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Thirteen: best frenemies
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Bow took the blaster and held it on Adora while Teela retrieved her staff and the Force Captain's sword. She did it quickly, because Bow looked like he was feeling pretty conflicted about the whole thing, and she was expecting Adora to make a break for it at any moment.
It's about time. What did that even mean?
She hated when the bad guys were cryptic.
"Do you know the way back to camp?" Teela asked Bow, returning the staff to her belt and keeping the sword in her hand.
"Of course, milady," he said. It was a half-hearted effort. No flourish or anything.
He even sticks up for Force Captain Adora, can you believe that? Glimmer had said. Maybe the princess was too young to figure out why a teenage boy might say nice things about a teenage girl - especially a boy who flirted with any girl that wandered into view.
Teela rolled her eyes and traded him the sword for the blaster. Then she said to Adora, "You're now a prisoner of the Great Rebellion. Please try to escape."
"I'm not going to escape," Adora said. She sounded as cool and in-control as she always did. "It took you long enough to capture me as it is."
Teela scoffed at that, which she thought was richly deserved. "On your feet," she ordered. "Let's go."
Adora rose as commanded. Teela positioned herself behind the Horde Force Captain, while Bow took the lead. They began trekking back through the forest.
Teela kept a weather eye on Adora the entire time, but she wasn't making any escape attempts. She was just walking. Quietly.
Definitely up to something.
Ugh. She hated when the bad guys were up to something.
Now that she'd remembered the earlier conversation, the other thing Glimmer had said - He says she saved his life - was sticking in her head.
It was hard to picture this ruthless, steely Force Captain as a creature of mercy. On the other hand, while Bow seemed the type to exaggerate, Teela didn't think he'd out-and-out lie. Eventually, it bothered her enough that she asked, "Did you really save his life?"
Adora's shoulders stiffened. She didn't turn to look at Teela.
"Yes," she said. It sounded like she was leaving off the rest of the sentence: And I wish I hadn't.
For once, Bow didn't say anything. Teela suspected he hadn't heard them.
They left the forest and crossed the charred field of deadfall in silence. Teela was ready for an attack, but the transport vessel was gone, as were the soldiers. She wondered what would happen to Scorpia and the three soldiers who'd fallen prey to Bow. Presumably whoever woke up first would call for assistance.
Or maybe the Horde didn't care about one goon and three soldiers.
She suspected it was the latter - but hoped, for the soldiers' sakes, that she was wrong.
Once they got within shouting distance of the temporary campsite, Bow gave a bird-whistle signal and called out, "Captain Teela and Bow! We have a prisoner!"
A lot of noise from the camp, and then Mally and Glimmer both came running. Mally had a stolen Horde blaster raised, and Glimmer's hands were glowing - feebly, but determinedly - with shimmery purple magic.
When they saw who the prisoner was, Glimmer's mouth dropped open, and Mally, wide-eyed, said a curse substantially stronger than By the First Ones. Teela could tell because Mally immediately turned to Glimmer and said, "Begging your pardon, Your Highness."
"What - how did you -" Glimmer started, but she quickly gave up and simply yelled, "Mother! It's Force Captain Adora!"
Queen Angella would never do something as undignified as rush out to meet a prisoner. Teela walked Adora into the campsite proper, where the queen was standing, hands clasped serenely before her, wings folded behind. The other Rebels were hanging back around the outer edges of the camp, most eating, some tending to small injuries, all stopping to gape at the legendary Force Captain.
Madame Razz appeared to be taking a nap under one of the trees.
Teela found herself counting heads, and was relieved to see everyone was present and accounted for. Looked like her mission had been a success after all.
"Captain Teela," the queen said, smiling. She was still dressed in the same filthy clothes she'd worn as a prisoner, but she made it regal. "I am pleased to see you return unharmed. I can never thank you enough for what you've done today, for myself, my family, my kingdom, and for all of Etheria."
Teela inclined her head, saying, "No thanks are needed, Your Majesty" - which wasn't ever true, but was the kind of thing that royalty liked to hear. Then she put a hand on Adora's shoulder and shoved her down to the forest floor.
Adora sat. Gracefully. Her spine was perfectly straight.
