1290/She-Rally

From Radiant Heart MUSH

She-Rally
Date of Scene: 16 March 2024
Location: Plot Room 4
Synopsis: After Swiftwind alerts Bow that Adora is in immediate danger, a group is assembled to heal Adora and bring her home.
Cast of Characters: Bow, Adora Rainbowfist, Niji Dasshu, Sayaka Miki, Makoto Kino, Minako Aino, Usagi Tsukino
Tinyplot: How the Adora Crumbles


Bow has posed:
Swiftwind had to get out. It wasn't that Sayaka had come over to visit Bow - he adored both of them, but something didn't feel right. Something was wrong. So out over the city the alicorn flew, trying to figure out where it was coming from -- more importantly where she was. As he flew past the buildings and towers, he found himself drifting further and further from the school and out of the city.

A brilliant flash of light had caught his attention. Swinging around to it, his wings flared as he got close, but even at this distance, he could feel the dark energy, it's tendrils trying to wrap around him and he was repulsed but it. But what he saw, that is what would mark his mind.

The flash he had seen was the gun emplacements that were raining down on the Champion of Etheria. Not just the Champion, but his companion. His friend. "Adora!" he starts to call out, and his first thought was to swoop down, to shield Adora, to get her out of there.

But realizing that would only make the situation worse - he did the only thing he could do. He raced back to the dorms, where he knew he would find Bow and Sayaka on their date (scene 1285). Scraping his hooves and horn against the window. "Bow! BOW!" he called out. "Adora needs our help, and she needs it now!"

Bow was quick to respond to the call. Henshing into his Etherian archer form, the first thing he did was send out a mass text to those that were interested in helping Adora once she was found.

<PHONE> Text to Adora's Rescue Party Group: Adora's in immediate danger. On my way to her, will mark location with pin!

With that sent, he turned to Sayaka, and his hand was out. "Coming with, right?" He didn't expect her to disagree. And once they were on Swiftwind, they were off. Several minutes later, they are above the spot where She-Ra is on the ground, dark energy still rising from her fallen form. Obsidian, and any sign of their presence is gone. It's one of the desolate areas outside of Tokyo. Few people, in disrepair - a place safe from prying eyes amongst the rundown and delapidated buildings.

After sending out the location, Bow wisely waits for the others to assemble before he guides Swiftwind to the ground and dismounts.

"Adora?" he asks quietly, the tone in his voice one of worry and hurt. Why didn't she let him help? Why didn't she come back sooner? Why has it come to this?

It doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter as, "Careful Bow." Crystal Hope warns. "She's still... she's still not your Adora."

"Doesn't matter," he responds. "I'd be a terrible Bow if I didn't help." he responds, making his way over to the fallen Champion, and now that he has a closer look, he sees the condition that Adora is in, beaten, wounded, hurt... who knows what else. He sucks in a breath of concern, as he moves to pull her in to help her up and into a hug. "Adora. Hey. It's Bow. It's going to be okay. We're going to get you back to the school and taken care of, just hold on." His voice betrays his worry and fear. But he does it anyway. Because she's one of his two best friends. And he'd never turn away from them.

He's a loyal idiot.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The ground around the area has reformed, thanks to Riventon's powers and using the barrier during the fight. The shattered buildings and broken ground is gone. All that's left now is Adora. She's dirty, having not washed in a few days, and being too driven and broken to change her clothes. They are cheap items she'd collected from stores while she was missing over the last several weeks.

A black, sleevess t-shirt over a simple sports bra is worn with a pair of out-of-style jeans and steel-toed boots. Her blonde hair is unbound and hangs limply around her shoulders and clings to the steady flow of tears on her otherwise pretty face. The girl is curled into a ball in the middle of seemingly nowhere, thanks to everything from Obsidian vanishing with them. She's on her side with her knees hugged to her chest, her body wracked with the kinds of sobs that are so intense you aren't making any real noise.

The Sword of Justice sticks from the ground about ten feet away, the pommel facing the late night sky. Nearby, a motorcycle's tire treads vanish towards the city. She doesn't register the arrival of Bow or anyone else at first. She just keeps crying, her eyes open and staring at the tire treads. It's when he reaches out for her that her mind seems to click back into place. She cries out and pulls her arm back, trying to deliver a rough, firm punch to the boy's jaw.

