A/N: Final Word Count: 10.5k Pre-A/N's.
Hoooo boy, what's going on folks! Sorry for the delay here, things have been rather crazy on my end of the world. I was just going to post a long explanation about the reason behind it, but, unwilling to add in to the fear around here, let's just say things have been hectic on my end of the world recently. All you need to know is that I'm okay personally and I apologize for the delay, with all that's happened its been hard to focus/concentrate on the writing. As such, some of the writing will most likely be a little rushed/forced through places here and there and i hope that doesn't distract from the writing itself. If it does, i apologize, because like i said, it's been hectic.
But without further delays, on with the show ^^!
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*Crash!*
The dirt and debris burst from the ground upon impact as Swift Wind and Catra dodged to each side.
The Horde's newest droid was proving more formidable than their previously small stature had proposed. With the base of the metallic centipede-like construct's bottom orb planted firmly in the ground, the creature followed up its attack as it swept across the ground everywhere within a ten-foot radius, leaving Catra to block the blunt of the attack with her sword-turned-shield as she was knocked back while Swift Wind had more than ample opportunity to fly himself back, dodging over the elongated creature.
Catra's feet scraped against the ground as she was pushed backwards, maintaining her stance while trying to think of a plan. So far, this droid proved to be more troublesome than anything she had faced in recent weeks, and more durable than anything she ever clobbered before. And as annoying as the fight itself was starting to turn out, what annoyed her most was the awesome party she was continuing to miss as she lunged for the creature again.
Today had been one of the best days in Catra's life since joining the Rebellion, or at least one of the best days she's ever had to attend a party. The party itself was beyond wild given the small size of the village itself. Gathering in the central hut of the village where the townsfolk had gathered, in recognition of their previous victory of driving out the Horde from Elberon, the citizens had thrown together one of the largest celebrations the town has ever known, and the greatest reward Catra, Bow, and Swift Wind had ever been given for a job well done.
Streamers. Confetti. Games. A cake stylized after Catra's She-Ra form. This town had everything a great party needed and then some, and it was all for the three heroes themselves! Never have they seen a party of this size offered to them as a reward before, nor has a party ever been as massive as the one they stood upon.
The entire town was offering them cheer and praise throughout the several hours Catra and Bow attended the festivities, and they were having a blast! Between Catra showing off her She-Ra-ness, Bow hanging out with an apparent fan club he had, and Swift Wind entertaining the children, it seemed like the perfect day!
Sure, there was some minor guilt added along with the knowledge that Glimmer was missing out on such a festivity, but it would've been rude to decline such a generous offer after all the hard work the townspeople went through. At least, that was the general excuse Catra and Bow had come up with before deciding to stick around. After all, how could they not offer to join in on the fun when they went through the trouble of making a She-Ra cake of all things?!
Sadly, like all good things, the party eventually came to an end, at least for the magicat. With the scouts having reported several new droids within the forest, Catra took off on her own with Swift Wind, leaving Bow behind to continue enjoying the party and to watch over the town just in case. When she found the droids, they didn't leave much to the imagination at first as they were solid silver, as rounded as a bowling ball, and appeared pretty harmless upon first inspection.
She severely retracted that last statement after the first two minutes.
These droids proved to be more of a nuisance than they eventually lead on. With hydraulics built into them that allowed them to jettison themselves off the ground like a cannonball, with all the force and firepower behind it, and the durability to take a She-Ra's spiked mace to the face without leaving a scratch, these annoying little buggers ended up being one of the more tougher enemies Catra had yet to face.
Even when she did find a weak spot upon the hydraulic opening themselves, it proved useless. Discovering the particular weak point immediately resulted in the five remaining orbs combining, stacking atop of one another to keep their weak point from being exposed while transforming into an insectoid-like creature in the form of a centipede, and one that was still proving troubling all the same.
Catra's heroic lunge for the creature wasn't met with any results particularly better than the last. Spotting the girl who was charging straight at them, the creature continued to prove its versatility as it pulled its head back. As opposed to a simple dodge like Catra had expected, it turned out to be a form of counterattack as it quickly threw its head back in her direction with a fling- literally.
"Agh!" Catra found the head of the creature with its protruding mandibles retracting into its body launching straight at her, leaving her defenseless as she helplessly took on the attack straight away, the silver-coated head slamming into her stomach like a rocket as it knocked her off her feet, slamming her into the ground before pushing off the injured She-Ra all the same.
"Catra!" Swift Wind's cry of worry was enough of a distraction for the centipede to turn its 4-layered attention to him next. With another swing of its shorter body, it flung another large orb directly at the noble steed, catching him off guard as another two-foot sphere collided straight into the noble horse's side, and nearly knocking him off his own feet. He considered himself lucky that the creature missed the entirety of his wing. Otherwise, he was pretty sure it would've grounded him indefinitely from a broken wing.
Wincing a little, more irritated than in pain, Catra picked herself off the ground a little as she looked back, hearing the same spherical droid returning to her as it rolled towards a tree.
With precise timing and trajectory, she watched as the simple rounded droid propelled itself a few feet into the tree before using the tree itself as a bumper, shooting itself straight at the downed warrior with enough force that it cracked the tree it shot off with in half. She barely managed to roll over to the side in time as the bumper ball smashed into the ground just inches from her, bouncing off the ground again ahead of her as it left a notably sized imprint in the ground where it landed.
That thing would've crushed her easily if she was a single second too late.
Sighing with a little relief to herself, she turned her glare back on the annoying roly polies as the two disconnected orbs returned to the main body, attaching themselves to the back of the line as they re-covered their weak spots again, leaving them near invulnerable to her current strength, and leaving the head to reform its mandible-like cruncher that gave the centipede its appearance.
It still wasn't enough to keep the noble steed from worrying over his partner and friend as Swift Wind rushed over to Catra's side, standing guard a little over her as She-Ra pushed herself to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"Tch, I'm fine." She spat, gripping her shield tightly as she remained focused on her opponent. "You?"
