1185/I'm Sorry That You Had Your Happy Ending Taken From You

I'm Sorry That You Had Your Happy Ending Taken From You
Date of Scene:	26 February 2024
Location:	Ramen Stalls
Synopsis:	Bow tracks down Adora - their reunion has more twists and turns than a roller coaster, but in the end, they reach an understanding and a plan.
Cast of Characters:	Adora Rainbowfist, Bow
Tinyplot:	How the Adora Crumbles

---

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Tears. The tears have had a rough time stopping since Glimmer came to her at the Dojo she was hiding in. Why did Glimmer have to be in Obsidian, too? Why did she have to be so -cold-?

After the Princess of Brightmoon had left the abandoned dojo, Adora had spent the night tossing and turning, crying off and on. She'd find herself moving from intense sadness to unbelievable rage and back again...and every time either extreme only felt stronger then the time before. She had no doubt that something was wrong with herself now. Still, she had plans. She intended to find Catra and then convince her to help her to go after Sunbreaker to get all of this fixed...and to make the girl pay for this.

It's early, early morning when Adora leaves the Dojo and heads out into the city. Tokyo is still waking up, and the sun hasn't risen. The streets are bathed in that awkward pre-dawn light, enhanced by the neon and flourescent of the city. Catra might still be out and about at these hours. She started with the dingy ramen shops, and then walked the broken, dark part of town they'd recently fought in. Finally, she sat down in a huff at the same outdoor ramen stall she'd spent time with Catra at during Christmas. It was closed at this hour, and the stools sat silently along the outside vendor counter, the rest of the street silent, save for an early morning commuter or two passing every now and again.

Steel-toed boots, with battered jeans with torn knees tucked into them, are worn with a battered Nirvana shirt that has been cut into showing her midrift. A red and black flannel with the sleeves rolled up is tossed over that. Her blonde hair is down, and pinned by a San Diego Padre's cap. The outfit shows the freshly changed bandages on her forearms, and on her ribs.

She wipes at her puffy eyes and growls softly. "Where are you, you stupid cat?"

Bow has posed:
As soon as Adrien had told Bow that he had come across Adora, that she was hurt, and that she was alone, Luke Armbruster had excused himself from the dorm room. The espresso? That had been divine and he hated to leave it, but there was no way he was letting his best friend (one of two) be alone and in need.

A quick henshin change later, and Bow had taken to the streets. He didn't know his way or his direction, but he did have a piece of technology with him that could help. Pulling out the First One's pad, he asks his small companion crystal as they move along the streets, "Crystal Hope, can we track her in any way? Maybe through the sword, that's how we ended up here in the first place!" he reminded her.

There was a gentle chime from the crystal. "I've already pulled it up for you, Bow." A small red dot appears on the screen. "It appears to be on the move."

"She is on the move." Bow corrects. "Adora's with the sword. She has to be." Always hopeful, always optimistic. It had been a long night of tracking the signal through the streets of Tokyo, dark, unfamiliar, he was a stranger in a strange land. But none of that mattered to him at the moment. He'd figure out how to get back to the school later.

As the pre-dawn light starts to illuminate the city, as the light starts to shine down the small alleyway where the ramen shop sat, there's a small flicker of sunlight off of his pauldron as Bow glances from his pad down the alley. "She's close." he says quietly, a strong stirring of hope in his gut as he steps down the alley, dressed in his Etherian armor. There is no hiding what he is. She needs to see him as Bow. Not whatever disguise Setsuna set up for him.

As his footfall echoes, he calls out, "Adora?" as he sees the woman, in unfamiliar clothing, huddled on a stool. And looking nothing like the Adora he knows and cares for.

But the First One's pad says that is where the Sword of Protection is at.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The teen takes a moment to realize somebody is calling out to her. Part of her knows that voice, but she'd given up on friends arriving on Earth for months now, so she didn't even consider it might be who it really is. Hearing somebody call out to her, the girl hunches a bit, and tugs the collar on her flannel up, as if trying to vanish into herself.

"Go home. I'm not ready to go back to the School. Not yet."

Her voice has an unfamiliar growl to it, and there's a raggedness that comes from hard sobbing mixed in. Like her throat is dry from it. She tugs her cap off and runs her fingers back through her hair. This allows the boy to see the golden barcer worn over some of the forearm bandages. It looks First Ones in design, and Crystal Hope would recognize that it is, in fact, the Sword.

