CHAPTER XXXIII: THE TRAP
"Entrapta…" Hordak sounded… tired.
"Hordak! I just went down to the party! It's a great opportunity to study the social behavior of the people of Etheria!" Entrapta explained, her smile growing larger as she noticed a small grin appearing on the former Horde leader's face.
"Why didn't you stay there then?"
"I wouldn't leave a friend alone all night long." The scientist princess said, her usual cheerful tone replaced by quieter, warmer one.
Hordak seemed taken aback by Entrapta's words and… something that looked like guilt flashed through his eyes before it was replaced by a more curious look.
"What is that?" Hordak said, pointing at the plate that the princess was holding.
"Oh! It is called cake! It's a really sweet food! I thought you might have liked it!"
It was strange. Hordak had never felt this way in his entire life. He had been created to serve Horde Prime, to help his master in his endless conquest of the universe. An unbreakable faith in Prime, an unwavering determination and the most burning rage towards the enemies of his creators… those were the only things the former Horde's leader had felt during his life. But now… this small princess had managed to make him feel something new…
Something he didn't dare to name…
But it was something that he desperately wanted to keep feeling…
So he inhaled, and let out a long sigh a few moments after…
"Why are you doing this?" Hordak whispered.
"You're my lab partner, my friend! This is what friends do!" Entrapta's cheerful demeanor came back only to vanish a few seconds later, when she heard Hordak's next words.
"Drop the barrier…"
"W-what?" The scientist princess asked, confusion clear in her voice.
"You convinced them to spare me… to let me stay here. They created this barrier… but their mages… their tricks are nothing compared to your intellect. You already know how do it right? How to break these walls." Hordak said, placing a hand on the magical barrier, ignoring the zap it gave him.
"H-Hordak… I can't…" Entrapta's voice wavered.
"Do you want to slide that plate inside this cage? As if I'm nothing more than an animal? I want to be able to share it with you. You've already saved me from myself Entrapta… from Prime… you've proven that I can call you a friend. Now let me prove to you that I'm yours."
A few, endless moments went by, uncertainty written all over the princess' face…
Then…
The girl stepped forward and placed a small, circular device near the magical barrier. Light erupted from it… and with a bright flash… the wall was gone.
"I trust you." Entrapta said, smiling up at the dumbfounded clone.
Hordak shook off his surprise and stepped towards the princess, suddenly enveloping her in a tight hug. It was stiff. After all he had never done this with anyone else… ever. But the pigtailed princess simply sighed and circled his back with her arms.
"I'm sorry."
Entrapta raised her head to meet his gaze.
Hordak pinched the side of her neck.
Everything went dark.
͠
"D-did you hear that?!" Adora asked, getting up from bed.
"Yeah, it came from nearby…" Catra answered as she jumped off the mattress and quickly put her uniform back on.
"Catra… it sounded like…" The blonde murmured as she hastily dressed herself.
"Ivy…"
The two exchanged a worried look and immediately rushed towards the bedroom's door. They ran through the corridors, only picking up the pace as another scream rang through the castle's halls. Then… as they took one last turn… their gazes fell upon two figures. One, tall with white skin and bluish hair. The other one… little… with curly hair. It kept squirming and trashing around as the tall one hoisted it up its shoulder. Adora and Catra got closer and finally… they saw them… Ivy and…
Hordak…
"Hordak!" Catra roared as she broke into a full sprint towards the former Horde's leader.
Hordak simply turned around and began to run.
"C-Catra! Catra help me!" Ivy screamed, extending her arms towards the feline.
Adora began to run only to stop in front of the room the clone had come out of. Her eyes widened at the sight of Entrapta lying on the ground, unconscious.
"Adora! We gotta move! He's gonna get away!" Catra yelled.
She was ready to chase Hordak, but as soon as she took a step in his direction, a hand grasped her arm.
"Adora?!" The feline turned around, her voice coming out harsher than she intended.
"I'll take care of him, you warn the others and get help for Entrapta." Adora pointed towards the pigtailed princess.
"Adora…" Catra sounded unsure.
The blonde quickly closed the distance between them and pressed a quick kiss to the feline's lips. She pulled back and raised her arm in the air.
"For the honor of Grayskull!"
After a bright flash of light, Adora was gone, and She-Ra stood in front of her.
"He won't outrun Swifty. And he won't outrun She-Ra."
Catra found herself nodding. She trusted her. She trusted Adora.
"Go get him." The feline declared.
Adora nodded and broke into a run. Catra turned the other way, and rushed through the palace's corridors. It didn't take long for her to reach the ball room. Everyone was still there. The feline's eyes quickly scanned the room, trying to find Glimmer.
"Hey cat girl!" The young queen's voice caught her off guard.
Catra swirled around and found herself into a tight embrace.
"Where have you been? Where's Ador-" Glimmer began to talk but immediately fell silent as the feline pushed her away.
"Hordak's escaped."
The young queen's face turned white.
"W-what?"
