Fragments (Entrapdak)

IX: Breaking

Entrapta had been staring at the screen for hours. Her eyes were beginning to sting and a slow pounding pressure was building in her head, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Any moment now, she would find the calculation she needed, and all her work over the past weeks would be complete.

Spinny and Frosta had left to scout for a water source. Entrapta barely noticed them leaving and had no idea how long they'd been gone. The general chatter of the others in the background was becoming increasingly distracting.

Clenching her gloved hands, Entrapta let out a huff of frustration. Another dead end! Maybe if I...

She was so close now. She'd felt this before, but this time she was sure of it. The only thing standing in her way was the scope. Entrapta could not afford to create a program that disrupted only a few chips within a limited range. It needed to disconnect them all at once. If she failed, she may not get another chance to try again.

No, no that won't work either...

Entrapta was beginning to feel short of breath. Her heart was beating madly in her chest. She paused a moment, flexing her hands, letting her eyes drift shut against the glare of the screen.

100, 96, 92, 88, 84, 80, 76... She continued skip-counting backward all the way down to zero, then drew a deep breath. I can do this. I'll figure it out.

The pain in her head was building. It felt as if a vise were clamped on her head, squeezing her. All she wanted to do was lay her head down on the table and rest, but she couldn't. Her thoughts were racing, tumbling into each other, repeating. Entrapta hugged her arms, her fingers digging into her skin with near bruising force in an attempt to distract herself. It only made things worse.

99, 96, 93, 90... 87... 8...

Her mind could no longer hold the numbers. The screen began to blur before her eyes. The air felt unbearably hot. PEArL's support cables were too tight around her body. Even the sounds of conversation drifting across the room felt like daggers to her ears, spearing through her head.

An unpleasant tingling had begun to settle over her skin. No, no, no! Not now! Frantically, Entrapta tried to run her hands through her hair, and her fingers bumped into the rim of her mask. She tore it off her head, barely feeling her hair come loose from its ties, and in a fit of helpless fury flung the mask away from her.

Crash!

Hordak was immediately on alert. Entrapta stood hunched at her desk, her hands grasping her head. He was at her side in an instant. "What happened?"

She shook her head with a sob, curling away from him to hide her face. Her mask was gone. Hordak searched for where it could have fallen, then caught sight of the mask further along the cave. Why would she throw her mask away from her? What purpose...?

"Oh, Entrapta, don't cry!" Perfuma hurried over. "I'm sure it'll be okay." She reached out to place her hand on Entrapta's shoulder.

"Don't--" Hordak tried to intervene, but was too late.

As Perfuma touched her, Entrapta shrieked, every hair on her head standing on end, and she curled up even tighter into herself. Before it could get any worse, Hordak grasped Perfuma by the wrist and pulled her back.

"Let go of me!" Perfuma squirmed in his grip.

Hordak glared at her, and she shrank back. There was the fear he was used to seeing. At this moment, he did not care. "Do not touch her," he said in a low voice. "Is that clear?"

He let go, and Perfuma snatched her hand away, rubbing it as if he'd hurt her. "I was just trying to--"

"I know," he interrupted, "but in this instance, what you are doing will not help."