A/N: Final Word Count: Near 10.1K Pre-A/N's.
Oooooh golly, I uhhh... ahem... idk what to say. Umm opening might be little rushed cause my head was fuzzy last night when I started it, so apologies for that, but luckily the fuzziness didn't last long, only for like the first 1-2k words, so hopefully everything after that still flowed as smoothly.
With that said, I recommend three things on hand: Possible tissues, a bottle of whiskey, and an adorable cat video to immediately perk right up before you hit the ending. Luckily, I'm over age so I'm covered. *pops open the whiskey tab and glugs the first swig* Ugh... I forgot I hate whiskey but i'll make an exception to get through this X(
Only bit of relief is it might not be AS traumatic (then again i wouldn't know for sure) as the promise episode, as the feelings weren't, admittedly, as powerful as they were in that episode from this episode (lets face it: Promise was devastating T_T) so it might not leave people clincally depressed. But again, since I wrote it, i already know what'll happen from beginning to end. So with that said...
Well, I can't say "enjoy" or else you might seem like a total psychopath for enjoying a saddening event, so I will just say...be prepared.
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...
Cold. Dank. Lifeless. That pretty much summed up Shadow Weaver's cell at the moment, save for lifeless. The sorcerer of darkness herself had nothing left within her cell to preoccupy her thoughts or time except for the lone picture that still clutched within her hands. It was the last fragment of her past that she had with her, possibly the only thing she'd be allow to take once she was taken to Beast Island.
What else could she bring with her than the clothes on her back? There was nothing left for her here, nothing left to gain, and no one to help her. There was Adora for a time, but there was no guarantee she would follow through. Not even Shadow Weaver knew what to expect anymore from this point onward.
How was she supposed to expect her help in the first place? She tricked her once into bringing her a useless badge and this picture, parting gifts to her and herself before the long haul away from the Fright Zone. She hid no detail that she used Adora to get what she wanted, made the girl traverse the Fright Zone in search of these items, and turned her down when she requested information in exchange.
She had nothing else to bargain with unless Adora trusted her one last time, nothing to lose, nothing to gain. For one of the few times of her life, she felt like she was on her own, and that fact scared her a little.
*fwoom*
With the sound of the forcefield to her cell turning off, she realized she may not be as alone as she thought. Turning her head from the end wall to the door, she saw a familiar figure she hadn't seen for hours.
"Ah, Adora." Shadow Weaver greeted in her usual calm manner as the girl entered with a tray. "Here to present to me my last meal, are you?"
"..." Adora remained quiet as she approached her, her head down enough to keep her eyes from being shown.
"I hope you didn't take my earlier repayment too hard, dear." She commented, swaying her hand back and forth. "To make it in this world, you have to open your eyes to reality. There is no one you can trust in this world more than yourself. Remember that."
"...Sh... Shadow Weaver..." Adora muttered. She had actually gained Shadow Weaver's curiosity as she saw her hands tremble, shaking the tray a little.
"Adora?"
"I... I need your help..." Her voice shook as much as her hands, the Force Captain gritting her teeth as she tried to contain herself.
"I'm sorry, Adora, but I already told you, I can't. There's nothing I can tell you that would guarantee my own safety." It was a tragic state of affairs, but one she couldn't help. Unless there was any guarantee she could escape her fate of going to Beast Island, there was nothing that she could do.
"I-I know that, but... But I need information..."
*drip*
"...Adora?" Was she seeing things right? Did she notice a drop of water dripping from Adora's chin. Was she sweating, or...
The blond girl dropped to her knees, nearly slamming the tray in the process as she pressed her hands to the floor. If she leaned any further, it would've looked like she was actually begging. Shadow Weaver could never imagine her, much less anyone, begging to another individual, and a prisoner at that!
"I... I can't do this anymore..." The drips continued to rush from her face as her eyes finally came into Shadow Weaver's view.
They were filled with sadness, despair, trauma, all at once. Like a raging torrent of emotions, her tears poured from her eyes one drip after the other, the events of today, and of her last two months, finally catching up to the poor girl.
"Adora, are you... Crying?" Shadow Weaver was a little relieved nobody else was here for a change. If any of the other officers or Force Captains caught sight of this, or worse, reported it to Lord Hordak, there was no telling what manner of trouble the girl would be in. She was a commander, a respected one at that, and for her to suddenly break down out of nowhere in front of a prisoner, it wasn't just a sign of weakness.
It was a sign of plausible betrayal, that she might be considered a risk if her loyalty was brought into question between her and a traitor.
"Please... I really... really... need your help. I just can't do this anymore..eheh...eheh..." Her bottom lip trembled as she failed to stifle a cry.
She was at her wits end. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The workload she's been given day in and day out from paperwork, requisitions, missions, forming alliances, and so forth, were bringing her to the point of deathly exhaustion. Every day she woke up she felt like another piece of her life was taken away, another portion of energy spent just trying to get out of bed. She could barely pull herself up nowadays to get ready for the next mission, and that didn't even include the shadows she was struggling to maintain.
With the shadows came the mental exhaustion she was facing. Every day she worked to control them and master her newfound powers, and at first it worked! They were at her command, she could summon them and manipulate them back and forth to however she saw fit, and even when they drained her of her energies, spreading through her body and making her sick, she could tolerate it until she recharged.
That's where the emotional exhaustion kicked in. Her shadows sprang on her command, more times than not. It was the other times, however, that they became a problem. They reacted to her on a conscious and subconscious level, reacting to whatever her emotions were drawn to or fixated on. While she could handle whatever drew her attention directly, it was when something bothered her, something upsetting that made them respond against her control, that truly troubled her.
.
Like Entrapta, not two hours ago.
She couldn't believe what her shadows were about to do, what her disturbances and exhaustion had finally brought her to. After learning of just how much Hordak favored her, respected her, possibly treasured her, despite being here for only a few months, it tore Adora up inside. She worked day in and out for the Horde, dedicated everything to them, and to hear her friend remark on how easy he was to get along with, all the pride he had in her, it almost made Adora snap.
