You're Such An Idiot

Chapter 25-Hordak

I have been sitting in this room for what seems like ages. It is probably only a matter of days, but my perception of time is deceptive. I have been left alone with my thoughts, a feeling I had completely forgotten when Horde Prime purified me from my memories and connected me to the hive mind. It was comforting, though, in spite of the erasure of my identity: not having to think or ponder, no responsibilities for your own actions, and most importantly, no feelings. I enjoyed forgetting all of them: rage, fear, pain, and... I close my eyes, trying to name the new, strange feeling I have when Entrapta's face crosses my troubled mind. It is something I had never dealt with before, I do not know how to control it, nor if I should. I wonder if she is as confused as I am...

My stream of thoughts is interrupted by someone entering the room: I raise my head and when I recognize Entrapta an odd, burning sensation starts radiating from my chest. She is not alone, though. Queen Glimmer, Adora, Catra, and the archer boy are with her.

"Hordak!" cries Entrapta when she lays her rose eyes on me. She runs in my direction and kneels right in front of me. "I've missed you so much! Are you okay? I'm sorry they locked you in here, I wish I could take you to my castle so that—"

"Entrapta, can we please get to the point?" the Queen interrupts her, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, sure, sorry" she giggles. Then she looks at me with a worried expression. "Hordak, I was in your lab because I wanted to collect all of our data so that we could start working on another project together, I'll explain later, but the thing is that... I found a hidden folder in your computer"

I widen my eyes as an almost forgotten memory flashes through my mind: a mission left unfinished. Fear takes control of my body, making me shiver. I do not know why I am reacting like this, that folder... I cannot remember... but something seems familiar, something is trying to make its way in my mind, but I cannot grasp it yet.

"No..." I whisper. "I... do not remember..."

"What are those coordinates?" asks Catra, aggressively. "What have you been hiding, Hordak?"

"And why are they coming towards Etheria?" adds Adora.

"What? Coordinates?" I exclaim, shocked. "I do not understand... Why would they..." They? Who are they? My mind gets lost in a spiral of confusion and fear, elevating my heart rate.

"They?" repeats Entrapta, worried. "Who are they? What's going on, Hordak?"

"I am sorry, Entrapta" I shake my head, incapable of looking at her. "I cannot remember. You must take me there, I have to see it myself"

"I don't believe it" snaps Catra. "He's lying! It must be a trap or something, how could he not remember a hidden folder in his own computer??"

"Entrapta, please" I look into her eyes, hoping to find some comfort in them. "You must believe me. I cannot remember what this folder is exactly, but I know what might have happened. I think I hid it from myself"

"What?" she whispers, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"What was the name of the folder?" I ask her.

"Eeeeeeehm" she scratches her chin with a tuft of lilac hair. Her soft, beautiful hair... "It was something like 'Do not access until reunion with Horde Prime', and then some strange symbols I had never seen before"

"Oh... I see now" I take a deep breath, realizing what this is about. My premonition was correct: it cannot be anything good. "I know what I have done. That folder must be hiding something I did not want Horde Prime to know. That is why I must have erased my memory of it after encrypting it"