"Eh, sore side, but nothing major." He chuckled lightly back before looking over the dreaded creature. "How are we supposed to stop that thing? It keeps covering its own weak points before we can it 'em. It's practically cheating!"
"Whatever that thing is, it can't conceal the weak point at its head." Catra stated, watching as the creature snapped its jaws threatening in her direction. She kept her eyes focused to the center of its head between the two mandibles, noticing it was the only hydraulic sticking out, and that it would have to have been aligned with all the other weak spots in a straight line. "We need destroy those things all at the same time."
"Same time?" The gallant steed thought for a moment before gasping with excitement. "Is it Magical Sacred Bond time?!" Ooooh, he couldn't wait! One of the best parts about it was simply knowing the fact that for Catra to perform such a feat with her sacred horse, she needed to have a strong connection to it through an emotional level, one that guaranteed the two had a friendly bond with each other that solidified their friendship.
It also solidified the small blush over Catra's grumbling cheeks as she stared back. "Can you at least call it something better than a "magical sacred bond" or something?"
"Hmm... How about Super Best Friendship Power?"
"... Sacred Bond is fine." At least that one sounded less cheesy to her.
With their objective in mind, the two heroes banded together as they prepared to take the annoying centipede-like creation down for good. Morphing her shield back into her trusted sword, Catra's entire body glowed with a tranquil white aura as she charged at the creature from head on, all while her flyable friend took off into the air, circling behind it. Seeing the enemy coming straight for itself, the centipede charged ahead at her as well, using its mandibles to grip the tip of the blade before it could reach the droid's weak point.
Here the creature worked tirelessly as it began thrashing about its backside left and right, trying to shake the girl off her feet, or pry the sword from her hardened grip. If she remained like this for any longer, odds were the sword actually would be able to slip out of her hands, seeing how these things could push or pull with the same force as a cannonball.
That's why it was, admittedly, good to have friends in certain situations, like a flying horse that got behind the durable creature as Catra kept it distracted. Like her, Swift Wind was also glowing alight with a bright aura, ready to put his strength to the test for She-Ra's sake.
Waiting for the creature's thrashing to settle enough, or at least until he could find the right timing, he eventually managed to slam his frontal hooves straight atop of the creature's tail, lining it up in a straight path along with the rest of the obnoxious orbs. From this, the head of the creature jerked a little as the rest of its body tried to squirm away from itself. Unfortunately, thanks to the same hydraulics that kept the creature connected, it was also impossible for the interior orbs to move about as long as the orbs ahead of it and behind it remained connected as it did, effectively leaving it pinned and in distress over its predicament.
A predicament it wouldn't have to worry about for long.
Smirking at the successful bit of teamwork, Catra finally pulled off the additional edge they needed to as she transformed her sword again. Bringing the tip of her blade up to the creature's face-like weak point, she transformed the mighty sword into a powerful lance, one that stretched as far as the droid's combined form, and skewered every single droid in one sitting as the tip of the lance just reached past the hydraulic of the last droid.
With this, and her incredible strength, Catra grinned as she finally lifted the lance into the air, keeping the Shishkabobbed droids within the lance's steel frame, and slamming them all into the rough ground behind her.
Using the energy from her sacred bond, she unleashed a small torrent of power into the lance, filling the droids from the inside with an aggressive energy that short circuited the twitching roly polies from within. What followed was a beautiful explosion that would always put a smile to Catra's face as each of the bots exploded in a domino-like effect, from the head of the centipede creation all the way to the tail of the metallic monstrosity.
At long last, the troublesome droids had been laid to waste, and the battle had been won.
"Hah!" Catra laughed as she and her sword returned to their original state, the proud warrior placing the sword back around her neck as a collar. "I can't wait to see the party we'll get after this." Already she was anticipating the wonderful flavors that would come to meet her tongue from the delicious cake they would make for her. "Heh, maybe they'll make a cake after you, too."
"Yeah..." Swift Wind muttered back as he kept his eyes on the destroyed droids with a questionable look. Looking back to it herself, she didn't notice anything amiss about the wreckage that laid behind as the smoke cleared, seeing nothing out of the ordinary other than a pile of broken droid parts and pieces.
"What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, it's just..." Like Catra had previously when she first saw the droids, now that they were destroyed he couldn't help but feel like something was off. "Didn't that seem a little... I don't know... easy to you?"
"Easy? I got slammed in the back and the stomach by a pair of wrecking balls, I don't consider that easy." She shrugged back, making her way over to the broken machinery to inspect them up closer.
"Yeah, I know that, it's just..."
"What?"
"Don't you think there should've been a little tougher? Or that they could've caused more damage if there were more around here?"
"Hey, they gave us six of these things to deal with, and they were trouble enough. Now relax." She smiled a little back as she mounted the horse. "It's just like the people of Elberon said. We're the heroes that won the Battle of Bright Moon, remember? Something like this is nothing to us."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Swift Wind smiled back, unwilling to tarnish Catra's high spirits with his pessimism. Truthfully, the battle really was easier compared to most of their other battles have been, even ones by themselves. As long as the two had an inseparable bond, one that Catra would never admit to, there wasn't anything the two could handle.
Thus, with hungry bellies and excitable minds, Swift Wind took off to the skies above, ready to partake in the amazing party that lied in store for them.
...
"All right everyone, bust out the confetti again, because your heroes have a... rrived..." The excitement and suspense for the party that awaited the questionably noble heroes was quickly dashed away as Catra threw open the doors. All the wonder, all the joy, all the fun that once filled this wonderful building had been replaced with overwhelming despair and sorrow as the two stepped through.
Everything, and everyone, was gone.
