Adora's eyes stung from the unshed tears she refused to acknowledge. She was sitting rather dejectedly on the floor of her room, her back against her bed, holding a mangled piece of dark red metal. The tight hold she had on it was enough to turn her knuckles white. She could feel the sharp edge of the metal digging into her palms, but she didn't care.

Catra was dead.

At least that had been what Lonnie had said during the Horde's most recent attack at Salineas. She had been sure to rub that in Adora's face the whole time. It had been a fight for Adora to not react, a fight she had nearly lost. Especially when Lonnie had thrown Catra's headpiece at had nearly broken her. The only reason she had kept the sword up was the surge of magic that coursed through her at the rush of memories in her head.

A drop of water fell on the headpiece and slid down the cold metal until it hit the floor. Adora rubbed at her eyes, discovering the water was actually from her with the way her hand came back wet. The laugh that escaped her lip sounded hollow in her ears. Of course it would be this that broke her. She had been fine when she had left everything behind. Why was this any different?

Catra was dead.

The door to her room creaked open as Bow's head peaked into the room, "Adora? You in here?"

Adora said nothing. She knew Bow could see her. The light from the hallway had cut a line into the room that passed over her. She had looked up at him, her blueish-grey eyes meeting his black ones. He took that as an invitation and let himself in, closing the door behind him. Silence reigned for a few moments as Bow sat down beside Adora.

Bow opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to find the right words. When he spoke his voice was low and soft, "Listen, I don't really know what's going on but, Glimmer and I are both worried about you. You haven't said a word since we got back."

"How long have you known Glimmer?" Adora asked, her voice rough from just the small amount of unuse.

Bow's brow furrowed as he searched for the answer, "Uh… for a long time. I don't even really remember when we first met."

"Yeah, I figured," Adora let the headpiece drop into her lap as she rested her head on the bed. "If you had to leave her behind, for something you knew was right, could you?"

Bow took a deep breath, blowing it out of his teeth before he answered, "I don't… know."

Adora sighed. She had expected that answer. After all, both Bow and Glimmer had very different childhoods than her own. While she had been trained to be a soldier, Glimmer's mother grounded her every time she even looked at a battlefield, "Have… have you ever lost anyone?"

"What do you mean?" At Adora's questioning look Bow continued, "I mean, are we talking, lost an estranged aunt or close loved one?"

"What's an aunt?"

"Ok, I'm going to skip over that for the moment," Bow shifted his body so he could fully face her. "I mean, are we talking about someone you barely know or someone close to you?"

Adora huffed, "If you're not going to answer the question." She made to stand up, but Bow's hand on her arm stopped her.

"That's not what I'm trying to do-"

"Let me go," Adora growled as she ripped herself away from Bow's grip. She stood, letting the headpiece fall out of her grip as she stormed over to the door. Bow scrambled to his feet, trying and failing to reach Adora before she wrenched the door open. She barely stopped herself from running into Queen Angella. Training took over Adora's body as soon as she realized who was at her door. She stood at attention and snapped off a salute, "Sorry about that ma'am."

Angella raised a single eyebrow at Adora's behaviour before turning to Bow, "If you wouldn't mind. I would like a private word with Adora."

"Oh! Uh… of course," Bow said with a curt bow. He slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him as he left.

Adora stayed at attention as Angella walked past her. She wasn't sure what was going on. Angella didn't have any reason to visit her. She had done her job and had secured an alliance with Salineas. So why was she here? The only time Shadow Weaver had ever entered the cadet quarters was when someone needed to be pulled out for punishment. For anything else she wanted from the cadets, the intercom was used to summon her.

Angella had crossed the room while Adora had lost herself to her thoughts. She stooped down to pick up the headpiece that was still on the floor. Adora stiffened her hand clenching tight enough for her nails to dig into her palms as she watched Angella examine the headpiece.

"It is an interesting design," Angella said. She gently set the headpiece on the bed before turning to Adora. "Please relax. While I appreciate your deference, at this moment I am not here as a queen."

"Then why-" Adora clamped her mouth shut.

"My daughter expressed concern over you," Angella sat down on the bed, her posture still straight and regal, though more relaxed than Adora had seen before. "And I'll admit, after reading through your reports, I found myself concerned as well."

"I'm fine."

Angella tilted her head to the side as she watched the girl in front of her, "What was their name?"

Adora's breath caught in her throat, "How-"

"Loss recognizes loss," Angella stood again, when it became apparent Adora would not move. "I remember when Micah died, I kept a few of his things close to me." She held out the headpiece to Adora, "To remind myself of him, and how much we loved each other."

"I...we-" Adora closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at Catra's headpiece. So it couldn't judge her. "It's my fau-"

"It's not your fault," The words felt like a physical blow to Adora. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready for action.

"But, I left, I left her and now-"

"It's not your fault," Angella took one of Adora's hands into her own, pressing Catra's headpiece into her palm as she spoke. "Trying to carry everyone else on your shoulders, only leaves you with a broken back." She sighed and took a step back, "I apologize for the burdens we placed there ourselves."

"It's fine, I'm fine," This wasn't what Adora expected at all. Shadow Weaver never apologized. She could feel something bubbling up within her as Angella kept talking.

"It is not fine," Angella said, her word forceful and direct. "Lying to yourself won't make it go away." She backed up, away from Adora, keeping distance from her. Distance that Adora found she didn't want. "If you ever wish to talk, please come and find me." With that, Angella opened the door to the room, letting light spill once more into the room.

