A/N: Final Word Count: 10.8k. Another chapter in the same day? What are the chances~
...Actually pretty good since i posted the first one bright and early at like 7:40 or whatever, and this only took up to 6 hours to complete believe it or not XP Lol had quite a bit of fun. As you can expect, a majority of this consists of the fight scene between Adora and the gang leader, as we get to see how Adora days going down that end of things.
Really don't got much to say at the start of this thing, ending might be a little rushed, but considering what's to come up and what's to end next chapter, i felt it was a good stopping point. Really, not much to say other than that XP We're almost at the end people, hope you're excited!
Enjoy!
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"Hoo! Hoo! Hooooooo!" The yipping sounds of the lizard folk surrounding them went off like a pack of dogs barking in the middle of the night. All around them, Adora, Scorpia, Daisy, and the blue lizard girl were surrounded, staring into the sky where the bandits and outlaws were watching from above. High up upon the rib cage of the giant beast that once was, they were cheering and excited as their presumed leader made his appearance.
Thus far, this was the worst the mission had gotten for Adora, which was actually pretty good all things considered. After arriving to the Crimson Waste in search for the First Ones Tech left behind, and showing the people at the tavern that Adora wasn't one to be messed with, she and Scorpia were properly guided through the wasteland, searching for the technology that Catra was no doubt in the midst of finding as well.
During their travels, the two got to chatting about their time here in which, in all fairness, actually wasn't all that bad. Sure, the scuffle at the cantina was a bit annoying, but it wasn't anything Adora couldn't handle on her own. And after demonstrating her strength to the outlaws and bandits who filled it, she was officially welcomed among them, even if it was out of fear than respect.
None of which mattered to her whatsoever.
What did matter to the girl was the recent turn the events took now. Following the pink satyr known as Daisy, the girl had accidentally lead the group into an ambush, surrounded by all sides within an open gorge where the remains of a large mammal's bones lied around. It was here that they found themselves surrounded by several dozen lizard folk, all of whom were cheering and excited about whatever event was about to take place.
An event that started the moment the mysterious leader of this group made his appearance.
"Soooo... someone mind filling me in here?" Adora asked, never taking her eyes off the leader.
"Oh no..." She turned to Daisy as the satyr gulped, still holding her frozen friend. "It's Tung Lashor."
"... Pfffft..." Adora had to cover her mouth, knowing the seriousness of the situation was too important to laugh about... maybe. "I'm sorry. It's what?"
"Tung Lashor leads the number two gang in the Crimson Waste. He's been itching to push Huntara out for years and become number one!" She explained, taking a step back from the leader above as he looked down upon them from the giant skull. "With her gone, they'd run this place."
"And it looks like today is our lucky, lucky day." Tung Lashor added. With a powerful kick off the ground, the four watched as the infamous leader leaped into the air, slamming down on the ground before them with enough force to make the ground tremble. As Adora stood her ground, Daisy and Scorpia felt wise enough to back away as the nefarious outlaw approached, with Scorpia wanting to give her friend the space she'd probably need.
"I never thought you'd be dumb enough to step foot out here without Huntara." He commented with a grin.
"Wow. He actually thinks he's threatening, doesn't he?" Aroda commented from Adora's right as the soldier stared at him in attention. "I almost feel sorry for the guy, and I just met him." Assuming what was going to happen, like Scorpia, the reflection just as quickly disappeared into the shadows.
Smirking, the number two gang leader tightened the grip around his whip, one he brought in front of himself as a display of pure strength. "But here you are. And now I'm gonna leave your bones as a warning to all who cross Tung Lashor, the strongest in the Crimson Wa-"
"Awwwwwhn..." The infamous leader blinked to himself as Adora let out a bored yawn, the blond girl actually looking tired as she rubbed her eyes. "Ahhhhhm sorry," she mumbled, "could you start over, please?"
Staring at the girl briefly, Tung Lashor quickly shook his head as he tightened the grip in his whip once again. "I said, I'm gonna leave your bones as a warning to all who cross Tung-"
"Huuuuuuuuffff..." The girl shook her head, giving a brief clap in front of herself as she tried to snap her attention back. "Okay, okay, I think that was the rest of it. One more time, now?"
"... I said, I'm gonna leave your bones as a-"
"Awwwwhn..." And again, the ex-Force Captain yawned, pinching between her eyes as she tried to rub all the sleepiness out of her. "Sorry, sorry, it's just the allergies, I guess."
"I didn't know you had allergies?" Scorpia commented, growing quite curious at the detail.
"Oh, yeah, didn't you know, Scorpia?" Adora smirked, giving her a small hint. "I'm usually put to sleep by extremely boring, non-threatening people."
"O-Oh, yeah!" Scorpia nodded in agreement, following along as she let out her own fake yawn. "Awwhn, boy, now you got me doing it. It must be contagious."
"I know, right? Maybe it's all the dust around here? Or maybe it's some sort of pollen thing going on? I don't know, it doesn't usually help when extremely tiring people are around me." She continued to smirk as she stared at the agitated leader. "Would you happen to know any extremely boring, tiring, non-threatening people like that Mr. ... I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again?"
"Ghhhhh! It's Tung Lashor you little brat!" He yelled, stretching his whip between his hands, giving it a loud "crack".
"... Pfffffft! Hmhmhmhmhm!" If it wasn't for her years of professionalism, there was no way Adora would've been able to hold back every ounce of the laughter welling up inside of her right now. "Oh man, you're actually serious about that, aren't you? Tung Lashor? Seriously? Please, please tell me that wasn't the name you were born with. I cannot take that seriously."
"What's it to you, punk?!" The lizard hissed angrily taking a step forward. "My name drives fear into the heart of my enemies! And it'll be the last name you'll ever hear!"
"Oh my gosh, I can't take this..." Adora snorted a little to herself, rubbing her forehead as she gestured behind to the satyr. "You're serious, aren't you? Tung Lashor? Tung Lashor was the best you could come up with? Daisy's name sounds more threatening than yours! I can at least picture a plant being poisonous to me." The satyr had a small smile at the comment, surprised anyone would take her real name as seriously as that.
"I mean, what is your name supposed to mean, anyway? What, do you lash peoples' tongues or something? It doesn't even make any sense. Or are you going to lash me with your tongue? Because that's just stupid, and it's kinda gross."