What wasn't missing from the party was torn to shreds and broken into pieces as the wondrous energy that elevated this room had been drained away like a bad storm. Many of the streamers were torn down, some of the tables were knocked over, and the color of this charming place had faded. The dark room was barren of anyone they could see as they entered the sacred hall, trying to process what had become of the occupants and the wonderful festivities that had yet to greet them upon return.
"Where did everyone go?" Swift Wind asked as the two looked around. "Is this one of those parties where people hide and shout "surprise"?"
"Well, they got the surprise part of it down, but where's everyone hiding?" Catra asked back as she tried to get her senses to pick up anything around here.
"... m... n..."
"Maybe they all went outside somewhere or-" Swift Wind came to a stop as Catra held her hand up. Her ears could pick up a faint whimpering sound she heard from somewhere within the large hut, something that proved to her she wasn't alone around here.
Slowly, she silently moved her way over to the sound of the mysterious figure as she approached one of the knocked over tables, being careful to avoid stepping on anything with the boots she was forced to wear. She didn't know if they were a friend or a foe, only that, whoever they were, they could provide the answers she needed. All the same, she didn't hesitate to ready her claws as she drew closer to the sounds of the voices, keeping her guard up just in case.
"... om... n..." The voice grew louder with every step, Catra steadying herself as she lowered herself to the ground more. "... om... on... Come on..." She couldn't tell whose voice it was that was meeting her ears, just that it sounded familiar to her.
REaching the wooden surface, Catra gave a small look of approval to the stallion who nodded back to her, ready to make a move in case it turned out to be an enemy of some sort. Slowly bringing herself around the wooden object, Catra was met by the sight of someone she hadn't expected to remain around here, nor the small data pad she appeared to be fiddling with in her hand as her back was turned to her.
"Come on... come on... please work..." She whimpered to herself, pressing her finger against the strange device she couldn't seem to figure out.
"Flutterina?"
"Ah-! You're back!" Flutterina cried sadly and relieved as she ran up to the girl, quickly taking her in a hug as Catra threw a comfortable arm back.
"Flutterina, what happened here? Where is everyone?" Catra asked as the weeping girl collected herself.
"The Horde, it was awful." She cried. "They attacked as soon as you left. Bow tried to fight, he's the only reason some people were able to escape." She couldn't keep herself from the sorrow as the tears poured from her eyes. "But they took him and everyone else."
All this news came as devastation to the young Catra as she processed all of this. The people who've been nice and considerate to her since meeting them, everyone who depended on her to keep them safe from the Horde, and everyone that was taken away because she wasn't here to defend them. Not to mention Bow, who stayed behind just to get captured because of her.
"Those bots in the woods." Catra squeezed her fist in anger as she realized. "They were just distracting me from the party so I'd leave everyone defenseless. Everyone got captured because," her ears slowly lowered as she surveyed the empty room, "because of me..." She had her ego, she could admit to some extent. And she had her prideful side that she could never get rid of, much less feel as if she needed to get rid of it given her position.
But everyone here, everyone that depended on her, she abandoned. She should've listened to what the village head told her about evacuating the town just in case, she should've taken more precautions before leaving a town she already liberated to fend for itself. And what did she do instead? She gave into her own sense of pride and selfishness again as she wished to show off for the partygoers and villagers that rewarded her so openly.
Sure. She didn't blame herself entirely on the matter, much less at all. It was still the fact the Horde appeared and did all this in the first place that really irritated her. But she still felt the same guilt that Swift Wind could sense from her, the guilt that it happened at all because of her. None of these people would've gotten hurt if it wasn't for her.
It was her fault once again.
The remaining friend behind her nudged his head against hers in comfort, Catra petting the side of Swift Wind's head in a small bit of appreciation for it.
"We're going to get them back." She declared, refusing to leave the villagers behind after all they've done for her. She turned to the sniffling girl again as she felt a small tug on her jacket, giving her hero a small anxious look as she placed her hands to the front of her dress.
"I know I'm small and not a Rebellion fighter, but... I wanna help." She pleaded.
As much as Catra enjoyed the enthusiasm and willingness on joining her, the magicat regretfully refused as she shook her head. "Sorry, Flutters, but I can't risk it. It's going to be too dangerous."
"B-But I can help!" She insisted. "I could... I could help look for the villagers or-"
"I said no!" Catra repeated with a small growl in her voice. Already, she was regretting the small yell as she noticed Flutterina tearing up a little again, causing the guilty feline to turn her head away with remorse.
"Don't take it too personally, Flutterina." Swift Wind tried to absolve the magicat of her temper as he pat Flutterina's back with his wing. "Catra can be a little blunt with her emotions but she means well. She's just looking out for you."
"But I just wanna help." Flutterina continued to argue lightly as she looked between the two. "They took a bunch of my friends, too, and I wanna save them."
"I get that, Flutterina, but you can't just-" Catra's oppressive argument came to a standstill as she eyed the familiar data pad in Flutterina's hand. "Where did you get that?"
"What? This?" She asked for clarification as she held it up. "Bow gave it to me when he was teaching us how to make stuff, and I forgot to give it back. I've been trying to contact anyone that could help, but I don't know how to use this thing."
"Someone to..." The idea came to the magicat as she spoke, knowing the potential danger of what lied in store for her if the Horde was desperate enough to trap her with a simple distraction. With what little she had to work with, and what few allies remained at her side, she knew who she had to call. "Actually, you might be able to help with something."
...
"How much longer are we going to have to wait..." Catra grumbled as she paced back and forth outside of the party hut.
"It's only been ten minutes." Flutterina pointed out as she sat on a nearby rock, watching the magicat walking back and forth impatiently alongside Swift Wind. "Are you sure we shouldn't just rush to the Horde outpost ourselves? What if something happens to the villagers?"
"I doubt anything is going to happen to them." Catra returned as she looked back. "The Horde wouldn't have taken any prisoners unless they knew I'd come to rescue them. Without them, there'd be no bait to draw me in. They've done this before, they want me to walk into a trap of some sort." There was a handful of experiences that Catra wished she could forget.
