A/N: Final Word Count: 9.980 Words/10k Pre-A/N's.
*Dons helmet*
*dons feeling-proof vest*
*fortifies anti-feel bunker*
Ok, folks, here we are. What can basically boil down to the 11th episode all over again. We'll have some insight, laughs, and most likely, a heart wrenching conclusion by the end of this. I am not looking forward to my job T_T...
Be forewarned...
Be prepared...
Enjoy.
...
...
...
*sheeem*
The figure made its way through the door as it scanned the room from head to toe. The room was barren, save for the usual amenities of the chamber that she had become accustomed to. A simple bed, a large door-sized wardrobe, a table to lounge around along the center, and her many trinkets and enchantments neatly decorating the walls. It was a few wholesome amenities to give this place more life than the rest of the Fright Zone, however little it might seem.
But the appearance of the room wasn't what she came here for.
They didn't come out of sentimentality, they didn't appear to admire the view compared to the rest of this desolate place, oh no. They came here for a very specific and particular reason. A reason that would send many a people to their deaths, a reason she would torture and frighten those foolish enough to trespass on her domain, to invade her personal quarters. And with her coming in through the only entrance, there would be no escape for them.
"How DARE you enter without my consent!" They shouted, their voice echoing throughout the room as they slowly floated around."Do you know what I'll do to you when I get my hands on you?" They listened closely for any sort of sound. A whimper, cry, a simple gulping sound, and were met with nothing. She came closer to the wardrobe as she inspected it, seeing if there was so much as a mere tremor coming from it, or a knock that came from movement.
"Most people are lucky I allow them to leave here alive, vermin." She spat, slowly reaching for the door of the wardrobe's handle. "You'll be lucky enough if I ever let you see the day of light again, cretin!" As soon as her hands clasped the door handle, she quickly threw them open, eyeing the interior from top to bottom. There wasn't a single thing out of place, nor a hint that anyone had touched her belongings.
"You could surrender yourself, you know." She turned her head towards the bed, noticing a small pair of shoes sticking out from under it. "I promise to be merciful if you reveal yourself now." It was the furthest thing from the truth, of course. She had no intention of offering mercy to the miserable wretch that waltzed in here on their own accord. "If you tell me about the Horde, I might even reward you... instead of devouring your essence entirely!"
With her magic, the room's owner shifted the entire bed away from her, scratching the legs against the floor a few feet. To their surprise, the pair of shoes that lied there were simply that- shoes. There wasn't any figure connected to them, though, there was a sign someone had been there earlier compared to the dresser. Given the way they were lined up so openly, it was almost as if the wearer of these shoes placed them perfectly here, almost as if it was a trap-
"Haaah!" The sounds of a small yelling came soaring towards the figure as they screamed their tiny lungs from above. No amount of surprise would keep her from reacting as she quickly turned around, grabbing the person's wrist out of the air, and dangling the questionable figure right in front of her face.
She had caught the perpetrator that dared to defile her room with her presence, and now, she was going to pay!
"...Hehehe!" The young girl giggled, showing no sign of fear as they wiggled their shoeless-toes in the air. They were dressed as any of the other children of the Horde, the four-year-old clad in greyish pants with a white short-sleeve shirt that had a red streak around the fringes of the arms. Though the girl couldn't see it, she could tell the figure's face was smiling as their eyes softened behind the mask. "I almost got'cha that time, mommy!"
"Hmhmhm," the figure returned her comment with a small chuckle, tickling under the girl's chin, "you most certainly did. Soon, you'll be infiltrating the fortresses of those evil princesses before you know it."
"Hahaha!" With another laugh, the small figure threw their arms around the figure's neck, hugging them tightly as the mother figure they knew her to be. In turn, the figure hugged them back as she felt their chin resting on their shoulder. She didn't make a sound to her threats and temptations, she laid a trap to lure her somewhere in the open, and she actually couldn't figure out just how she managed to get up to the ceiling, not that she'd complain.
Shadow Weaver had never been more proud.
"Well done," the small girl pulled her head back as she looked up to her with her sweet, innocent, eyes as Shadow Weaver stroked the side of her face, "my Adora..."
...
...
The intro starts with Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet chamber spying and glaring at a image of Catra. Than the image dives into the water of her scrying spell.
~ We're on the edge of greatness ~
Where we have Catra at Bright Moon looking both determined and forlorn out into the distance.
~ turning darkness into light ~
A scene of kid Catra and kid Adora training together in the fright zone under Shadow Weaver. Before being replaced with a image of Adora glaring at a heart broken looking Catra who's on her knees across a battlefield.
~ We're right beside you ~
But than Glimmer and Bow teleport to Catra side raising her spirit back up, as shown with her surprise blinking when Gimmer offers her a hand, than she smirks accepting the help as she takes the lead ahead of them.
~ Ready to Fight! ~
Catra raises her sword, transforming into She-Ra in a glorious flash of light
~ (fight, fight, fight fight) ~
Then She-Ra rushes off into battle with Glimmer and Bow following right behind her.
~ We're gonna win in the end! ~
Mermista rises out of a tide, blasting Horde soldiers with water.
~ We must be strong, And we must be brave ~
Perfuma burst from the ground, capturing and tying up Horde soldiers with vines.
~(we must be brave) ~
Frosta rides an entire wave of frozen water, freezing Horde tanks in their tracks.
~ We're gonna find every bit of strength that we have ~
The scene shifts to Hordaks throne room where the evil shadowy figure sits upon his throne, his red glowing eyes being the only noticeable part of him, surrounded by notable members of the Horde, consisting of Adora and Catra's squadron, Shadow Weaver, Adora, Scropia, and even Entrapta.
