Clouds of smoke lit up by flashes of green light filled the sky as a battle raged on. Etheria's group of Rebellion fighters clashed with wave after wave of Horde Prime clones, holding their ground…but just barely. Anyone old enough to wield a weapon - and even some who were not - helped beat back the seemingly endless army of invaders.
Bow led the front line with the princesses. He shot arrow after arrow at the oncoming enemies, trying to keep them from taking over what small part of the world the Rebellion still clung to. Part of his brain told him it was hopeless, that they should just run or give up; that it was pointless to fight against a clearly insurmountable foe. He pushed those thoughts aside as he pulled out yet another arrow from his quiver and knocked down a clone that had gotten a little too close for comfort. He couldn't give up now - they needed to keep their camp intact. They needed more time so they could fix the ship, so they could get it working and rescue Glimmer. He had to keep fighting for her.
The mere thought of Glimmer made his insides feel like they were on fire. A complex web of feelings conflicting and fighting against one another settled into a pit in his stomach. The devastating feeling of knowing he had been too late to save her…the fear of not knowing whether or not she was even still alive…the hurt of how she had treated him and Adora over the past year. Regret at how he had acted himself, and guilt that he couldn't let go of being mad at her despite everything else going on…
Bow used the intensity of the feelings to his advantage, nearly going into a blind rage as he continued to pick off clones one by one. To his right, Scorpia was taking out rows of soldiers at a time with her newly found lighting attacks. Perfuma was on his left using her plants and roots to prevent the next wave from making it across the field. Somewhere behind him he could hear Adora taking on the few clones that made it through their lines. Adora, not She-Ra…he thought bitterly to himself, the hopeless feeling taking over again.
As a team, they actually managed to thin out the army enough that it appeared a captain had called for a retreat. The princesses and Bow stood guard, poised and ready to attack again in case of a trick; but after several minutes, it seemed like they had won this battle. Bow sighed in relief and looked around their group; at first glance it looked like everyone was accounted for, albeit worn out and bruised.
"Good work everyone, let's get back to camp and regroup," Bow said as he turned to face the Rebellion members. He had tried to sound inspiring, or at least upbeat, but could hear in his own voice how tired and dejected he sounded. He locked eyes with Adora who looked about as exhausted as he felt, but she managed a small smile in his direction anyway. Bow took one last look across his shoulder to convince himself they were in the clear. He was finally satisfied and about to lead the way back to camp when a giant hologram appeared in the sky near the clone's ship, stopping him in his tracks.
It was Glimmer.
The young queen was sitting at a table while a clone tied her hands behind her back. Glimmer shot him a dirty look as he walked out of sight. "Was that really necessary?" she muttered in the clone's direction before facing the camera. She cleared her throat and shook her hair out of her eyes before speaking.
"I am Queen Glimmer. I was captured by Horde Prime, and I'm currently his prisoner. He's asked me to send Etheria two messages." The Glimmer hologram stood fifty feet in the air and her voice echoed slightly as multiple copies of her across the world spoke in unison. It was the same type of hologram Prime had used himself merely weeks before to announce his invasion of Etheria. For the most part, she looked to be okay; her voice was strong and her eyes were determined, and though her face had thinned significantly since she had left Etheria, she appeared otherwise unharmed.
Glimmer. She's alive. She's ALIVE! Bow's heart raced as the thought kept running through his head, knowing he needed to pay close attention but having a hard time processing anything other than the fact that she wasn't dead. Bow couldn't help but feel a wave of relief rush through him, despite knowing full well they weren't out of the woods yet. So many emotions hit him at once, but he couldn't process them all right now. She was alive, that was the important thing. He didn't dare move or say anything to the people around him, not even to Adora; he refused to take his eyes off the hologram for one second.
Glimmer continued.
"First, Prime wants me to call off my rescue party. Which I keep telling him," Glimmer growled as she turned her head back towards the guard behind her, "doesn't even exist". Her voice softened and her eyes turned sad, dropping away from the camera. "I was…horrible to the only people in the entire world who would have cared enough to try and save me. I said and did some terrible things to them because I thought I knew what was best for Etheria. But I was wrong. I should have listened to them; even if I had been right, they didn't deserve the way I treated them. So no, Prime," she said as her eyes met the camera once more. "There isn't anybody coming to rescue me. I don't deserve to be rescued, anyway; not after putting the entire world at risk. But if by some crazy miracle there is someone out there thinking about trying to save me…please don't. I'm with Prime on this one. You'll never succeed, he will stop you in your tracks and kill you if you even attempt it. And at any rate…" Glimmer's voice hardened once again, sitting up straight as her resolve returned. "I need to atone for my actions, even if that means being Prime's prisoner, or dying at his hands. I can't undo what has been done, but I can at least stop anyone else from being hurt because of me."
