A/N: Final Word Count: 9.8k Pre-A/N's. This is it folks. It all comes down to this. The moment that comes in everyone's life that determines who's loyalty is at who's, where boundaries are met and crossed, and where all great decisions must come to an end.
I give you the moment you've all been waiting for (of this episode anyway) at long last.
Please enjoy the spectacular, dramatic, finish.
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Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:07:31
"Agggghhhhhh!" Adora screamed in pain as she clutched her head, the shadows running rampant through her system. All around her, a wave of pure darkness was being constantly streamed as her powers erupted around her, the numerous tiny tendrils from her back flailing to and fro in every direction, the corruption covering 3/4ths of her face as she tried to control her powers. The last fourth of her face that had yet to be corrupted were swarmed with dark veins stretching all across her body.
Given the circumstances and the emotional stress the girl had been put through in the last few minutes, it wasn't surprising.
Adora had had enough. She had enough of the betrayals, enough of the people she trusted turning her backs on her, and enough of those empty promises people had been giving her since day one. She was tired of being the one always left behind when they did, suffering the consequences for their betrayal in the first place, and forcing herself to push through it all just to do her job. Add that to Shadow Weaver's return with the Princess Alliance at her side, and she couldn't take it anymore.
She finally snapped, finally put her foot down for herself. She hated everyone who betrayed her, loathed them greatly. For someone like Shadow Weaver, the person who tricked her into seeing her as a mother once more as a ploy to gain her trust and set her free, to return with the princesses just to save Catra... The pain it brought her was unquenchable, never-ending. She couldn't bear it any longer as it made her heart ache, the feeling of her fever and her growing veins of darkness seeming like mere bumps in the head compared to all else.
The only pain worse right now was the stinging spike of a headache shooting through her forehead as the corruption continued to spread.
She wanted her to pay, she wanted everyone to pay. It was the only option, wasn't it? What else would she do? Just forgive them? How many times does she have to before they stop betraying her? Why should she be the one forced to forgive them?! She shouldn't! It was all their faults, all of it!
"What's happening to her?" Glimmer yelled over the gust of wind erupting from the shadowy soldier. The wind was so fierce she had to shield her own eyes from the forceful sting, holding an arm over her eyes as the aura waved around them.
"She's letting her emotions run rampant." Shadow Weaver explained as her hair was blown back endlessly, looking at the young princess as she covered her own head with a single hand. "She's connected too deeply with the parasite, I can't dispel it from her if she won't allow it.
"And you can't force it out of her like this." Bow added. Despite not having the magical know-how the others shared, he knew enough from the events he just saw. "You're taking too much energy from Glimmer, it's draining her too much."
"It wouldn't matter if I could." Shadow Weaver's eyes narrowed as the aura bursting from her was starting to soften. "The spell's rooted too deeply into her mind. Doing so could shatter Adora's mind at this point."
The Force Captain threw her head forward again as she huffed, the aura around her finally dissipating as the the shadows upon her back slowly descended back to where they came. The girl just stood there as the non-corrupted half of her body continued to pulse with the dark shadowy veins, giving off a dark violet pulse from the girl's exposed skin.
"I don't... care... anymore..." Adora uttered through her teeth, lifting her head up again to give the rest a view of her expression. Hatred. Sadness. Nothingness. "About any of you." The girl winced in her right glazed-over eye as she held her right shoulder in pain, feeling the veins pulsing in and out around it like they could pop out at any moment. "We are going to open that portal, summon Hordak's army," her spiteful glare burned with anger, "and I am going to bury you... all of you!"
The three were left with little choice as they prepared themselves, Bow drawing another of his arrows in his weapon as Shadow Weaver held Glimmer's left hand again, the princess gathering an ample amount of magic in her other fist, ready to strike back against the person she gave one last chance to.
Adora wasn't ready to back down. She began to channel her power over both her arms, doing whatever she could to prepare for the fight ahead of her. It might kill her, it might leave her in a coma for some reason. She didn't care anymore. She wanted them all to pay, all to suffer, for everything they did with her, and she wasn't afraid to take them all on at once. She just wasn't capable of it.
"Nggghh!" Adora squeezed her eyes painfully as she dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach in pain. The shadows had spread all through her at the moment, the parasite taking too much of her power as she exerted her own strength. Seeing this for themselves, a small look of concern crossed over Glimmer and Bow's faces as they lowered their weapons, all the while Shadow Weaver's expression remained unfaltered.
The girl wasn't in any position to be a threat to them, not in the state she was in. She actually groaned to herself as she placed a palm against the floor, her flowing hair brushing in the small wind in the air as she tried to get back to her feet.
"Boss!" It was with Daisy's familiar voice that reinforcements, or in this case, reinforcement, showed up, running to Adora's side as she helped the girl up.
"Let go of me!" Adora yelled, panting heavily as her glare refused to cease upon the three. "I can take them, just let me go!"
"Boss, get ahold of yourself!" Daisy yelled back, grabbing the girl's attention. "We can't lose you right now. We need you, boss." Adora's face softened at the comment before she scowled back. As much as she hated to say it, Daisy was right.
If she tried to fight them right now, she'd be about as useless as a paperweight, not with the state of her current fever, headache, and spiraling shadows that continued to disappear around her. And she couldn't afford to let herself be taken down, not when parts of the Horde still needed her.
Growling, Adora finally relented as she stood up, pulling back the shadows manifested around her. "This isn't over!" With a final declaration, and a spit, Adora made her escape with Daisy as they traveled down the hall behind her.