"N-no! Get away! I'll...I don't know what I'll do!," she screams, her voice ragged. She sits up and scoots backward, her boots scrabbling at the earth. She doesn't have that same intense, twisted energy or demeanor she had when Bow saw her last. That was barely Adora, anymore. But as she stares at him with those wide, manic, red-rimmed eyes, she can see that not everything is right yet. Something shadowy flickers behind those baby blues.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
The last time Niji Dasshu had seen Adora, she was... not in a good place, to say the least. She also detonated a bus stop like it was made of balsa wood and used her lasso to escape from the people who wanted to help her. For both of those reasons, Adora wasn't going to be rescued by Niji, but by (heavy inward sighing) Geode Girl Loyalty.

    She had come in henshin, blue skin and wings and terrrifically long rainbow colored ponytail of hair, and while she almost didn't bring it, remembering Adora's blade is why she's also brought what is her most frequent accessory - Friendship.

    It's just in this case Friendship is a 34 long aluminum baseball bat spraypainted in a rainbow of random colors that makes the girl look significantly more like a hoodlum than her outfit alone would indicate. She has no intention of 'befriending' Adora with it though, but who knows how sane she'll be and her sword is very sharp.

    She arrives alone, coming in as a blur of color just slightly too late to stop Adora from taking a swing, but fast enough to comment on it.

    "Sorry, but we're here to help you, even if you wanna fight about it. Because I can't out-strength you, but you know you can't outrun me." Geode Girl Loyalty warns. "So if I have to I'll follow you all the way back to my home town telling people where to meet us on the way. No escaping today, you're coming back to the Academy!" she proclaims.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka had been very much enjoying this movie date with Bow. Just resting close together with the closeness and comfort of each other's presence was much nicer than she would have said a few months back. Ok, that's a lie, because she did envision moments like those when all she had to go on were stories, but still. It certainly doesn't compare to the real deal.

Sadly, good things don't last, and Swiftwind is suddenly at their window to signal an emergency. When Bow turns around to ask Sayaka if he is coming with her, he will find she has already transformed, because she in fact would never disagree to that. She is certainly not wasting any second when she hears the word 'emergency', and moreover this is what they had been preparing for, rallying together to help Adora.

"Of course, I am coming. Let's not waste any second", Sayaka says, giving his hand a squeeze of support. She knows how much he cares about Adora, and of course, she wouldn't miss a chance to help.

And then they arrive, following by them both dismounting off of Swiftwind. Indeed something brutal has clearly happened to Adora, but moreover, she is frantic.

And then there is Crystal Hope just trying to deter Bow. "I don't know why you are trying to stop him from helping someone, moreover one he cares about, but quit it", the bluenette glares at the AI of the First Ones. Telling him to be careful is one thing, but trying to stop him? It seems that's a constant of their meetings that Sayaka likes her less and less the more she gets to know her.

But she turns her attention to the panicked Adora. She is more important. "Please, whatever happened, it's over. You are among friends. You remember Bow, right? From he Best Friends Squad. There is Swiftwind too." Sayaka tries getting through to Adora.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto's been waiting to get this message pretty much since she gave Bow her number. She's ready. She pauses only long enough to grab a small container from her desk, and then she's out of the dorms and transforming at a run.

She doesn't have Loyalty's speed, but she can damn well cover ground. It's not too long after the others converge before Sailor Jupiter's boots sound against the pavement, the Senshi of Thunder striding past the Sword where it's stuck into the ground. "Take it easy," she says, her voice firm but with concern softening her serious expression. "We're here to help. Sailor Moon's on her way... but in the meantime, when was the last time you ate something, huh?"

Bow has posed:
No, Adora clearly knows what she's going to do, because she just sucker-punched Bow. And Bow should be fortunate that Adora is Adora and not in her other from, because, with all that dark energy that is still clinging to her, if she had been She-Ra, she'd probably broken his neck with that punch.

Instead, his jaw is rocked hard and he's sent sprawling backwards, landing on his rump and his hand immediately goes up to his jaw. It hurts. It hurts alot.

But nowhere near as much as that sudden well of betrayl and hurt that forms into him. He sits on the ground, dazed, those dark, volumunous eyes locked onto Adora's form. "Do you realize what it took to get here?" he asks finally, ignoring in the pain in his jaw. "What I had to do to find you. You know what, that doesn't matter, even if it was a lot. And since I arrived here, I've spent almost all my time worrying about you. I thought you had this under control. I trusted you when you said you had it under control. Instead, you cut me off. I should have found you when you did that. I should have known something was wrong. But I still wanted to believe... that you were my friend. One of my best friends. Or do you not have a Best Friends Squad?"

