This was really really fun to write. Featuring: Small Entrapta, Shadow Weaver's terrible parenting, and the king of Dryl.
Takes place sometime after the previous chapter.
Entrapta's hair frizzed out excitedly as she made a few last minute adjustments to the device in her hands. Catra sighed. "What do you need me for again?"
"You're going to be the second witness of Hordak and I's next big project! You have to help take notes."
Hordak emerged from a supply closet, and tossed Entrapta a tool. She caught it with her hair, not missing a beat, and fiddled with one last thing before snapping the metal cover back on and powering the device up.
She then took out her recorder and started a new entry. "Teleporting Device Log Entry Seventeen: We're ready for our first test. Catra and Hordak are going to take notes, while I attempt to teleport to Dryl and back. It's pretty close to the Fright Zone. Plus, I can visualize Dryl really well. Not sure if that has to do with it much or not, I didn't get to ask Glimmer many questions before they left me for dead, but this should be fun!"
Hordak handed Catra what looked like a metal bar attached to a monitor by a long, loopy cord. "Hold this," he said.
"I used the little bit of magic I caught when Glimmer teleported into my lab to try to stop those killer robots. It held a lot of exciting data!"
"Are we gonna do this, or not?" Catra sighed. Hordak narrowed his eyes at her.
"Oh, yeah." Entrapta pocketed her recorder. "Commencing first test in three- two- one-"
She pressed the button. There was a blinding flash of light. The readings from the monitor spiked. When Hordak dared to open his eyes, he gasped.
"What?" Catra looked, and promptly dropped the metal rod.
When Entrapta opened her eyes, the thick stone walls of the Crypto Castle greeted her. She was home! Spinning around on her hair, she laughed. It worked!
"Log Seventeen Continued: I am in the Crypto Castle! I don't know exactly where in the castle, but that doesn't really matter right now! It..." She trailed off as she caught sight of something. Her eyes widened. It felt like someone slipped an ice cube down the back of her shirt. She slowly walked to the shelf, and pawed through its contents. She turned and actually looked at the room she was in. "What... no, no... I can't be..."
A cradle, clunky gears strewn across the floor. That little purple blanket...
"En? Baby?" A voice from the hallway. "Who's in there?"
The man opened the door, and their eyes locked. His mouth fell open. He had shoulder length lavender hair pulled back in a ponytail, and clear blue eyes.
"Papa?"
"Entrapta?" Catra screeched, staring in horror and confusion at the toddler now sitting in the middle of the room. The baby looked up with round magenta eyes, her little bottom lip trembling. She made eye contact with Hordak, then with Catra, and promptly burst into tears.
Hordak bent down and scooped up the child. She was so light, he only had to use one hand. She certainly looked like Entrapta. She wore a soft pink sweater, overalls, and fuzzy socks, her hair pulled up into two little buns at the top of her head. The excess hung down in two pigtails. "I... think this is her," he said.
"Why is she two?!"
"I think she's closer to one." Hordak held the baby against his chest, awkwardly rocking and bouncing or something to try to get her to stop crying.
"You know what I fucking mean-"
"Language," Hordak hissed. "There is a child present."
"Why did she reverse age?!"
"I don't think she got younger," Hordak said. "If that were the case, the device would still be here."
"Then what exactly happened, genius?"
"She swapped places with her younger self. Our Entrapta is in the past."
Entrapta's eyes filled with tears. She hadn't seen her dad in... forever. She could barely even remember him.
"What- Entrapta?" The man rubbed his eyes, then withdrew a pair of reading glasses from his pocket and put them on.
"It's me!" Entrapta rushed to her father, arms out for a hug, but hesitated. "Are you real?"
"Are you?"
"I'm definitely real."
"Well, I'm sure I'm real too. What happened? What's that?" The king of Dryl pointed to the device still in Entrapta's hands.
"Oh, this? It's a teleportation device! Or, it was supposed to be. This was the first test. I was trying to get to Dryl. I think I succeeded, but not in the way I intended to..."
The king laughed, eyes filling with tears. "You are definitely my daughter! You look so much like your mother..."
He pulled her into a hug, and Entrapta gladly returned it with both arms and hair.
"Wait, where did your other self go?" The king looked around the room.
"I didn't see her. We must have swapped places."