~ and never let go ~
The scene shifts to an epic clash between Catra and Adora, the She-Ra gritting her teeth as she presses her sword against Adora's electrical baton, as the Force Captain herself grins with chaotic excitement as the red jewel from her headband shines.
~ (Oh ah Oh) ~
Adora and Catra push each other off as they back up into their friends- Entrapta and Scorpia for Adora, and for Catra Bow and Glimmer.
~ We must be STRONG! ~
The scene ends with a final shot of both sides looking across the field, a transparent image of Catra and Adora's faces filling the sky as the colors are split between them;
A majestic darkness shining into light upon Catra's side, and a horrid light seeping into darkness on Adora's half.
...
...
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-*
*click*
"Hmmmm Ah." Adora sighed with a breath of fresh air as she stretched her arms out of bed followed by the turn off of her alarm clock. She would've wished to enjoy her pleasant dream for a bit longer, but with the alarm going off, reality returned to her, and another day of work with it. "Time for another great day!" The Force Captain's eagerness didn't come without reason, and boy, what a reason it was.
To think that just a week ago, Hordak made her the new second-in-command, and already everyone was talking about it! She didn't care much for the honors or respect that came from her fellow soldiers at this, but she didn't mind the smiling faces that greeted her each morning, either.
Starting her normal tradition after her morning shower, Adora hummed to herself as she continued to brush her teeth in front of the mirror, wanting to look as presentable as possible for any important meetings she might come across. During this time, she noticed a strand of shadow from her back combing her own hair with barely any control over it, not that she minded.
"That's new." She smiled, thankful for the shadowy magic that she was still trying to get used to. With a spit and a rinse in the sink, she donned the rest of her attire before making her way out of her quarters, ready to get a well-deserved breakfast before her usual meetings.
"Miss Adora!" A pair of younger five-year-old children greeted her with blue and grey hair a piece. Like all young cadets, they were donning the very same clothing she wore at that age.
"Girls, how many times do I have to say?" Adora smiled down to them as she squatted a little. "Just call me Adora, all right?"
"Sure thing, Commander Adora!" The grey-haired one replied, earning a playful shake of the head in Adora's mind.
"Anyway, did you need something?"
"Yeah! Can you come play with us after practice today?" At this, the two girls gently pulled at the older's hands, trying to drag her along with them.
"Yeah! We wanna see your shadow things again!"
"Or more stories!"
"Yeah!"
"Hahaha, girls, I'm sorry, but I can't." She apologized, gently releasing her grip from them, to their frowning faces. "I have a lot of stuff to do today. Meetings, check-ins, all the boring stuff."
"Awwww!" They pouted.
"But," she continued, piquing their curiosity in an instance, "if you two behave today, I might just bring some cookies this afternoon if you promise to share."
"Huh! Really?" The blue-haired girl gasped with excitement.
"Real cookies? Not just the ones that taste all crusty?" The other added, rubbing her knuckles together as she squealed.
"With chocolate chips." Adora nodded. "But you better hurry, you don't want to be late for your next training session, or I might have to reconsider..."
"Ahh! We're going!" The grey one said again as both ran off. "Thanks Miss Adora!" They both waved in unison as Adora chuckled, giving them a small wave back as she continued several feet down the hall until she reached the intersection.
"Commander!" A pair of guards approached, greeting her with the usual salute that they always did with the commander saluting back.
As per the usual, the one to the right was carrying a small clipboard with a sheet of paper attached to it, handing it to the commander. "We have that new requisition form you requested from the outpost near Leafless."
"Ah, I was wondering where that was." She replied with her usual smile.
"I don't see why they need to request new supplies. After you convinced Leafless to to align with the Horde, they've been donating their resources to the station."
"Well, better safe than sorry. Plus, some of the requisitions are for the surrounding villages too." She explained, giving the paper a quick check-through before signing it, returning it to the guards after. "Wouldn't look very good for us if we just accepted everything from them without giving something in return other than protection and security."
"I'll say. Thanks again, commander." With a final salute, the guards said their goodbyes as they made their way on to their other duties.
"Adora!" Adora was already smiling as she saw Scorpia greeting her for the morning, running in with excitement from the other hallway.
"Morning Scorpia. What's up?" With such an active friend like her, there were a handful of things it could've been. She might've wanted to hang out, hang out longer, play some games, or for the more essential side of things, needed to discuss something important for an upcoming mission.
Usually it was never the latter.
"Hey, Adora! I was wondering if you wanted to watch the young cadets again this morning." Scorpia offered with a smile.
"Did somebody say cadets?" An eager scientist by the name of Entrapta wondered, dropping down from the pipes in the ceiling as she hung along her hair. "I've been meaning to study their training regime and equipment. I think I'm on the verge of creating a new algorithm that'll increase training efficiency by 17%!" Like everything Entrapta studied, she couldn't wait to see the results! She just needed a few more hours of observations before things would be perfect.
Adora gave a small chuckle as she smiled to the two. These were the things she fought for within the Horde. Her home, her respect, her friends, and the very people she considered family. They were definitely dysfunctional like any other family, but she couldn't ask for a better one than this.
From the people that casually greeted her in the morning to the children who aspired to be like her, what more could she ask for? She had status here, access to how things were run, alliances she could help form within the world. With every town that joined them came another portion of Etheria uniting under the Horde. And the more people and places she allied with brought her another step closer to uniting all of Etheria together, and with it, a possible everlasting-peace.
She couldn't ask for a better life... even if there were a few things of her past she wished to change.
"Well, I can't really say no if you guys are so eager for it." She replied, leading the way as the two smiled brightly behind her. "Let's go!"
This, was paradise.
...
...
1 1/2 Months Later...
