A/N: Final Word Count: 7.8K Pre-A/N's.
Dun dun di dun dun duuuuun!
Dun dun di dun dun duuuuun!
Dun dun didi dun, didi dun, didi dun, dun didi dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!
Presenting for all to see and bear witness to, to experience the extravagance, the exemplary, the awesomeness that is, without a doubt, my ONE-HUNDREDTH 100th CHAPTERRRRRRRRRR!
Yes folks, we did it! We reached the glorious big 1! 0! 0! And my god!... I wish i had something more interesting to show for it XP
Lol, yeah, kind of a short chapter compared to usual, but as many know of my work, I usually post chapters within 5 minutes through the episode, and this was all I got when it came down to it. Personally, i think/hope its justified given the incredible fight i pulled off yesterday within 8 hours and the 15k i added in a single day, so some slack is a little credited i think XP lol
On a bright side, we do move on to Adora's side of the season again as we get to experience everything and anything she's going through at the moment. And if anyone remembers the first five minutes of the episode, them I'm sure you remember fondly the interesting Bar fight that took place within the first five minutes and Catra's introduction to the masses. How does Adora do it?
Wellllllllll you'll just have to read and see. Hopefully it'll be good enough. Either way, we're here with episode 3, baby, kicking off things by being the glorious 100th chapter ^^!
So, with that said, enjoy!
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...
The desert sand burned beneath her feet, even with boots on. The sound of the vultures above her was a constant reminder of the place she was in, what this valley had to offer. With dozens upon dozens of large bones from here to as far as her eyes could see, Adora knew that this place earned its name as the Valley of Death for a reason. Nothing survived out here, and given the time she had left before her powers would sicken her, neither would she.
The Crimson Waste. The Nightmare of Etheria.
It still bothered her to think of all the reasons why she was out here as she wore her brown linen cloak, shielding her eyes from the blistering sun as she stared into the sky.
To think, everything, all of this, was happening because of one little mistake, one little lie. Not even a lie, a coverup at that! She admitted that Shadow Weaver had escaped at least, so that should've counted for something, right? Apparently not, because she neglected to mention she was the reason she managed to escape in the first place, even though it was due to Shadow Weaver's trickery and manipulations that lead to it.
It didn't matter, not to Lord Hordak. In the end, in his eyes, Adora was a traitor, an outcast. For one simple lie, she was deemed unworthy in his eyes after all the work she's done for him and the Horde. She was no more useful to him than the chair he sat on, possibly less than that since he could always count on it to sit on while he couldn't count on her to follow her directions. And after spending a single night in Shadow Weaver's cell, what was her punishment for such a "heinous crime"?
Why, being sent to the Crimson Waste of course! And to add insult to injury, to make sure the captain was fully aware of her predicament, she had less than four days to complete her mission.
It wasn't like he gave her this specific timestamp himself. It was the fact that that was as long as Adora could usually last before the shadows corrupting her constantly made her sick again, starting off with a fever that usually progressed more and more until she recharged in the Fright Zone again. And if she failed to return with the First Ones technology upon her return, there would be dire consequences.
This was her last chance. Her last chance to prove herself to Lord Hordak, an endeavor that was starting to feel more like a chore these days than a necessity, her last chance to prove herself as a commander, and her last chance to prove herself as a soldier for the Horde.
She couldn't allow herself to fail.
"Adora?" A voice called out to her from behind. "Adora?... Adora!" Scorpia panted as she finally caught up to the girl, the desert heat already getting to her as she sweat. "Huff... Huff... I'm surprised you can move so fast around here. Doesn't the heat bother you? She swiped at the bits of sweat dripping from her forehead.
"Well, with all the fevers I've had, I guess I'm just used to it." Adora replied, scanning the area in front of her before looking back to Scorpia a bit concerned. "You really didn't need to come with me, Scorpia. Hordak sent me to die here, not you."
"I know, and it was so noble of you." Scorpia swooned as she pulled the ex-Force Captain over, wrapping a comforting arm around her neck, choking the girl a little. "The fact you were trying to push me away to keep me safe was just beautiful!" It almost made her want to tear up. She knew she was Adora's best friend! "And it just brought us closer together."
