The Only Way || She-Ra

Chapter 18: A Fixed Timeline

Power.

Power coursed through every bone in She-Ra's body, filled the empty spaces in between her atoms, ingrained itself in every molecule.

Pure pain. Nerves on fire. Heart pounding, ready to burst like the heart of the planet and the hopes of her friends. Everything Adora had left to give was channeled into keeping the sword to the ground. She couldn't fire the weapon. She couldn't.

"You will comply." Light Hope urged her to keep going. The poor girl gripped onto the sword as every instinct in her body fought against each other. Fire it. Stop it. Fire it. Stop it.

Adora could feel the princesses weakening. They were connected. They were in pain, and to make matters worse, she could feel everything they could.

The worst wasn't the physical pain though. It was knowing what was about to happen and realizing that her friends couldn't change the inevitable after all.

Risking a glance, she saw them watching through the barrier, fighting off Light Hope's monsters. It's seem to be a miracle if they would survive this themselves.

Agonizingly, Adora brought herself back to her mission, fighting to stay focused and knowing if she succumbed to the misery for even a moment...it would all be over.

With every inch she pushed the sword down, it just felt like it went higher. The magic flowing through Adora couldn't be contained much longer. She knew deep down she couldn't keep this up forever. She hadn't before. On top of that, no one was coming. Her friends traveled through an entire timeline and they still wouldn't be able to stop what was coming. This was a fight Adora would have to face alone. At the very least, even if it was fated to happen anyways, Adora was going to make the decision on what was to come. She only hoped the others would forgive her.

"This isn't my destiny," Adora spat the words out. "I am not your weapon." She managed a look at Light Hope to see the aged hologram faltering. Regardless, both knew there was no fighting her programming, just like there was no fighting Adora's.

It hit her in that moment harder than before. Adora didn't want to die. Even though she knew it was coming, she was still scared. She wondered if Mara had felt the same way.

"Mara knew you were more than this," Adora pleaded in a last ditch effort, not ready to let go just yet. If she could just gain herself a little more time, get Light Hope to loosen for just one moment, maybe the others could break through the barrier. There was no time though. Adora knew if she didn't do something now, she'd destroy the planet.

Her words at least did something. Light Hope was glitching, caught between two different selves. Adora could feel the conflict waging inside her as the sword lifted even higher than before.

Light Hope seemed to make up her mind.

"Do it."

Oddly enough, this part didn't take as much effort as she thought, or maybe it just seemed that way. In the brief moment before the sword hit the ground, Adora felt something she hadn't known for a long time: clarity. This moment was the moment she knew had been coming from the start, the moment she'd dreaded, and yet, in that moment...everything fell into place.

Braced for the inevitable, Adora used what was left of her strength to plunge the sword downwards. Shattering, Adora sucked in a breath as the shrapnel lodged itself into her torso.

The Crystal Castle was reduced to rubble before her very eyes. Adora barely made out the image of Light Hope standing above her, thanking her, before the woman disappeared. The whole cavern seemed to erase itself from existence. She couldn't see the others. As she was left standing there, she looked around. She was alone and bleeding in a void of nothing.