Many heads from above were turned and checked between one another as the blond soldier continued to throw her jokes and insults towards the dangerous leader. Among them, there was one individual who stood out between the brigandes as he let out a few chuckles at the jokes, finding the same sense of humor that the soldier did.
Three seconds later, that same individual lizard could be heard yelping as he let out a cry, getting thrown over the large rib he was standing on forty feet from the ground.
As the nefarious leader continued to growl in their direction, Adora's eyes were drawn to the weapon in his hands. "Say, do you mind if I take a look at that? I think I could actually get some much better use out of that than you." She had to admit, it did look pretty useful. If Catra was still far away or this journey would've taken another couple of days, she could use the whip to fall back on without exerting her powers too much.
"Hmph, that's pretty big talk from a little girlie like yourself." He grumbled, marching up to the shorter girl as she stared up to him with a grin. "If I didn't know any better, I think you'd want a closer look at my whip in person."
"... Uh, yeah?" Adora crossed her arms with a raised brow. "That's what I just said. Didn't you get that?"
"What? N-No, I- What I meant was that-"
"Are you sure you're even capable of being a gang leader? Because, no offense, but you seem kind of slow." Adora didn't give him the chance to reply on his own as Adora looked back. "Hey, Daisy, I thought you said this guy was supposed to be the number two gang leader of the Crimson Waste or whatever?"
"I-I am, you little punk-"
"Shush, adults are talking." Adora cut off with a small wave. "Is he or isn't he?"
"Listen here you stupid girl, I-"
"Hey, do you even know how to use a whip?" Scorpia asked curiously, approaching from the side.
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Adora shrugged, looking at his feet. "I mean, he knows how to ties his own boots, so it can't be that hard unless someone else does it for him."
"Oh, maybe you could say something cool?" Scorpia suggested, flailing her arm in the air like she was holding the whip. "Like "crack"! Or "ka-pow"! Or maybe "whip"! That'd be kind of fun, right?"
"I don't know if it sounds cool to say "whip" while you're holding a whip, Scorpia." Adora commented as the two were starting to ignore the fearless thug.
"Ooh, maybe you could say a catchphrase then. Like, uh, like "whip"! Or maybe something like "prepared to get whipped!" or something?"
"That actually doesn't sound half bad."
"I know, right? Ooh, ooh, ooh! Maybe you could-" As the small talk continued between the two girls, Tung Lashor's anger steadily rose.
They came upon his territory, his land of the Crimson Waste, for no particular reason other than stupidity. They approach the leader like he was a joke, yawned at him and his intimidating speech, made fun of his name like it was all an act, and pretended to be so cocky that he wasn't even worth mentioning, save for the whip in his hands.
That was beyond insulting.
He squeezed his teeth tighter and tighter as he glared at the two individuals with a burning fury. He was Tung Lashor, the greatest gang leader in all of the Crimson Waste! He wasn't going to let a stupid little girl and an overgrown scorpion just waltz in here, talk down to him like he was some sort of joke, mock him, ridicule him, question him, and insult him like he was nothing!
His anger was reaching his limit as the stupid banter between the two continued. In front of him, he could hear their stupid voices! Around him, he could hear the chuckles and laughter of his own gang members. His gang members! They were laughing at him with them! All because of these two stupid girls who he's known for two minutes!
"ENOUGH!" He finally shouted, the slit-like pupils in his eyes thinning out as he growled. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face, outsider!" He angrily clutched his jacket in his hand as he swiped it off, throwing it into the air as it was blown into the wind, making his intimidating presence even more threatening as he exposed his muscles to the world around him.
"Who's the strongest in the Crimson Waste?" He demanded to know, turning to his fellow goons and bandits.
"Lashor! Lashor!"
"Lashor! Lashor!"
The lizard screamed his name in cheer as they flailed their weapons in the air. All of them were proud to be a member of his gang, proud to serve someone as strong and cunning as him. As long as someone like him was around, they knew they were all safe, all protected, under his rule, so long as they followed his rules.
"And don't you forget it!" And with that, the battle had officially begun as the reptilian leader raised his mighty whip into the air, slamming it down with full force as everything within its path erupted into a path of dust.
The two friends backed away from the center of the impact as the lizard pulled the whip away in posthate. Examining the impact up close, Adora couldn't help but marvel at the whip's durability or raw power. The whip itself actually managed to sink into the ground itself as if the ground beneath where it landed was made of paper, tearing into the soil with ease.
She could already tell that any of those strikes against her could prove troublesome if her shadow armor was forced to protect her against any injuries. She'd have to play it careful, unless she wanted her magic to get her sick within minutes instead of days.
"Whip!" With a rallying hiss, the leader of the gang rushed after the ex-Force Captain as Adora took off, trying to formulate a plan as soon as she could.
"Adora!" Scorpia called out. Her attempts to rush at her friend's side were cut off by the half-dozen arrows and spears shot to the ground in front of her. She glanced up to the cliffs and the bones to see several of the lizardmen preparing to stop her if she tried getting in the way. All she could do for the time being was wait as Daisy backed up to her with her own friend on her back, the two hoping for themselves that Adora would be okay.
The being known as Tung Lashor didn't allow the young girl to get any further away from him as he cut her off at every attempt. Trying to rush to the right, he cut her off with the crack of his whip against the cliffside, nearly touching her face. Trying to turn around and distance herself that way, the leader improvised by using his impressive strength to wrap his whip around one of the large boulders surrounding the cliffs, pulling it through the air and throwing it at the dodger.
If she didn't notice it at the last second, she would've ended up flattened by the boulder's underside as it sank a good foot into the ground from its own weight.
With her left and her right cut off from her, the Horde soldier growled as she decided to take the challenge head on, rushing to the lizardman as she gathered a bundle of shadows along both her arms. Waiting for the right moment, Adora jumped through the air as the leader attempted to strike straight at her again, pulling back her shadowy fist as she prepared to flatten this Tung Lashor right in his smug face.
However, she ended up underestimating the leader's resourcefulness as he began to grin. Pulling at his whip with his other hand, Adora's attention was drawn back behind her as she let out a small gasp. Gathering as much of her magic as she could, she protected herself from most of the impact as she formed half a dome-like structure made of shadow over her her left side, preparing herself as she took the full force of the boulder behind her, throwing her across the gorge.
