#Hordak is trying very hard to keep his composure

[evostrashbin]

so close...

#entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #my art #spop #currently dealing with some pretty serious health problems so I'm not able to draw much but ship doodle has been on the menu today #Hordak is trying very hard to keep his composure

[skipppppy]

9 16 17 20

HEHEHEHHE YAY THIS IS GONNA BE FUN

Like usual, answers under the cut to spare the tl from my ramblings!

9: Have they made each other cry?

Not directly.

Aria cries A LOT (tbf she has good reason to), but I don’t think she ever cried as a result of something horrible Prime said. Because of everything that transpired with Hordak, she was basically a broken mess when he found her. She’d flinch at the slightest movement, be afraid to eat or sleep, and basically think that anyone at any moment would turn around and try to kill her. He often made her cry simply because she mistook the gentle touches and soft words for attempts at harming her. He also encouraged her to cry a lot, because she’d been bottling up her emotions for so long, and she desperately needed to release them. So he made her cry a lot, but for the most part they were good tears. The only time he ever genuinely hurt her, and made her cry bad tears, was when he died.

Prime on the other hand, is inherently a pretty apathetic person (what with being an evil alien dictator and all that) but a specific event comes to mind. At some point, Aria, exhausted and traumatised and desperate for help, gave him consent to read her mind and go through her memories. He’d already seen some of what had happened to her from Hordak’s memories but seeing all the abuse she’d faced first hand SHATTERED him. He wasn’t empathetic so much as he was WRACKED WITH GUILT over how she was treated. He realised that if he hadn’t given up on searching for the meteorite, he would’ve found her sooner and probably saved her from a lot of the neglect she faced. He felt personally responsible for everything Hordak did to her, because that was HIS clone and HE had made the decision to exile him to Etheria where she was living. I can just imagine him holding her fragile little body in his arms, tracing his hands over all the injuries he gave her, realising “I could’ve stopped this” and just. Completely losing his composure

16: If they broke up, what would be their opinions of each other?

This is an interesting question bc when I was first making Aria’s story they actually DID break up. I was gonna make it so she was 100% clueless to his plans to destroy the universe and betrayed him when she found out; but then I changed my mind bc I liked them together and the idea of her willingly staying with him despite his plans gave her a lot more depth.

When they did “break up” and Aria betrayed him, Prime surprisingly wasn’t angry. He wasn’t possessive, or vengeful, or upset, because after she left, he retreated to the purification chamber, and erased every memory he had of her from his brain. He’d spent 10000 years conquering the universe in hopes of finding the meteorite, and he found it, had it in his arms for a fleeting moment, and then it turned around and left him because of what he’d done. She had given him those imperfect predictable Etherian emotions, made him defective, so he had to fix himself. He decided he’d rather forget that he ever found her at all than knowing that she had rejected him. Kind of a tragic ending to their relationship but then you remember it’s Horde Prime and it’s hard to feel bad for him 😭

17: What senses (sights, smells, feelings, etc.) remind them of each other?

On Aria’s end? The smell of citrus. Prime keeps himself and his flagship incredibly well sanitised, so he CONSTANTLY smells of the clinical soaps and amniotic fluids. I imagine all that green stuff has the slightest hint of lime to it, so naturally he reeks of it and she’s very fond of the scent.

Prime was never really the most sensual person, but after meeting Aria that changed dramatically. He adored the sensation of running his hands over her feathers, and any plant or animal native to Etheria instantly reminded him of her. The smell of fresh air and home cooked food always seemed to linger around her, so he began to associate those with her as well.

20: What is a promise they have made to each other?

Prime definitely promised Aria that he would keep her safe. He’d seen first hand what had happened to her and he decided then and there that he would never let anything bad happen to her again. He was RIDICULOUSLY overprotective of her bc he already blamed himself for the abuse she went through, and he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure she would never be hurt by anyone else.

Aria’s promise was that she would never leave his side. Prime spent 10000 years away from the meteorite, the only thing he had to remind him of his home, and as much as he pretended not to be, he was TERRIFIED of losing her. She saw how his separation anxiety affected his actions, how hard he tried to be strong for her, so she promised that she’d stay by him through everything. He was her soulmate, she loved him, and nothing would ever stop her from feeling that way. She kept to that promise, even after he was gone.

(Small tangent tho- I originally had a part of their story where they were separated from one another; the rebels found Aria and “rescued her” and took her back to their base against her will and Prime LOST HIS SHIT. As I mentioned being separated from her for 10000 years gave him a bad case of separation anxiety, so losing her again made his regal poise and calm demeanour CRUMBLE overnight. He was running round his flagship, draped in her bedsheets because they smelt like her, so delirious with anger and grief and desperation that the hivemind almost collapsed in on itself. Honestly the Princesses could’ve stopped him simply by holding her hostage and only giving her back once he released the planet from his control. He absolutely would’ve gone through with it)

#thanks for the ask!!! Aria angst is truly nourishment for my soul #aria #spop oc #she ra oc

[a-lame-follower]

Prompt: Double-Date Pairings: Glimmadora, Entrapdak WARNING: Bad writing. (Hey, at least I'm honest)

If they lived through this, Glimmer mused to herself as she shifted the basket from one arm to the other, she was going to seriously consider outlawing puppy dog eyes. To some that might seem drastic, but She had proven far too susceptible to its influence in the past. This situation was just one layer of icing on a multi-tiered cake made with bad decisions and baked in regret.

"I don't know how she convinced me this was a good idea." She said, more to herself than to her companion. "It's not like Hordak ever shown any inclination or desire to connect with others before...right?"

She let her words trail off into a question. For all the negative influence the man had previously had over her life, she couldn't say that she actually knew him personally, not really. Before the planetary bioweapon snafu, the catastrophic mess that was Horde Prime, and before whatever it was that was going on between him and Entrapta, it had been simple. All she'd needed to know was that he'd murdered her father and was a threat to the peace of Eternia. Now, with her father suddenly back from the grave and Hordak relinquishing his title as number one big scary warlord, she didn't know what to think anymore. Well, she thought she'd like to go back to the good old days where things made sense. Back then, all she’d had to do was attack people who attacked her. Inconveniently, that option was no longer available for her. For whatever reason, the fates had decided she had to be "mature" now. Fate could go throw itself off a cliff.

"No, you're right," Adora said, holding a basket of her own. Her voice was a little too cheerful to be genuine. "Hordak has all the charming sociability of a rock."

"Are you sure that's not unfair to the rock?" Glimmer said, smiling and reaching out her free hand to let her partner know she valued her company. Adora seemed grateful for the gesture and clasped the young Queen's hand in her own.

"I stand corrected. " the blonde said after that momentary pause. "I guess I owe the rocks an apology.'

"You could. " she agreed, "But then you'd spend the rest of your life apologizing." She sighed dramatically. "We'd probably never have the time to be alone together again. "

"I can do both!" The taller of that two women objected, before smiling to show she knew she was merely being teased. "But, I guess that is a lot of rocks." She acknowledged sheepishly, those sweet blue eyes meeting hers. "Promise not to tell on me?"

