Work Text:
Catra is going to kill Adora’s friends.
Provided that Hordak doesn’t kill her first.
The ex-warlord had vanished with Entrapta at some point during the celebration. No one was actually worried he’d gone far, but everyone felt better having him in sight - especially as the day approached evening. Of course, no one wanted the job of telling him that, so they had devised a way to determine who went.
Something called ‘ nose goes ’ which was as ridiculous a name as it was in practice and, what’s more, something only Catra had been unfamiliar with. It was no wonder she had lost, and now here she is. About to die.
(“Come on,” Bow had said when she brought this up. “It makes sense anyway; you're the one of us he knows best.”
“Yeah and that’s how I know he’s going to kill me,” she growled. “We didn’t exactly part on stellar terms.”
“And you’ve both been through a lot since then,” Glimmer pointed out. When Catra made a disbelieving noise, the queen shrugged and tried again. “Entrapta won’t let him hurt you. Probably.”
That’s the best assurance they’ve got.)
Catra moves slowly around the edges of a forest that had not been there only a few hours ago, debating climbing one of the large trees sprung from newly released magic. Surprising the couple probably won’t get her in anyone’s good graces, but she wants to gauge Hordak’s mood before she says or does anything.
To be fair to Glimmer, there is a decent chance that Catra’s two former allies (well, reinstated ally in Entrapta’s case) will be caught up enough in each other to not be too soured by her interruption. She knows that she’s still riding the high of Adora surviving. Of Adora staying. Of Adora loving her back . She doesn’t expect that giddy feeling in her chest to go away anytime soon and as unreal as it is to think about Hordak of all people having those kinds of feelings for anyone, Catra had seen the way Entrapta’s “betrayal” had affected him. She knows how it must feel to be reunited with her.
(Of course, Catra is why they were separated to begin with and so maybe she shouldn’t expect any good will and why did everyone think it was a good idea to send her again?)
She’s nearly convinced herself to turn back and send Scorpia in her place when she hears Entrapta’s voice. She can’t make out the words but it’s definitely her fast-paced stream-of-consciousness turn of phrase. Catra rapidly weighs her options and opts for observing the two of them first. She launches herself into the tree nearest to her, scrabbling to the lowest sturdy branch where she is comfortable and hidden.
They’re sitting at the base of a tree several feet away. Entrapta isn’t in Hordak’s lap, exactly, but she isn’t not in Hordak’s lap either. She’s crouched between his legs, her hands and hair prodding at the traditional clone robes, inspecting them in a way that - even from a distance - Catra can tell is purely scientific. If the garment is anything like what Catra had been given when under Prime’s control, it’s sturdy and highly reinforced but by no means could it be called armor, certainly not in comparison to what Hordak had worn before.
“- sure you’re just tired?” Entrapta is saying.
“I am certain,” Hordak says. His voice is its usual monotone, if oddly soft around the edges. There’s a short pause and then he adds, “For now.”
“You’re only certain for now? No, wait, you’re ‘ only tired’ for now?” Catra can’t see Entrapta’s eyes narrow but can picture it perfectly; the princess’s thinking face. “This has happened before, hasn’t it? When you first landed in Etheria, there was some time before you felt the full degradation of your body.”
Hordak tenses, but he doesn’t snap at her as might have been expected. “There are… supplements given to Prime’s clones, used to make us less susceptible to pain, to exhaustion. More doses were given to those expected to be in the field, but none were without it. It is in part how I was able to manage my defect long enough to be a ranking general.”
Entrapta doesn’t say anything to that, only shifts so she is even more in his lap than she was before, no longer even pretending to study his attire - though she does continue to run her gloved fingers over his collar in an absent-minded caress.
After another pause (Catra thinks she sees him sigh; the very picture of uncharacteristic contentment), Hordak continues. “For most, losing it will mean a sudden loss of energy. They may need to rebuild stamina over time, as well as learn how to navigate more intense physical sensations. I imagine your- ah- Wrong Hordak will be one of the first to feel the withdrawal, if you wish to study it.”
She perks up at the mention of scientific endeavors, but sobers an instant later. “But you’ll be in pain again?” Hordak looks away, which is answer enough. “How long will it be before the agent wears off? We still have the crystal so it wouldn’t take too long to rebuild your suit - I’d just need some materials. We probably shouldn’t leave for the Fright Zone now, but in the morning-”
Hordak grunts dismissively, the most like him Catra’s heard him yet. “You believe the princesses would simply allow my return to the Fright Zone?”
“I don’t see why not,” Entrapta says in that straightforward way of hers. “You don’t exactly have an army to command even if you wanted to - and I would be with you, of course.”
He bristles further. “Given that you are- were- given our time as partners, your presence is perhaps not the reassurance you expect it to be.”
“Oh,” Entrapta says, visibly wilting. “You don’t think they’ll trust me?”
It’s almost endearing, watching an immediately flustered Hordak trip over himself to placate the tiny princess in his lap. “I was- that is not what- I-” He clears his throat. “I did not mean to imply that you have not built a strong allegiance with them in the time we were apart. Obviously, you will know their reactions better than I can guess.”