Apparently, and surprisingly, when the leader attempted to strike her the third time, he plan worked two-fold. In addition to trying to attack Adora directly, he hd a backup plan as he re-tied the whip around the boulder, pulling it back and straight at the Horde soldier as she left herself vulnerable through the air. It made for a rather interesting scene as he grinned, seeing the mysterious girl getting smashed with the boulder as she was shot across the open field, crashing into the other side of the gorge's walls.
"Adora!" Scorpia called out worriedly, attempting to take a step forward to help her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, bugsy!" Tung Lashor warned, holding a finger back up to her. "Take one more step away from there, and my boys will rain down on you and your little friends behind you." He stated, running after to the gorge's side as Scorpia looked back.
True to his word, she was left without any options. If she assisted, while she would be more than capable of defending herself, the other two wouldn't be able to protect themselves given the frozen state one of them were in. And without them, they would have no means of finding or tracking down Catra, making this entire trip completely worthless.
All she could do was moan to herself as she frowned with worry, hoping that Adora would be alright given her magical limitations.
Back on the other side, slowly peeling herself out of the gorge's wall, Adora let out a small groan of pain as she fell to her hands and knees, gritting her teeth as she glared up at the approaching lizard. Her sides more than hurt as she only protected one half of her entire body. The trouble was, she didn't know what hurt worse, the side she protected from the boulder, or the side that crashed into the wall just now.
Ignoring either scenario, the soldier grumbled to herself as she charged the lizardman again, this time taking note of her surroundings, including behind her, as she charged her head on. With nothing behind her this time, it was a simple matter for her to dodge out of the way of the overhead swipe directed towards her, sliding against the dusty ground beneath her feet as she arrived to the whipper's very front, kicking him harshly in the stomach as she landed her first impact on him.
"Agh!" He gurgled, clutching his stomach in pain as the blond was far from over. With the leader doubled over, Adora quickly jumped over the gang leader as she grabbed him by his tail, forming the shadowy claws and arms over her own for the added strength.
There, Adora began to pull, grumbling to herself as she pulled the leader off his own two feet as he rose a few feet into the air. Adora watched the delirious leader fumble around as Adora spun him, spinning faster and faster with each roundabout. Finally, when she felt like she had enough force and momentum behind her own movements, she let go, hurdling the helpless and screaming leader directly into the giant skull head he appeared from.
*CRASH!*
Everyone else watched with surprise at the young blond's feat of strength as their leader was tossed helplessly into the bony structure, crashing him straight into the top half of the mighty head. With the impact shaking everything loose and Tung Lashor still falling as a result, the leader of the gang let out another scream of terror as he and the shattered remains of the bones around him fell into the lower half of the skull, crashing straight through it until eventually the entire head came down to the ground.
Nothing but dust and bony debris scattered throughout the gorge with everyone, save for Adora, shielding their eyes from the fallout. A white cloud blanketed the area as everything shook around them, the last few remains of the giant bone structure still falling through the air as the last of the dust settled in.
Letting out a few coughs along with Daisy, Scorpia looked back to her good friend with a smile as Adora grinned back, giving her a small thumbs up. "Yeah, way to go, Adora!" She proudly cheered, smiling as Adora began walking back over to them.
"Uh, y-yeah, way to show him who's boss." Daisy cheered with slight enthusiasm, still unsure about the girl to give her full support but capable enough to give her her congrats.
The rest of the sounds surrounding them were the whispers and murmurs of the lizard folk, all of them staring at Adora in wonder and fear. Who was this mysterious girl that managed to defeat their powerful leader so easily? WIth a strange magic, no less? Was she a princess? A monster? None of them could say. All they knew was that she defeated the second strongest gang leader within the Crimson-
*swiff!*
"Agh!" Adora let out a gurgled cry as a powerful rope was suddenly wrapped around her throat, dropping her to one knee as it tightened. Behind her, everyone looked back at the still-settling cloud of whiteness as the aforementioned leader known as Tung Lashor finally appeared, huffing with a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise okay.
"You destroyed my skull, you stupid kid!" Tung Lashor growled, pulling the girl forcefully and painfully towards him as hard as he could.
"Adora!" Scorpia cried out again, knowing she wasn't going to be running to her side as the battle was apparently continuing.
Pulling over with a firm tug, the enraged leader dragged the helpless girl up as the suffocating grip was making it near-impossible for her to focus her magic, the shadows she was trying to get out of her actually dragging slowly behind her as if she was smearing them.
Giving it another good pull, Tung Lashor finally grinned with his sharp teeth as he finally dragged the girl over, raising her into the air as he hung her by the whip. "You still feeling like making jokes you little punk?"
"Geh..." Adora stuttered, trying to get a single breath out as she winced, giving a glare through her right eye as she was brought up to his face. "When's the last time you brushed your teeth?" She teased, cheekily. Unsurprisingly, this went on to fuel the leader's already-bursting rage, tightening the grip on her neck even more.
"You don't know when to quit, do you you little punk?" He scoffed, waiting for the chance to wail on her the moment she couldn't struggle any further.
"Call it a stubbornness. I consider it determination." With a small hiss, the hanging girl gave a swift kick to the leader's lower jaw, slamming it into his upper as he let out a cry of pain.
"Akkkk!" He cackled, dropping Adora to her knees as the noose-like whip loosened around her throat. Adora quickly coughed as she rubbed her throat to ease the pain going in, glad to have her airways flowing again. "You thupid kid, I bit my tunth becauth of you!" He lisped, still growing as he pulled back his arm.
*Wham!*
Still trying to breath, Adora was incapable of blocking herself with anything more than her arms as she took the brunt of the backhanded swing directly, nearly launching her halfway through the gorge as she crashed into the ground. While the pain was still there, it didn't manage to keep the girl down for long as she rolled back to her feet, scraping against the ground with her shadowy claws and her feet as she took a stance again, and just in time too.
No sooner did she get back into a fighting position, the raging lizard was already jumping through the air, ready to strike down on the enemy as Adora threw herself back, distancing herself as far as possible as Tung Lashor slammed both his fists straight through the solid ground, shaking everything around him.
