Unbroken: Fall of the Universe

Chapter Three

To block himself from revisiting the idea of a name, he reviewed reports from his fellow brothers. None of them knew Catra's current location on the ship. She disappeared a little while ago, but not before being spotted dragging her claws through the perfect walls of the port side. Hordak decided to search there first.

Once I find our sister, I can go to the chamber and be purged, he told himself. Then I can forget about this all. I can be perfect once more.

The clone stopped outside of the door to the teleportation ray chamber. His ears twitched to the sound of soft footsteps inside. Sure enough, Catra stumbled out of the room and slammed into him. She glared. It's not like she knew he was the same clone she'd named earlier.

The clone was about to open his mouth to speak, but he was cut short. A blinding light flashed through his brain and shut down all of his thoughts.

Be free from the burden of speak, Prime hissed.

Hordak convulsed and snarled, a squeamish feeling past through his body. Then he allowed himself to go limp. His thoughts were be washed away and Prime took over. White pupils appeared in his eyes. Then, his world went dark. He could no longer see, hear, think, or feel. It was as if his consciousness had been suspended in a void somewhere far away from his body.

When Prime released his grasp on the body, he found himself walking the halls toward the chamber. Catra followed gingerly behind him. Clones did not remember their time when they lend their bodies to Prime, but they could guess  what happened.

The clone decided to stay silent on the journey.

Catra did the same. The hair along her tail rose, but he doubted she realized it.

When they reached the room, the two found Prime waiting. The cloning chamber was a cavernous space with high ceilings and multiple levels. All along the walls, there were hundreds of vitrines, empty or occupied. Chemicals flowed through an elaborate grid of pipes and tubes. Above, the dark ceiling was decorated with green stars. As Hordak stared ahead, he saw that Prime stood behind a massive bubbling pit of green fluid. The clone shuttered. All around their emperor, other clones were stationed. Surrounding him were countless other brothers who stood at attention in straight lines. Hoods covered their faces, but their lime green eyes glowed.

"Sister," Horde Prime greeted, a sly smile crossing his face. "Thank you for joining us."

Hordak stood motionless. He knew from gathered knowledge of recent events that this meeting was mainly for Catra. He was to be the sacrifice.

Do not refuse, brother. Do as I say. Horde Prime seemed quite angry telepathically, but didn't show it in his spoken language.

"I have been scouring, searching for She-Ra," Horde Prime announced.

Hordak felt himself stiff. Where had he heard that title before? When the gaze of fellow brothers turned toward him, he quieted those questioning thoughts.

"But," the lord continued, "what I seek is not yet to be found." He gestured to the computer screen behind him, and his metal claws he wore turned it on. A map of a planet, Etheria, appeared. A tiny blue diamond was moving away from the atmosphere.

"My drones reported a ship leaving the planet," Prime explained. The image flashed to footage captured by a drone. It was barely even a blur. All Hordak could make out was blue and gray. "A ship of such ancient design that it is not detectable by my instruments. How can this be, little sister?"

Catra looked to the ground. "I don't know," she said quickly.

Horde Prime's four eyes moved to face her. He sneered. "Hmmmm..."