Chapter 40: God

Back with She-Ra, Catra, Frosta, and Julie…

"Cover me!" Catra yelled as she got on all fours and tackled a Night Moon guard, clawing his throat open. Frosta had made a wall of ice to cover Catra as she made her move. Everybody was still on the top floor, and Night Moon soldiers kept running up the stairs trying to flank their opposition. She-Ra, Frosta, and Julie had kicked over tables and cabinets creating a makeshift cover to defend against the oncoming Night Moons. Catra was on the Western side, swiftly jumping from Night Moon to Night Moon, using her claws to plow through them. Julie would peek out of cover to take a few potshots, Frosta was trying to keep Night Moon's lasers frozen in place. She-Ra was waiting for a cluster of them to make their move towards their makeshift cover.

The opportunity arose when a large group of Night Moon arrived atop the stairs and began firing at Catra. Catra picked up the corpse she had just created and held it up, using it as a shield as she ran back to the group. Frosta put up a wall of ice to reinforce the cover, but the lasers continued to beat on the ice wall, simultaneously shattering and melting it.

"Move up!" Cairus shouted. Per his command, Night Moon laser troopers ran towards the ice wall with the intention of breaching it. Behind the laser-troopers were ninjas ready to jump into melee. She-Ra in the meanwhile readied her sword and turned to Frosta while they were both crouched down.

"You ready, Frosta?" She-Ra inquired.

"Let's do it!" Frosta shouted. As she finished her declaration, she turned to and absorbed the ice wall back into her hands. The sudden disappearance of the ice wall surprised the Night Moon soldiers and She-Ra took advantage of it. Catra and Julia popped out of cover and fired a few potshots to keep Night Moon's head down. Once lasers stopped firing on both sides, She-Ra jumped rather high from cover with her sword pointed downward, towards the cluster of soldiers. Once her sword made contact with the floor, a sonic boom sounded, sending all Night Moon soldiers flying in all different directions. Some crashed through walls, others plowed to the downstairs.

She-Ra raised her sword shouting a declaration of victory. She celebrated too early, however, as the crack that she put in the floor began spreading. A sound of splintering wood grew louder and louder until the floor beneath her feet began caving in and She-Ra fell through.

"Ah!" She-Ra screamed as she fell through, followed by mounds of debris.

"Adora!" Catra shouted as she jumped over the cover and down the hole to protect her friend. She-Ra, although not hurt incredibly badly, was nonetheless in a predicament. Not only was she buried under a great deal of rubble, but there was also rebar that fell through the floor's infrastructure and pierced one of She-Ra's legs. Catra gasped as she saw the injury. "H...Hold on, Adora! I'm gonna pull this out-" Catra began before being interrupted by She-Ra.

"Catra! Look out!" She-Ra shouted. Catra looked behind her to find a Night Moon soldier about to swipe her sword at Catra. Catra jumped to the left and ducked behind a rather large column. Seeing that she had scared Catra off, the Night Moon ninja turned her attention to She-Ra. She raised her sword and was about to swing at She-Ra's head when she was tackled rather quickly by Catra.

"Don't touch her!" Catra shouted as she brought the Night Moon ninja to the ground and swiped her claw across the ninja's cheek, tearing part of her mask off. The Night Moon ninja growled and kicked Catra off, sending her flying towards the support beam past She-Ra. Catra shrieked in pain as her back made contact with the support beam and slumped down, very fatigued. The Night Moon ninja did not want to take any chances and so ran towards Catra. Before her sword could connect with Catra's face, however, She-Ra grabbed the sword by the blade, midair, and shattered it as she clutched it. The Night Moon ninja groaned as she gazed in bewilderment at the destruction of her sword. She-Ra then pushed the rest of the debris that was covering her out of the way and cocked her right arm back, letting it fly at the ninja, sending launching her back. The Night Moon ninja blew a support column in half from the force She-Ra had used.

She-Ra began breathing hard while also coughing from the dust that had been kicked up from all the architectural destruction that had been caused by both parties in this chamber. She also groaned from the rebar that had been stuck in her leg. She ripped it out, screaming in pain. Nevertheless, the wound began closing rather quickly. She-Ra let out a sigh of relief and looked back at Catra.

