Chapter 50: Finale
"Is… Is he gone?" She-Ra inquired, moving in behind Brittni. Brittni could not respond, however. After all the pain, suffering, and trauma that she went through… that Etheria went through, because of Horde Prime, she was completely at a loss for words.
A warm noise came from behind Brittni, signifying that She-Ra had changed back into Adora. That warm noise changed into a warm touch, when Adora put her hand on Brittni's shoulder where there was no armor. Brittni shuddered for a few moments but finally snapped back into reality when Scorpia blinked her eyes. Brittni then let a smile creep onto her face.
"Yeah…" Brittni sighed in relief, "yeah, he's gone." Before anyone could celebrate, however, two groans could be heard several feet away. Brittni looked up and gasped, "oh, no… Catra! Keirnan!" Brittni rushed up and moved over to the two wounded duo. Taking a quick look, both of them looked pretty bad. Catra's laser wound had seemed to fry one of her lungs, while Keirnan had both poison coursing through him, and a large protrusion in his stomach.
"Oh, no… Oh, no!" Brittni quivered as she debated who to begin with. Sensing her hesitation, Keirnan chose for her.
"H…Heal…C..Catra, Brittni…" Keirnan choked out. Brittni looked over to Keirnan, tears welling in her eyes. She let out a sob, and nodded, placing her hands upon Catra's wound.
"!delaeh eb ot ydob siht dnammoc I ,roivaS eht fo eman eht nI," Brittni commanded in Oracle's language. As she spoke the words, Brittni could see the cells multiply to begin the process of healing Catra's lung and her oblique. Unfortunately, they were not multiplying fast enough.
"C'mon… C'mon!" Brittni shouted, tears flying out of her eyes. She switched glances between Catra and Keirnan until Keirnan spoke.
"B…Brittni…" Keirnan wheezed. Brittni knew he was about to go.
"No… No, Keirnan, I won't! I won't-" Brittni sobbed until he heard Keirnan shush her.
"Brittni… I… I'm so…p…proud…" Keirnan wheezed, "I… I… I…love…you…" Keirnan muttered for the last time.
"KEIRNAN!" Brittni shouted, in absolute protest. Adora came up from behind Brittni and wrapped her in a hug. Brittni wanted to hug back, she wanted to do something to help Keirnan. Unfortunately, she had to hold onto Catra to keep the healing going. As soon as Catra's wounds were closed up, however, Brittni wrapped her arms around Adora and began to uncontrollably sob into her shoulder.
This was a tragedy among tragedies in Brittni's mind, but unfortunately, she would not be able to grieve. An alarm signaled across the ship, signifying the self-destruct. Right as that alarm sounded, Glimmer, Brett, Entrapta, and Frosta appeared. Brittni looked up, sniffling, relieved to see her friends, but still upset about Keirnan. Brett ran over, shouting.
"Brittni! Adora, Catra, and… Scorpia? We gotta-" Brett shouted until he looked behind Brittni and found Keirnan's lifeless body. "Oh… Oh, K…Keirnan…" Brett muttered, sounding more melancholy than he had ever felt before. He snapped back to reality, however, and put his hand on Brittni's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Britt, but we really have to get out of here… We'll…" Brett muttered, choking on a slight sob, "we'll have to mourn later." Brett declared, determinately. Brittni pulled away from Adora and gave Brett a nod. Picking up her helmet and placing it on her head, Brittni turned to Glimmer.
"Are you ready to get us out of here?" Brittni inquired. Glimmer nodded, holding out her hand. Adora and Brett helped Catra and Scorpia up and nodded to Glimmer. The group then each held hands and waited for Glimmer's mark.
"Here we go…" Glimmer muttered. And just like that, the purple aura surrounded the group, and the electronic wind chime noise sounded, teleporting the group away from Horde Prime…
…Forever.
Meanwhile, back in Queen Angella's Moonstone room…
While all this had been going on, Angella had been holding close to the Moonstone, awaiting Glimmer and her party's return. The sound of battle coming from within Angella's castle sounded in her ears which wracked her nerves, heavily. While she was focusing on maintaining a connection to the Moonstone, she heard her door slightly open. She turned back and gasped. While she hoped it was an ally, instead, it was one of Horde Prime's clones… brandishing a laser right at her head.
"By order of Horde Prime, you must die." The clone declared as the neon green in his laser began illuminating.
"No!" Angella shouted, needing to keep her hands on the Moonstone and completely unable to defend herself. She closed her eyes, hoping that Glimmer and her team would soon be back. She shrieked upon hearing the high pitched squeal coming from a laser, though was surprised when she did not feel any pain. Breathing hard, she opened her eyes and turned around to see the clone have a circular red hole through his dome. As the clone's body collapsed forward, Angella let out a gasp as she saw…
"Hordak!" Angella shouted, relieved upon seeing him, and confused upon feeling relieved to see him. A slow grin formed across Hordak's mouth as he put down his arm cannon and stepped forward.