"Mmmh..." Adora blushed a little as she pushed the claw away distancing herself. "I get that Scorpia, but you really shouldn't have come here." It didn't matter if she managed to keep Scorpia from trying to rescue her for her sake if she just came on this suicide mission with her anyway. "I'm the one being punished for lying to Lord Hordak. A lie! If he's so worked up over a simple thing like that, then it won't even matter if I bring the First Ones tech back."
Sometimes it was funny for her to think about how her life turned out within the last several months. To go from Hordak's second-in-command, a Force Captain known for her kindness and decency, and someone who's put in more effort than any other soldier of the Horde, could be looked down upon and punished for one simple mistake... It was ridiculous to her!
"One way or another, I'm dead. It doesn't matter if I complete the mission or not." She continued, lowering her head a little off to the side. "Hordak's just going to punish me even if I succeed. It's pointless." This was one of the reasons Scorpia hated seeing Adora like this.
Since the two met, the girl had been a positive source of energy around her even when times were tough. She always put her best foot forward, worked harder than anyone to accomplish her goals, and did what she could to support those around her on the side. Save for the workload this caused, there was almost nothing that could bring her down.
So whenever she saw her like this, it hurt a little inside. To see one of the most positive-looking people in the world suddenly flip their smile upside down, to think of all the things that happened to make her out this way, it was painful to witness. Adora didn't deserve whatever was causing her misery or grief, not in Scorpia's eyes. The girl had been through enough with people betraying her left and right, especially with Catra.
With a small smile, the delightful friend gave her a gentle claw on her shoulder, drawing Adora's eyes to her. "Hey, don't worry about it. It could always be worse."
"Worse than getting sent to the Crimson Waste?" She would've gladly scoffed at the comment if it wasn't Scorpia she was dealing with. "How could it possibly get worse than this?"
"Well, just think about what would've happened if you weren't sent to the Crimson Waste and Hordak punished you?" Scorpia smiled, looking up in thought as she tapped her chin. "You could've been hung, used as target practice, sentence to a guillotine, spent the rest of your life rotting in a cell, buried alive, burned at a stake, experimented on or dissected, tortured, sent to Beast Island, or thrown into a bottomless pit until starvation." She smiled back to her friend. "Doesn't that make you feel better?"
Adora's eyes were completely blank. "... Well it does now!"
"Great!" The scorpion girl smiled as she was glad to know she made Adora feel better. And completely missing the point of what Adora meant.
Now on top of everything she had to worry about just to survive out here, Adora had to panic over what would happen to her if she DID fail the mission!
At least her attempts to clear her worries came with a bit of merit as Adora saw behind the large friend. "Hey, what's that?" Adora asked, directing the scorpion to look behind her.
Over in the distance, the two saw the remains of a large skeleton, one that was hollowed out and structured like the remains of a building. It had large drapes and walls surrounding the ribs and bones of the meatless carcass that it could've been mistaken as a crudely made fort or a tent. The place actually screamed mysterious to the blond as she followed along the pathless road ahead of her, wanting to examine the place for herself.
As the two walked, Scorpia glancing around the wasteland, a familiar presence made itself known as it floated backwards alongside Adora. "Well, isn't this a nice little place? Empty wasteland, killer fauna, and everything designed to kill you out here." Aroda commented, looking up at the desert sun as she casually slipped her hands into her pockets.
"What do you want, Aroda? I'm busy." Adora murmured back, trying to remain quiet to the scorpion girl behind her that caught the sound of her voice.
"Did you say something?" Scorpia asked curiously.
"N-Nothing," Adora replied, knowing nobody else could see the living reflection of her, "just... admiring the scenery."
"Oh, yeah." Scorpia smiled as she looked around. "Once you get past all the bones buried in the sand, this place is kind of beautiful." Her smile sweetened as she saw something off to the side. "Ooooh, look, there's even a cute little birdie taking a nap over there..." Which was just as quickly replaced with concern. "I think..."
"Just use your thoughts, Adora. I can hear everything going on in your mind, remember?" Aroda instructed, wanting to keep the conversation between them in private.
Fine. Happy? Adora thought to herself as Aroda suggested.
"Much better." The reflection smiled to her as she lied on her stomach in the air, leaning an arm under her head as she stared at Adora. "So? I'm waiting."
For what?