The shadows were just inches away from Entrapta at the time, the scientist too preoccupied with the device in her hands to notice them gathering around her. If it wasn't some stroke of luck or a miracle that Adora came to her senses at the last minute, there was no telling how badly she would've hurt Entrapta, her ally, her friend. She had to remove herself from the lab immediately, for her sake and for her friend's. She didn't have a choice. It shouldn't be a choice, it was becoming that out of control.
Adora was reaching her breaking point in every possible category, and she dread what sort of monster she would turn into if she finally lost it. And that didn't cover the other problems.
The Horde was losing ground. Not a lot of it, but more than enough to make Adora start to lose it. Throughout the last day alone, she heard several occurrences where the Rebellion took over an outpost or recaptured a stronghold, which is something she could accept. What she couldn't accept was the reason behind them.
The alliances. The numerous villages and remote regions that pledged their loyalty to the Horde, betrayed them. Much like Frosta, they were turning their backs on the Horde, assisting the Rebellion whenever they showed up. Nothing Adora did in the past, from providing resources or giving them security, meant anything to them. They were losing their faith in the Horde for whatever reason, and willing to betray the Horde, betray Adora, without any care of who they hurt.
And it went on to damage Adora's mentality, her spirit, further. People were betraying her wherever she looked. Her strategies of forming alliances, of uniting Etheria under one banner, was falling apart. More and more people by the day were rising up against them, against her, and, as a result, she knew the Horde was losing their faith in her, especially Hordak.
She didn't care for the publicity or respect. She just wanted to prove herself. Prove herself to everyone who raised her, prove herself to those who were inspired by her that her way was the right way, and, most importantly, prove herself to Lord Hordak, hero, leader of the Horde, just how dedicated she was to repaying him for everything he's ever done for her. And she was failing in every regard. She was failing everyone, including him.
She was proving herself to be a failure, one of Hordak's worst mistakes in the Horde.
And she had nothing to show for it.
"Everyone I trust, every alliance I've formed... has started to betray me..." She continued, sniffling. "The Rebellion is starting to pull ground from our furthest outposts, one of the princesses themselves betrayed me, the last several missions I've lead have ended terribly, and I... I don't even know what I'm doing anymore..."
"Adora, that's not even-"
"That's not all!" She yelled, trying to maintain herself enough to speak. "I can't... I can't keep up like this... The work is literally burying me, I'm losing any respect I had from Lord Hordak, and... I-I can't keep my powers under control..." She paused briefly to look at her own two hands, noticing tiny tendrils of shadows rising from them. "The more emotion I lose control of, the more power that slips through my fingers, and I... I don't want to hurt anyone..." Her voice creaked as she squeezed them.
"And there's nothing I can do! I can't bring myself to just overthrow towns without reason, I don't want to hurt the people who have nothing to do with this! I... I need information here, Shadow Weaver..." She squeezed her eyes tightly as she lowered her head a little. "I'm... I'm begging... Mom..." Shadow Weaver was justifiably taken back by the utterance. "I need some information... anything... that can help me... please..."
Pathetic. It was a pathetic display to someone like Shadow Weaver as she stared at the whimpering Force Captain. Anyone like that, who would throw themselves at some prisoner's mercy, a traitor at that, would be cast out of the Horde in an instant. If anyone was to report this, if Shadow Weaver did of all people, it would do more than enough to help herself. She might be able to afford her freedom with this, be able to reclaim her position that was rightfully hers!
...And yet... she pitied the creature before her... the daughter weeping in distress. She recognized that torn soul with nowhere else to go, the way no one would listen to her as she tried to help everyone. A small portion of it reminded her of her own days in Mystacor, back when she knew the answers that almost nobody would listen to. She only had one person that seemingly helped her, one person to thank for her current position. Right now, Adora needed someone, too.
She didn't raise Adora to be like this. She taught her to be strong, clever, agile. Every trait necessary to become the perfect soldier, the perfect weapon, and the perfect tool. But the one thing she could never change herself was Adora's personality, no matter how hard she tried, how deeply she wished. It was the one part of her that did disgust her about the girl, how easily she was swayed by emotions. She was not the daughter she raised her to be.
... But... She did raise her.
"... Adora," Shadow Weaver spoke softly as always as she reached for the girl, brushing away her tears with her thumb, "don't you remember my policy about crying-"
"I'M NOT..." Adora attempted to yell as she was cut off by a small hiccup. "... Don't tell me not to cry... Not now!" She, like most people Adora's encountered, have taken everything else from her. She refused to let anyone take away her right to feel sad for a change. "I don't care if you hate me for it, okay? I just need-"
"Hate you?" The Captain made no attempt to resist as she felt Shadow Weaver pulling her up a little to her side, Adora trying to stifle her tears through sheer force of will as she lied her head against you. "Adora, I never hated your crying out of weakness." The witch lifted her head slowly in recollection as she stared at the ceiling.
"I disliked it, because it was the first time I ever saw you sad..."
...
...
Power, energy, all burning at her fingertips!
This, is what she wanted. With her newly acquired mask donned, position and power at her domain, she knew that this was what she was meant to be. Not some feeble sorceress surrounded by fools who were too frightened or too honorable to let some petty law forbid her rise to power, no. She was a sorceress who proved herself to be above the rest, better than anyone from the likes of Mystacor, and she would prove it to them, and the world, with her own two hands.
Siphoning the magical essence from the Black Garnet within her new chamber, she had to think to herself for a bit. What else could she want that would be better than this? The Black Garnet fueled her veins with magic that Eheria has never known, and she could access countless archives, studies, and experiments to increase her power even further.
With the red jewel encrusted at the top of her mask, it became official. She was no longer a part of Mystacor, no longer a part of the feeble minded fools that continued to plague society. She cast away her previous title and position for something more, something greater!
From this day forth, she would be known as Shadow Weaver, and nothing would stand in her way!
"Waaahahhhh!" Not to say it didn't come with distractions.