He'd been humiliated, teased, ignored, had his favorite skull destroyed, made to bite his own tongue, and physically beaten by this girl for the last time! Every second of her existence was causing him nothing but grief and rage as the girl distanced herself away, and his patience was starting to wear thin.
"I'm done playing around with you, girlie!" He shouted. Looking behind himself, he grinned as he saw the ace up his sleeveless sleeve that he used twice so far. Thrusting his whip behind him, he pulled back with all his might as he hurled the giant boulder once again towards the shadowy girl.
This time, having enough of the stupid rock that got the better of her earlier, Adora concentrated a large portion of her magic as she readied herself, forming a massive pair of fists, almost four times thicker than usual, into both her arms. Giving off a large growl of anger, with all the might she could afford to muster, she smashed the giant rock with a single strike, shattering it to pieces as the debris and the broken pieces of rock flew past her.
And that's when his trap was ready.
The next thing Adora saw within a second of the rock being destroyed was the sight of the troubling whip that gave Tung Lashor his questionable name. With her arms still spread out in front of her, she became an easy target for the strong leader as his whip wrapped around both ends of her arms, pinning them together and keeping her from pulling out of them as they were pinned together tightly over her chest.
Grinning on his end, the leader prepared to finish the fight for good. With his pure, raw, strength, he easily managed to lift the ex-Force Captain off her feet, Adora screaming a little as she was raised almost as high as the rips around her, the speed making it nearly impossible for her eyes to keep up with as everything blurred around her. Then, with one last pull, it ended.
With her disoriented, weakened, and incapable of pulling herself out without risking her being sent flying into whatever direction immediately after, Tung Lashor slammed the girl down, as hard as he could, into an awaiting pool of quicksand. There was nothing save for a small splash as the quicksand swallowed Adora whole and with ease, the battle finally coming to an end as Adora sank however far the sands lead to pull.
Tung Lashor had won.
"Let's see your smug smile now, girlie!" He taunted out loud, pulling his rope steadily as he returned his whip from the watery sand, with no Adora on the other end of it.
"Adora!" Scorpia cried out in fear, running over to the ripple that swallowed her friend hungrily. With the battle finally over, there was no need to protect the two guides with her, namely the pink satyr who was a little concerned as well as she ran over, still dragging her friend.
With his fist into the air and victory in his veins, the gang leader shouted into the air at his goons high above. "Who's the strongest in the Crimson Waste!"
"Lashor! Lashor!"
"Lashor! Lashor!" They all cheered, shooting their fists into the air as they chanted along.
There were admittedly a few close calls, but there was never any doubt! If anyone out there was the strongest of the Crimson Waste, if anyone ever asked who the strongest ever was, they would sing his name in chorus, shout it to the heavens, that the answer was none other than the mighty Tung Lashor! He was the one true ruler of the wasteland, and he demonstrated it again with ease and perfection!
Personally, he was too proud of his own victory which was a little trickier than he expected, but easy nonetheless. He didn't even care as he saw the large scorpion girl running over to the rippling sands. Once someone went in there, there was no getting them out. And he didn't care how much time she needed to herself to cope.
Because he was going to make messages out of their remains by the time this day was over.
"No! No, no, no..." Scorpia fretted to herself as she dropped to her knees in front of the ripples. She couldn't believe it, not to her, not to Adora of all people. She didn't care how foolhardy it was or stupid. She scooped at the sand as she tried to dig for her friend as fast as possible, hoping that she was still alive. "It can't be... Come on..." She teared up, feeling like it was useless as more sand seemed to replace the sand she tried to toss out. "Don't just stand there, help me!" She yelled back to Daisy.
The satyr could only give her an apologetic look, one of regret and dismay. She's had a fair share of experiences with her own allies who've fallen into the same sandtraps like these. "Scorpia, it's..." She shook her head. "It's not going to work. The sands too deep. I don't even know if there's a bottom."
"I don't care!" He yelled, digging at the sand again. "She has to be in there. M-Maybe she fell into an underground cave or something? Or maybe found an airpock? Or-"
"Scorpia." The scorpion girl came to a halt as she looked back, seeing Daisy resting a comforting and distraught hand on her left shoulder. "I'm sorry." Scorpia slowly looked back to the puddle as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.
Adora. Her Adora. Her Friend. Her Best Friend. Was gone. Dead. Drowned. However one wanted to put it.
"No..." Scorpia squeezed her fists tightly as she stared at the sand puddle in front of her.
Why this? Why did it have to happen like this? To Adora of all people? She was decent, she was kind, she was gentle. She was one of the Horde's best and brightest, and most importantly, she was Scorpia's best friend. She was one of the first friends she ever had. She didn't deserve to be on this mission, she didn't deserve all the troubles and burdens her life had given her. She deserved to live a carefree and happy life after all she's been through. That's what Scorpia always thought, anyway.
And now she was gone.
"Hahahaha!" And it was with the hearty laughter behind her that her sadness quickly burned into anger as she glared back, still a bit teary eyed.
"You!" She shouted, shooting up to her feet as she turned around. She was still shaking with sadness and an anger that slowly rose with her as she stepped forward.
"Don't worry too much, bugsy. You're gonna be joining her soon." He smirked.
Scorpia didn't care what happened to her. She was going to make this jerk pay for what he did to Adora, to anyone's friends he sank into the sand like this, if it was the last thing she did! She snapped her right claw fiercely as she took another step forward, Tung Lashor's tail wagging eagerly behind him as he cracked his whip in the air.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to-!"
*RUMBLE*
All at once, the noise faded as the tremors appeared, the ground shaking angrily beneath all their feet. Overhead, several of the gang's members held on for dear life, some of them being shaken off the large ribs while others were falling with the ribs that collapsed from the sheer vibrations of the trembles as the gorge itself shook.
"W-What's happening?!" Daisy asked, looking all around. Scorpia was at a loss herself. With all the shaking, all the power it must've taken, there could've been any-
Scorpia quickly looked back to the sands, feeling a spark of hopefulness returning to her. "Adora?" Could it be? All these tremors? All these vibrations? If it was her power, then obviously it could be, but how much of it was she using? She couldn't exert herself more than usual, right? That was the questionable thinking that made her worry and hope it was Adora at the same time.