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-be-*
*CRACK!*
With a drowsy irritation filling her mind, the Force Captain barely registered as she shattered the entire clock with a large shadowy fist, nor did she care in the slightest. With a groan of exhaustion and sleep still fresh in her mind, the Adora lazily got up from the bed, the large dark blanket slowly dangling off of her to reveal the restless expression the commander usually woke up with these days. Eyes heavy with slumber, strands of hair dangling over her face, and a constant urge to go back to sleep.
This was torture.
Once again, she went through the same annoying routine to freshen up for the day as she slowly brushed her teeth back and forth without much effort or care. "Ow!" A minute into it she felt her hair get snagged from the brush, letting out a quick yelp as she tried to untangle the mix of hair in the brush the shadow got mixed up in.
She was so tired from her constant days of work and paperwork that she barely got dressed by the time she got out the door, just donning her jacket after several minutes as she exited the doorway. Even this would prove too much for the young commander to handle as she got her head stuck briefly along the collar, struggling to pull it over her head until something collided harshly into her knee.
"Ah!" She yelped again, running her right knee as she hopped a few times on the left leg. Getting her head through the jacket didn't diffuse the anger she had welling up as she glared at the two kids who bumped into her. "Watch where you're going!" She yelled. It surprised no one that the kids were instantly brought to tears from fright, running down in the opposite direction as fast as they could.
"Ek! Sorry Miss Adora!" They apologized, distancing themselves as fast as they could from the angry blonde. Adora continued to look on in disgust for a little bit as she adjusted the collar of her jacket, still carrying the dark bags under her eyes as she straightened out her uniform.
"You hear about the outpost near Leafless?" She overheard a guard saying from around the corner. Her curiosity got the better of her as she stepped carefully over to the edge, listening in on whatever information they had.
"Yeah," the other guard replied, "whole town just up and attacked the outpost with the Rebellion's help." Adora's eyes widened in shock at the announcement before she rolled them, shaking her head in dismay as she continued to listen. "Can't say I'm too surprised, really. The Rebellion's been pushing back more and more thanks to She-Ra's help."
"Man, wish we had her on our team." The other shrugged. "Least then we'd have some capable people around here."
"Excuse me!?" Making her presence known, the raging Force Captain appeared from behind the corner, her shadows drawn to her arms as an oversized claw on her right sunk into the metal of the walls. "What did you just say about being capable?!" Seriously, after all she did for this place, all the people and allies she continued to make, she still had to deal with the fallout when even one of their alliances fell! Maybe they would be more appreciative if she was the one forcing them instead!
"A-Ahh! Sorry Commander, I-I-I wasn't referring to you, honest! Y-You're doing a great job!" The guard trembled, slowly backing away with the other frightened guard.
"Y-Yeah! Really!" The other guard gulped as he tried to simmer Adora's boiling anger. "So what if you have a few unsuccessful missions? It's not like Catra's better than you-"
"WHAT!?" One of the handiest things about Adora's shadows was how useful they were to determine how angry Adora was about something when she was outraged. For example, the tendrils slowly rising from her shadows were proof that someone might not survive within the next two minutes.
"I-I mean She-Ra! I-I-I m-meant She-ra, sir! Sorry, sir! I-"
"Leave!" The guards didn't need to be told a second time, much less once, as they rushed to escape the maddening woman as fast as they could. There had yet to be any reports about Adora's anger towards her own soldiers, and everyone was extremely thankful for that. They were also afraid of being the first ones to ever experience Adora's anger, thus she was almost twice as feared as she was thanked.
"Adora!" The sound of Scorpia's voice approaching behind her was proving to be less and less encouraging with each passing day, Adora doing all that she could to calm herself as the shadows dissipated around her. No matter how angry she got, she refused to take it out on her friends, turning around with a forced smile as she prepared her day from here on.
"H-Hey... Scorpia. What's-" She dropped her questioning as she saw the abundance of papers in Scorpia's hand, followed by the worried look on the girl's face as she handed one of the stacks to her.
"We just got a new shipment of requisition forms from the remaining few outposts in Leafless." She checked her surroundings to make sure the coast was clear, as if never understanding the person she should be wary of saying this too was the Force Captain in front of her. Still keeping an eye on the halls, she leaned in closely as she whispered, "I don't know if you've heard, but the Rebellion recaptured half the outposts there a few days ago. The Horde needs supplies at the remaining few on the double."
"All of this work?" Adora moaned, eyeing the stack in her arms that stretched from her waist to her eyes.
"Oh, no. There's this half too." Scorpia's correction could not have come at a worse time as she dropped the second half on the pile Adora was already carrying, causing her legs to buckle as she trembled over the massive wait.
"S-Sc-ScorpiaaaaAHHH!" With the weight of the day's events already pushing her down plus the newly added paperwork thrown into her arms, Adora finally collapsed. In an instant, hundreds of sheets of paper were sent flying in every direction of the poor commander who's face filled with an upsetting moan as the papers covered her legs almost entirely and scattered throughout the halls.
This was the life Adora had for about the last two months. This was the life she was most likely going to have for the rest of her future. And there wasn't anything she could do about it for the time being.
She's suffered loss after loss within the last few missions alone, all of which Lord Hordak looked down upon in disgust. Failing to obtain more First Ones tech from the Beacon, even though She-Ra was underpowered at the time, unable to convince a member of the Princess Alliance to join sides after being taken hostage on her own mission, and losing the alliance with the Kingdom of Snows, not to mention Frosta herself, her losses were few yet great all around.
So much so that she was fortunate that the previous mission they were assigned to went on without a hitch. Well, not so much that it went off flawlessly than it did with the mission being successful as normal. She owed that part to Entrapta recovering the First Ones tech herself, but she still wished the other half of her mission went on with the same success.
