Cat-Ra

by Monokub

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

99. S3 Episode 2: Huntara Finale

A/N: Final Word Count: A glorious 15.2K Words Pre-A/N's.

In this corner, weighing in 350 pounds of pure muscle, let's give it up, for Huuuuuuuuntaraaaaa! And in this corner, weighing in... huh... ok, I have just been informed under penalty of death that if I divulged the information of weight for her challenger, I would wake up with a leg of my choice missing, so... never mind...

Lol, As you can imagine, especially with the absurd size of this chapter for a mere THREE MINUTES OF EPISODE left, I had a lot of fun with this one X) I enjoyed the action and making it going above and beyond from the show. It gets hectic, crazy, and who knows what as we duke it out with two fighters who aren't afraid of pulling cheap shots and low blows against one another (which wouldn't matter as much since they're both girls, but that's besides the point).

Don't have as much to say about this, other than, of course, ENJOY!

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"Whoooooooooooo!" The audience cheered with an uproar as the combatants took the center stage, save for Glimmer and Bow who were watching on the other half of the arena's viewing gallery on the same side that Catra was on.

"Catra is going to be all right... right?" Bow asked nervously, standing with Glimmer on the third row, the closest anyone was allowed to watch from during this fight.

"Normally, I'd say yes right away to any opponent she's fighting," Glimmer fretted, "but considering she's fighting someone who's like her exact double, I'd say they're evenly matched... I hope."

Catra stared around the large cave-like structure with disdain. To think that the very place where she would be fighting Huntara of all people would be the very place that her betrayal again. The center of this place proved to be spacious enough for her to expect any sort of brawl, where, at the middle of everything, sticking out from the ten foot pillar-like rock, was her beloved, irritating, sword.

After leading the group of three into an ambush, Huntara revealed her intentions to the magicat about how she wanted to recruit the young warrior to join the Crimson Waste, the wasteland where only the strong could survive. The two saw many similarities between one another, from their upbeat attitude, their mannerisms or lack thereof, their aggressive nature towards anyone and anything, and how they preferred letting their fists and feet do the talking for them. Needless to say, they were almost identical twins, save for their appearance. And how did Catra take this little news to heart? The same way she always did.

She immediately declined the offer by trying to attack Huntara head on, hoping to catch the anticipating hunter off guard long enough for her to reach her sword.

Disappointed but not surprised by her rejection, she threw Catra down the very same hole that she threw her paralyzed friends in, knowing that the magicat couldn't get out by herself as long as she held on to the one edge Catra had in most of her fights- her claws. They were Catra's ace in the hole, pun unintended, that gave her the edge over most of her fights, and, naturally, were her best friends whenever the need to climb something came up. Without them, the cat was powerless to get out of the hole as the walls were smoothed over, making it impossible for any one of them to simply climb out.

Because of this, she was forced to wait for nearly forty minutes until the rest of her friends had finally come to, detailing to them their situation and the lack of claws she was now without. Using Glimmer's magic, it was easy enough for the trio to escape the whole after ten or so tries, though it did leave the group with some mixed feelings and concerns about what they were supposed to do. With Huntara and half the tavern that respected her at her side, an assault of any variety would've been useless unless they desired to get captured on the spot. Fortunately, they did have one advantage over them that Huntara wasn't prepared for.

Catra.

The very magicat that she wanted to recruit would be the most likely to bring her downfall. Following a brief trek to Huntara's encampment, catching the huntress off guard and threatening the few she cared about, she made her an offer that she couldn't refuse. A one on one fight between her and the mighty hunter to prove who was the strongest, where strength determined who was the ruler of the Waste and the one who determined the rules around here. If Catra won, she would win her sword back and Huntara would bring them where they really wanted to be. If she lost, Huntara was going to take her tail as a trophy.

To say Catra wasn't nervous about the thought of that would be a lie, and she didn't care. It became personal the moment Huntara betrayed them, and even more personal when she took her claws from her.

Huntara grinned to the dozen or so patrons that followed her out there, raising her fist in a show of strength as the cheering around them continued. As long as Glimmer and Bow didn't interfere with the fight, they were welcomed among them as watchers for this grand spectacle. Crowd cheering with applause and praise alike, Huntara turned her hardened expression to the magicat on the other side of the field.

"This is the one place we settle disputes over strength within the wasteland." Huntara explained, pointing up to the sword. "If you want to win, you either need to reclaim your sword, or be the last one standing." Grinning, the hunter cracked her knuckles loud enough that even Bow and Glimmer could hear from where they stood above them. "I've been in this arena twenty-eight times, Catty. I think that says enough about your chances. Since I welcome a warm challenge, I'll let you be the one to make your first move."

"Really?" Catra spat with a smirk. "So all I have to do is grab my sword to win?" It was almost laughable at how easy this was going to be for her. "Did you hit your head or something on the way here? Climbing is in my nature." Just to prove her point, everyone watched Catra swiftly jumped into the air onto the rock before her, giving the sword a few tugs until it finally popped out, then grinned as she dropped back to the ground, admiring her sword and her easy victory. "See, what did I tell ya? Easy as-"

*Wham!*

*CRASH!*

Anything she had to say was cut off by the massive tackle slamming into her by the terrifying bull known as Huntara. With brute strength and determination, the hunter easily overpowered the magicat with a single punch, launching her through the arena and crashing her through the solid row behind her. The entire audience cheered again in unison as their fearless leader landed the first strike, catching the girl off guard with a grin, and picking up the sword she dropped in the process. Her friends winced in the pain she must've felt, knowing that was going to leave a mark in one way or another.

Everything was still shaking to the girl as Catra pulled herself out of the rubble, rubbing her head before shaking it to clear up the dizziness in her eyes. "Hey! You said the fight was over the minute I get my sword!" Catra growled, squeezing her fists angrily. Huntara gave her a playful taunting smirk as she sheathed the sword against her back like before.

"I said when you reclaim it. You don't reclaim anything until you get away with the sword or you get away from me." Huntara corrected in her own twisted sense. "And considering you don't get away with the sword unless you exit the Crimson Waste, I don't see that happening anytime soon." Catra growled as she was reminded of the one other dilemma she was going to have to deal with in this fight.

Here, she wasn't just going to be dealing with Huntara's brute strength and cunning, she was going to be dealing with someone like herself. Someone who used underhanded tactics and cheap shots to claim their victory, like how she intentionally forgot to go into detail about reclaiming the sword, making Catra drop her guard long enough for the first attack. It did give her a slight advantage in knowing possibly everything the hunter would do, but it also gave Huntara the same over Catra. It was going to be a battle of wits as much as it was strength from here on out.

"So, we're playing it that way, huh? Fine!" With a roar, Catra charged head first towards the huntress as she kicked off with a mighty leap. Pulling her fist back, she intended to deliver a strong pounding right in the center of Huntara's smug looking face, only to be caught with relative ease as Huntara caught the attack with one hand.

"Really, Catty?" She enjoyed the sight as she tightened her grip painfully over Catra's knuckles, seeing the girl flop to her feet as she grumbled a little in pain. "I was hoping for a little more excitement than that." She paused as Catra took the opportunity to launch her other fist at Huntara, meeting the same result as she caught it all the same. It brought double the pain as Huntara brought the magicat down to her knees slowly, squeezing both fists painfully. "I thought you would've been a little more creative than that." At this, she blinked in confusion as Catra smirked back to her.

"I am."

*ssssspppzzzzzzz*

"Agh!" Huntara cried out as a handful of sand was shot straight into her eyes, releasing her grip on the girl as she wiped at them furiously.

Knowing the hunter clearly had a smaller advantage at strength than Catra did, she knew she would've been forced to rely on her own trickery in order to gain the upper hand. While most of their arena was bereft of the sand that covered the desert, she managed to find a small pocket of it within the corer of the rows, like the one she crashed into. Forcing the hunter to use both her hands defensively, she easily managed to throw a small chunk of the sand she collected from under her toes, waiting until the huntress couldn't cover her eyes any longer and let the small particles of dust and dirt do the rest.

It didn't matter how much or how little Catra actually managed to grab. Any amount of sand thrown like this with the opponent's eyes wide open would've been more than enough to throw them off. And with the hunter rubbing her eyes in soreness, it gave Catra the perfect opportunity to land the following strike as she smashed her right fist against the side of Huntara's face.

