Past crimes and future threats

At this point, he was glad he is a clone. Thanks to this, he did not attract as much attention to himself as he should have. And he really didn't want to draw anyone's attention to himself. He was, after all, Hordak, the ruler of the Etherian Horde, who had been trying to enslave them all for thirty years in the name of the mad Tyrant. He may have been given from the queen's a break from the self-inflicted punishment, but not from the hatred of the common people of Etheria, nor from the remorse of conscience.

He was fully aware that he deserved their hatred, and that he was almost certainly in no danger. The inhabitants of Etheria were not vengeful and respected their ruler's decisions, but this did not mean that they would forgive him. He didn't deserve to be forgiven. Not after what he did. Even his punishment wasn't enough. In fact, he was happy with his wife and The Child. He was away from all those who remembered him as a tyrant and invader, but he did not forget it. Every day he woke up remembering what he had done to the inhabitants of this planet and thinking how he could atone for his guilt. Perhaps now would be his chance to atone for his actions, but he wasn't sure how much he could trust Shadow Weaver. She was always manipulating him into doing the worst... But she was right when she said the Lord Admiral was dangerous. He saw his soldiers on the streets of Brightmoon, although many were in plain clothes, but others were armed. He knew how to assess the fitness of enemy soldiers, and they looked extremely dangerous. They were slightly less fit and less trained than his brothers, but they were still far better than any of the soldiers he had fought… almost all of them, he couldn't forget about those knights and the monsters that accompanied them. Of course, he was quite young and had not participated in many battles. He suspected that Horde Prime had deliberately sent him to such a risky fight to die because he was a defect, although in a completely different sense than he had always thought. These weren't memories he wanted to go back to. For many years he denied them, but something must have remained, because when he saw Imp, he gave him a name referring to the name of small monsters similar to him that harassed their forces during the fights. He didn't remember it before, only the strange and painful therapy performed by Entrapta allowed him to remember everything, even the things he preferred not to remember. Maybe if she had failed, he wouldn't feel so much remorse now? But it happened well. He didn't deserve to forgot his Crimes.

Nobody stopped him. Neither Brightmoon's guards nor these new soldiers paid him any attention. He was just one of the many clones that traveled across Etheria . The inhabitants of the planet weren't completely used to the presence of his brothers, he supposed that many were still afraid of them, but apart from a few reluctant to the new queen of places like Dryl, no one stopped them. He doubted they would cause him any major problems, after all he had the queen's permission, but he had his mission.

Another thing was that he wasn't sure if he was wise to cooperate with his former right-hand man. If someone found out that he was going to meet his former right-hand man, he would be in big trouble.

At any moment he could report that the Dark Sorceress was hiding somewhere here and might be planning something. Perhaps this way he would even redeem some of his sins and gain the trust of the inhabitants of Etheria. But if what Shadow Weaver said was true... Even now, she hid part of the truth from him. For example, that the Lord Admiral is Catra's father. This changed everything. He had no idea where Shadow Weaver got Catra from , from what Entrapta said, Catra herself didn't know. Of course, both the Dark Sorceress and her former ward could be lying, it wouldn't be the first time they had tried to manipulate one of them. He especially found it hard to believe that Shadow Weaver had no idea about Catra's origins. He would never suspect her of such incompetence... This could all be another conspiracy of hers... But would it make sense? What would she gain by warning him about the Lord Admiral's true nature without telling him that he was Catra's father? He had no idea what she was up to, but he was going to keep an eye out. He won't let himself be deceived again. Never again!

But he had to admit, there was some truth in what Shadow Weaver was saying. The Lord Admiral's soldiers were extremely competent, and if more of them arrived, they could pose a real threat... Much greater than the Horde he had created. But apparently the queen was not concerned about the presence of a foreign army in her lands, although her subjects did not seem to be so open and looked at newcomers from outside the Empire with fear. Could they really be so ridiculously naive as to bring a foreign military here AGAIN? Or was Catra the one who convinced the Queen to work with her father? Maybe she planned with him to overthrow her so"called friends and rule Etheria like she always planned? You could expect the worst from this girl.