Cutting her focus away from the large device, she heard the strange sound of an infant's cry filling her chambers, emanating from somewhere outside her room. Traversing the mysterious halls she was still accommodating to, she noticed a strange infant being watched over by a pair of captains, the fools trying in vain to silence the crying as peacefully as possible. For just one moment, she felt a strangeness coming from the child as her eyes widened to the small figure bundled in cloth.
Shadow Weaver approached the stairs of Hordak's inner sanctum where her new lord and leader sat present.
"Was your excursion successful, Lord Hordak?" Shadow Weaver asked respectfully, kneeling before him.
There was already disdain hanging from the air surrounding him as he lowered his head. "I arrived too late." He stated. He showed only disgust as he leaned his arm against the chair's, waving off to the others without a single care. "I found something, but it's useless. Put it with the orphans in the infirmary."
Almost immediately, Shadow Weaver's eyes lit up again as she looked back, seeing the same soldiers nodding in confirmation to the leader as they began to walk away.
Shadow Weaver couldn't put a string on it. Why was this lowly infant in the forefront of her mind? Why was she mysteriously drawn to the creature she had never met before? She felt something emanating from the girl, a power, a gift, something that made her stand out from the rest of these people.
But what?
She needed to find out.
"This one is different." Shadow Weaver commented to him, watching them leave. "Can't you feel it? She has power." She knew if anyone could mold that power, it would be her.
"Fine take it. Just get it out of here." Hordak showed little interest in the child or care. He just wanted to be rid of its incessant whining.
At the demand, the blue-skinned officer uncaringly handed the small child to Shadow Weaver, holding it up by the tip of the security blanket wrapped around its body as he handed it to Shadow Weaver. Pushing aside her personal disgust at the way he treated it, Shadow Weaver held the figure gently in both her arms, slowly unwrapping a small bit of cloth that was covering the side of its face.
The lone infant had a golden blond hue to her hair, with the purest light-blue eyes imaginable. Almost immediately upon uncovering its face, the infant slowly hiccuped as it stared at the figure gazing down at it, sharing the same wonder and curiosity for the person who greeted her in return.
It didn't show any sign of fear, worry, or terror as it gazed at the shadowy sorceress. All it did was look on in curiosity as it raised its tiny hand to its wrist, touching the figure who welcomed her for the first time.
"Oooh." Shadow Weaver cooed as she let the infant grasp large finger with her tiny hand. "Oh, don't worry, little one. We're going to do great things together." She smiled behind the mask, something the infant seemed to be aware of as it smiled in turn, touching the mask over her face as it's tears subside.
She didn't know who or what this creature truly was, and she didn't care. With a power like that in her hands, she would protect it. She would vow that nothing in this world would come to harm it at the time she found use in it, and later on, would slowly grow attached to the young figure herself.
"My Adora..."
...
...
"When I saw those tear-filled eyes of yours for the first time, I knew two things to myself." Shadow Weaver continued as she stroked Adora's head. By now, while the tears had yet to stop completely, the Force Captain was resting her head peacefully against the woman's lap. "One, I knew you were different, special, compared to everyone else."
"A-And..." She choked a little as she leaned up, Adora gazing into her eyes. "The other thing?" She couldn't tell if she was smiling behind the mask for once. All she could tell was that her eyes softened as she brought a hand to Adora's left cheek, touching it gently.
"That I knew, for as long as I lived, that I never wanted to see those tears, again." It was ironic, to say the least. Here, Shadow Weaver was claiming that she never wanted to see Adora's tears again, and told her so directly. Yet, it did nothing to halt the rushing water draining from Adora's eyes. If anything, it only continued to escalate as she stared into her soothing eyes of comfort.
"You... D-Do you really mean that?" Adora couldn't tell if she was talking to the same Shadow Weaver here, or an even-more manipulative twin. With comforting eyes and a calmful pat on the head, she nodded.
"Yes, Adora." She assured. "I know I may not have raised you in the manner that a parent should, nor treated you like a real daughter, but I swear to you, your affection over the years has had its impact on me. Your struggles, your discipline, your determination. Everything that I saw you do, all in my name and respect, was the most beautiful thing I could ever ask for." And for once in the sorceress's twisted mind, she meant that.
She would never see Adora as accurately as a mother should, nor feel the same love of affection that a parent can give to a child, but she would cast away anyone who doubted hre care for the girl. The one she felt a bond with at first sight, the one she raised over the years with her own two hands. The one who looked at her now with starry eyes, even after all that's happened between them.
She truly felt a connection between them both.
"Tch... Mmh!" The girl moaned, angrily, to herself, as she threw her arms around Shadow Weaver. The sorceress was completely caught off by this gesture, feeling the girl's warm tears soak into her robe a little. "I'm sorry..."
"You're... sorry?" She asked with mild confusion.
"For betraying you." She admitted. What was she doing? Why did she do all of this? She felt the faucet running through her eyes as she whimpered. What started as tears of sadness from exhaustion and stress were now turning into tears of regret and guilt. "I never should have betrayed you! If I didn't, you wouldn't be here, I probably wouldn't be having this much trouble, and I..." She squeezed her eyes and her fists as she pulled back. "I don't know what I was thinking..."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Adora." Shadow Weaver admitted, resting a hand on her shoulder. Adora couldn't tell any longer if she was setting her up again or being genuine. Of all the reactions, the idea that she could accept something so quickly was truly outrageous. It was only due to the sincerity in her tone, the look in her eyes, that told her otherwise. "You did what any member of the Horde would do. You saw an opportunity, and you took it, whether it was to save yourself or otherwise."
"Y-Yeah, but," Adora frowned, turning her head away, "I never should have done it to you of all people." It was the harsh truth that she came to realize. All of this anger, all of this hate she had for the mentor, the mother-figure, didn't stem from simply being used. It stemmed from how Adora felt like she was looking at Catra, somebody who truly did use her for all her life for her own personal gain.
Even so, Shadow Weaver continued to soothe the depressed girl, lifting her head up with the tip of her finger to her chin. "It doesn't matter. You came out on top, and did whatever it was that was necessary to survive." At this, she brushed a few bangs of hair out of Adora's face. "And I couldn't be more prouder of you if I could."
