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Chapter Text

Adora expected several things in the wake of Prime’s attack. She expected, albeit not for long, that he would win. That he would take everything and destroy it… just because he could. She expected that some of the princesses would be lost in the war. She expected the heart would kill She-Ra. She expected, but hated it, that the heart’s power would kill her too.

She didn’t expect everything to be fine. Good was too much, and nothing was terrible. Everything was… fine. And it was strange. The heart’s power surged through her veins, making her stronger than ever. Her She-Ra had survived. She wasn’t dead! With the strength of Catra to help her up, they walked to the battle outside. Prime was trying to lord everything over the Etherian's still, but with a sly smile from Catra, Adora thrust her sword up to the sky a scream. The sheer power shone brightly as she struggled to contain it. She took a steadying breath and concentrated. The bright flash of raw magic blinded her momentarily as it disappeared into the atmosphere.

Prime’s ship grew into a beautiful tree… in space. With a mental shake of her head, Adora fixated her neutral stare on him atop the cliff. The rage in his eyes almost brought forward tiny five-year-old Adora after she tripped over in a line of cadet orientation, breaking her wrist and Catra’s arm. Hordak and Shadow Weaver screamed at her then, punishing her severely for it.

But she shook away the horrible memory. She brought her sword down into the ground with a scream, returning all the magic the First Ones stole. Distantly, she was aware of the elemental princesses, those with Runestones (including herself) throbbed with a soft glow as the stolen magic from their ancestors passed returned to their blood.

She glanced around quickly, sighing in brief relief. Catra was still fine. She was still okay. She was hugging Melog. Adora straightened herself up and marched to Horde Prime.

After she cleansed his spirit, Adora returned to herself with a content sigh. There was a slight pang in her side, but the euphoria surging throughout was too strong. She grinned at her friends as they ran at her, screaming in joy. “We did it! We did it! We did it!” Glimmer chanted, jumping around with Bow and Adora. “You did it,” A sly, smooth voice whispered into her ear. Adora turned with a fond smile. “I couldn’t without you,” She whispered back. Catra snorted. “Whatever, dork,"

~

The party at Brightmoon was an incredible affair. Anyone and everyone was invited. Adora remained in her usual outfit, fitted with her trademark red jacket. Catra had removed her old head guard, leaving the little tufts of hair poke out. Adora twiddled them between her fingers with a soft smile, despite Catra’s increasingly loud warning hiss. She sighed as she stood, wincing as she stretched. Catra narrowed her eyes. “Where are you hurt?” Adora flapped her hand. “I’m not. I’m just tired,” She popped her back, rolling her shoulders after. “Using that much magic wiped me out,” She shook her head. “I’m ok,” She smiled. “Promise," Catra hummed. “I still don’t believe you, but fine. If you think you’re okay,” She trailed off, waltzing out, her tail swishing tantalisingly. Adora grinned as she raced after, grabbing it.

They only stopped once for a spur-of-the-moment make-out session against a window. Adora’s cheeks were hot with lust and Catra’s tufts of hair were unkempt and messy.

The party went well. It was alight with excited energy, the air practically buzzing. Adora tried to enjoy it, she really did. The joy was contagious, hell, even Catra had a small smile as she stood by the punch table with Mermista. The problem was: Adora was tired. And she ached. And she just wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Her side also hurt... like... more than just a bruise-type hurt. Like she'd been cut. Maybe she had?

She cleared her throat with a small sigh. She slowly made her way to Catra, waving her down. "Hey, I need to pee. I'll be back in a second," She whispered in her ear. Catra frowned briefly. "You good? You don't seem good," Adora huffed. "I'm fine. I literally just need to pee," Catra raised her eyebrows. "Ok. Whatever," As Adora turned to leave, she called: "Cats can sense when something's not right, by the way,"

Adora shook her head with a small smile.

In the bathroom, she finally let her guard drop. Apparently, with the addition of the fluorescent lights, she looked a whole lot worse than she thought. Her eyes were slightly sunken in, and accompanied with the black circles underneath, made them look worse. Her skin looked slightly... green? To be fair though, her skin could just be incredibly pale. She was never a particularly tanned person, not even as a kid during the long hours in the Fright Zone. Not like Catra.

She pulled her jacket up slightly, gently tapping the slightly damp area around her right ribs. She gasped quietly when a small layer of blood marred her fingerprints. She took her jacket off completely, followed by her shirt. There was an angry red cut on her side, not particularly deep, but quite wide. It looked slightly green again... nah. It must be the lights. Wounds don't go green unless they're infected.

But with infected wounds come smells and puss, neither of which were apparent. She grabbed some toilet roll and ran it under the water. She placed the wet wad against her side, screwing her eyes shut as it pulsed painfully. Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled the tissue across the wound. The tissue came back slightly pink, but the wound looked better now it had been cleaned. Adora dried it with some more tissue, wincing again as it rubbed harshly.

She pulled her shirt and jacket back on with a small shudder. She suddenly felt very cold. Adora sighed heavily and grabbed the sink tightly both in contemplation and discomfort. "Dora? Are you ok?" Adora forced the typical smile back with a soft sigh. "Yeah. I'm good. Just tired," She answered. Catra huffed. "Sure, sure. Anyway, Sparkles has some cake for you to cut," She shrugged. "No idea what that means, but come on. Otherwise, she'll grab you herself,"

Adora snorted. "Yeah, okay. You're just mad it's not you," Catra rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "Sure, princess,"

Chapter Text

Adora crashed before the end of the party. She cut the cake with Glimmer, ate way too much, drank a few glasses of punch and passed out on a bench outside. She woke up, still outside, with Catra snoring on her back on the ground. Adora sat up with a small groan, stretching to shed the morning grogginess. Her wound pulled taut at her side, stopping her breath sharply in her throat. She whined lowly, more in annoyance than anything else, as she cupped it. Catra's ears twitched with the sound, but her heterochromia eyes didn't open.

She pulled her hand away, sighing in irritation when it came back stained red. If Catra knew she was still bleeding, three days after the war, she'd be furious and may very well kill her... or force her to the healers, and Adora hated the healers.

They were mean. One was at the very least. Joelina. She always side-eyed Adora with disdain and always bandaged her up way too harshly.

She glanced back to Catra, who was now on her side, purring loudly. Adora huffed fondly. She stood up, leaning against the wall when her vision wavered in a colourful array of rainbow colours, with a sigh. She was sighing a lot today. Adora made her way to the bathroom in her bedroom, thankful that each bedroom had a private bathroom. She pulled her shirt up, hissing as she removed the blood-stained tissue wad. She poked around the area, frowning. The wound did look green. It wasn't the lighting or her bad eyesight. It was definitely tinged green. There were also some faint lines of... glitchy broken code?

Adora shook her head. No. She's hallucinating. Maybe the punch was stronger than she thought... She wet some more tissue paper and dabbed around the cut. It vibrated angrily, bringing tears to her eyes. It took three bunches of wet tissue paper for the wound to stop staining them a horrid red colour. She looked around for something to bandage it up with, just until this evening. Maybe it was all a figment of her imagination? Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

Her eyes lit up as she picked up an old shirt, one that no longer fit, stuffed into the corner of the room. She tore a strip off and wound it around her stomach tightly, cleaning the blood that had begun to dribble from the open wound. She then pulled her white shirt and jacket back on, sighed at her worn face, and left for the day.

~

That evening, it became clear that the wound wasn't healing. The ripped shirt had bleed through and stained her usual shirt, even staining her jacket a tad. The blood red of the jacked helped to hide it anyway to be fair, but either way. She changed it again, cleaned it thoroughly, and wrapped it up even tighter for the night. Adora knew she looked like rubbish. Even she could see her eyes were sunken and black with the lack of sleep. Thankfully, or tactfully, nobody said anything. The only one brave enough to challenge her on her (lack thereof) self-care was Catra. But she was long asleep, in the depths of dreamland.

She suspected Catra was working through her own issues as well. As she should. Catra, arguably, had been through worse, in Adora's eyes. Not only had they constantly been pitted against each other as kids, despite it never working until they were much older, but it was clear that the blatant favouritism Shadow Weaver showed actually did have an effect on Catra.