He rubs at his jaw again. Bruised, definetly. Maybe fractured. The tears that form at the corners of his eyes aren't pain.

They're disappointment. Emotional hurt. This. This is what it's come to? "I told you I was sorry your future was taken from you, Adora..." he continues. "But you are doing your level best to destroy the present so that it never happens. And I'm your friend, and I'm done watching you throw it away."

When Niji joins in, there's a firm nod from the archer. "...and you have more friends that are willing to help me keep you from destroying it all. Some, apparently, I haven't even met yet." Because, no, he's pretty sure he'd remember a rainbow haired girl that would probably fit right in as an Etherian princess. Or Swiftwind if he was a girl. And Etherian. And blue.

Hearing Sayaka's words, he steels his resolve, he appreciates that she's there to assist and to help. Even with others, it's nice to have someone you know about at the ready. After all, that was how this was supposed to be. With Glimmer and Adora. The Best Friends Squad. And now Glimmer is with Obsidian. And Adora is broken. And Bow? Bow's feeling the guilt that he's the one that seems to be fine.

Makoto is trying her best to help out as well, and taking the approach that he should be taking, but he's feeling all the frustration and hurt. He crossed worlds to find her - and all she's gone on about is what she lost. So selfish. His hand pulls his bow. "Net arrow!" he calls out, snapping into the nock, draws, but holds his fire for the moment.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The broken girl sees the other arrivals, her wide eyes flitting from one magical person to the next. She's sitting back, her fists balled in front of her, tears streaming. Her gaze locks on Geode Girl Loyalty and she blinks a few times. "I...um..." Adora opens her mouth again but is struggling to find words right now.

She blinks at Sayaka and shakes her head. "I...is it over..? I don't know. I know know...what..." She furrows her brow at Sailor Jupiter and tries tot hink for a moment. "...Days..." She swallows and wipesd at her eyes, but her shoulders are shaking. It's at this point that her head turns at the right angle, and everyone can see the new mark on her face. Claw marks on her chin, edging up a bit into her cheek. Bow has fought alongside Adora a good while, and he's aware enough to know her healing is odd. Like much of it, it is emotion based. Most of her wounds heal perfectly, but when a wound carries intense emotional weight or trauma, it settles in swiftly as permanent. Oddly enough, almost all of said scars are from Catra.

At that point she's hearing Bow again, and she turns to him. The girl, normally so big and strong and brave, looks so small right now. Her lip trembles and her hand raises to the fresh, red scars on her chin. "I didn't...I didn't mean...it wasn't...it wasn't me..."

She isn't taking swings, but this girl appears shattered.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty rests the bat in her left hand, slung casually over her shoulder, so she can gesticulate with her right hand. "Okay, okay. This isn't actually that difficult. You need help. You have a bunch of friends who are here to help. You're dirty, hungry, and you look like you got in a fight with a weed whacker and at best came to a draw. So all you have to do is stop fighting and let us help you." Loyalty says, slowly. "You know that we were worried sick about you?" Well, she can speak for herself and Makoto, at least. "Now we have found you, and all you have to do to make everything okay is let go and let us help you. And that starts by not yelling at or punching your friends."

    "There is nothing going on with you, nothing going on with other people, nothing in this world or any other world that we can't fix if we just work together. So you've run around alone long enough. It's got you dirty clothes and another set of scars." She needs zero guesses to know where from. "You should try running with us again - not from us. That's clearly not workin' out."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
The hurt tone coming from Bow makes Sayaka slightly shudder from how hard he is taking it. Darn it to Hinoiri's carelessness for causing this, Sayaka thinks on the moment, as she looks at Bow with transport. "It's ok, Bow, dark energy, remember. She is still the Adora you know, it just needs to be extracted, and then she will be better." Hopefully. Though she also clearly needs medical intervention too.

"Yes, it's over", Sayaka confirms to Adora. "There is no danger here, we just came because Bow wanted us to help. Remember Bow, right? He has always been thinking how to get you out of this danger ever since he got his uniform. It wasn't you, but you should get something warm, and then then rest." And hopefully, they can help there.

Minako Aino has posed:
Last time Minako had fought alongside Adora she'd technically been facing down evil as Sailor V, but well...what sort of heroine would leave another in peril if they could do anything about it? In this case however? She wasn't going to be doing it alone.

In fact, it was almost certainly Jupiter or Usagi that had let her know.