"D... Do you really mean that?" Shadow Weaver came with a nod to Adora's question, earning a small, still slightly pained, smile from the girl as she rubbed her own tears away. She couldn't remember this feeling, this sense of joy, this warmth in her heart, for what felt like forever. Was it truly Shadow Weaver's presence that she missed the most out of this? Adora could no longer tell, could no longer trust herself with half of her emotions.
All she could tell right now, was that she felt comfort, warmth, love, from the presence of a mother.
"...It doesn't matter." And once more, she frowned, curling up her knees as she hugged her legs, pressing against the wall. "One way or another, you're still going to be sent to Beast Island, and this will have meant nothing."
"Oh... Yes..." Looking back on it, she did come to realize she, herself, was lost in the moment, and of emotions no less. The curious Shadow Weaver looked off to the side in contemplation at the reminder. "I suppose there is that..."
She needed something, anything, to work with right now. Not just for her own sake, but for Adora's. She didn't have a whole lot of time left, and there was still the chance she would be sent to Beast Island if she told Adora everything at once, anyway.
"...Although..." Perplexed with the small utterance, Adora turned to her in wonder. "I suppose..."
"What?"
"... There may be a way to help us both, Adora. Or at least buy us some time."
"R-Really?" Was she being serious? Was there actually going to be a way out for the both of them through this mess?
Who was she kidding? Of course there would be a way out! This was Shadow Weaver she was dealing with, and if anyone could figure out a way to help them, it would be her!
"... I'll tell you what." She began, grabbing Adora's gloved hand, "I'll tell you some information first thing in the morning. A fraction of what I already know, and more valuable to Lord Hordak than he could possibly understand. Tell him I'll only tell you one thing, and one thing per day, and make sure he really listens to you." She stroked her hair gently as Adora leaned her head comfortingly into her palm, closing her eyes.
"It might not be enough to keep me from going away, but it should buy us a few more weeks at the most. But if we play our cards right, I might be able to earn my freedom back, though I doubt my job."
"A-And you really mean it? You'll help me?" It still sounded too good to be true.
"I'll help myself, Adora." She said with a small, knowing, joking tone. What kind of witch would she be if she just did it for someone else's sake, after all? "...And you."
"..."
*tug*
"Thank you... mom..." She whispered softly. With her heart warmed, and her stress practically flushed out of her system from this one dramatic talk, Adora finally smiled warmly as she threw her arms around her neck, a few tears left dripping from her eyes out of pure happiness.
She had missed this. She had missed this sense of comfort and security like no other. She had her friends, sure. She had followers, soldiers, people willing to fight for her and with her on the battlefield. But she never felt that true sense of calm, that peace she had within someone else's presence, save for Scorpia and Entrapta, since Shadow Weaver was out of the picture.
For the first time ever, she felt a reason to smile again, a genuine smile, that she didn't wish to cool off anytime soon.
As for Shadow Weaver, she let out a mental sigh of her own as she embraced Adora again. Looking back on it, she knew her past self would be calling her future self soft, weak, for allowing emotions to flare up when it came to matters of her own survival. But, for Adora's sake, she was willing to make an exception, just this once.
*crinkle*
The witch ignored the small crinkling-like sound as she pulled herself up to Adora's chest, deciding to let it slide for a short while.
If Hordak still sent her to Beast Island, there was no telling what would happen, but at least then Adora would know who to trust more and less out of this. That knowledge that Hordak would lose the trust of one of his most faithful followers, the idea that Adora would finally start to see Hordak for what he truly was, what Shadow Weaver kept hidden from her at all times, would be more than enough to sate Shadow Weaver's vengeful appetite.
And who knows? Maybe another miracle would pop up. Perhaps Adora would completely turn on him if it meant saving Shadow Weaver, the person she saw as her mother? It wasn't anything she was willing to bet on, much less gamble, but it didn't hurt to think of such things, right?
Regardless, it didn't matter to her at this moment. As long as Adora was safe, sound, and her future was secured, for once, Shadow Weaver was satisfied.
"...?" And that's when she noticed it as she opened her eyes slowly. Through the small slit of Adora's glove, the base of where her wrist was as it was around her head, she noticed a part of her skin. Her tarnished, aged, skin. "Adora, what..." Adora was too distracted in the moment to stop her as Shadow Weaver slowly pulled back. "What happened to your..."
"No wait, don't-!" But it was too late. By the time she managed to say her piece, Shadow Weaver had pulled off her glove, eyes widening practically from terror.
Adora's hand looked rotten, ancient. It looked like the hand of a feeble old woman that fell into a vat of chemicals. There weren't boils or anything of the like, but the fact it looked so different from Adora's otherwise flawless skin, was what truly caught her attention. Not to mention the fact that, as she observed, it seemed to be spreading up her arm.
"What... What is this-?"
"It's nothing!" Adora fretted, quickly pulling back her arm as she covered it with the glove again. The girl squeezed her own hand in comfort, trying to ignore her own arm and its rising condition. It's not like Shadow Weaver wasn't aware of her shadows flaring up whenever Adora became angered, she demonstrated that enough herself. What she wasn't used to was the sight of her arm looking so... ugly. "It's just a little... side effect, from the magic I've been using."
"Side effect?" She actually felt concern for the girl's safety for a change.
"It's nothing, honest. I mean it's not the worst thing I've been dealing with, so I-"
"Not the worst?" Her eyes narrowed a little at this as she took Adora's gloved hand. "You mean you've been suffering from more than one?"
"I-I already told you it's nothing." Adora said with a small smile, rubbing her hand as she shifted her eyes away. "I mean, Entrapta already explained it to me plenty of times, so I'm sure if I ignore it, I'll be fi-"
"Ignore it? Ignore what?" Adora had a small look of worry on her face as she tried to shift her eyes away. It's not that she wanted to lie about the situation, she just didn't want anything to possibly ruin the moment they were having. And Shadow Weaver wouldn't have any of it as she grasped her chin gently. "Adora, what are you talking about ignoring?"