She shook her head, cupping some water and splashing it to her face. She inhaled deeply, gripping the sink. The bathroom door opened slowly. "Dora?" Catra mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Hey, you," She smiled. "What's wrong?" Catra's eyes narrowed as she took in the sight. Adora huffed, wincing again when her stomach pulled taut. They narrowed even further. "Just a stitch," Adora lied. Catra's eyes flicked up and down her body. "Hmm. Whatever," She waved her hand. "Now get out. I need to pee,"

~

The wound didn't get any worse bleeding-wise... which was a good thing, Adora supposed. It only continued to get greener with each passing day and the... code-like stuff seemed to creep further and further up. On one particular day, Glimmer had forced Catra out to help rebuild some of Thaymor's houses. Adora decided to transform into She-Ra... maybe the code thing would heal? Usually, Adora's wounds healed when she was She-Ra... She-Ra's wounds, on the other hand, did not heal when she turned into Adora. In fact, they were a whole lot worse.

As per her usual, issue-free routine, she held her hand out and took a deep breath. "For the honour of Grey-" Her breath caught in her lungs in a strangled scream. It flickered before her eyes like a glitch before stopping. It sent a wave of agony throughout her body as if she were trying to lift concrete.

She yelled, snapping her hand back, which now tingled in pain. She was abruptly thrown back to that fateful night in the castle, where the heart was literally killing her. She shuddered, blinked away her tears, flicked her hand and held it out again.

The same result was yielded, but burned for longer afterward. As she lay on her bedroom floor, sideways, the tears couldn't be stopped. "What the hell's happening to me?" She cried softly. Her side grew warm, but not a good warm. Adora grimaced as she pulled away the blood-sodden cloth. She repressed a gag as some... stringy code-like stuff came away from the wound.

She quickly glanced out of her massive window, a luxury they didn't have back in the Horde. The sun was still relatively high. They'd either be having lunch or just finishing up. Adora slowly eased herself up, groaning as her wound protested loudly. The blood continued to drip down her side, now beginning to stain the waistband of her trousers. She ran her hand along the wall to keep her balance steady. It would be rather awkward to turn up with some glitchy shit happening, and a concussion.

The walk to the infirmary was long and laborious... it seemed further away the longer she walked. Maybe trying to transform wasn't the best idea... the wound had only gotten worse when she'd tried, and failed, to change. Perhaps it was a virus that screwed with She-Ra... but why would it make Adora sick? "Whoa," She mumbled, grabbing a windowcill as her vision blacked out for a second. "Princess Adora?" A voice said by her shoulder. A cold hand grasped it firmly.

She blinked owlishly, desperately trying to fight the black dots that threatened to swallow her whole. "Hi, General," She mumbled. "Are you ok? You look very pale," Juliet walked in front, placing both of her armor plated hands atop Adora's shoulders. Adora took a slow inhale, trying to make out the general's face. "I-I was on my way to the infirmary," She mumbled again. Juliet's hands twitched slighly. "Ok. I was on my way to the gardens, but I can take a detour. Come, I'll walk you,"

Adora waved her hand, hoping she didn't hit the general in her dissmisal. "It's fine. Go-go to the gardens," Juliet's left hand moved form her shoulder to her right arm, grasping it firmly. "Nope. The Queen would have my job if I left you like this to get help. Nevermind that cat you have,"

Adora snorted. "Catra,"

Juliet huffed. "I'm not being funny, princess, but you were nearly white. I'm worried you may pass out," Adora hummed lightly. "That's a fair asumption," She agreed. "Becuase I can't see a single thing, and everything's just gone very airy," Her vision blurred into nothing as she, as per Juliet's prediction, passed out.

Chapter Text

Catra growled and hissed at anybody who dared intercept her journey. A simple: "Something's wrong with Adora," from her magical flying donkey sent her heart straight into her toes. "Sparkles, I'm going," She shouted, shuddering as she leapt onto the donkey. "I'm a horse," He grumbled, shooting into the sky. "And I don't care. Just get me to Adora," To his credit, the horse didn't say a word the whole way back. The flight only took thirty minutes, but it felt like she was flying all the way to the Fright Zone; her body was cold. Not in a "we're high up" cold. In a "something's really really really wrong" cold.

The horse landed abruptly on the ground, neighing in protest. Catra jumped through the open window (a major security error, if you asked her) and bolted through the halls of Sparkles' castle. "Halt!" Somebody yelled. Catra snarled viciously, continuing to run forward. "I said stop!" The voice yelled, beginning to chase after her. Catra grumbled as she lept from window to window, desperately trying to get to Adora.

"You!" She barked. A man in white yelped. She was suddenly reminded of Kyle.

Last she knew, he, Lonnie and Rogelio had moved to the Crimson Waste. Hah. Kyle wouldn't survive an hour let alone more than a day. "Where's Adora?" She snapped. The man frowned. "I don't know who that is,"

Catra hissed. She jumped at his throat, pressing her claws into his shoulder. It wasn't hard enough to peirce skin, but hard enough to get her point across. He whimpered. "Princess Adora," She drawled. "She-Ra?" The man's eyes lit up. "Oh. She's in the infirmary, I think,” Catra withdrew her claws. “And where is that?” She asked slowly. The man pointed. “The very end room. It’s got a big plus on it. You can’t miss it,"

She dropped the man and ran. Christ, how many rooms does Sparkles need? Catra thought to herself as she passed door 17. “Stop that cat!” A voice yelled from behind. Catra rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” She shouted. She continued running, sighing as a massive plus beamed from the door. Huh. Not-Kyle was right. You couldn’t miss it. She yanked it open, slamming it loudly behind.

“Can you not!?” An irritated voice hissed. “There’s sick people in here!” Catra rolled her eyes, flapping her hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Where’s Adora?” She asked. The person who shouted folded her arms. “Why do you want to know?” Catra chuckled. “Listen here, princess. I don’t care who you are, and I don’t care what you do,” She pressed a thin claw to the girls neck. Impressive. She yielded no reaction. “But I will find Adora. Even if I have to wake everyone in this room up to do it,” The girl continued to stay impassive and silent. Catra shrugged. “Suit yourself,” She cupped her hands around her mouth, took a deep breath and- “Wait!” The girl cried.

Catra smirked. “She’s not here. She’s in her room,” The smirk dropped. “But she’s unwell,” The girl shrugged. “We couldn’t find anything wrong with her. So she’s sleeping in her room,” Catra scoffed. “You really are useless,” She grumbled. “At least the Fright Zone healers did their job properly,"

~

True to her word, Adora was asleep on her bed. Catra sighed heavily. “You drive me mad,” She mumbled, walking over. Thankfully, seeing as Adora was an “official” princess, despite not having a kingdom, she was given a room that could only be opened by certain people. And that damned guard wasn’t one of them. Catra approached the bed, sniffling. God, even the room smelt like flowers and joy.

Something caught her scent.
It wasn’t good… but it wasn’t bad.

She sniffed the air, moving about the room to get a better grasp of what the hell it was. As she moved closer to Adora, the strange scent grew. Catra hummed to herself. She began to sniff around Adora’s body, trying to locate where it was strongest. Her hair smelt like vanilla, a smell Catra had come to like. Her face smelt like makeup, which was horrid. If anybody here actually knew Adora, they’d know she’d NEVER have time for personal vanity stuff.

Or maybe that was another thing that had changed. Catra shook her head. She began to smell further down. Her chest was fine (and it took a whole lot of self-control to not wake Adora up like she usually did, with a bit of foreplay) but her stomach seemed… off.

Catra couldn’t place the smell, but it wasn’t a usual smell. It was one only cats and other animals could smell. She gently lifted Adora’s shirt to get a better shot, hoping there would be something there. The only thing that marred her otherwise perfect skin (so Catra pines after her, sue her) was a thin red line. But the scent… it seemed to be coming from the red line. It was obviously from where that stupid guardian thing back at the heart had hurt her. It had also ripped into Catra’s foot, but seeing as Catra wasn’t special like Adora, it was just like a paper cut.