*BAM!*

"Yeah!" Bow and Glimmer cheered out as the rest of the audience booed in dismay. It was actually hard to tell if they were booing Catra for her own cheap shot, or booing Huntara for falling for it. To Catra, she didn't care. She just delivered delivered two more shots to the middle of Huntara's stomach, and a following one directly under her jaw with a resounding uppercut. The force of it was enough to knock the hunter off her feet a few ways back, skidding against the ground with a sore chin.

It wasn't enough to keep the hunter down for long, seeing the way she wiped her chin in anger as she rose back up, yet it definitely did some damage, and that's all that Catra grinned about.

"How's that for creative?" She smirked, flexing her fingers a little as Huntara got up. Punching had a bit of a different feel to it when she couldn't feel her claws underneath her fingertips. Then again, so did climbing when she couldn't draw them out like she used to when she normally climbed.

None of it mattered to the mighty Huntara as she gave a casual grin back, spitting off to the side as she prepared herself again. "All right, I'll admit, you got some moves yourself." She complimented, re-cracking her knuckles. "But without your puny claws, this fight isn't going to end until I give the final word or you take me down. And I think we both know how that's going to go."

"With you begging for mercy at my feet? Yeah, I did know that." The girl went on to grin as Huntara took this with anger like everything else, and charged the girl again with her large muscles.

For the next several minutes, the two combatants were neck and neck in terms of skill and fighting prowess as the two exchanged blows with one another. Leading off with the charge, Catra ducked out of the way of the overhead swipe, grabbing Huntara's arm before throwing her over her shoulder behind, back into the very same pile of rubble she crashed Catra into seconds ago. Without the same show of force it did little more than agitate the hunter as hopped back to her feet, already preparing for her counterattack.

With Catra's eyes solely focused on Huntara's, the hunter rushed for the girl again as Catra prepared to counter the next overhead swing to blow that she knew was coming her way. What she didn't count on was Huntara grabbing several of the large piles of rocks from the rubble and throwing them straight at her, forcing her to dodge to the left and the right as her eyes were drawn to the incoming projectiles. The moment she finally did have a sense of respite was driven away by the charging Huntara who grabbed the girl whole, running her into and crashing her into the large solid row on the opposite side of the arena.

Catra was helpless to block the incoming strike to her face at that moment, feeling her face being pummeled by Huntara's relentless assault as she was pushed back an inch at a time into the round surroundings near them. Huntara refused to give her a moment's peace until the fight was over and victory was her's to claim.

And Catra wouldn't let her have it.

Following the third strike, Catra swiftly managed to duck out of the way in time for Huntara's fist to collide straight into the wall behind her, giving a small hiss at the painful collision as Catra dodged her. With another opening presenting itself, the warrior headbutted the strong soldier directly into her face, disorienting the hunter, and herself a little, in the process. It was just enough to get Huntara to wobble back on her feet, giving Catra the space she needed to duck to the ground on her hands, and deliver a devastating kick with both her feet directly into Huntara's jaw again, knocking her further away.

The crowd was wild with excitement as the cheers and murmurs went all around, enjoying themselves unlike the two friends who continued to cheer for Catra's side, knowing the girl had a She-Ra-less disadvantage for the time being.

Noticing the huntress was still disoriented from the double-footed straight to her mouth, Catra found it to be the best opening she needed to tackle the hunter to the ground, pinning her by her neck as she attempted to reach for her sword. Seeing this, Huntara grumbled back as she tried to push the girl away from her, holding her back by her own neck while holding her wrist in the other, one Catra was easing towards little by little with each second.

"Give me back my sword! It's mine!" Catra demanded, drawing her hand closer and closer to her prized possession.

"I don't see your name on it!" Huntara shouted back as the rest of the crowd became silent. They watched with excitement and worry as Catra drew near the treasured blade, knowing the fighting would've really kicked off once either of the warriors brought out their weapons. With the huntress pinned under her, Catra could easily make short work of the huntress at the very moment she grabbed her blade.

*Swiff!*

*Whack!*

"Agh!" Catra cried out suddenly in pain as she released her grip on Huntara's neck, rubbing her pained elbow.

This was more than enough for Huntara to deliver a windup punch to the feline's left cheek, smacking her off of her and skidding her across the harsh ground a few feet away, closer to Bow and Glimmer who watched her worriedly as she continued to hiss. They were surprised by the sudden cry of pain Catra released, even more at the red-colored bruise against her right elbow as she continued to rub it.

"Catra, what's wrong?" Glimmer asked worriedly as Catra kept her sights on the recovering huntress.

"I don't know, something just hit me!" She screeched, getting back to her own feet to prepare for the mighty hunter.

"What's wrong, Catty?" Huntara taunted, dusting herself off. "Did the big bad kitty-cat get a boo-boo?"

"Ghhhhh!" Okay, so she didn't know what happened out of the blue, and she didn't really care. She was starting to get tired of the smug look and insulting grin on Huntara's face as the hunter taunted her over. Being sure to keep her eyes out just in case, Catra charged for the hunter dead on. She wasn't going to let anyone look at her that way and get away with it, and while she held the speed advantage, she knew she could gain the upper hand at a moment's notice.

An advantage that didn't last long.

*swiff*

*whack!*

"Owww!" Painfully, the magicat yelped in pain again as she collapsed to her feet, holding her foot in agony. This time, she felt the same blow strike right against her right ankle, gritting her teeth at the sudden and sharp pain as she tried to find the source of the problem that attacked her twice in the same minute. All she could see was the sight of Huntara's approaching feet as the mighty hunter reached the girl, picking Catra up by tail, and slamming her into the large boulder behind her.

There, Huntara grinned as she turned the cat upwards before pinning her arm against her throat, pushing tighter as Catra struggled to deal with the sudden pains she was having and the forceful pressure being applied to her neck. With one foot sore and her elbow slightly numbed from the pain, it was taking all of Catra's arm strength to keep her from crushing her.

"You know, your tail has a pretty good grip to it." Huntara commented, pushing harsher against the magicat. "Maybe I won't display it as a trophy afterwards. Maybe I could fashion it into a nice little belt when this is over."

"Ghhh..." Catra winced, grumbling as she tried to force the arm back as much as she could.

"You know, you really are a wild animal when it comes down to it. Maybe it would've been more fitting to have this fight in a jungle instead."

"Tch, yeah, and then you would've forgotten one thing." Catra sneered back despite the look of pain in her eyes.

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" She was actually looking forward to the answer Catra had to give her.

And so was she. "Animals bite!"

*CHOMP!*

"Aggghhhhh!" Huntara yelled in pain as the the magicat bit down on the hunter's arm as hard as she could. With her muscles as toned and refined as they were, it wasn't enough to penetrate the skin as much, but with sharp teeth like the ones Catra had, it definitely left a painful mark on the hunter's arm as Catra refused to remove her teeth from the mighty warrior. "Let go of me you stupid cat!" Huntara shouted, pushing and slapping at Catra's forehead until the girl would let go.

Feeling her grip on the forearm fading, and refusing to lose her teeth over this fight, especially after losing her claws, Catra quickly jumped away from the hunter's arm before she could deliver another strike against her head. The hunter growled as she examined the minor bite mark against her arm, rubbing it soothingly as much as she could so it wouldn't falter any more during the fight.

Catra spat at this as she wiped her mouth clean with her wrist. "Yuck, and Glimmer complains when she thinks I don't bathe."

"We've been over this, Catra!" Glimmer yelled down with a small grumble. "Licking your hands and wiping your legs and arms clean doesn't count as bathing!"

"Hey, at least I started taking a bath more often!" She yelled back.

"Once a week isn't an improvement!"

"Haaaah!" Anymore pointless and senseless arguing was put on hold between the two as Catra heard the oncoming roar of Huntara charging at her again. With the hunter being on the offensive this time, Catra assumed she wouldn't have to worry about anything catching her by surprise again, and prepared herself to counter the hunter's strike. She soon came to realize how wrong she was within seconds.

*ting*

"Yeow!" Catra cried out again, this time feeling the surprise hit striking her from behind on the right side of the abdomen, stinging senselessly as whatever was struck against her this time was stuck over her skin and her vest. It proved to be more than enough for a distraction as Huntara slammed Catra away again, knocking the defenseless girl off her feet and sliding her against the ground on her back.

At least this time as Catra slowly got up, still wincing in pain, whatever struck her stuck around this time as she felt along her side. It didn't take long for the surprised and confused magicat to find the source of her constant interruptions as she pulled it in front of her face. "A rock?" The rock was smoothed over and felt durable enough to leave a sizable dent within an average droid, looking at the way it shined within the moonlight.