Another Senshi to the rescue, Venus arrived, blonde hair, red ribbon, all of it familar but new from their last meeting.

The injuries? They brought the concerns that Minako shared, but for the moment she was silent, words held back for the time being.

Makoto Kino has posed:
At 'days,' Sailor Jupiter's face softens into a slightly exasperated smile. "Yeah, that's about what I thought. No wonder you probably feel like everything's terrible. But hey, lucky you - your roomie came prepared."

Saying this, from somewhere Jupiter produces a sandwich-sized plastic container. She pops the lid off deftly, nodding her acknowledgement to Sailor Venus before she approaches Adora. When she's close enough she lower herself down to one knee to offer what turns out to contain several rows of cookies and an assortment of small multi-star-shaped candies in a rainbow of colors.

"It's no substitute for a proper hot meal," Jupiter says with a smile, "but we can work on that in a bit. The candy's from Daifuku-chan. It's magic. The cookies... well, those are just cookies." She says the last with a hint of a laugh.

"They're right, you know," she adds after a moment, tipping her head toward Loyalty and Sayaka. "Let us help."

Bow has posed:
Without Adora being transformed, Switfwind has also reverted back to his smaller form, the cat-sized alicorn sticking close to Bow for the moment, just to keep him from going further. As the others start to speak up, the Etherian archer loosens his grip on the arrow, slowly lowering it as the girls rally around Adora.

Falling silent, he knows when to be quiet, at least, and let others try their way. A soft noise from him and he puts the bow back, the arrow stuck into the ground next to him.

"I told you you weren't alone, Adora. I guess this proves it." That's all he can really add at the moment as he just wants to sit here for a couple of more minutes, at least until he knows it's fine to get back up.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora stares at Loyalty as she tells her everything will be alright if she just goes with them. As if that undoes everything and sets everything right. She opens and then closes her mouth, as if struggling for something to say. Her gaze flits to Sayaka, then, and she blinks a few times. "I...Bow...I know...I..." She sees Sailor Venus arrive and stares at her for a moment, but it seems more like she's staring through her. When Sailor Jupter approaches she flinches back a bit, and her gaze dips to the container of cookies. She stares at the cookies for a long, quiet moment before her eyes widen. She bolts upright and screams.

"I KILLED SUNBREAKER! OH MY GODS I KILLED SUNBREAKER!" She scrambles to her hands and knees and crawls towards the spot that the girl had lain bleeding, and she grabs at the plain, unremarkable and undisturbed dirt. "Nononono, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! NooooooOOOooo!!!"

One hand clutches at the wound on her face, while the other scrabbles at the ground, as if she can draw the girl back to her and undo everything. She can't, though."I couldn't control myself! I couldn't stop myself! I kept...kept getting so ANGRY and scared and sad and...I couldn't stop myself from doing these terrible things! One...one after another after another and on and on and worse and WORSENO!"

"She...she was so terrible and mean and...and confused but...but not THIS! NO! I'm sorry!" The helpful words from Bow are utterly lost as she begins to spiral, thinking full-well she ended somebodies life while out of control of herself.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty looks around, somewhat shocked by this information. "But I didn't seee any dead girls around here, or any ambulances or anything." She points out. "I mean, are you sure? You haven't been in your right mind for days now, I'm not sure I trust you to be the judge of whether you hurt someone that bad or not." She admits.

    "I mean, Sunbreaker is full of Dark Energy and the amount of damage I have to do to some of those basic dark energy monster things is a lot just to get any progress at all." she points out.

    "Like, did she fade out like a youma or something? Cause maybe she was a youma. Or maybe it was a youma shaped like her." she says, steadfastly not believing her friend would kill someone, or, frankly, that beating up evil would be that easy based on her own experiences.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
What? No, of course, she didn't kill Hinoiri. Sayaka approaches the confused girl as she keeps going on about having killed Sunbreaker, and pulls her into a tight hug, trying to stop her from doing anything dangerous in her crazed state.

"Adora?", Sayaka looks at her straight in the face. It's a good thing she is not She-Ra right now, because this would be quite impossible otherwise. Restraining someone is quite hard even before you consider the dark energy. "I personally know Sunbreaker. She is alive and well. You haven't killed anybody. She isn't even hurt. She is sorry for what she did to you, you know? Even took care of Swiftwind. The only one hurt here is you, and that's why we are trying to help."

