had enough of your lies, Catra!" Adora screamed angrily in return. "Once I finish with you, I'm tearing down the rest of the Rebellion, even if I have to do it by myself!"

"Adora, please..." Tears started to form in the corner of Catra's eyes at the revelation, picturing the chances the rest of her allies had at trying to deal with Adora in her newly empowered form.

At the waver in her heart, the remaining allies watched in horror as the dreaded wave of darkness began to push against the light, gaining an inch little by little as it neared over towards Catra. As it did, the violence on Catra's end started to pick up, the energy coming closer to the girl with each passing second. About a fourth of the way there, the energy narrowed in its spiral passed her, actually cutting her a little against her legs and her shoulders, a few strands of Catra's hair getting cut off as it clustered.

It was a terrible sight to behold as the allies could do nothing to assist in this. Whether they stood a chance against Adora themselves, they didn't know what fate would befall Catra if she failed to stop Adora's incoming blast of pure darkness. There were only a few select ideas that came to mind, and none of them proved pleasant to the girl.

"She's starting to lose ground." Frosta said, trying to pick up an idea along with the rest of them.

"Couldn't you form a wall of ice or something, lass?" Seahawk suggested hopefully. You know, something block the attack long enough to pull her out of there?"

"Are you kidding? I don't know what sort of power those two are unleashing. Even if it's durable enough, Catra's light could reflect off of it and shoot out everywhere, destroying everything around us." It amazed the captain that such a young girl managed to come up with a quick-witted explanation behind all of this, just not enough to keep him from growing ever-increasingly concerned.

"She... She needs us..." Glimmer mumbled, looking at her sparkling hands. Catra's always been there for them, no matter how many times Catra refused to acknowledge the opposite. Even if she still couldn't see it after this, she had to do anything she could to save her. "I'm going in," she announced squeezing her fist, "I think I can get to her through teleporting."

"Glimmer, you can't-"

"Look, Bow, I know what you're going to say, but I don't have a choice!" She quickly interrupted. "If we don't do anything now, Catra could die. I'm not going to leave her behind like this without someone to support her!"

Blinking at the statement of conviction she spouted, Bow grinned. "Stop you? Are you kidding? I'm not letting you go by yourself without me." He stated, holding her hand. It warmed Glimmer's heart that she had such a dear friend like Bow at her side in a time of crisis like this. Looking around, the others smiled to her as they gave her their support too, knowing it would be up to those two to help Catra see this through to the end. And in dazzling sparkles of light, the two teleported, leaving a hopeful trail of purplish dust in their place.

Back on the other end, Catra continued to falter as she started using all of her muscle to maintain her stance and her sword's grip. The tunnel was closing in on her, drawing near her body with every rapid rush of energy, and cutting away at her with every centimeter. It didn't matter if she refused to push back against Adora's magic, if she dropped the sword at all at this point, it would be the end of her.

"Adora, please..." She continued to whimper, a small strand of tears rolling down her right side. "I don't want to do this by myself... I don't want to do this by myself..."

"You don't have too!" Catra nearly flinched at the sudden voice as she felt two different hands on her back, pushing against her shoulders. Pushing against her from behind, out of the tunnel's wave of darkness, she saw a shining Glimmer and a courageous Bow, both smiling to her as she continued to push the sword. And there they were, with that annoying smile that always popped up at the most annoying of times to her. "Hey, Catra, like the new look, though I prefer your old one, really!"

"Glimmer?" She turned her head from her left to her right. "Bow?" He grinned back, giving a thumbs up with his other hand. "What the heck are you guys doing here?!"

"Oh you know, was just in the neighborhood, wanted to check out the sights, etcetera." Bow joked with a cheeky grin. "What do you think we're doing here? We're here to help you!"

"Help me?" Oh dear First Ones, please tell her they were joking! "Are you two crazy?! Get out of here while you still can!"

"Oh darn, I think my magic tapped out just teleporting here. Talk about bad timing, you know?" Glimmer shrugged.

"Yeah, I think I sprained an ankle or something too while I was at it." Bow added, the two of them wincing as the wind blew passed their eyes. It pained Catra to see how casually the two were shrugging all of this off, like it was a bad joke where she was the punchline.

"This isn't funny, you dweebs!" Catra shouted over the roaring tunnel. "I don't know if I can stop her! I don't know if I can force myself to stop her-!"

"We know, Catra, and we're fine with that!" Glimmer replied, catching her off guard as she had a small smile. "Look, I might not know the real Adora like you do, and I probably never will. But she's your good friend, and if you don't want to fight her, that's fine with us." She was bluffing... right?

"What... What are you saying?"

"She's saying we're beside you no matter what you choose, Catra." Bow answered for her. "Whether you want to fight Adora or not, we'll be here to support you, all the way through." They were... joking. They had to be joking. It was the worst joke Catra had ever experienced in her life, and the WORST possible timing they could ever pull off a joke right about now!

"You... You idiots..." Catra teared up. "Why can't you ever leave me alone when I want you to?!"

"Because, Catra, and I'm telling you this for the very last time!" Glimmer said in a stricter tone. "We're your friends. And we're not going to leave your side no matter what happens, got it!" She could just make out the smile on Bow's face as she nodded to her before the two pushed against Catra with all they had, trying to help her keep the magical warrior from stumbling as Catra turned back towards Adora, distraught.

She hated them. She hated every last one of them. Those stupid people in the Rebellion who were a constant source of misery, those annoying morons who never did whatever she asked them to. They were the worst kind of friends anyone could ask for!

She didn't ask them to be at her side like this! She didn't want them throwing themselves in harms way just because Catra refused to harm a friend as close to her as Adora! They weren't helping her in any sense by doing this, they were forcing her to make a decision against her will! Those ingrates, those selfish pests, those, terrible... horrible... friends...

She gazed as closely as she could into Adora's eyes from afar, seeing little to nothing resembling the dear friend she once had. Her friend would never be the one trying to end Catra's life, she wouldn't be throwing everything she had at her just to make Catra suffer. She wouldn't be looking at Catra with such an unsettling rage rage, the likes of which had never been seen before, with the desire to make Catra suffer for a lifetime of past mistakes. This... this wasn't the same Adora she knew.