Her hope bore fruit.
*WHAM*
In the shape of a large shadowy hand.
"Adora!" Scorpia cried out happily, relieved to know her friend was okay. Her happiness slowly turned to curiosity as her friends powers didn't end with just one shadowy claw, one nearly three feet in width at that, stretching all the way from the center of the watery sand.
One piece at a time, slow,y Scorpia and the others watched with surprise as another shadowy claw popped out from the left, then to the right. Then, there was even a third one to her back right, and a fourth to her back left. Finally, it culminated to another two finally popping out, one to her immediate right, and an opposing one to her left, and that's when she appeared.
Adora. Her best friend. Back from the supposed-dead. Slowly the girl rose from the sandy depths that swallowed her as if the shadows themselves were the ones pulling her out of the brink of death, like they were the ones in control instead of the other way around for once. Given her history of her shadows acting in self-defense at times, it wouldn't have surprised Scorpia if that was the case, and she didn't care.
She was just happy to see her friend rising from the sand as a lone blond figure was fished out of the quicksand, plopping her to the ground in front of the deadly quickness as Adora fell to her knees and hands, gasping for breath.
"Ahh! Huff... Huff... Huff..." She panted, coughing up a bit of sand in the process.
"No way!" Tung Lashor growled angrily. There should've been no way anyone could've pulled themselves out from the sand like that, magic or no magic. Then again, he's never contended with a spellcaster or magic user of any kind before.
"Adora!" Scorpia called out, dropping to her knees in front of her as she checked her all over. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you-"
"I... Huff..." Adora gave her a small pause as she held up her hands in front of her. "I think I swallowed... hack... some sand..." She slowly raised her head, giving Scorpia a soft smile so she could show her expectedly-worried friend her condition. "But I think I'm alright."
"Um... Adora?" Scorpia spoke up a little, looking a little closer to her friend's face.
Adora sighed as she assumed what she was going to say. "How bad is the damage? See any dark veins on my neck, yet?"
"What? Oh, no, I wasn't going to mention that. It looks fine, by the way. I was actually referring to your... well..." Figuring it would be easier to prove to her than just explain it, she flipped a small portion of Adora's hair before the girl's eyes, Adora blinking in response as she felt around her head.
"Huh?" She looked and pulled around as she felt along her hair. "Oh, come on..." Adora moaned, looking back into the sandy pit behind her.
Her ponytail was gone. Leaving her hair hanging lifelessly as it flopped all around her as it dangled down to her shoulders. Judging by the amount of sand and all the scuffling she's been through, it must've slipped off after she was thrown into the dreaded quicksand behind her, probably still sinking further into the watery sandy depths below.
First her favorite jacket was gone, and now she was ponytail-less. At this rate, it'd be a miracle if she didn't end up losing her pants, socks, and shoes by the time this entire evening was over. First Ones hoping she didn't lose anything else on top of that.
"Hey!" It was with that annoying, snarling voice that Adora glared on ahead, remembering the thug who tried to bury her in a sandy tomb to begin with. "If you're still kicking, then the battle's not done!" He growled, squeezing his fist.
"Adora, don't worry about this." Scorpia said, standing up as she faced the threatening menace that nearly cost her her friend to begin with. "I can handle-"
"Move." Adora ordered, not even waiting for her to respond as she walked right past her.
"Huh? But Adora, your magic-"
"I'm fine, Scorpia." She assured her, her tone lowered as she stared ahead to the reptilian menace. "I can handle this. Just keep the other two safe, okay?"
"Um... o-okay..." It was obvious to see that Scorpia was uneasy with leaving this in charge of her personal bestie, but at the same time, she didn't want to do anything else that distressed the young girl. Adora had been through so much of her life, like she knew she did, that if she felt confident over something, Scorpia would be there to give her her support, and help, as needed.
Besides, if she started an argument with her friend now, the both of them would be sitting ducks for this creep to attack, along with any of his other lackies if he chose to unleash them.
"Well, well, looks like girlie here came back for a round two, huh?" He hissed, cracking his whip around himself.
"... Huff..." Adora sighed, shaking her head to the reptile in disapproval, like a kid who was caught being naughty for some reason. "You know why you got the drop on me the first time, lizard breath?" She asked in a curious fashion, raising an eye to him.
'Huh?"
'It's because I was holding back." As she spoke, she gathered a bundle of shadows within her hands, stretching them out and forming her typical dark claws. "See, when I usually fight somebody that I just met for the first time, I think to myself "they don't know what they're doing", "it's not their fault they're so stupid". And I hold back time and again because I usually don't want to hurt them."
*crackle*
"What the-?!" Tung Lashor almost felt as if he was going to throw up in disgust.
Following the immediate cracking sound, he, and everyone else, watched as a large shadowy tendril burst from Adora's back, followed by another, and another, all while shadows slowly formed around Adora's body from the neck down. The shadows practically encased themselves to her side as they formed a protective casing around her like armor.
It reminded Scorpia of that day, the first time she assumed this form at the Battle of Bright Moon. She was strong, powerful, and used every bit of her strength in order to defeat the Rebellion once and for all. The only current difference between the two events at this point was, aside from the glowing red eyes that were absent, the left half of her hair didn't turn black, either.
And Adora didn't look anymore pained or exhausted as she called the shadows around her.
"But then I meet people like you. People who look down on everyone because they think they're better than everyone else, people that think they can do or say whatever want to everyone else because they have some fancy power or a gadget, in your case that stupid whip. People I go easy on because I think they deserve a second chance or something stupid, reasons I can't bother to remember for myself. And you wanna know what I think now?" Adora's expression hardened as her eyes narrowed.
"I don't care anymore."
"Ghhhhhhhhhh!" WIth a howling growl emanating from his whip, Tung Lashor had had enough of the girl's prattling, and thrusted his whip directly at the girl's neck.
And it would prove to be his first and last mistake.
*whap*
"Huh?" The lizard flinched, gasping silently as everyone watched around them.
Adora had caught the whip. Single Handedly. The girl didn't show any signs of pain or struggle as the whip was wrapped around her hand, staring at it like she was observing a butterfly that had just landed on her hand out of nowhere. It was almost mocking to him as she stared at it so carefree, like he wasn't around and wasn't important enough for her attention. Growling, the lizard pulled back with all the force he could muster, to lift the girl off her feet, and-!
