A/N: No people, you're not hallucinating, it's really real. I am actually continuing the series henceforth until I reach the end of this season X)
Hoooooooooftah, the series was fairly fun despite how short it was. There were a bunch of shocks, surprise, and humor through the show (despite its annoyingly short episode run), but every episode felt fun and fresh ^^ And dear GOD the cliffhanger for the last episode! I want to go into so many words for it but I just can't XD!
Huff... all I can say is, it got me too excited, so how could I NOT start season 2 immediately XP? One thing I should warn is that updates will be coming a little slower (maybe). Because I'm (hopefully) done with school, it means I won't be working there anymore, and as such, I won't be doing my typing there. That's where I had the most peace and free time to type, and got a lot more work done without distractions. It's not to say I can't type at all from home, but updates will become every few days instead of my usual daily runtime.
As it is, i'm hoping I can provide just as satisfying and fun tale through the shorter season as we add our own fun spin on things from beginning to end ^^ With that said, enjoy!
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*Crash!*
Sparks shot across the room as the remains of a droid could be seen being thrown across the darkened training room of the facility. Followed by the sound of a large crunching noise, Scorpia could be seen falling through the blanket of darkness covering the ceiling, landing atop another of the battle droids with a cheeky grin. The droid wasn't even given a single second to shake off the Force Captain before Scorpia dove her claw straight into the droid's rough shell.
From there, another pool of sparks could be seen as the droid wobbled back and forth from its stance as Scorpia began pulling out a clawful of wires. The girl showed no signs of fear as she ripped the wires from the droid, pulling away at anything that looked important to its functions, until the mighty machine finally collapsed to the ground in a heap of rubble.
"A good soldier must have the strength to crush their enemies." A familiar voice could be heard as the battle drove on.
As Scorpia pulled her claws out of the mess, her attention was drawn behind her as another droid could be heard approaching, towering over her in nearly twice her size as it locked on to her. Backing up a bit from the sheer scale of the great droid, she ended up tripping backwards into the mess of the previous droid, a move that would normally leave anyone exposed and cost them their lives in the midst of a war.
Focusing on its target, giving off a loud hum as the laser began to charge, the droid immediately came to a halt as several large strands of purple began to wrap around the great machine, wrapping around one of its three legs, its head, and blasters as the droid tried to break free.
"And when brute strength isn't even to defeat your enemies, knowledge and wisdom can be your greatest ally." The voice added.
Throwing herself to the top of the droid, Entrapta could be seen using smaller strands of her hair to pull away at the droid's access panel located across its back. The chipper scientist expertly carried away with her shenanigans, a sly grin hanging from her mouth in excitement, as nuts and bolts could be seen being pulled away from the massive droid with each passing second. After awhile, just as two more droids appeared through the darkness, the red light of the current droid turned to a shade of blue, Entrapta giving herself a round of applause at her complete success.
Being approached from the other two droids, the present one turned to its former allies as it began to turn on them, firing an empowered blast of energy at one of the other droids, leaving a clean hole through the destructive machination as it stood in place for a few seconds, exploding in a fiery blaze that consumed its entire body.
Unfortunately, this gave the previous droid an ample amount of time as it fired against one of Entrapta's droid's legs, knocking it to the ground where it flailed around, and throwing the scientific princess off its back where Scorpia managed to catch her. The two watched in terror as the still-fully functional droid took another step toward the downed traitor, scanning it briefly before firing a final shot that put the injured ally down for good, the light of its core fading rapidly until all that remained was nothingness.
"Nooooo! Droid number 4813!" Entrapta cried, reaching out for her beloved creation in sadness. "I had her since she was a little blueprint! We've spent so much time together!"
"Didn't you just make her three hours ago?" Scorpia asked with a curious smile as she patted the despairing scientist's back in comfort.
Their moment of sadness and comfort was cut short as the fourth droid approached them menacingly, the sound of its mechanical gears echoing throughout complex. Setting the scientist back to her feet, Scorpia took her stance with her claws at the ready as she prepared to defend Entrapta with her life against the horrifying creation.
"But a true soldier," the voice continued, causing Scorpia to relax her stance with a smile, "knows how to combine the two to get the drop on their opponents!"
As expected, shifting her eyes upwards, there came the greatest friend a friend could ask for. From the darkness above, Scorpia and Entrapta watched as the memorable Force Captain- no. Hordak's second-in-command, Adora herself, fell from the sky, landing directly in front of the droid's sensors and blocking its view so all it could see was Adora's angered expression as she glared at it.
The two watched as the robot tried to fling Adora off of itself, flailing its body left to right with little result. Grinning, Adora pulled back her right fist as she held on, drawing forth a surge of shadows that gathered around her right arm, spreading across it entirely where it tipped off along her shoulder. Without any hesitation, any signs of fear, the girl plunged her shadowy fist straight through the robot's sensors like wet paper, effortlessly reaching the droid's main core and pulling it out with ease. As the robot wobbled, Adora jumped from the massive machine, turning her back to it with her friends as an explosion went off behind them.
With this, the three friends stood side by side as the lights finally returned to the room, revealing the broken remains and rubble of the dozens of other droids the trio had crushed through their combined might. Like at all times, the three friends had defeated their enemies by standing alongside one another, working as the perfect team as they made up for each others weaknesses.
"No one person can take on the world by themselves, nor should anyone attempt to." Adora said, gazing across the view in front of her. "As members of the Horde, we are all expected to stand at each other's side, and work together to bring about change for the greater good. Alone, we may be weak," Adora smiled as she glanced towards the two friends as they stepped forth, "but in the Horde, we stand united!" From Adora's perspective, this was everything that the Horde was about. And it was this very world that she fought to defend.
Now that the lights had finally returned, the trio could give the group of children that watched from the sides their full attention, all of them ranging from six to eight year olds with bright looks on their faces. All of them were dressed as Adora once was when she was a younger cadet, wearing mixes of red and white colored shirts and beige pants. Unsurprisingly, after watching the wonderful display they were given, the groups of children burst into cheer as they rushed up to the three as the instructor stood by, the three teens enjoying the sight of the children as they played around them.
Scorpia found a handful of kids poking around her hard carapace as if checking to see if it was real, being careful not to poke anyone with her stinger as she found another child hanging onto it. To the right, as if she was a celebrity, Entrapta found herself signing someone's small handbook, no doubt a fellow science enthusiast if the glasses the young girl was wearing was anything to come by. For what few children the two seemed to have keeping them occupied, none of it amounted to the near near-dozen kids swarming around Adora.
