A/N: Final Word Count: 7.2K Pre-A/N's. And we're off to the middle of the season (which I still use the term loosely for since the entire season itself is practically half of the first one), with everyone's favorite and memorable episode, "Roll the Dice".
I can assure everyone who's worried that, not to worry, there will still be a ton of (hopefully) laughs thrown into this, along with some of the serious stuff. It'll definitely be a bigger episode than most of the other chapters, not by much, ideally 5, but I at least promise to have two entire chapters of the silliness ensuing before we roll right into the action.
Got nothing much more to say to that without potentially spoiling anything, so with that said, enjoy!
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The cool breeze of the sky did nothing to tarnish the majesty of the Horde structure. Along the edge of the cliff stood one of the proudest of Horde outposts, a structure that was nearly impenetrable from all sides. Guns mounted along the outer walls that kept even the sturdiest of climbers from reaching, provided you could thanks to the surrounding cliffside.
Around every corner of the mighty fortress stood weaponry that tested the might of Horde ingenuity, defenses to counter every measure of combat. Fire, Arial, Storms, nothing was impossible to defend from, every piece of security would ensure that once an enemy infiltrated it, nothing would come out.
And it was here that Catra, in her She-Ra state, Glimmer, and Bow, found themselves, along the edges facing the cliffside.
All they had to comfort each other were their nearest allies and the sound of the wind brushing past their hair. Trying to keep her nerves about her as her feet barely kept along the ground, the magicat twitched a little as her foot brushed against a solid rocked that she knocked over the side, over the cliff.
Then came the mistake of looking down.
Deep, empty, and high. That was the best way to describe the cliff side they were currently occupying. Catra could barely feel the drip of sweat rolling down the side of her face as she watched the solid rock, her eyes wavering slightly as it felt like the cliff was moving further and closer repeatedly without end. Nothing she's ever climbed in her life was as death-defying as this. She had options back then, numerous things to reach for if her grip slipped up, things to grab onto to save her skin.
Here? There was nothing. There was nothing more than a gap over a hundred feet between the chasm separating her from the other side. If she fell here, there would be nothing to grip onto, nothing to save her from the inevitable fall. She couldn't even see the rock before she heard its crash echoing from the bottom.
It would be game over for her, with no second chance.
Swallowing the bit of saliva from her throat, she quickly shook her head as she pushed the worries from her mind. "We need to find a way to retake the fortress the Horde stole from us." She stated, watching her friends who were lower to the ground, backs pressed against the wall tightly. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"I'll teleport ahead and scout a path through their defenses." Glimmer replied, just as determined as the rest to reclaim the fortress.
"And I'll quietly shoot the turrets with my trick arrows." Bow added, grinning.
"They're not expecting anyone." Catra reminded, looking up he wall and back. "We sneak in, we hit them hard, and we hit them fast. Let's go!"
Atop the very wall the hugged, stood a lone Horde soldier, watching over the interior of the fortress with a turret at the ready. So far, it had been a peaceful day for the outpost, the very soldier taking a moment to let out a yawn. The air was clear, the sounds of birds chirping from the words could be heard, and the outside air was clear with a perfect temperature for the weather. He almost wished something more exciting would happen.
*swish*
*Whack!*
There was no warning for the lone soldier as he was suddenly struck upside the head from behind, dropping to the ground as Glimmer tightened the grip of her father's staff. From the eastern edge of the wall, another soldier barely had the time to react to this, surprised by the sudden intrusion, before his face collided with Catra's foot, knocking him off his feet.
And on the other end, Bow as disabling a pair of guards with his arrows, ensnaring them in a sticky green sap that pinned them to the ground. The archer cheered to himself as he pumped his fist, the initial invasion having been a success among the three. "Yes! Now we can-!"
*BOOM!*
There wasn't any warning of what happened next, no time to shout to him before the others could react. In merely two seconds of his proclaimed victory, during his excitement to see the rest of the plan through, he was shot at. From one of the many turrets higher above the walls, came an explosive shot that struck the archer squarely in the chest, throwing him over the wall.