Adora lifted her hand to rub at her eyes from the sudden light. It came away wet once more, and she could feel the tear tracks on her cheeks. "Wait," She called out, her voice cracking as the grief she had spent the whole day forcing back came through, "Please… wait."

Catra fell back onto the ground with a loud humph as the air was forced from her lungs. Her lightsaber spun through the air, deactivating as it landed behind her opponent. Her chest heaved from exertion and the hard hit to her back as she sat up. She reached out with the force, now an almost instinctive reaction, to sooth her body and call her lightsaber back to her grip.

"You are still not calling to force in combat," Vader said as he deactivated his own lightsaber. "Relying solely on your physical abilities holds you back. You must learn to naturally augment yourself with the force."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Catra said, rolling her shoulders to relieve the aching pain that was creeping up them. "Doesn't help that blocking you is like trying to stop a freakin' tank."

"Then do not block me. Redirect my attacks, and when possible avoid them."

"You make it sound so easy," Catra shifted into the stance Vader had shown her. Her legs apart, placing her diagonally opposed to Vader, her saber held vertically in front of her. "Lets keep going."

"If you wish."

Catra exploded forward, angling her blade to thrust it at Vader. Their blades met, hissing and throwing out sparks before Catra leapt back. They clashed a few more times. Catra leapt and spun about as she lashed out with her blade. However, no matter how quick or savage the blow, Vader's red blade was there. He formed a wall with his saber. A wall Catra could not get past.

"The longer you fight without the force, the more you will fail," Vader said as he stepped and leaned sideways to avoid one of Catra's blows. He flicked his hand in her direction, sending her skidding across the grass before he lunged with an attack of his own.

Even angling her blade to cause Vader's to slide off didn't stop the bone shaking power behind his blow. It staggered Catra, leaving her unprepared when Vader disarmed her, sending her lightsaber flying to the side once more. She leaned back, letting Vader slash pass over her before flipping her body backward and landing upright again a few feet back.

She tried to call her lightsaber to her hand, but had to move when Vader lunged at her again. She growled to herself. Nothing she was trying worked to break his guard. The flame inside her chest swirled and crackled, Vader's blade was once again lying at her. Gathering her flames, she pushed them into her legs, leaping over Vader. She rolled into her landing, springing up and calling her saber to her just in time to block the slash aimed at her head.

She let the red blade roll off her own before starting her attacks again. This time she took a more measured approach, already feeling the effects of her earlier bout of energy. The burn of her muscles as they fought slowed her down some. Which made penetrating Vader's calm defence that much harder.

"Pull upon the force, it is the only way," Vader said, causing Catra to growl again.

She gathered her flames up again and shoved out. The blast of force stumbled Vader, his blade barely pushing aside her follow up attack. She seized the opportunity, sending out a flurry of strikes, ignoring the pain of her limbs as she pushed the attack. The force swirled around her, stoking her flames as they spread through her limbs. Her blue blade became a blur of motion as every angle was used to try land even one hit.

However, Vader's defense held strong.

Catra had a stitch in her side now. Her breaths were coming out in ragged gasps. Exhaustion was setting in again, even with the force. It was only a matter of time before she made a mistake. She did, of course. During one of her strikes, she felt her foot slip slightly. Just enough to throw her off balance and allow Vader the leverage he needed. He pushed her lightsaber to the side, and before she could bring it around, Vader's red blade overtook her vision.

They stayed like that, Vader's lightsaber pointing at her face and Catra staring at it, for a long moment. Eventually Vader lowered his saber, "Better."

Catra let out a low shaky breath, slumping down onto the ground, "Everything hurts."

"As to be expected," Vader said as he deactivated his saber and clipped it to his belt. "Especially with your natural leaning toward Ataru. It is a powerful style but will exhaust you quickly, even with the force flowing through you."

"You were… using.. Soresu, right?" Catra said between breaths, trying to recall the lecture Vader had given her yesterday. "Couldn't break through."

"Very good. You take to combat well. Though while my defense may have been form three, my attacks were not."

"Right yeah," Catra's brow furrowed as she stared up at the sky, replaying the fight in her head. "Could barely block you."

Vader tilted his head toward her, "There are few who can. It will be sometime before you will be able to match me."

Catra sat up, wincing as every limb screamed at her, "And how long before I'm not a puddle on the ground after fighting?"

"Patience," Vader said. Morai screeched from her perch near the ship, drawing the pair's attention. The convor was glaring at Vader, her feathers ruffled in annoyance. "Silence. Let me teach my student."

Catra raised her eyebrow at the scene, "And we're talking to birds again." Morai let out an indignant hoot. Catra ignored the convor as she stood and stretched to ease some tension in her muscles. "What's next?"

"Nothing else for today. Perform your evening meditations and rest. I expect we will have a visitor tomorrow."

"Oh yay, visitors," Catra said with a flat voice. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt before crossing her arms, "Another princess?"

"No, a witch," Vader looked out towards the forest. "I met her when I first arrived on this planet. And since then she has taken to visiting with me on occasion."

Catra smirked, "You really are just an old man underneath that mask, aren't you? Maybe we should break out the tea set? Let the two of you chatter properly."

Vader was silent for a moment, "A reasonable idea. As my apprentice, I leave that task to you." With that he spun around and walked off, leaving behind a grumbling Catra.

A/N: Here it is! The next chapter. I do hope you all enjoy. I'll be working on other projects for a bit. I haven't left this fic behind but as my roster grows expect slower updates. If you like my writing check out my other works! Thank you all for your continued support and I'll see you in the future.