During their mission to investigate the Northern Reaches for ancient technology, she came across a virus-laced disk Entrapta had been studying left behind from the first ones. With it, Adora managed to actually infect Catra with the virus, making her She-Ra state go berserk and attack everyone, friends and enemies alike. After a brief struggle of getting the sword away from the enraged wildcat, she was left in such a disorderly state that proved to be of no threat or concern to them at all!
Just thinking about how much they loss by the end of that day still nagged at Adora's mind for the last several days. Picturing it all, the fact they obtained the sword, captured She-Ra, aka Catra, and had a virus they could study and use to take control of She-Ra herself. It would be the greatest weapon the Horde had ever accomplished, and a matter of sweet justice and irony that Adora would unleash her on the very Rebellion that stood in the Horde's way.
Unfortunately, like everything, things didn't go as planned. By the end of their mission, they were attacked by several members of the alliance along with a large group of insectoid-like creatures that assaulted the outpost in outrage. With her friend's life on the line as they invaded the interior of the facility, Scorpia was forced to destroy the very disk in order to save Adora's life, retreating with her and Entrapta soon after.
While she was glad they at least got the technology they came for, she was still disappointed that they failed to return with a prize as large as She-Ra. Just thinking of all the past mistakes this would've made up for, all the times Hordak called Adora his failure. She had a perfect opportunity to reflect those accusations at long last, to earn the respect of her peers that she always dreamed of, and at the last moment, they slipped through her shadowy fingers once again.
Still, at least with the mission's main priority proving to be a success, it did mean Adora got to keep her freedom for a bit longer, seeing how she had one last chance to prove herself, less she be imprisoned for her multiple failures by Hordak himself.
She just wished the rest of her life could get a little easier as well.
No matter how successful the official mission was, or the comfort she took in knowing she still had true friends by her side, it still didn't alleviate the amount of work and stress that came about with each passing day. With everyday that passed, another stack of paperwork fell into her hands to help file and sort out the numerous alliances they achieved, and if one of those outposts were attacked by the very same people, she needed to double her efforts and reassess the distribution process to the proceeding outposts near them.
The worst part of it was that Adora had nobody else to blame but herself. All these alliances she's formed with people, the amount of resources they obtained and had to redistribute, and everytime an alliance fell apart, it was, mostly, her fault. There wasn't a single soldier she could point the blame to even if she wanted to, and there was no way she could blame any of her friends on this. The fault was hers and hers alone, and she had to deal with that for the rest of her life.
"Adora, are you okay?" Scorpia asked worriedly, quickly swiping the papers that continued to rain from the air and the several that covered Adora's head. As the self-proclaimed "Adora's-best-best-friend", which Adora agreed to at long last, at least the best friend part, she's been doing whatever she could to help Adora with her burden, struggling to make sense of what was always getting to her and to keep herself from making things worse.
"Ugghhh..." Groaning, Adora rubbed her forehead, trying to forget the papers actually existed for just one minute. "You'd think this job would actually get easier somewhere down the line." She commented.
"Aw, come on, it's not all bad." Scorpia tried to cheer up. "You've got me and Entrapta behind your back, for starters, and anyone else you can ask for help. Plus you're not stuck in a holding cell like Shadow Weaver, so you don't have to worry about that, right?"
"...Shadow Weaver?" Repeating the name back, Adora's eyelids lifted a little as she looked to the watch on her left wrist, turning her eyes of tiredness into eyes of disbelief as she saw the time. "Aghhhh! It's almost time for her morning meal. Why did I wake up so late?!"
"Did you remember to turn the clock back on your alarm last night?" Scorpia asked, a question that Adora didn't need answering as her look said it all. "I'll... take it as a no."
"Huff, will you take care of these papers for me for a bit, Scorpia?" Adora asked as she stood up from the piles of papers that surrounded her. "I shouldn't take long, hopefully."
"Yeah, sure Adora!" Scorpia smiled back to the girl who didn't bother waiting for a response she knew the answer to. She didn't like wasting Scorpia's time like this, but what other choice did she have? Every time her schedule was thrown out of balance, that resulted in more work catching up to her and another headache she later had to deal with.
Somehow, her daily food delivery with Shadow Weaver of all people was starting to become the highlight of her day out of this nightmare of a career.
...
...
*sskk*
Like many other days, many other times in her recent life, Shadow Weaver scratched another line into the cell's walls, keeping track of the days she spent here, track of the amount of time she's wasted away since Adora's betrayal.
Times such as this left Shadow Weaver wondering where it went wrong in her life. What sort of anger did the girl have building up inside of her? What drove her to possibly betray the closest thing Adora had to a mother, to any family, around here? She knew well enough about Catra's involvement in the midst of things, but how much could she have done to turn Adora into something like this?
Still, she couldn't complain, given the amenities. And by amenities, it meant the one screen monitor she had installed specifically within her room. Maybe it was a small ounce of Adora's guilt that brought her to it, or perhaps, even more likely, it was to mock her as it displayed the environment around them, showing Shadow Weaver what she would never get to see with her own eyes again.
Whichever the case, it still proved to be a little more helpful to the witch as she continued to keep track of the number of days she's spent in here, counting off the days as the only activity she could afford to maintain her sanity around these metallic walls.
With a sigh, the witch leaned back against the walls, wondering what other goodies the day would eventually bring her.
"You might as well stop while you still have walls to scratch on." Like the sound of Adora's voice as she greeted her at the door of her cell. As per the usual, she was greeting her with a typical tray of food like she always did, several ration bars and a glass of water that all prisoners were given around here. "It's not like you're ever getting out of here."