"Bow!" Glimmer cried out as she and Catra ran for the wall in a state of shock. He was already halfway down the chasm by the time they saw him again.
Falling.
Injured.
Lifeless.
Catra was could not believe what she was seeing as her eyes stayed glued to the falling corpse all the way down, the sound of Glimmer's cries filling the air around her. "He's... He's dead..."
...
"Oh, what?!" Bow cried out, watching his figuring being knocked over. He was a valiant warrior, one who held true to his beliefs right until the very end, and he suffered the price for it! Bow cried out in vengeance as he grabbed the small figure, raising the deceased vessel up to the heavens. "Tiny Bow will be aveeeenged!" There was nothing but tears from the young archer as he mourned, Catra and Glimmer watching their fallen comrade from the other ends of the table.
"I told you to look out for the other turret, you know." Catra reminded, feeling awkward about the entire scene.
"I know, but I thought I had enough tiiiiime!" He continued to sob.
"To do what? Hold still for the firing squad?"
"To initiate the second phase!"
"Would you two calm down?" Glimmer intervened. "It's just a game right now. Let's set it up and try again."
Catra sighed as she grabbed her own figurine, one that proudly displayed her in She-Ra-ness.
"Here we go again." And with the placement of her figurine, the game commenced once more.
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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.
...
...
Surrounding the trio were the walls of one of the many tents they pitched and a war table, a term that Catra would use loosely in this situation, occupied with various figurines and maps of their location. Everything was perfectly replicated from their surroundings on the map, from where their own base camp was, the rocks that blocked the Horde's view of their location, and the mighty fortress itself that was the prize in all of this.
Between the three of them stood a small table in which the various pieces were placed, with the game master board entrusted with Catra's hands. After all, who better to figure out the inner workings of a Horde establishment than a member of the Horde themselves? And if there was one thing Catra knew, it was all the destructive capabilities of the Horde, droids, weapons, or otherwise.
"I shouldn't be dead." Bow continued to argue as Catra thought out the next plan. "That turret came out of nowhere."
"That's because you failed to make a successful observation check." The princess countered. "If we're going to retake the pass, we have to be prepared for anything."
"The pass is the only way in and out of the region." Catra added, looking over the various statistics she's been given as the game master. "They took it right out from under us while we were defending Bright Moon. As long as they have that pass, they control the region. And we need to get it back."
She had to admit, at first, the idea of playing a game to simulate this whole scenario was humorous to her. Picturing the many ways this mission could fail while they played a board game, the numerous times she watched Glimmer and Bow get blasted off their feet, was enjoyable to her.
Yet, after another failure, time and again, she was willing to admit that the more she played this, the more it was starting to make her feel uneasy. She honestly didn't think there were so many ways to picture someone being blasted, bombed, or both if a mission resulted in failure, and here she was. Watching time and time again as one, two of, or all three of them failed the mission? It was unsettling to her.
Funny. But unsettling.
"But why does that mean I have to die?" Bow continued to whine. "And after I made these for you? I even made yours to look like She-Ra when you were at your full power."
"It doesn't matter!" The anxiety was evident on Catra's face as her tail wagged behind her in distress. "Every time we come up with a plan, it falls apart. Half the time, it falls apart before we even make a plan!"
"We have gotten really good at improvising, though." Glimmer tried to encourage only for Catra to ignore her as she groaned.
"We can't afford that this time around. We need to come up with a plan that works flawlessly. One where someone doesn't die, doesn't get captured, or ends up working for the Horde like Entrapta!" Growling as she leaned over the table, she was ignorant to the silence in the air that hung from Glimmer and Bow.