"What do you think? It starts with a "T" and ends in a "Thank you so much for helping me back there, Aroda. You're so wise and beautiful and definitely knows what's best for me!". Or, if that's too much to think about, a simple "thank you" will suffice." It was a little charming as Adora tried to maintain the stern expression on her face as she walked on ahead, knowing she couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. As much as she hated to admit it, Aroda was right.
Up until now, Adora had been ignoring and neglecting nearly everything Aroda had saying, never trusting the person who just randomly appeared out of the mirror one day and introduced herself as her reflection. And why should she? She knew her mind was already using her magic on a subconscious level, lashing out at times when her powers needed to be recharged or her emotions were running too wild. Add a conscious that only you could see and hear to the mix, and she knew she would've been crazy for listening to it!
And yet, she was still right. Everything Adora had done up to this point were her own thoughts and feelings, using her own mind to come up with the solution to things. And how did that turn out? She failed mission after mission, specifically when the Rebellion got involved, suffered a great betrayal at one of the kingdoms that joined them for awhile, and was starting to lose more and more Horde outposts by the day to villages who promised to join the Horde!
So for the first time, Adora listened to her. She listened to what Aroda had to say, how she instructed her to do things, and above all, told her to stop being the nice guy for once. She convinced her to stop playing the nice game with people for the first time, at her hearing and judgement by Lord Hordak, and things actually worked out for her.
She got to admit to her true feelings out in front of everyone, managed to draw in some friends who refused to leave her side when Hordak threatened to strike her, and she finally felt a load off her chest of everything she's been bottling up for the last several months.
It felt good. Really good. And she had Aroda to thank for that.
With a gentle sigh, Adora's expression softened a little as she turned her head away from the floating girl. Thank you, Aroda... She sheepishly thought to herself. It still didn't mean it felt any better to be thanking a living figment of your conscious or imagination.
With a chuckle, Aroda closed her eyes and smiled. "You're quite welcome, Adora." She politely replied. "Trust me. Just keep listening to me, and I promise, everything will work out for the better." With a final ta-ta, she gave a simple wave to the girl before fading along into darkness.
*crunch*
Adora was so preoccupied with everything that she didn't even notice the skull she crushed underneath her foot, and she didn't care. It was like Aroda said. If she kept letting her feelings get the better of her around every little thing, then she was never going to be a worthy commander, provided she got her job back when this was over.
"This place must be abandoned." Scorpia said, looking at the entrance of the giant skull as the two made their way through. "According to Force Captain orientation, the Crimson Waste is completely deserted."
"Then it's better for us, right?" Adora asked back, pulling along a door-like curtain to the interior. "As long as we don't bump into anyone out here, there shouldn't be any-" Adora stopped as she turned ahead, staring at the sight before her with Scorpia.
All around the place, which apparently turned out to be a tavern, was filled to the brim with thugs and outlaws who shot the girls a dirty look. All of them looked like they came from all corners of Etheria, the criminals of the underworld, and the people trying to escape their kingdoms' laws. Not one of them stared back at the two with a simple look or a smile. They all had glares to their eyes, the softened of them with a stern expression. Even the barkeeper looked a little less than friendly as she worked.
This was truly the kind of people she could expect from the Crimson Waste. Outlaws, bandits, and who knew what waiting to actually stab them in the back when they least expected. If the outside wildlife wasn't enough to kill them, then anyone around here definitely was.
"-trouble." Adora finished, observing the room in front of her.
"... Or that information could be completely wrong." Scorpia said with an awkward smile, missing as Adora rubbed her eyes in irritation. "Man, maybe I should've skipped orientation, haha, you know what I mean?" She joked, seeing if she could brighten Adora's mood a little more.
"Uggg-" It did not.
...
...
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.
...
...
"-ggghhhh!" Adora groaned deeply, letting out a large huff of annoyance as she entered the room.
"Why am I not surprised Hordak didn't provide us with any information?" She questioned, ignoring the few faces she was getting as Scorpia stuck close behind, watching for a moment as someone spat into a spittoon. "He sent me out here to die, why would he bother trying to help me at this point? He probably wouldn't have had any useful information anyway with all the time he spends in his lab."
She took a look at the seats next to the counter, not finding a single one vacant for her or her friend. "Hey, do you mind? My friend and I have been walking all day." Adora asked as she shrugged the shoulder of a large blue lizard wearing a cloak.