"Always one with the pleasantries," Shadow Weaver looked back as she watched the girl unlock her cell, "aren't you, Adora?" Adora gave no sign of replying to her as she walked over to her, preferring to hand the tray over as she usually did, and unintentionally giving the woman a better look of her tired expression. "And look at those lines under your eyes." She teased. "I guess you must've been doing a marvelous job to look as tired as you do now."
The girl grimaced at the response as she dropped the tray at this, splashing the water against the floor carelessly as she started to walk away. "I am doing a great job, for your information. And I'll continue to do a great job!"
"Then why are you so tired?" The question made Adora pause at the entrance again as she walked out the door. "If you ask me, someone doing a great job wouldn't be looking like they just got out of bed, nor would they be dealing with paperwork on a daily basis. But, then again, someone doing a great job wouldn't have betrayed me in the first place, so it's not too surprising."
Needless to say, the young girl shot her a spiteful glance, practically slamming the door controls as she locked up the cell again. "Pretty big talk coming from the woman who'll be spending the rest of her life trapped in here." Without another word, a chance to give Shadow Weaver to retort, Adora walked away.
From behind the mask, Shadow Weaver's expression would've been unknown to anyone but Adora. They wouldn't know if she was planning, they wouldn't know what sort of schemes she was thinking, and they would't be able to discern how much of a threat Shadow Weaver still remained. There wasn't an ounce of fear or regret in her eyes as she gingerly picked up the remaining water in the glass, swishing it back and forth in front of her.
Even now, behind this barrier, the walls displayed all the information she would need within her life, the number of tallies she scratched in day in and day out.
"Oh, Adora." She said softly. "You're more of a prisoner than you truly know..."
...
...
Hordak's inner sanctum. A place reserved for only the most trusted of Hordak's followers who were far and few between. It was within this sanctum that the leader of the Horde, Hordak himself, donned his daily attire with the assistance of his machine. Grafting armor and tools to his person that would amplify his being, in power and display, as they attached various armaments to his limbs and body.
No matter how busy he was or how important his work was, this was an essential part of his day as he continued to run the Horde with his own two hands. He relied on the machine to deal with the parts of his day that he couldn't be bothered with, every second of his life devoted to the foundation of the Horde and his conquest of Etheria.
Here, the machines personalized his outfit as he saw fit, equipping him with state-of-the-art weaponry and tools that he would possibly need throughout the day. Although the tools he was equipped with were nothing less than extraordinaire, that didn't mean the machines gifting him with his devices were without fault. Such as the lone mechanical arm that accidentally scraped against his seemingly-charred back painfully.
"Ahhh!" He growled, swiping away the mechanical part with anger. No matter how perfect he made himself out to be, he was always surrounded by what he felt were incompetent tools, items that were no less useful than a mechanical nut. He needed these tools to do his work for him, not the other way around!
He narrowed his eyes as he marched over to the tossed tool, eyeing the piece in a second of curiosity. The device was one of the more essential pieces to his hardware, something that he required each day to get his work done. Reaching for it with his charred arms, he silenced his own anger as he saw the hand right next to the useless piece of machinery that he would have to reattach.
In some ways, he could relate to the machine entirely.
They were both falling apart.
"Awwwhn..." Adora sleepily yawned as she approached, trying her best to wake up within his presence. "Good morning, Lord Horda-!" If she needed a wake-up call, this was exactly what she required. Upon seeing the current state he was in, she dropped to one knee in respect, unaware of his current condition as she lowered her head. "F-Forgiveness, sir! I didn't know you were... busy."
How else was she supposed to describe the state he was in? He looked like someone melted part of his limbs then reattached them molecule by molecule in an open fire, with ports and openings along his back that looked like someone jammed them in there with a mallet.
And she thought her arm looked bad! While her arm looked almost identical to the state of his own limbs, at least she could still see some pigment of skin with her withering arm.
Ignoring the ignorant Force Captain, he proceeded to get their brief meeting underway, placing his hands behind his back as the machine continued equipping him with his attire. "Why is Shadow Weaver still in the Fright Zone, commander?"
"S-She's... She's a prisoner, my Lord." Adora replied lifting her head. "One that can still be a valuable asset."
"She's a dangerous asset, Force Captain." He instantly shot her down without any care of Shadow Weaver's uses in mind. He knew what he wanted as the machine donned his infamous cape along his back. "I want her banished to Beast Island, at once."
"W-What?!" Adora nearly jumped to her feet at the notion, something she instantly regretted as he returned her questioning with a sinister scowl. "Eh, I-I mean." She breathed quickly to clear her throat. "Lord Hordak, she can still be useful to us, I know she can! We- I, just need to get her to talk, honest! She knows more about Etheria than anyone else in the Horde. She's the only prisoner with any value-"
"Who's knowledge also threatens the Fright Zone itself!" He stated, marching up to the anxious girl. "Have you considered the consequences if that information were to fall into the wrong hands?"
"Without the Black Garnet, she's completely powerless!" Adora inadvertently corrected, unaware of how it appeared if anyone else was listening in. "I can handle her-!"
*squinch*
"Ngh!" Adora held back a yelp as Hordak suddenly grabbed her right hand in his left, squeezing it tightly as the fragile girl attempted to pull it out of his grip without the use of her magic. It felt like he was practically pushing the bones together in his tightening grip, the aging-like growth along half her right arm making it hurt immensely.
"You mean the very same Black Garnet you continue to miraculously draw power from, Force Captain?" Did she honestly think he was oblivious to everything else in her life? It wasn't hard to see how the room was built for Adora to forcibly siphon the Black Garnet's energy through her body in order to maintain her condition. "If someone like you can draw power from the stone through technology alone, then that ability still makes Shadow Weaver just as much of a threat, doesn't it?"