"Catra!" She-Ra shouted as she ran towards Catra and lifted her head up. Catra let out a slight groan and slowly blinked her eyes.

"A...dora?" Catra inquired, hazily. She-Ra smiled.

"You're okay!" She-Ra shouted as she pulled Catra towards her and gently hugged her. Although they were in the middle of a battle, Catra could not help but take great pleasure at this current action. Catra was about to close her eyes when she gasped and screamed out.

"Adora! Look out!" Catra shouted. She-Ra quickly turned around, but it was too late. She had been hit by a few lasers from Red Armband soldiers.

"Agh!" She-Ra shouted out as she fell forward onto Catra.

"Oof!" Catra protested as she attempted to push She-Ra off, "Adora! Wake up!" She-Ra groaned as she attempted to pick herself up, but then screamed when she felt Cairus' foot shove her down onto Catra.

At this point, the group's situation became rather grim. She-Ra had transformed back into Adora from the amount of fatigue and afflictions she had faced. Catra was stuck under Adora, and also had Cairus' laser pistol aimed at her. Night Moon soldiers that had run up on Frosta and Julie also had their weapons aimed at them. Cairus moved closer to Catra, still aiming his weapon at her, then grinned.

"I think it's time to pay you back for clawing my back open..." Cairus muttered, coldly. As his finger gently squeezed the trigger, a feeling of dread, regret, and fear shivered down Catra's spine. She looked at Adora's face that was slowly coming to. Tears began filling Catra's eyes as she believed this to be the end. Maneuvering her free left hand, she placed it on top of Adora's right hand. Adora blinked a few times and saw Catra's eyes well up with tears. Catra mouthed a few words to Adora which caused her to silently gasp.

In one swift motion, Adora flipped around and grabbed hold of Cairus' pistol, aiming it up. Cairus growled as he tried to regain hold of the gun, and fired it a few times. The heat of the pistol burned Adora's hand, forcing her to release it. Cairus then used the barrel of the gun to smack Adora's face, sending her falling to the left, onto more rubble. Cairus growled again and aimed his pistol at Adora.

"Enough! This. Ends. NOW!" He said as he was about to fire the pistol.

"Leave her alone!" Catra shouted as she picked herself up and tackled Cairus.

"Gah! Get off!" Cairus shouted as he attempted to fire the pistol at Catra. Catra quickly moved her head then clamped her mouth on Cairus' wrist, causing a stream of blood to begin spraying out of it. Cairus shrieked in absolute pain as he let go of the gun. Catra then grabbed the gun and aimed it at Cairus' head and deeply glared at him. Cairus grunted as he saw the barrel aimed at his face.

"You're never going to hurt either of us, ever again," Catra muttered coldly as she pulled the trigger. The laser passed through Cairus' forehead, leaving a medium-sized, charred hole that cauterized any blood that would have come out. Cairus could not even speak a word as his lifeless body fell to the floor. Catra took a few deep breaths as she dropped the gun and ran to Adora.

"Adora? Adora! Please, please, tell me you're okay! I can't lose you again!" Catra shouted as she gripped Adora's shoulders, truly afraid that she lost her. Adora remained motionless to the trepidation of Catra. The tears in Catra's eyes began bursting as she sobbed on Adora. "No... Adora... please!" Catra shouted in disbelief. "I... I need you..."

As though those were the magic words, Adora let out a slight groan and slowly blinked her eyes. When Adora came to, she was able to see the anxiety in Catra's monochromatic eyes.

"Catra...?" Adora inquired, with a slight chuckle. Catra gasped and pulled Adora towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug. Adora chuckled a bit more and added, "huh... maybe I should have a near-death experience more often." Catra hissed.

"If you ever do this on purpose, I'll kill you myself," Catra said, facetiously.

"Oh, and did you mouth the words, 'I love you?'" Adora inquired. Catra's cheeks turned redder than the blood in the chamber.

"...Tell anybody and I really will kill you." Catra threatened, laughing. The two girls were able to have a laugh, although it remained short-lived as even more Night Moon soldiers went to the first level and trained their guns on them.

"...I spoke too soon." Catra muttered.

Meanwhile, right as the fighting happened between Team Catra and Night Moon...

There were around a million questions and exclamations pervading Brittni's mind as Horde Prime made that bold declaration that Oracle was his sister. There was just no way that such an evil being could be related to Oracle!

