"Hordak is among us? Why didn't you say before?" Glimmer asked in an accusing tone.
"He's not going to hurt nobody anymore!" Adora appeased as she waved her hands in front of herself "I read his mind as I took Horde Prime's soul from his body. The only reason why Hordak tried to conquer Etheria, all these years, was because he wanted to go home and make Horde Prime proud of him. But instead..."
"Horde Prime had a fit because of Hordak's display of free will, so he stole the old bat's memories," Catra finished coldly "Don't look at me like this! Sparkles and I had a ringside sit."
"Yes," Glimmer confirmed with a shaky voice "Horde Prime wanted to destroy Etheria because he was ashamed of Hordak's initiative! We would have been blowed up to smithereens if Catra hadn't told him about the Heart of Etheria."
"So Catra saved the day again!" Bow exclaimed as he tried to evolve the ex-villainess with his arm.
Catra shook him off as she gave him a crossed look, but he just laughed.
"Hey, you have to admit you saved us precious time," Bow insisted, before switching to a serious mood "There's something I can't put my finger on. Hordak made all those things so he would make his god happy. That's how clones see Horde Prime, as a god. Wrong Hordak told me once that clones are... they were indoctrinated even before they were born... err, before they stepped out of their incubators. If Hordak was able to break his conditioning and kill his god, he must have recovered his memory. But how?
Adora smiled at him, a smile as bright and warm as the afternoon sun.
"He still remembered Entrapta. Hordak killed Prime to save her. Also, I learned – I mean, Hordak and I learned, as I restored the rest of his memories– that he saved my life, a long time ago."
The only sounds heard after this were the birds chirping, and a few voices at distance.
At least until Bow recovered from his stupor.
"He saved your life? How?" the archer yelled as a fangirl, before he started making craziest guesses"Did he find you starving in a ruined hovel, after a plague decimated your people? Or did Shadow Weaver decided to punish your disobeyance with death, but Hordak showed up in the nick of time? Or... " Bow's eyes sparkled "... did he save you from being beaten to death by jealous cadets in the washroom? And your trauma wiped out your memories until She-Ra's magic healed your mind?"
The girls and animals stared at him.
"You have been reading Scorpia's lovey-dovey books, haven't you?" Swift Wind guessed.
" 'The Heart That Wasn't of Stone' and 'My Sweet Rebel Spy', by Barbara Crabland!" Bow's eyes became wider with excitement " Scorpia promised me to lend me more when I'll..."
"Far be it from me to criticize your literary taste", Glimmer interrupted with sarcasm "But we've got some errands to run. Again." She sighed, before holding out both hands.
Feeling guilty, Adora grabbed Glimmers' left hand at the same time she held Catra's. Bow held Glimmer's right hand as he touched Swift Wind's neck. The unicorn, by his turn, touched Melog with his wing.
They disappeared in a purple flash.
A few moments before...
She-Ra's power had healed everyone from their injuries caused by the battle. All the clothing damage was fixed, too. Still, no magic coud dissipate the weariness and stress acquired on the last weeks, so all the members of the Rebellion agreed they should rest for a while in the clearance, before going back to their camp on Whispering Woods. Of course, there would be a party tonight to celebrate the victory. But now, the only thing everyone wanted was to relax among their friends.
And spend some quality time with their respective loves. Spinnerella and Netossa, for nobody's surprise, left to be alone somewhere. Micah was a little frustrated because Glimmer wasn't around, but Castaspella talked him into taking a nap, argumenting that both father and daughter would have the rest of their lives to make it up for the lost years. Scorpia, Perfuma and Frosta found a very convenient trunk where they could sit together happily. Well, it would have been even better if the two women could be on their own, but it was okay. Until Mermista walked towards them, with a face that predicted storm.
"Uh, Scorpia, " she started awkwardly "Could you check on Castaspella and Micah? I heard her saying that he was, kinda, sick. The chip thing, you know. I thought you could make some of your special tea for him."
"He's sick? But Adora healed everybody!" Scorpia looked up in shock.
She stared at Mermista. In the sea princess' eyes, there was a warning expression that Scorpia knew pretty well, one she had seen Catra doing a thousand of times. It said clearly "just do as I say and don't ask me!"