But... what was she to do? She couldn't hurt her friend!

"Hate you?" At this, Catra paused in their walk, giving Glimmer her full attention. "Who said I ever hated you? Both of you for that matter?"

...Was this really the same Catra or did she end up being replaced by some artificial AI that took over her brain here? Because that would be the only explanation for the complete shock of display presented by Catra. That was possibly, without a doubt, the closest thing to an actual nice thing she ever said to the two.

...And it was kind of scary...

"You... don't hate me? About before?" The suspension of disbelief was all over Glimmer's face. "B-But you were so mad about everything, and you didn't want anything to do with us. How was I supposed to think you didn't hate us?"

"Well, duh, I was mad about it, but it doesn't mean I hate you for it. It's not your fault for being stupid." She commented, continuing their walk.

"Gee, that's encouraging to hear..." Ok, now there was about a fifty-fifty-chance this was the same old Catra.

"But you don't hate us?" Did Bow hear that correctly? Was there truly a possibility for the Best Friend Squad after all this time?!

"Of course not. I just don't like you two."

No there was not.

Noticing the lack of response to this, Catra grimaced, looking at her sword again. She hadn't forgotten everything that happened in her dream, how that once blissful reality turned into a ravaging nightmare with a few choice words and decisions. How her entire kingdom came down upon her head in a matter of hours, in the dream anyway, because of who she wanted and didn't want to be around, who she kept close and who she pushed away.

She was tired of the long day she had, all this sappiness that was coming out of her mouth even as she spoke. But... she didn't want to relive that. She didn't care about anyone else, but if that was the kind of reality that awaited her in the future, if it would only last as long as she kept people from feeling pushed away, then she needed to change, if only a little. She couldn't afford to lose her kingdom like that again.

Or Adora.

"But..." The two perked their heads up as she went on. "If it means... anything..." Ugh, why did she have to do this? Wasn't the fact she was fighting with them enough for them? Or did they like to torture her by being a bit more open about this kind of garbage? "Compared to everyone else I grew up with... most of them, anyway... you guys are... I don't know..." A small pink blush picked up on the side of her cheeks, barely noticeable until Glimmer leaned over to her side a little bit to see if she saw what she thought. "... More tolerable. People I dislike the least. All right?"

"Catra..." She did everything in her power from squealing out in pure delight, her and Bow both!

... No... the scene flashed in her eyes painfully as she maintained where her sword's energy was.

"Why do you have to be such a buzzkill around here?"

"I'm not being a buzzkill, I'm trying to help you!" She retorted quietly . "Catra, these people care more about She-Ra than they do you."

"Uhhhh helloooooo! I am She-Ra?" She rolled her eyes.

"No you're not! Your name is Catra and you're a part of the Rebellion!" Glimmer corrected. It was like Catra had completely forgotten about her old life in the last half-hour they've been here.

For all she knew, she did.

"Ugh, why are you so laaame? Why can't you be more like Bow? He has the right idea."

"Bow?" She had almost forgotten about him after everything that's happened. Without skipping on the details, Glimmer looked to the right as Catra's tail directed her.

Off over in the distance, a couple dozen yards away, she saw Bow entertaining several kids and adults while holding a stick like a sword. "How about the time she saved Thaymor by staring down an evil Horde Captain, and made them call off an attack through sheer willpower! Or how about the one time when She-Ra borrowed my toothbrush, and single handedly defeated a hundred Horde Soldiers!"

"Bow, don't lie to them!" Catra called out with a grin.

"You're right, I'm sorry... It was two-hundred soldiers!" The kids around him cheered with excitement as Catra laughed.

"Hahaha, I officially know which of you two I like more now!"

Stop it!

*tug*

Catra blinked. Looking down slowly as ever, she was met with the rather strange sight of Glimmer, pressing her head into her chest as she wrapped around her in a tight hug.

"...P... Pinky? What are you doing?"

"Catra, I'm," she sniffled, "I'm sorry." Leaning her head up, Catra saw the strange look of sadness filling up in her eyes. But they weren't tears for herself, not that she could feel. It almost felt like... they were for her.

"Sorry? ...About what?"

"About everything!" She sobbed. "I always thought you didn't want friends because you thought one was all you needed, but that wasn't the case, was it? You don't want friends because you can't trust any friends, can you?"

"I..." The look on Catra's face as she paused confirmed it.

"You spent your entire life on your own, too scared to make friends because you don't know what would happen if you did, because you were too afraid of what pain it would bring. You're afraid of what will happen if you have any more friends and you don't trust them enough to not leave you. To live your whole life with that fear, unable to trust anyone, even yourself... It's one of the saddest things I've heard..."

"..." Catra didn't know what to say. Was she feeling sorry for her pity for her? Was she trying to drive Catra insane or something here? To drive her off the deep end, maybe even over the balcony itself? She didn't know anymore. She didn't want all this mushy stuff filling her mind unneededly, she didn't want anyone else reading into her personal life like this!

"Please... stop..." Catra whimpered, biting her lower lip.

"All my life growing up in the Horde, I didn't have any brute strength or quick wits to get by in my training. The only way I managed to survive was with my speed and my recklessness, nothing else. Adora was the only one I could rely on to bail me out of trouble whenever I screwed up. She was always the perfect cadet whenever it came to any training. She was smart, she was fast, strong. Usually she left everyone else in the dust, and I... I always hated her for it."

"But Catra, you're nothing like her!" Bow tried to argue.

"Oh, gee, thanks for that enlightening encouragement." Catra scoffed with the roll of her eyes.

"No, I mean, so what if you're reckless? It doesn't matter to us."

"Bow's right." Glimmer agreed, nodding. "Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't matter how many or how little you have of either. We all make up for it by compensating each other."

"And what if someone has to pay for it?" She shot back. "What if someone dies because of one lousy weakness you have or an entire mission gets screwed up? You guys would've been better off if Adora was fighting for you guys. Knowing her, she would've gotten everyone in and out without a single casualty. We don't even have that many people anymore because of me."