"S...Sister?!" Brittni demanded, "you're lying! There's no way something as pure and loving as Oracle could EVER be related to you!" Brittni snapped. Horde Prime folded his arms.

"It is merely the truth, my niece." Horde Prime affirmed.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Brittni snapped. Horde Prime tapped his chin.

"You and your brother inherited your mother's powers, yes? The power of observation? Don't deny it. You can hear the truth in my words." Horde Prime accused. Brittni hated to admit it, but Horde Prime did sound incredibly sincere. That, and his vocal frequencies sounding completely relaxed really manifested the truth of it. Nevertheless, Brittni refused to believe Horde Prime, still growling at him. Horde Prime merely sighed at this action and began pacing around in front of Brittni.

"Since we have a bit of time before... well... the cleansing begins, perhaps I could give you a little history lesson. Bare with me, as some of these truths may seem... incomprehensible." Horde Prime began, "it all started at the beginning of all created things in the universe. I used to live with my family in a world called the Celestial Kingdom. My... creator; who shall not be named, created Oracle, our brother, Skeletor, and myself. Together, we were known as the Creation Triumvirate. Our creator gave us charge in governing our own worlds to test us. The test was to see if we could take a planet of people and 'perfect them;' meaning that they were to become like the creator. In order to do this, the creator wanted us to regulate our worlds using the same foolish methods that he used." Brittni cocked her eyebrow at Horde Prime. She was a bit confused about this revelation that she was receiving regarding her mother.

"You're crazy. You're saying you're some kind of god? What does this all even have to do with why you're here?" Brittni demanded, impatiently. Horde Prime stopped his pacing, turned to Brittni, and grinned.

"Patience, young one." Horde Prime implored, "as I was saying when we each arrived on our respective worlds we were told to give all of the people in our worlds free will; or as we prefer to call it, 'agency.' Agency was the notion that anybody could do essentially whatever they want, and become agents unto their choices." Horde Prime then let out a sigh and his voice became more cynical as he continued, "but that's where the problem is... with that foolish plan, there was nothing but utter chaos on every inch of our planets. For instance, if there was a little girl that was abducted, it was allowed. If someone decided to rob another person at gunpoint, it was allowed. If entire nations decided to take up arms and destroy another nation for the sake of resources or merely pride... it was allowed." Horde Prime muttered as he slammed his fist on a table, and let out a low growl. He then took a deep breath and gently pulled his fist away.

"I told the creator that his plan was ineffective and cruel. I then came up with my own plan. I would force all of my people to live in righteousness. If anybody attempted to attack, steal, or perform any manner of sin... they would immediately be... corrected. And if death was the only way for somebody to learn... so be it. After a while, it seemed that none of my people would bow to my will. At that point, I had to eradicate the planet and everyone on it." Brittni blinked a few times.

"You destroyed an entire planet?! Because they didn't listen to you?!" Brittni accused.

"I was the ruler of that planet! If they refused to obey, they didn't deserve life!" Horde Prime shouted, "so I found the only way to make sure that I could 'perfect' everyone was to regenerate them from the perfect template: Me. After I destroyed everyone, I took their genetic tissue and used it to clone myself. After a long while, with all of my cloning, I amassed an army of perfect people. When I returned to the creator with the news that I perfected my people... he was abhorred by my actions. We entered into a rather heated debate and he had me banished from the Celestial Kingdom. I boarded my starship and left. I first went to Skeletor's planet and realized that he merely took the magical energy from the planet and left. So I took the people that lived there and did the same thing. One by one I conquered planet after planet, continuing to perfect everyone by making them in my image..." Horde Prime then marched right up to Brittni and looked her dead in the eyes, "and that's what brings me here to Etheria... my sister's planet."

"You... You...!" Brittni stammered as she did know exactly how to express her absolute revulsion to everything Horde Prime had just said, "you... monster! You evil, psychotic, monster! You think you're a god?! That you can just take people and change them into you, just because they don't live up to your standards?!" Brittni growled. Horde Prime grinned, devilishly.

"Yes. I do." Horde Prime muttered while chuckling. "Did you forget what I said about all the criminals, murderers, and wars on my planet? Destroying them and transforming them into a clone of me was mercy."

