What Deckard and the bouts with the mossbears taught me was that in cases like this, when I was the weaker one and managed to gain momentum, it was important to push it as long as possible. So when I managed to surprise Palemoon by shifting down a tier and sending her flying, I went after her.
Sure, the bitch was good. She managed to correct herself in mid-air and land on her feet. That was all the time I gave her, though. Well-placed round-house kick to her injured arm, followed by a front kick and another round-house kick at leg level, kept her on the defensive. She tried to dodge my attacks, make herself some room, and even storm back; I didn’t give her breathing room for any of that.
Then there was her sword, I had to be wary of the damn thing. When her attempts to dodge my kicks failed, the bitch tried to block them with her weapon. I admit it wasn’t that stupid. It was actually quite clever, especially her efforts to set the blade, so I cut myself on it.
Was I dumb enough to let her do that? No, I wasn’t. The well-timed barriers made it impossible for her.
The focus it required to form them in time and in the right place was killing me, though. Never taking my eyes - nor my ears - off her, my mind immersed in my domain; basically, my entire perception focused on her every single motion was putting a palpable strain on my brain circuits, giving me a killer headache while I was using [Indomitable Will] to the limits to ease my mind.
Hell, the last time I was this focused was during the egg on the spoon race, and I lost that one.
On a more serious note, dealing with rabbits or foxes while keeping an eye out for rocks hidden in the grass was a nightmare. Still doable, but just a fucking nightmare. This, though, was a whole other level. Palemoon was more swift than anyone of my level I’ve ever faced in a bout, reaching the point where I was barely able to form barriers and respond with my kicks in time.
No doubt the ever-changing aura the bitch was boosting herself with had something to do with it. I wasn’t much of a mage; I admit. If anything, I just took a peek at being one. So, to feel the changes in someone else’s mana, or aura if you will, while I was unaffected by it, was beyond my abilities. Yet I would have to be blind not to notice visible changes in Palemoon’s aura, let alone those in her movements. As time went on, she got faster, more confident, and more precise while I sweated my ass off more and more.
One mistake, one failing to form the barrier in time or just a bad positioning of it, and I could have lost my foot. Now more than ever, I saw the need for boots. Having them pop up on my feet now was not an option, though. It would just throw me off.
Needless to say, I regretted not looking for something like instep guards to protect the top of my foots. In fact, I hated Deckard for not suggesting something like that. The bastard just told me I had to get used to kicking the hard stuff. Fucker! As if that was of any use to me now. How the hell could he believe that my leg would stand up to the blade of a sword?
Nevertheless, giving him a piece of my mind was an issue for later.
With my heart beating so hard in my chest that it was pretty much all I could hear, I was pushing myself to the limits trying to press Palemoon for as long as possible, one kick at a time. Sadly, to my ire, the kicks, no matter how fast and hard I landed them, didn’t seem to do much damage to her.
***
Sandbag!
Stella felt like a fucking sandbag. A thoroughly bludgeoned one. Grey, that cunt, managed to catch her off guard again. Her own fault, though. That much, she admitted. The one she was dealing with was a shifter, at least in the general sense. Yet, in all the comparisons to the others, she forgot the biggest advantage they possessed: to shift from one form to another, each bringing its own edges and drawbacks.
The cunt was clearly more agile in this one, trained in the martial art of booting. No wonder there, Deckard, Castiana’s famous solo seeker, was her mentor. ‘Fuck you both!’ Stella couldn’t help but curse mentally at the thought. After all, her mother, after she begged her, tried to get him to teach her, yet he refused every time despite all her mother offered. Yet…Deckard now had an apprentice.
What this weirdo broad had that she didn’t was just beyond her.
Sure, Grey’s technique was acceptable, given things. No master herself, Stella was still able to tell that much. That and the fact that it hadn’t been long since she started learning - there were so many flaws in her moves. However, to her utter disbelief, she was unable to take advantage of what she saw. Grey was relentless, battering her constantly, never giving her a chance even to catch a breath.
