"I just don't get it," said Adora, laying on her back on the floor of the basement. It was Wednesday and the Best Friend Squad was back together for another spring break hang-out.

"Honestly, it doesn't seem like it's worth the effort," said Glimmer. "Even if you became friends it would be very one-sided."

"I think it's admirable, though, Adora," said Bow. "She really sounds like she needs a support system. Namely therapy, but that one's a little ways down the road…"

"I just don't even know if I can face her when we get back to school," said Adora, covering her eyes with her forearm. "This might have screwed up everything. What if she refuses to practice our unarmed duel with me?"

"Some people just need a little strong-arming," said Glimmer. "Don't give her any outs."

"And maybe don't invite her over for dinner again," added Bow with a wince.

"She's so stubborn though," said Adora, groaning. "I'm not sure if I could make her do anything.

"Honestly, I don't know what to tell you, Adora," snapped Glimmer. It was clear that she was beginning to tire of talking incessantly about Adora, GWMA, and all of these people that Bow and Glimmer might never meet. Adora quieted down, thoughts still swirling

To break the tension, Bow scooted over to Adora and took her hands in his. Looking up into her face with a little commiserating frown, he gently said, "I'm sorry but… this may be the one person you can't help."

Adora decided that she would go back to campus on Friday and stay the last weekend of break. She told Octavia it was because she had some school work she wanted to catch up on but it was only because she was hoping to run into Catra again.

Despite what Bow and Glimmer said, she did think she could crack Catra. She saw it happening last Saturday, it just got spoiled too quickly. Catra was like a little anxious bunny that saw danger around every corner. Adora was sure she could be the salve to Catra's stubborn wickedness. Kindness could prevail, surely, even if her friends saw it as a waste of time.

Unfortunately, Adora didn't run into Catra the whole weekend. She spent most of the daylight hours wandering the campus, eyes peeled for the cadet captain. She didn't see so much as a voluminous mass of hair rounding a corner. She checked the gym multiple times a day, thinking Catra could be practicing armed drill (or even her solo, just in case). She checked the obstacle course but it was completely devoid of participants, ropes waving in the March breeze. She never even saw Catra enter or leave the captain's quarters in building three. Maybe she had left for break after all. Fleetingly, she wondered if Catra was exaggerating when she was explaining her home situation. Maybe home was so far and going home for the weekends was so far out of the way that she lied about being wanted by her mom to cope with the disappointment? It was hard to tell with Catra, but Adora felt she was capable of anything. Adora really didn't know the cadet captain at all.

Late Sunday afternoon, Adora was about to give up on her hunt for Catra, assuming that she had in fact left campus for break. She decided to take a shortcut through the administration building to get back to the mess hall for dinner when Adora finally spotted her.

Catra was back in her uniform, her mess of hair braided tightly at the back of her neck. Adora, heart racing, was about to call out to her when she realized there was a tall, foreboding woman in an intimidating black and red outfit standing next to Catra. Her wavy hair was dark and came halfway down her back. She had an aging, gray hand latched tight on the cadet captain's shoulder. Adora slunk behind a trophy case just as she heard Hordak say, "Welcome, Shadow Weaver. Please, come in and have a seat."

Through the shiny plaques and trophies, Adora saw Shadow Weaver guide Catra into Hordak's office, then the door snapped shut behind them.

Adora knew this was an invasion of privacy, but she couldn't help it. Her curiosity mounting, she approached the closed door and pressed an ear boldly to the crack.

She couldn't hear much, but she could make out random phrases. She could have sworn she heard Hordak say, "...causing a problem all year."

At one point she very clearly heard a deep woman's voice (must have been Shadow Weaver) say, "Catra has always been a disappointment to me."

That took Adora aback. Who says that? Especially in front of their own kid, adopted or not? She hoped she'd heard wrong.

More phrases jumped out at Adora through the crack in the door including: "aggressive behavior," "then she should have worked harder," "steps taken," and "grand failure." If Catra spoke up to defend herself, Adora couldn't pick out her low, raspy voice at all.

When Adora heard the scuffing of chairs moving across the linoleum and footsteps approaching, her heart jumped into her throat and she scrambled away from the door as fast as she could, skirting around the corner at the end of the hallway and pressing her back to the wall.

She heard Hordak's office door open and Shadow Weaver say, "thank you for this illuminating meeting, Commandant. I believe the steps outlined for Catra's performance improvement plan are sufficient. I will not withdraw her this semester, but if she continues on this tack I will take full responsibility for her transfer next year to an academy that offers more… structure."

"I don't think that will be necessary," said Hordak. "I believe that Captain Stone will indeed improve by the end of the year."

"We shall see." The words were drawn out maliciously, sending a shiver down Adora's spine. "I appreciate your time, Commandant. Catra, come. I will have another word with you before I depart."

Shadow Weaver and Catra walked past Adora's hiding spot to exit the building. Shadow Weaver once again had her knobbly hand clamped down on Catra's shoulder. Adora now saw it was a gesture of possession and control.

"Did you think you could keep the truth from me?" hissed Shadow Weaver as they swept past Adora's hiding spot. "Very good thing I called to catch up with the new the Commandant while I was in town-"

The rest of the sentence was cut off when the heavy door slammed shut behind them. Adora waited a moment to be sure they wouldn't return, and went down the hallway to Hordak's office. He'd left the door open and was sitting at his desk, reading from a file.

Adora knocked softly to announce her presence. He looked up at the sound, then seeing who it was, gestured for her to enter.

