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A name. That's what had set Hordak apart from the rest of his kind. What had helped him choose a life for himself, what had helped him build his empire in the first place. It was his name that had also inspired him to change, to grow away from that life of conquest.
And now, he hoped to one day help the rest of his kind break free as he did. Their master, Horde Prime was dead now and their species, their race, had a new beginning.
But for now, Hordak was still in the process of building a more peaceful life for himself, with Entrapta. He owed a lot to the princess. She'd helped to cure the process for which his brother had banished him for, she'd helped him see the wrongs and now... she'd given him the greatest gift of all, love.
Sure, they were probably the oddest couple in Etheria's history, no one was denying that, but Hordak was happy with this life, living in Dryl with Entrapta and her many robots. Oh and Wrong Hordak.
Hordak hadn't known what to think of him at first. He was glad another of his kind had broken free, but apart from that... he didn't know what he should be to him? A fellow brother, an equal? Or perhaps taking on the role of a parent, to guide the young clone on his better path in life.
At any rate, Hordak decided to be close to his duplicate. After all, Entrapta had shown him kindness and compassion, something he should, in turn, give to others. The two of them were currently working on some repairs to the equipment in Entrapta's lab.
She'd been experimenting with the First One's tech again and of course, it had blown up in her face. Hordak didn't mind cleaning up after his girlfriend. He was honestly very eager to do anything to make her happy. Heck, he was even starting to like the tiny food she loved to eat.
As Hordak was pulling out some charred wires from a damaged control console, his brother looked over at him.
"Brother?" he wondered. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course brother," Hordak replied. "Provided I have the answer to it."
"What is the purpose of... being different?"
Hordak looked over at his brother, confused. "What do you mean by... being different?"
"Well, even though we are both clones of Horde Prime, you look much different than me. Your hair and eyes are a different colour and your armour is of a different colour than mine. Is there... any purpose for that?"
Turning around, Hordak thought for a moment. He... hadn't given much chance to think on it himself. His hair and eye colour had been the result of his own deterioration, something that had returned, even with his genetic defects fixed. And his armour... well it had served to be imposing, fitting for a warlord... something he wanted to put behind himself now.
"I suppose, the purpose is to be different is to show how unique you are," Hordak theorised. "I don't understand it fully myself, but the more we are different from each other, the more we become our own person. Choosing a name, an appearance, a style, it helps to define who we are."
"And what do you define yourself as?"
"Hordak," he recited. "I am Hordak, former leader of the Etherian Horde. I chose to be that... but now I have chosen to be a better person, to be with Entrapta."
"And I am Wrong Hordak... but I never got much chance to choose my own destiny. Nor my name, nor my appearance for that matter."
"You chose to rebel, brother," Hordak told him. "You chose to help Entrapta when she freed you from Prime. You made a choice to stay with her after seeing what a false ruler our former master was."
Both Hordaks were silent, Wrong Hordak heeding his brother's words. Yes, he had made that choice but since then... he hadn't really done much deciding for himself. In a way... Hordak was what he was aspiring to be. Someone like him who had broken free and chosen a life for themself.
And then he decided.
"Brother... I need a name"
"What?"
"I... I need a name,"
"A name?" Hordak wondered. "But you already have one."
"I did not choose it," his brother reminded him. "I... I would like a name that is really my own. Besides, I feel people may be confusing us due to our shared name."
His brother had a point. The only reason why he'd been named Wrong Hordak... was literally because he was the wrong Hordak that Entrapta had found. And it was an ill-fitting name at that. Especially since Wrong Hordak had never done anything wrong.
Pondering for a few moments, Hordak thought about possible names to suggest to his brother. It was his decision in the end, but Hordak wanted to help as best as he could. He remembered when he had taken his own name and wore it as a badge of honour.
"Uhhhh... Kadroh?"
Wrong Hordak blinked. "What's that?"
"My name... spelt backwards." Hordak felt a bit embarrassed. "You don't have to use it if you don't want to. It is your choice at the end of the day."
"I LOVE IT!"
Wrong Hordak jumped up and down, grinning brightly. He'd never felt so happy. Finally, he had a name to his own, a name that showed that he was his own being. He was Wrong Hordak no longer. For now, he was... Kadroh, brother of Hordak.
"I AM KADROH!" he shouted. "Oh, thank you, brother! I am going to tell all the others this wonderful news."
"You are... um, welcome," Hordak replied, a little lost for words.
As Kadroh rushed out of the room, Entrapta looked in around the corner of the door, a little confused as well.
"Um, Hordak, what was all that about?"
Hordak smiled at his girlfriend. "Oh, nothing. Just helping my dear brother find himself."
"Awwww, how sweet of you!"
The former tyrant continued to smile, thinking about his brother running around, telling everyone about his new name. Because now he was content knowing another one of his kind can fully feel the joy of being an individual. Perhaps he could help the rest of his kind find names as well.
xXx
Author's note: Okay, so this was something I definitely did not plan on writing or publishing today at all. But you know what? I'm glad I did, because this was actually pretty fun to write. And yes, I do ship Entrapdak. Special thanks to the folks one of the new She-Ra discord servers I joined for helping to inspire this little story.
See you next time!