"The Princess Alliance breaking up was outside of your control, Catra. Everyone was torn apart by what happened to Entrapta. What you did taking it out on Mermista might've been wrong but it wouldn't have changed much if you didn't. You need to stop blaming yourself on everything that went wrong and move on."

"..." This was the other reasons she hated having never learned when to shut up! They always got into your personal business, they always stuck their noses in places they weren't wanted or needed, and they never left you alone! She understood what they were getting at, she truly did, but it didn't make any difference to Catra if she was still the same person by the end of it.

"Don't make me... Don't make me do this... please..." The moment she gave in, the moment she accepted what needed to be done, she knew there was no chance of ever reuniting with Adora, or the happiness the past had to offer, anymore.

"...Glimmer? Why... Why are you guys being so nice to me? After everything I messed up? What if I'm not even She-Ra like you said?" How... How could they do this? Why were they wasting their time with her after everything she revealed? Even if she saw them more as friends, it didn't mean the feeling felt reciprocated half the time, and given the circumstances she was currently in, she didn't think they would want anything to do with her.

She wasn't She-Ra, she kept messing up, she made everything worse. She was far beyond the point of faulty and more of an accident waiting to happen, she was... she was a freak. Someone who did more harm than good based on her personal experience. A jerk who abused her friends' trusts for her own benefit, like Adora said.

Why were they treating like this?

"It's like I keep telling you, Catra." She replied with a smile, patting her shoulder. "We're your friends, and even if you mess up, we'll always be by your side."

"..." The magicat turned to the blade as she held it in her hands, staring at the familiar reflection as always.

What if she was wrong about this? What if she was wrong about everything? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be She-Ra, maybe she still isn't She-Ra based on what Light Hope told her. What if the very next mission they went on could be their last, like it was with Entrapta's last mission? What if she doomed everyone from the start and lost the entire Rebellion as a result? What if everything Light Hope and the others said about her was true? What if...

... Why? Why did she care what they thought? She was Catra, one of the best soldiers the Horde could ask for, the person everyone labeled a freak. She was always talked down to and insulted by her peers and the kids she grew up with. They always told her she was never capable of accomplishing anything, they never saw her as one of their own like Adora did. They were quick to point out her mistakes and mock her for it, conflicting her with numerous feelings and issues in her heart. And they were with the Horde, the force that threatened to destroy Eitheria.

So why should she care!

"...Glimmer?" Catra spoke, Glimmer noticing the hint of emotion behind her voice. "I really, really, really, hate you." Lifting her head towards her, she gave a small grin, giving Glimmer the idea despite already having a pretty good one.

"Catra! You're back!" She was unable to resist the urge as she threw her arms around her neck, squeezing her tightly. She didn't return the hug and she didn't try to push her away. For once in Catra's life, she welcomed it.

/ / / \ \ \

*Let Go*

\ \ \ / / /

...The sword wasn't telling her to let go to fulfill her destiny. It was telling her to let go to save her own life.

There was no avoiding it, not any longer. Catra knew that now. She always knew it. This battle, everything that had taken place with Adora, was all her fault. She was the reason she ended up like this. She was the one who caused Adora to become the violent person she was. She should've shown more care or compassion to he girl who treated her like a dear friend since the moment she met her, and she refused to give it out of her fear of appearing weak, and now it was costing her.

This was her own punishment. Her punishment for being greedy, for being the selfish cat that she was. By refusing to let go, she was allowing her greed to give in again, allowing her greed to manifest into the horrible monster that created Adora in the first place. Her punishment for never being the person who treated her most like a friend was to lose that very same friend in turn.

And she couldn't deny it, any longer.

It was the punishment she deserved.

Tears started to flow endlessly from Catra's face, the droplets flowing down her cheeks being blown into the air by the intense force of the powerful blast. There was no hesitation on Adora's end, no attempt to hide back her rage and contempt for the young girl, and no ounce of care over who she had to hurt to do it. Adora was her enemy, now and forever. And if she didn't fight back against her now, she was going to lose the very last things she had left in this world, that annoyed her to no end.

Her friends.

The duo behind her heard the sniffling coming from the magicat as they saw the droplets of tears rushing from Catra's eyes passed them. Already, the guilt started to settle in to the two of them as they saw her raise her sword further into the shadowy magic, knowing what she was going to do.

"Geh..." Catra squeezed her eyes shut briefly, opening them to show the watery tears that continued to flow.

"Goodbye... Adora..." And with that, Catra screamed. With every last ounce of strength she could draw in from her sword, from her friends, she took a step forward as she unleashed a powerful blast of pure light straight into the darkness, the darkness doing nothing to slow down the terrible power of light that shot across the ravine, towards the defenseless Force Captain who could do nothing to move, not with all the shadows she was drawing to herself.

Within that one moment, right as the light was about to hit, the redness faded from Adora's eyes, as an expression of confusion and wonder crossed Adora's face. "Catra-?"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

The tunnel of darkness and light had finally ceased as Adora was encased in a powerful dome of light, one roared with life as it surrounded everything ten feet from her in a miraculous display. Catra let out a gasp of exhaustion as did her two friends, the glowing aura that once radiated among the princesses finally extinguishing. Never had they seen anyone preform a miraculous feat such as Catra's before, and chances were very unlikely they ever would again.

With her energy spent, the magicat's form finally came to an end as Catra dropped the sword, panting out of breath as she returned to the endearing, shorter, magicat they came to know her as. None of them could blame her for being so out of energy like she was now, not after that stunning performance of magic.

With her powers drained, Catra lifted her head slowly, along with the rest of them, as they saw the dome starting to diminish around the Force Captain. There she stood, Adora, with her head held back and her arms drooped behind her, as the shadows that used to surround her slowly dissipated into nothingness, burning away from the light's pure energy.