Well, Bow is probably pretty hurt, and Sayaka is definitely going to check on him later, but she is certainly not going to bring up something so counterproductive.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
    TXT Usagi to Rescue Group Chat: I'm on my way! I'll be there as fast as I can!

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter rocks back in surprise and alarm at Adora's scream. It's sudden enough that only very good reflexes and a natural sense of balance keep her from landing on her butt; as it is, she's more than a little taken aback - it had seemed so much like they were really getting through to Adora, and yet--

She surges back up onto her feet, closing up the container again. Clearly it's not the time. "Listen, I don't know what happened, but... this isn't all you, okay?" She watches as Sayaka moves to hug Adora, and for a moment it seems like she wants to follow, but she hangs back for now, glancing at the communicator on her wrist. "If you can't stop yourself, then let us help you. That's the whole reason we're here."

At this point she can't even tell if Adora can hear her... but she still has to try.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako hadn't been present for the violence Adora spoke of, such was the nature of the city and all the different battles to entangle a magical girl or boy of late, but the pain was real enough. After all, Venus had seen her own friends controlled or corrupted at times. Doing battle with a deranged Usagi was more than enough to haunt her and she hadn't even had to hurt her...well, not really anyway.

"You can only move forward," she speaks, a glimpse perhaps of the veteran Sailor V rather than his new heroine. "You stand tall, you reach out, and you keep moving towards making things better, making yourself feel better, helping everyone you can and..."

She sweeps a gloved hand over the sight of the others gathered, "if you stumble, you have plenty to help you stand up again and keep moving forwards."

Bow has posed:
Pushing himself back to his feet finally, Bow gives his jaw one more rub and then sets his expression. He looks to Adora, and then to the friends she has assembled, and his mind goes back. Another time... another place. They're all sitting around a table.

Adora, Glimmer, Mermista, Perfuma, himself... off in the distance, a Horde Fortress.

If I'm not perfect...

He makes his way over to Adora. A light touch to Sayaka's shoulder. "Confirm that, if you don't mind?" he asks, since he knows that she has some kind of connection to Sunbreaker, that's why she got Swiftwind back so easily.

But he kneels down, and takes Adora's face in his hands so that she has to face him, the scratches on her jaw mirrored by the swollen bruise on his own jaw. "We're in a new world. But some things still apply." A breath, soft, worried. And then, he sets his resolve as the words come back to him, spoken by the third member of their Squad. "Bad things are going to happen. That's life. You can let it paralyze you, or you can roll with it. You need to figure out the things you can... and, trust that your friends are going to have your back for the rest."

"You're not alone. Not anymore. Not ever." he places his forehead gently to hers. "It's time to come back. Moon's on her way. Time to get up."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Nono, I ran her through from b-behind. Right through! She fell and was...wasn't moving. Double Trouble..." (That's something to think of later. "...They looked so scared when they...they took her away. I've hurt people in fights before and this wasn't anything like that!," Adora tries to tell Loyalty, her eyes wide and panicked. She grunts when Sayaka grabs her for that tight hug, and she's too tired to fight at this point. She looks into Sayaka's eyes as her face is held, and she sputters. "It...it -just- happened! You...how did you see her already? It JUST HAPPENED! She was...she was here, setting a trap for me! I ambushed her! I...no...it just happened! Everything repaired itself when Obsidion left! That Riventon guy! He did that! I'm not crazy!"

She looks past Sayaka to Jupiter. Jupiter can tell that Adora is in there, but all of the guilt and horror of everything from the past several weeks have all hit her at once. It's leveled the girl to the ground, internally. Her wide eyes move to Venus from where she's being held by Sayaka, and she swallows. "Move forward..."

She flinches slightly as Bow takes her face in his hands, but she doesn't struggle. She looks into his eyes, looking so pained and confused and damaged. She bites her lip and closes her eyes, squeezing out a few more tears before she shakily nods her head. When her eyes were locked on Bow's he could see that flicker of dark energy still in there.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji shakes her head, but Bow asks Sayaka to confirm Sunbreaker's status, and that has to do for now. "Look, I don't like to be Miss Serious, but Adora, you turn into a giant lady with a giant sword, not a small girl with a bunch of feathers in a pillowcase. And Sunbreaker, when I fought her, she wasn't exactly throwing around packing peanuts and bubble wrap, either. When violence happens people get hurt. But even if somebody got hurt, even if it's really bad, you can't act like nobody had a hand in it but you. I know you. You're a great person, a wonderful friend, and you want to use your strength to protect people. If that choice was taken away from you, you can't kick your own butt for something you didn't want to do in the first place."

