Chapter Four: Hidden in Plain Sight
The fighting had stopped, and the town had returned to normal–relatively. With help from the Princess Alliance, the townsfolk had begun to repair what had been damaged during the fray, though quite a few were none too happy that they had to in the first place.
"Sorry about all of that!" Perfuma lifted some wooden boards into place, while Bismuth hammered them down. "Things got a little out of hand here. We're happy to help in any way we can!"
And although Bow had managed to calm Glimmer down, she was still looking for answers. She paced in front of Callix and Octavia, who had been restrained, the latter gratefully being immersed in a water bubble created by Lapis and Mermista. "Just what I needed! Maybe you princess types have some good in you after all."
"Save it," said Glimmer. "I'll cut to the chase: Catra's been wreaking havoc throughout the universe these last few weeks, and we know you still answer to her. We need to know how to find her, or at the very least, when she's coming back."
Octavia shrugged. "Wish I could help you with that. The last thing she told us was to prepare for her to return. Then, nothing. We've been out here for weeks waiting for something from her, even a transmission explaining what's going on. I hate to say it, but I think she's left Etheria behind for greener pastures."
Adora and Bow had been standing nearby, partially to oversee the interrogation, partially to make sure Glimmer kept it under control. "You don't really believe that, do you?" asked the former. "Etheria's her home. Even if she has less-than-peaceful ideas in mind, don't you think she'd rather stay closer to what she's used to?"
"Aren't we living proof to the contrary?" asked Callix. "Lord Catra has moved on. Whatever Etheria once meant to her, she has moved on, abandoning her soldiers for those more suited to conquer the universe. She has her eyes set on the bigger picture now, and it is likely more than you can handle."
Hordak took note of Callix's apparent regret. "So much for the 'ideal leader,' then," he said. "Perhaps you were mistaken in following her over me."
Callix glared up at his former boss. "Perhaps I was. Choosing to follow Catra may have been a mistake, but choosing a new leader was not. I joined the Horde because I thought it would fight back against the princesses who control these lands, but it soon became conquest for conquest's sake." He got up, as much as his bindings would allow, him and Hordak in each other's faces. "When you disappeared, I saw Catra as a much better version of you–but I see now that she is merely your successor. A sad, lonely child lashing out at a world that doesn't believe she's special."
An energy blade extended from Hordak's wrist, its low hum silencing the argument. Callix was not intimidated, however, and seemed to dare Hordak to use it. Bow walked up, and wordlessly placed himself between the two. Hordak backed off, though reluctantly, and Callix sat back down.
"Unfortunately, I think that's all we're getting out of them," Glimmer said. "You think it's really possible Catra's done with this place?"
Adora wasn't sure what to think. "I…that's kinda the worst part," she said. "I believe it, but I don't want to. Even when Catra was our enemy–misguided, it felt like Etheria was her goal, her target. But now, she's got so many new allies and weapons at her disposal, I wouldn't be surprised if she wants nothing more to do with this planet."
"Then I suppose there's nothing more to be done," Hordak said. "This 'New Horde' will not bother with us, I see no need to bother with them."
"No," Glimmer said. "As long as Catra's out there, she's still a threat, and not just to us. We'll think of something–we'll get the Diamonds to move against her, or have Hessonite find out where she's hiding. I'm not gonna stop until she pays for what she did!"
"Yes, well, I suppose vengeance does take priority," Hordak said. "And speaking of, what is to be done with these two?" He gestured at the pair of Force Captains.
"I don't say this often, but would you mind taking me prisoner?" asked Octavia. "I don't know how much longer I can stand this desert heat! Some cell in a princess' dungeon has to be preferable to this!"
"We'll decide on that later," said Glimmer. "Right now, I want to make sure every last Horde soldier is accounted for. They may not be working for Catra anymore, but they could still be dangerous if they think they are. Bow, do you think you can do that?"
He nodded. "I'll take care of it."