She winced as he released his intense grip from Adora who was doing everything in her power to ignore the pain and to keep from rubbing it. She wouldn't dare to try and correct him about how she's circulating the magic back into the stone to clear her veins of the shadow power's unfortunate downside.
*Bzzzt!*
With a loud hum and the spark of electricity, the two suddenly found themselves in the dark as the lights went out. Immediately reacting to the sudden darkness, acting on the defensive, Adora drew her shadows to both her arms, trying to get some hit of a noise or indication as to whatever was going on. It could've been an enemy attack, one using the cover of the blackout to infiltrate the facilities at this very moment.
*clang*
Adora jumped as she turned around, seeing a dark silhouette appearing behind her, one that looked like a monstrous growth from some creature yet unseen. It had tentacle like appendages sprouting all over its body, glowing red eyes it slowly pulled from its face. The tentacles themselves spread all around itself as it felt around its surroundings, perhaps blinded by the recent darkness as much as Adora was, using its tentacles to feel around for its prey.
It was hideous! It was revolting! It was-
*zzt*
Entrapta.
"Oh, hi Adora!" Entrapta greeted with the always-perky smile as the lights came back to life. The tentacles were nothing more than the large bundles of hair she had stretched all over, sitting in a makeshift chair of them as she looked around. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm a Force Captain, Entrapta." Adora replied, returning her shadows. "I'm supposed to be here. What are you doing here?"
"I've been integrating the First Ones' tech we got from the Northern Reach into Hordak's pre-existing portal mainframe." She eagerly explained, hopping to her feet as her hair recoiled. "But it maybe slightly, completely overloaded the Fright Zone energy grid."
*BANG*
All three heads turned to the ceiling at the brief sound of a minor electrical explosion going off. "So we're going to have to redesign that." She finished, walking to Hordak's side.
"What Entrapta is doing does not concern you, Force Captain." Hordak seethed, to Adora's surprise.
Even now, Adora continued to question what Hordak saw in her. Yes, she was a brilliant scientist. Yes, she was a professional in every field of study, and Adora couldn't be prouder of the fact she was recognized by someone like Hordak in her life. But what, specifically, was it that drew him to her all the time? What about her made Hordak recognize her contributions over Adora's?
Was he displeased by the recent string of results? That would be understandable, given all that's happened over the last few weeks. But that still didn't explain the unhinged glare he always gave Adora, the way he seemed bothered by her presence whenever she was near with reports to make. Did she do something else wrong? Did she not address her the same way properly like Entrapta did, however she did?
It was a complete mystery to her.
As the two stared at each other for the following ten seconds, Entrapta shifted her eyes as she noticed the small silence filling the room, the tension building in the air. "...Oh. Were you having a meeting?" She finally asked, breaking the muteness. "Sorry, again. I guess I should be going." She said as she pulled herself up to the air using her hair and a pipe above her.
"No," Hordak brushed off with a wave of his hand, stopping Entrapta, "you stay." As she lowered back to her feet, the leader of the Horde made his way to the Force Captain again, standing with the same presence of authority and terror he instilled in everyone. "You have two days to extract whatever information you can from the prisoner. Then you will banish her to Beast Island."
"T-Then?" Adora wondered if he misheard him. "Don't you mean, "or", if she doesn't-"
"THEN," he hissed, "you will banish her to Beast Island! Do you understand?" He lowered his glowering red eyes closer to the tensed girl. "Or do I have to make myself understood?" She didn't need a reminder of what trying to "understand him" referred to. She already had that experience twice thus far, and she wasn't looking forward to a third.
This wasn't just a matter of him not listening to her or the other way around. If she failed to do this, like he warned, she would be joining in a cell right next to her former mentor.
Sighing in defeat, dejected, Adora lowered her head to him. "No, Lord Hordak. I understand."
"Good. Dismissed." He calmly ordered, appearing to be the only time he ever spoke softly to her nowadays. Sulking, Adora left as she was ordered, descending from the throne of stairs as she made her way over to the entrance.
"We should be able to initiate our first test of the portal machine as soon as I rebuild the electrical grid. " Before she left the room, she turned to see Hordak and Entrapta already speaking, the scientist perched on the arm of his throne as if they were equals, chatting away to the Leader of the Horde as if she never understood his importance. What's worse, the leader appeared to be listening intently, as if he was actually interested in what someone had to say.
This was among the many things that nagged at Adora as she finally exited the inner sanctum, trying to clear her mind of the image. Of all the things that plagued her day in and day out, the lack of respect or approval she earned from Hordak reached the top of the list. If just once he could acknowledge her of her achievements then she would be glad to take all of this stress as being worth it, a sign of recognition that he valued her support.
Was it too much to ask from him? Probably. He was the leader of an entire army, after all. An army she was still determined to unite all of Etheria with. She worked tirelessly to ensure her vision was a reality, did all the work she could to keep from burdening the others, and not once did he recognize her value.
It was like she thought before, the fact she lost their alliance with one of the major kingdoms definitely left a blemish on her record as a Force Captain. She just wished she knew what to do in order to fix all of this.
"Dear Diary." Oh, and that unnecessary nag to her life.
If the sound of Hordak's approval was at the top of her list of things she most desired, then the sound of Aroda's irritating voice was at the bottom of things she wanted out of her life! So much so, that she'd have to clip on an entirely new page just to prove how much she wanted her gone. For what reason? Oh, only the daily annoyances she pestered Adora with, such as pretending to write in a diary as she floated alongside her down the halls.
