564/Which Way Did She Go

Which Way Did She Go
Date of Scene:	07 October 2023
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Thinking Catra was still in Rashmi's hospital room, She-Ra hurries to the rescue! Only to find Catra gone, but Rashmi more than willing to tell her everything about the encounter. Most importantly, of Catra's plan to not have to use the experimental soul-removing rifle anymore! The conversation then ends in reassurance for Adora, and wonder for Rashmi, so, complete success!
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Adora Rainbowfist

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Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's been about an hour since Catra left, and despite the adrenalin rush of talking to the bearer of a loaded gun IN A HOSPITAL until she decides to not use it...

Hospitals are boring.

So once necessities had been seen to, Rashmi returned to bed, turned her desk lamp on, and got to the business of waiting.

Which in this case meant 'looking at her phone for updates twice every five minutes, putting a light but familiar video of some kind on the laptop for background noise, and trying to read a book while keeping the now-closed window in sight, just in case...

.....

...She dunno, if Catra wants to *come back and talk* for some reason? Who cares, sometimes paranoia is pattern recognition these days.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora had been knee-deep in a sapphic romance novel she'd obtained in a second-hand shop in town when Chrono came banging on her door. Embarassed, she stashed it and answered the door. Upon discovering that a menacing Catra was threatening Rashmi with that Rifle, she'd grabbed the Sword and sprinted off the campus. As soon as she was in a secluded spot in the city, she raised the Sword high and yelled the iconic, powerful words: "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!" In a flash of rainbow and light she transformed into the Princess of Power. Eight feet of muscle, flowing blonde lockes and cool costume. She leapt into the knight air, sword above her...and took off like some kind of super hero.

The wind whipped at her, blade extended, as she shot towards the hospital. When she reached the mentioned room, the girl lowered her blade and ended up clinging to the outside of the window. Rashmi no doubt ends up glancing up to see the towering blonde woman with her face pressed against the window, mouthing: 'LET ME IN.' Yeah, that looks fine.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
And for the second time tonight, Rashmi looks up and SUDDENLY PERSON AT THE WINDOW.

When the flailing stops, she gets out of bed and hurries -- relatively speaking, she's still splattered with salved bandaging, thanks to her burn wounds -- to the window next to the one She-Ra is plastered against, eyes wide as she opens it as wide as she can.

"Holy whoever you're huge, do I know you?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She-Ra climbs through the window, squeezing a bit to fit. She fluimps to the ground with that six foot, two foot wide sword. She climbs back to her feet and whirls about, Sword ready.

"Is she gone? Chrono came to tell me Catra was here and threatning you!"

It's easy to see that the room is empty except the two of them, so she slowly sheaths the huge blade across her back. She looks down at the much, much smaller girl and takes a deep breath. "Sorry, yeah. That must have been a bit...uh...startling. I'm She-Ra, the Princess of Power. You met me as Adora before."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Backing up rather a bit, to give She-Ra room to maneuver, Rashmi just stares up in shock at the absolute *tallness* of She-Ra. "...Wow... I've never *seen* anybody so-- right! Yes! Um. Something got mixed up along the way, close the window please?"

Leaving the window to She-Ra, Rashmi turns to get back into bed, and work back into comfort on the raised back making the bed more of a lounge chair. "So... yeah, she *was* here. She had this gun, and she didn't know I was *me,* which was lucky. But she was asking if there were any terminal patients on this floor, so she could test the gun properly."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The woman turns to close the door tucking a bit of windswept hair behind one of her ear. "Got it."

Seeing things are safe, She-Ra transforms back into Adora with a swirl of rainbow glitter and swooshing light. The huge sword is still strapped across her back as she makes her way over to the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I...I know about the rifle. It takes the soul of a victim. Or...the heart or whatever. I saved the last person she shot...but it was only because she told me where the victim was and gave me the crystal that was created when she shot her. She felt guilty, even though she couldn't say it out loud..."