A panicked look crossed her father's face. "You mean she- you, are wandering around the castle alone?!"
"Well... If I'm where she was, then she's where I was... and she- I, am in very good hands. I'll tell you all about them!"
Nothing Hordak did stopped Small Entrapta from fussing.
"There's nothing wrong," he tried to tell her. "Catra's gone, so she'd not yelling anymore... you aren't in any danger... I'm eighty percent sure your diaper is still clean... are you hungry? What? What is it?"
The child continued to cry inconsolably.
There had to be someone in the Fright Zone who knew more about this than he did. Catra wasn't an option. Not even within his first thirty five options. Scorpia had a big heart... but tended to be clumsy. Would the pinchers pose a problem? He'd keep her in mind for later. She wouldn't last five minutes with Octavia, and the Kyle barely knew how to take care of himself...
Shadow Weaver had been entrusted with several Horde children to raise over the years. Hordak might not like her much, but she had to know of some way to make Small Entrapta stop crying.
He found Shadow Weaver in the Black Garnet Chamber. She looked shocked when she saw him standing there with an infant version of his lab partner. "Sir? Lord Hordak- is that- Are you-?"
"Just make her stop crying. Please." Hordak held out the wailing child. Shadow Weaver took her.
"I have a method that worked on Catra without fail." The woman cleared her throat. "SHUT UP," she snapped, tone so full of malice that Small Entrapta paused, terrified. Her big magenta eyes were wide open and still full of tears. She glanced from Hordak to Shadow Weaver and back again, bottom lip still trembling. But she didn't dare make a noise.
Hordak snatched her back, appalled. "What was that?!"
"It worked. She stopped."
"She's barely even two?! She has no idea what she did to deserve that! You can't yell shut up to kids until they're at least eight and understand what they've done. Everybody knows that." Without another word, Hordak turned on his heel and stalked away. Small Entrapta looked up at him reproachfully, tears clinging to her eyelashes and drying on her round cheeks.
"Don't give me that look," Hordak muttered to his pouting partner. "I didn't know she would do that." He took the corner of his cape and wiped the tears away. Small Entrapta sniffled dramatically. This move usually worked on her father when she wanted extra cuddles. Maybe it would work this guy? Hordak sighed. "Who gave you the right to look like that, huh?" He shook his head. "You're far too cute for your own good. And you don't grow out of it either."
Entrapta's father choked on his tea and spat it back into his cup. "Lord Hordak of the Fright Zone is your partner?"
"Yes!" Entrapta chirped. She took another bite of tiny brownie. "All the recent progress I've made in my studies is partly because of him. Wait until I tell you about the rest of the universe. He's been to OTHER PLANETS. He's seen skies filled with stars! He says when we open the portal, I'll get to see all of it. He'll show me!"
"We're talking about the same Lord Hordak?"
"Yes! He and Catra were the ones with me when the whole teleporting debacle happened."
"You're sure that little you is safe?"
"Oh yeah! Hordak runs he whole Fright Zone every day! He can deal with one baby for a few hours while I get the device up and running again."
Her father looked doubtful for a few moments. Then he shrugged. "Okay. I trust your judgement. I've been through so many crazy situations like this- not exactly like this, but you know what I mean- I'd like to believe that I can take anything in a stride. Your mother used to get us into messes all the time. She was always smart enough to get us back out of them." He took another sip of tea. "Now, how about his lab? You said he calls it a 'sanctum'? That's classy!"
"I know, right? OH!" Entrapta clapped her hands. "Let's see if you can take this in a stride: I hacked the planet once! Hordak and Catra let me use the Black Garnet Chamber! The whole planet!"
"Really? Tell me everything!"
"Force Captain Lonnie."
Lonnie froze. What did Lord Hordak want with her? She turned around and her jaw dropped. "Is that- the princess?!"
Hordak sighed. "An experiment went sideways. Yes, this is a past version of Princess Entrapta. Until her older self can fix this, I just need to keep this infant alive."
"She's so cute!" Lonnie found herself reaching out. Small Entrapta leaned forward and put her little arms out as well. Hordak handed over the child somewhat reluctantly. "Oh my god!" Lonnie usually wasn't a very outwardly affectionate person, but this was an exception.
Hordak cleared his throat impatiently. "Do you know what they eat?"
"Huh?"