"Good. Once everything's done, we'll meet back up at the entrance to town." Glimmer headed off to oversee some of the repairing of the town, Hordak in tow.
Once they were gone, Bow leaned over to Adora as the two headed further in. "Does it bother you at all how close those two seem to be getting? I'm always one for making new friends, but…"
"Oh, absolutely, it bothers me a lot," Adora replied. "I mean, one of my best friends palling around with the man who led a campaign of carnage against this planet? It doesn't sit too well. But, Hordak has his reasons to be helping us, so I usually just try to let it go."
"That's not all I mean," said Bow. "Lately, Glimmer's gotten a lot more…aggressive. She's always been a bit forceful, but it's gotten a lot worse in the past month or so. I worry that some of his methods are starting to rub off on her."
"It's probably just grief," said Adora. The two were silent for a brief moment, reflecting on what that meant. "I…I'm gonna go now. We'll meet back up later." The two of them split up. Adora, not exactly sure what she was supposed to be doing, leaned against a wall and watched as the townsfolk repaired their town. "Y'know, I should probably help…"
But, just as she was about to head over, she saw someone nearby, who was also overseeing the construction. The tiny green form of Peridot, someone who she wasn't overly familiar with. They had interacted occasionally, but weren't close enough to be considered friends. However, Peridot was one of the smartest people she knew, which gave her an idea. She walked over to the Gem.
Peridot was busy looking over a diagram of the town, accompanied by Connie. "Uh…hey!" said Adora. "Peridot! Doing alright?"
The Gem looked around in confusion. "Yyyes," she said. "Doing fine. Especially now that the fight's over. Did…did you need something?"
"Sort of." Adora awkwardly sat down next to her. "You…aren't busy, are you?"
She glanced down at the map. "No, I guess not."
"Good, because I think I could use your help with something. You too, Connie, if you're willing."
"I guess I could give it a shot," she said. "What's on your mind?"
Adora took a deep breath, taking a moment to decide where to begin. "Well, you might not remember, but a few years ago, Light Hope was destroyed by Horde Prime. You theorized she might still be alive, right?"
"Right," Peridot said.
"Well, a little while ago, during the whole Eartheria debacle…I saw her." Both Peridot and Connie were surprised, but said nothing. "And, she wasn't a hologram this time, but an actual, physical person. She said it was due to reality breaking down, but I don't know the science behind it. The important thing is, before she disappeared again, she told me to find where I came from. And she gave me some numbers: 'Three-seven-eight, four-nine-two, five-five-three.'"
Adora sat and waited for them to process her story. "That's…definitely a lot to take in," said Peridot. "Light Hope's alive, and all she does is give you some strange numbers and then leaves. Do you have any idea what they mean?"
"Bow and I did some looking, but we came up empty," she said. "We know they mean something, but the nearest we could figure out what that they're some sort of–"
"Coordinates," Connie said, the idea dawning on her.
"Exactly," Adora continued. "Light Hope said something about finding out who I was, before I was brought to Etheria. We figured that could only mean something out there…" she glanced up at the sky. "...but we don't have as much experience when it comes to outer space. I figured you of all people might be able to find something out."
"You certainly came to the right person!" said Peridot. "There are numerous systems for mapping out star charts, and given how specific those numbers are–or aren't–I should be able to narrow it down!"
"Great! You're a real help, you know?" said Adora. Her joy soon turned to suspicion, however, as she looked around them. "Uh, actually, do you think you could keep this on the down-low? I don't want Glimmer finding out."
"Why?" Connie asked. "Isn't she your best friend? Why wouldn't she want you to find out where you came from?"
"Oh, it's not like that," Adora clarified, "she just has a lot to deal with right now. Becoming queen so suddenly, it's been hard for her. I don't want to distract her from her leadership duties."
"Well…if that's what you want, I guess I'll respect your secret," said Connie. "But I still think if this is really important to you, Glimmer would want to know about it, too."
"And I would love to tell her," she continued, "but I really do think she had more important things going on. I might bring it up if anything comes of this, but for now, let's keep it as our little side-project. Sound good!"