"It'll be our little secret." Glimmer assured before filling the distance between them, standing up on her too toes to capture Adora's lips. Smiling fondly down at the young Queen’s actions, Adora leaned in closer, silently encouraging her partner to seal their pact with a kiss. She felt those gentle lips gently press against her own when-

"They apologize to rocks." A voice growled, practically dripping with condescending disbelief. "How is it that my soldiers have not defeated you?"

-They were rudely interrupted by the arrival of the two people they had been waiting for in the first place. Adora grew rigid, dropping her basket and raising the sword she had used since she'd shattered her old one. Releasing Glimmer’s hand, her body settled into fighting stance, partially sheilding Glimmer from the man’s sight. She might have attacked if Glimmer hadn’t taken that moment to gently stroke her warrior’s arm to settle her. It would help no one if they acted rashly. The princess frowned, clearly uncomfortable in the former warlord's presence.

"Hello, Hordak." Glimmer said with a peace so artificial she knew it fooled no one. She could control the wince that twisted her face as those unnaturally bright red eyes settled on her. She was acutely aware that Adora still hadn't lowered her weapon.

"No, no!" A nasal voice chirped cheerfully. "Obviously, they don't make a habit out of apologizing to just any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter!" She moved closer to them, using her long purple pigtails to give her additional height."Otherwise, Adora would have already known the sheer magnitude of the assignment she was setting for herself and wouldn't have needed Glimmer to convince her it was a fool's errand." She hummed after a second of stillness, her gaze turning thoughtful. "Though I'm sure you both would have an excellent time spelunking in the caves beneath Bright Moon together." She clapped her hands enthusiastically. "I know I've enjoyed allmost all of my visits to Dryl's mines!"

"It's great to see you, Entrapta." Glimmer said, biting her lip. "I'll keep your idea in mind, but I'm pretty sure my dad would disapprove if I went spelunking on sacred ground with my girlfriend."

"That hardly seems fair." Entrants frowned at her. "Speleology and the geosciences are fascinating; " she waved her arms in palpable enthusiasm. "For all we know, your father could be hindering some marvel of scientific progress!"

Wary of saying something that might result in further association with the fright zone's former despot(like almost volunteering to go on a trip with Entrapta to visit said mines), Glimmer paused. Unsure where she she should take the conversation she looked to Adora for assistance. Instead, she found her lady locked in a staredown with the smirking pointy eared-eared goblin man himself. Apparently Hordak had no intention of making this easier on anyone else so it would be up to them to be obliging in addition to well-mannered.  She sighed deeply through her nose. Then she reached out to touch her protector's arm, tentatively advancing on her as one might approach an injured stable cat.

Sensing her movement, those stunning blue eyes sought her gaze and, after an instant's hesitancy, permitted the touch. Adora was stiff, but she'd expected that from her. This was harder on Adora than it was on her, after all.

He might not have been directly involved in the appalling treatment Adora had suffered during her time in the Horde. However, Hordak had been the Horde's leader on Eternia. As such, he still represented some of the worst it had to offer. What that might entail she was still learn at. Most were quiet things she could only guess at from cryptic words and dark hints left like breadcrumbs leading to a witch's cottage. Still, Adora had voluntarily offered to tag along when Glimmer had told her that Entrapta had somehow managed to wrangle the young Queen into going on an evening picnic with Hordak. She hadn't been required to accompany her, but she'd done it anyway. Her selflessness was just another reason among many to love her.

However, she thought as she brought her hand out to touch the sword, if they were going to be playing nice with Hordak, it was a little counterproductive to have their weaponry drawn and ready for the slaughtering.

It took a second or two, but upon getting the intended message from the smaller woman’s weighted stare, a pout formed on the other girl's adorable little face. It took every inch of Glimmer’s free will not to giggle at the presence of She Ra's greatest weapon.

Fortuitously, Adora understood the value of civility in potentially explosive situations such as this and sheathed the sword before Glimmer's free will could shatter like fine china in the face of her onslaught. Still, it was a very near thing. She couldn't even muster up the composure left to resist the urge to reach up and tousle Adora's fluffy hair. She received a dirty look under thoroughly rumpled bangs as a reward for her wicked act of treachery. Regrettably, she found it endearing rather than chastising, so she let out a mischievous little chuckle that earned a small forgiving smile from her girlfriend and questioning glances from their audience.

"Do you think they've forgotten we're here?" Entrapta asked the man standing beside her in a stage whisper. "I wouldn't normally question it, but they've been silent for several minutes and keep making strange faces at each other."

"They are still quite young," Hordak answered, voice drier than the crimson wastes at high noon. "I wouldn't be surprised in the least to discover they still struggle with object permanence."

" 'They' are very aware of your presence and would prefer you not speak to them like they are children," Adora grumbled, pointedly ignoring the scoff her statement received.

"As you say."

"Anyway." Glimmer said clapping her hands together with a pointed cough. "You wanted us to join you, Entrapta?" She hoped it wasn’t obvious to anyone else how hard she was struggling to regain control of the situation before one of the more volatile members of their party said something that set the other off. If they broke ties with one another she wanted it to be for a good reason. Bombing out of polite conversation 101 was not the droids she was looking for.

"Yes!" said a grinning Entrapta. Minutes before, the older woman had been growing visibly anxious at the heightening tensions she'd inadvertently played a part in inciting. At her name, her face had broadened with her good cheer, making no attempts to disguise her delight for the possible distraction. "Well, I was talking to Hordak the other day while we were recalibrating the base's underwater thermometers after feeding the fish when I learned that he's never been on a picnic before, and-"

"Wait, so he just suddenly decided he wanted to go on one?" Adora asked, confused. “I’ve had picnics described to me before and they always sounded way less enjoyable than they actually are.”

“Um...well, I can’t speak for what you’ve heard as I wasn’t there to witness it.”  Entrapta said, eyebrows furrowing as she stared at her hands rather than make eye-contact. “ But I can say there are numerous benefits to going on a picnic.” She smiled at Adora. “If you’d like I can show you the power point presentation I made for him later.”

Glimmer stared at the former tyrant incredulously, trying and failing to think of how that might come up in conversation between the two. Or how she’d managed to sit someone like Hordak down to a lecture. Or what kind of fish lived in the fright zone. That led to wondering what fish they kept and what they might feed them, before she stopped her mind from wandering in what was very likely a dangerous area. For however long they were to be temporary allies, some things she just didn’t want to know.

"She is very persuasive." He admitted, giving his partner a side-eye, which was met with an encouragingly grin that was nearly blinding in its warmth. Part of Glimer wondered if she was only imagining what appeared to be a subtle flush of heat settling around his ears. Hordak’s eyes glanced quickly from Entrapta to Glimmer then back again. His face grew more determined, as if daring the Queen to laugh.