She ghosted her fingers around it, trying to work it out. Adora suddenly coughed, loudly and harshly. She shot up, wheezing. “Whoa, are you good?” Catra abandoned her mission. The scent would still be there later. She grabbed Adora’s shoulders, staring into her eyes. She wheezed. “Hi,”

Catra snorted. “Hi yourself. You look like shit,” She tried to joke. Adora groaned. “Don’t remind me,” She dropped back to the pillows, sniffing. “I think I’ve got a cold,” She whined. Catra narrowed her eyes. Adora’s breath audibly rattled in her chest. “I’ll get you help, if you answer me this,” She said. Adora rolled her eyes. “I don’t need help,” She argued. Catra shushed her. “I don’t care. Answer me this,” Adora coughed again, slightly more in control this time. “Back at the heart,” Catra expertly ignored how Adora grew tense as her eyes widened slightly in fear, “That weird fucking guardian thing scratched you, didn’t it? The monster Shadow Weaver killed,"

Adora glanced to her side. “Maybe. Why?” Catra gestured. “I think whatever it did is still doing its thing,” Adora raised an eyebrow. Catra sighed angrily. “You’re hurt. You need help,” She said softly. Adora wheezed again. “Catra, it’s fine. The healers said nothing was wrong. To give it a few days and see what happens,"

Catra raised an eyebrow. “You know the other week, when I said cats can sense if somethings off?” She reminded. Adora looked away briefly. “Something isn’t right, Adora. So stop being so goddamn heroic and get some help,” Adora whined. “I don’t wanna leave the bed,” Catra huffed. “Plus, they’ll just send me back,"

The smell suddenly hit Catra strong in the face. “Well, it’s getting worse. Whatever it is,” Adora frowned. She held out her hand. “Can you see this?” Catra poked it with her claw. Adora swore, snatching it back. “Yes, Adora, I can see your hand,” She sang. Adora tutted. “No. The broken code things. I-I think it’s coming from the wound,” She gestured. Catra narrowed her eyes. “Wait, can’t Sparkles do anything? She’s magic. If this is some She-Ra bullshit, maybe Sparkles can sort it,”

Adora’s eyes widened. “No, Glimmer’s not strong enough… but her aunt is,"

Chapter Text

When she was stressed, Catra found herself picking at her claws. More often than not, she'd end up picking at them too long and they'd break or splinter. She did so in the Horde a lot. She'd ruin at least one claw a day, or certainly damage them irreparably. When her claws began to bleed, she'd bandage them up briefly, lick the blood away and continue about her day. Scorpia had noticed and often chastised her for ruining her claws. Catra, of course, hissed and growled at her to leave her alone. Entrapta had taken notice as well and engineered some mechanical claws to put over the top of Catra's healing ones.

She called them false nails.

Catra threw them across the room in dismissal but later returned to try them on. They worked, of course. But in her haste to escape Horde Prime, she left them back in the Fright Zone. She hissed as one of her claws split, a small trail of blood leaking from the wound.

Catra sighed angrily and began to pace.

That was another thing she did when she was stressed. Pacing often helped her organise her thoughts. Adora grumbled from the bed. Catra stopped pacing and moved to be by her side. She peered over, sniffing. The scent hadn't gotten any worse in the last few hours, but it hadn't gotten any better. Adora rolled onto her side, snoring softly. Catra continued pacing.

God, all that stupid She-Ra did was hurt Adora. First, she took her away from Catra. Then she caused her pain with the magic at the heart when Sparkles helped activate the portal. Then she hurt her when the heart needed destroying the heart. Then the stupid guardian at the heart poisoned her with some magical virus, that only she could see. Jesus, if Adora hadn't picked up the damned sword in the first place, somebody else would've been She-Ra, and Adora would be safe and healthy.

Catra perched on the edge of the bed, huffing softly. Before Adora fell asleep, Catra wanted to wake Sparkles up to get her aunt here, but Adora refused. "Leave Glim to sleep. It's midnight, Catra," She'd whispered, gently touching her hand. Catra wanted to snatch it back with a warning growl but resisted the Horde imprinted urge. Instead, she settled for rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Don't die in the night, because I won't care," She said. Adora snorted. "Shut up, yes you would," She eased herself up, hissing slightly. Catra kept up her nonchelant face. "Nah I won't. You've had your chance, you ignored it," She grinned. "Now perish,"

Somehow that ended up in the two of them in a pillow fight, something Catra deeply missed doing as young girls in the Horde. Eventually, they settled back down at around one. Catra claimed she was bored and didn't want to play anymore, but she suspected Adora knew she was bullshitting her.

Catra couldn't watch Adora's sunken, pale face try to force joy onto it just to ease her nerves any longer.
Adora passed out quickly, and here they were, at... she glanced at the wall... 1:43 am.

Catra smoothed back her hair with a sigh. She took a final look at her ailing best friend, though she suspected they were inching more into something akin to partners (not that she'd ever admit it), and lay on the ground on a pile of blankets. She finally shut her eyes and went to sleep.

Or tried to.

Shortly after she shut her eyes (liar, it was two hours later) she was woken up by a cold feeling slithering down her back... like she was being watched. Her traumatized inner child taking over, she kept her eyes loosely shut, hoping Shadow Weaver whoever was watching her would leave. But then she abruptly realised Shadow Weaver was dead, and nobody was in her room. Instead, she sat with a frown, rubbing her eyes. "Dora?" She mumbled. There was no answer. Catra grumbled as she sat on her knees, looking at the bed. "Adora?" She asked again. The sheets were rumpled, like she'd left in a hurry. Catra stood, crawling across the bed. A small damp stain, possibly sweat (or blood... it was a 50/50 for either really) marred the mattress. "Adora?" She called.

Catra glanced around the room briefly, worry settling into her bones. She stood. "Adora!" She called loudly. In her peripheral, a light lit. She spun. It was the bathroom. "Adora?" She called again. She knocked on the door, gently pushing it open. "Oh, baby,"

What the hell?! Catra had NEVER referred to ANYBODY as "baby" in her ENTIRE life! Not even real BABIES!

Adora sat in a crumpled mess on the ground, one arm draped loosely over the toilet, another propping her head up. "Sorry," She mumbled. "Did I wake you?" Catra huffed, sitting by her side. "No, dummy. What happened to you?" She briefly felt her forehead, alarmed at the burning feel. "You sick?" She asked. Adora grunted. "Feel it," She moaned. Catra inhaled quickly. "Have you actually been sick?" She asked. Adora waved her hand. "Kinda,"

Catra sighed to keep her patience in check. "Have you blown chunks? Yes, or no? Simple question, Dora," She spoke as evenly as she could. Adora whined. "Tiny bit," She moved closer to the bowl, groaning. "I'd get out... I think I'm gonna hurl," She warned. Catra shook her head, despite her every being telling her to GET OUT.

"Nope. We're in this together. I'm not leaving you. Never again," She vowed. Adora smiled weakly before fulfilling her word and puking in the bowl. Catra shut her eyes tightly, rubbing her back stiffly. "Jesus. You haven't even eaten today, why do you have so much to throw up?" She commented a few seconds later. Adora just groaned, reaching to flush the awful stuff away. She sat up a little straighter. "It's not even proper puke... it's weird code-like stuff." She rubbed her mouth with some tissue paper. Catra peered over briefly. "Just looks like saliva," She commented. Adora tutted. "We've established you can't see it,"

Catra flicked her ear. Adora leaned against the sink, breathing slowly. "Any better?" She asked. Adora shrugged one shoulder. "A little... but I still feel really sick," Catra sighed angrily. "Stay here. I'm getting Sparkles,"

Adora's hand grabbed her tail. "No! Please don't!" She begged. Catra yanked her tail out. "Will you stop being so goddam heroic and accept help, for once in your life?" She snapped. Adora glared. "I'm not gonna get any worse over the next four hours. Just wake her then. Please," She begged. Catra huffed. "Fine."