Peridot gave a thumbs-up. "My lips are sealed!"
"Great! I'm gonna go and do some heavy lifting as She-Ra now. Holler if ya need anything!" As she walked off, she was too lost in thought to notice another dilemma happening beside a nearby building, one she was unknowingly involved in.
Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio had been part of the Horde for their entire lives. The only person they knew for a fact had left it was Adora, and she had some sort of magical destiny that none of them could compete with. Despite their decision to follow her example, there were still some conflicting feelings left over–feelings that had led them to an unexpected kindred soul.
"So, does this mean we're princesses now?" asked Kyle. "Er–ah, I mean…you know, part of the Princess Alliance. With them now. What else would we be?"
Topaz didn't know much about the history of the Princess Alliance, or its conflict with the Horde, to really answer his question. But she could speak from experience. "It sounds like you don't really want to be part of them."
"Not really," Lonnie replied bluntly. "I mean, we've only been fighting them for the last, what, almost two decades now? Probably even longer for some of these people! I still don't exactly trust 'em."
Rogelio offered a reassuring growl.
"And so what if they are!?" Lonnie snapped. "That doesn't mean I can just magically change the way I feel about them after all this time!"
"I…ooh, I'm not sure I'm qualified to deal with this," Topaz admitted. "But when I turned against Homeworld–or, Emerald's version of it, I joined the Crystal Gems. Part of it was because it felt like the right thing to do, but part of it was also because I wanted to. They help people, and if they're allies with the Princess Alliance, then I'm sure they help people too. Do you want to help people?"
Their answers were somewhat noncommittal, mostly consisting of 'eh's and shrugs and the like.
"Hmm. Well, I'm sure that the princesses will always have a place for you if that's what you want. And if not, maybe there's somewhere else you can go? Where do you live?"
"Technically, the Fright Zone," said Kyle. "Which is pretty much Horde central…"
"Oh." Topaz really wished she was better at giving motivational speeches. "How about Earth? Lots of Gems went to live there after the war ended. Maybe you could even find a home at Little Homeworld!"
Lonnie was skeptical. "Isn't that a town for Gems? Plus, moving to a whole other planet seems like a pretty big leap."
"I don't know, from what little I've seen of Earth, it seems like a nice planet," Kyle said. "Not to mention, we don't exactly have anywhere to go."
Rogelio growled again, gesturing to their surroundings.
"Maybe it's a nice place for you, but it's a bit too arid here for us," Lonnie said. She started laughing, with Kyle and Rogelio eventually joining in. Topaz laughed as well, even though she didn't know what was funny.
"So, does that mean you're okay?" asked Topaz.
Lonnie shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, I think we've still got a lot to figure out. Maybe we'll hang around with these princess types for a while to see if joining them's worth it. But yeah, I think we're gonna be alright."
The fusion smiled, happy that her first attempt at counseling had gone so well. "Glad I could help!"
In the dimly-lit halls of his hideaway, Modulok continued to gush over his guest. "I must have gone over your blueprints for a self-regulating intelligence matrix a hundred times! Of course, even then, I've never quite been able to replicate it nearly to your genius. Any robots I've built have turned out a bit…off."
Entrapta eagerly followed him, paying no mind to her surroundings. "I'd be glad to help you out with that!" Seeing as Hordak had defected, and Scorpia had been…banished, it felt good to have a friend who was actually passionate about her work, instead of just seeing it as a means to an end.
"Oh, you truly are too kind," he said. The pair of them reached an open room, where a workbench littered with clutter sat. Mantenna followed them at a distance, watching the newcomer curiously. "But I won't trouble you with that now. I need your expertise for another conundrum."
Also present in the room were numerous giant tubes, each of them containing what was presumably one of Modulok's creations. Some of them resembled humans, at least partially, while others were completely unrecognizable as any known species, on Etheria or otherwise. "You are certainly busy," she said, hiding the nervousness in her voice. "Were all of these…people?"
