Unbroken: Rise of the Horde

Chapter Twenty Three

"Hordak? You wanted to talk to me?" Catra called into the dark room. She entered the sanctum, padding into the darkness. She sighed in annoyance, looking in disapproval around the seemingly empty room. "Ugh. I don't have time for this!"

Hordak crouched behind one of the broken vitrines. The shadows concealed him. His red eyes narrowed. You will pay for what you've done.

"Seriously. Our troops are moving out as we speak," she growled, walking into the depth of the room. The little light there was reflected in her huge cat-like eyes. "If there's something you need, you can..." She paused, glaring down at a broken shard of glass she'd almost stepped on. Her ears twitched.

Something was wrong.

An engine roared to life, and a ginormous blast narrowly missed her. With a shriek, she leaped back from where the laser beam had almost fried her. Now, the wall was melted and glowing. She shrank down into a battle crouch. When the dust cleared, Hordak was revealed standing. The muzzle of his laser cannon glowed scarlet, illuminating his face masked in hatred.

"Hello, Force Captain."

. . .

"Ahhhh!" Catra shrieked as she was thrown back by another explosion. She skidded to a halt on the sanctum floor. Some broken glass must have chipped her on her way, because a large cut on her forehead was bleeding.

"Hordak," she growled, breathing hard. "Whatever you're doing..."

"I know about Entrapta," Hordak seethed, aiming his gun at her heart.

She clutched the shoulder she landed on. "Entrapta was a traitor. What is there to know?"

And she still lies!  Resists! Still thinks that she is worthy to me.

"I. Trusted. You," he hissed. The gun glowed, then fired another blast. He was jolted back by its force, and Catra had to duck and roll to avoid it. Unfortunately, she did. Before the heat of the explosion could reach her, she escaped through a melting hole in the wall and out of sight. Hordak followed hastily.

"You will rue the day you dared to cross me," he promised, then fired again. And again. And again. Every time, Catra slipped out of range. She raced into one room, and Hordak charged after her.

In the center of the room, a huge red thing gleamed.

The Black Garnet Chamber.

"After I'm through," he seethed. "You can't even begin to imagine the punishments Horde Prime will inflict on you."

"Oh," Catra's voice hissed. "Because big brother's going to swoop down and fix everything for you. You're lying to yourself now!"

Rage flooded through his mind, clogging his thinking. With a battle cry, he fired again at where she hid. Catra shrieked and dogged. 

She escaped, and he pursued. He blasted, she dodged. All the while, his fortress was being demolished.

I've always hated this dump anyways, he said to himself bitterly. Debri rained down on him as he stormed through the halls.   

Catra became cornered on the top of one of the buildings. He fired, but she jumped. She flipped down and landed in a crouch inside another hallway. He gritted his teeth. Destroying her wasn't as easy as he'd hoped, but he'd manage. Things would only be fixed once he avenged Entrapta's death and erased Catra from existence.

The felione-hybrid raced until she was standing in front of a bridge. It crossed a pool of molten lava. Above it, huge metal claws that carried debri and trash into the lava river hung empty. She took a moment to pause, but it was quickly interrupted by a blast from behind.

Hordak stormed out into the open. He didn't even bother to use the hallway, rather going through the melting rip in the walls his laser created. The heat was so hot it was freezing, but it barely stung. Nothing mattered. His power tingled at the tips of his claws. He could destroy her once and for all. Hordak surveyed the bridge, then looked up to find Catra perched on top of one of the machines.

She fell into a crouch, holding her shoulder again. Her tail lashed behind her.

"Why would Horde Prime care about you?" she wheezed, anger brimming in her glare. "You're a defect! A mistake!"

He gasped. Hordak's thoughts vanished as his clone warrior took over.

"Haven't you noticed? I'm running things here!"

He cried out in fury and fired at the Captain. She grunted as she bounded away. She leapt from the claw to a collection of wires. The hybrid grabbed on and slid down. Then with a massive thrust, she was in the air, sailing forward.

Hordak aimed again, but missed.

Time slowed. Hordak's eyes widened as Catra's claws sped closer. Midair, she sucker punched Hordak in the jaw. His spit flew as pain shot through his head. She fell to the floor, but not before she pushed off, did a 360, and slammed a foot down on his laser gun. It shattered into thousands of pieces. He cried out in rage. Catra's eyes shone with just as much.

She bounded behind Hordak and lept in the air. With a mighty kick square to the back, the clone was sent tumbling onto the bridge. He groaned as agony pulsed through his whole body.

Catra's tail lashed and her pupils dilated. Her uniform was tattered and the cut was bleeding fast.

"Now we can finally end this," she seethed. "I didn't need Entrapta! Or Adora! Or Scorpia!"

Hordak pulled himself to his feet.

But she wasn't finished. "And I don't. Need. You!" She shrieked.

Before Hordak could react, Catra was flying toward him. Her outstretched claws grasped his collar and yanked out the crystal. Wires snapped and crackled.

Hordak stumbled back, feeling his power ebb. He snarled at her, but there wasn't anything he could do. He was without a weapon and without mobility. She straightened up, a cold glare on her face. What was Catra waiting for?

It wasn't until Hordak heard a creaking groan from above that he realized what she'd done. In that moment, he remembered why he'd chosen Catra to be a Force Captain in the first place.

She used her mind in battle.

The huge metal claw from above snapped, breaking from the bonds once securing it to the ceiling. I've failed, he realized. The massive machine raced toward him, crushing him underneath.