*HSSHHHHKKK!*
Adora leaned back at this, feeling as if the intimidating hiss was going to be followed by a bite. Normally when someone reacted this way to her, she would've shrugged it off as normal, picturing it was just the individual having a bad day. Usually this would've result in nothing more than letting each other pass beside them, or letting the person get their aggression out until they were ready to talk. That was the old Adora.
This was the new Adora.
*HAAAKKK!*
Gathering a bundle of shadows from under her cloak, the blond soldier gathered a dozen vein-like tendrils to cover the sides of Adora's face, making her look like she usually did whenever she got sick. Back then, it was usually a sad sight to see given the sorry state Adora seemed to be in with the fever and everything.
Here, it was downright terrifying to the lizard as Adora growled back ferociously with the looks that could kill. Seeing the shadows gather around her face like that lead him to believe that was her when she had little to be angry about. What terrified him, aside from the face she made, was picturing how scary she could look if he gave her a reason to be anymore mad than she was now.
Refusing to take a chance at that, the lizard quietly hissed away in fear as it ran from the table, Adora returning the shadows to her side as her face cleared up. She grinned a little as she took the seat with satisfaction, finally having a chance to get off her feet after the last five hours of wasteland. Turning to her right, she gave a small scowl at the other patron staring at her, already bringing up a bit of her shadows as she did the other guy.
The snakeman was already terrified before she gathered even half of her shadows like the first time.
"Hey, Adora," Scorpia interrupted quietly, blocking off her sight of the lizard with a calm look, "I'm not questioning your leadership here, but maybe we shouldn't pick on a heavily armored crowd?"
"I'm not trying to pick a fight, Scorpia." Adora replied softly, keeping her face covered with her hood, resting her arms over the counter. "I'm just keeping us safe. These guys are just like Catra, and the only way you'll get them to listen is to intimidate them a little. Besides, it's not like they could do anything worse than sending me to the Crimson Waste-"
"Good riddance to that Catra girl." All of Adora's attention shot back to the other end of the counter as she heard this, seeing a pink satyr and the familiar lizard she just scared off chatting to one another.
"You have to be joking..." It was like Catra was following her, intending to cut her off at any path, even going as far as to beat Adora to wherever she needed to go. Was that what was going on here? Was she following her? Or was it a case of pre-following her, by showing up where she knew she was going?
"They caused enough trouble as it is. If I ever see that boy or his sparkly friend, or that feisty little feline again, I swear, I'm gonna-" The satyr was cut off as she was suddenly grabbed from behind by the shoulder, Adora turning her around as she looked deeply into her eyes.
"Which way did they go?" Adora needed to know.
Staring at her, the satyr gave her a smug growl, already acting aggressive as she scanned Adora from top to bottom. "Who are you?"
"You said there was a sparkly girl, a boy, and a stubborn cat. I need to know where they went." Adora asked again.
*whap*
"Back off, blondie." The satyr ordered, shoving Adora back to her chair, almost tripping her up before she grabbed the countertop. "We don't like outsiders and we don't like question, so buzz off!"
"Leave her alone!" Scorpia stood between the two a little defensively, looking down at the satyr who wasn't afraid to glare back.
"It's always nice to know your bodyguard is around to fight your battles for you. Isn't it Adora?" Aroda teased as she sat on the countertop behind her.
The two stared at each other in irritation for a bit before Scorpia walked back to her friend, offering to help her up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Scorpia." Adora assured, refusing the offer as she pulled herself up. "I can handle the riff raff around here. I've taken on worse, remember?"
"Uh, right." Scorpia scratched the back of her head a little. "Why exactly were you asking them about Catra and the others? Last thing I remember, Hordak sent us here to find First Ones Tech, not those guys. So why do we need to know which way they were going?"
"Think about it, Scorpia. Everytime we go somewhere to find new tech, Catra and her stupid sidekicks are always after the same thing. So wherever they went, we want to go to the same place before they reach it." Adora explained, squeezing her fist a little angry as she looked away. "Seriously, of all the places to go to, why did it have to be this exact location now of all times? We're in a desert for crying out loud!" Refusing to be denied her answers, Adora brushed past Scorpia as she approached the satyr again.
"She had the nerve to-" Like before, the satyr was cut off mid-sentence as Adora grabbed her by the shoulder, this time a little more forcefully as she scowled.