Was that what caught Deckard’s eye? The determination? If so, she wasn’t lacking in that regard either.
It was her determination that got her to where Stella was at the age of twenty-one. Her determination pushed her far ahead of her peers. Yet now, she was unable to break free from the onslaught Grey unleashed on her. That in itself was so very frustrating for her. After all, she was using Tier V of [Defying Might], a boast among her skills that boosted her body’s overall performance, from strength to agility to speed. And Tier V of it, something she wanted to show off in front of the master guards, now because of her arrogance not to use the tier from the beginning of the fight, as she should have, seemed short sighted, even against someone like [Slave: lvl 121].
It hurt; it hurt so much that she wanted to cry.
All those years of toil, sweat, and tears for this...this humiliation! Sure, Stella knew there was no chance of winning if she faced master guards or senior guardsmen, and she was fine with that. In the light of things, she would be the underdog for whom the other guards were supposed to root. And even if she were to suffer defeat, others would applaud her for her efforts. It all fell apart with this fucking Guardian, this half-terran that didn’t make sense...this cunt. [Stellar Mind] or not, under the rage, she couldn’t think of Grey any other way.
After all...
No! Actually, it was Rayden who had put her in exactly the opposite position she had hoped for. Stella was the stronger one in their bout, and Grey, the underdog the guardsmen were rooting for. It was so unfair, making her feel wronged, so wronged. After all, whoever won the fight, it didn’t matter, not to her. There was no glory waiting for her at the end. Either she does what is expected of her and thrashes Grey or loses and becomes a laughingstock. As one of her teachers would say, a bitter lesson important for character growth, yet one hard for her to swallow.
Grey was making it very difficult for her to do something about it, though. The cunt was good; she had to give it to her. She was good and, despite her overall illogicalness, not so stupid. The first attack that destroyed her arm rendered at least half of her power useless. The spear was essentially a two-handed weapon, and while it could be held in one hand, what good was it when she could only unleash less than a quarter of its potential that way? She was a little better with swords. Dual wielding them was her forte. But even that lost its beauty and effectiveness when you only had one hand. Two swords simply couldn’t be held with only one, right-handed or not.
At least Stella found some comfort in the fact that, as a dual wielder, she trained her left hand to the standards of her right. If that wasn’t the case, this fight could have been over a long time ago. And truthfully, she wished it were so in the back of her mind.
Though the shame would fall on her name, Stella wouldn’t have to take the beating she was taking. One kick after another - one heavier than the other - landing on her body, and she found herself unable to do anything about it. Every time she tried to block one, a barrier stood in the way of her sword, and it was driving her insane. A skill that should be useless to a shifter like Grey, the cunt held like some kind of barrier master.
Mercifully, her kicks carried nothing but brute force. Were it otherwise, Stella would be in deep shit as Grey spared no part of her body, not even her head. Simply, no intrusive mana or extra damage that usually accompanied the strikes of close combat masters. Thus all she got to deal with was an enormous amount of bruises, that her body and skills were able to withstand...and the pain she’s long since turned off.
Of course, other than blocking, she tried to avoid the kicks. But Grey, matching her speed, always seemed to sense her intent, changing the direction of her feet accordingly in a heartbeat. If she didn’t know better, she’d say she was facing a true beast, acting on her instincts honed for centuries.
However, Trier V of [Defying Might], despite her boneheaded decision not to use it from the beginning, played into her hands; the longer she used her aura abilities, the more effective they became. With each breath, with each heartbeat, she grew stronger, and Grey - no wonder there - seemed to be aware of the fact, getting more desperate as her barrage of kicks raged on.
Slowly but surely, Stella was gaining the upper hand.
Not the ending that was brewing in her mind, though. The cunt humiliated her, it was because of her that she went far beyond what she ever intended against the members of Squad Four, basically robbing her of her grand first step into the Castiana City Guards. There was no reason to hold anything back any longer.