"A rock?" Glimmer repeated as she stared at what Catra found. "That's what's been hitting her? How?"

"Glimmer, look." Grabbing her attention, the archer directed her across the field so she could see exactly what his eyes spied upon admist the fight. Seeeing the two friends looking across from her, Catra leaned her head back, growling at the sight behind her.

Over on the other side of the rows and stands, nearly half the tavern people, half of Huntara's followers, were twirling their own rocks and ammo in various slings, primitive yet effective tools that could take out the most seasoned of animals in a single shot if they knew where to aim. Here, almost all of them had the precise accuracy to take aim at the magicat's various joints and muscles, whichever she was using to keep her edge over the battle. If it wasn't for the one unlucky misfire she recently experienced, assuming the last shot was supposed to strike her somewhere else, she never would've noticed.

All of them were still helping Huntara in their own special way. In this case, it was providing covering fighter for the smirking hunter who continued to grin at Catra, knowing she had the advantage of this fight since the moment it started. It was an unfair, cheap move, to make in what was supposed to be an honorable fight.

A cheap move Catra would've been glad to play upon if her enemy wasn't using it against her.

"Hey, that's not fair!" She growled. "You said it was supposed to be a one on one fight!"

"What can I say?" Huntara shrugged playfully, smirking the entire time she was doing it. "I can't imagine why they would suddenly help me in the middle of a fight."

"Yeah, I bet." Catra growled, getting back to her feet, being wary of the dozen heads that weren't her friends, seeing them all preparing to fire again whenever she needed them.

"Then again, I did this was a one on one fight between us. I can't be held responsible if they don't listen to me."

"You rotten-!"

*swiff*

"Hah!" Expecting it this time, she quickly managed to turn around as she grabbed one of the flinging rocks right in the palm of her hand, just inches away from her face.

*wham*

"Ugh!" It didn't matter by the looks of it. The very moment she grinned at the would-be slinger, she was kicked across the side of her head, throwing her back against the large rock. There, the magicat was pinned down again, this time by Huntara's leather boot, as she struggled to keep it from crushing her ribs.

It didn't matter in the end if Catra managed to fight off the slingers or Huntara. As long as she was dealing with both of them at the same time, she wouldn't be able to defend herself in any situation, putting her at the mercy of the people helping Huntara cheat, ad the hunter who's strength proved more than a match for the mighty warrior. She would never get a chance to get the drop on Huntara with these people by her side.

Which was another thing she expected as her friends knew what to do.

"Bow!" Glimmer said, gathering magic in her right hand before teleporting.

"I'm on it!" He replied, taking aim with one of his own arrows at the closest slnger to the right side of the rows.

Releasing a shot, the slinger quickly found himself ensnared in a sticky green-like substance, pinning him to the rocky exterior that surrounded him. At the same time, Glimmer appeared behind one of the other slingers as she blasted a solid wave of her sparkling magic at them, blasting them from the third row where they stood to the bottom of the first row where their landing drew Catra and Huntara's attention.

Again, Catra's foresight proved imperative in this situation. It would've been one thing for them to gather Bow's arrows again if they were forced into the fight at that very moment, but it also came for another reason.

Knowing the ensuing brawl that would've occurred if Huntara took the bait like she did, she needed both of her friends to be ready and capable of fighting back in the event they tried to charge the arena or help Huntara in some other ways. With Catra's sight solely focused on the hunter in front of her, she would've been incapable of defending herself without her sword or her claws. That's why, first and foremost, they needed to recover Bow's arrows above all else. Like many times before, Catra perfectly predicted what someone like Huntara would do.

Someone like her.

Seeing several of her allies already getting attacked in the stands, Huntara grumbled as she gave out the orders. "Get them! The cat's mine." With their leader's orders, everyone else turned their attention to her two friends, running from both sides towards the archer as Glimmer reappeared at Bow's side, teleporting him to the top of the rows where he had the aiming advantage. It also proved impeccable as several of the poison darts were already being shot at them by the pink satyr, the two ducking behind cover as the paralyzers missed their mark.

Noticing the brief distraction overtaking Huntara's face, Catra quickly got to work on breaking herself out from under her foot as she kicked at the back of Huntara's other knee. On reflex, the hunter's knee immediately buckled, losing the pressure she applied to Catra's stomach and giving her more than enough time to pull off to the side and out of Huntara's massive foot, and charging straight into the hunter's back, reaching straight away for her sword.

Despite everything going on and her minor buckling leg, it still proved to be no match for Huntara's anticipation as she grabbed the girl's hand from behind, squeezing on it tightly as she felt it approaching her shoulders, and throwing her across the field. While hoping for otherwise, Catra was expecting this little display as she easily managed to land on her own two feet, glaring back at the hunter who picked herself up off the ground.

"Well, would ya look at that, Catty?" Huntara said, gesturing to her friends above her. Keeping her focus on the hunter, Catra took a brief glance at her friends and the state they were in.

So far, they appeared to be doing all right, fighting off the outlaws that approached them as Glimmer blasted them and punched them aside, all while Bow was slowing them down with his many trick arrows, ensnaring some of them, and blasting away others with his explosive arrows, cutting off the pathways a little and forcing them to go a row over or below to approach them again.

As much as it appeared to be in their hands, as long as Huntara's group had the numbers and paralyzing darts in their possession, it would only be a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

"Now you know why we call it "Game Night". Because one way or another, everybody gets involved." Charging again, the hunter slammed both her mighty fists against the ground, a poorly predictable move from Catra's end as she saw the attack coming on from a mile away, easily managing to avoid it as she jumped above the mighty hunter. What she couldn't avoid was the follow up as Huntara grabbed her by the foot before she could escape, slamming the girl back into the rough ground in front of her.

Before Catra had a chance to get up, she felt two powerful hands squeezing along her neck, Huntara pinning her down by her chest as she planted a firm knee on top of her. With the sores she was still recovering from with the slingers, and the full weight of the muscled hunter on top of her, Catra had little room to work with and little space to manage.

"Don't feel too bad about your friends." The hunter teased leaning closer to the girl. "I'll be sure to let them both go home nice and safe... assuming her mother pays a hefty ransom, of course. Thanks for that little tidbit about being rich, by the way." She grinned wider as Catra growled at the statement, knowing it was riling her up inside.

"It's not like you've met all my friends, freakshow!" Catra hissed back, earning a spiteful glare from the powerful hunter.

"Nobody calls me a freakshow!" It amazed Catra how many similarities the two truly had as Huntara finally got off of the girl. What she at first thought was a lucky break turned out to be a poor judgement on her part as Huntara kicked the magicat up into the air a bit, enough to get her fully off the ground as if she was standing, before grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the solid row behind her. "Just for that, I'm doubling the ransom money. For each of them."

Catra winced at the pressure starting to suffocate the magicat as Huntara squeezed down on her throat. "And what kind of friends could you possibly have around here?" Knowing the cat was defenseless for the moment, Huntara gleefully took a look around the arena, seeing nobody else, save for the parties between the two sides. "You got another princess or soldier boy you wanna introduce me to?"

"No... more like a pet!" Looking back, Huntara watched as Catra jammed both of her thumbs into each corner of her mouth, the magicat having to improvise since her claws were taken away. With her options limited, Catra finally came to the last resort in her inventory, being left with little choice.

*Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!*

The entire arena went silence as all eyes turned to the whistling girl, including Bow and Glimmer. It was a brief moment of peace as everyone else looked around, Huntara actually growing a little curious of what possible friend or ally Catra had lying in wait to surprise them. Save for the three heroes, nobody saw anything out of the blue, nothing sticking out to them save for the small destruction of the arena.

Huntara kept her eyes to her surroundings for a bit before she finally looked back. "Who were you trying to call?"

Catra had a bit of a nervous look on her face as her ears lowered. "I'm gonna be honest, I thought they'd be here a lot sooner. I'm used to doing this with a horse that can respond within seconds." With their allies assistance apparently delayed for the time being, Catra took the initiative as she felt a small loosening in Huntara's hand.

Pulling at the suffocating grip as fast as she could, she managed to grip the mighty hunter's arm enough to kick off the ground and the wall behind her, pushing Huntara back enough for her to throw her own weight against her. Losing her grip and her balance thanks to the uneven surface below, the hunter was toppled over as Catra delivered a heavy strike against Huntara's chest before she could fling the magicat away, tossing her into the large boulder again.