"Oohhhh. I see. You want to talk to Perfuma in private, right? Okay. Come on, Frosta. Let's leave them alone."
"No, Frosta stays. Just try to entertain Casta and Micah, so they won't come around to eavesdrop. Same for that clone... Wrongie or whatever."
Scorpia's smile faded.
"It had been so long I hadn't been excluded that I almost forgot how it feels."
"You hurt her! Scorpia's very sensitive." Frosta hissed, as soon as Scorpia was out of earshot.
Mermista tossed a guilty glance at the retreating woman in red.
"I didn't want to do that, but she's too envolved."
"You saw anyone from the Horde wandering around? The Etherian Horde, I mean?" Perfuma guessed.
"I saw Hordak. No, we saw him! Entrapta was frollicking around with him on our faces. Haven't you noticed them?"
Perfuma and Frosta looked unimpressed.
"Doh" the little princess sneered "Of course we did. It doesn't mean that clone is Hordak. Entrapta must have adopted him, like she did to Wrong Hordak.
"All the clones are identical," Perfuma reasoned "And that one was laughing when they walked past us. Scorpia told us that Hordak never laughed. He just growled and yelled out orders."
"He was a cranky old man. Just like my tutors" Frosta concluded sourly.
"That means nothing!" Mermista insisted "What disguise would be better than a poor, wandering clone? Now that Horde Prime is dead, he must be up to conquer Etheria again! That's why he came after Entrapta. He must be planning to ensnare her in his web once again, so she'll build more destructive machines for him!"
The last phrase left many words unsaid in the air, and yet totally unnecessary. The other two princesses just looked at her, in sympathetic silence. Then Frosta stood up and offered to smack Hordak's face, if it was really him... and Entrapta's, too, if she betrayed them again.
Perfuma, however, still hesitated.
"I don't know. Entrapta worked hard to earn our trust back. And she has really tried to be a good friend...on her funny ways, but she's trying. Why would she throw everything away?"
Mermista bent over the flower princess as she pointed at her own eye.
"Elementar, my dear Perfuma! For the same reason why many women throw everything away: for somebody's love! I've seen that happen a lot in Mer Mysteries. Besides, the Geek Princess is the perfect target for conmen: she's plain, eager to please and socially awkward. All that screams low self-esteem."
"She went to Princess Prom in those stained overalls. My guards almost made her use the service entrance." Frosta disdained.
"It's not nice to ridicule other people!" Perfuma protested (as much as she agreed with them, deep down) "Maybe that was the true reason why Entrapta had turned against us. She doesn't have anyone to talk, save for Scorpia and Bow. Hordak must have said things she would like to hear, just like Catra did to Scorpia, to keep her under her thumb. And now Entrapta must be thinking that she can change him with the power of her lo..."
Mermista covered Perfuma's mouth with her hand.
"Aaargh, whatever! "she huffed "If you think you can put some sense on the Geek Princess, good. What I want to know is: are you in or out?"
Although Perfuma was now friends with Catra, she still felt a little angry whenever she remembered how much the magicat had made Scorpia suffer. If she could, she'd never allow anybody go through that!
"I'm in!" Perfuma stood up as she punched emphatically the palm of her hand "But shouldn't we warn Glimmer, Adora and Bow, before?"
"As if I knew where they are. "Mermista scoffed "I sent Sea Hawk after them, but they seem to have ran away to be alone, like Spinnerella and Netossa. Besides, he told me the Angry Cat now tags along with them all the time."
The other princesses protested this time. True, they hadn't been happy (not at first) with the trio's decision of not arresting Catra for her crimes, but they trusted them with their hearts. Glimmer said that Catra had sacrificed herself to save her life, and the magicat seemed to regret sincerely her past actions. By other turn, it was true that both ex-Horde soldiers were "too involved". They could be talked into helping Hordak to escape from justice out of pity, fear, or because of some complex psychological issues. They were nothing like him – a heartless, unfeeling machine, created in the image and likeness of Horde Prime.
And, a few minutes before...
"... Bow didn't want to go through the asteroids field, but when I suggested it to Adora, she just said to him 'do it', and there we're gone! BANG! CRASH! It was amaaazing! Darla almost couldn't make it, the poor thing..." Entrapta chattered happily as she looked for a place where she and her companion could spend some moments alone.