to Brightmoon in one of the Horde skimmers that he had designed. Entrapta improved it and now it was much more comfortable to drive. If only they weren't going to Brightmoon ... Although was there one place on Etheria he wanted to go? The city looked strangely colorful and chaotic, although he had to admit it was quite nice. He attempted to take the capital of Etheria for over thirty years , but was here only once, on trial after defeating Horde Prime. The process wasn't too long anyway. He pleaded guilty and then proposed punishment, and everyone agreed, although he supposed he owed a lot to Entrapta, who tirelessly convinced the princesses to give him a chance. However, he never had the opportunity to look at the capital. He and his wife and Child stopped on the outskirts of the city and separated there. His wife was to be present at the ceremony, while he was supposed to watch everything on TV screens. He convinced his wife that it was better for him not to be too close to Catra, which wasn't actually a lie, even though the relationship with his former Second-in-Command was still strained. He felt bad not telling the whole truth to Entrapta, but he had to do it anyway... Even if he was ashamed of it. Not only because this way he had a chance to find redemption. He did it for his family.

He wasn't sure how well Shadow Weaver knew Brightmoon, but she probably could have picked a better place to meet them than the Brightmoon Cemetery ... It mean, in a way, it was a very good place to secretly plot. During this holiday, no one was going to visit the cemetery and there was absolutely no one here. It was quiet here... There was almost no sound of celebration, the festival lights were barely visible. Such things never amused him, so he was glad for the peace here... But it was a cemetery. Cemeteries bothered him. Horde Prime never cared about the lives of his little brothers and didn't bother to bury them. The corpses were recycled and turned into simple proteins useful in creating more clones. He destroyed cemeteries and tombs with the same fury as temples, often desecrating them with fury, and forbade his subjects to honor their dead. Not only because he was jealous of the respect they held for their ancestors, but he did not accept the idea that his subjects could escape him into the afterlife, that there would be some reward for them there, even though they opposed him. For him, the burial sites were disturbing for something else. They reminded him of all those who died because of him. Many of those buried here died during the war he caused. He felt like they were all accusing him. They ask what they had to die for. However, the idea that there is something after death somehow seemed tempting to him. Maybe countless numbers of his fallen brothers found happiness in a better place far from their mad creator, while Prime himself suffered eternal torment in some hell... If he suffered a similar fate to, he could accept it.

Brightmoin Cemetery looked like a park. There were trees and flower bushes everywhere. There were even a few fountains. Among the trees were many statues representing or commemorating the dead. The inhabitants of this kingdom scattered ashes in the ground to connect with the planet. From what he heard from his wife, the inhabitants of Brightmoon, unlike the citizens of Eridani and some of the inhabitants of Icarus, did not have a unified vision of life after death, nor were they afraid of the return of their dead. His wife was fascinated by the idea of the afterlife and took it absolutely seriously, although she treated it in a very scientific way. She even considered building a portal to get there, but she didn't share the idea with anyone. He only found out about it because she was talking in her sleep. This plan was probably somehow related to what happened to her parents, but she didn't tell him much about it either.

In the center of the cemetery was a statue of Queen Angela . Her death also weighed heavily on his conscience. However, he shared this sin with Catra. If she hadn't deceived him, if she hadn't hurt Entrapta ... He gritted his teeth but controlled his emotions. This is where they were supposed to meet. He heard footsteps approaching.

She walked through the streets of Brightmoon , constantly asking herself why she was doing this. She was supposed to meet with Shadow Weaver to help her defend Etheria from an unknown threat. Except she wasn't a hero. She headed a magical college, the largest... maybe not in the Galaxy, but definitely in the region, and she was the Queen's advisor! She was nothing like a warrior! She should have run to Glimmer with all this ... but then she and Catra would have imprison Shadow Weaver without even trying to listen. And it would be worth finding out what she has to say... She met the Dark Sorceress during their joint expedition during the occupation, when they were investigating the secret of She"Ra, and although this woman was evil through but there was something more to her, some sadness and bitterness making it impossible for her to completely hate her back then... Of course, that was before she learned the truth about Mikah being sent to Beast Island by her. How could she not hate her for how she hurt her family. For so many years she blamed her and she should have been blamed! Only now, after what she had learned, she didn't feel hatred, but rather anger and frustration. And fatigue. She was very tired. Since Nightgale had to resign from her position as her assistant, she had to take care of everything herself. She slept four hours a day, or rather tossed and turned, because whenever she closed her eyes she saw endless lists of orders and charts showing the arrangement of guests. Sometimes she fell asleep standing up. Once, while gazing at the beautiful view beyond the railing of the balcony, she almost fell out of it when she unconsciously fell asleep.