"I can be that, yeah." she said softly before perking up. “Especially when the data speaks for itself!”

His thin lips upturned, cautiously returning the look she had sent his way. It was a small action, but still, Glimmer had to avert her eyes to avoid letting them witness her second-hand embarrassment. Was this how kids felt when their siblings flirted with people in public? She glanced at Adora and was thankful to know she wasn't the only one feeling discomfited by this. She was not looking forward to when Frosta began considering the possibility of making potential romantic connections.

'Anyway! " Entrapta continued, oblivious to their distress. "I couldn't let that stand when the solution was so readily available." She gave them a meaningful look.

"So you...thought of us? " Adora asked, her confusion obvious.

"Well, not you specifically," Entrapta corrected with a shrug, then grimaced when her friend visibly deflated. "But I am very glad to see you here Adora!"

"That's... That's good to know Entrapta."

"I thought Bow and Glimmer would be the best people to ask since they have prior experience with acquainting and Horde soldiers with everyday civilian activities. " She turned her head to the side, briefly concealing her face with her mask and turning her body away from them. "Well, I tried to ask Bow, but er, his parents got to the line first, and... let's just say they don't approve of Bow talking to Hordak. "

Entrapta drooped further, almost seeming to shrink before their eyes, neither girl knew how to respond to the usually cheerful scientist's change of demeanor. Glimmer doubted they had said anything against Entrapta; they were both caring, empathetic men the universe was better off having. Still, she wouldn't be surprised if they had tried to warn her to stay away from Hordak. Maybe it was a little hypocritical considering where she was and whom she was meeting but She knew she would certainly have banned any child of hers from associating with people who were friends with war criminals. Those two were kinder than she was by far and any hurt feelings were doubtlessly done on accident. But that still meant there were hurts in need of mending. After everything those two had been through, emotions ran deep. She made a mental note to ask Bow about what had happened later.

Talking about what had happened had seemed to take the wind out of Entrapta's figurative sails, and it wasn't until Hordak had marched forward and almost tenderly pushed her against his chest that Entrapta seemed to pull herself together. Glimmer might have been inclined to call what he was doing a hug, had the red eyes not promised death to everything she held dear if she so much as whispered that he might be capable of sentimental feeling.

One day she going to discover his secret to making common actions seem threatening and use that dark talent for something constructive.

"Anyway, with Bow out of the picture that left Glimmer." The Queen wondered if she should be offended that she was the second choice but reasoned that out of the two of them, Entrapta had probably connected with Bow better than herself.

"Thankfully, her dad was out when I called, so I didn't have to worry about protective parenting instincts making things all needlessly confusing." She smiled at Glimmer, unspoken gratitude shining in her eyes. She took a moment to lament the fact that she was being made to feel guilty for second-guessing this trip when the person doing it had no idea she was even doing.

"I'd have taken him by myself, but, well," She could no longer meet their gazes, and seemed content instead to make herself a permanent fixture to Hordak's tunic. "I haven't been on a picnic with people who aren't... y'know... a robot in years, and I wanted to make sure his first time was his best time, so to speak."

"I didn't know who else to turn to, and I acknowledge this request is a lot to ask of you, but..." Her voice was so low, they had to strain their ears to hear her. "I hope it's okay that I asked you to come?"

Silence reigned on both sides as she finished talking. Hordak was glaring at them, commanding them without words to consent to whatever Entrapta asked. Glimmer rolled her eyes at the clone to let him know that his intimidations, impressive as his figure might be, neither frightened her not influenced her decision-making in the slightest. A grunt of what could have been either irritation or amusement was her only response.

Having attempted to assert herself, she decided to put the man out of her mind for now. She was here for Entrapta, not him. Despite their complicated history, they shared a bond.

But... She wasn't the only one who mattered. She stretched out her arm to get Adora's attention. Her partner sent a questioning glance towards Glimmer then went back to watching the scientist with no small amount of concern.

"Are you sure about being here?" Glimmer asked, speaking quietly to ensure they weren't overheard. "She doesn't need both of us. "

"Where you go, so do I," Adora swore, face inscrutable as she grabbed the hand she'd released upon the arrival of the second half of their group.

"I can choose not to do this then." Glimmer said, lowering her eyes to their now connected hands. This was a terrible judgment to make, but she knew that if she was forced to choose, she'd pick Adora over Entrapta. She was her partner. Awful as it might make her feel, her companion's trauma came first. "I don't want you doing anything that will hurt you, Adora."

"You forget something," Adora said in a voice so low she nearly missed it. "Entrapta's my friend too."

Glimmer froze then raised her head to meet Adora's challenging stare. The blonde narrowed her eyes in the face of her companion's reluctance and nodded. The young Queen smiled at the further confirmation of the woman's courage. They might have more than a few reservations about associating with Hordak in any fashion, but they wanted to be there to support their friend where they could.

"We'd be honored to share this meal with you. "

Entrapta's shriek of happiness could have shattered glass.

She wasn't entirely sure, but as their friend began eagerly showing them a neatly catagorized list of all the food she'd had her servants prepare for the evening's events, she thought she might have caught a glimpse of what may have even been gratitude on Hordak's face. Whatever it had been was expertly hidden behind a deliberately neutral mask when she turned around to check.

#glimmadora #entrapdak #glimmer #Adora #hordak #entrapta #my wriitng

[spiritofchaoticdreams]

“Perfection”- aka this better happen in S5

 This is part of my head canon for S5 of She-Ra

Entrapta threw her body onto the bed provided in her cell, headfirst onto the one pillow given to her by her "emperor". She had allowed herself to have been taken captive by a group of horde soldiers in hopes of finding out what had become of her lab partner and was now a guest of Horde Prime. Apparently he, Horde Prime, had found her flaws "intriguing", and now wanted to keep her as a pet of sorts. 'Imperfection is beautiful', her own words echoing through her head.

The sound of her door beginning to open, made her lift her head up. Her eyes widened when she noticed, the familiar silhouette standing in the doorway. The silhouette then walked into the room and Entrapta sat up, her hair standing on edge, poised to strike, like snakes waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

"Hi Catra! How's it been!", Entraptra spoke, her voice lighthearted and warm.

Catra looked anywhere but her and anytime she did look at her she would wince. Entrapta didn't know why she found this pleasing. But then Catra seemed to wake up from whatever thoughts were plaging her mind and stared Entrapta dead in the eyes. "H-hey Entrapta.", the cat girl spoke, her signature taunt weakened by the slight fear in her voice.

Despite the ease in Entrapta's shoulders, her hair never went slack.

"So! What brings you to my room? Here to electrocute me again?", Entrapta said, her teasing tone hiding just the slightest hint of malice. "Or are you here to trick my lab partner into believing I betrayed him? Oh wait he's not here!"

"No! Lord- I mean Emperor Horde Prime requests your presence in his throne room." Catra replied, pretending her hiccup in titles didn't happen.

Entrapta just stared at Catra blankly for about 3 seconds before smiling and jumping out of the bed. "Okay then! Lead the way!"