    "But right now, we don't know. The bad guys are tricky, I wouldn't put it past them to try to break you like this. Until we know what happened I don't think you should beat yourself up any more. It looks like Catra did enough of that for you anyways." she says. "First we have to get you fixed, so you can be you again. Then we can worry about what happened during all of that." she continues.

    "But no matter how bad you feel and why, I'm sure you'll feel better when you get all of that gunk out of your spirit. Then you can see clearly and we can all figure out where to go from there. Together."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Of course you're not crazy," Sailor Jupiter puts in, without hesitation. "I'm pretty sure we've all seen how barriers like that work by now. Not to mention way weirder things."

Now she moves up, still careful not to crowd Adora too much, but close enough to place a reassuring hand briefly on the blonde's shoulder. "You got affected by something that messed with your head, but we can get it out. And whatever happened with Sunbreaker... we'll help you deal with that, too. So stop trying to deal with it all alone, already."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
It just happened? Well, that gives Sayaka the realisation that this is not something old, but still Adora needs help, and saying she might have misunderstood is the total opposite of that. "Yeah, Device Mages has a similar technique", Sayaka start by replying with what she knows, to keep her composure.

"They can create this barrier, sort of like a positive version of a Witch's Labyrinth, and when they take it down any damage just didn't happen. It doesn't apply to people, but Sunbreaker got help soon after, so she is fine. And she is really sturdy. I have seen her survive raging waters just fine, believe me."

She then turns to Bow, who asks confirmation. She is feeling bad about this, and having Bow in the mix certainly doesn't help, but again, now is not the time to show it. "Yes, it wasn't the best, but she got through it", Sayaka says, keeping her composure.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon runs.

It's a good thing that Bow shared Adora's location by pin - she'd have never found them on her own, not with how far from the school they are, how far from the city they are, but with their location and a map app -

The good thing about being a Senshi is she can run. She's fast, faster than a taxi even, because she run across rooftops and jump from building to building, and she can close the distance between herself and her friends faster than any ordinary person could ever hope to.

She's worried about Hinoiri. She's worried about Mamoru, left behind with a shape-shifting lizard person, and she's worried about Adora, who'd stabbed Hinoiri practically to death, who isn't herself and who won't be herself again until Usagi gets there -

Eventually, the little blue dot that represents her on the map overlaps with the little red dot that represents Adora. Eventually, she sees friends in the distance - green and blue and really blue, and orange, unexpected but uplifting and -

"Adora-chan!" Sailor Moon's voice, anxious and worried and relieved, as she draws in close, running to join them. The Moon Stick is in her hand, the Silver Crystal glowing faintly in her hands. She's panting from exhaustion, but words spill out of her mouth anyway. "Everyone! I'm sorry I'm late, but we had an - emergency on our hands - "

She slows to a halt only when she's right in front of them all, hands pressed to her thighs as she bends to pant for breath. Eventually, she catches her breath and lifts her head, locking eyes on Adora.

"She's going to be alright! Sunbreaker! She's going to be alright - Mamochan healed her!"

She's confident of this. She's sure of this. Mamoru wouldn't have told her to go unless he was sure.

Bow has posed:
"That's the Adora I know." Bow responds when Adora meets his eyes. Yes, there is dark energy there. But at the same time? He knows she's strong enough to fight this. She should have been strong enough to fight it all along.

But the heart can determine strength, too. And when the heart wants something too much, it seems that's when Dark Energy becomes the strongest. And what Adora wanted with her heart... well, it all makes sense.

A soft breath is drawn in as he releases his friend and Champion and gets back to his feet. "Thank you." That said to the others. He knows, he can't, couldn't have done this alone. And he needed all of them. From the Loyalty to Jupiter, to Sharpsong and Venus. Sayaka's explanation of things is not missed, and it's filed away for later, but no need to speak on it at the moment.

And finally, Moon arrives. And as she's calling out for Adora, and updating others on the situation, he gives a firm little nod of his head. "See. It's going to be fine." he reassures his friend. And then, he moves out of the way, so that the others can tend to Adora, his hands dropping to his sides and then behind his back.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Shakily, Adora looks to Loyalty and gives a nod. "O-okay. Okay." Everyone's words are hitting her now that she got the intial panic out of her system, but the following weeks or...however long trauma takes to get out of your system...are going to be rough for her. But Loyalty's right, and she knows it. It'll be less rough when the last of this Dark Energy is uncoiled from her soul.