[Brightest Heart], a General Skill, an offshoot of her Class Skills, Stella acquired a few months ago. She barely managed to get it to Tier IV, level 63, yet a feat of which she was duly proud. The skill that was fueled by the fierceness in her heart, one that let her enemies taste her fury. Or so the description of the skill said. The reality was a bit different. Essentially, it was a matter of accumulating the residual aura from the prior use and unleashing it all at once in a massive torrent.
Accumulating residual aura was the hardest trick of the skill to master and no easy feat to accomplish during combat. Yet thanks to the overabundance of aura Grey was forcing her to use, her heart shone like the sun now that she looked at it through mana perception. The sun that was ready to blast the cunt for all the wrongs she had to endure.
Stella braced herself, taking a kick to her knee, covering another with her thigh guards by timely twisting her leg before she made room to breathe with the swing of her sword for the first time in a while. Her patience had paid off, aura skills got her where she needed to be, and now it was time for Grey to pay her due.
Wasting no time, she pointed her sword at the cunt and unleashed all the fury she had in her heart through the blade.
***
That I was screwed, I realized even before the bitch guarded my kick, and I had to dodge her sword. Actually, it was just a matter of time and the point I was dreading. Palemoon was getting stronger and more agile with every breath she took. And worst, I've run out of options. Apart from using Sage there was nothing I could use to my advantage, no room for me where I could push myself further.
Unlike my fight with Squad Four, I wasn’t explicitly forbidden to use my poison anymore - the word got around. But I reckoned it would be useless in Palemoon’s case anyway due to the low level of the skill. That bitch’s aura was too versatile for me to think she wouldn’t be able to deal with poison. Speaking of which, her aura had been giving me the creeps for some time now. In fact, as she grew stronger, so did this unnerving feeling I got from it, up to the point where my instincts were screaming at me to get the hell out of there.
I didn’t. To do that was to lose; something that rubbed my beast pride the wrong way. The bitch hurt my pack.
Well, what could I say? That was where my instincts were at odds; some telling me to bolt, others making her pay. My rational human self, for its part, reasoned that as long as I had the initiative, there was still a little hope of coming out victorious. So, as I said, I didn’t put my tail between my legs and bolt when I should have.
A mistake I now regretted.
With Palemoon distancing herself from me, the chills she was giving me got even worse. In fact, whatever she was doing sent shivers down my spine so intense I would think she grabbed me by the tail if I didn’t have her in my sight. This time I didn’t go against her sword, didn’t pursue her further and tried to push her on the defensive again, but I heeded my instincts.
She got the upper hand!
Worse, according to my instincts, what was to come was something I didn’t want to stand against, no matter what.
But knowing that and being able to do something about it were two different things. What the hell could I do in that split second, being so close and yet so far from her? There was no chance for me to escape her attack nor time to go against her blade and interrupt it with a kick. All I could do was try to avoid it and simply prepare for the worst.
Except for Palemoon’s scream, there was no buzz, yet the light green-ich aura that gushed forth from her blade seemed like a raging torrent upon my senses, overshadowing them with a dreadful noise. A heartbeat later, I joined Palewood’s shout with my own as I failed to avoid her magic attack, and it tore through my defenses, the barrier totally useless, melting in contact with the stream of mana like it was made of sugar. My wings - next in my line of defense - I put in the way of the torrent in a frantic effort to stop it from reaching my body, ended up just like the barrier, burned through.
That’s when it hit me, both physically and thought-wise. Her magic, her aura burned. And if it burned, my mane was the answer - one that came too late. The stream of the green-ish aura cut into my chest armor, enchantments and the runes placed on it flaring up while my exposed body parts burned. My stomach, sides, armpits, neck, just anything that wasn’t covered by armor, and even in that, I felt like I was cooking alive.
To avoid becoming a baked hybrid, I crossed my arms in front of me, the forearm bracers faring no better than the chest armor. My hands burned and baked at the same time.
My mane!
Roasting alive, I pumped what I could into my mane, finding it growing too slow for my liking.
