Unbroken: Rise of the Horde

Chapter Eight

With his atmospheric destabilizer up and running, Hordak was able to return to his energy source. With luck, he'd be able to start working on a final frame in a few days. He screwed in the last few bolts, then switched the tool out for a wrench. He'd managed to reroute all of the wires and consolidate the conduits so the energy would be concentrated into a singularity atop three pronged spire. The energy source he'd come up with should be massive enough to power his portal.

It had to be.

He stepped back and took a moment to drink in the victory.

Now to see if it works, Hordak thought. The sky weighed him down. This could make or break his chance to go home.

Home. 

He dragged himself to his feet and walked over to the switch. Hordak sighed as he glanced over all of the wires and circuits one last time. His heat slammed inside his chest, and he willed his breathing to slow. Imp circled around and landed at his feet.

Without further hesitation, Hordak pulled the lever to power-on.

The wires began to shift with the force of power. A glow started to shimmer in the air between the prongs. A massive green and white sphere of light fluttered to life.

"Finally," Hordak whispered. He clenched his wrench so tight that it bent under the pressure.

But he spoke too soon. The power almost seemed to leak away. The energy source got smaller and smaller until with a blinding flash of light, it died completely. One of the conduits exploded.

Hordak shielded his eyes. He turned back to the flawed machine. "Useless," he seethed, then turned and stormed away.

Why can't I get it to work? His mind screamed. His emotion began to unravel as anger brewed inside like a massive storm. I'm doing everything right!

Behind him, Imp flew up to the machine. He opened his mouth and seethed, "Useless."

. . .

Hordak tried to turn the machine on multiple more times that day. None of which seemed to work. Why wouldn't it just turn on? He'd been toiling away with it for years! Just this once? Just so he could have enough power to open his portal?

Each time he tried, the more outbursts he had. After the fifth try, all of the tables and screens had taken a beating. Scrap metal and equipment littered the floor from when he'd swiped them off in fury.

He decided it'd be best to take a short break maybe. Perhaps then, he could clear his mind. It was almost a surprise when the emotional roller coaster didn't trigger another defect in his abilities.

After about an hour of wandering the deserted halls of the Fright Zone, he decided it was probably best to return to his sanctum. Not like it's going to be any better, he sneered to himself.

The automatic door slid open for him and he stepped inside. As soon as he did, the metallic scent of solder and steam reached his nose. His lip curled. There was an intruder.

Even worse, the intruder was tinkering with his power source.

Hordak's anger returned in full strength. No one, and he meant ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, was allowed in his sanctum without explicit permission. The Princess had made a fatal mistake.

He stalked toward his machine, where Entrapta was on the floor working. One of her rebuilt Horde bots was nearby. Her welding mask was brought over her face to protect it from the sparks. Red trimmed the edges of his vision and flames sprung up inside his soul. How foolish is this person to think she may simply wander wherever she pleases?