All around her, Adora watched with glee as half the kids around her asked her random questions, some asking about her personally, others asking about the adventures she's been on. The other half of kids were less interested in the girl herself and more about the surrounding tendrils of shadows that seemed to sprout from the ground around her, one of the kids poking the tip of one of the shadows curiously and chuckling as it shook itself like it was a snake.
It wouldn't surprise her if it was a snake-like creation either, seeing how her shadows were more alive than ever and she still had no idea what exactly these things were.
"Thanks again for taking the time to come down here, commander." The blue-skinned instructor gave a small bow, something Adora still wasn't used to since becoming the new second-in-command. "You do us a great honor."
"It was nothing, really." She replied, seeing more of the kids coming around to check out her shadows. "I enjoy any opportunity I have around here to help. Plus it gives me a good excuse to get some training in myself while teaching the kids."
"Well, hopefully, you being here inspires them to train harder." He commented, putting a whistle to his mouth and giving a small 'tweet'. Right away, the kids gathered around the instructor, standing at attention. "Alright squirts, you all know the deal. The commander comes by, and you're not allowed to complain about the drills for the rest of the week."
"Awwwww!" A majority of the kids whined instantly, earning some silent giggling from Adora as she watched.
"I want ten laps around the entire room, and I don't want to see any slouching or-" The instructor paused as he saw one of the green-haired girls raising a hand. "What do you want, cadet?"
"Can I ask miss Adora one more question?" She asked politely. Adora couldn't help as a small blush washed over her face, shaking her head at being called "miss".
"Not now, cadet. The commander has enough work to do as it is. She can't be bothered or waste anymore of her precious time-"
"It's fine, I don't mind." Adora interrupted, waving off his denial as she approached the young girl, squatting down a little. "What's your question, soldier?"
"Why did you lose at the Battle of Bright Moon?" The girl's innocent question brought nothing but fear and surprise to the instructor and Adora's friends who quickly shot a worried look at each other. Adora was rather taken aback by the question as well, her face getting a bit stiff as she tried to maintain her composure.
To be asked such a painful question like that out of nowhere through this peaceful environment, after everything she's been through in the last month and what lead to it, there were no words to describe the strange feeling striking at Adora's heart. The Battle of Bright Moon was an event she wanted to repress like no other, refusing to acknowledge what happened that day with all of her willpower. It wasn't just for her own sake that she tried to forget about what happened, it was for the sake of everyone she came into contact with, like this girl as her eyes looked closely at her feet.
Like she feared, she saw a small pool of shadow growing under the girl's feet as the girl, and those behind her, remained completely unaware. The pool spread about half a foot all around the girl, enough for her to fall through entirely if it was a whole. It was from that darkness she could see the tips of small tendrils starting to form on their own, growing an inch out of the ground as some of them began to split apart at the tips, forming mouths with deadly jaws of shadow.
Turning from the girl to her right hand, she saw that it was doing it again. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably as if it was possessed, twitching unnervingly as it directed the shadows to do what they were doing without her telling her to. Using her other hand, she grabbed onto her right as she held it tightly against her stomach, closing her eyes in concentration as she tried to focus on her commands, much to the child's confusion.
Come on, not now... it's okay... it's okay... She whispered in her head. Peaking one eye open, she saw the shadows beginning to descend back into the darkness, sighing in great relief as the shadows slowly disappeared entirely.
"Miss Adora?" The girl spoke a little nervously, wondering if she upset the nice blonde person. "Are you okay?"
"How dare you!" The instructor shouted, frightening the children as he marched over angrily, the little girl shriveling a little as she backed into Adroa. "Do you think it's all right to ask such a disrespectful question to the commander like that?! I should make you walk across burning coal for asking such a questi-"
"It's fine, instructor." Adora stated, patting the girl's shoulder in comfort, much to the instructor's dismay. No matter how respectable she was, she was way too softhearted to these younger cadets who needed strict discipline and training on a daily basis.
"But commander-!"
"I SAID IT'S FINE!" Adora snapped a little, glaring with a brief moment of anger filling her face as she looked at him. Along the right side of her face, out of the girl's field of vision, the instructor could see a small trail of black veins beginning to appear on Adora's neck, stretching until they reached the bottom of her cheek. The instructor gulped at the intimidating sight, bowing his head respectfully again as he stepped back. The girl showed no signs of fear as she smiled back to the nice commander defending her, right as Adora switched back to a softer expression while she didn't notice.
"S-Sorry... commander..." He apologized, allowing the commander to do as she wanted.
"As for your question, cadet," Adora began, rising back to her feet, "we lost because we were... unprepared for reinforcements." There were no words to describe how relieve Scorpia and Entrapta were to see Adora answering so relaxed. Given what happened two weeks ago the last time someone asked her this question, it was a miracle the girl's legs were still unbroken, or attached. "The enemy caught us off guard, that's all."
"Was the enemy tough?" A boy asked, a little shorter than the previous girl and sporting blue hair. "Were they scary, too?"
"Oh, yes, terrifying really." Adora nodded, holding up a finger. "They managed to deci... destroy, "she clarified to make it easier for them to understand, "all of our hard working droids and tanks single-handedly. Nobody that evil should have that kind of power."
"What about She-Ra?" That was the one question that got a brief twitch of rage in Adora's eyes, calming herself as she pressed her palms against her own knees, squeezing them tightly. "Is she scary too? I heard some grown-ups say she used to be someone really weak or scared... I can't remember which." If they weren't concerned it would cause Adora to snap, Entrapta and Scorpia would've gladly pulled her out of the encirclement of kids that grew around her.
No matter what anyone else said, or their reason behind asking it, there was no one foolish or gullible enough to question Adora about her loss against She-Ra, aka, her former friend, Catra. Even now, the painful reminder of that day continued to haunt her, tormenting Adora's nightmares every other night as she tried to forget about her tragic loss. To lose an entire battle, all because someone managed to trick her, to use her again, baiting her into stalling for time for reinforcements to show up...
It was the worst feeling in the world. Rage, confusion, guilt. All of these emotions never left Adora's mind or heart since the day of that tragic loss. Everything that happened at the Battle of Bright Moon, the extreme loss they suffered in droids and their chance at bringing down the entire Rebellion, as entirely her fault.