Catra jumped a little, probably at seeing how fast Entrapta was able to move when she wanted. She regained her composure and coughed into her hand to refocus Entrapta's attention on her. Catra coughed,"He wants you to wear this." Extending a long purple dress towards Entrapta.

Entrapta's hands grabbed the robe and she studied the intricate designs of the fabric. Then she looked back up at Catra and asked, "How did you hide this behind your back without me noticing?"

*****___linebreak___*****

Entrapta walked through the hallway, her eyes scanning for her Hordak. There were look alikes everywhere, each one standing in the same pose, waiting for orders. Sure, they may look like Hordak, but there was always something wrong about each of them. Wrong eye shape, chin is slightly, larger mouth is too wide. She frowned but didn't give up. She had to find him. Hordak was somewhere on this ship, Bow told her that he was beamed up to Horde Prime's ship with Glimmer when they had left Despondos.

That was the whole reason she had allowed herself to have been taken captive, which is why she was currently being escorted by two clones to what she assumed was Horde Prime's throne room. With her attention occupied she didnt notice that the hordak wannabes had stopped walking making her bump into them. She looked up past the clones and saw a giant door with the Horde insignia on it. They were here. Horde Prime lay just beyond this door.

She expected the clones to open the door immediately instead they were still, waiting for orders most likely. She sighed and continued observing the spaceship.

After two minutes and 43 seconds, she counted, the door started to slide up, and soon she was greeted by very bright lights. She wished she had her goggles, but those had been confiscated by Glimmer when she had first been taken prisoner.

"Hello Princess", a voice called out. And Entrapta was pushed forward, 'yay more walking', she thought. She kept her head down, and she trudged along the catwalk. Then her face was roughly grabbed by a hand, forcing her to look up.

Fuschia pink met lime green, this was him. This was Horde Prime. 'The Emperor of the Known Universe', Hordak's voice rang in her head.

"My little brother's memories do not do you justice. You are more beautiful than anyother lifeform I've come across before.", His voice gentle and suave, complete contrast to the rough way he held her.

Any other woman would have probably blushed at his words but Entrapta felt nothing. She will say that her curiousity increased at his words. 'Little brother's memories? Does that mean he can read minds? Ooh how does he do that! Is it magic? Or is it some form of technological device!', Entrapta willed away those thoughts, she had to focus. She was a princess on a mission.

" Do you mean Hordak?", she asked.

"Hor-dak?", Prime genuinely seemed confused by her words until a look of realization came across his face. He let her face go and put a little space inbetween them "Ah, yes that is the name he gave himself is it not? Such a strange name is it not?"

Entrapta didnt respond, her eyes taking in his every movement. When the sound of what she could only assume was music began to fill the room, Entrapta began looking for the  speaker or speakers, hoping to see new more advanced tech.

"Princess, would you care to dance with me?", Horde Prime asked, his eyes leaving no room for opposition. His hand extended towards her, waiting for her hand. She complied. Despite not knowing the dance, she easily followed his lead. It was a simple one step forward, one step backwards kind of dance. His eyes never leaving hers, “So my Dear Princess, what do you think of my fine ship? It is glorious is it not?”, he asked, the corners of his lips rising as he spoke.

“It is very fascinating, but I haven’t exactly been able to explore it during my stay here.”, Entrapta said, deciding to use the fancy wording her mother had taught her to use when talking to someone that could be deemed a threat. 

“I’ll be sure that you see every inch of the ship then,” His voice almost gentle, she would’ve believed him genuine if not for the tight hold he kept her hand. 

“Oh, how generous of you, my emperor!”, she exclaimed in mock cheer. If he was angered by her tone, he didn’t show it. Every nerve of Entrapta’s body lit up in alarm. 

“What do you know, my little brother’s memories of your smile was a bit exaggerated. Not as wide, but all the while gentle and perfect.” He joked. All four of his eyes trained on her, amusement clear in all of them.

“Perfection is a very important thing to you huh?”, she asked, trying very hard not to trip when he suddenly spun her around. 

“Perfection is key my  princess, perfection is what ensures that my empire stays the absolute power I spent years crafting.” He chuckled slightly. 

Entrapta shivered a bit at the sheer power that radiated from him. Her eyes widened when he dipped her. 

“My dear Princess, perfection is true beauty, when everything in the universe aligns together to create something truly magnificent. Unlike when the universe created my failure of a littler brother.”, He laughed.

Entrapta’s eyes widened, she felt something inside her snap when he simply agreed and started to go on and on about how Hordak’s time on Etheria only furthers his place as a failure. “Why would you want a failure of my little brother when you could have me, pure perfection? Why would anyone want a copy when the original is an option?”

“Perfection?”, Entrapta whispered under her breath. 

Horde Prime smiled and said “Yes, perfect-” his claim went out the window as Entrapta sucker punched him with her hair. He fell to the floor, grasping his chin, Horde clones came running towards them only to stop when Horde Prime raised his hand to signal them to stop. 

“Why would I want perfection when imperfection is beautiful! Why would I want the original when the copy has the same value if not more?”, she yelled. her twin tails each sporting their own fists ready to use for combat. 

Horde Prime then got up on his feet and walked towards her, Entrapta resisted the urge to run away from him. If there’s one thing she learned during her time on Beast Island, you never turn your back on an unpredictable beast. 

“This is why I desire you as my empress, you will be the perfect example of how the Horde can turn someone as willful as you into the perfect bride.”, he laughed, Entrapta flinched slightly as his hand caressed her cheek. His eyes then turned to the clones. 

“Clones 589-WX and 743-JP, escort my princess to her new laboratory. My princess, I do hope you enjoy the present I left waiting for you in there.” With that order Entrapta was then forced out of the throne room.

*****___line break___*****

Entrapta almost skipped on her way to "her new lab!", the only reason she didn't was because she was still in the dress given to her by Horde prime and didn't want to risk tripping. She was glad to be free from Horde Prime’s presence eagerly waiting to explore her new lab and find possible escape routes for when she and Hordak are ready to leave.

When the clones escorting her stopped, she was prepared this time. She ground her heels into the floor and was practically jumping as she waited for the door to open. With all that new tech at her disposal, she could find Hordak much faster. When the door opened Entrapta was greeted by a figure standing at the entrance waiting for her. Entrapta's eyes widened, her heart rate increased, her breath was caught in her throat, it was him. It was really him. Hordak! She found him!

"Hordak!", She cried out and tackled him into a hug. Almost toppling the two over. She used her hair to regain her balance and to make it so that their faces were in equal height. "I found you Lab Partner!" His eyes then began flickering, from lime green to red and back to lime green again.

"E-En-", his voice sounded worse for wear. She only hugged him tighter. "Entrap-ta", When she felt his arms wrap around her she started to cry. From a trickle to a stream, her sobs only muffled by his shoulder. Then his shoulders stiffened and went back to his sides. His eyes were back to that awful shade of lime green. Entrapta's sobs were now at full force.