But she didn't blame Nightgale for wanting to get as far away from it all as possible. The arrival of Catra's Father was surprising, to say the least. The Lord Admiral seemed to be a decent man. She couldn't say a bad word about him. He was admired and respected, and Catra had every right to be proud of being part of such a family. If she was interested in such things, she would be fascinated by him. But his entourage… They were really annoying people. This Shirren Girl didn't bother her as long as she bothered Entrapta, the inventor princess seemed to enjoy her company, but when she returned home, the insectoid clung to her. She kept taking pictures of her with her Datapad and asking what the situation was with the local web... She mistook her for a fisherman or a spider? She also once stated that her grandfather, apparently a priest of some Hylax , knew much cooler spells than the local mystics. Cooler spells! How dare she! They think that when she found herself

She found herself in a graveyard, a very strange choice for a meeting place, though considering it was made by Shadow Weaver, there was some logic to it. Being here on a night, even a night like this, made her anxious. She remembered her not so long ago encounter with that not-dead bloodsucker . Maybe she should ask Antares's subordinates about these monsters. Maybe she will find out that they were exterminated in the galaxy a long time ago, and they killed the last of them, although if you think about it, she wouldn't want to hear it. She was so absorbed in this thought that she didn't notice the tall, hooded figure who was waiting at the meeting point turned towards her. She inhaled with a hiss. It was Hordak! He set a trap for her here with Shadow Weaver! She should have expected something like this! The former ruler of the Etherian Horde smiled grimly and said.

"So this was all just a trap for me? A provocation to prove that I cannot be trusted." His voice was reproachful and painful.

"You set a trap for me!" She screamed full of rage.

"No one has set a trap for anyone here, although the situation is quite funny." a third voice said with amusement. Her brother emerged from the shadows, smiling sadly.

„What is going on here?" Hordak asked angrily. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she shared his feelings. Mikah smiled and said.

„It's just that Shadow Weaver called us here one at a time and now she's probably secretly observing what we're doing... Or she didn't want the one of us who changed our mind to betray the others..."

Hordak nodded in agreement. He seemed more relaxed than before. Well, I guess the fact that the Queen's father and aunt attended the same meeting as him absolved him... Maybe he was right. What the best thing they did! They were conspiring behind Glimmer's back... Her own family!

„What did she tell you?" asked the former ruler of the Etherian Horde. The amusement disappeared from her brother's face.

„She said that Angie ... Queen Angela... is alive... And I know she's telling the truth in this one case... I've talked to others who have met her... „ he said in a very sad voice. Both she and the former leader of the Fright Zone looked at him in surprise, but Hordak seemed happy to hear what her brother had said… strange.

„Does Glimmer know about this? Have you told her about this?" she asked. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't do it. It was wonderful news. She would make Glimmer and Catra very happy ! All the inhabitants of the Kingdom! She would make this beautiful day even more beautiful! A spasm of Pain flashed across Mikah's face .

„Glimmer and her friends already know about it... I'm not surprised they didn't tell anyone about it. Angela met Adora on Icarus and... tried to kill her... And also tried burn the entire city...„ he said, telling her part of the story of his wife, or rather Captain Moonshadow as he knew it. As she listened to his story, she slowly felt the terror wash over her.

„But it's impossible! No, Angela! She was always so strong and good... „ she said in a low voice.

„ Memory shapes our image of ourselves and the world. However, it can be easily distorted. I know something about this. " Hordak said, and she thought she heard sympathy in his voice.

"Maybe the Lord Admiral will help us... He and his fleet could..." she started, but the former ruler of Etherian Hor snorted and said.

"I wouldn't count on Him... According to what Shadow Weaver said, he's worse than my brother." he told them about what he had learned from Shadow Weaver about the Lord Admiral.

„She just didn't tell me that he was Catra's father... I don't know if she didn't know about it or if she preferred to hide it from me."