She paused for a moment, rubbing her eyes. "Don't die," She snapped. Adora whined. "I said don't-" Catra ignored her and continued walking. She moved to Adora's bed, grabbed the blanket and a few of her (ridiculously fluffy pillows) and dragged it all to the bathroom. "May as well camp in here if you're gonna blow," She curled up by the bath. "Try and sleep at least a little, ok?" She asked. Adora wiped her mouth with some damp tissue. "Thanks, Catra... for... well, a lot," Adora laid by her side, her wound facing the ceiling. Catra snorted. "Don't be so sentimental, dork. Just sleep,"

Chapter Text

Per her demand, Catra waited until the clock said 7:00 before she raced to Sparkles' room. She initially knocked on the door in quick succession but after silence for longer than two minutes, she burst in. Sparkles screamed from her bed by the... ceiling? Catra shook her head, focusing on her current mission. "Get down here, Sparkles. I have to talk to you," She said, crossing her arms. Glimmer groaned loudly. "What the hell do you want, Catra? It's seven a.m.," She whined. Catra glanced around, grinning. She began to jump up the steps to her bed. "You should be thankful I didn't get you at one. when I originally wanted to," She grunted, landing on her bed. Glimmer yelped with a glare. "I know you Horde kids didn't have privacy, but that is a thing here." She sat up.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You wouldn't have survived a day in the Horde." Glimmer rolled her eyes. "You've woken me up now. What do you want?" Catra felt her ears pin back. "It's Adora. She was hurt at the heart, and she's not getting better," Glimmer's demeanour shifted. "What do you mean?" She asked. Catra huffed. "I-I don't know what's wrong. There's a... scent... and it's not good,"

Glimmer frowned. "She smells?"

Catra hissed. "No, you idiot. She doesn't smell. The wound... it doesn't smell smell. But it's-it's odd," She tried to explain. "Look, cats and certain animals can sense when something's not right. Usually with a pregnant lady, or cancer in the body, or something," Glimmer nodded slightly. "So... Adora's got cancer?"

Catra yelled. "No! God, are you stupid? Is it an Etherian thing?" She grabbed her hair in frustration. Glimmer scoffed. "Seriously? You barge in here at seven in the morning, going on about how Adora smells, but she doesn't smell, then called me stupid." Catra sighed angrily. "Because you're not listening," She emphasized, leaning forward. "There is something wrong with her, and I can't see it!" She cried. Glimmer rubbed her eyes. "What makes you think I can?" Catra picked at her claws. "She said you're magic... and that maybe you can see it," Glimmer narrowed her eyes. "See what?" Catra shrugged stiffly. "I dunno. That's the problem. She's convinced there's some... green glitchy code shit coming out of it," She played with her hands. "But she's definitely sick. Shit, she was actually being sick at one this morning,"

Glimmer hummed. "Maybe it's something to do with She-Ra... like a First One's thing. Maybe that's why none of us can see it," She stretched widely. "Come on. Show me. I'll see if I have any spells to work,"

"I'm sorry, I've got nothing... she seems fine," Glimmer apologised, standing back. Catra scoffed, gesturing to the unconscious form of her best friend. "Well, she obviously isn't!" She hissed. Glimmer scoffed. "Well, I can see that!" Catra huffed. Glimmer stewed. Adora snored. Catra suddenly remembered what she'd said a few nights ago.

"Wait, can't Sparkles do anything? She's magic. If this is some She-Ra bullshit, maybe Sparkles can sort it,"
"No, Glimmer's not strong enough… but her aunt is,"

Catra grabbed Sparkles' arm. "Dora mentioned you have an aunt... whatever the hell that is," Glimmer's eyes widened slightly. "She thinks she might know what's going on," Catra continued. Glimmer nodded. "Yeah, I do. She's the head sorceress. She'll have more of a chance of finding out what's wrong than I do," She smiled. "Be back soon!" She disappeared in a cloud of pink sparkles. Catra wafted them away, grimacing. God, she'd been teleported once and HATED it... she shuddered. Never again. Adora grumbled in her sleep about being cold, so Catra, being the sentimental paper bag she was, hauled the blanket over Adora's form. She stopped mumbling. Catra sighed. Sparkles was gonna be a while... may as well catch up and some sleep.

.~.~.

The heart pulsed strongly in front. They were here. They'd made it! Catra smiled at Adora, stomping all worry away when she weakly smiled back "We did it. We're here," She whispered. Catra grinned back. "We did," She agreed softly. Adora extended her right hand, willing the sword to appear. It flickered before her eyes like a glitch before stopping.

She yelled, snapping her hand back, which now tingled in pain. "Adora? What's happening? Adora!" Catra held her tightly as shook her head. "I-I don't know! It's Prime's virus. It's keeping me from becoming She-Ra," Catra's eyes dropped to failsafe. "What? What does that mean? Will the failsafe not work without her?"

Adora shut her eyes briefly. "No. It will," She muttered. She took a shaky step forward, glancing back. "Get as far away from here as you can. I have to do this next part on my own," Catra glared. "Adora. What is going to happen to you?" Adora stayed still. "Without She-Ra, the magic will destroy me," She walked forwards. " I'm sorry Catra," She turned, her chin wobbling. "I'm so sorry. But there's no more time." She took a step back towards her best friend. "It has to end here. I can still save everybody," She placed her hands on Catra's face. Her hands were ice-cold.. "I'll be ok. I'm ready," She pulled away.

Catra shook her head. "No," Adora whimpered. "Catra," She begged.

"No. I'm not leaving, whatever happens, I'm staying right with you," Catra grabbed her shoulders. Adora smiled weakly. Catra smiled back. She turned, facing the heart. Adora suddenly keeled over, grabbing the inanimate failsafe, screaming in pain. "Adora!" Catra grabbed her from behind, stopping her fall. She stuttered for breath.

"No, no, no, no, no, Adora!" Catra lowered her to the ground, laying her in her lap. "Come on, Dora. You can do this! I know you can!" Catra stroked some hair out of her face, desperately trying to keep her voice even. "I'm sorry," She whispered. "No! Adora, stay awake! I-I love you!"

.~.~.

A week passed before Castaspella (which was a really stupid name, in Catra's opinion) made any progress. Adora continued to get worse, up most nights in agonising pain, or throwing up in the bathroom. On one particularly rocky day, Adora rocked a raging fever complete with the pain and vomiting, which nobody was able to sort out. She had no choice but to battle through it alone. Catra, the pathetic simp she was, stayed by her side the whole time, cleaning out her bucket, washing her hair, keeping her cool... whatever she wanted.

During a routine meet-up, and thankfully Adora had fallen asleep again, Catra played with her claws. "I think I may have found what is causing Adora's problems," Castaspella said, dropping a heavy book on the grand table. Catra hissed in surprise at the sudden loud noise. Glimmer snorted. "I'm not sure if it's one hundred per cent true, or even accurate, but it's all I've managed to find... so it's the best chance we've got," She continued. "It's a First One's Guardian. It spreads a slow-acting, agonising poison to the intruder. For non First One beings, such as us, we'd be affected the same way as a bad stomach flu. For First Ones, such as Adora, it will break down her She-Ra and destroy all the organs in its path,"

Catra's eyes widened. "Well- what can we do to stop it? To make her better?" Castaspella sighed softly. "There is an antidote, but I'm not sure if it will work. This book is thousands of years old..." Catra thumped the table. "I'll do anything," Castaspella nodded. "I'll have more research on this back in my personal library in Mystacor," She agreed.

Chapter Text

Castaspella returned to Mystacor with Glimmer within the hour. Catra found herself pacing around the room, riddled with anxiety again. Glimmer's friend, Bow, seemed lost in his own thoughts as well, idily playing with an arrow. To be fair though, the deadpan, empty stare he was sending her way added... it could've been a thinly concealed threat. Catra moved to the book Castaspella dropped and began to read the passage.

心靈守護者 (roughly translates to - guardian of the heart)
A mystical beast, older than the First Ones themselves. The beast has 7 tenticals, each equptpped with a sharp knife like edge, dripping with a venemous poison.
Legend says the venom doesn't do long-term damage to normal beings (non First Ones), as it was designed to protect the Heart from those who could withstand the journey there. Most nomral beings would be incinareted by the sheer power, and die long before they could dream to do anything. The venom, if a normal being is infected, will act no more than a stomach bug. The venom seeks out certain qualities within the body, and if non are found, will die and pass through the body. However, if the victim is a First One, such as She-Ra (in the case of the current; Mara and any future ones) they will die within seventeen days if an antidote is not adminstered. The venom finds any First One's presnec within the body, and seeks to destroy it, damageing the organs within the body beyond repair.

The antidote MUST be administered within seventeen days. Even though the person will continue to survive for another four, at that  point, the organs will have sustained too much damage to do any form of healing. No spell will deter the venom. The only thing that can be done is a pain relief spell to allow them to pass in peace.