When it becomes apparent that whomever called out to her is not leaving, she growls and turns towards him.

"I SAID to go the f**k ho--...Bow?"

She stares, blue eyes wide and uncertain. He can see the puffiness, and the red rims of her eyes, as well as getting a better look at the bandages, now that she is seated and facing him.

Bow has posed:
When calling her name causes Adora to huddle further, Bow looks confused. But the Tech Pad does not lie. He continues to come closer, the dusky skinned Etherian's eyes narrowing in concern and worry as he sees not the bracers - but the bandages. He should have found a first aid kit. Or something. Things he didn't think about before dashing out on impulse.

Then the language hits and his brow goes up a little, right up until she says that last word. His name. Dark eyes soften, going wide as he takes her in.

"You look like a whole pack of Pookas have mauled you." comes his concerned words as he picks up his steps, closing the distance between himself and the Princess of Power.

"You're here!" he exclaims, suddenly it's all better. It doesn't matter how Adora looks. It's her. It's really her. It's all going to be good now!

"By Brightmoon, I didn't think it was true but you're here!"

And it's probably clear, if she knows a Bow, that she's doomed to be hugged unless stopped.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Her arm moves fast to shove, open-palmed at Bow's chest. Rather hard, too. She's trying to get him back from her as she stumbles to her feet, but it's proibably enough to send the boy stumbling, especially since he doesn't expect it from her.

"Wait, WHAT? BOW?" Her hand is trembling a bit as she keeps it extended, fingers splayed, as if trying to form some kind of wall between them. "No...no! If you're here then...then you're with Glimmer aren't you!? You're with Obsidian, too! WHY? WHY IS EVERYONE WITH THEM? You?! GLIMMER?! SHADOW WEAVER?! ...Catra?"

The tears are back again, but there's rage behind them now. The kind of rage Bow never saw in her, even at her most furious. Before there had always been a sense of righteousness behind it, but this time it's...she's broken.

Bow has posed:
Just as he was about to hug her, Bow slams into that powerful hand. Even in her unchanged form, she's still a powerful woman and there's a whoof of air as Adora knocks the breath out of him and a grunted, "Ador-ow!" he manages, backing up a little. He backs up a little, the Tech Pad is dismissed, but there's no bow drawn.

"Wait, Glimmer's here?!" he asks, confusion coloring his expression. She was with Hordak, his prisoner, and then she calls out a name that is completely unfamiliar to him. "Obsidian? What is Obsidian?" he asks in utter and complete confusion, dark eyes blinking a few times as he tries to set his hands around Adora's wrist to squeeze. Not to harm, but to reassure. To show her that he is real.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just got here a short time ago, from Light Hope, there was a portal and the Horde was overrunning the castle... and I... I came here..."

"...to find you."

As she erupts in rage, his eyes study hers, trying to feel what is happening in those blue eyes. And what he sees is disheartening. How can he get through to her?

"I'm not with any Obsidian. Glimmer was captured by Hordak, Catra's with her... but, I know! I'll tell you something that only I'd know and that proves that I'm on your side!" He clearly is trying to find a way to defuse what he is seeing as an escalating situation.

"George has a tattoo. He thought it meant Love. You told him it meant Lunch."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"You'd know that if you joined them, too!," she cries out. He can feel her under his hand on her wrist, and it's all tension and trembling. Her sleeves are rolled to her elbows, and he can see scars he didn't know about before. Claw marks that could only come from one specific cat, running down her inner elbow from her bicep. They're old enough to be full scars, while the bandages are covering something fresher.

She doesn't pull back this time, though. As he looks in her eyes, he can see something is wrong with her. There's so much anger and heartbreak and stress, but it's all expounded and amplified by...something. "What's Obsidian?," she asks, looking confused. She furrows her brow and doesn't seem to know how to answer at first, before his words about where he's from seem to register, and tears begin to pour.

"Nonononono...damnit. DAMN IT. You're...not from my time either. No. Nobody is. Everyone...everyone I've met from Etheria are...it's like we're being cherry picked through time. First Catra, n-now you. It's all wrong...!"