She sighs and rubs her face. "She's scared of the people above her in Obsidian. She'll never admit that, but it's the only reason she'd look for another victim after that. And...a terminal victim. So, she doesn't want to kill someone that would suffer..."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"But she didn't even want to do that," Rashmi says quietly. "She *really doesn't want to,* but she feels like she has to because that's what villains do. It was *so easy to tell,* She-ra-chan. Like, she doesn't want to kill anyone so badly, she didn't even realize I was talking her into talking herself *out* of it. And she came up with a good plan to keep from having to."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She nods slowly, taking it all in. "Good. Good." The blonde almost looks like she's going to cry for a moment, and she takes a deep breath to stop herself. "I'm proud of her. And you. Thank you for doing that..."

She seems at a loss for words for a moment. She looks for a place to sit, and ends up leaning back against the wall, stuffing her hands into the pockets of the pajama pants she's wearing at the moment. Now that she isn't She-Ra, the girl is wearing socks, flannel pajama pants, and an oversized San Diego Padre's jersey to sleep in.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Don't thank me yet," Rashmi murmurs. "You didn't hear the plan. See... it's a testing weapon. You expect things you're testing to break, right? Well..."

Rashmi spreads her hands. "A lot can happen in a really hard fight. Maybe the gun takes too hard a hit, and gets broken."

Letting out a long, sigh, Rashmi nods to the chair. "Hey... Have a sit, okay? Let's talk about this."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She blinks at the mention of the gun being broken, and she slides down into the offered seat. She sits forward and rests her elbows on her knees. It's not a very Japanese way to sit, but it looks perfect on the blonde.

"She's looking for an out on hurting people. Good girl. Okay, yeah. I'm in. I'll fight her and destroy the Rifle. I don't mind getting a target from Obsidian. Especially not when it comes to my wildcat."

She cracks her neck and clears her throat.

"...Did she say where this'd happen?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"No," Rashmi admits, "but she specifically said to make sure you have a *bunch* of people, because she wants to make a real, serious fight out of it. She won't, probably *can't* throw the fight."

Sighing, she settles back against the mattress. "...So Adora-chan, I think it's pretty important that I tell you a short story. A week, week and a half ago... day after Chrono-kun and I met you in fact... I made a mistake, and someone deep into the Dark magic thing kind of... lost her mind at me." Gesturing with bandaged hands at her bandaged face, she manages a wry smile. "How I ended up here. Just... *terrifying* fury, and fire, and screaming, and all that. But a friend of mine... well, she was kinda triggered by the wreckage that particular woman has been leaving behind, so she got some friends of *hers,* and went hunting. If it wasn't for someone I really, really respect, that scary woman who came close to burning my face off and destroying my Device? She might have died. And I'm *glad* she got saved at the last minute, because I don't ever, *ever* want to be even a little responsible for that kind of blood on my hands."

Scrubbing a hand up the unburned side of her face, Rashmi combs a hand through her hair for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I'm telling you all of that, because I want you to know I *mean it* when I say I will do everything I can to help Catra-san find her way back to you. *Everything.*"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"I don't think she could throw a fight if she wanted to," Adora says with a soft laugh. "She doesn't have it in her." She sits back in her chair to listen to the story, brushing her fingers back through her hair. The story hurts her heart a bit, and she tries to take it all in. She chews her lip and then slowly nods. "I...thank you. Really. I was in Shibuya with Hinoiri-san today. I took her to see where the Equestrian Club takes care of and rides our horses. We talked about Catra. She...said that she thinks Catra is right about power being all that matters. Asked if I'd abandoned her. It...it was a lot, really." She sighs softly and shakes her head. "Not anywhere near what you went through and I'm not trying to compare. Just...the difference in how you react to Catra and me and she did is...well, it means a lot. Like I said. That's all."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Catra-san said where you come from, there's no stars... but *twelve moons,*" Rashmi says after a long moment of silence. And the way she says 'twelve moons' is with the kind of wonder that believed in magic before *becoming* magic. "...Would you mind telling me about where you came from? Only... It feels like here hasn't been very comfortable for you, and sometimes just remembering something nice brings a little bit of it back, y'know?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Our world was pulled out of the normal universe by a previous She-Ra to stop a race of people from ...it's a lot of info, but yeah. Just blackness around us, and the moons because of that." She clears her throat. "Etheria is the name of our world. A place of magic and humans and beastfolk. Catra would be one of those beastfolk. I'm not from Etheria, though. I...guess I come from some planet called Eternia, but I don't know anything about it. Just that my people stranded me on Etheria as a baby. We were both orphans. Are orphans."