And it took all of Adora's strength to resist the temptation building up inside of her, the one that wanted to harm anyone who would ask her such a question.
Taking a deep breath, standing tall and proud, she replied, "Ca- She-Ra is... a monster. A terrifying, horrifying monster of power." Even now, the images flashed in her mind. The memory of how she pulled off one of the tentacles from her back, the way she smacked her halfway across a forest with a tree, and the white blast that came rushing towards her, ending in her defeat. "She's someone none of you should ever underestimate, never give her the chance to catch her breath."
"Is she really strong?"
"Oh, yes, very strong. She has magics the likes of which people have never seen," she was flashed with the image of Catra creating the giant protective dome over the entirety of Bright Moon, "she'll take advantage of any ounce of weakness she sees in you," there it was again, with another flash of when she tricked Adora into letting down her guard enough to get behind her, and flailed her around with her own tendrils, "and she'll..." She paused for a moment as she remembered one of her many, painful, lies. The one she would repeat without end, as if she actually meant it.
"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."
"...She'll say anything to get under your skin." She would never forgive Catra for all the times she used her in the past, and all the times she continued to use her to this day. Even if she hasn't seen her directly in the last month, it didn't mean anything she did since then didn't affect her in the time to follow. It affected her in a lot of ways, more than she or anyone else could've expected. Some of them good.
And some of them very, very, bad.
"That's why we must all stand together if we're to defeat such wicked creatures." The children looked less frightened of the terrifying details as Adora's tone softened. "If we're to stand any chance of defeating the Rebellion, and anyone else who stands against our unity, we must all stand as one. Even as we speak, the Rebellion continues to grow in power and numbers. I can personally assure you all, right now, that wherever She-Ra is, she is training, gathering her forces wherever they may be, and is preparing to strike at one of our outposts at this very moment!"
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*snnnnnnnkkkkkkkk*
"Zzz..." The large lump buried under her blankets continued to snore loudly as the bundle bobbed up and down. "Mmhh..." stirring as consciousness slowly came to them, the lazy figure's hand could be seen drooping over the comfortable bed, twitching a bit as the figure in question shuffled around in their exhausted state.
Why did mornings always have to feel like a pain around here to her? Why couldn't she ever have one morning where she was wide awake the instant she woke up and not like she was prepared to go back to sleep again for another day's worth of hours? It was always do this here, finish that there, or more annoyingly both, each and every day. She swears she could never catch a break around here, whether or not she was doing something today!
Shuffling a little more under her silk covers, the figure finally leaned up from the bed, the blankets being pulled with and sliding away as she sat at a straight angle. From the mass of covers and sheets she had piled around her for a comfortable night's sleep, a lone, familiar, figure appeared, untangling herself from the smooth silk so she could finally be revealed.
This person's name, was Catra. And she was the greatest hope for the Rebellion if they were ever to defeat the Horde.
Like she was most mornings she awoke, nothing about her screamed bright, cheerful, and ready for the day as she wore a long red shirt that stretched down to her knees. They took a little adjusting to get used to when she first got them, but she couldn't deny they were more comfortable than that itchy sweater Glimmer's aunt made her.
On her ragged face existed a girl who was destined to bring victory and hope to everyone she came across. Being the newly appointed She-Ra from a month prior, she was destined to unite the many princesses under one banner, and stop the needless violence that was spreading across Etheria. With the power of her trusted sword, the Sword of Protection, the allies and friends she came to know and meet, she was tasked with saving the world from a terrible crisis, and finish what the previous She-Ra couldn't: saving the entire world!
... Buuuuut she knew the world could wait for a single morning as she pulled herself out of the remaining sheets. The cat-like humanoid circled a bit around her own bed as she stretched, leaning herself forward as she pulled her back and pushed her legs as far as she could, feeling a calming relaxation coming over her before accidentally slipping her hands over the edge of her mattress.
*thud*
"Ow..." She mumbled half-asleep. She didn't seem to care as she pulled her way over the floor until the rest of her body followed behind her. Once she was fully off the comfortable bed of paradise, she let out another snore-like yawn as she made her way to her feet, still looking ready to collapse on a moments notice as she wobbled for a few room looked just like the way it did almost a month ago, with a few exceptions made after restoring it to its former self after the massive battle.
For starters, she decided to add a bit more of her own personal colors to the chamber, painting the walls in a familiar tone of dark grey, a process that took over a day to finish when they had to move everything in and out. Along the right half of the room, her new bright red dresser came with its own mirror on the inside, something that was rather unnecessary since she wore the same outfit almost everyday, though it did make for a convenient spot to place her sword every night.
In addition to the grey walls, the floor also took a dramatic change in color and appearance as it now had a much thinner black carpeting so Catra could walk around her own place without having to put on those pesky shoes everywhere she went, at least within her own room. The color clashed perfectly along with the new red sheets, pillow, and bedding she received during the renovations, though they did little in terms of improving the quality or comfort, not that she was going to complain anytime soon.
Perhaps her favorite part of the entire place were the large bars that were installed above her room, ones that stretched from one side of the room to the next, with four large poles leading up to the ceiling. It was a nice way for her to keep her agility in check as she jumped among them, as well as a convenient spot where she could be alone whenever she wanted to deal with her own thoughts since no one could reach her save for Glimmer and Queen Angella.
Sluggishly making her way to her second favorite part of the room where a nice and long punchingbag hung from the ceiling. The bag covered almost entirely in cuts and scratches that had to be stitched back together by Catra every time she used it, explaining the curious sewing kit she had lying near it. With another yawn, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes, she made her way towards the soft padding until she stood right in front of it, staring at the one blue-colored outline of a face that annoyed her each and every time she stared at it.
"What are you looking at, Adora?" She grumbled, her half-opened right eye twitching at the sight. Cracking her knuckles as she took her stance, she unleashed a flurry of blows against the twisted punching bag as she did every morning she woke up since getting it, doing everything she could to get out some much-needed aggression.
Everyday she had to remind herself how much she hated Adora to get the aggression out of her and to help her wake up for the day. The more she told her this, the sooner she could move on through the rest of the day, doing whatever needed to be done. Whether it was fighting against the Horde or unearthing some ancient piece of First Ones technology, she never found a day to be boring, or at least without something going on.