“No, you- you may have a point,” she says, so quiet that Catra nearly misses it. “I can’t say I truly know how the princesses will react; they don’t always say what they mean, or react in ways that correlate to how they really feel. There is no small degree of guesswork in any of my conversations with them.”
She brightens suddenly. “Not having to guess is something I missed most about you,” she adds, her tone once again both perky and matter-of-fact. Hordak actually blushes , suddenly interested in looking at anything but her.
“I- ah, I have also-” He goes suddenly silent and still - and Catra realizes a second too late that in avoiding eye-contact with Entrapta, he’s now caught sight of her.
No point in hiding it , she thinks (alongside several long and creative curses) and drops from the tree before he can do more than snarl.
“Hiii Catra!” Entrapta says, unphased both by Catra’s sudden appearance and by her partner’s obvious anger.
“Relax; I just got here,” she says to Hordak, raising both hands and trying not to laugh as he extricates himself from under Entrapta. “Didn’t catch any of your sweet nothings or whatever you were doing out here.”
He stands and now that she’s looking for it, he looks exhausted. Easy to take out, if she were the Catra of a few months ago and still wanted that. “Did you need something?” He asks icily.
Here, Catra hesitates. She has no qualms telling Hordak that his absence is making people uncomfortable; she doesn’t think he’d particularly care. But it upsets Entrapta to not feel trusted, more than Catra would have assumed if she hadn’t overheard, and the princess doesn’t deserve to have her suspicions confirmed.
“Well?” Hordak snaps, and Catra knows that he knows exactly why she’s out here.
She resolves again to kill Adora’s friends for this and sighs. “No, I just- you were… missed, in camp. Told everyone I’d see where you were.”
Hordak’s eyes narrow but Entrapta takes it at face value. “Ohh yeah; it was getting a little loud and crowded with everyone else. I didn’t realize we had gone that far - but you’ve found us now!”
“Right.” Catra holds back another sigh. “I get wanting to have a bit of ‘alone time’ - believe me - but it sounds like the plan is to go to Bright Moon to, you know, decompress but not until the morning so... you’re good at building stuff.”
Entrapta cocks her head. “Yes,” she says, and waits.
“So Bow is talking about building temporary shelter for a lot of people and - just come on, alright? We need an engineer.”
The princess squeaks - whether at the challenge or at being needed, Catra doesn’t know, but it makes her feel better that her explanation is rooted in the truth. None of the elemental princesses know for sure yet how their powers will react with the newly released magic of the planet, and Bow had opted for creating shelter with straightforward engineering.
Entrapta is already babbling. “If we can salvage some of the tech from Prime’s encampments I think we could create something resembling a barracks - sleep as many people as efficiently as-” she continues, slipping from behind where Hordak had been positioned just slightly between her and Catra, lifting herself up on her hair, counting her required materials on her fingers.
She does a hairpin turn on her hair, trailing off when she makes eye contact with Hordak. For his part, his face is infuriatingly impassive; Catra would almost prefer his growling. “Tell Bow I’ll be there soon,” she says at last, not looking away from her lab partner.
Hordak shakes his head. “Go. I will follow at my pace.”
So he’s even weaker than he looks. Catra thinks to remember that and then remembers she has no reason to remember it anymore. “Yeah, no offense but I’m not leaving you on your own,” she points out.
“Hey-!” Entrapta begins, but Hordak cuts her off.
“I did not expect you to,” he says flatly. Entrapta still pouts and he smiles (which will never not be weird). “Go- while your ideas are fresh,” he repeats. “I will see you soon.”
She pauses, but anyone can see she’s excited to have something to build. “Soon!” She repeats firmly. A tendril of hair squeezes his arm briefly in comfort, and then she’s off again. “This would all be easier if I had my recorder again so I could get my ideas down while they…”
Entrapta’s voice fades out as she rejoins the larger group, disappearing behind lush bushes and thick tree trunks - and suddenly Catra remembers that the princess was her insurance that her former leader and boss would not kill her for her earlier betrayal.
When she looks back at him, though, Hordak still doesn’t look murderous. He has no pupils but Catra can tell he is following Entrapta though she’s disappeared from view. Finally he looks down at her. She tenses on instinct.
“Tell me truthfully,” he says in a low voice. “ Do the rest of the princesses trust her?”
Catra blinks, a little startled by the concern. No matter how many times Hordak displays his clear and obvious care for Entrapta it still takes her off guard. This is Hordak , after all. He was the bedtime story that Shadow Weaver had told to scare her; he was her harsh and reclusive boss; he was, for a short, strained time, her partner; he isn’t supposed to be anything else.
She shakes herself. “Can’t say for sure,” she says, which is true. “I haven’t really seen them all together very much but I’m getting the feeling that having her… reunited with you might cause issues there.”
He is silent for a beat. “I see,” he says finally.