The hunter gave a short growl as the fighting started to resume again, Bow and Glimmer using the small distraction to their advantage as they teleported away again to the opposite side of the arena. With everything going back to the way it was, Huntara sneered at the weakening cat, knowing no matter how agile and quick she was, she lacked the same muscle mass that made Huntara an expert fighter, especially without her claws.

"I have to admit, you're doing pretty good, Catty. You know, for a rookie." She taunted, enjoying the sight of Catra getting back to her feet as she refused to quit. "I might have to start taking this seriously on you if-"

*rumble-rumble-rumble*

Again, all noise within the cave went silent as everyone else lifted their heads at the strange tremor. It was unlike anything they were used to around here, with quakes and tremors being a rarity within the Crimson Waste. In fact, the only time they did go off was when something was approaching them, something Huntara came to recognized as her eyes widened.

"You didn't..." She muttered as Catra grinned back.

"Oh, I did!"

*CRASH!*

*HSSSSSSSSS!*

Off to the northern section of the large arena, the entire cave shook violently as three massive red heads bursts through the cave's walls. There, they were greeted and horrified by the sight of three long bodies slithering its way into the cave, the sounds of screaming from Huntara's gang filling the air as several members fled in terror, several of them were trying to scare the snake away with their slingers, and several of them were pursuing Bow and Glimmer around the other side.

At the sight of the vermin around it, the three-headed snake hissed violently at the individuals, the left head attempting to take a bite out of one in whole, with the brave soul barely jumping out of the way in time, as the right head swatted away at several attackers who tried to scare it off with their own crude spears. Between the two, the left head was keeping its eyes open, scanning the field as if searching for something.

"You gotta be kidding me..." For one of the few moments of Huntara's life, her expression dropped in disbelief as she saw the powerful ally Catra managed to obtain.

*BAM*

"Ngh!" She yelped as she felt a powerful force slam into her from behind, finding the magicat pinning her down to the ground as she sat a foot atop her back.

With what few seconds remained, Catra quickly grabbed for her sword's blade as she tried to call upon She-Ra's power. "For the-!"

"GET OFF!" Her vainful attempts proved to be just that, as no sooner did she get the first to words out was she struck from behind, Huntara using the powerful heel of her foot to kick the magicat off of her, keeping her own grip on the sword as she tightly squeezed around the hilt.

Rolling against the ground, Catra growled back at the girl, irritated at how she just missed her chance to turn the fight around to her favor. Darn it, I was close! She steamed with anger as Huntara got up again, deciding to pull the sword from her back as she fighting raged on around her.

"Okay. You have to tell me right now. How on Etheria did you learn to talk to snakes?!" Something like this was unprecedented in Huntara's line of work. Not once did she ever meet an individual who managed to train a snake like this, much less anything from the Crimson Waste, with relative ease.

Grinning with pride, Catra ignored the question in its entirety as she began to jump away. From one row to the next, Catra easily managed around the crazed members of Huntara's gang until she managed to reach the snake itself. Looking down at the girl, the middle head attempted to bite at her, leaving enough space for Catra to maneuver out of the way in time, jumping atop its head when it had the chance.

Without any pause, the head began to flail violently, the other two heads hissing at the middle one, specifically at the girl that was riding on top of it, knowing they couldn't risk biting it without accidentally biting the snake itself.

"If you wanna find out, why don't you come and get me?" Catra taunted down. All this did was provide Huntara was a reason to smirk, placing a fist to her hip as she twirled Catra's sword in her right hand.

"Oh please, you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that kind of trick?" Huntara chuckled. Every good hunter knew when one was being lead into a trap or one was being lead to a playing field where somebody else had the advantage. While there wasn't any specific place Catra had in mind, she knew as long as she fought on Huntara's own ground, the hunter would be the one with the advantage as long as they stood on even footing.

And she still had a means to make her follow her. "Oh, trust me, you're plenty stupid." With another proud grin, Catra pulled something out she was hiding behind her back, something very close and dear to Huntara as she wagged it in clear view from her tail. "But I'm pretty sure you're gonna want this back.

"Wha-!" She instantly shot a look to her own backside in anger as she realized it. Catra's last tackle in an attempt to reclaim her sword from the mighty huntress wasn't just an attempt at turning the fight around, it was a means to distract her as Catra stole Huntara's own weapon from her backside, the very spear that Huntara treasured like none other. "Hey, that's mine!"

"I don't see your name on it!" With a final yell, Catra ran past the massive three-headed snake as she escaped through the convenient opening the snake gave her. With the pest removed from its head, the terrifying snake slowly slithered its way out of the cave, giving chase to the lone girl who managed to summon it to her aid without it knowing.

Looking around, Huntara continued to grumble as she saw Catra's friends running through the entrance again, everyone making their own escape as Catra had planned it, and forcing the hunter to separate both sides if she wanted to reclaim her precious spear and victory over this fight. "Go after the brats like I told you morons!" She barked, everyone giving her a quick nod or simply doing as instructed as they ran after them. "That girl's gonna pay!"

...

*crish*

"Whoooa!" Catra yelped as she barely managed to slip out of the way in time of the snake's oncoming head. Now that she was back on the surface, the most she had to worry about was the dealing with the three-headed snake as it attempted to chase after her. Finding a secluded spot out in the wasteland to continue the fight was the easy part.

The hard part was figuring out how to deal with the snake afterwards.

"Come on, it's not like I did anything to them!" Catra yelled, struggling to stick to the snake's side while trying to get Huntara's spear to open up. "Uggghhh... stupid... spear... Open up!" She ordered it, slapping it about with the palm of her hand in any attempt to get it stretch open like Huntara did. For a moment, she started to open Huntara wasn't like her in this aspect as well, where she needed to use a correct phrase to use the spear's power or something.

*HSSSSSS!*

"Yeah, I heard you!" Catra growled, jumping atop the snake's left head as she ran across it's long neck like before.

Running some distance, the magicat came across another small gorge she could get into, just like the first time she and her friends were being chased by one of these three-headed snakes. The only difference this time was the large figure that tackled her out of the way, lying in wait for her behind a large boulder near the gorge's opening.

Pinning her by the shoulders, Huntara glared angrily at the magicat as she forced her to the ground. "Give it back!"

*HSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

And it was the sound of the familiar hiss that Catra smirked back, finding the convenient arrival working in her favor. "You forget about my new friend?" She reminded as the snake slithered rapidly towards the hunter. Before she had a chance to respond, Huntara found herself snapped by the middle head's massive jaws, avoiding both of its deadly fangs as the hunter was slowly being crushed under its massive jaws.

"Ghhhh!" Huntara let out another growl as she used her own strength to keep the snake's jaws from closing in on her, the left and right heads of it giving a small hiss as they watched. "H-How-?!"

"How'd I get it to listen to me?" Catra asked casually as she brushed the dust off her arms and legs. "It really wasn't as hard as you'd imagine trying to get the snake to listen to me. I just had to make it hate me too much to ignore..."

...

...

*Tweeeeeet*

The snake hissed again as Catra gave it the signal, lunging for the magicat who stood next to one of its many eggs as any protective parent would. Smiling as the snake took the bait, Catra quickly ran around the side of the deserted wasteland to a nearby giant skull of an animal. There, Catra took Glimmer's waiting hand as the two teleported a ways away, right as the snake managed to find them.

*Tweeeeet*

There it was again, with Catra signaling the giant three-headed snake as she playfully rubbed one of the large eggs left behind in its nest. To the snake, it was as if a predator was about to devour its unborn young, chasing after it to protect the life precious to it. To her, it was nothing more than a ruse to get the snake to follow her. Taunting it, agitating it, warning it that every time it heard the familiar whistle, that its young would be in danger and she would be near its eggs.

Like before, Catra managed to run away in time of the hungry snake, nearly getting devoured in the process as she slid against the cold sand in time to avoid its right head, and jumping over its tail as it attempted to grab her.

From afar, Catra insisting that the two remain hidden unless she needed the help, to make sure Glimmer conserved on energy, the two friends were amazed at one of Catra's schemes, and how well it was going for her. Eventually, she reached a point a half-hour into this plan of hers where the snake began to follow her around, without her being near its eggs.

It was also a little frightening to see Catra resort to a plan like this where she would lure out a vicious killer beast to her beck and call, all for the sake of getting revenge on someone who stole her sword and, almost as important, her very claws. There was a brief point where the two feared as Catra was reaching a dead end as Glimmer prepared to teleport to her rescue, only for the magicat to jump as high as she could against the wall's surface, grabbing onto it as the snake's three heads missed her completely, and jumping over the trio of hungry mouths as she ran away from it again.