"Keep telling yourself that, you tyrant. You're just an evil nutcase on a powertrip." Brittni sneered. Horde Prime sighed and was about to speak until Brittni continued, "maybe you just suck at ruling! Did you ever consider that maybe it was YOUR fault that your planet failed? You're not perfect! You just failed so hard at it you had to try and make it easier on yourself!" Brittni snapped. Horde Prime blinked his eyes a few times, and for the first time, Brittni saw a bit of anger creep on Horde Prime's face. He turned around and walked away from Brittni.

"Clearly we'll get nowhere debating morality... but we needn't be enemies, my niece. After all, if you could learn from those people's mistakes and do my every bidding, then you could not only live but thrive." Horde Prime offered, turning back to her. Brittni glared deeply at Horde Prime.

"If you think I want any part of your insanity, you're more deluded than I thought. My friends will come. I will get out of here. And when that happens, we WILL stop you!" Brittni threatened as she struggled while snagged within Entrapta's hair. Void tisked at this action.

"Don't bother struggling, darling. Entrapta's hair could lift and heave a Whispering Wood's spider a hundred meters." Void explained. Brittni growled and Horde Prime sighed, backing away from Brittni.

"You disappoint me, Brittni. I thought you were the more rational twin..." Horde Prime sighed, "but, no matter. Soon enough this planet will be revealed and my fleet will arrive. Those who resist will be destroyed and recycled for future clones." Horde Prime declared. Brittni shuddered.

"...Revealed?" Brittni inquired.

"Oh, yes... Oracle has done a wonderful job of cloaking this planet. But soon enough... even that won't protect it..."

Back with Team Catra...

Adora shuddered and Catra merely glared at the Night Moon soldiers as they had their guns trained on the two girls. With all the dignity they had left, the two girls embraced each other, ready to face their end… however… this would not be the case.

Just as the two girls accepted their fate, they heard a very familiar voice from right above them.

"Shield your eyes!" An excited, deep voice commanded. Recognizing the voice, Catra and Adora covered their eyes. The moment they did, they heard a spring followed by a slight explosion. The Night Moon soldiers had been disoriented; judging by their behavior of rubbing their eyes and stumbling into each other, one could assume they were blinded. This was confirmed by the following statement:

"I… I can't see!" One Night Moon shouted.

"Flashbang!" Another shouted.

These series of protests were followed by a series of groans and shrieks, then suddenly, silence. When Catra and Adora opened their eyes they were pleased to see Brett and Bow, standing, victoriously above their foes. Catra and Adora blinked their eyes rapidly; not only because of the flashbang but because of their surprise in Brett and Bow's abilities. The boys walked over to the girls and held out their hands.

"May we help you up?" The boys offered, simultaneously as a joke. Catra and Adora switched glances at each other then smacked the boys' hands out of the way, picking themselves up. Brett and Bow could not help but laugh at the feistiness of the girls.

"All jokes aside, we're glad you're okay." Bow assured them.

"Thanks, Bow," Adora said, smiling. Her face then gave a worried expression, "wait, where are Frosta and Julie?" Almost as if Adora were a clairvoyant, Frosta and Julie made their way down the opposite staircase. Frosta's jaw dropped when Brett turned to her.

Both seemed to gaze at each other as if neither knew exactly how to feel about one another. On one hand, Frosta still felt enmity towards Brett because of what he had done to her and her kingdom. On the other hand, Brett was still distrustful towards princesses… yet felt a great deal of guilt for nearly killing her in such a violent matter. The entire chamber, despite all its inhabitants, was completely silent. Finally, the silence was broken when Catra groaned.

"Uh, HELLO?! We're here to stop Horde Prime!" Catra snapped. Everybody audibly agreed and proceeded cautiously to the entrance of the Lunarium. Adora was the first to grip the doorknob. She took a deep breath, unsheathed her sword and shouted,

"For the honor of Grayskull!" As she shouted that, Adora became She-Ra. Despite boasting her now superhuman strength and speed, she still could not help but feel a great deal of anxiety. She turned her head to the group and inquired, "everybody ready?" The group nodded in acknowledgment. She-Ra then turned back to the door, took a deep breath, and shoved it open. The moment they barged in, they saw Brittni being held by Entrapta, and Glimmer unconscious in her chair.