After what seemed like forever, she lifted her head off of him, and stared into his eyes. " I know you're in there Hordak. I don't know how, but I swear I'll get you back. Even if it takes me the rest of my life! I wont give up on you Lab Partner! Maybe then I’ll be able to tell you how I feel about you without getting interrupted. " When his eyes flashed that familiar shade of red, she smiled. "Now to get my overalls back!"

(Author's note) A little angsty at the end, but this was a challenge for me to make. And sorry if the characters were a bit Oc, I tried to keep them as true to the original as I could, but my mind is deadset on pure angst. Hoped you enjoyed!

#entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #horde clones #hordapta #horde prime

[emperorsfoot]

New one-shot while I procrastinate on the latest chapter of my serialized fic. 

Hordak and Entrapta will keep working on the portal until it's perfect. After all, Hordak can't go home until it's perfect.

..

Catra chose to stay in the Crimson Wastes with Scorpia. To rule the desert as Warlord and her Princess. They got their happily ever after.

Adora was not dragged back to the Fright Zone.

No deus ex First Ones Runesword was ever thrown at Hordak and Entrapta’s feet.

The portal was never opened.

Reality was never unmade.

As Entrapta suggested, the pair just kept working on their project. Refusing to declare it ‘Done’ until it was perfect. It could not be done until it was perfect.

Hordak could not go home until it was perfect.

…

“I’ve added new grounding stabilizers.” Entrapta was explaining.

Hordak watched how her prehensile hair moved as she spoke. Pointing out on the diagrams and animations of the displays what the truly important details were. How the tendrils would curl around to frame one image, or thrust out and straighten like pikes to point out other details. No one in the Horde Empire possessed a physical attribute like that. This was something that could only be found on Etheria. This was something that could only be experienced with Entrapta.

Once he left, he would never get this animated and enthralling briefing experience again.

“That should prevent any future overloads and explosions, and also allow us to hold it open longer. Maybe not long enough for solid matter to pass through. But at least long enough for you to get your signal out. That way, at least- Hordak?” She paused in her rambling explanation. Hair stopped coiling and undulating around the computers display and instead frizzed out slightly with her sudden frustration. “Are you paying attention?”

He cleared his throat. Hordak hadn’t realized he was staring. Staring with an absurd expression of dreamy admiration on his face. “Ah, ahm. Yes. Your improvements appear sound in theory. We shall implement them immediately! I cannot return home until it is perfect!”

Off to the side, Imp fluttered down from the rafters to perch next to Emily. Both deamon and robot exchanged a look. As if they somehow knew more than their masters did.

…

Talons clacked against the keys of a lab console as Hordak typed furiously. Line, after line, of complexed coding. In the peripheral of his vision, he saw a shadow of lavender and violet slink up around him.

“What’cha doing?” Entrapta asked from above him. Her hair lifting her up to suspend her over the console so she could both examine the lines of complicated code, as well as look down into his face to read his expression.

“I am composing the message we will send through the portal for Horde Prime.” He supplied easily enough.

“Oh.” Entrapta looked at the lines of code again. They filled the whole screen. “I didn’t realize it had to be so complexed. I thought it was just gonna be a series of beeps. Like ‘SOS’ or something.”

Hordak’s taloned fingers paused, mid-typing. He looked back up at the lines of text he’d already composed. Then he looked away again, refusing to admit that he might be embarrassed. “The Emperor of the Known Universe does not answer to random beeps without context. He must know it is form me.” He informed her. “It must be perfect. I cannot return home until it is perfect.”

…

Entrapta set down her welding torch and lifted her mask to smile at her work. Using her hair to lift herself off the floor. “I think we’re ready for our next test. Pull the lever!”

But Hordak wasn’t looking at her. He had picked up something from the floor of her work station. Something on the floor suspiciously close to the waste bin, as if she tried to throw it away but missed. An ivory colored envelope bade from heavy cardstock. He opened it to discover an invitation to a gathering of some kind.

“Oh, that.” Entrapta had slunk up beside him, her hair never making a sound as she moved. “You can just throw that away.”

“What is this?” He asked, genuinely curious. It was not an invitation to any event in the Fright Zone. The fact that no paper so nice existed in the Fright Zone aside, the invitation stated that the event would be held in Plumeria. A territory of Etheria that was in open resistance of the Horde. Why would they be sending invitations to gatherings to someone they knew was working in collaboration with the leader of the Horde?

“It’s just the traditional invitation to Princess Prom.” Using a single tendril of hair, Entrapta snapped her welding mask back down over her face –although, there was nothing left that needed to be welded. “They only sent it to me because I’m a Princess. They have to. But I wasn’t going to go.” Hordak watched her pitter around the lab, her mask down over her face. A coping mechanism he noticed she did only when she was about to feel difficult emotions. It hurt her to receive the invitation. Why? Because she had placed herself on the other side of the line. Because she was in league with the enemies of the Hostess and probably every other Princess there? Was she afraid they would ostracizes her if she did attend? If they did, they why invite her at all? Because of the convention of ‘tradition’.

“What do you do at this… Princess Prom?” He heard himself asking slowly, turning the invitation in his hands.

“Me? Mostly I just people-watch.” Entrapta explained. Then lifted her mask to smile at him. “Princess Prom is the best social experiment on Etheria! So many people all shoved into one room together. Competing motivations and desires, everyone’s the same rank and royal status, but social hierarchies form, relationships are formed or destroyed, it’s very exciting!”

It sounded like an average political affair to Hordak. Not unlike some of the state dinners or court hunts Horde Prime hosted back when Hordak was in favor as top general at the Emperor’s right hand. But that wasn’t the part that he focused on, all Hordak heard was that nobody interacted with Entrapta. Even before she took up residence in the Fright Zone.

For some reason, that made the dark Lord’s hackles rise. How dare they snub so brilliant and clearly superior a creature as Entrapta! This would not stand!

According to the invitation in his hands, Entrapta was allowed a plus-one. She could bring one guest of her choice. His thin lips curled into a smile. “Imagine how much more exciting the experience would be if you were to arrive with the Lord of the Horde as your companion.”

Her eyes lit up, excited. She did actually want to go, and his offer to go with her made her happy. Hordak felt an off warm fuzzy feeling in his chest when she smiled and he feared his implants, or perhaps the new exo-suit might be malfunctioning.

“Really? You’d come with me?” She said through a smile. “I’ve never had a date to Prom before! One year I tried bringing one of my robots, but they made me check him at the door. Apparently, robots and non-sentient constructs count as ‘weapons and accessories’, not guests.”

“They cannot make you leave me at the entrance.” Hordak proclaimed. “I will not allow it!”

She was smiling so wide now. She was so happy. But then Entrapta’s smile faultered, her mile-a-minute mind reminding her that they had other priorities. “But what about the portal? If we go to Princess Prom, we’ll lose a whole day of work.”