All of this, all this desperation, all this anger, to get back at someone who stole her claws.

"Hey, Bow?"

"Yeah, Glimmer?"

Glimmer looked back to him with distress. "Remind me to warn my mother to never try and clip Catra's nails again when we get home..."

...

...

"You got it to listen to you over that?!" Huntara yelled, feeling the jaws closing in around her little by little.

"What can I say? It pays to have people hate you sometimes." Catra smirked, watching as the hunter slowly succumbed to her fate. "Bye~" And with a final, taunting, wave, the massive pair of jaws finally came down on top of her.

*Chomp!*

Finally, the fight was over, giving Catra a much-needed break as she let out a sigh. Okay, so far things were going fine. Now she just needed to figure out a way to get her sword out from the snakes stomach. No matter how valuable it was, she wasn't going to take her sword back after it was digested, so to speak.

Turning her focus back on the spear, she continued to examine it from all angles, being careful not to be sticking her face in front of it in case it popped open, as she tried to figure out how to activate it. Given her current circumstances, it looked like the spear was going to be her best bet to take down the snake now that Huntara was-

*rumble*

"Huh?" Catra refused to believe it as she heard a small tremble. Looking back at the snake's middle head, she saw the snake appearing as if it was squinting, shaking its massive jaw as it tried to keep it closed. Or, keep something from escaping. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Sadly, joking was not part of the equation on this moonlit night as Catra slowly backed up.

Slowly, surely, painfully, little by little, she watched with amazement and concern as she Saw Huntara slowly pushing the snake's jaws away from each other, the snake hissing in pain as its mouth was slowly forced open. The huntress known as Huntara refused to back down no matter what, finding this near-death experience as nothing more than an inconvenience, setting her sights and glare on the very girl who tried to get her eaten in the first place.

Knowing the snake was her first priority, she decided to make short work of it as she turned her attention to it. Ignoring the greasy slimy saliva covering her, the huntress gave a mighty push of the jaw as she jumped out of its mouth, grabbing onto the side of its mouth before it could snap its jaws closed again. Using her own weight and her muscles against the snake's middle head, in a surprising feat of strength, the mighty hunter gave a loud roar as she actually managed to roll the entirety of the snake's being onto its side, tossing the heads against one another as they fell on top of each other.

It wasn't enough to kill the mighty three-headed danger, but it was more than enough to teach the snake whose boss around here as it hissed at her, this time out of fear. Slowly backing away, the huntress watched as the snake slithered away, its tail slithering behind it as it buried itself back under the sand's surface, refusing to contend with something it couldn't eat.

With the snake leaving the combatants, Huntara turned her glare back onto the still-surprised magicat, who could only stare at her in wonder.

"... Okay, I know I'm supposed to hate you right now, but that was pretty cool." She commented.

"Haaaaah!"

"Ah!" Catra panicked as she tried to get the spear working again as Huntara charged at her with her own sword. Dashing towards the girl in a massive leap, Catra barely managed to get the spear to open in time before she clashed it against Huntara's, technically her, sword.

*CLANG!*

Both warriors continued to press on in the attack as they glared at one another, pressing into each other with all of their might as they clashed the other's weapon against each other. With their feets pressing against the sand, Catra found herself at a small disadvantage as her bare feet skid across the desert Waste, Huntara pushing against her with all her weight as she edged the magicat closer to the edge of the gorge. Without a snake to worry about, it would've proven fatal for Catra if the huntress managed to get the drop on her from above while she fell at the same time.

"I gotta hand it to ya, brat!" Huntara grinned, enjoying the sight of Catra struggling as her weakened ankle was proving harder to stay on top of with each passing breath. "You made this fight a lot more fun than the other people I fought. They never even thought of getting a giant snake in the mix."

"Gee, I can't imagine why!" Catra yelled back, feeling the brush of her heel nearing the edge of the gorge. With little other option, Catra gave her one last solid push as she managed to blow the huntress back by just a foot. A foot was all she needed as Catra attempted to tackle her away, resulting in another counter by the attentive Huntara as she easily sidestepped. With her back exposed, she delivered a painful kick into Catra's backside that tossed her away a few feet.

Surprisingly, this was exactly as Catra was hoping for, granted, with a little less pain in the mix. With the Huntress distancing her further from the gorge, she didn't need to worry about falling into it as she charged Huntara in full. Once again, their weapons clashed into one another as they were pressed into each other, their faces mere inches from the other to the point any one of them could bite the other one.

The battle was far from over, and neither of them were about to let up anytime soon.

...

...

*pew!*

"Ahhh!" Another lizard man cried out as Glimmer blasted him away with her magic.

With Catra giving her own signal, the two made their escape out of the cave and into the open area, continuing to distance themselves as far away as possible to draw their attention away from helping Huntara. Slowing down what he could, Bow fired his arrows several times into the pursuing outlaws in the cave, ensnaring several of them and getting others to topple those behind them forward.

It still proved difficult in itself to keep up their current pace as Bow's arrows were running low and Glimmer's magic was running out. With the princess's staff summoned to her side, she managed fight off the oncoming assaulters while saving off her magic when she needed it most. As for Bow, now that the two had more open ground to cover, he could help fight hand to hand against several of the fighters as their numbers were more spread out between the two.

Firing off another blast of energy, panting a little in exhaustion, Glimmer smashed away another of the attackers straight in the face with a fist full of magic before looking back. "Is it me, or are more of them starting to show up?"

Bow waited until his area was clear, taking the tackle of one in full readiness as he pulled the assailant backwards with him. WIth a solid roll, he managed to throw the pursuer straight into the other wolf outlaw that was trying to rush him from behind, hopping back to his feet with his arrow at the ready. "Huntara must've had a small scouting party to keep the perimeter safe that we didn't know abou-hhh!" Squealing a little, the archer was suddenly cut off as a large arm was wrapped around his neck, pulling him back enough as one of other outlaws tried to rush him again.

"Bow!" Glimmer cried out, using some of her magical reserves as she teleported to his side. With the unexpecting outlaw growing surprised at this, he was an easy opening for Glimmer to blast away with his magic. It managed to make the lizard holding Bow loosen his grip enough from fright for Bow to dig through his quiver, pulling out one of his arrows before jamming it in front of the lizard's face.

In a small puff of smoke, the lizard found his eyes stinging from Bow's Pepper-Arrow, inhaling the fumes and feeling it wash over his eyes as it stung profusely.

*ting*

"Ahh!" Glimmer cried out, pulling a dart out of the back of her neck as the paralysis started to take effect over her. "Nnnhhh..."

"Glimmer!" Bow yelled out worriedly, rushing to her side to repay the favor as he caught her mid fall. Bow quickly dug through his front pocket as he pulled out a small purple Smelling Salt that Catra managed to unintentionally swipe from Huntara earlier, the only means of counteracting the paralysis.

Raising it up to Glimmer's nose, the Princess of Bright Moon only needed one sniff of the bizarre substance for it to take effect immediately. Like Catra, her face contorted a little as she tried to swipe the substance away from her face, finding it to be the most revolting sensation through her nostril. "Ughghhghgh," her body quivered, "it feels like I'm growing goosebumps down my spine! No wonder Catra hates that stuff."

"Look out!" With another shout of warning, the two rolled out of the way in time as one of the larger lizardmen, the very one that they had met previously in the ambush and at the cantina, slammed his mighty fists into the ground, nearly crushing them upon impact.

With both heroes safely in a fighting state once more, they felt the tension rise through the air as they slowly saw Huntara's gang beginning to surround them, forcing them to back up to one another with their weapons at the side and their magic in Glimmer's hand. They were running out of time.

Catra, please hurry...

...

...

*Clang!*

"Grrrrrrr!" Both fighters glared each other down as the fighting escalated to the midst of the sandy field, with nothing but cliffs and gorges surrounding them on both sides. Sword pressing down on her, Huntara pressed her other hand against the blade as she pushed down harder on Catra, forcing her down to one knee as the other struggled to maintain it's footing.

"You outsiders have no place in the Crimson Waste!" Huntara stated, kicking off the magicat several yards away, Catra wincing as she tried to hold in the pain. "Every time you show up you bring trouble with you, and I won't allow it!"

Barring her teeth before her, Catra hatched another plan. A risky one, but her opens were becoming more and more limited as Huntara managed to adapt to every situation. Firmly gripping the spear in her hand, she did something Huntara never expected her to do.