At first, there was nothing but fear on Catra's end. Even if she was supposed to stop her friend, that didn't mean she had to end her existence to do it! Thankfully, she noticed a small twitch coming from the Force Captain, the now fully-blonde girl pulling her head forward where it slumped.

Upon her head, the others gasped. The headband, the grand source of Adora's legendary power, started to crack. Along with a single tear that grew from above and below the sacred jewel from the Black Garnet, the headband itself started to rip before their very eyes. Eventually, the entire thing tore itself apart as the gem of Adora's power shattered into dust, blowing across the wind as the shredded remains of the headband flowed lifelessly to the waters around her wobbling feet.

Adora's power, was gone.

It took an ample amount of her own strength just to lift her head back far enough, enough for Catra to see the pained expression in Adora's eyes, and the tears that flowed down her cheeks. She had no power, no chance of victory, and no means to calm the rushing torrent of sadness that overflowed in her heart. She was now drowning in a bottomless abyss of sorrow.

"I... will never... forgive you..." With that final utterance, the girl started to collapse, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she passed out. Before she could collide with the ground, however, before there was any chance of potentially rescuing her, she was swept away, by a treasured friend known as Scorpia, as the two sped off into the distance in one of the remaining skiffs.

(A/N: Once again, and for the final time in awhile, now would be the perfect time to play the music that goes along with the following scene until indicated otherwise. For the following scenes, its recommend to listen to the theme Home, From RWBY Volume 4 on youtube)

"You... You did it!" Glimmer cheered loudly, her one solitary cheer erupting the cheers and applause of the allies from afar. At long last, the Battle for Bright Moon had come to an end, and victory came to the heroes in the very end! Nothing but cheer filled the skies, along with Swift Wind who made his way over after beating down the last of the droids he could, as far as the eye could see. This would go on to be one of the most momentous days of the Rebellion, and they all had Catra to thank for it.

"Way to go, Catra!" Bow cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Geez, with all the excitement that was taking place right now, there was no way in telling how excited Catra must have felt!

After all this time of feeling like a screwup, she finally had something she could NEVER deny! Thanks to her, and her two hands, she saved the day. She beat back the evil Horde army, restored the runestones to their rightful state, and actually managed to heal everyone, including Glimmer from her glitching, in the end! If she ever thought she was a screwup before, there was no way she possibly could now! Even if, for whatever, minuscule reason, she said she was, they were prepared to splash her face enough times to tell her otherwise.

This was a glorious day not just for the Rebellion or the Princess Alliance, but for all of Etheria!

"..."

*sniff*

"C... Catra?" The lighthearted mood and tone in the atmosphere took a sudden shift as Glimmer heard the small sniffling coming from her. Before she could raise a hand towards her, Catra collapsed to her hands and knees, in an agonizing look they had never seen before.

Catra was... crying. In the reflection of the waters surrounding her, they could see her face. The face that told a thousand stories, that had witnessed all the beauty and horrors of the world. Not one part of her freckled face appeared to be without pain and suffering as Catra sniffed. The person who always hated to look weak in front of the others, the one who always kept her emotions bottled up inside of her, was releasing them all at once, possibly for the first time in her entire life.

It was only now Glimmer truly realized what Swift Wind had meant about Catra being a wreck after this. The worst part wasn't the climax of the great war itself, it was what came after the long conflict.

"Ghh... AaaaaaahhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH!" Catra screamed as she raised her arms as high as she could, slamming them into the waters in front of her.

*SPLASH!*

"Aaaaahahahaaaaa!" This was... beyond the point of saddening, to watch. Catra, the strong, almost-fearless warrior, that she always displayed herself to be, had finally broken down. Catra didn't know what to do with this pain, this endless surge of misery that rushed into her.

She was gone. Adora was gone. Her old life was gone. Everything that she came to know and love about her old life had been taken from her by her own two hands, because of her selfishness. The reality of everything finally dawned on her as she realized everything she had now lost, and everything she would never have back.

Within there own mind, Catra recalled all of it, against her wishes. All the memories of her and Adora, all the good times they had, playing before her, inaudibly as Catra continued to cry out. The music overlapped the voices asher past flashed before her eyes, possibly for a final time, that Catra would ever want to remember.

With that, Catra let out a taunting hum to herself, feeling accomplished, as she turned around to walk back.

Coming face to face with a smirking Adora who had a raised brow and the little girl looking up curiously at the mean twelve year old.

Adora spoke down to Ami. She took great amusement to see Catra standing up for the young girl despite her aggressive appearance when she met Ami the first time.

Catra grumbled, looking away with a small blush on her face.

Adora cooed, pinching Catra's cheeks.

Catra yelped, slapping her hand away in embarrassment. The little girl actually began to giggle a little at this, something Catra knew she couldn't scold her for with Adora around. And that's if she wanted to in the first place.

Adora informed with a casual smile on her face, much to Catar's dismay.

Instead of getting any word out of the girl, Catra looked down to see the excited four year old holding her hand up to her, wanting to take magicat's hand, furthering her embarrassment.

Groaning audibly to the two, Catra rolled her eyes as she resigned herself to the annoying fate of cleaning up someone else's mess with them. She warned, taking the little girl's hand into her right hand as the three walked down the hallway. Ami could be found walking between the two with a happy smile on her face.

This was her ultimate punishment, one she knew she would have to bear for the rest of her life. Any connections she had to the past were finally over. With Adora's defeat, Catra was a part of the Horde, no longer.

According to the stranger himself, Shadow Weaver had no say in the matter.

Shadow Weaver glowered as she saw the insect taunting her.

The stranger boldly said.

A young blond child asked as she walked into the door's line of sight.

Seeing the child passed Shadow Weaver's flowing robe, Catra let out a squeal of pure delight. She ran straight passed the two adults as she ran straight into Adora's excited two friends happily embraced each other in a warm hug as they laughed, overjoyed that they got to see the one friend neither of them thought they would ever see again.

How was this fair for her? Wasn't she suffering enough having to fight Adora to begin with? Why did she have to do all of this alone? Why did she have to find herself without any friends, to live in a world where she was loathed for her very existence?!