“An acceptable delay.” He assured her. “When Horde Prime comes through the portal to collect me, he shall see the state of things here. He shall see that I am… delayed in my conquest. Since the militaristic approach has not worked, diplomacy must become a viable option. Everything must be perfect when we open the portal. I cannot go home until things are perfect.”

…

The look on the Princesses’ faces alone made the break from the portal project and the trip from the Fright Zone worth it.

Hordak did not like Plumeria from the first moment he set foot within its borders. It was early evening by the time they arrived at Princess Prom. The event was held outside. With delicate tiny fairy-lights strung between the trees, tables draped in natural linen with sage burlap table runners, the music was lutes and harps playing a gentle –bland- melody, and all the offered food was not only vegetarian but vegan as well.

As per custom, Entrapta and her plus one approached where Perfuma sat under her Heart Blossom tree, to give the traditional greeting to their Honorable Hostess.

Hordak gave a measured bow of the appropriate depth and held it for the appropriate count of seconds. He had been a general on the Imperial cabinet, he studied the rules of etiquette for this event the same way as he would any pertinent intel prior to a military strike. When he raised his head, it took every ounce of carefully drilled military discipline not to smirk at the blond tree-hugger Princess.

Brown eyes wide with shock, freckles colored red emotions she was trying hard to conceal. As Hostess of this event, she had to maintain composure at all times and not offend or alienate her guests just as much as her guests could not offend or alienate her. “Uh- I-“ She cleared her throat. “I welcome you under the Ancient Rules of Hospitality. Leave conflict at the door and please enjoy the Ball.”

She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Hordak wanted to wait there a moment longer just to make the Princess more uncomfortable.

“Thanks!” Entrapta wrapped tendril of hair around Hordak and pulled him away from Perfuma, almost pulling him off her feet as she did. “I can’t wait to compare the data of this year’s Social Experiment to last year’s!”

She pulled Hordak over to the buffet table. A long spread of cucumber and non-dairy cream cheese sandwiches, radish rosettes, avocado toast, stuffed mushrooms, spinach puffs, and a boring vegetable tray with a dip. There was absolutely nothing on the table Hordak could eat –Horde Clones being carnivores by nature.

But Entrapta filled a side pouch of her overalls with spinach puffs and tiny sandwiches. All the while talking into her recorder. “Tensions are already high and we’ve only just arrived.” She narrated. “Perfuma was visibly upset by my choice of guest, but under the Ancient Rules of Hospitality couldn’t turn us away. Results to follow.”

She switched off the recorder and beamed up at Hordak.

He couldn’t help smiling back at her.

The recorder was slipped back into another pocket of her overalls. “Thank you for coming with me. This is… I’m so used to coming to these things alone, and I just-“

“I can’t believe you!”

The angry shout drew both their attention.

Glimmer, Princess of Bright Moon stood in a ball gown, flanked by former-Force Captain Adora, and the Rebel Archer Bow –similarly dressed in formal wear. The Princess’ shoulders were hunched, her eyes hard, teeth bared as if she were readying for a fight. Glimmer fumed at them. “How could you bring him as your plus one!? After everything he’s done!”

The recorder was back in Entrapta’s hand as Hordak just stood there, unsure as to what he should do. His base instinct as a Horde warrior was to dispatch the hostile element with extreme prejudice. She was very clearly threatening his… companion. But the calculating general part of his brain had to hold him back, remembering that conflict within the ball was expressly forbidden. Besides, he was here for Entrapta and Entrapta did not seem to feel particularly threatened.

“Hostilities rise as old grudges bubble to the surface.” She narrated into her recorder. “More than just Perfuma are upset by my Guest’s presence.”

“Do you even care?” Glimmer demanded.

Entrapta tapped her chin, looking up in thought. “Well… you guys didn’t seem to care all that much when you left me in the Fright Zone, so…”

Glimmer could only growl.

Adora stepped forward. “We didn’t mean to abandon you!” She insisted. “We thought you were dead!”

“Based on what evidence?” The tone Entrapta used when she demanded that was almost regal. Hordak knew she was a Princess and ruler of her own Queendom of Dryl, but that was the first time he’d ever actually seen her act or sound like a Queen.

“We saw you die!” Adora insisted.

“But I didn’t die.” Entrapta reminded her. “So what did you see?”

“Well, the blast door slammed shut behind us before you could get out, then it was purged and- we just-“

“So, you didn’t see anything.” Entrapta crossed her arms over her chest with the conclusion. “You just assumed I was dead and wrote me off.”

“That’s not-“

But they were cut off again when the crowd breathed a collective gasp. The latest guests to arrive and pay their respects to Perfuma as the Honorable Hostess were two people they did not expect to attend either. Hordak thought they were dead. Adora thought she’d never see them outside of the Crimson Wastes again.

Scorpia, with Catra at her side, were just straightening from their ceremonial bows to Perfuma.

Hordak had to suppress a snort of irony. “This event is just full of reunions.”

“Catra!” Entrapta went sprinting over to her friend. “You’re alive!”

Before the others were even aware of it, Glimmer, Bow, and Adora were left alone with Hordak. The trio stared up at the Lord of the Horde. He was tall, but somehow seemed less imposing hallowed by the fairy lights of Plumeria’s trees.

There was a pregnant pause in which no one said anything.

The Bow, ever the arbiter of peace, gave an awkward little chuckle. He lifted the veggie tray off the table. “Carrot stick?” He offered to Hordak.

The Lord of the Horde just brushed past him to rejoin Entrapta as she caught up with her other friends.

“Yeah…” Scorpia was saying. “Things were just going so great for us in the Crimson Wastes that Catra and I just decided to stay. She’s practically Warlord of the Wastes now. And I’m her Princess. We’ve ever got a kid!”

“Really?” Entrapta’s eyes lit up upon hearing that her friends were no only alive, but also happy, healthy, and thriving.

“Yeah!” Scorpia reached into her clutch purse and pulled out a pocket holo-projector. She pulled up the image of a tiny baby, with fuzzy pointed cat ears and a scorpion tail. “She’s only six weeks old, it’s hard being apart from her. That’s why we’re late, and we’re gonna leave early too. I just wanna hold her all the time! Ya know.”

Catra caught someone else approaching their group and turned to face them, a scathing smirk pulling at her lips. “Hey, Adora.”

The former-Force Captain stopped short. “Catra.”

There was another pregnant pause in which nobody said anything. Adora’s eyes flicked to the picture Scorpia was holding. Of a new born infant, balled thus far, with Catra’s fuzzy brown ears, and Scorpia’s red poison tail. They did not have pincers, but the fingers of the hands were fused together to give the appearance of pincer claws. Scorpia and Catra’s daughter.

Adora’s eyes flicked back to Catra. “I’m glad you finally found happiness.” She said. Then ran back to Bow and Glimmer.

The recorder was back in Entrapta’s hair. “Ooh… feelings are hurt as old friends move on from past rejection.”