She tossed the spear straight at the huntress to stepped aside from it, barely dodging it inches away from her collarbone as it flew right past her. Looking back, the magicat was already continuing the offensive as she ducked and slid underneath the huntress's legs, grabbing her left foot and pulling with all her might, toppling the strong hunter flat on her face.

It did little more than annoy her as she saw the girl continuing to rush for her spear sticking out of the sand. If everything worked like Catra hoped it would, then she could finally turn this fight around in her favor. Finally reaching the sturdy spear, it began to look like favor was in her grasp as she began to pull it out.

That was all she managed to do before Huntara smacked her away with her bare fists, blasting the magicat aside a good twenty feet and causing her to skid her feet and fingertips painfully against the cold desert sand. Growling back at her, she realized there was now at a severe disadvantage as Huntara grinned back to her with something she no longer hand.

The spear she dropped.

"Well, how do you like that, Catty?" Huntara taunted as she kicked up the spear into the air, twirling it about in front of her before gripping it in her left hand. Now, the brave hunter was gripping a weapon in each hand, while Catra appeared to have none. "I'm almost going to feel bad about this next part."

"Ghhhhhhh!" Catra didn't care. With the ferocity of a wild animal like she was, she ran straight for the huntress who was armed and at the ready. Huntara watched the girl with a grin, preparing both her weapons firmly in each hand as the cat prepared to strike her. With two weapons for the price of none, she was going to claim an easy victor-

*skreeek!*

"AHHHHH!" Huntara yelled as she grabbed the side of her left arm. Instead of charging straight at the huntress the entire way, at the last second, Catra sidestepped the hunter, dashing across her left side in the blink of an eye as she slapped her knuckle across the arm. Looking at the damage directly, she became shocked to see three solid scratch marks against her arms, nearly breaking the skin in the process as it left three painful red marks. "Scratch marks? But how-!" She stopped as she saw her.

There, Catra stood with a smirk across her face, holding three separate claws in between each of her fingers in each hand. Thankfully for Catra, Huntara did more than an adequate job in removing the claws for her as they were well over an inch in length, each of them nearly the size of her pinky, and sharp enough to cut through living creatures like butter.

Against Huntara, they would've been no different than the average cut, but she didn't care. She was just glad to have some of her old pals back.

"How did you...!" Feeling around her neck, she realized her entire necklace was gone, the one she made out of Catra's own claws. That's when it finally hit her.

The spear Catra through wasn't targeted or aimed at the hunter herself, she was aiming them at the handcrafted necklace she made out of Catra's claws. She had just enough time to remove them from the spear in the ground as she collected it before the hunter managed to smack her away. Spear or no spear, Catra was no less dangerous now than she was with Huntara's weapon.

"How nice of you to give me back my very own claws." Catra teased, admiring the view of her beauties as she gave a threatening look to the hunter. "Allow me to return the favor.

With her preferred weapons back in her hands, or at least to the sides of them, Catra attacked the huntress head on as Huntara rushed in turn. Slamming the sword against the girl, Catra quickly backpedaled in the nick of time to avoid the overhead strike, grabbing onto her wrist as she pushed her feet off the ground, and planting them firmly into the huntress's face. With the huntress tilting back a little, Catra followed it up as she jumped behind her, scraping her claws against Huntara's left arm as she did so, and grinning as Huntara was on the receiving end of the pain for once.

Trying to counter the girl's attack like she always did, Huntara attempted to smack her away from the side as she pulled her fist back, lazily and predictable enough for Catra to duck out of the way in time as she jumped over the huntress again, this time leaving three more scratches against the left side of her face.

Out of reflex, the hunter attempted to rub at the sore cheek out of pain, giving Catra the perfect opportunity to toss her off her feet. Grabbing at the raised hand, Huntara surprised by the swift assault that Catra was managing, she found herself being lifted off her very feet by the struggling feline as she pulled the girl in a full loop, using the momentum to chuck the girl through the air and over to a nearby boulder, crashing her straight into its side. While it was enough to get her to drop the spear, wasn't enough for her to lose her grip on the sword, knowing the fight was over the moment she ran with it.

Huntara gasped with pain at this which didn't amount to the fury welling up inside of her. She refused to be made a fool of in front of her Crimson Waste, regardless if the others were near or not. Listening closely, she could hear the girl already in the air again, coming from behind as she planned to sink her claws into the hunter's back.

Huntara was done playing nicely with this girl.

"Haaaa-!" Roaring, Catra prepared to sink her claws the huntress's back, feeling good to end this fight with her claws at her side at long last.

The sensation of the fight nearing its end quickly faded from the back of her mind when Huntara managed to grab her fist in the palm of her hand, not even caring as the sharp claws almost dug into her skin. Like earlier, she pressed down harshly against Catra's hand, practically crushing her hand in the process as the hunter got back to her feet.

"I'm done playing games with you, Catty!" Bellowing with anger, Huntara screamed as she pulled Catra aside, slamming her back into the boulder behind her like she did at the start of this fight. Unlike last time, she eased up on the girl as she gave Catra a small warm-up of what she was capable of.

She refused to make that mistake again.

Trying to one up the hunter from where she stood, Catra tried dig her claws into her again as her hand was caught for a third time by this point. Holding onto Catra's fist, Huntara pressed her left fist painfully into Catra's stomach, watching the girl double over before she could let out a cry of pain before throwing her behind her again against the rough sand.

Catra was starting to lose the feeling in her muscles as she struggled to keep going, being pushed to her physical limits in terms of muscle as Huntara pressed on the attack.

Grabbing Catra by her very hair, she gave her a solid yank into the air as she grabbed hold of her tightly, wrapping both her arms around the girl as she pinned her arms to her side. Holding the cat in her powerful arms, Huntara charged forward directly into the boulder itself without relent, Catra never realizing where she was taking her until the last second.

By then, it was already too late.

*CRASH!*

Like a wrecking ball, the hunter crashed Catra through the solid two-foot thick boulder as Huntara toppled over her, throwing her over the distance with a roll as she watched Catra painfully collide with the ground.

Taking in the brunt of the impact on her back and half her joints still sore from the slinging, Catra was fumbling as she struggled to get up, squeezing her eyes tightly in pain as she tried to get up to her feet. She was having a hard enough time alone trying to push herself up to her knees as her arms and legs buckled under their own weight. Worst of all, wherever her claws were now, they were long gone and buried underneath the sand, having lost the grip of them by the time Huntara slammed her back into the boulder.

Huntara panted heavily at this as she wiped her chin, still giving a mild glare at the cat who refused to call it quits or knew when to give up. If nothing else, she could appreciate the determination Catra had in her bones. It almost made her feel guilty about ending her and this fight, knowing that a winner was only determined by the last man or woman standing.

Soon, Catra would be neither of those.

"I have to admit, you surprised me." She commented, wiping her chin as she casually walked over to the downed cat. In an act of desperation, Catra attempted to fling a handful of sand at the hunter, jumping straight at her with her fist pulled back before even seeing Huntara block the sandy attack with her arm. Moving it away just as fast, she knocked Catra back down again with a single punch, Catra grumbling in pain and anger as she realized she was losing.

"You got a lot more muscle and creativity in those puny fists of yours. I can imagine you would've won the fight a long time ago if you still had your claws, wouldn't you?" Looking ahead of herself, she saw as Catra attempted to pull herself over to a nearby rock she saw sticking out of the ground, which would've made the perfect bludgeoning tool if Huntara didn't spot this. In a simple swipe, she grabbed the back of Catra's right foot as she was an inch away from reaching it, pulling the girl against the sand over to her.

Catra barely had the time to roll herself over to her back before a large hand gripped the entirely of her throat. She could see Huntara's irritated face scowling at her, her sword gripped in her left hand as she suffocated her in the right. With all the injuries Catra had sustained and the advantage of strength Huntara had, they both knew this would be the end.

"Akk...eck... khhh..." Catra gasped as she struggled to breathe, trying to pry Huntara's hand from her throat. If she never had to contend with those stupid flingers striking at her joints, she could've pressed on for a lot longer throughout the fight. She was sure she could've.

"If it means anything, you definitely proved yourself strong, Catra. Really strong. But strength alone isn't going to mean much without the will to press on." It was a pointless life lesson Catra wasn't caring to hear as it became harder to breathe. "I'll make sure your friends go home safely after this, you have my word. But as for you..." She smirked. "I doubt you'll be sitting for the next year after this." She said, referring to Catra's tail and the soon-to-be lack thereof.

