Chapter 3
Later that day, Adora sought out Shadow Weaver who was notoriously hard to find, seeing as she was a literal shadow. She slept in the dark, hid in the dark and watched them all from the dark. It was impossible to escape her and just as ridiculously impossible to find her. Adora walked around the Fright Zone calling out the dark sorceress name.
She ended up so far away from her usual corner that she became lost within the web of hallways.
"Adora," Shadow Weaver's sickly honeyed voice said from next to her. A wave of something passed over her, making all the hairs stand to attention on her skin. Her spine shivered as Shadow Weaver emerged from the shadows. A red hood rested upon her head, but it didn't hide her sunken cheeks and eye sockets. Bright red eyes burned into Adora's soul, searching her for something. "My dear child, what brings you to me?"
Adora stood with her back straight, keeping a neutral face. "Shadow Weaver, I wanted to talk to you about the sword," she said, holding up the strange piece of weaponry. The sorceress didn't even glance at it. "It uses magic. You've always told me to stay away from magic. After all it's done to you, I don't know if I have the strength to wield this." Magic was draining her life force, day by day. It aims to kill her.
"You do have the strength," she places a thin hand on Adora's pale cheek, "I raised you to have the strength." Adora stared into her searing gaze. "The Horde will protect you, I will protect you from this magic."
"But–"
"Am I not like a mother to you?"
"Yes, Shadow Weaver." She had taught Adora how to read, write, tie her shoelaces, and how to kill. She learned everything she knows from this sorceress. How to fight and defend herself more importantly. She was the only mother Adora had. "I am grateful to you, for everything."
"Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"
"No, Shadow Weaver."
She nodded, slowly. "Then trust me now when I say the Horde will protect you. This magic is the only advantage we have over this rebellion. To bring happiness to Etheria, you must use this so we may place the merciful Lord Hordak on the throne." Adora swallowed harshly, gripping the hilt tightly, so tightly her knuckles turned white with the force. "You're overthinking all this. Don't tell me you're afraid of this magic?"
"No!" she said quickly, despite the fact that she was. "Never. I'm afraid of nothing, I'm just not sure I'm the right person for this job. I don't even know how to wield a single handed sword."
"Not to worry, I have devised a training exercise which will teach you. Come, I'll gather your other teammates and Force Captain Catra, we'll give it a go now." Shadow Weaver snaked an arm around her body, pulling her along. As if she were a doll or a puppet she could control. Manipulate. Torment. Adora just went along with it, because there was nothing else she could have done.
They went past the scrapyard, guards coming and going through security doors at shift change. Shift change is every half an hour which leaves a five minute window when the security doors aren't guarded. Shadow Weaver paid it no heed. They went up several levels of stairs and came to a large room before a giant mechanical door where Catra, Lonnie, Kayleigh, Ryan and Jack were waiting. They all had a very similar uniform, although Jack, Lonnie and Kayleigh had their red jackets on. Kayleigh was a type of mermaid, long flowing dark brown hair, fins on her ears, webbed fingers and a few glimmering scales on her face. She did have a tail too, it was easy to change between legs and a tail.
Lonnie was dark skinned, her hair short and coiled. She was nearly as tall as Catra but not quite and Catra loved to tease her about it all the time. When they were children, Catra used to hold Lonnie's toy shield above her head and make her jump for it. Lonnie gets her revenge during training, not to worry. Catra's teasing does not go unmatched. Catra's never been much of a fighter, she can fight, just not as well as Lonnie or Adora. Carta's skills lied in strategies, of lying in wait for the weak spot to reveal itself to her and to attack when her enemies least expected it.
Ryan and Jack weren't all that different from Adora safe for the strange eyes. Their irises were unnaturally shaped and coloured. The colour depended on how the light hit it. She wasn't sure where they had come from, and neither do they to be fair, but they don't have any special abilities. They're quite close friends, those two.
When the team spots Shadow Weaver, they get in formation. "Welcome, Shadow Weaver," they say in unison.