With the alliance racing against the clock to save Catra's life and stop the portal from opening, they knew they couldn't afford to waste anymore of their precious time. Yet, it was with a heavy heart they accepted this reality as they looked amongst themselves.
Any chance they had of bringing Adora over to their side was forever lost to them, as was the only plan to remove the parasite from Adora's mind. With Shadow Weaver's ritual proving useless, the only options left to them was to either forcefully banish the parasite and break Adora's mind, or end Adora's life with their own two hands. And, knowing the small ounce of care Catra still had for her former friend, they knew it wasn't an option.
Worse yet was the streak of bad luck they were having within the few minutes they were here. Missing the heart of Hordak's inner sanctum, being cut off by guards on several hallways and forced to split up, and having to take care of Adora, a fight they barely won if not for Shadow Weaver, and then discovering that her ritual was a flop, they had to wonder to themselves.
Could they still save Catra? Or would she be among the many streaks of bad luck plaguing their every turn?
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Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:06:08
"Ah, boy, I really appreciate you letting me assist you. I miss hanging out." Scorpia said with a small smile, sitting between two large boxes with an assortment of tools within them. She watched with a curious smile as Entrapta continued to siffle through the tools and devices with her hair as she remained at her computer, catching a small bit of metal that slipped through her hairs and handing it back to her. "Yeah, you've been so busy with Hordak lately and Adora-" The mention of the name alone was enough to bring a small frown to her face. "Adora's been... off... lately." She didn't know how else to describe it.
What was one supposed to do when their friend had been through so much? So much that was understandable to see how they turned into what they were now, yet still bothered by what they were turning into all at the same time?
Since her imprisonment a little over a week ago, the girl hasn't been the same. She's been a bit stubborn, understandably, irritated, understandably, annoyed, understandably, easy to anger, understandably, pessimistic, understandably, and as of late, more bitter than usual, understandably. Come to think of it, to Scorpia, her closest friend, everything was understandable about her.
And it still bothered her so much that she couldn't do anything to fix that.
She thought they had a real connection for a moment when they were within the Crimson Waste just the other day, one of the most unruly places of Etheria and what should've been a complete nightmare. It was a place Hordak sent Adora off to collect First Ones Tech solely to die, with the alternative being her successfully completing her mission. To him, it was a win-win situation.
Instead, it ended up being one of the best experiences of their lives! Adora got to truly be free for the first time! She wasn't held back by her necessity to be kind or polite to everyone around her, she could show off as much of her powers as she wanted without fear of holding back. The experience itself taught the two enough to realize that it was her holding back that caused the shadows to manifest in her veins, giving them a way to forever go without ever having to recharge her powers again!
It seemed like the perfect place where the two could finally be happy, be free. Scorpia had never seen Adora smile so much in one day, or as much in her entire life since knowing her! She knew Adora could be happy and free to be herself at long last, and she was ready and willing to stick around with her and remain in the Crimson Waste if Adora wished it, and for a moment, she actually wanted to.
Then Catra had to come along and ruin it for them, like usual. She doesn't know what she said to Adora and Adora's been too... hurt, to tell her herself. All she knows was that she couldn't get a single moment with her since they kidnapped Catra after finishing their mission, the Force Captain refusing to let Catra out of arm's length from her. And she hasn't smiled once since then.
"She used to smile at least once an hour, and she occasionally had a break from the stress a few minutes out of the day every now and then." Scorpia continued, lamenting the old times and the new. "And we'd get to hang out! Play the usual board game, or watch the kids training..." With a sigh, the small look of cheer on Scorpia's face came crashing down. "But now... Now I don't know what to do. You know what I mean, Entrapta?... Entrapta?" The distraught BFF turned to the scientist in question with a curious look.
The entire time the scientist seemed to be completely unaware of the scorpion-girl's questions or speech, seeming more preoccupied with the monitors in front of her for the last half hour, sitting on her own hair like a chair as she typed away.
Inputting some data of the sword's portal trials, she finally entered the results before looking at the screen. She was met with a single fire over an image of Etheria, detailing the possible death and destruction that could follow and how badly it could be.
She tried the again with the same trials by modifying the data a little bit. She was met with several more flames. Clearly that was worse than the previous trial so she tried a last resort.
Inputting the data she believed would stabilize the scenarios in front of her, she thought she almost had it for a moment. The four flames that covered her screen had slowly poofed away into thin air, giving the illusion of a peaceful and relaxing outcome to the eager scientist.
All that foolish optimism disappeared in an instant ten seconds later after hundreds of flame-like symbols popped up all over the planet until the world itself exploded in a massive ball of flame. On top of that, a giant skull with a boney X behind it flashed over her monitor with a red screen, indicating the severity and direness of the outcome.
"Ugh, it's no good at all!" Entrapta groaned, scratching at her genius head with remorse.
"Huff, I understand. You want me to go too, huh?" Scorpia said with a small but unsurprised frown as she hopped off the crate she sat on. "It's fine. Everyone seems to want me out of the way-"
"No, not that." Entrapta replied, quickly grabbing the back of the scorpion's stinger with her hair before she could walk any farther. "I've been running diagnostics on the portal." Her friend let out a small yelp as she pulled her over to her side. "Watch." With the click of a button, Scorpia got to witness the same scenario she had herself several seconds ago.
Somehow, the explosion was even worse than before.
"You are right. That is not good." She wasn't a scientist, and, thankfully, she didn't need to be one to understand the importance of what Planet plus Boom equaled when it was followed by a red screen of death. "Is that gonna happen? I mean, to the actual planet?"