"...I-It's just... Just some conscious or something, it's nothing big."
"Your conscious?"
"Yeah, you know. It's been saything things from time to time, like..." Adora looked a little pained as she shifted her eyes away, feeling like she was making things worse for the both of them. "You know what, i-it's nothing. It's just in my head, it's fi-"
"Adora, what are they telling you? I need to know, now!" Adora couldn't understand the look in Shadow Weaver's eyes. Why was she suddenly getting so upset about this? What did she know? Was there something about all of this that she knew, something Adora wasn't aware of?
Speaking of unaware, the very same conscious, Aroda, slowly materialized, standing behind the girl as it stared at Shadow Weaver in resentment.
Holding her tongue for a bit, Adora gulped a little nervously, feeling as if anything she could say next could ruin everything between them. "...I-I'ts just... It's my mind telling me to..." She raised her eyes a little guiltily. "Telling me to get stronger... to become powerful..." There was no telling what Shadow Weaver was thinking, not that there ever was.
What bothered her so much about this that she didn't know? Was there some secret behind all of this?" Was there something affecting her that she wasn't aware of? The list and possibilities was endless when it came to magic, and it was that endlessness that truly worried her right now.
"...Oh... Is that all?" Shadow Weaver finally asked, softening in voice again as she let go of Adora's chin.
"Y-Yeah... Why? Is there a problem?"
"Problem? Oh, no, no problem." At that, Aroda grinned to herself as she slowly disappeared again. "That's perfectly natural, really. When you're first adjusting to magical abilities for the first time, it can play tricks with the mind."
"Really?" Adora sighed with relief as she smiled again. "That's a relief." She looked a little less convinced of herself as she noticed Shadow Weaver gazing away, as if in thought. "H-Hey... is something wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, no, Adora." She cooed softly, resting a pleasing hand on her right shoulder. "I was thinking of a plan to start working together again, to provide information."
"G-Great!" Adora smiled brighter than ever within the last few weeks. She couldn't wait to hear the information Shadow Weaver had, to start proving herself to the Horde again, and make amends with her own mother. "I'm all ears!"
"Patience, Adora." Shadow Weaver said, patting her head again. "You've spent too long as it is in this room. People will become suspicious, especially if I'm uninjured."
"O-Oh, yeah..." Scratching the back of her head, she tried to think. "So... Should I just... come back in an hour, or-"
"Tomorrow." Her mother announced. "It'll give me enough time to come up with something. Something good." Smiling, Adora gave her one last hug, enjoying the feeling of Shadow Weaver's warm, loving, embrace.
"Thanks, again." With her final thanks given, the Force Captain stood back on her own two feet, brushing off the remaining tears on her face as she cleared away her hair. "Ahem. I um, believe this was a... successful interrogation, then." She said, mildly teasing.
"Very successful." Shadow Weaver emphasized, leaning back against the metallic walls of her cell. "Now, run along. You know what I said about getting a good night's rest before."
"Heheh, yeah, I remember." She replied, giving a brief wave as she returned to the door. Reaching for the door controls, Adora paused as she turned her head a little aback. "Hey, Shadow Weaver?" She spoke up, grabbing the masked figure's attention. "Thanks, for everything."
Nodding back, Shadow Weaver watched Adora leave, the familiar forcefield returning to its doorway, and watching as her Adora walked away.
And at this, Shadow Weaver sighed in regret.
Digging through her large sleeves, the witch pulled out the very thing that was crinkling earlier, the cause of the noise. It was a picture that Adora seemed to be carrying in her vest, one drawn on a requisition piece of paper. She didn't know why she had it, but she recognized the drawing from seeing it plenty of times, right above Adora's and Catra's bed.
It was a rough drawing of Adora and Catra, smiling to the viewers as it was drawn in the blackest ink.
At the same time, she dug through her food, noting that the ration bars looked a little more loose than usual this time around. If Adora's tears had nothing to do with it, then that could only mean one thing.
Sure enough, she discovered her old Sorcerer's badge from long ago, a relic of her time in Mystacor. For once, as she gazed over at the monitor, seeing the planets becoming aligned, she wasn't happy about it.
After all they've been through, what she's seen Adora going through in her eyes, she was not happy. She had everything she needed, everything she wanted, that could aid in her escape. Within the confines of the badge itself was a small amount of enchanted dust. On it's own, it proved to be nothing more than an unnecessary amount of dirt to clean up. On night's like this, however, it proved to be a blessing in disguise.
She knew what she had to do, though. Not just for her sake, but for Adora's sake. Her daughter's. If her fears had been realized, then she was in greater danger than she could ever know.
They all were.
And as she glanced over to the picture again, she groaned, knowing there was only one person on this entire planet that could possibly help her.
Even if she despised her.
"Forgive me, Adora..."
...
...
"Now?" Catra moaned with half-awake eyes, leaning lazily against the large curved pillar atop the castle. Of all the ridiculous things to ask, of the stupid, of the annoying, why on Etheria did she HAVE to get stuck with this? She could've been woken up for anything else, for a stupid meeting, to take her anger out on some surprised Horde invasion. Anything would've been better than this!
At least she didn't have to use her own hands for the time being. Her tail worked just as fine as she leaned against the pillar, crossing her arms.
Checking it over on the other end, practically a hundred feet below her, Bow examined his readings as he looked back to her. "A little to the left." He instructed.
Rolling her eyes, she pushed against the pillar with one arm, positioning her body and her tail a little further away. "How about now?"
"Better. Okay, now Glimmer, move yours more to the right." He instructed to his nearby friend. Like Catra, the Princess of Bright Moon rolled her tired eyes as she teleported from her spot, appearing along the opposite prong of pillar-like decoration where she left her own small antennae. There, she gave a careless tweak of the alignment as she pushed it ever so slightly to the left, wishing to be done for a long day.
Watching the static continue to build up over the tracker pad, Bow became the third and last person to roll his eyes, the only ones that weren't tired, as she teleported back to his side. "I mean my right." He corrected.
