06-27-2022, 01:14:35 AM
As Bit went for her drink, a slender shadow whisked past her, only to realize it passed something and backtrack. Now that she could see it clearly, it wasn't a shadow at all; Rather, she was now the first to meet a green, lizard-human creature with bright eyes. They gazed at her cordially. "Hello, darling! Apologies for being so late! Has anything happened?"
...And now, well, there they were, smiling at Bit like someone wasn't just brutally executed.
How they got here
Mermista walked into the meeting room, her face as stiff and grim as stone. A deactivated portal machine was positioned behind her. Once the dark-skinned woman assumed her seat, she slapped her pad onto their table, then lifted her tired brown eyes to the girl sitting across from her. "Glimmer…Hordak is dead."
“What?!”
“He sent a last transmission. He was critically wounded by a small army of lions. He barely lasted the rest of the day, only to find that the person who betrayed his team ordered a nuke to their island. The bomber has arrived, he laid down and said his goodbyes. There was nothing anyone could do to stop it. He's done for.” She caressed her cheek. “Why can't that geeky princess ever walk off into a petting zoo or something?”
Glimmer felt inclined to agree. “Of ALL the dimensions, it had to be one where not even Hordak can survive!?” Her face faded from white to red as it pressed against the table.
“Honestly, I don't believe Entrapta herself is still alive. She was probably gone within the week.”
“No way.” Piped up the dark-skinned archer boy next to Glimmer. “If she can survive Beast Island, she can cheat death wherever she is. I'll find her.” His valiance was rewarded with a heavy gush of water to the face and head. “Hey! Brrrrr!”
“You need to cool your head.” Mermista continued. “If Hordak was betrayed, wounded, and bombed within a week of entering, HORDAK, then not only is Entrapta gone, but you'll be, too.”
“So we should just let her die, alone and afraid?” Bow snapped back. “Mermista, that's wrong! Even if she's dead, she at least deserves to be retrieved and buried! Right, Adora?”
On the cue of Bow's eyes darting to her, the one in the blonde ponytail piped up. “Agreed. I don't doubt that she's trying to assemble a way home on the other side. We have to help her. You may not have been there when she confided to us, but she was always afraid of being left behind!”
“Wait. Hordak was with a team, is that what Mermista said?” Glimmer took the conversation back. “If he can find people to work with, then Entrapta could've run into help of her own. This might not be as urgent as it sounds.”
“Glimmer, this is as urgent as it sounds! All the tech in the world couldn't survive a nuclear blast!” Bow formed a mushroom cloud with his hands.
“But Hordak's experience is a sign that she's not alone out there. Maybe someone is looking after her. She could be safe in a bunker right now, finding a way home with other people. Protected. Instead of frantically looking for one person, we could take our time in the other world, gather our supplies, and spread out to ask the population if they've seen her.”
“Or, you know, we could just wait for Entrapta to reappear on her own.” Catra, reclined at the very end of the room, called over. “This is Entrapta we're talking about. Just when you think she's gone, she's dropping down right behind you again. Bow's right, if she can survive at Beast Island, then she is absolutely not dead.”
“Right. We need communications with the other side before we send anyone else to scout.” Glimmer nodded.
Mermista listened, but her face remained grim. “All this is assuming Entrapta wasn't murdered.”
The four others stared wall-eyed at her. “Murdered!?” They all screamed.
“You thought Hordak only called me that last time? He told me everything each night before. Multiple members of his team were murdered by the infected. Just totally killed. The tiny horse was hung from the ceiling, one girl had her head exploded.” Just saying it brought a green hue to the sea princess's face.
“No way…” Catra soothed her bristling tail.
“What kind of world is that?” Adora swallowed. “What's this infection? C-could Hordak have brought it back here if he lived? Is Entrapta infected with it now?”
“No clue. He only said ‘zombie virus’.”
“This entire situation just gets worse and worse…” Glimmer whimpered.
Even Bow was losing hope by this point. “So now we know we can't send multiple people, we'd just wind up killing each other…”
“Yeeeeah, so…” Mermista muttered. “No dice. This has officially become a suicide mission. We're better off just staying away from this world and hoping for the best.”
There was silence, just a little sobbing from Bow, and disbelieving breaths from Glimmer and Catra.
“Well…We need to inform Etheria of these events.” Glimmer finally pushed herself free of her seat. “If anyone is planning to see this world for themselves, we must shut those operations down. It's for everyones’ own good. We can't-we can't sleep at night knowing anyone else is throwing themselves to such a fate.”
“Right…” The five exited, one after the other, their heads low.
Where five left, one entered, deliberately late and having shifted themselves into a literal fly on the wall. A tiny black speck exploded into a towering, lean lizard-like shape. Their glowing reptilian eyes were fixed on the portal. It was all in place: After all seemed lost with the dear departure of the former Lord Hordak, the one and only Double Trouble would return with the lost princess secure in their arms! They made themselves drool by guessing what the reward for their heroics would be.
It took them mere minutes to remember the combination for activating the machine, and they entered as quiet as a breeze. Going, going, gone to this dangerous world.
…Unfortunately, Double Trouble instantly realized that they didn't even know where to start in this world. Didn't even feel all that familiar. Was this even where Entrapta and Hordak landed? While not doubting that Entrapta was going to be able to bring them both home, this was going to be a long journey. Probbaly one where they'd be hurt if they didn't find a safe haven.
