Adora falls apart to Mara and Razz.
Castaspella administers the antidote.
Adora raked her hands through her hair, deliberately ignoring the ever-persistent burning in her side. Mara hovered by her side, seemingly at a loss. "So... I'm dying?" She asked, addressing her question to Razz. The crazy old lady, despite very much living up to her name, always seemed to know how to help Adora and her issues. Razz continued bustling about, ignoring her. "Razz? Please, tell me," She begged. Mara narrowed her eyes in thought. "Razz?" She asked. Adora narrowed her eyes. "You know something," She accused. Mara blinked in shock. "Don't lie!" Adora shouted, standing up. Her hand shot to her side as it burned and pulsed angrily. She exhaled shakily, pushing the pain to the back of her mind, just like the Horde had taught them.
Lest they receive a lashing to cover the original ailment.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Mara held her hands up in surrender. Adora jabbed a finger in her direction. "Yes, you do!" She screamed. "God, I'm so sick of people never telling me things!" She fisted her hair. Her waistband grew cold and damp. "Adora, please, stop straining yourself," Mara held her hands out in a way you would a feral animal.
In one way, Adora was acting like one.
"Adora is right, dearie," Razz chimed in happily, walking in between the two women. Adora paused. Mara frowned. "Now... Razz..." She began. "Do you mean me," Adora began. "Or me?" Mara finished. Razz turned, blinking widely. "You, obviously," She tutted, flapping her hand at Mara. "What a silly question," Mara shook her head. "It's so confusing with us here now. At least when it was just one, it was easy to know who she was addressing," Mara chuckled softly. Adora eased herself back onto the soft chair, still fuming angry. Mara noticed and stopped chuckling. "Listen," She began, kneeling by her side. "I truly don't know anything," She sighed. Adora continued glaring. "I don't believe you," She snapped. Mara nodded. "That's fair. A lot of... She-Ra stuff you were told wasn't true... either by myself or Light Hope,"
Adora resisted the urge to sneer.
"She's the reason we're in this mess," She spat instead. Mara hesitated audibly. "Not... entirely," She said softly. Adora narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked quietly. Razz began singing loudly. "You girls are like my birds!" She chastised. "Always bickering!" Razz whacked them both with her broom. Mara laughed, swatting it away. Adora tutted, desperately fighting away the laugh.
"Listen, girlie," Razz finally approached. "You are not dead yet. You are in a plain, I believe you call it limbo," Razz sat on the ground. Her broom was suddenly nowhere to be seen. "Yeah, I know limbo," Adora agreed. "Yes. Your friends, as we speak, are fighting to make the antidote for you," Adora caged her side. "But there is something they need, that they cannot get. That only She-Ra can get," Adora looked sharply at Mara, but she was just as clueless as her. "They need magic from the sword. From the Runestone,"
Adora felt her cheeks flush, and for the first time, not with fever. "But... I-I broke it," She mumbled. Razz hummed. "I know," Adora wiped away the sudden tears burning in her eyes. A hand landed on her shoulder. She ignored it. "How does she get the magic, Razz?" Mara asked, apparently seeing Adora's struggle to not sob. "It's not going to be easy, at all," Razz warned. Adora snorted. "When is anything to do with She-Ra ever easy?"
Mara snickered.
Razz whacked them both again.
"When you are alone, and not before, otherwise it won't work, you must take some life essence from yourself," Razz said cryptically. Mara sighed. "Well that's... um..." Adora agreed. "Because you are the sword now... because there is no physical manifestation of it, the Runestone is, in essence, you. It is your life, it is your soul," Adora was slightly taken aback by how... clearly Razz was speaking. Sure, the premise was still as confusing as shit, but her wording was the clearest Adora had ever heard in her just over three years of knowing her.
"And... uh... how do you do that?" She asked, blinking away the black spots. Razz noticed. "When you are alone, you must repeat the First Ones writing that was embedded on the original sword," She began to sweep. "It was a fail-safe the First Ones made, in case one of their own grew infected or the sword stopped working,"
Adora swallowed back the sudden sick feeling. "How will I know when I'm alone?" She asked. Razz ignored her and continued to sweep. Mara's face lit up. "We're in Razz's cottage, yes? The same one that's visible in the real world?" She grinned. Adora gasped. "Bright Moon exists here!"
Bright Moon did exist. Adora made the trek on her own, insisting she'd be fine. She made her way to her bedroom, assuming that's where she'd... her body... would be. The walk was longer than usual. Maybe time passed slower here? In this... limbo? She opened the door and walked in, freezing her in her steps. There, on the (ridiculously large, but very nice firm) bed, lay her body. Despite her begging with Glimmer to make the bed smaller and harder, Glimmer had refused. She stated: "You're a Princess now! You receive only top comfort!" Only after many months of begging did she relent a little. "Fine, you can have a hard mattress! But I'm not making the bed any smaller!"
Adora slowly walked over to her form, frowning and wincing. The closer she got, the worse her side burned. Her waistband was sodden now. She daredn't look at with what. A small part hoped blood because at least that was normal. Her real form was pale, the palest she'd ever seen. Adora had never been one to soak up the limited sun they received in the Fright Zone, not like Catra or Lonnie. She was nearly white.
Her eyes had thick black circles underneath, rimmed with red lines. The green broken code had now completely covered her arms and face in thick horrid lines. There was no way it went amiss now. She touched her real life form, stepping back with a scream when her fingertips burned. Ok, bad idea. Can't touch the living.
She shrugged, looking around. Ok.
She extended her right hand, fighting through the pain. "For the honour of Greyskull!" Her body burned with agony as she transformed. The cape swooshed behind as she fell to her knees, sobbing in pain. This was the worst pain she'd ever been in. Even the failsafe hadn't hurt as much as this. Her body tingled cooly, trying to dampen the white-hot pain. She punched the ground, breathing heavily.
The pain slowly ebbed away, or maybe she grew used to it...
Adora pressed a hand on the bed, pushing herself up. Sweat dripped from her head, rolling down her neck. She ignored it. She glanced at the sword and began to chant.
Catra was violently woken by a frantic Glimmer. "She's done it! The antidote! It's finished!" She was running out after Sparkles before she'd finished her sentence. They ran to Adora's room, skidding to a stop. Above Adora's body floated a soft ball of glowing energy. Castaspella reached out and popped out, spinning her hands around in a flashy circle. "What's she doing?" Catra whispered. Glimmer shushed her. Catra scoffed, but watched in silence. The ball of energy grew bigger and bigger, changing colours as it floated closer to Adora's body. Castaspella shouted... something, Catra didn't understand magic words, and the ball flew into Adora's body.
Adora acrhed off the bed, silently, glowing a faint golden colour. Catra resisted the urge to run over. Adora dropped back to the bed, breathing quietly. Her body remained still. Catra finally approached. The scent was still there. "Damn it, it didn't work!" She cried, scratching the bed. Castaspella tutted loudly. "The antitode will take a few hours to work, or even give impression of its working. Do not lose hope just yet,"