It was understandable where Catra's frustration was partly stemming from. Not several days ago were they the ones trying to do everything in their power from keeping Catra from getting her revenge, even going as far as to physically hold her back. No amount of pleading would mean anything to her, and no amount of begging would be heard by her. She wasn't the least bit interested in what did and didn't come to her senses until Entrapta was dead.
Why should Entrapta live carefree working for the enemy now? Why was she making weapons and droids for them in the first place? Thoughts such as those consumed her to no end, eventually building into a rage that could only be satisfied by tearing the scientific genius to pieces. The angered warrior was losing portions of her power from the corruption that built within her heart, and she didn't care.
Entrapta had to pay, and that was the only goal in Catra's mind.
At least, until the day ended.
Throughout the same day, the four, Swift Wind included, were busy investigating the disappearance of an outpost known as Alwyn. From the creepy atmosphere that kept unnerving them, the mystery surrounding the residents' disappearance, and the scares that crept around them at every corner, there was nowhere for them to go where one could think of anything else, save for Catra.
It was also somewhere during that time that Catra came to her senses. In the end, the magicat didn't seem interested in getting revenge on Entrapta, or at least to the point where she would march personally to the Fright Zone to do it anymore. She was still convinced that making the scientist suffer and getting revenge was the way to go, but after all that transpired that day, between the realization that the ghosts were actually holograms and there were no evil spirits, she finally gave it.
She wouldn't tell them specifically why she lost interest at the notion, and for the time being, they didn't care. Watching Catra's She-Ra form restore to most of its previous glory was good enough for them, letting them know that Catra had grown on the inside somewhere. And, unwilling to push their luck, that was good enough for them.
That didn't mean she was over the event itself.
"We need to come up with a plan that ends without any hiccups," she continued, "and that means taking everything into account. No more surprises, no more unexpected turns, no anything else. It just needs to be... perfect."
"...Okay, but you're still breaking Tiny Bow's heart." The archer refused to expose the innocent little guy to so much violence and death on the table. "I mean look at his face!"
"He's smiling." Glimmer pointed out as Catra narrowed her eyes. There wasn't a hint of amusement in them.
"Through his pain, Glimmer! Through his pain."
"Would you two knock it off already?" The feline grumbled as she rose to her feet. "That pass is one of the Horde's strongest outposts, which means they're going to have some of their toughest soldiers and defenses surrounding the place. They're not going to leave it in charge with some idiot!"
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...
"Move those big weapon-y things! Flap those banners!" Scorpira ordered from atop the bridgeway to the bustling soldiers and guards below. "Keep doing whatever it is you're doing, guy I'm pointing at! Now do a different thing! And look sharp, Force Captain's orders!"
This was the way the Horde was meant to run! Everyone had their assigned task that they were to follow through without question! The Force Captains came up with the plans and issued them throughout. The soldiers followed those plans into battle. The guards defended those plans and these outposts without question until their dying breath!
...And man, could Scorpia have not been happier!
This was amazing! It made her feel like she was the new second-in-command as she became giddy with glee. Seeing everyone's busying faces as they worked left and right made her smile, the sight of everyone fulfilling their duties filling her with a sense of pride! She wondered if Adora felt this way whenever she was the one leading the missions?
Oh well, doesn't matter. What did matter was the fact she was in charge, and she was going to keep it that way! ...Not that anyone would try to take that from her... Could they take that from her? Were they allowed to? Hordak was for sure, but it was still hard to say about the rest of them.
Ah, who cares? The point is, she was right here, right now, and nothing was going to stop her short of a giant bomb destroying the entire outpost!
"Can you believe it?" She squealed to the three familiar cadets behind her, rubbing her claws together as Rogelio and Lonnie stood at attention while Kyle watched the soldiers working below. "Adora put me in charge of the place! Me!"
"No, I... really can't believe it." Lonnie mumbled, looking bored after being asked this for the fourth time.
"I know, me neither!" She was completely oblivious to Lonnie's sarcastic, face-palming, tone as she leaned back against the bridge. "She trusts me. I can't let her down!"