Hordak just paid half of his attention to her. Past his euphoria of being reunited with Eutrapta and being himself again, he quickly became conscious of the weird stares of the people around them. Every whistle and murmur made him lift his ears anxiously. Flashes of memories came back to him one after another, of bad decisions he had committed without a second thought, but that now were a good reason for concern. Not that he suddenly was 'my God, what have I done', but there would be consequences. The Etherian people certainly wouldn't allow him to go unpunished... and, rationally thinking, he couldn't blame them.
Entrapta stopped so abruptly that he almost fell forward. Hordak blinked in confusion, finally noticing the landscape around them. They were standing on a clearance luxuriouly covered with grass and flowers, probably thanks to She-Ra's magic. At the opposite side, there was a small forest. And in the middle of the place, a Horde robot (from the Etherian Horde) and a white horse rolled cheerfully on the grass. The robot was probably the one Entrapta once reprogrammed and called Emily, Hordak remembered now, but the horse... had wings! Big, colorful wings, that rang a deafening bell on the former warlord.
"Get away from her!"
Hordak turned at Entrapta, whom looked equallys distressed. They both 'hmm-hmmed' and turned around to go away.
Too late. Emily had already noticed them. She beeped aloud, drawing the horse's attention.
"Entrapta? Wrong Hordak?" he asked, before standing up and trotting towards them, with the robot on his hooves.
"Hi, bird-ho...err, Swift Wind!" Entrapta greeted him with a grin that almost reached her ears.
"At last you have decorated my name! But who is that guy? Now I see that he's not Wrong Hordak. He looks a little... cranky. And uglier " Swift Wind appraised, as he walked around the clone to exhamine him "Stuck-up, too.
Hordak clenched his teeth and fists. "This horse is kidding me?"
"No, no! This is another one," Entrapta raised up on her hair to whisper on Swift Wind's ear"He's the real Hordak"
Swift Wind pranced in shock.
"Hordak? From the Fright Zone? How...?!"
Entrapta quickly wrapped her hair around his snout to muffle him.
"Shhhh. He's on our side now, " she said slowly "He saved my life by killing Horde Prime! Now he's a hero, too!"
Hordak stood him front of him, his shoulders high, despite his embarassment of being called a 'hero'.
"Yes, I am Hordak. But I am also the clone that allowed you both to run away. I don't mean any harm. My intention is just to have a talk to Entrapta..." he trailed off, his faces getting red "...in private. If possible."
Carefully, Entrapta released Swift Wind. The unicorn frowned at the couple as he danced on his hooves, torn between giving the alarm, leaving them alone or kicking the former villain.
"Well, that explains why a clone let us go without threatening to burn us with Horde Prime's light. Hmmm..." he stared in Hordak's eyes as if he tried to read the clone's thoughts "Allright. I owe you one. Two, since it was my fault that Entrapta was caught. Just stay put, you two, as I go to talk to Adora, okay?"
Entrapta squealed in delight.
"Okaaay! Just don't tell the rest of our friends, okay? I'm taking advantage that everybody seems to think that Hordak is a regular clone. At least I think that's why nobody has come after us, yet."
Swift Wind still hesitated, but he finally relented and galloped away, much for the couple's relief.
"Why didn't you tell him that Adora knows who I am?" Hordak asked.
She laughed heartily.
"It'll be funnier when Adora'll let him know! I'd love to see Bow and Glimmer's faces! And Catra's... she's gonna freak out!"
"Catra?!"
Entrapta turned around to reprimand Emily for having snitched them. Hordak put a hand on her shoulder.
"Your friends are allowing Catra to walk freely among them?!" he repeated.
Entrapta stiffened. At first, he thought she would avoid the question, but she looked back at him, her face serious.
"Yeah. I hadn't told you that yet. Come on, you better sit."
They sat on the grass. For Lord Hordak from the Fright Zone and for Horde Prime's submissive clone, that would have been unthinkable. For the actual Hordak... well, it was discomfortable, but also strangely pleasant for doing something completely out of his lifelong standards. Entrapta resumed Adora's decision of saving Catra, her desperate run with Bow through the corridors of Velvet Grove, their accidental meeting with Wrong Hordak ("we didn't have time to think of another name for him") and She-Ra's triumphant return. Hordak felt shivers as he learned about all the terrible things that could have happened to Entrapta, but he was also deeply touched by her unsucessful attempts to find him.