"Hurry up and spit it out." She demanded. "Tell me where they're going right now." And just like before, the satyr ignored her question, slapping away her hand as she stood at nearly twice Adora's height.
"There are only two rules in the Crimson Waste." She stated as the lizard stood behind her, copying her as she held up a finger. "One, the strong make the rules. And two, the weak die around here." She shifted her eyes over to the right for a moment as the lizard whispered something into her ears. "I know that's not the rule but Huntara isn't here right now, is she?" She snapped a little.
As if to show the Horde soldier she meant business, she suddenly yanked Adora closer to her by the collar of her cloak, holding up a rusty stone carving knife to her throat.
"Adora!" Before Scorpia could rush to her side again, she heard the telltale hiss of the snakeman behind her brandishing his own stone knife. Around her, she saw several other people slowly rising out of their chairs, ready to attack at a moment's notice if things turned violent.
"Do you understand me, blondie?"
"Oh no, she has a knife!" Aroda pretended to gasp, giving a small, knowing, grin to Adora as she spoke from the counter behind her. "Whatever will wittle Adowa do?" This is exactly what Adora had been dealing with all her life, in some shape or form.
Letting people boss her around, letting people threaten her when all she did was give them a warning before the violence started. Usually, it proved effective enough as the people dispersed. However, annoyingly enough, it would still happen time and time again. Why? Because, as she came to realize it within the last few days, she was being too nice.
She was letting people have the last laugh, she was letting people talk down to her because she seemed like the average girl to everyone. She didn't care if people saw her that way, what she cared about was trying to break up the violence so she could continue on her own work. And even out here in the Crimson Waste, where life was supposed to be barren, she was still getting the same attitude from everyone else, from the people she barely knew to begin with.
So why bother?
"... Mhh... Tch... Ahahahaha!" The room went silent at the sound of Adora's burst of laughter, everyone staring at her with a mix of confusion and other emotions at the girl who laughed at the knife to her throat. The satyr blinked to the lizard behind her, the one who returned her look with a shrug, before glaring back to the girl.
"What's so funny?!" She grumbled, pressing the knife a little closer to her.
"Hahahahahaha!" Adora couldn't help it. The more she thought about it, the more it actually became funny to her! "Oh, man, you're... you're serious aren't you? Hahahaha!" She could feel herself tearing up a little, brushing away a few streaks of hair in front of her eyes as she tried to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just... Ahh, gosh, that was so funny."
"What was?"
"Oh you know, the whole "trying to intimidate me" thing." She replied, wiping away her tears. "I've seen it a thousand times, and that was by far the worst."
"You wanna say that again you little-!" The satyr's eyes suddenly lit up as she felt Adora grab her hand. What became a simple gesture turned into something a little more unsettling as a swarm of shadows starting to gather around their hands, the satyr watching with disbelief as her shadows formed into a large hand-like claw, nearly twice the size it was originally, in both her hands. "What the-"
*crunch!*
"Ahhhh!" The satyr cried out in pain as Adora barely squeezed down on her hand, forcing the satyr to drop the knife as she pushed her to her knees.
"And I hate people who are trying to ruin my day." She steamed. She didn't care if she could afford up to about three hours of using her powers during this adventure, unless she wished to power through the fever and make it worse. It was high time she got some things off her chest as she finally released her grasp, walking to the other end of the countertop slowly.
"You wanna know what a bad days is for me?" Adora asked out loud, ignoring the seething satyr who rubbed her aching hand. As she spoke, Adora pressed her left claw to the counter, scraping the tips of it eerily against the wooden surface. "A bad day is when you do everything right, and somehow mess up." Scorpia watched her as she stepped out of her way. "A bad day is when you follow your orders right down to the period, and you still fail. A bad day is when you work your best to impress someone you look up to, and they shun you for it."
"Hssss!" The snakeman she approached gave her an aggressive hiss as he charged her, still holding up the knife. To someone like Adora, this was nothing more than someone trying to tag her with something.
All she needed to do was to sidestep the assailant as he tripped over her boot, dropping the knife in the process. Before he hit the ground, Adora's scowl deepened as she grabbed the snakeman by the back of his thin shirt, pulling him over and tossing him through the air over to a nearby table, crashing into it and destroying it completely in the process.
The wolf men who watched this watched in surprise before giving the girl the same look of irritation as the rest of the bar did, all while Adora picked up the knife the snake dropped.