"It seems that our infiltration squadron was successful in disabling the Horde Prime's creatures..." Hordak indicated, motioning for Angella to look outside. Angella blinked then turned her head towards a window. Sure enough, thousands upon thousands of Horde Prime's creatures lay dead, littering the fields of Bright Moon. She choked out a squeak of glee as victory seemed near. She then turned her attention back to Hordak and nodded.
"Thank you… for saving my life." Angella said, gratefully. Hordak blinked a few times and shifted his grin into a regular smile.
"Well…" Hordak began with a slight chuckle, "we are in an alliance, are we not?" Hordak inquired, indicating his desire to end the war between the two; (three) factions. Angella smiled and gave a nod.
No sooner did this beautiful interchange happen, that purple silhouettes of Glimmer's team began forming around the Moonstone room until every one of their body's were manifested. The moment that Glimmer appeared, she collapsed, completely exhausted of what she had been feeling. But there was no time to rest for her, as Angella ran over and picked Glimmer up, wrapping her in a hug.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, young lady!" Angella shouted, fighting back tears, while simultaneously laughing. Glimmer hugged back and chuckled.
"After what I've been through, I wouldn't mind if you grounded me for the rest of my life." Glimmer chuckled.
"Don't tempt me." Angella teased.
The rest of the group began giving their affections to their various partners; Frosta hugging Glimmer, Adora and Catra hugging… and Adora giving Catra a kiss on the cheek, to which, Catra corrected Adora, making contact, lips to lips.
Scorpia did not know what else to do, so she grabbed Entrapta and gave her a hug.
Brett, in the meanwhile, grabbed Brittni and gave her a hug, pulling her in close. Soon after, a blue-skinned, silver-dressed woman entered the room and wrapped the twins in a hug.
"I'm sorry about Keirnan, my child… he was… an incredible man." Oracle said, a few tears streaming down her cheek. Brett let go of Brittni and Brittni wrapped Oracle in a hug.
"Thank you, Oracle… mom." Brittni said, attempting to overcome her sobbing. The two hugged for what seemed like an eternity until Brett cleared his throat. Brittni turned to Brett and nodded, letting go of Oracle. Brett turned to Oracle and sort of shifted his eyes away. Oracle patiently stood there with her arms overarching each other. Brett then sighed and stared Oracle in her eyes.
"So… you're really our mother?" Brett genuinely inquired. A smile spread across Oracle's face and she nodded.
"I am." Oracle said, simply. A tear sprung down one of Brett's eyes and he nodded again, moving over to Oracle and giving her a hug.
It was safe to say that there was not a single dry eye in the entirety of that room with the whirlwind of emotions that was cascading through. It seemed to be finally done. No more Horde Prime, no more enmity.
No more war…
About a week later…
After Horde Prime's command ship was destroyed, the entirety of his army was virtually gone. Everything that had even so much as a computer chip in their system was completely disabled and left the rest of the body to merely cease to exist. Over the week, cleanup and repair of the various kingdoms had commenced, which truly illustrated the unity between the Horde and the Rebellion. Horde technology was used to repair Rebel kingdoms, while Rebel magic was used to repair Horde territories. It seemed that with all of this cooperation, a foreign feeling of peace suddenly became a homely reality.
Trade and mutual consultation was established between all three, with the Rebellion teaching magic, the Horde teaching science and engineering, and Night Moon teaching blacksmithing and stealth.
And that's not all. Friendships were made.
Peace. Peace on Etheria.
A ceremony was held just outside of Elberon with all factions in attendance. Queen Angella with her Princess Kingdoms, Hordak with his Horde, and Glimmer with her loyalist Night Moons.
Each leader would go up and give a speech of love and forgiveness. And near the end, a peace treaty was set that was signed by all leaders indicating that the war between the Rebellion, the Horde, and Night Moon was over.
The greatest speech said, however, was from Glimmer, herself.
Glimmer made her way to the podium that was overlooking the vast crowd of Rebellion, Horde, and Night Moon citizens. As she approached the microphone, she took a deep breath. Upon exhaling, she regained her composure and began to speak.
"Fellow Etherians, I am both humbled and blessed to even be standing before you this day…" Glimmer began, with a tear streaming down one of her eyes, "when I first saw the Horde's actions against those of the Rebellion, I felt nothing but a vindictive rage against them. I wanted nothing more than to not only defeat them… but to make them pay for every life they took." Glimmer said, grimly, "this vengeance took me so far that I sought evil and malicious methods in order to obtain my goal of destroying the Horde. I became worse than the very thing I sought to destroy." Glimmer said, shuddering. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and wiped her tears. When she came to, her voice began ringing with conviction.
"Soon, I realized that I was only looking at one perspective. I met a man named Dragstor that described evils that had been committed against him and his family by the Rebellion. I was then informed that the Horde was not the one to begin the conflict, but the Rebellion, itself." Glimmer explained.
"It took a near genocide of our people to realize that we were not so different from each other. We realized that we could forgive each other, we could work together… and Heaven forbid, maybe even live in peace." Glimmer said with great hope. She then began naming names.