"This is just an illustration." Entrapta clarified before leaning up to the girl's eye level with her hair. "What will actually happen will be much worse. If my numbers are right, and they are, if we open a portal, the anomalies will be catastrophic." She stated, rubbing her chin with her hair. "It'll unhinge time and space, creating a warped reality that will collapse in on itself, erasing us from existence!"
Personally, she thought it was marvelous! Extraordinaire! To think of such an event that could be created through the power of technology and magic! Such an unprecedented event could never be achieved by modern man or otherwise. And she was the glorious proprietor of the supposed-doomsday theorem!
Too bad she had to hang her head low in shame.
"I never thought I'd say this, but we can't go through with it."
*creak*
It was with the sounds of the heavy metal doors opening that Scorpia's mood lit up a little, overjoyed to see the returning face of her friend Adora again as she shambled her way into the lab, breathing heavily and out of breath as she covered the right side of her face. At the same time, Daisy leaned against the edge of the doorway, watching her boss forcing her way into the lab.
"Adora!" Scorpia smiled, rushing up her dear friend.
"Beat it!" Snapping at the girl without a second thought or care, Adora pushed her side, inadvertently shoving her to the ground when she ended up tripping over a few cables. The girl was more surprised than hurt by her friend's reaction to her, and then disturbed as she saw the look on her face, physically speaking.
Nearly 3/4ths of Adora's face was covered up in the corruption, Scorpia getting a clear look of the remaining pure side of it when Adora moved her hand away from her face to push her friend away. The girl's right eye was glazed over with a white tint yet she stared bitterly at her like she could see her fallen friend clearly.
A friend she didn't seem to care about shoving over as she went on ahead, grabbing Entrapta by her shoulder as she glared into her eyes. "Why aren't you with Hordak in his lab?! I told you not to leave Catra by herself before!" She yelled.
"Ah-... Mmh..."
The noise alone of Entrapta trying to come up with an excuse made Adora want to pinch the nerve between her corrupted eyes enough to the point where they would pop off. "Never mind! Just get back to the lab and prepare the portal! The princesses are here!"
"We can't!" Entrapta refused, rummaging through her own pockets until she found her tracker pad. "Here, look!" Handing over the small display she showed up, Adora got a miniature version of the events Entrapta and Scorpia had witnessed over the big screen. "If we open the portal, something really bad could happen!"
"Geeeh!" Adora growled, continuing to glare at the chief scientist. "Could happen or will happen?"
"Could! A really big could!" She fretted. "If we tried to open a portal right now, the results could be disastrous! It's going to collapse and take us all with it. Catra was right!" The ambience in the room became deaf to the girl as her pupils narrowed, staring in disbelief at her purple-haired friend.
"What... did you..." She misheard her. There was no other way. In fact, she was so positive that she misheard her that she could only ask her again. "Did you just say... Catra was right?" The girl sneered as she slowly began to march up to her friend.
"Uhh... y-yes?" Entrapta responded nervously, shifting her eyes away a little as she backed up.
"What did I tell you about believing her? What did I say about believing ANYTHING she says?!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing at this moment, her mind swarming with a cesspool of anger and discord as her heart raced through her own chest.
"I didn't! I mean, not at first. But she gave me proof about you, Adora!" Adora blinked at the statement. "There is something going on with you, something I didn't discover earlier! And I checked the trials with the portal, too! She was right about that, also!" She became oblivious to Adora's heavy breathing as the girl continued to listen to her, tightening her grip over the tracker pad as she ignored everything spewing from the geek's mouth.
She believed her... over me... Adora thought to herself, drowning out the surrounding noise a little as Entrapta appeared to be speaking senselessly to her.
"Ah, don't take it like it's anything personal, Adora." Like she needed to turn around to know it was Aroda she felt patting her back at that. "It's like I told you earlier. Catra would get to your friends next, remember?" She grinned. "Personally I thought it was going to be the slow one first myself," Adora couldn't or refused to hear those words as she hyperventilated a little, "but I couldn't imagine Catra would manage to trick the smart one out of everybody. Man, she must be an expert."
Adora's eyes twitched a little as she grabbed the side of her head with her free hand, all the while Entrapta continued to drivel on about the cause and effects going on throughout the portal. She would've taken Adora's strange behavior more clearly if it wasn't for the presumed fever and veins over her face affecting her, or the possibility that she was taking in all these details much more shocking than anything else around her.
"-why we have to stop this, Adora!" Entrapta finished as Adora finally came too, shaking her head to clear her mind. "We can't go through with this."
"B-But how do we know it's the portal or the sword's fault? Maybe it's Catra? Maybe her connection with the sword is still incomplete?" Adora tried to argue, remembering some of the details Frosta gave her during her time in the Horde.
"It won't do any good, I've already factored it in." Entrapta informed with regret, using her hair to type away madly at the screen. "At most, I've found it'll only slow down the degradation of the reality's collapse on itself since Catra's link with the sword is still unstable. But the result will still be the same and everything will still be wiped out of existence." Like the previous times, it was met with the same flash of death over the monitors like it showed before. "I'm sorry Adora, but I have to stop this."
"B-B-But... But you can't..." She didn't know what to say to this... this... she couldn't bring herself to put her finger on the word, knowing it was the one word Adora despised to say about her allies and friends the most.
"I'm sorry, Adora, but I don't have a choice! Catra was right, I can't let Hordak do this, I have to stop him!" Without another word, without willing to waste another precious second of time, while time was still a portion of reality, Entrapta ran off, running towards the door as fast as her feet could carry her.