"So when someone threatens me with a knife, I don't feel bothered. I've seen what true intimidation looks like, I've seen what pure hatred is in someone's eyes." Adora recalled all the times Hordak looked at her in disgust as she climb atop the counter, still staring at the knife. "This, is nothing to me. It's a kitchen knife, a butterknife, a plastic knife. A useless knife!" With a fire in her eyes, Adora carelessly threw the knife to her side, stabbing it straight in the middle of another groups card game.
Still watching the girl, everyone saw as Adora pulled off a bottle of juice she saw over the bar's counter with her shadowy tendril, connected to a rack full of other bottles that stood alongside it. Without any reason that concerned her, she casually popped open the cork, taking a sip of it before offering Scorpia. Tired and dried out from the desert sun, Scorpia was more than happy enough to oblige, playing up Adora's strange behavior as her acting the part.
"Hey, you're supposed to pay for that!" The barkeeper yelled, only to go silent as Adora shot her a look.
"... So when someone threatens me with a knife, I have to think to myself. Why would they be so stupid to do such a thing to begin with? A friend wouldn't try to threaten me with a knife?" Adora continued to ask around, taking another sip of the drink as Scorpia offered her some more.
*crash!*
Blinking as Adora drank, Scorpia turned around to see the orange frog person standing behind her. In his hands he held the remains of the now-broken apart chair, the very chair that he bashed over the girl's head with all of the weak force he head. And she just stared at him like it was nothing with a small glare.
"Hey!"
*wham!*
"You could hurt someone like that!" She stated. She wasn't really clear on whether or not the strange frogman got the point or not as Scorpia bashed him across the room, sending him flying over to the nearest wall where he tore some of the drapery. Then again, when someone snuck up behind you and tried to bash a chair over your head, you weren't really inclined to be nice to them back.
Drinking the remaining few gulps of the juice that was left, her ears picked up the sound of a wolf man charging at her from behind, turning around in time to see him at arm's reach as he swiped at her with her ferocious claws. Seeing how she couldn't talk with her mouth full anyway, she spat the remaining juice in front of his eyes eyes, causing him to squeal a bit as he rubbed his eyes hastily.
With the wolf temporarily blinded and the rest of her beverage tossed away, she decided to toss away the rest of the garbage surrounding her. Grabbing onto the wolf's hairy arm, giving it a bit of a twirl, she grumbled as she tossed the wolf over the counter, straight into the rack of bottles the barkeep had lined up on their sides. At least several of them broke upon impact as the rest shook from the vibration, the barkeep looking in shock at the unconscious wolf before looking back to Adora.
"Take whatever he has and consider it payment." It was less of a recommendation and more like an order as Adora told her. While not outright robbing the man, the barkeep kneeled to his side, checking him over and taking any jewelry as instructed, if only out of fear.
Smirking at the sight, Adora turned her hate-filled gaze back to the satyr, one who began to tremble in place as Adora slowly approached her, scraping her clawed arm against the counter again. "And then I realize, only an enemy would be threatening me with a knife. And that's just laughable, really." The next and last brave fool to try and assault Adora probably did the most damage compared to the rest of them.
Which is to say, none at all.
The closest he got to was sinking his orange cat-like claws into Adora's cloak, trying to grab at the girl who ignored the feline with a bandage over his eye. Like another piece of trash, like a filth she just bumped into, she tossed him aside. With several tendrils bursting from her left arm, wrapping around his neck, arm, and leg, she tossed the cat into a small crowd of frog-like reptilian people, all of them regretting the mere thought of attacking the girl next.
The satyr shriveled as Adora squatted in front of her, her pupils shrinking at the sight as Adora scowled at her, like a timebomb just waiting to go off.
"So tell me something." Adora requested as she slithered a shadowy tendril under the satyr's chin, holding it gently. "Are we all friends here? Or are you guys going to go out of your way to make sure I have a bad day?"
"I-I- w-w-we-" The satyr struggled to speak as she shifted her eyes around.
"Don't bother asking your buddy over there." Adora said, already knowing what she was trying to look at here. As if on cue, the same blue lizardman suddenly collapsed near her from behind, the satyr watching in horror as Adora's own friend stepped out from behind. "My friend got to him first."