About Catra... his feelings were confused. He was still angry at her, for everything she had done to them, especially to Entrapta. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't even have opened the portal, he knew that now. Still... she had paid a heavy price for her actions.
Just like him.
Was that the reason why Catra tried to cover him, when she learned that he remembered her name (That will be our little secret)? Had she looked terrified at reconditioning ceremony because she feared for his life, and not only for herself? He'd probably never know.
"Cast out the shadow... cast out the shadow..." the chorus chanted on his mind.
Hordak felt his breath fastening. He tried to concentrate again on Entrapta's narrative.
"... she has changed a lot. She helped us to find out Horde Prime's weakness and to go through his space blockade. Well, actually, Mellog did it, but it was Catra's idea. And she apologized to me, after I freed her from the chip! People amost never do that."
"What do you mean, people never apologize to you? Not even those you call your friends?" Hordak thought, However, he feared that Entrapta would bottle everything up if he pressed her about the subject, so he preferred to keep focused on Catra. At least for now.
"And has an apology fixed everything she has done to you?" he asked.
"Of course not! I'll never try to be friends with Catra again! It's just that, since Adora and Bow gave me a second chance, I thought that I should give one to her, too. And also... " she was about pulling her mask down, but gave up "when I saw how broken she was, after Adora saved from Horde Prime, I felt sorry for her. I thought that you were probably going through the same she did, or worse" her voice started breaking "And I was forced to leave you there."
She stared at the grass, waiting for the tear that tickled her cheek would fall between her feet. Instead, two blue, folded fingers tenderly brushed the tear away, taking care to not graze her skin. Entrapta looked up surprised, just to see Hordak's face at centimeters from hers. He smiled – a soft, tender smile, one that even Entrapta never thought that she would see in his face, as he showed her the pink crystal he had found on the pile of rubble.
"You haven't failed. You brought me back" his voice was low and rough.
She smiled softly and started crossing the small space between them.
"Uh, Entrapta. Can I talk to you?"
The two lovebirds jumped away from each other. Hordak slammed his head on Emily, whom happened to be standing behind him, and almost fell on his backside. Quickly, he tucked the cristal back in the inside of his belt, since that blasted excuse for an uniform had no pockets.
Perfuma was standing a few meters away from them, her cheeks as red as theirs. Entrapta and Hordak exchanged a frustrated look. Too bad he no longer could dismiss busybodies with a " !".
"Uh... maybe later? I mean, muuuch later, let's say, in... three hours, at least?" Entrapta bargained as she lifted three hair-fingers "Maybe... tomorrow?"
Far from being softened by her begging, Perfuma marched towards the scientist, with determination – and annoyance – in her eyes.
"Sorry, but no. I need to talk to you right now. In private," she replied as she grabbed Entrapta's arm and dragged the older woman with her, before Hordak could react. She didn't even glance at him.
He bared his teeth, but Entrapta smiled reassuringly at him.
"It's okay! Looks like that Perfuma has something really, really urgent to tell me! I'll be back as soon as she'll let me go. Stay put!" she yelled as she waved with her hair.
"Follow them, " Hordak whispered to Emily.
The robot turned her pink eye to him. He couldn't tell if she hesitated because Entrapta had asked them to stay there, or because she wouldn't receive orders from him. Finally, she lowered and raised her body with her four legs, which probably was her way of shrugging, and turned to follow the two women.
Hordak didn't like that. Not at all. Why did Entrapta allow people to drag her around like a bag of ration? Well, there was nothing he could do for her now... maybe he should talk to Adora, later. He rubbed the bump at the back of his head and looked around. What could he do to entertain himself in that primitive place as he awaited for Entrapta's return?
And why had the floor suddenly became so cold? He couldn't feel his feet anymore! He didn't want to disapoint Entrapta, but he had to leave, as soon as...
He couldn't move his legs.