She feels the oddest urge to reassure him, and the words are out of her mouth before she can question it. “Look, for what it’s worth, the alliance has already been talking about what to do with you , and it sounds like it’s going to be closer to ‘community service’ than ‘execution.’ And you’re going to be useless if your body can’t handle menial labor. Spin it the right way and there should be no problem convincing the princesses that the two of you need to take a field trip to your old stronghold for proper armor.”
Hordak’s jaw tightens at her succinct reminder of his physical state but his tone is surprisingly calm when he says, “Your additional information is… appreciated. Do you have insight into what kind of ‘community service’ they plan to assign?”
“Oh, your typical things: Return the Fright Zone and Black Garnet to Scorpia, clean up the corrupt tech polluting Beast Island - oh, don’t look at me like that,” she adds, waving a hand at him. “Apparently Entrapta had the time of her life there. Some exile, huh?”
The attempt at levity unsurprisingly fails. “ I see ,” he repeats, significantly colder, and Catra feels the hair on the back of her neck prickle with something akin to the guilt that had kept her from talking about Entrapta for nearly a year.
She clears her throat and continues. “Anyway, there’s also the whole matter of needing someone to talk to this whole army of confused clones and you - and Wrong Hordak - are definitely the best for that… provided you don’t decide to make your own army out of them.”
That earns Catra a proper growl from him, angry enough that she nearly steps back. “I have no desire t-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she interrupts, recovering quickly. His anger dissipates instantly, replaced with wary confusion. “Told the rest of them as much. The whole wanting to impress those in charge thing… it’s not the same as wanting to be in charge.” At his now utterly bewildered expression, Catra shrugs stiffly. “I get it, is all I’m saying.”
Hordak still stares at her, his current green eyes too close to Prime’s for comfort. However, as much as Catra feels vulnerable and seen under that gaze, she doesn’t feel threatened. After all, she saw him first - and she’s pretty sure they’re both seeing the same things.
“I am grateful for your commendation,” he says slowly, like the words don’t fit right in his mouth.
Catra bristles. “Yeah, okay, you need to stop doing that. It’s weird.” One eye ridge lifts in the approximation of a raised eyebrow, and she sighs. “Listen- before we head back I just- I need to- I’m sorry, alright? For lying to you about Entrapta.”
There’s a long, frozen silence. She waits on bated breath, though she isn’t sure what for. “Why did you?” He asks at last.
She laughs humorlessly. “What, and I was supposed to tell you I’d tazed and sent her to Beast Island? I didn’t have a death wish.” (Well, she might have had a death wish, but not from him.)
His eyes narrow again and she winces. Probably didn't need to mention the tazing bit. “I meant , why did you exile her at all?”
“Oh.” Catra frowns, glancing back toward the camp. “She didn’t tell you?”
“We have yet to discuss it,” he says tightly. “It is not a subject I believe she is comfortable with at this time, and I will not push it.”
“Oh,” Catra says again. She puts that weirdly sweet gesture aside for now, instead planning her next words carefully. “Entrapta- she had realized that it wasn’t safe to open the portal. She was planning to tell you and I knew if she did you would listen and I… didn’t want that.”
Hordak frowns with what looks to be more confusion than anger. “You knew the portal was unstable and you wanted to open it regardless?”
She winces again, looking away. “I- I had wanted to hurt Adora, more than anything. I wanted her to lose, even if that meant losing the entire universe in the process.”
“Your relations with Adora are… complex,” he comments dryly, and Catra is startled into a more genuine laugh. Here is the last, the very last person, she would expect to have opinions on her relations with Adora . For all that She-Ra had been the biggest threat to the Horde, Hordak had certainly cared the least about Adora on a personal level. She had once thought she envied that, the way he detached emotional connection from his military plans, until she realized that detachment only hurt her more - and learned how much of his own had been a front as well.
“Yeah, that’s a word for it,” she says, equally dry, before letting her small smirk fade away. “That’s… also kind of why I did it. Not the portal, the Entrapta thing. I was- I saw you two were together and I hated it. No one gets to have power and love, that was the one thing I’d learned, and it wasn’t fair that you did. So I took her away from you. I- I think I wanted you to feel as bitter and hateful as I did… so I wouldn’t feel as alone.”
When she lets herself look at Hordak again his face is startlingly blank given the floodgate she just opened - but then, she thinks she might prefer it that way.
“I can understand that desire.” He says each word carefully, testing the sentiment as he gives it. “More than I think I would like.”
Catra snorts, although what she mostly feels is a kind of relief. They have more in common than she’d like to think about either, and it’s strangely comforting to know he doesn’t like it any more than she does. She can trust he'd never use it against her (something she can't say about herself).
“Yeah, well, just don’t you dare start calling me ‘Little Sister, okay?’” she says. His expression of disgust is even more comforting and she grins. “Now come on, let’s get back before people start to worry we’re plotting something.”
“A wise idea.”
She looks in the direction she came, then back. “Do you… want to lean on me or something?”
“I can walk unaided, thank you,” he says, the normal edge back in his voice in an instant.
Catra shrugs. “Suit yourself.”
But she doesn’t hurry ahead, instead matching her pace to his slow, measured steps as, together, Catra and Hordak join the planet’s heroes.