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"Entrapta...?"
Normally, at this time of night, the air would be filled with maniacal giggles as his vivacious lab partner would storm the halls, tiny cupcakes in hand - in hair ? - as she would request that Hordak try one. Hordak always refused, given that he took no particular joy in partaking in the sickly sweet treat, but it had become a nightly routine. Even if she had been too overzealous in her attempts to get him to try her Etherian delicacies - even if, perhaps, it annoyed him - he acknowledged the joy it brought to her. He became familiar with the way she smiled, her eyes beaming as she would ask, "Awe, are you sure ? I don't mind sharing !!" before devouring two, maybe four, of the tiny sweets before they would walk together and depart to sleep in their respective rooms.
But, tonight, there was silence. No laughter, no explosions of failed experiments, nothing filled the halls that Hordak had come to claim as his home. The silence was deafening. His ears slowly drooped as he scrunched his brow, becoming almost irritated with the break from routine.
"Princess ?"
He poked his head around the corners of the lab he exited from, looking for a familiar glint of lilac. Was she hiding in the air vents again ? It had been a long time since she had resorted to such matters but, with Entrapta, there was always the possibility... His face relaxed as he held his hands together behind his back, thinking to himself that she will surely show up soon, and even if she hadn't, it wouldn't affect his personal schedule. They were two different entities, after all. Maybe she went off to bed without him or decided she would stay up a bit late to work on a personal project. She was a dedicated scientist, after all, so why would it be so unreasonable to think she wouldn't rush over just to share her treats or excitedly report any new findings she may have made ?
Hordak had then turned so that he could reenter the lab in which that he left, stopping just before he passed through the door. He found himself furrowing his brow once more. No. She simply wouldn't go off by herself, not without letting him know, the entire time he had taken residence within Dryl she ALWAYS made a point to visit him at night, it was simply not befitting of her to suddenly break routine and decide to be on her own now. In the midst of his rising frustration, he heard a familiar metallic pattering down the halls. His ears perked, he turned his head towards the sound, and found Entrapta's beloved Emily, running at him full speed.
Emily was running so fast, in fact, she nearly ran into the man. Once she regained her balance, she frantically raised and lowered herself, beeping wildly, lights flashing as to make a scene.
"Emily, where is Entrapta ?" Hordak was familiar enough with Emily, at this point, to know that something was wrong. While Emily was a particularly hyper robot, she seemed to be desperately trying to communicate something to him. Did someone infiltrate Dryl in an attempt to harm Entrapta ? There was peace on Etheria now, true peace, who would dare enter their home and bring harm upon them ? Upon her ? How could he be so careless as to allow something to happen ? As thoughts of worry ran through his mind, Emily began to play an audio tape. Through the static of Emily's faulty recording, he could make out muffled sobs and a familiar voice faintly call out, "Please don't leave me." The pitiful cries caused Hordak to stiffen in posture, immediately understanding the nature of the problem. Entrapta was hurting but by no outside threat. His eyes turned downcast to Emily, speaking as though he was once again the leader of a great army. "Take me to her."
Emily had turned around and continued to run at the same panicked, frantic pace as she had before - Hordak followed, his strides great as he held his arms behind his back, easily keeping up with the robotic being before him. Through living with Entrapta and having more of an intimate understanding of her character, he became familiarized with her mental state. She was bubbly and cheerful, yes, but behind her uplifting and chaotic demeanor, she held a great sadness in her heart. She was delicate, and often did not know how to properly convey her feelings. Though she was able to help others sort their feelings very well, she struggled with her own, and would rarely bring up her pain to others unless under great duress. She had made significant progress in telling Hordak what was going on and with what she struggled with, but there were some things she just couldn't talk about, some times she couldn't reach out. Emily approaching him about this was new, however. He could only imagine what must be happening if her companion saw no other choice but to find Hordak and bring him to her as soon as possible. He found himself at a sudden stop in front of Entrapta's bedroom door. Emily looked at him eagerly, but refused to move forward. "...Thank you, Emily." His tone had softened as he reached his hand down, giving the robot a small pat on the head before he glided through the door. The door promptly closed behind him, leaving Emily to her own devices. She stared at it for a moment before laying down, calm that her task was now complete.
Once inside her quarters, Hordak found his dear friend huddled up on her bed, her hair encasing her almost akin to that of a makeshift blanket. She laid on her side, quiet sobs echoing throughout the room. He tried to speak softly, as to not intimidate her. "Entrapta...? Entrapta, are you alright ?" He could faintly hear his name being called, her voice muddled and strained. He took this as permission to sit beside her, careful not to sit on her hair. As he sat down, Entrapta slowly unraveled herself, exposing her tear stained face. Her eyes were red from her sobs, small bits of hair clinging to her cheeks, stuck on from her tears. She looked up at him weakly, desperately trying to not break down in tears once again.