„She probably didn't know. I guess even the Lord Admiral only recently discovered the truth." she said quietly and was about to tell about what she learned from the dark Sorceress when she heard loud and hurried footsteps, and from the darkness, a dark-skinned and silver-haired woman, Saihe , who had previously accompanied Shadow Weaver, came running out of the darkness, panting loudly.

„Hello, Shadow Weaver ex-boy-and-girl-friends" She panted.

„We are not…„ they shouted at the same time, but she interrupted them.

„Yes, I know, I'm just kidding... Maybe not exactly in the case of Fake Wrongdak, but more on that later. For now, I just came to let you know that Shadow Weaver can't come due to some problems."

She walked through the streets of Brightmoon as unnoticed as before. There was still something unsettling about it, although the crowds were so happy with the ongoing fun that it wasn't surprising. Beside her, Wrongdak and Ireanis walked behind her, clone had a grim face. Once again, she explained to the silver-haired sorceress what to say if for some reason she could not go to meet her potential allies. Even sober, the Sorceress from lost Golarion was scatterbrained and chaotic, but not as stupid as she once thought she was, although maybe she looked at others differently when sober? I guess that was one of the many advantages of not drinking anymore... She saw others as people, not annoying obstacles. Of course, it didn't change the fact, she was very thirsty, especially before meeting her old friends. She wanted so much to feel the fire in her veins again, but she knew very well that she couldn't do it... She had to be sober for all those she had hurt...

When she saw that the wedding report was showing on the big screens, she stopped to watch the event. Almost all the inhabitants of the city did the same. Glimmer and her Boyfriend, as well as Catra and Adora, looked beautiful. They also seemed so happy, completely unaware of the evil that surrounded them... The Lord Admiral looked so dignified that even she found it hard to believe that he was such a monster as her young companions described him. But she had no doubt that they weren't wrong. She knew well how easy it was to hide the face of a monster behind a mask of nobility...

That's why she didn't slow down, heading towards Brightmoon Cemetery, where she was supposed to meet the rest of her co-conspirators. They had to meet because this was the only way she could protect Etheria from evil, even though she was aware that she had just brought another evil to her planet. One glance at Lady Cali's cold smile was enough . But before she got there, someone called out to her in a language she hadn't heard in years.

„Stop Light Spinner!"

She closed her eyes, wondering how she could be so unlucky. However, when she turned around, a mocking smile appeared on her face,

„Hi, sister„ she said to a tall woman in armor made of the shells of huge insects. Several other Storm Riders appeared around and somehow smuggled weapons into the party. The Storm Riders were the elite military force of the Isles of Sorrow, a quasi-religious order sworn to protect their sacred homeland from foreign corruption. Storm Heart was trained from childhood to become the Storm Guardian, the supreme commander of the entire order.

„You have no right to address me like that! Not after you abandoned your family and fled to foreign countries!" the warrior growled. She felt like she wanted to laugh.

„Are you really accusing me of this? For all the crimes I've committed, you're telling me the only thing in my miserable life I have a right to be proud of? You are ridiculous! – she growled. Her sister tightened her grip on the handle of the Glaive. The visible part of her face showed rage.

„You're coming with me... „ she drawled. At that moment she realized that in the seventy years since she left her motherland, her sister had also changed, she was furious with Light Spinner , even though she had been dead for a long time, just as Mikah had once told her .

She looked around. Ireanis and Wrongdak looked at them in confusion. The clone probably had absolutely no idea what was going on, but Ireanis roughly understood what they were talking about, after all, the rain speech was a heavily distorted version of Elvish. They were off the beaten path, under a large tree with blue leaves. If they chose to resist, they would almost certainly be able to defeat her sister and the Storm Guardians. After all, they were powerful sorceresses, experienced in combat, although Ireanis was much more experienced in this field than she was. However, a fight would attract the attention of everyone gathered at the festival, and it was highly likely that Mr. Wrongdak would be injured or even killed. Many bystanders could suffer a similar fate. She sighed, it wasn't easy when she cared about others.

„Ireanis, you and Mr. Wrongdak will go to the meeting place. I'm having a serious family conversation." she said and followed her sister, feeling that it would end badly.

Damn, why did Shadow Weaver have to trust her anyway? She was just a stupid drunk who had nothing of value to say, and now the fate of Etheria , and maybe even the entire universe, rested on her shoulders! It was completely out of character for her! She wanted to get drunk now, she hadn't been sober for that long in years! Her hands were shaking, she was alternately hot and cold, her muscles and joints ached… Did she really have to do this sober?