Nobody knew what to say right now without risking setting the irritated blond off. She just blew away several of the tavern's thugs, all of them approaching her with knives and claws in their hands, and she dispatched of them in less than five seconds each. It was one of the reasons people hated outsiders around here. They came in all shapes and variety. Some were weak, some were strong, some were mysterious. People like Adora here? Like the blond that just came into their tavern out of nowhere?
They were terrifying. She was terrifying. And this was her in a good mood so far.
None of them were brave enough to try and assault the soldier next as they began to turn away from the violent blond, going back to their own business as if nothing had happened. Those without a table to sit at made due with standing around someone else's or finding a different spot to sit on. Everyone knew their chances against this girl was zero, and that was if they were lucky.
Adora had made it perfectly clear to the rest of them as they left the satyr on her own. Cross Adora, and you get the shadows. Anger Adora, and who knew what was going to happen to you. And none of them were brave enough to find out.
Gulping a little, the satyr gave the mysterious and terrifying stranger a nervous smile, trying her best to appease the girl's anger. "O-Of course, we're all friends here. We don't even think of you as outsiders. You are okay with us- Eh, I mean more than okay. You're great with us. We don't even see you or your friend as an outsider!" She shot a nervous pair of thumbs up to the girl. "We'll take you anywhere you want to go, boss."
Even Adora's smile was unnerving to her as she grinned, gently stroking the side of her face as she was satisfied. "Good girl. Then prepare to leave in a few minutes. We need a break." With a simple pat on the head, she stood up, walking back to the stool and the vacant one next to her as Scorpia sat at her side.
"Thatta girl." Aroda complimented with a grin, disappearing from Adora's view as she took her seat at the counter.
Looking around, the scorpion saw the terrified looks on everyone's faces as she slowly came back to Adora, the ex-Force Captain looking down at her shadowy fingers a little bored and disappointed with herself. Right as she was about to chat with the girl, they were interrupted by the barkeeper placing two mugs of water in front of them.
"H-Here, on the house." She offered nervously. "Just don't break anything else around here, please?" And went back again to her duties.
"Uh, thank you-" Scorpia tried to reply with a wave, only for the barkeep to distance herself as far as the other side of the counter would let her. Looking down at the drink again, she still noticed a small look on Adora's face after everything that's happened, and tried to give her a smile. "Haha, that was quite a show out there, huh, Adora?" Scorpia commented, patting on the girl's back.
For a moment, Adora almost acted on the defensive again as she turned to her, only to realize it was Scorpia patting her on the back. "Huh? Oh, right, the uh... show..." Adora rubbed the back of her head with her left arm as she looked around. For the most part, everyone was either staring in fear of the girl, ignoring the girl and going about their business, or seeing the girl looking at them before turning away in fear. "Eh... s-sorry, about that."
"Hey, what do you have to be sorry about? I get it." Scorpia assured, trying to grip her glass mug that kept slipping out of her claws. "You were just trying to keep up appearances and everything, right? A little intimidation?"
"Y-Yeah, that's what I was going for." Adora said with a small smile as she gripped her mug at the same time Scorpia did, the girl holding it in both her claws carefully. With a tink of the class, the two girls downed a bit of their beverage, Adora only taking a small sip of hers as Scorpia chugged hers down. "Just... intimidating..."
She wouldn't deny it felt a little good in the end. She didn't care so much about trying to scare everybody around her as long as she made her point to them. She wasn't going to allow any of them to bother her or her friend during this time. Anyone who tried to cross her or slow down her last chance to prove herself to the Horde was going to get smacked away like the insects they were.
"I'll say. I mean, you may have gone a little overboard with the table smashing part, but other than that you really showed them." Scorpia continued, patting her friend on the back again. "Besides, you said it yourself. They're just like Catra, a bunch of crooks and everything. It's not like you'd do that to your real friends in the Horde, right?"
"Y... Yeah, of course not." Adora smiled to her, taking another drink of her refreshment. Maybe that was why it was so easy for her to bash them around like that? Because she was picturing them as Catra to her? It's not like she needed an excuse to explain herself, seeing how she was doing it to defend herself and her friend from them. She just needed an explanation as to why it felt so... good, for a change. To get all that weight off her chest, for once.