"I disagree," the queen said to Teela. "But we shall continue this conversation later. Force Captain Adora, you are now a prisoner of the Great Rebellion. What say you in your defense?"
"I renounce the Horde," Adora said. Brisk. Businesslike. "I pledge my loyalty to the Great Rebellion."
Immediately, murmurs and whispers sprang up from the watching Rebels. Teela was every bit as surprised, but more than that, she was angry. What was the point of that ridiculous death match (it hadn't been a rematch) if Adora was going to turn anyway?
She didn't trust it, and she resented Adora for such a stupidly obvious ploy.
Well, obvious to some. With a wide grin and a courtly flourish, Bow swept his cloak aside, saying, "Then welcome to -"
"Bow!" Glimmer said, stamping her foot. "No! There's no way! No!" She whirled to the queen. "She's not renouncing anything, Mother! This is just a trick. She's the one in charge! She ordered those Troopers to burn down Thaymoor!"
Adora looked directly at Queen Angella. "I don't want anything like that to happen again, Your Majesty. That's why I'm here. The Horde has to be stopped."
Queen Angella held Adora's gaze for a long moment. "I believe you," she said.
Glimmer started to protest; the queen forestalled it by laying a hand on her shoulder.
"If she wasn't telling the truth," Angella said gently, "how could she be here?"
Everyone looked around at the candy-colored trees of the Whispering Woods that surrounded them, and then up into their shadowy branches, where tiny eye-lights blinked.
Yellow. Purple. Green.
Teela suddenly remembered that this was a magical forest that never let in anyone with evil intentions, and wanted to smack herself for forgetting in the first place. Seriously. That was embarrassing.
She tried to cover by crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Adora. "And what made you change your mind about your beloved Horde, Force Captain?"
Adora glared back at her, then shifted her focus to Queen Angella again. "Shadow Weaver had me under a spell."
Glimmer snorted, but Teela heard the undercurrent of genuine betrayal - genuine hurt - and realized that this was the truth.
Drat.
She hated when the bad guys were victims.
A sympathetic expression settled onto Queen Angella's face. "I assume after the Castle fell."
Adora nodded, short and sharp.
Out of the corner of Teela's eye, she saw Bow flinch. As well he might.
Her not-a-dream came to mind. Shadow Weaver, the dark energy crackling around Marzo. Marzo with blank, black eyes, saying whatever Weaver wanted. A laugh pushed through decayed lungs.
Teela was still having trouble picturing Adora as Bow's savior, but she could easily imagine a slightly younger Adora standing before the witch, probably with the same stony, defiant air, owning up to her actions. It was also easy to imagine Weaver putting the whammy on her so she could never do such a thing again.
Vicious. Skeletor had never stooped to something like that, though Elders knew some of his minions actually deserved it. Evil-Lyn, for one. Teela wouldn't feel at all bad if she was mind-controlled.
"I woke up yesterday, and everything was clear." Adora's hands had been resting loose in her lap; now they curled into fists. Her voice took on a hard edge as she explained, "I knew that the Horde wasn't unifying Etheria; they were destroying it. And I knew that I had to stop Hordak and Shadow Weaver."
Bow cleared his throat and flourished again. "Any enemy of the Horde is a friend of -"
Teela cut him off: "And you decided the best way of doing that was fighting me?"
Adora gave her a look that spoke volumes. Scornful, scornful volumes. "I needed to be captured, and it had to look real. There's no advantage if they know I'm here voluntarily."
"No advantage for who?" Glimmer muttered, neatly echoing Teela's own thoughts.
The queen laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder again; she didn't aim any quelling looks at Teela, but if Teela knew royalty, she was probably running into the limits of Queen Angella's forbearance. "The Great Rebellion welcomes you gladly, Captain Adora. Your knowledge of the Horde will be invaluable."
Adora bowed her head respectfully, then got to her feet. "Actually, Your Majesty, I can't stay with the Rebellion. I need to get to Eternia."
"Where Shadow Weaver is," Teela said. Unimpressed.
This time Adora didn't even bother to look at her. "Yes."
