Chapter 9

part 3

Catra couldn't believe how quickly things had escalated. One minute they were relaxing and having fun then the next they were running to stop a Horde attack. She would be lying if she said that what they were doing was crazy.

Wrong.

Treacherous.

Should we be doing this? she thought. What they were doing was,without a doubt,treason. Even if what the Horde was doing was wrong,they were soldiers. Made to obey them. If they disobeyed them they could potentially be kicked from the Horde and where would they go from there? Should I really do this?

Can I do this? Her train of thought quickly drifted away as she heard Adora shout,"Hey!" She looked ahead to see a large tank rolling through small houses. Adora let out a grunt of annoyance then ran straight towards the tank. She is going to get us killed Catra thought but nonetheless followed Adora,standing beside her as she stood in the tank's path and yelled,"Stop!"

The tank slowed down as it got closer until it finally stopped,the cannon a claw length away from Adora's face. The hatchet opened to reveal a familiar and unexpected face. "Storm!"Adora cried in shock as Catra could only look at him in confusion.

"Adora,Catra. It seems this will make my job much easier."he said. He got out of the tank and jumped down before them. "I don't understand. Storm,why are you here?"Adora asked. "And how are you driving a Horde tank?"Catra added. "I'm here to take you back to the Horde."Storm said. "It seems that prisoners in your world have more privileges than one would think possible."he added with a chuckle.

"Take us back?"Catra said. "Shadow Weaver wants you both back at the Horde. So let's go already."Storm told them. "Storm,listen we need you to help us put a stop to all this."Adora told him urgently. He gave her a confused look. "Why?"he asked. "Because this is a civilian town!"she exclaimed. "Look around. They're innocent people!" "Innocent people who kidnapped a Horde soldier. I may not know as much about this world but that's enough to provoke an attack."Storm said. "Now come on so I can get you both back to the Horde. I don't have to want to deal with Shadow Weaver anymore."he added as he turned and walked to the tank.

"No! Storm,I'm not going back until the Horde leaves this town alone. You have to help us!"Adora protested. A long moment of silence passed between the three of them as Catra waited for his response. Finally,he turned his head so only the side of his face was showing. "What are you saying?"he asked. "I'm saying that it's wrong. I can't be a part of something like the Horde."Adora replied. Catra glanced over at Storm,surprised when she saw that he looked only annoyed. Huh. I assumed that he would be angry at least she remarked to herself. She saw that he then turned his gaze to her. "And what of you Catra?"he asked. "Would you leave your home for strangers who no doubt see you as the enemy?"

He does have a point though. Leaving our only home for these people we just met won't be worth it.

Catra turned to face Adora. "Maybe he's right Adora. Think about it. Once we defect from the Horde,we'll be enemies and the Rebellion will definetly see us as a threat."she told her. She saw the look of disbelief that flashed across Adora's face. "Catra,can't you be serious! The Horde has been lying to us! Hordak,Shadow Weaver,all of them!"Adora cried.

Now Catra's frustration was beginning to raise to her limit.

"Well duh Adora! Did you just figure this out? Manipulation is Shadow Weaver's thing. She's been messing with our heads since we were kids!"Catra yelled. "And how can you possibly be ok with that?"Adora asked. "Because it never mattered what they did so long as we had each other and soon we would have been calling the shots."Catra said,her voice nearly dropping to a whisper.

She wasn't stupid. She knew the way Shadow Weaver and,by extension,Hordak treated them wasn't right. The day she had spent with Arrow boy and Sparkles proved that much. But despite the harsh words of their mother figure,despite the punishments that scared her physically and mentally,Catra endured it all because she knew Shadow Weaver would no longer be around one day and they would be the ones giving the orders and ruling Etheria together. She looked up to see Adora looking at her with a soft expression then reached out her hand and gently grabbed Catra's.

"Catra,come with me. You don't have to go back there. We can fix this together."she pleaded. Catra looked at their hands for a long moment. Maybe,just maybe,this could be a fresh start for us. For me. She raised her gaze from their hands to meet Adora's pleading gaze.

"Alright,I'll come join you."she said. The relief that washed over Adora's face was enough to erase her doubts. She saw her turn her gaze to Storm,who was watching them with an unreadable expression. "We can't go back to the Horde. Not until we try and help these people. I'm sorry Storm."Adora said to him before looking back at Catra. "Let's go." She turned and began walking off. Catra went to follow her but a movement caught her eye.

