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"-Oh child, everyone has a place in my empire... you can still be useful to me."
Prime's words echoed in Catra's mind over and over again, as that tall pale-faced man held her by the chin, forcing her to look at him.
The smile on her lips gradually faded, contrary to Prime, who clearly did not intend to let the magicat's insolence go unnoticed.
"-This act will have consequences..."- threatened Prime.
Fear slowly began to grip Catra, Prime's intense and sinister gaze riveted on her, the voices of the clones echoing in unison "Prime reject the shadows" the way all those glowing green eyes were riveted on her. The force with which her heart was pounding was such that, she felt it would burst her ears....
"-All will be brought to the light.... And you, you will be the purest among them all." Calmly, Prime said this to a horrified and static Catra, who, as soon as the tall man spoke, made her tremble.
And finally, Prime released her chin to finally snap his fingers and give her his sentence.
"-Prepare her-" and with that command, Catra knew what her fate would be.
She tried to stand up, to run away instinctively, she hit one, two, more of those clones, but it was clear that she had no chance, as soon as she was surrounded, as many hands as possible managed to subdue her against the ground.
Catra knew that her fate was death from the moment she decided to free Glimmer, she had accepted that her life could perhaps make amends for a small part of the damage she had done, that if saving Glimmer would get Adora safely away from Prime's ship, then her miserable, sad life would have a modicum of meaning....
To make Adora happy, to make Adora safe....
"-You're going to fail, the only reason Adora would come back is no longer here... You lost!" she exclaimed with difficulty as she was pressed to the ground. Prime for his part simply turned his back to her to head to his throne and watch the spectacle.
"-You can lie to yourself all you want, little sister... try to talk yourself out of it if you want to. But no matter how much you do it, there is one undeniable truth and that is that they mean more than they let on-" Prime said as, waving his hand, he gave directions to the clones.
As soon as it happened, two of them forced Catra to stand up, while still holding her and one more hit her stomach right, causing the magicat to let out a gasping sound.
"-No matter how much you resist, my light will reach you and all those who want to stand in my way-" he continued saying while the girl continued to be hit by the clones, this in an attempt to make Catra stop fighting.
After the last blow, Catra could no longer stand, and as Prime expected, she fell to her knees, also holding on to her aching and trembling arms. Her vision blurred by tears only allowed her to see the light drops of blood falling from her nose to the ground.
Prime for his part, simply, seeing that the magicat would not move so much this time, stood up again and approached her again, cupping his hand over Catra's injured cheek, causing the girl to look up at him again.
"-Poor little sister... it must hurt you a lot. But I'm sure it doesn't compare to the pain in your heart-" he mentions while for a moment, he makes a slight grimace that Catra mistakes for pity and compassion. But, little by little she watches uneasily as those pointed hoses on Prime's head begin to move towards her during that approach, however, she is so hurt and sore that she can do nothing but grunt at the closeness.
She feels a clone approaching her and holding her long brown hair, Catra stirs a little at the sight of the clone holding a pair of scissors in his hands.
And inevitably what she feared most happens, for just as those spikes pass towards the back of her neck, they dig into her skin, forcing her to let out a gasp, as Prime cradles her face with both hands this time and brings their foreheads together.
She can only hear her heartbeat racing and the scissors inevitably cutting through her long brown hair....
Prime is inside her head and quickly the memories invade her without further…
Adora holding that sword, as she became that strong and tall woman who shone. The look they exchanged that first battle where Adora had decided to abandon her for some simple rebels she had known for less than a day known.
You are replaceable. No matter how much you love her, she will always look at someone else.
You will never be chosen first.
You were traded for someone fleeting.
She then traveled to all the times Shadow Weaver credited her plans, the how she was yelled at and humiliated, but Adora was praised and rewarded.
No matter how hard you try, it will never be enough, you will never be enough for her.....
Then she traveled back to the memory where she believed that everything would be okay, that Shadow Weaver would stay with her, that she would finally get the love and validation she had always wanted from the person who raised her, but who just decided to abandon her at the first chance with deceit.