The time Adora tricked her into ruining the Princess Prom to make the Rebellion look bad.
The day she got up close enough to Catra to infect her with a First One's virus.
Each and every one of those traps were simple in execution and catastrophic in result. They were all plans that were easy to fall for without much work or effort put into them. Here, they orchestrated such events to lure Catra away from the party in order to abduct the entire village with the intention of drawing Catra all the way to them. Whatever trap lied in wait for her, she knew she was going to fall for even if she was well aware of it.
And she couldn't afford to act carelessly if she was dealing with her of all people.
"Maybe we should at least scout ahead to see what we're dealing with?" Swift Wind suggested as he sensed the growing impatience upon his friend. "We could at least see what we're dealing with before-
"No." Catra cut off. "If they see us flying over them, they'll know we're coming. And for all we know, that might just be the trap itself. We can't take any chances until-
*swish*
"Ah! Huff... Huff... I'm here... I'm... I'm here..." A huffing and tired Glimmer announced as she finally appeared. She was adorned in the same suit of armor she wore before at the Crimson Waste, wielding her father's treasured staff that had yet to see the air of battle within the last few weeks.
Within two seconds of seeing the new Queen of Bright Moon, Flutterina was already lost for words. Awing, gasping, her eyes sparkled as she stood with her fists to her front, wings fluttering as they perked up behind her. "Aheheh!" She stifled the squeal rising to her lips as she tried to keep herself composed. "I-It's you! Oh my gosh, Princess- I mean, Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon! Leader of the Rebellion!" She shot forth a hand excitement.
"Huh? Oh, uh, hello there." Glimmer greeted as she smiled. "I'm, well, Glimmer, as you said. And you are?"
"My name's Flutterina!" She couldn't believe she was actually standing here in front of the very Queen herself! It was almost as exciting as meeting the legendary She-Ra! "One day, I hope to join the Rebellion, too. I am such a huge fan!"
I thought you were MY biggest fan? Catra thought to herself as she approached her slightly exhausted friend. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry, but it took forever to actually get out of the castle! First I had to cancel a bunch of meetings, then I had to convince the Captain of the Guard to actually let me leave, then I had to direct a handful of soldiers to patrol certain areas while I was gone, and I was teleporting this way and that way and... Ughhh!" She groaned as she pulled at her cheeks a little. "I just finished talking to the last advisor thirty seconds ago!"
"Well, if you're ready then, then let's go." Catra stated, refusing to waste a single minute longer than she already had.
"Wait," Glimmer stopped in front of her in a bit of a haste, "remind me again what happened? You were stressing out all throughout the conversation. I understand Bow was taken but what exactly happened?" Catra rolled her eyes at this as she groaned, wishing to push the unnecessary details and thoughts out of her mind as fast as possible.
"Long story short? We were in the middle of a small party Elberon threw us after reclaiming the village for them when some of the villagers warned us about bots being spotted in the woods. I went there to take care of them, left Bow here to keep the rest of the villagers safe, and by the time I finished with them and got back, the Horde abducted everybody else, including Bow." She frowned slightly as she turned to the only fluttery villager left. "Flutterina's the only one who escaped."
"I'm sorry," the girl meeped a bit as her expression filled with regret, "I wish I could've helped more. Bow's the only reason I even got away."
Knowing the sense of guilt filling over the young girl's mind, one that resembled a survivor's guilt Catra experienced several weeks ago, the Queen of Bright Moon offered up a comforting smile as she rested a hand on her shoulder. "Flutterina, it's alright. There was nothing you could've done. You did more than enough by having Bow's data pad with you or else Catra wouldn't be able to call for help." Touched by the Queen's kind words, Flutterina gave her a small hug as she sniffled into her shoulder.
These were the moments that Catra was glad to have someone else on hand to deal with the touching-feely stuff. She wasn't against trying to cheer someone else up these days or trying to comfort them, she just wasn't used to doing so with her words. Like at the Coronation itself, she couldn't bring herself to talk to Glimmer about her issues. All she could rely on was trying to make things better through her actions than words.
Provided she never had to take a bath or get water involved, she wouldn't mind doing what she could to brighten the young girl's mood. And this included charging into the nearest Horde base with one of her friends at her side.
Smiling as the young girl calmed herself again, Glimmer gave her undivided attention back to the one who summoned her. "So, what's the plan?"
...
...
Adora grinned as she eyed the concealed pit that the prisoners were all locked away in, going over the records and transcripts she had over her digital data pad. Everything about her plan worked like a charm from beginning to end.
With how friendly the locals were, it was no surprise that they would throw a celebration of some sort for the "heroes" of the Rebellion. Gathering everyone in one place, it was easy to round up every single villager of Elberon without much resistance or care. Even with all of Bow's support, there was nothing he could do as the Force Captain captured every last one of the villagers in one sitting, making the next several steps of her plan a cakewalk in comparison.
There was just one hiccup that came along with everything that actually worked.
"Look at us. You and me in the field, side-by-side." A gushing Scorpia commented as she stood along the bridge Adora was on. The blonde soldier twitched her brow a little bit as she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the second hiccup of her day as she focused on her data. "Taking a bunch of random prisoners from a party, putting said prisoners in a big pit, guarding said pit. Ugh, if that doesn't say friendship, I don't know what does. The super pal duo is back!"
"Please don't ever call us that when soldiers are around." Adora muttered as she kept her eyes pinned to the device's screen. "Did you manage to confiscate all their personal items before locking them in?"
"Uh, yeah." Digging through her pockets, she revealed some of the belongings she acquired from the villagers as per Adora's instructions. "Glasses, bobby pins, hair clips... Why did you want this stuff, again?"
"Because with the archer in there, I don't want to take any chances of him getting out." Adora glanced over to the pit again, eyeing it closely. "He managed to bring down an entire handful of droids with such a small device. I wouldn't put it past him being able to escape if he had so much as a paperclip on hand." Scorpia supposed that made sense as she set the items aside. She felt kind of bad for the people who needed the glasses, though. "And what about the weapons?"