It wasn't until she felt a gentle hand on her back that she realized it.

She wasn't alone.

Turning around, the magicat saw a similar look of despair on Glimmer's own face as she kneeled, trying whatever she could to give her friend a comforting smile. She completely ignored anything she was saying, her emotional state preventing her from understanding what was being said, but she was sure it was something along the lines of, "it's okay", or something. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't care as she did the first thing she had ever done in her life.

She hugged her. She threw her arms tightly around Glimmer and cried into her chest as Glimmer hugged her back, tearing up as she felt a portion of Catra's pain, all while Bow kneeled at her side as well, doing what he could to hug her and offer his own support. The others looked on in dismay at the scene as several of them prepared to step forth, wanting to comfort the cat girl as well. All of their possible support and encouragement, however painful it was, was put to a stop as Mermista held out her hand, blocking their way.

She was trapped in her own look of despair as she turned to them, shaking her head "no" to the rest who wanted to be there for her. What Catra was going through right now, everything that she was experiencing and feeling, she needed those closest to her right now for support, not the people she considered simply allies for the time being.

It was like a commandment amongst the children, one that all of them knew of. Yet, despite knowing all of this, Adora offered to help the young girl. She was brave enough to help the young girl and didn't care if it caused trouble for her or not. The only one that did care was Catra herself.

The girl mumbled looking away.

Adora passed off with a smile. She helped wipe away one of Catra's tears with a thumb, trying to dry the girl's face.

With that, Adora pulled the girl over to her as the two settled into the bed once again, side by side. Catra shuffled a little as Adora hugged her closely and pulling the blanket over them. It comforted and let her know she would always be by her side. It helped somewhat as a small smile grew on Catra's face, one Adora was happy to see as the two of them finally closed their eyes.

The nightmares would never cease, but as long as they had each other, there was nothing the two would have to fear.

The Queen was unwilling to sit idly by as the scene took place in front of her, seeing everything from the ledge of the chamber as she overlooked the entire valley. Flapping her wings gently to the ground, she made her way over to the beloved trio of friends as she took her place right alongside the rest of them. Glimmer shot her a brief look of sadness before the Queen embraced the three of them in a warm hug that only a mother could provide, doing her best to drown out the noise of the saddening cries as she wrapped her wings around all three of them.

Growing the same idea, Swift Wind gracefully flew his way over as fast as he could without making too much of a scene. Lowering himself as much as he could to the four, he laid his head across Catra's back, wrapping his left wing around the four of them as he did his best to comfort his master with all his heart.

Everything just seemed to slow down around the two of them as they processed what just happened.

Here Catra was, about to take her first glorious bite of one of the delicious muffins created by the Horde. Every hair on her body was raising with excitement as she imagined all the wonderful tastes and wonders she was about to experience in her very first bite! And what happens next?

Gruel happens. From out of nowhere, from out of their view, someone threw a large chunk of gruel at the poor girl, splatting across the left half of her face. Regardless of how hot, cold, hard, or soft the substance was, that barely mattered in comparison to the aftermath.

The muffin. The great, glorious muffin, was dropped from her hands, falling into the slush that was gruel. The muffin was quickly absorbed into the meal, drowning the entire muffin from head to toe. Nobody wanted a soggy muffin, and nobody wanted a muffin covered in gruel.

Adora grumbled to herself as she glared back at the thrower. Just like she thought, there was Lonnie, raising her fist proudly as the other kids near her cheered for her fantastic throw. Maybe she didn't see the muffin she was holding and maybe she did, it didn't matter. All this left was a very distraught Adora.

And a very sad Catra.

She cried silently, forcefully keeping her mouth close as she sniffled to avoid more unwanted attention. She didn't care about the stinging gruel in her eyes as much as the act itself. It stung. It hurt. It reminded her of every reason she was unwanted by everyone.

Adora grumbled squeezing her fist.

Catra pleaded grabbing her other arm. Adora was surprised as she looked back to the tearful looking new friend. Even after all they just did to her, she still preferred to let it go, opting to cry as gruel continued to drip from the left side of her face. She sniffled. Strangely, her following words were inaudible, yet Adora acknowledged it like she heard what she said.

It made her feel worse thinking those bullies would get away with what they did. People like that should always get punished, just like Shadow-Weaver always taught her! Yet, she couldn't bring herself to leave her friend as she was. She was in need, in fear. She couldn't leave her side in this state. She gave her a warm smile as she grabbed one of her napkins. At least gruel was easy to wipe off. She wished all of their troubles could be solved so easily.

At the very least, Catra found comfort in someone else. She found someone who cared for her, wanted to protect her.

Catra never felt more alone in the world before, save for these people that surrounded her now. They were all she had left, all that there was to fight for. By leaving one life behind, she grew into the life of another possibility, one of a family.

The girl continued as she sat left to the crier. She heard Catra hiccup at the mention of the word "monster",confirming what the girl already thought.

For the first time since she came across her, the young Catra tilted her head up a bit, letting the new girl see her different-colored eyes and the tears that flowed down her face, along with the red mark on her cheek.

Why couldn't this girl get the message? Catra remembered thinking to herself. I just want to be alone.

Then get it through your head already! I want to be alo-!

She remembers going silent at this statement, fully lifting her head to look the strange girl in the eyes. Nothing but sadness and a runny nose filled Catra's face, and none of it bothered the other girl. There was no audible indication coming from Catra's sobs, only a small twitching sensation as her small tail wiggled slightly.

That was the one question that sent Catra over the edge. She remembered doubling her cries of misery and sobbing as she laid her head into the girl's shoulder, holding her tightly like she would disappear if she didn't. She was the first one to ever say an F word to her that wasn't Freak, the first person to ever make herself feel wanted. She couldn't remember what was going through her head at that time, just that she didn't want to be alone at that moment.

The other girl continued to smile as she patted Catra's head, enjoying the possibility that she made a new friend.

And now that life was gone. Everything that Catra had in her past life was over now. Despite telling herself that she had a new life to move on to, it did nothing to quell the rain of sadness spreading in her heart, no matter how warm the group's hug came to be. It was comforting, and exhausting, all at the same time.