You always decide to love the wrong people. You are such an idiot that you saw the signs and still decided to believe them, decided to believe that for once they would choose you....
You were so in need of love, that a simple caress made you believe that everything would be alright…
Patetic.
Catra remembered everything she lost, and how she clung so tightly to the idea that she wasn't worthy of love....
"-I’ve kept you around this long because Adora was found of you, but if you ever do anything to jeopardize her future, I Will dispose of you myself-”
Everyone around her knew she was worthless, everyone had someone more important than her in their lives. Shadow Weaver let her know that her only value was to be loved by Adora but, Adora was gone, Adora didn't want her anymore. Therefore, her value was gone too....
Catra was alone and without the thing that gave her value…
“-You look out for me, I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other…-
“-You Promise?-”
“-I Promise-”
Liar... Damn liar!
She-ra did this to us... She-ra is the reason you broke your promise…
With that last memory, Prime finally released her, staring at Catra, stroking her head a little, this before the last cut of her hair. Catra could feel the tears trickling down her bruised face.
And he again stroked her cheek with mock compassion.
"-Poor little sister, so immersed in anger and pain. Adora has hurt you so much, hasn't she? She never thought of your feelings, she never opposed Shadow Weaver for you, she loved to be her favorite while she watched you being trampled underfoot." Prime continued, wiping away a tear from Catra with his thumb.
"-Stop..." She whispered.
"-No one believed in you, everything you fought for was never returned to you with the recognition you deserved. No one stayed to understand you and help you with your pain. You gave your love to the wrong people, and to those you should have loved, you only gave them the only thing left in your heart... pain-" at that said by Prime, Catra couldn't help but think of Scorpia and Entrapta and swallows with difficulty the lump in her throat.
"-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...-" Catra managed to whisper as she closed her eyes tightly and her tears continued to fall without stopping.
"-It doesn't have to be like this, little sister. Let me take you to the light. Let me purify you of all that pain and hatred... my light will protect your heart, no one else will ever hurt you again-" Prime said as he helped Catra to her feet and guided her slowly towards the center of the main chamber, where green waters waited for her.
Catra felt lost, the fragments she had for a heart were turning to dust. She could not break anymore, she had reached her limit. There was no one in the universe who would miss such a cruel and bitter being. Her life had no meaning.
It was not worth anyone's tears.
And finally, when she reached the shore of those waters, Prime held her briefly, giving her a feigned smile as well.
"-Let me release you from your torment-" and with that last word, Catra simply closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
There was nothing more to do.
Prime smiled complacently and without further ado, gave the final push Catra needed to send her tumbling into the water.
It was different from the one he had used on Hordak, this one was deeper, completely covering her body.
Catra opened her eyes, watching as she sank into the liquid without any remedy, then she saw small flashes illuminating everything around her and as soon as it happened, an immense pain began to invade her body.
She had been wounded in so many ways in battle, but nothing compared to the horrible pain of going into Prime's light, it was like fire slowly burning her, she writhed as much as her wounded body could and screamed as much as the water would allow.
"I will never find the words or the actions to obtain your forgiveness Adora... I will never learn to live without you. I tried for three long years where the only reason to see you was to attack each other uncontrollably. We hurt each other so much that there is no place free of scars in my soul. It tears me up inside, why wasn't I ever important enough to anyone to be chosen? Why didn't I mean enough to make you stay?”
As Catra had that thought, mingling with the almost unbearable pain, she just cringed and covered her face, praying that the pain would soon go away.
"-My last purpose was to make you safe... my life, my love... they serve to make no one happy-"
And shocked by the painful sensation, Catra looked up to the surface, surprised to see in the water Adora's reflection, the way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her, that sweet smile he had just for her... if that would be her last memory, before losing everything, then she was fine with it, for even if it was only an illusion, she could see the one she loved one last time, before giving herself to the light…
"-Good bye Adora... love of my life..." Catra thought as she closed her eyes.
And finally when she opened them again, a bright green color could be seen in her eyes.
The pain was gone.
.
.
.