And once again, time slowed down for the young blond. Not to a standstill like previous times, but slow enough that a single blink could take a minute to preform, Entrapta's own foot falling to the ground at a snail's pace.
"Wow... So that's it then, huh?" Aroda whistled crossing her arms. "Catra gets to win, Entrapta remains Hordak's fave, and you... I'm sorry, what did you want in this, again, Adora? I keep forgetting."
"I... I just want to bring this war to an end... A-And..." Adora squeezed her free hand, feeling tears forming in the corners of her eyes as her fist tightened.
"Oh, don't look so upset. I saw what you did with the tracker pad, "Adory"~" Aroda teased, smirking. "Now all you have to do is finish it from here."
"B-B-But... B-But... Entrapta's my... my friend..." Adora's shoulders shook in recollection.
How could she go through with it? This was Entrapta, her second closest friend after Scorpia. The girl was a princess who knew right from wrong, who joined the Horde after the Rebellion abandoned them. Together, she made so many wondrous things for the Horde, things that kept people safe, and things that dismantled the Rebellion's strongholds in minutes without risking lives, the way a war should've been won.
To top it off, she was the reason Adora was probably alive to this day! There was no telling what state Adora would be in if she never had her assistance with her shadowy powers, her magical fever burning through her mind every time her emotions flared up or her powers were overused. She gave so much to help Adora, to prove what a great friend she was, and all Adora had to offer in return was tips on how to be sociable to people, how to interact, and how to make some humanoid friends of her own instead of machines.
They had great times together when it came to lab tests, testing the limits of Adora's magical abilities, even playing with the children from time to time, Entrapta really taking a liking to the popularity she garnered from the young ones interested in science like her.
She was irreplaceable.
"Awww, really? Come on, Adora, we both know that's not true. If it is, she wouldn't have forced herself on Hordak, making him respect you because she told him to." She commented, patting the girl's shoulder with her fingertip while circling her. "And besides, with her out of the way, Hordak would only be able to respect you, especially after what you just did."
"I-It... It was on instinct, I didn't-!" Adora stuttered, still looking at the tracker pad in her hands.
"Oh, pffffft. Yeah, sure." Aroda rolled her eyes as she puffed up a lump of hair from her eyes. "You just accidentally used that function without meaning to. You're just kidding yourself now." Seeing the girl still watching Entrapta slowly leave in turmoil, Aroda grinned mischievously, lifting up a small finger's worth of hair as she whispered into Adora's ears. "I think we both know what you have to do, Adora. This is the last chance you'll get." And with that, time returned to the world.
"...HEY, TRAITOR!"
"Huh-?"
*tug*
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Entrapta cried out in pain as thousands upon thousands of volts coursed through her body within seconds.
There was no time to react for the girl with the twintails, no sign of warning for the two who watched the foray. With a small tendril picking up a shock baton from the loads of crates throughout the room, Adora acted on instinct as she swiftly threw a large shadowy tentacle at Entrapta, wrapping it around her stomach before pull the girl all the way back.
Entrapta barely had a second to see into Adora's hate-filled eyes before the worst of it happened. Without word, without warning, she felt the baton stick into her gullet as Adora let loose, followed by the worst electrical experience the scientist had ever come across. Her entire body felt like it burned simultaneously for a moment as the electricity danced throughout her being, delivering to her the swift justice Adora thought was proper and fitting, continuing to maintain her glare on the girl all throughout it.
After awhile, probably at least ten seconds, Adora relented as she pulled the baton back. The last thing she saw in Entrapta's eyes was a look of remorse, a feeling that slowly entered Adora herself as she realized what she had done, before she finally collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..." Adora was at a loss as she stared at the baton in her hands. Scorpia was at a loss as her mouth gaped open. Daisy was at a loss as Entrapta fell at her feet. Everybody was lost, and nowhere near as lost as Adora. "G-Get her out of here!" Adora shouted angrily, still keeping the fire in her eyes.
"Wha- Me? W-What do you want me to do with here?" Daisy asked, the situation escalating faster than she could handle.
"I-I don't know-!" Adora panicked as she tried to think. She couldn't afford to keep the girl around anymore, knowing what she knew, and she couldn't bring herself to finish her off. "I-I... Send her to the transport to Beast Island." She ordered madly, watching as Daisy collected the girl.
"B-Beast Island!?" Scorpia gasped, grabbing Adora by the shoulder. "Adora, you can't just-!"
Adora shot her. Adora shot her with a look of utter discontent and anger, as she brought the same baton to her face, still sparkling with the same electricity. "Are you going to betray me next, Scorpia? Are you a traitor too?!"
Scorpia was speechless as she stared at her in horror, Adora unaware as her corruption slowly started to spread further across her face. Adora was serious about this, serious about everything. She had the look in her eye that assured Scorpia that she would take her down too if she tried to get into Adora's way, or so much as spoke against her. Be it friend or foe. Because right now, everyone appeared to be a foe to her.
She wanted to say something, she really did. She wanted to ask her so many questions right now, like why she was so angry about everything, why she was threatening her of all people like she was the enemy, and, more importantly, WHY DID SHE ATTACK ENTRAPTA IN THE FIRST PLACE!? She had so many questions and not enough time on her claws to get through them all. She just needed to know where to begin!
And... she couldn't. She couldn't say anything. She was terrified at the reaction it would cause, mortified by the look in Adora's eyes. The person she saw minutes ago was nowhere near this girl to her. This was something else, something scary. All she could do was hang her head in despair, her silence saying as much as Adora needed to hear.
