Severed [She-Ra 2018]

III: Stranded

The Horde clone that was once Hordak strode through the hallway at a brisk pace, his boots clicking sharply against the floor. He was in a very foul mood.

For several days now, he had begun to feel decidedly unwell. It was hard to place what was wrong. Sometimes he was fine, but other times he felt a strange tingling numbness in his limbs. This morning, he had been walking the corridors as normal when a sudden sharp pain caused him to stagger. He was only grateful none of his brothers were present to see such an obvious display of weakness.

Horde Prime was never afflicted with illness, and all Horde clones were expected to adhere to this standard of perfection. He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers, relieved to see them move as expected despite the odd pins and needles.

Am I... failing?

He wondered if this was what it felt like to die. Even if that were the case, it would not be what killed him in the end. His body would deteriorate to the point he could no longer hide it, and Horde Prime would discard him.

Arriving at his destination, he pushed aside such morbid thoughts and returned his mind to the other problem that consumed most of his time; Entrapta.

The records had no information about her. He had already checked thoroughly. Entrapta was not some valuable prisoner of war, nor was she a trophy from a broken planet. As far as he could see, Horde Prime was merely keeping her on a whim.

There has to be a reason, he thought to himself as he watched her through the barrier.

Entrapta had become much more animated lately. Right now she was pacing along the side of the room, and as he continued to watch, she ran over to the bed, jumped on top of it, and leapt off, arms outstretched as if trying to touch the ceiling. It was a futile effort. The ceiling of the room was well out of reach. Yet when she landed, gazing upward, she was smiling to herself, as if she had made some sort of accomplishment.

Her joy was luminous, like a star shining in the night. It brought that insistent feeling of familiarity that so confused him. Perhaps knowing more about her would give him peace. Whatever she was, Entrapta was always straightforward with him. She would tell him whatever he wanted to know.

He held his hand over the barrier, hesitant. His duty was to guard her cell from the outside, watching her through the barrier to make sure she did not attempt to escape. The only time he was permitted to enter was to give her food. To go inside now would be to defy a direct order from Prime.

The corridors were silent. Through the ever-present drone of the Hivemind in the back of his thoughts, he knew Prime's attention was elsewhere. Embracing the risk, he made his decision.

Her face brightened at the sight of him. "You're back early! Does this mean you remember now?"

Still troubled by his own recklessness, he shook his head. "It is clear to me there is much I do not know," he began awkwardly. "I would be grateful for some answers."

Entrapta watched him with wide-eyed attentiveness.

"I wish to understand more about you," he went on. "Who are you, Entrapta?"

"Me?" she blinked in surprise. "I'm a scientist! I've spent years investigating the ancient technology of the First Ones and integrating it with modern machinery. I used to work in my laboratory in Dryl, but then I was working in the Fright Zone making bots for the Horde, and then I got sent to Beast Island, which had an incredible amount of First One's tech! I could have stayed there forever... but that would have been bad." She paused with a frown, then brightened again. "Oh, and I'm the princess of Dryl! It's a small mining kingdom, mostly just me and the bots I build, but it's probably empty now..."