"Oh, oh, yeah. You gotta see this." Giggling, she jogged a little ways away from the blonde towards one of the defensive wall's ramparts. She couldn't wait to see the look on Adora's excited face when she got a look over this thing. Running around the corner, keeping an eye on her distracted friend, she chuckled one more time as she gave the red button to the device a small press.
*click*
*POOF!*
"Ahhhh!" Adora's heart nearly gave out from fright as she heard the loud explosion, nearly dropping her data pad in the process. What she first thought was the sound of thunder and cannon fire going off within the facility ended up being nothing more than a colorful rain of confetti that blew from the confiscated tank's cannon. The girl was still panting a little as Scorpia made her way back to her, laughing again as she jumped from the upper wall near the tank.
"Huh? Huh? Heheheh!" She couldn't wait to see the smile of surprise that would put on Adora's face! ...Whenever it was going to appear by the looks of it. "I know it's just cup up pieces of paper, but isn't it so much fun?"
"Yeah, peachy." Adora snarled as she shook her head, turning away from the comrade as she went about her work. There was a small awkwardness lifting in Scorpia's chest as she said this, following along her friend on the bridge as she tried to figure out what was bothering her. "She-Ra was in Elberon. Which means she'll be nearby."
"Do you think she'll try some secret attack?"
"An attack? Yes. Secret? In your dreams." She grinned. "Knowing Catra, she's going to try bashing her way in here like she always does. That's why we'll be ready for her to make an appearance." There was something a little off about Adora's tone as she spoke. It was almost like she was excited about the idea of someone invading their base just to destroy them. Mixed in with how they just recently kidnapped an entire village, and it was a little concerning about how strange she's been recently.
"Is that why you kidnapped everyone in Elberon? Some plot against the Princess Alliance?" Scorpia walked ahead a little as she cut her friend off her path. "I could help if I knew what you were up to. You know, like old times."
"Trust me, Scorpia. The less you know about the plan, the better." Still refusing to give her old friend any direct attention, Adora turned herself away as she continued sorting out the details in her pad.
"Oh, yeah, sure, sure, gotcha." She felt a little neglected as she rubbed her arm anxiously, looking away with a small frown. "It's just, uh, feeling a little left out is all. You know? I mean we used to work together a lot more closely, so it's, uh, kinda weird not being kept in the loop."
"All you need to be concerned about is doing what I tell you for now." She stated, finally turning her head back a little. "We have a real chance to take out the Rebellion here, and I don't want anything to mess it up."
"... You don't... you don't trust me enough to tell me the plan?" Adora finally stopped for once as she heard this. She couldn't tell if Scorpia was being stricken with grief or despair, just that she saw Adora's quietness as a sign of Adora losing her trust in herself.
Taking a moment to look around the base, noticing that most of the remaining soldiers were either far away or preparing to leave, Adora let out a silent sigh to herself as she finally turned back. "Look, Scorpia, it's not... How do I put this..." The girl furrow her brow as she rubbed her chin. "You not knowing the plan helps put me at ease, okay? I can't take any chance of gossip spreading around or tipping off our enemies by mistake. I mean, what am I supposed to do if you get captured or interrogated? Then the whole plan would be ruined. Get what I'm trying to tell you?"
"Y-Yeah, I... I guess I under-"
"Good." She wouldn't give Scorpia so much as the time of day as she went back to her data input, feeling like she didn't need anything more than a simple yes or no to make herself clear.
"It's just... You've been so quiet lately about everything and we haven't hung out as much."
"And I already told you, I've been busy. I don't have time to play around like we used to."
"I know that, but think of all the fun we used to have. We told stories back and forth, played some games, worked on missions for the next day. And lately you've just been... focusing more on work rather than spending time with your friends."
"Ugh, Scorpia, it's complicated, all right? I have a whole range of duties now, not just being a Force Captain anymore. I can't be allowed to slack off or grow lazy by playing some games whenever you feel like it."
"And I get that, I really do. But don't you think you've been going a little overboard lately? You know, ever since you and Catra came back from that portal incident," the blonde friend came to a stop as her face hardened with anger, "you've been like a completely different pers-"
"How many times do I have to tell you NOT to bring up that stupid portal thing!?" Adora shouted as she stood up to the scorpion girl. She had such a fire in her eyes, almost as if she was glaring at Catra herself. "Nothing about the portal matters anymore. All that matters right now is doing your job and following my instructions. Got that?"
"I-" Scorpia didn't get so much as a second to respond before Adora stormed off, scowling as she tried to push Scorpia's comment out of the far recesses of her mind.
With this one simple act, she went on to prove Scorpia's point to her, and Scorpia wasn't even sure if Adora was actually aware of it herself. Going ballistic about a mere comment about the portal, kidnapping and abducting a town she invaded twice by this point, and yelling at someone who was one of her best friends?
What was going on with her?
...
...
"Alright. We need to get past the guards without them alerting the base." Catra stated as she watched behind the cover of the woods. "Once we pass the gate, we can figure out where Bow and the others are."
The trek through the woods had little to offer for the four companions as they traveled to the Horde base. Thanks to Flutterina's insight on the Horde's location, having seen them previously when they first invaded, it was easy to figure out which direction they came from. Combined with Catra's keen sense of smell, and the trip through the forest took mere minutes to find the outpost.
As expected, the base itself was heavily defended on every side. Mountable turrets housed every corner, the walls scaled up nearly thirty feet in height with at least two feet thick of raw steel. They saw a patrol crossing the outer wall every ten minutes, and security cameras keeping an eye on the top of the walls themselves.
With such a heavy-handed method of security, and one obvious point of entry they could break through, it was almost teasing Catra's frame of mind as if goading her to come in through that way.