He looked down. No wonder he couldn't move, for his feet were enclosed in a block of ice! However, Hordak didn't have time to feel shocked or wonder how that happened, because laughters made him look up. A young woman wearing aqua tights, a red-haired, bearded man and a little girl wearing a furred coat (although it wasn't cold) stepped out from a nearby bunch of trees and walked towards him. Hordak had a strong feeling that he had already met the two females, but the hatred in the woman's eyes gave him new flashbacks.
Men, women and children tossing at him stones and anything had they had at hand. People running after him with lances.
"Monster!"
"Freak!"
"Nice shot!" the man cheered up, but the girl looked worried.
"I didn't mean that. I just wanted to make him slip," she complained.
"So?" dismissed the young woman as she walked towards Hordak "What matters is that he can't run away."
"I am not running..." Hordak started, when a strong punch tossed his head backwards.
He fell on his backside, his feet freed from the frozen grass, but still encased by the ice.
"Wow," the woman rubbed her sore fist with satisfaction "That felt good! Not that tough without your cannon, uh?"
Hordak rubbed his right face in silence. Carefully, he held his chin and moved it to right and left, checking if it wasn't broken. At least it wasn't broken, although he felt a few loosened teeth.
"That was unnecessary. I don't want to fight you," he tried to explain.
"No!" the little girl pointed an accusing finger at him "You just want to manipulate Entrapta again, so she'll help you conquer Etheria once again! But we won't let you do that!"
Hordak's eyes became round like coins. What kind of nonsense was that? He tried to stand up, but with his feet trapped together, it was difficult, and he fell again. His ears fell in humiliation. He had been an idiot telling Emily to watch Entrapta's back. Probably that blonde woman just want to have an innocent talk to her. And he... now he was serving as a laughing stock to those people.
However, the laughings he expected never came. The trio just stared at him. They looked disappointed, judging by Hordak's tiny knowledge in Etherian's expressions.
"That sucks. I thought he was a lot tougher," the little girl complained.
"Did you expect that I would roar, or come crawling to claw you? " Hordak scoffed "That would be stupid. I suppose you are Entrapta and Adora's friends. They would be disappointed with me if I hurt you. So I prefer to wait until they will come back and clear this misunderstanding."
The trio stared at him in disbelief. Especially the young woman... maybe he should say girl.
"You made friends with Adora?!" her outraged tone sounded more like 'how dare you to talk about her?'.
"No. I was saved by her. From Horde Prime. I am indebted to her because she removed every single vestige of his presence from my mind and body. She also restored my memories, which he had stolen."
"She healed, me, too", Hordak added in thought, but he preferred not to mention that.
The girls exchanged a confused look, but the man just scratched his beard.
"Makes a lot of sense to me," he said "Shadow Weaver, Scorpia, Wrong Hordak and even Catra have switched to our side. But I never expected that, from all the people, the leader from "our" Horde would join us! That's what I call a victory!"
He bent forward and held ou his hand at Hordak. The clone backed away, as he snarled and bared his pointed teeth. The child raised her fists; the woman tried to pull the man backwards, but he shrugged her off, gently.
"Easy, mates! Especially you, errr... Hordak. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to help you to stand up."
He crouched and offered his right hand to Hordak, as if he was trying to calm an injured animal. Puzzled by the kindness and naivety of the stranger, Hordak stared at him in his eyes. The man's expression was similar to Entrapta's, when she was helping Hordak with his body issues.
Maybe he was the one she called Bow. The one whom had been so nice to her.
"I appreciate your concern, but I can stand up by myself... if you give me some space. I don't want to hurt you, either." Hordak said.
Without expecting an answer, he buried his claws in the ice block. The man startled and stood up, as the woman pulled him backwards, her eyes equally huge with shock and fear. Hordak moaned, huffed, but, after a few moments he tore apart the block, sending splinters of ice away.
"Wow!" the little girl marveled.
Hordak hurriedly stood up, before any of them tried something new.
"If I had remained like this for too long, I would have to had my feet amputated, princess... Frosta, aren't you?" he guessed.
Her face fell with guilt.
"Sorry. I didn't want to freeze you feet. I was just trying to make an ice path, so you would slip up."
"Don't apologize to him!" the woman protested.
"Mermista, sweetheart, are you sure that guy is Hordak?" the bearded man asked " He warned me to back off because he didn't want me to get hurt by the ice splinters. I always thought that Hordak didn't care about other's welfare."