"Etherian young. What do they eat?"
"Well... if she's over a year old, she'd be starting on solid foods. And by solid foods, I mean really really soft foods. Bananas. Maybe Cereal. The nutrient paste? Although she might not like that very much. Especially not the green ones." Lonnie tickled Small Entrapta. "Nobody likes the green ones," she said, as the baby giggled. "Right?"
Hordak was confused. The child could not speak? Why was she asking her questions? Although, he was just speaking to her... so maybe that was kind of the same thing.
"Right," Hordak said. Soft foods. "I will procure proper items for consumption." He held out his hands. Lonnie looked slightly surprised.
"You- want her back?"
"Of course I do."
"Oh, yes- of course," Lonnie stammered, handing Small Entrapta back over. She watched nervously, almost expecting her to cry.
Small Entrapta plunked her head down on Hordak's shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth, completely at ease.
"Thank you for your assistance," Hordak said, before continuing on his way. Lonnie watched him go, baffled. Small Entrapta waved with her other hand, and Lonnie waved back.
"Your mother would be so proud of you, you know."
Entrapta tilted her mask up. "She would?"
"Yes," the king set aside his part of the device to turn his full attention to his daughter. "You've accomplished so much, and you've barely just hit twenty nine. You've been relentless in your pursuit of knowledge... persevered in the face of let downs... and you've found someone to live and learn with you."
Entrapta blushed.
Her father raised an eyebrow. "I see the way you talk about him. He's special to you."
"He listens to me," Entrapta said. "He likes to hear what I have to say. And I like to listen to him. He's one of the only people who understands what I'm talking about..." She trailed off, smiling.
"I don't make it, do I?"
Entrapta looked up. Her father smiled sadly. "Don't tell me when. I'll figure that out myself. But I don't make it long enough to see you get to where you are now, do I?"
Entrapta shook her head, the lump in her throat growing. She put down her tools and enveloped her father in another big hug. "I miss you, Papa. I miss both of you."
By the time Hordak got to the kitchens, Small Entrapta was whining again. He started rummaging through various cupboards when someone came in through and gasped.
"Is that-"
"Yes, it's Princess Entrapta. An experiment went wrong. I just need to keep her safe until her other self can fix this in whatever time she's in." Hordak turned and saw Force Captain Scorpia.
"That sweater is just the cutest!" she cooed. "Oh my, look at those little socks! Can I hold her, pleeease?"
Hordak thought about her request while Small Entrapta was busy examining one of his long ears. She grabbed it and moved it up and down, then tried to lick it. He jerked his head away and glared halfheartedly at her. She giggled. That scowl was just the funniest thing to her. "Weirdo," he muttered quietly enough so only she could hear him.
"I'll be careful, I promise!" Scorpia promised, sensing his hesitation.
"Fine," Hordak gritted his teeth and handed Small Entrapta to Scorpia. "Stand right there and don't drop her. I need to find something suitable for her to eat."
"You know, for a crazy second there, I thought this was Entrapta's daughter," Scorpia rambled on as Hordak continued his search. Small Entrapta began to whine, and Scorpia absentmindedly bounced her gently. "If Entrapta had a daughter, I think she would look just like this. Wouldn't that be something?" Scorpia laughed. "Traps, a mother. I mean, she did turn twenty nine just last week. And she would do a great job. I wonder if she would ever have kids with somebody."
Before Hordak could trap the thought and squash it, it ran away from him and grew. It grew into an image of a baby just like the one Scorpia was holding. But instead a little round ears, little pointy ears. A miniature set of fangs like his. Then Hordak shook his head. No, no, no. Even if Entrapta wanted to be a mother, even if they were genetically compatible, even if there was the slightest chance a child of his would even survive, why would she want to have kids with him?
She knew all about his defects, how dependant he was on his armor. No way did any of it appeal to her. There wasn't anyone on Etheria, not anyone in the entire known universe who would want to have kids with him.
"I found something," he ended up cutting Scorpia off. He took Small Entrapta and sat her down on the counter. "Okay. You will eat, and no longer be fussy. There will be nothing to be fussy about, right?"
Small Entrapta clapped her hands. She didn't know what was going on.