Shadow Weaver's three friends staring at her doubtfully didn't help her nerves at all... But she could have taken Wrongdak with her instead of leaving him to guard the entrance so they wouldn't be disturbed. The Clone had been glum since they left that strange castle, maybe he would be happy to talk to his Brother... She had to admit that Hordak was much less attractive than his brother, so grumpy and sour. With Wrongdak she would go for a drink... No! She would go with him for cake and coffee at the pastry shop, but there was no point in talking to this gloomy man... What was she thinking about? She guess they wanted something from her, she should have answered them, right? She cleared her throat and asked.

„You said something to me and I drifted off, right?" she smiled, the siblings exchanged glances, and Hordak snorted in irritation.

„Is she always like this?" Wrongdak's brother asked

„ I think so, she caused some terrible monster to appear at school, some kind of vulture-man, just scary, mean and wanted to kill the students. She helped defeat him, but it was still very dangerous...„ Castaspella explained with a gloomy face. She nervously straightened her hair.

„I thought I'd summon Quasit or Imp" she defended herself. When the word Imp was mentioned, Hordak flinched.

„She managed to imprison me with a stone hand, so at least she can do magic." Mikah said thoughtfully. "Tell me what Shadow Weaver told you to tell me."

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began to speak loudly and confidently.

„You need to find the Ruins of Umbracor to secure the Stelarium , determine the location of a place called Xadia and find the Sword that Cuts Worlds there, thanks to which we will find Eternia ... Otherwise the First Ones will come here and destroy Etheria sending the Swarm, and Lord Admiral Antares is a fucking son of a bitch, for what I can personally vouch for it... „ she exhaled loudly and smiled smugly, because she probably hadn't made a mistake. All three of them looked at her in disbelief.

„My Brother... Horde Prime destroyed the First Ones, nothing remained of them." Hordak said in a gloomy voice. Unlike his cool brother, he was always gloomy. Mikah scratched his chin.

„As you know, your brother said many things, and few of them were true. Someone must have sent Adora, and they didn't do it for good intentionss, but only to activate the Heart of Etheri for an obvious purpose." Said the concerned wizard.

„The Lord Admiral mentioned this Swarm, I think he even fought with it, although I don't know. What connection could it have with the First Ones?" Castaspella asked. Ireanis shrugged.

„I don't know much about the First Ones... But when it comes to the Hive, I can show you a little something." she said and cast the spell she had been preparing for the last few days. The cemetery is gone. The audience saw a scene created using illusion, she showed them Kesler. Golden fields and green meadows, people working hard but honestly. Then flames filled the sky and dozens of ships, huge and organic, began to break into the atmosphere. The scene changed to a battlefield, where a modern army armed with tanks and mechs faced countless numbers of insectoid Swarmmonsters. Although they killed dozens and hundreds of beasts, their resistance was broken because the enemy not only had virtually unlimited resources, but also his soldiers fought as one. Mikah and Castaspella watched in horror as they had never seen such a war, and Hordak was terrified as he had been in it many times before. Then they saw a burning city. The buildings were ruined and there were corpses in the streets, but there weren't many of them. They saw the bugs taking them and devouring them. Suddenly, an incredibly bright light flashed on the horizon and a nuclear explosion appeared before their eyes. The scene changed again. What they saw was the dead shell of a planet, the corpse of a world devoured by the Swarm...

Then the scene faded and they stood alone in the cemetery. They stared ahead in silence for a moment, transfixed by what they saw. Finally, Mikah spoke.

„I was going to go to the Umbracor Ruins anyway . I'll take you with me."

„I'm not allowed to leave the Island." Hordak noticed, but the wizard waved his hand.

„I'll convince Glimmer to give you a pass. I'll tell her the truth. I need you to do some research. Are you going to, Casta?

His sister nodded.

„Yes, I have to do this for all of us, even though I'm not good at discovering ancient secrets. Are you coming with us too?" the Head Sorceress said to her. She smiled at them and said.

„I am a war sorceress from Nantambu. I betrayed all my comrades in the unit. I recently decided to redeem myself by trying to help the inhabitants of this planet."

As she finished making her promise, an alarm sounded.