Her eyes narrowed a little further as she stared, making sure she left no room for doubt, before tossing the baton away. "That's what I thought." Without another word, the erupting Force Captain ran out of the room behind Daisy, though not in the same direction, before the doors closed.
Leaving behind a sullen Scorpia who could only drop to her knees in distress, bringing her claws to her eyes as reality slowly sunk in around her.
Adora was gone.
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Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:02:03
The three heroes, or two in this case, continued to speed down the hallway with all their energy as they ran like their lives depended on it. It wasn't actually their lives that truly mattered to them at the moment, it was the life of their dear friend who was minutes away from execution. They've battled soldiers, officers, and a deranged Force Captain who was growing worse for wear by the second, and they couldn't allow themselves to be stopped anytime soon.
Even for the minor annoyances.
*swoop*
*whap*
"Ah!" Glimmer yelped as a strange bluish creature flew over her head, slapping her in the back of her head before flying away.
*swoop*
*whap*
"Ow!" She yelped again, feeling the same annoying blue devil repeating the process.
Knowing they couldn't afford to waste time with the strange imp, and they couldn't let it distract them for so long, Bow quickly shot out one of his many trick arrows at the creature, one that burst into a solid sturdy rope that ensnared the creature, dropping it to the floor. With the minor nuisance incapacitated, the heroes came to a stop as their entryway was blocked off regardless.
Walking past the struggling imp, the heroes prepared themselves as several armed droids approached them, all sporting the red beams of death, ready to eradicate any and all intruders they came across. There were a few of them, mere annoyances at best with the three of them, yet enough to keep them delayed for as long as possible.
Seeing no other choice, unwilling to waste a second of their precious time, Glimmer grabbed Shadow Weaver's hand, preparing to use as much as her power as possible as their magic channeled together.
"Glimmer, no-!" Bow tried to warn, refusing to see her in the state she was in before.
"There's no choice." Glimmer shot back, already raising her hand to the droids as she prepared with Shadow Weaver. "Do it!" The witch didn't need to be told twice as she continued with the ritual that kept them strong, raising her own hand as they prepared to strike down anything and anyone around them.
...
...
Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:01:21
*bzzzzzzzzt*
Catra couldn't tell what terrified her more right now. The sight of the sword going berserk behind Hordak as it flashed wildly with lightning, the sight of her own executioner grinning to his own weapon as he poked at the tip to ensure it was sharp, or the fact that any minute now, she was going to die, like, really die, and that would be the end of her.
Was this really the best she could do with her current status? To be tied to the machine like this, staring in fear at the executioner and his weapon of choice, and be helpless to stop it? She couldn't move her wrists from the cuffs that were tightened around her arms, or pull or push her feet any further or closer with how they tied around her ankles. She couldn't even scream for help or try to distract him with some sort of obscenity that could prolong the inevitable.
All she knew, deep down, was that she failed. She failed to be a hero, she failed to be a true She-Ra, and she failed to convince Adora, to convince any of them, that she was telling the truth about the portals. Somehow, the reality that she was about to die seemed like the second worst reality to turn to compared to the crueler reality to her world.
She wasn't a True She-Ra. And she never would be.
"You should feel honored to die by my hand, traitor." Hordak commented, taking a stance with his spear at the ready. "The last person to fall at my hands with this lasted three minutes."
"Mhmmhh! Mmhhhhh!" Catra muffled into the gag, struggling in vain again to free herself as he slowly approached.
He enjoyed the sight of her squirming in fear, the terror in her eyes being exactly what he knew she deserved. Fear was a great motivator to inspire or intimidate one's enemies. And the more of it you had, the more you controlled the individual. "I wonder if you'll even last two."
*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*
From behind him, Hordak grinned, admiring the sound and the power emanating from the sword going out of control with energy. "She did it. I suppose, in a way, I should be thanking you, Catra. If you never found the sword, none of this could've been possible."
Oh, great, just what she needed right now. MORE guilt on her consciousness.
"Lord Hordak!" Adora panted having finally reached him, running up to him from behind and pushing through her incredible fever without care. "The princesses are here. We need to activate the portal-" Adora paused as she saw her friend again, the same one who looked upon her with worry as her ears drooped.
Given all that has happened, she had almost forgotten about Catra's execution for a moment, the one underlying detail behind all of this. If the portal was activated, Catra's fate would be sealed. Hordak would have no more use for her, he would get rid of one of the greatest threats to the Horde with his own two hands, and Catra would be gone.
"Where's Entrapta? I need her!" Hordak stated. Out of all of this, there was no way he could continue the portal's activation without her at his side. She was as big a part of this as the portal itself, maybe even more, after all her commitment and devotion to its development.
"W-What?" Adora shook her head, snapping her focus back to him. "We don't have time! The princesses will be here any minute, and-"
"If Entrapta isn't here, then go FIND her, Force Captain!" He barked, directing her with the spear.
A part of her didn't want to do this. A part of her couldn't think about doing this. And a part of her reeeeeally wanted to do this. She had no end to the wants and don'ts of her desire, of her mind as she lowered her head, squeezing her fist in anger.
No matter how much she devoted to him, he would never truly respect her. No matter how deeply she proved her care for the Horde, he would always shun her. Without Entrapta's ingenuity, without her intellect, she was nothing to him. She meant nothing to the Horde in his eyes. And as long as he held respect for Entrapta, there would be none left to give to her.
Finally coming up with her own decision, Adora began to chuckle as she walked behind him, shooting him a smirk as she caught Catra's eyes. "Who do you think let the princesses in?"