"Ugh!" For the first time, Glimmer was in one-hundred percent agreement with Catra, in terms of body language, exhaustion, and utter annoyance, as she teleported to and back again within a few seconds. "Why are we," she teleported again, "up on the roof," and a third and last time if Bow didn't want to test his ability to fly, yawning as she came back, "in the middle of the night again?"
"You know how I thought my Tracker Pad was broken in Alwyn?" He began, showing the static discharge going off his screen. "Well, I've been studying it, and I realized the garbled static I keep getting on my screen isn't a bug." He tried to tap it once more to get some sort of reaction, to no avail. "It's picking up some kind of transmission. With the three moons in alignment, all transmissions should be stronger."
"Should, or would be?" Catra called down, picking up the chatter as her ears twitched. "Cause I swear, if you woke me up for nothing..."
"Don't worry, it is, it is." He gave a wave of his hands as he kept his eyes to the monitor. "Catra, try and get a little higher, and more out-ish!"
"Geez..." Ok. She tried looking at the positives that didn't result in her strangling him. The sooner she got out, the sooner she could go back to bed. She sank her claws into the small cracks she could find along the pillar's wings, being as careful as she could to keep her balance as she gripped the antennae in her left hand at the same time. She just about had it. If she could get it a little bit further, she was sure she could-
*swiff*
"Wha- Guys, guys, guys!" Catra shouted in fear as she fell. Either her claws were too sharp or not sharp enough because the next thing she knew, her claws were scraping off the side of the wing's indents, falling for her life and hurdling towards the ground.
"Hold still. It's working!" Bow announced with utter joy, unaware of their predicament as Glimmer quickly teleported to catch her falling friend. "We did it! You guys, you got to see this!" He kept his eyes glued to the screen until he noticed the raining silence around him, followed by the sight of his missing friends as he looked around. "Guys?"
*swoosh*
In a cloud of pink sparkles, his friends appeared once more from behind, with Catra in Glimmer's arms for a change instead of the other way around. There was a small awkwardness to the setting as Catra nervously grinned up to her, having a moment of de sha vue from their experience in Alwyn.
"Heh, thanks for catching me, Pinky."
"I didn't."
*Thud!*
"Ow!" Cara yelped, rubbing her head.
Ok, she could admit. She deserved that one.
Least now they could hopefully move on for the night as they gathered near the archer. "Please tell me you finally got the message." Catra wondered, still stretching her arms a little to stay awake.
"Some of its degraded." He admitted, showing the magicat the pad. "Can you read the rest?" Catra glanced over the images as she held it in her hands.
It still looked a bit jumbled to her, but she could make it out a lot more than the scribbles she was stuck with earlier. "Yeah, most of it." She replied, brushing her finger against each of the words that came to her mind. "Serenia... Portal... Mara." She did a double take on that last one. She didn't know which word surprised or confused her more between the first and the third. "Either of you heard of Serenia before?"
"I don't know." Glimmer shrugged. "But if it has to do with Mara, it can't be good." Catra gave a stern look at the pad again, seeing the word Mara flashing in her mind as she re-read the symbols.
Saying it wasn't good was as obvious as saying wood was flammable. Mara wasn't just another person. She was a She-Ra, a past She-Ra, like Catra, who gave into her own feelings of torment and emotions, who nearly wiped out the entire world a thousand years ago and nearly destroyed the She-Ra line itself. Her actions devastated Etheria, caused who knows how much destruction throughout the world, maybe even the universe, and, possibly, lead to the disappearance of the First Ones themselves.
Catra didn't know much about Mara that she cared to know. Throughout the weeks, she's been struggling to maintain her emotions, her raw anger, her hatreds, doing everything in her power to keep from ending up like her. To her, Mara was like an enemy, someone she never wanted to be or wanted to end up as.
And all she knew out of this, was that if the name "Mara" was involved, regardless of whatever Serenia was, it could only lead to trouble...
...
...
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-beep*
*beep-beep-be-*
*click*
It was a morning like many others for Adora. The new alarm clock went off at the side of her bed. Her hair was a mess, she still felt a little tired, and she wasn't really looking forward to how the future was going to turn out. Just like everyday before it.
But, strangely, she felt a little lighter today. Her heart felt a little warmer than most mornings she woke up, like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn't know how to describe it. It was like someone threw out her old body and she was upgraded with a brand new one, one with a brighter and warmer spirit. She still wore the same grey shirt and beige pajamas, but overall she felt different inside, better.
For the first time in awhile... she woke up with a smile. And a brighter spirit.
"Time for another great day!" She cheered to herself as she threw her legs out of bed.
The morning routine passed by much like it did before for the Force Captain as she stretched her arms out, an actual smile on her face as she exited her quarters, donning her usual vest and uniform as she always did. Her hair was nice and smooth for a change without a single strand out of place, the bags under her eyes finally departed after what felt like ages. She actually looked forward to what the day had to offer for once!
*tap*
"Whooooa-! A familiar blue-haired girl yelped as she tripped over Adora's shoe.
"Whoa, careful." Adora called out as she grabbed the back of her shirt with a shadow, keeping the girl's face from implanting with the ground as she stood her up. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes, Miss Adora! Please don't be mad!" The girl said, trembling a little in fear.
"We're sorry we bumped into you, again!" The grey-haired girl apologized, worriedly.
"What do you have to be sorry for? You two seem to know where you're going." Adora casually replied, brushing off the girl's shoulder of any dust. The two kids eyed each other strangely as they turned back to the previously-scary commander.
"Miss Adora, are you feeling alright?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Um..."
The other one elbowed her a little, giving her a signal to be quiet. "Shh! Don't make her mad again!"
"Hahaha, you guys have nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine, really." She smiled, patting both their heads as she stood up. "Say, how about you guys treat yourselves to some muffins, huh?"
"Muffins?" The blue-haired one couldn't contain her excitement, or maintain it, as she glanced back nervously. "But, it's Thursday."
"No worries," she said raising a finger, "just tell the chef Miss Adora said to herself, and if they have any problems, then they can deal with me." Instantly, both girls looked at her in awe and excitement, watching the commander make a playful pounding of her fist.