‘Come on!’ I screamed in my mind, despair striking my heart. Why was it growing so slow?! Then it came to me. My heart slowed its beat, almost stopped in my fright, and with it, time. A phenomenon I had no control over, and I found it not so useful right now. If anything, it came at the wrong time and ate an awful lot of mana - mana I needed to pump into my mane - while it had no benefits to me except more time to think about what to do and to let me feel the drawn-out effects of the aura on my bare skin.
Rather abruptly, it turned into a fight on two fronts: with the bitch and my own heart.
Decision made, knowing that even if I pumped all the manna I could into it, my hair wouldn’t grow fast enough to cover my body, I dropped to my knees to make myself a smaller target. The bitch followed my movements with her sword, a torrent of aura, not giving me a second to breathe. Despite my constitution, regeneration, toughness, and who knows what else, my exposed flesh burned, the energy getting deep to the bones. All that in the excruciating time slowdown, where I was trying to cut off the flow of mana to my heart, turned into a ravenous beast.
A beast that had proven to be more adept at mana manipulation than I was, denying me my efforts to deprive it of its nourishment I so desperately needed for my mane. It grew so slow I was forced to act, or my body would have been burned to ashes. I leaned forward and exposed my head, the mane, to the torrent.
Crazy, I know. Yet, it worked, it really worked, and what little of my body I managed to cover was protected from the onslaught, cooling under the effects of my mane.
A bit late, though.
Given what I saw of myself in my domain, I would have thought I should be in excruciating pain. After all, there was no pain-suppressing skill among my abilities, nor did I control my mind through [Indomitable Will] as Blaine suggested. Yet, for some reason, my body ignored the rapidly deteriorating burns. Almost as if it was in shock as much as I was.
Pride or not, I had done my best, got revenge for my squadmates, and now it was time to admit defeat.
“I s-surrender,” I spoke in a whisper, which was all my cooked lungs would allow me, with an effort against slowed down time as I shifted back into my human-ish self to save my energy and not inadvertently get myself trapped in an insidious cycle of death and regeneration.
Either Palemoon didn’t hear me over the torrent of her own aura trying to force its way through my mane, now finally covering most of my body, or she really was such a bitch and wanted to finish what she started blindly, regardless of the consequences.
I was leaning towards the former. My surrender was weak, barely a whisper. But that was all I could give her. Short of mana, short of strength, and short of breath, I was unable to utter another word and declare my surrender.
Despair gripped me as I tried to figure out how to let Palemoon know she had won, beat me, and showed me who the boss was.
Hidden behind the veil of my mane that was gobbling up my mana no slower than my heart, I was at my wit’s end. Whatever skill that bitch was using, countering it drained my mana reserves at the speed of a blink of an eye. The fumes of it were basically all I had left. My strength was burned away. The chances of surviving this senseless nightmare dwindling with every second stretched by my heart into long minutes of suffering as the pain finally caught up with me.
My powers just weren’t enough to withstand this kind of attack.
Brought on by despair, tears welled in my eyes just as my body, hungry for mana, reached for the one set aside in my core, the one place I’ve managed to forget successfully, a reminder of what I lost and what could have been. And it answered, hummed to life, opening its floodgates. Even though the core itself was smaller than a pea in size, the mana hidden in it washed over me like a wave quenching my heart’s and mane’s hunger for it.
There was so much of it actually, uncontrollable, I could feel it overwhelming my brain, igniting my heart.
They say that in your last moments, life flashes before your eyes. My thoughts turned to my family on Earth, to those I knew here on Eleaden. To Idleaf, Esuden, Ria, Ennola, Deckard....fuck! Deckard!
‘Union rings!’ the thought flashed through my mind, followed by a desperate cry as the world before me folded into darkness.
“Deckard, I surrender....”
***
“Come on...!” Stella bellowed, almost screaming, as [Brightest Heart] strained her already battered body more than she found bearable. This was the longest her heart had ever been lit up in the state she was currently in. But this was her chance to make Grey give up. Simply stopping would mean risking having Grey pounce on her again or pulling another trick out of her sleeve. Her opponent lacked any logic, a shifter who turned out to be as much of a magic fighter as she was an aura warrior. That was the only possible explanation making any sense. Otherwise, she couldn’t explain Grey’s long hair that could defy the heat of her heart.