After another minute of endless flow of tears, the Queen opened her eyes as she noticed the deafening silence around them. Growing the same look of curiosity one by one, her friends pulled back from her a little so they could see the sate of their despairing friend.

She was passed out. After all the energy she had exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally, it was too much for the young girl. It proved too much for anybody, at that! Nobody could go through the pain Catra felt at this point as her world collapsed around her, not this quickly, not too soon.

Wiping a few of the dry tears across Catra's cheeks, the Queen gave her friends a small smile as she picked Catra up, cradling her like a small child in her arms as they began to walk away. There was a small, peaceful, expression on the cat's face as the Queen carried her, one that brought a little comfort to the rest of her remaining friends as they followed along behind her, all of them leaving their way back towards the castle.

They were determined to do whatever it took to bring a smile back to Catra's face, and Glimmer knew the perfect way to do it!

...

...

It felt like forever since she had a good rest as Catra opened her eyes again. Her body was still sore all over from the energy she had spent throughout her deadly struggling, even though she had enough energy to lean out of the bed she found herself in. She rubbed her head a little as she felt the small ache in her forehead, trying her best to ignore it as she looked around the room.

She appeared to be in a medical wing of the Castle, one she had visited on several occasions after cutting or injuring herself during training. Sometimes she got in way over her head when she first started to train here, picking fights with random soldiers in training as she adjusted to her new life at first, and, while winning majority of those fights and letting others win the rest, she always came out of it with a few sore bones and a cut or two around her lips.

Catra sighed as she ignored the beating the room took as she got out of her bed, and the peaceful flower that was placed along the nightstand of the bed with a "Get Well Soon!" logo on it. She wasn't feeling better after her long rest, she didn't know if she was ever going to feel better again. Her old life was over, and so was the precious friendship she once held dear. She could never bring those back to her, no matter how much she pleaded to anyone who would hear her. She was right back to her old self again as she knew she wouldn't have anyone to back her up, or anything that could bring a sense of comfort to her again.

As she traversed the ruined hallways towards her room, she observed the broken shambles as she passed along. By her guess, it was around night time, what with the little night light she could see in one hole of the hallway's massive ceiling. In the distance, her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of hammers banging away at each other, hearing them pounding against the castle as they were no doubt repairing sections of the castle, something Catra knew she was going to be forced to help with tomorrow morning... unless she was lucky.

Luck wasn't something she felt anymore after the events of today, maintaining the same solemn look on her face as she neared her room. If she was lucky, none of these events would be happening. If she was lucky, Adora would still be by her side. If she was lucky, she wouldn't have to go through all this pain and misery she was currently feeling in her heart! She knew this was her punishment for all she did, for all she made suffer around her.

She just wished it hurt a little less as she pulled open her bedroom door.

*creeeeak*

...And maybe it would be. Her eyes widening with surprise and confusion, nearly everyone, save for the Queen who was most likely overseeing the repairs of the castle, had gathered here. All of her allies, all of her friends, were standing before her under one room, all looking back to her with a welcoming smile as they greeted her upon return, some of them like Mermista smirking that the lazy cat had finally awakened after long last, even though it was so close to bedtime.

Embarrassingly to her, all of them were also donning their own sorts of PJs, ones that embarrassingly matched the stupid "Sleepy Kitty" shirt Catra suddenly realized she was wearing, finding the urge to strangle Glimmer to death, knowing it was her idea, pushed away by the sadness that still continued to torment her. Their pajamas and outfits matched them perfectly in all regards, with Mermista wearing a bright blue bathrobe, Perfuma wearing a long, light-green nightie that stretched to her feet. Among the remaining friends and allies, Glimmer, Bow, and Princess Frosta wore similar pajamas with wooly shirt and pants matching their own colors, with Bow wearing a yellowish shirt and orange-red pants. That saved the manliest of men, Seahawk, to proudly don his white and red striped boxer shorts and white shirts, who would've preferred going commando if Mermista didn't threaten to drown him in a toilet.

Again.

Despite the sight of her friends trying to cheer her up, it did nothing to soften the blow to Catra's heart as she shrugged to the rest of them, remaining silent as she walked passed the group of allies over to her bed, where she proudly collapsed onto it in a heap. Tomorrow was going to prove to be a big day for the Rebellion, seeing how the Princess Alliance had reunited once again, and with parts of the castle still shambling around her, with a few cracks within the walls of her room, and a pile of debris that appeared to be pushed aside for this little slumber party, there was no doubt that it would take forever to clean this mess.

*whomp*

No.

They didn't.

Begrudgingly opening her eyes part way with an irritated look on her face, Catra turned back to see the knowing smirk on Mermista's face as she casually tossed her light blue pillow in the air tauntingly. Along with her, the other princesses and soldiers of their alliance were sporting their own pillows, some of them with a cheeky grin on their faces as the rest of them fluffed it back and forth, preparing for the bloody onslaught that was about to follow.

She just saved the Rebellion, lost her best friend in the world, and now was being denied the right to sleep to play some stupid game with the rest of them. Fine. She could accept most of this. What she would never except was the inability to earn some much needed sleep! She didn't care what they were trying to do for her or what their reasons for doing it were either! She was the mighty She-Ra, and she wasn't about to give in to their demands to play some foolish children's game just because they felt like it!

... So if they weren't going to give her any sense of mind, then there was no choice but for her to punish these ingrates herself! It would require a weapon of some sort, of course, and, since she couldn't risk ruining their alliance by using her claws, her sword mounted against the wall, or the piles of rocks she felt like chucking, she was limited in her options. She would have to use something softer, pleasant, something that would happen to be right around Catra's fingertips as she glared intently on the taunting mermaid. Something like, oh she doesn't know...

A three by six sturdy purple pillow that she TACKLED MERMISTA WITH!