And she never had a choice if it meant saving one of her friends.
"How are we supposed to get in there without being seen?" Swift Wind asked, poking his head closer to the magicat as he eyed the same pair of guards. "I mean, you're She-Ra. And I don't exactly blend in." He gave a short flash of his mane with a grin as it sparkled in the sunshine. "It's a side effect of being majestic."
"I could teleport us in there, easily." Glimmer suggested, keeping her back to the tree as she peered around it. "We could find the prisoners easily and break them out."
"And then what? Teleport an entire village out of there one at a time?" Catra rolled her eyes at the mention. "We don't even know where they are on the inside. By the time you finish teleporting in and out everywhere, the security is going to be on high alert. They could take the prisoners hostage or something." It might've been a bit of a long shot, but after all that had happened, she couldn't allow herself to take any chances for the day.
She already lost an entire village because she wasn't cautious enough, like the village head wanted to be. None of this stuff would've happened if she had stayed behind, or if she helped evacuate the village before leaving like she suggested. Because of that, she lost one of her closest friends and an entire village that counted on her for their safety.
She would NOT repeat that mistake with the few friends that remained.
"We need to come up with a plan that'll get everybody out and deal with the Horde at the same time. And that starts with getting past the two guards up there."
"Um..." A small voice spoke up from behind them as Flutterina rubbed her chin. "I think I might have an idea..."
...
*scrizz*
"Hah! Three games in a row!" The boastful guard cheered as he finished the most recent match of tic-tac-toe with the dirt in the ground. The losing guard shook his head in annoyance, knowing this meant he was going to have to put up with another several weeks of him mocking him and gloating to him about how superior he was in everything related to tic-tac-toe.
Honestly, it was just a stupid game made for three year olds, it wasn't like he won the lottery!
"Ahem." It was the sound of another voice that drew the two guards' attention as they looked out to the clearing. There, they saw a lone Flutterina standing idly by with her hands behind her back, trying to look as innocent as possible to the two guards before her as she put on the best act she could. "Oh no. You've caught me. How will I ever get away?" Lifting an eye briefly to the two, gauging their confused turns of the head, she let out one more terrified shriek as she dashed away in fear, the two guards following in on her trail closely behind her.
The guards bought her little performance hook line and sinker as they chased her around the corner. IT was pretty easy to get their attention without alerting security, seeing how it was just one "little girl" vs a pair of armed soldiers. Best part about this little act was the fact the fear was all too real. She couldn't afford to be captured by the pair of guards, and she knew she would've been in a world of trouble if they had caught up to her.
"Oh no." She squeaked, running past the corner as fast as possible as the guards neared it. As she planned, the little performance went off without a hitch as the first of the two guards met an untimely fate as turned the corner.
*Thunk*
It was the sight of a rainbow-winged pegasus clonking his horn over the soldier's helmet, knocking him out, that greeted the second guard as he reached them. The next thing he witnessed when he tried to turn tail and run was the sight of the new Queen of Bright Moon, Queen Glimmer, teleporting right behind him, smirking with her arms crossed and a staff in hand. Finally, the last and most terrifying of the three scenes was the magicat that tapped him on the back, grinning a bit to the terrified guard in front of her as Flutterina smiled from behind.
"You can either deal with her, or you can deal with me." Catra belittled as she grabbed him by the shoulder. "But, spoiler warning, it's still going to hurt."
*WHAM!*
There was almost a crack that formed over the visor of his helmet as he was knocked out cold, dropping the data pad in his hands as he passed out. Collecting it for herself, Catra scrolled through the details and logs until she finally came across a basic outline of the entire base, including a section of it that was highlighted as her friends looked over her shoulder. "That has to be where they're keeping everyone."
"The whole village?" Flutterina hoped as she peered closer to the image.
"Hopefully."
"Does the data pad display any of it's defenses?" Glimmer asked looking to her friend.
Skimming over it, Catra's multiple expressions left the Queen clueless as she processed the information she was given. "Did anyone else see anymore guards aside from the two at the front and the two patrolling the walls we took care of?"
"Um, I don't think so. Why?"
Tenseness filled Catra's eyes as she glanced back to her friend. "Because if this is accurate, there aren't anymore guards around the outpost." She scanned the data she had one more time as she stood. Sure enough, if the map was at all accurate, there weren't anymore defenses or soldiers labeled anywhere within the map. Either the Horde went without revealing such information, or somebody forgot to account for every soldier stationed within the outpost.
And neither of those two reasons were plausible.
"Well we made it this far," her friend shrugged back, "we might as well push on through." Without any other means of preparing themselves, Catra nodded to this as she swiped the collar from her neck, transforming it into the glorious sword that was by her side at all times.
She was about to give Flutterina another spectacular show of her transformation as her eyes sparkled.
"For The Honor of Grayskull!"
Surrounded by a seas of beautiful stars and a bluish galaxy, Catra rose herself from her as her body glowed with a beautiful blue light, one that had seen the cosmos since the dawn of time, and had met with the night's sky on a regular basis. With her eyes close and a calmness in her expression, Catra continued to float in place as a gargantuan sword, one that made her look like the size of an ant in comparison, rose behind her.
With the energy that gathered, the sword slowly started to pass through Catra, all while an array of flashing lights started to pull towards the girl, enveloping her in a glorious display of light and beauty. Catra could feel the wondrous energy fill her entire body as the sword slowly pushed into her, eventually phasing passed her as the rest of her glorious creation had come to be.
Starting with the back, a serene crimson-colored cape started to flow forth, gliding along her back in a fluid motion as the rest of her body followed in her transformation. The cape sparkled in a dazzling array of light as the small anchors of light finally pulled from it, allowing the cape to stretch across half of her back, connected to the armor that continued to materialize around her.