"Today, my hero rejected me once again and failed to notice all of the wonderful things I continue to do for the Horde." She didn't need to look at Adora to know that she was getting to her. She lived inside of her head, after all. "I mean, sure, there's like a HUNDRED different things I keep failing at, but as long as I try my hardest and prove how dedicated I am, that should be all that matters, right?"
"Not now, Aroda." Adora mumbled as her brow lowered, keeping the focus on her walking.
"Geez, I barely got started yet and you're already in a bad mood." Aroda commented, pretending to toss away the pen and diary. "What's wrong?"
"If you're in my head, you should already know."
"I know, but it's always so much fun to hear you say it yourself." She grinned. Noticing the lack of reaction she was getting out of the girl, her curiosity heightened as she poked her chin. "Hmm... Is it the fact all of your hard work has been going down the drain lately?"
Silence.
"Maybe someone's a little jealous of the attention someone else is getting? Not that I can blame her, I mean she doesn't ever seem to mess up around here."
A twitch of the fingers followed by silence.
"...Ooooh, I bet I know." A sly smile crossed Aroda's face as she leaned in closer to Adora's right ear. "Maybe it's because someone's mommy is going to go bye-bye~"
"She's not my mother!" Adora shouted angrily with a glare.
Oh, Aroda just loved when Adora reacted like this. It was even better when Adora was aware of how she suddenly reacted, then tried to move on like it was nothing. It was like a game the two played that they only knew the rules of and they enjoyed.
Minus the fact Adora hated every second of it and didn't consider it anywhere near a game to begin with.
"Oh, of course noooot." It was times like this Adora wished she could tell someone like Entrapta just so she could get rid of her. At the same time, it was also a ridiculous idea, because people usually didn't take to the idea that their friend has a random spontaneous friend talking to them out of nowhere verily well, much less at all with a straight face. "She's just the woman who raised you, taught you, trained you in everything you know. But you're right, that's definitely not what a mother does."
"You wouldn't understand even if you could see everything in my mind." Adora's determination proved to be an amusing obstacle, at best, as Aroda listened intently.
"Shadow Weaver never cared for me to begin with. All this time, since the day I was founded, she nurtured me just so she could use me to overthrow Hordak. She wanted to use me as a weapon to take him down so that she could rule, using me as a figurehead. She's almost worse than Catra! The only difference is that she was at least open about it towards the end, and she always reminded me that our relationship together was strictly professional. There wasn't any love involved."
Now, usually, Aroda would listen to whatever drivel Adora had to say with a curious mind. What sort of pokes and prods could she endure before Adora snapped and said something else to her? Here, the reflection had a bored look on her face as she floated on her back next to Adora's side.
"...Annnd... This is different from how Hordak uses you, how?" She asked.
"How can you even compare the two?!" No matter what retaliations Adora had to make, she had to be careful around Aroda. Everything and anything she said, Aroda would always try to twist it around with a few simple words. "Hordak is a hero who brought the Horde together. He deserves all the respect and admiration he's given, unlike Shadow Weaver, who only did it for her own personal gain!"
"Oh, I seeeee." Oh no, the dreaded grin of Aroda. Adora always knew it was a bad sign. "When it comes to Hordak, you need to work for his respect, and no matter how hard you try, he'll always shun you. Whereas Shadow Weaver gave you all the possible love you could ask for from the day you were born, appreciating every little thing you did for her and the Horde, yet you loathe her for it." Adora stopped at this as she lowered her head a little.
This was what Aroda lived for. Pointing out the obvious to the girl whether she wanted to or not. No matter how much she could accept or deny, there were some things that sounded too direct to ignore, too big to look past. And the look of Adora's face whenever she realized this for herself was always priceless.
"Face it, Adora." Aroda said as she slowly disappeared. "Shadow Weaver was the best thing that ever happened to you, and ever will..." If there was one thing more annoying to Adora than when Aroda appeared, it was always when she left after. Why? Because it always had to be with her getting the last say in things!
She always left Adora to stew in her thoughts, to rile her up like a bull waiting to make a mad run for something. Often times, Adora needed to clear the space between her and whatever was around her to keep from making a scene. At others, she did her best to tune out any and all possible talk about it, even though it left her thinking of the thing for several hours after.
But this? This! This was the one thing Adora refused to let up on. She knew what Shadow Weaver was truly like right now, what she is and will be. She was so positive of the fact that she shrugged it off as she squeezed her gloved fist for the first time after one of Aroda's rants.
"You're wrong, Aroda." Adora was sure of it as her expression hardened, continuing on down the hallway. "That woman never cared about me. And I never should've cared for her..."
...
...
"Hmm..." The masked woman looked around her altar as she searched for something.
A piece of wood, some sort of sheet of wool she didn't need, anything flammable. She had nearly all the preparations she needed to work on a new scrying spell, and was just missing some kindling to complete the ritual. It was hard to find something she didn't need around here, having taken measurement of all the basic essentials every day before her new task. So why was it taking so long to find something else to burn?
"I may have to press an officer for some new supplies." She commented to herself, mentally sighing. It looked like her spell would have to wait another day before testing out.
*sheeem*
"Mama, mama!" Adora greeted eagerly as she ran through the door.
"Adora, sweetheart, what did I say about calling me that?"
In an instant, the four-year-old girl stopped in her tracks, looking off to the side with a small, but brief, frown. "Oh, s-sorry. I mean, Shadow Weaver." With her expression renewed, she quickly rushed up to the floating figure in excitement.
"And did someone forget about disturbing me when I'm busy?"