From across the castle, the Queen lifted her head as she turned away from the construction she was overseeing, hearing the sound of crashing and mayhem erupting throughout the castle as Catra had, undoubtedly, awoken from her long slumber. Normally such a sound of chaos and discord would worry the Queen, knowing the magicat's antics were usually on par with that of a mad bull running through the castle. But after the events of today, and everything Catra had done for them, there was no way she would deny them this source of fun, a way to relieve the tension that had festered within Catra since day one.

For once since meeting Catra, it brought a smile to the Queen's face as she allowed chaos to continued wherever it ensued, willing to give Catra the chance to relieve her stress just this one and destroy as much as she wanted... at long as it was in her own room.

An hour later found the same group of heroes and friends exhausted and passed out around the room as everyone fell asleep minutes prior. Within the room, Mermista leaned against the bed as she sat along the floor, her legs splayed out where Glimmer could be seen resting a pillow against her right leg, and Catra could be seen sleeping with her own head against the left leg. Behind her, Bow's snoring head continued to drown out as he slept upside down, his head hanging over the bed as it was a few feet away from Mermista's own.

On another corner of the room, where a douse of water could be seen sprayed across the ground, along with a broken sink, Perfuma could be seen sleeping upon a hammock-like group of fines, wrapping herself in a bed of colorful flowers that she used for a blanket, all while one of her legs dangled over the edge while she swung back and forth. Directly below her, a stalwart sea captain could be seen snoring with his own lights out, his feet apparently entrapped in a block of ice as he snored over a bench-like structure of solid ice, and an overgrown snot bubble bobbing in size as he did.

The room was in a mess with torn shreds of pillows across the room, a broken mirror over in the corner, a dresser toppled across the rubble from the room's walls, and the heroes spread across the room in a disorderly fashion. In a bizarre way, the room was much more fitting now with Catra's personality than it ever had before. Zooming in a little to the young girl's face, there was a small smile creeping in the edge of Catra's lips as she continued to dream.

This was, for all that it was worth, a terrible ending, one that Catra wanted to change with each passing second. She didn't get her friend back, she was forced to accept her new destiny, and she couldn't do anything about it. All she had left were the people at her side and the friends she came to know as family. But all things considered, she guessed it could be worse. She could be without anyone at her side, she could have lost the sword entirely or be rotting in a prison cell right now along with the rest of the Rebellion. She still didn't want things to end the way it did, and she would take any opportunity she had to change it at a moment's notice.

But with all that was said and done, after everything she experienced, she did have to admit one thing.

...

...

...

...It would be a lie to say she wasn't a little happy in the end.

(A/N: End Song/Music)

...

...

Failure was something that was never tolerated within the Fright Zone, though chances were still given. Atop his mighty throne within the citadel of the Fright Zone, Adora saw Lord Hordak, the master of the Horde, and the one who called all the shots that ran through this place. Without her headband in her possession, much less on her person, Adora could feel a chill in the air creeping along her skin as she started to walk the stairway to the master's throne, willing to face the possible consequences that would soon follow.

The only comfort she felt at the time came from the friends that walked by her side as she did, Scorpia and Entrapta smiling as they made their way up the steps that would determine their destiny.

Stepping to the throne's level, Adora greeted with the same honorable bow that she always greeted with, kneeling to her feet in respect as the others followed her example. "I've returned, Lord Hordak."

"Force Captain," the leader tapped his fingers against the throne's armrest, the taste of disdain present within his voice, "it seems your experiment has ended in failure."

"On the contrary," Entrapta perked up, springing to the air as her hair pushed her off the ground, "the experiment was a huge success!" Turning her head, Adora gave a small smile to the two friends she still had, glad to have people as reliable as them to have her back. It was the same smile Scorpia gave back to her as she nodded, telling the girl to rise to her feet with the promise to protect her. "I know more about First Ones tech than ever. This is just the beginning!" Entrant couldn't wait to build all the wonderful things she could from what the data crystal had to offer! She could just die, preform open heart surgery on herself, and then die again, she was so excited!

"She also got us closer to conquering Bright Moon than anyone ever has, Lord Hordak." Scorpia commented, protecting her friend once again.

"And the Whispering Woods is still in ruins." Adora added, giving Lord Hordak her direct attention, fearlessly. So what if she didn't have her headband or her magic anymore? She still had friends she could count on to be there for her when she needed them most. "Etheria is ours for the taking."

The temperature in the room dropped dramatically as Lord Hordak rose from his chair, eyeing the two girls who stood behind her, and silencing them completely. Without any quips or comments from the two neanderthals, Hordak made his way over to Force Captain that had accomplish so much, all under the Horde's good name. "...Very well, Force Captain Adora. You will have the opportunity to prove yourself to me... as my second-in-command."

This was a glorious moment for Adora as she glanced at the friends who stood by her side, the last people she could trust in the world. Catra would pay for everything she did, everything that she pushed Adora through, all for her own selfish ends. She didn't care who in the Rebellion got hurt as long as she made Catra suffer for it. With her new title as second-in-command, she would amass a stronger force the likes of which the Horde has never seen before, and she would sacrifice as much of herself as necessary to do it, promising to herself that she would maintain her own morals in turn.

"Besides, it's not like the entire assault didn't yield results." Adora reminded, earning a grin from the Lord standing before her. "Our backup plan proved to be success."

"We had a backup plan?" Entrapta questioned, seeing Adora giving her a smirk as she faced her.

"Entrapta, Entrapta, Entrapta, you should know like I do that any good plan has to have a backup plan." As Adora spoke, the scene shifted to the quiet night of the gathered princesses and warriors continued to sleep. Along another edge of the room, far away from prying eyes, a lone figure dug through the pockets of their previous clothes, pulling out a familiar Captain's badge that glistened in the moonlight. Their alliance with the Horde was all but secured, and they would continue working from the inside as long as Adora needed them to, and maintain her cover while doing. They gripped the badge tightly in their hands as they pulled out a small lockbox with a snowflake pattern across it, locking the badge away where nobody else could get it. Not only did the lockbox require a key only she could make, but it was hard enough to withstand a tank blast without leaving a dent on it, making sure that nobody would ever find out about her secret.