Dealing the last of her brief barrage of blows, she panted a little out of breath, still trying to get out of her morning funk and awake for the day no matter how sleepy her eyes looked. Like everyday since getting the bag, she followed her recent barrage with the usual routine of examining her work. Everywhere around the bag had scrapes, bumps, and wrinkles all around it, as it should after she punched it enough to numb her knuckles a little. And like every single day, it was followed by one annoying realization.
There wasn't a single mark or blow against the drawing of Adora's face.
"Grrrrrrrrr!" Catra grumbled, gritting her teeth before cracking her neck a little. "I'll deal with you later..." She mumbled, making her way out the door, still half-asleep (or dead by the looks of it) as she trudged through the hallways over to the kitchen.
...
About ten minutes later found her pushing open the door to the room with her shoulder, carrying a plate filled with eggs and bacon in one hand and some orange juice in the other as she entered. Same old day, same old castle, same old everything else. There wasn't a single change to her day, and, whether or not she hated it that way, it sure as heck beat her first week here following the great battle, the countless hours she had to help rebuild broken parts of the castle.
She was completely oblivious to her surroundings as she made her way over to the dining table, taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs as she always did in her always now-regular life. Despite having plenty of things she still needed to get used to around here, at least one of the few things she didn't mind not getting used to was how good the food tasted. Compared to the Fright Zone, the food around here was always good, even the one time she accidentally ate something spoiled. Sure she ate the food around here plenty of times before, but for some reason it just felt different since she cut ties to her old life, an endeavor in itself.
With a final yawn, her eyes opened up a little more as she slurped her lips over the delicious-looking food, the fresh smell of the morning breakfast filling her nostrils as she used her own claws to stab at the eggs like a fork. Smiling a little, she savored every delicious taste as she took that first scrumptious bite of her morning breakfast, leaning against her other arm without a care in the world, and enjoying the morning-
"Eh hem." A voice coughed, causing Catra to pause with her fingers still in her mouth. Opening her eyes wider, she gazed around the room as she realized she wasn't alone in the room.
Around her she saw several familiar faces and unfamiliar faces that were staring at her. For those she did recall, she saw a slightly blushing Queen Angella with her elbows planted firmly against the table as she rested her chin over her hands, trying to maintain her demeanor under these circumstances, keeping her eyes closed to relax. The other familiar face she recognized was an incredibly embarrassed Glimmer who had a hand slapped over her face, pinching the bridge between her eyes, unable to believe this was happening right now of all times.
The other half of the room consisted of two people she's never met before, one wearing a regal blue dress with a light-violet skin tone to them and blue hair. She had a beautiful golden necklace with a ruby adorned in the socket of her jewel, all as well as a long pair of thin white gloves that stretched halfway up her arms. The other one was dressed similarly in color as the man wore a proud blue tuxedo with a pair of reading glasses over his eyes, his brown hair neat and trimmed along the side of his face as well as a rusty old beard under his chin.
Both of them looked rather perplexed at the sight of Catra and her choice of appearance. Or maybe they were more confused as to why the girl suddenly barged into what was actually the meeting room instead of what Catra originally thought was the dining room, still dressed in her pajamas and looking like a mess with her hair still a mess as she had yet to clean up for the day.
"Catra," the Queen spoke as calmly as she could, "I'd like you to meet the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, the people I told you about who were going to discuss their financial support for the Rebellion this morning." Catra just blinked as she stared at the individuals, still with her claws in her mouth as she shifted her eyes back and forth between the Queen, Glimmer, and these two she completely forgot about today.
"Please don't say anything to make this worse... Please don't say anything to make this worse..." Glimmer whispered to herself, still pinching between her eyes.
Glancing from the Duke and Duchess to her plate of food, the magicat tried coming up with something to say as politely as she could, still with her full mouth. "...'ou 'ant sh'ome bacon?"
We're doomed.
This, was the hero of the Battle of Bright Moon, otherwise known, as She-Ra...
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...
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 ~
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.
~ 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! ~
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) ~
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 ~
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) ~
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.
...
...
The droids continued to trudge through the Whispering Woods at an even pace with one another as they continued to annihilate anything that was moving, or had any signs of life to them. Throughout the area, hundreds of trees could already been seen torn asunder, ravaged by the effects of the Black Garnet's energies affecting the planet a month ago and the endless army of droids that continued to march through it.
It was a simple way to maintain their ground while keeping their own troops safe at the same time. After all, except for Entrapta who died a little more inside each time, nobody suffered any big losses if the droids were destroyed if it meant the Horde armies were safer as a result. Sure, they couldn't think for themselves or perform any complicated tasks, but they were an expendable resource that could always be renewed and expanded upon; soldiers were not.
During their most recent siege, one of them came across a small sprout sticking out of the ground, one that promised to flourish with new life if given the chance. It was a symbol of everything the Horde stood against and hated, in some respects. To allow something so minuscule to survive out here, to grow in strength, and to come back later to stand against the Horde, like turning into another piece of sacred lumber that can confuse and disorient their armies from future invasions? It couldn't be allowed to exist, and wouldn't be allowed to exist.
And it was with this line of logic that the massive droid lifted one of it's appendages, and slammed down atop the innocent sprout of life.
Only to become entangled in a bundle of vines and greenery, along with the several droids that were following behind it.
*swish*
"Hey, robot face," Perfuma could be heard yelling angrily, "watch where you step!" With a massive roar, the Princess of Plumeria yanked the three droids off their feet, pulling them and tossing them through the air out into the distance, unknowingly towards an innocent Bow who was battling it out with his own droids. It wasn't until he noticed the whistling sound of something falling out of the air that his eyes widened at the sight of the flying droids.
"Incoming!" He shouted to his surrounding allies. Before he had the chance to duck out of the way himself, he was tackled away to the ground by one of his close allies, in this case a speedy Catra, who was still in her regular appearance as she did. "Whoa, thanks, Catra."
"...Whatever..." Catra muttered, leaping away from him as she chased after one of the other attacking droids. Bow gave a slight frown at her lack of seeming care at her recent rescue, seeing how her behavior hasn't changed within the last couple of weeks. At least she was starting to fight along the rest of them more often than usual.