    She looks to Jupiter and takes a deep breath, as if trying her hardest to calm herself. "I didn't...want to do it on my own to begin with. Not...not really. As it got worse it was like I...was being guided by that energy. I could feel myself making those decisions and saying those things and...yeah. When it started it was me but...worse. All my negative emotions were stronger, but it just built after that. It grew and grew until it was...it was all that was left..."

She turns to Sayaka and nods slowly. "Okay. Okay, I'll...I'll believe you. Thank goodness. I don't know how I would have...have..." She swallows again and takes another deep breath, trying to force down the panic and sadness that keeps trying to rise in her, thanks to that remaining Dark Energy trying to enhance and play on her darker feelings. She blinks and stares as Sailor Moon shows up, and she leans further into the hug from Sayaka and the touch of Bow when she hears that. "Good. Oh, good..." Those tears trickle down her face, but her throat is too sore for more intense sobbing. But internally she is still very much not okay, and everyone can tell with a glance. Not yet, anyways. And this wasn't some simple corruption from Dark Energy, that could be resisted by her. The way it combined with her Eternian soul was somethingh new and insurmountable but...it isn't like anyone will believe her on that. She knows she just looks weak to them. Pathetic. Some little girl who got pissy and couldn't control herself. She hates it so much.

She watches Bow stand, and she hears him say it will be fine, but will it for her? Sure, Sunbreaker will live. But will Catra ever forgive her? She doesn't think so. She feels her heart sink into her gut.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "It's going to be fine because of all of these people that lined up to help you, Rainbowfist-san." Loyalty knows she prefers Adora, and the name is said with a small bit of teasing, in the hopes of putting something like levity into her sad friend's heart, something more normal, less magical, less destructive.

    "And we're here because you're a good person. And if the roles were reversed, you would be here for us, right? For any of us. Because that's the kind of person you are. The real you without all of this gunk in your heart lying to you." she says. "And you wouldn't want to blame or harm. You'd only want to see your friend healthy and happy again. And that's what we want. Don't listen to that nonsense that lies to you." she says, leaning down to look at Adora.

    "We're here to help you today, and we'll be here tomorrow, the day after that, next week, next month. We didn't chase you all around the city and hunt you down because we're gonna bug out after we get the fixin' started." she says, before stepping back slowly.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Visible relief sweeps over Sailor Jupiter's face as Sailor Moon arrives. She smiles, warm and heartfelt, at Usagi, and then looks back to Adora. "We've got you," she says, in the tone of a promise. "Now let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

She half-steps back, not far, just enough to let Sailor Moon do her work.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And while Adora sobs noiselessly, her throat working and her emotions pouring out, Sailor Moon raises her Moon Stick. The Silver Crystal's glow is no longer dim, but as bright as a flashlight - and then as bright as the full moon - and then to bright to look at directly.

And then Usagi raises the Moon Stick up and carves a circle of light in the air itself - and when the circle is complete, beams of light blaze over Adora as glittering silver fog drifts through the area.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

It's going to hurt. It's the chilling, burning sensation that comes with holding in a mouthful of mouthwash, minty and refreshing and stinging like the devil. When the dark energy is finally destroyed, Adora will find herself shouting a single word -

Refresh!

It's a good thing people stepped back. For those who hadn't, though? It's alright. Moon Healing Escalation is like a gentle waft of freshness, rejuvenating. It's only those corrupted that feel the aching sting.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Well, Sayaka has to count herself lucky that what she just said matches perfectly with what Sailor Moon is announcing about. Since the moon soldier is gonna take care of the situation, she releases Adora for Usagi to deal with.

While stepping back, she notices Bow is moving away too, and she reaches over, squeezing his hand. "Everything is going to be alright. You have found her, and she is going to get the treatment she needs now."

Bow has posed:
Sailor Moon's healing does reach him, healing Bow's damaged jaw, as he notices Sayaka coming to join him and capturing one of his hands. Returning the squeeze, he gives her a nod, supporting her, easily. "Alright. We got this out of the way." he offers finally.

"Let's get her back to the school. With any luck -- you'll be sleeping in your own bed tonight, Adora..."