"Really?"
"You mean it?" The grey squealed.
"Yup! You can tell your friends too. Now run along, girls. You don't want to miss breakfast before training."
"Yay! Thanks, Miss Adora!" They both cheered in delight as they ran down the halls, eager to tell their friends all the good news they had. Adora chuckled as she waved them off, glad to see their excitable faces after so long.
"Commander." A pair of guards rushed up to her, saluting in respect like always. "We have some bad news. We just lost another outpost near Turnwall, and most of our resources were scavenged."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Adora replied without a care in the world, patting both their shoulders as she walked right past them. "We'll just recapture them next time."
"...Uh... Y-Yes... Commander?" The right guard looked to the one on his left, the helmets they were both wearing doing nothing to hide the confused expressions each of them were sharing as they shrugged.
Man, everything felt brighter around here for some reason, and it was the best! She didn't feel any weight of worries for a change, she didn't feel anything tying her down for a change, even the fact they lost another outpost didn't seem to phase her. And why should it? It was like she said, she'd recapture the outposts in due time. What was there to worry about?
"Adora!" And right on cue, she turned around with a hearty smile as she saw Scorpia rushing up to her again, another stack of papers in her arms. "Huff, there you are." She panted looking over the pages. "Okay, so good news, um, ish. I helped with some of the introductory stuff, but the rest of this stuff might take most of the afternoon. But I think we can get it done early if we get a head start on it. What do you think?"
"Huh? Oh, the paperwork, right." Adora looked at the papers with a curious smile as she rubbed her chin, holding another arm behind her back. "...You know... I think I might just... I don't know, take the day off or something, from paperwork."
"I still haven't found the requisition from one of the outposts by Turnwal, by the way need to tell you something about that, but I-" Scorpia stopped as she blinked to herself, staring down at the perky commander who smiled back at her. "Did... You just say you'd rather hold off on the paperwork... for once?"
"Why, is that a problem?" She grinned. Scorpia tried to get a good look in her eye, trying to see if she was seeing things or if Adora was really Adora right now. Sparkling blue eyes, luscious hair, upbeat smile. Nope. Still the same. So what was so different about her?
"Problem?" Aside from the fact Adora might have been replaced with an imposter, she assumed. Looking between her and the papers, she quickly shook her head, and her claws, in response. "Oh, n-no problem! Nope, nope nope-" That was when she realized that in her haste to continue Adora's smile, she shook the piles of papers right out of her arms. "Um... Ok, except that, but still! No problem. I got this..." She dropped to her knees, fumbling to keep the papers together before Adora's mood could be ruined.
"Hehe, just have them placed on my desk." She directed, turning away. Scorpia lifted her head as she watched Adora take off, the Force Captain being as casual as ever, as she walked down the hall with her hands behind her head.
She couldn't explain this sudden turnaround of Adora's behavior. In one day, she went from, admittedly, moody, irritable, strict, to suddenly joyful, hopeful, and, for the first time in awhile, happy. She somehow transformed in her entirety in just one night.
And honestly, Scorpia was happy for her. She missed her old smiling friend she used to greet, missed the way she smiled over everything that came her way. Who cared if the paperwork would pile on a little by tomorrow if she held it off? If Adora was happy, Scorpia was happy, and that's all that mattered.
...And maybe she would let Scorpia keep the baby picture if she was lucky.
...
Still smiling, ever presently, Adora walked along the prison sector with her usual tray of food in hand for Shadow Weaver. She couldn't wait to hear what she had to offer, some insight that could finally turn her life around at long last. Maybe it was the info to some new weapon only she knew existed? Or a type of magic that could dominate the power of the princesses? Who knew what it could be?!
Feeling a little more generous for the day, and to give them a bit more of an excuse to have a conversation, she brought two muffins with her today. One for her, and one for Shadow Weaver. She didn't really know what her preference was, but compared to the usual tasteless ration bars provided for the prisoners, she doubt she would complain.
Not a single thing stood out of Adora's way to turn her mood over. And for the first time since meeting her, not even Aroda's presence as she leaned against the outside of Shadow Weaver's cell could bother her.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you~" She grinned.
Instantly. Immediately. Adora's heart skipped several beats as she quickly looked inside. Like a gun going off, her heart came back to normal as she breathed a sense of fresh air, smirking back to Adora as she disengaged the forcefield.
"Hah, nice try." She taunted, unaware of Aroda's shifting gaze as she smirked, watching the hopeless girl walking into the cell. "A-Ahem," Adora coughed, clearing her throat, "good morning, Shad-" She stopped. There was a small blush forming on her face as she lowered her head. Even after a thorough combing, she still had to brush a strand out of her face as she smiled. "I mean... Good morning... mother." She greeted properly, looking back to the mother figure of her life who stood in the center of her cell, back turned to her.
Adora waited a few seconds for a response before deciding to direct the start of the conversation herself, setting the tray down as she rubbed her right shoulder. "S-So, listen, um, I... I was just... thinking, a little bit, and..." She coughed once more as she took a deep breath.
"So, I was thinking, that, you know, maybe... Maybe, if things went well, we could- I-I mean, I could, um..." She chuckled a little as to why she was being so nervous with herself. "Can't believe this is hard to say. Um, maybe, i-if you get out of here, once Hordak gives the okay, then maybe, I could... give you your old job back?" She offered, lifting her head again as she smiled to her.
"I've been thinking about it to myself and everything, and, well... I... I don't think I'm all that cut out to be a commander, you know? With all that's been happening lately, and the territories we've been losing, I just... I just don't think I'm cut out to be a commander, anymore. I'm better at using my talents out in the battlefield, where they can actually be of some assistance. I was better at following your orders anyway rather than giving them."
"..."
She waited for some form of response, noticing the repeated silence emanating from her. She didn't find it so suspicious, given all that she was laying on her all at once. To take her old job back would be an effort in itself, seeing how Hordak gave Adora her old job anyway, and it still relied on whether or not Shadow Weaver wanted it back in the first place.