"Why?" the queen asked. It was a genuine question, with no apparent suspicion behind it, but instead an unspoken invitation to confide. Adam could learn some diplomacy pointers from her.
Adora needed to learn diplomacy. Period.
"On Eternia, Weaver will open a portal to Despondos and release Hordak. Then they'll open a portal here, and the army they've been building on Etheria will be able to conquer Eternia." Adora's blue eyes sliced a path across the group. "I don't know why the spell on me broke, when the Troopers are all still thralled. But I can stop this. Aside from Hordak and Weaver, I'm the only person who knows the entire plan."
Well. When she put it like that.
"Teela, you and Adora must go to Eternia at once," the queen said, apparently arriving at the same conclusion. "Though I wish I could send an army with you, I cannot spare anyone else. You've seen how few resources we have."
Teela wasn't thrilled by the idea of becoming Adora's travel buddy, but the rest of it made sense. Her heart beat a little faster at the idea of going home at once. "Understandable, Your Majesty. But… how are we getting there?"
Queen Angella looked thoughtful for a moment. She turned to Madame Razz, who was snoring lightly, mouth hanging open to display surprisingly excellent teeth. No help there. The queen turned back. With some reluctance, she said, "I would prefer to offer you an easier method, but, as one is not available... It's said that there's a magical portal within the Crystal Castle."
"That castle is a myth," Adora said. "The Horde scoured Skydancer Mountain. All the Troopers ever discovered were avalanches."
Queen Angella shook her head. "I can assure you, it's not a myth; merely a very difficult place to find. Aside from Mystacor, it's also the only place where you have a chance of returning to Eternia."
"You would have to retake Mystacor first," Adora said, even more grim than usual.
"Yes, and we certainly don't have time for that. Not to worry, though." The queen smiled. "My people have accessed the Crystal Castle for generations. It will open to the pure of heart - and to bearers of magic."
"I guess we'll have to try it anyway," Teela said. "How soon can we leave?"
Queen Angella extended her wings to their full span, pink feathers gleaming in the dappled forest light. "Immediately. I'll fly you both to Skydancer. The rest will be up to you."
"What! No!" Glimmer stamped her foot again. "You're all crazy today! The Horde is going to be looking for you, Mother, you can't just fly around."
"If they were still in the area, that might be a concern," Adora said, dry. "I left Catra in command. By now she's returned to what you call the Fright Zone, where she's coming up with reasons why she can't possibly rescue me."
"She did retreat pretty fast," Bow mused.
Adora smirked. "We're not friends."
Glimmer snorted; Teela almost did. How many friends did the absolutely charming Force Captain Adora have? Teela guessed it was a number between zero and zero.
"You will need climbing gear and cold-weather clothes," the queen said, smoothly refocusing the conversation. "The mountain does enjoy its tricks. Daughter, do we still have a supply at the main camp?"
Glimmer nodded, but there was a smug tilt to it. "It's going to take all day to get there, though. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to leave for Skydancer."
The queen frowned. "I dislike the delay."
Took the words right out of Teela's mouth.
"Oh, don't you worry, dearies!" Madame Razz exclaimed. Her flower-bedecked hat popped into the middle of the group, wide awake and bright-eyed with excitement. "I can whip something up right away!"
Immediately, a chorus of voices began to protest her generous offer, but Madame rolled her sleeves up her skinny arms and waved her hands over her head, chanting, "Razzle dazzle, muggle mold, keep these girls safe from the cold!"
The spell was so vague that Teela cringed, certain that it was going to go badly, badly awry - but there was a brief smatter of periwinkle sparkles and then she was wearing a very comfortable hooded parka, gloves, pants, and boots.
Adora had received the same outfit. They looked at each other, then at the queen, Glimmer, Bow, and Mally. Everyone had varying levels of surprise on their faces.
Madame Razz also looked surprised.
Teela tried not to think about that.
"Thank you, as always, Madame," Queen Angella said. She gave Madame an elegant move that was neither a bow nor a curtsy, but something between both. Teela made a note to practice that one later.
"It's no bother, Your Majesty, no bother at all. Now you hurry home," Madame said to Teela, giving her an enormous, bone-cracking hug. "And tell your mother I said hello, won't you, deary?"