And so, fearing her own defeat while longing for victory, Stella fed her heart with all the aura she could give off and push on with blind determination.
Grey held on, though.
“Come on!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, reaching her limits. But to her anguish, Grey’s hairy defense was still up.
Utter despair seized her. Stella was at her end. With her chest burning, her mana almost gone, and her auras fading, there simply wasn’t much else she could do but cut off the aura stream and do the only thing she was still capable of at that moment. She lunged at Gray, swinging her sword, hoping she’d be quick enough to find her off guard.
Her blade never reached her opponent, though.
Stella hadn’t been slow or misjudged her swing, nor had Grey pulled another trick as she feared. No, one blink was all it took, and - out of nowhere - Deckard stood before her, the blade of her sword clutched in his hand, unmoved by the force of her attack. She staggered, not understanding what had happened, only to realize that he had stopped her just as she was about to take back her victory, the humiliation she had suffered.
Anger flared up in her.
“That’s enough, Palemoon!” Captain Rayden spoke from behind her, the soothing aura of hers Stella was familiar with washing over her mind.
Her heart raged, though. “But C-Captain, ma’am...”
“She surrendered,” Deckard bellowed so loud she flinched. Only then did she glance from him to the kneeling woman behind him, her rival, and saw what she did to her. She was sitting there on her feet, her mane gone, head hung down so her wings, motionless, covered in blood, burns, and cinders all over.
“Is...is she...” The system didn’t let her finish her sentence, a dreadful thought that crossed her mind at the sight of her opponent.
- You have defeated [Korra’leigh Grey - Deviant of Humanity: lvl 122]
‘I fucked up. I fucked up big time.’ Stella was in shock, the implications of what she had done slowly dawning on her. ‘I killed a Guardian of the World Tree.’
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This was a long dual yes but it also is the most entertaining dual I can remember having read. I don't think that there was a lot if any wasted words. Somehow you managed to keep a good pacing during all of this and I genuinely don't know how but it was great.
On a different note Palemoon is very lucky that Kora is the only person in the entire city that thinks poisoning herself to death is a good way to deal with a sleepless night.
I could be wrong but a certain world tree might be a bit angry that someone tried to killed and technically killed her guardian.
agree but this will likely also cause the tree to grow up a bit, as well as reassure her that gray will stay with her.
Yeah, that was a great ending, death! But seriously, it was a great fight and it was nice to see more from both perspectives, it got everyone really excited. And I'm looking forward to the next chapter! Maybe they can get along after a fight like that!
It was a great fight (except the end). But it is definetly not a great setup for cooperation.
I wonder why this kick in the gut was necessary for story. I mean Korra got plenty of them already, but this one after few chapters of training went even against logic. In no way 200+ guards or Deckard would be unable to stop DoT attack in time or would be willing to try her resurrection capabilities. Or it just could be a nice draw.
For my taste, obligatory breaking of the knee right after main character managed to stand up became repetative.
Though I really liked how this fight was written. Enjoyed this two chapters till the last few paragraphs.
I fully agree with you on this, and @Nirrvash be ready for another rant from me.
She didn’t lose. KorraL finally displays Dev o’ Hume as her class in stead of “Slave”
If you don’t know how much that means to her I’m not sure reading the same story.
@Viedu Don’t bother the author like that. This chapter fits in perfectly with the rest of the story. Also MC will gain more from his “lost” fight then I think you realize. It’s a classic one-step-back-two-steps-forward that you won’t see from stories where the MC wins every fight.
@PerryFalcon She did lose, and she displayed her exact class on death (as a message to the killer (those always give the full info of the specciffic class/race).
@PerryFalcon The problem is that the author has a tendency of making the MC to always lose. It is not great from a story telling perspective. And in addition there were small plot holes in this chapter,because of this decission. And including a Diablos ex machina is almost never a good move in writing.
@PerryFalcon I noticed that. And that is great for her.