"I-I mean you don't have to answer all at once or anything, it was just a question." She continued. "I... I just thought that you would like your old position back, and it would be the least I could do to repay you for all of this. And... Not just this, either. I mean for everything, raising me and all." How else was she supposed to make amends with her own mother after all that's happened? She smiled lifting her head further, walking to her back.
"Would you be interested in that, by any chance? Mom?" Still, there was no response, so she lifted a hand to her shoulder. "Well come on, don't give me the silent treatment all day, I-" And they went right through it.
Her hand passed through the figure of Shadow Weaver easily, her touch being encircled by small shadowy flames that were as delicate as air, reforming immediately to the figure she used to know. The figure standing before her was nothing more than an illusion.
And the pain in Adora's chest was anything but.
"N-No..." Her heart felt like it was ripped straight out as she moved her hand all through the figure, unable to believe what she was seeing, what she was feeling. With vacant eyes and a mind that refused to accept what she was witnessing, she tried to grab any piece of Shadow Weaver as her eyes started to water. "T-This whole... This whole time, you were..."
Using her.
That was the truth Adora had come to realize. That was the pain she was truly feeling.
All those previous tasks, the badge, the picture frame, were all part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Of course Adora wouldn't raise suspicion if she wanted a badge of all things. Why would she if it was supposed to be a late gift for her. And a picture frame? Sure. There was nothing in it or about it that striked her as odd. It was a parting gift at this point, something for Shadow Weaver to remember her by, remember them by. It was touching when Adora thought about it.
So touching that she wouldn't even bat an eyelash at her third and final request.
Growing shadows along her arm, tired of the illusion that kept reshaping in front of her, Adora tore at it in a mad fury, eviscerating it with extreme prejudice until it tore to shreds, disappearing completely. Upon the floor, she saw the means of her escape, the truth behind the final item she got her, and the cracked picture frame she didn't even bother to take with.
The badge. That one, stupid, badge. After all she had to provide for her, because of how rudimentary and useless they appeared, Adora never bothered to question what would be so useful for this third and final item she brought in. How could she be any more foolish? If the first two meant nothing to her, then the third object was practically a treasure trove, one aiding in her escape as she saw the magical incantations still glowing along the floor.
Once again, despite every assurance, despite keeping herself in check, Shadow Weaver had managed to manipulate her through till the very end. She showed no sense of caring to the young girl, no reason to stick around, not even an excuse to leave her on her own. She abandoned Adora, right when she needed her most.
Once again, Shadow Weaver used her.
"Noo..." Adora's face slowly twisted from anguish, dread, to anger, outrage as she slowly dropped to her knees. Her tearful expression changed as she let out a cry, swiping at the revolting incantations that practically taunted her very being. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaahahhhh!" Adora cried so heavily after she swept aside everything else, squeezing her head in frustration as she cried on the very spot the illusion disappeared, what was always an illusion, given how heartless it could be.
She didn't bat an eye at the drawing she saw pinned to the wall with a fork, one that read "Thank You, Adora" written in a dried-up ink she wetted with water under the pictures, from the very person she was revolted to think about at this point. She cared nothing for the picture or its frame as she chucked it at the wall, ignoring it as it shattered into thousands of pieces of paper as the picture inside blew away. And the badge, the badge that felt like poison to the touch as she tore it from her sleeve.
She crushed it in her very hands, throwing it straight into the center of the monitor, ignoring it as it cracked, fizzling before bursting in place. She could only cry as she threw herself to the floor, squeezing her head and crying her eyes out in the hopes that she would wake up soon from a nightmare she was never experiencing.
Everywhere she went, everywhere she looked, she felt heartache, trauma, sadness, within this room. Everything she thought was a lie. The people she cared about always turned their back on her, the people she trusted used them at the very end, and the people she wanted back would never return to her. This time, it hurt worse. She didn't just lose a mentor, or an ally, or a friend. The one proud, honorable, Force Captain broke down as the tears fell around her, and the shadows rose from her back.
"No... No, no no, no, NO, NO, NO, NOOOO!" She shouted in fury, anguish, torment. Like the torrent of emotions that poured from her eyes, her powers manifested like a whirlwind as massive tendrils, claws, barbs, grew out of her back. Without any control from the girl, they ran amok within the small prison cell, destroying and clawing away at everything around them.
The claws tore the metal asunder with a thunderous creaking of metal, the tendrils pride whatever they could from the walls, pulling at the monitor attached to the screen before slamming it to against the wall, and the barbs, perhaps they were the worst. Piercing through the thick durable metal of the ceiling, they slowly tore across the metal sheets, pulling at wires and circuits as they grew from within like the roots of a tree, sprinkling a rain of sparks and torn cables falling around the Force Captain. Eventually, the electricity short circuited along the lights, trapping the young girl, in body and heart, in eternal darkness.
The person she cried to when she was sad, the one she could count on to lean on her shoulder. The woman who dedicated her life to Adora since she was an infant, who showed unwavering affection compared to all others, the one she was finally ready to open up to again. She was the one who inspired Adora all her life, to give her life meaning, to give her the dedication she wanted to return to the Horde, the one person who raised her. And the one who saw her only as a tool, a means to an end, and tossed her aside like she was nothing.
That person was now, and forever, gone.
She lost a mother.
She lost everything.
And her tears would know no end...
...
...
...
A/N: *hic!* Why are you'sh all crying T_O...*hic!* Shaddup! SHADDUP! It's jush a little reading... *downs another bottle of whiskey* You don't shee ME crying about i- Oh crap I read another line... *downs 13th bottle* Ah, you don't shee ME crying my eyesh'ish out! *hic!* Oh god, im gonna have a hangover after this...
*hic!* Well, okay, while I'm dealing with that depreshhing and all that crap, hope you ALLLLLLL enjoyed! *hic!* Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you didn't cry yourshelves to deaaaaath, *hic!* and I hope to see you in a much more light-hearted and humorous episode with our season finale! Not gid losht, I need to go cry about something I'm trying to forget P_P...*hic!*