It didn't happen. Nothing happened. Blinking to himself briefly, the leader hissed again as he tried to pull back, pull with all of his might, only for the girl to remain in place as she stretched a small bit of the whip on her side in silent observation. It was then that he realized that several of her tendrils had already wrapped around the other half of the whip, holding it in place, keeping it from being pulled back any further as Adora didn't' even bother to look.
All it took was a simple yank in return for the whip to come flying out of his hands.
"Huh!?" He couldn't understand what was happening to this girl. When did she get so strong? Or was she always this strong? How strong was she even?
"Huh, thanks for this." Adora smirked, cracking the whip around on her own end. "So nice of you to just hand me the whip over like a good little boy, isn't it?"
"Grrrrrr!" Okay, so she was clearly strong. That didn't mean she could take a beating, at least!
Like he had so many times before, the powerful leader had kicked his feet off the ground as he flew into the air, charging straight ahead at the girl with the intention to stomp her like the bug she was. His fury and wrath knew no bounds as he squeezed his fists tighter, Adora eying him as she let out a yawn, approaching the girl like a wrecking ball with nearly all the strength behind it.
And knowing how strong her shadows were compared to it.
*WHACK*
"Ahhhhhh!" Tung Lashor screamed in pain ashis fists came barreling down atop the girl's shoulder.
Adora didn't move a muscle, she showed no signs of fear to the bandit leader at this stage of her power. If she risked the chance of dying anyway by using too much of her powers, then why bother restraining herself? This man was clearly capable of impressive strength for a gang leader, if the last several minutes of fighting him were anything to go by, and she risked dying sooner if he got the drop on her again. So she didn't hold back as she stood her ground, amplifying the shadows around her with as much power as she could, and waited for him to land the first blow.
And that's when his fists cracked.
He heard the typical sounds of his knuckles cracking under his skin as he painfully slammed them into the girl's shadowy shoulders. It felt like he just slammed his fists into a brick wall! No, scratch that. He punched through plenty of brick walls back in his days, this was something else. This was like punching a pure metallic alloy made of steel, one that hardened with a ten-inch thickness to it that somehow became harder upon impact.
His fists were aching with pain as he dropped to his knees in front of her, Adora scoffing at the sight of him with a look of boredom on her face, just the way she had it when she first met him. Tung Lashor stared at his fists in disbelief, trying to twitch anything he could without feeling any of the excruciating pain behind it. He couldn't tell if they were broken or not, and it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was weaponless and strengthless against the magical user in front of him.
"I-I-I... Y-You..." He stuttered, unable to pick out the words to say. Should he still be enraged? Fearful? Confused? He couldn't say. All he knew was that Adora shook her head at him in disgust.
"I don't care about your stupid rules or your stupid Waste. I'll go where I feel like it, and when I feel like it. And if you try to come after me again, you'll be sorry." With a seething glare, the girl began to walk away, back towards her awaiting friend and allies who smiled at her in turn, while ignoring the small rage burning behind her.
She took pity on him. Her. A girl from nowhere, after beating him without breaking a sweat! It wasn't just humiliating to him, it was insulting. To beat him so easily, to show that she had been holding back the entire time because of some stupid reason, because of some stupid need to prove herself better than the rest of them, better than him. It was almost barbaric in its own nature to him, a grave dishonor to live with, and one that would haunt his memory for the rest of his days if he walked away.
"Y-Youuuuuuuuuu!" He roared with a beastial rage as he charged headfirst towards the girl, baring his razor sharp teeth. She might've broken his fists, or nearly done so, it didn't matter to him. What did matter was that despite all the possible protection she had, the one part she kept exposed was her head, and it his mouth was more than large enough for him bite her head clean off!
"Adora!" Scorpia and Daisy called out, trying to warn the girl who continued to walk at her leisurely pace. Their cries of warning proved to be pointless as the girl was already on top of things.
*SWIFF*
"Waaaaaaaah!" Tung Lashor screamed in fear as he flew overhead. Just mere inches away from the girl who seemed to ignore him, who broke him down in front of all of his followers like he was nothing, the leader of the second best gang in the Crimson Waste was caught. Caught by a large, shadowy tendril lhat burst from Adora's back at the last second, one that had perfectly predicted this outcome and had prepared for it accordingly.
Shooting straight out of the girl's back, Adora didn't bat an eye as the tendril wrapped around the attacker's neck in a second, squeezing at it tightly before throwing the assailant over the girl's head. Adora continued to walk at the same pace as she did, heading to the edge of the quicksand like she intended to, knowing where he was going to end up.
With a large watery-like splash, the person known as Tung Lasher fell in. "Aghhhh! Help! Somebody help me!" Struggling, panicking, pleading for the girl, or anyone that would listen to him, he begged to the high heavens for any one of these people to help him in his precious hour of need. He could barely keep himself afloat with the condition his hands were in, hurting like no tomorrow as he flailed about trying to survive.
"Here you go." Adora casually said, handing the other end of the whip over to him. Frantically, the leader grabbed at the whip, ignoring the pain it brought him if it meant sure survival.
"Oh thank you, thank you so much!" He yelped, sighing with relief as Adora slowly reeled him in a foot closer to the edge. She was going to save him, save him after all he did to her! He owed her so much, so much after this was over! He couldn't begin to imagine how he could pay her back for-
*whiff*
He froze. He pulled, and he pulled, and Adora didn't seem to care as she smirked to him. He pulled the whip as hard as possible, and still couldn't believe it as he reeled it in, all the way to the other end.
Adora had intentionally let go of the whip, and now, there was nothing to save him from the quicksand.
"N-No..."
"Hey, I did warn you." Adora reminded, still grinning to the guy. "You'd be sorry if you tried it again." With nothing more than a simple two finger-salute, the ex-Force Captain waved him goodbye as she returned to her allies a few yards away from her. "And you can keep the whip, I decided it's not in my color." Adora smiled as she returned to her companions, ignoring the desperate pleas behind her that echoed throughout the gorge.
"Adora..." Scorpia didn't know what to say as her friend returned to her.