"Many of them," he admitted casually. "Some came to me looking to be stronger, others were injured beyond the realm of what traditional medicine could fix. In both cases, I have transformed them into something far greater than they could ever be."
This explanation seemed to reassure Entrapta, who was genuinely impressed with his work. "I didn't think it was possible to alter an organism's physiology to such an extent." She walked up to examine the creatures. "How did you manage this?"
"I've developed a few formulas in my time," he said, moving some test tubes on his workbench. "That is why I sent out that signal, incidentally: while much of my expertise lies in genetics, my aptitude with regards to mechanics is lacking. Which is why it is so fortuitous that you've arrived!" He gestured for her to come over, which she did.
On the table was a blueprint for a device of an unidentified nature. Although its exact purpose remained a mystery, something about it was instantly familiar to Entrapta. "Is this…First Ones tech?" she asked.
Modulok was once again impressed. "It certainly is! Excellent eye. You see, this entire facility is powered by some First Ones tech I've managed to scrounge. Unfortunately, due to my aforementioned lack of expertise with mechanics, I've not been able to fully optimize its capacity. If it were to fail, well…I fear what would come of my creations. Now, I apologize if First Ones technology is a bit too complex–"
"Oh, far from it!" Entrapta said excitedly. "In fact, I've done a lot of work relating to their technology recently. I wouldn't call myself an expert on it, but I do know a bit about how it works."
Even though Modulok's teeth were always showing, this time seemed like an actual smile. "I should have expected nothing less. Now, let me explain my conundrum…"
In addition to the many monsters floating in vats, some were ambulatory. Mantenna crept into the room and onto the ceiling, his unblinking eyes fixed on Entrapta. A second creature entered from another doorway, a hulking frame colored sickly green. But she was so transfixed on Modulok's explanation that she paid neither any mind.
"Say, for example, that there was an engagement system with several nodes that could be set into an active position after receiving a certain stimulus. For argument's sake, we'll say there are fifteen or so of them. But they cannot be activated and left–if the stimulus stops for even a moment, they will revert to inactive. I need a way to 'hold' them in the active position so that they all may be activated using only one means of stimulus."
"Sounds like a fairly simple problem," Entrapta said after a moment of thought. "Simple, but not quite easy. Do you have any other information? Size, manner of stimulus, that sort of thing?"
"Not at the moment," Modulok said, trying to shoo away his curious creation, who had taken an interest in his new partner. "For now, let us simply put together a general outline of such a machine, and add more details once it is complete."
It was a tall ask, but challenging problems were that much more fulfilling to overcome. "Let's get started!" said Entrapta. Before she could begin sketching an outline of the device, the larger monster had approached her. It stared at her with its beady eyes, its massive toothy mouth inches from her face. "Uh…hello there."
"Apologies," Modulok said, successfully managing to shoo it away. "Leech is much like Mantenna, he is very curious around newcomers–or, she is." He chuckled. "I can never remember with those two! All I know is that one is male and the other female, but I always forget which is which!"
Entrapta laughed as well. "I'm sure that gets annoying!" The two having shared a laugh, however minor, made her feel even more comfortable around him, even after only knowing him for less than a day. However, their newfound camaraderie reminded her just how much she missed Hordak. For just a moment, her expression fell.
Even though it was brief, Modulok still managed to catch it. "Is something the matter?" he asked her. "I apologize if something I said upset you."
"No, it wasn't you," she said, shaking her head. "It's just…I haven't been able to share my love of science with someone like this for a long time. It seems like anyone who appreciated me either switched sides or…disappeared."
She looked down sadly, only to feel a comforting hand on her shoulder. Despite his fearsome visage and strange appendages, he looked at her with a sense of warmness. "I appreciate you," he said. "I know that can't mean much at this point, but I hope it is worth something."
She smiled. "It means a lot," she said. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Modulok."
"As am I, Entrapta," he said. She didn't notice, but his gaze fell not on her, but on the blueprints she was working on. "As am I."