"There was this big part of our world, a region of wasteland and dark military tech. Tanks, flying ships that rain down death. It was called the Fright Zone. That's where we grew up. Raised by this evil regime that was conquering the planet, hamlet by hamlet, burning it down and just...killing everyone. The Horde. Beyond the Fright Zone you have the Whispering Wood, the Great Seas, the Crimson Wastes. Everything back on Etheria was...well, I guess, kinda exagerrated compared to stuff on Earth. But it was normal for us, you know?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Look, when you're describing a literal *other world* to a fantasy nerd, you have to expect the kind of starry-eyed expression Rashmi has on her face. *Two* other worlds, when you add Eternia into the mix.

At least, up until Adora starts talking about the Fright Zone, and the wonder is slowly taken over by a kind of... sadness, really. "But ...*why* was the Horde doing all that? Did you ever find out? What did they even *want* that they had to raze towns to nothing?"

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"Yeah. A man named Hordak. An abandoned clone from a galactic conqueror, he figured if he conquered Etheria his creator would love him again or something. Daddy issues. But then Hordak fell in love, and he turned on his creator...this absolute jerk named Prime." She chuckles softly. "Love wins. It always wins. I learned that before and so did Catra. She'll learn it again."

"Well, against the Horde you had the Princess Rebellion. That's what I joined when I ran away from the Horde and found the Sword. An alliance of Princesses from different Kingdoms, fighting against the Horde. The Princesses have magic from these big gemstones. Mermista controls water and the seas. Frosta ice and the weather. Glimmer does stuff with light. Perfuma...well, plants. And on and on. A bunch of them. And that's not even getting into the folks I met once I got a starship and got off-world to stop Prime..."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Okay when you find your way back, after the Catra-san thing is sorted, and that door can open both ways? I *need* to visit. I *have* to see the world where love beat a *space armada* because I can't assume anyone calling themselves Horde Prime would have just one ship but I *need* to meet the friends you have from your home, Adora-chan."

At this point Rashmi *has* to stop talking, because she's too busy putting air back in her lungs. "And when *I* get out of here I need to buy you dinner at my family's place. No matter how down you're feeling, a good curry can burn those bad feelings away."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
She smiles softly. "If there's ever a going back, you're welcome to visit. The Horde is defeated and everything." She pauses, then. "But...Catra didn't go through all that. I mean, -my- Catra did. She betrayed the Horde, told me she loved me...saved my life. But this Catra here? She's like...from earlier in the War, somehow. Back when she was her most broken. At one point she was so...gone...she tried to destroy the entire world. In my world she was stopped. But...this one? Seems like it's the last thing she remembers."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well... from my perspective, that makes it even easier to help her," Rashmi says after a bit of thought. "But for you... Oof. Im seriously sorry, Adora-chan. It sounds like... like you have to go through all the work *all over again,* and I can't even--" Trailing off, she just shakes her head. "But like I said. I'm with you on this. It's probably gonna really suck for a while, but it's worth doing. *She's* worth it. I may not know you very well, Adora-chan, but... You and Sailor Moon are a little alike, there. I think you've both got instincts worth listening to."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
"She -is- worth it. She just needs to be reminded of that. That's what it really comes down to. And I don't know who Sailor Moon is. Cool name, though. I bet she'd have gotten along with Seahawk and Mermista. They were all about the ocean, too."

The blonde rises at that point and stretches to her tip toes before dropping back to her heels. "Are you okay to be alone? I suck at math and have this stupid test on Monday I need to study for," she sighs. "Give me monsters to fight anyday, but...keep me away from equations -please-. Those scare me."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
At this, Rashmi chuckles. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine. Thanks for coming, Adora-chan, seriously. Let me know when you get a phone too, we can share numbers and talk whenever you want to. And when I finally get *out* of here, I can introduce you to all my friends. That way you *know* there'll always be someone who has your back."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
The teen smiles softly at that and nods. "Sounds good." She withdraws her blade again and holds it out, taking a deep breath. "For the Honor of Grayskull...," she says softly. There's a flash of light, and Rashmi gets to witness the dramatic, full transformation sequence! There might even be music playing in her head for it! When she's done, Adora is gone and She-Ra is left in her place.

The huge blonde turns to open the window again. "I'll close it on my way out. Sleep tight, friend." With that, she's gone.