"I know, and I'm sorry, but look!" With a toothy lisped grin, she held up a piece of paper, the witch accepting it without hesitation to see what the commotion was for. She eyed the paper itself curiously, surprised at the conveniency of the page. "We made it in awt class today! I made it-"
"Thank you, deary." Without any word of warning, using her magic, Adora watched as the sheet of paper levitated to the center of the round altar-like bowl that took the center of the Black Garnet chamber. Before she could ask, Adora's eyes widened in terror as a small green flame suddenly erupted from the page, the flame spiraling in a circle for a short period before circling the rim of the bowl itself.
With a small dash of spectral dust from Shadow Weaver's pocket, the spell came to life as the ritual was complete. While it was a little disorganized, the scrying spell worked perfectly as it displayed a view of the Whispering Woods, the border that kept the Rebellion safe from the Horde's clutches. In time, she could develop this spell to work on specific locations and or people. For now, it was the results that mattered, and results were always a fortune within the Horde.
"Mmmhmhm..." The sound of a low sniffling caught Shadow Weaver's attention again as she looked down to her left. There, she was almost surprised to see a sniveling face belonging to Adora, the girl struggling to hold back the tears rolling down her face.
"Adora, are you crying?" She asked knowingly.
"N-No!" Adora sniffed, wiping what little of her tears she could with her small arms. She knew what Shadow Weaver's policy about crying was. Not within her presence, and not within the Horde.
"Then what's wrong?"
"I," she sniffed again, "I made that for you!"
"For... me?" She looked back to the round altar. With all the excitement she had building up, she had completely forgotten that Adora didn't come here for a social visit. She came bearing something she wanted to show Shadow Weaver, something she made with her own two hands, which was now ruined, thanks to the mother-figure of her life. "O-Oh... I see..."
She did have to admit, she did feel slightly guilty over the ordeal, being one of the first times anyone's given her a gift since joining the Horde. "Well... I appreciate the sentiment, the thought, I mean, anyway." She tried easing whatever burdens the girl was currently feeling as she patted her head.
"No you don't! You hate it!" Adora sniffled, unable to hold back the flow of tears. Why did she hate it so much? She barely looked at it before setting it on fire! Was it something she did? Did she not like the picture? Or did she not like Adora herself? Huh, what if she hated her?! "You didn't want to look at it, so you burned it!"
"Adora, sweetheart..." The witch lowered herself partway as she took Adora's small arms in her hands. "I don't need any fancy gifts from you to know how much you appreciate me." She said as she stroked away some of her tears with her thumb.
"You... You don't?" She asked as sher sniffling began to subside.
"Of course not." She patted her head again as she rose back up. "All I need from you is to do your best within the Horde, and be better than everyone else."
"Be better?"
"Yes, Adora. Prove that you're the best of the best. Become stronger, smarter, and kinder than everyone else, and I'll know how much you care for me." She cupped Adora's chin between her finger and thumb gently. "Can you do that?"
In truth, working towards Adora's kindness was a necessity she needed to strengthen around here. In a place like this where the kind were shunned and brought down, making someone kinder would also force them to be stronger, too. She needed someone who was filled with kindness, someone she could rely on to never betray her in the future.
"Mmmh..." Adora still had a small frown on her face before she nodded back to Shadow Weaver. She still wished she would have appreciated the picture a little more before she burned it. Then again, if she only needed Adora to be the best that she could be, then guessed she could live with it. "Okay. Sorry, ma- I mean, Shadow Weaver."
"It's alright, dear." Shadow Weaver cooed, stroking the side of her face once more. "Now, run along. I'm sure one of your instructors are looking for you right now."
"Ooh! I forgot to ask to leave!" She eeped, running for the door as fast as her short legs could carry her. "Bye, Shadow Weaver!" She waved, Shadow Weaver's waving being the last thing she could see before the doors closed again.
Waiting until she was out of her view, the shadowy witch returned to her practice, examining the pool of images that came flooding in from the altar one after the other. She would need to study it in length, from how long it lasted, how much it could show her, and how far it could reach. It would prove to be a tiring task depending on how long it lasted, but it was essential for her research.
"..."
"..."
"..." She glanced back at the door for a moment before looking into the pools again. Now that she thought of it, it might take days for this spell to wear off on its own, provided it could at all, and she had plenty of other times where she knew she was more free to experiment. With one last look to the door, she raised her hand above the bowl.
Like stands of twine coming together, the small flames that made up the scrying slowly became undone, the spell itself coming to an end with it. With every flicker of ember, making sure not to lose a single piece, Shadow Weaver concentrated as she gave the flame its original shape again, slowly forming the loose piece of paper that Adora gave her back together. It took a smidge of effort on her part, but eventually the picture was whole once more.
With it whole, she plucked the paper from the air as she examined it closely. It was about as much as she could expect from a four-year-old's drawing. It was a sloppy depiction of her and Adora smiling, Shadow Weaver almost finding it cute as she put a smile over the mask Shadow Weaver always used like it was her face, holding hands as they stood outside in the Fright Zone, with what Shadow Weaver had to assume was the metal of the machinery and buildings in the background, seeing how it was varying shades of grey and brown.
It was sloppy, that was for sure, but Shadow Weaver did have to admit one thing to herself .
It wasn't half bad...
...
...
...
A/N: Hoo, boy. Out of curiosity, who was already struck with the feels this episode at any part in particular? If you raised your hand for even one of these segments, be forewarned: I haven't even GOTTEN to the feeling parts of it yet T_T Hooftah...
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and keep a lookout for petie doon on instagram! He's a long time and great fan of mine who does awesome cat-ra artwork as well as the rest of his artwork. If this episode results in some calls to certain doctors about losing all reason to live, look up his pictures, including a new one he might have done soon, if not another later this week! Whether or not he can, the work he has already done for me is fantastic, and I highly recommend his creations to anyone interested!
With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you soon! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare a box of tissues...