"Fffff... he..." Catra mumbled, slapping away weakly with each passing attempt to pull the hand away. "Ghhh... nor..."

Huntara blinked looking bored with the cat as her eyelids drooped partway. "Huh?"

"T... r..."

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Huntara teased a little, drawing the magicat closer to her ear, knowing she was in no position to bite her.

"I... said..." All at once, a serious expression filled Catra's face as the pain seemingly left her body. At this, the magicat finally wrapped her tail over the blade of her sword. "For the Honor of Grayskull."

*SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!*

In a powerful bursting light, the mighty hunter was blown away by the sheer force of power being drawn to the girl, scraping her feet twenty feet away against the ground as she attempted to shield her eyes with both her arms. "WHAT?!"

All around her lights of a dazzling displayed danced across the scenery as her entire body shimmered with a sparkling glow, save for her eyes that remained pure light. With the humming of her sword, she brought sword to her face along with her illuminated hand, crossing them side by side until they formed an X in front of her.

With a silent breath, she began pulling the sword and claw against each other on opposite ends, scraping her claws against the mighty blade which danced with a sparkling light. As she did, little by little her outfit changed into a majestic white color, growing little by little along her body as she pulled the blade away from her claw. By the time her claw reached the end of her sword, her entire outfit had finished changing, now sporting a white colored vest with a yellow light image bursting from the center of a light-blue gem, along with a white colored short skirt across her waist.

Below this skirt was the gift of a beautiful pair of pants that Catra always treasured, with small slits in the knees that allowed her to access the maximum amount of her agility without holding her back.

Finally, she brought her empty hand to her face. She held it there as a golden light enveloped both her wrists, forming a beautifully golden set of bracelets. As a final piece, slowly pulling her hand away from her face as her helmet changed to a golden color, the spikes on the end growing several inches longer as they curved out against her form, just as golden pads stretched from the shoulders.

Below her knees, the stars gathered as protective anklets formed along the sides of her legs, also stretched halfway up to her knees, though lowered on the inner sides of them. From the base of these anklets, the sword continued to offer its protection to her as it grew a shining force of gold sandals across her feet, thin enough for her to use her feet's claws and as sturdy enough as a tank's armor, despite how thin it was.

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

And from their magnificent glow, the red cape slowly formed from behind her, connecting between the two as it slowly descended down to Catra's thigh.

With this, her transformation had come to an end, and She-Ra had been formed.

Transformation complete, Huntara gazed at the mighty warrior in shock and wonder, seeing the magicat's transformation for the first time and in person. She had never seen someone come from the brink of defeat like that, to transform out of nowhere, and turn into a powerful figure like the one standing before her.

Catra's final gamble had paid off in the end.

Pretending to be losing her strength, getting Huntara to drop her guard long enough for Catra to get close, she just needed the perfect opportunity to reach closer to her sword, long enough for her to say those sacred words while touching it at the same time.

It was times like this she was glad to have a tail.

Despite the impressive transformation, Huntara refused to back down as she charged the unwavering Catra head on, pulling back her fist with all of her strength. Like every time Catra had attempted when it came to a headon collision, She-Ra had managed to easily grasp the hunter's hand, surprising her further with the newfound strength in her arms as she acutally forced Huntara down to her knees a little bit.

She wasn't as ruthless as that, of course. No, no, she just got done being smacked around by the mighty hunter who continued to struggle against her iron grip. Catra was going to make sure she felt an ounce of the payback she inflicted on her.

Starting with her face.

*Wham!*

Huntara was shot like a canon out of the air as Catra uppercut her with her free hand, sending the hunter soaring through the air over the desert wasteland and crashing her back into the pile of rubble she crashed Catra through. Unlike Catra, Huntara still managed to rise up from the rubble, wiping the scrape on her chin with anger as she refused to quit.

Seeing Huntara charging directly for her, Catra decided to meet her directly, charging straight for the woman with all her might as she ran across the sands, her trusty sword back in the palm of her hands. Flashing with a brilliant golden light as the two figures approached, as Huntara regathered her spear from the ground, Catra morphed her sword into the trusty shield she knew that would keep her safe, bashing the spear right out of Huntara's grip before smashing her in the face with the very same shield.

Much like her fist, the impact was enough to send her through the air again, but this time, Catra was ready to end it. Morphing her weapon into a trusted lasso, giving it a few quick twirls, she managed to throw an impressive shot nearly thirty feet away into the air, just latching onto Huntara tightly as the rope closed around her, pinning her arms to the side.

Growling with an unbridled fury, Catra gave a mighty heave as she pulled back, slamming Huntara back into the sand away from her, landing her close to the very spear she knocked away a second ago, and watching the air fill with a puff of dust and sand from the impact, Huntara coughing in pain as her back slammed against the ground.

Incapacitated as she was, Catra jumped into the air from her spot, much higher than she was previously capable of, before landing right at Huntara's side, surprising her more and more as the end drew near. Giving a stern look to the woman, still holding her with her lasso, Catra picked up the spear an arm's reach away, pointing it directly at Huntara's neck as the huntress came to realize her situation.

She had finaly lost.

Yet, even as she did, she showed no signs of fear or remorse. She couldn't account or explain Catra's bizarre transformation, and she didn't care. With a look of determination, seeing the spear pointing directly at her neck, she stared at the wildcat with determination in her eyes.

"Do it." She told her, getting a small growl out of the transformed wonder.

"You don't think I won't?" Catra spat, poking the tip of the spear at the neck.

"I know you won't, which is why you need to do it." Huntara replied. "This fight isn't over until one of us are left standing. I made that very clear when this fight began." Catra gave a low growl at this, hating to be told what to do even when it was something she felt like doing. "Once you claim victory, the Crimson Waste will be yours to lead as you see fit." To this, she finally looked off to the side in regret. "Just... promise me you'll keep everyone safe. That's all I ask."

"Ghhhh..." Clearly the woman didn't know how this worked, did she? First, she was supposed to beg and scream for her life. Second, someone was supposed to convince Catra not to go through with her little vendetta against people who betrayed her. And lastly, she was supposed to decide for herself as to whether or not she would go through with it.

She got the last part down, but the first two steps were too important to ignore.

Then again, she had a point. When Catra won, she could take command over the Crimson Waste. She would be saving her friends if they were still okay, she could add the Crimson Waste's numbers to the Rebellion's army, and she'd get something partially close to a kingdom like she always wanted. Maybe this was Karma's way of paying up for her personal sacrifice?

Plus, one big factor that played into it was the sword itself. It didn't flash, it didn't glow, it didn't' give any sort of indication that Catra should ignore her quest for vengeance like it usually did. It didn't seem to respond to anything as she contemplated her thoughts. She wasn't feeling her powers weakening, it wasn't taking away any of her strength or amor, there wasn't anything. It's like it was fine with whatever Catra was willing to choose.

Or, because it already knew what she would have.

"Go on, do it!" Huntara ordered, tightening her expression as the two glared into each other's eyes. "I know I would do it, and you're just like me." Catra grimaced at the statement as she tightened her grip on the spear. "It's the right thing to do, Catty."

"... Yeah, it is." Finally agreeing with it, she gave the spear a small twirl before screaming, plunging the spear straight at Huntara.

*SHNK*

And like that, the battle was over. Catra had finally won. She did exactly as Huntara told her, and plunged the spear directly at the hunter's throat without any sense of remorse for her actions or caring about who lied before her.

Too bad she missed by several inches away from her neck.

Shifting her eyes briefly at the spear sticking out of the ground next to her, Huntara looked back as Catra leaned closer to her head. "But I'm nothing like you." With this final statement, she released the hold on Huntara at long last, turning her sword back to normal as she pulled it to her side. "And the name, is She-Ra. NOT Catty." With the last of her words said, Catra finally turned away from the girl as she began to walk away.

"She-Ra?" Huntara blinked, realizing her life had been spared and by a remarkable figure known only to legend. "You're She-Ra? You look so much more different than I pictured." Catra stopped at this, turning around with a tip of confusion, surprise, and irritation.

"Funny you should happen to know about that." Catra commented, walking back over to the defeated huntress. "Then again, you'd be surprised what people can learn," her eyes narrowed a little, "when they're from the Horde..." Catra had known, had realized, up to this point. With all the struggles and similarities she's seen between the hunter and herself, it would've been a surprise if she wasn't from the Horde at this point.

Huntara turned her eyes away briefly with her own sense of shame, regret filling her mind over the history of her own life. "I was with the Horde, but I left." She replied. "They told us we were heroes freeing Etheria from the evil Princesses."