At the same time, the same droid that crashed to the ground could still be seen rolling across the forest, on a collision course towards another one of the familiar allies that went by the name of the Mermista, the Princess of Salineas. As any strong, able bodied princess who showed no signs of fear, the princess just grinned at the approaching obstacle as she formed an idea. Gathering a mighty deluge of water, just as it neared her, the princess launched the droid again through the air in a massive geyser, launching it a good ten yards away form her, and crashing it into another droid, destroying them both in the process.
Nothing felt better to the watery princess than using one droid to take out another, or just destroying droids in general. With a satisfied grin, the princess turned to the others as she saw Perfuma and Bow running up to her, slightly worried but relieved at the sight that she was okay.
"Sorry, Mermista." Perfuma apologized. Already, Mermista didn't show any signs of caring as she smirked.
"Wow, flower princesses can't aim." She teased, earning a satisfying blush from the princess of plants.
"I-I'm working on it!"
"Look out!" Bow suddenly warned as he drew his weapon at the approaching droid. No sooner did it show up did another familiar face enter the foray, in this case, a familiar pink-haired princess that went by the name of Glimmer, as she materialized right above the droid, landing on it with ease.
"I got it!" She declared, teleporting soon after with the droid in hand.
In the distance, the group could see the same princess reappearing in the air, nearly several hundred feet above the warming forest, and kicking the droid straight back towards the surface of the planet. Grinning to herself, Glimmer teleported again as the droid came hurdling towards the forest, exploding in a fiery haze that could be seen from afar as Glimmer reappeared once more. Nothing felt quite as awesome as being able to teleport your enemies, specifically robots, from lethal heights in the air and dropping them back down.
The princess watched the display with a sense of pride in her veins and her hands at her side as she joked quietly, "Thanks for dropping in."
"That never gets old, does it?" Mermista commented, enjoying the same sight with the others as they gathered.
"Nope!"
"How many droids do you think are left?" Perfuma asked looking around.
"They always come in greater numbers than before," Bow replied, "so I'm pretty sure there's still a handful remaining."
"Speaking of handfuls... has anyone seen Catra?" Mermista wondered. The question began to dawn on the remaining allies as they searched around.
"Oh, look, there's-!" Perfuma began to point out at the running feline as she charged towards another of the droids. The princess was beside herself as she paused, watching as Catra jumped atop another of the droids without any signs of backing down. Watching with the others, they were rather concerned at the sight as they saw Catra eviscerate the terrible droid within a matter of seconds, ripping it limb from limb as she dug her sharpened claws into the droid, pulling out every loose bolt and wire she could even after the droid collapsed to the ground. "-Catra..."
There wasn't really much anyone could say as Catra batted away at the mechanical monstrosity, soon going for her sword as she bashed against the creation in a mad fury. This was the Catra the group became used to over the course of the last month. Ever since the Battle of Bright Moon, following a few days of solemness and sorrow, Catra's had nothing but pure aggression running through her veins whenever she was fighting, and sloppiness whenever she was lazing around.
It's not like they couldn't understand what the girl was coming from, given all she went through from the events prior to the battle. Cutting off all the ties she had with the Horde, turning her back on any of the possible friends and allies she's made over the year, and losing the greatest of all friends for the sake of her new ones? It was a miracle this girl wasn't going insane and attacking anything that moved in front of her eyes.
Not that it made the situation any better for the rest of them.
In some cases, she's gone back to being the same old Catra they were used to. She was still snarky half the time, always teasing and making fun of Glimmer and Bow at least twice over the last month, which was a dramatic decrease compared to her daily taunts almost three times a day, and she preferred keeping to herself about her own problems and troubles of the past. It was definitely a refreshing change of pace given the circumstances, heck, they actually preferred this one compared to the one who seemed full of sorrow after the first week, but they at least wished she would be more open to them so they could help her more.
The only times when she did seem to get out of her funk was whenever there was a mission involving the Horde. No matter how bitter or depressing she might have been during the week, she always jumped the gun at the announcement of a Horde invasion somewhere or a place that needed protection against their invading forces. Having a complete one-eighty of her emotions, the girl did everything she could to charge head first into any of the droids she saw coming, ripping them until there were barely any scraps left, or dismantling them until she calmed down.
They didn't know if this was supposed to be an improvement of her over the last month or not. They just knew whatever she was going through right now, she was still in pain about it.
"Has... she gotten any better within the last month?" Mermista asked Glimmer and Bow, never taking her eyes off the magicat who charged after another approaching droid. She nearly flinched as the feline shoved her sword straight into the droid from under it, pushing it all the way around the mechanical creation and jumping on top of the droid as she brought it all the way around again. With a few sparks, the cat jumped from her recent droid and ran back into the forest as the droid was cleaved in two halves, falling in opposite directions behind her.
"Well... all things considered... maybe... ish?" Glimmer shrugged uneasily. "At least she's fighting the droids again, so that's good... right?"
"Maybe we should have another group sleepover!" Perfuma suggested with a comforting smile. "Those always seem to cheer her up."
"Yeah, I don't really know about that, Perfuma." Bow replied, walking over to one of the broken droids and examining it. "The entire first week after, she kept sleeping with Glimmer every night without saying a word."
"She nearly gave me a heart attack at least twice when I opened my eyes and found her laying right next to me." Glimmer added rolling her eyes a little. "She never told me if she wanted to sleep together, so I was never prepared for it. Then again, she really didn't say that much after the first week."
"You ever bother to just confront her directly about it?" Mermista suggested, kicking one of the downed droids to make sure it was completely dead. "I know she might not be in the best mood right now, but we need her to get her act together at some point. She can't be spontaneously bursting into fits of rage every time the word "Horde" comes up."
"Well... " Glimmer came to a pause as she looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Frosta around here?"
...
*WHAM!*
"Get out of my forest!" Catra shouted angrily, shoving another fist through the robot's metallic frame. The robot's efforts to shake the magicat off itself proved to be in vain. Within a matter of seconds, just as soon as Catra pulled her hand out of the metal carcass did she shove her sword straight in, destroying the droid's core almost instantly as it split in half.
That was one droid down, hopefully a hundred more to go so she could slice them all up!
Her wish came to her in the form of two more approaching droids who picked her up on their censors, charging at the lone girl as they fired several deadly blasts directly at her. Catra just grinned at their annoying efforts as she charged straight after them, enjoying the entertainment the droids provided as long as it meant she got to break something!