*bing*
*bing*
Her excitement was cut short as the familiar ring of her tracker pad went off. Digging through her pockets, she smiled as she saw it was an incoming message from her favorite of friends, Adora herself. She grinned as she tried to answer the call until her claw tips kept sliding against the screen. It would've been more amusing for Lonnie if it wasn't for the fact she knew Adora would have a heyday for making fun of her while she watched.
Rolling her eyes, Lonnie grabbed the tracker pad from the scorpion's clumsy claws as she activated it, turning the screen around so that Scorpia had a clear view of Adora as the view of her from the shoulder's up filled the screen.
"-ow hard is it to touch a screen, Scorpi- Oh, Scorpia! There you are." Adora greeted with her typical friendly smile.
"Hi, Adora!" Scorpia waved back as Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Everything okay?"
"Yup. I'm just calling to make sure everything's going alright so far."
"Everything is going great! I still can't believe you chose to put me in charge of everything!" Pausing for a second, she wanted to show off her "charging powers" as she pointed to Kyle. "Kyle, man the parapets!"
"I... don't know what those are." He awkwardly replied, rubbing his arms.
"Then find out!" He glanced at Lonnie and Rogelio who could only shrug back as he ran down the bridge in a search for the mysterious thing. Her serious tone went back to the always-endearing smile as she looked back to the monitor. "I promise this place will be in tip-top shape by the time you get here. I still can't believe you trusted me out of everyone else here. I can still remember your exact words." Without giving her the chance, she recalled the very words Adora said in an attempt to mimic Adora's voice.
"Scorpia, I'm trusting you with a task simple enough that anyone can do it until I get back."
Adora's face sunk a little with embarrassment as she scratched her cheek. "I, uh, don't know if I said it exactly as you did, but-"
"Nope, it was word for word, I kept track. Ooooh, I have to get you something as a thank you! What do you like more for a surprise present? Stuffed ponies? Or bears? No, wait! What your favorite color first?"
"Um, Scorpia, I don't need a-"
"Oh, no, no, no, you're right! It's a surprise! I shouldn't tell you what you're getting. Kyle!" Scorpia shouted over to the cadet who was looking over the ramparts behind her. "Go figure out Adora's favorite color of bunny! Right now!"
"Huff... Huff... I'm on it!" He panted, running back all the way down the bridge.
"You're going to be so surprised with what I'm getting you~"
"I'm... sure I will be..."
"By the way, was Entrapta able to help you?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Adora smiled as she lifted her right wrist to the monitor, displaying the new red wristband Entrapta had made for her when she called her back to the Fright Zone. It already had a grand, violet, shine to it that pulsed with life, be it Adora's own life or the life of her magic. "New and improved. She said with it, I'll be able to extend any fight by five hours, more than enough time to finish the princesses."
"That's amazing! You just watch, Adora. After this, Hordak is going to be so proud with you, he'll promote you to... to... What comes after second-in-command?"
"Hehe, I don't need any big promotion, Scorpia, I'm fine with what I have." The Force Captain looked down at her own wrist with a sense of determination. Even now, her heart raced a little bit as she continued to get closer and closer to the outpost on the skiff she was using. She can still remember the very meeting that would determine, not just her life, but the rest of the Horde's life, every second of the day since yesterday.
...
...
The Princess Alliance is most likely going to be stationed over here." Adora said, pointing out the location on the map across from the outpost. The meeting room held several of the officers, namely her and Scorpia, as well as several of her other friends. Everyone was focused on the battle that was to come as Adora went into detail about everything.
"You sure they wouldn't be anywhere else, Adora?" Scorpia wondered curiously.
"Doubtful. It has the best vantage point to spy on the outpost without being detected." Several of the other cadets examined the map on the table closely as they listened to Adora's instructions. The woods are too dense to set up a base camp, and it's the most vulnerable position to strike from if they attack."