Weaseling their way into the big city, Double Trouble got their claws on a call to volunteer at some kind of…space prison reality show? You could leave it to them to get sidetracked by dollar signs, even weird alien ones.
“What?!”
“He sent a last transmission. He was critically wounded by a small army of lions. He barely lasted the rest of the day, only to find that the person who betrayed his team ordered a nuke to their island. The bomber has arrived, he laid down and said his goodbyes. There was nothing anyone could do to stop it. He's done for.” She caressed her cheek. “Why can't that geeky princess ever walk off into a petting zoo or something?”
Glimmer felt inclined to agree. “Of ALL the dimensions, it had to be one where not even Hordak can survive!?” Her face faded from white to red as it pressed against the table.
“Honestly, I don't believe Entrapta herself is still alive. She was probably gone within the week.”
“No way.” Piped up the dark-skinned archer boy next to Glimmer. “If she can survive Beast Island, she can cheat death wherever she is. I'll find her.” His valiance was rewarded with a heavy gush of water to the face and head. “Hey! Brrrrr!”
“You need to cool your head.” Mermista continued. “If Hordak was betrayed, wounded, and bombed within a week of entering, HORDAK, then not only is Entrapta gone, but you'll be, too.”
“So we should just let her die, alone and afraid?” Bow snapped back. “Mermista, that's wrong! Even if she's dead, she at least deserves to be retrieved and buried! Right, Adora?”
On the cue of Bow's eyes darting to her, the one in the blonde ponytail piped up. “Agreed. I don't doubt that she's trying to assemble a way home on the other side. We have to help her. You may not have been there when she confided to us, but she was always afraid of being left behind!”
“Wait. Hordak was with a team, is that what Mermista said?” Glimmer took the conversation back. “If he can find people to work with, then Entrapta could've run into help of her own. This might not be as urgent as it sounds.”
“Glimmer, this is as urgent as it sounds! All the tech in the world couldn't survive a nuclear blast!” Bow formed a mushroom cloud with his hands.
“But Hordak's experience is a sign that she's not alone out there. Maybe someone is looking after her. She could be safe in a bunker right now, finding a way home with other people. Protected. Instead of frantically looking for one person, we could take our time in the other world, gather our supplies, and spread out to ask the population if they've seen her.”
“Or, you know, we could just wait for Entrapta to reappear on her own.” Catra, reclined at the very end of the room, called over. “This is Entrapta we're talking about. Just when you think she's gone, she's dropping down right behind you again. Bow's right, if she can survive at Beast Island, then she is absolutely not dead.”
“Right. We need communications with the other side before we send anyone else to scout.” Glimmer nodded.
Mermista listened, but her face remained grim. “All this is assuming Entrapta wasn't murdered.”
The four others stared wall-eyed at her. “Murdered!?” They all screamed.
“You thought Hordak only called me that last time? He told me everything each night before. Multiple members of his team were murdered by the infected. Just totally killed. The tiny horse was hung from the ceiling, one girl had her head exploded.” Just saying it brought a green hue to the sea princess's face.
“No way…” Catra soothed her bristling tail.
“What kind of world is that?” Adora swallowed. “What's this infection? C-could Hordak have brought it back here if he lived? Is Entrapta infected with it now?”
“No clue. He only said ‘zombie virus’.”
“This entire situation just gets worse and worse…” Glimmer whimpered.
Even Bow was losing hope by this point. “So now we know we can't send multiple people, we'd just wind up killing each other…”
“Yeeeeah, so…” Mermista muttered. “No dice. This has officially become a suicide mission. We're better off just staying away from this world and hoping for the best.”
There was silence, just a little sobbing from Bow, and disbelieving breaths from Glimmer and Catra.
“Well…We need to inform Etheria of these events.” Glimmer finally pushed herself free of her seat. “If anyone is planning to see this world for themselves, we must shut those operations down. It's for everyones’ own good. We can't-we can't sleep at night knowing anyone else is throwing themselves to such a fate.”
“Right…” The five exited, one after the other, their heads low.
Where five left, one entered, deliberately late and having shifted themselves into a literal fly on the wall. A tiny black speck exploded into a towering, lean lizard-like shape. Their glowing reptilian eyes were fixed on the portal. It was all in place: After all seemed lost with the dear departure of the former Lord Hordak, the one and only Double Trouble would return with the lost princess secure in their arms! They made themselves drool by guessing what the reward for their heroics would be.
It took them mere minutes to remember the combination for activating the machine, and they entered as quiet as a breeze. Going, going, gone to this dangerous world.
…Unfortunately, Double Trouble instantly realized that they didn't even know where to start in this world. Didn't even feel all that familiar. Was this even where Entrapta and Hordak landed? While not doubting that Entrapta was going to be able to bring them both home, this was going to be a long journey. Probbaly one where they'd be hurt if they didn't find a safe haven.
Weaseling their way into the big city, Double Trouble got their claws on a call to volunteer at some kind of…space prison reality show? You could leave it to them to get sidetracked by dollar signs, even weird alien ones.
...And now, well, there they were, smiling at Bit like someone wasn't just brutally executed.
If you hear about someone putting characters through intense despair and misery, then that someone is probably me.