Will I Ever Make A Sound?

"They left you." 

  "No- no! They're my friends, they'll be back!" 

  Trying to change the subject, Entrapta quickly went to focus on something else- beginning to question Scorpia about the venom that her tail surely held. 

  Catra gently began to rake her claws through Entrapta's hair, earning a small shiver from the other, though they didn't seem to mind too much. 

  "Some friends… They left you- and they're not coming back." 

  Entrapta stared at the ground through their mask, hesitant. Maybe- maybe they could change the subject again. 

  "Isn't that just like Adora? She left me behind, too- like I was nothing." 

  Scorpia said something, too, but Entrapta couldn't focus enough to hear it. They could hear a faint ringing in their ears growing louder, but their gaze never left Catra, even if they had their mask on. 

  Catra circled Entrapta carefully before arriving at the shorter's side, twirling a short strand of their long, deep lavender hair around her finger. 

  "Adora got her precious Bow and Glimmer back. All these princesses care about is people who are just like them. But… 

  You're not like them, are you?" 

  Entrapta instinctively pulled their hair away from Catra, holding it to their chest in a way of comfort. They stared at the ground, trying to find the words to say. They opened her tape recorder. 

  "Fright Zone log, hour 45. ...Is that right? I don't know if that's right- it was hard to tell in the walls. Hour 45, that's-" 

  They paused. 

  "That's too many hours. 

  This angry feline person seems to be… correct." 

  They clicked the tape recorder off, flipping their mask up. Their eyes widened in realization, tears pricking at their eyes. 

  "They're… not coming back for me." 

  The next words and interactions were hard to decipher in Entrapta's mind. The exchange was all so fast, it was all dawning on them at once. These were their first friends- ever. And now they were just… gone. 

  The conversation continued, but Entrapta hardly processed them. As soon as they were left to their own devices, completely alone and left in a room with nothing but Emily and some random tech they had already discovered, they just… broke. 

  They found themself crying in the corner, tears rolling down their face hidden behind their welding mask. It was hard to breathe, their ears were ringing so loud, it felt like they were drowning. 

  Nobody was coming for them. 

  Nobody cared for them. 

  They were abandoned. 

  By the only friends they had had in their entire life. 

  Maybe they really were pointless in life. 

  Maybe they really didn't fit in anywhere… 

  Friendship wasn't for Entrapta, and they knew that now. 

------------------------------------------

  "Entrapta? What's going on?" 

  Bow's voice came through the intercom and Entrapta felt their entire body stiffen. 

  "Oh hey, you wanna talk to 'em?" 

  They stared momentarily before quickly regaining their composure and looking back over just in time to realize that Catra had flipped it around for Entrapta to look at Bow and Glimmer. 

  "Hi, Bow! What are you doing there?" 

  The question was innocent enough. They put on a wide smile to talk to him, though they didn't bother to hide their confusion. After all, what was Bow doing there? And what about Glimmer? 

  "Just hang on, Entrapta! We're going to rescue you!" 

  Glimmer's voice filled Entrapta with hope for a moment. They… cared about them, still? But then the words that Catra said came back to them. 

"They left you."

  The realization had long since set in, and the sadness had hit. The sadness had hit hard, and it had lasted for a while. But then the sadness slowly faded to anger. And Entrapta was still furious. How could the people they thought were their friends just leave them behind like that?! It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! 

  They couldn't let anyone see that, though. Nobody can know that the cooky inventor with a heart of gold had any underlying emotions, right? 

  "Oh, good! Rescue me from what?" 

  Entrapta smiled at Glimmer and Bow, though they were genuinely confused. They had been abandoned, and now they had new… people. They didn't need rescuing, so why did Glimmer think they did? 

  "From the Horde!" 

  "Oh! Well, that's nice of you." 

  Entrapta's voice wavered, anger bubbling up behind it, but they kept their blank stare and a wide smile on. 

  "But, all of my stuff is here now, so probably I'll just stay." 

  What a nice way to let your friends who abandoned you down, huh? Play oblivious. Well, if they were being truthful, it wasn't all pretend. They were being genuine- they wanted to stay. There was so much tech to work with. So much to do and so much possibility out there. All of their stuff being there was a bonus. 

  "Thanks anyway, though." 

  Bow and Glimmer dropped their battle positions, both of their faces falling. 

  "Entrapta… are you on the Horde's side now?" 

  Bow sounded betrayed, but Entrapta was too busy working on their experiments again to bother looking over. 

  "I'm on the side of science! But, I am living at the Fight Zone now, and the Horde is supplying me with tools and materials for my work. So… yes, I guess?" 

  "Did I forget to mention that?" 

  Catra laughed slightly. 

  "Oops!" 

  "But don't worry about me… I love it here. I've made unbelievable progress in my research. And the Horde has been so supportive! I'm getting closer every day to unraveling the mysteries of Etheria! Hacking the Black Garnet was just the first step!" 

  Entrapta couldn't help but let themself ramble a little. Their tone started off with a hint of sarcasm, though nothing enough for them to tell. But it slowly evolved into a mini ramble about something they were truly passionate about… even if the intentions deep down beneath it were fueled by anger and bitter betrayal. 

  "That was you?" 

  Before Entrapta could reply, the screen went black. They hesitated for a moment and took a breath, feeling tears prick at their eyes. These weren't tears of sadness- not like before. They were angry. Oh, they were boiling with rage. 

  "Why-" 

  They were talking to themself at this point, starting to pace around and ignore their previous focus. 

  "Why! Why after so long do they think they have the right to suddenly care about me again?! They abandoned me! They only want me because I can help them- well- well- well! Too bad for them!" 

  Tears began pouring down their face, and they were talking to nobody in particular. They snapped their mask down again, pulled out their tape recorder, and began to continue work on their machine with one of their pigtails, the other holding the recorder tightly. 

  "Fright Zone log, day… who knows at this point. The princesses are apparently trying to 'save me'. They think that I want to be associated with them. But I do not! They only wish to use me for their own gain, and I am smarter than that. 

  I am smart enough to know that they left me. 

  I am loyal to Catra and Scorpia, now."