"...!" Shock came over his eyes in an instant, in a moment, that felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And on the next, it was on his fist.
*WHAP!*
"Agh!" Adora cried out as she was smacked against from the back of his wrist right across her face. The force of it was strong enough to send her flying several yards behind her, slamming her back into the console of the machine. She barely had enough time to conjure a shadowy tentacle over her throat before Hordak grabbed at it with his hands, ready to squeeze the life out of her eyes.
"What did I warn you about using her name for your own reasoning!?" He shouted, steadily reaching closer to her throat with every breath. With the exosuit on, it was near impossible for Adora to push it away, not in the weakened state of herself and her magic.
Again, Adora let out another chuckle as she smirked back to him. "Don't take my word for it? Then hear it from her yourself." And with a shadowy tentacle reaching up between them, Hordak watched as she played an audio recording of the last few moments of Adora's conversation with Entrapta.
"I'm sorry Adora, but I have to stop this."
"B-B-But... But you can't..."
"I'm sorry, Adora, but I don't have a choice! Catra was right, I can't let Hordak do this, I have to stop him!"
Slowly, surly, enjoyably to Adora, she watched as the world within Hordak's eyes slowly came to a crumble. It was times like this that Adora displayed her intelligence, her initiative, her way of thinking ahead. Even if it was unlikely that she would actually need to use the information, let alone use a recording in general, it was always great to have a backup plan. And recording the talk between herself and Entrapta was one of the few greatest backups Adora has ever managed.
All around Hordak, his own world began to crumble as he softened his hold over the girl, eventually backing away from Adora in whole as he squeezed his fists.
Entrapta was... like no other, that he came across. She was wise, sincere, had an intelligence to her that almost rivaled his own, just a drop, like no other person he has ever come to know. She had shown great interest in his research, devoted herself wholly to the Horde as he saw it, and showed an interest in befriending the Lord of the Horde himself. He had never known such compassion in such an intelligent creature.
Now, he knew her for what she really was. A swine, a cretin, a traitor. This whole time, he realized she had just been using him for practical entertainment, perhaps as a distraction to cover her own purposes or intent. Maybe this whole time, all she wanted was nothing more than to keep herself alive, always planning to escape at the next possible convenience. With the princesses here to rescue Catra and the sword, it wouldn't surprise her if they rescued her with it.
"But, she..." Hordak muttered, unable to grasp his own words tighter than the grip on his spear. "She wouldn't."
"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Adora showed no fear, no disdain, no relent, just pure amusement as she smirked at him, crossing his arms.
"Raaaaaaaah!" He growled, glaring deathly into her eyes, the red reflecting off her pupils.
"Take it from an expert, My Lord. You can't trust anyone, especially a princess." Adora said as she lowered her gaze to Catra with disgust. "They'll just use you for their own end, and toss you aside when something better comes along. I should know, it's happened before." Catra turned her head away with the still-surmountable look of guilt in her eyes as Adora teared up herself.
She still bore hatred. So much hatred for Catra for using her as she did. Not a day had gone by since their fallout at the Beacon where Adora had forgiven Catra, or so much as contemplated forgiving her. How could she? Why could she? After all, Catra saw it for herself through her own memories from the simulations, the barren truth that lead Adora down this path of evil, of corruption, and hatred.
Everything Adora did till now, all that she thought up, was her own fault, by her own hands. She wouldn't have turned out this way if she found the sword like she was supposed to, never wanted her friend to continue fighting for a side that would abuse her like this, and never wanted to hurt her as much as she did since the day she left her side. Every moment that went by was a moment that Catra regretted not going back for her, for abandoning her in the Horde when she had so many chances to return for her.
If it wasn't for her, if it wasn't for all of Catra's mistakes, she knew Adora wouldn't turn out like this. Maybe they would've been fighting with each other by now if she changed even a single mistake in her past. Maybe they would've defeated the Horde at this point and had their little kingdom somewhere?
It didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. Adora was the person she was today because of her suffering, a suffering Catra knew she brought on, whether or not it was intentional. And it took her an execution to realize all this.
The same power of guilt, the very thing that kept her from becoming a true She-Ra, was all on her.
And no one else.
"Open the portal and let's end this." Adora instructed, looking back to her friend. Without another word, Adora smirked to her friend as she began walking up to her, ready to watch all of her hard work finally bring an end to the Rebellion at long last.
Instead, she came to a stop as she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking back to see Hordak glaring up ahead, not at her, but at the traitor.
"You do it." He instructed, softly pushing her towards the lever. Confused for a moment, Adora soon realized why he wanted to bestow her the honor of pulling the lever as he approached the cat girl, one who began to panic as she tried to pull free of her restraints.
"Mmmhmhmmmh!" Catra screamed to herself, jerking her shoulders, her knees, anything as his glare intensified on her with each passing second.
Adora looked to her friend and back to the lever walking up to it hesitantly.
This was her chance. A chance to prove her loyalty and her deserved respect once and for all.
(A/N's: For increased dramatic effect, highly advised to play the suspenseful theme at this point until instructed otherwise)
Countdown to Catra's Execution: 00:00:21
All she had to do was pull the lever, and that would be the end of it. Looking back, both she and Catra shriveled at the sight as Hordak extended the spear with a click of a button before the magicat, nearly reaching mere inches from her eyes as it sparked with electricity.
00:00:20
Pulling the lever meant summoning Hordak's army, refusing to believe a word of Entrapta's nonsense, especially when the source came from a traitorous swine like Catra.