"Then why don't we just hit them while they're preparing?" Lonnie spoke up with a hand at her hips. "It would be easier to take them out while they're setting up, wouldn't it?"
"We can't do anything until all the princesses are gathered. If even one of the princesses from the alliance escape, especially Catra, they could still turn the tide of this war. We need to lie in wait for them until they're all gathered in one spot, and prepare our strike on them then."
"Um, Adora?" Kyle rose his hand a little nervously, knowing how important this battle was going to be. "Wouldn't it make more sense to set up our ambush before they get there? Why the wait?"
"Because they'll know someone tipped them off, then." At this, all eyes turned to the young princess within the room, to the right of Adora, who was helping to make all this possible. Princess Frosta. "We had our last alliance meeting just the other day, and we all discussed where we would set up camp. If we had an ambush waiting for them by the time they showed up, Catra would pick up on their scent or any noises and they'd immediately call off the mission for another meeting."
"But we could just prepare another ambush at the next camp they set up, couldn't we? It's not like they're going to know immediately it was Frosta, so there's no way they would catch on to us. What's wrong with that?"
"That's not the point, Kyle." Adora spoke up for the young princess. "Even if they didn't suspect any of themselves and chalked it down to a coincidence, they would prepare the next one to be more organized and separated within the camp in case of another ambush." She turned her attention back to the map. "This is the one chance we have to get all of them at once. We can't let it go to waste."
At this, the younger princess lowered her head again. Nothing about this felt right to her regardless for the reasons she was doing it. She still liked most of the Princess Alliance, they were nice and friendly with one another. She was even surprised when she came to understand Catra a little more, almost a week ago, and she couldn't believe she could consider Catra a friend by now.
It also didn't help that it just didn't feel good in general. She didn't agree with the Horde's choice of "lifestyle", but after her conversation with Adora a few days ago, she came to understand where she was coming from, what it was like for her and why she was doing this. She couldn't betray someone like that.
Noticing the small look on the princess's face, Adora gave her a small comforting smile as she rubbed her shoulder. "You don't have to go if you don't want to, Frosta. I understand." That was the other side that made it hard to tell if Frosta was on the wrong side.
Adora wasn't like any of the Horde soldiers or generals she's heard of, or anything close to it. She was nice. She was friendly, she cared about others, she was reasonable. As much bad as she's heard about the Fright Zone and the Horde from the Rebellion, it was hard to say Adora couldn't be telling the truth about any of them in turn.
Who was she supposed to trust?
"Thanks, Adora, but no thanks." Frosta replied, gently taking her hand off. "I'm going to be fighting them sooner or later, and I can't keep avoiding them. Besides, they might think something is up if I don't show up on the same day as everyone else."
"Plus you're going to need her if you want to activate the device." Entrapta pepped in, hanging upside from the pipes with her hair. Digging through her pockets with another hair extension, she revealed a small metallic orb the size of a soccer ball, spinning it upon her fingertips for a few seconds before casually dropping it into Frosta's arm.
"I've set the coordinates on this baby to match the outpost's location. It'll need a few seconds to charge up, so if you don't want anyone running out of it before it goes up, you'll need to launch it from somewhere they won't see."
The young princess eyed the strange creation in wonder as she looked at her reflection upon the shining metal. She didn't remember any part of this being in the plan, though she did know the exact details of how everything was going to go down. "What is this thing?"
Smiling, Adora took the large orb from the young girl, looking it closely as she could see her own grin reflected upon the surface.
"This, is how we're going to defeat them..."
...
Feeling the wind through her hair, Adora took in everything that was going to take place. This mission meant more to her than anyone else could understand.
It wasn't just a matter of beating the Princess Alliance, and possibly the rest of the Rebellion, after all this time. This was about proving herself. Proving herself to the Horde she continued to hold dear, proving herself to the friends that stayed by her side, and, most of all, to prove to Lord Hordak that she wasn't a failure.