With all the supply and demand and the workload the Horde had given out to her, there was never a chance of peace for the girl, with the closest thing to it being the times she hung out with Scorpia and Entrapta. And with all the work that has been building over the last several weeks alone, there was even less time to cool off with them.
Whatever the case was, it didn't matter. She showed her strength to everyone, she warned them about not threatening the two of them. As long as everyone did as they were told, as Adora needed them to, things would turn out just fine.
Maybe the mission will actually be successful for once!
"U-Um..." Hearing the sound of the satyr's voice again, Adora hardened her expression once more as she put on her display. "W-We're ready to go when you are... b-boss. As soon as he," she paused, giving the lizard next to her a small kick to wake up, "gets up."
"Good. And make sure you know were you're taking us." Adora warned, narrowing her eyes. "I wouldn't want to be you if I found out you were lying to me..."
"N-Nope, no lies. Honest." She assured her, grabbing the lizard's tail as she tried to wake him up while pulling him to the door.
"Awww, Adora." Scorpia moaned, catching the girl's attention again.
"Huh? What?" She wondered if she said anything that actually concerned her just now. As it turned out, there was something else the girl should've been concerned with that she suddenly noticed just now.
"Your jacket's torn." Scorpia informed her, pointing to her left arm.
"Huh?" Adora blinked at the sight of it in a bit of surprise. Like Scorpia told her, the entire left sleeve of her jacket was torn apart, finding the shredded remains of it on the floor a few feet away. "Ah, man. It must've been when that dumb cat guy grabbed me." She actually was a little disappointed in the realization. She probably would've noticed sooner if her shadows weren't keeping her forearms safe from any attack.
In the state it was now, the jacket was officially useless. With such a large tear in the red coat to the point where everything was torn from the sleeve to half the jacket itself downwards, there was no more use for it. It wouldn't keep her warm in the cold, it wouldn't keep her dry in the rain, and it wouldn't protect her thin sleeve white shirt from getting any worse. There was no means to repair it either. Unless she knew someone who could stitch together centimeter-sized tears, it wasn't going to happen.
"Aww, man." Adora sighed. Already, she was losing her favorite piece of clothing. Maybe her foolish optimism would've proven pointless after all. With a small bit of regret, the girl removed her bright red coat as she took one last look at it. "Guess I won't be needing this anymore." There wasn't going to be any point dragging around a useless piece of clothing like this slowing her down. The last she needed was some poisonous insect or lizard biting or stinging her out of nowhere, and she couldn't keep her shadows around forever.
With a heavy heart, she bid farewell to her precious jacket as she flung it behind herself, ignoring the table it landed on or the thugs who ran away at the sight of it. There was a small frown on both girls faces as Scorpia watched the jacket land softly against the table, trying to do what she could to keep her mood up with a small smile.
"It'll be okay. We can find you a new one when we get back to the Fright Zone. Ooh, we can even get you a new design for it! What do you like best? I think it would be awesome if you had a large overcoat, or... huh! We could get matching coats instead!" She tried to cheer up.
As she spoke, Adora looked across from her friend, noticing the same snakeman holding a bag of ice over his head. At the mere sight of Adora staring at him, he quickly turned around in fear, whistling to himself, minding his own business. That wasn't the part of what drew Adora's attention to him. What did draw her attention was the sight of the jacket her was wearing, noticing its design.
For the most part, it was a basic black design in color, a nice cool leather fabric to it that she knew would've been sturdy, and with long enough sleeves to fit her arms perfectly so she could roll them up as needed. The real kicker to it was the design she saw on the back, a basic full-colored outline of a snake eating its own tail, like an animal constantly hungering for something, hungering for more. And Adora grinned at the sight of it, and how much it represented her right now.
It was just in her style...
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A/N: Ah, it was so much fun writing the bar scene ^^ you know what kind of adora is fun? Writing about an intimidating adora when she has shadow powers with her X) Lol. Not much else to say on the chapter, again, sorry for the size, but hoping it was enjoyable all the same.
So with that said, hope you all enjoyed! Special thanks to Star Saber, Peyton Helix, Gunter Hat, Shadow Joestar, Shrinai, Petie doon, and everyone else who've supported this fanfic from the day it was born or at least a few weeks into it XP Their constant love and encouragement and blood sacrifices to the unholy Cthulu is what keeps me going these days ^^
So with that said, again, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and remember to party people: WE HIT THE BIG 100!