"He's gone and he's taken Ivy with him." Catra explained quickly.
"Oh no…" Glimmer muttered in horror as she covered her mouth.
"Hey guys! Enjoying the… party?" Netossa's tone turned from cheerful to worried as she noticed the looks on the two's faces.
"Glimmer? Is something wrong?" Spinerella caught up to them, followed by Frosta and Bow.
"You two look super pale…" The archer mumbled.
"Yeah, and did any of you see Ivy? She said she was going to the bathroom, but I think she's still wandering around the castle trying to find it all by herself…" The ice princess asked as she kept looking around.
"Hordak's gone." Glimmer stuttered, her voice shaky.
"What?!" Everyone shouted.
"Hey, not to interrupt or something… but you all look like… really freaked out… isn't this supposed to be a party?" Mermista said as she reached the group, Sea Hawk standing by her side.
"Hordak escaped and he took Ivy with him! Adora is chasing them, but Entrapta is hurt so she told me to warn all of you! We gotta move, now!" Catra explained swiftly.
"W-what do we do?!" Glimmer asked, panic clear in her voice.
"Glimmer, you and Bow come with me, we can still catch up to Adora if we move quickly. The others can take care of Entrapta, she's in Hordak's holding room. We don't know how he got out, someone who helped him could still be around, be careful." The feline warned the group.
"Hey! If Hordak took Ivy, I'm gonna come with you! I'll turn him into a popsicle when we'll catch him!" Frosta declared as a pair of ice gloves covered her hands.
"Okay." Catra's expression turned from worried to mildly amused for a second before she spoke again. "Everyone's ready?"
Everyone nodded. And then they were off. Catra, Glimmer, Bow and Frosta rushed for the palace's exit, while Mermista, Sea Hawk, Netossa and Spinerella quickly reached the spare room in which Hordak had been imprisoned.
"There she is!" The feline exclaimed as she saw the typical golden aura of She-Ra by the edge of the Whispering Woods.
"Catra…" Glimmer grasped her shoulder.
The feline turned towards the young queen and noticed how her gaze wasn't fixed on Adora, but on something above the woods. When she raised her head, her mouth fell open.
A Horde's ship…
It was hovering above the Whispering Woods, not far away from where Adora was. They had to be quick. Whatever was happening… it couldn't be anything good. The small group rushed towards the forest. A few Horde soldiers came up to them, asking for an explanation, saying they had seen someone enter the woods, a screaming kid hoisted up on their shoulder, and that She-Ra had appeared short after. Catra didn't stop running. She turned her head and gave them a quick warning.
"Prime is here!"
The soldier's eyes widened, and they immediately went back to the camp and began to warn everyone. The feline must have heard Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio calling her name, but she didn't have time… she had to catch Hordark, she had to save Ivy and… she couldn't leave Adora alone.
She-Ra's aura grew brighter and brighter and it didn't take long for the group to reach her…
"A-Adora…" Catra muttered as she stopped running.
Then, her mismatched eyes shifted from the blonde to Hordak…
He was standing a few feet away from Adora. He had put Ivy down, keeping her by his side… a clawed hand closed around her neck.
"It'll take nothing to kill her." Hordak warned the group.
Catra snarled and took one step towards him.
"If you hurt her, I'll cut you into a million pieces…" The feline growled.
"You'll all stay where you are if you care about this child." The former Horde leader declared, his grip becoming tighter.
The young girl yelped in pain.
"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Frosta cried.
"You should have all kneeled in front of the great Prime! He is the emperor of the entire universe and your feeble strength is nothing compared to his power!" Hordak shouted in anger.
"Why did you take Ivy?!" Adora asked, dismounting Swift Wind and slightly raising her sword.
"You are nothing but fools…" He suddenly chuckled. "I knew I couldn't have gotten away if I tried to escape on my own… but now? Prime is here for me… and not only I managed to bring him She-Ra… I also managed to kill a few of his enemies…"
"We're all still breathing Hordak!" Glimmer shouted as sparkles began to erupt from her fists.
"Not for long…" Hordak smiled devilishly and pointed a finger to the sky.
That was when they finally saw it. The black ship had reached them. A beam of green light came down from it and before anyone could do something… Hordak threw Ivy towards Adora. The blonde caught the kid but as she raised her gaze towards the former Horde leader, she saw that he had been already invested by the green light. Moments after, it faded… leaving nothing behind.
"H-he got away." Bow muttered.
Everything became still for a second… until Ivy broke the deafening silence.
"Watch out!" The little girl cried as she pointed at the sky.
And when everyone turned their gazes towards the black ship… they saw it. A red light, growing larger and larger… a menacing sound growing louder and louder before a single, glowing projectile was shot towards them.
"Adora!" Swift Wind cried.
It all happened in a few moments.
Adora threw Ivy towards Catra and summoned her shield.
The feline caught the little girl between her arms and watched as Frosta raised her arms above her head.
Walls of ice surrounded them…
Then…
The explosion…
Then…
The darkness…