00:00:19
It also meant Catra's life would be forfeit the moment she pulled. All Hordak needed to do was wait for the portal to start up before he went through with it, to make sure the portal lasted for several seconds, before finishing off the feline for good. Like he said before, he refused to let an opportunity pass, including a chance for one of their greatest enemies to survive.
00:00:18
"What are you waiting for?" Hordak yelled back, raising the spear to his side as he prepared to strike the cat.
00:00:17
"Do it!" He ordered.
00:00:16
Adora's eyes slowly shriveled as she trembled, reaching steadily for the lever at her side. Somehow, the lever felt extremely heavy to the touch as she held onto it, and light as a feather, all at the same time. Adora couldn't breath.
00:00:15
"Come on, this is our chance!" Aroda deemed, squeezing her fist with excitement as she stood ahead of the lever. If she had the opportunity, she would've used the girl's powers herself to pull the lever if Adora had any concentration or control of it left at the time.
00:00:14
"Once you do this, it'll all be over!"
00:00:13
Adora looked back to Catra as the girl stared back at her, her friend tearing up with hopeful eyes that Adora didn't pull the lever. She had no means of escape, no clue as to how far or how near her allies and friends were. All she knew was that her life was in Adora's hands, the person who hated her so much.
00:00:12
"DO IT!" Aroda shouted again, not even trying to hold back as a shadowy aura started evaporating over herself, the demon-looking eye popping up over her forehead as her veins pulsed.
00:00:11
"I gave you an order!" Hordak yelled back, growling at the girl's ineptitude. He glared back at the magicat in front of him. It didn't take a genius to know what was keeping her from going through with it.
00:00:10
"If you won't pull the lever, then perhaps a little incentive would help!" He declared, raising the staff high above his head as Catra coward at the sight. Anyone would when you saw your executioner about to strike you down.
00:00:09
Adora looked back fearful at the reality. He was going to kill Catra without hesitation, without a second thought, even if it meant risking the chance the portal would no longer work. He would much rather risk losing a portal forever than letting She-Ra escape from his grasp.
00:00:08
Adora didn't know what to do as Catra closed her eyes, fearing the worst and refusing to watch the spear come down.
00:00:07
With what little power she had at her disposal, she could grab the spear or Hordak and push him away, but by then it would be over.
00:00:06
She would be branded a traitor for the rest of her life, cast out and pushed aside for all her life. She might get to join the Rebellion if she was lucky, if she wanted to prove optimistic, but it wouldn't guarantee her freedom after she declined their offer the first time.
00:00:05
Or, she could pull the lever. It would elevate her status to a respectable place at his side. She would have renown, his respect, honor, and be back on the path to uniting Etheria under one banner like she always dreamt of.
00:00:04
But Catra would die as a result. Her dream lied between her living or dying at this point, with no way to go back once she partook in Catra's death. It would be all on her, she would be the one to suffer with the knowledge for all eternity that she caused her friend's death.
00:00:03
Either choice came with and without consequences, there was no single option that would prevent such a fate or a calamity befalling Adora for the rest of her life. This was the moment that would finally expose Adora's true colors, who's side she was really on.
00:00:02
This was the Moment of Truth.
00:00:01
*BOOM!*
"Agh!" Hordak yelled as a small explosion struck him from the side, causing him to be blasted away a few feet and the force of it finally loosening Catra's gag enough to fall around her neck again. It wasn't enough to knock the leader of the Horde off his feet as he skid across the ground, but it definitely shifted his priorities with a menacing glare.
"Lord Horda-!"
*pew!*
"Ahh!" Adora cried out as she was struck from behind with a familiar pink burst of energy, the wave blasting Adora away from the lever as she collapsed over on the ground. Her whole body was aching from the fever alone, the blast she just took feeling like she took a baseball bat to the stomach. She refused to remain off her feet in front of Hordak as she weakly got up, holding her side in pain as she gritted her teeth at the three intruders.
A strange familiar scent, an explosive arrow with reduced forced, and a pink energy blast that could tear apart droids if enough force was applied to it. Catra had never known herself to grin as widely at the realization as she looked back down to the entrance of the lab, spotting three familiar faces, one of which disgusted her, arriving in the nick of time.
"You guys!" The dweebs, her dweebs, had finally arrived! Catra has never and will never be happier to see them in her life as much as she was now.
"Catra!" Glimmer exclaimed with joy, relieved to see her friend alive and well, even if a little tied up.
Still trying to maintain what little dignity the magicat shook herself a little, growing a snide grin as she rolled her eyes again. "About time you dweebs showed up. I was getting so bored with this place I was just about ready to break myself out."
It did nothing to tarnish the joy the others felt at the reality. They had made it in time. Catra was saved. And she still had the same old attitude her friends had come to love about her. Snarky, sarcastic, and hiding away her true feelings.
They were glad to see each other again.
"... Shadow Weaver?" Catra blinked with a raised brow, wondering if she was just seeing things or if the witch had really come to her rescue. "What are you doing here?"
"Believe me, pest," Shadow Weaver commented narrowing her eyes, "the feeling's mutual."
"GHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Hordak growled, ruining the two or three second reunion the group had as all their attention focused back to him.
He knew Adora was useless. All she had to do was the simplest job in the world, one that any three-year-old could do on the spot without a second telling. With all the time she wasted hesitating, all the attachment and feelings of remorse she held for her ex-friend, she wasted all the time they had to put an end to Catra and summon the portal that would call forth his army.
And he wouldn't stand for it!