“Still stealing food and spying on people.” Catra observed, smiling at Entrapta. “Nice to see somethings never change.”

“Oh, but something has changed!” Announced the eccentric scientist. She wrapped one tendril of hair around Hordak’s arm and pulled him closer to her. “I have a date!”

Catra looked up at him. Just as tall as he always was, but somehow less intimidating in the soft lighting with the gentle sound of lutes and harps wafting around them. “Lord Hordak.”

“Force Captain Catra.” He nodded back, wondering if he should bring up the fact that she and Scorpia basically deserted the Horde and remind her that they had penalties for desertion.

“It’s ‘Warlord Catra’ now, actually.” She corrected him. “I’m ruler of the Crimson Wastes.”

“Hey! Maybe the Crimson Wastes could make a treaty with the Horde!” Scorpia suggested happily.

Hordak paused before shooting the idea down outright. He did tell Entrapta before coming here that the military approach hadn’t worked. That he needed to try diplomacy instead. The Crimson Waste was as good a place as any to start. He could not face Horde Prime as a failure. Everythign had to be perfect when they opened the portal.

He could not go home until it was perfect.

…

The day after Princess Prom they both rested for the majority of the day. The only time spent in the lab was when Entrapta had to recalibrate Hordak’s exo-suit. All the pollen in the air in Plumeria hadn’t done any favors for its filtration systems.

Aside from that, the majority of the day was spent in restful relaxation.

“Are you sure you don’t mind that we didn’t work on the portal at all today?” Entrapta asked when a soldier brought their dinners to the throne room.

Hordak waited until the soldier was once again out of the room before answering. “It is fine. You are of no use to me if you are exhausted from yesterday’s frivolities. We shall return to our work tomorrow. The portal must be perfect.” He reminded her. “Otherwise I cannot return home.”

Imp fluttered down rom the back of the throne to sit on Hordak’s thigh. Opening his mouth, the little deamon threw the dark Lord’s last word back at him. ‘Home, home, home.’

…

“We should move it outside.” Hordak suggested.

“Huh?” Entrapta blinked at him. She was about to switch it on so he could send his signal though. “Why?”

“When Prime opens it from his side, he will send his army through.” Hordak reminded her. “I cannot have dreadnaughts and capital ships materializing in my lab. The portal needs to be moved outside.”

Hard to argue with that logic. After sending the initial signal, whoever was on the other side would seek out their portal as a sort of ‘receiver’ to connect to the other side. The portal could not be inside the central Horde command building when things started coming through it. “Okay.”

They spent the entire rest of the day moving the delicate equipment outside, enlisting Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio to help them.

By the time it was done, everyone was exhausted and Hordak’s exo-suit needed to be tuned again. They did not switch the portal on and send the signal through. The soldiers were dismissed for the night and Hordak retired to his Sanctum to be attended to by Entrapta.

But that was okay. Hordak was not frustrated. Taking their time and doing things right just means that, when they finally did switch it on, it would be perfect. Hordak could not go home until it was perfect.

…

They didn’t work on the portal the following day either, because the party from the Crimson Wastes arrived to negotiate their treaty with the Horde.

Hordak spent the entire day sequestered in lengthy meetings about weapons exchange, technology sharing, intel on She-Ra and the First Ones, what benefits the Horde got out of the arrangement, what benefits Catra expected out of the arrangement.

Hordak didn’t even get to see Entrapta all day, never mind work on the portal with her.

But the next day… the next day found them both outside, at its new location.

Entrapta double checked the connections to the power source, while Hordak ran one final diagnostic of his transmitter and message.

He looked up at Entrapta, focused on her task. Eyes bright with enjoyment of her craft. Hair undulating with her motion, deftly moving at their detailed work.

He could not take Entrapta with him when he returned to the Horde –to the real Horde, the Empire. She wouldn’t have a place there. They had their own scientists. They had no use for small alien tech-gremlins with no concept of fear or personal preservation. Entrapta would not last a week in Horde Prime’s court.

“Wait!” He found himself barking at her.

“Huh?” She looked up at him, confused. “Something wrong on the diagnostics?”

Hordak froze, unable to put these strange alien feeling he was having into words. “I can’t-“ He faltered. The Horde did not teach vocabulary to describe these symptoms he was feeling. “The color. The casing.” He said instead. “The portal looks cobbled together out of garbage!” Because it was cobbled together out of spare parts. “The Emperor of the Known Universe cannot come through this! It must be prefect. I cannot go home until it is perfect.”

…

The next day, Entrapta cornered Hordak in his private chambers, before he even rose out of bed.

“Morning!” She hung half out of an air vent above him, shocking him awake.

“Entrapta!” Hordak pulled the blankets up around his chin to cover himself. He wasn’t sure what rules of modesty she was used to on this backwater mud ball of a planet. But where he was from, males and females did not just drop in on each other in their bed clothes! (Or lack of clothes.)

Swinging on her hair, Entrapta dropped down from the vent to land on the foot of his bed. “I painted the casing on the portal.” She informed him. “It’s red. Red and chrome. It should be fine for your Emperor. We moved it outside so the capital ships don’t destroy your base. You’ve already got your signal coded and ready to go.”

He blinked at her. “Your efforts have gone above and beyond that of a-“

“So, it’s perfect.” She cut him off. “You can go home any time.”

It was perfect. He could go home.

Hordak stared at her. Fuchsia eyes bright with anticipation. Hair frizzed out with excitement. Perching on the foot of his bed on her toes. Usually Hordak abhorred shoes on his bed. But, when it was Entrapta… he seemed not to mind so much. It seemed… right, somehow. Her. Here. In his most private chambers, where he slept, and took off his exo-suit, and allowed himself to be most vulnerable.

He had already allowed himself to be vulnerable around her before. It was that very vulnerability that prompted her to build him the exo-suit. It was a level of safety he could never and would never find in the Horde. Being vulnerable around her even made him stronger.

In a sparkling moment of horrifying clarity, he realized, all this time he spent saying he could not go ‘home’, he was no longer thinking of the Empire as ‘home’.

“What if…” He began, doubting himself. But she would just hound him until he finished his thought. So Hordak pressed on. “What if I decided I was already home?”

Home was wherever Entrapta was.

It was perfect.

…

END

#entrapdak #entrapta/hordak #hordak #entrapta #portal #procrastination #concept of home #home is wherever Entrapta is

[etherian-affairs]

Beast Island

(SUBMISSION.)

(Also: Friend you sent me a whole ass fic you can just post this on your own blog! But I will share with the world, because we bonded over 40k jokes you and I.) Here is a twist on that “Hordak finds Entrapta dead/dying on Beast Island” prompt.