"Brittni!" She-Ra and Bow shouted while Frosta gasped at seeing Glimmer.

"Adora! Bow! Catra! BRETT! … And everyone else! I knew you'd come for me!" Brittni jubilated.

"Glimmer!" Frosta yelled out. Brett in the meanwhile was visibly confused.

"...En...Entrapta?" Brett inquired.

"I'm afraid your dear Entrapta is no longer here…" A very familiar voice said from behind one of the pillars. Void stepped out from the pillar, revealing herself.

"You… You're the leader of Night Moon! Oh, when I get my hands on you!" Brett threatened, taking a step towards. Void held up a remote of some sort and tisked.

"Tsk, tsk. Take one more step and I blow your precious Entrapta, sky-high." Void threatened. Brett growled.

"You twisted little… Let Entrapta and my sister go!" Brett commanded.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening, my dear nephew…" An enigmatic voice said from behind the portal. Horde Prime walked around the portal, revealing himself to the group. The group was stunned; most especially Brett, Catra and She-Ra, as Horde Prime looked identical to Hordak.

"Hordak…?" Catra inquired.

"No… it's Horde Prime!" Brittni shouted.

"Horde Prime…" She-Ra muttered. She then glared at Horde Prime and brandished her sword at him, "let our friends go!" Horde Prime merely chuckled at this request.

"I think not, She-Ra, my old nemesis." Horde Prime muttered, enigmatically. She-Ra cocked her eyebrows.

"'Old Nemesis?' I've never seen you before in my life!" She-Ra snapped.

"You're not the first She-Ra… but you're certainly the last. I first encountered your predecessor a millennia ago. That was back when your ancestor's twin brother, Adam, was fighting my brother, Skeletor." Horde Prime explained.

"We don't care about your little history lesson! Get away from my Glimmer!" Frosta shouted as she conjured ice spikes in each hand and shot them towards Horde Prime. Horde Prime chuckled as he simply smacked one of the ice spikes out of the way and gripped the other in his clutch. With a loud snap and crack, the ice spike shattered in his hand.

"Temper, temper, little Frosta. You had such potential when you were a part of Night Moon… ah, but we have ways of dealing with traitors." Horde Prime muttered as his right arm began a drastic transformation. His arm began being coated with some kind of a white, metallic surface that formed around his arm until it looked as though it had been replaced with a cannon of some sort. Before anyone could react, Horde Prime aimed his arm-cannon at the group. A surge of green energy began forming at the muzzle end of the cannon until a flash propelled a large ball of green plasma towards the group.

"Move!" Brett yelled. The group on either side dove in separate directions; to the left and to the right as the ball of plasma struck the ground near them. A conflagration of green energy exploded the area, sending those that dove away, flying even further. Horde Prime chuckled at this notion.

"Double Trouble, when you said these were the best that Etheria had to offer, I was hoping for more of a challenge.

"Here's a challenge for ya!" Catra shrieked as she got on all fours and ran up the wall to the left of Horde Prime. Before he could react, Catra kicked herself off the wall and lunged at Horde Prime, taking a swipe at his face. Her four clawed barrage managed to slice open his left cheek. After Horde Prime screamed in pain, he growled as green fluid began seeping out of the cut where he was struck. When Catra landed, Horde Prime reacted quickly, slamming his arm-cannon at Catra's head, rendering her unconscious.

"Impressive. Maybe I was a little too quick to underestimate you…" Horde Prime muttered.

"Catra!" She-Ra shouted out as she picked herself up from the energy blast that Horde Prime fired at the group. She glared at Horde Prime and began charging at him. Horde Prime raised his arm-cannon and fired another shot at She-Ra. As the ball of energy flew towards her, She-Ra squared up her body and swung her sword like a baseball bat at the plasma. Although she did manage to deflect the shot off towards her left, the overall force it took to do so, knocked She-Ra on her back. The ball of energy smacked into a wall, blowing it wide open and leaving a green residue, outlining the damage. It was at this time where Brett and Bow had picked themselves up. Brett unsheathed his energy batons and Bow readied his weapon.