"Oh, gimme a break Scorpia." Adora moaned, rubbing her forehead as her shadows finally returned. "Look, I already gave him a warning and that was after he tried to kill me. Plus he'll probably be fine if he stops struggling for a few days-"
*tug*
Adora was cut off as Scorpia embraced her in a gentle, girm, comforting hug, lasting only for a few seconds for a change as she pulled her friend away again with a warm smile. "I'm so glad you're okay." Adora was at a loss, thinking her friend would've been angry or upset with her or something.
Personally, Scorpia didn't care about the thug. It wasn't so much the fact that he nearly killed Adora, it was the fact that he tried to do it twice, even after Adora spared him the first time when she had the chance. Whatever happened to the Tung Lashor guy or whatever his real name possibly was, it was on him from now on. All Scorpia was concerned about was that her friend was okay.
And, realizing this for herself, Adora smiled back to her.
She had won.
It was over.
Looking between the two, setting her friend down for a moment, Daisy quickly rushed to Adora's side, raising the girl's gloved hand to the air as she smiled to the masses watching. "Who's the strongest of the Crimson Waste!" She shouted to them.
Shifting her eyes around, growing a small blush, Scorpia slowly rose her claw to the air as she started to pump it in tune with a chant. "Adora. Adora. Adora." The more she continued to chant it, the more pumped she got as she started raising both her arms in the air in tune with the chant.
"Adora! Adora! Adora! Adora!" Daisy joined in, still smiling to the person she was beginning to feel comfortable around.
"Heh, guys, you don't need to-" Adora was cut off as the noise surrounded her.
"Adora! Adora!"
"Adora! Adora!"
"ADORA! ADORA!"
All around her she looked. Turning, listening, watching, as the crowd above her chanted her name in unison, said her name as if they were wishing for her blessing, all being in harmony with one another in their chanting. From the cliffsides to the top of the gorge to the ribs above her, everyone was cheering for her.
Her.
Adora.
As their new leader.
Adora didn't know what to say.
She showed them what she was capable of, showed them how cruel she could be if she needed to be, and they... accepted her for it. They weren't scared of her acting out in a way that relieved her stress, that didn't require her to keep her emotions bottled up for everyone else's benefit. They saw the side of her that people should've been fearful of, the side that slowly twisted the girl in agony as she suffered through a life of betrayal.
And they weren't fearful of her.
She didn't know what this feeling of, nor could she control the way her lips began to curl. What started as a questionable glance as she continued to look around her, slowly became a grand, warming smile, so much so that her eyes began to water a little.
This place, this Crimson Waste, this supposed "Nightmare of Etheria", as it was called... it was paradise. Out here, she could be whatever she wanted to be, she could live without the hardships and burdens of the world back in the Fright Zone. Out here, where power was everything and chaos gripped the land...
She was their leader. They looked up to her. They wanted to be at her side through thick and thin. And she couldn't help but embrace the feeling herself as she raised a shadowy fist into the air, relishing the sound of the cheers nearly doubling in volume and mass.
She couldn't' think of anything to say, only what to do next as she spotted something along the ground. Walking over to it, Adora casually plucked the item off the ground before tossing it over to her friend, her best friend, Scorpia, who caught it with surprise. It was another jacket like the one she had, one that was perfect for her size.
Looking back at her, Adora smiled as she gave her a warm smile, the kind of smile that showed her true happiness for the second time in a month, and Scorpia accepted it graciously. After all, she always did say she wanted to have a matching pair of jackets after Adora's first one was ruined.
Turning around again, Adora smiled as the people continued to chant her name, chant her image, and slowly, began to smirk. Before she could get ahead of herself, she had some important business to take care of first, a certain business involving a pesky little cat and her friends.
And this time, she had an army to back her up.
...
...
Catra stared in mixed contemplation at the hologram of Mara. She, nor any of her friends and allies, knew what to say here.
She had finally found it. Mara. Her. Or at least a message left behind by her, one that displayed a hologram of her on the metallic throne. Mara was the She-Ra before her, the She-Ra from a thousand years ago. The She-Ra that was said to have nearly destroyed the world when her powers ran amok, when she gave in to fear, hate, and faulty reasoning.
She was everything Catra was afraid of becoming, going to any length to better herself in the hopes of becoming a better She-Ra. When she ran out of methods to do so, to strengthen her bond, to avoid the risk of turning into someone like Mara, she set out on this journey to an ancient message's location from Alwynn, hoping it would provide the answers to help her finally complete her bond before her emotions destroyed the connection she had to her sword.
Now, she wasn't so sure of herself.
Something was wrong from the moment this Mara came into being. She apologized that she failed to be the last one, she regretted everyone who might've turned out to be the next She-Ra in line. She was nothing like Catra expected her to be.
She expected her to look more like a tyrant, like a monster. Something that anyone and everyone should fear becoming, what she feared becoming. But when she looked at this woman in front of her, the girl who appeared to be filled with regret, pained, and injured, she didn't see any of those things, not a single piece.
She saw sadness. Helplessness. And despair.
"I don't know what they told you, but it wasn't all bad at first." The holographic message continued, Catra standing closest to it to hear what she had to say. "We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to study this planet's magic." There was a small glitch as the feed buzzed for a moment as she frowned. "How could it go so wrong?" Following another buzz, her eyes stared ahead again.
"Light Hope use the-"
*bzzzzt*
"Can't-"
*bzzzzt*
"Weapon-"
*bzzzzt*
Catra refrained from the need to growl or shout as the feed began to become unstable, growing irritable and impatient as she tightened her hand over her sword's hilt, shaking it a little. She went through so much trouble to get this message, and she wasn't willing to accept that it had to glitch out on her now of all times when she needed help.
"The weapon-"
*bzzzzt*
"Weapon-"
"What weapon?" Catra asked, hoping that it could respond to her in some way. "The sword? Is that what you're talking about? How do I use it? Tell me how to finish my bond!" The magicat stared at the image impatiently and tense as she looked back to the console. "Hey, Bowey, have you fixed it yet?" Catra asked.
"I'm trying, but I think the message got damaged when the ship crashed." He replied, regretful as he continued to examine the control console displaying the message.
