Future in the Stars | Catradora

28 - The Culprit

Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts

Adora's POV

After Glimmer came back with Catra, we headed off towards the Fright Zone. The other princesses met up with us on the way—they got there a lot faster than I thought was humanly possible—and we filled them in on everything. In no time at all, we made it to our destination.

"Whoa," Catra breathed, staring out at the Zone. "It's..."

"Completely trashed," I said. Without hesitation, I ran into the mess of a kingdom. The others followed close behind.

"What caused all of this?" Glimmer asked as I studied some tracks on the ground. "And more importantly, who was behind it?"

"These markings were made by a tank," I concluded. "And judging by the width and pattern of the tread, I'm 99% sure they belong to one of the Horde's machines."

"Make that 100%," Scorpia called. She was standing by what was left by the machine garage, and sure enough, the tracks I was kneeling beside started over there.

"So... either someone from another kingdom got access to the machines or the attack was directed by someone in the Horde," Bow said. "But who would do that?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of green disappear behind a wall. As the others started making a plan, I walked towards the structure see what was over there.

"Rogelio?" I gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He growled, using his hands to try and tell me something.

"Argh, where's Kyle when you need him," I muttered. Kyle was the only one who could understand Rogelio's strange language.

"What are you whining about now?" a voice asked. I looked up to see Lonnie walk out from behind the other side of a building. "Oh, Adora. Hey."

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why aren't you with the rest of the Horde?"

Before Lonnie could answer, an explosion occurred behind me. I covered my ears then turned around once the blast settled. By the looks of it, the burst spread over a very large radius.

"Huh," Lonnie said. "That's new."

"What caused the rest of the damage?"

"Auto-piloted tanks."

Another bomb exploded.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," I said.

"Are you crazy? We can't leave him! He's been gone ever since people started evacuating."

"But you'll get hurt if you—wait, who's him?"

—————-

???'s POV

From where I stood, I could throw the grenades only so far. I was standing on top of a tall building, but the extra height wasn't an advantage when my arms were barely strong enough to do a chin up. It didn't matter, though. I didn't really want to throw explosives, it just felt like the evil thing to do.

And that's what I was.

Evil.

Through the tears prickling in my eyes, I could see fire burning all over the Fright Zone. It was only a matter of time before the flames would take to the building I had claimed as my own, and if I waited long enough, the entire structure would collapse, bringing me down with it.

Good.

The first time I set off an auto-piloted tank was an accident. Two days ago, I was ordered to move it out of the way, but I lost control and jumped out before it crashed. Thank goodness no one was there to see my mistake, otherwise I'd be ridiculed endlessly for letting it drive itself into the side of an old building, causing it to topple over like a pile of stones.

After that incident, things started to spiral out of control. People were scared; they thought we were under attack. I never told anyone the truth about what happened in fear that they'd "tie me to a boulder and throw me into the ocean" like my friend threatened she'd do if she found the culprit for the "attacks."

The destruction of the Fright Zone continued over the next day, but no one had seen who was causing them. I wasn't even sure. There were no weapons, no machines—at least, not at first. Recently, the war vehicle garage collapsed in on itself, and impact triggered the sound-activated auto-piloted tanks Entrapta invented, sending them all on a rampage.

It was all my fault. I didn't know how, but my mistake with the tank two days ago started a domino effect, and mass destruction everywhere was all unfolding because of me. I was useless. Stupid. Worthless. Undeserving. Unlovable.

I was getting impatient. The fire was taking too long to spread. I wanted it to be over now.

————-

Catra's POV

"This is rather odd," Entrapta said, placing her ear to the ground.

"What is?" I asked.

"Listen," she instructed. Her hair wrapped around my neck and pulled my face into the dirt floor.

"Entrapta, I swear—" I growled.

"Shh! Don't you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"If the data is correct, it appears that there is currently an ongoing shift in the tectonic plates below us."

"I still don't hear anything..."

"Oh, right!" Entrapta realized, then shoved a metal band over the top of my head. "Try now."

With the device close to my ears, I could hear a rumbling sound echoing below the ground.

"What does it mean?" I asked, sitting back on my heels and handing the helmet thing back.

"Well, over my time I spent working for the Horde, I discovered that all the buildings in the Fright Zone are reliant on an underground support system—"

"Yeah, yeah. I already knew that. What does it have to do with anything?"

"If the support system fails, all the buildings will collapse. And the major shifting of the tectonic plates—otherwise know an an earthquake—is causing stress on those structural beams, using enough pressure to make them give out."

"So... the destruction..."

"It isn't being caused by a person, it's a the result of a natural phenomenon."

"That's anticlimactic," I mumbled. "How does that explain the tanks and explosions, then?"

"Beats me."

"You're like a literal genius! You're supposed to know these things!"

"This world is full of magic; not everything can be explained."

"So you're telling me you think the bombs and the self-activating machines are caused by paranormal activity?"

"I don't know! I'm a scientist, not a ghostbuster."

I scoffed and crossed my arms. As I turned around, I noticed a figure on top of one of the few buildings still standing. I squinted, trying to make out what it was. My eyes widened as I realized it was a person—a person who was about to jump.

"Oh, sh*t," I muttered. Without a second to lose, I ran towards Swift Wind and hopped on his back.

"Hey!" he protested, his head shooting straight up.

"Bring me to that building, now."

"Whoa whoa whoa. I only take orders from Adora. We've got a special bond, ya know."

"Look, if we don't get to that poor kid in time, he's gonna fall to his death," I said. "Please. Take me up."