"Good, you're all here. Let's begin a training exercise then." She vanished in a cloud of shadows and reappeared at the control room for the simulation, encased in a special type of glass. Unbreakable.
"There you are, Adora, we've been waiting for you!" Kayleigh said, a little overly excited. "Oh, nice sword, is it new?"
"Sword? Since when do you know when to sword fight?" Ryan asked.
Adora shrugged. "I don't. I'm going to need to learn, and fast."
"I'll help you, I know how to sword fight," Jack said, offering a warm smile.
"And when did you get that sword?" Lonnie asked, her face contorted in disgust as she looked at it. "It looks off somehow."
"Lord Hordak gave it to her," Catra explained, slinging an arm around Kayleigh and Jack, a smirk on her pink lips. "She's the Honoured Warrior of the Horde."
"Ohhh, that sounds fancy," Kayleigh said.
"So, let me get this straight," Lonnie said, pushing past Jack, "Lord Hordak made you the Honoured Warrior, gave you a sword and you don't even fight with a sword. You use a polearm."
Adora took a breath. "Yes. That's right. He said the sword contained some ancient magic that could be used to quell the rebellion and bring peace to Etheria."
Kayleigh gasped, stars in her eyes. "Oh. My. Gosh. Can I see the magic?"
"Isn't magic dangerous?" Ryan mumbled to Jack who shrugged.
"I don't know how to access the magic, Lord Hordak never said and neither has Shadow Weaver."
Catra snaked up beside Adora, pushing her closer to the simulation door. "Eh, don't worry about it. Either the magic will come to you or we'll just use the sword the old fashioned way. Just do what you do best, charge head first into action and damn the consequences." Adora suppressed her anger at the comment, Catra having implied that she's not very bright and doesn't use her head. She does, when it suits her. Which wasn't very often.
The team stood together in a straight line, ready for the door to open. Shadow Weaver was still programming the system for the desired content. No doubt, it would be something extremely painful knowing that sorceress. She was never one for going easy on them, not even when they were children. Especially when they were children.
Adora had her head crammed with doubtful thoughts, since the moment she picked up that sword. More to calm herself she said to the team, "It's not for us to doubt or challenge Lord Hordak's decisions. We get the order, we execute the order." The team nodded together in agreement of the statement.
The door to the chamber opened finally, Catra leapt in first, the rest ran in behind her. Inside was a massive area with several large stakes sticking out of the ground, and killer robots roaming the area. When the simulation fired up, the stakes became trees and the robots became whatever enemy they decided to make it that day. Yesterday they had to fight off a horde of angry, deadly fish. Today was a crude version of a princess. Not that Adora had ever seen a princess before, she'd never been allowed to step foot outside of the Fright Zone, so she had no idea what a princess was supposed to look like anyway.
The princess design had torn pink dresses, bows hanging off, glitter shining in the fake sunlight. The hair was a total mess as if they've rolled down a hill after spending an hour doing it up. With faces contorted in sheer anger they fire red hot laser beams at the team, teeth sharp and nails broken and bleeding.
Catra jumped up to the trees, jumping from robot to robot, scratching, ripping out the cores from their chest and in general, making a mess. She backflipped from one bot to the next, she leaped up to a tree and stalked another bot. She shifted into her wildcat form and with her teeth tore legs off and threw it away, tripping up a robot chasing her. Adora admired how swift and agile she was, how she can just do tricks like that, flipping and twisting in the air, leaping between things like she walked on air.
Adora turned her focus to her own problems, at least five bots surrounded her and she had no idea how to use this thing or summon its magic. Shadow Weaver's method of 'teaching' was to just throw you to the flames and hope you survive. Adora did what she knew best and just charged forth to use brute strength. While Catra was thin, sneaky, agile etc, Adora was bulky, strong and great for distractions so Catra can go for the kill. They made a good team.
She raised her sword and drove it into the chest of a robot which caused it to short circuit and die, she then turned and cut the head off another. Adora catapulted off one robot and drove her sword right into another, it to its core processing unit. The two bots left fired on her, one such laser grazed her arm. She brought the sword up to block the incoming attacks.