Bow has posed:
She's so tense, on edge. Something's wrong. He has no idea what it is. But Bow is not abandoning her. Not after spending so long looking for her. He sees the scars, the marks, the injuries done to her by a certain cat that shall be named later. "What happened?" he asks her, concern filling in his voice. "We need to get these looked at."

He doesn't break her gaze, but her heartbreak is relected in his own eyes as deep worry and concern, and trying to figure out how to help. "I do not know what Obsidian is." he starts to echo. And then she starts to cry.

As the tears pour, and Adora shares her theory, Bow takes a half-step back. But his hands remain on her wrist. "That's what Rashmi meant." he suddenly realizes. "Crystal?"

The small crystal over Bow's shoulder transforms into a younger version of Light Hope. "She's probably correct, Bow. You need to take a closer look."

And he does. And that's when it starts to click. It's not just the marks, the old scars. She looks older. Her eyes aren't as bright, the flicker of a smile is gone. What has happened to her, this Adora? That may not be his Adora.

"Doesn't matter. An Adora is still an Adora, no matter where she's from." he says firmly, resolute in his thought. "The Adora I know vanished with the Sword three months ago. The Horde has overrun Etheria. I don't know what your history is. And I will be glad if you tell me. But we may not be in the same timeline - the same place - but Adora..."

"You're still one-third of the Best Friends Squad." he offers to her quietly. "I don't know what's going on. Or how to fix it yet. But together, we're stronger. Please. Don't push me away. We can help the others, figure out what's happened."

"Don't give up."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora stares at him, letting the tears streak her dirty cheeks. She looks like she has been wearing the same clothes for a few days now, if not longer, and sleeping rough. She doesn't say anything for a long moment, though those blue eyes flit from his face to the thing the voice is coming from and back again. "...Light Hope?," she whispers.

She sinks back onto the stool, almost seeming to deflate. The anger is gone, and replaced again by that unbelievable, impossible to handle sadness. The Dark Energy enhances all of her negative emotions, afterall...not just her rage. "When I'm from we won. We...we won it all. Hordak turned out to be a clone of an intergalactic conqueror who'd been exiled, and he was conquering Etheria to try and...try and prove himself, I guess?" She brushes trembling fingers through her hair and then wipes at her eyes. She avoids his eye contact.

"Glimmer got taken by Horde Prime...the one in charge of it all, and Catra...Catra basically sacrificed herself to save her for us. So we went and rescued Catra. After that she...changed. She became friends with everyone. She made up for her mistakes and ...and all of us saved the galaxy together. Etheria was restored to a place of pure magic." She lets out a long, shuddering breath, now speaking through soft sobs.

"Catra confessed to me. She'd loved me for forever. And I realized I loved her too. We were together. Like -really- together. We even talked about getting married. And...and then I ended up here. Catra here is...is from when she was her most broken. Her most angry. I've been trying to get through to her, but..." As the subject shifts to Catra, her emotions seem to shift with it. That sadness is suddenly gone, and the girl turns and punches the wooden support of the vending stall hard enough to crack it. Her knuckles bleed, but she ignores it. "...It's like talking to a F**KING WALL, BOW!" She snarls so hard she spits drool.

Bow has posed:
As Adora cries and starts to explain things, Crystal Hope corrects, "I am Crystal Hope. Light Hope was destroyed when you vanished, I am her reformat." the small crystalline creature offers.

"She's the reason I'm here - she felt the strongest source for our sword on this world. This... very strange world." Bow sighs, and draws out a breath. "The Horde had overrun us. We were in retreat. This was our last hope, and we had to destroy the portal to keep Horak from discovering this world, because a couple of..." he snaps his fingers a few times. "Dark generals?" he asks, more than says, "Were trying to hold the portal open. In order to save me, Crystal Hope initiated something she called the Henshin protocol. I can like... summon armor and stuff. So cool." Then he pauses. It's not very cool right now, but Bow's never been one that was very good at reading the room.

Then Adora is telling him from where she's from. Finally, finally, she gets him to release his wrist. They won. They were able to defeat the overwhelming odds. Catra came over to their side. He so wants to ask what happened to him and Glimmer, but he doesn't.

Because she never confessed, like Catra confessed to Adora which is amazing and Bow shifts to that, about to start to focus on it.