"There are a select few that have given me this perspective and were the greatest proponents in ending this war. Please come up when I call your name." The first one to be called was Entrapta. Entrapta used her prehensile hair to pull her towards the stage, then gently set herself down. Glimmer wrapped a medal around her neck.
"Entrapta, princess of Dryl. For your research towards destroying Horde Prime's ship, we award you." Glimmer declared. Entrapta smiled at Glimmer and gave her a hug. Entrapta then stood behind Glimmer. Glimmer continued.
Catra, for her bravery and putting herself in danger to defend her friends.
Frosta, for being a voice of reason to Glimmer and using her powers for good.
Bow, for always remaining faithful to goodness and defense of Bright Moon.
Brett, for being a solid defender of both the Horde, and the Rebellion.
The last three were a bit more special.
Oracle was called up and given a medal and gratitude for providing much needed revelations regarding Horde Prime and his army.
"I only wanted to defend Etheria. I am happy that this was able to be made manifest." Oracle declared, standing with the others.
Adora was then called up. She was recognized for unmatched bravery and selflessness in following her heart to find the Sword of Power, and use it to defend Etheria. Leaving the Horde was a great sign that indicated that people could change.
"Thank you, everyone." Adora said, humbly, standing with the rest.
Finally, Brittni's name was called.
"Brittni," Glimmer began, "without you, the Horde and Rebellion would never have been able to unite. I can honestly say without hesitation, that without you, and your mother's instructions, we could not have survived this." Brittni began blushing after hearing that. She then shook her head.
"No…" Brittni said, humbly, "I just did what I thought was right. I knew that there were good people on all sides of this war. I just wanted peace… and, only together, we achieved it." Brittni declared. Upon that declaration, the crowd cheered with the power of a thousand trumpets. Truly, thanks to the efforts of those individuals standing behind Glimmer, Etheria was saved.
A few hours later, on a hillside near Elberon…
It was nighttime while Brittni and Oracle sat upon a hill, overlooking Elberon. Brittni let out a yawn and stretched, then fell onto Oracle's shoulder. Oracle closed her eyes and smiled at the affection received from her daughter.
"So, what will you do now, daughter?" Oracle inquired, reopening her eyes. Brittni scoffed.
"Psh, you can see the future, can't you? You tell me." Brittni teased. Oracle chuckled.
"Perhaps, but I'd like to hear it from you." Oracle said. Brittni pondered for a moment or two.
"We've been fighting so long… I'm not sure. Though, I have thought about working with Entrapta and Brett on biotechnology. Y'know, using engineering and science to better the people of Etheria." Brittni offered. Oracle nodded.
"That is quite admirable." Oracle agreed, "but whatever you choose to do, I know it will be beneficial to the entirety of this planet." Before Brittni could respond, they heard a commotion behind them. It was none other than Adora, Catra, Glimmer, Frosta, Brett, and Entrapta.
"Hey, you two coming to the party?" Adora inquired.
"They have tiny food!" Entrapta yelped.
"And Entrapta and Bow got the fireworks ready. It's gonna be a blast. Literally." Brett said.
"You heard them! C'mon, let's get down there!" Catra jeered. Brittni and Oracle chuckled.
"You're right. Let's go." Brittni said, standing up. As the group began leaving, Brittni took one last look at Elberon. Glimmer came up from behind her and put her hand on Brittni's shoulder.
"You okay?" Glimmer inquired. Brittni turned to her and smiled.
"I was just thinking how nice it will be to go into that city where we don't fight." Brittni joked. Glimmer laughed and led Brittni down. As Brittni went down, she still felt grief for the loss of her surrogate father, Keirnan. But at the same time, she had the sweet feeling that the war was finally over. Finally, there was no ambiguity of morality.
Everyone did good things, everyone did bad things. The moral of this story is that everyone needs to understand the effect that perspective has upon our actions. We can make a conflict bigger, or we can make an effort to diminish it. The key to ending conflict is love and forgiveness. Only through these actions can we have peace and love for the world…
MORALLY AMBIGUOUS.
THE END.
Welp, this is it, friends. After more than 3.5 years of writing; (granted, many times I went on a several month hiatus,) I've finally finished this story. It has been an absolute pleasure writing this and I am so grateful to each and every one of you that took the time to read it. This story was definitely a lot longer than I thought it'd be, but, here we are.
Now that this is over, I have a couple of announcements. First, I am going to restart the story, 'The Twelve Apostates.' It will be another She-Ra fanfiction, unrelated to this one.
Second, I am going to turn this story; Morally Ambiguous, into a standalone novel that will be hosted on Kindle Vella. Although it will have similar themes and plot, I will make it as different as possible from the actual fanfic. I figure that I've spent a colossal amount of time writing this… I'd like to get paid a bit. So, if you all would like to support me and my writing, please visit Kindle Vella! (I'm sure Fanfiction is going to be stupid and prevent the link from being posted here, so I'll see if I can work around that.)
Anyway, thank you all again for reading. Much love.
Kellen