For the honour of Grayskull… A voice called to her. The green gem within the hilt gave off a pulsing faint glow. She was so focused on the strange glow and the voice that she hadn't noticed when other bots had surrounded her. It was no longer five or two, but instead ten. She had nowhere else to go and they all brought up their firearms to shoot.
"Adora!" Catra called her name from afar. Her other team mates also rushed to help. Adora didn't need help, she never did. The voice called again, saying those exact same words. Adora didn't know what it meant and in that moment, she felt herself lose control of her own body. As if she did not have a choice.
She stood up and raised her sword skyward, she didn't know why she did that, but something compelled her to do so.
"For the honour of Grayskull!" She shouted. Adora became engulfed in a dark glow, her sword sending the same black shadow skyward, like a beam or beacon. When the shadows dissipated, it was not Adora that emerged.
Her teammates stopped in their tracks basking before the power of the sword. She had a dark aura about her, all shots fired ricocheted, almost hitting Jack and Kayleigh. She just stood there, unmoving.
Over the comms system, Shadow Weaver said, "Adora, destroy all bots."
She followed that command to the T. Adora, drove her sword into the ground sending electrified currents throughout the floor panels which caused all the bots in the area to short circuit. They crumpled to the ground like scrap metal.
The simulation was over, the projection stopped and Shadow Weaver entered, clapping.
"Well done, my dear children, you impress me with your skills." With all the bots gone, Adora stood and awaited her next instruction. She was not in control of her own body. The magic that was stored within the sword has taken over and all she can do is watch as she's moved like a puppet. She tried with all her might to control herself, but she can't. It was a wasted effort. "Your duties are fulfilled," Shadow Weaver said to Adora who stood emotionless, unmoving like a statue. The glow in the sword vanished, Adora's previous form was restored, the dark aura returned to the sword, and she crumbled.
Her knees were weak, her muscles ached and she was lightheaded. She fell to the floor, holding into the hilt of the sword for stability. Catra and Lonnie rushed to her aid. They helped her stand back up. Adora took many deep breaths, her lungs ravaged by searing flames. Shadow Weaver slipped her hand under Adora's chin to make her look up.
"You did well, Adora."
"What did that sword do to her, Shadow Weaver?" Lonnie asked. "She's exhausted."
Shadow Weaver did not look away from Adora. "The price we pay for magic. It does not get any easier." She let got and straightened herself. "Sadly, those who use it will eventually succumb to it. But to win this war, to bring peace to Etheria, this may be the key." Adora quivered, she wanted to refuse this magic but also knew she'd get the beating of a lifetime if she did.
"Does it have to be Adora? Why not give the sword to someone who knows how to use a sword," Catra said, challenging the decision.
"It will be Adora. If I hear one more complaint about this, I'll let Lord Hordak skin you himself. He chose her, end of story." Shadow Weaver turned her back on us, strolling out. "Go and rest, Adora, we'll do another session later, just me and you." The thought didn't thrill her. The idea of letting a sword control her body, sucking out her life force and making her watch made her wish she could jump out the window and hit the ground with a splat. At least that death wouldn't hurt compared to the death Shadow Weaver and Lord Hordak had in mind.
Adora shared a glance with Lonnie and Catra. "Take me to the dorms, please," she said weakly. It was difficult to form words when every muscle refused to obey. It was taking a long time to get back in control, it's not instant.
"Okay," Catra said quietly. Jack, who was one big buff dude, went to pick up the sword to carry it back to the dorms. Now, he managed to pick it up but he did so with a loud grunt.
"Damn this sword is heavy, what's it made of?" he asked. No one knew the answer so none answered him. The sword wasn't actually heavy, not to Adora, so she didn't understand why he found it so heavy. Unless he was joking, he liked to do that.
Adora felt like she was taking her first steps again, every muscle sang with agony. She grasped Catra and Lonnie for dear life, sweat beading on her head.
"Let me carry you," Lonnie said. Adora shook her head and pressed on. She wouldn't let Shadow Weaver see how weak and vulnerable she was in that moment.
Weakness spelled death.