The antidote has never been completed in time, but for any unfortunate soul reading this in an attempt to save an ailing one, the ingredients will not harm the body any further than it is already under.

Below are the following ingredients for the-

The rest of the passge was torn out. Catra threw the book across the room with a scream. Bow matched her scream but higher. Had she not been in complete panic mode Catra would've laughed. She grabbed the table, growling. "Some asshole tore away the antidote!" She growled. Bow walked over to the book and picked it up. "I'm sure Castaspella has some stuff back at Mystacor..." He gently placed the book back on the table. Catra glared. "If she comes back without the cure, then I will kill her," She vowed. Bow tutted.

"Catra, you can't just kill whoever annoys you," Catra turned with a frown. "A) Yes I can, don't underestimate me. B) You should be in bed!" She snapped, rushing over. Adora scoffed, flapping her hand. "I'm not dying, I'm fine. I felt a bit better," She shrugged. "My legs were going prickly, so I needed to move," Catra stayed by her side. "Glad you're feeling better, Adora," Bow smiled. She grinned back. Catra wasn't convinced. "Hey, where's Glimmer?" Adora ssked, hissing softly as she eased onto the lounge seat. Catra narrowed her eyes. "You realise this is a discussion that can totally happen on your bed, right? Where you're safe?" Adora sighed angrily, leveling Catra with a glare.

"She's gone to Mystacor with Castaspella," Bow interupted. Catra sent a warning look. Don't tell her. It said. Bow gave a breif nod. "Mystacor? Why's she there?" Catra felt her worry and anxiety rise along with the steady ratteling in Adora's chest. Bow shrugged. "I'm not sure. She just teleported away," Adora hummed, basking in the glow of the warm fire. Catra finally relaxed enough to sit next to her. Bow hummed softly as he read through the rest of Castaspella's forgotten (and now slightly damaged) book in the corner.

Adora didn't know she was dying... and Catra was probably going to be the one to tell her. Eventually, the steady soft sound of Bow's humming and page turning, the crackling fire, and Adora's soft rise and fall of her chest as she dozed lulled Catra into a warm sleep.

~

When she woke, the fire was out, Bow was snoring on the floor and Adora was gone. She sat up, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. "Where's Adora?" She mumbled. Bow continued snoring. Catra huffed and stretched as she stood. Her back cracked loudly. Finally. It'd been bothering her for a while. She made her way to Adora's bedroom, assuming that's where she went. The door was cracked open. Catra frowned. Adora never left her door open if she was in there.

In the Horde, the only privacy you had was lavitory time. You didn't even shower in complete privacy; there were small walls starting at your knees, and finishing just above your ass, covering the most important private bit. All the boys and all the girls all saw everyone's chests.

Huh. Maybe that's why Catra was gay. Adora did always have a nice chest... Catra shook her head. Since being here, no doubt Adora had found a love for privacy; Catra sure did. She loved having "her place" where she could go, on her own, and just be. Nobody to pester her, nobody to see her breasts, nobody to moan that she wasn't dressed properly, nothing. Just silence.

She stepped into the room. "Adora?" She called. The room was dark, the sheets rumpled from the night. Huh. Maybe Adora wasn't in here... but there was still something nagging at Catra, that she should check her surroundings. Maybe it was her inner Horde. If you didn't scope a room out thoroughly before leaving, then you did a shit job. There could be somebody hiding in the shadows... if they were training, more often than not, there was somebody hiding in the shadows... and if you missed them, you were punished in the Black Garnet chamber for the night.

"Adora?" She sang. The bathroom door was ajar with a faint light coming from inside. Catra smiled softly. "I'm aware you're a Princess now and all that, but aren't Princesses supposed to be super on top of privacy?" She pushed the door open.

Her heart fell into her chest. "Adora!"

Chapter Text

“Adora!” Catra dropped to her knees. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” She cradled Adora’s head softly. Adora lay still, face pale and drawn, barely breathing. “Help!” She screamed. “Help me!” She pushed some hair out of Adora’s face, forcing back the tears. Adora stayed limp, face peaceful, probably for the first time in a long while. “Come on, wake up, wake up, Adora,” She pleaded, pressing her fingers to Adora’s neck.

Her pulse was there. Faint, and barely beating, but there.

Catra glanced around in panic. “Fuck this,” She stood, pulling Adora up into her arms, bridal style. She kicked the door open and ran. She ran through the halls, too worried to even care if she was jostling Adora in her unconscious form. The guards shouted commands at her, usually along the lines of:

Stop!
Drop the princess!
What are you doing!?
Stop!

But Catra paid them no heed. Adora was dying, and she needed help. Catra bypassed the infirmary in a haze, bursting into the grand hall. To no shock, Bow was still there. “Wake up!” She barked. Bow turned with a glare. “Catra-“ He began to hiss. Catra rushed over to the couch, gently lowering Adora to it. “What the hell did you do to her?” Bow snapped, running over. Catra scoffed. “Yes, like I’d hurt my girlfriend,” She rolled her eyes. “Well, ya have!” He argued. Catra hissed. “Just help her, please!” She begged. “I-I just found her like this,” She raked her hands through her fur. Bow pressed his fingers to her neck and wrist, counting silently. “What’re you doing?” She whispered a moment later. Bow huffed and began counting again.

Catra watched as she picked at her claws.

“Fifty three,” He announced, standing up. Catra held her hands out. “What? Princesses? Fifty-three what?” Bow sighed angrily. “If you’d let me finish first,” He raised an eyebrow. Catra chuckled darkly. “Oh, arrow bow. I don’t have time for this. Adora is dying and you’re trying to give me a lecture on patience?” Bow seemed to shrink in on himself. “Fair. Her pulse,” He lowered Adora’s hand to her stomach. “It’s fifty-three beats per minute. It should be at least sixty, if not higher,”

Catra whined lowly. “What do we do? Magic lady isn’t here, and I don’t know magic first aid!” She exclaimed. Bow narrowed his eyes. “I mean, we could take her to the infirmary… they can give her fluids and something to help, maybe… but for the poison, I think we’ll have to wait for Castaspella,"

So they did.
For several long hours.

Catra dozed by Adora’s bedside around the fifth hour after she found her unconscious body. Castaspella turned up another four hours after that. Adora remained unconscious, so they held the “meeting” there. “It’s going to be hard, incredibly so,” Castaspella began, unrolling a scroll. “The ingredients needed are spread all across Etheria… it… the first Ones engineered it do the intruder would be hard pressed to find the cure in time,” She warned. Catra felt her claws dig into the wooden tray on her lap. “I don’t care. Give me the damn ingredients,” She snapped. Castaspella levelled her with a glare. “You may be here on the good graces of Adora and my niece, but do not think I can still have you removed,” She said. Glimmer cleared her throat, interrupted Catra’s (decidedly not nice) retort. “Uh, auntie? I’m actually Queen now… so… technically I can decide what happens to her,"

Castaspella scoffed. “Wow… you and your mother were just alike,"

Ouch. Even Catra wouldn’t have… nah, she totally would’ve used the dead mom card. She did use the dead mom card.

Glimmer remained composed. “The ingredients?” She asked. Castaspella huffed. “As I was saying. It’s going to be hard. It might be better for you to split up and cover three each,” She waved her hand, gesturing to a sudden magical map. Catra hated magic. HATED it. She looked at it with as disinterested face as she could muster whilst holding her dying best friends (too) cold hand.

Wait… “Adora’s hand is cold,” She voiced aloud. Glimmer’s face fell. “What do you mean?” She asked. “It’s cold, Sparkles. What else do you want me to say?” Catra began to feel for a pulse. “Relax, Sandra. I’ve put an anti-pain spell on her,” Catra hissed. “My name is CATRA,” Castaspella waved her hand. “Either way. She’s in a coma-like state. It should keep her asleep and pain free until we can administer the cure,” She finalised. Catra sighed softly, rubbing Adora’s hand between her own.

“There are twenty-three ingredients needed. They are spread out across the seven kingdoms, four First One’s buildings, and The Sword of Protection,” Castaspella explained. She waved her hand again. The map had several pulsating dots, along with a list at the bottom.