But she did not just lose, she died. Burned alive without pain supression while trying to surrender. Betrayed by her own body. During meaningless non-fatal bout. If you haven't notice THAT I'm sure we read different stories.
If she'll somehow obidiently swallow even that and become 'friends' with her new 'boss', who freaking killed her, that will be huge turn off. There are unrepairable things. Willingness to be even in the same building with Stella should be one of those things after this bout.
@Viedu has MC ever displayed a class besides Slave? I don’t think so. Hold off being too judgmental until we see the consequences unfold in the next chapter.
@dekla But it’s so much more interesting than “MC wins every d*ck measuring contest because the author sez so” That you don’t want to see the MC lose in this specific story is is a sign of how good it is.
@PerryFalcon It is not why it is good. I get, that MC not always winning is actualy realistic and inadvertedly a good plothook and can allow for better storry telling, but there are moments when MC must lose, when they must win and where a draw is necessary.
Eddit: this required a draw. Because Palemoon is supposed to be a member of their groop, their leader.
@PerryFalcon oh, and I still stand by my point about the class, she has not displayed her class as enything but a slave. Palemoon being able to see her class is only because she killed Korra. Similar thing happens in chapter 26 when Raiden kills one of the mind mages.
Here the example: https://www.scribblehub.com/read/256138-lament-of-the-slave/chapter/262023/
@PerryFalcon well, you are absolutely right about boring MC without challenge. I don't like such stories. But stories, where MC loses every d*ck measuring contest without reason I like even less.
@dekla You are right on this. There must be victories. On this occasions a draw would be much better. And I also am of the mind that both the hearth's time stop activating and the main not activating automatically under high heat is a bit bulshit.
@Viedu I think Kora losing in itself would be the expected outcome, and nothing wrong with that. But getting one-shotted and literally burned to crisp like this just feels... wrong.
I also agree with @dekla that I simply cannot see them on good terms after this. Especially not after the insight into Palemoon's mind that only shows her as narcissistic and hot-headed, constantly looking down and insulting her oponents and needing to show them their place just because someone else did not give her what she wanted. Deffinitely not a leader material the way I see it.
@dekla but there is a reason. Her foe has every advantage: wealth, status, training, equipment, and most of all Experience. Rich bit*h knows everything about herself while MC is juggling 7 different blood lines. That MC forgot her mane is fireproof is a wonderful example… and remember Rich bit*h is living this victory as a humiliation. Trouncing some slave was supposed to be easy. Instead she put everything on the table to defeat the MC.
@Arkus86 I fully agree with you on both of these points. But I personally would have liked a draw better, because although a loss was expected in this case it is not a satisfactory outcomme, mostly because of her opponents character (from writing perspective and audience retention perspective). And yeah aura one shot was not a good move (from author), because this also messes with power scaling. And yeah I also don't see her a leader material, she is even worse than Korra with that.
@PerryFalcon This might be true, but it is not satisfying to read, I will break down the points of contention in a moment and post them as a separate coment. They will be argumented and lightly explained.
@Viedu I have to admit that I was expecting this ending not to sit well with everyone and I totally understand your points and criticisms - in fact I welcome it, and feedback. Hopefully this will allow me to make the next fight (if it comes) more interesting and to your liking.
However, I made my decision as I did, and PerryFalcon has written up my reasons for it quite well.
but there is a reason. Her foe has every advantage: wealth, status, training, equipment, and most of all Experience. Rich bit*h knows everything about herself while MC is juggling 7 different blood lines. That MC forgot her mane is fireproof is a wonderful example… and remember Rich bit*h is living this victory as a humiliation. Trouncing some slave was supposed to be easy. Instead she put everything on the table to defeat the MC.
Although close in levels 121 vs 135, in terms of skill levels they don't compare. Korra is simply the weaker one. Korra's initial attack did close the gap a bit, but when Palemoon got her 'act together', her experience simply tipped the balance in her favor. She has had years of training under teachers and was ready to face the master guards - and lose in that case. She sees defeat as humiliation and goes blindly for victory. I had a hard time finding a win in this for Korra or even a draw unless I pull out some more plot armor.