Both her shoulder-pads and her tiara that had transformed in her previous She-Ra state were nothing in comparison to the beauty that they were now. Her shoulders were cover in a pristine golden orange that jetted from the tips of her shoulder, nearly a foot in length, as they spiked across them to offer her shoulders maximum protection. Along with that, her tiara shimmered like never before as it grew, the tips along her cheek growing until they reached her jaw, and protruded inward an inch along her cheek where they curved.
The top of her tiara grew the most amazing pair of, what appeared to be, golden wings, one that extended right in front of her cat ears as they rose from the tiara's new shape. Within the center of this wonderful transformation, two small brow-like slits could be seen on both ends of the tiara above her eyes, while a lone, red, jewel was adorned within the center of this fascinating spectacle, one that sparkled like the light that grew from her.
As the sword passed halfway through her, Catra began to hug herself as the rest of her body continued to take shape. From her wrist, passed halfway up her elbows, grew the most formidable pair of bracers one could ever ask for, one that shined with a radiance like the protective anklets that formed along the sides of her legs, also stretched halfway up to her knees, though lowered on the inner sides of them. And despite the lack of shoes, the sword continued to offer its protection to her as it grew a shining force of gold sandals across her feet, thin enough for her to use her feet's claws and as sturdy enough as a tank's armor, despite how thin it was.
From within the center of her chest, the spirals of light began to gather as they spread across her body as a whole, creating a bright, shining, vine of energy that formed along her outfit as it sprouted in all directions and corners around her, creating a golden flower-like design in the middle as the petals were painted around her stomach, with the only golden lines that connected the collar of her chest-piece running down the middle of her outfit, connecting to the bottom of her spiked white skirt that grew around her waist, with a serene blue coloring on the inside.
Her legs weren't barren anymore as a simple weave of white covered them like it had her chest, a few slits along the knees to allow her the maximum mobility that she needed to preform her mighty leaps and agile reflexes that she was used to. They stretched all across her legs to the tips of her ankle where they were mostly transparent, allowing one to see the golden ankles that protected her legs.
As the incredible transformation slowly came to an end, the last of her magnificent appearance didn't end with another piece of clothing, but her hair. Her hair flashed in a sea of warmth as it grew along her back, nearly doubling in size, as its color changed to that of one of a blazing fire, lighter along her head and stretching out into a slightly darker orange. It was as if she had the fires of the morning sun blazing from behind her head.
With the last of her transformation finally coming to an end, the sword that phased through her shrank to a decent size as it spun around her, spiraling as if it was happy at the new transformation she had finally came to. With her form now fully completed, Catra threw her right hand behind her back, grabbing the sword's hilt, the same sword that appeared to gave grown an additional foot, as it was aimed across her left.
Opening her eyes, her transformation had finally been complete, the look of pride crossing her expression and amusement at what she had become.
The TRUE She-Ra had been formed.
"Awwwsoooome~!" The pink-haired girl shriveled as she pressed her knuckles to her cheeks. Nothing was more awe inspiring than watching She-Ra transform in front of her very eyes, especially on a mission to save a village!
"We're going in." Catra announced as she turned to the noble steed that was Swift Wind. "Swifty, stay here and watch over Flutterina. Glimmer and I will charge in."
"Awwww, can't I come?" Flutterina pouted with a whine. "I'm the one who helped with the guards at the front, you know."
"Sorry, Flutters, but I'm not taking anymore chances. If you get captured trying to help us or something then the mission would've been pointless."
"But-" The girl wasn't given enough time to verbalize a response. By the time she opened her mouth to complain, Catra was already running around the corner. Feeling Swift Wind's wing over her shoulder, she knew that he wasn't going to leave her on her own, or give her the chance to take off without him.
"Don't worry, Flutterina. You did more than enough to help us out." Glimmer gave a comforting smile as she patted her shoulder. "Let us handle the rest." And it was with the teleportation that, just like Catra, Glimmer left before she could say anything.
This did nothing to prevent the small frown forming on the girl's face as she lowered her head. She did so much to help them so far. Providing the data pad to call for backup, leading them directly to the Horde base. Wasn't that enough for them to trust her? It almost felt like they were calling her a burden in a strange way, refusing to let someone without any magical powers or strength assist them.
Feeling the discomfort emanating from his new friend, Swift Wind did his best to encourage the girl as he brushed the shoulder of his wing against her arm. "So... Do you like loop-de-loops?"
...
*CRASH!*
Without waiting for someone to answer the door, the entrance of the base burst open from the tremendous force of Catra's blow as she charged her way into the outpost. With Glimmer at her side, she knew she was more than ready to take on anything the Horde threw at them. With her teleporting and Catra's strength, there was nothing they couldn't handle for be unprepared for .
And somehow, they still were as they reached the very location they were looking for upon the map. Actually, even before they reached this portion of the base, there was something off about it. The place was deserted. For such an advanced outpost, she at least expected there to be some sort of defenses still waiting for her.
She was actually disappointed for a moment that there wouldn't be anyone or anything to smash. And it still ended up being the least of her concerns.
"Wait... this doesn't make any sense." The two princesses, the latter technically a Queen, lowered their guard as they examined the surrounding area. "The map said that the pit would be right here. We should be in the right spot."
"Are you sure it was a map of this outpost?" The Queen kept her eyes on the scenery circling them as she asked. "Maybe it was an older version of the outpost, or maybe a different one?"
"No, no, that can't be right. It had the exact number of guards and where they were stationed on it. They should've been here, I'm sure of it!"
"Tch, hahaha. And since when are you ever sure about anything?" A voice cackled from above, baiting the eyes and ears of those below her. Raising their heads, Catra's veins intensified with anger as she saw a familiar ex-friend sitting on the railing of the bridge ahead of them, along with a red tailed lacky by the name of Scorpia.
"Adora!" Her shout contained the same magnitude of anger Glimer experienced once before, and still managed to frighten the girl a bit as she gnashed at her teeth. Like a fish drawing in to a lure, Catra took every single bait Adora had planned for time and again. And given the small switch-like button she held firmly in her hand, she couldn't wait for the coup de grace that their battle could give them.