Feeding a one year old was a more daunting task than Hordak thought possible, and required a ridiculous amount of cleanup after he'd given up. "Honestly," he growled. "You got more on the floor than you got in your mouth." She screwed her eyes shut as he wiped her face. Scorpia had been giggling the entire time.
"What, pray tell, is so funny?" Hordak hissed.
"Oh, you'd be the greatest dad!" Scorpia grinned. "I just keep thinking how crazy it would be- like, crazy in a good way- if you were to have kids. I mean, if you wanted to. If you could. Of course there's always adoption and such though, so..." She shrugged. "I never took you for a dad type. But here we are."
Small Entrapta interrupted, babbling unintelligibly.
Hordak turned to her. "What? I thought our deal was no more fussing."
More noises that were trying to be words.
"What is it? It's so inconvenient for everyone that Etherian children don't come out knowing basic communication. That's how my race does it."
Small Entrapta stuck out her bottom lip and held out her arms. When Hordak just stared blankly, she fussed and kicked her feet.
"Sir?"
"Yes, Force Captain?"
"I think she wants you."
"I'm right here." Hordak glanced at Scorpia, confused.
"She wants you," Scorpia picked up Small Entrapta, internally rolling her eyes, "to hold her." The baby was plunked back into Hordak's arms. The baby's whining ceased at once and she smiled.
Babies were so warm, he thought. And soft. So soft and vulnerable. How did this many even make it to adulthood when they were so helpless? Small Entrapta wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her face into his cheek, giggling, in a funny imitation of a kiss. Oh, Hordak thought, feeling his heart 'melt', as Etherians described it. That was how. They were too cute to let die.
But then again, if that were true, then why did some Etherians not grow out of their cuteness even when they became strong enough to cope of their own? Scorpia's words played back in his head. I thought for a second that was Entrapta's daughter. To create cute offspring, of course. Offspring too cute to let die. Now it all made sense.
"Scorpia," Catra's voice came in over Scorpia's Force Captain Badge, "we need you for a training simulation. You can't be late again or Grizzlor's docking points."
"Oh, yeah," Scorpia jumped up. "Well, goodbye sir. Good luck with- this. You're doin' great."
"Scorpia."
"I'm coming! Hang on just a sec, Wildcat!" She raced out of the room and down the hall. Small Entrapta waved goodbye over Hordak's shoulder. He heard her yawn, and felt her bury her face in the crook of his shoulder.
"Tired?" he asked. She didn't answer, but Hordak knew. It's been a long day for both of them. "Let's go."
"You should be able to get back now," Entrapta's father sighed. They both stared at the device on the table, neither making a single move to do anything about it.
"Yeah," Entrapta quietly agreed. Her hands didn't even twitch. If she went back now... "I'll never see you again."
"En, baby," her father reached over to take her hands in his. "I'll always be with you. We both will."
"I barely even remember either of you. I don't want to forget about you again, until you're just a name."
The king stood, pulling Entrapta up with him. "Come. I have something I want you to have."
They traveled down two hallways to the room the king and queen had shared until about a year ago. The king dug through the dresser drawers until he fished out a light purple garment. He pulled out a pastel orange, pink, and a light grey one as well. He pulled one of the over big sweaters over Entrapta's head, and she stuck her arms through the sleeves. It was extremely soft, and it smelled like something vaguely familiar that she couldn't pinpoint.
"Your mother wore sweaters all the time. These were her favorites. I just couldn't get rid of them. I don't know if you already found them and kept them, but take them with you anyways, if you want."
Entrapta's eyes filled with tears. "They emptied out all your guys' stuff. I only got the research, and the stuff you both left in your labs." She looked up. "Thank you so much."
Her father smiled, eyes filling up with tears. "You should probably get back to that lab partner of yours."
"I don't know if I want to leave yet. But I know I have to," Entrapta's voice shook.
"I don't doubt that you're capable to take on anything that comes your way, with or without me. Go on darling, he probably misses you by now. The strong, independant you that he knows. Little you can be quite a handful."
Entrapta laughed. "Okay. Goodbye." she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
"I love you."
The king pressed one last kiss to his daughter's forehead, and gave her a reassuring smile as she pressed the button. A blinding flash of light, and Little Entrapta was back where she belonged. She blinked awake, sitting up, looking extremely confused. Then she spotted her father, grinned, and held out her arms.