The last several days had been a little unnerving for the young Force Captain. Since her last direct interaction with Hordak, both in the morning, and towards the evening, she hasn't felt right. To think, the very person who made her his second-in-command to begin with, who gave Adora's life meaning since she was a baby, would consider someone like Adora a failure after all her hard work. Not only that, he considered her a hindrance, an intrusion compared to someone like Entrapta.
It didn't make any sense to her. What did she do to anger him so much? Why wasn't he proud of her? She's gathered allies across Etheria's various outposts and small villages, gaining more ground than the Horde ever has before she became Force Captain, yet it didn't matter to him. He was more concerned about the resources they were potentially wasting and the fact their armies were spread too thin, but why?
Why did it matter if their soldiers were scattered across Etheria? Why did it bother him that none of her major alliances weren't from any kingdoms since Frosta's? Did she do something wrong? Did he desire for her to enlist only kingdoms for their aid? She even tried to reorganize the flow of resources between the various outposts in a way that more than doubled the production of gathered resources while maintaining distribution among the settlements, and he still wasn't satisfied.
To add fuel to the fire, the situation only took a turn for the worse when he announced Entrapta would be working as his right hand, his assistant in whatever matters they were dealing with in his lab, matters he didn't trust Adora enough to divulge in. She wasn't jealous of the situation, per se. In fact, she was actually happy that someone Entrapta that she got to work closely with the very leader of the Horde itself after only working for him for a mere month.
...She was sure she was happy for her...
It didn't really matter to her. In the end, her goal was to fix the way that Lord Hordak saw her. She was going to prove to him that she wasn't the failure that he questioned her to be, that she wasn't the mistake that he made by making her his second-in-command. After today, she was going to prove to everyone that her methods were without question, that her allies would come through for her.
Most of all, she was going to crush the Princess Alliance once and for all.
"Adora?" The person in question blinked as she heard her name called, looking back at the screen to her familiar friend. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Scorpia. I'll be there within half an hour or so. Do you think you can hold down the fort until I get there?"
"Hahaha! Hold down the fort, I get it!" Ha! Adora was just a kidder sometimes that Scorpia couldn't help but laugh. She was completely taken in by the unintended pun Adora made that she barely noticed as slapped she tracker pad right out of Lonnie's hands. "That's a good one, Ador-" By the time she opened her eyes again, she was already seeing as the pad had left Lonnie's hands and flung over the edge of the bridge.
"Uh..." Adora's bewildered questioning was the last noise emanated from the tracker pad before it collided with the ground.
Shattering into a dozen pieces a hundred feet below the bridge.
"-a..." Lonnie, Scorpia, and Rogelio stared over the ledge as their eyes laid on the shattered remains of the destroyed pad. "Huh. I should probably fix that, shouldn't I?"
"Maybe you should try doing something else around here?" Lonnie hinted back. The tall girl just stared at the teen punk for a short time, blinking innocently as she just stared at her eyes. "Like, getting everything ready?" Once again, she just stared. "Like setting up the defenses around here?!" Lonnie swore, if she had to be anymore clearer than that, she was going to jump over the bridge herself from frustration.
"Hahahaha!"
*whack*
"Oof-!" Lonnie barely caught herself as Scorpia slapped her in the back this time, the scorpion laughing and unaware of her own brute strength as she playfully knocked her. Lonnie gasped as she barely caught herself from going over the ledge, thankful that she didn't end up like Scorpia's last victim.
"Okay, okay. You don't need to remind me." She smiled as she made her way over to the ledge, admiring the view and unaware of Lonnie's glare. She fawned with a small blush as she leaned over the wall. "My shadowbunny is counting on me to keep this place safe, and I won't let her down!" That was her resolve as she stepped up. "For Adora, I will defend this pass with my life, even for thirty minutes!"
Unwilling to embarrass someone who was so determined for their friend, Lonnie let out a fake cough while pointing out the small mistake. Reassessing herself, Scorpia quickly sped over to the other ledge, making the same pledge. Yes, this is the pass, I will defend with my very life. No reason to worry at all!" Her enthusiasm wasn't as grand as it was previously, but it diminish her spirit.