Dryl - 5 pink berries.
Bright Moon - 3 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone
Crimson Waste - Ice plant twig
Salineas - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Kingdom of Snows - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Plumeria - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Mystacor - Green crystal from the hot springs
Whispering Woods - Tree bark
Krytis - True magic
Alywn - Horn of guardian
Northern Reach - Guardian Spike
Crystal Castle - Crystal
Sword of Protection - 5 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone.

Catra gaped as she read the list. “How, in the ever-loving fuck, are we supposed to get these!?” She clawed at the mirage. Glimmer hummed in agreement. Castaspella shrugged. “I said it wouldn’t be easy. The First One’s made this guardian to kill the intruder who tried to destroy the heart. It wasn’t designed for the intruder to survive. But they had to create a contingency plan in case one of their own was wounded,” Catra sighed loudly. “Ok. I say we split it,” She said. “Sparkles, you take the Runestone places,” She pointed. “Arrows, you take the villages,” Catra nodded to the aunt, which she still had no idea about. “You get whatever it is from magic land,” She cracked her knuckles. “And I’ll take the woods and the ruins,"

She glanced at Adora. “Great,” Bow agreed. “What were the villages again?"

Catra rolled her eyes. They were screwed.

“Oh, did I mention you only have two and half days left?"

Yup… screwed.

Chapter Text

Catra raked her fingers through her hair as she looked at the list one final time. To her knowledge, Entrapta had moved back to Dryl, comfortably scaring the locals once more with her antisocialness. So she could get the pink berries.

Dryl - 5 pink berries = Entrapta.

Sparkles could obviously do Bright Moon. She could do the Whispering Woods as well, for the tree bark. Catra glanced further up on the last as well. True Magic. Actually, if Sparkles was a fairy, she could do Krytis for the magic, while Catra did the tree bark from the woods. It’s not like it’s hard, is it? Jesus, as a kid, she sharpened her claws on broken metal. So bark wouldn’t be an issue for her.

Bright Moon - 3 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone & Whispering Woods - Tree bark Krytis - True magic = Sparkles.
Whispering Woods - Tree bark = Me

For how much Adora had done for the Rebellion, during her stupid self-sacrificing heroic phase, the other Princesses could fucking well contribute as well. The plant lady could do her plant thingy, the angry snow kid could do her thing, so could the least horrible mermaid thing. Also… if she asked Scorpia nice enough, not that Scorpia would ever say no to her, she could get the ice thing from the Crimson Waste, seeing as she lives there now.

Crimson Waste - Ice plant twig = Scorpia
Salineas - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone = mermaid
Kingdom of Snows - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone = angry snow kid
Plumeria - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone = plant lady

That crushed over half of the items, and only used her and Sparkles, out of their small group. Magic lady could get the crystal from her home and the horn from Alwyn.

Mystacor - Green crystal from the hot springs &  Alwyn - Horn of guardian = magic lady

Arrow boy could get the crystal from the castle, and go with Sparkles to the northern reach to get the spike. Catra would go with them, but quite honestly, she’s had enough of cold stuff. The experience with unhinged Adora was enough to put her off ever using a crystal like that again. There was a moment, only a moment, when Catra had regretted her actions then… when she realised that she’d gone too far. And that was when Adora held the sword above her head, laughing as she brought it down for a killing blow.
Had Scorpia not tackled her out of the way, Catra would be down to five lives.

Northern Reach - Guardian Spike & Crystal Castle - Crystal = arrow bow & sparkles

That only left the energy from Adora’s sword… however the hell Catra was supposed to get that. Maybe she had to breakthe stone to get it? It would make sense if that was the case. These… First Ones… certainly didn’t want the intruder to get cured…. but from what Catra understood, the First Ones weren’t exactly great people, period. They drilled into the planet, made it into a huge ticking time bomb, made an 8 foot tall goddess to channel the magic (that they were too weak to manage), made her the saviour, and abandoned the entire fucking planet, leaving whoever was She-Ra at the time, to deal with the fallout! Cowards.

Sword of Protection - 5 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone = Nobody fucking knows ?

Catra left that blank. She truly had no idea who would do that… maybe it would happen when Adora was healed enough to hold the sword? She sighed angrily.

~

“I’m sure the others won’t have an issue helping out,” Was the answer she received. Catra, in her still I don’t really know you, therefore don’t trust you phase, had thrust the paper into Glimmer’s face. Bow nodded. “Yeah, this’ll work,” His eyes fell to Catra’s slight tantrum at the bottom of the paper. “Um-"

“Don’t ask,” She bit. Bow nodded. “Fair. I’d say it has to be the bearer of the stone,” He explained. “My dad’s will probably know more, but Perfuma couldn’t siphon magic from the Moon Stone, like Glimmer couldn’t the Black Garnet,” He offered. Catra growled. “But the barer of the stone is otherwise engaged at the minute,” She gestured angrily to the comatose Adora on the bed. Bow’s face changed, though Catra couldn’t place to what. “I’m not sure then,” He said. “Maybe Lance and George will know more,"

Several hours later, and thankfully four things crossed off the list, Bow’s dads did know an alternate way around it. “It’ll take a lot, but the Queen of Bright Moon can do it. Her runestone is the most powerful on the whole of Etheria. If she so wanted to, she could usurp the other runestones and not break a sweat,” Lance said. “However, because the Sword of Protection isn’t a naturally occurring runestone, it’s different. It’s designed to not be usurped, in case She-Ra was needed to fight the power-hungry Queen,” He continued. Catra’s ears twitched in thought. Was the sword really that powerful? Huh. “The queen of Mystacor would have to help, as a certain spell is needed that only rulers know, or have the energy for,"

Lance and George promised to do more research on it because apparently, they: “consider Adora to be a close niece, and they’ll do everything in their power to help cure her"

Entrapta sent a “drone” over with her pink berries, calming she was “experimenting with the fabrics that warp and distort the space-time continuum, which was a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct,"

Catra just nodded with a forced smile. Almost none of the time, Entrapta’s words failed to make any sense to her mind.

Each princess called in with their siphoned energy balls as well. Plant lady was crying for Adora, begging the gods to heal She-Ra. Angry snow kid came with her energy ball, saying she needed She-Ra’s help in the mountains when she was back. Mermaid arrived last with her energy ball, groaning the whole time about how She-Ra needed to sell Sea-Hawk before she killed him.

Not one person mentioned Adora. All of them wanted She-Ra back, not Adora. She-Ra. It took all of Catra’s strength, which wasn’t a lot to be fair, to not swipe at their faces and beat them until they apologised for their ignorance. But beating three princesses wasn’t exactly the best move when she wasn’t really welcome in Bright Moon anyway...

She looked at the list again.

Dryl - 5 pink berries.
Bright Moon - 3 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone
Crimson Waste - Ice plant twig
Salineas - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Kingdom of Snows - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Plumeria - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Mystacor - Green crystal from the hot springs
Whispering Woods - Tree bark
Krytis - True magic
Alywn - Horn of guardian
Northern Reach - Guardian Spike
Crystal Castle - Crystal
Sword of Protection - 5 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone.

Since moving to Bright Moon, Catra had forced herself to adopt a more positive outlook on life. So the fact they already had six out of thirteen locations, and by default twelve out of twenty-three items, on the first day alone was promising. Catra had wanted to go out and deal with the remainder of the list, but was quickly shut down. She could’ve easily gone out on her own to the castle to get the crystal, but as much as she hated it, going out on her own at night wasn’t the best idea.

Shadow Weaver had been good for one thing.
If you went out at night, the shadows would get you.

Chapter Text

Dryl - 5 pink berries.
Bright Moon - 3 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone
Crimson Waste - Ice plant twig
Salineas - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Kingdom of Snows - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Plumeria - 1 ball of siphoned energy from the runestone
Mystacor - Green crystal from the hot springs
Whispering Woods - Tree bark
Krytis - True magic
Alwyn - Horn of guardian
Northern Reach - Guardian Spike
Crystal Castle - Crystal
Sword of Protection - 5 balls of siphoned energy from the runestone.

Magic lady had returned briefly to claim the other ingredients that had been gathered thus far. She was making the antidote back on Mystacor, where she could have help and assistance from other spellcasters. Apparently, the spell needed to cure Adora was strong enough to usurp enough energy to kill at least three people.