And that's when the pradigam shift happens, and the stall takes the hit, the plastic splintering and causing more injury as she spouts more anger in her words.

And then Bow grabs her from behind. Not to slam her to the ground. Not to harm her. His arms wrap around her middle and he squeezes lightly. A hug. A simple, easy hug. He may pay the price for it - but she needs it. He needs it.

"Then we're all over the place." he says finally, drawing in a breath. "But in the short time that I've been here, I've seen some pretty amazing things. And the people I've met that know you? They are all concerned. They all worry. I know you feel very alone, Adora. But you're not. I'm sorry that you had your happy ending taken from you. But I promise you this."

"We will find a way to make it right. We will get you back there. Even if it costs me my own future." Not that it seemed to be much of one. "Stop trying to do this on your own. You were always terrible at that. You have friends. I'm here. There are others. Please. Let us help." His voice is not strained - but he's empathetic for her - his concern is there as he holds onto her.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She tenses when he grabs her from behind, and there's a clear, brief moment where she is about to flip him into the side of the stall. She grabs his arm and begins to roll forward when that line hits her like a punch to the throat.

I'm sorry you had your happy ending taken from you.

I'm sorry you had your happy ending taken from you.

That's what this is, isn't it? All this rage and heartbreak? All this tension and overbearing stress? It all boils down to that simple fact. And on top of that, Bow is the first person from her world who even believes her. Catra doesn't believe that future happened, and Shadow Weaver mocked her for it. She hadn't brought it up to Glimmer yet, too afraid to hear her response.

She had her happy ending taken from her.

She begins to shake in his arms, and she hangs her head. "I...I earned it. We...we fought for years, B-bow. Years before it was d-done. We...we lost people. We suffered. And...and we won. We were h-happy. We were in l-love and...and Brightmoon was s-safe and we were...we were all f-flourishing. I earned it..."

She is crying again, and harder then before, but there are no tears. At this point the teenager is out of them. She simply leans back against him, grasping his wrists as she hugs them to her chest, and she hangs her head.

Bow has posed:
When he feels Adora's hands tighten on him, Bow is bracing. He's fairly certain he can tank at least one throw from the Princess of Power. But he'd rather not press his luck. And then it doesn't come. The anger, the frustration. It doesn't flat out disappear. But for a moment, the angry, vengeful Adora is gone...

...replaced by a woman that is broken because all she worked for was cruelly pulled from her. Unlike him - he volunteered for this mission. He knew this might become a one-way trip. But Adora? She didn't deserve this.

Her shivering is responded to with a tightening of his arms. What can he say to her to make it better. There were no words. He couldn't grasp that pain, that sorrow that has ripped the Princess deeper than Catra's claws every could.

"We fight together, Adora." he finally says, trying to prevent his own tears, that deep empathy he has for her welling to the surface. She leans into him and he presses his face into her blonde hair - she smells worse than Sea Hawk after a six week voyage - but he's not letting go until she's ready.

"They have me at the School." he finally says to her. "I'm not going to make you come back. But I'm not going to let you be alone. So I will ask you if you want to come with me, and if you say no, that's your decision to make."

He's found her once. He can find her again. But he really wants her to say she will come back. "We may be here. We may be alone. We may be surrounded by people and things we don't know. We may not be able to trust those we feel closest too. I have much to learn. You have much to teach."

His voice is quiet, hopeful, clinging depseratedly to the idea that he can help her. "...from this point forward, we start the Rebellion again. And this time, we don't stop until everyone's home is free."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She stays quiet for awhile. She simply leans against him, and grips his arms tight enough to pale them a hint before the color rushes back in when she eventually releases. But that doesn't happen for awhile. She shakes with tearless sobs as she just...lets herself hurt for the moment.

When she's done she releases his arm and roughly pulls away from him. "They'll look after you at the school. They're good people. People who want to help me, yeah. But..."

She takes a few deep breaths and turns to look him in the eyes. "...They don't deserve to have to put up with me right now. Something's wrong with me. I'm...sick. I know it. But...but knowing that doesn't change how it's making me feel. There's this darkness that's poisoning everything and...and making it all so much bigger and worse. And I'm not strong enough to resist it. I didn't hide out here because I don't want to go back, Bow."