With a small flip through the air as she landed, Adora continued with her performance as she met the ground beneath her to meet with them, keeping her eyes closed as she relished in the delight of this encounter. "It's been quite awhile since we last saw each other, hasn't-"
*WHAM!*
*Crash!*
"-it..." She blinked. She opened her eyes to a sight unlike anything from before. Or, more accurately, something she had seen a thousand times before, yet never experienced in the midst of her sentence as Catra physically cut her off.
Within the instant that Adora opened her eyes, she found her face getting bashed with the metallic fury of a golden-plated gauntlet, one that easily knocked the Force Captain off her feet and threw her halfway across the base where she slammed into the newly formed wreckage of a Horde tank, dropping the switch under the bridge she passed in the process. If she didn't have her shadow armor over herself and her exoskin providing her with some physical protection, she was pretty sure she would've lost her head on the spot. That also begged the question.
What the heck was that about!? She just met Catra after a few weeks as the very instant that she placed herself before her old adversary she decided to cut her off by slamming a She-Ra powered fist straight at her face? How did she not break her nose out of that?!
Adora winced a bit as she slowly pulled herself out of the wreckage, using her shadows to help pry her from the damaged tank as she slid herself out of the opening. "O-Okay, I see someone's a little sword-happy already-"
"Haaaaah!" She-Ra's battlecry was the only thing that Adora heard before she ducked herself out of the way in time. With a powerful thrust, or a crash, neither of which truly mattered to the blonde soldier, she saw Catra leaping through the air and slamming her weapon down on the tank she just pulled herself out of. Adora threw herself to the ground to the side as she rolled over to her back, watching as a few sparks of electricity cracked around the damaged tank before it exploded in a mass of fire and metals.
And it still wasn't enough to slow her down. Already, Catra was walking through the fire menacingly with her sword clutched in hand. Somehow the fire burning in Catra's eyes were hotter than the actual fire she paid little attention to. It was one of the few genuine moments that Adora found herself fearful of her former friend as she backed away on the ground. Even Catra's breath felt menacing to her as she breathed with a hoarse throat.
"Adora!" Scorpia cried out worriedly as she watched the display.
"Oh no you don't!" Before Scorpia could climb over the railing of the bridge, she found her own troubles to preoccupy her as Glimmer teleported above her. She slammed her father's staff over her head as the scorpion girl was forced to deflect with her claws. "You're not getting past me!" She yelled as she teleported a few feet away. She wouldn't let anyone interfere with Catra's fight with Adora, no matter how uncomfortable Catra made her feel at the moment.
"Geez, what's your problem?" Adora spat as she worked her way up to her feet. "At least let me finish my sentence before-"
"Ghhhhhh!" She wouldn't let the girl finish her sentence ABOUT finishing her sentence as Catra lunged again. Forcing the Force Captain to block her assault, Adora donned the two Taser blades she was dual wielding, feeling herself being pressed back to no end as her sword clashed against Catra's. There was only worry in one pair of eyes, and they were the very ones Catra wanted to snuff out.
Pressing her blade harder against Adora's, the agitated She-Ra slid Adora away one step at a time as she continued to glare daggers at her old friend. When Adora finally realized this was happening at all, she summoned several shadowy tendrils around her, piercing them into the ground as she held her position for the time being.
And giving her the perfect view of Catra's rage as the girl was just one foot away from her head.
"W-What's gotten into you, Catra?" It was unlike anything she had ever seen before, and one she never wanted to see again. And to this, Catra didn't budge an inch as she sent shivers down Adora's spine. "Aren't you going to even talk to me?"
"There's Nothing to talk about." Hissing, Catra delivered a painful knee to Adora's stomach as she doubled over in pain. Briefly distracted by this unexpected injury, Catra took the opportunity to lift the girl from her feet as she grabbed the collar of her scarf. With great ferocity, she threw the troubled girl against the ground behind her, making the girl let out a small cough as the air was forced out of her. "Personally, I thought you'd be happier, Adora, because you finally got what you wanted."
"What I... wanted?" The slightly disoriented girl shook her head as she looked back, and barely managed to roll out of the way in time as Catra slammed her fist through the ground, pounding several inches into it as she struck. Catra had never been more terrifying than she had now as Adora crept slowly away, feeling the energy in her legs leaving her as fear overwhelmed her.
"What? Did you forget already? Then let me spell it out for you." Seeing the girl slowly inching away from the dreaded Catra, the magicat grabbed Adora's leg roughly by the ankle as she pulled her back, sliding her up to Catra's face as she grabbed her by the throat.
"You got exactly what you set out to do. You took away someone I cared about, ruined a life I had with them, and felt all the extreme pain that went along with it. Because of you, I am never going to see them again, I am never going to get them back, and knowing that much tore my heart enough to know it will never recover, all because you had to go and pull a stupid lever."
"So congratulations, Adora, because you got what you wanted. I felt your pain, I suffered for what you did like you always dreamed of. And, for your sake, I hope it was worth it." Drawing the girl's head closer to her, Adora could catch a glimpse of her own fear as she saw herself reflected from within Catra's eye. "Because unlike you, I'm never going to be satisfied with just making you feel the same pain I do."
"I'm never going to be satisfied until you die..."
...
...
...
A/N: Annnnnd another chapter down the drain ^^~ Hope you all enjoyed, and thanks to those of you who were checking in with me recently like peyton and omacc. Sorry again for the quietness (if you were on instagram chats you'd know i've been anything BUT quiet XP). It's been a bit of a hecticness around here and everything, and even without it, the delay has been mostly due to the lack of energy lately XP i'm not sure if the recent events are a play into that, but I wouldn't be surprised given all that's happened XP
So, with that said, hope you all enjoyed ^^ Leave a like, fave, follow, and review and hope to see you soon!