There was no fear in Glimmer's voice; she spoke very matter-of-factly, even when referencing her own potential death. Does she really think we aren't coming for her? Bow thought. The idea of her not only being a prisoner, but genuinely believing nobody was going to save her added an entirely new layer of misery to Bow's web of emotions.
"The second message Prime wants me to send is to all of Etheria. He wants me to tell you to just give up, and accept his reign. He wants me to tell you to bring him She-Ra, the person who has fought the hardest to keep you safe, in exchange for your own 'freedom'." Glimmer nearly spat the word out in sarcasm. "He thinks that maybe if you see me admit defeat, if I tell you to surrender, that maybe you'll listen."
The princesses all broke out in whispers around Bow. He could make out Adora out of the corner of his eye; she was also completely immersed in the message, her face unreadable. Glimmer stared so intensely into the camera it almost felt like she could actually see them all.
"But I won't," she continued. "I will never give up on Etheria. I will never give up on She-Ra. And neither should you! This is our home. Everything you've ever cared about and everyone you've ever loved is at stake here. What Horde Prime promises you is a lie. His talks of 'peace' involve mind control and bending all beings to his will. That's not peace. That's a prison. I for one won't go down without a fight. I don't care if they lock me up, or beat me, or kill me. I'll happily die for what I believe in. And what I believe in is Etheria - and her defender She-Ra!"
The Rebellion members erupted into cheers, seconding their queen's message. It was like there was electricity in the air, a fresh wave of life breathed into them all. Bow was still a sea of emotions, but in that moment he couldn't help but feel happy, and proud. That was the Glimmer he knew; passionate, tenacious, and motivational. He finally looked over at Adora, who had silent but happy tears running down her face. She locked eyes with him again, this time giving him a look full of meaning. That's our friend. We're going to save her.
Their happy moment was short lived as a commotion took over the screen. The clone that had been standing guard came back into their view, standing next to Glimmer while contorting and yelling in what seemed to be pain. Suddenly, he stopped and stood up straight, his eyes now a bright green instead of white. "Why, you little -"
"GLIMMER!" Bow shouted out, knowing she couldn't hear him but not being able to stop himself. The clone - or maybe this was Prime now? - had struck Glimmer across the face, causing her to fall over in her chair with a loud crash. The Princesses and Bow all watched in horror as the scene unfolded, helpless to do anything but watch in silence.
Glimmer and Prime came in and out of view over the next few minutes. The fall seemingly had caused her chair to break, allowing her to at least get her hands back out in front of her. Glimmer's cries of pain filled the air as Prime landed a few blows; but she was faster than him, even without the teleport, and managed to dodge a few hits. For several moments they were both off screen, and the Rebellion could only imagine exactly what was going on as they heard a multitude of crashes and yelps.
Finally, there was the loudest crash of all, followed by a cry of pain that could only have come from Prime himself. Glimmer appeared from under the table, pulling herself up and leaning forwards, hands reaching for something unseen.
"Don't…give up. I believe in you all," she whispered. Her face was bloody and a black eye was already blooming. "And…I'm sorry." Her hand came down towards the table, and she disappeared.
No, no no no no! Bow genuinely didn't know if he was thinking the words or screaming them at the top of his lungs. He didn't care either way; all he could focus on was the mass of sky where Glimmer had just been. Of course, she hadn't actually been there; she was still on Prime's ship, thousands of miles away, and likely about to be beaten or worse. All in the name of the Rebellion, all for them; to give them hope and inspire them to not give up.
Bow looked around at his comrades, who just a few minutes ago were a weary and tattered lot. Now, they talked excitedly amongst themselves, Glimmer's words hanging in the air around them and filling the night with a contagious energy. In a lot of ways, they really needed the morale boost, but at what cost did it come?
Adora joined him at his side, saying nothing for a moment but putting a hand gingerly on his shoulder. "I don't care what she said, Bow. We're going to rescue her. I know we will." She smiled at her friend sincerely. He managed a half smile back to Adora, but suddenly his throat felt tight and he wasn't able to speak. They watched out over the plain for a few more minutes in silence before joining the rest of the group back towards camp.