She rolls a shoulder and glances out across the street. The sun is peeking now, and more cars are beginning to pass by. Still, they seem to have decent privacy on this corner. "Sunbreaker. She's the little monster who did this to me. I...I just KNOW IT. I'm going to find Catra. I'm going to find Catra and then...and then I'm going to find Sunbreaker. I'll come home after that is done."

Bow has posed:
They remain like that for as long as Adora wants to be there. When she pulls away, he releases, moving to sit on the stool next to her. "Yes, and you're sick. You just said it yourself. What makes you think that in any way am I going to let you do this alone? Your Bow must have sucked if you think that." That said with a flat look on Bow's face that speaks volumes of his feelings on the matter.

"So we know that there's a darkness that's poisioning you. And you're going after Catra... why? If this Sunbreaker did this to you, should we not be focusing on her to make it right?" he asks, but no, when she looks at him, he immediately realizes he's not going to win that fight. His hands come up in a bit of a defense posture. "Okay, sorry, you know what works best for you."

But. He takes out his phone. "You will give me your contact information. And you will call me when you're ready. Because I'm not leaving you alone from now on out. You." A push on her arm. "Are one of my dearest and best friends and you are terrible if you think otherwise."

"You go after Catra. You need that, I can't stop you. I think it's a terrible idea, for the record, but it's for you to do. Me? I'm going to find this Sunbreaker you mentioned. And I'm going to find out what she did to you. And how to make it right." A pause, and a question.

"Where's Swiftwind?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She blinks when he sits down and continues talking to her. She didn't expect that for some reason. No, the reason is clear. That corruption keeps whispering to her that she doesn't deserve a friend like Bow. Not right now. She rubs at her temples as she sighs, staring down at the concrete beneath the stool.

She quietly takes her phone out. It has a pretty freshly cracked screen, but seems to work fine. "...Not surprised you jumped on the Earth tech train. I'll need to show you the arcade when..." If. "...When all this is over." She taps her phone to him to share info, and then rises to her feet.

"Sunbreaker is obsessed with Swiftwind. Thinks he's this infallible god, basically. She was over visiting me...well, visiting Swiftwind...when everything started. I don't know what else could have caused it. I told her to take Swiftwind because...because I think I would have hurt him if he didn't shut up." Admitting that makes her stomach knot.

Bow has posed:
If Adora looks closely? The crystal that makes up the screen of Bow's phone appears to be of the crystals that makes up the Crystal currently floating over his shoulder. "All my stuff went into that crystal." he explains. "Koji and Sayaka's mascot adapted it for this." he shrugs his shoulder. They said it was more incognito.

He wisely does not mention that he's seen the arcade. It's better not to - it gives Adora something to look forward to. And another reason to reach out to him. And come back.

"When this is over, we're going to come back here and have... whatever this place is known for." A small smirk at that. As she starts explaining Swiftwind's plight, he lifts his brows. "I see." he says quietly. "If I'm going to find Sunbreaker, do I have your permission to bring Swiftwind back with me?" he asks her. "I'll make sure he's taken care of until this is done. Because he's worried that Sunbreaker may be trying to corrupt the alicorn as well, after all.

But the sun is getting higher, and people are starting to show. "I'm going to wish you luck and walk away. But Adora...?"

He taps on his phone and...

<TEXT> From Bow (Luke Armbruster): ...you're not alone.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Sure. Sure, that sounds good." Her reprieve from her intense feelings is starting to pass, but she's also starting to feel those sleepless nights begin to pile up. "I'm gonna go sleep for awhile, then look for my girl. Be careful. And...my room number is 230. Update my roommate, Makoto, will you? I've been MIA for awhile. I don't know if she knows what's going on."

She glances down at the text, and she fires back a gif of an anime girl giving a thumbs-up. Oh, she'll need to introduce him to all that stuff, too.

She turns and makes her way off, her movements more of a stalk then her normal walk.

Bow has posed:
The little gif arrives and Bow's eyes sparkle brightly. "Oh my //gosh//." he nearly squees. Nope, not quite though. This is still really heavy.

Update Makoto.
Find Sunbreaker.
Fix Adora.
Bring their friends back to the side of light.
Save all the worlds.

They can do this. And the new Rebellion starts now.