"Entrapta, what's wro-" Hordak's words were cut off by her suddenly reaching out for him, arms wrapped around his torso as she buried her face in his chest. He was taken aback by the sudden movement, but put his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. She felt so delicate in his arms, he almost felt as if he would break her if he held her too tightly. He decided to hold her, silently, until she decided to speak. He began to run his fingers through her hair, stroking her head as to calm her, as he had many times before. He could feel the wetness from her face seep through his shirt, snotty sniffles filling the air.
After a moment, she pulled her face away from his chest. Almost laughing, she began to speak. "I'm making a mess all over your tunic..."
"I don't care." He spoke matter-of-factly, unmoved by such trivial matters. He watched her expression closely, waiting for her to speak. She smiled softly, tears running down her cheeks. Her smile slowly down turned, her eyes not meeting his gaze. After another moment in the safety of silence, she began to speak.
"I...I was getting ready to bring over some cupcakes for you to try. I made them, this time... I wanted to try to follow his recipe. The one's the baker makes, they're just not the same. I wanted to try for myself, just to see if I could make them, and when I tried one it just...It brought me back. It made me think of him again. Then I just started crying, and I couldn't stop. I tried to calm myself down, but I just...couldn't."
Hordak tried to mask his confusion, unfamiliar with who and what she was talking about. "Who's recipe ?"
"My father's." The mere utterance of those words once again brought tears to her eyes. She visibly struggled to not cry, choking back sobs.
Hordak was caught off guard. Her...father ? Entrapta had never spoken of her parents before. He was familiar with the fact that they had been absent since she was young, but he didn't think much of it at the time. He didn't know it hurt her this much.
"...What happened to your father ?" He spoke barely above a whisper, his eyes locked on her expression. He didn't want to unintentionally harm her, especially not when she was already in pain.
Entrapta closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She stayed silent for a moment before shifting her weight, choosing to sit cross legged in front of him. She opened her eyes, but kept her gaze cast downward as she began to recall her family's history. "My parents... they were both great scientists. My mother was primarily interested in extraterrestrial life and my father was an inventor. He built most of this castle - he drew up the blueprints for Emily. We were supposed to build her together. But he..." Entrapta choked on her words, her eyes rapidly shifting as tears built up in her eyes once more. Hordak held out his hand to her, and she promptly took it, holding it between both of her hands as she took another breath, stabilizing her voice. "...He was gone before we got to build her together. My mother, she wanted a space ship - she had reason to believe there was extraterrestrial life on a nearby planet, and she wanted to explore it for herself. With the help of my father, they could build it together. They just needed a strong enough power source. And my father found it - and on Etheria ! But...If his calculations were correct, the only place they could get the power source they needed would have been on Beast Island." Entrapta smiled weakly to herself. "I just knew he was right. It was all there. Everything he imagined and more."
Hordak recalled that Entrapta, herself, was sent to Beast Island. Anger burned inside of him as he remembered the events in which she was sent to that very prison. He would never fully forgive Catra for betraying them both for an act of selfish desire. How she manipulated him for so long. He tried to hide his anger before prompting Entrapta to further elaborate, nodding his head in understanding. "Your father seemed to be a very intelligent man."
"Yes." Her smile broadened. "He was. ...My father and mother both understood the danger of going to Beast Island. They wanted to pursue knowledge, it was their life's work...But they couldn't risk something happening to me. My father didn't want me to be alone if something happened, so he left for Beast Island first. My mother waited to hear from him, to see him come home, but...he never did. Everyone began to tell her that he was dead, and that it was careless for him to have gone at all. But my mother was sure he was right, she believed in him and in his calculations, so she..." Entrapta again paused, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Hordak listened intently, his ears alert as he observed her. He could tell this was difficult for her to talk about - the mixture of grief, remorse for their actions, yet conflicted due to the pride of her parent's work. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with, albeit for different reasons. He thought of Horde Prime for a moment before refocusing on Entrapta, eager to keep his attention on her. "So, she headed off for Beast Island. She promised me she would be back with my father soon, but I never heard from either of them again." Though Hordak could already figure where the story was leading, the bluntness of Entrapta's words cut through the room. He looked at her and was surprised that he didn't see a scrunched up face or tears, he saw...nothing at all. A blank expression cast over her face as her eyes were glued to the bed. He felt unease for a moment, concerned about Entrapta's wellbeing before she continued.