The king stooped to scoop up his baby and press a kiss to her forehead. "I missed you! Did you have fun?"
Entrapta grinned and babbled incoherently. He took that as a yes.
"This calls for a celebratory cupcake."
Hordak set Small Entrapta in the middle of the large bed in his quarters. The one he and his Entrapta had been sharing on occasion over the past few weeks. "Stay right here, okay? Stay." He slowly backed away, into the other room, where he removed his armor. He had been walking around in it all day, and although it was better than his previous suit, he still got achy after a while. Then he adjusted his dress, ran his fingers through his hair, ignored the pain in his back, and went back to check on Small Entrapta. She had the corner of a blanket in her mouth and was chewing on it.
"Ew," he gently pulled it away. "No."
Little Entrapta gathered her feet under her, and tried to push herself up to stand. Instead, she pitched forward and Hordak caught her.
"Can we just relax? We've been busy all day. Just lay with me here while we wait for Entr- you?- older you to fix this." Hordak sighed. "Today is a bad day in terms of pain." He flexed his hand, wincing, then laid back on top of the sheets. Small Entrapta climbed over his stomach to his other side, and scooted up to sit by his head and play with his ears.
Eventually, Hordak batted her hands away. "Stop it," he growled. "And don't you dare pout at me. It won't work. I'm immune." That was a blatant lie. But she did eventually settle down, laying right on top of his chest and making it a little hard to breathe. He rubbed her back, moving in slow circles, watching her struggle to keep her eyes open until she couldn't anymore. And then he couldn't. And they were both passed out.
A half hour later, Hordak was still asleep and didn't see the flash of light. As Small Entrapta was waking up back home, his Entrapta appeared right on top of him. The sudden increase of weight jolted him awake, and Hordak sat upright. Well, he tried to. But he couldn't. He could barely breathe either, until Entrapta got off of his chest.
"Entrapta?"
His lab partner grinned at him, eyes filled with tears for some reason. "Hi."
Before he could think about it, Hordak leaned forward and hugged her to his chest. Before he could panic and worry that he did the wrong thing, she was returning the hug. He heard her sniffle and asked what was wrong.
"Nothing," she responded, holding him tighter. "I'm glad I'm back. I just... I got to see my dad one last time."
Hordak wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd never heard her mention her parents. On her file put together by Catra, it said they were deceased, but not how or why. Entrapta pulled back and excitedly showed him a stack of sweaters. "They were my mom's! Nothing of theirs was saved when he died, except for their notes and research. I had no say in what happened to their personal things. I was... just twelve." Her face fell for a split second, but then lit back up. "So it's good to have something of my mom's!"
Hordak reached out and felt the soft purple fabric of her sleeve. "They're nice. Wonderful," he stammered, suddenly feeling shy for no reason.
"My past self was here, right? What was she like?" Entrapta clapped her hands excitedly, practically in his lap by now, forgetting about personal space.
Hordak looped his arms around her waist, not caring much about personal space anymore. "You were a fussy baby."
"Really?"
"No," he smirked. "For the most part, no. On that note, remind me never to entrust Shadow Weaver with the well being of any more children."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. Everyone thought you were a cute baby." Entrapta giggled, and Hordak felt his ears growing warm. "Everyone as in Lonnie and Scorpia. They gave some helpful advice."
"Everybody really just took this in a stride?"
"It seemed like the kind of mess you'd get yourself into." Hordak reached out and stroked her cheek, wiping away the traces of tears. Entrapta felt her breath catch, and she leaned slightly into his touch.
"My papa said something like that," she said, voice coming out more quietly. "He said it sounded like something my mother would do."
Hordak chuckled. "Is that where you got it from?"
"I suppose." Entrapta was interrupted by a yawn. "It's been a kinda long day."
"Yes. I'll have to save my questions about Etherian offspring for later." He wanted to know so many things, starting with why on Etheria they took so long to learn how to communicate their needs. But for now, he laid back down. The ache in his back was still present, but he barely noticed it anymore.
"Do you mind if I just... stay here again?"
"We've been sharing this room for a while now. You can occupy this space whenever you wish." Entrapta curled up next to him, and before she could tell him whatever she'd needed to say, she was out like a light. Hordak sighed, and set the teleportation device down on the floor. He tugged a blanket over the two of them and went back to sleep.