It was during this time that another figure peeked around the corner from one of the trees, a young, blue-haired, girl by the name of Frosta, Princess of the Kingdom of Snows. She watched the magicat carefully without trying to be seen, studying whatever she could about the girl as well as the sword in greater detail. It would've been in much greater detail if she was fighting in her glorious She-Ra form, though she supposed watching her fighting as the regular old Catra wouldn't change much.
As she watched, her attention suddenly shifted as she heard one of the other droids attempting to approach, standing nearly three times in height over her as it looked down at the small figure. At first drawing the power of her frozen ice over her hands into a mighty pair of gauntlets, the princess was just as quick to lower her own defenses as she noticed the droid just staring at her, scanning her briefly through its sensors, and determining she wasn't an enemy.
After all, why would it when she was working for the Horde?
Adora's plan at the Battle of Bright Moon, the backup plan that is, proved to be a resounding success in the end. Nobody else seemed to show any signs of suspicion or concern about her over the last month, which was exactly how she needed it to be. How else was she supposed to do her work as a spy within the Rebellion if everyone kept watching over her? There would be no chance to learn or divulge any of their secrets back to the Horde if all their attention was constantly drawn to her.
The only one she needed to look out for, according to Adora, was Catra specifically. Of all the people within the Rebellion, she assured her that if anyone was going to grow suspicious of anyone on the flip of a dime, it would be her. The girl who barely had any trust for her other allies, save for those she considered dear friends such as Bow and Glimmer, and was quick to get an uneasy reaction out of with just a few short words. If she ever wanted to get out of Catra's possible line of suspicion, she needed to find a way to gain her trust the fastest, less she give Catra any reason to begin doubting her or her behavior.
"Haaaaaah!" The same girl could be heard shouting as she appeared out of the air, landing on top of the droid and plunging the sword straight into its scalp. From here, Frosta just watched as she swung her sword repeatedly at the metal droid, sweeping away at the parts one after the other, until all that remained was bolts and wires that were tossed around nearly in every direction around her.
With the last of the droids finally destroyed, Catra panted as she sighed, finally catching her breath after using up who knew how much of her strength through her onslaught. "Finally..." She muttered, giving an unusual look as she eyed the princess behind her. "Why didn't that droid attack you?" The warning signals were going off in the back of Frosta's mind, realizing how Adora had more reason to be wary of her than Frosta initially thought.
Turning her eyes away for a moment, the girl gave her a simple shrug as she crossed her arms, walking away. "Hmph, how should I know? Maybe it just didn't see me as a threat."
"A threat?" Catra repeated, following behind her. "Since when do the Horde not consider princesses a threat?"
"How should I know? Maybe it was just confused or something since I'm a kid." Frosta replied, picking up the pace just slightly enough for Catra to notice.
"Yeah, I highly doubt the Horde would decide to be merciful all of a sudden and not target kids, especially one who can shoot icicles out of her hands."
"Well maybe they're not as bad as you said they were-!" Frosta immediately shut her mouth at this nervously, deciding to try and pass on the rest of the walk without saying another word. It didn't help in the slightest, however, as Catra sped up to the girl, walking on her left through the words as she gave her a more than obvious look of suspicion. "...What?"
"Where were you through the rest of the fighting?"
"I was dealing with droids myself, what do you think?"
"I don't recall seeing you anywhere while I was taking care of the droids around here." Catra pointed out, leaning a little closer to the girl as her suspicion grew. "And why weren't you fighting alongside everyone else?"
"Because I was trying to avoid you, thank you very much!" She grumbled back. "You haven't exactly been in the best of moods around people lately."
"Well it's not like I don't know who and who not to attack, you know. If I see someone in the way, I'm not going to push them aside or cut them unless I'm trying to help them out."
"Yeah, with your anger issues around here? That's a laugh."
"I don't have anger issues!"
"That's what all people say when they have it! Come back to me when you've calm down, otherwise stop being so Catra knew this girl was hiding something from her, she had all the signs of someone suspicious to her. Then again, given that was the case for ninety-percent of the people she came across, it wasn't saying much. "Why are you acting so weird lately?"
"I'm acting weird?" She retorted with a smug look. "Look who's talking. I can't recall the last time I saw you going She-Ra around here. You don't have something to hide, do you?" That got to her. Two of the biggest signs that someone was hiding something was when they were doing whatever they could to ignore the question, the second biggest sign being when someone tried to change the subject entirely.
For Catra, there was a third sign when someone was hiding something. In her case, it was when somebody did something foolish like ask a question that would deliberately get under her skin, and judging by the smug look on Frosta's face, she knew it was intentional.
Having enough with the girl's snide attitude, she let out a small growl as she grabbed the collar of her winter coat, pushing her against the tree, narrowing her eyes.
"Ah!" Frosta squealed a little, caught by surprise by the sudden attack.
"Alright you little brat, now listen here." Catra grumbled, extending her claws in the other hand. "You're going to tell me what's going on, and you're going to tell me right NOW! So what are you hiding?" As expected, the ice princess narrowed her own eyes in contempt before shifting them to her right. Whatever she saw gave her enough reason to grin back to her before her expression changed into one of complete and utter fear and sadness.
"Owwww!" She cried, kicking her legs a little as she weakly pulled at Catra's hand holding her jacket. "Stop it, you're hurting me!"
"Hurting you?" How weak was this kid? She was barely pushing her against the tree at all, and for someone who had as much power as the other princesses, she should have a much higher pain tolerance than most kids her age and adults. "What are you talking about? I'm not even-"
"Catra!" The girl nearly jumped at the call of her name as she looked to her left. Sure enough, much to her regret, there she saw an irritated looking Glimmer and her friends glaring back at her, save for Bow who was missing from the crowd. Noticing the slack of her grip, the ice princess shook herself free from Catra's hand before rushing over to Perfuma's side, hiding behind her for obvious protection.
"Are you alright?" Perfuma asked, checking the young princess's hands and neck.
"I'm fine." Frosta replied, giving a small sniffle. "She just started acting crazy and attacked me for some reason."
"The heck I was!" Catra yelled back. "She was standing perfectly in front of a droid and it didn't bother her for some reason! Don't you find that weird?"
"I told you, it didn't see me."
"That's not what you said! You said it didn't see you as a threat!"
"Well that's what I meant at the time, I was just nervous to talk to you because you were shouting at me!" Frosta argued, rubbing her cheek a little bit for emphasis.
"I wasn't even trying to scare you-!"