"Tell me about it..." Catra muttered, rolling her eyes a little.

"But when I saw what we were doing, how Hordak just threw soldiers away..." She couldn't finish her own sentence there. All she could do was look back to the person with a similar walk of life like hers. "Well, you know what we saw. You were one of us." Catra squeezed her fist as she looked away, remembering all the bad and, well, badder, times she had growing up. "You don't forget the image of a village desecrated before your eyes, do you?"

"... No... you don't." Catra replied. It didn't matter if she was the one who desecrated it in the first place, or if she came to it after. From day one since she left the Horde, the one memory she couldn't ignore was the first village they found burned to the ground, picturing the lives that were lost among the old.

And when she recalled the image of the doll she found within the rubble, the young as well.

"But I'm trying to make up for my mistakes. I joined the Rebellion, I became their greatest warrior!"

"Then you are a fool." Huntara spat, standing up to the figure who could easily break her in her current state. "One girl can't make a difference against the might of the Horde, even a tall shiny girl like you. It's useless to try."

"At least it beats waiting around to die!" Catra shot back. "I'm not just one girl fighting against them, I have an army behind me, allies at my side and... and friends. My mistake was never changing how I was in the past. That cost me my personal life. My solution is trying to fix the future, to make up for the mistakes I was too selfish to fix on my own. To stop the Horde, to stop their armies, and..." Her eyes softened a little as she continued. "To keep the people I care about safe."

Huntara looked away as she said this. She knew a thing about mistakes from her own past, ones she was too stubborn to ignore or try to fix with her own two hands. By the time she mustered any sense of courage to do so, it was already too late. The stains of those memories were forever printed on her hand, and in her memories. And they would haunt her for the rest of her days.

Seeing this for herself, Catra grabbed Huntara by the shoulder, turning her a little until she was looking into Huntara's eyes. "Huntara, I know what its like, okay? To try and ignore all the problems in your past and hoping they'll just go away. But it doesn't work! It'll just keep growing and growing until you can't bare it any longer. And that's why I need you to help us find what we're looking for, so I can help save everyone else from what we're going through. To keep them from feeling the same pain we're feeling right now To keep everyone from repeating what we've done."

Raising a hand to the mighty huntress, she gave her a firm look of solemness, of pain. "Huntara, I need your help to stop the Horde. Please-"

"You need to step away from her." At the sound of a familiar pink satyr, Catra looked back, feeling anger already welling up inside of her at what she saw.

Thirty feet away they stood. All of Huntara's goons and allies, probably up to about twenty of them now, grinning at the magicat as they held their weapon. Among them, two particular outlaws, the pink satyr and the blue lizard from the start of all this, had the nerve to go above and beyond getting Catra's anger riled up.

In both their arms, they held Bow and Glimmer respectively, with the lizard's holding two of Glimmer's arms behind her back and a pair around her neck, and the other one holding Bow in a headlock, pointing the blowpipe directly at his neck. As if that wasn't enough, surrounding both of them were several of Huntara's soldiers, pointing makeshift daggers and spears at their necks in case they pulled a fast one.

Glimmer refused to back down as she struggled against the lizard's tightening grip, especially around her neck, as Bow struggled and tried to think of a way out of this at the same time, knowing any escape would result in a handful of nasty spears and daggers being thrown into them.

And boy was Catra mad.

"Let them go!" She growled angrily, transforming her sword into an elongated spear, the same size as Huntara's own.

"Ah, ah, ah." The satyr grinned back, holding Bow's neck tighter. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I don't think you'd be willing to go through your friends just to hurt us, would you?" Immediately, panic overtook Bow and Glimmer's mind as the archer looked back with worry.

"Lady, you REALLY don't know Catra like we do!" He stammered.

Catra snarled at this as she tried to think of a plan. Sure, she actually wouldn't mind going through her friends to get to them, like Bow expected, but at the very least, she didn't want to get either of them hurt in the process because of her.

"Come on, Huntara. Claim your victory or take the loot, it doesn't matter. It's time we got out of this dump." There was a silence in the air as Huntara began to walk back to the group, the fellow soldiers and allies grinning to her as she approached them. It didn't matter to them if she won or not at this point, not with the fear of her and the respect for her filling the back of their minds.

She was their leader until the day she fell.

The pink satyr grinned as Huntara approached her, grabbing the spear along the way, accepting the comforting hand as she placed her palm firmly over the satyr's shoulder. Actually... a little too firmly. Now it was starting to hurt. Now she was two feet off the ground as she was locked into Huntara's tightening grip. And before she knew it, she was suddenly tossed away at the lizard, smacking into him as the two tumbled away.

Everyone watched with shock as the two turned tail and ran, terrified of their leader's sudden reaction. Everyone was still just as frightened of her as before, if not more now thanks to her sudden and strange behavior. With Bow and Glimmer picking themselves off the ground, rushing over to Catra's side, Huntara gave a stern look to the rest of them.

"Everybody go back, now!" She ordered. There were some turns and twists of heads of the outlaws as they stared at one another, never seeing their fearless leader like this before. "NOW!" With a thunderous voice, all eyes widened in horror as everyone took off, several people screaming about how crazy Huntara was suddenly acting tonight, others thinking she lost it.

Out of all of them, one particular individual, a certain barkeeper, stared at her for a bit, giving off an uneasy vibe to the huntress before she gave her a small smile. She was her friend through and through, and despite her strange behavior, she was just glad she was okay as she calmly walked back, planning to meet up with the rest of them on their journey home.

With the sight of her comrades leaving, Huntara stared deeply into her spear, a bit of remorse crossing her expression. "You're right." She admitted aloud. "What I saw in the Horde scared me, and I ran. I couldn't deal with the pain it caused." With a newfound determination, the huntress contracted the spear again to its normal size. "But I'm not gonna run anymore. I'll face my problems head on."

With this proclamation, the two ex-Horde soldiers grinned to one another as Huntara approached her again. "And if you're trying to stop the war, then... then I will do what I can to help you." With both their fists, they gave a small pat against the back of each other's hand, a symbol of strength, a sign of respect, as they accepted one another as equals. Bow and Glimmer smiled at this, glad that things turned out alright, and proud of Catra for making a new ally.

It didn't matter to them anymore if Catra made friends with her so easily or not. If Catra was feeling as lonely as she was within the Rebellion, when the two of them weren't there to comfort her, then she could make all the friends as she wanted.

The two stared at each other in silence for a bit before Catra scratched at her cheek, lowering her ears. "Um... so, what were you referring to earlier about a ship?"

...

The desert sun was beginning to break open over the wasteland by the time Huntara had brought the group to where they needed to be. Over a cliffside overlooking a small personal wasteland of rotting and dead animals, nothing remaining save for mere bones, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra gazed and marveled at the sight ahead of them. With Catra returning to her regular form, they bore witness to a sight that was unheard of, remarkable against everything they had ever seen.

"Catra... what is that?" Bow asked, unable to take his eyes off the structure. Catra tried to think, tried to rationalize everything that came to mind. When it got down to it, there was only one answer on her mind, one thought that connected the pieces all together.

"Mara..." She whispered.

Ahead of them, in the great barren valley surrounding them, they saw the most magnificent and surprising discovery they had ever seen. A lone, large, ship, one that towered even the great canyons of this wasteland, sticking out of the ground as the sunlight reflected off its beauty from behind.

Most of the structure retained its appearance, save for a few scratches and scrapes along the alloy. The mere presence of this colossal discovery blew the wind against them fiercer, being in awe at what they were beholding, being confused by what it all menat. Out of all of them, Catra was the only one who felt a mix of hope radiating in her chest that her answers might finally be revealed, and fear at what those answers would become.

She was at the neck of her journey, she could just feel it. All she needed to do now was answer one single question:

Would the answers bring to her the salvation she was looking for?

Or would it lead to her ultimate destruction...

...

...

...

A/N: Annnd another episode COMPLETEEEEEEEED! Whoohoooooo! I can't begin to tell ya folks how excited I am for the rest of the series ^^ I mean it, we have some serious times here and there, but above all , its all good ol' fashion fun when it comes down to it. I mean god, can you imagine if the rest of the season was all just depressing and waterworks where every episode from here on out got more grim than the last for the rest of the season? Hah, that would be ridiculous ^_^!... why's everyone staring at me for?

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review, and I hope to see you soon! Now, to start off the next episode with... Oh... that's why people were staring...