She-ra, the Great Princess of Power

Chapter 14 The Crystal Castle (part 2)

Adora, Spirit and Kowl finally reached the Crystal Castle.
It was in shambles but still looked magnificent. On the top of the castle there was a big crystal almost covered by moss.
"Stay here. I'll be back soon" Adora said to her animal friends.
She walked in; there was nothing in the castle, just a room and a pit at the center with crystals.
"Light Hope, can you hear me?" Adora's voice echoed inside the empty room "I'm Adora of Grayskul. I have questions for you about my sword. Why is it flashing this light? Why can't I contanct the Sorceress? And why can't I transform?" .
Adora waited for anything that could resamble an answer.
"Please, tell me what I have to do. . ." She begged.
The crystals inside the pit started glowing red and Adora heard a familiar voice.
"It seems like that sword is causing you nothing but problems" Hordak was standing on the opposite side of the pit.
"What do you want?" Adora pointed her sword at him.
"There's no need to fight. I came here to bring you home, Adora" Hordak said.
"You brought a spaceship with you? Or are you talking about the place where you lied to me for eighteen years?" She growled.
"You know it wasn't all lies. You were happy in the Horde, weren't you?" .
"Happy?" She questioned.
"You grew up safe under my guidance. You had good friends and you became a strong soldier" Hordak said she could have all of that back if she went back to the Horde with him.
"No! You're just trying to manipulate me again" Adora shook her head.
"He wouldn't do that with you" Entrapta appeared next to Hordak.
"Come on, Adora. We can go home together" Lohni said.
"Lohni, you're okay!" Adora was surprised to see her.
"We're all okay, Adora. Hordak allowed us to join the Horde again" Romeo said with his Horde uniform on. Catra was standing next to him. She didn't have her mask and she looked remorseful.
"Forget about the rebells. Come with us and we'll pretend nothing happened" Hordak extended his robotic hand for her.
Adora was confused. Then she remembered why she left the Horde: she chosed to protect the people of Etheria and she wasn't going to turn her back on them.
"I'll never come back! I won't help you hurt my friends and the good people of this planet. Go away!" She yelled. Hordak and everyone else desappeared.
In that moment, a strong yellow light shined from the crystals in the pit.
"You did good, Adora" Different voices said at the same time.
"Light. . .Hope?" The girl was amazed.
Light Hope wasn't a divinity, it was a meteor that crushed on the mountain hundreds of years before. The crystals in it possesed an incredible intelligence and the Etherians built a castel to worship them.
"I wanted to test your morals and your loyalty. You rejected what once was all your life to do the right thing. The sword of protection is in good hands" Light Hope said.
"But my sword is the reason why I'm here. Do you know why it's not working?" Adora asked to them.
"That ipnotic light is the sign of a call from home" .
"From home?" Adora put down her sword "I accept the call from home" .
The blue gem flashed a light stronger than Light Hope's. It was so bright that Adora had to close her eyes.
"Adora, can you hear me?" .
She openned her eyes and saw the hologram of a boy. He was tall like her and had the same blue eyes and blonde hair as Adora.
"I'm Adam of Grayskul and- heh, I'm your brother, Adora" the boy said with a shy smile.
"Adam?" Adora repeated his name.
"I'm calling from our planet, Eternia. Some friends of mine helped me find a way to contact you with my sword. Mom and dad are okay, but they miss you so much. I miss you too, sister" Adam had tears in his eyes and so did Adora. She was so happy to finally meet her brother. His voice was so sweet.
"I miss you too, Adam. I wish you could be-" .
"This is pointless. She's never going to listen to this message" Adam said with resignation.
Adora realized that she was talking with a recorded message.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you, Duncan. . . Close the message, Roboto" Adam told to someone.
"No, Adam! I'm right here! Please don't go!" Adora begged with tears streaming down her face. She tried to grab her brother's hologram. The message closed and some sparkles remained in her hands after Adam desappeared.
The gem on her sword wasn't flashing that light anymore.
Adora held the weapon and hugged it, pretending it was her brother.
"Thank you" She softly said to Light Hope.
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Glimmer was in the library of her castle. She was resting on one of the armchairs, with a cozy blanket on her legs. She spent the rest of the day recovering after using all her energies to save Adora from the plant monster.
Bow was in front of the fireplace, looking at the dancing flames.
"When do you think is Adora coming back?" He asked to his friend.
"Soon, probably" Glimmer answered, writing something on her diary.
"That's not a very reassuring answer, don't you think?" Bow said.
"We have to give Adora the time she needs. She'll come back when she'll be ready. She always comes back" .
"This morning she was acting strange. I thought she was just excited for the mission, but now I don't know what to think" .
Glimmer closed her diary and made a sigh.
"I always wonder what Adora does when she leaves the castle. I wish she would talk with us about her problems, but I don't want to force her" she confessed.
"We are her friends. We are a team. We should always know what's troubling her" Bow affirmed.
In that moment, Adora walked in the library with a sad expression.
"Adora!" Glimmer stood up from the armchair and went to her "Are you okay? We were worried about you" .
Surprisely Adora hugged her.
"Glimmer, thank you for saving me from that monster. I'm so glad to have you in my life" Adora murmured, making the princess blush.
When Bow got closer, Adora grabbed him around the neck with her arm.
"Come here, you big brainy guy!" She rubbed her knuckles on his head.
"Ouch! Hey, what happened to you?" Bow questioned after she let him go.
"We're also glad to have you in our lives, Adora" Glimmer said, taking her hand.
"I don't know. I think I liked her better when we were enemies" Bow joked and the girls laughed.
Her friends didn't ask Adora where she went. They were simply happy because she was back.
And even if Adora missed her family, at least she knew that Adam and her parents were fine.