"I am Hordak " the clone confirmed "And you are the one Entrapta calls Bow? She told me that you treated her better than anyone else in the Rebellion."
"No, but Bow is my best friend!" the man's face lightened up with enthusiasm "If you heard of him, you must have heard of me, too! I am the one and only Sea Hawk, the greatest pirate of Etheria!" he proudly rested his hands on his hips before raising his forefinger to the skies, in a pose that Sea Hawk obviously considered impressive.
"I never heard of you." Hordak stated.
Sea Hawk instantaneously deflated, making Frosta crack up at him. Mermista just rolled her eyes.
"Aaaaaaaargh! Can't you see what's happening? Hordak is manipulating you, just like he does to Entrapta! He's making you feel sympathy for him! "
"I am not doing such..."
"SHUT UP!"
Mermista moved her hand. The pieces of ice melted and reunited in a water potion big enough to form a water whip that swiped Hordak's cheek, making him scream in pain. The icy swipe was a lot more painful than Mermista's punch and almost made Hordak fall again. This time, however, he had his feet free, so he opened his legs and struggled to keep his balance.
"What have you done? You didn't have to hit him!" Frosta screamed, shocked at the red welt on Hordak's face (the non-punched side, fortunately).
In Mermista's defense, she was horrified, too.
"I didn't mean it! I just wanted to splash some water on his face to shut him up!"
"The extra magic freed from the Heart of Etheria must be causing side effects on your powers" Sea Hawk suggested "Maybe that's why I haven't found Adora, Glimmer and Bow. Swift Wind is missing, too. Like my brilliant Mermista, he must have suspected that our white fellow was Hordak, so he went to warn them and Glimmer tried to teleport everyone back to the ravina were we left the rest of our friends."
Both the princesses and the clone stared at him in shock – both for the horrifying situation that he suggested and because none of them thought he was able to speak something so intelligent.
"You mean... she must have teleported everyone for somewhere faraway from here?" Mermista asked.
"They might be anywhere in Etheria, now!" Frosta panicked The Crimson Waste, Bright Moon... They might have teleported to a dangerous place! Like... the ocean..."
Hordak was as scared as them. He hadn't tried to fight because he was sure that Adora would eventually show up and explain his situations to those insane people.
"You must look for Entrapta. She can find their magic signs on her notebook..." he started.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Mermista turned angrily at him.
Hordak raised an arm to protect his face. Much for his surprise, Frosta ran to stand in front of him with her arms opened, as Sea Hawk grabbed the arm of the angry princess. Whom was as shocked as him.
"What are you doing? I'm not going to hit him again!"
"Darling, he had a good idea. Now that Bow is missing..." Sea Hawk tried to resonate, but, in her distressed state, Mermista wouldn't have none of it.
"...now that Bow, Glimmer and Adora are missing, I'm the one in charge. At least until we can have a proper talk to Micah and Castaspella. Now that we're plenty of magic, they must be able to create some spell to find our friends. Take off your bandana."
"My what?"
"Your tape, rag, whatever! That black stuff on you head that must be the only thing preventing your unused brains from running away!"
"Ah, my elegant headband."
Sea Hawk complied. Under Mermista's orders, Hordak had to hold out his hands, so the pirate would tie his wrists with the red cloth, as Frosta watched them. Any sudden movement and Hordak should be turned into a block of ice.
With that done, Mermista stood in front of him, hands on her hips.
"You said that Adora brought your memories back. So you must remember Salineas."
Hordak nodded.
"You must also remember king Micah, " she noticed that he was confused "Glimmer's father. The husband of queen Angella, the woman your portal has sent to another dimension! Oh, now you got it, right? You sent Micah to Beast Island, but he has survived against all odds. I made sure he wouldn't know that you're here, because he'd turn you into toast. Death is too good for scum like you. Until Glimmer and the rest of the gang show up... or until I'll convince Micah to spare you, you'll be under our custody. And I'm going to do whatever I can, so you're never going to talk to Entrapta again."
Hordak's face was expressionless. In that right moment, he was the stoic, almost robotic clone that Horde Prime tried to force him to be.
Only his fallen ears gave his true feelings away.