The Only Way || She-Ra

Chapter 1: Facing Reality

Turn around.

Bow's back was to the door frame, frozen in place. Behind that slate of wood was the last piece of normality Bow would ever have again, that the rebellion would ever have again, before it was shattered into a million pieces.

Turn around.

In that room awaited the princesses, all of them confused and weakened. There were too many questions being thrown around. 'Why does the sky look like that?' 'What happened to our powers?' 'Where's Glimmer?' 'Where's Adora?'

Turn around.

Bow couldn't answer those questions. No, correction; he could but if he did then it would mean admitting to the world that both of his best friends were gone. One was hundred last of miles above them facing who knows what on an enemy ship. The other was going to be buried only a feet below them, whenever they even had time for a funeral of course.

A funeral. The word didn't even seem real to Bow and the idea hit him with a wave of nausea. He couldn't plan a funeral. Not now.

Turn around and it will all be real.

Bow took in a shaky breath. He faced the door. The cold metal of the handle felt unwelcoming upon his palm but he pulled nonetheless. The room, which had been filled with bewildered chatter fell to a hush. Everyone's eyes locked onto Bow but he couldn't meet their gaze back. He was ashamed. Ashamed he couldn't of stopped it. Ashamed he couldn't of been there sooner. Ashamed of what he lost.

"Bow?"

It was Perfuma. He was numbly aware of her hand guiding him to his seat. In some reassuring way, once he sat down, he could feel her hand wrapped around his, a small comfort in the very least.

The questions were on everyone's minds even though they held their tongues. Where's Glimmer? Where's Adora? Nobody was sure if they were allowed to ask. The puffiness around Bow's eyes, the sag in his shoulders, the red still stained on his clothes and hands. It didn't look good.

"Glimmer is..." The words got caught in his throat, paralyzing him momentarily. A squeeze of Perfuma's hand helped pull him out it. "She's...Horde Prime has her. On the ship."

Confusion and outrage rippled through the room. Bow looked up to see Micah's expression of despondency before averting his eyes back to the table.

"How did that happen?" Mermista asked. "Does it have something to do with what was messing with our powers?"

"We got to get her back!" Sea Hawk insisted, slamming his fist onto the table. "When I see Horde Prime, I'm gonna-"

Similar outbursts filled the room until Spinnerella coughed, a signal for the group to quiet their comments and allow Bow to finish.

"Well, I don't understand why we don't go now," Frosta said, visibly shaken by the loss of her mentor. "We know where the ship is so let's go. Why are we pretending like we're helpless? With She-Ra we can do anything. Why isn't Adora-"

Her rant was cut short by Bow's muffled sobs. He hadn't meant to, but he couldn't help it. A few jumped at the sound, not expecting such a reaction. The bad feeling in their guts all worsened.

"Bow..." Perfuma asked softly, maintaining her composure the best she could for his sake. "Did something happen?"

It broke him. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore and pulled Perfuma into an embrace, sobbing heavily into her shoulder. The question, with his reaction and the blood on his shirt, seemed to answer itself at that point. Tears began to brim at a few's eyes while anger brewed in the others.

"No," Scorpia shook her head in denial. "Adora can't...that's not what was supposed to happen."

"She's gone," Bow choked out, the words lost in Perfuma's now-soaked dress.

"But she's She-Ra!" Mermista yelled out of frustration.

"Well she can't come back from the dead," Bow mumbled, lost in his own regret. "I...I watched it happen. She died in my arms. I should've been there, I-I could've stopped it."

"Oh sweetie," Netossa walked over to Bow to embrace him as well, "Don't blame yourself. The situation was out of our hands."

"It doesn't matter." Bow wiped his nose, pulling away from the girls, shrinking in on himself. "I couldn't save Glimmer and I couldn't save her."

Spinnerella came by to assist, ignoring the tears streaming silently down her own face. She rubbed Bow's back, letting him get it all out. "She wouldn't want you to blame yourself. You know that right?"

Bow nodded, somehow feeling even worse. He knew he shouldn't feel that way but how else was he suppose to feel? He looked around the room, at Scorpia comforting a hysteric Frosta, at Mermista, Sea Hawk, and Perfuma talking quietly together, and Micah alone at the head of the table.

"We're doomed. Aren't we?" Mermista finally said.

"We can't talk like that," Perfuma said.

"But she's right," Frosta sniveled. "Without Adora we cant beat the Horde. And if Glimmer's gone too..." Her eyes widened in fear. "Is s-something going to happen to her too?"

"Not if we can help it."

The present company all turned their heads to the new voice that had spoken at the door.

"Lonnie?" Scorpia stood up, unsure if she was seeing this correctly. "Rogelio? Kyle? What are you all doing here?"

The three shared a look of determination. "We didn't mean to but we heard everything. We know what happened to your friend," Lonnie spoke for the group, "And...what happened to Adora." She paused. Was it a coincidence her eyes fell on the blonde's empty chair, even though she didn't know it was her's? Snapping out of it, she continued, "We're done with how the Horde has treated us. We want to help."

"Why should we trust you?" Bow asked meekly.

Rogelio spoke in a series of growls that honestly sounded kind of convincing.

Kyle stepped up to interpret. "What he's trying to say is, we're done fighting for people who don't even care about us. The Horde is our home but they were willing to let us die out there."

"And for what?" Lonnie interjected bitterly. "Adora had the right idea after all. If we aren't appreciated at the Horde then we might as well put our skills to use here."

"Bow was nice to me," Kyle elaborated, "Even though he didn't even know me and I was an enemy. I figure the rest of you can't be that bad either, I hope. We just want a place to belong."

The rebellion group all shared a look before Bow stepped towards the three. The ex-Horde soldiers tensed.

Bow offered them a quivering smile, the best he could muster at the time. "We'd be honored to have you on the team."

The three relaxed, relieved that the rebellion would even consider them, given their recent losses. They were invited to join the table, although the small victory seemed bittersweet considering recent events.

If anything, the three only reminded those in the room of the last Horde soldier that had come to their door, asking for a second chance.

•••••

No tears would fall from the person hidden in the rafters of the conference room, but that didn't mean they didn't feel the slightest twang of the heartstrings at the unfolding events. 

Double Trouble, who had stayed within the shadows, had watched as Bow broke the unfortunate news to everyone. Even though they hadn't really known her, Double Trouble had come to respect the fallen hero.

Whether it were crocodile tears or genuine sympathy for the dearly departed, Double Trouble knew something the others didn't. This death was more than a tragedy: it was an opportunity.