Hero (english version)

Chapter 5

Everything spins around me. That sound... I place my hands on my ears, I just can't handle it anymore. I'm... on the floor? I'm trying to stand up, but that sound...

"Adora."

It's that voice. No, no, no. Not that voice again... I look around me. I'm just in an empty place, it's... a ship. But, what about that sound? Why is it repeated over and over again? Why does it make me feel like I really want to... give up? I may not be able to run away after all. The Horde is my family, they took me in when nobody else wanted me. I-

"Adora."

"What do you want from me?" I exclaim, in a desperate cry.

I don't get an answer. Of course it doesn't reply. My life isn't that simple. It has never been.

I walk in silence, trying to ignore that unpleasant sound that haunts me. Hearing it is like trying to swim to the surface with someone lurking below, dragging me back down. As if it wanted me to sink.

"Adora." The voice says one more time. I do not answer. I just walk aimlessly. Forward.

Usually, I'd have woken up by now. It's the first time I dream knowing that I am inside of a dream. Everything around me is dark, but I can see... something. An object at the end of the strange ship I'm on. Can I really confirm that's the end? I don't think so. As I get closer, the sound gets louder. I fall to the ground, covering my ears again. No, please, I don't want to hear it anymore. I crawl towards what seems to be my only hope. What's that? It looks like... a sword. A sword stucked in the ground. Just like that.

As I reach out to touch it, I have to stop and cover my ears again. I draw myself in, dropping my head on the floor, shrinking my legs and pressing my hands even more against my ears.

"Make it stop, please, I can't bear it anymore," I whisper, in tears.

Then I close my eyes and remember Catra's words: "What's so bad about me?"

And the sound intensifies. I let a scream out. I can't take it anymore. My only option... I stand up, and run. I run without even looking back. I've never felt such agony inside my own head. But I uncover my ears, and, accompanying my action with a desperate cry, I reach for the sword. But I go through it.

That's when everything turns black. Everything except... a figure. Judging by the digital flaws it seems to have, appearing and disappearing for just an instant, I'd venture to say that it's a hologram. That's it! The sword was a hologram, that's why I couldn't reach it. But, what's the meaning of all of this? The cold gaze of the woman in blue is fixed on me. I return that look, but not with the same expressionlessness.

"It's your destiny." She says, without taking her eyes off mine.

I open my mouth to reply. However, the words don't seem to come out of my lips.

"You must silence the sound." She insists.

The sound... but I can't hear it anymore. There's only silence now. Have I done it? Was it me who silenced it?

The hologram's face changes completely. Her expression, cool and distant, turns into an authoritarian one, radiating a certain air of superiority. Then she gets closer to me, and the aura she gives off grows even more. I stay in my position, motionless, on the ground. Just accepting my inferiority regarding her.

"It's true then... you don't understand anything, don't you Adora?"

Her voice changes, as does her appearance. The woman in blue appears and disappears a couple of times to make way for a girl's figure. A girl with a brunette complexion and dark eyes. She's got her long hair tied back, and she wears what looks like a light blue bodysuit with white shoulder pads. She's as beautiful as intimidating. The girl approaches me, standing almost at my height. She lays her right hand on my chin, aiming to lift my face and force myself to look at her. I contemplate her features, in silence.

"The sound, it's you ".

My eyes snap open as I sit up. My breath hitches, feeling my face soaked with tears. Catra's tail stretches, startled. That's when she contemplates the scene, letting out a slight "But what...?" waking up in such an unexpected way. Her gaze softens.

"That nightmare again?"

I nod without saying a word. "But this time it was different," is what I'm trying to say. However, my strength doesn't allow me.

"Calm down," she whispers, standing next to me and holding me in her arms. "You're home now."

I hide my face in her chest, clinging to her as if something or someone were going to tear us apart. I let out a soft sigh.

"I suppose," I tell myself. I lift my gaze to stare at her. "I'm home."