Unbroken: Fall of the Universe

Chapter Thirteen

"King Micah?"

The king turned to face Hordak. His black eyes turned from love to hate as soon as he saw the former lord's face. "You," he hissed.

Glimmer grabbed his arm, beckoning him to back down.

Micah sneered and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "What do you want? Haven't you caused enough pain already?"

Hordak sucked in a deep breath, and pushed away his fears. For almost sixteen years, his guilt for this man's death had haunted his nightmares. Now the impossible has come to pass. The king had survived Beast Island.

"I j-just wanted to say..." he trailed off. Hordak dropped his gaze and wished to become as small as possible. In a tiny voice, he whispered, "I'm sorry. I am so sorry for everything I've done. I have made awful mistakes, and I won't deny it. I just want you to know that I'm truly sorry for all I've done to you and your family."

King Micah studied Hordak up and down. He frowned, then backed away. The king cleared his throat and stated, "I acknowledge your apology, Hordak, but know that I cannot forgive you."

Hordak nodded solemnly. He deserved that.

"Maybe someday I can," Micah pointed out. Glimmer and the woman gave him comforting smiles. "That day won't be today, and probably not for a long time." He turned his black eyes to Hordak. This time there wasn't so much hate. "But thank you."

The former lord simply dipped his head and backed away. He left the king to catch up with his family.  The gargantuan weight that Hordak had been carrying around for the past sixteen years was lifted.  He was truly free now.  Maybe not for a while, but someday, he thought. Someday, I'll be forgiven.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Hordak turned around to see Catra. Her hair had grown a little wilder since her return to Etheria. Her eyes were different now. They were filled with a new light. After so many years of trying to be who she wasn't, the darkness had finally left her, too.

"Hey, Hordak," she greeted, averting her gaze to the ground.

"Hello, Catra," he said flatly.

"Look," she sighed, "I know we've both done some pretty awful things."

"Yeah, and some of things included trying to kill Entrapta and getting me trapped under a massive metal claw," he pointed out. He tried to keep his anger down, and he knew she was doing the same.

"Well you sent me to the Crimson Waste to die, so...," her voice began to grow in volume.

Both of them paused, recalculating. 

Catra ran a hand through her hair to flatten it. She glared at the grass. "Listen, you have no reason to like me. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Okay? There. I said it." Her tail lashed.

Hordak let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, too. You're right. We've done some terrible things to Etheria."

Catra nodded. "Yeah, but at least we have good people in our lives to guide us through." Her gaze lifted to where Entrapta was revealing some new energy discovery to Scorpia. Then it drifted to where Adora stood on a cliff, overlooking Etheria.

"Where's Shadow Weaver?"  he asked.  "I'm sure since her time in Bright Moon she has also come to understand the error of her ways."

Catra winced, and for the first time, Hordak saw a tear slide down her cheek.  She hugged her arms close to her chest as she croaked, "Shadow Weaver sacrificed herself for me and Adora to get to the Heart."

Hordak's chest was plunged into a pool of icy cold.  His stance wavered.  "She... she's... dead?" he whispered.  And I never even had a chance to say I was sorry.  Tears glistened in his eyes.  He thought about Mira's death.  It's always the same.

The former force captain nodded solemnly.  "She wasn't so bad in the end," she admitted.  "She did some pretty awful things, but she redeemed herself."  Catra looked up at Hordak.  "She saved everyone."

Hordak sighed.   "Then it's up to the two of us to live up to her legacy.  We must also redeem ourselves, whatever that may take."

"Whatever that may take."  Catra's gaze drifted back to Adora, and her lips curled into a sweet smile.

"Go to her," he said. "I'm sure we'll cross paths again."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm sure we will."

With that, the cat-hybrid bounded away to be with her girlfriend. At long last, she'd found peace, too.

Hordak was left to stand in the warm sunlight. He closed his eyes and let the warmth fill his soul.

Somewhere not too far off, Entrapta was laughing at something Scorpia said. His eyes fluttered open and a soft smile crossed his face. She was the one who helped him see the truth in life.

And in himself.

I am Hordak, he thought. And no one will ever break me again.