"Cover me!" Brett shouted to Bow as he ran towards Horde Prime. Bow nodded and fired a flashbang arrow towards Horde Prime. As the arrow struck Horde Prime, the flash lit up the room, blinding two of Horde Prime's eyes. Brett's helmet had shielded his eyes from the flash and so, he continued on. He ignited his energy batons and jumped up with the intention of striking Horde Prime in the face. Before he could do so, however, Horde Prime raised his left arm, brandishing a transparent energy shield. When Brett's batons' energy connected with Horde Prime's shield, the surge of electricity knocked Brett back on his back.

"Oof!" Brett coughed as he hit the floor. He was about to pick himself up when Void joined in the action. She swung her swords at Brett while he was prone. He managed to dodge while rolling to the right. Void swung at the right, so Brett rolled to the left.

"Die!" Void shrieked as she began a flurry of swipes. Brett held up his batons with the intent of blocking each sword swipe, but he was unable to stave off her fury. Void easily managed to knock the batons out of Brett's hands. She again raised her swords with the intent of killing him, but Bow stepped in to save Brett. Bow fired a barrage of arrows that knocked Void's swords out of her hands. She gasped at the accuracy and speed of Bow and so did a few backflips off and away from Brett, simultaneously grabbing her swords midair. She let out a growl and turned to Horde Prime.

"Father, we need to activate the planetary shift!" Void surmised. Horde Prime nodded and turned to Entrapta as she was still tightly holding onto Brittni.

"Entrapta. Do it." Horde Prime ordered. Entrapta's eyes glowed a neon green as she nodded and moved over to the portal. There were buttons and knobs on the side that she began turning and pushing. Brittni began to protest.

"No! Entrapta! Please don't! Fight it! Don't let Horde Prime control you!" Brittni begged. Entrapta acted as though she heard nothing. Bow and Horde Prime became engaged in a shootout while Brett picked himself up and began fighting with Void again. In between swipes and collisions of their weapons, Brett would attempt to reach Entrapta.

"Entrapta! Ergh! Entrapta! Please- Yah! It's me, Brett! I'm your friend! I- Agh! Entrapta!" Brett and Void were locked in their melee weapons. Both peered close to one another as their weapons were holding each other in place. Brett attempted one more time to reach out.

"Entrapta! I… I love you!" Brett declared. Once he did that, Entrapta stopped her work. She stood there motionless for a few moments, then slowly turned towards Brett.

"B...Brett?" Entrapta inquired. Horde Prime growled at this action.

"Enough of this!" Horde Prime shouted. As another of Bow's arrows flew at him, he grabbed it midair and threw it back at Bow, hitting the weapon out of his hands. Horde Prime then stomped over to Entrapta and shoved her out of the way in order to finish what she had started.

It was at that moment that Entrapta's hair loosened its grip on Brittni and so Brittni was let loose. She ran towards Horde Prime and stuck her energy baton in his back. As the voltage flowed from the baton into Horde Prime, he merely turned back.

"Thanks for the energy boost, my niece." Horde Prime declared as he raised his left arm and backhanded Brittni.

"Brittni!" Brett shouted, still fighting with Void. As Brittni flew to the ground she raised her foot and shoved it to the back of Horde Prime's leg, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Agh! You little…" Horde Prime muttered. But he did not have time to deal with Brittni. He pressed a few more buttons and reached his finger to flip a switch. Right before he could do that, Brittni grabbed his hand and tried to pull it back. Both forces were fighting desperately towards the switch.

"My… Will… Is… ETERNAL!" Horde Prime shouted as he put forth just enough strength to flip the switch. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, a massive seismic tremor began shaking the entire room. The roof of the Lunarium was ripped off and began flying towards the sky. As everyone looked skyward, all but Horde Prime and Void had their mouths agape in utter trepidation and shock. Up in the sky was some kind of swirling vortex. Everything around the Lunarium began flying towards the vortex in the sky as though they were metals being pulled by a magnet. Brittni let out a shriek of fear and closed her eyes until... she heard a voice.

"Brittni..."

"...Mom!"

So, I haven't done one of these little chat things for like, what? 15 chapter? I dunno. Anyway! Thanks so much for reading. How about that series finale? Gotta admit I teared up several times. :') I absolutely adore this show and I'm grateful that it led to me writing this fanfic. Sadly, after today I will have to revert to my twice a month rather than every week again. My family and I are moving and so I will need all the time I can get to pack and be ready as we begin our journey. Thanks again for reading!