"I waited....and waited, and waited, and they never came back home. I built Emily all by myself - I wanted them to be proud when they came back together. I wanted my father to come back home and smile at me, telling me I did a great job. I wanted us to all make cupcakes together to celebrate before heading off to continue their work. I wanted...I wanted my family." Hordak's ears dropped as he heard Entrapta's voice begin to quake, her expression changing to pangs of pain and frustration. "Eventually, other kingdoms took notice. A young princess, all on her own, her parents off and gone...They wanted to help and sent over servants to help maintain the castle, to help take care of me. They were nice, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I studied over their notes, I used the technology they created, I made a family out of the robots they left behind. I was able to find their clothes, their books, my father's recipes...I treasured everything I was able to find. Eventually, I healed from that loss. Yes, it hurt me, yes, I missed them, but the best thing I could do was keep their image alive. Keep building, keep creating, pursue the knowledge they set their lives up to find. Keep learning in their name. Keep learning for me.
"I was alone, but it didn't bother me. I was never good at talking to people, they never understood me or my intentions...They never made sense to me, either. The princesses approached me about the alliance, and while they were nice, we didn't...mesh well. I tried to be a good friend, but I kept messing up. No one understood me. But...I eventually met you, and I found a friend in you. You saw me and understood me - you still do, better than anyone else. So when that was all taken away, when I was all alone again..." Entrapta's words seemed to grow panicked, her chest heaving as she now spoke. Hordak sat upright, surprised at the sudden turn of conversation. He recognized her panic and wanted to help ease her, but could tell this was something she needed to talk about. While alert, he watched as she continued. "I was all alone, and I was there, on Beast Island. After all this time, being so afraid of what happened to them, and now, I was standing in the middle of it. What if I found them ? Or worse, what if I didn't ? What would I do ? I would have so many great things to tell them - I could tell them about you, about Emily, and we could all go back home. But they weren't there. I was scared I was going to die,trapped there, just like them. I found Micah, but I couldn't simply stay with him - I had to know. I had to find them, or at least something to prove that their efforts were worth it. And I did ! I found all of that First Ones tech, all of that information - it was incredible. It was powerful. It meant...it meant their efforts had meaning. That I had meaning. But what good was it all now...? My parents were gone, I lost all of my friends, I thought....I thought you left me, I was all alone again and I couldn't handle it anymore." Tears overflowed from her eyes and drenched her face, her breathing now erratic as her cheeks began to flush. "I found beautiful technology, but I was attacked, I was starving, I was afraid... What if I was going to die there, all alone ? What if no one ever found me ?"
Hordak couldn't stand to watch anymore as Entrapta fell apart in front of him. He quickly swooped her up into his arms, holding her tightly against him. She gripped around him, her fingers pushing into his back as her cries turned to sobs. She trembled in his arms, finding comfort as she buried her face within his chest. Hordak began to stroke her head, running his fingers through her hair to ease her once more. Her hair curled around him, seeming to grip at him to pull him closer than physically possible. Hordak continued to hold her in silence, stroking her head as she slowly, but surely, calmed down. Her breathing slowed and her tears eventually stopped, though she would occasionally hic and sniffle.
Hordak held her closely as he processed everything she had told him. The pain of losing her parents, of wanting to keep their message and dream alive, to make them proud. The isolation of being an outcast, of being "defected". The fear and pain of being alone, to never find someone who understood who you were or what you were trying to say. To forever be stuck within the limbo of being lonely but peaceful or to struggle with the qualms of friendship, of love - what it feels like to have that choice ripped away from you against your will. What it feels like to be entirely and utterly alone. He understood her words very well, more than he could describe in that moment. He stared off into the distance, stroking her back until she seemed to be alright. "...Entrapta. I am surprised to find this weakness in you." He stopped, collecting his thoughts for a moment before he moved so that he could look Entrapta in the face. "No. Not weakness. This strength." Entrapta met his gaze, listening closely to his words. "You have been through so much and have been handling all of this on your own. You possess the strength to face these trials and persevere regardless of them. To have been able to face this on your own, to be able to admit that you were afraid, and to power through all of it to make it to where you are today is powerful. You are worthy, and you are strong."
Entrapta smiled at him, tackling him into a hug. "Thank you."
"You are welcome."
"....Hordak ?"
"Yes, Entrapta ?"
She released her grasp upon him, looking up at him with a bright and beaming smile. "Would you like to try a cupcake...? I still have some in the kitchen."
Hordak huffed, dawning a small smile on his face. "Yes. I would be honored, Entrapta."