Adora suffers deeply after Catra sacrifices herself for her.
~~~
Grief is funny thing. Adora never really experienced it before. Not in the way of loosing someone, that is. She'd experienced it before in a sudden, irreversible change. Or, for some fucked up reason, missing Shadow Weaver. Maybe it was the unchanging routine of nearly ten years. For the first three years of life, the children (or babies then) were entrusted into babysitters. They would watch and teach them. Then they moved into the next group where they were taught to tie shoes and recite the alphabet and how to survive certain wounds. Then, at the age of six, they would move into the the junior cadets training group. At ten, they moved into the ordinary cadets, and at fifteen, they moved into senior cadets.

In Adora's case, at sixteen, you moved into the Force Captain group. That usually doesn't happen until after somebody's eighteenth.

She's rambling.

She had experienced the loss of someone once though. A little over two months ago... when she sacrificed her beloved alter-ego... the one that somehow, with all the troubles and anguish she caused, brought Adora out of her shell. She felt comfortable in She-Ra. She was happy knowing she stood a chance against evil, against Hordak.

She's rambling again.

It took a while for her to forgive Glimmer for her actions, and truth be told, Adora still didn't trust her now, nearly six months after she did it. Had Glimmer just listened, and ignored Double Trouble's meddling, the heart wouldn't have been activated, and She-Ra wouldn't have been dead, and Horde Prime wouldn't have arrived and Catra wouldn't have died.

She's done it again.

Adora huffed angrily and stood up, pacing.

Catra. Her best friend, her sister in all but blood... her everything. It had been a horrid ordeal, to put it bluntly. Everyone knew the story of how "She-Ra" destroyed the heart for the good of Etheria... but that's not what happened at all. Adora just hadn't had the heart or energy to say anything otherwise.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Her vision was fading dangerously quickly with every pulse of poison spread throughout her body. That stupid First One guardian. Her hands grew near white, with horrid lines of broken code-like textures of green spreading fast. But she had to keep going. For Etheria. For the orphans the Horde had stolen. For the damage they had done... for Catra.

​​​​​​​The heart pulsed strongly in front. They were here. She'd made it! She grinned weakly at her best friend. "We did it. We're here," She whispered. Catra grinned back, her cute little fangs peaking from above her lips. "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. It sent a wave of agony throughout her body, as if she was trying to lift concrete.

​​​​​​​She yelled, snapping her hand back, which now tingled in pain. "Adora? What's happening? Adora!" She 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 her chest. "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 blinked away her tears. "​​​​​​​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, savouring the warm feeling beneath her ice-cold fingers. "I'll be ok. I'm ready," She pulled away, ready to activate the fail-safe when-

"No,"

Goddamn it. "Catra," She begged. ​​​​​​​I don't want you to see me die...

​​​​​​​"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, ready to activate it and end everything, once and for all. Her heart sent a wave of burning pain, freezing her mind. She keeled over, grabbing the inanimate failsafe, screaming in pain. "Adora!" Catra grabbed her from behind, stopping her fall. The pain continued reverberating throughout her body, making it hard to catch her breath.

​​​​​​​"No, no, no, no, no, Adora!" She was lowered to the ground, laying in Catra's lap. The pain was too strong. She couldn't do it. "Come on, Dora. You can do this! I know you can!" Her vision wavered. "I'm sorry," She whispered. "No! Adora, stay awake! I-I love you!"

And she was gone.

~

Adora woke many hours later, when everything was quiet. Her chest still burned in agony, but not quite with the ferocity as before. She sat up, slowly, groaning as her head spun. She sat there for a moment, not moving, not blinking. Barely breathing. The virus still ran strongly in her body. Her hands were now more glitchy green than her usual pale complexion. She took a shaky breath and glanced around. The heart wasn't pulsating anymore, it was... quiet... dead.

"At least it's over now, Catra," She whispered.
​​​​​​​Silence replied. "Catra?" She asked again. Still nothing. She turned, wincing when her chest grew taut. "Catra, please, this isn't funny," The room was empty, nothing. Not a single sound. Even her voice refused to echo. "Catra, please," She begged. Something caught her eye. A broken Horde Force Captain badge.

​​​​​​​She crawled over, crying at the pain in her chest. "Catra, no," Initially, she thought Catra had defected again, moved back to the bad side. But then she glanced at her chest and realised why.

Catra had taken the fail-safe out... and used it herself.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Adora was marched to the healers immediately by Glimmer and Bow. She had to stay for two weeks to heal her chest wound, and a further six while the healers tried to combat the virus. When Castaspella offered to remove the stain of the failed fail-safe from her chest, Adora had refused and threatened to burn her in her sleep if she tried.

It was all she had left of Catra... and the broken Horde badge, but Adora had very mixed feelings about it. She also had Melog... but that poor cat was in her own grieving battle.

Eventually, the healers successfully killed the virus slowly killing Adora. She had mixed feelings about that too. She wanted to live, for obvious reasons... yet, she wanted to die peacefully to live with Catra once again.

It took Adora nearly a year to recover from the sudden snatching of her best friend. Thanks to the virus being removed, She-Ra was back... yet, Adora hadn't transformed. The only reason Catra was dead is because she was too weak to turn into She-Ra in the first place. If she'd only been strong enough to fight the virus from the get-go, Catra would be alive.

Glimmer forced her into therapy over it, and eventually, she was deemed no longer a threat to herself or anyone else.

Yet; the gaping hole in her heart never healed.
Not until they reunited seventy years later.