"Yes, ma'am," Teela said, instead of I've never even seen my mother. Hard to tell who Madame Razz thought her mother was - or who Madame thought she was, for that matter.
Madame turned to Adora next. "And you, sweetheart," she said, enveloping Adora in a hug as well, "come visit us soon! Broom can't wait to meet you."
Adora's eyes were wide, and for the first time since Teela had met her, she seemed totally at a loss. She gave Madame's shoulders a few tentative pats. "Um... okay. Thank you?"
Madame Razz released Adora with a grandmotherly pinch to the side of the girl's face, showered the rest of the group with effusive farewells, and then toddled off with a cheery, "First one back to camp is a rotten egg!"
Mally said, "I'll make sure she gets going safely, Your Majesty," and jogged after the old witch.
Queen Angella kissed the top of her daughter's head and said, "I shall be back this time, darling. You needn't worry for me - only for anyone who gets in my way!"
Glimmer gave her a brave, watery smile that only highlighted how young she was. "I'm sorry for them already, Mother," she said, then threw her arms around her mother in a hug that Angella immediately returned.
Teela looked away.
Adora's no-nonsense braid had frayed a bit in the fighting, and she was taking advantage of the moment to fix it. Teela resisted the urge to check her own hair. It never looked great after combat. In fact, it probably hadn't looked great since the night of the Masters' celebration, when it had been styled by Queen Marlena's maid.
She also resisted the urge to rub at the place where Adora had nearly yanked the roots out. Maybe that updo hadn't been so stupid after all.
"Wait," Bow said suddenly. "You can't leave - I mean, both of you, of course, not just - uh - You can't leave because you still don't have any gear! Right! You'll need ropes, at least."
"He's right," Glimmer said. "Climbing Skydancer is dangerous even with all the equipment."
But the only equipment they had was back at the main camp, a full day away. Oh well; surely between Father, the Masters, and He-Man, Eternia could take care of itself a little while longer.
Maybe. She hoped, anyway.
Maybe not.
Just then Mally jogged back into view, now holding two large packs in her hands. "Your Majesty! These were in the camp. By Captain Teela's bedroll."
Teela swiftly looked up, but the three tiny eye-lights were nowhere to be seen. Thanks, she mouthed anyway. Those Twigget things were starting to grow on her.
"It seems we may leave immediately, after all," Queen Angella said. She spread her wings and flapped them once. "Please make your farewells, should you wish to."
Glimmer immediately darted forward and flung her arms around Teela in a quick, hard hug. "Thank you for saving her," she whispered. Then she took a few steps back, cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders, and said imperiously, "The Great Rebellion thanks you for all of your assistance, Captain Teela. We will miss your leadership."
"Maybe I'll come back some day," Teela said, smiling at the kid. Personally, she thought it was unlikely. But unlikely and impossible were two different things, so who knew?
Glimmer returned the smile. She turned to go, giving Adora the darkest, coldest look a skinny little girl in sparkly purple armor could give someone, and flounced off.
Bow was next, stepping forward with a grand flourish. He took a breath -
- and Teela hurriedly put up a hand to stop him. "Don't say it!" she said. "Just… just, um, hold it in your heart."
Bow closed one hand and pressed it to the insignia on his chestplate - which was in fact a heart, bisected by an arrow. "Your wish is my command, milady," he said, grave. Then he turned to Adora.
Adora pointed at Teela. "What she said."
He repeated the hand-to-chest gesture, bowed from the waist, and backed away with a courtly flourish - and a grin.
With that out of the way, Mally and the other Rebel women approached; they ignored Adora or gave her dirty looks a la Glimmer. Mally held her hand out to Teela and said, simply, "Thank you, Captain."
Teela assumed she meant to shake hands, and was both surprised and pleased when the Rebel instead offered a warrior's farewell - clasping forearm to forearm - as well as a salute. The nine other women did the same, except for one who had her arm in a sling. She only did the salute.
"It was an honor to lead you," Teela said to all of them. She looked at Glimmer and Bow. "And it was an honor to help you."
And that was all completely, perfectly true. But in her mind, she was already back on Eternia.