Before she could even address the movement,Storm lunged forward with a stun gun in his hand and thrust it into her back. Adora let out a pained yell as sparks flew across her body before falling to her knees. "Adora!"Catra yelled as she kneeled down beside Adora. "Sorry human but I can't leave empty-handed."she heard Storm say and when she turned to look at him,she saw him looking at Adora with annoyance and anger. "Why did you do that?"she growled. "I can't go back to the Horde empty-handed! I'm a prisoner in case you have forgotten. Refusing or failing my task will cause my demise. So enough with this stalling and let's go or must I zap you as well?"he said,pointing the stun gun at her.

Just then,a ball of light shot from seemingly out of nowhere and struck Storm in the face. "Argh!"he snarled as he stumbled back,blinded. Catra looked ahead to see Bow and Glimmer on top of a horse galloping towards them. At that moment,she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. They stopped before them as Bow shot an arrow,which transformed into a net midair,and ensnared Storm just as he recovered from Glimmer's attack. "Glimmer,why are you here?"Adora asked.

Glimmer opened her mouth to answer but Bow yelled,"Look out!" Catra looked over her shoulder at Storm who was pointing the stun gun at them. Without a moment of hesitation she pushed Adora towards Glimmer as she said,"Get her out of here!" then turned around and kicked the stun gun out of Storm's hand. Bow had shot another arrow at him but he nimbly dodged it and charged towards him,pushing him off the horse and pinning him to the ground.

Getting to her feet,she quickly ran over to Bow and lunged at Storm,pushing him off Bow,and they rolled across the ground. He managed to push her off him and leapt at her,kicking the back of her legs. She grunted as she fell to the ground and felt a heavy weight settle on her back. "Why are you resisting? Why would you work for the enemy?"he growled,trying to wrestle her to the ground. I don't know she wanted to shout at him but said nothing as she continued to fight against him. Just when she could feel her strength beginning to fade,she noticed a golden glow.

Time itself seemed to slow down as She-ra appeared in the middle of all the battle. Catra took a glance at Storm,who was distracted by She-ra,then took her hind legs and pushed him off her then quickly got to her feet and quickly moved away from him.

Once she was far enough from Storm,she turned to watch She-ra grab a Horde bot by its leg and toss it into a Horde tank. She then raised the sword high above her head and brought it down onto the ground. At first,nothing happened but seconds later electricity rippled across the rocky ground,electrocuting every Horde bot and tank around her. With all the bot and tanks destroyed,the Horde soldiers began to realise they were losing. Shouts of "Retreat" and "Out of my way" echoed through the ruined village and Catra silently cheered in her head as she watched the soldiers hastily run before turning her attention to Adora.

Her smile flattered as Adora began to stagger dangerously and fall to her knees. "Hey,Adora you ok?"she asked her. "Yeah I'm fine."Adora assured her,slightly breathless. Catra nodded with a sigh of relief though it was short lived as she saw Storm in the distance.

He was staring at her,shock and an expression she couldn't read painted on his face. The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity,neither uttering a word yet having a conversation,before Storm's face hardened then he turned around and ran off and disappeared into the dust. A heavy silence hung over them before Bow suddenly ran into them and tackled them to the ground. "You guys did it!"Bow cried happily. "We did?"Adora answered confused. "You saved us. You saved everyone."Glimmer said as she approached them.

"I did it. I turned against the Horde."Adora repeated. Her eyes then shot wide open and she bolted upright. "I turned against the Horde! Why did I do that?"she turned to Catra,face written with panic. "What are we going to do?!" "So you think about that after you turn against the Horde?"Catra exclaimed. "Hey,hey. It's alright,"Glimmer told them as she kneeled down to face them. "You guys are with us now. So come on,let's go home."she extended her hands to them. Adora looked at Glimmer with a smile as she took her hand but Catra hesitated. Why would you work for the enemy? The words of Storm rang loudly in her head.

I just might be making the biggest mistake I'm about to make.

She looked at Glimmer who was smiling at her while her hand was still extended to her. Remembering the good day she had,Catra let a small smile cross her face as she reached out to take Glimmer's hand. After today though,I'm willing to take that chance. "Best friend squad!"she heard Bow squeal before walking alongside them towards a new life.

Their new home.

Author's note: And here's another chapter of this story. I know it's been awhile since I've updated but school has really been draining a lot of my energy and couldn't write much either. Anyway,I hope everyone is staying safe during these times and has a merry Christmas/happy holidays!