All of it, was for the unity of the Horde. And Princess Frosta would ensure nothing happened to her new allies.

"We finally have someone on the inside."

...

...

...

The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell.

~ We're on the edge of greatness ~

Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance.

~ turning darkness into light ~

Final Word Count: 540K+

A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield.

~ We're right beside you ~

But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them.

Special Thanks: Endless Chains, Star Saber, Peyton Helix, Nightmaster000, reaper king Shadow Joestar and Warwolf for their constant love and support, as well as everyone else who saw this season through to the end.

~ Ready to Fight! ~

Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light

~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~

Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her.

~ We're gonna win in the end! ~

Final Review Count: 272

Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water.

~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~

Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines.

~(we must be brave) ~

Final Favorite Count: 80

Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks.

~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~

The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta.

~ and never let go ~

Final Follower Count: 72

The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines.

~ (Oh ah Oh) ~

Final Viewer Count: 25,811

Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer.

~ We must be STRONG! ~

The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;

A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.

SEASON 1 OF CAT-RA: Complete

...

...

"...Mmh..." Adora moaned as she tossed around in her sleep. Why were they still happening to her? What did she do to deserve this? Even without the headband, the nightmares that followed continued to haunt her endlessly. In flashes of heat that caused the sweat to pour from her forehead, the Force Captain found herself assaulted with nightmarish images of creatures and shadows she had never seen before, all wanting a taste of her rotting flesh that she suddenly grew in her dream. "No... Stay away..." She groaned.

She tried everything she could to sleep, from sleeping pills, a little jogging, and listening to one of Entrapta's three-hour stories about one of her earliest inventions, all the usual things she did when she needed help falling asleep. She was almost tempted to ask Scorpia to sting her before sleep finally overcame her, not without leaving her with a strange headache, of course.

She felt so weird as these nightmares plagued her. Were they trying to warn her about something, or were they trying to torment her to no end? The closer they got to her with the seeming intent to devour her, the further away they looked from harming her, instead acting as if they were frightened of her mere presence, like she was the one who was truly the monster in the end. It was a horrendous dream she wouldn't wish on anyone, save Catra, on her worst enemies.

Then again, with ow bizarre and twisted the dream was becoming, she was starting to regret those choice of words. Anguish and sorrow spread across the darkness in her dream, with the black scenery somehow becoming darker than she ever thought was possible! Eventually, it all culminated when a terrifying presence of evil began to approach her, one whose reddened eyes seemed intent on draining her body of all of its blood.

She could do nothing to fight back as she ran in her dreams, looking back as the monster approached her every second. "Stop... G-Get away from me..." She mumbled, her face contorting with pain as the sweating continued. "No... s-stop! Get away... G-Get away... GET AWAY!"

*CRASH!*

With the thunderous sound of a crash, with her nightmare coming to an abrupt end as she felt the creature grab her, Adora shot out of bed. The Force Captain was huffing and puffing as she looked around herself, feeling relieved that it was all a dream... for a moment. As her vision began to return to her, as well as her sense of reality, she let out a surprised gasp.

Everything around the room, from the empty beds to the tables to the dressers that filled it. All of them were pushed away from her bed, as if they had been blasted away in the Force Captain's sleep. What little confusion she grew from this quickly turned to a brief lapse of horror, then amazement, as she reached over to pick up the blanket at the edge of her bed, intending to wrap herself up in the warm sheets that did little, if anything, to provide comfort.

The moment she reached for it, Adora flinched. The blanket was moving on its own towards her as a lump started to appear from under it. Placing itself softly in her hands, off to the side, her eyes nearly bugged out as she saw a shadowy tendril pull one of the pillows from the floor, patting it softly to get the lumps out, before placing it behind Adora's head again, patting her forehead softly before returning to nothingness.

Adora still had her shadowy magic, and it was alive.

"...Whoa..."

...

...

...

A/N: I can not express my gratitude enough to the fellow fans who helped me get this far, or the blood sacrifi- I mean moral support it took to do it! It was thanks to you guys and your unwavering support that I managed to reach this far, and I can't thank you enough for it. People like Endless Chains, Shadow Joester, and Peyton helix for their excitingly long reviews ( I cant wait to see what they write after this ^^) and others like reaper king, Star saber, and warwolf for their constant communications throughout the time.

This chapter was a heckava lot of fun to write if it wasn't obvious, and I had a blast doing it. None of this could've been possible without the fans unwavering, constant, support to back me up, or the fans I've come to know and kill- err- love, I mean, (yes, that seems believable... lol XP) as time went on. In just a few months, we created an entire season of She-Ra, and honestly, i didn't think I'd get this far. I honestly thought i'd stop like 12 chapters in out of boredom, unaware of how much fun I was having with this until i reached the 6th episode ^^

So, what's the plan now? Well for one, TAKING A BREAK XD! Lol, oh god i need to rest my fingers. I'm sure i had to staple them back on in the DAY I spent writing this entire chapter (minus 3k from the day before but even then), and had to surgically fuse my wrist in place to keep them from falling off. Now with this out of the way, i'm gonna spend some time relaxing and enjoying the feedback I get from my beloved fans, and the people who helped me reach this far. After that, I'm moving on to season 2 folks! Dear god im excited cause I havent seen a SINGLE episode of it yet XD idk what to expect, but I heard its exciting!

Will I get to season 2 straight away after my break? Idk. One spoil i keep hearing is that the last episode ends on a cliffhanger, so if season 2 so far is only half of it, i might wait until the entire season 2 comes out before I make my plans for anything. Then again, i might not. Who knows (I do XP), we'll just have to wait and see.

Once again, thank you to all the beloved fans who helped me reach this far. I didn't think it was possible, yet here I am ^^ I hope you guys continue to show your love and support for this fic as I try to take a break. Spread the word out if able and do what you can to get this fanfic known. Who knows, with enough support, we might just reach our own fan art and creations and whatnot ^^

Thanks to all and I hope you all enjoyed! As always, leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed. Now if you'll excuse, i'm EXHAUSTED T_T...lol ^^ See you guys later!