"Adora," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Since when do you come into the office on Sundays?" Adora asked, sitting in a chair before his desk.

"I had a special meeting request."

"Oh yeah, I just saw Catra leaving. What was that about?"

Hordak eyed her, knowing where this was going. "Captain Stone's mother requested a meeting."

"What about?"

"I can't tell you, Adora, it would be an infringement of a student's privacy."

"Let me guess, it has to do with me," said Adora recklessly, wondering how far she dared push.

There was another pause as Hordak raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled sweetly, cocking her head to one side.

"Something like that," sighed Hordak. "Just promise me one thing, cadet."

"Sir?"

"Be kind to your cadet captain."

At this point, that was a no-brainer. "Sir, Yessir!"

Now that she felt she had Hordak's blessing in her quest to help Catra, she headed back to building three, positively buoyant. All thoughts of an early dinner forgotten, she hoped instead that she would run into Catra at the barracks.

When she neared building three, however, she came upon the imposing Shadow Weaver conversing with Catra several paces from the entrance. Conversing was not the best description; it was more that Catra was getting lectured. The cadet captain had her eyes trained on the ground at her feet and she looked as though she was collapsing into herself. Adora had never seen her look so small.

As Adora neared, she could hear some of what Shadow Weaver was saying.

"It would benefit you to show respect to your mother," she was saying in that deep, drawn-out tone. "I have come to expect such disgraceful behavior from you, but now even the Commandant can see your pathetic mediocrity. You've never been anything more than a nuisance. You think this is a strict military school? This is a Barbie dreamhouse in comparison."

Adora was stunned. How could anyone be this… mean?

Catra had been right. She had not been exaggerating. Shadow Weaver was evil. Adora had to step in, she had to defend her. No one deserved to be treated this way.

"With all due respect," said Adora, fearlessly approaching the pair. "Can I say something?"

Shadow Weaver's head snapped to look over her shoulder at Adora. This was the first time Adora had seen the woman's face. She was much older, probably in her 50's or 60's. Her face was pale and sickly-looking, almost gray. She had a long scar down her cheek that stretched from her eye down to the corner of her mouth. Adora had to resist the instinct of taking a step away from her; the sight was shocking and admittedly frightening.

Catra was the first to react. "What do you want, maggot?"

"Let her speak," said Shadow Weaver, waving a dismissive hand at Catra, eyes fixed on Adora's face. The cadet captain obediently went quiet. Shadow Weaver's tone shifted from the stream of insults to something sickenly sweet as she addressed Adora. "Who are you?"

"My name is Adora Collins, I'm a cadet under Captain Stone's command in building three."

"Then you are a first-hand witness to my daughter's parade of failures," said Shadow Weaver. At this, Catra's shoulders slumped even further and she let out a sharp breath out of the corner of her mouth.

"On the contrary, ma'am," said Adora. "I get to see Catra lead her barracks with confidence, integrity, and discipline."

"Surely you're joking," said Shadow Weaver, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Where's your punchline, young one?"

"I am being completely serious," said Adora earnestly. "Captain Stone is incredibly talented. I have seen her set record times at obstacle courses and excel as an instrumental member of the drill team."

"Cadet Collins, cease and desist," hissed Catra, a tinge of red on her cheeks.

"Shut up," snapped Shadow Weaver, quieting Catra once more.

Shadow Weaver turned to face Adora completely, sizing her up. Catra watched out of the corner of her eye as her mother took Adora in.

"You're a courageous one, aren't you?" Shadow Weaver finally said. "You are too kind to my daughter, she deserves no such thing. Catra-"

Catra snapped to attention, looking up into Shadow Weaver's face, flinching as though expecting a blow. "You should be more like this girl."

And without another word, Shadow Weaver gathered herself and swept away dramatically.

Once Shadow Weaver disappeared around the corner of building three, Catra and Adora exchanged a glance. Adora smiled slightly but Catra jerked her head to look away, clenching her fists.

"I didn't need you to do that," said Catra, nostrils flaring.

"I know. I just couldn't help it. You're right, that woman is mean."

"I don't want to talk about it," said Catra, about to do her signature running-away move.

"Catra, please," said Adora, reaching forward to catch her sleeve again. Before her fingers could make contact, Catra flinched away.

"I already told you to leave me alone. I want everyone to leave me to FUCK alone!" she shouted, but Adora wouldn't back down.

"Please, just let me-," Adora pleaded, reaching out for Catra's sleeve once more.

"Don't touch me!"

And Catra broke, but not in the way Adora had been hoping...

With a crack, the back of Catra's hand struck the side of Adora's face. Her head whipped to the side and the momentum of the strike threw Adora down to her hands and knees. She clutched at her cheek with her fingertips, unbelieving. Tears sprouted in her eyes from the sting of the slap.

After a moment of awful silence, Adora looked up through the blur of tears and saw that Catra was frozen, panting heavily. Her eyes were wide and terrified but at this point, Adora didn't care. She looked down at her palms and saw that they were bleeding; she had cut them on particularly sharp rocks beneath her. Her cheek throbbed with her heartbeat. Her pulse was a reaction not just to the slap but to the anger and betrayal she felt.

Bow and Glimmer were right. Catra was beyond help. Adora's or anyone else's.

"Fuck you," spat Adora, finally getting to her feet. She fixed Catra with the most brutal stare she could muster. "You can't say I didn't try. Have fun wallowing in self-hatred. I don't have the time or effort for you anymore."

And in an incredible topsy-turvy turn of events, Adora pulled a 'Catra' and left the cadet captain standing there without another word and without looking back.