"Enough!" Glimmer finally shouted, marching over to Catra with an equally unamused Mermista at her side as she crossed her arms. All the while she glared at the small bundle of annoyance who she swore smirked at her for a moment before walking away with Perfuma at her side. "Look, Catra? I know you're going through a rough patch right now, but you can't be taking your anger out on everyone around you, okay?"
"I'm not taking my anger out on anybody around here, Pinky!" Catra didn't help her argument in the slightest as she grumbled with this. "I'm just trying to do my job."
"Yeah, I think you're doing your job a little too well around here." Mermista commented, looking at what was left of the last several droids Catra destroyed. "Is it me or are you enjoying this a bit more than you should be?"
"So what? I'm not supposed enjoy the work I do?" She retorted, puffing a flock of hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, that's some great thinking. 'Hey Catra, you should start feeling bad for the robots you're killing', I can see that line of reasoning working."
"She means you should slow down a bit, Catra." Glimmer clarified, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Catra, you've been going a little overboard lately, and you won't tell us what's bothering you."
"You expect me to trust you guys with every little detail of my life around here?"
"We expect you to trust us as your friends, Catra." Glimmer replied, placing a comforting hand on her right shoulder. Catra eyed the placement for a few seconds before looking back ot her. The fact she wasn't swatting or clawing at the hand right away was already a major improvement compared to the first few weeks since Catra joined the Rebellion, even though she didn't open up as much as she did over a month ago. "If there's something bothering you, you can trust us. We'll listen and try try to help you, okay?"
"..." Taking a deep breath through her nose, Catra exhaled as calmly as she could as she casually, and gently, pulled Glimmer's hand off of her shoulder. "I don't have a problem trusting you, Bow, or your mom, alright? But even if I did trust the others, I still wouldn't be able to tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because... Because I just..." Catra was beside herself at the moment. What was she supposed to tell these people? How was she supposed to expect them to understand after what's happened? It was mostly her fault it was happening in the first place, so what was she supposed to say about it?
*shiiiiiin*
The three's eyes trailed the small light emanating from Catra's sword, watching the familiar blue hue coming off of the gem adorned in the center.
While it wasn't something the others were used to as often, it wasn't like they were unaware of its meaning. "I gotta go." She muttered. Without even giving a simple goodbye, the two watched as Catra bolted towards the closest ledge of the forest they were in, letting out a loud whistle through her fingers before jumping over the ledge, disappearing out of sight. What little fear there was of Catra jumping to her possible death was soon replaced relief and unsurprise as the magicat could be seen flying through the air on Swift Wind's back, the horse soaring through the sky gracefully at top speed.
"Where does she keep running off to?" Mermista could never get a read on the girl. Between her mysterious behavior half the time and her inability to talk to anyone else about how she's feeling, it's a wonder she even knew Catra's name at this point.
"Where do you think?" Glimmer shrugged back. "To hit some more stuff."
...
...
*WHAM!*
"Ghhhhh!" Catra grumbled as she batted away another droid with her sword in the cave's tunnel.
This was the only thing that Catra took any joy out of these days. Just her, her sword, and a whole bunch of things she could smash on a daily basis. Nothing bored her more than not being able to hit anything lately, and this place was almost a children's playground to her for the amount of stuff she got to wreck.
Coming across another of the approaching droids from further away, she grinned as she focused all of her energy into her sword, causing it to glow, and morph into a large flail, one that could stretch up to nearly fifteen feet in length and with a mace the size of her head. Tossing the mace casually in her other hand, she gave it a good old fashion toss above her and twirled the handle in her other hand, twirling the mace and chain and smashing it into the approaching droid.
No sooner did she do this did another two droids approach from the same direction, at least twenty feet apart from one another, the perfect distance to keep out of the flails way from hitting both of them at once. Despite the fact they seemed a tad brighter in intelligence than their counterparts, it did nothing to waver Catra's concentration as she lunged directly for the one on her right, morphing her weapon again into a golden spear that stretched a good ten feet ahead of her.
Using the spear's own length to assist her, she dove the spear directly into the ground beneath her feet, pulling herself over the bot as it attempted to fire one of its blasters at her. Expertly dodging the oncoming blast, Catra grinned with excitement as she twirled the spear overhead, plunging it directly into the droid's censor and piercing straight through its body. The moment she landed on the droid itself, she quickly jumped out of the way as the other droid attempted to blast her, destroying the previous droid entirely as it left behind a smouldering mess.
Scanning the area for a moment at the magicat's disappearance, its attention slowly drew towards the ceiling where the magicat was waiting patiently, hanging from the ceiling with her own claws. With pride running through her veins, the cat pushed off from the ceiling at top speed, transforming the great spear into a long gauntlet that stretched up the length of her arm with three one-foot blades at the time. Used to this sort of fighting style with her own claws, she managed to easily swipe through the droids legs, cutting off the first two legs where it collapsed forward, and using one of the broken appendages, impaled the metal construct with ease.
This was definitely one of Catra's most enjoyable moments since the Battle of Bright Moon.
"Awwww, is kitty playing with her toys?" A familiar voice cooed, irritating Catra and ruining the little joy she had. As expected, and annoying, off in the distance behind her, she could see the familiar face of a certain Force Captain named Adora, the girl laying around in a casual manner as she hung from an overgrown root sticking out of the tunnel's ceiling.
Of all the people she had to come across, why did it have to be Adora? Why couldn't it be someone less annoying to her? Like Shadow Weaver, or Lonnie, or anyone else she didn't live with anymore? At the very least, she could've came at a much later or sooner time before she started to have fun!
"Adora!" Catra shouted angrily, morphing her weapon back into its original form.
"Heh heh heh..." Adora chuckled as she slid off the large root, running down the tunnels with Catra chasing behind her. The girl lost sight of her as she rounded the corner, coming across an entire crossroad of tunnels with over eight different hallways and entrances to choose from. It barely took a single look around as Catra heard another run of chuckling before Catra lost touch of which direction she came from. "Awww come on, Catra. Try to find me." She taunted.
"Nghhhh!" Taking the chance, she took off in the rightmost direction, running at full speed as she chased after the mocking laughter. She now found herself lead into a fairly large cavern filled with stalagmites sticking out of the ground, all of them as large as a tree and blocking off any sight of a full-grown person, or a very annoying blonde in this case. "Adora, where are you?!"