With her own two claws and stinger, she was determined. She was going to show Adora how dependable she was, like how she wanted to show Hordak the same about herself. She was going to have this place whipped up to be the best, most defensible, most awesome outpost in Horde history for her sake.
She knew how much this mission meant to Adora, and she was going to make sure everything went on without a hitch. Nothing was going to sneak up or get past her. Every weapon thingy was going to be ready to fire on Adora's mark as soon as she pointed to the target. And this was going to be the day she showed off just what a great friend she was to her!
"Kyle, where's that parapet!?"
"What about the rabbit?"
...
...
Connection Terminated
These were the very words that flashed on Adora's end of the tracker pad for a few seconds, before the girl sighed and carried on to the outpost. There was still some distance between her and her destination, but as long as everyone maintained their position and kept to the schedule, including the enemy, she should be there in no time.
That just left her with the wind blowing past her and the silence in the air, one that was much more welcomed than the sound of any other annoyances. Of course, Adora knew more than enough to know she couldn't get her hopes up, because, as she expected, not ten seconds after flying with the silence flowing through her ears were they met with the all too familiar voice at this point of a certain passenger that was hanging out in the back of he skiff.
"Today's forecast on the Hordak Army news," Aroda provided with commentary as she mockingly mimicked a reporter while lying on her back nonchalant, pretending she was holding a radio, "tragedy struck today as the mission that Adora had been preparing for for the last several days ended in terror."
"There really is no way to get rid of you, is there."
"Eyewitness reports stated that Princess Frosta, trusted friend and ally to the Horde, unsurprisingly turned traitor in the midst of the mission and back stabbed Adora when she least expected it."
"I already told you, she's not going to betray us." There were a few things Adora had come to learn about her mysterious doppelganger by this point. For one, ignoring her was officially out of the question. Whenever Adora tried to ignore her directly, she would continue to poke and prod further into Adora's mind, going an extra length to get into Adora's skin, as she played to her weaknesses and doubts. Even doubts that Adora assured herself she didn't have, Aroda took it upon herself to bring up anyway.
Secondly, the only way to make her shut up faster was to play along with whatever ridiculous things Aroda had to say, just long enough until Aroda was satisfied and finally disappeared. Whether or not Aroda knew what Adora was playing at in turn, it still proved to be enough for the living reflection as it left her alone for several hours after.
"When reached for comment, Adora had this to say." Instantly, Aroda withdrew her cocky personality as she filled it with an entirely sad and distraught expression that could match Adora's in almost every sense. "Eheh, eheh, eheeeeh," it sobbed, "I just don't know how this happened. Clearly the smart and beautiful Aroda, who has been helping me all this time, was right, because the next thing I knew, Frosta was working for the enemyyyyyyy!"
"When reporters went further to get the opinions of her fellow friends and peers about what they had to say about the girl, here is what we were told." If the previously-mocking voice wasn't enough to rile up Adora's heart, hearing her continuing this pretend report in Hordak's voice definitely did. "I can not believe I entrusted the entire fate of the Horde to this one, pathetic, excuse of a Force Captain. Making her my second-in-command was the greatest failure of my life. If fates be willing, I would gladly accept someone like Catra at my side if she ever came back-"
"Mmmmmmh!" Having enough of the background commentary, with a harsh pull of the lever, Adora jerked the skiff harshly as it practically jumped into the air.
"Whoooooooa!" The suddenness of the event was enough to catch the so-called "Reporter" off guard as the next thing Adora knew, her double could be heard screaming as she was tossed overboard. This was just enough to give Adora a few moments of brief respite, as not several seconds later, did she hear the familiar sound of her annoying double as she floated in the air behind her, keeping up with the skiff's speed. "This just in: Force Captain Adora committed murder today as she tossed beloved reporter and icon, Aroda, right out of the skiff and hurtling to her death."