@PerryFalcon please, tell me how draw could be worse, especially after author set up every condition for that draw to show how close this fight was. Same humiliation for Stella (may be a bit less lesson for her), much less pain and MUCH less bad blood between them. Even lose by Deckard stopping the fight would be almost ok. But what I see instead is just kick where it hurts just for the sake of it, without reason.
@Nirrvash I would have been more or less fine with this you know, but your stunt with the heart was total bs.
If you are saying that you would have to pull out plot armor to guaranteed a draw then I will counter this argument. You gimping Korra with her heart siphoning mana is even worse (from purely objectives writing perspective). And I disagree that you would have had to use plot armor, because previously established tools of Korra would have been enough for her to draw, because fully functioning mane would have been enough, considering that the aura cannon should have drained Palemoon much more severly than it had.
@Nirrvash I respect your decision and reasoning. But there is a difference between "loss" and "death by being burned alive by chanelled attack while Deckard and guards are watching". If after initial unfriendliness and that amount of unjust pain, inflicted by Stella, MC will ever talk to her, she is just a tool for a plot, not a person who I can feel compassion to.
@dekla I can say that talking with her would still be plausable, and even the conflict between the two could still be resolved, but it definetly is not something that can be resolved in 1 or 2 chapters, or in 10. This, although theoretically resolvable, should be a long standing conflict between Korra and Stella, and only an action short of savin Korras life or Stellas neer sacrifice can reasonable fix it.
@Viedu there is a limit of pain and misery when even the biggest pushover will show nothing but defiance or hatred or both. This ending crossed the line by huge margin. Stella was not welcome at start, then she humiliated Korra's teammates (without reason - Korra's thoughts), broke agreed rules and killed her in the most painful way. I just cant believe that any sane person will in any way accept Stella as team leader ot teammate after that. Even kneeling and apologising Rayden or prospect of loosing Deckard guidance at this point should not be able to persuade Korra to give Stella a chance - not that they will do that. Nobody should be able to persuade her or make her to do this - Korra has enough weight to refuse.
The only thing that sane person can tell to Stella at this point is "F*ck off".
@dekla I do agree with you on these points. Especially on the missery and suffering overdose part in the story. But if I had to resolve, this situation it could be doable.
In this case you would need to still force Stella into the team, which naturally all members should vehemantly reject, Korra especially. And from that point the team should reject any participation of her in it, even if it is to their detriment. From that point you can resolve through complicated recouncilation, similarly to how it is usually done in different works between absolutely hostyle characters (Antagonist and protagonist). And even then to resolve hostilities radically sollutions like sacrifice or saving of a life (party members) is probably only viable solution that I see. Basically it would have been better not to arrive to this situation at all.
@Viedu There is also a precedent in Aspen, who tricked Kora into getting captured, but later almost sacrificed herself willingly to help Kora and only survived because the mossbears healed her. This is on a worse level still, though.
@Arkus86 That is a way how to atempt to solve it, but as you mentioned this is on a much worse level. In addition because of this chapter, if you want to solve this situation you need to simultaneously balances the expectations and wishes of the readers, and realism in this situation. And in Aspens situation she was slightly simphathetic as a character which helped to redelēm her character in readers eyes. In Stellas case... she is utterly unpleasant, unlikable, stuck up, arogant and immature, and now, after this blunder, author somehow must make her work as a possitive supporting character.
As I said previosly it is doable, but even a sacrifice or any other altruistic action will not guaranty that us, the readers will like her, not to mention that in a realistic setting characters would forgive her (even if they are saved).
@Arkus86 excellent example. Korra was forced to be there by collar and cage. This time she is free. Relationships cannot be improved if one of the parties is adamant about not letting aforementioned relationships to even happen. Only coincidental and fluent future engagements can change one's mind in such case.
@Viedu - Class is not something you chose regarding display, but it's relative to the way you portray yourself and what others see you as. This death and likely return will most likely cause everyone watching to change their way of what her class is.