"Yoohoo, I'm over heeeeere~" Her ears twitched as she turned to her right, seeing Adora casually leaning against one of the many rock formations with a wave. Chasing straight after her, the girl laughed again as she ran around the stalagmite, disappearing from view the moment Catra rounded the corner again. "Oooh, boohoo. Didn't find me there?" She teased, this time reappearing three rows over behind her when Catra checked again.
"How the-?" She shook the irritation and confusion from her mind as she grumbled again, giving chase after the girl angrily. "Hold still!"
"Only if you say pleeeeease!" She taunted again. Sure enough, the Force Captain wound up missing by the time Catra reached her again, fueling on to the fire of anger going on through Catra's mind.
"Fine! Please hold still so I can hit you!" She growled, seeing the ex-friend running down another pathway.
"Oh, Catra, you're never going to make friends that way." The cat nearly jumped as the taunt came directly behind her, finding the annoying Horde soldier leaning out from behind another pillar. "If you keep threatening people, they might leeeave... or you know, you might leave. Whichever comes first."
"SHUT UP!" With a beastial roar, she reformed the giant flail she had minutes ago, launching the massive wrecking ball straight at the closest pillar the taunting was coming from. To her disappointment, she hit nothing passed the crumbling stalagmite save for a pocket of empty air, and caught the sight of the same girl poking her head out from another stalagmite right passed it.
"Did I strike a nerve? Awww, naughty Adora...Ack!" She sneered, sticking her tongue out briefly before giving off a small shriek, diving headfirst behind the stalagmite before she was stabbed by an extended spear.
There was no end to the taunts from this girl, nothing to drown out the frustration that was building up with each of her annoying tauntings! She knew exactly which buttons to press when it came to the magicat, what words would set her off the quickest and most efficiently! At the rate it was going, she could easily get Catra to make a fatal mistake, one that could cost her the lives of her dearest friends.
Like the one she was about to make as an idea popped into her head. Returning the sword into its original form once more, the magicat concentrated as she closed her eyes, trying to pick up on any source of noise she could from Adora's movements. The cave was barren save for these two, therefore the next sound she picked up would indefinitely be Adora's. She just needed to find the right opportunity for the enemy to make any sudden moves, wait for her to make the smallest slip up. The moment she did, Catra would spring into action, and get the drop on this annoying-
*shuffle*
"Hah!"
"Ah-!" The blonde-haired enemy was caught off guard as Catra lunged straight for her, finding a clawed hand wrapped around her throat as she was pressed against a stalagmite. Opening her eyes, she saw the fiery hatred burning within Catra's eyes as she continued to tighten the grip around her neck, actually lifting her a few inches off the ground as she scratched at her hand, choking. "C-Catra, I ca... I can't breathe..."
"Ngggghhhhhh!" Catra didn't care for a moment. She was tired, exhausted, consumed with rage over everything bothering her at that moment. Half of her dilemmas stemmed from Adora, so why shouldn't she get rid of the problem at its source?!
"C-Ca... Catra, I... I..." The light started fading from Adora's eyes as her resistance began to wane. It was only after hearing the feeble mumbling that Catra snapped back to her senses, shaking her head of the anger before a look of concern crossed over her. She wasn't squeezing the neck of one of the few people she hated most at that time.
It was Glimmer.
"G-Glimmer!" Catrar yelped, quickly releasing her grip from the girl. Instead of falling straight to the ground like anyone else would have, the young princess just froze in place the moment she started to fall. Rubbing her eyes of the confusing scenario, she watched as Glimmer's body gave off a slight shimmer, eventually resulting in a static-like phasing as the rest of her environment slowly started to phase back to its original setting as well.
All around her, the environment changed from its once peaceful, albeit violent-filled, cave, to the familiar recesses of the Beacon's training room, the very spot where Catra had found herself being able to blow off the most steam in the last month. If she ended up nearly ending Glimmer's life, like all the other times, then it proved, in turn, that she had failed her simulation yet again, the anger residing in her heart as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"You know you're playing unfair around here." Catra commented as the being known as Light Hope materialized behind her.
"I apologize for the discomfort, Catra, but I am not trying to be, as you say, unfair, with our simulations." She replied, emotionless as always, no matter how blunt her words were. "The simulations are designed for total accuracy. If you had truly found yourself in this scenario, there is an estimated forty-two percent chance you would have injured one of your allies out of rage."
"I wouldn't have to deal with all this anger stuff if you just got the sword working!" Catra grumbled.
"Working?" The artificial being inquired. "What do you mean?"
"...You're really going to make me spell it out for you, aren't you?" As if answering her question, Light Hope continued to stare at her as she robotically tilted her head in curiosity. Groaning for, hopefully, the final time today, Catra raised her sword to the sky as she spoke the sacred incantation. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"
Those five words were what triggered the miraculous transformation time and again. Ever since she was deemed the new She-Ra, her transformation and the wonders that came with it worked flawlessly. She found her transformation coming to her nearly every time she wanted it to, save for moments of extreme stress or worry, she always felt the familiar increase of strength and resilience that came with being She-Ra, and she found her abilities improving over the course of the last month as Light Hope instructed her to train around the facility on a daily basis.
And, surprisingly, it wasn't something she regretted either! There was no end to the amount of fun she had at being able to transform the legendary sword into a whole matter of things, between weapons, shields, and, somewhat annoyingly, trinkets! She relished the possibility of turning an ordinary sword into a massive maul that could pummel her enemies in one strike, loved the way she could form a whip sturdy enough to bind her enemies, or throw them into each other!.
There were some complications too, of course. For the time being, there was only a handful of items she could materialize intentionally, and half of those times they came out as something else entirely. It would've been humiliating if anyone saw the first time she turned the sword into a slingshot on her very first attempt, or a water bottle on the second. But somehow these still weren't the most annoying details of her new daily life.
No, that detail came down to the very thing she loved the most, and hated most of all. As the transformation came to an end, and the magicat gestured to the entirety of herself.
"I'm back to the same She-Ra I was before!"
...
...
...
A/N: Another another chapter bites the dust ^^ Not much to say here, other than I'm excited to continue this season for all it has to offer. I'm going to enjoy the extremely funny episodes (you guys know which Im referring to XP) as we get the series underway, and away from all the past drama, not to say there won't be some here and there, and into the more humorous side of the series ^^
As always, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!