Running back, the leader grabbed the large machine he had dropped upon the ground earlier that day, using his massive strength from the exosuit to pull it out of the ground. Giving a great big heave, his intentions and his targets almost impossible to miss with it, he threw the massive five tons of steal at the princess and the traitorous witch, hurtling it across the room without mercy.
Knowing what to do, knowing how to put a stop to it, Glimmer grabbed onto Shadow Weaver's hands. Together, raising both their opposing hands, the two women channeled their powers with all their might at the flying metallic pillar, ensnaring it in an aura of violet dark, and stopping it in its place three feet away from them. With a firm grip over their metallic instrument, they threw it towards the side of the room, striking the metallic supports to the lab before crashing into the ground.
Along with the distortion caused by the sword's power, the electricity emanating from it bouncing around the room, the room had finally begun to collapse around them. Everywhere each of the residents looked, they saw vitrines bursting apart from the immense shockwave, cables to the ceiling and the various machines snapping in half as all the hard work within the leader's lab starting to become undone.
Throughout the various machinery that fell at their feet, a large crumbling mass of metal nearly crushed the leader of the Horde himself, Hordak backing away from the falling metals that could crush him like an ant, shielding his eyes from the debris. Glimmer's remaining rescuers faired little better than the leader as they barely got five feet towards their friend and sword before more rubble piled atop in front of them, blocking their path.
Glimmer took the moment to gather as much magical reserves as she had left, trying to phase herself through the distance and teleport to her friend. This did nothing more than leave the girl a bit light-headed as her powers tapped out, dropping to her knees before Bow caught her.
"I can't get any closer!" She yelled over the loud ambience and vibrations. "My powers won't let me teleport to them."
"It's the sword!" Shadow Weaver yelled at the same level of volume, trying to find a way around the rubble. "It's interfering with your powers!"
Seeing the world falling around her, Catra struggled again to break out of her restraints. Within the center of the room, where everything stood, this was the last chance she had to free herself, the last chance to take the sword back before anyone else could-
Catra stopped as she gasped with worry. Ahead of her, she saw Adora, her former friend, walking up to the lever, eyeing the mechanical switch curiously as she reached for it. She couldn't get a grasp on Adora's expression, whatever it was at the time, as her flowing hair blocked the side of her face, leaving only her mouth exposed to the girl.
"Adora!" Catra called out, Adora barely giving her head a nudge in her direction. "You don't have to do this anymore! Get me out of here and grab the sword. We can all go back!"
"Why would I want to do that?" Adora asked in a flat tone, grabbing the tip of the lever. "We're about to win this war."
"Adora, you don't have to put up with this act anymore." Catra reminded, growing more worried as the vibrations became worse. "You saved me from Hordak, all right? He can't reach us now. Let's take the sword and go back with the Rebellion!"
"... Heh... Heheh... HAHAHAHAAHAHA!" Adora bellowed with a boastful laughter as she threw back her head, squeezing her forehead tightly as she recalled what she just said. "Oh my gosh, what are you talking about?" She asked, smiling wickedly at the girl who lowered her ears. "What made you think I wanted to save you?"
"What are you talking about? I saw how you hesitated, I know you wanted to save me." Something was wrong here. Very, very wrong.
"Hesitated? Is that what you think?" Adora chuckled as she shook her head, pinching between her eyes with a shadowy pair of fingers. "Catra... I never cared about saving you from death! I wasn't having a problem with Hordak's plans to begin with."
"W-What...? But then..." She was fearful, terrified. Something was about to be revealed to her in ways she wasn't prepared for. "Then why were you acting so strange? I know you wanted to stop him from executing me. I'm sure he knew it himself!"
"Oh, Catra, still as slow as ever I see." At this Adora finally revealed her face to her once more, showing the corruption around her head slowly filling her entire face. "Catra, I didn't want Hordak to not execute you because I cared about you. I wanted to stop him from executing you because you haven't suffered enough!" Catra went silent, almost deathly so.
"I told you since the beginning, Catra. I want you to suffer. To suffer the way I have, to feel every ounce of pain you caused me by taking everything I cared about." She smirked at the lever at her hand, the one thing that could alter the course of this war. "With this portal... Hordak's army will reach Etheria, and that will be the end of that. Then, with their help... they will take everything you have, Catra. All of it." At this, there was barely an inch of Adora's face that wasn't covered by the corruption, her left eye glazing over with a more transparent whiteness than her right.
"I want you to feel what it's like to lose everything around you, to have someone else take things away from you against your control. And then... I'll finally forgive you."
It was by this time that Catra realized too late just whose side Adora was finally on.
She wasn't doing this any longer for the Horde, nor did she intend to join the Rebellion.
Adora was doing all of this... for herself.
*CRANK!*
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Catra screamed as Adora pulled the lever at long last.
Everyone watched on as Adora took a knee, bracing herself as a massive burst of wind filled the room, nearly blowing her off her feet. Everyone looked in astonishment, in shock, as the metallic parts around it began to levitate of their own free will, slowly standing and reorganizing itself into the portal machine, the device that Hordak so proudly worked on with the traitor known as Entrapta.
Surprise loomed over Hordak's face as the device began to hum. Shock covered the eyes of Glimmer, Bow, and Shadow Weaver as they just managed climb above and beyond the broken metal. And Catra, the warrior princess, the girl who tried so hard to be She-Ra, looked on in despair.
Adora had won. Adora always won. And it was with Adora's satisfied victory that she embraced the glowing whiteness that filled the void around them.
And then, everything ceased to be.
...
...
...
A/N: ...