"I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in." All other heads were drawn back to the hologram as it continued. "I hid us from the rest of the universe to keep everyone safe."
Safe from what? Catra asked herself, her ears lowering throughout the conversation, tail wrapped around her waist to keep her nerves.
"This was the one play they'll never find us." She went on as Bow returned to the group. "I saw what they would do. The deaths that would follow. I couldn't stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option."
"Catra, I..." Glimmer said quietly, staring at the hologram. "I don't think Mara was trying to destroy the world. I think she was-"
"Trying to save it..." Catra came to realize, feeling bits and pieces of her world being flipped all over the place.
"Maybe it's been a week?" Mara moaned, leaning back in the chair. "Maybe it's been thousands years. I never wanted to be a hero. I won't be remembered as one."
*aaang*
*aaang*
*aaang*
The alarms flashed within the hologram behind Mara, the She-Ra looking back in fear before staring off ahead. "You have the sword now. It is the Administrator Key to our planet. With it, you can activate a portal. So I'm begging you. Don't do it. Leave us here. If you open a portal, death and destruction will follow."
Catra felt her heart beginning to beat rapid, feeling a sense of fear swarming around it as Mara stood, still clutching her chest in pain. "For the good of the universe, Etheria must stay in Despondos. If not, everyone will-"
"Wait!" Catra tried to plead to forces unknown as she raised a hand withering message, feeling herself being drawn to the image as she took a step forward.
All this was for naught. In the end, the message had finally ceased to exist, disappearing along with the fading glow around it.
Silence filled the void around them as Catra's arm slowly lowered to her side, then her tail as it unwrapped around her waist. Slowly, her eyes shriveling at the sight, the magicat dropped to her hands and knees, lowering her head to the ground as if the girl was about to fall.
"Catra!" Bow and Glimmer called out to her worriedly, rushing to her side.
"What was the point..." Catra muttered as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Catra?" Glimmer questioned, leaning away as Catra raised a fist slowly behind her.
"WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THIS!?"
*BAM*
"Ghhhh!" The cat hissed to herself as she bashed her fist against the metallic floor, ignoring the pain it caused her hand as best she could as she slowly stood up. "I came all this way for some sort of help... A message... A hint... Anything, to keep me from ending up like Mara, and... and..." One of the last words spoken by her still haunted her repeatedly.
"I never wanted to be a hero."
"I've been just like her since the day I started!" She yelled, squeezing at her own head. With parts of the fractured truth coming to surface, the reality of the situation was finally coming to Catra.
Mara wasn't a hero. Catra wasn't a hero.
She didn't want to be a hero. Catra didn't want to be a hero.
"And now I'm finding out she tried to save everyone? I don't get it! Do I want to be like her or not!?" The person she was informed that trapped everyone within this terrible fate, who had let faulty logic and inner turmoil structure her heart, was someone trying to save all of them in the end. If it wasn't for her, for whatever she did and why, none of them would probably be here right now.
As if that wasn't a headache in itself, there was the other part of it that troubled her the most.
"She was still a full-fledged She-Ra... She had all these mixed emotions and she still managed to turn into She-Ra... SO WHY CAN'T I!?" In a huff, the magicat walked back over to the control console on the left side of the room, her friends following behind her with worry for her.
She didn't get anything she wanted, anything she was searching for. She was still the same old Catra, the reluctant hero, not a chosen one. She was the Catra who let emotions cloud her judgement, and at time, put her and the mission at risk. Her emotions were her greatest weakness, they were the exploit Adora would and could use over and over again every time they fought. And, eventually, she was going to snap.
She was going to lose it all completely. She would be driven so far into fear, anger, sorrow, that at some point, somehow, she was going to lose it. She would break the bond with the sword, she would let everything haunt her mind as she lashed out against the world. She might not even recognize friend from foe anymore, just like when she was under the virus's effect in the Northern Reaches.
For all she knew, all she was sure of, she was going to fail. And everyone she cared about would fall around her.
"Catra, it... It's not all bad." Bow tried to encourage, walking to her side. "Did you forget the other reason we came here? To discover more about Adora and the portal?"
"He's right." Glimmer tried to support, teleporting to Catra's side. "We know more than we ever did before. And we have an entire ship to examine in more detail." She could tell Catra was trying to bottle in her anger, her rage, as she refused to look at the two. All she could do as a sign of listening was lowering her ears to them. "You can't give up when you haven't seen every possibility, Catra. It's not what She-Ra would do, not what you should do."
"I don't know what the trouble is about this "power" or thing you're talking about, but your friends are right." Huntara nodded behind them, crossing her arms. "Whether you're a hunter or a warrior, you can't give up just because everything seems to be crashing down on you."
She felt... frightened, for a change. Legitimately, frightened. Scared. She felt a strange sense of unknowingness for the first time that left her frightened of what could happen. She didn't know where to take off from here, where her path would lead her, whether or not she should continue to struggle on like she has been. It was... bizarre. And Catra still didn't know what to say.
She's done this whole thing before. She's depressed, they say something to cheer her up, then they're back at it again by tomorrow and the process starts all over again! Nobody should have to be reminded this often of what a hero should be, it's probably one of the reasons the sword wouldn't choose her in the first place! Nobody would choose her! Not even-
"Well that was quite a show."
"Huh!" Everyone gasped as they turned around, hearing the familiar voice of a certain individual that could only belong to one person.
Ears twitching, her scent already picking up on the slightly familiar smell, Catra turned back. She couldn't believe at the person she saw, the one who looked radically different compared to normal, and the one lounging around in Mara's throne with her legs over the side and her hands behind her head like she owned the place.
Finally seeing all the attention drawing to her, the figure turned her head back, smirking at the one person she despised to see the most.
"Hey, Catra."
...
...
...
A/N: And another chapter down! Know it might seem like a weird point to stop (especially since its a bit different), but with a couple more interactions i have in store for the next chapter and everything, I felt it would be a good stopping point there X)
So, on top of a brand new black leather jacket, we have an adora without a ponytail now that's letting her hair hang naturally. Oh, and not to mention the black leather gloves. Hate to say it, but, and this was never intentional, she's starting to fill the villain role perfectly in terms of style if you ask me XP maybe there was a real mixup with the sword from the main series... hmm... Oh wells.
Lol, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!