And that's not all. All of the sudden, there's an alicorn cat rushing Adora. "A D O R A!" Swiftwind cries out happily. "You're back! You're better! I've missed you! I have so many things to tell you about! So many epic tales! And the story of Rico and Christina! We will watch telenovels togehter while you recover! It will be great!" The alicorn flounces around Adora cheerfully, before finally reading the room. "I too, shall be instrumental in your recovery as your faithful mount."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
    It's hard for the blonde to look Loyalty in the eyes at this point. The darkness is welling up again as she starts questioning herself and hating herself. The darkness finds those bits of doubt and regret and feeds them. She struggles, and finally looks the girl in the eyes. That pain in there is clear as day. She wants to say something to her, to them all, but she doesn't trust herself to say something nice and good and thankful, like she should. So she remains quiet and slowly nods, instead.

    She glances at Jupiter and then turns towards Moon, her eyes wide. As the light builds she squeezes her eyes shut, blinded for the moment by it. Her body shudders as the Dark Energy is burned away. Moon finds it more resistant then it should be, though, as it coils with the Eternian energy in one last ditch effort to remain. But, after a brief struggle of power, the last of it is seared away. She cries out the word, unbeknownst to herself, and then gasps for air.

She's left panting as she glances around at everyone, and she reaches out to hug Sayaka or Bow again before finding them both backed away. Her hands fall to her sides. "I'm sorry for...everything..." She means it and she's upset, but it's a NORMAL upset. A NORMAL amount of guilt and sadness for the stuff that happened over the last few weeks, and dragging everyone out here. It's not longer multipled and worsened by the dark energy.

She's struggling to say something else when she suddenly has a small alicorn fluttering about and headbutting her face with love. She wraps her arms around him and drops down to a crouch. She just holds him to her, and there's a quiet moment where she doesn't say anything at all, but her back can be seen shaking with quiet sobs. Normal, human ones though. She lets him go, then, gently. "...It's really good to see you, Swiftwind..."

Makoto Kino has posed:
As soon as the light of the escalation fades into lingering glitter, Sailor Jupiter is moving forward again, following in Swiftwind's fluttering wake. She stops short of intruding on that reunion, but she stands nearby, ready to serve as a physical support if it's needed, and content to watch over if it's not.

"Welcome back, Adora-chan," she says simply.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Now that she's less likely to get punched in the jaw like Bow was, Loyalty is able to drop her bad and she moves so quickly that she's hugging Adora from behind before the bat even hits the ground, the blur of color from her ponytail still trying to catch up with her. "Adora!" "You have a unicorn and all of these friends and I need you to introduce me to them but not right now you must be exhausted we should get you back to your dorm and ALSO you are not allowed to do this again!!!" she says, and it's all in one ball of words and hugs and she's not crying you're crying.

Bow has posed:
Swiftwind gives an offended snort. "I am an alicorn! Wings and horn. Better than a unicorn, more fanciful than a pegeaus, I'm the best of it all the alicorn!" he singsongs.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And just like that, Adora is herself again. Wounded inb ody and spirit, maybe, but - purified, back to herself in every way that matters.

Usagi exhales, relief swelling her chest. Just like that, everything as it should be. She slides over to Sailor Venus and leans against her.

"Thanks for coming, V-chan," she says quietly, "It's good to see you."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Th-thanks...," she offers to Sailor Jupiter, the girl offering her an exhausted smile. "And nothing personal, but I might swear off cookies for awhile..." Suddenly she's being held by Loyalty from behind, and she wraps her arms around the arms wrapped around her own form, leaning back into the other girl. "It's like I was looking through mirrored glass," she says softly, the strain from exhaustion clear in her tone. "I can't even explain it. When it all started it was me, but...all my dark worries and anger and sadness got worse and worse. But...as it went it consumed me. There wasn't any resistance anymore. Obsidian seemed surprised about it, even, when we all fought here. Like it was different then normal corruption. I dunno. But no...never again. NEVER again."

She looks around at everyone, before looking to Bow. "Thank you, Bow. And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." She takes a deep breath. "Can we go home now? I want to go home."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I am glad you are out of danger now, Adora", Sayaka says, even if that's just gonna add to Adora's confusion, probably. And just like Bow said, the blonde girl needs rest now, anyhow. That wil probably help her feel much better. Who knows when she last had a proper rest. "You did great, Bow", Sayaka also reminds Bow. Just in case he needs it.

Bow has posed:
"I'm good, Adora." Bow says, a smile offered to her, "Glad you're okay. Let's get back to the Academy, make sure everything is where it needs to be, and hopefully you'll get to sleep in your own bed tonight." A squeeze of Sayaka's hand before he lets it go, and he starts the process to make sure Adora's taken care of now.