"Give me a break..."
"In lieu of flowers this evening, Aroda had personally asked in her Will that Adora writes ten-thousand pages with the words "she was right about everything" in triplicate."
"Will you please just give me some time here?" Adora finally asked her politely. "I want to be mentally prepared for the mission later."
Saying the word please seemed to be enough for the copy of Adora as she went back to her natural matter of speaking at long last. "Aw, big brave Adora getting anxious about the upcoming mission? I can't say I blame her. After all, I'd need to be forewarned, too, about the eventual betrayal and loss I suffered later on because of one little girl who isn't even twelve years old. Oh, wait, she was given one!"
"For the last time, Frosta is not going to betray us!" No matter how many times Aroda tried to convince her, she refused to let it get under her skin than everything else had. "I trust her with my life like the rest of the Horde. She'll pull through for us, and once she does, we'll be rid of the Princess Alliance once and for all."
"Ooooh, I love playing make-believe too. How does this sound? In the end, Frosta is not going to be the absolute worst traitor in my life right next to Catra, and Lord Hordak will finally see me as his most trusted ally?"
She did have to admit. When it came to the personal stuff Adora didn't want to talk about , she knew how to push the right buttons. No matter how many times she assured herself of whatever doubts she was feeling, even after they were said, it still bothered her to hear them being brought up time and time again.
"Face it, Adora. The only one you're going to be fooling around here is yourself. You know as well as I do that princesses stronger than you are a threat, that they can't be trusted in the slightest."
"...She isn't stronger than me." With a clear path ahead, Adora took the opportunity to look at her gloved hand, creating a layer of shadows around it. "And even if she was, it doesn't matter. She's going to help us stop the Princess Alliance. You'll see."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard of it a hundred times by now." Pretending to swim through the air, Adora tried to ignore as she watched Aroda floating ahead of her, several feet away and above. "And you still can't get rid of that nagging feeling that she might actually be a traitor after all."
"..." She didn't have those feelings, she couldn't. If what she said was true, then what else could Aroda be right about? Could she really trust no one in the end after this? Was Hordak always going to see her as a failure? It didn't entirely matter to her if that would always be the case. As long as she managed to repay her life with years of service to the Horde, then she would see it through.
"Don't worry too hard about it when Frosta betrays you, Adora. Everyone makes mistakes." If this was her attempt at comfort, it was the worst she's ever had in her life. The only comfort she had through any of this was seeing Aroda finally leave, but not before saying the last thing that would leave Adora unsettled. "Hordak's mistake was just putting his faith in you."
And with that, she was gone. Like every other time Adora had met her, she just had to get the last say in everything. She always did what she could to unbalance the girl, to make her doubt herself. But why? Like Aroda said, assuming she was telling the truth, she was just another personality in Adora's mind, one that depended on Adora's life for survival. So why would she continue to say things that would most likely unhinge Adora, that could distract her from her priorities in they required her full concentration?
In the end, that also didn't matter. Adora was confident in the friends she had and the people she could trust as she sped the skiff up a little faster, wanting to hasten her arrival. She was going to show Aroda how she was wrong about everything, and she was going to use her own two hands to bring down the Princess Alliance. And, most of all, she was going to prove to Lord Hordak she wasn't a failure.
No matter the cost...
...
...
...
A/N: You know, looking back on it now when I started writing the episode, it really does make me have to ask; how did the Horde expect the Princess Alliance to attack on that very day in the episode? If it was just normally guarded, that'd be one thing, but they brought Scorpia in on this from the beginning as if they KNEW the exact day they were going to attack. I just find it really weird in the long run...
Oh well. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and continue joining the rest of the episode as we roll in to some more "game time" ^^. As a reminder, please refrain from season 4 and above spoilers since I haven't caught up yet. Won't be watching it till I fin season 3 in this fic.
With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, comment, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!