_________________________________________________

Hordak had known that he would find her eventually. Even without Emily’s help - when it had become apparent that the bot just couldn’t navigate the swamps and thick jungle of Beast Island with enough speed to keep up with him, Hordak had ordered her to wait back at the extraction point. Emily had ignored him of course, but she was days behind him by now and that was assuming she hadn’t gotten hopelessly tangled in iron-hard thornwhip again. Imp had only managed to keep up thanks to his ability to fly from branch to branch, and even then there were times when Hordak had nearly lost him. With no ability to track Entrapta’s location and no functional maps – like the Crimson Waste, Beast Island played havoc with any navigational devices – Hordak had resorted to a simple inward spiral search pattern that was now marked out by the corpses of the native creatures which had dared to confront him. He had never lost faith that he would find Entrapta eventually, and so he had. As he’d stepped into a clearing created by the collapse of one of the huge jungle trees, he found her curled in the shadow of its buttress roots that clawed at the air like the hand of a drowning man.

It looked like she had been dead for several days.

For the first few moments, Hordak stared at Entrapta’s body with what appeared to be detached indifference – as if this was a mere curiosity and not what he’d been seeking for the past week or more. He heard Imp shriek, the little creature’s shadow flickering over him as he flew to the fallen tree and landed amidst the grasping roots. Hordak watched with the same impassiveness as Imp paced back and forth along the fallen trunk, chittering in distress as he looked down at the crumpled body beneath it. Eyes wide, Imp looked at Hordak pleadingly as if he wanted him to deny what they both were seeing. When he got no response, the little creature had the audacity to hiss at him angrily, then jumped down beside Entrapta’s still form and curled himself into a ball at her feet. Even his anguished whimpers sounded reproachful.

Hordak closed his eyes tightly to block out the sight before him, mentally counting to ten. He had to restart the count several times as vivid, graphic images of what he was going to do to Catra for this betrayal interrupted him. At least those were better than his memories of the last time he’d seen Entrapta before his treacherous captain had sent her here. The girl was a genius. She had seen the flaws in his original armour – armour that had been cutting edge even amongst the Horde proper – and made a replacement that was superior in every aspect with only her own intelligence and intuition to guide her and none of the years of training and study that a Horde engineer would have received. Hordak was willing to bet that even in Horde Prime’s own court there was no-one who had the same instinctive grasp of technology that Entrapta did. And once she had access to true Horde technology – not just the limited resources he’d managed to salvage – Entrapta would soar. He’d show her functioning starships. Orbital platforms. Solar systems. Nebulae. The entire universe outside this thrice-damned starless and sunless hell planet. But to do so, he had to be mistaken. This was not Entrapta’s corpse. This was some other fool who’d been exiled here. When he opened his eyes he would see that, rouse Imp and continue his search.

When Hordak opened his eyes, the body was still there and still Entrapta’s. An Entrapta who had been mauled and savaged by dreadful claws and teeth, her clothes hanging in shreds, a pale knob of bone gleaming at her uppermost shoulder where one arm had been torn away, most of her face shrouded by a tangle of lank purple hair which spiraled around her body as if she’d been trying to shield herself with it when she’d met her end. He could just make out a sliver of her mask through the hair, a cracked magenta lens seeming to gaze straight at him with mute appeal.

“I like being friends with you too.”

His eyes burned, so Hordak closed them again but this time his head drooped in defeat. Catra would pay for this – pay dearly and slowly – but she was only one of the culprits. First he would find the beast or beasts that had done this – even if he had to exterminate all life on this cursed island – and he would kill it with his bare hands. Thanks to the armour Entrapta had made for him, killing with his bare hands was at least eighty percent more efficient than it had been in his old suit. But before that… he couldn’t leave Entrapta’s body to suffer any further indignities from scavengers. Releasing a deep, shuddering breath Hordak raised his head and blinked until his vision cleared then approached the fallen tree and knelt by the dead princess. He was reaching out to lift the body when he realised that despite its condition there was no smell of decomposition.

“Wait, don’t!” Hordak had just made that realisation when the shout came from above and behind him. Imp bounced to his feet with a hiss of surprise as a length of purple hair looped around Hordak’s chest and hauled him away from the body with enough force to send him sprawling on his back. “It’s just a decoy, it’s trapped!” If Entrapta’s body had been in front of him, then standing over him was Entrapta’s ghost – missing her mask and overalls but unmistakably Entrapta.

Imp stared at the apparition, then back at the body beneath the tree, then back at the decidedly less clothed and less dead Entrapta. Flying back up to the tree trunk, he crouched among the roots and hissed furiously in obvious bewilderment. Hordak ignored him.

It took a moment for Hordak to get back to his feet as he suppressed the undignified urge to catch hold of the princess and pull her close to confirm that she was actually real. As he stood, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “It… it was a convincing decoy,” he said with as much composure as he could muster.

“Thanks! I did the best I could with what I had to work with,” Entrapta replied cheerfully. “Luckily I found a skeleton that was roughly my size and I faked up most of the rest with clay. The hair was the hard part but eventually I found some roots that made a good dye and used it to colour coconut fibre. It had to be convincing because I thought Catra might try to make sure I was dead so it was supposed to fool her. If you’d tried to move it the bomb in the chest cavity would have gone off!”

There was a long, awkward silence broken only by Imp’s continued hissing. Apparently he was taking Entrapta’s fake corpse as a deliberate attempt to upset him.

“That… is understandable,” Hordak replied eventually. “Very resourceful.” Taking a step towards Entrapta, he hesitated then reached out to put both hands on her shoulders. They were solid, warm and the bones were more prominent than he remembered. “I’m… relieved that you are unharmed. Your absence has been detrimental to my work.”

“Is that why you came to find me?” Entrapta asked. “I was worried about what Catra would tell you – probably that I’d betrayed you and gone back to the Rebellion, right?”

“Right.” The word came out as a snarl between Hordak’s gritted teeth, but as he looked down at Entrapta his expression softened. “When I found out she lied, and where she had sent you, I came to retrieve you. You are valuable to me. Not just because of your usefulness – your value to me is more than that. I find your presence… acceptable.”

“Awwwww, I missed you too.” Pushing herself up onto her ponytails, Entrapta seemed to hesitate herself, and then hugged him. With a certain level of reservation Hordak returned the embrace, noting that the princess was definitely thinner after her time here, to a degree that caused him some concern. As if a mutual tolerance had been reached, they both separated after only a few seconds. “So, uhm, what happened to Catra?” Entrapta queried. “I guess you were pretty mad when you found out she lied to you again.”

“She not only lied to me, she put your life in danger for her own paltry ambitions,” Hordak growled, eyes narrowing. “She is in a cell in the Fright Zone awaiting my return, but given that you suffered the most from her actions I will allow you to decide her fate.” Something that might have been concern flickered across Hordak’s face. “I hope you don’t intend to use her to retrieve more First Ones technology. She cannot be trusted.”

“Oh I know that now,” Entrapta’s voice was reassuring. “I saved her life before and she shot me in the back then sent me here to die. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mad about that. I did plan to explode her if she came here, but if she’s back at the Fright Zone then I could do something more useful with her. I read about an experiment that this scientist called Schrodinger did with a cat and a box…”

#spop s3 #spop spoilers #NOT my writing #submission