Catra crossed out another two items.
Mystacor - Green crystal from the hot springs & Krytis - True magic.

All that remained now was the twig from the Crimson Waste, the horn from Alwyn, the spike from the Northern Reach and the crystal from the castle. Sure, the energy from Adora's sword was still needed, but Catra had deliberately ignored it. She'd been up until four a.m. that morning trying to work out what exactly that meant... and how they could do it.

Because Adora, being heroic as per usual, broke the damn thing. The only sword she had now was the one she summoned. Otherwise, Sparkles could've done it... at least according to the book. Sure, the other princesses would need to help, but it could've been done. With Adora unconscious, there was no sword. The First Ones weren't counting on She-Ra breaking the sword.

Catra sighed angrily. It didn't help that Scorpia wasn't answering her messages, which left her with no other choice but to venture out to the waste herself... again.

She grabbed another bit of paper and wrote down what was needed, and who would get it.
Alwyn - Horn of Guardian - Arrows, Northern Reach - Guardian Spike - Sparkles, Crystal Castle - Crystal - Me, Crimson Waste - Ice plant twig - Me.

Catra rubbed her eyes harshly. She glanced to her left, sighing loudly. Adora lay peacefully, unmoving, as she had done for the last two days. They only had another day on the antidote. It apparently took twelve hours to make, so that realistically left them with less than half a day. Doable, but hard. Catra glanced around, an idea forming. She grabbed the wooden comb by Adora's bed and moved closer. She tutted. Magic lady hadn't even taken Adora's hair out of the stupid ponytail she insisted on wearing.

Catra undid her hair, ever so carefully lifting her head. She twisted Adora to her side, smiling softly when she snored. Adora had always been a side sleeper, ever since she was a baby. On her back, Adora would snore, wriggle, move, have nightmares, whatever. On her side? She was calm and quiet. Catra began to move the brush down from her scalp to the ends of her hair. Surprisingly, Adora's hair only came halfway between her elbows and shoulders. Maybe she'd kept on top of keeping it cut?

Catra shook her head. She separated the hair into three separate chunks. She brought the left over the middle, then right over the left, then the middle over the right and so forth until she had a smooth, but loose, braid. She lowered it gently to the bed, ghosting her hand above Adora's head.

God, she so desperately wanted to stroke her bangs away, whispering sweet nothings to wake her up... like she used to before all of this shit kicked off.

~

A few hours later, after Catra had taken a quick nap to replenish her energy, she handed the paper to Sparkles and Arrows. "Why you? I thought Scorpia was supposed to bring the ice twig?" Arrows asked. Catra shrugged roughly. "I dunno. She's not answering me. I'm assuming she's not," She resisted the urge to squeeze her arms and fold away. Sparkles noticed. "Well... she's trying to rebuild her kingdom. It's gonna take some time," She smiled. Catra looked away. "Adora doesn't have time," She snapped. Sparkles sighed softly. "I know... which is why I'll do the Northern Reach and Crimson Waste," She said. "Now I've got the full connection to the Moonstone, I can easily teleport there and back,"

Arrows nodded. "I'll do Alwyn, and then the crystal castle," Catra frowned. "But I'm doing the castle," She said. Arrows nodded. "I know. But the castle can be temperamental at the best of times. If we get more than we need, so what? The better chances at Adora recovering, I say," He smiled. Catra stood. "Let's go then. We have less than nine hours. We have to get this done and to magic lady as soon as possible," She said, shrugging on her bag. Adora, on their last endeavour in which Catra broke her wrist, had insisted on her taking a small bag with her, full of emergency first aid supplies. Catra noticed when Adora didn't bring one.

"We don't come back until we have everything. We reconvene here at five, with, the ingredients," She said. Sparkles nodded and disappeared into a cloud of pink dust. Arrows sighed softly. "She'll be ok... we'll get her back," Catra didn't answer him immediately. She walked to the door instead, pausing. "You know what we used to say in the Horde?" She asked over her shoulder. Arrows shook his head. "You shouldn't say things you can't commit to,"

~

Five pm rolled around too quickly, for Catra's liking. She'd managed to break into the castle, what with Light Hope being gone now, and steal enough crystals of varying shapes, sizes and colours. Arrows was the first one back, therefore the first one on Adora watch. Magic lady had come back briefly to gather the rest of the ingredients. "Glimmer will meet me at Mystacor to brew the antidote," She'd said. "There is nothing else you can do for her," She stared deep into Catra's eyes. Of course, Catra countered her stare cooly. "I would get some sleep while you can. There isn't anything, anybody can do for her. Not right now,"

Catra told Arrows to rest first, that she'd take the first watch. Arrows was hesitant until she hissed at him. And so, several hours after her shift was finished, Catra remained by Adora's bedside, watching her breathe slowly. She rebraided her hair as well. "You'd love this evening," She commented. "You used to love sneaking up to the roof back in the Fright Zone to watch the sunset and the moon rise," Catra smiled at the fond memory. "Even when you le-" She faltered. "After everything changed..." She amended. "I used to go up there every night still. Probably pissed Shadow Weaver off to no extent," Catra looped the hair tie around the bottom of the braid.

She hesitantly reached out to a stray hair. "I need you to get better again... so we can do that... but," She sighed. "As us... the new us,"

Catra watched her closely, begging for some kind of acknowledgement.
Adora remained asleep.

Chapter Text

Adora found herself in a peaceful meadow for the... fifth day in a row. The meadow was beautiful, sure. But it was monotonous. Nothing had changed in the last several days, not even the time of day. The only time she got a reprieve from the everlasting wheat and flowers was when she slept.

It didn't take an idiot to realise she was sleeping more and more each time.
She knew the virus was killing her.

At some point, Adora thought she was waking up for good. She'd heard Catra's voice in that tauntingly Catra tone. "Hey, Adora," She'd turned, ready to retort something. But there was nobody there. Just her, and the endless meadow. Part of the reason Adora hated relaxing was her mind. It spiralled when she relaxed when she had nothing else to focus on. The shadows crept in too quickly for her to stop, more often than not, throwing her into a panic attack. The attack usually surrounded Shadow Weaver's... interesting... forms of upbringing.

Usually revolving around getting a slap or a beating for stepping out of line, but nevertheless. She wandered to the woods. The trees stretched as high as she could see, luscious green leaves decorating the trunk. Adora walked in, humming a tune Razz used to sing. Huh. Razz. Adora should really go and visit the crazy old lady again soon... She scratched at her chest, mildly annoyed the ever-persistant ache hadn't yet gone away. She knew it was the virus causing issues with the fail-safe.

Or had she already used the fail-safe? Time seemed to stand still... wherever she was. Adora shook her head, forcing the thoughts out. If she dwelled on them too long, she may very well go insane.

She continued walking.

Truthfully, Adora had no idea where she was walking, just that her mind had a destination in place, and that was where her feet were going. The trees grew closer together, the light grew darker and darker. It was like being in the Whispering Woods. Huh. Maybe she was in the Whispering Woods. That'd explain the odd familiarity she felt with the area.

"Adora,"

She spun. "Hello?" She called.

No answer.

"Adora," The voice whispered again. "Whoever's out there, I'm not playing!" She reached for her bracelet with a falter. Oh... right. "Forward," The voice whispered. Stupidly, Adora walked forward. She continued so until the trees gave way to a clearing... and... "Razz's house?" She asked herself. "Razz?" She called, walking up to the windows. She peered in. "Hello? Razz?" She called. The door suddenly burst open, revealing a tall woman. "Razz, you silly old bat! Why would you shake the flour like that!?" The woman laughed. Adora blinked in shock. The woman wiped her face, spluttering. "It was not my fault! The silly bag wouldn't listen to me!" Razz complained. "It's flour!" The woman continued to laugh. The woman turned, sighing softly. "It's about time you got here, Adora,"

She grabbed Adora's wrist, pulling her into the hut. "Razz has been going on about you now for at least five days," Adora grunted as she landed on a soft chair. Razz tutted and waved her hand in the tall woman's face. "Ignore Mara, dearie. She is just sour I spilt the flour,"

~

Adora sat in a semi-catatonic state as she witnessed the strange situation unfold before her very eyes. It was, indeed, Mara, standing in Razz's cottage, much like her visions. She was taller than Adora. Not by much, maybe a few inches. Adora stood at just over five and a half feet. Mara must stand closer to six feet. Razz, bless the crazy old bat, stood at no more than five feet, probably even smaller. Yet, her attitude and self-confidence gave her an extra five feet easily. Adora watched, silently, scratching at her chest and side as the duo frantically tried to bake a... pie?

"Uh... Razz?" She dared speak. Razz continued bustling about, moving around Mara as if she was never there. "Yes, Mara?" Adora glanced at the actual Mara, who shrugged. "Uh, Adora," She corrected. "And... what am I doing here?" She asked. Razz continued humming, apparently ignoring her. Adora sighed deeply, wincing slightly as her wound crumpled beneath her skin. "Razz, Adora's talking to you," Mara sang, stepping around the crazy old lady. Razz turned, blinking in surprise. "Oh! Sorry, Mara! I didn't realise!" She bustled over, stepping on Mara's foot in the process. Mara grumbled, but Razz ignored her. "You are here because you are dying," Razz said with a smile.

Adora's eyes widened. "I- I'm dying?"

Realistically, she knew she was dying. Even before she passed out a few days (or hours) ago, she was really unwell, even by her standards. As a kid, she'd been particularly sick for a little over three days, vomiting, headaches, fevers,  the lot. Shadow Weaver, and the healers, thought she was going to die and wouldn't last the week. Nobody else in her platoon caught whatever she had, not even Catra, who insisted on curling up tightly against her stomach.

Shadow Weaver tried her... healing method to purge the sickness away, and where it had succeeded before, failed this time around. Eventually, it was realised she had appendicitis.

Then a few months after that, Lonnie was sick and passed it around the platoon.
They were all lashed for every training session they missed.

She'd been sick a few times at Bright Moon as well.

But with this... virus she had, it was different. For starters, it bled a mix of blood and broken green code. Then when she threw up a few days after that, it wasn't real vomit. It was... broken green code. And the pain... god the pain. It was by far the worst she'd ever experienced. She'd actually been stabbed and it hurt less.

Adora blinked at the firm hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry..." Mara began, kneeling. "For what?" Adora asked, wiping her treacherously wet eyes. "For not being strong enough in the first place... for not destroying the Heart when I was alive," She paused. "For making you pay for my cowardice," The house went quiet. Razz stopped singing. Adora hesitated in placing her hand on Mara's. "It- it isn't your fault," She began. "It's the First Ones," She continued. "The First Ones are the ones who made this mess... who- who created the Heart," Her words turned angry and bitter. "Who left the planet to blow up when it wouldn't work,"

She glanced to her side, watching as it leaked more broken code into the waistband of her trousers. Mara followed her gaze. "It's getting worse," She said quietly. Adora nodded softly. "Yeah... it is,"

Chapter Text

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,"

Chapter Text

Adora's entire being burned with a horrid sting when she finally woke up. It was as if she'd been in a shower that was too hot - leaving her skin tingling unpleasantly afterwards. The muffled sounds from the room made themselves known, slowly, over the course of a few hours. The lights burned her eyes through the shut lids. Her throat burned something chronic, she was cold but hot, but not too hot, but still too cold.

In other words; she was miserable.

She woke briefly when the room was in pitch blackness. Catra was purring softly by her chest, long asleep in dreamland. Adora didn't have it in her heart to wake her, so she rolled onto her side and fell back asleep. Waking up had been... an ordeal. Immediately, her stomach rested in her throat. Her arms were alight in goosebumps. The feeling was well known. As she slowly sat up, wincing as her side pounded ruthlessly, she was released to see nobody was with her. Sure, Adora would've loved to have seen a familiar face and smell a certain smell (forestry vanilla) but she hated being sick in front of people. She hated showing weakness. Even after being away from the Horde for over three years, and being sick a handful of times, she still hid when she could.

Or disappeared on a mission... or sometimes lied about seeing Light Hope or Razz and hiding in the tallest tower of the Bright Moon castle.

Neither of which she was strong enough for. Jesus. As Adora swung her feet out of the bed, warm soles touching cold marble, she may not even have the strength to pee. She shook her head and braced her arms stiffly on the side table. Her legs shook a little, but not as much as she thought. Adora stood straight and began to walk slowly to the bathroom. In times like this (read the ONLY time) she was glad to have the bathroom pretty much on hand. Glimmer had called it an "en suite"

It sure as hell beat wondering down the winding cold halls of the Horde barracks late at night. Her legs flew into goosebumps as the cold marble floor finally settled into her bones. She shuddered, rolling her shoulders and neck. Adora wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She really should've brought a blanket... no. She was too far. Plus, she was only peeing!

The door provided relief. With each en suite, Glimmer stated, came a heated floor. As Adora sat down, she rubbed her face harshly. The floor warmed her feet to no extent, somewhat dimming the goosebumps. She knew they'd come back the second she left the bathroom. Maybe she could curl up and sleep in here? The floor was warmer than her bed, and, she wouldn't be overexerting herself!

Her stomach suddenly twisted violently, forcing her head over the sink, barely catching herself. Her side pounded, though not as much as before, as she vomited. Huh. That was new... she thought to herself. Actual vomit for a change. Horrid to look at, sure, but at least it wasn't the broken code shit. She wiped her mouth with a shudder, swallowing thickly. She finished up, washed her hands, and began the trek back to the bed.

~

When she woke up again, it was to Catra by her face. "Hey, you," She whispered. Catra's tail gave away the pure excitement in her body, whipping happily behind. "Hi," Adora whispered back. "How're you feeling? Magic lady said you might feel a bit rough for a few days," Adora swallowed. "You could say that," She mumbled. Catra hummed, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I cleaned the sink, by the way... and flushed the toilet," She said. Adora groaned. "Oh god, I'm sorry. I meant to do it, but... I must've been so tired,"

Catra snorted. "Adora. If I had to clean out a thousand pukey sinks and pissy toilets to make sure you don't get as you did, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Adora held her hand out. A silent request. "Are you still feeling sick? I can get magic lady to make you something," Catra offered. Adora shook her head. "Just hold me," She whispered. "I-I missed you," She finished. Catra stood still for a moment, obviously thinking. Adora made grabby hands. "I won't offer for long," She teased. Catra rolled her eyes. "Jesus, fine," She clambered back into bed, snuggling into the quilt. "Unconscious for three days, and still as demanding as ever,"

Three days?
Shit... that's a long time.

Catra began purring. Adora frowned slightly. "Since when do you purr this much?" She asked softly. The purring stopped. Catra's ears pricked up. "No, no, don't stop," Adora panicked. "I-I just meant, you've never purred this much in the whole time I've known you," The purring started again. "I dunno... cats purring can sometimes help speed the process of healing up... figured it was worth a try," Adora snuggled tightly into Catra's chest, inhaling her familiar scent. "It's nice," She mumbled, eyes already closing.

~

The process of healing was long... and laborious.

Adora had been as sick as a pig for nearly a week straight, unable to keep anything solid down. When she wasn't throwing up, she was sleeping. The virus had left an ugly, horrid pink scar on her side. It was risen, and by far Adora's most hated scar... and she had a lot. Then ten she had from Catra across her back, the five from Catra across her thigh, the five from Catra on her shoulders, the scar from the failsafe, a scar from Catra particularly close to her... ahem... after an interesting night... huh. There was a recurring theme here.

She had to learn to rewalk again... for some reason. The virus had sapped so much of her strength, that her legs had grown too weak to do long walking by herself. Catra held her hand as she stumbled to various rooms, sweat beading and running down her neck, and then carrying her back as she passed out from exhaustion.

But... she did it. She overcame the virus that was supposedly meant to kill She-Ra, designed in such a way to be unsurvivable. On her twenty-fifth night after waking up, she sat on the balcony, watching the stars. Catra was asleep in the bed, so Adora took the moment to admire what she'd missed. She didn't even get a real chance to look at them when Light Hope brought them out of Despondos.

She shut her eyes with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Mara... for everything,"

~~

Mara stood by Adora's shoulder, hand ghosting just above the naked skin. She smiled, full of warmth and love for the newest She-Ra. "No... thank you, Adora..."